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2020 Jaguar XE: Proper, Precise & Sporty In All Ways British
The 2020 Jaguar XE debuts with two engines; one comes standard with all-wheel drive.
18-inch wheels, electric leather seats, LED headlights, and signature graphics are also standard.
Jag is still at it with their XE sports sedan. Aimed squarely at those who might want a BMW or an Audi, the refreshed 2020 Jaguar XE aims to hit all the right spots. And, more or less, they do. The real question here is will anyone actually buy a Jaguar over something German? And look, I can't really answer that question. That's up to you to decide, but Lord knows Jag has been trying very hard to get you to decide in their favor for a long while.
For 2020, the cats from Coventry updated their XE sedan in four areas: exterior, interior, and performance, along with ubiquitous tech goodies.
Styling & Design: A Sporty Character
Hold The Brandy
Power & Performance: Engine Mapping & Toggle Switches
2020 Jaguar XE Gallery
Jaguar says the 2020 XE is even more striking, but that's obviously in the eye of the beholder. However, it's hard not to agree with them as far as it being sharper and having a more assertive stance. The front receives a different bumper and a wider grille for a more planted appearance. The rear bumper and rear valance, also new, increase the visual width and aim to highlight the car's sporting character. The R-Dynamic S model, that would be the factory performance option (the one we'd buy), has "aircraft winglet-inspired" lower front apertures.
Do they do anything besides look cool? Probably not.
Jaguar's designers went for slimmer lights, something they say has the effect of visually lowering the nose. The idea, from a design perspective, is to create a more dynamic stance. Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.
The interior is just what you'd expect from Jaguar; no, it's just what you'd expect from a British car company: it is Proper. Sure, the Brits might be stuffed and hide-bound with things like this, but they sure know how to make everything seem like an Edwardian drawing room; even if it happens to be an automobile driving down the road.
In the case of the 2020 Jaguar XE, the interior is all-new and beautifully-appointed. There is heightened attention to detail, with premium materials and finishes throughout the cabin. There's a new, optional InControl Touch Pro Duo infotainment system and 12.3-inch interactive driver display. It allows for further customization, with Jaguar saying it's both intuitive and responsive. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard.
The high-tech stuff everyone has come to expect these days includes an optional ClearSight Rear View Mirror with a high-definition display screen for better rearward visibility. "Smart Settings" technology uses artificial intelligence to learn your preferences and adjusts the seats, mirrors, audio, and climate automatically, because touching one button is just too hard nowadays.
The electric leather seats "enhance driver and passenger comfort," which is an understated way of saying, "You'll feel like you're sitting in a leather armchair with a brandy at the gentleman's club. Minus the brandy, my good man!"
The 2020 Jaguar XE is the first Jaguar with wireless charging. Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.
[bctt tweet="You'll feel like you're sitting in a leather armchair with a brandy at the gentleman's club. Minus the brandy, my good man!" username="Automoblog"]
Now, about what's under the hood of the 2020 Jaguar XE. Customers get to choose between two Ingenium turbocharged four-cylinder engines, the P250 or P300. Roughly speaking, that's the power output. More precisely, we're talking either 247 or 296 horsepower. Revised software programming, new engine mapping, and updated hardware components give the P300 an advantage versus the P250. The P300 models benefit from better throttle response and acceleration, thanks to 295 lb-ft. of torque. The P300 is standard with all-wheel drive and hits 60 mph in 5.4 seconds.
The P250 models come in either rear or all-wheel drive, and even though the P300 is the sportier option, methinks a lighter, rear-wheel drive car might be more fun. It will have more traditional views with regard to handling, feel, and balance. In terms of handling, the 2020 Jaguar XE employs a double wishbone front suspension and an Integral Link rear suspension. 75 percent of the XE's body structure is aluminum.
Gearing is handled by an eight-speed automatic that allows for manual shifts. Picking your cog is accomplished via the SportShift selector and JaguarDrive Control "toggle switch" inspired by, if not lifted whole, from the F-TYPE. Be gone rotary control gear selector of Jag sedans past!
Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.
Related: The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 sets another speed record.
How much? Not all that bad. Prices start at $39,900 for the S P250 with rear-wheel drive; tack on another $2,000 for all-wheel drive. The R-Dynamic S P300 with all-wheel drive starts at $46,295. In other words, right in BMW 3 Series territory. The 2020 Jaguar XE is available for order now.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He is the author of Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, available in paperback or Kindle format. Follow his work on Twitter: @TonyBorroz.
Photos & Source: Jaguar Land Rover.
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It Doesn't Have To Be Right…
… it just has to sound plausible
Reading diary, #41
December 31, 2016 by iansales	5 Comments
An odd selection this time around. I normally like to plan my reading but the following were all pretty much random choices, grabbed when I needed a fresh book for my morning commute. Well, all except the last one, of course.
