text:
Carol Pinchefsky, Contributor
I mean business about science fiction and geek culture.
Criticizing the Space Shuttle is like punching America in the face. After all, it's been a symbol of national pride for thirty years. But many of my friends and I are celebrating yesterday's piggy-backed final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum…because a museum is where the shuttle belongs.
Yes, the Shuttle deserves a tip of the hat—after all, it took us to the final frontier. But as the former editor of the Space Future Journal, a website dedicated to space tourism, I've met people who are as enthusiastic about average citizens, not trained astronauts, visiting space as I am. And we know the Shuttle wasn't the vehicle to take us there.
To us, the Shuttle was an obstacle.
I spoke to Will Watson, executive director of the Space Frontier Foundation, and he spelled out a few not-so-fun facts about the Space Shuttle. And maybe, just maybe, after reading this, you might think about it the same way as we do.
1. The Shuttle killed more people than any other space vehicle in history.
The explosion of the Challenger killed seven people, six astronauts and one Teacher in Space participant, during the launch of its 10th mission in 1986. The explosion of the Columbia killed seven more during re-entry of its 28th mission in 2003.
Let me spell it out for you: out of five Shuttles–Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor—two met a disastrous and fiery fate. That's a 40% vehicular failure rate (updated) and a flight failure rate of 1.5%. This would have grounded any other vehicle permanently.
To compare, the Apollo I mission resulted in the death three astronauts during a launch pad test. The Mercury and Gemini missions had no fatalities.
The Chinese space program has currently had no fatalities.
As for the Russian space program, one cosmonaut died during the re-entry of the Soyuz 1, and three died on the Soyuz 11 after being exposed to vacuum.
(There is no hard data available on the deaths of Soviet-era cosmonauts, but unsubstantiated rumors suggest that there may have been Soviet casualties in the early days of the space race.)
2. It was extremely expensive
You can't put a price on scientific research. But I sure as heck can. A total of 355 people flew on STS (Shuttle Transportation System), and not one of them was me. And I'm not just saying this because I'm jealous as hell, but the Space Shuttle missions cost too much and provided too little.
Although NASA says that it cost a trifling $450 million to launch each Shuttle mission, other sources find that price tag vastly underestimated. All five Shuttles flew a total of 135 missions. According to Space.com, in an article written in 2005,
[I]f the space shuttle program is terminated after 2010, then it will have a total lifetime cost of about $173 billion, Pielke reported.
…Given that flight rate, this will result in a total program cost per flight of $1.3 billion, Pielke explained. Of further interest is the average cost per flight from 2004-2010: It is $1.3 billion. The average cost per flight from the middle of 2005 through 2010, assuming 22 flights, is about $1.0 billion, he said.
Nature followed up in 2011:
The US Congress and NASA spent more than US$192 billion (in 2010 dollars) on the shuttle from 1971 to 2010 (see 'A costly enterprise')…. During the operational years from 1982 to 2010, the average cost per launch was about $1.2 billion. Over the life of the programme, this increases to about $1.5 billion per launch
One of the many reasons the Shuttles were so expensive was because some of the equipment used to launch, such as the external tank, were non-reusable and had to be replaced with each launch.
Great points about the shuttle program, but I'd hardly call them horrifying.
More "Interesting"
How can you say it failed to innovate? The entire concept behind the design was innovative. Here you are proposing that going back to a tin can is somehow innovative?
She's very much out of her depth here… the "failed to innovate" comment was especially ammusing. As you said; the entire concept was an innovation. Since the Shuttle also performed missions no other space craft could I would say "failed to innovate" is a gross mischaracterization of the entire program.
So, Carol is "pretty horrified by a 30-year program that spent $192 billion (in 2010 dollars)" — which is roughly $6.4 billion a year
However, she's blissfully ignorant to the fact we also spent in one, SINGLE year (also in 2010 dollars) $632 billion on Military, $586 billion on Social Security, $394 billion on Medicare, $367 billion on Unemployment, $350 on non-Military Discretionary, $276 billion on Medicaid, $354 billion on the budget deficit and $243 billion in Interest on the National Debt.
Yep. That's certainly a different take on the word "horrifying"…
Yep. Still ignorant of the fact that in 2010 dollars, that figure is roughly equivilent to what the Apollo program ran from 1961-1972 (1975 if you want to include the leftovers used for Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz Test Program).
@ westernspace. So somehow a figure of $192 billion isn't horrifying? Come on. We could take the budget to ten times its size annually then and what you spend today would look cheap. Not sound logic.
"Failed to innovate" is an unfair assessment. Innovation would have been born from subcontractors working with JPL or ARC or some other NASA group. The intent of the Shuttle was not to provide innovations.
There are so many other holes in your article that it seems like you wrote for the sake of trolling; that for all the successes that the Shuttle had over 30 years you summed it up with "mostly useless; too expensive".
Carol: Not too innovative? Seriously?
Show me ONE other space vehicle that can take 7 people into ORBIT, bring them back, then do it again. The same year. With tons of equipment. With a robotic arm to handle that equipment. That can dock with the ISS.
Name just one space vehicle that is today – 2012 – more innovative than the space shuttle in so many ways.
I'd be interested in what you are comparing the shuttle to.
@paulstewart: "So somehow a figure of $192 billion isn't horrifying?"
Not when it's divided by 30 years down to $6.4 billion out of a multi-Trillion U.S. Budget and economy — especially when we're spending 36 times that amount and STILL can't solve our "social issues" after all these decades.
You and others are certainly doing a lot of whining for what amounts to $55-$60 out of your pocket when your annual double-mocha latte grande budgets are even larger.
"We could take the budget to ten times its size annually then and what you spend today would look cheap."
Ten times would be decidely excessive when doubling down would do nicely. See Neil deGrasse Tyson's recent comments:
What is horrifying is what any reasonably efficient/effective enterprise could have done with the 40 years and $500 billion spent on US manned space since Apollo…
It is horrifying that this taxpayer money and time was flushed down the big govt agency toilet, rather than producing affordable space vehicles, lunar colonies, mars missions, visits to asteroids… that that money was wasted on big govt pork, waste, rather than being invested in actual space technology, exploration, science.
I have read and re-read Carol's post…where does she mention any of the programs you sited as to her blissful ignorance? Just because she remained on-topic doesn't mean she doesn't care or have an opinion. You should try to do the same…post on-topic. If you have issues with those problems you mentioned, find an article and lam-blast away.
Lets see anything built in 1980 be called innovative compared to something built today. Ever hear of the Straw Man technique? Its for use by people who do not want to incourage or support clear rational thinking.
NASA had numerous follow on vehicles planned. All were shot down over the years by Congress and several Presidents. Some may have even learned from the Shuttles mistakes and achieved the goal of launches in the Soyuz cost range. We'll never know. The people who proposed those more innovative designs are no longer at NASA.
Final official Shuttle program cost was $210 billion…
Nasa's boondoggle, dead end Shuttle, promised by pork driven Nasa to a gullible Congress as a $7 million/flight 'cheap, safe, reliable'
Nasa's shuttle cost over $1.5 billion/flight, killed 2 crew, was years late with several multi-year service outages..
Nasa's shuttle was the most dangerous, bankruptingly expensive, unreliable vehicle in space history…
And Nasa's $60+ billion shameless earmarked pork driven, unneeded, unwanted SLS/Orion will be even worse.
We should downsize/eliminate NASA, return it to NACA levels…
Instead, directly fund Caltech's JPL for unmanned probes, and fund SpaceX for boosters and manned spaceflight.
Failed to innovate?
Let me see; Goodyear's spring-loaded tire , environmentally friendly lubricants including biodegradable ones, LED lights for medical/plant usage, insulating aerogels, a tiny fuel pump now used as a heart pump, hyperester netting, hand held cutter used as rescue equipment — a mini version of one NASA used to separate the solid booster rockets, advancements in digital cameras and video stablization, infrared cameras for firefighters, and countless medical advances. Let me not forget to mention smaller electronics, the hundreds or thousands of experiments performed, Hubble Space telescope, the ISS and spawning countless American Dreams.
Just because you don't realize what the technology onboard the shuttle did for almost every part of your technological life does not mean it "failed to innovate" and wasted $192 billion dollars. And the reason it flew only a fraction of its proposed missions is because people like you voted to cut spending for NASA. With only 1 penny of every dollar of taxpayer money being spent on NASA, how can you even begin to fly all the missions you want to? This article is grossly misrepresenting information for the sake of making an opinionated statement. That is not journalism.
I don't think a single dollar was wasted as it inspired young people worldwide to get into science, including people outside your country. Who in tern help improve technology and medicine. I do agree that the innovation stagnated, but i think this was largely to do with NASA being a goal orientated program, when the lofty goals stopped being set it stopped being cost effective.
Your 40% figure is misleading. Each shuttle was different than the last. The Shuttle program had 135 flights with two failures. 1.4% failure rate for launches. The Shuttle is a little different every time it hits the launch pad. It's like if I modified my car every time I drove it. I'd probably be above the 1.5% mark in breakdowns.
I completely agree, Justin. The logic behind the 40% figure is like saying that automobiles have a 100% failure rate because every model has been involved in a breakdown or crash.
Not so sure about that one. Saying the Shuttle was not truly reusable or reliable sounds like an odd thing to say about a program that had 135 missions.
Carol, I think you had the elements of a great article but didn't need the "shock and awe" of wildly flawed statistics and headlines to make your case. It's really not a "whole other article." A case can be made that the Shuttle program was a terrible program by educating readers about why 1.5% is just too high, and what all these billions of dollars could have been used for.
It's just completely flawed to draw readers in with a headline like this and see statistics that are so wildly misleading. I agree with the premise of the article that the program was a huge waste, but a "40% failure rate" is just incorrect. It is 1.5%. That takes up one sentence.
How about doing the brave thing and correcting it?
A failure rate = # of failures/number of occurences * 100.
Otherwise, people might jump to conclusions like, Honda Accords are far more deadly than Ferraris, since the total number of deaths for all people who ever died in Honda Accords ever made vastly exceeds the deaths in Ferraris.
I believe you all seem to miss the point that the Space Shuttle was the Model T of reusable space craft. There is already a replacement for it, the X-37, which is the property of the Air Force, and, rendered the Shuttle obsolete as far as the Pentagon was concerned and hastened it's demise.
The X-37 is automated, and, is small enough to be mated on top of the rocket, where the payload should be.
I guess what I object to most here is the complete absence of any credit given to the most ambitious and productive series of space missions to date. And the ignorance of what the Shuttle accomplished and the glorification of the Shuttles extremely limited replacement.
Archie, please educate us. What were the five most significant things accomplished that helped further humanity? And please leave out things like, "better spaceships." My understanding is that very limited was accomplished- other than fixing the Hubble telescope- but I'm prepared to listen to the "productive" accomplishments.
Do you understand the definition of reliability and re-usability? Shuttle Discovery flew 39 missions over 27 years. Your statistics are significantly skewed as Craig pointed out.
Any vehicle that undergoes the rigorous conditions of spaceflight will always require constant maintenance, modifications and upgrades. I hope you do the same to your car, instead of just buying a new one when your radiator goes out.
You should really try to avoid the shock value in your "horrifying" article.
It wasn't reusable. It was salvagable. Any way you cut it.
The turbo-pumps, one of the most expensive pieces of hardware, was replaced after every other flight. The SRBs were disassembled after every flight, and then reassembled. Do you replace your transmission after every drive? Or take apart and put the engine back together?
Carol, your "stat" is not a "rate". A rate is calculated by a number of failures/number of missions times 100. I think you got some bad info from the agency whose job it is to promote private space travel, and no editors bothered to think a little more deeply about what 40% meant and why it is meaningless. It just sounded good (and scary) to get a grabby headline.
Every vehicle will ultimately fail over time if it used enough, having a 100% failure rate, according to your definition. Don't you think the Apollo spacecraft would have also failed at some point if used hundreds of times? If not, where is your evidence?
But your article strongly suggests that Apollo was a safer vehicle. Yet this "fact" is a junk statistic, because each Apollo vehicle only went once. The appropriate measure would be if Apollo and Space Shuttles went on an equal number of missions and we could compare failure rates per mission. We will never find out which one was safer.
It's not about mass manufacturing or limited manufacturing.. it's about a simple point about risk. The Shuttle had more data points, so we are better able to assess it.. the other space programs had 1 observation.
The shuttle is not the model T, by any stretch of the imagination.
Look, I will grant, we learned a lot from shuttle. But a lot of what we learned is how not to do things.
Do you have access to a comparable rate of failure for NASCAR or other automobile racers (please do include things like the electric cars and other concepts that are one-offs or extremely-limited production), or for one-off-built aircraft? The comparison in the article suggests that a 40% machine failure rate (as distinct from the ~1.5% use failure rate) is cause to not build something – and from a commercial viewpoint, you're totally right: That's not something you can sell to everyone with $X,000 dollars to spend. However, the Shuttle wasn't built for commercial purpose, and falls under a different set of criteria. Just as no one would expect the Wright brothers' plane to be much more then proof-of-concept, I consider the Shuttle to be amazingly comprehensive and deep proof-of-concept and exploratory work: We've shown there's a lot that can be down in Low Earth Orbit and we're certainly not out of things worth doing there.
Hmm, although a silly analogy, I would not want to be caught driving a 1981 Ford Mustang, even if everything from the engine to the paint job had been refurbished…& an LCD had been retrofitted into the display panel.
As a car collector, I would be especially sad if Ford stopped producing new models in 1981, declaring it had "perfected the car"…
This "horrifying" lack of progress sometimes manifests when an industry is not geared to encourage competition. While that may be an acceptable reality with some industries, America needs dynamic progress in space transportation cost and frequency. We can not continue to be satisfied with the design limits of 1970s.
The best chance for America to financially sustain a human space exploration program and eventually settle space, is for NASA to expand on programs like Commercial Orbital Transportation Services. Consistently encouraging what America does best — create new businesses and technologies for profit, under the pressure of healthy competition — is the most natural way to the stars.
Well what about the ISS, for example? The first large space station would not have been possible without the Shuttle and everything that has evolved as a result of the space station and the science conducted there.
I am sorry not to be an expert on the ISS, surely it is responsible for a huge amount of raw science going on.
Mir, was a pile of junk. It was an antiquated system launched all at once like Skylab. True, most any launch system can bring supplies to the station, any station.
However, a space complex that keeps evolving and growing needs servicing that can not be maintained by a capsule. Did you ever see Cosmonauts attaching a new pod to Mir? Of course not. The Mir, and the Soviets, didn't have the capability to do so.
The Shuttle was a huge advancement in aerospace technology. Once again to draw a financial comparison to two completely different
systems that are incomparable. Mir, was a static station that never grew or evolved. Unless you consider the cosmonauts rigging the damn thing so it wouldn't explode as evolving.
Would you compare the expense of a rowboat to a yacht? Are there costs differences? Does a yacht give you more than a rowboat?
That is the comparison you have drawn.
Actually Archy, you're a little off with your facts. . .
By a lot.
Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the world's first modular space station. In comparison, the earlier Salyut and Skylab space stations were pretty much one-shot deals.
The first module of the Mir, known as the core module or base block, was launched in 1986, just a few months after the space shuttle Challenger tragedy. It was followed by six further modules, all launched by Proton rockets (with the exception of the docking module, brought up by the space shuttle). The complex was assembled via semi-automated docking of these modules to the base block's multiple docking ports. Once completed, the Mir station consisted of seven pressurised modules and several unpressurised components.
Mir had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the largest artificial satellite orbiting the Earth until its deorbit in March of 2001 — a record now surpassed by the International Space Station.
Interesting. Mir was successful? Didn't that burn up when it fell out of the sky? Hmmm, according to you, that is 100% failure, but you call it successful.
Please stop.
Almost 100% of automobiles ultimately fail. You have a flawed statistic.
Do you run rocket fuel in your engine?
Carol – Name one other launch vehicle that is the least bit reusable. Name one other space vehicle that can land on a runway.
Name one other space transportation system that can take 7 people into space along with a cargo hold of deliverables.
While it's true my facts regarding the construction of Mir was off, my opinion of Mir was not.
From the beginning, Mir was frought with technical problems. The first thing our astronauts noticed about Mir was that the Cosmonauts were forced to run new connections for station components by running the wires straight through the safety hatches, making it impossible to close the hatch in the event of an emergency.
Astronaut Jerry Linenger was present for the 14 minute fire aboard Mir.
The author Carol seems to believe what the USSR would present to the world in terms of costs. If the costs the USSR presented were true, pertaining to defense and space exploration, the USSR would probably still be around.
It's also true that Mir was originally designed to last for only five years and instead survived for 15 — a testiment to the tenacity and dedication of the USSR/Russian Federation/US teams that worked around the problems as the vehicle aged over time.
Valuable lessons were learned in the process and are being applied to the current ISS — just as lessons learned there will most likely be applied to follow-on successors like Robert Bigelow's BA-330, Sundancer, Next-Generation Commercial Space Station and Space Complex Bravo.
"Buran" (until the collapse of the USSR — and the hangar that it was in).
With any luck, in a few years you'll be able to add "DreamChaser" to that list as Sierra Nevada Corporation continues to make progress on their HL-20 (NASA) derived mini-shuttle.
Well said, William! Now I don't need to type a similar comment :-)
That's not actually even a close similarity Nathan. These aren't cars coming off a line, where there may be 1000s of cars that are the same model. If you do not wish someone to manufacture stats (which she did not) than you shouldn't do so yourself.


