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text:
six words for a hat
the works in progress of Scott G.F. Bailey
"There are lots of cats in Paris and in France and they can do what they like"
I was very pleased one day when the wife of the local doctor, he and she are fond of digging a bit and here when you dig a bit, beside making things grow, there is Roman, and Gallo-Roman, and even earlier things to be found. Well one day we were out in the car and she said one day when the work men were first cutting this road through there on that ledge were the ancestors, lots of their bones. It is always there life and death death and life and the earth and it is never anything to be remembered or even talked about, and that is the reason the French do not make much lyrical poetry. They do not get away from the earth enough to look at it, they paint it, but they do not poetise it.
Stein, in her short book Paris France says very little about Paris, and speaks mostly of France in terms of difference, how the French are unlike anyone else, or--more accurately--seemed to be like or unlike Gertrude Stein. Sometimes Stein talks about how much the French are like everyone else, though.
It could be a puzzle why the intellectuals in every country are always wanting a form of government which would inevitably treat them badly, purge them so to speak before anybody else is purged. It has always happened from the French revolution to to-day. It would be a puzzle this if it were not that it is true that the world is round and that space is illimitable unlimited. I suppose it is that that makes the intellectual so anxious for a regimenting government which they could so ill endure.
Stein is writing during WW II, which she and her companion Alice spent in the French countryside, away from Paris. Paris France is mostly a book about rural France during the early years of WW II.
Helen and her dog William were out every day and almost every evening and they always saw some one. They knew a boy named Emil who was a big boy with very large eyes and a dog named Ellen. Ellen the dog had been born in the country against which they were fighting. Emil looked at his dog and wondered if he could love him. The dog loved Emil but could Emil love him.
As Helen and her dog William came along Emil's dog Ellen was sniffing along the side of the road in the sand and finally went sniffing up the bank. Helen's dog William went sniffing too. Perhaps there was game there, very likely because in war time men did not go shooting nobody hunted any thing only dogs and cats hunted in war-time, Emil the boy with large eyes sighed about this. He said dogs hunt in war-time but they do not get much, anybody could see two or three dogs going together to hunt and waiting to see if anybody saw them because in peace-time of course they could not go hunting. Then Emil said but cats in peace-time or in war-time, they sit and watch and prey. It was getting darker and beginning to rain and Helen went one way and Emil went another way and each one of their dogs went with the one who owned him.
Paris France is not much like Hemingway's A Movable Feast. Stein's France is not a movable feast, it is an art exhibit with a distracted but chatty curator. It is not filling, but it does make one hungry.
A French cat, outside Giverny, September 2015. Photo: Mighty Reader
Amateur Reader (Tom) January 28, 2016 at 10:17 AM
"the French do not make much lyrical poetry" - !!! What on earth could Stein mean by that?
scott g.f.bailey January 28, 2016 at 10:34 AM
I know! This book is full of odd pronouncements like that. Her formal education was mostly in the sciences, so Paris France is a sort of reportage, an odd book of observations and odder conclusions. Highly entertaining stuff. Stein seemed to believe that the natural art of France was either painting, cooking, or hat-making.
Now that I think about it, the novel Three Lives is also a sort of reportage, with commentary along the way. I'll have to read The Autobiography of Alice B Tolkas, which is supposed to be a lot more about Paris than this book.
It's also possible that Stein was referring particularly to the French of the 1930s.
Marly Youmans January 28, 2016 at 12:24 PM
So. Do you think she's onto something about intellectuals? (You don't have to answer, of course, and maybe shouldn't.)
scott g.f.bailey January 28, 2016 at 10:19 PM
I'm less sure than ever that I know what an "intellectual" is!
Marly Youmans January 29, 2016 at 8:37 AM
Agreed. And a good way to change the subject. Though you wade in elsewhere!
Mudpuddle January 28, 2016 at 2:50 PM
that's a cogent point, what she said about intellectualism; she takes a broad view which is well brought out in the above quotes. she's also right, i think about the lyrical poetry bit; french artists were under the hand of the academy until the mid 18th c. and only gradually started to surface out of that classical attitude when moliere began poking fun at them, among others. and even then, the most famous poets, verlaine, baudelaire etc., were not lyrical, but socialistic, one might say, not in the sense that wordsworth and co. were, anyway. modern french poetry, in the 30's, was leading up to dadaism, cocteau, and farther out into extremist deconstructural philosophies(although, come to think of it, jongleur poetry before the 12 c. was nicely lyrical). anyhoo, i'll have to read some of her; i like the way she thinks...
scott g.f.bailey January 28, 2016 at 3:24 PM
I don't know anything about French poetry, really, so I'll let others argue that point. Most of the poetry I know (aside from, say, The Divine Comedy) was writ in English.
I will say that when I was in college, cutting a youthful revolutionary figure, my revolutionary friends and I were all attracted to the sort of rigid and dogmatic government forms that would have crushed us. We also didn't see at the time that a stable government based on liberty cannot coexist with revolutionaries. When ma femme and I were in Paris last fall, walking through the Musee Carnavalet--the museum of the French Revolution--we saw proof all around that revolutionaries rarely survive even successful revolutions. The Musee Carnavalet is a blood-chilling experience, once you get past the "history of Paris" rooms and Proust's bedroom set.
Amateur Reader (Tom) January 28, 2016 at 4:29 PM
That is a great museum.
I have no idea what M. means by "socialistic." Baudelaire, Verlaine, etc. (a large and varied etc.) were, by ordinary definition, lyric poets. They are among the world's greatest lyric poets. And then there is Victor Hugo.
The point about intellectual support for tyranny is appalling in context. "[F]rom the French Revolution to " - no, not to "to-day." This time, the French were conquered by Nazis, which is not what the "intellectuals" wanted. Perhaps Stein is speaking for herself there.
I think Stein had only a vague idea of what fascism was. Her idea of a bad government, if one takes her at her word in this book, is one that taxes you too much or fails to protect you from an outside enemy. Nothing else about a government matters much. She says late in the book that the third republic seems an okay thing.
I get the feeling that the whole of Paris France is an impression, a put-on, a bit of Browning-like ventriloquism, Stein doing a character who looks past any particular individual suffering and sees only abstractions and millinery. I think that was one of the things she was working on in her art.
Baudelaire, what little I've read of him, strikes me as sort of Gothic and Victorian, actually. Or Germanic Sturm und Drang, even. But I do mean that "little." I am really ignorant of French poetry.
I also think Stein didn't believe, when she was writing Paris France, that the Germans would actually make it all the way to Paris, that France would fall to the Nazis. She ends the book with a declaration that England and France "will do what they must do" to protect civilization, and she wants them "to do what they're going to do." I am unsure how much of her naivete is affectation.
it's been my understanding that "lyricism" has an element of natural transcendentalism in it; most descriptions of 19. c. to 20 c. french poetry describe it as "decadent" which take to indicate a kind of fatalistic egoism. no??
Oh I see, the book is from much earlier than I had thought. From the first year of the war. Published the day Paris fell, no kidding.
Baudelaire definitely has a Gothic side, with his vampires and corpses and so on.
I do not use "lyrical" in that way. I mean "song-like," "emotionally expressive," something like that. Lyrical as opposed to epic or dramatic, for example. Verlaine was a Decadent who wrote lyric poems. I mean, Debussy set 'em to music.
I guess I don't know what "natural transcendentalism" means, either. Do you have a critic in mind who uses this language? "[M]ost descriptions" seems impossibly strong. Again - Victor Hugo.
Yes, approaching song, usually first person and tinged with feeling. But it's curious that what we refer to as lyric poetry now is often not a bit songlike (and is in fact usually strongly prosaic and commonplace), nor does it often show feeling. And yet we're still caught in the net of the short poem, for the most part.
Amateur Reader (Tom) January 29, 2016 at 8:47 AM
Oh so true. And whenever I see a reviewer describe a novel's prose as "lyrical," I think "Sing a few bars for me, will ya?"
Mudpuddle January 29, 2016 at 10:22 AM
hard for me to adopt a lawyerly approach to literature. i've read a lot and my comments reflect an overview rather than specific details. sorry if this is not acceptable...
Not remotely lawyerly but rather an attempt to use common vocabulary so we can understand each other.
I have no idea if this link really works for anyone else, but this section of Christopher Prendergast's Nineteenth-century French Poetry (the section headed "Voice") gives a good idea of how I use the terms "lyric" and "lyricism."
R.T. January 29, 2016 at 12:18 PM
Everything I've read by Stein (not much) and about Stein (a bit more) leads me to the half-baked conclusion that people tend to make much too much of dear Gertrude; perhaps only her influence upon and friendship with (?) Ernest Hemingway matters. In another 100 years, Stein will be little more than a footnote in literary history, but Hemingway will remain as a shining star. Of course, I could be quite wrong. Still, I've enjoyed reading your posting and the comments, and I wish I could have added something more sensible to the conversation.
I'm not sure who is "making too much" of Stein. Certainly Paris France was less about Paris than I wanted it to be; I was hoping for something like Hemingway's A Movable Feast, but that was my fault, not Stein's. I'm not going to claim that Hemingway was "better" than Stein, either, because I don't believe those sorts of comparisons have any worth. Everything I've read by Stein has been well worth reading. In Movable Feast, Hemingway goes to some lengths to express his admiration of Stein's writing, his debt to her as a writer, and his thanks for the help she gave him with his career. Maybe implying that Hemingway is more important than Stein is like saying that your skin is more important than your spine, because nobody ever looks at your spine.
Hemingway's books are full of crackpotted and self-absorbed ideas about humanity, you know. "Here is how people are not me," he would say. And then he'd say it again. He could be quite mean-spirited. So they are both flawed shining stars, both Ernie and Gertie. Her writing certainly matters. I plan on reading a lot more of it. I know that you aren't attracted to high modernism the way I am, though. Which is fine.
R.T. January 30, 2016 at 5:56 AM
I am even less attracted to cant. Stein's writing, to my mind, is just that. But so are the words of so many others.
Happily, none of us is bounded by the tastes of others, so you are of course free to dislike Stein's work while I am free to like it. So it all works out for all of us.
personally, hemingway is a bit objectionable. he liked to kill things and had weird ideas about being real. plus i thought it was kind of cowardly to shoot himself and leave his family in the lurch. don't think much of his writing, either...
I like Hemingway's books and stories. I almost never think of writers as real people, so how they lived rarely influences my opinion of their work. He may have been an absolute monster (I don't know), but A Farewell to Arms is a beautiful masterpiece. I'm okay with both things being true.
i don't believe an author can write without including himself in his work. that's why i said the book represents the writer in a rather intimate way. style conveys personality just like music indicates the inner nature of the composer. compare poe with gibbon, for instance, or steinbeck with faulkner. each has his/her own road to travel as we all do and detours are not possible...
I mostly agree since writing is a human act performed by distinct humans, but I don't think I want to try believing that I can "know" an artist through his art in any meaningful sense. At the end of The Seven Lamps of Architecture, Ruskin writes like a man terrified of the future, but whas he a man terrified of the future, or was he working out an idea, an idea he thought was important but did not necessarily frighten him, and the fear was a rhetorical device? I don't know. The book is what matters, and the "author" is just another fiction, part of the book. In my opinion you can't really reverse-engineer an author from a book with much more success than you can reverse-engineer an architect from a building. It seems like you can, because a novel or a poem is a form of speech, but so is acting on stage. A novelist pretends to be a person who writes novels, and then sits down and performs the act of writing a novel. Not all novels are written like that, certainly, but I don't really believe that art is a direct lens into the soul of the artist or anything like that. I don't really believe that Hemingway believed all his claims about the world, nor did Wolfe, nor Chaucer, nor Shakespeare, nor Nabokov, nor Tolstoy. No, I don't believe that. I also know that I'm not really talking about the author being part of the book the way you are. I guess really what I'm saying is that there are books I like and books I don't like, and the opinions and personality of the author are beside the point if it's a good book, a well-written book, even if the book is filled with ideas I can't stand. We live in the fallen world and everyone's a sinner. What can you do?
i don't know about engineering, but the little ruskin i've read has indicated to me, even before i knew it, that he was disturbed in some way about something and it was not much of a surprise to learn that he became relatively insane in his later years. "knowing" is not an accurate term except in the sciences; i learned certain things about you by reading the first page of your book; it was a bit too bloodthirsty for me, so i couldn't continue with it, but it gave me an indication of the scope of your awareness, one might say. i'm not judging it, i'm just saying that i "know" something about you that i didn't know before i read that page...
Interesting, but I'm thinking of your "tower of Babel" comment on RT's blog. In writing my novel, then, I didn't know what I was trying to say nor how to say it, and you reading it didn't know what I meant. A typically comic Beckettian experience. I actually find that scenario to be fairly attractive because I think it's mostly true.
The first page of The Astrologer:
Gustavus had lost a great deal of blood. The spots and trails of crimson that stained the surface of the frozen lake all came from his wounds and he was now sluggish and dragged his left foot. Even I could see that he would not survive the contest, that his heart would soon beat its last. Gustavus's opponent—Christian son of Rorik, king of Denmark—was unharmed. He laughed and swung his great sword as if it weighed no more than the leg of a roasted goose, as if the last hour of bashing and being bashed had taken no toll on him whatever. This was most vexing to me. I had cast the king's horoscope the night before and the heavens had declared some great misfortune was his destiny on this day. I looked for a lucky turn for Gustavus; it was not too late for the Earl of Jutland to strike a fatal blow against the king.
I let my eyes be drawn down to the patterns formed by the blood on the ice. It is a star chart, I thought. The king stands in Orion while Gustavus drags his wounded foot through Cassiopeia and spits a mouthful of blood onto the Pleiades. I wondered if Gustavus had any regrets. If he did, he did not have time to think of them. Christian son of Rorik swung his sword in a bright, deadly arc that Gustavus could barely arrest. The king's blade rebounded at a sharp angle and struck a glancing blow against Gustavus's right shoulder.
Something came spinning across the ice, hitting my left boot. It was one of the buckles from Gustavus's cuirass, fashioned from steel and brass in the shape of a rampant bear. The bear's head had been struck off.
SPOILERS: I haven't looked at the text for a couple of years. I'm struck by how I worked the main themes and images into this scene: the novel begins and ends with a violent man-to-man battle, this first one surrounded by ice and the final one surrounded by fire. I love that sort of bookending of events. The ease with which the king kills Gustavus is echoed later by the ease with which the astrologer assassinates the king. The battle takes place atop the narrator's imagined star chart, the warriors blind to it, the constellations pure fancy in the astrologer's mind. The bear-shaped buckle is echoed in a later scene where the king kills a bear. Good stuff.
"too bloodthirsty"? Have you never seen Shakespeare?
The original first page of the novel was all about the Elba River. My agent called it "immobile" or something.
you're right: maybe i shouldn't be reading literature. all i can say is that with age i've gotten more and more inimical to egregious cruelty, violence and, yes, blood. maybe i should go live in a cave somewhere away from humans. except that many good ethical traits are still to be found in humanity; jane austen isn't very bloody; she's only one quite a number of authors who've manage to convey sometimes quite complex messages in a calm, peaceful manner about the saving qualities in people and the things that raise them above, granted, the tooth and claw of nature. still, if humanity is to survive as a race, i think they will have to become a bit meeker than they are... and smarter!
I agree with quite a bit of that, but I don't know about "saving qualities." I'm writing more along the lines of Chekhov, telling the reader that he is living badly, and should stop.
Did I say you shouldn't be reading literature? Everyone's so tetchy today.
Mudpuddle January 31, 2016 at 9:03 AM
no, i said it, being self critical to a degree...
at January 28, 2016 No comments:
"You are too bitter to your countrywoman"
I've been reading Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida," a play with which I was unfamiliar, because it's not one that gets performed much or, I think, read widely (that is to say, assigned as reading from EngLit profs). I have no idea why this is not one of Shakespeare's best known or most performed works. It's a masterpiece, a thing of genius, one of the best plays I've ever read.
I was vaguely aware of the existence of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde but I assumed it was a medieval story put into new clothes by Chaucer; I had no idea it was an addition to Homer's Iliad. Which means that I had no idea Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida" was a sharp parody of Homer, a criticism of stereotypical ideas about ancient Greece, an indictment of heroism worthy of Euripides. Great stuff, I am telling you.
Where to start? How about with the basis of the war, a woman named Helen? Shakespeare's Helen is not the most beautiful woman in Greece, or in Troy, and nobody, neither Trojan nor (with the exception of Menelaus) Greek, actually considers her worth fighting over. Here is Diomedes, a Greek general, to Paris, who stole Helen:
She's bitter to her country: hear me, Paris:
For every false drop in her bawdy veins
A Grecian's life hath sunk; for every scruple
Of her contaminated carrion weight,
A Trojan hath been slain: since she could speak,
She hath not given so many good words breath
As for her Greeks and Trojans suffer'd death.
High praise indeed, eh? Paris' response is that the Greeks only talk that way about Helen because they are attempting to be wily: wanting the Trojans to think Helen worthless and give her up. But in an earlier scene, Priam and some of his sons do seriously discuss giving Helen back. Hector, Priam's eldest son (and Paris' big brother), says:
Let Helen go:
Since the first sword was drawn about this question,
Every tithe soul, 'mongst many thousand dismes,
Hath been as dear as Helen; I mean, of ours:
If we have lost so many tenths of ours,
To guard a thing not ours nor worth to us,
Had it our name, the value of one ten,
What merit's in that reason which denies
The yielding of her up?
Nobody but Paris and Menelaus values the woman, yet on the war goes, because it's an affair of honor. Neither side will yield because questions of machismo, and nothing more, are at stake. The Trojans and the Greeks are alike in that they are petty and prideful; they are alike in that they treat women as tokens to be passed from man to man; they are alike in that they will only go to war when battle will increase their personal esteem. There is no statecraft going on, but plenty of politicking. Honor is nonexistent; pride is what matters, pride and the esteem of others. Ulysses goads Achilles into action by having everyone important ignore him. Ulysses goads Ajax into fighting Hector by implying that Achilles might be a better warrior, though of course Ulysses would never think such a thing; it's those other Greeks who say that. Ajax is a dummy, a big stupid brute, but at heart so are the rest of the heroes in this story. They all just want to kill people and be admired for it. The following exchange between Aeneas and Diomedes, enemies come together under a flag of truce for a moment, should demonstrate the sort of guys-will-be-guys, look-how-cool-I-am mindset of the mighty warriors:
AENEAS:
Health to you, valiant sir,
During all question of the gentle truce;
But when I meet you arm'd, as black defiance
As heart can think or courage execute.
DIOMEDES:
The one and other Diomed embraces.
Our bloods are now in calm; and, so long, health!
But when contention and occasion meet,
By Jove, I'll play the hunter for thy life
With all my force, pursuit and policy.
And thou shalt hunt a lion, that will fly
With his face backward. In humane gentleness,
Welcome to Troy! now, by Anchises' life,
Welcome, indeed! By Venus' hand I swear,
No man alive can love in such a sort
The thing he means to kill more excellently.
We sympathize: Jove, let AEneas live,
If to my sword his fate be not the glory,
A thousand complete courses of the sun!
But, in mine emulous honour, let him die,
With every joint a wound, and that to-morrow!
We know each other well.
We do; and long to know each other worse.
This is the most despiteful gentle greeting,
The noblest hateful love, that e'er I heard of.
Paris gets the punch line at the end. The joke is even bigger than this exchange: Paris never leaves Troy to fight; he spends most of his time in Helen's bed. Everyone comments on it constantly, nobody is at all surprised, even when Helen turns out to be a shallow little strumpet, nothing so like the goddess we might expect. I am delighted that "Troilus and Cressida" turns out to be so very very good. I should not be surprised; it's a later play, written in 1603 or so, after "Hamlet." I think the plays from this period are Shakespeare's best, or at least I think that he was doing his best large-scale thinking during the early 17th century. Or I mean something along those lines.
The answer to you beginning "why" is that the play is too hard. It is reserved for Advanced Shakespeare Studies.
Chaucer's poem is, unsurprisingly, excellent, with a particularly sublime ending.
scott g.f.bailey January 27, 2016 at 8:53 AM
I guess. It seems pretty straightforward to me. But I suppose the parodic elements would be lost on a reader who doesn't know The Iliad.
I loved the ending speech, I must say. "What's this dishonorable courtly society lead to? Sexually-transmitted diseases. Don't blame the pimps. The end."
Yes, I think there is too much to teach around the play. Few undergraduates will have any of the background.
My understanding is that the best guess is that this play was written for a small, courtly audience, not for Shakespeare's usual popular theater. It is possible that Shakespeare's text, as opposed to a rewritten version, was not staged until the 20th century.
Chaucer's approach is quite different.
O the callow youth of today.
I read that this was written to be performed for law students, a small and not courtly audience. There are some legal jokes and law term puns, but you also see that in the gravedigger scene of "Hamlet," so who knows? The original edition of the play claimed that it had never been performed. Or maybe that was the second edition, a couple of years later; I forget.
We may have the Chaucer around the house. I'll have to go exploring.
Law students, that's right, I have read that, too.
R.T. January 27, 2016 at 10:54 AM
Even as I dash hither and thither between bed and bath in the tropics -- take note of my posting today at Beyond Eastrod -- I will follow your lead by revisiting Shakespeare's play; in fact, as I hear the Porter knocking at the door (which I hope is not Death's door, but symptoms suggest the possibility), I think I ought to revisit many of Shakespeare's plays. Thanks for the Rx and catalyst.
You can never go wrong with Shakespeare. Take care of yourself down there in Costa Rica, Tim.
how can i say this: i dislike this play. pandarus is irritating and cressida is not very bright. troilus is a dolt. i understand that estimation of literary worth shoudn't be based on personal prejudices but in some cases(this one) a nontechnical approach may convey more that an analysis. no wonder that it is considered one of william's more inferior efforts.
Pandarus is supposed to be irritating, lecherous, short-sighted. Cressida is supposed to be shallow (she is another version of Helen), and Troilus is supposed to be blind to her real personality, caught up in his image of himself as a courtly knight (he is another version of both Menelaus and Paris). The Greek generals have the same faults (Ulysses is a shifty back-room pimping politician just like Pandarus). The Trojan heroes the same sort of collection of dolts in armor (Hector treats warfare as a game, a sport, taking a break in the final battle to sit and cool down, during which foolish moment he is cut down by Achilles' Myrmidons, who then spread the word that Achillies himself killed Hector). These are the points of the play, which makes it a superior play, Shakespeare's biting commentary on heroes and idealized love. If you make the heroes into typical Greek heroes, you have Homer's Iliad, which Shakespeare is telling us is a pack of propaganda. Agamemnon frets and struts, signifying nothing, etc. Maybe I enjoyed this play so much because I read Thucydides a couple of months ago. Shakespeare's Greeks are very much like Sophocles' Greeks in "Ajax." No, this is a great play, a real masterpiece.
argumentativeoldgit February 2, 2016 at 9:35 AM
I'm so glad you like this play: for a long time, I was wondering whether i was the only one! It gets my vote for Shakespeare's most underrated work.
But it will never achieve much popularity. It's the most bitter of his plays, the most angry. There's a battle in the final act, but nothing is resolved: the battle is still raging at the end. And the final lines are given to the loathsome Pandarus, who bequeaths his "diseases" to us, the audience. We are given the elements of a tragedy, but denied a catharsis.
Troilus strikes me as not too far from a Renaissance prince. He is, at the start, a lovelorn young man, yearning for the woman beyond his reach. And, like Hamlet, he is very much an idealist, shocked by the failure of those around him to live up to his ideals. When Hector suggests ending the pointless war and returning Helen, it is Troilus who opposes: they have to fight on, he insists, for the sake of honour. Of course, his idealism is very badly crushed, and he never quite recovers. But even this idealism is not, perhaps, quite as it seems. When news comes that he and Cressida must be parted, his sole concern is not what will befall Cressida in the enemy camp, but, rather, that Cressida must not betray him. And it is a shocked response on Cressida's part at this point that he doesn't really love her at all: what he loves is not the person, but the "concept" of love, the "concept" of honour.
I think this is a tremendous play!
scott g.f.bailey February 2, 2016 at 10:07 AM
I guess I can understand the 18th-century aversion to this play, with Shakespeare mocking the classical Greeks, who all of Europe claimed as the bedrock of European culture. But it's a masterpiece, really a great work. Because nobody ever mentions it except as "one of the other plays WS wrote," I assumed it was going to be marginal, but it's one of the best things he wrote, and my excitement just got stronger and stronger as I read the thing. (I read it when I did because we'd been watching the BBC miniseries of Olivia Manning's "Fortunes of War," and a production of "Troilus and Cressida" is mounted in Bucharest just before the German army rolls in. "I didn't know Shakespeare wrote a play about Troy," I said.)
But you're probably right, it's too bitter and angry a play for the world, too hard an edge to Shakespeare's humor. Pandarus is truly repulsive; the placement of his speech at the end of the play makes it seem as if it is he who carries away the victory, the victory of debauchery, the victory of meaninglessness.
I do think WS was continuing in "Troilus" ideas he began to work with in "Hamlet," about honor and idealism. No character in "Troilus" combines idealism with sensitive intelligence in the manner of Prince Hamlet, though. Even Hector succumbs to his own pride. What a brilliant, brilliant play.
"Ich weiß schon selber, was ich tu"
For some weeks now I've been slowly reading Lena: unser Dorf in der Krieg by Kaethe Recheis. I am still a fairly slow reader of German-language texts, but I persevere. Lena is an award-winning novel of World War II from the perspective of a young girl named Lena, in rural Austria. Her little village is in the middle of farm country, Linz being the closest real city nearby. The book opens with the Anschluss, Hitler's invitation for Austria to join the Reich. There was a vote, in case you were unaware, Austria being allowed to choose if they would remain independent or if they'd "rejoin" their German homeland. I don't understand the politics of the day, and 10 year-old Lena doesn't either, so all I know is that some Austrians were pro-Nazi and pro-Anschluss, and others were not, and in Lena's village emotions ran high before the election. Emotions ran even higher after the vote: Hitler sent squads of Nazis into Austria to manage the election:
"Er kränkt sich so sehr", erklärte uns Tante Steffi. "Nicht einmal das Kreuz haben sie ihn selbst hinzeichnen lassen. Die Hand haben sie ihm dabei geführt. Und so was nennt sich eine Wahl!" Ihre Stimme wurde dabei immer lauter, immer zorniger. "Draußen auf der Straße sind die SA-Leute gestanden, und drin im Gemeindeamt war es nicht besser. Alle Nazis aus dem Dorf waren da und haben zugeschaut, was wir wählen. "Das müsst ihr euch ankreuzen", hat der Perwanger gesagt und auf den großen Kreis gezeigt. "Ich weiß schon selber, was ich tu", hat der Großvater geantwortet. Und dann hat er die zwei Kreise lange angeschaut, und der Perwanger hat um seine 100 % Ja-Stimmen zu zittern angefangen. Da hat er die Hand vom Großvater genommen und ein Kreuz auf das Ja gemacht und gesagt, alten Leuten, die schlechte Augen hätten, müsse man helfen. Und dabei weiß jeder im Dorf, dass der Großvater keine Brille braucht!" "Reg dich nicht auf, Steffi", sagte der Großvater. "Sind doch alles Lumpen! Ich geh' jetzt in den Garten." "Es war keine freie Wahl!" sagte meine Mutter. Mein Vater sagte gar nichts.
Which is to say, the Nazi election marshalls "helped" everyone to vote in favor of the Anschluss. No ballots were cast privately. There was a 100% "yes" vote in the election. Red and black flags festooned the town the next day, hurrah for democracy!
As you can imagine, things get progressively worse as the years go by. Young men are conscripted into the Wehrmacht and there begins a series of empty-casket funerals in the local church as reports begin to come in from the various fronts. The Jews, the mentally ill, the gypsies, and the vagrants are rounded up by SS squads, and taken to a "hospital" where they soon die of sudden mysterious illnesses. A pillar of smoke rises above the "hospital." "They are burning the mentally ill," young Lena thinks. The village is rife with informants, and citizens who voice anti-Nazi views are snatched up by the SS and sent to Vienna or Dachau. Recheis is a wise author, interrupting all of this paranoia and terror with comic episodes and nature writing, which she does well, and there is also the continuous maturing of Lena over the years to take focus away from the horror of the Nazi rule now and then. But with maturity comes a greater realization of consequences. In one of the most moving parts of the novel, Lena has visited a neighbor, Rosa, an invalid teen girl who has been a Nazi supporter from the start of the novel. Lena becomes angry at Rosa and blurts out that it would be a terrible thing if Hitler were to win the war and eliminate freedom from the entire world. "Where did you hear this?" Rosa demands. "The chaplain said so," Lena answers, and immediately regrets having said anything. Soon after this conversation, the chaplain is arrested by the SS and taken away to Vienna. Lena is certain that her "betrayal" of the chaplain has led to his arrest, and she is torn apart by her guilt. After getting out of school (in Linz) the next day, Lena walks to a high bridge over the Danube, where she stands between carved figures of the Nibelungen and looks down at the waters rushing past. There is a lot of traffic on the bridge but nobody notices the remorseful young girl considering suicide. It's a great scene, Lena deliberately building emotional distance from herself as she tries to will her body off the bridge. Perhaps life in a repressive state is like that.
This novel, I suppose it's a young-adult novel as we say these days, has won all sorts of awards in the German-speaking world. I'm surprised it hasn't been translated into English.
R.T. (Tim) Davis January 12, 2016 at 3:41 PM
I am envious of your German reading abilities; my foreign language skills hit the skids during my third year of Latin, and I can now barely manage 10% of Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic Wars.
Ja, verstehe, aber welches 10 Prozent?
Yes, I can slowly make my way through a book written for adolescents. Not much to envy there. I studied Latin when I was a boy, and I've lost most of it. I tell myself I will break out the Henle someday.
Where has your blog got to?
That blog -- the product of a feckless, forgetful, and fearful soul -- remains after numerous offs-and-ons: http://beyondeastrodredux.blogspot.com/
More about the 3Fs in a future posting at Beyond Eastrod.
As for my Latin, my teacher, Mrs. Brandfas (die-hard fan of Pittsburgh Pirates and Roberto Clemente) would be disappointed in my poor retention; we memorized and recited long sections of CC in classes.
powerful stuff. i hope the donald doesn't ever get elected.
If Trump were king, every day would be exciting.
The Nibelungenbrücke, the bridge upon which Lena stands in the above-described scene, was actually built by Hitler, as a monument to himself. So that's a nice bit of irony.
Mudpuddle January 13, 2016 at 12:50 PM
stunning fact, indeed...
Mary January 14, 2016 at 3:33 PM
Isn't there a new publisher on the scene specializing in translations? You should send them a note about this book. It's timely, it's young adult, it's got a young female protagonist. If only she had superpowers . . . Also, I'd be ever so grateful if you'd do an English translation of the bridge scene for me.
Is there? Who? Europa Editions does mostly translations, but this might be too "young" for them, not edgy enough despite the murders and betrayals and the black-market slaughterhouses.
I'll work on the translation of the bridge scene. Remind me later. Speaking of English translations, I like the look of this.
After class I didn't meet up with Christoph and Willi, and instead went to the Danube. I walked through the small, angular streets which led to the main square, now known as Adolf-Hitler Platz. I walked past the Plague Column. A tram rolled noisily over the square, the passengers hanging in clumps like grapes on the running boards.
To both sides of the bridge stood the giant stone figures of Nibelung who had moved to the East long ago, Kriemhild and Siegfried, who stood guard on the bridge high above the current. In school and in the Hitler Youth they explained to us about the valor of the Nibelungen, and said that we should be equally brave for the Fuhrer. The stone Kriemhild and the stone Siegfried couldn't protest against the fact that they had become heroes of the Third Reich.
I stood still in the middle of the bridge, kept my schoolbag next to me and propped my arms on the iron railing. The water broke against the bridge piling, foaming and gurgling, the waves capped with white crowns. I could see the many whirlpools, that pushed and pushed into so-called funnels. A horse-drawn wagon rolled past, then a truck with a crackling, noisy engine. People hurried over the bridge. Everyone went in haste, nobody cared that I was standing at the railing. Whoever jumped from the bridge would be dragged into the river depths by the whirlpools and cast out along the river bank. Whoever was dead could no longer reproach himself, would no longer feel any guilt.
excellent! if none of your many other occupations don't pan out, try translating!
George January 17, 2016 at 10:33 AM
The Anschluss was scheduled to foreclose on a plebiscite that the chancellor, Schusnigg, proposed to hold.
About the middle of The Leopard, there is a village that also votes unanimously in a plebiscite. In this case, the officials spare themselves the trouble of supervising the ballot, and simply report the numbers they want.
They may as well have done that in Austria. I haven't read The Leopard, but I'm assuming the vote you refer to was in the South Tyrol? You see how I assume The Leopard must be about Italy.
George January 25, 2016 at 6:09 AM
The plebiscite in The Leopard takes place in a small town or village in Sicily. The question is whether the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies shall unite itself with the Republic of Italy. This would have been 1861, I think.
against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirit of wickedness in high places
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Preface: My enthusiasm was greatly deflated when, on a whim, I checked the internet on the off -chance that someone in the blogosphere had also had the mind-blowing experience of preparing a turkey without the use of electricity or a bbq pit.
I discovered, much to my dismay, that apparently every other person in the civilized world not only prepares trash can turkeys on a fairly regular basis, but writes up their experiences and findings on their blogs.
However,I refuse to be daunted by this newly discovered revelation. Keep in mind my innocent enthusiasm as you read my thoughts… and know that I'll try to get out more.
I've just gotta say that this is the coolest idea I've seen in a long time. It's the perfect solution for preparing a holiday feast without the use of a conventional oven. Imagine a power outage, Thanksgiving at the hunting camp (as in this case), or perhaps having the family over during a zombie apocalypse. This brilliant idea allows a deerslayer's wife to come through in the face of disaster or just impress the pants off everyone, gaining the admiration and awe of all. Many thanks to my dear friend, Christine DeBolt for sharing the idea.
1. Prepare your turkey. You can brine it, inject it, or just season it the way you prefer.
This turkey was brined and injected with Cajun Injector Hickory Grill Seasoning (from Academy Sporting Goods). While the turkey rests, set up your outdoor cooking area.
Either in a pit or on a grass-free area of dirt near where you will set up your cooking area, start 10 pounds of charcoal.
Lay and overlap foil in about a three foot square on a relatively flat area that has enough soft soil to pound the wooden stake into the center.
Place rocks or bricks around the perimeter.
Pound wooden stake into the center of the square. It needs to go about 4 or 5 inches deep.
Wrap stake with foil. "Insert" turkey onto the stake thusly.
Make sure the turkey is comfortable!
Place inverted trash can over the turkey.
Shovel white coals around the outside edge of the trash can and on top.
After about an hour and a half, the turkey should be ready to eat. Carefully use the shovel to pull the coals from around the trash can and from the top.
Using heavy gloves, lift the trash can and check the turkey. The meat should be starting to fall from the bones.
The meat literally was falling off the bone! Once again, excuse my excitement. Not to be outdone by everyone in the civilized world, I want to try this method on a wild turkey and maybe a goose, adjusting the times based on the size and leanness of the meat. Wish me luck.
I see a lot of potential here beyond turkey….
If you do goose, and a wild one, I would try to keep the heat lower and make the cook time longer. Wild goose toughens up into liver jerky suuuuper quick. It needs to either me med-rare, or slow cooked/braised to oblivion. Domestic goose might be different- I've only ever cooked Canada honkers.
Re: power outage at Thanksgiving- that happened to us once. My hometown's power grid probably hasn't been updated since the 50s or so. As a result, even the hint of a thunderstorm nearby knocked out power. My senior year of high school, we got a storm that first dumped almost a foot of heavy, wet snow, and then the freeze line turned back to hover over us, and we got freezing rain. Over half an inch of ice accumulation if I remember right. A thick coating on everything. It took down whole trees, lots of power lines, transformers, whole telephone poles. Our furnace had electric parts and thus wouldn't work. But our oven was gas. We were without power for two days and one night. We slept that night under I don't remember how many blankets, and spent most of both days baking to stay warm. We didn't have a turkey, but I imagine it could have been done. Nobody in my town had Thanksgiving that year.
That's an incredible story. Down here in southern parts, I have trouble even fathoming the cold. We did live in the panhandle for a while and we got a lot of cold weather up there. Remember that, in Texas, it doesn't take much to shut everything down. And it usually did.
Thanks for the heads up on wild goose. Last year, I checked out our local grocer for a goose. $65!!! We had turkey.
That is a cool idea, Mrs Deerslayer! You done made a trash can dutch oven. It's sealed off pretty well too, unlike conventional pits with vents & dampers, so I reckon it was quite moist inside there, which would indeed promote a moist end game. Kind of like wrapping the meat in foil. Fabulous! Looks mouth watering too.
Very cool idea. Thanks for passing it along. Who needs a thousand dollar big green egg!
Merry Christmas, Mrs Deer slayer, to you and yours.
I'm so glad you're excited about this idea, too. No $$$ necessary, just utter simplicity to bring enthusiasm and excitement . Perhaps there's a Christmas lesson in there, somewhere. Have a simple, blessed Christmas.
I am so glad that I shared this with you and your family and that y'all are enjoying this cool way of cooking a turkey. Beto was clever to place the beer for this picture.
Hey Christine, wasn't that a great time. When you told me your plan for the turkey, I never would've guessed it would be such a success. We were just saying how much we miss hunting and hanging out with you guys at the E Lazy E.
Christine, I have updated this post to make sure that you get the recognition you deserve! Hugs to you and Paul.


The Malleo may be the brightest jewel in the crown of Patagonia's trout fishing. The "right size" to fish and wade, this river offers fly fishermen sight fishing opportunities along 30 kilometres of wondefully varied pools and runs.
From the picture-book meadow section with the Lanin Volcano spire as a backdrop to the lower section, which offers pocket water, small boulders and willow-lined banks, the Malleo is a delight to fish.
The lodge guides know the Malleo well, and even less experienced anglers that can cast comfortable distances and take helpful direction from their guides will triumph here and be better anglers for it. There are rainbow and brown trout in the Malleo.
Hosteria San Huberto also offers float trips, fishing the crystal clear waters below the snow-capped Lanin volcano. There is also excellent fishing for rainbow trout on the Huaca Mamuil, a tributary of the Malleo.
The Hosteria San Huberto lies near Junin de los Andes, governing a 25,000 acre working estancia in Northern Patagonia. Here your hosts, Carmen and Ronnie Olsen ensure that this attractive lodge runs like clockwork.
The lodge has availability for a maximum of 16 guests in 10 comfortable single and double rooms. The maximum number of fisherman is 12.
Patagonian delights, as well as international cuisine specialities, are mainly based on fresh and organic goods most of them coming from the next door vegetable garden and are the production of the ranch.
The lodge has unrivalled private access to one of the most famous Patagonian dry fly rivers.
Prices start from £4,420 per person for 6 days fishing excluding international and internal flights.


text:
Rywałdzkie Jezioro – przepływowe jezioro rynnowe położone na Kociewiu (powiat starogardzki, województwo pomorskie, Gmina Starogard Gdański), leżące na terenie Pojezierza Starogardzkiego niedaleko Tczewa, w kierunku północno-wschodnim od Starogardu. Z jeziora wypływa rzeka Szpęgawa, łącząca akwen jeziora z jeziorami Szpęgawskim i Zduńskim.

Dane morfometryczne
Powierzchnia zwierciadła wody według różnych źródeł wynosi od 22,1 ha przez 22,5 ha do 25,9 ha.
Zwierciadło wody położone jest na wysokości 66,2 m n.p.m. lub 67,4 m n.p.m. Średnia głębokość jeziora wynosi 0,8 m, natomiast głębokość maksymalna 1,6 m.

Hydronimia
Według urzędowego spisu opracowanego przez Komisję Nazw Miejscowości i Obiektów Fizjograficznych (KNMiOF) nazwa tego jeziora to Rywałdzkie Jezioro. W różnych publikacjach i na mapach topograficznych jezioro to występuje pod nazwą Szpęgawskie lub Szpęgawskie Południowe.

Zobacz też
 Las Szpęgawski

Przypisy

Jeziora na Pojezierzu Starogardzkim
Jeziora w gminie wiejskiej Starogard Gdański
Jeziora polodowcowe

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home About Upcoming Events Past Events Community Sponsors AEC Hacker Resources F.A.Q. Partner Events Contact
AEC Hackathon 4.3 - Portland
Bonus Event: Friday Summit The Future of Making and Digital Construction
Want to learn more about innovation in the built environment? Attend this event Friday afternoon. Learn more here!
hackathon schedule
12:00 – Prep Workshop
18:00 – Doors open / Mixer (open to the public)
19:00 – Hackathon Kickoff
19:15 – Lightning Rounds & Team formations
22:00 – Adjourn
9:00 – Doors open / Registration
9:45 – Morning announcements
12:00 – AEC & Tech Presentations
13:00 – Lunch
19:30 – Dinner
9:00 – Doors open
13:00 – Hacking Concludes
14:00 – Team presentations (open to public)
Best Overall Project
The project that really hits the mark on execution, utility, and technical merits.
Best Project that Solves a Big AEC Problem
The project that solves a big problem for a built environment profession.
Best Digital Cities Project
The best application using city data with open standards based frameworks and technologies. more info
Best Hack from a Past Event
Projects must be from previous AEC Hackathons or from the open source projects below to qualify. Keep the innovation going!
Best Mashup Project
The best solution that combines various AEC Hackathon supporters' tech.
Visualizing a Connected Region
Develop a visualization solution to help plan construction and monitor operations and critical infrastructure in the near future – a future of Smart Cities with widely deployed IOT devices. Solutions that investigate such concepts as:
• Visualizing traffic fluidity before and after construction
• Monitoring power consumption, generation, and redundancy
• Logistical supply chains and redundancy in the case of a disaster
• Rural/urban economic dependency or integration
• Enablement technologies to allow permitting in 3D
• Economic or environmental impact monitoring.
*To help promote and support open standards, extra points are awarded to teams that use these in their projects. Extra points are also awarded for projects that are made open source. The AEC Hackathon organizers & sponsors may have additional challenges at the events.
70 NW Couch St. Portland, OR 97209
EXPLORE uo portland
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries.
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. is an American management consulting firm headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 80 other offices around the globe.
CNDY Factory
The CNDY Factory is melting pot, a think tank and knowledge sharing network. It is funded by the CNDY Factory Studio Complex, a cutting edge digital media house, technology accelerator and 360 realtime events space located on Dexter in West Lake Union.
The HTC Vive is a virtual reality headset developed by HTC and Valve Corporation. The headset uses "room scale" tracking technology, allowing the user to move in 3D space and use motion-tracked handheld controllers to interact with the environment with precision.
ideabuilder
IDEAbuilder is a high-tech building company, brought to life through the inspiration and experience of homebuilders, fabricators, and technologists. They have brought proven technologies from around the globe to the United States, with the goal of revolutionizing the cost & quality structure of the home building industry.
LinkedIn is a business- and employment-oriented social networking service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Founded on December 28, 2002, and launched on May 5, 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking, including employers posting jobs and job seekers posting their CVs.
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university in the northwest United States, located in Corvallis, Oregon.
Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER)
The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) Foundation is a statutory public / private nonprofit created in 1991 by the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington, the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
One Browser for all Samsung Galaxy devices. Samsung Internet for Android is a Simple, Fast, and Reliable web browser for your phone and tablet. It has replaced the Android Stock browser on Samsung Galaxy devices since 2012 to provide a browser highly optimized for our devices. With WebVR support, bio-metrics authentication for additional security, QR code reader, and more, Samsung Internet is continuously evolving to provide you with the best browsing experience.
Google's Tango Development Kit is equipped with technology that allows it to understand space and motion. Tango combines 3D motion tracking with depth sensing to give your mobile device the ability to know where it is and how it moves through space.
The University of Oregon is a public flagship research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1866, the institution's 295-acre campus is along the Willamette River.
Aquinas provides a next-generation training delivery system for optimizing engagement, retention and performance. We give you the tools to drive real outcomes and make your training content more powerful.
Bechtel is one of the most respected global engineering, construction, and project management companies. Since 1898, they've completed more than 25,000 extraordinary projects across 160 countries on all seven continents.
The Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST), focuses on research, education, and outreach related to geoinformatics and geomatics. Specific areas of research in these fields include GIS, geospatial analysis and modeling, high density survey, enterprise spatial databases, remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, and geospatial data and model interoperability.
euman
A Danish company that offers a technological platform and product portfolio of Wireless Information Services. These services are based on a time and location aware content brokerage system. While primarily aimed at the traffic and transport fields, the services are generic in order to enable the service providers to customize and integrate them into their own service portfolio.
kreysler & associates
Kreysler & Associates has been leading the way in the use of composite materials in construction since its establishment in 1982. They have worked with internationally known artists, architects and engineers, using composite materials and advanced manufacturing techniques to address complex construction challenges.
martin bros.
We transform the Los Angeles skyline with iconic building projects and notable properties. Founded on a vision of accurate preplanning, collaboration and excellent service, Martin Bros. consistently delivers on complex endeavors.
the digit group
The Digit Group is a powerfully exciting technology solutions company at the leading edge of developing innovative solutions for the health, safety and welfare of city assets, residents, visitors, workers and officials, commonly called Smart Cities.
zbrella
ZBRELLA is a top-notch technology consulting firm focusing on the accounting, construction, and legal industries. We help our clients leverage the latest technology to increase efficiency and profits. From assessments to integration to implementation and beyond, ZBRELLA delivers excellence and puts tomorrow's technologies in its client's hands today.
Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance
The Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) is the only global non-profit, member-based organization dedicated to widespread adoption of interoperable AR-enabled enterprise systems.
builtworlds
BuiltWorlds is a place to engage researchers, businesses, and other stakeholders in a holistic effort to advance the Built Environment industry. Based in Chicago, BuiltWorlds is creating one collective community that investigates technology needs and trends, publishes research, reviews products and providers, and gives guidance to companies wading through the technology maze.
de la peña & holiday llp
de la Peña & Holiday is a growing national full service litigation and transactional law firm with offices in San Francisco, Century City, and Tampa, Florida. Their talented lawyers are experienced in assisting businesses, insurance companies, construction companies, and individuals. They are particularly adept at handling complex matters with significant potential exposure, sensitive public relation issues, and national or world-wide consequences.
digital fabrication network
The Digital Fabrication Network (dFab Net) is an international network comprised of digital fabricators; hardware and software suppliers; and professional designers, academics, and researchers, all working together to improve processes and accelerate digital fabrication.
the khronos group
The Khronos Group is a not for profit, member-funded consortium focused on the creation of royalty-free open standards for parallel computing, graphics and dynamic media on a wide variety of platforms and devices.
portland vr meetup
Portland Virtual Reality is a community of VR developers, entrepreneurs, engineers, artists, enthusiasts and early adopters.
silicon vikings
Silicon Vikings is a 30,000+ network headquartered in Silicon Valley that is a network of nodes with the mission of building a borderless community supporting Nordic and Baltic innovation and entrepreneurship in accordance with global best practices, with a close connection to Silicon Valley's unique and leading innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
web3d consortium
The Web3D Consortium is a non-profit group open to industry, academic, government and individual members. The Web3D Consortium is committed to the creation and deployment of open, royalty-free standards that enable the communication of real-time 3D across applications, networks, and XML web services.
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NorthamberAIM:NAR Stock Report
UK£0.61
UK£16.7m
NAR fundamental analysis
NAR Stock Overview
Northamber plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the supply of computer hardware, computer printers and peripheral products, computer telephony products, and other electronic transmission equipment in the United Kingdom.
High level of non-cash earnings
Profit margins (0.6%) are lower than last year (16.1%)
Does not have a meaningful market cap (£17M)
Northamber Competitors
Midwich Group
AIM:MIDW
UK£549.4m
Summary of all time highs, changes and price drops for Northamber
Current Share Price UK£0.61
52 Week High UK£0.78
52 Week Low UK£0.55
1 Month Change -8.89%
1 Year Change 6.96%
5 Year Change 95.24%
Returns Are Gaining Momentum At Northamber (LON:NAR)
If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for...
Full year 2021 earnings released: EPS UK£0.012 (vs UK£0.31 in FY 2020)
The company reported a soft full year result with weaker earnings and profit margins, although revenues improved. Full year 2021 results: Revenue: UK£60.0m (up 14% from FY 2020). Net income: UK£337.0k (down 96% from FY 2020). Profit margin: 0.6% (down from 16% in FY 2020). The decrease in margin was driven by higher expenses. Over the last 3 years on average, earnings per share has increased by 40% per year but the company's share price has only increased by 32% per year, which means it is significantly lagging earnings growth.
New 90-day high: UK£0.68
The company is up 20% from its price of UK£0.56 on 20 November 2020. The British market is up 6.0% over the last 90 days, indicating the company outperformed over that time. It also outperformed the Electronic industry, which is up 7.0% over the same period.
The company is up 6.0% from its price of UK£0.59 on 03 November 2020. The British market is up 13% over the last 90 days, indicating the company underperformed over that time. It also underperformed the Electronic industry, which is up 11% over the same period.
We Wouldn't Rely On Northamber's (LON:NAR) Statutory Earnings As A Guide
It might be old fashioned, but we really like to invest in companies that make a profit, each and every year. That...
Full year 2020 earnings released: EPS UK£0.31 (vs UK£0.022 loss in FY 2019)
The company reported a strong full year result with improved earnings, revenues and profit margins. Full year 2020 results: Revenue: UK£52.8m (up 5.0% from FY 2019). Net income: UK£8.51m (up UK£9.11m from FY 2019). Profit margin: 16% (up from net loss in FY 2019). Over the last 3 years on average, earnings per share has increased by 124% per year but the company's share price has only increased by 28% per year, which means it is significantly lagging earnings growth.
GB Electronic
GB Market
7D -5.4% -7.1% -0.5%
1Y 7.0% 3.1% 8.7%
Return vs Industry: NAR exceeded the UK Electronic industry which returned 3.1% over the past year.
Return vs Market: NAR underperformed the UK Market which returned 8.7% over the past year.
Is NAR's price volatile compared to industry and market?
NAR volatility
NAR Average Weekly Movement 5.3%
Electronic Industry Average Movement 5.6%
10% most volatile stocks in GB Market 10.5%
10% least volatile stocks in GB Market 2.4%
Stable Share Price: NAR is not significantly more volatile than the rest of UK stocks over the past 3 months, typically moving +/- 5% a week.
Volatility Over Time: NAR's weekly volatility (5%) has been stable over the past year.
1980 102 Alex Phillips https://www.northamber.com
Northamber plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the supply of computer hardware, computer printers and peripheral products, computer telephony products, and other electronic transmission equipment in the United Kingdom. The company offers computer accessories, mice and keyboards, monitors, PCs, tablets, and VDI terminals; hard disks, SSDs, and memory products; and accessories, AV accessories, large format products, digital signage products, and projectors. It also provides cameras, color inkjets, color lasers, labelling and barcoding, mono lasers, scanners, and other print and imaging products, as well as printer consumables, scanning software, and scanner services; and add on cards, CPU's, cases and PSU's, cooling and fans, gaming peripherals, graphics cards, mother boards, multimedia and other products, and USB products.
Northamber Fundamentals Summary
How do Northamber's earnings and revenue compare to its market cap?
NAR fundamental statistics
Market Cap UK£16.75m
Earnings (TTM) UK£337.00k
Revenue (TTM) UK£60.01m
Is NAR overvalued?
NAR income statement (TTM)
Revenue UK£60.01m
Cost of Revenue UK£52.20m
Gross Profit UK£7.81m
Expenses UK£7.47m
Earnings UK£337.00k
Debt/Equity Ratio 0.0%
How did NAR perform over the long term?
Is Northamber undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
Price to Earnings (PE) ratio
Below Fair Value: NAR (£0.62) is trading above our estimate of fair value (£0.13)
Significantly Below Fair Value: NAR is trading above our estimate of fair value.
PE vs Industry: NAR is poor value based on its PE Ratio (49.7x) compared to the UK Electronic industry average (30.4x).
PE vs Market: NAR is poor value based on its PE Ratio (49.7x) compared to the UK market (19.5x).
PEG Ratio: Insufficient data to calculate NAR's PEG Ratio to determine if it is good value.
PB vs Industry: NAR is good value based on its PB Ratio (0.7x) compared to the GB Electronic industry average (2.5x).
How is Northamber forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 0 analysts?
Forecasted Tech industry annual growth in earnings
In this section we usually present revenue and earnings growth projections based on the consensus estimates of professional analysts to help investors understand the company's ability to generate profit. But as Northamber has not provided enough past data and has no analyst forecast, its future earnings cannot be reliably calculated by extrapolating past data or using analyst predictions.
How has Northamber performed over the past 5 years?
Quality Earnings: NAR has a high level of non-cash earnings.
Growing Profit Margin: NAR's current net profit margins (0.6%) are lower than last year (16.1%).
Earnings Trend: NAR has become profitable over the past 5 years, growing earnings by 56.4% per year.
Accelerating Growth: NAR's has had negative earnings growth over the past year, so it can't be compared to its 5-year average.
Earnings vs Industry: NAR had negative earnings growth (-96%) over the past year, making it difficult to compare to the Electronic industry average (10.3%).
High ROE: NAR's Return on Equity (1.3%) is considered low.
How is Northamber's financial position?
Short Term Liabilities: NAR's short term assets (£26.7M) exceed its short term liabilities (£10.0M).
Long Term Liabilities: NAR has no long term liabilities.
Debt Level: NAR is debt free.
Reducing Debt: NAR has not had any debt for past 5 years.
Debt Coverage: NAR has no debt, therefore it does not need to be covered by operating cash flow.
Interest Coverage: NAR has no debt, therefore coverage of interest payments is not a concern.
What is Northamber current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
Notable Dividend: NAR's dividend (1.3%) isn't notable compared to the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the UK market (1.39%).
High Dividend: NAR's dividend (1.3%) is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the UK market (4.05%).
Stable Dividend: NAR's dividend payments have been volatile in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: NAR's dividend payments have fallen over the past 10 years.
Dividend Coverage: With its reasonable payout ratio (56.6%), NAR's dividend payments are covered by earnings.
Explore strong dividend paying companies in the Tech industry.
Alex Phillips (35 yo)
UK£105,000
Mr. Alexander Michael Phillips, also known as Alex, is Managing Director at Northamber plc since September 1, 2020. He serves as an Executive Director at Northamber plc since February 6, 2020 and served as...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: Alex's total compensation ($USD143.58K) is below average for companies of similar size in the UK market ($USD329.69K).
Compensation vs Earnings: Alex's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
Experienced Management: NAR's management team is not considered experienced ( 1.3 years average tenure), which suggests a new team.
Experienced Board: NAR's board of directors are not considered experienced ( 2.4 years average tenure), which suggests a new board.
Northamber plc's employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Name: Northamber plc
Ticker: NAR
Exchange: AIM
Industry: Technology Distributors
Implied Market Cap: UK£16.747m
Shares outstanding: 27.23m
Website: https://www.northamber.com
Northamber plc
Namber House
23 Davis Road
KT9 1HS


In theory, this is just dandy, but the reality is somewhat different. I know because I decided that this was the way to go about fifteen years ago and I still have friendships that haven't recovered in that time. If I'm going to the trouble and excitement and anticipation of throwing a dinner party and you flat-out tell me you'd rather not come I am likely to be hurt and insulted and it's possible that I'll never invite you to anything ever again. So, think twice before doing this because for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
The point about socializing with colleagues in a sh*ty bar is hilarious. I hate those forced socials just to fake the team spirit. Most of them are nothing but pain: intrusive personal questions, boring personal " oversharing" stories etc. We are already spending at least 80% of our time at work to give away the remaining 20%, while life is so short. For God's sake, let's do baby showers or whatever during lunch breaks (even better, coffee breaks). And sorry, I am not coming to the Easter hang out to hear about your basement renovations and kid camps.
yes you can eliminate some of these things but the speaker comes at this topic from a very luxurious position. the speaker was in a very successful job, quite probably good savings to facilitate lifestyle changes and has multiple options for what they can move on to in life. the things that keep most people stuck in these ruts is lack of higher education and career progression and are stuck in low paid jobs. In many cases they have family who are often dependant on them and even if they dont really want to be doing a lot of things in life that they are doing, they feel a deep obligation to continue them to help the people/family around them. This may include ageing parents, spouse and children, people with severe health conditions, anyone who you care for who is in some way dependant on you and may not be in a position to help themselves. i agree with some of the sentiment but it really isn't as easy as just snapping your fingers.
This is great in theory for the little things that annoy you…but for the bigger issues in your life she had a right at the beginning…you would need to walk away.
Learn to be kind to oneself to know how to be kind to others.
How you don't like Game of Thrones?!
Good for you! And, I implemented these strategies long before seeing this video. Putting it into words is magical!
The only thing I care about is being able to end my life.
Best Tedx talk I ever seen.


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text:
—Joseph's Blog
Math, Machine Learning, Game Development
Aij Deep Learning Toolkit
GLTF to DAE/Collada
Hamming Distance in PostgreSQL
60 Seconds: Tracer-Style Time Travel
Game, Programming, Status
At the close of my earlier update I mentioned wanting to try 'Tracer-style' time travel where only the player moves backwards and everything else stays in place. I gave it a go and got it working, but it wasn't particularly interesting. It was basically just the player moving in the opposite direction. Animation could probably jazz that up, but a more fun idea came to me in the middle of a sleepless night:
Seeing the future.
Trivially, if everything in the world rewinds and the player can make different decisions, that's basically seeing the future. And that's what I built:
It's not perfect. You'll notice that the dynamic cubes retain their velocity after the time rewind happens, but that's solvable.
Here's how it works: there's a global time keeper which records the current tick. The base class has three methods (_process, get_state, and set_state), and two variables (start_tick and history[]).
The global time keeper sends a signal when time starts to rewind. During the rewind process, each tick is a step backwards instead of a step forward. The _process method of the base class checks to see if a rewind is active and, if so, calls set_state(history[global_tick]). If rewind is not active, we append or update the history. There's some nuance to tracking deltas and despawning, but really that's about it. Simple, eh?
2019 Summer Awful Jam: 60 Seconds
"Your theme is... 60 Seconds!"
And so the brain storming begins. I feel like anything that doesn't explicitly involve time-travel of some sort will get dinged by the Theme-Adherence police, and besides, time travel is fun.
I've never made a game with time travel before, but it presents plenty of opportunities to do novel things. At the very least, even if the mechanics aren't original, I can do things like make the player character switch from replay to AI-driven if the player interacts with his/her previous self or force players to avoid interacting with their previous selves by avoiding line-of-sight and such. All of this is predicated on Terminator-style time travel, where the player goes back into a previous timeframe and can never return to their original. Minute Physics calls this "new/changed history" time travel and I'd call it 'forked history' time travel. The other form would be self-influencing time travel, where you happen to see yourself from the future coming in to your present.
I tried a lot of architectures. It began with the simplest thing I thought would work: A controller component would record keypresses and emit signals. The parent object would listen for signals on the child component and act as though it were receiving input. This worked, but it was hard to jump to a specific point in time.
The next thing I tried was a 'global manager'. Each actor had a 'get state' and 'set state' method. In record mode, actors would append to their history. In replay mode, they'd pull from history and set state. Things got complicated when it came to handling travelling backwards in time and then interacting differently. It was easy to go back to a time and replay, but it wasn't easy to go back, replay, and record at the same time. That part was necessary if we wanted to see ourselves and interact in tandem.
The third thing I tried was similar to the first. Each actor would be a deterministic function of time. We 'set time' which consists of taking the time and setting state accordingly. Functions are determined as only a function of the current timestamp. That works fine. After playing with it, however, it's really hard to make puzzles for it.
Shown Here: Player Jumping Backwards in Time and Seeing Other Selves
I'm going to try the Tracer-style time travel thing where the player can go back 60-Seconds into their previous state while the world stays as it is. This is closer to the self-consistent/non-branching timeline.
Thematically, I really want to rip off Zero-Wing and do a terrible translation of the plot. Character has a time-travel device that sends him/her back 30 seconds, but it has a 60-second recharge. The player got a lethal dose of radiation and needs to go back to save him/herself. The goal is to get past unity and into the net-time-gain territory. Either a recharge of 29 seconds or a jump of 61 seconds.
Tracking Marker Prototype
The teller slides a plain brown box across the counter and tells me the total with a smile. I mirror it and hand over my card. In the brown box is a stack of tracking markers -- the product of a brief flash of inspiration. If you've ever spent some time doing camera matching in Blender, you'll know that it can be a boring, tedious process that's wrought with false starts and disappointments.
A few well constructed, highly visible tracking marker can solve most of these headaches, and while one doesn't always have control over the footage, when it's possible to add them in, the effort-to-return ratio is immense.
I decided to try my hand at making up a marker with the (albeit limited) knowledge I have about camera tracking in Blender, OpenCV, and general image processing. In the interest of brevity, all of the important details are condensed in the image below:
I have not yet tested this marker, but I'll be able to put it through the wringer in a short while. Until then, if you'd like to print your own and give it a whirl, I've included the full multi-resolution SVG here.
Creating a Halftone Effect in Blender
I put together this halftone shader effect in Blender earlier today:
The key realization for me was that Blender's shader nodes allow you to use Diffuse BSDF or other shaders as inputs to your setup. This means we can take the lightness of our mesh and use that as an input to a color ramp with a step function in it. In more detail, here's the shader setup:
I'd wager a more skilled artist could replace the dot-pattern generator with something that gives more consistent result and doesn't have that semi-circular banding issue. Give it a try and let me know if it works out for you.
[WP] You are on the first manned mission to the surface of Mars. One of your numerous objectives is to find and recover Opportunity, the lost rover. Upon finding it however, a memorial and a message is etched in stone next to it, "To the one who gave me company, Rest Well, Old Friend."
The Martian atmosphere is a curious pain in the ass. It's thick enough that it causes aerodynamic heating, but too thin to be practical for a parachute or breathing. It's a younger sibling that exactly dances the line of what's allowed.
The whistling at the edges of our ship turned to a full roar as it oriented itself in a precarious, almost upright position that maximized its exposure to the wind. Its skin started bleeding liquid methane to offset the increase in temperature from the compression. After our surface speed had dropped below Mach 4, the landing thrusters engaged and we began the vomit-inducing intermittent backwards fall. We'd all seen the landings in videos of yore. Two beautiful points of light transform into ivory towers that gently set themselves on the ground. It had come a long way since then, control systems growing ever more robust and formally validated, flow control and combustion systems becoming more powerful and lighter. Still, the turbulence of the Always-Toeing-The-Line-Fuck-You Martian Atmosphere made the landing computer work like mad and kept our eagle-eyed pilot, Thompson, glued to the terminal.
Slowly, quickly, slowly, gracefully, gently, eye-poppingly, we eventually landed with a delicate thud on the Red Planet. In an instant, the bitterness and irritation that came with a six month road trip fell away and I was reminded of the impossible wonder of what was about to happen. This was everything we'd spent our lives trying to do and, against all odds, we were the first to make it to Mars and survive.
There was a moment of quiet celebration between the three of us as the engines wound down.
"Mission Control, this is Thompson. The Eagle has landed. Current telemetry has us just shy of 3.1 km to the landing site. Fuel consumption was 2% below predictions. We're sitting pretty. Ready for EVA."
We were short of the target site, thank goodness. Perseverance Valley, the final resting place of Oppi and Xia Yibu (下一步), the Chinese Lander. Perseverance Valley is unfriendly, and overshooting our landing site would mean going sledding down the side of a mountain in a government-issue rental rocket. Mission Control would be very unhappy. We would be fine, if slightly dead or dying and on fire.
They nearly beat us. China had been hiding their heavy-thrust and high-payload rockets for nearly two decades, and they didn't announce their intended landing on Mars until someone forced their hand by leaking the story. I suppose they wanted to wait until they'd succeeded? No matter, because of all the space-faring nations, they were the only ones to make the last launch window. For a while, it seemed like China would be the first on Mars. As a scientist, as a terran, as a human, I was overjoyed that we were finally finding our footholds in the next worlds. As an American, I was envious and disappointed.
But we were handed a second chance. The Xia Yibu's ceramic buffer panels fractured and broke apart from the non-uniform heating. The entire vessel underwent what we call a, "Rapid Unplanned Disassembly." The general population refers to it as an explosion.
I remember hearing the news. In the span of a moment I felt nearly every emotion I believed I was capable of feeling. I thought about the families of the astronauts. I thought about what it meant that we, as humans, had failed. I thought about the poor workers who assembled the tiles and were, at that moment, likely awaiting execution for their mistakes. I thought about what it meant for us, that we can have the chance. I thought about my reaction, that glimmer of self-serving joy at other's misfortune. I thought about what it said about me and I felt sick. I needed to sit down. I took a breath -- these emotions can be processed later. There was work to be done.
Thompson, Brown, and I had not discussed who would be the first to set foot on the red planet. There was nothing to discuss. The decision was made by NASA and handed down in plain manila envelopes to us. The disparity between the gravity of the decision and the presentation invoked images of the holy grail as a plastic sippy-cup. Maybe with a crazy straw.
Someone tried very hard to select the most egotistical, arrogant, self-serving shitheel in the nation. They picked me. They succeeded.
Brown and I suited ourselves up, in some sense. We put on what was basically aeronautics-grade hazmat gear -- orange and white plastic-y laminated undergarments. The actual suits were attached to the ship. Mars, in addition to not having a very helpful atmosphere, is covered in a dust that's highly poisonous to humans. Rather than worry about venting atmosphere or flooding the ship with calcium perchlorate, it was easier to just leave the suits outside all the time and sneak into and out of them.
We entered into the backs of our suits, did ran the systems through Power On Self Test, and sealed the ports. Thompson opened the outer shielding and lowered the ramp. "Moss," he said, "Don't fuck up."
"I'll do my best." It was all I could do. And I stepped down the ladder. One rung. Two. Three. Just move. Just breathe. My suit probably weighed 300kg. Keep moving. That's only 100kg in Mars gravity, but enough to crush the average person. Almost there. Fortunately, there was a high-efficiency exoskeleton woven into the fabric itself. Two more steps. It felt like a hefty backpack. One more step. Just a backpack. Nothing more.
A weightless step.
A deep breath.
Mic on.
"And so it was again as it was once before. That human kind stood on the shoulders of giants and walked among the stars."
Mic off.
Thompson clicked over my intercom. "Well done, Moss. I bet you're crying." I was. Mic on: "I'm not crying you're crying." Brown clicked in, "Thompson probably is crying." Thompson clicked back, "We all are. This is the greatest day of my life. We've got work to do, though, so are you just going to stand there bawling or are you going to get your shit together and move out?" I had to laugh. "First of all, I'mma do both." Brown was on the last second to last step, misjudged the position, and stepped off into thin-air. I heard a muffled thud. "Brown?" I said, "You okay? Status."
Brown came back, "Ego has suffered considerable damage. Suit integrity still at full. When you retell this story, say I did it on purpose."
"Let me help you..." I trailed off. There was a gouge in the landscape at the edge of the spillway. Brown noticed my distraction.
"Xia Yibu made it to the ground," stammered Brown. "Almost intact. Why didn't any of our satellites pick that up?"
"Budget cuts?" I offered. "Thompson, can you open a channel to Mission Control and send them an update?"
"Already done."
"You're frustratingly competent. Brown, what's LRF read for distance?"
"3.2km, but some pretty basic trig would suggest it's less than that. My head says about 2.1 km. The face part of my head. The mouth part of my face."
"Thompson, how's our landing change the time to sunset?"
"Effectively? Not at all, and you've got enough air to make it there and back, if that's what you're proposing."
"It was not. Not explicitly, at least. I really want to." I drew a breath, still reeling from everything that had happened in the past... two minutes? We had a plan. We had a mission. We had orders. Wing it on your own time. "Okay, let's set up camp."
The habitats were basically bouncy castles made of carbon and kevlar reinforced plastic. It wouldn't protect us from radiation, but it would withstand the weight of Martian soil. We were going to bury it -- diffuse the brunt of the sun's death rays. Brown got to surveying while I unpacked the lander. Thompson ran diagnostics and played 90's punk on the secondary channel. Adrenaline and enthusiasm carried us through the day and we finished with time to spare. We had a site with loose soil that we could blast away and fill with our hab. We had the ship unloaded and the storage area reconfigured for fuel. We had confirmation that our resupply unit, one that had shipped well ahead of us and started transforming the surface into fuel, was locked on our position and migrating to us. It was good to be alive.
NASA returned our messages. The light latency was 30 minutes at this point in orbit. We had enough time for a few back and forth exchanges during the work day, status updates, plan changes, fun things. The channel was too low-bandwidth for video or audio, but they offered some very poetic descriptions of the world's reactions. Not that it mattered. We wanted to get to the Xia Yibu.
I slept -- more deeply than I had in perhaps my entire life. Despite the anticipation of the day to come, I was at peace with myself and with the world. Both worlds. Victories were very ephemeral in my life. Even the greatest successes morphed into fortunate accidents through the malice of hindsight. This would be different. I had done something worth remembering. I had done something, finally, to justify my existence.
Life's a funny balance of narcissism and self-loathing.
Dawn on the Red Planet is stunning. If you've ever lived near a lighthouse, you may recognize the single ball of luminescence against a background of rock and haze. That's the Martian sunrise.
We ate together. Mission Control approved the change of itinerary. We had the go-ahead to proceed to the site of the Xia Yibu. Another happy accident in my life -- Oppi, our main objective, was on the way to the Xia Yibu.
Our crawler was like Opportunity's grown-up sibling. The nickle-titanium shape-metal-alloy tires had proven to be a nice upgrade, but the basic construction of the frame was unchanged. Advances in DC motors and battery technology also left more space for cargo, passengers, or, in our case, speed while unloaded.
The journey ended up being 2.2 km. Goddamn you're good, Brown. A 2 km journey is something the average person can make in about 25 minutes. Our exoskeletons and the 1/3rd gravity would mean we could probably have sprinted in about 5 minutes, but we had a job that required some hauling: retrieve Oppi.
Thompson saw it when we were 100 meters out. Oppi was not alone. Draped at the side was the body of a CNSA astronaut who, as suggested by the control unit attached to Oppi's serial interface, was trying to send a message back home. Failing that, the astronaut, the first human on Mars, inscribed a message.
好好休息, 我的老朋友. Rest well, my old friend.
Tweets by JCatrambone
Bear Hockey
Ifu Aniemeka's Site
State Your Purpose Comic
My BitBucket Repo
My GitHub Gists
My GitHub Repo
Check out the Brave Browser -- an interesting solution to an increasingly complicated internet financial model.


