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In Ohio, Ex-Mechanic Keeps School Buses in Gear
Steve A. Simmons III | Director of Transportation
Columbus Public Schools, Ohio
In 2010, the 51,000-student Columbus, Ohio, school district considered cutting busing of high school students as a money-saving measure, just as most of the other large districts in the state had done.
But the state's biggest district managed to come up with a creative solution: Instead of doing away with busing for older students altogether, Columbus eliminated most neighborhood bus stops and used neighborhood schools as centralized stops for older students. The change cut the number of high school bus stops from nearly 1,500 to 230 and pared about $2 million from the district's $50 million-a-year transportation budget.
"Doing away with the service is doing a disservice to our students," says Steve A. Simmons III, who came up with the idea. The director of transportation for the past six years, Simmons, 56, has spent 30 years with the district, where he started as a bus mechanic and worked his way up.
His longevity gives him a certain amount of leeway with the school board, he says—though he jokes that he is a "loudmouth."
"I'm very vocal," he says, "because I've come up through the system."
John Stanford, the deputy superintendent in charge of operations, lauds Simmons' creativity in managing district money. "He's constantly reviewing the industry for best-practice ideas and consulting with his colleagues," Stanford says.
Getting students to school is a distinct challenge in Ohio's capital city. The district has no set feeder patterns, because students can enroll in any school that has space for them as part of an intradistrict-choice program. State law requires the district to provide bus transportation to charter and private school students in kindergarten through 8th grade who live within district boundaries but more than two miles from their schools of choice. That means some of the bus routes serve schools outside the city.
Transporting more than 30,000 students daily, the school district maintains 750 routes and can end up making more than 200 modifications a day, as students enter, leave, or move within the district, Simmons says.
Keeping Track
Columbus has implemented some innovative programs under Simmons' watch: For example, a global-positioning tracking system, installed in January 2008, allows the district to monitor every vehicle in its fleet. Zonar Systems, the Seattle-based provider of the technology, says the system offers benefits such as a wireless device that drivers can use for their pre- and post-trip inspection reports and a monitoring system school principals can use to track bus arrivals. The district was an early adopter of the technology, Simmons says.
This school year, the district has expanded its technology use through a student tracking tag that goes on students' backpacks. The credit-card-size tag, called ZPass, is read by a device inside the bus and can keep track of when students board and exit.
Using the device, "we'll be able to look up and see that little Stevie's on bus 255, but he hasn't gotten off yet," Simmons says.
Faced with static or shrinking resources, Simmons sometimes has to make unpopular choices, like doing away with "courtesy stops" that picked up children who technically lived within a two-mile radius of their schools. The new routes may be more efficient, he says, "but that means the bus doesn't go by some houses anymore. The parents don't necessarily want to hear that."
Simmons, who is the current president of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation, suggests that transportation directors could help each other with difficult issues if they worked together. Professionally, he's expanded his reach beyond the district, serving as a board member of the National Association of Pupil Transportation in Albany, N.Y., and the chairman of the Columbus Transportation and Pedestrian Commission, which reviews transit proposals before they go to the city council.
"If you need help, you need to call your peers," Simmons says. "People try to fix problems themselves, when there's probably a thousand people who have fixed it before."
Vol. 32, Issue 20, Pages s10, s11Published in Print: February 6, 2013, as Steve A. Simmons III
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StarCraft 2 is a game that can basically set the standard for hype in the next year or so. The sequel of one of the most loved PC games of all time, created by a company that is known for epic productions and a "ship when it's done" perfectionism, it's hard not to get swept up in how good the game could get.
Blizzard has released a new set of artwork for the game, showing off some of the improvements made to the Zerg faction. After having a chance to play an already-beautiful version of StarCraft 2 at PAX, it's great to see the units only getting better. Take a look at the before and after shots of the Hydralisk, and then peruse the rest of the art made available on the official site.
We'll surely be hearing more about StarCraft 2, and hopefully Diablo 3, at Blizzcon 2009.


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If you're anything like me, you've wanted to dig up the bones of dead Romans for as long as you can remember. (Well, except for that brief period where I wanted to dig up dinosaurs and the even briefer one where I thought I might become a mathematician.) But if you live in the southern U.S. like I do, you're certainly not discovering Roman skeletons in your garden all the time. What does a Roman bioarchaeologist do every day? Generally, teach, research, and talk to colleagues and the public about teaching and research.
Teaching. The great thing about the American incarnation of the discipline of anthropology – something I didn't honestly learn until graduate school – is that it's what we call four-field: it combines archaeological, biological, cultural, and linguistic approaches to understanding humankind, past and present. As a university professor, it means that, in a given semester, I teach undergraduates about genetics, monkeys, and cultural relativism more often than I talk about my own research projects on the ancient Romans. But the amazingly diverse subject matter of my typical Introduction to Anthropology course also means that I can draw from almost any topic in the week's news to illustrate my lectures and to foster discussion: How does the hubbub over the "gay caveman" from the Czech Republic reflect our preconceived notions about sexuality? Why does anyone care if Shakespeare – or any Elizabethan Brit – smoked pot? Who polices American gender norms, telling us that little boys can't paint their toenails pink and little girls shouldn't pretend to nurse their dolls? In teaching students about anthropology, I try to teach them to question the ideas we take for granted and to critique the categories that we often think of as inherent and immutable, to let them see that every culture has its own rules and is a product of its own time.
Research. I'm not going to lie – fieldwork is the best part of my job. Who wouldn't like digging up dead Romans by day and eating pizza in the shadow of the Colosseum by night? While teaching gives me the thrill of watching students who have never been exposed to anthropology realize they love it, holding the bones of someone long-dead and reading their biography from their bodies still gives me chills. After two millennia, the Romans introduce themselves to me, telling me where they were born, showing me their scars, and complaining about their arthritic knees. It can be hard to listen to the woman with a fractured nose (a victim of domestic violence?) and especially to the babies who didn't have a chance to grow up because of a simple lack of antibiotics and multivitamins. And yet, as the field of bioarchaeology has advanced and incorporated the techniques of chemical analysis, my research on the ancient Romans has gone beyond the wildest dreams of my 12-year-old self. I've gotten to identify immigrants to Rome and to investigate their lives in the largest urban center of its time, a topic the historical sources rarely discuss. I've gotten to find out what the average Roman ate, and to see that their childhood diet was actually quite different from what they ate as adults. And I've gotten to work with an array of amazing international archaeologists and anthropologists along the way.
Outreach. The final piece of my job is not mandatory but is becoming increasingly common. In his keynote address at the American Anthropological Association meeting last fall, the archaeologist Jeremy Sabloff pointed out that there are no academics representing the face of anthropology. We no longer have a Margaret Mead or a Franz Boas. Moving the discipline forward in the digital age, he said, means that it's going to be "public or perish." So why be content with the few dozen people who will read your dissertation? Being an academic today is about putting yourself out there as an expert, being the face of some topic, the person who can explain the importance of an anthropological concept to students and the public. I have tried to take up this challenge with my own blog, which I envision as a public form of the informal communication that I have all the time with my colleagues. Through blogging, I have started discussions with people in my field, in other academic disciplines, and outside of the academy completely. It's also been useful as a way for me to work through my plot bunnies (or academic otters), those nagging ideas that may not be fully formed but need to get out so that I can focus on one thing at a time. Fortunately, other academics are also choosing this route to public engagement, and projects like Day of Archaeology allow us to contribute to a broader discussion of what the discipline means and how best to show others our enthusiasm for it.
It's certainly not easy being a bioarchaeologist in academia, juggling several facets of our work on a daily basis and multitasking like mad. But the rewards are fantastic: not just flying around the world to excavate in exotic locales, but watching students have "a-ha" moments after a heated discussion about evolution, and explaining to the public why we anthropologists don't single out the privileged few who "shaped" society while ignoring the millions of others who actually made that society function.
I may not be a dinosaur-mathematician, but I've discovered that my childhood dream of studying the dead could come true with a little hard work. I will continue to define myself broadly as an anthropologist and narrowly as a Roman bioarchaeologist for as long as I can.


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Watch Movie Open Windows High QualityFull Movie Open Windows Movie Streaming with duration 101 Min and broadcast on 2014-03-10 with MPAA rating is 12.
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Play Streaming Open Windows Jill, the most exciting actress of the moment, refuses to have dinner with Nick, a fan who won a date with her in an Internet contest organized by the distributor of her latest film. In return, a guy named Chord, posing as Jill's campaign manager, help Nick to follow in the footsteps of the actress from his own computer. Nick starts a game in which he realizes that is only a puppet into the manic plans devised by Chord, to hunt down the star. Full Movie Open Windows HD
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Brendan DeMelle | November 9, 2011
By Brendan DeMelle • Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - 13:12
At the "Media & Stakeholder Relations: Hydraulic Fracturing Initiative 2011" conference last week in Houston, Matt Pitzarella, Director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Range Resources, revealed in his presentation that Range has hired Army and Marine veterans with combat experience in psychological warfare to influence communities in which Range drills for gas.
As CNBC reported, Range spokesman Matt Pitzarella boasted to the audience:
"["…looking to other industries, in this case, the Army and the Marines. We have several former PSYOPs folks that work for us at Range because they're very comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments. Really all they do is spend most of their time helping folks develop local ordinances and things like that. But very much having that understanding of PSYOPs in the Army and in the Middle East has applied very helpfully here for us in Pennsylvania."