Midnight at the Well of Souls, Jack Chalker (1977). I've had this series on my bookshelves for several years and I'm not entirely sure why. I think Chalker was an awful writer, slapdash, fixated on a handful of not very original ideas, and content to pad out the thinnest of stories to trilogy, and longer, length. I don't think he wrote a single good book, but he does have legions of fans. Which, I guess, makes him much like every other science fiction author. Anyway, Midnight at the Well of Souls is the first book in Chalker's The Saga of the Well World series, which had reached seven books by the time Chalker died in 2005. A group of archaeological students studying a Markovian ruin on a dead world are murdered by their instructor after he has figured out how to access the Markovian world-computer. He, and the one surviving student, find themselves transported to the Well World. Some time later, spaceship captain Nathan Brazil is transporting a handful of passengers through space when he receives a distress call. It's from that same world where the instructor murdered his students. And so Brazil and his passengers find themselves also in the Well World. Which is an artificial planet in another dimension or something, and is divided into 1,560 hexagons, each one 355 by 615 kms and containing a completely different ecosphere and associated alien races. Brazil and his passengers are scattered across different hexes, each transformed into a native of that hex. Well, except Brazil isn't. Because it turns out he's some sort of immortal, and he knows how to work the Well World's controlling computer, which is just as well because the aforementioned instructor wants to use the controlling computer for his own ends (and which will in consequence destroy the real universe). So Brazil and allies must trek across half a dozen hexes, having adventures along the way, in order to reach the equatorial wall and the secret entrance to the control room. It's science fiction by numbers, light on invention, characterisation, rigour and, er, substance. It has all the originality of a basement RPG session by a group of twentysomething nerds. I doubt I'll be continuing with the rest of the series.
The Book of Words, Jenny Erpenbeck (2005). Words are powerful, though you'd not know it from the bulk of novels written. As the title of this short novel, perhaps even a novella, shows, its story is about words and their uses and the way in which they can create a world for a protagonist and hint to the reader at the context for that world. The narrator discusses words as she describes her childhood in an unnamed country suffering under an oppressive regime, and in which her father works. It's a completely self-centre narrative, as every word in the book is about the narrator or her world. But what she writes does provide clues to the reality underlying the narrative. The mother is German, and had fled her country for political reasons – mostl likely because she was a Nazi. Though the Germans have contributed to the father's country, they are not liked. The regime is brutal – the father talks openly about torture, and even describes atrocities committed by some unnamed Germans (one of which is clearly Mengele). The Book of the Words is closer to The Old Child than it is Visitation or The End of Days. It's not an easy read – and in parts, it is quite gruesome – but it is very clever in the way it doles out information to the reader, aithout breaking the narrator's character. Erpenbeck has to date published six books, although, I think, only four have been translated into English. My German is probably too rusty to fully appreciate her prose in that language. So can someone publish those other two books in English, please?
The Other Wind, Ursula K LeGuin (2001). I have a lot of time for LeGuin's writing, although I can't say I've enjoyed everything she's written. I knew The Other Wind was a sequel of sorts to the Earthsea quartet, and I do think those books are very good. Nonetheless, my expectations for The Other Wind were middling, perhaps because I was under the impression it was YA. True, the Earthsea books were published for many years in the UK by Puffin, the children's imprint of Penguin; but I've never really thought of them as YA. The Other Wind is set late in the lives of Ged and Tenar, Ged has long since retired as Arch-mage and no longer has any magic powers. He is visited by Alder, a village magician who has been dreaming about meeting his much-loved late wife at the wall between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Ged advises Alder to consult with Tenar, and their daughter Tehanu, currently on Havnor, advising King Lebannen on recent incursions by dragons. It turns out the dragons are upset because the humans of the archipelago do ont return to the world on dying, but instead gather in the land of the dead. Dragons are apparently trans-dimensional. And all those dead folk are cluttering up their private dimension. It's a completely new view of the afterlife as presented in the Earthsea quartet, and yet it doesn't contradict it. There's a wonderfully elegiac, and yet matter-of-fact, tone to the prose, and a beautifully-drawn cast, from Alder through Tehanu to King Lebannen… but especially the princess from the Kargad Empire who has been sent to Havnor to marry the king. It feels like damning the book with faint praise, especially since the last LeGuin collection I read was a bit dull, but The Other Wind is a thoroughly charming novel. I loved it. It made me want to reread the Earthsea quartet, it made me want to read more LeGuin. Recommended.
Borderliners, Peter Høeg (1995). Høeg's 1992 novel Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow was an international sensation, and rightly so, and was made into a film directed by Bille August and starring Julia Ormond and Gabriel Byrne. Borderliners was Høeg's next novel (he had published two before Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow), and it's a very different novel. Peter, the narrator, and Katerina and August are all pupils at a private school in the 1970s. All three are orphans – Peter has spent most of his life in children's homes, Katerina's parents died shortly before she was sent to the school, and August is on licence after killing his abusive parents. Shortly after his arrival at the school, Peter realises that everything in it is governed by schedule – he thinks of it as governed by time – and he theorises that this generates a particular way of seeing the world, which is what leads to the school's success (it boasts a prime minister among its alumni). Although the three are not supposed to mingle, and make a secret of their friendship, they pass notes back and forth, meet in odd corners, and generally try to upset the school's effect on themselves. August proves a handful, as he erupts into violence when threatened. Readers going into Borderliners expecting something like Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow will be disappointed – even Wikipedia states that Høeg's novels tend to defy easy categorisation. Fortunately, I already knew this going in, although it's certainly true Borderliners doesn't have the immediate appeal of the earlier novel. Nonetheless, Høeg is an author whose work is worth exploring, I think. And, thanks to my brother-in-law, I now know how to pronounce the author's name correctly.
