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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39351762012-04-15T22:06:48.260-04:00The GardenA squash-friendly blog for our timesJimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-47062859889838405372007-03-20T18:12:00.000-04:002007-11-21T08:05:46.764-05:00Answering MachineIf you'd like to leave me a message, please wait for the beep. Or not.Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1146787470204543192006-03-01T20:02:00.000-05:002006-05-04T20:27:54.086-04:00FallowGosh, I haven't written here in a long time. Did you miss me? I wonder. (I do hope so.)

So what have I been doing? Too much. For one thing, I've been figuring out how to be single again. For another, I've been coping with a new job. (Hey, I got a promotion!) I've also been trying on middle age. Whew. Like I said, it's been too much. Happily enough, I've caught enough Flyers games to balance things out a bit.

So I haven't been writing here, and I've been putting off—for far too long—ending this experiment altogether. The time has come, though.

I absolutely enjoyed having this space. I could write silly things about music and sports and coffee-flavored beverages. I could vent about traffic, bad cheesesteaks, and people who sit too close on commuter trains. I could, and I did. I wish I had time to continue doing all that. If I figure out how to find the time again, I'll be sure to let you know.

Until then, thanks for reading. It was an honor that you did. I'll miss this place, and I'll miss you.

Goodbye.

P.S. Please feel free to use the commenting feature to leave me a message.Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1130381561029351482005-10-26T22:50:00.000-04:002005-10-26T23:10:13.390-04:00Is this blog dead? Maybe not!

 My blog is worth $15,242.58.
How much is your blog worth?

(Link via Marginal Revolution.)Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1123105978691368692005-08-03T17:51:00.000-04:002005-08-03T19:15:23.513-04:00What's my place in humor?Well, according to a strangely compelling quiz, I'm....
The Wit
(56% dark, 26% spontaneous, 16% vulgar)

your humor style:
CLEAN | COMPLEX | DARK

You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty—after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?—but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat.

I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer.

Your sense of humor takes the most thought to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion.

You probably loved The Office.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 83% on dark.
You scored higher than 0% on spontaneous.
You scored higher than 16% on vulgar.
Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid Free Online Dating
(Quiz-taking prompted by Prettier Than Napoleon, who is on the cutting edge.)Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1122688112650525342005-07-29T22:17:00.000-04:002005-07-29T22:20:45.280-04:00Friday Spies: The "I've Been Bad" Edition?It's been nearly a week since I last posted, and I have no good excuse. Oh, it's been a busy week at work, and it's been hot, and I've started about a dozen different posts . . . but I just haven't been able to get it together. Maybe answering this week's questions from the boys at BTQ will help:

1. What five things should you never buy used?
a) Underwear
b) Swimwear (Do you sense a pattern?)
c) Toilet paper (Is this part of the same pattern?)
d) Socks (Ewwwww.)
e) Textbooks (Someone else's underlining/highlighting will lead you astray.)
P.S. I wish I'd said porn! Best. Answer. Ever.

2. Sony BMG just ended a payola investigation by settling with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. So let's engage in some reverse payola: What song or artist would you pay to never have to hear again, and how much would it be worth to you? I'd pay a good part of a day's salary to erase the theme song from Laverne & Shirley from my memory.

3. In honor of the new Bad News Bears: Did you ever play Little League, or other organized youth sports? You may be surprised, but the answer's no. I grew up in the sticks, and the nearest league was a long way away. Do you feel sorry for me?

4. What was your biggest fashion faux pas? I'm probably repressing the worst examples.... One summer, though, I did go through an unfortunate phase involving lots and lots of pleated Ralph Lauren shorts. Just say no to the pleats, ok?

5. In honor of all our readers who took the Bar Exam this week: What was the hardest test you ever took? The answer might be the bar exam, which I took nine years ago this week. I never really thought I might fail, though, so maybe that's not the answer. On the other hand, as I've recounted before, I went sleepless for two straight nights during the bar exam. That was tough on me. Oh, let's go with the bar exam, then. And if that's not, then it was a pop quiz I took in science class in the sixth grade. (Really.)Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1122166793065590742005-07-23T20:59:00.000-04:002005-07-23T20:59:53.116-04:00Phillies 2, Padres 0.Yes, I was there. It was a day game (the Fox Game of the Week), and it was a day made for sunscreen. Whew.

The Phillies looked good, executing well when they needed to. The highlight of the game for me occurred when pitcher Rob Tejeda hit a triple in the fifth inning. Sadly, even though there was only one out, the Phils couldn't get Tejeda home. I love it, though, when a pitcher shows some skills with the bat.

Except for the sun, it was just about a perfect day at the ballpark for me. I got there early enough to snag a cheesesteak from Geno's (with Wiz, without onions), and I survived the heat with the aid of plenty of water ice (lemon). And, of course, the Phillies won.Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1122067436143517532005-07-22T20:18:00.000-04:002005-07-22T20:24:06.870-04:00Friday Spies: The Navel-Gazing EditionHere's what I have to say about this week's questions from BTQ:

1. Why did you start blogging? Mostly, I think, I was just bored. I also felt that I had things to say but nowhere to say them. (Unfortunately, my job still keeps me from writing about many of the topics that I'm most interested in addressing.) In other words, I needed a life, and I thought I'd give this a try. Plus, back when I started, in November 2002, I got to feel (sorta) like an early adopter.

2. Are the reasons you blog now the same as when you started? If not, what's changed? I obviously still need a life. And I still like having someplace to say what's on my mind. These days, I particularly enjoy interacting with my four-and-one-half regular readers. When I started, I wasn't even sure I'd have any readers aside from friends and family, and I definitely didn't anticipate that I'd form web-based quasi-relationships with people I didn't already know.

3. What would make blogging better for you? If I could be Jason Kottke and blog full-time, the Garden would be a helluva place. Actually, it might be a sort of whimsical alternative to How Appealing.

4. Do you have comments on your blog? Why or why not? Do you comment on other blogs? What motivates you to post a comment? Well, of course, I have comments. Why? I like conversations. (This conversational aspect is a big reason that blogging took off.) For the same reason, I'm an avid commenter. Sadly enough, I'm a lot more likely to comment elsewhere than I am to receive comments here. Hint, hint. Throw me a bone sometime, ok?

5. What is your philosophy of the blogroll? This has definitely changed over the years. Originally, the blogroll was just a list of blogs that I visited regularly. It was mostly for me; I actually used the links. Now, however, I use a newsreader to keep up with my favorite blogs, and the blogroll is more of a list of recommendations to others. And, hey, I have good taste. Check out the blogs in my blogroll; you'll like 'em.Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1121989718062784762005-07-21T21:06:00.000-04:002005-07-21T21:15:16.423-04:00This post culminates in romantic loneliness.
People are lining up at Broadway theaters, sometimes hours ahead of performances, and no one is exactly sure why. It's almost un-American.

I recently mentioned my childhood affinity for Emergency!, the early 1970s TV show about two L.A. paramedics, and now I learn it's coming out on DVD (link via Lost Remote). Woo hoo! And so is Adam-12! I can't wait. (Gosh, I guess you now know precisely what kind of kid I was.)

It may be the Oklahoma in me, but I always like a good picture of a grain elevator. Check out this one from Sam Javanrouh's Daily Dose of Imagery. Why do I like grain elevators so much? Well, I think I associate them with a sort of romantic loneliness, probably because I typically see them in gorgeous places that are rapidly de-populating. Anyway, the grain elevator speaks to me.

Speaking of Oklahoma, would you be interested in a t-shirt based on the state's first flag? Very cool.

Speaking of romantic loneliness(?), the beautiful poster for Brokeback Mountain conveys something along those lines. I really, really hope director Ang Lee credibly captures Annie Proulx's short story about two cowboys in love. The film is set to open in December.Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1121737015919532762005-07-18T22:18:00.000-04:002005-07-18T22:20:26.580-04:00Topics for a New Week?
At Coffee Hour, a Unitarian Universalist group blog, Matthew Gatheringwater engagingly asks how individuals react to theological change in their faith communities. Today, in UU circles, the question is whether religious humanists like Gatheringwater will continue to have a home in a faith that is increasingly open to neopagan spirituality and symbolism. Sixty years ago, though, the question was whether Unitarianism would be open to religious humanism. Gatheringwater sees the ironies in that, discusses why UUism may be particularly prone to theological change, and asks how someone would know whether she still "belonged" in her religious home.

I haven't read anything lately that was more insightful. If you have any interest in the topic, be sure to check out the interesting reader comments, too. Highly recommended!

Sam Javanrouh lives a long way from Louisiana, but a Daily Dose of Imagery photo—called "Water Lines"—sure made me think of Lake Pontchartrain. I miss living someplace exotic.

Lleyton Hewitt, the world's second-ranked tennis player, still needs a sensitivity coach. Oof. And, hey, I think I might just be the man for that job.

It's summertime, and kids get sent to camp. But gay re-education camp? How medieval. (Link via The Kitchen Cabinet.)

Two posts by Tyler Green on his recent trip to Marfa, Texas, are must-reads for fans—like me—of minimalist Donald Judd. Right here and right now, I vow to get to Marfa this year. Who's going with me?Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1121617803956652852005-07-17T01:18:00.000-04:002005-07-17T13:20:38.016-04:00Magazine TriageI didn't do much blogging, I know, but I had a great weekend. It's amazing what the freedom of a rental car will do for someone who usually drives an unreliable jalopy....

I also did a little work around the apartment, and it quickly became clear to me that I had a problem: The magazines had taken over. I love magazines, and I subscribe to way too many. Often, when a new issue arrives, I'll see an interesting article and tell myself I'll read it when I have time. There's never enough time, of course. The magazines just stack up.

It was time for magazine triage. Magazine triage, of course, requires sorting into three piles—the magazines that can't be saved, those that must be read immediately, and those that can be saved for later. Things were out of hand, though; in fact, I was fairly close to declaring magazine bankruptcy. So I was aggressive in tossing magazines away.

Just to give you a sense of how bad the problem had gotten, here's the stack of magazines I faced when I started:
AAA World - 3 issues
ABA Journal - 2
Administrative & Regulatory Law News - 3
American Craft - 3
Art in America - 16(!)
Bluegrass Unlimited - 3
Cargo - 3
Chronicles of Oklahoma - 1
Consumer Reports - 3
Contexts - 1
Dwell - 12(!)
The Economist - 1
Entertainment Weekly - 5
Games - 2
Gay & Lesbian Review - 1
Harper's - 1
Judges' Journal - 2
Legal Affairs - 3
Mensa Bulletin - 4
National Geographic Traveler - 1
NMAI Magazine - 2
No Depression - 3
Oklahoma Today - 3
Pro Rodeo Sports News - 6
Saveur - 1
Sports Illustrated - 14(!)
Tennis Weekly - 3
Whew. That's a serious problem, huh? After the triage, the stack is down from 102 to a more manageable 17.

