The authorities of the French village of Salangxi, department of UAZ, have decided not to finance revival of a festival of virgins after a squall of negative responses. The The Local edition reports about it. It is considered that inhabitants of Salangxi organized the Fete de la Rosiere festival since 456 when the founder of a dynasty Merovingov ruled francs. On him chose the girl by age from 14 to 20 years who differed in irreproachable conduct, virtue, devotion and chastity. She headed the procession from 12 children going along streets of the village. Last time the festival was held in 1987. The president Bratstva of Saint Medard Nuayonsky Bertrand Tribout has suggested to revive him since 2019. An invention have supported local authorities which have allocated 1800 euros (about 140 thousand rubles) for the organization of a festival. News of it has caused impassioned reaction in Salangxi and beyond her limits. Under the petition urging to cancel Fete de la Rosiere about 40 thousand people were signed. The mayor of the village Hervé Deplanque claims that he has received a set of offensive e-mails from the people considering a festival reactionary and sexist. After that he has decided to refuse financing of an ancient holiday. Despite criticism, Tribout continues to fight for revival of a festival. He has assured that he won't insist on medical check of virginity at selection of participants, and has created own petition under which 600 people have subscribed. In 2017 it was reported that in the Japanese city of Nagaoka there has taken place the traditional Hodare festival during which women in wedding dresses go on streets by a huge wooden phallus. It is more than infernal and strange news in Tape of a Bottom Telegram-channel. Subscribe!


text:
Unborn babies may contract Covid-19 via infected mother : Study
World NewsCorona VirusHealth
London : An unborn baby could become infected with Covid-19 if their gut is exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, claims a new study.The study led by University College London researchers found that certain foetal organs, such as the intestine, are more susceptible to infection than others.However, researchers said that opportunities for the Covid-19 virus infecting the foetus are extremely limited, as the placenta acts as a highly effective and protective shield, and evidence suggests foetal infection, known as vertical transmission, is extremely uncommon."Our findings explain that clinical infection of the foetus during pregnancy is possible but uncommon and that is reassuring for parents-to-be," said Dr Mattia Gerli, from UCL's Division of Surgery and Interventional Science and the Royal Free Hospital.For the study, published in BJOG – An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, researchers set out to understand how newborn babies could have developed Covid-19 antibodies, as has been reported in a small number of cases and how the virus could be passed from an infected mother to the unborn foetus.To find out, researchers examined various foetal organs and placenta tissue, made available via the Human Developmental Biology Resource (HDBR) biobank, which assists embryonic/fetal research.
Cured of Covid-19? Please wait for 1-3 months to…
England limited-overs skipper Morgan slams Root…
The team examined the presence of protein receptors, ACE2 and TMPRSS2 — needed for the SARS-Cov-2 virus to infect and spread.Researchers found that the intestines (gut) and the kidney were the only foetal organs to feature both the ACE2 and TMPRSS2.Since the foetal kidney is anatomically protected from exposure to the virus and therefore less at risk of infection, the team concluded that the Covid virus could infect the foetus via the gut and through foetal swallowing of amniotic fluid, which the unborn baby does naturally for nutrients.After birth ACE2 and TMPRSS2 receptors are known to be present in combination on the surface of cells in the human intestine as well as the lung — also suspected to be the main routes for Covid infection. But in younger children, the intestine appears to be most important for virus infection."The foetus is known to begin swallowing the amniotic fluid in the second half of pregnancy. To cause infection, the SARS-CoV-2 virus would need to be present in significant quantities in the amniotic fluid around the foetus," Gerli explained."However, many studies in maternity care have found that the amniotic fluid around the foetus does not usually contain the SARS-CoV2 virus, even if the mother is infected with Covid-19," she noted.The researchers highlighted that the biggest risk to the foetus during pregnancy is if the mother becomes very unwell with Covid-19 infection. In this instance the virus may be present in high concentration in the amniotic fluid. In addition, it could damage the placenta, which can lead to preterm birth."Vaccination against Covid-19 is known to be safe in pregnancy and reduces the chance of SARS-CoV-2 infection to very low levels. The results of this study provide definitive information regarding the susceptibility of the human foetus to Covid-19 infection," said co-author Professor Anna David from UCL Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women's Health.
Astra ZenecaCoronavirusCovaxinCOVID 19CovishieldDelta Covid-19 variantDelta Plus Covid variantFight Against CoronaHealthliquid medical oxygenNovel CoronavirusOximeterOxygenOxygen Concentratoroxygen cylindersOxygen PlantsOxygen supplyPfizerRemdesivirResearchResearchersSARS-CoV-2Sputnik VStudy
Majority say protests on farm laws were politically motivated
Pictures recall horror of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauds first dose vax of over 50% of youngsters
Cured of Covid-19? Please wait for 1-3 months to buy life cover
England limited-overs skipper Morgan slams Root for blaming white-ball cricket for…
Covid may affect foetus even without infection in placenta: US NIH

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A friend of mine introduced me to a great source of wood slabs from a saw mill in South Jersey. They have a nice variety of wood types, of all sizes.
I thought it would be nice to pick out a few slabs that spoke to me, and feel out how they are going to develop, based on their original shape.


text:
\section{Introduction}

The strength of disordered materials depends on multiple characteristic length scales, ranging from the macroscopic size of the sample over the sizes of pre-existing cracks down to characteristic length scales of the disordered microstructure. Sample size dependence is commonly related to the concept of a 'weakest link': Larger samples on average contain more weak parts and thus, provided failure is governed by the weakest part of the microstructure (e.g., the largest crack), they are likely to fail at lower stress. This argument puts the size dependence of failure firmly into the realm of extreme value statistics. Samples containing a single large crack, on the other hand, fall into an entirely different category: As failure is governed by the supercritical propagation of this crack, the behavior is expected to depend on the crack size but -- at least in the large sample limit where boundary effects are negligible -- not on the size of the sample.

In disordered quasi-brittle materials, the above arguments must be used with caution. In such materials, large flaws can emerge from the collective dynamics of interacting microcracks. Thus, the concepts of 'weakest link' or 'critical flaw' are far from straightforward -- rather than being fixed pre-existing entities, weak zones and the associated length scales may need to be envisaged as emergent features of the complex dynamics of interacting defects. At the same time, the properties of pre-existing cracks are strongly influenced by their interactions with the disordered microstructure, which may give rise to crack front roughening \cite{schmittbuhl99,zaiser09a}, the formation of self-affine fracture surfaces \cite{bouchaud03}, \cite{alava06b} and the correlated nucleation of microcracks in a process zone ahead of the crack tip \cite{alava08}.

The fracture behavior of structurally disordered materials has been studied in numerous investigations (for overview, see \cite{alava06a}). The size dependence of failure stresses in pre-cracked samples, which is in the focus of the present study, has been investigated for two-dimensional disordered sheets by Alava and co-workers \cite{alava08}. In that study, the crack was one-dimensional and contained within the plane of the sheet. In the present study, we also consider a two-dimensional system (a thin elastic film) but the crack is in the present case two-dimensional and runs parallel to the plane of the film. This can be envisaged as a delamination problem: we are dealing with a crack running along a weak interface where the film is tethered to a rigid substrate. Failure is induced by shear tractions that are applied to the free surface of the film. The considered geometry is found in several physical applications, ranging from abrasive wear of coatings and shear-induced delamination of thin films to geophysical problems such as the failure of slopes by shear band formation \cite{palmer73} and the initiation of snow slab avalanches by failure of weak interfaces in snow stratifications \cite{fyffe04,heierli08}. From a theoretical point of view, a motivation for studying this system lies in the fact that the two-dimensional crack has additional degrees of freedom which, as we shall see, may lead to behavior which differs from that of one-dimensional cracks.

\section{Formulation of the model}

We consider an elastic film of thickness $D$ tethered to a rigid substrate. The film is modeled as a regular network of identical coil springs of unit length and stiffness $I$. The (discrete) coordinates of the network nodes are denoted by $X,Y$,
the network size is $L \times L$, and the origin of the coordinate system is located in the centre of the system. The interface with the substrate is represented by breakable coil springs which connect each node to a rigid support as shown schematically in Figure \ref{thinfilm}. We assume that the coil springs restrict displacements to be in the $X$ direction only, thus we are dealing with a scalar displacement field $U:=U_X$. The system is driven by an external shear force $\Sigma$ acting in the $X$ direction. This force is applied uniformly to all nodes of the network.

\begin{figure}[tbh]
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=8cm]{Figure1.eps}
\end{center}
\caption{Schematic illustration of the model studied in this paper: A thin elastic film is connected by a cohesive interface to a rigid substrate; the film is loaded by shear tractions applied to its free surface. The film is modelled as a regular network of identical coil springs, while the interface is represented by breakable leaf springs which connect the nodes of this network to a rigid support. }
\label{thinfilm}
\end{figure}

The leaf springs break at the uniform critical extension $U_{\rm C}=2$. Structural randomness of the interface is modelled as  quenched disorder in the form of random variations of the fracture energies $W_{\rm F}$ or, equivalently, of the leaf spring stiffnesses $K = 2 W_{\rm F}/U_{\rm C}^2 = W_{\rm F}/2$. These are assumed as independent identically distributed random variables with Weibull distribution, $P(W_{\rm F})=1- \exp[-(W_{\rm F}/W_0)^{\beta}]$. The parameter $W_0$ is chosen such that the mean value $\langle W_{\rm F} \rangle = W_0 \Gamma(1+1/\beta) = 1$ where $\Gamma(x)$ denotes the Gamma function. Different degrees of randomness can be introduced by varying the exponent $\beta$ and thus the coefficient of variation $CV = \sqrt{\Gamma(1+2/\beta)/(\Gamma(1+1/\beta))^2-1}$ of the distribution. A crack is introduced by removing all leaf springs over the cracked area. We consider two crack geometries: (i) a crack of width $2A$ in the $X$ direction that is located in the system centre and spans the system in $Y$ direction, and (ii) a circular crack of radius $A$ in the centre of the system.

