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"The sweetest experience in mortality is to know that our Heavenly Father has worked through us," says President Thomas S. Monson, sixteenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But he does more than say it — he lives it. Throughout his life, he has been an instrument in the Lord's hands, one through whom the work of the kingdom of God is lovingly carried out.
President Monson cares about people by the millions; he has traveled the earth to bless countless lives in unnumbered lands. He may be known best, though, for caring about people one by one. He takes time for those who may have been mostly forgotten by others. He recognizes the person in the crowd who might need the extra bit of attention he can provide. He goes where the Spirit leads him — even if it means traversing continents to offer a priesthood blessing to a suffering friend.
To the Rescue chronicles the life and ministry of this extraordinary leader. It is filled with the heartwarming personal accounts so typical of President Monson — some that have become favorites over time and many others that have not been told before. Readers will be transported to his childhood, where he learned his first lessons about reaching out to others. They will glimpse his school experiences, his hobbies (especially his prize Birmingham roller pigeons), his military service in the navy, and his courtship with Frances Johnson, who would become his eternal companion and greatest support.
Most important, readers will observe Thomas S. Monson going "to the rescue" in his more than six decades of devoted Church service. Called as a bishop at age twenty-two, as a counselor in a stake presidency at age twenty-seven, as a mission president at age thirty-one, and as a member of a Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at age thirty-six, he became early on a skilled administrator and a tireless servant of the Lord. He oversaw the work of the Church in East Germany for more than twenty years, beginning with hushed meetings held in automobiles to avoid listening devices and culminating in the dedication of a temple behind the Iron Curtain. He played key roles in landmark programs in the Church, from correlation to welfare to the publication of the LDS editions of the scriptures. And through it all, he recognized people as individuals and ministered to their need in personal ways.
"I testify that each one of us can feel the Lord's inspiration as we live worthily and strive to serve Him," President Monson has taught. To the Rescue demonstrates the truth of that teaching, illustrating its power in the life of one remarkable man.
Table of Contents
Introduction: To the Rescue
1. A Heritage of Faithful Souls
2. Between the Railroad Tracks
3. "I Want To Be a Cowboy!"
4. Like Huck Finn on the River
5. Becoming a Gentleman
6. School Days
7. The Greatest Lessons
8. Starting a Family
9. "Decisions Determine Destiny"
10. Always a Bishop
11. "He Went About Doing Good
12. "Have Courage, My Boy"
13. "O Canada"
14. Called to General Church Committees
15. A Special Witness
16. Serving in the Twelve
17. "He Was Everywhere
18. Near and Far
19. "Weary Not"
20. Faith of the People
21. The Wall Comes Down
22. The Work Goes Forward
23. Poised for Growth
24. Opening Doors
25. Neighbor Helping Neighbor
26. There Are No Coincidences
27. Ordained in Heaven
28. "Loyal, Helpful, Friendly ..."
29. An Indomitable Spirit
30. The Consummate Counselor
31. Reaching Out to the One
32. Joy in the Journey
|Audiobook Narrator
|Nathan K. Wright
|Audiobook ISBN
|Audiobook Runtime
|Approx. 20 hours
|Audiobook Discs
I am thoroughly enjoying the book and learning many things about President Monson and his family. I would recommend this book!
I felt this book was poorly written. To me read more like a church history book instead of a life history of a prophet. Too many inconsistencies and bad transitions. I quit reading at chapter 10 but maybe someday will pick it back up.
It took me forever to get through this book, reading or listening to it a little bit at a time, but it was well worth it. For me it was the kind of book you have to read a little bit at a time. I am so glad I was able to finish this book during the time that president Monson is still our prophet. It makes me understand him and why he does the things he does better. This book makes me want to be more like him- especially in the way I follow promptings and help others around me. I love the various examples found throughout the book of how he helped, cared for and administered to the "the one." What a great man! This book is wonderful and insightful. I would recommend this book to all adults, it will enrich and benefit the person who reads it as well as anyone who comes in contact with them. This books makes you want to change for the better. It is well worth the read, I highly recommend it! I really enjoyed reading the book, but I also enjoyed the audio book which was done very well. The man who reads it is easy to listen to and it is perfect for trips in the car. You will not reading getting this book!
I listened to the mp3 audio of To the Rescue and really enjoyed it- this book has fantastic narration. Heidi Swinton is also very thorough as she writes of accounts from president Monson's life. It was great to learn more about the prophet's life and teachings through his own stories and other's perspectives.
An excellent read, what you get from this book about Thomas S. Monson is his love for everyone and his concern for the one. His life is one dedicated to following the example of Jesus Christ.
After reading it you have a greater desire to follow his example and be a better, more dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ.
Reading this book only furthered my testimony that Thomas S. Monson is truly the Lord's Chosen Prophet on the earth today.
Utah Dad and I recently finished reading To The Rescue : The Biography of Thomas S. Monson by Heidi Swinton. We've spent the last few months reading a chapter together at least once a week. It is always entertaining to read the stories of the charismatic and fun-loving President Monson (president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Many of the stories were ones we had heard before in his talks and I was frequently reminded of his personal speaking style. He has always been the quintessential story teller.
We were most enthralled with the stories of his childhood and also the chapters that go into depth about the growth of the church in East Germany throughout the decades before the fall of the wall. President Monson's role in that growth is inspiring. It is clear to see that he is an instrument in the hands of God.
Many of the stories of President Monson's call to follow inspiration and touch the individual person moved me to tears. He is truly an inspired man and my testimony of him as a prophet of God grew as we read more about his amazing life.
Utah Dad and I have joked over the years that President Monson is the "angel of death". If he suddenly shows up to visit you, watch out, your time is limited. So many of his stories involve following the spirit to the bedside of a dying friend or stranger and then of speaking at funerals. But what a touching, tender mercy of the Lord to send his servant to comfort many of those in their final hours. Really, President Monson is so close to the spirit that he knows just where he is most needed.
Heidi Swinton is a good story teller in her own right and has written a very approachable, readable book. This book is not a scholarly explanation. There are questions left unanswered (such as why his father was not active in the church) and it does not go deep into the emotions and feelings of President Monson. What it does do is include many of President Monson's stories in one volume and give a lovely over view of his history. It is also encouraging and motivating. President Monson exemplifies a Christ-like life. He cares about people. He is in tune with the spirit and follows it so that he can touch people just when they need it most.
The overwhelming majority of the book consists of ambiguous praise of Pres. Monson. Please do not mistake me; I admire and sustain him, but this author ceaselessly sings his praises without giving any meaningful insight into his life. The book is also full of awkward transitions, empty quotes and irrelevant anecdotes. For example, the author describes, at length, a time when he shot and made two baskets while visiting a Church gym and includes a copy of his third grade report card, to make sure you're impressed. Yet, the book leaves you frustrated and wondering at questions that would actually provide insight; questions like- Why didn't he serve a mission after his extremely short time in the military? Why was his father inactive? How has he come to be financially successful with so little time in the professional world? Etc. For such an expensive book, one would hope to find more than exaggerated praise and rehash of his talks, yet that is all this book contains. Pres. Monson asked the author to write the book, but reading it left me frustrated and wondering why he would provide her a constructive monopoly on something that should be free for all members, and why he would permit so much shameless praise to be published. For me, the book raised far more questions than it answered.
It was wonderful reading about a man that is loved by so many. By following his example, we can become more loving ourselves. This book shows many small steps we can take to become more Christlike. President Monson truly is a prophet of God
Outside of the scriptures, this is the best book that has ever been written or sold. My wife and I spent time each night reading this book together. We have been having numerous challenges in life this year and this book helped us to grow in faith, to grow in testimony and to grow closer together during this time. If you want to improve your relationships, improve your testimony or just improve your overall life, this is certainly the book to read. I strongly encourage all couples and individuals to read this amazing and inspiring book.
I read this book in a few days it was difficult to put down. I feel like that anybody in a leadership position should read it. Reminds you to focus on the individual and not on programs.
Jen Katene New Zealand
Having served in the Canadian Mission just prior to President Monson, I was very impressed with the Author's quotes about the mission. HOWEVER
Before printing more books I wish to save Pres.
"Eagle eye" Monson's reputation. On page showing the mission home the address is incorrect. That home is on 133 Lynhurst Ave. The Toronto Chapel is on Ossington.
I was delighted to learn more about the life of our Prophet. His influence in different areas of the Church throughout his years of service is really inspiring and astonishing. This is an interesting, enjoyable and uplifting read. I highly recommend it!
I just finished reading this marvelous biography of our prophet. It reaffirmed my testimony that President Monson a true and living prophet here on this earth. It is a perfect instruction manual on how to be a true disciple of our Savior Jesus Christ. President Monson sets a wonderful example for each of us about how to have true Christlike love for one another. It was great to learn so much about our amazing prophet.
What a wonderful biography, I learned so many things about our dear prophet. He was instrumental in so many things I didn't know about before reading this book. The most beautiful thing I gained from this book apart from a stronger testimony of Heavenly father's Prophet and a stronger desire to follow his wonderful example is that I now feel I know the prophet as my friend!! Well done Heidi Swinton a remarkable biography.
This is one of the best books ever written about our great prophets. So much applicable to our lives each day!
I have been anticipating the opportunity to read this book. I was not disappointed. Upon reading only the first few chapters I found myself looking at others around me and wondering how can I be of help to them? I was looking at others with new eyes. I quickly found myself doing as President Monson would as I stopped and talked with my neighbor, a widow, today. I thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I learned so much from reading about the humble and wise leaders of President Monson's youth that taught through their example how to be a loving leader. I particularly loved reading the poem written by his father at his birth. It is clear poetry was a part of his life from the beginning. I enjoyed reading of his boyhood visits to Vivian Park, the ballpark and his yearning for a pet. I was interested that his first calling was to be the Secretary of the Deacons Quorum. My son holds that same calling now. I hope he feels the same about his responsibility as President Monson did. Heidi Swinton's writing is beautiful, insightful and inspired me, through President Monson's life experiences, to be a better person who cares for those around me - perhaps a bit more than I did before. Heidi Swinton is a memory weaver. The product of her work, this biography, is a wonderful opportunity for all to learn more about this ebullient prophet with a "big heart."
"To the Rescue" is such an inspirational book! Throughout his life, President Monson has always reached out to the one, giving his time freely. He listens to the promptings he receives from the Holy Ghost to find those who need him, and then he acts. What a wonderful example he has set for all of us. I will strive harder to follow in his footsteps. President Monson's biography is the best book I have ever read.
I just finished reading To the Rescue and it was a great witness of a true Prophet of God.


