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Not enjoying the benefits of a campus football stadium can trigger some rather unusual behavior on the part of the few head coaches who board a bus for each game on their schedules.
At Redlands East Valley High School, coach Kurt Bruich doesn't look forward to the upcoming time change in November. The Wildcats don't have a home field and don't practice under the lights.
"On my way home, I'll see the lights on at Redlands and Citrus Valley, so they're still practicing," Bruich said, referring to the other district schools. "In fact, when the time changes, we have to re-adjust our practice schedule.
"We'll work on our passing game while there's still decent daylight. When it gets darker, we'll work on the running game. You just have to adjust."
That's one of the issues schools without stadiums contend with. Other factors include scheduling, transportation (not only the football teams but also the band), supporting game personnel, officials and attendance.
With the current trend to construct campus facilities, the number of schools without campus venues is at an all-time low. The list includes Alta Loma, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario and Etiwanda in the Chaffey Joint Union High School District; Summit in the Fontana district; REV in Redlands; Granite Hills in the Apple Valley district and Indian Springs in San Bernardino.
With the additions of new stadiums — Silverado, Diamond Ranch and Garey this year — scheduling has been a bit easier and there are fewer Thursday night games than in recent memory. But maybe that's not altogether good.
"Our original schedule had us playing six Thursday games," Alta Loma head coach Joe Szczpanski said. "We were able to work on it through our district and worked it down to four.
"But I've been thinking about that ever since. We would have a tremendous advantage by playing on Thursday because we would be used to it, The other teams would have to adjust to it, not us."
The biggest change is in game preparation. With a game on Friday, schools get in four practices, including a light session Thursday. Playing on Thursday eliminates one usually intense practice day. As a result of its schedule, the Braves will have eliminated a week of practice during the season.
Thursday games also have a financial impact at the gate. Crowds aren't as big on a school night and it hurt student finances as admission revenue is earmarked for the student body.
Summit and Etiwanda have found solutions. By staying on each other's schedule, and in agreement, they split the gates in games played at Miller High School, which serves as Summit's home but also occasionally is used by Etiwanda.
"Our season opener was at Miller with Etiwanda, but their homecoming, so we used the visiting side. Miller and (athletic director John) Romagnoli have been very supportive," Summit athletic director Steve Hickey said. "We were able to work it out so that our big (Sunkist League) game against Kaiser will be on a Friday night."
With more games on Friday, it's doubtful any school — outside of those that play in major stadiums — will come close to the reported $125,000 Fontana collected at the gate in its 1987 CIF-SS championship run.
"There's no sense of community when you have to travel for every game," Alta Loma athletic director Brett Proctor said.
It was slightly different when the Braves played at Chaffey College, but the increasing stadium rental fee forced the school to move its home games to Chaffey High School in Ontario.
At one point, Chaffey College was busy as many as three nights a week along with fellow community colleges Mt. San Antonio and Citrus. Ted Runner Stadium on the University of Redlands campus was also used.
However, the cost to rent those stadiums escalated and paved the way for alternative solutions. In addition to paying as much as $2,500 for rent, the schools did not share in concession income.
Szczpanski noted for last week's "home" game at Chaffey High School in Ontario against Grand Terrace it required a caravan of six district buses to transport the team, marching band, cheerleaders and students.
The Chaffey and Fontana districts absorb the cost of transportation for schools to their designated sites. The charge includes mileage and hourly rates, and the total starts around $250 per bus. In constrast, Summit will pay for its buses this week to Temecula Great Oak out of its own budget. The cost could be as high as $500 per vehicle.
"We use two buses to Miller," Hickey said, "and it's close enough that they shuttle back and forth for the band and others. But, we have to pay out of our budget for away games."
Getting on the bus is just half the battle.
"I tell the bus driver the route I want to take," he said. "In the past, we got stuck at the I-10 underpass on Fourth Street for about 20 minutes on a Friday afternoon. So we've become adventurous and taken new and faster routes to Chaffey."
The quicker for the Braves to walk into another team's locker room, with its mascot painted on the walls.
"That's a big disadvantage as you try to prepare," Szczpanski said.
Several year ago, Rancho Cucamonga was the "home" team in its Baseline League game with rival Los Osos, on whose campus the stadium was located. The Grizzlies wore their white road uniforms in pregame but trotted out for the game in home blues.
That didn't go down right with the Cougars, their fans or head coach Nick Baiz. It further fueled the bitter inter district rivalry.
"I just didn't care for that," Baiz said. "Let's leave it at that."
Until this year, Diamond Ranch coach Roddy Layton fought a constant battle with nagging injuries such as sprained ankles and sore knees. By practicing on artificial turf in the new stadium, there have been fewer injuries.
"We had lots of uneven practice fields, long and short grass," Layton said, perhaps a direct result of budget cuts that diminished the maintenance staff. "It resulted in injuries that we don't see as much with the new field."
But it doesn't end there. There's a new attitude on campus with a new home.
"It's a win-win for the district, the school and our community," Layton said. "We've found out the crowd noise is so loud we can't hear the snap count. We love that.
"The students are showing their school pride and it's created a whole new school spirit."


