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In a previous DDJ article, Displaying Tabular Data on iPhones, I discussed how to use the
UITableView class in Apple's iOS SDK to generate and present tables. Such tables can effectively display a lot of information on small screens, particularly the iPod Touch and iPhone. For some apps, simply presenting the data — such as stock market quotes, weather reports, price information, or an itinerary — is sufficient. However, for many business apps this is not enough: The table must implement a two-way flow of information. For example, a part-ordering app not only has to display what is in inventory, but also allow a user to enter a request that orders a part (or parts). This article helps close the communications loop by showing you how to enter and edit text in the table.
Although iOS has several Cocoa Touch classes that specialize in displaying text, the class of choice for our purpose is
UITextField. This class is designed to capture and edit small amounts of text that the app then processes, usually immediately.
UITextField does this by presenting a text string within an editable on-screen area or field. Visually, the field is perceived as editable because it is surrounded by a border — unlike text that belongs to a static label. When a user taps on the field, the
UITextField first presents a mechanism (typically a virtual keyboard) that lets them modify the text. When the user completes editing the text, she taps the Return key. The keyboard disappears, and the
UITextField instance then sends action messages to a delegate object for a response. In our case, when the keyboard is dismissed, the
UITableView's delegate method writes the modified text back into the data model. The data model is typically a custom class that is responsible for storing and updating the information that the table displays. From there, to continue with the parts ordering example, the revised data might be sent over the air to a parts database server, where the appropriate scripts are launched and complete the transaction. Let's take a closer look at
UITextField to see how we'll put it to use for entering text.
UITextField Overview
A brief tour of the class taxonomy should help you understand the capabilities of
UITextField and what methods you can expect to use.
UITextField's ancestry and related classes are shown in Figure 1. Like any iOS class whose purpose is to display content on-screen,
UITextField ultimately inherits from the
UIView superclass. However, its immediate superclass is
UIControl, because a
UITextField object has to interact with the user. Specifically,
UITextField issues action messages in response to touches within its view that initiate or end a text editing session.
UITextField's input field is actually a view, the class has the usual Objective-C properties that it inherits from
UIView. For example, there are properties that define the view's background color, its frame size, the alpha channel value, and its position within its superview.
UITextField also adds properties that describe a background image and border style for the view.
Because it displays text,
UITextField has properties that specify the text's typeface (or font) and point size, its alignment within the field, its color, and — of course — the text string itself. This last property, text, has read and write characteristics, and we'll use this feature to display and update the table's display of content.
There are also two ancillary protocols that refine
UITextField's behavior and action messages in response to user input. Recall that a protocol defines a set of methods that implement specific capabilities for the class. The
UITextInputTraits_Protocol defines behaviors that are associated with keyboard input. It can specify the type of virtual keyboard used (such as whether it is standard keyboard or a numeric keypad), and how the text appears on-screen (the text can be displayed as bullet symbols when secure input is requested). It also describes the string displayed in the Return key. For example, "Go" might be presented in the key when an URL is entered, or "Search" if the input string is being used to conduct a search. The
UITextFieldDelegate_Protocol specifies the action messages that the
UITextField object sends to a delegate object. Many of these messages signal that text editing has begun or has ended on the field. The former messages can be used to invoke a custom keyboard or object (such as a picker) for text entry, while the latter are used to initiate processing on the edited text. Other messages allow access to the edited text, and can modify the behavior of the text display or of the Return key. As an example, the field can clear the text string when it is tapped on, a desirable behavior if you expect the user to enter text that's different from that being displayed.
UITextField's capabilities therefore make it ideal for building an input/editing mechanism into a table. First, the object displays text, so it can be co-opted to display the table's content. Second, the border around the field informs the user that they can tap and change this content. Finally, when the user completes entering new content and taps Return, we can use the resulting action messages to store the revised content into the table's data model. Finally, we send an update message to the table object so that it reads the modified data and updates its on-screen content. So, now let's put what we've learned into writing some code.
Building the Two-Way Table
Let's proceed step-by-step to assemble a working two-way table interface. That means first making a table, then wiring in some instances of
UITextField into the table's cells. Then we complete the connection to the data model through the action messages generated by
UITextField. For this example, we'll assume a hypothetical table that displays thermostat controls. The table will display days of the weeks as sections. Each day (section) has four intervals that divide the day, with a time specified for each interval, and the heating and cooling values that are used for this interval. See Figure 2 for the planned table design with text fields and their variable names.
Fire up Xcode. Choose File > New Project, and select "Window-based application" for the iOS application template. Name the project "TestTemp." This gives us the bare-minimum code scaffold and a MainWindow.xib file for the app. Like I did in the iOS tables article, I'll use a
UITableViewController class to manage both the table display and user responses. So, select File > New File and add a
UIViewController subclass with the option for
UITableViewController subclass set. Name the file "TableTempControl." Don't set the "With XIB for user interface" option: We'll add any UI objects required into the MainWindow.xib file.
Speaking of that .xib file, open it with Interface Builder (IB) now. In IB, choose Tools > Library to bring up the Library window, then drag and drop
UITableViewController class icon into the MainWindow.xib window. This adds the GUI support for the table. Now we have to connect it to the
UITableViewController code in the project. This is done by adding the declaration and the property for
TableTempControl to the TestTempAppDelegate.h file. Most of the details on how this is done can be found in the article Displaying Tabular Data on iPhones, so I'll skip the details here. Once you are done, you should be able to build and run the project, and see the app present a table. The table presents empty rows for now, since it doesn't have any content to display.
The lack of table content lets us segue into making the class that implements the table's data model. In Xcode, choose File > New and select
Objective-C class. Use the default "Subclass of NSObject" setting, and name the class "TableData." Add the code from Listing One into the TableData.h and TableData.m files for this class.
Listing One
#import "TableData.h" @implementation TableData // TableData.h // #import <Foundation/Foundation.h> @interface TableData : NSObject { NSMutableArray *timeOfDays; NSMutableArray *heatStr; NSMutableArray *coolStr; } @property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *timeOfDays; @property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *heatStr; @property (nonatomic, retain) NSMutableArray *coolStr; - (void) initTableData; @end // TableData.m // @synthesize timeOfDays; @synthesize heatStr; @synthesize coolStr; -(void) initTableData { timeOfDays = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init]; heatStr = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithObjects:@"76.0", @"75.0", @"74.0", @"73.0", @"72.0", @"71.0", @"70.0", @"69.0", @"68.0", @"67.0", @"66.0", @"65.0", nil]; coolStr = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithObjects:@"45.0", @"46.0", @"47.0", @"48.0", @"49.0", @"50.0", @"51.0", @"52.0", @"53.0", @"54.0", @"55.0", @"56.0", nil]; } -(void)dealloc { [coolStr release]; [heatStr release]; [timeOfDays release]; [super dealloc]; } @end
From the variable names, you can see that the class stores arrays of data values related to time (
timeOfDays), heating (
heatStr), and cooling (
coolStr). Note also that the arrays are mutable ones, as the data will be subject to change. We have initialized both the heating and cooling arrays with data. We'll deal with the time array later.
Now let's add code to the
TableTempControl class to utilize the data model just constructed. Listing Two shows the modifications made to this class's header file.
Listing Two
// // TableTempControl.h #import <UIKit/UIKit.h> #import "TableData.h" @interface TableTempControl : UITableViewController { UITableViewCell *settingsCell; NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter; NSMutableArray *timeOfDays; UITextField *timeField; UITextField *heatingField; UITextField *coolingField; TableData *settings; // Object to store table data NSMutableArray *listOfSections; // Content for section headers (titles) NSMutableArray *listOfRows; // Content for cell textfields } @property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UITableViewCell *settingsCell; @property (nonatomic, retain) NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter; @property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UITextField *timeField; @property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UITextField *heatingField; @property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UITextField *coolingField; @end
Here, you can see the where
UITextField objects are declared. Note that their property definitions include
IBOutlet, which makes these objects appear in IB. There's also the declaration for the instance of
settingsCell, which we'll use to make the table's content display. Another declaration defines the
TableData instance for the data model, settings. Finally we declare an
NSDateFormatter object to manage the time value. We could use strings to represent the time, but we might as well leverage the capabilities of a ready-made class for displaying dates and time. The arrays
listOfSections and
listOfRows will contain information about the table's section and rows. Moving on to the TableTempControl.m file, we add the following methods (Listing Three):
Listing Three
- (void) setUpTables { NSDictionary *tableSectionsDict; NSDictionary *currentWeekdayArrayDict; NSDictionary *currentSaturdayArrayDict; NSDictionary *currentSundayArrayDict; NSArray *sectionNamesArray = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"Weekdays", @"Saturday", @"Sunday", nil]; tableSectionsDict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:sectionNamesArray forKey:@"Sections"]; // Add dictionary entry for content for weekdays section (section 0) NSArray *currentWeekdayArray = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"Morning", @"Day", @"Evening", @"Night", nil]; currentWeekdayArrayDict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:currentWeekdayArray forKey:@"Content"]; // Add dictionary entry for content rows in Saturday section (section 1) -- copy content elements from weekdays array NSArray *currentSaturdayArray = [NSArray arrayWithArray:currentWeekdayArray]; currentSaturdayArrayDict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:currentSaturdayArray forKey:@"Content"]; // Add dictionary entry for content rows in Sunday section (section 2) NSArray *currentSundayArray = [NSArray arrayWithArray:currentWeekdayArray]; currentSundayArrayDict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:currentSundayArray forKey:@"Content"]; // Set up lists that determine how the tables appear. This list specifies the section headers. [listOfSections addObject:tableSectionsDict]; // Lists of row content [listOfRows addObject:currentWeekdayArrayDict]; [listOfRows addObject:currentSaturdayArrayDict]; [listOfRows addObject:currentSundayArrayDict]; } // Generate time schedule from schedule data in timeStr. timeStr data must conform to NSDate's short style format. - (void)setUpSchedule { NSArray *timeStr = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:@"1:00 AM", @"2:00 AM", @"3:00 PM", @"4:00 PM", @"6:00 AM", @"7:30 AM", @"1:00 PM", @"8:15 PM", @"5:30 AM", @"9:45 AM", @"4:15 PM", @"11:45 PM", nil]; // Set up formatter -- no date display, short time format dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init]; [dateFormatter setTimeStyle:NSDateFormatterShortStyle]; [dateFormatter setDateStyle:NSDateFormatterNoStyle]; // Convert time strings into NSDate objects and store in array for (int i = 0; i < 12; i++) { [settings.timeOfDays addObject:[dateFormatter dateFromString:[timeStr objectAtIndex:i]]]; } // end for }
setUpTables method generates the header and certain row information, which is stored in
NSArray objects. It then builds the structure of arrays that hold the table's content. This arrangement factors the static data (the section headers and content for the cell's
textLabel) apart from the dynamic data in the
TableData class. The
setUpSchedule method uses the
NSDateFormatterNoStyle constant to configure the date data to display time values only. Next, in
viewDidLoad, you add code to create an instance of the
TableData and message its initialization method. Finally, you invoke the setUpTables and setUpSchedule to populate the data model. For the details, see the example program. When you build and run the app, you'll see the table broken into three sections: Weekdays, Saturday, and Sunday. The rows (cells) are empty, though. However, that's expected because there's only stub code for
cellForRowAtIndexPath, which is responsible for creating the cell and updating its content. Let's correct that now.


