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Recent comments
National Park Service Admits Mistakes With Proposed Little Bighorn Visitor Center Expansion
Intermountain Regional Director Mike Snyder said:
"Sometimes you just have to admit that you didn't do your homework as well as you might have thought."
When I read an upper-level management figure make a 'cute' statement like this (and only after having been forced to by court-action) I start to worry. Trying to appear merely juvenile and vulnerably-human makes him appear to be pleading to a lesser charge, of trying to "skate" as we used to say in school.
The management-professional & executive then says:
"The proposal to expand the visitor center was one way to solve the problem of crowding during interpretive talks and the lack of a great room or theater to view the park's film. But, after regional office staff reviewed the issues, we've concluded there are other ways that we can achieve those goals without encroaching further onto the battlefield"
This is slick-talk. It's all about 'defining talking points' that are peripheral to and aim to redefine the problem & issue that has arisen - it's deflection. The second part of the statement coyly declines to take responsibility or accept accountability, but simply rolls over and smiles pretty at its accuser: it's an attempt to disarm. "Wow - I see that you're so much smarter than me. You win."
Frankly, the response of Director Snyder raises my suspicions.
What really was the process that lead to the plan to erect a large structure in the center of an historic battlefield that has been deliberately kept open & unobstructed for over a century? Why are we listening to this white-collar prattle - "Oh, we must have boo-booed" - instead of a more grown-up rundown of the events?
Maybe there ought to be an investigation: perhaps the mere proposal could prompt Director Snyder to set aside his cow-lick & school-knickers routine.
True, this is just one post on the National Parks Traveler with a few quotes. There could be more information that puts Mr. Snyder in a better light. What I'm coming away with here, though, is distinctly shady.
Black Bear Attacks Child at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
I'm not sure we can rush to judgment on what the parents did or didn't do. Obviously, they were close enough nearby that the father could rush to his son's rescue. Too, rangers who responded noted that the bear charged them, as well, so merely standing and watching from a distance might not have worked in this case.
I hiked the same trail in early August and the thickness of the vegetation, the way the landscape rises and falls, and the boulders could very well have hidden the bear from the family until it was too late.
Is It Time to Overhaul the National Park Service and the National Park System?
I appreciate your honest thoughts. However, my point is that in an imperfect world, the National Park Service has provided the strongest protection for the largest amount of land for the benefit of the largest number of people for so long. No state or private entity comes close (the closest is New York State with Adirondack Park, but that is an anomaly). Yes, the federal government has problems. So do the states and private nonprofits. I have hope and confidence that the American people will work together to solve the current problems with our federal government. I guess you've lost hope.
Black Bear Attacks Child at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Park Rangers are quick to tell you to keep your children and any pets close when bears are around. Where were the parents? It's unfortunate that a bear had to lose it's life because of careless humans. These people should be ashamed of themselves for not following the most basic rules while visiting the Park. We hiked Rainbow Falls in June and also encounterd a black bear on the trail. We stood back, waited for him to finish eating insects in a downed tree - we took beautiful pictures of him - he went his way - we went ours. We respected his space and never felt even remotely threatened.
I'm sorry a child was injured. But I'm also sorry a bear had to be destroyed in the very environment which is supposed to protect him.
What's the Solution For Cape Hatteras National Seashore?
Ah, GoogleEarth, one of my favorite new toys of the past 5 years!!!
First a most needed clarification. As noted in my initial post, I most certainly was not inferring any regional illiteracy exists, whether selectively unique to this issue or in any other manner. But I don't agree with the "if A, then B" theory pertaining to an ability to sort out legal briefs beings the equivalent to proper dissection of scientific publications. The major difference between the two is the rendering of credibility through the use of multiple citations in scientific publications, generally referencing specific previous findings; some hypothetical, some theoretical, some accepted laws or postulates. Without prior knowledge of the entirety of those works, dissemination of the final data sets supported / contradicted within any given paper is difficult at best, impossible at worst. True, legal decrees often site "State vs. So-and-So" as a precedent for a finding or opinion. These are most always far more limited in number than in the typical sci-publication, as legal briefs tend more toward a legal outcome, while publications in science are intended to present findings as a piece of evidence, similar in scope to supporting / denying a small piece of a 1000+ puzzle. More often than not these findings are first subjected to internal professional review by a committee comprised of disciplines both pertinent to and different from the group who conducted the study (alleged to be more objective than simple "peer review") and then by external forces who in many cases have a "pro or con" ax to grind regarding the inferences of those data. Comprehension of these papers in nothing as simple or enjoyable as sitting down with Beowulf of The Iliad. It's more akin to finding the true author's intent in biblical verses. Often, the interpretation of these data are variable from reader to reader, or from reading to reading, and it takes quite literally dozens and dozens of attempts at various papers to begin to be able to grasp the overall scientific process; understand the scope of the experimental design, determine validity of such, determine if methods, controls, instrumentation and general "lab" conditions were properly controlled and maintained throughout the study, check to see if graphs, charts and calculations are accurate representations of data or otherwise manipulated to, intentionally or not, falsify data.......the list is quite complex. It's not as easy as turning to the "conclusions" section of the paper and seeing what the author(s) have to say about their study. If only..........
In addition, back to my post, I wasn't claiming that the simple proposals were the only acceptable options. Obviously, without a detailed survey and a few competent CE's, the structures that could be acceptable and their locations are completely arbitrary suggestions on my part. The suggestion, as put forth by someone, of placing them directly over existing nesting grounds was foolish and emotionally charged, and not the least bit objective. Neither am I supporting any "enviro" group's stance and itinerary by intent. These groups have political agendas with which I do not stand in allegiance, period. If my "lame" notions have been previously discussed and dismissed, through political pandering, objective studies, or whatever the case, so be it. Sorry to bother you, it won't happen again. But at least try and maintain some objectivity in your long-term plans, as did I, and realize that two sides working to achieve a suitable solution stands a better chance at success than two sides dug in and fortifying the trenches.
Back to some intelligent and insightful references by dapster, I fear the "democratic process" as it pertains to this issue is being clouded by too much disinformation from both sides. While I personally don't own an ORV, I can't say that I've never utilized them from time to time either. I find the pollution issues raised by some as dubious fabrications, but at the same time, vehicle owners being what we are, I'll willing to bet that some oil-leakers have made it out to the beaches. Probably a vast minority, however, but allowing for the use of the "broad brush" stereotyping by the opposition. I submit I am not in possession of the ideal compromise, but at this moment in time I doubt one exists. If as you say, back in the days of my last visit, the "proper" paperwork had been on file, this discussion would be mute.
Funny you should mention the snow / sand metaphor. I've trekked through both; gimme the sand, anytime. True story about the difficulty for the kids though. They prefer to fall in drifting snow banks, for sure. I always found the heated soil motivation to keep myself moving at a brisk pace! But I no more favor the preservation of your local migrants over humans in the OBX than I favor elimination of bald eagle nesting grounds from an island in the Mississippi River to build a condo complex 100 miles SW of Chicago, so that those who purchase the condos can boat upriver to commuter train stations to help alleviate interstate highway congestion. Am I an over-the-edge environmentalist? I believe not, but I tend not towards the first idea placed in my lap, either.
Beamis, I think the doggie colony is partial to the dumpsters behind the Wendy's on the SE corner.
National Park Quiz 16: Waterfalls
You are wrong. Dark Hollow Falls is a classic tier horse tail...as the water rides on the rocks...a classic plunge is where the water falls away from the rocks from top to bottom....
Black Bear Attacks Child at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
I hope that this situation doesn't keep people from going and enjoying Cades Cove. This attack really saddened me, a young child playing in the water being attacked. I should first say I wish a speedy recovery to the child and his father. This being said, my family was at Cades Cove at the begining of July and August, and we encountered bears both time. While there in July, we stopped to see what everyone was looking at. It was, what I considered to be a little bear (Living in the West Virginia Mountains, bears in this area seem to be alot larger 200-600 pounds). The bear was grazing in a field and eating berries. We stood what I considered to be a safe distance, since we were at one of the homesteads. And to my surprise, a bunch of these nut cases went out into the field taking pictures, at maybe 10-15 feet from the bear. It sure didn't take long for them to scatter when the bear stood up on his hind legs. When we were the in July, the ranger said they have been in a drought (the worse in 100 years). So it wouldn't be advised to let kids play in the water, if there is no water in the mountains the bears are going to be coming out of the hills to get some. Both times we were there this year, we saw bears in areas where streams were.
Collapse of "Wall Arch" Proves Gravity Does Work at Arches National Park
I just got back from a cross country road trip where we stopped at Arches. We were there about a week before the Wall Arch collapsed. I was blown away when I heard it collapsed because I, like many of you are probably thinking, "I was just there and it looked fine!" What's really scary to me is the fact that I took some pictures sitting under the arch and for those of you into geology, 2 weeks is like a fraction of a second in geology time. Just to think that I could have collapsed when I was there...
What else is very interesting is the size of the Wall Arch compared to others like Landscape. Wall Arch looked so much thicker at the top compared to Landscape. Landscape is so long and thin, I would have though that would have collapsed years, if not decades before Wall.
Is It Time to Overhaul the National Park Service and the National Park System?
