text:
Monday, June 25, 2012
Why Do We Do This?
45 comments:
- Natalie Aguirre said...
So sorry for Cassie's experience but glad her friends supported her.
I blog to connect to other writers like you, help support each other, and to promote debut MG and YA authors and their books. I do agree with you that it does take a BIG time commitment.
- June 25, 2012 at 4:26 AM
- Cathy Olliffe-Webster said...
Here, here!!!!! I agree with you a thousand per cent!
I actually started blogging because I wanted to start writing again. I had no novel, no stories, no platform, just as desire to be heard, to share my thoughts with the world, and become a better writer. What I love most is the community of blogging, the people, as you say. Poor Cassie. I'm glad everyone took her side.
- June 25, 2012 at 4:40 AM
- Alex J. Cavanaugh said...
Well said, Nancy! It's like showing someone a prized possession and they have to say something mean or negative.
Despite the lighthearted and entertainment-driven content of my posts, I do take my blog very serious. I'm in a position now where I can help a lot of other people and that means a lot to me.
- June 25, 2012 at 4:54 AM
- Heather M. Gardner said...
You go girl! Tell them bit...sorry. Got carried away.
I wholeheartedly agree with you.
If you don't like my blog, then you are free to move about the blog-verse and find one you do like. Take your comments and go.
- June 25, 2012 at 4:56 AM
- Aimée Jodoin said...
I find it difficult to read and comment so many peoples' blogs. It's so time-consuming, and though I honestly wish I could read, comment, and support all the other writers like me that are out there, I know that I need to be spending more time writing my manuscript than building a platform. To me, the product is more important than the marketing, quality over quantity... I really do support other writers, but I don't have time for a second full time job along with my writing. Good post, Nancy. :) I blog to get the thoughts across for which I don't have another outlet.
- June 25, 2012 at 5:26 AM
- Stina Lindenblatt said...
I know a few people who've had complaints (via email) about their blogs. WTF!!! If you don't like someone's blog, then don't read it.
I love blogging because I've met so many cool people through it who've later become my CP and beta readers. Plus it's fun to support the bloggers I've become friends with and who I admire.
- June 25, 2012 at 5:42 AM
- L.G.Smith said...
I kind of missed all the drama on Cassie's blog last week, since I've been in my hidey-hole writing. Any time we publish something though, it's going to be out there for anyone to comment on, to criticize. And they will. Just look at all the idiots who leave mean, uninformed reviews on Amazon, often about books they didn't even read. It's just in some people's DNA to be a jackass.
- June 25, 2012 at 6:18 AM
- Michael Abayomi said...
I've been a part of the blogging community for less than a year. In that short time though, I have met/discovered some truly awesome people. Cassie just happens to be one of them. So I was quite displeased to learn what had happened.
The fact is people would always try and dictate what others should or should not do. They would always try and fit you and your actions with their shortsighted notions. But it is ultimately down to the individual to determine what is right or wrong. What is appropriate or inappropriate.
Some of us blog because we have a need to share information with others. Others blog to build a platform and connect with others. But the reason why most of us continuing doing it is that sense of community we derive when we get to share in other peoples' journeys.
- June 25, 2012 at 6:26 AM
- Matthew MacNish said...
I dropped by Cassie's before all those other comments, but when I went back and looked today, I was certainly surprised.
- June 25, 2012 at 7:06 AM
- Cassie Mae said...
Can I just point out how awesome everyone is? All the support shown to me in my moment of... ahem... weakness... was so amazing, I couldn't believe how many people who were stronger than I was when it came to those comments stood up and told me not to silence my voice. After a whole bunch of emails, comments, and yes... even phone calls, I deleted the most painful comments made and moved on.
My reasons for blogging may have been simple before. Build a platform, write about my books, entertain and share stories. But now, it's all about the community and making connections. I did that before, don't get me wrong, but that is now the sole reason of WHY I blog.
Thanks for posting this, Nancy. I appreciate your support! *big hugs!*
- June 25, 2012 at 7:54 AM
- Carrie Butler said...
I'm with Matt. I commented before the drama started, so I missed hearing about it. Ugh.
You would think people remarking on professionalism would understand the sensitive nature of their words. Things like that are better suited to private messages. :(
My two cents? I'm all for having a professional presence, but not at the expense of "voice" or personality.
- June 25, 2012 at 7:57 AM
- Emily R. King said...
I was pretty ticked about the personal attacks the commenter made against Cassie, too. I'm glad I'm not the only one who wondered if I was next. Those sorts of public displays are unnecessary.
- June 25, 2012 at 8:06 AM
- Tara Rendall said...
I don't understand why people feel the need to criticize anyway. Didn't their momma's teach them that if they "don't have something nice to say then don't say anything at all?" If someone wanted to give advice, it would behoove them to do so in private conversation and to reel in the condescending tone.
- June 25, 2012 at 9:07 AM
- Eva Gallant said...
I blog because it has given me a fun thing to do since I retired 3 years ago. I love the connections I've made with people all over the world; it's also given me the incentive to write more. In the past 6 months, I've published 5 books on Kindle and Nook and am working on number 6!
- June 25, 2012 at 10:05 AM
- Heather M. Gardner said...
Did you see this?
Thought you might want to steal a date.
- June 25, 2012 at 10:24 AM
I clicked over to Cassie's page and was very sad by what I read. Actually more sad for the haters than Cassie actually. B/c it's obvioius Cassie has it goin on and those trolls have nothing better to do with their day than to peruse the blogs of the internet and leave hateful comments to stir up the hornest nest. You have to wake up pretty early in the morning to fool us--they weren't trying to help anyone. I think this hilarious song sums up my message for them nicely:
- June 25, 2012 at 10:30 AM
- Annalisa Crawford said...
Oops, I missed all that (not surprising when I have almost 600 posts in Google Reader!) but I don't see why anyone should comment on the style of someone's blog in that way.
I'm glad there was lots of support for Cassie on her blog, and obviously a lot of support here too.
- June 25, 2012 at 10:37 AM
- Donna K. Weaver said...
The blogs I love to follow are the ones that are real. There are some places (read topics) I will generally avoid because they're personal (like religion and politics). But with me, what you see is what you get. Or as Popeye says, "I am what I am." I like to read other people's blog whom I think are what they appear to be online.
Cassie rocks.
- June 25, 2012 at 1:01 PM
- Joylene Nowell Butler said...
I can tell you something even more interesting. As you spoke about Cassie and her ordeal, I could feel your temper flare, the hairs on your neck stand up, your overwhelming urge to knock some sense into the perp. (One of my fav words)
I think that's what is most wonderful about blogland, the way strangers become virtual friends who will probably never meet, yet are so quick to defend the righteous. Bet those same wonderful bloggers aren't near as quick to defend themselves, in most cases.
Bet Cassie would be one of those quick to come to the rescue if she saw one of her dear bloggers insulted. It's so much easier to guard the feelings of others than to protect our own.
We had a young writer on one of my lists get a nasty review. A downright stupid review really. He copied a good para from the book, called it trash and said "I rest my case". Cowardly dickhead.
I feel the need to inflict pain when someone is that stupid, generally with words; yet I've had the same thing happen and turned the other cheek.
I shared a little of my story as a writer during a reading last winter. Some of my family attended. Nobody was more surprised than me when I was told later that it was my ego that was getting in my way.
I know. Commonsense has us believing that otherwise normal, average people can't possibly be that insensitive.
But they are. And there always will be.
Thank you for this very important discussion, Nancy. I'm proud to know you.
- June 25, 2012 at 1:19 PM
- LD Masterson said...
I got curious and checked out the post in question. Am I the only one who thinks those negative comments were all written by the same person? Same writing style. No links to respond to. Deliberate reference to different genders. Feeble attempt to come off as an agent or editor. One person. And a pretty pathetic one at that.
- June 25, 2012 at 1:46 PM
- L. Diane Wolfe said...
If our blog lacks personality, then it becomes just another website.
I've blogged for over seven years now. I've seen bloggers come and go. I even went through a long spell where I experienced Internet burnout. But those who last are the ones who enjoy what they are doing and that shows in their blog posts.
- June 25, 2012 at 2:12 PM
- Lynn Proctor said...
i totally agree with you--although i can't say i feel the freedom i would--say in just writing and then having something published---we do put ourselves out there, with this blogging thing---and to be totally honest--after the az thing i was hooked by the wonderful blogging family out there----but i also thought i could make a little money with the google sense ads---i haven't made one cent---happy blogging :)
- June 25, 2012 at 3:10 PM
- Lynda R Young said...
yikes, it's a worry. Sometimes people don't realise what they are saying... I'd prefer to think that than think they were being mean on purpose.
Why do I blog? At first it was just to build a platform, but then I discovered the amazing coommunity here and now I've met so many fantastic friends.
- June 25, 2012 at 3:14 PM
- Arlee Bird said...
The reason I blog now is a whole lot different than the reason I first started blogging. For one thing, blogging is a compulsion of sorts for me--I love doing it and in many ways I feel an obligation to keep it up.
There are tons of different blogging styles with different approaches to content. Thank goodness they're not all the same. We can pick and choose the ones that appeal to us most and fit our needs. If I'm not interested in what a blogger is saying I can move on and it's not up to me to condemn them for saying it.
I still maintain that in Cassie's case that the commenter may have had a helpful motive in mind with her comment, but it just didn't resonate well with everyone else. I'm just offering that possibility in advocacy of another way of looking at things. Maybe not the best approach, but I suppose it is possible.
In any case, like I mentioned in Cassie's comments or perhaps elsewhere, I wouldn't mind having someone offer a comment like that to me, whether they were an agent or not, just from the standpoint of opening up a discussion. Look what the comment on Cassie's blog did. I love stuff like that.
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog
- June 25, 2012 at 3:43 PM
- Liza said...
I guess I just figure that if people don't like what I write, then no one is forcing them to read it. I started my blog to build my own writing skills, before I even knew what a "platform" was. If it helps me sell books some day, that's great too...but so far, it's done what I wanted it to do in the beginning, and continues to do so.
- June 25, 2012 at 4:45 PM
- otin said...
I blog because I'm an opinionated guy who likes to get my point across every now and then. Also I use my blog as a platform for writing short stories. I have removed most of them for fear of theft, but over the past few years I have posted over a hundred.
- June 25, 2012 at 4:56 PM
- Mark Koopmans said...
(Steps off wonky stool.)
This here is Nancy - and I'm proud she's my Bluddy (blog buddy :)
Dude, I was just stopping by to say hey now, you got the smarts to pub a book, well then you can do a little ol' "What If?" Blogfest.
However, after this post... you win my second ever #BlogHero award (I invented it tonight for Twitter, so no button :)
Thanks for what you do, Nance, and for who *you* are :)
- June 26, 2012 at 12:55 AM
- Lisa Regan said...
Well you know I blog to connect with other writers. For CPs and beta readers but mostly, I love the support and commiseration. It keeps me going during the rough times. I actually did see all that went on over on Cassie's blog. I agree with everyone else, as per my comments over there, that she should stay true to who she is--that is obviously working or she wouldn't have so many followers. I also want to say that I think it's okay to give other writers constructive criticism but I think it should be done privately, by email or something, not publicly in a blog post. I think Cassie handled it with a tremendous amount of grace though!
- June 26, 2012 at 6:38 AM
- Ciara said...
It is tough when those comments are made. Sometimes I don't think people understand blog etiquette.
- June 26, 2012 at 7:11 AM
- D.S.Taylor said...
What a great post. I just started blogging fairly recently, basically cause I was told i had to. Ever since its seemed to be a great drag on my time and i was alwasy wondering ... hmm what will so and so think of this ... but you're so right - it's my blog and I'll say what I wanna say, do what I wanna do and be who I wanna be!
- June 26, 2012 at 8:28 AM
- cleemckenzie said...
DL Hammons raised this question on a post today and I wrote a comment similar to the one I'm leaving here.
I started blogged as so many of us do to tell about our books. But that didn't keep me blogging: meeting authors, discussing writing, sharing experiences did. Now it's part of my life and I write more today than I did before I became a blogger.
- June 26, 2012 at 9:07 AM
- The Golden Eagle said...
I think it's the blogger's decision how they blog--and while feedback is helpful, comments like the one on Cassie's post are just rude.
- June 26, 2012 at 2:27 PM
- Empty Nest Insider said...
Sorry that Cassie had to go through that, but I agree that it shows that her supporters are stronger than ever! She's so lucky to have people like you looking out for her! I do love the wonderful support of the blogging community! Julie
- June 27, 2012 at 12:16 AM
- Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...
This is such a great post. You described blogging so well, Nancy.
I began my first blog 4.5 years ago after my sister suggested it. At the time, I was only reading hers which is Chubby Mommy Running Club, along with Pioneer Woman and Derfwad Manor. I wanted to learn how to build a website, and thought that it might be a way to share my pictures with my family and friends. I had no idea what I was doing, and had no agenda.
After more than a year, I learned about memes and linky parties and joined in making quite a few friends, or so I thought. All at once, I got DUMPED in mass by about 20 of those bloggers. They were the "show and tell, see my vintage stuff" ladies. I was crushed; it hurt my feelings so much. After some time, I finally figured out who their ringleader was, and just got rid of almost all of their links ... good riddance. Then I decided that I wanted to be known for my work anyway (photos and stories), not what I had around my house.
Over time, I have been attracted to the writing blogs, because I want to become a better writer and you guys have a great group of folks. I have found you guys through A-Z. I also love my friends who enjoy history and old pictures, and find community and now real friendship with many of them.
Why do I blog? I can't stop! It is what I do, it is my passion. I try to stay positive and make things look nice on it. My blog is eclectic and all over the board, a day-in-the-life type of thing. and it doesn't always appeal to everybody. But as many of you are saying about yourselves and your own blogs, it is real and those that don't like it don't need to read it. I have comment moderation on mine, and don't publish comments prior to reading them. Nobody has been very mean to me yet in the form of comments, but that way I can just erase what I don't want it posted.
Thanks for writing about blogging and Cassie, Nancy. Jenny The Bloggess has a similar post today also, though I don't know if that is a coincidence or not.
Take care,
Kathy M.
- June 27, 2012 at 10:08 AM
- M Pax said...
There are crumudgeons out there. so we discover as we really put ourselves out there and publish. I love how supportive we all are and how generous. I have learned more through being part of this community than from any where else. I'll have to go leave Cassie some hugs.
- June 27, 2012 at 12:45 PM
- www.roughwighting.net said...
I loved finding your blog via Twitter. I began blogging for the reasons you describe in your first paragraph, stumbling and mumbling in the beginning because I DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS. 50 some blog posts later, I'm wondering what took me so long. Yes, it takes away from writing on my short stories and novels, but it also improves my writing, urges me to write more, and teaches me the importance of writing honestly and openly. And you know what? That's hard, but the best kind of writing there is. I applaud your words about Cassie's blog (which I've never read, but I will now) and about our goal in blogging - to be ourselves and to be proud of writing without restraint. Thanks for saying it all (writing it all) so well.
- June 27, 2012 at 2:13 PM
- Jericha Senyak said...
I'm a total newbie to the blog community - as in I HAD a blog for quite a while, but somehow missed the part about, you know, READING OTHER PEOPLE'S BLOGS. It was reading The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published that made me realize social media was awesome and not terrifying, and I earnestly took their advice about finding other bloggers who are writing, doing, and sharing things you find interesting and meaningful. The idea of using blogging to share and appreciate the work of other was completely new to me. The A-Z Challenge was a magical experience. That's what got me to submit a query to QQQE, and QQQE led me to come thank you for your lovely feedback...and discover your lovely blog :) So, in a word, the reason I blog: COMMUNITY.
- June 28, 2012 at 1:52 PM
- The Desert Rocks said...
Nancy, it's a wonderful post like always and the reason I blog is because I was told at a writing conference that it was necessary. I also have subscriptions to writing magazines that have been telling me to blog for years. I started two years ago and I enjoy meeting other writers, after all I live in the desert.
- June 28, 2012 at 3:20 PM
- Julie Musil said...
You're so right about our blogs being a reflection of who we are. And I absolutely love connecting with all the other awesome bloggers (like you!). At first I started the blog because I thought I had to, but now I truly enjoy it. For me, it's all about connecting and sharing. Pretty cool stuff.
- June 28, 2012 at 4:39 PM
- Melodie Wright said...
I agree with Julie - it's all about connecting and sharing. However, a year after starting my own, I admit to blog fatigue. Am hoping it's just the summer-effect!
- June 29, 2012 at 12:19 PM
- Chris Fries said...
Been very busy lately and haven't kept up well with my blog-browsing, so just reading this now.
Awesome post Nancy, and I wholeheartedly agree with you! As a new writer, I see my blog as both a necessary 'platform' AND a fun output to share the real me. It's also a fabulous way to connect with fellow writers -- something I never expected when I first started blogging -- that in itself is more than enough reason to do it. DL Hammons did a guest post on my blog this week and we touched on this very issue.
AND -- as a reader, I LIKE reading the blogs of authors and getting to know them as real people. I don't think there has to be some ridiculous wall of separation between authors, their works, and their readers. For one thing, I'm an adult -- I can separate the person from their work and judge each on their own merit. I've enjoyed books by authors who I might not have liked too much in person, and I've sadly not cared for books by authors who I really admire as people.
But to counsel a writer to put on this aura of un-approachability and snobbery as a way to be "professional?"
Balderdash and hogwash, I say!
- June 29, 2012 at 12:49 PM
- jp said...
I don't know of the article in question but there will always people trying to put down those they are jealous of.
As for blogging, I began in order to find some answers. It soon turned into a form of therapy, became fun, then a burden and resulted in a book.
All in all as with the rest of my life, the journey was strange and the destination unexpected.
- June 30, 2012 at 4:17 AM
- Al Penwasser said...
Whoa...whoa...whoa. I have be an adult? Oh, crap.
I'd like to say that my blog portrays me as someone who I'm not. But, that's not the case. I'm a type of person who really does think "pulling my finger" is funny. And wonders why there's such a thing as "Charmin Basic" toilet paper (meaning: I kinda thought toilet paper was pretty basic in the first place).
I blog because I enjoy laughing and hope that whatever it is I have for a sense of humor is shared by others. Goodness knows, as a Facebook friend, I think you've seen that I carry this mania into other arenas.
The only problem with blogging is that it takes me away from writing other things (like I'm I'm doing now).
Bottom line, I wouldn't change a thing.
Except maybe find a toilet which flushes next time.
But, then I'll probably have to get "Charmin' Advanced."
- June 30, 2012 at 5:33 PM
- Al Penwasser said...
Thanks for this. I visited Cassie's blog and saw the comments in question. What trolls. Bottom line, she should never change. I think her "joie de vivre" (it's French and I probably misspelled it, but I didn't feel like looking it up. Why? I told you-it's French) is infectious.
I'm now following her.
Poor girl.
- June 30, 2012 at 6:11 PM
- nutschell said...
oh my. so sorry to hear that about Cassie. So glad she had some awesome friends to rally around her. My thing is, if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all. Really don't get why some people leave comments that bring the blogger down. Generally, though, I think our blogging community provides a wonderful network of support.
- July 2, 2012 at 10:47 AM