[**Listen: MP3**]
At that same conference, Matt Carmichael, External Affairs Manager at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, suggested three things to attendees during his presentation:
"If you are a PR representative in this industry in this room today, I recommend you do three things. These are three things that I've read recently that are pretty interesting.
"(1) Download the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual [audible gasps from the audience], because we are dealing with an insurgency. There's a lot of good lessons in there, and coming from a military background, I found the insight in that extremely remarkable. (2) With that said, there's a course provided by Harvard and MIT twice a year, and it's called 'Dealing With an Angry Public.' Take that course. Tied back to the Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency [Field] Manual, is that a lot of the officers in our military are attending this course. It gives you the tools, it gives you the media tools on how to deal with a lot of the controversy that we as an industry are dealing with. (3) Thirdly, I have a copy of "Rumsfeld's Rules." You're all familiar with Donald Rumsfeld – that's kind of my bible, by the way, of how I operate."
[**Listen: MP3**]
Carmichael is also the former Senior Manager of External Communications for Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Halliburton, which at one point had over 15,000 mercenaries placed in Iraq, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Counterinsurgency (COIN) Field Manual [PDF] devotes an entire chapter to PSYOPs, confirming its utility as a major element of a counterinsurgency campaign. The COIN manual is the current U.S. military doctrine in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
USE OF PSYOPs PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE ON U.S. CITIZENS IS ILLEGAL
PSYOPs is the military short-hand for "psychological operations," used extensively in U.S. wars abroad, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of this work is carried out by Army reserve personnel, who travel from village to village dropping leaflets and offering financial incentives in an attempt to convince residents not to support the insurgency. This often entails using psychological tactics to "win hearts and minds."
As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported about PSYOPs in Iraq:
"…reservists in psychological operations typically do communications with the local folks. In the beginning, they distribute millions of leaflets and do loudspeaker broadcasts. They also spend a lot of time talking with people."
The use of PSYOPs by active military personnel on U.S. citizens is illegal and a violation of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, as Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone explained in his February 2011 investigative story uncovering the fact that U.S. military generals had used PSYOPs on members of Congress. The Smith-Mundt act "was passed by Congress to prevent the State Department from using Soviet-style propaganda techniques on U.S. citizens."
Hastings wrote in Rolling Stone:
"According to the Defense Department's own definition, psy-ops – the use of propaganda and psychological tactics to influence emotions and behaviors – are supposed to be used exclusively on "hostile foreign groups." Federal law forbids the military from practicing psy-ops on Americans, and each defense authorization bill comes with a "propaganda rider" that also prohibits such manipulation. "Everyone in the psy-ops, intel, and IO community knows you're not supposed to target Americans," says a veteran member of another psy-ops team who has run operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It's what you learn on day one." (emphasis added)
Range's dominance in the Marcellus fracked gas rush is hardly surprising - Range Resources was the first company to begin drilling for unconventional gas in the Marcellus Shale, back in 2004. Range says on its website that "In 2011, Range is directing 86% of its capital budget toward development drilling in the region."
It certainly has every reason to protect that investment, but hiring an Army PSYOPs specialist?
Range Resources' Local Government Relations Manager in Pennsylvania is James Cannon, a former Marine and Army Reservist whose unit conducted PSYOPs during Operation Iraqi Freedom. According to his personal website and LinkedIn page, Jim Cannon says he is still an active reservist with the 303rd Psychological Operations Company, who served under the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
One of his colleagues in the 303rd Psychological Operations Company discussed the unit's PSYOP experiences in Iraq in April 2003. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, "Since October [2003], a massive public information campaign has been under way in Iraq. American and British planes have dropped 36 million leaflets in Iraq. They have distributed scores of solar-powered and hand-crank short wave radios with instructions for tuning in to Arabic-language broadcasts that urge cooperation with coalition troops. Trucks with loudspeakers have been used to spread the message that America is in Iraq to liberate, not to occupy the nation."
What if the same techniques that the Army used to weaken the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan are being used by the gas industry to intimidate U.S. citizens in Pennsylvania? Of course they wouldn't need the Black Hawk helicopters, the U.S. Postal Service can drop letters just fine. But the tactics of using financial incentives and disseminating propaganda designed to pit neighbor against neighbor?
Jim Cannon's company Range Resources has deployed these PSYOP-inspired tactics in Pennsylvania, sending threatening letters to the citizens of Mt. Pleasant Township in hopes of dividing the community, and attempting to sway the township supervisors to do industry's bidding.
As best documented by This American Life, Range has sent threatening letters to residents of Mount Pleasant, PA, where citizens were concerned about the impacts of natural gas drilling on their community. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also covered the Range Resources letters controversy, and included PDFs of the actual letters sent by Range to Mt. Pleasant residents.
The first letter, sent in April 2011 to all Mt. Pleasant Township residents [PDF], used a 'winning hearts and minds' style approach, touting the company's local investments:
"Over those years, we have become a part of your community. From millions of dollars in corporate giving to tax-free road improvements, Range has strived to be a good neighbor and community partner."
Range sent a second letter around the same time, but only to property owners with gas leases. It appears to seek to divide the community, by threatening that the company might pull out of the town if it didn't get its way, essentially striking fear into residents that such a decision would hurt their lease income and encouraging them to pressure local leaders to keep Range happy. The second letter [PDF] states:
"Throughout the state, Range is held up as the model for the natural gas drilling industry; everywhere, that is, except Mt. Pleasant. While we have made every effort to establish a positive and robust working relationship with your elected officials, our attempts continue to be rejected. As a result, we are sending this communication to inform you that we have revised our future long-term plans in the Township due to continuing difficulties with your Township supervisors and their unwillingness to work with us. As it stands, those revisions may prove detrimental to leaseholders.
Ultimately we may be forced to shift activity to other, more cooperative townships.The shifting of operational activities will inevitably result in the shift of related activities, including the purchase of goods, services and food to other, more cooperative communities."
At issue was the company's distaste for a local ordinance banning temporary housing, which blocked Range from erecting bunkhouses at drill sites for its employees. Matt Pitzarella suggested the company might sue or leave the town.
"If the township continues to push this issue, we may have to challenge it in court or walk away," Mr. Pitzarella told the Post-Gazette.
Range's aggressive pressure tactics created a backlash in the community, as the Post-Gazette story reported:
"We are outraged," said Dencil Bachus, a Mount Pleasant resident and coordinator of a citizens committee that advised the township on the Marcellus ordinance. "This is an effort by Range Resources to divide a community on the eve of a decision on an ordinance that affects them directly. It's an attempt by the company to get what they want rather than operate within the [township government] process. It's a divide-and-conquer public relations strategy."
Other area residents have also experienced Range's intimidation tactics first hand. Ron Gullah, Hickory resident whose pond was contaminated near a Range drilling operation, says,
"Range Resources operates on intimidation. They have intimidated everyone and have taken advantage of this rural area."
Another Mt. Pleasant resident, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told DeSmogBlog that:
"What's going on here, it's kinda like Love Canal. The intimidation from these corporations is astounding to me. I don't know how they're allowed to get away with it. I'd like to see them get nailed."
OTHER POSSIBLE EXAMPLES OF PSYOPs-INSPIRED INTIMIDATION
One indicator of PSYOPs type behavior by the gas industry occurred in April 2011, when an Ohio woman found a binder in her driveway, "Talking Points for Selling Oil and Gas Lease Rights." The source of the document was never identified, so its authenticity is not confirmed, however the manipulative techniques mentioned in the binder are consistent with PSYOPS tactics.
The focal point of a well-run PSYOPs campaign is to reward those who go along with the mission, and punish those who do not. Other "winning hearts and minds" PSYOP-like tactics include industry sponsorship of county fairs, sponsorship of child domestic abuse centers, and donating money to other community projects.
This all comes roughly a year after the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security, then headed by James Powers, a man with three decades of military experience and formerly a professor at the Joint Special Operations University and the U.S. Army War College, was caught spying on anti-fracking activists, via an Israel-based private security firm called the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response.
According to a March 2011 story appearing in the Pittsburgh Business Times, Range Resources "estimates that veterans account for about 10 percent of its employees." That is an impressive statistic, and many of the skills learned in the military would naturally come in handy in oil and gas operations. However, legitimate questions arise when companies like Range Resources tout their hiring of military PSYOPs specialists to deploy these tactics on American citizens.
Is Range the only industry player deploying veterans with PSYOPs experience, and using these propaganda techniques in U.S. communities? The company's leadership role in the Marcellus Shale fracking industry suggests that this practice is likely more widespread.
A November 2010 press release from the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), a Pennsylvania lobbying association that promotes unconventional gas development, shows that scores of veterans now work for the natural gas industry, at corporations ranging from Chesapeake Energy, Anadarko, Atlas Energy, and more. The Coalition includes Exxon (XTO), Shell, Statoil, Halliburton, Chesapeake, and others.
The Chairman of the Marcellus Shale Coalition is Ray Walker, Senior Vice President of Range Resources. Walker's Range colleague Matt Pitzerella chairs MSC's communications Subcommittee, and also is sub-chairman of America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), another major gas industry PR outfit promoting fracking and unconventional gas development.