Mr. Kellett-----with all due respect, the federal government of this country is flat busted broke. Years and years of running a welfare/warfare state on Asian credit cards is about to come to a crashing end. The reckless spending binge has finally caught up with the Beltway Bandits and they are about to become members of the poorhouse, dragging along many of us with them.
Your enduring faith in Leviathan to do the right thing is frankly astounding. It ain't just Bush my friend. The whole system is rotten and everybody in the world besides the average American knows it. (You can thank our government run schools and compliant mainstream media for that.)
We all need to plan now for the inevitable bankruptcy and be prepared to take care of these parks under a variety of different umbrellas. Advance planning will save the day for many places now under federal control.
Is It Time to Overhaul the National Park Service and the National Park System?
Just because something is important doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be subjected to federal control. In fact the places I've mentioned are much better off without the politics, budget shortfalls and institutional neglect that is inherent in a massive federal bureaucracy. It would be a sad day indeed if any of the places I've mentioned above were to come under the administration of the Department of the Interior.
And just because something is not federal doesn't mean it's good. No one can seriously claim that state governments are free from "politics, budget shortfalls and institutional neglect." In fact, that's exactly what many state park systems have suffered from. And nonprofit organizations are certainly not free of those problems. I think I cited the example before of the huge problems facing the California State Park system. The Massachusetts state park system has been starved for years. Other states that are having major problems with underfunding and inadequate protection of parks include Texas, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Michigan. It would be absurd to say that special places would be better protected and managed by these states than by the National Park Service.
I'm glad that Florida parks seem to be doing pretty well. But that's the exception, not the rule. I'm also happy when states do a good job of protecting special places. My point is that they often cannot be depended on to do so. And to advocate off-loading national park areas to states assuming that they will do the job is simply not based on the real situation.
What's the Solution For Cape Hatteras National Seashore?
Your quote:
"As my time as a Senior volunteer at a National Park has taught me "Mitigation funding" is something you come to both love and hate, and thanks to the current adminstration the NPS's increasing reliance on it has become a serious problem."
Can you please explain what you know about this situation? That's new terminology to me, and I would like to know how it might come into play in the CHNSRA issue. Thanks in advance!
Beamis, You hit that nail on the head, Sir.
The Piping Plover's Southernmost summer range is, you guessed it, Southern N.C.! They are more a northern bird, and are apparently prolific in the Cape Cod area, as well as parts of the Great Lakes shorelines, and the Canadian Maritimes. They are sadly being used as a "Poster Child", or political football, as you put it, in this game we now play. They have a very hard time making it on the Cape against nature alone. Overwash, storms, and predation all have a larger impact on their ability to survive than humans and ORV's will ever have. Predation is actually UP this year due to the lack of humans to scare them away! Therefore, the NPS is now either trapping and "relocating" or outright killing predator species including Foxes, Muskrats, Nutria, Opposum, Feral Cats and Dogs, and Raccoons, just to name a few. Some are "relocated" into a dumpster at Ramp 44. Does this border on playing God? I certainly believe it does.
I've heard of similar situations to the Prairie Dog issue you brought up. Apparenty the same thing is happening with Osprey nesting in trees along privately owned waterfront property, where landowners are clearcutting trees along the shoreline to prevent nesting. If an Osprey does indeed nest, the property owner cannot build any structures that nesting year or the next, as the birds must be allowed the ability to renest the following season per EPA rules. This, and your example as well, are but a few instances where these wacky rules are actually hurting the species that they set out to protect.
Will Second Century Commission Succeed With Its National Parks Assessment and Recommendations?
I agree that process is important. I don't know exactly what that process will be, but I hope they do reach out to include different voices. But this is something that has to be carefully done. If the commission casts its net too widely, it risks getting a mishmash of issues and concerns that lead to gridlock. I don't think the public has any sense of where the National Park Service has been or where it should go. On the other hand, special interests know very well what they want and are relentless in fighting for it. They already have a disproportionately strong voice in national park affairs.
I think what is needed the most right now is a bold, positive vision and equally bold leadership on behalf of existing and new national parks. This is certainly not coming from the browbeaten National Park Service, the anti-park Bush administration, the clueless Congress, or uninvolved NGOs. I think the commission has an opportunity to set the tone and agenda for discussion. Then it can put their ideas out there to get a reality check for their final findings and report. But that report needs to be on the cutting edge, not "consensus"-based pabulum that plays it safe.
You're right that the NPS needs money. But if that means locking in bad things that could become permanent, we could gain in the short-term but lose in the long term. Look at the Fee "Demonstration" Program, which was obviously intended to be permanent. Then it became permanent -- what a shock. It will be very difficult to reverse this retrograde program. The approach of begging for funds each budget cycle has not worked very well for us.
I know there are things like buildings and artifacts that need desperate help. But regarding the natural parks, there was a lot of truth in Newton Drury's statement, "We have no money; we can do no harm." That doesn't mean more money is not needed, but we should not let privatizers and anti-government ideologues blackmail us into agreeing to more of their agenda. We need to start undoing it.
Now is a chance to start fresh and do it right for a change. We need to be ready to demand that the new president and Congress address this issue. I think it is worth muddling through another year of inadequate budgets if it leads to permanent reform and progress on funding and management.
What's the Solution For Cape Hatteras National Seashore?
Unfortunately, environmental rules are used more and more frequently to achieve goals that have less to do with protecting animals and are simply another tool in the activists arsenal to stop an undesirable outcome (in their opinion) that they were unable to prevent using other means.
A good case in point is the use of the Endangered Species Act to thwart development of privately owned land in southern Utah on behalf of prairie dogs which some government wildlife biologists have deemed a "threatened species". In most cases the prairie dog is nothing more than a political football used as a last gasp measure to prevent unwanted "sprawl" or commercial development when all other means of prevention have been exhausted. The end result of this so-called "protection" is that local people have begun to kill any and all critters that even look remotely similar to a prairie dog on their property out of a very real fear that the government will deprive them of their private property rights on behalf of a rodent. The end result is wanton slaughter of a creature the law was designed to protect.
Far from endangered the Utah prairie dog is thriving amidst the new development and if you want to see some firsthand they have a huge colony on the cloverleaf of I-15 in Cedar City (Exit #59).
I think the use of plover nesting grounds on Cape Hatteras is a similar ploy to achieve what can't be done through honest negotiations. I've never been bothered by the vehicles on the Cape and don't think the turtles or plovers have been either.
What's the Solution For Cape Hatteras National Seashore?
Thanks for the agreement on the fishing issue. The state of NC indeed has both salt and fresh water fishing license requirements, as well as min.-max. size limits per species. The money collected from these fees goes to good uses throughout the state.
The area of the highest contention in this issue is the '"Cape Point" to "South Beach" areas that run from Buxton to Frisco, NC. These areas lie between 2 access ramps over the dunes that are numbered 44 to the North and 49 to the south of the "Point".
This part of the barrier island is the largest landmass in the whole chain. The only highway in the area departs from the Atlantic seaboard at Buxton, and closely follows the opposite coast along the Pamlico Sound. There simply are no hard surface roads in the area at all, with the exception of the two roads that lead to aforementioned ramps.
As you stated, you have not been to the OBX in some time, although I can find no reference to the "Jam" period. That being the case, please go to this website, provided by the CHNSRA NPS and 'Google Earth":
http://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/googleearthmap.htmThe ramps are numbered as I have indicated for easy reference. Please look at the large wilderness area known as "Buxton Woods" that borders the entire Cape Point/South Beach seaboard. Note the total lack of buildings and/or roads. Note the relative distances from road ends to beachfront. Now take into account that the sand is more like deep snow than hardpack. Also consider that the sand reaches temperatures well over 100 degrees F on a typical sunny summer day. A hike from the closest parking area to the point would be a tough job for a marine, much less a family with young children. There are no public showers, no public areas in which to house lockers as you suggest. Any and all structures near the coastline are subject to destruction from storms that range from Nor' Easters all winter and spring to Hurricanes most of the summer and fall. Any infrastructure required by your suggestions would be swept into the sea again and again.
Once the barrier island leaves the point area, it becomes quite narrow again, many times just a few hundred feet wide. In these areas, public parking is provided at occasional "turnouts", and wooden walkovers are employed for beach access. These areas are far and few between, however, and would not work for the Cape area proper.
As to the amount of education we Beach Access proponents possess about these matters, especially in relation to the species in question would surprise you. If there has been one good thing, in my opinion, to come out of the mess that is the Consent Decree, is that we are ALL much, much more learned about birds and turtles and their conservation.
However, I will state that the ORV/Fishing/Beach Access public has been talked down to by just about every one on the other side of this issue since day one, and you sir, continue in that same vein. Do not dare to question the intelligence and comprehension abilities of these folks. If they can read and discern what is relevant in all the legal documentation concerning the Consent Decree, as well as the original NPS charters and such, then they can do as well with scientific biological reports. Most of these same people are not fishermen by vocation, it's just what they love to do away from their jobs. They are employed in every faction of the working world imaginable. Please do not add the insult of being called uneducated to the injury of these folks already losing their access rights to their favorite places in this country.