text:
published on 08 May 2013
Thor fighting the mighty giant serpent Jörmungandr during a fishing trip with Hymir the giant. Painting by Henry Fuseli. (1788). Royal Academy of Arts, London
Original image by Rannveig. Uploaded by Cristian Violatti, published on 08 May 2013 under the following license: Creative Commons: Attribution. This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered, in terms of what others can do with your works licensed under Attribution.
Donate and help us!
We're a non-profit organisation and we need your help! This website costs money and we have to buy quality research material to produce great content. Our donors make this project possible. Please consider donating; even small amounts help. Thank you!
Commentscomments powered by Disqus

subset: commoncrawl


text:
First it was Comeau Bridge, which was closed in 2002 due to structural problems and was replaced by a new bridge that opened in September, linking the west end of downtown with Bradford.
Now the Groveland Bridge and Basiliere Bridge are being scrutinized. Both aging bridges are considered "structurally deficient" by MassHighway.
The state plans to replace Groveland Bridge and repair Basiliere Bridge - which yesterday saw one lane closed to traffic after a section of concrete lifted at the seam where the road meets the concrete. Andrew Herlihy, chief of staff for Mayor James Fiorentini, said city Highway Department workers used a new cold patch product to repair the surface yesterday.
"One lane had to be closed for a short time while repairs could be made," Herlihy said.
Basiliere Bridge is one of the most heavily traveled bridges in the area. It is crossed by an average of 28,000 to 30,000 vehicles per day, according to transportation officials.
MassHighway spokesman Adam Hurtubise said the bridge is not unsafe, but it is nearing the end of its useful life.
"It is scheduled to be repaired, rather than be replaced," he said.
Tony Komornick, transportation program manager for the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, said if Basiliere Bridge were in danger of falling, the state would close it.
"Although it may be deficient, the bridge is not unsafe to cross," Komornick said.
City Councilor David Hall said the bridge has seen numerous repairs over the years, including resurfacing of the approaches at the Haverhill and Bradford sides.
"The approaches seem to be the big problem," Hall said. "There's no way they can replace the bridge. But they can repair it."
Komornick said Basiliere Bridge is nowhere near as structurally unsound as the Groveland Bridge, which was built in the early 1950s as a replacement for an old bridge linking Groveland and Haverhill. Komornick said the Groveland Bridge received a very poor rating and that the state is looking to replace it with a new bridge once funding becomes available.
Komornick emphasized the need for routine maintenance of bridges, especially bridges like Basiliere.
"Although it's not at the point where more serious problems are about to become apparent, you have to keep up with maintenance," he said.
A tale of three bridges
Comeau Bridge: Declared unsafe and closed in 2002, replaced by a new bridge that opened September 2007
Basiliere Bridge: Declared "structurally deficient" by state, scheduled to be repaired
Groveland Bridge: Also declared "structurally deficient," scheduled to be replaced