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Christopher Dorner, the fugitive accused of killing four people on a rampage across California, is believed dead in a cabin in Big Bear Lake, California. The former officer of the LAPD was angry about his dismissal from the force following a situation in which he accused a fellow officer of police brutality.
After a shootout with police, a charred body was found inside a cabin in which Dorner had been holed up. They have reason to believe the body is that of Dorner. This ends a more than week long hunt for the fugitive believed to have shot Monica Quan, 28, the daughter of the lawyer who defended him against accusations of lying and her 27-year-old fiance, Keith Lawrence. He then killed two more officers of the law during his run.
Quan and Lawrence were shot in the parking garage of their condo after Dorner sent out a "manifesto" in which he said: "I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I'm terminating yours" presumably directed at Quan.
He also had a lot to say about the LAPD in general. He said they have not changed since the days of Rodney King and that the people involved in such corruption and racism have only been promoted.
The fact is, in his sick and twisted, chilling manifesto, he made some good points. He gave examples of rampant racism and listed them out. Wisely, some even say.
Unfortunately, this sick rampage has undone any good he might have done. It does not matter if he thinks the LAPD is racist when he is allegedly SHOOTING and killing people over it. Any good point a person ever has is undone when they resort to violence. Period. End of story.
It's a shame. From what I have read, it seems possible that Dorner WAS unfairly dismissed. But there has to have been a better way for him to deal with it. There had to be other channels through which he could pursue justice.
This is just such a waste. Five people (including the person believed to be Dorner) are dead now. His point is lost in a hail of gun fire and aggression. Violence is never the answer. Now it just seems that the LAPD was justified in dismissing a man who was clearly unstable and dangerous and who never should have been armed as an officer of the law.
What did this fix? Nothing. His name is not cleared. No one cares if he lied or not since he is accused of killing four people. What a waste. What a sick, sick, tragic waste.
If only there had been a way to prevent it.
Do you think violence is ever justifiable?
Image via Irvine Police Department


