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Marc Rayman • September 1, 2016
Dawn Journal: Diving Low
Dear Sedawntary Readers,
Dawn is actively continuing to add details to the intimate portrait it is creating of Ceres, a distant and exotic world. The dwarf planet has been revealing many secrets to the companion she has held in her tender but firm gravitational embrace since early last year.
Following the conclusion of Dawn's ambitious 8.8-year prime mission on June 30, the spacecraft has been gathering a wealth of data with all sensors in its extended mission as it orbits closer to Ceres than the International Space Station is to Earth. When the adventurer descended to its current orbital altitude of 240 miles (385 kilometers) in December 2015, mission controllers had planned for only a few months of operations. Because of the prior failure of two reaction wheels, used for orienting the craft in space, Dawn had to rely on the creativity of the team to stretch the dwindling supply of hydrazine to keep the ship operating. No one on the team expected their efforts to be as productive as they turned out to be, allowing the mission to continue much longer. Now Dawn has completed more than eight months of virtually flawless activities at this altitude, over 1,100 orbital revolutions, returning far, far more data than ever anticipated.
We have recounted in recent months how Dawn has overachieved, and its extended mission has sustained that favorable trend. As just one example, since Ceres first showed up as a small, fuzzy blob in Dawn's camera in December 2014, the spacecraft has taken more than 51,000 photos of Ceres (and more than 51,000 more photos of Ceres than discoverer Giuseppe Piazzi took). More than 37,000 of those have been taken in this fourth and lowest orbit, providing exquisite resolution.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA
Rao Crater on the limb
Dawn had this view of Ceres' limb on May 30, 2016, from its low-altitude mapping orbit 240 miles (385 kilometers) above the alien world. At the bottom is Rao Crater, 7 miles (12 kilometers) in diameter. (Rao was a god associated with the planting of turmeric for the Mangarevan people of Polynesia.) This is one of the occasional scenic photographs of the landscape reaching to the horizon. (We saw another last month as well.) Full image and caption.
Dawn has achieved so much that it has been given new, special assignments not even envisioned at the beginning of this year. For example, scientists recently adjusted settings for the gamma ray spectrometer to search for the signature of atoms that were not part of the original program of inventorying Ceres' elements.
The reason for flying so low was to measure nuclear radiation and the variations in the gravity field. In fact, Dawn was not designed to map the vast territory with its other instruments from this tight orbit. All the pictures, infrared spectra and visible spectra have been bonuses of a successful mission. We have seen before how difficult it was to capture specific geological features on Ceres with the camera. It is even more challenging with the visible and infrared mapping spectrometers because they share a much narrower view than the camera. Nevertheless, with great effort, the team managed in the extended mission to obtain beautiful spectra of the famous bright region in Occator Crater, known from earlier spectra to be highly reflective deposits of salt left behind when briny ice covering the ground inside the crater sublimated. Dawn has been successful in tracking down other important sites with its visible and infrared spectrometers as well.
After photographing more than 99.9 percent of the dwarf planet at high resolution, the spacecraft took a great many more pictures at different angles, making stereo views to improve the topographical map it developed in the third mapping orbit. In addition, Dawn used the filters in its camera to take new, sharper color photos of some of the most geologically interesting locations.
The explorer has acquired other pictures of special scientific interest as well. Let's delve into one kind. We have described Dawn's findings about the location of the north and south poles and the tilt of Ceres' rotational axis. As we saw, Earth's axis is tilted more, so our planet experiences greater variation in the position of the sun during one heliocentric revolution (one year). On Ceres, the sun never moves far from the equator, which means it is always far from the poles. From the perspective of the high northern or southern latitudes, the sun is always near the horizon and is never high in the sky. As a result, the floors of some craters near the poles are in shadow continuously throughout the Cerean year (which lasts 4.6 terrestrial years). Without even brief warming rays of the distant sun, these locations must be especially cold.
Ceres' shadowed craters
Dawn looked down from 240 miles (385 kilometers) on May 27, 2016, at this scene at 73 degrees north latitude. From this location, the sun (which is off the picture, far to the right) never gets high above the horizon. More recently, Dawn has taken long exposures to see into some of the craters that are in persistent shadow. Full image and caption.
Thanks to Dawn, we know ice has been on the ground in some places in the past and is there even now in Oxo Crater. (We also know there is a tremendous amount of ice underground.) When ice on the surface is heated enough by the sun, it sublimates, the water molecules receiving enough energy to escape from the solid, becoming a gas. Some of them leave with so much energy, they break free of Ceres' gravitational pull and go far into space. But many of the molecules follow a familiar parabolic arc, landing elsewhere on the dwarf planet, just as a ball thrown on Earth will come back down. If the landing spot is similarly warm enough for ice to sublimate (as most places on Ceres are), eventually the molecule will be lofted again, having a chance of landing in a new, random location. But molecules that happen to fall in the deep cold of a crater in persistent shadow will be trapped. As a result, these "cold traps" may harbor ice that has accumulated over thousands of years (or even longer).
Dawn has peered into craters that might be cold traps. Of course, sunlight doesn't illuminate them directly. But faint reflections from other parts of the crater may be just barely bright enough that with long exposures and special care in analyzing the pictures, new insights might come to light.
Dawn could continue operating in this orbit, but it has already squeezed nearly as much out of its suite of sophisticated sensors as it can, and it soon would reach the point of diminishing returns. In addition, its lifetime here is now very limited. Although the hydrazine has lasted longer than expected, the gauge on the tank is dropping relentlessly as the robotic ship uses the propellant to counter the strong gravitational torque at this low altitude. Even if the two functioning reaction wheels continue to run correctly in hybrid control, the hydrazine would be exhausted early next year, and the mission would come to an immediate end. And given the premature death of the other two wheels, Dawn might not last even that long. If one more wheel fails, Dawn's remaining lifetime would be cut in half. At this point, how can we get the most out of Earth's deep-space ambassador?
Craters upon craters
Dawn observed this tortuous landscape at 70 degrees north latitude on Feb. 4, 2016, from its current mapping orbit at an altitude of 240 miles (385 kilometers). The impact that formed the lower crater partially obliterated the older one above. As in the previous picture, sunlight comes from the right. Look carefully, especially in the newer crater, to see large boulders, which are bright on the right, as described in more detail here. You can also see streaks of bright material on the crater wall. Full image and caption.
We have explained before that Dawn will never go closer to Ceres. There are several reasons. The rate at which hydrazine is consumed depends quite strongly on the altitude, so if the probe ventured lower, its lifetime would be significantly shorter. (Similarly, at higher altitude, it uses less hydrazine and so its lifetime would be longer.) Ceres has water (albeit mostly frozen, although perhaps some as liquid), energy (both from the distant sun and from radioactive elements incorporated when Ceres formed more than 4.5 billion years ago), and some of the other important ingredients for the development of life. We want to protect this astrobiologically interesting environment from the spacecraft's terrestrial contamination, so we cannot risk going low enough that it might crash, even long after the mission concludes. (And a controlled landing is not possible.) Also, at lower altitudes Dawn would orbit so fast that pictures and other measurements would be smeared, reducing the benefit of being closer. There are other reasons as well, but the bottom line is that this orbit is where Dawn draws its bottom line.
