text:
Hey, When Raw Milk Data Don't Go Your Way, Try Some Gymnastics, Like CDC Does; Another Look at Harvard Debate
During the raw milk debate at Harvard Law School last Thursday, I criticized our opponents for their failure to present data, as in real understandable numbers.
I had gone to the trouble of analyzing data from official statistics provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control--supposedly the gold standard of foodborne illness data. (Some of what I presented was CDC data extracted by the MarlerClark firm, certainly no friend of raw milk.) I found that, over the last decade, between 25 and 175 individuals have been reported ill each year from raw milk. Moreover, I found that the number of illnesses is generally in the vicinity of .5% (one-half of one per cent) of the total number of 23,000-25,000 foodborne illnesses reported each year. (The preceding link goes to the 2008 number, the most recent reported, and that number is down on the order of 1,000 or more from the immediately preceding years.) That's a very small percentage, given that 3% of the population has been found, by the CDC, to be drinking raw milk.
Why wouldn't the opponents comment on the numbers I had compiled from CDC data, or present numbers of their own? For a very good reason. The numbers suggest that because raw milk contributes such a miniscule proportion of all reported foodborne illnesses, it's nothing approaching a significant public health problem.
So what do you do if it gets embarrassing to ignore the numbers? If you're a good bureaucratic number cruncher, you raise a lot of dust and say, "He went thataway!" In other words, you distort and distract, you do anything to avoid discussing the truth.
That is what the CDC did yesterday in publishing a study assessing illnesses from raw and pasteurized dairy over the 14 years of 1993-2006. "Nonpasteurized products caused a disproportionate number (≈150× greater/unit of product consumed) of outbreaks and outbreak-associated illnesses," it concluded in its abstract.
I would be content to ignore these ideologues, except the major media pick up on such pronouncements, coming as they do from the august CDC, the place where all things concerning the science of health are validated. Here's how USA Today led off its article on the study: "Unpasteurized milk, touted as the ultimate health food by some, is 150 times more likely to cause food-borne illness outbreaks than pasteurized milk..."
What's the problem with this "study"? Because the most important number, the number of illnesses, doesn't prove CDC's point that raw milk is terribly dangerous, it pulls the old switcheroo--it focuses on "outbreaks." It's long been known, and acknowledged all around, that there are more raw milk outbreaks than pasteurized milk outbreaks. But when there are pasteurized milk outbreaks, they can be doozies. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were pasteurized milk outbreaks affecting tens of thousands of people. One in 1994 sickened 224,000 people who ate pasteurized-cream ice cream. The true cause was never pinpointed--whether it was the cream or the eggs. That outbreak doesn't seem to have made it into Langer's study. I also don't see mention of a 2006 outbreak in which 1,300 California prisoners were sickened by pasteurized milk.
Indeed, Langer whitewashes illnesses from pasteurized milk--those were flukes, it was the consumer's fault, the food handlers' fault. Excuses, excuses. He says of illnesses from pasteurized milk that "at least 4 (57%) probably resulted from post-pasteurization contamination by an infected food handler. Failure of the consumer to store the dairy product at an appropriate temperature probably contributed to 3 other outbreaks. Such temperature abuse can enable pathogens (present because they either survived pasteurization in low numbers or were introduced after pasteurization) to multiply to concentrations capable of causing illness." I love it. "Temperature abuse." Is that akin child abuse?
The important number--the number of illnesses--is buried deep in the CDC study. That number is 1,571 illnesses attributed to raw dairy over the 14 years of the study. It works out to an average of 112 per year. As I said, there are between 25 and 175 reported illnesses each year.
I actually wrote about the lead author, Adam Langer, a few years ago, when he came up with this truly perceptive insight: In states that prohibit raw milk, there are fewer illnesses from raw milk than in states that allow raw milk. As I wrote at the time, you'd likely have the same phenomenon with any foods--ban deli meats in one state and you'll have fewer illnesses from deli meats than in another state where they're allowed. This bizarre insight is one of Langer's key conclusions for this latest paper.
It's supposed to be about safety, but we see yet again that it's really about politics and propaganda. Don't know why I'm always surprised. Guess I just had it drilled into me too many times that the CDC cares about the science.
The Boston Globe has a nice wrapup of last week's raw milk debate. It doesn't take a stand, just reports the facts, along with good atmosphere and nice photos.
I'd posted the following on the previous article, so am reposting it here:
Here's a long but interesting 2001 article about British cheesemakers under threat from over-regulation, which corresponds with raw milk here in the U.S.:
For example:
"EU regulation imposes a `zero tolerance' for Listeria monocytogenes in cheese but it does not apply to other foods such as pates, meats and salads. However, it is the consumption of meat products that contributes to the majority of food poisonings. ... This is even more surprising in the view of the fact that `several countries have concluded that the complete absence of Listeria monocytogenes for certain ready-to-eat foods is an unattainable and unrealistic requirement that would restrict food production and consumption without having a positive impact on public health'."
and: "What is needed is a rational approach towards hygiene and regulation but not one where food is rendered totally sterile. Good hygiene combined with encouragement of local products and the promotion of vigorous good health is not only possible but necessary."
And lots more....
David-can you cite the reference for the 23,000-25,000 cases of foodborne illness. I am interested in looking at these further.
Try this. It's the 2008 total, down on the order of 1,000 or more from immediately preceding years:
Great job David, I enjoyed your talk and you guys did a wonderful job defending and defining the raw milk market situation / condition etc....
At the end of the day...the data lies told and spun by the CDC are lies. Just lies. Lies are very interesting, they turn on their tellers. In fact ....they turn very badly on their tellers and the truth of the dollar voting markets never lie.
OPDC sales are a barometer of the truth. People learn of the truth through their own experience and they know it as the truth. It is their experience and when they compare their experience to the CDC lies...they really get pissed off. OPDC has made it our business to expose and uncover this disparity. When a state has 35 million people in it....it takes just a slight percentage of those millions to create a very viable market niche. This niche is very loud and very smart and very communicative and is growing wildly.
Watch out lies...the truth will catch up to you and when it does....jobs will be lost and heads will roll.
Thank you, Mark.
I agree with you about lies. They also make people ever more cynical about their government. They may not expect truth from politicians, but they hope against hope that scientists charged with overseeing public health are being honest and straightforward. To see them repeatedly resort to data distortions, essentially lies, for propaganda purposes is depressing. Like you say, it will come back to bite them at some point when they are trying to communicate serious important information, and people have stopped believing them.
"They may not expect truth from politicians, but they hope against hope that scientists charged with overseeing public health are being honest and straightforward."
So true. The lawyer just regurgitated the govts same old stories. Where does he get off saying we don't have the right to consume what we want? If I was sitting a jury, he would not have even remotely swayed me to listen to his side....He was not impressive and I would not choose him if I needed a lawyer.
This really didn't appear to be a debate to me, nothing new was presented by either side...except your stats that corrected the govts lies.
Regarding the debate, the data wins. Take a deep, cold drink of your raw milk. The data shows you have a Campyobacter problem going back decades, and since the 2000's you have an E. coli 0157 problem (independent of Listeria in pasteurized milk or melons - that's their problem).
The raw milk industry has a Campylobacter and E.coli O157 problem.
What are you going to do to address it? The government isn't going to fix it.
Spin it? The customers made sick will be your downfall - free market...
I have not had an opportunity to look at the paper you are basing your statistics on, but your calculations are clearly wrong.
You stated that there is on average 112 cases/year of foodborne illness due to raw milk consumption and there is a total of 23,000 total cases of foodborne illness annually in the US.
112 divided by 23,000 is approximately .005, you need to multiply by 100 to make it a percentage. So using your numbers, the percent of raw cases is about 0.5%.
excellent point, Milky Way
setting aside the fact that Dr Ted Beals' analysis came to a very different conclusion, using the same DC numbers as the CDC, I do agree that the govt. isn't going to fix it. Because they're part of the problem
George Jonas is doing some brilliant writing lately in the National Post. He brings to it, his experience growing up under communism in Hungary. A column entitled the Protection Racket / gun control, about Ian Thomson who drove off 3 men intent on fire-bombing his home, by firing a shot in the air, pertains to REAL MILK. Of course in the Aburdistan known as Canada, he was charged with unsafe storage of firearms. Jonas says " Mr Thomson ran afoul of a docrine dominant in interventionist societies. It holds that anything for which the state has no solution, is insoluble" also " without a monopoly on protection, government's monoply on co-ercion become endangered"
the apparatchiks who implement agricultural policy are lost for a way to deal with the bio-hazards resulting from a couple of generations of utterly perverse food production. But we raw milk producers are not. For instance, the B2P micro-lab is the kind of science they cannot argue with. Along with software programs like "This Fish" to trace a jar from the milking parlor to the consumer's fridge, etx. If a problem shows up, a simple recall is all that's necessary. Or is it that there's some ulterior reason for NOT treating REAL MILK same as every other food stuff?
