Aaah.. new car smell. We all know what it is, that plasticky tang that wafts into your nostrils as you climb into a freshly made motor. It’s so familiar that it even has its own Wikipedia page. It probably has a Twitter account with a million followers, too.
But do you know what new car smell really is? I mean, you can probably guess that it’s various chemicals hanging on from the manufacturing stage, but what are those chemicals exactly? An answer comes in the form of this study by Santford V. Overton & John J. Manura. It identified dozens of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air of a new 1995 Lincoln Continental, including htmahexamethyl-cyclotrisiloxane and decamethyl-cyclopentasiloxane. It sure is a mouthful to describe what comes in a mouthful of air.
Most of these VOCs are emitted by – or, to use the scientific terminology, they’re the “outgassing” of – the car’s interior materials, such as its plastics and its adhesives. The Overton and Manura study found that they were more prevalent in hotter temperatures, but also declined over time; which is why we’re talking about “new car smell” and not “old car smell”.
So now you know what new car smell is – or at least you know what it was for a 1995 Lincoln Continental. Because this scent depends on the chemical composition of the car in question, it should change between different cars. In fact, in 2012, the Ecology Center went so far as to analyse the VOCs emitted by various models of automobile, and then ranked the models according to their toxicity. The Honda Civic performed well, thanks to “PVC reduction efforts”.
Ah, yes, that little word “toxicity”. The thing about new car smell, and the VOCs that contribute to it, is that it may not be very healthy. Many of the chemicals swilling about in our cars are air-pollutants and not ideal for human consumption, which is why many manufacturers are working to curtail them. This AOL Autos interview gives some insight into the work of one of Ford’s “smell jurors”. Apparently, their job is to “try to eliminate any odours” – and that means selecting less and less noxious materials.
All of which means that the “new car smell” Wikipedia page may soon be nothing more than a historical record. But if you can’t live without that familiar tang, then fear not: there are plenty of air fresheners that claim to replicate it.


text:
Advanced Flawless Finish
Advanced Nutrients Flawless Finish
Advanced Nutrients Flawless Finish is experimentally intended to support in the flushing of accumulated supplements in buds and fan leaves. In different crops where taste and aroma is vital, it removes the nutrient deposit giving a superior taste. Likewise, gives the grower control over the final appearance of dried bud and leaves.
Directions FOR USE:
Do NOT add to nutrient solution or other additives. Use with water ONLY 7-10 days prior to harvest.
Rockwool and Soil: Use with appropriately pH adjusted water.
Last Cycle: Drain and wash supply of all nutrient arrangement. Load with clean water and include 2 ml every liter (1/2 tsp every quart) of water. Mix completely. pH ought to be balanced between 5.5-5.8 for hydroponic and 6.2-6.5 for sphagnum greenery and soil blends. Proceed for the last 7-10 days of the blooming cycle.

domain: chemistry


text:
There are numerous challenges that affect the running of business management practices in modern times. Collection of debts from defaulters is one of the biggest challenges that the business face in this respect. Financial challenges is the risk that comes with lack of capacity to collect the debts in this regard. A solution to the challenge comes with sourcing for services that help with debt collection. The service provider in this respect works to ensure there is smooth running of the undertaking and ensure the risks that come with incapacitations are duly addressed.
There is a process involved when seeking to collect debt from defaulters. It entails a number of steps that take place through the process to ensure there is full recovery. In the process therefore, it means that the defaulter needs to be given an introductory letter as the initial step of the process. The select service provider in this regard comes with the solutions that comes with this process. This comes through a professional approach as provided by the service provider in accordance to the industry standards.
Customers in certain instances default in repayment of their dues and this may necessitate the need for the business to report them to credit reference bureaus. In this process one of the important considerations to make is the ability of the customer to make repayments among other things. The service provider in this regard works to ensure that the relevant information by the service provider from relevant agencies. Reporting of the customer who defaults to the credit reference bureaus also takes place and this comes as the responsibility of the service provider.
Debt recovery procedures to be followed come in varying and different approaches. Modalities to be used are created through a contractual agreement made by the service provider and the defaulter in this regard. The agency in this respect works to create a reliable and effective approach that fits to the business and its customers.
Reporting on the business performances is one of the important undertakings for each establishment. Through the process in this regard, there is an important need to ensure there is professionalism. A solution to have the reports created and presented comes with engagement of the service provider. With the variation in the operations of the businesses, the service provider ensures that there are custom solution available. This comes the need to ensure that the reports comes complaint to the industry standards and set needs.
Having a huge workforce is not a basic requirement in modern business settings. Sourcing for the services comes in handy to save the business from the huge responsibility of maintaining its workforce. It means the tasks at hand for the business are handled in a professional manner with such services. To access the service packages all the business needs is to access the services through the platform provided by the service provider.

domain: economics


text:
Along the Blue Line L route in Chicago’s Logan Square community, new apartment buildings are part of the skyline, attracting young white professionals, increasing property values and displacing longtime Latino families.
On the South and West sides, Green Line stops are surrounded by vacant lots and Black neighborhoods that desire new housing and amenities.
Meanwhile, developers who receive city assistance to build new housing in fancy areas downtown and on the North Side sidestep requirements to add affordable housing.
The policies driving these developments are not intentionally racist and classist, but they contribute to the entrenched racial and economic segregation in Chicago. Now, two new city plans — intentionally released together this week — around public transportation and housing seek to reverse decades of disinvestment in Black and Latino communities.
“Chicago is a great example of how structurally racist policies can lead to structurally racist outcomes, and this is a piece of an attempt to confront that,” said Dan Lurie, policy chief for Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “We’re talking about racial and gender equity. It’s not a euphemism for something else.”
The “e” stands for equity
In 2013, the city first passed a wonky ordinance called Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD, which places requirements on developments near CTA stops in an effort to make neighborhoods more vibrant, increase density and reduce parking spots. Incentivized developers like it because they save money by spending less on parking.
In 2018, WBEZ reported on how TOD leaves some residents behind along racial lines. More than 1,000 housing units had been approved near the California Avenue Blue Line station in Logan Square. Since 2000, the Latino population there has fallen by nearly 20,000. No longer a majority Latino community, as it was from 1980 to 2010, Logan Square in recent years has attracted thousands of young white professionals and scores of investments. The area bustles with cafes, bars and urban nightlife.
A new report by the city analyzed TOD development between 2016 and 2019: Almost 90% of new TOD projects took place in the North Side, Northwest Side, downtown and around the West Loop. There was little activity near stations on the South and West sides.
Areas near rail stations eligible for TOD benefits but that have not seen TOD activity have 40% more residents of color and 23% more low-income residents.
The task force — comprised of 80 people including city officials, grassroots activists and housing organizers — say eTOD is necessary. The “e” stands for equity.
“eTOD is saying stop — that’s not how we want to build communities,” said Roberto Requejo, a task force member and program director for Elevated Chicago, which is a longtime eTOD advocacy group.
“The process itself was as important as the product,” Requejo said. “Some of the things more exciting about it is it addresses the TOD inequities we’ve experienced in the past.”
Recent projects in Woodlawn and an affordable housing building in Logan Square are projects they championed and are seen as equitable successes.
The policy plan bakes citywide coordination into the process. Any TOD project that comes along has to look at the racial impact. There’s an annual city performance review and a strategy to get public land to developers committed to benefitting surrounding communities and adding more flexibility in zoning and permits.
Ensuring access to amenity-rich communities
Another task force convened last November focused on updating the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO), which was enacted in 2007 and updated in 2015. It’s a key tool that has provided working families a chance to live in posh neighborhoods.
The ARO requires residential developments that receive city financial assistance, or that involve city-owned land, to provide a percentage of units at affordable rents. However, the ordinance allows developers to opt out of building affordable housing by paying a fee. Half of the ARO fees paid by developers who choose not to build affordable housing on site go toward the city’s Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, which assists families in poverty. And developers have paid tens of millions of dollars into that fund.
Critics of the ARO system say it prevents working families, seniors, people with disabilities and people of color from accessing amenity-rich communities. WBEZ also reported on what developers paid to bypass the requirement to provide affordable units in their properties.
The inclusionary housing task force has been meeting for months, and the group released a report that calls for fewer fees paid, more family-sized units and more units for people with disabilities.
“A lot of the work that we are tasked with in government is breaking down the barriers that are making it hard to create a more diverse environment across the city. But there are individual choices we all make that contribute to the perpetuation of our segregation or the breaking down of that,” said Marisa Novara, the city’s housing commissioner.
There’s a 45-day comment period, and the ordinance is expected to be updated in the winter.
Some housing activists and members of the Chicago City Council’s progressive caucus are pleased with the plan.
“We are excited about [the] recommendations because what they point to is saying we need a public policy but we need a policy that actually works for the people,” said Noah Moskawitz, an organizer with ONE Northside who sat on the task force.

domain: news


A hacker sent an email to Sony Alpha Rumors alleging that it is possible to hack the Sony A55 firmware to capture 3K video at 24p and/or 1080p video at 48/60 fps.
“I have had the Sony A55v for about a week. I’m already into the firmware and from years of hacking motherboard/video-card BIOS and Pentax cameras I can tell you the APS-C sensor can shoot MJPEG at 3k resolution at 24p for at least 45 seconds. I’m more interested in 1080p at 48/60 FPS. I’ll tell right now the memory buffer systems in this camera is huge….probably 3-4 times that of the GH1. All I’ve done is break into the code. A proper hack would take months. Thousands of possible settings to adjust. Testing. But you need thousands of people and a big community to support a project like that.” –SonyAlphaRumors
While this would most likely interest a rather niche audience, if the Panasonic GH1 hack is anything to measure it by, it could also be a pretty big deal.
misha studio says
it would be nice to have that firmware on my A55 to shot 3K…birds apple dreams
Just unlocking some of the crippled features would do a great deal:
* Manual Shutter control in Video Mode
* 1080p rather than Interlaced
* Fully Manual Flash control


