text:
After an early-season brush with Tropical Storm Andrea, Florida marked a record eight years in a row without a hurricane making landfall.
The hurricane hype was way off.
Far from being a busy year for tropical weather as predicted, the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season will wrap up Nov. 30 with the fewest hurricanes in three decades.
Florida set a record of eight years without a hurricane making landfall in the state, something homeowners can celebrate. But the fact that forecasters were so wrong — they haven't been so far off in 16 years — raises questions about the reliability and utility of such predictions, and whether inaccuracy could breed complacency.
The average hurricane season generates 12 named storms, including six hurricanes — four of them major — and two storms that make landfall in the United States.
All of the leading groups that forecast tropical weather predicted an above-average season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast up to nine hurricanes and three to five major storms with wind speeds above 111 mph.
But of this year's 13 storms, two became hurricanes, neither of them major. Including the late-forming Melissa this month, the number of named storms was slightly above average. Just one system — the season's first, Tropical Storm Andrea — made landfall in the U.S., causing few problems as it sideswiped Sarasota and Manatee counties in June.
The accumulated cyclone energy this hurricane season — a measurement that takes into account the total number of storms, their duration and intensity — was the lowest since 1983 in the Atlantic.
"We had an absolutely massive bust," said Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist with Colorado State University's Tropical Meteorology Project. "It's a huge error, but when you're forecasting the weather there are always going to be years that really throw you. We'll try to learn from it and improve it going forward."
Dust, drought and winds
Klotzbach said all signs pointed to a busy hurricane season. Warmer ocean temperatures, low pressure over the Atlantic, an absence of the El Nino weather phenomenon and other broad weather patterns favored storm development.
Then came the dust.
Tropical cyclones feed off of moisture. Dust storms blowing into the Atlantic from Africa's Sahara Desert were stronger than expected this year, blanketing the ocean in dry air and hampering storm development. A severe drought in Brazil may also have played a role, along with wind patterns that brought dry, sinking air over the Atlantic.
The sinking air also helped stabilize the atmosphere, limiting storm development. And strong upper level winds — which rip apart hurricanes — were greater than normal over the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico as frontal boundaries pushed further east than usual.
The dust and wind patterns are hard to predict months in advance.
"It was some things that are very difficult to see in the long-term forecast," said Paul Pastelok, Accuweather's long-range forecast director.
So do such forecasts have much value if they can be so wrong? Might homeowners become complacent and less disaster ready if they believe the predictions are over hyped?
Meteorologists try to emphasize that the forecasts are simply an educated guess. Klotzbach said he can only account for roughly 40 to 50 percent of the variables that affect hurricane development and intensity.
Despite such limitations, Colorado State's forecast is generally pretty accurate. Not since 1997 has it been this far off.
Don't rely on forecasts
Still, Klotzbach said the tropical weather predictions have limited value as a tool for the public and must be "put in the proper perspective." Homeowners should take every hurricane season seriously, he said, regardless of the number of storms forecast.
Hurricane Andrew — the worst storm to hit Florida in modern times — formed during an otherwise slow season.
The forecasts "are put out to satisfy public curiosity but this should in no way affect how you prepare for a hurricane," Klotzbach said.
Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters said the long-term hurricane forecasts are mainly useful as a tool for businesses and as a way to gauge how far the science of meteorology has progressed.
Insurance companies may write fewer policies in a region if they believe it will be an active hurricane year. Home Depot might stock more emergency generators. Over the long term, these bets will pay off if the forecasts are accurate more times than not.
"I see the utility mainly for business, not so much for the public," Masters said.
Still, Masters knows the forecasts will continue to generate media attention and public scrutiny. He hopes they improve.
"They're interesting," he said. "People want to know what the best science we have says. But we should still view this as a research product. A lot more work needs to go into it."


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VT-x is being used by another hypervisor (VERR_VMX_IN_VMX_ROOT_MODE)
If you are using Linux Distro (Ubuntu in my case) and when you try to run VirtualBox, you might get the following error : VirtualBox can't operate in VMX root mode. Please disable the KVM kernel extension, recompile your kernel and reboot (VERR_VMX_IN_VMX_ROOT_MODE). or something like VT-x is being used by another hypervisor (VERR_VMX_IN_VMX_ROOT_MODE).
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[Blue Springs: A History of the Desperate Battles at Blue Springs for the Control of Upper East Tennessee During the Civil War by William A. Beard III (Town of Mosheim and Strawberry Plains Press, 1997). 8.5x11 Softcover, maps, photos, appendices, bibliography, index. Pages main/total: 96/122. ISBN: 0-9660640-1-1]
The town of Mosheim, Tennessee (Blue Springs, TN in 1863) hosts an annual reenactment of the Battle of Blue Springs, and in 1997 commissioned the publication of a historical account of the fight, the result of which was William A. Beard's Blue Springs: A History of the Desperate Battles at Blue Springs for the Control of Upper East Tennessee During the Civil War. Beard is a former president of the Jefferson County Historical Society and author of a regimental history of the 79th New York (the "Cameron Highlanders").
Although it covers a pair of battles fought in the area, Blue Springs focuses on the larger and more significant October 10, 1863 action. On that date, an outnumbered Confederate cavalry brigade commanded by Gen. William S. "Cerro Gordo" Williams, under the impression it was conducting a diversion in favor of a larger advance, fought a strong detachment of Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's Army of the Ohio south of Bull's Gap and was driven back. The victors, Gen. James M. Shackelford's division, supported by Gen. Edward Ferrero's infantry division, were temporarily able to clear upper East Tennessee, enabling the Union forces to redirect their focus toward besieged Chattanooga.
Beard recounts the battle in some detail, mostly at brigade scale. Four original maps and a pair of reproductions of Union engineer officer Orlando M. Poe's battlefield sketch help orient the reader and provide a general idea of unit placement. Following this, a very brief chapter summarizes the August 23, 1864 Second Battle of Blue Springs, another Union victory.
The book's quality gloss paper sets off its large array of period and modern photographs (of persons, buildings, landscapes, and battlefield artifacts). Event chronologies and orders of battle are located in the appendices. The latter are quite detailed, and boast armament information and some numbers data. There is a bibliography and index, but unfortunately no footnotes.
1863-64 operations in East Tennessee comprise one of the most neglected military subjects in the Civil War literature. While Blue Springs does not approach a definitive treatment, even for the small segment of the larger campaign that it does cover, it will present interested readers with a useful text and pictorial summary of movements in the area as well as the leaders and units that conducted them.
* - Special thanks to Jim Allen, Executive Director of the Battle of Blue Springs event (held in mid-October of each year, but with a 2009 hiatus) and Chairman of the Planning Committee.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Beard: "BLUE SPRINGS: A History of the Desperate Battles at Blue Springs for the Control of Upper East Tennessee During the Civil War"
5 comments:
- AnonymousJanuary 9, 2014 at 1:12 PM
I and family have been to several re-enactments and always found them to be exciting and educational. Too bad that the re-enactments no longer occur. Jan. 9th. 2014 firstname.lastname@example.com
- AnonymousDecember 21, 2014 at 11:02 PM
why does this book sell for such a high price?ReplyDelete
Anyone know where I can purchase this BookReplyDelete
If you wish to comment, please sign your name. Otherwise, your submission may be rejected, at my discretion. Also, outside promotions are not allowed in the comments section.
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Experts Weigh In on Childhood Obesity
By Rebecca Sharim Storace, M.D.:
Obesity in America is a growing problem, and not just in adults. More than a third of the children and adolescents in the United States are overweight or obese, according to 2010 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And since 1980, the number of obese children and adolescents has almost tripled, a jump attributed in part to poor food choices and insufficient physical activity.
Despite the ballooning problem, parents and doctors often find the topic of childhood obesity difficult to discuss. To start the conversation, ABC News' chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser hosted a Twitter Chat on the subject Tuesday. Experts from the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as clinicians, parents and others with personal experience joined in the one-hour discussion.
Here, some of the highlights.
The Risks Are Overwhelming
"Childhood obesity affects every organ system in the body," tweeted Dr. Seema Kumar, the director of the Pediatric Weight Management Program at Mayo Clinic.
The risks include diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. In fact, roughly 70 percent of obese youth are thought to have at least one risk factor for heart disease, according to the CDC. What's more, experts agree that obese youth are at high risk of becoming obese adults, prompting even more health problems, including joint disease, heart disease, sleep apnea and certain cancers.
The health risks of obesity are not only physical, they're psychological as well. Childhood obesity has been linked to depression, anxiety and poor self-esteem.
"Overweight children are also more likely to be bullied," tweeted Thomas McInerny, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Schools, Government Play a Critical Role
Tweeters agreed that it would be beneficial if the government funded programs to promote healthy food choices, rather than pay the heavy consequences of obesity in the future.
"Obesity costs $7.6 billion/yr in NY," tweeted Montefiore Medical Center.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on super-sized sugary drinks was shot down Monday just before going into effect. But some Twitter chat participants still strongly support the move to limit these drinks.
"Sugary drinks are a major source of empty calories and contribute to kids gaining weight," tweeted James Marks, senior vice president and director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Group.
Schools need to do their part to ensure that children are making healthy choices, some experts said. On top of offering healthy choices in the cafeteria, schools also need to pay attention to snacks and class parties, according to Angela Haupt, health and wellness editor for U.S. News and World Report.
"48 student birthdays = 48 cupcakes at 300 calories a piece = 14,400 extra calories/year," she tweeted.
Educating kids about nutrition is also important.
"I'd love it if school tied in lessons - learning about calories in science, math, PE and home economics! Apply in cafeteria!" tweeted @FatGirlvsWorld.
Prevention Is Easier Than Treatment
Preventing obesity is essential, experts said, as treating obesity is extremely difficult. It's important to promote healthy food choices and physical activity.
"Lack of exercise is [a] big risk factor for being overweight," McInerny tweeted. "Need at least 1hr [of]exercise 5 days/wk."
McInerny also shared the 5-2-1-0 formula: 5 fruits and vegetables; less than 2 hours of screen time; 1 hour of exercise; and 0 sugary drinks.
Parent support is also critical. Healthy food choices and regular physical activity should be promoted as a lifestyle, not a diet. Experts encouraged parents to sit down with their kids for meals and involve kids in food shopping and preparation. And because parents are role models for children, they need to be conscious of their own eating and activity patterns.
You can find the transcript of Tuesday's chat here.
Our next chat is Tuesday, March 19 at 1 p.m. ET. We'll be discussing concussions. Joining in is easy. Click here for the details!