It's good to have a fresh start. I feel lighter now.Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1121463948902466342005-07-15T19:02:00.000-04:002005-07-22T17:24:14.686-04:00Friday Spies: The "Living and Dying in 3/4 Time" EditionIt's summer. According to my my referral stats, traffic to the Garden has been near an all-time low, and—as a consequence—I have little motivation to blog. Sigh. Happily enough, the boys from BTQ have given me my weekly assignment, and I'm proficient at following orders. New content is good, even if the only people reading it are actually looking for pictures of a shirtless Handy Andy Kane. Anyway, here are my responses to this week's Friday Spies questions.

1. What time do you go to bed? What time do you wake up? Ideally, I would go to bed at 10:45 p.m. because I absolutely have to wake up at 6:45 a.m. to be at work by the stroke of 9 o'clock. It's usually closer to midnight, though, when I go to bed...so it's no wonder that I'm almost always seriously dragging by the end of the work week. I'm one of those people who really needs his eight hours of sleep every night....

2. What do you want done to/with your body after you die? I haven't given this enough thought, and I hope I still have some time to make the right decision. My family has a plot in a particularly ugly cemetery in my hometown. I don't think I want to be buried there. I've thought that it might be nice to be buried in a rural, quiet cemetery somewhere further out on the Oklahoma prairie (maybe where one set of my grandparents is buried?), but I've obviously made no arrangements. Cremation is something for me to consider, too.

3. Describe your dream house. I've said this before, but my dream house would be fit for Dwell Magazine. I like modern architecture, glass, concrete, wood—and, yes, there'd probably be a stream nearby.

4. Are you an excellent driver? Do you speed, or drive the speed limit? Ever been ticketed? I'm a good driver, although I'm not sure I can honestly claim to be an "excellent" one. After all, I (a) never took a driver's education course and (b) only drive about once a week. That said, I grew up in a part of the world where long distances are driven as a matter of course, so I'm comfortable behind the wheel.

As for speeding, well, I rarely drive more than five mph above the limit. But, um, I have been ticketed—once—for speeding. I was clocked going 31 mph where the speed limit was a mere (bogus!) 15 mph. (For context, this occurred on campus when I was in law school. Did I mention it was bogus?)

5. What is your favorite animal, mineral, and vegetable? Gosh, this is hard—especially the mineral. [Insert a 30-minute pause here, reflective of the time it took me to ponder this.] My favorite animal is probably just the dog. Dogs are loyal, playful, and loving. How anyone can resist a good dog escapes me. As for, um, wild animals, I'm particularly fond of manatees....

I've apparently never contemplated what my favorite mineral might be. After a good deal of thought, I decided to go with sapphires. I'm not entirely sure why. They're pretty, I guess. I nearly chose table salt, by the way....

My favorite vegetable is asparagus. The black-eyed pea is a close second.Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1121221347714963092005-07-12T23:03:00.000-04:002005-07-12T23:08:42.033-04:00It's puzzling, I know.
Should God, if He/She/It exists, have gone to engineering school? David P. Barash suggests that the answer is yes:
Ask yourself, if you were designing the optimum exit for a fetus, would you engineer a route that passes through the narrow confines of the pelvic bones? Add to this the tragic reality that childbirth is not only painful in our species but downright dangerous and sometimes lethal, owing to a baby's head being too large for the mother's birth canal.

This design flaw is all the more dramatic because anyone glancing at a skeleton can see immediately that there is plenty of room for even the most stubbornly large-brained, misoriented fetus to be easily delivered anywhere in that vast, non-bony region below the ribs. (In fact, this is precisely the route obstetricians follow when performing a caesarean section.)
And that's just the beginning. Barash notes that the prostate is situated too close to a man's urinary system, the male reproductive system is arranged in a way that no "minimally competent designer" would have chosen, and knee joints wear out too easily. And then, of course, there's the lower back. Mine is actually hurting today....

I love a good enthronement. And, oh, by the way, Monaco's Prince Albert just might be the answer to one of those questions I didn't answer yesterday. I'll think about it some more.

BoiFromTroy, who is tired of hearing that baby pandas are about the size of a stick of butter, is having a Baby Panda Analogy Contest. I point this out (a) because it's really amusing and (b) because it's a good launching point for me to blog about what I really want to talk about: What must Mama Panda be thinking?

Ok, Mei Xiang must surely know that she didn't mate this year, right? She, of course, has no idea what happened to her while she was under anesthesia. So, did she have any clue she was having a baby and, if so, when did she realize it? Is she confused by how she got pregnant? Does she think it might've happened when she wasn't paying attention? Does she think she just forgot that she mated? Does she think some sort of quasi-religious miracle has happened? Or am I just expecting too much self-awareness from a dumb panda, anyway? Inquiring minds want to know.

I might should blog about the use of multiple modals in Southern American English (link via Marginal Revolution). As some of you know, I actually say stuff like that all the time.

Having some experience of his own now, Jason Kottke understands why movie critics use a four- or five-star scale—not the 100-point scale he tried.

Did the passing in 1993 of the New York Times crossword from the hands of (word-)curmudgeon Eugene T. Maleska to puzzlemeister Will Shortz signal an important cultural shift? Grant McCracken of This Blog Sits... thinks so. At the same time that academics were newly recognizing (or admitting) that so-called popular culture demanded a complex critical engagement in readers/viewers, he says, the NYT puzzle "began to demand a dynamic engagement" from its fans, too. One now has to learn from the puzzle in order to do the puzzle. Wow.

Speaking of puzzles, will every blog soon need its own puzzleblogger?Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1121131241571207622005-07-11T21:33:00.000-04:002005-07-11T21:36:59.390-04:00If I could be . . .I had a long day at work, and I'm not sure how much real blogging-energy I can muster tonight. This is probably a good chance to do this interesting little meme that I spotted ages ago at Mode for Caleb. I'm simply supposed to finish five sentences from the following list:
If I could be a scientist...If I could be a farmer...If I could be a musician...If I could be a doctor...If I could be a painter...If I could be a gardener...If I could be a missionary...If I could be a chef...If I could be an architect...If I could be a linguist...If I could be a psychologist...If I could be a librarian...If I could be an athlete...If I could be a lawyer...If I could be an inn-keeper...If I could be a professor...If I could be a writer...If I could be a llama-rider...If I could be a bonnie pirate...If I could be an astronaut...If I could be a world-famous blogger...If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...If I could be married to any current famous political figure...

Drumroll, please....

If I could be a musician, I'd be a guitar-strumming singer-songwriter who aspired, someday or other, to open for Dar Williams.

If I could be a linguist, I'd try to keep a dying language or two—probably American Indian languages—alive.

If I could be an athlete, I'd be a professional tennis player. (Is anyone surprised by that?) And, yes, Mary Carillo, I'd be a clay-courter. In most things in life, it seems, I'm better as a counter-puncher.

If I could be a world-famous blogger, I'd be just like Jason Kottke. Micropatrons, anyone?

If I could be a justice on any one court in the world, I'd be a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. And, hey, I hear there's an opening!
Hey, this was actually a lot of fun. In fact, the hardest part was choosing just five of the sentences to finish. I bet you were just dying to know which current political figure I'd marry if I had the chance....Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1121033243753545612005-07-11T07:27:00.000-04:002005-07-18T22:23:52.103-04:00Heaven really is a place on Earth.I've been seeing a lot of interesting shots on my favorite photoblogs:

"Angel," Justin Ouellette, Chromogenic.net: Every time I look at this, I'm so, so impressed. It's sort of a cross between an establishing shot from an old b&w film and, well, actual heaven itself.

"O'ahu Signs," Mike Epstein, Satan's Laundromat: As I just pointed out, I've never been to Hawai'i. This folio of O'ahu's, um, underbelly makes me really want to visit. Highly recommended.

"Moon at the Beaches," Sam Javanrouh, Daily Dose of Imagery: Despite the title, I thought this photo showed the sun. Who knew that a Toronto beach would be so beautiful at 1 a.m.? Javanrouh, by the way, has made this picture available for use as desktop wallpaper. I'm using it, and I'm enjoying it.

"Mini Cooper in Blue," Peter Tongco, Manila in Byte Size Edible Pieces: Did this attract my attention because I ought to buy a new car? I don't know, but this Mini is awfully sweet.Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120953103086204772005-07-10T13:11:00.000-04:002005-07-10T16:27:19.190-04:00Warning: Earwax is mentioned in this post.
The Impulsive Buyer tried earwax-flavored jelly beans so you wouldn't have to. Ewww. I have to admit, though, that I'm intrigued by the idea of spinach-flavored jelly beans....

A New Yorker won 12 round-trip flights for two anywhere in the world. When he did the math, however, he discovered that he'd pay more in taxes than it would cost to buy that many tickets. Serious bummer, huh?

Garrett Fitzgerald just got around to watching the best concert film ever, Stop Making Sense. Gosh, I miss the Talking Heads....

This is one of the most depressing things I've read in awhile. Somehow or other, Tyler Cowen got it into his head that Woody Guthrie was a Texan. Egad! The great Woody Guthrie was from Okemah, Oklahoma. I thought every Guthrie fan knew that.

Speaking of Oklahoma: Okiedoke reminds that, if things had worked out just a bit differently, I'd be from Sequoyah, not Oklahoma.

And, finally, is it really possible that taking regular showers might be dangerous?Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120842559363860032005-07-08T15:24:00.000-04:002005-07-08T15:40:09.250-04:00Friday Spies: The "We Are Really Reaching This Week" EditionHere are my answers to this week's questions from BTQ:

1. Tropical Storm Cindy and Hurricane Dennis are causing trouble in the Southeast this week. Share a natural disaster story. Given all the time I lived in New Orleans, you'd think I'd have a good hurricane story, but I really don't. I was in New Orleans, though, for the flood of May 1995—when the city received more than an inch of rain every hour for more than a day. I was in the midst of law school finals (as a 2L), and I was already pretty stressed. At some point during the day, I realized, too, that my car—which was in a fairly high spot—might get water in it. And there was nothing I could do about it. To move my car, in any possible direction, I'd have to go through water. So, as the rain kept falling, as I kept trying to study (for my American Legal History final, by the way) despite a persistent power outage, water slowly edged up to my car and took it over.