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6 Tips for Reimagining Your New Year
Be sure never to miss a moment of happiness
Photo © Art Streiber
Before I look forward to the new year, I give thanks for the previous 12 months — for health, for accomplishing things I didn't believe I could do. Then I move ahead.
The new year is fantastic for making resolutions, and I like to think positive, that it's going to be a great year. Just to help it along, below are some of the steps I take to make sure I've done all I can to make every year the best.
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Whatever goal you have, even if you're working on a big dream, take it one step at a time. Building a business, for instance, isn't about having a nice office at first; for many years my garage was my office. Keep moving forward little by little so that you're successful. It's better to grow slowly than to close.
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See also: Smart tips for staying healthy in 2014
3. Be flexible — except when you can't
Working toward a goal means having to accept changes along the way. That's how we get along with friends and coworkers and how we get around unexpected problems. But when it comes to commitments I've made to my family, flexible is off the table. My daughter's birthday comes once a year; Gloria and I are there to make it special.
4. Keep it to yourself
You can either do it or talk about it. Be sure that you work hard to accomplish whatever you've committed to. Be determined to finish — and when you've reached your goal, then you can talk all you want about what it took to get there.
5. Never miss a moment of happiness
If friends ask you out to dinner, go or stay home? I say go, every time. Forget that it's raining, forget that you're tired. Don't ignore an instant of happiness; that moment will never come back again.
6. Don't stop trying
One resolution is always on my list: I want to lose a few pounds. And yet for 40 years I've weighed the same. That's probably because about this, I'm flexible; the sad truth is if I'm going to have dessert it's play and pay!
Emilio Estefan is a music mogul, a restaurateur, a father, a husband and a philanthropist. As Life Reimagined ambassador for AARP, Emilio will share his expertise on a variety of subjects, including his passion for living, mentoring, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and much more.
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Table of Contents
Builder Individual Pages
The table below lists individual pages created by members of the RBC community to show off their individual system builds, notes, brainstorms, etc.
|Andrew Bingham
|Example User Page
|Martin Lukasek's projets page
|Alan Jones
|Alan's bulders page
|Mark Andrews
|Mark Andrews' Projects Page
|Walter Anderson
|Walter Anderson's Projects Page
|Andrii Kutepov
|Andrii Kutepov's builders Page
|David Fry
|David Frys's builders Page
|Sarah Kelley
|Sarah Kelley's builders Page
|Jonas Edin
|Jonas Edin's builders Page
|D. B. D'Annunzio
|Dennis B. D'Annunzio's Projects Page
|Gary Kaufman
|Gary Kaufman's Project Page
|Herman Carlson
|Herman (Greg) Carlson Projects Page
|José Luis Collado's Projects page
|David Mehaffy Build notes, etc
|Dave London Builder Page
|Brian O'Sullivan
|Brian O'Sullivan's project page
|Rienk Koolstra Projects
|Richard Edwards Build page
|Nik Brisevac's builder page
|Bill Shen's projects
|Zach Metzinger's projects
How you add your own builder namespace/start page
The default "landing"/"start" page for a namespace is called 'start'.
Add a new row to the table and then create a new "internal link" (using the WYSIWYG editor) to :builderpages:<your desired name here>:start. Save your edits to this page, then follow the new link you created. On the "this page does not exist" page, click the "create this page" button on the right hand side.
Mini-Tutorial on Adding Yourself to the Builders Table
It's not difficult to add yourself to the list above, but if you're new to DokuWiki or the GUI editor the process may be a bit intimidating at first. Here are some more detailed instructions. It's easy!
Step 1. Adding Your Name To The Builder Pages Table
- Click the Edit button that's on the right hand side of the page, just below the table
- Right Click the last row in the table
- Choose "Row > Insert Row After"
- Fill in the Name/Username and Notes/Description columns of your new row
- Select the text of your name
- Click the link icon in the toolbar (it looks like a little chain link)
- Choose link type: Internal Link
- Fill in Internal Link: :builderpages:YOUR_NAME_HERE:start
- Click Save Button (below the editor pane)
Step 2. Adding Your Own Builder Namespace/Start Page
- Click on the link you just added to the table. (The page doesn't exist but the wiki will let you create it.)
- Click Create This Page
- Put some text on your page.
- Click Save


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NILES, Ill., February 8, 2012 — With a platinum-selling album, three trophies from the Country Music Awards, and a GRAMMY® nomination for Best New Artist, The Band Perry has risen quickly to the top of the charts. In kind, their trusted engineers Earl Neal (FOH) and Justin Beckstead (monitors) insist on the highest quality gear for the band while on the road. For this, they turned to Shure, as Neal is intimately familiar with the quality of Shure products.
"I've been on the beta team for several Shure products," tells Neal. "I love to be on the cutting edge of the technology we have for our business. That's one of the reasons why I like using Shure products, because they're on the cutting edge."
The Band Perry's calling card is the sweet vocal harmony between brothers Reid and Neil and their big sister Kimberly. For most performances, an SM86 is Kimberly's vocal microphone while Reid and Neil use Beta 58A®s, but the band has also recently opted for Shure Super 55s on some songs. In addition, the band will occasionally use KSM9s for vocals.
"We initially chose the Super 55s because of their look, but I really like what the mics sound like," says Neal. "The capsule sounds good, especially for acoustic-driven music." But depending on the venue or the stage configuration, Neal can swap Shure microphones, changing frequency responses without sacrificing quality. "For some recent opening slots, we had limited stage space – the vocals were sitting ten feet from the drums. So we brought out the KSM9s on supercardioid just to tighten things up a bit."
Neal is no stranger to mic swapping, though some decisions have been stranger than others. "Probably the oddest thing I've ever done was use a wireless vocal mic as a hi-hat mic," he says. "I was mixing with Aerosmith, and Steven [Tyler] used to shove his vocal mic near the hi-hat and say, 'That's what I want the hi-hat to sound like!'" Neal tried all manner of mics, EQs, and compression before deciding to give the Hall of Fame frontman exactly what he asked for. "Finally, I put the wireless vocal mic back there, mimicked his channel, and he was happy."
Justin Beckstead has been a fan of Shure's in-ear products for years. He recalls, "When the Shure [PSM] 600 came out, that was a great leap forward [from the existing technology]."
Now, with The Band Perry, Justin is using PSM®1000 and couldn't be happier. But it isn't just the clarity that Beckstead appreciates. He's been very pleased with features like CueMode, which allows monitoring of up to 20 different channels on one bodypack.
"I use the CueMode if we go out on fly dates, and we have a limited number of packs and units. It's very helpful, because you not only monitor the mix; you monitor the frequency that it's on. So if they're taking hits, you're hearing it." Beckstead is quick to add, "Although, that almost never happens with the PSM®1000."
With the ability to monitor so many channels from his own bodypack, Justin has incredible flexibility. He's free to roam the venue as necessary. "I'll walk all the way to front of house, or out into the stands." With the widest tuning range in the industry and crystal-clear transmission, Justin remarks that as he moves about the venue, "I take minimal RF hits. I'm really impressed with the RF performance of the PSM®1000s. It's awesome."


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In a rushed and superbly lame way I have finished this battle in a way that does not do it justice and will most assuredly leave a bad taste of bitter resentment in the players mouths. Yaaaaaay! *sigh*
Immortal spy satellite that watch the planets surface for trouble are attracted to the battle and soon Immortal forces are dispatched to quell the disorder. Pathfinders swoop in behind the NecroTek
They quickly deploy for attack.
A second Immortal force of dismounted (er, I need to make their vehicles) Mechanized Infantry rush forward to support their beleaguered colleagues.
They have a fairly heavy amount of firepower, as you would expect for units pitched against armoured vehicles and tanks.
Even the Strikers, the recon unit of the regular army ground pounders make an appearance.
Like Vulchers stratospheric strike fighters roar by overhead.
Maybe this is why the response is so overwhelming. Warhead takes to the field.
Accompanied by his own personal guard of Terrorkhan.
With no choice but to run the NecroTek speed off and are gunned down in a running battle of epic proportions never before, or on this occasion either, photographed. As the fury of almost battle and the stunned silence of disgruntled irritation settles into the psyche of the forum one overlooked event is reaching it's inevitable conclusion...
The ending is more than a semi naked Maniac can stand... Boomer lives up to his name in a dismal display of his unusual Immortal power.