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Highly—Profoundly Gifted
Educational Planning for Highly to Profoundly Gifted Children
Abandon all suppositions ("ye who enter here") about the highly gifted (HG, 145-159 IQ), exceptionally gifted (EG, 160-174 IQ), and profoundly gifted (PG, 175+ IQ). Such students thrive when provided flexible choices, meaningful work, moderate to radical acceleration (3 years may not be too much), and teachers they respect. Extremely asynchronous, they possess enhanced characteristics of giftedness and overexcitabilities. Most prefer bright older friends, and even teachers, to same-aged, nongifted classmates. Many value learning to satisfy their own curiosity; they may not earn the highest grades. Successful school placements require flexibility to adjust curricula and instruction to meet unique needs. Full-time gifted schools may be a good base of operations; homeschooling offers the most flexible options.
The child's level of giftedness is pivotal in program planning. Group IQ tests do not distinguish students in the higher ranges. Therefore, quality individual assessment is the first step in meeting the needs of HG, EG and PG children. Our examiners have tested over 1,000 exceptionally and profoundly gifted children from around the world. We take the time necessary to build rapport, and let children reflect, sort through their vast knowledge base and respond precisely to questions. We move quickly between tasks when they need greater speed to maintain interest. We enjoy their intelligence, their successes and their wit.
We understand important nuances in assessing HG, EG and PG children. We carefully select appropriate tests and subtests. We provided research to develop extended norms for the WISC-IV and are providing similar research on the WISC-V. We report when a child never reaches a subtest discontinue criterion or offers correct answers after meeting a discontinue criterion suddenly, indicating that the score may be an underestimate. We note when reflective thinkers obtain right answers, even when they occur after time limits. Many testers consider the single Full Scale IQ score the best indicator of a child's intelligence even when it is statistically uninterpretable due to significant subtest score discrepancies. We use expanded index scores on the WISC-V when helpful to document strengths, in line with the National Association for Gifted Children position statement, "Use of the WISC-V for Gifted and Twice Exceptional Identification." We helped to gather and analyze data for this statement, and draft the statement. We offer the Differential Ability Scales-Second Edition (DAS-II), and sometimes the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (Form L-M), when the WISC-V significantly underestimates the child's abilities due to inadequate item difficulty.
The combination of a comprehensive individual IQ test and an achievement test offers schools documentation of extraordinary ability and a measure of current academic progress. Individual achievement tests measure achievement at all grade levels, an advantage over grade-based tests for highly advanced or asynchronous learners. The rate of academic progress can be inferred from the age of the child, allowing more appropriate placement decisions to be made. When armed with such information, educators are more willing to provide flexible programming and placements.
The heart of our work is fashioning a rich, fast-paced learning environment for these students. Would curriculum compacting or telescoping help? Can pre-testing be done to exempt the child from material already learned? Can independent research/projects in areas of interest be done in the time saved? Acceleration is a frequent consideration: when to accelerate, how much, the social-emotional aspects, and why NOT accelerating may be more dangerous than accelerating. Miraca Gross' longitudinal study of children with IQs of 160+ found that exceptionally and profoundly gifted children fared best with 3 or more years of acceleration K-12. The accelerated students attained higher degrees and were more successful in their careers, and the non-accelerated students had high risk of depression and underemployment. The greatest benefit was social; acceleration allowed these students to be with others with whom they had common interests.
The Gifted Development Center is world-renowned for its experience with HG, EG, and PG students. We can help you choose or create supportive learning environments in which to develop your child's strengths, meet unusual needs, and protect emotional health and self-esteem.


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Santa Cruz LGBTQ+ Youth Meet-Up
Add to CalendarGet a Timely Calendar
October 17, 2020 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The Diversity Center
LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 12 – 18 who want to meet new people, join a welcoming community and learn the tools of activism and leadership, look no further! The Diversity Center's LGBTQ+ Youth Meetup is the place for you.
Join our dynamic team of youth from the Santa Cruz County! Bring yourself or bring a friend.
Our meetups run from 1-3:00 pm ,with a youth leadership meeting from 3 – 3:30 pm. If you are interested in planning events for the Youth Program or would like to be a part of the process, join the team!


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Najlepsze gry o dziewczynach na dziewczynygames.com, gry o przebieraniu, gry o urodzie, gry o dekorowaniu, gry o gotowaniu, itd.
Animals & Colors
Animals and Colors is a charming free online brain game that offers plenty of challenge and family fun. Friendly animals are displayed on screen in a whole slew of varying colors, right alongside a question. You must pay attention and answer correctly as fast as you can. The game calls for you to match the animal, or even match the colors on screen. It's like the age old memory game where you have to recall pictures, only with cute little animals instead. At the conclusion, this online puzzle game will tell you how fast your total reaction time is. What are you waiting for? Get out there and play so you can get some brain exercise!
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Crazy Birds 2
The Crazy Birds are back! Once again they fight to defend themselves against the pigs that want to expel the birdies from their own land. The pigs did set up fortresses already, but these birds wouldn't be known as Crazy Birds, if some walls could hold them back! Whether it's wood or stone, for those birdies it doesn't matter, as they just dive into the walls head first and crush them. And if they fail there always even crazier birds to follow. Use the different abilities of the crazy birds to defeat the army of enemy pigs. Play Crazy Birds II now for free! Set up the slingshot and get ready to aim, shoot and destroy all the enemy structures and the angry pigs.
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Pop balloons in a way you never did it before. The goal of this game is to pop as many balloons from the same color while time is running out.
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Are you well-padded and want to lose a few pounds? Get Fit turns working out and getting in shape into fun and entertaining mini games. In each of the mini games you accompany a character on it's way from being chubby to a real beefcake. You can test your reaction in sports like rope skipping, lifting and the famous hula hoop. The longer you play the fitter your character gets. Just like in real life getting fit is easier as staying fit. If you start to slack off and skip your training for some days your character will gain weight again. So make sure to come back every day and work out! Play Get Fit now for free!
Batte Fish
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to battle fish of all kinds in an arena? Which two fish would win an all-out duel in the deep blue sea? What if you placed a huge blowfish in a tank with lots of smaller fish, who would win? Well now you have the opportunity to find out! In this online action arcade game, you must grow your blowfish to a reasonable size so that they can defend themselves. After all, a small fish would never be able to protect itself from a large fish – it just doesn't happen, at least not in this game. Don't worry, it seems like it would be difficult to battle fish but it's actually very easy. Tap a fish to help them grow or stop interacting with them to suspend growth. In order to successfully defend yourself from the other fish in the sea, you must be bigger in size. If you bump into enemy fish or other objects and you're smaller, you'll be reduced to your original compact size. The winning strategy involves knowing exactly when to grow your fish, and when to let them float around. Will you survive to eat the smaller prey, or will you be fish food instead? Remember to keep growing those fish when you can, because no one likes to be fish food. Just give this charming game a try, it's extremely addictive! It can be played from any smartphone, tablet or computer regardless of where you are. Access it directly online, at any time of the day for free. Who doesn't love free games? We certainly do! There's no questionable material either so you can play with your entire family. Compare scores with friends and family alike to find out who is the reigning blowfish-battle champ.
Dak Dak Buffet
Dak dak, a food lover rabbit, is entering an eating contest! Help Dakdak win the contest by choosing an appropriate eating technique. Is it vegetable? Is it meat? Or is it delicious dessert? But be careful! Choosing a wrong technique will only waste your time. How many dishes can Dakdak clear before the time runs out?
Games for Girls, Skill
Heart Breaker
Heart Breaker may sound a bit cheesy, but this game isn't. In fact it is a Asteroids style shooter where you have to defend your heart from getting broken by evil heart-breakers. While moving through the levels you can upgrade your heart for stronger offensive and defensive skills.
Games for Girls, Skill