My final exam, by the way, was postponed. I spent the next couple of days (a) studying for a different final and (b) trying to get some delightful-smelling water out of my car. Good, good times.

Random aside: I'm not working today because the remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy took out a tree this morning on my commuter rail line. Unfortunately, it didn't happen until I was already on the train, so I was stuck there for an hour or so until the conductor decided to return us home. On the walk back home from the train station, a car—going, oh, about 50 mph in a 35 mph zone—splashed water all over me. More good, good times.

2. What is your favorite work of art? On one level, I'm not sure how I ought to choose. Yet, when asked, I immediately thought of "Point of Tranquility" by Morris Louis. If you'd like to see it in person, and you should, it's usually in the display rotation at my favorite art museum, the Hirshhorn.

3. Do you squeeze the toothpaste tube from the middle or the bottom? Occasionally, I vow to start squeezing exclusively from the bottom, but I rarely remember until the tube is a complete disaster.

4. What is your favorite "cult" film? Pedro Almodóvar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. I wonder if it even qualifies....

5. Would you go into space if given the chance? Where would you go? I wouldn't mind going into space on the Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Life there was all modern, and there was an interesting, diverse community on board. Going into space in the next few hundred years probably won't be anything like that, though, so I'll have to pass. Can I go to Club Med instead?Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120616940913630972005-07-05T22:28:00.000-04:002005-07-05T22:29:49.266-04:00Smooch.Prettier Than Napoleon reminds us that tomorrow is International Kissing Day. How should you celebrate? Well, PTN urges participation by "creating a kissing-themed post, sharing a kissing story, or just plain kissing someone." I'll see what I can do.Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120612838159790602005-07-05T22:21:00.000-04:002005-07-05T22:24:01.316-04:00Bisexuals, bicycles, and an exterminator, too
New research, reported prominently in today's New York Times, suggests that most bisexual men are actually only attracted to other men. Of course, every gay man I've ever known has thought that, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised. If Ann Althouse's post, and particularly the comments to her post, are any indication, however, some parts of Blogistan were taken aback. (Some of the comments are laugh-out-loud funny, by the way. For instance, one Althouse commenter seems to think that that he turns lesbian heads.)

I certainly enjoyed this list of Seldom Asked Questions about Japan (link via Marginal Revolution). If you've ever wanted to know why Japanese people slurp their noodles, won't cut their fingernails at night, or keep their bicycle seats so low, this is the list for you, too.

Today's tasty photoblog pic(k): "Chinese Cakes," by Tracey Hoyng, Shutterbug. (By the way, the photo reminds me of those beautiful paintings of cakes and pastries by Wayne Thiebaud.)

At F Minus last week, an exterminator gave a husband and wife the bad news. If your sense of humor is as offbeat as mine seems to be, I'll bet you laugh....Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120606210705950872005-07-05T19:38:00.000-04:002005-07-05T19:43:50.366-04:00Still 10 to GoBold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...
Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C. /
Go here to have a form generate the HTML for you.

(I, um, caught this meme at Ministrare. By the way, you can see the same information about me, in a different form, here.)Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120445350594788602005-07-04T11:53:00.000-04:002005-07-04T11:53:37.203-04:00A Small Holiday Crop
More than one blogger has pointed to this interesting Wall Street Journal article on odd requests that interviewers now make. (I definitely hope the handwriting analysis doesn't catch on. Legibility is not my strong suit. Thanks, Law School.) But I was just as intrigued by some of the comments to The Obscure Store's post: One commenter was asked to walk like a duck at a pre-hiring physical. If that wasn't an audition to be a stadium mascot, then I don't have any idea what that was about....

At Ten Years of My Life, Matthew Haughey posted a photograph entitled "Testosterone clean up, aisle five." Gosh, that made me smile. Click the link, and you'll see why.

I'm also taken with a Zone IX photo entitled "blue thistle." Steven Noreyko takes the most exquisite close-up shots.

Religion is a rarely covered subject here at the Garden, but I was intrigued by Left Coast Unitarian's recent visit to the chapel at DFW airport. When traveling, I've wondered what those airport chapels are like. They seem like something from another era—before traveling became a harried, your-connection-is-in-32-minutes kind of thing. I suppose the airport chapel makes particular sense at large airports, where international flights and long layovers are commonplace. And as a commenter to LCU's post points out, some religions ask adherents to pray at several points of the day; it can't always be easy to find a quiet place to do that.

While I'm on the topic of religion, I found interesting a recent Boy in the Bands post about the communion cup that Christians use. There's an interesting history behind the move in some denominations from the common cup to the individual communion cup.Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120491051440371892005-07-04T11:29:00.000-04:002005-07-04T11:30:51.450-04:00Sorry, Redcoats.
It's Independence Day!
Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120353990493445532005-07-03T00:09:00.000-04:002005-07-10T16:51:29.860-04:00Warning: This is not a nut-free post.
Kaliningrad—a little bit of Russia that's surrounded by Poland, Lithuania, and the Baltic—is having a celebration. The BBC's news story, though, calls Kaliningrad an "enclave." I don't think that's quite accurate, however. This is just more proof, by the way, that I really should've been a high school social studies teacher.

I love lists, and Jeffy B's list of the 10 best Saturday morning breakfast cereals is a good one (link via Okiedoke). The allure of Cap'n Crunch eludes me, though. I couldn't even get it down when I was a sugar-addicted kid. I'm with him on the Froot Loops, though. Yum.

Even though I'm an ex-pat, too, I can't help but be sad that Jeffrey Rowland recently moved the brilliant web comic OverCompensating (and himself) to Massachusetts.

I've never eaten a single pistachio. And after reading about Dan's trip to the emergency room, I'm not sure I'll ever risk it. Anyway, only Dan could make 70 pistachios and a near-death experience so much fun. There are pictures, too! You should take a look.

Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes is living the life I want. First, he visits Spiral Jetty, and now he's in Marfa, Texas. I keep intending to make a pilgrimage to Marfa to see, among other things, the Chinati Foundation—the art museum founded by minimalist (he hated that word, I think) sculptor Donald Judd. But I don't think I'd make a pilgrimage to west Texas in July.... Update (7/10/05): When I said I wanted Tyler Green's life, I didn't mean the flat tires out in the middle of west Texas. Thanks, anyway.

Eugene Volokh has been thinking about words that straight men don't use, and he nominates "adore" as one such word. But I really don't think many gay men use that word, either. I have a candidate, too, but it's a word I'd probably never use here. Hee. (Email me or leave a comment if you're curious.)

I said something yesterday, I know, about having no life. Now that I think about it, though, the Japanese mental health counselor(!) who memorized pi to over 80,000 places makes me seem well-centered.Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120348647963919562005-07-02T20:19:00.000-04:002005-07-02T20:21:44.516-04:00Saturday Spies?I know, I know. This is supposed to be the Friday Spies. I was too busy yesterday having absolutely no life to get to the questions from BTQ, though.

1. Is Tom Cruise correct that we're not alone in the universe? We're probably not alone, especially if bacteria or insects (or the extraterrestrial equivalents) count. I'm less certain that sentient life exists outside of (or even on?) Earth, but it may. If it does, I seriously doubt that we have much in common.

2. What is a fashion trend that you would like to see go away, and what is a fashion you would like to see come back in style? I really don't understand the allure of the clamdiggers that French Open champion Rafael Nadal wears. They really don't look good when someone a little less fit wears them. And, yes, John McEnroe, I'm talking to you. Meanwhile, as odd as it may be, I'd like to see tri-corner hats come back into vogue.

3. I was going to ask what city will win next week's vote on the host of the 2012 Olympics, but everyone knows it's going to be Paris, so I decided to tweak it: What city that you have visited (or lived in) would be a good Olympic host city, and why? The Summer Games need to be conducted in a large city, one able to put together several spectacular, separate venues. Public transportation should be—or, at least, should potentially be—good, too. Other than Mexico City, which has already hosted the Games, I'd say New York is the city I've visited that best qualifies. It's a shame NYC couldn't really get its bid together for 2012. Maybe 2016?

4. Happy Canada Day to our readers in the Great White North! In light of that holiday, and our own upcoming Independence Day, tell us your favorite Independence Day memory. Well, I didn't get my answers up quickly enough to join BTQ in wishing Canadians a timely Happy Canada Day. For what it's worth, I nearly flew to Ottawa this weekend to avoid the Live 8 madness going on here. I've always wanted to visit Ottawa, and the summer seems like the right time. Does anyone out there have any advice about visiting Ottawa?

Gosh, that was a serious digression, huh? I'll focus, I promise. As for my favorite Independence Day memories, I guess I have to choose between (a) meeting Gary Coleman at a charity event in New Orleans in 1996 (I think) or (b) some childhood 4th at home with family, fireworks, and watermelon. I think I'll go with the latter, even though I can't even really be sure I'm not mixing and matching several childhood Independence Days....

5. The Supreme Court ruled this week on one set of commandments, but we want to hear yours. What are the Ten Commandments of [X]? Pick a topic and reveal its ten most important rules. Phrasings with "shalt" appreciated but not required. And without further ado, I present:

The Ten Commandments of Driving a 14-Year-Old Bomb

I. Thou shalt always wear sunglasses when driving in fashionable neighborhoods.
II. Thou shalt always take your cell phone and AAA card on trips.
III. When pretty people are spotted in a parking lot, thou shalt pretend that you're actually walking toward the Lexus.
IV. At every opportunity, thou shalt remind friends that you usually take public transportation.
V. Under current gas prices, thou shalt never fill up the tank because one's gas should never be worth more than one's car.
VI. Thou shalt cultivate mechanics and tow-truck drivers as friends.
VII. Thou shalt memorize what exactly to do to that doohickey under the hood when the car stalls on hot days.
VIII. Thou shalt continually save money to purchase something better.
IX. Thou shalt investigate which charities will accept donations of automobiles, whether "running or not."
X. Thou shalt purchase fuzzy dice and other paraphernalia that "fit" the look.Jimmyhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120185634985884792005-06-30T23:34:00.000-04:002005-07-18T22:25:49.953-04:00Seven Wee Observations
If you're looking for some new desktop wallpaper, you should check out a striking photo of Toronto that Sam Javanrouh of Daily Dose of Imagery has made available for use.