Ever creative, the team has found new ways to increase the mission's scientific productivity. Once again, the strategy involves changes never anticipated and that may be contrary to what your intuition would suggest. For more than two years, your correspondent has been emphasizing that this would be Dawn's final orbit. Now, on Sept. 2, Dawn will begin flying to a higher altitude.
The prospect of raising the orbit also raises several natural questions about what will happen in the coming months, including how, why and what kind of cake will be served at the team's celebration on Sept. 27 of the ninth anniversary of Dawn's launch. This month, let's look at how, and as the team refines its plans for the other key questions, we will discuss the answers in future Dawn Journals.
To gain altitude, Dawn will take advantage of its remarkable ion propulsion system. Ion propulsion has enabled many bold missions from Star Trek to Star Wars to NASA's unique expedition to orbit Vesta and Ceres, which would have been not simply difficult but impossible with conventional propulsion. And like the spaceships that in science fiction fly wherever they want to go, now Dawn will use its xenon ions to maneuver to an orbit it would not otherwise to able to reach. (Despite the similarity, there are some ways in which Dawn differs from the fictional ships: our craft uncompromisingly obeys all the laws of physics and carries relatively few systems designed to destroy other ships in battle.)
Dantu Crater's central peaks
Dawn took this photo of peaks in the center of Dantu Crater on June 3, 2016, while orbiting at 240 miles (385 kilometers). We have seen other intriguing parts of this 78-mile (126-kilometer) crater before, both from this distance and from farther away (showing the entire crater). Full image and caption.
To climb higher, Dawn will essentially reverse the spiral route it took down to its current orbit, much as it did when it ascended from Vesta. (There are some interesting technical differences in the nature of this trajectory from all of the other spirals. The design incorporates clever new ideas from Dawn's celestial navigators. But to the casual interplanetary observer, it will appear the same.) As with all of Dawn's activities, you can follow its progress upward with the mission status updates.
After five weeks of ion thrusting, looping higher and higher, the spacecraft will stop at about 910 miles (1,460 kilometers). Readers with eidetic memories (or who reread past Dawn Journals) may note that that is very close to the altitude of the third mapping orbit. However, the orientation of the orbit will be different. The spaceship will still circle in a polar orbit. It will travel over the north pole, then fly south above the face of Ceres lit by the sun. After it passes over the south pole, it will streak to the north over terrain hidden in the dark of night. But the plane of this orbit will be rotated from that of the third mapping orbit. The angle to the sun will be larger, so Dawn will pass over a different part of the sunlit hemisphere, gaining new perspectives on the extraterrestrial landscapes.
At its current low altitude, Dawn is now completing a truly extraordinary phase of its exploration of Ceres. But there is still much more to come, with new scientific investigations, new discoveries and new adventures at higher altitudes. Now that we have seen a little of the how, be sure to look for upcoming Dawn Journals to learn more about the why (and about the anniversary cake).
Dawn is 240 miles (385 kilometers) from Ceres. It is also 2.24 AU (208 million miles, or 335 million kilometers) from Earth, or 855 times as far as the moon and 2.22 times as far as the sun today. Radio signals, traveling at the universal limit of the speed of light, take 37 minutes to make the round trip.
Dr. Marc D. Rayman
4:00 p.m. PDT August 31, 2016
Read more: mission status, asteroids, Dawn, asteroid 1 Ceres
Home > Blogs > Guest Blogs > Marc Rayman
Marc Rayman
Dawn Chief Engineer and Mission Director for Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Read more articles by Marc Rayman
ScienceNotFiction: 2016/09/02 01:38 CDT
To Dr. Rayman, Glad to know DAWN is moving to a higher orbit. Hope it can stay in this new orbit to extend its observation periods above Ceres. How long can DAWN stay in this higher orbit before using up all of its hydrazine ?
Marc Rayman: 2016/09/02 11:51 CDT
ScienceNotFiction: Thank you for your interest and support! We are still formulating the detailed plans, so it's too early to say how long Dawn will operate. It will depend not only on how long the the pair of functional wheels continue operating but more generally on how much hydrazine we expend collecting and transmitting additional science data. As I wrote in my March 31, 2016, Dawn Journal (search for "Resplendawnt"), this is a mission of exploration and discovery, not a mission of hydrazine conservation. We save hydrazine when we can in order to spend it when we need it. So we are now working out how to use it to accomplish the best science we can. I'll probably write about that in my October Dawn Journal.
Atom: 2016/09/02 01:06 CDT
Dr. Marc, Would you please comment on how many different viewing angle campaigns were completed in LAMO and will stacking these images achieve better than the 36 meter/pixel achieved by a single image? Thanks
Atom: During the low altitude phase, we took pictures at six angles (nadir plus five off-nadir). The individual off-nadir imaging campaigns were neither designed for complete coverage nor complete overlap. That is, we do not have all angles at all locations. I don't know what improvement in spatial resolution might be achieved given the different geometry and different local solar time. For completeness, I should point out that the motivation for (most of) the off-nadir imaging was to improve the vertical resolution of the topography, not the horizontal spatial resolution. It might be that a better way to get sub-pixel resolution will be with the images taken at (nearly) the same angle because of the redundant coverage. (You can get a sense of why we have multiple images of some locations at the same angle by watching the full video in my March 31, 2016, Dawn Journal.)
Dr. Marc, Thanks for that explanation. Did the Herschel Space Telescope observe the reported water trace near Ceres at or near perhelion and if so when is the next perhelion for Ceres (and Dawn)?
Atom: The Herschel Space Observatory observed water between 2.72 and 2.62 AU, which was before that perihelion passage. Ceres' next perihelion is in April 2018 at 2.56 AU. However, it is not clear that the observed water vapor depends on Ceres' heliocentric range. In any case, as I explained in more detail in my December 29, 2014, Dawn Journal (search for "Pardawn"), the density of water molecules was extremely low. We designed our spacecraft to study solid, airless worlds. Dawn searched in its first mapping orbit (see my May 28, 2015, Dawn Journal — search for Emboldawned) at 2.90 AU but found no evidence.
Paul McCarthy: 2016/09/03 12:35 CDT
Since discovery of water vapor at perihelion (and at any other time of course) would be so interesting, and since there must be a good chance of further reaction wheel failure before April 2018, is there any sense that "conserving" the reaction wheels (in terms of limiting maoeuvres in the interim) is relevant? (Or is it even possible?)
Paul: Water vapor at Ceres has already been discovered, as reported by the Herschel team in 2014. And Dawn has already observed water (in the form of ice) on the surface, as well as other signs of present and past water that I've mentioned in previous Dawn Journals. We are focusing on acquiring new data that would be scientifically valuable. I understand what you mean about conserving the reaction wheels, and it's a long story, but, in brief, we are already doing everything there is to be done while still maintaining our high scientific productivity (see my first comment above). Limiting maneuvers will not further extend their lifetimes.
Jonathan Ursin: 2016/09/03 10:47 CDT
Which will run out first? Hydrazine on the Dawn spacecraft or Dawn puns by Marc Rayman?
Jonathan: I'm sure that for multitudawnous reasons, we can all unhesidawntingly agree in hoping to run out of the latter first. But you may be confidawnt, albeit despondawnt, that that resource is far more abundawnt. Search, if you care, on each of those. All the new ones will be released according to plan. And maybe I'll even get some more new dawnonyms (oops -- I just released one!) if other people comment.
Why Cassini and Juno can crash into Saturn and Jupiter at the end of their mission and DAWN cannot? By the end of DAWN's mission, how possible to let it slowly drift and perform a gentle crash landing on the surface of Ceres using the last burst of hydrazine? The weak gravity may or may not damage too many onboard instruments. The purpose is to see the surface up close on its final moment of touchdown ! (I admit that It's a crazy idea !)
The Downlink: A New Look at Asteroid Hygiea, Setback for InSight
India's Vikram Spacecraft Apparently Crash-Lands on Moon
The September Equinox 2019 Issue of The Planetary Report Is Out!