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Federal charges have been filed against three men involved in last year's robbery of a Bank of America branch in East Los Angeles during which a bank manager, a girl friend of one of the defendants, was outfitted with a fake explosive device. Officials said one additional suspect may still be at large.
A federal grand jury indictment that was unsealed today that charged Reyes "Ray" Vega, Richard Menchaca and Bryan Perez with conspiracy to commit bank robbery, bank robbery and aiding and abetting each other by force, violence and intimidation.
Ray Vega, 34, was taken into custody by FBI Agents in Atlanta, Georgia and was held in federal custody over the weekend, according to the FBI. Richard Menchaca, 36, was arrested in Fontana, California, by members of the FBI's Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT). Bryan Perez, 27, was arrested following a vehicle stop in Los Angeles by detectives with the Huntington Park Police Department.
A release issued by the FBI recaps last year's crime and provides more details about the September 2012 crime:
The indictment alleges that Ray Vega planned and made arrangements to rob the Bank of America located at 941 South Atlantic Avenue in Los Angeles, where one of his girlfriends worked as an assistant branch manager. The girlfriend is identified in the indictment only by the initials of "A.B." The indictment alleges that defendants Perez and Menchaca traveled to examine the bank and surrounding area prior to the actual robbery, and that defendant Vega secured vehicles registered to a family member for use during the robbery.
The indictment further alleges that, on the morning of the robbery and during it, Vega arranged for A.B. to wear a device resembling an explosive on her person so that she would appear to be a hostage. The device was rendered safe by explosives experts who responded to the bank robbery and later determined that the device was a hoax. According to the indictment, the purported device was used so it would appear that explosives would be detonated unless an employee of the bank assisted A.B. by accessing the bank's vault. The indictment alleges that defendant Menchaca picked up the cash placed outside of the bank by A.B.
The defendants later met at a hotel to split the proceeds of the bank robbery, according to the indictment. The stolen money has not been recovered.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison. Law enforcement investigators believe there is a strong possibility that additional individual/s have knowledge of the bank robbery and/or the whereabouts of the stolen cash," according to the FBI.
ABC7 reports that officials declined to say whether the assistant branch manager, who had allegedly been kidnapped during the crime, would be charged, saying only that no kidnapping charges were included in the indictment.


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Nathan Heerdt necesitaba un nuevo diseño de banner publicitario y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 53 diseños de 16 diseñadores freelance.
Go Big Media, LLC
Go Big Media, LLC is the largest online website for connecting entrepreneurs and small business owners with early-stage funding. We help business owners acquire the capital necessary to take their business to the next level. Our website is http://www.gobignetwork.com.
Entrepreneurs and small business owners. We are developing this post card campaign to send out to lists of newly registered businesses. We have a number of US states that provide us with monthly lists of new business registrations. Our post cards will target these new business owners.
We need a 8.62 inch x 5.59 inch post card design that we will upload to Vistaprint.com to do a post card campaign. We'd like the post card design to highlight the theme - New Year's Resolutions. We'd like to encourage entrepreneurs and new business owners to get a jump start on their new business in 2010 by finding the necessary early-stage funding through http://www.gobignetwork.com. To help them get the year started right, we're offering a 25% discount off our funding request posting fee.
This will be the second post card we are sending out - the first one is attached to this project. We are not looking to necessarily carry over the design of the first card - but the format of the card (specifically the back of the card) must be followed. That means white space on the first design should be maintained on the new second design.


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Miss Scorned: "I don't think you've had any?"
Mr. Ictal: "Yeah, about 2 weeks ago. Remember? I was sleeping, and pissed the bed."
Miss Scorned: "I don't remember... YOU BASTARD! YOU'VE BEEN SLEEPING AT DIANA'S AGAIN!!!"
Mr. Ictal: "No! I mean, I must have been on a, uh, business trip or something..."
Miss Scorned: "YOU'RE A FUCKING GARDENER! YOU DON'T GO ON BUSINESS TRIPS!"
Mr. Ictal: "You're right, I..."
Miss Scorned: "I AM SO OUT OF HERE!" (grabs purse, leaves)
Long pause
Mr. Ictal: "So, anyway, I had one seizure, about 2 weeks ago. Hey, can you download a bus schedule? I'm going to need a ride home."


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It took some time for Steve Ballmer's purchase of the Clippers to be fully consummated. Once it was, Ballmer made this proclamation.
"I am humbled and honored to be the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers," he said last week. "Clippers fans are so amazing. They have remained fiercely loyal to our franchise through some extraordinary times. I will be hard core in giving the team, our great coach, staff and players the support they need to do their best work on the court.
"And we will do whatever necessary to provide our fans and their families with the best game-night experience in the NBA. I look forward to meeting our fans at our Staples Center fan festival on Monday."
Indeed, fans of the team had to suffer through the debacle created by the racist comments of former owner Donald Sterling. Now they will get their first look at the Ballmer experience Monday at the fan festival from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at Staples Center.
Expected to be on hand are Ballmer, coach and team president Doc Rivers and players Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan.
Besides interaction with them, the first 2,500 fans will receive a commemorative T-shirt. Admission is free.
Until an appeals court in Los Angeles last week denied Sterling's bid to block the $2 billion sale of the team to Ballmer brokered by his estranged wife Shelly, there were reports that Rivers would have a difficult time coming back to coach and operate the team should Donald Sterling remain owner once the upcoming season arrived.
Thus, Rivers' reaction last week when the deal was done.
"This is an amazing new day in Clippers history," Rivers said Tuesday in a statement. "I couldn't be more excited to work together with Steve as we continue to build a first-class, championship organization.
"I am already inspired by Steve's passion for the game, his love of competition and desire to win the right way and I know our players and fans are going to be inspired as well."
Donald Sterling had been given a lifetime ban by NBA commissioner Adam Silver after tapes of Sterling's racist comments made to his girlfriend V. Stiviano were made public.


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From the Miami Herald:
Vice President Joe Biden, heading up White House talks on gun control, held a conference call with the nation's governors yesterday, including some who have been sharply critical of the president. Gov. Rick Scott, who was traveling the state Wednesday, did not participate.
"During the calls, the vice president listened to the unique perspectives of all the participants and solicited their ideas and input on how to curb gun violence in this country," the White House said. "The vice president reiterated the administration's commitment to this urgent issue, and stressed that the problem requires immediate action."
Scott's office today confirmed he was invited but pointed to his busy schedule, which took him to Jacksonville for a Vistakon-Johnson and Johnson Vision Care news conference then a Parametric Solutions jobs announcement in Jupiter.
Though all governors were invited, Scott was not the only no-show. A list of participants below.
Scott has generally dodged questions on the gun debate following the Connecticut school shootings. Tweeted AP reporter Gary Fineout yesterday: "During Jax TV spot @FLGovScott ducks questions on whether to ban assault weapons. Says there will be 'conversation' about guns in 13 session."
· Governor Jan Brewer (R-Arizona)
· Governor Phil Bryant (R-Mississippi)
· Governor Lincoln Chafee (I-Rhode Island)
· Governor Mark Dayton (D-Minnesota)
· Governor Gary Herbert (R-Utah)
· Governor John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado)
· Governor John Kasich (R-Ohio)
· Governor Dannel Malloy (D-Connecticut)
· Governor Jack Markell (D-Delaware)
· Governor Jay Nixon (D-Missouri)
· Governor Martin O'Malley (D-Maryland)
· Governor Sean Parnell (R-Alaska)
· Governor Peter Shumlin (D-Vermont)
· Governor Rick Snyder (R-Michigan)
· Governor Scott Walker (R-Wisconsin)


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> select price
Casa Blanca Lilies
Product DescriptionThis pure white bouquet of Casa Blanca lilies makes an elegant statement as a perfect floral tribute, centerpiece or decorative arrangement. These lovely lilies also leave a soft fragrance in the air. Show loved ones that you care with fresh flowers from THE FLOWER HOUSE.
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Our professional staff of floral designers are always eager to discuss any special design or product requests. Call us at the number above and we will be glad to assist you with a special request or a timed delivery.


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Interested in what Walter has to say, considering his sudden huge backlog of games.
Oh, it's not sudden. I've been living with my "condition" for years. Speaking of which, I recently hit 500 games in my Steam catalog.
Also, apologies to Aazealh if you were at BSOM, I don't remember you but I was in high school then so my memory is very fuzzy.
Do you guys think that Azan will take his helmet off again before the end of the series?
I'd like to hear your take on a new Berserk game. What would you like to see? Open world, linear? Would you like a game that is non canon or follow volumes up to a certain point. How about coop etc.
So I'm not sure if this has already been touched on in the podcast yet, but someone brought up the legend of "Crocodile Aaz" in the chat today. Aaz, can you humor us with the story behind the photo? Was the croc drugged, or did you wrestle it into submission, first?
I'd also like to add a question (even though Grail technically covered it): Which state did that take place in? The safe bet would be Florida or Louisiana. But I'm going to guess Virginia. For some reason I'm getting a Virginia vibe.
I could be wrong, but I think it was somewhere in Europe.
Aaz is the one in the hat.
Are you guys still doing questions... I enjoy the casts when I'm driving to work. Have you done one on Serpico yet?


