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On First View: Battlefield
Guest contributor Antti Björklund concludes the series offering a first time view on a Classic story.
- Catch up with the first article looking at "The Dalek Invasion of Earth"
- Catch up with the second article looking at "The Mind Robber"
- Catch up with the third article looking at "The Time Warrior"
- Catch up with the fourth article looking at "Genesis of the Daleks"
- Catch up with the fifth article looking at "The Caves of Androzani"
- Catch up with the sixth article looking at "Revelation of the Daleks"
In Doctor Who Magazine's 2009 poll, The Mighty 200, Battlefield came in at number 146. This makes it the fourth most liked Seventh Doctor story according to that poll.*
In case there are readers for whom this is the first article of this series they read, here is a reminder about what this series is about: in this series, I will try and evaluate exactly how good the episodes I have not seen before, or have seen only a couple of times, are from the viewpoint of someone watching the episodes for the first time. I will try and make note what are the episode's strengths and weaknesses.
Battlefield opens Sylvester McCoy's third season as the eponymous Time Lord. It also began the 26th and final season of the Classic era. Afterwards, the show would be off the air until the 1996 TV Movie when McCoy handed over the figurative torch to Paul McGann.
* For the sake of continuity with the earlier articles in this series, I've kept referencing the "Mighty 200" poll, even though Doctor Who Magazine's latest poll results have already been released.
The Characters
The Seventh Doctor is portrayed by Sylvester McCoy, who took on the mantle as the Time Lord after Colin Baker was untimely (get it?) fired from the role after Season 23, also known as "The Trial of a Time Lord". Initially portraying the character as a slapstick character, with him playing spoons, by the time the final season of Classic "Who" came, his character had turned into a more darker and scheming character.
The Doctor's companion, Ace, is portrayed by Sophie Aldred. She was conceived as a "streetwise" teenage character from contemporary Britain. Aldred portrayed the character from 1987 until the close of the Classic show in 1989.
The Doctor
The first impression I got of McCoy's Doctor is one of a friend. He and Ace get along very well, and it is very nice to watch them interact. He shows signs of humor here and there, but also a darker side. McCoy's Doctor, to me, shows clear signs of being a "brains over brawn" character – he relies more on wit than strength.
McCoy's Doctor is a somewhat darker, Doctor. He is not afraid to turn into a manipulative character. This is evident in a scene in which he attempts to manipulate Morgaine into surrendering by threatening to kill Mordred. The words Mordred uses – "look me in the eye, end my life!" – were used by McCoy's Doctor in the previous season's The Happiness Patrol, which just shows how McCoy's Doctor has become so dark other people are using words he himself used to use. He seems, too, like a calm Doctor, which is evident in the scenes in which he just walks through a scene, even though the surroundings are unruly in some way or another.
The Companion(s)
Sophie Aldred's Ace comes across as the classic, maybe even stereotypical, companion. By this I mean that she is there to ask the questions the audience is thinking. That said, she does also have moments where she isn't just an assistant, but a fully fleshed-out character. As a character Ace seems, on the other hand, exactly as she was meant to be – a streetwise teen – but on the other hand she's also something more. Ace has been mentioned at least once in The Sarah Jane Adventures, the spinoff to Doctor Who. Although, I must say I find it a little bit hard to understand how a teenager from 1987 would know about Clarke's Third Rule – "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Although not strictly speaking a companion to the Doctor in Battlefield, I can't help but talk a little about Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who makes his last appearance in the show in this serial. He clearly is a man of action, as is evident by his remark that it is great to be back working for UNIT. In some way it is the Brigadier who saves the day, not the Doctor. This is because the Brigadier is the one who kills the monster of the serial. The Brigadier presents one way in which this story can be introduced to a first-time viewer, as he has been mentioned a couple of times in the post-2005 series of Doctor Who, most recently in The Power of Three.
The Monsters and Villains
The villains of the story come straight from Arthurian legend, namely Morgaine and Mordred. Out of the two, Morgaine seems the more fleshed out character of the two. She is the instigator of the plot, whereas Mordred is more of a pawn in the bigger picture.
Morgaine is portrayed by Jean Marsh, who portrayed two characters during William Hartnell's tenure as the Doctor. The first of these is princess Joanna in The Crusade and the second is one-off companion Sara Kingdom in The Daleks' Master Plan. To a wider audience she is most famous as an actor in both the original version and the sequel series of Upstairs Downstairs. Both of these facts can be used as a way of introducing the story to a first-time viewer.
The monster of the story is called simply "the Destroyer", and it comes from the same dimension as Mordred and Morgaine. It comes into the story relatively late, and seems rather powerless at first, being under Morgaine's power. When it finally gets loose, it at first seems like a real threat, but sadly the solution to beating it is found quickly.
The Overall Story
Combining Arthurian legend and Doctor Who? This is what Battlefield achieves perfectly. The story is somewhat of a timey-wimey one in that it seems to Mordred and Morgaine that the Doctor is Merlin, and the Doctor even admits that in the future he might become Merlin.
The story features the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, better known as UNIT. To me, as a first-time viewer, this is one point of familiarity. The UNIT of Battlefield seems like the UNIT of the Russell T. Davies: full of action and truly international, whereas the Steven Moffat-era UNIT seems to me more like the UNIT of the Third Doctor's era, which, based on the stories I've seen, was more about science and seemed more British. This is evident by the clear signs of there being more UNIT personnel that have foreign-sounding names or that are clearly stated to be non-British. All of these points provide an entry point for a first-time viewer.
I can clearly see that the story might be very interesting to someone who is interested in Arthurian legend. It portrays an interesting take on traditional Arthurian motives such as "the sword in the stone", "the lady of the lake", "the once and future king", Merlin and magic. The dialogue presented by the Arthurian characters is also interesting, because it is said in a medieval or Shakespearean fashion.
The story provides lots of fanservice. There are nods to the UNIT era of the Third Doctor, such as a mention of Liz Shaw and the appearance of Bessie, the Third Doctor's famous vehicle, but also nods to other eras of the show, such as the Second Doctor's era with mentions of the Yeti and Cybermen. While these, to me, are quite clearly examples of fanservice, they also serve the story in some way or another. They also provide another entrance point for new viewers, as the person introducing the story can tell about the UNIT history of the show, referencing stories that might be familiar to new viewers.
All in all, I think that Battlefield is a great example to use against those who say that late-1980s Doctor Who had grown tired and was past it's heyday. It is my opinion that by it's final season the show was starting to get into new dimensions, new lengths.
It seems fitting that this, the final part in this series, has looked at a story from the final season of the original run of the show, when the very first part looked at a story from one of the very first seasons.


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Nothing marks the start of Spring like Cherry Blossoms!
The PANDORA Cherry Blossom Glass Charm is individually hand-made from Murano Glass.
Murano Glass beads are individually hand-made. Color and design may vary.
Color Pink
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Designer PANDORA
PANDORA Release Date 2013 - Spring Release

subset: commoncrawl


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I've seen this on Kona's site, and can never really peg what it's all about. The Dew line is pretty much urban/off-road hybrids, and the Dew Drop seems to just throw drop bars and brifters on there.
I can't help but compare it to the Kona Jake because, like the Jake, it looks like a practical machine great for daily living. But the Dew Drop is clearly not a cyclocross bike: disk brakes and 37c tires are often outlawed, and the triple crank and having the cables routed under the top tube are not ideal for 'cross. But this gives me the impression that it's more of an all-purpose bike than any 'cross bike can hope to be because it looks to offer the most performance and practicality without being limited by racing regulations.
But I can't get a read on what the frame geometry is like. How does it feel to ride? Sportier than the Jakes? More relaxed? More/less comfortable? More/less upright? There are surprisingly few reviews when I google it, so I'm trying to draw whatever conclusion I can from the parts list. But that won't tell me nearly enough. No, I can't ride one to see, since there are none anywhere near me. I'm just more curious than anything else. Seems like a pretty cool bike. Any thoughts?


