text:
Special Focus: The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
By John S. Powell, Sergeant (Retired), University of California Police Department, Berkeley, California, and Marilyn B. Ward, Manager, Orange County Public Safety Communications Division, and Chair, National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
4.9-gigahertz Working GroupThe NPSTC 4.9-gigahertz Working Group was formed to address issues surrounding the 2002 allocation of 50 megahertz of new spectrum to public safety in the 4.9-gigahertz band to support the broadband2 wireless needs of local and state public safety agencies, the largest single allocation of spectrum ever made to local and state public safety. The primary purpose of the working group is to ensure that the public safety community is able to leverage the low cost off-the-shelf equipment available in the adjacent unlicensed band that is seeing increased use across much of the globe for wireless broadband hotspots (such as those at local coffee shops and in airports), as well as in businesses and private residences. Public safety agencies across the United States are already taking advantage of this technology in these same unlicensed bands, often with little added protection of critical and sensitive information and with no priority over any other user in this shared environment. NPSTC's task force is working diligently to identify and understand these current applications as well as potential future uses of this spectrum. In support of interoperability and competitive procurement, the development of technical standards is currently under discussion with the Telecommunications Industry Association. At the same time, NPSTC is working with industry and standards organizations to ensure that products meet the added mobility and security requirements essential to properly support public safety applications.Project MesaNPSTC has taken an active role in an international activity known as Mobility for Emergency and Safety Applications, or Mesa. The Mesa mission is to identify standards and technologies for the emerging use of broadband technologies by the worldwide public protection and disaster response communities. Project Mesa is jointly sponsored by two standards definition organizations (SDOs), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, which represents the countries of the European Union, and the Telecommunications Industry Association, which represents the United States. There are different classes of members, including agency membership for public safety agencies from both continents. Mesa currently includes members from all regions of the world, and SDOs from other parts of the world are considering joining this effort as sponsors. Its activities are clearly being driven by European and North American public safety users, with the important realization that the processes and procedures, as well as the technologies chosen to support them, are not all that different from one continent to the next. To the degree that these commonalities can be leveraged in the global marketplace, public safety will benefit from more equipment sources and increased competitiveness.
NPSTC Is . . .Volunteers and Leaders in Public Safety CommunicationsWorking to ensure standards for new technologiesProviding input and leadership to regulatory bodiesProviding a forum for discussion and consensusDeveloping positions and input to areas impacting public safety communicationsProviding technical and operational expertise to decision makers regarding public safety communicationsResponding to Federal Communications Commission rule makingsProviding technical and operational expertise from real first-responder perspective
The Future: Software Defined Radio Software defined radio (SDR) is important to law enforcement's communication future. Now local and state public safety first responder agencies are spread across 10 discrete land mobile radio frequency bands from 30 megahertz to 869 megahertz and employing a number of different air-interface protocols, bringing about the lack of interoperability. The lack of interoperability is the most significant problem cited in after-action reports from major public safety related incidents. SDR promises perhaps the best long-term interoperability solution, providing the field officer with a personal communication unit designed to allow the officer to communicate in real-time with anyone inside the limits established by agency managers. However, the technology still faces significant technical challenges as it grows from its infancy at the U.S. Department of Defense and commercial development enterprises.Operational requirements highlighted by the horrific events of September 11 are driving agencies to demand dramatically improved interoperability between users. The solutions being implemented today, primarily cross-band links, are not spectrum efficient, nor do they provide needed coverage in many situations. Patch systems require one radio frequency path in each band for each conversation path to be linked, channels that must be taken from the available inventory of one of the participating agencies in each band. Coverage is limited to that area that is covered by the overlapping radio frequency footprint of all of the involved channels. Couple these limitations with the operational requirements to set up and monitor each of the patch links, along with the limitations of the patch technology itself (delays in channel keying, inability to detect busy talk groups on trunking systems, and the lack of support for end-to-end encryption) and the usability of these systems can quickly reduce their benefit to interoperability.The real need for a public safety officer is to carry a communication unit that offers the ability to communicate with others in real time. That need must be supported radio-to-radio without the use of existing infrastructure for on-scene use at many incidents.The future is software defined radio, offering the potential of providing a multiband platform that supports a number of different public safety waveforms. A waveform is the software package that defines the air interface and protocols necessary to enable communications using a particular technology. Project 25 Phase I, M/A-COM EDACS, and Motorola SmartNet are examples of public safety waveforms that could be supported on an SDR platform. Equipping a field officer with a radio that supported the waveforms of agencies in that geographic area, along with a common national interoperability waveform, would provide that officer with direct interoperability without the need for enabling infrastructure. Additionally, SDR offers important other benefits to public safety. The ability to download software onto an existing platform allows for the addition of new features to existing waveforms and supports forward migration to new technologies with new waveforms.SDR is not yet an on-the-street reality. In particular, the development of a public safety portable subscriber set is hindered by a number of technology requirements including battery capacity, antenna development and physical form factor. Overall product cost is also a concern. Finally, a major impediment to fielding a useful SDR product will be the licensing of intellectual property and patents. Each of the major public safety waveforms, with the exception of analog FM and Project 25 digital, will require negotiations with the manufacturers who own particular waveform patents, potentially introducing major delays in implementing SDR. However, SDR will be a reality in the next few years and it will be up to agency managers to determine its appropriate place within their community.Today the NPSTC is working with the Software Defined Radio Forum to answer recent questions posed by the FCC in this exciting new area of technology, answers that will shape the future of spectrum allocations and spectrum sharing for both commercial and government users for the foreseeable future. ResourcesThe NPSTC National Support Office maintains a Web site at www.npstc.org that provides access to current reports and publications and links to other public safety sites. It serves as the entry point to the CAPRAD system. Many Agile publications can be downloaded from the site. The NSO also has copies of an Agile interoperability resource CD that includes most recent National Institute of Justice publications related to public safety wireless activities. Of particular importance to police chiefs and to midlevel managers who have wireless communications responsibilities is the recently revised publication Understanding Wireless Communications in Public Safety. Authored by knowledgeable practitioners, this book is one of today's most authoritative and unbiased texts providing a high-level view of the many wireless issues and technologies impacting today's public safety communications centers and field services. Included on the CD, this and other publications are available in printed form from the NSO by calling 800-416-8086. 1The National Telecommunications and Information Administration regulates spectrum used by the federal government.2The term "broadband" generally describes the wireless transport of data at speeds of two megabits (250,000 characters) per second or more. For comparison, the typical telephone line modem today transmits data at 56,000 bits (7,000 characters) per second. Broadband wireless enables the real-time transport of photographs, videos, and large documents not possible across today's typical narrowband public safety radio systems. 3Agile and Safecom are two federally funded programs that are discussed in other articles in the communication series.
From The Police Chief, vol. 71, no. 4, April 2004. Copyright held by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 515 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA.


text:
Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit & the Biggest Flop of the Season, 1959 to 2009
Peter Filichia
Applause Books, 277 pp., $19.99 paperback
Reviewed by Harry Haun
It was the best of shows, it was the worst of shows — and both co-habit Peter Filichia's fun book like the swank apartment house sitting in the East Side squalor of Sidney Kingsley's "Dead End."
Oops, sorry! Not a musical — although perhaps it should be. Filichia would know. As Star-Ledger readers learned long ago, the theater critic really knows his onions. On the subject of musical theater, he has left the rest of us at the starting gate.
Hosting the Theatre World Awards every year, Filichia spews forth lively erudition-camouflaged-with-wit, so, finally and happily, Applause Books has provided some soft covers to catch his passionate outpourings about the state of song and dance.
As the subtitle promises, his book runs a gamut of strange bedfellows, from "The Sound of Music" and "The Pink Jungle" (which perished in the swamps of Boston, before Broadway) in 1959 to "Billy Elliot" and "9 to 5" in 2009. That's 100 shows with twin destinations (his criterion being how much a show makes or loses), with acres of anecdotes, both known and not-so-known.
Harry Haun, author of "Movie Quote Book," is a freelance writer from Manhattan.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Shortcut to Getting Elite Frequent-Flier Perks
'Status Matches' Let Travelers Switch Carrier Programs or Join Another
For travelers who are married to an airline's frequent-flier program but have a wandering eye for other airlines' great perks and deals, there is a way out. You can instantly divorce and remarry and take your silver, gold or platinum with you.
Across the airline industry, "status matches" have become a standard way to switch carriers, or just add another one to your list of regulars, and be an instant big shot. Send one airline a recent statement showing your top status on a competitor and the carrier will match it and let you keep it long-term if you hit travel targets that are relatively easy for road warriors within 90 days.
For many travelers, status is far more important than miles. Redeeming miles can be difficult and expensive, frustrating frequent fliers. The true benefits of frequent-flier loyalty are the upgrades, access to airport clubs, priority security and boarding lines, waivers on fees for baggage, special phone lines to airline agents and being at the top of standby and rebooking lists.
Status matches used to be secretive transactions, but now airlines post their poaching offers on their websites and in blast emails to travelers. Travelers track offers at online communities like FlyerTalk.com and pass along gossip like that American Airlines got particularly aggressive last year with United Airlines customers when United ran into computer problems and rampant delays.
Indeed, top-tier status giveaways have become so common that airlines face a backlash from travelers who earned their status the old-fashioned way, flying thousands and thousands of miles in a year.
Drew Foster, a longtime Executive Platinum customer on American who works in private equity in New York, said he has had a harder time getting upgrades and blames status giveaways. The problem became clear to him when traveling with his brother, a "Premier 1K" member at United who took American up on an offer for instant Executive Platinum status. Both 1K and Executive Platinum require logging more than 100,000 miles a year. His brother, who had hardly flown American, got upgraded on their flight and Mr. Foster didn't.
"They really stick it to the guys who hit the road hard each year," Mr. Foster said.
American says it tries to protect customers like Mr. Foster who earned status flying on American by withholding some benefits from new, status-match customers until they meet its 90-day trial requirements. It says it doesn't believe top-tier benefits have been eroded. "We are very sensitive to any dilution risk to our customers,'' said Bridget Blaise-Shamai, vice president of American's AAdvantage program.
For fliers with top-tier status at another airline, American will typically offer instant Executive Platinum status for 90 days and you can keep the status longer if you score 25,000 points within 90 days. You also get eight certificates for systemwide upgrades on American and partner airlines, representing tens of thousands of dollars on international trips. Points can be tougher to accumulate than miles since some deeply discounted tickets yield only half as many points as miles on a trip. But it's easier than racking up the 100,000 miles in a year required for Executive Platinum.
American sends status-match invitations to people who have American frequent-flier accounts and appear to fly more with other airlines, Ms. Blaise-Shamai said. American "sizes the customer" to determine what kind of offer the airline will make. "If we think there's more wallet to go after, we make a short-term proposal," she said.
American says it didn't target United customers during that airline's 2012 problems, but it did hear from United customers. "We are contacted every day by customers looking for status matches," Ms. Blaise-Shamai said.
A spokesman for United declined to comment.
Airlines say many customers use status matches to shift allegiance when their travel patterns change and their usual airline doesn't go where they want to go. As the economy picks up, airlines say they expect more status-match movement. When customers decide to take the 90-day challenge, they typically stay, airlines say. "Our capture rate is relatively high," said a spokesman for US Airways, though the company declines to disclose numbers.
Investment banker Daniel Mai in Sydney, Australia, used an American status match to get instant elite status on Qantas Airways and other Oneworld partner airlines. Most of his travel is to London and to New York, and he had preferred Star Alliance carriers until recently. "Many frequent fliers would say that elite status is the difference between flying to get to a destination and actually enjoying flying," Mr. Mai said. With the match, he got instant access to Qantas first-class check-in and first-class lounges.
US Airways will let you buy instant status if you don't already have it and keep it if you fly a certain amount within 90 days. A sneakier bet: Buy a trial period of silver status at US Airways for $200. Fly 30,000 miles within 90 days (three trips to Europe and back, for example) and you'll be granted Chairman's status at US Airways. When American and US Airways merge and fold the US Airways frequent-flier program into American's AAdvantage program, that's likely to become Executive Platinum status.
Status matches also provide a path for travelers to vent anger and leave poor-performing carriers. Keith Lochwood, a longtime Northwest Airlines and then Delta Air Lines DAL -0.51 % customer who lives in West Palm Beach, Fla., got fed up with Delta when the airline made it harder to confirm same-day flight changes and when his success at getting upgrades declined. He has Diamond status at Delta—the airline's highest level, which gets him personal transfers between flights in Atlanta in Porsches driven across the tarmac.
The sales executive, who flies more than 200,000 miles a year, typically buys expensive tickets just a few days before departure. That makes Mr. Lochwood a highly desirable customer for airlines.
Mr. Lochwood held a bake-off, getting status matches and 90-day challenges from both American and United. He wrote to Delta threatening to leave, got a call from an employee and a gift basket of food.
American won because he almost always got upgraded. Without status match, "I would have bit the bullet and stayed with Delta and watched my blood pressure increase," he said.
Delta said it is aware of customer experiences similar to Mr. Lochwood's. "We would have just as many stories to tell of people who have had it with American or United or whoever and came to us," spokesman Paul Skrbec said. "It balances out."
To protect existing customers, Delta takes in customers through status matches at one level lower than a traveler's status at a rival. A 1K at United or Executive Platinum at American is offered Platinum at Delta, not the higher Diamond level. "To remain exclusive and special, we make sure Diamond status isn't given away," Mr. Skrbec said.