text:
Belts & Hoses
It's easy enough to overlook your car's belts and hoses, but by neglecting these key components of your vehicle, you could be setting yourself up for costly repairs, or even a breakdown. Your car's belts and hoses serve an essential function: to keep your vehicle running smoothly.
Although belts and hoses today are equipped to last longer than they did in the past, these parts still need to be checked and maintained. Like most equipment, belts and hoses can wear out over time, and the longer you go without getting these parts inspected, the more likely you are to find yourself in need of even more extensive repairs.
Rather than put your vehicle—and your wallet—at risk, let the expert team at Cottman of Garner and Raleigh inspect your car's belts and hoses. If we discover that repairs or replacements are necessary, we'll fix the problem and have you back on the road in no time.
To schedule an inspection with one of our auto specialists, call or visit us today.


text:
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Audio recordings indicate a state trooper pursued a speeding SUV carrying Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, but declined to pull the driver over after realizing who was inside the vehicle.
The recordings released Tuesday to The Associated Press capture dispatchers laughing about the April incident near Fort Dodge.
Special Agent Larry Hedlund had called a dispatcher to report a black Chevrolet Tahoe that was driving "a hard 90" mph on westbound Highway 20.
Tom Duff, an attorney for Hedlund, says his client later complained internally that the governor's driver — a trooper — put public safety at risk and should not have been given a pass. Hedlund was placed on leave days later.
A Branstad spokesman didn't immediately return a message seeking comment. His administration has made highway safety a priority.


text:
Yesterday, I presented the first half of my recent conversation with acclaimed horror fiction editor Stephen Jones, in which Jones spoke about the recent glut of short story anthologies. After the jump, read the second half of our chat, in which Jones discusses Twilight, the paranormal romance subgenre, the impact they're having on horror publishing, and how he hopes, with his new anthology A Book of Horrors, to remind fiction readers that the genre is at its best when it's just plain old scary.
Your introduction to A Book of Horrors – the new anthology from Jo Fletcher Books that you edited – is titled "Whatever Happened to Horror?" In it, you touch on how subgenres like paranormal romance are now replacing proper horror on bookstore shelves. Is it a double-edged sword, the mainstream interest in things like Twilight and True Blood? Because on the one hand, they're not true horror, often merely a watered-down version. But on the other hand, horror may be getting a new audience if the fans cross over.
But are we getting a new audience? I don't know. There's certainly an audience for that kind of fiction, but does that audience cross over into what you and I call horror fiction? I'm not sure it does. We know people who read Star Trek don't necessarily read science fiction. People who are Doctor Who fans don't read anything but Doctor Who or whatever. Which is not necessarily true of Conan fans or H.P. Lovecraft fans – they tend to read a little bit more widely. I think the trouble we've got now is we have these subgenres, which publishers see as cash cows.
I'll tell you a good example – when young adult fiction was really hot a few years ago. We said, "That's great. When kids grow up, they'll be used to horror, so they'll move on to Stephen King or Clive Barker or whatever." But they never did. When they grew out of the YA books, they just went away and became bank managers or something. They never continued reading in the genre. I think it's the same with the steampunk people, the paranormal romance people. I'm not saying totally, but a huge percentage of those people do not read anything but those kinds of books. But the fact that those books are now basically swamping the market – and this was particularly true when I wrote it in the introduction – there is no space on the shelves for anything else. There is no space to find the books that try to do something a little bit different. They just want the same thing, book after book after book. It's basically the same book with a different cover and a slightly different plot. And they're formulaic because people want them to be, like a Star Trek novelization. They want them to be formulaic, because that's the attraction – they're safe. And horror shouldn't be safe. Horror should not be safe at all! Horror should be out there on the edge.
One of the things I've tried to do with A Book of Horrors is to show in a series of novellas and short stories how different horror stories can be from one to the other while still being a horror story and still doing what horror stories set out to do, which is to scare you, to chill you, to disturb you. So it's basically saying, "Just draw a line in the sand here. We don't handsome vampires, we don't want tough werewolf soldiers, we don't want romantic zombies, Jane Austen having tea with creatures of the night. Let's go back and see what horror was about. Let's try and go back to basics on this. But also at the same time, let's play with new tropes. Let's play with new ideas. Let's play with new styles. And let's try and say, 'This is what horror is about' or 'This is at least some of what horror is about.'" I wouldn't claim to have it nailed down, but by going to some of the bigger names in the field, I've managed to get some, I think, pretty good stories, which try to do something different. They're trying to do something different with the genre and for the most part I think they succeed very well.
I may be playing to the same audience. Basically my audience might say, "Oh yeah, it's great" and then in everybody else it produces ad nauseum, which is what can happen. But I'm hoping that people who enjoy horror will pick up the book and go, "Oh, yeah, I didn't realize you could do this as well. Oh is that horror? I didn't realize that was technically a horror story. I thought was something else." So at the end of the day it's an experiment, but hopefully at the same time it's a sort of validation of what we do. And who knows? So far the reviews have been very kind. It seems to have touched a nerve in a lot of people. P.S. and Cemetery Dance are gonna combine to do the limited edition, signed by everybody. We're selling foreign rights at the moment… I hope it's done the job. As I say in the introduction, basically it's called A Book of Horrors because that's what it says on the cover. That's what it is. And hopefully people enjoy it.
Going back to the paranormal romance question for a minute… However questionable the literary roots of things like Twilight are, does the fact that they even have literary roots – which other fan phenomena like Star Trek and Doctor Who do not – offer some kind of hope?
Interesting question. There's not an easy answer to it, because… You look at the Twilight material, which is based on books, and it's asinine and terrible. You can look at True Blood, which is based on books, and it's kind of interesting and funky. Or you can look at The Walking Dead, which is based on a comic book series – and frankly I think it's The Talking Dead; there's not a lot of zombies in the TV show; it's more about the human characters and less about the zombies… So I think it all depends on how good the basis material was. A very good example at the moment for me is a show I enjoy, Haven. It's based on a Stephen King story.
"The Colorado Kid" Of course Haven's nothing like it.
Yeah, exactly, it has nothing to do with the story. But somehow they've made a good TV show out of it. So again I think it always comes down to the quality of the source material. Anybody who's slept through the three Twilight films knows that probably the books are just as terrible. But anybody who's watched all the Harry Potter films know that you can really enjoy the books as well. But we've always said in these kinds of interviews that film, TV, books, comics, they're very different mediums. And you can take the same concept and treat it different ways in different mediums. Sometimes it works, sometimes it pulls together, and sometimes it doesn't. So I don't think that just because it's based on fiction it means it will work. And I don't see it as a positive thing, because bad faction is always gonna be bad fiction… When I say "bad," it's very unfair, because obviously there's a lot of people out there who love this stuff.
Perhaps one could call it timid fiction.
It's safe fiction.
Comfort food.
Comfort horror. And I just don't understand that. Horror should be disturbing; it should be scary; it should be creepy. It shouldn't be reassuring and romantic…
It should be the Sex Pistols and not the Bee Gees.
Yeah, that's actually a very good analogy. Absolutely. I feel we've lost sight. There was a time when the two happily co-existed, and that was fine. There's an audience for those kinds of books; there's an audience for the kinds of books I do. Absolutely no problem at all. But in the last few years, the balance has changed, the wheel has turned. Suddenly we've been overwhelmed with these books. What's worrying me is that people are gonna start thinking, "This is what horror is." And when you start getting those second string TV shows and the knock-off books of the books, it's gonna dilute it even more, and suddenly that becomes "Do you remember that great novel about the vampire detective battling the werewolf soldier?" And you're like, "Wha…?" You've already seen it in paranormal romance – people writing almost pastiches of pastiches. So where's that gonna go? It's just absorbed and the machinery turns. I just think all of us who work in the horror field and care about the horror field need to start drawing a line in the sand and saying, "We're gonna take it back. We're gonna make it ours. We're gonna show people." Like Clive Barker did in The Books of Blood when it was published back in the 1980s. We can do it and we can do it right if we want to. We don't have to put up with this crap any longer. The trouble is of course that if the audience is there the publishers will publish it because that's their job. They don't care whether it's good or bad, they just want to sell it. That's what we're always fighting. So it's really down to the readers to basically say, "No, we're gonna want to read this kind of horror or this kind of fiction again." If that works they'll buy the books and the publishers will publish it. If you publish it, they will come. [Laughs.]


text:
Darrell W. Lewis, age 78, of Lake Crystal, died on Tuesday, January 8, 2013, at Oak Terrace Assisted Living in North Mankato.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, January 11, 2013, at 11:00 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Lake Crystal with Rev. Randal Lubbers officiating. Visitation will be on Thursday from 4-7 p.m. at Mankato Mortuary and will also continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at the Cambria Cemetery. Memorials are preferred to Alzheimer's Association or the Mayo Clinic Health System Hospice.
Darrell was born on January 26, 1934, in Lake Crystal to Art and Dolly (Stenerson) Lewis. He graduated from Lake Crystal High School. On March 14, 1953, Darrell was united in marriage to LaVola Walters in Judson. He worked for Crystal Co-op and the Blue Earth County Highway Department for 22 years. Darrell was an all around handyman, he could fix anything. He was a charter member of Ducks Unlimited and was a Melvin Jones recipient for the Lions Club. Darrell was also a deacon for the First Presbyterian Church in Lake Crystal.
Darrell is survived by his wife, LaVola; two daughters, Darla (John) Marsden and Cindy (Keevin) Milbrett; son, Doug (Donna) Lewis; 7 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; brother, Jim Lewis; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Gordy, Dean, Dale, and Danny; sister, Marlene; and parents-in-law, Earl and Laura Walters.