The Iron Tactician, Alastair Reynolds (2016). There are few things as dependable in science fiction as an Alastair Reynolds novella. Even before you turn the first page, you know you're going to get an entertaining story larded with eyeball kicks and laid on a substrate of some big idea or other. It's almost the dictionary definition of twenty-first century sf… except, well, the genre now covers so much ground, and is so diverse, that Reynolds's ur-sf is only one strand among many. Which is a good thing, I hasten to add. The Iron Tactician is about as dictiuonary-definition Reynolds sf as you can get, on the other hand. It's a sequel of sorts to 'Minla's Flowers' and 'Merlin's Gun'. Merlin stumbles across a cold swallowship and decides to see if it has a working syrinx (used to access a NAFAL network created by mysterious aliens). There's one survivor aboard the derelicxt, and she reveals that the ship traded its syrinx centuries before to a nearby star system locked into a planetary war. So Merlin and Teal head for the planetary system, planning to trade back the syrinx. The locals ask them to perform a task in payment: recover the titular AI from a pirate band, because they need it to win the centuries-long war against their enemies. Of course, nothing is quite as it seems – not the Iron Tactician, nor the the prince who represents the owners of the syrinx, or indeed the syrinx itself. I enjoyed the novella, even though something slightly familiar about it nagged me as I read it. I'm not sure what it was, but something in it felt second-hand and I had not expected it. It'll probably end up on a coyuple of award shortlists, because genre awards these days are totally corrupt, although I don't think it deserves to. (No reflection on Alastair or his work, he's very good at what he does – but I'd hate to think The Iron Tactician is one of the best novellas the genre has produced in 2016, and I know it's not the best Alastair has written.)
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die count: 129
Categories: book review, books, reading diary 2016 | Tags: alastair reynolds, jack chalker, jenny erpenbeck, peter høeg, ursula k le guin | Permalink.
5 thoughts on "Reading diary, #41"
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narmitaj
Michael Powell (out of him & Pressburger) had similar thoughts as you about Earthsea and Puffin, as in this interview in 1981: "Ten years ago, the first book in this trilogy – "A Wizard of Earthsea" – was published by Puffin in England. It got the most fabulous review in "The Times Literary Supplement". I liked the sound of it and went right out and bought it. I read it and could not believe that such a distinguished piece of writing was published by Puffin. That's not saying anything about Puffin but Puffin's for kids and this is by no means only for kiddies. It's for everybody. So I wrote a letter saying, "It's great!" "Who are you?" "Who did the map?" and "Why are you being published by Puffin?" This started a correspondence that went on for the next ten years.[…]"
Powell was hoping to make a movie of the books, and describes his and Le Guin's "most happy collaboration". Of course, nothing came of the project in the end.
"I don't think he wrote a single good book, but he does have legions of fans. Which, I guess, makes him much like every other science fiction author."
iansales
… of his time…
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


"General welfare" does not mean aid to some at the expense of others, as James Madison was quick to point out in Federalist 41. He answered his critics by having them read the phrase in its context. He noted that "Nothing is more natural nor common than first to use a general phrase, and then to explain and qualify it by a recital of particulars . . . ."1 The use of the semicolon after the "general welfare" clause proves it. In the entire list that follows the semicolon, there is nothing that even remotely resembles the social welfare programs promoted by today's liberal thinking people. Following modern-day proponent's of general welfare, the national government has unlimited authority to do anything it defines as being for the nation generally. This is impossible.
The modem concept of general welfare is most often defined in terms of wealth redistribution where some members of society ("the rich") are taxed heavily in order to benefit the "welfare" of others ("the poor").To the contrary, general welfare, according to the Constitution, means welfare that benefits everybody more or less equally. This can be clearly seen in providing "for the common Defense." Taxes collected to defend the nation benefit everybody generally. Taxing some people so other people can have decent housing or an education or healthcare is not general welfare; it's particular welfare and is not supported by the Constitution, common sense, or experience unless you're a politician who's trying to buy votes with other people's money in the name of the Constitution.


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Morlockiidae is een familie van kreeftachtigen uit de klasse van de Remipedia (ladderkreeftjes).

Geslacht
 Morlockia García-Valdecasas, 1984

Remipedia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Server: www.independentliving.org
Clothing Patterns and Sewing Instructions
In the sections you will find both ready-made patterns and sewing instructions for adapting clothing for people with disabilities. You have full access to all Fashion Freaks' patterns for personal use.
Community and Individual Responses to Disablement in South Asian Histories: Old Traditions, New Myths?
Documented histories of South Asian societies provide evidence that disabled people played various roles in families and communities, sometimes with a good deal of independence. The commonest responses have been top-down, charitable or restrictive; yet some evidence challenges the stereotypes and suggests that disablement historically evoked a wider range of responses and initiative.
Direct Payments Schemes for People with Disabilities: A Summary Guide
The aims of this guide are to provide a range of stakeholders (disabled people, service providers, community and voluntary groups and statutory agencies) with information on what direct payments are; to create awareness of the concept of direct payments; and to commence the process of lobbying for the introduction of a direct payments pilot research programme.
Issues Arising from Genetics - Genetics and Disability
The author discusses issues raised by genetics in disability, outlines the uses of genetic testing and his concerns about how it is developing, as well as the different uses for genetics in general and with regard to reproductive screening, and the problems surrounding this issue.
Toward a Politics of Disability: Definitions, Disciplines, and Policies.
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Adrar
Home Geography & Travel States & Other Subdivisions
plateau, Mauritania
https://www.britannica.com/place/Adrar-plateau-Mauritania
Adrar, traditional region of central Mauritania in western Africa. It consists of a low central massif with noticeable cliffs that rise to about 800 feet (240 m). The terrain is arid and almost totally unsuitable for cropping. There is, however, sufficient water at the base of the uplands to support date-palm groves, and during the wetter part of the year there is cultivation of millet, sorghum, melons, and vegetables in gorges. The population of the Adrar (Berber for "mountain") formerly was nomadic. The major town in the region is Atar. Historic sites include Ouadane, formerly a caravan and gold-trading centre, and Chinguetti, an ancient centre of learning and of Islām.


