text:
It is early in November of 1942 and a simply unbelievable amount of shit is going on, all at once, everywhere. Zeus himself would not be able to sort it all out, not even if he mobilized the caryatidstell them never mind what we told you, just drop those loads. Temples collapsing everywhere, like spyglasses, hed send those caryatidsand any naiads and dryads he could scare upto library school, issue them green visors, dress them in the prim asexual uniforms of the OPAMS, the Olympian Perspective Archive Management Service, put them to work filling out three-by-five cards round the clock. Get them to use some of that vaunted caryatid steadfastness to tend Hollerith machines and ETC card readers. Even then, Zeus would probably still lack a handle on the situation. Hed be so pissed off he would hardly know which hubristical mortals to fling his thunderbolts at, nor which pinup girls and buck privates to molest.
Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse is as Olympian as anyone right now. Roosevelt and Churchill and the few others on the Ultra Mega list have the same access, but they have other cares and distractions. They cant wander around the data flow capital of the planet, snooping over translators shoulders and reading the decrypts as they come, chunkity-chunkity whirr, out of the Typex machines. They cannot trace individual threads of the global narrative at their whim, running from hut to hut patching connections together, even as the WRENs in Hut 11 string patch cables from one bombe socket to another, fashioning a web to catch Hitlers messages as they speed through the ether.
Here are some of the things Waterhouse knows: the Battle of El Alamein is won, and Montgomery is chasing Rommel westwards across Cyrenaica at what looks like a breakneck pace, driving him back toward the distant Axis stronghold of Tunis. But its not the rout it appears to be. If Monty would only grasp the significance of the intelligence coming through the Ultra channel, he would be able to move decisively, to surround and capture large pockets of Germans and Italians. But he never does, and so Rommel stages an orderly retreat, preparing to fight another day, and plodding Monty is roundly cursed in the watch rooms of Bletchley Park for his failure to exploit their priceless but perishable gems of intelligence.
The largest sealift in history just piled into Northwest Africa. It is called Operation Torch, and its going to take Rommel from behind, serving as anvil to Montgomerys hammer, or, if Monty doesnt pick up the pace a bit, maybe the other way around. It looks brilliantly organized but its not really; this is the first time America has punched across the Atlantic in any serious way and so a whole grab bag of stuff is included on those shipsincluding any number of signals intelligence geeks who are storming theatrically onto the beaches as if they were Marines. Also included in the landing is the American contingent of Detachment 2702a hand-picked wrecking crew of combat-hardened leathernecks.
Some of these Marines learned what they know on Guadalcanal, a basically useless island in the Southwest Pacific where the Empire of Nippon and the United States of America are disputingwith rifleseach others right to build a military airbase. Early returns suggest that the Nipponese Army, during its extended tour of East Asia, has lost its edge. It would appear that raping the entire female population of Nanjing, and bayoneting helpless Filipino villagers, does not translate into actual military competence. The Nipponese Army is still trying to work out some way to kill, say, a hundred American Marines without losing, say, five hundred of its own soldiers.
The Japanese Navy is a different storythey know what they are doing. They have Yamamoto. They have torpedoes that actually explode when they strike their targets, in stark contrast to the American models which do nothing but scratch the paint of the Japanese ships and then sink apologetically. Yamamoto just made another attempt to wipe out the American fleet off the Santa Cruz Islands, sank Hornet and blew a nice hole in Enterprise. But he lost a third of his planes. Watching the Japanese rack up losses, Waterhouse wonders if anyone in Tokyo has bothered to break out the abacus and run the numbers on this Second World War thing.
The Allies are doing some math of their own, and they are scared shitless. There are 100 German U-boats in the Atlantic now, operating mostly from Lorient and Bordeaux, and they are slaughtering convoys in the North Atlantic with such efficiency that its not even combat, just a Lusitanian-level murder spree. They are on a pace to sink something like a million tons of shipping this month, which Waterhouse cannot really comprehend. He tries to think of a ton as being roughly equivalent to a car, and then tries to imagine America and Canada going out into the middle of the Atlantic and simply dropping a million cars into the oceanjust in November. Sheesh!
The problem is Shark.
The Germans call it Triton. It is a new cypher system, used exclusively by their Navy. It is an Enigma machine, but not the usual three-wheel Enigma. The Poles learned how to break that old thing a couple of years ago, and Bletchley Park industrialized the process. But more than a year ago, a German U-boat was beached intact on the south coast of Iceland and gone over pretty thoroughly by men from Bletchley. They discovered an Enigma box with niches for fournot threewheels.
When the four-wheel Enigma had gone into service on February 1st, the entire Atlantic had gone black. Alan and the others have been going after the problem very hard ever since. The problem is that they dont know how the fourth wheel is wired up.
But a few days ago, another U-boat was captured, more or less intact, in the Eastern Mediterranean. Colonel Chattan, who happened to be in the neighborhood, went there with sickening haste, along with some other Bletchleyites. They recovered a four-wheel Enigma machine, and though this doesnt break the code, it gives them the data they need to break it.
Hitler must be feeling cocky, anyway, because hes on tour at the moment, preparatory to a working vacation at his alpine retreat. That didnt prevent him from taking over what was left of Franceapparently something about Operation Torch really got his goat, so he occupied Vichy France in its entirety, and then dispatched upwards of a hundred thousand fresh troops, and a correspondingly stupendous amount of supplies, across the Mediterranean to Tunisia. Waterhouse imagines that you must be able to cross from Sicily to Tunisia these days simply by hopping from the deck of one German transport ship to another.
Of course, if that were true, Waterhouses job would be a lot easier. The Allies could sink as many of those ships as they wanted to without raising a single blond Teutonic eyebrow on the information-theory front. But the fact is that the convoys are few and far between. Just exactly how few and how far between are parameters that go into the equations that he and Alan Mathison Turing spend all night scribbling on chalkboards.
After a good eight or twelve hours of that, when the sun has finally come up again, theres nothing like a brisk bicycle ride in the Buckinghamshire countryside.
Spread out before them as they pump over the crest of the rise is a woods that has turned all of the colors of flame. The hemispherical crowns of the maples even contribute a realistic billowing effect. Lawrence feels a funny compulsion to take his hands off the handlebars and clamp them over his ears. As they coast into the trees, however, the air remains delightfully cool, the blue sky above unsmudged by pillars of black smoke, and the calm and quiet of the place could not be more different from what Lawrence is remembering.
"Talk, talk, talk!" says Alan Turing, imitating the squawk of furious hens. The strange noise is made stranger by the fact that he is wearing a gas mask, until he becomes impatient and pulls it up onto his forehead. "They love to hear themselves talk." He is referring to Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. "And they dont mind hearing each other talkup to a point, at least. But voice is a terribly redundant channel of information, compared to printed text. If you take text and run it through an Enigmawhich is really not all that complicatedthe familiar patterns in the text, such as the preponderance of the letter E, become nearly undetectable." Then he pulls the gas mask back over his face in order to emphasize the following point: "But you can warp and permute voice in the most fiendish ways imaginable and it will still be perfectly intelligible to a listener." Alan then suffers a sneezing fit that threatens to burst the khaki straps around his head.
"Our ears know how to find the familiar patterns," Lawrence suggests. He is not wearing a gas mask because (a) there is no Nazi gas attack in progress, and (b) unlike Alan, he does not suffer from hay fever.
"Excuse me." Alan suddenly brakes and jumps off his bicycle. He lifts the rear wheel from the pavement, gives it a spin with his free hand, then reaches down and gives the chain a momentary sideways tug. He is watching the mechanism intently, interrupted by a few aftersneezes.
The chain of Turings bicycle has one weak link. The rear wheel has one bent spoke. When the link and the spoke come into contact with each other, the chain will part and fall onto the road. This does not happen at every revolution of the wheelotherwise the bicycle would be completely useless. It only happens when the chain and the wheel are in a certain position with respect to each other.
Based upon reasonable assumptions about the velocity that can be maintained by Dr. Turing, an energetic bicyclist (let us say 25 km/hr) and the radius of his bicycles rear wheel (a third of a meter), if the chains weak link hit the bent spoke on every revolution, the chain would fall off every one-third of a second.
In fact, the chain doesnt fall off unless the bent spoke and the weak link happen to coincide. Now, suppose that you describe the position of the rear wheel by the traditional [theta]. Just for the sake of simplicity, say that when the wheel starts in the position where the bent spoke is capable of hitting the weak link (albeit only if the weak link happens to be there to be hit) then [theta] = 0. If youre using degrees as your unit, then, during a single revolution of the wheel, [theta] will climb all the way up to 359 degrees before cycling back around to 0, at which point the bent spoke will be back in position to knock the chain off And now suppose that you describe the position of the chain with the variable C, in the following very simple way: you assign a number to each link on the chain. The weak link is numbered 0, the next is 1, and so on, up to l - 1 where l is the total number of links in the chain. And again, for simplicitys sake, say that when the chain is in the position where its weak link is capable of being hit by the bent spoke (albeit only if the bent spoke happens to be there to hit it) then C = 0.
For purposes of figuring out when the chain is going to fall off of Dr. Turings bicycle, then, everything we need to know about the bicycle is contained in the values of [theta] and of C. That pair of numbers defines the bicycles state. The bicycle has as many possible states as there can be different values of ([theta], C) but only one of those states, namely (0, 0), is the one that will cause the chain to fall off onto the road.