text:
Riding Fool might get lucky at this bar
- Login to post comments
- Email this page
But not with this one!
- Login to post comments
4 nuns die in a bus crash...
...they show up in front of St. Peter who says, "Welcome to eternity, sisters. You have led exemplary lives. But before i allow you through the gates, one question: have you ever touched a man's penis before?"
Nun #1 says, "Yes st. peter. I have touched a man's penis with THIS finger."
Pete say, "Please dip your finger in this chalice of holy water and come to paradise."
She does.
Nun #2 says, "I, too, have touched a man's penis with these hands."
Pete: "Dip them in the chalice and know your maker."
she does and enters heaven.
Nun #3 steps forward to speak. but before she can start #4 cuts in front of her and starts to talk.
Peter interrupts, saying "Sister sister sister! We have forever to spare here. There is no need to rush or be rude..."
#4 says, "If you think i'm puttin' my mouth in that water after she dunks her ass, you're out of your fucking mind."
- Login to post comments
Say, Rajah, do you have pictures, by any chance?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Friday, October 17, 2008
Eight McIntosh High School cheerleaders have been suspended for being drunk while performing during a varsity football game on Oct. 10, Fayette County schools spokeswoman Melinda Berry-Dreisbach confirmed Friday afternoon.
"They were under the influence at the football game," she said. "I don't know if they had bottles or whatever it was, but they were under the influence."
I once knew a variety of high skool cheerleaders who were drunk while performing, but it wasn't at any game on skool grounds.
- Login to post comments


text:
ODC Theater Presents
Awarded the 2012 Poster Design Competition
Awarded the opportunity to design a series of 6 posters and all supporting media - from postcard to kiosk - for the 2012 Season of ODC Theater Presents.
Awarded the 2013 Poster Design Competition
Awarded the opportunity to design a series of 7 posters and all supporting media - from postcard to kiosk - and the print brochure for the 2013 Season of ODC Theater Presents.
Luella Foods
package design, logo
Developed logo for the restaurant's frozen food brand.
Developed label for the restaurant's La Venganza brand
Custom template system for in house printing and frequent changes
Refined established logo for better representation in print
Coding, backend, custom php
Developed css, and php code to deploy a centrally located site which would act as a launching point for all of the social media and various services for this talented and successful writer/illustrator.
Treehouse Muzique
independent record label
Developed brand identiy, logo, including letterhead, business cards, and package design.
Created templates for 12" singles, CD packages, Press Releases, digital releases, in order to establish client autonomy.
Developed content management back end, and a unique front end for an autonomous, hands off, web site.
Developed a digital store for online sales and support of music, and 3rd party content transactions.
Consulted with Facebook, and other social networking applications in order to link the client's site with popular web desitnations, and draw traffic to the site, and store.
Developed and lead classes in how to use the software in order to further empower the client to make complete use of the tools provided.
Jennifer Morla
Morla Design
Project managed portfolio site from start to finish.
Sub contracted complex flash action scripting construction from concept to installation.
Coded 2D site design into php, css, and html site and then ported it into a content management architecture to exacting specifications.
Provided training for client on how to use the software, and take advange of the site for future additions.
Sunshine Jones
Ongoing project to develop artist idenity.
Developed complex back end, and elegant front end content management system to categorize client's peronal journal, fiction, essays, and professional announcements.
Designed a sophisticated post image system enabling the client to include graphics for each post.
Built and managed a micro site for a community fundraising project from start to finish.
Advised and trained the client to use the software, and better link content into social networking platforms to drive traffic to the web site.
Dubtribe Sound System
In House Designer
Logo design, letterhead, poster art, album, 12" single, and CD covers, packaging, print advertising, t-shirt and merchandise design.
Imperial DUB Recordings
In House Designer
Logo design, letterhead, poster art, album, 12" single, and CD covers, packaging, print advertising, t-shirt and merchandise design.
Software Development
Work for hire
Icon and GUI development for popular software and web applications.
Graphics and Typography for Power Point and Keynote presentations
Open Source - Contributed openly in the early development and support of WordPress, BBPress.
Developed the first theme system for BBPress
Posters and Flyers - Regular work as a poster and flyer artist for hundreds of events world wide.
IT - host and in house designer for more than 20 personal journals and web sites.
Books - cover and typographic design
Sunday Soul
a weekly digital transmission
Developed a unique front end to work within the popular WordPress application back end.
Created flash players for mp3 archives.
Created flash program archive template system for weekly archives, and an expanded archive.
Wrote and installed a simple mailing list so that client can send out weekly html emails to an opt in mailing list.
Created a flyer template for the program's changing weekly themes, and developed a promo package to make the announcements simple, and elegant every time.
04 Fernando_Graphicos
Robert Cameron BFA, BA
Project Management, Consulting, Graphic Design, HTML, CSS, PHP
Public Works: A letter to ODC 2012
Items of interestBBLC
Love Portfolio 12
temporary art installation 12
The Human Immuno Transversarium A Pied Deficiency Syndrome pdf
soon to be a minor motion picture
Kirk Wilder's Clock Radio color scheme


text: condomunium Not all condos are buildings in the investment world By John Maynard & Richard Hagar • Jan 3, 2012 Steve Rhodes / Flikr When most of us talk about condos, we're usually referring to buildings with apartment units that are individually owned. But as real estate appraiser Richard Hagar tells KPLU's John Maynard, a condominium is technically a type of ownership. So you can also "condominiumize" other types of property. Hagar says it's a hot trend for investors. Condo parking spaces


text:
Definition of Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy: Literally, "cold therapy." Cryotherapy, sometimes referred to as cryosurgery, is a procedure used to destroy tissue of both benign and malignant lesions by the freezing and re-thawing process. Liquid nitrogen is the most commonly used freezing source for cryotherapy. Examples of the uses of cryotherapy in medicine are the treatment (removal) of various types of skin lesions , the treatment of dysplastic (precancerous) tissue of the uterine cervix, and the treatment of some prostate cancers.
Another use of the term cryotherapy refers to the use of ice or cold packs applied to a part of the body after an injury to reduce inflammation.Source: MedTerms™ Medical Dictionary
Last Editorial Review: 5/13/2016
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z
Search Medical Dictionary


text:
Welcome to Ardnamurchan...
Ardnamurchan . Moidart . Morvern . Sunart
Situated on the stunning West Coast of Scotland, Ardnamurchan is a long, narrow peninsula along the shores of Loch Sunart and includes the most westerly tip of the British Mainland.
Morvern, alongside it, flanks the other side of Loch Sunart and the sound of Mull. Moidart to the east of the peninsula has Loch Shiel as one boundary and the sea as its other. Within these regions are the villages of Acharacle, Salen, Strontian, Ardgour, Lochaline, Kilchoan and Glenuig - each with their own charm and attractions.
Don't just take our word for it, read a recent review by Steve Newman Silver Travel Advisor Article »
Watch our Video:
Events »
Places to Stay
Whether you are looking for accommodation in Ardnamurchan, Morvern or Moidart for a night or if you fancy a short break, there is plenty to choose from!
With a wide range of Campsites, Bed and Breakfasts, Guest houses, Hotels and Self Catering accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets, the rough bounds is the perfect destination for individuals, families or groups.
Eating Out
Eat out amidst spectacular scenery and sample some really great food, brought to you by passionate and talented people who believe in using fresh and local produce wherever possible.