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Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is Good, But No iPad Killer [REVIEW]
Kindle Fire HD 8.9 4G LTE
Amazon expands its tablet sights with the bigger, more powerful Kindle Fire HD 8.9. Can it compete against Apple's iPad?
If there's one company that deserves credit for reigniting the iPad competitor market, it's Amazon. Despite some bugs and an overall blah design, its 7-inch Kindle Fire was the first Android tablet that made sense to consumers who gobbled it up to help the Fire grab 50% of the Android tablet market in just 6 months.
That tablet essentially opened the flood gates for a new set of ever-more-powerful 7-inchers from, notably, Barnes & Noble and Google. All three companies have already updated their 7-inch offerings to more powerful components and higher-resolutions screens. They're all still running Android, though Amazon and Barnes & Noble choose to hide the Google OS behind smarter and much more consumer-friendly interfaces.
All this led Apple to finally enter the mid-sized tablet space with the iPad Mini. It's easily the best-looking tablet of the bunch, but also $120 more expensive than its nearest competitor.
The more interesting development, though, is Amazon's (and Barnes & Noble's) decision to go toe-to-toe with Apple's full-size iPad and launch the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (in 4G LTE and WiFi-only). The move is akin to a middle weight boxer putting on the pounds to take on the Heavyweight world champion. Amazon's Kindle Fire HD is slightly smaller (the iPad is 9.7-inches), lighter (567g vs. 625g), cheaper ($369 for 32 GB model vs. $599 for the iPad 4th Gen — Amazon subsidizes with sleep-state ads, that I do not mind) and overall somewhat less powerful. In order to win the battle, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD better be pretty nimble on its feet, while able to throw that all important knockout punch.
Short version of this story: the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 does some serious damage, but the iPad 4th Gen gets the decision and retains the tablet leader title.
The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is by no means a failure. In many ways, it's as good as the smaller Kindle Fire HD, but throughout my tests I noticed odd bugs and glitches (which should all be fixable by software) and a somewhat disturbing lack of power that's especially obvious when you put the Fire HD 8.9 next to the iPad 4th Gen
What It Is
If you've never seen an iPad and someone handed you the Kindle Fire HD .9, you'd likely say its jet-black, soft-to-the-touch plastic body felt good in your hands and was more than effective at all the core tasks (reading, game playing, e-mail, web browsing).
Design-wise, the 8.9 device looks exactly like the 7-inch model, complete with the too-hard to find volume and power buttons. There are no other physical buttons on this device, but Amazon chooses to hide the few it has by making them the exact same color as the chassis and flush with the body. Every time I use the tablet I do the "where's the damn button" dance, rotating the Kindle Fire HD round and round until I feel the buttons (since I can barely see them).
I have applauded Barnes & Noble for putting the physical "N" home button right on the face of their Nook HD. Bravo for having the guts to do this. Amazon apparently looks at Apple's iPad home button and thinks to have anything similar would be seen as "copying" the Cupertino hardware giant, when instead they should realize that it works, consumers like it and tablets without it are at a distinct disadvantage.
Amazon's interface has you make do with a virtual, slide-out home button that is always available. Problem is, I found times when it wasn't available. When I played Spider-Man and Asphalt 7, the tiny little left-had bar would disappear and I couldn't exit the game unless I hit the sleep/power button.
The rest of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9's body is solid and unremarkable (if you read my Kindle fire HD 7 review, then you know exactly what to expect.). Like the iPad 4th Gen, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 has a front-facing 720p-capable camera. It's useful for capturing video, snapping 1 Megapixel images and, probably most important, Skype video chats. Skype has built a fairly sharp-looing Kindle Fire app, though the design doesn't fully fit the larger 8.9-inch screen. Skype just updated its Android app for better tablet viewing and hopefully, we'll see this update hit the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 as well.
The iPad also has an HD rear-facing camera. The Kindle fire HD 8.9 does not (Barnes & Noble leave out cameras altogether)
Not Packing a Punch
As a large-screen high-resolution tablet (though iPad's 2048x1536 retina display beats it), the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 offers plenty of attractive screen real estate for web browsing, book and magazine reading and games. But the results can be mixed. Silk, Amazon's custom web browser, was occasionally less than responsive and games, though, they ran well, never looked half as good as they do on the considerably more expensive iPad 4.
Granted, you can't always find the same high-quality immersive action games on both Android and iOS, but Asphalt 7 Heat is a notable exception and it throws the performance differences between the two tablets into stark contrast. Game play is equally responsive on both platforms: the Kindle Fire HD 8.9's accelerometer reads my moves just as well as the iPad.
The graphics on the Kindle Fire HD, however, are reduced to blobs and blocks (palm trees without distinct leaves, buildings without discernible windows) . The iPad's quad-core graphics simply overmatch the Kindle Fire. I have never, for example, seen an iPad draw the game as I was playing, as I did when I tried out The Amazing Spider-Man.
Additionally, I experienced more than my share of crashes with games and even magazine apps like Vanity Fair.
The Good
Not everyone, however, will compare the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 to the iPad. Some will see the $299 entry-level price point (for the 16 GB model) and appreciate the power, flexibility and utility of this device. Like all Fire's before it, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 makes it easy to consume mass quantities of content. Nearly every menu option: Games, Apps, Books, Music, Videos, Newsstand, puts you just one click away from shopping for fresh content. If you have an Amazon account (and who doesn't) your desired book, music or movie is just a click away. Plus, you can still easily store any of it locally, and worry about running out of storage space, or in the cloud, and never worry about space or accessibility—you can get to that purchased Kindle content from any Kindle app or registered Amazon device.
Watching movies on the tablet is a pleasure. I streamed a couple through Amazon Prime; they looked good on the 1920 x 1200 screen and the Dolby Stereo speakers produced sharp, loud, almost room-filling sound—an impressive feat not even the iPad can match.
The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 also includes a mini-HDMI-out port, which prompted me to connect the tablet to my 47-inch LED HDTV so we could watch Disney's Brave. Yes, I had to get up and tap on the Kindle screen each time I wanted to pause and restart the move, but otherwise, I was pretty impressed with how the Kindle handled the task.
Obviously I yearn for an Apple Airplay-like feature on Android tablets (rumor has it one is coming), but this is the next, best thing.
There isn't a lot to say about the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch interface that I did not say in the Kindle Fire HD 7 review. I will note, however, that the increased real estate makes the trademark task carousel seem almost too big. Icons for everything from your recently played Spider-Man game to magazine apps, books and Web sites all sit side-by-side-by side. Some, like book covers, look gorgeous.
Others like a broken web-page link look stupid. Worse yet, none of them have labels, which can occasionally make it hard to identify which app or task you're looking at. I'm just not sure this interface metaphor is sustainable.
Personally I prefer either the clean consistent look of iOS, or the uber-user friendly, family-oriented Nook HD profile-based one. Amazon may want to take a hard look at those and start over.
Staying Connected
The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is also Amazon's first cellular-based tablet. That fact puts it even more squarely in competition with the iPad (which obviously has always had 3G models and now offers blazing fast 4G LTE ones as well on all major carriers).
Amazon's mobile broadband plans are a little more conservative, with just the AT&T 4G LTE option (the 32 GB 4G model that I tested lists for $499, which is still $224 less than a comparable iPad 4th Gen).
In my experience, the connectivity is superfast and fairly ubiquitous. Amazon's $49 (a year) flat fee plan is attractive, but with a cap of 250MB per month of data, it's unlikely it will satisfy the most data-hungry users. If you do need more data, users can also get 3GB and 5GB data plans directly from AT&T on the device.
At press time, Amazon had not enabled streaming video over LTE. Having it sounds nice, but even with the most generous data plans, streaming video would eat it up faster than you can say, "I'm streaming Back to the Future in HD over 4G LTE on my Kindle fire HD!"
The reality for most users is that WiFi is plentiful and you'll be hard pressed to find a spot where you can't connect for free or a small one-off fee. It's the reason Barnes & Noble's line of HD Nooks do not include a cellular option.
Review continues after FreeTime Gallery
Hands on Amazon's FreeTime
Perhaps the best new addition to the Kindle Fire family is not a piece of hardware or new component, but the new FreeTime app. Amazon put a lot of loving care into this parental control interface, but almost mucks the whole thing up by hiding the tool under an app that you have to scroll down to (or search) to find. By contrast profiles and age and content controls are baked into the Barnes & Noble Nook HD in a way that makes them impossible to ignore.
Even so, once you do access FreeTime, I think you'll be pleased with the level of control it gives you. I added test profiles for my two children and then hand-picked every app and piece of content they could access. I was also able to block broadband mobile and even set time limits for access to content and overall screen viewing time (on a per profile basis). The set-up is a bit wonky and it bizarrely switches between landscape and profile screens, but I still applaud the effort. It would make sense for Amazon to move FreeTime into a device set-up screen. If the user has no additional family members or kids using the device, they can easily skip it.
To Buy or Not to Buy
Amazon's expansive content and shopping ecosystem has always been a strong draw and it's just as good in this large screen tablet as it was in the very first Kindle Fire. Still, you have to compare it with the equally strong iOS ecosystem, which is no slouch in the content shopping department. Apple doesn't connect you as seamlessly to physical products, but there's nothing difficult about shopping on Amazon.com via your iPad. It's also notable that tablet competitor Barnes & Noble has added movie and TV viewing, rental and purchase.
Ultimately, all of these tablets are offering more and more of the same content options, apps, and features. The decision will likely come down to price, app selection, interface and overall ease of use. The Amazon Kindle fire HD 8.9 scores well on all of these, but does not always lead.
For the price, it's a great value, but I want Amazon to focus on hardware and interface design for the next big update. Then, they may get my full endorsement.


