text:
Europe's Green Capital 2014 Strikes Gold
Copenhagen is European Green Capital 2014. It is fitting, then, that Nordhavn, or North Harbor, an urban area in Copenhagen, has been awarded the highest certification in sustainability under a certification system, DGNB.
The district and port participated in the Danish Green Building Council's Award pilot project for the certification of urban development areas.
The area covers 300 ha and has a dense urban structure but is close to the water. It includes a metro to the North Harbor.
There is a growing recognition of the importance of measuring the efficacy of sustainable projects. The DGNB is a German certification system that has been selected by the Danish Green Building Council as it encompasses all aspects of sustainability: environmental, social and economic, as well as assessing the technical and operational aspects.
The certification system has already been used for certifying commercial buildings in Denmark, but not entire areas. Under the same competition, the districts of Aarhus, Horsens and Carlsberg City achieved a silver level.
The development of North Harbor is being carried out by Copenhagen City and Port development, in collaboration with the City of Copenhagen and a number of consultants. It was a harbor area use as a free port, but is gradually being converted into an urban area with districts laid out as small islets that are directly connected with the water. It will contain about 40,000 residents and workplaces for up to the same number of people.
Planning for the district began with an international design competition in 2009. The idea behind the Urban Delta is to create a compact, sustainable framework to be filled out by the citizens and users of the neighbourhood. The general principle that the dense city is one of the key elements of a sustainable future.
Everybody will be within a short distance of public transport and green areas, public institutions and shopping. Pedestrian and cycling traffic will be encouraged at the expense of private car use, which will remain difficult.
An overhead Metro will be constructed to connect the district with the rest of Copenhagen. It will also function as a roof for a super-bicycle path, which, without rain or obstacles on the road, will make it easy to cycle.
Between them these will constitute a "green loop", which will be a key transport element. Copenhagen as a whole has set itself the overall goal of being the world's best city for cyclists. It wants half of its population to be cycling to their place of work or education by 2015.
Sustainable energy will come in the form of an efficient district heating network that is already in place that will be renovated and extended. It provides the entire country with cheap and eco-friendly energy. There will also be used May not wind power, biomass fuel extracted from sea lettuce, which can be grown in the waters around the town, and geothermal heat pumped up form geological strata below. All houses will be zero energy, with waste water used in water closets.
In the end it is anticipated that Nordhavn will produce more energy than it consumes, helping the city as a whole to achieve its aim of being carbon neutral.
Copenhagen has already cut CO2 emissions by 40% since 1995. 75% of the remaining reductions will come from vastly increasing the share of renewable energy in the city's district heating system, which serves 98% of households.
Copenhagen sends less than 2% of its waste to landfill, another achievement. this reduction was from a percentage of 44% in 1988. Almost 58% of all waste is recycled, and 40% used to fuel a district heating network.
During the rest of 2014, the city hopes to broadcast its message to the world about how it is managing to become one of the most sustainable cities on the planet.
Illustrations courtesy COBE, SLETH og Ramboll.


