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This is the first part of an adventure series where YOU determine the next step in the story.
Led by a single black-clad figure, your team of five moves like wraiths between the trees. Since you entered the forest three hours ago, the only sounds you've heard are boots swishing through the underbrush and the occasional sound of a rifle shifting in someone's hands. No animals. No birds. Not even a single bug. The air is stagnant and smells like decay. Everyone's edgy. It hadn't taken you long to decide this mission sucks.
Ahead, you see the tainted, bloody glow of the moon peeking through the trees. Your team's tracker leads you toward it, until the trees finally break around a small grassy circle.
At the edge of the clearing, the tracker holds up one clenched fist and your team comes to a halt. Weapons are at the ready. You check the small black box hanging from your utility belt. The needles are going crazy with activity.
Your team leader motions for silence. He tosses another quick glance around the area and fixes the tracker with an irritated glare. The tracker returns his stare and points toward the center of the field.
In three years, the tracker has never been wrong. If she says these are the coordinates specified in the assignment then they are. It isn't her fault that there's nothing here.
Your team leader gestures at you and you know you're up.
You unfasten a large silver ring hanging from your belt. Metal tabs printed with various symbols hang from the ring, and are rubber-banded together. You remove the band and hold the ring between two fingers.
The tabs come alive, spinning around the ring. After a few seconds, you expect them to rest and point in a specific direction, but they don't. They continue to slide around the ring and fan out in different directions. More than half point to the ground.
Occult energy is everywhere. You can't pinpoint the source.
You walk around the field's perimeter, watching the tabs closely as you move. Twenty feet from your original position, every tab slides to the left side of the ring.
You follow the tabs back into the trees and wade into a pile of leaves and dead brush. Just as your boots clomp down on something hard and metallic, the tabs unanimously point down.
You snap your fingers to grab your teammates' attention. In the aberrant silence of the forest, the sound carries easily. After the team assumes a defensive position, the tracker starts sweeping away the leaves.
It's a hatch in the ground. The number 27 is printed at the top with a symbol beneath it. You don't know the symbol. You've learned about all the attack and defense symbols and this is neither. You check the box hanging from your belt. The device indicates that the symbol is active, but it can't determine the symbol's purpose.
As the tracker finishes clearing the hatch, her arm hits a long object matted with leaves and sends it rolling toward you. You stop it with your boot and pick it up. You peel away a few of the leaves, exposing dried blood and human toes. Repulsed, you drop it and jump back. The rest of your team turns its weapons on the dismembered foot as if it might attack.
After a few tense seconds, your teammates visibly relax and try to stifle chuckles. Your team leader glares at you and jerks his head, dismissing you to finish your sweep of the field.
The tabs lead you to the opposite side of the clearing. This time they're pointing at the edge of the grass. You kneel down for a closer inspection and find a layer of sod resting atop another hatch. You snap your fingers and back away.
As your teammates arrive, you finish rolling back the sod. The hatch below is nearly identical to the first one you saw. The number 27 is printed at the top, but the symbol below is different: the top halves of two opposing symbols have been joined together. According to your black box, the symbol is active. You aren't sure how that's possible. The hatch is crossed by deep gashes that appear to be claw marks. Red and black blood is smeared everywhere.
Your team leader silently points to the hatch before you, then to the one on the opposite side of the clearing. He looks at you expectantly.
The "spook stuff", as he calls it, is your business. He wants your expertise to determine which hatch to enter. It's a good thing he's ordered silence or you might have to confess that you don't have a clue.
What do you do?
A: Choose Hatch #1: Unknown symbol with the dismembered human foot
B: Choose Hatch #2: Opposing symbols and blood everywhere
Vote in the comments or on Twitter. Voting ends Tuesday night. The highest vote will be the next step in the story, posted on Fridays.
Image courtesy of R_A_L.
UPDATE: Voting is now closed. This Friday, you will open hatch #2. Thanks to all who participated!


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Olympic Swimmer Cullen Jones on Pursuing Rio 2016 and a Career in Fashion
The 28-year-old Olympic gold medalist talks about his "Make a Splash" campaign and plans to design a denim line.
After nearly drowning at age five, Cullen Jones enrolled in swimming lessons as a safety precaution. Years later, he's one of the best swimmers in the world and a four-time Olympic champion. Cullen knows the importance of giving back, and he's stepped up as the spokesperson for the USA Swimming Foundation's "Make a Splash" initiative, which promotes water safety education programs. Post-London, he's using his newfound free time on dry land to cultivate his interest in fashion. How do you follow the excitement of winning three medals at the Olympics? By sitting front row at New York Fashion Week.
To get involved with swimming at any level, visit SwimToday.org.
Most Popular

subset: commoncrawl


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Fremont, CA (April 25, 2011) – ASUS Republic Of Gamers (ROG), the most innovative and award winning enthusiast and gaming motherboard brand, is excited to introduce the Rampage III Black Edition. Team ROG is resetting the bar by which motherboards are judged by incorporating new levels of design, quality, functionality and connectivity that enthusiasts and gamers demand in current products.
Years of Refinement – Today's Latest Technology
The Rampage III Black Edition combines the years of continued refinement and innovative design its industry leading engineering staff brings to the ROG brand into one board. Not only does the Black Edition board sport the latest design aesthetics featuring a superb layout, ultra-modern finishes, and a revised thermal cooling solution it also features incredible performance.
ASUS has always pushed the performance envelope and the limits of designs with ROG motherboards and the Black Edition is no exception. After listening closely to the gaming and enthusiast communities' feedback and combining the expertise of ASUS' performance gurus Peter "Shamino" Tan and Andre Yang, the Rampage III Black Edition provides the most robust and extensive BIOS, software and connectivity options available on a motherboard. It is this dedication to the user community and continual product improvements that separates ASUS ROG from the imitators.
Leading Connectivity for the Gamer and PC Enthusiast
The Rampage III Black Edition meets the needs of gamers and enthusiasts alike when it comes to expandability options. The board begins by offering dual-slot GPU spacing to optimize airflow along with (4) PCI-E x16 expansion slots. In addition the Black Edition offers a multitude of leading I/O standards such as USB 3 , SATA 6G, eSATA, Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11N WiFi. In addition the board features both Intel Gigabit LAN and BIGFOOT Networks Killer™ NIC LAN technology for the best possible online multimedia and gaming experience. The Black Edition motherboard ensures the latest connectivity standards are available for gamers and enthusiasts alike, something the imitators are unable to offer.
Digital Power Delivery and Design – Only the Best for ROG
Like all ROG motherboards, the Rampage III Black Edition uses the latest in high quality and durable components to ensure trouble free operation and long life. Leaving the constraints of analog designs from imitating brands behind, the Black Edition takes the performance leading and award winning ASUS Extreme Engine Digi+ design of the Rampage III Extreme and pushes it even further. Utilization of a super alloy choke and a high-quality dual proadlizer design ensures extremely low ESL and ESR as well as high capacitance and current capabilities for cooler operation while gaming along with leading performance when overclocking. These superior design elements are brought together with ASUS' other innovative designs such as ROG Connect, OC Zone and AI Suite to give gamers and enthusiasts gamers a board that stands above the rest.
Ultimate Immersion and Superior Performance
Republic Of Gamers always pushes the limits of hardware design and now takes this commitment to the next level with the ThunderBolt card. The ThunderBolt combines the award winning designs of ASUS' Xonar audio cards as well as specifically designed high performance DAC and headphone amp for the ultimate in ear fidelity and in game positioning. In addition the ThunderBolt card integrates cutting-edge gaming technology from BIGFOOT Networks Killer™ NIC series and brings them together into one card. Plugging the Thunderbolt card into an open PCI-E slot ensures an immersive audio experience and stunning networking performance in a unique design that competing imitators do not offer.
Intel LGA1366 socket for Intel Corei7 Processor Extreme Edition / Core™i7 Processor with optimizations for Gulftown 32m based CPUs.
- Intel® X58/ ICH10R
- ROG ThunderBolt LAN/Audio Combo with High Quality AMP for headphones , Based on Xonar Audio Design and Killer™ NIC E2100 NPU (that is the add-in card you can see on the board)
- Bluetooth v3.0+HS with 802.11n WIFI Support
- Extreme Engine Digi+ – Powerful combination of analog and digital design elements for Ultimate VRM Performance
- True USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s Support.