Suppose we start off in that state; i.e., with ([theta] = 0, C = 0), but that the chain has not fallen off because Dr. Turing (knowing full well his bicycles state at any given time) has paused in the middle of road (nearly precipitating a collision with his friend and colleague Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse, because his gas mask blocks his peripheral vision). Dr. Turing has tugged sideways on the chain while moving it forward slightly, preventing it from being hit by the bent spoke. Now he gets on the bicycle again and begins to pedal forward. The circumference of his rear wheel is about two meters, and so when he has moved a distance of two meters down the road, the wheel has performed a complete revolution and reached the position [theta] = 0 againthat being the position, remember, when its bent spoke is in position to hit the weak link.
What of the chain? Its position, defined by C, begins at 0 and reaches 1 when its next link moves forward to the fatal position, then 2 and so on. The chain must move in synch with the teeth on the sprocket at the center of the rear wheel, and that sprocket has n teeth, and so after a complete revolution of the rear wheel, when [theta] = 0 again, C = n. After a second complete revolution of the rear wheel, once again [theta] = 0 but now C = 2n. The next time its C = 3n and so on. But remember that the chain is not an infinite linear thing, but a loop having only l positions; at C = l it loops back around to C = 0 and repeats the cycle. So when calculating the value of C it is necessary to do modular arithmeticthat is, if the chain has a hundred links (l = 100) and the total number of links that have moved by is 135, then the value of C is not 135 but 35. Whenever you get a number greater than or equal to l you just repeatedly subtract l until you get a number less than l. This operation is written, by mathematicians, as mod l. So the successive values of C, each time the rear wheel spins around to [theta] = 0, are
Ci = n mod l, 2n mod l, 3n mod l,. . .,in mod l
where i = (1, 2, 3, . . . [infinity])
more or less, depending on how close to infinitely long Turing wants to keep riding his bicycle. After a while, it seems infinitely long to Waterhouse.
Turings chain will fall off when his bicycle reaches the state ([theta] = 0, C = 0) and in light of what is written above, this will happen when i (which is just a counter telling how many times the rear wheel has revolved) reaches some hypothetical value such that in mod l = 0, or, to put it in plain language, it will happen if there is some multiple of n (such as, oh, 2n, 3n, 395n or 109,948,368,443n) that just happens to be an exact multiple of l too. Actually there might be several of these so-called common multiples, but from a practical standpoint the only one that matters is the first onethe least common multiple, or LCMbecause thats the one that will be reached first and that will cause the chain to fall off.
If, say, the sprocket has twenty teeth (n 20) and the chain has a hundred teeth (l 100) then after one turn of the wheel well have C 20, after two turns C = 40, then 60, then 80, then 100. But since we are doing the arithmetic modulo 100, that value has to be changed to zero. So after five revolutions of the rear wheel, we have reached the state ([theta] = 0, C = 0) and Turings chain falls off. Five revolutions of the rear wheel only gets him ten meters down the road, and so with these values of l and n the bicycle is very nearly worthless. Of course, this is only true if Turing is stupid enough to begin pedaling with his bicycle in the chain-falling-off state. If, at the time he begins pedaling, it is in the state ([theta] = 0, C = 1) instead, then the successive values will be C 21, 41, 61, 81, 1, 21, . . . and so on foreverthe chain will never fall off. But this is a degenerate case, where "degenerate," to a mathematician, means "annoyingly boring." In theory, as long as Turing put his bicycle into the right state before parking it outside a building, no one would be able to steal itthe chain would fall off after they had ridden for no more than ten meters.
But if Turings chain has a hundred and one links (l = 101) then after five revolutions we have C = 100, and after six we have C = 19, then
So not until the 101st revolution of the rear wheel does the bicycle return to the state ([theta] = 0, C = 0) where the chain falls off. During these hundred and one revolutions, Turings bicycle has proceeded for a distance of a fifth of a kilometer down the road, which is not too bad. So the bicycle is usable. However, unlike in the degenerate case, it is not possible for this bicycle to be placed in a state where the chain never falls off at all. This can be proved by going through the above list of values of C, and noticing that every possible value of Cevery single number from 0 to 100is on the list. What this means is that no matter what value C has when Turing begins to pedal, sooner or later it will work its way round to the fatal C = 0 and the chain will fall off. So Turing can leave his bicycle anywhere and be confident that, if stolen, it wont go more than a fifth of a kilometer before the chain falls off.
The difference between the degenerate and nondegenerate cases has to do with the properties of the numbers involved. The combination of (n = 20, l = 100) has radically different properties from (n = 20, l = 101). The key difference is that 20 and 101 are "relatively prime" meaning that they have no factors in common. This means that their least common multiple, their LCM, is a large numberit is, in fact, equal to l × n = 20 × 101 = 2020. Whereas the LCM of 20 and 100 is only 100. The l = 101 bicycle has a long period it passes through many different states before returning back to the beginningwhereas the l = 100 bicycle has a period of only a few states.
Suppose that Turings bicycle were a cipher machine that worked by alphabetic substitution, which is to say that it would replace each of the 26 letters of the alphabet with some other letter. An A in the plaintext might become a T in the ciphertext, B might become F, C might be come M, and so on all the way through to Z. In and of itself this would be an absurdly easy cipher to breakkids-in-treehouses stuff. But suppose that the substitution scheme changed from one letter to the next. That is, suppose that after the first letter of the plaintext was enciphered using one particular substitution alphabet, the second letter of plaintext was enciphered using a completely different substitution alphabet, and the third letter a different one yet, and so on. This is called a polyalphabetic cipher.
Suppose that Turings bicycle were capable of generating a different alphabet for each one of its different states. So the state ([theta] = 0, C = 0) would correspond to, say, this substitution alphabet:
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r
s t u v w x y z
q g u w b i y t f k v n d o h e p x l z r c a s j m
but the state ([theta] = 180, C = 15) would correspond to this (different) one:
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r
s t u v w x y z
b o r i x v g y p f j m t c q n h a z u k l d s e w
No two letters would be enciphered using the same substitution alphabetuntil, that is, the bicycle worked its way back around to the initial state ([theta] = 0, C = 0) and began to repeat the cycle. This means that it is a periodic polyalphabetic system. Now, if this machine had a short period, it would repeat itself frequently, and would therefore be useful, as an encryption system, only against kids in treehouses. The longer its period (the more relative primeness is built into it) the less frequently it cycles back to the same substitution alphabet, and the more secure it is.
The three-wheel Enigma is just that type of system (i.e., periodic polyalphabetic). Its wheels, like the drive train of Turings bicycle, embody cycles within cycles. Its period is 17,576, which means that the substitution alphabet that enciphers the first letter of a message will not be used again until the 17,577th letter is reached. But with Shark the Germans have added a fourth wheel, bumping the period up to 456,976. The wheels are set in a different, randomly chosen starting position at the beginning of each message. Since the Germans messages are never as long as 450,000 characters, the Enigma never reuses the same substitution alphabet in the course of a given message, which is why the Germans think its so good.
A flight of transport planes goes over them, probably headed for the aerodrome at Bedford. The planes make a weirdly musical diatonic hum, like bagpipes playing two drones at once. This reminds Lawrence of yet another phenomenon related to the bicycle wheel and the Enigma machine. "Do you know why airplanes sound the way they do?" he says.
"No, come to think of it." Turing pulls his gas mask off again. His jaw has gone a bit slack and his eyes are darting from side to side. Lawrence has caught him out.
"I noticed it at Pearl. Airplane engines are rotary," Lawrence says. "Consequently they must have an odd number of cylinders."
"How does that follow?"
"If the number were even, the cylinders would be directly opposed, a hundred and eighty degrees apart, and it wouldnt work out mechanically."
"Why not?"
"I forgot. It just wouldnt work out."
Alan raises his eyebrows, clearly not convinced.
"Something to do with cranks," Waterhouse ventures, feeling a little defensive.
"I dont know that I agree," Alan says.
"Just stipulate itthink of it as a boundary condition," Waterhouse says. But Alan is already hard at work, he suspects, mentally designing a rotary aircraft engine with an even number of cylinders.
"Anyway, if you look at them, they all have an odd number of cylinders," Lawrence continues. "So the exhaust noise combines with the propeller noise to produce that two-tone sound."
Alan climbs back onto his bicycle and they ride into the woods for some distance without any more talking. Actually, they have not been talking so much as mentioning certain ideas and then leaving the other to work through the implications. This is a highly efficient way to communicate; it eliminates much of the redundancy that Alan was complaining about in the case of FDR and Churchill.
Waterhouse is thinking about cycles within cycles. Hes already made up his mind that human society is one of these cycles-within-cycles things* and now hes trying to figure out whether it is like Turings bicycle (works fine for a while, then suddenly the chain falls off, hence the occasional world war) or like an Enigma machine (grinds away incomprehensibly for a long time, then suddenly the wheels line up like a slot machine and everything is made plain in some sort of global epiphany or, if you prefer, apocalypse) or just like a rotary airplane engine (runs and runs and runs; nothing special happens; it just makes a lot of noise).
"Its somewhere around . . . here!" Alan says, and violently brakes to a stop, just to chaff Lawrence, who has to turn his bicycle around, a chancy trick on such a narrow lane, and loop back.
They lean their bicycles against trees and remove pieces of equipment from the baskets: dry cells, electronic breadboards, poles, a trenching tool, loops of wire. Alan looks about somewhat uncertainly and then strikes off into the woods.