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On Feb. 12, 1986, Soviet human rights activist Anatoly Scharansky was released after spending eight years in Soviet prisons and labor camps. The amnesty deal was arranged at a summit meeting between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan. Scharansky had been imprisoned for his campaign to win emigration rights for Russian Jews — who had been forbidden to practice Judaism in the USSR.
On Feb. 12, 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded.
On Feb. 12, 1593, approximately 3,000 Korean defenders led by General Kwon Yul successfully repelled more than 30,000 invading Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju.


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On the road, it was a different story. They only got one away win all season, with seven ties. The results were poor, though the underlying numbers suggest they may have just been a bit unlucky. Their -14 GD on the road was 6th in the Western Conference, which was bad but not terrible. Even better, their road xGD was only -4.53, which was 4th. Head coach Wilmer Cabrera seemed content to play for the tie on the road, and it usually worked out for his side.
It was the addition of streaky Honduran wingers Romell Quioto and Alberth Elis in 2017 revolutionized the Dynamo attack, as they combined for 17 goals and six assists in only 3094 minutes. DP Erick Torres led the team in xG with 13.3, though almost five of those were from PKs. Though he was somewhat maligned as not productive enough for a DP slot, Mauro Manotas was the team's best striker last year, with 10.9 xG and 10 goals, coupled with five assists on 3.8 xA. One potential worry about Elis and Manotas was their lack of willingness to create for themselves. Among the 55 players with at least five expected goals in 2017, they finished bottom and third from bottom in unassisted shots. Some Everton fans once said "I get by with a little help from my friends," which Manotas (8.5% of shots unassisted) and Elis (4.2%) really took to heart. They relied heavily on the service of their teammates for their shots, which is certainly a partial product of how the team played, but is also abnormally low for players expected to carry much of the scoring load.
The bulk of the midfield work fell to Alex, who had arguably his best season as a pro, notching two goals and 11 assists (seven primary). But 10 of those assists came before August, and by the end of the season he was playing more like the traditional holding midfielder he'd been for years, rather than the playmaker of early 2017.
Initially happy just to make the playoffs, Houston got past an injury-ravaged Portland on the way to getting stomped by Seattle. 2017 for the Dynamo was like a satisfying sandwich; it was delicious, but there was no misconception it was ever going to be as good as a burrito. It was a solid season, Cabrera is an inventive and capable MLS coach (something they'd been missing before his arrival), and he's assembled a solid core of players to build around. Last year was certainly something to build off.
The biggest losses are Alex to a team in South Korea and Erick Torres to Pumas. On paper, losing your team's leaders in both goals and assists could be disastrous, but there's reason to think it won't be in Houston. Manotas is still only 22, and seems ready to be the permanent starter. Torres never found his Chivas USA form for the Dynamo, and they've happily shed his costly contract. Ricardo Clark, who spent 11 years in Houston, is gone to Columbus. Veteran Vicente Sanchez retired, and… that's about it. They weren't insignificant departures, but they weren't debilitating ones, either.
They've brought in Chris Seitz to start the season in goal and added Arturo Alvarez and Darwin Ceren as a bit of depth pieces for the midfield. Youngster Alejandro Fuenmayor was signed from Carabobo FC in Venezuela to compete for the starting centerback role.
With Torres gone, that leaves Elis and Tomas Martinez as the only Designated Players on the team, meaning they have room to add another to the roster. It doesn't look like they'll have any major additions before the season starts, but they'll likely be in the market for a summer signing or two.
Starting from the back, Tyler Deric seems like the starter once he's back from suspension, although his role is unclear. Until then, it will be Seitz between the sticks. The indefatigable Demarcus Beasley will continue to own the left back spot, with George Malki, who missed 2017 with a torn ACL, the likely starter on the right until A.J. DeLaGarza heals from his own ACL tear. If Malki can't lock it down then Adolfo Machado will slide over, though Machado's preferred position is in the center. The constantly confounding Leonardo started most of last season as the centerback, but 21 year-old signing Fuenmayor appears to be challenging him for the spot. As centerback depth they have former A̶r̶s̶e̶n̶a̶l̶ Grasshoppers player Phillipe Senderos, and Dylan Remick will back up Beasley on the left.
It's a relatively shallow defense that should suffice. They won't set the record for clean sheets, and they won't be the worst in MLS, either. It's an old defense – of the probable defensive rotation players, the average age is 29 – so hopefully Fuenmayor can solidify himself as the starter because Beasley (35), Machado (33), Senderos (33), and Leonardo (30) aren't getting any younger. That's clear because you can't age backwards unless you're Benjamin Button, and even he was a fictional character.
Midfield is undoubtedly the strength of this team. Juan David Cabezas will hold down one of the defensive midfielder spots, probably next to MLS journeyman Eric Alexander, who seems to have found his home in Houston. Competing with Alexander is Darwin Ceren, who joins from San Jose. Tomas Martinez, who signed last summer as a Young DP from Sporting Braga in Portugal, will be the attacking part of the midfield pivot. He only played 547 minutes last season, but his two goals and 18 key passes in only five starts suggest he's as good as they'd hoped.
Andrew Wenger will try to bring offense off the bench. Arturo Alvarez will be a midfield change of pace off the bench, similar to the role Vicente Sanchez played as a super-sub last year. Also contributing will be veteran Oscar Boniek Garcia, who finished 4th on the team in assists last season, despite playing the fewest minutes of his MLS career. Homegrown Memo Rodriguez will hope to find time in the Open Cup.
It's clear that Cabera has confidence in his attacking line because the team doesn't have anyone to back them up. And that's not just sarcasm – Manotas, Quioto, and Elis are the only three forwards listed on the official roster. Dynamo fans let out a quiet collective sigh of relief when Honduras was denied a World Cup bid by losing to Australia, meaning Quioto and Elis won't need to miss time to visit Russia. And for good reason. Those three will line up across the top of Cabrera's 4-3-3, and they're the lifeblood of the team. Of the returning players from 2017, they accounted for 44% of the assists and 72.2% of the goals. Wenger will likely be the forward replacement from the bench, but his attacking contribution will be a significant drop off.
The Dynamo attack is a potent one, and if their forward trio can pick up where it left off last season then there's no reason to be worried. But if one of them gets injured, it has the real possibility of sinking the entire season. If the team makes any signings in the next few weeks, the attack is almost certainly where they'll come.
If everything goes right; specifically, Martinez proves his worth, the Dynamo's forward trio can stay healthy, and they sign some attackers before the fall, Houston is fully capable of making another run to the Western Conference Finals. Still, it's mostly the same team it was in 2017, with less depth. Given that all the teams around them have improved in the offseason, it will be difficult for this squad to even hold serve. If they're forced again to rely on Leonardo as a regular starter, Beasley finally shows his age, or Manotas can't handle the load as the full-time starter, it's not hard to see this team end the season near the bottom of the West.


Mascoutin Vintage Roadshow & MORE!!
Vines & Rushes is one of the stops on the Roadshow. The participating stores are: Saving Grace Salvage Company, Back Porch Gathering in Ripon and Berlin, Chicken Scratch Vintage, Dig Garden Store, Mugs Coffee and Vines & Rushes Winery. Stop, shop and have your card punched to be entered into a drawing.
At Vines & Rushes, Kirk Yazel will display his handmade metal garden sculptures in the vineyard. Olden Organics Farm will be selling vegetable and flower plants, just in time to beautify your gardens! Ben & Kelly Fields will be selling shirts and wooden items to benefit "Dare to Believe".
Complimentary wine tasting both days, select your favorite glass and check out the beautiful sculptures and pick up some plants! Wood fire pizza will be served on Friday from 4 pm to 8 pm and Saturday 12 pm to 6 pm.


text:
ZanesDomain
The rambling thoughts of a human coconut, brown exterior, white interior.
Things from life
Grandma. My female icon.
zanesdomain	Things from life	 Mar 8, 2019
My grandmother if you met her, would not come across as a feminist or a champion of women. She covers her face in public, she has nothing resembling an education or a career, and the thing everyone in her circle knows her for best, is keeping an immaculate home. So why is it that today, on international women's day, I find myself thinking of her and not any icon or female champion?
It's because I know her from the inside and her life in my opinion is worthy of celebration. We are all undoubtedly products of our time and my grandmother is a product of a very patriarchal time in a very patriarchal society. She was raised in a mid twentieth century Pakistani household, one of three sisters ruled over by both a powerful father and a headstrong older brother in a time and place where female infanticide was still practiced. She never went to school, she was instead taught how to cook and clean and be a respectable meek woman as was the standard of her world. At age sixteen she was married to my grandfather and moved into his family home shared with her new in-laws. Does this all sound terribly dark and oppressive to you? It sure did to me and I told my grandmother so, but when she tells the stories of her life never once have I seen tragedy in her eyes, only humour and a complete lack of victim-hood.
At first I felt sorry on her behalf, pitying her for not having had the opportunities in life that we all now take for granted and it was only later that I realised her life is a tale of immense strength and resolve. Despite her origins she became the leader of her family, running every detail of her household like a CEO. My grandfather was the breadwinner but my grandma wears the pants in the house which is hilarious to me especially because my grandmother would take offence to the idea of wearing pants. She raised four children to being strong, confident and exemplary adults. She made decisions for her husband that allowed her family to thrive and be stable. She held everything together when my grandfather was jailed and threatened with a murder charge as intimidation for a land grab. She did it all in a society that told her she was not capable.
In an environment where all of her peers frowned upon it, she supported my mother to marry someone of her own choosing, and did it not with hushes and behind closed doors, but by throwing a wedding the magnitude of which was a challenge to anybody wanting to dare judge her daughter. She welcomed my father, an orphan since the age of six, into her family and became his mother too, trusting, supporting and encouraging him even when he was financially forced to take her daughter and grandchild away to a foreign land. She faced breast cancer and throughout her treatment refused to let any of us overseas realise what she was going through for fear that we would sacrifice our lives to go back to her. She is the strongest woman I know.
I am not a feminist because I read a book that convinced me or an argument that moved me, I am one because powerful women raised me. How can I possibly believe that women are not equal when my grandparents stand together and everyone looks to my grandma for instructions rather than the 6'3" hulk of a man standing next to her. Her rather un-grand example of a life has shown me that while facing an unfavorably skewed world – women are strong, powerful and simply amazing. Even today if an unfortunate rat should make the fatal error of trespassing in her pantry – this incredible, life hardened, arranged married teen bride, with eight grand kids and one surviving boob, will grab a broom handle, roll up her sleeves, and tell everyone to stand out of her way.
Grandma demonstrated one thing,
women do not need men's help,
they need us to stand out of the way,
and watch in awe,
as they do awesome things.
Happy International Women's Day to all.
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Nigeria's sugar production misses target by 510,000T on massive importation
NIGERIA – Nigeria's sugar production has failed to reach the set target by 510,000 tons over a period of four years to August 2018, blamed on massive importation of the commodity, New Telegraph reports.
Nigeria has allowed sugar producers to import refined sugar into the country but their inability to meet the projected target every year has led to a short fall of 510,000 of sugar in the last four years instead of 800,000 tons surplus.
The concession agreement granted to sugar producers requires them to produce 200,000 tons of refined sugar locally to enable the country achieve self-sufficiency.
But importers are leaning on such agreements and sugar master plans to import the commodity contrary to the requirements of the Nigerian Sugar Development Council (NSDC).
NSDC requires the sugar importers to pay 80% levy, 10% duty for raw sugar, 20% duty and 85% levy for refined sugar.
In 2018, sugar production was at 80,000 tons compared to 75,000 tonnes produced in 2015 and 2017; and 70,000 tons in 2016.
Low production for the year 2017 was blamed on challenges such as smuggling, flooding and access to land because of community hostility to sugar projects.
Sugar master plan
Major sugar refineries in Nigeria recently signed the revised edition of the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) for the sugar sector.
With the implementation of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), Nigeria targets to attain 1.79 million metric tons of sugar between 2020 and 2023 given its potential.
Dangote sugar has invested US$334.14 million into the Backward Integrated Plan (BIP) chart followed by BUA Sugar refinery, US$107 million and Golden Sugar Refinery, US$142.36 million within the period.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)'s unveiled the anchor borrowers' programme to improve sugar production by 12.5%.
Despite of such interventions, the country would still rely on 1.6 million tons of sugar from its major sellers Brazil, Thailand and United States in 2018 to meet local demand.
According to Executive Secretary, National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr Latif Busari, the country could save between US$350 million and US$500 million annually on foreign exchange and possibly generate an additional 411 megawatts of electricity.
Nigeria imported 548,772 metric tons of sugar valued at US$278.4 million this year.
Due to growing demand for the commodity, NSDC said that Nigeria would need US$1.238 billion to meet 49 per cent of the total sugar demand by 2020.
Agriculture & Agribusiness Financials & Economy Grains, Milling, Baking & Feed Investments & Funding News LATEST NEWS
Investments & Funding, Nigeria, Sugar
Online food delivery platform Foodpanda expands to 13 new cities
Walmart Foundation to invest US$25m to improve farmer livelihoods in India


