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(Redirected from Coal mine)
"Coal miner" redirects here. For the John J. Szaton statue, see Coal Miner (statue).
Balmain Coal Mine in New South Wales in 1950. Photograph taken by Sam Hood for LJ Hooker, State Library of New South Wales, 31753
Coal miners leaving an American mine at the end of a shift (April 1974)
Surface coal mining in Wyoming in the United States.
A coal mine in Bihar, India.
A coal mine in Frameries, Belgium.
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s, has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United Kingdom and South Africa, a coal mine and its structures are a colliery, a coal mine - a pit, and the above-ground structures - a pit head. In Australia, "colliery" generally refers to an underground coal mine. In the United States, "colliery" has been used to describe a coal mine operation but nowadays the word is not commonly used.
Coal mining has had many developments over the recent years, from the early days of men tunneling, digging, and manually extracting the coal on carts to large open cut and long wall mines. Mining at this scale requires the use of draglines, trucks, conveyors, hydraulic jacks and shearers.
Main article: History of coal mining
Ships have been used to haul coal since Roman times.
Small-scale mining of surface deposits dates back thousands of years. For example, in Roman Britain, the Romans were exploiting most of the major coalfields by the late 2nd century AD.[1]
The Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the 18th century and later spread to continental Europe and North America, was based on the availability of coal to power steam engines. International trade expanded rapidly when coal-fed steam engines were built for the railways and steamships.
Until the late nineteenth-century coal was mined underground using a pick and shovel, and children were often employed underground in dangerous conditions.[2] Coal-cutting machines were introduced in the 1880s. By 1912, surface mining was conducted with steam shovels designed for coal mining.
Methods of extractionEdit
The most economical method of coal extraction from coal seams depends on the depth and quality of the seams, and the geology and environmental factors. Coal mining processes are differentiated by whether they operate on the surface or underground. Many coals extracted from both surface and underground mines require washing in a coal preparation plant. Technical and economic feasibility are evaluated based on the following: regional geological conditions; overburden characteristics; coal seam continuity, thickness, structure, quality, and depth; strength of materials above and below the seam for roof and floor conditions; topography (especially altitude and slope); climate; land ownership as it affects the availability of land for mining and access; surface drainage patterns; groundwater conditions; availability of labor and materials; coal purchaser requirements in terms of tonnage, quality, and destination; and capital investment requirements.[3]
Surface mining and deep underground mining are the two basic methods of mining. The choice of mining method depends primarily on depth, density, overburden, and thickness of the coal seam; seams relatively close to the surface, at depths less than approximately 180 ft (55 m), are usually surface mined.
Coal that occurs at depths of 180 to 300 ft (55 to 90 m) are usually deep mined, but in some cases surface mining techniques can be used. For example, some western U.S. coal that occur at depths in excess of 200 ft (60 m) are mined by the open pit methods, due to thickness of the seam 60–90 feet (20–25 metres). Coals occurring below 300 ft (90 m) are usually deep mined.[4] However, there are open pit mining operations working on coal seams up to 1,000–1,500 feet (300–460 metres) below ground level, for instance Tagebau Hambach in Germany.
Surface miningEdit
Trucks loaded with coal at the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia
When coal seams are near the surface, it may be economical to extract the coal using open cut (also referred to as open cast, open pit, mountaintop removal or strip) mining methods. Opencast coal mining recovers a greater proportion of the coal deposit than underground methods, as more of the coal seams in the strata may be exploited. This equipment can include the following: Draglines which operate by removing the overburden, power shovels, large trucks in which transport overburden and coal, bucket wheel excavators, and conveyors. In this mining method, explosives are first used in order to break through the surface or overburden, of the mining area. The overburden is then removed by draglines or by shovel and truck. Once the coal seam is exposed, it is drilled, fractured and thoroughly mined in strips. The coal is then loaded onto large trucks or conveyors for transport to either the coal preparation plant or directly to where it will be used.[5]
Most open cast mines in the United States extract bituminous coal. In Canada (BC), Australia and South Africa, open cast mining is used for both thermal and metallurgical coals. In New South Wales open casting for steam coal and anthracite is practiced. Surface mining accounts for around 80 percent of production in Australia, while in the US it is used for about 67 percent of production. Globally, about 40 percent of coal production involves surface mining.[5]
Strip miningEdit
Strip mining exposes coal by removing earth above each coal seam. This earth is referred to as overburden and is removed in long strips. The overburden from the first strip is deposited in an area outside the planned mining area and referred to as out-of-pit dumping. Overburden from subsequent strips is deposited in the void left from mining the coal and overburden from the previous strip. This is referred to as in-pit dumping.