We note that a scalar model very similar to the present one was studied by Zapperi et. al. \cite{zapperi00}. The main differences between both models concern the crack geometry and driving method: Zapperi et. al,. consider straight cracks that cut from one edge of the system halfway into the interface, and drive these by imposing a growing displacement on the cracked edge of the film. This geometry could be adapted to study size effects in systems with straight cracks, but it is not well suited for circular crack geometries.

In the limit of slowly varying displacement fields, the force equilibrium condition
for our model can be written in the following continuum approximation:
\begin{equation}
I \left(\frac{\partial^2 U}{\partial X^2} + \frac{\partial^2 U}{\partial Y^2}\right) + \Sigma - T(U,X,Y) = 0\;,
\label{eq:forcebalance}
\end{equation}
where $T$ is the local characteristics of the leaf springs representing the interface:
\begin{equation}
T(U,X,Y) = \left\{
\begin{array}{l}
\displaystyle
\frac{W_{\rm F}(X,Y) U}{2}, \quad U \le 2,\\[.3cm]
0,\quad U > 2.
\end{array}\right.
\label{eq:stresstrain}
\end{equation}
We note that Eq. (\ref{eq:forcebalance}) can be obtained from a long-wavelength approximation to the continuum equations describing stress equilibrium in a thin film under shear loads. The non-dimensional variables of the present
model can thus be related to the physical and geometrical parameters of the thin film problem. The derivation has been
given elsewhere \cite{zaiser09a,zaiser09b} and we refer the reader to those previous studies for making the link with
'real' physical systems.

\section{Displacement fields, critical crack lengths and critical stresses for linear and circular cracks}

For analysing the behavior of cracks in finite disordered systems, it is useful to first consider the same crack geometry in
a system without disorder ($W_{\rm F}(X,Y)=W_{\rm F}$) and of infinite extension. We envisage two crack geometries, namely (i) a linear crack of extension $2A$ in the $X$ direction which spans the system in the $Y$ direction, and (ii) a circular crack of diameter $2A$.

We first consider a linear crack. A critical crack is characterized by the fact that the displacement on the crack line
(in this case the lines $X=\pm A$) has the critical value $U=2$. With the additional requirement that the displacement gradient must vanish at infinity, we find that the solution of Eqs. (\ref{eq:forcebalance}) and (\ref{eq:stresstrain}) is given by
\begin{equation}
U(X)= \left\{
\begin{array}{l}
\displaystyle
\frac{\Sigma}{2 I}(A^2-X^2)+2,\quad |X|\le A,\\[.3cm]
\displaystyle
\frac{2\Sigma}{W_{\rm F}} + \left(2-\frac{2\Sigma}{W_{\rm F}}\right)\exp\left[-\sqrt{\frac{W_{\rm F}}{2I}}|X-A|\right],\quad |X| > A.
\end{array}\right.
\end{equation}
The critical crack length follows from the requirement that the displacement must be differentiable at $|X|=A$:
\begin{equation}
A = \frac{\sqrt{2W_{\rm F}I}}{\Sigma} - A^*
\label{eq:sizestrength1}
\end{equation}
where $A^* = \sqrt{2I/W_{\rm F}}$ is a characteristic length which governs the exponential decay of displacement and stress fields ahead of the crack tip. We note that the present relation
\begin{equation}
\Sigma (A+A^*) \propto \sqrt{W_{\rm F}}
\label{eq:griffith}
\end{equation}
represents a scaling that is different from Griffith's classical relation $\Sigma \sqrt{A} \propto \sqrt{W_{\rm f}}$ for bulk cracks (which also holds for linear cracks in thin sheets as studied by Alava et. al. \cite{alava08}). The different scaling reflects the fact that in case of a thin film, stress relaxation due to crack opening is confined to a volume that is limited by the film thickness (which is unity in the present non-dimensional representation). The characteristic length $A^*$ enters the expression (\ref{eq:griffith}) as an extension of the actual crack length $A$, i.e., it acts in a similar manner as the process zone size $A_p$ in Bazant's generalization of Griffith's relation to bulk cracks in semi-brittle materials \cite{bazant98}, $\Sigma \sqrt{A + A_p} \propto \sqrt{W_{\rm f}}$.

For a circular crack we transform Eq. (\ref{eq:forcebalance}) to cylindrical coordinates. With $R = \sqrt{X^2 + Y^2}$ we have
\begin{equation}
I \left(\frac{\partial^2 U}{\partial R^2} + \frac{1}{R}\frac{\partial U}{\partial R}\right) + \Sigma - T(U) = 0\;.
\end{equation}
Again, for a critical crack we require the displacement to assume the critical value $U=2$ on the crack line $R=A$. The solution is then
\begin{equation}
U(X)= \left\{
\begin{array}{l}
\displaystyle
\frac{\Sigma}{4 I}(A^2-R^2)+2,\quad R\le A,\\[.3cm]
\displaystyle
\frac{2\Sigma}{W_{\rm F}} + \left(2-\frac{2\Sigma}{W_{\rm F}}\right)\frac{K_0(\sqrt{W_{\rm F}/(2I)}R)}{K_0(\sqrt{W_{\rm F}/(2I)}A)},\quad R > A,
\end{array}\right.
\end{equation}
where $K_n$ is the $n$th-order modified Bessel function of the second kind. The condition for matching the derivatives at $R=A$ becomes
\begin{equation}
U'(A)= \frac{\Sigma A}{2 I} = \left(2-\frac{2\Sigma}{W_{\rm F}}\right)\sqrt{W_{\rm F}/2I} \frac{K_1(\sqrt{W_{\rm F}/(2I)}A}{K_0(\sqrt{W_{\rm F}/(2I)}A)}.
\end{equation}
This is readily analyzed in the limit $A \gg 1$ where our underlying continuum approximation is expected to be valid. The first and second order modified Bessel functions have the same asymptotic behavior and their ratio rapidly converges to unity. Thus, we obtain the following condition relating stress and critical crack radius:
\begin{equation}
A = 2\left(\frac{\sqrt{2W_{\rm F}I}}{\Sigma}-A^*\right)
\label{eq:sizestrength2}
\end{equation}
This relation is (but for a factor of 2) identical to that for a linear crack. In both cases, plots of the inverse stress vs. the critical crack length are expected to produce a straight line with positive $A$-axis intercept, $1/\Sigma = sA + a$ where $a = A^*/\sqrt{2W_{\rm F}I}=1/W_{\rm F}$. The slope of this plot is expected to be $s=1/\sqrt{2W_{\rm F}I}$ for linear and $s = 1/(2\sqrt{2W_{\rm F}I})$ for circular cracks.

\section{Simulations of disordered systems}

In our simulations of disordered systems the coil spring constants $I$ were set to unity and leaf spring constants were  assigned randomly from a Weibull distribution with exponent $\beta$ and mean value $\langle K\rangle =1/2$ ($\langle W_{\rm F}\rangle=1$). System sizes were varied between $L=10$ and $L=160$. To introduce a linear crack of width $2A$ we simply removed all leaf springs within a strip of this width in the centre of the system. Thus the crack widths investigated are integer numbers. Circular cracks were introduced by choosing a number $B$, removing all leaf springs for which $X^2+Y^2 < B^2$, and then evaluating the 'radius' of the crack as $A = \sqrt{N/\pi}$ where $N$ is the number of removed springs. For each set of parameters $(\beta,L,A)$ we performed -- depending on system size -- typically $10^3$ simulations with different realizations of the quenched disorder.

Simulations were performed in the standard manner for a random spring model. We solve the force equilibrium equations in the small-displacement approximation for unit applied stress and identify the leaf spring with the largest displacement $\hat{U}$. The external stress is then multiplied with $\Sigma = 2/\hat{U}$ such that this spring has the critical displacement $U=2$, and the leaf spring is removed. We then again solve the equilibrium equations and identify the leaf spring with the largest displacement. If this exceeds the critical level, this spring is also removed and the process is repeated until a new equilibrium configuration is found where $U < 2$ for all sites where leaf springs are still in place. We then again identify the leaf spring with the largest displacement, multiply the  external stress with $2/\hat{U}$, remove the spring, and so on until global failure of the interface occurs, defined in this case as the failure of {\em all} leaf springs.