No one wants to cause harm to any of the species in question. We just ask that a democratic approach be taken in these matters, and that public opinion AND peer-reviewed science come into play. To say that the Audobon Society and the Defenders of Wildlife are the one and ONLY authorities on species conservation is absurd. Yet their mandates are exactly what is running the CHNSRA today. They simply refuse cross examination and sue if they find their way to their means blocked. That, Sir, should bother you as well.
The Interim Plan that was killed by the Consent Decree was making great strides in species protection, and numbers were on the increase due to it. On that basis alone, the SELC could not have sued. However, they found the "chink in the armor" in the guise of the NPS/DOI's failure to submit their "Final" ORV/Species management plan for 30+ years. There, our government officials failed us big time, and allowed for all that we are currently discussing to ensue. Had the final plan been in place for years, I sincerely believe we would not be having this discussion. I also firmly believe that ALL species, including humans, would be flourishing on these beaches, ORV's and all.
As I sat on South Beach last weekend, watching my nearly 2 year old son frolic in the sand and surf, a thought came to me. I realized exactly what it is that makes this area so special to me and thousands of others: It's place where the common man, through no more means than owning a 4WD vehicle, can provide for his family beachfront living that is usually only available to the very wealthy, if just for the day.
Lastly, let's just suppose it were indeed possible to make the hike to the point while laden with fishing gear and all sustenance needed for a family of three just for the day, using good packing techniques as you suggest.
You might just find a sign in your way, once there, excluding pedestrians as well.
What's the Solution For Cape Hatteras National Seashore?
As my time as a Senior volunteer at a National Park has taught me "Mitigation funding" is something you come to both love and hate, and thanks to the current adminstration the NPS's increasing reliance on it has become a serious problem.
Will Second Century Commission Succeed With Its National Parks Assessment and Recommendations?
I agree with you on the Centennial initiative issue but the fact is NPS needs money, and fast.
Pruning the Parks: Six National Parks Acquired via Transfer in 1933 Were Subsequently Abolished
I think to help solve the delisting problem the National Natural Landmark system needs to be reworked, because there are many places of national value that should be honored and could help greatly from this but probably would not make such a great National Park. Also, a local and regional designation should be created as well.
Other parks just need to be "refocused". For example, the NPCA believes that the Boston Harbor Islands should focus on there Native American history and as being used as concenstration camps (as it turns out almost all of them were) for Native Americans after the King Phillp's War. The park is sort of littered with Indian burial grounds. However, for better or worse the park is sort of a "new idea" because NPS does not run the park, has a spending limit, and only oversees and cordinates operations at the park. As for what I mean by worse one of the islands was developed as a sewer treatment plant when it arguably shouldn't have.
What's the Solution For Cape Hatteras National Seashore?
Customary and Traditional Uses and Rights
An aspect of the issue of vehicles on the beaches of Cape Hatteras & environs that is at times overshadowed by other arguments, is that this is a 'customary & traditional' pattern of usage. People started doing this soon as cars came along. I expect the archives will yield photos of Model T Fords lined up on the sand, not unlike today's SUVs. They may well have done the same with horses & buggies, before Ford!
Does that history of usage 'count' or 'matter', or not?
Certainly, the words 'customary' and 'traditional' have significant legal import these days. We hear phrases made up of those words often, especially regarding Native Peoples. Such language is familiar to the public, and is well-understood.
Does the consideration of customary & traditional factors apply only to Aboriginal Peoples, and is it facetious to claim 'tradition' for internal combustion propelled machines?
The answer to both those question is No.
The famous case of subsistence in Alaska, including (but not limited to) Parks, is explicitly not race-based. The practice of subsistence (based on customary & traditional usage) applies equally to all residents of a region where it occurs. The "preference" is for rural residency, people who live in the regions where the traditions were practiced (newcomers 'inherit' the rights of a region). Subsistence is not a right of Indians, withheld from White folks. On the contrary, approximately half of subsistence activity is by non-Natives, and half by Tribal members.
In Alaska, machines including ATVs are recognized as traditional and customary. Airplanes, outboard motors, nylon fish nets, and most of modern equipage, are likewise fully qualified as traditional & customary. Machines have the same basic history in Alaska as anywhere else.
Some people are inclined to object that Alaska is a 'special case', and that what goes on there has no meaning or impact in the conterminous States. However, what is really different about events in Alaska is simply that they are the most recent of our large-scale National trends. They should be viewed as harbingers of legal & social things to come, rather than as anomalies or sub-arctic aberrations. (Alaska should be view as - gulp! - the next California!)
The accurate way to view what has happened in Alaska is not that it is a 'special' resolution that applies only in some far-off and atypical place - but rather that it embodies the most recent - and future - evolution of Federal law & jurisdiction ... some parts of which will increasingly be expressed & applied in regions & cases beyond the Alaska scene.
The solid & established reality is, 'customary & traditional' does count - and includes practices on Cape Hatteras. Furthermore, there are many other cases across the United States where customs & traditions have been deprecated. Some of those abrogations will most likely hold permanently, but in other cases the legitimacy of claims to now-suppressed patterns of usage will be brought forward and reexamined to determined whether a "right" of usage had been established, and if so, some may be permitted & protected in the future.
Indeed, the handling of the controversy at Cape Hatteras suggests that it is being managed as potential precedent for the address of customary & traditional practices elsewhere.
Does custom & tradition mean bird & turtle nests don't warrant protection? No more than bird & turtle nests mean that established usage ought to be stopped. Neither is legitimately a weapon against the other.
What's the Solution For Cape Hatteras National Seashore?
The title of the article is intended to bring about suggestions for solutions to the ongoing debate about the long-term prognosis for the health of the ecosystem, not the convenience of tourists, locals, and those hell-bent on some off-roading adventure.
I am guessing the ecosystem you are protecting is to be enjoyed by no one? Without the people you reference this wonderful place would be a bunch of empty islands off the coast of North Carolina. Those hell bent on an off-roading adventure do not come to Cape Hatteras. Even the above pictures show PARKED vehicles not matter how distorted the picture by SELC's finest. People use the beach to access the shore for fishing, shell collecting and enjoyment of the Nations Recreational Seashore.
Some of the topics raised in this thread point to a general "personal interest" rather than a sound overall understanding of factors to be considered in proposing some legitimate possible modifications, if such be required, to maintain at the very least, the current status of the area.
SEE your post for a prime example!Golf courses across the nation provide "bag drop" areas conveniently located, generally right next to the club house, for anyone who cares to leave the bag at the door while they park their vehicle. I'll bet a similar circumstance could be arranged for the ocean fishers as well. Leave your gear and one person behind to watch it if you feel the need. Short-term lockers are another notion. There are ways this could easily be overcome.
Man you just resolved the issue completely. Let's just put lockers on top of the plover nests so we can keep the gear for thousands of fisherman locked up tight until needed. OOPS the next hurricane will wipe this off the map. Let's just pave a parking lot over the plover nests and build a large structure to protect the lockers. OOPS that won't work as we had to move an entire lighthouse because it was unsafe there. Wouldn't we still have to drive on the beach to use a drop off area? How is that different than just parking out there? Brilliant minds really do exist, No really?!?The issue of temporary closure of segments of beaches while they are enlisted as nesting areas by certain species is bothersome? I read this as saying the area simply isn't big enough for more than just bipedal mammalians.
We have been dealing with these closures for years. I am guessing since you have not been there since the dark ages you have not heard of this. We never complained or sued to have them removed. We simply coexisted with the closures. If you think that the SELC and friends only want Temporary closures you really are in the dark.
Maybe protected nesting grounds aren't important to you personally. That can indeed be your opinion as is your right to express such. If you want the hard science behind the protected zones required by any given species, and are willing to read the studies conducted on any particular species, who all have a wide variance in their particular "comfort zone / personal space" during times of reproduction, and are actually of broad enough intellect to understand those reports, these data are readily available to you. The last comment is not intended to be a "dis" at anyone in particular. Scientific publications, especially statistical studies and the related data analysis such as of the manner typically conducted by wildlife biologists, is quite difficult to comprehend by the general public who have little or no training in the methods of scientific reading. But the information which you half-heartedly seek is indeed there for your perusal at a time and place of your convenience.
You, the Autobahn, the Defenders of Wildlife, and the SELC really need a crash course in reading as well. Please also note that it has been documented that the conditions in Cape Hatteras are not exactly what I would call IDEAL for the piping plovers. They build a teacup size nest on a beach that has sustained winds year round that can and do cover the tracks of any SUV within hours. This makes it ideal for humans as it keeps most of the bugs away, but it covers plover nests even faster. Please note there are places that these birds if needed could succeed try Cora June Dredge Island and Pea Island to name a few as there are no human interferences. They do not succeed there either as the conditions for these little creatures are not IDEAL.
From the ORV crowd, most of what I've read is that they don't /can't drag their coolers, etc. miles from the parking areas to the beach. I guess well-stocked backpacks aren't an option. Sounds more like you want these access areas closer to the endpoint due to convenience rather than necessity. However, there exists a segment of society who CANNOT, as in physically unable to, make the journey from those remote areas to the beach, and thereby have quite justifiable reasons for the use of limited "convenience" areas. But to apply these same rules across the board is ludicrous. Maybe, just maybe, one should take a closer look at the inventory of supplies one is toting to the beach, as one is forced to when embarking on an extended backpacking sojourn. There I go, raining on your parade. Shame on me for planning ahead.
