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Episode 707: Another Jane
August 20, 2015 Gordon Russell, March 1969gaslight, jane, meet cute, narrative collision, tower roomDanny Horn
"I know Collinwood more intimately than anyone else in the family."
Her name is Rachel Drummond. Her journey is beginning, a journey that she hopes will open the doors of life to her, and link her past with her future. A journey that will bring her to a strange and dark place, to the edge of the sea, high atop Widows' Hill, a house called Collinwood — a world she's never known, with people she's never met, people who tonight are still only shadows in her mind, but who will soon fill the days and nights of her tomorrows.
And, man, talk about linking the past with the future. Here we are three years later, and we're still doing Jane Eyre.
I mean, don't get me wrong, Jane Eyre is a good story. It gets a bit wobbly around chapter 34, when Jane's creepy cousin St. John tries to hypnotize her into marrying him and becoming a missionary in Africa, but overall, it's great. It's certainly more readable than The Turn of the Screw.
But we've been down this road before. Dark Shadows began with Victoria Winters, the innocent orphan girl, showing up for governess duty at a big, fancy house filled with romance and furniture and terrible secrets.
It's possible that Roger's name was meant to be an echo of Mr. Rochester, Jane's brooding employer with a missing wife, and if you really wanted to stretch the point, Roger's car accident in episode 15 might be the DS version of Rochester getting thrown from his horse in chapter 12. I'm just tossing that out there as a possibility.
I suppose that's the point where Vicki and Jane parted ways. Rochester's horse accident was kind of an 1847 meet-cute, back before they'd figured out the cute part. That's how Jane and Rochester meet, and they end up falling in love, which certainly didn't happen with Vicki and Roger.
For one thing, Vicki might have ended up being Roger's niece, if Elizabeth turned out to be her mother, so a Roger romance was nixed from the start. Although St. John turned out to be Jane's cousin, so who knows.
But that's how things go with these narrative collisions — you take the bleeder valve out of Jane Eyre and crash it into a tree, and anybody who survives gets to be on your soap opera.
Anyway, Rachel. She'll actually get more bona fide Jane Eyre material than Vicki did — see especially chapters 7, 15 and 26 — so it's a bit of a shame about her personality.
Personality matters here, because Jane Eyre is really about Jane's developing consciousness, and the book is generally regarded as the first novel to really express a character's thoughts and feelings as she moves through the world. Jane is smart, sassy and strong-willed, and her relationship with Rochester develops along the same lines as Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, meaning they tease and berate each other mercilessly until somebody proposes.
So it's a shame that Rachel appears to be operating entirely on autopilot. She's wide-eyed and overwhelmed when she first enters Collinwood, as anyone might be, but the writers forget to take her out of first gear.
Rachel was in three scenes in Friday's episode, and the first scene in the train station is really the only one where she's an active participant.
In her second scene, she wafts into Collinwood — wide-eyed, overwhelmed — and doesn't get a single line. Quentin gets to do a whole monologue, walking around her and evaluating her, and she just stands there, not even reacting very much. The scene is actually about Quentin being funny and pissing off Edward, and Rachel is just a prop.
There's a little break for a scene in Edith's bedroom, and then we return to the foyer for Rachel's third scene. Quentin addresses her like a person this time, and she gets to say three sentences — I'm Rachel Drummond, I'm the new governess, and Yes, of course — before the real characters walk into the drawing room and have an actual grown-up scene.
That brings us to today's episode, where Rachel wanders out onto the terrace and instantly forgets why she went out in the first place. She walks up to the fountain like she's never seen one before, and she's not sure what it's supposed to do. Then she gets bored and sits down on a bench, staring off into the middle distance and going over the TED talk on particle physics that she's planning to give later in the evening.
And then here comes the wolf man himself — Quentin Collins, Dark Shadows' answer to the declining birth rate in America. He walks right up to her, puts one leg up on the bench, and basically gets his crotch as close to her face as he can manage.
He offers to take her on a tour of the house, boasting, "I know Collinwood more intimately than anyone else in the family." He puts some extra stress on the word "intimately," because it's Rachel, and if she doesn't understand this body language, then there's really no need to be subtle.
Then he asks her to call him Quentin. She says, "I don't think your brother would approve of such familiarity," and he says, "No, I suppose he wouldn't."
Then he sits down on the bench, practically on top of her, and says, "But then, he doesn't have to know about it… Does he, Rachel?" And he raises an eyebrow. I believe by 1897 standards this means that she's already pregnant.
She gets up, and he asks, "Are you frightened of me?" She chuckles, "No, of course not," which is exactly the wrong answer.
He says, "What, then?" and she says, "Well, if anything, perhaps it's — it's just because I'm so new, and… and still so unsure?" And then she looks at the guy who's five seconds away from ruining her entire life, and she gives him a shy smile.
And, you know what? I would love it if somebody could show this to Charlotte Brontë, and tell her that this is supposed to be Jane Eyre. I'm not sure what she'd do, but I would like to be there when it happens, with a camera and maybe a couple of EMTs, just to be on the safe side.
Then they have a conversation about the tower room, which she finds picturesque, and Quentin tells her that nobody's been in that room for a hundred years, since a woman took poison and died there in 1796. He whispers this directly into her ear from so close behind her that she's probably going to need a penicillin shot tomorrow.
Anyway, the point of all this is that later on in the episode, she sees a light in the tower room, which is a big mystery. She goes inside and tells Edward about it, and he gets all flustered and weird, and Judith scurries off somewhere, and by the time Edward and Rachel get back out to the terrace, the light is gone, which means it was probably a reflection or her imagination or a weather balloon or something, because she didn't see a light up there, how could she, what tower room, where would she get the idea that we have a — a what is it, a tower? Tow-wer, what an odd sounding word, I don't believe I've ever heard it before. What does it mean?
Now, this is setting up one of the Jane Eyre plot points, but it's by way of Gaslight and those dreary paperback gothic romances with titles like The Dark Shore or The Secrets of Hillyard House.
Jane never saw any lights in any towers, so you can't pin this one on her. The "you didn't see a light in the tower room" scenario is actually a reference to Nathan Forbes trying to drive Millicent insane last year, in episode 448.
So they've done it; they've finally done it. Dark Shadows has started borrowing plot points from itself.
Tomorrow: Will Power.
When Edward closes the drawing room doors for the family conference, the boom mic can be seen overhead. You can also see the mic in the terrace scene, when Rachel gets up off the bench.
The camera's aimed too high when Quentin says that Barnabas is a possibility, and you can see the top of the drawing room set.
When Rachel talks to Quentin about a tour of the house, you can see a studio light reflected in the windows.
Someone coughs in the studio when Quentin says, "I like you, Rachel."
Sandor tells Edward that Barnabas is away for the day. Edward says, "Where would he go? He doesn't know anyone in Collinwood." He means Collinsport. Right after that, Sandor says, "He told me not to answer no questions, so I can't tell you what you want to know." He means ask no questions.
Edward tells Judith, "I have washed my hands of the entire affair. I want nothing more to know about it."
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26 thoughts on "Episode 707: Another Jane"
PrisoneroftheNight says:
Dark Shadows was only Jane Eyre in the sense of Victoria Winters as dreamed into existence by Dan Curtis. Otherwise it was Shadows On The Wall, and Roger Collins was the name and character created by Art Wallace. Some of the names were changed by Curtis and the writers–Walt Cummings became Jason McGuire, for instance.
Wallace's Roger Collins is paranoid and volatile–as originally portrayed by Louis Edmonds during the 1966 manslaughter storyline. You can see how he is constantly on edge and erupting at Vicki initially when learning that Burke Devlin has returned to town. But Art Wallace had a far more tragic fate planned for Roger, who was to be driven to madness once Vicki takes up with Burke Devlin and Roger comes to believe that she and Burke are plotting against him. He completely blows his top when he learns that Vicki has taken David over to meet Sam Evans. Roger storms in and pulls them out of the Evans cottage. Once back at Collinwood he persuades Vicki to walk with him up to Widows' Hill, where he proceeds to tell her the legend of the three widows, that a third governess was expected to die there. Then he grabs her by the arm, but David has followed them and calls out to his father. Roger turns in surprise, then loses his footing and goes over the edge. The death of Roger was to have been how the manslaughter story was supposed to have been resolved. After this "catharsis", as Wallace describes Roger's death, Sam would admit his role of ten years before and that was to be that. And then Walt Cummings shows up, to stay at Collinwood for a while….
Had anyone else besides Louis Edmonds been cast into the role of Roger, this is how it might likely have played out. Most of the other story points in Wallace's series bible were closely adhered to in those early months, to the most minor detail. But something changed along the way. It seems to have happened when Roger learns that the death of Bill Malloy is ruled an accident. From then on he becomes the wry-witted, wisecracking, and generally carefree version of Roger most viewers remember–the point where Roger Collins becomes Louis Collins. The makers of the show must then have realized what a talent and definitive personality they had in Louis Edmonds, finally realizing that he was just too good to dispose of.
Art Wallace and Dan Curtis were not the only sources for the Dark Shadows story. Check out the movie The Uninvited (1944), with Ray Milland. Brother and sister live in Windward House overlooking the sea where a gypsy beauty jumped to her death and haunts the mansion with her perfume (mimosa), cold spots, etc. Other familiar story elements include a signature piano tune (Stella by Starlight), a powerful, devious woman named Holloway who runs a sanitarium, seances, the town doctor who seeks to solve the mysteries at Windward House, and many, many more resemblances to Dark Shadows than I can recall off the top of my head.
Oh, that's interesting. I hadn't heard of The Uninvited; I'll have to check it out. From your description and the Wikipedia article, it sounds like it may have been a formative influence on Ron Sproat. He was 12 in 1944, and it sounds like The Uninvited made a big impression on him.
The giveaway is people determining that there are ghosts in the house because occasionally they feel a chill. Sproat was big on the localized-temperature-fluctuation theory of ghost hunting.
Thanks! The full movie is on YouTube, so I'll view it over the weekend. Jonathan Frid was working with Ray Milland on a cross-country theater tour (Hostile Witness) just before getting the call from his agent about this TV show….
The Uninvited is #3 on Martin Scorses' (or however the hell you spell it) Top 11 Favorite Scary Movies list.
Well, well, well, at 24:22 in the movie we see the waves crashing on the rocks below a cliff, then at 24:34 we here the voice of a woman sobbing in the night somewhere in the (Windward) house downstairs, something no one in the house can explain, but which goes away by dawn. Now, where have we heard that before? Not only that, but the way this Mr. (Rick) Fitzgerald talks, he sounds an awful lot like… Jason McGuire. Love it also how at 8:30 when the grand-daughter expresses to her grandfather her reservations about selling the house to the people who have arrived she closes behind her those double drawing room doors. We've seen that before also, haven't we, the closing of double drawing room doors to talk privately with people just outside?
I suppose it proves that whatever a writer writes–no matter who the writer is and what said writer has written–it's always derived from earlier sources.
So, I'm convinced. The 1944 movie The Uninvited is the very roots of Dark Shadows. And, despite being something of a ghost story, it also has moments of humor and comedy as well.
I have seen this movie dozens of times and never made that connection.
But if I remember correctly Ray
Milland being a bit of a sceptic and a bon vivant. Always enjoyed The spooky comfort of the movie on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
Rachel would have probably been treated with mercury since penicillin wasn't discovered yet.
Maybe the person in the tower room has an advanced case of the disease after years of Quentin's whispering/bench posing/eye brow raising.
Thank you, because I'm now primed to watch maybe 10 eps from DVD 1, this weekend.
Pretty neat to see….character origins for those whom we thought we already knew intimately.
Who don't blow every third line.
Of course, I'm always way in love with Nancy Barrett…..and I even married a Nancy, sheer coincidence, but true.
Early Carolyn was fantastic.
I only wish that Nancy could have played more characters of power, like when she became temporary Mistress of Collinwood, or Pansy Faye.
Too many DS women were victims.
Which is why I love it when they Go Vampire.
Nancy didn't until HODS, but I wasn't a fan of that vampire.
I prefer the Vamp style of Roxanne Drew.
I saw something else in that scene in which Quentin circles Rachel. While she has no dialogue, KLS makes a fascinating acting choice, one your screen grab comes close to capturing. The look on her face seems to say, "Take away your mutton chops and you're just a silly little boy. Also, your breath stinks and you need to floss."
glmanny says:
Wow, I'd never say "Pride and Prejudice" was like "Jane Eyre" at all. I could understand if not like Jane's relationship with her cousin (marrying cousins was an upper class British thing in real life and very, very common in their literature), but Rochester is horrible to Jane from beginning to end and she is basically set up to believe that nonsense about how he'd bless the touch of hands trying to tear his eyes out if she went crazy like his first wife. Rochester was abusive of Jane in many different ways from the get-go and would continue in the same path where as Darcy and Elizabeth changed and developed a true partnership. I know people say all sorts of wonderful things about Jane Eyre, but honestly I think Jane ended up with a miserable life.
Other than that great stuff today. I particularly liked the shot about the TED talk and the Tower – never heard that word before stuff.
You'd really think that even a really wronged version of this Quentin wouldn't have taken revenge on his family if he came back as a ghost. I see him messing around in women's showers and coming up with gimmicks to pull on ghost hunters and mediums. Maybe
"ghosting" an image on 1960s TV (which if you're the right age you'll get the joke). If he doesn't have to worry about money anymore since he's a ghost, I don't think he'd really think his family of any generation were worth his time. 🙂
Not only was Quentin murdered, his body was not given a proper burial. His spirit was trapped in the West Wing, festering for over 70 years. It was not Quentin in ectoplasmic form haunting the house, corrupting the children, driving away the family, but his malignant spirit. As I have learned from the documentary series Supernatural (on the CW television network), even benign ghosts turn malevolent over time.
joeytrom says:
Probably was killed in werewolf form and his body left there so no one would learn about it.
Has the show determined yet that Quentin would be the werewolf? There was the coffin with the pentagram, but not even Barnabas immediately suspects Quentin when he learns there's a werewolf in 1897.
Nobody did Jane Eyre better than Alexandra Moltke, period…She had the innocence and mannerism to pull off the ingenue role perfectly. KLS not so much, especially after her Flo Kastleberry persona in the early days.
I agree with you on Jane Eyre, as I'm on ep 17.
But VW was a no-range character.
KLS was allowed to play what, seven maybe?
Different roles.
Good for KLS. Bad for AM.
Still loving her, but……
She got stuck, like Frid, into one part only.
When he got to play another, the show got cancelled.
Not his fault, but the writers'.
But she made the right choice in leaving when she did.
Of course, viewers like me wanted to throw stuff at our TVs when Betsy Durkin took over. I mean, good actor, but you can't be SERIOUS!!!
Julianka would have been a better choice!
Timing what it is, Carolyn Groves starting in 1966, probably would have been just as good as AM.
Agree – also too bad Kate Jackson didn't come along until later – she would have been perfect as the new Vicki or any other governess/ingenue role they gave to her (but having her fall for Bramwell in 1841 PT was not a good choice). Julianka was a good character and got killed off too soon (much like Suki Forbes) – Betsy was terrible!! And Frid as Bramwell was atrocious..but I guess they had to cater to Frid when he threatened to leave DS if they didn't let him expand his acting range by playing another character – too bad he was already typecast by that point.
Betsy wasn't bad at all, just miscast, as though she was an understudy who never expected to be thrown into the show at the last second after somebody died.
Now, Suki Forbes……I love her.
Not a victim character…….til her end.
One of the powerful women on the show, I like that.
I was interested to see Danny saying that the reason Rachel is a dull character is that THE WRITERS DIDN'T GIVE HER ENOUGH TO DO. Somehow this doesn't apply to Vicki.
I do agree that Kathryn Leigh Scott's greater experience and training gave her a bigger set of tools to use in keeping a scene alive than Alexandra Moltke Isles had at her disposal in 1966-1968, but there were plenty of scenes in those first 200 episodes where she does rise above weak material. And she does get as much out of her 1968 screen time as Scott gets out of Rachel Drummond.
Dan Schafer says:
Moltke was boring and one-note. She was incapable of emoting, other than shaking her had back and forth uncontrollably like a Bobblehead. The best thing that ever happened to DS was her leaving it.
gurlitt says:
DS forced KLS to play her roles in a dumb mode, but she had two things going for her: her exceptionally good looks and her first-rate acting chops. She's just a joy to watch. As much as I like Moltke, I don't think she was on KLS' level, acting-wise.
I'd add that, whereas Moltke often (and understandably) conveyed an attitude of, "Is this for real??" KLS is always totally into the action, no matter how absurd. If anything, she looks highly amused. Similarly, Don Briscoe always looks like he's fighting down laughter. Selby's amused attitude works so well for his character, it's hard to tell if it's him or Quentin.
Amused KLS scene, with Louis Edmonds, Collinwood foyer, he goes with the wrong word, and in a close up, she scrunches her face, and does a silent "Whew."
Might have been Rachel and Edward, but I'm not sure.
Worth repeat viewing!!
Edward comes down the stairs with a black mourning armband, looks at himself in the mirror, and fusses with his mustache. There is a good reason why Jewish people cover the mirrors when a family member dies. Edward could use some external help in forgetting about his appearance at a time like this.
I love Judith's mourning dress!
And Quentin is such a rogue! I laughed when I read " And he raises an eyebrow. I believe by 1897 standards this means that she's already pregnant."


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Exploring the souls of design systems
Nathania Gilson
• Aug 16, 2019
Reed Enger is an artificial intelligence experience designer at Google. He's also the founder of Trivium Art History, a digital platform that shares the stories behind 30,000 years of creativity.
After graduating from the University of Northwestern in 2009, Reed left behind his training as a print designer. Employers at the time were more interested in hiring web and user experience designers. "The term 'experience design' was kind of frowned around early on," Reed remembers. "It seemed a little indulgent, like, "I'm an experience designer." Well, come on, man. You make websites."
Reed describes his post-graduation years as the best time to build a big portfolio quickly at many of the local agencies—back then, user experience was still maturing as a discipline.
Reed Enger, the man himself.
As Reed's knowledge expanded, he realized that experience design was more than just building websites: "I have to never take it for granted that I might have to learn a brand new language, metaphorically, to tackle new problems."
In 2017, after spending a few years embedded in New York agencies, he moved to Seattle to join the Google Cloud team. Here, he was tasked with driving a seamless experience of design systems for one of the technology giant's most important divisions at the company.
"You should have fun when you're designing. I would love to think of a design system as just a box of toys."
This involved having a direct impact on how people interact with products and services like computing, data storage, data analytics, and machine learning every day.
We spoke to Reed about design as a form of patience and caretaking, contemplation as a kind of counter culture, and why it's a good thing to remain skeptical about the future of design systems.
[Be secure in the future of your own system with InVision Design System Manager]
ID: Why is it important to keep human-centred design in mind when building design systems?
Enger: It's that idea that you need to design for a person and, to do that, you have to understand what they need and hopefully some of how they think. That's, I think, what you can do with a design system.
Because a lot of design systems sort of grew out of code repositories, because developers were way, way ahead of designers when it comes to modular, flexible, reusable kind of componentry. So, I think that as part of that legacy you do wind up with design systems that are pretty formal and sort of optimized for Ctrl+F. They know exactly what they're looking for and then know how to get to it. It's a resource and less of a guidebook.
UX can make design systems more of a guidebook—an invitation.
Design systems can get a bit of a bad rap because they're seen as a constraint. The thing is you can't do whatever you want, because you've got to work from the system. But, just like a box of Legos, a design system applied correctly is a creative tool. It's not a limiting tool.
ID: You described yourself as a caretaker for the design specifications of the Google Cloud when you first joined. I wondered what made you use that word and how you take on the responsibility of the caretaker role in your design practice.
Enger: Caretaking is humble work. It's not particularly flashy. It's playing bass, not lead guitar. Working in design systems I found to be very patient work, and I don't think that that's a bad thing.
I'd come out of the sort of rock-and-roll New York agency scene, which was really, really fun. It was an interesting adjustment to then go to a place where a huge part of my job was just listening and identifying the challenges that future teams were working on and then supporting them however I can. My job was not to create something that had real sting, real flavor. It was to melt it away until it was strictly function and could be applied anywhere.
It's a very invisible sort of design, working on a design system. I really came to love that. I found it to be kind of egoless. You just want the thing to work really well. You want it to be clean. You want to sweep out the cobwebs in the corners. You want to Marie Kondo that design system. It's that same satisfaction you get from lining up your shoes in front of the door in a really nice straight line. It's that sort of thing. Caretaking, I think, has its real benefits.
ID: How would you explain a design system to someone if the phrase didn't
exist?
Enger: I would call it a box of Legos. I would say, "Here's a box of toys."
You should have fun when you're designing. I would love to think of a design system as just a box of toys. Lots of possible combinations. And then somebody comes along every now and then, gets creative, and lights all of the toys on fire and builds a new one, which is great.
It should also be participatory. You should involve lots of people. You should share your toys. If you have a really nice toy, you should add it to the box.
ID: In your experience, how can you make a design system less intimidating
and more useful?
Enger: Edit, edit, edit. Documentation can be so long, and most of the time you don't need the majority of it. Describe everything as simply and concisely as possible. Use visuals when you can rather than words. Provide very simple overviews that somebody can breeze through and glance their way around. Make it fast, and make it simple.
"I think that you have to get comfortable with the fact that many things can be true at once."
It's funny, a design system is like any other experience. You have to design it for elegance and optimize it for efficiency in the same way that you would any other experience.
ID: Can you talk a little bit more about the process of optimizing for efficiency when building a design system?
Enger: I think it's about providing entry points that speak to different types of users. I'll think of an example here. Someone who's really familiar with the design system is going to want to get to what they want as fast as possible. So, you need to build in a search page. You need to have lists with the keywords that they need so that they can just get right to it. You've got to make sure there's power to use your features.
Icons from Trivium's design system
Even all the different heads on the same design system can be a big factor in how efficient something is. We had an engineering-focused portal for the design system that was basically just a huge, long list, and the engineers loved it. It was super fast. But then, for the designers, especially because the team that was growing really fast, we needed to onboard people. So, we had a visual overview that showed images relative to components.
The system should present itself in a way that is clearly understandable to the user that is using it.
ID: How do you think your knowledge of UX shaped the way that you approached living in the world on a day-to-day level?
Enger: I used to worry that being a visual person and a designer and a writer was making me dissatisfied because so much of trying to develop taste is learning to identify when something is off. It's that carefully curated sense of dissatisfaction that lets you improve as a designer. I used to worry that it was going to turn me into a grouch.
I've been very relieved to discover that what it's actually done is just develop my curiosity more, because, if you see something that feels off, that feels wrong for some reason… Maybe it's type that's kerned poorly. Maybe it's a door that opens in instead of out. When you start to pay attention and notice those things, sure, you can be a grump about it, but you can also be curious about it, and you can try to figure out why that was made that way. Was it an accident, was it intentional? Maybe there's something going on that you don't know about.
It opened up this sense that there's always something to learn. So I try to exist in that space of being excited to learn and keeping my eyes open to see what I can learn next.
ID: Earlier this year, you gave a talk at the Awwwards Conference in New York on how design systems have souls. Your talk alluded to the fact that everything has a soul—what do you mean by "soul?" How do you know it's there?
Enger: When I talk about the souls that are in design, I'm using the word in an esoteric sense. There's a variety of long, dead philosophers and scientists and nuns who referred to objects having an inherent purpose and unique and specific purpose. And everything had that purpose. A person had it, but so did a tree. So did an apple. I love that idea. And I think the thing that I like about it is that it forces you to ask the question, why is this here? What is the purpose of fill-in-the-blank? Apply it to anything at any level within a design project.
I think it's also a really kind of lovely way of equalizing many disciplines, If everything has a unique purpose, then that purpose accounts for not only its functional behavior as a UX person would craft, but that unique purpose needs to be served by the visual design. That purpose needs to be served by the copywriter who creates the snappy call to action. That purpose is applicable to everyone who touches it, and everyone needs to be responsible to that purpose.
Then that purpose is also something that relates up and down. It's that as above, said below hermetic thing. So, you have the small element. Is it harmonious with the larger themes of the product, the website, whatever it is that you're working on? Everything has to make sense from the top to the bottom, the bottom to the top.
You've got this symphony of elements and components and design styles, and they all have to sing in tune. Their souls have to be aligned for the product to feel good.
When everything's lined up, when all the souls are being expertly crafted and they're all singing the same tune, then you wind up with something that feels complete and finished.
"If everything has a unique purpose, then that purpose accounts for not only its functional behavior as a UX person would craft, but that unique purpose needs to be served by the visual design."
That kind of goes back to that idea of dissatisfaction. If you're crafting that dissatisfaction, then you can start to see where things are out of alignment. I think that that's what all good designers do. That's what all good writers do. That's what a good UX designer does. They identify where things are not serving their purpose. That's it.
ID: In that same talk that you gave, you mentioned the word 'glanceability' as a key component of design systems. Why is that important?
Enger: People don't read. People just don't read.
ID: Why do you think that is?
Enger: I think it's because we're in a hurry. You know? We're on a deadline.
A timeline of 40,000 years of art, taken from But also, documentation and design systems tend to be pretty dry. I think that's kind of the other component. It's really rare to run across writing that is pleasurable to read in a design system. It's not impossible. It's out there, and god bless the people that put in the time and love to do that. Make it glanceable so that somebody can whip through it as quickly as possible.
I think it's just a matter of kindness. To try and describe a dropdown menu in words is … It's terrible to write, and it's terrible to read. If you've just got a little animated image of a dropdown opening and closing, you get it right away.
It's just easier on everyone. I mean, even better, if you've got a little live snippet of code, and you just have the dropdown menu there. Then somebody can go in, and they can click it, and they can see it open, click and see it close. It's just merciful to everyone involved to try and keep things visual and short.
ID: When it comes to the history of design systems, key moments have included the publication of Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language, Jenifer Tidwell's view of design systems as shortcuts in the 90s, Brad Frost's theory of building systems, not pages, and the introduction of Google's Material Design. Let's look to the future, perhaps 50 years from now: what do you see as pivotal—and hope will exist—in 2069? How far could we go?
Enger: We're in a weird spot right now with design systems. They're primarily used by large-scale products. A lot of enterprise-level products. A lot of products that are used by millions if not billions of people.
What we're seeing is a radical standardization in design systems. And how could you not standardize? These things have been exhaustively A/B tested, optimized down to the pixel.
So, now what we have is an extremely narrow range of highly-performant elements that are recognizable and efficiently usable by the greatest number of people possible. We have arrived—or we are close to arriving—at a point where there's something like a design supersystem, and everybody's kind of just using variations of basically the same thing. That's extremely, extremely efficient.
"A good system would know when you want to use tool A versus tool B versus watch YouTube. That's what a hyper-personalized system would allow."
I think it's going to flip from being a standardized design system to being an individualized and generative design system where every individual person has their own design system [assigned to them by the product], and they're probably not even aware of it. The system's probably being generated based on the patterns that you yourself have as you move through space, both digitally and the real world, when you interact with your devices; when you walk into a Starbucks.
The massive awareness that is being sort of slowly created, the coverage that we have now with sensors and transactions I think is going to be enough to inform a hyper-personalized design system for the individual that will then build your experiences and your tools, probably from some insane fleet of microservices.
ID: Do you think there is such a thing as healthy skepticism about all of this?
Enger: Oh god, yeah. I think that you have to get comfortable with the fact that many things can be true at once. The same slice of code that could be hugely empowering could also be used to reinforce a surveillance state. I think skepticism is really, really important.
The potential is so incredibly, incredibly strong. It could be absolutely, radically misused. It is every day. But it could also be wonderful. You want to keep making stuff that pushes it in a wonderful direction.
by Nathania Gilson
Nathania is a writer and editor based in Melbourne, Australia.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The X-Files: The Complete Season 9 (2001)
Format: Blu-ray Genre: TV Sci-Fi
The X-Files: The Complete Season 9
Additional Formats Available
A critical favorite and cult sensation, this otherworldly suspense series from Fox stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, whose two-person unit is charged with investigating unsolved cases and incidents involving UFOs, alien abductions, government conspiracies, and other unexplained phenomena. Originally airing from 1993-2002, the show made a return to TV in 2016. Mitch Pileggi co-stars.
19 episodes on 6 discs. 15 hrs. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English DTS HD 5.1 Master Audio, French DTS stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English (SDH), French, Spanish; audio commentary on selected episodes; deleted scenes; featurettes; TV spots; more.
SKU #: B72868
Attributes: Boxed Set, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Dubbed: FRE, SPA


Recently we got an amazing 'sneak preview' tour of the Crossbones Garden in Redcross Way, SE1. Bankside Open Spaces Trust has impressive plans for a new open space, sensitively created on this post-medieval un-consecrated burial ground in SE1. Now everyone will be able to see beyond the (impressive) gates, which have become an ethereal shrine to all the forgotten buried here, including the poor and the prostitutes from Bankside's brothels, as beautifully evoked by John Constable in Southwark Mysteries. Help bring this garden to life – just three days left to donate to the Buzzbnk crowdfunding appeal.


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Los midgets son un tipo de automóvil de carreras que tienen origen en Estados Unidos. Reciben el nombre de Midget ("Midget" en inglés significa enano, pequeño, diminuto o en miniatura) por ser automóviles relativamente pequeños.

Los automóviles de esta categoría destacan por la ausencia de frenos y de caja de velocidades. Poseen cabina de piloto abierta, un chasis ligero y pequeño, transmisión directa y neumáticos de tacos. Debido al bajo peso de los automóviles y a las relaciones de marcha extremadamente cortas, estos vehículos tienen una aceleración altísima.

Los midgets están equipados con motores modificados de automóviles de calle, generalmente de cuatro cilindros. En los principales campeonatos de Estados Unidos, los midgets superan los 300 CV de potencia máxima.

Las carreras suelen llevarse a cabo en circuitos ovales de tierra compactada, de aproximadamente 400 metros de recorrido.

Cada fecha consta de series, semifinales, repechaje y final. La clasificación a la siguiente fase se determina por los tiempos registrados. Las largadas se realizan en filas de 4 autos.

Historia

Las carreras de midgets se iniciaron en 1933 en el estadio de la secundaria Loyola en Los Ángeles, Estados Unidos. En esa década, el deporte se expandió al resto de Estados Unidos, a Australia, Nueva Zelanda y Argentina.

El principal campeonato estadounidense de midgets es el Campeonato del USAC de Midgets, iniciado en 1956 como sucesor del Campeonato de la AAA de Midgets.

Algunas de las carreras más importantes de Estados Unidos son el Chilli Bowl (Tulsa), el Four Crown Nationals (Eldora), el Hut Hundred (Terre Haute), la Night Before the 500 (Indianapolis Raceway Park), y el Turkey Night Grand Prix (Irwindale).

Entre los pilotos de midgets más destacados de Estados Unidos se encuentran:
 Mel Kenyon, siete veces campeón del USAC, ocho veces subcampeón y ganador de 111 finales.
 Rich Vogler, cinco veces campeón del USAC y ganador de 95 finales.
 Bob Wente, campeón del USAC y ganador de 78 finales.
 Bob Tattersall, campeón del USAC y ganador de 63 finales.
 Sleepy Tripp, dos veces campeón del USAC, ganador de 59 finales, y siete veces campeón del USAC del Oeste.

En Australia, la principal carrera de midgets es el Campeonato Australiano de Speedcar. Luego existen campeonatos estaduales en todo el país. En 2013 se creó un campeonato nacional de midgets, la Speedcar Pro Series.

Referencias

Véase también
 Carreras de midget
 Midgets en Argentina

Enlaces externos

Tipos de automóviles de carreras
Carreras de midget

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I have a new utilite2 which I have been testing as a file server using samba.
I noticed that when I get a directory listing with a large number of files (>500) a few of the file names are corrupt (usually less than 12).
The files are systematically named so the corruption is easy to spot.
My initial test setup was using a windows-7 machine networked with the utilite2.
I then tested with a windows-xp machine networked with the utilite2. Same corruption occurred.
In switching to the windows-xp machine a different network switch was used so eliminating that.
I then used a packet sniffer to record the network traffic as it arrives to the pc. The corruption is present in the network packet.
In SMB packets, a file name is sent as multiple 2 byte sequences of 0 followed by <char>. The <char> is being set to 0 when the name is corrupted.
I then checked the directory listing using smbclient on the utilite2 which uses the samba interface but does not send the data via the network interface.
The listing is fine. All the network traffic is via the wired lan (eth0) not wireless.
I can of course continue to investigate this, but it gets harder to debug the lower in the kernel inspection is needed.
There is a new release of Linaro so one possibility is to try that, but the instruction of how to upgrade are rather opaque!
Given no checksum errors were being reported and tcp checksum offload is the default I decided to switch this off.
The corruption problem has vanished!
I have tested with windows-xp and windows-7 and both are now fine.
Clearly not using tcp checksum offload means a cpu hit.
Anyone else reporting this problem?
Is this a hardware fault with the board I have?
Is it an option for you to check the wireless so the problem can be narrowed down a bit?
Well, the most straight-forward way would be to install as if this was a new install. Although if you decide to test it, you might require some additional kernel pathces (I can provide you those) to make the Ethernet work.
That is really good to know! Although it does not point to an exact failing component.
Have you performed any particular performance tests?
AFAIR, this is a first report of such kind of problem.
It does not look like h/w fault, but I can't say for sure.
The investigation will require some time.
Also we are planning to switch to a newer kernel code base, but it is not ready yet, so it will require some time.
In checking more carefully I discovered switching off tcp checksum offload switched off all the advanced NIC features, it is an all or nothing interface. So in cannot be assumed the problem was the NIC checksumming. The performance looks OK for me with the OS handling the network stack, so I can continue testing. I don't have an easy way to do a wireless test but I will try an organise it.
Since the NIC does basic packet handling with no issues, I agree it seems unlikely it is a hardware issue. I fully understand the difficulties in tracking in down!


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Key Factors That Aid an Entrepreneur's Commitment
Key Factors for Success
By Vanessa Cross
Examples of Good Ideas Turning Into Businesses
What Characteristics Attract Entrepreneurs to a Business?
How to Play Music in the Background on an Android Phone
Social Issues With Starting a New Business
Different Motivations for Starting a New Business
Entrepreneurship is a risky venture by nature. It involves committing resources to a business enterprise in hopes of securing profits on the venture. The types of risks involved in an entrepreneurial venture require a high level of commitment by the entrepreneur.
Do What You Enjoy
Donny Deutsch, CNBC host and author of the book "The Big Idea," says that "when Sunday night feels as great as Friday night, you're doing what you love." When you start a new business, a key factor that aids in long-term commitment is to pursue a business enterprise that relates to activities that you enjoy. While doing what you love will not guarantee you riches, it will ensure that you will not be miserable.
Pursue Your Passion
Socially passionate entrepreneurs are driven by the the fact that their entrepreneurial endeavors can have an impact on areas related to their social activism. For example, Anita Roddick, the founder of The Body Shop, a cosmetic and beauty product franchise, is known in the business world for her social activism. This includes issues related to eliminating animal testing, supporting local trade and defending a number of human rights issues around the world. The success of her business enterprise allowed her to have a greater impact in these areas of her social activism.
The Dynamic Team
"I want to be surrounded by amazingly intelligent, creative people," says Shenan Reed, a partner in Morpheus Media, an advertising and marketing agency, in Entrepreneur magazine. "This business is not about me. It's about them." The characteristics of the business team will have an impact on your state of mind as an entrepreneur. Driven and curious co-workers will increase your level of commitment to the business and the team.
Capital Resources
One of the main reasons for small business failure is starting with a lack of resources. This might include a shortfall of a combination of financial and human capital. The strain that can befall an entrepreneur faced with financial pressures can have an impact on both his personal and business life. This makes access to sufficient capital resources a key factor that aids your commitment to a small business enterprise.
"Entrepreneur" Magazine; Love What You Do; Eve Gumpel; November 2008
MSNBC Today Books; How to Get Rich from Your "Big Idea"; January 7, 2009
Vanessa Cross has practiced law in Tennessee and lectured as an adjunct professor on law and business topics. She has also contributed as a business writer to news publications, including the "Chicago Tribune," and published in peer-reviewed academic journals. Cross holds a B.A. in journalism, a Juris Doctor and an LL.M. in international business law.
Transactional Vs. Authentic Leadership
What Are the Basic Concepts & Characteristics of Entrepreneurship?
What Are the Typical Traits & Characteristics of Entrepreneurs?
Business Definition of Operational Sustainability
How to Find People's Contacts on LinkedIn
How to Search Windows Live Profiles
Business Strategies of Companies
5 Resources You Need to Succeed to Start a Business
What Is the Function of Entrepreneurs?
1 Transactional Vs. Authentic Leadership
2 What Are the Basic Concepts & Characteristics of Entrepreneurship?
3 What Are the Typical Traits & Characteristics of Entrepreneurs?
4 Business Definition of Operational Sustainability


Attention all cat lovers! You know you can't help but let out an "awwh" when you see your cat stretching! Express your love for these furry friends with this cute necklace you're sure to want to wear with everything! This necklace makes the perfect gift for any cat lover and will surly make them smile!