text:
Extreme Wilderness Survival by Craig CaudillJimCobb : February 14, 2017 8:40 pm : Library at the End of the World
I don't review very many books these days. There are a few different reasons for that. Honestly, I don't have much time lately to do read a whole lot, recreational or otherwise. On top of that, I've gotten to know so many authors and instructors in the last several years that I fear a good review will just be seen as nepotism and a bad review seen as me trying to bad mouth a competitor. Neither are ever the case, whether we're talking about books or gear. I like what I like and I dislike what doesn't work for me, simple as that.
Extreme Wilderness Survival by Craig Caudill works. It works really, really well.
Here's what I can tell you about Craig. He's been there and done that. He knows what works and what doesn't, having learned from practical experience. He is the founder of Nature Reliance School as well as its chief instructor. Craig has taught survival and tracking to members of the military as well as law enforcement officers from federal, state, and local agencies. On top of all that, he's a damn fine human being. Simply put, he'll do to ride the river with.
One thing I really appreciate about Craig is his intelligence and that really comes through in this book. He is able to take very complex subjects and break them down in a way that is easy to comprehend, which is a sign of a truly gifted instructor.
The title, Extreme Wilderness Survival, is actually sort of misleading. Don't get me wrong, there is a ton of wilderness survival information here. But, there's far more here than just how to build a fire and keep warm.
The book really gets started at page 11, with the previous pages being used for the Table of Contents and such. From page 11 through page 43 is absolutely essential reading on the survival mindset. Seriously folks, those 32 pages alone are worth the price of admission. This is an area that is often either glossed over or missed entirely in many survival manuals.
In this part of the book, Craig discusses a few training aids to help with situational awareness, memory, and observation skills, all of which are important for survival. Personally, I love the "Sit Spot" exercise and highly recommend it. Basically, this involves choosing a location out in the field and visiting it as often as possible over the course of a month or so. Just sit and observe the world around you. Write down things you notice and make sketches. The drawings don't need to be art studio quality. The idea is that sketching will help you remember details better. Over time, you'll start to learn patterns to things, such as when certain critters are most active. Plus, there is something peaceful and centering about just sitting out in nature for a while.
From there, he goes into personal safety. In this section, Craig covers everything from basic first aid to map reading to self-defense. While these topics are obviously very complex, he breaks them down into manageable chunks. Naturally, this single volume isn't going to cover everything you'd ever need to know on any of those subjects but there is quite a bit of practical, actionable information shared in just a few pages.
Craig then uses the next several chapters to go into detail on the survival basics – shelter, fire, water, and food. In each chapter, he goes into detail on what works and what doesn't. Again, practicality reigns throughout. Craig will show you how to make and use a bow drill but he's also the first to tell you that if Daniel Boone could have carried a lighter with him, he'd have done so.
In the chapter on shelter, Craig goes into great detail on how to maintain your core temperature, sharing excellent information on layering, building shelters, and using tarps. Again, he goes a step beyond the standard survival manuals by suggesting you actually get outside and test out your skills by doing an overnight.
For food and water, he explains different methods for locating and procuring what you need. I love the table he includes in the water chapter, showing the effectiveness of various water filtration methods compared to one another. Very valuable information to have when deciding what to invest in when you're putting together your own survival gear.
In the food chapter, Craig mentions another little tidbit that is often overlooked. The mere process of eating and digesting food will burn calories. Many people don't realize that it takes far more calories to consume meat than it does to consume plants. When you are running a calorie deficit, this is important information to know.
The third section of the book is focused on tactics. This is a broad section that includes topics such as forming a group, deciding to hunker down or bug out, patrolling and movement with weapons, and tracking. That last one is probably my favorite chapter in the book. See, among Craig's varied talents and skills is that he is an extremely capable tracker. This is an area I hope to learn much more soon and this chapter is an excellent primer on the subject.
The last section is on gear. It covers selection, methods of carry, weapons, and concludes with a reality check. Again, that last is something frequently missing from most survival manuals. As with the rest of the book, there is little to no fluff here. Just practical information on each and every page.
There are a ton of survival manuals on the market today. I can and do recommend Extreme Wilderness Survival without reservation. Find it here on Amazon. The book is scheduled for release on March 21, 2017.
The Fireman by Joe HillJimCobb : July 27, 2016 3:32 pm : Library at the End of the World
Reviewing novels is always kind of tricky. You want to fill the reader in on what the story is about but at the same time you don't want to spoil any surprises, large or small. Let me start, though, by saying that I'm a huge fan of Joe Hill. He's a tremendously talented writer, the kind of author you read and enjoy, but then you get kind of pissed because you're just not quite that good yourself. At least, not yet.
As regulars here know, and new visitors could probably suss out fairly quickly, I'm also a big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction. Whether we're talking war, natural disasters, or man-made calamities, I'm interested in how people fare in the aftermath. So, when I heard Joe Hill was doing a post-apocalyptic novel, it caught my attention.
In THE FIREMAN, the disaster du jour is a pandemic, but unlike any we've seen before. Draco incendia trychophyton, often referred to as Dragonscale, is a communicable disease that can and usually does set people on fire. It first manifests as a gold and black marking, not unlike a tattoo, on the body. The location and shape are different for everyone. What matters is that once you've been infected, you're likely going to go up in flames sooner or later. There is no known cure and entire cities have been destroyed by the infected. It has been found that when the infected are in groups and one of them goes up, it causes a chain reaction among them all. Yeah, AA meetings were never like this, I reckon.
Harper Grayson is a nurse in her 20s. Dragonscale is spreading nonstop and she finds herself spending more and more time at the hospital, trying to provide some measure of care for the infected. Harper's husband, Jakob, seems a decent enough bloke until he becomes convinced that Harper has infected the two of them with Dragonscale. She barely escapes with her life…and with the baby growing inside of her.
One of the patients Harper had treated while at the hospital was a child brought in by the titular Fireman. He [Fireman] is infected but has been working tirelessly to help other folks, so it seems. As it turns out, the Fireman has managed to do something seemingly no one else has – control the Dragonscale and master the flame.
As one might imagine, due to the inherent danger they bring to the table, the infected aren't exactly welcomed with open arms by the rest of society. In fact, more and more often there are reports of infected people being hunted down and killed by vigilante groups. One of the loudest proponents of these groups is a talk radio host who goes by the moniker The Marlboro Man. I'll admit I was a little disappointed in this naming choice, given that one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies is Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man.
As a result of the hatred and abuse, hidden colonies of infected crop up and it is to one of these locations Harper ends up going, taken there by the Fireman. There, Harper learns that the Fireman isn't the only one who has the Dragonscale infection under control. It is also at this camp, for lack of a better term, that we're introduced to a whole litany of characters. I'll be honest in that I felt like I had to keep a scorecard nearby as I went along so I could keep track of who's who.
As it turns out, the Dragonscale infection reacts to the person's emotional state. The more angry or anxious they get, the more their temperature rises, both figuratively and literally. The community manages to counteract this tendency by having daily singalongs.
Now, here's the thing, dear readers. If you're a regular here, you know we talk a fair amount about survival communities and what not. While group singing isn't a bad idea as a way to pass the time and keep spirits up, getting to the point where it is a daily activity, so much so that if you miss a session people start to look crossways at you, that's a sign that the community isn't healthy.
This is also where I felt THE FIREMAN worked well on two levels. First, obviously, an engaging novel. Second, though, is that this part of the story serves as an excellent illustration of how a group of people, even one with nothing but good intentions, can slip sideways rather quickly. It doesn't take much before the leader of the band, so to speak, starts to sing a slightly different tune.
Through it all, Harper is not just caring for those around her but for the life growing inside her ever-expanding belly. She's rather certain the baby won't be born infected, based on some research she'd done. But, what will happen with the baby? Who will take care of it if she has to give it up so it remains uninfected?
Harper and the Fireman might be the heroes of the story but neither of them are as pure as the driven snow. That's one of the story's strengths. The characters are first and foremost human. They come across as real. They act and react in ways that seem normal and expected. When the Fireman first realizes the extent of his abilities, there's no "With great power comes great responsibility" epiphany. He feels and acts like a guy who's been in a bar band for years and now has just landed the mother of all recording deals, complete with a tour bus filled with groupies and a never-ending supply of booze.
For her part, Harper quotes Mary Poppins from time to time but isn't afraid to let loose with the cussing as the situation warrants. And as the story progresses, she finds this necessary more and more often. On top of that, she's keeping secrets and isn't sure who she can really trust.
Throughout THE FIREMAN, there are dozens of references to pop culture, from the fates of celebrities like George Clooney to the final plan of finding a safe haven with original MTV VJ Martha Quinn on an island off the coast of Maine. Hill also brings the funny from time to time, with several truly laugh-out-loud one-liners. Being able to elicit both laughter and tears from a reader through the course of a book shows talent and Hill has this in spades.
There's a lot going on in THE FIREMAN. That stands to reason, given that the book tops out at 770 pages or so. While the ending is a little…soft…it is satisfying. This isn't a typical post-apocalyptic novel, either. While there's some detail here and there about how society has fared with the spread of the Dragonscale, most of the story concentrates on the characters. That's not a bad thing but by the end of the book I was wanting to hear more about the world at large. That shouldn't be surprising, given my background. I wanted to know how people were surviving. Was anyone still actually going to work? Were stores still operating? What were people eating or doing for water? I mean, I could surmise my own answers to those questions but I'd have loved to hear how it played out in the author's head. [Joe, if you read this, I'm available to consult on such matters ;)]
All in all, I enjoyed THE FIREMAN, as I've enjoyed Hill's other novels. My personal favorite is still HEART-SHAPED BOX but you'll have a good time with any of his stuff.
Pandemic – Interview and GiveawayJimCobb : June 30, 2016 4:10 pm : Library at the End of the World
I reviewed Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca back when it first came out in hardcover. The paperback edition just came out so I thought this was a great time to sit down and chat with the author about this amazing book. You can read my original review of the book here. Details on the giveaway follow the interview.
Did the idea for this book come from news reports and such at the time or something else? The hardcover edition came out in 2014. Two years later, the subject matter is still very much top of mind in the world.
The Swine Flu/H1N1 pandemic of 2009-2010 was a definite inspiration. That particular flu only turned out to be as lethal as seasonal flu, but we obviously didn't know the mortality rate at first. It was a highly contagious new influenza, and the more I researched flu pandemics and the potential for a contagious avian flu, the more the idea stuck with me for a story.
How much research went into this book? Many elements seem very fact-based, such as how the Blue Flu spreads and which age groups are affected the most.
I read about historical diseases as well as emerging infectious diseases in order to create my fictional flu, using books like The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, Influenza 1918 by Lynette Iezzoni, Spillover by David Quammen (one of my favorites) and Secret Agents: Emerging Epidemics by Madeline Drexler. The H1N1 (Swine Flu) pandemic is well-documented on the www.flu.gov website, so I started with that timeline as an approximation for my fictional disease and its rapid spread. I modelled the mortality pattern after the Spanish influenza, since that fit with my plot (the very young and old are spared, leaving teens and their parents at risk), and because it was such a devastating illness.
Pandemic is set in New Jersey, so another source of information was state preparedness documents. I was surprised to find some plans online, like NJ's "Antiviral Distribution Plan." I also found a 2005 Homeland Security Document, "National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza."
Based on their planning assumptions, I tried to imagine complications. For example, many people think it's most likely that a pandemic would start someplace else, like Asia, and as a result the U.S. would have a warning period. What if that turned out to be untrue and we had little or no time to prepare?
One of my best resources was an interview I did with a local health officer in 2011. He spoke frankly about the H1N1 experience and gave me insight into what problems could potentially occur if a deadly pandemic struck. It was educational and also inspired some ideas, like the news story Lil (the main character) sees about who should receive the antiviral first if supplies were limited.
I do have to be careful about over-researching. For example, I spent a lot of time checking the spring migratory flyways of waterfowl, relating to my fictional transmission of bird flu to people directly. I have a whole folder on bird research which I didn't use. (Fun fact: Wild waterfowl are carriers of all influenza A viruses. The World Health Organization calls them "natural reservoirs.")
Something I really enjoyed as a reader was the dialogue in Pandemic. Many authors, myself included, struggle with this and often it sounds forced. You absolutely nailed it, though. Any tips or pointers?
Thank you! A few tips that I've found helpful:
I mostly stick to simple dialogue tags like "said" and "asked." If a person sounds angry in the dialogue, for example, I don't need to say, "she vented in an irate voice" at the end of the sentence, which can be a distraction to the reader. I try to work in some action between the spoken bits. This helps show the character's emotion and can improve the rhythm of a sentence/paragraph. I also find reading everything aloud helps enormously.
Another aspect to the story I liked was how some of the characters eventually teamed up to not just help one another but to reach out to other survivors. This is something I've often stressed on this site and elsewhere – the idea of building a community rather than going it alone. Was this an element you'd planned ahead of time for the story or did it just develop organically?
The idea of a community and comparing people's differing reactions was always something I wanted to include in Pandemic, because dire circumstances can bring out a range of behaviors, from charity to self-preservation. There's a scene in Susan Beth Pfeffer's novel, Life As We Knew It, where the mother reprimands her teen daughter for leaving to tell a friend when the town gives out free bags of much-needed food. The mom is furious because the supplies could have run out before the she returned. But her daughter naturally wants to help someone else she cares about. That small scene was memorable to me because it showed the conflict between our survival instincts and the desire to help people and I wanted to explore that in Pandemic. Should we help others even if doing so puts us at risk? It's not an easy question, but the moral dilemma fascinated me.
Given the nature of my own blog and books, I have to ask – would you consider yourself any sort of prepper or survivalist, either before or after writing Pandemic?
The research I did caused me to think more seriously about emergency preparedness. I had the chance to test our preparations during an October ice storm which caused unexpected, widespread power outages in our suburban town and surrounding areas. We were still woefully unprepared. I've learned from that lesson and tried to improve, but it is definitely an ongoing process. As a result of my research for Pandemic, I do tend to wash my hands more than the average person, if that counts for anything.
Every author has one or two questions in their head that they would love to get asked in an interview. Go for it, the floor is yours ;)
One thing I'd like to share is how the Pandemic paperback differs from the hardcover. The editor and I worked to add some bonus materials, including some of my research that didn't make it directly into the story, and a fun pandemic-inspired recipe called "pantry cuisine." There's also an educator's guide to make it easy for teachers to use the book with students (ages 12+).
If your readers like survival fiction, I'd like to give a shout-out to a dystopian anthology I contributed to called Prep for Doom. It's an integrated collection of twenty short stories that tell the tale of a single catastrophe (airborne Ebola) as experienced by many characters, some of whom cross paths. I wrote chapter thirteen, "Escape to Orange Blossom," about a girl who tries to find safety for her autistic brother and herself during the disaster. There's more about the project at www.prepfordoom.com.
What's next for you? Any plans to do a follow up to Pandemic?
Pandemic was always intended to be a standalone novel, so no sequel! I'm thrilled that it's available in paperback, so that it can reach even more readers.
My next young adult novel, Black Flowers, White Lies, comes out in October. It's a psychological thriller about how fragile our perception of reality is. Here's a blurb:
Her father died before she was born, but Ella Benton knows they have a mysterious connection. When an eerie handprint appears on her mirror, Ella wonders if Dad's warning her of danger as he did once before. Could her new too-good-to-be-true boyfriend be responsible? Or the grieving building superintendent? As the unexplained events become more frequent and more sinister, Ella becomes terrified about who—or what—might harm her. Soon the evidence points to Ella herself. What if, like her father, she's suffering from a breakdown? Ella desperately needs to find answers, no matter how disturbing the truth might be.
Visit Yvonne's website to learn more about her and her books.
I'd like to thank Yvonne for taking the time to participate in the interview as well as donating a book for the giveaway below. Pandemic is a great book, one of my favorites.
One lucky person will win a copy of the paperback edition of Pandemic! To enter, post in the comments below your answer to this question – What one luxury item would you hope to have access to if you were forced to shelter in place for several weeks or longer due to a pandemic? Assume food, water, and other necessities are under control. Please keep your answers family-friendly. In order to keep spam to a minimum, comments are moderated. If yours doesn't show up immediately, don't panic.
When posting your answer, be sure to use a legit email address as that is how we will contact the winner. Entry deadline is 11:59PM (Central), Tuesday, July 5th, 2016. One winner will be chosen at random from all qualifying entries. Good luck!
Goodbye, Harris PublicationsJimCobb : May 10, 2016 2:48 pm : Library at the End of the World
I was a fan of Harris Publications long before I began writing for them. I'd been a subscriber to New Pioneer and also snatched up American Frontiersman whenever it hit the stands. My introduction to the staff, though, came through my involvement with Panteao Productions. I'm one of the instructors for their Make Ready to Survive DVD series. While we were in Florida filming my segments, Panteao's owner, Fernando Coelho, and I spent some time talking about the survival/prepper industry as a whole. He mentioned that Harris Publications, a company with whom he had a longstanding relationship, was planning a new magazine devoted to emergency preparedness. He gave me some contact info and suggested I reach out to them once we returned to civilization.
A short time later, I met via email a woman who would become one of my all-time favorite editors, Cara Donaldson. We traded a few messages about how Harris operated with respect to freelance writers as well as discussed a few potential article topics. She sent me a sample issue of Survivor's Edge magazine so I could get a feel for the tone of the publication. I was admittedly eager to sell an article to them and pitched several ideas. I learned early on in my writing career that the first sale is always the hardest. Once you've placed the first article (on time and well written), future assignments can come easy.
Over the next couple of years, I placed several articles with Survivor's Edge. Pitching articles to Cara went from me writing up a very detailed query, complete with reference links and such, to just sending her an email saying, "Hey, how about I do a review of this new lantern?"
Survivor's Edge was an excellent publication. It had a great mix of actionable content, solid information, and reviews of products that real people could actually afford. The content was largely written by people whom I know personally to be very knowledgeable in their fields.
It was announced on April 29, 2016, that the company was shutting down. By all accounts, this took most people, including employees, by surprise. Harris had been in business since 1977 and during that time had published somewhere around 75 different magazines. They catered to niche markets, from decorating (Storage Solutions, Flea Market Style) to tactical (Ballistic, Combat Handguns) to outdoor living (New Pioneer, American Frontiersman).
I was a big fan of both New Pioneer and American Frontiersman. NP catered to those who were genuinely interested in homesteading and related pursuits. They'd profile families who were out there doing it. Alternative energy, gardening, animal husbandry, DIY projects, all that and more were included between the front and back covers of the magazine.
American Frontiersman was just plain fun, as far as I was concerned. I've long been fascinated by the whole mountain man lifestyle. In AF, you could learn how to cook using a reflector oven, how to properly preserve a rabbit skin, how to use a compass, and so much more. There were often profiles of historical mountain men and long hunters, too, and I'm a sucker for history.
I was very saddened by the news of Harris closing up shop, and not just because I was writing for Survivor's Edge. I'm admittedly rather old school when it comes to reading and much prefer actual hard copy magazines and books over electronic editions. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Luddite. I love my Kindle and use it all the time. But, I favor actual pages between my fingers. I want to have the book or magazine on my shelf so I can easily reference it if needed.
My fear is that we're going to see more and more magazines cease publication, at least in hard copy format. Back in 2014, I did a blog post called Prepper and Homesteading Magazine Round Up in which I listed several publications I felt were high quality and worth reading. Of the 10 on my list, 4 have since folded – Back Home, Self Reliance Illustrated, New Pioneer, and American Frontiersman. Here's hoping the rest of them stick around a bit longer.
Graphic AudioJimCobb : April 29, 2016 12:08 pm : Library at the End of the World
I'm a huge fan of Graphic Audio. Looking back on the blog posts here from the last few years, I can't believe I've not mentioned them before.
I spend a fair amount of time in my car each week. My daily commute is about 35 minutes each way. Plus, my day job often has me driving 30-50 miles or more each day. Hell, there are days I'm in the car for six or more hours. I find much of what passes for entertainment on the radio boring so some time ago I started listening to books on CD. One thing I learned early on was that the quality of an audiobook really hinged on the narrator. I know, sounds obvious. The thing is, a narrator can make or break the audiobook. Doesn't matter how good the story might be, if the narrator's voice isn't right, the book fails. At least, that's how I feel about the whole thing.
Then, a buddy of mine introduced me to Graphic Audio. This was way different from any other audiobook I'd listened to before. These books aren't narrated, they are performed! Each one has a full cast, with different actors and actresses playing roles. Throughout the performance you'll hear sound effects, from gunshots to engines revving. If you've ever listened to any of the old radio shows from back in the day, these audiobooks are the modern equivalent.
For those interested in post-apocalyptic stuff, they have the following series:
The Survivalist by Jerry and Sharon Ahern
Deathlands by James Axler
Doomsday Warrior by Ryder Stacy
On top of those, they have a ton of science fiction, action/adventure, westerns, and comic related novels.
You can purchase the audiobooks either as downloads or CDs. The latter is a little more expensive since there is a physical product that has to be shipped out. They do have a lot of samples available on their site so you can check out the quality before buying. Or, see if your local library has any of these productions or if they can order them in through interlibrary loan.
Seriously, I can't say enough about these audiobooks. They are very well done.
Review: Prepper's Natural MedicineJimCobb : March 22, 2016 3:53 pm : Library at the End of the World
As an author who has had a book or two negatively reviewed because it turned out not to be what the reader had expected, let me tell you a few things up front about Prepper's Natural Medicine by Cat Ellis.
1) If you're looking for a field identification guide that will help you locate and procure wild medicinal plants, this isn't it. There is nary a single photo in the entire book.
2) If you're looking for a wild medicinal first aid guide that will tell you which plants you can gather for treating injuries and ailments while on the run, this has some of that but you'll want to supplement with another manual.
3) If you're looking for information on how to use natural remedies to combat infections and illnesses rather than visiting the pharmacy for everything, you'll want to sit up and pay attention.
The author, Cat Ellis, comes by her knowledge honestly. She's been a practicing herbalist since the 1990s and belongs to the American Herbalists Guild. Cat blogs at HerbalPrepper.com.
In Chapter 1, the author talks about the differences between natural medicine and the modern equivalent. She then goes on to explain why preppers should look at learning natural or traditional forms of medicine. Her top five reasons why preppers need to learn natural medicine are:
1) Natural medicine works. It has been used successfully for thousands of years.
2) Natural medicine belongs to everyone. You don't need anyone's permission to use it or learn it. The knowledge is all out there.
3) Natural medicine is easy to learn. The beginning techniques and skills can be learned quickly and require little in the way of expensive equipment.
4) Natural medicine is sustainable over the long term. Because it relies upon herbs and other renewable resources, you don't run the risk of the shelves at the pharmacy being picked clean.
5) Natural medicine provides valuable barter items. I've talked about bartering a time or two myself and the importance of having not just gold coins and candy bars but actual skills you can provide. Any skills related to the medical arena will be highly prized in a total grid down scenario.
