text:
Document Type Master's Dissertation Author Da Silva, Laura Suzanne URN etd-09022005-124856 Document Title Kafirin biofilm quality : effect of sorghum variety and milling fractions Degree MSc (Agric) Food Sience and Technology Department Food Science Supervisor
Advisor Name Title Prof J R N Taylor Committee Chair Keywords
- sorghum products
- nuts postharvest losses prevention
- bran
- fruit postharvest losses prevention
- protective coatings
- biofilms
Date 2003-05-08 Availability unrestricted Abstract Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document
© 2003 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
Please cite as follows:
Da Silva LS, 2003, Kafirin biofilm quality : effect of sorghum variety and milling fractions, MScAgric dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd- 09022005-124856/ >
Filename Size Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)
28.8 Modem 56K Modem ISDN (64 Kb) ISDN (128 Kb) Higher-speed Access 00front.pdf 542.21 Kb 00:02:30 00:01:17 00:01:07 00:00:33 00:00:02 01chapter1-2.pdf 6.71 Mb 00:31:04 00:15:58 00:13:58 00:06:59 00:00:35 02chapter3-4.pdf 2.48 Mb 00:11:28 00:05:54 00:05:09 00:02:34 00:00:13


text: Banks Pledge Support For Grassroots Expansion Local financial institutions have pledged $60,000 to renovate and expand the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, according to Renovation and Expansion campaign co-chair Mary Ann Scully, President and CEO of Howard Bank. "Community banks historically recognize their role in supporting and enhancing the quality of life in those communities that support them," Scully said. "We are grateful for the inspirational leadership role that each of these institutions has played to date in the campaign." Citizens National Bank has pledged $20,000 and will have the Group Counseling/Activity Room named in its honor. Provident Bank has pledged $15,000 and will have a Counseling Room named in its honor. Howard Bank has pledged $15,000 and will have the Entrance Garden named in its honor. Columbia Bank has pledged $10,000 and will have the Courtyard Garden named in its honor. Grassroots provides the county's only shelter for homeless people and is the headquarters of the county's Mobile Crisis Team which responds to psychiatric emergencies and family crises in the community. In addition, Grassroots served over 700 walk-in requests for crisis counseling last year and handled over 26,000 hotline contacts. The renovation and expansion project will more than double the building size, from under 9,000 square feet to over 20,000 square feet, improve and upgrade inadequate kitchens and address plumbing problems. Shelter rooms for families and individuals will be increased from 32 to 55. For information about the Grassroots Renovation and Expansion Campaign, contact Lynne Nemeth, 301-596-6054, or firstname.lastname@example.com. |

subset: commoncrawl


text: Welcome to Zimbrick Automotive! Located on High Crossing Blvd in Madison, WI, Zimbrick Eastside is proud to be one of the premier dealerships in the area. We strive to give you the best possible customer service. Our finance department works with multiple local banks and credit unions to give you the best finance options and selections for an extended car warranty. Whether you need to Purchase, Lease, or Service a New or Used Car or Truck, you've come to the right place. We sell 4 new car brands: Buick, GMC, Hyundai, and Nissan, and keep over 150 Certified and Pre-Owned Vehicles in stock. With access to manufacturer original parts we're one of the premiere service centers serving Sun Prairie, Baraboo, and Delavan. We're also your one stop store for all your automotive needs, servicing all makes and models, with service amenities such as a free car wash and Wi-Fi!


text:
Contact this shelter/rescue group to see their pets for adoption. |
Our Featured Sandusky, MI Partner:
Sanilac County Animal Shelter
Dog adoption and cat adoption saves lives. Adopt a dog or adopt a cat and you'll have a friend for life! Contact us, or contact another local humane society, animal shelter or SPCA.
35 S. Stoutenburg Rd. Sandusky, MI 48471 (810) 648-4831 |
Email: Website: http://www.scac.petfinder.com
Pets at Our Shelter:
Cities, Towns, and/or Counties We Serve:
The Sanilac County Animal Control Shelter is dedicated to the welfare of the animals in Sanilac County. The Sanilac County Animal Control & Shelter is a governmental agency and is funded with tax dollars. Many tasks of our animal control is, but not limited to....1. Investigating animal cruelty.
2. Picking up stray and unwanted animals for the safety of the animals and citizens.
3. Housing and caring for stray and unwanted animals at the shelter.
4. Promoting the adoption of animals to caring and responsible pet owners.
5. Enforcing leash laws and other state animal control laws.
6. Providing the humane euthanasia/disposal of unwanted stray animals.
7. Advocating the spay and neuter of all pets due to the overwhelming amount of homeless animals.
8. Educating the public about responsible pet ownership and animal welfare.
9. Assisting owners of lost pets.
10. Assisting owners of pets that they can no longer keep.
The Sanilac County Animal Shelter is located in a very rural area and only consists of 14 dog kennels and 6 cat cages. Although we try very hard, not all of our animals are placed and unfortunately have to be humanely euthanized due to limited space and funding. Two full time animal control officers are employed at Sanilac County Animal Control.
Come Meet our Pets:
ALL ADOPTIONS ARE DONE BY APPOINTMENT ONLY & ONLY AFTER THE POTENTIAL ADOPTER HAS FILLED OUT THE ADOPTION APPLICATION AND BEEN APPROVED.Hours:
Monday - Friday from 9-10 AM & 2:00- 4:00 PM
We are short staffed and very busy at times. We try to be here at those times mentioned above, but sometimes it is impossible to be here during those hours due to overwhelming complaints and emergencies. So, please understand and be patient with us if we are not here. We are sorry for any inconvenience.
The shelter is located in Sandusky, just East of Yager Auto Parts on the South side of the road (E. Sanilac St.), directly behind the DPW Garages. The shelter is a small yellow brick building.
Our Adoption Process:
If you are interested in adopting a pet on our site, please contact us for an adoption application. The adoption application is required before you can adopt a pet. This is for you and your familys benefit and the pet's benefit. The application tells us about the applicant and helps guide us in placing the correct animal in the right forever home. Once a COMPLETED application is received, a representative of SCACS will review your application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. SCACS reserves the right to refuse an application. By filling out an application, you are not obligated to adopt an animal from us and you are not guaranteed one of ours. It normally takes 2-10 days to process the application.ADOPTION FEES
Dogs & Puppies are $60.00. Cats & Kittens are $50.00. All adopted pets must be spayed or neutered within 30 days of adoption by law. Once altered you are refunded $30.00.


text:
Weymouth New Testament (WNT) | New International Version (NIV) |
11 For God pays no attention to this world's distinctions. | 11 For God does not show favoritism. |
The Weymouth New Testament is in the public domain. (Weymouth New Testament - Holy Bible ) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |


text:
July 13, 2011 | 40
Yikes! I have a blog again! The infamous Pepsigate happened about a year ago. Getting off of a network was a relief of sorts – no pressure to post several times a day just to get traffic. I relaxed. I posted mostly announcements, linkfests, stuff that could not go elsewhere. Much of the content I used to put on the blog before – links, videos, photos, brief quips & quotes, etc. – I now place on other platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Flickr, YouTube, Tumblr, Posterous and the new-fangled Google Plus.
But the blog is still the key place for a particular kind of content: long, detailed, thought-out pieces. Placed on my own blog and nowhere else. This is my "home".
Over the past year, I wrote a handful of such pieces (I linked to most of them at the bottom of my intro post last week), some on my blog, some on one or another of the Scientific American blogs. But now that A Blog Around A Clock has a new place and a fresh start, I intend to use it for exactly that purpose: long essays. Not too often – perhaps one a week. But I will strive to do it regularly. I probably won't even have time to do more – apart from running the whole network, I will also write The Network Central and The SA Incubator as well as edit the Guest Blog and Expeditions.
I intend to keep everyone happy at least half of the time by, more or less regularly (no promises and guarantees), alternating between blogging about science and blogging about the media.
As these past several weeks have been busy with launching this great new blogging network (and please, go visit all the wonderful bloggers I invited to write with us), I did not have much time to dig into science news and to read the scientific papers. So I will start out with some musings about the new media ecosystem. Here we go!
A few weeks ago, at the World Science Festival in New York City, there was an entire day devoted to science story-telling. At the very end of the last session of the day, I said:
"The word "story" changes meaning depending on who is talking about it." – Bora Zivkovic.
I did not have much time to expand on this then, so I will try to put together some more thoughts now, right here, for you to think about and provide me some feedback.
What I did manage to say was captured quite well at the bottom of the post by Lena Groeger:
On a panel all about stories and story telling, it seems appropriate to end with a closer look at what we mean by "story." Zivkovic emphasizes that the word story can be understood in two very different ways. In the vernacular, "story" is a narrative that builds up slowly and has resolution at the end. The default is fiction, and you have to say "true story" to make sure people understand that it's based in reality. But for journalists, a story is a filed, fact-checked, 400-word inverted pyramid with the punch line in the title followed by the most important stuff.
The traditional journalist's story is now in demise. Zivkovic sees it going in two different directions: the river of news and the explainer. On one hand you have the Twitter model, where short bursts of information tell you immediately about what just happened. On the other hand, for those people who want to know more about what those nuggets of news really mean, there are links to explainers. These are articles that provide the narrative and the context for people just tuning in to a story. And explainers really work – Zivkovic said that the explanatory posts published about Fukushima on the Scientific American blogs broke all the traffic records. People were clearly looking for scientific information and explanation of how earthquakes happen, how nuclear plants break down, etc.
A few days before the Festival, I tested the idea on Twitter to see if I get any feedback, especially if I get any aggressive push-back. Most responses were in the "well, duh, yeah" category, so I guess the proposition is not so controversial after all. But let's get on to a more detailed dissection.
What is a "story"?
According to Wikipedia, "Story is a common term for a recounting of a sequence of events, narrative, or for a statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question. It is defined as a narrative or tale of real or fictitious events." Then, a narrative… "is a story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of speech, writing, song, film, television, video games, photography or theatre) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events." And storytelling is "…the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and narrative point of view."
Plot. Characters. Narrative. More-or-less chronological sequence of events. Likely to be fiction (or assumed to contain "improvisation or embellishment") unless stated otherwise.
The punchline, if any, comes late in the story, perhaps at the very end.
Another way to describe a story: description of a steady state of the world, followed by a description of an event that puts the world into chaotic state, followed by a description of the world in a new steady state.
Or: at the beginning we get a description of pertinent aspects of the day-to-day, uneventful world in which we get to know the characters of the story, including the 'hero'. Then, something happens that is unusual and forces the characters to act in ways they are not prepared for. Some show their true character. Others are changed by the event. Once the dust settles, we get a description of the new day-to-day existence, in which the setting and the characters are different – changed by the events.
Narrative vs. Inverted Pyramid
The 'inverted pyramid' style of writing is taught to journalism students – see the images, and the articles the images came from.
In short, the title is what gives the most important information. The first couple of sentences (the "lede") provide the next most important information, and so on, with the least important stuff at the end. In many ways, it is the opposite of a narrative – the punch-line goes first, the build-up after.
The beauty of the Inverted Pyramid for the writers and editors is that any article can be chopped up and made shorter (in the interest of space, the paper real-estate) by deleting sentences at the end, without losing too much information. Of course, there is no word limit online. Real estate is endless.
The beauty of the Inverted Pyramid for the readers is that they can decide at which moment to stop reading – when they feel they got enough information – without feeling guilty and without feeling they will miss anything of importance.
You can't do that with a narrative, where clues can be hidden all along the way, and the grand solution comes close to the end. A narrative requires a different kind of approach to reading: see how long the article is, set aside sufficient time, get coffee, sit back and enjoy reading it from the beginning to the end.
This also means that one has to be much more choosy about narratives as they take more time to read. Either the topic must be very interesting or the author needs to be trusted to consistently provide good reads, for a reader to decide to take a plunge.
Reading shorter inverted-pyramid pieces is much more promiscuous as it is less risky – one can always quit and move on. Which is why readers rarely pay attention to bylines on short, inverted-pyramid pieces – author does not matter. Thus, disappointing the author by quitting reading mid-article is not a part of the calculation, or as guilt-inducing as quitting a longer narrative before the end.
Inverted Pyramid form is more efficient. By skimming the titles and checking in a bunch of short articles, one can get quickly informed about what is new in the world.
But the longer narrative has its advantages despite being slower and taking more time.
First, it is more natural – people have been telling stories for millennia before someone in the 20th century invented the Inverted Pyramid.
Due to being more natural, narrative is more pleasant.
Unlike with Inverted Pyramid articles, in which the reader's focus rapidly falls off after reading the headline, the narrative sustains focus (it may even rise as the reader progresses through the piece). The reader needs to concentrate better in order not to miss important clues and information. Thus, more information is retained. Thus, narrative form is more educational – readers can actually learn and retain new knowledge, not just get temporarily informed.
Typology of science stories
In a recent post, John Horgan classified science stories into two categories: critical and celebratory. In the circles I frequent, many adopted David Dobbs' classification into "cool" versus "fishy" stories (roughly equivalent to celebratory versus critical). I tend to classify them into three categories: cool, relevant, and fishy.
Cool stories capture imagination, are unusual, show weird animal behavior, or new fossil discoveries, or exoplanets, or final solutions of old and famous mathematical problems, or discuss Big Bang, etc. They are not of any immediate practicality to the readers, will not change their day-to-day behavior, and in no way focus on the propriety of behavior of researchers. But these stories are a great hook for the readers who will not necessarily seek science stories of their own – the "push" method of science communication – the kinds of stories that are easier to persuade editors to put on front pages (or TV news) and are more likely to be shared among lay audience.
Relevant stories are those that inform and educate the readers (yes, educate) in ways that can help them make decisions about their own behavior: health, nutrition, exercise, educational methods, environmental impacts of everyday living, travel, how to make money, who to vote for. These are the kinds of stories that are most likely to get 'over-hyped' by the press, especially if written by generalists (specialist science/health/environmental journalists usually do just fine with these stories, but may not be able to publish them on front pages of the most massive of the mass media).
Fishy stories look into the conduct of researchers themselves. They are not so much about science as about scientists (or the systems in which scientists work, e.g., academia, industrial R&D, defense research, or governmental research). Some time ago, I tried to make a case that these kinds of stories are not really 'science journalism' proper, but rather belong in the business or politics or ethics sections – the fact that the protagonist is a scientist may not really be the key to the story, as it can be very similar to banking, or politics, or any other profession. Stories that explore how a few rogue scientists can be bought by megacorporations to defend smoking, or climate change denial, are political stories, rather than purely science stories. They just have a scienc-y component…but so do many other stories as well (or should, at least).
How would a narrative work in these three types? Describing a world before we knew X, then describing the discovery of X, then describing the world in which we know X and how that is different. The three parts: first provides historical context of what we knew until now, second part is the news break about a new discovery, and the third part places the news into societal or philosophical context. The 'hero' can be an animal or a planet, or an ingenious researcher, or a rogue researcher, depending on the type of story.
Science in the story: hero or villain?
As Emily Finke aptly reminds us, not all main characters in narratives are heroes – sometimes they are anti-heroes or villains.
In cool stories, science is a hero, and often the researchers as well. In relevant stories, heroism is muted, though may be implied. In fishy stories, the scientist (and sometimes science) comes out as a villain. As important as it is to tell fishy stories, they probably do have a subtle cumulative effect on eroding public trust in the institution of science (hence I'd rather see them on the "politics" or "business" rather than "science" pages).
But the greatest effect on the public, regarding the perception of scientists, comes from popular culture – movies and TV especially. And here it is heartening to observe how much Hollywood has changed over the last few decades. The stereotypical movie scientist was Dr.Frankenstein decades ago. Today, a movie scientist is much more likely to be portrayed as a hero who saves the planet and thus, against the stereotype, acts in a way that reveals great social awareness, if perhaps still not much in terms of social graces and skills (movie-makers have to rely on typology to speed up the audience's recognition of characters in limited time they have). If you skip the movies and the best-selling books by Michael Chrichton these movies were made from, pretty much all the recent movie fare has scientist-heroes, rather than the opposite.
In her seminal book Narratives of Human Evolution (see also pdf of her article on the same topic), Misia Landau analyzed early 20th century hypotheses of human evolution as competing narratives. In each, a change in the steady state of the world (change in environment), forces the early Homo to become a hero (by evolving bipedality, language, fire use, or language, depending on the story), resulting in a new steady state (the wonderful Us).
As Eric's wonderful interview with Frans de Waal the other day demonstrates in almost every paragraph, students of human evolution are still keeping the tradition of story-telling alive and well, at least in popular literature, and thus capturing the imagination of the broadest possible audience.
Is a scientific paper a story?
There is often a lot of grumbling about the fact that the rigid format of the scientific paper is not realistically depicting the process by which the scientists come up with ideas, test them, and draw conclusions from the data. It is implied that much more serendipity and surprise occurs in the real world of research than it shows up in the primary literature. This is supposed to be "sterilized", unrealistic and misleading and there is definitely something to these claims.
But the utility of such a formulaic narrative – and it is a narrative – form is that a paper can be read by many people. The audience for scientific papers, which these days appears to be mainly one's peers, was originally meant to be much broader – everyone who can read – and is once again returning to this ideal due to freeing up of the work from behind the expensive paywalls in the emerging world of Open Access publishing.
It is everyone BUT the experts in the field who actually read the papers as a narrative. Only the experts had to come up with unusual and convoluted methods for reading (but not writing) the literature.
I know for myself. If I read a paper in my field, I start with the names and affiliations of authors – that already tells me a lot about what to expect. Then I read the References, which tell me much more about what will be in the paper – sometimes everything. Then I read the abstract to get the gist of what the paper is about. Then I focus on figures, which tend to serve as a bridge between the Materials & Methods section and the Results section. Only if the paper is really important (or if I intend to blog about it) I also read the Introduction and the Discussion at the end.
The Introduction is a description of the old steady-state world (which, in my field, I am already familiar with), while Discussion is a description of the new steady-state world that incorporates changes due to the findings in the paper (which I may still tentatively not accept). So it is the event itself – the Results – that I will focus on in order to understand what was done and what it means while minimizing getting biased by the authors' framing in the Introduction.
But more I move away from my core area of expertise, more and more my reading of the paper diverges from this method, and more and more I tend to read it from start to finish. And then I really appreciate its narrative construction: setting the stage, introducing the characters, describing the event and its outcomes, describing the new world afterward. This is, I guess, how most people read most papers except when reading in one's own narrowest area of expertise.
If the scientific paper changes from the current static form (a final product with a publication date) to a more dynamic, living form, I assume that the narrative form will be gone as well, but then reviews (or popular articles) will be necessary in order to provide narrative versions for "the rest of us" not actively participating in that particular line of work.
How do readers know what to expect: inverted pyramid or narrative?
For a number of decades – essentially the entire 20th century – the two types of writing were segregated into different containers. Daily newspapers dealt with news, which were mostly brief and written in the Inverted Pyramid format. Weekly, monthly and quarterly publications – magazine – could not keep up with the news cycle and thus devoted their efforts to longer, more narrative pieces.
You pick up a New York Times, and expect to see mostly shorter inverted-pyramid pieces….except the Sunday Magazine. For longer narratives, you go to The New Yorker, Atlantic, Harper's or, if you are into science, to National Geographic, Scientific American or American Scientist.
But with the advent of the Web, people do not go to the article from the front-page of a media organization they are familiar with. They come to individual articles by following links, often to sites that are too new to be familiar to them. How do they know if it's a newsy piece or a narrative?
They don't! And some of the comments I see around the SA site are a testament to this. The readers arrive to an article (who knows from where!?) with one assumption and are disappointed when it turns out to be something else. Then they either complain that there is not enough information, or publicly admit they have zero attention span (or interest in the topic) and post that most arrogant and obnoxious of all comments: "tl;dr" ("too long; didn't read" – thanks to John Rennie and Alexis Madrigal for reminding me of this last night on Twitter).
Having several generations raised with the segregated containers for different formats of stories resulted in a degradation of the native human ability to recognize them at first sight. Always spoon-fed that 'meta' information (the container), they need to start relearning the skill again. Just like they have to start relearning how to filter information and how to figure out who to trust. It may take a generation to recover these skills.
In the meantime, there are some obvious signs. For example, an inverted-pyramid newsy item is likely to be short, while a narrative is likely to be long (the length is not always obvious online and webmasters and designers have to make sure the length is immediately obvious).
Second, the title is often a dead give-away. "X causes Y, scientists say" is obviously a newsy item. A title that is not in present tense, or has no verb at all, is more likely to be a narrative.
River Of News, vs News In Context
The news ecosystem has two important and inter-dependent parts. The first is the concept of the River Of News:
Park yourself on the riverbank and watch the news flow by. If you miss something, not to worry, if it's important some new story will refer to it.
The other part is News In Context. If you are new to a topic, a short news article will confuse you – you do not have enough background. Perhaps you are young and just getting into the topic, or it just became relevant to you. Where do you pick up the background? What provides the context for the future brief news items so they start making sense to you?
As you may have already guessed, the items in the River are likely to be inverted pyramids. The items providing Context are likely to be narratives. Explainers are narratives.
So, what kind of story can one tell on Twitter?
If you are not a regular reader of Dave Winer, and thus hopefully familiar with his concept of River Of News, then this phrase probably elicits an immediate reminder of an obvious river of news: Twitter.
And here I am thinking of Twitter-the-concept, not Twitter-the-company. Something like tweeting can be done elsewhere, e.g., on Facebook, FriendFeed, Google Plus, etc. But Twitter.com as it is now is the archetype of this, with its simplicity and the sharp 140-character limit.
There has been quite a lot of discussion recently about Twitter, what it is, and if storytelling is possible there.
Of course you are not limited by 140 characters – you can post as many tweets as you want. Often people tag tweets in a series with numbers, e.g., 1/4, 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 so people who miss the first three know to go back and look at them before responding, in bafflement, to the context-less fourth message.
There are Twitter accounts that demonstrate the storytelling ability quite nicely – they take an old piece of literature, usually some 19th century novel or diary, and tweet it in small installments. You follow the account, as if you are reading the book.
Another way to tell a story on Twitter is mindcasting – sticking to a topic of the day (or few days or more) and building on it tweet by tweet, adding links and insights until a more complete story emerges.
There are now also services that help one compile tweets – one's own or from the community – into a narrative. Storify is the best known example of such services.
Disappearance of the Middle – tweets and #longform FTW!
Go pick up a newspaper. How do you read it? Every word of it from start to end? I doubt it.
In those days past when I was still buying newspapers, this is what I would do. First, remove all the sections I do not care about – Auto, Sports, Real Estate, Food, Classifieds, etc – and throw them in the recycling bin without looking or opening.
Then I'd open one of the remaining sections to see what's new.
This is filtering – ignoring a huge chunk of the newspaper, just like I ignore huge chunks of the blogosphere and do not follow huge chunks of the Twitterverse. I focus mainly on the topics I am interested in.
OK, so I have opened one of the sections that is interesting to me. Do I read everything? No, of course not. I skim the titles. Just like on Tweetdeck the titles skim by me.
Some titles are not interesting to me. Some titles are interesting, but they contain all the information I want so I do not worry about reading the article under the title.
But every now and then, something piques my interest and I start reading the text under the title. Just like deciding to click on a link in a tweet every now and then.
More often than not, I end up un-satisfied. The article is too short and is missing exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Online, there is a solution, click on additional links to find more.
Occasionally, the headline will take me to an article on something that is interesting to me, but is not my 'regular beat', thus I do not have sufficient context for it. I am happy when the article states that the newspaper has additional in-depth coverage in the relevant section (which I may have to go to the recycling bin to retrieve). Just like sometimes good links take me to the areas of the blogosphere that I rarely ever visit otherwise.
The point of this exercise is to realize that for the most part inverted pyramid can be reduced to just the headline. The ultimate inverted pyramid article is a single tweet.