text:
Oatmeal Crumble MuffinsJaime
I am always looking for sneaky ways to add whole grains into the food we eat (but no one else has copyrighted that idea yet, right? Phew. I don't want to get sued or something). I have discovered that whole wheat pastry flour is usually a very good, covert solution. It isn't as harsh or coarse tasting as straight whole wheat flour, and it's mild enough to use in cakes, cookies, and anything that doesn't rely heavily on the structure of gluten strands (such as yeast risen breads).
If I use it in a recipe that lends itself well to a dash of cinnamon, I know I'm in the clear—no one will ever be the wiser (Another great thing about the whole wheat pastry flour is that if you can't find it, you can easily swap it out for regular, unbleached all-purpose flour).
These oatmeal crumble muffins use not only whole wheat, but a full cup of oatmeal. They're high in fiber and quite tasty.
Oatmeal Crumble Muffins
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup boiling water
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
1 cup yogurt (vanilla, plain, or whatever you have)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
crumble topping (recipe follows)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the top of a standard size muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and line with 12 paper liners. Set aside. In a large liquid measuring cup, combine oats and boiling water. Set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and oil. Add in dry ingredients and oatmeal, and mix until just combined. Spoon into muffin liners with a standard sized ice cream scoop (if you have one, if not, just fill them evenly).
4. Divide the crumble topping evenly on the tops of the muffins and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle muffins comes out clean. Allow to cool and drizzle with cream glaze.
crumble topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold butter
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until butter starts to soften and pull the ingredients together (You can also just use your hands).
Vanilla Cream Glaze
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
Mix all ingredients together, adding more cream if necessary to achieve the desired consistency.


text:
Top Definition
When two homosexual males take a shit on each others chests, then give each other a long shitty hug and smell each others shit.
Barri and morrie gave each other a cuddle cowboy, and then licked the shit off each others chest.
Crisp tarafından 23 Haziran 2008, Pazartesi
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?


text:
Nike 6.0 Kampai
Retailers' Descriptions
Here's what other sites are saying:
This Nike Kampai jacket was designed for wintery pursuits of powdery perfection. 2-layer laminated jacket is waterproof and breathable; critical seams are taped to prevent water penetration. Dri-FIT(R) mesh lining inside shell jacket keeps you comfortable by moving moisture off skin to the outside for rapid evaporation. Shell jacket features pit zippers with mesh backings that allow cooling air to escape as you become active. Easy-cinching hood offers protection from wind, snow and rain. Shell jacket features an internal, adjustable powder skirt that helps seal out cold air and wet snow and retain valuable warmth. Soft, taffeta chin guard for comfort and protection. 2 front zip handwarmer pockets warm chilly digits and store a few essentials. Jacket features internal media pocket with integrated cord insulation. Elasticized cuffs and hem stay securely in place while keeping heat in and cold out.
Nike 6.0 Kampai
previously retailed for:
The Nike 6.0 Kampai is not available from the stores we monitor. It was last seen October 8, 2012 at REI.
If you're looking for a new waterproof jacket, check out the best reviewed current models.