President Hunter R. Rawlings III will deliver his annual State of the University address to the Cornell Board of Trustees and the University Council this weekend.
This is the quarterly meeting of the trustees and 50th annual meeting of the Council, an advisory board elected by the trustees.
The Board of Trustees will hold open meetings on Friday and open committee meetings will be Thursday and Friday. Portions of the agenda which relate to the statutory colleges are open to the public.
Rawlings predicted that eCornell, North Campus development, and construction — from Duffield Hall to renovations in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations — will be topics of interest to the Trustees.
“They’re always interested to know about the new students, how did admissions go,” Rawlings added.
Rawlings will deliver his State of the University Address on Friday at 9 a.m. in Alice Statler Auditorium. At 2:15 p.m., the Board of Trustees will meet in open session in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.
During the afternoon meeting, trustees will hear from Rawlings and Provost Biddy (Carolyn A.) Martin, who will deliver the financial plan for the statutory colleges. Other reports include an update on enrollment trends and a financial report of the 1999-2000 fiscal year.
The committees having open sessions are the Committee on Land Grant and Statutory College Affairs, the Buildings and Properties Committee and the Committee on Academic Affairs and Campus Life.
Tickets to the Board of Trustee’s open session are available from the Information and Referral Center.
In between meetings, trustees and council members can root for the Big Red at the football game against Princeton, attend seminars or take a tour of campus. There are no official plans, though, for meetings with First Lady Hillary Clinton, who will arrive on Saturday.
“There’s nothing on the agenda that calls for that,” said Barbara Krause, secretary of the Corporation.
Archived article by Beth Herskovits


text:
GRAND RAPIDS - Davenport football coach Sparky McEwen and former University of South Florida cornerback Lamar Robbins needed each other.
Over the summer, the first-year coach was in search of upper classmen who had experience, could provide leadership and, of course, bring talent to a second-year program entering its first year in NCAA Division II.
Robbins, meanwhile, was a one-time top recruit out of Florida in 2013 who never produced to the level expected during an uneven stay at University of South Florida.
With one season of eligibility remaining and coming off surgery for a torn labrum, Robbins wanted a fresh opportunity where he could start and pursue a goal of playing professionally.
It didn't take long for McEwen to decide.
"Oh, once I met him there was no question," the first-year coach said. "I immediately hated that I'd only have him for one season - hated it - but you could see he would show these guys how it's supposed to be done."
Robbins is one of four seniors on a team that is 0-6 heading into Saturday's 1 p.m. homecoming against McKendree, so it hasn't been easy. But, it appears Robbins and McEwen have gotten what they wanted.
Robbins, who has attracted NFL scouts to practice and games, has been able to show off his skill and provide leadership. Elected team captain, the 6-foot-2, 188-pounder is fifth in tackles, including seven last week against Saginaw Valley State, with two pass breakups. He has also returned three punts and even appeared occasionally as a receiver with a six-yard pass reception.
Plus, Robbins has been through this before. When he arrived at South Florida in 2013, the Bulls went 2-10. Last season they went 10-2.
"It's similar to when I got to South Florida," Robbins said. "Really, the biggest thing is getting the young guys to believe. You have to believe in the process and trust the coaches. It doesn't happen overnight but it can happen."
Robbins was ranked as the nation's 14th-best athlete by 247 Sports and the 32nd-best cornerback by Rivals.com. coming out of Miami Southridge High School. But he left the Bulls with meager stats - 14 games played and 34 tackles in parts of four seasons. His highlight was an interception returned for a 46-yard touchdown against North Carolina State as a sophomore.
"It wasn't everything I wanted it to be, no question, but there were still some good experiences, good people I met," Robbins said.
Robbins' past includes a brush with the law. In October 2015, he, along with a teammate, was charged with a second-degree felony of discharging a weapon on school property and a misdemeanor of providing false information to a law-enforcement officer. It appears to have stemmed after from October 2015 when a gun was fired in celebration after a win over Syracuse.
Robbins, according to reports, didn't play the remainder of 2015 season but wasn't suspended and missed no class time. Charges were dropped and he was reinstated for 2016.
"I was falsely identified," Robbins said. "They had caught the other guy, got him, charged him and got the weapon from him. I was free, charged dropped ... and back on the team that spring."
The other player involved, backup offensive lineman Benjamin Knox, left the program after 2015.
How did Robbins end up at Davenport? First, Bulls coach Willie Taggert left for Oregon and Robbins, after missing most of last season with a torn left labrum (he underwent surgery last September and received a medical redshirt), didn't see himself in a good position.
"I could have gone to a lot of schools, but it was a business decision," Robbins said. "It didn't look like a good fit there (South Florida). New coach, new thinking. And I graduated with my bachelor's in business, so I'm going to get my masters in management and meantime keep going along with my pursuit to get to the NFL."
McEwen said he learned about Robbins through coaching channels. And, as planned, McEwen has used him as an example for the rest of the team.
"We got a gem in him," the coach said. "He's getting a lot of NFL attention from scouts. But, here, these kids are seeing a pro do it. He's the hardest worker in practice. When he got here, he told the team what he'd done, what he'd gone through and that none of that mattered now. He was all about the Panthers."


text:
Last weekend at CityLife Church, we began a series of messages called Ancient Practices. We are re-discovering some of the practices that disciples of Jesus have engaged throughout the centuries in order to become like their master. Our primary resources are the stories about Jesus and his life on earth as recorded in the Gospels. We can also learn much from other followers of Christ and how they lived out their faith, as recorded in the rest of the New Testament.
Here are some modern-day Christian leaders and authors who have thought deeply about discipleship and spiritual formation who I would highly recommend:
1. Dallas Willard. Dallas is one of the foremost thinkers and writers on Christian spirituality today. Highly recommended would be: The Spirit of the Disciplines, The Divine Conspiracy, and The Great Omission. Click here to see a list of Willard's books, all of which are excellent.
2. Richard J. Foster. Foster's book The Celebration of Discipline is a classic. Click here to see all of Foster's books.
3. The Ancient Practices series edited by Phillis Tickle and published by Thomas Nelson. We have gleaned many insights for our series from these resources.
3. James Ryan Smith. Smith's apprentice series is excellent: The Good and Beautiful God, The Good and Beautiful Life and The Good and Beautiful Community. Also, check out Renovare.
I hope that you find these resources helpful.

domain: library


text: One evening, the Supreme Master Ching Hai joyfully came down the hill to join the group meditation. However, the special topic of this gathering was the appreciation of a still life oil painting that She had just finished. Master even put a mangosteen next to the painting for us to make a comparison. The refreshing and vivid, bright colors of the painting convey a comfortable and homely feeling. By looking at it carefully, one gets the feeling that the painted mangosteens are even more vivid and life-like than the real ones.

domain: artistic


text:
Think about others more and try to do what’s good for mankind. In these times it just seems that people are kind of greedy and out for themselves. We’re all in this together.
Watsonville | Plant Engineer
If I was going to force anything upon anyone it would be peace. Stop the war, stop the fighting, get along and learn that we are all one people, one planet. We have to learn to love each other. We have to help each other.
Santa Cruz | Occupied
I’d like people to be more respectful of each other, less aggressive, kinder, more willing to compromise.
Watsonville | Retired Teacher
Smile more. I want to force people to smile more. Put their shoulders down and open their heart.
Santa Cruz | Heart Opener

domain: sociology


text:
Red-Eared Sliders Can Be Kept As Pets, But They Can Go Months Without Food
Red-eared sliders are resourceful creatures that tolerate a range of conditions. They are comfortable with people and love to voraciously ask for food. The young turtle are mainly carnivorous. They become more carnivorous as they grow into adults. As pets, the red-eared slider turtle can be fed a variety of items in the wild. For a very small red-ear slider turtle, prey may have to be cut into smaller pieces. Larger and adult turtles can also be offered larger items like frogs or fish. Make sure you feed them with appropriate calcium and phosphorous levels. Some people feed the adult turtle once or twice every three days. Others prefer to stick to smaller meals and continue feeding them daily. The amount of food you feed depends a bit on your individual turtle. A good rule of thumb is to feed as much as your turtle will eat. Red-eared Sliders can live 20 years in the captivity. They can go months without food, but a mere seven days without water. The sliders can be about 12 inches long and are not harmful to humans or other animals. . . .

domain: food


text:
Congregation members of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church (ECG) have started to gather outside the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court where their pastor Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary Bushiri are due to appear on Wednesday morning.
The pastor handed himself over to police in Silverton, Pretoria while his wife was arrested at her residence in Sandton, north of Johannesburg on Tuesday.
— AbdulRazziq (@Abdul80233125) October 20, 2020
The couple is accused of fraud and money laundering totalling R102 million, along with two other suspects who were arrested in Johannesburg at the weekend.
The other two, Willah Mudolo and Zethu Mudolo, have already appeared in the same court and are expected to apply for bail on the 30th of October.
The video below, is reporting on Bushiri’s July court appearance:


- Abstract Product Id
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If you want to buy a customized bike, click here.
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Nose clip made of soft silicone for a comfortable fit.
· Lightweight, flexible plastic frame
· Comfortable pads made of 100% silicone
· Incl. practical box
· 1 piece
Note: The Zoggs nose clip is either delivered with blue or transparent pads (not selectable).
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text:
Sept 3d  Thursday. Friend Franklin disappointed me in not coming yesterday & again most happily to-day in coming as I did not expect him till to-morrow. Heaven seems to throw around me many endearing ties even tho’ the dearest has been severed. Had a letter from Cary yesterday greatly surprising me by an account of Br Henry’s marriage. It was wholly unexpected & unlooked for & was astonishing as sudden.
Sept 6th  Sabbath. I have been most sorely depressed in spirits thro’ the day — every thing seems to bring back so forcibly to mind the scene of happy & promising days — now past forever & my feelings are overcome by the weight. — That I have such a friend as WmSF is a cause for tears of joy & that Providence allows me the gladsome, glorious, hope that Julia is happy — that health & the abundant blessings of life are mine fully to enjoy — that religion & Christ give me a way to Heaven — with many — very many benefits I enjoy gives me the greatest satisfaction even while despair — loneliness, & dark cheerless life in the future are before me. I cannot write this evening & can only feel — Oh how different the two — to write is nothing when language can be at one’s command but to feel is to put writing quite beyond the question. I regret that I can no better entertain Franklin but hope his friendship will make up for my deficiency in interest.
Sept 10th 1840 Thursday. So numerous & interesting have been the events of the few past days that I could cheerfully occupy an hour in rehearsing them in this place.
I had a letter from ECS on Monday saying she should return with H— on his return from the city & containing some good advice.
[Sept 8th 1840] Tuesday was employed in preparations for the wedding of Harriet Luce & the evening in witnessing the ceremony & attending the party. There were many very many reflections I wish time would allow me to insert here.
[Sept 9th, 1840] Wed. All was in confusion. My room all in a tumult & my mind in a complete state of confusion confused. Wrote to Mother Sage. This morning attended another wedding & went with the party to Horseheads in company with Franklin & ladies. — The day has been full of interest & much of it full of a gaiety illy becoming one in my situation. I am often lively during the day & lonely during the night. This renders me unhappy at times beyond expression. Persons may see me in the day & well say that Mr Potter thinks but little of the past few months from his actions — but let such ones see my heart at the lone evening hour and they might think differently.
Sept 11th  Friday. Four months ago this evening I was watching for the last time around the bed of my dear Julia. Oh what a night! how full of interest! — How differently spent than this night? —
I wrote this P.M. to AFP to get his & the opinion of Ma with the others on the thought of my changing my business. It is a subject which has for some time past been on my mind and I can not decide without much reflection & the feelings of others. Some three or four years ago I came very near studying medicine but gave it up by the advice of my parents but have often regretted that I did not go on. For the few weeks past I have again thought of it & shall soon fix upon something. I am of the opinion that my peculiarities of mind & health would be better consulted in that profession than in any other condition. It seems rather strange that at this late hour I should think of such an alteration in my business but circumstances seem to call for it. —
I am enjoying Franklins society very much & find that each time
we meet the cords of friendship are drawn more & more close. Such perfect
confidence & such full review of all our affairs in fact such a kindred
spirit is to me of rare occurrence. Every day adds new interest to our
compact & we feel that Providence is favoring us beyond bounds with
Sept 13th  Sabbath. O how vividly have past scenes been brought to mind in the hour just gone. A year of the deepest interest to myself, has gone thro’ my mind bearing upon it all the changes so impressive in themselves & yet more so in their effect upon my future condition. On my return (Evening) from lecture I sat me down with friend Franklin & when he took the testament & read the 22d ch of Revelations I could but think of the scene witnessed on May 12th when Julia after sending for the friends was thought to be just leaving earth — TSWilliams commenced reading the same chapter so appropriate for such a season, & now hearing it again I can but look back with peculiar distinctness to the events of that day. Yes & I have thought of the times when with Julia at my side we read verse after verse alternately from the scriptures — then joining in our devotions we together sought wisdom & forgiveness from Heaven — in this same room this loved room. And yet a year is not fully fled — tho’ Julia has left me for these full four months never more to bless me on earth. Oh that I could tell my feelings as they affect my spirits in times like these.
Sept 15th  Tuesday. Have been at work to-day & what with branding shingles & perplexing myself about money matters I have made out a good day’s work.
I look forward to my present course as one that will give me an opportunity of doing good & acquiring that competence necessary for life. I feel fully the difficulties which must be surmounted in many places but yet I feel quite confident that my way is onward & onward I will go unless prevented by unknown obstacles.
I am alone & have no one to think of at present — The past presents a scene of deepest interest & only urges me forward. Broken up in my social relations I am certainly so in business affairs & now if ever is my time to adopt another course. I have warm friends if I mistake not & some may think it strange but yet they may approve when time shall pass on & all go forward as now anticipated. The study of medicine I am quite sure will suit my peculiar taste than any other situation.
Have been out with WmSF this evening but as we separated & he being not yet returned I shall retire. My evening has been spent mostly with Miss G— of which I may say more another time.
Sept 16th  Wednesday. Should Providence permit Franklin & myself will be in Ithaca by this time on the morrow (Eve) & though there is much to call me there & tho’ my feelings associate all that is most dear in memory with that favored place yet I must confess I feel no little reluctance to going out. Yet this can but be wrong & I banish such thoughts from my mind if possible. I contemplate spending a few days & those few full of interest. I received a letter this evening from Mother Sage & can but recognise in her experience the mysterious & singular workings of God with mankind. She has suffered much more than heart can tell — afflictions of every character & tho’ the past be full of suffering the future will no doubt be equally full. She speaks very doubtfully of Caroline & Elizabeth & I know she fears the worst. May God give her strength for her day & she eventually be led to acknowledge that God has done all things well.
Sept. 17–24, see Sept. 25.
Sept 24th  Thursday. Returned to Elmira yesterday PM after as pleasant a tour as I ever had circumstances considered. My name was entered as a medical student on the 16th inst & my three years are now going on. I can hardly think it possible that I am now on the way to a profession I once desired but relinquished. More of this at other times.
Sept 25th  Friday. I will go back this evening and give a faint description of my absence as it was full of interest & change. Never did I spend the same number of days so interestingly & yet undergo so much from depression of spirits.
[Sept 17th 1840] Wm S.F. & myself left Elmira on the morning of the 17th inst for Ithaca grateful that Providence allowed us still to be in each others society. The day was pleasant & our ride a short one — Ithaca was soon our resting place — Ithaca that loved spot where every object brings to mind the scenes of the past few years & months.
Not a word from the lips once bound to me in the ties of affection but told the tale of the departed Julia. Every thing was the same as when she was there & often would I forget that she had gone & think that she would soon enter the room & be clasped to my bosom as in other days. —— Deceitful dream! Gone was written upon all around me & I was indeed alone. ——
[Sept 18th 1840] Morning came & Franklin & myself were
on our way to Willseyville. Home once again welcomed me to its charms but
it was no longer the home for me. I could not feel that I had a place there
and after looking round upon all & seeing that all were well I wished
to be gone. A few hours passed & we were again in Ithaca. Evening came
— the evening of the 18th of Sept — The return of this evening must ever
awaken in my heart reflections peculiar to itself. One year was gone &
Oh how changed my condition in that short — yet momentous year! To think
was to become lost in my own heart. I felt like being silent & in solitude
& would gladly have sought Julia’s grave but could not. Oh what a year!
Surely this life is a chequered scene.
[Sept 19th 1840] Morning came again — & WmSF with Lucy & Elizabeth with me we went to Goodwin’s Falls — the spot where dwells for me a pleasing melancholy & deepest interest. Our visit was full of pleasure & our rambles more extensive than I ever had made before as we went down into the glen above the falls & looked down the deep abyss below.
The weather was cold & chilly. After getting nearly home we were detained some time by the immense number of carriages going into town to attend a political meeting or meetings as there were two. There was a procession of full a mile & a half crowded into the smallest space possible, before us & as many behind. Never did I witness anything bearing a comparison with the multitude assembled in town on that day (19th). We attended the meeting & saw thousands assembled for a like purpose. Day passed away full of enthusiasm & political feeling.
Evening found us by the side of Julia’s grave where our tears flowed freely & where we felt that we had lost a wife & friend whose worth we could never know but whose name will ever awaken feelings which love & affection can only know. I was greatly depressed in soul & could find no releif but tears. Hours stole away & we were talking of the past & of the changes that a future may yet have in store for us. —
[Sept 20th 1840] Sabbath opened its sacred day & we welcomed its appearance. Attended service thro’ the day & in the evening I would gladly have gone to the grave yard but did not. The day passed away & Monday came.
[Sept 21st 1840] We were on our way for Aurora about 7 AM & as it was a cold dreary day I promised myself but little pleasure & enjoyed considerable. The wind was high & the lake very rough — This was just what I had wished & I loved to look upon its tossing foam. Our landing was brilliant tho’ not free from danger as the waves broke over us frequently. The little yawl landed us safely & on the return of the Steam Boat from the bridge I parted tho’ reluctantly with WSF & went on board for Ithaca. A quick passage bro’t me back to what was once my house. My time spent with WSF had been full of interest & I felt that we had added yet another bond to our friendship.
[Sept 22d 1840] Tuesday passed in business &c & in the morning of Wed I was bound for Elmira having spent a week under circumstances the most agreeable yet most soul deppressing I ever knew.
[Sept 25th 1840] This evening (25th) I have been writing in Miss RMG Album a task I do not like & yet feel a pleasure in performing. I am sick of my performance.
Sept 27th  Sabbath. One year ago & Julia would sit at my side or listen as I read from some favorite book — & on the evening of the sabbath would talk of things spiritual & with me read the Scriptures each a verse — there join with me in seeking direction from God & strength to sustain us & carry us on thro’ duty. Her prayers were full of humility & that entire dependence & submission to the will of Heaven which a close communion with God will ever create – & almost invariably referring to that change which she has experienced. Full of gratitude & never complaining even tho’ she suffered much from a nervous depression which rendered her almost insane at times & caused her stay in Elmira the most painful part of her illness. Still she wore a cheerful countenance & by every effort endeavored to add comfort to my self. Oh what a sacrifice to her. Ever anticipating my wishes & never for a moment forgetting the aim she had in view when she pledged me her love — that her happiness would consist in making me happy. — She is gone — & can no more add comfort to my life — she can never again bless me with her advice or cheer with her smiles.
Sept 30th  Wednesday. Monday evening I spent a few moments with Miss G— & wish it was consistent for me to give the whole conversation object &c. — Br AFP was with me on Monday & yesterday.
Yesterday evening spent with Miss E Tuthill & was gratified in the turn of conversation — it happening to concern the past in its most interesting features to my self. To-day has been rainy & the weather really seems Fall like. The forests too show the effects of frost & age & are just beginning to change their color of green for the varied hues of Autumn.