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In choosing to begin his tenure with Arthur Miller's first Broadway hit, new Denver Center Theater Company artistic director Kent Thompson is paying homage not only to one of America's greatest playwrights, but to Miller's vision of an America that lives up to its ideals -- a vision that is consistent with the ambitious plans Thompson has laid out.
In choosing to begin his tenure with Arthur Miller's first Broadway hit, "All My Sons," new Denver Center Theater Company artistic director Kent Thompson is paying homage not only to one of America's greatest playwrights, but to Miller's vision of an America that lives up to its ideals — a vision that is consistent with the ambitious plans Thompson has laid out for DCTC in his New Vision New Voices program.As the lights come up on the in-the-round theater, a trumpet reports. Is it an anthem for the passing of a creed in eclipse, or a reveille to awaken a family and citizenry living in denial? Time and place is a late Sunday morning in a backyard on the outskirts of an American town just a couple of years after World War II. Under the enveloping boughs of poplars that stretch across the ceiling, amid the serenity of Bill Forrester's bucolic set, Joe Keller (Mike Hartman) holds court with his family and neighbors, deftly concocting a contradictory disposition of healthy cynicism and avuncular wisdom toward all he surveys. Yet there, to one side, like a nagging question, lies the broken trunk and withering branches of an apple tree planted in memory of Keller's eldest son, Larry, a pilot presumed killed at sea in an air battle three years before. In a compelling performance both transcendent in its faith and haunting in its despair, Jeanne Paulsen, as Kate Keller, looms over the proceedings much like the ghost of her son, which she holds at bay with the promise of his unlikely reappearance. Letting Miller's nearly 60-year-old setting speak for itself, director Bruce K. Sevy conjures the publicly polite, personally repressed post-war personalities that ignore what the freshly fallen sapling begs to ask — the nagging question of Joe's complicity in failing aircraft and crew deaths, including that of his own son. With themes that obviously presage present events — when earnings-per-share drive corporate scandals, no-bid military contracts and complaints of inferior equipment or lack thereof for American troops — Miller continues to speak volumes. "Where do you live, where have you come from?," the playwright asks through the Kellers' living son, Chris. "Is that as far as your mind can see, the business? … Don't you have a country? Don't you live in the world? … You're not even an animal, no animal kills his own, what are you?" David Furr, as Chris, gleans the best in Joe and Kate to deliver a finely crafted portrait of geniality and idealism, and Rachel Fowler, as Ann Deever, escapes the curse of her character's good looks with a generous and forgiving portrayal that exhibits the depth of the young Miller's writing. Supporting perfs demand equal allegiance from the audience. In giving his inaugural voice to Miller's searing questions, a.d. Thompson clearly means to address that fallen apple tree, and all "for which it stands."
All My Sons
Denver Center Theater Company, The Space Theater; 450 seats; $45 top
A Denver Center Theater Company presentation of a play in two acts by Arthur Miller. Directed by Bruce K. Sevy.
Set, Bill Forrester; costumes, Bill Black; lighting, Charles R. MacLeod; sound, Matthew C. Swartz; production stage Manager, Lyle Raper. Opened, reviewed Oct. 6, 2005. Running time: 2 HOURS, 15 MIN.
Joe Keller - Mike Hartman Kate Keller - Jeanne Paulsen Chris Keller - David Furr Ann Deever - Rachel Fowler George Deever - David Ivers Dr. Jim Bayliss - James Michael Reilly Sue Bayliss - Leslie O'Carroll Frank Lubey - Steven Cole Hughes Lydia Lubey - Eileen Little Bert - Sam Van Wetter