WOW again a home run of ideas. Let's drag or even get pull carts to take our gear out to the point. OOPS that will not work as the tracks and drag marks left (per the SELC) will prevent Turtles from getting to the sea and prevent the plovers for accessing the feeding areas. Well let's eliminate some of our inventory we THINK we need to survive. Well since they are too heavy to carry we can eliminate handicapped Uncle Joe, the kids and even Grandpa. There go some great memories down the drain. OOPS we can just photo shop them into our memories while they waste away on the couch playing Parcheesi (sorry Mr. Pitt) or video games about fishing. Well I got off track now back to lessening my load. I can pack a couple of fishing poles and some extra hooks, but I will need bait. Well that is another pole to catch bait with. What about food and water. Well I could bring dehydrated water, but what would I add? I could bring a desalination system out there I guess now for food. My options are either some healthy granola bars, like a lone hiker would choose, or just eat plover.BOY OH BOY you people make it too easy. We should sign you up to represent the ENVIROS at the REG NEG committees and this thing would be long over.
Will Second Century Commission Succeed With Its National Parks Assessment and Recommendations?
I don't disagree with your characterization of The Nature Conservancy, which unless it has changed practice from the Washington Post expose written several years ago, is borderline corrupt and more of a money front for the large corporations that make up its board.
What I have an issue with again is one of process. If we already know the kinds of people we would like on a commission, we must already have a good idea of what we think the answers need to be coming out of the commission (not that there aren't specific questions to go at - like the kind Rick has outlined). This emphasizes the point I made elsewhere that commissions aren't really important for their substance but as part of an advocacy process toward largely pre-ordained outcomes. I think in some specific fields, they may serve their use; however, in the world of parks, they only exacerbate some of the key problems.
The word "commission" for whatever reason has some cache - the idea of an independent, god's eye view on things. But, that strikes me as silly when we are talking about parks. The supposedly ultimate grounds for holistic interaction, for engaging with beings in terms of their of whole environment are reduced to the most detached, atomistic way of considering problems. That these commissions are neither independent nor have a god's eye makes it seem all the sillier. Can't we advocate in a sounder way than this?
Jim Macdonald
The Magic of Yellowstone
Yellowstone Newspaper
Jim's Eclectic World -
Will Second Century Commission Succeed With Its National Parks Assessment and Recommendations?
A couple of points.
why are no large conservation-oriented NGOs, such as The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, or the World Wildlife Fund, represented on the commission?
The Nature Conservancy has been less and less supportive of national parks in recent years. For example, they are unsupportive, if not openly opposed to the Maine Woods National Park proposal. They prefer the private land protection route. That is their right, but they are not advocates for public lands and national parks. Conservation International and WWF do some great work on parks in other countries, but virtually nothing in the U.S. They have not shown leadership on this, so why should they be on the commission? In fact, no U.S. conservation organization -- except for NPCA -- has taken any significant leadership on national park issues for more than a decade. It is a good idea to consult with these organizations, but they should not be on the commission.
And are there any concerns that the existence of the commission will be an impediment to the administration's Centennial Initiative in that some congressfolk and potential donors might withhold their support pending the commission's report?
The administration's Centennial Initiative is severely flawed and we would be better off if it goes nowhere in its current form. It greatly increases dependence on private and corporate funding instead of direct federal appropriations -- continuing the unhealthy privatization of our parks. It does not roll back the shift toward funding national park units through user fees -- a harmful trend that is undermining congressional appropriations and needs to be reversed. And it barely even mentions new or expanded national parks at all. But what else would we expect from the anti-park Bush administration? I'd be delighted if members of Congress wait for the commission report and take legislative action in the next session, when we might get a much better Centennial Initiative.
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring
An update to my previous post ...
After photographing the Grove of Titans which are described in The Wild Trees, I afterward determined the boundaries of Atlas Grove and acquired images from there as well. The photos are all provided at the same page listed earlier:
In addition, some VIDEO from both groves has been included.
The book also spends time describing "Adventure Tree", and the page provided includes that one as well.
Last week, I was at the base of "Fog Valley" where Hyperion the tallest redwood lives, to get a feel for the terrain. That will probably be next year's adventure. The edges of the main river in the area - Redwood Creek - are where camping is allowed, and it meets the creek tributary coming down from where Hyperion is.
Pruning the Parks: Six National Parks Acquired via Transfer in 1933 Were Subsequently Abolished
Early in 1970 I shipped out of skid row Seattle on the Greyhound Line to work the Burlington Northern railroad tie-gang refurbishing track through Montana.
While our camp-cars were parked on a siding near at a spot called Whitehorse (or Whitehall?) along the Jefferson River, I spent off-time & weekends hiking down into the river-canyon, and overland into the surrounding hills.
One day I was a few hours back in the hills, came around a bend and here below me was an out-of-place fancy asphalt road, and off in the distance some kind of facility. I walked up the road and it was the Lewis & Clark Caverns, then a Nat'l Park. I had no inkling it was there!
Montana now has a nice webpage for the Caverns. Photographs, information, maps ... and links for all the little & big critters of the area, into a Field Guide they have posted. (Notice that they are using hydrologic data-layers for their distribution-maps ... hmm!)
But I agree, the cavern was just as well handled as a local feature, and nothing in particular indicated a need for Federal involvement. (I'm one of those who feel that we are better off if the Federal echelon handles only those matters which really require centralized authority, and all other matters be left to lower/local authorities & jurisdictions).
It was said the Native Tribes (and earlier inhabitants) hadn't used the cavern, and didn't even know about it ... something that always seemed unusual to me. Maybe more has come to light over the years...
I was really glad to spend a season in Montana!
Pruning the Parks: Six National Parks Acquired via Transfer in 1933 Were Subsequently Abolished
I have no problems delisting, as pruning a tree sometimes increases the overall health of the plant.
Unless they've changed the rules, archeological sites don't qualify for National Park status solely on the basis of local or regional antiquity. Those types of sites come under the protective umbrella of other agencies and Lord knows the NPS can't afford to be in the business of protecting every site of presumed historical import, be it of recent vintage or pre-Cambrian Era.
It the NPS planning on going subterranean? I know their budget is........
What's the Solution For Cape Hatteras National Seashore?
I'll admit that I personally haven't set foot on the Outer Banks since the North Carolina Jam era, and back then this issue was a non-factor. But the whole ORV transgression versus environmental impact raised during multiple tangents to this central theme is growing rather tedious. The title of the article is intended to bring about suggestions for solutions to the ongoing debate about the long-term prognosis for the health of the ecosystem, not the convenience of tourists, locals, and those hell-bent on some off-roading adventure. Some of the topics raised in this thread point to a general "personal interest" rather than a sound overall understanding of factors to be considered in proposing some legitimate possible modifications, if such be required, to maintain at the very least, the current status of the area. Examples:
The whole idea of limiting or eradicating fishing is just silly. Fishing is permitted in many NPS units, such as those in which the Colorado River cuts a swath through the landscape. Indeed, temporary out-of-state fishing licenses, including trout stamps, aimed specifically at the tourist market, are available within the boundries of the parks. Insofar as the supplies required to do a decent day of surfcasting......golf courses across the nation provide "bag drop" areas conveniently located, generally right next to the club house, for anyone who cares to leave the bag at the door while they park their vehicle. I'll bet a similar circumstance could be arranged for the ocean fishers as well. Leave your gear and one person behind to watch it if you feel the need. Short-term lockers are another notion. There are ways this could easily be overcome.
The issue of temporary closure of segments of beaches while they are enlisted as nesting areas by certain species is bothersome? I read this as saying the area simply isn't big enough for more than just bipedal mammalians. Maybe protected nesting grounds aren't important to you personally. That can indeed be your opinion as is your right to express such. If you want the hard science behind the protected zones required by any given species, and are willing to read the studies conducted on any particular species, who all have a wide variance in their particular "comfort zone / personal space" during times of reproduction, and are actually of broad enough intellect to understand those reports, these data are readily available to you. The last comment is not intended to be a "dis" at anyone in particular. Scientific publications, especially statistical studies and the related data analysis such as of the manner typically conducted by wildlife biologists, is quite difficult to comprehend by the general public who have little or no training in the methods of scientific reading. But the information which you half-heartedly seek is indeed there for your perusal at a time and place of your convenience.
From the ORV crowd, most of what I've read is that they don't /can't drag their coolers, etc. miles from the parking areas to the beach. I guess well-stocked backpacks aren't an option. Sounds more like you want these access areas closer to the endpoint due to convenience rather than necessity. However, there exists a segment of society who CANNOT, as in physically unable to, make the journey from those remote areas to the beach, and thereby have quite justifiable reasons for the use of limited "convenience" areas. But to apply these same rules across the board is ludicrous. Maybe, just maybe, one should take a closer look at the inventory of supplies one is toting to the beach, as one is forced to when embarking on an extended backpacking sojourn. There I go, raining on your parade. Shame on me for planning ahead.