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In May, Kansas head coach Charlie Weis announced that former Miami (OH) wide receiver Nick Harwell would be joining the program, though the question of whether Harwell would immediately be eligible remained unanswered at the time.
Six weeks later, there's still not a lot of clarity. Citing sources with knowledge of the situation, Matt Tait of the Lawrence Journal-World writes that Harwell will be coming to Kansas this summer "no matter what" even though Miami has reportedly "blocked his path to do so."
As far as Miami's side of the story goes, the university did not return requests for response. Harwell is reportedly close — as in two or three courses — to graduating, but a previous report from the Kansas City Star says Harwell was suspended from school following an arrest this spring on theft charges (which were later reduced to a single count of attempted theft, a second-degree misdemeanor). Therefore, he has been unable to enroll in summer classes to complete his degree.
The situation is apparently messy enough that Harwell needs an attorney with prior experience of working eligibility cases.
"He's not going back to Miami under any circumstances," Harwell's attorney, Don Jackson, said. "He'll be at the University of Kansas whether that means he's playing this year or sitting this year and playing next year. But we're optimistic and hopeful that he'll be playing this year."
Harwell led Miami in receiving yards (870) and touchdowns (eight) as junior in 2012, and finished second in receptions (68) — all while missing three games with injuries. Harwell was also the NCAA's second-leading receiver in 2011 with 129.6 receiving yards per game, finishing his sophomore campaign with 97 receptions for 1,425 yards and nine touchdowns.
He'll have one year of eligibility remaining when he does suit up for the Jayhawks, whether that's in 2013 or '14.

subset: commoncrawl


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A carjacking and homicide suspect arrested in Greenbrae was on suicide watch Thursday at the Marin County Jail and could not be brought to court for his arraignment.
Jeffrey Griffin Boyce, an Oregon resident, was scheduled to make his initial appearance Thursday morning in Marin Superior Court, but Judge James Chou delayed the hearing until Friday, saying Boyce was being kept in a "safety cell."
The safety cell at the jail, reserved for inmates who might harm themselves or someone else, has padded walls and flooring, no bed and no sheets.
Boyce, 30, is facing a potential life sentence with the possibility of parole on charges stemming from a pair of armed confrontations in Marin and Sonoma counties Monday.
Boyce allegedly carjacked a man in Rohnert Park and briefly held him captive and tried to carjack a Mill Valley woman at the Bon Air Shopping Center in Greenbrae. He was arrested after he was found pounding on the door of a home near Bon Air.
His mother told authorities that he was bipolar and having a psychotic episode, and that he was driving to San Francisco to seek asylum at the Russian consulate, police said. Guns and ammunition were found in both the truck he drove to Rohnert Park and the car he allegedly stole there and drove to Greenbrae. Boyce is being represented by the Marin County Public Defender's Office.
Boyce is also suspected of killing a woman about 20 miles from his home in North Bend, Ore. On
Thursday, authorities confirmed that the victim was Kirsten Elaine Englund, 57, of Castro Valley.
Oregon police did not release additional details about the ongoing homicide investigation. Englund's body was found Sunday morning at Wayfinding Point, an ocean vista with a lighthouse off Highway 101 near Reedsport.
A statement from Englund's family, released by the Oregon State Police, said she was a retired corporate auditor who had worked for KPMG in Houston and then at Mervyns headquarters in Hayward.
Englund was a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and earned a master's degree in business administration at San Francisco State University.
She was also treasurer of the Creekside Middle School Parent Teacher Association and served on the board of the Castro Valley Arts Foundation.
Englund is survived by two sons, a stepdaughter and a large extended family.
"Kirsten's family is devastated by the heinous, cowardly, and senseless crime that took her life," the family said. "We cannot begin to describe the deep void that we will have without her."
Contact Gary Klien via email at firstname.lastname@example.com or https://twitter.com/GaryKlien
©2013 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.)
Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com


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World's Most Wired
Russell Quinn
In some ways, Russell Quinn has spent his life running from technology, in search of connection. The son of a punch card–era computer scientist who died three months before he was born, Quinn grew up an only child in Cheltenham, a small town in Southwest England, with very little to do. So in 1984, when he was 5, his mother bought him a BBC Microcomputer — one of the United Kingdom's earliest PCs — and Quinn taught himself how to program. "The BBC computer found its way into every school," he says, "so I ended up staying after class and teaching my teachers how to use them. It was second nature to me."
But as he grew up, Quinn became disheartened by how solitary an activity programming was in the pre-internet era. "I wanted to do things that had more connectivity in the world," says the 33-year-old, who has the shaggy Nordic profile of Max von Sydow in black-rimmed nerd glasses.
He found himself drawn into storytelling and design, and he stuck with it, even when the internet made coding more social. In 2009 he developed the publishing industry's first subscription-based iPhone app — for the influential literary quarterly McSweeney's — and then a groundbreaking news reader app for the nonprofit journalism venture ProPublica. "We loved the design," says ProPublica editor Scott Klein. "Just clean and very readable."
Now after a string of behind-the-scenes successes, Quinn may be about to transform the art of storytelling itself. This summer he will launch The Silent History, a sprawling electronic novel that plays with the mechanics of how stories are told, taking full advantage of the tablet's GPS and touchscreen, along with platform features like in-app purchasing.
It will be the first release from Ying Horowitz & Quinn, the San Francisco publishing house Quinn co-founded in January. Judging by samples shared with Wired, The Silent History is part book, part multiplayer game, part Google map, and entirely revolutionary.
"I love the printed book," Quinn says. "But I'm not romantic about the book, either."
Quinn met his co-founders Chris Ying and Eli Horowitz at McSweeney's. He'd come there by a circuitous route. In 2005, Quinn launched a web agency, called Spoiled Milk, with a friend in Copenhagen, and taught himself graphic design. "I was shunning technology," he says. "Everything we did was grounded in our love for the handmade, DIY, quirky aesthetic." It was an immediate hit, and a few years later, Quinn opened a satellite branch in Zurich that landed some of Europe's earliest app projects, including the Phaidon Wallpaper City Guides.
"I love the printed book, but I'm not romantic about it, either." — Russell Quinn
As Spoiled Milk prospered, Quinn became increasingly restive. After taking leave of the company in 2009, he was at loose ends. He tried to write a novel, but that felt even more isolating than programming.
Then, one afternoon, sitting in a coffee shop in Zurich reading the latest issue of McSweeney's with his iPhone nearby, it suddenly dawned on him what he wanted to do next. He sent an e-mail to a generic "contact us" address at the Quarterly's website, saying he'd make an app for them if they'd share the profits.
He didn't have high hopes. "McSweeney's seemed purposefully anti-technology," Quinn says. "The whole thing was about shirking computers — Flash websites and stuff." Still, Quinn was sure there were people out there like him who wanted to read digital versions of the quarterly's stories.
Within hours, Quinn got a response from Eli Horowitz, the publisher.
Raw Materials
- The Silent History
- Quinn settled on a split-screen interface for the app. In the top half, you scroll from left to right to navigate through chapters of the novel; at bottom, a map of geolocated Field Reports updates dynamically.
- Visit The Silent History Website
fter working remotely on their first app, Quinn decamped to the McSweeney's offices in San Francisco in 2010, and overhauled its popular website, the Internet Tendency. It was there that he, Horowitz, and Ying — who'd just launched an innovative food quarterly with chef David Chang of Momofuku called Lucky Peach — began talking about a new kind of book, one tailor-made for how we read now: on mobile, geo-located Retina displays.
Quinn's lifelong search for connection echoes in his first e-book. Written by authors who will be familiar to McSweeney's readers, the plot of The Silent History hinges on a generation of children who do not speak, but may communicate in other, mysterious ways.
7 Favorite Storytellers
Chris Ware, creator of the Acme Novelty Library series
Jonathan Goldstein, of CBC radio show WireTap
David Foster Wallace, author of Infinite Jest
Stewart Lee, author and stand-up comic
Vince Gilligan, writer for Breaking Bad
David Lynch, filmmaker who made Twin Peaks
Paul Auster, author of The Invention of Solitude
One key difference in how this e-book works is that the narrative is serialized — reminiscent of the days when novels were introduced in magazines and newspaper episodes before they were published in full. The serial is broken into six parts, each one spanning several years in fictional time. (The story begins in the summer of 2011 and ends in 2043).
Readers can join at any time and absorb the back-story. A new episode is quietly synced with your device every weekday for a month and each piece is designed to be read in 10 to 15 minutes — on your commute to work, say. There's a month break in between each of the six parts, so the entire project will take a year to unfold.
Then there are Field Reports. These digressions from the main plot are geolocated, meaning you have to go to a specific location to unlock the story. For example, the app might direct you to a house protected by a chain-link fence. Once there, the app would pop up a first-person account of an angry mob that rattles the fence.
"It's a really powerful thing reading this short fragment of text and actually seeing the objects that you're reading about," Quinn says.
Eventually, users of The Silent History app will be able to submit their own Field Reports, turning the experience of reading into a collective "choose your own adventure."
Quinn knows that others have tried to reinvent publishing for the mobile Internet Age, with mixed results: Most e-books still amount to old wine in new bottles. But in the long run, he's confident in a future in which interactive books connect the reader to something beyond the page. "I'm pretty skeptical about the current state of e-reading," he says. "But I still believe that the technology solution will become better."
World's Most Wired
Wired is putting a spotlight on the brightest geniuses you've never heard of — the entrepreneurs, scientists, artists and designers who are quietly shaping the future behind the scenes. They're the World's Most Wired, and we'll be profiling one of them bi-weekly through the end of the year. Check it out here.