Has Range promoted the use of PSYOPs to these other companies? Do the Marcellus Shale Coalition and ANGA officially sanction its use?
Engaging in PSYOPs runs contrary to the promises that Range Resources makes to the public about the company's behavior.
For example, Matt Pitzarella, in a September 2011 interview, stated, "We need to engage, communicate, be transparent, accessible and accountable."
John Pinkerton, CEO of Range Resources stated in a June 2011 press release, "Along with all of Range's employees, management team and Board of Directors, we have established a strong culture at Range based on integrity, transparency, performance and teamwork." (emphasis added)
Range alleges that it complies with all laws, without exception:
"It is the policy of Range that we will conduct business in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as applicable laws and regulations of foreign jurisdictions, and in a manner that will always reflect a high standard of ethics," reads their Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. "The laws and regulations applicable to Range are far reaching and complex. Compliance with the law does not comprise our entire ethical responsibility; rather, it is a minimum, essential condition for performance of our duties."
It also has stated a commitment [PDF] to "continuously improve our practices and seek transparency in our operations" and that it is "committed to being responsible members of the communities in which we work," in an October 2011 Company Presentation. Furthermore, it has stated, "[W]e can make a better way of life for all Pennsylvanians. At the same time, we remain dedicated to enhancing the environment and communities we all call home."
In one document, Range states, "As one of America's leading natural gas producers, we are committed to responsibly develop this resource and to being open, honest and transparent."
Range's rhetoric is admirable, but does it match the reality of its practices? It appears that Range's use of psychological warfare tactics on U.S. citizens may mean that it is violating the Smith-Mundt Act.
One has to wonder, though, how frequently and to what depth are these immoral tactics being used by the gas industry on American citizens? It is certainly worthy of an in-depth examination.
Additional Reporting by DeSmogBlog Research Fellow Steve Horn
**Sharon Wilson with the Oil and Gas Accountability Project at EarthWorks attended the conference and recorded the audio. We're especially grateful that Sharon - who also blogs at TexasSharon.com - documented this, since DeSmogBlog's own Steve Horn was out in the hallway after his own entry was denied the morning of the conference. Steve was granted a press pass to cover the event weeks earlier, but after flying all the way from Wisconsin to cover the conference, Steve received last-minute notice that he wasn't welcome. He eventually convinced the conference organizers to let him in later that day. Stay tuned for more news about what happened at the conference in the days and weeks to come.
AnOilMan replied on Permalink
Naughty Advertising Campaign
Brenden, I'm beginning to see why you're so worried about Fracking.
I read the 'talking points' pdf, and it doesn't look illegal to me. It looks like standard slimy sales techniques, not much different than a telemarketer.
I don't generally respond to unsolicited requests. (If I want something, I go look for it.)
My advice to anyone on the receiving end of someone knocking on your door, is to get their card and do a lot of research.
If you think there is something up, go around the community and point out the issues you feel strongly about.
If it gets tough act like a climate denier. Point out no facts, and simply argue until you are blue in the face. If it looks like they may try to follow your arguement, change the subject. Remember, these guys don't want a fight anymore than you do. Make it hard for them. Get a bunch of friends and family to show up at a meeting with pitch forks and shovels. Just get them to stand around outside…
troydonscott replied on Permalink
Don't play games
I would not act like anything or play such games with these people. They are professionals and they are representing an energy company with lawyers on staff. My advice is anyone that owns mineral right should read up on the laws before they get to your door. Your state oil and gas commission should have these available in plain english so they can be understood. If you own a large acreage of mineral rights you should consider an oil and gas lawyer. You should understand that you might not be approached or even notified in the first round of mineral purchase. State laws require a percentage of mineral rights per drilling unit to agree to drill. This is typically 60%. If they have met this percentage they may skip the rest of the people at this time. Once the permitting process has started then this person is no longer just trying to purchase your mineral rights but rather serving you legal notice. Don't try playing these games because they can and will just walk out the door and take your oil and gas for free. They can do this legally. Yes they have to pay for them but here is what happens. They will hold a hearing that you were informed of and integrate your mineral rights. Once the percentage is met then all they have to do is make an attempt to inform you. If you are wrapped up in playing and throwing forks and shovels then they just take that as your answer and leave. Somewhere buried up in that stack of papers they left with you is the date of the hearing. At this hearing they will assign a risk factor typically 4 to 6 times the cost of drilling, completion, and other current and future expenses of the well. They only have to pay you after this has been paid in full. This is likely the life of the well. So they get all your oil/gas and you did not get a penny. Once it gets to this point and you decide you would rather get paid then hire an oil and gas lawyer to represent you at the hearing. Josh Fox caused a lot of people to do this and has made billions for the oil and gas industry. Best thing is to learn your rights before they come knocking. Also understand the difference between an offer to purchase and a notice of "intent to drill"!!!
troydonscott replied on Permalink
Side bar, Some
Side bar,
Some states allow mineral rights owners so sell/lease his mineral rights to a neighboring drilling unit if the horizontal well is drilled across the boundary of the drilling unit under this persons property. Once this happens then the entire drilling unit will be worthless. If you and your neighbors decide to lock out the drilling by keeping the percentage below the minimum then make sure nobody backslides because this person will make a fortune and your property value will drop accordingly!
Phil M replied on Permalink
"My advice is anyone that
"My advice is anyone that owns mineral right should read up on the laws before they get to your door."
Troy, would it be fair to say that you work for the industry given your detailed rundown on the likely outcomes of fracker meets farmer & that you mostly comment on fracking stories?
"Josh Fox caused a lot of people to do this and has made billions for the oil and gas industry."
Not so many more billions if his film manages to influence the cessation of fracking altogether it would seem.
troydonscott replied on Permalink
As for the Josh Fox comment
As for the Josh Fox comment what I am saying is that many people have heard all this about fracking, now scared and uninformed when a landman comes knocking they instantly say "no way" because they saw the film and think this will stop it. If the percentage has been met then that's all the landman needs to hear. It may also be a surprise that many people don't understand what just happened to them or even realize that they just lost their mineral rights anyway and may never know it.
"cessation of fracking altogether"
90% of domestic wells both conventional and tight require fracking and 85% worldwide. Stoping the fracking is limiting oil and gas production to 15% max. The old days of the gusher coming in are gone. Geologist are have found all but a very few of them. Except maybe the ANWR. Stop the fracking and only the military and the 1% will have fuel. This could be good for me because my wife's very expensive hobby of raising horses may become profitable.
And yea you busted me out! I do work for the oil and gas industry. However I do support going green but stoping oil and gas production is not the answer right now.
Phil M replied on Permalink
"what I am saying is that
"what I am saying is that many people have heard all this about fracking, now scared and uninformed when a landman comes knocking they instantly say "no way" because they saw the film and think this will stop it."
I don't think there is much they can do about it. In the USA there is the illusion that there is actually property rights & previously in other discussions you have pointed out that there is a right to negotiate. But the system is stacked against the land owner & if the landowner does not perform due diligence, then fossil fuel corporations have armada's of lawyers & endlessly deep pockets to ensure the landowner is defeated. The government is not there to come to the land owners aid, because their interest is the royalties. The potential loss of votes is not yet enough of a threat. Here in Australia, landowners only own the top 2 feet of their land. Everything else is crown property. There is no option to refuse. Although bills have been introduced to allow land owners to have that right. They have not ben passed as yet & many investigations are currently under way to gauge the validity of such bills.
"90% of domestic wells both conventional and tight require fracking and 85% worldwide."
Then while we make this transition to less CO2 intensive fuel sources, we need to limit those fracking sites to areas that have little to no impact on as few people as possible.
"And yea you busted me out! I do work for the oil and gas industry."
At least you are honest, that is admirable.
"but stoping oil and gas production is not the answer right now. "
Realistically, that wont happen anyway. At least not for a few decades . There will be a long tapering off. Electric cars will progressively erode the internal combustion market, but as far as the heavy transport & logistics sector go, there is nothing even remotely on the horizon to replace their fuel source.
troydonscott replied on Permalink
Agree. Electric cars have a
Agree. Electric cars have a very bright future and they are no longer the novelty item that will carry you to the store and back. 250-300 mile range per charge and increasing as battery and drivetrain tech improves. Just get the assembly plants ramped up. However as long as they are being charged with electricity from coal fired plants without emissions capture then they are only reducing local emissions/smog. So clean up the electricity. I like the idea of electric cars.
I disagree with no solution for trucks. As for trucks, trains, planes, and such there is a bright future fuel. Synthetic diesel. This can be within a small percentage of a carbon zero or even in the negative. Plants are producing this right now but on too small of a scale to make a difference. The fuel is not far of crude diesel prices, can be blended or strait, and uses the same infrastructure, engines. No expensive changes needed!
Limit drilling to areas, agreed sounds like a viable solution. But now just get the oil and gas people to the table! The problem is when people are trying be heard and still publish the lies about the industry just like this article then you will never get these people to the table. They will never negotiate with this because they can carry proof to the government that these people are lying and the government will never mandate a hearing! Stop lying and present the facts!