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Ukraine's army will likely balk if ordered into streets
- Analysts say military does not want to engage protesters
- Some Ukrainian officers have trained with U.S. military
- Military has been moving from conscript to volunteer force
WASHINGTON – President Obama has urged Ukraine's armed forces to remain out of the violence in that country, amid fears the crisis is spiraling further out of control.
But analysts say Ukraine's embattled President Viktor Yanukovich might have trouble getting his armed forces to obey orders to crack down on the protests at the center of the country's growing political crisis.
"It is by no means clear that the army would fight against its own people," said Stephen Blank, a senior fellow with the American Foreign Policy Council.
Ukraine's military leadership has remained largely apolitical and would be wary of getting involved in an internal political crisis. "I think the military wants no part of this," said James Howcroft, a retired Marine intelligence officer and military attaché with extensive experience in the region. "It's a no-win situation."
Even if some commanders did agree to enter the fray, the military would likely fragment and some forces might go over to the opposition, said Adrian Karatnycky, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
Still, there are growing fears that Yanukovich may try to turn to his military out of desperation as his Interior Ministry forces have had trouble controlling protests that have turned increasingly violent.
Earlier this week Yanukovich fired the head of the country's armed forces, Col Gen Volodymyr Zamana, which analysts say stemmed from concerns about Zamana's loyalty to the government.
"It's clear they haven't wanted to go into the streets," Blank said. "That's why Yanukovich sacked the head of the armed forces."
Worried about the growing violence, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recently attempted to call his Ukrainian counterpart, acting Defense Minister Pavlo Lebedev, but he and other military officials in Ukraine have been "unresponsive" to the requests to talk, said Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman.
The Pentagon said Ukraine's armed forces have so far been limited to protecting military installations.
The bulk of the government forces involved in the fight have been special riot police called Berkut, which are under the command of the Interior Ministry. The government only has about 3,000 to 4,000 Berkut troops and beyond that must rely mostly on local police who are not trained to deal with civil unrest.
Ukraine's military had been aspiring toward membership in NATO and has been making efforts to modernize its forces along the lines of Western European armies. They have been taking steps to transition from a conscript army to a volunteer force.
Ukraine's military had dispatched forces to Iraq under coalition command and officers have trained at U.S. military schools, said Steven Pifer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
He said they would have been exposed to concepts important to Western militaries, such as the need to remain independent of politics.


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Date(s) - Sat, 12/26/2020
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Great Stone Coffee
An informal group meeting regularly to share thoughts on the craft of writing. Bring your work to receive critical feedback, or just come to chat with others who share a love of creating literary work. For any questions, e-mail Kris Oliver at firstname.lastname@example.com. We hope to see you then.


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Use our premium fire lighters to start your traditional house stove or oven, using our great smokeless fuel package or our house coal package to fuel your fire. Our traditional house coal is an efficient burner and provides a high heat output to heat your home.
Your number one coal and log merchant in Denton. Reliable delivery and collection services 24/7. With free delivery up to 20 miles from the Oldham area with orders costing £50 and more.


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We talked infectious diseases with The Crazies director Breck Eisner. And learned the great pains he took to make sure George Romero's film was updated correctly. Rule number one: These people aren't zombies, they're alive — and full of rage!
Why did you want to remake George Romero's Crazies?
I was originally approached by [producers] Michael Aguilar and Dean Georgaris, and they had optioned the rights to this movie directly from Romero himself, and they had the first draft by Scott Kosar. The fact that Romero himself had sold the rights, I thought was a major positive factor. I had seen The Crazies as a kid, like 20 some odd years ago, on VHS tape or maybe a Betamax tape. It stuck with me. This concept of the people you love most, and trust most, suddenly turning on you and becoming your worst enemy, it seemed like a very guttural, or gut-wrenching final human fear. It's a fear like when you first start school, and your friends could turn on you for no reason whatsoever. It just seemed like an idea that had relevance today. Yet it was a movie that a lot o people had forgotten about.
Were you nervous taking on a project that was previously Romero's?
For sure, yes. The thing that was most nerve-wracking throughout the whole process was after we were completely finished. I set up a screening for Romero in Toronto and he watched it, and I had to pick up the phone the next day and say, "So what did you think?" That was by far the most nerve-wracking part of the whole experience. Luckily for me, and for him, he really liked it. And had some really positive things to say... I can't remember exactly what he said, but he thought it was a really strong movie, well-directed, obviously different from what he had done. But he was glad to see it because it had been a long time since he made the movie. And he said he thought it was really going to find his audience. Which was interesting for me to hear, that Romero still wanted to have his audience watch this movie.
For people that haven't seen the film, I think a lot of people are going to want to know how it's different from the film, could you explain what you changed for readers who haven't seen the first film?
The original was told in a different point of view. Half of the movie was told from the military's point of view — maybe more than half, actually. And the other half was told from the infected townsfolk's point of view, and the townsfolk trying to escape the infection. When I first approached our new script it still had both points of view. But I really wanted to limit the scale, and tell it just from the point of view of our heroes. By doing the it really focused more on our characters. There was more time to get to know a little bit more about these people. But it was also a way to make the movie more unsettling, more horrific, more frightening, by the fact that the heroes and the audience wasn't really sure what was happening. Everything and everybody was in the dark and they have to figure it out as it goes. The town is literally turned on its side, and the characters don't even know why, they have to figure it out over the course of the movie.
Were there any little elements of nods that you kept in the film from the original?
There's a lot, the basic core concept itself is right from the movie. But there are also a lot of little things in the movie, and I tend not to speak about them, because people discover it as they watch it. But this one is in the trailer: Lynn Lowry was one of the leads in the original. I tracked her down, called her up, and got her in the movie for a cameo. There are also a couple of other winks and nods to the movie, for people who really know the original. Not just people who know of it, but people who are well versed in the film and will recognize a handful of very specific homages in it. But obviously there are many scenes that are directly from the original itself.
This remake is infinitely scarier than the original, what did you do to try and up the anti, what decisions had to be made?
It is scarier, definitely scarier. You have to pick what you're going to do to get to the audience, but the movie has a message, which is inherent in the DNA of Romero's earlier film. It's a message movie. Romero had the benefit, and also kind of a detriment, of a very small budget and total independence. He made a film that was in very strong condemnation of the military in the post-Vieatnam world. I wanted to make sure we kept that message in the film. And it's definitely there. But at the same time, to get as broad of an audience as possible I wanted to update the film, make it scarier, make it more of a thrill ride, give it more action. In doing that we hopefully will reach a broader audience, and the message will reach a broader audience, versus a having a stronger message that reaches a smaller audience.
Plus, I have to say the make-up and FX look great. How did you walk that line of not making a zombie movie, because this is not a zombie movie, but people always think Zombies=Romero.
It's a line that was clearly established by Romero: it's not a zombie movie. And that's the great thing about this movie, it's a Romero movie but not a zombie movie. Any time you think Romero, the default setting is zombies, so [we] had that hill to climb. We really went out of our way to make sure the aesthetic looks of the infected and the performances were not tantamount to being a zombie. Zombies, in theory, have a collective agenda, which is to eat brains or to infect someone else. But they lose their previous persona and are reborn in the undead. In The Crazies the character themselves don't lose their initial agenda. The characters have deep-seated elements to their psyche and their persona, that "trixie," this disease [the name of the disease], unleashes in this rage state. So everybody acts differently when they are under the influence of this disease, in the rage state.
Also in turns of the look itself, when people first turn, you don't actually even see it aesthetically. There's no sign of it initially. But as they get sicker and sicker, the manifestations of the disease take over. Things start to change. Instead of doing decaying skin in grey color, we have red flush skin, inflamed arteries. We imagined that the heart was beating at three times the rate, so the people were all amped up. We tried to make sure that the look of them different.
They are not dead. The number one rule we went with was that these people were alive. They are more alive than you or me. They are going to burn bright and hot, but they are going to burn out fast. And that's the course of this disease. Like the Replicants in Blade Runner, that came to my mind.
The Crazies is in theaters tomorrow.