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Sens. Ron Johnson, Tom Coburn, Richard Burr and Saxby Chambliss leave The Jefferson after a dinner with President Barack Obama on March 6, 2013 in Washington, DC.
Senators emerging from dinner with President Obama at The Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C, Wednesday night described the sit-down as a positive conversation focused largely on building more productive ways to solve the country's fiscal problems.
"I am more optimistic, just from a personal standpoint. It's just, you know, having been in the group of eight, it's tough sledding. It's just very tough sledding," said Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. "These are very difficult issues but I do think there's a real fatigue in just going from crisis to crisis. But tonight was a good first step. A good step."
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the senators and the president discussed the upcoming fiscal fights over funding the government, writing a budget and the wrangling over the debt ceiling. Hoeven said there is "an opportunity" to use the debt ceiling fight to solve the county's long term entitlement problems.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said the conversation was "wide ranging" but when asked, wouldn't say if they discussed immigration or gun control.
"We had a wide ranging discussion about fiscal and other issues. I think it was a constructive discussion," he said.
President Obama hosts several Republicans for dinner to ease sequester tensions. NBC's Tracie Potts reports.
Sen. John McCain stayed largely mum: "All I can say is we had an evening that I really appreciated very much."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, the dinner organizer, left about 20 minutes before the other attendees and the president departed the hotel.
A senior administration official later said, "The president greatly enjoyed the dinner and had a good exchange of ideas with the senators."
As for who paid for dinner, several senators said they had no idea. Initially, Hoeven said several people split the check; later, his office clarified that while Sen. Saxby Chambliss had offered to pay, the president picked up the tab.
Prior to the meeting, the Republicans who were invited gave Obama the benefit of the doubt -- even if they didn't want to elaborate.
"I'm just looking forward to having a constructive conversation," said Bob Corker, R-Tenn., before dashing into the Senate chamber and away from prying reporters.
"I'm happy to go there and listen and provide input," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a dinner invitee who won his Senate race with considerable Tea Party backing and isn't usually on lists of moderate senators inclined to deal-making.
As he walked out of The Jefferson, a swanky D.C. hotel that bills its main restaurant as "discreet and elegant," McCain told reporters the meeting was "just fine," and flashed a thumb-up. Moments later, senators Tom Coburn, Chambliss and Kelly Ayotte were seen exiting.
The idea for the sit-down came during a meeting Graham and McCain had with Obama at the White House last week.
"How do you say no to the president of the United States who would like to have dinner with some of your colleagues? You don't," Graham said.
Related: Obama reaches out to GOP senators as Democrats seek more revenue
"When the president asked that I put together a group, I willingly -- I was honored to try to do that. Where this goes, I don't know."
Added Graham: "It is incumbent on us to reach back. When he reaches out, we need to reach back."
At the top of the dinner's agenda was the possibility of a grand bargain combining entitlement reforms with lowering tax rates and closing loopholes that would head off the sequester and tackle some of the country's worst budget woes.
So far, negotiations between the White House and GOP leaders have led only to gridlock. Graham insisted the dinner wasn't a divide-and-conquer strategy, with the president going around Republican leaders in favor of the rank-and-file.
"I would say this is an effort by the president to talk to people who he would like to talk to who he normally doesn't talk to. I think he talks to the leadership guys a lot. This is not about replacing anybody," said Graham.
Said Sen. John Thune, a member of GOP leadership: "There have always been attempts to sort of co-opt a few people up here. But this seems to be a more general outreach.
"Instead, Republicans say it's evidence that Obama's the one taking political heat for the sequester budget cuts that went into effect last week."
I think the president sort of got on the wrong side with the sequester by going out and using the scare tactics. And I think that's kind of bit him," Thune said. "He saw a 7-point drop in his approval rating in one week, and I think a lot of it had to do with the way he handled this."
Democrats familiar with the White House's thinking said the dinner was an attempt to "bring down the temperature" between Obama and the congressional GOP.
This story was originally published on Wed Mar 6, 2013 1:44 PM EST


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Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" is a tale of love, lust, and societal constraints.
Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina" is also very much about style, as the director takes the classic tale and uses it as a launching pad for a demonstration of filmmaking showmanship. It's a choice that's bound to draw mixed reactions, but I for one found it intriguing, and as a result, the movie wound up holding my attention far better than any staid, traditional period piece adaptation would have.


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As ever-larger "megacities" become home to more and more of the world's people, the supply chains that bring essential supplies to these crowded populations will become increasingly complex.
To help manage these logistics, researchers at MIT's Megacities Logistics Lab have gathered data — collected by 11 MIT students paired with local students around the world — on representative neighborhoods in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Santiago, Sao Paulo, Kuala Lumpur and Madrid.
Now that data has been made available online, at no cost, in an open-access pool of information that's graphically represented on city maps.
Edgar Blanco, research director at MIT's Center for Transportation and Logistics and the initiator of the project, explains that it arose from the realization that "some of the things we take for granted don't exist" in many rapidly growing cities in the developing world. A better understanding of the supply chains needed to support those burgeoning populations was also essential, he says, for both business and regulatory planning.
"All the models we have tried using for logistics [based on experience in the industrialized world] were not applicable," Blanco adds. "We need to learn more about the logistics in megacities, mostly because they represent the future of urbanization."
Part of the project involved developing a web platform to collect, organize and display the data in real time. As they stood on sidewalks recording each delivery truck, cart or bicycle making deliveries in a one-square-kilometer area of the city, the students could upload the data remotely, posting on the maps instantly.
They documented not only how many and what kinds of vehicles were used to make deliveries, but also where they parked and how much traffic disruption they caused. All of this data could be useful for those planning roadways, parking areas and bike lanes.
In many developing nations, urban centers are increasingly central to economic activity, attracting population from the surrounding towns and villages. But the infrastructure to support these growing populations often lags. "The cities themselves don't know much about the logistics either, about what the city needs from a goods point of view," Blanco says.
Planners tend to focus on essential needs such as plumbing and sewer systems, "but they don't think about how goods need to move to the cities," Blanco says. "Once they reach a certain size, there can be chaos."
"We not only have to design better logistics systems in the cities, we need cities that are designed better for logistics," he adds.
For example, the data gathered by the MIT students this summer — and in the future, as the database grows — could help planners decide whether to ban (or encourage) certain vehicles from particular areas, or to allow large trucks only at certain times. Multiplied over a vast megacity, such decisions can have a big impact.
As the database grows, it will become easier for planners to find cities with comparable population density, businesses and transportation links, Blanco says. For example, Tokyo has a long history of dealing efficiently with high density and complex supply logistics, and might hold lessons for some cities with similar conditions. "Maybe what works in one area of Mumbai could also work in Mexico City," he says.
After the success of this summer's pilot project, Blanco says, he hopes to continue sending students to gather information for addition to the database. But the system is also open to input from anyone. "It's an open platform," he says. "Anyone in the world can access and contribute data."
As the information builds, supply chains might improve as businesses gain the ability to plan according to the real conditions in each city. For example, Blanco says, in North America only about 5 percent of the cost of goods is attributable to transportation costs, on average, but in Latin America that figure is as high as 25 percent. Improving the efficiency of supply chains could cut the cost of consumer goods, improving the standard of living.
The project was supported by the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) program, the MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, and by college and university partners in each of the different cities studied.
leeway logistics
September 15, 2015
David, this is really a great post. The students of MIT have really helped to simplify the supply chain procedures by mapping the mega cities. Such research initiatives by students should really be encouraged inorder to improve transport of goods and services.