According to some new sources (thanks Alexander) a trojan is doing the rounds in the Netherlands at the moment causing major issues within organisations.
According to the analysis the malware encrypts files which will be a problem for those without proper backups.
If you have samples feel free to upload them to our contact form (ziped up with a password of infected please).
Just as a quick follow up on Daniel's diary from last week (https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=13813) regarding the liluhophilupop SQL injection run which has started up again as of approximately the 1st of August.
This particular run is very similar to the one back in December 2011 with one minor variation, so far. The platform being attacked is still applications with MSSQL as the backend. The target is to inject a php script which redirects, etc, etc (the usual rabbit hole). The main difference between the two attacks is that this time many different domains are being injected rather than the one main domain as was the case in December. Some of the comments on the previous diary entry provided some of the domains. These are the ones I have found so far.
rr.nu seems to be a nice spot for malicious domains.
The attack is ramping up slightly with search engines reporting approximately 235K pages infected at the moment. BTW previous sites that were affected back in December are being revisited as part of this run. So if that was you, then you may wish to check your log files to make sure you haven't been affected again.
When you look through your previous logs you will find entries similar to these.
These are a initial tests to see if the application has some ready injection points.
Take the IP address from these log lines and check your web logs again for those IP addresses and you will find other activities. The user agent string is also good to use, as often these stay the same even though different IP addresses are being used.
When you are doing remediation make sure the developers understand that any input that results in a SQL query can be used to inject, It does not have to be a form variable, any variable is fair game. All input must be validated prior to being used (and not just at the client end either).


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Kanye West Demands a Public Apology From Drake for Following Kim Kardashian
"I love everyone even Drake. That's my whole thing," Kanye tweeted
Published at 10:00 pm on December 31, 2018
Kanye West is upset over Drake following Kim Kardashian on social media.
The "Stronger" rapper, who is currently on a family vacation with his wife and their three kids in Aspen, took to Twitter on New Year's Eve to address his feud with Drake once again.
"I've never mentioned or touched on anything related to family when it came to Drake he followed my wife on Instagram he mentioned Pusha's fiance in a song," Kanye began his series of tweets. "He dodged me for months when I extended olive branches to talk and then called to threaten me. This man tried to used my family's song to get at me He been trying to pick a fight since the pool line."
Kanye West Is "Drug Free" and "So Thankful" for 2019 Blessings
"Who's bright idea was it to tell Drake to follow my wife on Instagram?" Kanye asked, adding that they are not Drake's friend. "I don't have beef with no one. Love everyone but don't follow my f--king wife on Instagram. Ima focus on my family And you keep my family out of all of this wrestling foolishness."
Kanye then tweeted, "You could have been sat down with me I don't need to score no points off of drake. If that was the case I wouldn't have reached out in the first place. I don't ignore people and I also don't let people just f--k with me. I only play by God's rules. I don't follow no man made codes."
"Much love to people who think it's better to fight or even worse over talking Y'all day it's lame when I tweet but this man been dodging me and I got something to say," Kanye continued. "Or it's cool if it's a diss record because it's more entertaining? Ima break all codes. I ain't taking advice from no one who ain't do nothing to actually help."
Kanye then added, "This man followed my wife on Instagram I feel a public apology in order."
He then went on to say that tweeting is "legal and also therapeutic," before declaring his love for everyone.
"I love everyone even Drake. That's my whole thing," Kanye concluded his series of tweets. "Love everyone."


text:
PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Instructor Site
Register for Instructor Site
Sample Answers to Exercises and Thought Questions: Chapter 16
EX 16.1
Find a patent number on a product that interests you. Look up the patent using an online reference tool.
I am very interested in bicycle products, so I found patent number 4,957,227, which is titled Saddle mounted bicycle water bottle carrier. I used Google Patent (http://www.google.com/patents)
Draft a claim for the self-stick notepad invention marketed by 3M Corporation as the Post-it note.
The claims are a set of numbered phrases that precisely define the essential elements of the invention. The patent owner can prevent others from practicing the invention described by the claims only. The rest of the patent application is essentially background context for the claims.
Here is my claim for the self-stick Post-it note: A note taking device, comprising a stack of paper and an adhesive for joining the paper to each other or other objects. Said adhesive allows the piece of paper to be stuck and unstuck multiple times, and does not leave a residue.
Draw a logic diagram of two claims for the patent in Exercise 1.
Here are the claims for the patent in Exercise 1 (taken from a Google Patent search):
And here is the logic diagram of the first two claims:
Generate one or more product concepts that are very different from the Coffin and Sorensen inventions to address the problem of handling a hot coffee cup and that don't infringe the Coffin and Sorensen patents.
Concept #1: The coffee sleeve completely encloses the hot coffee cup. It can be thought of as a "cup in a cup", where the sleeve is a larger cup with foam stand-offs on the inside that isolate the heat from the outer cup, and act as a wedge to prevent slipping between the two cups.
Concept #2: A plastic ring with a handle is used to hold the hot coffee cup. The ring would have a wedge shape to securely capture the cup.
TQ 16.1
Controversy erupted in 1999 when the J.M. Smucker Company sued a Michigan bakery, Albie's, for infringing on its patent by marketing a crustlesspeanut butter and jelly sandwich crimped on the edges (See U.S. patent 6,004,596.) Albie's argued that the patent was issued in error because the invention was obvious. Look up the Smucker patent. Do you believe that the Smucker's invention was nonobvious? Why or why not?
Patent law defines obvious inventions as those that would be clearly evident to those with "ordinary skill in the art" who faced the same problem as the inventor. In this case, the problem is that some people don't like the crust of the peanut butter sandwich. Children often don't like the crust because it is tougher to chew and has a different taste, and for this reason it is common for parents to remove the crust for their kids. Crimped edges would be useful in preventing the peanut butter and jelly from oozing out into the child's hands - though it's unlikely that many parents actually crimp the edges because a special tool or procedure is required. I would argue that parents have an "ordinary skill in the art" of sandwich making, and the solution of removing the crust (and crimping the edges) is obvious to them. In addition to being crustless and crimped, Smucker's patent had a claim relating to putting peanut butter on both pieces of bread with the jelly in the center to prevent it from leaking through the bread. Though this solution may be less obvious, their patent was rejected in 2003 due to prior art (e.g. Albie claimed that a similar sandwich has been a popular dish in northern Michigan since the nineteenth century).
An article on the topic can be found here.
Why might an inventor describe but not claim an invention in a patent?
Inventors might describe but not claim an invention because their disclosure becomes part of the prior art and therefore prevents others from patenting these alternative approaches to their actual patented claims.
Copyright 2019 Karl Ulrich, Steven Eppinger, and Maria Yang


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Freedom Circle
Where Can You Find Freedom Today?
Home > Places > North America >
Territory in Central America, ruled since 1987 by the República de Nicaragua
Other Places: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the northwest, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Managua is the country's capital and largest city and is also the third-largest city in Central America, behind Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City. The multi-ethnic population of six million includes people of indigenous, European, African and Asian heritage. The main language is Spanish. Native tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English.
Measures of Freedom
Human Freedom Index [PDF], The Human Freedom Index 2016
2014: 6.88, Rank: 76, Personal Freedom: 6.38, Economic Freedom: 7.39, Democracy Index: 4.88
Level of Economic Freedom, Economic Freedom of the World
2014: 7.39, Rank: 45
Nicaragua | Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016
2016: Status: Partly Free, Aggregate Score: 54, Political Rights: 4, Civil Liberties: 3
"In 2015, the dominance of the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) continued to be a point of contention with the opposition, which has found itself increasingly marginalized in recent years. Tensions have increased ahead of the 2016 national elections, as opposition protesters demanded electoral reforms. Meanwhile, President Daniel Ortega still enjoyed high approval ratings, largely as a result of his handling of the economy and popular social programs."
Improve the CIA? Better to abolish it, by Chalmers Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle , 22 Feb 2004
Lists countries where the CIA conducted subversive operations and recommends abolishing the agency.
"Since the overthrow of the Iranian government in 1953, the CIA has engaged in similar disguised assaults on the governments of Guatemala (1954); the Congo (1960); Cuba (1961); Brazil (1964); Indonesia (1965); Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (1961-73); Greece (1967); Chile (1973); Afghanistan (1979 to the present); El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua (1980s); and Iraq (1991 to the present) -- to name only the most obvious cases."
Related Topics: Attacks of 11 September 2001, Afghanistan, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Foreign Entanglements, Greece, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Laos, United States, Vietnam
Totalitarian Busybodies: The horrors of the Stasi's East Germany, by Glenn Garvin, Reason , Jan 2006
Review of Stasiland: True Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder and After the Wall: Confessions from an East German Childhood and the Life That Came Next by Jana Hensel
"In ... revolutionary Nicaragua, the [government] created watch committees on every block ... called Committees for the Defense of Sandinismo ... They encouraged neighbors to engage in 'revolutionary vigilance'—that is, to rat out one another for anything ... that seemed suspicious or contrary to the regime's moral and political orthodoxies."
Related Topics: Cuba, Germany
Warring as Lying Throughout American History, by James Bovard, Future of Freedom , Feb 2008
Recounts how U.S. Presidents and their administrations since James Polk have lied about wars, from start to finish
"During the 1980s, the U.S. State Department ran a propaganda campaign that placed numerous articles in the U.S. media praising the Nicaraguan Contras and attacking the Sandinista regime. As the Christian Science Monitor noted in 2002, the State Department "fed the Miami Herald a make-believe story that the Soviet Union had given chemical weapons to the Sandinistas. Another tale, which happened to emerge the night of President Ronald Reagan's reelection victory, held that Soviet MiG fighters were on their way to Nicaragua." The General Accounting Office investigated and concluded that the State Department operation was illegal ..."
Related Topics: Bill Clinton, Gulf War, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Terrorism, Vietnam War, War, Woodrow Wilson, World War II
Pirates and Emperors - Schoolhouse Rock, 17 Sep 2006
Related Topics: Imperialism, Iran, Iraq
The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Nicaragua" as of 23 Sep 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
About Us - Contact Us - Most content available under Creative Commons Attribution license, see Content Licensing - Privacy Policy


Glasgow is leading the way in robotic pharmacy, freeing up pharmacy staff to spend more time with patients and deliver drug dispensing efficiencies worth around £5m. The impact of the 'techno team' stretches across hospitals and health care facilities throughout Greater Glasgow and Clyde, but news of its success goes much further.
Tucked away in a secure modern business park in the south side of Glasgow this single high tech hub has replaced 14 separate pharmacy stores and now is at the heart of the distribution of all medicines used in hospitals and clinics throughout the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
The centre is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and is bristling with technology. Highly automated throughout, the robotic arms silently and swiftly go about their crucial business – obeying the electronically ordered medicine supplies from the wards and clinics of Scotland's largest health board.
It handles 100,000 packs of medicines to 4,000 destination points every week.
The board has saved £5 million in efficiencies since the centre has been operational. The money has been reinvested back in to health care services to ensure patients feel the benefit.
The centre also manages the homecare service which provides specialist medicines directly to 3,800 patients at home and who attend specialists clinics, in both the Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Lanarkshire areas.
The centre also enables more than 40 specialist pharmacy staff, who were previously involved in the dispensing of medicine, to now work directly with patients on wards allowing nurses and doctors to spend more time on direct patient activities.
While this way of working is well established in Glasgow, it remains very much cutting edge technology elsewhere within the UK and a number of Trusts within NHS England are keen to learn from and replicate the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde model.
Norman Lannigan, Head of the Pharmacy and Prescribing Support Unit, NHSGGC, has been involved with the project since its inception and is delighted at the benefits it has delivered. He said: "The scale of the operation within the Pharmacy Distribution Centre is unique within the NHS.
"The technology at the centre has allowed us to release staff from their dispensing and distribution activities and to integrate them in to ward-based teams where they can use their knowledge and skills working with our patients to ensure that they get maximum benefit from their medicines.
"Pharmacy has much more to offer in the provision of direct care to patients than its traditional activity of dispensing and distributing medicines.
"The centre is an important part of the board's ambitious modernisation programme.


Addiction and drug abuse are on the rise, and substance abuse of marijuana, prescription medications and alcohol are possible factors that could diminish the chances of students reaching their full potential.
Despite the efforts of anti-drug programs, such as D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) to educate children and the public on substance abuse, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that marijuana and painkiller use is on the rise in major cities in Texas.
As socially acceptable as alcohol is, it is commonly abused by young adults through binge drinking and combining alcohol with other substances, such as energy drinks or prescription medications. Positive blood alcohol levels can still show up the next day after a night of binge drinking, affecting a student's ability to get to class on time, process and store information or even show up at all.
Marijuana abuse also has negative effects, resulting in a lack of motivation to achieve daily activities. Alcohol consumption has longer-lasting effects on learning ability, memory and sleep cycle. Binge drinking one evening could lead to irritability, anxiety and fatigue the following days, which may cause students to attempt to counter the effects with energy drinks.
Students have also been known to combine energy drinks with different substances, which can be counter-productive and dangerous. In an article on livescience.com, the Food and Drug Administration linked alcohol and energy drinks to students having impaired cognition and even miscarriages.
The Georgetown Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences, a student health study web site, recognizes that the abuse of alcohol can easily lead to the use of other substances, such as over-the-counter medications. Prescribed medications, such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and ADD (attention deficit disorder) medicines, like Ritalin and Adderall, commonly referred to as study buddies, have also been known to circulate campuses. These drugs increase dopamine levels and are used by students to help them focus when preparing for exams, but many students are unaware of the long-term side effects they may contain.
" They may be talking out loud, hallucinating, or foaming from the mouth," said Corporal Maria Salazar, Palo Alto College campus coordinator.
No matter what it's used for, combining any type of drugs and using an excessive amount of anything can be dangerous to your mental and physical health, resulting in failure to function in college or at work, which can negatively affect your entire life.
To learn more about the effects of substance abuse and stay updated on campus alerts, you can visit the Alamo District Police web page, collegedrinkingrevention.gov and drugabuse.gov.


We want homeowners to know that they can turn to us when you find a fungus infestation in your home, because our mold removal Abington team at 911 Restoration of Philadelphia are available around the clock to handle everything.
Our phone lines are constantly open, making our mold removal Abington technicians available 24/7/365 to schedule you an appointment with us.
Once our water damage Abington agents arrive on the scene we will provide you with a free home inspection, that includes us checking the entire property for both mold and water damage.
Even though mold is not necessarily considered an emergency situation, we always act quickly when it comes to situations involving water, so you can count on us to be there within 45 minutes.
Call our mold removal Abington specialists the moment you notice any water stains or moldy patches inside your household, and we will get go the extra mile for you today.
Most homeowners are unaware of the safety issues that come along with mold growth in their property, but our water damage Abington crew knows the health issues that mold spore inhalation can cause.
By breathing in these particles you may experience breathing difficulties, that can include wheezing, headaches, coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes and other allergy-like symptoms.
Our mold removal Abington unit wants you to be know that in certain situations you can feel the effects of mold before actually seeing it growing in your household.
We understand that fungus tends to grow in parts of the home that are out of normal sight, such as crawlspaces, attics, air vents and inside walls, so call our water damage Abington workers today.
If you discover a full blown mold infestation in your home you can stay calm knowing that our mold removal Abington members will not stop until every trace of the substance has been cleared from the premises.
We are licensed, bonded and insured to recover your home from any degree of mold damage, and our water damage Abington techs will always find the source of the issue to prevent a reoccurrence.
It is understandable that you may not be aware of how to file your insurance claim for issues concerning water damage, so you can rely on us to file your claim for you.
Even if your insurance will not cover the mold damage, you can be confident that our mold removal Abington experts will provide you with the most affordable priced fungus and leak remediation services in the area.
Call our water damage Abington professionals at 911 Restoration of Philadelphia when you need thorough mold clean up services, and we will make sure you will get the service you and your home deserves.


text:
About Our Doctors
Home / About Our Doctors
Dr. Nash Stopko
Dr. Nash Michael Stopko is an Iowa native, born and raised near Iowa City, Iowa. He earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from the University of Northern Iowa, where he was a member of the football program. During his tenure with the football program at UNI, Nash was able to study and incorporate his knowledge of biomechanics with a high level of athletic personal training.
Enrolling at Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2017, Nash was more than familiar with athletic injuries and the process of healing. As an active member in clubs on campus, he started an internship in his 2nd year under Dr. Mitch Mally, a world renowned expert in chiropractic and treatment of professional athletes.
During his final trimester of school, he completed his residency program at Tri-Med Health and Wellness center in an integrated health care program. In 2020 Dr. Nash earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. During his time in graduate school, Dr. Nash was an active member with philanthropy events and constantly worked on his application of chiropractic through additional courses. His passion and love for chiropractic science, art and philosophy are the foundation for his ambition to serve the community of Ames with honor.
Dr. Leilani Zinsli
Dr. Leilani Jessica Zinsli was born in Davenport, Iowa. She grew up participating in competitive gymnastics, which is what invited chiropractic care into her life. She was fortunate enough to experience the benefits of chiropractic care due to the stressors of the sport causing low back pain and sciatica at a young age.
Throughout her high school years, she continued to stay active in sports! Her competitive nature encouraged her to play for the University of Iowa Women's rugby team where she developed a love for the sport. Her rugby career at Iowa led her to receive an athletic scholarship to play for the Palmer College of Chiropractic Women's Rugby team, following her graduation at the University of Iowa with a degree in Biology.
In 2017, Dr. Leilani was able to pursue her dream of helping people by attending the largest chiropractic school in the world; Palmer College. While in school, she was humbly elected president and captain of the rugby team, leading them to its first undefeated regular, and postseason. While playing the sport, she continued to see how chiropractic care aids injury and pain relief, but through her clinical experience she has been able to witness how chiropractic can support overall physical and mental health.
We celebrate and honor every person that walks through our door. Health is not a passive process. Bringing forth the best outcomes, requires an active approach in many circles of life. At Complete Connection, empowering each individual starts with understanding the bodies power and ability to heal itself. Healing comes naturally to the body, the only limitation is from interference on the communication between the mind and body. It's our job to locate and correct the interference (subluxation) that limits the body's innate ability to heal. Taking a complete approach at connecting the body involves educating our community on the laws of the mind, the body, and spirit. It is our mission to be a unique chiropractic office to promote a wellness society.
In an ever growing connected world, the most important connection to make is with yourself. We believe it is our duty and privilege to serve the community with all the love, dedication, and honor to any and all who seek it. In a life full of stress and negativity, we aspire to be the light in the darkness. Our vision is to amplify the inner light in every body allowing you to shine as bright as you can!
Prenatal & Post Partum Care
cconnectionchiropractic@gmail.com
3600 university blvd #102, Ames, IA, 50014
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As a franchisor, your role is to ensure all new franchisees follow the rules and requirements to operate under the name. Everything from signage to operating hours to staff uniforms may be restricted to follow the parent company's guidelines. When new franchisees come aboard, they must read and understand these requirements before agreeing to them.
An LMS can make it easier to standardize the training of new franchise owners. You can put the guidebook on the system so others can access it and read it for themselves. When new owners seek to become part of the franchise, you can easily add them to the system so they can read the same guidebook as everyone else.
To keep a business relevant, it must change with the times. In a franchise, even one change can be complex as dozens or even hundreds of locations must follow suit to comply with the parent company. To manually update every guidebook is time-consuming and maybe even impossible.
With an online LMS, you can make the changes to the rules and regulations right in the content and everyone will have access to the updates. You can even set the system to send out emails with the details of the changes. As everyone reviews the updates, you can receive notification for your own records.
Managing numerous franchises from a distance can be complex. However, an LMS makes it easy and efficient. As new franchise owners come on board, you can provide access to the content they need to read. They can ask questions through messages and note when the review is completed. As new staff is hired by the franchise businesses, those people can gain access and read the same material that is relevant to them.
It's easy to set up access for all employees based on the level of information they need. You can create reports to see which franchisees are up to date on required training and other information. A learning management system enables you to manage your franchises and the various teams even when corporate is located in another state.
The right LMS will be scalable and grow with your company as you add new franchisees to your family. This growth is exciting, but it can be challenging to maintain the standards your company was founded upon. With an LMS, you can communicate your expectations, train all staff as they come aboard, and monitor the franchisees to ensure continued success for the long term.


Jesus told us, his disciples, to make disciples of all nations. One of the most important values of Valley Grove Baptist Church is our mission to the world. It begins in our own community, and spreads overseas to every nation. Valley Grove Baptist members are involved in a variety of ministries from things as simple as washing the church vehicles, to preparing the church bulletins.
God-honoring worship is something we strive for. Many church members get involved in our music ministry. Some play their instruments. Some are vocalists. Others are involved in the choir. These volunteers are an important part of the ministry of Valley Grove Baptist Church, using their talents and gifts to glorify God.
The usher & greeting team at Valley Grove Baptist Church fills an important role. They are involved in directing attendees to their seats, ensuring the safety of the building during services, guiding traffic, helping visitors, answering questions, providing direction, unlocking doors, locking doors, and generally ensuring that the service can proceed problem-free. The usher & greeting team is a servant-hearted group of men and women whose ministry is integral to church life. Be sure to visit our "Welcome Center" when you come to receive more information about the church.
Using media to spread the gospel is a privilege and we hope to have this portion of our website up and running asap. In an age of widespread technology, we have a stewardship to use these tools as best as possible for kingdom purposes. All of our weekly sermons will be uploaded to our website in video and audio formats.
Prayer cannot be overestimated. Prayer moves the hand of God. Valley Grove Church is a body of believers dependent upon prayer, and committed to God's sovereignty. Each Sunday, during the morning service, a team of volunteers is praying for the ministry of the Word. Throughout the week, volunteers to our Prayer Warriors team, pray for their pastor, a list of church members, any special requests, and missionary prayer needs. Each Wednesday, the church comes together for a special time of prayer and Bible study.
In order to give our children the best Bible teaching possible, Valley Grove holds a children's church service in conjunction with the main service. This special time gives kids more opportunity for interaction and learning in a context and manner that may be better suited to their age and learning styles. Our friendly children's church volunteers have an endless stream of creativity–ranging from puppet shows, to games, to object lessons.
In order to maintain the safety of our congregation, we have a security team in place. The team members patrol the halls during service. They report any suspicious activity or people to the proper authorities. They make sure the doors are locked at the proper times and no one is admitted without proper authoritzation. We want to keep our people safe at all times.


This girl always dreamt about to become a veterinarian. Now she has grown up and she her dream has become true. She is a vet and she is always so friendly. She has opened her own veterinary clinic and she is curing animals every day for the pet owners of the city. Now it is up to you to dress her up in stylish way for her working day. Today she will treat cats, dogs and a turtle.


Sweetheart Dance: The PTO's annual Sweetheart Dance is April 26, 2019. This is a chance for your child to ask his/her favorite adult to accompany him/her to the dance. The dance takes place at the Barrington Middle School from 6:00-8:00. More information, including how to register for the dance, how to volunteer, and what donations are needed, can be found here.
Town Meeting: The next Town Meeting is April 9 at 1:55. Mrs. Piette's class is the Class of the Week.
Volunteer Appreciation Week: Next week, we celebrate all of our volunteers. Thank you to everyone who volunteers in any capacity for Sowams School. Your hard-work and dedication are greatly appreciated.
School Vacation Week: There is no school for students the week of April 15, 2019.
Kids Heart Challenge: During P.E. classes this week we will be finishing up our Kids Heart Challenge (Formerly Jump Rope for Heart). Students will participate in a variety of jumping and jump rope activities that were previously practiced during their regularly scheduled P.E. class. Stations will include jump rope tricks, hurdles, obstacle course, long/high jump, rest and heart rate monitoring stations. If there are any remaining envelopes or donations that you would like to make, they will be accepted at school and online until 4/12. At the start of April break, all paperwork and donations will be finalized and thank you gifts will be ordered. Thank you for all of your continued support in keeping this program such a success here at Sowams School and keeping our kids hearts as healthy and strong as possible.


text:
Population growth and family planning in Egypt, 1985-92
Gad Gilbar
Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xvi, 1992
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429039461-19
Published - 13 Dec 2021
Social Sciences (all)
10.4324/9780429039461-19
Gilbar, G. (2021). Population growth and family planning in Egypt, 1985-92. In Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xvi, 1992 (pp. 335-348). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429039461-19
Gilbar, Gad. / Population growth and family planning in Egypt, 1985-92. Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xvi, 1992. Taylor and Francis, 2021. pp. 335-348
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Gilbar G. Population growth and family planning in Egypt, 1985-92. In Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xvi, 1992. Taylor and Francis. 2021. p. 335-348 doi: 10.4324/9780429039461-19


text:
Board index ‹ General Discussions ‹ Scientific discussions (Non-FAH)
WSJ - Op Ed - Biotech's Breakthrough Year - 12 29 2017
Please confine these topics to things that would be of general interest to those who are interested in FAH which don't fall into any other category.
Moderator: Site Moderators
by tcphillips » Sat Dec 30, 2017 3:11 pm
Biotech's Breakthrough Year
Medical advances are accelerating, and even the FDA approves.
Dec. 29, 2017 6:55 p.m. ET
Pay attention only to politics and you might think 2017 was a parade of horribles, yet most Americans saw their living standards rise and business innovations are happening apace. Consider the lifesaving medical breakthroughs greenlighted this year by the Food and Drug Administration.
Last week the FDA approved the novel gene therapy Luxturna to treat patients with hereditary retinal dystrophy, a degenerative disease that can lead to blindness. Luxturna, developed by Spark Therapeutics, is the first gene therapy approved in the U.S. that targets a disease caused by a specific gene mutation.
The retinal disorder can be caused by mutations in more than 220 genes, but scientists identified RPE65 as a culprit for between 1,000 and 2,000 U.S. patients. RPE65 provides the coding that programs an enzyme necessary to convert light in retinal cells. If there's an error in RPE65, the enzyme isn't produced.
Luxturna uses a virus as a vehicle to insert a normal copy of the gene directly into a patient's retinal cells. According to the FDA, patients who received Luxturna in a trial "demonstrated significant improvements in their ability to complete [an] obstacle course at low light levels as compared to the control group."
Gene therapy has shown promise in early trials for other disorders caused by monogenetic mutations such as hemophilia, sickle cell disease and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It will be more difficult to treat maladies caused by multiple genetic mutations, but companies are investing billions in curative therapies.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Spark Therapeutics's therapy Luxturna on Dec. 19.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Spark Therapeutics's therapy Luxturna on Dec. 19. Photo: Spark Therapeutics/Associated Press
A 2012 law encourages development of treatments for pediatric orphan diseases by allowing the FDA to award priority-review vouchers that pharmaceutical companies like Spark Therapeutics can later redeem for fast-track review of other drug treatments. The vouchers have boosted research in rare diseases.
Last month Sangamo Therapeutics used a novel technique that directly edits genes—i.e., without the use of a virus—in a California patient who suffered from a rare progressive metabolic disorder. The company is conducting trials using this precision genetic-engineering tool on patients with hemophilia B and Hurler syndrome.
Researchers are also making strides using cell-based gene therapy to treat persistent cancers. The FDA this year approved two CAR T-cell therapies for blood cancers, which in trials produced nearly miraculous results for patients who had failed to respond to other treatments. The therapy re-engineers a patient's white blood cells by combining the defensive properties of B-cells with the offensive machinery of T-cells. Patients receive infusions of CAR T-cells, which target an antigen unique to cancer cells. As a bonus, CAR T-cell infusions produce less debilitating side effects than traditional treatments.
In a clinical trial of patients with large B-cell lymphomas, Yescarta by Kite Pharma (now owned by Gilead) produced an overall three-month response rate of 82% with 54% of patients experiencing complete remission. Fewer than 10% of non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients respond completely to traditional therapies. Likewise, 83% of pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia responded within three months to Novartis's Kymriah CAR T-cell therapy.
Although CAR T-cell treatments can cost several hundred thousand dollars, traditional treatments are often more expensive and aren't cures. Prices will also likely drop as scientists develop tools to mechanize cell engineering, and the FDA approvals will encourage more CAR-T cell experimentation.
The FDA has a history of painfully slow drug approvals and setting arbitrary benchmarks to prove efficacy, which has slowed innovation and stalled investment. This is why it's especially promising that the FDA in November approved for the first time a digital pill that can be used to monitor whether and when patients take their meds.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical embedded a sensor made of copper, magnesium and silicon into its antipsychotic drug Abilify. When ingested, the pill sends an electrical signal to a wearable patch that can transmit to a smartphone app. The digital Abilify hasn't been shown to improve treatment compliance, but it was deemed safe and approved by the FDA. Its sensor technology could have broader pharmaceutical applications—such as reminding the elderly to take medications or helping doctors determine whether patients are abusing opioids.
Advances in biotechnology are likely to accelerate and compound as they did with computing—especially as corporate tax reform allows American companies to invest more in innovations that improve and save lives.
Appeared in the December 30, 2017, print edition.
1 x Q6750 - stock 2 x GTX 950 Ti
1 x Q6600 - stock GTX 1070 Ti
1 x e3550 - stock 2 x GTX 750 Ti
...recovering engineer.
tcphillips
Location: Romeo, MIchigan
Return to Scientific discussions (Non-FAH)


Probate | Estate Administration in Ontario, Canada: New eBook!
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — Lawyers are under a "huge threat" and risk being run out of business unless they come to grips with a new legal order instead of trusting that big profits will bounce back when the economy recovers, says a legal futurist.
"The genie is out of the bottle," warned Richard Susskind, who said Tuesday that the wide availability of do-it-yourself services and legal documents online, along with a growing trend to hire lawyers in India for a fraction of the cost, will force the profession to offer more for less.
Mr. Susskind, an international speaker and professor at Oxford University in the U.K., who has made a bit of a splash in the legal world with his brand of futurism, noted that his audiences tend to be gatherings of senior lawyers who seem more interested in short-term profitability that the wave of the future.
"Leading firms are relying on the market returning," said Mr. Susskind, who also asserted that the "old way of thinking" is gradually giving way to more openness because the traditional business is under siege.
Clients, in particular, are loathe to pay high hourly rates for routine services that they can source online or find offshore for a fraction of the cost, Susskind said.
The public is not only demanding more, but young lawyers are also questioning whether the business model is broken, whether fixed costs are too high, and whether senior partners care about the long-term sustainability of the profession, he said.
The bar association hired Mr. Susskind as a "special adviser" last year to help modernize the business in Canada, which has been slow to adopt new ways of doing business to compete with novel legal services.
Traditionally, lawyers have billed by the hour and clients pay for the whole package of services, without knowing whether they are getting value for their money.
Mr. Susskind told his audience that firms have no choice but to embrace change as the online business becomes more inventive and sophisticated. Legal documents and how-to manuals can be bought on eBay, "temping" services in the U.K. are beginning to offer lawyers and paralegals at about half the cost of law firms, and there are several online providers of such things as dispute resolution techniques.
In Canada, a novel business called Dynamic Legal Forms offers free legal advice and documents online.
For a start, Mr. Susskind said, law firms should provide more a la carte services rather than full packages. They can also outsource their more routine work, and pass the savings along to customers, while keeping high-end, complex work in-house.
Canadian lawyers have been considering following a growing trend in the United States of "unbundling" services by permitting clients to do some of the work themselves.
Critics, however, contend it could open up lawyers to legal problems of their own by offering advice on issues when they do not have the full picture.
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, in a weekend news conference at the bar association gathering, suggested that legal fees could be more affordable if lawyers were "more flexible" in billing their clients, perhaps by "unbundling" or charging a flat rate rather than by the hour.
All options that are being considered by a legal task force of lawyers and judges, she said, while cautioning she is not telling lawyers how to run their business.


text:
Chat Of The Landowners
Stephen Dalton
In the second of this two-parter with PRODIGY'S LIAM HOWLETT, NME has a word, Hello!-stylee, about his new country home, his pal Keith and his future. Squirestarters: STEPHEN DALTON (words) STEVE GULLICK (photos)
A crisp winter stillness hangs over Prodigy-world. Liam Howlett emerges from his palatial new barn conversion amid the rolling fields outside Chelmsford, surveying the fat of the land in all its frosted glory. Nothing can spoil the idyllic tranquillity of his pastoral fortress of solitude.
Nothing, that is, except his new neighbour. For Keith Flint has just moved in next door, and he is hacking down a hedge with his turbo-nutter chainsaw, shattering the primeval hush, blasting Mother Nature's handiwork into shrapnel. Even when he does the gardening, it seems Keith is still punk rock personified. He's the cereal killer, shrub destroyer, twisted privet butcher.
But later, over drinks with NME in an East End pub, Liam seems keen to dispel Keith's self-confessed image as a horticultural homebody.
"Naaah, he takes the piss with things like that," Liam shrugs. "Basically, he bought a new house and of course he didn't want to have a block of mud in his garden, so he put a few flowers in to make it look nice. Then all of a sudden, he's a gardener. "
Surely you can be totally hardcore and still love gardening?
"I know, and Keith does. I pay for people to do my garden. I'm getting a Japanese garden built at the moment, but Keith is out there cutting a fucking hedge down with a chainsaw! He's out there today, without a doubt. If I ring him now he'll be up a ladder with a chainsaw in his hand. "
And it's Keith, of course, who has been crucial to the Prodigy's globe-stomping success as their chief focal point, teen-tyrant icon and kiddy-scaring future-punk folk devil. Liam says, "Keith's chilled out a lot these days, but catch him on an off day and he's still aggressive as fuck. " And apparently the loose-cannon singer wasn't too happy with that Lucozade advert's resemblance to his 'Firestarter' persona.
"I can see Keith frustation at being taken as a caricature," nods Liam, "but there's no other pop stars out there where you can draw a circle and two little triangles on their head and you've got Keith. If you went on a rampage you could fucking sue everyone, because I've seen Keith's image used in loads of places. But I didn't think of slapping a lawsuit on them, I just phoned them up and said, 'What the fuck are you doing?' They tried to say they couldn't actually see any comparison, obviously from a legal point of view. I just said, 'You'd better send ten fucking crates of Lucozade out here straight away!' And they did!"
Was Keith taking the piss with his slaphead gargoyle image at Reading?
"We're definitely not taking the piss, we're fucking serious," Liam scowls. "I think what Keith said at Reading was, 'I'm just gonna shave this off and throw it away', and I was like, 'Do it!' But people shouldn't view that as an image change, that was just a one-off. I'm sure he was happy with it, but to me that didn't feel as natural as what he did before. "
Would you have to pull rank if Keith decided to wear a Ronald McDonald costume, say, or a dress?
"I respect anything Keith says, I trust his judgement. Keith would never do anything as comical as Ronald McDonald, and if he did, he'd do it with style. I still think Keith is, without a doubt, one of the best performers in the world. You can't compare Keith to anyone, the Pistols or no-one. He always delivers what's rocking. "
Even oft-voiced parallells between Keith and John Lydon do not impress Liam.
"Absolute bollocks! The hair doesn't even look the same. I can't draw any comparison apart from the attitude, he doesn't look like him or sound like him. Lydon could sing, he could follow melodies and Keith can't! Haha! But we're hoping he can develop that for the next album, hahahahahaha!"
Liam's mix album, 'Dirt Chamber Sessions Volume One', is out next month, then March will see the Prodigy play the final mop-up shows of their never-ending mega-tour, in South Africa. But already the Prodge mainman is working on tracks in his new home studio, catching up on time lost becoming global superstars, redefining the formula.
So does this mean the electronic punks have a future after all? Hasn't Liam claimed that 'The Fat Of The Land' was the final Prodigy album? "It still is," he nods. "Until I get back into the studio and create something which I feel is worthy of taking to another stage, that has to be it. I still feel like, at any point, we could turn around and say, 'That's it'. We have to be like that, we can't go on for the sake of it. But it's not like the other three sit at home and wait for me to deliver songs. I live right next door to Keith, he's round every time in the studio giving me vibes and writing lyrics. It's all what comes out of those sessions, whether that is gonna be solid and worthy of taking to another level. "
So the Prodge's future is still up in the air?
"It's always been in the air from day one. When I did 'Charly' I thought I wouldn't even do an album. But once we'd reached that stage it was, 'Am I going to record another album?' Then once I'd done '...Jilted Generation' I thought that was the last album, until I recorded 'Firestarter'. It's just a matter of getting back in the studio and seeing what happens. I really don't think that long ahead. Like this mix album, it popped out of nowhere from a Radio 1 session. It's coming out because of the buzz I got out of doing it. That's the way an album will evolve. "
And the true test of any future releases, claims Liam, is whether they annoy as many people as they excite. Prodigy are putting the generation gap back into the post-tribal stadium punk.
"The majority of any Prodigy album, and certainly all the singles, will draw a line between the generations," Liam says. "I don't need to tell people we're not making pop music like fucking Boyzone. "
Welcome, once again, to the bizarre inverted logic of Prodge-world. So if their next album sells a fraction of the ten-million-busting 'The Fat Of The Land', would that make them really 'hardcore' and credible'?
"To be honest, when I write the next album, the success for me is the minute I shut the studio door," Liam insistes. "It really didn't matter if 'The Fat Of The Land' didn't sell, it was the fact that I'd finished the fucking record and it represented a year of my life. But the thing with any Prodigy record is it's got to blow up, it's got to have an impact, it's no good if it's not heard. So yeah, I'd be a liar to say I don't want to sell records. I just don't want my records bought by everyone, like Oasis and The Verve. I like the whole unapproachable-ness of this band. "
You can argue with Liam's logic, but not with burning conviction. Because, by his standards, selling out stadiums is not the same as selling out principles.
"Not in my mind, because we're so careful in what we do. My definition of selling out is letting people use your music for adverts, normalising your music. If you saw the shit that was turned down EVERY WEEK from our management office: remixing, production, adverts, films. Every major film that comes out in America wants Prodigy in it, they all want that 'Breathe' sound for their fucking crap $200million special effects film...
"Selling out is something personal, you know when you've done something for the wrong reason. We've done a few gigs for the money, and they've been fucking shit. That's a lesson that springs up in my head. We've always kept it real to ourselves. "
Ultimately, the direction the Prodigy follow now falls between two stark choices: No Sell Out or No Future. Take your pick.
In the meantime, Liam and Keith have just bought a warehouse flat in London clubland's nerve centre of Hoxton Square. By dividing his week between his country retreat and the urban jungle, Liam hopes to "soak up the street" for inspiration, reminds himself why he made music in the first place. The fat of the land meets the buzz of the city. "It's got a roof garden too," grins Liam. "So Keith will be happy. "
The Prodigy are dusting off their boots, going back to their roots. The resident of Hoxton Square are advisted to buy earplugs immediately. "