And for those who want to know more than just that one sentence, a short inverted-pyramid article is not sufficient, so one has to look for a longer narrative explainer.
There is not much utility for the short article in the age of the Web, where limits of the paper medium do not apply, thus no article needs to always try to be both a part of River Of News and a part of News In Context – it does neither perfectly. And in the age of the Web, the two can be separated, yet linked by hypertext.
My bold prediction is that the length of a typical article will go in two directions: super-short, just the gist of the news, like a tweet; or super-long, an in-depth, detailed explainer or narrative. Long articles are doing very well these days, are popular and are quite capable of fetching money from their readers who are paying for such quality content quite willingly.
This is also why books will keep thriving. Books are the ultimate explainers. The length will not be dictated by the production, but whatever it takes to tell the entire story, from 30-page Kindle Singles, to multi-tome volumes. What books are bound to have a lot in the future are plenty of hyperlinks all around the text, as well as the ability to link from anywhere online to a specific paragraph of a book.
There is also a pernicious idea floating around (I should find a link to an example, but am too lazy – you've all heard this trope) that blog posts are of poor quality because they are short. That idea comes from people who have never seen a blog post. Posts on quality blogs, written by experts on the topic, tend to be much longer than the average newspaper article because they contain much more information. They thus satisfy the need for context. And thus are deemed more trustworthy by the readers.
There will not be many short articles left.
Is there any purpose to the semi-short piece any more?
I am not advocating for killing the short article, or for killing the inverted pyramid as a form.
Likewise, I am not advocating for saving the short article just for the sake of saving a form that a few generations of journalists were trained to use.
I am quite happy to let the market be the selection force that drives the form either to extinction or to evolution. I bet that the latter will actually happen.
In the old ecosystem (paper), short pieces were adaptive. The mid-value was selected for, and extremes of length were selected against. New selective regimen (Web) results in disruptive selection – the mid-size is selected against while both the short and the long extremes are selected for. As the gene flow can happen directly between the extremes (via hyperlinks), the middle can theoretically completely disappear. Though it is likely that some low levels will be retained in the population. What for?
If the length of the article is proportional to the wealth of information available, then some low-information events will require short articles.
See, for example, this article: Police nab runaway elephants at bus stop (thanks to Arikia on Twitter yesterday for this example).
The headline tells me what happened. This may be enough. If I want to learn more (e.g., where this happened, where did the elephants come from, etc.), I click on the link and read the article. It is short, but provides the Where, When, How and Why. It has enough. I assume that local media in that town has more details, but those are only interesting to the locals. I got all the information I needed from that short article.
A Link is Worth a Thousand Words
Another way a short article can be useful is if it is chock-full of relevant links. By "relevant" I do not mean links to dictionary definitions of the words (though these are useful), or links to Wikipedia pages (though these are useful), or to the internal topical pages of the newspaper the article is in (though these are also useful). I am talking about links to explainers, longer feature articles, original documents, scientific papers, raw data in a form that I can re-analyze, graphics, multimedia, links to articles that disagree, etc.
By having lots of links, the short article becomes a resource, a gateway to as much or as little further information as one wants to get. Of course, the same applies with even great force to long articles full of links (like this one you are reading right now).
Clicking on a link and coming to a short article without links (especially if containing quotes without links) is very dissatisfying, lowers trust and raises red flags.You still have to test it (by reading it) – an article describing a very novel idea may not have anything old to link to.
Clicking on a link and coming to a short article with gazillion links instantly raises the trust levels of the article (as well as the person who brought the link to my attention in the first place, so I am more likely to click future links from the same source) and becomes potentially a useful resource to bookmark, save and share. You still have to test it, though – are all those links relevant? Purveyors of pseudo-science, anti-science, non-science and nonsense (like creationists, global warming denialists, etc.) love to link to articles that state exactly the opposite of what they, in the text, claim they state.
Finally, there will be evolution in another way – inventing new forms, perhaps hybrids. A little longer, but not too long. Pyramid-ish (see image below), but not a complete inverted pyramid – the gist of the story is close to the beginning but not in the headline or the first sentence, and there is plenty of context (and links) for it.
Visual storytelling and letting the readers into the story
There was recently a big debate on blogs about the loss of the article as a unit of journalism with the assumption that the short inverted-pyramid article is all there is.
The idea that the article is dead was understood by many that all there is left is Twitter which, while great for some uses, cannot be the only tool, or the only format for reporting. What many did not get, and what I think Jeff Jarvis alluded to, is that the "article" that is dying is the kind of short, inverted-pyramid article many in the professional media think of as "The Story".
What Jeff argued, I think, and what I similarly argue here, is that this kind of article has much lesser utility today, off paper and online, but that other forms of articles – the longer, narrative explainers – are here to stay, and even strengthen in quality and numbers. The River of News is here, but so is the Context. What will to some extent disappear, unless it evolves, is the stereotypical 400-word piece that was fine on paper, but is useless on the Web (unless peppered with useful links to longer pieces).
Furthermore, others are arguing that in many instances the idea that the text is the only or the best way to convey information is also outdated. In some cases, the best way to provide information is to provide data (though I argue that data journalism still requires someone to do the storytelling "for the rest of us", just as in scientific and technical writing I described above).
Also, some information is better conveyed visually, through art, graps, infographics, video, interactive media and games. See how Perrin Ireland turned events into cartoons for us a few times here, here and here. That is a way that many readers would prefer to get their information. That is also the way that is more interactive, and includes the readers in the process. Which is the best way to get the information to be remembered, understood, believed and used.
Watch this:
Isn't this a wonderful way to tell a story – using a familiar narrative involving familiar characters to teach something else, e.g., science and engineering? Notice it's not a 400-word inverted-pyramid article. Oh, and I left that punchline for the end.
I've always disliked the canonical inverted pyramid. I know it's efficient and has advantages, but it also encourages people to skim and give up early. Why invest in a piece and read to the end if you know the core stuff's at the beginning? Except it's often not – often, the caveats, context and so on are at the end, where many readers have already given up. My hope is that encouraging a more diverse array of writing structures, as you suggest, will encourage a more diverse array of reader behaviour.
On my blog, I'm going for a hybrid of narrative storytelling and the standard inverted pyramid. I like "Pyramid-ish" – that captures a lot of the same sentiment. And I laughed at the fact that in your first diagram, I'm pretty much sitting under (or slightly to the right of) the arrow that says "selection against the mean"!
Link to this@edyong209 Ha! I should have changed that to "selection against the meanies"
One of the myriad of the links points to your old post about pyramid-ish. I asked you for it months ago…which is telling you how long I've been writing this.
Link to thisThere's actually quite a bit of variety of story structures that they teach at j-schools and journalism textbooks nowadays. The canonical inverted pyramid is useful in a pedagogical sense in that it teaches cub reporters how to organize facts by which are likely most newsworthy — having taught college students, this is not anywhere near as instinctive as one might think. Once they get that down, tho, there are more advanced structures that they might recommend — putting in anecdotal ledes, for instance, or zipper structures where you switch back and forth between narrators, or reversed timeline stories and the like. As to whether or not these actually end up published in practice, that's largely up to editors and publishers to decide what voice they want for their outlets.
As for the extinction of the 500-word story, I don't see that happening. (I don't think you actually say that in your piece, to be fair, but I can imagine other readers leaping to that conclusion.) It's much like ecology — a news environment is much healthier if there is a variety of all story lengths and types in abundance. I think the strength of the 500-word story is precisely that it falls between the 140-character tweet and the 10,000-word longform pieces — it's short enough to be easily digestible while long enough to be relatively informative. It depends on the story you want to tell, naturally — every story likely has multiple sweet spots when it comes to word length, kind of like quanta.
Link to thisAnd let's not forget that the earliest scientific works were longform narrative explainers. Galileo's books combined character and plot (albeit simple ones) as the framework within which he took readers through the logical connections between evidence and theory. It provided a way to play Devil's Advocate with your own work and explain why the objections don't undermine your conclusions. Darwin's Origin followed a similar narrative structure, starting with the simple processes of artificial selection that he knew readers would be familiar with and expanding into more complicated macroevolutionary ideas.
I love the idea that current trends towards microblogging and longform are actually the result of disruptive selection in the media ecosystem. Thanks again for a wonderful metaphor (and for the link to my interview).
Link to thisTwo reactions. I agree with, and am interested in, the trends you sketch out, of moving toward either v. short or v. long, with "standard" length stories serving only as gateways to a subject via links. But this "400-word inverted-pyramid article" as the thing you argue over-against undermines your argument. I was a newspaper journalist for 20 years, and once I got out of J-school, I almost never wrote an inverted pyramid. The entire movement of the news industry is away from it, and toward explainers, alternative narrative structures (including short ones), and alternative forms such as Q/As and timelines. I say this as someone who was immersed in newsroom trainings as a reporter, and who now teaches trainee journalists in several countries. It is likely that J-schools teach inverted pyramid in class, in the same way that epidemiologists learn to do a 2×2 table, but in both cases that is because it is a building block that they are expected to move beyond. In other words, traditional journalism is asking the same questions and exploring the same new territories that your analysis explores.
Also — and I should direct this to her original post, but you quote her here, so — Lena is incorrect to say "for journalists, a story is a filed, fact-checked, 400-word inverted pyramid." When journalists talk about "a story," we are talking about a unit of production: "I am working on a story"; "I have two stories this week." For a print journalist, "a story" can be 250 words or, as was more often the case for me, 2,500; for a broadcast journalist, it can be 30 seconds or 43 minutes+.
My ultimate point: Over the past few years, the blogosphere endured a lot of caricaturing from the traditional media, with heavy stress on the idea that we couldn't possibly do this (writing, explaining, telling stories) as well as they did. Let's not waste our time tossing caricatures back at them. As your analysis suggests, more interesting things await us; let's get to them.
Link to this[...] July 13, 2011 @4DFiction: What's a "story"? | Scientific American http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/a-blog-around-the-clock/2011/07/13/telling-science-stories-wait-... // applicable to 'storyworld' vs 'story' in #transmedia #storytelling [...]
Link to thisA really useful post, Bora, but I had the same reaction as Maryn: most j-schools have for years taught inverted pyramid only for the purpose of 'un-teaching' it subsequently, as we move the students toward more engaging story forms — the forms they need to master in order to make a living in journalism. There are times when IP form is useful, of course, but I think it's an outdated caricature to say that it's the dominant journalistic form, even for relatively short, 450-word stories. That hasn't been the case for years, and certainly not in magazines, which now publish the bulk of on-paper science journalism for large audiences.
Link to thisBora, interesting post.I am more interested in where we are headed than in going over what j-schools do or don't do and how those not so blessed with j-school compete. Of course, I didn't go to j-school and long ago got over considering "what if." I am more keen on hearing about now and where we are headed.
Link to thisPersonally speaking, I find a lot of links in a long post distracting. Now, I simply ignore them until I'm satisfied with my read of the post, and perhaps return to them later. I admit, however, that I tend to get 'link lost' by following link after link after link and ending up in the most interesting and unlikely places. I've discovered lots of fantastic content this way.
Link to this[...] new Scientific American Blog Network, has his own blog, A Blog Around the Clock. This week, Bora discusses the importance of storytelling in science communication — particularly in today's media landscape, which is very different [...]
Link to thisLinks in the body of content can help the reader find more specific information on a subject. I like to read, so I hope longer narratives stay en mode.
It is probably important to note that this post was written specifically within the context of the debate last month that is contained in all the links I placed right under the last sub-heading – the whole "death of the article" debate.
Link to thisThanks Bora – I really enjoyed reading this. Story and narrative are used in so many ways, it's important to step back and think about what they mean. I also really like that you point out that scientific papers are, in their own way, narratives too.
I wonder though about the assumption that narratives are easier and more comfortable. It seems intuitively logical that they would be, especially because it fits with how we first introduce kids to reading. One thing that comes to mind though is a meta-analysis (sorry, it's a bit old) that Barbara Guzzetti and colleagues conducted on texts used in science teaching (http://www.jstor.org/stable/747886). In the collection of studies that they analysed, narrative only stood out as an effective strategy for K-6 students. Studies with high school and undergrad students showed better results with clearly written explainers.
Narratives are extremely valuable because they say so much more about the people and processes of science so I'm not questioning that. I guess just wanted to stir the pot a bit on the assumption that narratives are necessarily easier or more understandable than other types of writing. Is that always the case?
PS – Love the Red Riding Hood video, thanks for including it!
[...] Telling science stories…wait, what's a "story"? Yikes! I have a blog again! The infamous Pepsigate happened about a year ago. [More] Read more on Scientific American [...]
Link to this[...] Telling science stories…wait, what's a "story"? Yikes! I have a blog again! The infamous Pepsigate happened about a year ago. [More] Read more on Scientific American [...]
Link to thisThere was a little follow-up on Twitter here.
This post is also in preparation for the session on storytelling in science online that Anton Zuiker and I will moderate at the upcoming Science Online London. Thus, all feedback is welcome – here, on your own blogs, on social networks, as long as it is in some place where we can easily find it.
Link to this[...] more on Scientific American This entry was posted in Money Systems and tagged science, stories…wait, story., Telling, [...]
Link to this[...] Telling science stories…wait, what's a "story"? Yikes! I have a blog again! The notorious Pepsigate happened approximately a year ago. [More] Read more on Scientific American [...]
Link to thisHa! Nice!
Link to this[...] Zikovic, the blog editor at Scientific American, posted a piece few days ago about the rise of forms of storytelling other than "the kind of short, [...]
Link to thisCheck out this good response by John Zhu, including the Storify of our Twitter discussion appended at the end.
Link to this[...] more on Scientific American Book Reviews Science, stories…wait, story, Telling, What's [...]
Link to this[...] Bora Zivkovic, major-domo of the Scientific American science blogging network recently wrote a long post on future forms of science journalism.. I agree with some of what he says, though not all, and there is a slim chance I'll [...]
Link to this[...] those who are science writers, of whatever form, there is Bora Zivkovic's take on What is a story (don't miss the commentary that [...]
Link to this[...] Telling science stories…wait, what's a "story"? is a useful article from Scientific American. [...]
Link to this[...] I'm adding it to The Best Ways To Keep-Up With Current ELL/ESL/EFL News & Research. Telling science stories…wait, what's a "story"? is a useful article from Scientific American. I'm adding it to The Best Digital Storytelling [...]
Link to this[...] a more recent post, I argued that people will need to re-learn to discriminate between purely information-imparting [...]
Link to this[...] Telling Science Stories…Wait! What's a Story? [...]
Link to this[...] All about Stories: How to Tell Them, How They're Changing, and What They Have to Do with Science Telling science stories…wait, what's a "story"? Blogs: face the conversation Identity – what is it really? Books: 'Reinventing Discovery: The [...]
Link to this[...] did, however, take slight issue with his discussion on Telling science stories…wait, what's a "story"? At one point, he claims, having several generations raised with the segregated containers for [...]
Link to this[...] beforehand? Bora Zivkovic's answer to both of these questions would most certainly be yes. His straightforward, stream of conscious, write until you're done explaining, style is informative, creative and admirable. He's taken off with a new trend, well new since [...]
Link to this[...] blurry…again Science blogs — definition, and history Blogs: face the conversation Telling science stories…wait, what's a "story?" The SA Incubator or why promote young science writers? Share this:TwitterFacebookLike [...]
Link to this[...] and detail and quality of explanation that comes from expertise, something that a 400-word piece cannot possibly contain, as there is not enough space for it. Longform writing [...]
Link to this[...] to turn in the copy on deadline. Writing is not the ability to follow the formula of the 500-word inverted pyramid news piece that is just like all such pieces everywhere, including all the tired old metaphors, topped by [...]
Link to this[...] turn it into your beat. Become a Go-To expert on the topic of your obsession. Ditch the boring old inverted pyramid (it was invented due to space limits of paper, something that vanished online) and start writing in [...]
Link to this[...] it into your beat. Become a Go-To expert on the topic of your obsession. Ditch the boring old inverted pyramid (it was invented due to space limits of paper, something that vanished online) and start writing [...]
Link to this[...] it into your beat. Become a Go-To expert on the topic of your obsession. Ditch the boring old inverted pyramid (it was invented due to space limits of paper, something that vanished online) and start writing [...]
Link to this[...] offerings), I believe there will always be a big — perhaps bigger — market for text. I have written before about the changes in text — the "disappearance of the middle" — suggesting that [...]
Link to this[...] to be a great deal of positive talk about use of narrative to communicate science. I found one Scientific American blogger, Bora Zivkovic, who sketches a methodology for science communicators and provides a short [...]
Link to thisOh my. Science should not be a story. That would be called fiction. Science fiction in fact. There are many facts embedded in science fiction you know, but the telling of it makes the story.
So as for journalism. Science journalism. That's tough. First, recognize your audience. NO, the entire world cannot be your audience, you have to make choices as to whom you intend to reach.
Second, keep it simple. State you thesis. Not extraneous or overcomplicated words to make a simple statement or point.
Third, follow the thesis with contextual normalization. You're about to provide a bunch of information to support your thesis, how should your readers understand how that information relates to your point?
Give us the facts, assumptions, popular notions, but define them as such.
Drop the who's who unless it is directly linked to a fact. I don't care who figured what out or when. That's history and politics. I do care that I can trust you to be able to verify your information before passing it along.
Is it Grenache or is is Chateauneuf du pape? Don't tell us about the grape, tell us about the Maison…. Or better yet, tell us about the region, we'll contemplate the Maison. Just get your facts straight so we can use our judgement.
See, keep it simple! And put up with all the inane comments people like me make. But seriously, you are not telling a story, you are relaying information in a way the people can understand and learn from it. Should you be a journalist and not a teacher? I dunno.
Link to this
Add a Comment
You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmerican.com member to submit a comment.
Get 6 bi-monthly digital issues
+ 1yr of archive access for just $9.99