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Today's Times Union has a story about a Vietnam veteran questioning the issuance of "Vietnam Veteran" license plates to service members that did not serve in the country.
"I suddenly started seeing a lot of Vietnam Veteran plates. … I said, 'wait a minute, that's not right,' " he said. "It sort of diminishes the idea of serving in a combat zone."
Weinstein, 61, got his first Vietnam Veteran plates in 1995.
But the requirement that veterans serve "in country," as the Republic of Vietnam was referred to, seems to be lost in history, since the plates are now open to anyone who was in the military during the "Vietnam era" between Dec. 22, 1961 and May 7, 1975.
Weinstein raised the issue with his local Vietnam Veterans of America chapter, and wrote to lawmakers.
As it turns out, some states do require veterans seeking the plates to have served in Vietnam, but in New York it appears that a combination of bureaucratic inertia, the vagaries of politics and the desire to reap extra fees from the specialized plates has meant there's no such requirement.
What do you think?


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BURFORD Orchestra is holding an extra-special concert on Saturday, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its founding.
The occasion will be marked with a fun, informal, Proms-style concert at Burford School, featuring rousing classics such as Elgar's Pomp & Circumstance, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Henry Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs and music from films including Star Wars, The Big Country and Pirates of the Caribbean.
The evening will end with an orchestral version of Sir Hubert Parry's Jerusalem.
When the orchestra was founded in 1954 it comprised four string players, among them, Robin Gilbert, the deputy headmaster of Burford Grammar School, and Eric Reavley, the father of Cedric Reavley, the current owner of Reavley's Pharmacy, in Burford High Street.
The quartet grew into a chamber ensemble and then a full symphony orchestra. Now made up of about 50 amateur musicians from Oxfordshire, it rehearses in Witney, and puts on concerts at the school three times a year.
Tickets are available on the door for £8 (£4 children) or see burfordorchestra.org.uk for more information.


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ARPA-E 2011 Keynote: Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy
You are here
SECRETARY RAY MABUS: One of the things that has always amazed and gratified me is the talent of people who are willing to serve in government, willing to take less money, more trouble on behalf of their country. Every time we seem to need somebody, somebody good – you hope – steps forward.
We have a great secretary of defense right now in Bob Gates, but we sure had a great one in Bill Perry. He is a national treasure, and I almost want to put a little fence up around him to make sure that we keep utilizing the amazing talent that he brings to everything that he does. And so, it is the – I feel absolutely untalented following Bill Perry. And in this group I can almost guarantee you that I'll be the least talented person that stands up here before you. But thank you so much, Secretary Perry. Thank you.
And, Arun, thank you for your work and for allowing me to speak here today. I'm honored to be a part of this summit and to share this podium with some of the best minds and best leaders in energy innovation in our nation. And I'm really happy to be here to talk about something that I deeply believe in, something I believe is right, and that's changing the way we use, the way we produce, the way we acquire energy.
In this belief, ARPA-E is a kindred spirit with the Department of the Navy. It's a vision that is shared not only by ARPA-E and Navy but by Steven Chu and by President Obama – creating an energy independent future and a new clean energy economy for our country.
To use your director's own words, "Our dependence on fossil fuels severely threatens our national and environmental security due to our growing foreign energy independence. We as a nation need to change course with fierce urgency." "Fierce urgency." He's exactly right. That's why what ARPA-E does is so critically important for our country, for our military, for our economy.
Having an institution that's focused on finding, researching and developing the next "eureka!" moments or the thousand more routine moments; finding technology that will change the way we work, you really can't put a value on that.
The Navy and Marine Corps, the services I am privileged to lead, have always supported innovation and always led technological change. We have constantly searched for those technologies that would improve our capabilities and allow us to better defend this country.
This very week, 128 years ago, Congress authorized the ABCD ships, the first four ships of the Navy to be constructed completely out of steel. In the 1880s, this was a pretty revolutionary concept because for most people – and I probably would have been in that group in 1880 – it was difficult to get past the notion that steel sinks. (Laughter.) But it was the way that we power our ships that maybe best shows the Navy's willingness to innovate.
In the 1850s, not long before we built the ABCD ships, the Navy changed from wind to coal. In the early part of the 20th century we changed again from coal to oil. In the 1950s, we pioneered nuclear as a manner of propulsion.
In every single case, in every one of these cases, there were naysayers that said, you're trading one form of very proven energy for another form that we just don't know if it's going to work. It's too expensive, it's too hard, it's too unproven. In fact, when we went from sail to coal, the uniformed leaders of the Navy objected, saying that sail had been proven for thousands of years; what were we doing?
Every single time there were naysayers. And every single time they were wrong. And I am absolutely confident that as we make our next change, as we lead again in changing the way we power our ships and our aircraft, that the naysayers who say it's too expensive, the technology is just not there, are going to be proved wrong again because every time we've changed we've made us a better Navy. Every time we've changed, we've been better able to defend the United States.
I think that today we're at the cusp of another one of these changes, one that will move us off of an over-reliance on a very fragile global oil infrastructure and toward alternative and renewable sources of energy. It's a move that we absolutely have to make because changing the way we produce energy, changing the way we use energy is fundamentally about improving the national security of this country.
All you have to do is look at the headlines today. All you have to do is look at what is happening in the world. Our dependence on fossil fuels creates strategic operational and tactical vulnerabilities for our forces and makes them too susceptible to supply and price shocks caused by instability or natural disasters in volatile areas of the world where most of our fossil fuels are produced.
Now, we would never allow these regions to build our ships. We would never allow these folks to build our aircraft or our ground vehicles, but we give them a say on whether our ships sail, our aircraft fly or our ground vehicles work. The security and the economic costs to the Navy and Marine Corps of using fossil fuels are significant.
When the price of oil goes up, the price of defending this country goes up. Every dollar – every dollar that a barrel of oil goes up in price, the Navy spends $31 million more for fuel. So, if the price goes up $30 a barrel, which it has more than once in the last decade, that's a billion dollars – a billion dollars that we can't use for other things, a billion dollars that we can't budget for, a billion dollars that goes just to power the ships and aircraft and ground vehicles that we have.
Now, that's sort of the strategic and economic argument for change but there's a different and more personal reason. It's the sailors and Marines in the field and how our dependence puts them at risk. In Afghanistan, the thing we import the most – the single thing that we spend the most effort getting to Afghanistan is fuel. And just think about getting a gallon of gasoline to a Marine front-line unit in Helmand province in Afghanistan.
First you've got to put it on a ship and go across one ocean, the Pacific or the Atlantic. Then you have to take it either up through Pakistan or down through the Northern Distribution Network, through the Baltics and across Russia. And when you get to Afghanistan, you have to go across the Hindu Kush from the south or the Amu Darya River from the north.
There are huge financial costs associated with it, but maybe, more important, there are huge other costs. The Army did a study that for every 24 convoys we'd lose a soldier or a Marine, killed or wounded guarding that convoy. That's a high price to pay for fuel.
And we keep those Marines, those sailors, those soldiers, those airmen from doing what they were sent there to do, which is fight and engage and rebuild. So we have to find another way to do this. We have to find a different way to power the things we need to power.
And it's for all those reasons that, in the fall of 2009, 17 months ago, I issued five energy goals for the Department of the Navy, for the Navy and the Marine Corps. The most important one is that by no later than 2020, no less than half of all the energy that the Navy and the Marine Corps uses afloat and ashore will come from non-fossil fuel sources. Also, by that same date of 2020, at least half our bases will be net zero in terms of energy consumption, and in a lot of cases, those bases are going to be returning power to the grid instead of pulling power off of it.
I think it's important, though, to say that we're not just changing for change sake. Everything that we're doing is to make us better fighters and to make us more secure. Every time we make a change that improves the efficiencies of our engines or our systems, every time we move to an alternate source of power – every time – we get better and we make people safer.
We're already seeing the results. Right before Christmas I went to Afghanistan, and one of the first forward operating bases that I flew into was Sangin. And when we flew in, there was a firefight going on about 500 yards away because some of the toughest fighting that's going on for the Marines and all over Afghanistan is in Sangin. They're fighting almost every day. But there were also 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines who went into Sangin; also the first Marines that we sent in with some alternate power units.
Now, the Marines have led in this, as they do in a lot of things, and they've set up two experimental forward-operating bases, one at Quantico, Virginia; one at Twentynine Palms, California. And they're looking for ways to get powered differently in the field. Well, when the 3rd of the 5th left, going to Afghanistan, they basically gave them some of the stuff that they've been working on and said, try this out; see it if helps you.
And the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines go in Sangin into heavy combat, and at the same time are trying some of these alternative ways to get fuel, to get power, and some amazing things happened. Their fossil fuel usage has gone down 20 percent, even though they weren't given a whole lot of training on the things that they were taking, and even though they were in the fight.
One of the larger solar systems they took is being used to power their operations center. And across the battalion operating areas there are a lot of man-portable systems. They've got these flexible solar panels they roll up, stick them in the back of their pack, and take to charge their radios and their small electronics. And because of doing this, a foot patrol is able to operate without 700 pounds of batteries – 700 pounds that they don't have to hump over the mountains, across the rivers and into the fight in Afghanistan.
Now, at sea we're trying to do some of the same things. One example is the first hybrid ship, what Tom Friedman called the "Prius of the seas." But if you see it, it's a big-deck amphibious ship, the USS Makin Island, the biggest amphibious type that we have. It uses a hybrid drive and uses and electric drive for speeds of under 12 knots and it comes with a lot of benefits.
The first thing, on its first voyage from Pascagoula, Mississippi, my home state, around to its home port – it went around South America to San Diego – it saved almost $2 million in fuel. And at current fuel prices, over the lifetime of that ship it's going to save a quarter of a billion dollars in fuel.
Second, the less time we have to refuel on it or any other ship, the more time we get to patrol, do what we're supposed to do, giving our commanders a lot more flexibility and a lot more time on station if they need it.
And, finally, just by reducing the frequency of refueling operations, we make our ships safer. The Cole was in Aden to get fuel when it was attacked in 2001.
But there are still a whole lot of challenges that we're facing for our installations, our ships and our forward operating bases. Our ships – the systems that we use and the power requirements that they have are getting bigger all the time. Every system we're putting on a ship now or in an aircraft is in some ways sort of a power hog. Just like the commercial world, the march of technology in the military has created an ever-increasing appetite for energy.
A Marine platoon in Vietnam took two or three radios on patrol with them. A Marine platoon in Afghanistan takes 30 to 50 radios on patrol with them. On our ships, high-tech radar systems and missile defense technologies and advanced gun systems use and need a lot of energy.
The ability to maintain steady, uninterrupted power, even if damaged, becomes absolutely critical for the success of these ships. But what we don't have and what we need is the ability to store the energy that we create to be able to use it when we need it, to be able to use it where we need it. Ashore, the question is the same: How do you store the energy? How do you keep the energy that you make when you don't always make it when or exactly where you need it?
And it's for these reasons and addressing these challenges with the underlying goal, again, of making us better fighters, that today, on behalf of the secretary of defense and the secretary of energy, I am very happy to announce a partnership between DOD and ARPA-E on two energy storage initiatives that, once they are successful, will improve the way our military uses energy.
The first initiative – actually, the first initiative ought to be one to keep my voice. (Laughter.) (Clears throat.) I had my first hearing yesterday in Congress. I'm going to – on the budget. I may blame that. The first initiative – is this a great job or what? (Laughter.) You know, if I ever leave this job, I'm just going to be helpless. (Laughter.) Thank you so much.
The first initiative is a program that will develop and build hybrid energy storage modules to provide long endurance, high-energy density materials in a small, modular and easily scalable package. The program's goals are to extent current levels of fuel duration by up to 30 percent while concurrently providing for batteries that rapidly charge and discharge big amounts of energy.
The applications of this technology can be incredible. Right now a lot of the power that I talked about that the Marines in Sangin are generating are going to waste if their equipment is not hooked up to the chargers, if energy is just being made and doing nothing. But with this hybrid energy storage module, we'll be able to store that energy for use at almost any time, and do so by building expeditionary, tactical energy distribution networks from individual modules. This means fewer Marines guarding convoys, less money, less effort getting fuel to the battlefield.
On the seas in the maritime environment, hybrid energy storage modules can provide us with efficient and stable power for our weapons systems, and in case of battle damage, they will give us the time we need to get those systems repaired, to get them online – back online and keep fighting.
They're also a critical step toward solving one of the shipboard integration challenges associated with the development of electric weapons, things like rail guns, things like directed energy weapons. These require huge amounts of power, which have to be rapidly discharged to make them work right. Right now we're working on doing that repeatedly and reliably, and energy storage is a big part of that solution.
Beginning in fiscal year '12, DOD and ARPA-E have requested about $25 million each to do this, to do this research. Now, $25 (million) is the cost of one – each one helicopter. The change that that 25 million (dollars) from DOD and the 25 million (dollars) from ARPA-E can generate, can multiply that one helicopter hundreds and thousands of times. That's the first project.
The second one that I want to announce will fund a grid storage study to evaluate how to improve our energy reliability, prevent disrupting our service, and improve energy security on more than 500 DOD installations worldwide through a large-scale storage of energy.
You think of the Navy as being a seagoing service, and we are, but the Navy and Marine Corps also has 3.3 million acres of land and 72,500 buildings. We need reliable energy onshore too. This project, the second project, would leverage the experience of ARPA-E's GRIDS program, which is funding technology that has a potential to balance short-term availability in renewable energy generation.
This grid storage study is a first step toward answering some of the technical challenges that I outlined earlier: How do we create stable delivery of renewable energy from power sources like solar or like wind that are as variable and sometimes as inconsistent as, I don't know, the weather?
Both of these joint projects have a lot of promise, both have a lot of potential, and both create tremendous opportunities for civilian power applications. Through DARPA-E's (sic) innovation, DOD can and will serve as a transition agent, moving the technology from R&D to practical application and development. We have some amount of experience doing just that. You only have to look as far as the Internet or GPS or even flat-screen TVs to see how DOD has been a transition agent for technology.
These two joint initiatives will complement the existing partnership that we have between DOD and DOE, as well as the host of initiatives that Defense and the services are undertaking to change the way we use, produce, and acquire energy.
For the Navy and Marine Corps in particular, we look forward to developing these new technologies. That's who we are. For 235 years we have grown, we have adapted, and we have changed to address the ever-shifting requirements of a fluid and increasingly complex world. That is what we have to do with energy – innovate, adapt, overcome, and emerge victorious on the other side.


