text:
A Textbook Tragedy
Published Feb 27, 2008From their adolescent beginnings as a band that dabbled in the realm of screamo, to being tagged as a Dillinger Escape Plan wannabe A Textbook Tragedy have been nothing akin to their moniker. They are a band with the blood of rulers flowing through their veins as they prepare to travel the long roads of Canada with aspirations to dip into the U.S. and hope to move on to world domination if all goes to plan. A Partial Dialogue Between Ghost And Priest was their way to catch peoples attention and with the help of a label in Distort, follow-up Intimidator is set to be unleashed on the public as ATTs foot-hold on metal and hardcore. Guitar and vocalist Kai Turmann chatted with Exclaim! about trying to break as a band from Van-city, why Blink-182 were so important to them growing up and why Intimidator keeps horror movies as a reoccurring theme.
Vancouver isnt exactly known for a great metal/hardcore scene, does that affect A Textbook Tragedy in a positive or negative way?
Well we love Vancouver. Its been such a long time that weve been jamming here, in high school and doing local shows. It started to get serious when we got out of high school and were able to tour full-time. Once we were 18 we had a decent draw in Vancouver and there werent a lot of metal bands or hardcore metal bands that were doing much so people did pay attention at that point. Now we only play Vancouver maybe once every month or two months. Mostly for tour kick-offs or homecoming shows and theyre always really good. We still like Vancouver, its definitely a challenge to break Vancouver and were cool with that.
Whats the scene currently like there?
The scene is good and its getting better. There are at least a couple bands that are doing big things. Daggermouth are doing big things in the States, kind of set your goals style music. Theres a band called Carpenter, who I know are going to sign with a good label. There are endless bands that were friends with that are starting to make headway. I think with Vancouver the bands I know are doing big things. It had a lull for a few years where no one was doing anything and people thought that we should move away from here [laughs]. But its cool and people are starting to notice it and its picking up at the same time.
Does coming from a place like that provide motivation for the band to get out on the road touring and become as successful as possible?
Yeah, I think it does man. You cant sit in Vancouver and get singed or make a lot of fans at all. The shows can be really funky once you have a draw here, but you can only play once a month really. You have to tour if youre from Vancouver, its not like southern Ontario where you can play a different city every night. The closest place we have to play is four hours away. You really have to tour and all the bands from here that are making serious headway are touring. Theyre going out to Ontario and down to the U.S. and it really is a motivator if you want to succeed as a band.
Has the reality of being a Canadian band that have been signed to an American label hit home yet?
When we signed with Distort we knew that initially we would only be released in Canada. Distort will represent us throughout the world now so we will be released overseas, the States is in the works. Right now our focus is Canada. People think Canada is a dead-end place, but we love it. Its a great starting point for bands, like Alexisonfire blew up here and then transcended into Japan, Australia and the U.S. Were hoping to do a couple of Canadian tours and branch down into the States and tour there, which is a huge goal for us right now. And hopefully do the UK because there are a couple of big Distort bands in the UK. We definitely have a worldwide mindset and were taking it one step at a time. Right now Canada is the starting point and we want our new album to pick up here, hopefully Canadians like it.
So you dont feel Canada is a dead-end at all? No not at all man. Canada population-wise is smaller and touring-wise the drives are long between cities but you have to do it. Its really important to us and its where were from. If were only big in Canada for the first while then we can say were big in Canada and thats huge for us.
A Partial Dialogue Between Ghost And Priest was released while some of the band were still in high school. How did that affect the recording and the band as a whole?
The last album was the first one we did. There were at least one or two members who were in school and we all kind of did our own thing. We were really tied down to being in Vancouver and it restricted our touring. We were all super busy and we did our recording in night sessions from 11 p.m. to six a.m. Some of us went to school the next day and others were heading to work at eight a.m. and it was a crazy experience. Our last album we love because it helped us get the recognition to get attention from labels like Distort and we made a lot of friends, not to mention touring. That album did a lot for us and recording it was a huge learning experience.
When the band was assembled what did Blink-182 have to do with it?
[Laughs] When the four of us, without our new lead singer, originally started the band we were hardcore in love with pop punk like New Found Glory and Blink-182. We still listen to it in the van all the time. We didnt know a lot of metal or hardcore bands. We started to play heavier stuff and dabble with screaming, this was before the Used and stuff like that came out and we hadnt heard of screamo, but we knew that we wanted to play a heavier version of pop punk. It was our high school phase and at that point we werent A Textbook Tragedy we were just kids playing local shows. We give total credit to Blink-182 and New Found Glory and all those staple pop punk bands that really got us going. If we didnt have Blink-182 I dont think wed be the band we are today.
I read that you guys used to be a screamo band. Is it nice to be separated from that herd?
For sure. We definitely used to be a generic screamo band and this was before we knew other bands did that. We just played music that we thought was creative. Before the genre even blew up we were headed towards a more technical sounds with off timing and thats where our last album ended up. People often called it a Dillinger Escape Plan rip off, we were cool with that at the time because we really liked it and didnt think it was a rip off. Now we just want to play heavy music we like. There are a lot of influences in there that sound a little Converge-y or Botch-y. So yeah, the screamo thing is cool and we dont feel like we are a part of that anymore. Im defiantly glad were not.
Does it bother you when someone says your album sounds like Dillinger Escape Plan rip off?
With the last record it started to get a little irritating because thats all we would hear. It started to become a bad type of compliment at some points because we would get a couple big websites that would describe us as the best independent record of the year but theyd say that while saying its still sounds like Dillinger. It got a little bit much. At the same time we were okay with it because that records helped us create a following, especially in western Canada.
What was the bands mindset while working on Intimidator?
We wrote most of the record while on a cross-Canada tour. I would usually be sitting in the van writing most of the lyrics and Nick [Yacyshyn] our drummer, who is one of the key songwriters and a great guitar play too, would be at peoples houses playing guitar trying to write riffs and it worked out to be really cool. It didnt feel rushed but it felt like we wanted to take what we went on the road with and work with that while being on tour and then we went into the studio in Winnipeg. It was cool to have toured all the songs, pretty much, or at least half of them that are on the record. The mindset, musically, was that we didnt want to be as technical as our last record. We kind of got tagged as a musicians band meaning that a lot of musicians loved it but a lot of music listeners didnt because it was so mental [laughs]. We really wanted to make it a lot more fun between that record and this record, we changed our style so much of what we listen to and bands we were hanging out with and that really influenced us a lot. We were aiming to make a record that everyone could get into a little bit more and something we had more fun playing live.
Ive read a few articles about A Textbook tragedy on the internet and they mention your music relates to jazz and ambient. Do you agree with that?
We totally relate to jazz as musicians because we all played jazz at times, mostly in high school, like when we were all band geek guys. We love jazz and on our last record we had a huge jazz solo in the middle of it. With this record we didnt bust out and jazz on it, but we do love jazz. Our drummer and other guitar player they are the most jazz influenced guys in the band. You can say were still jazz influenced but you dont really hear it on the new record.
Have you ever Googled your new album Intimidator to see what comes up?
Not really.
Well apparently that word "intimidator is synonymous with paintball and Dale Earnhardt. Do those themes have anything to do with the album?
[Laughs] No that just a total coincidence. We wanted a one-word 80s metal band album name, a lot of the cool metal bands from the 80s did that for their records. We liked the idea of having just one word that grabs peoples attention. Intimidator just made sense for us. It took a few days for us all to click on the name and we all eventually fell in love with it. We didnt search it or look to deep into the name.
On the song "Dude Im on Alesse you dont make any references to the actual birth control pill. Is that because youre afraid of a lawsuit?
No. Ive worried a little bit about that wondering if theres any kind off copyright infringement by using their name. That was one of the sillier titles on the album. The song itself, if you read really deeply in to it, someone could get the vibe that its about someone going crazy on some sort of drug. You could say that girls go crazy on birth control. But that was a working title that we just fell in love with because we thought it was funny and we kept it.
In the song "Intimidator the lyrics read "You may have heard of my victims, I put pennies on their eyes. Do you know what that reference is to in a mythological sense?
Ive seen it happen in numerous movies and when I was writing that song I didnt feel rushed but I had two days and took five hours to come up with the basis for the lyrics and got together with Chris Bahris [vocals] to finish it. The pennies on the eyes things I just remembered it from seeing a few movies and I know there is a mythological meaning. I couldnt tell you very much about it.
There seems to be a lot of religious themes and statements on Intimidator. Is religion an important thing for the band?
Not really. When people ask me about my lyrics like why are they so crazy and what to do they mean? I dont have a ton of stuff in my life I can write about. I dont want to write a political record, Im interested in politics but I dont want to be a political band. As far as religion goes I dont lean towards anything. I think religions cool and I like to know about it but I dont follow it or live by it. I just write stories. I love horror movies and that helps me write these crazy stories that are like seeing a movie. On Intimidator with the first track "If You Want Blood, that song is almost straight out of a zombie movie that has an end of the world theme to it. We just try to write cool stories. We all have things we could write about from our lives but so far have choose not to.
Is there any chance the band would write a conceptual album based around a horror movie?
Yeah, I think that would be awesome. Our first album was a loosely based concept album and after doing that I wanted to do a full concept album. With this record it didnt really happen and I didnt pursue it very much. I could see one of our next few records that we do, assuming we get to do that many more records, one of those will be a full out concept album.
How real are the lyrics on Intimidator, are they factual or made up?
For the most part theyre not really in any way factual. If they were then wed have to be going around killing people [laughs]. The song "Stay Out Of Riverdale is based on an episode of The X-Files, at least my memory of that episode that I saw when I was ten years old and it freaked the hell out of me. I love how the lyrics turned out even though its probably nothing like the actual episode.
When I saw that song title the first thing I thought about was a Simpsons episode.
Yeah [laughs]. Yeah thats where the title came from. When I was writing the lyrics I had seen that episode multiple times and it just seemed to fit. The song is about a town full of crazed zombies.
Back to my question about how real your lyrics are. I was asking because on "Total Immortal you reference date rape and date rape drugs, I thought that was kind of intense.
On that song I was expressing my distaste towards that whole thing that people hear about all the time. So I thought, what would it be like if that girl came back and wanted to get that person back by killing them? In a fictitious sense, of course. Im not telling anyone to go out there and kill or do bad things to anyone. Its more like youre going to get what you deserve. All of these songs are things Ive dreamt up.