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Oh man, just 24 hours from the 2014 Life is Beautiful lineup! I cannot wait to share this year's lineup with everyone. Each minute we get closer to releasing it the more excited I get. I hope my enthusiasm and love for the talent assembled for year two of the festival is shared by you as well after tomorrow. I hope that as you watch this video below which recaps the music portion of Life is Beautiful 2013, you get pumped to create a whole new set of beautiful memories that will last a lifetime.
"A music festival is a gathering of a lot of strangers but I must say that music by the end of the night it always makes me feel like I know everybody that I shared that experience with and there's nothing else in the world that can do that like music." – Dan Reynolds, Imagine Dragons at Life is Beautiful Festival


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I'm not a great one for lists and New Year's resolutions so I didn't formalise what I wanted to do at the start of 2011. This may have been a mistake because there have been times when I felt I've swirled along without a clear direction whereas I'm usually fairly good at being task-oriented when I want to complete something. So what DID I achieve in family history during 2011? This is an aide-memoir for me as much as anything so feel free to skip as much as you like.
Blogging has been my big sharing contribution in 2011. After a tentative first year, I dedicated a lot of time and energy to it this year. Some of what I've learned from blogging, I've talked about recently here.
I like to think that by helping out the people who've contacted me through the blog, especially those with Dorfprozelten ancestors, that I've contributed a little to the genie community. There has also been extensive email correspondence around a number of families I research (though not my own).
I've started in on my Blurb blog-to-book already and finding that I should have inserted my images at higher resolution…live and learn. I plan to get one book in hard copy then others in e-books for my family. The sharing of my personal history in the 52 weeks series was motivated by being able to pass that on to my family. My failure was not getting my husband to write more of his off-line.
A morning of talks by Suzie Zada in the middle of the year was a highlight for me. We were going on holidays that weekend and I kept saying I'll leave after this presentation – and stayed to the end, even though the topics were not specifically relevant to my own research.
I learn every day through the blogs I read and the strategies and discoveries other make. Books, books and more books also add to my learning.
I enrolled in four Pharos courses, two great ones on Scottish family history by Chris Paton, one on enclosures which was excellent and one on old handwriting which was also valuable but because I had other commitments didn't dedicate time to properly engaging.
RootsTech was a fascinating insight into a partially-online conference and I was able to learn a lot from the presentations I watched, including using cloud document storage. Looks like a few mid-night wake-ups in February 2012 for me!
Shamrock in the Bush was and is a great learning opportunity as well being companionable. Not Just Ned was not only a great reminder of aspects of my personal history but an insight into Irish lives in Australia (especially that voyage chest).
This one teeters on being a fail. My weakness is gathering the information re disparate families and then not entering them immediately into my informal narrative. I don't file until I've written them up – you can see the pitfall.
On the plus side I've started reviewing a potential book on my Melvin family – I wrote about 150 pages a couple of years ago and while I'd done some more research, the narrative needs editing, adding to, and reviewing for further research.
Also on the plus side I've been scanning lots of photos –some for the 52 weeks series, and hundreds of our old slides. This achievement gives me a big tick in terms of cyclone preparation as well.
Thanks to some house renovations and ensuing chaos, my library of books and family history references got catalogued. I used Collectorz but also dabble in LibraryThing. Still can't decide which I prefer but I think Collectorz is quicker to find the book reference I need whereas LibraryThing is online and gives you tips on books similar or relevant to those in your library.
A couple of months ago I started documenting what I worked on each day. This has been a mixed success as I followed it faithfully for some weeks then dropped the ball. However I did find it useful in keeping me on-track with what I want to, and also not being distracted by emails etc as they arrive. When I do focus I am like a terrier in getting through something, so I need to find a balance there.
For the first time I found a trace of my Gavin family in Ireland.
Having chased up my grandmother's brother's family for years, I'm now almost certain that he has no surviving descendants. Ancestry releases of war records have also filled out his history.
Through a combination of my research last year in Hertfordshire, online resources and the enclosure course with Pharos, I learned about the pubs my Kent family owned in Hertfordshire.
New digitisation of newspapers with Trove gave me a full list of my great-grandfather's property which was sold after his death, right down to the picks and shovels. I've confirmed his will is not held by the Queensland State Archives so this newspaper advertisement was a find.
Sadly, I didn't get enough opportunities to get to the Archives interstate in 2011. While I've been in Brisbane a few times this year, research hasn't been the primary purpose so archives visits have been all too brief and far too whirlwind. It's been a few years since I've had good solid archives time. However with more information coming online there's more background research that I can do from Darwin.
One of my favourite strategies is to use LDS films to read old parish registers, parish chest materials, land records or whatever else is available on microfilm for "my" parishes. I'd be lost without these.
Thanks to Scotlands People I've added more information to my own families, and kick-started a friend's family history for her. Love SP and all for the cost of a coffee.
All in all not an unsuccessful year but I do want to have a more clear-sighted focus in 2012. More research and more documentation are on the agenda. Where to for 2012? Time to plan.


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Tangerines, written and directed by Zaza Urushadze, is set during the War in NiAbkhazia (1992–93). Ivo (Lembit Ulfsak) lives in an Estonian settlement in Abkhazia. After war breaks out between Georgia and Abkhazia, most of the people in the village go back to Estonia, but Ivo stays to help Margus (Elmo Nüganen) harvest his tangerine orchard. A gunfight between Georgian and Abkhazian soldiers takes place near his home. He and Margus find only two soldiers still alive, but wounded. One is Ahmed (Giorgi Nakashidze), a Chechen mercenary fighting for the Abkhazians, and the other is Niko (Mikheil Meskhi), a Georgian. Ahmed is determined to avenge the death of his friend, Ibrahim, who was killed in the fight. However, Ivo makes him promise that he won't harm Niko so long as he is under Ivo's roof. Ivo then has to maintain an uneasy truce between the two men.
Tangerines is the most deeply moving film I have seen in a long time. Much of the film's emotional power is due to the strong performances of the actors, especially Ulfsak and Nakashidze. This film is a denunciation of the destructive effect of mindless nationalism. It is one ranks alongside of Grand Illusion and Paths of Glory as one of the great war films of all time.