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If you were to travel to Europe and visit the old cities, you would find many fountains scattered throughout the towns that are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. Even then, the sight and sound of splashing, rippling water was known to have a soothing effect on the psyche.
It's no wonder that fountains, ponds and water features play an important role in people's lives. When people come home after a hard day's work, they want to relax. What better way to do that than to sit on the patio, a cold drink in hand, and listen to the sound of running water, watching it ripple.
Before the economic downturn, a backyard didn't seem truly complete if it didn't include a pond or waterfall. Having one's own private pond filled with aquatic plants, water lilies and fish is like having a personal desert oasis.
A number of new-home buyers were waiting to settle in a bit before they moved on to the next phase of building a pond and putting in the landscape. unfortunately, as the economy spiraled down, those fortunate enough to still have jobs realized that they needed to tighten their belts. Savings were squirreled away, not spent on splashing water.
Any plans for expansion or improvements to property were put on hold as families hunkered down to ride out the "recession." Having a steady job became more important than ever, and being able to pay the mortgage was the number-one priority. It was a time to be frugal.
vacations, too, became "staycations," as homeowners stayed put and saved the money that would have been spent on adventures. The appeal of pondless water features grew exponentially as the market slowly improved, but families continued to stay home.
Then, as the economy eased, homeowners started thinking that maybe it was time to invest in property improvements once again. They had jobs; they had squirreled away savings, and were now asking themselves, "Since we're staying home more, why not make our home more enjoyable?" As homeowners began renovating their backyards, many wanted some kind of water feature. Some felt they couldn't afford to put in a pond, but maybe just a little water feature. Creative contractors found new ways to entice their clients.
"I tell the client, 'You're going to spend a considerable amount of money, but you have to consider it as an investment in improving your property's value,'" said Dave Jones, owner of The Pond Professional in Woodstock, Georgia. "Adding a water feature makes your property more visually appealing."
Luckily, there are now more types of water features than ever before, giving contractors greater opportunities to design all sorts of decorative themes, even for clients with modest budgets. "How about a stream bed with a waterfall at the top?" When you think about it, you're only limited by your imagination.
A simple clay pot, laid on its side on a bed of rocks, with water running over the brim, makes a small but interesting water feature, and, perhaps even more importantly, an inexpensive one. How about some statuary, such as a couple of young girls playing patty-cake, water bubbling underneath their hands?
That's sure to be a conversation piece. The contractor with imagination can come up with many ideas that would be striking in either a back or a front yard.
But perhaps the biggest, most exciting development of all was the invention of pondless water features. Here's how it works: A hole is dug at the bottom of a waterfall or feature, and a container is buried in that hole. The container has a small pump inside it that recirculates the water back up to the top. Water that runs down the decorative element is collected in the reservoir basin buried below the water feature, and pumped back up to the top, where it runs down the water feature in a continuous process.
Thanks to this invention, one can now enjoy all the luxury and serenity a water feature brings at a fraction of the price. A homeowner wins big here, acquiring a substantial economic benefit for his property without the high cost of maintaining a pond.
It should be an easy sell. In addition to giving a client a great look for his property, and a soothing soundeffect for his soul, you're also giving him something with a low upkeep cost. And, by putting in a water feature, he's being 'green,' because pondless water features are both energy-efficient and water-conserving.
"In a water garden, the amount of water required to create an aesthetic waterscape is typically much larger than the water required for a pondless water feature that creates the same type of effect," said Brandon Dwyer, vice president of Atlantic Water Gardens in Mantua, Ohio.
Those who desire a water feature on their property but don't want the work and expense of maintaining a pond now have an alternative. Advances in technology mean that a homeowner can now afford the luxury of a waterscape while still maintaining a financially prudent lifestyle.
If there was ever a perfect setup, this is it. You have clients who are requesting water features, but don't want to spend too much. You have distributors who offer a large variety of water feature products, and you can install them inexpensively, especially when you compare them to the expense of ponds.
For example, if your client had a pond, and that pond had fish and plants in it, it would be considered a live system. It would require a large motor, because it must run constantly. The cost of energy would be considerably more than that of running a small pump. And when that bigger motor burns out, there's the replacement cost.
Since they are not a live system, and the motor does not have to be run constantly, pondless water features do conserve energy by running the motor only between certain hours, cutting back on electricity costs. Advances in the collaboration between the decorative element of a water feature and its reservoir basin minimize splash and water evaporation, ensuring that very little water is wasted, saving the owner significantly on the water bill.
Homeowners' choices used to be limited by space and design parameters, not to mention the costs of installation and operation. Years of innovation, however, have grown the field to the point where the options are virtually endless. A water feature to suit any budget isn't just a possibility, it's a reality.
Pottery with water coursing through it provides a bubbling sound and a rustic appearance. Ornamental walls with load-bearing, stainless steel scuppers designed for easy installation and longevity cascade greater volumes of water at a more rapid pace. babbling brooks that once demanded ponds to spill into no longer require them; more yards than ever can now be transformed into postcard-worthy nature scenes.
Water-conserving waterfalls are now a viable option as well. "A lot of installers are very creative," said Jones. "building a waterscape, when it's done properly, is creating a work of art. I've seen some fantastic pondless features that are really second to none."
The demand for the scenic element of water landscapes has grown; along with it grew the demand for efficiency. fortunately, the operating process that makes pondless water features possible also streamlines their every aspect. Water matrix blocks increase the water capacity of reservoir basins. These blocks have three times the storage capacity of the old alternative, gravel. "Once all of the correct components are in place, there are really no outside elements that will affect energy or water conservation," said dwyer.
Eliminating a pond also reduces the amount of space needed for installation, allowing those with smaller yards to get in on the fun. Ensuring that reservoir basins can catch all of the splash saves water, too. This further minimizes water bills and makes water treatment easier and more effective.
Another way to cut water costs is to reuse rainwater or graywater. However, Jones believes this technology is still emerging. He plans to experiment with graywater filtration systems for integration into waterscapes.
The popularity of pondless water features began to grow immensely as the economy began to improve. The simple presence of rippling water gives a sense of reassurance to one's yard, and more importantly, to the owner of that yard.
Their soothing qualities transforms backyards into stress-free zones, at a fraction of what they would have cost just a few years earlier.
Consumers are beginning to realize that the benefits of water features far outweigh the drawbacks. Now that we can give them products that require minimal amounts of water and energy, that aren't going to break their budgets, their objections are fading, and their imaginations are starting to take over. As the technology continues to improve, adding water features into our clients' yards should only become easier—to afford, to install, and most of all, to enjoy.