"Im off to America soon, to work on this voice encryption problem at Bell Labs," Alan says.
Lawrence laughs ruefully. "Were ships passing in the night, you and I."
"We are passengers on ships passing in the night," Alan corrects him. "It is no accident. They need you precisely because I am leaving. Ive been doing all of the 2701 work to this point."
"Its Detachment 2702 now," Lawrence says.
"Oh," Alan says, crestfallen. "You noticed."
"It was reckless of you, Alan."
"On the contrary!" Alan says. "What will Rudy think if he notices that, of all the units and divisions and detachments in the Allied order of battle, there is not a single one whose number happens to be the product of two primes?"
"Well, that depends upon how common such numbers are compared to all of the other numbers, and on how many other numbers in the range are going unused . . ." Lawrence says, and begins to work out the first half of the problem. "Riemann Zeta function again. That thing pops up everywhere."
"Thats the spirit!" Alan says. "Simply take a rational and common-sense approach. They are really quite pathetic."
"Here," Alan says, slowing to a stop and looking around at the trees, which to Lawrence look like all the other trees. "This looks familiar." He sits down on the bole of a windfall and begins to unpack electrical gear from his bag. Lawrence squats nearby and does the same. Lawrence does not know how the device worksit is Alans inventionand so he acts in the role of surgical assistant, handing tools and supplies to the doctor as he puts the device together. The doctor is talking the entire time, and so he requests tools by staring at them fixedly and furrowing his brow.
"They arewell, who do you suppose? The fools who use all of the information that comes from Bletchley Park!"
"Well, it is foolish! Like this Midway thing. Thats a perfect example, isnt it?"
"Well, I was happy that we won the battle," Lawrence says guardedly.
"Dont you think its a bit odd, a bit striking, a bit noticeable, that after all of Yamamotos brilliant feints and deceptions and ruses, this Nimitz fellow knew exactly where to go looking for him? Out of the entire Pacific Ocean?"
"All right," Lawrence says, "I was appalled. I wrote a paper about it. Probably the paper that got me into this mess with you."
"Well, its no better with us Brits," Alan says.
"You would be horrified at what weve been up to in the Mediterranean. It is a scandal. A crime."
"What have we been up to?" Lawrence asks. "I say we rather than you because we are allies now."
"Yes, yes," Alan says impatiently. "So they claim." He paused for a moment, tracing an electrical circuit with his finger, calculating inductances in his head. Finally, he continues: "Well, weve been sinking convoys, thats what. German convoys. Weve been sinking them right and left."
"Yes, exactly. The Germans put fuel and tanks and ammunition on ships in Naples and send them south. We go out and sink them. We sink nearly all of them, because we have broken the Italian C38m cipher and we know when they are leaving Naples. And lately weve been sinking just the very ones that are most crucial to Rommels efforts, because we have also broken his Chaffinch cipher and we know which ones he is complaining loudest about not having."
Turing snaps a toggle switch on his invention and a weird, looping squeal comes from a dusty black paper cone lashed onto the breadboard with twine. The cone is a speaker, apparently scavenged from a radio. There is a broomstick with a loop of stiff wire dangling from the end, and a wire running from that loop up the stick to the breadboard. He swings the broomstick around until the loop is dangling, like a lasso, in front of Lawrences midsection. The speaker yelps.
"Good. Its picking up your belt buckle," Alan says.
He sets the contraption down in the leaves, gropes in several pockets, and finally pulls out a scrap of paper on which several lines of text have been written in block letters. Lawrence would recognize it anywhere: it is a decrypt worksheet. "Whats that, Alan?"
"I wrote out complete instructions and enciphered them, then hid them under a bridge in a benzedrine container," Alan says. "Last week I went and recovered the container and decyphered the instructions." He waves the paper in the air.
"What encryption scheme did you use?"
"One of my own devising. You are welcome to take a crack at it, if you like."
"What made you decide it was time to dig this stuff up?"
"It was nothing more than a hedge against invasion," Alan says. "Clearly, were not going to be invaded now, not with you chaps in the war."
"How much did you bury?"
"Two silver bars, Lawrence, each with a value of some hundred and twenty-five pounds. One of them should be very close to us." Alan stands up, pulls a compass out of his pocket, turns to face magnetic north, and squares his shoulders. Then he rotates a few degrees. "Cant remember whether I allowed for declination," he mumbles. "Right! In any case. One hundred paces north." And he strides off into the woods, followed by Lawrence, who has been given the job of carrying the metal detector.
Just as Dr. Alan Turing can ride a bicycle and carry on a conversation while mentally counting the revolutions of the pedals, he can count paces and talk at the same time too. Unless he has lost count entirely, which seems just as possible.
"If what you are saying is true," Lawrence says, "the jig must be up already. Rudy must have figured out that weve broken their codes."
"An informal system has been in place, which might be thought of as a precursor to Detachment 2701, or 2702 or whatever we are calling it," Alan says. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first. It is ostensibly an observation plane. Of course, to observe is not its real dutywe already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observedthat is, to fly close enough to the convoy that it will be noticed by the lookouts on the ships. The ships will then send out a radio message to the effect that they have been sighted by an Allied observation plane. Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspiciousat least, not quite so monstrously suspicious that we knew exactly where to go."
Alan stops, consults his compass, turns ninety degrees, and begins pacing westwards.
"That strikes me as being a very ad hoc arrangement," Lawrence says. "What is the likelihood that Allied observation planes, sent out purportedly at random, will just happen to notice every single Axis convoy?"
"Ive already calculated that probability, and Ill bet you one of my silver bars that Rudy has done it too," Turing says. "It is a very small probability."
"So I was right," Lawrence says, "we have to assume that the jig is up."
"Perhaps not just yet," Alan says. "It has been touch and go. Last week, we sank a convoy in the fog."
"In the fog?"
"It was foggy the whole way. The convoy could not possibly have been observed. The imbeciles sank it anyway. Kesselring became suspicious, as would anyone. So we ginned up a fake messagein a cypher that we know the Nazis have brokenaddressed to a fictitious agent in Naples. It congratulated him on betraying that convoy to us. Ever since, the Gestapo have been running rampant on the Naples waterfront, looking for the fellow."
"We dodged a bullet there, Id say."
"Indeed." Alan stops abruptly, takes the metal detector from Lawrence, and turns it on. He begins to walk slowly across a clearing, sweeping the wire loop back and forth just above the ground. It keeps snagging on branches and getting bent out of shape, necessitating frequent repairs, but remains stubbornly silent the whole time, except when Alan, concerned that it is no longer working, tests it on Lawrences belt buckle.
"The whole business is delicate," Alan muses. "Some of our SLUs in North Africa"
"Special Liaison Units. The intelligence officers who receive the Ultra information from us, pass it on to field officers, and then make sure it is destroyed. Some of them learned, from Ultra, that there was to be a German air raid during lunch, so they took their helmets to the mess hall. When the air raid came off as scheduled, everyone wanted to know why those SLUs had known to bring their helmets."
"The entire business seems hopeless," Lawrence says. "How can the Germans not realize?"
"It seems that way to us because we know everything and our channels of communication are free from noise," Alan says. "The Germans have fewer, and much noisier, channels. Unless we continue to do stunningly idiotic things like sinking convoys in the fog, they will never receive any clear and unmistakable indications that we have broken Enigma."
"Its funny you should mention Enigma," Lawrence says, "since that is an extremely noisy channel from which we manage to extract vast amounts of useful information."
"Precisely. Precisely why I am worried."
"Well, Ill do my best to spoof Rudy," Waterhouse says.
"Youll do fine. Im worried about the men who are carrying out the operations."
"Colonel Chattan seems pretty dependable," Waterhouse says, though theres probably no point in continuing to reassure Alan. Hes just in a fretting mood. Once every two or three years, Waterhouse does something that is socially deft, and nows the time: he changes the subject: "And meanwhile, youll be working it out so that Churchill and Roosevelt can have secret telephone conversations?"
"In theory. I rather doubt that its practical. Bell Labs has a system that works by breaking the waveform down into several bands. . ." and then Alan is off on the subject of telephone companies. He delivers a complete dissertation on the subject of information theory as applied to the human voice, and how that governs the way telephone systems work. It is a good thing that Turing has such a large subject on which to expound, for the woods are large, and it has become increasingly obvious to Lawrence that his friend has no idea where the silver bars are buried.
Unburdened by any silver, the two friends ride home in darkness, which comes surprisingly early this far north. They do not talk very much, for Lawrence is still absorbing and digesting everything that Alan has disgorged to him about Detachment 2702 and the convoys and Bell Labs and voice signal redundancy. Every few minutes, a motorcycle whips past them, saddlebags stuffed with encrypted message slips.


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Wendy Davis strikes back against Rick Perry
During an interview on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis on Friday took Gov. Rick Perry to task over highly personal comments he made about her the day before.
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subset: commoncrawl


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It was an ordinary hackathon setting: Geeks, citizens, journalists, random interested people and a couple of hours to do something world-changing. This time the goal was to build a mobile service or app which...
(0) Comments | Posted September 27, 2010 | 5:16 PM
In this tumultuous age in media industry, it is delightful to find successful experiments in the field. I found a fascinating initiative at Aftonbladet, the most read Swedish newspaper which has succeeded to create a stable base of paying online customers.
Aftonbladet has a freemium model in which the readers...