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caevans850January 22, 2013
Thoughts on how to make this more modern for Flat screen
Eden Clark of VEDA Design Group
Depending on your budget, a much more contemporary look would be to have the niche drywalled in, remove the existing fireplace surround and do a stone or tile floor-to-ceiling, then place the flat panel over top. It will create more of a focal point and drama for the room. I did a quick mock-up for you so you can see what it would look like. :)
(you could also paint the cabinetry on the sides all white to make the entire area 'pop').
(you could also paint the cabinetry on the sides all white to make the entire area 'pop').
LB Interiors
The comments from those above are right about doors on lower part of unit. What about painting black trim. Leave the arch to soften all the sharp lines. Saves money. Paint the arch wall the marble color. This will make the unit interesting. Paint back of shelves a color ... photo is too bright, sorry. Beef up the mantle, construct higher and slightly longer than the wall. Paint the mantle a color that's in the marble surround. Construct a drop-down door to house the component shelf and paint the same marble color. The unit will work better with the floor also. The marble now has something to tie it all together.
P.S. You could also add a rectangular plant-on facade over the arch and paint a color in the marble. Extend the length slightly wider than the unit mimicking the mantle length. Remove molding around fireplace and replace with accent tile.
P.S. You could also add a rectangular plant-on facade over the arch and paint a color in the marble. Extend the length slightly wider than the unit mimicking the mantle length. Remove molding around fireplace and replace with accent tile.
Plain Jane Enterprises LLC
My first thought is always on a budget. If that's the case, I would paint it all black, or almost black, a wenge (brown/black). Keeping it all black (but for the crown and fireplace surround) makes the tv disappear. Takes it to contemporary right away. Doors on the bottom anchor it, great idea.
Whats with a ll the black?? Did Caevans850 say this room was going to be a man cave? Unless there are some dark heavy furnishings going in to balance it out...... closing in the arch is not that expensive.. a bit of wood, half piece of drywall, a little work and really modernize it......Also if the doors had glass panels tv components could be stored inside and the remotes still function. I know it's just my aesthetic just hate the idea of black , I'm on the west coast where updating is usually more modern and fresh. I do think that tile choice above is fantastic.
KN Interiors
I second Eden Clark's opinion. To simplify, simply drywall over the arch and mount the TV. Depending on how big a TV you had in mind, this will allow you a larger screen than if you try to put it inside a niche. I also agree that the mantle could stand to be beefed up a bit... kind of feels like an afterthought at the moment, when it could be a great architectural statement. (Also an inexpensive fix.)
LB Interiors
I agree with plain jane and KN. A larger TV would probably be more conducive to where the furniture will be placed in the room. It's difficult to tell. The unit seems to be in the middle of the pathway into the room. Black touches are always classic and add to a contemporary look. If the unit is all black, it becomes much heavier and may become the primary color set for the room. Is that what you want? This gives you an idea.
Ironwood Builders
Hey guys! Drywall and wood don't mix! Drywalling pieces of cabinetry doesn't anyway! Squaring up the existing arch needs to be done in the same material, securely glued and screwed in place, then painted whatever color you all can agree on...don't take me down that paint it twice then cover it with stone path again! BTW, lots of discussion these days about mounting that big flat screen to stone and the inadvisability of it...need to hit studs with the mounting bolts!
HI -- I would get rid of whats there instead of diddling with it and trying to make something else out of it . It's dated and common anyway. I would widen the fireplace front and stone or tile up to the ceiling and maybe have no mantel . Mount the TV on the wall on the right side with a console cabinet under. Much more simple and modern and less cluttered looking .
I agree with Ironwood builders... you can easily close up the dry wall but the addition of doors will take some good DIY skills or a carpenter... Im not suggesting you just get some wood and slap it on the drywall lol .. But I really agree with Lefty47 ..the whole thing is dated , dry wall shelving is not a good look... I'd demo that.. today!
Lose the fan, nice dark marble around the fireplace and hearth, next add soft lighting to book cases. Thin out the bookshelf lines,maybe a glass shelf, doors on the bottom of the cases, with nice hardware, TV area,hide those wires! Plus rustic shutters to fit the arch and hide the TV when not in use, might be nice too! Good luck!
LB Interiors
The arch for the TV needs to have new framework built inside the niche and then secured to existing 2x4's or 4x4's behind the wall. Hoping that a stud is near center of niche. Add sheetrock to finish. TV will be secure if attached to a new stud of framework. Have a professional drywaller finish the area. Any carpenters out there? If I am wrong please inform.
Jody Stafford
If it were mine, I would paint it a color darker than the floors, but not black, put doors over the arched area, or cut the arch out. Put shelving on the bottm sides w/ door and thin out upper shelves with glass, maybe a smoky grey colored glass. get rid of that mantel and put a beefier more modern looking one there. whatever color shelving you use, choose different shades of that color for the hearth and fireplace surround.
I agree with Eden Clark. Natural stone + white clean cabinetry = clean, modern, classic design. Keep large pieces neutral and to give a more modern feel, fill shelves with bright colors to pop. Switching out decor as trends fade is more cost efficient than having to do this project every couple years.
Sean's Interior & Exterior LLC
I have done lots of projects like this. I frame the opening in with 2 X 4's or 2 X 2, wire all the electrical and HDMI hook ups, drywall and finish. It's easy and looks great. I think I posted a couple of that type of project on my page step by step. If not, I can because I have the pictures.
Rebecca Bandy
Remove all the shelves and cubbyholes around the fireplace...give the fireplace new marble and/or stone surround with a decorative mantle. Place TV above or off to the right on wall. If on the right of the fireplace...set large dresser below to hold all TV accessories...
Linda Clayton Interiors
I would start off by painting the unit so that it does not look like a big old drywall unit. If you have the budget you could have an artist faux finish it to look like wood. I would then add a mantle of stone or wood. Paint the back of the unit a contrast color. I would drywall the arched area and mount the flat screen TV there.