Results are shown in Figure \ref{sizeffectcircular} for circular cracks, and in Figure \ref{sizeffectlinear} for linear cracks. For circular cracks, two different types of behavior can be observed. At small crack radii, the failure stress is approximately independent of the crack radius $A$ and has the same value as in a crack-free system. This failure stress has a logarithmic system size dependence as shown in the inset of Figure \ref{sizeffectlinear}. At large crack radii, on the other hand, the failure stress is system size independent but depends on the crack radius. This dependence is similar to what we expect for a system without disorder: the plot of $1/\Sigma$ vs. $A$ shows a linear dependence. The slope $s$ and axis intercept $a$ of this linear regime do not depend on system size. They exhibit only a weak disorder dependence as shown in the inset of Figure \ref{sizeffectcircular}. The numerical values are close to the values $a = 1$ and $s = 1/(2\sqrt{2})$ expected in the continuum limit of a disorder-free system.

\begin{figure}[tbh]
\begin{center}
\includegraphics{Figure2.eps}
\end{center}
\caption{System failure stress versus crack length for circular cracks in systems of different size; $\beta = CV = 1$. Inset: Dependence of slope and axis intercept of the linear regime on the coefficient of variation of the fracture energy distribution.}
\label{sizeffectcircular}
\end{figure}

The failure stresses of systems with linear cracks shown in Figure \ref{sizeffectlinear} show different behavior. Here, the two distinct regimes manifest from Figure \ref{sizeffectcircular} are absent. Instead, the plots of $1/\Sigma$ vs. $A$ are nearly  linear for all crack sizes, and the logarithmic system size dependence of the failure stresses persists at all crack lengths. The slopes of the plots do not depend on system size. Their value is practically the same as for circular cracks, in good agreement with the deterministic result.

\begin{figure}[tbh]
\begin{center}
\includegraphics{Figure3.eps}
\end{center}
\caption{System failure stress versus crack length for linear cracks in systems of different size; $\beta = CV = 1$. Inset: System size dependence of the strength of the crack-free system.}
\label{sizeffectlinear}
\end{figure}

\section{Discussion and Conclusions}

The behavior we observe for circular cracks is analogous to the behavior of linear cracks in thin sheets described by Alava et. al. \cite{alava08}. The cross-over between a system-size dependent but crack-size independent regime at small crack sizes, and a crack-size dependent but system-size independent regime at large crack sizes, can be understood in terms of a transition between crack-nucleation-controlled and crack-propagation-controlled failure. If the radius of the pre-existing crack is small, the stress needed for its propagation may be high enough to nucleate another critical crack in another part of a sufficiently large system. In this case, failure is not controlled by the initial crack but by crack nucleation in a 'weakest spot' elsewhere. This has been shown to give, in a thin-film geometry similar to the present one, rise to a logarithmic system size dependence of the failure stress \cite{zaiser09b}. If the radius of the pre-existing crack is large enough, on the other hand, failure is governed by propagation of this crack and does not depend on system size. The crack length dependence of the failure stress matches the expectation from deterministic fracture mechanics: We find a linear dependence of the inverse failure stress on crack length, $1/\Sigma = a + sA$. The parameters $a$ and $s$ of the linear fit exhibit a weak, approximately linear dependence on the coefficient of variation of the failure energy distribution. The slope $s$, which in deterministic fracture mechanics is proportional to $s\propto 1/\sqrt{W_{\rm F}}$, decreases slightly with increasing disorder. This indicates a disorder-induced increase of the effective fracture energy, which can be understood as a consequence of crack front roughening and crack pinning as discussed in \cite{zaiser09a}. The axis intercept $a$, by contrast, increases with increasing disorder. This behavior cannot be understood in terms of an increase in effective fracture energy. Rather, we may interpret the increase of $a$ (or of $A^*$) as a consequence of an advance of the crack beyond the initial crack line that is associated with crack front roughening under subcritical loads, an effect that becomes more pronounced as the disorder increases \cite{zaiser09a}.

How can we understand the different size-dependent behavior of linear cracks? The obvious difference between the two geometries is that, for a crack spanning the entire system, the length of the crack line is equal to the system size whereas for a circular crack, it is proportional to the crack radius. As demonstrated in \cite{zaiser09a}, crack lines in interface fracture exhibit self-affine roughening, but the regime of correlated roughening is confined to scales less than the crack width $A$. Above this scale, the critical crack can envisaged as a sequence of independently pinned segments of length $\sim A$. Supercritical crack propagation can be triggered by the depinning and expansion of any of these segments. Accordingly, the system strength is governed by the weakest link along the crack line. The validity of this weakest-link argument can be directly demonstrated by analyzing the probability distributions of failure stresses: If the argument is valid, the distribution $P_L^{(n)}(\Sigma)$ of the minimum failure stress determined from $n$ independent simulations of systems of size $L$ must be equal to the distribution $P_{nL}(\Sigma)$ of the failure stress of a system of size $nL$. The $n$-th extremal distribution $P_L^{(n)}$ is calculated from the underlying distribution $P_L$ using the basic relation of extreme value statistics: $P_L^{(n)}(\Sigma) = 1 - [1- P_L(\Sigma)]^n$. Results of a comparison between $P_{nL}$ and $P_L^{(n)}$ for different values of $L$ and $n$ are shown in Figure \ref{extremaldist}. It is evident that the weakest-link argument works quite well. We note, however, that the same is not true for system sizes that are comparable to the crack length $A$ (such as $L=20$ for the parameters used in Figure 4). We attribute this to the correlated nature of the dynamics on scales $< A$, which precludes the use of simple weakest-link arguments.

\begin{figure}[tbh]
\begin{center}
\includegraphics{Figure4.eps}
\end{center}
\caption{Comparison of the probability distribution of failure stresses for a system of size $L=160$ with the second extremal distribution for a system of size $L=80$ and the fourth extremal distribution for a system of size $L=40$. Parameters: crack
length $2A=10$, $\beta = CV = 1$. Full line: best fit using a Gumbel distribution with parameters $C=134.42, \Sigma_0=0.2197$.}
\label{extremaldist}
\end{figure}

Establishing the nature of the associated size effect requires understanding of the functional nature of the failure stress distribution. Fitting the observed distributions indicates that, among the stable extreme value distributions, only the Gumbel distribution $P(\Sigma) = 1 - \exp[-\exp(C(\Sigma - \Sigma_0)]$ does an acceptable job. Evidently, this implies a logarithmic size effect as observed in the simulations.

In conclusion, the present investigation demonstrates that the additional degrees of freedom associated with 2D as compared to 1D cracks may give rise to additional types of size dependent behavior. For 2D cracks as investigated in this study, the process zone width may be associated with crack front roughening rather than with preferential accumulation of damage ahead of the crack tip. The latter mechanism, which characterizes the process zone of linear cracks in 2D sheets where it leads to screening of crack-tip stress concentrations \cite{alava08}, is irrelevant in the present case where elastic couplings are short ranged: In the present geometry, stress and displacement fields ahead of the crack decay exponentially even in the absence of disorder, hence, the crack has negligible influence on its wider surroundings. In case of linear system-spanning cracks, failure is governed by the depinning of a crack-line segment with a width of the order of the crack length. Since system failure depends on the pinning strength of the weakest segment along the crack line, this gives rise to a size dependence of the failure stresses at all crack lengths. The nature of the failure stress distributions, as well as direct determination of the mean failure stresses for different system sizes, indicate a logarithmic size effect.

Of course, a most interesting question concerns the size-dependent behavior of 2D cracks in bulk systems where both crack front roughening and damage accumulation ahead of the crack tip are likely to operate simultaneously. The interplay of these two mechanisms, the concomitant process zone characteristics, and the resulting size effects remain a task for further studies relying on much more substantial deployment of computer power.

\Bibliography{99}
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\bibitem{zaiser09a} Zaiser M, Moretti P, Konstantinidis A and Aifantis E C, {\it Roughening and pinning of interface cracks in shear delamination of thin films}, 2009, {\it J. Stat. Mech.: Theory and Experiment,} P11009.
\bibitem{bouchaud03} Bouchaud E, {\it The morphology of fracture surfaces, a tool to understand crack propagation in complex materials}, 2003, {\it Surf. Sci. Review Lett.,} {\bf 10}, 797-814.
\bibitem{alava06b} Alava M J, Nukala P K K N, and Zapperi S, {\it Morphology of two dimensional fracture surfaces}, 2006, {\it J. Stat. Mech.: Theory and Experiment,} {\bf 11}, L10002.
\bibitem{alava06a} Alava M J, Nukala P K K N, and Zapperi S, {\it Statistical models of fracture}, 2006, {\it Adv. Phys,}
{\bf 55}, 349-476.
\bibitem{alava08} Alava M J, Nukala P K K N, and Zapperi S, {\it Role of disorder in the size-scaling of material strength},  2008, {\it Phys. Rev. Letters}, {\bf 100} 0555502.
\bibitem{palmer73} Palmer A C and Rice J R, {\it The growth of slip surfaces in the progressive failure of over-consolidated clay}, 1973, {\it Proc. Royal Society A} {\bf 332}, 527-548.
\bibitem{fyffe04} Fyffe  B, and Zaiser M, {\it The effects of snow variability on slab avalanche release}, 2004 {\it Cold Reg. Sci. Techn.,} {\bf 40}, 229-242.
\bibitem{heierli08} Heierli J, Gumbsch P and Zaiser M, {\it Anticrack nucleation as triggering mechanism for snow slab avalanches}, 2008, {\it Science}, {\bf 321}, 240-243.
\bibitem{zapperi00} Zapperi S, Hermann H J, and Roux S, {\it Planar cracks in the fuse model}, 2000 {\it Europ. Phys. J. B} {\bf 17}, 131-136.
\bibitem{zaiser09b} Zaiser M, Moretti P, Konstantinidis A and Aifantis E C, {\it Nucleation of interfacial shear cracks in thin films on disordered substrates}, 2009, {\it J. Stat. Mech.: Theory and Experiment,} P02047.
\bibitem{bazant98} Bazant Z P and Planas J, {\it Fracture and Size Effect in Concrete
and Other Quasibrittle Materials}, 1998, CRC Press, Boca Raton (FLA).
\end{thebibliography}

\end{document}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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Jagmeet Singh - November 10, 2016 0
SUSE and Japanese ICT company Fujitsu have announced their strategic alliance to expand the existing space of the open source cloud. This partnership will...


Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of tenofovir on cognitive function in rat offspring. Methods Pregnant Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups (n=8 each group). At 12-21 days of gestation, the control group was given normal saline for 10 days, and the low-and high-concentration tenofovir groups were injected with 2.25 and 4.5 mg·kg-1·d-1 tenofovir, respectively. On the 22nd day of gestation, after blood gas analysis was performed in pregnant rats, the offspring were removed to record body weight. After 4 weeks, navigation and space exploration tests were performed in 4 offspring rats of each group, and the expression of GSK-3β, β -catenin, and nestin was determined with Western blotting and real-time PCR in 4 other rats. Results No effect of different concentrations of tenofovir was found on blood gas analysis in pregnant rats and on the body weight of the offspring. No significant difference in escape latency and target quadrant time was found between the control and low-concentration tenofovir groups. The escape latency was longer, target quadrant time was shorter, expression of GSK-3β was higher, and expression of β -catenin and nestin was lower in the high-concentration tenofovir group (P < 0.05)than in the control and low-concentration tenofovir groups. Conclusion A low concentration of tenofovir does not affect cognitive function in offspring, and a high concentration of tenofovir may inhibit cognitive function in offspring.
1)P < 0.05 vs control group;2)P < 0.05 vs low-concentration tenofovir group.


The BBC are doing a "White" season very soon in which it looks at the white working class society of Britain and also the affects on forgein workers... bit of touchy subject I would have had thought, but then again subjects like that do need to be touched upon every now and then ... not in a racist way, but in a general knowledgeable way.
They have found out so far that from the racial demographics that Easington in County Durham is Britains whitest place. This is mainly due to most of the people there have come from the areas old mining history. The season of stuff does look very good to look forward to.


A pair of blue slippers from Bow-Tie, made by hand from a luxurious pure velvet and an embroidered Fleur De Lys using a golden silk thread. Fitted with a durable leather sole, these slippers are the perfect companion in front of a fireplace during the colder months. Wear them with your favorite flannel trousers and a knitted sweater for a smart, casual look.
Made for a snug fit but true to size.


Saturday - Sunday 8 A.M. - 6 P.M.
All Star Windshields of Claremont California is hear to cater to the needs of the community, small businesses and dealerships alike. There's been a huge growth to the city of Claremont over the years, but its nothing that we haven't been able to handle. Today the auto glass industry is constantly changing, our efforts to provide the best service and products is the least we can do when customers like you are dealing with a repair or replacement.
We have the most experience in the auto glass industry today. And a countless amount of satisfied customers that continue to turn to us today. One thing that we continue to hear from all of our customers, is how different we are from other auto glass shops in Claremont California. This is why we are ranked and reviewed the No.1 auto glass shop in Claremont today. We don't just offer a service you can trust, we install products that are reliable and safe. All repairs and replacement include same day installation, free mobile service and reliable products. We provide prices that most auto glass shops can't compete with. We understand when a customer calls to receive a quote their searching around for a price that fits their budget. Here at All Star, we carry a variety of auto glass in stock, making our auto glass repairs or replacements fast, convenient and affordable.
Today, customers have tendency to run into trucks on the road that offer auto glass services Many of these auto glass providers are a one man operation, displaying only a number on their truck and no company name or physical address. Many of these auto glass providers are installers that have turned to working for themselves, and strictly out of their truck. You'll find that these auto glass installers tend to provide competitive prices. Unfortunately, with those prices comes the risk of receiving bad quality work and a warranty that only applies for however long that installer continue to conduct business. As we see these auto glass installers gaining popularity, we are starting to run into customers that received bad work. With little information provided on the installer, company and their liability. This leaves the customer at risk should there be any defects or errors that arises later on. We have ran into to many customers that say they couldn't get a hold of the installer that preformed their repair or replacement. Leaving the customer and their auto glass issue in the dust and with little options. The end result, customers having to fork out more money to get the repair or replacement fixed by another auto glass shop. Don't allow yourself to be a victim to this. Like many customers, they are sold when they receive an outrageously low price. Little questions are asked about the glass, if its new or used and what liability the company offers should anything arise later on.
With that being said, we understand the cost of auto glass is the main factor when it comes to a replacement and repair. Vehicles today are equipped with features that many customers are unaware of until faced with a auto glass repair or replacement. As vehicle auto glass becomes more complex and advanced, the more it can cost customers in the long run. Luckily, All Star Windshields gets around charging outrageous prices by working with several auto glass vendors. This allows us to provide quality brands at a cost that is sure to fit anybody's budget. Lastly, we are a proud and growing auto glass company in Claremont that looks forward to work with customers like you. We want you to know that we appreciate your support and business, and you are gaining a friend in the auto glass industry you can rely on. So what are you waiting for, give us a call today.
You'll be happy that you did.