(1) Comments | Posted July 20, 2010 | 11:34 AM
Nonprofit organizations are facing a similar challenge to other organizations: the old structures don't apply to this era, and the new structures are yet to be found.
Traditionally, nonprofits are closed organizations that function as a middleman between donors and beneficiaries. The organizations allocate the funds to the destinations that...
(0) Comments | Posted June 24, 2010 | 3:00 PM
Want to find out how to raise $1.2 million to build a baseball field for children with special needs? Ask the city of Acworth, Georgia. Community leaders, local businesses and state and local government united to raise the money and to make the field happen.
A drive to collect...
(0) Comments | Posted March 24, 2010 | 3:08 AM
I am a woman with a great business idea in technology, but without the money to start the venture. What should I do?
I will apply the skill of sharing to business. Sharing is a skill, that most of us women naturally have. As a woman, it is fine to...
(1) Comments | Posted March 9, 2010 | 2:21 PM
This is something I have been waiting for: a combination of social networks, gaming, and saving the world. YupGrade, a Silicon Valley-based start-up does all that.
YupGrade hosts user's activity related to a particular topic related to learning. YupGrade filters metadata from sharing networks Twitter and Facebook.
(7) Comments | Posted January 27, 2010 | 5:26 PM
Should I get the iPad or not? My house is already full of devices, and I don't want to waste money on something I don't really need.
But, I got allured by something that Steve Jobs said at the iPad launch today: "The iPad gives a much more intimate feel...
(33) Comments | Posted January 26, 2010 | 2:35 PM
See the pictures at the end of the post!
10.06 Steve Jobs getting to the point
10.09. The sound of intense typing filling out the room while Steve Jobs is explaining why netbooks are not good
10.10 it is the iPad: people giving a big hand
10.11. the media technocrati...
(2) Comments | Posted November 17, 2009 | 11:40 AM
The Obama-effect of donating is happening in journalism. In Obama's case, small donations from a big crowd made his campaign possible. In journalism, many small donations fund costly story projects.
The most recent sign of the evolving power of crowdfunding was seen in the New York Times. In the science...
(2) Comments | Posted November 11, 2009 | 12:42 PM
What happens when a city releases public data for anybody to use? The city becomes a better place to live.
Disabled people can more easily find nearest blue zones, which are parking spaces for the disabled. The most kid friendly neighborhoods can easily be found on a web page....
(0) Comments | Posted October 28, 2009 | 12:51 PM
Have you ever clicked on an ad on a website? I have, once. I clicked on an ad on my Facebook page, and the ad was promoting a new yoga studio in my neighborhood in San Francisco. I clicked to get a free week of yoga.
Other than that, I...
(3) Comments | Posted October 20, 2009 | 5:04 PM
When discussing corruption with my African friends I can no longer show that innocent, pitiful look and say: "Corruption must be a terrible problem, but it is not really my problem. We don't have it in my country, as we are a transparent, organized, and fair nation."
The problem...


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BERWICK — More than 1,700 people raced in the Berwick Run for the Diamonds. The race is a staple on Thanksgiving in Columbia County.
"It's a Berwick tradition. I love seeing everyone in it, and I get to run with my sister. It's just fun," Lillian Carlin of Berwick said.
"It's a good time. I run it with my friends and stuff, and once a year I'll run," Kyle Myhre of Catawissa said.
The Berwick Run for the Diamonds is a nine-mile race that starts on Market Street in Berwick.
It is in its 103rd year. The top finishers win diamonds, but many people say that is not why they do it.
"Just love getting out there and doing it. It's fun to see all your friends out there doing it. Even if you're not in shape to do it, the crowd keeps you going the whole way," Bridget Carlin of Berwick said.
Pam Copenhaver thought the weather was perfect to cheer on her son as he raced for the diamonds.
"Our son is at the Naval Academy in Maryland, so he came home just to run this. We're going to have Thanksgiving later on," Copenhaver said.
It's not just people from northeastern and central Pennsylvania who run for the diamonds. People from all over the country and more than 100 runners from Canada were also here.
"We came in a van load of six. That's actually the smallest group we've brought. Some of the guys have been here for 20 years; this is my fifth. It's one of the best races going," Rick Hellard said.
The race winner, Derek Nakluski, is also from up north.
"I've done well in races, and any time you can beat the competition, it's always a good feeling," Nakluski said.
Many of the runners say they look forward to going home and eating lots of turkey. After nine miles, they earned it!


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6 Signs Your Job is Stressing You Out (and what to do about it)
|June 7, 2012
|Posted by Denise under Health, Tips, Work
There are some tell-tale signs that you are stressing out from your job. This article is a good guide to determine if you are stressed out and your job may be wearing you down. Without finding a solution, it will eventually lead to serious mental and health problems.
Subtle changes in your daily routine could point to a bigger health problem. Here are six signs that your job might be wearing you down, and six easy tips for staying healthy — physically and mentally — at work.
First, here are the tell-tale signs that your job is stressing you out.
1. Not getting enough sleep, or sleeping too much.
Some people develop insomnia as a result of stress. Others feel overtired and may get too much sleep to compensate. Either way, unusual sleep habits — especially a sudden change — should alert up a red flag.
2. Your mind wanders.
When you don't give your mind a break from the intensity of work, it can sneakily take one for you. If you're constantly checking your mother-in-law's latest post on facebook, it may not be because you're really interested in your mom-in-law. Frequently, it's because your mind is overloaded.
3. A change in diet.
There's a reason it's called junk food. When you're reaching for that bag of Lays, or skipping lunch altogether, it's an indication that you're not giving your body the proper health intake.
4. Slipping back into bad habits.
Stress experts say the true test of kicking a bad habit is whether or not it comes back under stress. So if you're picking up the Marlboros again or having an extra beer or two at happy hour before heading home, there may be another culprit — stress.
5. Arriving late, or leaving early.
This isn't just about forgetting to set the alarm. It's about running away from the things that are causing you stress. Your subconscious is doing everything to prevent you from showing up for work!
6. Headaches, stomachaches, and other bodily discomfort.
Our bodies have many ways to react to stress. If your desk is littered with empty paracetamol bottles and antacid wrappers, you could be masking a bigger problem.
So, what to do about it?
1. Relax.
Close your eyes and take deep breaths. Meditate.
Yes, breathing is involuntary. But you'll be surprised at how much better you'll feel when you pause and actually make a conscious effort to do it.
2. Don't bring work at home.
When our methods of coping with stress get overloaded, we have difficulty preventing the causes from spreading. Even if you have to stay a little later, make a point of not bringing work home, or even discussing work, once you're at home.
3. Exercise, go for a walk.
Sure, you're busy. But the 10 minutes you spend taking a stroll around the block can help clear your head for the rest of the day — making you more productive (and less stressed) in the long run.
4. Keep photo of your love ones nearby.
More importantly, look at it often. There's more to life than work — and bringing back positive memories, even for just a few seconds, will put you in a better frame of mind.
5. Set fun goals.
You should have a to-do list, for both business and pleasure. Listing your work-related tasks and checking them off one by one can give you a sense of completion. And it always helps to have things to look forward to in your personal life — that weekend barbeque, your next vacation, you backyard project, whatever.
Do you encounter any of these symptoms? How did you counter and fight back?
About Denise
What is life? What are goals? What is family? What are friends? I am Denise Cabrero, an inquisitive writer hobbyist who wishes to answer questions through her writings.More Posts
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SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CHUCK HAGEL: The best way to do this is the easiest…
STAFF: Yes, sir.
STAFF: Just hold on to it.
SEC. HAGEL: Good morning, good afternoon. You (inaudible) a few minutes ago on (inaudible) focus on the next (inaudible). Let me just highlight a couple things and then we'll get some questions.
This ministerial is going to focus on three primary things. One is post 2014 Afghanistan, planning, building on the Chicago Summit, Tokyo. Obviously the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that is now going forward, as you know, in Afghanistan. A framework -- the country's role of -- continued role of NATO and ISAF countries post 2014 and all those dimensions. So we'll spend a lot of time on that.
Second, this will be also an opportunity to start shaping the summit for next year. The date for that summit has not been determined. But the location will be in the U.K. So we'll spend some time on that. Also, I would anticipate we'll have some opportunity to get into some intense conversation about where does NATO go, the role of NATO over the next few years.
So I look forward to a pretty substantive couple of days here. I'll have some bilateral meetings and I look forward to those as well as the larger meetings. So it'll be a full two days. And it comes at an important time given what's going on in the world.
So with that, what are your questions?
Q: (Inaudible). You're going to have a meeting with your Afghan counterpart. Is now the time to talk to them about how vital it is for them to come together on the BSA? I mean what's your message to the Afghan minister at this point? And how do you, I guess move forward on the BSA?
SEC. HAGEL: I think that we're making and have made good progress on the BSA. You know Secretary Kerry was there a week ago. And he and President Karzai agreed on a framework in principle Jackson you know process. And it'll go to as far as Jirga because President Karzai felt that was important that the people of Afghanistan feel that they have a voice in this. And I think that is important.
That right now is tentatively scheduled for some time around the 19th or 20th of November. Then however way the loya jirga advises on the Bilateral Security Agreement then the parliament will take it and will make a formal decision.
Now during that process, which is important because everybody has to be part of this and certainly Afghanistan is a sovereign nation. And whether it's the United States or any ISAF or NATO country, is there an invitation of the people of the government of Afghanistan? So they have to have a very intense role in this.