text:
Husband: John Boyd BARNUM 1
Born: 28 MAR 1797 at: Amenia, Dutchess, New York Married: BET 1848 AND 1850at: 2 Died: 5 FEB 1865 at: Byron, Shiawassee, Michigan, United States 3 Father:Caleb BARNUM Mother:Mary W. BOYD Other Spouses: Urania SUTHERLAND NOTES
Wife: Martha HULL 1
Born: 9 FEB 1800 at: New Jersey, United States 2 Died: 25 FEB 1880 at: 4 Father: Mother: Other Spouses:
SOURCES 1) Research by O'Dell-Bedell, Paula 2) US Census of 1850 3) History of Shiawassee and Clinton Counties 4) Gravestone in Byron Cemetery
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
©1998-2011. The format of this website and all original statements and narrative included on it are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Factual information may be freely quoted for use in private genealogical research when accompanied by a full source citation, including the date of acquisition. Click here to view the format of a citation for an Internet resource. The publication of large extracts from this site in any form requires prior written consent.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The £10,000 prototype project, initiated by the practice, is designed to be used as a demountable outdoor learning environment for schools and community groups
Glasgow-based emerging practice O'DonnellBrown has designed and built a prototype for an outdoor community classroom. The project was entirely self-initiated and has been developed in parallel with the architects' ongoing community and educational projects as a resource to explore architecture as a positive vehicle for learning.
The simple timber structure provides an adaptable, demountable outdoor learning environment which employs a functional, rhythmic geometry in its design.
The classroom is intended to promote and support creative and independent learning in a healthy, versatile and fun environment. It has been designed in line with the Curriculum for Excellence and the National Improvement Framework to facilitate inclusive learning and mental wellbeing.
The demountable scheme has been constructed from a kit of parts using standard structural timber section sizes to create a skeletal frame. Plywood modules can be placed and reconfigured to suit a range of activities, providing seating, shelving, worktops or even presentation surfaces. Bolted connections allow for easy construction and deconstruction.
A Monarflex roofing material provides waterproofing while a 'dynamic façade' is designed to roll down, allowing soft, diffused light to enter the space.
The architects worked with charity Barnardo's Works Edinburgh to fabricate and construct the structure. Community engagement was key throughout the build process.
The space has hosted a variety of community-based workshops and events so far with the aim that it can be deconstructed and moved to other school and community sites.
Architect's view
Our design approach was driven by an aspiration to produce an accessible, simple and demountable kit of parts which, at its core, was architecturally engaging yet distilled to its purest functional form. Standard structural timber section sizes provide a skeletal frame, forming the basis for plywood modules to be placed and reconfigured to suit a variety of activities and inhabitants. Modules may provide seating, shelving, worktops or even presentation surfaces, all while engaging and empowering those learning in the creative process of constructing and defining their own learning environment.
Engaging with Barnardo's Works to fabricate and erect the structure, the ethos of community engagement and learner-led activity remained central throughout the build process. It was indeed this continued thread of accessible, learner-centric design that provided the impetus towards a distinct, simple architectural language.
Sponsors and stakeholders, including the RIAS and Saint-Gobain, have been integral to the project, sharing our vision and aspiration. Support has been provided through donations of materials, such as the timber for the structural framework, and services, such as structural engineering input.
Since completion, the space has housed a number of community-based workshops and events, with further plans to expand upon this, building a continued dialogue and research-based approach. The aim is to provide an inspiring space for a wide range of occupants, with the ability to demount and move the structure, increasing its reach through schools and communities, improving provision for sectors integral to our collective societal well-being.
Sam Brown and Jennifer O'Donnell, directors, O'DonnellBrown
Elevationgraphicpdfexporttallerwithframenewest crop
Project data
Start on site September 2019 (prototype)
Expected completion date Ongoing
Gross internal floor area 24m²
Construction cost £10,000
Construction cost per m² £416
Architect O'DonnellBrown
Client O'DonnellBrown
Structural engineer Design Engineering Workshop
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment
Please remember that the submission of any material is governed by our Terms and Conditions and by submitting material you confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions.
Links may be included in your comments but HTML is not permitted.