Chapter 2 is Stocking the Home Apothecary. This might be my favorite chapter in the whole book, to be honest. She goes into great detail on what supplies you'll want to make sure you have on hand as you learn and utilize natural remedies. This goes beyond just a supply of herbs and such. Distilled grain alcohol is used to prepare tinctures and to dull pain. Glycerin is used for syrups and ear drops. Activated charcoal is great for pulling toxins from wounds. Those are just a few quick examples. In this chapter are several pages of discussion on the use of essential oils, which is great information to have.
Other essentials include containers for your supplies and concoctions as well as a mortar and pestle, blender, and scale.
Chapter 3 discusses the basic skills involved with natural medicine. This also is where we begin to see a lot of the jargon involved with natural medicine – tisanes (herbal tea), infusions, decoctions, tinctures, elixirs, electuaries, pastilles, and more. Don't worry, though. The author goes to great lengths to ensure the reader fully understands each term used. This chapter basically describes all the different ways you'll be using the herbs and such, whether you'll be ingesting it, spreading it on your skin, or inhaling vapors.
Chapter 4 is the nitty gritty, so to speak. In this chapter, she details 50 plants that have medicinal qualities. Here's what I really appreciate in this section. For each plant, she provides the following information:
Common name
Scientific name
Parts of the plant used (flowers, leaves, etc.)
Actions (what the plant is used for, such as an analgesic or astringent)
Preparations (how the plant is used, such as tincture or poultice)
Uses (ailments or illnesses it alleviates)
Contraindications (when NOT to use the plant)
That last one is pretty valuable information. For example, Lobelia is one of only a couple of herbs capable of effectively dealing with an asthma attack. However, it could cause problems for someone with cardiac problems. Good to know.
As should be obvious, there are far more than just 50 known plants that have medicinal value. The author chose for inclusion in this book the ones that she felt were not only very important but were available throughout much of the United States. Again, though, this is not a field identification guide for plants. You'll need something like the Peterson Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs for that purpose. http://amzn.to/1Zpyppn
Chapter 5 is all about first aid. Here is where we find dozens of recipes, for lack of a better term, where you learn how to combine and use the plants discussed in the previous chapter. Everything from burns to constipation, tooth infection to wound care is covered. For each, the author gives the list of ingredients and the steps to turn it into an effective treatment. Worth noting is that she suggests making some of these mixtures and such in advance rather than trying to toss it all together at the drop of a hat.
Throughout the book, the author stresses over and over the importance of labeling your medicines. This is crucial as you don't want to have to guess at the contents of a container. Label everything right away so you don't lose track of what you're doing.
Next, in Chapter 6 the author discusses what she called Everyday Natural Medicine. Basically, here we're talking about preventative care, chronic illness, and common ailments like the flu. Proper nutrition is discussed, of course, and there's a recipe for "Cat's Favorite Nutritional Syrup" included here. Among the chronic stuff discussed are arthritis and diabetes, the latter of which is very popular topic in the prepper community. The author suggests it is possible to at least address the blood sugar issues, if not alleviate the problems completely, through the use of natural medicine.
The book ends with an awesome appendix. Here, the author groups the plants by use (analgesics, antimicrobial, etc.). This is quite a time saver. When you're faced with a specific type of ailment, you'll want to be able to find what will help without having to page through the entire book. For each table, she lists the herbs by name and then a sentence or two on how the herb is used, such as topically or as a tincture.
Here's the main reason I like this book. I've consulted several "natural medicine" books in the last few years. All are great at telling me that white willow bark can be used as a pain reliever. Few of them say anything about how you're to use the bark for that purpose. Here, we're given both the preparation and the recommended dose. This is valuable information to have in hard copy format. If the power goes out, so does your access to the Internet.
Highly recommended. You can find this book here on Amazon as well as through all major booksellers.
Review: The Complete Survival Shelters HandbookJimCobb : March 22, 2016 12:08 pm : Library at the End of the World
On the list of survival priorities, maintaining your core body temperature is number one. Hypothermia is a very real danger, even in relatively mild conditions. On top of that, working to make yourself at least somewhat comfortable has a tremendous impact on morale. You'll feel better about your situation if you're warm and dry, even if you're still lost and hungry.
The Complete Survival Shelters Handbook is an excellent resource and instruction guide for all manner of methods for getting out of the rain and snow. The book starts, rightfully so, with a discussion on clothing and sleeping gear. Your clothes are always your first line of defense, your first shelter, in any situation. Ensuring you are properly dressed for conditions is important. There is ample information here on different fabrics to consider for the base, the mid, and the outer layers of clothing.
In this first part of the book, there is also some pretty good instruction on making your own cordage. Why? Because cordage is extremely useful in a wide range of DIY shelters and if you don't have paracord or bankline in your pocket or pack, you might need to improvise a bit.
From there, the book divides shelters into three basic categories:
–Shelters made from natural materials
–Shelters made with modern materials
–Shelters purchased from stores
In the natural materials section, the author covers nine different shelters, everything from a debris hut to snow caves. Each shelter is discussed in terms of its pros and cons and includes detailed instructions for construction, accompanied by several photos. I found it interesting that the author is not a fan of the lean to shelter, as this is one of the natural material shelters detailed in just about every single survival manual I've read. I don't disagree with the points he makes, either. Lean to shelters are woefully ineffective when it comes to warmth. They are fun to build when you're just out screwing around in the woods, as many a kid can attest. But, when it comes to true survival, there are far better options such as the classic debris hut.
The next section of the book tackles DIY shelters using modern materials. The materials used include the ever-popular reflective emergency blankets as well as tarps and the Scandinavian Lavvu. No, I'd never heard of that one, either. It is sort of like a short, squat Native American teepee made of canvas. A full ten pages of the book detail step-by-step instructions for making this particular shelter. It isn't something you'll slap together on the fly but it looks very durable and long-lasting.
Tarp shelters are mentioned but all too briefly, in my opinion. There are a ton of different tarp shelter layouts, each with different attributes and I wish the author would have gone into more detail on more of them. Still, the information provided is valuable and on point.
About 25 pages are devoted to the construction of a yurt. For those not in the know, a yurt is a traditional Mongolian shelter that has a circular shape and sort of a peaked or conical roof. Again, not something you'll quickly build in an emergency but if you're planning a long-term offgrid situation in the field, this might be the way to go.
The store-bought shelter section of the book covers tents, hammocks, and bivvy bags. For each, the author goes through the terminology involved as well as what to look for when shopping. I would have liked to see more information on choosing a hiking or backpacking tent as this portion of the chapter only runs a couple of pages. Hammocks get far more space than tents.
The last chapter of the book is a brief discussion of mental preparedness. Here, the author details four types of mental survival skills:
–Drilling or practicing
–Understanding emotions and stress
–Gaining confidence
–Adopting the right mental attitude.
As he stresses, it isn't enough to read through the book. You need to get out there and practice building these shelters. Make the mistakes now when you have the luxury of learning from them for next time.
Overall, I liked the book. I feel it has some great information that goes well beyond what I've seen in other survival manuals regarding shelter building. Some of the shelters discussed, like the yurt and the lavvu, I thought were interesting but not really "survival shelters" in the way I understand the term. While they'll certainly keep you alive, constructing them from scratch isn't something you'll be able to do in a couple of hours. In other words, these aren't all expedient survival shelters, though many of them do fall into that category.
The author, Anthonio Akkermans, is well-versed in the subject. He grew up in the Netherlands and developed an affinity for the outdoors at a very young age. He has traveled the world learning and teaching primitive survival skills. He's also worked as a consultant for TV and radio.
You can find The Complete Survival Shelter Handbook here on Amazon. It is also available from most other major booksellers.
Review: Wild (book and movie)JimCobb : October 1, 2015 4:32 pm : Library at the End of the World
Let me get this out of the way right up front. Neither the book nor the movie were at all what I was expecting. I'm reviewing them together as the movie very closely follows the book, unlike many movie adaptations today. I guess, with that in mind, I can't say the movie was a total surprise since I'd read the book first.
Here's what I thought I was getting. A woman's adventure hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, complete with her personal observations on what worked and what didn't. Basically, her adventures on the trail.
Here's what I got. A woman who's life has been falling apart for quite some time, despite the fact that she's only 26, decides to embark upon a journey of self-discovery on the Pacific Crest Trail. Roughly half of said journey is spent inside her own head, revisiting traumatic experiences (many of them self-inflicted) and infidelities. Much of the time actually spent on the trail is focused on the ridiculously large pack she carries and the ill-fitting boots she wears.
See, here's what happened. I saw a trailer for the movie version of Wild at the beginning of one or another movie we'd picked up at Redbox. The trailer focused on the hiking and the camping, the difficulties and such. Plus, I and my wife both like Reese Witherspoon. She's a tremendously talented actress who's often a lot of fun. So, a week or two later when I saw a copy of the book at a bookstore, I bought it without even glancing through it.
Now, to be fair, this isn't a bad book. Cheryl Strayed is actually a pretty talented writer. My problem isn't with the competency of the writing but with the perceived misrepresentation of the story. I signed on for hiking, camping, encounters with wild animals and Mother Nature. What I got was whining, innumerable flashbacks to sex and drug use, and then a bit more whining.
The movie was well done. The scenery was outstanding and, thankfully, the movie wasn't filled with "shaky cam" like so many films today. Ms. Witherspoon does quite well in the role. She's very believable. But, again, the movie I saw wasn't the movie I'd been led to believe it would be. There weren't quite as many flashback scenes as there are in the book, of course, but there's still quite a few. Not quite as much whining as in the book, either, which was refreshing.
Now, why in the world would I have wanted to see the movie after having read the book? I figured I'd give it a shot and see if it mirrored the book or if it followed more closely the way the trailer made it look.
All in all, like I said, the book nor the movie are inherently bad. Both are well executed and interesting. But, if you're looking for a true "trail" book, you're going to have to search elsewhere.
For those interested, the book and the movie are both available from Amazon.
Mad Max: Fury RoadJimCobb : September 28, 2015 1:25 pm : Library at the End of the World
Max Rockatansky and I met back in 1983 or thereabouts. We were introduced by my father, who brought home a VHS copy of The Road Warrior to watch on our fairly new VCR. My Dad had won the gadget at work a couple of months prior, as I recall, and picked up the movie at one of the video rental businesses that had just started cropping up.
Simply put, I was blown away. This was the first post-apocalyptic movie I'd seen and it immediately cemented my love for the genre. The cars were awesome, as was Max's sawed-off double barrel shotgun. In due course, I tracked down a copy of the first movie, Mad Max. I thought it was okay but not nearly as awesome as the sequel.
Then, a few years later in 1985 came Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. While better than the first Mad Max, at least in my estimation, it still wasn't as good as Road Warrior. It does, however, have one of the best fight scenes in the history of cinema, when Max takes on Blaster inside Thunderdome. Very original and well done.
While I'm not enough of a Road Warrior fan to have attended one of the various conventions and events that have gone on, I'm enough of a geek to have known about them. Heck, I even had a toy sawed-off double barrel shotgun when I was a kid. Can't for the life of me find even a pic of it today but I assure you, they existed and were sold at Toys R Us and elsewhere.
Over the last 30 years, we'd been given hints, teasers, that we'd someday see a new Mad Max adventure. Various rumors were floated around so many times, it was almost ridiculous. When we found out it was truly going to happen, that a script was finalized and shooting had begun, the excitement was off the charts.
When Mad Max: Fury Road hit theaters, many of my friends were first in line. They, like me, had been waiting three decades for this. Almost without exception, reviews from them were extremely positive. Great movie! Worth the wait!
Last night, my wife and picked up Fury Road at Redbox. We grabbed some chips and candy, dimmed the lights, and let 'er rip.
Seriously, that's what I thought about this movie I'd waited much of my life to see. Meh.
The plot, such as it is, is very muddled at the beginning. Granted, none of the Mad Max movies are really known for intricate storytelling. But, I had a difficult time understanding quite a bit of the garbled dialogue in Fury Road, so following the plot was sort of like trying to read braille while wearing gloves. I could get a general sense of what was going on but that's about it.
Near as I can tell, the gist of the story is that there's this community of survivors in the middle of the wastelands. The leader, Immortan Joe, controls access to water, so he sort of has everyone under his thumb. Now, this dude is pretty scary, what with hoses and what not connecting him to the life giving apparatus he wears. He also has a harem, filled with about a half dozen scantily clad young women. Apparently the idea is to use these women not only for his own entertainment but for breeding.
Early in the movie, Max is attacked and captured by a patrol of "war boys" who belong to this little community. They bring him in to use as a source of blood for transfusions. The war boys are all extremely pale skinned, almost albino in appearance, and there are references to them being short-lived due to radiation sickness or something. Not too long after Max is hooked up to one of these war boys, the harem is found missing. Joe immediately calls up all of his war boys to go out in search of the women. The one attached to Max, apparently named Nux, figures out a way to keep his "blood bag" with him – strapping Max to the front of his vehicle.
The idea of using radiation diseased people as soldiers was explored quite a bit in the Outrider series by Richard Harding. There, the Radleps (radiation lepers) were given the best of everything by their leader in exchange for complete loyalty to the end of their lives. I find this particularly interesting in that the Outrider series, published 1984-1985 or thereabouts, was itself obviously inspired by The Road Warrior.
From there, the story gets increasingly outlandish as it progresses. While the car chases and crashes are indeed quite well done, that's about all the movie had going for it. I mean, at various stages throughout the battles and chases, you see that Immortan Joe has a war wag equipped with a wall of speakers and a guy playing a giant, fire throwing electric guitar as they scream through the desert. Yes, I'm aware of the long history of music being played during battles and such. This, however, was just a bit over the top.
Another befuddlement, and this is true of all of the Mad Max movies, is the subject of fuel. On one hand, fuel is said to be very scarce and is probably the single most valuable commodity in the world of Mad Max. On the other hand, these guys have so many vehicles and go pedal to the metal for hours on end, you have to wonder just where the gas is supposed to be coming from. I mean, in Road Warrior, they at least addressed this a little bit by having an oil refinery be present in the story. Here, not so much.
I know, I know, this sort of movie is supposed to be escapism at its best. Logic and common sense aren't applicable here.
The other problem I had with Fury Road was the excessive use of flashbacks. Max suffers from rapidly occurring hallucinations of people, specifically a young girl, whom he apparently failed to save at some point prior to this movie. Some have mentioned that this is supposed to be his child, killed in the first Mad Max movie. That's incorrect. The child killed in that movie was an infant boy, not a toddler or older girl. The reason the flashbacks were bothersome to me is because it was as though we the viewers were supposed to know and understand the backstory alluded to in them. Part of the problem, too, is that we really don't know where in Max's life Fury Road takes place. George Miller himself has said the chronology of the movies is a bit fuzzy. While ostensibly this movie takes place after Thunderdome, we have no idea how much time has really passed. This leads to a rather interesting fan-based theory on the whole Mad Max mythology.
Now, all of that said, I do think Tom Hardy did well with the material he'd been given. Max had originally been brought to life by Mel Gibson, of course. Hardy's version of Max appears a little beefier than Gibson's but just as much of a "loner who eventually develops a heart" as the original. Personally, as much of a fan of the character as I am, I had no issues with another actor taking the reins. Hardy did a fine job.
I don't know. Maybe the movie was just too hyped, too anticipated, for it to be anything other than a disappointment to me. Sort of like when you're a kid and you want this one certain toy so badly and when you finally get it for Christmas or your birthday, it just isn't nearly as much fun as the commercials said it would. As a movie, Fury Road was okay. Not great, not horrible, just okay. As a follow up to Road Warrior, though, I was greatly disappointed. I wanted to badly to enjoy this movie….
I'm told there are more Mad Max movies in the works, but I have no idea just how far along in the process they are at this time. Fury Road was, by all accounts, a successful movie so I have no doubt the powers that be in Hollywood are interested in adding another car or two to the money train, so to speak. If/when a new Mad Max hits, I'll see it. I'm too much of a fan to not do so. I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.
You can find Mad Max: Fury Road here on Amazon, should you be looking to keep a copy on hand. I might still pick it up on DVD, if only for the bonus material. I'm sort of waiting to see if they are going to come out with a box set of all four movies. Not sure if there are rights issues or anything with regards to that but it would seem to be a slam dunk, especially as we get closer to the holiday shopping season.
Survival FictionJimCobb : July 23, 2015 9:48 am : Library at the End of the World
My show last night on Around the Cabin was focused on survival fiction, both novels and movies. As promised during the show, I've compiled the following list of books and movies that I discussed during the show. All of these links lead to Amazon but I'd encourage you to seek out the titles at your local library. Even if they don't have it on their shelves, they can probably order it for you via interlibrary loan.
For the book series I mentioned during the show, I've linked to the first book in the series.
Also, as I mentioned during the show, this list isn't all-inclusive of every novel or movie I've enjoyed, read, or watched. Nobody has time for a list that large. If you don't see your own favorites listed, feel free to add them in the comments below.
Ashfall series by Mike Mullin
Rule of Three series by Eric Walters
Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca
Wake Up Call by John D McCann
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
One Second After by William R Forstchen
World War Z by Max Brooks
Survivalist Series by Arthur Bradley
The Weller by Adam Whitlatch
Red Dawn (1984)
Red Dawn (2012)
Tomorrow, When the War Began
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After
The Edge
The Road Warrior
World Gone Wild is an excellent resource for finding additional disaster/survival movies. It is a comprehensive encyclopedia of end of the world movies. It is quite good and makes for rather entertaining reading all on its own. My full review of the book can be found here.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Welcome to dickblick
, null
not null?
Browse more:
Here's a Blick best seller at a great price! The Ebony Pencil has long been the artist's favorite for sketching, drawing, and layout, with its thick, black, satiny-smooth graphite lead.
see also ...
® Prismacolor is a registered trademark of Sanford Corporation.
Hint — click a thumbnail to enlarge.
Hint — click a thumbnail to enlarge.
(based on 64 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
5 Stars
4 Stars
3 Stars
2 Stars
1 Stars
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Reviewed by 64 customers
Displaying reviews 1-10
Back to top
Previous | Next »
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
Like the Pencil, hate that it breaks easily
By PIcasso's Playmates
from Santa Clarita California
Comments about Prismacolor Ebony Pencil:
Love the smoothness and variability of this graphite, unfortunately if dropped, or tapped as students will do the lead breaks inside the wood making sharpening impossible.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Was this review helpful? Yes / No
- You may also flag this review
Great pencils
By L.Russell
from Enid, Oklahoma
I've used these pencils as both as artist and in my classroom as a teacher.
Versatile pencil
By Sim
from Upstate NY
These pencils have become a go-to for me. The texture of the graphite feels similar to a hard charcoal, and you can get very solid, glossy darks. They have a great range of value (even into lights) and can be sharpened to a long tapering point for broad marks on the side and a fine line tip. Good versatility. One draw back: if they're dropped there's a good chance you'll have multiple fractures along the length of the core, which can be pretty frustrating and sometimes ruins a pencil in a single shot. Overall a solid pencil.
Prismacolor Ebony Pencil
By Hawk
from Franklin, Va
Same pencils I used in my Art classes in college. Very nice and reliable.
Images shared by Hawk
(0 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
Prismacolor Ebony Pencils
By Pam
from Bourbon, IN.
Was here in good shape and no time
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
Prismacoior Ebony pencils - I think they're great.
By Colleen Gee
from Ripon, CA
I have bought the Sanford Ebony pencils and the Prismacolor Ebony pencils for a long time and have found that the Prismacolor Ebony pencils are just as good as the Sanford, using the range of this pencil to achieve a light light gray to the darkest black is perfect with this pencil, I have and a couple if pencils where the leads were broken in the case, but that is all. Using a sharp pencil sharpener is the key. Get a good electric pencil sharpener if you can.
Have used this product for years
By Ms F
from Filer Idaho
If you drop them the graphite inside the wood can break- can they be made with a square wood to avoid rolling off the table?
High Quality
By Em
from Arlington, VA
Overall it's a really smooth pencil to use.
Ebony Pencils
By Art Cookie
from Frisco, TX
My students and I enjoy using this pencil because of its softness for blending or in creating dark values.
Great product! Would definitely recommend
By jess the artist
from Springfield, VA
There weren't many choices when I was looking to order some on this website but these definitely worked for me. Great quality and haven't broken or cracked yet! They sharpen pretty easily as well.
Loading item data...
Please allow ADDITIONAL DELIVERY TIME for factory-shipped items.
Click here to view expected shipping dates, or call our Order Dept (800)-828-4548.
Copyright © 2015 Dick Blick Art Materials. All rights reserved.
Your cart is currently empty.
Your cart currently contains N item.
Dick Blick Art Materials®, Blick®, Blick Studio®, and Artists Pick Blick® are registered trademarks of Dick Blick Holdings Inc.
© Copyright 1999-2017 Dick Blick Holdings Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
News By Tag
Industry News
News By Location
Industry News
Networks Fight to Run Antismoking Messages // But Even More Delays Will Cost Countless Lives
For dozens of years broadcasters refused to run any antismoking messages even as they made fortunes from cigarette commercials, and only began to do so when ordered by the FCC as the result of a legal action brought by John Banzhaf
Now, ironically, they are fighting to be able to broadcast antismoking messages, but the public is unlikely to see the messages anytime soon because of legal infighting, says law professor John Banzhaf, who has been called "The Man Behind the Ban on Cigarette Commercials"
As a result of a Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations [RICO] law suit, tobacco companies are being required to explain - on TV, in newspapers, and elsewhere - how they deceived the public about the dangers of cigarettes, and networks like A&E and Univision are fighting for a bigger share of the revenue which will be generated when the messages begin running five times per week, during prime time for one year, under the latest version of the plan.
Coincidentally, this novel remedy - called "corrective advertising"
Unfortunately the public - and especially young people as they reach the critical age at which many experiment with smoking only to become addicted - will probably not see or be helped by these antismoking messages for many year, he laments.
Cigarette makers have fought in court for nearly 15 years that they are a racketeering influenced corrupt organization which deliberately deceived the public about the dangers of smoking, and their continued legal appeals will further delay these life-saving messages. In addition, squabbling between major media companies over how much money each should get to run the messages will likely result in even further delay, says Banzhaf.
A lengthy memo outlining the legal theories under which the major tobacco companies could be sued under RICO originated with Prof. Banzhaf, and helped lead to this unprecedented legal victory.
Moreover, the concept of ordering companies which had engaged in deceptive practices to confess to the public that they lied in the past goes back much further to 1970. In a legal proceeding at the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] involving Campbell soup, law students under Professor Banzhaf's direction persuaded the agency for the first time that it had the legal authority to order corrective advertising.
The agency reconfirmed that legal authority in a subsequent proceeding involving Firestone tires, and the remedy was also applied in many proceedings which followed. Some of these instances are cited by the judge in upholding this unusual remedy.
"It's very satisfying, at a time when so many people criticize law professors for teaching only theory and not practice, and for doing little more than writing increasingly useless and irrelevant law review articles, to be able to point to important public health accomplishments from their efforts in the real world; victories expected to save lives by helping to persuade youngsters not to take up smoking," suggests Banzhaf.
Prof. Banzhaf brought legal actions which led to the first dramatic decline in cigarette consumption, the ban on cigarette commercials, started the modern nonsmokers' movement which is banning smoking in so many places here and abroad, helped to kill off Joe Camel and cigarette billboards, supported other law suits against the tobacco companies which led to billion-dollar verdicts, etc.
JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2000 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
GWU Law School
202 994-7229 / 703 527-8418
Account Email Address Account Phone Number Disclaimer Report Abuse