text:
There are several capital projects underway at any given time. Some of our larger projects can be reviewed by clicking on the project name below;
Please visit the new building's progess site for more information.
Spring 2013
600 beds are scheduled for August of 2013, the remaining rooms will be completed by January 2014
Please visit the Residence's progress website for more information.
Grand opening scheduled for September 2013
Please visit the new building's progress site for more information
Renovations to current Ivey building would follow construction of new Ivey School building. Would provide campus core academic space.
The Advanced Manufacturing Park is a joint venture between the Western Univeristy, Fanshawe College, and the City of London. It will house WINDEEE, the Advanced Manufacturing Centre and the Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research
December 2013
To be decided
See in Completed Projects or visit the official website.


text:
Deepen the Mind and Widen the Heart
In both Philosophy and Religious Studies, students learn to grapple with the great questions of human existence, explore the world's various systems of belief, and examine their own values. As a result, students develop valuable skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing, and they learn how to use these skills to solve real-world problems.
CSUB offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Philosophy and a B.A. in Religious Studies.
The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies also sponsors a number of public lectures, conferences, workshops, and publications to encourage the ongoing discussion of religious, philosophical, and ethical issues.
Please click on the links at left for more information about Philosophy and Religious Studies at CSUB.
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
California State University, Bakersfield
Faculty Towers 104E
Mail Stop 10 FT
9001 Stockdale Highway
Bakersfield, CA 93311-1022
Kathy Lund, Department Administrator
Phone: (661) 654-2291
Fax: (661) 654-6904
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
PLEASE NOTE: CSUB is closed Fridays (except August 1st) throughout the summer; and the PHIL/RS Dept. office will be closed during July.


text:
Your Family Relationships
- Bonding (10)
- Domestic Violence Resources (3)
- Having Fun (17)
- Parent-Child Communication (14)
- Successful Coparenting (18)
- Visits With Your Kids (11)
Four Rules for Living With Your Parents
Are you thinking about moving back in with your parents, either so they can help with your kids, or for financial reasons? Apply these four critical rules to make sure the living arrangement works for all of you.
Positive Effects of Single Parenting
While being raised in a single parent family certainly has challenges, your family's structure can also have positive effects on your children. Explore some of the ways being raised in a single parent family can benefit your children.
Write a Family Mission Statement
Solidify the goals and dreams you have for your family by putting them down on paper as a family mission statement. This affirming exercise includes seven key questions to answer, along with practical tips for involving the entire family.
Write a Letter to Your Child
Enhance communication with each of your children by writing annual letters to each child as part of your regular holiday or birthday traditions. Get started with these drafting tips and techniques.
Teach Gratitude and Appreciation
As the saying goes, "Gratitude makes a great attitude!" Teach your kids to be thankful for what they have by showing them how much you appreciate your life. Learn to identify and express your appreciation with these five gratitude habits.
How to Talk to Your Kids About Divorce
Before you tell your children that youre getting a divorce, make sure that you and your ex talk about, and agree on, what to say. Use these guidelines to collaborate on your message and prepare for the questions your kids will most likely ask.
The Effects of Divorce on Children
Wayne Parker, About.com's Guide to Fatherhood, provides an insightful article about the impact of divorce on children. Parker discusses the fears children may experience, as well as danger signs to look out for. He also provides a list of practical strategies you can apply to mediate the impact of divorce on your kids and make this time of transition as smooth as possible.
Grandparents - Why We're Grateful for Our Kids Grandparents
Grandparents have so much to offer our children, from unconditional love, to the wisdom of their experiences. Take a moment to say "Thank you" to your parents, for all that they do for you and your kids.
4 Ways to Encourage Your Kids' Relationship With Your Ex
While you can't fix everything, there are several key things you can do to foster healthy relationships between your kids and your ex. Use these tips to get started...


text:
Skip to content. |
Skip to navigation
Did you not find what you were looking for? Try the
Advanced Search
to refine your search.
Subscribe to an always-updated RSS feed.
California Gov. Schwarzenegger won't fight for
roadless rule; California Attorney General Bill Lockyer blasts
Forest Service revision of Sierra Nevada plan; Arizona Water
Settlements Act gives water and money to tribes; Lincoln County
(Nevada) Conserva
In Arizona, a historic water deal could give the tiny,
impoverished Gila River Indian Community a path back to its farming
roots – and turn it into one of the West's next big
power brokers
The Gila River Indian Community in Arizona is on the verge
of a huge and historic water rights victory, but even the most
successful Indian crusades for water are always
The state of Arizona and the federal government have long
bickered over who should pay for the Central Arizona Project, but a
recent agreement reduces the state's share, and puts money
toward funding Indian water projects
The West in your Inbox


text:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A strange scene caused some backup on a local interstate on Thursday night.
Police stopped a man riding a lawnmower on I-65 south, near the split with I-40.
There was no word on whether the driver was cited or charged, or why he was riding the lawnmower on the interstate.


text:
The Real Poop
Typical Day
Physical Danger
Odds of Getting In
Odds of Hanging On
Career as Depicted in Popular or Unpopular Culture
Tools of the Trade
Bell Curve
Share this Shmoopy Link
Know someone perfect for this career?
You will never take the phrase "It's a matter of life and death!" lightly again. You will have many extreme highs and lows nearly every day on the job, and you are going to have to find a way to deal with death and animals that are in intense pain, and learn to distance yourself to a certain extent without seeming uncaring. It won't do the owners any good if you are also a crumpled, sobbing mess.


text:
- Northern New York Newspapers
- Watertown Daily Times
- The Journal
- Daily Courier-Observer
- NNY Ads
- NNY Business
- NNY Living
- Malone Telegram
WADDINGTON Ninety-two children participated in the Waddington Fish and Game Clubs 11th annual childrens fishing derby on Sunday. Seventy of those children weighed in fish, with a total of 116 fish caught.
Overall best fish went to Hailie Brock. In the boys category, Aden Thompson won first prize, Thomas Eggleston won second prize and Adam Brown won third prize. In the girls category, Autumn Eggleston won first prize, Trista Moore won second prize and Grace Coughlin won third prize.
Cadence Brothers and Evan Ryan tied for smallest fish.
Sponsors included the Tim Arquiett Memorial Fund, Potsdam Elks Club, Stewarts, Seaway Timber, Bills Auto, Mort Backus and Sons, Drew McFadden, Perrys Big M, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Kunoco, Wilsons Store, Uppstroms Bait and Tackle, Waddington Rescue Squad Auxiliary, Sharlows Service Station, Arts Used Cars, Waddington Hardware, Lisbon General Store, Price Chopper and the town of Waddington.
Volunteers Bonnie Taylor, Ed and Darlene Parmeter, Bob Smith, Bruce Deshane, Bob Murray, and Art Planty.
Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.
You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:


text:
By Kathleen Hunter and Julie Bykowicz
Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON — Democrats are attacking Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock for saying that pregnancy caused by rape is something "God intended" and not a situation that justifies an abortion.
The comment Tuesday night is roiling a tight race less than two weeks before the election, and threatens to spill over into the presidential contest. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has endorsed Mourdock and appeared in campaign ads for him. Romney quickly distanced himself from the comments.
"Governor Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock's comments, and they do not reflect his views," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in an e-mail. Asked whether Romney will withdraw his endorsement of Mourdock or insist that an ad that features a joint appearance of the two candidates be taken off the air, Saul said Romney's campaign "still supports him."
Mourdock apologized Wednesday for his "less than fully articulate use of words," while saying he stands by his position. At a press conference Wednesday at the Indiana Republican Party headquarters in Indianapolis, he said repeatedly that he views life as "precious" and that he abhors violence including rape. He said Democrats have begun to "twist" his words.
"For those who want to kind of twist the comments — I believe that's what's wrong with Washington these days," Mourdock said. "It's win at any cost. Let's make up issues when we can't find any real ones."
He said his campaign is "moving on" and that he believes Indiana voters are, too.
An anti-tax tea party favorite, Mourdock defeated six-term Republican incumbent Richard Lugar by 20 percentage points in a May primary with an anti-tax, anti-Washington message.
Mourdock's remark Tuesday night came in response to a voter- submitted question toward the end of a debate with his opponents, Rep. Joe Donnelly, D, and Libertarian candidate Andrew Horning.
"I've struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God," said Mourdock, the state's treasurer. "And, I think, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."
Mourdock choked up as he spoke about God at the debate, and again at his press conference this morning as he said "life is incredibly precious." He said he views saving a woman's life as the only acceptable reason for abortion.
Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, said rape victims should have access to abortions. Mourdock said Wednesday morning that he has a policy difference with some fellow Republicans, including Romney, on abortion.
Amid the fallout from the debate, Mourdock called New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte to cancel her planned trip to Indiana to campaign with him.
"I didn't want her to be dragged into a situation today," he told reporters.
Ayotte spokesman Jeff Grappone said in an e-mail Wednesday that the senator "disagrees with Treasurer Mourdock's comments, which do not represent her views."
Democrats pounced on Mourdock's comment after the debate ended, highlighting his ties to Romney.
Jen Psaki, a campaign spokeswoman for President Obama, told reporters traveling to a campaign rally in Iowa on Wednesday day that the president thought Mourdock's comments were "outrageous and demeaning to women."
"This is a reminder that a Republican Congress working with a Republican President Mitt Romney would feel that women should not be able to make choices about their own health care," Psaki said.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Obama campaign officials and the Democratic opposition research group American Bridge were among those who reminded voters on Twitter of Romney's backing of Mourdock. The DCCC asked its 85,580 Twitter followers to "sign and retweet" a petition telling Romney to "denounce Richard Mourdock for his disgusting anti- woman views."
American Bridge cut a video combining Romney's endorsement of Mourdock and the Senate candidate's statements of his own views, beginning with the pregnancy from rape is "something God intended" remark. The Democratic National Committee made a similar video.
Following the debate, Mourdock clarified that his point was "God creates life."
"God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that he does," Mourdock said in a statement, adding, "for anyone to twist my words otherwise is absurd and sick."
He echoed those statements at his press conference Wednesday.
Donnelly issued a statement calling his opponent's comments "shocking" and saying that "it is stunning that he would be so disrespectful to survivors of rape."
Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, criticized Romney's response as "tepid," while Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, called Mourdock's remarks "callous, insulting and completely out of touch." Both groups called on Romney to rescind his endorsement of Mourdock.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Patty Murray of Washington described Mourdock's comments as "heinous" and called on Romney to demand that the ad in which Romney backs Mourdock be taken down.
"While Mitt Romney is rightly distancing himself from Richard Mourdock today, his ad endorsing Mourdock's extreme candidacy continues to air in Indiana," Murray said in a statement. "If Mitt Romney is serious about repudiating these heinous views on rape, he will take down this ad immediately."
Romney voiced his support for Mourdock in an ad that began airing Oct. 22 in Evansville, according to Kantar Media's CMAG, which tracks advertising.
Obama's re-election campaign has aired ads saying Romney would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Romney's campaign, which wants to focus on the economy, is running an ad in some Virginia markets featuring a woman who says Romney "doesn't oppose contraception at all" and "thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life."
Mourdock made his remark two months after Missouri Senate Republican candidate Todd Akin said that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy. Akin, a U.S. House member seeking to unseat Sen. Claire McCaskill, D, later apologized while rejecting calls from fellow Republicans to withdraw from the Missouri race.
The Indiana contest is among the most closely watched in the Senate, along with races in Massachusetts, Missouri and Virginia. Republicans must hold all five of their competitive seats in the Nov. 6 election and pick up four seats to win a majority in the Senate, which Democrats now control 53-47.
Mourdock's general election contest with Donnelly is rated as a toss-up by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
The most recent Howey-DePauw poll, taken in Indiana Sept. 19-23, showed the race in a dead heat, with Donnelly leading Mourdock 40 percent to 38 percent among 800 likely voters, within the poll's margin of error.


text:
July 29, 2014
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012
AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. -- An Aiken man is facing two charges of criminal sexual conduct after allegedly assaulting two disabled women.
Billy Joe Sanders is being held at the Aiken County Detention Center.
Officials say both alleged assaults happened this summer.
Both Sanders and the victims were being served at the same community agency for individuals with disabilities. Although, the incident did not take place there.
Have information or an opinion about this story? Click here to contact the newsroom.
Copyright WRDW-TV News 12. All rights reserved. This material may not be republished without express written permission.


text:
What do Matt Damon, psychics and a Chinese dwarf hamster have in common? They're all characters in Suburban Holidays, a festival of new plays at Reading's own Quannapowitt Playhouse (QP), one of the most original holiday entertainment options this side of Boston.
The festival features seven original holiday-themed plays by local playwrights, all set in a town very much like Reading. This eclectic mix of theater, which ranges from touching to hilarious, is grouped into two separate evenings (or afternoons) of theater. Audience members can attend one "track" (single date) for $18, or both tracks (two dates, all seven plays) for $30.
Track A will be performed on Thursday, December 6, Saturday, December 8 and Friday, December 14 at 8 p.m., and on Sunday, December 16 at 2 p.m. It includes:
- Thanksgiving When You're Dating Matt Damon by Lisa Burdick, about what happens to a holiday gathering when a family member shows up in the social pages of the Boston Globe
- White Kwanzaa by Daniel Glenn, about four white women who read a book like The Help and decide to celebrate Kwanzaa
- The Bench by Julie Perkins, about a Christmas Eve encounter between two strangers, and
- Better Watch Out by Patrick Cleary, about you-know-who, who's keeping a list.
"Track B" will be performed on Friday, December 7, Thursday, December 13 and Saturday, December 15 at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, December 9. It includes:
- 12 Days by John Kuntz, where holiday gift-giving runs up against the limited square footage of a true love's one-bedroom apartment
- Suburban Holidays by Patrick Cleary, where a Christmas Eve phone call takes on new meaning in a family where "all the women are psychics," and
- Sunflower's Last Thanksgiving by Sarah Morrison, where a young girl learns important life lessons from her loved ones, including her hamster.
The cast of suburban holidays includes Lisa Atkinson, Steven Atwater, Mei Lu Barnum, Avery Bargar, Barbara Bourgeois, Mike Cerrone, Craig Ciampa, Jaime Freedman, Nancy Curran Willis, Anne Damon, Barbara Dempsey-West, Kay Gross, Kerry Ann Kilkelly, Sharon Mason, John Pease, Sigrid Perkins, Jen Shea, Danielle Vella, Tom Vittorioso, Kathy Wackowski, Ron Wackowski and David Wood.
For more information and tickets, go to www.qptheater.com, or call 781-942-2212.


text:
Results 1 to 5 of 5
Thread: antifreeze leak
- Join Date
- Sep 2009
- Posts
- 4
antifreeze leak
I have an antifreeze leak in my 1999 chevy silverado. I have looked underneath for a trail and under the hood for one. I checked the oil to see if there was any kind of milky look to it or if any water came out with it and no luck. it has been about a year since it started and just recently has it started to get worse but i still cant find any clues to where it is leaking. Someone suggested a sealant you put in your system and others say that it will just clog pumps and cause more problems. any ideas?
could be your water pump going out...before they go out they start leaking and it would just burn off on the engine and you wouldn't see a leak when you let the truck sit2004 chevy silverado "northwest edition" lifted on 35's
1990 cherokee lifted on 32's
I agree with the water pump. If you havent had it replaced within like 60,000 miles i beleive it is, then you'll need to get it replaced. My grandpa (who didn't take care of his van) had a wobbly, old water pump that stopped working one day and it basicly melted the engine. His antifreeze leaked too.2006 Silverado Z71 - 97,000 - totaled, RIP
2006 Silverado Z71 - 122,000 (K&N 77 Series CAI, PowerAid TBS, Magnaflow dual rear exit, 33x12.50 Mickey Thompson MTZ, Tuff Country Torsion Keys, Tuff Country Add-A-Leafs)
1966 C10 swb stepside (Gen I 350, Turbo 400 trans, dual cyl power brakes, front discs)
I'll keep my money, guns, and freedom. You keep the Change.
How to pinpoint a coolant leak
You need to isolate the location of the leak. Front, back or top of the engine. For the front of the engine, the water pump is the likely source. Intake or heater hose is common at the rear of the engine.
Buy or borrow a cooling system pressure tester. With this you can pressurize the system and pinpoint the leak. About $70 from several online sources.
There is no way to happiness....happiness is the way.:yipi:
High Desert SoCal
93 K1500 burb (personal) 350 AT 3" Lift 250K+
02 Honda Civic LX
Looking for a 1990's Miata for an engine swap
depends does it have the 5.7 or the 5.3
with the 5.7 i would say its 50/50 intake or water pump
5.3 i would bet on water pump
2003 Z71 Silverado LS
Access roll up cover
Bed Rails
Billet Grill insert
Bed Rug
CB with PA system
Waiting to be installed
Two 8in RF HX2 punch( would have 12s but they got stolen)
Similar Threads
antifreeze leak?By dshewy14 in forum General Chevy & GM Tech QuestionsReplies: 7Last: 03-15-2010, 11:28 AM
350 antifreeze leakageBy Aubio in forum General Chevy & GM Tech QuestionsReplies: 2Last: 02-08-2010, 08:25 PM
Leaking AntifreezeBy 913projectchevy in forum General Chevy & GM Tech QuestionsReplies: 7Last: 11-23-2009, 10:44 AM
Spot of antifreezeBy danman5000 in forum GM PowertrainReplies: 2Last: 10-08-2009, 06:13 AM
98 K-1500 losing antifreezeBy CharlieP in forum Chevy C/K Truck ForumReplies: 5Last: 05-24-2009, 10:00 PM
Tags for this Thread


text:
News and Talk
FM Schedule | Alternate Stream Formats
Classical Music
Classical Schedule | Alternate Stream Formats
Scott Joseph | I-Drive Revisited
March 29, 2013 | WMFE - Orlando restaurant critic Scott Joseph is out and about in Central Florida, reviewing the area's newest eateries. For the holiday weekend, Scott revisits some recent favorites in the International Drive area, and reminds 90.7's Nicole Creston that traffic there isn't always as bad as you may think...especially when you're visiting a great pizza place.
You can find additional information about Central Florida's best restaurants and more at Scott Joseph's Orlando Restaurant Guide.