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We'll be running into Jeff Kent in Los Angeles this weekend, something you might not have bet on 15 years ago next month. Jeff Kent was not wanted by Mets fans, not for David Cone. The 1992 Mets had already reached base camp at the bottom of their mountain after having careened steadily downhill through the summer. They had exactly one All-Star that nonstellar season, Cone. Now he was being dispatched for some seemingly random Blue Jay.
Ahead of Kent was a nightmarish four-year stay in New York during which he rubbed just about every Mets teammate the wrong way and secured the loyalty of few Mets fans. Beyond that, however, waited a brilliant offensive career that has earned him the title of greatest power-hitting second baseman ever and probably a ticket to Cooperstown.
On the other hand, he still rubs just about every teammate the wrong way and he has yet to secure the loyalty of many fans. One senses Kent doesn't care. He has his records, he gets paid well and, as long as Barry Bonds is in the news, he'll never come off as the biggest a-hole in the ol' ballgame.
"Jeff doesn't talk to anybody," Dodgers third base coach Rich Donnelly told the Times' Jack Curry in a story about Bonds' and Kent's history of mutual contempt and general frostiness last Sunday. "Jeff says hello to his kids once in a while, when he brings them in the clubhouse."
When the Mets arrive at Dodger Stadium tonight, they will see Jeff Kent in uniform, rarin' to go at second base. They will not see — at Dodger Stadium or any other ballpark in the Majors — any of the following on an active roster:
Vince Coleman, Dick Schofield, Chico Walker, Eddie Murray, Bobby Bonilla, Kevin Bass, Todd Hundley, Pete Schourek, Jeff Innis, Mackey Sasser, Barry Jones, Daryl Boston, Anthony Young, Bill Pecota or Dave Gallagher.
None of that motley crew — 15 of the 16 Mets who comprised the Mets' half of the boxscore in their 4-3 win in the opening game of a twinight doubleheader against Cincinnati at Shea on August 28, 1992 — is playing anymore. The sixteenth Met was Jeff Kent. The occasion was his Met debut. He went 0-for-4. But in the nightcap, Kent's 2-for-5, 3-RBI performance keyed a 12-1 romp and twinbill sweep for the Mets. Their cast in that second contest included Jeff McKnight, Chris Donnels, Lee Guetterman, Charlie O'Brien and Wally Whitehurst.
Those Kent teammates aren't playing anymore either. In fact, of the 44 men who can call themselves 1992 New York Mets, 43 are retired. Only Jeff Kent survives to tell the tale to 2007 big leaguers, as a peer, of what it was like to give Todd Kalas a Mets Extra interview; to abide by Jeff Torborg's no-alcohol policy on planes; to be immortalized in The Worst Team Money Could Buy.
Jeff Kent remains, as initially uncovered [1] the spring before this one, the reigning LAMSA champion. LAMSA, of course, stands for Longest Ago Met Still Active. Nobody else from the Metropolitan Class of '92 or any time before then plays in the Major Leagues today. Kent has been all alone in the '92 distinction since July 1, 2005, the day John Franco threw his last pitch for the Houston Astros. Jeff became 1993's only refugee when Jeromy Burnitz retired [2] in March.
Kent also is tightening his grip as sole survivor from 1994, though we might need to wait a tad before officially declaring him the last of those particular Methicans. Kelly Stinnett joined Kent in carrying the '94 banner for eleven games with the Cardinals in June. But with the recovery of Yadier Molina (for which we all prayed so hard [3]), Stinnett was outrighted to Triple-A Memphis, an honor the ex-Met backstop refused. At the moment, Kelly doesn't appear to be playing for anybody, but catchers have a funny way of reappearing when you're not looking for them. Hell, Kelly Stinnett emerged a Met from out of nowhere last September. The same could be said currently for Sandy Alomar, Jr., whom I would guess fans of most other teams have no idea is a Met.
But back to Kent. He is the LAMSA by at least two, probably three seasons — likewise, for each of those campaigns, he is Last Met Standing. Next in line, if we are prepared to discount the marginal-at-best Stinnett, are the only other indisputably active 1995 Mets, both of whom, like Jeff, still play pretty vital roles in the bigs: Jason Isringhausen of the Cards and Paul Byrd of the Tribe. Each pitcher debuted with the Mets a dozen seasons ago, Izzy eleven days before Byrd. In Stinnettian limbo is Alberto Castillo, who beat both of them to the bigs by several weeks in '95. Injuries made Bambi a Baltimore backup earlier this year. Recuperation makes him, of all things, a Norfolk Tide. (FYI, they don't think kindly of us [3] in Virginia anymore.)
Regional pride and unyielding fealty to certain infielders compels me to note two other 1995 neophyte Mets, Edgardo Alfonzo and Carl Everett, are slogging away in Central Islip [4] as Long Island Ducks. But if it doesn't quack like a Major League affiliate, it's a gray area. Fonzie, for the record, has collected 39 ribbies in 60 games as Duck third baseman; Everett's got 14 homers in 212 at-bats.
And David Newhan continues to be David Newhan (though, praise be, in New Orleans starting tonight).
Kent, Izzy, Byrd, Castillo…they are the final Mets from 1996, Kent's last year in New York, to be Major Leaguers in 2007. Rey Ordoñez, rookie shortstop sensation that spring, was cut by Seattle this spring. He receded into retirement and the Mariners went on to become surprise contenders. Draw your own conclusion.
Mets don't seem to last long anymore, do they? I don't mean just as Mets [5], but as a rule. With so many players who bowed in the 1980s having crossed our path of late — Glavine, Alomar, Alou (still in baseball, rumor has it), Clemens, Ju. Franco, Griffey, Moyer, Wells, Maddux — you'd think somebody who was a Met back in the day might have survived on a roster somewhere, that Kevin Tapani would have guzzled from the fountain of youth or Craig Shipley would have taken up catching or Blaine Beatty would have caught on with the Royals. But nope. Jeff Kent, first a Met in 1992, is totally The Man in this category.
Even if he only talks to his kids. Sometimes.
How does Kent's longevity compare to others in that position? For fun, or my idea of it, I have compiled a year-by-year list of who has been Last Met Standing from each season in club history. Some of them you'd guess right off; a few knocked me for a loop.
1962: Ed Kranepool. He's one you would have guessed. Eddie played until the end of 1979, outlasting by five years and two days Bob L. Miller and Chris Cannizzaro, each of whom played his final big league game on the same day in September of '74.
1963: Ed Kranepool. Runner-up: Cleon Jones, who stopped by just in time to say hello and goodbye to the Polo Grounds. He was a White Sock in 1976.
1964: Ed Kranepool. With Jones back in the minors, Cannizzaro is tied for second from Shea's first year with Ron Hunt. Hunt, like Cannizzaro and Miller, ended his career on September 28, 1974, a couple of months after Jim Hickman wound down his. While all those early '60s Met stalwarts were finally retiring, Ed Kranepool wouldn't turn 30 until November.
1965: Tug McGraw. Hey, not Ed Kranepool! The Tugger finished as a Phil in 1984, making him the final Stengelphile in captivity. Fellow '65 rook Bud Harrelson also greeted the 1980s on a roster, as a Ranger.
1966: Nolan Ryan. This name will soon look very familiar in our discussion. Ryan pitched until 1993.
1967: Tom Seaver. Ryan spent none of '67 with the big club, so Tom's MLB tenure, which extended clear to 1986, is the longest-running from Wes Westrum's last Mets team. Jerry Koosman, retired in '85, wins honorable mention.
1968-1971: Nolan Ryan. A certain sameness to Last Met Standing takes hold here, with Nolan and Tom running one-two. Suffice it to say this Ryan kid defied a certain organization's assessment of him as someone who would never last. It's been said by different sources that Gil Hodges signed off on the Fregosi trade and that Gil Hodges was against the Fregosi trade. Either way, Ryan was the last Gil Hodges Met to remain in the majors. Given his '66 cameo, he's the last Wes Westrum Met, too. (But by missing '67, Ryan cedes the championship of the Salty Parker Division to Seaver.)
1972-1975: Tom Seaver. And the runner-up from each of these four seasons? Rusty Staub, who stayed just a little longer at the fair (10/6/85) than did Koosman (8/21/85). Seaver was the last Yogi Berra and Roy McMillan Met.
1976-77: Lee Mazzilli. Mazz was the final Joe Frazierite active, contributing to the Blue Jays' division title drive in 1989. Seaver was second in longevity from the '76 Mets but, somewhat appropriately, fellow Wednesday Night Massacre participant Joel Youngblood came in second to Lee among the '77 set, finishing his career just a couple of days earlier (plus Mazzilli had eight at-bats in the '89 ALCS).
1978: Alex Treviño. This was the shocker for me (in addition to the shocker that I bothered to look any of this up). Alex was a fairly obscure backup catcher during the prime of his career, but as Kelly Stinnett and Alberto Castillo recently taught us, obscure backup catchers can keep playing almost as long as they like. By coming up in '78 and lasting parts of a dozen more years, Treviño would become the second Met ever who would eventually play in the 1990s, after Nolan Ryan. (Ryan and Treviño were Astros teammates in 1988, but you don't think of them as contemporaries exactly.) He even managed the shortest of stints with the 1990 Mets themselves when they were — yup — strapped by injuries for a catcher, any catcher.
1979: Jesse Orosco. Before he ruins all the fun by playing until 2003, we can take solace that Jesse was demoted to Tidewater for the entirety of 1980, giving us one more year to absorb a mild surprise in this category.
1980: Hubie Brooks. I missed this one in my guesswork, but Hubie hung in there until July of '94, nosing out the equally unlikely (by my reckoning) runner-up, Jeff Reardon, who retired that pre-strike May. Reardon was also second to Orosco among '79ers and second-to-last Joe Torre Met in the majors…to Orosco.
1981-1987: Jesse Orosco. Yeah, he wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. Jesse flourished under George Bamberger and Frank Howard, so it's fitting he was the last of their Mets to collect a player-size paycheck.
1988-89: David Cone. It was actually a pretty spirited race or perhaps war of attrition to the checkered flag among late-'80s Mets once Orosco kindly vacated the premises to make room for newer blood. Between 1999 and 2001, a whole crop of post-'86 Mets played their last, including Randy Myers, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Gregg Jefferies, Kevin Elster, Rick Aguilera, Dave Magadan and David Cone. But Cone had the good sense to give baseball one more shot in 2003, making the not particularly well-stocked Mets out of Spring Training. His comeback, even though it ended in May of '03, ensured him this particular crown. Meanwhile, Jesse Orosco spent sixteen years pitching after the Mets first sent him away in 1987 (they would reacquire him for 2000 but dispatch him before that season started) and endured four months beyond Cone's retirement.
1990-91: John Franco. He outlasted Jesse and Coney for the distinction of final Met managed by Davey Johnson, Buddy Harrelson and Mike Cubbage.
Jeff Kent and 1992-96 is where we came in.
Looking ahead to looking back? Here's who is still more or less Major League active from the most recent suddenly distant past.
1997: Jason Isringhausen, Alberto Castillo.
1998: Alberto Castillo, Mike Piazza, Preston Wilson, Jay Payton.
1999: Jason Isringhausen (injured throughout '98), Mike Piazza, Jay Payton, Melvin Mora, Armando Benitez, Kenny Rogers, Octavio Dotel. (Vance Wilson is on Detroit's DL for the year).
2000: Mike Piazza, Jay Payton, Melvin Mora, Armando Benitez, Jason Tyner.
Among other Mets from our last National League championship season, Rick White was released by the Astros after pitching 23 games for them this year; Mike Hampton, like Vance Wilson, is out all of '07 with an injury; Joe McEwing and Timo Perez are playing for the AAA affiliates of the Red Sox and Tigers, respectively; and 2000 seems like a good place to stop for now.
Tip of the cap to Ultimate Mets Database [6] for being so damn ultimate about the Mets.

subset: commoncrawl


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Seattle Commuter Bus Bursts into Flames
(SEATTLE) -- A commuter bus burst into flame on Interstate 5 in Seattle during the heart of the morning commute Friday, but the fire department said the driver's quick thinking helped prevent deaths or injuries.
"The bus driver said he heard a couple of pops and evacuated 30-40 people off the bus," fire department spokesman Kyle Moore told ABC News. "He not only evacuated them but moved them a significant distance away, which helped greatly with our firefighting efforts."
"Everyone starts looking around at each other, like, 'What's happening?'" passenger Emalasa Franulovich told ABC affiliate KOMO-TV. "Then we hear a second 'pop' and everyone starts panicking and yelling, 'Get off the bus.'"
The fire erupted before the bus came to a full stop, and soon consumed its rear half.
Aerial footage of the blaze showed billowing clouds of black smoke from the bus and traffic backed up for miles. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire around 7:30 a.m. local time.
Moore said that the blaze could have been much worse had the bus been powered by natural gas, and not by diesel fuel. "Diesel fuel is not explosive like a natural gas bus," he said.
Police and Sound Transit, which owns the bus, are investigating the incident.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio


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Right-Wing Media Seize On Muñoz Appointment To Renew Attacks On NCLR
Right-wing media are demonizing the National Council of La Raza in order to object to President Obama's recent appointment of Cecilia Muñoz as director of the Domestic Policy Council, accusing the organization of being an "amnesty" group with "racist" ties. These attacks are not new: Conservatives have long described the civil rights group as "the Ku Klux Klan Of The Hispanic People."
Obama Appointed Former NCLR Exec Muñoz To Head Policy Council
Muñoz Previously Served As NCLR Senior Vice President. On January 10, Obama named Muñoz as the new director of the Domestic Policy Council:
Cecilia Muñoz currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs where she oversees the Obama Administration's relationships with state and local governments. As Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under Valerie Jarrett, Ms. Muñoz leads a partnership between federal, state, local, and tribal governments that Governing magazine described as "more prominent and responsive than it ever was," citing praise from local and state elected officials from across the political spectrum. Under Muñoz's leadership, this partnership has brought the voices of local elected officials and the people they represent into the White House in the development and execution of policies to address local challenges in the economy, health care, disaster relief, and transportation infrastructure among others.
Ms. Muñoz also leads the Administration's efforts to fix the broken immigration system so that it meets America's 21st century economic and security needs. In addition, she serves as Co-Chair of the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status, which has worked to not only continue to address the question of the island's political status, but also partnered with local officials to address immediate concerns over jobs and the economy, health care, education, the environment, energy, and infrastructure.
Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Muñoz served as Senior Vice President for the Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation's largest Latino civil rights organization. She supervised NCLR's policy staff covering a variety of issues of importance to Latinos, including civil rights, employment, poverty, farmworker issues, education, health, housing, and immigration. Her particular area of expertise is immigration policy, which she covered at NCLR for twenty years. [Office of the White House Press Secretary, 1/10/12 [1]]
Right-Wing Media In Turn Slam NCLR As An "Open-Border And Amnesty Group"
Michelle Malkin: NCLR Is A "Radical Identity Politics-Driven Group." From her syndicated column:
Before joining Team Obama, Munoz spent two decades as chief registered lobbyist for the National Council of La Raza ("The Race"). Whose "middle class" does The Race represent? I've tracked the radical identity politics-driven group for years as it promoted drivers' licenses and in-state college tuition breaks for illegal aliens; opposed cooperative immigration enforcement efforts between local, state and federal authorities; and opposed a secure fence along the southern border.
Under Munoz, The Race advised the Mexican government on how to lobby for illegal alien amnesty in the United States. Mexico's Institute for Mexicans Residing Abroad rewarded her with its Ohtli Prize for her service to the country. Their country, not ours.
Who has benefited from Munoz's Beltway lobbying? No, not the American middle class. The biggest beneficiary has been La Raza's coffers. According to analysts at nonpartisan Judicial Watch in Washington, The Race raked in $4.1 million in federal subsidies in 2009 and more than $11 million in 2010. Much of that money came straight from the Obama stimulus boondoggle, and much of it went to mortgage counseling. [Creators Syndicate, 1/13/11 [2], via MichelleMalkin.com]
Dobbs Blasted NCLR As An "Open-Border And Amnesty Group That Has Pushed Illegal Immigrants To Brazenly Defy U.S. Law." Reporting on the appointment of Muñoz, Fox's Lou Dobbs stated:
DOBBS: The president is in full campaign mode now. President Obama, this week, pandering to a key voting block, appointing a former amnesty lobbyist to head up his domestic policy council, Cecilia Munoz -- former executive vice president of La Raza, a open-border and amnesty group that has pushed illegal immigrants to brazenly defy U.S. law while demanding concessions from the federal government. [Fox Business, Lou Dobbs Tonight, 1/11/12]
Drudge Report: "Obama Picks Amnesty Lobbyist For WH Policy Director." The Drudge Report highlighted Muñoz's appointment by accusing her of being an "amnesty lobbyist":
[Drudge Report, 1/10/11 [3]]
WND Attacked NCLR As "An Open-Borders Group That Lobbies For Mass Immigration And Amnesty For Illegal Aliens." In an article for the WorldNetDaily.com website, reporter Aaron Klein invoked progressive billionaire financier George Soros, "radical organizer" Saul Alinsky, Bill Ayers, and the Tides Center to attack Muñoz and criticized her ties to "ACORN, MoveOn.org and other radical groups." Klein went on to accuse NCLR of being "an open-borders group that lobbies for mass immigration and amnesty for illegal aliens." [WorldNetDaily.com, 1/10/12 [4]]
Fox Promoted WND Attack On Muñoz, NCLR. The Fox Nation website highlighted and linked to Klein's article using the headline: "Obama's New Czar Tied to Occupy, ACORN, MoveOn":
[Fox Nation, 1/11/12 [5]]
IBD: Obama Chose "An Open-Borders Advocate And Former Leader Of The Hispanic Activist Group Favoring Amnesty." In an editorial headlined "Obama Plays La Raza Card In Key Appointment," Investor's Business Daily blasted Obama for "choosing to head his policy council with an open-borders advocate and former leader of the Hispanic activist group favoring amnesty." IBD continued:
The NCLR, whose name translates as "the race," is a tax-exempt nonprofit that describes itself as "the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States." It most recently led in vocal opposition against Arizona SB 1070, a law attacked by Attorney General Eric Holder as a discriminatory incarnation of profiling that usurped federal authority over immigration policy.
When then-candidate Obama spoke to the NCLR national convention in 2008, he told the group what it wanted to hear -- that Latino "communities are terrorized by ICE immigration raids." He also condemned those "communities taking immigration enforcement into their own hands," such as those that have passed state laws or local ordinances to check that those who are here are in fact here legally.
At this year's La Raza convention, Obama touted the federal Dream (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act, a thinly disguised amnesty program that is part of "comprehensive immigration reform" designed to pit those who have successfully eluded the border patrol on a path to citizenship. [Investor's Business Daily, 1/11/12 [6]]
In Fact, NCLR's Mission Is "To Improve Opportunities For Hispanic Americans"
NCLR: "Our Mission Is To Create Opportunities And Open The Door To The American Dream For Latino And Other Families." On its website, NCLR emphasizes that its "mission is to create opportunities and open the door to the American Dream for Latino and other families":
Those familiar with the work of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) know that we are the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., and that we are an American institution committed to strengthening this great nation by promoting the advancement of Latino families. Our mission is to create opportunities and open the door to the American Dream for Latino and other families.
We proudly represent nearly 300 Affiliates -- community-based organizations providing a range of essential services to millions of Latinos and others in need. Since 1997, NCLR and its Affiliates have helped more than 22,000 low-income Hispanic families purchase their first homes. In addition, NCLR's network of 115 charter schools provides quality education to more than 25,000 Latino children every year. The health clinics we helped build and the lay health educators we trained provided care and information about prevention and detection of serious illnesses to nearly 100,000 people in 2006. Our Affiliates are working every day to help Hispanic immigrants integrate fully into American society by providing English-language classes, civics courses, and naturalization assistance. [National Council Of La Raza, accessed 1/12/12 [7]]
NCLR: Our "Work As A Civil Rights Institution Is About Inclusion And Participation In The American Dream." Responding to critics that argue NCLR supports a " 'Reconquista,' or the right of Mexico to reclaim land in the southwestern United States," the organization wrote that "such a claim is so far outside of the mainstream of the Latino community that we find it incredible that our critics raise it as an issue. NCLR has never supported and does not endorse the notion of a 'Reconquista' or 'Aztlán.' " It further stated:
Similarly, NCLR's critics falsely claim that the statement "Por La Raza todo, Fuera de La Raza nada," ["For the community everything, outside the community nothing"] is NCLR's motto. NCLR unequivocally rejects this statement, which is not and has never been the motto of any Latino organization.
NCLR's work as a civil rights institution is about inclusion and participation in the American Dream, including extensive efforts to assist new immigrants in the process of fully integrating into American life. In fact, NCLR and its Affiliates work everyday to provide English classes, support naturalization efforts, and offer other services that help integrate immigrants fully into American society.
Many of these critics claim that NCLR supports dividing up sections or regions of this country by race or ethnic heritage. In particular, this claim was made by one outspoken critic of NCLR, the late Representative Charlie Norwood (R-GA). As the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights organization, NCLR has a long, proud, well-documented history of opposing segregation based on race or ethnicity. [National Council Of La Raza, accessed 1/12/12 [8]]
NCLR: "Translating Our Name As 'The Race' Is Not Only Inaccurate, It Is Factually Incorrect." From NCLR's website:
Many people incorrectly translate our name, "La Raza," as "the race." While it is true that one meaning of "raza" in Spanish is indeed "race," in Spanish, as in English and any other language, words can and do have multiple meanings. As noted in several online dictionaries, "La Raza" means "the people" or "the community." Translating our name as "the race" is not only inaccurate, it is factually incorrect. "Hispanic" is an ethnicity, not a race. As anyone who has ever met a Dominican American, Mexican American, or Spanish American can attest, Hispanics can be and are members of any and all races.
The term "La Raza" has its origins in early 20th century Latin American literature and translates into English most closely as "the people" or, according to some scholars, as "the Hispanic people of the New World." The term was coined by Mexican scholar José Vasconcelos to reflect the fact that the people of Latin America are a mixture of many of the world's races, cultures, and religions. Mistranslating "La Raza" to mean "the race" implies that it is a term meant to exclude others. In fact, the full term coined by Vasconcelos, "La Raza Cósmica," meaning the "cosmic people," was developed to reflect not purity but the mixture inherent in the Hispanic people. This is an inclusive concept, meaning that Hispanics share with all other peoples of the world a common heritage and destiny. [National Council Of La Raza, accessed 1/12/12 [9]]
Political Strategist Robert Creamer: NCLR Is "One Of The Nation's Most Respected Latino Organizations." In a Huffington Post op-ed, political strategist Robert Creamer, who "knew Cecilia for many years before her work in the White House," lauded the White House for the appointment:
Her appointment is great government -- and great politics.
Munoz, who has served since the beginning of the Administration as the Director of Intergovernmental Relations, has always been the key point person in the White House on immigration reform. Before joining the White House team, she served as a leader at one of the nation's most respected Latino organizations -- The National Council of La Raza. By tapping her as his top domestic policy adviser, President Obama assures that immigration reform will be at the center of the domestic policy agenda. [Huffington Post, 1/10/12 [10]]
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow: NCLR Is Not The "Latino KKK." In May 2009, former Rep. Tom Tancredo accused NCLR of being a "Latino KKK without the hoods or the nooses." Responding to Tancredo's claim, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow noted that "the mission of the National Council of La Raza is 'strengthening America by promoting the advancement of Latino families.' " She added: "It's also the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States." [MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 5/29/09 [11]]
Right-Wing Have Long Demonized NCLR In Attacks On Latinos
Dobbs Blasted NCLR As An "Ethno-Centric" Group That Looks "With Disdain At The American People." On a September 2009 edition of his radio show, Lou Dobbs contended that the federal government hasn't been enforcing immigration laws in part because of groups "on the left" like NCLR and "all the other ethno-centric organizations," who "have just been looking with disdain at the American people." He added: "That's the real issue." [United Stations Radio Network, The Lou Dobbs Show, 9/18/09 [12]]
- A month later, Dobbs did an about-face and referred to NCLR as an "honest, reputable, [and] legitimate" organization. [United Stations Radio Network, The Lou Dobbs Show, 10/22/09 [13]]
Michael Savage: NCLR "Represents The Most Violent Elements Of The Hispanic Supremacist Movement." In a wide-ranging attack on NCLR reviving bogus "Reconquista" claims, radio host Michael Savage stated:
SAVAGE: Would you go back to your country of origin 'cause the Mexicans want Los Angeles, San Diego, Arizona, and New Mexico? And a half of Chicago? What if you went along with La Raza, which is a front group for the retaking of the Southwest. La Raza is a foreign entity as far as I am concerned. La Raza represents -- and they're in the White House by the way. La Raza represents the most violent elements of the Hispanic supremacist movement -- only they're the diplomats of the Hispanic supremacist movement. They put a nice face on it the same way that this peace flotilla did.
So La Raza gets into the White House under this enemy of the American way Obama, and La Raza now is trying to not only erase the border but erase your reality of the drugs, the weapons, the crime that are coming over the border. [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 6/4/10 [14]]
Savage: Latino Advocacy Group Is "The Ku Klux Klan Of The Hispanic People." On his radio program, Savage labeled NCLR as "the Ku Klux Klan of the Hispanic people," adding that NCLR "is the most stone racist group I've ever seen in this country." Savage later noted, however, "It's true they haven't hung anybody." [Talk Radio Network, The Savage Nation, 5/17/07 [15]]
Beck Called NCLR A "Nasty, Take America And Give It To The Mexicans" Group. On his radio show, Beck listed NCLR as part of the "nasty, take America and give it to the Mexicans groups." [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 9/30/10 [16]]
Beck Suggested NCLR Is Similar To "Bloodthirsty," "Notoriously Violent Drug Gang" MS-13. On his former Fox News show, Glenn Beck sought to quell criticism of the tea party as racist by pointing to NCLR. He said of the organization: "La Raza -- I mean, you want to talk about a racist statement. If I called an organization, 'The Race,' -- wow. That's -- anyway." He then went on to equate NCLR with MS-13, which he explained was a "bloodthirsty," "notoriously violent drug gang." He also compared the group with "neo-Nazis" and claimed it's "a danger to society." [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 4/19/10 [17], 4/19/10 [18]]
WND's Farah Called NCLR "A Racist Hate Group," Compared Group To KKK And Neo-Nazis. From a May 30, 2009 column by WorldNetDaily editor Joseph Farah, headlined "A racist for the Supreme Court":
[Sonia] Sotomayor is a member of the National Council of La Raza. What is La Raza?
It bills itself as a "civil rights" organization. It would be more appropriate to say it disguises itself as such. It camouflages itself as such. It hides its real purpose and true intents as such - with the willing and skillful assistance of many of my media colleagues.
In reality, La Raza is a racist hate group - a band of "Hispanic supremacists," if you will, though it is seldom characterized that way.
It is no more a civil rights group than the Ku Klux Klan is a group promoting the civil rights of white people. It is no more a civil rights group than the neo-Nazi scum who marched a generation ago at Skokie, Ill., with the legal protection of the American Civil Liberties Union, another misnamed organization. It is no more a civil rights group than the Aryan skinheads who victimize Jews and others they detest in trying to lift themselves up from the gutter.
La Raza is part of the movement in this country to destroy it from within by dividing and "reconquering."
Its members and leadership are linked directly to those who believe the Southwestern U.S. was unjustly seized from Mexico in the 19th century. It should, they believe, by any means necessary, be reconstituted either as part of that thoroughly corrupt, socialist regime fled by tens of millions of refugees or as an independent, autonomous, Spanish-speaking socialist state - like the mythical land of Aztlan.
The only real differences between La Raza and the neo-Nazis and the KKK are its wealth, power and level of sophistication. [WorldNetDaily.com, 5/30/09 [19]]
Sean Hannity Falsely Claimed NCLR "Has Called For Mexico To Annex Southwestern States." On his Fox News show, Sean Hannity falsely claimed that NCLR "has called for Mexico to annex southwestern states." [Fox News, Hannity's America, 2/26/09 [20]]
- Following Hannity's false claim, NCLR president Janet Murguía blasted Hannity in a letter to Fox Executive Vice President John Moody demanding "an immediate on-air correction." Murguía stated: "NCLR has never made the statement and does not support the views Mr. Hannity attributes to us, as even a cursory review of our public statements or website would substantiate. Such conspiracy theories would be silly if they were not so often used to create fear and distrust of all Hispanics living in America. While Mr. Hannity is well within his rights to disagree with the views of our organization, he is not entitled to lie about us." [Media Matters, 2/27/09 [21]]
Shapiro Wrote Entire Column Filled With False, Misleading Attacks On NCLR. Syndicated columnist Ben Shapiro called NCLR "a radical and in some cases quasi-criminal group" and falsely smeared former NCLR board member Mari Del Carmen Aponte as "an alleged former spy for Fidel Castro." He also falsely claimed that a statement urging Hispanics to "[reclaim] the land of their birth" was a "founding document" of NCLR; baselessly asserted that a proposed federal education funding increase was part of an effort "to funnel money quickly and furiously into NCLR coffers"; and ignored evidence contradicting claims of a "kickback scheme" involving an NCLR affiliate. [Creators Syndicate, 12/16/09 [22], via Media Matters]
Fox's Gibson Suspicious That Latino Advocacy Groups Are Set On "Retaking Old Mexico Territories ... By Pure Birth Rate." While saying that he was citing an internal NCLR email, John Gibson claimed on his Fox News show that he was suspicious that advocacy groups like NCLR favor "the so-called reconquista," which Gibson described as the "retaking of old Mexico territories, which are now part of the United States, by pure birth rate." Gibson also asserted that NCLR "is a group dedicated to the betterment of the race," adding, "good, but try being American while you are at it, guys." [Fox News, The Big Story with John Gibson, 4/3/06 [23]]
- Posted In
- Diversity & Discrimination [24], Race & Ethnicity [25], Immigration [26], Immigration Reform [27]
- Network/Outlet
- Fox News Channel [28], Talk Radio Network [29], The Drudge Report [30], WorldNetDaily [31], Investor's Business Daily [32], Fox Business [33], Fox Nation [34], michellemalkin.com [35]
- Person
- Michael Savage [36], Sean Hannity [37], Glenn Beck [38], Ben Shapiro [39], John Gibson [40], Michelle Malkin [41], Lou Dobbs [42], Aaron Klein [43]
- Show/Publication
- The Savage Nation [44], Lou Dobbs Tonight [45], The Big Story with John Gibson [46], Glenn Beck show [47], Hannity's America [48], The Lou Dobbs Show [49]