text:
Lawrence Wittner: The United States, Russia, and China have a long history of expansion at the expense of neighboring countries and territories, often through military conquest.
Widespread Human Annihilation: The Solution to Our Problems
John Peeler: The devastation from global warming is likely to be comparable in scope to what would result from a worldwide nuclear war, though the latter would happen in a matter of hours, while the former will take a century.
Hillary's Foreign Policy Scarier than Donald's
Ivan Eland: Trump's foreign policy views, if you think about it, are less scary, even in their implications for possible nuclear war, than Clinton's belligerent interventionism—sold as "American world leadership."
In War We Trust, Even If It's Nuclear?
Murray Polner: the dangerous game goes on between the three powers until someone either devises a diplomatic solution with people they may not like or we slip mindlessly into a nuclear war.
"Modernizing" the Opportunities for Nuclear War
Lawrence Wittner: The nuclear weapons modernization program is particularly startling when set against President Obama's April 2009 pledge to build a nuclear weapons-free world.
U.S. "Dismantling" Rhetoric Ignores Iran's Nuclear Proposals
Iranian Nuclear Proposals — Iran pushes back against statements that Tehran must "dismantle" some of its nuclear program.
Operation. . . North. . .Iran?
John Macmurrary: With the increasing and increasingly shrill volume of rhetoric about war with Iran, it might be a good time to let the White House and our elected representatives know how we feel about that.
Forget Proxy Wars: They Don't Exist
Marti Hiken and Luke Hiken: What we are really seeing in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc., is the U.S. attacking sovereign nations and constituencies and turning them into one-sided attempts by this country to destabilize established governments.
How to Save $250 Billion: Axe "Missile Defense"
Lawrence Wittner: By scrapping plans for nuclear weapons "modernization" and for national missile defense—programs that are both useless and provocative—the United States would save $271 billion (well over a quarter of a trillion dollars) in the next ten years.
Obama's JFK move
Brent Budowsky: Had Gadhafi successfully executed his greatest mass murder while the world watched silently, it would have emboldened bad actors considering mass slaughters of democracy advocates throughout the Middle East.
The Peace Corps at Fifty
Tom Hayden: It is time for Obama, and more Americans, to read their Eisenhower and begin again.
Public Mobilization for a Nuclear-Free World
Lawrence S. Wittner: One of the ironies of the current international situation is that, although some government leaders now talk of building a nuclear weapons-free world, there has been limited public mobilization around that goal—at least compared to the action-packed 1980s.
Nuke U: How the University of California Is Helping to Blow Up the World
Norman Solomon: Sixty-five years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, the University of California imprimatur is an air freshener for the stench of preparations for global annihilation.