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NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – Manchester University received another set of three double-figure efforts to highlight its season finale Saturday, Feb. 22.
Sophomore guard Brady Dolezal (Tipton, Ind.) and junior forward Jon Thompson (Rushville, Ind.), each concluding impressive 2013-14 campaigns, tallied 19 points each, while freshman guard Blake Brouwer (Elkhart, Ind.) chipped in 15 points. Dolezal was strong from the field (six-of-10) and at the charity stripe (seven-of-eight) while dishing out a team-high three assists, and Thompson hit 50 percent from the field (six-of-12) during an afternoon in which he grabbed a team-best six rebounds. Brouwer added three three-pointers to his day's work.
Hanover (17-8 overall, 13-5 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) managed to overcome the Black and Gold's three-pronged attack. A 22-8 run over the opening nine minutes gave them enough cushion to leave Stauffer-Wolfe Arena with an 80-71 win. Manchester University (5-20, 4-14 HCAC) did climb within seven at two intervals in the second half but was countered with made buckets on HC's ensuing possessions.
NOTES: Dolezal concluded the season with 14 double-digit scoring games in 17 appearances. He ended as the team's scoring leader by a tenth of a point over Thompson (16.8 – 16.7 ppg) … Thompson was just as efficient in regards to double-figure contests. He produced 11 in 15 games played … Brouwer wrapped up his first season in an MU uniform with his seventh multiple three-point basket game as his point total equaled a single-game season high … Guard Jake Butler (South Bend, Ind.) was recognized prior to tip-off. He is the only senior on the 2013-14 roster.

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm trying to understand the derivation of Wiener deconvolution given on its Wikipedia page. In the last couple steps under the derivation section, they take the derivative with respect to $G(f)$ of an equation that has both $G(f)$ and $G^\ast(f)$ in it. They simply state that $G^\ast (f)$ acts as a constant in the differentiation. However, it seems to me that if you don't treat $G(f)$ as a constant, then you shouldn't be able to treat $G^\ast (f)$ as a constant because they are directly related.
I searched around some looking for an explanation. I found this page, which seems to agree that the complex conjugate can be treated as a constant. I also found some stuff about the Cauchy-Riemann equations, which seem to be related. However, I haven't had any classes on complex analysis and don't understand the intuition behind why this can be done.
Why can the complex conjugate of a variable be treated as a constant when differentiating with respect to that variable?


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So, I started this blog and posted a few then I went on vacation and this is my first posting since. I had an awesome time on a mission trip with the 412 Student Ministries from Campbellsville Baptist Church serving at Grace Centers of Hope in Pontiac, Michigan for nine days. I was touched by the stories of God's grace, love and forgiveness. I was impressed with the compassion that the 412 team showed to the people of Grace Center. It was a totally amazing trip that I am so glad I was a part of for many reasons.
Since I have been home life has happened. My oldest sister, Suzi, is here for a two-week visit before my daughter starts college and the school year starts back up for my son. We are enjoying her visit but that has caused me to pick up a few things at the grocery but no real couponing and I've gone way over my grocery budget. We are having fun and enjoying our time together with family, which matters more than deals.
Also, the garden is full of vegetables to harvest so I'm fitting that in around everything else. I have lost count of the quarts of refrigerator pickles I have made and have no more room for quart jars in the refrigerator. We picked some pears a little early to keep the tree limbs from breaking off and I made 12 pints of pear preserves. This weekend there will be lots of pickle and salsa making, and butter bean shelling going on.
Check back soon for another blog. Thanks for reading and I promise I haven't given up on the deals.
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Bia Offers a Charming Dining Experience on the New Jersey Shore
The Majestic is also home to Bia, a 75-seat European Bistro open for a la carte dining from Memorial Day to through September. Enjoy the soothing decor of the dining room in our Jersey Shore Hotel, or dine al fresco on the covered porch with ocean views. Bia can also be booked for weddings, corporate meetings and private events year round. Bia is also open for Special Events, learn more!
An Elegant Event & Wedding Venue on the New Jersey Shore
The Majestic Hotel provides the ideal location for your intimate seaside wedding or other gathering. With 16 luxury rooms, porches with ocean views, dining room that accommodate up to 75 people, and a spacious lobby to host a cocktail hour, we can help you make your wedding in Ocean Grove, New Jersey everything you've ever wanted.
The Premier New Jersey Shore Hotel in Historic Ocean Grove
Regardless of the season or the weather, or if you're coming for a getaway, an elegant dinner, or a wedding, The Majestic Hotel allows you to sink into a state of relaxation that is therapy both to the mind and body.


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My role as Planetarium Astronomer includes answering astronomy questions from the public over the phone, by email, and in person. Thus, it is up to me to examine meteorite samples brought in by the public. Or, I should say, "meteor-wrongs," as none of the samples brought in since 1996 (when I began doing this) have actually been meteorites.
First, let's define some terms. A rock which is about to enter the Earth's atmosphere is a meteoroid. Someone who happens to see it as it is falling, and thus sees a streak of light in the sky, sees a meteor. Once the rock has landed, it is a meteorite. Most meteors that we see burn up completely in the atmosphere and therefore never land as meteorites. A meteorite, then, is a rock which originated in outer space.
Can you tell which of these is a meteorite?
If you have a sample you believe came from outer space, here are 4 simple tests you can do at home. Note that passing these four tests will not guarantee that your sample is a meteorite; they serve primarily to eliminate 'meteor-wrongs.'
1) Is the sample heavy for its size? Meteorites are denser than Earth rocks; they have more mass per volume. A meteorite will be heavier than an Earth rock of the same size.
2) Does the sample attract a magnet? Most meteorites found and brought in are iron meteorites. Even the stony meteorites, which are more common but rarely reported because they superficially resemble Earth rocks, have some iron in them. A meteorite sample, then, should attract a magnet. Any magnet, including the ones on your fridge, will suffice for this test.
3) Is there a dark fusion crust? Upon entry into our atmosphere, a meteorite acquires a thin 'fusion crust' because its surface melts under the heat of entry. This crust is black when the meteorite is freshly fallen but may turn brownish due to weathering and rust. Bright colored or silvery samples are not meteorites.
4) Does the sample have bubble holes? Many volcanic rocks on Earth have these holes, which form when a bubble of gas or steam expands as the rock solidifies. A meteorite, however, is never fully molten (only the surface melts on entry into the atmosphere). Thus, a meteorite sample is a solid hunk, without tiny holes or perforations.
The many large holes in this rock
So, which of the four is a meteorite? If you go back to the first photo in this post, you should be able to see holes in the top two samples – so those are out. And the bottom right is bright and silvery = not a meteorite. So, the winner is the smallest of all four, in the bottom left.
For more information, surf to: http://meteorite-identification.com/ , http://meteorite.fr/ (the site is in English, too), or http://meteorites.wustl.edu/meteorwrongs/meteorwrongs.htm


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July2005Star Wars 500th Figure - Darth Vader: To celebrate the 500th Star Wars action figure, Hasbro has created an authentically detailed Darth Vader figure seated in his meditation chamber.
They can call it whatever they want...I've got a VOTC Vader and unless the next one is better(more articulation), I'm done with Darths.
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In short, I deleted my subscription service for this site.
I know this might be a pain in the ass for some of you, and I also know I'll lose followers because of this, but I'm okay with that. Hunting a huge audience isn't my goal here. There is a reason I'm doing this. As with any other site in the world, people come and go to Smogranch. When they go they need to be able to just hit an easy unsubscribe button, and with NO HASSLE, be gone. I feel this way because the first thing I do every morning is unsubscribe to the masses of things I somehow get subscribed to. People are digital, low-life scumbags these days, not to mention out-of-control marketing animals, who don't seem to have ANY issues by subscribing people who don't want to be subscribed. Not only would I never do this, I would also never try to make it difficult for you to unsubscribe. Over the past few months I've had people email me saying, "Sorry but I can't unsubscribe to your site." This drives me crazy. It SHOULD be an easy system, and I honestly don't know why some people can and others can't, but I can't live with the mystery so the service is gone. From now on if you want to get here you gotta aim here and get in. No more email updates. Again, sorry, but I can't stand the idea of someone continuing to get emails they don't want.
These days we live in a world where the boundaries of decency and taste have been run over and crushed. People post political s*** to my Facebook timeline, they send ads to my Twitter feed and try to link their sites to mine via comments. And this doesn't include the normal spam for drugs, sex and crazy s*** that now seems far less annoying than being put on a mailing list from a gallery I've never been to. I'm SO CLOSE to pulling the plug on ALL of it, including this blog, that I literally think about it every day.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE blogging. It is clearly the most entertaining and educational thing I do online, but I also realize the world is out there, spinning, and it doesn't care about ANY of this. I'm just a speck in cyberspace, something I'm happy to be because I know the important s*** is here on Earth, right in front of me, waiting to be explored. I know I'm a pain in the ass, but those of you who know this site figured that out a long time ago.