My website is something of an early-warning system. For the last 5 years, the average of one inquiry per day picks up just before a major piece of mudslinging by the dairy cartel. That syndrome proves that the strength of the movement is the cynicism which enveloped the Soviet union as it went to pieces ... the govt. was so thoroughly discredited that people assumed that whatever it put out, was the opposite of the Truth.
Jesus said "the poor you will always have with you" ... similarly, there will always be people getting food poisoning. Regardless = informed consumers are demanding REAL MILK and the free market will meet that demand.
You are correct. I stated it that way in the debate (one-half of one per cent), but didn't write it correctly above. I've corrected it.
Milky Way,
You make a good point. There's an inconsistency here, though. The chicken industry has a much worse campylobacter and salmonella problem (on the order of 60% or more of all chicken is contaminated, according to Consumer Reports surveys, and chicken is a leading cause of illness, according to CDC data), yet we don't see chicken producers being arrested, or their plants shut down. I don't know what government is doing on that matter, but I suspect working more cooperatively than with raw dairy producers.
That doesn't mean raw dairy producers shouldn't work to reduce illnesses, and I said as much during the Harvard debate. But they shouldn't do it expecting the government offensive to ease up. There is absolutely no indication that if raw dairy producers eliminated entirely the problems you describe that there would be any change in the government's approach. The producers under the most regulatory pressure over the last year haven't made anyone sick. That's because the prevailing opinion at CDC and FDA, which call the shots for the states, is that raw milk is inherently unsafe.
"Director at the Department of Agriculture said the pulse-field gel electrophoresis, or genetic fingerprint, of the bacteria found in the Oct. 12 sample "did not match the PFGE pattern for those persons who became ill."
Brunton Dairy is facing two lawsuits filed in Allegheny County Court by individuals who said they became sick after consuming the dairy's products."
A "match" wasn't needed in 2006 for OP.....so these people will be getting the equivalent, right?
"but officials refused to comment on what had caused the contamination."
Why keep it a secret?
Why is there a need for anyone to "allow" private agreements between people?
1993-2006 was their "study" I can see why they left out the 1980s...bad years for pasteurized dairy....and in 2007 they killed people. Looks like pasteurized dairy caused much more illness than the lethal raw dairy.
"Page 1 1 Some Outbreaks Due to Pasteurized Milk
19761 outbreak Y. enterocolitica in 36 children, 16 of whom had
appendectomies, due to pasteurized chocolate milk1
1982Over 17,000 cases Y. enterocolitica in several states from milk
produced in Memphis, TN2
19831 outbreak, 49 cases, 14 deaths from L. monocytogenes in MA2
1984-853 outbreaks of antimicrobial-resistant S. typhimurium, at plant in
Melrose Park IL.The third wave had 16,284 confirmed cases; surveys
indicated as many as 197,581 persons may have been affected2
19851,500+ cases, Salmonella culture confirmed, in Northern IL2
1993-941 outbreak, 2014 cases/142 confirmed S. enteritidis due to
pasteurized ice cream in MN, SD, WI6
1995Outbreak of Yersinia enterocolitica in 10 children, 3 hospitalized due
to post-pasteurization contamination7
20001 outbreak, 98 cases/38 confirmed S. typhimurim in PA and NJ7
20051 outbreak, 200 cases C. jejuni in CO prison9
20061 outbreak, 1592 cases/52 confirmed C. jejuni infections in CA10
20071 outbreak, 3 deaths from L. monocytogenes in MA.11"
I really liked your opening statement in the debate, and found Pritzkers, umm, interesting.
Its common practice to lead with ones perceived strength, and Pritzker did exactly that when he described his position as a response to facts. Facts are indeed a tremendous sales tool. The problem, of course, is that facts often arent.
Facts have a nasty habit of changing over time, and are sensitive to subjective analysis. And as anyone who has stepped unwittingly into deep water knows, there is a pretty wide truth/baloney continuum associated with facts. This is especially in evolving science (and all good science is evolving to one degree or another). The respected meta-researcher Dr. John Ioannides has made that point very well. Read a good lay article about him (from the November 2010 issue of The Atlantic Magazine) by googling Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science. Heres a line from the sub-headline:
Much of what medical researchers conclude in their studies is misleading, exaggerated, or flat-out wrong.
Pritzkers (and the regulatory bureaucracys) facts damn a substance that has sustained mankind healthfully for millennia. That those facts create suspicion ought to be no surprise.
The New Medicine acknowledges the interconnectedness between psyche-brain-body as a whole integrated organism. What appears to us as "disease" is revealed in this paradigm as an intelligent biological program. The program is immediately launched by the subconscious upon the sudden, unexpected shock conflict that catches the individual off guard. A shock conflict of this type can happen when a doctor delivers a diagnosis and/or a prognosis to their patient. The patient may consequently have a death-fright conflict.
I suspect that other individuals who assume any god-like authoritative positions in the world can also be the cause of shock conflicts in people who find themselves in their line of fire. I think this same well proven model (feel free to contact me for references) can be applied to the arena of government and especially in enforcement. Didn't Farmageddon include at least one example of that? In any case I know that there are examples of shock-conflicts induced in individuals by way of government agents who have displayed deadly force. This kind of impact is intended and when the agent has exceeded the limits of their jurisdiction the display is both a trespass and a personal injury. The key here is that we need to know the limits of the agent's territorial jurisdiction and preferably before having contact with the agents. I'm thinking firstly about the farmers and it can also include food club members and the like as well.
I'm currently in a Law course that I've enrolled in for the express purpose of supporting the small farmers and related communities to be more fully informed, better prepared and supported when contacted by government agents. I'd like suggestions on how support like this can be extended to those who want it. Contact me directly at email@example.com
****** "AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK!" ****** Ver 7
United States of America is under attack you know,
By corrupt Globalists who are running the "SHOW",
They want to own the world and control your life,
And care not about you suffering a lot of strife.
Who are those demonic moron Globalists you ask?,
They're the Banksters, Politicians and Presidents,
They own the Corporations and RIG the Media you know.
To control what you see, hear and how your children grow.
They are planning for a "New World Order" Domination,
That includes criminal ways for mass De-population,
Like staging false flag attacks to pay their war machines,
Like poisoning air, food, water and by deadly Vaccines.
Ask Obama why he doesn't stop the tyranny,
Why on New Years Eve he signed the NDAA,
Why he cares not to help the hurting people,
'Cause he's a "PUPPET" and the people are sheeple!
The Bill of Rights are being trashed by engineered tyrannys,
Americans must unify to get back their Civil Liberties,
The Military pledged to protect "The Land of the Free",
And to fight invasion by a Foreign or "DOMESTIC ENEMY"!
Our Military should arrest the President and Politicians,
For breaking their Oaths to uphold the Constitution,
Failure to do so will guarantee an end to Democracy,
With No Rights or Free Will, like death is permanently.
So wake up America and break out of your trance,
And get serious against the present circumstance,
Go hound your State Senators and the President,
So Restoration of the Constitution has a good chance!
Poem 5, Ver 7
March 3, 2012
American people question and wonder,
Why America lost it's "Financial Thunder",
Why jobless lines are reaching the sky,
Why Corporations legally cheat and lie.
People are suffering and people are dying,
The medical system cares not of your crying,
With the cost of living and taxes so high,
It makes you think and it makes you sigh.
Those behind the corruption and the crap,
Need to be arrested and given the strap!,
Problems need correction sooner than later,
Or be doomed to serve a "Fascist Dictator".
Blame Banksters, Politicians and Corporations,
For planning a "New World Order" Domination,
They plan to make the stock markets crash,
For they are "EVIL DOERS" with "MEGA CASH".
They will break your "Will" to make you ill,
And care not for Liberty or "Free Will",
They create tyranny by signing new laws,
Like beastly animals with "Killer Claws".
They want to control you and own your land,
They plan to put a "Implant" in your hand,
You won't be able to buy, sell or trade,
Without the "Mark of the Beast" to prove you paid.
They treat your water with Industrial Waste Fluoride,
To make you have cancer, disease and be a schizoid,
Monsanto genetically modified Nature's perfect seeds,
To "Depopulate" the world with "Slow Kill" food and feeds.
People can't afford Quality American Products,
Do to high taxes imposed by it's fascist government,
So Corporations pay offshore to build them to "spec",
Which closes our factories and creates unemployment.
Those Demons are trashing America's Constitution,
Forcing tyrannical laws and hurting "Our Great Nation",
Like "Indefinite Detainment" signed on New Years Eve,
Verified broken Oaths and "Sheeple" are naive.
Ron Paul for President would be the "First Choice",
To restore the Constitution and lower your voice,
And to make the economy work smooth and sensibly,
Would provide peace, happiness and no more tyranny.
Government must turn their "EVIL SHIP" around and do a 180,
Otherwise they're heading for a hot place known as HADES,
You too can make a change by getting off your chair,
And Voting for Ron Paul to show you really care!
Poem 3, Ver 3
Jan 23, 2012
Blame the Banksters and Senate Institution,
For Fragmenting American Constitution,
The Sheeple glued to TVs and Entertainment,
Allowed NDAA signing Indefinite Detainment.
Dr. Ron Paul would restore the Constitution,
He believes Liberty and Justice is the Solution,
And by removing the Senate House Prostitution,
Would stop todays Tyranical Pollution.
Please Vote Ron Paul to WIN the race,
So Government Demons have a red face,
This can happen if you get off your chair,
And going to the polls to show you care!
Poem 1, Version 7
Jan. 2012
Americans will always remember,
The eleventh day of September,
When devils ordered airliners,
To fly into the twin towers.
Gold and Silver was the reason,
The Banksters did the treason,
They cared not who they killed,
As long as Satans deed was fulfilled.
God says vengeance is mine my son,
Day of judgment will surely come,
Especially to those killing innocent ones,
On September Eleven, Two Thousand and One.
Poem 4, Version 5
Sept. 2011