text:
by George W. Penington - Editor
Click here or on the Sub to go back to The Hunley Home Page
Yes this may be your last Hunley Newsletter? I have thought long and hard about this. Do to the ever rising cost of running this site, I am sorry to say that I will have to start charging for this newsletter. To me $10.00 a year seems like a fair amount for this service. If you would like to continue your newsletter subscription you can click on the link below and sign up. Our next newsletter #54 will be out on January 14. With new information on how the Hunley sank.
Thank you, George
Click here to continue your subscription.
2) Sunken Military Craft act - 2005 National Defense Authorization Act
3) Fifty Thousand Dollars down…on the Hunley
4) Friends of the Hunley, Inc., subject to Freedom of Information Act.
5) Fluids could help preserve H.L. Hunley.
6) ACW-era sub found on Panama's Pacific coast
7) Civil War-Era Sub Linked with Earliest Deaths
from the "Bends"
8) Save the submersible
12) E-MAIL and Guest Book Selections:
Welcome from the Hunley Store
THIS IS A DYNAMIC NEWSLETTER WITH LOTS OF GOOD INFORMATION - Please feel free to download and print it...thanks, gwp
A special welcome to all the new subscribers. This newsletter will be published randomly until I decide whether to publish it once a month or every two months. i will let everyone know soon. Until then the newsletter information will be sent out with a link to the online addition available to subscribers only.
ALL issues are dedicated not only to the brave and honorable Men of the Hunley, but to the Subscribers and Contributors to each issue, particularly to the CSS H L HUNLEY CLUB. THANKS ALL, George W. Penington
2) Sunken Military Craft act - 2005 National Defense Authorization Act
Military shipwrecks are scattered all over Charleston Harbor and are now protected by Federal Law.
The new law
states that federal agents can bring criminal charges, seize the boats and
equipment of trespassers plus fine them $100,000.00 per day for looting military
shipwrecks which technically belong to the federal government. But open for
discussion is…. Would have the CSS H L HUNLEY be protected by this new Act?
Privateer of Military ship?
Brian Hicks explains the facts of this Act best in his article dated November 29, 2004.
Used with permission of the Post and Courier and Charleston.net
Story last updated at 9:21 a.m. Monday, November 29, 2004
of sunken treasure subject to legislation's stiff fines
Of The Post and Courier Staff
In the 1970s, local lore has it, treasure hunters armed with underwater blowtorches prowled the waters outside Charleston Harbor for the H.L. Hunley.
They planned to cut it up and sell souvenirs of the Civil War submarine, and perhaps even the bones of her crew, to collectors around the globe.
There was a time when such looting was pretty common. Now, with legislation that just passed Congress, federal agents can seize a treasure hunter's boat and fine him $100,000 for mining the government's archaeological gold.
Claire Peachey, an underwater archaeologist with the Naval Historical Center, recovers artifacts from a sunken Revolutionary War-era warship near Bangor, Maine. Wrecks such as this one are protected from looters and treasure hunters by a new federal law.
Bob Neyland, head of underwater archaeology at the Naval Historical Center and the Hunley project coordinator, said the new Sunken Military Craft act was forced by rapid advance in shipwreck-hunting technology.
Nowadays, just about anyone with a boat and a few electronic gadgets can be an amateur treasure hunter.
"This will go a long way to protecting war graves; and it will go a long way toward protecting archaeological sites," Neyland said.
The act covers thousands of wrecks in foreign waters around the world, and the dozens of Civil War-era ships that litter the South Carolina coast. It was part of the massive 2005 National Defense Authorization Act, a $420 billion piece of legislation that covers nearly 20 percent of the federal budget.
South Carolina's entire delegation supported the measure, and Lowcountry U.S. Rep. Henry Brown said it was an important measure for protecting ships like the Hunley that remain in state waters.
The legislation has direct bearing on the Palmetto State. A recent survey by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology identified 46 wrecks in South Carolina waters, some charted on maps and many in areas accessible to small boats. Just in the waters of Charleston Harbor, the location of remains of Confederate ships such as the Chicora and Palmetto State and the Union Ironclad Patapsco, are commonly known.
In the past, amateur archaeologists and treasure hunters have picked over the wrecks. State Archaeologist Jonathan Leader said the new federal law is aimed directly at those looters and others with nefarious intentions.
"Obviously they are not just going after people who stumble upon these wrecks," Leader said. "The real issue is people out for gain or profit off these wrecks. I have no sympathy for those people and am glad this is being done."
When the Hunley submarine was found about four miles off the coast, there were some tussles about ownership and title. The Hunley was built as a privateer, briefly commandeered by the Confederate government and then sunk.
The law applies to any vessel built for military purposes, but not to commercial or merchant vessels. Courts have generally upheld these rights anyway, but the new law eliminates any question of salvage rights for military ships. James Hunter, a Naval Historical Center archaeologist working at the Hunley lab, says it's an issue that comes up more often than many imagine.
A few years ago, a Maine man found the remains of a Revolutionary-era Continental Navy vessel in the Penobscot River near Bangor. The man told officials about the wreck, and Hunter and a team of underwater archaeologists have made three survey trips.
Just about anyone could reach it.
"It's so close to shore you could hit it with a rock," Hunter said. "This will serve as protective legislation for these wrecks."
The civil penalties for disturbing military shipwrecks tops out at $100,000 a day -- not per vessel -- giving federal agents the right to levy almost unlimited fines for anyone trespassing on wrecks. The law leaves open the possibility of criminal charges.
Neyland said the idea is not for the government to hoard these vessels, but to protect the sanctity of war graves first, and then to learn from these wrecks and get the most out of them.
"This is meant to protect these wrecks for the greatest public benefit," he said.
Contact Brian Hicks at (843) 937-5561 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
3) Fifty Thousand Dollars down…($50,000.00) Balance due Twelve million, nine hundred, and fifty thousand…($12,950,000.00) to go. How would you like to be facing that note?
Sun, 12 Dec 2004
Gift is first of several donations slated for submarine restoration
BY BRIAN HICKS - Of The Post and Courier Staff
The city of North Charleston has strengthened its ties to the Hunley
by paying $50,000 toward the sub's restoration, the first of several
expected donations to the project.
The city has promised to kick in that much every year for lab
operations until a North Charleston Hunley Museum is opened. The
first installment was paid Thursday.
State Sen. Glenn McConnell, chairman of the Hunley Commission, said
the money will help make up for a decreasing amount of federal
funding for the project.
"This $50,000 will go a long way toward paying the expenses of
conserving the Hunley," McConnell said.
The federal Defense Legacy fund that has paid most of the project's
bill has decreased, mainly due to budget constraints, from $700,000
in 2003 to $450,000 in 2004.
McConnell says the project is debt-free after front-end costs for
raising and excavating the sub put the project $2.2 million in the
hole. That money has been repaid, and 75 percent of money spent on
the project is now raised privately.
North Charleston offered to pay $13 million of the proposed $40
million museum's price tag as part of its bid to keep the
Confederate sub, currently on the former Navy base, in the city.
This money, Mayor Keith Summey says, is the city's way of showing
its commitment to the sub.
"This is what we talked about," Summey said. "We want to be a part
of the restoration of the Hunley."
The museum, which is planned for the banks of the Cooper River just
north of the Navy Base, is under design. McConnell says he'd like to
see it open by 2008, but that could depend on how long it takes to
restore the sub.
4) Friends of the Hunley, Inc., subject to Freedom of Information Act. Attorney general's opinion about Sub Charity
Attorney General
says in his opinion that
money raised by the company, Friends of the Hunley, Inc., is meant to
be spent on the Confederate submarine project, and not required to be returned to the
state general fund.
Claims that Sen. McConnell used the project to funnel money to companies operated by his friends and has spent thousands of dollars with little official oversight was not answered. McMaster stated that Friends of the Hunley, Inc. was within its legal responsibility to establish a charity to act in behalf of the state. But that without specific allegations or charges, it was not appropriate for his office to look into that spending, therefore his opinion does not address whether there has been ethical improprieties but mainly focused on whether a state agency can create a private
"A court would uphold the actions of the Hunley Commission in
creating a nonprofit corporation -- Friends of the Hunley, Inc. -- for the
purpose of raising sufficient funds to defray the costs of curating,
displaying and exhibiting the Hunley," McMaster said.
"Likewise, we believe a court would conclude that revenues derived from the
Hunley's exhibition and display are not legally required by the
programmatic agreement or any other provision of state law to be
returned to the general fund of the state, but may remain with the
nonprofit for the operation of the project."
Other questions and issues where not addressed by McMaster's opinion such as
whether taxpayer money has been improperly spent , but did add that the Friends of The Hunley, Inc. a nonprofit group set up to oversee the conservation of the historic Confederate submarine, is a public agency that must disclose how it spends its revenue.
The opinion shows the Hunley Commission, as an agent of the General Assembly, had every right to
establish the Friends of the Hunley charity to run the project, as the Department of Corrections, Department of Transportation, State Museum and Patriots Point have done according to Senator McConnell.
The Friends of the Hunley, Inc. has received $8 million in state and
federal money and had claimed in court that it did not have
to disclose information to the public.
McMaster disputed that by stating, "We believe the law is clear, any
entity which receives or has received taxpayer funds — federal, state or local is subject to the Freedom of Information Act. This would include the Friends of the Hunley."
John Crangle, executive director of Common Cause, a public watchdog
group had asked for an attorney general's opinion on the Hunley project and to look into the Friends of the Hunley, Inc. spending practices.
Sun, 14 Nov 2004
5) Fluids could help
Will the HUNLEY be treated like decaffeinating coffee or making hops for brewing beer?
Confederate sub was encased in sand. By Bruce Smith The Associated Press
CHARLESTON - After months of testing, technology using supercritical
fluids shows promise for preserving the Confederate submarine H.L.
Hunley, which sat encased in sand beneath the ocean for almost 140
But months of more tests and studies must be done before scientists
settle on the best way to remove the corrosive salts from the hand-
cranked sub.
"So far, so good. But we still have a long way to go experimentally
before we can sit back and say we will use this process," said
Michael Drews, the materials scientist heading the Clemson
University research team helping with the Hunley conservation.
The 40-foot Hunley became the first sub in history to sink an enemy
warship when it rammed a spar with a black powder charge into the
Union blockade ship Housatonic on Feb. 17, 1864.
The Hunley never returned and was finally re-located off Sullivans
Island nine years ago. It was raised in 2000 and brought to a
conservation lab at the old Charleston Naval Base where it sits in a
tank of chilled water.
The Hunley's eight-man crew was buried earlier this year in a
funeral that attracted thousands and has been called the last
Confederate funeral.
Scientists also have considered using cold plasma technology and
traditional electrolysis to preserve the Hunley.
In supercritical fluid technology, in this case the fluid is water,
fluids take on the characteristics of both a gas and a liquid under
intense heat and pressure and have unique dissolving characteristics.
While the technology is used in some commercial applications such as
decaffeinating coffee and processing hops for brewing beer, it has
never been used to preserve marine artifacts.
Drews' team has conducted preliminary experiments using two small
chambers, the largest about the size of a pint container, to treat
rivets removed from the Hunley when sections of the hull were opened
to allow the excavation of the silt and the crew's remains.
Results of that work must still be analyzed and, if they are
positive, scientists would then construct a larger chamber - perhaps
about the size of a garbage can - to treat larger pieces of metal,
Drews said.
But even if the technique shows promise, there still is a major
question. Can it be used to treat the entire Hunley?
Scientists hope to find a method that does not require taking large
sections of the sub apart.
"If everything was go, we would still have do to an engineering
assessment on the Hunley to see if it were compatible," Drews
said. "We know the Hunley was not designed to be put into a big
pressure cooker.
"We may have a good process for removing the salts, but it may not
necessarily be a good process for the Hunley."
In cold plasma technology, hydrogen gas is blown over an artifact in
a sealed container and the plasma formed pulls impurities out of the
artifact as a gas. However, results of initial tests were not
encouraging and "we have pretty much eliminated it," Drews said.
The traditional method of conserving large marine artifacts, and one
that takes years to complete, is electrolysis.
In that method, a slight electrical current is applied to remove the
corrosive salts from metal artifacts in a tank of water.
However, the electrical field often doesn't always penetrate
6) ACW-era sub found on Panama's Pacific coast
Naval History
Magazine (Nov-Dec 04, pp.55-56) includes a special
report on finding a ACW-era sub found on Panama's Pacific coast! An
online article can be found at: http://www.usni.org/navalhistory/articles04/NHDelgadoDec.htm
As of this time, it is not on the web-enhanced version of the
The sub, the "Explorer" was designed by Julius Kroehl for purposes
of pearl diving. Despite having many advanced features, it did not
account for proper decompression - many crewmembers died as a result
of the bends.
(Could sudden compression and then decompression
affect the Hunley crew on their final mission?)
James Delgado of NGC's "Sea Hunters" had investigated the sub, along
with Mark Ragan. According to the editor's note, his findings
should have been presented on 29 Oct the 7th Maritime Heritage
Conference, in Norfolk, VA. See www.nauticus.org.
From: "Tim
Smalley" <email@example.com
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2004 03:03:33 -0800 (PST)
Re: [CSS H L HUNLEY] Naval History - Civil War-era sub found
article. I had heard of this sub, but didn't' really know anything about it.
Re the bends. The Hunley crew would have been at about 1 atmosphere since there was no diver lockout chamber. The pearl diving sub would have used increased air pressure bled from compressed air tanks to allow a hatch to be opened in the bottom of the sub. The increased pressure is what causes the bends.
Special Report
Civil War-Era Sub Linked with Earliest Deaths
from the "Bends"
Naval History, December 2004
Archaeologist James Delgado, host of National Geographic International Television's "The Sea Hunters," which also features best-selling author Clive Cussler, has announced the discovery of a forgotten Civil War submarine, the Sub Marine Explorer, on a deserted island on Panama's Pacific coast. Delgado's account of the sub's history and discovery was announced at a recent press conference and is featured in his new book, Adventures of a Sea Hunter: In Search of Famous Shipwrecks (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004). News of the discovery comes as the U.S. Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continue their search for the USS Alligator, the Navy's first submarine, which foundered off the North Carolina coast in 1863, and work continues to preserve and study the remains of the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley in Charleston, South Carolina.
With interest in Civil War submarines at an all-time peak, Delgado's discovery highlights not only the role of subs in the Civil War but also the exploits of a forgotten New York inventor—whose invention may have killed him. His submarine was the most technologically advanced craft of its age, even more so than the fabled Hunley, but it had a fatal flaw. Its crew compartment, pressurized to the same intense pressures as the deep to allow divers to freely leave and reenter the sub to disarm enemy mines, lay explosives, or, in its final career, collect pearls from the seabed, did not allow the crew to "decompress" when the sub returned to the surface.
That meant the men inside were exposed to the dreaded "bends," which can cripple and kill divers. History records that the first American victims of the bends, also known as decompression sickness, were workers laboring to build the Brooklyn Bridge in 1869. Descending to the bottom of the river in pressurized caissons, they were struck with a debilitating illness that mystified doctors, who termed it "caisson disease." It was not until decades later that researchers discovered the cause: rapid decompression after spending time under pressure. The first American to die of caisson disease is said to have been a worker on the St. Louis Bridge in 1870. But Julius Kroehl, a former Union naval officer and inventor of the Sub Marine Explorer, died in Panama of "fever" after several test dives in his craft in 1867. Physicians who have reviewed the technical details of the Explorer and her dives have determined that Kroehl suffered from decompression sickness, which has similar symptoms to malaria, also called fever. It is likely that Kroehl, in fact, was the first American to die from decompression sickness, which continues to claim the lives of divers each year.
This plan of the Sub Marine Explorer appeared in a 1902 article on the history of U.S. submarine development in Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers.
A German immigrant and a resident of both New York City and Washington, D.C., Kroehl built the Explorer in Brooklyn between 1863 and 1865. The submarine was abandoned off Isla San Telmo in Panama's Pearl Islands in the fall of 1869, after its final crew was stricken, to a man, with "fever." Laid up and forgotten in a small cove, it remained unidentified until resident fishermen on a nearby island pointed it out to Delgado, who was sailing through the islands in 2001. "They thought it was a Japanese midget submarine from World War II," recalls Delgado. "It turned out to be much older and much more significant. In this case, truth is stranger than fiction—although it feels like finding Captain Nemo's lost sub on Robinson Crusoe's island." Delgado led an expedition to Panama earlier this year with the Sea Hunters crew that included a representative of the Historic American Engineering Survey and Hunley Project Historian Mark K. Ragan to document the sub and remove the sand that clogged her interior. They found intact glass instruments filled with mercury and the intricate pipes and valves that controlled Kroehl's Explorer.
Plans are under way to continue the documentation of the Explorer and perhaps bring the submarine home. Where she might go is up for discussion. One option is the foot of East Third Street in Brooklyn, where she made her first dive. Another is the Warren Lasch Center in Charleston, where the H. L. Hunley is undergoing conservation for eventual display. A third possibility is Washington, D.C., home of Kroehl's wife and site of the family home, when Kroehl was not working as an inventor or in the Union Navy as an underwater explosives expert attached to the staff of venerated Admiral David Dixon Porter.
Editor's Note: Delgado will be detailing his team's findings in a keynote address to the Seventh Maritime Heritage Conference at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Virginia, on 29 October. For details, visit the conference Web site, www.nauticus.org.
Tell a Friend about This Page
Story last updated at 9:20 a.m. Sunday, October 31, 2004
8) Save the submersible
Maritime archaeologist identifies decaying sub in waters off Panama as Civil War-era cousin of H.L. Hunley, wants to rescue it for history
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Every day, the tides uncover the football-shaped iron hulk, left to rot just off the beach of a deserted island near Panama.
The locals call it a death machine, and the ebb and flow of the Pacific creates the ghostly illusion that it is endlessly diving and re-surfacing.
When the maritime archaeologist James Delgado arrived in Panama on a cruise ship in 2001, locals told him about the ship, claiming it was a Japanese sub abandoned after World War II.
Faced with the prospect of another boring bird-watching tour, he hired a boat to the remote island for a peek. There, in the surf of Isla San Telmo, Delgado found a forgotten chapter in submarine history, a Civil War-era cousin of the H.L. Hunley.
"It looked like something out of '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'," Delgado said. "At first I thought it looked like a Holland submarine, but it was much smaller."
Delgado climbed around the sub, and was struck by its strange construction. Some of its design elements appeared to date to 1900, but the strange iron bars between its two hulls seemed like they'd been forged in the 1850s.
A few years later, Delgado got his answers. He has identified the wreck as the Sub Marine Explorer, a submersible built in New York in the waning days of the Civil War. Turned down by the U.S. Navy, its builder took the sub to Central America to make a fortune in pearl diving.
Before it was over, the sub's builder made another important -- and deadly -- discovery about deep-water diving.
Delgado says the submarine, which in some ways is even more advanced than the Hunley, is a unique maritime treasure that should be saved. Now he's looking for a way to rescue the fallen fish-boat from the waters of Central America.
Ideally, he says, the Explorer should be brought to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, where it could benefit from the cutting-edge technology being used to save the Hunley.
"I can't imagine a better place for it," Delgado said after a tour of the North Charleston lab earlier this week. "If the funding could be found, it would be a great fit."
The two 1860s subs have much in common: design elements, similar conservation problems and, perhaps most notably, tragic pasts.
Delgado could not get the sub out of his mind.
After returning to Canada, where he is executive director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, he sent photos of the boat to every maritime historian he knew, and he knows a lot of them. Delgado, co-host with Clive Cussler of National Geographic International's "The Sea Hunters," has been in the shipwreck business for decades, and was formerly maritime historian for the U.S. National Park Service.
For a long while, however, none of his contacts could offer much advice about the fat little sub. One friend mentioned it looked like the Intelligent Whale, a Civil War-era sub, and that made Delgado think: could it be that old?
Then, one day last year, Rich Wills, a Navy archaeologist, said the sub resembled drawings he'd seen of the Sub Marine Explorer, built for the U.S. Navy during the Civil War by a German immigrant and engineering whiz kid named Julius Kroehl.
Delgado got the drawings and any doubt he had melted away. He had his sub. The final confirmation was found in the article accompanying the drawings in the 1902 journal. It said the sub had been abandoned off Panama in 1869.
This research is the final chapter of a long, intriguing story...
Kroehl emigrated to America in 1838, where he studied to become an engineer. He took to the work like a duck to water, and by 1845 had patented a flange-bending machine for ironwork. More than a decade later, while blasting away at a reef causing problems for ships in the East River channel, Kroehl hired Van Buren Ryerson, who had crafted a pressured diving bell, to help. Kroehl would remember the bell and its name, Submarine Explorer.
Delgado says that in 1861 Kroehl became the first inventor to offer the U.S. Navy a submarine to sneak into Southern ports and attack from beneath the surface. Officials instead chose to go with Brutus de Villeroi, who eventually built the USS Alligator, the Navy's first submarine.
Kroehl instead spent most of the war as an underwater explosives expert for the Union, working the Mississippi River circuit until he was discharged with malaria. While recuperating, he came up with the idea of a submarine that divers could get in and out of underwater, from which they could set charges and disarm enemy torpedoes. Delgado says Kroehl was smart, and knew the Navy wouldn't pay for the construction of such an experimental boat. So he joined up with the Pacific Pearl Company, which was itching to mine the pearl beds off the Central American coast.
While Kroehl was building his submarine in early 1864, the 'shot heard round the world' in the underwater arms race was fired off Charleston. The privateer H.L. Hunley had sunk the USS Housatonic four miles offshore.
The boat, which Kroehl called the Sub Marine Explorer, was 36 feet long and 10 feet wide and could carry six to eight men. It was notable for its odd elliptical shape, its flat bottom and its separate chamber for pressurized air, which could be pumped into the crew compartment to equalize the pressure enough so the hatches could be opened underwater.
It was, Delgado said, the first self-propelled "lock out" dive chamber, an invention most historians thought didn't come along until the 20th century.
By the time the Explorer sailed, the Civil War was just about over. The Navy passed on the boat, but the Pacific Pearl Co. was ready for business. They used tests of the sub in the East River to attract investors.
The New York Times covered one such demonstration in May 1866, when Kroehl took the sub down for an hour and a half, leaving the people on the dock afraid that he had perished beneath the surface.
"Kroehl popped out of the hatch smoking a Meerschaum pipe, holding a bucket of mud scooped off the bottom of the channel," Delgado said.
Soon after that, Pacific Pearl shipped Explorer to Panama, where it gathered pearls successfully for almost three years. Kroehl did not make it so long. After one dive, Kroehl became ill. The locals said he had the "fever" and died shortly thereafter.
Delgado believes there is more to the story. In 1869, according to some accounts, the Explorer was abandoned in Panama Bay after a stint of heavy use. For 10 straight days, divers were taking the sub to a nearby pearl bed 100 feet below the surface, working for four hours and then returning to the surface. To some degree, all of them fell deathly ill.
Reading of Kroehl's symptoms, Delgado says he doesn't believe the engineer had a relapse of his malaria. His symptoms sounded, like those of the other workers who got sick in the sub, much more like the bends.
"They didn't know about decompression," he said. "It was unknown until workers on the Brooklyn Bridge started getting caisson's disease, and wasn't known as the bends until years later. I think Julius Kroehl may have died of the first recorded case of the bends."
The future of the submarine is uncertain. Exposed to the air, sea, and intrepid tourists, its hull is deteriorating badly, and it has apparently fallen victim to looters -- the propeller and conning tower hatch are missing.
Delgado took a crew of scientists down in 2002 to map the sub and give it a more careful examination. On Friday, Delgado said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is looking for the Alligator, has set aside money for a fact-finding expedition to Panama next year. Scientists want to find out if the sub, apparently made almost entirely of brittle cast iron, is too fragile to move, or if it can be saved.
Then -- if it is determined that Explorer can be rescued -- comes the hard part: finding the money to bring it up and care for it. Delgado says if it can be salvaged, it could be put in a tank of cold freshwater to desalinate it until technology invents a way to preserve it for posterity.
The Hunley lab, with its cutting-edge research on preserving Charleston's Civil War sub, is an obvious place for Explorer, says Delgado. But for the foreseeable future, scientists there have their hands full with their own crusty sub.
"It is an interesting parallel story to the Hunley," said Maria Jacobsen, senior archaeologist for the Hunley project. "It furthers our understanding of the evolution of diving technology. But they are two different things. The Explorer is an evolved concept of a dive bell, while the Hunley is a highly maneuverable, hydrodynamic stealth boat. In its case, it is the weapon."
Jacobsen said that the Hunley lab is the ideal place for such a ship, but it will be years before scientists there will have any time or energy to tackle another major project. But if the sub had to sit in holding tanks at the lab, like the cannons from the Alabama, Delgado says that would be better than allowing it to rot off the beach of Isla San Telmo.
"I'd just like to see ol' Uncle Julius's sub saved," Delgado said.
The submersible was built by Julius Kroehl, a German engineer and former Union naval officer during the Civil War. The 36-foot-long, 10-foot-wide sub was the first to have a pressure chamber system that allowed divers to enter and exit the sub while it was underwater. It was used in the 1860s for pearl diving off the coast of Panama, where it was ultimately abandoned.
Contact Brian Hicks at (843) 937-5561 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
12) E-MAIL and Guest Book Selections:
From: "Tim
Smalley" <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Date:Thu, 21 Oct 2004 12:01:36 -0700 (PDT)
Subject:[CSS H L HUNLEY] Alligator Shoot photos posted
Hi there -
I have finally had a few
minutes to post the photos from our USS Alligator shoot at the Carderock / David
Taylor Test Facility in
Washington on Oct 5-6.
Go to the above site and click on "What's New for 21 October, 2005"
Tim Smalley
Subject: Guest Book Entry
realname: Matthew W. Kresal
username: firstname.lastname@example.com
city: Grant
state: Al
country: USA
Remote Name: 220.127.116.11
Date: Thursday December 09, 2004
Time: 06:18:10 AM
Excellent source for information on the Hunley. Using it
for a history project! A lot of thanks!
Thanks for writing...let me know how the project goes.....George
Editor and Webmaster of The Hunley.Com newsletter
----- Original Message -----
From: James Lawlor
To: email@example.com
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 6:33 PM
Subject: Need for Help
Hi George,
I am disabled/retired since 1993. In August of this year I had my right leg amputated because of a recluse spider bite. That is not why I am writing to you. I have lots of time on my hands -- more so than ever now. I have coded HTML for years now. I have been a fan of research for years and was delighted when they located and finally raised The Hunley.
I maintain my own Irish genealogy website at http://home.earthlink.net/~lawlor clan.
If I can be of any assistance to you. Let me know.
Best regards for a happy holiday
Jim Lawlor
Sounds great Jim.. Write some articles about the Hunley or just your life experience...I will put them somewhere...maybe we can talk later.... Great to hear form ya...George
Subject: Guest Book Entry
realname: Colin Marlborough
username: email@example.com
city: Middlesbrough
state: TS
country: England
Remote Name: 188.8.131.52
Date: Wednesday December 08, 2004
Time: 11:49:45 PM
Good site wealth of information Thank you
Thank You...one hell of a hobby. George
With lots more to come...sign up for the newsletter and you will soon hear the real reason the Hunley sank.
----- Original Message -----
From: firstname.lastname@example.com
To: email@example.com
Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2004 9:28 PM
Subject: making
dear sir,
i am currently in the process of building an exact reproduction of the hunley for my art class. i have seen photos of art works of the submarine and would like to purchase a model of the hunley to work from. could you tell me which one of the many models on the market truly represents the hunley? i need to see some detail of the submarine skin, i know it was made of iron plating riveted together. did the rivets have round heads or were they flush with the iron plates? how wide were the iron plates, were the plates two half's put together or one plate rounded into a band? are there any working blueprints that i can buy that would show me exact measurements? any help would be greatly appreciated. what was the number of crew on board 8 or 9 ? i a wait yor reply thank you clark cole
Hello Clark....Thanks for writing...There is alot of information on my site that will help you...I will try to put some stuff together and get back to you. George
Subject: Guest Book Entry
realname: David G. Sasher
username: email@example.com
city: Rayne,
state: La.
country: USA
Remote Name: 184.108.40.206
Date: Wednesday December 15, 2004
Time: 09:01:17 PM
I am David G. Sasher,Sr. and I am requesting your help in my research on my Uncle Stanley Sasher. Uncle Stanley all his life has always been interested in boats. During the WWll he was an officer in the Merchant Marines station out of Australia. Being that he was in the Merchant Marines, it was not uncommon for them to have contracts with the US Army. So my Uncle Stanley was in the Merchant Marines and served on a US Army FS 88 vessel. Back then it was not uncommon for the US Navy to stripped there PT boats and give them away. As a matter of fact, the Navy gave over 100 PT Boats to the Russians. They also gave quite a few PT Boats to the US Army. I have reason to believe that the vessel my Uncle was on was a 80 foot Elco. On the bow it has sharks teeth and a eye painted. Mid ship it had painted "Donald Duck" " Fast Express " with Donald Duck carrying a brief case. Any and all information that you may have would be truly appreciated. Thank you David G. Sacher,Sr. P.S. My E-Mail is (firstname.lastname@example.com )
realname: R. Doc Lamkin
username: email@example.com
city: Bradenton
state: Fla
country: USA
Remote Name: 18.104.22.168
Date: Thursday December 16, 2004
Time: 07:49:20 PM
My family and friends can not thank you enough. Clive Cussler Has made and continues to make the greatest contributions toward marine Archaeology in world History. Thank all of you again. R. "Doc" Lamkin P.S. If ever you need a friend, you have them. There are a bunch of us old LRRP/Rangers around and we all like what you are doing. Keep up the good work.
----- Original Message -----
From: Lee Cross
To: email@example.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 10:06 AM
Subject: Mistake
Hello George, When opening up the Hunley Newsletter, I accidentally clicked the unsubscribe button. This was a unintentional mistake! I clicked before I read. Please reinstall my subscription. I'll be more careful next time! Lee Cross
I gotcha...thanks Lee and stay in touch. George
is the Publisher of the Hunley Torpedo Newsletter
realname: amber
city: greer
state: sc
country: USA
Remote Name: 22.214.171.124
Date: Saturday December 18, 2004
Time: 04:07:43 PM
i love tha hl hunley web site
Tours of the Hunley are still available on
weekends at the
Warren Lasch conservation lab where the sub is housed.