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Hollywood considered Matt Mattox one of the best dancers in the country when he was cast to dizzying effect in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," the 1954 Oscar-winning film celebrated for its imaginative and masterful dance moves.
Billed as one of the "frontier Romeos" in the musical set in the American West, the classically trained Mattox memorably vaults over a sawhorse, pirouettes on a plank and poetically wields an ax in striking choreography by Michael Kidd.
"Everyone on the movie set agreed that he was the best dancer of all," Jacques d'Amboise, who was a leading figure in American ballet when he danced alongside Mattox as one of the film's rowdy brothers, said this week in a French media report. "He's up there on Mt. Everest with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly."
The tall and dashing Mattox "had enormous strength, versatility, precision and technique," Kidd once said, and was "always the first person" the choreographer wanted for the movies he made at MGM.
Yet Mattox yearned to concentrate on teaching and choreography — "to be an artist" — and in the mid-1950s largely abandoned his decade-old movie career. He headed to New York City and then Europe and became a major figure in the evolution of jazz dance.
Mattox, 91, who developed an influential method of teaching jazz dance, died Monday in France, his family announced. He had lived in southern France since 1980.
"He was superhuman. This guy could do anything," said Bob Boross, a dance professor at Radford University in Virginia who studied with Mattox at a rare U.S. workshop he gave at UCLA in 1986 and later wrote his graduate thesis on him.
Living overseas since 1970 had caused Mattox's fame "to recede somewhat in America," Boross said, "but in Europe, he is widely known as a big catalyst for its jazz dance scene."
Born Harold Henry Mattox on Aug. 18, 1921, in Tulsa, Okla., he moved to San Bernardino in the 1930s with his parents, who worked in sales.
He once said he learned to dance at age 5 from a black porter and counted a female vaudevillian among his teachers. He spent more than a decade studying ballet.
"The finishing touches," he recalled in 1980 in the Christian Science Monitor, were applied in Los Angeles by tap great Louis DePron. Mattox considered the six years he took tap to be the bedrock of his jazz technique.
His dancing career started when he was 11, at the Fox Figueroa Theatre in Los Angeles, he recalled in 1984. Except for the two years in the Army Air Forces during World War II, Mattox said he'd "been dancing ever since."
With several films behind him — including 1945's "Yolanda and the Thief" with Fred Astaire — Mattox was still planning a career in ballet when theatrical jazz-dance pioneer Jack Cole hired him in 1948 to dance in "Magdalena" on Broadway. Cole became his mentor and helped steer Mattox toward the jazz technique.
He refused to call his method "jazz dance," preferring "freestyle" because the term was more inclusive and reflected wider creative choice and movements.
In film and on stage, Mattox "brought his fast-moving precision and seemingly boundless energy," The Times reported in 1984.
On Broadway, his musical-heavy resume included eight plays and a role as a jester in "Once Upon a Mattress," which opened in 1959 starring Carol Burnett.
His nearly 20 movie roles encompassed two 1953 musicals, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" with Marilyn Monroe and "The Band Wagon" with Cyd Charisse.
Over three decades, Mattox choreographed almost 30 ballets.
His ballet background made him "one of the five best dancers in the U.S." as of the early 1950s, Kidd said in 1980 in the Monitor. (He died in 2007).
Noted choreographer Jerome Robbins seconded that assessment, according to Boross.
Saddened and embittered by marital difficulties, he moved to London to pursue his art, he told The Times in 1984. Twice divorced, he had three children with his first wife, three with his second and another from a relationship.
Survivors include his third wife, Martine Limeul Mattox, a dancer whom he met in London in the 1970s.
On the set of "Seven Brides" he pushed for perfection, doing scenes over and over even though Kidd saw little wrong with them. Mattox was equally demanding of students, whom he taught until he was almost 90.
Possessing a master teacher's no-nonsense attitude, Mattox could sound a bit cranky: "Hey, don't forget, at the end of each leg there's a foot," he snapped at a 1984 UCLA workshop. "Point it!"


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Work and comfort aren't often thought of together. But, why aren't they? Most people spend more waking hours at work than they do at home so why shouldn't we invest a little time or money making ourselves more comfortable? Sure, I know what you are going to say. Who wants to spend money on a place you'd rather not think about when you aren't there. But, what if we did focus more on our physical well being at the office? Would we still rather not go to work? Or, if you are one of those rare people who totally love their job, would adding comfort to your work space be like icing on top of the cake?
Ok, after all that back and forth, I'll get to the point. Basically, I've come across a few ways that folks can make their work space more tolerable, and maybe even comfortable.
- First, let's focus on lighting. Fluorescent lights do not have a positive affect on you in the work environment. Everyone knows that. If there is a way to reduce the fluorescent lighting above your desk and use a desk lamp instead, it will make your office space feel a little homier. In fact, recently I just happened to catch part of a TV show about extreme work places. (Sorry, I can't remember the channel.).The office that was featured allowed an employee to put an outdoor umbrella in his cubicle to eliminate the overhead fluorescent lighting! Your boss might consider something like that, especially if you mention that it would improve your productivity ☺ (or at least let you remove the bulbs from above your desk). Generally, desk lamps are fairly inexpensive, but if you can't afford one or you just don't want to make the investment, go to Goodwill and pick one up secondhand.
- Second, office chairs really aren't great for your back even when they are designed to be ergonomically correct. Sometimes we need a little more lumbar support. There are chair pads made to enhance the areas of your chair that are lacking in support, and some are designed to give you a massage as well. You can purchase these devices for as little or as much money as you are willing to spend. Just keep an eye out for sales and positive product reviews and you'll surely find something that works for you!
- Third, a lot of people don't know what kind of temperature to expect when they get to the office. Some days, the office feels hot and some days it feels frigid. People often keep an extra sweater hanging on their chair for the colder days. But for some poor souls, this just isn't enough. WarmlyYours has an Under Desk Heater that plugs into a standard 120 volt outlet, and uses radiant heat to bring extra warmth to your feet and legs. The Heater is made of plush, soft carpet, so not only is it warm, but it's comfy. It even raises the temperature slightly in your cubicle so the sweater may not even be necessary. This product is also very affordable (though, it is more expensive than a sweater you bring from home).
-Can you imagine sitting in your dimly lit cubicle, getting a back massage while warming your feet and drinking free work coffee? Sounds a little like heaven on earth to me. Maybe coming into work tomorrow isn't such a bad idea?
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I usually let them finish before moving them. It's only polite.addams wrote:Does any other animal compulsively or other wise, consistently move fucking Rocks??!
Seriously though, moving rocks... across the ocean! Look at new granite kitchen countertops. Where does the granite come from? Perfectly good rocks all around you, and it comes from the other side of the world.
And when you are picking one out yourself, it makes a difference whether it's this slab, or that slab right behind it. Both were mined within inches of each other, seven thousand miles away, and it makes a difference which one.
Edit - pope - oh wait, we don't do that here.


text: Cute invitations in the cute category. Only the most lovely and kind pictures on different subjects. You can view and download a large number of the best selected photos and images from around the web in comfort. Especially for you we have divided all the pictures by the most popular categories, so you can easily find the photos you need and pictures.