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World's End Characters
Author: Thomas Coraghessan Boyle
First published: 1987
Locale: Upper Hudson Valley of New York; Pieterskill, New York, and environs (fictional)
Plot: Historical
Time: 1660s-80s and 1920s-60s
Harmanus Van Brunt, seventeenth-century son of a fisherman from the Netherlands and ancestor of Walter Van Brunt. He comes to America with his family in 1663 to be a tenant farmer at Nysen's Roost, New York, indentured for life to the Van Wart family. He becomes plagued with insatiable hunger and dies falling from a cliff. He shares a name with his grandson.
Jeremias Van Brunt, son of Harmanus, who at thirteen loses a leg after an unfortunate encounter with a snapping turtle. He squats on the tenant farm after his mother and brother die in a house fire. Big-boned and tall for his age, as an adult he becomes contemptuous of—but ultimately surrenders to—authority.
Staats van der Meulen, a seventeenth-century Dutch tenant farmer. Along with his wife, Meintje, the kindly, balding, big-nosed Staats takes in the orphaned Jeremias Van Brunt.
Katrinchee Van Brunt, green-eyed daughter of Harmanus, who at age fifteen runs off with Van Brunt family friend Mohonk.
Mohonk (Mohewoneck), the son of Sachoes, chief of the Kitchawank tribe, and his wife Wahwahtaysee. The Kitchawanks were cheated out of their land by the Van Warts.
Jeremy Mohonk (Squagganeek), green-eyed son of Katrinchee Van Brunt and Mohonk, who is executed for rebellion. He is the first of three Jeremy Mohonks mentioned in the novel.
Jan Pieterse, wealthy owner of a trading post in seventeenth-century New York. The man for whom Pieterskill is eventually named, he secretly sells liquor to the American Indians.
Stephanus Oloffe Rombout Van Wart, arrogant son and heir of Oloffe Stephanus Van Wart, seventeenth-century Dutch patroon of Van Wartwyck, a New York manor.
Joost Cats, the local schout, or sheriff, in seventeenth-century New York, responsible for collecting rents from tenant farmers for the Van Wart family. Black-eyed and ferret-like with a pointed beard, he wears a plumed hat and carries a sword as badges of his office.
Neeltje Cats, daughter of Joost, who falls in love with and marries peg-legged Jeremias Van Brunt.
Wouter Van Brunt, son of Jeremias Van Brunt and Neeltje Cats Van Brunt. Shares a name with his paternal uncle.
Hackaliah Crane, a local scholar and schoolteacher.
Cadwallader Crane, Hackaliah's son, who is executed alongside Jeremy Mohonk (Squagganeek) for rebellion.
Wolf Nysen, a large, bearded Swede. A semilegendary figure, Wolf built the Van Brunt family's cabin on former American Indian land. He is rumored to have gone insane and slaughtered his own family before fleeing into the forests. He is blamed whenever anything goes wrong or objects go missing.
Truman Van Brunt, the biological father of Walter Van Brunt. Born circa 1918, handsome Truman was a former high school athlete, a daredevil, and a decorated veteran of World War II. After discharge, he joined the Communist Party, took night courses at City College, married, and fathered Walter Van Brunt, whom he deserted after betraying his friends.
Christina Alving Van Brunt, Truman's wife. The daughter of an architect of Swedish descent, she starves herself to death after Truman deserts her and their son.
Walter Truman Van Brunt, son of Truman and Christina, born in 1946. After his father deserts the family and his mother dies, Hesh and Lola Solovay adopt and raise Walter. In his early twenties, Walter, a university graduate and lathe operator at Depeyster Manufacturing, loses first one leg and then the other in motorcycle accidents. Walter leaves his wife, Jessica, for the affections of fickle Mardi Van Wart. Like his seventeenth-century ancestors Jeremias and Wouter Van Brunt, and his own father Truman, Walter betrays his friends and colleagues.
Jessica Conklin Wing Van Brunt, Walter's young, blond wife, who wears My Sin perfume and constantly chews gum. She wants to become a marine biologist. After Walter leaves she lives with Tom Crane.
Hesh Solovay, Walter's adoptive father, who runs a glazier's shop. The former best friend of Truman Van Brunt, Hesh is large man whose gruff exterior hides a gentle nature.
Lola Solovay, Walter's adoptive mother, of Moldavian heritage. A high school classmate of Walter's mother, Christina, Lola is unable to have children of her own.
Jeremey Mohonk, a Kitchawank Indian living on the Shawangunk Reservation, the second of three Jeremy Mohonks mentioned in the novel. He is married to Mildred Tantaquidgeon and is the father of Jeremy Mohonk Jr. He is stabbed by Mildred's brother, Horace.
Jeremy Mohonk Jr., green-eyed son of Jeremy and Mildred, the third of the three Jeremy Mohonks mentioned in the novel. Born in 1909, he is a contemporary of Depeyster Van Wart and the last of the Kitchawanks. He is sent to Sing Sing for assaulting Rombout Van Wart at Nysen's Roost. He has an affair with Joanna Van Wart and impregnates her as an act of vengeance against her family.
Rambout Van Wart, descendant of Oloffe and Stephanus Van Wart, eleventh owner of Van Wart Manor, who lost a fortune in the 1929 stock market crash.
Depeyster "Dipe" Van Wart, son of Rambout Van Wart, born 1918. He inherits Van Wart Manor and owns and operates Depeyster Manufacturing. Depeyster, who befriends Walter Van Brunt, eats dirt in secret. He covets the Crane property and longs for a male heir.
Joanna Van Wart, Depeyster's fine-boned wife, born in 1925. An activist for American Indian causes, she wears no makeup, usually dresses in American Indian garb, and becomes pregnant by Jeremy Mohonk Jr., last of the Kitchawanks.
Mardi Van Wart, the black-haired daughter of Depeyster and Joanna Van Wart. Wild, sensuous, and a graduate of Bard College, she runs around with lowlifes.
Peletiah Crane, descendant of Hackaliah Crane. A land Baron, he was principal of Van Wartville school in the 1920s. Known for wearing a bow tie and straw boater, he is in his late seventies in the 1960s.
Tom Crane, the tall, gangly grandson of Peletiah and friend of Walter Van Brunt. A college dropout, he chooses to live simply in a cabin in the woods, for which he is known as the "saint of the forest." Tom becomes the lover of Walter's estranged wife, Jessica.
Other People's Worlds Characters
The War of the Worlds Characters