domain: literature


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One of our favorite Christmas treats is peppernuts--a German Mennonite tradition. Both my grandmothers and my mom made these when I was a kid. Yum. I have only just begun adding this to my own Christmas traditions (not sure why I waited until now...maybe getting a little nostalgic in my old age), and the kids are enjoying the little cookies quite a bit. Hearing little Lu say peppernuts is pretty sweet.
The process to make them is not quick, but it's not terribly difficult--we've managed to do a little bit at a time and still enjoy ourselves.Mary Beth is really enjoying helping me with the process--she cut A LOT of these little guys.
So far we've made two batches--most going out as gifts to our friends. I'm trying to decide if we need to make another batch to get us through Christmas and the week after.

domain: hobby


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Same day, different holiday: Mid-autumn festivals across East Asia
N.Korea could use nuclear weapons at any stage of conflict: Pentagon
Yoon hosts luncheon meeting with Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima on Chuseok
Swimmer, gamers celebrate Chuseok with gold medals
Memorials commemorating Itaewon crowd crush to be erected at accident site
The many regional flavors of songpyeon, a Korean holiday dessert
Opposition leader proposes meeting with Yoon amid growing party feud
With teammate's help, inconsolable shooter regroups in time to win bronze
NewJeans hits 1 bln streams mark on Spotify with debut album
Whisky imports surge 40% through August, suggesting record-breaking year
Technicians tasked with setting up RFID system check Kaesong complexBy 서지연
Published : Dec. 2, 2013 - 22:09
The six-member team returned to the South across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two countries after spending the day checking prospective sites that can be used to set up the radio frequency identification tag (RFID) system.
Seoul's Ministry of Unification said the team members held talks with their North Korean counterparts and agreed to visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex again on Thursday.
"Because of the preparation time, the actual setting up of sensors and other equipment won't begin until next week," a ministry official said.
The latest visit comes after Seoul and Pyongyang agreed on Friday to start work on the RFID system in the first week of December.
The headway was made at the transit and communication sub-panel of the joint management committee. The committee effectively runs the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
Officials said efforts will be made to complete the necessary work as soon as possible so as to meet the deadline that calls for the system to be operational by year's end. They, however, conceded that the tags may not be operational by then.
Setting up an RFID system over the DMZ is an important first step to raise the international competitiveness of the industrial complex that first started churning out goods in late 2004.
It can address a primary grievance of South Korean companies operating in Kaesong, which had to follow strict rules governing movement to and from the complex that is home to 123 South Korean factories.
Once the system is set up, it could make it much more easier for people to travel to Kaesong.(YONHAP)
S. Korea wins bronze in pistol mixed team event for 14th shooting medal
Traffic heavy on expressways following Chuseok
S. Korea to extend $5 mil worth of fertilizer aid to Ukraine via U.S. agency


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He sat at his locker stall with that infamous Jonathan Toews stare. The one that helped dub him “Captain Serious.” The one we haven’t seen much of this year. But a season-first three-game losing streak brought it out, and Toews didn’t mince words about the latest loss, 2-1 in overtime to Phoenix.
“We got no jump to our game and you’re not going to get any breaks when you’re playing like that,” Toews said. “When you don’t have puck possession, nothing is going to happen for you.
“It comes to our energy level. We have to find a way to push ourselves and motivate ourselves for these games. I don’t know what we’re thinking about right now, but our focus isn’t there.”
Joel Quenneville was less critical of his team, but he is interested in how the Hawks will respond -- considering the three losses in a row -- to the most adversity this team has faced all season.
“I think all year long things have been rather smooth and now it’s a test for us to try and capture some momentum here and find out what it’s like to win [again],” Quenneville said. “We get right back at it [on Saturday], so that’s what we’re anxious to find out.”
Wednesday night against the St. Louis Blues the Hawks were sloppy with the puck and were told to simplify their game. Against Phoenix, it was even worse, considering they didn’t have the puck enough to get sloppy with it.
“Our puck protection, our puck possession game was virtually not there,” Quenneville said.
Toews said the lack of energy is especially offensive considering the excitement the team showed coming home from their long road trip.
“I don’t know if we thought it was going to be easier playing here but teams are going to come in here and step up their game ... and we have to be ready,” Toews said.
Now it’s back to the road against the team that beat them Wednesday. If that isn’t motivation enough, the Hawks might be staring at their first four-game losing skid while the top seed in the conference becomes an even further reach.

domain: sports


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The official cover art for "Halo 5: Guardians" has been revealed, showcasing Master Chief and Jameson Locke as well as Spartan teams that will aid each protagonist.
Latest Windows 10 news, including the new Server preview
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Review: Redefining the flagship
galaxy s6 edge
The Office 2016 Public Preview download is now available
Hands on with Windows 10 build 10108
Hands on with HoloLens, round 2
Halo 5 guardians
From open Windows and bendy Galaxys, to a serving of Spartan, a bit more Lollipop, lots more Ones, WhatsApp chat and the OS that still won't die, it's our regular round-up of the week's top tech news.
Microsoft's live-action trailer for Xbox One first-person shooter "Halo 5: Guardians" during a commercial break of television's "The Walking Dead" announced an Oct. 27 release date for the game.
Microsoft has released a fictional multi-part exposé about Halo franchise protagonist Master Chief to promote the upcoming entry in the series, "Halo 5: Guardians."
A new Tumblr account is teasing a "Halo 5" announcement for Sunday, though little information is given about what the announcement could possibly be.
It won't actually be available until autumn 2015, but you can order Halo 5: Guardians now, including the option of a $249.99 Limited Collector's Edition, which includes a poster and a numbered statue.
Microsoft has released the first footage of the upcoming "Halo: Nightfall" digital video series, giving us our first good glimpse of Agent Locke, who will be playable in "Halo 5: Guardians."
Microsoft's 343 Industries has released the first public piece of concept art for the newly revealed Halo 5: Guardians, and also stated that the Xbox One game is being built on a new graphics engine.


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Foto: Erik Hecht
Taming awesome nature.
Your journey will cover deserts, jungles, tundra, and you’ll be sailing, skiing, driving from pole to pole. Is there any particular aspect or challenge you’re apprehensive about?
Like I always say, if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough. This basically means that no matter the challenge I am willing to undertake, there will always be something worth being apprehensive about. Pole2Pole is a unique expedition because it will take me through a variety of landscapes, seasons, and conditions. During this two-year adventure, I will be sailing across oceans, skiing across both the Arctic and Antarctica, and driving in extreme terrains. I am more apprehensive, however, about the two world-firsts I will be undertaking; the crossing of the Arctic and Antarctica. These steps of the journey need to be extremely well prepared. From equipment to weather to mental conditions, a great amount of details come into play to guarantee secure crossings.