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What should I be doing instead of this?
by Nick Swartsell
Posted In:
at 10:18 AM |
Morning News and Stuff
City tax deals for developers draw scrutiny; streetcar passes selling briskly; Bush vs. Clinton: the rematch?
Good morning all. It's like, 8 a.m. and I've already experienced utter, terrifying confusion today. Normally that doesn't happen until at least noon. Earlier, I woke up to a loud, continuous peal of thunder, which stupefied me in my half-awake state because it's, you know, December and that usually doesn't happen. I thought my house was falling down or exploding or something. Then I fell back asleep.Anyway, news time. Is the city doing some shady dealing on tax breaks? City Council's Neighborhood Committee yesterday approved a number of property tax deals city officials say will help spur development and job growth. The committee is made up of all members of Council, so passage here means the measures are pretty much a done deal. Some critics, however, question whether the tax deals are in the city's best interest. Drawing special scrutiny was a pair of proposed TIF districts in Queensgate and the West End. The narrowly drawn districts would encompass properties owned by Evanston-based developer Neyer, which is mulling some as-yet-unnamed but said to be large-scale improvements to the property. The TIF measures would set aside property taxes paid on those improvements for public infrastructure projects within the districts, instead of that money flowing into the city's general fund. The measures were last minute additions to the agenda, and some, including downtown resident Kathy Holwadel, are suspicious. Holwadel penned an opinion piece for the Cincinnati Enquirer pointing out that the city doesn't have any idea what it will use the TIF money for, which is unusual. Others have pointed out that various members of the Neyer family were Mayor John Cranley's second-largest donors during last year's mayoral election, kicking him more than $26,000. Critics ask if the administration is giving the developer special deals.The TIF districts don't represent out-and-out tax exemptions and Council will still have to vote on future uses of the taxes put in the TIF fund.Councilwoman Yvette Simpson at the meeting yesterday raised concerns that the TIF money would only go toward projects that benefit the developer and suggested a larger TIF district that would allow the city to spend the collected money on a wider area. City officials say state laws have limited the amount of money larger TIF districts can accumulate. Simpson abstained on the vote. Councilman Chris Seelbach voted against the districts. • The committee also approved a number of other tax deals, including a 15-year, $12 million tax exemption for Gilbane Development Co. on its proposed development project in Clifton Heights. This project has also been controversial, with residents saying there is already too much student-oriented housing like the Gilbane project in the neighborhood. Stay tuned for our in-depth story on that in the print edition tomorrow.• The family of John Crawford III will file a lawsuit against the officers involved in his shooting as well as the Walmart corporation. Crawford was shot by police officer Sean Williams in a Beavercreek Walmart while carrying a pellet gun Aug. 5. The family's attorneys, as well as Crawford's father, will announce more details about the lawsuit at a news conference at 11 a.m. today in Dayton.• The special edition Cincinnati streetcar passes Metro is offering have raised more than $40,000 so far, the department reports. The commemorative metal cards get riders 15, 30 or 60 days of unlimited rides on the streetcar for $25, $50 and $100, respectively. If you're still thinking about getting one, better hurry — 1,000 of the 1,500 cards produced have already sold.• Would you kayak in the Ohio River? If so, you'll be excited about this. The Covington City Commission will decide today whether to enter into a partnership with Queen City Water Sports Club to design and build a facility on the former location of Jeff Ruby's Waterfront restaurant where people can rent canoes and kayaks. The boat that housed Waterfront sank in August, and now the city is looking for new uses for the property where it was docked. • Former Hamilton County Commissioner and Cincinnati City Councilman David Pepper looks likely to become the Ohio Democratic Party's next chairman after his closest opponent, former lieutenant governor candidate Sharen Neuhardt, dropped out of the race yesterday. Pepper ran for attorney general in the last election but was beaten by incumbent Republican Mike DeWine. If he wins, he'll replace outgoing chair Chris Redfern, who resigned after the Democrats faced big losses in November.• Nineties nostalgia is so hot right now. Doc Martens are on every foot. People are listening to Soundgarden unironically again. Flannel shirts, etc. If you're really wanting to party like it's 1992 again, though, you may soon get your chance. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush is looking more and more like he's going to jump into the race to become the Republican nominee for the presidency. He's releasing a book. He's raising some cash. His most likely opponent? Democratic nominee frontrunner Hillary Clinton, of course. If those last names don't ring a deep, deja-vu inducing bell, don't worry. Those Bush vs. Clinton tees are going to look great at an Urban Outfitters near you. America: where anyone can become president, but especially anyone from a wealthy political dynasty. Woo!
by Nick Swartsell
Posted In:
at 10:22 AM |
Morning News and Stuff
Faux out as planning commission head; Silicon Cincy; Congressional budget has big deals for big banks, big donors
Morning all. It's Friday, I'm almost finished with a couple big stories for next week and I'm warm and cozy next to my portable fireplace (read: space heater). Things are looking up.Let's talk about news. Mayor John Cranley recently announced he is replacing Planning Commission Chair Caleb Faux with former Pleasant Ridge Community Council President Dan Driehaus. Last month, Faux and Cranley got into a tiff after City Manager Harry Black removed a provision from the planning commission's agenda that would have preserved the possibility of commuter rail in the city's plans for Wasson Way on the East Side. Faux accused Cranley, who is no fan of rail projects, of trying to block future light rail along Wasson Way. Cranley said he simply wanted to give more time for consideration of the measure.Cranley said the move wasn't a reflection on Faux and that Driehaus is simply a better fit for the board. Council voted unanimously to approve Driehaus' appointment.Faux fired back yesterday after Cranley announced his replacement. While Faux said Driehaus is capable and will do a good job, he painted the mayor as a foe of city planning attempts to create pedestrian-friendly, walkable neighborhoods and a friend of big developers. Faux and Cranley have been at odds for years on the subject of form-based versus use-based codes, going back to Oakley's Center of Cincinnati development last decade. That development put a Target, Meijers and other big box stores in the neighborhood. Faux opposed the project."What the mayor seems to want is a planning commission that will accept his direction and won't be independent," Faux told the Business Courier yesterday. "I think he has a philosophy that we need to be friendly to developers and that using land-use regulations as a way to shape the city is not a good idea."Cranley spokesman Kevin Osborne brushed off that criticism. He pointed to Cranley's involvement in the creation of tax-increment financing districts for Over-the-Rhine and downtown while he was on City Council as evidence the mayor is invested in creating urban spaces. Pointing to redevelopment in OTR as a sign you're not cozy with big developers is an interesting way to go. But I digress.• Also in City Hall news, Cranley announced yesterday he will appoint former congressman and Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken to the city's port authority board. Luken, who was instrumental in creating the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation, has strong ties in the Cincinnati business community. He's also close with Cranley, and the move may be a way to improve strained relations between the port and City Hall.• Councilman Chris Seelbach yesterday announced a proposal to add people who are homeless to a list of those protected by the city's hate crime laws. He also announced a second proposal adding $45,000 in funding for the city's winter shelter in OTR. You can read more about both here.• Is Cincinnati the next Silicon Valley? The Huffington Post seems to think it's possible. The blog cited Cincinnati as one of eight unexpected cities where investors are flocking. OTR-based business incubator The Brandery got a specific shout out, as did the city's major Fortune 500 companies and its "All American Midwest" feel. Trigger warning: The term "flyover city" is used in reference to Cincy in this article.• Last night, the Ohio State Senate passed a bipartisan bill that would amend the state's constitution and change the redistricting process for elections to the Ohio General Assembly. It took until 4 a.m. to reach the agreement, because the Senate parties hard. The amendment would create a seven-member board composed of the governor, state auditor, secretary of state and two legislators from each party. That is two more members than the current board, which is made up of two statewide office holders and three legislators. The 10-year district maps drawn by the board would need two votes from the minority party or they would come up for review after four years. The bill next goes to the Ohio House, where it is expected to pass.• Finally: Congress has agreed upon a budget, it seems, and the government won't come to a grinding, weeks-long shutdown like it did last year. If you just leave it there and don't think about it more than that, that's good news. But looking into some of the budgetary sausage being made is a bit terrifying. Rolled up in the massive "CRomnibus" spending proposal (meaning continuing resolution plus omnibus spending bill) is a measure that would increase rich donors' ability to give money to political parties. Currently, donors are limited to $97,200 as individuals. The new limit would be a seven-fold boost: $776,000. A married couple would be able to donate a jaw-dropping $3.1 million under the rule changes tucked into the shutdown-averting measure. Another worrisome measure would dismantle certain parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, which holds big banks accountable for reckless, risky financial dealings. In the simplest terms, the rules change would allow banks to keep certain risky assets in accounts insured by the federal government, leaving taxpayers on the hook for huge potential losses. As if we didn't learn our lesson in 2008. The measures were last-minute concessions needed to win the votes of a number of conservative congressmen. It's depressing to think that our options are either a complete lapse into governmental dysfunction or these gimmes to the nation's most powerful financial interests, but there you have it. Have a fun Friday!
by Nick Swartsell
Posted In:
at 10:22 AM |
Morning News and Stuff
Council passes streetcar plans; Northside's Mayday bar goes up for sale; tell me where the chili is
Before we get to news this morning, I have a query for readers. I want to venture away from the safe world of our ubiquitous chain Cincinnati chili restaurants for a day, lovely as they are, and try a smaller, more obscure chili parlor in town for lunch. Where should I go? I'm thinking about this place, but I'm open to suggestions. I'll report back my findings tomorrow morning.Ok, on to business. A bunch of stuff happened yesterday in City Council, but it was all stuff we sort of expected would happen, right? Council passed a streetcar operating agreement and funding mechanism, a bit of a landmark achievement for the project. After a couple years of fighting, hand-wringing and politicking, it seems like this thing is actually going to happen, funded by a roll back on property tax abatements in Over-the-Rhine, a parking meter increase there and of course rider fares. "Three months ago, I didn't know if we'd be here today with a revenue stream," said Councilwoman Amy Murray, who chairs Council's transportation committee, yesterday during the meeting. Murray was opposed to the project originally, but voted for the measure along with the rest of Council minus Charlie Winburn and Christopher Smitherman. Smitherman said he still had serious concerns about the project's financial prospects, saying no one is sure what ridership will be like.• Who will be greeting those riders is still in question, though. A fight had been brewing over whether to employ SORTA's unionized employees to run the streetcar or bid the work out to a private company. Consultants for the transit authority say a private company could save the city as much as $300,000 a year, though Democrats on council and representatives from SORTA's union debate that number. Council sidestepped the argument for now by passing a resolution stating that SORTA should bid the job out to see what kind of offers it can get, but that the final decision on staffing will be voted on by council, which has so far leaned toward hiring SORTA employees. One possible arrangement: SORTA workers do the actual driving, so to speak, while a private company performs the managerial side of operating the streetcar. • Council also voted to co-name Third Street downtown Carl H. Lindner, Jr. Way. The vote was unanimous, but not without its own bit of controversy. Councilman Chris Seelbach, Cincinnati's first openly-gay councilmember, said the vote required some deep soul-searching on his part. Lindner was a big funder of Citizens for Community Values, a group that pushed for Cincinnati's harsh Article XII anti-gay charter amendment in the 1990s. Lindner also had some other dark moments during his career, though those didn't enter into the street-naming conversation in Council."As a gay person, I don't want to be judged solely on my sexual orientation," Seelbach said. "There's a lot to me besides my sexual orientation. And there's a lot to Mr. Lindner besides his anti-gay history and positions. And a lot of that is really wonderful, from the jobs he created to the nonprofits he supported. Those things make me see him as a more whole person than just his anti-gay past."Despite Seelbach's yes vote, his comments drew an angry response from Councilman Charlie Winburn, who said Lindner was something of a mentor to him."I think it's shameful of you to make a comment like that when a man has died and has given so much to Cincinnati." Winburn said. Lindner passed away in 2011. "You should keep your vote. Your vote is not received." • Well then. On a less awkward note, Council also approved a liquor license request for Nick and Drew Lachey's Lachey's Bar in Over-the-Rhine, which is hoping to open before Thanksgiving. So there's that. • A judge has turned down suspended Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Tracie Hunter's first two requests for a new trial. Hunter filed three motions asking for a new trial after jury members recanted their guilty verdicts. The jurors said they were pressured into their decisions. Those motions would have been heard in court today."Once a jury has returned a verdict, and that jury has been polled, a juror may not rescind their verdict," Judge Norbert Nadel wrote in his decision. Hunter was tried on nine felony counts last month, and convicted on one — a charge stemming from her allegedly passing on documents about her brother, a court employee accused of punching a juvenile inmate. The jury hung on the other counts. A judge will hear Hunter's final motion for retrial Dec. 2. • Business opportunity alert: did you know Mayday is for sale? For $285,000 you get the bar and all of its inventory. Not a bad deal. Owners Vanessa Barber and Kim Mauer are moving on to other opportunities after five years of running the bar, which was known as the Gypsy Hut prior to their tenure there. I have a lot of fond memories playing music and billiards there, as well as climbing onto the roof of that building under both its names, so I hope someone snatches it up. I'd buy it, but I'm just a little short on cash. About, oh, $284,000 short. No worries, though, the bar will stay open until a new owner comes along.• Speaking of opportunities… if you're a fellow scribe, heads up. The Cincinnati Enquirer is hiring in tons of positions, many of them reporters to replace those it lost during a Gannett-wide restructuring process.• Finally, our most esteemed Twitter friend John Mattress is at it again. Bacon is expensive indeed.For chili tips, or heck, even if you want to throw some news my way, hit me up on Twitter or at firstname.lastname@example.com
by Nick Swartsell
Posted In:
at 10:16 AM |
Morning News and Stuff
City initiative seeks to boost veteran employment; study finds Ohio's charter schools low-performing; Obama takes on net neutrality
Hello all. Hope you're ready for some news, because I've got a bunch for ya.First, happy Veterans Day! Here's a timely bit of news: Cincinnati City Council members Chris Seelbach and Wendell Young announced an initiative yesterday to track the number of veterans employed by the city in an effort make Cincinnati the most welcoming city in the country for veterans. The initiative will require contractors working on city projects to report how many veterans are employed on those projects, as well as keeping track of how many the city itself employs."This data will show how your tax dollars help grow opportunities for our veterans and keep their families employed and growing in our region," Seelbach said in a statement. After the data is collected, the city will work with contractors and veterans service agencies in the city to improve veteran employment opportunities. In the years after 9/11, unemployment for vets has remained stubbornly high, even as unemployment for the general population starts to fall.• The Human Rights Campaign, one of the biggest LGBT rights advocacy groups in the country, has chosen Cincinnati as the place it will unveil its 2014 Municipal Equality Index, which measures how welcoming cities are to members of the LGBT community. They'll release the results tomorrow at Memorial Hall. Check out our brief piece here for more details. • Mayor John Cranley and Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune want to explore the possibility of the city and county sharing certain services in an effort to boost efficiency for both. You can read more in our blog post from yesterday, but here's the short take: It's not a new idea, and there are a lot of political hoops to jump through that have kept shared services from happening in the past. But there's also a lot of interest in the idea, and Cranley and Portune say their proposal will work. They'll be asking City Council and county commissioners tomorrow to approve the creation of a task force that will meet regularly to oversee city-county cooperation.• Downtown's Horseshoe Casino last month had its lowest-grossing month since opening in March 2013, taking in just under $14 million. A crowded field of gambling options in the region, including neighboring Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana has contributed to the low earnings. • While we're talking about Indiana: Will the default of a major tollway in that state make financing the Brent Spence Bridge replacement more difficult? It's a possibility, some investment experts say. A company contracted to manage the $3.85 billion Indiana Toll Road went bankrupt this fall, which could have ripple effects for a similar Brent Spence project, spooking investors who might otherwise be interested in it. Another interesting wrinkle in this story is that the Indiana project fell behind financially because of declining traffic on the Indiana toll road, a result of fewer folks using cars to get from point A to point B. • Ohio's charter schools are some of the lowest-performing in the country, a recent study found. The Stanford University research shows that after a year in an average Ohio charter school, students lag behind public school pupils in reading and math. Ohio's schools were the fourth-lowest out of 26 states studied in terms of performance. An analysis by the Akron Beacon Journal suggests that for-profit charter schools are the reason for much of the performance disparity, with 14 of the state's 16 lowest-performing charters run by for-profit companies. Eight of the top 12 charter schools, meanwhile, are run by non-profits. The analysis notes there are some exceptions to the rule, however, including three suburban Columbus charters run by New York-based company Mosaica Education. You can read the whole report here.• Days after the U.S. 6th District Court of Appeals here in Cincinnati upheld the region's same-sex marriage bans, the Supreme Court has put a temporary delay on removal of a similar ban in Kansas. After a district court there struck down the state's ban, Kansas requested the Supreme Court put that decision on hold. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked for response from same-sex marriage advocates to the state's request, and in the meantime has temporarily delayed the removal of the state's ban on gay marriage. The district court's ruling was set to go into effect at 6 p.m. today, allowing same-sex couples in the state to wed. The ruling is just a temporary delay, however, and doesn't signal whether the Supreme Court will ultimately rule in favor of the state.• President Obama has made some of the most definitive statements of his presidency lately in regard to his support for net neutrality, saying yesterday that measures to ensure that Internet service providers treat online content equally is "a big priority of mine." The statement seemed like a bit of surprise to FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, a former telecom executive appointed by Obama. He's responded that the FCC is an independent agency and will do what it sees fit. The question, of course, is why Obama nominated a telecom exec to be FCC chair in the first place, but yeah. The battle over net neutrality was already raging well before Obama took office but has intensified in recent years as telecom companies seek to create what opponents describe as "fast lanes" that give faster service to some kinds of content over others. Obama is pushing to reclassify ISPs as utilities instead of communications companies, which would give the federal government more power to regulate them and enforce rules about equal treatment of data flowing through ISPs' networks. • A Deer Park man claiming he was Jesus has been taken into custody for mental evaluation, police there say. The man apparently made threats to a locally based, national-level politician and authorities are assessing what kind of risk he poses to others. Mental health is a serious issue, of course, but I really have to point out the epic one-liner this guy got off during a 911 call about his condition."I'm messed up," the man said to a 911 operator. "Can you tell my father I'm OK?""OK, where is your father at?" the operator asked."Uh, everywhere," the man claiming to be Jesus responded. Zing.