text:
David Joiner
Nathan Monroe is a 28-year-old American living in Saigon who falls in love with a poor but talented Vietnamese painter. When he fails to protect their love from her desperate chase for a better life in America, his safety net appears in the form of Anthony, an old domineering friend...
Lucia's Eyes and Other Stories
Marina Sonkina
The resistance of the human spirit in face of time, disloyalty, and oblivion is the theme of Marina Sonkina's new collection of short stories. Her seemingly naïve and helpless protagonists inhabit disparate social stations, geographical locales and cultures; all are persons displaced in their own lives. But in their struggles...
M.G. Vassanji
Asma Sayed
This collection was born of a conviction that Vassanji's contributions to the global literary scene merit more in-depth scholarly notice. The articles herein, most of which are comparative in focus, provide various interpretations of Vassanji's writings through a diversity of theoretical frameworks. The fulcrum of much of this research comes...
Amanda Hale
When Christopher Brooke is arrested under Regulation 18B in June 1940, a slow process of personal disintegration begins, affecting his family irreversibly. Irish farm girl Mary Byrne is hired as housekeeper for the Brooke household and proves an acute observer of the daily lives of Cynthia Brooke and her three...
Maniac Drifter
Laura Marello
Maya has amnesia about all her sexual experiences, but when her best friend Harper Martin is caught smuggling art objects into the country from Nicaragua she must forget her own problems and rally the townspeople of Provincetown to get him amnesty from prosecution. In the process of garnering town support,...
Mankind & Other Stories of Women
Marianne Ackerman
Marianne Ackerman's second collection of stories for Guernica puts the focus on women, their ascent into selfhood, the beauty and carnage of the their journey. Literary Montreal is the setting of two stories spun around an alpha poseur, George. Picking up from the Gothic shadows of Albert Fine in Holy...
Maria Campbell
Essays On Her Works
Jolene Armstrong
Born near Park Valley, Saskatchewan, on Crown land, often referred to by locals as a road allowance community, Maria Campbell is the oldest of 8 children. Much of her early years are revealed in Halfbreed, the book which would ultimately ensure that Campbell's life would take a path as a...
Marimba Forever
The poetry in Marimba Forever is concerned with love and longing, which the author displays in all their multifarious guises. Many of the poems can be regarded as small films: nourish, action, farce or slapstick; others call music to mind: a tenor saxophone improvising on a standard melody in the...
Marinetti Dines with the High Command
Richard Cavell
Marinetti Dines with the High Command is a work that dramatizes the turbulent life and times of F. T. Marinetti, founder of Futurism, the first global art movement. Marinetti's artistic career raises enduring questions about art and politics because of his association with Fascism, and the second part of my...
Weaving homage and history, this collection of poetry was inspired by the life of Charlotte Saloman, the Berlin-born artist who perished at Auschwitz. Saloman was the author of Life? or Theatre? an evocative fictionalized autobiography in paint that Saloman described as a means of conquering death. Bringing together biography and...
Max's Folly
Bill Turpin
Max has been a freelance reporter dodging bullets in Latin America, a small-time newspaper editor who delights in infuriating his publisher and, finally, a flack for a communications company -- the elephant's graveyard for journalists. But none of this compares with the terrors of assisted living, so instead Max risks...
McKinley's Ghost & the Little Tin Truck
Anthony M. Graziano
McKinley's Ghost & the Little Tin Truck tells the story of the Millers, a fictional family struggling among the real events of the early 20th century: the end of the Progressive Era, The Great War and influenza pandemic, prohibition, voting rights for women, the conservative take-over, the Red Scare, xenophobic...
Melba's Wash
Reesa Steinman Brotherton
Melba's Wash is a rich telling of the archetypal search. In this fractured familial story, Esther Prat wraps her fingers with her diamond necklace and reflects on the secrets, lies, and pain that haunt her life, and makes her choice. Born on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, as an infant...
Middle-Aged Boys & Girls
Diane Bracuk
We all know adults who are stranded in the amber of adolescence. Growing older but not necessarily growing up is the central theme of Middle-Aged Boys & Girls, featuring characters who, to varying degrees, are stuck in adolescent roles of rebel, outcast, enfant terrible and cool kid. All are linked...
Moon On Wild Grasses
Keith Garebian
Moon on Wild Grasses, with illustrations by the author, shows the unsuspected scope of a very concise, precise poetic form. Keith Garebian's haiku encompass a wide range of themes in a vividly elegant style that combines the pictorial with the passionate, erotic or reflective. Nature, empirical experience, the self, love,...


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Campus + Life + Science & Technology
Is crowdsourcing the future of scientific research?
Contact(s): Tom Oswald Communications and Brand Strategy oswald@msu.edu, Casey O'Donnell Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media office: (517) 884-4538 caseyod
Most scientists like to collaborate, at least with other scientists.
However, that scenario is starting to change thanks to something called crowdsourcing, a term first coined in 2006 that basically means groups of people coming together to solve a common problem.
The concept is now moving into the realm of science, where scientists and "normal" people are coming together to advance scientific endeavors. A Michigan State University scholar is looking at it a bit more closely to see if it truly is the future of research.
Casey O'Donnell, an assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media, has received a grant from the National Science Foundation of $156,000 to examine how collaborative online games are being used to solve problems in the world of biochemistry and molecular physics.
"The grant is really to try to unpack what is going on with crowdsourcing science and why games have become a part of the focus," he said.
O'Donnell and colleagues are looking at two specific games – Fold.It and EteRNA – that simulate protein and RNA folding. These games take the collective knowledge of a wide range of people – from Ph.D.s to serious gamers – to try to decipher the three-dimensional structure of a protein or nucleic acid.
"We're asking, 'what are the long-term consequences for science? What does it mean that science happens this way?'" he said. "Large numbers of players are collaborating to solve complex problems through games, and we need to understand the broader implications."
Generally speaking, O'Donnell said crowdsourcing could play a very integral role in the advancing of scientific research.
"Increasingly," he said, "we're seeing the rise of crowdsource science coincides with the drop in science funding."
Another advantage to crowdsourcing is that it makes science accessible to more people, allowing most everyone to be a part of the process.
"For a long time the results of science have been, for the most part, incomprehensible," O'Donnell said. "This subverts that because suddenly you have people that are part of the 'normal' population that are acting as advocates for and participants in science."
So is it helping to advance scientific research? Time will tell, O'Donnell said, but already some results are showing. For example, data gathered through the EteRNA game are being put to the test in a lab at Stanford University.
"Ultimately, for me, it's how technologies come to contain knowledge and produce new kinds of knowledge that neither the scientific community nor the gaming community could produce on their own," he said.
Casey O'Donnell, assistant professor of telecommunication, information studies and media, is studying whether crowdsourcing is an effective method of scientific research. Crowdsourcing involves researchers and other using online games to conduct research. Photo courtesy of the MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences.
This is a screenshot taken from the online game EteRNA. Scientists, serious gamers and others are using the game to conduct research in the areas of biochemistry and molecular physics. Photo courtesy of Casey D'Donnell.
A screenshot from the online game Fold.It, which is being used to conduct scientific research. An MSU professor is using a National Science Foundation grant to study whether this is an effective way to do research. Photo courtesy of Casey O'Donnell.
College of Communication Arts and Sciences Research Gaming
Kamryn Romano: Changing for the betterJan 14, 2020Long, stressful story short, I changed my major to journalism so that I. . .MSU faculty included on team for Michigan Mobility ChallengeJan 14, 2020A faculty member from MSU's College of Communications Arts and Sciences. . .Jocelyn Tucker: Repping in styleJan 06, 2020On a whim, I decided to apply to be a campus rep for a leading fashion. . .How old should kids be to get phones?Dec 18, 2019If it seems like all your friends have smartphones, you may be on to. . .Maddy Kelly: My path to the Peace CorpsDec 16, 2019I have always known that I wanted to leave the world better than I found. . .
New study may lead to fewer hysterectomies in women with uterine fibroid tumorsJan 15, 2020Uterine fibroid tumors are the leading cause of hysterectomies in the. . .$2M in grants to develop computing-integrated teaching for K-12Jan 09, 2020MSU scholars will help more teachers integrate computational thinking. . .Trinidad's guppy-filled streams provide natural lab for genetic rescue researchJan 06, 2020Fitzpatrick focused her work on guppies who populated small headwater. . .MSU research continues growth trendJan 06, 2020MSU's research enterprise continues its upward growth trajectory,. . .NIH grant supports study of early-life adversity and lifetime disease riskJan 02, 2020Early-life adversity, including abuse, neglect and illness, is linked to. . .
Using artificial intelligence and evolution to take gaming to the next levelJan 22, 2016MSU assistant professor Arend Hintze developed an artificial. . .Online gambling would benefit from better regulationJun 01, 2015A first-of-its-kind study by MSU business scholars suggests online. . .Game on: MSU among top schools for game designMar 25, 2015MSU is among the best colleges in the nation to study game design,. . .


Do you ever have a day when you think "oh look! I am, in fact, awesome"? I don't mean this to sound conceited. I have a lot of days when I think I am really not awesome, but every now and then there comes a day when I get the babe down for a nap and have time to clean up after breakfast, mop the floors, bake a quiche, wash the dishes, pack a picnic lunch, and still have time to start a blog post before she wakes up.
Although I used to masquerade as an artist, the word that now describes me best is Mom (although a sweet little voice says it "Mommeeeee"). I still love art, but practice mainly in crayons, and, by request, draw more pictures of kitties than anything else. I also love food, books, and teaching my daughter about this beautiful world.