subset: commoncrawl


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8 iconic brands that have disappeared by Melissa Locker @FortuneMagazine November 9, 2014, 11:44 AM EST E-mail Tweet Facebook Google Plus Linkedin Share icons Soon Nokia will be no more. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Finnish tech company made the must-have mobile phone. It became the world's No. 1 mobile phone maker and a global technology tastemaker. Now comes news that Microsoft is phasing out the brand it recently acquired, in order to focus on the Lumia phone line. With the name switch, the 147-year-old Finnish company's name will disappear from the technology it helped create. It's not the only well-known company to stage a vanishing act. Recently it was announced that the once-ubiquitous Hess gas stations that dotted America's landscape will also disappear as the company focuses on oil instead of retail. While Hess's and Nokia's impending disappearances are playing out in the headlines, take a look back at eight other brands that were once household names, but have since disappeared.
Microsoft ditching the 'Nokia' and 'Windows Phone' brands for 'Microsoft Lumia' by Melissa Locker @FortuneMagazine October 22, 2014, 3:21 PM EST E-mail Tweet Facebook Google Plus Linkedin Share icons This post is in partnership with Entrepreneur. The article below was originally published at Entrepreneur.com. By Benjamin Kabin, Entrepreneur.com It appears that Microsoft is entering the final stages of phasing out the "Nokia" brand name for its mobile phones in favor of the new "Microsoft Lumia." The decision to ditch the Nokia name really isn't much of a surprise. Microsoft MSFT acquired the Finnish company's handset business in April for $7.5 billion. As part of the deal the Finnish company got to keep the name but licensed it to Microsoft for 10 years. Well, it looks like the Redmond, Wash.-based company is ready to kick the name to the curb a tad bit early. Microsoft has been hinting at its plans to kill the Nokia and Windows Phone brands for a while. Last month the company began redirecting visitors from nokia.com to its Microsoft Mobile website and in its latest commercials for the Lumia 930 and HTC One M8, Windows Phone isn't even mentioned. Another commercial for Cortana – Microsoft's version of Siri — makes only a brief URL reference to "Windows Phone." If these clues weren't enough, an internal document leaked last month revealed that Microsoft would "drop the manufacturer name [Nokia] from product references during the Holiday campaign." France will be the first country to see the rebranding, transitioning from Nokia France to Microsoft Lumia on social-media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Other countries will see the change over the following weeks. The Verge reports that Microsoft has confirmed the upcoming rebranding. We have reached out for comment and will update this story when Microsoft responds. More from Entrepreneur.com: The 8 must-follow rules for rebranding your company (infographic) Microsoft finally makes a move in the smartwatch sector 4 types of apps that never succeed
With 15.5% of smartphone sales in Q1, Apple took 65% of profits by Melissa Locker @FortuneMagazine May 9, 2014, 3:20 PM EST E-mail Tweet Facebook Google Plus Linkedin Share icons FORTUNE — Mixing numbers is probably even more dangerous than mixing drinks, but the contrast every quarter between the estimates from IDC of smartphone shipments and those from Canaccord Genuity of smartphone operating incomes is too tempting to resist. With the usual caveats — these are only estimates, and with only Apple AAPL reporting actual unit sales, who knows where they come from? — let it be noted that: According to IDC, Apple's share of worldwide smartphone shipments was 15.5% in calendar Q1, down from 17.1% a year ago. According to Canaccord Genuity, Apple's share of industry profits was 65%, up from 57% in the same quarter last year. Samsung's share numbers were down a tad, according to these reports, with share of profits off two percentage points to 41% and share of shipments down about the same to 30.2%. Both companies are selling more smartphones now than they did last year; it's the competition — mostly from smaller Chinese manufacturers — that is cutting into their market share. Meanwhile, because Nokia, BlackBerry, Motorola, Sony, LG and HTC all lost money in the smartphone business last quarter, Apple and Samsung split, according to Canaccord's Michael Walkley, 106% of industry profits. That makes no sense, in more ways than one.
Why the Google-Motorola deal matters for Microsoft-Nokia by Melissa Locker @FortuneMagazine September 4, 2013, 2:52 PM EST E-mail Tweet Facebook Google Plus Linkedin Share icons Imagine it's 1999. Scratch that, it's 2006. The computer in your office is made by … well, it doesn't matter who it's made by. Unless you are in a creative profession, that computer is run on Microsoft Windows. And the phone in your pocket is made by Nokia NOK , or — if you're feeling stylish — Motorola. Apple AAPL made your mp3 player (yeah, back when we still called them mp3 players), and Samsung made your display screen, or your TV screen, or both. Just close your eyes and go back to that crazy 2006 mindset (here's a link to help, if you need it). Apple was killing it on iPods and iTunes, not in its original mission of personal computers. Google GOOG was just a search engine, a filthy rich search engine. Nokia still ruled mobile phones, although Motorola's Razr owned popular culture. And Microsoft MSFT ? It was still Microsoft, the grating white noise of personal computing that Bill Gates designed the company to be. MORE: Don't cry for Nokia, Finland In the seven years since, so much has changed, which in the tech world isn't notable. What's strange is how it changed. Apple's mp3 player mutated into a mobile phone that changed everything. And it mutated again into the iPad, changing the personal computer. Yet somehow Samsung sold more smartphones using an operating system powered by, of all companies, Google. And Motorola? Its mobile-device business was bought by Google. And Nokia? Its core devices business has been bought by Microsoft. The software companies began to eat the hardware companies because they needed to act like Apple, which married software to hardware … oh, three decades ago. And search ate Motorola smartphones. And Windows consumed Nokia smartphones. And Samsung, the maker of those excellent TV screens in 2006, sat there sticking its tongue out at everyone else. And no one — no great master of the chess board that is the technology landscape — saw this coming. Maybe one part of it, yes, but not all of it. Because if you live in the past or the present, none of it could possibly make sense. This is all about a bunch of wild guesses about the future. So what are we to make of Microsoft and Nokia? In the past day or so, there has been so much to say. Opinions on the deal run the gamut from approval to scoffing to the purely perplexed. (Mostly scoffing, however.) But how are we really to know? The evolution of the mobile web has surprised longtime web observers the same way the desktop web surprised everyone involved with the tech industry that preceded it. Only, in some ways, the mobile web has offered even more surprises. MORE: Apple's iTunes festival: What's in it for the bands People who in 2006 couldn't predict what 2013 would bring to tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Samsung, Nokia, and Motorola are now confidently tweeting the future of Microsoft and Nokia. People who could make no good sense of Google-Motorola two years ago (I'd wager Larry Page was among them) have a sure view of where Microsoft-Nokia will go. And good for them. Yes, this deal may very well amount to tying two sinking bricks together, etc. And both Microsoft and Nokia face uphill battles. But at the same time, in the early days of September 2013, the only honest analysis you can give is that a mobile web everyone saw coming yielded a competitive landscape few expected. And if we can't foresee which company will be on top in another several years, the best we can do is look at similar deals that have happened in recent years. Which brings us to Google's purchase of Microsoft, announced a little more than two years ago. At the time, people struggled to understand the sense of it. People speculated, as they do with Microsoft's Nokia investment, it had to do with patents. That Google would simply spin off Motorola's manufacturing operations. At the time, it seemed like the most likely explanation. MORE: 5 social media all-stars But Larry Page, Google's new CEO, took a different direction. He held onto the Motorola devices that had been outmoded by Apple's iPhone. Although Motorola has been a drag on Google's earnings since then, the move seems prescient now. Software hasn't just supplanted hardware in the past decade. It needs hardware as an ancillary business. Microsoft's unexpected introduction of the Surface underscored that idea. And now its Nokia deal makes it seem that much more inevitable. In other words, many companies can produce software on their own, but once you get big enough, you need hardware in the mix to stay on top of the game. The old cliché that the line between hardware and software was blurring has become an industry maxim. Software giants are doubling as hardware companies — Google 2010 (Motorola), Microsoft 2012 (Surface) and 2013 (Nokia). Others going it alone — like Amazon AMZN and Samsung — will have to adapt. Still others, like Apple (early 1980s), took this route years ago. The mobile revolution at the center of technology innovation today may be protean and hard to predict, but one thing is certain: The old lines — like what is a PC and what is a portable device, or what is a software company and what is a hardware maker — are dissolving. Yes, Microsoft and Nokia may be several years late to this game, but at least they're there. And this mobile game isn't finished offering up its surprises.
9 ways smartphones are getting scary smart by Melissa Locker @FortuneMagazine April 29, 2013, 3:50 PM EST E-mail Tweet Facebook Google Plus Linkedin Share icons


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Totally Worth It! - West Orange, NJ
I wish I would've found out about this procedure sooner! I drove 3.5 hours from MD and left extremely happy. I decided to go for the non-surgical rhinoplasty (Silikon-1000) to correct a previous rhinoplasty that I had back in 2006 performed by another doctor. I wasn't happy with the... READ MORE


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D'oh! Homer Simpson named the best TV character in 20 years.
A survey by Entertainment Weekly magazine named Homer Simpson the greatest character created for film or television during the past 20 years, beating out Harry Potter.
PRNewsFoto/Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising
To the Oxford English Dictionary, Homer Simpson is the immortal utterer of the word, "d'oh!" To the people of Britain, Homer Simpson is the "greatest American" – the fictional charater they would most like to see become president of the United States.
And now, to the readers of Entertainment Weekly, Homer Simpson is the single greatest character created for film or television during the past 20 years, more magical than Harry Potter (No. 2) and more hip than Buffy the Vampire Slayer (No. 3).
Homer Simpson is, after all, the patriarch of the Simpsons, stars of the eponymous TV show that is the longest-running prime time series on American TV.
Had he been a character by the other Homer (the old Greek one), his epithet would surely have been "boorish" or "craver of doughnuts."
Equal parts lovable and laughable, Homer Simpson symbolized America more than Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr. to the British participants in the unscientific 2003 BBC poll. To the American readers of Entertainment Weekly, too, Homer Simpson's dim wits and warm heart were more memorable than the mob life of Tony Soprano (No. 4) or the sinister genius of the Joker (No. 5).