It is often necessary to fragment the overburden by use of explosives. This is accomplished by drilling holes into the overburden, filling the holes with explosives, and detonating the explosive. The overburden is then removed, using large earth-moving equipment, such as draglines, shovel and trucks, excavator and trucks, or bucket-wheels and conveyors. This overburden is put into the previously mined (and now empty) strip. When all the overburden is removed, the underlying coal seam will be exposed (a 'block' of coal). This block of coal may be drilled and blasted (if hard) or otherwise loaded onto trucks or conveyors for transport to the coal preparation (or wash) plant. Once this strip is empty of coal, the process is repeated with a new strip being created next to it. This method is most suitable for areas with flat terrain.
Equipment to be used depends on geological conditions. For example, to remove overburden that is loose or unconsolidated, a bucket wheel excavator might be the most productive. The life of some area mines may be more than 50 years.[6]
Contour miningEdit
The contour mining method consists of removing overburden from the seam in a pattern following the contours along a ridge or around the hillside. This method is most commonly used in areas with rolling to steep terrain. It was once common to deposit the spoil on the downslope side of the bench thus created, but this method of spoil disposal consumed much additional land and created severe landslide and erosion problems. To alleviate these problems, a variety of methods were devised to use freshly cut overburden to refill mined-out areas. These haul-back or lateral movement methods generally consist of an initial cut with the spoil deposited downslope or at some other site and spoil from the second cut refilling the first. A ridge of undisturbed natural material 15 to 20 ft (5 to 6 m) wide is often intentionally left at the outer edge of the mined area. This barrier adds stability to the reclaimed slope by preventing spoil from slumping or sliding downhill.
The limitations of contour strip mining are both economic and technical. When the operation reaches a predetermined stripping ratio (tons of overburden/tons of coal), it is not profitable to continue. Depending on the equipment available, it may not be technically feasible to exceed a certain height of highwall. At this point, it is possible to produce more coal with the augering method in which spiral drills bore tunnels into a highwall laterally from the bench to extract coal without removing the overburden.
Mountaintop removal miningEdit
Main article: Mountaintop removal
Mountaintop coal mining is a surface mining practice involving removal of mountaintops to expose coal seams, and disposing of associated mining overburden in adjacent "valley fills." Valley fills occur in steep terrain where there are limited disposal alternatives.
Mountaintop removal combines area and contour strip mining methods. In areas with rolling or steep terrain with a coal seam occurring near the top of a ridge or hill, the entire top is removed in a series of parallel cuts. Overburden is deposited in nearby valleys and hollows. This method usually leaves the ridge and hilltops as flattened plateaus.[4] The process is highly controversial for the drastic changes in topography, the practice of creating head-of-hollow-fills, or filling in valleys with mining debris, and for covering streams and disrupting ecosystems.[7][8]
Spoil is placed at the head of a narrow, steep-sided valley or hollow. In preparation for filling this area, vegetation and soil are removed and a rock drain constructed down the middle of the area to be filled, where a natural drainage course previously existed. When the fill is completed, this underdrain will form a continuous water runoff system from the upper end of the valley to the lower end of the fill. Typical head-of-hollow fills are graded and terraced to create permanently stable slopes.[6]
Underground miningEdit
Main article: Underground mining (soft rock)
Coal wash plant in Clay County, Kentucky
Most coal seams are too deep underground for opencast mining and require underground mining, a method that currently accounts for about 60 percent of world coal production.[5] In deep mining, the room and pillar or bord and pillar method progresses along the seam, while pillars and timber are left standing to support the mine roof. Once room and pillar mines have been developed to a stopping point (limited by geology, ventilation, or economics), a supplementary version of room and pillar mining, termed second mining or retreat mining, is commonly started. Miners remove the coal in the pillars, thereby recovering as much coal from the coal seam as possible. A work area involved in pillar extraction is called a pillar section.