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Texas State Trooper Shot, Killed in Freestone County; Suspected Gunman Caught in Waller County
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott orders flags at half-staff; Family reveals funeral plans for slain trooper
Published November 23, 2017 • Updated on November 25, 2017 at 10:31 pm
Trooper Damon Allen, 41, was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Thanksgiving Day. He was married and had three children.
Gunman identified as Dabrett Black, 32, of Lindale. He's been charged with capital murder of a peace officer and is being held without bond.
Black arrested by Waller County deputies hours after fatal shooting near Fairfield.
A man with a lengthy history of aggression toward law enforcement was arrested and charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a Texas State Trooper on Thanksgiving Day.
A Texas State Trooper gunned down Thanksgiving Day during a traffic stop was married and had three children. Officials have arrested a suspect with a lengthy history of aggression toward law enforcement and charged him with capital murder of a peace officer.
Late Thursday night, the Texas Department of Public Safety identified the fallen State Trooper as 41-year-old Damon Allen, a married father of three who joined the department in 2002.
RAW VIDEO: Officers, firefighters, first responders and hundreds of others lined the highway on Friday as the body of fallen State Trooper Damon Allen was taken from Dallas to his hometown of Teague Texas.
"Our DPS family is heartbroken tonight after one of Texas' finest law enforcement officers was killed in the line of duty," said Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. "Trooper Allen's dedication to duty, and his bravery and selfless sacrifice on this Thanksgiving Day, will never be forgotten."
Suspect info on officer shooting: Darbrett Black, black male, 5' 11", 175 lbs. Left scene driving a Gray Chevy Malibu LP# JDN4273. Incident occurred in Freestone county at approx 4:00 PM south of Fairfield on I45. Contact law enforcement if spotted and do not approach. #dfwnews
— Navarro County OEM (@NavarroOEM) November 23, 2017
Investigators said Allen pulled over 32-year-old Dabrett Black, of Lindale, along Interstate 45 south of Fairfield and was walking back to his patrol car when he was fatally shot with a rifle.
Officials said Black then drove away; Allen died at the scene.
With heavy hearts on this Thanksgiving, Cecilia and I express our most sincere condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of the Trooper who was callously killed today in the line of duty.
Five hours later, and more than 100 miles from where the fatal shooting took place, deputies in Waller County arrested the suspected shooter near Hempstead.
DPS officials identified the suspect as Black.
The Waller County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook that shots were fired ahead of Black's apprehension, but did not indicate who opened fire.
Meanwhile, late Thursday night, Texas DPS joined a number of other law enforcement agencies escorting Allen's body from the crime scene to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's office.
Late Thursday night, Texas State Troopers joined a number of other law enforcement agencies escorting the body of slain Trooper Damon Allen's from the crime scene near Fairview to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's office.
The Navarro County Office of Emergency Management praised agencies on Twitter for the "excellent operation" in taking the suspect into custody with no additional casualties.
Black went before a magistrate Friday and was officially charged with capital murder of a peace officer, among other charges. He is being held in the Brazos County Jail -- bond has not been set.
Please join all Texans as we pray for the family of the DPS Trooper just killed in Freestone County.
— TX AG Office (@TXAG) November 23, 2017
Attorney information for Black was not immediately available.
The Navarro County Office of Emergency Management has confirmed that a Texas State Trooper was shot and killed Thursday afternoon in Freestone County.
Suspected Shooter Has a Troubled Past
Black had a history of vehicle chases and other issues with law enforcement. Jail records show he was free on bond from Smith County where he was charged earlier this year with aggravated assault of a public servant and evading arrest with a vehicle.
NBC 5 News
Dabrett Montreal Black, 32, was arrested in Waller County Thanksgiving Day after police say he fatally shot a Texas State Trooper in Freestone County.
Bond of $400,000 in those cases has now been revoked.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the TXDPS trooper shot and killed this afternoon in Freestone County. Information on the suspect to follow. #dfwnews #txdps
Smith County court records show Black was indicted in October after he led police on a chase in July and rammed his car into a police cruiser after they tried to pull him over for speeding.
Court records also show 2015 charges of assault on a public servant and attempting to take a weapon from an officer. Those charges were dismissed in 2016, but it was unclear from records why.
Black was also charged with evading arrest in Anderson County, though details of the charges are unclear, including the date. According to jail records, bond was forfeited in that case.
On Friday, Black was moved from the Brazos County Jail, where he was originally booked, and brought back to Freestone County where the shooting took place.
A motive for the Thanksgiving Day shooting remains unclear.
RAW VIDEO: A Texas state trooper was shot and killed along I-45 in Freestone County Thursday afternoon.
Slain Trooper Was a Father of Three
Allen was born in Morgantown, Kentucky, on Oct. 4, 1976. His family moved to Mexia in 1984 where he grew up and played football for the Mexia Black Cats before graduating in 1995.
Allen married Kasey Pickett in November 1993 and after graduation worked beiefly for the Mexia State School before accepting a position with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at the Mark W. Michael Unit, a men's prison in Tennessee Colony, Texas. Allen then, in 2002, went on to become a Texas State Trooper.
RAW VIDEO: Texas Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Lt. Lonny Haschel gives an update after a Texas state trooper was shot and killed along I-45 in Freestone County.
Allen is said to have enjoyed hunting, fishing and riding sand dunes. He attended Cowboy Church in Freestone as well as First Assembly of God in Mexia.
Allen is suvived by his wife, Kasey Pickett Allen, of Teague, two daughters and a son, his parents, four siblings, and numerous other in-laws, nieces and nephews.
On Friday afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas flags at Texas Department of Public Safety facilities statewide to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Allen.
Funeral Services Set for Dec. 1
A funeral service for Allen will be held Dec. 1, at the Mexia High School football stadium. Pastor Bryan Hallmark will officiate.
Interment will follow the service at Salem Cemetery near Freestone.
The family will be present for visitation on Thursday, Nov. 30, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Bowers Funeral Home in Teague.
He is survived by his wife, Kasey Pickett Allen of Teague; two daughters, Kaitlyn and Madison Allen; one son, Cameron Allen; his parents, Jimmy & Sue Allen of Mexia; three brothers, Ricky Allen & wife Lisa of Tennessee Colony, Ernie Allen & wife Tena of Thornton, and Doug Allen & wife Kristen of Mexia; one sister, Amy Gilmore & husband Jon of Mexia; his mother-in-law, Kathy Pickett; brother-in-law, Charlie Pickett & wife Leslie; numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.
The family requests memorials be made to The 100 Club, 5555 San Felipe St., Ste 1750, Houston, Texas 77056-5527 or online at the100club.org.
NBCMatt JacksonTexas DepartmentNavarro CountyNavarro County Office of Emergency Management


text:
Ceri Widdett
widdett@exchangechambers.co.uk
'Highly recommended for discrimination and whistleblowing matters.'
Nicole Haigh 0113 203 1975
Daniel Highfield 0113 203 1985
Local Government and Social Housing
"Very experienced in discrimination cases." (2018)
"Clients always love her approach as it gets to the root of the issues in a no-nonsense manner." "Her conduct in the tribunal is impeccable and of the highest standard." (2017)
"She's reliably consistent, she has a brain the size of a planet and she's particularly good at health type cases." "She comes across well with clients and tells it like it is." (2016)
"Ceri Widdett of Exchange Chambers focuses on proceedings relating to discrimination issues. She frequently acts for health authorities. Strengths: "She is able to adapt her style and approach. She is prompt and very able in any issue." (2015)
"Has a wide practice that covers all aspects of employment law, with a particular focus on discrimination matters. She also receives regular instructions on claims relating to stress at work, whistle-blowing." (2014)
"…particularly excels in discrimination law." (2013)
"…impresses with her particular expertise in discrimination law matters." (2012)
"…a solicitor's favourite" and "is always on top of a case and has a very clear understanding of the law." (2010)
Since 2004, Ceri has been annually cited in the Legal 500 as a recommended specialist in Employment Law.
"Highly recommended for discrimination and whistleblowing matters." (2018/19)
"A specialist in discrimination claims." (2016)
"She is a fighter, and is good with clients". (2015)
"…an extremely skilled, confident and tenacious advocate who keeps a cool head in the tribunal". (2013)
Recent Seminars
"How to manage long-term sickness absence in the workplace", (December 2016)
"Sexual Harassment in the workplace: raising voices and developing strategies", (June 2016)
"Stress at work claims: how to avoid the pitfalls", (May 2016)
"Estoppel Pitfalls for Employment and Personal Injury Lawyers", (March 2015)
"Police negligence: Answering a call for help but at what cost?" (March 2014)
"Stress and Mental Health in the Workplace", Unite Regional Equality Conference, (Nov 2013)
"Redundancy and Dismissal: Shaping New Law into Highly Developed Advice for Employers, "How do you identify suitable alternative employment and what happens when there are limited roles and the rights of different groups conflict, for example, disabled employees and those on maternity leave? How do you deal with employees who are off sick and refusing to engage in the redundancy process and/or claiming that the process itself is making them unwell?" Whitepaper Conference (Nov 2013)
"Maternity, paternity and shared (grand) parental leave", Personnel today (October 2016) http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/maternity-paternity-and-shared-grandparental-leave-webinar/
"Managing long-term sickness absence", Personnel Today (July 2016) http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/leave-absence-managing-attendance-fairly-demand-webinar/ (July 2016)
BA (Hons) Keele University (Class II.i, 1993)
Bar Vocational Course, BPP Law School (Very Competent, 1994)
Wansbrough Willey Hargrave Scholarship, Keele University (1994-1996)
Equality and Human Rights Commission preferred panel of Counsel
Employment Law Bar Association
Personal Injury Bar Association
"Quick fire questions and answers on Shared Parental Leave", mothersmeanbusiness.co.uk (2016)
"The Facts – Statutory Maternity Leave", mothersmeanbusiness.co.uk (2016)
"Managing Sickness Absence", Cascade (August 2016)
Effective Absence Management in 2016
"Whistleblowing – New Challenges for Employers", Local Government Lawyer, 7th March 2013
Justifying Treatment and Other Stories – Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust v CM (A Patient), Feminist Legal Studies, Vol V, No 1, 1997
Ceri Widdett blogs for new website aimed at working parents
Ceri Widdett to speak at Personnel Today Webinar
Misconduct charges against Ceri Widdett's client not proved at NMC
Ceri Widdett to speak at Hospital at Night Summit
Ceri Widdett represents family in wrong-way M1 crash inquest
Ceri Widdett appears in new BBC TV programme, 'Is This Sexual Harassment?'
Ceri Widdett has nearly 20 years' experience representing police officers and acting against police forces in civil actions against the police. She has been consistently recognised by Chambers and Partners as a leader in her field and which cites: "Clients always love her approach as it gets to the root of the issues in a no- nonsense manner" (2017).
She has extensive regulatory and disciplinary experience and regularly appears at Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) hearings.
Ceri recently appeared in the Court of Appeal in the high profile case of Robinson v West Yorkshire Police [2014] P.I.Q.R. P14. She is regularly instructed in damages claims against the police, including tort claims for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, assault, misconduct in a public office and negligence. Ceri also previously successfully represented a police officer facing Part 20 civil proceedings for sexual assault whilst on duty.
Ceri previously acted on behalf of the claimant in one of the first age discrimination cases before the Supreme Court (Homer v The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire [2009] ICR 223, [2009] IRLR 262) and has acted for numerous police officers in claims of discrimination and whistleblowing.
Ceri is a national trainer in root cause analyses and has been instructed to advise and act on behalf of the Police Federation, numerous Local Authorities and Unions and the MPS. She recently advised the Football Association on the impact of equality law outside the workplace.
Police Cases
Selected Reported Cases include:
Robinson v The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2014] P.I.Q.R. P14
Homer v The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire [2009] ICR 223, [2009] IRLR 262
Campbell v Leeds United AFC [2009] EW Misc 4 (EWCC)
Nationwide Leisure Ltd v Parnham (UKEATPA/0724/09)
Girvin v Humberside Probation Trust (UKEAT/0197/09/DA)
Gameplay (GB) Ltd. v McLaughlin [2003] UKEAT 323