More than 80% of 18- to 30-year-old Italian men still live at home, according to a study conducted by the Center for Economic Policy Research. Similarly-aged men elsewhere in Western Europe, as well as in the United States, are much less likely to live at home. Italian parents, it seems, enjoy keeping their sons nearby. I wonder what the rates are for Italian-American men.... I once accidentally brushed up against one, and his mother was more than a little protective. I may still have the scar.

Graham Jeffery of Sensitive Light took some photographs at Leicester City's gay pride parade. I'm particularly taken with a photo of one butch man; he's wearing a white t-shirt, handmarked "Puff" in pink (lipstick?). Striking.

Now that Amber has finished law school, Class Maledictorian has a new name—Prettier Than Napoleon. It took me forever, but I finally remembered to adjust my sidebar link. While I'm blogging about Amber, this seems like a good time to remind my four-and-one-half regular readers that her pet project, International Kissing Day, approaches. Sadly enough, it looks like I'll be all alone on July 6. Sigh.

Eszter Hargittai of Crooked Timber recently had to prove that she'd been on a flight. Her return trip was cancelled by the airline, which said she hadn't flown on the outbound flight. In the end, all she could produce was an airline water bottle. Several times, I've been asked to prove that I'd actually been on a flight; for that reason, I always save the boarding passes until my entire trip is over. But as Hargittai points out, in these days of home-printed boarding passes, "proving" you flew isn't as easy as it once was.

Last year, on a work trip to Utah, I chickened out on visiting Spiral Jetty, Robert Smithson's famed environmental art project. The rangers made it seem like a big commitment. Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes wasn't dissuaded, though, this week, and he offers a detailed report. It sounds like he got to see the Jetty in its prime.

Here's Francis Strand of How to Learn Swedish in 1000 Difficult Lessons on the news that Spain has legalized same-sex marriage: I think you can safely say that the Catholic Church is reaping the rewards of its collusion with Franco.Jimmyhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3935176.post-1120183040521974282005-06-30T21:57:00.000-04:002005-06-30T21:57:20.530-04:00Ok, I've done one good thing today.Jimmyhttp://email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Should offenders be allowed to take part in unpaid work schemes?
Having offenders engage in work that is useful, helpful to communities and undoes some of the damage they may have cause seems obvious however there has been an increasing number of threats to supervisors and even violence against those doing the work there may be an unexpected downside to such work schemes
You can also add to the debate by leaving a comment at the end of the page.
Prison space is limited
Whilst prison may be seen as some as the most effective form of prevention of crime and protection of society, there quite simply is not enough space. Prisons are like landfill sites, they just keep being filled and now we have come to a stage where we recognise the need to recycle. Instead of putting people who are only serving short sentences into prison, we should instead make them work on the streets with a tag around their ankle. This is a fair compromise.
So instead of spending money on prisons and making room for them we would rather see criminals on our streets? Before you can recycle you need to treat the trash. For criminals, prison is the only treatment.
<< This has nothing to do with the debate. The debate is talking about the system we currently have, letting prisoners go do work (ie clean the highways) while supervised. They say it is a dangerous task to supervise and the debate is asking if this is worth it. You are just proposing a new system that allows criminals to be on the streets to continue with their criminal acts. So not only does your argument not match the debate, it doesnt make sense period...
People need to be reintregrated into society
In order to prevent offenders repeating their crime we need to get them integrate3d into society. We need to establish them into the existing norms of society. We need to get the into the habit of following the same rules as the rest of us. This quite simply does not happen in prison. By keeping all prisoners in one place, together, all you are doing is re-enforcing the idea of 'us against them. In turn this will lead to more crime.
>> People in jail would not have a choice and forced to work to clean the graffiti, not that hard of a concept to grasp
We need to get them following the same rules as the rest of us, and integrated into our norms? I do not know what idealist deluded world you think we live in, but the norm is not to complete work in the community for free. People do not offer their free time to wash off graffiti! This is far from the norm. Therefore, on these schemes, the criminals are in fact learning nothing about the way in which people should behave in society and so after their scheme is complete; they will be likely to commit their crime again.
They avoid prison culture
The difference being that in prison, surrounded by only other criminals there becomes a culture of criminality which would be heard to get out of. At least out in the openness of society, criminals have the opportunity to socialise with non-criminals, or lesser criminals in the outside world. The culture of criminality is less likely to develop if criminals are not spending all of their time amongst other criminals. This is especially true for the criminals that are likely to be placed on these work schemes. They are the petty criminals. If they went to prison, surrounded by harsher criminals, they may actually become more serious criminals than what they arrived as.
Offenders will avoid socialising with those outside their own social groups, which will be made of other offenders, and they will be discouraged or forbidden from interacting too much with the public in case it causes security issues or makes the public feel uncomfortable.
Offenders are abusing their supervisors.
Surveys are showing that supervisors on these unpaid work schemes are showing that increasing numbers are unhappy in their position. The offenders are threatening the supervisors and are generally acting in an intimidating manner. There have been reports of extremely intimidating behaviour such as threatening to rape their supervisors children and deliberate acts of intimidation such as slashing their supervisors tyres. Unpaid work schemes should curtail crime, not increase it. Therefore we should scrap the scheme altogether. [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/31/offenders-unpaid-work-attack-supervisors]]
Surely this does not show that we should scrap the scheme, it shows that the supervisors need more support. Such threats and acts of intimidation should not be able to occur. It would not occur if the criminals were in fear of their superiors. However, with the low level of staffing, poor training, and only ah £8.50 an hour wage, how can we expect these supervisors to instil that fear?
People are abusing the offenders.
The whole idea behind the work schemes is to try and rehabilitate people into society. Making them feel part of the community and to see the joy in helping others. However, this cannot be the case when the offenders are subject to abuse from the public, and thereby causing more crime. In July, a 19 year old offender in Hackney was shot by a gang member simply because he was in his part of 'the hood'[[http://www.u.tv/News/Offenders-on-unpaid-work-schemes-attack-supervisors/ea25d884-200b-412f-a54b-28bca0b78a1b]]. This is not teaching the offenders anything about reformation, but rather re-affirming their old values.
The same occurs in prisons! Except the violence in prison is worse. With so many criminals under one roof and so many officers, there becomes the resentment of 'us' and 'them'. This reinforces criminality. However, if on these work schemes criminals are attacking other criminals, then they are less likely to form an allegiance. They are then more likely to form an allegiance with their protecting supervisors and thereby less likely to commit crime.
This is public humiliation!
Hanging people at the stake and throwing rotten vegetables at the blocks was abolished a long time ago. But these two heinous punishments have something in common with the unpaid work schemes; public humiliation. The offenders are not brought to a desolated places, they are not made to work behind closed doors, they are made to work in public, in full view of all those around. Just to make sure humiliation and recognition of their criminal status, these offenders are then made to wear brightly coloured jackets. These schemes should be abolished under the same reasoning as the other two forms of punishment.
There is a huge gap in the similarities you are trying to draw between hanging at the stake and work schemes; physical harm. It is this element that led to hanging being made illegal, not the humiliation of it being done in public. Surely shame is one of the most effective tools society has against crime; we should use it! We can shame people out of crime! If these criminals are being laughed at by their peers, it will make them think about what they have done and the reasons for it. It will make crime less rewarding for the criminal if it has a laughable stigma to it rather than the street cred a prison sentence may give criminals.
With budgets being cut, so are staffing levels
One reason for the increase in crime in the coalition Government's idea on spending. They are cutting costs on these unpaid work schemes by cutting staffing levels. This however, is not safe. One supervisor for 12 offenders is quite simply not enough. A more careful and rigid approach is needed, brought by more staff, in order to keep the offenders contained. Cutting staffing levels is dangerous not only for the supervisors, but also the offenders themselves.
Surely this is a problem with the funding, not with the schemes themselves! The answer then is not to scrap the schemes altogether, but to invest more into them. These schemes would be less expensive than prison, bearing in mind the costs of food, electricity water and the staff needed for the night shift in prison. It would be wiser for the budget to invest a little into these work schemes and to save money in the grand scheme of things by way of prison costs.
Supervisors are not reporting repeat offenders
The offenders on these schemes will be offender of the more petty violent crimes and criminal damage. But when they are placed on these work schemes they are re-offending. They are making threats, they are abusing their supervisors they are causing damage. But the supervisors are not prepared to report such conduct. They fear that if they tell, they will be accused of not being good at their job which they do not want. But this means that repeat offenders are not being re-punished and given a sentence that appropriately reflects the seriousness of their criminal nature. This is dangerous for society and it makes an ineffective criminal justice system.
What do you think?
Continue the Debate - Leave a Comment
1 Comment on "Should offenders be allowed to take part in unpaid work schemes?"


text:
"The more time that passes, the more you miss someone," Michelle Williams tells Newsweek on how she copes with the death of her ex-fiance, actor Heath Ledger.
In an interview with Newsweek, Michelle Williams shared her struggle to move on from the death of actor Heath Ledger, her ex-fiance and the father of her daughter Matilda Rose Ledger, hinting that she still misses him 10 months after his sudden death. "The more time that passes, the more you miss someone," the publication quoted her as saying.
"It's so sad. I guess it's always changing. What else can I say? I just wake up each day in a slightly different place -grief is like a moving river, so that's what I mean by 'it's always changing'", Michelle shared her feeling as tears ran down from her eyes. " It's a strange thing to say because I'm at heart an optimistic person, but I would say in some ways it just gets worse. It's just that the more time that passes, the more you miss someone. In some ways it gets worse. That's what I would say."
Speaking about daughter Matilda, Michelle said she wants to keep her away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi. She, moreover, stated she has no hesitation to quit Hollywood if by doing so the photographers won't be hounding her and her daughter anymore.
"It burns a fire inside of me, the shit that I've seen people do to get at me or my daughter ... If it gets to the point where I can't situate my life in a way that they stay away more, then I'll drop a match on the thing," she declared, adding, "I'll be sad. I like to act. It's saved my life over and over again. It's given me a sense of self-esteem, self-worth. I have this thing that I'm in love with -acting- and now it has this baggage."
In further interview with Newsweek, Michelle revealed that she's definitely taking the next year off to focus on being mother to Matilda. "I don't want to work while she's in school," so she said. "I want her to have a routine. I want the plainest, simplest, most ordinary, habituated routine possible. I just want to know what's coming next."