Modern pillar sections use remote-controlled equipment, including large hydraulic mobile roof-supports, which can prevent cave-ins until the miners and their equipment have left a work area. The mobile roof supports are similar to a large dining-room table, but with hydraulic jacks for legs. After the large pillars of coal have been mined away, the mobile roof support's legs shorten and it is withdrawn to a safe area. The mine roof typically collapses once the mobile roof supports leave an area.
Remote Joy HM21 Continuous Miner used underground
There are six principal methods of underground mining:
Longwall mining accounts for about 50 percent of underground production. The longwall shearer has a face of 1,000 feet (300 m) or more. It is a sophisticated machine with a rotating drum that moves mechanically back and forth across a wide coal seam. The loosened coal falls onto an armored chain conveyor or pan line that takes the coal to the conveyor belt for removal from the work area. Longwall systems have their own hydraulic roof supports which advance with the machine as mining progresses. As the longwall mining equipment moves forward, overlying rock that is no longer supported by coal is allowed to fall behind the operation in a controlled manner. The supports make possible high levels of production and safety. Sensors detect how much coal remains in the seam while robotic controls enhance efficiency. Longwall systems allow a 60-to-100 percent coal recovery rate when surrounding geology allows their use. Once the coal is removed, usually 75 percent of the section, the roof is allowed to collapse in a safe manner.[5]
Continuous mining utilizes a Continuous Miner Machine with a large rotating steel drum equipped with tungsten carbide picks that scrape coal from the seam. Operating in a "room and pillar" (also known as "bord and pillar") system—where the mine is divided into a series of 20-to-30-foot (5–10 m) "rooms" or work areas cut into the coalbed—it can mine as much as 14 tons of coal a minute, more than a non-mechanised mine of the 1920s would produce in an entire day. Continuous miners account for about 45 percent of underground coal production. Conveyors transport the removed coal from the seam. Remote-controlled continuous miners are used to work in a variety of difficult seams and conditions, and robotic versions controlled by computers are becoming increasingly common. Continuous mining is a misnomer, as room and pillar coal mining is very cyclical. In the US, one can generally cut 20 feet (6 meters) (or a bit more with MSHA permission) (12 meters or roughly 40 ft in South Africa before the Continuous Miner goes out and the roof is supported by the Roof Bolter), after which, the face has to be serviced, before it can be advanced again. During servicing, the "continuous" miner moves to another face. Some continuous miners can bolt and rock dust the face (two major components of servicing) while cutting coal, while a trained crew may be able to advance ventilation, to truly earn the "continuous" label. However, very few mines are able to achieve it. Most continuous mining machines in use in the US lack the ability to bolt and dust. This may partly be because incorporation of bolting makes the machines wider, and therefore, less maneuverable.[citation needed]
Room and pillar mining consists of coal deposits that are mined by cutting a network of rooms into the coal seam. Pillars of coal are left behind in order to keep up the roof. The pillars can make up to forty percent of the total coal in the seam, however where there was space to leave head and floor coal there is evidence from recent open cast excavations that 18th-century operators used a variety of room and pillar techniques to remove 92 percent of the in situ coal. However, this can be extracted at a later stage (see retreat mining).[5]
Blast mining or conventional mining, is an older practice that uses explosives such as dynamite to break up the coal seam, after which the coal is gathered and loaded onto shuttle cars or conveyors for removal to a central loading area. This process consists of a series of operations that begins with "cutting" the coalbed so it will break easily when blasted with explosives. This type of mining accounts for less than 5 percent of total underground production in the US today.[citation needed]