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Hi all,
As far as I have seen in my own online research the same questions are asked over and over. Yeah the "CELTA or Online?" "I don't have a Bachelors Degree, Help?" so I thought that this post could help people who are looking for some quick basic rules to starting there journey into TEFL. This is based off information I have found on here and other sites, please feel free to update this with any information that is outdated or incorrect.
1) Do you have a Bachelors Degree?
If not then your options in terms of countries are limited, If like myself you're looking at making this a career then you may want to look at getting this first. There are still countries that do not require a Degree (and those that do are often that way due to the Visa application), these are constantly changing so look online or visit the embassy of the country and check the Visa requirements.
2) Qualification, CELTA, TrinityTESOL or Online?
Once again this depends on your level of requirement, CELTA and TrinityTESOL are your (to quote another user who I can't seem to remember) "Gold Standard". The Online courses are Taster/Gap year qualifications at best it seems, they will get you in but don't expect much in terms of pay or benefits.
3) Job search
Ok now I admit the first time I saw an advert for a teaching position I thought it was a scam too, accommodation and airfare included? (Yeah I saw a pretty high end one) I will say that for some of the lager chains and private schools this is a possible benefit but as with any form of employment check your contract, do your research into the company and ask your fellow teachers. In terms of the search itself there are numerous sites that offer to pass on your information in exchange for a fee, the best advice I can seem to find is to look at 'Local' I.E the country your looking for listings or a trusted job posting site that allows the schools to post themselves. Now this isn't the only way but it certainly seems the safest while you find your feet.
4) Am I safe, Can I live on the pay?
If you can be disciplined about your spending and do some quick culture research your pay can last, but again this is dependent on you (and of course the wage itself, you can't do the impossible). The obvious costs such as rent and travel are under your control, take a taxi or the train? No frills studio or luxury apartment? There is danger in any society and the rules don't change (cultural exceptions not included). You are ultimately responsible for your own safety so just be sensible and have fun.
That is all I can think to add for the basics, If you think I have left anything out please add it. This will help myself and the next generation of teachers.
New Comers Training/Qualification Guidelines
Discussion about courses, qualifications etc
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Editor's Note: Excellent advice for any promotional process.
By Chief Master Sgt. Patrick Edem, 51st Maintenance Group superintendent
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFNS) -- The weighted airman promotion season is back; chief master sergeant promotion testing period has just ended while senior master sergeant, master sergeant, technical sergeant, and staff sergeant cycles are fast approaching.
My message, if you don't read any further, is to study for promotion -- I mean really study for your promotion.
For our enlisted force, this is one thing that always amazes me; many people just don't study for their Promotion Fitness Exam and Specialty Knowledge Test. If you observe the average scores for these tests over the years, the majority hover somewhere around a 55 to 65 percent.
The one thing I have always had in my favor with regards to promotion is that my peers did not always study, so I thought to myself, why not use this to my advantage? The strange part about it is that when asking those not selected for promotion if they studied, most will say they did. However, when you really peel it back, what they actually did is just read the Professional Development Guide, orPDG, or glance over their Career Development Course, or CDC, a few times.
In most cases, this method of "study" in preparation for any assessment or examination will not be very successful. Being fully prepared and ready requires more time than just a glance over; you must digest and absorb the PDG, CDC material and any other career field requirements to do well.
For me it is best to know the material and know how it applies. After 26 years I still reference those books to remain well-versed in my job and as an Air Force professional. Find the method that works for you and stick to it.
A first step in the right direction may be to set a goal and develop a plan to tackle it in a way that helps you retain the most information and understanding. Things like making flash cards, notes, using audio aids, setting study time/duration and/or changing venue (home, library, community center) may assist you in staying focused and on course.
Just reading through the books provided will not get it done. Most of all, you have to commit yourself; this can even be a family commitment for some.
Personally, every time I prepared for an exam, my wife and children didn't see much of me, especially at night or on weekends. My family understood that in order to put a study plan into action and effectively achieve a goal, I needed to isolate myself in a separate room, or go to the base library.
To be entirely prepared you must be prompt and reliable with honesty to yourself in planning, scheduling and execution. Additionally, total commitment to the mission and your job while simultaneously taking advantage of this systematic developmental opportunity will go a long way towards ensuring success.
So think about it, do you want to get promoted, expand your level of leadership and accept more responsibility? If so, it starts with a real study plan, one that works for you … and staying devoted to it.


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Located just 85 miles apart, South Florida and UCF have on paper always seemed like natural rivals.
But in four meetings between 2005 and 2008, the Knights could never break through with a victory.
Now as members of the same conference, UCF will be playing for more than its first victory in the series when the teams meet tonight. With two victories over the final two weeks of the regular season, the No. 17 Knights (9-1, 6-0 American Athletic Conference) can wrap up not only the league title outright, but their first BCS berth.
UCF is heavily favored this time around, but Knights coach George O'Leary understands why his players are shying away from the rivalry aspect this week. After all, there isn't a single player on either side that was around for the last meeting in 2008.
"If you have a bunch of goals -- some teams have eight, nine, 10 goals -- I don't know how you follow them," O'Leary said. "We have one goal, and that's to win the conference each year no matter what conference we're playing in. As long as you keep sight on that goal, I don't think it's hard to get your kids ready to play, because they know what's at stake, they know what they have to get done."
Since his arrival, O'Leary has been an advocate of playing the game yearly. It was largely because of reluctance on the part of former USF coach Jim Leavitt that the series went dormant after the initial four-game contract.
UCF offensive lineman Chris Martin was in the stands for UCF's 64-12 loss in Tampa in 2007 and on his recruiting visit in 2008 when the Knights came up short in overtime, falling 31-24 at home. He said no extra motivation is needed this week.
O'Leary has "definitely stressing the fact that we've never beat this team," Martin said. "He says it's not a rivalry game until we've actually won. So I know it's as important to him as it is to any of us. We're going to do our best to go out there and give him the game he deserves."
Since the teams haven't played for several years, Willie Taggart, the first-year coach at USF (2-8, 2-4), said he showed his players highlights of the past games and tried to portray an atmosphere with big crowds in Tampa and Orlando to give them a sense of what games mean to fans and alumni.
"I think the fact that we're playing UCF should be that edge, not what they've done this year or anything they have at stake," Taggart said. "We have a lot at stake, too. We haven't lost to them. So we have a lot at stake, too. That's how we see it. It's like a bowl game for us."
UCF will also be honoring its eight seniors before the game.
Martin, a member of that class, said a win for the Knights wouldn't just be for him, but all the past alumni before him that helped lay the foundation for what UCF could accomplish this season.
"When I first got here the idea of even getting a BCS bid was just never in the question," he said. "That's probably the biggest thing to me ... It's not like we haven't worked for it. We've worked for everything we've got. That's what makes it so much better. Nothing in this program has been handed to us."
While a pair of wins will give UCF the American title outright, a victory tonight will clinch at least a share of the conference title.
If the Bulls are going to get any pressure on the Knights' passing attack, it will have to come from defensive ends Aaron Lynch and Ryne Giddins, who are tied for the team lead with four sacks.
The Bulls also rank 30th nationally in total defense, giving up 355.8 yards per game.
Tonight's Bulls-Knights game more than just renewal of rivalry
Located just 85 miles apart, South Florida and UCF have on paper always seemed like natural rivals.