As for the government being on the side of oil and gas, no! Oil and gas laws are made for the people. As an analogy let's say you sell the table out of your dinning room, you agree on the price and money exchanges hands. But then when the person comes back with a truck you won't let him on your property. Oil and gas is a little different because this table is community property and majority rules. Let's say a drilling unit is one mile square, 640 acres. Drilling units are established because the oil and gas does not come only from under the wellhead but migrates from the surrounding area. If a person owns 64 acres then they have a 1/10th vote on selling or keeping mineral rights. If the owners of 384 acres want to drill then they are a 60% majority and that drilling unit of now drillable. Call it illegal, wrong, unfair, or whatever but majority rules and that is democracy. Now the rest can come along peacefully or kicking and screaming but your coming. These laws are intended to provide for this majority and prevent a minority from stopping the sale that the majority wants. I don't think you will get any state to change the laws so that a person owning a one acre lot to control the entire drilling unit. So if you truly don't want drilled on then make an agreement with all you neighbors and we the people have the right to say no. Or you could buy up the mineral rights yourself. As for them having lawyers you don't need one to stop the drilling just a majority. I mentioned kicking and screaming, hire a lawyer but you will loose because majority rules. And don't sell your table thinking that you can keep it to.
RickJames replied on Permalink
Electric cars are best suited
Electric cars are best suited to local travel. Highway evs are rolling battery packs. If you are going to have highway electrics then you really should have power supplied along the way with a rolling connection system.
Better yet travel by train and rent another car in your destination city.
troydonscott replied on Permalink
Tesla motors. Building some
Tesla motors. Building some impressive cars. Optional 160, 230, or 300-mile range. Nice family sedan that doesn't even look like an electric. Battery life 7-years/100,000 miles. They are now ramping up production to try and meet demand but still have a waiting list. With this range it is suited just fine for daily commuting and then still going out for dinner. Where do people use the most gasoline (pollution), going back and forth to work or traveling cross-country? How many families are one-car families? A person commuting more than 300 miles per day needs to find another job! Down them if you want but the long waiting list tells me they are making a hit. Other manufacturers will follow.
AnOilMan replied on Permalink
Not Really...
I work in oil and gas as well, but with conventional oil. I hear what you're saying, but I don't like it.
A) You are right… they get their precentage of rights, and they are good to go.
B) Transportation can easily be converted BACK to public transportation. The Auto industry got caught buying light rail transit systems, then systematically dismantalling them. But hey… wouldn't you like to buy a car.
C) Government on side with oil and gas strikes a bad cord with me. Its ethically irresponsible since its becoming appearent that its a big carbon polluter. Subsidies are just further entrenching what is now becoming a bad technology. Alberta has a big PR web page talking about Carbon capture, when it becomes pretty appearent that a huge hunk of that technology is about EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery). I do not think we need to subsidize an industry that is racking in BIG bucks all so we can increase global warming.
D) Electric Cars will not likely catch on because they are environmentally viscious. In Alberta… your car is charged with electricity from coal plants, you burn fuel to make the electricity (taking a loss), run it through the power lines (taking a loss) then charge a battery (taking a loss) then you use the electricity (taking a loss). This is why Greens in Alberta don't use Geothermal. (Perhaps if the world ran on wind power.)
Phil M replied on Permalink
Been away, so haven't had a
Been away, so haven't had a chance to reply to this as yet.
"Just get the assembly plants ramped up. However as long as they are being charged with electricity from coal fired plants without emissions capture then they are only reducing local emissions/smog. So clean up the electricity. I like the idea of electric cars."
We cannot instantly switch over the whole energy production system & method of propulsion over night. It will be an incremental change. A multi pronged change will take place & at different rates. Yes, electric cars will derive their energy from fossil fuel sources for a while. Just like we were still using whale oil when we transitioned to fossil fuels. The change didn't happen globally & instantly.
"I disagree with no solution for trucks. As for trucks, trains, planes, and such there is a bright future fuel. Synthetic diesel."
When we have food supply issues around the world, it seems ludicrous to use edible food as fuel for transport. Also synthetic diesel derived from coal or nat gas exacerbates the problem we are trying to mitigate in the first place. If we could use organic waste products to produce fuel, then that would seem to be a point of less resistance.
"As for the government being on the side of oil and gas, no! Oil and gas laws are made for the people."
It's doubtful that legislators could conceive of all the laws & regulations they would need in order to appease the public & at the same time strike a balance with business before the first derrick was ever struck. Instead, i suspect it happened slowly & was built upon over decades when each new problem presented itself. If the laws were all in the publics favour, then we would see environmentalists shutting down every fossil fuel opportunity before it even got off the ground. We don't see that happening. If anything, it appears more get the go ahead than not.
"Call it illegal, wrong, unfair, or whatever but majority rules and that is democracy. Now the rest can come along peacefully or kicking and screaming but your coming."
Our societies are replete with examples of instances where business are allowed to exploit loopholes in the law, or create very wordy contracts full of doublespeak. Take telecommunications for example. It would have to be one of the most complained about industries. People enter into cell phone/mobile phone contracts all the time where they believe they are getting a good deal & after a quick browse of the documents, they sign up. It's only afterwards when they get the bills does it dawn on them the implications of their contract & often they are stuck.
I'm not saying that is what is happening in these mineral rights cases. But if they are being offered one thing & getting another, then that to me, is grounds for dispute. Often with many contracts these days, the contractee is made only aware of what is appealing to them. Rarely are they made to understand the implications or consequences of the things they wont like up front.
troydonscott replied on Permalink
That is what I am saying.
That is what I am saying. Just clean up the electric. Won't be overnight but I think this one made a good start.
As for the fuels, these people have financing problems but I think they are on the right track. What do you think? www.rentechinc.com
troydonscott replied on Permalink
"When we have food supply issues around the world, it seems ludicrous to use edible food as fuel for transport. Also synthetic diesel derived from coal or nat gas exacerbates the problem we are trying to mitigate in the first place. If we could use organic waste products to produce fuel, then that would seem to be a point of less resistance"
Nope, the fuel I refer to uses waist that would normally be an emitter. This fuel reduces CO2 from diesel engines by 50%. So no growing crops just for this, and removing the otherwise emitting waste would be negative would it not. They are also going to use trees in Canada to make fuel. If this is NEEDED forest management then it is good. I just hope it is not deforestation for fuel!!! They can use natural gas, coal, or crude oil for this fuel. This would not be carbon negative but still a 50% reduction in CO2. And the plant can be converted down the road to use waste feedstock. www.rentechinc.com
troydonscott replied on Permalink
Phil Sorry I guess I never
Sorry I guess I never caught on that you were in Australia. Can't speak for you. But here in the US I do get aggravated when someone sells their rights for money and then start making videos and holding protest signs. You got different problems down there. Anyway you do post some interesting statements.
Phil M replied on Permalink
"But here in the US I do get
"But here in the US I do get aggravated when someone sells their rights for money and then start making videos and holding protest signs."
I really don't know enough from both sides of the argument over the exact details of the disagreements to comment effectively on that. As I have said, If they have been duped, then they have a right to protest. But as someone who runs a small business we have experienced that sort of thing from time to time.
We have invested lots of labour, materials & 3rd party contractors or service providers to pull a contract together. Only to have the client pull out at the last minute or after a month or two & after signing a contract. Often it's too costly to pursue it in court. Lawyers seem to want to tie it up for as long as possible. Or they decalre bankrupt or skip the country.
AnOilMan replied on Permalink
FYI: There are many kinds of Fracking...
The conventional kind is pretty benign.
The well is drilled… cased in steel, then concreted. Now how do you get that oil out?
Fracking, or shaped charge guns are used to blast a hole in the well casing.
Obviously of late the term has been expanded in its use.
troydonscott replied on Permalink
A little Help please.
Hey AnOilMan Glad to have an expert about this stuff on board. With your knowledge maybe you can answer some questions about some statements in articles that I don't understand.
For instance just yesterday I was on the phone with an old friend of mine. He was down on Odessa Texas on a location that they were doing a 20-stage frack. Only thing is that this was on a vertical well. Can you explain how a 20-stage frack on a vertical well is less invasive than a 20-stage frack on a horizontal well?
I have seen a number of times in articles that state drilling pressures have increased 10,000, 13,500 psi in horizontal wells. For one thing I don't know exactly what they are talking about, "drilling pressure". And why would this be more of an environmental hazard. How is drilling pressure controlled?
Also it has been stated that a horizontal well take several times longer to drill and uses a lot more energy. Why would this be?
I have asked these questions on several of these articles but never got an answer. Can you explain?
AnOilMan replied on Permalink
Anyone else subscribe to New Technology Magazine?
Its an inside journal for oil and gas technology… neat stuff if you're in the biz.
Anyways, there's a great article in there bragging about CO2 EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery)… "Doesn't Add Up" In layman terms they pump CO2 down to force oil up.
"They're not doing EOR to get rid of greenhouse gases, they're doing it to make money. The same as Weyburn…"
EOR is a component of Alberta's 'Carbon Capture' program. (And I thought it was just PR.)
That means that Alberta's Carbon Capture project is now a direct subsidy of the oil and gas industry. Why do these bums need my tax dollars? I can't stand corporate welfare.
The article goes on to describe how the US subsidizes these things… Here's a sick part.. "Although much of the CO2 for EOR projects in the United States comes from wells drilled exclusively to produce CO2, the gas is also captured…."