text:
Police: Chester woman stole jewels and gold from Winhall homeStaff Report | November 09,2012WINHALL A Chester woman was cited by police in the theft of $8,000 to $10,000 in gold and jewels from a house in which she worked, according to Sgt. Thomas Crowe of the Winhall Police Department.
January M. Nelson, 30, of Chester, was cited to be arraigned in Bennington criminal court on a felony count of grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
Crowe said the owner of a Winhall Hollow Road home in Winhall reported the items missing, including a large amount of gold jewelry and precious stones, on Sunday.
Police believe the items were taken Oct. 22 but no one noticed their absence until recently.
The homeowner provided police with photos of the missing items.
On Monday, Crowe interviewed Nelson, who had a home-cleaning business that included the Winhall home. Based on that interview, Winhall police officers recovered the stolen jewelry from locations in Winhall, Chester and Springfield.
Store owners identified Nelson as the person who sold them the jewelry, Crowe said.
Crowe was assisted in recovering about $4,000 to $5,000 in stolen jewelry from a location on Mattson Road in Chester by Chief Richard Cloud of the Chester Police Department.
Crowe said Nelson does not have a criminal history in Vermont.
The Winhall Police Department reminds homeowners to try to get photographs of any valuable property and jewelry so that if the items are stolen or damaged, they can later be identified and to check thoroughly the backgrounds of people working in their homes before leaving them alone or granting them access.MORE IN This Just InWHITE RIVER JUNCTION A Royalton man denied charges that he pointed a gun at a woman and her... Full StoryStaff Report Full StoryStaff Report Full Story
- Most Popular
- Most Emailed
- TODAY'S WEATHER MINUTE: Rutland Herald content editor Rich Alcott shares local weather information and easily digestible news tidbits: Teddy Roosevelt makes Americans believe the poor, peace-loving, misunderstood piranha is a vicious, dangerous animal.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa disappears on this day in 1975, on this day in 2003, the last Volkswagen Type I, the Beetle, rolls off the assembly line in Mexico, Ambrose Bierce on the classifications of homicide.
- TODAY'S WEATHER MINUTE: Seals have figured out fish they like to eat gather in schools around turbines in offshore wind farms. But the environment is not without hazards, maintenance vessels and noise pollution.
- TOMORROW'S HEADLINES TODAY: Vermont Yankee announces final day of nuclear power generation in Vermont, storm brings floods back to Chester, Castleton town manager to resign office, chronic offender sentenced to 25 years for sexual assault.
- TODAY'S WEATHER MINUTE: Rutland Herald content editor Rich Alcott shares local weather information and easily digestible news tidbits: Archaeologists find a leather shoe in a cave in Armenia that predates the Pyramids by more than a thousand years.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 1932, President Hoover orders the Army to evict bonus marchers from Anacostia Flats; author Malcolm Lowry born this day, as is Jackie Kennedy and Mike Bloomfield; Stephen Crane on consuming one's own heart.


text:
Grid List
Drivers CapITEM: 9262 Pieced in black and gray mix, with classic herringbone, pin stripe, tweed, & houndstooth patterns. Sewn down visor, inner elastic sweatband for an easy and comfortable fit. Fully lined. 100% polyester.Imported. By Giovannio.Learn More$50.00
FEDORAITEM: 9258 Our updated classic fedora by Giovannio. In a combination of blacks and browns, this hat is fully lined and stitched with a 1" leatherette band. 13∕4" brim. 100% polyester. Imported. COLORS: Brown Plaid AVAILABLE SIZES:* REGULAR (S/M, L/XL)Learn More
Regular Price: $69.99
Special Price $24.88
Mens FedoraITEM: 9259 New fedora with a narrower brim. We tip our hat to the newer looking fedora. This latest shape features a smaller 1 1⁄2" brim, a braided leather band with buckle, and removable feather. Take it anywhere: it's packable, crushable, water repellent. Imported. Dry clean. COLORS: Brown. AVAILABLE SIZES: Men's Hat (XL)Learn More
Regular Price: $79.99
Special Price $18.88
Mens Harris Tweed and Lambskin Leather FedoraITEM: 9226 Authentic Harris Tweed has met its match: luxurious lambskin leather. Now together in a sophisticated fedora of 100% top-of-the-line wool combined with Black trim with loden plaid crown. Satin lining. Made in the USA. COLORS:Black AVAILABLE SIZES: Men's (S-M)Learn More
Regular Price: $119.99
Special Price $48.88
Mens Herringbone DerbyITEM: 9214 The classic derby design dates back to mid-19th century. Still a great look, this derby is in traditional herringbone tweed wool and fully lined. Loved by both men and women. Made in the USA by Headwear Creations®. Dry clean. COLORS: Brown. AVAILABLE SIZES: Mens Derby (S)Learn More
Regular Price: $54.99
Special Price $18.88
Mens Wool Fishermans CapITEM: 9213 This authentic replica in melton wool features double braiding and embroidery on the visor. Satin lined. Made in the USA. Dry clean.Learn More$75.00