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Together, Global Partners Can Tackle Chagas Disease
Building momentum on the recent Declaration and PSA of the Global Chagas Disease Coalition, as well as a PLOS NTDs editorial, "An Unfolding Tragedy of Chagas disease in North America," the Sabin Vaccine Institute, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, Global Chagas Disease Coalition, Research!America, ASTMH and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recently hosted an event at PAHO, "Advancing Life-Saving R&D Innovations for People Living with Chagas Disease – The Silent Killer." This event coincided with the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's (ASTMH) annual meeting, in which experts presented the latest research, innovations and programs advancing solutions for diseases of poverty.
At the event, speakers representing research, medical and advocacy efforts to reduce the threat of Chagas disease shared insights from their ongoing work and identified concrete steps that can be taken to eliminate widespread suffering. Here are some of their observations:
Dr. Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine:
"It's the most important disease you've never heard of." Chagas disease afflicts at least 10 million people and as many as 300,000 pregnant women – including 40,000 pregnant women in North America. Chagas "cluster[s] in areas of intense deprivation" and has therefore been almost completely ignored despite it being one of the most common afflictions of people living in profound poverty.
Dr. Isabela Ribeiro, head of Chagas Clinical Program, DNDi:
"99.9 percent of those in the world today [with Chagas] are … not receiving treatment, an absolutely unacceptable situation." Even though consensus since the 1990s has held that children should have treatment, "until two years ago there was no pediatric formulation available and registered." Despite a decades-long lag in efforts to control Chagas, "there has been now some progress in advances in research and development, both in new treatments, vaccines and also in diagnostics."
Dr. Rachel Marcus, cardiologist and medical director of LaSocha, an American society of Chagas:
Through screening at the Bolivian mobile consulate program, LaSocha has "found 29 percent seropositivity for Chagas in all tested individuals, and 50 percent seropositivity in people from highly endemic regions of Bolivia." They are also aware of two cases of congenital Chagas in Northern Virginia, and two patients who are currently being evaluated for heart transplantation. LaSocha will continue pursuing testing, education initiatives and research to generate a "wider acceptance that this is a medical problem worthy of attention."
Sonia Tarragona, director general of Mundo Sano Foundation; Representative of the Global Chagas Disease Coalition:
"Not everything is bad news." Positive developments have taken place over the past couple of years, including the World Health Organization's (WHO) roadmap to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), the 2012 London Declaration and the 66th World Health Assembly's landmark resolution on all 17 NTDs. "This context represents an unprecedented opportunity to help define a people-centered agenda that boosts access to exciting health tools and treatments supporting" the integrated control and elimination of Chagas disease and prevention of transmission. A global, collaborative approach can lead to the "best results."
Dr. Luis Gerardo Castellanos, epidemiologist at PAHO:
Latin American countries have taken concrete actions over the last 40 years to treat children in endemic areas and halt blood borne transmission. Now, as "vector control has significantly contributed to the halt of the occurrence of new cases, almost all 21 endemic countries in Latin America currently screen 100 percent of all blood before donation occurred." Still, more than five million cases still afflict the region. To make sure that progress continues, "PAHO is tirelessly working with countries to improve case finding and documentation … also making efforts to secure free access to treatment with either of the two recommended medications in the market."
Jenny Sanchez, LaSocha, US Chagas disease patients association:
How doctors should treat Chagas patients with other diseases, like diabetes and arthritis, and how to treat pregnant women, must be answered. We must also "create awareness. Not only the medical part but also among the students that are going to medical school, nursing school and in the population in general." In addition to global alliances among the scientific community, "it is also a global movement about patients." Patient associations have formed worldwide and united under the International Federation of Chagas Patients. "We want answers, and this is the time to have [them]."
Thanks to all for a great event! We encourage you to watch the full remarks here:
Photo credit: Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)


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You may be wondering how your credit score will affect your ability to trade-in your vehicle. Our Finance Department is here to answer your questions and alleviate your concerns. At Musson Patout Automotive Group, our team of financial experts is available to you both onsite and through our website. Feel free to Contact Us at any time with questions. A common first step in towards purchasing your new vehicle is to complete the online form Value Your Trade. By filling in the bubbles, you'll tell us important information on your trade-in such as make, model year, condition, and title. After we know more, we can send you an estimated appraisal. You'll be able to use this information to give yourself a better sense of how your current car can affect the purchase price of that new Toyota Camry. We believe in the benefit of making an informed decision. So, why wait? Get the trade-in value you're looking for near New Iberia, LA at Musson Patout Automotive Group today!


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Lucas Oil Racing TV brings your favorite motorsports to you, wherever and whenever you like! You have 24/7 access to adrenaline-pumped racing series and automotive reality shows - including LIVE racing events, expanded pre- and post-race action, behind-the-scenes content and unseen interviews! Access it all on the most popular handheld devices, smartphones and computers!
Sign up via our website or through your favorite supported device.
Visit our complete list of devices for more detailed information.
2021 Live Event Schedule Coming Soon!
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Disappointed with my spinners: Dhoni
His insistence on a spinning track boomeranging, a sheepish Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today said he was disappointed with his tweakers who did not adjust their pace to exploit the pitch in the lost second cricket Test against England here.
India were handed a humiliating 10-wicket loss by the English, who were expected to struggle on the spinning track that Dhoni had asked for before the game. Instead of the host spinners, it was England's Monty Panesar who made batsmen dance to his tune and walked away with 11 wickets.
On the other hand, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook proved their class with hundreds on a track that seemed to terrorise other willow-wielders. "Definitely outplayed. Monty bowled really well.
All get turn, but the pace he bowled at made sure that the batsmen were on the front foot. To some extent, yes I am disappointed with our spinners. We let England bat on the back foot. We could have brought them forward," a disappointed Dhoni said at the presentation ceremony.
Dhoni had lambasted the opening Test pitch in Ahmedabad despite India's win and today he said his bowlers just could not get a hold over the pace to bowl at here.
"All of a sudden they have to change their plan. Ahmedabad was completely different and it was a change of conditions," he said. Dhoni said the next two Tests, starting with the game in Kolkata on December 5, would be a test of character for his team. "When two best sides are playing, series are close. It will be a test of character in the two coming games," he said.
Dhoni's rival number Alastair Cook said he has all but forgotten the disappointment of losing the toss. "Without a doubt, it is a great win. I can't fault the effort of the lads. I could have called heads and obviously it was an important toss. The way we bowled on that first day it was fantastic," said Cook.
Cook lauded the contribution made by Pietersen and Panesar.
"You don't need to tell KP anything and it was great to watch from the other end. Credit to the way Graeme Swann and Monty bowled. Brilliant performance. It's been interesting two weeks and we have seen ends of the spectrum," he said referring to the nine-wicket loss in Ahmedabad.
Man of the match Pietersen the hundred in the match ranks quite high in his personal bests. "Now that we have won, this hundred is at the top. Yesterday I said Test hundreds feel a lot better when you win," said Pietersen.
Back in the fold after being at loggerheads with the England Cricket Board for quite some while, Pietersen lauded his teammates and the dressing room unity.
"Panesar and Swann were outstanding. Cooky didn't talk about himself, but he was outstanding. What a difference a week makes. The way boys have come back is great. Cricket wise, it is not bad now. "Thanks to the guys in the dressing room and the management. Every day you put on an England jersey, it is special. Thanks to the supporters who have travelled, and also the Indian support. They have been great too," he said.
Asked what was the key to performing well on the Indian soil, Pietersen said, "You have to trust your defence, that is the big difference. You play sweep shots early on, it doesn't look that good."
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Hi! My name is Alejandro Blanco.
I'm a front-end developer in love with web technologies and the JavaScript language.
I fell in love with JavaScript a few years ago, and now I use it everyday. It's an amazing technology if you avoid the bad parts. I have experience with jQuery, Dojo, Prototype, Underscore, Backbone and others. Thanks to the web expansion, JS is ubiquitous and extremely useful.
One of my favourites programming languages, I love the simplicity and explicity of Python. I have used Django for web development, and pyQT and pyGTK for desktop applications.
As a web developer I'm very interested in the development of the HTML standarts. Following the standarts and using browsers that support them it's the only path to a bright future of the web.
I admire the community effort to create good software and share it with the world. I like to contribute, my works can be found on my repositories.
I have recently worked in data visualization, and developed a deep interest in the topic. I love the d3.js library, it's an incredible tool to create rich data representations.
"Flood simulation with multi-agent systems".
University of Seville, 2010.
Speaker, "D3.JS Data visualization". Slides.
University of Seville, 2013.
Speaker, "GORQL, SPARQL queries made easy".
University Pablo de Olavide, 2012.
Gran Canaria Desktop Summit, 2009.
Akademy (KDE) + GUADEC (GNOME).
Speaker, "Flood simulation with multi-agent systems".
University of Seville, 2011.
Speaker, "Flood simulation with multi-agent systems".
University of Seville, 2011.
Code available on GitHub, under a MIT License.
Inspired by http://jorgebastida.com and http://lorenzogil.com.


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Remember those derelict Bulgarian war memorials that resemble space fortresses? Well, it turns out they're just as otherworldly inside. Here's one intrepid urban explorer's journey into the shadowy corridors of the shuttered Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship memorial in Varna, Bulgaria. It's also a case study on why you never tour old Soviet monuments alone.
In its Communist heyday, the "Park-Monument of the Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship" contained an eternal flame, a bomb shelter, and a tourism center. Loudspeakers would also blast Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 on constant loop.
The center opened in 1978 and was later left to crumble after Bulgarian Communism fell in late 1989. And when Darmon Richter traveled out to this ominous concrete-and-iron memorial 21 years later, he found the brick barricades broken...and the pitch-black hallways ripe for wandering:
The darkness is absolute, and at times suffocating – many thousands of tonnes of concrete stand between you and the light of day. Not only that, but even the slightest sound can create long echoes inside this cubist warren of tunnels and stairwells. It wasn't just my own footsteps that were haunting me; the surrounding park is a popular haunt for stray dogs, and every howl from outside would become trapped inside the monument, distorting as it followed me from room to room [...] Many locals I had spoken to refused to come up this way without a can of mace.
Richter didn't encounter any dogs, but he did find the old bookstore filled with many piles of fresh excrement. Upon discovering that, things became very weird very quickly:
Tentatively rounding the last corner I came into a well-lit chamber, with narrow windows spaced evenly along one side [...] This was in fact somebody's home. The same somebody who had been defecating in the bookshop, and who probably knew every corner and crevice of the darkened spaces within the monument.
It was at that point that Richter got the hell out of there. You can read his full account at The Bohemian Blog, which details other strange abandoned spots in Bulgaria. Also, here's a snowy adventure at another Bulgarian monument.


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Penny and Daniel try out the Ping! table.
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Composite of photos of Big Draw event on October 6 in Windmill Gardens
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Rearrange your apps by dragging them or delete them with the cross.
Forgot your Password ?
If you check "Remember me," your user name and password will be stored on your computer and you will not need to log in when you come back to the site. (This is not recommended if you are using a shared or public computer.)


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After watching this video by Lena Steinkühler, I like to think that New York turns into this rain forest of weird and wonderful urban creatures when nobody is looking at night. What a beautiful and mesmerizing short.
In her words:
My bachelor graduation project New York Biotopes deals with abstract plants and creatures, which change their forms because of insufficient living space and adapt themselves to the surroundings of the metropolis New York City. A type of metamorphosis, where the newly developed vegetation assimilates elements of the city and makes them useful for their own purposes. These creatures and plants, partly mechanical, partly organically in appearance, spread more and more over the city and fill it up with life.
She made it using a Canon 600D, Vicon Boujou, Cinema 4D and After Effects. [Vimeo</> via So Bad So Good]


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I'm never sure when a project is far enough along to first commit to source control. I tend to put off committing until the project is 'framework-complete,' and I primarily commit features from then on. (I haven't done any personal projects large enough to have a core framework too big for this.) I have a feeling this isn't best practice, though I'm not sure what could go wrong.
Let's say, for example, I have a project which consists of a single code file. It will take about 10 lines of boilerplate code, and 100 lines to get the project working with extremely basic functionality (1 or 2 features). Should I first check in:
- The empty file?
- The boilerplate code?
- The first features?
- At some other point?
Also, what are the reasons to check in at a specific point?
Related: "Git for personal projects: Overkill?"
Go by units
You should commit as soon as you have a sensible "unit" complete.
What is a unit? It depends on what you're doing; if you're creating a Visual Studio project, for example, commit the solution right after its creation even if it doesn't have anything in it.
From there on, keep committing as often as possible, but still commit only completed "units" (e.g. classes, configurations, etc); doing so will make your life easier if something goes wrong (you can revert a small set of changes) and will reduce the likelihood of conflicts.
Ghost towns
John MacIntyre Answers (1 vote):
As far as I'm concerned, your source control repo is part of the basic project setup, so I commit right after I generate my empty project.
Related: "When is a version control commit too large?"
Leave traces on multi-person projects
My rule of thumb is to check in once my solution file (or other build script piece) is done, even if it contains a few files that are empty. It's good practice for when more than one person is working on the project. That file tends to have the worst merge issues initially as people are adding things to the project so needs committed early and often.
Even if you're the only one working on the project and it's only got one file, I find it easier to follow the same workflow and save the thinking for the problem at hand.
README development
Tapan Karecha Answers (63 votes):
The first commit can be a README file with as little as one line summary of the project, or enough information about the project's first milestone. The broad topics can also include:
- Introduction
- Project description
- Project structure
- Coding conventions
- Instructions on how to:
- build
- test
- deploy
- Known issues and workarounds
- todo list
- Terms of use
The practice of updating the README before making changes to a project is also referred to as Readme Driven Development and it allows you to think through the changes before investing time in making those changes.
Anybody who wants to contribute to or use this software will then start with the README.
Find the original post here. See more Q&A like this at Programmers, a site for conceptual programming questions at Stack Exchange. And of course, feel free to ask your own.


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Admittedly I should have been more skeptical about this remake from the get-go, but Debbie Allen's enthusiasm about it on So You Think You Can Dance coupled with my obsession with movies about dancing and or singing, caused me to be naively hopeful about it. That goodwill only lasted about a third of the way through the movie.
It started out well enough, using that same chaotic style of jumping between the hopeful students as they are packed like sardines into a room until their audition, seeing the various ways they prepare to have their dreams made or broken. Even the film stock had a certain gritty look about it that really evoked high school in a way that so many "teen movies" with their brightly colored lockers and perfectly clad students don't. Megan Mullally (vocals), Charles S. Dutton (acting), Kelsey Grammer (music) and Bebe Neuwirth (dance) put the wannabes through their paces, which had some promise. Then Freshman year started and it all went downhill from there.
After a rousing speech from the school's principal Debbie Allen (who starred in the original movie and subsequent TV show) about how it's going to be the hardest four years of these students' lives and how most of them will fail -- typical stuff, we finally got to "know" some of these students. Jenny (Kay Panabaker) is an actress with a stick up her butt, Victor (Walter Perez) is a musician who hates being forced to play classical, Marco (Asher Book) is an actor/singer who works at his father's restaurant and sounds and looks like he escaped a second-rate boy band, Alice (Kherington Payne) is a dancer who think she's better than everyone else, Kevin (Paul McGill) is a dancer who is worse than everyone else, Neil (Paul Iacono) is an irksome filmmaker in training, Denise (Naturi Naughton) is a classically trained pianist who has parents with great expectations, Malik (Collins Pennie) is an acting student with a tough background, and Joy (Anna Maria Perez de Tagle) is an actress who just likes to have fun. Your typical sort of crew for this type of film.
We follow these students on their adventures through the next four years. Jenny and Marco date and then split up and then get back together again, Kevin is told he sucks and should be a teacher and almost kills himself in the subway before he returns to Iowa. Alice gets a spot on a famous touring dance troupe, Joy gets a job on Sesame Street and they both drop out to pursue their dreams. Denise realizes she really wants to be a singer and does it with the help of Victor and Malik, despite her parents' disapproval; Neil is an idiot who believes a producer he finds on YouTube. You may consider these spoilers, but if you've ever seen a movie of this genre, you can figure out where these storylines are going the moment they begin. Seriously, Neil opens the door to a producer's office and the smiling young guy tells him that he needs to fund his own terrible sounding short film? You can pretty much do the math where this is going. Neil however, not so much.
The biggest problem is character development. Spreading this hour and a half film (which felt MUCH longer) out over four years means that we only get snapshots of their lives. We see them all banding together in the cafeteria and showing off their particular talents on their first day of school, and then just glimpses of each student each year. Some fare better for this than others, like Jenny and Victor who get the lion's share of screen time, despite the fact that they are dull as dirt. Some of it is the acting, neither Book or Panabaker are particularly stellar (he has trouble lip-synching and she's got issues looking angry), and a large part is the lackluster storyline -- their "romance" doesn't make sense, nor does the fact that two attractive guys are interested in the dishwater Jenny. Also, she never gets the aforementioned stick out of her butt, despite the fact that both her vocal and acting teachers tell her that this is her major problem. And she makes the stupid mistake of going into the trailer of a sleazy former student alone. Idiot. Did she not watch the original, which I always viewed as a cautionary tale? Joy's cute enough. We barely get to know Alice, aside from her brief flirtation with Victor that ticks her parents off. We see a fight between Malik and his mother, as she doesn't want him to attend the Performing Arts school since it is a doomed profession, but then it is never brought up again. Denise gets the most easily followed storyline, with a balance of teachers and friends telling herself to find her true dream, and her busting out of her classical training to be a singer, behind her parents back. Seeing her blossom, was truly the highlight of this film.
The known actors are basically just accessories in this film, around just to sort of guide the kids here and there when it is convenient, and in Mullally's case to bust out a song at a karaoke night and tell the kids her depressing story of not making it. Dutton's sole purpose seems to be prodding Malik to get past his troubled childhood, Grammer to be all helpful and encouraging, while Neuwirth just gets to shatter dreams. She's clearly my favorite.
But while this is a movie about performing, it seemed to lack a lot of big showy numbers. There were maybe one per year, but I guess I expected more, somehow. Or better. More dancing and more singing that really would wow me and less dull dialogue. Maybe the fact that I grew up watching the original gives me the ability to overlook long periods without performing, but in this day and age where we're used to music videos and instant YouTube entertainment, I guess I just expected more. You definitely get more dancing per minute in your typical Step Up movie and it's usually peppered with crazy moves you haven't seen before. Even the sexy number with Alice didn't really pop, and I love Kherington from SYTYCD, but this felt like Paula Abdul's "Cold-Hearted Snake" video and I spent most of it fascinated by her two-tone tights. That's not a good sign. Even the big final number wasn't all that impressive.
The only things that really did wow me were Naughton's voice and performance. That girl can sing and she's got some emotional range too, though fans of 3LW were probably aware of her vocal abilities prior to this film and those who saw Notorious earlier this year were already treated to her acting skills. To me, she's the only true star among these wannabes. And the only one whose name I'll remember.


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If you have an itch, what could you do but scratch it?
If you're Dr. Gil Yosipovitch, nicknamed the "Godfather of Itch," you could study it, too. Yosipovitch has investigated all things itch, including the relationship of itch and acne, eczema, and dry skin; how an itch can be felt on the body and in the mind; and how the brain reacts to scratching.
It may seem strange to devote so much effort to a small thing like an itch. You just scratch it and it goes away, right? Not so for some people. Itch can be a chronic, unbearable burden for people with certain skin conditions or other underlying conditions.
Many itches originate on the skin, some spring from disorders of the nervous system, and still others are creations of our minds. We most often get the urge to itch because of things that happen on the surface of our skin, like allergic reactions, dryness, or insect bites. Sometimes a rash accompanies a skin itch, but not always. Other itches stem from internal causes. Kidney failure, liver disease such as hepatitis, thyroid conditions, and some neurological disorders may cause an itchy sensation.
The common link between all the different sorts of itches? The undeniable reflex to scratch. You scratch, Yosipovitch found, because it actually helps to shut off a part of your brain associated with the emotional reaction to an itch, including the annoyance and memory of it. Over 20 years ago, itch researchers disproved the common belief that itch was actually just another form of pain. In fact, itch has its own nerve pathways and in some cases its own nerves. Like pain, an itch causes a reflex reaction. But whereas pain triggers the reflex to pull away draw back from it, an itch draws you right to where it lives – and then you scratch! But starting to scratch can set off a vicious cycle of itch-scratch-itch-scratch that can not only irritate but damage the skin.
Next up on Yosipovitch's research agenda: Why does watching someone scratching an itch – or just reading about the subject – make you feel the urge to scratch?
All material copyright MediResource Inc. 1996 – 2020. Terms and conditions of use. The contents herein are for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Source: www.medbroadcast.com/healthfeature/gethealthfeature/Itches-Twitches-Tickles-and-Pops


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All campus visitors are required to obtain a visitors parking permit from the Police dispatch office located in Frances Warde Hall, 3rd floor (Frances Warde Hall is the first building to your right after driving up from Fifth Avenue). The permit must be displayed in car's windshield. Visitors are to park in Lot C directly off Terrace Street at the top of campus.
If you will be coming to campus for an admissions visit, there are a handful of parking spaces directly in front of the Admissions Office at Antonian Hall. If there are no spaces, proceed up to Lot C on Terrace Street.
Visitors coming to the Carlow campus for Campus Visit Day should park in Lot A. Directions to Lot A: Pass the Carlow sign on 5th Avenue. Immediately after the Carlow driveway entrance, turn right at the Craft Avenue light into Parking Lot A. A.J. Palumbo Hall of Science is right across the street from Parking lot A. The Admissions Office is located in Antonian Hall, 3rd Floor. Download a Printable Campus Map [PDF]


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Rare meteor streaks across Tri-state
Viewers reported seeing, hearing meteor
WLWT News 5 received multiple reports of a meteor streakign across the eastern sky around 11 p.m. Thursday night.
On WLWT's Facebook page, some even claimed to hear a "distant bang" that rattled the windows.
According to amsmeteors.org, the estimated path of the meteor was directly over Ohio. In the map above, the areas shaded in red are where the majority of more than 200 witnesses reported seeing the meteor.
Dean Regas an astronomer with the Cincinnati Observatory didn't see the meteor, but wishes he had.
"Something this bright, this colorful, with such a long tail is very rare. Also, some people heard some sounds associated with it. It's also rare where you can hear the sonic booms," Regas said.
Regas also commented on how the meteor burned with a greenish hue because it more than likely had some metallic elements like iron in it.
There is a chance that the meteor landed in Ohio; however, experts still aren't sure. It came in at such a steep angle that it could have bounced right off the atmosphere and headed back into space, Regas said.
According to amsmeteors.org the meteor was so prominent that it caught the attention of viewers in eight different states, some as far away as North Carolina.


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SEATAC, Wash. (AP) – Passengers were evacuated from an Alaska Airlines jet that bumped into another Alaska plane Wednesday morning while backing from its terminal gate at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan says there were no injuries from the 7:05 a.m. incident, and no emergency declared. She says the 139 passengers aboard the Dallas-bound plane being backed up were taken off as a precaution. The other jet was still at its terminal gate and had no passengers on board.
Egan says the winglet of the backing jet bumped the rear horizontal stabilizer of the other plane at the opposite concourse. Both 737s have been taken out of service to be inspected for possible damage.
Egan says the passengers on the flight to Dallas should depart by midmorning on another plane.
(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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Towing administration organizations are not generally known for their help. Some towing industry scoundrels are into shady business. Like charging additional, driving hazardously, contriving with demographic to pay concurred on expenses, and some are even known to have held vehicles until the point that extravagant requests are met or scaring customer base. The rundown goes longer than that yet we are certain you get the photo. Be that as it may, it's wrong to state that there aren't any great administrators, working a fair business element. These are the ones that direct the gauges in the business' notoriety. As controls are as yet being set, numerous administrators are utilizing this blind side in time with shady business!
Towing controls and legitimate practices must go as an inseparable unit generally, utilizing circumstances like being stranded on the interstate or coming up short on fuel to crush out some additional can't be alleviated. Confirmation as future control of this industry is normal soon, however till then how does the ordinary consistent people become more acquainted with who to call in the event that they need roadside help, particularly in crises. With situations where administrators corner customer base coming to see to an ever increasing extent, ample opportunity has already past that dedicated individuals who acquire a legitimate living aren't exploited. A few occurrences are even answered to have drivers achieving scenes alcoholic. Different reports like inebriated customers had reached accords which in the wake of calming down acknowledged it was an oversight are likewise exposed. The objections continue endlessly so staying alert is critical to abstaining from getting circumstances like these in any case.
Numerous vital variables add to the basic leadership procedure of any administration procuring. Here are some straightforward yet successful tips so as to abstain from getting into tow truck pressures!
A decent towing organization would be some individual who utilizes noticeable signs on their vehicles. Be careful if specialist co-ops vehicles are sans sign or with no signage by any means. Affirm their business name, contact numbers and working location are shown on their tow trucks or vehicles. Abstain from utilizing the administrations in the event that they don't have the fundamental thing data showed.
Comprehend the Deal
Regardless of whether demanded, never sign archives aimlessly. With regards to rates, understanding the arrangement isn't just emphatically exhorted, it is required to dodge dissatisfactions and regret later on. The law requests that the shopper is educated of what they are getting to before any marks are shocked down. There is a great deal to think about the administrations offered such crisis towing administration, security, recuperation and persistent or second time towing.
Other Vital "Musts" To Remember
Different things to remember are to get every one of the certainties and points of interest. When utilizing their administrations, get the name of the driver, landline quantities of business, and most vital, the quantity of the truck. Essential numbers are a gift to store in your mobile phone as crises never happen with a notice. In the event of protection, one doesn't need to stress yet in the event that you're not safeguarded, spare the vital numbers when you can. Continuously make it a need to recoup vehicles at the earliest opportunity. stockpiles charges can run high as can be.