by Nick Swartsell
Posted In:
at 09:47 AM |
Morning News and Stuff
Super-action-packed Budget Committee thrill ride; Jeff Ruby restaurant sails, err, sinks into the sunset; this porcupine is eating a pumpkin. Nuff said.
Morning y'all. Before we begin, I have to share something only tangentially related to the news. Last night I went and checked out a concert at Union Terminal, which has a 100-year-old organ in house and more than 4,000 pipes for that organ built into the walls. I don't know a whole lot about baroque and classical music, but I do know a lot about loud music, and it was insanely loud. And awesome. Very recommended. To tie this into newsy stuff, I'll just say go weigh in one way or the other on Issue 8 (the icon tax) at your local polling place. City Council's Budget and Finance Committee yesterday more or less tied up what the city will do with its $18 million budget surplus. The committee, which is composed of all nine council members basically adopted City Manager Harry Black's recommendations outright. The decision came with controversy, however, as some on Council again questioned the process by which the recommendations were proposed. Council members Chris Seelbach, Yvette Simpson and P.G. Sittenfeld pushed back on the process, accusing Budget Committee Chair Charlie Winburn of trying to push the proposals through quickly and asking why public input wasn't sought on the proposals before they were brought before Council for a vote. The three abstained from voting for Black's recommendations.• Council also wrangled again over funding for Mayor John Cranley's Hand Up Initiative at the committee meeting. Several council members had questions about why some established programs are being cut to fund the $2.3 million jobs initiative, especially when the city is running a large budget surplus. Councilman Chris Seelbach pushed for an amendment to the ordinance funding the program to try and restore some cuts to housing advocacy group Housing Opportunities Made Equal and People Working Cooperatively, which helps the elderly and low-income with home weatherization, maintenance and energy efficiency. Those programs lost federal dollars from Community Development Block Grants that have been diverted to the mayor's new jobs program. The amendment was voted down, 5-4. "These programs employ people," said Councilman Wendell Young, who, along with council members Seelbach, Sittenfeld and Simpson voted for the amendment. "When these programs take a hit, that impacts their employees. There's a real paradox there. These programs leverage dollars. Let's do the right thing. Let's help everybody." Others turned out to either support the mayor's program or oppose the cuts. Many spoke on behalf of Cincinnati Cooks, which is a Hand Up partner. But some questioned the mayor's program. Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless Director Josh Spring praised the organization's partnering with Hand Up, but said cutting other programs was counterproductive and unnecessary."Are we really going to lower poverty by five percent in five years by serving just 4,000 people? What the mayor has accomplished is that he has forced groups that get along to come down here and fight each other," Spring said. "We do have a surplus. There are other ways to do this. Things like lead abatement, things like home repair, things like upward mobility so that folks experiencing low incomes can move up economically — those aren't handouts."• One other skirmish broke out at the marathon meeting, which was still going when I stopped watching it on Citicable at about 6 p.m. (yes, I lead an exciting and enviable life). The tussle broke out over money that was once set aside for permanent supportive housing in the city. That money had been earmarked for a prospective 99-unit affordable housing development in Avondale for those recovering from addiction and other issues called Commons at Alaska. However, pushback from some community members there hamstrung that development. Now it will be used for other things."Last June, we had money set aside in the budget for permanent supportive housing," Seelbach said. "I know some people say Alaska Commons doesn't have enough community buy-in. But permanent supportive housing is an essential part of the equation. We were told we were not going to be eliminating it. And now guess what? We're eliminating permanent supportive housing. Well, I'm not going to do that." Seelbach voted against moving the money, along with Simpson, Young and Sittenfeld. • That's enough City Council action, at least until Wednesday. Let's move on. Normally, the words "best" and "suburbs" in the same sentence cause heavy cognitive dissonance in my brain. But this is cool, I guess. Three Cincinnati suburbs have been ranked among the best in America by a new study. Madeira (3), Montgomery (21) and Wyoming (24) were tops in the region and among the best in the country, according to Business Insider. The rankings looked at nearly 300 'burbs across the country and took into account housing affordability, commute times, poverty, public school ratings and the number of stifling gated communities, GAP outlets and SUVs with stick figure family stickers on the back window per capita. Just kidding on those last ones, guys. Suburbs can be cool, too.• The end of a long, watery saga: Jeff Ruby's Waterfront restaurant, a boat that has been basically sinking since August, is being demolished.• The Ohio Department of Transportation commissioned a study to determine future transit needs, and it found that the state will need to double its funding of transit over the next decade to more than $1 billion due to increasing demand. In 2000, the state spent $44 million for public transit. In 2013, it spent just $7.3 million. ODOT also gets money for transit from the federal government, however. Gov. John Kasich's administration has been especially cold to public transit, calling passenger rail supporters a "train cult" and turning down $400 million in federal funds for a commuter line between Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland. He also, you know, withheld state funds for the streetcar. This is why we can't have nice things.• In Ohio and beyond, it's looking more and more likely that Democrats are going to take a beating this midterm election. That's especially true in Congress, where once-safely Democratic House seats suddenly seem to be up for grabs. If Dems lose enough of those seats, they may not have any chance of taking back a majority in the House until redistricting rolls around again. Many analysts and some in the party have blamed the potential slide in House seats on the unpopularity of the president.• Finally, if all this news is just too overwhelming for you (I know how you feel) check out this porcupine. He's eating a pumpkin. It's adorable. You're welcome.
by Nick Swartsell
Posted In:
LGBT Issues
at 12:32 PM |
Council Poised to Pass Domestic Partner Registry
Measure would allow same-sex couples to register for benefits purposes
Cincinnati is one step closer to joining nine other Ohio cities that have established domestic partner registries, which would open up more possibilities for equal employee benefits for same-sex couples.A measure introduced by City Councilman Chris Seelbach to have the city set up the registry passed unanimously through the council's Human Services Committee today. Mayor John Cranley and a majority of council have expressed support for the measure, and it seems likely to come up for a vote and pass during Wednesday's council meeting.The registry, which would be run through the City Clerk's office, would verify financial relationships between non-married domestic partners. The list would take a burden off employers, who currently have to independently verify financial relationships if they wish to provide equal benefits for partners of employees.Couples would be required to show strong financial interdependency to qualify. Applicants to the registry would be eligible if they own joint property, have granted each other power of attorney, are named in each others' will and meet other requirements. Many large companies, as well as the city, already offer some form of domestic partner benefits. However, requirements can vary, and it's expensive and time-consuming to set up criteria and then screen employees' eligibility, especially for smaller employers.The registry proposed for Cincinnati is based on one adopted by Columbus in 2012. It requires a $45 fee to register, which Seelbach says will pay for the program. If passed, Seelbach said the plan could be up and running in a few weeks.Metro on May 29 announced plans to provide health and dental benefits to domestic partners of its employees, becoming the first employer to say it will utilize the registry once it passes.
by Rachel Podnar
Posted In:
LGBT Issues
Public Transit
City Council
at 12:02 PM |
Metro to Offer Domestic Partner Benefits
Organization could become first to utilize city's proposed domestic partner registry
Kim Lahman was doing cartwheels in her mind for Metro this morning. The organization's Ridership and Development Director celebrated Metro's announcement on Thursday that it will provide health and dental benefits to domestic partners of its employees. Lahman said she has used same-sex partner benefits in the past, when she went back to school. "[My partner and I] know first-hand what it means to have the flexibility and equality as others do in the workplace," Lahman said at a press conference at Metro's office. "This is just a fantastic day and I'm so proud that Metro is able to do the right thing." Metro is the first employer to say it will use Cincinnati's domestic partner registry if the initiative passes next week in City Council. Should it pass, Cincinnati will be the 10th city in Ohio to have a domestic partner registry. Mayor John Cranley and City Councilman Chris Seelbach attended the press conference and spoke in support of the move. Cranley called it "symbolically and substantively right" and during the announcement shared a memory in honor of Maya Angelou, her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at former President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. "She ended it with 'Good morning,'" Cranley said. "I think this is a good morning for Cincinnati, a new day." Many of Cincinnati's major employers, including Procter & Gamble, Kroger and Macy's offer same-sex and domestic partner benefits. Seelbach said while those companies already have systems to evaluate domestic partnerships, the registry will give other companies like Metro an easy way to provide those benefits. "We are now leaders in the nation and the region to make sure everyone is welcome in our city, regardless of who they love," Seelbach said. "Everyone should bring their full self to their workplace and be able to do that with health benefits for their partners." Seelbach said while Metro is the first to say it will use the registry, other companies like Cincinnati Bell have expressed interest. Metro is a nonprofit tax-funded public service of the Southwestern Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) with around 850 employees. One of SORTA's executive statements says the organization is committed to a work environment that "promotes dignity and respect for all." Board Chair Jason Dunn said SORTA's commitment to inclusion is a great business decision. "It shows that we value our employees," Dunn said. "It shows that not only is Metro on the cutting edge of transportation but also making sure we are open to talent and we are open to retaining great talent in our system." Same-sex partners with a valid marriage license, same-sex partners registered by a government entity and same-sex partners with a sworn affidavit will be recognized by Metro for domestic partner benefits, which will take effect January 1, 2015.
Going Off-Road
Mayor Cranley insists the future of bike-friendliness is not in Cincinnati's planned on-street infrastructure
Anthony Skeens
6 Comments · Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Mayor John Cranley's sudden steering of Cincinnati's bike plan off-street has forced cycling advocates and administrators to regroup and refocus their attempts to move the city in a more bike-friendly direction.
by Anthony Skeens
at 04:02 PM |
City to Continue Using Green Energy
Council support changes city manager's mind about going back to fossil fuels
Interim City Manager Scott Stiles today announced his intention to keep Cincinnati's electricity green after City Councilman Chris Seelbach rallied a majority of council to oppose Stiles' earlier plan to go back to using conventional fossil fuels to light and heat the city. Instead, Cincinnati will continue using 100-percent renewable-backed energy from First Energy Solutions. The city signed on with First Energy in 2012, making Cincinnati the largest metropolitan are in the country to use 100-percent renewable energy. Stiles was expected to sign the three-year contract with First Energy Solutions today, according to city spokeswoman Meg Olberding. Sellbach and other council members convinced Stiles to change his mind about the contract, Olberding says. She also added that First Energy told Stiles it would allow any customer who wants to save the additional $5.63 annual savings of conventional energy to opt-out of the green energy agreement. The green energy plan is estimated to save customers $43.58 compared Duke's standard service. About 65,000 households and small businesses will continue using First Energy unless they choose to retain another energy supplier. Stiles will also institute a green energy fee of $.006 on each electric bill as part of a program he's developing that will help local business owners and residents equip their homes or offices with energy-saving solutions. The program will be run by the Office of Environment and Sustainability.
Parade Ban-ner
St. Patrick's Day Parade boots pro-gay anti-bullying organization for the second year straight
Anthony Skeens
2 Comments · Wednesday, March 12, 2014
A year after being booted out of Cincinnati's St. Patrick's Day Parade over its pro-gay platform, the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has been banned again this year — along with all politicians.
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Worthy lives
Aging | Doubting life's goodness is a rejection of reality
Joseph Curl, former White House correspondent for The Washington Times, discovered a startling fact during a sojourn in Florida while caring for his aged mother: Everyone he met, in the nursing home, the hospital, the real estate office—everyone—had a relative with dementia. This might be more characteristic of Florida than the nation at large, but watching his own mother's descent into mental helplessness sharpened his perceptions. "We're not prepared to let our parents go, or even force them to go, but then dementia happens. Only then do you realize that you'd really prefer that your mother or grandfather simply pass away … simply said, you yearn for them to die."
Would it be so wrong, then, to ease your afflicted mother gently into the next world? He knows it's controversial to say and agonizing to think about, but as medical science extends the life of the body, we see more attention focused on the quality of the mind. Assisted suicide is probably quietly practiced on a wide scale already; expect it to occupy the main stage in a decade or so. When life becomes an unbearable burden, who can blame the bearer?
These thoughts reach out and shake us. Most of us will not experience a violent death, but everyone with an aged parent cringes at a future of unseeing eyes staring from a familiar face. Two hundred years ago, life was lamentably short for most. Now it's regrettably long for some.
But does it ever cease to be good?
Apparently it did for Robin Williams, and for the increasing number of Americans, largely middle-aged men, for whom suicide seems the best option. Every case is unique, and no one can guess the combination of factors that lead a man to kill himself. All we know is that for a certain individual at a certain time, life was not good.
How odd that, in an age of ease and comfort and endless diversion, we find ourselves increasingly doubting life's goodness. Most Americans seem to believe there comes a point at which it's not worth living. This is easy to understand in an end-of-life situation: "a tough subject," as Joseph Curl says, fully understood only by those in charge of an elderly dependent who's losing his or her mind. Far more disturbing is the marketing of despair among the healthy middle-aged and the young.
To take one small example, this year's Carnegie Prize, an annual award for children's literature selected by a library organization in the UK, went to The Bunker Diary, by Kevin Brooks. The announcement met with controversy because the novel is about a 15-year-old street kid kidnapped by a psycho and kept in an underground prison with no hope of escape. "Children don't need happy endings," the author blithely says, and he doesn't give them one. The chairperson of the judging committee defends its choice with boilerplate verbiage about "exploring difficult issues within the safe confines of a fictional world."
"Difficult life issues" means endless war, persistent poverty, abuse of the innocent, fleeting success, social-media bullying, and other evils. Love, beauty, and friendship seem illusory in such a context, but this is where modern culture gets it all backward. As Augustine said, evil is negation; love and beauty are the realities. Turns out, children do need happy endings. So do grown-ups.
Can we decide whether our lives, or someone else's, are worth living? It's not a decision we're authorized to make—in fact, we know life is good because God is good. Objectively, there can be no doubt: the satisfaction of relationships, the pleasure of sensation, the joy of imagination, the beauty of the earth. No one experiences all the good all the time, but the world pulses with God's goodness. The paradox is that when we clutch life too tightly we may not see its worth. "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39). What your life means to you is secondary; the real issue is what it means to Christ.