text:
Chancellor Collins' Convocation speech: The promise of hope WATCH THE SPEECH
"Very good, right there! Right there, very good!" The patient, who I shall refer to as Rob, developed verbal paucity following his stroke. Wheel chair bound, with a dense left-sided paralysis, at most times, Rob had a pleasant personality and a gregarious laugh. But, when times were difficult, or if he became frustrated, he would raise his voice. For instance, if he was trying to make his way into the dining room and another patient blocked his way, he would say, "Very good, right there!" But if that patient didn't immediately move out of the way, the tone would become more strident and the decibel of his statement could reach a crescendo pitch: "Very good, right there!!" Rob loved the Red Sox, basked in the sun each and every day it shone and was curious about the comings and goings on his nursing home floor. One day, in a dining room conversation following a television piece on our medical school, he overheard someone say that I was the Chancellor at the UMass Medical School. In a spontaneous and firm declaration he proclaimed, "Very good, right there!" Together we enjoyed a hearty laugh! His verbal communication skills may have been compromised, but we shared that wonderful and overwhelming sentiment. Good morning and welcome to this year's Convocation ceremony. What a wonderful privilege it is me for me to have the opportunity to wish you well as we begin, with great hope, this new academic year. Hope characterizes so much of the mission of our medical school. The promise that education provides to a civilized society is that the educated mind gives hope that we can improve the human condition. The promise of our research efforts and innovative thinking gives hope to the many people worldwide who have, and who will benefit from, the discoveries of our scientists. The promise that clinical care pledges through the determined efforts of our care givers assures that we shall promote the human dignity of each and every patient we encounter, and by so doing, offer them hope. Each of us should begin this academic year filled with hope. As we look around us, we are surrounded by highly accomplished students. Our faculty, the lifeblood of each academic institution, is particularly distinguished on this campus. Our staff is replete with individuals and teams who care greatly about those that they serve. A collaborative and collegial spirit, especially with our academic health science center partner, UMass Memorial Health Care, is alive on this campus. These strengths compel our actions each and every day. While dark clouds have characterized the political discourse enveloping our nation, and roiled the financial markets into a tumultuous boil, we remain confident in, hopeful about and committed to our mission. We have a vision that compels us to serve, to inspire and to empower. We continue to attract the best and brightest minds to our campus and to our communities. While we live in the present, our actions shall have their greatest impact in determining the future. Our ambitious hopes are founded in the reality that we believe in what we are and what we can be. Most importantly, we believe in each other! In the history of educational institutions, there are periods marked by growth and success. At the University of Massachusetts and the UMass Medical School, this is such a moment. We begin this academic year with campuses that are thriving. Our new president has taken the helm with enthusiasm, experience and confidence. We believe that collaboration with the other UMass campuses is essential to our success and we focus on assuring that we fulfill our educational, research and service missions to the fullest extent possible. The investment of our state and federal governments in this university is producing remarkable returns. This is an incredible moment! Faculty Recognition I would like to begin our time together today, as we have in recent years, by celebrating the many accomplishments of our faculty. The faculty on our campus is a great gift to this university. The heart and mind of a great university lie within its faculty. In their commitment to our students, we see the heart at work. In their scholarly accomplishments, we recognize the brightness of their minds. In individual faculty, we see determination. In the assemblage, we see great hope. Ours is a very special academic community. Together, over this past year, we have been able to recruit 192 outstanding individuals to join our ranks and to partner with our outstanding academic health science center and other clinical partners. The academic and clinical accomplishments our new faculty bring to our campus will enrich our university. It is a delight to welcome all who are new to our faculty. Faculty Tenured in Academic Year 2010-2011 It is especially gratifying to recognize those on our faculty who have been our colleagues and who, this year, have received confirmation from our university that we wish them to spend their academic careers with us. When our university awards tenure to a faculty member, it chooses to establish a life-long academic relationship with that committed scholar. The rigorous tenure decisions, reached after much scrutiny and a thorough process, acknowledge outstanding accomplishment in teaching, scholarship and service to our campus and the wider academic community. It is a privilege to recognize those members of our faculty who were awarded tenure this past year: • Andreas Bergmann, PhDPhD • Job Dekker, PhD • Katherine A. Fitzgerald, PhD • Lawrence Hayward, MD, PhD • William R. Kobertz, PhD • Gregory J. Pazour, PhD • Oliver J. Rando, MD, PhD • Hong-Sheng Li, PhD • Susan Swain, PhD • Fumihiko Urano, MD
Faculty Promoted to Full Professor in Academic Year 2010-2011
We are most fortunate as an academic community to benefit from the commitment and wisdom of our full professors. These scholars serve as the leaders and mentors of our younger colleagues. At this time, I would like to recognize those members of the faculty who have been recently promoted to full professor: • Eric J. Alper, MD • Kathleen Braden, MD • Frank J. Domino, MD • Stephen N. Jones, PhD • Patricia D. Franklin, MD, MBA, MPH • Michelle A. Kelliher, PhD • Janice F. Lalikos, MD • Linda D. Sagor, MD, MPH • Ann L. Sattler, MD • George W. Reed, PhD Chancellor's Medals During last year's Convocation Ceremony, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to present the first Chancellor's medals for Distinguished Teaching, Research and Service. It was a great thrill to see the campus community come together around the idea of recognizing outstanding faculty contributions in these three mission areas. In Drs. Gagliardi, Czech and Sullivan we came to appreciate the inspiring examples of commitment these faculty members have so ably demonstrated. In the aftermath of those presentations and during many subsequent conversations with colleagues from across the campus, there came the suggestion that we should consider establishing a medal for distinguished clinical care. Given the outstanding contributions of faculty caregivers across our clinical affiliates, it seemed most appropriate to consider this suggestion. The hands, hearts and minds of faculty caregivers are most important to the lives of their patients. In each clinical encounter with a patient, there is the opportunity for clinical expertise with a healing touch, a caring word or perhaps a kind thought. These most meaningful moments can instill in patients the conviction that they are not alone in their illness and the hope that their future can be bright. Even when the news may be difficult, faculty caregivers can offer perspective, encouragement and kindness that can make the circumstances more tolerable. To recognize distinguished clinical care efforts by our faculty colleagues seems to me to be most appropriate. Thus, I will ask the provost to convene members of our campus community to consider the establishment of a Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Clinical Care. It is my hope that this advisory group could discuss and recommend the faculty member attributes worthy of such recognition. Should there be consensus that the establishment of this distinction is considered to be appropriate, I will ask the Provost to seek nominations for this Distinguished Medal to be presented for the first time during next year's Convocation Ceremony. This year, there was increased interest and attention given to the consideration of faculty members for "distinguished" medals. I was delighted to see the increase in the number of nominations that were presented to the committees established to consider the dossiers of those nominated. I want to thank Provost Flotte for his stewardship of this process. Further, I want to recognize the work of the three committees that were established for consideration of the nominees in teaching, research and service. I had the opportunity to meet with the chairs of each of the committees so that they could bring the voices of their committee to my attention. For their service, I want to thank Dr. Susan Gagliardi, chair of the committee for Distinguished Teaching; Dr. David Harlan, chair of the committee for Distinguished Research; and Dr. Jerry Durbin, chair of the committee for Distinguished Service. Each of the nominees presented to these committees was worthy of consideration for a medal and should take great pride in being considered for such recognition. It is wonderful that the great commitment of faculty members is so widely appreciated. While it is not possible to acknowledge each nominee, I want to thank each committee for considering the nominations they reviewed and for sending to me an outstanding list of commendable nominees. This was a most thorough and thoughtful process with participation from within our campus community and by many distinguished faculty members from around the world. Members of our faculty are held in high esteem by their colleagues, both near and far! Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Teaching Education is the hallmark of a university campus and teaching is its lifeblood. Thus, the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Teaching shall lead the procession of medal awardees. It is such a distinct privilege to recognize a humble, committed and passionate educator who provides inspiration by encouraging students to learn from their best teachers, their patients. Please join me in recognizing this year's recipient of the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Teaching, Dr. Jerry Durbin! Dr. Durbin, or I daresay, Jerry, for I know that is what you most prefer, your life as a pediatrician and an educator has been characterized in a warm and friendly demeanor that quietly instills a spark of confidence in the learners to whom you have been most committed. Your students have described you as "a world class person who is a world class scholar." Diligent and creative, the most trusted of peer educators, you find the time to care for those most in need of your clinical acumen, all the while teaching the next generation of students to follow your example; at first in your steps and then alongside you on their path. In fact, your proudest moments have come when those you have taught have become leaders in our profession. Your commitment to teaching has been recognized repeatedly on this campus. Seven Excellence in Teaching Awards, 13 Outstanding Medical Educator Awards and the Lamar Souter Award have been bestowed upon you by our community. Out of respect for the esteem in which you are held, three times you have been selected to hood our graduates at Commencement. But while these awards and the spotlight that has shown on you during these moments of recognition have been richly deserved, you have much preferred the quieter moments as mentor, preceptor, counselor and friend. In fact, your encounters with learners have guided scores of students in the most important formative experiences of their lives, and encouraged many to choose pediatrics, while instilling in all a lifelong commitment to learning. Jerry, in recognition of your outstanding commitment to the education of all those who have been your students, it is my privilege to invite you to present this year's campus-wide Last Lecture, a celebration of education that we have established to recognize the importance of teaching in all that we do. All of us on campus look forward to becoming your students! Please accept my congratulations as this year's recipient of the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Teaching! Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Research On our campus, research holds a special place in our mission. Given the collaborative spirit that exists throughout our research community, it is most difficult to single out one individual from among the many who have made such distinguished contributions to scientific inquiry. However, given the extraordinary contributions to the scientific body of knowledge that an individual can craft, and the acclaim that such efforts bring to our institution, it is a distinct privilege to recognize this year's recipient of the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Research, Dr. Michael Green! Dr. Green, you have made important discoveries and contributed mightily to the bodies of knowledge regarding the mechanism and regulation of RNA splicing, including the discovery of the lariat RNA intermediate of the splicing reaction; the mechanism of action of viral regulatory proteins; the universal mechanisms of transcription activation and signaling pathways leading to cancer development; and the genome-wide screen of loss of function phenotypes using human and mouse short hairpin RNA-expression libraries to identify pathways involved in oncogenesis, apoptosis and epigenetic silencing. An Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, you are a prolific scientist having published more than 250 papers in peer-reviewed journals, the majority of these in the top 20 high-impact journals. Continuously funded by multiple federal and private foundation sources throughout your career, you are a "highly cited" investigator and have authored fundamental insights into the fields of transcriptional regulation and splicing. Described as "energetic, creative, inventive and rigorous" in your scientific work, you have played a most important role on this campus and in the international scientific community. An enabling partner in the development of molecular medicine as a department, Michael, you have played an important leadership role in recruiting outstanding scientists and colleagues to our campus and have built and led an outstanding Program in Gene Function and Expression. You are a sought-after mentor, lecturer and collaborator—the keenest of attributes of an investigator on our campus. Michael, it is a great privilege to invite you to present the keynote lecture at this year's Research Retreat, a fitting recognition for the recipient of this honor. Please accept my congratulations as this year's recipient of the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Research! Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Service When entering the health science professions, one makes a commitment to a period of life-long service to others and to community. It is appropriate that we recognize a career-long commitment of distinguished service when we celebrate the legacy of our faculty and in this instance, one member of our faculty who has received the acclaim of others in the distinction that has characterized their service commitment. Please join me in recognizing this year's recipient of the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Service, Dr. Marianne Felice! Dr. Felice, you have made long-standing contributions to our academic and clinical campus communities, as well as to our wider community, throughout your service as a member of our faculty. The first "outside" chair recruited to our campus in the critical post-merger period that consumed much energy in our academic health science center history, you soon became the leader who could best bring our health system through this challenging period. Described simultaneously as a "galvanizing and healing force," Marianne, your admirable leadership provided stability during uncertain times. Returning to your leadership role as Chair of Pediatrics when these responsibilities were completed, you set about your commitment to being our foremost champion for children's health. Having recruited in excess of 100 pediatric faculty members to our campus during your tenure, you became known as a dedicated educator and mentor. Recognizing the importance of the academy's commitment to our community, you promoted community engagement initiatives that encouraged meaningful interactions between academic pediatricians and their community colleagues. As a knowledgeable, dedicated and service-minded advocate for children, you broke down artificial barriers to collaboration with the greatest of intentions to serve the children most in need in our community. A faithful participant in the Worcester Infant Mortality Task Force, Dr. Felice, you expressed your dismay and impatience that our community had an unacceptably high rate of infant mortality. Committed to understanding the problem at its root cause, you insisted on understanding the challenges faced by West African immigrants in our community, certain to better understand the cultural barriers that were preventing clearer thinking about the social and clinical approaches to these women in need. Your commitment to adolescents led to the establishment of the Teen Tot Clinic in Worcester, an initiative that focused on reducing repeat teenage pregnancies through greater service to teen mothers and their infants. A determined leader for pediatricians, a devoted clinician for adolescents and younger children, a mentor in high demand and a colleague with limitless energy, you have made an indelible impression on our campus community. Marianne, it is my privilege to invite you to carry the mace at formal university functions, including this year's Investiture and Commencement ceremonies. As the standard bearer for our faculty, this position of prominence is well deserved for one who has given such outstanding service to our university during your time in our midst. Please accept my congratulations as this year's recipient of the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Service. Creating the Science of Health Care Reform If the patient I encountered in the nursing home could be here at this moment, I know what he would say: "Very good, right there!" Whether he was reflecting on seeing the immeasurable pride we take in the inspiring examples of our faculty accomplishments or hearing of our many achievements as a campus community, Rob would be strong in his affirmation of all that is exceptional about UMass Medical School. We should take great pride in the successes we enjoy. Welcoming our new students and recognizing their many accomplishments brings added vitality to our campus each summer. Our classes continue to be extremely competitive and our admissions committees continue to recognize how selective we have become as the schools of choice for so many interested in careers in medicine, nursing and biomedical science. Our educators are continuing their innovative development of the medical school curriculum, as we reflect on its successful implementation in the year just completed. Emphasizing the importance of learner-centered educational experiences, our faculty is focused on our competency-based curriculum with their determination that it be inter-professional in its orientation. With much hard work and self reflection, we look forward with heightened anticipation to the School of Medicine LCME accreditation that will occur in March of this year. In meeting the challenge to create the science of health care reform, our campus community has embraced the responsibility to shape the health care system of the future, not as passive observers, but as active participants in its creative and innovative design. Colleagues in our health care system and in our academic departments have seized the moment and are pursuing the challenges inherent in creating a new paradigm for health care's delivery. Our colleagues at Commonwealth Medicine have brought collaboration to new heights and greater recognition. In service to the Massachusetts Medicaid program, MassHealth, we have made significant improvements in the quality and access of children's dental services. Due to our efforts, Massachusetts is now one of seven states to receive an "A" grade, climbing from a "C" grade the year before. We have announced a two-year continuation of a contract to continue to provide newborn screening services to the State of Maine, having screened over 500,000 babies born in Maine since 1976. Commonwealth Medicine has expanded services in the states of Washington and California, among others, and has partnered with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, as one of seven "early innovator" states, in a $35.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop an online "health care exchange" that will create a resource through which consumers and small business owners can efficiently shop for health insurance plans. Through a $12 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research, our medical school, through collaboration between the Departments of Orthopedics and Quantitative Health Sciences, is establishing a nationwide registry of 33,000 total joint replacement patients, to develop tools with which to assess the success and failure of joint replacement surgery, and to conduct research to guide both clinical care and health policy. These and many other projects we have established throughout our academic health science center are creating the science of health care reform, build upon the clinical and translational science efforts that flourish on our campus and focus our attention on quality and safety; comparative effectiveness; and patient and community engagement. You have heeded this most important call! The Importance of Medical Research This past year we reached an important milestone on this campus as we surpassed the $300 million milestone in research awards. The quality of our investigators' research proposals is recognized through the credible scores achieved through participation in rigorous peer review processes. The reputation of this campus and of our scientists contributes greatly to the success that we have enjoyed in realizing surging amounts of research awards. Our campus was one of seven research institutions in Massachusetts, and the only one outside of Boston, to team up with Pfizer, Inc's new Center for Therapeutic Innovation collaboration effort. Pfizer has commented that "this newly created entrepreneurial research unit at Pfizer is dedicated to the establishment of global partnerships between academic medical centers and Pfizer to transform research and development through a focus on translational medicine." It is hoped that through this model, there will be acceleration of drug discovery and development. At the very early stages in its development, Pfizer sought UMass Medical School as a partner. Our colleagues at UMass Biologics have completed a phase 1 study with the rabies monoclonal antibody in India and our UMBL partner, the Serum Institute of India, is proceeding with a phase 2/3 study with the rabies monoclonal to show non-inferiority to standard post-exposure prophylaxis. All were pleased to learn that the phase 3 CDiff monoclonal antibody trial will proceed and UMass Biologics has completed a phase 2 study with a monoclonal antibody in HCV-positive liver transplant patients setting the stage for a phase 2b trial in combination with a direct-acting antiviral drug in this patient population. We continue to attract outstanding scientists. The Albert Sherman Center that soared to the sky over this past year is now becoming enclosed to withstand nature's power from without and to enable science's power from within. The innovative centers that will be established to advance clinical translational science will embody significant initiatives for this campus and beyond. When others could not, boldly we stepped forward to construct a superstructure that could unleash the collaborative forces of science and education on this campus and change the course of history for unrelenting diseases. Each day we gaze with pride as the craftsmen create the new spaces for our educational and scientific communities. Filled with the hope that will come from the research that will be conducted in this outstanding facility, our initial plan was to shell the upper two floors of the building, providing space to expand in the years ahead. I am pleased to announce today that we have decided to complete all the floors of the building before it opens. Prudent fiscal management, favorable construction prices and the bold future that we have charted for our campus, compel us to complete the entire building from the start. Let me extend my appreciation to all who have been involved in the planning and construction of this new facility and to all therein whose commitments to education and science will bring hope.
The Resolve to Continue to Invest in Research While there is so much that is positive on this campus, there remain moments of apprehension as we listen to the cacophony of debate that exists in the houses of government. When drafting this speech, initially I characterized this debate as "dialogue;" but that would be a positive characterization not deserved or appropriate at this tense moment of governmental commotion. It is difficult to watch as our nation grapples with unsettling levels of debt, markets in turmoil, lack of confidence by the consumer and in the government, and conflict throughout the world. It is a perilous time that dims the future and dashes hope. But I am an optimist and a believer. Our country is up to any challenge it chooses to confront and overcome. Values can light a brighter path to our future. It is in that spirit that I would like to raise a clarion call for more support for biomedical research, making investment in science and NIH funding a national priority. Many have argued the case that research investment brings jobs and fiscal vitality to our economy. Across the world, people have demonstrated that the economic and global competitiveness of our nation benefits from an unencumbered peer-review process that sets the standard for evaluation of and investment in research proposals; there is no political interference and merit always outperforms influence. Research results are an important determinant of social well-being. All of us can testify to the importance of vaccines, antibiotics and pharmacotherapeutics, many of which have been discovered in our lifetimes. We know that research results can help us to forego health care expenditures. These are important arguments in support of medical research, but they are sterile and isolated from the reality that through research we can bring hope to our future. The American scientific research enterprise is as pristine and well-intentioned as any business or governmental competitor for resources. That said, I will not stipulate that scientific research efforts are above any reproach. While collaboration is alive on this campus, we have not as yet designed well enough developed methods to interact across campuses of this university or those of other research entities. We could better utilize the equipment that we possess and the core services we offer. We have made the clinical translational initiative an imperative and we are in the initial stages of its implementation. We must do more to assure the integrity of research and remove conflicts of interest. We can and will continue to commit to improve our efforts to assure the safety of research subjects, and to enable research and our investigators as we redouble our resolve to prudently expend whatever resources we receive. Yet, still I hear the call to reduce the amount of funding that is available for medical research. Why? Surely no one believes that we have all the answers to science's important questions or have solved the puzzling issues that prevent our ability to cure disease. As discerning people, we must be impressed by the success of research efforts throughout the decades and encouraged at the targeted therapies that are emerging from laboratories across our nation. As our campus studies the history of cancer this week, we marvel at the multitude of breakthroughs that have occurred in the care of patients with oncologic disease. Few weeks go by without another announcement of a new therapy or therapeutic agent, all the direct result of successful research efforts. We know there is much more to do and that now is the time to be doing it! The call to diminish research funding reveals a flaw in our values construct as a society and as a nation. In America, when we resolve to respond to an issue, there is no stopping us. We can protect our citizenry at home and defend our interests abroad. We can rebuild nations and place a person on the moon. We can educate and care for those in need. We innovate, discover and create. Should we resolve to do so, we can continue to invest in biomedical research and increase NIH funding. This is our heritage as a nation. Why then, the call to reduce funds for medical research? When will we affirm our values and make the case that this is no time to reduce funding for science that can reveal discoveries to ameliorate or cure disease? Now is that time! Imagine what goes through the minds of those threatened by illness! When a young father steps forth and makes a gift to Governor Cellucci's initiative to create an endowment to support ALS research on this campus, he makes an important statement that now is that time. Yes, he has a vested interest. He may have tripped going off a curb, felt fasciculation in his muscles, or begun to have difficulty lifting his hands and moving his legs. He has ALS and he is running out of time. His wife and children are scared. He worries his way to sleep every night and then tosses and turns as he awakens to the realization that his nightmare is not a dream. The belief that calms him is that medical research at UMass can return to him the semblance of hope his disease has stolen! When the young mother finds the lump in her breast and convinces herself that it can't be a cancer because she has too much life to live, she makes an important statement that now is that time. With precious time slipping by, when she is diagnosed with breast cancer, she will realize that her genetic make-up may have predetermined her condition. But, who will feed her children? Who will make her daughter's wedding dress? Who will care for her mother who shares her disease? Her conviction is that medical research at UMass can give her hope. It is only such hope that gets her through each day. She can't believe investments in research could be diminished. Please, not now, she pleads! When the back pain lasts too long and the physical therapy does not relieve the ache, the patient reaches out for a more definitive answer for his weight loss and excruciating back pain. The doctor in his home state meets with him late one day, in a room that appears to have no light. He is told to get his affairs in order as he has only two months to live. As he reaches out to UMass clinicians, he makes an important statement that now is that time. His first granddaughter was just born. He and his wife have planned their trip of a lifetime. His mother and father are aging and dealing with the challenges of the onset of dementia. There is much life to live! After extensive consultation, he firmly believes that medical care and research at UMass can return to him the hope that was stolen in the darkened room of his home town physician. Hope he has been given at UMass gets him through each day, each bout of nausea, each backache and each needle stick. How anyone could think of reducing America's research commitment disturbs and scares him! And, when the soldier returns from battle, she shakes when a door slams and cringes when a horn beeps. In desperation, she turns to our mental health team for help. In doing so, she makes the important statement that now is that time. She gave everything she had to assure the safety of our nation. While serving our country, she followed orders and protected our freedom. But, now she is shattered. Every relationship is fractured. She sits in the corner shaking and wonders whether she will ever be able to use the word "hope" again. PTSD has invaded her life and disrupted our nation's commitment to her. Can medical research restore hope to one who has given so much? She cries, trembling at the thought that we might abandon her and the research that could improve her fragile state. Research means hope. Research can bring change to the human condition. Research can restore human dignity. If in the earlier difficult times faced by our nation, we gave up an important cause, we would not be the great country that we have become. At each and every complex juncture, we have believed in a brighter future and our actions have confirmed our values and resolve. On our medical school campus we see that brighter future each day. We see it in the students who forego Wall Street careers to commit, as the daughters and sons of Massachusetts, to care for those in need or to make the discoveries that will replace the norm! We see it in the lives of our faculty: Jerry Durbin, Michael Green and Marianne Felice. Jerry educates students to care for and about their patients. Michael discovers pathways that could cure disease. Marianne engages our community to care about its children. They create hope through their academic commitments and they challenge us to engage our talents and energies to make our world healthier. We see it in our staff and in the eyes of the construction workers who know that their efforts will assist us to find the cures that have eluded our predecessors. As we begin this academic year, I am filled with hope. You see, it is a great privilege to be in our chosen professions at this university, and in this community at this exciting time in our history. The mission of our medical school is compelling. Our vision is clear. Our future is bright! As I look beyond this campus green, I hope that our nation will find the resolve and the determination to continue its investment in medical research and not destroy the treasure that is our nation's biomedical research enterprise. On behalf of our patients, each of us must raise our voices and increase our resolve to assure that American values prevail, so that America values the promise of medical research. To one who is sick and enters our midst, nothing matters more! On behalf of the father with ALS, the mother and grandfather with cancer, and the soldier with PTSD, and for those for whom we have the privilege to care, we need to raise our voices! Now is that time! As Rob would say, "Very good, right there!"