text:
Italian Cocktail Hour
Hosted by Tablehopper
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Location: Blackbird, 2124 Market St., San Francisco
Tickets: $35 advanced purchase, $40 at the door (cash or credit).
Italian Cocktail Hour showcasing Aperitif Style Cocktails & Amaros. Concept brought to you by Regina Schauerte. Cocktail creation by Regina Schauerte and Matt Grippo.
Admission includes your choice of 3 cocktails or amaros paired with charcuterie provided by the Fatted Calf. Indulge in your drinks while swaying to the sounds of 60's style Italian music.
Classier attire is welcome, but not expected.
Purchase tickets here!


text:
Building information modeling (BIM) has been ingrained into the vocabulary of design firms around the world, but the degree to which it is implemented varies widely. Its debut into the mainstream practice in the early 2000s coincided with the rapid digitization of building tools, leaving many firms grappling for strategies to integrate and implement these technological advancements effectively.
Phillip G. Bernstein, FAIA, vice president of strategic industry relations at Autodesk, lecturer at Yale School of Architecture, and coauthor of BIM in Academia (Yale, 2011), sat down with ARCHITECT to discuss where the building industry is going and what architects can do to survive.
How will improvements in design and construction efficiency due to tools such as BIM affect jobs?
The nature of the building industry work will be different. Design work will be about model-based representation analysis. Construction work will be about model-based construction management. Larger components of building will be pre-manufactured or mass-customized, which means skill sets in the field are going to change. More construction work will happen on factory floors instead of on jobsites.
Across disciplines, there's going to be some integration of practices … and a demographic shift in the practice of architecture. With the emergence of these very large-scale, super-integrated firms with somewhat ambiguous missions, there's going to be pressure on mid-sized design practices. There's going to be a consolidation, and mid-market contractors may find themselves gone because in order to play at a certain scale, you're going to need a certain-scale business set.
Does the movement toward modular building systems infringe on design?
Most architects would argue that unless the systems allow design flexibility to a degree, the answer is yes. My response to that is, "OK, go design those systems." I don't disagree that it's a problem, but rather than fight the inevitable, why not get involved and try to figure it out? If our profession sees this particular transition and interprets it in the same way that we've interpreted the transitions in the past 40 years—the liability crisis, the construction management process, the sustainability issues—we'll be rendered largely irrelevant. A bunch of newly enabled, digitally empowered, educated construction management types will take away the construction industry. We've got to fuzz that line up in between the two disciplines [architecture and construction] … in school and in the field.
List five things architecture firms should do to prepare for the future.
The first thing that I'd do is spend time thinking about what your firm will be doing in five years. If you think that your firm is going to be doing the same thing that you're doing now, you're really wrong.
Secondly, you have to position your use of technology as a strategic decision, not as an operational decision. The firm that treats BIM software like a Xerox machine is going to find itself back on its heels. The transition from the non-digital to digital processes is very fundamental, much more so than the shift back in the early '90s from hand-drafting to CAD—[that change] involved a lot of hardware and training, but it wasn't a shift in the frame of reference or in the business model. It was a shift in responsibilities.
So … [third,] you have to think about what you're going to do to make that shift. Competitive pressures are coming from all sorts of places: the economy, larger practices, and global competition. Right now we see the early signs of that. For example, in the construction projects that are going on, you will not see a major contractor pitching a job without BIM—even if it's what the contractors like to call "Hollywood BIM." Nobody shows up to pitch a job without a model-based approach.
Number four is asking yourself, based on numbers one, two, and three, what sort of talent do you need in your office? Can you transform the talent that you have or do you need to go out and upgrade? By upgrade, I mean that you might need younger, more digitally savvy, less experienced, more flexible, less pedantic, more hungry staff. There might be some actual trade-offs.
The fifth thing is that you need some willingness to experiment, and the expectation that some [of those] experiments are going to fail.
My friend Scott Simpson from KlingStubbins loves to say, "Architects love to change things on everybody but themselves." The demands that are going to be put on architects by owners, their collaborators, and contractors in the next five years are really going to change: the degree of collaboration, the kind of information flows, the risk-management scenarios, and the alternate project delivery constructs. Some firms may be able to hide from that if they have been doing projects for the local school board for 20 years. But the practice doesn't work that way. It just doesn't.


text:
TR/ST returns with more tales of heartbreak, desire, and nostalgia that pull you into Robert Alfons' otherworldly atmosphere. We're pleased the announce the release of TR/ST's new EP, featuring the single, "Dressed for Space," a new original track, "Divine," and two new remixes. TR/ST is on the road with Yeasayer and Faint for the rest of the year.
/ releases
/ press contacts
/ listen
/ latest
/ tour


text:
Bottled Water That Is Truly Good
I am always telling you to drink more water because it is good for you, but did you ever think that drinking water could be good for others too?
charity: water sells virtual bottled water ($20) and gives 100% of your donation to freshwater well projects in Africa. Just one virtual bottle can provide clean water to someone who needs it for 15 years. (Note: You don't get actual water to drink from your $20, it's just a donation.)
If you purchase 24 bottles for $480, you actually receive the water and provide clean water for 24 people for more than 15 years. The $480 is put towards the construction or rehabilitation of a freshwater well, which can produce the equivalent of more than 13 million, 16.9 ounce bottles of water in Africa. (Note: You get actual bottled water from your $480, so you have something to show/drink for your money spent.)
So drink up -- It's good for everyone involved! Not sure how much water you should be drinking, check out the Fit Calculator to find out! While you're there, check out your BMI, calorie evaluator and target heart rate calculator.


text:
- Admissions
- Academics
- Research
- University Life
- Alumni
- About
Admissions & Info:
In the Kogod School of Business, we believe that the notion of business education should be extended beyond the classroom to include experiential learning that will enhance our students' intellectual development, leadership ability, communication skills, and professional self-confidence. That's why we created a "lab" for business students, where activities that allow students to learn valuable professional skills in real world settings are developed and supported.
In the K-LAB (Kogod Leadership and Applied Business) we recognize that you are looking for involvement that will meet your individual goals. That's why we offer programs for both graduate and undergraduate students that will engage you with the Kogod community, corporate partners and the District of Columbia.
Here are the Top 10 reasons students get involved at Kogod:
10. Meet other students with similar interests
9. Make good use of hands-on opportunities
8. Help make the transition to college or graduate program easier
7. Improve your communication skills
6. Practice better time management
5. Feel more connected to the Kogod and AU community
4. Network with alumni and business professionals
3. Build stronger relationships with faculty and staff
2. Develop your skills and ability to work on a team
And the #1 Reason to Get Involved: You will have unique and significant experiences to discuss in a job interview
Complete the K-LAB Interest form to design your experience.
Connect with K-LAB on Facebook and stay up to date with event information and more.
Andrew Toczydlowski, Director Student Development and Services
KSB - Kogod School of Business
Andrew currently works with students in Kogod to implement co-curricular programming. In addition to advising business student organizations, Andrew facilitates orientation programming, commencement logistics, and student involvement in Kogod, local,… More
Catherine Irving, Associate Director, Programming and Student Activities
KSB - Kogod School of Business
As the Associate Director of Programming and Student Activities, Kate works closely with Kogod students to enhance their business and college experiences through experiential learning. The K-LAB (Kogod Leadership and Applied Business) is a uniquely … More


text:
Desjardins Bank [Change site]
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-8BEN entitled "Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding" is a legitimate U.S. tax exemption document. However, we have been recently informed of fraudsters targeting non-residents of the U.S. to obtain personal information.
Typically, fraudsters use an altered/fake IRS Form W-8BEN to acquire personal information such as:
The legitimate IRS Form W-8BEN does not ask for any of that information!!!
Therefore, Desjardins Bank wishes to inform you that under no circumstances is personal or financial information requested by email or fax.
What do I do if I receive such a scam form via email, fax, mail, or other format?
Copyright © 1998-2013, Mouvement des caisses Desjardins - Desjardins Group. All rights reserved.


text:
Victims of sexual assault expressed the struggles and successes they face on a banner displayed at the III Corps Headquarters.
From pain and loss to hope for the future, one victim wrote, "My enemy turned out to be my brother," while another said "I'm not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become."
All of the victims whose artwork was on display are Fort Hood soldiers. About 20 of those sexual assault survivors sat in solidarity beside their artwork during a proclamation Tuesday.
Since Oct. 1, Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley, commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, said 77 Fort Hood soldiers reported they were sexually assaulted.
Milley, who signed the anti-sexual violence proclamation, said there is no reason why anyone should go to work and be subject to sexual harassment or the crime of sexual assault.
"No one should ever be raped," he said. "Sex is something that is to be enjoyed between consenting adults. It's an act of love; an act of commitment. Sexual assault and rape is an act of violence.
"It's an act of domination. It's not an act of love. It's an act of hate and we have to put it to a halt."
Lt. Col. Jacqueline H. Davis, Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program manager, said there are Army rules and regulations in place to make sure the military does everything it can to help victims.
"Not just from the advocacy side, but from the behavioral health and investigations," she said.
Soldiers urged to speak up
Although April is sexual assault awareness month, Milley said it's important for soldiers to look after one another and speak up against sexual assault year-round.
"If you're a commander and you have 77 fratricides, that's not good. This is serious business," he said. "This is one soldier assaulting another soldier. We have a casualty as a result; a (soldier who) is no longer combat effective ... no longer are they whole mentally and physically. No longer can they perform their combat ready tasks."
Milley said every soldier, regardless or race, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation and rank should be treated with dignity and respect.
"There are no exceptions. Everyone is equal in the eye of the law and we cannot allow this to continue," he said.
"I commit to you that the chains of command are absolutely committed to this."


text:
You have to love when a host of a show admits he was hammered more than once during tapings. Pat Sajak gave an interview on ESPN and admitted that he had been drunk several times when hosting early episodes of the show. Apparently they had a two hour dinner break in between tapings so Pat and Vanna would go "have two or three or six [margaritas] and then come and do the last shows and have trouble recognizing the alphabet. I had a great time. I have no idea if the shows were any good, but no one said anything, so I guess I did okay."
I doubt anyone could even notice. I am more shocked that Vanna actually went out to dinner with him to hang out than I am that he actually got drunk.


