More than four years ago on a sunny Saturday, Diablo Senior Editor Peter Crooks climbed into the back of a minivan to go on a ride-along with a group of East Bay mom private investigators known as the P.I. Moms.
The East Bay investigators, led by detective Chris Butler, were about to be featured in a reality TV show for Lifetime Television, and they had invited Crooks to come along to write a story for Diablo magazine.
It wasn't the first time the detectives and Butler had invited a reporter along as they tailed a cheating suspect. But it would be their last.
As Crooks got ready to write his story, Diablo was tipped that the ride-along was a fake, the "suspect"—a cheating fiancé—and his "mistress" were actors paid to provide juicy color and details for the magazine article. Crooks had been the victim of an elaborate hoax.
Shocked and confused about why he had been subjected to such a scam, Crooks started digging. He quickly stumbled onto something much darker than mommy detectives planting fake stories in Diablo—and in the Contra Costa Times, People magazine, and on the Dr. Phil show.
In April 2011, Crooks wrote a 10,000-word cover story for Diablo, telling how he discovered that Butler and Norm Wielsch, Contra Costa's top drug cop, were conspiring to steal and sell drugs. Marijuana, prescription drugs, and crystal meth that should have been in a police evidence locker were headed back out onto the street. Crooks brought that information to law enforcement, sparking a complex investigation that led to the arrests of Butler and Wielsch, and four other East Bay police officers.
Even after the arrests, and after the story went national, Crooks didn't stop digging into Butler's shadowy world, which included fake stings and dirty DUIs here in the East Bay. This January, Crooks lays out the full story in his new book, The Setup: A True Story of Dirty Cops, Soccer Moms, and Reality TV.
Here, we talk to Crooks about the ride of his life.
Q: I remember how stunned we were when we got the e-mail saying the ride-along was a hoax. What were you thinking as you discovered how elaborate the setup was?
A: As an individual, it was embarrassing, infuriating, and irritating that I didn't realize I was being lied to sooner. But as a journalist, I was excited at the idea that the story took this curve, which was: We're about to have a national reality show filmed about these nice moms from Orinda and Dublin, and they might be con artists.
And we had the opportunity to be out in front of that story.
Q: And it never crossed your mind that the ride-along was a fake?
A: A lot of people have said to me, "Oh, I read your story; I would have figured out that that was a fake." But on the ride-along, the idea that everybody was a conspirator in a hoax did not cross my mind.
One buffer was that the P.I. Moms had already been given so much national attention by reputable media, and that Lifetime Television was going to be filming them. They had built this house of cards.
During the ride-along, I kept asking, How on earth are they going to film this? When I got the tip that it was a hoax, it all made sense.
Q: And after you got the tip, you confirmed very quickly that the ride-along was fake by going on Facebook and seeing that they were all friends—the people you were tailing and the P.I. Moms.
A: Yes, the tipster told me that the "mistress" was actually introduced to Butler by another decoy—a person hired by Butler to help set up a sting. The P.I. Moms were Facebook friends with that decoy, who was friends with the mistress. They all knew each other. So my head was spinning.
Q: And you kept digging.
A: I never thought, I just want to wash my hands of this and kill the story. I was going to dive down the rabbit hole.
There was a while where I wanted to believe that [the P.I. Moms from the ride-along] Charmagne [Peters] and Denise [Antoon] hadn't known it was a hoax. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt that maybe Butler had hired actors to follow, and the P.I. Moms thought the investigation was real and were just doing their job. But obviously, once we pulled the sheet back, it was just ludicrous.
Q: You kept e-mailing your tipster, who identified himself as Ronald Rutherford, which led to your finding out that Chris Butler and Norm Wielsch were doing much worse things than staging private investigations in Contra Costa County.
A: The whistle-blower was a person who really wanted attention, and during the week after he first e-mailed, I was the only one giving him attention. So my giving attention to Ronald Rutherford was very helpful to getting a bunch of information really fast.
Q: You have been a working journalist for more than 15 years, but your specialty has always been entertainment and personality profiles. How did you know what to do when you got tipped that Norm Wielsch and Chris Butler were stealing drugs with intent to sell them?
A: I had good instincts. The day I found out about the allegations that Chris Butler and Norm Wielsch were selling drugs, I made a phone call and set up a meeting with law enforcement. Some people might have waited months before deciding to say something about it, but I reached out to a trusted law enforcement source that day.
to someone else. One of the biggest worries I had was to say something and have it get swept under the rug. Then, I was going to have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.
Q: Even after Butler was arrested and you wrote the Diablo cover story, you didn't stop reporting. You worked nights and weekends to track down everyone who was involved. Why did you keep digging?
A: I could tell that there was really important community value in exposing this kind of corruption, and I wanted to pull back the curtain all the way. I also knew that there was something interesting in examining this instant celebrity culture we're living in.
What started as, Hey, these suburban moms are gonna be on Lifetime Television, became, Look at what some of these suburban soccer moms and their boss and this little gang of con artists were willing to do.
Q: Let's talk about the Lifetime reality show. It wasn't part of the hoax.
A: No. That was a really surprising part of the reporting: that the people hired to produce that reality show tried to make a real show. They were not staging cases the way Butler was. In fact, they were digging up legitimate cases for the P.I. Moms to work, cases that could have actually helped people.
Q: In your book, you investigate the awful things Butler was doing without the P.I. Moms, such as dirty DUIs: luring a husband to a bar by tricking him into meeting for drinks, then getting him drunk and having a police officer pull him over for DUI.
A: I report about a number of setups that Butler and his associates conducted that were astonishing, both for their elaborate structure and their diabolical purpose. They were willing to ruin people's reputations and lives.
Q: Of all these stories you reported for the book, which did you find the most disturbing?
A: One was an elaborate arrest of a prostitute, where there were several police officers, not just Wielsch, who were on the clock—working cops—who arrested this young woman from Marin County who had been set up by Butler to come out to Walnut Creek, where they would bust her for hooking. All on behalf of Chris Butler's client, who wanted to sting the woman because she was servicing the client's husband.
Another disturbing discovery was that Butler and his associate Carl Marino would conduct "decoy tests," which were scams to take advantage of young women. Very young women, sometimes 19, 20 years old.
A: Just for kicks. Just to manipulate these women.
They would say they wanted to see if the woman would be an effective decoy—to see how far she could get a guy to go. There was one big decoy party in Southern California where Butler interviewed dozens of women who replied to his Craigslist ad for female operatives to assist on an undercover drug dealer surveillance. Then, Butler made a list of the most gullible women, assigning them to demonstrate their seduction skills on his buddies, who the women thought were targets of a DOJ [California Department of Justice] investigation.
Q: And they weren't trying to hire the women as decoys?
A: No. They were just taking advantage of them. They exploited people and really had no conscience about it. They did it just to feel power, to feel in control.
Butler was the puppet master: He loved pulling the strings and watching everything play out with him being in command. Carl Marino loved being a hero and being the center of attention. They're different types of characters, but put together they were dangerous. And eventually, that relationship led to the house of cards being knocked down.
Q: In the book, we discover that Butler's associate Carl Marino was your tipster, Ronald Rutherford. You helped him meet up with law enforcement, and he helped gather evidence for the California Department of Justice. But Marino isn't a very nice guy, either. Why did you decide to reveal that?
A: Because it's an important part of the story that took a while to unfold. Marino's motivations for coming forward when he did are crucial to seeing the big picture. Just three months before coming forward, he enthusiastically took part in setting me up in that ride-along. Marino helped Butler plan the entire hoax, and he and his wife played a role.
To be clear, Marino did a good thing as an informant for the DOJ, but why did he eagerly go along with the ride-along, and then blow the whistle by coming to me? As I explain in the book, I think it was because I was paying attention to him while the production crew for Lifetime Television was demanding that he stay away from the show. And this is not just my theory: After long interviews with the show runner of the reality show and, more importantly, the DOJ agent who handled Marino during the investigation, the facts and timeline of the case and the reason why everything blew up when it did came into focus.
Finally, there is the character issue. When Marino asked for my help getting in touch with law enforcement, he promised that he would never lie to me. He was not able to come close to keeping that promise. For example, the entire time I was in touch with him, he never admitted to me that he posed as a reporter from Diablo magazine to set up a guy for DUI. Just three days later, Marino asked me, a real Diablo reporter, to put him in touch with a safe law enforcement contact. Then, the day I was contacting law enforcement, Marino was posing as a TV producer to set up another man for another dirty DUI.
Q: The story has taken a big toll on you personally. You were scared; your wife was scared.
A: My wife was incredibly supportive and helped me figure out the game plan of who to talk to about Rutherford's allegations that the head of Contra Costa's narcotics task force was selling drugs. But I didn't tell her nearly as much as I knew. I didn't tell her that there was a threat of plastic explosives.
Q: You never told your wife that your source said Butler had C-4 explosives?
A: Because it was really terrifying information. I was really, really on edge during that investigation, and I was having really vivid nightmares about C-4 blowing up in a public place. I still have those nightmares from time to time, even though the alleged C-4 turned out to be duct sealant and was never a threat.
This information had to be top secret; I couldn't tell anyone. There were so many times that the undercover case against Butler and Wielsch could have been compromised. When the information about drug dealing and this level of corruption came to me, I was extremely stressed to realize how dishonest these people were, and what the stakes were.
Q: You were afraid that Butler might come after you, too?
A: I was worried about being set up by Butler before he was arrested, and was told that he was considering going after me. I thought he was going to set me up in a compromising situation—which I discovered he did do to other people.
It was hard to drive at night. Every head-light in my rearview mirror became Chris Butler. I was worried that my car was bugged because they installed listening devices in people's cars. My imagination wasn't a particularly friendly place.
I felt like I was losing it and trying to keep it together. It didn't really feel like, Oh, it'll all be worth it because there'll be such a great story at the end. I didn't know how it would end. But once he was in jail, I thought, He's got so many fish to fry before getting revenge on me.
Q: Are you worried Butler might come after you when he gets out of jail?
Q: I always thought that the P.I. Moms that you went on the ride-along with would fess up. They'd be like, "You know what? We did this terrible thing, and we're sorry." They still have not admitted that they were in on the hoax.
A: They never came clean. I've reached out to them. I wanted to give them a chance to explain themselves. Those women on the ride-along didn't have anything to do with stealing drugs. I've heard from people that they just think I'm the worst person in the world—that their kids hate me for exposing this.
Q: Finally, what do you hope readers will get out of your book?
A: I wrote it in a first-person memoir style because I wanted to take the reader along for the ride I went on: It was a crazy, exciting, wild ride.
I'm not the only person who was lied to by Butler and his minions. There are young women who have been taken advantage of. There are DUI recipients who were set up; there was a Contra Costa County judge that was lied to and a police chief that was lied to; and there are many families that have been damaged by these people.
I hope people who were victims of these setups, or had their lives and emotions exploited by the inexcusable dishonesty of some of these characters, will find some satisfaction in the fact that I've pulled the curtain back to show what was really going on, and why it was finally exposed.
I think the book shows just how far people are willing to go to get attention, especially in a culture that celebrates instant celebrity. Hopefully the book shows that when you ask for that kind of attention, it's not always going to be as flattering as you hoped.
The Setup: A True Story of Dirty Cops, Soccer Moms, and Reality TV (BenBella Books, list price, $24.95, Kindle price, $12.99) hits bookstores January 13. To read Crooks' original Diablo articles on Chris Butler, Norm Wielsch, the P.I. Moms, and more, visit diablomag.com/rideofhislife.
Key Players: Where Are They Now?
Former Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team commander Norm Wielsch pleaded guilty to five felony counts of stealing and selling drugs, theft of federal funds, civil rights conspiracy, and robbery. On May 21, 2013, Wielsch was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison and is serving time in Fort Worth, Texas, where he is taking theology courses. He is scheduled for release in February 2025.
Former Antioch police officer Chris Butler pleaded guilty to seven felony counts, including selling drugs, extortion, robbery, a civil rights violation against a Danville teenager, and planting illegal wiretaps and listening devices in more than 75 automobiles. Butler was sentenced to eight years in federal prison and is serving time in Englewood, Colorado. In 2014, he received a sentence reduction of one year for cooperating with investigators and prosecutors in the case against former sheriff's deputy Steve Tanabe, who was involved in three dirty DUI arrests. Butler is scheduled for release in May 2018.
Former Danville sheriff's deputy Steve Tanabe was the only police officer who went to trial; everyone else pleaded out. Tanabe was convicted on six of seven felony counts and was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. He is scheduled for release in May 2015.
Former San Ramon police officer Louis Lombardi was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of selling marijuana and stealing money as well as personal property during searches of suspects' homes. He was released in August 2014.
Former Richmond police officers Danny Harris Jr. and Ray Thomas Jr.—who hired Butler to smear a Richmond police lieutenant and two teenage boys, who were employees of Harris and Thomas' security business—pleaded guilty in March 2012. Harris admitted to making false statements in connection to purchasing firearms, and both Harris and Thomas admitted to conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding. Harris was sentenced to five years' probation and Thomas to three years' probation.
Former San Ramon family law and divorce attorney Mary Nolan, who conspired with Butler to bug the cars of her clients' spouses, pleaded guilty to five felony charges, including tax evasion and illegal eavesdropping. Nolan was sentenced to two years in federal prison in Dublin, California, and is scheduled to be released in December 2015.
September 9, 2010: Diablo Senior Editor Peter Crooks meets with Chris Butler, members of Butler's staff, and an alleged client.
September 11, 2010: Crooks accompanies two P.I. Moms on a 10-hour ride-along.
November 2, 2010: An Oakland resident is lured to Meenar Bar in Danville by two of Butler's female decoys, who ply the male target with alcohol. The target is arrested for DUI.
November 8, 2010: Filming begins for P.I. Moms reality show for Lifetime Television.
November 19, 2010: Sometime around this date, Butler gives a pound of stolen marijuana to his director of operations, Carl Marino.
January 3, 2011: Using the name "Ronald Rutherford," Marino e-mails Diablo and says the ride-along was a hoax for free publicity.
January 9, 2011: Marino meets a Martinez businessman at The Vine in Danville, under the premise that the target is being interviewed for Diablo. The target is arrested for DUI by Danville deputy Steve Tanabe.
in unspecified "serious criminal activity." Crooks replies that he will try to help but needs more information.
January 14, 2011: "Rutherford" e-mails Crooks that Butler and Norm Wielsch are selling drugs. As Crooks contacts a trusted law enforcement source to arrange a meeting, Marino—this time posing as a TV producer—sets up a Livermore winemaker for DUI arrest.
January 16, 2011: "Rutherford" e-mails Crooks alleging that Butler is trying to sell two pounds of C-4 plastic explosive.
January 17, 2011: Crooks meets with longtime friend and Alameda County DA investigator Cindy Hall, and passes "Rutherford's" contact information to authorities.
January 20, 2011: An investigator from Contra Costa DA office contacts Marino.
January 21, 2011: Marino and two actors go to a Livermore winery to continue the charade about a nonexistent TV show for the January 14 dirty DUI target. Then, Marino meets with a California Department of Justice agent, turns in two pounds of drug evidence, and becomes a confidential informant.
January 26, 2011: Wearing a recording device, Marino buys roughly three pounds of marijuana from Butler in a parking lot near Rossmoor, the first of Marino's several drug buys as a confidential informant.
February 1, 2011: Production halts on the P.I. Moms Lifetime Television show because of cases falling apart.
February 15, 2011: DOJ agents witness Norm Wielsch removing a pound of crystal meth from an evidence locker. Marino records himself paying Butler and Wielsch for the meth.
February 16, 2011: Butler and Wielsch are arrested, and charged with 28 felonies each.
March 4, 2011: Tanabe is arrested in connection with the case.
May 4, 2011: San Ramon police officer Louis Lombardi is arrested in connection with the case.
June 3, 2011: Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson announces that the case is being handed off to the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office.
Diablo Senior Editor Peter Crooks will talk about The Setup at the following events. For information, go to facebook.com/petecrooksauthor.
January 15: Book reading. Diesel, Oakland, 6:30 p.m., dieselbookstore.com.
January 16: Book release party. Rakestraw Books, Danville, 7 p.m., rakestrawbooks.com.
January 22: Book reading. Orinda Books, Orinda, 7 p.m., orindabooks.com.
January 23: Book reading. A Great Good Place for Books, Montclair Village, Oakland, 7 p.m., ggpbooks.com.
February 18: Guest speaker. Live! From the Library. Walnut Creek Library, Walnut Creek, 7 p.m., wclibrary.org.
March 14: Authors Gala. Walnut Creek Library, Walnut Creek, 6 p.m., wclibrary.org.
April 18: Mystery Writer's Panel. Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, 1 p.m., dvc.edu/emeritus.
Click here to read, "The Setup," the April 2011 story that revealed how Chris Butler and Norm Wielsch were arrested for selling stolen drugs.
Click here to read, "Norm Wielsch: On The Record," the December 2011 story in which former Central Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team commander Norm Wielsch admitted to his role in the drug-selling conspiracy which led to his arrest and federal prison sentence.