Shortwall mining, a method currently accounting for less than 1 percent of deep coal production, involves the use of a continuous mining machine with movable roof supports, similar to longwall. The continuous miner shears coal panels 150 to 200 feet (45 to 60 metres) wide and more than a half-mile (1 km) long, having regard to factors such as geological strata.[citation needed]
Retreat mining is a method in which the pillars or coal ribs used to hold up the mine roof are extracted; allowing the mine roof to collapse as the mining works back towards the entrance. This is one of the most dangerous forms of mining, owing to imperfect predictability of when the roof will collapse and possibly crush or trap workers in the mine.[citation needed]
Coal production trends 1980-2012 in the top five coal-producing countries (US EIA)
Coal mine in China
Coal mine in Australia
Main article: Major coal producing regions
Coal is mined commercially in over 50 countries. Over 7,036 Mt/yr of hard coal was produced in 2007, a substantial increase over the previous 25 years.[9] In 2006, the world production of brown coal (lignite) was slightly over 1,000 Mt, with Germany the world's largest brown coal producer at 194.4 Mt, and China second at 100.6 Mt.[10]
Coal production has grown fastest in Asia, while Europe has declined. Since 2013, the world coal production is decreasing, -6% in 2016.[11] The top coal mining nations are:
2009 estimate of total coal production
Production[12]
China 3,450 Mt
United States 973 Mt
India 557 Mt
Australia 409 Mt
Russia 298 Mt
Indonesia 252 Mt
South Africa 250 Mt
Poland 135 Mt
Kazakhstan 101 Mt
Colombia 75 Mt
Most coal production is used in the country of origin, with around 16 percent of hard coal production being exported.
Coal reserves are available in almost every country worldwide, with recoverable reserves in around 70 countries. At current production levels, proven coal reserves are estimated to last 147 years.[13] However, production levels are by no means level, and are in fact increasing and some estimates are that peak coal could arrive in many countries such as China and America by around 2030. Coal reserves are usually stated as either (1) "Resources" ("measured" + "indicated" + "inferred" = "resources", and then, a smaller number, often only 10-20% of "resources", (2) "Run of Mine" (ROM) reserves, and finally (3) "marketable reserves", which may be only 60% of ROM reserves.[clarification needed] The standards for reserves are set by stock exchanges, in consultation with industry associations. For example, in ASEAN countries reserves standards follow the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code (JORC) used by the Australian Securities Exchange.
Modern miningEdit
Laser profiling of a minesite by a coal miner using a Maptek I-site laser scanner in 2014
Technological advancements have made coal mining today more productive than it has ever been. To keep up with technology and to extract coal as efficiently as possible modern mining personnel must be highly skilled and well trained in the use of complex, state-of-the-art instruments and equipment. Many jobs require four-year university degrees. Computer knowledge has also become greatly valued within the industry as most of the machines and safety monitors are computerized.
The use of sophisticated sensing equipment to monitor air quality is common and has replaced the use of small animals such as canaries, often referred to as "miner's canaries".[14]
In the United States, the increase in technology has significantly decreased the mining workforce. in 2015 US coal mines had 65,971 employees, the lowest figure since EIA began collecting data in 1978.[15] However, a 2016 study reported that a relatively minor investment would allow most coal workers to retrain for the solar energy industry.[16]
SafetyEdit
See also: Mine safety and Mining accident
Dangers to minersEdit
The Farmington coal mine disaster kills 78. West Virginia, US, 1968.
Historically, coal mining has been a very dangerous activity and the list of historical coal mining disasters is a long one. In the US alone, more than 100,000 coal miners were killed in accidents in the twentieth century,[17] 90 percent of the fatalities occurring in the first half of the century.[18] More than 3,200 died in 1907 alone.[19]
Open cut hazards are principally mine wall failures and vehicle collisions; underground mining hazards include suffocation, gas poisoning, roof collapse, rock burst, outbursts, and gas explosions.