text:
Ana Bezanilla
The CIA didn't get permission for "human experimentation" from "enhanced interrogation" subjects
The CIA appears to have "twisted" the language in their documents detailing regulations for handling interrogations in order to further torture tactics as "human experimentation."
A document made public by the Guardian reveals that the director of questionable experimentation activities has never been a licensed medical professional, but was authorized to "approve, modify, or disapprove all proposals pertaining to human subject research."
This brings significant issues with the Central Intelligence Agency, and specifically director George Tenet, whose agency was able to conduct "enhanced interrogation techniques" under the guise of medical experimentation.
The CIA has reportedly redacted four statements which have allowed for significant abuse under "research" guidelines.
Image: The Guardian
Practices such as waterboarding, which were conducted with a medical professional present, passed as acceptable precisely because there were doctors on board. However, the consent of patients, although required in the documents, has not been confirmed.
Scott Allen, a medical advisor and internist, says, "The more words you have, the more you can twist them, but it's not a bad definition."
Cover image: Wikimedia Commons


From the "Finding Neverland: The Album" soundtrack.
Kiesza's colorful music video for "Stronger" will leave you feeling, well… stronger.
"Finding Neverland: The Album" enlisted artists like Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Jonas and Rita Ora and others to include inspiring music to support the broadway show. Today (June 9), Kiesza shares her flashy yet simplistic visual for her contribution titled "Stronger." A wave of shapes and colors engulf the Canadian singer as she belts the upbeat lyrics in her Mario Hugo-directed video.


RRB NTPC 2016-17 Success Story: Recently, The Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) uploaded the final list of candidates shortlisted for the post of Assistant Station Master, Goods Guard, Typist, Commercial Apprentice & Traffic Apprentice. Among those, many of the OnlineTyari users grabbed their dream job. It gives us immense pleasure to put forward the name of our user who successfully cracked all the stages of RRB NTPC examination 2017.
We at OnlineTyari are proud to help students/ candidates/ aspirants in preparing for various recruitment examinations like UPSC, NABARD, SBI, IBPS with the help of online mock tests, questions banks as well as eBooks. Hence, without further ado, we share the Success Story of Anand Mohan Saha, an OnlineTyari user who was able to crack the RRB NTPC Recruitment Examination 2017.
This year, we are extremely happy to see the success rate among our users who have been able to crack RRB NTPC examination. Here, we have a short interview with an aspirant who has been a regular user of the OnlineTyari App and whose relentless determination and resolution helped him reach his ultimate goal of getting recruited as a Assistant Station Master!
OnlineTyari: First of all, Congratulations for grabbing the post of Assistant Station Master!
Anand Mohan Saha: Thank you very much.
OnlineTyari: So, let me ask the most basic question – What motivated you to prepare for Railway exam?
Anand Mohan Saha: I would call it self-motivation. I believed in myself and was confident in the fact that I was going to achieve my goal.
OnlineTyari: Would you briefly describe your preparation strategy??
Anand Mohan Saha: Practice can be the one gap you have to close between yourself and your goals. My only strategy was practicing Practice sets. Practicing through the practice sets helped me brush up my knowledge.
OnlineTyari: So you liked Onlinetyari's content quality and learning experience?
Anand Mohan Saha: OnlineTyari was definitely very helpful. OnlineTyari's Daily News Digest, Daily News Articles have helped me in brushing my knowledge. The daily test preparation and tips on how to attempt prelims/ Mains Examination played an important role in my success and preparation strategy.
OnlineTyari: What are your observations and tips for future aspirants regarding the preparation of this paper?
Anand Mohan Saha:. One thing I would suggest to all the candidates is "Do not follow short tricks. Dream Big. Think Big.
Many like Anand Mohan Saha have qualified RRB NTPC Examination this year and we are privileged to be their Online Mentor. If you wish to share your success story with us, please send your Name, Roll Number and Picture of your Scorecard to support@onlinetyari.com and we will contact you shortly.
That's all from our side. Needless to say, we will keep you posted on further updates. Stay connected for more information regarding RRB NTPC recruitment. To excel in Railways Examinations, download the Best Railways Exam Preparation App for free.


A couple weeks ago, in the "Rolling Shots Part 2" Theme Tuesday I made mention of the fact I was working on an all rig shot themed post.
After searching a few forums I have come up with the following collection of photos. You will probably notice that many share the same watermark and that's because those who take rig shots well take them often.
Rig shots are an art that I do not see myself mastering any time soon so big, big props to all of the photographers as these are awesome shots.
Wonder if this was taken on a beach?
Man when was the last time I posted a Viper?
One of the only guys I know doing drift rig shots.
Expect this to be a reoccurring theme.
Every single shot is pure money!


text:
Q: how to delete one directory of a path? Suppose I have a path
Leonardo/data/approach/tennis/video

and I want to delete approach directory, which means that path should look like this:
Leonardo/data/tennis/video

Can I do it from the terminal with some command?
Without copying tennis to data and then delete approach manually?

A: You can use this function; it will move everything inside the directory passed as an argument one level above, hence taking care of multiple files / folders in the target directory:
function delete_dir() {
    [ -d "$1" ] || return;
    for x in "$1"/*; do
        mv -i "$x" "$1"/..
    done
    rmdir "$1"
}

Add it at the end of ~/.bashrc and run . ~/.bashrc in the running Bash instances (if any) to apply the changes immediately.
$ tree
.
└── foo
    └── bar
        ├── 1
        ├── 2
        └── 3

2 directories, 3 files
$ delete_dir foo/bar
$ tree
.
└── foo
    ├── 1
    ├── 2
    └── 3

1 directory, 3 files

A: With a simple:
mv Leonardo/data/approach/tennis Leonardo/data && rmdir Leonardo/data/approach

Why rmdir? In order to not delete the directory when subdirectories still exist.