text:
The best flashlight ever?
Tools and Technologies
Handguns: Autoloaders
> The best flashlight ever?
October 17, 2008, 11:42 AM
New model of flashlight. (http://burntpowder.com/WebPics/flashlight.wmv)
Cool, huh?
If you enjoyed reading about "The best flashlight ever?" here in TheHighRoad.org archive, you'll LOVE our community. Come join
today for the full version!
October 17, 2008, 11:46 AM
I don't recall ever seeing a 9MM maglight though....
October 17, 2008, 11:47 AM
October 17, 2008, 11:49 AM
And unfortunately that magpul isnt readily available to the average Joe just yet!
October 17, 2008, 11:49 AM
Maglights? Ever tried a Surefire, definitely tops a maglight.
October 17, 2008, 11:54 AM
Did anyone watch the video? It's not the flashlight that makes it interesting...... Yea I have a maglight and 2 surefires, neither will shoot 9mm....
October 17, 2008, 11:55 AM
Why oh why would any company in their right mind develope something so cool but then ruin it's market chances by making it a machine gun.... which would probably sell for $20m-$25m ?!? If they came out with an auto-loader that was legal to buy without some super federal permit/license then I believe they'd really have something there.
P.S. maglights are stil tops come on 'smoothie' how about a little more thought in your post? :confused: This item has little to do with a flashlight and everything to do with self-defense.
October 17, 2008, 11:57 AM
That was out in FEBRUARY.
October 17, 2008, 12:07 PM
Sorry Griz44, I see that were missing the main point of it being a badass compact gun, but I think weve seen this once or twice before, but it is damn neat .
October 17, 2008, 02:23 PM
Best flashlight ever would have to be Larry Niven's idea from the Ringworld/Known Space series. You can adjust it into a ray gun, a lightsaber type thing, or--of course--any brightness of flashlight :)
October 17, 2008, 02:33 PM
come on 'smoothie' how about a little more thought in your post? This item has little to do with a flashlight and everything to do with self-defense.
From my experience with Surefire, I believe the 'blinding' ability of the high-powered flashlights is overrated. And wouldn't you rather take this:
... into a fight, rather than this?
If all else fails, with the Maglite you can at least pole-vault over the nearest fence to get away. :p
October 17, 2008, 02:52 PM
"If it gets nasty... get down to business."
Kel-Tec should make one in semi.
October 17, 2008, 03:08 PM
MinnMooney you ask a number of questions, let me attempt to answer some of them.
Why oh why would any company in their right mind develope something so cool but then ruin it's market chances by making it a machine gun.
Well they said you could add an auto sear. So that is an option, it is semi as shown.
If they came out with an auto-loader that was legal to buy without some super federal permit/license then I believe they'd really have something there.
Well then it would not be that same thing, it would have a 16+ inch barrel. Probably not the same coolness factor. You can probably get one of these with a tax stamp. Like you would any SBR. Since I have not heard about gun restrictions be relaxed anytime soon, it will probably stay a permit required firearm.
which would probably sell for $20m-$25m
You are kidding right? They are not developing this for you and me (even though they want to you to think it's everyday equipment for going to the mailbox), it's for government, police, and specialized security firms that can purchase full auto weapons manufactured after 1986.
Now they did say that it is based on a Glock. If you are lucky enough to have a Glock imported into the U.S. before 1986 that is registered as a machine gun, you might be able to have the conversion done. (Select Fire Glock 18 developed in 86, so slight chance, but doubtful.) If found, I would expect tens of thousands, not tens of millions.
Kinda hard to believe that there are some companies that make weapons for the police and military, not for civilians, and make a good living at it.:rolleyes:
+ 1 Griz44
October 20, 2008, 08:18 PM
That is awesome though...love the way it unfolds in one motion.
"You stick it in your back pocket, go to walk your dog, you're on target. Anything gets nasty, requires immediate action, you get down to bidnus." :)
October 20, 2008, 08:21 PM
Holy mackerel.
That rocks.
October 21, 2008, 12:49 AM
OOO, OOO, OOO, I waaaaant one.:evil::p:D
October 21, 2008, 11:18 AM
surefires are nice, i have one, but cant beat a 6D cell maglight, well you can beat the intruder to hell with it.
October 21, 2008, 11:25 AM
The best? The one with fresh batteries in it when the power goes out!
October 21, 2008, 11:32 AM
That is a Magpul FMG-9 (Folding Machine Gun) It is Saaaweeeeeettt......I want 2..:rolleyes:
October 21, 2008, 11:37 AM
Surefire makes lights that you can beat people with like the M6 and M4 and they will hold up better than the maglight. Or you could get the E2D which can rip off skin, show me a maglight that can do that. Not to mention the fact that Surefires are a hell of a lot brighter.
As for the OP, I think most of have seen that more than once on here. Also, as for the actual light, its an Insight M3. They probably would have used a surefire on there but Surefire pissed off magpul right before shot08.
October 21, 2008, 11:43 AM
maglights are stil tops
Only if you've never handled a light from Surefire or Inova.
Since this is actually a thread about a machine pistol, I'm going to move it there. We've actually had about a dozen threads dealing with this video in the past.
Mike U.
October 21, 2008, 01:26 PM
Well, it's kind of embarrassing to own up to, but, this is a first for me. Pretty doggone cool.
I wonder if they will make one for the Glock Model 20?
Does anyone know if this made it to production or not?
October 21, 2008, 02:18 PM
Magpul said that they made it just to show people what they were capable of. So no, it never made it to production. Thats not saying that it might, but at the rate magpul is getting products out it will probably be up for sale between now and your death.
October 21, 2008, 03:08 PM
can i get one of these in a .357 magnum??:cool:
October 21, 2008, 04:00 PM
How about a pocket size folding RPG?
October 21, 2008, 08:08 PM
I have seen that before, its pretty cool
October 21, 2008, 11:42 PM
I prefer my flashlight. It has a .308 attached to it.
Kind of Blued
October 22, 2008, 12:27 AM
"To show you what we're capable of"... :rolleyes:
Try making a gun for once.
Maybe a pellet gun would be a good starting point.
Mike U.
October 22, 2008, 01:02 PM
Thanks for the reminder, MackIVshooter!
A couple of my favorite flashlights have attachments too. A WASR 10/63 on the left and the venerable Remington 870 on the right. Does this shotgun count as an EBR?
October 23, 2008, 10:15 PM
I wouldnt say its the best but this one is down right amazing. You dont need to shoot 9mm when you can just fry them. :fire:
Mike U.
October 23, 2008, 11:46 PM
That flashlight is unreal! If I hadn't seen that video I'd have sent up the B.S. flag. A flashlight that scrambles eggs and sets paper on fire. Whoda thunk-it?
October 24, 2008, 03:08 AM
I've owned SureFire handhelds for years and now I am totally into SureFire weapon lights. I really like the quality and design.
If you enjoyed reading about "The best flashlight ever?" here in TheHighRoad.org archive, you'll LOVE our community. Come join
today for the full version!
vBulletin® v3.8.6, Copyright ©2000-2016, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.


text:
At Al's Trailers we take great pride in stocking a huge selection of used fifth wheels for sale in Oregon. Our team carefully inspects the used RVs we sell and is committed to ensuring each one meets the level of excellence we expect at our dealership. We serve the Portland, Eugene, Salem and Bend, Oregon areas.
Used fifth wheels offer the luxury, at a price that is affordable and practical. Fifth wheels are durable RVs that hitch into the bed of your truck. They offer easy maneuverability and handling because of the unique design of their hitch. These RVs are also known to have significantly less trailer sway than travel trailers. Additionally, fifth wheels typically feature extensive living space and a wider variety of floorplans to choose from. There truly is a fifth wheel out there for everyone!
If you're interested in learning more about the used fifth wheels we offer check out our selection below and contact us for help. We also offer RV financing to help make your dream come true and specialize in serving the needs of Canadian buyers.
Al's Trailer sales is not responsilble for any misprints, typos, or errors found in our website pages. Any price listed excludes sales tax, registration tags, and delivery fees. Manufacturer pictures, specifications, and features may be used in place of actual whats on our lot. Please contact us @ (800) 364-4093 for availability as our inventory changes rapidly. All calulated payments are an estimate only and do not constitute a commitment that financing or a specific interest rate or term is available.
Our [Make] prices are so low, [Manufacturer] won't allow us to display our price without you requesting it. So, please complete the simple form below to receive the No Bull Price!
Call us at
Contact an RV Consultant or Ask a Question