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Lewis Latimer
March 23, 2012 /4 Comments/in Inventors, Male Inventors, Top Inventors /by
Invented an Improved Light Bulb
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Garrett Morgan
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Garrett Morgan is one of those rare people who are able to come up with an extraordinary inventions which have a tremendous impact on society – and then follows that up with even more!
Garrett Morgan was born on March 4, 1877 in Paris, Kentucky the seventh of 11 children born to Sydney and Elizabeth Morgan. Garrett, at the early age of 14 decided that he should travel north to Ohio in order to receive a better education. Morgan is an inspiration to many education seekers today, whether pursuing business with an AACSB accredited online MBA or masters in education. He moved to Cincinnati and then to Cleveland, working as a handyman in order to make ends meet. In Cleveland, he learned the inner workings of the sewing machine and in 1907 opened his own sewing machine store, selling new machines and repairing old ones. In 1908 Morgan married Mary Anne Hassek with whom he would have three sons.
[ad name="336×280″]In 1909, Morgan opened a tailoring shop, selling coats, suits and dresses. While working in this shop he came upon a discover which brought about his first invention. He noticed that the needle of a sewing machine moved so fast that its friction often scorched the thread of the woolen materials. He thus set out to develop a liquid that would provide a useful polish to the needle, reducing friction. When his wife called him to dinner, he wiped the liquid from his hands onto a a piece of pony-fur cloth. When he returned to his workshop, he saw that the fibers on the cloth were now standing straight up. He theorized that the fluid had actually straightened the fibers. In order to confirm his theory, he decided to apply some of the fluid to the hair of a neighbor's dog, an Airedale. The fluid straightened the dog's hair so much, the neighbor, not recognizing his own pet, chased the animal away. Morgan then decided try the fluid on himself, to small portions of his hair at first, and then to his entire head. He was successful and had invented the first human-hair straightener. He marketed the product under the name the G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Cream and sold by his G. A. Morgan Refining Company, which became a very successful business.
In 1912, Morgan developed another invention, much different from his hair straightener. Morgan called it a Safety Hood and patented it as a Breathing Device, but the world came to know it as a Gas Mask. The Safety Hood consisted of a hood worn over the head of a person from which emanated a tube which reached near the ground and allowed in clean air. The bottom of the tube was lined with a sponge type material that would help to filter the incoming air. Another tube existed which allowed the user to exhale air out of the device. Morgan intended the device to be used "to provide a portable attachment which will enable a fireman to enter a house filled with thick suffocating gases and smoke and to breathe freely for some time therein, and thereby enable him to perform his duties of saving life and valuables without danger to himself from suffocation. The device is also efficient and useful for protection to engineers, chemists and working men who are obliged to breathe noxious fumes or dust derived from the materials in which they are obliged to work."
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The National Safety Device Company, with Morgan as its General Manager was set up to manufacture and sell the device and it was demonstrated at various exhibitions across the country. At the Second International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation, the device won first prize and Morgan was award a gold medal. While demonstrations were good for sales, the true test of the product would come only under real life circumstances.
That opportunity arose on July 24, 1916 when an explosion occurred in a tunnel being dug under Lake Erie by the Cleveland Water Works. The tunnel quickly filled with smoke, dust and poisonous gases and trapped 32 workers underground. They were feared lost because no means of safely entering and rescuing them was known. Fortunately someone at the scene remembered about Morgan's invention and ran to call him at his home where he was relaxing. Garrett and his brother Frank quickly arrived at the scene, donned the Safety Hood and entered the tunnel. After a heart wrenching delay, Garrett appeared from the tunnel carrying a survivor on his back as did his brother seconds later. The crowd erupted in a staggering applause and Garrett and Frank reentered the tunnel, this time joined by two other men. While they were unable to save all of the workers, the were able to rescue many who would otherwise have certainly died. Reaction to Morgan's device and his heroism quickly spread across the city and the country as newspapers picked up on the story. Morgan received a gold medal from a Cleveland citizens group as well as a medal from the International Association of Fire Engineers, which also made him an honorary member.
Soon, orders came in from fire and police departments across the country. Unfortunately, many of these orders were canceled when it was discovered that Morgan was Black. Apparently, many people would rather face danger and possibly death than rely on a lifesaving device created by a Black man. Nonetheless, with the outbreak of World War I and the use of poisonous gases therein, Morgan's Safety Hood, now known as the Gas Mask was utilized by the United States Army and saved the lives of thousands of soldiers.
[ad name="300×250″]Although he could have relied on the income his Gas Masks generated, Morgan felt compelled to try to solve safety problems of the day. One day he witnessed a traffic accident when an automobile collided with a horse and carriage. The driver of the automobile was knocked unconscious and the horse had to be destroyed. He set out to develop a means of automatically directing traffic without the need of a policeman or worker present. He patented an automatic traffic signal which he said could be "operated for directing the flow of traffic" and providing a clear and unambiguous "visible indicator."
Satisfied with his efforts, Morgan sold the rights to his device to the General Electric Company for the astounding sum of $40,000.00 and it became the standard across the country. Today's modern traffic lights are based upon Morgan's original design.
At that point, Morgan was honored by many influential people around him, including such tycoons as John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan (after whom he named one of his sons.) Although his successes had brought him status and acclaim, Morgan never forgot that his fellow Blacks still suffered injustices and difficulties. His next endeavor sought to address these as he started a newspaper called the Cleveland Call (later renamed as the Call & Post.) He also served as the treasurer of the Cleveland Association of Colored Men which eventually merged with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and ran as a candidate for Cleveland's City Council
In his later years, Morgan would develop glaucoma and would thereby lose 90% of his vision. He died on July 27, 1963 and because of his contribution, the world is certainly a much safer place.