I'll have to figure out how to add an audio element to this page, with Eldest Daughter saying in a distinctive voice, "Thpicy frieth!" kind of like Sylvester, of Tweety & Sylvester. She loves these—eats them by the bowlful.
The recipe is courtesy of the side of a bag of Mann's pre-cut "sweet potato" fries from Costco. I put "sweet potato" in quotation marks because this was a bag of the orange things known to many as "yams." You want the orange ones, not the yellowish ones.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together the ingredients for the spicy coating. Add potatoes and stir until evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, then turn and bake another 10 minutes until crispy and browned. Sprinkle with the salt and serve.
I make these in really big batches because they go so fast around my house. The catch is that you can't achieve a single layer in the pan if you cut up too many, so plan accordingly. They're still good if they end up heaped in the pan—just not as crispy.
You might also bake half the batch and taste, then adjust the heat on the second half if you want them spicier.
Like so many, I get a tad Grinchy about commercialization around this time of year. I won't be shopping on Black Friday, going toe to toe with desperate women in appliqued sweatshirts over this year's version of Tickle Me Elmo.
If I do anything commercial at all, it will be a walk to the Rockwood Bakery with My Sweetheart for a caramel macchiato (latte style), and possibly one of the orange almond rolls or their outstanding quiche.
Or we'll take Eldest Daughter and Second Daughter with us and walk the other direction, to the Perry Street Café. We haven't been there in a while, but when we walk in the waitresses will recognize us, they'll ask where the little kids are (with their mother; we only have them every other weekend), and the bottomless cups of coffee will begin.
Second Daughter will get a Caesar salad (no olives—why do they put olives on the Caesar anyway?); they make an enormous salad and she'll eat all of it (note that this is for breakfast).
Eldest Daughter will get a mushroom/cheese omelet with hashbrowns and mix the entire plate together in one unappetizing (to me) gloppy mess with ketchup.
I'll get the veggie scramble and an English muffin with honey. My Sweetheart will get pancakes, possibly; scrambled eggs; some kind of sausage or bacon (his chance at meat, since the rest of us are vegetarians); and will eat everyone's leftovers if we let him.
Again, something to be thankful for: Living in a good-sized city with urban amenities that still has a hometown feeling and good little neighborhood cafes, and teenage daughters who will happily hang out with their folks (as well they should—we're buying) and carry on intelligent, well-informed conversations about things like world affairs, ethics, and the economy (also lame jokes, word play, and occasional applications of the phrase "that's what she said"—we're not all high-brow and intellectual all the time).
I note that my stories do revolve around food—just not a blow-out feast requiring me to get up in the dark and start mincing celery and onions and rolling out piecrust (hopefully not all in the same dish).
I've had those years, and I love to cook a major feast, but that's no longer what Thanksgiving is about for us. An event that creates major stress for one or two of us (Sweetheart likes to cook too) while the rest overeat and then roll away groaning isn't really all that fun, if you think about it.
Laura Potatoes: Roasted in the oven with a liberal dose of a mustard vinaigrette dressing that's good on everything from salad to pilaf to baguettes to, well, potatoes.
Spicy Fries: Based on a recipe originally found on the side of a bag of yam fries from Costco (modified to use chipotle for smokiness), these are basted with a mustard/chili sauce, the spicier the better.
Wild Rice: Sweetheart didn't specify a preparation method, so I think it will be my recipe that involves caramelized walnuts or pecans, orange zest, and sautéed celery and onions (I guess I do end up doing some of that veggie prep—just not at o-dark-thirty in the morning).
Berry Pie: Second Daughter's request.
Pecan Pie: Eldest Daughter's request.
I enjoy cooking, especially for people I love. Doing it this way spreads out the labor as well as the enjoyment of the food. That makes me a lot more thankful than being exhausted when I finally sit down to eat.
As someone who particularly loves to feel a part of her community networks, I love this about Spokane: that willingness to strike up a conversation with a total stranger in line at the grocery store or coffee shop, make small talk, and in all likelihood find we like something or someone in common that creates a bond.
These are small things, perhaps, but they make life good. Plenty to be thankful for, even in hard times. Let us give thanks.
Eldest Daughter turned 18 last week. Time to commemorate this with a random collection of Kate-isms, almost all collected in one sitting.
"Gangsters. They're like the lions with the biggest testicles. Or when the gorillas go like this"(chest pounding and improvised gorilla grunting). This is said while she is wearing fake leopard print shirts (two of them, layered) and whiskers and black nose artfully created with eyeliner for her duties opening the door on Halloween to exclaim, "Oh, aren't you CUTE!" to the baby lions and tigers and bears. It's like "Madagascar" around here.
My revenge on her is that she looks like me. She laughs just like me. My words come out of her face at times. Someday my very voice will emanate from her mouth. At least it will if she meets with my fate, which (as I've mentioned before) is to look down and see my mother's hands sticking out of my sleeves, hear her voice coming out of my mouth, recognize that all the times she said "Someday you'll look back on this and laugh/thank me/not remember any of it" she was right. BWAhahahahaha.
The name thing: I got to thinking about this because of a Twitter discussion about the effort women go through to change their names when they marry, which is actually a holdover from when we were chattel.
I'm married to my third husband, but use my first husband's last name. A sorority sister I reunited with via Facebook refers to this as a "divorced name", which I think is a good way to label it.
Second marriages are pretty common any more, so when I refer to my first as "the girls' dad" in a way that makes it clear he's not My Wonderful Sweetheart, you assume MWS is #2, unless you actually met #2.
Almost no one did, as he was a bit of an agoraphobe and an introvert and absolutely hated the thought of the "Babbitts" he was sure he would meet at the thousand and one Chamber of Commerce-type events I attend (and enjoy) for my job.
The name? Well, my maiden name was Greene, spelled with an E. I was tired of spelling my last name all the time so as not to be confused with the color, thought Chamberlain was a nice distinguished name, wanted to share a last name with the children I knew we'd have. #1 was a feminist kind of guy and would have been willing to take my name, but it rhymed with his first name and that sounded really, really stupid.
I subsequently built up a lot of political and social capital (name ID, in political parlance). Brand equity, if you will, although there are lots of other Barb Chamberlains out there.
So when we divorced after nine years of marriage, I kept the name. This, even though by then I'd discovered the many ways people could misspell Chamberlain unless I helped them, so I was still spelling my last name all the time to avoid being –lin, -lane, -land, or -lun.
It had become my name, independent of how I acquired it, and I kept it on the way into—and out of—my second marriage and into the marriage that now makes me seriously, deliriously happy every day.
We clearly believe in marriage: My family's marriage history is entertaining, or discouraging, or typical, depending on what you think about the odds of finding the right person for your whole life the very first time you try.
My parents (ages 91 and 87) have been married for 63 years.
My oldest brother: married to #5. He believes in marriage more than any of us, and I'm not being flippant. He really worked at it every time.
Younger sister: Never married, still with her first boyfriend, passing 20+ years.
Moral of the story: While my parents apparently got the secret of a successful marriage the first time, the only one in our family to be matching their success to date is the one who never got married.
As Eldest Daughter reassures me, third time is the charm for me. She's right.
I hate it when I get this kind of question as an ice-breaker at workshops. See, the thing is that I was an elected official. As in, out there in the public eye with reporters asking questions about all kinds of things and then putting them in the paper or on TV.
Granted, this was more or less pre-Internet. Yes, kids, I'm old enough that I used to do bulletin board stuff via packet on a 300 baud modem—and I'm not that old. You can't hit Google and find much from those days (at least, I can't, so if you find good stuff please send me the links).
Now, there are hundreds of occurrences of my name (actually, 2,350 as of Nov. 15 if you search Google for "Barb Chamberlain"), but most consist solely of my name as a contact on a press release since I work in communications. Or they're some other Barb Chamberlain (there are 46 of us on Facebook as of today; I'm thinking of starting a club).
The other problem with compiling a list on this topic is that I'm a talker like my mother and I disclose lots of things. My closest friends and family members know all kinds of stuff (and I think one of them actually reads this blog). But there's this blogger game of tag where you link to other bloggers, with all of you writing on the same kind of topic. In this case, the theme (or meme) is five things you don't know about me.
I think it's fair to take "you" to mean total strangers, not the family member(s?) and friend(s?) who read this. This is our getting-acquainted talk. Pretend I've had an extra glass of wine or a second lemon drop or something, and you asked me about my life in politics.
I was born on Election Day, and elected for the first time on my 28th birthday (I like to think I was born to run). Eldest Daughter (and first child) arrived six days later. As we like to say in our house when we tell this story, That Was A Big Week.
When I was elected, I was the youngest woman ever elected to the Idaho State House.
When I subsequently won a Senate seat, I became the youngest woman elected to the Senate, and hence youngest woman elected to both.
My ego bubble got a nice puncturing when someone pointed out that since I lost my Senate re-election bid, I probably became the youngest woman ever defeated for election to the Idaho State Senate. 1994. Not a good year for Democrats, since even Speaker of the House Tom Foley lost his seat. Sigh.
Given that I was born on Election Day, it finally occurred to me to ask Mom whether she'd voted that year. Yep—she voted absentee in advance. What I don't know is how she voted. Democrat Gracie Pfost (pronounced POST) was unsuccessful in her effort to move from the U.S. House to the U.S. Senate that year. Mom probably voted Republican (in the Senate race it would have been a vote for Len Jordan, who had replaced Henry Dworshak, for whom the dam is named, when Henry died in August of that year). But maybe she voted for Democrat Compton White Jr. for the Congressional seat. These fun facts about the 1962 midterm election are courtesy of a web site that will soon vanish unless his successor copies the content: a page from Larry Craig's official U.S. Senate site. A better long-term link is this basic PDF list.
When I set out to write a list of five much more obscure items—short-lived jobs, encounters with famous people and the like—the post got way too long. So I'm saving those items for another day. You'll just have to wait for Geraldine Ferraro's hand, the constellation, the marriage thing, reproduction roulette, and my mercifully short-lived sales career.
Here are links to some more blogs that I enjoy reading. I went for a mix of social media, local, and inside-your-life types of blogs.
The late, lamented MetroSpokane blog was a great read. Five days a week, the anonymous author delivered a slice of urban life to my email in-box: Design, planning, restaurants, funky street art, commentary on local and regional policy issues—all my cup of java.