text:
Q: How to copy html output to clipboard to use in gmail signature My code below copy the html tag but i want copy the output bold wow to paste in on gmail signature

function wow(){
const el = document.createElement('textarea');
  el.value ="
wow
";
  document.body.appendChild(el);
  el.select();
  document.execCommand('copy');
  document.body.removeChild(el)
}
<button onclick="wow()">
Copy to clipboard
</button>

A: You should try and manipulate it:

  document.getElementById('markup-copy').addEventListener('click', function() {
            clipboard.copy({
                'text/plain': 'Markup text. Paste me into a rich text editor.',
                'text/html': 'here is some rich text'
            }).then(
                function() {
                    console.log('success');
                },
                function(err) {
                    console.log('failure', err);
                });

        });
<button id='markup-copy'>Copy to the clipboard</button>

Also, check out this link: clipboard-polyfill

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This is the Traxxas Stampede 4x4 LED Lightbar with 4 LEDs. This is a fully-functioning lightbar set that can be powered off an open port on the receiver. Everything required to use this light bar set is included! It can be used on the Stampede 4x4 and Telluride trucks.


Some buildings label their 1st floor as 1, others as L for lobby or G for ground floor. I've even seen it as 0 in European cities where the "1st floor" denotes the first floor above ground level — what Americans consider to be the 2nd floor.
Negative floors. Floor -1. I assumed it must have been the basement, but honestly I was too scared to find out. What if I could never come back?
Then upon further reflection I realized that this is actually kind of genius. In an elevator that brings you both above ground and underground, a negative number much more clearly indicates going below the ground floor. It's smart, but it isn't standard, so instead of being more effective, it just becomes novelty.
I saw that in Italy recently, or Portugal maybe, or both. I like the idea too, with 0 for ground.
Better than my building which starts numbering at 1 at the lowest level of the carpark. So the level at ground level, where people walk in, is level 8, accounting for the 7 levels of underground carpark. Fortunately in the lifts going to the upper floors, they label this "G", but the fire stairs are … interesting.
In Europe it's fairly standard to use -1, -2 etc for anything below ground level. 0 is ground level and 1 is the American equivalent of the second floor. It seems more logical to me and more of a standard than what is used here in the US which can use P, G, * for Lobby and B and who knows what else.
I think this would make more sense if there were multiple levels below ground; e.g. -1, -2. In that scenario, I've seen B1, B2, etc. However, unless you see the buttons arranged in the proper order on the panel, there may be confusion. Imagine if someone was unfamiliar with the building and someone verbally instructed them to "go to B2", one may have to stop and think which level was lower. In that case, I would vote for the prior approach. Although, "negative one level" doesn't seem to roll off the tongue as well.
Rather than numbers I have an ongoing fascination watching people struggle with the and the >< buttons on an elevator.
When I think about it they are self explanatory (and the same labels seem to be used globally) however many people still select the opposite to the one they actually want.
Might have been in the Netherlands? Its pretty common to have negative elevator indicators here..
How do americans find out what is the ground floor if it isn't always the same number ?
I think it's pretty common to have negative floors on elevators all around Europe. That's pretty much the "standard" here in Italy.
How do you know it isn't a standard in Europe? Seems in fact that it is quite standard. Your comment is quite ethnocentric – comparing what is standard in your culture with another culture.
B1 B2 is using "B" for basement which a European visitor in New York might not understand.
I honestly thought I'd snapped this in the U.S. which is why I noted it as non-standard. Realizing it was probably at Heathrow, it makes a lot more sense now.
Yeah, right… that's why you thought it might be in Israel.
I've seen this too! There's a wing of Heathrow airport, near the express into London, that is mainly underground. I think it goes as far as – 5. It makes logical sense but I was really disoriented with it – although it may have been because it was strange to be someplace so deep underground that looked so open and airy. It was a little creepy.
You know what…this totally could have been at Heathrow! Thanks for helping me place it.
Yes, it is standard in Europe and I think better than any letters, as a foreigner would probably not understand. -1 is an obvious choice.
Hi, thanks for bring this up, since its an interesting UX and cultural issue.
This way of numbering floors is actually quite common here in Brazil. And I agree with Agata, numbers are more global than letters as indicators of floor levels.
In Brazil some buildings have T as the ground floor, which stands for "Térreo". This word means something like "earth level" in Protuguese. What does T means for a non-Portuguese speaking person?
Naming the ground floor as "0", all floors above ground floor as positive numbers starting at 1, 2, 3… and all floors below ground floor as negative numbers starting at -1, -2, -3… makes sense to me as a more global approach to floor labeling.
It is quite common in India. Typically, we have two levels of parking -1 and -2. Essentially, this is basement 1 and basement -2 allocated for parking.
Nothing scary about that at all.
I am from czech republic and this is very common. I'm used to that whole life, but I always feel strange when I have to press -1 or -2.
In Holland I could easily show you a hundred or more places where it's done the -2/-1/0/1/2 way.
But, I have to be honest, the ground floor is also often refered to as P ('Parterre') or BG ('Begane grond', that's ground floor in Dutch).
The nice thing about this thread is that it made me think about something so obvious (thus not) I never thought it would be worth thinking about. I will try doing this more often in my work as a website builder. So thanks!
In Israel this is very common in business buildings, when you can get to the parking in the same elevator. In shopping centers and even in hospitals.


Big news from Microsoft today, as Turn 10 Studios and Ford unveiled a new collaboration today at the 2015 North American International Auto Show – announcing the all-new Ford GT ultra-high-performance supercar as the featured cover car in the next iteration of the acclaimed racing simulation franchise for Xbox, "Forza Motorsport 6," launching exclusively for Xbox One.
Ford GT serves as a technology showcase for the company with its ultra-efficient EcoBoost engine performance, advanced aerodynamics and lightweight carbon fiber construction. It will arrive at dealerships in select markets globally late next year.
"Forza Motorsport," developed exclusively for Xbox, is the highest-rated racing series of the past decade, according to Metacritic. Developed by Microsoft's Turn 10 Studios, the series combines the industry's leading next-generation graphics and simulation engines, and has become the most-played next-generation racing simulation on Xbox One.
A pioneer in the global automotive industry, Ford is a leader in innovation. Ford GT showcases material and technology innovations to help better serve drivers, such as active aerodynamics; light-weighting, with a carbon fiber passenger cell and carbon-ceramic brake discs; and a next-generation EcoBoost engine that produces more than 600 horsepower.