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On the Edge
What's trending in your life, and in ours
Monthly Archive for March, 2009
Telephone receiver for your cellphone
Are you one of those people who ditched the home phone in favor of the cell? If you are a cell-only user, you know how long calls can sometimes be a pain in the neck — literally. The tiny, flat mobile doesn't cradle nicely between your shoulder and ear the way a retro receiver does […]
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Browns Brewing Company small business mixer
Browns Brewing Company, 417 River Street, Troy is hosting a small business networking mixer tonight with music, appetizers, hand-crafted beers and, of course, networking. Free to Capital District Local First members; $10 for non-members (deducted from your membership dues if you choose to join CDLF). Reservations necessary. Call 463-2500.
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Gilda's Club event at Revolution Hall tomorrow night
This isn't the social calendar blog, but … I'm posting this event as a favor to a regular reader: Gilda's Club Capital Region New York hosts an event celebrating international cuisine and culture to raise funds for the group that provides social and emotional support for families living with cancer from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. […]
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What does it mean when he says he wants his space?
Here's a good story from Glamour breaking down what he actually means when he says he wants his space. (Um, he wants to call it quits but doesn't have the cajones to fully cut the cord …) Readers, have you ever told anyone you wanted your space, or have you been the receiver of such […]
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Another coupon code site
Many fashion-conscious shoppers are concerned they won't be able to afford their favorite looks/trends in the current economy. One way to save the money without skimping on style is to visit CurrentCodes.com, which offers online coupons to the some of the biggest names in fashion including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, ShopBop.com and Saks. Previously on OTE: […]
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Philanthropic 'Phasion' at Saratoga Trunk
Saratoga Trunk wants you to "Pheel Good" when you shop. This week shop owner, Natalie Sillery is unveiling her "Fashion for Philanthropy" donor card. Every time a client makes a purchase at Saratoga Trunk –- instead of paying the full amount to the store — clients make out a check for 10 percent of their […]
[Read More]
Rock Bottom Golf sale in Albany
The annual Rock Bottom Golf sale will be at the The Best Western Airport Inn, 200 Wolf Rd., Colonie from noon – 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. As always, there will be free parking and free admission. For information, check out their Web site […]
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A 'sweet' thumb drive
My colleague Jennifer has a post on a fun (calorie-free) Easter basket treat: the candy USB drive. Chocolate bars aren't the only candy in the basket. You can score Twizzlers and others. And, previously on OTE, why Easter baskets are still sweet for adults (like me and other Capital Region residents).
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Does she think of other men during sex?
This is a great story from Yahoo! Shine looking at the five things men wonder about in relationships, like: Does she think of other men during sex Does she flirt with other guys when out with friends. And, if so, how far will she let it go. For the answers to these questions (as well […]
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Sign at a local mechanic's shop
Here's a sign at Doheny's Service Station in Ballston Spa (shot yesterday). How timely.
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Star Wars Landspeeder Replica Prop. This is without a doubt a show stopper and easily recognizable to any Star Wars fan. Get ready to... More
GTO LOCATING & CUSTOM BUILDING TO SPECIFICATIONS 25 years experience 215-651-9268, customclassicgto.com... More
Jaguar 1960 Mark II 3.8, black and steel blue two-tone/new saddle leather, 4-speed manual overdrive, 41,951 miles, restored & rebuilt engine 1,000 miles ago,... More
CAMARO: 1967 RS convertible, absolutely gorgeous bolero red, spectacular restoration, Protect-O-Plate, original metal, steel cowl induction, matching 327 cid/4v engine, automatic, factory air conditioning,... More
PONTIAC: 1962 Catalina convertible, spectacular show, black plate highest standards, extremely rare, cameo ivory, blue tri-tone interior, built 389 cid, 318, 3x2s, automatic, power... More
FACEL VEGAS: all models; prevent steering failure and improve brake safety, install safety kit; parts/club. Mark, 310-528-7471, CA; [email]; www.facelcars.com... More
BRICKLINS: large selection of pristine Bricklins available, manuals, parts, accessories, general information; the Largest Bricklin Retail Center Worldwide, we buy Bricklins, also assist sellers.... More
NASH: Metropolitan hardtop, restored, red/white. 979-249-4200, TX.**27-YR**... More
Morgan 2015 3-Wheeler, new, modern technology in classic design, V-twin motor, Mazda 5-spd provides drive simplicity and reliability, sturdy tubular frame, two rollover bars... More


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Compensation costs in foreign factories two-thirds of U.S. costs
October 02, 2002
Average hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars for production workers in manufacturing in 29 foreign economies declined to 67 percent of the U.S. level in 2001 from 71 percent in 2000.
The U.S. average costs were higher than the trade-weighted average for Europe (although five European countries had higher hourly compensation costs than did the United States) and for the combined 29 economies. Compensation costs in Japan fell below the U.S. level in 2001 for the first time in three years.
These data are from the BLS Foreign Labor Statistics program. Data on hourly compensation are preliminary and subject to revision. For additional information, see news release USDL 02-549, "International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs for Production Workers in Manufacturing, 2001." Note that the statistics for foreign economies presented here reflect fluctuations in exchange rates as well as changes in hourly compensation expressed in each country's national currency.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Compensation costs in foreign factories two-thirds of U.S. costs on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2002/sept/wk5/art03.htm (visited March 04, 2015).
Three recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics
Housing: before, during, and after the Great Recession
looks at consumer expenditures on household items, employment in residential construction, prices for household items, and injuries in occupations involved in building and maintaining our homes. -
Women veterans in the labor force examines the demographic, employment, and unemployment characteristics of women veterans.
BLS Statistics by Occupation provides an overview of occupational employment and wages with an emphasis on STEM jobs and occupational data by typical entry-level education required.


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Yeovil v Rochdale
Rochdale are likely to hand a debut to goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams, who signed from Stockport this week.Defender Scott Wiseman is available for selection after completing a three-match ban. Yeovil will be without midfielder Jean-Paul Kalala, who serves the third game of a four-match ban. Defender Craig Alcock (back) is doubtful, but striker Andy Williams (hamstring) is set to be fit and could be included in the squad..... read more
Sponsored links
Related Rochdale News


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Product Description
Available while supplies last.
This Buffalo Tools slow speed bench grinder is offered in gray.
Black Bull Slow Speed 8-in Bench Grinder
Restore edges, sharpen axes, hatchets, mower blades, smooth rough edges, level surfaces, and keep your bits and chisels in top working order with the Black Bull 8-in Slow Speed Bench Grinder.
- The slow speed sharpens without generating edge-destroying heat
- Ideal for use in your home workshop, but still powerful enough to be used in a more commercial setting
- Two LED lights, one installed above each wheel, give a direct and focused light on the work piece - great for seeing more fine and detailed work
- Switching wheels can be a real pain, so the bench grinder includes two grinding wheels, one coarse grit wheel for rough work and one medium grit wheel for finer, more detailed work
- The 0.5-in arbor accepts other wheel types for buffing, polishing, sanding and removing rust and paint
- Mount onto the Black Bull Bench Grinder Stand (not included) for a convenient and secure grinding station
- Sharpen blades, smooth edges, and level surfaces
- (2) Grinding wheels included: One coarse and one medium
- 115V / 60 Hz / 1/2 HP, 1725 RPM single speed
- Bore size: 0.5-in
- Wheel size: 8-in x 1-in
Color: | Gray | |
Materials: | Metal | |
Usage: | Assembly Required | |
Grinder Type Any real workshop has a bench grinder for precision work on material that can be hand held. Angle grinders are better utilized in situations where the material is too heavy to use with a bench grinder. Both bench and angle grinders come in multiple sizes to meet you every need. | Grinder Type | Bench Grinder |
Grinder Power Source Bench grinders are almost always corded however angle grinders com in both corded and cordless options. | Grinder Power Source | Corded Grinders |
Bench Grinder Diameter Bench grinders come in multiple sizes but the most common are 6 and 8 inch versions. | Bench Grinder Diameter | 8-in |
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San Jose has biggest pay hike again
October 01, 2001
As in 1999, workers in San Jose, California, had the largest increase in average annual pay in 2000 of any metropolitan area in the country.
Average pay in the San Jose area rose by 24.5 percent in 2000. San Francisco, California had the next highest increase in average annual pay at 18.3 percent, followed by Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California (15.5 percent), Boulder-Longmont, Colorado (13.9 percent), and Casper, Wyoming (13.7 percent).
In comparison, average annual pay of employees in metropolitan areas nationwide increased by 6.0 percent from 1999 to 2000.
These data on average annual pay are a product of the BLS Covered Employment and Wages program. Pay data presented here are for workers covered by State and Federal unemployment insurance programs. Find additional information in "Average Annual Pay Levels in Metropolitan Areas, 2000," news release USDL 01-318.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, San Jose has biggest pay hike again on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2001/oct/wk1/art01.htm (visited March 04, 2015).
Three recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics
Housing: before, during, and after the Great Recession
looks at consumer expenditures on household items, employment in residential construction, prices for household items, and injuries in occupations involved in building and maintaining our homes. -
Women veterans in the labor force examines the demographic, employment, and unemployment characteristics of women veterans.
BLS Statistics by Occupation provides an overview of occupational employment and wages with an emphasis on STEM jobs and occupational data by typical entry-level education required.


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Sleigh Bells Still Creepy in 'End of the Line' Video
SPIN favorites — and Anthony Bourdain pals — Sleigh Bells have released a video for their Prom-worthy new single "End of the Line." Co-directed by producer-guitarist Derek Miller and Gregory Kohn, the clip features more of the band's now-trademark creepy Americana imagery. Miller and singer Alexis Krauss ride bikes through eerily empty suburban streets, intercut with shots of the latter in a white nightgown looking forlorn against a black backdrop, on a bed, and wandering in the desert at twilight. It's all set to the song's machine-gunned Def Leppard power-balled vibe.
Sleigh Bells will appear on Bourdain's No Reservations - The Final Tour on September 3. The show will air at 9.00 p.m. EST/PST on Travel Channel. Starting August 28, the band will hit the road alongside DJ-wizard AraabMuzik.