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Export 18 results:Title Type [ Year]
Filters: Author is Magdalena D Bugajska [Clear All Filters]
""Like-Me" simulation as an effective and cognitively plausible basis for social robotics", International Journal of Social Robotics, vol. 1, pp. 181-194, 2009. Download PDF (553.17 KB),
"Incorporating Mental Simulation for a More Effective Robotic Teammate", in Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI 2008), Vancouver, 2008. Download PDF (114.22 KB),
"Integrating vision and audition within a cognitive architecture to track conversations", in Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Human Robot Interaction (HRI 2008), Amsterdam, 2008. Download PDF (1.5 MB),
"Spatial Representation and Reasoning for Human-Robot Collaboration", in Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Vancouver, 2007. Download PDF (176.62 KB),
"Children and robots learning to play hide and seek", in Proceedings of the 2006 ACM conference on human-robot interaction, 2006. Download PDF (408.05 KB),
"A Preliminary Study of Peer-to-Peer Human-Robot Interaction", in International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 2006. Download PDF (719.83 KB),
"Collaborating with Humanoid Robots in Space", International Journal of Humanoid Robotics, vol. 02, no. 02, pp. 181-201, 2005. Download PDF (732.08 KB),
"Communicating and collaborating with robotic agents", in Cognition and Multi-Agent Interaction, Cambridge University Press , 2005, pp. 252-278. Download PDF (250.87 KB),
"Enabling effective human-robot interaction using perspective-taking in robots", IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics - Part A, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 460-470, 2005. Download PDF (1.01 MB),
"Human-Robot Collaboration and Cognition with an Autonomous Mobile Robot", in In Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems (IAS-8, Amsterdam, The Nederlands, 2004. Download PDF (267.89 KB),
"Integrating Cognition, Perception and Action through Mental Simulation in Robots", Journal of Robotics and Autonomous Systems, vol. 49, no. 1-2, pp. 12-23, 2004. Download PDF (178.91 KB),
"Integrating Cognition, Perception and Action through Mental Simulation in Robots", in Proceedings of the 2004 AAAI Spring Symposium on Knowledge Representation and Ontology for Autonomous Systems, 2004, pp. 1-8. Download PDF (167.43 KB),
"Toward Multimodal Human-Robot Cooperation and Collaboration", AIAA 1st Intelligent Systems Technical Conference. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Chicago, IL, 2004. Download PDF (283.05 KB),
"Finding the FOO: a pilot study for a multimodal interface", in Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 2003. IEEE International Conference on, 2003. Download PDF (433.31 KB),
"Communicating with teams of cooperative robots", in Multi-Robot Systems: From Swarms to Intelligent Automata, The Netherlands: Kluwer, 2002, pp. 16-20. Download PDF (185.84 KB),
"A hybrid cognitive-reactive multi-agent controller", in Proceedings of 2002 IEEE/RSJ International conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2002), Switzerland, 2002, pp. 2807-2812. Download PDF (476.82 KB),
"Building a multimodal human-robot interface", IEEE Intelligent Systems, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 16-21, 2001. Download PDF (652.16 KB),
"Building adaptive computer generated forces: The effect of increasing task reactivity on human and machine control abilities", in 2001 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference - Late Breaking Papers, San Francisco, CA, 2001, pp. 24-29. Download PDF (338.47 KB),


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Introducing the Bop Special Edition, the new classic Bop kit! The kit comes in two stunning Galaxy Sparkle finishes and the compact size makes it extremely transport friendly, while offering a big sound.
Cross-Laminated shells deliver superior stiffness, sonically pleasing resonance and spectacular tone. Tune Safe equipped lugs ensure that the tuning stays in place.
The Bop Shell kit comes with an 18? x 16? Bass Drum (with Mount), 12? x 8? Tom Tom, 14? x 14? Floor Tom, 14? x 5? Snare Drum and a single tom holder (hardware stands & cymbals not included). All SONOR lugs are equipped with the TuneSafe feature, which prevents tension rods from loosening during hard rim shots or where batter heads have been loosely tuned.


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Light switch
There was a City roundtable discussion about budgetary matters on March 21. It's hard to take these meetings seriously after many years, hard not to be sarcastic. The public attends, and speaks– roundfile. Budgets are about shepherding and allocating resources. The little money adds up to big money. Our city pats itself on the back for being "green," including buying battery-operated cars. Hey, fellows, where is the light switch? 13.7 footcandles of light falling on that newspaper. The hot spots on the sidewalk are 47 footcandles– super size me! Elsewhere on Locust Avenue, north and south of the bridge, illumination levels are sensible, around 0.2 footcandles. A lighting designer could take the electricity used on this bridge to light a small village.
Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog.Read more on: city government
19 comments
And then you have all the ball fields illuminated with huge HID lights, more often than not when no games are ongoing and there's also the question of all that waste when silly games can be played in daylight. Electricity is an insidious form of energy waste because it all just comes at the flick of a switch, which allows for a disconnect as to where it comes from. Entire trainloads of coal disappear up the smokestacks of the big plants, everyday in most cases and nobody gives it a second thought. That's why Norfolk and Virginia beach will go underwater in a century or so...
First, let's throw the switch on Sheetz.
Yes, and huge shopping centers in the middle of the night too. There's a great article by John Mcphee in October 2005 editions of the New Yorker, where he rode a coal train from Wyoming to Georgia, a 7500 foot long train with 133 Gondola cars each loaded with 120 tons of coal. Arriving at Plant Scherer in Macon Georgia, they unload.The entire train load is burned in 8 hours, three such trains every day. Many similar plants all over the country and that's what keeps all those lights on...And then there's China and other countries..
Talk about an addiction.
I wonder how many tons of coal will need to be burned every day to pump water uphill to the planned Ragged Mountain Reservoir. Funny that Kay Slaughter and the SELC would be in support of locking us into a plan like that considering their work against the coal industry. http://tinyurl.com/CoalSELC
In one of their articles about the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining which they call "The Appalachian Apocalypse" the SELC states "Our work to stop construction of old-style coal plants around the region, and our advocacy for strong energy-efficiency policies and programs will help reduce the demand for coal mined by mountaintop removal." Putting water to work as it runs downhill is an age old way of harnessing renewable energy. Burning train after train of coal to move water uphill further ties our local water supply to an ongoing environmental disaster and is anything but efficient.
And how much energy will this take ? No tractor trailers to remove the 60,000 trees or access the site - who would approve such a plan ?
Water authority awards dam contract to Thalle Construction
"The RWSA, Schnabel and Thalle also began meeting with neighbors on Reservoir Road on Tuesday to prepare for construction. In the Camp Holiday Trails dining hall, about 10 neighbors learned the first work activity is expected to include improvements to the narrow and mostly gravel road to build turnout and marshaling areas.
Tractor-trailers will not be able to navigate the road, so materials being moved in and out will be shuttled on smaller trucks led by a pilot vehicle."
Change the bulbs for LED's. Instead of hundreds and thousands of watts they will draw about 10 watts to light the whole bridge. And they last 20,000 hours. That is longer than many of us old timers will last.
The grand daddy of them all, close to a gigawatt, the entire output of a typical nuke plant, all to water lawns in LA. The original LA aqueduct built 100 years ago required no external power inputs and in fact had a net power output, but that was the old paradigm for water projects. Now we do it with brute force.
I think the lights on the bridge are for pedestrian safety. A lot of people fly up those ramps and zip out onto Locust Avenue like there's a fire somewhere they're trying to get to.
And I've been trying for years to get the dark-skies-ordinance-violating lights at the City's Tonsler Park tennis court turned off unless someone is using the courts. But they remain on whatever weather or use. Case in point, it's now 8:32 pm on Saturday the 24th with rain falling and thunder rolling, but very, very bright they shine.
The Tonsler Park lights are left burning to curtail drive-by shootings. However, with the surge in gas prices, gangstas be running walk-by shootings hence the lights are no longer necessary.
Actually, the Tonsler Tennis Court lights are left on because a few individuals on whom entrenched City Democrats rely for endorsements and votes equate public lighting with respect from City Hall. And this pandering persists despite abundant evidence that light pollution is a factor in a spectrum of health problems -- from nearsightedness in children to breast cancer in women.
Thomas Jefferson University for the Health Sciences in Philadelphia is a leader in this field of research.
Uva is just as bad with the tennis court and basketball court lights on at Emmet St.
All night long, rain/snow, no courts in play, lights left on.
UVa probably even has an environmental person on staff and claims all kinds of green accolades but they just won't flip that 50,000 watt switch of common sense.
Charlottesville definitely has a token environmental person on staff. That position seems to be for nothing more than greenwashing purposes.
I pretty much agree with you..for the most part, but nearsightedness in children and breast cancer...
C'mon now. You wouldn't want the rest of us thinking your nome de plume is another one of John Walton Giuliano's AKAs would you?
I wrote to then mayor Cox about these lights when they were installed. I got no response. They are completely the wrong light for this application. Have you ever noticed when you are sitting in your car, they light not just downward but outward - directly into your eye line ? They should be downlights only, lighting the walkpath and thereby defining the bridge's edges - not trying to light the road way!
"erik" and anyone:
Just Google: "light pollution" health
And FYI: My "nome [sic; see Alaska] de plume" is also my nom de birth certificate.
One can find anything on the internet, but the trick is separating the wheat from the chaff. You start talking about light pollution from lights in a park causing breast cancer in women...you'll be wanting to schedule that fitting session for the tinfoil hat...
Initially a great convenience, researching via the Internet is rapidly becoming a necessity as many publications including peer-reviewed journals elect to publish only online. Meanwhile, an old fashioned directive serves as well as ever in sorting the plethora of hits any search invariably yields. That is, as most mothers used to tell most children: Consider the source.
Come to think of it, that instruction works equally well in sorting blog posts.