…good thing they aren't capturing pollution.
AnOilMan replied on Permalink
EOR and Coal Fired Plants\Upgraders
More interesting… Coal Fired Plants\Upgraders produce lots of nitrogen. This is not desireable for EOR, so it has to be removed. Removal is extremely expensive, which is why Carbon Capture\EOR hasn't caught on yet in Canada. (I guess we'll need to subsidize that.)
I wonder if Greens can bring a NAFTA complaint against this Canadian Oil Industry subsidy?
I'll bet dollars to donuts that NO2 is a by-product…
Curious… but who voted down my previous post? Who is afraid of seeing industry provided data, and not commenting on it? Who would want to supress that?
Seriously.. you'd have to be some sort of socialist communist freak to support corporate welfare. As a capitalist I find this very insulting.
troydonscott replied on Permalink
So you are saying that they
So you are saying that they are making money. That is the intent of any industry. The oil industry will continue no matter how much we accuse them of making a profit. At least for now. Should we drill and frack new wells or pump tons of CO2 down existing wells to extend the life of the wells? I feel that a ton put back in the ground is a ton less in the air even if it is to produce more. One well revived is one less drilled. Read up on Desmog's own articles about how much CO2 is put in the air just drilling a new well.
AnOilMan replied on Permalink
Check Out This Link - Capitalism vs Climate
I found this highly informative;
It cleared up a lot of confusion in my head. Being pro climate is pretty much an assault on capitalism. (I couldn't figure out why people thought I was some sort of marxist for wanting to clean the place up a bit…. )
The point is from what you are saying, is that its all about money. But we're getting to a point where making more money and growing our economy as we've done for the last 100 years, is hitting a breaking point. The climate cannot handle it any more. It will take us a healthy 20 years (at least) to transition off oil, and the world will be a very different place by then.
What ever happens we need to stop using oil and gas, soon and now.
Because trees don't have legs;
And plants need more than plant food (CO2).
cuffy miegs replied on Permalink
"... to influence communities
"… to influence communities in which Range drills for gas."
Somehow the accusation doesn't produce the intended outrage – coming, as it does, from someone being paid by a PR company to make it.
In fact, it's rather comical.
Not that it's exactly a terribly devastating accusation to begin with. "Attempting to influence people, you say?! The fiends!"
My favourite is how you breathlessly declare:
"USE OF PSYOPs PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE ON U.S. CITIZENS IS ILLEGAL"
Oh my stars. All-caps and in bold, yet.
And you go on to ostentatiously and gravely elaborate:
"The use of PSYOPs by active military personnel on U.S. citizens is illegal and a violation of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 …"
Of course, it's entirely a red herring, since your very own article states, numerous times, yet:
"… that Range has hired Army and Marine veterans …"
"We have several former PSYOPs folks …"
"… James Cannon, a former Marine and Army Reservist …"
"… that veterans account for about 10 percent of its employees."
"… scores of veterans now work for the natural gas industry …"
"… veterans with PSYOPs experience …"
Or maybe you missed that whole part about "ACTIVE military personnel", even as you typed it, with your very own fingers? Or maybe it didn't occur to you that the words like "former", and "veteran" pretty much rule them out as being, y'know, "active"?
All in all, another pretty lame attempt to spin something completely legitimate and innocuous into a big, juicy scandal. Yet another long fuse leading to a wet firecracker.
Phil M replied on Permalink
"Somehow the accusation
"Somehow the accusation doesn't produce the intended outrage – coming, as it does, from someone being paid by a PR company to make it."
"And Cuffy, for the record, I am not an employee of the PR firm, and none of our writers are except Jim Hoggan. So drop it already with the lies."
"Why are my comments being deleted?! It's outrageous & I can't understand it. "
Lionel A replied on Permalink
Veterans can still be active personnel.
Have you been in the military yourself?
I have, and I can assure you that those who have finished their contracted time in military, and in my case naval, arms service go onto something called The Reserve List if still fit.
Nice attempt at a straw man argument though.
Brendan DeMelle replied on Permalink
And indeed the Range employee claims to be active, as I said
Cuffy has a reading problem. I point out clearly that Jim Cannon, the Range psyops specialist, is active in the Reserves, as he mentions on his own website and LinkedIn. http://www.james-cannon.com/Personal.html
And Cuffy, for the record, I am not an employee of the PR firm, and none of our writers are except Jim Hoggan. So drop it already with the lies. One more and you're out of here. You've violated the comment policy repeatedly, and this is your last warning.
cuffy miegs replied on Permalink
"I point out clearly that Jim
"I point out clearly that Jim Cannon, the Range psyops specialist, is active in the Reserves"
Actually, what you pointed out, clearly, was that he was engaged in something less like what you sinisterly describe as "psyops" – as, well, a public relations campaign.
"And Cuffy, for the record, I am not an employee of the PR firm, and none of our writers are except Jim Hoggan."
Sure, whatever you like. I didn't realize you were so sensitive on that issue. I must have been confused by the fact that Desmogblog.com is owned and funded by James Hoggan & Associates Public Relations Inc. But have it your way.
"So drop it already with the lies. One more and you're out of here. You've violated the comment policy repeatedly, and this is your last warning."
What, precisely, have I "violated"? I'm curious to know, since you don't bother to mention? How is it that at least one other long-time commenter here violates your "comment policy" virtually every single time he posts – and yet has never been threatened by you?
If you're going to pretend to hide behind your arbitrary and capriciously enforced "comment policy" – which apparently only applies to anyone who dares to disagree with you – then you should at least make a show of ginning up some specific "charges".
Did I insult anyone by, say, calling them a liar? Or perhaps I might have written something abusive along the lines of, "Cuffy has a reading problem"?
Surely you can come up with something? But then, you will ultimately delete my account on your whim, anyway. So why bother continuing your pretense of having a "comment policy"? It just makes you look more foolish.
Phil M replied on Permalink
"Sure, whatever you like. I
"Sure, whatever you like. I didn't realize you were so sensitive on that issue."
On WTFUWT I once advised people that Anthony works for right wing fox news & that his blog was a political blog disguised as a climate science blog. And that the AMS that Anthony belongs to disagrees with Anthony. The comment was snipped & my account was banned. I never realised he would be so sensitive about it. I was just sayin……sheesh.
"What, precisely, have I "violated"? I'm curious to know, since you don't bother to mention?"
There is a link to the comments policy on the side of the page you are looking at right now. You are free to check it out anytime. But hey, I'll help you out just this once.
"Users who make unsubstantiated claims can expect their posts to be deleted and, if they persist, their account to be deactivated. Petty name-calling and/or a pattern of disrespect towards other DeSmogBlog users will also result in account deactivation."
"How is it that at least one other long-time commenter here violates your "comment policy" virtually every single time he posts"
Provide examples……..& every single post?
cuffy miegs replied on Permalink
"How is it that at least one
"How is it that at least one other long-time commenter here violates your "comment policy" virtually every single time he posts"
"Provide examples……..& every single post?"
How curious that you thought I was referring to you, Phil? Yet, illuminating.
RickJames replied on Permalink
Phil is spotless in virtue as
Phil is spotless in virtue as he fearlessly defends truth and the universe against the enemies of all that is right. Thats what I gather from reading his posts anyway.
Phil M replied on Permalink
"against the enemies of all
"against the enemies of all that is right."
No just right wing Rick ;)
Phil M replied on Permalink
"How curious that you thought
"How curious that you thought I was referring to you, Phil? Yet, illuminating."
Did I mention me? Shoot the messenger eh? I just asked for examples. Not a stickler for detail our tea party mate Cuffy.
David B. Benson replied on Permalink
Frak em!
Frak em all.
Snapple replied on Permalink
Operatives for fracking companies
These fracking operatives remind me of that "former CIA operative" Kent Clizbe who tried to use his pathetic "spy skills" to discredit Dr. Mann.
I was following Clizbe's twitter, and he recomended a moronic conspiracy site (private detective agency) that posts "legal opinion" by John O'Sullivan attacking Dr. Mann and conspiracy theories about AIDS. The "investigator" who runs the site is a former LAPD detective "since the 1980s. The guy looks about 40, so this must be an old picture.
It is called "The Office of Medical and Scientific Justice." It sounds very official, but it is just garbage. They have a section on global warming that attacks Dr. Mann and has a lot of denialist propaganda.
The OMSJ say that their mission is "to protect and defend the victims and witnesses of medical and scientific corruption," but the OMSJ claims that HIV does not cause AIDS!
Some political operatives who work for the frackers are like KGB officers: they know how to make trouble, but they are pretty ignorant about science.
A lot of these people who did political operations have been in the military and now need jobs, but they have a lot of anger and I don't think they are good at anything but making trouble. They need jobs and they need an enemy.
People in the environmental movement need to be very careful not to be manipulated into violent actions by these radical denialist operatives. That's what they want. You will go to prison and your views will be discredited. They are doing what the KGB does.
Stick with the scientific evidence and be very non-violent.


text:
Veteran TV actor Ed Asner in Stratford to aid American Shakespeare Theater
STRATFORD -- Veteran stage and TV actor Ed Asner has returned to the American Shakespeare Theater in Connecticut to help lead a fundraiser to restore the celebrated stage.