text: Hi, I am using ISPConfig 3 and wondering if there is a plugin that can identify users CPU load and memory consumption. In cPanel this is equivalent to daily log. You will know which user has the highest consumption. I don't know if mrtg can do this. Seems it's only for network traffic. How about munin or monit? Any idea? btw, I'm using nginx. So a monitoring software that support nginx is a good one.


text:
Printer Friendly Version
Standard ECMA-226
Private Integrated Services Network (PISN)
- Mapping Functions for the Employment of Dedicated Circuit Mode
Connections as Inter-PTNX Connections (MAPPING-CM-STATIC)
(June 1995)
This Standard defines the mapping functions in exchanges of Private
Integrated Services Networks (PISNs) required for the utilization
of intervening network (IVN) scenarios which provide dedicated
circuit mode connections for carrying inter-PINX signalling and
user information.
In order to connect a Private Integrated Services Network Exchange
(PINX) to another PINX, mapping functions are required to adapt
the specific interfaces at the C reference point to the application
at the Q reference point. As such, mapping functions provide for
physical adaptation to the interface at the C reference point.
Mapping functions also provide for the mapping of user channels
and signalling information at the Q reference point to the appropriate
channels or time-slots at the C reference point.
The C and Q reference points are defined in ISO/IEC
11579-1 .
The types of interfaces at the C reference point covered by this
Standard are:
At the Q reference point the mappings provide a 64 kbit/s service
for user channels and a packet mode service for the signalling
channel. Bearer conditioning is outside the scope of this Standard,
except for deriving 64 kbit/s channels and for providing the services
of layer 2 for the signalling channel. The applied mapping is
a static mapping, i.e. there is a fixed relationship between user
and signalling channels at the Q reference point and the timeslots
of the interface at the C reference point; any changes are subject
to administrative actions.
Management functions relating to failure management are outside
the scope of this Standard.
This Standard is applicable to PINXs which can be interconnected
to form a Private Integrated Services Network (PISN) and which
support signalling protocols at the Q reference point.
The following file can be freely downloaded:


text:
The Wildwood Historical Society
Located on the far western side of St. Louis County, Missouri, the City of Wildwood was incorporated in 1995. Two hundred years prior – and nine years before the Lewis & Clark Expedition – Americans took advantage of Spanish land grant offers to settle this area. Over the years, ten different communities grew up centered around rural Post Offices, that came together to form the city we call Wildwood.
Join with us, the Wildwood Historical Society, as we strive to learn from the past, preserve our heritage, and move forward based on what our very wise ancestors have left for us.
site by bunch web development