Firedamp explosions can trigger the much-more-dangerous coal dust explosions, which can engulf an entire pit. Most of these risks can be greatly reduced in modern mines, and multiple fatality incidents are now rare in some parts of the developed world. Modern mining in the US results in approximately 30 deaths per year due to mine accidents.[20]
However, in lesser developed countries and some developing countries, many miners continue to die annually, either through direct accidents in coal mines or through adverse health consequences from working under poor conditions. China, in particular, has the highest number of coal mining related deaths in the world, with official statistics claiming that 6,027 deaths occurred in 2004.[21] To compare, 28 deaths were reported in the US in the same year.[22] Coal production in China is twice that in the US,[23] while the number of coal miners is around 50 times that of the US, making deaths in coal mines in China 4 times as common per worker (108 times as common per unit output) as in the US.
Mine disasters have still occurred in recent years in the US,[24] Examples include the Sago Mine disaster of 2006, and the 2007 mine accident in Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine, where nine miners were killed and six entombed.[25] In the decade 2005-2014, US coal mining fatalities averaged 28 per year.[26] The most fatalities during the 2005-2014 decade were 48 in 2010, the year of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in West Virginia, which killed 29 miners.[27]
Miners can be regularly monitored for reduced lung function due to coal dust exposure using spirometry.
Chronic lung diseases, such as pneumoconiosis (black lung) were once common in miners, leading to reduced life expectancy. In some mining countries black lung is still common, with 4,000 new cases of black lung every year in the US (4 percent of workers annually) and 10,000 new cases every year in China (0.2 percent of workers).[28] The use of water sprays in mining equipment reduces the risk to miners' lungs.[29] Build-ups of a hazardous gas are known as damps, possibly from the German word "Dampf" which means steam or vapor:
Black damp: a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in a mine can cause suffocation, and is formed as a result of corrosion in enclosed spaces so removing oxygen from the atmosphere.
After damp: similar to black damp, after damp consists of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen and forms after a mine explosion.
Fire damp: consists of mostly methane, a highly flammable gas that explodes between 5% and 15% - at 25% it causes asphyxiation.
Stink damp: so named for the rotten egg smell of the hydrogen sulfide gas, stink damp can explode and is also very toxic.
White damp: air containing carbon monoxide which is toxic, even at low concentrations
Noise is also a contributing factor to potential adverse effects on coal miners' health. Exposure to excessive noise can lead to noise-induced hearing loss. Hearing loss developed as a result of occupational exposures is coined occupational hearing loss. To protect miners' hearing, the US Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) guidelines for noise place a Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for noise at 90 dBA time-weighted over 8 hours. A lower cutoff, 85 dBA, is set for a worker to fall into the MSHA Action Level which dictates that workers be placed into hearing conservation programs.
Noise exposures vary depending on the method of extraction. For example, a study has found that among surface coal mine operations, dragline equipment produced the loudest sound at a range of 88-112 dBA.[30] Within longwall sections, stageloaders used to transport coal from the mining face and shearers used for extraction represent some of the highest noise exposures. Auxiliary fans (up to 120 dBA), continuous mining machines (up to 109 dBA), and roof bolters (up to 103 dBA) represent some of the noisiest equipment within continuous mining sections.[31] Exposures to noise exceeding 90 dBA can lead to adverse effects on workers' hearing. The use of administrative controls and engineering controls can be used to reduce noise exposures.
Dangers from mining wasteEdit
In the 1966 Aberfan disaster in Wales, a colliery spoil tip collapsed, engulfing a school and killing 116 children and 28 adults. Other accidents involving coal waste include the Martin County coal slurry spill (USA, 2000) and the Obed Mountain coal mine spill (Canada, 2013).