text:
Choose the period
Today, I walked out of my apartment to see that someone had climbed onto the hood of my car and taken a shit on my windshield. I only moved in a couple of weeks ago. FML
by poopsthegame / 12/03/2012 at 2:36am / United States (Hawaii) / Transportation
Today, I had to do a presentation in front of my entire school. I was very nervous, so I used the old trick of picturing everyone naked. Everyone then got a good view of my erection. FML
by Anonymous / 12/10/2012 at 3:41pm / Canada (Ontario) / Intimacy
Today, my roommate pressed "snooze" on his alarm 14 times. I counted. FML
by roommateprobssss:( / 12/11/2012 at 10:57am / United States / Miscellaneous
Today, I found my diary on my mother's nightstand. Bookmarked. FML
by Anonymous / 12/24/2012 at 1:07am / United States (Arizona) / Miscellaneous
Today, after my girlfriend has recently become obsessed with the serial-killer show, Dexter, she has grown an interest in cutting up pomegranates in many different ways and squirting the red, blood-like juice everywhere. I am now afraid to argue with her. FML
by Anonymous / 12/15/2012 at 7:33am / Australia (New South Wales) / Love
Today, at my new job, some juvenile cockbite spiked my food with a laxative, as part of some kind of bizarre hazing ritual. The bastard got ratted out and suspended, but my arsehole now feels like it's been blown apart by a nuclear warhead. I thought this shit only happened in movies. FML
by Anonymous / 12/20/2012 at 4:49pm / United Kingdom (London, City of) / Work
Today, I gave my husband an early Christmas present: Santa-themed lingerie. He got angry and called me selfish, for "using" him as an excuse to get myself nice stuff. FML
by selfishsexysanta / 12/24/2012 at 1:06pm / United States / Intimacy
Today, proving that there's no limit to the stupid shit people will do, my husband called me from hospital, needing a lift home. He tried planking on top of his car while his buddies sped it down a hill, and I now have to take care of him while his broken leg heals. FML
by say dump him and i'll kill you / 12/28/2012 at 7:50pm / United Kingdom (Wiltshire) / Miscellaneous
Today, I came home to find a pregnancy test in my trashcan. I live alone with my boyfriend and I'm not pregnant. FML
by melas303 / 12/29/2012 at 7:22pm / United States / Love
Today, as my 12 hour shift was about to finish, a young boy came in wanting to buy a $200 gaming device. His mom said he was purchasing it with his own money, which I found admirable. That is, until he took his piggy bank out of his backpack. FML
by Ethan_18 / 12/14/2012 at 12:10am / United States / Kids
Today, in history class, we were talking about Ancient Rome, and what childbirth would have been like back then. One girl asked in all seriousness why they didn't use ultrasound machines to see what sex their babies were. I have to deal with people like this on a daily basis. FML
by surrounded by dumbfucks / 12/13/2012 at 6:44pm / United States (Indiana) / Geek
Today, I was bartending. A guest was getting belligerent so I had to cut him off. He called me a bitch and threw the rest of his drink in my face before storming off. The belligerent asscandle was my boyfriend. FML
by FMyEx / 12/06/2012 at 6:50am / United States (Connecticut) / Love
Today, a friend informed me that my dog's name means "penis" in Greek. I live in a predominantly Greek neighbourhood, and apparently I've been screaming for "dong" every evening for the past 3 years. No wonder they don't talk to me much. FML
by Dog_Lover / 12/18/2012 at 10:30am / Canada (Quebec) / Miscellaneous
- Today, I hooked up with a guy I'm totally in love with. After finishing, he burst into tears about… Today, my boyfriend and I were reminiscing and sharing funny stories of when we were little. It was… Today, I made up an ingenious plan to finally hook up with the guy I really like at a party. Well,…


text: It's time to put on your gear & head downtown to catch your favorite team in action! Cheer on the Detroit Tigers as they play some of the best teams in baseball. Reserve our Baseball Fan Package and enjoy deluxe accommodations, breakfast for two and more ~ all just minutes away from the action!


text:
Earth Day 2016 Celebration
Register to Participate
Slogan Contest Entry Form
Media Information
Governor's Proclamation
Community Projects
Contact Us
Earth Day Links
Kids' Stuff
Capitol Tours
Environmental Education
Hidden Hazards
Want to be a Geologist?
Earth Day 2016
Earth Day 2016 was held Friday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the south lawn of the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. Earth Day offers a variety of fun and educational opportunities for students interested in finding out more about how they can improve the world around them.
At this year's celebration, attendees learned about the importance of clean air, land and water and what you can do to protect the environmen. Missouri State Park rangers answered questions about how to become a ranger and about our beautiful state parks. People enjoyed the learning to paddle a kayak and "Go Batty for Bats" at Missouri State Parks booths. There were also booths to ask a geologist about rocks, minerals and fossils and learn about minerals mined in Missouri. The Environmental Emergency Response truck and tools taught about cleaning up toxic and hazardous materials.
Missouri American Water sponsored the World Bird Sanctuary again this year for a very special show. Sparky the fire pup was there with Missouri Division of Fire Safety. The Missouri Department of Transportation gave away seedlings and offered a fun and educational bean bag toss game. You could learn to "Be Energy Efficient" with the Missouri Public Service Commission and see all of the wonderful aquatic great things in the Missouri Department of Conservations's mobile aquarium. Many people took home seeds and a recyclable planter from the Missouri Department of Agriculture's booth and experienced "Pollinator Power' with Runge Nature Center. They also learned about water safety with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Division of Health and Human Services and Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology booth informed visitors about public health. People also learned about urban stormwater quality and visited the girl scout's gold award Pollinator Display at the City of Jefferson's MU Extension office booth, plus information about groundwater from the U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Center.
Slogan Contest
This year's theme is "100 Years of Missouri State Parks" and we invited Missouri 5th grade students to develop a slogan that relates to relates to Missouri State Parks. The slogan winner is Landrey VanOverschelde from St. Peter Elementary School in Jefferson City and her teacher is Rose Gerling. The Slogan Contest winner was recognized during opening ceremonies at Earth Day and in the Earth Day proclamation.