text:
If you want to see some of the best young basketball players in the state of North Carolina, then you will want to check out the Carolina Challenge this Saturday. The event takes place in Cary and you can find a complete list of players and directions to the event in this Carolina Challenge Link.
"The goal was to blend basketball with talking to kids about academics and life skills and packaging it all into one day," said Dave Telep who created the event which is in its third year of existence.
Telep is a respected analyst and scout, who is the head of basketball recruiting at Scout.com. He has now been a resident in the state for eleven years and has settled into the Triangle area. Telep's wife is from North Carolina and, as always, will be there to help out come Saturday.
"My original vision of the challenge was to get the most recruitable kids in our state together in one place and bonk them over the head with academics," said Telep who has been known to take a vested interest in the prospects he follows.
It's rare that an event takes the time to make a prospect realize how important academics are and to give some of them the opportunity to better their skills in the classroom and on the court.
Last year's event featured John Wall, Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee and many others who are now household names to the many that follow AAU Basketball and recruiting. This year's event will be no different and those who attend will want to pay close attention to the kids in the class of 2011, many of whom are already rated in early national top 100 lists.
"Devince Boykins (Class of 2011) from Rutherford played football and basketball and will now concentrate on basketball and by 6:00 Saturday, I'll bet our whole state knows about him," stated Telep. He continued, "The kids in our state are starting to take some ownership in the event. A number of guys who played in past challenges will come back and act as mentors."
Other camp attendees will be UNC-bound Reggie Bullock of Rocky Mount and names like P.J. Hairston and C.J. Leslie, to name a few.
Each player will participate in three games in just one day where they will be matched up against the best of the best. The event has been an eye-opener for some prospects in the past and this year should be no different. "
In my travels over the last few years, I've learned a thing or two about what the college coaches are looking for," said Telep. He will share that knowledge in an effort to help these young prospects reach their full potential both on and off the court.
Telep closed our conversation by saying, "I think the event is really unique. I'm not sure there is another state in the country during the spring or any time, that the top talent in the state are gathered under one roof to play in a setting like the Carolina Challenge. There are a lot of things I do with basketball that are a lot of fun, but there won't be another day like this Saturday where I will have more fun."
Be sure to check out the event if you are in the area, for you will see a lot of future talent on display. Telep is giving back to North Carolina and it would be nice if the community turns out to support the event. The games tip off at 9:00. Did I mention that admission is "FREE?" See you there!