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text:
Atmospheric Sciences & Global Change
Research Highlights
June 2009
Clouding the Issue
Causes of global dimming and brightening more complex than previously thought
Although brightening occurred throughout the continental U.S. from 1995 to 2007, more precise measurements revealed regional differences that may significantly test the abilities of climate models. The angle of the arrows indicates the amount of increase in brightening. Red arrows, in the Midwest and South, show the biggest change in brightening, followed by white arrows (average brightening) and blue (less brightening) in other parts of the country. Enlarge Image.
Results: Over time scales spanning at least a decade, the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface has varied. These variations affect the total amount of incoming and outgoing energy in the Earth system, which, in turn, affects climate change. Scientists refer to these variations as global dimming and brightening. Scientists had attributed much of the dimming and brightening to changes in the amounts of tiny particles, or aerosols, in the atmosphere. Analysis of new climate data shows the answer is not so simple.
A multidisciplinary team led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Dr. Chuck Long found that, at least in the continental United States, changes in clouds and cloudiness have a greater influence on brightening than any decrease in aerosol amounts alone. They further discovered that the magnitudes of dimming and brightening are regional, rather than global or continental phenomena.
The research appears in a special section of the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres and was one of the publication's five most downloaded papers for several weeks. The research also was also featured as an editor's highlight.
Why it matters: The quantity of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface is the primary driver of the Earth-atmosphere system. The role of clouds in this equation is one of the big unknowns in climate change science. Current climate models do a poor job of simulating global dimming and brightening over decades. That is because just one "pixel" in most climate models covers an area at least the size of a 100-kilometer box. Yet many clouds are as small as a one-kilometer box. By taking a "close-in" view, the study revealed that the occurrence of clouds too small for climate models to detect individually can have a big impact on regional surface solar radiation and, therefore, on brightening or dimming.
The study also concluded that scientists should consider the brightening and dimming phenomenon on a local or regional scale, where small but important variations can be detected.
The results of the study have broad implications for understanding the earth's surface energy balance and for improving the accuracy of climate models. Researchers expect that adequately capturing the dimming and brightening phenomena will challenge every aspect of global climate models.
Method: To learn more about the amount and causes of dimming and brightening, the team analyzed incoming solar radiation collected at 12 surface sites across the United States from 1995 through 2007. The data came from several Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement ARM Program sites and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Surface Radiation network.
Researchers used the Radiative Flux Analysis method developed by PNNL staff through the ARM Program to determine cloud quantities, and to analyze clear and cloudy sky conditions. By obtaining continuous estimates of how much surface solar radiation would have occurred had clouds not been present, they were able to determine the effect of clouds on the solar radiation reaching the surface.
What's next: The current work dealt with the influence of the quantity of cloud cover on global dimming and brightening. Future studies will investigate the impact of other properties of clouds.
Acknowledgments: PNNL is transforming the nation's ability to predict climate change and its impacts. This research was supported by the DOE Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research, ARM program; the NOAA Climate Goal and the NASA Radiation Projects Office; and the Swiss National Centre for Competence in Climate Research. The researchers also acknowledge the diligent and dedicated efforts of those responsible for the operation and maintenance of the instruments that produced the data used in this study.
Research Team: C. N. Long, S. A. McFarlane, and C. J. Flynn: Climate Physics Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; E. G. Dutton and J. A. Augustine: Global Monitoring Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Col.; W. Wiscombe: Brookhaven National Laboratory; M. Wild: Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule, Zurich, Switzerland.
Reference: Charles N. Long, E. G. Dutton, J.A. Augustine, W. Wiscombe, M. Wild, S. A. McFarlane and C. J. Flynn. April 2009. "Significant decadal brightening of downwelling shortwave in the continental United States." Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 10.1029/2008JD011263, 2009


text:
A Bold Prediction about Programming Languages in 10 years
I have been gently scolded for my predictions about programming languages in an earlier blog post as being somewhat meek. In response I will make one prediction that is rather bold, which I left off the list due to its somewhat provocatory nature: the dominant language 10 years from now, hasn't been designed yet.
I predict with a fair amount of confidence that none of the language that exist today, will rise to become the dominant language 10 years from now. This is primarily because the people designing the current are only starting to understand how various ideas from different paradigms can be put together effectively. You can not continue to add more legs to a horse, and expect it to run faster.
I will reiterate what I think the next mainstream language will look like:
- higher-order functions
- flexible syntax (e.g. you can overload infix operators)
- static type system
- type inference
- support for generative programming (e.g. imagine if the C++ template metaprogramming system was carefully designed from the ground-up to replace the macro pre-processor)
- built in message passing concurrency
- built-in reflection API support
- efficient
Here are some of the things it won't have:
- raw memory access (i.e. pointers)
- unhygenic macros - proper support for reflection
- built-in unit tests
- built-in contracts
- virtual functions
- threads
- keywords like "const" or "final" or "static".
- direct aspect-oriented programming support
It is kind of annoying to see the same pattern of language design being repeated over and over again: come up with some mediochre ALGOL based language with a bunch of features tacked on. Add a bunch more features with each release.


text:
Today, I was at a conference and got a sense that those in HR at some pretty large organizations don't realize how much of an easy sell Columbus, Ohio is.
We rock. Seriously, here is my Thursday of which I'll only to be able make it to those things starred.
*8am-4pm Ohio Hispanic Leaders Conference (where Mayor of Columbus, Mike Coleman, showed up and blasted Arizona's racist laws—love him!) Left the conference on bike and rode through the Short North Arts District to my house and passed Mayor Coleman on High Street where he was in a pedicab.
330pm Triathlon Run Practice
445pm-12am Triathlon Hay Ride, Pumpkin picking, Bonfire etc.
*6pm-9pm Columbus Underground Happy Hour at Z Cucina.
*7pm-930pm Bad Movie Night at Junctionview.
9pm-11pm Joke Jams (Stand-up comedy) at Kafe Kerouac.
*9pm-2am Pierced Arrows/Sandwich/The Ferals (Indie Punk Rock Music) at The Summit.
*10pm-1130pm Radical Movie Night presents, Female Trouble at the Sporeprint Infoshop.
Of course there are lots of other venues with music and art tonight, but the list above are solely the things I'm interested in attending today that I didn't have to research. I know for example if I looked at the Wexner Center's page, they are almost assuredly showing an international indie film that I'd enjoy seeing, but for me it is better to not know what I am missing, and enjoy what I can.
I take it to heart when people bad mouth Columbus, we have a lot to enjoy in this city…my problem is never finding what to do, but time to fit in everything I want to do.


text:
Pat yourselves on the back - rounder uppers!
Being that my book sells for $19.95, I decided at my very first book signing (less than 24 hours after the books had been printed!) that instead of lugging around a bag of nickels for the rest of my life (what lupus patient needs that?), I would give cash-paying customers the opportunity to "round up" for lupus - paying with a twenty dollar bill and not getting any change back. And you know what? A ton of people took me up on it!
Thanks to you - my cash carrying customers - we were able to contribute close to $200 last year to the Lupus Foundation of America. That included a couple of events where a percentage of the proceeds went to the LFA, but those nickles really added up. I can assure you that the LFA was thrilled to receive the donation.
I haven't figured out a way to enable my website customers to "round up" yet - but I'll continue to work on it. It shouldn't be too tricky to add a "round up" option during checkout.
(Spoken like a true non-web designer, right? How do I know how tricky it is? I just put in requests to the web guys, cross my fingers, and hope they can make things happen!) Nonetheless, my fingers are crossed!


text:
Sponsors of the 11th International Pragmatics Conference include:
Emerald Books
SPECIAL THEME: Diversity, context, and structure The conference is open to ALL OTHER PRAGMATICS-RELATED TOPICS as well (where pragmatics is conceived broadly as a cognitive, social, and cultural perspective on language and communication). Plenary lecturers: - Peter SUTTON (University of Adelaide and South Australian Museum; title: "Giving away language: Praxis versus ideology in the loss of linguistic diversity") - Janet HOLMES (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; title: "Whose perspective counts? Sociopragmatics and identity construction at work") - Kasia JASZCZOLT (University of Cambridge, UK; title: "Speaking about time: Contextual inferences and pragmatic defaults") - Yasuhiro KATAGIRI (Future University - Hakodate, Japan; topic areas: dialogue structure and processes, human-computer interaction, AI, crosscultural comparison) - Ingrid PILLER (Macquarie University, Australia; title: "Language learning, multilingualism and social inclusion") -- for a recording, see http://www.languageonthemove.com/conferences.html
CONFERENCE CHAIR: Keith ALLAN (Monash University) LOCAL SITE COMMITTEE: The other members of the Local Site Committee are: Marisa CORDELLA (Monash University), Nicholas EVANS (University of Melbourne/Australian National University, Canberra), Zosia GOLEBIOWSKI (Deakin University), Heinz Leo KRETZENBACHER (University of Melbourne), Randy LaPOLLA (LaTrobe University), Anna MARGETTS (Monash University), Howard NICHOLAS (LaTrobe University), Gillian WIGGLESWORTH (University of Melbourne), Lynda YATES (LaTrobe University) INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE: In addition to the members of the Local Site Committee, the International Conference Committee includes: Keiko ABE (Tokyo), Michael BAMBERG (Worcester, MA), Josie BERNICOT (Poitiers), Helmut GRUBER (Vienna), Sachiko IDE (Tokyo; ex officio as IPrA President), Alexandra JAFFE (Long Beach), Bonnie McELHINNY (Toronto), Michael MEEUWIS (Ghent), Jacob MEY (Odense), Jan-Ola ÖSTMAN (helsinki), Marina SBISÀ (Trieste), Anna-Brita STENSTRÖM (Bergen), Jef VERSCHUEREN (Antwerp; ex officio as IPrA Secretary General), Yorick WILKS (Sheffield), John WILSON (Belfast)