At the same time, we as the United States, along with our NATO and ISAF partners, have been working on the last year especially, a plan for post 2014. Our side of this, the United States' side, as well as our ISAF partners, has been following our plan of (inaudible), coming down with our force presence there, getting a lot of our equipment out. We're on schedule on all of that.
As you know, we are no longer in any lead positions, no combat roles. So this transition has been underway. It needs to be formalized. And the first step in that is the Bilateral Security Agreement because the Status of Forces Agreement will be required as well to NATO.
So as your -- to answer your question, what will I say to the minister of defense of Afghanistan? That we'll continue to work together; we have to. We're going to be straightforward with each other. I think they are moving on this with considerable dispatch. They have to think it through, the people of Afghanistan, the leaders.
You have an election coming up next year. I know President Karzai is not unaware of that. Who follows President Karzai as the next president, or if there's a parliamentary election following here.
So I think they're handling this with responsible analysis. And we're on track. We're not behind schedule on this.
But it has to be done this way because so many people and countries are involved. But in particular, the Afghan people have got to sign off. They've got to be comfortable. They've got to be the ones inviting us to stay as a partner.
Q: (Inaudible) what is the risk, Mr. Secretary, should the loya jirga or parliament delay because of events on the ground or politics? Is there sort of a deadline by which the U.S. and the coalition needs an answer so that they can prepare for and execute a post 2014 mission?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, I think as the president, President Obama has said, and I think everybody agrees that the sooner that we get a Bilateral Security Agreement, the better. I mean I think that's obvious. But the timeline we're on now, which we fully expect to be carried out, and I've already noted what that is, that's sufficient time.
Again, I remind us that we didn't just start planning for this. We, with our ISAF, NATO partners have been planning over the last year very intensively on this, not only on the drawdown but post 2014, the train, the assist, the advice mission. What a counterterrorism beast would be in addition. All of those things that fully, fully got through and planned for.
So I don't think there's any deadline that we have to have it by Thanksgiving. But if we stay on track, which I fully expect we will with the timeline we're on, that gives us plenty of time.
Our partners in this, in particular the Germans, the Italians and the Turks who have already stepped up and said that they would be framework (inaudible) in the North and in the West are also saying the same thing. We can continue to plan it. But obviously the sooner, the better, but we're okay. We're not panicking.
Q: (Inaudible) anything about reconciliation or peace talks with the Taliban since the administration made an effort to get things off the ground back in the summer? Would you say there's still any hope for movement on that front in the next year? Or would you say it's looking pretty bleak?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, again, there are a number of pieces that would have to fall into place to be able to go forward on all sides. We're always hopeful that there can be some openings for reconciliation. I think most of us believe if we can find that, if it's real, then we would want to explore that. We would want to pursue that. But it takes all sides to be committed to that.
So it's always a possibility. It's always something that we're exploring. But I think where we are right now, moving forward with what we've got in front of us, the Bilateral Security Agreement, moving on schedule on that and then following behind that Task Force Agreement. But reconciliation is always something that we have as a possibility that we would explore. We never shut that option off.
Q: Yeah. I thought I heard you say that we were in an anti-combat role in Afghanistan at this point. Is that what you said, or?
SEC. HAGEL: Non-combat role, but seeing combat efforts.
Q: And leading combat role?
SEC. HAGEL: I mean obviously we're still losing the groups. I mean force protection we're always going to protect our forces in the war. And it's still dangerous and it's going to continue to be dangerous, but all the leads in combat activities and missions where that was turned over to the Afghans and we're not doing that.
Q: (Inaudible) on your meeting with your Russian counterpart, I mean usually on Syria. What do you expect they'll accomplish in that meeting?
SEC. HAGEL: I (inaudible) considerable progress with the Russians regarding Syria. I look forward to talking with the minister about this in particular. When you consider within the last month we have gotten a very solid U.N. Security Council agreement, we've worked closely with the Russians on this and we've got the OPCW [Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] in there now.
The Russians are integral to this. We're cooperating closely. We'll continue to cooperate. I think there's a lot of good news in that because it isn't just a chemical weapons issue, but it's hopefully what Secretary Kerry and Minister Lavrov have continued to work toward, as well as our U.N. counterparts on this.
(Inaudible) try to get this to a higher ground of peaceful, diplomatic resolution in Syria. So, a long way to go, a lot of complications, not easy, but we're in the right direction. And for the first time we've really got some consensus on some pretty big issues.
Q: (Inaudible) from allies to commit to certain levels post 2014? (Inaudible) discussion anything about how many troops the U.S. is prepared to commit?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, of course all our allies are going to want to know. They should know, they have to know once the decision is made as to what our decision is going to be. But I don't look for any, as you say, pressure here in the next few days.
We've been in touch with all of our allies. All our allies know. I talked to many of them on the phone. The ministers who are going to be here, NATO ministers, ISAF ministers, they know that we can't go forward until we have a Bilateral Security Agreement. But again, all the planning is still going forward. And they're okay with that.
Again, the sooner the better, of course, but we haven't done this unilaterally in a sense that we don't communicate. We talk with our allies all the time, with the Germans, the French, New Guinea, and all of the ISAF partners on this. So they know exactly what the status is on where we are.
Q: Have you seen something at this point that would move anyone off that initial number, 8,000 to 12,000? That since the last meeting there's been nothing of the date that you've seen either in Afghanistan or the allies that would suggest that number's a problem?
SEC. HAGEL: No, I have not seen any of that. We're in constant communication with our allies on this. I talk to them. Harry talks with them.
Q: That's still the…
SEC. HAGEL: Yes, but yes. That was the option that we presented -- Secretary Panetta presented in February. And that's the range that's still being considered.
Q: Last question. Mr. Secretary, a high number of casualties, a sustained high number of casualties among the ANSF this fighting season. How has that affected your planning or recommendations?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, unfortunately, first, as I remind us all, we are at war in Afghanistan. And there are going to be casualties.
As to more specific your question, I think it was not a surprise that the Taliban would increase their efforts and would step up their attacks, putting as much pressure as they could on an Afghan army to test the Afghan army. That was not unanticipated. That was actually something I think we all thought would occur.
The Afghan army's doing remarkably well. They've got a continuation of focus and training and efforts and things that any new army is dealing with as they work out their NC04 and their leadership and their training and their coordination of weapons, of course. But they have done very, very well this year as they've handled these big operations themselves.
And so that I think has given a lot of us some considerable confidence. And so they'll be prepared to handle this.
STAFF: Thank you.


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By Claire Lyn SaxonSpecial to American Forces Press Service
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 17, 2000 DoD's deputy secretary and reserve affairs chief were among 18 persons honored Nov. 16 by the National Military Family Association for their contributions to military families' quality of life.
Rudy de Leon, deputy secretary, and Charles Cragin, principal deputy assistant secretary for reserve affairs, were two of three persons to receive the association's 2000 Support for Military Families Award. Presentations were at the NMFA annual meeting and luncheon at the Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va.
De Leon was recognized for his work as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness from 1997 until he became deputy earlier this year. The association cited him for "demonstrated strong and consistent concern for military families with a special interest in the issue of education of military children. He is also applauded for his creation of the Defense Medical Oversight Committee to ensure involvement of senior Services leadership on health care issues."
NMFA honored Cragin, who has piloted DoD reserve affairs since 1997, for "identifying and bringing to the forefront, the role of families of the Guard and Reserve. He was instrumental in the development of a National Guard and Reserve Family Readiness Strategic Plan, and in the establishment of the first survey of families of deployed National Guard and Reserve component members."
The third award was presented posthumously to Rep. Herbert H. Bateman of Virginia, who had been chosen shortly before his death Sept. 11. The chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Readiness at the time of his death, Bateman was recognized for his "long-time, influential and key support of military families during his nine-term career as a member of Congress. His work focused on education of military children, the protection of the commissary benefit, and support of morale, welfare and recreation issues."
The association's Very Important Patriots program also honored 15 volunteers worldwide with plaques and cash awards. Winners at three levels are chosen for their contributions in improving the quality of life in their military and neighboring communities. Eligible candidates are active duty, Guard, Reserve and retired members of the seven uniformed services, and their family members and survivors.
Five winners of the Very Important Patriot awards received plaques and $1,000 cash awards at the Nov. 16 luncheon. The recipients are:
o Maine Air National Guard spouse Cindy Whitney of Camp Keyes, Maine. She was cited for developing and implementing Maine's Family Support Program and her service as its volunteer state program coordinator.
o Navy spouse DaLisa Stearns of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was cited for rescuing, restoring, expanding and managing the installation plant nursery, turning it into a base and family resource.
o Air Force Master Sgt. Mark C. Long of Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, was honored for his work with the Texas Special Olympics program as a committee leader, event manager, player-coach and mentor, and for his involvement with other humanitarian projects.
o Army Staff Sgt. Laura R. K. Jernigan of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, was honored for her work with base teen support programs, such as her taking part in planning and executing the Warriors Against Drugs program to help teens stay off drugs.
o Army spouse Karen Comish of Schweinfurt, Germany, helped create and support a community welcome center for newly arrived military families. The concept was later adopted at several other locations and is used as a template for all U.S. Army Europe installations, NMFA officials said.