text:
Date(s) - 05/31/2020
9:00 pm
Learn something new every day from Crazy Aaron himself! Every day at 4PM EST.
Discover the world of Thinking Putty as Crazy Aaron dives into how he made the putty. From inspiration, the science behind it all, to what you see in the tin, you'll learn everything there is to know about Thinking Putty and so much more!
Note: Due to rapidly changing circumstances associated with Covid-19, some events may be discontinued, postponed or changed. Please check with the host to verify details. If you know of other events not listed on the IWK calendar, feel free to share them with us here or send to firstname.lastname@example.com.
We do our best to provide the most relevant and timely information to our readers, but please confirm dates, times, and availability before attending an event. Events are posted on IWK from information found on, but not limited to, attraction sites, government city sites; as well as submissions from individual attractions, press releases and PR firms. All events are subject to change without notice and Indy with Kids cannot be held responsible.


text:
Financial statistics include all numerical data that summarizes past behavior or forecasts future behavior of an individual financial security, a group of securities, or markets in a broad geographic region. It is useful to first categorize these statistics into one of three areas. Global or national statistics examine the behavior of business or economic conditions that influence the value of securities in general. Market or industrial statistics track the activity of a specific set of securities linked by a common trading market or industry classification. Company-specific statistics examine performance of individual firms.
One broad class of global or national statistics is the series of economic indicators. These indicators assess where the economy is within the current business cycle and provide information useful to forecast the likelihood of improvement or deterioration, or to confirm the economy's current status. The National Bureau of Economic Research tracks several hundred measures of economic activity that are correlated with the status of the national economy. Economic indicators are typically split into three categories. Leading economic indicators correlate with patterns of future economic activity. For example, profit margins and the formation of new businesses tend to improve or deteriorate in advance of other symptoms of a change in the overall status of the economy. Coincident indicators assist in confirming of the economy's current status. Examples of these indicators are comprehensive levels of employment and industrial production. Finally, lagging indicators confirm that the economy has passed through a particular phase of the business cycle. Such indicators react after the change in economic condition has already been established. The average duration of unemployment is one example of a lagging indicator.
There are many other examples of global economic statistics that have immediate relevance to financial analysis. One commonly followed statistic is the forecasted growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP). As an aggregate measure of overall output of a national economy, GDP growth is a highly anticipated figure. Many of the subcategories of GDP, such as government spending and exports, are closely followed as well.
A more pervasive and continuous source of financial information is found in exchange rate statistics. An exchange rate is the price of one country's currency in terms of another's. For example, if the U.S. dollar can be exchanged for 5 French francs, then residents in either country can quickly assess the value of real or financial assets in the other country. Since this data is so important to international trade and capital flows, exchange rate statistics are widely reported in many periodicals and newspapers on a daily basis.
Another set of statistics that are broadly followed in financial markets throughout the world are those associated with interest rates. Interest rates represent the price of money in a particular currency. This price includes a premium for expected inflation and another premium for risk of default. One common method of reporting interest rates is the yield curve. The yield curve represents the relationship between the maturity of a debt instrument, typically bonds, and the rate of return implied by its current price. A yield curve represents a relevant comparison of yields between different securities with different maturities only if the securities have similar default risk. As a result, the most common yield curve statistics relate to government bonds within a particular country. These statistics are frequently reported in tabular form with yields on various securities sorted by maturity. The same information is also commonly depicted in a graph. For example, early 1999 yields for U.S. Treasury bonds with maturities of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 30 years are 5.08 percent, 5.33 percent, 5.61 percent, 5.89 percent, and 5.62 percent, respectively. With the exception of the 30-year bond, this pattern is indicative of an upward sloping yield curve. This is the most common pattern, but inverted and humped yield curves have also been observed during the past two decades. Similar statistics can be graphed for corporate bonds with similar default risk ratings.
The second broad category of financial statistics assesses the behavior of security markets. Most countries with well-developed financial markets have a variety of indexes that track overall market activity or activity of a specific market segment. Examples of these indexes in the United States are the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Standard & Poor's 500, and the New York Stock Exchange Composite. Other examples include the Financial Times 100 in the United Kingdom, the Nikkei 225 in Japan, and the CAC 40 in France. Each of these widely followed indexes tracks general market conditions. Market indexes can be distinguished by their method of construction or the sample of securities they comprise.
There are three basic techniques for construction of market indexes. A price-weighted index basically reports the average price per share for a sample of securities. A value-weighed index monitors changes in the aggregate market value of all shares outstanding for a sample of securities. An equally weighted index determines the change in value for each security separately and then reports the average change for all securities. Value-weighted and equally weighted indexes are expressed as a proportion of some base value determined at a particular point in time. The proportion is often multiplied by a number such as 100 before it is reported.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is an example of a price-weighted index. This means that the index tracks and reports the average price per share of a sample of securities. The DJIA has been in existence since 1885 when it was first constructed by Charles Dow. He selected 20 "blue chip," or well-established, companies and tracked the average price per share. In the late 1920s, the number of stocks was increased to 30. During the more than 100 years of its existence, many DJIA stocks have split (i.e., issued two new shares to replace one old share) when management felt that their share price had become exorbitant. In addition, some firms have gone bankrupt or merged with other firms and thus trading in these securities has been eliminated. A price-weighted average accounts for such changes by altering the divisor to render the event neutral. Through this technique, the divisor of the DJIA, which was 30 in the late 1920s, had fallen to 0.23006576 by 1999.
As statistics of aggregate market behavior, price-weighted averages suffer from several biases. For example, a high price-per-share stock has greater influence over the index than a lower price-per-share stock even though there may be many more shares of the lower priced stock outstanding. In addition, stocks split to reduce price per share and make them more affordable to investors. A split does not alter the collective value of the stock (i.e., 100 shares at $10 are worth the same as 200 shares at $5), but it does reduce the impact of that stock on the overall index. This is relevant since it is the stocks with the highest growth that have the greatest propensity to split and implies that price-weighted averages are downwardly biased indicators of market performance. The DJIA in particular is frequently criticized for its small sample of purely industrial firms. This suggests that it may be a poor proxy for overall market behavior. Statistical analysis indicates, however, that it is highly correlated with other, broader measures of market activity.
The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is a value-weighted index that comprises a sample of 400 industrial, 20 transportation, 40 utility, and 40 financial firms. It is constructed by multiplying the current share price by the number of shares outstanding for each of its 500 firms. The sum of these products is divided by a similar sum constructed using stock prices from the period from 1941 to 1943. This ratio represents the cumulative growth of this portfolio of 500 stocks from that base period to the current period. Unlike the price-weighted average, stock splits are neutral events since the aggregate value of all shares of a firm is not changed by the split. Bankruptcies, mergers, and other events that stop public trading of a firm's stock will require adjustment of the index. While the S&P 500 comprises a much larger sample of securities, larger firms have a greater influence on its behavior. To see this more specifically, imagine ranking all 500 firms by value. Clearly, the largest firm will represent a much larger portion of the aggregate value of the entire sample of 500 firms than will the smallest.
The development of an equally weighted index is an attempt to eliminate the bias just described in the value-weighted index. The idea behind an equally weighted index is to generate a ratio, or growth factor, for an individual firm by measuring its stock price today and dividing by its stock price during some base period. This process is repeated for a sample of stocks and then an average growth factor is reported. One such index that represents approximately 1,700 U.S. stocks is the Value Line Index. Equally weighted measures are considered a better measure of the behavior of the typical security during any period of time.
While this discussion has focused on stock indexes for the overall market, there are many other indexes that examine other classes of securities or specific industries or segments of the market. For example, the New York Stock Exchange also tracks a value-weighted average of its listed firms in the categories of industrials, utilities, transportation, and finance. Many publications use an even finer breakdown of industrial classifications. There are also a broad variety of indexes that examine various categories of bonds and mutual funds.
A final category of financial statistics are those that are firm specific. These statistics include bond ratings, price/earnings ratios, and other indicators of risk and return.
It is useful to begin by considering statistics constructed from historical measures. For example, an analysis of periodic prices and cash payments from a historical period provides the data needed to construct statistics of risk and return. Historical returns can be reported as an arithmetic average (computing rate of return for a series of sequential periods and averaging) or a geometric average (computing the annualized compound interest rate that the investor would have received). Additionally, this data will allow for construction of risk statistics such as variance and standard deviation.
To illustrate the computation of these historical statistics, consider the following example that uses data for Coca-Cola. Table I contains the closing price for a share of Coca-Cola stock at the end of February for five consecutive years. It also contains the dividend per share that Coca-Cola paid during each year and the one-year holding period return—or the rate of return an investor would have achieved during that particular period.
The holding period return (HPR) for each one-year period is computed using
the following formula:
In other words, the overall return from stock appreciation and dividend
income from 1995 to 1996 was 48.4 percent. Similar interpretations can be
derived from the calculation for subsequent years. We can average, or
annualize these returns by adding the one-year HPR and then dividing by
the number of returns—four in this example.
The other interesting observation that can quickly be drawn from the table
of holding period returns is their significant volatility from year to
year. This can be formally measured as variance or standard deviation,
both important measures of risk. Variance of these returns can be computed
by calculating the deviation of each individual annual holding period
return from the mean return computed above, squaring this difference,
adding the squared differences together and finally dividing by the number
of years in the sample. The Coca-Cola data allows the following
computation of variance:
The variance is an aggregate measure of dispersion away from the mean return. It is commonly restated as a standard deviation by computing its square root. In this example, the standard deviation of Coca-Cola's returns is 0.244 or 24.4 percent. Equipped with a mean to measure the security's return and a standard deviation to assess its risk, meaningful comparisons can now be made with other securities that have been subjected to similar analysis.
While the statistical measures constructed in the preceding example are valid, it is important to consider their purpose. If an investor was interested in performance over some prior time interval to answer questions such as "How well did my investment perform?" or "How much risk was I exposed to?," then these statistics are clear indicators. On the other hand, if an investor wants to know "How will this security perform?" or "How risky is this stock?," then the statistics must be interpreted quite differently. In the second case, the historical statistics are valuable only
|Holding Period Return
|Feb. 1995
|Feb. 1996
|0.484 or 48.4%
|Feb. 1997
|0.523 or 52.3%
|0.134 or 13.4%
|Feb. 1999
|-0.060 or -6.0%
if it is reasonable to expect future performance to correlate to past performance. It is usually reasonable to use historical risk as a proxy for expected risk. This is because risk is a function of exposure to broader economic forces and firm-specific characteristics such as financial structure and operating cost structure. These influences are not likely to change, or changes are reasonably predictable. Nevertheless, it is typically more difficult to use historical return as a proxy for expected future return.
The measure of risk can be refined by dividing total risk, as measured by standard deviation, into two parts. The first part is the variation in a stock's return that results from general market movements and is referred to as systematic risk. The second component is the variation that results from factors unique to the individual firm and is referred to as unsystematic risk. There is considerable interest in the systematic risk component of a stock's overall risk because the unsystematic risk can be minimized by holding a variety of securities together in a portfolio. Systematic risk is measured by the statistic beta (j). Beta represents the volatility of an individual security relative to the average market volatility. Therefore, the average security beta is 1. Beta can be derived statistically by computing the ratio of the covariance of the individual security's returns with those of the market by the variance of the market's returns. It can also be derived by the regression procedure where the equation of the line that best fits a scatter of points—each representing return for the security and the market at a particular point in time—is determined statistically. The slope of this line represents the security's beta. Beta is a useful statistic in portfolio management because it allows managers to actively position their portfolios in an above-average, average, or below-average risk position by choosing securities with an average beta of above 1, exactly 1, or below 1, respectively.
A final category of firm-specific statistics refers to the financial statements that the firm has generated in the past and allows forecasts of future financial performance. Financial ratios comprise another family of relevant statistics that are frequently used to assess the financial health and development of individual firms. While some of the more prominent financial ratios relate to profitability (e.g., net profit margin, return on equity), others can be used to assess other characteristics of a firm that ultimately pinpoint potential reasons for the resulting profitability. These other measures can be categorized into several areas. Liquidity ratios assess the firm's ability to meet its short-term financial obligations with its most liquid assets. Activity ratios measure how effectively the firm is able to use various categories of assets to generate sales revenues. Leverage ratios examine how the firm's assets are financed and how the firm's financing structure is likely to influence profits. Finally, there are many ratios that attempt to relate market values of the firm's assets to their financial statement counterparts. Collectively, these ratios can be monitored over time to detect trends in firm performance or they can be examined in relation to industry average ratios. In either case, the statistics can be very useful for probing, explaining, and forecasting a firm's financial performance.
[ Paul Bolster ]
Freedman, David, et al. Statistics. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1997.
Lee, Cheng-Few. Statistics for Business and Financial Economics. 2nd ed. World Scientific Pub. Co., 1999.