text:
Technical writer uses skills to create proposals, biz plans
Elizabeth "Liz" Rich is a freelance writer who recently moved to Mobridge. However, Liz doesn't write articles for popular magazines; she freelances in the technical field.
If you need a business plan typed up, contact Liz Rich. If you need a grant proposal, a template for charity fundraising, feasibility study, technical proposal, technical documents, employee manual, instructional booklet, how-to paper, project management documents or expansion plan, contact Liz at Custom Organization Solutions of Mobridge.
What Liz worked on most recently was mineral rights research in western South Dakota. She first discovered she didn't have to be an attorney to find out about mineral rights. Liz wants to develop a training manual for landowners to know what to do and how to go about de-mystifying mineral rights research for their own benefit. Oil companies are presently at work in Butte and Harding counties on a shale formation that extends to both North and South Dakota. One of Liz' goals is to use her training manual to offer a seminar to aid landowners in profiting from their mineral rights.
Liz was born in Flint, Mich., but grew up in Florida and Texas. She attended Sharpstown High School in Houston and obtained her associates of arts degree at The Art Institute in Houston, and her bachelor of science at University of Phoenix, Maitland, Fla. She said she "has family in all parts of the country; and more than family, friends really matter the most as friends are family we choose."
Liz emphasized that she went to business school, not culinary school, and said she "would have flunked out of culinary school burning water."
One of Liz' very favorite recipes is "dry onion soup dip hand-made by me with love." She also creatively combines fresh Tostitos chips and grated Colby-Cheddar-Pepper Jack cheese in her microwave oven to create nachos, and she serves this delectable dish with medium salsa on the side.
Liz has several very tasty recipes (see below), but much of her creative energy goes into her freelance writing. She also enjoys leatherwork and artsy projects to home decorate. Liz is a huge fan of going to art and history museums and enjoys traveling all over by land. She's definitely not a fan of flying.
Liz said she loves to impersonate food critique-types in restaurants to taste-test menu items because she had a job in the 1990s writing menus for a destination management company.
"I learned so much of the culinary lexicon that I like to see if the chef is up to speed with his craft. I love that they have the talent because I know I do not have their talent whatsoever," she said.
One of Liz' most memorable cooking disasters happened in the summer of 2011 when she made an elk meatloaf in her new countertop NuWave oven. Liz said her biggest mistake was in greeting her client at the kitchen door, escorting the team into her living room for a quick meet-up and forgetting the meatloaf as it was burning to a crisp. There was "tremendous razzing and riotous laughter from her visitors," she said, and a not-so-pleasant smell.
Liz said, "My aim most of my life was to create substance, and cooking was not my forte; but the more I see fish pulled out of the Oahe, panned in butter with spices like I made for myself the other night before the big storm hit. I enjoy this river vista and its recipes enormously."
Pork Chops
4-6 thick-cut pork chops
Egg batter
Bread crumbs
Fresh salad
Baked beans
Heat oven to 350-400 degrees. Dip each pork chop in egg batter, then in bread crumbs. Place in oven-proof baking dish. Douse pork chops with honey. Bake for an hour. Serve with fresh salad and baked beans.
Belgian Waffles
Your favorite waffle mix
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup diced bananas
Fresh or frozen blueberries
Make waffle mixture as directed, stirring in walnuts and bananas. Use blueberries as topping before serving waffles.
Mexene Chili
1 lb. ground beef
¾ cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
2 Tbs. Mexene* chili powder
1 Tbs. flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. sugar
1 8-oz. can stewed or diced tomatoes or tomato sauce
1 cup water
Brown meat, onion and garlic together, then drain excess fat. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, then serve.
*Available on the Internet


text:
Ogden, Jane, et al. "Understanding the Role of Life Events in Weight Loss and Weight Gain."
Bridie Scott-Parker, et al. "The Psychological Distress of the Young Driver: A Brief Report."
He is coauthor with Ben Bernanke et al. of Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience .
Alan Tita, et al. "Seasonality in Conception of Births and Influence on Late Initiation of Prenatal Care."
Stuart Shore, et al. "Decreased Scholastic Achievement in Overweight Middle School Students."
Archaic spelling of 'encrease' and 'encreased' retained; three occurrences of 'increase' etc. also retained Pg 52 et al.
One lot of 26 acres was purchased of John Baker et al. in 1762.
Archaic use of 'an' before 'h' retained; for example 'an humble' Pg 50 et al.
Prior work on the muscles of the leg of birds has been reviewed by Hudson and Hudson, et al. .
Its chiefs (Hoffmann, Poe, et al.) are classed by critics as realists.
also et al, 1883, abbreviation of Latin et alii (masc.), et aliæ (fem.), or et alia (neuter), in any case meaning "and others."
An abbreviation of the Latin et alii, meaning "and others." "She was accompanied by the vice president, the secretary of state, et al."