text:
What Makes Sustainable Communities
Businesses, residences, cities, or towns which have been designed or already modified to underscore green living and the use of renewable environmental-friendly technology are known as sustainable communities. Due to the unpredictable climate change, global warming and its adverse effects on the environment, and the disturbing depletion of natural resources because of unsustainable human use, these communities focus on reducing environmental pollution by fostering a green existence.
Even though not every community today is capable of completely changing to sustainable living, many are in the position of enhancing sustainable living by making a few basic and simple changes as well as creating room for simple additions. The moral fiber of sustainable communities is renewable resources, justifying the reason why majority of these communities run at least partially, if not fully, on renewable sources of energy such as solar energy. Further, these communities will use energy-efficient appliances e.g. low-flush toilets.
A sustainable community development qualifies to be called sustainable when there is generally an element of a community based activity e.g. recycling programs or shared organic gardens. When a community join forces and work together, it can take shared satisfaction and oneness in their efforts towards a clean and green environment. Changing a community already in existence into a sustainable one can be a matter of many incremental little changes or a few large changes. The small changes are easier and fun to implement such as cleaning up litter, featuring recycling drives, and even creating a community garden.
Large changes on the other hand for sustainable community development include such things as water rationing, installation of solar panels, and making sure that all future constructions meet the requirements of sustainability for a Sustainable Community. If enlightening the community on the importance of sustainability, it can be wise to emphasize on the personal gains embracing such a way of living can bring. For example, when energy saving tactics such as using low-energy light bulbs or wrapping water heaters using insulating blankets are used, there will be a significant drop in the utility bills.
Pundits suggest that sustainability is the answer to continued human survival on earth, and will greatly contribute in the campaign towards bringing an end to the series of overuse and environmental repercussions that have plagued planet Earth ever since industrial revolution. It is in this light that major world governments today are promoting sustainable communities by putting effort and money in form of funded studies and researches, incentives, and tax breaks. If you want to play your part in creating or building a sustainable community, you can always enquire from your local government authorities the green environments they have in place.
Perhaps the greatest advantage of sustainable communities is their high likelihood to affect others. When a child grows up in a sustainable society, it inculcates the values of renewable practices and taking responsible action. Even though the past two centuries have seen new generations inherit a resource-depleted planet, utilizing green trends give people the opportunity to change that through cost-efficient ways.
The copyright of the article What Makes Sustainable Communities in Going Green is owned by Carrieanddanielle.com. Permission to republish What Makes Sustainable Communities in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Read more at Carrie and Danielle: Going Green