I made a habit of forwarding occasional posts to people I thought would find them interesting. After a few times of sending them to a city planner involved in Spokane's University District because I thought the ideas expressed were a great fit for our vision there, he confessed to me that he wrote the blog.
I kept his secret, and started writing occasional cycling-related posts. Now that MetroSpokane has ceased publication and the blogger has outed himself, I wanted to collect the links to all my posts in one spot.
A brief discussion of a much better piece by someone else: Dave Steele on "Unseen Bicyclists" at Next American City.
Is Spokane ready for a pedi?
Discussion of the feasibility of bike pedicabs in downtown Spokane.
An item on the bike swap being held at the first SpokeFest.
A discussion of how road designs shape behaviors, i.e., all engineering is social engineering.
Discussion of I-985, which fortunately lost big-time in the Nov. 4, 2008 elections.
Getting there on a Bike: Help us Google!
Rallying folks to ask Google to add bike-specific functionality to Google Maps, similar to what they're doing for pedestrians.
So nobody promised it would be fair. I get that. In fact, I use that line with my teenage daughters All The Time. No one signed a contract, no one provided disclaimers in 5-point type for wiggle room, no one made any promises whatsoever. But still.
I'm 46 as of yesterday. Here are three things I thought when I was younger that I now know to be wrong.
1) There will be a break between pimples and wrinkles.
Not true. The "facial evidence of accumulated wisdom" does not create a protective barrier that prevents breakouts, and pimples don't magically stop appearing just because you get some "character" in your face.
The various things you can use for blemishes dry out your skin and make the wrinkles look worse; the moisturizer you need for the wrinkles encourages break-outs. Since all skin products for any age are just hope in a bottle and have few real effects, there's no magic answer. On the bright side, I'm saving lots of money by not buying skin care products, other than that one bottle of Oil of Olay Regenerist because some web site said that it did actually have a marginal effect, and it costs a lot less than the other ones on the shelf at Rite-Aid. Effects so far? Not so's I've noticed, but hey, keep hope alive.
2) If you're nearsighted, then when you start getting old-age farsightedness, your eyesight will improve.
Wow, SO not true. I've worn glasses since I was five, got contacts for my 13th birthday (the old hard plastic kind that you had to acclimate to one hour at a time over a painful two-week period), had radial keratotomy when I was 21, and am still a -11 in my left eye and -10.5 in my right eye, with some astigmatism as a side effect of the RK. An eye doctor once told me this level of myopia would qualify me as legally blind if it weren't correctible.
All my life in order to read or examine something with lots of fine detail, I have brought it right up to my face about an inch away from my eyeballs if I'm not wearing my contacts or glasses. Now, of course, I have to move things away from my face in order to bring them into focus.
When I work at the computer or read, I wear cheaters if I have my contacts in. My prescription glasses actually work pretty well, probably because they correct for the astigmatism in a way my contacts can't (because at my high-diopter prescription level, astigmatism correction isn't available—am I really that special? It's like needing an orphan drug or something).
The beneficial side effect of all this is that I'm not buying any food products with tiny, tiny print on the label, because I like knowing what I'm eating. This pretty much eliminates all processed foods, not that I ate too many of those to begin with. Saved from high-fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils by old-age eyes.
3) I won't turn into my mother. Ever.
I did manage to do some things differently in raising my own daughters. As I read somewhere once, you only have two options in parenting: being your parents, or being not your parents (yes, that's written correctly).
Since "not your parents" is a vast and unknown territory, you have no guideposts when you enter that strange land. You're bound to get lost and wander around, trampling randomly underfoot the fragile wildflowers and rare endangered creatures, AKA making a whole new batch of mistakes different in kind but not in scope from the ones for which you blame your own parents.
In my case, I did some things differently/"right" (in my view, because after all I'm The Mom So I Decide): being more open with the facts of life, talking with them honestly about my own feelings and life mistakes, being closer, hugging more.
But I recognize that when this strange new landscape overwhelms a bit, I scurry back to the familiar signposts of my childhood, open my mouth, and my mother's words come out.
Also, there's the part where her hands stick out of my sleeves and her voice and laugh come out of my face. That's not that bad, since she was and is pretty cheerful (despite the dementia). And now my voice and laugh are coming out of my daughters' mouths (particularly Eldest Daughter, although all three of us have an identical laugh at times).
These are not your ordinary oatmeal cookies. For one thing, they don't have those nasty raisins in them--those squished-bug-like raisins that exist only to deceive the nearsighted into believing they're about to bite into a chocolate chip cookie. For another, they are more crispy than chewy, with a delicate consistency similar to sugar cookies. As far as I know, the recipe has been in my mother's recipe box since before I was born, labeled BEST Oatmeal Cookies. She was right.
I have updated the recipe based on extensive (ahem) experimentation. Originally it called for a 50/50/split of white/brown sugar; I have tilted it toward brown for richness and moisture. I've added several spices; the original recipe only involved the cinnamon/sugar coating in the last step. The're fantastic without the spices so no need to fret; use or leave out and you'll have addictively good cookies either way.
Advice from experience: Double this recipe. You won't be sorry.
Optional additional spices: 1/4 t. each ginger, mace; dash cloves.
Roll dough into balls the size of small walnuts, then roll in the cinnamon/sugar mix.
Use parchment to line the cookie sheets if you have it--handy stuff! If you don't have it, grease the cookie sheet.
Place on cookie sheet and flatten gently with your thumb or the bottom of a glass. They don't spread too much but they do spread some so don't crowd.
Bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes, then hide a batch for your snacking pleasure before you give your family a taste. In my current oven 8 minutes brings them to perfection; they'll still be moist and slightly bendy in the middle.
If you put two cookie sheets in the oven at once, then halfway through rotate the pans top/bottom and front/back for more even heat distribution.
Around three years ago, Spokane County went to an all mail-in balloting system. As I understand it, this saved money; if they hadn't made the change, they would have to buy accessible voting machines for all 85 polling places at a cost estimated then around $500K, versus making arrangements for accessible voting as needed.
It cost us something in civic culture, though.
I miss real voting. I took my daughters with me year in and year out, to primaries and general elections and school levies and bonds, in Idaho and then in Washington. I talked with them about why we were going, why it was important. We thanked the poll workers (average age upwards of 70, most times). I saw neighbors I might not see any other time of year. We all got "I voted!" stickers and wore them all day long, and the girls often got a treat.
Not only that, but it has changed the entire pace of campaigns. Once upon a time, boys and girls, you learned everything you were going to learn about a candidate—good, bad, wacky, and made-up—right up until the single day on which you had the chance to act on that knowledge.
Nowadays, I know it seems as if campaigns run on and on forever and ever, especially if you watch much TV. But the poor candidates have to work feverishly (and keep pestering you with those ads, mailings and phone calls) even though they know that plenty of ballots are cast within a day or two of being received in the mail. This burst of early voting takes place even though there are still 2-3 weeks left in the campaign season, endorsements still to come out, debates still to take place, neighbors still to talk to over the back fence.
In effect, "Election Day" is now a moving target that begins roughly three weeks before the actual Election Day.
In 2005-2006 when Yes for Spokane Schools worked to help pass the last levy for Spokane Public Schools, we knew the levy vote in March 2006 would be the very first election held via all mail-in ballot in Spokane County. We had to move every single tactic up to execute three weeks earlier, while also planning to keep executing on the traditional cycle for people who cast their votes "later," aka closer to or on Election Day.
It's hard on volunteers to reach a fever pitch and then sustain it for three weeks. It costs more. It's tougher to keep the calling lists current—maybe your vote has been cast but your name is still on the list of those who haven't voted because it takes a while to churn the data, so you keep getting those GOTV calls.
Every campaign faces this marathon. We'll face it again this coming year, for the levy and bond campaign that Spokane Public Schools desperately needs.
I won't get my sticker, but I'll vote anyway. And when Kate said sadly, "I can't vote in the presidential election," she then perked up and said, "But I'll be able to vote for the levy and bond!" That's my girl.
When I was sick as a kid, my mom brought me toast with honey and Campbell's chicken & stars soup. Whatever beverage she brought had ice cubes in it, which made it feel like a grown-up drink (my folks hosted a lot of bridge club nights and the occasional cocktail party).
If I had an upset stomach she gave me 7-Up—the only time I ever got to have pop as a kid, with the occasional rare exception of a Grape or Orange Crush purchased in a gas station on a family vacation (I think she limited us to those two because of their faint, faint resemblance to some sort of fruit juice).
I got to lie on the couch and feel sorry for myself, with a receptacle handy in case I threw up, or with a box of tissues at hand if it was a sinus-y thing. She wiped my forehead with a damp washcloth if I ran a fever. So I like to be taken care of when I'm sick.
I woke up yesterday with a scratchy throat that grew a lot worse last night. I kept waking up feeling as if I couldn't swallow (and wondering if I'd been snoring).
This morning, my sweetheart made me a comforting bowl of hot oatmeal before taking off on a long bike ride with a couple of guys from his club, Spokane Rocket Velo. I drank coffee and read the paper, then settled on the sofa with some magazines awaiting Mom Taxi duties for a pick-up after an overnight at a birthday party.
Kate went along for the ride when the call came around 11. After we picked up Laura, I stopped at the grocery store for a few essentials, including the Western Family "compare to Chloraseptic" product and bags of honey –lemon cough drops for me, cherry for the rest of the family in case they catch whatever this is.
At my side I have cranberry-raspberry juice in a glass with ice cubes; water in another glass with ice cubes; my generic throat spray and cough drops; and a box of tissues, all laid out by Kate. She pushed the ottoman a little closer so I could reach everything easily, and told me to holler if I need anything. I asked if I could just croak feebly instead, and she said sure.
The generational torch has been passed.
I'm thinking a lot these days about our need for a vision for Spokane parks. This came up because of the proposal to have the county commissioners use Conservation Futures funds to purchase the YMCA Building.
As a community, we lack context for this decision. The community developed the Gorge Master Plan through a large-scale and inclusive process, and today Friends of the Falls has a document that anyone can go to in order to see the overall vision.
Where is the corollary for Spokane's parks? The Olmsted Brothers had a vision, which included the Spokane River Gorge as the heart of a network of parks within walking distance of every neighborhood. That vision needs to be updated as the city grows.