text:
1 Sound cassette (Includes transcript)
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art / Exhibition Files / "Talk Out!" (1973) / Interview with Russ Connor
Interview with Les Levine
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art / Exhibition Files / "The Troubles: An Artist's Document of Ulster" (1972-1973) / Interview with Les Levine
Guide to Exhibition and its Installation
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art / Exhibition Files / "Towers" (1970) / Guide to Exhibition and its Installation
Interview with Paul Gedeohn
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art / Exhibition Files / "Two Aspects of an Illusion" (1971-1972) / Interview with Paul Gedeohn
Tape number 16 is missing from the collection. Tape numbers 40-41 are videos that were transferred to the Human Studies Film Archive (accession #TBD). Please see the accompanying paper inventory (Original data, Benin tapes, Box 35) for more detailed descriptions of tape content and recording quality. Includes field interviews with the royal family ...
Flora S. Kaplan papers / Benin (Nigeria) / Sound recordings
Kwanzaa Programs 1976-1989
Anacostia Community Museum
8 Video recordings (U-matic, 3/4")
1 Video recording (open reel, 1/2")
1 Sound recording (open reel, 1/4")
1 Sound recording (audio cassette)
ACMA.09-023
This collection contains the audiovisual output of the Kwanzaa events hosted by Anacostia Community Museum's Education Department between the years of 1976-1989. It includes video documentation of Kwanzaa workshops and school events as well as Kwanzaa-related films, plays, and storytelling.
Museum Events, Programs, and Projects, 1967-1989 / Kwanzaa Programs 1976-1989
Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner papers
Krasner, Lee, 1908-1984
AAA.polljack
The papers of abstract expressionist painters Jackson Pollock and wife Lee Krasner measure 16.1 linear feet and date from circa 1914 to 1984, with the bulk of the material dating from 1942 to 1984. The collection documents their personal and professional lives, as well as the legacy of Jackson Pollock's work after his death. Found are biographical material, correspondence, writings by Krasner and others, research material, business and financial records, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork by others, photographs, interview transcripts, audio and video recordings, and motion picture film.
H. Arlo Nimmo papers
Nimmo, Harry
5 Linear feet (6 document boxes, 5 card file boxes, 1 binder box, 1 flip-top box plus 16 sound reels; and 12 maps (6 of which are duplicates))
The papers of H. Arlo Nimmo document his field research among the Bajau (also known as Sama Dilaut) in Tawi-Tawi Province in the southern Philippines in 1963, 1965-1967, 1977, 1982, and 1997. The collection consists of correspondence, field journals, censuses, genealogies, kinship charts, transcripts of songs, unpublished manuscripts, card files, photographs, sound recordings, and maps. Nimmo's initial research focused on social change, but he collected data about other aspects of Bajau culture, including social organization, kinship, religion, fishing, boats, boat-building, art, and music.
Mansour, Joseph
Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection / Audiovisual Materials / Community Project Interviews / Goldsboro, North Carolina Interviews / Mansour, Joseph
Showfety, Edna
Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection / Audiovisual Materials / Community Project Interviews / Goldsboro, North Carolina Interviews / Showfety, Edna