domain: geography


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Colard Mansion (or Colart, before 1440 – after May 1484) was a 15th-century Flemish scribe and printer who worked together with William Caxton. He is known as the first printer of a book with copper engravings, and as the printer of the first books in English and French.
Colard Mansion was a central figure in the early printing industry in Bruges. He was active as early as 1454 as a bookseller, and was also active as a scribe, translator and contractor for manuscripts, which meant entering into contracts with the clients, and organizing and sub-contracting the elements such as scribing, decorating and binding. From 1474 until 1476 he worked together with the early English printer William Caxton, and he continued the company on his own afterwards. Caxton probably learned the art of printing from Mansion, and it was from Mansion's press that the first books printed in English (Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye) and French came. He moved to the Burg, the commercial heart of Bruges at the time, in 1478. Mansion suffered heavily under the economic crisis in Bruges in the 1480s, and only one work was printed after the death of Mary of Burgundy in 1482. Nothing is known with certainty about his life after 1484, although he may have moved to Picardy.
Mansion sold illuminated manuscripts to the aristocracy, and luxurious incunabula to the bourgeoisie, but he was one of the first to also publish smaller and cheaper books of only twenty to thirty pages, mainly in French. Nowadays, 25 editions of incunabula by Mansion alone are known, making him the most prolific of Bruges' early printers. Only two of these are in Latin, all others are in French, many of them first editions. Customers of Mansion include Charles de Croÿ, prince of Chimay, and Marie, the widow of Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol. Mansion has been called the first printer of luxury books.
He collaborated with major manuscript illuminators, such as the Master of the Dresden Prayer Book, who were fast losing work to printing, or copyists of their work. In fact only two of his books are illustrated, the influential Ovide Moralisé with woodcuts, and a French translation of Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium, the first book to be illustrated with engravings, some of which have been claimed to be the work of the Dresden Prayer Book Master and other identified illuminators in the circle of the Master of Anthony of Burgundy. As intaglio prints, the nine engravings had to be printed separately from the relief text and then pasted in, and only three copies are known with the engravings. More copies are known without the engravings, several of which contain illuminations instead. It has been suggested that this was Mansion's original intention (other incunabula left spaces for manual illustration), but that this hybrid product did not attract the wealthy buyers of illuminations, so the engravings were an afterthought, aimed at a less exclusive market. Mansion is also known as the translator of at least five texts from Latin to French, including Le dialogue des créatures, printed by Dutch Gerard Leeu in 1482.
- 1467: Romuleon (manuscript by Benvenuto Rambaldi da Imola, translated by Jean Miélot, dedicated to Philip the Good
- 1472 or later: Penitence d'Adam (Testament of Adam) (manuscript), dedicated to Lewis de Bruges
- 1474-1475: Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, together with William Caxton and Johann Veldener
- 1475: The Game and Playe of Chesse, together with Caxton (who translated it from the French version), based on a work by Jacobus de Cessolis
- 1476: Le Jardin de dévotion by Petrus de Alliaco, Mansion's first book as an independent publisher
- 1476: De cas de nobles hommes et femmes (De Casibus Virorum Illustrium) by Giovanni Boccaccio, translated into French by Laurent Premierfait, was the first book to be illustrated with engravings, probably made by Marc le Bongeteur.
- 1476: Controversie de Noblesse by Buonaccorso da Montemagno (or Surse de Pistoye), translated into French by Jean Miélot
- 1476-1477: an anonymous French prediction text
- 1477: La consolation de la philosophie by Boethius
- 1477: Estrif de Fortune et de Vertu (anonymous)
- 1477: Traité de l’espere, French translation of the Tractatus de Origine, Natura, Jure et Mutationibus Monetarum by Nicole Oresme in 26 chapters
- 1479: Le quadriloque invectif by Alain Chartier
- 1479: La somme rurale by Jean Boutillier
- 1479: Opera : De caelesti hyerarchia. De ecclesiastica hyerarchia. De divinis nominibus. De mystica theologia. Epistolae, a complete edition in Latin of the works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, translated by Ambrosio Traversari
- 1480: Art de bien mourir (anonymous)
- 1480?: Guillaume Caoursin, Rhodiae Obsidionis descriptio
- before June 1481: Valere Maxime (life of Saint Hubert), dedicated to Philippe de Hornes
- 1482: Dyalogue des creatures, translated by Mansion from the Latin Dialogus creaturarum
- 1484: Ovide moralisé, first edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses, illustrated with woodcuts, rearranged and partly rewritten by Mansion himself, published in May 1484. It is his last known work, and it has been speculated that the expensive book bankrupted the company. This book was reprinted as the Bible des poëtes (Poets' Bible) at least four times in Paris between 1493 and 1531. Afterwards, a purer version (with all allegorical additions by Mansion removed, but keeping his translations) under the title Grand Olympe des histoires poëtiques du Prince de poësie Ovide Naso en sa Metamorphose was published repeatedly between 1532 and 1570.
- Unknown date:
- the Distichs of Cato
- Les Evangiles des quenouilles (anonymous, circa 1480)
- La doctrine de bien vivre en ce monde (also called Donat espirituel) by Jean Gerson
- La Danse des aveugles by Pierre Michault, secretary of Charles the Bold
- Invectives contre la secte de Vauderie
- Adevineaux amoureux (anonymous).
Incunabula by Mansion are scattered throughout collections mainly in Western Europe. The largest such collection is in Paris, and the 16 copies of 10 different titles in the Public Library of Bruges form the second biggest collection.
- T Kren & S McKendrick (eds), Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe, Getty Museum/Royal Academy of Arts, 2003, ISBN 1-903973-28-7
- Biography at Historische Bronnen Brugge Last accessed at September 27, 2007
- Short biography in English at the Dutch Royal Library Last accessed at September 27, 2007
- Carton, Charles Louis (1848). Colard Mansion et les imprimeurs brugeois du 15me siècle (in French). Vande Casteele-Werbroeck. p. 44. Retrieved 20 May 2011.


JACKSON – As an all-state running back and Michigan State University commit, Khari Willis will draw plenty of attention this season.
That’s not unfamiliar territory for the Jackson Lumen Christi senior.
Willis attracted plenty of spotlight last season and still ran for 1,565 yards and 27 touchdowns in just eight games, so he’s not concerned about opposing defenses loading up against him.
“For me, I really don’t think it’s any pressure because that’s unnecessary for me to do for my team,” he said. “I’m really just focused on what the team does. Obviously (other teams) are going to send some guys (at me) and that’s going to give other opportunities to players that are capable of making plays.
“I have a lot of confidence in my team this year, a lot of confidence in my line, a lot of confidence in our skill players and a lot of confidence in our quarterback.”
Humility and leadership are qualities Willis, the fifth among his brothers to play for the Titans, brings to the team. Those are honorable traits, and Willis backs them up with talent.
“He is as skilled as anybody we’ve had here in a long time,” said Herb Brogan, who is in his 35th season coaching a program that has won eight state titles. “He’s a great leader, a really good kid off the field and a great student. You talk about the total package: He’s about as close as we’ve come to that out here.”
Willis’ achievements have placed him on the MLive.com 2014 Michigan High School Player of the Year watch list.
“It’s definitely something I’m proud of,” Willis said. “It shows the hard work doesn’t go unnoticed, and I’m just proud of my teammates for being able to help me. To even be in that conversation is a blessing.”
Being considered among the elite running backs in the state – Willis is also an all-state point guard on the basketball court – means more attention from opposing defenses, but that could benefit the talent-deep Titans.
“It makes it a bigger challenge for him, but it also opens up some opportunities for a lot of other kids as well,” Brogan said. “We’ve got some other kids that we think are playmakers and I think if you focus too much on Khari, we’ve got some other kids that can hurt you.”
Willis backs up that statement and said committing to Michigan State has removed some of the recruiting stress. His chief concern at the moment is performing for the Titans, who have lost in the first round of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. “I think if we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be a really good team,” he said. “Right now, I’m playing for Lumen Christi, so that’s what I’m focusing on, as opposed to State.”


Yellowstone Roads Are Open; Watch Out for Wildlife
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – Yellowstone National Park officially crawls out of its winter hibernation today.
The Park now has opened certain roads, weather permitting, and they will stay open until Nov, 1, according to a news release.
As an incentive to visit the world's first national park, the Park will waive entrance fees on Saturday to celebrate National Park Week.
These are the roads open now:
- West Entrance in West Yellowstone, Montana, to Old Faithful by way of Madison Junction.
- Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful by way of Norris Junction and Madison Junction.
- Norris Junction to Canyon Village.
Come May, the Park will be opening these roads with no restrictions, weather permitting:
- North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana.
- Northeast Entrance at Silver Gate and Cooke City, Montana.
(The news release did not say if the South Entrance is open. The Park's office is closed today, so this won't be known until next week.)
Four major road improvement projects will occur this year. and all will cause delays:
- Lewis River Bridge.
- Old Faithful to West Thumb.
- Yellowstone River Bridge.
- Northeast Entrance Road.
Visitors should plan accordingly for these delays located along the park’s southern and northern road corridors.
Drive slowly through road construction and be alert to workers, heavy equipment, wildlife and other hazards.
Speaking of being careful, watch out, and do not crowd nor push wildlife as they emerge from their winter habitat.
Bison, elk and moose are stressed and weak due to a severe winter of above-average snowpack and continued cold temperatures. Be mindful as they endure this hardest part of the year.
Bison and elk often use roads as travel corridors when the snow is deep, and higher than usual snowbanks this year prevent them from easily moving off the roads.
Stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and 25 yards from all other wildlife.
There may be a high number of winter-killed carcasses due to the severity of the winter. When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter.
Sometimes, bears will react aggressively to encounters with people when feeding on carcasses. Protect yourself and bears. Stay alert, carry bear spray and know how to use it. Learn more about bear safety here.
Services in the spring are limited.
Visit Operating Hours & Seasons for area-specific services.
Stay informed and watch for quickly changing weather conditions and the possibility of temporary road closures. Many areas of the park are still experiencing winter conditions and snow and ice may cover sections of road.
Finally, don't pet the fluffy cows.


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Great Pet Store! Excellent staff! Very clean and great place to buy a new pet!
One of the best pet stores in St Pete hands down!
Megan Katherine Stabler
This place goes above and beyond for their customers! I was in search of a very specific color and gender ferret and they went out of their way to make sure I got the one I wanted. She turned out to be the sweetest little girl ever! This store is very clean, animals are well cared for and the staff is actually very knowledgeable and caring! I live an hour away and I make the drive when I can to pick up little trinkets for my babies <3 best pet store in All of TampaBay!!
The only place to buy pet stuff. The birds are always so nice.

domain: pet


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Pope Francis delivers his blessing to faithful at the end of a Mass celebrated by Brescia's Bishop Luciano Monari, not pictured, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
Pope Francis in his last Sunday address called on every European parish to host one refugee family each in a goodwill gesture that will begin in the Vatican state.
“I appeal to the parishes, the religious communities, the monasteries and sanctuaries of all Europe to take in one family of refugees,” he said.
The Pontiff added that it is not enough to say “have courage, hang in there” to the refugees making the dangerous journey into Europe. He also said that two parishes in the Vatican will each take in a family of refugees in the coming days.
Pope Francis said the call to action is a “concrete gesture” to prepare for the extraordinary Holy Year on the theme of mercy, which will begin on December 8.
The call goes out to tens of thousands of Catholic parishes in Europe. There are more than 25,000 parishes in Italy alone, and more than 12,000 in Germany, where many of the refugees are hoping to settle. His Sunday’s comments come as Europe battles the worst refugee crisis since World War 11.
Over 350,000 refugees have already crossed into Europe and around 200,000 more are expected to arrive.
Migrant Crisis: Pope Francis Calls On All Catholic Parishes In Europe To Take In Refugees
Reviewed by James chibueze