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Some thoughts on the Innovation and Nonprofits Plenary panel ... including a renewed sense to curate and write about failure
|Scooped by Beth Kanter
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Beth Kanter's comment, December 13, 2013 8:49 AM
I was thinking about you yesterday - I'm taking a workshop with Lisa Heft on facilitating emergent experiences.
june holley's comment, December 13, 2013 8:52 AM
I'm doing a research project on network leadership - have 30 minutes to talk - need your help!!! I'll email
Beth Kanter's comment, December 13, 2013 9:03 AM
into next week, would love to catch up and hear what you're doing.
Beth Kanter's curator insight, April 2, 2013 11:32 AM
Summarizes the research on growth vs fixed mindsets from Carol Dweck and others.
"The real secret of success resides in people's mind-set. He shows how a "fixed" mind-set that ascribes success to innate qualities is less resilient and adaptable than a "growth" mind-set that connects achievement to continuous learning and persistence."
Rosemary Tyrrell, Ed.D.'s curator insight, February 18, 2014 12:56 PM
Carol Dwek's Mindset is based on a lot of research she has done over the years. It has applications throughout higher education.
Parent Cortical Mass's curator insight, February 19, 2014 8:19 AM
nice set of links about Carol Dweck's Mindset Theory. Every parent needs to know what Carol Dweck discovered in her research.
Jaimee's curator insight, March 5, 2014 10:09 AM
So one who wants to make a change must have a positive outlook on new situations or task that they are not used to?
This article is about how one can gain or become a part of the group that is a growth mind set. You gain success or become a better person by following these changes.
Dean J. Fusto's curator insight, August 4, 2015 8:28 PM
Doubts kill more dreams that failure ever will.
Dean J. Fusto's curator insight, August 4, 2015 8:28 PM
"Failure is a weird word. I don't see it as failure. I see it as a natural evolution of a solution to a problem."
Lynnette Van Dyke's curator insight, January 1, 2014 11:18 AM
Creativity always comes as a surprise to us; therefore we can never count on it and we dare not believe in it until it has happened. In other words, we would not consciously engage upon tasks whose success clearly requires that creativity be forthcoming. Hence, the only way in which we can bring our creative resources fully into play is by misjudging the nature of the task, by presenting it to ourselves as more routine, simple, undemanding of genuine creativity than it will turn out to be.


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When it comes to hard work, Chevrolet Silverado 1500® gets the job done. This pickup is designed to perform all your daily tasks, regardless of how long the journey is. Whether it be field work with friends, a wild adventure by land, building bridges or maybe going on a hunting trip, Chevrolet Silverado 1500® has the power to bring anything anywhere.
ECOTEC III engine with 6-speed automatic trasmission
The great combination of the 3.73 ratio rear axle with front disc brakes and rear drum brakes that support up to 6.400 lb., give you the full power you need to carry even the heaviest of loads. The Vortec 4.3L V6 engine offers 195 HP and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. All this strength offers you a load capacity of 887 kg (1,995 lb.) and a tow capacity of 3.265 kg (7,200 lb.)
The hydro-formed framed front section required less welding, providing greater strength and durability. The rear frame meets the spare tire's crossbow, where the profile becomes a 'C'.This design increases the load capacity without adding unnecessary weight.
The Vortec 4.3 L V6 offers an impressive combination of 195 HP and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. Allowing you to have a load capacity of 887 kg (1,995 lb.) and trawl 3.265 kg (7,200 lb.)
No matter what you transport, Chevrolet Silverado 1500® has the strength and presence to take it all the way.
It has a black plastic grill with the Chevrolet emblem in the center. The halogen headlights brighten your path, no matter the road's conditions.
At the rear, the rear bumper also has chromed finish and an integrated step for easy access.
Chevrolet Silverado 1500® is available in six colors, which will set you apart from the rest.
Inside, its cloth seats are Dark Titanium color. This gives the interior a clean, contrasted look.
Make your pickup look perfect by combining the exterior color with the rear bumper chromed accents.
Would you like your Chevrolet Silverado 1500® to have your style?
Get to know the various accessories that give you the option to customize the exterior of your Chevrolet Silverado 1500®.
You can also choose a protective kit for your pickup such as safety lug nuts or safety film.
With 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500® you arrive everywhere in comfort
The load gets lighter when you travel comfortable and at your own pace.
Chevrolet Silverado 1500® has an ergonomic and functional interior design. It is equipped with front bench seats. It also has an instrument panel and driver information center that includes travel computer, fuel gauge, speedometer in miles and kilometers, as well as an odometer in kilometers.
Make your work more enjoyable with AM/FM radio including power signal finder and identifier and digital clock and four speakers.
2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500® with StabiliTrak
Chevrolet Silverado 1500® has two front airbags for driver and passenger. A high strength steel safety cage will also surround you and controlled deformation zones, which absorb and channel impact energy in case of a collision to keep you safer.
® Chevrolet 2012 General Motors of Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V.
*Images shown in this website are for illustrative purposes only


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Champion for Children Search and Donate
It has never been so easy to make a donation to support our Champion for Childrens and their fundraising goals. Type in the Champion for Children's name below to locate and enter their personalized page. Just click Search and then scroll down to see the results.


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Local Navigators USA chapter offers 'inclusive' scouting alternative
Over the course of a decade, Elizabeth Vesto supported -- though somewhat reluctantly -- her sons' involvement in the Boy Scouts of America.
The Boy Scouts had, after all, helped instill in them a sense of responsibility, respect and an appreciation for the outdoors, and she was grateful.
But every activity, camping trip and merit badge only heightened the conflict she felt toward the century-old group for its long-standing policies barring members over their sexual orientation and religious beliefs.
"So many times we'd have to go home after and talk about the discrimination issue so (my sons) knew it wasn't OK," the Kildeer mother said.
Then came the Boy Scouts' July 2012 decision after a confidential, two-year review to reaffirm the organization's policy of excluding gay youths and troop leaders. The policy has been amended since to allow gay scouts, but not leaders.
Vesto's family resigned immediately after the 2012 decision.
"Our kids gained a lot from scouting, but we felt like there needed to be an inclusive alternative," she said. "We wanted an organization we fully believed in."
She did some research and came across Navigators USA, a New York City-based organization founded in 2003 that bills itself as committed to providing a quality and "intentionally inclusive" coed scouting experience.
The organization's mission and curriculum inspired Vesto to start a local chapter -- the lone Illinois group, so far -- three months later with co-leader Matt Briddell, a Wheeling resident who as a teen achieved Eagle Scout, the highest Boy Scout rank.
The pair quickly won the support and sponsorship of Palatine's Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist, where they're both members.
"It had been a long hope of mine there'd be inclusive scouting," the Rev. Hilary Krivchenia said. "I was excited about the opportunity of supporting a truly caring civic organization."
Though the group meets at the church, atheists, evangelicals and everyone in between is welcome.
Navigators abide by a "Moral Compass" in which they promise to do their best to create a world free of prejudice and ignorance, and to treat every race, creed, lifestyle and ability with dignity and respect. Members also should believe in strengthening their bodies and improving their minds to reach their full potential, as well as protecting the planet and preserving their freedom.
Palatine's group, now 28 members strong, was the national organization's 30th chapter and part of Navigators USA's rapid expansion in the past year from 16 to more than 45 chapters.
Executive Director Robin Bossert was among the leaders of Boy Scout Troop 103, which began in an East Harlem homeless shelter, to start Navigators USA after the Unitarian congregation sponsoring the troop severed ties, citing the Boy Scouts' enforcement of exclusionary policies.
"We're not setting out to be Boy Scouts 2.0," Bossert said. "It's evolving into something quite different. It's not us against them or one is better than the other. But they leave out entire groups, and we wanted to be open."
Bossert said last month's decision by the Boy Scouts to allow gay youth but continue its ban against gay leaders has led to even more interest, with more than 200 people inquiring about establishing new programs. He believes many people had been on the fence about whether to leave, hoping the Boy Scouts would altogether eliminate the policy. When it didn't, "the flood gates opened."
That trend is in contrast to the Boy Scouts, which has seen membership steadily decline from 4.8 million youths in 1973 to about 2.7 million today, according to its annual reports.
Matt Thornton, interim scout executive of the Northwest Suburban Council of the Boy Scouts, said the national organization's most recent decision led to minimal reaction in the area. He declined to comment on Navigators USA, saying he was unfamiliar with the group, but emphasized that Boy Scouts has been "part of the nation's fabric" for more than 100 years.
"America needs scouting and our policies are based on what is in the best interest of our kids," Thornton said in a statement he attributed to the Boy Scouts of America. "We believe good people can disagree and still work together to accomplish great things for youth. Going forward, we will work to stay focused on that which unites us."
Tom Allison of Arlington Heights said he looked into Boy Scouts for his 7-year-old son T.J. but couldn't bring himself to sign up.
"The direction they're going isn't meeting our goals of inclusiveness and being open to all abilities and aspects of life," Allison said.
At Navigators USA, T.J., the other members and their families take part in a variety of outdoor and character-building activities, all the while incorporating the Navigator "traits" of being truthful, respectful, inclusive, generous, dependable, resourceful and cooperative.
The Palatine chapter, which meets a few times a month, has gone to the Deer Grove Forest Preserve to help clear invasive species, cleaned a cemetery on Veterans Day and attended an Earth Day celebration with the Sierra Club, to name just a few outings.
Vesto and the other leaders also benefit from ample parental involvement, with adults bringing to the table expertise in fields such as engineering and physics. They've built a catapult out of PVC piping, launched bottle rockets and taken apart electronics, making sure to recycle the components.
"I had never come across anything like this," said Paul Mallick, a former Boy Scout and father of two girls, ages 6 and 9, in Navigators. "It's a unique and very inviting atmosphere, and it's making (the members) more comfortable with themselves and each other. There's not that inherent exclusivity."
Vesto said that while Navigators USA provides curriculum and a handbook, each chapter is free to operate the way it wishes. Collaboration and idea sharing between chapters is critical. Bossert, the national executive director, said the organization encourages creativity and diversity, leading some chapters to wear tie-dye shirts and others no uniforms at all.
There's not even an age requirement. Palatine Navigators recently launched its Stargazers group, a name it took from a chapter in St. Louis, for children up to five years old. The co-leaders are two dads who have a toddler.
Alayna Vesto, who at 13 is among the older members, said she enjoys being a mentor to her younger peers.
"I just like that nobody is left out, no matter what," she said.