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Uncredited / AP
This photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Ammar Harris in a booking photo from a 2012 arrest in Las Vegas. Police have identified Harris as a suspect in a shooting that sent a Maserati into a taxi that exploded, killing three people on Feb. 21, 2013 in Las Vegas.
Police have identified a suspect in an early morning shooting and pileup that killed three people and injured at least six on Las Vegas' famous Strip Thursday, NBC affiliate KSNV reported.
Police are seeking Ammar Harris, 26, in the shooting and subsequent car crashes that occurred in a section of the Strip that includes Caesars Palace, Bally's and the Bellagio.
The shooting came after the occupants of a black Range Rover and a Maserati got into an altercation in the valet area of the Aria hotel and casino, according to Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie.
"We have numerous witnesses to this," Las Vegas Police Sgt. John Sheahan said. "But what is the genesis of this? We don't know yet."
The suspect was in the Range Rover, while 27-year-old aspiring rapper Kenny "Clutch" Cherry of Oakland, Calif., was at the wheel of the Maserati.
According to reports, the Range Rover pulled up and allegedly opened fire into the Maserati near a stoplight in the pre-dawn hours. A passenger was injured by the gunfire and Cherry was killed, causing the car to spin out of control. The careening silver Maserati smashed into a taxicab, trapping the passenger and driver and causing the cab to burst into flames; both occupants were killed, police said.
In a scene witnesses describe as looking like a Hollywood set, a confrontation between a group of men escalated into a shooting, multiple vehicle pileup, and an exploding taxicab. The incident left three people dead. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
Then, the Maserati smashed into three other cars before coming to a stop.
The taxi driver was identified as Michael Boldon, 62, of Las Vegas. His passenger was Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, of Maple Valley, Wash. She was a two-time breast cancer survivor. Both died of "multiple blunt force injuries," the coroner's office said.
All three deaths were classified as homicide.
Police released a photo that was taken when Harris was arrested last year on pandering, kidnapping, sexual assault and coercion charges, according to The Associated Press.
KSNV reported that police did not find Harris at his residence Saturday, but the black Range Rover was found just a few blocks away from the intersection where the violent incident occurred.
Police also said they found shell casings in Harris's apartment that linked him to Cherry's death.
NBC News' Matthew DeLuca and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Aspiring rapper among the dead after explosive Vegas Strip shooting


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Despite the international economic crisis and the reduction of Government incentives, renewable energy is continuing to have a growing impact on the world energy market. Experts from Lahmeyer International and the Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum examine the 2009 statistics, and highlight newly-installed capacity, major technological developments and emerging market trends.
13 December, 2010


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Brad Vering is not likely to appear on any Olympics collectors cups. He might frighten the children.
On the wrestling mat, he is a mastodon, woolly, bearded, and massive. But as much as any statuesque sprinter or spring-limbed gymnast, he is one of America's top medal hopefuls.
A year ago, he led America's unheralded Greco-Roman wrestling team to the most improbable achievement in its history – a world team title, the United States' first. The women's eight rowing team was also world champions, though in its case for the second year running. Meanwhile, Steven Lopez has not lost a tae kwon do contest since 2000.
They are among America's Other Olympians, exceptional yet often overlooked beside those from the Big Three – gymnastics, swimming, and track and field. They are, however, in some respects the key to American success in Beijing. With few more medals to wring from its core sports, America's supporting cast could be decisive in attempting to counter China's charge to the top of the gold medal table.
In 2004, it provided 38 of America's 102 medals. That ratio has been relatively constant over the years, with sports outside the Big Three accounting for about one-third of America's Olympic medals. Results from recent world championships suggest the trend will hold true in Beijing.
NBC has set up its coverage accordingly. It successfully lobbied Olympic organizers to alter the event schedule so gymnastics and swimming can air live during prime-time in the US. The finals of those events will now take place in the morning, Beijing time, as they did during the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The Greco-Roman wrestlers, however, might be forgiven for thinking that they deserve at least a taste of prime-time. America's team upset at the world championships in Azerbaijan last year – in a sport that American high schools don't even offer – ranks as an victory worthy of slow-motion montages.
"No one thought it could be achieved," says coach Momir Petkovic.
It was, and there was something particularly American in the achievement, team members say. Despite winning the team title, the Americans didn't win a single gold, finishing first collectively by virtue of Vering's silver, two bronzes, and a fifth. It was scrappy, yeomanly work.
"We're known for beating other countries up," says Olympian T.C. Dantzler, also a member of the world-champion team. "Technically, we're not where other countries are, but by the time we wear them down, their technique goes out the window."
Now, the Americans are beating up on each other. One of the bronze medalists and the fifth-place finisher failed even to qualify for the Olympics. The bronze medalist, touted as America's best Greco-Roman wrestler, lost to a high schooler, Jake Deitchler, who becomes the first high schooler to make an American Olympic wrestling team in 22 years.
"A lot of the young guys step up and say, 'I'm glad you all won, but I'm here,' "
says heavyweight Dremiel Byers, a 2007 world bronze medalist and 2002 world gold medalist. "These guys are going to fight you tooth and nail. I like that."
Coach Petkovic agrees that this is what makes American wrestlers unique. "In Yugoslavia, you are used to there being things that you can't get," he says. "But here the mentality is, 'Why can't I do this?' That gives us an advantage."
Before the Olympics, recent world championship results are often read like tea leaves. From them, experts try to discern the medal tables to come.
Steven Roush, the US Olympic Committee's chief of sport performance, says with some consternation that China "won more gold medals than any other country" at the world championships held in 2006.
But within Americans' successes are also story lines for the month to come.
Jennie Reed, an elite cyclist for a decade, became a world champion for the first time this year, passing two competitors in the last turn of the women's Keirin race. By contrast, Beezie Madden lost her gold medal on the last jump of the World Equestrian Games in 2006, settling for silver. It was only the second fault her horse had made in a week of competition.
By the measure of gold medals at world championships, however, America's best return outside the Big Three comes from rowing, with three golds, a silver, and a bronze in 2007.
One of those gold medals came from the women's eight, who also won in 2006. Its success is a curious alchemy of competition and teamwork.
"I think oftentimes people wonder how we do it, because most of the year we're competing against each other, as well as with each other, to make the boat," says Caryn Davies, who made the women's eight boat for the Olympics, as well as the past two world championships. "But we're very good at competing when it's necessary, and as soon as we get on the dock, as soon as we get home, we're friends again."
It is this connection that gives her confidence, Ms. Davies says. "I remember the first year that I spent rowing with this group of women – I was in the 2006 women's eight – and I remember sitting on the starting line and literally just thinking, there's nobody else that I'd rather have in my boat."
She adds: "I just felt so much trust for everybody in the boat, and I knew that everybody was going to give it her all, so I think that's the most you can ask for, really, of your teammates. It's great to be friends, but it's really about the trust."
Harry Bruinius contributed to this report from Princeton, N.J.


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Monday, May 13, 2013
William Cox Festival
Two of my convicts, James Westbrook and William Madgwick worked on the building of the road over the Blue Mountains by William Cox.
I was interested to read that the Nepean District Historical Society is hosting a mini William Cox Festival at the Arms of Australia Inn on Sunday 26th May.
The William Cox Festival will celebrate the building of a road across the Blue Mountains. Construction
started on July 7, 1814 at Emu Plains and finished on January 14,1815. The road opened
up inland New South Wales to European settlement. As a result of their work on this road my two convicts received their Conditional Pardons.
Details of this event can be found in the Society newsletter that is published online at http://www.nepeanhistoricalsociety.org.au/imgedit/show_news1.php?id=1
2 comments:
- Alex Daw said...
Thank you to your ancestors from me! Many happy holidays were spent in the Mountains in my youth.
- May 13, 2013 at 7:02 AM
- Rosemary said...
I'll second Alex. Our annual holiday was to go up to Katoomba, stay in a flat there, and then catch buses and do all the walks, or at least as many walks as you could do pushing a stroller. I do remember we went along the Jamieson Valley walk with the stroller.
- May 14, 2013 at 2:48 AM
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When you don't have the time for the gym to help keep your body in shape, this Vibration Machine is precisely the platform you need to start dissolving all those body fat. A 15-minute workout on the vibration machine is actually equivalent to double the time spent on swimming, yoga and sit-ups and almost 60 minutes of jogging and riding. That's very efficient use of precious time to get your body shaped and toned quickly.
Operating the machine is super easy with the digital controls. Set the time, speed and intensity and you're good to go in targeting your waist, thighs, legs, arms, butt and back for slimming and strengthening exercises. Unlike other sellers, this Vibration Machine actually features a powerful dual-belt motor that's designed to be durable, stable and safe to help you burn calories fast. With a weight capacity of up to 180kg, it's the perfect fitness trainer for people of all ages who prefers working out at their own pace. Plus, the Machine comes with a set of resistance bands for those keen on more intense workouts.
Getting fit and losing weight can be a feel good experience. And it's even better with this Vibration Machine with a whole lot of shaking fun going on.
• Twin motor
• 360° 4D shake (Black, White & Red models only)
• Inbuilt fuse to protect the motors
• SAA approved plug
• Non-slip Rubber Feet
• Time & Speed Display
• 180kg weight capacity
• Vibration: up and down, left and right (Black, White & Red models only)
• Vibration: up and down (Grey & Black, Orange & White, Red & Black, White & Black models only)
• Frequency: up and down 7hz-15hz, left and right 5hz-10hz
• Speed Levels: 99
• Voltage: 220V-240V
• Weight Capacity: 180kg
• Dimensions: 78 x 39 x 14cm
• Net Weight: 15kg