text:
2008 April Rosemont, IL (CSNS) Signature Coin Auction #1104
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|Printable auction results for all items in the 2008 April Rosemont, IL (CSNS) Signature Coin Auction.
Select Proof 1842 Seated Dollar1842 $1 PR63 NGC. Beautifully toned in peripheral autumn-brown and cobalt-blue, as were so many silver dollars from the famous Amon Carter auction. The strike is slightly soft on the peak of the eagle's left (facing) wing, but remaining design details are sharp. A few wispy hairlines on the right obverse field are appropriate for the grade.
Second Rarest Proof Date
Second Rarest Proof Date
Numismatist Duncan Lee published a study of proof Seated dollars in the August 2006 supplement to the Coin Dealer Newsletter. There, he listed the 1842 as the second rarest proof date of the series. We are able to trace only the following auction appearances of certified proofs:
1. PR65 NGC. Norweb Collection, Part III (Bowers and Merena, 11/1988), lot 3780; Phil Kaufman Collection of Early Seated Proof Sets, offered elsewhere in the present sale.
2. PR63 NGC. The present coin. Golden Jubilee Sale (B. Max Mehl, 5/1950), lot 812; Amon G. Carter, Jr. Collection (Stack's, 1/1984), lot 248; David Queller Collection.
3. PR63 NGC. Sunshine Collection (Superior, 9/2003), lot 2079; Dr. John L. Pellegrini Collection (Heritage, 7/2005), lot 10258; FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2007), lot 1059, which realized $46,000.
4. PR62 PCGS. Lester Merkin (9/1967), lot 271; Lester Merkin (10/1969), lot 376, which realized $875; John Jay Pittman Collection (David Akers, 5/1998), lot 1673, which realized $30,800; FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/1999), lot 6950; Sacramento ANA (Heritage, 3/1999), lot 6511; Morris Silverman Collection (Heritage, 4/2002), lot 4072; Bowers and Merena (5/2004), lot 253; Rod Sweet Collection (Bowers and Merena, 7/2005), lot 1003; Denver ANA Auction (Bowers and Merena, 8/2006), lot 2345, which realized $28,750.
5. PR61 NGC. Superior (10/1990), lot 3718, which realized $6,600; Anaheim ANA (Heritage, 8/1995), lot 6550; Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 10/1995), lot 6059, which realized $3,630; Richmond Sale, Part II (David Lawrence, 11/2004), lot 1507, which realized $22,425.
From The Queller Family Collection of Silver Dollars.(Registry values: N7079) (NGC ID# 24ZS, PCGS# 6983)
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
LearnSpace User's Guide
Version 3.1
LearnSpace is a software solution that allows multiple users to share one or more displays wirelessly through a common Wi-Fi/802.11 connection. This allows these users to share any content from their notebook computers through software.
This product is meant to address a few problems common to classrooms and meeting spaces:
- Remove any obstacles from sharing your content with others
- Give users as much display real estate as they could ever want
- Make this solution available to anyone in the room, in real time, with sharing policies to govern use.
If you are an IT Administrator and need to deploy to multiple machines or multiple users, please refer to the Deployment Guide.
Basic Topics
How To
- Giving a presentation
- Having a group discussion
- Moderating the shared display
- Showing pictures and videos
- Giving a presentation across multiple screens
- Drawing on shared content
- Utilizing multiple screens
- Using a group whiteboard
- Using survey questions (Asking, Asking drawing-based, Answering)