Listen to the Great Black Heroes Podcast About Garrett Morgan
The Man Behind The Traffic Signal
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Elijah McCoy
Although the name Elijah McCoy may be unknown to most people,the enormity of his ingenuity and the quality of his inventions have created a level of distinction which bears his name.
Elijah McCoy was born in Colchester, Ontario, Canada on May 2, 1844. His parents were George and Emillia McCoy, former slaves from Kentucky who escaped through the Underground Railroad. George joined the Canadian Army, fighting in the Rebel War and then raised his family as free Canadian citizens on a 160 acre homestead.
At an early age, Elijah showed a mechanical interest, often taking items apart and putting them back together again. Recognizing his keen abilities, George and Emillia saved enough money to send Elijah to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he could study mechanical engineering. After finishing his studies as a "master mechanic and engineer" he returned to the United States which had just seen the end of the Civil War – and the emergence of the "Emancipation Proclamation."
[ad name="336×280″]Elijah moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan but was unable to find work as an engineer. He was thus forced to take on a position as a fireman\oilman on the Michigan Central Railroad. As a fireman, McCoy was responsible for shoveling coal onto fires which would help to produce steam that powered the locomotive. As an oilman, Elijah was responsible for ensuring that the train was well lubricated. After a few miles, the train would be forced to stop and he would have to walk alongside the train applying oil to the axles and bearings.
In an effort to improve efficiency and eliminate the frequent stopping necessary for lubrication of the train, McCoy set out to create a method of automating the task. In 1872 he developed a "lubricating cup" that could automatically drip oil when and where needed. He received a patent for the device later that year. The "lubricating cup" met with enormous success and orders for it came in from railroad companies all over the country. Other inventors attempted to sell their own versions of the device but most companies wanted the authentic device, requesting "the Real McCoy."
[ad name="300×250″]In 1868, Elijah married Ann Elizabeth Stewart. Sadly, Elizabeth passed away just four years later. In 1873, McCoy married again, this time his bride was Mary Eleanor Delaney and the couple would eventually settle into Detroit, Michigan together for the next 50 years.
McCoy remained interested in continuing to perfect his invention and to create more. He thus sold some percentages of rights to his patent to finance building a workshop. He made continued improvements to the "lubricating cup." The patent application described the it as a device which "provides for the continuous flow of oil on the gears and other moving parts of a machine in order to keep it lubricated properly and continuous and thereby do away with the necessity of shutting down the machine periodically." The device would be adjusted and modified in order to apply it to different types of machinery. Versions of the cup would soon be used in steam engines, naval vessels, oil-drilling rigs, mining equipment, in factories and construction sites.
In 1916 McCoy created the graphite lubricator which allowed new superheater trains and devices to be oiled. In 1920, Elijah established the "Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company." With his new company, he improved and sold the graphite lubricator as well as other inventions which came to him out of necessity. He developed and patented a portable ironing board after his wife expressed a need for an easier way of ironing clothes. When he desired an easier and faster way of watering his lawn, he created and patented the lawn sprinkler.
In 1922, Elijah and Mary were involved in an automobile accident and both suffered severe injuries. Mary would die from the injuries and Elijah's health suffered for several years until he died in 1929. McCoy left behind a legacy of successful inventions which would benefit mankind for another century and his name would come to symbolize quality workmanship – the Real McCoy!
Elijah McCoy – Our Black Canadian Hero
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Fred Jones
Fred McKinley Jones is certainly one of the most important Black inventors ever based on the sheer number of inventions he formulated as well as their diversity.
Fred Jones was born on May 17, 1893 in Covington, Kentucky. His father was a white railroad worker of Irish descent and his mother was Black. It is believed that his mother died while he was young and Fred was raised by his father. When Fred was eight years old, his father took him to Cincinnati, Ohio to where they visited St. Mary's Catholic Church rectory. Fred's father urged Father Edward A. Ryan to take Fred in in order to expose him to an environment where he might have a better opportunity for gaining an education. Fred performed chores around the church in return for being fed and housed, cutting the grass, shoveling snow, scrubbing floors and learning to cook. At an early age, Fred demonstrated a great interest in mechanical working, whether taking apart a toy, a watch or a kitchen appliance. Eventually he became interested in automobiles, so much so that upon turning 12 years of age, he ran away from his home at the rectory and began working at the R.C. Crothers Garage.
[ad name="336×280″]Initially hired to sweep and clean the garage, Fred spent much of his time observing the mechanics as they worked on cars. His observation, along with a voracious appetite for learning through reading developed within Fred an incredible base of knowledge about automobiles and their inner workings. Within three years, Fred had become the foreman of the garage. The garage was primarily designed to repair automobiles brought in by customers but also served as a studio for building racing cars. After a few years of building these cars, Fred desired to drive them and soon became one of the most well known racers in the Great Lakes region. After brief stints working aboard a steamship and a hotel, Jones moved to Hallock, Minnesota began designing and building racecars which he drove them at local tracks and at county fairs. His favorite car was known as Number 15 and it was so well designed it not only defeated other automobile but once triumphed in a race against an airplane.