text:
Crowded Diphosphinomethane Ligands in Catalysis: [(R2PCH2PR′2-κ2P)-NiR″]+ Cations for Ethylene Polymerization without Activators
Schultz, Madeleine, Eisentrager, Frank, Regius, Christian, Rominger, Frank, Hanno-Igels, Patrick, Jakob, Paul, Gruber, Irene, & Hofmann, Peter (2012) Crowded Diphosphinomethane Ligands in Catalysis: [(R2PCH2PR′2-κ2P)-NiR″]+ Cations for Ethylene Polymerization without Activators. Organometallics, 31(1), pp. 207-224.
The preparation of a series of nickel dichloride complexes with bulky diphosphinomethane chelate ligands R2PCH2PR′2 is reported. Reaction with the appropriate Grignard reagent leads to the corresponding dimethyl and dibenzyl complexes. Cationic monomethyl and mono-η3-benzyl complexes are generated from these dialkyl complexes by protonation with [H(OEt2)2]+[B(3,5-(CF3)2C6H3)4]−, while the complex [(dtbpm κ2P)Ni(η3-CH(CH2Ph)Ph]+[B(3,5-(CF3)2C6H3)4]−is obtained from protonation of the Ni(0) olefin complex (dtbpm-κ2P)N(η2-trans-stilbene). Crystal structures of examples of dichlorides, dimethyl, dibenzyl, cationic methyl, and cationic η3-benzyl complexes are reported. Solutions of the cations polymerize ethylene under mild conditions and without the necessity of an activating agent, to form polyethylene having high molecular weights and low degrees of chain branching. In comparison to the Ni methyl cations, the η3-benzyl cation complexes are more stable and somewhat less active but still very efficient in C2H4 polymerization. The effect on the resulting polyethylene of varying the substituents R, R′ on the phosphine ligand has been examined, and a clear trend for longer chain PE with less branching in the presence of more bulky substituents on the diphosphine has been found. Density functional calculations have been used to examine the rapid suprafacial η3 to η3 haptotropic shift processes of the[(R2PCH2PR′2)Ni] fragment and the η3−η1 change of the coordination mode of the benzyl group required for polymerization in those cations.
Impact and interest:
Citation counts are sourced monthly from Scopus and Web of Science® citation databases.
These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles published in 1996 onwards, and Web of Science® generally from 1980 onwards.
Citations counts from the Google Scholar™ indexing service can be viewed at the linked Google Scholar™ search.
|ID Code:
|Item Type:
|Journal Article
|diphosphine ligands, nickel cations, ethylene polymerisation, DFT
|Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > CHEMICAL SCIENCE (030000) > OTHER CHEMICAL SCIENCES (039900) > Organometallic Chemistry (039904)
|Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Faculty of Science and Technology
|Copyright Owner:
|Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society
|Deposited On:
|23 Jan 2012 23:33
|Last Modified:
|15 Jul 2017 01:01
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text:
Wendy Moffat
Associate Professor of English ph:(717) 245-1499
Dickinson College fax: (717) 245-1942
P.O. Box 1773 email@example.com
Carlisle, PA 17013-2896 USA http://www.dickinson.edu/~moffat
Ph.D. 1985; M.Phil. 1981; M.A. 1979; B.A. 1977. Yale University. All degrees in English Literature
Teaching: Associate Professor of English, Dickinson College, 1994-; Assistant Professor of English, 1986-1994; Instructor of English, 1984-1986; Yale College, Acting Instructor, Teaching Fellow, 1980-1984; Administrative Experience: President ( 2004) Executive Board Member, Associated Departments of English of the Modern Language Association 2002-4 ; Member Ad-hoc Committee on Financing Higher Education, 2003-4; Chair, Dickinson College English Department, 1999- 2002 ; Director, Dickinson Programmes (Humanities and Science) in Norwich England, 1997-8. Professional Consulting , Drury University, Ithaca College, Lebanon Valley College. Editorial Board, Literature Compass.
Current Research:
Book manuscript : "A Great Unrecorded History": A New Life of E.M. Forster
Under contract to Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Editor: Jonathan Galassi
Book Anthology [in progress]:
Adventures in the Queer Archives
Essays on the practical and theoretical problems of gay and queer archival work.
"Dressing in Cast-Off Clothes: Cross-Disciplinarity and Some Problems in Gay Cultural Studies," Submitted to College Literature
"Ad Hoc Committee Report on Changes in the Structure and Financing of Higher Education" (co-author), ADE Bulletin (137, Spring 2005), 89-102.
"Only Connect! Departmental Community and the Alumni Network" in CEA Forum Online 34:1 (Winter/Spring 2005)
" 'So much generosity...and affection': some newly-discovered letters of E. M. Forster," Modern Language Studies, 33:1 & 2 (2003-4) , 7-23.
"A Passage to India and the Limits of Certainty," [1990 article], reprinted in Harold Bloom, ed. A Passage to India (New York: Chelsea House, 2003), 73-87.
"Figure and Ground: The Transformation of the Dickinson College English Department's Faculty and Curriculum," ADE Bulletin, Winter 2003 (133), 11-16.
"Marketing the English Major, Or Tending the Garden, Organically" ADE Bulletin 281: Spring 2001, 25-31.
"Political Metaphors: Teaching on a Cold-War Campus" John and Mary's Journal 14: 2001, 31-51.
Course Syllabus, English 220, in " Changing the Major: Innovation Priorities in the Field," Association of American Colleges and Universities Report , 1995, (p. 5)
"Domestic Violence: The Simple Tale within The Secret Agent," English Literature in Transition 37:4 (1994), 465- 489.
"Comment and Response on 'Identifying with Emma' " College English (54:4) 469-473.
"Identifying with Emma : Some Problems for the Feminist Reader" College English (53:1) 45-58 (January 1991)
"A Passage to India and the Limits of Certainty," Journal of Narrative Technique (20:3) 331-42 (Fall 1990)
Papers and Presentations:
New Chairs' Workshop (with Irwin Weiser, Purdue University), ADE Summer Session, Montreal, forthcoming June 2007.
"Out In the Archives: Experience and Theory in Queer Archival Work," Modernist Studies Association Conference 8, MSA Tulsa Oct 2006.
"Each person a new species": Toward A Reparative Reading of Forster and el-Adl," MSA 7, Chicago, Nov. 5, 2005. Panel Coordinator for Session "We All Know More than We Think": Queer Empire."
" 'Morgan's Greatest Novel is his Life' : Creating the Posthumous Queer Forster," International Narrative Conference, Louisville, KY, April 8, 2005. Panel Coordinator for Session on "Sense and Un-Ending: Reshaping the Boundaries of Narrative Convention."
"Conducting a Successful Departmental Review," ADE Summer Session, Washington DC, June 11, 2005.
Preconvention Workshop for Job Seekers, Modern Language Association, Philadelphia, PA, Dec. 27, 2004.
"Connecting Forster: Problems in Gay Cultural Biography" for Seminar on "Using Biography" Langdon Hammer (Yale Univ.) presiding, MSA6, Vancouver, B.C., Oct. 22, 2004.
"An Experiment in Faculty-Student Collaboration: Creating a Literary Circle" with Roger Brubaker and Sara Hoover, Common Hour, Dickinson College, Sept. 7, 2004.
New Chairs' Workshop (with Irwin Weiser, Purdue University), ADE Summer Session, Kiawah Island, SC, June 27, 2004
"Bloomsbury in Pennsylvania: A Multimedia Presentation" (with Sara Hoover, '03 and Roger Brubaker, '03), at Bloomsbury—A Centennial Celebration, London, University College, London, June 23, 2004
" 'Labelled Now' : Forster's Creative Silence and Gay Kinship, " International Narrative Conference, Burlington, VT, Apr. 25, 2004. Panel Coordinator for Session on "Censorship, Coded Silence, Amnesia: Narrative Strategies for Representing Sexuality and Slavery in British Culture."
"Queer Patrimony: The Case of George Platt Lynes' Portraits of E. M. Forster," at Modern Language Association Conference, San Diego, CA, Dec. 29, 2003. Panel Coordinator for Special Session on "'Great Unrecorded History': Archival Work in Gay Modernism. "
Preconvention Workshop for Members of Search Committees, at Modern Language Association Conference, San Diego, CA, Dec. 27, 2003.
Panel Coordinator for Special Session on "Adventures in the Queer Archives" (Session Organizer) ; "Queer Patrimony: The Case of George Platt Lynes' Portraits of E. M. Forster," at Modernist Studies Association Conference 5, Birmingham, UK, Sept. 26, 2003.
"Only Connect! Departmental Community and the Alumni Network" National College English Association Conference, April 3, 2003 , St. Petersburg, FL
"'Lest We Forget Him': Forster and the 'Scrapbook' of Gay Canon," International Narrative Conference, March 29, 2003, Berkeley, CA.
"Teaching the Interview: The Job Search in English," Modern Language Association Convention, New York, Dec. 27, 2002
"Himself 'That Way': Transmitting Gay Cultural History in Merchant/Ivory's Adaptation of E.M. Forster's Maurice" [co-written with Sara Hoover, '03], Literature/Film Association Conference, Dickinson College, October 2002
"The English Major as a Departmental Project," ADE Conference, Cooperstown, NY, June, 2002
"Forster's Appropriation of Hellenism" New Modernism Studies Conference, University of Pennsylvania, October 2000
"Marketing the English Major, Or Tending the Garden, Organically" ADE Conference, Roanoke, July, 2000
"Reading as Outing: Forster's 'My Books and I' and Cultural Misunderstanding" International Narrative Conference, Dartmouth College, April 1999
"Being Literate about Literature: The Senior Writing Experience," PA Council of Teachers of English Conference, Bloomsburg, PA, April 1993
"Coercive Celebrations," MLA Convention, Chicago, December 1990
"The Narrator, the Reader, and Emma," East Central American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies, Dickinson College, October 1990
"Joyce's Implied Readers: the Politics of Joyce Biography," International James Joyce Conference, Philadelphia, June 1989
"Emma's Mother: Double Narrative and the Problem of the Feminist Reader" International Conference for the Study of Narrative Literature, Madison, April 1989
"In Accord with his Audience: Hitchcock's Sabotage and Conrad's The Secret Agent" MLA Convention, Chicago, December 1986
Book Reviews:
Review of Jonathan Rose's The Intellectual Life of the British Working Class (Yale University Press, 2001), SHARP NEWS: The Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing Newsletter 11:4 (Autumn 2002), 8.
Review of E. M. Forster: Critical Assessments (4 vols.) ed. J.H. Stape, Helm Publishers, 1999, Annotated Bibliography of English Studies, Amsterdam, Netherlands
"Leonard and Virginia Woolf as Publishers," review of Leonard and Virginia Woolf as Publishers: The Hogarth Press, 1917-41, by J.H. Willis Jr. in English Literature in Transition, 37:1 (Winter 1994), 69-71.
"Two on Conrad," review of Joseph Conrad by Ruth L. Nadelhaft and Joseph Conrad and the Modern Temper by Daphna Erdinast-Vulcan, English Literature in Transition, 35:4 (Fall 1992) 526-529.
"Virginia Woolf," review of John Batchelor's Virginia Woolf: The Major Novels, English Literature in Transition, 35:3 (Summer 1992) 381-3.
"James, Joyce, and Woolf," review of Daniel Mark Fogel's Covert Relations: Henry James, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, English Literature in Transition, 34:4 (Fall 1991), 366-369.
"Contexts for Modernism," review of Clair M. Tylee's The Great War and Women's Consciousness and Stella McNichols' Virginia Woolf and the Poetry of Fiction, English Literature in Transition, Vol. 34:2 (Spring 1991), 222-226.
"The Search for Meaning," review of Wendell V. Harris' Interpretive Acts in Search of Meaning, English Literature in Translation, (33:2) (Spring 1990), 263-265.
Courses Taught:
In Modernism: Modern British Novel; Bloomsbury and the Idea of the Literary Circle ; James Joyce's Ulysses ; Woolf and Joyce ; Virginia Woolf ; Homosexuality and Modernism ; Sexuality and Modernism ; Public and Private Voices in Woolf, Forster, and Orwell
In Theory and Narrative: Critical Approaches and Literary Methods; Practical Literary Criticism; History of Literary Theory; The Novel and Literary Theory; Fiction and Narrative Film ; Reader-Response Criticism
Other Courses: Victorian London ; The Development of the Novel; Austen and her Time ; Origins of the English Novel ; Nineteenth Century British Literature; Pandora's Dilemma: Knowledge and Responsibility ; Campus Culture ; Introduction to Literature (Genres); Introduction to Women's Studies; Senior Writing Workshop ); Expository Writing.
Courses Taught Abroad: (Humanities Summer Program) London as a Text: An Interdisciplinary Approach; Humanities 309 London: An Interdisciplinary Course; Humanities 310; East Anglia: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Independent Studies and Tutorials: "George Eliot and Henry James"; "James Joyce's Ulysses"; "Virginia Woolf and Autobiography"; "D. H. Lawrence and the Unconscious"; "British Great War Poetry in Context"
Selected Awards and Honors:
Beinecke Fellowship, Yale University Library, Sept. 2007, forthcoming; Dana Research Assistant Grant, 2007, 2005, 2002-3, Summer 2002, 1999-2000; Dickinson Research and Development Grant, 2002, 2001, 1987-88, 1989-90; Mellon Fellowship for Faculty/Student Research, Summer 1996; Constance and Rose Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 1995; Reassigned Time for curricular innovation, Spring 1993; Dickinson College Board of Advisors' Grant, Summer 1992; Dickinson College Nomination for Summer NEH Fellowship, 1992; Dana Student Intern Grant, (1989,1990,1992); NEH Fellow, Summer Seminar, Cornell University, "Critical Perspectives on the Early Modern British Novel," 1988; Graduate School: Yale English Department Nomination for Yale College Teaching Prize, 1981; Yale University Fellowships: 1981-82; 80-81; 78-79; Edward and Elizabeth Stuart Moody Fellowship: 1979-80; Phi Beta Kappa: 1977; Yale College, Magna cum laude, Distinction in English: 1977
Dickinson College (Selected) Professional Activities:
Dickinson College: IT Committee, 2006- ;Secretary of the Faculty, 2001-2; Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships Advisor 1999-2002; Founder, Co-Chair, Dickinson/ Carlisle Area School District Liaison Group, 1994-2004; Faculty Personnel Appeals Committee, 1996-7; Strategic Planning Group Member, Summer 1996; Judicial Board Member 1988-89; Faculty Representative, College Affirmative Action Committee, 1988-1991; Board Member and Co-Chair, Commission on the Status of Women, 1988-89; Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid, 1986-87.
Community Activities: Founder and Co-Chair Carlisle Area School District/ Dickinson College Liaison, 1994- 2004; Co-writer, National Humanities Center Professional Development Grant, Carlisle School District 2001.
Professional Memberships: Associated Departments of English; Modern Language Association; College English Association; Virginia Woolf Society; Jane Austen Society of North America; Society for the Study of Narrative; Society for the History of Authorship, Readership, and Printing; Modernist Studies Association.