Example
$ mkdir -p Leonardo/data/approach/tennis/video

$ tree
.
`-- Leonardo
    `-- data
        `-- approach
            `-- tennis
                `-- video

5 directories, 0 files

$ mv Leonardo/data/approach/tennis Leonardo/data && rmdir Leonardo/data/approach

$  tree
.
`-- Leonardo
    `-- data
        `-- tennis
            `-- video

4 directories, 0 files

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Home › Genocide › Guatemala justice update – January 2014
Guatemala justice update – January 2014
By kevodell on January 18, 2014 • ( 0 )
"When trial judges in Guatemala convicted their own former head of state, Efrain Rios Montt, of genocide last May—a worldwide first—the rule of law set down roots in a country renowned for impunity. Subsequent events have shown how fragile those roots are."
As Emi McLean writes in The Trial of Efraín Ríos Montt and Mauricio Rodríguez Sanchez, "this year is a crucial one for the independence of the justice sector in Guatemala. Challenges are already evident."
"Only days after the dictator's conviction for his role in massacres of the indigenous Ixil during the country's internal armed conflict, the Constitutional Court, in a divided and controversial judgment, annulled the ruling, forcing the disqualification of the trial court and upending the judicial process. Adding further confusion, in an October ruling, the Constitutional Court did not foreclose the possibility that a decades-old amnesty law could prevent the prosecution altogether, despite clear domestic and international prohibitions against such a prohibition. A new trial date has been set far into the future—January 2015—and is facing renewed obstacles, due to an appeals court judgment last week.
The turbulent maneuvering related to the Ríos Montt trial happens against a backdrop of a year of transformation in the justice sector: In 2014, Guatemala selects a new slate of Supreme Court and appellate court judges and decides who will serve as Attorney General for the next five years. In the aftermath of the monumental genocide trial, these critical selection processes are already showing signs of politicization, including efforts to truncate the term of Guatemala's pioneering attorney general, Claudia Paz y Paz."
‹ Brief Review of 2013
Entrevista a Edgar Pérez, abogado de derechos humanos guatemalteco ›
Categories: Genocide, Justice, Rios Montt
Amnesty for War Crimes is Back on the Table
Guatemala's Disappeared – Fault Lines


text:
5/6/19: Taylor's 2 RBIs, Buehler lead Dodgers to win
Daily Recap: Chris Taylor drove in two runs with an RBI single and double, while Walker Buehler tossed seven strong innings
About Major League Baseball: Major League Baseball (MLB) is the most historic professional sports league in the United States and consists of 30 member clubs in the U.S. and Canada, representing the highest level of professional baseball. Led by Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., MLB currently features record levels of labor peace, competitive balance and industry revenues, as well as the most comprehensive drug-testing program in American professional sports. MLB remains committed to making an impact in the communities of the U.S., Canada and throughout the world, perpetuating the sport's larger role in society and permeating every facet of baseball's business, marketing and community relations endeavors. With the continued success of MLB Advanced Media and MLB Network, MLB continues to find innovative ways for its fans to enjoy America's National Pastime and a truly global game.
The American League consists of the following teams: Baltimore Orioles; Boston Red Sox; Chicago White Sox; Cleveland Indians; Detroit Tigers; Houston Astros; Kansas City Royals; Los Angeles Angels ; Minnesota Twins; New York Yankees; Oakland Athletics; Seattle Mariners; Tampa Bay Rays; Texas Rangers; and Toronto Blue Jays. The National League, originally founded in 1876, consists of the following teams: Arizona Diamondbacks; Atlanta Braves; Chicago Cubs; Cincinnati Reds; Colorado Rockies; Los Angeles Dodgers; Miami Marlins; Milwaukee Brewers; New York Mets; Philadelphia Phillies; Pittsburgh Pirates; San Diego Padres; San Francisco Giants; St. Louis Cardinals; and Washington Nationals.
Visit MLB.com: http://mlb.mlb.com
Subscribe to MLB.TV: http://mlb.tv
Download MLB At Bat: http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/atbat
Download MLB Ballpark: http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/attheballpark
Download MLB Clubhouse: http://mlb.com/clubhouse
Play Beat The Streak: http://mlb.mlb.com/bts
Play R.B.I. Baseball: http://www.rbigame.com
Play Home Run Derby: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fantasy/hr_derby/index.jsp
Get MLB Tickets: http://mlb.mlb.com/tickets
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Check out http://MLB.com/video for more!
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Kershaw, Hernandez lead Dodgers to a 9-0 win | Giants-Dodgers Game Highlights 6/18/19
Taylor, Bellinger lead Dodgers to 9-2 win | Giants-Dodgers Game Highlights 6/19/19
Muncy, Buehler lead Dodgers to Game 1 win | Nationals-Dodgers Game Highlights 10/3/19
Fried, Ortega lead Braves for series win | Dodgers-Braves Game Highlights 8/18/19
5/12/19: Ryu, Seager lead Dodgers over Nationals
6/8/19: Seager, Turner lead Dodgers past Giants
Buehler's complete game propels Dodgers | Padres-Dodgers Game Highlights 8/3/19
Ryan Zimmerman LAUNCHES 3-run home run to extend Nationals lead vs. Dodgers | NLDS Highlights
Howie Kendrick SMASHES grand slam to give Nationals lead vs Dodgers in NLDS Game 5! | MLB Highlights
Calhoun's homer, 2 RBIs lead Angels | Angels-Dodgers Game Highlights 7/24/19


text:
These Are Reportedly the 12 Best Cities in America to Find a Job
Hint: Not New York City.
By Michael Sebastian
Looking for a job while reading this at your current job that you hate? Of course you are! But maybe you're looking in the wrong place, like, you know, the wrong city entirely.
Glassdoor just released its annual list of the best cities to find a job. The site took into account how easy it is to get a job, cost of living, job satisfaction and work-life balance to create the list, which, interestingly, doesn't include the nation's three largest cities: New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. By Glassdoor's estimate, midsize cities are your best bet.
San Jose is in the heart of Silicon Valley. It's also the third-most populous city in California, with just over a million residents. There are 61,000 openings, with a median base salary of $112,000. The median home value, meanwhile, is $965,000.
San Francisco, the fourth largest city in California, is thriving thanks to the nation's tech boom. And while it's a very expensive city, there are also 121,597 job openings at a median base salary of $88,000. Median home values are $806,600.
Seattle's become such a popular place for transplants its longtime residents complain regularly about the crushing traffic problems. In Seattle, there are 103,124 job openings. The media base salary is $85,000, while the media home value is $382,700.
One of the nation's oldest cities, Boston is the largest metropolis in New England and the region's unofficial capital. It's also a charming place. There are 121,498 job openings. The median base salary is $67,500. Median home value is $387,400.
Although Washington itself has a population of about 670,000 people, the metro area—including the many suburbs—swells to more than 6 million. Job openings stand at 163,520. The city's median base salary is $70,000, while median home value is $364,100.
Everyone knows someone who's moved to Austin recently, right? The city is home to the Austin City Limits music festival, the sprawling South By Southwest festival, and a bustling job market. There are 45,186 job openings. The median base salary is $61,000. Median home value in the city is $247,500.
Salt Lake City is nestled in one of the nation's most beautiful locations. There are just 23,000 job openings, but the city's population is not quite 200,000 residents. The median base salary is $58,700 and the median home value in the city is $234,400.
Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
Raleigh was No. 1 on last year's list. Despite tumbling to No. 8 this year, Raleigh and its adjacent sibling Durham have 34,660 job openings. The median base salary is $62,000. Median home value is $209,400.
The Twin Cities are quite nice—if you don't mind nine months of crippling winter, which, given everything Minneapolis-St. Paul have to offer, could be worth it. The Atlantic praised Minneapolis for its affordability and opportunity. The cities have 65,000 job openings. Median base salary is $65,000, while the median home value is $219,400.
There are 20,576 job openings in Oklahoma City. Median base salary stands at $50,000 and median home value is $132,500. The city is also home to the NBA's Thunder, which might just give the Golden State Warriors a run for their money in the Western Conference Finals. Reason enough to move to a city? Depends on how much you like basketball, but—given the city's strong job market—maybe?
St. Louis is an underrated city that's often overshadowed by its big brother to the north, Chicago. But it's got some good restaurants, a thriving dive bar scene, and nearly 50,000 job openings. The median base salary is $56,896. Median home value is $141,900.
Detroit may or may not be on the rise. Travel writers, TV hosts, and documentarians love to play up its resurgence, but many residents are more cynical about the city's recovery. Either way, Detroit's businesses are hiring. There are nearly 60,000 job openings. The median base salary is $61,500. Median home value is $123,100.
Michael Sebastian Michael Sebastian is editor in chief of Esquire.


text:
MOBGEN:LAB WINS PORT OF AMSTERDAM LAUNCHPAD CHALLENGE
Sticky Post By Sebastian Veldman On 27/05/2016 27/05/2016
During the last week of May, the city of Amsterdam hosted the 11th annual TNW Conference, a technology gathering that brings together the world's top technology leaders. As part of the tech week program, an initiative called Launchpad Meetups was organised to allow young creatives to pitch their revolutionary ideas inside the board rooms of corporate members to help them solve their innovation challenge. MOBGEN:Lab was one of the four creatives that got selected to pitch in front of the Port of Amsterdam supervisory board.
Every year, the Port of Amsterdam welcomes around 140 cruise ships with approximately 300.000 passengers who are warmly welcomed upon their arrival in the capital city of the Netherlands. The challenge that MOBGEN:Lab needed to solve was to showcase what experience and other possibilities 'Augmented Reality' could offer the passengers while cruising on the North Sea Canal. Travellers today are looking for an intuitive, rapid and personalised experience. Exploring new places is about getting inspiration and sharing this with friends and family. MOBGEN:Lab displayed how our modular framework HALO could use advanced image recognition technology to deliver engaging content, while also allowing users to create and share their own content. It's the perfect tool to give the modern traveller superpowers and explore new content.
Our LAB team succeeded and was named WINNER of the innovation challenge that was supervised by the board! Being named winner of the challenge means that the LAB team will get further in touch with the business unit of the Port of Amsterdam before the summer to discuss how MOBGEN technology can play a vital role in solving their innovation challenge.
Watch a video of our winning case: