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SCI News
Kenya Safe Water Workshop | June 30, 2008
SCI has recently initiated a Safe Water Initiative and will incorporate simple and safe water testing into current international programs involving solar cooking and water pasteurization. SCI's Board President and one of its founders, Bob Metcalf, is the 'inventor' of the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) that we are introducing to government ministries to assist with official water testing procedures at the grassroots level. Contacts made last year with officials from Kenya's Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) and Ministry of Health (MOH)~ the leading institutions involved with clean water in Kenya, enabled representatives from each of these ministry's primary locations throughout the country participate in the Safe Water Workshop provided by SCI in June, and in turn train others in their districts, who will then train others, and so on creating a trickle-down effect all the way to the village level.
Our goal is to provide a simple and inexpensive method of testing water in remote areas that heretofore has not been possible due to scarce laboratory facilities and costly transportation fees. This is a revolutionary process that will significantly increase the ability of EVERYONE in Kenya to know the quality of the water they drink, and to purify contaminated water with simple and inexpensive solar technologies. These are photos of the first of many Safe Water Workshops, which involved detailed instruction on specific PML water-testing techniques, importance of cleanliness and sanitation, and practical methods of treating contaminated water.
Bob introducing the Safe Water Workshop and getting acquainted with participants.
There were approximately 50 participants present for the workshop, 20 from WRMA and 20 from MOH
Bob at the front table with honored guests, preparing to start the workshop.
SCI's East Africa Director, Margaret Owino, introduces the staff and gives a brief on SCI's East Africa programs.
Bob and Faustine.
Some of the honored government guests who participated in the workshop.
A water sample from a local water source ~ collected in a Whirlpak, a sterilized plastic bag that can be flipped over itself to keep the sample sterile until testing.
Each Whirlpak is labeled and each sample is tested in two ways: in a test tube to test for presence of E-Coli, and on a Patrifilm to determine the number of E-Coli present in a sample.
Faustine Ofaba, John Rumberia and Bob Metcalf demonstrate before workshop participants.
Bob shows the petrifilm ~ a portable petri dish much more suitable for testing a number count of bacteria present in the bush.
Bob demonstrating the importance of keeping the test tubes sterile by opening them a certain way.
Each of the workshop participants tested some water from local sources, using the simple materials from the PML: Whirlpaks for collecting water samples, test tubes and petrifilms containing E-Coli indicating substances, and pipettes for sterile transference of water.
Faustine is our lead solar cooking trainer in the field, and has learned water testing quickly and tries to incorporate this process into as many solar cooking and water pasteurization projects as possible.
This photo depicts Faustine placing a test tube in her bra to incubate overnight. The final process of testing water with the PML is to incubate the tests for 12-24 hours ~ and the perfect temperature for incubation happens to be body temperature. (Let us learn from the chicken!) So when you're out in the bush without any modern amenities, incubating water samples on the body is the logical solution.
The incubation process is the part we've had the most resistance about ~ many (especially older) villagers equate incubating something on your body to voodoo, or just find it too weird. Even some of the government workers were uneasy with the process ~ these are the petrifilms that were left to incubate on the table overnight; an option (especially since it was warm out) but incubation takes much longer at inopportune temperatures.
This is a 'hay pouch' created by Mr. John Rumberia ~ a water testing expert from the village of Embu: understanding the cultural discomfort with incubating water samples on the body, John fashioned this method of incubating tests with a hot water bottle and a couple of cloth bags.
The process of this 'hay pouch' is modeled after the hay basket for it's insulative qualities ~ rather than incubate a water sample on one's body for 12-24 hours, it is possible to keep it warm in an incubating pouch like this one.
There was a Cholera outbreak a few weeks before the Safe Water Workshop, which was contained by the Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) and Ministry of Health (MOH) by using the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML). Now that's a testimony!
Rose Namori is a Microbiology Scientist working for WRMA in Nairobi who performed extensive tests comparing the ability of the PML to test water in the field to testing performed in a formal laboratory facility. Thanks to Rose, it is widely accepted by Kenyan government ministries that the PML is a an effective means by which to treat water in areas without electricity or modern conveniences.
Rose was fundamental to this workshop, here she is seen assisting participants with water testing specifics, and the affirming report given by Rose at the workshop served to significantly reinforce the case for the PML use by government workers.
Bob was his usual animated self, instructing the class on water testing processing using the simple materials of the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML).
Solar cooking was, of course, a big part of the Safe Water Workshop in Kisumu, Kenya.
Dozens of solar cookers were set up an cooking various Africa dishes throughout the day.
Me and Faustine, our lead trainer and solar cooker extraordinaire.
During the Safe Water Workshop, our East Africa staff and SCOREPS (Solar Cooking Representatives) were busy cooking food with various Integrated Cooking methods: solar cookers, parabolic cookers, box cookers, hay baskets, etc.
Most Africa dishes cook extremely well in a solar cooker, since it is essentially a slow cooker and many local dishes are stew-like or rice-oriented. This staple green, called Sukoma Wiki (translated means to 'stretch out the week') cooks perfectly in a solar cooker.
Meat also cooks well in a solar cooker, and the result is a more tender, flavorful piece of meat, since it is slow cooked in it's own juices.
SCOREPS, staff and trainees from Burundi prepare a solar cooked feast for the workshop.
Anastasie ~ one of the trainees from nearby Burundi. Two women interested in establishing a solar cooking project at the church where they work came to Kenya for a 5-day training by SCI's East Africa Office.
One of our long-time SCOREPS (Solar Cooking Reps) cooking with the parabolic. Parabolics are the most powerful of the solar cooking devices ~ they focus the sun's heat on to a specific point on the pot, and provide temperatures easily adequate to fry food. While very effective, these types of cookers are high maintenance since very sensitive to even a slight change in the position, and prices are normally in the thousands.
A parabolic can fry meat as easily as any stovetop grill.
Fried bread is a popular item in many developing countries.
Serving food fried in a parabolic is an attention getter ~ the parabolic attracts attention with it's large size and flashy design. People are amazed that food can cook at all with only the power of the sun, and the hight price of the parabolic reinforces the practicality of the much lower priced CooKit.
A rice dish was brought to a boil in the parabolic in the morning, placed in a hay basket to finish cooking, and the dish was ready by lunch time.
Solar cookers set up outside the Safe Water Workshop.
SCI Staff and SCOREPS (Solar Cooker Reps) serving solar cooked food to workshop participants.
Solar cooked food.
Blowing on food, because yes ~ it gets that hot!
On the last day of the Safe Water Workshop, we all went on a field trip of the region where we were shown the sources of the water we tested over the course of the workshop:
A view of Lake Victoria ~ the largest lake in Africa, and the largest tropical lake in the world.
A man washing his clothes in Lake Victoria.
Bob with a water sample from Lake Vic.
Our driver ~ oh so fly.
The ladies from Burundi in our van... we had fun because...
...we were in the private Chicks Club!
Faustine pumps water from a well into a water jug. Water from pumps and especially deep wells normally turn out well in water tests.
Here is a good example of the differences simple education can make ~ while the water source may be good, simple placing a water jug in mud or water that may contain feces (and thereby possibly E-Coli) increases the possibility of bringing the disease into a home.
An elderly woman wanted to know what all the people were doing poking around her compound, looking at water sources....
John explained what we were doing, which was received with great interest by both madam and the rest of the compound dwellers ~ John and SCI staff promised to return to test their water and discuss solar water pasteurization with them.
Bike taxis in Kisumu, waiting for fares. The back racks are cushioned and you sit side-saddle... it's a strange sensation to move forward while facing sideways, especially when you don't have control of the unbalanced moving object!
A muddy stream ~ you can see in the front right of the pic the pumping mechanism, which takes this water to the processing plant about 1/4 of a mile away.
The water processing plant in Kisumu.
These trucks can be seen all over Kenya.
Local water suppliers filling up delivery vessels.
John Amayo, Project Supervisor for Sunny Solutions in Kadibo, waxes poetic about the importance of incorporating safe water in SCI's projects.
SCI's office in Kadibo, near the Western Gulf of Lake Victoria.
SCOREPS (Solar Cookers Representatives) gathering for the Anniversary Celebration outside SCI's Sunny Solutions Office in Katito ~ not far from Kadibo and also on Lake Victoria.
The grounds for SCI's 10-year Anniversary Celebration.
An innovative solar water trough ~ a device powered by the sun to heat and purify water for drinking.
Food cooking in a hay basket at the EARO 10 Anniversary Event.
One of the things SCI promotes in our endeavors is income generation ~ in other words, replacing the time that women spend walking miles to gather wood every day with another, more productive activity. All of the goods for sale on this table were made by this woman as a result of time saved with solar cooking.
The venue for the EARO 10th Anniversary Celebration.
SCI EARO's own Lead Trainer, Faustine Odaba, sporting tribal garb for the ceremony.
Faustine, myself, Rose and honored guests at SCI-EARO's 10 year Anniversary Celebration.
Singing and dancing ensued, as usual!
SCI's Sunny Solutions Lead Project Officer Dinah Chiengo demonstrates the uses and practicality of the CooKit for rural Kenya.
Members of SCI-US and SCI-EARO joining together to celebrate EARO's 10th Anniversary!
SCI's East Africa Regional Director, Margaret Owino, facilitates the Safe Water Workshop Awards Ceremony.
Bob preparing to speak at the Water Workshop Awards Ceremony.
Bob speaking at the Awards Ceremony.
Giving out awards at the ceremony.
During the ceremony we provided a stock of Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) materials to the heads of the Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) of Kenya.
As deftly demonstrated by our own Simon Ogutu, dancing is an integral part of every celebration in Africa.
Cleophas Onono was the Team Leader for the Sunny Solutions Evaluation executed by Archway Technology Management. The professional evaluation was intended to in provide an accurate and useful portrayal of Sunny Solutions' accomplishments to learn from and continue with, and identification of areas to improve effectiveness and productivity. I was able to attend the initial Stakeholders Meeting involving
brainstorming sessions with local health workers, hotel/food vendors, development agents, fuel vendors, government workers, teachers and local solar cooks discussing benefits, challenges and techniques of solar cooking in the community.
Participants at Stakeholders Meeting.
Speaking participant.
Margaret speaking at Stakeholders Meeting.
The Greenbelt Center is home to Wangari Maathai's Green Belt Movement: Dr. Maathai is one of Kenya's most respected environmental and political activists. In 2004 she became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace." In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots environmental non-governmental organization, which has now planted over 40 million trees across Kenya to prevent soil erosion, empower women in their daily lives and preserve one of Kenya's most precious commodities. The Green Belt Center is a meeting place for many environmental movements, home to a great number of trees, plants and gardens and just a pleasant place to be.
This is the 'main-house' at the Green Belt Center ~ a cushy, pretty, pillowy, extremely comfortable atmosphere that only a women-oriented commune can provide.
Trees, trees and m ore trees is the theme here.
The African Women and Water Conference organized by environmental nonprofits A Single Drop, Women's Earth Alliance, Crabgrass and GROOTS Kenya, was a week-long workshop to instruct 32 women from 16 Africa countries (teams of 2) in various water treatment and sanitation methods. Incorporating solar cooking and water pasteurization techniques, along with water testing skills taught with the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML), SCI was an integral part of this workshop, and lucky we were to be a part of it.
This is the Demo Hall where most of the training took place during the Africa Women and Water Conference.
This is a slow sand filter and it's mold. A slow sand filter purifies water by progressively layering organic material of decreasing size inside a cylindrical container; beginning with small stones, next layering pebbles, then coarse gravel, sand, then fine sand at the top. Water is poured over the layers and when it comes out at the bottom ~ voila! A slow sand filter is slow, and can be burdensome to make, but it works very well with natural ingredients that can be found just about anywhere.
These are some organic materials ready to be put into the filter.
Mariah Klingsmith will be following up on the 30 workshop participants over the next year ~ visiting their various villages in their respective countries. Mariah already had a great blog set up and her updates are regular: http://mariahsadventures-africa.blogspot.com/
Gemma is the founder of A Single Drop ~ a safe water nonprofit based in the Philippines and the organizer of the African Women and Water Conference. Gemma was so impressed with SCI Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) that she will be hosting Bob in the Philippines early next year, so that he can introduce SCI's safe water project to A Single Drop and the many environmental nonprofits that Gemma has ties with in the Philippines.
Bob was able to coach Mariah extensively on the Safe Water Program and the PML preceding the workshop. She was given a CooKit and pot, WAPI and PML materials so that she can teach and provide consultations on her year-long journey.
Here are a few pix of our East Africa office and staff, based in Nairobi:
The CooKit as made by our East Africa Regional Office (EARO) in Kenya. They have added the purple tape on the edges to protect it from the elements, which is a great addition. All of the CooKits in Africa are handmade, and every workshop trains its participants how to obtain materials and construct their own solar cookers.
Our East Africa Regional Office (EARO) in Nairobi. This is the main hub in East Africa for solar cooking information, materials and training.
EARO front room.
Lucy and Stella Odaba ~ Faustine's daughters and two of SCI's stellar employees. Stella heads the Kajiado office a few hours south of Nairobi and works primarily in the Masai region of Kenya. Lucy works closer to Nairobi and is the lead expert at making Hay Baskets ~ her work is unsurpassed!
A trainee from Burundi making a Hay Basket under Lucy's instruction.
Margaret at her desk @ the EARO.
Elijah Achola ~ our trusty Fiscal Manager at SCI's EARO.
I'm so proud of our East Africa office and staff and projects!
Tanzania and TanzSolar | June 23, 2008
I traveled to Musoma, Tanzania to pursue collaborations between SCI and TanzSolar ~ a newly established nonprofit that will provide affordable solar panels to local internet organizations, health clinics, schools, small businesses and individuals throughout Tanzania. While TanzSolar specializes in photovoltaic (PV) systems, they are interested in expanding their solar reach and open to working with SCI to bring simple solar cooking and water pasteurization techniques to the area as well.
Marianne and her sons showed me great hospitality while I was in Musoma, treating me like family and taking time from their busy schedules to help with a solar demo and introduce me to some active and influential business people in the community; like Sergio Velasquez of Mano a Mano, and Robi Machaba of JuaSun, a local internet company that works closely with Marianne and TanzSolar. With their help we rounded up a good group of locally active individuals interested in improving their environment by providing alternative methods of cooking, treating water and generating income in their community. Together we organized a very successful day of informational presentations on solar cooking and water pasteurization ideologies, processes and techniques, generating a great deal of participation and interest. With the help of those listed above and SCI's East Africa Office, SCI and TanzSolar will plan to host a 5-day integrated solar workshop on the TanzSolar grounds later in the year.
Mt Kiliminjaro in the distance, from the window of the tiny plane we took from Dar es Salaam to the small town of Musoma on Lake Victoria.
Marianne and me.
The TanzSolar grounds ~ a good sized compound with three buildings and a massive yard.
The other two building on the TanzSolar compound ~ straight ahead is a workshop, and to the right is another house / living quarters.
The hugs lawn space gets a lot of sun and is perfect for solar cooking and water pasteurization.
These are two different clay stoves found in the market in Musoma, both burn charcoal 'conservatively', but charcoal requires a great deal of wood to produce and seems to be the leading method of cooking in Musoma.
We bought pots at the market and painted them black for the demo the next day. If we had had a bit more time we would have let them 'bake' in the sun for a few days ~ as it was they were a bit 'tacky' but served their purpose.
Marianne painting lids. The pots and lids are painted black to attract the heat of the sun, and the pots are placed into a heat-resistant clear plastic bag which has a greenhouse effect of trapping the heat and keeping it in the pot.
Like here in the US, black pots are not as prevalent as silver ones, so painting pots black is an essential component to solar cooking.
Black chalkboard paint works very well for painting pots since it is a matte substance which eliminates shine and does not chip easily, and is also available in practically any village in Africa.
We set up 10 CooKits on the lawn to pasteurize water and cook food during the demonstration / presentation.
One of the pots contained water and a WAPI, and one of the first things I was able to show people was how easily and quickly a CooKit can pasteurize a pot of water, making potentially contaminated water safe to drink.
I showed a PowerPoint presentation, the SunCookers DVD about SCI's exploits in Kenya, and some photos of the recent Integrated Solar Cooking workshop in Uganda to the 20-ish participants.
The presentation was given in the living room of TanzSolar.
It was a small and personal group in a comfortable atmosphere, where discussion was encouraged, drinks served, posters up, etc.
The Q&A session was lively and I see a lot of interest in possible project directions in Musoma.
During breaks in the presentation we all went outside to check on the progress of the food, which took a little longer due to slight cloud-cover, but turned out very well in the end.
Even though the day was slightly cloudy on and off, the local dishes cooked well.
Participants were amazed at how hot the pots got in the solar cookers.
We cooked 9 local dishes, and everything turned out exceptionally well.
I interpret this one as an amazed gaze up at the sun :)
Labels: East Africa Trip
SCI featured on "Good Day Sacramento" TV show | June 20, 2008
SCI staff and volunteers exhibited a number of solar cookers and solar-cooked dishes on the popular morning television show "Good Day Sacramento" on Friday, June 20. The segment can be streamed on the Internet at http://email@example.com.
Uganda Integrated Cooking Workshop | June 15, 2008
In early June I set out to Uganda to assist with an Integrated Solar Cooking workshop in the small town of Obia, on the border of Congo. This project was initiated by Max and Mary Lou Ozimek of Ohio, and started with 13-year old Max winning a science project with a solar cooker last year. Max volunteers for a hospice where he met Father Alexander Inke, who made an impression on Max and quickly became a close family friend. As a result of many conversations with Father Inke about his village of Obia in NW Uganda, Max correctly deduced that solar cookers could make a substantial impact on a small village like Obia with very few resources. Max and Mary Lou contacted me at SCI, and Kawesa Mukasa at Solar Connect Association (SCA) and an integrated solar cooking workshop project was born.
For those who don't know, Integrated Cooking is a fusion of solar cooking, along with hay baskets and fuel efficient stoves. The combination of these cooking techniques assure an 85% reduction in the amount of fuel used in any given area ~ an impact that helps considerably in areas where fuel resources are dwindling at a disconcerting rate.
Needless to say, our 5-day workshop was a resounding success, supplemented nicely by a surprise visit from Aid Africa who put on an informative and educational demonstration on the fuel-efficient 6-Brick Rocket Stove. We are already receiving reports back that a good number of the 36 participants are reaching out to nearby communities and organizing demonstrations and workshops on their own. That's what it's all about! SCI and SCA will work together to provide adequate follow up as well as materials to ensure that future endeavors are productive and effective in the Obia area and Nebbi district.
Here is some documentation of this trip ~ I hope you enjoy!
Beautiful Uganda ~ talk about green! This was my first trip to this gorgeous country and it definitely made an impression on me.
Mary Lou and Max Ozimek and I arrived together on a flight from the Netherlands and we received a very warm welcome from their priest and family friend Father Inke, and Kawesa Mukasa ~ head of Solar Connect Association, who facilitated the workshop in Obia.
I was very impressed not only by the availability of solar cookers at SCA, but by the array of integrated cooking materials that SCA promotes and makes in-office.
CooKits are made by hand on the premises, and assembly of solar cookers is a primary component of SCA's workshops around Uganda.
They also have a good number of fuel-efficient stoves available for sale, which are also incorporated into demonstrations and workshops as an integral part of integrated cooking.
SCA cooks regularly with a fuel-efficient stove at their headquarters in Kampala.
Beautiful Hay Baskets, the third component of integrated cooking, are also made at the Solar Connect Association office in Kampala.
Olivia and me ~ fast friends ~ at the SCA office.
Fish brought to a boil over a fire and cooked in a Hay Basket @ SCA.
Water Pasteurization Indicators (WAPI's) being made at the SCA office.
Kawesa Mukasa, founder of SCA, showing me some educational materials they distribute on solar and integrated cooking.
The team at Solar Connect Association in Kampala, preparing to leave on the journey to Obia, on the other end of the country.
Father Alexander Inke, me, Mary Lou Ozimek and her son Max.
A baboon on the road.
Baboon family.
The Nile!
A typical outdoor market in Kampala. (There's an awful lot of bananas in Uganda!)
Grasshoppers. Taste like liver.
The beautiful and green Nebbi district, where Obia is located, is in the northwestern region of Uganda ~ you can see Congo in none-too-far-off distance.
Downtown Obia.
Cute kids in the village.
This is how most people cook ~ don't ask me why cooking inside is so popular, but it isn't uncommon for a number of women to cook together in an enclosed space.
This exposes these women and their children to amazing amounts of indoor air pollution and greatly increasing the risk of respiratory disease.
Prior to the workshop, I gave a PowerPoint presentation of the causes for and history of integrated cooking and water pasteurization. While a translator is often needed, the photos of situations and experiences in their native land normally get people's attention.
Mukasa and Olivia of Solar Connect Association (SCA) are the lead professionals in solar and integrated cooking in Uganda.
The training center where we had our 5-day Integrated Cooking Workshop. It was basically just a big hall without water or electricity, so we brought in a generator, fan and sound system for the translator and my slide show.
This was our audience ~ our 36 workshop participants, and just about everyone they knew in the vicinity.
Mukasa and Olivia of SCA did a great job of facilitating.
SCA provides a basic instruction handout that is very helpful.
Our audience was very attentive and did a great job of listening and participating in our various demo's.
Olivia of SCA is a solar chef indeed!
If Olivia is the Head Chef, then Mukasa is the King Chef and knows his biz.
SCA is adept at solar cooking and demonstrating the do's and don'ts of the practice and techniques.
We cooked a number of local dishes with solar cookers.
The fun part is showing people how local dishes, like rice shown here, cook perfectly in a solar cooker.
A proud participant shows off some solar cooked greens ~ "Sukoma Wiki" is a Ugandan staple, and cooks perfectly in a solar cooker.
Surprising most locals, the African dish of Ugali cooks amazingly well in a solar cooker, eliminating the time consuming pounding process with a mortar and pestle normally associated with this dish.
The workshop taught technical tips of solar cooking, like placing small rocks underneath the pot in the bag so that the heat reaches all areas of the pot.
Folding and unfolding the CooKit quickly was mastered as well.
Local dishes were served and the participants and onlookers were genuinely impressed by how well their local, everyday dishes turned out.
Participants enjoying a lunch of solar cooked food.
Olivia demonstrating some materials used to make a hay basket.
A hay basket, for those who don't know, is a great supplement to a solar cooker as it can keep food hot for over five hours. It can also cook food that has been brought to a boil over a regular fire. It's an amazingly simple and effective component to integrated cooking.
Women walk miles every day to gather water for cooking and drinking.
Unfortunately, the water they collect is often contaminated by feces, which causes the virus E-Coli and can cause serious disease.
It's a pretty safe bet that this water will be contaminated with the E-Coli virus, since there is cow dung in the water already.
This was, of course, one of the sources we tested.
...as women were filling their water jugs...
I only hope that some of the women who gather their water here will learn to pasteurize their water with a CooKit during the workshop, and understand the importance of this process.
These women and their kids drink this water every day.
Kids gathering water from a local piped water source.
This water actually came out okay, which is often the case with a water source that is piped from a deep well, since less chance of fecal contamination.
Less than a cup is gathered in a sterilized bag, to be taken back for testing.
These plastic jugs are better than the buckets used in some countries, since they can be covered until use.
Nobody wanted to test this water, since it was necessary to wade in a pool to get it. As a person who got schistosomiasis from wading in a running river in West Africa, I was none too keen on this process either... but you do what you gotta do!
After the fun of gathering the water samples in the village, we were ready to test it for E-Coli with the PML (Portable Microbiology Laboratory) created by our own board president, Dr. Bob Metcalf. The PML allows for accurate scientific testing of any water source without the need for a laboratory or even electricity.
These are the Whirlpaks ~ the sterile bags in which water samples are gathered.
The water is transferred from the Whirlpaks to test tubes already containing an E-Coli indicating powder, to test the presence of E-Coli.
The same water sample is then placed on a petrifilm (a portable petri-dish), to indicate the number of E-Coli present in a given sample.
The water is transferred with a sterile pipette.
1 ml is all that's needed to test on a petrifilm.
Members of SCA, some government representatives attending the workshop, participated in an informal water testing workshop at the facility where we stayed.
Each participant was responsible for incubating his/her own sample on their body overnight.
The following day we used the UV light to indicate the presence of E-Coli in the test tubes.
Max and I created an easy to understand chart for the workshop the following day.
With results of water testing with the PML, we were able to alert the people of the village to the dangers of drinking water from certain sources.
We explained some of the reasons for water contamination, and encouraged people in hygienic practices, including washing hands and making sure that no fecal matter of any kind is anywhere near their water source.
This segued nicely into the water pasteurization segment of the workshop, where we showed the participants how to make contaminated water safe to drink using only the CooKit, a WAPI (Water Pasteurization Indicator) and the sun.
Olivia did a great job of explaining that the WAPI is a reusable and inexpensive device, used by observing when the wax has melted (it's especially formulated to melt at 150 degrees F) in a pot of water.
We pasteurized water in 2 hours during the workshop, and were able to test the water again, proving the simplicity and effectiveness of simple solar water pasteurization.
A common sight in all parts of Africa, women walk many miles a day looking for wood to cook with.
This not only depletes local resources, but takes up a great deal of time that might be used for other things; i.e. income generation, planting of crops or sharing with family.
Charcoal stoves are cheap and effective, but most people don't realize how much wood it takes to make charcoal, or how polluting the process is to the air and environment.
These are two types of fuel-efficient stoves sold by SCA ~ the smaller is a charcoal burning "jiko" (meaning stove in Swahili) and the larger is a wood stove.
The fuel-efficient jiko burns less fuel due to a cupboard underneath the charcoal which maintains the heat supply.
A fuel-efficeint wood stove burns far less wood as a result of the design, keeping the twigs up off the ground and directing the heat towards the top of the chimney.
The twigs light quickly and food cooks faster.
The 6-Brick Rocket Stove is a similar design made completely from natural and locally found materials.
Mud bricks being made and dried in the sun.
Construction workers mixing mud to make bricks.
The bricks used in a 6-Brick Rocket Stove are supplemented with 'filler' organic materials, like hay, rice hulls or sawdust, to increase their insulating properties and retain and conduct heat better than regular mud bricks.
These few materials are all that are needed to build a 6-Brick Rocket Stove.
The bricks are shaved and cut to the appropriate size and shape.
The 6-Brick Rocket Stove is basically that ~ the 6 bricks are situated upright and in a circle to create a chimney.
The 6 bricks are fastened with a wire.
Then an intake is created with the remainder of the bricks to protect the fire from wind and ensure that it remains lit doesn't lose any heat through the front. The wood burns more slowly, using the unique design to maintain the maximum amount of heat and direct it solely to the pot.
Where with a normal cooking fire a number of good sized logs are needed, with a rocket stove you need only a few small twigs. Literally a fraction of the wood is needed to cook a meal versus traditional wood fires that lose heat in all directions.
The twigs light quickly due to their small size and lack of outside disturbance.
The fire is ablaze literally in seconds.
As soon as the stove is lit and the fire going, a pot of food or water can be placed on top and heats up quickly.
Because of the inductive quality of the adobe bricks, the stove is very cool to the touch ~ another reason why the Rocket Stove is a safer model to cook with in a village.
This water on the Rocket Stove was boiling in minutes ~ faster than any stove I've ever seen, including in the US!
A Rocket Stove next to a standard fuel-efficient stove. While the method of cooking with each stove is almost identical, the Rocket Stove is much more environmentally friendly and easier to make in most areas, since made with local materials.
Here are some great How To videos on How to Build a 16 Brick Rocket Stove and How to Build a Tin Can Rocket Stove ~ published by one of SCI's most active Board Memebers, Pat McArdle.
Olivia cutting out a CooKit.
One of the few male participants in the workshop, learning to make a CooKit.
Olivia of SCA showing participants how to cut out the design of the CooKit from cardboard, after foil has been pasted on.
Applying weather-sealing tape to CooKits during the workshop.
Workshop participants showing off CooKits made at the workshop.
A croud gathers for the Integrated Cooking demo put on before the Awards Ceremony in Obia.
Bam and Prissy of Aid Africa demonstrating the small amount of wood used to cook a full meal with a fuel-efficient Rocket Stove.
The three facilitators: me, Prissy of Aid Africa and Olivia of Solar Connect Association.
Set up for the Awards Ceremony, demonstrating solar cookers, fuel-efficient stoves and hay baskets, serving food, etc.
You can even cook an egg in a solar cooker! It was fun demonstrating to what seemed like the entire village how food can be cooked in a solar cooker, a fuel-efficient stove or a hay basket.
Father Inke is a Catholic priest in Ohio, and was instrumental in getting this project going in his village of Obia.
Prissy of Aid Africa demonstrates rice cooked in a Hay Basket.
Olivia of Solar Connect Association serving solar cooked food at the Awards Ceremony in Obia, following the 5-day Integrated Solar Cooking Workshop.
Labels: East Africa Trip
SCI Honored by Sac State University | June 10, 2008
SCI was recently honored by the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution (CAPCR) at California State University Sacramento (CSUS) for bringing the benefits of solar cooking and water pasteurization to over 30,000 African families.
Bob Metcalf, president of the SCI Board of Directors and professor of microbiology at CSUS accepted the award at the center's 17th annual Africa Peace Awards dinner. Other honorees included Jeanette Ndhlovu, consul-general of South Africa; Pastor Daniel Gebreselassie, a prison reform advocate from Addis Abba, Ethiopia; and Faye Kennedy of the Sacramento-area Black Caucus/Center for Collaborative Planning.
CACPR was established to provide conflict resolution and reconciliation services for agencies, governments, organizations, businesses communities and groups through training, education, research and intervention.
SUNCOOKERS film in June rotation on The Documentary Channel | June 2, 2008
Award-winning filmmaker Catherine Scott's inspiring documentary SUNCOOKERS follows Margaret Owino on a journey across western Kenya, visiting SCI's solar cooking projects in Kakuma refugee camp and the community of Nyakach. Rated TVPG.
Viewing schedule (all times EST):
SUNCOOKERS is also available for purchase in DVD format. Extras include solar cooker construction plans, interviews with solar advocates, global slideshow, solar recipes, bonus footage, and Spanish subtitles.
May 2008 • June 2008 • July 2008 • August 2008 • September 2008 • December 2008 • February 2009 • March 2009 • May 2009 • June 2009 • July 2009 • August 2009 • September 2009 • November 2009 •
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How do I update an address within SIS?
1. From the Student Center go to the Personal Information section at the bottom of the page and select the item you would like to modify.
2. Choose the action you wish to perform.
3. Change any of the fields shown below and click OK when finished.
4. Verify the information entered is correct and select the address type(s) associated with the updated information, choose the date the address will become active, and click Save.

subset: commoncrawl


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If your little ones are afraid of the dark when they go to bed, tell them to have no fear, a monster spray is here.
Barrett Pharmacy in Watford City, N.D. prescribed a special monster spray to a 6-year-old girl who was having trouble sleeping. Josslyn Dodds, the pharmacy's manager, told the Daily News Tuesday, the girl was afraid of monsters and afraid to sleep.
The family was friends with one of the employees, so the staff whipped up a batch of their homemade monster spray. Dodds says they have made the spray for a few special children in recent years.
The spray also came with its own prescription instructions. The bottle reads, "Spray around the room at night before bed, repeat if necessary." The small bottle includes 120 sprays and the prescription allows for one refill.
Dodds won't reveal what is in his magic potion.
After a few sprays the girl came to the pharmacy to thank everyone and tell everyone that she is sleeping much better. A picture of the bottle made its way onto social media and the pharmacy has gotten a lot of encouragement from parents nationwide.
What do you think? Would you like to see Monster Spray sold in a pharmacy near you?


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Hydrangeas are beautiful, popular and confusing all at the same time – thankfully, Proven Winners and contributor Stacey Hirvela are trying to help take some of the confusion out of these pretty plants by giving us a "glossary" of hydrangea terms – check out the full article here, and a previous piece on hydrangea types here.
Inflorescence – term used to decribe the entire flower head, composed of numerous smaller florets arranged together on a single stem.
Sterile florets – the large, papery flowers that make hydrangeas "showy." They contain little or no actual pollen and simply lure pollinators to the flowers and down to the fertile florets. Wild hydrangeas may have few or no sterile florets while mophead varieties are comprised almost entirely of them.
Fertile florets – the tiny, numerous and star-like florets containing pollen – if you look closely, stamens and pistils can be clearly seen. In a lacecap flower, fertile florets comprise the bulk of the inflorescence, with sterile florets in ring on the outer edge; in a mophead, they are usually nestled down under the larger sterile flowers.
Lacecap – term refers to the arrangement of florets that make up a hydrangea flower (inflorescence). In lacecap hydrangeas, the smaller, pollen-bearing fertile florets are most numerous, and are surrounded by an outer ring of the showy sterile florets. Lacecap flowers tend to be flat and loosely packed; they look light and airy, and can appear on any species of hydrangea.
Mophead – these are the round, ball-like hydrangeas seen in flower shops and garden centers near Mother's Day. Mophead hydrangea flowers are mostly comprised of large, showy sterile florets; they may bear smaller fertile florets, but these are often obscured by the numerous, densely packed sterile florets. Mophead flowers can be seen on several hydrangea species.
Picotee – the variation in color along the edges of a floret.
Bud hardiness – in zone 5 and sometimes 6, the roots and leaf buds of big leaf and mountain hydrangeas are hardy and able to withstand harsh winter conditions, but their delicate flower buds may not be. As an example, "Tuff Stuff" hydrangea mentions improved bud hardiness on its label, making it a reliable bloomer in colder areas.
Old wood – growth that was put on during the previous season. Some hydrangeas, including big leaf, mountain, oakleaf and climbing hydrangea, flower on old wood.
New wood –the growth that a plant creates during the current season. Smooth and panicle hydrangea both flower on new wood.
Check out all of Paula's Buffalo Examiner columns:
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In addition to credit cards, we also accept Paypal.
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Kiss My Face is no newcomer to the recent explosion of green-product marketers. The brainchild of two long-time vegetarians searching for healthy body-care products, Kiss My Face was founded in 1980 on a 200-acre organic farm in New York's beautiful Hudson River Valley. It is still located there today, operating out of a former feed store and converted barn.
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Papago! P3 Driving Recorder
More and more cars crowd our streets, which also means more and more idiot drivers who only passed their driving tests with some "help" behind the steering wheel. I am fairly sure you see and experience your fair share of bad drivers daily, and perhaps you have had some close calls of your own. Unfortunate bad things do happen, and if you have ever been in an accident, you will need more than your own testimony to ensure guilt is passed on to the right offender. By providing solid evidence that can be provided by a Driving Recorder such as video footage, impact g-force readings and even the recorded sounds leading up to the accident, the authorities will have better data to ascertain what really happened. Just like a "black-box" or flight data recorders found in all commercial airplanes, the Papago! Driving Recorder will certainly help remove hearsay with tangible and reliable data.
Equipped with a full HD which records 1080p footage at 30 frames per second, and coupled with a 130° wide angle camera, the P3 sees and records almost everything ahead of your car. HD recording makes sense, because the video files created, gives you 7x better definition compared to VGA cameras and 2.2X more definition than a 720P camera. It makes sense because the added clarity makes car registration plates and other important details easier to see and therefore more useful when needed.
A GPS receiver and a G-sensor is included. This means that not only will you be able to know exactly where you are at any given time, but the data given by the G-sensor will be able to tell you in which direction the force was felt and the amount of G-forces experienced. The data will go a long way towards deciphering an accident.
Having an inbuilt GPS receiver, means that you will be able to see your current location on the mini monitor display, which is useful to a point. The P3 isn't a full fledged GPS system, and it isn't a navigation device. I guess, this Driving Recorder isn't designed for navigation, which will require a much bigger screen than the 2.4″ screen built into the unit.
A feature which I think should have been included which will make the P3 more desirable to the car enthusiast market would be to increase the functionality of the G-sensor unit. By utilising the accelerometers, an enthusiast driver can glean other cool data-points like skid pad, acceleration times, horse power readouts. A good example is Dynolicious, an iPhone app that makes use of the sensors found in iPhones to give you these cool readings.
For the drivers who worry about their own driving abilities and sensibilities, the P3 is equipped with 2 interesting features. Land Departure Warning System (LDWS) is automatically booted when you achieve over 60kmh, and a graphical and audible warning is made when you stray from your designated lane. This feature works 95% of the time for me, but it grew less sensitive during the night. I believe the system uses the video images to work out where the dotted lines are in relation to the direction that you are headed. Unfortunately, the system isn't fool proof, as the warning goes off when the road gets very twisty.
The other driving aid built into the P3 is the Front Collision Warning System (FCWS). Unlike some FCWS systems found in high end cars which uses either a radar or laser sensor to ascertain the distance of the cars ahead, the P3 again utilises what the camera sees and works out how far the vehicle is in relation to your car. FCWS is also automatically booted up when you reach speeds over 60kmh. Another audible alarm sounds when you get too close to the vehicle ahead and a red box appears over the target vehicle. I am reminded of a "target weapons lock" on fighter planes… remember TopGun? Anyway, as the vehicle gets ever closer, the red box also gets bigger. Unfortunately, FCWS doesn't work 80% of the time at night.
These two driver aids may become annoying as they create quite a bit more noise and distractions to me than I think they are worth, but this is very personal. Fortunately, theses features can be turned off. Which brings me to the setup of the P3. The P3 is actually very easy to use and to set up. Navigating through the various features is simple and easy to do, and the unit worked right out of the box for me. All I needed to do was to choose my language preferences, voice prompts preference and time zone. The unit came with a 8GB SD card with the Malaysian map preinstalled which allows approximately 90 minutes of video footage. Video recordings are written in 5 minute clips and the system automatically overwrites the oldest clip unless you save the file. You can save up to 5 files that will prevent the system from overwriting them.
A super valuable feature built in (at least to "speedsters" like me) is the Speed Camera Warning. Regular updates of speed camera locations can be found online and you can update the P3 accordingly. I think this feature will mean that the P3 will pay for itself for drivers who travel a lot! The P3 will give you another audible and visual warning when you are approaching a speed camera area.
What I really like is the playback view of the video footage. The Papago P3 encodes the GPS location coordinates as well as the street names, your actual speed in real time, time and date plus a small map on the top left corner of the screen indicating your position on the map itself. I used this footage to make a video guide to help people find their way to my office in Bangsar, so it can be pretty useful. An enthusiast driver could make great videos of his track races.. which makes the P3 more than just an insurance utility. As you can see in the screen grab of the recorded footage, the picture is very clear and license plate numbers clearly visible. Colour rendition as well as contrast levels are also pretty decent.
If you are in the market of a POV (point Of View) camera like the GoPro, the P3 could be a good alternative if you do not intend to use the camera for anything but the car.
The included GoLife software is designed to be a desktop companion of the P3. Unfortunately, I am a Mac user and the software only works on Window's PCs. From what I gleaned from the manual, the software lets you not only see the video clips but a separate readouts for Speed/G-sensor/G-sensor value display and a map.
Who should get one of these Driving Recorders?
If you or a family member are accident prone, please do yourself a favour and get one. It could get you out of trouble if the accident wasn't your fault and insurance claims and other liability issues can be quickly proven with the video footage as well as other data that is being recorded.
Get one if you do lots of travelling, because the LDWS and FCWS features will alert you if you are getting tired and not paying enough attention to the road ahead. The Speed Camera Warning could also save you lots on speeding tickets.
For those who like recording their in-car exploits, the HD camera and its ability to track speeds and G-forces would make those "mamak" discussions more fun.
The Papago! P3 retails for RM899 and is available for sale online at M3Shoppe.
Tags: Driving Recorder, Papago, Papago P3, Point of View Camera
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U.S. House of Representatives voted today to make further slashes of close to $9 billion in food stamp funding for hungry New Yorkers.
These cuts would be in addition to $5 billion in cuts that went into effect on November 1st.
This means more cuts for the 1.8 million New Yorkers who rely on the program to feed their families.
Parents and children are already hungry since the last cuts just 3 months ago of between $30 – $50 per family.
Join us in helping those in need. Support our Feeding Our Neighbors campaign.
This united effort to fight hunger responds to Timothy Cardinal Dolan's call that we all do our part to replenish the food pantries and soup kitchens that so many families in our community rely on to survive.
Feeding Our Neighbors, an archdiocesan-wide campaign to combat hunger, ends this Sunday, February 2, 2014.
Supported by parishes, schools and other organizations throughout the Archdiocese of New York and managed by Catholic Charities, Feeding Our Neighbors will use 100% of contributions to the campaign to support local food pantries that serve New Yorkers, non-Catholic and Catholic alike.
There is no time to wait.
New Yorkers are hungry.
Help us Feed Our Neighbors now.
Click here to donate through Catholic Charities and type "Feeding Our Neighbors" in the comments field.
Reading this on your cell phone? Text "CCHOPE" to 85944 to make a quick $10 donation.
Tags: feeding our neighbors, food pantries, food stamp, House of Representatives, hungry, soup kitchens, timothy cardinal dolan


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Animal Cruelty & Humane Law Enforcement
New York State law defines animal cruelty as a situation where a person causes unjustified harm, pain, or suffering to an animal or neglects an animal's care by not providing it with proper food, water, medical care, or suitable shelter.
As of January 1, 2014, the New York Police Department (NYPD) will investigate all animal cruelty complaints citywide. To report an animal cruelty emergency in progress, call 911. To report ongoing, non-emergency animal abuse or neglect, call 311 or submit an online complaint.
Save all evidence to give to the officers, including the body of the cat or kitten, and any food you think might have been poisoned. Animal carcasses must be refrigerated immediately. Check with your local vet's office to see if they can provide refrigeration services until the carcass can be turned in to the NYPD as evidence. Food suspected of being poisoned also should be refrigerated until it can be turned over to an officer.


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Cleveland Police were called to East 138th Street and Harvard Avenue on June 15, in response to a call from a witness about a young brown pit bull being beaten with a belt reported 19actionnews.com.
When authorities arrived a witness was holding the dog and told police Peris Rice had repeatedly beaten the dog with a belt, choked him and hit the dog in the face with a brick. The witness was able to talk Rice into releasing the dog.
The dog showed injuries on his face, legs, and paws, and as the officers prepared to transport the dog to VCA Great Lakes Vet Specialist, the dog jumped right into the car.
Rice was arrested and appeared on Thursday at Cleveland Municipal Court. He pleaded not guilty.
The dog named Harvard received medical care and hospitalization and is expected to make a full recovery, but the news gets even better. Badges for Bullies, started in 2012 by the Cleveland Police Officers and Friends of the Cleveland Kennels, a volunteer organization dedicated to ridding the community of animal cruelty and underground dog fighting operations has paid the dog's medical bills and Officer Melbar has adopted Harvard.
From the Facebook page of Badges for Bullies:
"Thank you 4th District Police Officers Pesta and Kellums for saving the life of "Harvard" the dog. Harvard was being beaten in the middle of the street. The officers got Harvard to the hospital so he could get the care he needed and arrested his abuser! Harvard's story doesn't end there, however, Cleveland Police Office Melbar has agreed to take Harvard in and make him a member of his family! Harvard received emergency medical care and hospitalization at VCA Great Lakes Vet Specialists and is expected to make a full recovery. Harvard has already began adjusting to his new life with Officer Melbar as you can see from these photos. Badges for Bullies is pleased to be able to support Cleveland Police in the rescue of Harvard by covering all of Harvard's medical costs. If you would like to help us pay for Harvard's care we are accepting donations via PayPal at firstname.lastname@example.com or via the "DONATE" button on our website at www.badgesforbullies.org."
If you would like to continue receiving the latest news on pet issues and how we can help those who cannot speak, please click the "Subscribe" icon.
Follow the National Pet Rescue Examiner on Facebook by clicking here. Please visit and "like" my page. You are welcome to submit story ideas by contacting me at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The remake of "The Blob" is actually quite a lot better than expected. The 1988 movie was directed by Chuck Russell and the movie starred Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Candy Clark, Donovan Leitch, and Del Close. It's about what exactly the title tells us, a blob attacks a small town, and it's up to the local teens (well two of them) to save the town.
This version has the same feeling as the original (which is a masterpiece), but it adds more gore to what the blob can do to the townspeople. The 1988 version of "The Blob," did add a little more dimension to how the blob came to be, and added a little government conspiracy to the plot. That when they added it, made it more terrifying. The government is suppose to help you, but what this movie tells us is that they aren't, they care more about warfare.
It's interesting to note for those who have seen a lot of teen horror films from the 80s, this movie actually used less sex and no nudity in the movie, it seemed like they decided to concentrate more on the blob and the townspeople's panic. They swapped that for a little more gore. The blob was like a bad fleshing-eating disease and the scenes of how it destroyed people were churning. Though that doesn't override the movie, as another brainless movie, they didn't use gore to just throw a movie together.
The theater scene like the original is terrifying, though this one is a lot scarier because it's inside a theater, not the original that used an outside one. Other scenes that keep with you are the hospital scene, the sewer one, and what happens to the 'boyfriend.'
Shawnee Smith, the main actress of the movie was excellent. How they wrote her character was a little more refreshing. than the usual 80s horror girl in some movies. Kevin Dillon was a tad cliche as the bad boy of the town, but nevertheless was entertaining. From what screen-time Candy Clark had her character was quite likable. Del Close played a reverend that thought himself almost like God himself. The rest of the cast was blended in, those four were really the only ones who stuck out.
While the original is better because of how unique it was during it time, the remake is quite entertaining. Like stated before it was a lot better than unexpected. It used the original, but still made its own, and that's what worked for the movie. It had that suspense just like the first one.
So if you're feeling up to watch an updated version of "The Blob," surprising this 1988 movie isn't half bad. It's not a five star like the original, but it's close it's a four star movie. It may have flaws, but it's highly entertaining.


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Do Atheists Accept
The Existence Of Souls?
From: "Áñçò"
To: "Positive Atheism Magazine"
Sent: September 30, 2001 8:58 AM
Subject: PA-via_Positive_Atheism_Index
I am an atheist, and I would like to know about the positions and statements of various atheistic philosophers about the soul. Is its existence accepted from atheism in general or not? I will really appreciate your answer.
From: "Positive Atheism Magazine"
To: "Áñçò"
Subject: Re: PA-via_Positive_Atheism_Index
Date: September 30, 2001 10:22 AM
Most atheists don't wonder about such things, but prefer to deal with the day-to-day struggles and joys of living. But a few of us do think about such things. We have researched the claims for the existence of a "soul" which can (allegedly) survive the death of the body or which can (allegedly) detach itself from the body. And those of us who have checked it out do not see any reason to believe that such a thing as the "soul" exists.
Instead, we are satisfied with the explanation that the conscious, aware "Self" is established by the structures and the processes of the nervous system, particularly the brain, but working in conjunction with the nerves and the sensory organs. We may not know exactly what is going on or exactly how it works, but we don't see anything that even remotely points to the possibility that a supernatural "soul" exists.
When we use the word "soul" in English, then, we mean a synonym for "person": "Not a soul was at the beach this evening." Sometimes we mean "mind" when we use this word. Only religious people mean "disembodied spirit"; only religious people give this word a supernatural, life-after-death meaning.
As materialists, we atheists hold that matter is fundamental. Whatever else may exist, if it exists, it depends on matter. Thus, if mind exists, it must be a function of matter. This is the view of many of the ancient Greeks, many of whom taught that death was the absence of life: Epicurus said:
Why should I fear death? If I am,
I prefer the materialistic view of consciousness for two reasons. First, we have not found any reason to believe that anything other than particles exist; this is the view of the physicists who study physical matter down to the particle level: all is the matter-energy continuum. Secondly, we have not found any way for a "soul" to interact with the physical brain. Other reasons which push me to lean in this direction include the fact that when a human sustains certain specific brain damage, we can predict how this will affect that person's personality and that person's ability to function.
The classic study in how brain damage can affect judgement is that of Phineas Gage, who suffered a meter-long steel rod being shot through the center of his skull as the result of an explosion. Gage, formerly a polite, dignified man, suddenly developed a very coarse personality and lost most of his friends as a result.
I think Descartes was the last scientist-philosopher to seriously posit the existence of an immaterial "soul." The big question by then was how would the "soul" interact with the brain? Descartes suggested the pineal gland because it appeared to him to be the only organ in the brain that was not bilaterally duplicated. He also believed (erroneously) that this gland was uniquely human. This gland was called the "third eye" by ancient people and was thought to have mystical powers. Modern occult and New Age practitioners still attach a great deal of mystique to the pineal gland, its only "sin" is that of being complex and difficult to pin down. There is nothing to show it to have magical or supernatural powers other than the ignorance of certain people prompting them to jump to premature conclusions when they cannot find easy, simplistic answers.
Spinoza abandoned Descartes's mind-body dualism for a double-aspect system. By this he meant that the mental and the physical are simply different aspects of one and the same substance. Nevertheless, Spinoza thought that mental occurrences can determine only other mental occurrences and physical motions can determine only other physical motions. Leibniz preferred "psychophysical parallelism," retaining both the dualism of mind and body and the idea that mental and physical events are correlated, while avoiding the idea that there is a causal connection between mind and body. Gall worked on a theory assuming that one's mental abilities were fixed, and that one's abilities were based on size of one's cerebral organ. Although his assumptions were flawed, Gall laid the foundations for a biologically based, functional psychology.
Flourens was the first to demonstrate that brain function is localized, and he came to this idea through criticism of Gall's conclusions, while admiring Gall's methods of studying skills and relating them to the size and shape of the cerebrum. It was Flourens who distinguished between sensation and perception (calling perception the subject's appreciation of a sensation or the meaning given to it). During his career of studying brain function through surgical procedures, he localized sensory function in several related sub-cortical structures. However, damage to the cerebrum, Flourens noted, affected higher mental functions (perception; intellect; will). Most surprising to Flourens was his discovery that the severity of the damage to the higher mental functions varied only with the extent of damage to the cerebrum, and, unlike the senses, was not determined by the location of the damage.
By now, it was becoming clear that the brain itself is what causes us to sense, to feel, to think, to judge, and to experience emotions.
As for the existence of "souls," only ancient legends tell us that "souls" exist. Modern science is not showing us anything that would lead us in the direction of that belief. However, some ideas die hard. One reason people persist in believing in "souls" is because we don't want to die. If death means the destruction of the body, then the only way we could possibly survive the death of our bodies would be for our "Selves" to be a non-physical function -- a "soul." This holds either for the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic model of Heaven and resurrection as well as the Eastern and spiritualistic model of reincarnation: either way pretty much requires for the "soul" to exist. So, any evidence that anybody can make even remotely convincing will be hauled on to the lectern and used to reassure the common people that they are not going to die, but that they will continue to live through their "soul."
But science is not saying this. Science does not talk about "souls" because nobody is discovering anything that would lead us to think that "souls" exist. Rather, almost everything we learn about the human mind points to the likelihood that everything there is about our conscious, aware "Selves" is contained in the brain and nervous system. The implication is grave: if you destroy the nervous system (upon death), then your "Self" becomes destroyed as well. "You" cease to be, not only physically but in every other conceivable aspect as well. Some people just don't want to accept this. They want to be able to see Papa again. They don't want to think that little Maria, who died in infancy, never got to live her only chance at life.
Nobody wants to think these things!
So we convince ourselves that Papa is safe in the arms of God and that little Maria gets to grow up and become a lovely woman in Heaven. And our desire to think these things is so great (our fear of thinking that death is final -- that is, that "souls" don't exist) that it does not take much "evidence" to convince us that "souls" really do exist.
Unfortunately, it sure looks as if "souls" do not exist. I'm sorry, but that's what it looks like when you study all the claims and arguments and look at all the facts without regard to what you want to be true. I don't want to die. I don't want death to be the end. I don't want some robber to come in my front door as I type and kill me for a few dollars and for that to be the end of my only opportunity to ever live! No! I don't want that at all! However, I have, since childhood, committed myself to following truth wherever it may lead.
Perhaps other people are much happier than I because they think they'll see Papa again, because they know little Maria really does get to live a life after all. I am not going to say that they are wrong or that I am better than they are. All I'm saying is that I have looked at this situation desiring to know the truth of the matter, and unfortunately, this is what I think is the situation.
If you can give me reasons to think that "souls" exist, I might become a happier man! But they would need to be strong reasons and they would need to overthrow what I already know which has leaned me toward believing the other way. I do know that I cannot be happy fooling myself, so in order for me to be happy thinking that "souls" exist, I will need to actually think that "souls" exist!
Cliff Walker
Positive Atheism Magazine
Six years of service to
people with no reason to believe
From: "Positive Atheism Magazine"
To: "Áñçò"
Subject: Re: PA-via_Positive_Atheism_Index
Date: October 01, 2001 10:38 AM
I am posting your question about souls, and would like to point out two other files that you'll probably want to read. These files specifically address the question of whether atheists believe in "ghosts" and in an "afterlife."
To answer your question directly, no, most atheists reject other claims of the paranormal, but some do not. So, this first file discusses the distinction between the paranormal and the supernatural. The paranormal is basically claims of phenomenon for which science has no explanation (even though it might not exist). The reason it is legitimate for atheists to believe in the paranormal is because it is the supernatural which involves the agency of beings which are somehow "above" or "beyond" nature, whereas the paranormal never claims to be anything other than natural physical phenomenon for which we simply have not found an explanation (possibly because it might not exist). I would say that if somebody believes in the supernatural, phenomenon that is said to occur because some supernatural being willed it to occur, then that person ought to call himself a theist.
Most atheists reject even the paranormal because many who claim the paranormal use the same tricks as those who claim the supernatural. We prefer to keep it easy by accepting what mainstream science says and does, trusting that if there is something to this or that paranormal claim, science will surely come around and accept it.
The second file goes over the ground covered in the first file, but from a different point of view (that is, you ought to read both files, besides, the first file is quite short). This is because the second file needs to lay the groundwork for the second portion of the discussion regarding so-called ghosts and claims that we get to live again after we have died. What will happen is that your question will become part of this discussion after I have posted it. Thus, we will have three files, one introducing the distinction between the paranormal and the supernatural, the second dealing with these subjects again as they relate specifically to claims of ghosts and various afterlife models. Finally, your file will deal specifically with the idea that humans have "souls" and will show that this idea has its roots in humankind's species-wide fear of the personal destruction which we call death.
Cliff Walker
Positive Atheism Magazine
Six years of service to
people with no reason to believe
Material by Cliff Walker (including unsigned editorial commentary) is copyright ©1995–2010 by Cliff Walker. Each submission is copyrighted by its writer, who retains control of the work except that by submitting it to Positive Atheism, permission has been granted to Positive Atheism to use the material or an edited version: (1) on the Positive Atheism web site; (2) in Positive Atheism Magazine; (3) in subsequent works controlled by Cliff Walker or Positive Atheism Magazine (including published or posted compilations). Excerpts not exceeding 500 words are allowed provided the proper copyright notice is affixed. Other use requires permission; Positive Atheism will work to protect the rights of all who submit their writings to us.


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|AUTOMOTIVE WORLD 2013 -- Automotive Parts/Services Eq., Electronic Components
|Event Summary:
AUTOMOTIVE WORLD is the place where U.S. companies can promote their advanced automotive technology to the growing Japanese and Asian automotive manufacturers and parts suppliers. AUTOMOTIVE WORLD is also held concurrently with the following events: CAR-ELE JAPAN, EV JAPAN and WEIGHT REDUCTION EXPO. AUTOMOTIVE WORLD is a leading automotive sector event in Japan and serves as a unique venue for manufactures and suppliers of the following products and services:
Automotive Components & In-Vehicle System
Testing technologies
Electronic Components & Devices
Manufacturing Equipments/Technologies
Embedded System Technologies
Electronic Materials
Drive System
Rechargeable Batteries, Next-generation Batteries
Connectors, Harnesses
Motor Technologies
Inverters, Peripherals
Materials for Automotive Weight Reduction
Molding/Processing Technologies, Processing equipment for automotive weight reduction
Devices/Modules for automotive weight reduction
Other technologies for Automotive weight reduction
AUTOMOTIVE WORLD 2011 attracted a record attendance of over 21,151 qualified Trade Visitors, while hosting 349 exhibitors.
Japanese auto manufacturers are proceeding with the research and development of the Next Generation Vehicles (NGV) such as Electric Vehicle (EV), Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (pHV), Hybrid Vehicle (HV), Hydrogen Vehicle, Fuel Cell (FC) Vehicle, Clean Diesel Vehicle, and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Vehicle. HV and EV are especially gaining increasing attention. The more widespread use of NGV will largely depend on auto manufacturers' resolution of a number of technological issues (for FC and Hydrogen Vehicle, for example) and on the expansion of the fuel/energy supply infrastructure.
|Michael Thompson, Trade Event Programs
International Trade Specialist
Phone: 202-482-0671
|David Thomas, Reed Exhibitions
Phone: 203-840-5420
|Sayoko Koto, Tokyo
Commercial Specialist
Phone: 81-3-3224-5079


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I used to be an active member of Care 2. Things have happened in my life to have me forget my friends I've made. My Mom passed away 2 yrs ago, my mother in law 3 months ago, & now my husband has had amputation of little toe plus a chunk under foot. So I'm working & also giving him 1 hr IV, & getting what he needs, w/out him getting up. I am sorry about ignoring you all like Judi, & Debbie. Take care all. Kathy
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|Elliott D. Green
Associate Professor of Development Studies
Department of International Development
London School of Economics
Department of International Development
London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
020-7955-6359 (office)
020-7955-6844 (fax)
Research and Teaching Interests:
Primary: Ethnic Politics; Ethnic Conflict;
Decentralisation; Political Demography; Politics in (East) Africa, particularly Uganda
Secondary: Theories of Ethnicity, Ethnic Conflict and Nationalism; Federalism; Patronage and Clientelism; Land Reform
2005 PhD, London School of Economics
2000 MSc, London School of Economics
1998 BA, Princeton University
1) Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Pre-Colonial Political Centralization and Contemporary Development in Uganda (with Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay); Economic Development and Cultural Change 64, 3 (April, 2016): 471-508.
Decentralization and Development in Contemporary Uganda; Regional and Federal Studies 25, 5: 491-508. Special Issue on Decentralization, Democracy and Development in Africa, edited by Jan Erk.
On the Relationship Between Fertility and Wealth: Evidence from Widow Suicides (Satis) in Early Colonial India (with Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay); Economics Letters 120, 2 (August, 2013): 302-304. Prepublication version available here.
Explaining African Ethnic Diversity; International Political Science Review 34, 3 (June, 2013): 235-253 [lead article]. Prepublication version available here.
Nation-Building and Conflict in Modern Africa (with Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay); World Development 45 (May, 2013): 108-118.
The Political Demography of Conflict in Modern Africa; Civil Wars 14, 4 (December, 2012): 477-498 [lead article]. Prepublication version available here.
The Reversal of Fortune Thesis Reconsidered (with Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay); Journal of Development Studies 48, 7 (July, 2012): 817-831. Prepublication version available here.
On the Size and Shape of African States; International Studies Quarterly 56, 2 (June, 2012): 229-244 [lead article]. Prepublication version available here.
Political Opposition and Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa (with Emil Uddhammar and Johanna Soderstrom); Democratization 18, 5 (October, 2011): 1057-1066
Democratisation and Decentralisation in Contemporary Africa: Evidence from Sudan and Ethiopia; Democratization 18, 5 (October, 2011): 1087-1105. Prepublication version available here.
Patronage as Institutional Choice: Evidence from Rwanda and Uganda; Comparative Politics 43, 4 (July, 2011): 421-438. Prepublication version available here.
The Political Economy of Nation Formation in Modern Tanzania: Explaining Stability in the Face of Diversity; Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 49, 2 (April, 2011): 223-244. Special Issue on Nationalism and Conflict Management, edited by Eric T. Woods, Robert Schertzer and Eric Kaufmann. Prepublication version available here.
Patronage, District Creation and Reform in Uganda; Studies in Comparative International Development 45, 1 (March, 2010): 83-103. Prepublication version available here.
This article and the previous working paper version have been referenced in the following newspaper articles:
Ethnicity and Nationhood in Pre-Colonial Africa: The Case of Buganda; Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 16, 1 (January, 2010): 1-21 [lead article]. Prepublication version available here.
Decentralization and Conflict in Uganda; Conflict, Security and Development 8, 4 (December, 2008): 427-450. Special Issue on Decentralization and Conflict, edited by Graham K. Brown and Frances Stewart. Prepublication version available here.
Understanding the Limits to Ethnic Change: Evidence from Uganda's Lost Counties; Perspectives on Politics 6, 3 (September, 2008): 473-485.
Demography, Diversity and Nativism in Contemporary Africa: Evidence from Uganda; Nations and Nationalism 13, 4 (October, 2007): 717- 736.
Ethnicity and the Politics of Land Tenure Reform in Central Uganda; Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 44, 3 (November, 2006): 370-388.
2) Papers under Review at Peer-Reviewed Journals
Explaining Ethnic Change; under review.
Urbanization and Mortality Decline (with Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay); under review.
Taking It Personally: The Effect of Ethnic Attachment on Preferences for Regionalism (with Joan Ricart-Huguet); under review.
3) Editor-Reviewed Publications (Book Chapters, Debates, Comments, etc.)
Structuralism, in Oxford Handbook on the Politics of Development, edited by Nicolas van de Walle and Carol Lancaster (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016). Prepublication version available here.
Dreams and Nightmares of Nationhood: The Obi Igwara Special Memorial Event to mark 50 Years of Decolonization in Africa, 1960–2010 (with Athena S. Leoussi, JE Spence and Paul Nugent); Nations and Nationalism 19, 3 (July 2013): 434-455.
Demographic Change and Conflict in Contemporary Africa, in Political Demography: Identity, Conflict and Institutions, edited by Jack A. Goldstone, Eric Kaufman and Monica Duffy Toft (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2012): 238-251.
Debate on David Laitin's Nations, States and Violence (with Michael Banton, Montserrat Guibernau and David Laitin); Nations and Nationalism 15, 4 (October, 2009): 557-574.
4) Working and Conference Papers
Taking It Personally: The Effect of Ethnic Attachment on Preferences for Regionalism (with Joan Ricart-Huguet), January 2016.
The Rise and Fall of Decentralization in Contemporary Uganda; UNU-WIDER Working Paper #WP/2013/078, United Nations University, August 2013.
Pre-Colonial Political Centralization and Contemporary Development in Uganda (with Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay); Afrobarometer Working Paper #WP141, November 2012.
Pre-Colonial Political Centralization and Contemporary Development in Uganda (with Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay); Economic Organization and Public Policy Discussion Paper #39, STICERD, LSE, August 2012.
Endogenous Ethnicity; Political Science and Political Economy Working Paper #3/11, Department of Government, LSE, March 2011.
Explaining African Ethnic Diversity; Department of International Development Working Paper #122-11, LSE, March 2011.
On the Size and Shape of African States; Political Science and Political Economy Working Paper #4/10, Department of Government, LSE, June 2010.
The Reversal of Fortune Thesis Reconsidered; Economic Organization and Public Policy Discussion Paper #16, STICERD, LSE, April 2010.
The Political Demography of Conflict in Modern Africa; DESTIN Working Paper #10-111, LSE, March 2010.
District Creation and Decentralization in Uganda; Crisis States Research Centre Working Paper No. 24, LSE, January 2008 (an earlier version of my 2010 article in Studies in Comparative International Development listed above).
Ethnicity and the Politics of Land Tenure Reform in Central Uganda; DESTIN Working Paper # 05-58, LSE, April 2005.
What is an Ethnic Group? Political Economy, Constructivism and the Common Language Approach to Ethnicity; DESTIN Working Paper # 05-57, LSE, February 2005.
The (Mis) Use of Ethnicity in Contemporary Political Economy Literature; Paper prepared for UNU WIDER conference on Making Peace Work, Helsinki, June 2004.
5) Book Reviews
Review of J. Habyarimana, M. Humphreys, D. Posner and J. Weinstein, Coethnicity: Diversity and the Dilemmas of Collective Action (Russell Sage, 2009); African Affairs 109, 437 (2010).
Review of Sanford Schram and Brian Caterino (eds.), Making Political Science Matter: Debating Knowledge, Research and Methods (New York University Press, 2006); Public Administration and Development 28, 3 (2008).
Review of Paul Richards (ed.), No Peace, No War: An Anthropology of Contemporary Armed Conflict (James Currey, 2005); Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 13, 3 (2007).
Review of Daniel Posner, Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa (Cambridge University Press, 2005); Nations and Nationalism 13, 1 (2007).
Joint Review of G. McCann and S. McCloskey, From the Local to the Global: Key Issues in Development Studies (Pluto, 2003) and A. Kohli, C. Moon and G. Sorensen, States, Markets and Just Growth: Development in the Twentieth Century (United Nations University Press, 2003); Millennium: Journal of International Studies 34, 2 (2006).
Review of Tatah Mentan, Dilemmas of Weak States: Africa and Transnational Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century (Ashgate, 2004); Political Studies Review 3, 3 (2005).
Review of African Development Bank, African Development Report: Africa in the Global Trading System (Oxford University Press, 2004); Political Studies Review 3, 3 (2005).
Review of United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2004: Cultural Liberty in Today's Diverse World (UNDP, 2004); Journal of Development Studies 41, 5 (2005).
Review of Amy Chua, World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability (Arrow, 2003); Nations and Nationalism 11, 1 (2005).
6) Other
World Development: Distance Learning Course for Development Studies (with Dr. Tim Forsyth and Dr. Jon Lunn), University of London (2006).
Letter to the Editor, Financial Times, 2 October 2015.
Letter to the Editor, Financial Times, 17 June 2014.
Letter to the Editor, Washington Post, 26 May 2012.
Letter to the Editor, The Guardian, 16 February 2008.
Rwanda: An Exchange (with Everard O'Donnell and Stephen Kinzer), New York Review of Books (Vol. 54, No. 9), 31 May 2007.
Letter to the Editor, London Review of Books (Vol. 29, No. 8), 26 April 2007.
Letter to the Editor, The Guardian, 22 July 2006.
Letter to the Editor, The Guardian, 24 April 2006.
Letter to the Editor, The Guardian, 7 November 2005.
Letter to the Editor, The Daily Telegraph, 4 June 2005.
Letter to the Editor, The Guardian, 4 June 2005.
Letter to the Editor, Guardian Education Weekly, 19 April 2005.
Letter to the Editor, The Guardian, 30 August 2004.
Saddam and Amin: Lessons Unlearned, Nthposition, March 2004.
Letter to the Editor, Salon.com, 6 September 2001.
Unpublished Papers and Works in Progress:
District Creation and Decentralization in Uganda (presented at conference on Economic Development in Africa, Centre for the Study of African Economies, Oxford University, March 2008; an earlier version of my 2010 article in Studies in Comparative International Development listed above).
The Strange Fate of Nationalism in Tropical Africa (presented at DESTIN Research Seminar, May 2007).
Nationalism and Golden Ages in Post-Colonial Africa (presented at Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism Conference, London, March 2006).
Redefining Ethnicity (presented at International Studies Association Conference, San Diego, March 2006).
Nationalism, Taxation and Development: A Schumpeterian Model (presented at DESTIN Research Seminar, February 2006).
On the Endogeneity of Ethnic Secessionist Groups (presented at First Global International Studies Conference, Istanbul, August 2005).


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Washington - Raising taxes on the rich is a class-war battle-cry for campaigning politicians trolling for votes. Unfortunately, this "tax the rich" mentality has created a giant economic bubble in the U.S. that is poised to burst.
While politicians use tax-the-rich schemes to get elected, "the rich," pay most of the taxes while providing jobs for the vast majority of Americans. Increasing taxes on corporations has been an easy sell for politicians, but the nation's largest companies are building more offshore factories and increasingly they are relocating their headquarters in Europe to save billions of dollars in taxes and labor.
Walgreen, the behemoth drugstore chain, is the latest mega-corporation debating whether to move its headquarters to Europe because of excessive U.S. corporate tax burdens; the move would save the company billions.
The average corporate tax rate levied on businesses by the federal government was 39.13% in 2013 compared to 28.2% levied by nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Walgreen recently acquired European-headquartered Alliance Boot. The US tax rate is 37.5% compared to Alliance Boots' European rate of 20%. Since acquiring Alliance Boots, Walgreen management is discussing whether to move Walgreen's headquarters to Europe or continue to pay billions more in taxes to stay in the U.S.
The process, called inversion, would allow Walgreen to keep it's stores in the U.S. while banking its profits in Europe where corporate taxes are more than 10 percent lower than the U.S.
While politicians often taunt corporations for being greedy, they seldom mention that U.S. corporate tax rates are by far the highest in the entire world.
The total tax liability for American companies headquartered in the US is far higher than the corporate tax rate. According to a recent OECD study, the "integrated tax rate" — taxes on capital and income — for U.S. companies is a whopping 67.8% vs. 43.7% for the OECD.
Unlike government, corporations cannot print money and U.S. corporate tax rates versus Europe's rates could easily make the difference between solvency and bankruptcy.
Walgreen is not alone. About 547 companies — including Apple, GE, Microsoft and Pfizer — have greatly expanded the amount of foreign indefinitely reinvested earnings overseas in order to avoid what they consider exorbitant, tax rates levied by local, state and federal governments in the U.S.
Add to the highest corporate tax burden in the world a seemingly endless stream of bureaucratic regulations attached to mass entitlement programs like Obamacare and Dodd-Frank plus thousands of pages of new tax laws, and one begins to understand the magnitude of problems faced by corporations to stay headquartered in the U.S.
Last week, Senate Finance Committee chief Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, reported U.S. corporations now hold $2.1 trillion in earnings in overseas accounts — a massive amount, roughly equal to 12% of U.S. gross domestic product.
Wyden should not be surprised that corporations are bugging out and stashing their earnings in overseas accounts. After all, politicians like Wyden orchestrated the exodus.


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The last time we discussed the Scion xB and xD, in April of this year, it was to announce a report that both models were being killed. The vice president of the brand had said, "We don't have plans for a direct xB or xD replacement," but no date was given for the termination. Turns out rumors of their deaths have been greatly exaggerated: as part of a Toyota press release that summarized feature and pricing changes for 2013, the Scion xB was included.
- Mid-engine Corvette spied in daylight
- Matt LeBlanc threatens to quit Top Gear
- Best Lease Deals for June 2016


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Little Starling Photography
Serving Salt Lake, Utah County, Northern Utah areas
Business Details
Lauriann Wakefield is the photographer of Little Starling Photography. She is located right in Garden City ready to serve clients vacationing in the Bear Lake area. Visit LittleStarlingPhotography.com for more information.
6 reasons to hire Lauriann Wakefield:
1- I have been actively taking baby and children pictures since 2005.
2- I'm constantly researching and improving my skills. I keep up to
date on the latest styles, while trying to grow my own ideas. I'm
always on the lookout for new locations, new props. My camera gear is at the
professional level.
3- I love newborns, and I have the patience and experience to sooth and
make your baby feel comfortable.
4-I care about my clients, and do what I can to tailor each photo shoot to match their uniqueness. You will be treated most professionally and with the communication you would expect.
5- I'm patient. I love kids, and I embrace the joy of childhood.
6- I'm a college graduate with a Fine Art degree. I'm an award winning
watercolor painter that has sold paintings in a prestigious art gallery. I know the ins and outs of Photoshop and use it as a tool to enhance my photos. When you hire me, you're getting more than just a hobbyist who likes taking pictures. You're hiring an artist passionate about creating art.
Reviews (3)
Unparalled Quality
by User104483 on
Lauriann has such an amazing talent/skill with photography and a love of what she does that shines through her photos! Her work is consistently at a level rarely achieved by even most "professionals". The pricing is excellent for what you receive (although there are people who think her pricing is too high, because their neighbor's cousin's aunt's, thrice removed, friend has an i-phone that takes good family photos). Simply put, her work is amazing! Add to that the fact that Bear Lake offers a plethora of scenery options, and it's hard to find a better photographer!
Awesome Photographer
by User104484 on
Lauriann does an amazing job. She has a natural talent for capturing those great little moments and a knack for getting my child's personality to show in her photos. The family pictures she's done for us are simply beautiful. She's so patient and has many wonderful ideas and suggestions. I highly recommend her for all your baby, child, graduation and family portraits. Great pictures at a great price!
Best There Is
by User104472 on
Lauriann is amazing. The way she captures memories and not just a "posed cheese" is unduplicated. I constantly get comments about how stunning our pictures are that she has taken for us and I often find myself starting at the images on our walls, lost in the memories of that time. She has a gift and talent. Too often people think a good camera will get you a good picture. Lauri has great equipment, but more importantly she has talent. She is very nice, very professional, and easy to work with. I highly recommend Little Starling Photography.


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As you may have discovered, too much rear brake in a FWD car causes the rear to seek its own path. With rear weight at only 36 percent, I think almost any braking at the rear on a dirt track would have the above effect. Brake proportioning devices are not adjustable enough to get down to 5 percent rear and 95 percent front. Solution: The rear brakes are still on the car but the lines are plugged. You say you want four-wheel brakes so you can stop? With only 36 percent of the weight on the rear, a strong application of the brakes will likely shift at least 15 percent of the weight to the front. That doesn't leave much weight for forward traction on the rear wheels. Only a small amount of braking would lock up the rear. I think I would rather have directional control of the rear wheels at that point.
As you can see in the setup illustration (p. 60), the left-front is by far the heaviest corner. This is to make the left-front wheel with its 2-inch stagger (2-inch smaller circumference) pull down into the turn. With the left-rear being so light, use your "least best" tire on this corner.
Pete Paulsen at Wheels By Paulsen is heavily involved in Mini-Stocks and even races one himself. He recommended a selection of three-off and four-off 13x7-inch wheels. Ours are not the lightest available but are on the budget end. The 7-inch width is for the track-specified tire. We could have used an 8-inch tire, but Pete thought this might be a better setup on dirt.
Don't forget about using tire size to shift weight. If your track doesn't allow any suspension adjustments, do what you can with tire size. A taller tire increases weight on that corner, while a shorter tire decreases weight. Use this to help set crossweight.
EngineThe engine fired right up. The HEI/DUI from Performance Distributors found a home at 43 degrees of advance. I guess the semi-hemi combustion chamber with no squish band is the reason it takes so much. I found this setting by propping the throttle open to 3,500 rpm and twisting the distributor. I twisted it to make peak revs, then backed off just a bit. This came out 43 degrees. I never found anyone who knew what the total advance was supposed to be on these engines.
The Colt Cam sounded sharp. Geoff Bardal at Colt said this cam could be run to about 7,000 rpm with stock valvesprings. I can tell you, at this point it certainly sounds crisp in the shop. Geoff told me that when we need some more power and can invest in some valvesprings, he would be willing to oblige. The cam's specs are:
Intake: 292 degrees duration (adv.)Exhaust: 300 degrees duration (adv.)Intake lift: 0.422 inch Exhaust lift: 0.414 inch
Setting the valves is just like setting those on a V-8-there are 16 valves. The Honda has four valves per cylinder. The recommended lash on this cam is 0.006-inch intake and 0.007-inch on the exhaust.
Another surprise came when we picked up the carefully stored radiator/fan unit. While disassembling the fans, we discovered that the bracket attached to the radiator covered a big hole in the plastic tank. The front end of a Honda is less than tall, but width is not a problem. Most racing radiators are at least 19 inches tall. I spoke with Chas Howe at Howe Racing Products. His catalog lists several 16-inch-tall radiators. A 16x26-inch aluminum unit with two wide cores fit perfectly in the space available. Of course new brackets had to be made, but that was easy. So far, due to the size of the radiator, only one of the stock Honda electric fans has been needed. This will keep the alternator from working so hard.