text:
The Statement:
Statement by Ilyse Hogue, Director of Political Advocacy and Communicaitons for MoveOn.org:
"I am offended and outraged by the words of Tim Profitt, the Rand Paul campaign worker who, with two other men, threw 23 year-old Lauren Valle to the ground and then stomped on her head, leaving her with a concussion. Profitt said the attack was 'not a big deal,' that Lauren 'instigated it' and that 'she should apologize' -- words that are eerily familiar to many women who have faced assault and abuse.
"Lauren's exercise of her First Amendment rights cannot possibly justify the violence against her any more than a woman's clothes can excuse a sexual assault. If Tim Profitt can get away with blaming Lauren for his attack on her, then women -- and all those speaking out for their beliefs in this political climate -- will have reason to fear. Candidates on both sides of the aisle, including Rand Paul, must condemn Profitt's outrageous statements and call out this violence for what it is: anti-women and anti-American."
The video:


text:
Finally - it's here! I know I've batted on quite a bit about this bag, but now that I have it, this is likely to be my last post about it... I promise!
Valhalla Brooklyn. The one I purchased is the small larch.
Big shout out to my sis in Canada for showing me her awesome Valhalla Brooklyn bag when she was here earlier this year. I couldn't have found such a lovely bag without you. Now, can you find me a new wallet??
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The postman delivers
4 comments:
Oooh it's lovely and will age nicely too. i'll work on finding a good wallet for you next :)ReplyDelete
Very nice. Looks great on you.ReplyDelete
Very nice, definitely worth the wait!ReplyDelete
Hi there, I've come to visit via Karen @ and so i sew and am loving what I see! You are a fabulous crafter, and I'm going to have another coffee and read a bit more. On a totally non-craft related note, can you please tell me what jeans you are wearing in this post? Love them too!ReplyDelete
I'll add you to my bloglist :)
Thanks for leaving a comment. I love reading them, but don't always have the time to respond. Please email me if you have a pressing question :)
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text:
First, let me say, I really like the tanned skin character. .
Perhaps they are referring to the paint on the woman in the top left screenshot? Her white lips are not as natural looking as the rest of the characters's lips. Perhaps this is what they talk about it not looking being blended. Which makes sense… Its white paint!
I don't know about PS or PSP, but in gimp, if you select the area around the lips using the fuzzy select on an alpha channel where only the lips exist, hit grow selection by 5 or ten pixels, then blur it, you should get rid of that… that's assuming you have the lips on their own separate layer.
My DeviantArt Galleries
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3Delight Surface and Lighting Thread
That's looney. I have five character sets up at Rendo and NONE of them look as good as this one (unfortunately :D).
And p.s., I have your Savage Orcs and I just love them, did my own free .dsas for people to use with them even.
Get Started With Iray Video.
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My DAZ Store.
Please remember that we do not currently allow nude images, and will allow genital nudity only in limited circumstances even when we have content flags in place.
Also, while commenting on the quality of these textures is fine please don't attack Renderosity or other products available there in doing so.
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sorry my fault on the picture I just posted one of the sample pics without thinking.
this has been me sitting on a life boat in the middle of the ocean sending up a signal flare & asking for help not attacking them


text: B&H has the Canon 5D Mark III with the 24-105mm f/4L lens for $3499 (reg. $3899) and free overnight shipping to ensure delivery by Christmas. Additionally, B&H includes a free SanDisk Extreme 16GB CF card, a Lowepro camera bag and a spare battery. Check it out here at B&H Photo.


text: Communication is no longer considered an optional soft'' skill for climbing the corporate ladder. More and more businesses are placing emphasis on being able to communicate effectively. Communicating Effectively For Dummies gives you the tools and insight you need to manage conflict, build teams and communicate persuasively at work.''Edition/Copyright: 01


text:
Mandates for Work in Urban Transport at UN-HABITAT
Sustainable transport and communication systems
Transport and communication systems are the key to the movement of goods, people, information and ideas. They are also key to access to markets, employment, schools and other facilities and land use, both within cities and between cities, and in rural and other remote areas. The transportation sector is a major consumer of non-renewable energy and of land and is a major contributor to pollution, congestion and accidents. Integrated transport and land-use policy and planning can reduce the ill effects of current transport systems. People living in poverty, women, children, youth, older persons and people with disabilities are particularly disadvantaged by the lack of accessible, affordable, safe and efficient public transport systems.
Developments in communications technologies can have a significant impact on economic activity and human settlements patterns. It is important for the potential impacts to be addressed so as to ensure that maximum benefits accrue to the community and to reduce any adverse outcomes in relation to access to services.
Managing transport in human settlements should be done in a way that promotes good access for all to places of work, social interaction and leisure and facilitates important economic activities, including obtaining food and other necessities of life. This should be done while reducing the negative effects of transport on the environment. Transport-system priorities should be given to reducing unnecessary travel through appropriate land-use and communication policies, developing transport policies that emphasize mobility alternatives other than the automobile, developing alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles, improving the environmental performance of existing modes of transport, and adopting appropriate pricing and other policies and regulations.
Non-motorized transport is a major mode of mobility, particularly for low-income, vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. One structural measure to counteract the socio-economic marginalization of these groups is to foster their mobility by promoting affordable, efficient and energy-saving modes of transport.
In order to achieve sustainable transport in human settlements, Governments at the appropriate levels, in partnership with the private sector the community sector and other relevant interested parties, should:


text:
Employers consider policies for social networking
June 21, 2010 at 5:00 pm in West Central Tribune
FARGO, N.D. Jeff DeLoss, a business analyst at Noridian Administrative Services in Fargo, N.D., can't log on to Facebook at his work computer. Company policy does not allow access to social networking sites on company time.
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text:
Wanted: Faster, More Powerful iPhone Processor Architect + Embedded Video Engineer
MacRumors has come across an Apple job listing for someone with:
excellent understanding and knowledge of processor architecture, specifically ARM and its vector unit NEON. Additional Intel SSE or PowerPC AltiVec is also very helpful. Being able to use processor micro-architecture to write and deliver fast routines is an essential attribute.
Neon, they remind us, is the brand name for the ARMv7 Cortex, the next-generation of the processor Apple uses in the current iPhone and iPod touch.
What's not yet clear is whether Apple will tap the multi-core potential of the ARMv7 Cortex to really shift multimedia performance into the mobile stratosphere. However, another tantalizing glimpse into the iPhone's potential future is revealed in a second job listing, this one for an engineer with:
Experience developing embedded image and video processing solutions. Experience developing embedded image and video analysis solutions. Experience working on real-time media and networking applications (WiFi and cellular networks).
Of course, we won't keep our fingers crossed too hard for those iTunes Replay, personalized podcast streaming, or remote DVR access patents Apple has teases us with in the past...
Have something to say about this story? Leave a comment! Need help with something else? Ask in our forums!
EiC of iMore, EP of Mobile Nations, Apple analyst, co-host of Debug, Iterate, Vector, Review, and MacBreak Weekly podcasts. Cook, grappler, photon wrangler. Follow him on Twitter and Google+.
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Reader comments
Wanted: Faster, More Powerful iPhone Processor Architect + Embedded Video Engineer
Well, I guess that leaves me out. :lol:
Something smells very fishy!!!
Hmmm.... if they have only just started looking for an NEON SIMD specialist then its unlikely that we'll see a Cortex-based iPhone in June or July. Sigh :(
I also highly doubt that Apple will be using a multi-core ARMv7 (Cortex-A9 MPCore) anytime soon. I reckon most applications made for the iPhone won't be able to effectively take advantage of multiple cores.
The single-core 600 MHz Cortex-A8 (like the OMAP3 used in the Palm Pre or the Pandora) is already 3x more powerful than the 400 MHz ARM11 CPU in the current iPhone. I think this is a good compromise between processing power and battery life. More general-purpose cores would make the chip larger, more expensive and power hungry.
BTW, NEON is a SIMD extension to the ARM instructions set just like AltiVec is a SIMD extension to PowerPC instructions set and SSE is a SIMD extension to Intel x86 instructions set. Using NEON instructions should reduce the power required to decode audio and video.
Wikipedia has a lot of good information on ARM. Take a look:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture
I just want less lag lmao..
John Carmack
I smell 4G for next year, OH YES!
This is a bit off subject but I wanted to know if anyone could enlighten me on this. Yesterday I was at the Sony store an saw a 12" OLED screen for $2500. Can someone tell me how Apple can feasibly include a 3.5" OLED screen in a device that is going to cost $199 (I realize that includes a carrier subsidy)? When you include all of the high-tech components in the iPhone 3G and add (without taking anything away) a compass, OLED screen, increased storage capacity, perhaps a better battery (yes, I type this assuming the iPhone spec rumors are true)... How can a device with these specs remain at $199, I do not under stand this and in fact, I find it hard to believe that the new iPhone will include these screens. I think they will stick with LCD for at least one more cycle.


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Tony Thill named president of CST International
LENEXA, Kan. — CST Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of factory coated metal storage tanks, aluminum domes, specialty covers and reclaimer systems, announced that Tony Thill has been named president of CST International, the division responsible for operations outside of North America.
"Tony's leadership experience in global business development makes him an ideal candidate to assume this role. His knowledge of CST's products and his experience working with CST's companies and divisions to develop aggressive growth strategies will be extremely beneficial leading our International group. CST products have significant growth potential in multiple industries throughout the world," said Declan McLaughlin, president and CEO of CST Industries, Inc.
Prior to joining CST Industries in 2006, Thill served in multiple executive roles with GE Energy and the former BHA Group, Inc., leading the dry filtration business unit, developing international markets, accelerating product development and implementing marketing, sales and corporate strategy worldwide.