text:
KALAMAZOO, MI – Connar Tava has yet to see the movie "Thor," the Marvel Studios production about the Norse "god of Thunder" – a hammer-wielding warrior and symbol of strength.
Tava has played the role of Thor, however, in more ways than one for the Western Michigan University basketball team.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound freshman forward is the driving force behind the Broncos' "Thor's hammer" theme. He emerged as their hero down the stretch in Wednesday night's 72-71 overtime win over North Dakota State in the College Basketball Invitational opener at University Arena.
Tava lowered the boom on the Bison and helped rescue WMU's season with a clutch performance off the bench: 10 points, including the winning free throws with 13 seconds left in OT, plus six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot to preserve the win in the bullet-dodging final moments.
"It was a big win. I didn't want to be one and done here – got to protect home court," Tava said. "Hopefully we can keep this thing going at Wyoming."
In the movie, Thor is banished to earth from the cosmic realm of Asgard.
Tava and the Broncos (21-12) are about to make a long trek themselves. They're traveling from Kalamazoo to Laramie, Wyo., for Monday night's CBI quarterfinals against the Cowboys (20-13).
CBI BRACKET: Click here for the updated tourney bracket
Tava has appeared in all 33 games this season. He is averaging 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds, but more importantly providing toughness, hustle, basketball smarts and other intangibles.
"I think he's the ultimate glue guy that really keeps it together on and off the court," WMU assistant coach David Kool said. "He's just so mentally and physically tough – just the type of kid we love at Western. He's one of our toughest kids. He might've struggled from the free-throw line (4-of-8 Wednesday and 58.1 percent on the season), but we want him on the line. He's been getting better and better, and we look forward to him taking the next jump next year."
Tava is no stranger to a starring role. The versatile, rugged southpaw was a Michigan Mr. Basketball finalist at Warren De La Salle Collegiate High School last year as a Pilots senior, when he averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and played anywhere from guard to center.
On Wednesday, Tava scored a layup to pull WMU within 71-70 with 41 seconds left in overtime and drew a foul on the play, but missed the potential game-tying free throw.
He knocked down two big free throws, though, moments later, coaxing in the second one after NDSU had called timeout between the foul-line shots.
"It was Jerry Tarkanian years and years and years ago who told me -- we were discussing late-game strategy and free-throw strategy in particular and getting the ball in bounds and who do you take it to and all that, percentage and all of that," WMU coach Steve Hawkins recalled. "He said, 'Hawk, all I want is my toughest kid with the ball in his hands. Free throws, late-game situations, is all about confidence. It's about being tough.' And Connar is one of the toughest kids we have. He's not a great free-throw shooter percentage wise throughout the course of the year, but right there at the end he hit the two that really mattered."
The other Tava/Thor correlation – call it a Thor-elation? – is his hammer-swinging ritual that originated during the Broncos' trip to Tampa for the University of South Florida Invitational early this season.
In the movie, Thor swings the mighty hammer and shakes the earth around him. Tava mimics the hammer-swinging motion from the WMU bench, but especially during pregame and postgame rituals.
"Well, we were at South Florida (when it started)," Tava said. "Last year some guy for Seton Hall was doing it after every play – dropping the hammer after every big play. In South Florida, Jared (Klein) and I just started doing it.
"We do it before the game when we get in our little circle. We get hype and I drop the hammer. Me and Jared were just messing around with it and everyone's buying into it. We have to keep doing it."
Klein, a WMU freshman guard, said it's kind of a team tradition now. He said that Tava may do the hammer swing with his left or right hand, and sometimes both hands.
"He mixes it up. It's pretty creative," Klein said with a smile.
Hawkins said that his Broncos teams have a "long history of silliness" when it comes to pregame and postgame rituals. With this team, in particular, it fits the fun-loving personality.
"We sing the fight song and at the very end, Connar looks like he's reaching for Thor's hammer. He swings a hammer and everybody goes crazy. It became kind of their thing in the locker room," Hawkins said.
"After the Central Michigan (home) game, when we had about 20 former players in for the game and they all came in the locker room after to sing the fight song, and they ate it up – they loved it. The tradition of silliness continued."
On the floor, Tava does possess some superhero-type qualities.
"He's a hustle guy – he makes a ton of hustle plays. He's strong and he's tough; he's probably the toughest guy on the team," Klein said. "He just makes those tough kind of plays, the clutch plays we need him to make."
Said Tava: "Whenever I'm out there, I just try to do whatever I can."
The "#thorshammer" hash tag has appeared in various WMU basketball tweets throughout the season. Kool took it a step further when he had it printed on the back of the Broncos' CBI warmup tops.
"The guys love it and it's pretty funny," said Kool, who has not seen the movie yet.
Hawkins is a movie buff. When the Broncos travel, and especially while they're riding the bus, they'll customarily pop in a movie. Hawkins has seen "Thor," for the record.
"Maybe we can watch it Sunday night before we play (at Wyoming)," Kool said with a laugh.
Complete WMU basketball coverage
Email Scott DeCamp at firstname.lastname@example.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ScottDeCamp.
WMU (21-12) at Wyoming (20-13)
What: CBI quarterfinals
When: 9 p.m. Monday (Eastern time) at Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyo.
TV: AXS TV (Channel 340 on DirecTV, Channel 362 on Dish Network, Channel 1106 on AT&T U-verse, Channel 569 on Verizon FiOS
Radio: WKZO-96.5 FM (Kalamazoo area); WMAX-96.1 FM (Grand Rapids/Muskegon areas); WVIC-94.1 FM (Battle Creek/Lansing areas)
Check out this video (courtesy of WMU Athletic Media Relations) from the WMU/Loyola-Chicago game earlier this season at the University of South Florida Invitational. Look at the WMU bench, near the top of the screen, where Connar Tava does "Thor's hammer" after a Darius Paul dunk:


text:
ORANGEBURG The bright banner hanging from a Claflin University light pole between the Leadership Development Center and Trustee Hall has an orange and maroon message for students: The world needs visionaries.
Sitting nearby, Brett Bullard agrees. He entered the predominantly black school as a scrawny white kid looking for a place to play baseball. Three years later, he is an all-star center fielder with a clear vision.
I want to teach, and teach kids that havent necessarily had a lot of advantages, said Bullard, a senior from Charleston. My eyes have been opened here. Im seeing what African-American kids are seeing as they go through school and go through different experiences. Now that Ive been here for three years, I think I can relate.
The passion for baseball and teaching are apparent in Bullards eyes, and in his parents.
Ike Bullard is a longtime Lowcountry teacher and coach who also has served as team chaplain for two minor-league teams hockeys South Carolina Stingrays and baseballs Charleston RiverDogs.
Claflin has been a blessing for Brett, Ike Bullard said. Its the right fit.
Sharon Bullard has seen every one of her youngest sons baseball games since he was seven years old except for Claflins game at Alabamas Tuskegee University earlier this season.
She couldnt find an affordable rental car at the last minute, Brett Bullard said with a smile. Other than that, shes seen them all.
She has seen Bullard make gradual progress after a slow start to his college career. It began with one year at North Greenville College after Bullard graduated from Northwood Academy in North Charleston. A coaching change prompted Bullards transfer to Claflin, where he joined the baseball team as a walk-on.
There were no guarantees.Bullard struggled as a sophomore in 2010. Claflin head coach James Randall, a former professional baseball player who appeared in four games with the 1988 Chicago White Sox, was direct.
I was weak defensively, Bullard said. Coach Randall said, Brett, well give you a chance in the outfield if you work hard and get your throwing right.
A summer of intense workouts added 30 pounds to Bullards 5-11 frame, from 145 to 175.
I did exactly what Coach Randall said and now Im an everyday starter, Bullard said. Hes definitely a players coach. He tries to work with you without sugar-coating anything.
Fitting in
The Panthers this week are headed into the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament as East Division champions. They play their home games at nostalgic Mirmow Field, a near-mirror image of Charlestons College Park and home to Orangeburgs Class A South Atlantic League franchise in the early 1970s.
Bullard, a left-handed hitter who leads off for the Panthers, is batting .360 with 28 RBIs and eight stolen bases.
Brett has been a sparkplug for us, Randall said. He plays the game the way it should be played. He plays like every play is his last. Its really hard not to like Brett. Hes the first one at the field and the last one to leave. Brett likes everyone and everyone likes Brett.
Racial stuff? Never been a big deal to Bullard, whose cultural status at Claflin is similar to the rare black player on a Division I baseball team, whose rosters are predominantly white.
Probably the main thing Ive learned here is that there really arent a whole lot of differences, Bullard said. Were humans and we all have goals in life.
Bullard has lived in a Claflin dormitory for the last three school years. His girlfriend, Brendell Studnicka of Clay Center, Neb., lives nearby; she recently completed her fourth season on the S.C. State volleyball team.
Bullard is active on campus, serving as a member of the Claflin Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and as Sergeant at Arms for the Sports Marketing Club.
Brett fits in real well, said Claflin senior right fielder Julius McDougal. Hes very well-liked on campus. Everybody knows him. People just like to be around him. As far as the baseball part, we never think about the color if you can play, you can help us.
Slow process
Still, the lack of black college baseball players at all levels including the sad fact that S.C. State disbanded its team in 1994 is disappointing to McDougal and baseball enthusiasts of various races.
You definitely want to see more black players in baseball, especially me as someone who plays baseball, McDougal said. Most black kids just prefer basketball or football, but I think the RBI (Rebuilding Baseball in Inner Cities) program and other things are helping. I was in an RBI program in the Detroit area, so I know steps are being taken. It just might be a slow process.
For now, McDougal and Bullard are bent on putting the finishing touches on one of Claflins best baseball seasons. Both players have been invited to play in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities All-Star Baseball Game, a two-day event June 29-30 in Atlanta.
After that, Bullard wants more of Claflin. He is appealing to the NCAA for another year of eligibility to coincide with the pursuit of a Masters degree in teaching designed around a combined Claflin/S.C. State course load.
I want to better the lives of children, just like my dad, Bullard said. Hes been pretty inspirational.
Brett Bullard plans to spend the summer as he has spent the last few, working with kids at the North Charleston Recreation Department.
Ike Bullard was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot who earned a Purple Heart in Vietnam. Its easy to see why hes a proud father.
Ive worked with all kinds of kids for a long, long time, he said. Weve taught Brett that everybodys the same. I dont think he looks at things as black and white. I think hes colorblind.
Reach Gene Sapakoff at 937-5593 or on Twitter @sapakoff


text:
Richgels, K.L.D., J.T. Hoverman, P.T.J. Johnson. 2013. Evaluating the role of regional and local processes in structuring a larval trematode metacommunity of Helisoma trivolvis. Ecography 36: 001–010, 2013 (early view). DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.07868.x
Hoverman, J.T., D.L Preston, S.A. Orlofske, K.L.D. Richgels, P.T.J. Johnson. In Review. Linking metabolic theory and disease ecology: experimental insights into the unique efficiency of host-parasite interactions. Ecology Letters.
Peterson, A.C., K.L.D. Richgels, P.T.J. Johnson, and V.J. McKenzie. 2013. Investigating the dispersal routes used by an invasive amphibian, Lithobates catesbeianus, in human-dominated landscapes. Biological Invasions (online first) DOI 10.1007/s10530-013-0442-y.
Johnson, P.T.J., D.L. Preston, J.T. Hoverman, K.L.D. Richgels. 2013. Biodiversity reduces disease through functional changes in host community composition. Nature 494:230-233.
Hoverman, J.T., J.R. Mihaljevic, K.L.D. Richgels, J.L. Kirby, P.T.J. Johnson. 2012. Widespread co-occurrence of virulent pathogens within California amphibian communities. EcoHealth 9:288-292.
Johnson P.T.J., J.T. Hoverman, V.J. McKenzie, A.R. Blaustein, K.L.D. Richgels. 2012. Urbanization and wetland communities: applying metacommunity theory to understand the local and landscape effects. Journal of Applied Ecology 50:34-42.
Johnson P.T.J., D.L. Preston, J.T. Hoverman, J.S. Henderson, S.H. Paull, K.L.D. Richgels, M.D. Redmond. 2012. Species diversity reduces parasite infection through cross-generational effects on host abundance. Ecology 93:56-64.
Johnson, P.T.J., J.M. Chase, K.L. Dosch, R.B. Hartson, J.A. Gross, D.J. Larson, D.R. Sutherland, and S.R. Carpenter. 2007. Aquatic eutrophication promotes pathogenic infection in amphibians. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 104:15781-86.
Katherine L. D. Richgels > Research >