text:
Third Millennium Bible (TMB) | New International Version (NIV) |
13 However when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak from Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come. | 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. |
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved. (Third Millennium Bible Online) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |


text:
A modern marvel in your own backyard.
M33 Access's wireless grid is one of the largest networks of its kind on earth. Encompassing nearly 10,000 square miles of mostly rural Northeast Michigan, we've pushed the limit of what was thought possible for our customers time and time again.
"The pioneer in this field is Glenn Wilson, president and founder of M33 Access in northern Michigan. Frustrated that none of the telecom carriers would bring high-speed Internet connections to the depressed countryside surrounding his hometown of Rose City, Wilson figured out how to . . rig up the country's first renegade high-speed wireless ISP."
Taken from thestreet.com
All hope is not lost. Wireless Services are Available in your Area
Chances are you can get high speed anyway through our wireless grid. All you need is a line-of-site view of one of our 50+ towers and you're all set.
Features High Speed Wireless
$49.99/moDownload Up to 5 Mbps Upload Up to 1 Mbps M33 Web Mail ✓ Unlimited Data ✓ Free Tech Support ✓ Peace of mind ✓ Sign Up


text:
If you like the itinerary below please quote REF AFRICA 512 when enquiring for further details.
Alternatively you may like modify this trip with your own Holiday Wish List
On arrival into Victoria Falls airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Later on we take a visit to the mighty Victoria Falls for a guided tour.
After breakfast, we cross the border into Namibia as we head for the Chobe River and National Park. The afternoon will be spent cruising the Chobe River where you will get the opportunity to view all manner of wildlife, including hippos, crocodiles, elephants and a vast number of birds.
After an early start we leave Namibia and enter into Botswana. Once settled into our lodge, we take a guided stroll through the nearby baobab forest, learning about the local ecology, geology and unique biology of these fascinating trees. The trees are actually not trees, but the largest succulent in the world.
We head over to the beautiful Nxai Pan, a large fossil lake that is part of the Makgadikgadi system. Covered in nutritious short grasses and small islands of acacia trees, Nxai Pan attracts vast numbers of desert herbivores such as the majestic gemsbok (oryx), the iconic springbok and the giraffe. It also offers a diverse habitat to a surprisingly complete suite of carnivores incuding lion, leopard and both brown and spotted hyena at night, and cheetah and wild dog during the day.
After breakfast, we make our way to our camp which is situated in a private concession in the Khwai area. Khwai is renowned for its large concentration of mammals and it is not unusual to see many different types of wildlife during just one game drive. As a year round destination for wildlife, predators can regularly be seen in the area, rated as one of the most prolific in Botswana for viewing wildlife. The exceptional location of Khwai makes it a regular host to elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dogs. Birdlife can also be viewed in abundance with exceptional sightings of wildfowl and raptors.
Today we head to into Moremi Game Reserve, famous for being one of the most beautiful and varied reserves in Africa with an unprecedented concentration of wildlife, including mongoose, wild dog and both white and black rhino. The reserve is situated on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta and was the first reserve in Africa to be set up by the local residents to help preserve the wildlife. A full day is spent here enjoying the unspoiled nature.
This morning we travel to Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta. The day is spent at leisure. You can relax by the pool at the lodge or if you want to see the Delta from the air – why not opt to take a scenic flight?
We head to the airport this morning for the flight to Kasane. Whilst driving through the town, look out for local warthogs who happily wander across the road and along the pavements.This afternoon we start exploring Chobe National Park on a game drive. Chobe was Botswana's first National Park, the most diverse and the home to the largest concentration of elephants in Africa.
Heading back to Zimbabwe today, we leave Botswana behind and return to Victoria Falls. Victoris Falls is home to so many different activities you certainly won't be bored here. From white water rafting to lion walks to bungi jumping – it's all available here!
After breakfast, you're transferred back to the airport for your onward flight.


text:
245 Lord Caldecote, U.K. Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, to Commonwealth Government
Cablegram 151 LONDON, 15 May 1940, 10.20 p.m.
My telegram to Commonwealth of Australia 143, New Zealand 137 [2]:
War Cabinet have today considered the position in regard to U.S.3 and come to the conclusion that in view of the present situation in relation to Italy, it would not be advisable for the convoy to proceed towards the Middle East. Arrangements are accordingly being made for diversion towards Capetown.
As regards the ultimate destination, it is felt that for the reasons described in my telegram of 30th April, Commonwealth of Australia No. 129 [3], New Zealand 122, it would be desirable that the contingents should proceed to the United Kingdom, and it is hoped that this will be agreeable to the Commonwealth and New Zealand Governments.
Intention is that the escort will be maintained at present strength as far as Capetown, except that 6-inch cruiser will have to be withdrawn on account of fuel endurance. Arrangements for onward escort are at present under consideration and full particulars as to proposals will be communicated as soon as possible together with short appreciation of the factors on which they are based.
It is understood that two vessels have Chinese crews who decline to proceed into the Atlantic. This difficulty can, however, be met by the troops at present on these ships being transferred at Capetown to other ships of the convoy in which accommodation can be provided without undue overcrowding. This would ensure that delay at Capetown would be reduced to a minimum and that the troops would be able to reach the United Kingdom in one body. [4]


text:
Version and / or Patch Used: Unpatched
Timedemo or Level Used: Custom Timedemo
Developer Homepage: http://www.vugames.com
Product Homepage: http://www.whatisfear.com/us/
F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) is an intense combat experience with rich atmosphere and a deeply intense paranormal storyline presented entirely in first person. Be the hero in your own spine-tingling epic of action, tension, and terror...and discover the true meaning of F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. is also extremely intense on the system and shows the advantage of the x16 configuration.


text:
Guesterly: A New Way to Connect Your Wedding Guests
A happy couple, beautiful decor, delicious food, and good music are all ingredients for an enjoyable wedding, but the best weddings seem to differentiate in one simple way: the guests are having so much fun they don't want to leave.
So how do you ensure your guests stay long after the cake has been cut? Enter Guesterly, a customized magazine that helps guests get acquainted with one another before the festivities even begin.
Guesterly's team of writers interview the bride and groom about each person on their guest list and pen mini bios for each partygoer. The couple then uses their Facebook accounts to log onto the company's secure website to upload photos of each guest and a graphic designer customizes the book according to their wishes. Once the finished product has been proofed, the glossy is mailed to guests about a week before the big day.
To buy: $3,500 for a wedding of 100 or, for $10 a book, the couple can write their own bios (Guesterly will still design, publish, and mail out the book), guesterly.com.
See more wedding planning tips.