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PETM: Global Warming, Naturally
adapt—tropical mammals migrated to North America and Europe, and sea life swam poleward to cool down. But the rate of warming during the PETM pales in comparison to what we're now experiencing. Today, global temperature could be warming at a rate that is too fast for ecosystems to adapt.
- Global Warming 56 Million Years Ago
- PETM vs. Current Warming
- The Takeaway
- Related Blogs
- Resources
The Earth has undergone many episodes of natural global warming and cooling and by various causes. The Earth's most common mechanism for climate change are Milankovitch cycles—variations in the Earth's orbit that change its distance from the Sun, which spur ice ages and subsequent warming. Other changes in Earth's past climate were caused by the same processes causing today's warming. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which occurred around 56 million years ago, is the most recent event that we can compare today's warming to. Global temperatures rose at least 5°C (9°F), and the PETM warmth lasted 200,000 years before the Earth system was able to remove the extra CO2 from the atmosphere. The resulting impact on Earth's climate was so severe that a new geological era was born—the Eocene. Earth's ecosystems were able to adapt to the PETM because the warming was gradual; however, the warming we're causing today is about 10 times as fast, and Mother Nature might not be able to keep up with the changing climate this time around.
Global Warming 56 Million Years Ago
After years of research, the PETM is now thought to have been caused by greenhouse gas emissions, similar to how the earth is warming today. 56 million years ago, at the end of the Paleocene epoch, the supercontinent Pangaea was in the final stages of breaking apart into the continents as we know them today. As the land masses split apart, volcanoes erupted and molten rock bubbled toward the Earth's surface, literally baking carbon-rich sediments and releasing the greenhouse gas into the air. During this time, atmospheric temperature probably increased by a couple of degrees.
The initial increase in temperature triggered events that led to more greenhouse gas emissions and more warming. Climate scientists generally agree that the feedback with the most impact on the atmospheric temperature increase was the melting of methane hydrates in the ocean seabed. As the atmosphere warmed the ocean surface, currents (probably not unlike the thermohaline circulation we know today) would have funneled the warm water to the ocean floor, where it melted the frozen methane hydrates (also referred to as methane clathrates), releasing the potent greenhouse gas into the ocean and eventually the atmosphere, a process called outgassing. Hydrates could have also been outgassed via other mechanisms—tectonic uplift, volcanic activity, or changes in deep ocean temperature from the closing off of certain gateways due to shifting continental plates. No matter how the process started, methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas that has 20 to 25 times more warming power than carbon dioxide, although it degrades to carbon dioxide after about ten years in the atmosphere. However, a steady influx of the gas would have been sufficient to warm the planet by more than a few additional degrees.
Figure 2. Rate of temperature change today (red) and in the PETM (blue). Temperature rose steadily in the PETM due to the slow release of greenhouse gas (around 2 billion tons per year). Today, fossil fuel burning is leading to 30 billion tons of carbon released into the atmosphere every year, driving temperature up at an incredible rate.
Many of the other climate feedbacks that we either already observe today or expect to experience probably took place during the PETM warming, as well. Severe drought would have led to increased wildfires, injecting more carbon into the atmosphere. Some research shows that permafrost on a then glacier-free Antarctica thawed, which would have also released carbon dioxide and methane. Another interesting source of carbon that some scientists hypothesize is the burning of peat and coal seams. Peat is decayed vegetation and has a very high carbon content. Peat, which is found in the soil beneath the surface, can be ignited by something like a wildfire and continue to smolder for as long as centuries. Coal seams can be ignited in a similar way, and burn for decades to centuries, releasing huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
PETM Warming vs. Current Warming
During the PETM, around 5 billion tons of CO2 was released into the atmosphere per year. The Earth warmed around 6°C (11°F) over 20,000 years, although some estimates are that the warming was more like 9°C (16°F). Using the low end of that estimated range, the globe warmed around 0.025°C every 100 years. Today, the globe is warming at least ten times as fast, anywhere from 1 to 4°C every 100 years. In 2010, our fossil fuel burning released 35 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. By comparison, volcanoes release 0.2 billion tons of CO2 per year. How fast carbon enters the atmosphere translates to the how fast temperature increases, and the environmental and societal consequences of warming at such a break-neck speed could be devastating.
|Current Warming
|Continental drift, volcanoes, methane hydrate melting, fires, permafrost melting
|Anthropogenic burning of fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas, etc)
CO2 emissions
|Around 5 billion tons per year
|At least 30 billion tons per year
Rate of warming
|0.025°C per 100 years
|1 to 4°C per 100 years
Environmental impact
|Ocean circulation reversed, oceans acidified, permafrost melted, peatlands and forests burned in wildfires
|Observed impacts: significant sea ice decline, extreme drought, more wildfires, increase in glacier melt, more catastrophic floods, ocean acidification, sea level rise, shoreline erosion Potential impacts: degraded air and water quality, permafrost melting, global ocean circulation changes, more violent winter storms and spring tornado seasons, more intense hurricanes
Ecosystem & human impact
|Migration of land mammals, extinction of some benthic foraminifera, coral bleaching
|Observed impacts: Famine and malnutrition due to drought, coral bleaching, species endangerment (e.g. polar bears, marine turtles, North Atlantic whales, giant pandas, orangutans, elephants) Potential impacts: increased mortality from extreme weather and malnutrition, increase in disease vectors, decrease in agricultural yield, mass wildlife migration and extinction, total societal collapse
Environmental Impacts
Ocean Circulation
Environmental impacts of the PETM were similar to the impacts that are warned of today. There is some evidence that during the PETM, large-scale ocean circulation reversed, which would have led to enhanced warming. Ocean circulations are largely by temperature and salinity (salt concentration), and warming of ocean water at high latitudes would have acted to at least slow, if not totally reverse, the "global conveyor belt."
Sea Level Rise
Since the PETM occurred in an already warm climate (another thing that sets the PETM apart from modern warming), there was very little sea ice and glacial cover to melt, so sea level did not change dramatically. However, there is plenty of ice to melt on our modern planet, and we expect sea level to rise anywhere from 0.2 to 0.6 meters (0.7 to 2 feet) by the year 2100. We've already seen sea level rise at a rate that would support the higher end of that range (0.6 meters/2 feet).
Permafrost and Methane Hydrates
Scientists agree that a major contributor to the PETM warming was the melting of methane hydrates on the seafloor and permafrost at high latitudes. Both of these store immense amounts of carbon and constitute a tipping point for the climate—once hydrates and permafrost begin to melt, the process will be irreversible. The reservoirs of methane hydrate stored in marine sediments (500 to 10,000 billion tons of carbon) and in permafrost (7.5 to 400 billion tons) are being constantly monitored. Melting of methane hydrates and permafrost enhanced the PETM warming, and could tip the scales of modern warming, too. Already we see that permafrost is degrading, and scientists suspect that methane hydrates are melting near the Arctic Shelf.
Ocean Acidification
The most disruptive impact during the PETM was likely the exceptional ocean acidification. The ocean naturally absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and also from the sea floor (in the form of calcium carbonate). When excess carbon enters the atmosphere, the oceans try to balance the system by absorbing more. Numerous studies have shown that this was the case during the PETM. The effect of this is a decrease in the pH of the water, or "acidification." Unfortunately, this has a devastatingly negative impact on calcifying creatures like foraminifera, molluscs, and coral. Coral bleaching is caused by a number of environmental changes, including ocean acidification and increased water temperature.
Ecosystem Impacts
Ecosystems adapted remarkably well to the PETM warming, likely because it was gradual enough for life to adjust to the new environment. The only species extinction that scientists have found were some foraminifera that lived on the sea floor. It's hypothesized that these foraminifera could not adapt to the new warmth at such great depths (bottom waters warmed 4 to 5°C). As excess carbon dissolved in the ocean, the water acidified which likely resulted in coral bleaching. Marine life adapted by migrating poleward toward cooler water. On land, mammals not only migrated to find more sustainable environments, but they also decreased in size, likely because it is easier for smaller animals to dissipate heat. Hoofed animals and turtles were confined to the tropics before the PETM, but during the warming this animals made the trek northward into North America and Europe. The PETM did not cause mass extinctions of plants and animals on land, but a major turnover in mammalian life occurred at that time. Many of today's major mammalian orders emerged in the wake of the PETM.
Modern ecosystems are already struggling to adapt to their new, warmer environments. Penguins, polar bears, whales, seals, salmon, and orangutans are just a few of the mammals being impacted by anthropogenic climate change. Foraminifera have already decreased markedly in some areas. Coral is bleaching at a very rapid rate. While it was possible for land mammals to migrate to cooler regions in the PETM, manmade infrastructure (roads, railways, cities, etc) will prevent them from doing so this time around. Given the rate of warming the globe is experiencing, it is likely that many ecosystems will be totally incapable of adapting.
The Takeaway
There are a lot of uncertainties surrounding the PETM—this extremely warm geologic period has been notoriously difficult to recreate, but recent advancements in understanding the warming have been made. Uncertainties should not be interpreted as misunderstanding. Instead, they should be treated a testament to how sensitive the climate system could be, and how influential humans are on the delicate global energy balance. It is clear that the earth dumped almost all of its stored carbon into the atmosphere, and now we are doing the same by pulling fossil fuels out of the ground and burning them. Just like the previous great global warming did, we are likely catapulting ourselves into a new geologic era: the Anthropocene.
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Top 5 Moments of 2010 with Reed Hansen
5. Giving Dano The Mano another reason to repeat himself.
4. Wakeskating. I have enjoyed every aspect of wakeskating, im not just talking about boat riding, cable, ski and winch. Im talking about doing sweet stuff with awesome people in cool places. That and everybody has a mustache.
3. Matt Manzari got married this year... that was one of the best nights of my life, and I wasnt even getting married!! If you have never seen Ben Horan try and rip a tablecloth off of a wedding reception table then you havnt lived. Im serious, the center piece and all of the glasses were still on it… everything broke.
Actually, just thinking about it… I am going to share 5 highlights from that night. 5. Watching Josh Zentmeyer dive tackle a Latina woman in a red dress, then watch Nick Taylor get blamed for it. 4. Yours truly getting put in a choke hold by the same Latina woman. 3. Realizing how uncoordinated wakeskaters "pro athletes" are on the dance floor". 2. Darren's best man speech…enough said(i have it recorded). 1. The look on Bobbye Jean's face when Matt laid a burnout down in the getaway car(2010 Zo6 Corvette).
2. Ronix making me a Hunting themed graphic and I didn't even ask for it.
1. John Anderson came to Groveland for the 4th of July festival on Lake David. We found out why God gave John Anderson the best voice in the world…to tell everyone about the Seminole wind.
Blow blow Seminole wind
Blow like your never gonna blow again…
Im calling to you like a long lost friend
but i know who you are
picture 6 of 8 is money. it might look like a picture on the internets, but it is actually pure money.