text:
Cybershieldtechnology.com is a 1 year old domain, situated in United States. The domain is linked to the IP address 126.96.36.199 which is provided by the hosting company WEBSITEWELCOME.COM.
It was registered by FELIX MEDINA , who can be reached at . The site is owned by Universal Group. Registration details show that it was registered on 08 Jan 2016 through launchpad.com, inc. and will expire on 08 Jan 2017.
The site is being served through Apache.


text:
Need an FSH Test in Woodbridge, VA? Simply order online 24/7 and get a fast, affordable FSH Test at a lab near you (Find More Locations):
What is an FSH Test?
The FSH Test, also known as a Follicle Stimulating Hormone test, is a lab test that checks the level of FSH. The FSH Test is used to help guide fertility decisions for people in Woodbridge, VA.
How much does an FSH Test cost?
Our FSH Test price includes the doctor's order that you need to get tested in Woodbridge, VA, all lab fees and taxes, and a pdf copy of your results. For current prices, CLICK HERE.
What does an FSH Test report look like?
For an FSH Test sample report, please CLICK HERE.
We are delighted to offer the FSH Test in Woodbridge, VA.
FSH Test in other cities near Woodbridge, VA:Alexandria | Burke | Clifton | Dumfries | Fairfax | Fairfax Station | Fort Belvoir | Lorton | Manassas | Occoquan | Quantico | Springfield | Triangle | Vienna | West Mclean