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Steve Shaw, who co-starred in the nighttime soap opera "Knots Landing" for eight years, has died from injuries suffered in an automobile accident. He was 25.
A resident of Burbank, Shaw was killed Wednesday on Silver Lake Boulevard at Cove Avenue when his Porsche 911 slammed into a city dump truck. Police said the car crossed over the double yellow line on a curve and struck the truck head-on.
Shaw had played Eric Fairgate, the oldest of two sons of Karen Fairgate McKenzie, played by Michele Lee, from the show's inception in 1979 until 1987, said "Knots Landing" producer Mary-Catherine Harold.
Shaw later appeared sporadically on the CBS series, including several episodes last year.
Since leaving the series, Shaw resided for a time in Lake Tahoe and had been living with his family since his father died of a heart attack about six months ago.


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Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars Do Good: Shay Mitchell's Official NOH8 Portrait Revealed!
We showed you the preview, now here's the real deal!
Shay Mitchell's (Emily) official NOH8 portrait has been released and, what a surprise, she looks absolutely stunning. The photo shows the Pretty Little Liars actress posing with NOH8's signature duck taped mouth and holding crossed fingers over her face.
Shay's participation in the campaign is important not only because she is a popular young actress with a great fanbase but also because she portrays one of the most visible lesbians on TV, Emily Fields. Yay, Shay!
What does Shay think of how the photo turned out? "I'm proud to be a part of this amazing campaign," Shay wrote on her Facebook.
You can pick up your own copy of Shay's photo on the NOH8 website.
Source: NOH8
Want more Wetpaint Entertainment? For all the latest on Pretty Little Liars, Like us on our Facebook page at facebook.com/PrettyLittleLiarsFansite, or Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/PLLWetpaint.


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SUMMARY: Have you created a white paper to influence the IT marketplace?
There is no cost to enter it for the 3rd annual White Paper Awards, but more than 400 marketers entered papers last year so the
competition is tough. Here are some tips on what the judges are
looking for.


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5.0 Mustang & Super FordsHow To Engine
Blow-By-Racing Jackal Fuel System - Fuel Pack
Coyote Fuel System
Making a ton of power with your Mustang is contingent on several factors. Does it have the rotating assembly capable of surviving? Can the engine's cam profile or cylinder-head design support enough airflow? Will the transmission or rearend withstand the results? And, of course, will the fuel system feed such power?
For this exercise, we cover one way to make sure your fuel system is more than capable of supporting big power--Blow-By Racing's Jackal fuel system for high-powered '11-'13 Mustangs, a return-style system that lives in the stock tank.
At the heart of the system is BBR's billet-aluminum Jackal fuel hat, which houses the familiar Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump. According to Aeromotive, the A1000 is good for 1,200 hp in a forced-induction EFI setting.
If you need more, Blow-By can substitute Aeromotive's Eliminator fuel pump, which is said to support 1,400 horses. In most instances, that's more than enough. It's clear Blow-By Racing wants its Jackal system to offer a one-time solution.
Since you'll need more than just a pump and fuel hat to supply your high-horsepower engine, Blow-By includes everything else you'll need as well: Aeromotive fuel rails, regulator, and fuel filters; and all the necessary fittings, hose ends, Y-block, and appropriate fuel lines.
BBR's main man Chris Jones uses the Jackal fuel system in his '11 Mustang GT, which was a participant in the 2011 King of the Street competition. Not only does Chris drive the car quite often, it also made 952 hp on Holley's Dynojet as part of KOTS. We can report the fuel system did its job quite well, with quiet seamless operation.
If you think you want one for your '11-'12 Mustang, keep reading.
Horse Sense: Blow-By Racing also has a Jackal fuel system available for '05-'10 Mustangs. This system also uses a single pump or twin pumps, but in an in-line fashion, not in the tank. Since the pumps are mounted inline, Blow-By Racing says you can build a fuel system capable of supporting up to 1,500 horsepower.


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When Steve Jobs passed away last year, the Internet was overwhelmed with stories and interviews praising the man, his life, and his visionary genius. From the scrapped (and suddenly profound) Jobs-narrated "Crazy Ones" commercial to Walter Isaacson's seminal biography, we all got an endearing and enduring image of what the world had and what the world lost.
Of course, like any life story, there's a lot more to it. As one of the late Apple founder's closest media contacts, reporter Brent Schlender spoke to Steve on a regular basis since 1985, and he recently uncovered a series of long-forgotten interviews taken from Jobs' so-called "wilderness years."
Explains Schlender (via MacRumors):
Rummaging through the storage shed, I discovered some three dozen tapes holding recordings of extended interviews–some lasting as long as three hours–that I'd conducted with him periodically over the past 25 years. Many I had never replayed–a couple hadn't even been transcribed before now. Some were interrupted by his kids bolting into the kitchen as we talked. During others, he would hit the pause button himself before saying something he feared might come back to bite him. Listening to them again with the benefit of hindsight, the ones that took place during that interregnum jump out as especially enlightening.
While the recordings themselves haven't yet been made available, Schlender calls them a methodological revelation.
Eleven years is a big chunk of a lifetime. Especially when one's time on earth is cut short. Moreover, many people–particularly creative types–are often their most prolific during their thirties and early forties. With all the heady success of Apple during Jobs's last 14 years, it's all too easy to dismiss these "lost" years. But in truth, they transformed everything. As I listened again to those hours and hours of tapes, I realized they were, in fact, his most productive.
I can't wait to hear these. I could use a good life lesson.
Or hundred.


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Week 17 is up on the site now.
Yes I will refund two thirds of her starting price (refund of $135,000). Same rules as usual. Contestants can buy any other single wrestler from the starting roster. But if Kharma was your only diva then you must replace her with a diva. Replacements must be selected by Sunday night. And their new selection will be scored from the following RAW.


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Latest News
May 19, 15Maserati Ghibli with matte black suede wrap looks striking
The owner of a Maserati Ghibli decided to personalize his car by wrapping it in matte black suede.
Apr 03, 152016 Maserati Ghibli & Quattroporte to be offered with a Ermenegildo Zegna interior
Maserati and Ermenegildo Zegna have teamed up to offer co-designed interior packages for the 2016 Ghibli and Quattroporte.
Mar 17, 15Maserati slows production as Ghibli and Quattroporte demand weakens
According to one of Maserati's union members, production will be reduced as a result of a weaker demand for the Ghibli and Quattroporte models.
Nov 12, 14Maserati Quattroporte GTS gets minor updates for L.A.
Maserati has announced plans to introduce a modestly revised Quattroporte GTS at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Oct 09, 14Maserati 100th Anniversary Neiman Marcus Limited Edition Ghibli S Q4 priced at $95,000
Maserati and Neiman Marcus have joined forces for a special edition Ghibli featured in this year's Christmas Book.
Sep 11, 14Wald teases Black Bison aero kit for Maserati Ghibli
Wald International has released first teaser images of the Maserati Ghibli Black Bison
Aug 12, 14Maserati rules out smaller or cheaper model
Maserati has announced they are not planning to build a smaller or cheaper model.
Nov 26, 132014 Maserati Ghibli pricing announced (US)
Maserati has announced the 2014 Ghibli will be priced from $65,600 in the United States.
Jul 26, 13Maserati releases mega gallery with 2014 Ghibli
Maserati published this week a comprehensive photo gallery with the 2014 Ghibli, following the car's public debut in April at Auto Shanghai.
Jun 24, 13Maserati explains 2014 Ghibli design [video]
Maserati's head of design Marco Tencone tells the story of 2014 Ghibli's styling.
Jun 21, 132014 Maserati Ghibli ordering guide surfaces
The U.S.-spec 2014 Maserati Ghibli ordering guide has surfaced the Internet this week.
Jun 03, 132014 Maserati Ghibli filmed on public roads [video]
A brand new 2014 Maserati Ghibli was filmed recently while participating in a commercial shoot.
May 16, 13Maserati Ghibli estate rendered
Theophilus Chin has rendered a potential look of an estate/wagon variant of the recently introduced Maserati Ghibli.
May 06, 13Maserati could offer its own LaFerrari and Alfa Romeo 4C
Maserati could plan on launching in the next few years its own versions of the LaFerrari and Alfa Romeo 4C.
Apr 20, 132014 Maserati Ghibli storms into Auto Shanghai
Maserati has publicly unveiled the 2014 Ghibli today at Auto Shanghai.
Apr 19, 132014 Maserati Ghibli and 330 HP V6 Quattroporte announced for China
Maserati has announced the 2014 Ghibli and a V6-powered Quattroporte will be presented on Saturday at 2 AM GMT (10 AM Shanghai time).
Apr 09, 132014 Maserati Ghibli official photos and preliminary details available
Several hours after the first images surfaced the Internet, Maserati has released official photos and details about the upcoming 2014 Ghibli.
Apr 08, 132014 Maserati Ghibli leaked ?
These are most likely the first images with the 2014 Maserati Ghibli ahead of an official unveiling set for April 20 at Auto Shanghai.
Apr 02, 13Maserati teases Ghibli for Shanghai
Maserati has released the first teaser image of an upcoming model that will be unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show. It is likely the 2014 Ghibli.
Mar 14, 13Maserati Ghibli design mockup leaked?
Maserati has been doing a pretty good job of keeping the Ghibli under wraps, but several purported images of the car have surfaced online.
Mar 12, 132013 Maserati Ghibli spied once again
We have received a new batch of spy photos with the Maserati Ghibli before the car's public debut scheduled for next month.
Feb 11, 132013 Maserati Ghibli details emerge, to debut in April
New details have emerged about the upcoming baby Quattroporte from Maserati.
Dec 27, 12Maserati confirms their future product plans, Gran Sport revival slated for 2016
Fiat has revealed new details about Maserati's future product lineup. It includes the previously announced Ghibli, Levante and Quattroporte as well as an all-new Gran Sport.
Dec 18, 122013 Maserati Ghibli first spy photos emerge
These are the first spy shots with the upcoming Maserati Ghibli, taken in northern Sweden.
Nov 15, 12Maserati Ghibli coming early next year - report
According to a recent report, Maserati will introduce the entry-level Ghibli sedan at next year's Geneva or Shanghai Motor Show.
Sep 27, 12Maserati announces Ghibli sedan and Levante crossover
Maserati announced the names of two of their upcoming models. They will be called the Ghibli and Levante.