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"Sweet Home Chicago" is one of the best known blues songs ever written. But historians seem to agree that when Robert Johnson recorded the song in 1936, he borrowed heavily to make his masterpiece.
"Kokomo Blues" is clearly one of the building blocks of that better known blues song. Scrapper Blackwell came out with it in 1928.
In 1934, James Arnold would have more success with it, calling it "Old Original Kokomo Blues." It was so popular it became his signature tune, and he was known then as Kokomo Arnold.
There has been much writing and disagreement about the line "eleven light city." It has been interpreted as "level light city," "lemon light city," "little nice city" and so on. It seems that Kokomo, Indiana in the 1920's was famous for having 11 stoplights, but some say it refers to the 11 speakeasies you could find there.
Mississippi Fred McDowell was actually from the same generation as Scrapper Blackwell and Kokomo Arnold, but spent much of his life as a farmer and didn't make any recordings until around 1960, when his records were acclaimed by groups like the Rolling Stones. They covered McDowell's "You Gotta Move." His recording of "Kokomo Blues" is from 1964.
Here's a live recording (no video) of Fred McDowell. He's not performing "Kokomo Blues," but in the first 2 minutes he talks about where he came from and how he plays the guitar, really essential blues nuts and bolts:
Fred McDowell was a huge influence on a young Bonnie Raitt's music and slide guitar playing, and she recorded several of his songs, including "Kokomo Blues" in 1973. Here's Bonnie Raitt performing "Kokomo Blues" in live performance, in a medley with "Write Me a Few of Your Lines:"
In 2004, a young bluesman named David Jacobs Strain, also a follower of Fred McDowell, came out with a very original take on the song. He maintains the acoustic vibe, while adding a driving and insistent rhythm track. Here he performs the tune live from a solo concert:
Here are the full versions of "Kokomo Blues" tracked through time:
1934: "Old Original Kokomo Blues" Kokomo Arnold
1964: "Kokomo Blues" Mississippi Fred McDowell
1973: "Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues" Bonnie Raitt
2004: "Kokomo Blues" David Jacobs-Strain
"The Blues Time Machine" is a weekly feature tracking one great blues song through time. The series is hosted by John Kessler, from KPLU's "All Blues," and is published here every Friday and airs on KPLU 88.5 on Fridays at 12:10 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.


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Resources >> Browse Articles >> On the Job
10 Worst Time Wasters at Work
Tania Khadder | NursingLink
Culprit #4: Short Gaps Between Meetings
Speaking of meetings, what about those 15-30 minute gaps between them? What do you ever really accomplish in that time? Usually, very little. Not enough to go check on a patient or do something worthwhile. Sure, it gives you a bit of time to decompress, but it also takes you in and out of meeting mode for no apparent reason. If you have several meetings a day, that limbo time can amount to a couple hours of waste.
The solution: Schedule your meetings back-to-back if you can; you'll knock them out more efficiently. The time in between is better clumped together at some point in the day so it can be used for productive endeavors like getting to your patients.


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01] Hurst Racing Tires
HurstRacingTires.com; 503.656.1572; $490 a pair (with dirt tread)
Traction by Hurst was the biggest name in cheater slicks when pie-crusts were the main type of racing tires. It's no wonder the newest incarnation of the company has possibly the biggest selection of pie-crust cheater slicks today. Pictured here is one of the company's cheater slicks with optional custom dirt grooves cut in. Beneath the classic recap is a modern radial tire.
02] Hurst Racing Tires
HurstRacingTires.com; 503.656.1572; $490 a pair (with dirt tread)
Unique to Hurst is the Triple White, also with the custom dirt tread. The dirt pattern is roughly a $90 upcharge. Hurst offers different grooved tires, full slicks, in whitewall or blackwall, and in a bunch of different styles and sizes. This is also a radial tire.
03] Radir Wheels
RadirWheels.com; 866.334.3470; $319 and up
Radir offers slicks in eight different sizes for 14-, 15-, or 16-inch wheels, and they're a one-piece design. The 7-inch tires come with a checkered-flag design, but the 8- and 10-inch don't. The Radir tires are not recaps, and have four-ply sidewalls with a single-sided 2¼-inch white wall. They are available as a true slick or with grooved tread.
04] Towel City Racing Tires
TowelCityRacingTires.com; 704.933.2143; $145
Towel City Racing Tires, also called Towel City Retreading Company, is a small company located in NASCAR country (Kannapolis, North Carolina). The company offers a huge variety of different vintage racing tires, modern dirt racing tires, and even ice-racing tires. Towel City had molded these tires from the late '50s until the '70s before returning within the last decade. The company also offers a black or whitewall and many size options. Check out its website for custom grooving options.
05] Coker Tire
CokerTire.com; 800.251.6336; $388 and up; PN613129
This is the Firestone pie crust available through Coker with or without the whitewall. The blackwalls are mounted on a polished Rocket Brand Injector wheel and the whitewall is mounted on a Rocket Brand Injector in bare cast finish. These are four-ply construction with a street/strip compound. They are available in different sizes and are DOT approved.
Honorable Mention
06] Coker Tire
MandHDragTires.com; 866.513.2743; $226 a pair; PN 800/850-14
These aren't pie-crust-style cheater slicks, but they're cool M&H vintage slicks straight from the pioneers in wrinkle-wall design. M&H modeled these tires after the popular tires from the mid '60s, which were used mainly in Stock, Junior Stock, and Super Stock classes. They're built with a 704 compound, which means they will stick. These tires are vintage looking and actually hook.
Birth of the Slick
Pie-crust slicks originated as truck tires with solid, ungrooved retreads on top. Alex Xydias of the famed So-Cal Speed Shop produced the first asphalt slick in 1953. It was a recap with 7 inches of tread. His tires produced roughly four times the traction of a then-standard tire. Inglewood Tire Co., Bruce's Slicks, and M&H Tire Co. were the first to manufacture dedicated drag slicks in 1957. M&H is the only company still making tires today and was arguably the first to produce modern style wrinkle-wall slicks.


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Tickets for events at M&S Bank Arena
M&S Bank Arena tickets
March 2019
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Venue Information
The Echo Arena stands at the heart of the development of Kings Waterfront, an iconic cultural legacy of Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture in 2008. The award-winning facilities sit alongside the Grade I listed Albert Dock complex and World Heritage Site on the eastern bank of the river Mersey, in the heart of Liverpool city centre. The 11,000 seat Echo Arena is joined to the BT Convention Centre by a central Galleria, making it unique as the only arena and convention centre under one roof in Europe. The Echo Arena has been awarded a string of environmental and architectural accolades. Designed by award-winning architects Wilkinson Eyre, it is one of the most sustainable venues in Europe, designed to reduce by half its CO2 emissions; features across the complex control light, temperature and electricity usage and harvest rainwater for toilet flushing, while a crop of turbines on the river generate its own electricity supply.
By Train
The Echo Arena is a 20-minute walk from Lime Street or a short taxi ride. You can also transfer at Lime Street onto the underground Wirral Line trains to James Street station (10 minute walk) or catch the CityLink Route C4 (7am - 8pm) directly to the Arena. If travelling from outside Merseyside, you can catch an underground train to James Street station from Lime Street station, inclusive of the cost of your ticket. Ring Traveline Merseyside 0871 200 22 33 for up to date information about your bus, train or ferry service. The Traveline is open from 0800 - 2000 every day of the week.
By Car
For all car journeys it's best to follow the white on brown tourist route signs for the Waterfront. These signs are visible on the major routes into the city. The Echo Arena is situated on the Kings Dock directly adjacent to the south side of the Albert Dock. Upon arrival, the Kings Dock entrance is clearly sign posted. From the North: Leave the M6 at junction 26 and follow signs for M58 Liverpool. Follow to end of M58 and then take signs for A59 Liverpool. Continue to follow Liverpool City Centre until picking up signs for the Waterfront. The Liverpool Waterfront Car Park is signposted 'Waterfront' on the city wide 'available spaces' signage. From the South: Leave the M6 at junction 21A and take the M62 to Liverpool. At the end of the M62 follow signs for Liverpool City Centre along Edge Lane, picking up and following signs for Waterfront. The Liverpool Waterfront Car Park is signposted 'Waterfront' on the city wide 'available spaces' signage. They offer a flat fee of ?5 for parking for all Echo Arena event nights.
By Bus
Most Liverpool city centre bound buses will call at either Queen Square bus station (a 15-minute walk) or Liverpool ONE Bus Station, which is only a five minute walk to the arena. The CityLink Route C4 bus links Queen Square bus station, James Street rail station and Liverpool ONE Bus Station to the Arena. CityLink Route C4 operates every 20 minutes on Mondays to Saturdays and every 30 minutes on Sundays, between 7am - 8pm, with a maximum fare of ?1 per journey. Merseytravel prepaid tickets, National Concessionary bus passes and Arriva day tickets are all valid on this service. For up-to-date information on all bus, train and ferry services, call Traveline Merseyside on 0871 200 22 33, open 8am - 8pm, 364 days a year or visit www.merseytravel.gov.uk
The Liverpool Waterfront Car Park is signposted 'Waterfront' on the city wide 'available spaces' signage. They offer a flat fee of ?5 for parking for all Echo Arena event nights.
Wheelchair Access
The Echo Arena is fully accessible for all customers and complies with DDA directives, with accessible toilets, lifts and entrances in all areas.
Hearing Systems
Once you're inside the building the box office features a fixed loop hearing system, as do the refreshment and merchandising counters, which are situated at low levels to make life easier. An induction loop is available in some of the seating areas.
Guide Dogs
Guide dogs are welcome in the Echo Arena.
Access Bookings
0844 8000 400
General Access Info
There are eight accessible toilets in the Echo Arena; toilets are available on every floor of the building. Motorised scooters are allowed in public parts of the venue - you can also charge scooters and wheelchairs at the venue. You'll find accessible parking in the adjacent ACC car park, although it's not free for Blue Badge holders. There are plenty of accessible spaces in the car park, plus a drop off point on the river side of the centre if you'd prefer door to door service. Lifts in the car park have reversing mirrors and both visual and audible floor indicators. The route from the car park to the entrance is accessible to a wheelchair, although assistance may be needed as the route includes some ramps. If you have any questions about special seating requirements please contact the box office on 0844 8000 400.