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Lissa Rivera | "'Beautiful Boy' Explores Femininity and Fantasy," Flavorwire
From Alison Nastasi's article featuring Lissa Rivera's series "Beautiful Boy":
The art world is full of torrid tales and romantic stories when it comes to male artists and female muses — Édouard Manet and Victorine Meurent, Salvador and Gala Dalí, and Picasso and Dora Maar to name a few. It is also quick to ignore the fact that many of these women were artists themselves. The muse of the female artist is also rarely discussed (for decades women weren't even allowed to observe the male nude in life drawing sessions and in schools — if they were allowed to attend at all). And those considered are examined with a sensationalist eye, focused on tempestuous relationships like that of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
Brooklyn-based artist Lissa Rivera longed for an intimate muse, which she found after listening to the confession of a dear friend. He shared that he had dressed in women's clothes for some time, but was struggling to feel comfortable exploring that side of himself lately. The tender photography series Beautiful Boy was born, in which Rivera and her muse — who became her romantic partner and collaborator — explore identities, their own complicated relationships with femininity, decadent fantasy, and vulnerability.
View the original article


text:
Q: What is the stiffness of a crushed rod or cylinder? If you are crushing a uniform rod between two plates with a known force, how do I estimate the deflection (and hence the stiffness) of the rod?  I am interested in the overall deflection, including the effects of the contact and in the rest of the (blue) volume below.

Heuristically I see that stiffness $k = \frac{F}{\delta}$ should be inversely proportional to the diameter and linear to the length  $$ k \propto \frac{\ell}{d} $$
I wonder if there is an analytical expression that shows the dependency on diameter, length and force applied.

A: Overall deflection
Considering that there is a small region of contact, and we can use the Hertzian model it seems that there is an analytical solution 1 (although I would not call this crushing)
$$2\delta = \frac{P}{L} (V_1 + V_2)\left[1 + \log\left\{\frac{2L^3}{(V_1 +V_2) P d}\right\}\right]$$
where $V_i = (1 - \nu_i^2)/(\pi E)$. If we assume that the planes are infinitely rigid compared to the cylinder we obtain
$$2\delta = \frac{P V_1}{L} \left[1 + \log\left\{\frac{2L^3}{V_1 P d}\right\}\right]$$
or
$$2 \delta = \frac{P}{\pi E_1 L} \left(1 - \nu_1^2\right) \log{\left[\frac{2 \pi E_1 L^3}{d P \left(1 - \nu_1^2\right)} \right]}$$
This equation can be inverted to obtain
$$P = \frac{2 \pi E_1 L^3}{d \left(1 -\nu_1^2\right)} e^{\operatorname{LambertW}{\left (- \frac{d \delta}{L^2} \right )}}$$
Stress at the interior
We can model the cylinder as a 2D problem: a disk with radial forces in the poles. The stress function for a disk of diameter $d$ with center in the origin, and radial inward and opposite forces $P$ placed at $(0, d/2)$ and $(0, -d/2)$ is given by
$$\phi = x\arctan\left[\frac{x}{d/2 - y}\right] + x\arctan\left[\frac{x}{d/2 + y}\right] + \frac{P}{\pi d}(x^2 + y^2)$$
We know that the stresses are given by
\begin{align}
\sigma_{xx} = \frac{\partial^2 \phi}{\partial x^2}\\
\sigma_{yy} = \frac{\partial^2 \phi}{\partial y^2}\\
\sigma_{xy} = -\frac{\partial^2 \phi}{\partial x \partial y}
\end{align}
that gives
$$\sigma_{xx} = 2 \left[\frac{P}{\pi d} - \frac{32 x^{4}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{5} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)^{2}} - \frac{32 x^{4}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{5} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)^{2}} + \frac{8 x^{2}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{3} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)} + \frac{8 x^{2}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{3} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)}\right]$$
$$\sigma_{yy} = 2 \left[\frac{P}{\pi d} - \frac{8 x^{2}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{3} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)^{2}} - \frac{8 x^{2}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{3} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)^{2}} + \frac{2}{\left(d + 2 y\right) \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)} + \frac{2}{\left(d - 2 y\right) \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)}\right]$$
$$\sigma_{xy} = - 8 x \left[\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{4} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)^{2}} - \frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{4} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)^{2}} - \frac{1}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{2} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d + 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)} + \frac{1}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{2} \left(\frac{4 x^{2}}{\left(d - 2 y\right)^{2}} + 1\right)}\right]$$

and for strains
\begin{align}
\epsilon_{xx} &= \frac{1}{E}(\sigma_{xx} - \nu \sigma_{yy})\\
\epsilon_{yy} &= \frac{1}{E}(\sigma_{yy} - \nu \sigma_{xx})\\
\epsilon_{xy} &= \frac{\sigma_{xy}}{G} \, .
\end{align}
For displacements, there are two options that come to my mind.

*

*Rewrite the stress function in polar coordinates, and then use the Mitchell solution for displacements. The stress function should look something like

$$\phi(r,\theta) = r\theta \sin\theta + \frac{2P}{\pi d}r^2$$

*Integrate the strains

\begin{align}
 u_x = \int\epsilon_{xx} dx + f(y)\\
 u_y = \int\epsilon_{yy} dy + g(x)
\end{align}
with $2\epsilon_{xy} = \partial u_x/\partial x + \partial u_y/\partial y$, differentiate this equation w.r.t $y$ and $x$ and solve for $f$ and $g$.
References

*

*Puttock, M. J., & Thwaite, E. G. (1969). Elastic compression of spheres and cylinders at point and line contact. Melbourne, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Despite the enormous political instability, Bulgaria is expected to record positive growth rates this year.
According to the EU Commission, Bulgaria´s economic situation will improve slightly this year. After a decent GDP growth rate of 0.8%, the expected growth rate comes at 1.4% this year.


England senior Head Coach Dave Buckland has selected a squad of 16 for this autumn's World Championships finals.
There are senior squad debuts for Claire Dique (Bec) and Owen Bailey (Tornadoes).
"Both have come through the youth ranks and are both outstanding players" said coach Buckland.
Natasha Dawson (KZ) also returns to the squad after missing last years European Championships.
The 10th IKF World Korfball Championships will be played between Friday 30th October and Sunday 8th November 2015 in Belgium.
England's opening match will be against Portugal on 30th October.


text:
Nachal Omec (: נחל אומץ) je vádí v centrálním Izraeli, v izraelské pobřežní nížině.

Začíná v nadmořské výšce okolo 50 metrů nad mořem, na západním okraji města Zemer. Směřuje pak k západu rovinatou a zemědělsky využívanou krajinou, podchází těleso dálnice číslo 6, z jihu míjí vesnice Omec a ha-Ma'apil. Jižně od obcí Ejn ha-Choreš a Chogla potom zprava ústí do vádí Nachal Alexander.

Odkazy

Reference

Související články
 Nachal Alexander

Vádí v Izraeli

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
SPAIN NATIONAL TEAM
Italy vs Spain
Match Pennant
Olympic Games "SYDNEY 2000"
Match Issued Shirt
Sala R.
This style of shirt was never used by the team but it was issued for the Spain Team at the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000. The team used a white shirt with red sleeves in the game against Cameroon. We are not sure if this shirt was supposed to be the third kit for the Olympic Games or if it has been changed with the version with red sleeves.
Match Worn Shirt
Cañizares was capped 46 times for Spain, the first on 17 November 1993: Zubizarreta was sent off in the tenth minute of a decisive 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Denmark, and he made his debut in heroic fashion, keeping a clean sheet in the 1–0 home win and ensuring qualification at the expense of the Danes themselves. However, Cañizares was often second-choice, and only played five games in the major international scene: one in the 1994 World Cup (as Zubi served a one-match ban), three in UEFA Euro 2000 and one in the 2006 World Cup. He was also a squad member at Euro 1996, the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2004 but did not play, blocked by Zubizarreta in the 1990s and Iker Casillas in 2004; he was equally an unused player in the gold winning squad at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Cañizares' club form ensured himself as first-choice international in the 2002 World Cup, but he missed out on the tournament due to an accident with an aftershave bottle, which resulted in a severed tendon in his foot. He was also in Spain's squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, making his only appearance in the tournament and last in his international career in the last group match against Saudi Arabia, a 1–0 win in Kaiserslautern.
On 5 August 2014, following the 2014 World Cup where Spain were eliminated at the group stage, Xavi announced his retirement from international football, having made 133 appearances in a 14-year period. Spain's World Cup-winning manager Vicente del Bosque paid tribute, stating that Xavi was "a key part of the team's style of play" and "he was more important to us than even the manager", also adding, "We will miss him both on and off the pitch. He is a player who we hold in great esteem both personally and as a player. He is and always will be a person and a player who is greatly valued by the federation, the coaching staff and by myself."


text:
White People Should Recognize Ourselves in Iago
I learned from teaching 'Othello' that I am part of a system that sets black men up to fail
Laura Gill
I learned about Othello from a professor who didn't want to discuss Othello; he wanted to tell us about Othello. He was tall and pale, and his dark hair created a contrast to his long, white face. He had his delivery down pat — no observation about a character hadn't been said before, no quiz was new. For me, his observations about Iago, however rehearsed, were profound, but not for the reasons they should have been.
My professor didn't talk about how people like Iago exist in the real world and tear people down for their benefit — Dick Cheney, Steve Bannon, Rush Limbaugh, to name a few. Instead, he — and I — focused on the way that people with wit and charisma could be dangerous in matters of the heart. I'd fallen for a few charming men, and I was happy to disparage them — villains weren't always brooding in the corner, but they were sometimes the life of the party.
As for the character of Othello, I don't remember much. I certainly didn't have sympathy for his pride and jealousy; I didn't connect with him, his experience, or his pain. I didn't need to.
When I started teaching Othello, I started to realize that the play was not just a warning about the dangers of love and jealousy, but a warning about complicity and coercion, specifically on the part of people in power. Iago does not become evil alone. People support him, believe in him, and trust him, even though he's clearly a misogynist and a racist.
Iago does not become evil alone. People support him, believe in him, and trust him, even though he's clearly a misogynist and a racist.
The school I taught at was a private school in Washington, D.C. It was majority white and majority well-off, and it was full of potential Iagos — students who, if not as evil or conniving, were just as susceptible to believing that they deserved what they had and would go to lengths to prove it. Fifteen percent of students were outside of the financial majority, and about 20 percent were students of color (these numbers have since increased to 20 and 31 percent). Most of their teachers were like me: white, with a background in private school education. People with enough money to afford teaching at a private school, where the pay wasn't great but the community was worth it.
Though none of us considered ourselves Iagos — we believed in equity, in kindness, in honesty, and of course we would never hurt another person for our benefit — we also murmured among ourselves about some faculty members getting positions solely because they were people of color. We resented multicultural work, because we considered ourselves educated, and therefore above racism, misogyny, and micro- or macro-aggressions. We expressed confusion about why some of the students of color couldn't just be a bit more grateful for what they had there, in the white mansion on the hill.
I say "we" because even though I sat on the diversity committee and considered myself an ally to both students and faculty of color, I had those thoughts, and I was in those conversations. I am, as we all are, a part of the system of racism, classism, and sexism that fuels this country — handed down, in part, from the countries in Shakespeare's Othello.
I am, as we all are, a part of the system of racism, classism, and sexism that fuels this country — handed down, in part, from the countries in Shakespeare's Othello.
In 2007 and 2008, I worked for Barack Obama. I was sent to the white suburbs of St. Louis after volunteering in St. Louis city, where I made connections with black community leaders. During my time in the city, I'd arrive to the house parties I falsely believed I had a hand in organizing, and awkwardly wait for my time to sign up volunteers and build my team. These house parties were my first experience at being the only white person in the room, and I was often embarrassed to tell my story. I joined the campaign because I wanted a change in my life, and I joined because I could.
During Obama's inauguration weekend, I went to the staff party, where Arcade Fire and Jay-Z performed. Obama gave a speech about continuing the good work of the campaign, and continuing to push for the change we believed in. After his speech, I noted that it was strange that so much of his staff was white, and a friend said to me: "It's a privilege to quit your job, move somewhere, and work for free."
At the end of Shakespeare's Othello, the protagonist realizes that he murdered his wife on false grounds. She hadn't cheated on him after all — he was trapped in a web of Iago's lies. She lies dead behind him, and he speaks to his white comrades, saying: "When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, speak of me as I am…" Then, he stabs himself, falling onto his dead wife's body.
At the conclusion of a modern movie adaptation of Othello, entitled simply O, the Othello character, Odin, walks through the hallways of an old New England dorm with a gun in his hand after smothering Desi (Desdemona) to death. The camera zooms in on the tears covering his face. When he gets to the porch, he yells at his classmates: "Somebody needs to tell the goddamn truth. My life is over…but while all y'all out here living yours, sitting around talking about the n****r that lost it back it high school, you make sure you tell them the truth…You tell them where I'm from didn't make me do this." Then he shoots himself, collapsing on a white wicker couch.
In the documentary O.J.: Made in America, the conversation between O.J. Simpson and LAPD detective John Lange plays as you watch one of the strangest and most televised car chases of all time. At that point, O.J. is the primary suspect in the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. As he is driven in a white Bronco by his friend Al Cowlings, he is holding a gun in his hand; he suggests more than a few times that he may use it to kill himself as Lange tries to keep him from doing so. He explains to Lange that he's "sorry," that "all he ever did was love Nicole," and he says that he wants to be remembered for the person he feels he was, before all this.
What would have happened if, on that bright sunny day, as his friend drove him down the highway and away from his Brentwood home, he had shot himself instead? How would the story been different? Would the blame be placed on him, or the societal structures that never allowed him to find a sense of belonging in the first place? What the documentary makes clear that it isn't just fame that caused his downfall, but a particular brand of it — for O.J. to become O.J., he had to base his identity around what white America required and wanted from him at that time. And regardless of whether there was a particular person plotting his downfall, there was, in a sense, a culture waiting to witness his demise.
When I taught Othello, I would start with an excerpt from Description of Africa, written by Leo Africanus, in 1550. The book was considered the most comprehensive written work on the subject of Africa until the 19th century, and we'd look at a section with the title, "The commendable actions and virtues of the Africans" and subtitle "What vices the foresaid Africans are subject unto" to get a better sense of the narratives and stereotypes Shakespeare was working with when he created Othello. We can't know if Shakespeare read the text, but it seems likely that this idea from Africanus — "no nation in the world is so subject unto jealousy; for they will rather lease their lives, then put up any disgrace in the behalf of their women" — and this one — "yea they so behave themselves, as if they had continually lived in a forest among wild beasts" — made its way to him, and found homes in a text centered on a person from Africa who can't control his jealousy.
Innocence Is a Privilege: Black Children Are Not Allowed to Be Innocent in America
Throughout O.J.: Made in America, it becomes clear that O.J.'s trial is not about whether he killed Nicole Brown or Ron Goldman but about whether or not a black man could ever be found innocent. In the documentary, we see that O.J. is as much a symbol as a person, as much a construction as a man. He knows this, too, and he plays into it, as do his team of lawyers and close friends. By the end, it seems as though a part of them comes to even believe it — they seem to think O.J.'s innocence could be a kind of revenge, not just for Rodney King, as the film suggests, but all the accused black men, subjected to generations of violence simply for the color of their skin.
I always asked my students if Othello could have been white. They'd debate it for a bit, going back and forth about how what he wrestles with is in part universal, and also connected to his gender. I'd wait for the moment when they'd bring in the Leo Africanus reference, and discuss how those stereotypes about jealousy wouldn't resonate if Othello wasn't African. Many of them say he was easier to prey on because of his race.
One year, one of my black students wondered what it would be like if Iago was black, and she said: "He wouldn't have been as trusted as much as he was — I don't think." This was the same student who, after the Trump election, said to a room full of white students: "the fact that y'all are surprised is funny to me. I'm sorry, but…look around."
O is not a great movie, and for that reason, we didn't use it all that often when teaching Othello. Looking back, I wish I had. What O seems to get is what is ahead of its time about Othello, and it isn't the fact that Othello was black. It is the message about the community that surrounds him, and how they allowed a person like Iago to flourish, exist, and believe in his power.
It is the message about the community that surrounds him, and how they allowed a person like Iago to flourish, exist, and believe in his power.
In O, the character of Iago (Hugo) is the son of the basketball coach. He is handsome, smart, and great at basketball. But O is better, and so at the start of the movie, O gets MVP instead of Hugo, kicking off Hugo's plan to take O down. The decision to make the coach Hugo's father gives Hugo's revenge more heft, because we understand that Hugo has not just been slighted, but a societal code has been broken in the process. Usually, white people hand things to one another; it is familial, it is filial, it is in our blood.
Washington D.C. is 49% black, and no private school in the area reflects that number. In some ways, that is not a surprise, but even writing that sentence — even typing "it's not a surprise" and then thinking, "it makes logical sense" — feels strange to me. There is no logic to systematic oppression that keeps money in certain pockets and not others based on skin color; and if there is, it is not a logic I want to feel comfortable with.
D.C. is 49% black, and Donald Trump, a white billionaire from New York, lives in its epicenter — a white house where, for eight years, Barack Obama lived. When Obama lived there, Donald Trump went on T.V. questioning where he came from, asking hackers to check his birthplace. Even when Obama showed the birth certificate, Trump continued to spread rumors because he could, and because people let him. We know what happened next.
Support Electric Lit: Become a Member!
During O.J.: Made in America, the documentarians chart how white and black people responded when he was not found guilty. I remember that my family, and everyone we knew, thought it was preposterous. They believed he did it, and they were shocked. In black communities, there was a sense of relief. A sense of justice. Even if they didn't believe he was innocent, they knew that so many others had been, and it felt good to see a black man walk free.
In the past two years, numerous white police officers have been charged with murder, and they walk free. People on both sides are outraged, posts go up on Facebook, and then, quickly, we look away. Then it happens again. And again. And again.
And yet, O.J's initial walk toward freedom will never be tolerated, particularly in the white community — it was a failure of the justice system as we know it, an outrage, and an insane breakdown of all we know to be right. I'm not arguing that Othello, O, or O.J., should be able to away with murder — I'm just saying that Michael Brelo, Daniel Pantaleo, and Darren Brown shouldn't either.
I'm not arguing that Othello, O, or O.J., should be able to away with murder — I'm just saying that Michael Brelo, Daniel Pantaleo, and Darren Brown shouldn't either.
At the end of the play, I'd ask my students if Othello deserves any compassion. Many of them would say yes: they would argue that it wasn't his fault, that he was betrayed by his best friend, that he couldn't have done anything to stop his actions. He was a victim. Others would say no: he didn't have to believe Iago over his wife. He didn't have to go so far as to kill her.
It's certainly hard to argue that Othello had to kill Desdemona, even if she really had cheated. And yet, I was always happy that some of the students argued on his behalf, because I think those students understood something fundamental about the structures that caused Iago to get away with what were really his murders. In the end, it is Iago who deserves the blame. Yet he lives on, making the tragedy of Othello not just the tragedy of The Moor of Venice but the tragedy of a culture that believes in justice.
lauracgill.com
Sex Six Days A Week
"Sundays" by Emma Copley Eisenberg
Nov 15 - Emma Copley Eisenberg Read
A Hotshot South Asian Professor is Outed as White, Cue the Twitter Rampage
Mithu Sanyal, author of "Identitti," on using cultural appropriation to tell the story of being mixed race in Germany
Dec 1 - Jaeyeon Yoo
7 YA Novels That Bring Color to Dark Academia
Because we scholars, preppy and pedantic, are not always white
Aug 19 - Nzinga Temu
When Your PhD Involves A Race Scandal and Several Asian Fetishes
Elaine Hsieh Chou's novel "Disorientation" is a whirlwind romp that combines academic satire with a whodunnit mystery thriller
Mar 22 - Jaeyeon Yoo


I hope you're all off to a terrific and productive April. First, let me apologize for my tardiness in selecting April's winner. My daughter's high risk pregnancy has been my main priority, and sadly, multi-tasking is not my strong suit.
But, better late than never in periods and blog posts, we have a winner. For the first giveaway I let my grandson choose the winner simply by their Gravatar (to include him), but usually I use Wheel Decide when I run contests because it's fair, and free. I only received 11 entries (which still boggles my mind), and chose from them. Free books? I truly thought I'd have dozens and dozens of entrants – go figure. Free must have gone out of style when I was busy writing.
The only trouble with this is that by using just a WordPress gravatar/name to choose from, locating/contacting the winner can prove difficult. I have announced the winner on Twitter and will continue to do so until they come forward. I am also announcing it here in the hopes that she has subscribed to my website and will get her notification when I post this.
Anyway, congratulations to mywords2228 on her win, and now, on to next month.
Thank you to all of last month's entrants, and best of luck to everyone in the upcoming month. Remember to hit LIKE below. Follow my blog to get notices of winners and upcoming contests.
K.E Garvey is an award-winning author of multiple books in the Suspense and Contemporary Women's Fiction genres. Her latest release, Dead Enemies, is currently under consideration. Look for her newest suspense release, In Her Right Mind, due out late fall, 2019.


Status of Courts of the District of Columbia.
Through a long course of decisions, the courts of the District of Columbia were regarded as legislative courts upon which Congress could impose nonjudicial functions. In Butterworth v. United States ex rel. Hoe,101 the Court sustained an act of Congress which conferred revisory powers upon the Supreme Court of the District in patent appeals and made its decisions binding only upon the Commissioner of Patents. Similarly, the Court later sustained the authority of Congress to vest revisory powers in the same court over rates fixed by a public utilities commission.102 Not long after this the same rule was applied to the revisory powers of the District Supreme Court over orders of the Federal Radio Commission.103 These rulings were based on the assumption, express or implied, that the courts of the District were legislative courts, created by Congress pursuant to its plenary power to govern the District of Columbia. In dictum in Ex parte Bakelite Corp.,104 while reviewing the history and analyzing the nature of the legislative courts, the Court stated that the courts of the District were legislative courts.


text:
A deeper look at Ericom's "AccessNow" HTML5 client. Why wait for Citrix & VMware?
Gabe wrote about how HTML5 clients work almost a year ago, and he mentioned Ericom's HTML5 client in his review of his Chromebook. Put simply, Ericom AccessNow is an HTML5 client for using remote desktops through web browsers.
Gabe wrote about how HTML5 clients work almost a year ago, and he mentioned Ericom's HTML5 client in his review of his Chromebook. Put simply, Ericom AccessNow is an HTML5 client for using remote desktops through web browsers. The client is "installed" on a web server (which can be Windows or Linux), and then end users just visit a web page and BOOM--they're accessing a remote desktop or application via the web. It doesn't require anything on the client--no plug-in, no download, no extension--just an HTML5 browser (which is every desktop browser now, plus iOS, Android, Blackberry, etc. Basically everything.)
One of the great things about AccessNow is that it's available today. In addition to building a standalone generic RDP version that can connect directly to Terminal Servers or Windows desktops, Ericom has also built capabilities to integrate with Quest vWorkspace and VMware View. So if you want to instantly "browser enable" either of those platforms, you can do it with Ericom. (In fact Ericom recently announced that Richland School District Two bought 30,000 AccessNow licenses for VMware View environment.)
You might think that VMware would be mad about this since they themselves are working on an HTML-based View client codenamed "AppBlast." Well maybe the AppBlast product manager is upset about Richland Schools buying Ericom for access to View, but I can guarantee you that the local VMware sales rep has no problem with it at all. If Ericom enables this school to use View, hey.. go for it!
Quest Software has taken the same approach, saying essentially, "Hey, the Ericom AccessNow client is great. If they want to build that and sell it to our customers to give them HTML access, great! That's one less thing we have to worry about and frees us up to build other features."
So both VMware and Quest are happy with it. The only one missing is Citrix. I asked Ericom's CEO Eran Heyman why they didn't integrate AccessNow with Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp, and he said, "Hey, we've approached them many times, but they've refused to work with us. So it's there loss I guess?" Meanwhile Citrix customers are stuck in the dark ages while Quest and VMware VDI customers get clientless browser-based access to their desktops. Oh well. Hopefully some day Citrix will release their HTML5 client.
The world of browser clients is a world of 6-week release cycles
One thing that became clear when speaking to Ericom about their HTML5 client was that the world of browser access clients is very different than the world of traditional RDP and VDI clients.
First of all, many browsers have moved to a very fast 6-week release cycle. This means that capabilities that were flat-out impossible one day could be in beta a month later and released to millions of users a month after that. And as new capabilities move into the browser mainstream, users are going to expect that their web access clients support these new features too.
In Ericom's case, they released the beta version of their HTML5 client last May, then the initial v1 in July, then minor updates which added new features in September and November. And they're looking for another update this quarter with many more to follow this year. And actually there's an advantage that a small company has. Both Citrix and VMware announced that they were working on HTML-based clients last year, but neither has managed to get even v1 out there yet. Of course they try to claim, "well of course Ericom can do this because they don't have the huge userbase that we have, but we as a huge enterprise company can't be so willy-nilly about releases." Well fine, but Google manages to release new versions of Chrome every six weeks to their 200+ million users, so this is just Citrix and VMware pouting.
And sometimes these new browsers can enable significant new features. For example, a recent new version of Chrome contained a new audio API which enabled Ericom to add support for client-side microphone redirection. So now that users can use their mics with other sites, Ericom had to react quickly to build that support into their HTML client. It's not like the old days when they can have that feature in the next version which comes out a year later.
HTML5 web browser "sandbox" limitations
In addition to the client-side audio support mentioned above, you can imagine that building a pure HTML-based VDI client with a decent feature set can become frustrating quickly. Even "simple" things like having a button to make the thing go full screen are complicated thanks to unscrupulous spammy websites of the nineties.
But Ericom is taking it all in stride, attacking the features one at a time the best they can while working within the boundaries of the browser. Want client device drive mapping? A big no-no in the web world, Ericom's workaround is to use a file transfer mechanism that's invoked by simply dragging and dropping the file you want to upload onto the page.
Printing will be handled in a new version via a host-side PDF print generation engine that then downloads the finished doc to the client.
"Real" USB access? Well, there's always the native client for that. :)
The current version of AccessNow is also missing some key features around gestures, (though those are being added in the upcoming version.) Ericom is kind of limited in a lot of ways because they're fighting with the browsers a bit. The browsers try to had the "actual" frame geometries form the remote website. So things like the zoom levels, pixel size, etc.--that's all hidden. So to get around that, Ericom's HTML on the client forces it to a ratio of 1:1.
Gestures are also very complex. It's hard to figure out when a user is swiping a gesture that should be remoted to the remote desktop or if the user is wanting to use the gesture to invoke some local action on the client. The good news is that new browsers are adding gesture APIs. (And on top of that, browsers are adding API support for tilt, location, etc.)
Native clients versus HTML clients
In many ways, the Ericom AccessNow HTML5 is different than device-native clients. (The "native" client being the Win32 app on Windows, an iOS app on iPads, a Mac application on a Mac, etc.)
The downside to the native client is that they have to be installed and they have to be written for the specific client platform. The upside is they have raw access to the hardware and they're written in whatever high-performace language the developer feels like using. And that's a key point. It's tempting to think that the future will be only HTML5 apps, but in reality HTML5 VDI clients will never have the performance or features of native clients.
A good example of this is the way that Ericom integrated their "Blaze" technology into their AccessNow HTML5 client.
If you're not familiar with Blaze, it's essentially an extension which speeds up RDP on low-bandwidth and high-latency networks. To create Blaze, Ericom licensed the RDP protocol spec from Microsoft so they can really tear into it. And tear into it they do. Blaze has a host-side component and a client-side component. On the host the look inside the RDP protocol not just for doing compression or acceleration, but they actually decrypt and decompress the entire stream on the host side before it's sent to the client. That gives them the raw RDP data which they then analyze and rebuild. The consolidate frames, compress images, identify text, etc. Sometimes they simply compress images here and there. Other times they rebuild the entire frames. Overall they understand the connection characteristics and what they're looking at in the RDP frame, so they can make intelligent decisions. This allows them to work smarter than optimization which is happening only at the network level after the RDP data has already been created.
Blaze is great and people love it. So when it came time to build their AccessNow HTML5 client, people asked them, "Hey, does this use Blaze?" And the answer is no. AccessNow is not Blaze at all. Then people ask, "Will AccessNow ever work with Blaze?" And again, the answer is no.
The reason is that with Blaze, Ericom controls the client. So they can have "real" access to a high performing environment with precise control over their software engine. But with the AccessNow HTML5 client, the only client access they have is Javascript and whatever APIs the browser maker enabled. So if they just "ported" their existing Blaze client to HTML5 Javascript (which is interpreted as opposed to compiled), it would be slooooooooowwwww. Not good.
Now this is not to say that Ericom didn't incorporate any of the techniques of Blaze into AccessNow. In fact they took everything they learned with Blaze and tried to build as much as they could into AccessNow. (Identifying full frames in videos to avoid tearing, dealing with latency and reshaping packets, etc.) And of course they'll leverage native browser API functions whenever they can. But to be clear, AccessNow is not Blaze. It's not the same source code. It's more like a fork that's appropriate for a weak client that can has to run everything in Javascript.
In a sense you can almost view the HTML5 clients running Javascript in the same way that you view PCoIP zero clients. With zero clients, all the hard work is done on the remote host so you can have a super weak, super thin client. Because Javascript is so slow (relative to compiled code) in browsers, that's essentially what you have. A native Blaze client is more like a real RDP client where the client is doing a lot of heavy lifting. And just like running RDP on a PCoIP zero client provides a horribly slow experience, the same would be true if they tried to do Blaze in a browser.
"Feature dependent," not "browser dependent"
Speaking of APIs and browsers, one of the realities that Ericom quickly realized is that not all browsers are the same when it comes to running HTML5 applications. Sure, there's a base standard that all the browser makers are striving towards, but that's an ideal world fantasy. (Though Ericom did say that given that all these browsers are developed by different companies in different parts of the world, the HTML5 standardization is actually pretty good.)
But the devil is in the details. Different browsers on different platforms have different APIs and support different features. This means that the Ericom AccessNow HTML5 client could actually have different features depending on which browser is used.
Ericom realized early on that trying to keep track of which features were supported on which browsers was a fool's errand. So they designed AccessNow to be "feature dependent" rather than "browser dependent." What that means is that rather than saying, "Ok, I see this browser is Chrome 14, so it supports X, Y, and Z features, but not A and B…" Rather than that, their client uses Javascript to systematically test for each capability. So when the session is starting, they can, for example, test for the client-side audio support by making an API call. If it works, great, they'll support that capability in that session. If not, no problem--they just won't use that feature. Doing this means that if some random browser vendor on some random platform suddenly enables support for a new API, the Ericom AccessNow client can instantly take advantage of it, even if no one at Ericom knew about it.
A practical example of this is whether the communication from the remote host to the HTML5 browser uses HTTP or WebSockets. (For example, IE9 and the Android native browser both support HTML5 but don't support WebSockets.) Using WebSockets is ideal for Ericom and provides a better experience for the user. You could imagine a world where Ericom would just test for the browser version and say, "Oh you support WebSockets" and then turn it on. Unfortunately there are many scenarios where the browser itself might support WebSockets, but where an intermediate firewall or VPN might not. So if Ericom simply tested for the browser version, then they'd have a connection fail because some intermediary didn't support what they needed.
Practical use for Ericom AccessNow
It's easy to see where Ericom AccessNow can be used. It's a great fallback client for unknown or unmanaged devices. It's also a great way to "web enable" existing old-school Windows apps. You could even imagine having a page (or a single frame) of some larger web portal that was an AccessNow connection back to some Windows app. They even ensure that their entire client is friendly to URL rewriting if that's how your VPN works.
Ericom has a custom consulting service where they work with existing ISVs who want to "web enable" their applications, whether for their customers to do themselves or to convert the ISV into a SaaS provider.
And of course it's easy to see the value of adding AccessNow to an existing Quest vWorkspace or VMware View environment.
Pricing and licensing are pretty straightforward too. They have four licensing schemes: perpetual or subscription based, and per named user or per concurrent user. Prices for subscriptions cost just a few dollars per user per month, with perpetual licenses starting in the $60-range.
Ericom AccessNow HTML5 client: It's available today, they've made a lot of additions since it was first release and they've got a lot more on the way. And it works great with pure RDP, VMware View, Quest vWorkspace, and Ericom Powerterm Web Connect. And the price is right, especially if you buy the subscription. So if you need clientless access to your remote desktops, take a look at it. I'm a huge fan.
BriForum 2014 Boston - New Test Results: Virtual ...
How long can Ericom's HTML 5 client dominance last?
The ins and outs of a good HTML5 client
virtualtal - 31 Jan 2012 2:31 AM
Yes, but does it scale? How many concurrent sessions can it handle per server? What's its impact on the network? What is the end user experience over poor network conditions? ... I don't know why I'm always surprised by the questions you don't ask.
Brian Madden - 31 Jan 2012 2:39 AM
Give it a shot yourself: demo.ericomaccessnow.com. That can show you the user experience, bandwidth, etc. Obviously like I wrote it's not as good as device-native client, but it's cool for scenarios from unknown devices and where clients can't be downloaded. But I would think that in the real world if you had a scenario where you needed low bandwidth / high performance, that I wouldn't look to an HTML5 client for that use case.
I'll ask about session scalability.
shappir - 31 Jan 2012 7:05 PM
Tal and Brian,
Our preferred configuration is to install the Ericom AccessNow servers on the RDP hosts themselves. The impact of the AccessNow server on the RDP host is low. The AccessNow server can easily scale to support as many sessions as the RDP host is able to provide.
The AccessNow servers operate independently of each other. As a result, AccessNow does not limit the total size of the farm. The farm can contain as many RDP hosts / AccessNow servers as the connection broker is able to manage.
As we stated and as Brian wrote, an optimized native client running in the same environment will perform better than AccessNow. That being said, AccessNow does perform well, and we are improving its performance from one release to the next. I would estimate that its current performance over WAN is similar to RDP.
Dan Shappir, VP R&D Ericom Software
SMerrell - 31 Jan 2012 11:03 PM
Dan, is AccessNow CAC compatible?
shappir - 31 Jan 2012 11:26 PM
Bushrod,
AccessNow itself does not include CAC support because browsers don't provide APIs for it (at least as far as I'm aware). You can use AccessNow through an SSL VPN that supports CAC.
SMerrell - 1 Feb 2012 11:11 PM
Too bad about CAC. :(
I tried to access the demo from my Google TV last night but the gateway was down...
virtualtal - 2 Feb 2012 2:49 AM
Thanks for the information, Dan. My main problem with articles like this is that they are sensationalist in nature and they make the audience believe that HTML5 clients can be as effective as native clients. I'm fine supporting the "occasional' use case via a browser, but I can't imagine recommending any existing HTML5-based solution today as a primary access method to any desktop or app virtualization solution.
Brian Madden - 2 Feb 2012 3:11 AM
This article is sensationalist and makes people believe that they can be as effective as native clients? What about where I say "And that's a key point. It's tempting to think that the future will be only HTML5 apps, but in reality HTML5 VDI clients will never have the performance or features of native clients."
And later I talk about how this product is great for unknown or unmanaged clients.
But I'm sure Tal will like HTML5 clients a lot better as soon as Citrix releases one. :)
No.. I promise not to like HTML5 clients any better even once we have one. I'm not a big fan of HTML5 Receiver, or AccessNow, or ThinkApp (whatever that's going to be). I think it's OK for the occasional use case, but I don't want people using it to make Post PC era claims. It's a nice tactical tool for getting at your hosted windows apps or desktops from guest machines without native clients on them.
shappir - 2 Feb 2012 5:16 AM
Tal,
HTML5 clients have both advantages and disadvantages compared to native clients. Native clients can provide better performance for graphically rich applications, and greater access to local resources. HTML5 clients can be used on most any device without requiring installation or configuration. Including devices where native clients cannot be installed or run. Or on devices that IT doesn't want to manage (think BYOD).
Also, Ericom AccessNow performance is already more than adequate for many line-of-business applications, and improving in every release. In any event, we always recommend that prospective customers evaluate our products in their own environment before making purchasing decisions. As Brian can attest, AccessNow is very quick and easy to deploy - an evaluation environment can usually be set up in a matter of minutes.
For customers who need optimized native client performance for accessing graphical applications and rich media, over the WAN, they can utilize Ericom Blaze native clients for PCs, thin clients and mobile devices.


Home > News & Events > Sixty Minute Restyle with the Style Squad is back!
Sixty Minute Restyle with the Style Squad is back!
Sixty Minute Restyle with Mahon Point's Style Squad is currently taking place for Spring /Summer 2019 until March 23rd.
This Spring join our Style Squad for your Sixty Minute Restyle at our pop-up boutique in Mahon Point Shopping Centre, where our in-house stylist, Dee Kelly Morgan and her fashionista experts Siobhán, Lisa, Áine and Lisa will be on hand to help you step into the new season in style.
With no obligation to purchase, in just sixty minutes, you will have showcased all the new styles for SS2019 and see what suits you for the season ahead!
Dee's fashion mission is to help real women find their inner style queen with the latest tips, tricks, styles and advice tailored to suit every shape!
With hand-picked selection of the latest SS19 trends for you to try on, the Style Squad will provide advice on the most wearable colours, prints and party pieces of the season that will suit you and help you choose a look that's right for you!
Follow the Style Squad on social media for exclusive behind the scenes sneak peek on the latest pieces as well as fashion advice and top tips.
For this season's Sixty Minute Restyle, we are delighted to support and promote Cork ARC Cancer Support House. Click here for more information.
Please note, for appointments for regular service with our Stylist, Dee Kelly Morgan (which will be available again from March 25th onwards) please call 021 4972800.


The West African Examinations Council has confirmed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Bwari, Abuja, that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the governorship election scheduled to hold on Saturday in Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, sat for its examination in 1981.
WAEC stated this in a court filing which it made in compliance with an order made by Justice Othman Musa on September 11.
In the results attached to the documents filed by WAEC, Adeleke was listed as number 149 out of the 221 candidates that sat for the May/June 1981 examinations of the council at Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.
He did not sit for other registered subjects which included Mathematics, Literature in English, Islamic Knowledge, Geography. Economics and Biology.
Justice Musa had made the order directing WAEC to produce Adeleke's results in a ruling on an ex parte application by two plaintiffs, Mr Wahab Raheem and Mr Adam Habeeb.
Osideinde stated that the examination centre was with number 19645 while Adeleke's number as a candidate in the centre was 149.


RMD Garage, in Long Beach California, build some of the coolest custom vehicles this side of the Rio Grande. Owner Ralph Holguin came to America as a teen chasing the American Dream. From a humble car detailing business, Ralph built a multi-million dollar design and fabrication house for discerning clients and cashed-up celebrities. Ralph and his team of designers, fabricators and upholsterers create one-of-a-kind masterpieces with latin energy, passion and a touch of crazy!


NEXCOM has unveiled NCb-301 and NCb-311, the first 3 megapixel IP cameras in its new surveillance camera lineup. The NCb-301 and NCb-311 features 100dB Wide Dynamic Range imaging (WDR) and Precision/DC Iris control making them perfect for all levels of security monitoring and surveillance applications.
NCb-301 is a high-end megapixel IP camera designed for large-scale surveillance networks. NCb-301 offers 3 megapixel resolution (2048x1536) at full frame rate 30FPS (or 1080p 60FPS). With a motorized 3~10mm varifocal lens, NCb-301 allows security personnel to remotely refocus through the network to expand or to narrow the surveillance area.
To ensure image quality, the NCb-301 offers True WDR and P-Iris functions. This WDR camera can brighten the dark area and darken a specific area in an image, thus optimizing the captured image, for instance, in a basement parking lot with high lighting contrast. In addition, the NCb-301 can sharpen blurry objects spread across in a long supermarket aisle or office corridor, creating realistic images as seen by the eye.
NCb-311 is an entry-level 3 megapixel IP camera which performs 20 FPS (or 1080p 30 FPS) aimed at small shops or independent stores. NCb-311 supports the CS-mount varifocal DC Iris.


I've never been a great fan, nor a frequent user of mascaras. It's not because my eyelashes are naturally fantastic, or that I got extensions, but I have the tendency to slack off with regards to certain steps in my makeup routine when I don't have the time, which usually happen to be contour, eyeshadow, and mascara. Mascara is the worst of them all tbh – I always have so much trouble curling my eyelashes, making sure my mascara doesn't clump together etc. etc. – ain't nobody got time for that in the morning.
One fine day, I went to a departmental store and saw Canmake's products. I actually tried the tester, headed off, went home after a few hours, and saw that my lashes still looked fantastic. That was when I knew for sure that I had to get this.
Boosts lash curl and keeps it in place!!!
● Keeps lashes looking perky for hours on end.
● Ideal for those who suffer from stubbornly downward-pointing lashes and curl droop!
Stands up to water, sweat, tears, humidity and sebum!
● Waterproof formulation is highly resistant to water, tears, sweat and humidity.
● Resistant to sebum, preventing your mascara from bleeding onto your eyelids.
I'm not sure why I'm unable to find the ingredient list for this product anywhere on the web – can anyone enlighten me? 😦 It's a tad disturbing that this information is not widely available.
Packaging: I love the unique packaging – it's cute, but a different kind of cute from the usual K-beauty products.
This eyelash curler comes in two types – transparent and black. The transparent one works best if you're using it before your usual mascara, while the black one helps to add length to your lashes. I bought the black one because why not get an added benefit, right? HAHA.
Look at how curled the eyelashes are after application!! I'm honestly so amazed every time I use this product because my lashes just seem to hold themselves up without me having to use an eyelash curler at all. I reckon there must be some glue-like ingredient in this mascara, because it really holds up very well throughout the day, and frankly, it does look a lot like glue.
Using the black curler also gives the added benefit of having your lashes look longer. I find that it doesn't give so much volume, and it tends to clump your eyelashes together, which can look pretty weird, so remember to use the comb/any other spoolie to spread them out.
Everything about this product is fantastic, except the fact that it's so stubborn to remove. It's the answer to any lazy person's call for an easy-to-use mascara, and in fact, I would suggest that you don't even bother with using even more mascara after you apply this. I wish I knew about this product much earlier so I didn't have to spend money on lash curlers, and didn't have to struggle throughout all those times that I attempted to get decent-looking eyelashes.
Canmake's Quick Lash Curler is definitely getting a thumbs-up for me, but you've been warned: you might lose a few eyelashes every time you try to remove this.


text:
Q: android open files from url I am having some trouble opening few files. I have database where is description about file (id, name, type and etc). These files originaly are saved in another folder on server. Is it possible to open them if I know only url like: http://******/resource/view.php?id=11 ? I manage to open some files using webview, but I need to open also pdf files. By the way is it possible to open doc files on google view? because I tried and it did not opened it but it opened pdf file in next try.

A: WebView urlWebView = (WebView)findViewById(R.id.containWebView);
urlWebView.setWebViewClient(new AppWebViewClients());
urlWebView.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
urlWebView.getSettings().setUseWideViewPort(true);
urlWebView.loadUrl("http://docs.google.com/gview?embedded=true&url="
            + "YOUR_DOC_URL_HERE");

public class AppWebViewClients extends WebViewClient {

@Override
public boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, String url) {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub
    view.loadUrl(url);
    return true;
}

@Override
public void onPageFinished(WebView view, String url) {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub
    super.onPageFinished(view, url);

}

}


Ageas is set to be the first UK insurer to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) when handling motor claims.
Working in partnership with Tractable, an AI technology specialist company, the insurer will use AI to perform expert visual appraisals. The technology in question, called AI Approval, is supposed to save time and costs in the claims handling process.
Ageas completed a successful first-stage pilot at the end of 2016 with AI Approval performing analysis of several thousand vehicle images involved in accidents or requiring repair. Across the claims, Ageas's motor engineers were able to verify AI Approval's findings, which showed that they could save time and focus on more complex matters. As part of the ongoing pilot, Ageas is now going live with the technology to help its engineers verify the performance of its UK-wide repair networks in managing customers' motor claims.
Tractable's AI Approval works by using software to view images of vehicle damage and makes an assessment within seconds, streamlining a traditionally manual process. Repair estimates can be quickly reviewed and authorised, ensuring reliability and speed throughout the claims process. The technology connects with insurers' back office systems to streamline claim management processes. It also identifies and flags any suspicious claims for investigation to help prevent fraud.
Alex Dalyac, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tractable, said: "Our AI understands imagery like experts do. It will impact any industry that relies on visual tasks.


text:
Home Featured Articles Perspectives: Do Clinton Supporters Know What They're Getting Into?
Perspectives: Do Clinton Supporters Know What They're Getting Into?
Being Libertarian Perspectives serves as a weekly, multi-perspective opinion and analysis piece by members of Being Libertarian's writing team. Every week the panel, comprised of randomly selected writers, answers a question based on current events or libertarian philosophy. Managing Editor Dillon Eliassen moderates and facilitates the discussion.
Dillon Eliassen: Welcome back to Perspectives, the Interweb's 12,883 most popular weekly feature. Let's try to have a little fun with this one. Though it may seem like a rhetorical question, try to answer it as best you can: "Do Hillary Clinton voters understand what a Hillary Clinton presidency will entail?"
Gary St. Fleur: When it comes to Hillary Clinton supporters, I am beyond speechless. I do not know what they believe or what they support. A Trump presidency would be far more manageable than a Clinton one. He few allies in government. It will be four years of nothingness. Not bad by my estimation.
Alon Ganon: I don't think so, because so many seem to be so focused on Trump they have blinders on. You would not believe how many voters I have confronted with quotes from Clinton's emails, or her past statements e.g. the superpredator comment regarding young black males. I mean they want to paint Trump as a racist, and yet up until this election Donald Trump was praised by Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, among others. Even Louis Farrakhan has called out Clinton and he is a diehard Democrat as we know. I mean she brags about, "before it was called Obamacare it was called Hillary Care."
So no, I don't think people supporting Clinton actual know at all what a Clinton True. presidency entails. The worst part is they try to state her husbands successes somehow qualify her for office. However Bill Clinton wasn't that successful, and the successes of your spouse are in no way capable of being attributed to yourself. Clinton honestly has no successes of her own, as senator what did she do? She even tried to promote the clipper chip and the extremely flawed FIPS-185 "escrowed encryption" protocol that could potentially backdoor encrypted connections.
On top of her racist comments, she believes in censorship. I will never forget in school even when little all of my friends were calling Clinton a "bitch" for trying to go after violent video games. The ironic thing with Clinton is she is EXTREMELY conservative according to her emails, she and Bill apparently still believe in DOMA, and many social regulations. Including their crime bill which penalized a lot of black communities.
Dillon: I think most people who vote for one of the major political party do so just because they hate the other political party.
John Engle: I think they do. There has probably never been a politician whose actions, personality, and behavior have been more thoroughly vetted and examined by both friend and foe. And they are probably not wrong to surmise that her presidency will be more of the same, which it no doubt will be.
Dillon: Sometimes I find myself wondering, "Do Hillary Clinton supporters think that higher corporate taxes won't affect them as well?"
Mike Avi: I'm inclined to feel that most Americans who vote (LP supporters included) tend to minimalize the severity of transgressions made by party leaders/candidates against the general public. And this election exemplifies the greatest degree of crime dismissal I've ever seen or read about in any past election. So, generally, no, her supporters probably don't have a realistic vision of what her administration would look like. To be fair, her detractors are often just as bad.
Nima Mahdjour: HRC supporters are in my experience generally the most uninformed political amateurs I have ever seen...but coupled with a completely weird, undeserved, disproportionate, pathological urge to lecture others on how dumb and uninformed they are.
Dillon: Abortion is another topic that Democrats and Hillary view in this very bizarre way.To hear Hillary tell it, all women want abortion rights, and all pro-lifers want laws where a woman would not be allowed to terminate a pregnancy even if her life is in danger, or if she is pregnant as a result of rape. But, pro-choicers and pro-lifers are split down the middle of the population, and over the yers the variances in statistics over women who are either pro-life or pro-choice varies somewhere around 45-55% in either direction. But let's say you are a single issue voter, and that issue is abortion. Would you vote for someone who has said, "I believe that the potential for life begins at conception." Now, of course "the potential for life begins at conception" is not the same as "life begins at conception" but when was the last time you heard a strong proponent of abortion rights say something like this? Normally it's "oh, it's just a clump of cells."
Or what if you were a liberal and prized uber alles free speech? If you had any idea what Clinton has said about restricting different kinds of speech and entertainment. For example she described Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as "one of the most violent television programs on television today." If you were a non-lunatic college campus snowflake who still valued free speech, would you not pause before voting for Clinton?
Nima: That's why those people are voting Trump or 3rd party, I think.
Dillon: They say that now but I doubt many actually will. In 2012 GJ polled at 5% and won 1%. Jill Stein polled 1-2% and earned less than half of 1%.
Nima: Sure, 3rd party will probably be negligible, but during some primaries up to 30% of Sanders voters said they'll vote Trump unless Bernie wins the primaries.
Nicholas Amato: I know this is not an argument, but I know a lot of people that said the same. Wonder how much of that stuck
Nima: It'll probably end up being even more, landslide material in my speculation.
Nicholas: I'm starting to think my prediction of a Trump win is going to be a thing for sure, and not just a prediction. He's got a good last minute swing.
Gary: I am not sure why people are afraid of trump. Do they think he will unilaterally implement his policies?
Nima: Because the MSM told them to be afraid.
Nicholas: Exactly, do they think he can just do things willy-nilly? Maybe because that's what they think the president can do, because they're illiterate and illogical plebs.
Dillon: President Trump will be a godsend to the media and liberty movement.
The main BeingLibertarian.com account, used for editorials and guest author submissions. The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions. Contact the Editor at [email protected]
Latest posts by Being Libertarian (see all)
Littering In California - January 16, 2022
Brand New Five-Star Resort Opens in Australia, Locals Love It So Much They Can't Leave - January 5, 2022
Increase in Crime Among New Zealanders Driven by Ban on Cigarettes - January 3, 2022
low information voter.
Previous articleLeaving the Corrupt Two Party System for Libertarianism
Next articleDenialism in the Year of Election


Ever since I fell in love with the pretty lace dresses of Alexis, I'd been looking to add a similar dress to my wardrobe at a more affordable price point. After some research, I came across this one from H&M and was surprised by the overall quality and fit as H&M pieces are usually hit or miss for me - I either really like them or am disappointed. This one fell in the former category with it's lady-like silhouette, lace details, and sheer skirt for an overall polished look.
Loving this lace dress on you!! So gorgeous!


text:
BrushVeteran
BrushVeteran last won the day on December 13 2009
BrushVeteran had the most liked content!
Steam/Diesel Transition Period Modelling 00 gauge.
Real Ale and Good Beer Pubs
My Family, they give me the will to keep on working!
The Preservation of the GCR, both ends.
Diesel Locomotive Research, photographic
Cats, they are cleverer than humans
Bus Preservation and restoring my Buses
BR green locos in the late 1970s
BrushVeteran replied to MarshLane's topic in UK Prototype Questions
The red panels on D1733 were made of paper and on 1st July 1964 they were peeling off when noted on Oxford shed.
Saturday at 21:55
Rails Announce OO 18000 Gas Turbine Locomotive
BrushVeteran replied to Oliver Rails's topic in Rails of Sheffield
I have in my collection a photo of 18000 at Oxford, l.e., and as a rare location it could be the same event.
NBL Type 2 Diesel Electric Class 21 & 29
BrushVeteran posted a topic in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)
I would like to draw attention to a superb book I have received today covering the history of the North British Type 2 diesel electric locomotives, D6100-57, that spent most of their entire careers on the Scottish Region. Consisting of some 292 pages the book is in landscape format and contains many unpublished photographs and a complete history of all 58 members of the class, including the class 29 rebuilds. I have never seen anything on this scale quite like it for such an unloved and short lived class and I would congratulate the author, Anthony Sayer, for providing such an in depth and nostalgic tribute that this book portrays. Published by the Pen & Sword Transport Books it retails at £40.00 which is good value for money for the excellent content within. With a OO model of the D6100's about to be released I would say that the publication of this book is well timed and would compliment the model for those who wish to add extra detail. I look forward to seeing more of the same theme from Anthony and again commend the standard of presentation and historical information.
Roy Jackson
BrushVeteran replied to Brinkly's topic in Obituaries
I can't really add much more to what has already been said other than to say it had been an honour to be welcomed into his 'modelling regime' and to listen to his forthright and expert views of his approach to life has been most entertaining. I'm sure he will be missed but very much remembered for his huge contribution into helping the serious modeller. I well remember Roy inviting my son Adam, then as a mere 11 year old, to operate a few trains around Retford on one of our initial visits..........................including a famous 'Roy bollocking' for not obeying the signals! My thoughts go to his family and all those I have met during my many visits to 'Retford'. Thank you Roy.
DMU dividing/combining at Oxford late 1980s?
BrushVeteran replied to jamespetts's topic in UK Prototype Questions
My recollection of the late 70's early 80's was of 116's, 119's and 120's providing the all stations stopping services between Worcester and Oxford, usually terminating in one of the bays at Oxford. I have a couple of slides somewhere I'll try to dig out.
Kernow Models D6xx Update
BrushVeteran replied to Andy Y's topic in Kernow Model Rail Centre
It would be D600
Blue repaints 1966/67
BrushVeteran replied to George91's topic in Transition Diesel Liveries
I recall seeing 40106 in blue undercoat and then a decision was made to use green as the topcoat to mark the last classified overhaul of the type. Regarding D838 being outshopped in maroon FYE after D864, the reason was D838 was awaiting bogies and final drive components but the shell had been painted long before that as part of an unclassified repair. I know someone who worked at Swindon Works at that time and he mentioned that it was sometimes difficult to ascertain what was having what done due to the constant component swapping on diesel hydraulics to keep them running in the numbers required.
Heljan O Class 40 glazing
BrushVeteran replied to D9016's topic in Wanted
I would have thought Class 37 glazing would be worth a try?
Pig Lane BR Western Region
BrushVeteran replied to Clive Mortimore's topic in Layout topics
Clive Apologies for the late comment but just to confirm that the last AEC Regent V's were withdrawn from City of Oxford by September 1971, namely 953-5 953-5AJO.
Wright writes.....
BrushVeteran replied to Tony Wright's topic in Modelling musings & miscellany
I assume that is X Certificate!.................................................sorry couldn't resist!
BBC Four - James May's Big Trouble in Model Britain
BrushVeteran replied to AY Mod's topic in Hornby
I think the programme clearly demonstrated how important the recognition of staff loyalty was. Simon has obviously had a huge impact on staff morale and that it just what it needs to get Hornby back up against its competitors. Other than that there wasn't a clear explanation as to why Hornby had got in the state that it had and there wouldn't of been any need to mention names. We all assume that investing in the Olympics may have been a bad move but Hornby have been owned by a few large groups and it's not always clear who is financing who. Hopefully part two may give a clearer picture as to how Hornby see there way forward in what was portrayed as an 'old mans hobby'!
New 2019 Class 31
BrushVeteran replied to Krieghoff's topic in Hornby
Yes I would clarify that I meant the grilles in the bodyside doors. D5507 did receive a grille in its 'A' side engineroom door from approx 1962 whilst it carried the later green livery with half yellow panels and no grey relief around the cab windows. It had by then also had the cab front footsteps added by then. These were added quite early on in the loco's life, possibly 1960-1. To answers Ravensers question then Hornby's latest release could be made into D5507 by adding the end footsteps and filling in 'B' side grilles. You would also need to add the extra cabside numbers that were added after about a year in service. What I was trying to point out in my original post is that the original Hornby release of 2003 (R2420) was more accurate than the latest release. D5500 was a bit of an oddball in that it never received the cab end footsteps at all, nor the windscreen washer covers/'ears'. It did receive the engineroom bodyside door grilles but only when it was re-engined and painted into blue livery. I've attached my photo of D5509 taken in 1967 illustrating the differences. Hope this all helps!
BR ex LMS Bogie Coal Hoppers
BrushVeteran replied to BrushVeteran's topic in UK Prototype Questions
It really depends on how many trips were made from the coalfields per week. I certainly don't think it was daily and the hoppers weren't used anywhere else as far as I'm aware. I have an article somewhere about the power station I'll try and dig it out.
My understanding that this was an 'in house' working from Toton to Brent sidings mainly to serve the ex.LMS Stonebridge Park Power Station which fed the Euston-Watford; Broad St.-Richmond and LT lines in the specially constructed 40ton side discharge hoppers. I was also told that loco coal was transported in the consist prior to the end of steam bound for Willesden, Camden and Cricklewood, Kentish Town. The consist would be split at Brent sidings and tripped to the main users. I only saw these hopper wagons briefly in the three of four years they were diesel hauled prior to the closure of Stonebridge Park and they were the only wagon type in the consist at that time. My Aunt & Uncle resided in Wembley during that time so my visits were fairly frequent and I always chose the long walk from Stonebridge Park to Scarle Road.
It appears to me that Hornby have made a tooling error with this bodyshell by including the engineroom bodyside grilles which only appeared on the re-engined examples of 31/0's from the mid sixties. However D5504, D5515 and D5519 did have these fitted beforehand to 'B' side whilst D5507 and D5517 had them on 'A' side, but only whilst they had the footsteps in the nose ends. The original tooling for this version R2420 & R2420A had the correct plain doors, so someone has clearly altered the tooling without checking the era. What a shame!