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MANTRA Tanzania Limited has officially handed over a solar power project worth 28.7 million to Selous Secondary School in Namtumbo District, Ruvuma Region that will help in uplifting the school's studying environment and security.
Speaking during the hand-over ceremony held at the school's premises at the weekend, Mantra Tanzania Managing Director, Mr Asa Mwaipopo said the company was committed in ensuring education standard in the area improves.
Namtumbo District Commissioner Abdallah Lutavi who was the guest of honour at the event, was optimistic that the solar project will be a catalyst in improving the school's academic performance.
He directed the school's management to maintain the facility so as to achieve the intended goals. The DC said the project will complement the district's plan that seeks to ensure that every school in the district has a laboratory in place by December next year.
"To date, only six schools have got laboratories. Our mission is to ensure that all 27 secondary schools in the district get laboratories. This plan can not be achieved if there is no electricity, so Mantra Tanzania has made us proud", he said, adding: "We are so grateful to Mantra Tanzania for the donation and we will ensure that the project is well maintained," he said.
Speaking earlier at the same occasion, Namtumbo Member of Parliament, Mr Vita Kawawa called upon the local authorities to ensure that construction of boys' hostels is given priority during the district's next financial budget. "Boys are forced to walk several miles which puts their lives at the risk of being mauled by wild animals.
My plea is that construction of a boys' hostel should be given priority during the next financial budget," he said. Earlier, the school's Deputy Headmaster, Mr Henry Milanzi was grateful for the support. He said the school faces chronic problems such as lack of boys dormitory, clean and safe water and a fence, among others.


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The Sports Network
DATE & TIME: Saturday, October 13, 3:30 p.m. (et)
FACTS & STATS: Site: Huskie Stadium (24,000) -- DeKalb, Illinois. Television: CSN Chicago. Home Record: Buffalo 1-1, NIU 3-0. Away Record: Buffalo 0-3, NIU 2-0. Neutral Record: Buffalo 0-0, NIU 0-1. Conference Record: Buffalo 0-2, NIU 2-0. Series Record: Northern Illinois leads, 7-1.
GAME NOTES: The Buffalo Bulls will try to snap Northern Illinois' 18-game home winning streak when the two Mid-American Conference rivals square off in DeKalb on Saturday.
The Bulls will be concluding a three-game road swing with the trip to Huskie Stadium. Buffalo lost each of its first two games of the road set to Connecticut (24-17) and Ohio University (38-31) by just a touchdown each. It has lost three straight overall and five in a row against FBS competition. A win would be a historic feat for the Bulls as they are 0-15 all-time in MAC West Division opponent stadiums.
NIU has two other streaks to maintain in addition to its home-winning streak. The Huskies have also won five in a row overall and 10-straight MAC games. The 5-1 start for NIU is its best since 2003. Coach Dave Doeren has been sensational since taking over the helm of the program as he enters this one with a stellar 16-4 record in two seasons.
This will be the third straight year these programs square off. NIU has won the last seven encounters with Buffalo since losing the series opener in 1968.
The Bulls are ranked seventh in the MAC in total offense and ninth in scoring offense with averages of 386 yards and 26.8 points per game. Buffalo clearly relies on its rushing attack, which now had two premier options.
Buffalo's is capable of playing with anyone due to the big play ability of its running backs. Branden Oliver is one of the most talented in the MAC. After gaining 1,395 yards last season, Oliver picked up 467 in the first three games of the season before going down with an injury. Although Oliver was unable to play last week, UB still managed to produce a season-high 313 rushing yards, as freshman Devin Campbell had a breakout performance with a career-high 160 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.
Oliver is expected to return this week, but Campbell should see some action as well.
Another reason UB was able to continue its rushing success without its usual feature back last week was the outstanding play of Alex Zordich, who gained 108 yards on 18 carries to become the first QB in the school's FBS history to surpass the century mark. Zordich has thrown a touchdown pass in all five games this season, but he has completed less than 50 percent of his passes for 794 yards.
The most positive aspect of Buffalo's passing game has been junior wideout Alex Neutz, who has already caught seven touchdown passes. In his career, Neutz has 94 receptions for 1,486 yards and 14 scores.
The Bulls like to gamble often defensively, which has led to a conference leading average of 3.6 sacks per game, but it has cost the team at times, yielding a generous 32.8 points per contest.
Khalil Mack is an impact player on the defensive side of the ball for Buffalo. The junior linebacker is leading the nation in tackles for loss with 2.75 per contest.
Mack will be UB's best chance of slowing down NIU's powerful Jordan Lynch-led attack. The Huskies are averaging 454.8 yards and 35.5 points per game so far this season.
Lynch may be the most explosive quarterback in the nation. He is second to only Michigan's Denard Robinson among FBS quarterbacks with 131.5 rushing yards per game. Lynch is producing 340.7 total yards per game, which is the seventh best average in the FBS. He has been described as a linebacker playing quarterback by his head coach.
Although Lynch is leading the team in rushing yards with 789 on 114 carries, Leighton Settle is a capable back with 393 yards and 5 TDs on 87 touches.
Martel Moore is Lynch's primary target in the passing game. Moore has caught 28 passes for 410 yards and 5 scores this season. Tommylee Lewis and Ashford Perez have both reeled in double-digit receptions as well.
Defensively, NIU has the second best scoring defense in the conference due to its ability to stop teams in the red zone. Opponents have only scored on 65 percent of their trips inside the Huskies' 20-yard line.
Although Buffalo is capable of an upset due to its power rushing game, the Huskies have been impossible to beat in DeKalb recently. Lynch is making a strong case for MAC Player of the Year in his first stint as a starter.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Northern Illinois 38, Buffalo 28