text:
Construction is underway on the Optics Valley Hi-Tech Complex in Wuhan, China, which is expected to be completed in 2020.
Located in the heart of central China's largest city and technology center, this project features one 19-story tower that will be used primarily for workspace and another 14-story office tower with a 3-story basement connecting the two towers coming soon.
The design embodies cultural relevance and energy through several key opportunities: embedding spatial and environmental efficiency through its zoning and layout, encouraging the dynamic movement of visitors through its connective public spaces, using technology and craft to highlight building exteriors, and demonstrating leadership in responsible environmental design.
A joint effort, RATIO has successfully partnered with WISDRI Wuhan Architecture Design Co. Ltd. across the country with more coming soon in 2019 and 2020.


text:
Professional Records
License Records
Joseph Lucian Pritchett Iv
Issued Date: Oct 26, 2006
Expiration Date: Apr 25, 2008
Type: Pharmacy Technician Candidate
Mentions for Joseph D Pritchett
All data offered is derived from public sources. We do not verify or evaluate each piece of data, and makes no warranties or guarantees about any of the information offered. We do not possess or have access to secure or private financial information. People Background Check is not a credit reporting agency and does not offer consumer reports. None of the information offered by People Background Check is to be considered for purposes of determining any entity or person's eligibility for credit, insurance, employment, housing, or for any other purposes covered under the FCRA.


text:
Police who stopped off in Ely to release a money spider back into the wild snare a county lines drug dealer suspect at the same time
PUBLISHED: 10:54 09 September 2019 | UPDATED: 11:53 09 September 2019
Police have revealed how a momentary stop to help release a trapped money spider led to the arrest of a suspect on suspicion of drug dealing.
Members of the southern impact team of Cambridgeshire Police were in Ely on the look out for county lines drug offence the team pulled into the BP service station.
Philip Keary, 53, of no fixed abode was arrested by officers in Ely on Friday (September 6) and charged with possession with intent to supply diamorphine and crack cocaine, possession of criminal property and possession of crack cocaine.
"Whilst releasing a trapped money spider back into the wild at the BP services, they spotted a male acting suspiciously in his car," said a police spokesman.
You may also want to watch:
"Not only had the man not parked within the space properly, he was also very vigilantly looking from left to right as if waiting for someone."
Police took that as a cue to go and have a word.
"The officers stopped to speak to him, and found the suspected London county lines dealer in possession of a wad of cash, and two kinder eggs full of crack cocaine and heroin," said the spokesman.
"The naughty man was also wanted on warrant. He was arrested for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs."
The suspect was arrested, spent the night police cells, and further inquiries continue.
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Wisbech Standard. Click the link in the orange box above for details.