text:
Workaholic Dad
SKU: gif06160025fd
This one is for the Dad's who are quite serious and sincere. He has taught you various lessons of life and has guided you enough to make you reach where you are today. On his special day, make him feel special by gifting him this 'Sincere Dad' hamper that contains: a Parker Ball Pen, a ceramic 'Father's Day' Mug and a pack of velvety smooth delicious 'I <3 Dad' handmade chocolates.
Courier Product | Deliver within 4-5 working days
Rs. 899
Earliest Delivery Date for this product is 31st May
- Free Shipping
- Secure Payment
Browse Gift CategoriesView All
Browse More products
- You Might Also Like


text:
DOG SITTER! Kennel free and clean environment
I PROVIDE A FREE & CLEAN ENVIRONMENT IN MY HOME FOR DOGS AND NO KENNELING TAKES PLACE ON THE PREMISES (unfortunately due to recent lease changes I am unable to extend my services to owners of bully breeds and I can only accept dogs up to 55lbs) If you are having trouble finding someone to look after your loved one when your away then I am avail
Contact Service Provider
Didn't find Pet Sitters & Walkers in Grain Valley, MO?
Find some popular services close to your location
Submit your request and we will find the best local professionals for youSubmit a Request


text:
Item: PAB014
Natural Clarifying Shampoo
With citrus extracts
Shine maximizer; oil free
Free of paraben, sulfate & glycol
12 fl oz Liquid
Ingredients: Water, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauryl Sarcosinate, Sea Salt*, Polysorbate 20, PEG-150 Distearate, Citric Acid, Vinegar, Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Chloride, Botanical Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol.
*Certified Organic Ingredients
Directions: Apply to wet hair, gently massage into hair and scalp. Rinse thoroughly. For best results follow with Pure & Basic Reconstructing Coconut Conditioner.
.94 lbs
Natural Clarifying Shampoo
With citrus extracts
Shine maximizer; oil free
Free of paraben, sulfate & glycol
Citrus Clarifying Shampoo from Pure & Basic is a unique botanical blend that rids hair of excess oil, impurities and product build-up without stripping away natural essential oils. It cleanses hair and scalp while achieving maximum shine, leaving you with glossy, radiant hair. Safe for color-treated and permed hair. Free of paraben, sulfate and glycol. Made in the USA.
"With my personal 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee, you have nothing to lose and great savings to gain."
Lee Swanson, Founder of Swanson Health Products
If you are dissatisfied for any reason, we'll give you a full refund and pay return shipping.
We are dedicated to offering the highest quality products at the best price. Find out more about how we ensure such a high standard in everything we do.Learn More


text:
Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 20: Mangalore Refinery&Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), an ONGC Group company and a mini-ratna I, today received the Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Award for energy performance given to Indian refineries by Centre for High Technology (CHT), MoP&NG, post monitoring and evaluation of their annual energy performance.
MRPL has won the first prize in Energy Performance consecutively for the fourth time, a telling statement on the sustained commitment of the company to reduced energy indices and energy optimization processes. Shri R Rajamani, Managing Director, MRPL received the silver trophy from Shri Murali Deora, Hon'ble Minister for Petroleum&Natural Gas in the presence of Shri M S Srinivasan IAS, Secretary, P&NG, Dr Balaraman, Exec Director, CHT, Shri M B Lal, Chairman, Scientific Advisory Committee, MoP&NG, Shri B D Ghosh, Director, CHT and several luminaries from the oil industry from India and abroad.
Besides the Jawaharlal Nehru Award, MRPL has been conferred the following awards in 2006:
- Winner under Scheme No.II of the National Safety Awards-2006 given by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.
- II prize in Oil Industry Safety Award 2006-07 by Oil Industry Safety Directorate, MoP&NG, Government of India.
- Best Safety Performance award under the category of large industry division for the year 2006 from Department of Factories and Boilers, Government of Karnataka.
- Best Boiler Performance award under the category of power boiler for the year 2005-06 from Department of Factories and Boilers, Government of Karnataka.
- Runner Up award for Furnace and Boiler efficiency by Center for High Technology (CHT) during Oil&Conservation fortnight.
- Commendation Certificate for Large Scale Manufacturing Industry under Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award-2006.
- Revised accreditation for its ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System including Marketing and Bunker supply facility.
- Award for Best Exporter through New Mangalore Port Trust from the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce&Industry for the year 2006-07.
OneIndia News