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Turning away from global matters, I spent $8 on a manicure, sparkled and purple. A lark of femininity and wide-ruled, discretionary income. The glint of light on the color–named 'It's My Year' dreamed up in some marketing den–does really make me smile.
I wonder if this girly lacquer could be some simple signal. I should confess: Being non-specific queer is not sitting well.
Shrug, vacant stare, sigh, don't be so 1980's, it's no big deal. LGBTQ rights are expanding daily. My parents accept. My siblings can't even steer straight, a joke I once heard from a gay stand-up comic. I am non-segregated, San Francisco, don't sweat it o-u-t.
Still there's this: The men you're with, from time to time, wanting you to kiss other women for them because 'my, that's hot, honey.' The women you sometimes find in your bed suggesting that you wipe away the lust in your eyes for the ease of a hetero identity. Friends looking at you and asking if you're straight or gay. Your boy-ex confessing that your homo-girl-bent challenged his comfort zone. A tone in your father's voice that implies he might be concerned about how you are in your 30's and un-partnered. And the question of 'settling' being so multivariate that there are moments when the next person–male, female–who asks for better or worse just might get a 'why the hell not?' because the questions are just tiresome. And a city like this inspiring but offering no easy answers. Like your college, like your career, like your Facebook feed: Disorienting, disintegrating, tugging toward ever more fractal-like first dates.
Under it all, your own sense of discomfort with the both-ness and boldness of who you seem to be. No soft refuge in the eyes staring back at you in the bathroom mirror. Here, the deepest violence, the most damning unknowing, where the story must begin.
Perhaps tomorrow I'll paint my toenails, 'Dialectical Dazzle'. Slick my hair back, wink, nod, and act fearless.
I haven't posted in over a year. Here goes nothing.
The cautious language of science be damned. Screw the distracting rhetoric of the right denying climate change. I'm weary of the clutter of it all.
Superstorm Sandy, 1,000 miles wide and tearing its way through the heart of our 21st century empire, is speaking to us, elegantly and simply.
In the midst of predictions of billions of dollars of economic damage, YouTube videos of cars being carried away in the East Village, phone calls to loved ones watching the lights go out, there is a quietly ferocious message: This, this is climate change. This is consequence. This is wilderness seeking its rightful, physical, frightening due.
I do not care what the politicos say. I do not care what the climate scientists entreat about certainty and attribution. I do not care about comparisons to similar superstorms of the past. Speak not to me of natural cycles. Tell me nothing of doubt.
This tempest is no coincidence, its intensity born not of 'natural causes', but anthropogenic ones. Humanity – beautiful, beloved Homo sapiens sapiens – we have lived so well – beyond our wildest dreams! – as animals on this planet. We have gazed so far, colonized every corner of earth, become a global force rivaling the very tides and tectonic plates. Some of us know great, unimaginable material comfort and environmental control.
And yet, we are, at the last, terrestrial heterotrophs, mammals vulnerable to dramatic changes to our habitat. We cannot escape the iron fingers of ecological fate. Climate change is not a political issue. It is not an environmental issue. It is, as we've seen in New York City tonight, a question of basic survival. Frame it as economic, frame it as geochemical, frame it as epidemiological. Whatever narrative makes it real, brings it into your gut, drives forward the urgent meaning. With our own hands, we have worn away the walls of our home through unintentionally destructive micromotions over hundreds of years, and we wonder why the rain is coming in.
I quite honestly and exhaustedly have no message of hope here. It feels un-American. Sandy is, in poetics and reality, my worst nightmare, emblematic of warnings I have spent years stumbling into in my studies at Yale & Brown, researching in the Amazon of Ecuador, contemplating in the High Sierra, laboring to prevent in my daily work in renewables. Dreading, ruefully predicting, feeling crazy all the while.
Tonight, the coastal building where I worked in my first job out of college – teaching marine ecology to students of all ages – is flooded two stories high. My brother, a medical resident in the Bronx, is stuck in his hospital, unable to get home to the love of his life as the storm grows more powerful. My grandmother is seeing 25-feet high waves out of her window on Lake Michigan, nearly 800 miles away from Sandy's center.
All the pages read, all the careful measurements reviewed, all the well-reasoned arguments for the patterns and pulse of climate change are rushing, like lines of a script come bone-chillingly alive, onto the stage of my one human life.
And here is the center, the silent eye of the storm that drives my cyclone: I love this world so deeply. I care so ardently for my family, my friends, and, though it sounds trite, for all of my fellow human folk trying to get through each day breathing, laughing, crying, racing to meet our mammalian needs and our sentient emotional ones.
We have not 'worn our walls thin' through malice. We have done it out of a certain constitutional myopia. It makes the onrush of the storm surge all the more heartbreaking. And the darkening of one of our most brilliant, glittering cities all the more terrifying. The most lethal force is one that creeps in without a sound, that syncs with the hum of business-as-usual.
I have no answers, no solutions, other than this: Tell your mother you love her as often as you can. And hold your children tight. Seek beauty. Live with intention. And, finally, take nothing for granted.
I need to remember why I came back to Cincinnati. The purpose was three-fold, in order of importance: to connect with my immediate family as a more grounded adult (three brothers, two parents, one dog), to rehab my knee following surgery (circa 2008, ignored physical therapy to my detriment), and to reacquaint myself with formal learning after I had passed through the throes of my pre-adulthood 20's (higher ed was a bit of a catastrophe for me once upon a time). Yes, the "official" story of "what I'm doing here (professionally/academically)" ranks last. Indeed, really, it's a distant third to the other two priorities.
I will have a Master's degree come June, an "achievement" that will be ceremonially celebrated and ostensibly lead to career advancement (?), but has not truly been the point of this stretch of life. And that is why I'm writing this post, to remind myself that the final, mind-numbing, and seemingly arbitrary steps toward my degree (namely, a few more papers and the chapters of my thesis project) are silly to claim as the core focus of the last moments of this two-year period. And, so, I'm setting the intention to not let the stress of school, of the must-do's, the should's, the achievement urge (more closely related to the death-urge than one might imagine) overtake my final days and weeks on the Ohio River.
I have about three and a half months left here. I will be sad to leave, but I've accomplished what I set out to do, with some unexpected added joys. Not to overstate it, but being here with my family has been a gift, a rare time in the prime of life to look unflinchingly but humanely at the people I come from and have grown up with. I can imagine no better use of years in early adulthood than to revisit the home that is a smart and caring nuclear family. As far as my bum left knee goes, I can run and jump and climb stairs again, after weekly sessions at a Sport's Medicine clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. My knee is still creaky, but I don't walk like I'm 70 at age 29 anymore. And, finally, in terms of school, I still don't completely trust or enjoy the structures of higher education, but I know now that I can excel at the University game. I just still don't think it's the game for me, and I wonder how its rules poorly serve us as individuals and as a society, microscopically and macroscopically. As always, though, it's easy to criticize, hard to construct alternatives or reform what is.
As for the added joys, I feel as if I've been able to integrate this city into the narrative of my life a bit better and have been surprised to fall in love with an old flame whom I knew during high school here. While Cincinnati itself will never really, admittedly, be "home" for me, after spending a few years here as an adult, I don't feel as disconnected from it as a place and a community as I did in my teens and twenties. It's an inevitable part of my history, and, if the relationship with the charming and kindred Cincinnatian works out, it will continue to be a cornerstone of our lives together.
Mission accomplished. Just have to find a graceful way to enjoy my family, stay healthy, and graduate in the coming months. To end this chapter feeling whole with priorities intact and to walk upright toward the next page.
This post is very personal and earnest. Don't laugh at its Hallmark-y sentiment. Or do. But know that I am putting on my very (but always seeing the silly) sincere face here.
I feel so good, so excited about next steps in my life, what lies in this moment and in the heartbeat of those that follow. I decided that my 20's would be about healing, about finding wellness. There were times when I never thought I'd make it to 30. As depression deteriorated my will, ate like acid through even the steeliest fibers of my being, I thought that becoming an adult, reaching my later adult years, was an impossibility. I distinctly remember writing in my journal, at 16, "This depression thing is serious. I sometimes don't know if I'll make it to 30." I literally thought I'd be dead by now, victim of a wicked family-borne illness that, at times, is terminal. And, hot damn, not only am I alive, I am thriving. In a low-key and understated way, I'm a survivor. We who tangle with brain-related illness are often low-profile warriors, our struggles hidden politely from comment. It's a blessing and curse, the invisibility of the battle. I have waged it, not always gracefully, but well, bloody but unbowed. I am more compassionate and self-aware for the trouble. Better-equipped to confront whatever the hell shows up in life – you want me on your team. I'm still banged up and bruised a bit for sure, but, years of quiet, mindful choices find me more whole, grounded, and resilient than perhaps ever before in my earthly history.