text:
On the 2nd day of the World Interfaith Harmony Week celebration, the University of Santo Tomas, specifically the Religions for Peace Philippines headed by Dr. Lilian J. Sison, together with Prof. Bong Baybado organized a forum on "Peace and Security in the Community: "A Shared Responsibility."
This forum intends to educate our young people of today's generation by educating them on how to response to the increasing threat of extremism in our society. The forum was attended by students from UST, Manuel L. Quezon University & Nazarene Catholic School, members from Latter Day Saint of Jesus Christ, MBBN Disaster Preparedness & Response Ministry staff and volunteers. The said activity was then headed by the Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Iran Hon. Mohammad Jafarimalek, Mr. Christopher "Bong" Grajo the President of Emergency Response Integration Center (ERIC) as keynote speakers and Rev. Fr. Lucio Rosaroso, Jr. the Deputy Chief, Chaplaincy Services, PNP.
The forum`s main objective is to eradicate the mentality that Islam is equal to terrorist and to spread the thought that religion and extremist has no respect to whatever religion, because primarily, their concern is to create chaos in our society. In response, we need the collective efforts of everyone for this to be a success. Furthermore, we should always work hand in hand for our common humanity.


text:
Adam & Eve, makers of such porn classics as Pirates, are looking for couples for their new Sensual Couples line of videos. If you've ever thought about being in porn, now is your chance! This was sent to me by a former Babeland employee who is going to be involved with the videos. I can't wait to see them!
Sensual Couples? DVDs will feature attractive real-life couples between the ages of 25 and 40.� We are currently looking for four couples to appear in our first title, ?Sexual Positions for Lovers?, to be shot in early 2009.
Couples will receive $5,000 US dollars, round trip airfare from any major city in the continental US to the location of filming, hotel accommodation and a $200 Adam & Eve spending spree.
Sensual Couples is asking for 15-minute audition DVDs/tapes with the first 5 minutes of each submission focused on getting to know the couple and 10 minutes of sensual sex (no pop shots please). Auditions will be evaluated on personality, attractiveness and sensuality.
All submitted material becomes the property of Sensual Couples and may be used on the DVD?s and on the sensualcouples.com website.
For information e-mail email@example.com
All audition DVDs or tapes (like mini-DV?s) should be sent to:Sensual Couples Auditions302 Meadowland DriveHillsborough NC 27517


text:
Creative talent, having recently moved into our new Burnley office are now focusing on our next stage:
A brand new film studio situated a stone's throw away from our office.
A brand new film studio situated a stone's throw away from our office. This studio will be complete with purpose built Green Screen with changeable background so as to allow for multi-purpose usage. The studio will also have an accessible garage so that large scale product (including cars) can be driven directly into the studio in order to maximise its potential. The amenities will make it an ideal environment for corporate film production, product displays and music videos.
The studio will have dedicated lighting, excellent acoustic facilities, changing room, rest room and toilet facilities and can be hired with various camera set ups including the latest Sony professional 4kHD cameras.
Check out some more images below.


text:
I have been working on my game for quite a while now and I haven't got much to call a game yet but it is getting there and I will hopefully have something more finished and polished to submit for Ludum Dare.
We're… getting there.
Posted by technocf (twitter: @technocodefox)April 19th, 2015 11:28 am
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text:
Traveler 12oz
FREE 2-Day Shipping
Infuse your day with the perfect accessory for morning coffee or afternoon smoothies with an insulated flip cap in freshly-picked hues and natural, renewable bamboo for a timeless look and comfortable grip.
Beautifully Designed
Removable infuser to brew tea or naturally flavor water with fruit
Earth Friendly
Made with bamboo, a natural, renewable resource
Hydrating the World
Welly donates at least 1% of sales to clean water projects worldwide, ensuring clean access for those who need it most.
Meet the Traveler
Wide mouth for ice cubes and easy cleaning
Triple-walled vacuum insulation keeps drinks cold for up to 24 hours or hot for up to 8
Removable infuser to brew tea or naturally flavor water with fruit
Made with natural, renewable bamboo
Slip-proof base fits standard cup holders
Hand wash only with soap, warm water and brush
7.75"H x 2.91"W
Traveler: 0.82 lb
18/8 food-grade stainless steel, bamboo, BPA-free plastic, silicone


text:
The BBC is an international multimedia broadcaster on radio, TV, online and social networks with a weekly global audience of 320 million. As part of an historic multi-million pound expansion of BBC Africa, the BBC World Service is introducing a wide range of new and exciting language and regional content to serve African and global audiences.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Senior Broadcast Journalist, BBC Pidgin Service
Job Reference: BBC/TP/590126/42905
Location: Lagos
Contract: Continuing
Job Category: Journalism
Contract Type: Permanent – Full Time
Business Unit: News – WSG World Service
Reports to: Editor, Pidgin Service
Job Introduction
- Africa's media landscape is changing. It is one of the fastest developing news markets in the world with mobile technology transforming lives, internet connectivity increasing, the radio market remaining relatively strong and Television migrating from analogue to digital.
- The BBC World Service remains the leading international broadcaster in Africa, reaching a weekly audience of more than 100 million across all platforms and Social Media. Globally, the BBC reaches a weekly audience of 320 million weekly across various platforms.
- The BBC World Service recently expanded its multimedia operations in Africa by doubling the number of language services from 6 to 12.
- Three of the new language services, Pidgin, Yoruba and Igbo, are serving our audiences in Nigeria and West Africa.
- They are based in Lagos, working alongside our operation in Abuja from where the BBC produces its Hausa service output. There is a strong emphasis on reaching and connecting with young audiences.
- The BBC is looking for a Senior Broadcast Journalist to work across all digital platforms to ensure that the Pidgin Service develops and grows a distinctiveness, character and status in its target area.
- On a day to day basis, you will contribute creative ideas and inspire the team to produce engaging content.
- Reporting to the Editor Pidgin Service, you will ensure quality and consistency of timely output. You will be required to occasionally do some field reporting. Shift work will be required which will include early mornings, late nights, weekends and public holidays.
Required Skills & Experience
- Fluency and up to date knowledge of Pidgin and the ability to type quickly and accurately.
- Fluency in English, written and spoken English and the ability to communicate effectively.
- Familiarity with digital news production systems and writing with flare for pictures. Anunderstanding of social media is essential.
- A willingness to learn to operate new technology systems and to be able to adapt to differentworking methods.
- A good knowledge of online journalism techniques.
- An ability to mentor, lead and inspire a team of journalists to bring out the best in them.
- A demonstrable interest in working in a multimedia environment and in encouraging audienceengagement.
- A thorough knowledge and understanding of Nigerian, African and international current affairs.
- A good broadcasting voice and the ability to acquire the appropriate presentation style isdesirable.
- A willingness to understand and adopt BBC Editorial Guidelines and to abide by BBC Values.
- Knowledge of the aims, objectives and standards of BBC World Service and Global News.
- The following competencies (behaviours and characteristics) have been identified as key to success in the job. Successful candidates are expected to demonstrate these competencies.
- Editorial Judgement – demonstrates balanced and objective judgement based on a thorough understanding of BBC editorial guidelines, target audience, programme and department objectives.
- Makes the right editorial decisions, taking account of conflicting views where necessary. Ability to take public comments on board and to make appropriate editorial changes to content.
- Creative Thinking – able to transform creative ideas into practical reality. Evidence of innovation and the ability to devise creative solutions by developing novel ideas or adapting existing ones in new ways. Evidence of a desire to create beautiful, quality content.
- Planning and organisation – able to think ahead in order to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources.
- Communication – able to get one's message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information. As well as the ability to motivate and deal sensitively with people who may be working to tight deadlines
- Influencing and persuading – able to present sound and well-reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change.
- Managing relationships and team working – able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people. Works co-operatively with the ability to work with other teams in developing tools, features and services.
- Developing Others – able to recognise potential (managerial, professional, artistic or otherwise) and is willing to foster the development of that potential. Creates a climate in which potential can be realised.
- Resilience – manages personal effectiveness by managing emotions in the face of pressure, setbacks or when dealing with provocative situations. Demonstrates an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy.
- Flexibility – adapts and works effectively with a variety of situations, individuals or groups. Able to understand and appreciate different and opposing perspectives on an issue, to adapt an approach as the requirements of a situation change, and to change or easily accept changes in one's own organisation or job requirements.
Role Responsibility
- The BBC World Service is recruiting for an experienced Senior Broadcast Journalist to work across the Pidgin Service digital output.
- You will take full editorial responsibility for the timely delivery of the day's output.
- Reporting to the Editor, your main responsibilities will include leading on the production, creative and timely distribution of all digital content, videos, and innovative editorial projects to serve our Pidgin audiences whilst adhering to the BBC's editorial guidelines and objectives.
- Working with the Pidgin team, you will be responsible for coming up with creative and innovative ways in storytelling and implementing them for BBC Pidgin especially for online and social media consumption. You must have work authorisation for Nigeria.
Deadline: 29th August, 2019.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online