The Connecticut Post reports (http://bit.ly/Vc7NJV ) that Asner, who played TV journalist Lou Grant on "The Mary Tyler Moore" show in the 1970s, came to Stratford on Tuesday to help raise money for the Stratford Center for the Arts and Stratford Arts Commission.
Asner appeared at the theater in the summer of 1959 in the "The Merry Wives of Windsor."
He told a gathering he was saddened to see the theater's demise and urged backers to work to restore it.
The theater's last full season was 1982 and has been struggling since, surviving for a time on state grants.
The property is now owned by the town of Stratford.


text:
- User Name: Nobu_X
- Member Since: Tuesday, November 4, 2003, 12:23 PM
- Name: Bruno Cavalcante
- Studio: TAC Studios
- Location: Fortaleza, Brazil
- Homepage: http://www.tacstudios.cjb.net
- Last Login: 2014-01-25 15:23:55
- Forum Info: Profile Posts (1)
- Usefulness: 46 with
39 opinions
[average 119.5 of 231699 opinions; standard deviation 432.2 ]
- Profile: I started as an AMV fan at the time of the first anime exposition at my town, which was almost 3 years ago. There was an 1 hour break for the lunch, and during that time a lot of AMVs were being shown. After that I only took courage to really try to make an AMV 3 years later, when I tried some stuff in Windows Movie Maker. After some months there, I started using Adobe Premiere and now here I am =).
For all the other AMV fans that may be reading this, please take a look at our AMV Association, AMV-BR. You can find us in #AMV-BR, on irc.irchighway.net.
That's it..


text:
Getting close to publication
My novel, 19 years in the making if you include all the years I put it aside, is soon to emerge into the world. THE GIRL IN HIS EYES, a dark psychological drama with echoes of Lolita, is two months away from publication. (These echoes may be quite distant, and are of course highly dependent on the reader.)
It's a hectic, exciting and nerve-jangling time right now, with so many things to think about and attend to. I've started a project plan for the months ahead but haven't had much time to update it. I've arranged venues for the launch party, designed an invite and have started sending it out. After around 50 attempts I've finalised the blurb, with the help of the Bloodhound team and author Natalie Fergie, who made some excellent last-minute suggestions. The tagline is ready (Could you face your worst fears?) The cover came back the other week (can't share it yet), I've finished the copy edit and the proofs have just come in for me to make any final changes.
How might people react to a novel containing child abuse?
After all this time, 'final changes' is both music to my ears and – well, disconcerting. It's time to let my baby go… Did I take out all those pesky song –lyrics? Is there some dreadful hole in the plot that no one has spotted yet? And most of all, can I really let a novel out into the world with scenes depicting lapdancing clubs and child sexual abuse, one which is written partly from the POV of a child abuser?
First review
With a little trepidation, this week I sent off the first advance copies to reviewers. Yesterday I had the first review back and nearly fainted with shock and relief at her reaction (also, I was sitting on a Northern line tube train in 30 degree heat at the time which didn't help). However, I'm aware that I've ventured into risky territory and the book's subject matter is likely to disturb some readers. I'm wondering if I should put a warning in the book!
The book's inspiration – deciding how much to share
As some of my own experiences inspired THE GIRL IN HIS EYES (it is most definitely a novel, not real life), I've spent considerable time thinking about whether to go public with this, and to what extent. Do I want to reveal the 'real-life story behind the book' to the media, or blogs? Would that be too much of an intrusion into my privacy – or is it time to let go of the darker events in my past?
Strangely, thinking about what I want to say about the real-life events which inspired this book seems to echo the dilemma faced by my central character Laura, who must decide whether she has the courage to expose the wrongdoings of her father.
At the moment, I'm not sure how much my decision – to be open about everything, pretty much – is going to impact on my life. I've already told lots of friends and a fair few others about the abuse in my childhood, but I've not mentioned anything in public. (In fact, this is the first time I've even referred to it in a public space, which is another milestone reached, I guess.) This could have unforeseen consequences, who knows. But it feels like the right time to share, given the climate of women – and men, of course – speaking up about their experiences.
I'm off for a brief trip westwards for a breather, then it's back to checking the proofs…
Note: Pictures for this blog post have been a challenge, given the cover is still under wraps.
Your experiences
If anyone has had a similar dilemma about whether to make public their book's inspiration, you're welcome to share here – or thoughts about anything else in this post.


text:
Jason Dior Maxiell (born February 18, 1983 in Chicago, Illinois) is a professional basketball player. He currently plays for the Detroit Pistons as a power forward.
A 6 feet 7 inches, 245 lb power forward, Maxiell was selected by the Pistons with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft. He attended Newman Smith High School in Carrollton, Texas. During his career at the University of Cincinnati, where he was coached by Bob Huggins, Jason earned All-Conference USA Second Team honors. He led Conference USA in blocked shots (2.8 bpg) and ranked 18th in the nation. His 91 blocks are the second-highest University of Cincinnati single-season total. He averaged 17.3 points in three postseason games and shot .607 from the field. Posted 22 points (8-of-11 shooting), nine rebounds and six blocks in NCAA Tournament opening round win vs. Iowa. Recorded a career-high eight blocks to go with 14 points and 10 rebounds vs. Houston. Scored a career-high 30 points and tallied seven blocks vs. Longwood. Tied his career with 15 rebounds and recorded 21 points and five blocks vs. Northern Iowa.
Maxiell finished 11th on Cincinnati's career scoring list with 1,566 points (13th in Conference USA history) and second on the Cincinnati career chart for blocked shots with 252 (4th in Conference USA). He played 129 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Bearcats' history, and started the last 77 contests.


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In early 2016, the Town of Seekonk joined 22 other communities to launch a community electricity aggregation (CEA) program designed to provide residents and businesses with competitive choice, long-term price stability, and reduced electricity rates. Also known as municipal electricity aggregation, the program relies on bulk-purchasing methods that generate economies of scale, resulting in reduced electricity supply costs for participating National Grid account holders.
The program has since renewed with Public Power, LLC and will run for 36 months beginning September 2018 through January 2021 at a rate of 10.430 cents/kWh. See rates below.
Rate Class
Community Electricity Program (Supply Services Only)
National Grid
Basic Service
(Supply Services Only)
Small Commercial
Large Commercial
$0.11305/kWh SEMA*
September 2018 – January 2021
Rates apply to service beginning and ending on the days of the month that your meter is read in your service area.
November 2020 – April 2021 Residential and Small Commercial rates change every six months. *Large Commercial rates change every three months.
Disclaimer: A goal of the CEA program is to produce savings for customers, but savings cannot be guaranteed compared to the utility's basic service rate which changes every six months for Residential and Small Commercial customers, and every three months for Large Commercial customers. The aggregation program seeks to provide price stability and average savings over the full term of the program, but because future basic service rates are not known, there is no guarantee of savings.
Only the supply portion of your National Grid bill will be impacted. National Grid will continue to deliver your power as it has done in the past, but Public Power, LLC will be indicated as the supplier of record on the supply portion of your National Grid bill beginning in January 2018. There will be no change in the level of service you receive from National Grid as a result of participating in the Seekonk program.
How to enroll
Enrollment occurs automatically. National Grid account holders that are not currently participating will receive an opt-out letter detailing the program and providing answers to most commonly asked questions. This letter will also provide simple instructions on how to opt out (not participate) of the program.
For those moving to or within Seekonk, you may proactively contact the program supplier, Public Power, LLC, to re-enroll/enroll your new account in the aggregation program at the original rate for the duration of the term, ending January 2021. If you do not proactively contact Public Power, you will receive an opt-out notification letter detailing the program. Simply disregard the opt-out notification letter if you wish to participate in the program. Please note that your first month of service will default to National Grid Basic Service supply, but will then transition to the Seekonk program on your next available billing cycle.
Account holders that are currently under contract with a third party supplier will not receive an opt-out letter and will not be auto-enrolled in the program, however, these account holders may opt in by contacting Public Power, LLC.
Please note: account holders currently on with a third party supplier should review the terms & conditions of their existing supply contract for any early termination fees associated with ending their existing supply contract prior to opting into the Seekonk program.
How to opt out or discontinue participation
If you do not wish to participate, simply send back the self-addressed postage-paid card enclosed in the opt-out letter within 30 days of the letter's postmark or contact the program supplier, Public Power, LLC, directly. You may also opt out of the program here.
Key Features
- Participants will continue to receive a single bill from National Grid.
- There will be no change in the level of service you receive from National Grid. If you experience an outage or other service issues, please contact National Grid at (800) 233-5325.
- No action is required in order to continue to participate in National Grid's Budget Billing program.
- You may leave the program at any time with no associated early termination fees or penalties.


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I tried to be popular! I was coming from a broken abrupt destroyed home! and, I did not know it! it was broken up on purpose, there was no real need for it to happen! The house owners both went there own way against the children, or leaving the children! both abandon the family system blaming the other! kids were caught in the middle and destroyed! the adults simply wanted the events of a family system to disappear! they had there fun! in a sense, they took the children they used back to the rental store and left, and never returned!
Adolf Hitler made the same decision as my parents! He made the decision to allow his generals to go ahead with decisions to kill excess children within villages, after slaughtering there parents! The general would have the children rounded up, taken to a field and murdered! then buried! sicking! it was all fee choice! he was a murderer! the people I came from were murders murders of children! very closely related to the same nature of Adolf Hitler!