text:
Play Free Versions! Play one hour for free! Enjoy discounts and low prices!
Viewing 6 - 10 of 3542 Games.
Date: Jan 1st 2005 Genre Arcade & Action
This action puzzle adventure will have you buy fish, upgrade your weapons, and unlock secret pets as you explore this captivating underwater world. Spectacular 3D graphics, rousing sound effects, an original score, and ruthless alien beasts make this a can't-miss game!
Date: Jan 1st 2005 Genre Card & Board
Help solve the mystery of Misanthrope Manor in the whodunit puzzler, Inspector Parker.Sort through suspects, weapons, motives, victims, evidence, and body-disposal methods as you aide Inspector Parker in solving the crime. Choose from 10 levels of play in Career Mode, select Puzzle Mode for a game of thoughtful deduction, or move quickly as you race the clock in Timed Mode. A download-must for all fans of board game puzzles and mysteries alike!
Date: Jan 1st 2005 Genre Jigsaw
Start at today's date and work your way through the year with Jigsaw365. Choose puzzle images from 365 breathtaking photographs or use your own digital pictures. Play the puzzles sequentially or in any order you choose. Each month features its own puzzle collection with seasonally-appropriate content. All this and a bonus 13th month - termed "My Month"--wherein you can assemble a collection of your own photos! Download today and start this year right.
Date: Jan 1st 2005 Genre Mahjong
Play mahjongg solitaire in any of twelve unique ways with the exciting and extremely versatile Mahjongg Variations. This game features 16 layouts, 16 backgrounds, and 800 unique puzzle levels. Choose how to play: Select regular modes with classic rules or new modes where you can do things like invert columns, match doubles right away, zap out tiles, and test your memory. Download today and add some variety to your life.
Mahjong Mania is mahjong at its absolute finest! Play any or all of the fantabulous 100+ boards, download new boards online, or create your own boards. This full-featured mahjong game will keep you glued to your computer and it's sure to delight fans of mahjong and newbies alike. The light-hearted spin on the classic mahjong formula makes this game a must-download for anyone who's ever wondered about mahjong!


text:
Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director, BAR:
"The Hungarian race is the highest downforce race on the calendar, even more so than Monaco. Although modified since last year, it retains the previous characteristics with its continuous sequence of low and medium speed turns. It is difficult to find a good balance for the car on this track since it changes performance dramatically throughout the weekend as more rubber is laid down. It is also one of the harder circuits on which to overtake, partly because of its layout and partly because the circuit is always very dusty off-line. Qualifying position will be particularly important here so teams will be considering two or three stop race plans. Conditions are very often extremely hot and tough for engines and drivers alike. BAR, like many others teams, will be bringing a specific high downforce and high cooling aero package to Hungary. Tyres will play a major part at this race, where track temperatures can be extremely high and degradation is significant."
Sam Michael, Chief Operations Engineer, Williams:
"Hungaroring has undergone two changes since last year's race, with the pit straight being longer and the third to last corner being straightened, effectively lengthening the circuit as well. It is a technical circuit where a lot of the corners flow into each other, making it important for the driver to get into the correct rhythm. Set up has traditionally been maximum downforce and, although the layout has changed, downforce will remain at a maximum.
"Strategy will be crucial at Hungaroring as it is quite difficult, although not impossible, to overtake. We have made several mechanical and aerodynamic improvements to the car since Hockenheim to help us continue our form at the front of the grid. Michelin have also been hard at work, even without track testing time they can still bring new improvements to the races."
Mario Theissen, Motorsport Director, BMW:
"At the Hungaroring, engines generally have to withstand extreme thermal loads, not only because of the high temperatures you tend to get there but above all because there are no long straights. There is, if you like, a lack of cool air refreshment breaks for the engines. The extension of the start/finish straight by 250 metres won't make much difference to the thermal load, but it should facilitate overtaking, which is good from our point of view."
Willy Rampf, Technical Director, Sauber:
"After Monte Carlo, the Hungaroring requires the most downforce. The two tracks are actually quite similar even though they look very different. Neither has any really high speed corners, and the straights are relatively short. This year there have been some changes, however. The pit straight is longer and followed by a hairpin turn, and the corners immediately prior to the last one have been altered because in the past the kerbs there have damaged chassis quite badly when the drivers ran over them. Overtaking used to be also very, very difficult. It remains to be seen whether the increased straight might make much difference to the level of downforce you run, and if overtaking opportunities might be improved.
"The surface is bumpy in places and the ambient and track temperatures are usually very high, so both factors can make things tough for the drivers. Tyre choice will also be very important, as the degradation is always a significant factor because of the heat and the track surface. You need a well balanced car with high downforce and good mechanical grip. Despite of the probably improved overtaking opportunities pit work might still take on even greater significance because almost all of the passing here was done in the past during the refuelling stops."
Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director, Renault:
"As we expected, we have been very competitive in the last couple of races: the introduction of the new bodywork package at Silverstone helped us, and we still have several steps forward to make with the engine before the end of the year, including an improved specification for this race. In Hungary, I think we must aim to qualify at the front of the grid and race strongly for another podium finish.
"I think this kind of circuit will suit our car. The last very high downforce track was Monaco, where we were not as quick as we should have been, but given the steps forward we have made with our package, we can expect to be very strong if we perform to our full potential. As well as the engine developments, we will have some minor aerodynamic improvements, and we also anticipate the tyres will prove very competitive in the expected hot conditions."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering, Renault:
"Changes were made to Magny-Cours this year with the intention of creating another passing opportunity, and in that particular case, you would have to say they did not achieve their objective. At the Hungaroring, I do not think the cars will be able to follow closely enough through turn 11 to take advantage of the new slow corner at turn 12. Turn 1 may be a little better, but there is another problem to contend with: the fact that the circuit is so dirty off line. It can take several corners to clean up the tyres after any manoeuvre, meaning anybody who does manage to get past risks making a mistake soon afterwards. I don't think the circuit changes themselves will necessarily help the overtaking situation; certainly in terms of our strategy, we go there with the assumption that it will still be very hard to pass other cars."
Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager, Renault:
"The Hungaroring has changed from last year, and the modifications have significantly altered the nature of the circuit. Previously, apart from the temperature factor, the Hungaroring was not a demanding circuit for the engines; the changes, however, mean it is now much nearer average among the F1 circuits. The longer main straight will now see the cars at full throttle for ten seconds, rather than seven. Previously, the engine was under full load for 43% of the lap; according to our simulations, this will rise to 51% this year.
"One thing that won't have changed from last year, though, is the heat characteristic of this circuit. This means cooling is one of the key engine parameters we need to monitor. Efficient cooling can be achieved in a number of ways: we can try and minimise energy losses in the oil by reducing internal friction; attempt to release as much energy as possible with improved cooling systems; or indeed, we can make changes to the bodywork to improve internal airflow.
"We will be running with modifications to the upper part of the engine, which should bring both power gains and increased engine speeds. The high temperatures will also require solutions that allow us to improve cooling: in
Hungary, it is important to have an engine capable of running with high oil and water temperatures. This is why we will be bringing a new type of oil, developed for us by our fuel partner Elf, which will be used in conjunction with a reduction in the engine's oil flow."
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport:
"The Hungarian circuit is probably the second slowest on the F1 calendar with perhaps the second smoothest track surface. This combination means Bridgestone will be bringing tyres from the softer range to search for that extra grip. The track is also twisty and undulating and grip performance will be an issue there. We normally expect quite hot weather so the tyres need to be able to cope with high temperature track conditions. The specifications for Hungary were decided based on recent results and of the specifications we are taking, there will be several new specs not yet raced before. Also to be taken into consideration, are the recent track modifications which I think will have reduced the average speeds even further. Certain sections have been resurfaced, the first corner is now almost a hairpin and part of the last section has been altered from a high speed corner to a 90 degree turn. In all, it is approximately 400 metres longer. We will require good consistency in hot conditions from our Bridgestone Potenza tyres, good grip and the ability to change direction."
Martin Whitmarsh, Managing Director, McLaren:
"The Hungaroring presents us with a number of interesting challenges. It is a technical circuit, purpose built for Formula One. It has a tight, slippery nature and an abrasive surface. This combined with the constant cornering can lead to high rates of tyre degradation, and therefore heightens the importance of the performance of the Michelin tyres."
Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
"The Hungaroring is one of the slowest circuits on the calendar and features a narrow track with slow and medium fast corners. The tarmac is often dusty and therefore offers only little grip especially on Friday and Saturday when the track is still green. The circuit is notorious for its lack of overtaking opportunities. This means that the qualifying will be very important for a good race result. The weather at Budapest at that time of the year is usually very hot, so that the Hungarian Grand Prix is a real challenge for the drivers and their machinery, and the expected high track temperatures will have a great influence on the tyre performance. About 50 percent of a lap is run with full throttle."
Ove Andersson, Team Principal, Toyota:
"The low-speed characteristics of the Hungaroring may not suit our car as well as some other tracks, although I will reserve final judgement until Friday practice. One thing is for sure, the whole team is fully committed to our aim of scoring more top 8 results and in the process we will do our utmost to retain this sixth place (in the constructors' championship) and hopefully go one better."
Gary Anderson, Director of Race and Test Engineering, Jordan:
"Although there have been some modifications made to the track to hopefully improve overtaking it is still the second slowest circuit on the calendar after Monaco. The need for high downforce on this circuit and the high temperatures normally experienced in Hungary mean it will be a very demanding race for the drivers, cars and tyres. There are very few straights and little opportunity for drivers to take a break and catch their breath so high endurance levels and discipline are essential. The driver's ability in applying himself and driving within his strategy can make or break this type of race. Bridgestone have been working very hard during the summer break and together we're looking forward to a good event. Having Zsolt (Baumgartner) driving the third car will really help when it comes to making tyre choices, he did a very competent job in Hockenheim."
Pascal Vasselon, F1 programme manager, Michelin:
"A number of conflicting circumstances make tyre choice quite complex at this track. It is very difficult to overtake, so a strong qualifying position is vital - a factor that requires a softer tyre compound. That said, the track's sinuous nature and the customarily high temperatures mean you can't run too soft a tyre if you want to maintain a consistent race pace.
"We finalised our Hungarian GP options shortly after the previous race, in Germany. Our tyres' excellent performance in the ultra-hot conditions at Hockenheim served as a useful benchmark. In Budapest we will provide our partners with two different types of dry-weather tyre. One of these has not previously been tried during a race weekend.
"This year's circuit changes will doubtless have a slight influence on the way teams approach the race. Last season almost everybody opted for a two-stop strategy but this time I expect a few teams to plump for three."