And I am less afraid to think hopefully about what I want to accomplish in my remaining time here. I, in an honest and soul-ful way, want to have a partner, a life-long smoldering and competent love, and trust that I will. I am able now to be the partner, imperfect still but stitched-up with the thread and needlework of so many kind hands, that will show up, dig in, hold gently, smile wisely, support kindly. I see that I also want a successful, but balanced, career in private industry, to be paid well and respected for what I do. I want work that does its best to make beautiful things happen in this world, which, even if somewhat self-deluded, is artistic and humanistic in its finest moments. I want to have a baby, or adopt one. I want to care tenderly and with all my good attention, intelligence, and effort for another being as he or she travels into the magic of personhood. I want to find ways to live less for myself, and more for the family and community that I intentionally build as a labor of love and mystery. Who knows what will actually come to pass in the days ahead, but I cast my nets into the depths anyway with prayers and plans for dreams come true.
What a good life it's been. What a ride so far, what terrible darkness tempered by incredible light. Rough. And smooth. I am grateful for all of those who have nurtured and challenged me on the journey. Thank you for everything…which is yes…i who have died am alive again today, and…this is the birth day of life and of love and wings.
(bit Judeo-Christian), but, ee cummings:
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any–lifted from the no
of all nothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
amen. hello, 3-0.
insomnia is such a curious affliction. akin to those looney tunes cartoons where wiley coyote runs off a cliff and has a blessed few moments of suspended animation in mid-air before plummeting to the craggy rock below.
i remember staying up all night at slumber parties in elementary school. the novelty of the blue-black hours after midnight, watching the light of the sun hum its way back into the sky hour by hour. at the end of these epic girl-talk, pizza, and prank phone-call powered marathons, there was always one kid who would bolt out of her sleeping bag and run around outside right before the full burst of daylight, her 12-year-old being infused with the manic energy of deprivation. inevitably, we would hear from her mother, or another friend, about how this same wild-eyed 5am imp collapsed into a 12 hour hypersomnia once she returned home later that day. she may even have been absent from pre-algebra class the following Monday, sleeping still, while the rest of us toiled through x's and y's, m's and b's, longing quietly for z's.
tonight, right now (today?), i feel fine in my sleeplessness. tomorrow (or rather, later on today) i will claw my way out of bed through the cloying haze of sleep (which will have come at last) and into the full brunt of morning. and i will look like a scraggly mess of fur that has finally hit the bottom of the canyon.
but, for another few moments at least, i'll enjoy the thin rush of being born aloft by nothing, defying gravity, held by will and air. i might even dimly imagine, as many often do, that i'm flying before the fall.
I've decided to go to a yoga class this evening a few doors down from the building where I live. The class is held in a small studio that has a tangle of ferns and other potted plants in its windows, illuminated with overhead CFL's and blue and white Christmas lights.
It is a sticky humid night, the atmosphere pressing down on my shoulders as I rush to the front door of the space. I am late.
Inside, five other white women in tank tops lift their abdominal muscles aloft, propped up on elbows and toes, as the teacher circulates smilingly counting down from 30…20…10…3…2…1. "You can do it, ladies, lengthen that spine, breathe into your core!" Labored breathing, sweat dripping.
I settle in and begin to watch the woman to my right extend her arms obediently upward toward the "sky" and arch backward, ticking along to the beat of the teacher's words. Fluid, calm, placid face. Open the heart, melt the shoulders, inhale deeply. The woman's black top hugs her frame, telling a soft story of her flesh.
Sometimes, when I practice yoga here, I notice people passing on the sidewalk outside who peer quizzically in through the windows as they wander by. Mostly brown faces, usually children with bright bows or too-big canvass shoes gazing wide-eyed at the strange shapes inside. A peculiar urban zoo: Middle-aged and young adult white girls with their legs in the air, a flex of cardio-privilege in the midst of the poorest neighborhood in the city. I always want to explain our presence, to excuse our self-care, to say something about the health benefits of yoga to the silent figures outside. Really, I guess, I want to apologize for how frivolous we look. How frivolous – I fear – we might actually be.
I extend my arms outward along the floor, smelling the heavy odor of bodies and sighs. My knees creak, crackling from all the years of running on pavement and the unfortunate Q-angle of my hips that puts too much pressure on my joints.
I find a moment of peace, my face pressed downward into the rubber mat, feeling anonymous and empty. I dissolve a bit, not white, not black, not girl, not boy, not rich, not poor, just oxygen and sinew. Chemical reactions and physics problems of inertia and force and rate of flow. The air grows quiet. A car passes, blasting hip hop. Breath in, breath out. Footsteps on the street outside. Enya playing on the A/V system in the studio. White streetlights cast their glow through the plants and onto our lifted hearts, our melted shoulders, our good intentions.
Cincinnati is not known for being the most progressive place. But there are things happening here, important, green, thoughtful things. Ecovillages and urban farms have taken root in our urban core neighborhoods, local markets and stores have begun to carry more and more produce grown within 100 miles of the city, bike lanes are appearing on our streets, and renewable energy on our municipal buildings. Each day, it seems that there's a new small business opening its doors with a triple-bottom line plan for growth and sustainability.
Today, as part of 350.org's day of climate action, over sixty Cincinnatians came together to build a lightweight greenhouse, or "hoophouse," in a half acre urban market farm near downtown. The intent was to help the farmers, all locals in the community, extend their growing season and be able to cultivate additional food to sell to restaurants and households here in the Queen City.
With the Kroger, Chiquita, and Procter & Gamble skyscrapers as a backdrop, and an overly warm October sun beating down, we gathered to hear community leaders speak (including Rep. Steve Driehaus, incumbent in the US House and big climate and health care advocate) and then to roll up our sleeves and dig into the work of the day. In the morning hours, divided into teams, we prepped the area where we would install the hoophouse and also assembled the different component pieces of the structure.
The prep work involved pulling weeds, picking up stones, and tossing out trash. It also required the transport and spreading of mulch over the footprint of where the hoophouse would sit. Folks of all ages pushed wheelbarrows and dug up roots. A particularly enterprising five year old became our expert stone sleuth, unearthing them left and right with a lot of delight and fanfare. Power drills trilled in the background as a group of eager 20-somethings put together two-by-fours and attached lag bolts to the primary supportive beams of the house.
In the afternoon, after lunch, everyone worked as a single, encouraging group to raise the hoophouse. Huge black metal arcs went into the ground that had so carefully been weeded and laid with mulch. Thick plastic covered these ribs, forming a half-dome. Tables for seed germination were placed inside.
From an unused corner of the farm sprang a miraculous structure that would protect tender seedlings from frost in the colder months and guarantee more fresh vegetables grown right within the city limits. The good labor of a dedicated segment of Cincinnati's citizenry made it happen.
We're willing to give our time, our muscle, our sweat, and our smiles to find and create climate solutions. It's time that local, state, national, and world leaders took a cue from these humble but fierce efforts. At the end of the day, our cities and towns will be stronger, our economies more resilient, our bodies healthier, and our minds clearer if we finally resolve to take real action against a wasteful way of living. This action starts small, with a garden patch, a solar panel, a greenhouse, or a conversation, but each drop collects to ultimately fill the bucket to overflowing.


text: GLEAMS is a network of people – from the Great Lakes Region – representing a variety of disciplines and working together for the advancement of aquatic education. GLEAMS aims to provide educators with information, methods and materials for including water related content and activities into their curricula. GLEAMS also provides its members with opportunities to network and connect with marine and aquatic science educators throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond. Click here for more information about becoming a member.