Our understanding of parks has come to include more natural spaces like the gorge, not just parks that require mowing and sprinkler systems. The fastest-growing recreational pursuits are those like kayaking, climbing, and mountain biking—not ones that require sports leagues with refs and equipment.
Don't get me wrong—I still want the traditional beautiful green spaces. I still want to go to the Japanese Gardens and the manicured parts of Manito Park.
But when we go there, our younger kids spend only a little time on the playground equipment before they want to climb to the top of the big rock on the north side of 17th as it comes into Manito.
I think they represent the future, and I want to see parks that will meet their needs and preserve wild, open experiences, both close to downtown like the Spokane River Gorge, and farther away like some of the other CF purchases.
What I don't want to see is the same question being asked years from now, at the end of the YMCA building's life, that we are asking today: How did we get to this point? Why do we lack an overall vision that provides context for individual decisions on parcels and projects?
Our elected and appointed officials and public employees need to create the open forum necessary to understand and weigh the options.
At the end of the day, maybe it will in fact be the case that use of CF funds for the YMCA Building fulfills a public purpose. That purpose needs to be understood and shared before the purchase.
The larger questions of a vision for our parks and river, with a plan for maintenance and operations, await.
I'm like an evangelist who doesn't go to church. I sing the praises of yoga, but I haven't gone in months, beyond a couple of Saturday-morning sessions in August.
Over the last seven years, my practice grew from once or twice a week to a steady routine. At one point I practiced 5-6 times a week, and did 108 Sun Salutations at the Solstice and Equinox. My first 108 came the year I turned 40—the same year I rafted the Spokane River Gorge for the first time, and tried the tango. All wonderful and fulfilling activities that helped give me a new sense of who I am.
I miss it. I love the instructors at Twist Yoga, who are generous friends and gifted teachers and mentors. I miss the centered feeling yoga gives me as a moving meditation. I miss the calm, familiar environment of the studio, with its wood floors and high pressed-tin ceiling and its feeling of a place apart from the whirlwind of daily life.
I miss the community of regulars. When I went back those Saturday mornings, I saw people I hadn't seen in months who greeted me with a smile and a "Good to see you!".
Since you definitely want to be empty if you're going to turn upside down, this was not just mind over matter, it was common sense, but it truly was more mindful. I wasn't eating just because the food was there--I was eating because I chose to.
And there are the more obvious benefits of increased strength and flexibility. I was working toward being able to put a foot behind my head, I could sit in full lotus, I could do a headstand raising my straight legs from the floor overhead using my core strength.
Right now, I'm practicing one of the core tenets of yoga: ahimsa, or nonviolence. This takes many forms. It includes nonviolence toward yourself—being gentle with yourself.
Along about February-March, I just maxed out. I was taking a graduate class that had me driving to Pullman once a week, working long hours to make up for the lost time, and had plenty of volunteer activities in my life, including chairing the first major Bike to Work Week celebration for Spokane. I have two teenage daughters, two younger stepchildren, and my wonderful, wonderful sweetheart, all of whom deserved more time.
I could reclaim the time that yoga took out of each day, feel more focused at work because I didn't have a required departure time to get to class, and go home to my family.
It's a different kind of centering, and it doesn't help with my snickerdoodle control in the least. I want my core strength back, and that mindfulness, but for now, this is ahimsa.
Years ago when I lived in Coeur d'Alene for a while, a friend of mine, Jeannie, started a women's group. We met once a month at someone's house for a potluck and general hanging out and getting to know each other.
The inspiration for the group was by way of rebellion, actually, or making a statement. Jeannie had been invited to a different women's group, a "birthday club" that met monthly. Jeannie, who was a well-known member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, went once, then her second time took along a college instructor girlfriend who was African-American.
The reception from the 100% white group was distinctly chilly. Jeannie—who decided her past civic leadership roles had made her somehow "acceptable", or they wouldn't have invited her in the first place—vowed not to go back.
She started our group by inviting women she knew would welcome a space in which we'd have a chance to get to know women from various cultures and backgrounds. As it turned out, most of us were white. But we were all ages and stages of life, from single women in their 30s to grandmas in their 70s, and we had a wonderful time.
Fast forward a few years. After living in Coeur d'Alene and commuting to Spokane for a while, I finally consolidated my life in one city. That's important to me because I want to engage in the civic and social life of my community, and that's tough when you're always 45 minutes away from either home or work.
I went back to Coeur d'Alene a couple of times for our Saturday group, but now the 45-minute drive was weighted the other way, and my center of gravity was once again in Spokane. So over time I dropped out of many of my CdA connections.
The initial invitation list was heavy on women who work in public relations and communications, but that's not its make-up today. Today, for example, our gathering included a grants director for a regional foundation; a writer/editor; a university librarian; a restaurant manager; a recruiter for a local employment agency; and a life coach.
That's just their professions. I could have said it was two women who do yoga, one who's dealing with her mother who has Alzheimer's, one who redid her house and yard in the last year, one who's thinking about a new last name because she doesn't like keeping her "divorced name" and never liked her maiden name, one who saw an adolescent cougar on a hike this spring... much more interesting that way, and things I never would have known had our connection stayed professional.
Today we talked politics for a while--one item on a long list of topics we covered. Perhaps it was to be expected that my instincts would lead me to invite women who shared my general political sensibilities, but I honestly didn't know that when I invited them. It just emerged over time, and I suppose women who didn't find that element a comfortable fit just quietly stopped coming.
We also talked about friendship, and wondered whether some of those childhood teeter-totter friends would become friends if we met today as adults. I'm no longer in touch with anyone from my grade school, so I have no idea if we'll vote for the same presidential candidate or feel the same about combating global warming. You don't know, when you're taking turns on the swing, what will matter to you as an adult and what characteristics you'll desire in a friend.
I keep the email list and send out monthly reminders, along with news tidbits members ask me to share with the others. I'm fairly choosy in those I invite personally, but I'll add any name someone else asks me to put on the list. I figure the group dynamic will work itself out.
Kind of like a grown-up swing set, I suppose, although with better manners. And coffee.
Since my job involves media relations, you'd think I would have realized what would happen when Bike to Work Week in Spokane exceeded all our expectations in May 2008 and got such great coverage.
I thought of the success as belonging to the hundreds of cyclists who signed up and the dozen or more hardy volunteers who made all the events come together, along with everyone who has commuted by bike all these years without any free T-shirts as incentives.
But I somehow became a poster girl for bike commuting, thanks to the zillions of emails I sent to the participants and the outpouring of media coverage that quoted me in connection with the event.
So now I don't just get the confessions of guilty non-cyclists I mentioned previously. Oh, no indeedy—I get every story of anyone's encounter with a thoughtless cyclist.
You know the ones I mean: they don't stop for stop signs, they don't signal, they ride the wrong way against traffic, they jump sidewalks and cross mid-block, they ride three across on a narrow road and hog the lane unnecessarily.
It's funny, or it's sad, that one bad cyclist paints us all bad. When I have an encounter with a bad motorist—the ones who don't look before starting to turn or change lanes, the ones who come unnecessarily close to me in a wide lane to "prove" I don't belong there, the ones who yell at me to "get off the road!", the ones who park on bike lanes—that doesn't make all motorists bad.
Can't we all just look out for each other a little better, with a smidgen of civility? ("Jiminy Christmas" was pretty tame, really.) Is that too much to ask?
Used to be, I'd walk into a room for a business meeting and get a look or two as I stripped off my helmet and bike gloves and dug my notebook out of the pannier bag serving as my briefcase. I'd guess I was viewed as a trifle ... eccentric for riding my bike to a Chamber of Commerce event.
That was about two years ago, when I completed my shift from "I bike to work once in a while," to "I bike to work pretty often," to "I'm a bike commuter." That's when I started showing up everywhere with my bike gear: at meetings in the Valley, early morning or lunchtime downtown, after work at the Davenport.
Along the way as I evolved or mutated or whatever it was, something else changed--and I'm not just talking about the $4/gallon gas. It's the attitude.
Now, when I walk into one of those dark-suit meetings with my helmet and pannier, people confess.
"I would love to bike commute, but I live clear up by the Rocket Market" (about 3-1/2 miles from the core of downtown).
"I wish I could bike commute like you."
"I almost took the bus."
I imagine this is what it feels like to wear obvious symbols of religious authority. People confess, they seek absolution and forgiveness, they're ready to do penance, they're laden with guilt.
Like those religious figures, I suppose, I'm a visible reminder that it is possible to make a different choice.
Bike commuting. It's good for the soul. And you can sleep in on weekends.
Just discovered Dipity (I wish I remembered how, so I could credit the source of the link I followed).
For years, I've been meaning to compile a chronology of my life--mostly for my kids, for when they wonder how old I was when something happened, and later for me, if I end up an old and forgetful woman. Since my mother has vascular dementia, and the woman she was packed up and departed a little bit at a time before we all realized completely what was happening, this possibility scares me.
How detailed a chronology should it be? I have written journals (in actual handwriting, on actual paper, with sporadic entries) going back roughly 13? years, my high school diaries, and nothing in between. I'm not planning to re-read those any time soon, if at all.
It's easy to remember some big, significant dates, like childbirth and marriage and election days. Looking up the actual effective date of a divorce doesn't make for a joyful trip down memory lane, although it closes the loop.
Laughing until I cry at something my beloved Eric said, finishing an incredibly long bike ride because he encouraged me all the way, or sitting out on our back patio with a glass of good wine, listening to the evening frogs.
Fast & furious wordplay with oldest daughter Kate (who gets funnier with each passing year--very dry wit, adult insights, and great vocabulary and dramatic flair).
Watching daughter Laura blossom into a beautiful, sweet, funny, kind young woman who got along with every group of kids in her gifted/talented middle school program, and who started high school yesterday.
Learning what foods Eric's kids Connor and Cailey will eat and enjoy in our vegetarian household, and finding out much to my pleasure that they love tacos made with TVP and my stir-fry.
Working on something I believe in, and having a project or event come to fruition in a way that makes a difference.