text:
Peggy Sulahian and her co-star, Lydia McLaughlin, are staying close ahead of the upcoming premiere of The Real Housewives of Orange County season 12.
As she prepares for the debut of her new role as the 100th housewife of Bravo, Sulahian has remained active on Instagram.
In a recent series of photos, she and McLaughlin, who brought her to the reality series months ago, are seen spending time with one another and their husbands, Diko Sulahian and Doug McLaughlin.
"Soccer Mom Craziness with @oclydia #peggysulahian #housewife100 #rhoc #kokokuture," she wrote in the caption of her photo.
Following the release of The Real Housewives of Orange County season 12 trailer, Sulahian was confirmed to have landed a full-time role with the series.
Shortly thereafter, Bravo TV shared a short bio on Sulahian on their official website.
"Born in Kuwait to Armenian parents, Peggy Sulahian moved to the U.S. when she was one years old. She now lives a life of luxury in the exclusive Crystal Cove community with her custom wheel mogul husband Diko, and their three children - daughters Giovanna, 19, Gianelle, 17 and son Koko, 9," the bio read.
"After losing her mom to breast cancer at the age of 51, Peggy made the difficult decision to undergo a double mastectomy when doctors recently found a lump in her breast," the description continued. "As she prepares for reconstructive surgery, she wastes no time inserting herself into the drama, but often finds herself lost in translation amongst the women. "
To see more of Peggy Sulahian and her co-stars, tune into the Real Housewives of Orange County Season 12 premiere on Monday, July 1 at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV
Check out a sneak peek of the new season below.


text:
One agency. One Team. One goal: your success.
Altitude Agency is a Colorado digital marketing powerhouse with a creative firebrand – our team is composed of the industry's most innovative problem solvers with proven expertise in the fields of search engine optimization, social media marketing, web design, and content development.
For our clients, the Altitude Agency difference has less to do with the products we offer and everything to do with the team that delivers them. We know that regardless of what services we provide, there will always be a genuine need for expert guidance.
Our clients trust our suggestions and project deployments because they work, and because they are conceived by some of the brightest minds in online media. If you haven't optimized your website, social media platforms, online advertising, or branding, talk to us.
We leverage the lessons learned from thousands of prior project successes to help with:
Results Delivered
When the time is right for you to take action and launch your digital marketing journey into hyperdrive, it's time to contact Altitude Agency. Our team is composed of passionate, driven internet professionals who are eager to help build your business through intelligent, purpose-driven digital marketing solutions that deliver results.
Invest in Success
Remember that your competition will scratch and claw for every tiny slice of market share they can get, and that means investing heavily into SEO and related online branding services. In order to keep up, you need a professional partner that fully understands the internet marketing landscape. You need Altitude Agency.
Ready, Set, Go
Read more about our services, and then contact us for more information on how to get started. There's never been a better time to breathe new life into your business with powerful SEO and digital marketing solutions from Altitude Agency.
A Denver SEO is a person or company who practices search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is the implementation of various tactics designed to improve ones website in Google's "Organic" or "Free" results.
PPC Marketing is an acronym for 'Pay-Per-Click'. PPC programs like Google Ads are typically based on a bid system where you pay every time someone clicks on your advertisement.
Local SEO is the process of optimizing ones search engine web presence to target a local audience. This process can include targeting local keywords, building local citations, and optimizing Google MyBusiness and other local directories to promote favorable results in Google, Yahoo and Bing's local search engine results.
Enterprise SEO requires advanced strategies designed to improve revenue and rankings among large sets of keyword sets and data for large websites and/or organizations. Enterprise SEO specialist have the ability to dissect search trends, advanced analytics and provide actionable advice to impact visibility across a broad, technical spectrum.
Reputation SEO is the process of improving a website or persons reputation in search engine result pages. This could include promoting positive 'healthy content and suppressing or removing negative, or damaging content.
Negative SEO Case Study (Underway)
It's official — we've attacked ourselves. Over the past few months, the team at Negative SEO has been preparing to attack ourselves to better understand
Case Study: Negative SEO Attack on NuLeaf Naturals
NuLeaf Naturals used to rank #1 in Google for just about anything like buy CBD oil, CBD Oil and others. That was until they were
Welcome to Negative SEO
Welcome to the official Negative SEO. This website was created to serve as a resource and tool to help better understand the vast nature of


text:
Thunder Shower
quartet for flute, violin, viola, and cello
by Marcia Sloane
Page 6 of "Thundershower"
"Thunder Shower" is in 9/8 time, divided 2 + 2 + 3 + 2, with several short sections in 4/4. Cello pizzicato defines the 9/8 rhythmic structure over which a slow melody, free-flowing over the barline, contrasts with a faster melody aligned with the rhythmic structure. The piece opens with an espressivo viola solo and concludes with fading rhythmic pizzicato in the strings. Duration 6 minutes.
Listen to a sample clip from Thundershower in an arrangement for cello ensemble with marimba.
This piece is available on the CD Skyward
This music is available as a free downloadable PDF.
1. Download all of the files in a Zip archive (540KB, requires Stuffit or similar utility to un-stuff. Don't worry, most modern computers come with this function)
2. Download the component files separately:
- Complete score (216KB pdf)
- Cello part (80KB pdf)
- Flute part (92KB pdf)
- Viola part (96KB pdf)
- Violin part (96KB pdf)
Page 9 of "Thundershower"


text:
This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.
Since we starting watch the 1960s Batman Television series, our children have really become interested in superheroes like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Because of this new found love of superheros our daughter requested a Wonder Woman themed birthday party this year so I started thinking about what crafts our children could create to help decorate the house.
We made these Wonder Woman inspired shields with paper plates, paint, and a some clip art from the Internet.
Please note this craft will take a while longer due to waiting for the paint to dry in between steps.
1. Gather all your materials.
2. Paint the paper plate red and allow it to dry.
3. Paint a circle of blue on the paper plate. Allow the paint to dry.
4. Print out yellow stars or print out black and white stars and color them in.
5. Print out the Wonder Woman logo and color.
6. Glue on your stars and Wonder Woman logo.
7. Use your shield to defend against evil!
Looking for more crafts?
We made Wonder Woman Paper Bag Puppets and lots of other fun crafts that used paper plates like this one. Be sure to check out our Christmas ornaments, paper plate pigs, and paper plate chicks.