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|2009-11-13, 03:03
|Link #21
the dad from Totoro
Join Date: Oct 2008
Also I'd like to thank everyone for your feedback!!!! You've given me so much faith in... the internet? no that's not right (its late)
But I appreciate this so much, my thesis process has been pretty disappointing and you guys have definitely reenergized this pursuit of mine. I'm so happy to see it triggered this level of discussion!!!!
|2009-11-13, 03:05
|Link #22
Quod Erat Demonstrandum
Actually, to help with the creative process, would you mind clarifying what this thesis is actually for (could you sum up very concisely what this project is supposed to accomplish in relation to your academic career?)? You said you're a design and animation graduate student, but this project seems to lean towards a more sociological/anthropological theme.
|2009-11-13, 03:12
|Link #23
the dad from Totoro
Join Date: Oct 2008
Oh god, that's the problem - I am a design and animation graduate student, yes, BUT we can't just go animate or create interface designs or installations willy-nilly, they have to have substance and purpose....
The audience must be identified and the contribution to said audience must be established and executed in a thoughtful, logical way...
so in other words, in order to do an animation, which is inspired by slice of life, which is what I want to do, I must give it a purpose.
and I've decided this purpose should be to provide western anime fans a presence in the media they love...
by doing an anime-style piece with a western protagonist who gets to live within a japanese realm, if only temporarily...
i like to think this image sums things up nicely
|2009-11-13, 03:22
|Link #26
Senior Member
The fact that American TV show romances (if you can even call them that) are, to be frank, typically very very shallow compared to anime romances... I mean, like it or not, it really does say something about the two cultures, imo. Like Ricky said, the Japanese simply don't seem to have this same emphasis on instant gratification that has come to typify modern western culture.
And that's a huge difference, in my mind. It really is.
Some would say that gender identity, for example, is entirely rooted in sociological factors; that they are cultural constructs with out any basis in actual genetics.
I don't agree with that, but a fair number of people do.
And so, when you raise questions like "is it just artificial cultural constructs, or is it something more inherent?" you get into very sticky sociological debates that there's not necessarily a definitive answer to.
I am inclined to believe that the considerable difference between how anime handles romances, and how the west currently handles romance, is rooted in more than mere cultural idiosyncrasies.
But, that's just my opinion.
|2009-11-13, 03:24
|Link #27
Quod Erat Demonstrandum
I think I have a fair idea of what's going on, but it would help if you could state it concisely.
|2009-11-13, 03:25
|Link #28
the dad from Totoro
Join Date: Oct 2008
you guys are awesome, btw.
Triple R
|2009-11-13, 03:25
|Link #29
Chicken or Beef?
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Seattle
Age: 37
As a japanese american who visited relatives often overseas as a kid, I can say that the main reason why I started watching anime and continue to for the last 20+ years is because slap stick comedy can only go so far. Besides I just like meat on the bones, many american viewers like jerry springer type of romance/drama, because people are secretly sadist.
|2009-11-13, 03:28
|Link #30
the dad from Totoro
Join Date: Oct 2008
So by creating a narrative with a western presence within a Japanese SoL realm, I hope to realize, in a visual form, the fantasy or the "something missing" for anime fans who relate to and appreciate SoL themes - school life for example - and always wish they could have this life or participate with it somehow...
|2009-11-13, 03:37
|Link #31
the dad from Totoro
Join Date: Oct 2008
Guys, I want your feedback - but its 3:30 in the morning here for me, don't know about you guys, I really want all of your input though!
This has been so helpful!! I'm still really curious about what you think, so if you've got ideas, post um!
|2009-11-13, 03:40
|Link #32
Quod Erat Demonstrandum
And of course there isn't a definitive answer to this (or this debate would have ended ages ago). Still, you'll have to elucidate a bit what these fundamental differences are (past cultural idiosyncracies). At the moment, I still find pretty it pretty compelling to believe that how the West and Japan treats the romance genre arises from a more trivial cultural source (especially given what I've learned of Japanese history).
(3:40AM here, going to bed)
|2009-11-13, 03:47
|Link #33
Frandle & Nightbag
Join Date: Oct 2009
Your central theme, when you strip away context and look at the raw idea, is expectation. However you choose to play this short out, that is the idea you should be examining every step of the way. How you do that depends on your view of what's most true and what's most important. Let's go item by item and see what angles you can approach this from.
1. The otaku has accurate expectations of Japan, but upon experience it feels a disconnect.
Here, we're basically dealing with a case of 'the grass is always greener'. Our otaku protagonist has very much wanted to go to Japan and may even have a pretty good grasp on their culture in a purely academic sense, but outside of the role of anime in his life, he hasn't lived Japanese culture at all, so when he gets there, this place he thought would be so familiar is in fact alien. This would be presented with overtones of humor and excitement, but undertones of creeping disappointment and confusion. Perhaps he grows impatient with the pace of life in that suburb. If Michiko is a fable-styled morality agent, she's here to help him see that he shouldn't be so quick to assume other cultures are superior to his own just because he sees something he likes from a distance.
2. The otaku has inaccurate expectations of Japan, getting down the obvious ideas and messing up on the finer points.
This is that whole 'similar core, different idiom' thing I was describing before. Here, our protagonist knows and eagerly anticipates the obvious elements of Japanese culture, but feels uncomfortable with the behavioral and dialectic differences that pop up all around him. He realizes that, despite his fervor for anime, he really is at a greater distance from Japanese culture than he thought before. Maybe he decides to live and learn, maybe he decides to go home. Which is the 'good' ending? You decide.
3. The otaku is getting along just fine in Japan, but in direct interaction with some people, he is made to feel uncomfortable due to expectations they have of him.
So, taking a different tack, our otaku could get along famously in Japan with Michiko's help, but perhaps runs into some instances of unusual treatment because he's obviously a foreigner. It doesn't need to necessarily be negative discrimination, but somehow he realizes that the culture he loves and connects with so well isn't quite accepting him.
4. The otaku realizes it's not the Japanese culture he craves so much as it is the fantasy fulfillment of anime
In this case, the otaku somehow hopes that Japanese culture will somehow restore color to his world. Perhaps he thinks in Japan he'd have a new start and better social relationships, but instead of obtaining a magical yandere girlfriend or whatever it is he has in mind, he finds that the main differences are cultural, not...shall we say 'heroic'. It's not that he totally has his head in the clouds, just that a sense of fantasy, regardless of what form it takes, drew him to Japan rather than a sense of Japan itself.
Those are the four main avenues that seem the most interesting to me without touching on the 'baka gaijin' approach.
|academic, animation, japanese culture, thesis
|Thread Tools


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Toddler Short Sleeve Jersey T-Shirt
Product Description
This tee is so soft and comfortable, you'll want to get every color for your fashionable toddler.
- 4.2 oz., 100% combed ringspun cotton, 30 singles
- Athletic Heather is 90/10 cotton/polyester
- Set-in coverstitched neck
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Domestic shipping is usually within 7-14 days from order depending on the product ordered, but in some cases can be as long as 21 days.
International shipping will typically take 28 days but can vary by location.
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If you dont tell us, our professional designer will work it out for you.
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Farmington Hills MI's Healthiest Dietary Supplements Company
Look Better And Feel Better With Dietary Supplements From Diverse Health!
Here at Diverse Health Solutions, we are always educating ourselves so that we can continue to offer you the best health care services in the Metro Detroit area. We differ from conventional medicine in the way that we are proactive when it comes to improving your health and reducing the risk of pain and illness. Traditional medicine only focuses on attempting to treat disease once it actually occurs.
We are an alternative health office, and we offer a rediscovery of health and wellness for anyone who is interested in natural health and alternative medicines. Our patients receive personally tailored wellness programs that are specifically targeted to their needs using the least invasive, yet highly effective techniques and services. When it comes to our patients, we help them recognize the benefit of seeking an alternative route to traditional medicine - one that will help them not only achieve their optimal health, but maintain it. We're devoted to improving the quality of life by providing the safest, most effective, highest quality dietary supplements that are sold through health care professionals.
All Natural, Organic Supplements for Consumers in the Farmington Hills MI Area
Below you will find a list of our products that are available to our patients. Our patients come to us with various issues and ailments and we are proud to offer a wide assortment of supplements that meet our patients best needs. We'll meet with you over a custom and personal SKYPE appointment where we will talk with you about your needs and educate you on the best supplements for you.
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A strong immune system is integral to our overall health and well-being. Our immune system works hard to keep us healthy and serve as a natural defense system, but we can face many challenges that impact our body's natural ability to stay well. The powerful, all natural supplements DHS provides help balance and strengthen the immune system and can be integrated into your existing vitamin regimen.
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Do you experience gas? Bloating? Constipation? Diarrhea? Fortunately, you can support your digestive health by adding probiotic supplements to your diet. Not only can these natural supplements improve digestive function and help manage inflammatory bowel conditions and food-borne illnesses, but they also help boost the immune system and can improve urinary and vaginal health.
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Vitamins and natural supplements can help treat hair loss, acne, wrinkles, and other skin conditions, which can improve the overall health and appearance of your skin. While you can't avoid the aging process, you can enhance the appearing of your skin by adding supplements to your beauty routine. These supplements can diminish fine lines and wrinkles, even out skin tone, minimize scars, and firm and tone skin.
Dr. R.E. Tent, D.C., N.D., Ph.D
Dr. R.E. Tent, D.C., N.D., Ph.D is a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic and has had a local private practice since 1981. He has "Diplomat" status in the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners and is a member of the International Pain Control Institute. He has a Ph. D. in Clinical Nutrition.
Dr. R.E. Tent, D.C., N.D., Ph.D has a highly successful local private practice in Novi, Michigan and is highly renowned all over the country for his staggering results in chiropractic and alternative treatment. He has utilized the CRA method in his practice and has become a master of the technique.
He lectures for hundreds of people interested in alternative health. His first audiotape, "Kill the Cravings" has already made it around the world! His lectures continue three times every year and his past lectures are available on YouTube and DVD.
Dr. Jeff Senechal, D.C., CFMP
Dr. Jeff Senechal, D.C., CFMP is a Chiropractic graduate of Life University in Marietta, Georgia and has been an associate with Dr. R.E. Tent, D.C., Ph.D since 2009. He utilizes CRA (Contact Reflex Analysis) for assessment and diagnosis both in Chiropractic Care and Nutrition. Dr. Senechal is also certified through the Functional Medicine University as a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner (CFMP). He is pursuing a Diplomat in Nutrition.
He is very active in his community and lectures on various health topics several times a year. You can find his recent health lectures on DVD at the office or on YouTube via the Diverse Health Services website. Dr. Jeff Senechal, D.C., CFMP is also a member of the South Lyon Business Network International Group and Michigan Association of Chiropractors. His passion is alternative healthcare and he strives to change the mindset of people by getting them to think outside the box.
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSenechal


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Barbecue Pizza Sauce Recipe
Sauces, dips, dressings, and condiments from around the world.
Read more: Sauced: Barbecue Pizza Sauce
- Yield:Makes about 4 cups
- Active time: 30 minutes
- Total time:30 minutes
- Rated:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 small)
- 2 teaspoons freshly minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in tomato sauce, brown sugar, tomato paste, honey, cider vinegar, molasses, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Using an immersion blender, or transferring to a regular blender, puree sauce until smooth. Use on pizza the same day, or transfer to a jar and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks.
This Recipe Appears InSauced: Barbecue Pizza Sauce
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.


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just amazing how much misery these little ones can cause
i have been limping around all day today trying to remember if I hurt my foot yesterday? it got so bad that I took off my shoe to see how my foot looked and was not surprised to see a bright red area but i was surprised when I found a tick in between my middle toes boy he didnt want to come off either. looks like I picked up a unwanted friend walking through my woods this past weekend.
I think I will spray down my cloths on my next walk


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Obama budget counters Republican measure; long budget fight expected
Dueling spending plans collided yesterday, with President Obama releasing a fiscal 2012 budget that Republicans mocked for increasing clean energy funding. Today, they prepare to launch their epic spending cuts in the House.
The administration described Obama's $3.7 trillion budget package as a painful exercise in defunding, including a whack at U.S. EPA that reduces its funding 13 percent, leaving the agency with $9 billion next year. The administration altogether is terminating or trimming 200 programs, for a savings of $30 billion.
Some cuts, like a program that helped replace old diesel engines in school buses and trucks with cleaner technology, sparked rare outbursts of opposition from the president's own party.
"This program is a huge success," Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said of the terminated Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, which the House and Senate renewed in December. "I am disappointed that just two months after reauthorizing this successful program, the administration eliminated funding for it."
But the cuts aren't nearly enough for Republicans, who are decrying the budget blueprint as proof that Obama is ignoring the results of the midterm elections, which propelled 87 new GOP members into office.
"He's raising spending everywhere," chided Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the Budget Committee. "This is not an austere budget."
The administration didn't meddle extensively with the titans of outlay, namely the entitlement programs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Instead, the president offered a five-year spending freeze for discretionary programs that is supposed to save $400 billion by 2022.
The exception is in clean energy, education and transportation infrastructure. While many agencies are seeing cuts, the Department of Energy would receive a 12 percent increase over 2010 levels, largely derived from oil and gas tax breaks amounting to $46 billion over 10 years.
"This reflects increases for priority areas such as clean energy, nuclear security, and research and development," the budget says.
House GOP: focus on nuclear
Among the initiatives is $5.4 billion for clean energy research, including a doubling of funding for energy efficiency programs and a 70 percent rise in renewable energy research. That includes $457 million for solar energy, $341 million for biofuels and biomass, and $102 million for geothermal research.
The budget also provides $853 million for nuclear energy programs, like research around modular reactors. That might be one of the few things that Republicans and Democrats agree on.
The House GOP's continuing resolution, which seeks to slash $100 billion from Obama's budget plan for 2011, would also benefit the nuclear energy industry by continuing federal loan guarantees for the construction of new plants. That's where the similarities end, however, because the Republican plan would end similar guarantees for renewable energy projects, according to a solar group.
"In its current form H.R. 1 [the continuing resolution] would likely kill all clean energy projects with pending DOE loan guarantee applications, causing the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and many other benefits," Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, wrote in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) yesterday.
Resch said up to 26 projects could be canceled, "not only eliminating the construction jobs associated with these projects, but also impacting the manufacturing orders to our domestic U.S. solar industry."
Some see a battle line in that plan. The question is, if Republicans see a future with expanded nuclear energy, and Obama does too, but also with more renewables, can the two sides compromise?
"It's going to be hand-to-hand combat for every dollar," said Paul Bledsoe, senior adviser to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Inviting a shutdown or 'changing the culture'?
Skirmishing will begin tomorrow, when the House begins debate on the continuing resolution. But the conflict will likely last all year, as both sides position themselves for elections in 2012.
"We are changing the culture here," Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said yesterday. "You're either for spending cuts, or you're not."
The Republicans will seek to score an early victory by slashing spending for the remaining seven months of the fiscal year, and then move to their own budget proposal for 2012, probably in April. More cuts will be coming.
Democrats, meanwhile, will detail their own continuing resolution soon, while promoting themselves as the responsible negotiators, compared to a Republican Party made more extreme by its tea party influence. They will also keep warning that the GOP is steering the nation toward a government shutdown with its excessive spending cuts.
The continuing resolution, or a short-term extension, must be passed before March 4, when current spending authority ends.
Republicans, however, have begun pushing back, saying the only lawmakers talking about a shutdown are Democrats.
"Why is it ... that you're only hearing 'shutdown' from one side?" Cantor said. "We have consistently said it's not our intention to shut down government. That is political talk, and we ought to get that off the table, and let's go about the real business of trying to cut spending."
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Two Independence Days; one big party
Tuesday, July 2, 2013 2:00 AM
Pittsburg, KS
Miguelangel Diaz is looking forward to his first U.S. Fourth of July celebration.
In previous years, Diaz, a Pittsburg State University senior from Venezuela, has been with his family, preparing to celebrate that nation's independence from Spain. Their celebration is on July 5.
"In my country, we are a big party people," Diaz said. "People like to go to the beach and be with family and friends."
They have fireworks, he said, although he'd rather watch a big display than set them off himself.
And just like Americans, Venezuelans are apt to tack an extra day onto their weekend when the holiday falls on Thursday.
"We call it a bridge," Diaz said, smiling.
Venezuelans share something else with Americans.
"We're big fans of barbecue. Every time we go to the beach we barbecue," Diaz said.
He described in great detail the perfect way to grill his favorite fat-encrusted piece of beef. In Venezuela, he said, it is not so much about the sauce as it is the flavor of the meat. He has high praise, however, for American smoked brisket, licking his lips at the prospect.
Diaz said he is eager to attend the events scheduled in Lincoln Park, Thursday. And although he knows there will be differences from the celebration back home, Diaz is discovering that the recipe for the perfect Independence Day celebration is the same both in the U.S. and Venezuela: good food, fireworks and friends and family.


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STScI Miniworkshop
March 25-27, 1996
Day 1 -- Star-formation Properties/Histories
What do we learn from detailed studies of stellar populations such as are possible for nearby dwarfs? What are their star formation histories? How does this relate to galaxy populations at higher redshift? What, if anything, do we know about the star formation histories of galaxies at high-z? Do low mass and high mass galaxies evolve differently? Can we find a population of galaxies at low redshift which might correspond to a higher redshift population, i.e. the faint blue galaxies?
- Time
- Topic
- Invited Reviewer (Session Chair)
- 9-10:30
- Star-Forming Histories of the Nearest Dwarf Galaxies
- T. Smecker-Hane (H. Ferguson)
- 11-12:30
- Star-Forming History of Local Dwarf Irregulars
- E. Skillman (E. Tolstoy)
- 14-15:30
- Star-Forming Histories Based on Deep Redshift Surveys
- S. Lilly (K. Ratnatunga)
- 16-17:30
- The Formation of Dwarf Galaxies
- D. Lin (T. Heckman)
Day 2 -- Dynamics, ISM, other physical processes
What are the physical and dynamical properties of dwarf galaxies, and how do they affect their evolution? What is the dark matter content of dwarfs, and how does the dark matter impact its evolution? What are the energetics of the ISM? How consistent are the observed processes with metal enrichment? What roles do bursts of star formation have in the evolution of dwarf galaxies? How much gas can actually be expelled in an active burst of star formation?
- 9-10:30
- The Kinematics of Dwarf Spheroidals
- E. Olszewski (E. Tolstoy)
- 11-12:30
- Star Formation in Irregular Galaxies: Current Knowledge and Unanswered Questions
- D. Hunter (G. Meurer)
- 14-15:30
- Age Distributions; Dwarfs & The Galactic Halo
- M. Mateo (H. Ferguson)
- 16-17:30
- The Role of Feedback and Dark Matter on the Evolution of Dwarf Galaxies
- A. Ferrara (G. Meurer)
Day 3 -- Low-luminosity galaxies - do they matter?
We open the discussion wide and consider the role of dwarf galaxies in "the big picture." What is the overall significance (or lack thereof) of low luminosity galaxies at all redshifts? What fraction of the mass in the universe is made up of dwarf galaxies? As a function of redshift? As a function of environment? How much gas? Starlight? Metals? What happened to the high-z faint blue galaxies?
- 9-10:30
- Are Faint Blue Galaxies Really Dwarfs?
- D. Koo (A. Szalay)
- 11-12:30
- Low Surface Brightness Spiral Galaxies
- S. McGaugh (S. Casertano)
- 14-15:30
- Blue Compact Dwarfs & their Evolutionary Status
- J. Salzer (T. Heckman)
- 16-17:30
- Panel Discussion
- TBD (K. Ratnatunga)


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It's common nowadays for big game releases to get the special edition treatment, so much so that it's actually hard to get too excited about these releases anymore. After a while, it becomes hard to justify adding yet another art book or action figure to your collection. But every once in a while a special edition comes along that makes you stand up and take notice, such as the one for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which comes packed with a pair of night vision goggles.
MW2 will come in three flavors: the standard game; a Hardened Edition, which comes packed with an art book, a steel game case, and a download code for the original Call of Duty (which will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network); and then there's the Prestige Edition. Not only will this version come with all of the goodies found in the Hardened Edition, but will also include a pair of fully-functioning night vision goggles. Yes, you read that right.
There has been no official word on what the Prestige Edition will be running gamers, but Infinity Ward Community Manager Robert Bowling did reveal on his Twitter that the Hardened Edition will cost $80, so expect to pay more than that.
It's no secret that OT has a certain interest in night vision goggles, so this news has caused a bit of excitement around here. The game will be coming out on November 10, at which point you will probably see plenty of pictures of a certain gaming editor testing out the goggles in his backyard. In the meantime, check out the unboxing video below.


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PostgreSQL Log Entries: CDTLOG: statement: SHOW client_min_messages
I was troubleshooting an issue at work the other day regarding some PostgreSQL connections that were not closing. They were left IDLE, never closed, and eventually used up all of the possible connections (which totaled 100) configured in the postgresql.conf configuration file. In the process of troubleshooting I noticed a bunch of Postgres log entries that I was unable to immediately pin down to what was causing the entries. Below I describe the view of the idle Postgres connections, the PostgreSQL log entries that were unfamiliar, and the cause of both.


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Share, manage and preserve your content
Merritt is a new cost-effective repository service from the University of California Curation Center (UC3) that lets the UC community manage, archive, and share its valuable digital content. Merritt features:
- an easy-to-use interface for deposit and update
- access via persistent URLs
- tools for long-term management
- permanent storage
For more information, see merritt.cdlib.org or contact us.
Why use Merritt?
Merritt's single, shared solution for sharing, managing, preserving, and disseminating digital materials meets a range of needs. The following are a small sample of Merritt's many uses:
- Take control of your content and provide access how and when you want
Merritt enables campus constituencies to have direct control over the management, curation, access, and preservation of the information resources underpinning their scholarly activities.
- Share research with others
UC researchers have datasets that they would like to share within and across disciplinary communities. Merritt users can share content via persistent URLs.
- Meet the data sharing and preservation requirements of a grant-funded project
Increasingly researchers are required by funding agencies to preserve and share data (such as observational data, experimental results, and code books) as a condition of a grant. Merritt can be used to manage, share, and preserve the research outputs of a grant.
- Provide long-term preservation
The UC community holds valuable and unique collections in their libraries, museums, and archives (e.g. specimens, oral history recordings, or photographs) that they would like to make available online and preserve for future use. Merritt provides a trustworthy and dependable environment for the long-term management of these valuable materials.
Please contact us with any questions or requests for consultation.


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TapCrowd API - SDKs
TapCrowd is a mobile app development service. It is intended for businesses and brands to create content-delivery apps for their audiences. TapCrowd provides preset layouts and tools for different business types, such as "Car Dealers†and "Events & Festivals.†These layouts are further customizable. The RESTful TapCrowd API exposes the content updating functionality of their service. Developers can integrate this function with other backend or frontend components of the business. The API returns JSON-formatted data.


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Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2002 News Releases > September 2002 > Wayland fall enrollment reflects nearly 4 percent increase
Wayland fall enrollment reflects nearly 4 percent increase
The Wayland Baptist University system has 5,778 students enrolled this fall, up nearly four percent from last fall's total of 5,566. Specifically, the system grew 3.81 percent in head count and 3.65 percent in credit hours.
The system includes Wayland's home campus in Plainview - which had an increase of nine students, bringing the enrollment to 1,002 - as well as 11 external campuses. Those campuses are located in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, New Mexico and in four other locations in Texas.
Much of the system's growth came from enrollment leaps at a few of the external campuses. In particular, the campus in Albuquerque, N.M. experienced a 61.9 percent jump in enrollment, bringing the fall count to 136. Wayland's Hawaii campus also experienced significant growth, with a 24.94 percent increase bringing its fall total to 521. The campus in Clovis, N.M. saw nearly a 20 percent jump in their fall numbers with 235 students enrolled.
Enrollment breakdowns by campus is as follows: Anchorage, Alaska: 452; Fairbanks, Alaska: 184; Phoenix, Ariz.: 187; Sierra Vista, Ariz.: 120; Hawaii: 521; Albuquerque, N.M.: 136; Clovis, N.M.: 235; Amarillo: 174; Lubbock: 649; San Antonio: 1,414; and Wichita Falls: 625 (includes 62 enrolled at Altus Air Force Base site in Oklahoma). Wayland's Virtual Campus had 582 enrolled for the fall.
Credit hours system wide jumped from 37,867 from 2001 to 39,249 currently.


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You can pair your FREEDOM headphones with a smartwatch if your smartwatch supports at least Bluetooth 2.1.
Refer to the user guide for your smartwatch for instructions on how to pair a Bluetooth device.
Bluetooth signal strength can vary between smartwatch manufacturers. If you have trouble connecting to your smartwatch or experience that Bluetooth connectivity isn't ideal, try the following:
Sign up to receive exclusive offers and updates


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The RPM/Belgium Group is a leading manufacturer and distributor of high-performance, seamless industrial flooring systems, concrete repair and protection products, and specialty waterproofing systems for the construction, transport and civil engineering sectors.
Headquarters: Tielt, Belgium Phone: +32 51-40-3801 Website: www.rpmbelgiumgroup.be
This website uses cookies and other tracking technologies (also known as pixels or beacons) to aid your experience (such as viewing videos), as well as "performance cookies" to analyze your use of this website and to assist with marketing efforts. If you click the "Accept All Cookies" button or continue navigating the website, you agree to having those first and third-party cookies set on your device. If you do not wish to accept cookies from this website, you can choose to not allow cookies from this website by updating your browser preferences. For more information on how we use Cookies, please read our Privacy Policy.


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Helping Kids Cope with Loss of a Pet
How can I help my kids cope with the loss of a pet?
Helping Kids Cope with Loss of a Pet
Christina Bach, Oncology Social Worker at Penn Medicine, responds:
It is important to be open and honest with your children about what has happened to their cat/dog, while be age appropriate. Young children (under 4) don't always understand the permanency of death, but need to know that their animal will not be returning. Older children do understand more about loss and death and often have many questions about the pet's illness and how the pet died; especially if the pet was euthanized. It's important to inform the children's school/teachers of the loss in the family, as it may impact your child's behavior/performance in school and the teachers and school counselors can provide an additional layer of support.
It is also important to avoid euphemisms like "we put Sparky to sleep." Children do not know how to process that and may develop problems with sleeping.
Help your children with memory making exercises like scrap booking or making a memorial at home for the pet. Kids and adults benefit from being active in their grief, in making sense of the loss and making meaning.
This question and answer was part of the OncoLink Brown Bag Chat Series. View the entire transcript from When a Beloved Pet has Cancer.


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Longview Gay bars and clubs by distance
- Rainbow Members Club (RMC) (1m) Two bars in one 4500sq ft building with a large heated patio out back. Rainbow Members Club features karaoke, dance lessons, video...more
Longview Gay Bars and Clubs from ClubFly
ClubFly provides a gay bar, club, nightlife and GLBT center mapper for Longview, Texas and the rest of the USA. Longview gay bars and clubs are mapped in your gayborhood with ratings, tags, videos, tips, transit/walking directions, and driving directions.


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The world of the US versus the Soviets is long gone, but there are still old nuclear warheads and radioactive materials stored in locations around the globe. The US State Department wants to make sure that weapons of mass destruction don't fall into the hands of terrorists. And they want to use the public to generate data to help make sure this never happens.
In March, Under Secretary Rose Gottemoeller—who heads the State Department's Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance (AVC) and is the American senior arms control negotiator—appeared for the first time at South by Southwest to give a talk. In state diplomatic fashion, she came to build a bridge between the verification and tech communities. The talk was called "Mobilizing Ingenuity to Strengthen Global Security."
"I'm looking for what the possibilities are, where things are going, what's out there," she said. She asked the audience for help developing the future of arms control, regarding apps for inspectors and ways to utilize the crowd.
To Gottemoeller, this request wasn't that much of a leap. Public surveillance and reporting has already taken hold in other areas, such as the environment, citizen science, natural disasters, and human rights issues (i.e. the local monitoring of the BP oil spill). These areas wrestle with similar problems collecting data from dispersed networks and using it for predictions or reports. She explained that it was the right time to collaborate on these challenges because there is a younger generation "bursting at the seams to try new ideas" and create. "There's been a feedback effect on us who have been working in the policy arena for decades," she said.
Having people participate in the tracking of warheads and other aspects of treaties may seem counterintuitive, especially to our "top-down" perceptions of a government policy created during the Cold War. However, public involvement in this area can be extremely powerful and save treaty experts a lot of headaches in a world that moves at the speed of the Internet.
The trouble with treaties
Weapons treaties between countries, whether dealing with chemical warfare, nuclear missiles, tanks, or radioactive material, have been traditionally difficult to negotiate. They typically take years to ratify. With advances in technology, the process has sped up considerably, leading to increased transparency. At this point, the US has made agreements with other governments (for example, Russia) under which they can fly over each other's territories to survey and report on weapons (called The Treaty on Open Skies). Non-proliferation treaties between countries are usually reviewed every few years, and issues involving the treaty are discussed. During this process, the governments involved use it as a confidence-building event and an opportunity to tackle how the landscape and technologies have changed. However, technology usually changes faster than treaties do, and agreements are always trying to catch up. So with the citizens of each country reporting on compliance, the countries can work out quicker agreements.
The treaties don't only regulate how governments handle weapons or engage with each other, they also put limits on the number of different weapons, deployed or idle. With the New START Treaty signed under President Obama, the focus has shifted to limiting the number of nuclear warheads in an attempt to get on "the road to zero" (aka a nuclear-free world). Doing so is a much larger task than tracking deployable missiles, and they are much easier to hide. Having people track wherever a warhead goes can help international monitoring regimes determine where a weapon might end up when it's not where it's supposed to be.During her presentation, Gottemoeller mentioned a few ways that public verification could be employed, such as using mobile phones for nuclear explosion detection.
Today there is a gap in the technology that governments use to verify weapons. Nuclear missiles fitted with warheads that sit on runways could easily be seen with 1950s-style satellites. Outside of that, there are radiation detectors at ports around the world that scan cargo, but many reported cases have been false alarms. Mundane cargo items (such as bananas) can also give off radiation and still be completely harmless.
...and some solutions on the table
During her presentation, Gottemoeller mentioned a few ways that public verification could be employed, such as using mobile phones for nuclear explosion detection. Accelerometers (the sensors that flip the screen's orientation when it's tilted) pick up vibrations and can be used to track earthquake tremors. Another example was illustrated by one of the audience members at the event. He helped develop the Gamma Pix App, a smartphone app that looks for gamma ray artifacts, and is currently working on sensor aggregation for Improvised Explosive Device detection in Afghanistan.
Gottemoeller's push for interest in public treaty verification began last year when she travelled to universities in the US and the former Soviet Union. During the trip, she hoped to open up discussion about open source technologies used in treaty compliance. She said that she started to pursue the idea when she learned that treaty inspectors couldn't use Google Earth during inspections. Instead, they had to use a set of official procedures—inspectors even had to learn how to cross-country ski to circumnavigate the Russian facilities to see if there were any secret entrances from where people could shuttle a warhead in and out. Other inspirations for Gottemoeller included watching the data mining of social networks during the Arab Spring and the radiation detectors near Fukushima. "The neighborhood gaze is a powerful tool," Gottemoeller remarked during her speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
There are many benefits for social verification. Many of the tasks that inspectors do during arms inspections are tedious. They also can't be in all places at all times. And today, the data available to the average citizen is astronomical compared to what it used to be. To make inspectors' jobs easier, they can have crowdsourced data at their fingertips, allowing them to focus on what they think is important. This type of verification aims to keep governments honest and build confidence internationally and among their own people, because if your own citizens can report when you are breaking a treaty, it can make governments think twice before overstepping treaty lines. The transparency works both ways. It helps citizens become more involved in government treaties and informed on the facts about the process.
The debate and methods of inspection and verification have not changed much since the Cold War, but the idea of societal verification was born much earlier than one may think. Josef Rotblat, a scientist working in Britain after WWII and one of the key figures to foster scientific collaboration between the West and the Soviets, was the first to formulate the need for societal verification. In the late 1950s in America, Seymour Melman, a professor at Columbia, wrote about this idea as well, but as America got deeper into the Cold War, these ideas disappeared from discussion.
There are different methods to treaty-gathering intelligence, but the most important terms involved are "National Technical Means" and "Public Technical Means." These are umbrella terms for the sensory systems or procedures employed by the state or by the public to verify weapons treaties. Much of the public verification data will deal with GeoInt (intelligence based on geographic location), such as images or video with the accompanying GPS coordinates. However, the public can transmit and make use of other sensory data as well, such as radiation detection. In this light, the government would like to use the public for verification in two ways. The first would be to create new points of information, whether from apps on their mobile phones or surfing the Internet on their laptops. The second is helping to find patterns in the existing data.
Public verification can also take advantage of the "Internet of Things," or the link between everyday objects or spaces and the flow of information on the Internet. Most people think of the Internet of Things as QR codes or sprinklers that are programmable through the cloud. But the term can also be applied to verification as well. Connecting objects through the Internet and making them interactive enhances the quality and speed of the data. Sensors in and around a weapons facility could be linked to the cloud, and inspectors could check for things that are out of place. Areas that aren't filled with classified data could be crowdsourced to some of the country's citizens to do routine checks.
Technologies used in verification tend to have multiple uses as well, including citizen science and disaster relief efforts. Seismic stations searching for earthquakes can test for nuclear explosions. Radio-nuclei sensors, aerial cameras, satellite images, and radiation detectors are not confined to one task and are usually run by both government and non-government personnel. This partnership increases the amount and quality of the data. Gottemoeller stressed in her speech at SXSW that both first citizen scientists in the US, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, were also diplomats.
Listing image by Ed Uthman on Flickr


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lorriewhite007 on Family Tree Circles
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John White
Looking for info on John White who migrated to Maryland in the
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Looking for info on James White born about 1822 in Green County, Kentucky
Looking for any info on the family of James White, born about 1822, Green County, Kentucky. Married to Cynthia Johnson, when she died he married her widowed sister Lucinda Johnson Skaggs! My husband is decendant from his son John H. white,married to Ellen Rogers. Family moved to Arkansas. Looking for any info prior to Kentucky migration and possible link to Lamont Clan heritage.
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Value Line is regarded as the best independent research available. More than just recommendations, Value Line provides the rationale behind its picks for greater understanding.
This week we are running a screen to identify stocks that look to be worthy of further consideration for investors seeking exposure to the energy sector. Our coverage of the sector includes nearly 100 companies across six industries: Coal, Natural Gas (Diversified), Oilfield Services / Equipment, Petroleum (Integrated), Petroleum (Producing), and Pipelines MLPs. Energy stocks are well represented in the Value Line Investment Survey, accounting for about 5% of the 1,700 issues that we follow. Looked at from a market capitalization standpoint, this sector is even more influential, with a combined value of roughly $2.7 trillion, more than 10% of the Value Line universe. The Petroleum (Integrated) group carries a lot of sway in this regard. It includes the five largest companies in the sector, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM -Free Exxon Mobil Stock Report), Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA), Chevron Corp. (CVX - Free Chevron Stock Report), BP PLC ADR (BP), and Total ADR. (TOT), which together have a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion.
In order to identify the energy stocks that are likely to have the most appeal to investors at the moment, we limited our search to those issues that are ranked 1 or 2 in our Timeliness Ranking System, which means they are pegged to outperform the broader market in the year ahead. From this list, we focused on those equities that also offered good price appreciation potential looking out to 2017-2019. In this case, we set the bar at 55%, versus the current median of 35% for the Value Line universe. A Safety rank of 3 or better was also required, which should allow us to steer clear of the riskier holdings in this sector. Finally, in order to avoid fighting negative market sentiment, we also looked for stocks that had produced a positive total return so far in 2014.
Of the eight stocks that made the cut, we are taking a closer look at Newfield Exploration Company (NFX). The company explores for natural gas and crude oil in the United States and overseas. Newfield's exposure to natural gas, which accounted for about 52% of last year's output, and the weak prices for this commodity in the U.S. have taken a toll on profits in recent years. In all, the company produced adjusted earnings of $1.85 a share in 2013, down nearly 20% from the prior year and well below the peak level of $5.12 reached in 2009.
We expect share net will stay near the current trough levels for another year or two, but initiatives now underway at the company should help to lift the bottom line above the $3 mark by the 2017-2019 time frame, which would likely support good price appreciation for NFX stock. Last year, for instance, Newfield initiated a process of repositioning its business to put further emphasis on its domestic operations, while selling off overseas holdings. Last month's sale of its Malaysian assets brought in nearly $900 million, and management is now shopping the offshore China business.
These moves should limit the need for additional borrowings in the near term. Long-term debt has increased by more than $1.5 billion already this decade, to $3.7 billion, and cash flow will likely remain insufficient to fully cover elevated capital spending levels for at least the next few years.
Meanwhile, closer to home, the company's strategy in the U.S. is focused on bringing more of its liquid assets to the surface and to market. Newfield's domestic holdings are located in the Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountain, and onshore Gulf Coast regions. Overall, U.S. production is targeted to jump 10%-20% this year, to between 44 million and 48 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). Liquids (i.e, oil and natural-gas liquids) will lead the way, with output likely climbing roughly 30%. (Natural gas volumes, on the other hand, are expected to be relatively flat.) The company has particularly high hopes for the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma. It is targeting more than 40% of its 2014 capital budget toward these operations, with the objective of roughly doubling its output there to about 14 million BOE.
Overall, we look favorably on the company's current strategy to drive increasing liquids volumes from its domestic holdings and think timely NFX shares stand a good chance of delivering above-average price appreciation for shareholders to 2017-2019. The stock, though, does possess some attributes that may prompt some investors to look elsewhere. This equity has a Safety rank of 3, implying an Average risk profile. It does, however, get a comparatively low mark for Price Stability (30 out of 100), likely reflecting the company's exposure to volatile commodity prices and rising debt levels. In addition, income-oriented investors will likely be put off by the absence of a dividend and the limited prospects, in our view, for the initiation of one in the next 3 to 5 years.
At the time of this article's writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.


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Friday morning
a file of torn pages
no rhyme or reason
from lots of magazines over the years
memories of New England
A peaceful morning
filling a basket with hydrangeas...
smell of fresh cut grass
rocking chair and ice tea waiting...
A busy mud room
excited voices ready to play....
Nantucket nautical breakfast room
coffee brewing on the stove...
looking out to sea
listening to music....
made in New England
relaxing with a good book.....
an artists corner
adding another thought or two...
the end of the day
chamomile tea and Robert Frost...
Can I just say that I am in this peaceful mode because my lovely children have been away for three days on school trips. One to France and the other to Spain. I have been galavanting around London for the past two days without a care in the world. Each morning I passed the dishes, the laundry pile, the beds and pranced out the door to catch the train, as giddy as a school girl. Managed two museum exhibits , lots of breaks in cafes and a dinner in town with Mr. H. It was a vacation in itself. I am taking the day to have a 'domestic' and am ready to tackle the mess. Well, sort of, does blogging count as work???
Can't wait to see the kids and hear about their adventures. I saw the images above and thought of the heart of a home and the simple things we do that bring so much joy.
Ok..off to work!
Best wishes for a wonderful, wonderful and fabulous weekend :)
I will do my best here, they are from all over....
Image 1-3 Remodeling Ideas Magazine June/July 2003
Image 4-8 Elle Decor, assorted issues
Blogs by Jeanne
Collage of Life~one woman's view
In One Place~thinking about a creative life
Finding My Way~ discovering England
B-Well Report~ wellness


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In early July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) simplified access to historic data by putting 77 years' worth of agricultural statistics online.
In the past, this information, published in the annual bulletin Agricultural Statistics, was available in print form only.
Rain and cool temperatures continue to benefit corn and soybeans. Isolated portions of Central Illinois still need more rain, while areas of Southeastern Illinois received too much.
The temperatures across the state averaged 68.8 degrees for the week, 6.5 degrees below normal.
There were 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork last week.
Topsoil moisture across the state was rated as 2 percent very short, 25 percent short, 69 percent adequate and 4 percent surplus.
Crops were growing at a steady pace last week and were looking good. However, more rain will be needed to continue this pattern in crop development.
The weather has been favorable for weeds and pests, so spraying was in full swing last week. Precipitation averaged 0.53 inches throughout the state, 0.27 inches below normal. Temperatures across the state averaged 74.9 degrees for the week, 1.5 degrees below normal.
There were 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork last week.
The American Farm Heritage Museum in Greenville will hold its annual Heritage Days Farm Festival the weekend of July 26-28.
Included in the festival will be vintage tractors of all makes and models, as well as demonstrations of gas and steam engines.
A horse pull will be held on Friday, and a truck pull and car show will be held on Sunday. Other activities include: tractor pulls, pedal pulls, threshing demonstrations, a sawmill and live music.
Admission is $7 for adults. Children age 10 and under are free.
The Hillsboro Olde-Tyme Tractor Show will be held this weekend at Old Hillsboro Lake Park.
Tractors from 1982 and older are eligible to participate. They can be restored or unrestored.
Also being sought for the show are farm equipment, garden tractors, stationary engines, cars, trucks, pedal tractors and farm-related tools.
There is no entry fee, and all exhibitors will receive a souvenir show button.
Among the demonstrations planned for the Saturday and Sunday show are threshing, silage chopping and bale loading.
The Illinois field office of National Agricultural Statistics Service last week released the U.S. Department of Agriculture's July Crop Production Report. State and national highlights of the report include:
Rows of soybeans following the contours of a field west of Vandalia create an artistic pattern as the plants grow.
Area crops vary widely, with some beans only inches tall, while some corn is already in the silk stage. Virtually all crops are planted now, with the exception of bean re-planting in low areas.
The Illinois Field Office of NASS this week released the U.S. Department of Agriculture's June Acreage and Grain Stocks Reports. Highlights of the report include:
Corn planted in Illinois in 2013 is estimated at 12.2 million acres, unchanged from the March Prospective Plantings Report, and down 600,000 acres from last year.
The Illinois Farm Bureau last week launched an updated brand and new tagline – "Farm. Family. Food." – in an effort to tell both IFB members and the general public more about who the organization represents and for what it stands.
"While IFB is known as an advocate for agriculture, we would like to better reflect to our members and public the full scope of what we do," said IFB President Philip Nelson.
McDowell competes in auctioneer contest
Andrew McDowell of Vandalia, competed in the World Livestock Auctioneer Contest last Friday in Montgomery, Ala.
The contest is an annual event sponsored by the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA), in conjunction with its annual meeting and is held at various markets throughout the U.S. and Canada.
McDowell is sponsored by Greenville Livestock Auction, which is Illinois' largest livestock auction market. Owned by J.R. Hugo, and Travis and Shaina Diekemper, it is a second-generation, family owned business.
Copyright © 2019
The Leader Union is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Vandalia, Il, and the surrounding area.


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Michael Eisner this week tossed in his 2¢ regarding the Writer's Guild strike that is bringing the film and TV industries to a standstill. Speaking at the Media and Money conference, the former Disney CEO delivered an "oh snap" moment when he flat-out called the strike "stupid."
The gist of Eisner's statements, as quoted by CNet, is that while writers are striking for a larger cut of the new media pie, Eisner claims the profits just aren't there yet. He also says the industry is too new and that writers might have a better case to make in about three years when advertisers "finally" warm up to the venture. As far as what profits Eisner claims can be had in digital distribution, he blamed Apple and Steve Jobs for taking the studios to "the cleaners" with the iTunes Store and for not sharing a piece of the iPod pie.
Honestly, we aren't even sure where to begin with Eisner's remarks. Maybe we could start with the rampant growth in online advertising happening right now, or perhaps the fact that the iTunes Store is still the number one video store in the market. All those eyeballs are hard to come by, otherwise.
On second thought, maybe we should first dissect how much more profitable it is for the studios to sell digital content through the iTunes Store than on traditional optical media, then top it all off with an investigation of which other hardware manufacturers pay royalties to content studios. Does Samsung give Universal and Sony $1 for every ringtone-playing mobile phone it sells? Perhaps Sony and Panasonic pay the film studios and the NFL for every HDTV sold and the privilege of displaying HD programming? Well, shoot—we're coming up kind of empty-handed here.
In fact, after these brief explorations of how other content and hardware industries work together and how much better digital distribution and the iTunes Store already are for studios, one could certainly conclude that Eisner is, well... "stupid."


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Because the display was getting quite cluttered, I thought I'd post a second part to this question separately. I hope the Gods of Math Overflow don't take too much offense. I'll go now into some details with which I wished intially to avoid prejudicing the replies.
Here are three natural areas of progression in the study of topology:
(1) point-set topology;
(3) sheaves and their cohomology;
and a very important
(2) middle ground
that I won't give a name to, involving matters like the classification of two-manifolds. I don't quite agree that the metric space intuition is sufficient even for a first course, simply because we always look ahead to the way the material will help or hinder students' future understanding.
Now, it is in (3) that a topology in the abstract sense plays a very active role, as the relation to global invariants emerges prominently. At this point, the definition needs no other motivation. However, in an introductory course on (1), I have yet to incorporate successfully interesting material from (3). When dealing with (2), curiously enough, the definition of a topology plays a very passive role. Many arguments are strongly intuitive. However, it is clear that one needs to have already absorbed (1) for the material in (2) to feel really comfortable. Of course there are exceptionallly intuitive people who can work fluently on (2) without a firm foundation in point-set topology. But for most ordinary folks (like me), the rigor of (1) is needed if only as a psychological crutch. Note here that most of the natural spaces that come up in (2) are in fact metrizable. However, getting bogged down with worrying about the metric would be a definite hindrance in working through the operations that come up constantly: stretching, bending, and perhaps most conspicuously, gluing. A quotient metric is a rather tricky notion, while a quotient topology is obvious.
With this future work in mind, how best then should one get this background in (1)? When I was an undergraduate, in fact, there was plenty of motivation in course (1). We used the first part of Munkres' book, and had exercises dug out of 'Counterexamples in Topology,' involving many strange spaces that have one property but not another. It was great fun. You may wonder then, what exactly I'm worried about. It's that I felt later that this kind of motivation had not been quite right. It wasn't entirely wrong either. Certainly we became very confident in working with the definitions, and that was good. However, and this is a big 'however,' when I moved on to (2), I had a distinct sense that the motivational material and exercises used in (1) were actually preventing me from learning the new notions efficiently. It took me quite a long time to make the transition, bugged by a persistent longing for the axioms and the exotic examples. A number of conversations I've had over the years indicate that my experience was far from unique. At any rate, this experience makes the issue for me quite different from a course on, say, linear algebra. No doubt the motivational material for diagonalization used in most courses is hardly convincing. Substantive examples come later, sometimes much later. But most of the operators and eigenvectors in standard textbooks are good toy models for a wide range of serious objects.
One obvious remedy would be to incorporate material from (2) into (1). I found this very hard, mostly because of the point already made above, that the role of (1) in (2) is quite implicit. When I first posed the question, I was hoping someone had figured out a good way of doing something like this. Incidentally, sheaves came around much later than the definition of a topology, so the historical question remains as well. How were the standard properties decided upon?
Let me make clear that I am not arguing that everyone has to go through the progression just outlined. Obviously, some people will take (1) elsewhere, in a way that the issues become quite different. Perhaps many people will never need more than metric spaces (or normed spaces, for that matter). But (1)-->(2)-->(3) is certainly common enough (perhaps especially for arithmetic geometers) to call for some reasonable methodology.
Meanwhile, I also appreciate Andrew Stacey's point (possibly even more than he does!). The long paragraphs above notwithstanding, the pedagogical question isn't something I lose sleep over. But it would be nice to have a few concrete and systematic ideas to use. They would certainly help me to understand the subject better!
Perhaps I should rephrase the question: How should we teach point set topology so as to facilitate the transition to the topology of natural spaces?
Somehow, this way of putting it seems much vaguer to me. 'How to teach X?' is such a broad question I would never be able to answer it myself in a finite amount of time. It seems to invite a diffuse discussion of everythng under the sun. That's why I had preferred to focus on one rather precise mathematical facet of that question. But I don't feel too strongly about it either way.


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Experience a piece of history while making memories that last forever. Built in 1917 the Chapel of Memories offers both ceremony and reception space for the budget minded couple. Set within Sam Hicks Monument Park, the Chapel offers the perfect location for an intimate wedding ceremony and outdoor patio reception. Perfect for the DIY bride and groom, you are free to decorate the Chapel and patio to your liking. The beautiful stained glass windows throughout offer a nostalgic backdrop and give a sense of peacefulness and tranquility.


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– Editor's note: Due to reader requests, we are reprinting this Remember When column, which was originally published in the Nov. 19, 2006, edition of The Lancaster News. The story of Jim the turkey has indeed become a Thanksgiving tradition at The Lancaster News.
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