On August 1, 1918 Jones enlisted in the 809 Pioneer Infantry of the United States Army and served in France during World War I. While serving, Jones recruited German prisoners of war and rewired his camp for electricity, telephone and telegraph service. After being discharged by the Army, Fred returned to Hallock in 1919. Looking for work, Jones often aided local doctors by driving them around for housecalls during the winter season. When navigation through the snow proved difficult, Fred attached skis to the undercarriage of an old airplane body and attached an airplane propeller to a motor and soon whisked around town a high speeds in his new snowmachine. Over the next few years Fred began tinkering with almost everything he could find, inventing things he could not find and improving upon those he could. When one of the doctors he worked for on occasion complained that he wished he did not have to wait for patient to come into his office for x-ray exams, Jones created a portable x-ray machine that could be taken to the patient. Unfortunately, like many of his early inventions, Jones never thought to apply for a patent for machine and watched helplessly as other men made fortunes off of their versions of the device. Undaunted, Jones set out for other projects, including a radio transmitter, personal radio sets and eventually motion picture devices.
In 1927, Jones was faced with the problem of helping friend convert their silent movie theater into a "talkie" theater. Not only did he convert scrap metal into the parts necessary to deliver a soundtrack to the video, he also devised ways to stabilize and improve the picture quality. When Joe Numero, the head of Ultraphone Sound Systems heard about Fred's devices, he invited Fred to come to Minneapolis for a job interview. After taking a position with the company, Fred began improving on many of the existing devices the company sold. Many of his improvements were so significant, representatives from A.T. & T and RCA sat down to talk with Fred and were amazed at the depth of his knowledge on intricate details, particularly in light of his limited educational background. Around this time, Fred came up with a new idea – an automatic ticket-dispensing machine to be used at movie theaters. Fred applied for and received a patent for this device in June of 1939 and the patent rights were eventually sold to RCA.
At some point, Joe Numero was presented with the task of developing a device which would allow large trucks to transport perishable products without them spoiling. Jones set to work and developed a cooling process that could refrigerate the interior of the tractor-trailer. In 1939 Fred and Joe Numero received a patent for the vehicle air-conditioning device which would later be called a Thermo King.
This product revolutionized several industries including shipping and grocery businesses. Grocery chains were now able to import and export products which previously could only have been shipped as canned goods. Thus, the frozen food industry was created and the world saw the emergence of the "supermarket."
[ad name="300×250″]In addition to installing the Thermo King refrigeration units in trucks and tractor-trailers, Jones modified the original design so they could be outfitted for trains, boats and ships.
During World War II, the Department of Defense found a great need portable refrigeration units for distributing food and blood plasma to troops in the field. The Department called upon Thermo King for a solution. Fred modified his device and soon had developed a prototype which would eventually allow airplanes to parachute these units down behind enemy lines to the waiting troops.
For the next 20 years, Fred Jones continued make improvements on existing devices and devised new inventions when necessary to aid the public. Jones died on February 21, 1961 and was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Technology, one of the greatest honors an inventor could receive. Jones was the first Black inventor to ever receive such an honor.
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Jan Matzeliger
Sometimes the greatest inventions are those which simplify necessary tasks. Such is the case with Jan Matzeliger – the man who made it possible for ordinary citizens to purchase shoes.
Jan Matzeliger was born in Dutch Guiana (now known as Surinam) in South America. His father was a Dutch engineer and his mother was born in Dutch Guiana and was of African ancestry. His father had been sent to Surinam by the Dutch government to oversee the work going on in the South American country.
[ad name="336×280″]At an early age, Jan showed a remarkable ability to repair complex machinery and often did so when accompanying his father to a factory. When he turned 19, he decided to venture away from home to explore other parts of the world. For two years he worked aboard an East Indian merchant ship and was able to visit several countries. In 1873, Jan decided to stay in the United States for a while, landing in Pennsylvania. Although he spoke very little English, he was befriended by some Black residents who were active in a local church and took pity on him. Because he was good with his hands and mechanically inclined, he was able to get small jobs in order to earn a living.
At some point he began working for a cobbler and became interested in the making of shoes. At that time more than half of the shoes produced in the United States came from the small town of Lynn, Massachusetts. Still unable to speak more than rudimentary English, Matzeliger had a difficult time finding work in Lynn. After considerable time, he was able to begin working as a show apprentice in a shoe factory. He operated a McKay sole-sewing machine which was used to attached different parts of a shoe together. Unfortunately, no machines existed that could attach the upper part of a shoe to the sole. As such, attaching the upper part of a shoe to the sole had to be done by hand. The people who were able to sew the parts of the shoe together were called "hand lasters" and expert ones were able to produce about 50 pairs of shoes in a 10 hour work day. They were held in high esteem and were able to charge a high price for their services, especially after they banded together and formed a union called the Company of Shoemakers. Because the hand lasters were able to charge so much money, a pair of shoes was very expensive to purchase. Hand lasters were confident that they would continue to be able to demand high sums of money for their services saying "… no matter if the sewing machine is a wonderful machine. No man can build a machine that will last shoes and take away the job of the laster, unless he can make a machine that has fingers like a laster – and that is impossible." Jan Matzeliger decided they were wrong.
[ad name="300×250″]After working all day Matzeliger took classes at night to learn English. Soon, he was able to read well enough to study books on physics and mechanical science. This enabled him to a number of inventions. Lacking sufficient money, he was unable to patent these inventions and watched helplessly as other people claimed to have created the devises and received the financial rewards they brought. Matzeliger did not despair over these situations because he was already thinking of a more important invention – the shoe laster.
Watching hand lasters all day, Matzeliger began understanding how they were able to join the upper parts of a shoe to the sole. At night he sat devising methods for imitating the mannerisms of the hand lasters and sketched out rough drawings of a machine that might work in the same manner.