text:
Add that to projects under way from previous tenders, and Brazil is expected to install and commission 10GW of new wind capacity over the next five years, nearly quadrupling its current total of just under 3.5GW.
In 2013 the country added 938MW of installed wind capacity, a little down on 2012's figure of 1,130MW, but still substantial. However, with 600MW being forced offline due to a lack of grid connection, the true figure for additional capacity is only just over 300MW.
Behind the celebrations however, lurk concerns over whether this ambitious programme can be realised in the face of a shortage of skilled labour and the country's poor logistics network.
The government and industry representatives have already announced the creation of new technical courses that should be inaugurated in the coming months. But on the logistics side, costly maritime transport and a lack of rail tracks force manufacturers and developers to truck nacelles and blades thousands of kilometres on small roads, navigating tax and goods inspections on interstate borders on the way.
The journeys become even more difficult on the country lanes that lead to the wind farms now being built inland in the under-developed northern states.
It is a sizable problem when hundreds of turbines, blades and tower parts have to be moved at the same time. Blade manufacturer Tecsis and turbine maker Wobben Windpower (the local subsidiary of Germany's Enercon), which have factories located in the south-eastern state of Sao Paulo, say it takes at least two weeks to transport equipment to wind farms in the north-east, more than 2,000 kilometres away.
Another question is how all this activity will affect participation in the auctions scheduled for this year. The government has already announced it will hold an auction in June, in which the energy sold should start to be delivered in 2017.
Still, optimism remains high. The Brazil National Development Bank (BNDES) has extended deadlines to allow project developers to meet local-content rules and pledged that it will continue to offer credit. In 2013 it lent BRL 3.6 billion ($1.5 billion) to the wind sector and, according to bank officials, expects to increase lending to wind projects by 20%, reaching BRL 4.3 billion by the end of the year.
Current political backdrop Centre-left coalition gives state-controlled companies strong influence in the market. But this is offset by stability of rules based on lowest price auctions and strong financing from the state-controlled National Development Bank (BNDES)
High point of 2013 Sale of 4.7GW in new wind projects to be completed by 2018. A record compared to previous years
Low point Lack of grid connections forced some 600MW in completed wind farms offline in 2013
Key influencer Luciano Coutinho, president of BNDES - the sole provider of finance for large infrastructure projects


text:
Nice work! Enjoy the show!
Link Copied!
Indian troops reckon they've found Yeti tracks
Opening Sequence
Migrants will not be sent to Florida: DHS Chief
Exclusive: Google suspends some Huawei business
GOP lawmaker calls Trump conduct impeachable
'Let's stop fighting and start fixing': Biden
Dozens of tornadoes rip through Midwest
Austrian government collapses after video sting
Blast injures South African tourists in Egypt
VERBATIM: Billionaire says he'll pay grads' debt
Netherlands wins Eurovision, Madonna causes stir
Closing Sequence


text:
You Are Invited To Join Our ONPE Listserv!
The ONPE listserv is a free service offered by the Office of Innovation and Improvement - Office of Non-Public Education (ONPE). Subscribers interested in K-12 non-public school issues, including the provisions of NCLB and IDEA, will receive periodic information relevant to non-public education across the country.
To sign up or remove your name from the listserv, please fill out the following form.
Not sure if you want to join the ONPE Listserv? You may want to view the Office of Non-Public Education home page before you decide.
Last Modified: 02/12/2013


text:
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Thank you for visiting our website! Below you will be able to find the answer to Big West Conference team crossword clue which was last seen on NewsDay.com Crossword, July 15 2017. Our site contains over 2.8 million crossword clues in which you can find whatever clue you are looking for. Since you landed on this page then you would like to know the answer to Big West Conference team. Without losing anymore time here is the answer for the above mentioned crossword clue:
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|Open for use
|Screening need
|''Negative'' alternative
|Thai condiment often mixed with mayonnaise
|Verb from the French for ''live coals''
|Informal ''Amen''
|Went with the flow, say
|Star's beginnings
|Emulated Edison, vis-à-vis Westinghouse
|__ fan
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|Not missing
|Big West Conference team
|Rock samples
|First speaker of ''Nothing can come of nothing'' (1606)
|Chalice, for instance
|Legal predecessor of NBCUniversal
|First musician to be a ''Time'' Person of the Year
|What Dr. Frankenstein called ''white and shining pyramids''
|Certain teen's spring fever
|Dish antenna enclosure
|Center of many ranges
|First Northern Plains equestrians
|Order not to follow
|Tail, e.g.
|''__ forma'' (amorphous: Lat.)
|Networking protocol, initially
|Female fashion features
|Pope who supported Cesare Borgia
|He named Homer for his dad
|Returned call
|Metaphorical mistreatment
|'62 Wayne film set in Africa
|Grp. promoting the Great American Outdoor Show
|They're error-prone
|Cry of discovery
|Elk's only close African kin
|Pipe organ mechanism
|''You got this''
|Got back to 100%
|Bearer of energy
|''Total Recall'' autobiographer's nickname
|Tenants' taxpaying arrangements
|Part of many ritzy resort names
|Far from accepting
|Mustangs' competitors
|One flooding the streets circa 1890
|16.4% into some years
|Under wraps?
|28-year ''20/20'' reporter/co-anchor
|Asks for more
|Asia-Africa land bridge
|Mr. Hyde's home
|Hopkins, in Marvel movies
|__ cap
|''The cruelest animal,'' per Nietzsche
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text:
Kaye Beach
Jan. 25, 2014
Feb 11, 2014 UPDATE: On Feb. 10th the TSET apparently decided to revamp their entire website and all of the informative links below were rendered dead. THANKFULLY the Internet has a very long memory and all links were restored on Feb 11th via The Wayback Machine.
An electronic cigarette or personal vaporizer (affectionately known by its fans as a 'vape') is a battery-operated device that heats a liquid containing nicotine (but not always) and various flavors to produce, not smoke, but vapor, thus eliminating tar and toxins associated with burning tobacco cigarettes. Thousands of Oklahomans have switched from smoking to vaping, potentially improving their health and longevity.
The good news about this safer alternative to smoking is being clouded by a potent mix of financial and political interests making conditions ripe in 2014 for potentially disastrous vaping bans and other dangerous political phenomena such as unreasonable taxation of vaping products.
Oklahomans should be advised that the political environment may turn treacherous at any moment.
At 4:59 PM CT AxXiom for Liberty's Nanny State Prevention Service has issued a Vape Ban Warning for the following Oklahoma counties:
The previous state-wide Vape Ban Watch is now upgraded to a Vape Ban Warning for these counties.
Residents of these twenty-six Oklahoma counties are advised to expect a whirlwind of TSET funded anti-tobacco coalition agitation at the city level, accompanied by media saturation of anti-electronic cigarette propaganda, local political maelstroms, and SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) team activation.
Immediate city level organization is necessary to protect life and property from dangerous government overreach.
Don't wait until the vape ban is on top of you – take your big government precautions now!
Communities of Excellence in Tobacco Control FY 13 budget: $6 million (Source: TSET Program Fact Sheet)
A Vape Ban Watch means that conditions are favorable to the formation of e-cigarettes and vaping bans. 85% of Oklahoma has been under the Vape Ban Watch since last fall when the same political influences that threaten areas in 2014 produced damaging bans in Oklahoma communities such as Shawnee, Ada and others.
Sporadic outbreaks of vaping bans and e-cigarettes prohibitions this fall prompted vigilant vapers and other Oklahomans leery of the nanny state to take action on impending bans. Oklahoman's may feel overwhelmed by sudden storms produced by the explosive combination of cold cash and hot air but as the residents of Tahlequah demonstrate, citizen preparedness and quick action can save the day.
Be proactive. Call your city council member now and tell them that TSET bribes are not a good reason to ban vaping!
Please remain vigilant. Under normal circumstances, community health coalitions are relatively benign and even helpful entities but when fueled by tobacco settlement funds granted by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, these entities can coalesce becoming supercells that produce twisted efforts that can devastate opportunities for Oklahomans to improve their personal health.
Right now these coalitions are primed to start firing off Vaping Bans in cities that fall under the 26 county (highlighted in green pg 31-33)Vape Ban Warning area.
Detail is as follows:
These twenty-six Oklahoma counties are part of a 'Communities of Excellence' coalition/consortium and are eligible for TSET Communities of Excellence in Tobacco Control funding for fiscal year 2014.
In 2014, flush with tobacco settlement cash extracted from predominately low-income smokers, the TSET has doubled the grant funds available to communities as part of the Healthy Communities Incentive Grant for Tobacco Control.
If you live within one of these twenty-six counties, chances are good that your city will be targeted by one or more TSET funded anti-tobacco groups operating in your area in over the course of this year. TSET has set aside 4.1 million dollars in 2014 just to fund the anti-tobacco coalitions that you will find agitating for the Vape Bans. (Page 3 http://www.ok.gov/tset/documents/RFPCXTC_1_Nov_25.pdf )
'Additional grant money of $42,000 would be granted to Choate's group as part of TSET's Communities of Excellence in Tobacco Control.
An amount of $200,000 is received annually by her group from the tobacco settlement.
She emphasized that it is not money that motivates them to push ecig ban.'
(Reported by North West Watch http://www.northwestwatch.org/news/speculations-that-money-push-council-to-ban-ecigarettes/)
These health related coalitions work within our communities to promote public health education and policies that many of us welcome and support but the TSET and it's partners have decided to focus in on eradicating the imaginary scourge of e-cigarettes and are funding the coalitions to be the tip of the spear in this misguided effort. Given the well established and devastating effects of smoking, redirecting health activists' efforts away from this and other pressing health concerns can only be described as perverse.
Coalition applicants must develop work plans to address five (required) Core Indicators defined in TSET's 2014 Request for Proposals (RFP) for Communities of Excellence in Tobacco Control funding. (Page 24 http://www.ok.gov/tset/documents/RFPCXTC_1_Nov_25.pdf)
Required "Core Indicator 1" is a city-wide tobacco-free policy which is defined to include e-cigs/vapor products.
Pg 25 http://www.ok.gov/tset/documents/RFPCXTC_1_Nov_25.pdf
Oklahomans fed up with the ever encroaching nanny-state would do well to inform themselves by spending a little time perusing the TSET's website http://www.ok.gov/tset/ (Well, not so much now since they have removed MANY public information links!) You should get to know these coalitions that are getting their paychecks and marching orders from TSET while professing to represent 'the community' and thus YOU!
Each of the twenty-six counties eligible for TSET tobacco control grants in 2014 are listed below. They are linked with their respective TSET funding pages that identifies the lead coalition as well as their most recent yearly and cumulative total TSET funding to date.