Teenage years!;; I wanted to be popular! I needed the attention! I had no base! I was living with a family, I thought was a family! I was not wanted there! I was not wanted! sociopaths and I do not get along! I did not get along with them, when I found out they never wanted me!, and this was a new family system in a new place, far away from my home town! '
Home Town! I never really had a home or a home town! I never really had anything! or came from anything or anyone! Now they are all gone. I was mad because children should receive from there father or mother! I received nothing; I was gypped out of inheritance! but they were sociopaths! I had no idea when early on! I know now! but being gypped backfired on them; they were not with God! God created a situation that made it impossible for me to take any interest in them once I started getting better! They had nothing on me! they had nothing; no reason for me to go back! the troff was empty! So, like a spiders hole of blackness, I had no reason to stay! I slipped away and never came back!
Im now learning how to heal with in the recovery process!
I have allot of healing to do! I have God and no past family system!! At some point I get stronger and am able to move on!
Women; I had dissociative disorder and have not been able to have girl friends! I could not get near anyone and I was to mentally to be close to people; Impossible!
Now things have changes, specifically in the last year! specifically in the last 6 months! specifically in the last 60 day!
Started working on Dating tapes ( Double your dating!) started this 5 years ago!, Im now applying things! IVe been applying things; one piece at a time, grooming, how to attract! how to work a room and look like an alpha male! how to approach, openers, story telling, building her her up, creating safety and comfort!, keno escalation, more build up, she's now proving herself to me! therefore, its only logical that she give me her phone number when I ask her for it! ( put your phone number down, Ill take out)!@
All of this building confidence! And Ive practiced the basics; saying hello to people! and studying more approach stuff; openers for conversations!
Well, today saw another break through! its been only recently that IVe been hitting on girls that I really thought were hot! And today one of those girls, I opened up on! told her what I really thought! in response to sat down next to me, and we began joking with each other! I got up and went out side, she follow me! we talked about sex and relationship stuff! and looks, and other porn and other stuff! It was the interactions that were so important! and that she is good looking! and Ive fantasized about her plenty! She's with someone! but wants something else! I wont do relationship people; you have to be single!
She asked me a funny question; she asked if I online date! I told her no! I don't need to! When Im ready, I know who to make things happen in groups of people 50 or more or less! and I will walk up and create attraction and ask real people out! I thought it was interesting!
Allot of really good looking girls are taken! its hard! they might think Im cute! and stare at me, but they are with someone else, and this can be very frustrating!
Anyway, opening up on her with confidence was not possible before, I was 2 intimidated! but now I can! or Ive done it this once with this beautiful girl! she wants to read my blogs!
Activities; Ill go with Singer song writer! I would love to talk to God and work through what ever it would take to have a place to be a singer song writer; a practice space! that would be great!


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Future Tech
This story appears in the May 1999 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
Over the past 20 years, a series of remarkable innovations in computing, telecommunications and other high-tech fields have had a great impact on the way we live, work and play. Technology has given us tools to organize our lives and run our businesses more efficiently. It single-handedly enabled round-the-clock banking, face-to-face meetings with people on the other side of the planet, stores without doors, and research without the obligatory trip to the library. Technology has also brought with it unprecedented prosperity. Twenty years ago, many felt the economic supremacy of the United States was on the wane; today, technology is the driving force behind a healthy, robust economy that is the envy of the world. And the best is yet to come.
Assuming that the Y2K bug and its attendant headaches don't return us to the early Industrial Age, the next 10 years promise to be an exciting time full of astounding discoveries, miraculous devices and continued economic expansion. While no one knows what the world of 2009 will look like, the technologies that will mold that world are taking shape right now in laboratories, high-tech research centers, and basements across the country.
Thank You, Mr. Chips
In 1965, Intel Corp. co-founder Gordon Moore was preparing to give a speech about the growth in microprocessor performance when he made an interesting observation: Each new chip was roughly twice as fast as its predecessor--meaning computing power would rise exponentially over a relatively brief period of time. While the pace of advancement has slowed in recent years to a doubling once every 18 months, as compared to the doubling rate in 1965 of once every year, the next five to 10 years will see microprocessor speeds increase by huge increments, says Bob Ferrar, marketing operations manager for Intel's embedded microcomputer division. "In a few years, we'll certainly see chips in the gigahertz [1000 MHz] range at affordable prices," Ferrar predicts.
While the typical small-business computer user may wonder why he or she would need a PC that runs twice as fast as the new 500 MHz Pentium III chip, Ferrar believes gigahertz chips will truly enhance the user's computing experience. "They will really change what you can do within computing," says Ferrar. "They'll allow things like real-time voice and video capability. Voice recognition will also see major improvement." Improved voice recognition will make possible extremely small devices that eschew display screens, mice and keyboards in favor of an interface that relies solely on voice recognition and synthesis (meaning the computer can talk back) for interaction with the user.
Within a few years of their release, Ferrar predicts, gigahertz chips will trickle down into non-PC applications. Here they'll take the form of "embedded" chip technology in hand-held Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), cellular phones and other consumer electronic devices, giving these products more horsepower as well as a vastly improved ability to handle graphics and audio applications.
The Ubiquitous PC
Given the plunge in PC prices in recent months, by 2009, PCs will be nearly as affordable and popular as TV sets are today. The major stumbling block to this level of saturation is, of course, usability. What good is owning a powerful computer that's too complicated to use? Roy Want, a researcher with Xerox, is making it his mission to improve the relationship between man and machine. Want is experimenting with Invisible Interfaces, intuitive mechanisms that go way beyond the mice and keyboards that currently control PCs. "We're moving from very rigid, stationary machines to ones that are much more mobile and numerous," says Want. "There will be many computers distributed throughout your work environment, and as a result, you are more likely to have interaction on a physical basis with your computer as well as with the traditional keyboard and mouse. We have interfaces where you can tilt and press the housing of your computer, and it gives you the natural effects [of motion]." In one experiment, Want used a Palm Pilot combined with a tilt sensor to make a Rolodex-type product that scrolls through long lists when users tilt the machine--meaning users don't need the mouse or the arrow key. Other devices incorporating this unique interface are on the drawing board.
Computers of the future will also be much more aware of users' needs, says Want. Today, when you boot up your PC, it presents you with the same interface it presents your employees, spouse, kids or anyone else who uses your computer. "Tagging" technologies, in the form of a special badge worn by the user, will change all that. Your PC will send out radio signals that interrogate the badge, which will in turn tell the computer who you are, what you want to see on your desktop, what programs you want to work with, and what type of security clearance you have for manipulating the core system. Your PC will also know when you've stepped away from the screen and will fend off prying eyes until you return.
But your computer still won't be able to read your mind--at least not yet. In a recent experiment at Atlanta's Emory University, a tiny device designed to amplify brain signals and send them to special computers through a small antenna was implanted within the skull of a stroke victim who was both paralyzed and mute. The procedure gave the patient the ability to communicate by moving a cursor across a computer screen using just his thoughts. Want believes that although this type of brain surgery may be a bit too radical for most users, the understanding required to tap into neural signals is improving all the time, and with advances in brain-signal processing and nonintrusive measuring devices, a direct brain-to-computer interface (sans surgery) may be possible within the next 10 years.
Also in the works are new ways of viewing information on your computer. Palo Alto, California's Inxight (pronounced "insight") Software Inc. is offering a next-generation graphical user interface that uses hierarchical, brightly colored "tree" views to help users spot patterns and navigate Web sites or large file systems. These "wide widgets," as they're called, rely on the user's intuitive visual skills, says Ramana Rao, one of the company's founders. Instead of having to scroll through a list of thousands of files, scanning to find those of a particular type, the widget marks files that meet your search criteria with easily identifiable colors that stand out much like a brightly colored bird stands out against the green leaves of a tree. The widget is currently being used on The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition and may end up being incorporated into a future operating system.
Full Speed Ahead
The capability of the Internet to facilitate communication and deliver rich, exciting and informative multimedia experiences may seem limitless. But slow dial-up connections and thin phone lines with limited bandwidth are taking all the fun out of the Internet Revolution, frustrating users and Internet application developers alike. ISDN, cable and T1 lines are all capable of breaking the bandwidth bottleneck, but the great expense and limited availability of these services are leaving many users out in the cold.
Enter Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs), the express lane of the Internet. DSLs use digital signal encoding to vastly increase the amount of bandwidth available over plain old telephone service lines, all for a price that's not much higher than the typical dial-up service--and because it uses existing phone lines, there are no installation fees. Faster Web-site loading times may be something to look forward to, but widespread DSL usage promises to change the very nature of the Internet itself, says Bill Rodey of the ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Lines) Forum, an industry association. "If content were water, at this point, there's far more water than there is pipe to carry it," says Rodey. "If you build a bigger pipe, the water will fill it. [In other words,] once you get DSL, you're going to see people developing applications that can use more bandwidth and start to fill the pipe."
The affordability of DSL will bring true multimedia experiences to the home and office, says Rodey, including fully interactive video advertising, real-time videoconferencing, video e-mail and even shared virtual reality. Telephone companies have been slow in offering DSLs to consumers, but this is about to change. DSL service is available in several major markets, and its popularity with consumers has encouraraged major industry players such as Compaq, Dell, Intel, Microsoft and Cisco to include DSL modems in future product lines.