text:
The latest news from academia, regulators
research labs and other things of interest
|Posted: Sep 14, 2015
Ultrafast photodetectors allow direct observation of multiple electrons generated by a single photon
|Detecting and quantifying this multiplication process in working devices has proven challenging, however, as noted by Victor Klimov, director of the Center for Advanced Solar Photophysics (CASP) at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
|Andrew Fidler of Los Alamos National Laboratory examines an ultrafast photodetector used to measure quantum dot carrier multiplication in real time.
|The key advance is a newly developed capability which allows us to follow the fate of photogenerated electrons on ultrafast timescales directly in the photocurrent measurements. Research in our team and elsewhere had previously focused on using optical spectroscopy for detecting carrier multiplication and quantifying its efficiency, he said.
|It has remained unclear whether the efficiencies observed in spectroscopic measurements can be reproduced in a photocurrent of real-life devices. Our new study allows us to address this important question.
|The new technique involves monitoring photocurrent transients in specially engineered photodetectors that provide very high temporal resolution of only 50 picoseconds.
|Jianbo Gao, the postdoctoral researcher working on this project and co-author of a new Nature Communications paper ("Carrier multiplication detected through transient photocurrent in device-grade films of lead selenide quantum dots"), said, The measurements have become possible using newly developed photodetectors that incorporate quantum dots as a part of the device and that serve as its active photoconductive layer. Using an appropriate photodetector design in combination with ultrafast electronics, we have been able to resolve very short photocurrent spikes due to multiexcitons produced in a carrier multiplication process.
|Said Andrew Fidler, a Los Alamos Directors postdoctoral fellow on the project, A key difficulty with carrier multiplication is quickly extracting photogenerated carriers before they recombine. In the case of multiexcitons, this recombination process is governed by so-called Auger decay, which is characterized by extremely short, picosecond time scales. Using our new photodetectors, we have shown that by applying an appropriate chemical treatment to the quantum dot outer layer, we can extract charges from the quantum dot prior to their recombination. This proves that carrier multiplication is a viable approach for enhancing photocurrent of real-life devices.
|Source: Los Alamos National Laboratory


text:
The Pink Orchid: Breathtaking Ocean Views from Waterfront Home(30 Reviews)
The owner has been emailed.
This owner doesn't offer online booking through VRBO's checkout. You won't be eligible for our Book with Confidence Guarantee.
Never use instant money transfer services such as Western Union and MoneyGram. Learn more
- Minimum stay:7 nights
- Sleeps:8
- Bedrooms:3
- Bathrooms:3
- Property type:House
- Internet:Yes
- Pets considered:No
- Wheel chair accessible:N/A
About the Property
House, 3 Bedrooms + Convertible bed(s), 3 Baths, (Sleeps 8)
The Pink Orchid is one of seven Caribbean style homes located in the cozy community of Orchid Beach Village. Situated high on a scenic bluff with views in every direction, the home overlooks the crystal clear protected waters of the largest coral reef in the northern hemisphere (surpassed only by the great barrier reef in Australia)...a diver's paradise! Enjoy panoramic views of island wildlife, tropical foliage and up-close sunsets right off a private deck with spectacular vistas of the ocean. The three bedrooms each with its own private attached bathroom makes this an affordable option for a large family or 3-4 couples to share the cost. From its traditional Caribbean hardwood and tiled floors to its vaulted ceilings and floor-to ceiling windows, you can enjoy island living at its best. Whether you are floating on your favorite water mattress on the calm waters, snorkeling off the dock to take in the abundant sea life, relaxing in the sandy waist-deep waters, lounging with a good read in the hammock, or soaking in the sun on the deck lounges jutting over the tranquil waters...this place has it all! The average annual temperature on Roatan is 85 degrees F/29 degrees C so you can wear your shorts day and night. Roatan is a top diving and snorkeling destination with hundreds of dive sites, many of them world class, due to the 37 miles of coral reef that runs along the north coast of the island.
The Pink Orchid is located halfway between the town of West End and one of the world's ten most beautiful beaches – West Bay Beach. West End is a unique village (think Margaritaville) where the streets are sand and reminiscent of 40 years ago -- a true Caribbean experience. West Bay Beach is the most pristine beach on the island surrounded by tropical vegetation and fresh air outdoor restaurants in keeping with the island culture. Enjoy the best of both worlds with West Bay's upscale beach life including endless white sand, azure waters, beachfront restaurants and bars, gift shops, and water sport activities of all kinds or West End's unique Caribbean style where you can buy fruits and vegetables off the back of a truck, rent mopeds, arrange for your scuba adventure at the many dive shops, shop in their plentiful tourist markets, or enjoy a cool Salva Vida, the local Honduran beer. It's only a 3-minute water taxi ride to either destination from the private dock or a 15-minute walk on the beach. No need to drive.
Orchid Beach Village has a 24-hour security system onsite. The kitchen is equipped with a full-sized refrigerator, four burner stove & oven, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, waffle maker and electric mixer for all your cooking needs. The full service for twelve of Dansk Caribe dishes and many cooking and serving dishes make this the perfect place for entertaining. If the preference is to have someone do the cooking during your stay on the island, a local cook can come and prepare some or all of the meals to your liking. There are ceiling fans in every room, a back-up solar system for energy efficiency, TV and DVD in living room, wireless Internet, and a stainless steel outdoor barbecue grill and picnic table. Bottled water is provided for your drinking needs and the ultraviolet water purification system makes tap water safe. Each room has a separately controlled air conditioner. This is a non-smoking home.
Roatan is easier to get to than many Caribbean destinations. The Roatan airport has non-stop flights from Newark, Houston, Atlanta, and Miami on Continental, Delta, and Taca. There are also frequent flights from San Pedro Sula on mainland Honduras, and direct charters from Toronto, Canada, Milan, Italy (on Alitalia Euroair) and from Madrid, Spain. It is the owner's goal to make your stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible. They hope you will come and enjoy your stay at Orchid Beach on this diverse and beautiful island!
Keywords: Vacation Rental, Beachfront, 3-Bedroom/3-Bath, Orchid Beach, Near Tabyana Beach, House, Waterfront, Ocean View, Private Dock, Private Deck
Before making a payment, always call the owner at the number listed on our website to make sure your payment instructions are accurate.
Never use instant money transfer services such as Western Union and MoneyGram.Learn more
Member since: 2010
Property Type
- House
House Rules
- Max. occupancy 8
- Children Welcome
- Non Smoking Only
- Pets Not Allowed
Accommodation Type
- Vacation Rental
- Guests Provide Their Own Meals
Bedrooms: 3 Bedrooms, Sleeps 8, Beds for 8
Bathrooms: 3 Bathrooms
Other Amenities
- Three Bedrooms, Three Baths, Perfect for large family or three couples as each bedroom has a private attached bath, King & TV in master bedroom, Two double beds in bedroom #2, Queen in bedroom #3, Queen sofa bed in living room, Solar electric backup, Ultraviolet water purification system, Laundry room on main floor, Linens and beach towels provided, Local cell phone provided, Portable lounge chairs available for the beach, Picnic table, Hammock, Two 2-seat kayaks, Large barbecue, Traditional Caribbean wood and tile floors, Dinner service and flatware for twelve, Spices and cooking staples on hand, Some paper/plastic products available. 24-hour security system....moreless
- DVD Player
- Satellite / Cable
- Arboretum
- Botanical Garden
- Health/Beauty Spa
- Restaurants
- Zoo
Local Services & Businesses
- ATM/Bank
- Fitness Center
- Groceries
- Laundromat
- Massage Therapist
- Medical Services
Leisure Activities
- Beachcombing
- Bird Watching
- Boating
- Horseback Riding
- Scenic Drives
- Shopping
- Sight Seeing
- Wildlife Viewing
Location Type
- Oceanfront
Sports & Adventure Activities
- Deepsea Fishing
- Fishing
- Fly Fishing
- Golf
- Golf Privileges Optional
- Hiking
- Jet Skiing
- Kayaking
- Rafting
- Sailing
- Scuba Diving Or Snorkeling
- Snorkeling
- Snorkeling/Diving
- Swimming
- Water Skiing
- Dining Area
- Air Conditioning
- Clothes Dryer
- Linens Provided
- Washing Machine
- Wireless Internet
- Catering Available
- Coffee Maker
- Cooking Utensils
- Dishes & Utensils
- Kitchen
- Microwave
- Oven
- Refrigerator
- Stove
- Toaster
- Balcony
- Deck / Patio
- Kayak / Canoe
- Outdoor Grill
RatesCurrency Conversion
|Weekend Night
|Monthly *
8 people
Sep 15 - Sep 22, 2018
7 night min stay
My Standard Rate
7 night min stay
Rates are based on 2 guests; add $20 per night, per additional guest
Additional information about rental rates
- Tax Rate 19%
$1500 per week for up to 2 people
$1750 per week for up to 4 people
$2000 per week for up to 6 people
$2250 per week for up to 8 people
Additional $500 fee for Christmas and Easter
Air conditioning use $20/night (not optional due to security system)
Refundable security deposit required
19% local sales and hotel tax
25% required as down payment upon booking and signed contract. Balance required 45 days prior to arrival. Personal checks, money orders and PayPal payments accepted.
Owner's cancellation policy:
Policy available by contacting owner when booking
Don't forget your vacation protection! Get protected now
Adding our Vacation Protection services can make sure your getaway goes smoothly, no matter what. We offer Cancellation Protection and Damage Protection so you can truly relax.
Car: Not Necessary
Guests can be picked up on private dock for scuba diving, deep sea fishing, or island excursions.
Owner info
Year Purchased: 2009
About the owner: The owners, Al and Pam Kuck, live in northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. Al is an animal geneticist for one of the largest cattle breeding organizations in the country and Pam is an educational consultant working with large metropolitan school districts and state departments of education around the country. They have three grown daughters, and two new grandchildren who live worlds apart in Wisconsin and Australia. The family gathers annually in Roatan for reunions. They have enjoyed boating and water skiing all their lives and especially love the warm weather of the island during Wisconsin winters.
Why the Owner Chose Orchid Beach Village (West Bay, Honduras):
The Kucks researched the many Caribbean Islands and found Roatan to be one of the most beautiful. It's lush tropical vegetation, white sand beaches, turquoise blue waters, sweet unaffected towns and pleasant local people made it a natural choice for them to purchase their home. The location of the Pink Orchid within walking distance from West Bay Beach (one of the world's ten top most beautiful beaches) and West End (a diver's paradise) was important to them. There is something in the air on Roatan that makes visits unforgettable and draws one back again and again...perhaps the old-world charm of a time long forgotten when life was slow, lazy, and peaceful was what attracted them to this tropical oasis. The addition of the $67M new Mahogany Bay Cruise terminal and the new Black Pearl 9-Hole Golf Course promise the island will continue to thrive and prosper. Al & Pam want to share their home when not in use so that you too can experience the lure of this unforgettable island paradise.
Contact us
Send email
- Primary: (715) 304-9530 (Wisconsin, USA)
- Secondary: +1 7155847553
Links to more information:
- Click Here to see All My Rental Listings
The Pink Orchid viewed from the south.
The front entrance
The view of the ocean from the living room.
Dining room and kitchen.
Pink Orchid master bedroom.
Master bedroom sitting area.
The "blue" room.
There is nothing like a hammock for relaxing.
More gardens.
View of the dock. Can pick up water taxis any time during the day.
View of the Pink Orchid from the water.
The decks!
Heading down the stairs to the beach!
Living room with 46 inch TV.
New stainless steel appliances
Master bedroom.
The "yellow" bedroom.
Lounges on the deck for soaking up the sun!
The "gardens" on our lot next door.
The "pergola", complete with a picnic table.
The walkway on the south side of the Pink Orchid.
....and so are the sunsets!
This listing was first published here in 2010.
Date last modified - Thursday, May 25, 2017
Partner Offers
Enter dates to see accurate pricing
This owner doesn't offer online booking through VRBO's checkout. You won't be eligible for our Book with Confidence Guarantee.
Never use instant money transfer services such as Western Union and MoneyGram.
Send a Message
Contact the owner or see rate notes on this listing for additional information and fees
By clicking 'Send Request' you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions
Send a message to owner
Anonymously report this listing
Thank you
We appreciate your participation and assistance with our efforts to operate the most secure and trusted vacation rental marketplace in the industry
If you have any questions, please visit our Help Center.