text:
The White Swan in Scotter has been carefully redesigned as a modern boutique style hotel, fine dining restaurant and lounge bar and fully catered function venue. We're sure we offer everything and more for your leisure breaks and social occasions...
Since our complete refurbishment in Winter 2012 we have strived to consistently achieve high standards and offer our guests outstanding service and quality in the hope that they will return soon. All of our team are focused on customer care and high standards to ensure our guests are left with positive experiences that they will want to share.
Our hotel rooms are stylishly designed and offer supreme comfort for your stay, whether business or pleasure. The restaurant team take as much care over a cup of coffee as they would a gourmet dinner.
Having hosted many weddings during the 2013 season, our hospitality team are experienced to ensure your special day goes according to your requirements, and the positive feedback from our guests are establishing The White Swan Scotter as a premier wedding venue for the area set in the lovely village of Scotter.
As well as weddings we can offer conferencing facilities for your business team building from corporate room hire to a full package of overnight stays and dinner in the restaurant. Our close proximity to the M180 means that we are convenient for business events along the entire Humber South Bank.
Whether it's a relaxing break in one of our luxurious rooms, dinner in the restaurant from our superb seasonal a la carte menu or simply meeting for a drink with friends in our lounge bar, we warmly welcome you to 'live the good life' in the heart of north Lincolnshire...
So get in touch today and see how The White Swan Scotter can offer you the good life in the heart of Lincolnshire.


text:
See your colors on these designs right now!
Enter your colors here, then click the icon below any design to preview it in your colors.
Recommended Just For You
Customer Raves & Reviews
WOW! So great to work with
Deco Glam Rectangle Invitations One of my close friends used MagnetStreet for her wedding invitations about 4 months before me. Thank goodness I took her recommendation because when my invitations arrived and I realized I wanted to change the text MagnetStreet happily made the changes and charged a VERY fair price for the reprint. Great customer service, prompt delivery, quality product!
Beautiful invitations
Deco Glam Square Invitations My fiancé loves Art Deco design. But there weren't too many out there and we were on a budget. We were not too fond of the dark color. MagnetStreet had the flexibility that allowed us to change the color scheme. They even called us to let us know that one of the suits color might not turn out well and advised us on the possible change of color scheme. The invitation cards, RSVP card, place card and details card turned out great with the iridescent paper. We loved it!
Great Personalization
Deco Glam Rectangle Invitations We needed to change accent and paper colors to fit our wedding. Through chats with customer service and design requests on our order, we were able to get exactly what we had envisioned.
Fantastic product and value
Deco Glam Square Invitations Our wedding invitations are beautiful and just as we specified! Magnet Street customer reps contacted me to make sure that something they noticed in my order was actually how I wanted it. Thankfully they caught an error I made when customizing my order. They made the correction for me and the order arrived just a few days later. Magnet Street's attention to detail and personalized service are what sets them apart from the others. We could not be more pleased with the quality and value of our invitations or with the overall experience. If you order with Magnet Street you will not be disappointed!
We couldn't be happier with our wedding invitations!
Deco Glam Rectangle Invitations Our invitations are everything we envisioned for our perfect day! Thank you!


text:
New Revised Standard (NRS) | New International Version (NIV) |
9 My eye will not spare; I will have no pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are among you. Then you shall know that it is I the Lord who strike. | 9 I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will repay you in accordance with your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that it is I the LORD who strikes the blow. |
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (New Revised Standard Bible Version Online) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |


text:
Simply confirm your registered email address below and click "Reset Password." We will immediately email you a link back to the site where you can enter a new password for this account.
We've found your existing At-Work Network account. Please login below to complete the Facebook login process.
This Saturday from 8p-10p join the 102.9 Classic Rock Squad at The County Tavern in Plumsteadville where you can enter the Labatt LaBucket Sweepstakes for the chance to $1000 to help check an item off your Bucket List and enjoy great Labatt Blue and Labatt Blue Light specials. Labatt Blue…Get Up, Get Out, Get Undomesticated. Always Enjoy Responsibly.


text:
"It's a night out for charity ladies event," Julia Wright, ARC community development manager, said.
The event serves as a time for grandmothers, mothers, daughters and groups of female friends to have fun while supporting a worthy cause.
This year's theme is "The Great Gatsby." Wright said dressing to fit the theme is not required. She said the planning committee wanted to pick a theme that would be fun for women of varying generations.
"It's really fun for the young girls, but it's also fun for the little bit older ladies," Wright said.
Wright pointed out she has been involved in planning the event since it began three years ago. She said she has enjoyed her time on the planning committee.
Her favorite part is "... just the excitement we have in putting this event together and bringing other women in the community together and empowering them by saying, 'Together, we can all do something to help others while having a good time.'"
New for this year is a commemorative photo and glass included with the cost of a ticket.
"And of course we will be nominating a prom queen," Wright said.
Tickets are $40 or two for $75. Tickets for entire tables, which seat eight, can also be purchased for $300. She said planning is going well this year as there are only eight tables remaining for the event. The organization hopes to have at least 250 people at the fundraiser.
Money raised through the fundraiser will stay in the Bradley, Polk and McMinn area communities.
Wright said funding will go toward the Red Cross efforts providing for the immediate needs of families displaced by house fires.
"Just in January alone we have opened 129 cases for disaster relief in East Tennessee," Wright said. "In Southeast Tennessee, we have had over 32 single-family fires since Jan. 1."
Wright said every community the Red Cross serves in the region has been affected.
"We provide them with their emergency immediate needs which are food, clothing and (temporary) shelter," Wright said.
Each year the American Red Cross of Southeast Tennessee tries to raise $25,000.
"This year we have two sponsors that have come aboard — La-Z-Boy and Tri County Carts. We are always looking for additional sponsors for this event," Wright said.
In addition to raising funds, the Mom Prom also serves as a way for the Southeast Tennessee Red Cross to raise awareness in the community.
"We want to bring the importance of the Red Cross mission to the people who are the decision-makers in the home, which is often the women," Wright said. "They are usually the most compassionate."
Wright worked with the Red Cross since 2000.
"It was what I thought was going to be a transitional job. It just didn't work out that way. Once you start working for the Red Cross, you start to understand that there is a real important thing in life, that 'If you're doing something you love, then there is never a day that's work,' and that's true of the Red Cross," Wright said.
She stressed the Red Cross "serves the gamut of society ... it's everyone."
In addition to responding to disaster, Red Cross coordinates emergency communication between the military and their families. This includes getting word to military personnel of emergency situations affecting their families.
"That's another service that these funds will help pay for," Wright said.
To purchase tickets, contact Wright at 423-593-7589 or visit www.redcross.org/momprom2014.
McMinn County High School is located at 2215 Congress Parkway in Athens.


text:
Body Wand Xgen Clitoral Stimulator Large
Product Price
- £60.00
Free Returns
Additional Product Information
Featuring powerful multispeed vibrations and a flexible head, the XGEN Bodywand reaches all your favourite pleasure spots!
Delivering strong and continuous clitoral stimulation, this traditional-style sex toy is like no other. Using A/C power for unlimited enjoyment, all you need to do is plug, turn on and play! It also comes with a 6ft power cord, and delivers strong yet quiet multispeed vibrations which are all controlled by a simple, one-fingered wheel dial on the handle. Measuring 13 inches in length, it has a super soft and flexible head too, giving you unforgettable pleasure right where you want it.
Info / Care
Brand : Bodywand
Features : Supersoft and Flexible
Features : AC Power
Features : Multispeed
Features : Adapter needed outside UK
Features : Skinsafe Massager
CNCEnabled : Y
Product Type : Wands
UK Standard Delivery £2.50 (Free when you spend over £35)
5 working days
UK First Class Delivery £3.50
3 working days
UK Tracked Express Delivery £5.95
Order by 2pm for delivery next working day
UK Saturday Delivery £9.95
Order any day, before 2pm Friday, for delivery Saturday
European Delivery £3.95
7 working days
Worldwide Delivery £3.95
10 working days
Click & Collect FREE
Usually within 2 working days
See our Delivery & Returns page for more information
Please note that all our orders are dispatched in discreet, unbranded packaging for your privacy, and will show as 'AS Ltd' on your bank statement.
Free Returns
If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, simply let us know within 7 days of receipt of the goods.
Return the items to us in their original condition and packaging within 28 days of receipt and we will exchange the item for a different size / colour / option, or if you would prefer we can issue a full refund (excluding original delivery charge).
Please click here for further details.