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It looks like they never left! Reunited spouses Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt packed on the PDA in Las Vegas on Saturday, where Montag, 24, hosted Pure nightclub's Halloween Haunt. Pratt, 26, dressed as a Close-Encounters-style alien; Montag skipped a costume, but showed off her surgically-enhanced curves in a gold mini-dress. Montag Tweeted about her DIY beauty prep before the party: "Doing my own hair and makeup for my event tonight. This is the first time in 3 years!" Although the duo have turned up for plenty of private photo ops, the costume bash was the first red carpet event they've attended since April. A lot has happened since then. The Hills, the MTV reality show that made them reality stars, aired its final episode. And over the summer, the pair (who married in April 2009) separated, filed for divorce and then reunited. Multiple insiders told Us the split and reconciliation were part of an elaborate publicity stunt. "Fortunately, we are together," Montag told Doug Elfman of Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday, "It's been a long summer, and we are together, and I'm so excited to be in Vegas together." The reality star, who famously underwent 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day, added that she loves her new look. "I'm definitely feeling the best I've ever felt." One thing that's definitely real: Montag's sad isolation from most of her friends and family. Her mom Darlene Egelhoff hasn't seen her daughter in nine months, and is now working as a maid in Crested Butte, Colo. to make ends meet.
Audrina Patridge hosted a Halloween bash at The Bank Nightclub at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night (October 30). Joined by boyfriend Corey Bohan, Drina donned a sexy little black, white and red ensemble while visiting the DJ booth in between time with her man on the dance floor.
Getting into the holiday spirit, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were spotted having a pumpkin of a good time while out near their Los Angeles home on Thursday afternoon (October 28). During the course of the day's photo op, the former "Hills" lovers frolicked along the sandy shoreline, grabbing up a rocky perch for a little PDA before heading back to the homefront. The outing comes just after Heidi's mom, Darlene Egelhoff, recently spoke with press about having to become a maid due to the economic downturn. Also telling that she hasn't spoken with her daughter in nine months, Egelhoff was asked whether Heidi knows of her current cash-strapped status, to which she replied, "No, I don't."
Omg how much better does Spencer look with that pumpkin head? ;) credit - gossip center, thanks for the heads up Katie ~Kelli at Hills Freak
Sorry I'm late with this one but it's too cute not to post! : ) Steph tweeted on 10/22: "Just finished filming MTV's "The Seven." I show you guys my decorating tips for throwing a halloween party!!" credit - ~Kelli at Hills Freak
The VH1 Save the Music Foundation's 2010 Gala will be held on Monday, November 8 in New York at Cipriani Wall Street. VH1's Save the Music has been supporting instrumental music programs in public schools for the past 13 years. Presenters at the event will include Lauren Conrad, Pete Wentz, Jason Mraz, Common, Billy Burke and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

domain: celebrity


by Benjamin Pogrund
The success of the African National Congress in ending white minority rule in South Africa nine years ago is one of the epic stories of our time. It is known as the “South African miracle” not only because of the fact of it but because it was achieved relatively peacefully. Negotiations between whites and blacks brought agreement for a democratic and nonracial country.
The negotiations came about only after brutal conflict and centuries of discrimination against blacks. The government grew increasingly violent as it tried to maintain white domination - shooting demonstrators, using detention without trial on a mass scale, plus torture and assassination. The ANC was the leader in the battle against apartheid. Armed struggle was one of the methods it used. The South African government branded it a “terrorist organization” and threw the full weight of repressive laws against it.
Meeting Johnny Makatini
At the height of apartheid, and while on a visit to New York, I interviewed Johnstone “Johnny” Makatini, recently appointed as the African National Congress-in-exile representative at the UN.
For privacy, we met in the plush room of my 5th Avenue hotel - a surreal setting for the bitter and violent emotions that poured out of him. For two hours he raged against South Africa’s whites and especially the Afrikaners who had developed the policy of racial apartheid (separateness). Whites were cruel, despicable, he said; they deserved no mercy; force was all they knew and understood; if they would not yield power, they had to be killed or driven into the sea.
The strength of Makatini’s feeling was relevant to the time at which we met, late in 1976. On June 16 that year, a peaceful march by schoolchildren in Soweto, the ghetto township for blacks outside Johannesburg, to protest against the greater imposition of the hated Afrikaans language for their lessons, had ended with the police opening fire and killing one of them, Hector Pietersen. That set off a countrywide mass challenge to government authority by black schoolchildren. It became known as the “children’s rebellion.” They paid a heavy price from the guns of the police and army. During the next six months, the official death count was 500 to 600. In fact, it was perhaps twice as many or more. To this day, the exact figure is not known.
Hopes and Policy
I knew Makatini and he did not usually talk in such harsh, unforgiving terms. It shook me, and left me drained and depressed about the prospects for South Africa’s future. Let’s go and have a drink, I said when I could take no more. We went downstairs to the bar and, drinks in hand, continued talking. After a few minutes, Makatini looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was near, leaned close to me and said softly: “Listen man, don’t you think that when the chips are really down, the Afrikaners will accept us and there will be peace in our country?”
That was not only Makatini the human-being speaking from the heart, expressing his deepest hopes, but he was also articulating the policy of the African National Congress. For nearly 50 years since its creation in 1912, the ANC had adhered to non-violence, asking and begging the ruling white minority for equality for the black majority. The government consistently rejected the pleas and violently suppressed protests. Then came the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960 - precipitated by protest action by the ANC’s rival, the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) led by Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe: The police killed 68 blacks taking part in a peaceful demonstration. The biggest protests in the country’s history followed, and the government banned both the ANC and PAC.
Fourteen months later, the underground ANC, led by Nelson Mandela, took the fateful decision that nonviolence had been tried and had failed and there was no alternative but to turn to armed struggle. On December 16, 1961, its new military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), set off the first bombs.
Violence Against Property, Not People
The armed struggle was founded on two fundamental principles: First, violence should not be directed against civilians but against property and military targets. This derived from the ANC’s history of non-violent protest, and its belief in the principle of non-violent political action to effect change as preached and practised by Mahatma Gandhi in fighting British rule in India. (Gandhi was an admired figure: He had lived in South Africa early in the century and led nonviolent protests against racial discrimination; his precepts were carried forward by an ANC ally, the South African Indian Congress).
Second, not killing whites was a pragmatic strategy aimed at keeping the door open for them to change. The argument was that violent and indiscriminate attacks would so frighten whites about their future that their determination to resist change would be deepened. Giving this approach even greater depth was the fact that whites were members of the ANC, and some occupied high leadership positions, alongside black, colored and Asian South Africans.
Religion was an added dimension. Christianity was strongly rooted among many blacks. Oliver Tambo, the ANC’s president in exile, was a devout Christian and nonviolence was part of his creed. Dr. Tom Karis, the eminent American authority on South African political history, has described it thus1: “The ANC was fundamentally opposed to any form of terrorism because such action would subvert its popular appeal among all racial groups and its legitimacy in a future government. In particular, the ANC’s policy on racial cooperation placed a high priority on facilitating the growth of white groups within South Africa that would be prepared to cooperate with it. It was genuinely anxious not to exacerbate racial bitterness, thus jeopardizing the goal of a nonracial society. Furthermore, counteracting the “terrorist” image propagated by the South African government was important for the ANC’s standing in many Western countries. It also recognized the need for whites to stay if South Africa’s advanced economy was to be maintained.”
Mandela at his Trial
Karis quoted Mandela as saying during his trial in 1964, in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment: “We believed that, as a result of government policy, violence by the African people had become inevitable, and that unless responsible leadership was given to canalize and control the feelings of our people, there would be outbreaks of terrorism, which would produce an intensity of bitterness and hostility between the various races of the country which is not produced even by war.”
Mandela also explained that the ANC had adopted sabotage as a policy because it, “did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations.” Umkhonto members, he noted, were given, “strict instructions ... that on no account were they to injure or kill people.”
So deep did this outlook go that the ANC became the first liberation movement to sign the protocol of the Geneva Convention on the “humanitarian conduct of war.”
During the succeeding years, Umkhonto carried out many acts of sabotage: Some were spectacular in attacking government plants and electricity installations but overall they did only limited damage to the economy. “Armed struggle” was really no more than “armed propaganda.”
Nonviolence did not extend to what the ANC viewed as legitimate targets - armed or uniformed combatants, police officers, perceived informers and collaborators, and white farmers in border areas who formed part of military structures. But even this was limited: According to police statistics of the time, from 1976 to 1986, in a population of 30 to 35 million, about 130 people were killed by “terrorists.” Of these, about 30 were members of government security forces and 100 were civilians, of whom, in turn, 40 were whites and 60 were blacks.
Intense Internal Debate
Within the ANC, there was intense debate about the nature of the struggle: Should the priority be guerrilla warfare by soldiers trained in African and other countries (and by the PLO, too) and sent back into South Africa? Or should the focus be on political mass action inside South Africa?
The issue, noted Karis, was resolved in the late 1970s after a visit by Tambo and others to Vietnam to study its revolutionary experience. Henceforth, the “armed struggle” was considered “secondary” and the “main task” was “to concentrate on political mobilization and organization.” That, through the 1980s, was achieved through alliance with new organizations at home that worked in the open - the United Democratic Front and the Congress of South African Trade Unions.
Equal Truth and Reconciliation
In due course, after the end of apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation Committee investigated not only the human rights abuses perpetrated by the white minority government but also the ANC’s behaviour. Some thought this rankly unfair in that it could constitute a moral equivalence between the evils done in the name of apartheid and the ANC’s struggle for freedom. But the TRC did investigate the ANC and where actions directed at legitimate targets had resulted also in civilian deaths and injury, these were held to be gross violations of human rights for which the ANC bore responsibility.
The worst bomb attack perpetrated by the ANC was outside a military headquarters in the capital, Pretoria, in 1983. The bomb exploded downtown during the afternoon rush hour, killing 21 people and injuring 217. The ANC explained that the bomb had gone off “prematurely.” When a bomb intended for a military convoy in the eastern coastal city of Durban caused civilian casualties, Oliver Tambo said the bombers had been “inexcusably careless.” At one stage, the ANC laid anti-tank mines in rural areas near the country’s northern and eastern borders. The mines were aimed at army patrols but also caused the death of civilians, including black laborers. The ANC abandoned the mining campaign.
Yet the commitment not to harm civilians was never perfect or wholly consistent. In the mid-1980s, as the struggle against the government spread, the black townships experienced the horrific phenomenon of “necklacing” - killing alleged collaborators and suspected enemies by using gasoline-filled tire tubes to burn them to death. There was, admittedly, a blurring of the division between people using this tactic who identified themselves with the ANC and disciplined ANC members. The ANC leadership in exile seemed uncertain how to deal with the atrocities and was slow to condemn them. When it did, necklacing came to a halt.
Worse was to come. As apartheid crumbled the government lashed out ferociously. Violence was endemic. The ANC became locked in a power struggle with Inkatha, the Zulu nationalist party led by Chief Gatsha Buthelezi. It had begun as a movement cooperating with the ANC in seeking freedom for blacks but its aims narrowed to build power for the Zulus, the country’s biggest single tribal group. Government security forces not only continued killing but also stoked the fires by working as agents provocateurs, setting one group against the other. Inkatha was in secret cahoots with the government and received training for hit squads. The last three years of apartheid rule saw the murder of an estimated 12,000 people, virtually all of them blacks.
In the first democratic elections, in 1994, the African National Congress proved its popularity by winning nearly two-thirds of the seats in the new parliament. Holding the elections was only possible because the white minority agreed to yield their tyrannical rule. That followed negotiations over several years: Secret discussions with Mandela, while still a prisoner, began as early as 1985. Whites were persuaded to concede because they accepted that the ANC, speaking for the black majority, did not harbor ideas of revenge for the past and wanted whites to play their role in a new South Africa. The adherence to nonviolence paid off.
Johnny Makatini did not live to enjoy the fruits of his tireless work for freedom. After representing the ANC at the UN for about eight years, he became head of the ANC’s department of international affairs. He died in Zambia in 1988.
1) Memorandum on the African National Congress by Thomas G. Karis, New York, May 22, 2002