text:
Entrepreneurial Mass Litigation : Balancing the building blocks
Commerciële motieven in collectieve acties : Bouwstenen voor balans
Mass litigation is a relatively new phenomenon in Europe, yet it is gradually developing into an important area of the law. This is incited by the impact on society that mass harm might have, such as the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The past decades have demonstrated an increasing expansion of litigation mechanisms to address various types of mass harm. Meanwhile, commerce-driven parties are mushrooming, incentivised by the potential large earnings that mass litigation provides. Law firms, claim organizations and third-party funders increasingly engage in the already existing mechanisms and explore hidden or new pathways.
This innovation in civil law is two-faced. Entrepreneurial mass litigation might stimulate and improve access to justice and private enforcement, but it can also fuel a compensation culture and encourage abusive behaviour.
This book explores the conditions for assessing the contribution of entrepreneurship to mass litigation, by way of a theoretical and comparative legal study. It aims to contribute to the academic, political and judicial process of weighing and balancing the benefits and drawbacks of entrepreneurial mass litigation.
|Additional Metadata
|Civil law, mass litigation, collective redress, entrepreneurial lawyering, claim vehicles, third-party funding
|W.H. van Boom (Willem) , S.D. Lindenbergh (Siewert)
|Erasmus University Rotterdam
|Persistent URL
|For reasons of copyright there is an embargo for this dissertation. It is commercially available at Eleven International Publishing (see link provided).
Tillema, I. (2019, January 18). Entrepreneurial Mass Litigation : Balancing the building blocks. Erasmus University Rotterdam. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/114523
|Additional Files
|Stellingen-Tillema-EML.pdf , 45kb
|available online For sale at Eleven International Publishing


text:
3MProducts Respirator Paint Spry 7500 Lrg, Sold as 1 Each
$58.98 (as of September 10, 2018, 5:25 am)
- Description
New valve design helps make breathing easier, reduces heat and moisture build-up for cool, dry comfort. Advanced silicone material provides softer feel on face. Helps reduce exposure to organic vapors, mists associated with spray painting, pesticides, sta