The recipients of the NMFA Award of Honor and $250 are Coast Guard Reserve spouse Victoria Aboagye of Integrated Support Command Portsmouth, Va.; Tech. Sgt. Kimberly R. VanGorder of Keesler AFB, Miss.; retired Master Sgt. Buck Zehringer of Randolph AFB, Texas; Marine Corps spouse Janet E. Hammes of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.; and Air Force Staff Sgt. Valorie J. Whitehill Heafey of RAF Mildenhall, England.
The recipients of the NMFA Award of Merit and $100 are retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Eugene Crabtree of Hampton Roads, Va.; Lt. Col. William R. Ritchie III of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.; Mary Frances Merritt of Kirtland AFB, N.M., spouse of a retired Air Force member; Staff Sgt. Samuel M. Jones of Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.; and Air Force spouse Donna DiRoma of Aviano Air Base, Italy.
The National Military Family Association is a nonprofit, predominately volunteer organization with membership from the seven uniformed services, active duty, retired, reserve component and their family members and survivors. For more information about the association, visit the NMFA Web site at www.nmfa.org.
(Claire Lyn Saxon works for the National Military Family Association.)


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(Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)-- In recognition of his distinguished contributions to cancer research, the Moravian College Alumni Association recently presented the 2001 Comenius Award to Frank J. Rauscher, III. The award was presented at the college's annual Comenius Dinner.
The award honors a Moravian College graduate for outstanding achievement or services in the graduate's field of work. Given annually since 1941, the award is named for 17th century Moravian bishop John Amos Comenius, considered the father of modern education.
After graduating from Moravian in 1979, Dr. Rauscher spent two years as a research assistant at Yale University's School of Medicine and then earned a Ph.D. in molecular pharmacology from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, State University of New York at Buffalo. During his postdoctoral fellowship at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, he discovered the molecular basis for osteosarcoma in a mouse model. In 1990, he joined the Wistar Institute where he is currently professor and chairman of the molecular genetics program. In addition, he is both principal investigator and Deputy Director of the Wistar Institute Cancer Center. During his tenure there he has discovered several tumor suppressor genes which control the development of cancers in the kidney, lung and breast.
Dr. Rauscher has been widely recognized for his work and was named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences (1991-1995). He also received the Wilson S. Stone Memorial Award in 1991. In 1995, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation presented him with the William L. McGuire, M.D. Memorial Fellowship. He is a member of the American Association for the Moravian College honors Frank J. Rauscher, III with Comenius Award Advancement of Science, the International Association for Comparative Research of Leukemia and Related Diseases, the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Society of Nephrology, and the International Council of the Israeli Cancer Research Foundation.
Since becoming a member of the American Association of Cancer Research in 1990, Dr. Rauscher has served in numerous capacities, including his current position as a member of the Board of Directors. He also is the Editor-in-Chief for its flagship journal, Cancer Research and is on the Editorial Board of the AACR publication Cell Growth & Differentiation.
Dr. Rauscher's early interest in science developed through his close association with another outstanding Moravian College alumnus, Dr. Frank Rauscher Jr. '53. Frank Rauscher Jr. set the example of excellence for his son and received the Comenius Award in 1963. Dr. Rauscher resides in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Melissa A. Ludwig '80, and their two children, Griffin and Frank IV.
Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal arts college located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's sixth-oldest college. Visit the website at www.moravian.edu.


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Furinno Efficient Home Laptop Computer Desk
Simple stylish design yet functional and suitable for any room that has limited space for a computer.
Furinno Efficient Home Laptop Notebook Computer Desk is designed for space saving with a modern stylish look.
The E2 Grade Particleboard complies with the green rules of production. The material is the most stable amongst particleboards. The PVC tube is made from recycled plastic and is tested rigorously for durability. A simple attitude towards lifestyle is reflected directly on the design of Furinno Furniture, creating a trend of simply nature.
All the products are produced and assembled with 95% - 100% recycled materials. Pictures are for illustration purpose. All decor items are not included in this offer.
- Sturdy on flat surface
- Some assembly required - Please see instruction
- Fits in your space, fits on your budget
- Features cpu storage shelf, elevated shelf for a compact printer or other stationery decor
Dimensions: 15.6"L x 39.6"W x 33.6"H
Furinno Efficient Home Laptop Computer Desk
Furinno Efficient Home Laptop Computer Desk
Our innovative products will provide you and your family with years of enjoyment. And with the Brookstone Protection Plus service and replacement plans, you'll have the added peace of mind knowing that if the unexpected does happen, we will simply repair or replace your covered product. Our enhanced coverage goes above and beyond the manufacturer's warranty, saving you time and money.
- 2-Year Extended Replacement Plan $4.99
- 3-Year Extended Replacement Plan $8.99
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Book your room at Corte Castelletto
Please enter your travel dates.
Get an overview of this hotel3-star guesthouse with free breakfast and seasonal outdoor pool
Situated in Nogarole Rocca, this guesthouse is 0.3 mi (0.5 km) from Pradelle Church and within 9 mi (15 km) of Castello Scaligero and Museo Nicolis. Castel d'Ario and Sigurta Park are also within 12 mi (20 km).
Property Features
Coffee/tea in the lobby, 24-hour room service, and a seasonal outdoor pool are available at this smoke-free guesthouse. Free buffet breakfast, free WiFi in public areas, and free self parking are also provided. Other amenities include conference rooms, concierge services, and dry cleaning.
Room Amenities
All 18 rooms provide 24-hour room service, minibars, and satellite TV. Other amenities available to guests include hair dryers, laptop-compatible safes, and showers.Information missing or incorrect? Tell us!
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
A complimentary breakfast is offered. High-speed wireless Internet access is complimentary. For a surcharge, a roundtrip airport shuttle (available on request) is offered to guests. This Nogarole Rocca guesthouse also offers a seasonal outdoor pool, multilingual staff, and a garden. Onsite self parking is complimentary.
Corte Castelletto is a smoke-free property.
- Outdoor seasonal pool
- Concierge services
- Conference space
- Total number of rooms - 18
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Express check-out
- Number of floors - 2
- Babysitting or childcare
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- 24-hour front desk
- Free breakfast
- Luggage storage
- Free self parking
- Airport transportation (surcharge)
- Coffee/tea in lobby
- Express check-in
- Free WiFi
- Laundry facilities
- Multilingual staff
- Smoke-free property
- Garden
- Television in lobby
Family Friendly Amenities
- Free Wi-Fi
- Laundry facilities
- Babysitting or childcare
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Room service (24 hours)
- Air conditioning
- Climate control
- Pay movies
- Bidet
- Hair dryer
- Satellite TV service
- Minibar
- Private bathroom
- Shower only
- Desk
- Cribs/infant beds available
- In-room safe (laptop compatible)
Where to Eat
Guests are offered a complimentary buffet breakfast.
24-hour room service is available.
Nearby Things to Do
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Golfing nearby
- Bicycle rentals on site
To make requests for specific accessibility needs, complete the "Special or Accessibility Requests" section of "Trip Preferences" when you book your hotel.
- Accessible path of travel
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Check-out time is 11 AM
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Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
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Pets allowed
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24-hour check-in
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- Pet fee: EUR 5 per accommodation, per stay
We should mention
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Ahead of its upcoming August 16th debut in theatres, Open Road Films just released a new clip from the JOBS film starting Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs. In the latest clip, Jobs and and Steve Wozniak, played by Josh Gad, come up with the name "Apple Computer," a story that we've heard straight from the real Jobs and Wozniak in the past.
Tomorrow Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad will also be hosting a live YouTube Hangout at 11am PST/2pm EST to answer questions about the JOBS movie submitted using #AskJobsMovie. The event will be hosted on the JOBSthefilm YoutTube account.
If you want to hear the story of the Apple name straight from the source, the real Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs give their versions of events in the videos below:
Leave a Reply
6 Responses to "Watch Jobs and Woz come up with the Apple name in new clip from 'JOBS'"
Hmm… I thought no one could actually remember where the name originated?
The spiritual forces behind Apple ladies and gentlemen: Genesis 3: 1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."
@Craig S.
Wait a minute… Where you can read the word Apple?
Yeah, I'm sure that's how it went down…
What's up with this new login system?
Nowhere in the bible does it say that Eve ate an "apple"… #foodforthought


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As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a Texas-backed challenge to new greenhouse gas limits for big polluters like petrochemical plants, the industry is warning of dire consequences should the rules take effect. Read the full story at KUHF News.
Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/14/petrochemical-industry-says-new-rules-could-/.
Copyright 2013 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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Home | About Us | Contact Us | For Media |
Campus, cities prepare for 'Unofficial' event
UI officials and police are working with area police agencies, and city and state officials to keep a lid on Unofficial St. Patrick's Day, a commercial event that is planned for March 6.
Although the event is not condoned by UI officials, they have spent weeks in planning with city officials, police agencies and state liquor agents to ensure the safety of students and faculty and staff members, to prevent damage to university property and to prevent disruptions to campus operations and academic instruction.
Past years' celebrations resulted in significant property damage in the Lincoln Hall theater and Foellinger Auditorium and led to the death of a UI alumna who fell from a motorcycle in 2006.
Last year, area police agencies – including the UI, the cities of Champaign and Urbana and the Illinois State Police – spent more than $30,000 in overtime pay during the event, Chancellor Richard Herman wrote in a letter to undergraduate students' parents that also is posted on his Web page. Herman urged parents to talk with their children about personal safety and to encourage their students to act in the best interests of the university.