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EDUCATION: 'Flipped classrooms' turning education on its head
The tradition of listening to classroom lectures and doing homework alone is being turned on its head in several local classrooms this year, as teachers introduce a new concept some are calling revolutionary.
"It's not only helping my kids with their homework, it's giving me more time in the classroom to work with the kids," said teacher Jo-Ann Fox of Escondido's Reidy Creek School last week. She's using a "flipped classroom" this semester to teach math.
The concept is simple. Rather than listening to lectures in class, students listen to recorded talks at home. They then do their homework in their classrooms, where a teacher can help with problems they don't understand.
Advocates of flipped classrooms say students can absorb their lessons better because they can pause and replay the lectures if they don't understand them immediately, allowing for better in-class discussions later.
At Woodland Park Middle School in San Marcos, Katrin Marti said her students seem more engaged in their lessons since she's adopted a flipped classroom.
"I have to say their questions are a little more thoughtful and in-depth," she said about students in her two flipped classrooms. She teaches four other classes in a traditional method.
"More students are asking questions," she said about her flipped classrooms. "In the other classes, maybe five students will ask questions. In the flipped classes, maybe 75 percent will. They seemed more involved in the subject."
Many local teachers, including Fox, first learned about flipped classrooms at the International Society for Technology in Education convention, more commonly known as ISTE, in San Diego earlier this year.
Others are learning about the concept through the book "Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day," by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams.
Reidy Creek teacher Chia Grossmann said she met the authors at the ISTE conference and attended workshops on flipped classrooms, which she first heard about more than a year ago.
"It's not just about the videos," she said. "It's about putting the learning upon the student. It's about what is the most effective use of my time."
In the Escondido Union High School District , director of educational technology Damon Blackman said 17 teachers are studying Bergmann and Sams' book with a plan to begin introducing flipped classrooms by the end of this semester.
"The important part for the flipped classroom is not 'Watch the video ahead of time and do the homework in class,'" he said. "That's not what flipped classroom is about. It's about more in-depth investigations and activities and hands-on things."
Fox said the lectures she uploads are no more than 12 minutes long, considerably shorter than the time it would take to deliver them in class before students.
That means she has more time to interact with students, which Blackman said is one of the greatest advantages of the flipped classrooms.
"It's taking the 20 minutes a day that might be used for instruction and pulling that out for more free times and hands-on activities," he said.
Blackman said another advantage to the concept is that teachers can immediately identify students who are having trouble grasping a concept and work one-on-one with them.
Meanwhile, students who are caught up can start working ahead without waiting for the rest of the class, he said.
The most frequently heard criticism of the flipped classroom may be about accessibility.
"If you're doing a flipped classroom and you're providing this digital information, you want to make sure all students have access to this information," said Kathy Hayden, director of the school of education at Cal State San Marcos.


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The disciples asked Christ three questions, "When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Christ had spoken of the ruin of the temple; when all its stones should be thrown down.
Their first question was, "When will the temple be destroyed?" It is hard to say how his reply should be applied to the three questions. Verses 4-21 answer the first question, as to when the temple would be destroyed. The Romans did destroy the temple about the year 70. Jesus said, there "shall be great tribulations, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be." The suffering of the Jews at the destruction of the temple exceeded anything that had been or that ever will be. Josephus described the siege and suffering of the Jews when the temple was destroyed as a terrible event, full of suffering.
"This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." It was near thirty-seven years after this till the temple was destroyed, so the generation then living did not pass away, but many lived to see the temple demolished.
Verse thirty-six refers to the end of the world; read it. God has concealed this great event from all his creatures. "Of that day and hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." I have never felt much concern about the time being set for the world to come to an end.
Their question, "What shall be the sign of thy coming?" perhaps refers to what is said of Christ's reign of a thousand years on earth (Rev. xx. 6). If so, this part of his remarks is yet unfulfilled.
The Primitive or Old School Baptists cling to the doctrines and practices held by Baptist Churches throughout America at the close of the Revolutionary War. This site is dedicated to providing access to our rich heritage, with both historic and contemporary writings.


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Maximo Utility Working Group Sets Attendance Record (Again) in Phoenix
Ron Wallace 270000FUHA firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  tivoi eam maximo ibmsoftware ibmontwitter assetmgmt asset-management
0 Comments | 2,586 Visits
Time really starts to fly around this time of year with Thanksgiving Day (and Black Friday) behind us and more holidays just ahead. Speaking of flying, three weeks ago I flew to Phoenix on my favorite airline – Jetblue. I was traveling to Phoenix for the Fall MUWG meeting thinking about now great the weather and sunshine would be in Arizona. However in a strange twist of weather fate, it was nicer in Boston than in Phoenix – something that never happens in Nov
It's been 14 years since the first meeting of the Maximo Utility Working Group (MUWG), making it the longest running industry user group for Maximo Users. This user group is focused on the exchange information, methods and experiences by Maximo users in the gas, electric, water, and waterwater utility industries. The MUWG is a user driven organization run by a steering committee of users and a program manager plus me as the IBM liaison. The MUWG includes a subgroup called the Maximo Supply Chain User Group which active seeks companies in any industry who are interested in Maximo's supply chain capabilities.
The meeting hosted by Arizona Public Service during the week of November 7th set new records for attendance, with 330 attendees from 98 different organizations. This has been a trend for several meetings now and one thing we are noticing is at least one-third of attendees are there for the first time. In fact, for our next meeting in May in Atlanta, we are going to have some dedicated "first time attendee" sessions.
Our keynote was delivered with a great deal of wisdom and humor by Scott Cusanek, Director of IT at Arizona Public Service. He traced APS's journey with Maximo since the mid 90s, as APS moved off the mainframe, onto a distributed systems, then to a growing "server" population and now consolidating. Bringing their technology journey full circle. Scott's message was clear around technology – don't do technology for the sake of doing technology – it must add value to the business.
Scott had several other notable quotes that made good sense as he explained them.
So what's new with Maximo you ask? Believe it or nor – it has been 5 years since IBM acquired MRO Software and Maximo. Inside IBM, Maximo and Enterprise Asset Management have continued to grow according Gartner, ARC Advisory and other analysts groups. Maximo is the leader in marketshare, ability to execute and completeness of vision. In fact, on the first day of the meeting Gartner released their Magic Quadrants for Power Generation and Energy Delivery confirming our leadership position again. Soon you will be able to see the full report on ibm.com.
The MUWG Steering Committee never sleeps and they are working to fine tune the agenda and make changes to attract 400 attendees at the next MUWG meeting in May in Atlanta. Hope to see you there!


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Awesome .. I love your maps and dungeon layouts
I was just wondering what measurements you use for your maps for travel?
This is the map that I made for the may challenge.
Technical stuff:
The map is done in Photoshop CS5, a lot of layers and some finishing effects to give it the right feel and light. The city icons are from CC3 by Profantasy. Dont remember which style but I can look that up if someone is interested.
Kingdom stuff:
Armadien is the most western kingdom in the old world. It is often called the forest kingdom for the obvious reason that the major part of the country is covered by forest. They are famous for their boat builders and their timber. A lot of the vessels that travel the seas are built here. In the north Armadien borders to the great dark barbarian forest. The border is heavily fortified and the river has become a natural border. It is by law forbidden to build a bridge over it.
In the south you find the border kingdoms that lie between Armadien and the city state Ankh-Bathor. The border kingdoms are seen as a buffer zone by Ankh-Bathor and the city supports them with both money and weapons. The city of Southpoint used to be a free city but was conquered 50 years ago by Armadien to strengthen their southern border. In the city there are still forces that want to break it free from the oppressors, probably supported by gold from Ankh-Bathor.
In a forest area between the border kingdoms, Armadien and Krug you have the Traal infected woods. Traals are troll like humanoids that are very strong and powerful but lack the technical skills that would give them the upper hand against humans. There are rumours though that someone is equipping them with weapons of steel, which of course is completely forbidden.
In the east Armadien borders to Krug, a very elitist country that are ruled by powerful warlords. Most of the trade between the countries goes via the needles pass, which is a very dangerous road to walk, famous for its robbers.
I hope you like it :-)
My finished maps
Mapping Worlds (My blog about mapping)
Imaginary maps (My facbook page devoted to mapping)
Awesome .. I love your maps and dungeon layouts
I was just wondering what measurements you use for your maps for travel?
Hello Salvali and thanks for your comment, it warms my heart :-)
For measurement I've used days it takes to travel on this particular map. If you want to know the exact distance in km/miles I don't have it in my mind at the moment (have to get home to check that out). But I can look it up if your'e interested.
My finished maps
Mapping Worlds (My blog about mapping)
Imaginary maps (My facbook page devoted to mapping)
Why don't you do some tutorial?
I love your style
This is a great map. I love the details such as the agricultural areas near towns - a very nice touch.
Also, all the politics behind the concept is great. It really brings the area to life.
The shape of the coastline is quite smooth. Is there a reason for that? Is it maybe just because the people who drew the map don't have accurate surveying methods and technology?
Hello. Nicely done. the border is a good choice - blends and frames the map well. Especially I like the light, faint effect of the regional names.
I particularly like your scale of distance. Various things considered (terrain, mode of travel, etc.) distance is probably reflected more accurately by days. I was thinking of just that myself for a recent map and it is interesting to see it by example.
Regards, Gary
Thanks for he comments, and I'm glad that you like the map.
Kozaim - I really wish I had the time to make a tutorial. But at the moment that wont happen, unfortunately. On my blog I´ve written a post about how I try to think when I'm mapping if you're interested. Not so much technical info but more of a philosophical
laecex_esre - Well the coastline kind of just ended up that way in the beginning. The map is actually a zoomed in version from my Etrakien map, so that is part of the reason. Then I thought that it kind of looked a bit hand drawn so I kept it the way it was.
gwiley - The idea of putting in days as a distance came from an article I read about old maps and travel. Usually people had no clue of the actual distance and more reffered to how many days it took to travel. Because of this here in sweden a mile (today 10 km) could vary in distance. Usually you said that you could travel say a mile a day. So you travelled a mile a day but if you travelled in a forest you came a shorter distance then if you travelled on a plain. So a mile ended up being different in different parts of sweden (where I live) depending on the landscape. The scale in the map is a way of trying to put that into the map. I'm glad you like it.
My finished maps
Mapping Worlds (My blog about mapping)
Imaginary maps (My facbook page devoted to mapping)
That's a very pretty looking map. What is the name of the font you have used?
My finished maps
Mapping Worlds (My blog about mapping)
Imaginary maps (My facbook page devoted to mapping)
I like how it has a little oil-painted feel to it; very nice colour palette


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Greensboro, NC -- Lightning is blamed for the closure of a runway at Piedmont Triad Airport (PTI). Airport workers are making assessments and repairing any damaged underground circuits.
Stephanie Freeman with PTI said lightning hit the runway which caused damage to circuits that are actually located under the runway. Freeman said the 10,000 ft long runway is off West Market Street and is one of the oldest runways at PTI.
The circuits control the lights along and around the runway, she said. Any incoming flights were able to use the other runway. The runway is scheduled to open at 2 p.m.
However, Freeman said they will close the runway again on Tuesday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. for further repairs.
Freeman said it is not unusual for the runway or parking lot areas to get hit by lightning.


text:
I am using custom ajax-called javacode that does some processing on the server. In this process various errors can occure that I add to the
FacesContext via
I want to display these messages in the same
<rich:messages>-tag that I use for my validation errors.
Do you know a way to display these messages in the
<rich:messages>-tag after the ajax-request completed?
My initial idea was adding
<a4j:jsFunction name="richDisplayError" reRender="messages" />
to the markup and calling richDisplayError when the request completed, but it seems the messages panel is rerendered empty.


text:
It's an early winter ritual, right up there with changing to snow tires and cursing your parents for not choosing somewhere warmer to live. The endless college football debate: why does the sport have such an illogical and confusing postseason? Why not a playoff? Like most real-world scenarios that seem to make little sense on the surface, the explanation has lots to do with money. (For related reading, see How Much Revenue Do College Sports Produce?)
TUTORIAL: Personal Income Tax Guide
Major college football - formally known as National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, Football Bowl Subdivision - is played by 120 schools across the United States. The schools range from the legendary (Notre Dame, Michigan) to the perpetually competitive (Oklahoma, Boise State) to the also-ran (Florida Atlantic, Nevada-Las Vegas), with corresponding levels of prestige. The more prestigious the school, the greater the capacity for its football team to generate revenue. At the end of each season, the consensus two best teams of the 120 meet in the Allstate Bowl Championship Series championship game and enjoy an $18 million payday. As for the remaining 118, just about any team with a winning record and a booster community will collect a check for playing in a postseason bowl game that will have no bearing on the championship. That check can easily turn a school's red season into a black one.
Decades ago, a handful of elite teams would close out their seasons by meeting in bowl games at warm-weather, neutral, permanent sites. First there were four bowls – the Rose, Orange, Sugar and Cotton. Then came the Sun. Then the Fiesta. Today there are 35, each with a corporate sponsor, and the high-school letterman who dreams of one day playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas or the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is not being honest with himself.
Each bowl pays its combatants a flat fee, which derives from the substantial ticket handle and TV ad revenue that the bowl's organizers hope to generate. The Rose Bowl, played in its mammoth 92,542-capacity namesake since the First World War, promises its participants $17 million. The other longstanding bowls pay similar amounts, while the minor bowls pay anywhere from $500,000 to $4.25 million.
Best of the Best
Logic would dictate that like almost every other sport in existence, major college football choose its champion by qualifying the best available teams, then having them play each other until one remains standing. Under such a system, there wouldn't be any point to, nor place for, a Valero Alamo Bowl between 12th-ranked Baylor and unranked Washington. With so many schools, and the sport's brutal nature demanding that players rest for a week or so after each game, it'd be cumbersome to create a playoff system. Cumbersome, but possible. College football's second tier (officially styled "NCAA Division I, Football Championship Subdivision") has such a system, whittling its 125 member schools into a single-elimination field of 20 and, ultimately, one undisputed champion.
Few people pay to watch FCS football, as contrasted with FBS football, where many of the elite schools vastly outdraw their NFL counterparts. Notre Dame receives around $9 million annually just for having its home games televised nationally, while Brigham Young receives between $1 million and $2 million per game for a similar TV package. Meanwhile, newly crowned FCS champion North Dakota State doesn't even televise all of its games. (For additional reading, see Top 4 TV Sports Deals Of 2011.)
Thirty-five bowls means that 70 of 120 teams can each claim they had a successful season, from Alabama all the way down to Utah State. A playoff system would make it harder for any program to justify a fair-to-mediocre season to potential recruits. "2011 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl champions" sounds more impressive, however faintly, than either "eliminated in the second round of the playoffs" or "didn't come close to qualifying."
Current Configuration
Under the current configuration, in which the BCS championship game participants split $18 million, corporate sponsors and TV networks salivate at the prospect of being part of the festivities. Sponsors would be less inclined to offer generous amounts for generic playoff games devoid of pageantry. "The Outback Steakhouse Northeast Region Semifinal" doesn't have the same ring to it.
For many schools, a major bowl payout can be the biggest financial windfall of the year. Few incentives are as powerful as a check with six or seven zeroes on it, especially when the school collecting it doesn't even have to go through the logistical chore of hosting the game itself. Even if the school has to share the money with other teams in its conference, playing in a major bowl is still more than worthwhile.
What about the minor bowls, which typically attract either smaller schools having good seasons or notable schools having disappointing ones? Well, there's a reason those games are largely played in the Sun Belt and not the Upper Midwest. Bowl administrators can reward school executives with free trips. The school executives can bring the boosters and hangers-on along. The games might barely break even for the participating schools' athletic departments, but college football's higher-ups aren't the first people to have discovered the benefits of enjoying the revenue for themselves while spreading the expenses out among other parties.
The Bottom Line
A major college playoff would make competitive sense, but even in a sport where everyone gets paid except the people performing the labor, a playoff system wouldn't necessarily make financial sense. At least not with regard to the decision-makers' own interests. The current setup might seem capricious and arbitrary, but it isn't. Nor will it be changing anytime soon. (For related reading, see Recession-Proof Sports Leagues.)


text:
March 30, 2013
The Update
I do not know if any of you watch The Walking Dead, but I finished it yesterday and I cannot wait till season three comes out. I watched it every day because I was so hooked. I think it is supposed to come out soon, it needs to hurry and get on Netflix (I hate commercials). If you like zombies, then you will really like this show.
Hey! Everyone, I am really sorry I have not been writing to you all. I have been quite busy this last week, then I got really sick; but I am getting better thanks to shots and medicines.
So, I am sure some of you are wandering how I have been. Well, I went 155 days of no cutting, but relapsed and cut myself three times. I am not proud of myself that I cut, but for someone who has not cut in almost six months and only cut three times, and they were like scratches, I think I did well. I also have not cut since then.
Sometimes I question myself; actually, I question myself every day. Will I ever be good enough, can I do anything right? I still feel like a failure with how college went; broken relationships, failing friendships; everything tumbling down a cliff then it all fell off and crashed. I am afraid I will fail again; I can feel it happening.
On top of feeling like a failure, I became everyone's worse enemy. I have been fighting with the family, my boyfriend, and myself. It never fails, I hear a threat about getting kicked out of the house because I do not have a real job or not doing a good enough job in the house, or find out that I am just another bitch. I cannot do anything right, ever.
I know I am not perfect, no one is; but it I wish I was at least perfect in my eyes. I know I definitely need to work on my trust issues and stuff. The other areas are not worth listing because it is just appearances.
But I know I have to stay strong and remember that I can do it. I will pass my classes; find a good job, and maybe one day open up that boutique of mine. I want to encourage all of you to focus on goals you want to accomplish and keep positive no matter how hard things may seem. Write words of encouragement on your mirror, print out quotes and put them in your locker or on your walls in your bedroom; do something. I believe in you, just give it a try. Maybe if you keep a journal to keep your thoughts together, you could write something good down, whether it is about yourself or something you want to do (make it colorful and bold). I want you to see it and feel good when your read it.
Stay Strong <3
I know you can do it.
Image Credit: Chepko Danil Vitalevich / Shutterstock


text:
Top Definition
short for Nordstrom, the department store.
Tutti: Nice shoes. Where'd you get them, Costco?
Blair: I paid 250 bucks for these at Nordies, you ignant bitch.
Blair: I paid 250 bucks for these at Nordies, you ignant bitch.
Por psychobabble 02 de junio de 2006
Nordys, or Nordies, is slang term for the shopping store better known as Nordstrom, where upscale clothing is sold.
Girl A: "what did you do this weekend?"
Girl B: "my mommy bought me some cashmere at nordys"
Girl B: "my mommy bought me some cashmere at nordys"
Por NaHCO3 06 de noviembre de 2005
A plush toy meant to resemble a shoehorn, given out by the Nordstrom children's shoe department when it opened, and periodically since then.
That little nordy is so adorable! I want one, but you can only find them at nordstrom, or on ebay.
Por Ebalance 08 de marzo de 2011
Pricks from Northern Ireland
that lad from cookstown is a Nordy Prick, them lads from Tyrone are some bunch of Nordys
Por kerry southerner 26 de julio de 2011
one who works at Nordstrom.
I'm going to punch that faggot Nordy in the face because he thinks its cool to call himself a Nordy. Summer Sale THIS, BIAOTTCH>!
Por Andizzle Fo Shizzle 11 de julio de 2006


text:
Island Theatre invites you to join us
for a potluck dinner and an open play reading of
Other Desert Cities byJon Robin Baitz
March 16
• For reservations, contact:
Island Theatre at Your House (or YoHo) is designed to bring theatre into your home (or your neighbor's), creating a warm, friendly environment to share a meal and read a play with other Island Theatre fans. Bring your choice of a hot or cold dish, dessert or drinks for the meal (please find out from the host what's needed) and Island Theatre will supply the play. Take on a character if you like, but there's no pressure to perform if you prefer to watch and listen while others read as the play comes to life… in the living room.
Other Desert Cities: A once promising novelist returns home after a six year absence to celebrate Christmas in Palm Springs with her parents, former members of the Reagan inner circle, her brother and her aunt. When Brooke announces she is about to publish a memoir focusing on an explosive chapter in the family's history, the holiday reunion is thrown into turmoil as the Wyeths struggle to come to terms with their past.
This funny and searing play is filled with clever exchanges among family members who know exactly how to push one another's buttons.


text:
אנחנו בפייסבוק
Islamic State releases video purporting to show beheading of Steven Sotloff; masked militant in video threatens that British citizen David Haines will be next.
AP, Reuters
Published: 09.02.14, 21:22 / Israel News
AP, Reuters
In the video distributed Tuesday and entitled "A Second Message to America," Sotloff appears in a similar jumpsuit before
he was purportedly beheaded by an Islamic State fighter.
Related stories:
The Associated Press could not immediately verify the video's authenticity. The SITE Intelligence Group, a US terrorism watchdog, first reported about the video's existence.
American officials said US intelligence agencies were making urgent checks to investigate the alleged Sotloff beheading video to determine conclusively whether it is authentic.
The purported executioner appeared to be the same British-accented man who appeared in an August 19 video showing the killing of American journalist James Foley, and it showed a similar desert setting. In both videos, the captives wore orange jumpsuits.
"I'm back, Obama, and I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State, because of your insistence on continuing your bombings and ... on Mosul Dam, despite our serious warnings," the man said.
"So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people."
State Dept spokeswoman Jen Psaki, in a separate briefing, said U.S. intelligence services would "work as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity."
"If the video is genuine we are sickened by this brutal act taking the life of another innocent American citizen. Our hearts go out to the Sotloff family," she told reporters.
The Islamic State group which has taken over a third of Syria and Iraq has terrorized rivals and civilians alike with widely publicized brutality as it seeks to expand a proto-state it has carved out on both sides of the border.
In its rise to prominence over the past year, the extremist group has frequently published graphic photos and gruesome videos of everything from bombings and beheadings to mass killings.


text:
Anna Wintour
Indie Theater Roundup: 7 Movies to See This Week
With IndieFest's Another Hole in the Head Festival continuing through Friday at the Roxie and Frameline35 arriving at the Castro this Thursday, Bay Area moviegoers should have little trouble satisfying their appetites for something slightly more cutting-edge than, say, the upcoming Mr. Popper's Penguins. And if you'd rather steer clear of the festival crowds? No problem.
Indie Theater Roundup: 7 Movies to See This Week
With IndieFest's Another Hole in the Head Festival now scarring horror enthusiasts at the Roxie, and the 35th annual International LGBT Festival just around the corner, there's no shortage of intriguing options for Bay Area moviegoers in search of an evening's entertainment. Among this week's best:
1. Midnight in Paris
Indie Theater Roundup: 7 Movies to See This Week
The wait is over. After a brief, regrettable hiatus, the Indie Theater Roundup is back, locked and loaded for a long summer, ready with the antidote to the foppish banality of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and the calculated naughtiness of The Hangover Part II. So, without further ado:
1. A Place in the Sun
Where: Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., 415-621-6120
When: May 28
Indie Theater Roundup: 7 Movies to See This Week
With the 54th annual Film Festival now a fond memory, it is time to return our focus to the traditional fare currently playing around the city – not just the initial offerings of summer popcorn (Fast Five, Thor) and the indies, but, in this week's case, two of the most beloved American epics ever committed to film.
1. The Godfather: Parts I & II
Where: Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., 415-621-6120
When: May 8
Indie Theater Roundup: 7 Movies to See This Week
The San Francisco Film Festival begins Thursday, April 21, with Mike Mills and Ewan McGregor hosting a screening of the terrific new drama Beginners at the Castro, but until then, moviegoers can feast on this Saturday's "Heavy Metal Monster Mash" festival, featuring five rockin' adventures including Heavy Metal (1981), The Monster Squad (1987), Trick or Treat
Indie Theater Roundup: 7 Movies to See This Week
The Sonoma Film Festival and the San Francisco Women's Film Festival are both underway through Sunday, while Super, an ultra-violent comedy starring Rainn Wilson as a hopeless schlub turned vigilante superhero, ratchets up the body count at the Embarcadero. Elsewhere:
1. Bill Cunningham New York
Where: Embarcadero Center Cinema, 1 Embarcadero Ctr., 415-352-0835
NY Times Fashion Photographer Caught on Camera in 'Bill Cunningham New York'
"We all get dressed for Bill," says Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, paying the ultimate compliment to legendary fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, whose work has been featured in the New York Times Style section for 33 years. But who is Cunningham, the octogenarian-about-town whose days and nights are still spent navigating New York's streets on a bike – his 29th; the other 28 were stolen – searching for the perfect shot?
San Francisco Native Gets Nod from Anna Wintour at NYFW
We're betting it was a very fine weekend for San Francisco native Patrik Ervell, who presented his fall menswear collection during New York Fashion Week on Saturday.
Not only did Vogue's Anna Wintour arrive early to see his show, but she also gave the New York-based designer's latest her verbal stamp of approval. Before Wintour made her exit, she found Ervell's representatives and, "asked them to pass along the following message: 'Tell Patrik I loved the collection,'" The Cut reports.
Look of the Week: Halloween Costumes On The Fly
Year after year, despite making a mental note to think of a Halloween costume in advance, it always comes down to frantically throwing together an ensemble in the final week before the big day. But that doesn't mean you can't still come up with something brilliant (and stylish!) without having to fight the last-minute costume shop masses. With that, we leave you with 5 ideas that you can (mostly) piece together from your closet:
1. Lady Gaga: Yes, everyone and their sister will probably be Lady Gaga for Halloween, but we were particularly inspired by this look she was rocking on a rainy day in Paris. And hey, it's a great excuse to forget your pants for a night. Top off with a pair of nude heels and you're ready to rock.
Tonight: The September Issue, A Glass of Rosé and Popcorn
The September Issue—the documentary about the making of Vogue's biggest fashion issue ever in 2007, a four-pound tome that couldn't be squeezed into a mailbox—debuts this weekend. Although tonight is the SF premiere, the film's already been showing in NYC, timed well with Fashion Week. The movie's release also has a darker sense of timing—magazines across the country are in trouble and being forced to reinvent themselves. Even Conde Nast, which has always remained mythically golden, has been in the spotlight, as McKinsey & Company has been called in to survey the wreckage.