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A study just published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences gives a wonderful example of the little recognised complexity of epileptic seizures.
The article describes three cases of people who take their clothes off during seizures and discusses the potential legal consequences of engaging in such behaviour when it was caused by epilepsy.
However 'Case 1' has so many other aspects to it, it really highlights the diversity of epilepsy. It can cause, for example, the sensation of "needing to look for something".
Case #1 involves a women in her mid-30s with seizures that begin with an aura of "needing to look for something" followed by prominent sensations of heat. The patient often fans herself during seizures. During a clinic visit, she was observed to have a complex partial seizure during which she reached into her blouse and pulled out her bra. In the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU), she had two complex partial seizures, one of which involved disrobing behavior. The seizure began with her sitting in bed talking to her husband in a normal fashion. She then became unusually restless.
Ten seconds after the onset of 4-Hz right temporal activity, chewing movements began. Thirty-two seconds after the onset, she began fanning herself with her right hand. Two minutes ten seconds after the onset, the electrical activity stopped for 8 sec. It then resumed at 8 Hz in the right temporal electrodes; after another 5 sec, she unbuttoned her pajama top with both hands. Bilateral rhythm ictal electrode activity continued to gradually increase in amplitude. Fifty-five seconds after the unbuttoning, she picked up a newspaper in her right hand and fanned herself for 10 sec. The seizure then evolved into a secondary generalized tonic/clonic seizure.
Link to locked study.


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Obama leaves DC for Martha's Vineyard vacation
CHILMARK, Massachusetts (AP) — President Barack Obama on Saturday left Washington for his familiar spot on Martha's Vineyard for a two-week summer vacation, which comes as the U.S. is engaged in airstrikes against Islamic militant targets in Iraq.
Obama, along with wife Michelle, daughter Malia and dogs Bo and Sunny, arrived at a Coast Guard station on Cape Cod before heading to the island off the Massachusetts coast. The presidential motorcade wove its way around Martha's Vineyard before pulling down a secluded drive that led to the Obamas' rented vacation house.
The president spent just 30 minutes at the house before taking off for the golf course. Joining Obama for a round at the Farm Neck Golf Club were former NFL player Ahmad Rashad, NBA player Ray Allen, and Cyrus Walker, the cousin of White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.
Obama has spent at least part of his summer in Martha's Vineyard each year he has been president except 2012, when he was running for re-election. In an unusual twist, he's breaking up his vacation with a two-day return to Washington midway through the trip.
Obama's advisers have been cagey about why the president is returning to Washington, saying only that he plans to hold in-person meetings at the White House
The president typically keeps a low-profile on his annual summer vacations, making the occasional visit into town and playing several rounds of golf. But he will headline a Democratic fundraiser on the island Monday night.
Before departing Washington Saturday, Obama told reporters that he was ready "to not have a suit on for a while."


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It's that time of the year again. You know what I'm talking about, the time of the year when all willpower goes out the window. The time of the year when it is impossible to stop, the addicting qualities are just too high. You know what I'm talking about…
Yep. Usually it can be bit of a trouble, trying to trek down a girl scout to purchase my faves from.
This year one of the kids that comes to my work was selling them. When I saw the list I wanted to buy like every one of them.
I could only buy two as they are exorbitantly expensive. $5 a box?
But of course that's not the real issue, now is it? Nope the real problem is not completely devouring every single cookies after you open the box.
I tell myself not to, that I should resist; but I just can't seem to stop.
Cookie after cookie just seem to be ending up in my mouth.
If only there was an easier way to work off fat. Then I could eat whatever I want.
But that's not going to happen. As all my willpower goes out the window I am in desperate need of someone keeping me on track, of stopping me from constantly eating.
But then I think of their deliciousness and I realize something:
So you know what, forget serving sizes! I'm going to eat what I want!
I eat what I want!
I think I'm going to eat one right now in fact!
For more on Girl Scout Cookies, go to It's That Time of the Year Again
For more on eating, go to Always There for You


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Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living
While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
(Luke 24:51 (NIV))
Is there a single event in all of history that you would love to have been able to see?
I have often wondered what it would have been like to witness Adam and Eve walk with God in the Garden of Eden. It would be amazing to be able to say that I witnessed Noah loading the animals into the ark. Can you imagine seeing the power of God as He parted the Red Sea? What about seeing the walls of Jericho crumble to the ground? I have often wondered just how mismatched David and Goliath really were. Can you imagine being one of the shepherds when the heavenly hosts announced the birth of Jesus? I'm torn about the crucifixion. I can't imagine watching what Jesus went through, yet, I fully understand why He did it. What if you had seen the stone rolled away? What if you had walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus?
What if?
Imagine yourself with many others as Jesus blesses everyone. How would you react when you see Him ascend into heaven? Even by today's standards of special effects and theatrical tricks, this would be an awesome thing to see, for it is the last confirmation that Jesus is who He says that He is. You have seen Him crucified. You have seen Him resurrected. You have seen the wounds that He willingly took so that we can have salvation and grace. Now, you see Him return to the Father.
God has done so many wonderful things for humanity. Which ones do you relate to the most? Which ones have special meaning to you? With all that the Lord has done for us, all that I can do is be eternally thankful and say, "WOW!!!"
Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Since I put out my request for reports of dragonfly swarm sightings a month ago, data have been streaming in! I thought it was time to give a brief report of the dragonfly swarming activity in North America this summer so that everyone who's sent a report in can see how much I appreciate your sending me reports. I couldn't be happier with the information that's been coming my way, so thank you all so much for helping me track this behavior. Keep the reports coming!
First things first. In my next post, I'm going to cover a paper I came across on dragonfly migratory swarms in North America from 1998. I think it will give everyone a better idea of why these swarms might be forming and what they're doing. For now, just know that there are two types of swarming behavior:
- Migratory swarms. These are effectively rivers of hundreds of thousands of dragonflies all flying in a single direction and covering large distances. These types of swarms are like bird migrations or the migrations of monarch butterflies – lots of individuals traveling together between habitats and usually made up of a single species or with one dominant species and a few other minor players. These swarms move very quickly and may appear and disappear in a matter of minutes. The dragonflies in these swarms typically follow significant waterways and fly high above the ground (20-100 feet).
- Static swarms. This is the type of swarm I reported on last summer and the type that prompted my interest in this behavior. These swarms contain far fewer individuals than migratory swarms (20-1000 instead of tens of hundreds of thousands) and are highly localized. Individuals in the swarm will remain restricted to a very small area (like one field or yard or hill) and fly in a circular or figure-8 pattern about 1-20 feet off the ground, usually over a grassy area. These swarms are likely feeding swarms and may contain one to several species of dragonflies in about equal proportions. (Please read the post from last summer linked above for a more detailed description of the behavior of the swarm I witnessed and a video.)
These two types of swarms, though very different, might be related to one another. There are some striking similarities between the two types that suggest that this might be the case. For one, the known migratory dragonfly species are the same species that appear to be making up the static swarms. Also, both types of swarms occur during the same part of the year. Last, both types of swarms seem to be weather related. Almost everyone who has reported a swarm has also reported a recent storm or an incoming one, especially after a long period of hot, dry weather. Weather is thought to play an important role in the migratory swarms as well.
When I wrote my initial posts on dragonfly swarms, I got a few reports from people who had seen them in other locations. I also got several people stumbling onto my blog after searching for dragonfly swarms on the internet. Last summer I got maybe 30 hits a week on my swarm pages and none at all for most of the rest of the year. This year, I'm getting 500 hits a week! Clearly, something is happening this summer that is making these swarms much more abundant and visible than they have been in the past. I can't, of course, say for sure why this is, but I suspect it has something to do with the weather pattens we've seen this year. I saw a report on the National Geographic website a few days ago that said that this is the hottest year on record in the US – and we started recording weather data in the late 1800's. Perhaps the hot weather and the recent rains have something to do with the huge number of swarms (and the large size of some of these swarms) that have cropped up this year.
So what patterns have I been able to identify from the data I've collected from reports from readers? There are definitely a few locations that have a lot of static swarming activity recently:
- Eastern Missouri in the St. Louis area. There seem to be many swarms within a massive area from slightly north of St. Louis south to the MO border and extending west to the central part of the state. These swarms are highly localized when they appear and are often in one person's yard or field and not in the yard/field next door. The swarms have been made up of several different species and consist of several hundred dragonflies. It has been quite hot in the area, but they've had some recent storms.
- Northern Illinois/Wisconsin. These swarms may be part of the Missouri action because they are very similar. They also cover a large area, consist of mixed-species in highly localized areas, and they've been showing up after storms. It's been hot in this area recently too.
- New Jersey. These sightings seem to be completely unrelated to the swarms in the Midwest, but they're spread across the state. The swarms are a bit smaller than the Midwestern ones (20-100 individuals), but they're often made up of multiple species and have appeared before or after storms.
Other sporadic swarms have been reported in Iowa, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, New York, Connecticut, California, Pennsylvania, and Saskatchewan.
Based on the data I've collected so far, it looks likely that in many areas, there are very large, widespread groups of dragonflies. The swarms people are seeing in their yards may be a subset of these larger super-swarms. I'm starting to think this because I'll get 20 different reports from one rather large geographic area all describing the exact same thing over the course of 3 or 4 days. I'll get another 20 reports from another area, all with similar descriptions and within a few days of each other.
I did also get several individual reports of a massive migratory swarm in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas earlier this week. The accounts I heard suggest that the swarm was made up of truly staggering numbers of dragonflies, maybe hundreds of thousands or millions of individuals, that all flew right by the 6th floor windows of several buildings. One reporter said he couldn't see the building across the street as the dragonflies flew by! They were all flying parallel to the river and in a single direction and the whole event was over in less than a minute. Wow. I would have given anything to see that! If anyone else is lucky enough to witness an event like this, I hope you will send a report to me! However, though I got many reports of this single event, they're the only reports of anything like migratory swarms I've gotten all summer. It appears that the static swarms are much more common than the big migratory swarms, but I think there's a good chance that they're related to one another.
And this is where you all come in! Keep sending me your reports! With your help, I might be able to get a better handle on the movements of my proposed super-swarms and determine whether the migratory and static swarms are actually related. I might also be able to determine whether the Midwestern swarms are all part of one giant swarm or the Missouri and Illinois/Wisconsin swarms are separate. Plus, I have a feeling this is a special year for this behavior and we might never see another summer like this again. I'd like to collect as much data as I can now so that I can compare this year to future years and to take advantage of the abundance of swarms that are cropping up throughout the country.
Check back soon for the summary of the migratory swarm behavior paper! Judging from the number of people who have been searching for information on dragonfly swarms on the internet this summer, it might be quite interesting for people hoping to explain the phenomena they've been seeing in their backyards.
(Want more information about dragonfly swarms? Visit my Dragonfly Swarm Information page for my entire collection of posts on dragonfly swarms!)
Have you seen a dragonfly swarm?
I am tracking swarms so I can learn more about this interesting behavior. If you see one, I'd love to hear from you! Please visit my Report a Dragonfly Swarm page to fill out the official report form. It only takes a few minutes!
Want more information?
Visit my dragonfly swarm information page for my entire collection of posts about dragonfly swarms!
Unless otherwise stated, all text, images, and video are copyright © TheDragonflyWoman.com


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The GO11 AWARD (500,-Euro for the best Urban Alternate Use, donated by EXCHANGE RADICAL MOMENTS! Live Art Festival) goes to FIT – freie internationale tankstelle http://www.f-i-t.org/english/start.htm
Most of the voters (182) and the jury thought that FIT is the best re-use of an urban environment.
The "Urban Guide for Alternate Use" (http://www.altuseguide.com/) is a project by Scott Burnham.
FIT – Freie Internatinale Tankstelle
By Dida Zende
Gas stations as art base
Berlin (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Ludwigshafen (Germany), Kaufdorf (Switzerland), Miami (USA), Lochau (Austria),…
The idea of the "friendly takeover " of abandoned gas stations worldwide and change into "FILLING STATIONS FOR THE CREATIVE SPIRIT" together with artist/non artist/community is a societal innovation and part of the social change.
Space Appropriator #3 / Junior Pro-ball
By Veronika Tzekova
Intervention, game, performance
Sofia, Bulgaria
The city of Sofia has huge parking problems. On the featured sidewalk obviously the owners of this now closed enterprise made arrangements to prevent the cars from parking, which created peculiar situation. Space Appropriator #3 uses the specificity of the sidewalk and by adding a simple chalk drawing in the shape of a football field offers an alternative experience of the place and an opportunity to practice a street game.
The series of urban interventions Space Appropriators (Urban Olympics 2011) comment on modes of use and behavior in common spaces in the city of Sofia, Bulgaria. Each Space Appropriator employs different situation in the urban fabric in order to question the Status Quo of variety of urban spaces and elements. Most of the Space Appropriators are developed in the shape of outdoors games, realized with simple media such as chalk drawing, elastic rope, stencils, stickers and etc. http://www.urbanolympics2011.hit.bg
Holiday in a park
By David Brazier and Kelda Free
Mail Art: Postcards from a nearby place
London, England
We are a married couple who use an island in a nearby busy London park for our holidays. In the middle of the night we inflate our small plastic boat and row the short distance to set up camp on our island getaway. Although very small the island is covered in dense foliage so we can remain undetected for the duration of our stay, usually two or three nights. We made a series of holiday postcards which we send to friends detailing our island adventures.
By Hans Lerperger
Game: Urban Footballgolf
Linz, Austria
When you marry football with golf, you get a nice new game for the city! You can play foogo anytime anyplace without using anything. Just take a lighter and a key lanyard to lift one or two manhole covers in a nice place. Make a ball of whatever you can find and have fun. Foogo is fun to play and tricky too, since the manhole is vertical unlike the usual goal! Don´t forget to close the manhole later on…
New Prospects
By Wouter Sibum
Intervention at a viaduct near Kluut, Hoorn (NH
Hoorn, The Netherlands
Custom made bench for turning a unused staircase into a place to sit. Approx. 8 x 6 x 50m. (Intervention without permissions)
People parking.
By s( )nia
Intervention, Urban Object
Berlin, Germany
Reusing found bicycle inner tube in order to create a place to stay in a bicycle parking.
Temporary Displacement
By Louisa Dawson
Ney York City, USA
'Temporary Displacement' is a sculpture that is a disused rubbish skip which has been turned it into a small, but functional, swimming pool. All my sculptures juxtapose everyday industrial or domestic objects to make functional absurdities to communicate between structures, objects and environments.
PAINTING REALITY – A Brushstroke by Society
By IEPE & the anonymous crew, directed by AKIZ
Intervention, Painting
Berlin, Germany
500 litres of of waterbased environmentally-friendly paint were dumped on Rosenthaler Platz in Berlin – a new colour in front of every traffic light: lemon yellow, chimney red, cyan blue, and purple violet. The cars drove over the paint and became 'paint brushes'.
The action was executed anonymously. For months people were guessing whether this was a 'Guerrilla Advertising Campaign' or an art-work.
It is in fact a work of art by Berlin-based Dutch artist IEPE (Iepe Rubingh, born 1974) together with an anonymous crew. IEPE is known for his 'traffic congestive actions' in Berlin and Tokyo, as well as the raining 'Miracle Trees' in Singapore, Berlin and Arnsberg. Additionally, he is the inventor of the hybrid sport 'Chess Boxing' and is the director of the World Chess Boxing Organisation, with clubs in Siberia, London, Los Angeles and Berlin.
IEPE works "within society" or "with society". For him, Chess Boxing is as much Social Sculpture as an independent sport. The work 'Painting Reality' is connected to the idea of Social Sculpture and is a picturesque implementation of it. Video: http://painting.iepe.net
Construction Abusive
By Géraldine Py & Roberto Verde
Installation, Misuse
Brussels, Belgium
The title of this picture is "Construction abusive", translated "Improper building". There was a crane really close to the front building. We took the opportunity to do the project: We set a clothesline from the last floor of the building to the hook of the crane, with the cranedriver assistance. http://22-plaisir.com/pyverde/galerie-292.html#t292
By John H Locke
Intervention/Installation:Book shelf in phone booth
New York City, USA
Even as they are rendered obsolete by the ubiquity of smartphones, I'm interested in pay phones because they are both anachronistic and quotidian. Relics, they're dead technology perched on the edge of obsolescence, a skeuomorph hearkening back to a lost shared public space we might no longer have any use for. Something to be nostalgic for, in the way I can't think about a phone booth without conjuring up images of an old, impatient woman banging on the door to one while I was inside using a calling card to ask for money. And of course they are nuisance, basically pedestrian level billboards that only blight certain neighborhoods (good luck finding a payphone in Tribeca, while there are eight separate phone kiosks on one block between 108th and 109th streets and Columbus Ave). But they can also be a place of opportunity, something to reprogram and somewhere to come together and find a good book with your neighbors. http://gracefulspoon.com/blog/2011/07/06/dub-002/
Media Cooperation Partners: TAZ, zitty Berlin


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SageCircle has received credible intelligence, subsequently confirmed, that EMA has initiated a job action resulting in analyst lay offs. We will continue to provide updates as we learn new information.
- Update: 5/15/09 11:41 am PT – Sent request for confirmation to EMA's press office
- Update: 5/15/09 12:11 pm PT – Initial post and first confirmed names added name to analyst list
- Update: 5/18.09 8:52 am PT – Official statement from EMA
Of course, layoffs impact real people with families and obligations. Often AR people are genuinely friendly with the analysts they work with and this sort of news can be a shock. Unfortunately for AR professionals, analyst firm layoffs also raise important issues that need to be addressed ASAP no matter how much sympathy they feel for the analysts caught in the layoffs.
Official Statement from EMA
Received via email on Sunday, May 17, 2009:
For several years, EMA™ has achieved strong growth, averaging 30% annually. The company has been proactive in growing the analyst team in anticipation of future demand. This has added significantly to EMA's technical depth and overall industry outreach (particularly in advising IT organizations). However, the current economic conditions have slowed the firm's rate of growth. As a result, EMA has taken actions to align its resources with the demand anticipated for 2009. Management came to the difficult decision to reduce the analyst staff by two positions and internal support staff by one position. These minor adjustments will ensure EMA remains financially healthy and positioned for long term growth.
Rick Sturm, CEO and Founder
In addition to the analysts, EMA's marketing director was also affected by the job action.
Analyst List
- Breville, Curtis – storage management
- McGlynn, Liam – systems management


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If you look at the roster of riders that Quiksilver has on its snow team, the role call is mind blowing. The level of talent that each of our snowboard rides brings to the table is astronomical and their hard work and dedication to the sport is what makes them the best at what they do. Along with hard work and dedication, trusting in the quality of Quiksilver snowboard gear has helped each of our snowboarders achieve the professional level they are at today. Gear that can accommodate long, challenging days on the mountain practicing tricks or carving new backcountry trails is essential to successfully log enough hours on the snow to achieve professional goals. Our snowboarders display a range of talents on their boards from freestyle to freeriders and their versatility on their boards is what keeps them embracing the innovation and progression of the sport each season. We love seeing the new challenges they stand up to each season and it keeps us motivated to create products that can stand up to those challenges right alongside them.
Get Your Gear in Check With Quiksilver Snowboarding Gear
Quiksilver continues to be a leader in the realm of snow clothes and snowboarding gear each season. Our collection of snow clothes offers top of the line snow jackets and snow pants that offer nothing less of the best protection any snowboarder could ask for. Our thermal layers and fleece jackets are designed to prolong performance on the mountain through heated comfort and necessary layers, and our collection of snowboarding accessories finished off the details for every snowboarder, regardless of their riding style. Keeping up with the snowboard trends and delivering a collection of snowboarding gear that outperforms its predecessor year after year is a challenge we thrive on and the motivation to achieve these goals is what keep us producing the best snowboarding gear available season after season.
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If you haven't experienced a Quiksilver snowboarding event you're missing out. Our snowboard events are a great time to catch our snowboard riders in action while also sneaking a peek at the latest Quiksilver snowboard gear we have to offer. Quiksilver snowboard events are a fun way for the snowboarding community to come together and embrace everything about the sport that we love, from the on mountain shred time to the apres ski after parties, there is something for snowboarders of all ages to enjoy. Make sure to check out when Quiksilver is visiting a mountain near you this season to experience all of the fun our events have to offer.
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We've had some very mild conditions this week with welcome sunshine pushing temperatures into the high teens. However, in a classic spring swing, colder weather is on the way as we head into the weekend.
By Saturday, we will see a return of easterly winds which will bring in much colder air from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Snow is expected across some eastern parts of the country over the weekend. By the start of next week, most of the UK will see daytime highs in low single figures with some frosty and icy nights.
So how unusual is it to see cold weather and snow in March?
The UK's weather is very much at the mercy of where our winds come from, and throughout spring we can see sudden swings in the weather conditions. If we look back to last year we had very high temperatures at the end of March as the UK was under the influence of high pressure and light south-easterly winds. This year, this week's south-easterly winds are now giving way to colder easterlies.
What about snow?
Statistics show that snow is more likely in March than around Christmas. As we know, heat from the sun increases as we head towards summer and this can lead to some interesting weather in March. With more heat from the sun the ground warms up more quickly and gives very unstable air, which can lead to a greater number of showers. Warmer air also holds more moisture so showers can give heavier rainfall. If this combines with cold air we can potentially see some heavy snowfall. However, easterly winds tend to be dry and so substantial snow fall is not expected over the next week.
As always, the Met Office will be working with different agencies to keep Britain on the move, and to keep people safe and well during periods of cold weather. The latest forecasts and warnings can be found online, through our mobile apps and through TV and radio broadcasts.


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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Wordless Wednesday
38 comments:
You will not escape me.ReplyDelete
Have a fun day!ReplyDelete
And we wish you all a beautiful day too!ReplyDelete
Lily Belle & Muffin
- AnonymousMay 14, 2014 at 6:23 AM
aww, you are to busy, therefore it's wordless, hahaha. have a super day, Lily!ReplyDelete
Great photo shoot, Lily!ReplyDelete
Time for a snooze..ReplyDelete
Have a wonderful Wednesday Lily and have fun.ReplyDelete
Best wishes Molly
Looks like lots of fun!ReplyDelete
LILY YOUR LIFE IS SO STRENUOUS....BLESS YOUR HEART I THINK YOU MIGHT NEED EXTRA KIBBLE....HUGS MADI YOU RBFFFReplyDelete
Ruff Ruff, Lily!!ReplyDelete
Whatcha got, Lily?!!?ReplyDelete
Maggie T.
Lily, you are just so adorable! Is that a new ball you are playing with? happy WW.ReplyDelete
Have a happy Wednesday!ReplyDelete
From playing straight into a nap, I bet!ReplyDelete
mine mine mine !ReplyDelete
THAT looks SO fun.ReplyDelete
Hey LILY... how is your eyeball feeling???
is that a potato??? Looks funReplyDelete
Bailey & Hazel too
I thinks I see some stuffin' comin' out!!!ReplyDelete
Ruby ♥
You look so darn cute, I just want to snuggle you!ReplyDelete
Looks like you're having lots of fun, and looking super cute doing it! Not that that's surprising!ReplyDelete
What a great toy. It looks like fun. Sniff and wags from Laika and Vaks.ReplyDelete
Good work. We thought it was getting away from you for a minute. Glad you were quick enough to grab it. Phew...ReplyDelete
XXXOOO Bella & Roxy
I bet that thing weighed a half a pound of drool after you were done with it! ;)ReplyDelete
What a doll!ReplyDelete
Sue B
Lily, it looks like you know how to relax and play at the same time:)ReplyDelete
Woos - Phantom, Ciara, and Lightning
Looks like a perfect way to spend the day! Bark More, Growl Less Barking from the Bayou!ReplyDelete
I bet we would be good furiends if we lived closer. You can appreciate the finer things too!ReplyDelete
Your Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
Is that an egg ball? Ball egg? Brown furry egg? Stuffed egg? I'm hungry for egg.ReplyDelete
Super cute Lily.ReplyDelete
Aroo to you,
Get it, Lily!ReplyDelete
Looks like you had a fun Wednesday!!ReplyDelete
Dory, Jakey, Arty and Bilbo
PeeEss...We are hoping you aren't near those icky fires!!
Looks like you were having a BALL!! xo Chloe and LadyBugReplyDelete
Are you getting that soft stuffie ball all wet, Lily? Wet is better!ReplyDelete
Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly
That looks like a Kiwi!!!ReplyDelete
Does it squeak? Love DollyReplyDelete
hehehe you look so cute and cheeky Lily,xx SpeedyReplyDelete


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More 'Big Bang Theory' On The Way As Cast Members Sign New Deals
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — The studio that produces critically acclaimed "The Big Bang Theory" said it has reached contract deals with the sitcom's cast.
With negotiations concluded, the comedy will begin production this week for the 2014-15 season, Warner Bros. Television said in a statement Tuesday.
Photos: 2014 Emmy Nominated CBS Shows & Stars
Work on the eighth season reportedly had been delayed as the cast of TV's top-rated sitcom held out for raises. Agreements have been reached with stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco for lucrative three-year contracts that trade reports put at about $1 million per episode for each actor.
Deals are in place with the entire cast, which includes Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, the studio said.
Last month the show was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for the fourth year in a row, while star Jim Parsons was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the sixth time having won is 2010, 2011 and 2013.
The CBS series about geeky scientist pals and the women who love them returns September 22nd.
(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
for more features.


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--Combining Actual Battlefield Footage with Stylized Recreations, ULTIMATE WARFARE Airs Tuesdays at 10PM (E/P) Beginning January 29--
(Silver Spring, MD) - This January, the Military Channel presents an all-new original series, ULTIMATE WARFARE, which takes viewers on a totally immersive journey that portrays real-life combat from the soldier's-eye-view of battle. From battlefields of wars past and present, ULTIMATE WARFARE documents the most decisive modern military battles from the first-person perspective of the servicemen who lived to tell the tale. Combining authentic battlefield footage and highly stylized recreations with CGI and cutting-edge graphics, the 10-part series ULTIMATE WARFARE premieres on Military Channel on Tuesday, January 29 at 10 PM (E/P).
Tension, grit, courage and strategy are at the forefront of each hour-long episode, as soldiers relive the critical moments they faced, where every decision could mean the difference between life and death. From the Battle of Midway in World War II right up to Fallujah in Iraq, ULTIMATE WARFARE sheds new light on these iconic military battles, bringing the audience into the battlefield experience as if they were there.
"The innovative production style of ULTIMATE WARFARE places the audience into the heart of the action as the battles unfold, allowing us to see critical moments in military history in a way that hasn't been visualized before," said Ed Hersh, SVP of Content Strategy for the Military Channel. "Through intimate accounts from those who were staring death in the face, this new series provides our viewers with an edge-of-your-seat view of these pivotal moments in history they can't find anywhere else."
The premiere episode on January 29 tells the story of "Baghdad: Thunder Runs." In 2003, in what would become one of the most brutal and decisive battles of the Iraq war, a battalion of tanks punched a hole right into the heart of Saddam Hussein's Baghdad. The attack helped gain insight into how the Iraqi soldiers functioned, and the success marked the beginning of the end of the Hussein Empire. Hear from the soldiers who were entrenched inside the tanks, including: Lt. Col. Eric Schwartz, who committed his men into Baghdad and led his team as the first mechanized force to enter a capital city since WWII; as well as Sgt. 1st Cl. Jonathan Lustig, who was the first man into Hussein's palace when the United States took it under siege, and was the first to see the attack coming to alert his men to mount a defense.
In addition to Baghdad, additional episodes of the series bring viewers to the frontlines of other modern battles such as Kandahar and Fallujah. ULTIMATE WARFARE also revisits wars past, such as: Hue and Khe Sanh from the Vietnam War; Chosin from the Korean War; and Midway, Okinawa, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle for Leyte Gulf from WWII.
ULTIMATE WARFARE is produced by Arrow Media with Thomas Viner as producer and Tom Brisley as executive producer. For Military Channel, Ron Simon is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Ed Hersh is senior vice president of content strategy, and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.
About Military Channel
The Military Channel brings viewers compelling, real-world stories of valor, heroism, and courage on the battlefield. It also goes back in time, telling the enduring stories of the people and events from the great turning points in history. Currently available in more than 60 million homes, the network takes viewers "behind the lines" to celebrate the personal stories of servicemen and women who defend freedom across the globe. As the only cable network devoted to the armed forces, the Military Channel incorporates the best state-of-the-art CGI animation and never-before-seen footage to offer in-depth explorations of military techniques, aviation technology and cutting-edge weaponry. For more information, please visit Military.Discovery.com, facebook.com/Military, or twitter.com/MilitaryChannel. Military Channel is part of Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 210 countries and territories.


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Having completed its acquisition of ThreatGRID this week, Cisco put forward plans for how the TreatGRID sandboxing technology will fit in the Cisco security portfolio. The company also acknowledged it's not entirely clear yet on what to do about the many technology-sharing relationships that ThreatGRID has had with other vendors, including Cisco competitor, Check Point.
ThreatGRID is the maker of anti-malware sandboxing technology that Cisco says didn't have a lot of large customers directly but was expanding through many third-party vendor relationships. In one of them, ThreatGRID last month had joined an alliance with Check Point Software Technologies and six other security vendors to share threat-intelligence. In other publicized partnerships, Guidance Software last month said ThreatGRID would provide malware analysis and threat intelligence to Guidance EnCase customers. Cisco declined to discuss any of the partnership arrangements, but said these are now under review.
+ ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD Check Point builds seven-armed threat-sharing alliance | Cisco to acquire malware-prevention company +
"ThreatGRID is used in a lot of services as an OEM today," said Scott Harrell, vice president of product management at Cisco. "We'll evaluate each on a case-by-case basis." Though Cisco isn't announcing any radical changes yet—and in fact Harrell said Cisco favors "striving to be more open"—the acquisition of ThreatGRID does put Cisco in the position of having to determine how open it can or will be, especially regarding arch competitors such as Check Point.
"Yes, this is a valid concern, ThreatGRID really went to market with vendor integrations as opposed to enterprise deals. Over time, I expect these types of relationships to get less and less focus, as Cisco tries to win over Check Point customers," said Rick Holland, principal security analyst at Forrester. He suggested Check Point has more focus on a next-generation firewall strategy than Cisco but that Cisco can be expected to provide more of a "roadmap" in the near term which would overcome any perceived disadvantage. Holland also said Cisco's buy of ThreatGRID could be "an opportunity for companies like LastLine and Seculert to increase their OEM relationships to fill the ThreatGRID need."
Though strategy on ThreatGRID's partnership arrangements may still need to be sorted out, Cisco is discussing what its approach is going to be with ThreatGrid's standalone sandboxing product. "It's an on-premises appliance, and if the customer has concerns about data leaving the premises, this is an option," says Cisco's Harrell. He points out that Cisco's AMP technology, which includes sandboxing and other malware-detection mechanisms, makes use of a cloud-based back-end as part of the detection process.
Other vendors are also competing in the anti-malware sandboxing arena, including FireEye, McAfee and Fortinet while Check Point has a sandboxing option for its firewalls.
Cisco plans to integrate the foundation ThreatGRID technology into AMP, as well as Cisco web and e-mail gateways, though this will likely occur in "phases," and "we're working on the plans for this," said Harrell.


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art, autumn equinox, botanical art, drawing, flowers, gardening, journal, sketchbook, Val Webb
22 Tuesday Sep 2009
Posted Uncategorizedin
art, autumn equinox, botanical art, drawing, flowers, gardening, journal, sketchbook, Val Webb
22 Monday Sep 2008
Posted art, gardening, illustrationin
When local clocks read 10:34 this morning, the sun will slip across the plane of the Earth's equator and begin carving its daily arc through the southern end of our sky. So, despite temperatures that remain stubbornly in the upper 80s, Fall is well and truly here. It's time to plant the winter garden.
We're stumbling out of bed at sunup this week, turning the soil in each plot by turn, emptying our compost bin of the crumbly black goodness that has cooked there all summer long. (Atticus has discovered that a freshly vacated compost bin makes an excellent midmorning napping spot.) The cabbage crop — 50 tender transplants of three varieties — are tucked into their big bed now. The curly leaf kale seeds have been broadcast in their own sliver of real estate, so that we can thin them out at finger size for a vitamin-rich addition to the salad bowl. The lettuces will be next, and then our broccoli and cauliflower sets. Collard greens, that hardy southern delicacy, will go at the far end of our garden property next to their New Year's Day menu partner: field peas. And good old butternut squash, blessedly resistant to the squash vine borers that are the scourge of our subtropical climate zone, will round out our cool-weather garden list. Mmmmm.
We're in the final countdown before the 2008 Eat Local Challenge. Tonight, The Perfect Man is experimenting with homemade feta cheese. At midweek, I'll start working on some preparatory bread baking… and on Thursday, we'll check on a weekly farmers' market we've heard about. By this time next week, I hope to have a basic inventory of locally grown edibles to get the month started. I'll be posting a daily log as the Challenge rolls along.
I have discovered during planting times that the meditative rhythm of turning the soil under my shovel occasionally unearths old memories along with a lot of earthworms. This week, musing over the miraculous transformation of our kitchen garbage into heavy wheelbarrow loads of compost, I remembered how my three daughters first grasped the basics of organic gardening as preschoolers. By the time each was three or four years old, the concept of "compost is good, commercial fertilizer is bad" was defended with the zeal only a bossy little girl can deliver.
One weekend, while I showed handmade tiles at a local art festival, all three girls bought wooden stick horses from a toymaker in a neighboring booth. "Help me think of a name for my horse," my youngest daughter said. "He's a wild stallion."
I explained that wild stallions in books sometimes have names that make them sound powerful and dangerous: Wildfire, or Cyclone, or Widowmaker. She thought for a moment or two, then looked up with a smile. "Thanks," she said, and galloped off to join her sisters.
A little later, when I overheard her as she pranced by on her newly named steed, I realized that she had named her horse for the most hazardous thing a four-year-old organic gardener could think of:


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The 'Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon' block on TV5 is now a distant memory.
These days, the remnants of the KBO block, consisting of 'Demolition Job', 'Numero', 'History with Lourd', 'Unang Tikim', and 'Astig', air reruns of past episodes at 11:30 p.m., a far cry from the block's early days. It is safe to say that the KBO block has run its course, and with it, comes the clear fact that the said block has become more irrelevant than ever.
Debuting in October 2013 as part of a new programming strategy of the Kapatid network, KBO is originally composed of the following programs:
- Demolition Job – hosted by Paolo Bediones
- Numero – hosted by Cheryl Cosim
- History with Lourd – hosted by Lourd de Veyra
- Dayo – hosted by Atty. Theresa Licaros
- Astig – hosted by Paolo Bediones
Upon the departure of Atty. Licaros from the network, 'Dayo' was replaced by 'Bigtime', hosted by Twink Macaraig, in February 2014. The original incarnation of KBO aired their last episodes in May 2014.
In September 2014, a new incarnation of KBO debuted, as 'Demolition Job' and 'History with Lourd' returned for their second season. A new program, 'Unang Tikim', premiered on the said block, with chef Jeremy Favia as host, while 'Numero' and 'Astig' continued to air old episodes.
At this point, however, TV5 deemphasized the KBO name on air, but for reference purposes From the Tube will continue to use the KBO name when referring to TV5's current 11:30 p.m. block.
The KBO block was also simulcast on TV5's sister UHF network AksyonTV. But on the second incarnation of the said block, 'Unang Tikim' was not included on the simulcast, and 'Bigtime' continued to air instead.
By January 2015, reruns are dominating the entire KBO block. The last new episodes of 'Demolition Job', 'History with Lourd' and 'Unang Tikim' were aired two months earlier, and upon checking the Facebook pages of each program, no mention of new episodes were posted.
What was once a very promising news block is now riddled with irrelevance, a lack of freshness and creativity, and a sense of exhaustion. The KBO block is now a shell of its former self, and News5 paid dearly for not maintaining it.
It remains to be seen if News5 finally wakes up to their senses and replace these overly repetitive programs. But in the eyes of the observers, the 'Karunungan, Balita at Opinyon' block is essentially over, never to be seen again.


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Continuing its work of engaging the broad accounting community in accounting education, the Pathways Commission held a public meeting Feb. 26 in Atlanta. The commission invited the public to comment and make recommendations about future paths through higher education to accounting practice.
The commission is a joint project of the American Accounting Association and the AICPA. Formed in August 2010, it grew out of recommendations by the U.S. Treasury's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession (see "New Pathways to Accounting Excellence," JofA, Oct. 2010, page 56).
As chair of the commission, Bruce Behn, the Ergen Professor of Business and professor of accounting at the University of Tennessee, moderated the meeting, which brought together professionals and academics representing diverse perspectives from what the commission calls its "supply chain" of pathways through education to practice. Supply chain group working teams and public comment panelists (who were invited and/or submitted proposals) presented analysis, ideas and recommendations to Pathways Commissioners William Ezzell, Leslie Murphy, Judy Rayburn, Jerry Strawser and Melvin Stith. Reports from the meeting and other documents, including initial issues and questions the commission is addressing, are available at its website, pathwayscommission.org. Topics included curriculum issues, the impact of emerging technologies on accounting practice and education, and the impact of the regulatory and standards environment.
In an interview with the JofA, Behn further described the meeting and gave an update on the commission's next steps:
JofA: You started with three preliminary issues and/or questions. Did the public meeting further refine them or point to possible answers? If so, how?
Behn: I have to say I don't think the discussion at the public meeting pointed to answers, but it sure highlighted the challenges we face in much more direct ways. I would characterize them as:
1. It is important to bring accounting practice (broadly defined), education and research closer together.
2. Educators and those in practice need to build our ability to change quickly (both structurally and in terms of skill sets) to respond to rapidly changing, complex global business environments, and understand the impact of that on education pathways.
3. In both practice and education, business issues and opportunities occur as part of an integrated process. Curricula need to mirror that process, becoming more integrated, providing context, and focusing on decision making within a business process context where accounting provides key information for decision making.
4. Educators and the profession as a whole are way behind in understanding how technology is changing our world. One of our presenters actually stated that, if we don't watch out, playing our critical role in understanding and providing business information, accounting could become irrelevant.
Many other issues were brought up that also refined our thinking. For example, regarding our current draft of the value proposition for the accounting profession [tinyurl.com/62gmch9], presenters brought up additional ideas that would be good to include for articulating the critical issues for education and practice for the future of accounting. The terms "accounting" and "accounting information," as used in that document, need a definition, and we talked about the possibility of accounting developing a "signature pedagogy," or a distinctive approach or method of instruction unique to accounting. Having a signature pedagogy is typical to professional education—law uses the Socratic method, medicine uses grand rounds, engineering has an integrated co-op experience, and so on.
JofA: How will you incorporate that feedback into the commission's process?
Behn: After the public meeting, the Pathways Commission met to begin discussing public meeting input, integrating useful feedback and prioritizing issues to address. The public meeting both confirmed issues that the commission has identified and shared on its website, and emphasized some areas we had not developed as far at this point. We're in the process now of incorporating feedback into our working materials. As soon as that's completed, we'll be posting updated materials on the Pathways website, where we hope there will be feedback as well as lots of folks reading and reviewing.
JofA: One goal of the commission has been to bring together different constituencies within the profession to work on issues. Did the meeting help accomplish that, and if so, can you give an example of how it did?
Behn: Bringing the different constituencies together has been very successful and helpful in a number of ways. First, it has enhanced communication among organizations. We know, for example, what is currently going on with business school accreditation, because we have the AACSB [Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business] chair-elect, Jan Williams, on the commission. If there is a question regarding accounting accreditation standards or university business school structure, we have an expert on the panel.
Second, voices in the discussions represent a wide range of constituencies, minimizing the possibility that some idea or issue will be overlooked or not represented. Third, we are sort of becoming a large family. People respect each other but are not afraid to speak their mind, which has its advantages. Finally, you can't believe the energy, passion and intellect that all these individuals bring to our work, discussions and deliberations. Everyone is proud of our profession and wants to improve it.
Having a wide range of participants in the education supply chain brought valuable perspectives into the issue of competing for and attracting students with high potential into the profession, including talented students from underrepresented groups. With participants from high schools, community colleges and colleges and universities, as well as those who recruit and train for the government, public accounting firms and other companies, we have expertise across the supply chain to help us to understand those processes. That's going to go a long way in helping us understand and think about next steps for addressing these critical issues.
JofA: What are other next steps? Are you still on target for a final report in November this year?
Behn: Our next step is preparing for a meeting of the Pathways Commission in May. Between now and then, the supply chain groups and commissioners will be working on documents and in webinars on defining key issues and beginning to flesh out key recommendations. We are making a number of presentations through the spring and early summer at various meetings, where we'll be sharing ideas and gathering feedback. While our last meeting will be in September, we'll likely have a draft getting into shape by November. Our plans are to have our formal report ready by the first of the year.
JofA: Overall, would you say the meeting met its goals?
Behn: I feel great about our progress! It's really amazing how individuals' and organizations' contributions have made it possible for people to be part of this process. As I said before, everyone is bringing great energy, leadership and commitment to the project. I knew that about all the folks who have been involved in the project since last summer. At the public meeting, it was impressive to see how everyone else participated in the meeting. The public comment groups and the public round table have the same level of commitment to the accounting profession and its critical role in our economy and society. We are all lucky to work in such a great professional community.
Paul Bonner is a JofA senior editor. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact him at firstname.lastname@example.com or 919-402-4434.
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