The Best PC Magazine Tags: Components Last response: September 26, 2003 5:13 PM in Components Share jmabe September 26, 2003 2:35:57 AM What is the best geek PC Magazine in your opinion? I don't mean mainstream material, but in depth analysis and geek information...thoughts? More about : magazine Toejam31 September 26, 2003 5:13:36 PM This is my favorite: Maximum PC Toey My System Rigs ___________________________________________ BTVILLARIN.com - Your Computer Questions Answered Can't find your answer ? Ask ! Publish Related resources Best PC Magazine.......? Forum How is PC Magazine's quality? Forum Best Network Magazine Forum Beef with PC gamer US magazine Forum Is PC World magazine affiliated with Norton/Symantec? Forum Newegg offering free PC Magazine subscriptions or $9.97 back Forum Any more Magazine updates for HL2, like the PC GAMER one. Forum Recommendations on a PC Magazine Subscription...... Forum PC Magazine article on Win XP SP 2 security hole Forum BG3 preview in PC Gamer magazine Forum SolvedMagazines with good authority on pc/laptop builds Forum SolvedWhich PC will squeeze the best out of my money? Forum Solvedwhich one is the best pc build for gaming? Forum SolvedWhat would be the best graphics card for my PC? Forum SolvedBest Budget pc for World of Tanks gaming? Forum SolvedWhat's the best gaming PC I could build for $500-$600 and I need a list of parts. Forum SolvedBest $500 Gaming PC Forum SolvedBest Pc Build For $1,300? Help Forum SolvedBest Gaming PC Forum SolvedBest $700 gaming PC Forum More resources Read discussions in other Components categories Power supplies Sound cards NICs Akasa Antec Cooler Master Cougar DeepCool Enermax !


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Bristol City have been dealt a hammer blow with the news that Benik Afobe is likely to be ruled out for the rest of the season.
The striker, who signed on loan from Stoke City last month, has been in good form for the Robins so far, but has ruptured his ACL in training.
It means City are unlikely to see him again this season, which is a huge spanner in the works of their promotion hunt.
So, how else can the Robins line up?
In what could be seen as a silver-lining, the Robins were without Afobe on Saturday as they beat his parent club 2-1, giving them a small taste of what it will be like to play without the influential attacker.
So far this season, City have played two up front, with Andreas Weimann playing alongside Afobe or Famara Diedhiou.
Here are the candidates to replace Afobe in the two-man attack.
The front man is likely the first option to start after impressing against Stoke City. Afobe was ineligible to face his parent club, meaning Diedhiou started the game instead, and found the back of the net.
However, while the 26-year-old is a popular figure among fans at Ashton Gate, he's also a source of frustration for his inconsistent performances. Last season, he netted 13 goals in 44 appearances for City, which was a decent return, but not enough for a club to build a Championship promotion challenge around.
Lee Johnson has been keen to bolster his front line since last January, which suggests he also felt more firepower was needed alongside Diedhiou.
However, having been at City since 2017, he is the most experienced of the Robins' striking options and his teammates will know his game. Out of the options available to City at the moment, Diedhiou is the most proven.
The City starlet is yet to properly make an impression on the first team after being recalled from Newport County last January.
It was expected that the 19-year-old would feature more this season, but Afobe's arrival pushed him down the pecking order a little.
He is clearly a talent and arguably more in the style of Afobe than Diedhiou is, but he is unproven in the Championship, and throwing him in could be a little bit of a risk.
However, his form for the Robins' under-23s has been impressive, so it could be a risk worth taking.
The summer signing is yet to play in the Championship this season, but is consistently named among the most impressive performers in training sessions for the Robins.
He's more commonly been used as an attacking midfielder in his career to date, but he does have the ability to play as a striker and enjoyed some relatively prolific streaks at former club Colchester United.
The 23-year-old has featured up front for the under-23s alongside Semenyo, with the pair complimenting each other, but his short stature and energetic style might be a little too close to what Andreas Weimann offers in the position.
Like Semenyo, as well, it could be a risk to throw an inexperienced player straight in at Championship level.
4-2-3-1 formation reshuffle
Whilst the Robins have had most of their success in 5-3-2 or 4-4-2 formations this season, with two up front, perhaps a change in formation could be on the cards. Weimann could well be shifted out onto one wing, with Szmodics or Kasey Palmer playing through the middle behind Diedhiou or Semenyo, with Niclas Eliasson or Callum O'Dowda on the other wing.
A 4-2-3-1 would certainly retain the Robins' attacking abilities, and you could even argue that Weimann leads the line up front with Eliasson and O'Dowda starting on either wing, although this perhaps lacks physicality.
The final option, if none of these suit, is to bring in a new signing to replace Afobe.
It would not be the most cost-effective, and it also means that whoever comes in will need to get up to speed pretty quickly without a pre-season under their belt.
However, there are some decent options out there, including one or two players who are pretty similar to Afobe.
It would be a drastic option, but sometimes those sorts of risks are worth taking if they pay off with promotion.
Get lots more news, opinion and transfer updates on our Bristol City FC page - and add a bookmark to find it quickly next time.