text:
Students of Political studies need not worry about paying for over-priced textbooks anymore – renting textbooks is an option! Political textbooks – for example A Sketch of the Life and Public Services of William Henry Harrison; Commander in Chief of the Northwestern Army During the War of 1812, &c by [Isaac Rand Jackson], and Sincerely Yours: How to Write Great Letters by [Carol Barkin, Elizabeth James] – are often some of the most frequently updated books by Publishing companies. The field of Political is constantly changing, and new editions can come yearly and at a huge cost to students who continually buy new books. So why buy when you can rent cheap textbooks? There are plenty of Political books to rent – BookRenter has of them all!
Used book sales can be a cheap option as well, but often can be more expensive than textbook rentals. However, there are very few return policies with used books, and especially when taking Political classes, buying a used book can be dangerous and costly.
A Sketch of the Life and Public Services of William Henry Harrison; Commander in Chief of the Northwestern Army During the War of 1812, &cList Price:$11.66
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Grover Cleveland: Twenty-Second and Twenty-Fourth President of the United States (Encyclopedia of Presidents)List Price:$27.00
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text:
Spreading the word in gritty Lanzhou
It is one of China's most polluted cities, situated in a poor, landlocked province - not everyone's choice for an ideal assignment abroad. But Lanzhou is where 40-year-old New Zealander John Wilson Hill and his Hong Kong wife have made their home for the past five years, and where they have set up an English-language training centre.
'We would like to stay as long as people want us to stay,' Mr Hill said. 'This is not a short-term thing. We have no plan to leave. This is a long-term project.' The couple set up their centre in co-operation with a retired civil servant named Jian Su, with each contributing 250,000 yuan (about HK$223,000). It took six months to get the necessary approvals before they opened in 1996.
Now they have 750 students, from primary school children to adults, paying three to four yuan an hour. It remains the only centre of its kind in Lanzhou and Mr Hill is the only 'big-nose' English teacher in the city, apart from those who come for short-term stints. 'We are not here to make money,' he said. 'What profit we make we invest back in the school. Our purpose is to help people. Chinese study English hard, learn grammar and read well. But they cannot communicate. That is where they need help - in speaking, which is what we provide.' Asked why he and his wife chose Lanzhou, he cited two reasons. 'I worked in a school in Hong Kong. My wife and I were interested in education. She is patriotic and wanted to help her country.' The second reason was Rewi Alley, the most famous New Zealander in China, who spent nearly all his life in the country, inspired by the early communists. He worked with farmers in western China and later lived in Beijing, where he worked as an author and translator.
'I read of Alley's life and was inspired by it. He was a distant relative, because my father's brother married into his family. Although he went back to New Zealand a few times, neither my father nor I met him.' Lanzhou is one of the dirtiest cities in the country. A survey by a United States company in 1997 rated it the most polluted city in the world. It sits on the southern side of the Yellow River in a basin surrounded by mountains which trap the pollutants from cars as well as from steel and petrochemical factories. It is close to the desert with almost no wind and little rainfall.
'We have adapted,' Mr Hill said. 'We have had no health problems since we came and have not seen a doctor.' He and his wife work hard, preparing lessons in the mornings and teaching in the afternoons and evenings.
Mr Hill has become a star in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, where the Government shows him to visitors as an example of a foreigner, one of just 30 in the city, who is happily in residence.
His partner, Mr Jian, is a talkative and passionate man who lived in the former Soviet Union for four years. He is a devout member of China's official Catholic church.
His latest project is the construction of a church for up to 3,000 people in downtown Lanzhou costing 5.5 million yuan, most of which will come from the Government. It is on the site of a Catholic church and school that was confiscated by the Government in the 1950s and demolished a few years ago. Work began in May last year and is due to be completed in August.
The two spires are 56 metres high and the central hall is being built without pillars in order to give worshippers a clear view.
'We have 5,700 Catholics in Gansu, with 1,000 in Lanzhou,' Mr Jian said. 'Look at this wonderful new building. We have the priest arranged. You tell the Americans that we have freedom of religion in China.'
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text:
Hi John,
On Thu, 2004-02-12 at 03:29, John Voigt wrote:
> > > IMHO getting those extra 32MB (or 128MB for that matter) for your
> > > firewall is super cheap, compared to going out and getting a
> > > commercial product for $1000+ (which is what you'd have to pay to get
> > > the same services and throughput as m0n0wall running on any old PC or
> > > a 4801/WRAP board!) And I promise you they won't have a support that
> > > is anywhere near that of m0n0walls (like is the case, strangely
> > > enough, with most OpenSource vs. commercial products!)
> >
> > Right there is my feelings on it. If its having problems with running on
> > 32MB, big deal. On pricewatch.com this morning 256MB of PC133 is at 38$.
> > Your machine take DDR? thats even cheaper. PC2700 256MB, 28$.
> >
> > It is very reasonable for a software in general to require >64MB of ram in
> > this age of cheap RAM. I'm still waiting on a company to really take
> > advantage of this and make something the size of a CD-rom drive that can
> > hold 12+ 1GB sticks of DDR ram that hooks up to IDE, SCSI, or SATA for use
> > as a swap/tmp drive for servers. ;)
> >
> I'm a little concerned about bloat because my fleet of Soekris boxes with
> 32MB soldered on and no way to add more are now becoming obsolete. Can we
> reduce the size of the ramdisks or something? I do all my logging to a
> remote syslog anyway so /var could get a lot smaller.
More top posting to fix... Gggrrrrrrr...
Anyway, I can see your point, and think that an easy (for us, not for
Manuel) solution would to be to release a net4511-20 image that allows
for the CF to be used for swap during firmware updates, or alternatively
that shuts down all non-essential services during firmware update, and
then reboots and re-runs them all.
If you cannot update the current CF devices due to this lack of RAM
issue, then this may require a once-off re-imaging of the next image to
the CF cards, and distributing these to your remote locations - messy,
but achievable.
Another option would be to implement this in the standard
non-CD-ROM/non-generic-pc images as a default in the new images.
Hilton Travis Phone: +61-(0)7-3343-3889
Manager, Quark AudioVisual Phone: +61-(0)419-792-394
Quark Computers http://www.QuarkAV.com/
(Brisbane, Australia) http://www.QuarkAV.net/
Open Source Projects: http://www.ares-desktop.org/
Non Linear Video Editing Solutions & Digital Audio Workstations
Network Administration, SmoothWall Firewalls, NOD32 AntiVirus
Conference and Seminar AudioVisual Production and Recording
War doesn't determine who is right. War determines who is left.


text:
Researcher Receives $600,000 NSF Award for Study of Soil and Carbon Sequestration
March 9, 2012
It's common knowledge that plants are major players in the field of carbon sequestration, the process of removing the greenhouse gas from the air and storing it. But what might not be so commonly known is that the Earth's soil contains more organic carbon than all the plants that live on it.
"Most of the carbon that a plant takes out of the atmosphere goes below ground," said Joshua Schimel, chair of UC Santa Barbara's Department of Environmental Studies, and professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Marine Biology. That significant factor is at the heart of his paper, "Collaborative Research: Controls over C sequestration: Physiology vs. Physics," which has received a $607,635 award from the National Science Foundation.
Schimel, along with co-principal investigators Patricia Holden, a professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, and former EEMB postdoctoral researcher Sean Schaeffer, now an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, will be studying the physical processes that influence carbon sequestration in soil, including the access of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) to carbon, and how they use it.
"We're looking at the biological processes, but they're completely regulated by the physical structure of the soil," said Schimel. The researchers will be looking for the effect of the presence or absence of water on the microbe's physical ability to access and consume carbon.
One hypothesis suggests that water helps diffuse carbon throughout the soil to put it within reach of the microorganisms.
"It's like with a kid and you put the cookies on a shelf," he said. "Carbon is just physically too far away or trapped in an aggregate…but when you wet the soil, it's like flooding the room and redistributing everything. Now it's like, 'Oh, wait, now there are cookies on the floor right next to me; I'll eat those.'"
Other aspects of his research include drought or overabundance of water on carbon-consuming microorganisms, and the role of enzymes, waste, and other byproducts microorganisms may produce as they process carbon.
Schimel and his co-principal investigators will be joined in this collaborative research by interdisciplinary graduate student researchers, as well as undergraduate students, who will be exposed to the research environment at the 5,896-acre Sedgwick Reserve in Santa Ynez.
Aside from the knowledge he hopes to gain on the little-understood processes that go on in the ground below our feet, Schimel also anticipates a clearer picture of what the soil can do to clear the air.
"What I hope will come out of this is a better understanding of how carbon is stored or released from soil. There's a lot of hope that we can use sequestration in soil as at least one of the tools for limiting global warming," he said.
Further outreach is planned as part of the project through the Sedgwick Reserve's center for public education, where researchers have been and will continue to make presentations to the public about soils and their importance to society. The information they gather will be included in updates to the reserve's educational programs, and members of the research team will continue to mentor local K-12 students with programs and demonstrations on soil ecology.
Source: UCSB Public Affairs


text:
- Name: Eocyto
- Planet: Xylos 4
- Habitat: Primordial sea
- Time: 100 AC(after comet)
- Diet: Organic Molecules
- locomotion: free-floating
- Descendants: Every living thing on Xylos
- Next Generation: Photophagis, Cytophagis
- Status: EXTINCT
Unlike Earth, this organism has no DNA, One big ribosome and Golgi apparatus, and the vacuole and 'mitochondrian' is connected by a tube called the via. The 'DNA' is really a ring of genetic material called the gene ring. The big ribosome reads each section of the gene-ring and makes proteins, just like earth cells. But instead of many ribosomes, its just one big one connected directly to the gene-ring. As the ring spins it, it reads the section and sends the proteins to the 'Golgi Apparatus'; we will call it the fedexon (named after FedEx). The fedexon then takes the molecules and makes of the eocyto with it. In case a part dies, the fedexon will release a corresponding part and a lysosome will take it and put it in its spot. The fedexon will store unneeded parts. The via transfers nutrients and energy from the factorian (mitochondrian) to the vacuole. The vacuole releases the energy into the eocyto.
This organism is the first organism on Xylos 4. It formed a hundred years after a comet laden with rich organic molecules. There was one type of molecule that is abundant in Xylos's local star system called celoxine. Celoxine is a catalyst that is only in that star system. The comet had about 15 lbs of it, Enough to accelerate evolution for millions of years. The eocyto absorbed the molecules found in the primordial sea. The molecules were often attached to celoxine. But at about 1000 AC, another meteor hit the ocean. The blast created a lagoon, in which had only a few thousand eocyto. The energy from the explosion altered about 500 bacteria. All five hundred were dividing. The mutation caused a change. The organisms couldn't make energy without sunlight. The first autotrophs. But these weren't full fledged photo synthesizers. They did not absorb water to do the energy process. Soon a small mutation in the membrane caused water to leak in and help produce more energy. But soon the molecules in the sea were disappearing (except for the celoxine of course. most of it was at the bottom of the sea or on land). A mutation in the vacuole, via, and factorian made the order jumble up. The via was connected to the membrane, the factorian was connected to directly to the via and vacuole. And oddly enough the xeno-bacteria were mistaking smaller eocyto for molecules! So they 'eat' the eocyto, both normal and photosynthetic. After the mutated evolved with the help of celoxine, they evolved into two different species. The cell eaters, or cytophagis, were eating the eocyto to extinction, while the plant like cells, or photophagis were becoming more abundant and out competing the cell. They went extinct around 300,000 AE (after evolution)(3,000,000 AC).