Soon, Matzeliger began putting together a crude working model of his invention. Lacking the proper materials, he used whatever scraps he could find, including cigar boxes, discarded pieces of wood, scrap wire, nails and paper. After six months, he felt he was on the right track but knew he needed better materials in order to take the next steps.
Although he attempted to keep his invention a secret, people found out, including the expert hand lasters he was trying to "compete" with. These people criticized and ridiculed him and tried to dissuade him pursuing his goal. He considered on, however, and decided to try to raise money in order to improve his working model. He was offered $50.00 to sell the device he had created up to that point but turned it down, knowing that if people were interested in buying, he was on the right track.
As he improved the device, other offers of money came in, some as high as $1,500.00. Matzeliger could not bear to part with the device he had put so much work into creating so he held out until he reached a deal to sell a 66% interest in the devices to two investors, retaining the other third interest for himself. With the new influx of cash, Jan finished his second and third models of the machine. At this point he applied for a patent for the device.
Because no one could believe that anyone could create a machine which could duplicate the work of expert lasters, the patent office dispatched a representative to Lynn, Massachusetts to see the device in action. In March 1883, the United States Patent Office issued a patent to Jan Matzeliger for his "Lasting Machine." Within two years, Matzeliger had perfected the machine to that point that it could produce up to 700 pairs of shoes each day (as compared to 50 per day for a hand laster.)
Sadly, Matzeliger would only enjoy his success for a short time, as he was afflicted with tuberculosis in 1886 and died on August 24, 1889 at the age of 37. As a result of his work, shoe manufacturing capabilities increased as did efficiency. This allowed for lower prices for consumers and more jobs for workers. Matzeliger left behind a legacy of tackling what was thought to be an impossible task – making shoes affordable for the masses.
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text:
Shulgi også kaldt Dungi (2094-2047 f.Kr.) var en konge i det gamle Mesopotamien og havde hovedstad i byen Ur.

100 år efter kong Sargons død blev hans rige overtaget af et folk kaldet gutierne. I mellemtiden kunne gutierne ikke holde sammen på riget, og det blev derfor absorberet af befolkningen i Mesopotamien.
Den gamle by Ur tog nu igen ledelsen.

Den største konge i dette dynasti var Shulgi, også kendt som Dungi. I Ur havde han noget, der lignede en regering med statsminister og finansminister, og i andre byer placerede han guvernører. Han anerkendte alle guderne og tilbad og byggede templer for dem. I templerne var der et stort skatkammer med korn, kvæg og metaller, som var betalt ind i skat. Templerne blev en slags skattekontorer. Hver eneste ind- og udbetaling blev omhyggeligt bogført, og der blev skrevet kvitteringer og anvisninger, alt sammen på lertavler. Der behøvedes et stort personale, som for det meste var præster. Derfor var der skoler og universiteter knyttet til templerne. De udlånte også penge til folk. Normalt var lånene behæftet med renter, men der var også rentefri lån til lånsøgere, som behøvede hjælp for at undgå at blive solgt som slaver på grund af gæld.

Kong Shulgi oprettede et kurerpostvæsen og også et landevejspoliti, som sikrede færdsel og handel. Og sidst men ikke mindst lod han skrive en fælles lov for hele sit rige. Kun mindre dele af Shulgis lovbog er kendt i dag.

Sumernes land var altid udsat for farer, og Shulgis rige blev truet på livet. En by ved navn Mari var vokset op, og da kongen af Ur var optaget af en krig mod Elam, faldt Mari-kongen over Sumer og Akkad, og riget blev delt mellem Elam og Mari.

Efter en opløsningstid lykkedes det en konge i Babylon at overtage det meste af Mesopotamien og grundlægge et stort rige, der var større end Sargons imperium (ca. 1800 fvt).

Eksterne henvisninger

Personer i oldtidens Mesopotamien
Tjek fødsels- og dødsår


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'I didn't do a real diet': Ross Mathews on 50-pound weight loss
Alexander Kacala
For Ross Mathews, 2020 is a year of huge losses but also life-changing gains.
The hilarious television personality first rose to fame as "Ross the Intern" on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" back in 2001. Since then, he has authored two books, appeared on "Celebrity Big Brother," "Chelsea Lately," "Live from E!," and currently serves as a judge on the hit VH1 reality show "RuPaul's Drag Race."
Premiere Of Netflix's
But the 41-year-old media personality recently made headlines for a different reason: He lost 50 pounds during quarantine.
"I feel like everyone during this COVID thing has been focused on what we've been losing," Mathews told TODAY Health via Zoom from New York City. "You know, I've lost time from my family. I've lost time from my job. I've lost this and everyone feels like they've lost a year. And I just thought: How can I gain something during this time?"
In addition to learning to cope during the COVID-19 epidemic, another tragic event happened for Mathews. In May, he lost his mother, Gaye, to breast cancer. She was 69 years old.
"My mom and I were so close, just beyond close and all my life, I've lost weight and gained weight, done unhealthy things to my body," he shared. "And I decided, you know, this is the one thing I can control and what I can gain in this time when we're losing so much because I can gain my health. Because I think if you lose a parent and you don't pay attention … You're missing out on a gift. And so I paid attention to what it means to have your health."
What were some of the unhealthy things he did to his body? Late-night snacking and unlimited pizza, of course.
"Snacking at night is my downfall," he explained. "I'll be pretty good during the day, and then it's like, a bag of Doritos at night, because I'm sorry, but when you're watching '90 Day Fiancé,' you gotta eat something! And then the other one is pizza for me. After mom died, I really found comfort in what I called 'grief pizza,' which is like unlimited pizza."