First good sail for ages, although we took four attempts to get enough wind in the sails to sail the whole way. The channel between the islands was a bit lumpy, but its good to be sailing and not motoring. We are anchored off St Pierre, which could not be considered a lucky town. Once the capital of Martinique and the centre of trade with a thriving port, with the best of all things Victorian; a magnificent theatre, cathedral, stone steps between streets of elegant houses. Hit by a tidal wave that wiped out ships and killed many, then a mudslide killed even more people. The women and children were evacuated as Mont Pelee continued to show signs of erupting. Then the women and children returned for Ascension Day and were suffocated to death by burning gases and fumes from the volcano. Louis Cyparis was locked in a dungeon under the jail while this was happening and he was billed by Barnum's Circus as the only survivor. Louis displayed his burns in a sideshow, having been rescued from St Pierre by looters – and they say crime doesn't pay!
This is a sleepy town with a great charcuterie and French restaurants, with staff who speak English and are helpful! As for customs clearance, you wander along to a local restaurant, L'Alsace de Kay, any time up to about 22.00. You put your own data into the computer while imbibing the drink of your choice. The form prints off and is stamped – how very civilised. The concept of completing clearance while drinking a good glass of wine is, in our opinion, a custom that should be initiated across the Caribbean.


text:
Faerie Tales
'The Wild Rocket Omakase'
When the new set of dates for 'The Wild Rocket Omakase' was announced, I quickly booked a dinner. I didn't even see what the menu held. I miss Willin Low's iteration of foods at Wild Rocket, so I figured regardless, the menu would work for us. Except for the pesto laksa. That would be the only item that has never worked for me.
Held at Roketto Izakaya, 'The Wild Rocket Omakase' was an eight-course meal (with two desserts). It began with a mushroom bak kut teh, which was really mushroom tortellini in a little bit of soup. The porcini game was strong. I loved it. This could be a whole meal for me. It was pretty much dumplings, reinvented. HAHAHAH. Then we had a tartare of Kulbarra barramundi, kishmiri yoghurt and chilli oil on a bed of murruku. Luckily I took an antihistamine, otherwise the prawn soup panna cotta would make me swell up instantly. The aka ebi sashimi and glass noodles sat in a panna cotta of rich prawn stock from the head. There was also a fried prawn leg that I gave to the man.
Then there was a char kuay tiao and tau yew bak. I loved the char kway teow because it was something I've missed loads! It was the carb-free version that held thinly sliced cuttlefish for the 'kway teow'. They treated the cuttlefish so well that it was tender, and the texture was like al dente kway teow. The tau yew bak used pork belly, of course. The sauce was lovely. It was mole-inspired, and it did have chocolate in there. The base held bits of basmati rice and barley.
The laksa pesto pasta made an appearance. It's still my most hated dish. I cannot deal with laksa leaves and pesto sauce. Hahahahah. Anyway, it was too many prawns for me, so this portion was passed to the man who merrily chomped it up. He loves this dish. The beef kailan was really beef tongue, kailan and palak sauce topped with brussels sprouts crisp kale. Delicious. A Sanzen junmai daiginjo from Kikuchi rounded off the meal beautifully.
There were two desserts — Pink Dessert and Ondeh Ondeh. I enjoyed the Pink loads because it was lychee sorbet with ginger flowers, elderflower, raspberry crips, amaranth and Calpis gummies. That was delicious. I love sorbet, and I do love desserts like this. The man loved the Ondeh Ondeh which came in the form of gula melaka ice-cream with white chocolate and a bed of fresh desiccated coconut shavings. But that plastic box and rubber though...
posted by imp at 6:42 AM No comments:
Genres: Wine and Dine
'The Punkhawala and the Prostitute'
I waited ages for the National Library to stock Wesley Leon Aroozoo's 'The Punkhawala and the Prostitute' (November 2021). It appeared in the catalogue but it wasn't available to borrow or to reserve. No digital copies available anywhere either. What the. Fine. Went to find the actual book at the bookshop.
The author didn't live in that era, but he did in-depth research for this book and wrote a fictional (and entirely convincing) tale young karayuki Oseki and Indian convict Gobind whose paths crossed in 19th century Singapore. We know the sad stories of the Indian convicts sent to the Straits Settlements as a cheap source of labor, and the comfort women that the Japanese army bent to their will. But the stories of the karayuki are not often heard. These are the powerless and defenseless Japanese women seized from their poor agricultural countryside and sold into the flesh trade across the world.
The book begins with recounting Gobind's and Oseki's respective journeys to Singapore on separate ships in the maybe 1869 or so. Gobind was on a ship as a convict bound in chains (no idea what he had purportedly done, killed his wife maybe) traveling from India to Singapore and caught up in a rebellion/mutiny. Oseki was on a ship from Nagasaki to Singapore under the impression that she would be 'wed' upon arrival. Her father had sold her into prostitution.
Gobind gets a job as a house servant to the colonial masters, a punkhawala. Oseki becomes a prostitute, a karayuki, at one of the two Japanese brothels on the street, and is known by her working name Panjang. They led separate lives too. The book centers on the year 1870 to 1871 in their lives. Their paths first crossed briefly one night at the House. Oseki was sent there to entertain the master of the House, and Gobind found her staring out at the verandah in the night.
She is spilling her sorrow and fears. Saying that she is being hurt time and again by my master. Her voice sounds like it is drowning, struggling to come up for air. I might be the only one who can help her. But Renuka, how do I? What can I do? I am just a slave. If I give in to the urge to help, I could never return to you. My master would bury me in a tiger ditch.
The woman lowers the cigarette as the evening breeze returns. She looks out from the veranda and into the night sky. The cigarette slowly crumbles into ashes, which scatter with the wind. The cigarette keeps burning and wasting away. She probably knows that she has wasted her breath on me tonight.
I'm better off in the pit, Renuka. It should have been me.
[*SPOILER ALERT]
⚠ Super Spoiler. Don't read beyond this line if you haven't read the book and intend to do so. STOP HERE.
In between the happenings in Singapore, the author reveals the protagonists' past lives and younger selves in continuous recollection and stirring of memories. Gobind was deaf and he literally had to live in a world of his own. He had mind demons to deal with too. He missed his dead wife, Renuka and his dead mama. Oseki missed her home in Amakusa and her father who was ironically the one who sold her into prostitution to cover his gambling debts.
It's quite an enjoyable story. Towards the end of the book, I grinned when I realized that the author had managed to include the stories of yokai, and turned the stories into fictional reality in this book. Gobind and Oseki's paths crossed again one fateful night when she came to the house and stole from his master. The master shot Oseki. Gobind tried to save her, but he was tied up by his master. The master of the House had gone quite mad, fixated on hunting down a tiger in the forest nicknamed Rimau Satan.
There was only one tragic ending for Oseki in her human form. She desperately wanted to go home. But she couldn't. She was grievously injured, and somehow not quite dead, and her body was taken to the forest to be disposed off. Her soul somehow transferred into the rumored and fabled majestic tiger nicknamed Rimau Satan.
Gobind was also injured. He could somehow see Oseki's soul in the tiger. What followed was a crazy turn of events which culminated in the master shooting many people to death, and the final death of the master. I wasn't very sure what happened to Gobind. The author kept it intentionally vague. Did he drop dead? Did he leave his second round of employment at the very same house that the previous Master lived in? Actually, I wasn't even sure what he did in India that caused him to become a convict bound for Singapore. He was indicted for murder, and I wasn't really reading the lines again to find out who exactly he was accused of murdering.
"Speaking of Rimau Satan, whatever happened to it?" Matthew Little asks. "It's been a while since I've heard about it devouring someone."
"If you must know... Rimau Satan was sighted going up north to Malaya. Then it was spotted in Siam. Rumour has it that it kept going north before it was finally caught in China. One of my Chinese importers told me that Rimau Satan was sold to a rich man who owns a private zoo in Amakusa, Japan. He supposedly adores animals and keeps many exotic ones. Well, good luck to him keeping a man-eating tiger as a pet!" Bastiani and the other men laugh.
Genres: Reads
居酒屋で飲む
I've been drinking loads! I've moved away from solely having whisky. Not that I don't like it, but it's quite heavy on the liver. Nowadays, a glass of gin or highball works nicely. They go down easier. I can deal with three glasses of gin now, compared to none. Although I wouldn't term finishing a 720ml bottle of sake by myself 'light drinking'. 😬
There's been too much food ingested and too many gatherings. On nights to myself or with the man, we take Choya for a walk in town, and pop in somewhere for a drink. If we bump into friends or friends are also game for a casual night, then we get a full table and a good chat. Drinking is a massive waste of time. So if I do it, I want to do it at a venue that welcomes Choya.
Our versions of an izakaya works well for these nights. Plenty of drinks, and easy food. Light bites. Grill. Yakitori. Sushi rolls, donburi; nothing fussy. I don't bother with the chicken meat balls and whatever. Those are for the man. I'm really after grilled chicken hearts. It takes a lot of discipline not to order beyond three sticks of hatsu. I'm a monster. Hearts and a bowl of steamed white rice + a cold tomato make my stomach happy.
I swear Choya judges me so hard each time we get drinks. She doesn't like the smell of ethanol. She also has no interest in our food at all. I'm thankful she doesn't jump up on my lap or place her paws on the table to beg for food. That would be utterly embarrassing. fffNo dog of mine does that, unless there's something so delectable that it over-rides their training. Cheese burgers... steaks... That night, I teased Choya with grilled chicken and hearts. She turned away. Dohhh. Fine. Hahaha. I certainly do not feed her 'human food', and definitely not any items that have been cured, marinated or salted.
Often, she would select a favorite corner rather far away from us. That's okay if she doesn't block humans or intrude upon the other tables. Sometimes, she would scoot under my chair or be super near my feet or the man's. It depends on her mood. She's generally quiet and unobtrusive. Choya's happy to watch the world go by, snooze, stir and stretch, and simply be with us. The sweet floof would flop around and chill out till we're ready to go home.
Genres: Choya, Drinks and Social
"The blackest night must end in dawn, / The sun dispel the dreamer's fear. / When shall my soul's bleak, hopeless pain / Find solace in its darkening Weyr?" — a song of 'Sunset's Gold' sung when the Weyrleaders and their dragons made eleven jumps between in 'The Dragonriders of Pern: The White Dragon (1978)' by Anne McCaffrey
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