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Iron-On Stripe Patch
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Tech Rolls Out Text Message Emergency Alert System, July 25, 2008
By Roger Renteria
SOCORRO, N.M., July 25, 2008 – In an effort to enhance safety and security on New Mexico Tech campus, the university Emergency Response Team has implemented an emergency text message alert system.
"We encourage all students, faculty, and staff with cell phones to participate in this system," said Lonnie Marquez, Vice President of Finance and Administration. "We believe this will allow quicker communications in case of emergency."
Students at the state-supported research university will receive a letter in their campus post office box with information and instructions on the system. Signs will be posted across campus informing students, faculty and staff about the new safety plan.
To sign up,
- Visit https://banweb7.nmt.edu
- Select 'Enter Secure Area'
- Log into Banweb using your Tech ID number (Banner 900- account number) and password
- Select 'Personal Information'
- Select 'Emergency Text Messaging Opt-In/Opt-Out.'
Cell phones must be able to accept text messages and be fully functional in Socorro. It will only work if you keep your contact number current. In addition, the University will not share cell phone numbers with any third parties and it will be kept in a secure location only to be used for the emergency alert system.
For more information, questions, or concerns, please stop by the Student Affairs Office on the second floor of Fidel Center or call 575-835-5060.


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Funny man Jeff Garlin has escaped vandalism charges following his arrest on Saturday.
The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star was arrested after allegedly smashing the windows of a Mercedes in Studio City, Calif., during a heated altercation with the vehicle's female driver over a parking spot.
TMZ.com reports he broke the side window with his hand.
Sources tell the website Garlin will not face criminal charges, but he faces a stern reprimand for his actions from the Los Angeles City Attorney at a date to be announced.


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The college's hometown has placed second in the nation for overall well-being in a report released recently by Gallup and Healthways.
The college's hometown has placed second in the nation for overall well-being in a report released recently by Gallup and Healthways.
The 2009 "Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index" (WBI) ranks Holland-Grand Haven behind only Boulder, Colo., out of some 185 cities nationwide. The index, released on Monday, Feb. 15, is an average of six categories: life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, healthy behavior, work environment and basic access to necessities.
It's the second year that Gallup-Healthways has compiled the index. Holland-Grand Haven also did well in 2008, ranking third nationally.
The survey's geographical organization - such as citing Holland and Grand Haven together - follows the U.S. Census Bureau's definition for Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The city areas were grouped based on population size, and include all cities with a population of greater than 20,000.
Holland-Grand Haven and the Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria metro area were the only two communities east of the Mississippi River to make the top 10.
Eight of the top 10 cities, including Boulder and Holland-Grand Haven, were classified as mid-size city regions, with populations between 250,000 and one million. The Holland-Grand Haven cluster is in the lower range of the mid-size category with an area population of 259,206.
In descending order, the top-10 cities in the index are: Boulder, Colo.; Holland-Grand Haven; Honolulu, Hawaii; Provo-Orem, Utah; Santa Rosa-Petaluna, Calif.; Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.; Ogden-Clearfield, Utah; and Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.
The WBI is the product of a 25-year partnership between Gallup and Healthways to measure the state of well-being and quality of life in America, to quantify and establish a correlation between the places where people work and the communities in which they live and their well-being. The rankings are not intended to be a competition but instead to provide government policy-makers, community leaders, media agencies, employers, health plans and healthcare providers with detailed information about where communities are doing well, where they are struggling and where to best target policies and investments to assist residents to maximize their well-being.
The 42 core questions that make up the WBI survey were designed to measure how respondents are faring in all aspects of their lives: physically, emotionally, socially and professionally, and also to take a daily pulse of how Americans rate the overall quality of their current life and outlook for the future. The results are based on more than 353,000 surveys completed from January 2, 2009, through December 30, 2009.
The Holland-Grand Haven community's rankings among the 185 communities on the six sub-indices were: life evaluation, second; emotional health, third; physical health, first; healthy behavior, 63rd; work environment, 39th; and basic access to necessities, first.
In addition to ranking the nation's cities, the index also ranked the 50 states and 435 Congressional Districts. Michigan ranked 34th, up from 41st in 2008. The 2nd Congressional District, which includes Holland and Grand Haven, ranked 114th, up from 194th a year ago.
More information is available at www.well-beingindex.com.


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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F88
Sony's DSC-F88 5.1-megapixel digital camera offers a unique lens system design that rotates 300 degrees, enabling you the flexibility of capturing images from overhead or down below. You can even view your own self-portrait pose. This compact, all-metal body camera also features a Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar 3x optical zoom lens, Sony's fast Real Imaging Processor with near immediate start-up time, PictBridge compatibility for direct printing, and compatibility with conversion lenses.
Optics and Resolution
The DSC-F88 has a 5.1-megapixel, 1/2.4″ Super HAD (Hole Accumulation Diode) CCD, which provide excellent image quality by allowing more light to pass to each pixel, increasing sensitivity and reducing noise. It features a maximum resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels, enough detail for 4-by-6-inch to 20-by-30-inch (poster size) photos. Other resolution modes include 2592 x 1768 (3:2 aspect ratio), 2048 x 1536 (3MP), 1280 x 960 (1MP), and 640 x 480.
The camera features a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens and a 2x digital zoom (for a 6x total). The Vario-Tessar lens is specially produced for compact cameras and provides rapid auto focus with appealing zoom range. Utilizing a highly transmissive optical grade prism, the lens is housed entirely within the camera's rotating lens, and does not need to extend for use. Carl Zeiss lenses have an advanced optical multi-layer coating offering less glare and flare with increased contrast. This results in vivid image brilliance, true-to-life color saturation and perfect renditions of subtle tones.
Movie Mode
In addition to snapping still images, the DSC-F88 can also capture video with audio at up to 640 x 480 pixels (16 frames per second). Your movie length is only limited by the size of the storage capacity of your Memory Stick. The included 32 MB card will hold 1 minute, 27 seconds of 640 x 480 video, while a 256 MB Memory Stick will store nearly 11 minutes.
More Features
- 1.8-inch, 134K LCD monitor
- By evaluating 5 separate focus areas of the frame, Sony's Multi-Point AF system can intelligently focus on the subject and avoid mistakenly focusing on the background.
- Independently light-metering 49 points of the frame, Multi-Pattern Measuring establishes the optimum exposure, even when highlight and shadow isn't centered in the frame.
- 9 Shot Burst Mode captures up to 9 shots (fine) or 16 shots (standard) at 1.6 frame/sec. even at 5 MP resolution; perfect for high speed subjects or fast moving action such as sports.
- Multi-Burst Mode captures 16 320 x 240 frames as part of a single 1280 x 960 image, which plays back sequentially in the camera (selectable 1/7.5, 1/15, 1/30 second).
- With a momentary pre-flash, the camera illuminates the subject and sets exposure through the lens for accurate flash metering. Adjustable flash level and red-eye reduction ensure great flash shots.
- With 10 Scene Modes, parameters can be matched to the shooting conditions. Choose from one of the following: Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Soft Snap, Candle, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, High Speed Shutter or Magnifying Glass.
- A Live Histogram Display is available in capture and playback, showing the concentration of pixels at each luminosity value and making it easy to evaluate correct exposure.
- With VCL-07FEB wide conversion lens, you can expand your camera's field of view, helping you capture the entire scene. It's especially helpful in self-shooting when holding the camera at arm's length.
- Make transferring images and recharging the DSC-F88's battery easier with the optional CSS-FEB Cyber-shot station. Just place the camera on the cradle for instantaneous power and computer connections.
- Manual Exposure Mode provides extended control with 46-step adjustable Shutter speed (30-1/1000 sec.), and 2-step Aperture control.
- The AF (Auto Focus) Illuminator briefly illuminates the subject, in low–or no–light conditions helping to establish a positive focus lock.
Storage and Transfer
Images are stored on Memory Sticks, and the DSC-F88 is compatible with Memory Stick Pro media. It connects to Macs and Windows-based PCs via an ultrafast USB 2.0 connection.
Power and Size
The camera is powered by a rechargeable InfoLithium battery (NP-FR1), which provides reliable, long-lasting power for continuous shooting with no memory effect. It measures 3.9 x 2.9 x 1 inches (W x H x D) and weighs 6 ounces (7.4 ounces with battery, Memory Stick, and wrist strap).
What's in the Box
This package contains the Sony DSC-F88 digital camera, 32 MB Memory Stick, rechargeable InfoLithium battery (NP-FR1), battery charger (AC-LS5), USB and A/V cables, wrist strap, and CD-ROM with photo editing and management software.