Police and university staff members plan to increase patrols around campus buildings and in Campustown during the event, focusing on safeguarding people and property, and paying particular attention to large lecture halls such as Foellinger Auditorium that sustained damage in the past.
"Our goal is that the staff members who support us will be bored because there is nothing going on," said Peg Rawles, associate chancellor. "That would be a really good result. We plan to make this event as uneventful as possible."
This year, the event was being promoted over the social networking site Facebook as well as by word of mouth, although university officials, city officials and police are hoping that strict enforcement will discourage large numbers of non-UI students from traveling to campus to participate. Many of the arrests and problematic behaviors during past Unofficial celebrations were students from other colleges, said UI police Lt. Skip Frost.
"We're going to have zero-tolerance for any shenanigans – such as open containers of alcohol, fighting, underage consumption of alcohol and students trying to enter any of our large lecture halls intoxicated or carrying cups of liquids," Frost said. "We'll be focused on pedestrian safety and on vehicles that are not observing pedestrians' right of way, but we'll also be looking for pedestrians and drivers who are under the influence.
"If people choose to participate in this event, that's fine and it's their choice as young adults. But if they behave in such a manner that they put themselves or someone else at risk, they're going to be cited or arrested."
Enforcement efforts and monitoring of participants' behavior during last year's Unofficial, which was held Feb. 29-March 1, resulted in partiers being less disruptive than they were during previous years' celebrations. Many of the temporary city ordinances and university policies implemented last year will be repeated, such as banning visitors from university residence halls, prohibiting Champaign bars from extending their hours and requiring establishments to check patrons' I.D.s at all doors.
Champaign Mayor Gerald Schweighart recently issued an emergency order that will temporarily tighten liquor regulations. The order prohibits patrons under age 21 from entering bars in and near Campustown from 11 a.m. March 6 until 2:30 a.m. March 7.
Additionally, restaurants and bars will not be able to serve shots or pitchers of beer during the event, keg permits will not be issued for parties, and it will be illegal to possess more than one keg per residence. Police will have the authority to shut down package retailers if pedestrian traffic at their establishments impedes vehicular traffic.
Officials from the Illinois Liquor Control Commission will be monitoring establishments for liquor code violations.
Concerned that increased enforcement and restricted entry at licensed establishments may increase the number of private parties, the Champaign Fire Department plans to monitor balconies at private residences for overcrowding and life-safety violations, in addition to keeping a close watch on crowding at bars.
According to the city of Champaign's Web site, increased enforcement paid off last year. Emergency medical assistance calls decreased by 54 percent – to 29 from 63 medical calls the prior year.
Last year, police issued 199 Notices to Appear – 89 for minors in possession of alcohol, 73 for possession of alcohol on a public way, nine for illegal possession of multiple kegs and 28 for various other charges, such as disorderly conduct and public urination. Police also issued 10 citations for Illinois Vehicle Code violations, six of which were for intoxicated pedestrians. Urbana police also reported a DUI-related hit-and-run.
News Bureau, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
507 E. Green St., Suite 345, Champaign, Illinois 61820
Telephone 217 333-1085, Fax 217 244-0161


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Code Quality Audit
Manage Operational Risk and Reduce Support Costs
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Developed with the input of Black Duck customers which include some of the largest and most active acquirers, the CQA is designed to help diligence teams and engineering managers compare their code against industry standards. The Code Quality Audit report provides an overall quality assessment informed by use of static analysis of the code, comparative analysis based on other code quality audit data, and inspection of the processes used to create the code.
Start gaining insights into your code base today. Contact us to receive a CQA quote.


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A Study Comparing Mircera and Epoetin Alfa for the Treatment of Anemia in Dialysis Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease.
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
This 2 arm study will compare 'time and motion' (provider time spent on anemia management) and effect on hemoglobin (Hb) levels, of methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (Mircera) and epoetin alfa, in anemic patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on hemodialysis. Patients stable on intravenous (iv) epoetin alfa will be randomized either to receive standard of care therapy (epoetin alfa (iv) 3 times weekly), or to receive Mircera 120-360 micrograms (iv), monthly. After a titration period, average time spent on anemia treatment over a 3 month period will be evaluated. The anticipated time on study treatment is 3-12 months, and the target sample size is 100-500 individuals.
Drug: methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta
Drug: Epoetin alfa
Phase 3
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Open Label
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:
|A Randomized, Open-label Study Comparing the Pharmacoeconomic (Time and Motion) Benefit of Mircera and Epoetin Alfa in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease (Stage V) on Dialysis.
- Time Spent on Anemia Treatment Over Evaluation Period [ Time Frame: Months 5-7 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Efficacy and pharmacoeconomics analyses were not performed.
- Change in Hemoglobin (Hb) Concentration From Baseline to the Average Over the Evaluation Period [ Time Frame: Baseline, Months 5-7 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Efficacy and pharmacoeconomics analyses were not performed.
- Number of Participants Assessed for AEs [ Time Frame: Month 1 to 15 day follow up post month 7 ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]The adverse events are captured in the adverse event and serious adverse event section of this database.
- The Number of Participants With Marked Laboratory Abnormalities Occurring in ≥5% of the Participants [ Time Frame: Baseline, Month 1 to Month 7 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]A marked laboratory abnormality was defined as a test result that was outside of the marked abnormality range and that also represented a clinically relevant change from baseline of at least a designated amount.
|Study Start Date:
|March 2007
|Study Completion Date:
|December 2007
|Primary Completion Date:
|December 2007 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Experimental: methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta
120-360 micrograms (iv) monthly, starting dose
Drug: methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta
120-360 micrograms intravenous (iv) monthly, starting dose
Other Name: Mircera
Active Comparator: Epoetin Alfa
As prescribed, (iv), 3 times weekly
Drug: Epoetin alfa
As prescribed, iv, 3 times weekly
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older
|Genders Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- adult patients, >=18 years of age;
- CKD (stage V) on outpatient hemodialysis therapy for >= 3 months;
- CKD-related anemia treated with epoetin alfa iv 3x/week for >= 3 months;
- average hemoglobin (Hb) 10-12 g/dL over last 3 months.
Exclusion Criteria:
- failed renal transplant within 12 months prior to screening;
- poorly controlled hypertension;
- previous treatment with Mircera.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00422513
Show 44 Study Locations
|Study Director:
|Clinical Trials
|Hoffmann-La Roche
No publications provided
|Responsible Party:
|Hoffmann-La Roche
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00422513 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|January 15, 2007
|Results First Received:
|March 29, 2011
|Last Updated:
|November 9, 2011
|Health Authority:
|United States: Food and Drug Administration
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Kidney Diseases
Renal Insufficiency, Chronic
Renal Insufficiency
Urologic Diseases
Epoetin alfa
Hematologic Agents
Pharmacologic Actions
Therapeutic Uses
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on July 30, 2015


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for Joe Bataan 1 some waves a wave of now a trombone speaking to you a piano is trying to break a molecule is trying to lift the stage into orbit around the red spotlights a shadow the shadows of dancers dancers they are dancing falling out that space made for dancing they should dance on the tables they should dance inside of their drinks they should dance on the ceiling they should dance/dance thru universes leaning-moving we are traveling where are we going if we only knew with this rhythm with this banging with fire with this all this O my god i wonder where are we going sink into a room full of laughter full of happiness full of life those dancers the dancers are clapping their hands stomping their feet hold back them tears all those sentimental stories cooked uptown if you can hold it for after we are going away-away-away beyond these wooden tables beyond these red lights beyond these rugs & paper walls beyond way past i mean way past them clouds over the buildings over the rivers over towns over cities like on rails but faster like a train but smoother away past stars bursting with drums. 2 a sudden misunderstanding a cloud full of grayness a body thru a store window a hand reaching into the back pocket a scream a piano is talking to you thru all this why don't you answer it.
Feather Dust 223W
Feather Dust 223W
Latin & Soul
Victor Hernández Cruz, 1949
Feather Dust 223W
David Budbill, 1940
Tomorrow we are bones and ash, the roots of weeds poking through our skulls. Today, simple clothes, empty mind, full stomach, alive, aware, right here, right now. Drunk on music, who needs wine? Come on, Sweetheart, let's go dancing while we still have feet.
Feather Dust 223W
She Walks in Beauty
George Gordon Byron, 1788 - 1824
I. She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. II. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o'er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling place. III. And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!
Feather Dust 223W
The Kiss
Stephen Dunn, 1939
She pressed her lips to mind. —a typo How many years I must have yearned for someone's lips against mind. Pheromones, newly born, were floating between us. There was hardly any air. She kissed me again, reaching that place that sends messages to toes and fingertips, then all the way to something like home. Some music was playing on its own. Nothing like a woman who knows to kiss the right thing at the right time, then kisses the things she's missed. How had I ever settled for less? I was thinking this is intelligence, this is the wisest tongue since the Oracle got into a Greek's ear, speaking sense. It's the Good, defining itself. I was out of my mind. She was in. We married as soon as we could.
Feather Dust 223W
Two Loves
Lord Alfred Douglas
I dreamed I stood upon a little hill, And at my feet there lay a ground, that seemed Like a waste garden, flowering at its will With buds and blossoms. There were pools that dreamed Black and unruffled; there were white lilies A few, and crocuses, and violets Purple or pale, snake-like fritillaries Scarce seen for the rank grass, and through green nets Blue eyes of shy peryenche winked in the sun. And there were curious flowers, before unknown, Flowers that were stained with moonlight, or with shades Of Nature's willful moods; and here a one That had drunk in the transitory tone Of one brief moment in a sunset; blades Of grass that in an hundred springs had been Slowly but exquisitely nurtured by the stars, And watered with the scented dew long cupped In lilies, that for rays of sun had seen Only God's glory, for never a sunrise mars The luminous air of Heaven. Beyond, abrupt, A grey stone wall. o'ergrown with velvet moss Uprose; and gazing I stood long, all mazed To see a place so strange, so sweet, so fair. And as I stood and marvelled, lo! across The garden came a youth; one hand he raised To shield him from the sun, his wind-tossed hair Was twined with flowers, and in his hand he bore A purple bunch of bursting grapes, his eyes Were clear as crystal, naked all was he, White as the snow on pathless mountains frore, Red were his lips as red wine-spilith that dyes A marble floor, his brow chalcedony. And he came near me, with his lips uncurled And kind, and caught my hand and kissed my mouth, And gave me grapes to eat, and said, 'Sweet friend, Come I will show thee shadows of the world And images of life. See from the South Comes the pale pageant that hath never an end.' And lo! within the garden of my dream I saw two walking on a shining plain Of golden light. The one did joyous seem And fair and blooming, and a sweet refrain Came from his lips; he sang of pretty maids And joyous love of comely girl and boy, His eyes were bright, and 'mid the dancing blades Of golden grass his feet did trip for joy; And in his hand he held an ivory lute With strings of gold that were as maidens' hair, And sang with voice as tuneful as a flute, And round his neck three chains of roses were. But he that was his comrade walked aside; He was full sad and sweet, and his large eyes Were strange with wondrous brightness, staring wide With gazing; and he sighed with many sighs That moved me, and his cheeks were wan and white Like pallid lilies, and his lips were red Like poppies, and his hands he clenched tight, And yet again unclenched, and his head Was wreathed with moon-flowers pale as lips of death. A purple robe he wore, o'erwrought in gold With the device of a great snake, whose breath Was fiery flame: which when I did behold I fell a-weeping, and I cried, 'Sweet youth, Tell me why, sad and sighing, thou dost rove These pleasent realms? I pray thee speak me sooth What is thy name?' He said, 'My name is Love.' Then straight the first did turn himself to me And cried, 'He lieth, for his name is Shame, But I am Love, and I was wont to be Alone in this fair garden, till he came Unasked by night; I am true Love, I fill The hearts of boy and girl with mutual flame.' Then sighing, said the other, 'Have thy will, I am the love that dare not speak its name.'
Feather Dust 223W
Adam Zagajewski, 1945
I watched the arctic landscape from above and thought of nothing, lovely nothing. I observed white canopies of clouds, vast expanses where no wolf tracks could be found. I thought about you and about the emptiness that can promise one thing only: plenitude— and that a certain sort of snowy wasteland bursts from a surfeit of happiness. As we drew closer to our landing, the vulnerable earth emerged among the clouds, comic gardens forgotten by their owners, pale grass plagued by winter and the wind. I put my book down and for an instant felt a perfect balance between waking and dreams. But when the plane touched concrete, then assiduously circled the airport's labryinth, I once again knew nothing. The darkness of daily wanderings resumed, the day's sweet darkness, the darkness of the voice that counts and measures, remembers and forgets.
Feather Dust 223W
Song of Myself, III
Walt Whitman, 1819 - 1892
I have heard what the talkers were talking, the talk of the beginning and the end But I do not talk of the beginning or the end. There was never any more inception than there is now, Nor any more youth or age than there is now, And will never be any more perfection than there is now, Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now. Urge and urge and urge, Always the procreant urge of the world. Out of the dimness opposite equals advance, always substance and increase, always sex, Always a knit of identity, always distinction, always a breed of life. To elaborate is no avail, learn'd and unlearn'd feel that it is so. Sure as the most certain sure, plumb in the uprights, well entretied, braced in the beams, Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical, I and this mystery here we stand. Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul. Lack one lacks both, and the unseen is proved by the seen, Till that becomes unseen and receives proof in its turn. Showing the best and dividing it from the worst age vexes age, Knowing the perfect fitness and equanimity of things, while they discuss I am silent, and go bathe and admire myself. Welcome is every organ and attribute of me, and of any man hearty and clean, Not an inch nor a particle of an inch is vile, and none shall be less familiar than the rest. I am satisfied—I see, dance, laugh, sing; As the hugging and loving bed-fellow sleeps at my side through the night, and withdraws at the peep of the day with stealthy tread. Leaving me baskets cover'd with white towels swelling the house with their plenty, Shall I postpone my acceptation and realization and scream at my eyes, That they turn from gazing after and down the road, And forthwith cipher and show me to a cent, Exactly the value of one and exactly the value of two, and which is ahead?
Feather Dust 223W
When We Two Parted
George Gordon Byron, 1788 - 1824
When we two parted In silence and tears, Half broken-hearted To sever for years, Pale grew thy cheek and cold, Colder thy kiss; Truly that hour foretold Sorrow to this. The dew of the morning Sunk chill on my brow-- It felt like the warning Of what I feel now. Thy vows are all broken, And light is thy fame; I hear thy name spoken, And share in its shame. They name thee before me, A knell to mine ear; A shudder comes o'er me-- Why wert thou so dear? They know not I knew thee, Who knew thee too well-- Long, long shall I rue thee, Too deeply to tell. In secret we met-- In silence I grieve, That thy heart could forget, Thy spirit deceive. If I should meet thee After long years, How should I greet thee?-- With silence and tears.
Feather Dust 223W
No, Love Is Not Dead
Robert Desnos, 1900 - 1945
No, love is not dead in this heart these eyes and this mouth that announced the start of its own funeral. Listen, I've had enough of the picturesque, the colorful and the charming. I love love, its tenderness and cruelty. My love has only one name, one form. Everything disappears. All mouths cling to that one. My love has just one name, one form. And if someday you remember O you, form and name of my love, One day on the ocean between America and Europe, At the hour when the last ray of light sparkles on the undulating surface of the waves, or else a stormy night beneath a tree in the countryside or in a speeding car, A spring morning on the boulevard Malesherbes, A rainy day, Just before going to bed at dawn, Tell yourself-I order your familiar spirit-that I alone loved you more and it's a shame you didn't know it. Tell yourself there's no need to regret: Ronsard and Baudelaire before me sang the sorrows of women old or dead who scorned the purest love. When you are dead You will still be lovely and desirable. I'll be dead already, completely enclosed in your immortal body, in your astounding image forever there among the endless marvels of life and eternity, but if I'm alive, The sound of your voice, your radiant looks, Your smell the smell of your hair and many other things will live on inside me. In me and I'm not Ronsard or Baudelaire I'm Robert Desnos who, because I knew and loved you, Is as good as they are. I'm Robert Desnos who wants to be remembered On this vile earth for nothing but his love of you. A la mysterieuse
Feather Dust 223W
Be Near Me
Faiz Ahmed Faiz, 1911 - 1984
Be near me now, My tormenter, my love, be near me— At this hour when night comes down, When, having drunk from the gash of sunset, darkness comes With the balm of musk in its hands, its diamond lancets, When it comes with cries of lamentation, with laughter with songs; Its blue-gray anklets of pain clinking with every step. At this hour when hearts, deep in their hiding places, Have begun to hope once more, when they start their vigil For hands still enfolded in sleeves; When wine being poured makes the sound of inconsolable children who, though you try with all your heart, cannot be soothed. When whatever you want to do cannot be done, When nothing is of any use; —At this hour when night comes down, When night comes, dragging its long face, dressed in mourning, Be with me, My tormenter, my love, be near me.


text:
On the second-quarter GDP figures, Megan McArdle writes:
Woo-hoo! GDP only fell at an annualized pace of 1% in the second quarter! Pop the champagne!
- Happiness is relative
- This number will be revised, probably downward
- Consumer saving continues to rise, and probably will for a while
- Employment isn't going to recover for quite some time
As unemployment continues to tick up and the deficit gets revised (with health care stalled, the Obama team will release the midyear figures), it will be hard to convince voters that things are "better" or that much of anything the administration has done is "working." It simply isn't possible to convince voters that they should be happy because there are fewer people still losing jobs than in previous months. And while it is true that the banking crisis has stabilized, to the average voter this is amorphous and, especially if s/he still can't get a loan, irrelevant.
The danger for the Obama administration, which we have already seen play out in the debate over the stimulus plan, is that it will sound out of touch and unsympathetic by insisting things are so much better than they were. For a group that already sounds quite eggheadish and removed from the concerns of ordinary people, that's a bit of a problem. In fact, Obama's media spinners are already worried about his elite image in the midst of a recession. Matthew Cooper frets:
The Obamas have had plenty of meetings with those who are down on their luck. But the overall impression that Americans may be getting of the Obamas is of people out of touch with the plight of Americans. This is probably owing more to the celebrity media culture than anything the Obamas have done. But in a neo Depression, is all the coverage of Michelle's hair, the kids at Sidwell, the upcoming Martha's Vineyard vacation really helping the president.
Democrats risk forfeiting their claim of representing the "little guy" to the Republicans, who haven't sounded so concerned about jobs and small business in a generation. Rahm Emanuel might have been right — the recession could be a politically transformative event. Just not in the way he and Obama had hoped.