Big data analysis and visualisation play a key role in understanding complex mobility systems and planning urban mobility.
Creating a more liveable environment is a priority for many cities worldwide. In terms of urban mobility, this presents numerous challenges.
On the one hand, cities must guarantee that people can get from A to B in a comfortable, safe, and affordable way. On the other, they need to consider the economic and environmental aspects that urban mobility can have. Furthermore, new mobility offerings and services are constantly affecting the transportation landscape.
So, to shape future mobility, cities need to understand their entire, complex mobility ecosystems. This is where big data analysis and visualisation play a key role.
Even politicians have recognised that big data is crucial to transportation planning. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently announced a plan to set up a ‘Mobility Data Room’ for Europe. This will collect real-time data from various sources: the automotive industry, public transport, and new mobility providers.
Christian U. Haas, CEO of the German software company PTV Group, said: “Cities not only need to be forward-thinking and innovative but become the driver when it comes to mobility. The smart use of data offers many possibilities in understanding, managing, and regulating mobility.”
Data-driven analysis helps evaluate existing infrastructure as well as to examine ‘what-if’ scenarios: What is the travel demand during different times of the day? What is the capacity of a public transport system? Are there bottlenecks? Will new mobility modes improve services in an existing transport network?
Whether specific roads, neighbourhoods, or even entire regions are being investigated, so-called ‘heat maps’ can illustrate the traffic volume across the entire route network and highlight hot spots. Such visualisations enable traffic planners to identify where the potential for optimising the infrastructure is.
Implementing regulatory measures
With the help of big data analysis and visualisation, policymakers can also immediately test and evaluate the implementation of regulatory measures: will a new congestion charge reduce traffic in the city centre? How can bans on passing or parking be implemented? Where should an emission-free zone be best established?
“Visualisations on a digital map support the decision-making process – for example by enabling transparent and comprehensive communication between stakeholders and the public,” Haas explained.
This makes it easier to collect feedback, discuss alternatives, and provides a solid basis for implementation of traffic measures.
Planning new mobility offers
Another field in which big data analysis can help is the planning and operation of new mobility services. With an ever-growing number of new mobility solutions enriching the range of transportation services, it is up to the cities to take the lead. Only with the appropriate framework will new services come to effectively complement existing mobility offerings and benefit both citizens and the environment.
Data analytics enables cities to evaluate the effects, chances, and risks in advance: is another e-scooter provider needed? What are the best locations for docking-stations? Which operating area would be suitable for a new bike sharing service? In which areas should car-pool services, such as Uber, be allowed to operate?
If cities address these questions and challenges, they can provide the framework for attractive and successful mobility measures.
Data is also an important source of information for fleet operators planning to offer new mobility services. It allows them to evaluate the best conditions to make their business model work. For example: What is the expected demand for the service? How many passengers and vehicles would be needed to meet this demand in the most economical way?
Haas said: “Data analytics and visualisation offer transparency and enable city and traffic planners to make strategic and operative decisions based on verifiable facts. These tools are the key to shaping sustainable mobility and thus liveable environment for citizens. Providing data analytics and visualisation, as well as transportation models, is one of our core competencies at PTV Group. We are looking forward to supporting cities leading this process.”
Using data to keep the traffic flowing
It is a common sight on streets worldwide: one car after another stuck in traffic. In many big cities, it is getting harder to drive smoothly from point A to point B.
In this year’s TomTom Traffic Index, Bengaluru takes the top spot. Due to congestion, drivers are spending an average of 71% extra travel time on the roads in the southern Indian city. Next in the global ranking are the Philippine capital, Manila (71%), and Bogota in Colombia (68%). But how can cities beat traffic congestion?
Traffic congestion has increased globally during the last decade, and the 239 cities that TomTom included in its report had increased congestion levels between 2018 and 2019, with only 63 cities showing measurable decreases. There are many reasons for the worsening of traffic flow, such as more cars on the roads; the poor synchronisation of traffic lights; and unforeseen events such as accidents or severe weather conditions.
However, one of the biggest factors affecting traffic is predictable: construction sites.
Hamburg construction site management
To take the city of Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city, as an example: in 2019 alone, there were around 25,000 planned construction projects in the city. 3,700 of these affected the road network, bringing great misery to commuters. To tackle its growing traffic problems, including those caused by construction, Hamburg recently started using a software for forecasting congestion.
Dr Melanie Mergler, who leads the project on behalf of the Hamburg State Agency for Roads, Bridges and Waters (LSBG), explained its goals: “One of our main tasks was to develop simulation software that enables improved congestion forecasting and the collection of real-time traffic data. Employees of LSBG and traffic policemen will be provided with a tool to analyse the interactions between congestion and construction measures and thus improve the entire traffic flow.”
A new software solution
The LSBG relied on the expertise of two software providers: WPS – Workplace Solutions and PTV Group. Together they developed a software solution for congestion forecasting, which consists of
- An intuitive frontend system of ROADS – a software for the co-ordination of construction measures and analysis of changes in traffic flow; and
- An intelligent backend system powered by PTV Visum – a traffic demand model for simulating and calculating the impact of disruptions in traffic.
Explaining the special features of this software solution, Wolfgang Pelousek from PTV Group said: “Existing software solutions for planning of road works typically provide no information on resulting relocation of traffic flows. Our new tool offers this information. Users can now plan their construction sites smartly.”
In April 2020, the system was integrated into the operations of LSBG and the traffic control centre. Hamburg is now using the software for congestion forecasting for its long-term and short-term traffic planning.
Long-term traffic planning
In long-term traffic planning, planners use the simulations to analyse the effects of future construction work that requires changes in routing, such as lane narrowing, lane closures, or detours. They look at possible scenarios and their impact on the traffic situation, even after construction ends. The result is an improved, and permanent, traffic flow.
In the district Harburg in Hamburg, for example, major construction projects are planned for 2021, requiring full or partial road closures. Authorities used the simulation software to plan where to shift traffic from those roads. When the simulations showed that the alternative roads will be completely clogged, planners decided to begin the projects at different times.
Short-term traffic planning
In short-term traffic planning, authorities can use the software to simulate how incidents or ad-hoc events affect the road network. This allows the police to act to stabilise the traffic situation – for example by suggesting alternative routes and sharing them with news outlets.
In June 2020, activists of the environmental movement ‘Extinction Rebellion’ blocked all access roads to Hamburg’s Köhlbrand Bridge. Police at the traffic control centre simulated this unforeseen street closure and its effects on the surrounding road network. They were then able to take a number of corrective actions.
Outlook: ITS World Congress 2021
In autumn 2021, Hamburg will host the world’s largest and most important event for intelligent and digital mobility, the ITS World Congress. The Hamburg congestion forecast programme will be one of the highlights of this event and will be presented by LSBG’s DigiLab.
The PTV Group provides software solutions and consulting services to empower mobility and transport for a cleaner and smarter future. Customers in over 120 countries rely on PTV solutions – its best-in-class software for intelligent traffic management and transport optimisation enables decision-makers in politics, cities, organisations, industries, and logistics to save time and money, make roads safer, and protect the environment.
900 employees worldwide work on powerful, future-oriented solutions to create intelligent and eco-friendly mobility for everyone.
Head of Global Communications
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Nevada Past Times
Greetings! And welcome to the first edition of Nevada Past Times, the weekly column at OnReno.com that will take a look at the history of the Northern Nevada region with stories about some of the more interesting characters and events that shaped and molded the Truckee Meadows into what it is today.
For the first installment, I thought it might be a good idea to get an overview of the area’s history and perhaps a preview of some of the stories that will be featured in this space. Some of them you’ve probably heard or read before, but we promise to find the lesser known facets of Northern Nevada history that may surprise you to know actually happened right here.
We’ll skip the cooling of the earth’s core and the events surrounding the dinosaurs that roamed hereabouts since it is proven that dinosaurs did not keep very good historical records.
The first settlers in the area were the vast Northern Paiute tribe and the smallerWasho tribe who arrived just over ten millennia ago. The Paiutes could be found just north of what is now called Pyramid Lake and could be found from the eastern foothills of the Sierras in that region all the way to what is now the Oregon/Nevada border.
The Washo lived south of Pyramid Lake, including the Truckee meadows, Lake Tahoe, Washoe Valley, Eagle Valley, and eastward to the modern-daytown of Yerington. A wise and practical people, the Washo lived wherever fresh water was readily available (as evidenced by the settled locations I just listed) because they knew that not only did they need the water to survive, but fresh water sources were gathering places for animals to be hunted, and fish to be caught.
The Paiute and the Washo tribes lived in peace for the most part, but on occasion, disputes would arise and were settled at a sacred battle ground at a natural landmark on the shore of Lake Tahoe known today as Cave Rock. The battles were essentially a deadly game of King of the Hill, as the last warrior or group of warriors left standing atop the rock were the victors. Imagine the logistics of staging such battles the next time you drive through the tunnel up there.
The first of the European explorers arrived in 1827, though the territory hadpreviously been claimed by Spain as part of Mexico, it had not been surveyed or explored. Jedediah Smith led a company of men from the Rocky Mountain Fur Company looking for new territories for which to trap and harvest fur bearing animals. Smith noted in his ledger that there were large lakes of fresh water, plentiful in the region. But since he never got more than 75 miles south of the Truckee Meadows, he had missed Lake Tahoe entirely. One imagines his entry might have been more excitable had he gotten to see the body of water now referred to as “The Jewel in the Sierra Nevada Crown”.
In the years afterward, the trickle became a stream. The Washo gained a reputation for hospitality, and in point of fact, everything with the word “Truckee” on it was so named for a friendly Washo Chief who helped a group of settlers survive a particularly rough winter.
If only the Donner Party had known about this hospitality when they began their ill-fated journey up through Dog Valley on their way into what may have been the deepest snow ever to have fallen in the region.
By 1872, Nevada had become a state, the city of Reno had been founded, was the seat of the newly created Washoe County, and the famed Virginia and Truckee Railroad began daily operations hauling silver ore (and sometimes cattle raised in Washoe Valley) from Virginia City to the trans-continental railroad line which ran through Reno and the smaller railroad town of Sparks.
In the following 40 years, the University of Nevada had been founded and relocated to Reno where it opened its school of mining. The Empire Club opened as an all-purpose entertainment establishment featuring everything from gambling to what the locals referred to as “horizontal refreshment”.
On July 4th, 1910, heavyweight champion of the world Jack Johnson fought retired champ James Jeffries in a makeshift ring in front of 20,000 people near the freight yards downtown. It was called “the fight of the century”, but you’ll get to read more about that in a future installment.
In 1931, gambling was officially legalized in the state of Nevada, while the requirement for residency in order to attain a divorce was lowered to just six weeks. Divorce attorneys could not relocate here fast enough. Unhappily married couples with money to lose flocked to Reno by the trainload to spend the summer swimming up at the lake, playing the nickel slots, and waiting to stand before a judge and say the words “I don’t, any more.” Divorce is still a top ten industry in Nevada to this day.
Harrah’s opened in 1937, and then came The War, which affected Reno just about the same as it did any other mid-sized city in the United States. The boom of the 50’s was no different here either, with the one exception being that many people came from all over the world to play, to gamble, and to indulge in other vices that could not be had elsewhere.
The Air Races fired up in 1964, and still remains the fastest motorsport in the world to this day. Vintage aircraft race alongside modern day planes on the third weekend of September every year.
The 70’s saw a boom in modern day gaming establishments; the El Dorado, Circus Circus, Peppermill, Atlantis and Fitzgerald’s opened their doors to the gaming public. All but Fitzgerald’s are still in operation.
There are a few noteworthy events that happened in the 80’s and in the ensuing three decades, but we’ll save those for another time.
We hope you enjoyed this overview of local history, and look forward to getting more in depth with future installments. Check back with OnReno.com every Friday for new – or rather old – stories about past times in Nevada.