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Rise Helicopters offers you a fast, flexible yet luxurious travel alternative with our Executive Helicopter Charter Service. Located at Gloucestershire Airport, we're just 15 minutes' flying time from Bristol, 20 minutes from Birmingham and Oxford and 60 minutes from London. We're therefore perfectly positioned to offer clients throughout the South and West of England a reliable and totally flexible personal charter service to any destination within the UK – seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.
Travelling by helicopter means you avoid the stress and discomfort of traffic jams or rail delays and reduce your journey time dramatically. Travel in style and comfort and arrive at your destination cool and unflustered: perfect for business travel, corporate entertaining, or that extra-special family occasion. It's also a truly memorable way to travel to your favourite sporting event. Relax – and leave all your Booking Arrangements to Rise Helicopters.
Our team will provide you with a professional service tailored to your specific needs. If you wish, you need do nothing more than turn up and take off. We can make all associated arrangements on your behalf, including the reservation of your hotels; restaurant bookings; and the provision of chauffeur driven cars to provide you with a seamless onward journey to your ultimate destination. Simply let us know your requirements and we'll be delighted to handle it all for you.
You'll travel in one of our Robinson R44 Helicopters. Its spacious cabin offers seating for up to three passengers: one in the front of the aircraft alongside the pilot with two passengers in the rear of the cabin.
Despite its prestigious connotations, the cost of chartering your own executive helicopter may be less than you think. Fees are based on flight hours, so the more efficient the aircraft, the more cost-effective your journey. With this in mind, the impressive performance of the Robinson R44 means that you enjoy a personal charter service that's attractive not only in terms of speed, comfort and efficiency but also price. To give you an idea of times involved, with a cruising speed of around 120 mph you can fly from our airport near Cheltenham to London in 60 minutes. The maximum range of the aircraft at cruise speed is approximately 430 miles, giving an endurance time of 3 hrs 20 minutes.
Our Robinson R44 and R22 helicopters are available from our fleet for self-fly hire to pilots with a PPL (H) certificate. We'll be happy to give you details of our competitive rates.
At Rise Helicopters we pride ourselves in providing our clients with a totally confidential, personal and professional service where their needs come first and we would be delighted to have the opportunity to demonstrate our flexibility to you. So no matter what your travel requirements, please don't hesitate to contact us and we'll do our very best to help you. Call us on 01452 857083 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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How to Make a Zombie Plague
Ah, the zombie plague! A Mad Scientist couldn't ask for a better means for world domination. Not only would discreet application of your infectious agent eliminate your opposition, the rest of humanity will be far too busy fending of their recently deceased loved ones to notice when you swoop in and take control. The population is reduced to a more manageable size, and the ever-present zombie threat will keep any potential rebellions from forming. Everybody wins! Well, mostly I win but you get my point.
But how to make it happen? There's a good reason no one has ever pulled off the 'Take Over the World by Zombie Plague' scheme before…it's an awful lot to ask of a single infectious agent. It must be transmitted from person to person, or even across species, quickly and with a low infectious dose. It has to fend off the immune system and penetrate the blood-brain barrier to get at your delicious brain meats. It has to basically turn your body into a walking incubation chamber, dedicated solely to feeding and spreading the infection. Still, these obstacles are not insurmountable when one has the power of Mad Science.
To put things into perspective, it is important to understand that the things that make us sick – viruses, bacteria, parasites, what-have-you – have been around a lot longer than we have, and they've gotten very good at what they do. And what they do isn't very nice…we certainly don't think so, anyway. The pathogens causing the infection are just doing what they have to do to survive and replicate in a hostile environment: You. In many cases, the characteristics that make this possible are a lucky coincidence for the pathogen and an unfortunate side-effect for the host. For example, a surface protein that makes a bacteria more resilient in the soil may also protect it from your immune system. If that bacteria spends enough time in a human host, it's going to get better and better at exploiting that characteristic so that it can survive longer and reproduce more.
The longer this process goes on, the more specifically attuned the pathogen has the potential to become. Humans haven't really been around very long, evolutionarily speaking. Bacteria however are some of the oldest forms of life, and the viruses that infect them, known as bacteriophages, have been fine-tuning the process for an exceptionally long time. So much so that many bacteriophages only infect one species of bacteria. They have become so specialized in exploiting the characteristics of their favorite bacteria that they have lost the ability to infect others.
Pox viruses are some of the oldest viruses that infect mammalian cells, and they have developed a similar level of species-specificity. A human could drink a vial of rabbit pox and be completely unaffected. That level of control would be useful…but that isn't really what we want, is it? No, we want something new and flashy and explosively infectious. The Ebola virus only broke onto the 'human infectious agent' scene in 1976 and it has already made quite the impact. The virus itself destroys blood vessels and prevents blood from coagulating, producing lots of infectious fluids and causing death through hypovolemic shock. Bats are the most likely animal reservoir for the virus as well, which is pretty badass. Can you imagine zombie bats? I can. It's awesome.
Unfortunately, viruses that are capable of infecting multiple species don't generally affect them in the same way. The bats infected with Ebola aren't leaking blood everywhere and birds infected with influenza haven't come down with the flu. That's because these species are carriers. While the virus is still present, it isn't causing disease. Like the bacteria living in the soil that happen to have an adaptation that causes disease in humans, these viruses have a stable existence within their animal reservoirs. They only cause disease when they jump to humans, a less familiar environment. This is actually what makes Bird Flu so potentially dangerous. Multiple strains of influenza can infect the same animal, allowing for exceptionally rapid genetic recombination and the development of new strains our immune system has never seen. Many different animal species are reservoirs for human disease including pigs, armadillos and deer…but while they may be useful in delivering your zombie plague to the masses, your undead horde wont be accompanied by zombie armadillos. I'll give you a moment to recover from the crushing disappointment.
So how will our zombie plague be spread? There's a lot to consider here. Not only does the infection have to reach a lot of people, it also has to reach their delicious brains. The human brain is a fairly important organ. The blood-brain barrier carefully restricts access to the cerebrospinal fluid, protecting your tender brain from most bacterial infections as well as inflammation. Inflammation is your immune systems first response to a potential invader, but in the brain this can cause swelling and tissue damage. To prevent this, the blood-brain barrier keeps out the cells and antibodies of your immune system as well as the bacteria. There is certainly precedent for overcoming this obstacle, however. Rabies virus is spread through infected saliva and can travel from a bite wound to the brain, bypassing this barrier. Sound familiar?
But once our virus gets to the brain, how would it go about turning your average person into a shambling virus factory? Well honestly, you don't really need most of that big brain you have. Sure, that cerebellum helps you coordinate your movements but shambling is totally in this year. As a proud soldier in the undead horde, you don't really need to make any complex decisions so screw that frontal lobe. And all that memory processing and spatial navigation provided by your hippocampus? Bah. All you really need is your amygdala…the primitive reptile brain, that generates the 'fight or flight' response. Just get rid of the rest and you're good to go. Well, figuratively speaking.
So we're looking for an infectious agent that can be introduced to the population in a relatively innocuous way – such as through an animal reservoir – that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, destroy all that unnecessary brain tissue, and leave the host a shambling plague factory….preferably oozing with infectious particles. Now I'm sure most of you are thinking viruses are the way to go here, but I've got one word for you: Prions.
Prions are basically infectious proteins. We don't know a lot about them yet, but they are the causative agent behind spongiform encephalopathies such as Mad Cow disease and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Mad Cow disease can be transmitted to humans who eat infected tissue, and there is some evidence that prions can become airborne and cause disease at a surprisingly low infectious dose (in mice, anyway). Since all they are is a single protein, they have no trouble slipping past the blood-brain barrier and wreaking havoc with your neurons. When the misfolded prion protein encounters other proteins in the brain, it acts as a template that causes the misfolding of these healthy proteins, thereby propagating itself. Prion diseases are currently untreatable, even. The only real downside is the long incubation time, but I'm still pretty confident that prions are the way to go in terms of zombie plague development.
Even if you aren't trying to take over the world (and why wouldn't you be?!?), the zombie plague is exceptionally useful as a modeling tool for the spread of highly infectious diseases. It's also a powerful motivator for getting people interested in how diseases spread. You can try your hand at destroying the world with the zombie plague or building your own custom pathogen to see how fast you can infect the world. Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse is also a fun way to be prepared for more routine disasters that people do face daily.


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In the current discussion about the National Curriculum Review, there is lot of talk of the need to pay attention to long division, and some more cautious suggestions that perhaps we need to start with long multiplication. This give me a pretext to repeat an observation which I discuss, in more pedagogical details, in Sections 9 and 10 of my paper on academia.com.
The following set of formulae continues to circle the Blogosphere:
1111 * 1111 = 1234321
11111 * 11111 = 123454321
111111 * 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 * 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 * 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 * 111111111 = 12345678987654321
It was accompanied by usual comments about the intrinsic beauty of mathematics. Indeed, the pattern is beautiful — no doubt in that. But the example nicely illustrates a difference between an amateur and professional approaches to mathematics: professionals are interested not so much in beautiful patterns but in reasons why the patterns cannot be extended without loss of their beauty. In our case, the pattern breaks at the next step:
The result is no longer symmetric. The reason for that is an interference of a carry, transfer of an unit from one column of digits to another column of more significant digits. The carry arising from the addition of two digits a and b is defined by the rule
One can easily check that this is a 2-cocycle from Z/10Z to Z and is responsible for the extension of additive groups
This is exactly what cocycles (and cohomology) were invented for: they describe the obstacles for continuation of a certain pattern in behavior algebraic or topological objects. The appearance of cohomology in an elementary arithmetic entertainment piece is inevitable.
And this is why long multiplication is so pivotal concept of elementary mathematics.