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Tornado Concert Raises $6 Million
KSCB News - May 31, 2013 8:26 am
Organizers of a televised benefit concert say they raised more than $6 million in pledges and ticket sales to help victims of the deadly tornado that ripped across Oklahoma last week.
A spokeswoman for the United Way of Central Oklahoma reported the updated figures Thursday after the "Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert" hosted by Blake Shelton and televised live on NBC.
Several country music stars with Oklahoma ties performed during the Wednesday night concert at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in downtown Oklahoma City, including Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire and Rascal Flatts. Other performers included Usher, Darius Rucker and Luke Bryan.
The money goes directly to the United Way of Central Oklahoma, which will distribute funding to agencies helping those affected by the May 20 tornado.


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Series: Prince in Hiding #3
Published by Penguin Genres: Historical
Source: Publisher
Reviewed by Shayna
Three intrepid princesses find themselves targets in a deadly plot against the crown—until their uncle devises a brilliant plan to keep them safe... Princess Luisa has devoted her life to duty, quietly preparing to succeed her father as ruler. Nothing, however, primed her to live on the run, disguised as a personal secretary to a notorious English scoundrel. The earl is just the man to help her reclaim her throne, but Luisa is drawn to her powerful employer in ways she never imagined... Philip, Earl of Somerton, has spent six years married to a woman in love with another man—he refuses to become a fool due to imprudent emotions ever again. Only, as his carefully laid plans for vengeance falter, fate hands him hope for redemption in the form of a beautiful and determined young princess who draws him into a risky game of secrets, seduction, and betrayal. And while his cunning may be enough to save her life, nothing can save him from losing his heart...
Crown Princess Luisa of Holstein-Schweinwald-Huhnhof watched as the entire life she was raised to lead got turned upside down by the revolutionaries who murdered her father and her husband. Now disguised as a man and living in England while her uncle works to regain her crown, Luisa has gone from princess to personal secretary of the most dangerous man in England. The Earl of Somerton is dark, lethal, and extremely bitter. His wife is in love with another man and his focus has devolved into a quest for vengeance. Only Luisa seems able to reach him. But can she tell the man who trusts almost no one that she's been keeping secrets from him? Even if he forgives her deception and promises to help her cause, Luisa isn't so sure Somerton will ever be able to open his heart to her…and she's very afraid she's already lost hers to him.
The fate of a small German principality is decided in How to School Your Scoundrel. In the third Princess in Hiding book, Juliana Gray has penned a story filled with action, disguises, deception, redemption, and love.
Somerton is not an easy hero to like, but I grew to care about him fairly quickly, thanks to Ms. Gray's talent. Somerton has never known love or genuine kindness, and each time he's opened his heart he's been slapped in the face in return. His marriage comes across as a twisted Beauty and the Beast story, one where Beauty would never give the beast a chance because he wasn't the Adonis of her dreams. Somerton has become someone extremely bitter and hurt and it takes Luisa to bring him from the darkness to the light. Luisa is smart, capable, and just a bit cheeky. She doesn't back down from Somerton and isn't afraid to speak her mind. The two of them are a great pair and their relationship – both before it turned into a romance and after – gives How to School Your Scoundrel life.
How to School Your Scoundrel is a fast-paced read for the most part. The overarching series plot of the revolutionaries in Luisa's country adds action to the story. Though I won't spoil what happens, I will say that Ms. Gray resolves this plotline in a satisfying manner. Where How to School Your Scoundrel dragged was the plot involving Somerton's wife. There seemed to be good chunks of the story missing, likely because Elizabeth and her lover are the hero and heroine of another book (A Gentleman Never Tells) and Somerton is presumably the villain in that story. Not having read A Gentleman Never Tells I only got Somerton's point of view and thus many of the events in his book that paralleled Elizabeth's story seemed out of place when they were only part of a larger story.
All in all, How to School Your Scoundrel is an enjoyable read and an excellent conclusion to the Princess in Hiding trilogy. I adored Luisa and Somerton together and their stellar chemistry had me turning the pages of their book late into the night.


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(Pocket-lint) - Prior to Intel's Computex presentation about its future plans for tablets and netbooks, Pocket-lint spotted that several new devices could already been seen at the the company's booth before hand. And one device that caught our eye was Fujitsu's Lifebook TH40/D - pretty much the Intel-powered big brother to Asus' Eee Pad Slider.
We still haven't managed to decide if we're going to call the Lifebook TH40/D a tablet or a netbook, as it sort of blurs the line between the two device categories. The 10.1-inch screen and keyboard screams netbook, but the keyboard can be folded in behind the panel and as the screen is touch enabled, so it's also a tablet.
The unit on display is a production model, and intended for the Japanese market, so as such, the keyboard is a little bit less usable than we'd expect to be on models for other regions due to the various additional buttons that surround the spacebar. However, we expect that the optical touch sensor and a dedicated key on the keyboard for right clicking will make the transition to other territories.
For such a thin and light machine (1.1kg), it still has pretty decent connectivity with an HDMI port, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, an SD card slot and a headphone jack. There's also a hardware volume control.
The processor is Intel's latest low power Atom Z670, also known as Oak Trail, and it brings vastly improved graphics, even though it's only ticking away at 1.5GHz. Somewhat disappointingly though, the Lifebook TH40/D only comes with 1GB of RAM, which is going to limit the usability of Windows 7.
That said, although its form factor might not be totally unique when you consider other devices such as Samsung's Series 9, it's a one of a kind device if you want to run Windows on a very thin and light tablet that offers the bonus of having a half decent physical keyboard.
This being a Fujitsu device also means that the build quality is first rate, although with the downside of a slightly drab design.


text: There are many videos on Tara Mantra on Youtube, but this one stands out for its very beautiful music setting. You see a girl sitting and meditating. On top of her head is Master Tsongkhapa. Deep in his heart is the Bodhisattva Tara, and deep inside her breast is the letter TAM, her seed syllable, surrounding by the ten syllables of her mantra – Om Tara Tuttare Ture Svaha. This the standard method of meditating on Tara. The idea is to visualize that one ultimately is identified with the Bodhisattva herself. What this means is that one accepts all the qualities of Tara into oneself, so that there is no distinction whatsoever between oneself and Tara. Or to put it another way, one does actually become Tara in one's meditation. This does not mean that one is having an illusion or is becoming crazy, like a patient who thinks that he is Napoleon; but it means that the aim of the meditation is to acquaint the mind with Tara herself. To become one with Tara means that one is losing oneself — one is letting go of one's own ego and one's own personality, and merges into something much larger. It is pure spirituality. After identifying oneself with Tara, it is necessary that the practitioner ends the session with the 'dissolution' or 'completion' stage, where one visualizes that Tara dissolves back into her seed syllable, and finally into empty space, and then one remains within the meditation in emptiness — no thought, no fabrication. The two stages of the meditation — the visualization and the completion stage — always complement each other and the meditation will not be complete without both of them.


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New developments and improvements are coming in all the time with Mozilla Firefox. To take a peak at the next slated developments, check out Firefox 2.0 – The Ocho, the next version up from Mozilla. Just below it is the info on more future versions of Firefox.
If you are looking for something similar for WordPress, a development plan, list, or map, check out WordPress Version 1.6 Development List and Wish List.
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May 3rd, 2012
Mick Jagger to host 'SNL' season finale
Many questions still surround rumored potential changes for "Saturday Night Live," but here's one sure thing: Mick Jagger is scheduled to host the May 19 season finale.
It's Jagger's first time hosting, but he'll also perform on the sketch comedy show for the third time that Saturday.
He'll bring to a close a season that's been plagued by whispers that a few of the show's stars, particularly Kristen Wiig, were gearing up to depart.
Wiig has vaguely addressed the reports, careful not to say anything definite, and in a call with press Wednesday, "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels conveyed about the same.
"I'm not really certain myself," Michaels said when asked about the casting reports. "I know there will be some, but it's sort of the nature of the way we work that no one talks about it until the season's done. Needless to say, I'd like everyone to stay."
But before the season ender, Eli Manning will serve as host for the May 5 episode, with Rihanna as musical guest.
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