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The Parental 411: What Every Parent Should Know About Their Child in College
Dr. Watkins makes sure that parents know what they need in order to ensure their children are successful in college. From tips to paying for college, to understanding how to mentally prepare your child, Watkins breaks it all down for parents as they are taught to be critical partners in their child's collegiate success.
Click to buy Ebook – $9.99
Click to buy Hard Copy – $19.99
Financial Lovemaking 101:Merging Assets with Your Partner in Ways That Feel Good
In this one-of-a-kind creation that is taking the world by storm, Dr. Watkins teaches the art of Financial Lovemaking. Millions of couples divorce over money, and use money as a weapon to destroy the things that matter most. In this book, Professor Watkins draws on years of Financial Research to come into your relationship and give you the tools to determine the degree of financial compatibility you have with your potential partner. He designs a test for the dreaded Financial Irresponsibility Virus (FIV), teaches you to get financially naked with your partner, and shows how to find a rhythm in the Financial Lovemaking process. Why learn from the Suzie Ormans of the world when you can learn from the man who trains "experts" for a living?
Click to buy Hard Copy – $19.99
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About College
This book is a must read for college and high school students across America. In his honest and open way, Watkins connects directly to the student, helping him/her understand the importance of obtaining top notch academic performance. He also explains the ins and outs of college life in ways that no other professor would. Why let your child go to college without the proper tools, when he/she can get brotherly advice from America's Top College Professor?
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Quick and Dirty Secrets of College Success – A Professor Tells It All
Filled with life-saving information, Dr. Watkins levels the playing field by providing a short, concise guide to college life for students who don't like to read very much. Written using hip hop rhymes to convey the message, Dr. Boyce utilizes intense creativity to help students learn life lessons about college and education. The tools to success are given in list format so that your child will know everything he/she needs to know in order to be successful.
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Black American Money
In this book, Dr. Boyce Watkins breaks down how black power can thrive in a capitalist society. In his standard down-to-earth style, Dr. Watkins explains how capitalism works in America and why money stands in the way of true racial equality. This is a must-read for those seeking to understand the next generation in the pursuit of Civil Rights.
Click to buy hard copy – $19.99
What if George Bush Were a Black Man?
In the most riveting statement in modern social commentary, Dr. Watkins breaks down Black and White America in ways that has led to this book being seen by millions on CNN, FOX News, ESPN and all over the country. This book will make you laugh, cry and see America ways that you've never seen it before. The research is solid, and the commentary is telling, humorous, revealing and hard-hitting. If you are looking for the controversial, personal and provocative side of Boyce Watkins, this is the book to read. As Dr. Watkins regularly and honestly states "I am not a Finance Professor who happens to be black, I am a black man who happens to be a Finance Professor. This book was therapeutic for me when it came to understanding my experience."
Click to buy Ebook – $9.99
Click to buy Hard Copy – $19.99
Contact information and Refund Policy: If you are not satisfied for any reason, please return the book with the following information:
Call (901) 413-0203 and if you purchased a hard copy, please mail the returned book to
Blue Boy Publishing and Media
23F Queens Way
Camillus, NY. 13031
You may also email us at email@example.com


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markeking needed a new other design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 27 designs submitted by 8 freelance designers.
big bubbles
big bubbles is a famous german pug dog breeder
interested people, possible dog buyers, pug-friends
I've got a template which i need to adapt for the "big bubbles" pug page.
You can get the template under:
and pics of our pugs you may could use:
The template is normally for a wedding page, but i think it will fine match for the pug site. You have to replace the Logo in the left top and edit the navigation buttons with a matching font. just try to replace much as possible that it will looks like a nice pug site :-)
A nice logo for "big bubbles" would be nice, cause it will be displayed on every dog documents and worldwide exhibitions.
After the contest i need the following deliverables:
1.) the whole modified template
2.) the big bubbles logo as .PSD photoshop file
3.) one .PSD file to change text of navigation buttons


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By Jim Swyers, NHGRI Staff Writer
Bone disorders such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis are among the common, major health problems facing older people today. Over the years, researchers have developed a number of innovative surgical procedures, drugs and other approaches aimed at treating these debilitating conditions. There still are no cures, however, and the regeneration of bone and cartilage remains an unachieved aspiration. Now, however, a team from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is using its expertise in developmental genetics to move medical science one step closer to that goal.
The precursor cells of cartilage and bone are chondrocytes and osteoblasts, respectively. In developing embryos and adult bone marrow, both chondrocytes and osteoblasts arise from a type of cell referred to as mesenchymal progenitor cells. In their latest work published in the May issue of the journal Developmental Cell, NHGRI's Yingzi Yang, Ph.D., and her colleagues shed light on the genetic mechanisms involved in determining why one mesenchymal progenitor cell becomes a chondrocyte and gives rise to cartilage, while another becomes an osteoblast and goes on to build bone.
"We believe that studying the genetics of mesenchymal progenitor cell differentiation will lead to significantly better therapeutic approaches, and may pave the way for the selective repair of cartilage or bone damage," said Dr. Yang, adding that her group's studies may have implications for a number of other conditions, including cancer.
In the United States, 10 million people have osteoporosis and 18 million more have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for this disease. Osteoporosis, which literally means "porous bones," occurs when the holes in the bone become bigger, making it fragile and liable to break easily. Bone is alive and constantly changing. Worn-out bone is broken down by cells called osteoclasts and replaced by bone-building cells, called osteoblasts. This process of renewal is called bone turnover. In osteoporosis, bone turnover is either hampered or nonexistent.
In contrast to osteoporosis, osteoarthritis affects cartilage, the tough, elastic tissue that normally cushions the joints. As cartilage gradually breaks down and wears away, the bones of the joint rub together, causing pain, swelling and loss of motion. More than 20 million people in the United States have the disease, most of them over 65. However, osteoarthritis is increasing among younger people, arising primarily from sports- or work-related joint injuries.
Dr. Yang, who is head of the Developmental Genetics Section of the Genetic Disease Research Branch in NHGRI's Division of Intramural Research, became interested in bone and cartilage conditions because she studies limb and skeletal development in vertebrate animals. In particular, she concentrates on two groups of signaling molecules, called Wnt and Hedgehog, that play important roles in guiding the formation of many organs and tissues in the developing embryo. Her goal is to understand precisely how these signaling pathways act and interact with each other, as well as with other signaling molecules involved in regulating development.
The recent findings by Dr. Yang and her colleagues indicate that Wnt signaling may act as a "molecular switch" that determines whether mesenchymal progenitor cells develop into osteoblasts or chondrocytes. In their paper in Developmental Cell, the NHGRI researchers reported that mouse embryos that were exposed to higher than normal levels of Wnt signaling had more osteoblast formation and far less chondrocyte formation than normal mouse embryos. Conversely, when the researchers inactivated the gene that codes for β-catenin, which is a protein required for the transduction of Wnt signaling, significantly more chondrocytes formed in mouse embryos at the expense of osteoblast formation. In other words, increased Wnt signaling appears to promote bone formation in vertebrates, while decreased Wnt signaling favors the formation of cartilage.
Furthermore, Dr. Yang's group demonstrated that inactivation of β-catenin in mesenchymal progenitor cells grown in the test tube, or in vitro, caused chondrocytes to form under conditions that normally allow the production of only osteoblasts. This means that it may some day be possible for medical researchers to use molecular signals to direct mesenchymal progenitor cells to develop into either bone or cartilage precursor cells, depending on which cell type needs to be regenerated in a particular patient.
Previously, Dr. Yang's group demonstrated in animal models that the Wnt/β-catenin signaling is both necessary and sufficient for the formation of knees, elbows and other synovial joints, which are complex joints lubricated with a clear liquid called synovial fluid. This fluid works in conjunction with pads of fat to cushion the joint and also helps to maintain the cartilage around the joint.
Based on their findings, the NHGRI laboratory is attempting to create new mouse models for osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Their strategy involves genetically manipulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in mice and then studying the effects on synovial joint maintenance to see to what extent the animals' physical traits and symptoms resemble that of humans with osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. If a close resemblance is found, the mice could be used to identify possible therapeutic targets and test the efficiency of new strategies for treating and preventing these diseases.
Another major focus of Dr. Yang's group is studying Wnt signaling in other tissues. Mesenchymal progenitor cells have the potential to develop into cells that produce not only cartilage and bone, but also the fat, tendon and muscle tissues that make up many different types of organs throughout the body. Specifically, Dr. Yang and her colleagues are studying the role of the Wnt pathway in the healthy development and regeneration of the liver. They are also exploring how disruption of the Wnt pathway may contribute to the development and progression of liver cancer. A related project involves studying a more newly discovered "non-canonical" signaling pathway involving Wnt and calcium, which some evidence suggests may actually serve to suppress cancer.
Last Updated: March 13, 2012


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Dogs are usually pretty good at tugging at our heartstrings, but when you set them to music and highlight all of the sweet and brave things they do to take care of us, all hell breaks loose in the human heart. This may look like a simple spot for Purina, but really it is some high-level plot by the dog kingdom to ensure they get plenty of belly rubs and extra treats for the foreseeable future. Well played, pups. Now go fetch us some Kleenex so we can dab our eyes.
[Via Adweek]