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POSTED: Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - 10:06pm
UPDATED: Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - 10:11pm
IRVING, Texas (AP) - The Dallas Cowboys have won at least three straight games coming out of their bye week every season under coach Wade Phillips.
They're preparing to try to extend that streak, starting Sunday at home against Tennessee. The Cowboys are a meager 1-2 so far.
Jason Witten was back at practice today after a ligament injury. He had his knee wrapped up.


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5.9-magnitude quake jolts Taiwan
Published on May 21, 2014 8:54 AM
TAIPEI (AFP) - A 5.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Taiwan on Wednesday and shook buildings in the capital, the Seismology Centre said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The quake struck at 8:21 am local time with its epicentre 33.3km southwest of the eastern city of Hualien, at a depth of 18km, the centre said.
Three children were slightly injured by falling ceiling material during a singing lesson at a school in the southern city of Tainan, education ministry officials said.
The quake, compounded by heavy rain for several days, also triggered landslides which disrupted traffic on four highways in mountainous areas.
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Good morning y'all. I was listening to the Michael Berry program this morning in the office and he was talking about this article type deal from Texas Law Shield. It perked my interest because I too am a member of TLS. I thought of y'all on here because I've seen a lot of questions about carrying across state lines and stuff.
Hope this helps some of y'all.


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NC Democrat introduces bill to criminalize the carrying of guns
Current information seems to indicate that this person wants to take away our rights to legal concealed carry. Please contact Senator Julia Boseman at:
NC Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 309
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
5917 Oleander Drive, Unit 200
Wilmington, NC 28403
(910) 251-6975
This insane piece of crap bill is completely in violation of our Second Amendment Rights. If you have an NC permit, you have passed a background check that many of the legislators who will get to vote on this would fail. This mad cow is a liberal lawyer (who would have guessed) from Wilmington. If any of you are from that district, your letters, phone calls and e-mails would have the greatest effect. Also, it is not too soon to prepare to get her out of office at the next election. Whatever you do, DO SOMETHING!!!


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Book your room at Eurogarden Hotel
Standard Double Room
Max Occupancy: 3 guests (up to 2 children, 2 infants)Standard Triple Room
Max Occupancy: 4 guests (up to 3 children, 3 infants)Standard Double Room Single Use
Max Occupancy: 2 guests (up to 1 child, 1 infant)4-star hotel in Ozzano dell'Emilia with a restaurant
Situated near the airport, in Ozzano dell'Emilia, this hotel is in the same area as Villa Cicogna Conference and Events Center, Piazza Bracci, and ITC Theatre. Area attractions also include Museum of Prehistory luigi Donini and Bellaria Hospital.
Hotel Features
In addition to a restaurant, Eurogarden Hotel features a fitness center. Other amenities include a bar/lounge and a conference center.
Room Amenities
Flat-screen televisions come with satellite channels. Guestrooms also feature complimentary wireless Internet access, climate control, and safes.
Information missing or incorrect? Tell us!Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
The hotel offers a restaurant. A bar/lounge is on site where guests can unwind with a drink. A complimentary breakfast is offered each morning. Public areas are equipped with complimentary high-speed wireless Internet access.
This 4-star property offers access to a business center and meeting rooms. Event facilities include a conference center and conference space. This business-friendly hotel also offers a fitness center, tour/ticket assistance, and multilingual staff.
- Conference center
- Free newspapers in lobby
- 24-hour front desk
- Total number of rooms - 72
- Number of floors - 4
- Babysitting or childcare
- Bar/lounge
- Business center
- Conference space
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Fitness facilities
- Airport transportation
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Meeting rooms
- Multilingual staff
- Garden
- Luggage storage
- Restaurant
- Year Built 1999
- Number of meeting rooms - 4
- Free breakfast
- Free WiFi
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Room Amenities
- Pay movies
- Climate control
- Soundproofed rooms
- Minibar
- Hair dryer
- In-room safe
- Desk
- Rollaway/extra beds available
- Cribs/infant beds available
- Satellite TV service
- Flat-panel TV
- Free WiFi
- Room service
Where to Eat
A complimentary continental breakfast is served each morning between 7 AM and 10 AM.
The Court of the Olive - This bistro serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Guests can enjoy drinks at the bar.
Room service is available.
Nearby Activities
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Golfing nearby
- Bicycle rentals on site
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at noon
Special check-in instructions:
A tax is imposed by the city and will be collected at the property. The tax ranges from EUR 1 to EUR 5 per person, per night. The amount has been determined by the local administration and depends on the length of stay, property classification, and room price. This tax does not apply from the 6th consecutive night of stay. Guests exempted from this tax include residents of Bologna and children under 14 years of age. Please note that further exemptions may apply. For further details, please contact the property using the information contained in the confirmation received after booking.
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Pets allowed, Only dogs are allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
- Rollaway bed fee: EUR 28 per night
We should mention
Cash transactions at this property cannot exceed EUR 999.99, due to national regulations. For further details, please contact the property using information in the booking confirmation. Children 12 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding.


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A rebel was born in the summer of 1959 when a 12-year-old Franco Nicoletti and some of his friends began hawking backrests and umbrellas to tourists along the Mediterranean. "Ombrello, signora?" they inquired in Italian, the sand between their toes. Earlier that summer Franco had asked his father to buy him a pair of shoes. "You want fancy shoes? Buy 'em yourself," his father had told him. So Franco came up with the idea to milk the tourist trade, recruiting his friends to help out. He collected handfuls of lire and got his first taste of the benefits of free enterprise. A young hustler had taken his baby steps.
Franco's family was not atypical among Southern Italian families. His father had been a World War II navy captain who, after the war, went to work for the provincial government. Nicolino Nicoletti was rarely around, splitting his time between his family and those of his mistresses. Franco's mother, who was overbearing and sometimes violent, bore her husband's indiscretions, though she took out her frustrations on Franco, his three brothers, and two sisters. Franco left home as soon he could and began training for the priesthood at a nearby seminary. After two years he dropped out and headed to Sicily to enroll in hotel school. By the time he was 17 years old, he and his friends had hustled together enough money to open a business in Rome, a lively supper club featuring live jazz and good food. But Franco had grown impatient with Italy and longed to travel to the land of opportunity, America.
He flew into Chicago in December 1965, in the frigid heart of winter, and moved in with his grandfather, who was living in Gary, Indiana. Within a few months, Nicoletti hooked up with an Italian businessman who was importing Volkswagens and Porsches to the Chicago area. By the time his visa expired in 1966, he was earning a good wage and driving nice cars and did not want to return to Italy. The following year he told the Immigration and Naturalization Service that Mary Ann Millet, a young midwestern woman he'd begun dating, was pregnant and that they intended to marry. Although Mary Ann wasn't pregnant, the couple were wed on April 29, 1967, when the Vietnam War was in full swing. They then enlisted in the Air Force and were sent to March Air Force Base outside Riverside, California, where Mary Ann was assigned to the medical corps and Franco, who had requested service as an assistant chaplain, was assigned to clerk duty in the nuclear weapons compound. Although he was not a U.S. citizen (and never would become one), Nicoletti was granted a high-level security clearance.
In 1970, three months before he was discharged, he had his first run-in with California law enforcement. Nicoletti was accused of writing bad checks to employees of a Riverside body shop he had started while in the service and was given probation. Today he claims someone else wrote those checks. Whatever did transpire at the body shop, the incident marked the beginning of what would become an almost 25-year run of prison-free legal trouble. After Nicoletti's return to civilian life, he quickly sold the body shop, the first of many businesses he would unload over the years.
Nicoletti's corporate modus operandi was to start a legitimate business, though never in his own name, and then run it into the ground. Along the way, say law-enforcement officials, he was likely skimming the cash proceeds while driving the business deeper and deeper into debt. Because his name was not attached to any of the operations, Nicoletti's personal assets remained protected when the businesses were eventually sold or went bust. "It's what we call a 'classic bust-out,'" explains Vilardi. "Franco was a master at carrying them off."
Nicoletti is in prison now, lost in the fond recollections of those early years. "I was on base, running a beautiful little business," he says, referring to the body shop. "I painted the place, made it spotless, it was great. I started with peanuts and worked hard. You know why I got into trouble?" His voice jumps several octaves, the click of his consonants quickens. "It was my ambition," he says. "It's always been my ambition, my ambition, my ambition." He spits out the words like poison and pounds the table with a clenched fist. "So some bad checks were written. It happened, nobody got screwed out of anything, life went on. Now when I'm the bad guy, they bring that up like its some big deal."
Nicoletti eases back into the chair, smoothes his fingers across the stack of legal documents on the Formica table, and smiles, acknowledging a fellow inmate. "I always think I'm doing the right thing and then something goes wrong."
One night in 1973, Nicoletti walked into the bar at the Holiday Inn in Riverside, smeared with grease and sweat and wearing a jumpsuit emblazoned with corporate logos. He and his team of Formula 7 racecar drivers had won a race earlier that day, and it was time to celebrate. The minute he walked in, Nicoletti noticed the beauty on stage with her rouged lips flush against the microphone. When the band took a break, he called her over. "Hey, gorgeous, come here and talk to me," he said, flashing a mischievous smile.