Enhancing the Internet experience for users will also create more fertile ground for small online retailers and advertisers. Highly interactive ads, such as the banners designed by Redwood City, California-based @Home Network's Enliven Business Unit for Lexus Automobiles, which present consumers with a short, humorous lifestyle questionnaire and then suggest a car model based on the responses, may actually become more powerful than traditional media, contends Jim Nail of Forrester Research.
"Once the technology matures, advertisers are going to find that the Net is more effective than TV, radio or print," says Nail. "If you can get a consumer involved with the experience, it's infinitely more powerful than a regular TV ad. You can't just tell people you have a great product. You have to show them. The Internet is the `show me' media."
Internet advertising will be more responsive to the needs of advertisers large and small, says Nail. Feedback is faster and more complete than with traditional media, allowing advertisers to scatter their ads on Web sites regardless of demographics. The possibilities of this new medium are not lost on advertisers: According to Forrester Research, in 1998, North American advertisers spent $1.3 billion online. By 2003, that amount is predicted to reach $10 billion. Still, the Internet has a long way to go to catch up with TV: Advertisers spent well over $40 billion on TV ads last year.
Advertising may help defray the costs of operating a content-oriented Web site, but the growth of content-based sites like Microsoft's Slate e-zine has been severely stunted by the painful fact that consumers just aren't willing to pay the cost or make the long-term commitment of a subscription. In the future, however, consumers will ante up for content on a pay-per-use basis, using full-service transaction services from companies like Seattle's Qpass Inc., which will allow Web sites to charge variable prices for the single use of an article, online forum, database or any other Internet service that is deemed to have value.
The Rise of E-tailing
After some initial uncertainty on the part of consumers, e-commerce will finally live up to its hype as a viable alternative to traditional retail outlets. According to Boston Consulting Group, last year's e-commerce revenues were up an amazing 230 percent from 1997, and during the 1998 Christmas season, consumers flocked to e-commerce sites in record numbers.
But despite the relative ease of setting up an e-commerce site, businesses are still adjusting to the brave new world of selling on the Net, says Bob Frankenberg, CEO of Encanto Networks Inc., a Santa Clara, California, provider of e-commerce solutions. "The Internet is a totally new medium," says Frankenberg. "So learning how to generate awareness and interest for those participating is a bit like learning how to do advertising for the first time. It isn't necessarily true that if you build it, they will come."
Small e-commerce businesses will also benefit from the sheer growth of the Internet itself. IDC Research predicts that the number of e-commerce customers will increase from 18 million in 1997 to more than 128 million by 2002. In other words, a bigger pie will dish up more slices for anyone who comes to the table.
Judging by the tremendous advances of the decade past, the opening years of the 21st century will be marked by a never-ending stream of technological marvels, as well as the continued growth of high-tech sectors and the Internet. But far more interesting and exciting than the technology itself is the application of that technology--how it will be used by businesses and consumers to improve profitability and the quality of life. And that is something no one can predict.
Seeing The Future
Technologies that will change the world . . . or not.
- Who are you? Identity theft is a serious problem for consumers and businesses alike. ID cards can be forged, passwords hacked and credit cards stolen. But the one thing that is uniquely yours is . . . you. Your fingerprint, voice, even your facial features will serve as a secure, virtually foolproof way of verifying your identity. In use for many years for high-level security in government agencies, biometric security devices will eventually become commonplace--whether you like it or not. (For more information on biometric security, see "Tech Smarts," April 1999.)
- The cashless society: Retailers may love money, but they hate cash, which is difficult to store and transport in large amounts--and has a tendency to disappear. The growing acceptance of alternative payment technologies such as check cards, online banking, PC-based smart-card readers and electronic toll tags on your car may one day spell the demise of cash and coins as legal tender in the marketplace. An unexpected benefit: Studies have shown that customers tend to spend more on purchases when they use a credit or debit card.
- Have it your way: With so many e-commerce sites offering similar goods and services, comparing prices for a computer or an airline ticket may take hours of surfing. Virtual agents, or "shop 'bots" are software programs that can scour the Net on your behalf for the best deal and come back with the results, including price and shipping time, within minutes. Agents will also be able to alert you when a stock price changes or book restaurant and hotel reservations--as long as those places have a Web presence.
Contact Sources
ADSL Forum, firstname.lastname@example.com, http://www.adsl.com
Encanto Networks, (888) ENCANTO, http://www.encanto.com
Inxight Software, email@example.com, http://www.inxight.com
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, email@example.com, http://www.parc.xerox.com


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|International orders may be delayed up to 15 days or more due to carrier labor challenges.
Cadillacs are known as the Hector Saxe of automobiles and this luxury model backgammon board is the reason why. A timeless fusion of elegance and performance, this collector's item grows in value every time you enjoy it!
The Kigali-inspired authentic crocodile leather exterior glows in stunning silver. Slide your hand across the textured surface and pop the key into the massif brass clasps. Whisper-quiet hinges give opponents no warning you're on the hunt for your next victory.
And if they have the wisdom to fear you, they'll still drop their guard to adore the striking points in ivory and silver on a flawless inlaid leather playing surface, the all-leather dice cups and luminous mother-of-pearl backgammon checkers – luxuries that come standard with every model.
Put yourself in the driver's seat and cruise to victory. Whether you like to tease your prey or go straight for the kill, this heirloom Hector Saxe backgammon gets you there in style!
Click the specifications tab (above) for a detailed description of this backgammon set, including all materials and sizes. You may click any photo above for a closer view.
|Backgammon Set Dimensions:
|Closed Length:
|20 3/8"
|2 3/4"
|Open Length:
|20 3/8"
|28 3/8"
|1 3/8"
|Backgammon Set Materials:
|Case Material:
|Croco Leather
|Case Color:
|Field Material:
|Inlaid Leather
|Field Color:
|Points 1 Color:
|Points 2 Color:
|Clasp Style:
|Massif Brass with Key Lock
|Backgammon Stone Dimensions:
|1 3/4"
|High Gloss Mother of Pearl
|Stones 1 Color:
|Stones 2 Color:
|Backgammon Dice/Cube Dimensions:
|Dice Size:
|Dice Set 1 Color:
|Dice Set 2 Color:
|Cube Color:
|Backgammon Cup Dimensions:
|Cup Height:
|1 3/4"
|Cup Exterior:
|Cup Interior:
|Black Leatherette
|Cup 1 Outer:
|Cup 1 Base:
|Cup 2 Outer:
|Cup 2 Base:
USA & CANADA - shipping via UPS
We offer FREE ground shipping to the contiguous USA and Canada (Hawaii and Alaska are excluded) for many products. Look for the "FREE SHIPPING" designation.
For all other items, and for Express Shipping options, we use an integrated online UPS shipping calculator. The shipping charges are calculated in real time by UPS. 1
Once you have finished shopping, you will be able to select Express Shipping options (Next Day Air, 2nd Day Air, 3-Day Select) on check-out. Only after you know the total charge, will you be asked to enter your payment information. 2
For same day shipping, where indicated, orders must be received before 2pm Eastern Time (New York) in order to ship same day. Orders received after 2pm will be sent out the following business day. Orders received on weekends and on holidays will be processed the next business day.
INTERNATIONAL - shipping via USPS
We offer shipping to over 190 countries with United States Postal Service using Express Mail International. Packages are insured and fully trackable.
International orders can take up to 5 business days to ship. Once your order ships, you will receive a tracking number by email. Customers are responsible for any import charges (tax, duty, etc.)
APO AND MILITARY ADDRESSES - shipping via USPS
Unfortunately, we cannot supply tracking numbers for shipments to APO/FPO addresses. The U.S. Government requires that we send all shipments to APO/FPO addresses using the U.S. Postal Service.
When completing your Shipping Address during checkout, please make note of the following.
* The Country must be "USA"
* The City must be entered as either "APO" or "FPO"
* The State must be selected as either "APO/FPO AA" "APO/FPO AE" or "APO/FPO AP"
* You must enter the zip code for your shipping address
* Always remember to enter your full name, grade, and PSC or unit number.
If you have any questions, please email us at email@example.com, or call us toll free in USA & Canada at 1- 866-260-2058.
1 Shipping charges at all times are based on weight and not on ticket price. There is a minimum 1-pound shipping charge on any item, including small items such as dice or checkers. In these cases, shipping charges can exceed the cost of the item.
2 We offer Express Shipping options on all items except Hillsdale game tables. All Hillsdale game tables ship ground freight.


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Rule #1 - Be Patient - Rule #2 - Don't ask when, if you don't contribute - Rule #3 - You have coding skills - LinuxMCE's small brother is available: http://www.agocontrol.com
I'm a bit confused as to what happens if you install linux MCE. Some say its a complete OS, others disagree.Can someone plz tell me a way to install linux MCE and still have a fully functioning (non-media) computer? Would I have to to a dual boot, where half was Kubuntu (with linuxMCE) and the other half straight ubuntu?Or is it the the case where you can just load linuxMCE from kubuntu whenever you like, and completely shut it down when you're finished? Also there are some programs and drivers that I have working well on ubuntu feisty, is it likely that they will they work on Kubuntu as well?