text:
February 1, 2012
Blame Thoreau's Walden for this blog. Since I'd already read this month's Book of the Month, I mistakenly assumed I could coast on that long-ago reading. But I did feel I ought to at least scan it. That didn't last long for I soon discovered that my earlier reading of this timeless classic was so superficial that I might as well never have read it at all.
My re-reading jolting to a halt in Chapter 4, titled "Sounds." What brought my train of thought to a dead standstill was Thoreau's masterful exegesis on trains. I had long been aware of the revolutionary aspects of the Industrial Age, especially that of steam. Few, in the 1820s and 1830s realized that the world they knew had reached its terminus. Stewart H. Holbrook, in his landmark book, The Story of American Railroads (New York: Crown publishers, 1947) notes that "The coming of the railroad, and the rapidity with which it expanded during the 1830s found a public wholly unprepared, and pretty much confused. What, thoughtful men now asked one another, was a railroad? There had been little thinking on the subject, hence there was no philosophy of railroads. The canal builders and operators, of course, simply damned the new method of transportation on every count they could think of. It was dangerous. It wouldn't work. It was merely a clever method by which smart scoundrels could steal your money more or less legally by selling you worthless stock . . . . The railroad was also against nature. And, finally, it was against God; and many a preacher found friends among canal and stagecoach men when he opened up full blast on this new curse that a tireless Satan had promulgated to try all Christian men" (25).
Up until the advent of steam, clocks were merely a luxury, rich people's toys. For the average person, sundials worked fine. When the fastest speed known to men was a galloping horse or a sailing ship, each subject to disruption on primitive roads or stormy or becalming seas, exact times of arrival and departure were merely guesstimates. But now along comes steam-propelled trains and ships. How could they even function without relatively exact time? Time zones were nonexistent back then, for who needed them?
Now, however, each time another station was added to a railroad route, correct time became more and more significant. With that reality in mind, plant yourself in Thoreau's cabin by Walden Pond during the years 1845-7. Time-travel back to that heretofore agricultural age in which the fastest travel was in stagecoaches, with nothing except leather straps to absorb the jolting over often terrible roads. So, visiting with Thoreau, you hear a new sound; you view a new force, a staggering reality: for the first time in recorded history, the pace of life speeds up. A new force shatters the serenity of thousands of years. Looking over Thoreau's shoulder, so to speak, you follow as his quill dips in and out of the inkwell and he chronicles his reactions on the pages of his journal.
Let's see what his reactions were: Earlier in this chapter, he noted that he was able to enjoy undisturbed solitude and stillness . . . with the occasional noise of "some traveler's wagon on the distant highway." He was barely conscious of the passing of time: "My days were not days of the week, bearing the stamp of any heathen deity, nor were they minced into hours and fretted by the ticking of a clock; for I lived like the Puri Indians, of whom it is said that, 'for yesterday, to-day, and to-morrow they have only one word, and they express the variety of meaning by pointing backward for yesterday, forward for to-morrow, and overhead for the passing day.'" Walden (New York: The Heritage Press, 1939, 118).
But then comes the Fitchburg Railroad! "The whistle of the locomotive penetrates my woods summer and winter, sounding like the scream of a hawk sailing over some farmer's yard, informing me that many restless city merchants are arriving within the circle of the town, or adventurous country traders from the other side. . . . Here comes your groceries, country; your rations, countrymen! Nor is any man so independent on his farm that he can say them nay. And here's your pay for them! Screams the countryman's whistle; timber like long battering-rams going twenty miles an hour against the city walls, and chairs enough to seat all the weary and heavy-laden that dwell within them. . . . All the Indian huckleberry hills are stripped, all the cranberry meadows are raked into the city. Up comes the cotton, down goes the woven cloth; up comes the silk, down goes the woollen; up comes the books, but down goes the wit that writes them."
"When I meet the engine with its train of cars moving off with planetary motion—or, rather, like a comet, for the beholder knows not if with that velocity and with that direction it will ever revisit this system, since its orbit does not look like a returning curve—with its steam-cloud like a banner streaming behind in golden and silver wreaths, like many a downy cloud which I have seen, high in the heavens, unfolding its masses to the light—as if this traveling demigod, this cloud-compeller, would ere long take the sunset sky for the livery of his train; when I hear the iron horse make the hills echo with his snort like thunder, shaking the earth with his feet, and breathing fire and smoke from his nostrils (what kind of winged horse or fiery dragon they will put into the new Mythology I don't know), it seems as if the earth has got a race now worthy to inhabit it. If all were as it seems, and men made the elements their servants for noble ends! If the cloud that hangs over the engine were the perspiration of heroic deeds, or as beneficent as that which floats over the farmer's fields, then the elements and Nature herself would cheerfully accompany men on their errands, and be their escort.
"I watch the passage of the morning cars with the same feeling that I do the rising of the sun, which is hardly more regular. Their train of clouds stretching far behind and rising higher and higher, going to heaven while the cars are going to Boston, conceals the sun for a minute and casts my distant field into the shade, a celestial train beside which the petty train of cars which hugs the earth is but the barb of the spear. The stabler of the iron horse was up early this winter morning by the light of the stars amid the mountains, to fodder and harness his steed. Fire, too, was awakened thus early to put the vital heat in him and get him off. If the enterprise were as innocent as it is early! If the snow lies deep, they strap on his snowshoes, and with the giant plough plough a furrow from the mountains to the sea-board, in which the cars, like a following drill-barrow, sprinkle all the restless men and floating merchandise in the country for seed. All day the fire-steed flies over the country, stopping only that his master may rest, and I am awakened by his tramp and defiant snort at midnight, when in some remote glen in the woods he fronts the elements incased in ice and snow; and he will reach his stall only with the morning star, to start once more on his travels without rest or slumber. Or perchance, at evening, I hear him in his stable blowing off the superfluous energy of the day, that he may calm his nerves and cool his liver and brain for a few hours of iron slumber. If the enterprise were as heroic and commanding as it is protracted and unwearied!
"Far through unfrequented woods on the confines of towns, where once only the hunter penetrated by day, in the darkest night dart these bright saloons without the knowledge of their inhabitants; this moment stopping at some brilliant station-house in town or city, where a social crowd is gathered, the next in the Dismal Swamp, scaring the owl and fox. The startings and arrivals of the cars are now the epochs in the village day. They go and come with such regularity and precision, and their whistle can be heard so far, that the farmers set their clocks by them, and thus one well-conducted institution regulates a whole country. Have not men improved somewhat in punctuality since the railroad was invented? Do they not talk and think faster in the depot than they did in the stage-office? There is something electrifying in the atmosphere of the former place. I have been astonished at the miracles it has wrought; that some of my neighbors, who, I should have prophesied, once for all, would never get to Boston by so prompt a conveyance, are on hand when the bell rings. To do things "railroad fashion" is now the by-word; and it is worth the while to be warned so often and so sincerely by any power to get off its track. There is no stopping to read the riot act, no firing over the heads of the mob, in this case. We have constructed a fate, an Atropos, that never turns aside. (Let that be the name of your engine.) Men are advertised that at a certain hour and minute these bolts will be shot toward particular points of the compass; yet it interferes with no man's business, and the children go to school on the other track. We live the steadier for it. We are all educated thus to be sons of Tell. The air is full of invisible bolts. Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then." (121-124)
* * * * *
However, even though Thoreau's townspeople in Concord set their clocks by the train's whistle that didn't mean that the American people now lived by the same time. Far from it!
Let's return to Holbrook. Decades after Thoreau's Walden Pond days, the situation had not yet been fully resolved: "At first no timetables were issued the traveling public. Only operating crews and station agents were given the crude, handwritten sheets which, incidentally, were more hopeful than accurate. . . . "
"The railroads naturally ran all of their trains by the local time of the road's terminal. In the case of the New York Central this meant that its trains, leaving Manhattan by terminal time, arrived at Buffalo fifteen minutes late by Buffalo time. In the latitude of Chicago, it was known, the passage of the sun across the meridian varied one minute for every thirteen miles, or one second for every 1,140 feet of longitude. Railroads had long since ceased to think in terms of hours only, but were holding their schedules to minutes. The Pennsylvania used Philadelphia time in the East, which was 5 minutes slower than New York City's, but 5 minutes faster than Baltimore time. The B&O system was very complicated. It used Baltimore time for trains running out of Baltimore, Columbus time for trains in Ohio, Vincennes time for trains west of Cincinnati. When solar time was noon in Chicago, it was 12:31 in Pittsburgh, 12:24 in Cleveland, 12:13 in Cincinnati, 12:09 in Louisville, 12:07 in Indianapolis, 11;50 in St. Louis, 11:48 in Dubuque, 11:41 in St. Paul, 11:27 in Omaha. There were at least 27 local times in Michigan, 38 in Wisconsin, 27 in Illinois, and 23 in Indiana. A careful traveler, going from Eastport, Maine, to San Francisco, changed his stem-winder 20 times during the trip.
"In Kansas City, and to a certain extent in Boston, each of the leading jewelers set up his own standard time and defended it with the same emotional intensity generally expended only in defending a religion. Each jeweler's customers became partisans, loud and insistent. The situation in Kansas City became so bad, what with everybody missing trains and one thing and another, that the town at last adopted a time-ball system.
"In every city and town the multiplicity of time standards confused and bewildered passengers, shippers, and railway employees. Only too often errors and mistakes turned out disastrously, for railroads were now running fast trains on tight schedules; a minute or two might mean the difference between smooth operation and a collision." (Holbrook, 355).
After decades of wrangling, resolution was finally reached. Authorized by the U.S. Supreme Court, the fateful date chosen was November 18, 1883 (only 123 years ago); the time: noon. The clocks used by all the railroads in the nation were reset to fit the four time standards (zones) that had finally been agreed upon. Holbrook takes us to the exact moment when time as we know it began:
"The change, welcome though it was, put something of a strain on all railroads, for the adjustment called for extreme care and watchfulness lest disasters due to collisions occur. Specific orders were issued on every division. Train crews were instructed as to what change to make in their watches. A typical order was that issued by Superintendent Rowland of the Louisville & Nashville. "Should any train or engine be caught between telegraph stations at 10 A.M. on Sunday, November 18, "it read, "they will stop at precisely 10 o'clock wherever they may be and stand still and securely protect their trains or engines in the rear and front until 10:18 A.M., and then turn their watches back to precisely 10 o'clock, new standard time, and then proceed on card rights or on any special orders they may have in their possession for the movement of their trains to the first telegraph station where they will stop and compare watches with the clock and be sure they have the correct new standard time before leaving . . ."
"On the 18th, as the minutes ticked away in the morning, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune found an unusual blanket of solemnity in the West Side Union Depot, which served the Pennsylvania, Burlington, Pan Handle, and Alton railroads. He sensed that all present felt something of an extraordinary nature was about to happen. At quarter to noon, Chicago local time, conductors, engineers and other employees began dropping into the lobby, each with timepiece in hand. Depot Master Cropsey had his fine chronometer under a strong magnifying glass to mark the exact second. When the big clock on the wall, by which the running of the trains in the depot was regulated, stood fair at noon, it was stopped. Telegraph instruments were then connected with the pendulum of the clock in the observatory at Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Each movement of the pendulum was faithfully repeated by the ticking instruments, and at exactly 9 minutes 32 seconds after 12, Chicago time, "the movement of the pendulum stopped, indicating that it was 12 noon by 90th meridian time. The feat was successfully accomplished, and a general murmur of satisfaction ran through the room." (Holbrook, 3589).
The long reign of the sundial now came to an end. Time—as we know it—began that day.


text:
Posted on September 28, 2018 at 12:36am 0 Comments 0 Likes
Green Coffee Beans -even if you are not occupied with your lookand appearance, you'll nonetheless want to search out methodsto drop some weight. It tells you that that is the way youlook and this is how you'll look. You'll solely spend a numberof minutes out of your time and it'll give you constructiveresults very soon. As a result, we proudly maintain anntensive listing of very glad Clients and…Continue