Yeah, yeah we know: we're publishing this list of our favorite technology toys and gadgets in December. What a coincidence, right? Well, it's partially because the idea came to us while reading holiday gift guides, but it's really meant to be an all-year-round kind of list to help others discover some geeky/cool lifestyle products we love, ranging from RVing to general travel, or just everyday life – no matter who you are, or what you do!
Living in a little over 200 square feet, we don't have room to own much stuff anymore, so you'd better believe it's all carefully selected to make our lives easier and serve a good purpose..or better yet, several purposes! We hope that by sharing some of our tried and tested favorite things it'll save others some research time, plus pay forward some of the great advice bestowed upon us!
One of our favorite (and most needed!) items this year was a higher-quality rechargeable flashlight. I don't know why it took us this long to finally break down and get one that's not sold in a two-pack at Walmart, but we did, and now want to kick ourselves for not doing it sooner! There are lots of choices out there with a variety of features and price points, but we went with the moderately priced and well-equipped Olympia RG850 .
Our first impression was that it's SOLID: built out of aircraft-grade aluminum, waterproof to 2 meters, impact resistant to 1.5 meters (we haven't tested that yet) and BRIGHT. Like really damn bright – 850 lumens with multiple settings (high, medium, low, strobe, SOS) and it remembers your last setting so you don't have to cycle through every time. We've loved it for camping so far because it's more like a mini flood light than a flashlight. Very rarely when we need more light outside do we need it to be highly focused and directional – we usually want to light up a big area, like when we hear something go bump in the night! We might recommend you get something less intense for in-home use or somewhere that you might accidentally blind someone with it, because this baby is strong.
The only negatives we've seen are that it takes quite a while to charge (but the battery lasts a long time, so if you're heading out to camp, hunt, work, or on an outdoor adventure just make sure it's topped off first) and the lithium-ion battery seems to be proprietary, so if it needs replacing someday it may be expensive. Overall though, we're enamored. It's so small that it's easy to fit in any bag or pocket, the included holster is perfect to clip on the inside hand rail right by the RV steps for when we take the dogs out at night or right on their leashes, it's so bright we could actually use it to signal help or blind someone in an emergency, and we haven't broken it yet – which is more than we can say for any other flashlight we've had for a few months!
We found ourselves in an RV in downright frigid Kentucky during much of November and December, going through propane like nobody's business, we knew it was time to buy a good electric space heater. The dilemma we faced was what do we do with it in the summer? We don't have an extra closet or garage kickin' around to store off-season items, and we hate donating and re-buying things just because of weather changes. After some serious deliberation, we decided to give the Dyson Hot + Cool Heater/Table Fan a trial.
Costco had the best deal (about $70 cheaper than Amazon) so we put our membership to good use (it's also great to have for tires and RV batteries, if you didn't know!). We unfortunately just found out that this exact fan was recalled, after ours overheated and stopped working one day like the recall predicted, but Costco exchanged it more than a month after purchase with no questions asked. If we'd had it longer, Dyson still would have replaced it free of charge. We've heard great things about their support and that they even send free replacement parts outside of the warranty period sometimes.
Only time will tell how our heater 2.0 holds up, but with a two-year warranty and great customer service so far, we're willing to take a chance on this (pretty pricey) heater that takes up half as much space as a separate space heater and fan would, stays cool to the touch (important with pets roaming and sleeping around it and very little floor space for human feet too), isn't a fire or carbon monoxide hazard, and has useful high-tech touches like a remote control plus digital thermostat that shuts the fan off when it reaches the desired temperature (because I especially don't want to get out of bed to change the settings when it's cold!). It's also super easy to just wipe clean any dust and hair, it doesn't smell like burning dust when you first turn the heater on, and it's far more aesthetically pleasing than a traditional space heater or fan – meaning we don't mind having it sitting out on the floor or on a table! It looks like an artistic sculpture instead of a big ugly box.
We have a persistent problem of running out of juice for our various mobile devices while away from the RV or car. Either we forgot to plug in our phones before leaving, or we relied heavily on battery-sucking GPS while out and about, or we were using a device as a hotspot while working somewhere away from home. Any of those things will kill a battery faster than you can say "Can I mooch a power outlet?". Neither of us likes adding bulk to our phones in the form of a battery-extending case, so we decided to go for an external battery charger that fits in a small bag (that we're inevitably always carrying anyway). We read lots of reviews and went with the Anker® Astro E4 High Capacity 13000mAh 3A Fast Portable Charger .
We've only had it about a week, but this thing is a lifesaver already! It comes in various battery capacities and physical sizes. Ours fits perfectly in a small bag and charges an iPhone about 5 times (just right to share between us on a long day out and about) or can juice up an iPad once. It's also really fast at doing its charging thang! No more being leashed to an outlet while sitting on the floor at the airport, crawling around under tables at coffee shops or restaurants searching for a place to plug in, or turning your device's screen down to 10% brightness all day.
An added bonus for RVers: it also conserves your RV's battery power while boondocking. Use it to charge your devices at night when power's at a premium, then recharge the battery pack by day with your solar, generator, shore power, or chassis power.
This was the best kitchen purchase we made last year! We easily saved enough propane by cooking with our Aroma AID-509 Induction Cooktop to pay for the unit. Even in a house, this would have been great to use at times to add an extra burner, keep food warm on the table, or as a safer alternative to walking away from the gas range while it's lit. A lot of our friends with children recommend them for teaching their kids to cook a bit more safely. It also heats more evenly and controlled than most gas burners. While the induction technology restricts what cookware you can use, we use our Le Creuset enameled cast iron just fine, and we purchased a couple new induction-friendly stainless steel pans to replace our prior aluminum ones.
From Wikipedia: "Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is the use of electric current produced by a device to stimulate the nerves for therapeutic purposes." Fancy definitions aside, we knew from experience that chiropractors and sports medicine specialists (among others) have used these machines (on a much larger scale) for years to help patients, and it feels awesome. Then a year ago, a woman sitting next to us on a plane had one of these tiny devices and offered to let us try it when we complained that our necks were hurting from napping on the long flight..and we were hooked!
Like many people, we regularly have sore muscles or joints from driving, working, or repetitive physical movements, and this helps to alleviate pain and loosen up most muscles. A TENS unit delivers a light current through electrodes to the skin and tissues just beneath it, though the intensity can be set high enough to make a muscle twitch. The device we bought, the TENS Mini Massager , is rechargeable and has a long battery life, is small enough to fit in a pocket, and comes with lots of settings and four electrode pads. This is a rather simple pain therapy option that seems luxurious, but is very affordable and convenient for those of us who can't see a chiropractor, acupuncturist, or other alternative medicine practitioner regularly.
Disclaimer: We are not doctors and can't give out medical advice – this is just based on our limited personal experience. Be sure to talk to your doctor first if you have any health conditions that may be aggravated by electronic stimulation, and read the manufacturer's warnings about who shouldn't use these devices, where not to use it on your body, and other instructions for its use.
This is a great post. We were just looking at the Dyson heat/cool fan at Best Buy a couple nights ago and wondering about it! Thanks for posting on it! All the other gadgets are awesome too.


Bandai is releasing model kit of the latest Ultraman under their Figure-Rise series.
So this Ultraman is more to Ultra Seven and redesigned it.
For accessories it come with blade and sword.
With its articulations, you can pose in many flexible and good looking pose with the sword.
The blade can be combine or separate into single handed weapons.
There is an LED that come with it and it suppose to give the light up effect of the visor.
It will come with a stand for this figure to pose.
A good looking Ultraman for a Model kit!


The Brave warriors will play the Black Stars of Ghana who arrived in Windhoek Thursday morning. for this year's annual Dr. Hage Geingob Cup which will be played on Saturday at the Sam Nujoma stadium.
This setback was confirmed by coach Ricardo Mannetti, who despite the disappointment of losing the players is still upbeat about the opportunity for other players and the task at hand.
"Ronald will be missed because he is the glue on and off the pitch but it is an exciting opportunity for whoever will come in his role to show how they will do things. They will not have to be a Ronald but their own personality to the position will be key and we will see how that player will relate", Mannetti explained.
Seasoned midfield maestro Petrus Shitembi will take over the armband on the day and is expected to continue his rich vein of form.
"Petrus will surely take over and he is capable of leading the team. He's' been around and will carry on this added responsibility as a true professional that he has been over the past six years in the national team. Other players can also make the absent captain and the nation proud", said Mannetti.
Gates will open at 10h00 and the first 5000 supporters will receive various souvenirs such as caps, t-shirts and other hampers courtesy of the event organizers and sponsors, MTC, Namibia Breweries, Huawei, NWR and Air Namibia.
Tickets are N$30 each from Web-tickets Namibia at all Pick n Pay's countrywide and Football House in Katutura.
There will be a "kick and win" with former goalkeepers against the fans, the latter winning prices country of the sponsors of the one-day celebratory event.
Top local musicians will entertain the crowd before the match as well as during half time and after the match – artists such as Gazza, Exit, Female Donkey, Tequila, Tate Buti and The Dogg will be on the MIC and the first match of the day to start at 12h30 as the Young Gladiators face their seniors, U23s before main match kicks off at 16h00.


Google is the leading Search Engine today and I really doubt anyone knows the Internet can spend a day without using any one of the Google services. This article deals with one of the popular toolbars knows as Google toolbar and tells how to use this tool for better user experience. Some users like to go through more than one results without opening and going back to the same result page. If you want to open each result shown in Search on different tabs, this toolbar can easily help you. All you have to do it to tell it the way you want to open search results.
To implement this feature you should have Google Toolbar installed on your computer. Here I assume you are using Firefox browser on your PC and have installed this toolbar. If you do not have it on your computer, you must download and install to begin the steps. To download the toolbar, visit the link mentioned at the end of this guide.
Now set the Google Search results in Current window, New Window or in New Tab.
PS: To install it on your computer click on the link below.


Dave Asti plays and teaches Cripple Creek. This in depth lesson covers the basic melody, beginner (EZ), and intermediate arrangement. Get the tabs here! : http://www.dabanjo.com/ New vids and tabs added weekly.
Download the tablature at https://countryguitaronline.com/cripple-creek-guitar-lesson-traditional-melody/ Lesson ID: A0162; Lesson 8 - Bluegrass Guitar Solo Improvising Course https://countryguitaronline.com/bluegrass-improvising-guitar-course/ This is Part One of a two-part lesson series where we'll work on lead guitar solo improvising in a country & bluegrass style. In this bluegrass guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play two bluegrass guitar breaks for "Cripple Creek" in G using the song's traditional melody. Then, in the Part Two of this "Cripple Creek" lesson series, I'll show you several different ways that you can use bluegrass guitar licks and bluegrass crosspicking to modify the traditional melody to make your bluegrass guitar solo breaks sound more interesting. Both of the bluegrass guitar lessons in this two-part series will help you add that hard-driving bluegrass sound to your bluegrass guitar breaks.
In this sample lesson, Tony Ullrich teaches the first half of a melodic lead part for Cripple Creek; the rest of the verse and chorus are taught with the same precision and clarity in the online lesson library at www.5stringbanjer.com.
-- Get the tab -- http://bennettsullivanmusic.com/lessons/ -- Get Exclusive Membership! -- Join over 200+ banjo players inside the Bennett Sullivan Music Members library! Get access to the full library of video lessons, members-only content for learning + the private community to ask questions, get feedback, and more. Like these videos? Become a member of Banjo by Ear for only $4.99/month, and get bonus lessons, rhythm guitar tracks, and a full library of lessons added to each week. https://banjobyear.me -- Get the new TuneFox App for iPhone + iPad -- http://apple.co/2cQLeqO -- Follow TuneFox on Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/tunefoxapp/ -- Other links -- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bennettsullivan/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bennettsullivanmusic/ I highly recommend learning this song by ear. I play the melody slowly so you can use the audio and video as a reference to transcribe it yourself. Learning by ear is by far the ultimate way to internalize the melodies of songs. Initially, it does take longer than using tab, but you're challenging your ears to really hear the melody, and the long term benefits of doing that are really powerful.
CRIPPLE CREEK SLOWED DOWN, SCRUGGS STYLE !
BANJO TUNE PLAYED BY STEVEN THOMAS !
Another tune in the key of G, Cripple Creek is a fun upbeat tune. The focus of the lesson is not merely learning a tune, but improvisation and embellishment. Take your time, uses the pause and rewind button whenever needed!!!
8/29/08 Greensboro, NC. Banjo-Johnson JB-200 Banjo Player- Andy Hunt Producer- Alton Ward Hunt-Ward Productions.
In 1965, I did 6 episodes of a public TV series for children called "What's New." I presented folk songs from all over the world, and many instruments, to the best of my ability at the time. We shot these episodes at Brooklyn College and Joan Sheppard was the director.
Cripple Creek. Traditional Old-Time American folk song. Usually played on banjo or fiddle but arranged here for acoustic guitar. TAB AVAILABLE at [email protected] Check out more of my stuff at www.bobbyhowe.com. Date song was written is uncertain but probably from late 19th or early 20th century. Appalachian origin.
In this lesson Ian Walsh teaches the classic traditional Bluegrass fiddle tune "Cripple Creek". The full lesson + the sheet music + MP3 practice tracks are available at www.OnlineLessonVideos.com! Thanks! Enjoy!
Cripple Creek Guitar Solo Lesson!
Lesson Link: https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/cripple-creek-guitar Check out these hot geetar solos for Cripple Creek now at BanjoBenClark.com! Gold Pick members have access to: – 25+ minute video lesson! – Tabs for both solos and the basic melody! – 3 speeds of mp3 rhythm tracks!
Watch this guitar lesson and download the tablature at https://countryguitaronline.com/build-a-break-flatpicking-guitar-licks-cripple-creek/ Lesson 9 - Bluegrass Guitar Solo Improvising Course Lesson ID: A0163 This is part two of a mini lesson series on playing lead guitar in a country and bluegrass style. In part one, you learned how to play two bluegrass guitar breaks for "Cripple Creek" using the song's traditional melody. In this bluegrass guitar lesson, you'll learn eight extremely useful bluegrass flatpicking guitar licks and I'll show you three easy ways to use these bluegrass flatpicking licks to spice up your country and bluegrass guitar solos. The concepts in this lead guitar lesson will help you improvise a hard-driving bluegrass guitar break over "Cripple Creek" and these concepts can also be applied to a ton of other country and bluegrass songs.
Signup for Vi Wickam's Fiddle Tune a Day: http://www.vithefiddler.com I have played Cripple Creek forever, but I didn't play it very cool until I added some licks from a Benny Thomasson transcription. Of course, I added my own stuff in there too. I even included it on my recent album, Long Time Comin'. Tonight, I was asked by Andy May to join him playing at a fundraiser for rebuilding after the High Park fire. I was honored to be asked, and happy to be a part of the event. I don't know how much was raised for the rebuilding fund, but there was a big jar full of money when I left. And, the audience seemed to be enjoying themselves. I would say that the night was a big success. Cripple Creek Song History By Richard L. Matteson Jr. If you've ever learned the banjo, chances are you've played Cripple Creek. A meandering or a crooked stream is referred to as a "cripple" creek. The most famous Cripple Creek is a town in Colorado. Gold was discovered there in 1891 and the mining town that sprang up was considered by some to be the source of the song. Folklorist Alan Jabbour, of the Library of Congress found that the oldest Appalachian fiddlers he collected from could recall the first time that they had heard "Cripple Creek," leading Jabbour to speculate that the title might have something to do with the Cripple Creek, Colorado, labor troubles. I believe that the Cripple Creek location in our bluegrass song is Cripple Creek, Virginia, a small community located in Wythe County at latitude 36.821 and longitude -81.098 with an elevation of 2,188 feet. The Cripple Creek, Virginia area was explored in 1654 and settled in the mid-1700's. A settlement was built at Fort Chiswell (lead was discovered in 1756 by John Chiswell) and farmers moved into the fertile land around the Cripple Creek and New River. In Virginia is was lead and iron ore that was mined, not gold. In 1887 when the Norfolk and Western Railroad reached the area, a zinc smelter was started and charcoal furnaces to make iron were built up and down Cripple Creek and the New River. Betty Vornbrock confirms that there is a 'town' by the name of Cripple Creek south of Wytheville, in Wythe County adjacent to Grayson County, near Elk Creek and Bull Mountain (both in Grayson). She heard the name came from "hunters were on the trail of a large buck elk who led them over Buck Mountain, then along and across Elk Creek and on up north till they shot him, but only crippled him, at Cripple Creek. According to Bob Coltman: "My opinion is that the tune probably is earlier than the Cripple Creek gold strike (1891), but that the words, and thus the song title, could have been put to it afterward, say at the turn of the century." " Mike Yates (2002) confirms that "most Virginia musicians believe that it relates to a location in Wythe County, Virginia." Glen Lyn, Virginia, fiddler Henry Reed (1884-1968), for example, told Alan Jabbour that he was sixteen years old when he first heard "Cripple Creek." Jabbour explains that Reed said the man who first played it for him was from Texas and was simply passing through the Tug River region (i.e. Tug Fork of Big Sandy River) of the West Virginia/Kentucky border, where Reed and his brother were employed as young men in the coal country region of southern West Virginia doing blacksmith work (which perhaps does argue for western origins for the tune). Versions of the bluegrass song began appearing in the early 1900s. The first reference to the tune as "Cripple Creek" is in the Journal of American Folklore, 1915. Two fragments of "Cripple Creek" were collected by E. C. Perrow, and published in JOAFL, 1915, vol. 28, "Songs and Rhymes of the South," Part VIII, no. 42. No musical score.
I played this tune with 5-string banjo like Earl Scruggs. This tune is great!
If I am having trouble learning a song, my first stop is YouTube! This is my way of giving back. Cripple Creek is an easy, fun and memorable melody! I would say this lesson is a little above beginner. Basically I am teaching a few embellishments. Enjoy!
This video demonstrates a piece of a common melodic pattern that I have shortened into a lick that can be used as an ending or the end of a phrase in tunes such as Cripple Creek and Sourwood Mountain. It is also the beginning of a longer descending phrase that is used in melodic playing. At the 2:33 mark I mistakenly said to slide your "ring" finger back to the 10th fret of the 2nd string when I should have said "middle" finger. Anyway, I think that you can figure this one out once you get the right hand down. It's a fun little lick to throw in.
Fiddle lesson for Cripple Creek in the key of 'A'. For beginners first, then intermediate.
Basic Cripple Creek in open g tuning.
Cripple Creek - Banjo Tune - Jim Wright.


Western Europe's long, slow suicide is too long and slow for Western European elites, apparently. You know, the self-loathing, Western-loathing progressive-minded sorts. Projections of Muslim supremacy in Europe by the latter part of the 21st Century means that Europe's enlightened class won't experience the pleasure of watching Muslims hoist guidons emblazoned with the shahada and the takbir over the Vatican. Quite a visual, won't it be, compliments of Al Jazeera, having a muckety-muck imam emerge on the once papal balcony — a balcony festooned with a boldly oversized crescent moon and star flag — to bestow blessings on masses of believers shouting, "Allah Akbar," as a global audience watches enthralled.
Thus the intent to hasten Europe's demise — that is, whatever remains of degraded Christian Europe and Western Civilization there. Muslim ascendency has its satisfactions, but nothing beats witnessing the coup de grâce, the final scimitar coming down on the neck of once mighty Europe. That's what open borders means — it's a quickening of the suicide. It gives an outside chance for Western Europe's elites to witness the dénouement of their crimes (perhaps they would prefer the kinder, gentler word, "designs").
Muslims, being fervently (or fanatically) religious and morally and culturally dark-aged, might discomfit Europe's godless statists, whose tastes run more toward a nihilist flavor for Europe's end. But a Hitlerian Weltuntergang could be awfully messy and complicate the elites' escape, to the good old U.S.A. or wherever else the Mohammedans haven't — yet — gotten a grip.
To date, Western Europeans — principally the Germans and French, though the Brits, among others, are catching up — are accelerating the importation of Muslims from war-torn lands on the south and east side of the Mediterranean. It isn't an invasion, but a mass migration with evident benefit to building Muslim hegemony in Western Europe. Yes, "hijra" now enters the Western lexicon, along with "jihad." Hijra is subjugation and conquest by an exotic name. One culture's refugee is another culture's — and faith's — warrior-migrant.
There are the stirrings of revolt — an awakening — among Europeans, however. Hungary, in a fit of sanity, has sealed its borders to Muslim migrants. (Budapest might be where the pope flees one day.) Ordinary Germans are in the streets protesting. Others across Europe, too. But with an estimated 20 million Muslims in Western Europe, what possibly can be done to reverse the Muslim tide? What can be done to change Western Europe's fortunes?
The Muslim newcomers join millions of their brethren who've called Europe home for as much as a couple of generations. Many came to fill Western Europe's need for cheap labor (heck, any labor, since post-everything Europeans enjoy shortened work hours, summer respites, and subsidized lives. Breaking sweats is for wogs, anyway).
Most Muslims, whether of long duration in Western Europe or "native" born, are unassimilated. True, homogeneous Germans, French, and Swedes have never cottoned to foreigners. But Muslims aren't hep about being included, either. Islam, being about conquest, it's infidels who must submit or die. The menu for infidels is two columns: convert to the faith or accept the brutality and squalor of dhimmitude.
The new waves of Mohammed's minions entering Europe do so to the blathering, idiotic rationalizations of Angela Merkel, most conspicuously.
Frau Merkel spouts unctuous pieties about the need for compassion and humanitarian outreach to hundreds of thousands of Muslims expected to cross Germany's borders. Did we say that Europe's elites are insular and inbred? Those among the crème de la crème who aren't pining for annihilation live as detachedly from hard — actually, ugly — realities. Merkel's suggestions that accommodations are possible for Muslim entrants betray a conceit: that superior Germans will gladly condescend to minister to the unwashed, prayer rug-toting Mohammedans, taming them. Failure to reverse this soggy reasoning will prove a fatal conceit. But fatal the conceit may already be.
Merkel is no Bismarck. No nationalist. No "Iron Chancellor." No hard-eyed realist. The linsensuppe that sloshes around between Merkel's ears permits no realpolitik.
A policy of expulsion conjures up the dark old days of persecutions and pogroms, which abound in Europe's history. For some Americans, it's the Trail of Tears all over again (save that Muslims aren't Western Europe's "indigenous" people). The recoil is understandable.
Mass expulsion of Muslims from Western Europe has yet to gain currency in the mainstream. Given what the mainstream is, it's likely never to catch on. In fact, expulsion is considered fringy or loony. In fact, expulsion, which offers the only real antidote to Muslim ascendency in Western Europe, will not happen.
Educational institutions and much of the media throughout the Anglosphere now spread the message that Europe's record in relation to the rest of the world is one of racism, xenophobia and oppression — the Australian story, for example, being one of exploitation, cruelty and dispossession. How can a people, so unworthy, with faith in neither God nor themselves, resist a people whose religion insists they should have primacy, that they are entitled to what they seek as of right?
Europe's elites lack the conviction and will to take remedial — even draconian — actions to rescue their countries and civilization. These nihilists embrace suicide at the hands of millions among them who practice a barbarous faith… who move toward conquest with humble certitude in Allah and Mohammed.
But there are whole swaths among Europe's indigenous peoples — now and in the years to come — who aren't kindly disposed to submitting to Salāt. Who, in a not too distant future, not having converted to the faith, will mightily resent their sisters and daughters being used by jihadists as bed buddies.
Don't expect Islam's rise in Western Europe to go smoothly. The cheery scene at the Vatican with the imam may transpire only after a long period of dystopia. Strife and civil wars could well erupt between Muslims and the redoubtable native lumpenproletariat.
History has shown that the Europeans are capable of anything and with the collapse of the European project we can expect new leaders to emerge from the ruins, many of whom will not be nice. There will be new Nazis, new Communists. New Identities, loyalties and borders will be established. Our descendants will live in interesting times!
Written by J. Robert Smith.
Allahm Mohammed, Apocalypse, Civil Wars, Civilization, Europe, Faith, Germans, Global, God, Horror, Jihad, Jihadists, Migrants, Muslim, Progressive, Religion, Strife, Wars, Western Europe, Western European. Bookmark.
My opinions of Iran's 25 year War Plan is in it's final phase as I finish the current facts! This article is a fact also! I will post this article by Sunday the 25th!
Anyone that can see how Islam is practiced all over the world and who can read Muslim literature and not recognize that it's based on terror and violence and that it both builds its membership by deceit and maintains it by deceit and violence is too blind to be considered sane.
Easy to convert someone to Islam when your religion professes the killing of anyone who does not convert.
The greatest thing about Christianity is that it powered by faith in a loving God and the belief that all should be kind to one another.
The liberal multiculturalists don't believe, or refuse/choose to believe, that Western societies were built upon Christian-Judeo religious values and therefore it is impossible for them to believe, or admit, that what we are seeing in third world Middle Eastern societies is the result of a society built upon muslim religious values.


TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - February 08, 2017) - Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. ("Wesdome" or the "Company") (TSX: WDO) is pleased to provide an update of underground drilling progress at its 100% owned Kiena Mine Complex, in Val d'Or, Quebec.
Since the last update on November 15, 2016, a fourth drill has been added on the 960 metre level (Figure 1), 29 drill holes have been completed and assay results have been received for 21 drill holes (Table 1).
The new drilling continues to trace the Kiena Deep mineralized system along an altered and deformed north north west trending ("NNW") basalt-komatiite contact zone. To date, it has been traced 550 metres NNW along strike and over a depth range of 400 metres. It remains open at depth and along trend.
Wesdome continues its accelerated drilling program with the goal of determining the extent, continuity and geometry of the Kiena Deep gold system.
Mr. Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO, commented "Drilling results have been accelerated with the goal of delineating and defining this significant new find as quickly and efficiently as possible. This set of Kiena Deep drill results continues to deliver grades substantially higher than the historic production grade profile at Kiena of 4.5 g/t. We are also very encouraged by step out holes confirming mineralization now tested along 550 metres of strike length, indicating a potential large new gold system. Furthermore, in the Company's efforts to accelerate our advanced exploration at Kiena, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Marc-André Pelletier as Vice President of Quebec Operations, who will be based full time at the Kiena Complex. Marc-André has over 20 years' experience in underground gold mining in Canada, and will be working closely with our geologic team to evaluate ramp development. On behalf of management and the board, I would like to welcome him to the Wesdome team."
Drilling continues to identify two styles of mineralization spatially related to a basalt-komatiite (ultramafic) contact zone that trends NNW.
Albitized stockwork and vein breccia systems in sheared and altered zones (Lower Stockwork Zone).
There are likely multiple zones which remain only partially defined and are open. The full extent of the mineralized system has not been delineated. It has been traced 550 m along the contact area trend between depths 1,000 and 1,400 m and remains open. Step out holes 6146 and 6147 are of significant interest as these holes have intersected quality grade over wide widths some 150 metres north, and 250 metres south along trend of the known mineralized system, which remains open (Figure 1).
Four drills are operating on levels 670m, 770m, 910m and 960m. Challenging drilling conditions in the deformed and altered contact area have been addressed with a combination of bits, drill assemblies and specialized drilling reagents. The experience obtained in these conditions and the additional drill added to the 960m level has resulted in improved success in attaining the desired targets. Shorter holes with better attack angles will continue to accelerate results.
The accelerated drilling is designed to delineate the potential size of the Kiena Deep gold system and define its internal geometry as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Confidence in internal grade and continuity will de-risk a decision to initiate ramp development to provide definition drilling and access to Kiena Deep as soon as possible.
The Company intends to continue the drilling campaign with four underground drills. Ongoing evaluation for the requirement of enhanced drill platforms will determine the timing of underground ramp development, as the location of this infrastructure is dependent upon drilling results currently being generated.
The Company is very encouraged by the continued exploration results at Kiena and the potential to re-establish production at this fully permitted facility. As a result, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Marc-Andre Pelletier as Wesdome's Vice-President of Operations for Quebec in charge of the Kiena Mine Advanced Exploration Program. Marc-Andre is an experienced professional mining engineer who was most recently Vice-President of Operations at St Andrew Goldfields Ltd. Prior to Marc-Andre's tenure at St Andrew's he was employed by Barrick Gold Corporation from 2001-2009 elevating to the position of Mine Superintendent at Barrick's Williams Mine. Prior to his Barrick experience Marc-Andre worked extensively in Quebec in progressive technical roles. Throughout his career Marc-Andre has dedicated himself to achieving safety, production, and costs targets. He is a graduate of Laval University in mining engineering and is a resident of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.


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City News · Stories · Aug 20, 2019
Pinhey's Point ghost stories
PINHEY'S POINT – If you want to learn about the history of Pinhey's Point, you can always visit the Pinhey's Point Historic Site and speak to City of Ottawa staff about the area's history.
If you want the real dirt, the legends and the ghost stories, well for that, you have to go straight to the source. And that's what West Carleton Online did last week (Aug. 14) when we visited with Megs Colbourn – a sixth generation Pinhey who lives right beside the 200-year-old Pinhey manor house in Dunrobin, just a stone's throw to the Ottawa River.
"I'm a direct Pinhey descendent," Colbourn, 65, told West Carleton Online from her home just beside the popular tourist attraction. "I grew up next door."
Megs is actually an anagram for Mary Elinor Grace Snelgrove – but her friends now just go with Meg.
Her great, great, great grandfather is Hamnett Kirkes Pinhey. How we came to meet Colbourn is as much a story as her family history.
A meeting for ghost stories
In early August, Saila McRae put up a "theoretical post" on the popular Dunrobin (& area) Families Facebook page saying she had friends visiting from out of town "who are interested in creepy things and legends/stories." She was looking for anyone who might be able to help here out.
A Facebook thread was created, and eventually Colbourn responded saying she knew a few stories and invited anyone interested to come out to her home for an evening get together of story sharing.
At one point more than 30 people indicated they would attend. West Carleton Online was invited as well but had to decline as the publisher had soccer coaching responsibilities that night. But we were sure to catch up with Colbourn later.
"It just kept, growing and growing," Colbourn said.
A date was chosen and on Wednesday, Aug. 7 more than 10 community members attended to hear some local legends and meet some new friends.
Colbourn, as well as others in attendance, shared some stories and she took them on a tour of her farm which included a look at several of her husband's antique automobiles as well as the next door cemetery which houses many of the Pinhey family.
"It was a great evening," Colbourn said.
The Pinhey story
But back to 1820. Colbourn's great, great, great grandfather lived in England during the Napoleonic Wars.
"He would dress up as the enemy and delivered letters to King George I through enemy lines," Colbourn said.
Because of his loyalty, he was granted 1,000 acres in Canada.
"He picked here because the slope allowed him to generate electricity," Colbourn said.
Pinhey re-named the farm Horaceville after his son Horace. He named the nearby lake, bay and creek after his daughter Constance.
Pinhey brought his slaves with him to Canada. In 1826 Pinhey built St. Mary's North March Anglican Church in Horaceville. But his wife Mary Anne thought it was too far. She would be carried to the church each Sunday in a Sudan chair by their slaves.
One of Pinhey's favourite slaves was named Abdul.
"He died young," Colbourn said. "He wanted to be buried in the church's graveyard (which is located at Pinhey's Point, right beside Colbourn's home) but because he wasn't baptized Christian, that wasn't allowed by the church. So, Hamnett buried his as close to the cemetery as possible. Fifty to 75 years later, the church expanded the cemetery. It's believed Abdul finally got his wish and is now buried in the church's graveyard."
Colbourn's grandmother was the youngest of six and spoke to her often about growing up in the area.
"She remembers the Algonquin (First Nation) coming down the river," Colbourn said. "They had picnics with them at Pinhey's Point. The Algonquin would walk to the Carp ridge to pick berries."
Colbourn was born in Carp and grew up on the Snelgrove Farm on 117 Charlie's Lane. That was just one of the streets in Carp that carry a family name. There is also Juanita and Snelgrove roads. Colbourn has an older and younger sister – Constance (a family tradition, there is a Constance in every generation) and Daphne.
Colbourn's dad Charles died of cancer in 1958 – she was only four at the time.
"Mom never remarried," Colbourn said. "She devoted her life to the farm and us three charmers."
Her mom, Juanita, is 103 and still a member of the Dunrobin and District Women's Institute and sits on the Pinhey's Point board. At the age of 80, Juanita was named the Ontario Senior of the Year and has a park named in her honour – Juanita Snelgrove Park.
"She sold her property five years ago at 98," Colbourn said.
Colbourn married her husband Richard and the two were living in Kanata in the '90s. Her 'Uncle Mac' decided to move to Merickville and the couple seized on the opportunity to move back to West Carleton.
They bought the house that, at the time, was "deemed unlivable."
They spent eight months renovating. Richard owned a roofing company and knew lots of contractors and labourers.
"I was sitting out here, having my coffee and said I don't want to go back to Kanata," Colbourn said.
They never did.
That was in 1998 and the Colbourn family was back in the area she grew up in. They called the Pinhey Estate "the big house," and their daughter Jacci grew up getting to play in the family manor, right next door to her own home.
"When she was a little older, our daughter gave tours of the Pinhey Estate," Colbourn said. "Knowing she was a direct descendent brought the place to life. She became a full-fledged volunteer."
The City of Ottawa took over Pinhey's Point in 2000 shortly after amalgamation. But that didn't stop Colbourn's mother's dog from dropping by.
"Bandit became a regular," Colbourn said. "A painter would come by to work on landscapes. He would bring a coffee and donut and a donut for Bandit."
Colbourn says the family has had lots of unique, possibly paranormal experiences since living in the Pinhey's Point area – the reason she was so interested in hosting the event Aug. 7 in the first place.
"One day Richard and I heard a little girl crying," Colbourn said. "We thought it was Jacci. We called the Pinhey's Point staff, but they said there was no problems there. Nobody else had heard it. I was clearing some weeds in the cemetery and uncovered a tombstone for an eight-year-old girl. We didn't even know it was in there. We haven't heard it again since we cleared all the weeds."
Colbourn also says Richard and she have often felt a "happy presence" around the home.
"We have often smelled cigar smoke and roses," Colbourn said. "The whole family has smelled it. One odd thing is Jacci and I have never smelled it at the same time."
Colbourn remembers a time when a friend spent the night on the couch. He could swear he heard footsteps.
"He heard it twice," Colbourn said. "He thought it was Richard. The second time it was so clear, he got up and looked around."
The supernatural stuff was a regular occurrence at the Pinhey's Point estate according to Colbourn.
"I personally haven't had any experience with apparitions, but I know lots of staff that have," Colbourn said. "A lot of people have heard Hamnett counting his money up in his office."
Much of the history of the area and the Pinhey family can be found in the 1976 book Looking Back…Pioneers of Bytown and March, Nicholas Sparks and Hamnett Kirkes Pinhey written by Naomi Slater Heydon.
The book is no longer in publication, but the remaining copies can be purchased for $30.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Game of Thrones promises an epic, dark ending
Current Events, Fandom, TV/Film	by The Collected Mutineer March 5, 2019 March 5, 2019
by The Collected Mutineer
The night is dark and full of terrors.
Winter is coming.
All men must die.
And now his watch has ended.
These famous Game of Thrones phrases, so familiar to so many fans, will seem like fairytales by the time GOT is done with us. Yesterday and today, the HBO titan dropped dozens of exclusive photos and interviews via Entertainment Weekly, followed by the first full-length trailer for the final season.
Unlike most of the previously released teasers (which appeared to be filmed for promotional purposes and likely are not scenes included in the actual series), this provides our first real glimpse into season 8. We see most of the major and important supporting characters at least once, in various scenarios ranging from wonder to terror. I don't want to speculate too much, as the Collective Team will be sitting down shortly to share our predictions with you—but here are three of the major points the trailer has given us.
epic battles ahead
The Unsullied await battle
We already knew this season would be full of intense battle scenes, but the trailer (and the Entertainment Weekly interviews) confirmed it. We not only see characters like Jon and Jorah actively fighting, but we also get glimpses that are reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Those who will be involved in combat are lined up in neat rows as they await the icy enemy. Others, like Gilly and Varys, are hiding in the crypts beneath Winterfell. According to the writers, the climactic battle will be the longest ever recorded on film—outranking LOTR completely.
Jon learns of his parentage
Jon and Daenerys in the crypts
Though we don't see this explicitly, there are more shots of the Winterfell crypts. Jon and Daenyers appear to be in front of Lyanna's tomb, which to me implicates that Bran and Sam have told Jon who he really is. I can't imagine that this will be good news for the couple—and not just because of the aunt/nephew incest. As a true-born son of Rhaegar, Jon has a closer claim to the throne than Dany does. This will certainly put a strain on multiple characters that they can't afford to be distracted by—after all, the Night King isn't going to wait for them to figure out their personal problems before trying to take over the world.
Cersei and Jaime have definitely split
Cersei in King's Landing
At the end of the last season, Jaime swore to uphold the promise to join Jon and Dany's forces, despite what Cersei commands. We don't see them together at all in the trailer, and it appears that Jaime is fighting with our heroes at Winterfell. Meanwhile, Cersei seems to remain in King's Landing…where she is drinking wine. Previously we were given to understand that she stopped consuming alcohol because she's pregnant. The shot of her drinking probably means one of two things—either she lost the baby, or there never was one to begin with.
There's more, of course, so stay tuned for our upcoming video. What do you think the trailer entails? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, or over on Twitter.
Game of Thrones premieres on HBO April 14, 2019.
Enjoy our content? You can support The Collective via KoFi.
game of thronesgame of thrones season 8game of thrones trailergot season 8hbothe collected mutineer
A Cup of Positivi-tea with The TeaBook
Fanfic Wednesday: Whisky Bears


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Ángel Guastella (Buenos Aires, 7 November 1931 - San Miguel de Tucumán, 26 September 2016) was an Argentine rugby union footballer and coach. He played as fly-half.

Biography
Guastella was a founding member of  Club Pueyrredón, of which he was a player for 10 years and then, a coach.

In 2000, Guastella moved to San Miguel de Tucumán, where he spent his last years of life, being chairman of Tucumán Lawn Tennis Club and of Unión de Rugby de Tucumán.

Career
Guastella was an Argentinian international with the Pumas between 1956 and 1960. He was first capped during a match against an Oxford and Cambridge XV in Buenos Aires, on 16 September 1956. His last cap was during the test against France, in Buenos Aires, on 6 August 1960. In his international career, Guastella played 4 matches and scored 1 penalty and 6 points in aggregate.

Coaching career
Guastella came to the Argentina national team along with Alberto Camardón, with both being assistants for the South African coach Izak van Heerden in 1964. After the historical 1965 tour in South Africa, van Heerden remained in his home country and Guastella was named as his substitute in 1965. As coach, he won four South American Rugby Championships and resigned in 1973.
Later, in 1978, he accepted the offer to return to coach Argentina, with his assistants being José Imhoff and Aitor Otaño. In this last stage, Guastella decided to build a new team from scratch: first, naming Hugo Porta as captain, later, calling up the veteran Héctor Silva and young players such as Marcelo Campo, Alejandro Iachetti, Marcelo Loffreda, Rafael Madero, Tomás Petersen and Gabriel Travaglini.

As assistant coach
Between 1985 and 1987, as assistant coach for Héctor Silva, the Argentina achieved its first victory against France, draw against New Zealand and was eliminated from the 1987 Rugby World Cup pool stage. The first edition of the Rugby World Cup was Guastella's last stint with the Pumas.

Honours
South American Rugby Championship champion 1967, 1969, 1971 and 1973.
Campeonato Argentino champion 1955, 1957 and 1958.

Notes

External links

Argentine rugby union coaches
Argentina national rugby union team coaches
1945 births
Argentine rugby union players
Rugby union players from Buenos Aires
2016 deaths
Argentina international rugby union players

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The following is a digest of the content of the Principia Cybernetica Newsletter, distributed every two months through the PCP-news mailing list.
The number of hits on the main PCP server, http://cleamc11.vub.ac.be/, hovers around 28 000 per day, which is a significant improvement since about a year ago. Yet, the number of hits on our Los Alamos mirror server, http://pcp.lanl.gov is still only a fraction of that, showing that most people reach PCP-web via links pointing to the original server in Europe.
It is good that the links point all to the same, main address, because this makes our site more prominent for search engines, but we want to remind our readers that in many cases (especially for users in Latin America), they may get faster access through the mirror server in the US. To switch between servers, it suffices to click on the "Server: EU" or "US" option in the menu bar of the main PCP web pages.
It is interesting to compare the present hit rate with earlier ones, to study historical development. In 1994, one year after the creation of PCP-web, we got a mere 400 hits a day. In the beginning of 1998, we had nearly 8000/day. This means that the number of hits roughly doubles every year. That is a faster rate than the growth of the web, and it is interesting to look further into that trend and try to understand it.
Since the services we offer haven't grown that much during the period (and have actually declined relative to the overkill of special effects on other, commercial sites), it must be that our material has become more attractive to the average surfer. From the increasing number of reactions we receive about PCP web, we get the impression that what we are doing is more and more generally accepted as an excellent, needed service, rather than an interesting and somewhat eccentric idea.
This may be due in part to the growing acceptance of "evolutionary" and "Darwinian" approaches in various domains, and the continuing growth of complex systems related ideas. In that general domain, we are still the only ones that offer an integrated, philosophical outlook, but because of the better acceptance of evolutionary-systemic thinking, our philosophy seems less outrageous to the majority of people now. It appears our time has come!
"For months I've learned and inspired by your sites. It seem I was turn to a second live.æI've found what I need in my live, at last. [...] We need a new way of thinking, a new paradigm, but what is it? This is my question, before I found your site. Constructivism, autopoiesis theory, cybernetics, give answers to most of my questions. In the light of what you present in your web, I see how we can talk and discuss peacefully, how education can make an important contribution, etc. I can see everything in a very different way. A wat thay promote spontaneity, cooperation, tolerance, love, justice, equality and many others. [...]"
"No problems, just wanted to say THANK YOU! I am a student in Systems Science, and this web site is incredible!"
The journal ( http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit/), which is associated with PCP, is going through some reorganization, as the present managing editor (Hans-Cees Speel) is about to retire. To replace him, two new editors have joined the board, Michael Best, a computer scientist from the MIT Media Lab, and Martin de Jong, a policy analyst from Delft University of Technology. It was proposed that during an interim period of six months, Michael and Martin would assist Hans-Cees in managing the paper reviews, in order to take over completely later on.
Two other members of the editorial board, Liane Gabora and Susan Blackmore, have asked to retire as they are too busy with other activities, but they will normally remain as members of the advisory board. Several people have been nominated to join the editorial board, and a general reorganization of the board's activities are planned, but these proposals must still be discussed in depth before they can be implemented.
The Global Brain mailing list (http://cleamc11.vub.ac.be/GBRAIN-L.html) is becoming more active lately. Out of this activity, at least one concrete plan has emerged: to organize a conference on the Global Brain. At present, an organizing committee is being constituted. It will include PCP editors Francis Heylighen and Cliff Joslyn, and Global Brain Group members Ben Goertzel (overall chair) and Gottfried Mayer-Kress. The likely venue will be San Francisco, near Silicon Valley, and the proposed date would be the end of 2001. A Call for Papers and preliminary program are being prepared. They will be distributed via this and other mailing lists.
Joslyn, Cliff (2001): "The Semiotics of Control and Modeling Relations in Complex Systems", Prepared for a special issue of Biosystems, a festschrift for Howard Pattee.
Howard Pattee's concept of semantic or semiotic closure has been foundational for a school of theoretical biology derived from systems theory and cybernetics. This paper proposes a conceptual analysis of some of the ideas and principles from systems theory which underlie semiotic closure, and which are fundamental to the philosophy of Principia Cybernetica. In particular, atomic control systems and models are described as the canonical forms of semiotic systems in relation to their environments. While they share measurement relations, they differ topologically in that control systems are circularly and models linearly related related to their environments.
Although it is obviously very difficult to summarize all the main ideas of cybernetics in a single paper without remaining very superficial, we believe we have managed to do a quite decent job of it, especially since several colleagues told us they would recommend it to their students. The paper provides an introduction to and overview of the main concepts (e.g. variety, feedback, closure, control, constructivism, ...) and principles (e.g. law of requisite variety, requisite hierarchy, self-organization, ...) of cybernetics. Where possible, the ideas have been made explicit using simple formulas and diagrams.
"You are publishing important, high-quality material on the Web. For this reason, ISI has selected your site http://cleamc11.vub.ac.be/DEFAULT.html for inclusion in Current Web Contents ( http://www.isinet.com/isi/products/cc/cwc/webselect.html), a new section of Current Contents Connect TM.
CC Connect ( http://www.isinet.com/isi/products/cc/ccconnect/cccind.html) offers Web access to Current Contents, the ISI premier current awareness database that provides information in the fields of science, social science, technology, and the arts & humanities. For more than 40 years, ISI has delivered this multidisciplinary table-of-contents database to researchers, scientists and information professionals around the world. Since its inception, this journal-based resource has reflected the strict guidelines for selection developed by the ISI Editorial Development Staff. The result is the most prestigious database available internationally.
High standards of selection -- and data quality -- have made ISI a leader in the information industry. ISI has now applied similarly high selection standards ( http://www.isinet.com/isi/hot/essays/23.html), specialized to the medium, in the creation of Current Web Contents, an ever-growing collection of high-quality, scholarly Web sites. ISI editors have visited your site, reviewed it, developed a standardized descriptive record, written an abstract and created a link from CC Connect to your site."
Two of the most important thinkers in the cybernetics and systems field have passed away during the last month: Herbert A. Simon (on Feb. 9) and Claude E. Shannon (on Feb. 24).
Nobel laureate Herbert Simon was a truly universal mind, with contributions ranging from economics, psychology, management, evolutionary theory, and philosophy to artificial intelligence, a domain he helped to found. His focus was on the problem solving techniques that adaptive systems (people, organizations, computers, ...) use to cope with complexity. His book "The Sciences of the Artificial" provides a good introduction to his ideas. It includes his classic essay on "The Architecture of Complexity", where he proposed an evolutionary explanation for hierarchical organization, thus formulating one of the basic principles that came to underly our PCP philosophy.
The plans to organize a conference on the Global Brain are starting to get a more concrete shape. An organizing committee has been formed, together with some mailing lists for the members. At present, the plan is to hold a small-scale preparatory workshop this summer (probably hosted by the PCP office at the Free University of Brussel), and a large conference next year (probably at San Jose State University) in Silicon Valley. Several prominent people are being invited to participate, including Bill Gates and computer pioneer Douglas Engelbart. A conference website and MUD are also being prepared.
There is little news in this issue of the Principia Cybernetica Newsletter, as we all have been very busy, preparing a workshop and the PhD defense of PCP assistant editor Johan Bollen among other things.
As we were all very busy with the activities sketched below, the last issue of the Newsletter (to appear beginning of July) was skipped. Therefore the present issue will cover the full past 4 months.
The Global Brain workshop (http://cleamc11.vub.ac.be/Conf/GB-0.html) in Brussels (July 3-5), the first ever international meeting, on this topic was quite succesful. Some 20 talks were given by members of the Global Brain Group, invited speakers, and contributors whose abstract was selected by the organizing committee. Each of the three days was concluded by an extensive discussion session.
The topics and approaches discussed were wide-ranging, from the emotional values that should govern the Global Brain (GB), to the use of collective intelligence for forecasting of stock prices, and the possibilities of direct brain-machine interfaces. (The page http://cleamc11.vub.ac.be/Conf/GB-0-abs.html lists the abstracts of all talks that were presented, and full papers or slide presentations for most of them.) This experience shows that there is still quite some work to do to focus GB-related thinking, and integrate the various approaches. On the other hand, the workshop succeeded in creating a real enthusiasm for further discussion and collaboration, showing that there really is a GB community emerging.
As a result of the workshop, a new mailing list was created for participants to discuss issues, together with an experimental web-based discussion system (developed by PCP assistant editor Alex Riegler). Our plans are to further develop an extensive GB-website, with all papers and other results presented at the workshop, together with some interactive demonstration systems for discussion and self-organization of ideas.
The complete workshop was registered on video by volunteers: Margeret Heath, Sascha Ignjatovic and Gottfried Mayer (who also presented a paper). These video recordings are now being edited, and will be made public on the web and on CD-ROM. Margeret Heath is also preparing a transcript of all discussions, on the basis of which she will be developing a knowledge map of the main concepts and issues. Other volunteers were responsible for the computing infrastructure: Corinne Ciechanow and Didier Durlinger, and for the practical issues of food: Michael Pleumeekers.
Although a few things still didn't work out quite as planned (the drinks for the reception that didn't arrive, and a lecture room and restaurant that were adapted to the reigning heat wave), it can be safely said that without all this volunteer effort, the workshop would have been a much less pleasant experience: so, a big thank you to all of them.
The private defense took place on July 6, the first day after the workshop. The PhD committee, which included PCP editors Francis Heylighen and Cliff Joslyn, was unanimous in its appreciation for Johan's achievements, and impressed by his mastery of the subject. The official, public defense (which is basically a formality) is planned for Oct. 23. There is no doubt that Johan will receive his doctor's degree, thus making him the first person to develop a PhD study from the beginning till the end within the Principia Cybernetica framework.
For the first time students have been able to follow a course wholly devoted to the basic concepts of PCP. The 30 hour course, entitled "Evolution and Complexity", was given by Francis Heylighen to philosophy undergraduates at the Free University of Brussels in Spring. The course ended in May with an oral examination on which all students succeeded. From next year on, the course will be opened up to students from other disciplines who are interested in the subject.
The course started with a historical introduction to the domains of evolutionary theory, self-organization, systems theory, cybernetics and complex adaptive systems. It then laid the foundations for an evolutionary-cybernetic world-view, by introducing the interrelated concepts of distinction, connection, state space, variety, constraint, entropy and information, pointing out their relations with the more intuitively defined concepts of order, disorder and complexity, and illustrating their meaning with plenty of concrete examples.
To tackle the problem of evolution, variation and selection were introduced. Their consequences were formulated as a set of basic principles, including the second law of thermodynamics, asymmetric transitions and the stepping stone principle. The concept of fitness was defined as the most basic selection criterion. This background made it possible to tackle the evolution of complexity, first discussing supersystem transitions leading to more structural complexity, then metasystem transitions producing higher functional complexity. The course concluded by applying this evolutionary-cybernetic framework to some eternal philosophical questions (see http://cleamc11.vub.ac.be/ETERQUES.html).
Since this was the first time ever that this material was presented to undergraduate students and organized into a self-contained whole, the course can be seen as an experiment to test in how far these complex and abstract ideas can be summarized and communicated to a lay public. The experiment has mostly succeeded, as shown by the interest and enthusiasm of the students, and the fact that they succeeded rather well in the examination. Yet, the observation that the students had difficulties keeping an overview of the whole and that they did not grasp some of the more abstract, technical points (one problem being that philosophy students lack a good mathematical background, which made it difficult for them to grasp even the most basic formula of entropy) suggests some improvements for the future.
One planned improvement is to rework the rather improvised notes that the students received at the beginning of each lecture into a coherent, textbook-like whole, available at the beginning of the course. This would clearly separate the more technical examples or applications (that require basic mathematics) from the more general conceptual elaborations, so that students who lack the mathematical background can skip these parts. The subsections would also be written as much as possible in a self-contained way, so that they can be easily converted to "nodes" for PCP web.
These lecture notes can then form the basis for a real textbook on evolutionary cybernetics, which may provide the first true successor to Ashby's 1956 "Introduction to Cybernetics" (downloadable for free at http://cleamc11.vub.ac.be/ASHBBOOK.html). The ambition to write such a textbook was in part fueled by the success encountered by our article on "Cybernetics and Second-Order Cybernetics" (http://cleamc11.vub.ac.be/Papers/Cybernetics-EPST.pdf), which several colleagues, both cybernetics experts and non-specialists, have welcomed as the best review they have read.
Because of the events of September 11, the workshop organizers had quite some problems to get the speakers from the USA to travel to Barcelona. Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the world-wide web, unfortunately had to cancel his participation, while his "semantic web" collaborator, Jim Hendler, had to resort to a virtual presentation, via a high-quality, interactive video link. It initially seemed that Cliff and Johan too would not be able to travel from Los Alamos, but the problem was fortunately resolved shortly before the planned journey. In the end, the workshop went smoothly, and turned out to be a very interesting and pleasant (if tiring) experience.
Articles about our "Global Brain" work have been published in two authoritative European newspapers, the German "Die Zeit" ( http://www.zeit.de/2001/40/Media/200140_global_brain.html) and the French "Le Monde" ( http://interactif.lemonde.fr/article/0,5611,2857--229514-0,FF.html).
Claus Pias is working on a new edition of the famous "Macy Conferences", which founded the field of cybernetics. Volume 2 will contain the complete text of the five last conferences previously edited by Heinz von Foerster (1949-1953). Volume 1 will contain a selection of documents related to the first five (unpublished) conferences, and several essays about the influence of cybernetics on various domains. The essays will be published first in German, but possibly also in English translation.
We have established contact with Robert Wright, the author of "Non-Zero. The Logic of Human Destiny" (Pantheon Books, 2000) ( http://www.nonzero.org/). This is a very well-written, non-technical book that develops a similar philosophy as PCP of evolutionary progress towards greater complexity, intelligence and eventually global integration of humankind. Wright retells human history (and a little bit of biological history), emphasizing the evolution of higher-order forms of cooperation and synergy allowed by non-zero sum games.
After his succesful PhD defense in Brussels, PCP assistant editor Johan Bollen has accepted a faculty position at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He has recently moved from Los Alamos National Laboratory to ODU, where he will teach computer science and continue his research on human-machine interaction as applied to an intelligent web.
Nick Deschacht, a graduate student in economics who made an excellent Master's thesis on the long-term evolutionary mechanisms underlying the information economy, will start to work on a PhD on the same subject, with Francis Heylighen as supervisor. He is presently writing a proposal to receive funding for this research.
Assistant editor Alex Riegler is similarly writing a research proposal to get a renewal of his 3 year PostDoc position. The subject is "Knowledge Acquisition and Representation in Closed-Loop Scientific Discovery Systems".
Some members of the "Association Fran�aise de SystŽmique Cognitive et Technique" ( http:// www.afscet.asso.fr , the French society for cognitive and technical systems science) are planning to translate our cybernetics and systems glossary into French, and to use that as a basis to develop an interactive semantic web on the subject.
David Hales, a social system simulator, and Paul Marsden, a psychologist working on contagion, have joint the "Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission" ( http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit) as managing editors, to replace Michael Best.
Not a lot of news this time, as we have all been quite busy with various activities outside PCP proper. Johan Bollen has started to work in his new position at Old Dominon University, where he has two PhD students who will help him to analyse the log of our PCP web server, so as to apply and test some of our new algorithms for learning links and spreading activation.
Nick Deschacht has submitted a research project on the evolutionary dynamics of the information economy, under the supervision of Francis Heylighen. His excellent Master's thesis on that subject (in Dutch) is going to receive a price from the university, and he has started to prepare a paper (in English) on the same subject.
A first analysis of a one week log of the PCP website has allowed us to extract the keywords that most commonly lead people to reach PCP pages from outside search engines. This means that people who enter on of the following keywords into a general search engine, such as Google or AltaVista, are referred to PCP web.
Note that these keywords are typically rather specific, technical terms. More general terms, such as "complexity", "evolution" or "self-organization" apparently seldom lead people into PCP pages, even though we provide a lot of information on those subjects. The reason is probably that there exist a lot of other websites with information on those general subjects, and therefore the probability to end up in PCP web is relatively small. For the more specific terms, on the other hand, we are probably one of the few websites that provides good info, and therefore users end up in our pages. The moral of the story is that it pays to provide a lot of specific information even if you want to propose a very general philosophical theory.


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The "Taking People's Luggage At The Airport Prank" Went Horribly Wrong - 96.5 | 101.5 The Bounce
The "Taking People's Luggage At The Airport Prank" Went Horribly Wrong
Joe Winner January 24th
(Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
Yes, that's an actual prank. To try to take other's luggage at the airport.
Flying is one of the more stressful things to do. Get to the airport. get through security. Get that connecting flight. And then, get to baggage claim and hope your bag showed up. It's all very stressful. And probably the last place you want to have someone pulling a prank on you. Yet, it's a thing. To torment people for followers and clicks. This page has 838,000 followers who enjoy watching Salim prank people. This video has been viewed over a million times. There's a thong prank at the beginning, just skip past it if you want to see the airport stuff.
You can see the people even the video are confused, some a little upset when he argues about the luggage.
So it's not too big of a stretch to think that someone escalates the confrontation. And that's what happened here. It kind of looks like the Austin airport, but I'm not completely sure. Also, I don't know if it's the same prankster, it could be a copycat trying to get clicks.
YouTuber who pranks people by trying to steal their luggage at airports to get people's reactions goes wrong pic.twitter.com/kKs6f8S7Tk
— Detect Fights 💕 (@detectfights) January 23, 2023
I'm actually surprised this doesn't happen more often with these You Tube pranksters. Watch the video again and you'll see the prankster is the first to make it a physical altercation when he grabs the man's shirt. This video will likely pop up in a civil suit.
I'm just trying to get my luggage and go home.
Three Florida Airports Made The Top 10 For Most Firearms Found At Security Checkpoints
You are NOT allowed to bring a gun onto a plane in your carry on bag. Even if you have a concealed carry permit. You can bring a gun on a plane if it is unloaded and packed in a locked, hard-sided case and the bag is checked. Despite that very clear rule, many people continue to bring guns in their carry-ons. And Florida airports are seeing a lot of them.
The TSA announced in a press release " Nationwide, TSA officers stopped 6,542 firearms at checkpoints at 262 different airports, surpassing the previous record of 5,972 firearms caught at checkpoints last year. The majority of those firearms (88%) were loaded. " On average, that's one gun for every 116,394 travelers screened nationwide. But of course, some airports see more than others.
Last week we noted, Four of the Top Five Worst Airports in the U.S. Are In Florida. At least Florida is slightly better on this list. However, neither of these lists compare to what went down in Atlanta this week:
This lady is just cruising thru the Atlanta airport with a fire extinguisher — blasting folks in the face with it.
pic.twitter.com/JNCEY2hwhH
— Hazey Cazey 📺 (@hazeycazeytv) January 18, 2023
Florida Airports gun confiscation is on the rise.
The Tampa Bay Times states, "In Florida, TSA officers confiscated a record 854 guns in 2022. That's a 28% increase from the previous record in 2021." And it's not a small deal, either. I'm sure for many of these it was a mistake. But that mistake can involve criminal charges and a fine of up to nearly $15,000. – Careful if you click on the Tampa Bay Times link, you only get three free articles before they start charging you.
So how does Florida rank on people trying to brings guns onto planes? Not as bad as you'd think. Sure, even one is too many, but take a look at what is going on in Atlanta. Below is the ranking, airport, and guns caught by TSA at checkpoints in 2022.
10 Tampa International Airport (TPA) 131
That beats Tampa's previous record of 105 in 2021.
9 Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) 134
This must be why the new Grand Theft Auto is based around the Miami area.
8 Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) 150
Texas also has 3 airports on this list. Before you think this is mostly a Florida and Texas problem – read on.
7 Denver International Airport (DEN) 156
True story – I wore an Illuminati t-shirt at this airport hoping I'd be escorted into a secret meeting room. This was back around 2013 when Colorado just legalized recreational marijuana so it's possible I was high as eggs when I tried it. The Denver Airport has more conspiracy theories than guns. So many that they had to issue a statement.
6 Orlando International Airport (MCO) 162
There's Orlando. In the Four of the Top Five Worst Airports in the U.S. Are In Florida, Orlando was voted number one. 162 guns a year is just over 3 a week.
5 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) 196
196 guns. That's nothing compared to what they find in San Antonio.
Today @TSA officers @SATairport discovered this 84 mm caliber weapon in checked luggage. It was undeclared, as required when traveling with firearms or weapons. Here's info about traveling with firearm. https://t.co/FjDYDrQV0E #Monday #SafetyFirst pic.twitter.com/ax5sqxHNYX
— TSA_SouthWest (@Tsa_SouthWest) January 16, 2023
4 Nashville International Airport (BNA) 213
Good ol' boys and their guns?
3 Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) 298
More Texas. What's the difference between an Intercontinental and International Airport?
2 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) 385
Texas again. I get it, you have guns. But you don't need it on the plane.
1 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) 448
Coming in first and not even close is Atlanta. If you're working TSA in Atlanta expect at least a gun a day. You see how I put that video from Atlanta earlier in the story? That's called foreshadowing. I'm good at this. I actually wrote a series that starts off with a 2 hour movie and then goes into 8 – 30 minute shows. It's about old people doing crazy stuff at nursing homes because they're bored. You listening Netflix? Call me.
.@TSA officers keeping you safe every day. @MCO @FLLFlyer @FlyTPA in the top 10 again. pic.twitter.com/houtQK5ohp
— TSA_Gulf (@TSA_Gulf) January 17, 2023
Joe Winner spends his days combing through memes and off beat stories to bring you the side of Florida not always seen.
Airport,Luggage


Comments: Clusters of dark green radiating prismatic klyuchevskite crystals associated with langbeinite, co-type sample. Klyuchevskite-duplicate is the same mineral with different Dana numbers.
Location: Yadevitaya fumarole, Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka Oblast', Far-Eastern Region, Russia. Scale: See Image.
Color: Green, Gray green, Olive green.
note: Specific Gravity of Klyuchevskite-Duplicate =3.08 gm/cc.
U=PEKlyuchevskite-Duplicate x relectron= 45.64 barns/cc.