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Asuran Religious Beliefs?
Posted 07 January 2013 - 02:33 AM
And if the humans do indeed have The Six, what do Asura think of the Human Gods (Other than that they are part of the Eternal Alchemy? Obviously the Asuran goal is to find the great answers, but I was wondering if anyone knows specifics or progress which may not be blatant in-game.
Posted 07 January 2013 - 03:00 AM
While there are no beings that the asura worship per se (except themselves...) they do acknowledge the presence of religious figures that have been shown to exist and posess the power attributed to them, including the Spirits of the Wild and the Six Gods. However, these are viewed as essentially being cogs in the Eternal Alchemy - important ones, to be sure, but no more worthy of worship than the bookah across the street.
There is an example of an asura funeral (of the 'dispersing the ashes' kind) shown in Eye of the North, although what we see of the ceremony is fairly brief:
"Spoiler believed in the Eternal Alchemy. We are all part of a larger equation." "And so we commend Spoiler's remains to that greater equation." "Spoiler's ashes return to the universe, but Spoiler's knowledge remains with us."
Posted 07 January 2013 - 03:09 AM
The Eternal Alchemy is the great mechanism by which the universe and all the things in it operate, the "god machine"; the highest possible application of physics. Everything in existence is a cog in the great machine, including the Human gods. (Naturally, some cogs carry greater force and influence than others... again, like the Human gods). Like all machines, once you understand how it works, you can manipulate/control it. The Asura seek not merely to find "great answers" in the mechanics of the universe, but to understand the Eternal Alchemy's mechanisms and eventually control it.
Asura do hold funerals and remembrances of the fallen. Vekk himself holds a funeral ceremony (minor spoilers... the full video is on youtube) that certain special humans happened to attend and record. They do not have dedicated religious buildings per se. However, every building, laboratory, research facility, college... every Asura building is ultimately dedicated to studying the Alchemy, and as such could be considered a religious building by... "lesser species".
Edited by Trise, 07 January 2013 - 03:13 AM.
Posted 07 January 2013 - 04:50 AM
Edited by Zeglo, 07 January 2013 - 04:51 AM.
Posted 07 January 2013 - 11:11 AM
There are a few non-scientists out there who claim that science is a religion just like any other - the asura are probably an example of a culture where that has truly become the case.
Posted 07 January 2013 - 01:16 PM
draxynnic, on 07 January 2013 - 11:11 AM, said:
Yes, it's called Scientology. ba dam tss
On a related note, on the grand piaza in LA you can find a human argueing with an asura about their "religion". The asura sees it more as a way to make money, while the human is shocked by such blasphemy, IIRC.
Posted 07 January 2013 - 11:15 PM
I've come across that exchange, but I don't recall it beyond the human's line "Don't you guys believe in some Eternal Alchemy?" It probably is fair to say that that particular asura is one that views it more as a process than a religion, though.
Posted 09 January 2013 - 07:40 PM
Durmand Priory|Library of Whispers|GuildMag
"...I received a 400-page bible document for the world..." - J.Robert King
I want. I want bad.
Posted 11 January 2013 - 12:14 PM
Posted 11 January 2013 - 12:43 PM
Majic, on 11 January 2013 - 12:14 PM, said:
Posted 11 January 2013 - 08:17 PM
Asura scored the highest, of course.
Every patch is like ArenaNet walking out onto the stage of the International Don't Kitten Up Championship, and then proceeding to shiv itself in the stomach 30 times while screaming "IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD! IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!"
Posted 12 January 2013 - 12:09 AM
Posted 12 January 2013 - 12:16 AM
raspberry jam, on 11 January 2013 - 12:43 PM, said:
It's a pun based on one of the stock phrases uttered by Asuran NPCs.
Posted 12 January 2013 - 12:51 AM
Majic, on 11 January 2013 - 12:14 PM, said:
Sure there is, just indirect profit. Just like there is profit from NASA, but not direct profit.
In attempting to better understand the Universe (and how to eventually control it) the Asura have pushed lightyears ahead of other races in terms of technology. That technological advantage has put them in a very lucrative place among all levels of many economies. A handful of Asura have recognized that and have exploited their racial technology for profit (just go chat with some of the Asura scattered about Lion's Arch), but most are largely still interested in researching the mechanics of the Universe to better understand the Eternal Alchemy and merely interact with outside sources to get what they need to further their research.
All of that being said, at best you could like the Eternal Alchemy to a philosophy. In no means I would consider it to be a religion. To me a far better example is this: The Eternal Alchemy is a puzzle; how and what do you need to control and understand everything? The Asura are obsessed with solving the puzzle. What many people tend to forget is that Asura are smart. They aren't like "smart", like that kid in one of your high school or lower division general ed classes in college. No these are creatures that tackle time travel, rip holes in space time, build fully functional AI's for robotics, and as children tinker with controlling the weather. An average Asura is equal to Einstein, Bohr, Schrodinger and Hawking all rolled into one, and then times two on problem solving scale. They could ponder laps around those four furiously attempting to solve anything.
So what do creatures with that level of capability do with their life? Well their niche in evolution has been solving problems, the problem of everything, labeled as "The Eternal Alchemy" is something they just can't resist. Now toss in that their socialization process from infancy, instead of "rich, beautiful, and famous makes people happy" they get, "The Eternal Alchemy is the greatest problem, whoever solves it is the best Asura" and you'll get a species hellbent on trying to solve everything. Granted they go about their own methods to try and solve it, but most have a the goal of better understanding it at their forefront of objectives.
A good real life example would be like high energy physicists, the recent evidence towards the existence of the Higgs Boson, and the fields general research into understand what makes everything. Would you call the drive of discovering (or you could call it curiosity) what makes stuff, a religion, a philosophy? Would you consider the study of high energy physics a cult practice? Was the building of CERN and previous colliders an act of building places of worship, like a temple, or church for people perusing the study of high energy physics? No, not in any fashion. There was a question, a puzzle, and some people found it interesting and thought they could solve it, so they worked at it. For these people highly invested into the field, there is a desire to understand what makes matter, and how matter really works. There is no irrationality that comes from faith or belief, just computations and pieces fitting together. So tying the Higgs Boson back in to this, this particular Boson was first proposed back in the 60's iirc. When it was first suggested, the idea was laughed at and largely ignored because it didn't fit in the puzzle. Higgs himself, while thinking that it'd fix some problems with sub-atomic theories, did acknowledge that it was kinda out there. Years later as puzzle pieces were re-arranged there was a suggestion in the data to re-evaluate the Higgs' Boson. As more data was collected the suggestion became stronger, and thus we invested lots of time, energy and even built a new super collider (to bad the one in Texas never got built, stupid Congress and wanting to find "God" with a super collider) to find the missing piece. There was no faith or fanaticism in that process though.
TLDR: So yeah, Eternal Alchemy, not really a religion, or a philosophy, but for the humans of Tyria, calling it such is something that could be easily related to.
Posted 12 January 2013 - 01:33 AM
kendro1200, on 12 January 2013 - 12:51 AM, said:
What's probably more accurate to say is that the majority of asura are scientists (with magic being one of the things they study). If you think of the culture of a research university spread across an entire civilisation rather than being a specific part of it, that's the asura - mostly researchers or research assistants, the top-level admin drawn from successful researchers among which half of which would rather just be doing research, those who were less successful academically becoming security officers and taking other supportive roles. This means that the average asura is probably about as smart as the average research scientist in the real world, which, don't get me wrong, is still pretty impressive and likely to have the effect you describe, but whatever they may claim they're not actually a race of Einsteins and Hawkings.
Posted 12 January 2013 - 02:32 AM
draxynnic, on 12 January 2013 - 01:33 AM, said:
Magic is often used as a power source, or a last ditch go to answer on the dev/lore department to explain how something works (when it comes to Asura tech), but isn't the end all difference between asura and the real world. When you go through the technology there are matrices, relays, capacitors and the like, all of which indicate a higher order of organization behind each part. I'd actually imagine magic being a bigger burden than boon to them, as apart from the laws of physics they also have to derive the laws that govern magic, and how the two interact. Eventually they have to combine the two in a unifying theory as a step to reach the Eternal Alchemy.
As to your statement about us knowing how to "theoretically" do many of the feats the asura pull off. Yes, we have some theories out there that attempt such things (rip holes in space time, time travel...sorta). The energy/resources those theories predict needed to do those things suggests that the theories are going about it a very wrong way though. Controlling weather and good robotic AI is still something we don't even have theoreticals around yet actually.
I do completely agree with your statement about the Asura being culturally similar to a research university spread out to encompass the entire species.
Still, my point was and still is: Eternal Alchemy is by no means a religion, nor really a philosophy. Eternal Alchemy is more of a puzzle that they're trying to put together as a species.
Posted 12 January 2013 - 11:56 AM
The point is, you can't say something like "asura kids build simple weather control devices as their college entrance exams" as evidence that the average asura outsmarts the greatest minds in our own history. The average highschooler today has a much better understanding of the universe than Newton, let alone, say, the Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Pythagoras, and can do things that those figures likely never imagined was possible. Does that mean that the average highschooler today is inherently more intelligent than those historical figures? No, it just means they have access to learning and resources that were not available in those days.
To be honest, my general impression of the asura is that they're actually not that much smarter than everyone else, on average - it's just that they value intelligence and learning more than the other races, and thus put a greater focus on developing and making use of the talents they do have.
Posted 13 January 2013 - 09:07 PM
Edited by Zeglo, 13 January 2013 - 09:08 PM.
Posted 13 January 2013 - 09:13 PM
Zeglo, on 13 January 2013 - 09:07 PM, said:
In fact I'm a little surprised there arent dead Asura littering their city. Guess they have golems to clean up the mess.
Posted 14 January 2013 - 10:30 AM
Zeglo, on 13 January 2013 - 09:07 PM, said:
Posted 07 February 2013 - 11:18 PM
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Game of Thrones is a site for the HBO-series based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.
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Long in the planning, Making Game of Thrones has now published an interview we did shortly after my visit to Belfast back in October—I was quite honored to be considered a worthwhile subject! The genesis of Westeros.org, our involvement in the fandom, and my impressions of the visit are briefly covered. And now that that's published…
The set visit reports resumes! Shortly after my return from Belfast, I started posting a bit of the experience, but I stopped before I actually got into Paint Hall, instead describing how it came to be that I had this opportunity (an unprecedented one, I'm told) and breakfast with George and Parris. Now, in this first installment, my visit to the Paint Hall-proper, beginning with a lonely tower and a high hall…
More parts to come!
The Westeros network consists of several different sites, including a forum and a wiki, for all your A Song of Ice and Fire needs.

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Which Builders Have the Biggest Gulf Coast Exposures?
Tuesday dawned with many news sources abuzz about ping pong ball-sized globules of oil, or so-called "tar balls," washing up on the shores of Texas near Galveston. That means by now every Gulf state has been affected by BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
But it's not just state officials and tourists who should be worried about oil sheens ruining their fun: a report out Tuesday from Citigroup analysts ranks the public homebuilders' exposure to the Gulf Coast areas affected by the Deepwater spill.
The report defines "exposure" by the percentage of the company's actively-selling communities within 50 miles of affected areas of the Gulf Coast.
Meritage Homes Inc., has the highest exposure, with 22% of its actively-selling communities within the 50-mile radius. Meritage has 32 actively-selling communities in the Houston area out of 147 total communities in the U.S.
Beazer Homes USA, with 27 Texas communities and 7 more in Florida, is next, at 19%.
Others topping the list include DR Horton, Inc. (17%), Lennar Corp. (15%), The Ryland Group, Inc. (13%) and KB Home (11%).
Citi homebuilding analyst Josh Levin says his methodology behind the report was "somewhat crude," but that his analysis was "correct in broad strokes" and could be a good indicator of the risks facing the country's big builders.
"Since it is not yet known what impact the oil spill will have on the various Gulf Coast economies over the intermediate and longer term, we find it difficult to draw actionable investment conclusions from our analysis," he wrote. "However, investors who have high conviction what those consequences will be may be able to use our analysis to help reach investment conclusions regarding individual homebuilder stocks."
Mr. Levin says he decided to do the report in response to questions about the spill and its effects from a few investors in the last two weeks. The report hasn't had any noticeable effect on stocks. As of mid-morning, all of the major homebuilder stocks showed gains except Beazer, which was down a negligible 0.04%.
Last month, we reported that the St. Joe Co., a Jacksonville-based resort-builder and Florida's second largest landholder, has seen its stock price take a nose-dive on fears that oil would wash up on the Florida Panhandle's pristine, white sand beaches. Company officials downplayed these fears, saying that the company has shifted its focus to more commercial development rather than building beachfront rental houses.
Since then, St. Joe's stock price dipped 11% to a 2-week low of $21.71, but has since recovered to $23.71 in NYSE trading.


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Creating the perfect beatblog
A cutting edge beatblog, and the sites of highest interest to Beatblogging.org, are those using the two-way, social part of the Web, to cover a beat in a networked or user-assisted way.
Here we find information and newsy items, advice and ideas regularly flowing in from readers as the blog becomes a platform for extending the network of the beat outward until hundreds and thousands of people are helping to… cover the beat.
But — truth be told — there aren't any beatblogs that get it all right. Mostly, this is due to lack of time and resources. Where one blogger spends time on original content, another blogger spends time on two-way communication with readers/commenters.
So, let's say that it were possible to create the perfect beatblog; that time and resources aren't an issue. And let's say that we created this blog using only elements from existing blogs. In other words, a mash-up.
What would this blog look like?
The Creators
First of all, it's important to note that a beatblog does not have to be run by a large media company. It can be created by a single person or a team, a pro or an amateur journalist. The idea is that the creator(s) whoever he/she/they are, are people who care deeply about regularly covering a beat and focusing on content that is not only valuable to their readers who are interested in the niche topic, but also focus on content that their readers suggest be written or covered.
In other words, the creators "get it" — all of it. From the look and feel of their blog, to its subject to their linking ethics and social media leverage — they focus on truly becoming a "beatblog" and not just a blog that "happens to have a beat."
They would have the reporting drive of Kent Fischer, the networking savviness of Monica Guzman, the friendly, open-mindedness of Brian Stelter and the entrepreneurial spirit of Daniel Victor.
The Design
It must be stressed that design goes a long way online. As much as "Content is King," design can really change the way readers approach your blog and interact with it.
A beatblog that really hit the nail on the head in terms of theme and design is GothamSchools. It's a blog focused on breaking news and analysis of the NYC public schools. If you take a look at the site, you'll find that it's header is properly tied in with the subject — it has the New York City skyline and the image of a public school.
The rest of the page is very minimalist and straightforward, designed to look like the pages of a notebook. What is great about GothamSchools is that there is no way anyone can get lost or confused with where to find more information, how to contact the creators or what the site is about. Everything is neatly organized and tagged, exactly the way beatblogs should be.
I've stressed before that many beat blogs fail to provide enough transparency and contact information on their pages. This is because so many of the best beatbloggers are attached to legacy news organizations, and thus, their pages are not stand-alone sites but rather limbs of the main news site.
I think the proper way to run a beatblog is to make it it's own Web site, with it's own contact information and "about" page. It shouldn't just be a link from a drop-down menu on a news organization. Of course, if it's affiliated it should have the proper attributions and links, etc.
But making the beatblog it's own page can make it more comfortable for readers, easier to find and easier to interact with. Just as a news site's Twitter feed or Facebook page is separate from the organization and more personalized, so should a beatblog be.
The Strategy/Execution
Properly running a beatblog can be difficult if there are time constraints or not enough helping hands. For example, Pharmalot, a beatblog run by journalist Ed Silverman about the pharmaceutical industry, featured really good daily journalism and link journalism. It was a beatblog that doggedly covered its niche.
But it would have been much stronger if had the same community building as the DISD Blog. Pharmalot might have been the best beatblog from just a pure content perspectiveve, but it always lagged in the two-way communication department. Silverman spent so much time delivering incredible content by himself that he simply couldn't do more two-way communication.
Then you take Alexander Russo's District 299 blog, and it has great two-way communication but could be stronger in terms of original content.
Again, if time weren't an issue, what would the proper mash-up look like?
- Clear beat: GothamSchools
- High volume of commentary: SciGuy
- Harvesting of comments "Here's what you said about this…": Come Heller High Water
- Inquiries/questions asked to readers: Security Fix
- Daily roundup: The Daily Wrap
- Filtering and linking: Today in the Sky
- Comments or e-mails from readers run as posts/used for story ideas/improve stories: Central PA NewsVote
- Comments hosted in blog entries: Inside Ed
- Reader blogs: Seattle PI
- Hoisting Comments: Dallas ISD Blog
- Live blogging: The Caucus
- Frequent blog posts by author, i.e. several per day, updates: Glenn Greenwald
- Contact info/Transparency/Accessibility/Brand identity: Security Fix
- Good use of Twitter: Alex Roarty of PoliticsPA
- Quality writing/grammar/style: Slate.com
The Results
In the end, it's all a time and money game. There's not enough of either. And that's okay — for now.
Beatblogs are still in their infancy, and it's going to take time to evolve into something powerful and profitable. It's always important, however, to keep fresh ideas in mind and constantly try to break the mold.
Be creative. Think outside the box. Learn from the best.
Run the best damn beatblog that the Internet's ever seen.
BCNI Philly: Why beatblog? (and why news should be social)
Below you'll find a post I created to go with a beatblogging presentation at BCNI Philly.
It's a quick start guide on what beatblogging is, how to do it and best practices.
What is beatblogging?
Beatblogging is the practice of using social media, blogs and other Web tools for beat reporting.
To be a beatblogger, a journalist must engage in two-way communication. This mean interacting with people on Twitter, in the comments after blog posts and stories, through Facebook and other social networks, by conducting live chats and liveblogs, etc.
It's important to point out that just because a journalist has a beat and a blog doesn't make them a beatblogger. That just makes them a beat reporter with a blog. Two-way communication and user interaction are the cornerstones to beatblogging. Conversely, a beat reporter does not need a blog to be a beatblogger.
Two-way communication and interaction can happen on social networks and or during a liveblog, for instance. The key to beatblogging is not, nor will it ever be, about having a blog, but rather it is all about user interaction. We like to call beatblogging Rolodex 2.0, because it's a way to expand the number of sources a beat reporter has.
In an earlier post Jay Rosen defined a beatblog as:
A beatblog in the expansive sense is any blog that sticks to a well-defined beat or coverage area, whether it is the work of a single person or a team, whether it is authored by a pro or an amateur journalist. A beatblog can be part of a large site, or it could stand on its own. Normally, the beat is explicit and obvious from the home page of the blog, but it is possible for a beat blog to have an "implicit" or unusual beat that isn't immediately apparent to a casual user.
Content-wise, a beatblog presents a regular flow of reporting and commentary in a focused area the beat covers; it provides links and online resources in that area, and it tracks the subject over time. Beats can be topical (like dot.earth, which is about natural resources and the environment) or narrowly geographic (West Seattle blog) or both (Atlantic Yards Report) or activity-related (Family Life, which is about "raising a family.")
Why beatblog?
- More sources — Beatblogging allows journalists to find more sources. This means better and easier reporting. Good beatblogging can allow a journalist to cover a beat easier and more in-depth. Many of these new sources will contact beatbloggers with info, documents and links. In today's era of limited resources and cutbacks, beatblogging is a powerful way to get more out of less.
- Crowdsourcing — Beatblogging can be an excellent way to crowdsource stories and have readers help report. These days, reporters could use all the help they can get, and why not harness the wisdom of our users? Some beatbloggers even ask their readers to be their assignment editors.
- Conversation — Social media is really about having a conversation. Beatblogging can be a great way to get people talking, and this can become a big part of your product. Alexander Russo's District 299 blog is all about "hosting" the conversation. His blog is designed to be a place for people to discuss Chicago education news and policy, and people come to the blog largely for the conversation. Yes, he has good editorial content too, but the conversations are a big part of what makes his blog special.
- Users add value — People add value to beatblogs. They help reporters report, they leave links and comments after posts, they share their own experiences — they become a reason to come to the site.
- More traffic — Good beatbloggers will generate more traffic for their content, because their content will have more around it. A blog that has a strong community built around it with lots of thoughtful comments will get much more traffic because people will be checking back several times a day to see the new comments. People will come to a blog just for the conversation, because comments add value.
Here are what some beatbloggers had to say about beatblogging via Twitter:
chronsciguy – It's fun. It's immediate. It makes me a much, much better reporter.
mneznanski Why I beatblog? Because it's more fun than just writing for a newspaper. Because I know what people are reading. Because I do better, more informed journalism with it than without it.
saraneufeld It's great source-building and an opportunity to tell stories I can't in the newspaper. Plus, it's fun.
Top notch beatbloggers
- Eric Berger — You can't get much better than a Pulitzer Prize finalist, which Berger was this year because of his stellar beatblogging efforts related to his coverage of Hurricane Ike. This coverage from Berger included live, daily chats about the oncoming storm, continuous updates and coverage on Berger's SciGuy blog and reports on Chron.com.
- Kent Fischer — Fischer (now out of journalism) was one of the best at using his beatblog to help him report and discover new stories. His beatblog helped him uncover an A1 (and later national in the WSJ) story. His readers routinely fed him stories, documents, etc. Beatblogging simply allowed him to be a better reporter. Listen to why Fischer thought beatblogging was such a useful tool for him as a reporter.
- Monica Guzman — Guzman is the master conversation starter and community cultivator. If you're looking for ways to build a community around your beat, you can't find much better than Guzman. Unlike the other beatbloggers listed here, Guzman's main job is to start conversations with readers.
- Brian Krebs — Krebs is an excellent example of what can happen once a community is cultivated. Many of his readers are quite knowledgeable about computer security and really add to the conversation. In fact, blog posts often pick up once the comments start rolling in. Krebs's users have added a tremendous amount of value to his blog. Krebs discusses the power of a strong user community in this Q&A.
Best practices
- Cultivating a community — The best way to cultivate a community is to be A) active in your community by responding to comments and B) taking an active role in comment moderation. It takes work to cultivate a community, but it provides rewards. Berger discusses how to build a community in this podcast.
- Hoisting comments — Once a community is cultivated, a beatblogger will want to start acknowledging when people leave strong comments. Many beatbloggrs have begun hoisting comments with weekly "comment of the week" features. It's a good way to pat readers on the back. Better yet, check out Jon Ortiz's "blog back" concept. It's similar to hoisting comments but more in-depth.
- Crowdsourcing — A good beatblog has a large network of sources around it. Many of these sources are experts in in certain fields and topics. Why not ask them for help? The Buzz Out Loud crew discussed how their users know more than they do in this podcast. BOL's listeners are a big part of the show because they are so knowledgeable, they help report and they provide in-depth knowledge that the hosts often don't have.
- Be accessible — Make it easy for people to contact you on your blog, Twitter, etc. Good beatbloggers are transparent. People want to interact, so it make it easy for them. Guzman even has weekly in-person office hours and meetups.
- Learn by example — Don't be afraid to borrow someone else's good idea. Each week we profile innovative beatbloggers and best practices. If you see something you like, start doing it yourself.
Great examples and lessons
- Blog readers lead to A1 story for Dallas Morning News
- Dispelling FUD on news Web sites and blogs
- Timing can impact traffic to a blog
- Tony Pierce, a "blogger gone pro" at the LA Times | Part 2
- Wired.com harnesses readers to produce better content
- Mortgage blogger Tanta, who saw (and wrote) it all, passed away but legend grows
Making your beatblog transparent
This article isn't meant to be groundbreaking. In fact, its simplicity may annoy you. And yet, so many beatbloggers could benefit from the following words of advice.
Please, please, please be transparent.
A successful beatblog requires a way through which readers can contact the author. It sounds dumb to be even mentioning this to a group of professional journalists who "know this already," but I can't tell you how frustrating it has been to try to contact some beat bloggers.
A beatblog has to be sure to keep an open dialogue with readers. It's the nature of the beast. Today, the blogs that interact most with their audience are the ones that become both economically viable, and help the author/s of the blog stay engaged and interested.
There are a lot of examples of blogs that follow the dialogue norms, but a problem arises time and time again. While commenting may be straight forward for the average user, sometimes private messages are important for all sorts of reasons. Many blogs do not have a straight forward way for people to email or message them privately.
Take for example Glenn Greenwald. An avid blogger and journalist for Salon.com, Glenn is world renowned for writing some of the most in-depth political articles out of there. When Glenn writes a post, if you blink, the post might be updated two or three or four times after the comments that readers leave, whether it be a typo or some news Glenn may have overlooked. But his Web site doesn't make it straightforward on how to contact Glenn privately. Where's his e-mail? In small text half way down the page.
Take a look at SciGuy, Eric Berger. He runs a fantastic science blog over at the Houston Chronicle. But scroll through the Web site or Google his name and I can assure it won't be easy to find his e-mail. Same goes for Gene Sloan, Cruise beatblogger at USA Today.
Where is the "about" or "contact" page on The Dallas Morning News' popular Dallas ISD Blog? How do I get in touch with John Ortiz, author of the Sacramento Bee's beatblog, The State Worker?
Even Monica Guzman over at the Seattle PI doesn't make it entirely straight-forward for readers to follow The Big Blog, with contact info buried between articles and cluttered content.
On the other hand, Brian Krebs, author of Security Fix at The Washington Post clearly posts his contact information at the top of his blog. Likewise, St. Petersburg Times' Bay Buzz does a good job of stating what the blog is about and how to get in contact with Times editor, Heather Urquides.
I could go on and on.
You get the idea: There has to be a move to promote a private dialogue as much as a public one. And if you have a Twitter account that you use for work, make it prominent on your beatblog. It's another easy way for people to interact with journalism.
If you're a beatblogger and you're not publicly allowing your readers — your audience — to get a hold of you, you're missing out. Big time.
Beatbloggers, it's time you start focusing as much on transparency as you do on content.
Monica Guzman on how to be a quality commenter
Expert community builder and comment cultivator Monica Guzman recently gave a talk where she implored people to be quality commenters and not trolls.
I would certainly recommend showing this to your Web site users. Maybe it will help spur some better conversations. But Guzman also says that news organizations and journalists have to take ownership of the comments on their site.
Guzman says this means providing the right tools for community moderation, having enough resources to police that community and recognizing that news is a conversation.
But you knew all that good stuff already. Right? The rest of Guzman's talk is about how our users can make the whole experience better.
Some of the points that Guzman made:
- Choose your story wisely — Guzman says that no one cares what you have to say on a Britney Spears story or on a liberal/conservative debate. Those comments and debates always turn out poorly.
- Focus on what's smart — Comment on something that's smart in a story or something that you like about it. Pointing out accidental misspellings doesn't forward the conversation along.
- Tell us what you think — But of course think first. You know, read the whole story first.
- Tell us your story — "Quote yourself." Guzman wants you to tell your story in the comments section. And maybe you'll become a new source.
- Tell us what you know — Post links, talk about studies, add to the conversation, etc.
- Ask a question — Ask a good question, and you might get a great answer.
- Introduce yourself — Own up to your ideas.
Yes, it's really that simple (hat tip to Chris O'Brien for finding this video).
Leaderboard for week of 3-16-2009: Three pillars of new media journalism
This week's Leaderboard is a potpourri of different skills and examples.
That's just the way I like it. We have strong link journalism, strong live blogging and strong community building. Each of those are important to journalism moving forward.
I apologize for the tardiness of the Leaderboard this week. We've been taking on a lot of new endeavors at BeatBlogging.Org and bringing students up to speed on the project.
David Brauer | MinnPost.com
- Brauer was nominated for this nifty bit of link-journalism. Curation is a big part of the future of journalism. Even if you're not breaking every story, you can still act as a trusted source and filter for users.
- There is too much information to read on the Internet. It's overwhelming at times. That's what makes link journalism so powerful. Brauer combines great original reporting, with strong curation. His users get the best of his original work, plus the best work from around the Web.
- MinnPost.com is a non-profit journalism outfit that you should be following. They are experimenting with some interesting revenue models.
- Braublog is a kickass beatblog by them that covers local media and politics, and it's a piece of new media journalism worth keeping tabs on.
Dave Levinthal | The Dallas Morning News
- This week features more CoveritLive goodness from a beatblogger. Levinthal used the live blogging tool to live blog / live chat during a contentious debate about a proposed Dallas Convention Center hotel. The debate featured Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and real estate executive Anne Raymond.
- This is a particularly strong example of live blogging. Before the debate started, Levinthal answered questions that were e-mailed to him about the proposed project. He also took questions from people on CoveritLive before the debate started.
- His analysis and links before the debate started helped give users background and answered many of their questions. They were then better able to understand what was happening during the debate.
- Live blogging is a tool that can benefit just about any beatblogger, and CoveritLive is one of the premier live blogging tools. Live blogging gives journalists, particularly print journalists a new ability to immediately inform users and connect with them during live events. A debate like this is an excellent example of when a live blog makes a lot of sense. This is one of the best examples we have ever seen of live blogging.
Monica Guzman | Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- This is an honorary nod to Guzman because her role at the new P-I will be changing. The Big Blog has existed as a conversations starter, linking heavily to the P-I's content and great content from around the Web. Guzman has also pulled out interesting comments on other P-I stories and elevated them to their own posts. But the thing is, the P-I is radically changing. Most of the newsroom is gone, and so Guzman's role will be changing.
- The Big Blog was an exemplary example of how a newspaper could use the Web for two-way communication and community building. Guzman engaged in gathering, moderating and analyzing conversations. That was the heart of what she did. Most news organization do not have someone like her on board. They need to fix that.
- The Big Blog was also a blog that worked well with traditional print content. This is the style of blog that every newspaper should look into. You can find our past coverage of the old Big Blog here.
- Now that the P-I no longer has print content, it's clear that The Big Blog will be changing. What the new Big Blog and P-I will be like is still to be determined. Regardless of what the new Big Blog looks like, the old Big Blog was a beatblog worth emulating by other news organizations.
Q&A: Monica Guzman discusses the new, online-only Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer announced yesterday that it was ceasing production of the print edition today, but that it was also forming a new team to run an online-only version of the P-I.
It will be a new site, with a new vision. About 20 editorial employees and 20 advertising employees with run this new operation. They will attempt to remake what the P-I is:
We're going to break a lot of rules that newspaper Web sites stick to, and we are looking everywhere for efficiencies. We don't feel like we have to cover everything ourselves. We'll partner for some content; we won't duplicate what the wire is reporting unless we have something unique to offer; we'll continue to showcase the great content from our 150 or so reader bloggers and we'll link offsite to content partners and competitors to create the best mix of news on our front page.
We wanted to ask one of our favorite beatbloggers, Monica Guzman, what these changes would mean for her and the new P-I. Guzman will be staying on at the P-I and keeping her popular blog, The Big Blog. I also asked my network on Twitter what questions they would like to ask.
"The editorial staff will all do everything – write, edit, produce, take pictures … it won't be your typical newspaper newsroom," Guzman said."
Without further ado, here is our extensive Q&A on the new PI.
Q: First, what was it like today for the staff staying with tomorrow being the last day of the print edition?
A: It was hard. It was really hard. Speaking for myself here, there's something clearly exciting about what we're about to do, but to look around and see the people, the passion, the talent that won't be with us as we kick it off was painful.
Q: I realize that the closing of the P-I has been a reality for awhile now, but what was it like today when the news finally came down? What was it like when people found out that print was ceasing but the Web was staying?
A: People had an inkling that the print would cease and Web might stay for more than a week, since news about provisional offers to Web staff broke early. So that wasn't a shock. What today brought was closure, a deadline, an end to all this swirling uncertainty. I can't speak for everyone, but once Oglesby made the announcement, my heart started to beat fast and didn't slow down much for the rest of the day. There was a lot to process. It had been such an emotional roller coaster the last two months, I was sure I was all cried out. But at about 1 p.m., I burst into tears talking to my editor.
The site is exciting, no doubt – but there's nothing easy about saying goodbye to all these people who have made the P-I so great. I still get nervous talking to some of them 'cause I'm such a small-time rookie runt next to so much talent. Why are they leaving and I'm staying? It doesn't make sense.
Q: What was it like for those leaving?
A: You'd have to ask them. One person I talked to said she was glad to have some closure, and was on her way to a nearby bar to commiserate with other colleagues.
Q: Are all 20 editorial employees from the P-I and what are their backgrounds?
A: As far as I know, all 20 are from the P-I. A handful are columnists, another handful hard news reporters. A couple were editors. Cartoonist David Horsey is staying on through Hearst, and we have one photographer – Josh Trujillo
Q: This is an online-only operation. Do all these journalists have the necessary Web skills to thrive on the Web?
A: Does anyone have all the necessary Web skills to thrive on the Web? If anything, we come with different specialties, and we'll learn from each other what we need to become more well-rounded online journalists. I'm pretty excited about being trained on a high-end camera to take high-quality photos.
Q: You mention that you'll be getting new training. How will your role be changing? Will The Big Blog still exist?
A: The Big Blog will still exist, so my job will resemble what I'm already doing. I can't say I know how it's going to change otherwise. This is an experiment, and an evolving one, so I can only guess that my job will change quite a bit, by increments, as it goes along.
Q: Can you give us a vision of what this new, online-only Seattle Post-Intelligencer look like? What's it new mission will be?
A: For that I have to defer to what its executive producer, Michelle Nicolosi, wrote about it today: http://www.seattlepi.com/business/403794_newseattlepi.com16.html. She puts it really well.
Q: What role will beatblogging play on the new P-I Web site? Will you have more beatbloggers on the new site?
A: Hmmm … good question. I've always advocated for more engagement with readers, a fuller use of what the online medium and the blogging format allows – so I hope some of that can happen here.
Q: Will staffers be utilizing social media and two-way communication like you do? Will that be required?
A: My sense is that that's one of the tools staffers will be able to experiment with. Don't know what the policy will be regarding use by each staffer.
Q: This brings me to a question that Howard Owens submitted. @howardowens asks do P-I staffers understand that the Web is different? Transferring newspaper journalism to Web won't work.
A: Good question. I think so. I think a lot of journalists understand that, no matter where they are, more and more. It's not just about mindset; it's also about what your organization allows and enables you to do. Since the P-I site is in large part an experiment, innovation and new thinking will, I think, not only be tolerated but encouraged.
Q: I think that answer dovetails nicely with another question from Twitter. @lectroidmarc asks now that you're not tied to a print product, how will the P-I change its approach to the web?
You're completely free now that you don't have the print product. What does this freedom mean?
A: I think the next couple months will be all about answering that question. We've never been in that situation, so we can't know! The hope, I think, is that we take full advantage of that freedom where it serves our readers.
Q: When you go into work tomorrow, will you feel any more free? Will you feel different?
A: You know, I'm not sure it can be that sudden. What happened today hurt. A lot. Even though I knew it was coming. I can't know for sure, but I'm betting it's going to be a more complicated process. But I'm a special case; I haven't written for the paper since June 2007, so I'm not as attached as other reporters. For them, the difference might be more striking.
Q: @mathewi asks what are some of the new things the P-I is planning to do online that are different than existing paper sites?
A: The site will have columns from people in the spotlight – like former mayors, governors, a former police chief, etc. It will also link to content from other news sites probably a lot more than newspaper Web site readers are used to.
Q: This next question from Twitter is one of the big questions: @eyeseast asks how will relationship with readers change? Are staff open to a changing relationship?
You have a chance to make a new bargain with readers. A bargain newspapers weren't willing to make.
A: Very true. Again, I can't say for sure what the plan is, 'cause this is new, and I don't really know. I think it's becoming more and more clear, though, that that's one of the things readers want, and one of the things that can help make journalism better – forging a stronger, more engaged relationship with readers, thinking of them as active collaborators, not members of a passive "audience."
"Are staff open to a changing relationship?" I guess we'll find out.
Q: @rsylvester asks how will the P-I's tradition of investigative reporting carry over with a smaller staff?
A: I really don't know – but that's a big question. One of the biggest. I have no doubt we'll do the best work we can. Time will tell how it compares to what the larger P-I did.
Q: @jayrosen_nyu asks will Hearst management be sharing key data of all kinds with staff?
A: That's something I'll have to ask myself! I know it's helped me plenty to see real-time data on my posts, so it'd be a great idea.
Q: I gather that Hearst's ability to share data will be critical to the new PI. I think you need to know what users and advertisers like. You're going down an unfamiliar road.
A: Indeed. Here's hoping for the best!
What it takes to be a beatblogger
Want to know what it takes to be a beatblogger? Not sure where to start? Who is doing it already? Here is your simple introduction to the new revolutionary practice that is changing the world of digital journalism.
A beatblogger isn't just a blogger.
Twitter isn't merely "Facebook Status Updates." It's much more. Likewise, beatblogging is more than just a journalist being assigned to blog for a major news publication. A beatblogger, simply put, is a beat reporter who uses their blog as a tool to engage their readers, interact with them, use them as sources, crowdsource their ideas and invite them to contribute to the reporting process.
When a beat reporter uses social networking with the community to create hyper-local and hyper-focused stories — that's beatblogging. As a result, the beat is better researched because the community that is directly involved with the subject is actively participating in creating news.
Your readers are your new BFF's. Get to know them. Invite them to dinner.
Okay, so you don't exactly have to invite them into your home, but you get the idea. Beatblogging requires reporters to start conversations with their readers. But simply replying to a few comments doesn't cut it. It's the year 2009. You have to be way more active than that. This means asking questions, replying to comments, seeking out tips, using their story ideas and building stories upon their conversations.
More often than not you'll be required to continue conversations on older stories even when you are already working on a new project. This can be tiring, time-consuming and hard work. But the trade-off is that much of the researching and source-chasing that journalists used to undergo is eliminated through the first degree contact with the community.
If you haven't spoken to your audience, if you don't know who your most loyal reader is, if you haven't written a story based on a tip from the comments section of your blog and if you haven't asked the crowd for help — you're losing. You're not using 2009 tools to be at the forefront of the digital revolution. And you're certainly not a beatblogger.
Be everywhere. I'm not kidding.
Journalists in the 21st century can no longer hide behind their bylines. I can't stress enough how important it is for bloggers to be accessible through all networks and social sites. Where's your "about" page? Is your e-mail easy to find? Do you have a photo up? Even some of the most successful beatbloggers today have not been doing a good job of making themselves transparent.
It's important to bridge the gap between reader and source and build a circle of trust. And the only way this can happen successfully is if both sides agree to be transparent. If bloggers are annoyed by snarky, anonymous commenters, then lead by example. Don't hide information about yourself either.
Be accessible. That means I should be able to find your name, a photo, e-mail, Facebook page, LinkedIN account, Twitter name and possibly an e-mail. That's it. It's not too hard, and it will make your beatblogging experience world's easier. (P.S. Want to be a top search result when searching for the term 'beatblogger'? Then make sure to add the keyword multiple times in your various social profiles!).
Learn by example. It's okay to copy practices. Don't worry, it's not plagiarism.
Journalists hate to copy. They don't like anything that isn't original or different. They like to be the first to report on a story or have a certain angle. But sometimes it's okay to copy, especially in the case of beatblogging. What this means is that you should look at what current beatbloggers are doing successfully and emulate their methods to form your own beatblog.
Take a look at Kent Fischer from the Dallas Independent School District Blog, who is building a "blog on steroids." Fischer's blog is essentially a micro-site, a niche publication that covers the education system in Dallas, Texas by combining beatblogging with database reporting.
Learn from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Monica Guzman as she innovate with her weekly office hours for readers. Guzman connects with her users on her blog, The Big Blog, on social media sites like Twitter and in person. Guzman is a master conversation starter and uses her networks to get people talking about issues in Seattle and about the PI's content. The Big Blog is all about cultivating conversations and there is no one better than Guzman at that.
Check out Brian Stelter from the New York Times who is beatblogging at "TV Decoder," where he covers the day's on-screen and behind-the-scenes developments, with insights into Nielsen ratings and the machinations of the TV industry. Stelter has found that it's easier to share stories, ideas, links and be able to ask for advice, contacts, and sources. He is always opening himself up to opinions, more points of view and more sources. Likewise, users send Stelter feedback and actually like to contribute because they feel more connected. He is a real person they can interact with.
Watch Daniel Victor, the twenty-four year old reporter for The (Harrisburg, Pa.) Patriot-News. Victor is trying his hand at mobile journalism, and he's convinced that community-building and crowdsourcing are the two biggest keys to journalism's future. Victor experimented with a Ning network that ultimately didn't work out, but it hasn't deterred him from innovating. Victor's latest venture is a blog where Victor asks his reader's to be his assignment editor. Readers are, literally, his assignment editors — researching, contributing ideas and suggesting stories.
Lastly… INNOVATE!
The most marked characteristic of beatbloggers is that they all took it upon themselves to pitch new ideas to their editors and take on radical experiments that had never been attempted in the world of journalism. A true beatblogger never stops trying to innovate and create new ways of using the community and social media tools to improve journalism. Don't be afraid to use your own methods. And when you do, be sure to send us your work our way!
Did this article help? Comments or questions? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments or send a tweet to @MsBeat.
Podcast: Conducting meetups/office hours to connect with readers
Monica Guzman has been conducting meetups to connect with readers, build sources and find out what her readers want her and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to cover.
The fate of the PI is very much up in the air, but Guzman and her colleagues are still innovating and pushing the practice. Guzman in particular has been innovative with her work on The Big Blog, and her weekly meetups fit in well with her blogging.
Guzman began doing the meetups so she could get out of the office and meet her readers. Guzman's job is to be a guide to Seattle and to help spur conversations on the PI's Web site. A big part of her job is connecting with readers and cultivating conversations on the PI Web site, and it made sense for her to continue that in person.
"The way I thought of it was office hours," she said. "If the point of my blog and the point of what I'm trying to do as a journalist is to find new ways to connect with people, why not do it in person?"
Guzman patterned her office hours after the weekly office hours that her professors had in college. She wanted a regular space for readers to be able to drop in and say hi. She also wanted to give people a forum to express their thoughts.
"I like that idea of being available often," she said about why she decided to have the meetups weekly.
An average of about 10 people attend each session. She notifies readers about the meetups on her blog and on Twitter, and the meetups are at different venues around the city to encourage different people to attend. While there are regulars, the varying locations help ensure that the crowd is unique each week.
"The conversation is defined by the people there and what they want to talk about," she said. "There is no secret formula."
Guzman has begun bringing along special guests that her readers are interested in. These special guests can be prominent bloggers and community members that have stories and lessons to share. It's great if a story comes out of the interaction with her special guests, but it's not a requirement.
The meetups are casual without a set agenda. She doesn't generate a story out of each meetup, but story ideas have come out of her interactions with readers. She also has written stories based on what readers say at the meetups.
Ultimately, connecting more with her readers has allowed Guzman to do her job better.
"It absolutely helps me get to know the city better," she said.
Many journalists would balk at spending time on meetups, fearing that they would be too much effort for too little output. Guzman said she has not run into those problems. In fact, it takes very little effort to get a meetup going with Web tools like blogs and Twitter.
"It's kind of astonishing how little time and effort it actually takes," she said. "It just starts with, 'I'm going to be here.'"
Some other topics discussed:
- What problems has she faced with the meetups?
- How do her editors originally feel about the meetups? How did she convince them to let her work on something that doesn't always generate content?
- How have her editors and her coworkers' opinions changed of the meetups?
- Do any of her coworkers also conduct meetups?
Click here to stream the interview. Or download the MP3.
Leaderboard for week of 12-22-08: The best of the best
We thought we'd end this year with some of this year's pace setters in the world of beat blogging.
These are some of best beat bloggers out there, and these people are constantly trying new ways to innovate. We do try to present a diversity of beat reporters on this blog, but on any given week, any one of these beat bloggers could be on the Leaderboard. Every week they are pushing the practice.
If you're a journalist and you want to learn how to harness social media and other Web tools better, I strongly recommend you follow these beat bloggers every week.
DISD blog | The Dallas Morning News
- This award goes to both Kent Fischer and Tawnell Hobbs. They have produced one of the best beat blogs around.
- Who said that people don't want to read about topics like education? The DISD blog is on track for more than 1,500,000 page views in its first year. That easily surpassed expectations. Just think of the page views that this blog could get if Fischer is able to build that blog on steroids that he is planning.
- Keep in mind that both Fischer and Hobbs also write for the print edition. This is a pretty impressive start for these two reporters, especially since their beat isn't the easiest to get page views with.
- Perhaps the greatest success of the DISD blog is how active the community is around it. It has really spurred conversation and given people almost a public town hall where they can discuss the Dallas school district.
- You know how you surpass expectations? You provide in-depth coverage, including live blogging big events. You also provide a fantastic place for people to express themselves. And finally, you provide a community where people want to help you out.
- When you do that, your community can help you uncover big stories. They can also act as a truth squad by fact checking what public figures say.
- People will be more likely to be active in your community if you acknowledge when they write something smart. That's why Fischer started hoisting comments.
Eric Berger | The Houston Chronicle
- The SciGuy is one of the most innovative beat reporters around. Some of the things he does aren't exactly social media or Web related per se, but they rock nonetheless. He is the master at building a community.
- No, technically conducting random drawings for science books does not count as beat blogging, but it is one hell of a way to build a community and build user loyalty.
- Berger is sent many science books over the course of a year for review purposes. He thought it would be a good idea to conduct a random drawing for the five best books he received this year.
- Want to enter the drawing? All you have to do is leave a comment on his post about the book. So, not only is Berger finding a good way to recycle these books, but he also managed to get people talking about science topics. Check out all the wonderful comments left on that post.
- Plus, these posts might be a way to get people who have never commented before to start commenting. Why not do something like this?
- Berger does other innovative things, like asking his readers to be his assignment editor.
- Berger also understands that his users know more than he does.
Monica Guzman | Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- Want to know how to get a conversation started? Just follow what Guzman does. Her job is centered around getting people talking.
- One of Guzman's core jobs is to analyze posts to cultivate conservations. She reads what her colleagues write and tries to find interesting jumping off points for discussion.
- For Guzman, cultivating conversations is a great way to build a community. Ultimately, building a community is at the core of beat blogging.
- We often call beat blogging a sort of Rolodex 2.0. It greatly expands the number of available sources that a beat reporter has access to. But the only way to meaningfully expand that network of sources is to cultivate a community.
- Guzman is also one of the most active beat bloggers on Twitter.
Jon Ortiz | The Sacramento Bee
- Ortiz has only been beat blogging for about six months, but he has easily been one of the most innovative and adventurous around. Perhaps because he is new to blogging he is more willing to take risks and try new things.
- Whatever the reason, The State Worker blog is a most follow. He has developed several distinct features that help break up the flow of his blog.
- His "Blog back" feature is something every beat blogger should copy.
- Ortiz has launched another new feature recently. This one he calls "From the notebook." This feature is extra tidbits of information that don't make it into columns or stories that Ortiz writes.
- This is another one of those features that Ortiz created that doesn't take a lot of time, but it provides his users with something of value.
- Ortiz launched his blog early so he could cover the budget crisis in California as it broke. It turned out to be a momentous decision for Ortiz. Timing can have a big impact on the success of a blog.
Leaderboard for week of 11-17-08: blog back edition
This week we examine some new ways to get people talking.
You'll see some familiar faces and a new one. All three are beat bloggers worth flowingly on a daily basis. They have so many lessons to teach us all.
We tackle cultivating communities and the wisdom of the crowd this week. Keep sending those nominees in!
Jon Ortiz | Sacramento Bee
- Ortiz recently launched a cool new feature, "blog backs." It's a great feature to spur better communication and conversations with users.
- This is how Ortiz describes blog backs: "review your thoughtful and provocative online comments, amplify points, answer questions, correct our mistakes and humbly accept your warranted criticism."
- He takes good comments from users, elevates them and then responds to them. He also links back to the original post that spurred each comment.
- This feature is a bit like hoisting comments. But the added twist of responding to and clarifying users comments makes this a much richer feature.
Brian Krebs | The Washington Post
- Krebs runs the Security Fix blog. It's a fantastic computer security beat blog. Almost any beat can benefit from the wisdom of the crowd, but a beat like computer security can really benefit from that wisdom. Slashdot has proven over the years that it takes a community of computer and technology experts and geeks to accurately understand many computer and technology topics.
- Krebs deserves making the Leaderboard for his work on exposing a U.S. Web hosting firm, McColo Corp., that security experts said was responsible for more than 75% of global junk mail. But this nomination goes beyond that.
- Because Krebs has cultivated a strong community, he is able to get first-hand accounts from users about how their network spam has dropped dramatically. Krebs and his community can tell a much richer portrait of this and other stories than either could do alone.
- Krebs has created a community of knowledgeable users that can help him report and share links and information with each other. He mixes it up in the comments after his posts with users and often provides more information and links. There are some really great conversations going on Security Fix.
Monica Guzman | Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- Guzman is one of the best in the business when it comes to cultivating a community. She had two nominees this week for the Leaderboard.
- This post ("Should civil rights be up for popular vote?") probably didn't take Guzman a lot of time to create, but it accomplishes two things. First, it links to interesting content from the Post-Intelligencer that has already been created and drives to traffic to that content. Second, it has been a major conversation starter. Proposition 8 has been a hot-button issue around the country.
- Her other nominee, "Spare some change for Starbucks?" is another fantastic way to get people talking and consuming more Post-Intelligencer content. This post was spurred by a story that said Starbucks' profits dropped 97 percent, reader reaction to that story and a witty editorial cartoon. She used those three to get people talking some more. Part of cultivating a community is knowing what gets people talking.


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You must be wondering how to use a flash drive with iPad when it doesn't have a USB port. actually this is not an ordinary flash drive. this flash drive with your iPad wirelessly and it can be used to transfer all data you want.
The iPad USB flash drive works as a USB flash drive which allows you to store your data files and media content. this device also includes a 8GB SD card slot for data expansion and supports up to 32GB of SD card. and also this flash drive stores enough juice to remain connected to your iPad for up to 5 hours. and It's able to wirelessly share files with your iPad even from 150 feet's away.
This awesome gadget is now available on Hammacher for $160.


text:
United States Bankruptcy Court
Written Opinion/Decision signed on 5/10/2005 on Kmart's Motion to Lift the Stay with Respect to Certain Stores. (related document(s)[1939])
Written Opinion/Decision signed on 5/10/2005 on Cross-Motion Based on Section 365(e)(2). Modified on 5/11/2005
Opinion signed on 4/18/2005 On Motion To Reopen And Enforce Confirmation Order. (related document(s)[3809])
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Fight Club
by Chuck Palahniuk
Other Citizens
Character Analysis
There are a few other minor characters scuttling around in Fight Club. They're not part of fight club or Project Mayhem, but they have an impact on our narrator's life and the story, so they're worth checking out.
The Named
Aside from the major players, Tyler gives us the names of a few others:
• His fellow waiters: Albert, Len, Jerry, and Leslie.
• Walter, the guy from Microsoft who takes an interest in our narrator's injuries.
• Raymond K. Hessel, the convenience store worker who almost becomes a human sacrifice.
Yep, that's about it.
So what do all these named individuals have in common? For starters, it seems our narrator only gives us the names of people in his economic class or below. Why? Maybe because, according to Tyler and Project Mayhem, names have power. People in power don't need any more, so why talk about them by name? They think of the people below them as objects, so Tyler's just returning the favor.
Raymond K. Hessel
So what about this guy who gets a first name, a last name, and an initial? Raymond is on the receiving end of Tyler's main message: stop conforming to what society wants you to be, and work toward what you want to be. Tyler tells him, "I'd rather kill you than see you working a shit job for just enough money to buy cheese and watch television" (20.52). Forceful enough? We don't get to follow up on Raymond K. Hessel, but here's hoping he's achieving his dreams and buying some good cheese. Like Blue Stilton or something.
The Nameless
Here are a few people whose names we don't know:
• The president of the projectionists' union
• The manager of the Pressman Hotel
• Our narrator's boss
• The rich people in the pee-in-perfume story.*
What do these people all have in common? Power.
The Boss
Our narrator doesn't have a problem with his boss on any personal level. He actually feels pity for him. In his opinion, the boss is a slave to pointless routine, wearing certain color ties on certain days of the week. While our narrator is fantasizing about the power he feels during fight club, "[His] boss tells Microsoft how he chose a particular shade of pale cornflower blue for an icon" (6.19). We're probably supposed to be thinking, the boss may be in power, but what purpose does his life serve?
And that's why Tyler chooses his boss for a human sacrifice. (Totally natural reaction, right?) Our narrator is conflicted about it, saying, "I sort of liked my boss. [...] Except Tyler didn't like my boss" (26.32-34). He wasn't a bad person, but in Tyler's eyes, he was hardly a person at all. He let society's arbitrary rules run his life. And to Tyler, that's a fate worse than death. In fact, to Tyler, death is a mercy to that kind of person.
* Their names, Nina and Walter, do slip out in the end, when their relationship has dissolved into anarchy and they've been brought down a few notches.


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- Seasonal (15)
She'll be tickled pink when she sees this costume. Sew it together or use fabric glue. The design is simple. And the headband can be made quickly with inexpensive craft supplies. A store-bought shirt and leggings complete the outfit.
Catch the Backyardigans on Nick Jr.
Print the Uniqua Costume Templates and enlarge them to fit your child. Use the enlarged templates to cut out the body pieces from the pale pink felt.
Sew or glue the side seams, shoulder seams, and crotch seam of the body pieces. (If gluing, turn the dress inside-out after done so the seams will be on the inside of the dress.)
Cut out a few big circles from the hot pink felt and glue them to the costume.
Cut a long slit down the center back of the costume. With scissors, snip the ribbon into six 6-inch lengths At equal intervals, attach the ribbons by sewing or with glue to create ties that will close up the back of the costume. Set aside.
If you are making a headband, cut stiff pink felt into a 6-inch x 2-inch strip. Poke one small hole at each end and insert fine elastic; knot in place. The elastic will go under your child�s chin to hold the headband in place. Then, poke two holes in the top and insert the pipecleaners or glittered floral wire to make the antennae. Glue to secure. NOTE: If you are using a storebought headband, simply twist the antennae onto the top of the headband and glue in place. Let dry. Coil the antennae.
With face paint, apply a pale pink undercoat, then add hot pink dots.
Dress your child in the shirt and leggings. Then have her pull on the body suit. Stuff it with fill to make it puffy. Tie up the back closures. And then have her put on the antennae.
Make this mobile and swing into spring!
Sail away on this boatload of family crafty fun!
Bubble-filled Backyardigans buds for squeaky clean bathtime fun
Love's in full bloom with this Backyardigans craft
Surround your Valentine with a circle of hearts!
Goody! Goody! Some cool Backyardigans party favors
Take Tasha trick-or-treating!
Awesome antlers announce that Tyrone is making the rounds this Halloween!
Good old-fashioned fun--indoors or out!
Orange ya gonna put Tyrone the moose together?
Pablo's looking eggscellent.
Uniqua's a good egg and a fun do-together craft.
Adorn your table with this easy, eye-popping Backyardigans craft
Arctic-worthy warmth inspired by Pablo
Wrap up your little penguins in something warm and friendly after bathtime.
Your little kangaroos will hop into this warm and cute bath towel.
Get hoppin' with the Backyardigans at your next play date.
Wrap up your little hippos in something warm, friendly, and smooth after bathtime.
Proudly display those family photos in this homemade magnetic clay frame.
Calm nighttime fears with a friendly face!
Welcome to a Knight at the Theater
Dress your preschooler as his favorite penguin pal!
Little puppets for little hands
Masters of Disguise? Or Goody Bags?
Dad will get a charge out of this holiday gift!
Here's the "PAW"fect accessory for your at-home PAW Patrol adventures!
Here's the perfect accessory for your at-home PAW Patrol adventures!
Celebrate summertime by crafting this 3D door sign
Wish Dad a very special day with this pop up card from his favorite pups!
Say goodbye to the sizzling summer heat with this paw-some fan!
This keepsake homemade gift for Mom will last long after the special day is over!
This little card carries a BIG message for Mom!
Add some Easter cheer to your home with these egg wreaths!
Invite your child's favorite Nick Jr. friends to the kids table with this printable craft
Turn your paper plate into the perfect table topper!
Create your very own trick-or-treat bag with Dora!
Take these pups on a Halloween treat-or-tricking adventure!
Kids can help get ready for the feast by adding color to this printable centerpiece!
Let PAW Patrol lead your kids on a fun night with these stencils!
This goody bag is dressed up for Dad's special day!
Dress up cones with cute Nick Jr. characters!
Lalaloops-ify your little doll with these printable picture frames!
Make a door sign that will bloom in any room!
Shower your little flower with quality crafting time!
Create this simple paper basket and make it a Hoppy Easter!
Print, fold, & fill with sweet surprises!
The perfect gift for kids to give away on Valentine's Day!
Make lollipops even sweeter with these a-DORA-ble covers
Give your sweet a bag full of Umiriffic treats!
Make a do-together craft kids can proudly display on their door
A picture-perfect present for you and your little bunny!
Make an indoor winter wonderland that somebunny will love!
Turn paper bags into your favorite math-loving team!
Kids can hop on over to the Christmas tree to hang this charming decoration!
Peter & pals are dashing through the snow-- carrying something sweet, you should know!


text:
Definition of invertase in English:
noun[mass noun] Biochemistry
An enzyme produced by yeast which catalyses the hydrolysis of sucrose, forming invert sugar.
Example sentences
- Enzymes shown are invertase, sucrose synthase, cytosolic AGPase, and plastidic AGPase.
- Stressed cells also had higher activities of sucrose cleaving enzymes, such as alkaline invertase and sucrose synthase.
- Grape sugar is mainly composed of glucose and fructose, produced after sucrose hydrolysis by invertase during grapevine maturation.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: in|vert|ase
Definition of invertase in:
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= trending


text:
New Mid Tower chassis for system building meeting the latest thermal requirements for dual core cpu's
- Front door opened quick release
- Piano finish to lower part of front panel
- 3 x 5.25" included 1 x Steathed DVD cover with blue highlight led
- USB 2.0 x 2 | HD Audio to front panel
- Vented for dual core systems to side
- Excellent heat dissipation capabilities
- Riveted SECC metal frame
- ABS Plastic Front panel
- Removable side panel with grips for easy removal and maintenance
- Side Panels with filter for best ventilation
- Expansion Slots 7
- For Standard ATX and Micro ATX boards
- Dimensions W172; D 410mm; H 400mm
- ROHS Compliant
- Audio Output: Y - HD Audio
- I/O Ports: 2 x USB 2.0
- Colour: Black
- Weight: 5000g
- Form Factor: Midi-tower
- Supported Motherboard Form Factor: ATX / Micro ATX
- Type: PC
- Material: 0.5mm SECC
- Ventilation Fans: External Drive bays: 3 x 5.25 / Internal Drive bays : 6 x 3.5 HDD
PSU Info
- 500w OEM PSU with Sata Support
- White boxed product only. For Retail color box version click here
- Product Code: PS-10 500w
- Power supply with efficient silent fan operation and in meeting the latest requirements for CPU and motherboard technology
- 24 pin ready; 2 x SATA;2 x 4 pin; 1 x 4 pin 12V connector
- Meets Intel v.2.03 enhancedl +12V
- 230V, Rear on/off power down button
- Over voltage and circuit protection +3.3,+5V,+12V
- 100% burn in and hipot tested, short circuit protection
- CE/TUV/FCC/UL approved; EMI filter built in
- For Intel and AMD; and all backward compatible CPU's
- ROHS Compliant
- Specification: Voltage 230V
- Cooling Rear 80mm Exhaust Fan
- Connectors 24pin +4 pin +12V |2 x SATA |2 x 4pin power | 1 x floppy connectors
- Voltage Load +3.3V 28A; +5V 30A; +12V 34A; -5V 0.3A; -12V 0.8A; +5Vsb 3.0A
Customer reviews
Write a review for the Best Value Midi-TowerCase +500W PSU (USB 2.0 + HD Audio) here!
Grab this case before it runs out!
Reviewed by Steve. Review Posted 14/11/2013
This is the 6th case i have brought for a cheap pc build, at £20.00 it's great value for money.
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
It works for me
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Posted 15/08/2012
Had an old pc need a new case found this with a psu pulled all my old parts out of the old pc and installed it to the new case now the system looks brand new again and everything works.
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
Good Value
Reviewed by Steve. Review Posted 19/06/2013
Case comes with a 500w PSU at £19.99, everything comes perfectly in its original box, Good value for the money
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
Great value case
Reviewed by Ma-Linny Lou Gifts. Review Posted 18/08/2013
I am not one for spending so much money on a case for system builds. I liked the look of this case so tried it out. It does come with a power supply which has 3 sata and 3 molex plugs but it is very light weight. I did not use this power supply but used a CIT black edition 500w.
The case is spacious with long cables for the jumpers, it comes with plenty of screws and standoffs. The case does not short out your mobo, unless you screw it directly to the backplate without standoffs, of which there are plenty off.
My headers had no problem with bad earthing so overall for the price of £20 I would give it 5 stars all the way.
Ideal budget case.
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
Great value
Reviewed by Ryan . Review Posted 28/08/2013
Case was a fiddle and the PSU sounds like a jet engine at over 200W no matter 500. The case is perfect and does the job you do not really need anything more, but i would recommend getting a corsair or seasonic PSU of here they have some weight and wont fry your computer.
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
Not too bad.
Reviewed by Tim. Review Posted 09/10/2014
This is a very lightweight case and the power supply is noisy. The panels are very flexible and fitting a fan to the side panels can cause it to vibrate.
Another thing is the front panel cables can be run just behind it to keep them out of the way but be very careful, the edges of the punched out panels have not been rounded off and are very sharp.
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
Case good, PSU poor
Reviewed by Adrian. Review Posted 23/02/2015
Case good and spacious for my MSI ATX mobo. Slots for Disk drives somewhat clunky to fit but got there.
Supplied PSU didn't have the 2 4 pin CPU power connectors for the MSI 970x mobo so I used my old Corsair PSU. When I re-used it in my old case, I found it had failed anyway even though brand new.
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
Front Panel Falt spoils nice case
Reviewed by Andy A. Review Posted 02/05/2012
As a budget case this fits the bill - top to bottom internal rack for multiple drives, fingerscrews for easy side removal and a 500W PSU included which is reasonable quiet. However I quickly discovered that the front Audio ports made a horrendous buzzing noise whenever a front USB device was plugged in. The rear audio port was fine. Upon removal of the front header I discovered that the USB and Audio are grounded together which was the cause of the fault. After some circuit board modifications and A new ground cable soldered in place I resolved the fault and now have crystal clear sound. Oh - and the Hard drive LED light had popped out internally so I now have to reglue that too.
If you're on s desperate budget and don't mind a bit of soldering then this case is fine - but if you're a beginner or new to system building avoid it - there is a serious design flaw in the front header which is a crying shame as the case design with it's blue LED power button is aesthetically pleasing.
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
Rubbish do not buy
Reviewed by Paul. Review Posted 16/04/2013
DO NOT buy this case, it touches the motherboard when you screw it down on the metal mounting plate shorting it out and blowing it.
I now have to buy a new motherboard.
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
The opinions expressed in this reviews section are those of our customers and not of BT Shop. Nothing contained herein amends BT Shop's terms and conditions.


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Multimedia designer Shukhrat Pardaev assembled this beautiful tilt-shift video of San Francisco, following in the footsteps of shorts using the same miniaturization technique on New York and Sydney.
"San Francisco: The Beautiful City" brightens and cleans up its namesake, as tilt-shifting tends to do. All the more reason for the next video to get into the historically gay Castro district and other city lively neighborhoods, as suggested by YouTube commenters.
[via Bits & Pieces, Laughing Squid]


text:
Hail the size of cars? Or Dancing With The Stars?
There's a stewing web debate today over the decision by WFAA-TV (Channel 8) not to pre-empt Tuesday night's two-hour season finale of Dancing With The Stars to provide uninterrupted live coverage of the big storms that rolled through North Texas.
The other major local stations abandoned at least parts of their regular programming to report on high winds and rotating high winds and tornado watches and tornado warnings and hail that rapidly eclipsed one metaphor after another. (Pea-sized, quarter-sized, golf-ball-sized, baseball-sized, softball-sized, lawn-statue-of-a-jockey-sized, Hyundai-sized… Sorry. I get carried away, metaphorically.)
Channel 8, instead, stuck with Dancing With The Stars, cutting to chief meteorologist Pete Delkus during commercial breaks. In addition, the station at times went to a split screen, muting the DWTS audio so Delkus could bring viewers the latest update.
But WFAA wasn't about to scrap the highly anticipated season finale of ABC-TV's most popular program. (Spoiler alert: Kirstie Alley lost. Hines Ward won.)
A Twitter search for "Pete Delkus" yields a rash of harsh comments, some not printable in what we used to call a family newspaper. Most, but not all, lambaste WFAA for its decision to stick with DWTS.
"In this case, screw Kirstie Alley," wrote Mike Orren, the founder of Pegasus News. (Umm, let me get back to you on that one, Mike.)
On his blog, Orren notes that Delkus at one point sent out a tweet addressing his station's decision.
"been a difficult night trying to balance the most popular show on abc with severe storm coverage," it said. "thanks for your understanding."
That tweet was later deleted, without explanation.
Ed Bark — for my money still the most readable TV critic around — defended WFAA's decision on his blog, Uncle Barky's Bytes.
First, he noted — rightly — that if Channel 8 had pre-empted the DWTS finale, it would have taken "a savage beating from thousands of area viewers."
Second, he noted — rightly — that for all the breathless coverage of the storm, there wasn't a huge amount of injury or destruction. This wasn't, in other words, Joplin, Mo., or Tuscaloosa, Ala., or anything remotely close.
So was Channel 8′s approach to the story sufficient?
"Yeah, I think it was," Ed writes. "Had a tornado actually touched down in a densely populated area, WFAA8 and its rivals obviously would have cut the cords with their respective high-powered network programs. Does anyone really doubt that?"
(Myself, I watched the Canucks eliminate the Sharks in double overtime. Great game.)
PHOTO: The owner of an SUV photographs what's left of his vehicle after Tuesday night's storms. A tree limb crashed down on the vehicle, which was parked near Travis and Haskell streets in East Dallas. (JIM MAHONEY/DMN)


text:
I played the video clip like 3 times to make sure what I was watching was truly a Lebanese artist. What would be funny though is to have an Arabic version of it!
Thanks Rita
I played the video clip like 3 times to make sure what I was watching was truly a Lebanese artist. What would be funny though is to have an Arabic version of it!
Thanks Rita
So based on the feedback I received in my previous post I got myself an MTC Touch line the day I arrived to Lebanon. I also subscribed to their 500MB package for $19 which is slightly less then what I pay back in Kuwait for the same amount of bandwidth.
My experience didn't start positively. I got the line and subscribed to Mobile internet at 6PM but I only had my internet activated the next morning. Then I only had EDGE not 3G. I called up customer support and found it very frustrating.
First of all it takes a few minutes of redialing to actually connect to 111. Then when you connect you are FORCED to listen to all the menu options. You can't skip by pressing the number you want, it doesn't work that way. You need to hear the automated machine read out ALL the options and only once she is done you can select an option. So what should be a 10 second process is suddenly a minute long. I spoke to customer support 3 times and it was frustrating all 3 times since they couldn't solve my issue. One guy said I should wait till its 24 hours since I signed up, another said to call again after 24 hours and they would register a complaint, another said I should visit the service center. When I asked for the APN information one guy told me he didn't have it and I should visit their website. Actually one guy refused to file a complaint even because according to him the service was working since I got EDGE. I told him aren't you guys advertising 3G? Aren't you guys advertising the fastest mobile internet? My phone works with 3G and I'm only getting EDGE not the 3G you promised so the service is NOT working.
Anyway finally after spending around 20 minutes on the line mostly on hold a guy got back to me after discussing it with one of his IT guys. This is how I was able to activate 3G on my iPhone 4s based on their instructions:
– Go to network settings and choose Alfa as my operator
– Then after I do that I should swap it back to automatic
– Turn off and on the iPhone
– Voila, 3G is now active
I thought that was strange but hey, it worked and that's all I cared for. If the guy told me to stand on my foot while shaking the phone over my head I would have done that if it meant getting 3G working.
And yes, 3G on the iPhone is great. It's fast and I love it. Earlier I went and parked under this old railway track in Jounieh and got online with my MacBook while tethering to my iPhone and the connection was great. I used to hate coming to Lebanon because of the terribly slow internet connection but now it's suddenly become a joy. I also have 3G up in my house in Seheili (around 10 minutes after Jeita) which is also great. So right now I'm extremely happy with my 3G on MTC Touch.
I am not sure if it's a nightclub/pub or a restaurant but it's a risky investment if you ask me to open a nightclub/pub on the road facing ATCL. The only pub that opened and survived in that area is Estredite and we all know why.
There's an army base nearby as well, so don't expect the soldiers to be very happy if there's noise and traffic.
1- Go to the following [link]
2- Save the picture or check its properties. You will get "Samir-Geagea-at-Bkerkeh-photo-Aldo-Ayoub-18_resize-640×360".
I didn't know Samir Geagea is the english translation of البطريرك الراعي.
I spotted this building while stuck in traffic in Bourj Hammoud. I like those old buildings but I don't understand why they built the stairs to lead to the balcony. I don't know how they came up with the building on the right as well.
It looks like someone finally found a use for those idle trucks and cranes at Marina Dbayyeh.
I read on JadAoun's blog yesterday that Kuwait has officially banned all work permits for Lebanese and that other GCC countries will follow suit.
I don't know what's the reason behind such a decision, but I assume it has to do with Lebanese engaging in politics, especially after what happened in Bahrain. This decision, if followed by other GCC countries, will have serious economic repercussions on Lebanon as unemployment is already on the rise.
It looks like the Lebanese restaurant Republic has decided to go against Obama and democrats in the upcoming US elections.
The Lebanese rock band JLP will be performing at ABC Ashrafieh on 16/17/18/22 and 23rd of December. They'll be playing 2 sets consisting of popular rock and Christmas songs, one set at 7pm the other at 8:30pm. For more information check out the poster [Here]
Does anyone else think that having an airplane crashing into a damn tree isn't really the best idea for an airport to put up as Christmas decoration? I have a flight from Jeddah to Beirut tonight, and I really hope we don't end up recreating this scene (Although it would be a bit hard to find a Christmas tree in the desert)


text:
30 pointsJoined: July 22, 2012
- Location:
- None
- Current status:
- No badge
- Type of camper:
- Family with young children
- Prefers:
- Campsite camping
Write a review and win a £250 Amazon.co.uk gift certificate!
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|Site name
|Month stayed
|Date reviewed
|Booked on Pitchup.com
|Cardigan Caravan and Camping Site
|Ceredigion, West Wales
|May 2013
|Aug 2013
|Well run, quiet site, conveniently located
|Grondre Holiday Park
|Pembrokeshire, South Wales
|Mar 2013
|Apr 2013
|Lovely site, well worth a visit
|Llwyngwair Manor Holiday Park
|Pembrokeshire, South Wales
|Jul 2012
|Jul 2012
|Fantastic Site in a Beautiful Setting
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text:
Bellarmine Prep forward Rex Bodoia took advantage of some serious space in the paint, and his dominant effort helped Bellarmine Prep claim a spot in the district playoffs with a 70-56 win over Yelm at home tonight.
Bodoia was 11-for-16 from the field for a game-high 23 points, and added a game-high 19 rebounds, setting the tone from the very start. The junior was 5-for-5 in the first quarter for 10 points, and his rebound and put-back at the start of the second quarter put the Lions up 24-16. Malachi Flynn put Bellarmine up 33-21 with a three-pointer midway through the period, which tied the Lions' largest lead of the game.
Yelm closed to within 35-27 at the break on a layup in the final minute by Christian Davis, who was 6-for-9 in the first half for 15 of his team-high 20 points. Elijah Fuller – who finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Tornadoes – nailed a three-pointer with 3:30 to go in the third quarter to pull within 46-42. But Bodoia went back to work, driving for layups at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth to push the Lions back to a 56-44 lead. The Lions' Mar'kese Jackson scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to help Bellarmine Prep pull away.
Will Wolf added 12 points and six rebounds for the Lions, and Carson Hollyoak finished with 10 points. The Lions finished the Narrows 4A schedule on a six-game winning streak, moving into a second-place tie with South Kitsap for second place. The Lions will face the Wolves – who won 63-46 over first-place Stadium – on Saturday at Stadium High School to determine the second and third seeds into the district tournament.
YELM: Christian Davis 20, Elijah Fuller 17, Chad Davis 10, Christopher Burian 6, Paul Cruz 2, Rylan Carrier 1
BELLARMINE PREP: Rex Bodoia 23, Mar'kese Jackson 14, Will Wolf 12, Carson Hollyoak 10, Malachi Flynn 6, Garrett McKay 3, Alec Foege 2


text:
When Katrina hit, like many people, I was deeply affected by what was going on there. Although I live in Atlanta and work at the UPS Corporate office, I felt like I needed to do something. So when I received an e-mail asking for volunteers to reopen the New Orleans package facility, I jumped at the opportunity. I left the day after Thanksgiving, about two months after the storm.
I knew things were going to be strange when on my first night, we got off the exit ramp to the facility and were stopped by U.S. Army Reservists carrying machine guns. We showed our UPS ID's and they let us pass. It was soon clear why the heavy security was needed – the surrounding area was abandoned. There were homes there, but they were visibly damaged and debris was everywhere. Trash was in huge piles. Cars were strewn all over, in ditches and in the middle of the road. It looked like a war zone. Everyone in the immediate area had been evacuated and still had not returned.
Upon entering the facility, we could see the waterline on the walls, 9 feet high. I worked the twilight sort and preload from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. for three weeks, including Sunday's. I had one day off. Even though I had never worked in the operation, on my second day I was put in charge of a bay with ten rental trucks, and given two helpers to load them. Many of the package cars had been relocated out of the danger zone, so we had to use moving trucks instead. With a skeleton crew, the packages came fast and furious, but we threw ourselves into the task at hand. Working a double shift (sort and preload) for that many days in a row really wore me out; my knees were on fire for the last week. But I pushed through the pain to get the job done, because I knew it was for a good cause.
Everyone I worked with was from another part of the country, including the drivers. We all had answered the call to get the packages moving again in New Orleans. Since people were just starting to come back home, and were desperately in need of supplies, we felt that the packages we were getting out were incredibly important.
There are a few key things that really stick with me from that experience. First, I am thankful for what I have. But for the grace of God, it can be taken away, as it was for so many good people in New Orleans. And I saw the power of pulling together to get things done under difficult circumstances. I was glad to do my small part to help New Orleans get back on its feet. It's an experience I'll never forget.
|Caring for Communities
|Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans


text:
* This is the Consumer Version. *
Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
- Rickettsial and Related Infections
- Overview of Rickettsial Infections
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
- Other Spotted Fevers
Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are tick-borne infections that cause fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, and a general feeling of illness (malaise). These symptoms begin suddenly.
Ehrlichia and Anaplasma bacteria, like rickettsiae, can live only inside the cells of an animal or a person. However, unlike rickettsiae, these bacteria inhabit white blood cells ( Ehrlichia in monocytes and Anaplasma in granulocytes).
Ehrlichiosis is most common in the southeastern and south central United States. It also occurs in Europe. Anaplasmosis occurs in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic states, upper Midwest and West Coast of the United States. These infections are most likely to develop between spring and late fall, when ticks are most active. Infection is spread to people through tick bites, sometimes resulting from contact with animals that carry the lone star tick, brown dog tick, or deer tick. A few people have developed anaplasmosis after they had a blood transfusion from a person who had been recently infected or who was infected but had no symptoms.
Symptoms of the two infections are similar. Symptoms usually begin about 12 days after a tick bite. Symptoms begin suddenly. They include fever, chills, muscle aches, weakness, nausea and/or vomiting, cough, headache, and malaise.
A rash may develop on the torso, arms, and legs in some people with ehrlichiosis but is uncommon in people with anaplasmosis. Some people have no symptoms.
Ehrlichiosis may cause widespread blood clotting (disseminated intravascular coagulation), severe malfunction (failure) of several organs, seizures, and coma. Symptoms are more severe in people with a weakened immune system (due to a disorder such as HIV infection or to drugs such as corticosteroids). Death is uncommon but can occur in people with a weakened immune system or who are not treated soon enough.
Doctors do blood tests, which may detect a low white blood cell count, a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia), a high level of liver enzymes, and abnormal blood clotting. But these findings occur in many other disorders. Blood tests to check for antibodies to these bacteria may be helpful, but results are usually not positive until several weeks after the illness begins. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique may be more useful. It increases the amount of the bacteria's DNA and thus makes the bacteria easier to identify.
Sometimes white blood cells contain characteristic spots (morulae) that can be seen under a microscope. These spots occur in 20 to 80% of people with anaplasmosis and can help confirm the diagnosis. They rarely occur in ehrlichiosis.
If people who may have been exposed to infected ticks have typical symptoms, treatment is usually started before test results are available. When treatment is started early, most people respond rapidly and well. A delay in treatment may lead to serious complications, including death in 2 to 5% of people.
Doxycycline is usually used, People take this antibiotic until they improve and have had no fever for 24 to 48 hours, but they must take it for at least 7 days. Some people continue to have headaches and feel weak and generally unwell for weeks after treatment.
To prevent these disorders, people should take measures to prevent tick bites (see Preventing Tick Bites).
Drugs Mentioned In This Article
Generic NameSelect Brand Names
DoxycyclinePERIOSTAT, VIBRAMYCIN
- Rickettsial and Related Infections
- Overview of Rickettsial Infections
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
- Other Spotted Fevers
Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
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* This is the Consumer Version. *