text:
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab 48th Match IPL 2015 - KXIP vs SRH
Saturday, May 09, 2015 Admin
Sponsored links
Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on Kings XI Punjab in the 48th Match of the IPL 2015. Match will be played at Hyderabad. Scheduled date of Kings XI Punjab vs Sunrisers Hyderabad match is May 11, 2015 and time is 14:30 GMT.
Live cricket match scheduled date: May 11, 2015
Local time: 20:00
GMT time: 14:30
Indian Standard Time: 8:00 PM
Live cricket scores Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab
You can follow Live cricket scores of Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab of 48th Match in IPL 2015.
Live Cricket Scores
Are you looking for a way to watch live cricket streaming of Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab match? Crictimes live cricket streaming Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab. Crictimes KXIP vs SRH
Sponsored links
Popular Posts
Live cricket updates and scores of International and domestic cricket matches. We also have live cricket score updates of all ipl matche...
Ball by Ball Live Cricket Scores More mathes Cricket score card has been removed. So are you guys looking for a way to watch live crick...
Get crictime Live Cricket scores of India vs Australia. Live Cricket scores of test Ind vs Aus. Live cricket streaming of England, West...


text:
Showbiz Sandbox 204: The Argument Over Broadcast Retransmission Consent Fees
September 9, 2013
After a programming blackout that lasted more than month Time Warner Cable came to an agreement with CBS over retransmission consent fees. Unless the 20-year-old retransmission consent legislation is revised or updated, the number of network blackouts will continue to increase. Unfortunately the real losers in all such disputes are consumers.
The Time Warner Cable-CBS deal was reached just as the new television season is about to begin. We'll review some new series that have potential and are worth catching, as well as a few you might want to avoid.
Meanwhile, the book publishing industry was in the news last week with Amazon announcing plans to bundle e-books with the sale of traditional print copies, and a new startup hoping you'll stop buying books altogether and simply rent them.
Of course we also cover the week's top entertainment news including declining attendance on Broadway over the summer, Bruno Mars heads to the Super Bowl and a major personnel change at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Vin Diesel's 'Riddick' Opens No. 1 With $18.7 Million
Bold Play by CBS Fortifies Broadcasters
Will Time Warner Cable's Failed Battle With CBS Change Anything? Understanding Our Reversal on Retrans Issue
The Disequilibrium of Power: How Retransmission Consent Went So Wrong & How to Fix It
Cord-Cutting Reality: Pay-TV Industry Loses 217,000 Subscribers
Broadway Grosses For Week of September 8, 2013
Tokyo Chosen As Host City For 2020 Summer Olympics
Summer Attendance Falls on Broadway, but High Prices Lift Sales Totals
Paramount Picks Four Chinese Actors for 'Transformers 4' Roles via Reality Show
Motion Picture Academy COO Ric Robertson Steps Down
Ric Robertson's Academy Exit Represents Changing of Guard
Amazon Offers Readers Kindle Editions of Purchased Print Books for $2.99 or Less
Encouraging Readers To Sell Their Physical Books?
Oyster Launches Spotify for E-Books
Unlimited E-Books For Less Than $10 A Month


text:
I can remember setting off to London to see my sister from Boldon Colliery station and this started my interest in railways. I was hooked and was a regular at the station in the years of 1959 to 1963, trainspotting and being amazed by the variety of trains passing through. Several diverted trains and extra traffic workings were regular on this line and this was interesting to the spotters.
Added interest was the Tyne Dock to Consett line with long heavy coal and ore trains. Although these were heavy frieght workings by regular locos they were a sight to be seen. A 9F battling its way with full ore wagons, billowing smoke and heading to Consett, showed the power of these workhorses.
At Boldon station the V2s pulling the mail, paper and semi express trains were a magnificent sight from a distance, then the diesels were starting to take over, thus adding more interest.
So Boldon has seen the most types of trains that ran in the North East and those who watched them hold memories that should never fade.
A memory shared byon May 11th, 2009.
Starting a conversation is a great way to share, and get involved!
Post some feedback, your own recollections, or questions below.
You must be signed-in to your Frith account to post a comment.
Not sure what to write? It's easy - just think of an important place in your life and ask yourself:
Some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
...and hundreds more! Enjoy browsing more recent contributions now.


text:
A HIGH-FLYING Irish solicitor, who once bid over £1 million for a Dublin football club, has been jailed for five years for fraud.
A judge in the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin was told that Elio Malocco was likely to be struck off by the Incorporated Law Society.
He has been suspended since 1991, when the society impounded files and closed his high-profile Dublin practice.
Malocco, who qualified at 20 and was rarely out of the headlines after, has been in prison for almost two months, awaiting sentence. He had been found guilty after an 11-day trial of defrauding Irish Press Newspapers, of which he was a director and worked as a libel lawyer, of £68,500.
He had misappropriated money given to him by the company to settle libel cases, forging receipts and documents to escape detection. The company's chief executive, Vincent Jennings, testified that the total misappropriated amount came to "at least £312,000".
The money was refunded by the Incorporated Law Society, which is also reported to have faced claims from other clients totalling more than £500,000.
Malocco, the son of Italian immigrants, made his mark at University College in Dublin, where he became the youngest auditor of the Law Society. He also became a member of Sinn Fein in the early 1970s, but left the party after the Birmingham bombings and moved to Fianna Fail, the party then in government in the Irish Republic.
Malocco often made the headlines. Among other cases, he represented the so-called IRA priest, Fr Paddy Ryan, in successfully resisting extradition to Britain.
In business, a Dublin restaurant venture collapsed with debts of £335,000. He then made an unsuccessful £1.2 million bid to take over Shelbourne football club and its Tolka Park grounds.
His counsel, John Coughlan, pleaded for leniency, saying Malocco would in all probability be struck off, which "courts considered a greater punishment than imprisonment".
Coughlan revealed that during an incident in 1991, Malocco had "negotiated with a mentally unbalanced man who was holding an infant hostage at gun and knifepoint" in a house near Dublin. A detective agreed with counsel that the solicitor had "shown great courage" in resolving the matter peacefully.
But the judge, Mr Justice Dominic Lynch, said Malocco had made no attempt at restitution over the money he had misappropriated. He was a
solicitor who had been entrusted with funds and who had abused that trust.
Malocco: defrauded Irish Press Newspapers of £68,500


text:
|Reviews for The Wrong One
| Anne chapter 1 . 4/28/2012
She's so disgusting. And yet somehow I always pity the evil characters, the ones who've committed atrocities. Because I know that something bad must have happened to them to make them like that, they were just unlucky. I don't think anyone's truly evil. I think you understand.
| jilyspottering chapter 1 . 3/13/2012
I never even knew that Bellatrix was capable of kissing! Still, I don't envy Rodolphus...
| owluvr chapter 1 . 2/18/2012
OMG i know what you are all thinking. have any mo There's some crazy girl that keeps reviewing stories. Doesn't she have a life? Well thank you very much, I do have a life, but fanfiction is now part of that so I am living my life. SO HA! If you weren't thinking that, carry on. Anyway, I feel like you captured Bellatrix's personaliliy really well. It was a spectatular job! Im going to go read some more of your Bellatrix fics (if you have any more)
| Alohaemora chapter 1 . 10/27/2011
This was breathtaking. It really captured Bellatrix's feelings towards both her husband and her Lord - how she loved one and didn't care for the other.
Bellatrix is a truly frightening woman, isnt she.
loved this!
| yellow 14 chapter 1 . 10/2/2011
Bella, a very scary woman. Keep writing, this is perfect
| Asking Me Where My Love Grows chapter 1 . 10/2/2011
Aw, so sad. ):
I like how Bellatrix imagined that she was Voldy-Pants because we all know that she not so secretly loves him and I really can't picture her loving Rodolphus.
It was really good, great job.
I feel really bad for Rodolphus because he thinks that he's loved but he's not. :(
* random applause *
thanks for entering and very nice job! :)