"So for me, it was about changing behavior. It was about cutting out snacking. Or if I did, I would snack on like, a pickle or something. I was looking for the crunch. It was about replacing some things and really just knowing that if nothing changed, nothing changed. That if I didn't make some changes, I would be stuck in the same unhealthy place that I was."
Mathews said instead of focusing on a fad diet, he really pushed himself to learn more about food and become involved in the process of educating himself on healthier eating.
4th Annual Vanderpump Dog Foundation Gala (Tibrina Hobson / Getty Images)
"I didn't do a real diet," he revealed. "Really... I just started learning about food, talking to people, dabbling in this and that and then I start making my Ross-cipes. I've done it just eating as healthy and health-fully as I can, while not feeling like I'm giving up anything."
But the other life-changing thing Mathews points to that has really helped on this journey: walking non-stop. "I just moved to New York City so I'm walking tons, which helps," he said. "There's nothing scarier than the gym. I'd rather watch those awful Halloween movies over and over again. Yeah, the gym is not for me."
"If you don't pay attention, you're missing out on a gift."
He also turned to therapy.
"I promise you I will mess up along the way, but the thing that is different this time is that I had talked to a therapist throughout this process," he shared. "I really wanted to understand why I could lose it but not maintain it because losing is not the problem, gaining it is is not the problem… maintaining is the problem. I think you have to get down to the root of that and all weight-related issues are not really about the food, I don't think. I think it's about why you're overeating? What you're pushing down by shoving food in?"
"It's all about now that we've seen what we have to lose, we know what we have to live for. And that's why I am working so hard for my health."
Because of this commitment to his health in 2020, Mathews has also teamed up with Nicorette to urge people to quit smoking. "That's why I'm working so hard to get people to quit smoking with Nicorette," he shared. "That's why I want to do this campaign. Let's get healthy. Life is so short. Let's go."
The initiative, #StartStoppingShoutOut, is also a nationwide sweepstakes that is inviting loved ones to nominate smokers they want to help quit for the chance to win a personalized shout-out from Mathews, actor Rumer Willis or race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Mathews was a smoker when he was in college, but like the recent passing of his mom, the death of his father when he was younger inspired him to quit.
"I have been lucky enough to hold both of my parents as they died and you think that would be sort of a terrible thing," he said. "It was not easy in many ways, but it is a gift. Because they were there for you when you were born, and to be there for them as they leave is a beautiful thing. Also, what you realize is somebody laying there, taking their last breath is at the end of the day, it's just you and your body. That was powerful for me. I was really young when my dad died. So I kind of got it, so I quit smoking."
"When my mom died, for me, it really hit home in terms of... I was much older, almost twice as old and there's a clock now ticking. Every decision I make now about my body will determine how long I get between now and that moment when it's just me and my body, taking my last breath. So I'm gonna do everything in my power to keep my longevity here on this planet as long as possible."
Mathews looks to the future with not only optimism, but also his lovable and bubbly brand of humor that is always there no matter how complicated the conversation may be.
"I also really insist, you know, this corona is going to end... it will end and we're all going to sort of emerge," he said. "I know a lot of people are going to emerge, having put on a ton of weight, wearing sweat pants where the elastic is worn out because they've been wearing them for a year, right?"
"Don't waste any more time to get what you want or to be who you want to be. Get going."
"I refuse to do that. I want to come out of this in a better position than when I entered it. The reason? Because I can. I have a choice. I have the power to choose that. Not to be totally a cheese-fest, but I think any other choice that I made would be disrespectful to what my mother's death taught me."
On what he hopes people take away from his weight-loss journey is for people to "pay attention."
An Arkansas man was accused Thursday of beating a police officer with a pole flying a U.S. flag during last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents. In an arrest affidavit filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, an FBI agent said Peter Francis Stager is shown in video and photographs striking a prone police officer repeatedly with the flagpole after rioters dragged the officer down the Capitol's west stairs. Confidential informants had recognized Stager in riot video and photographs and alerted authorities, who have charged Stager with interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, according to the affidavit.
President Trump's approval rating has fallen to the lowest level of his presidency, with a significant drop among Republicans.In the latest Pew Research Center poll released Friday, Trump received a job approval rating of 29 percent, which is his lowest-ever number in this poll and a decline of nine percentage points from August. Additionally, Pew notes that "much of the decline has come among Republicans and GOP leaners," 60 percent of whom approve of Trump's job performance compared to 77 percent in August.Additionally, Pew found that Trump voters "have grown more critical of their candidate's post-election conduct," as the "share of his supporters who describe his conduct as poor has doubled over the past two months, from 10 percent to 20 percent." The poll also found that only 29 percent of respondents said Trump should remain a major figure in U.S. politics in the years to come, while 68 percent said he shouldn't be.The poll was conducted in the wake of last week's deadly attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, which led to Trump becoming the first president in American history to be impeached twice. In the poll, three-quarters of respondents said Trump bears either a lot or some responsibility for the riot, while only 24 percent said he isn't responsible at all. Ahead of his upcoming Senate impeachment trial, 54 percent of respondents also said it would be better for Trump to be removed from office than finish his term, a possibility that has been ruled out due to the trial not being expected to begin until President-elect Joe Biden is in office.Pew Research Center conducted its poll by surveying 5,360 U.S. adults from Jan. 8-12. The margin of error is 1.9 percentage points. Read more at Pew Research Center.More stories from theweek.com Trump's vaccine delay is getting suspicious The worst-case scenario for America's immediate future Statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico only needs 50 votes
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