Safety ImprovementsEdit
A video on the use of roof screens in underground coal mines
Improvements in mining methods (e.g. longwall mining), hazardous gas monitoring (such as safety-lamps or more modern electronic gas monitors), gas drainage, electrical equipment, and ventilation have reduced many of the risks of rock falls, explosions, and unhealthy air quality. Gases released during the mining process can be recovered to generate electricity and improve worker safety with gas engines.[32] Another innovation in recent years is the use of closed circuit escape respirators, respirators that contain oxygen for situations where mine ventilation is compromised.[33] Statistical analyses performed by the US Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) show that between 1990 and 2004, the industry cut the rate of injuries by more than half and fatalities by two-thirds. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, even in 2006, mining remained the second most dangerous occupation in America, when measured by fatality rate.[34][verification needed] However, these numbers include all mining, with oil and gas mining contributing the majority of fatalities; coal mining resulted in only 47 fatalities that year.[34]
Environmental impactsEdit
Main article: Environmental impact of the coal industry
Environmental activists blocking a coal mine to promote fossil fuel phase-out
Coal mining can result in a number of adverse effects on the environment.
Surface mining of coal completely eliminates existing vegetation, destroys the genetic soil profile, displaces or destroys wildlife and habitat, degrades air quality, alters current land uses, and to some extent permanently changes the general topography of the area mined.[35] This often results in a scarred landscape with no scenic value. Of greater concern, the movement, storage, and redistribution of soil during mining can disrupt the community of soil microorganisms and consequently nutrient cycling processes. Rehabilitation or reclamation mitigates some of these concerns and is required by US Federal Law, specifically the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
Mine dumps (tailings) could produce acid mine drainage which can seep into waterways and aquifers, with consequences on ecological and human health.
If underground mine tunnels collapse, they cause subsidence of the ground above. Subsidence can damage buildings, and disrupt the flow of streams and rivers by interfering with the natural drainage.
Coal production is a major contributor to global warming: burning coal generates large quantities of carbon dioxide and mining operations can release methane, a known greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. The coal mining industry is working to improve its public image.[36]
Legality of coal miningEdit
A court in Australia has cited climate change in ruling against a new coal mine.[37]
Coal mining by countryEdit
See also: Coal in Europe
The six largest countries by coal production in 2015 as determined by the US Energy Information Agency.
Top 10 hard and brown coal producers in 2012 were (in million metric tons): China 3,621, United States 922, India 629, Australia 432, Indonesia 410, Russia 351, South Africa 261, Germany 196, Poland 144, and Kazakhstan 122.[38][39]
AustraliaEdit
Main article: Coal mining in Australia
Coal is mined in every state of Australia, but mainly in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. It is mostly used to generate electricity, and 75% of annual coal production is exported, mostly to eastern Asia.
In 2007, 428 million tonnes of coal was mined in Australia.[9] In 2007, coal provided about 85% of Australia's electricity production.[40] In fiscal year 2008/09, 487 million tonnes of coal was mined, and 261 million tonnes was exported.[41] In fiscal year 2013/14, 430.9 million tonnes of coal was mined, and 375.1 million tonnes was exported.[42] In 2013/14, coal provided about 69% of Australia's electricity production.[43]
In 2013, Australia was the world's fifth-largest coal producer, after China, the United States, India, and Indonesia. However, in terms of proportion of production exported, Australia is the world's second largest coal exporter, as it exports roughly 73% of its coal production. Indonesia exports about 87% of its coal production.[43]
CanadaEdit
Canada was ranked as the 15th coal producing country in the world in 2010, with a total production of 67.9 million tonnes. Canada's coal reserves, the 12th largest in the world, are located largely in the province of Alberta.[44]
The first coal mines in North America were located in Joggins and Port Morien, Nova Scotia, mined by French settlers beginning in the late 1600s. The coal was used for the British garrison at Annapolis Royal, and in construction of the Fortress of Louisbourg.
ChileEdit
Main article: Coal mining in Chile
Compared to other South American countries Chile has limited coal resources. Only Argentina is similarly poor.[45] Coal is Chile is mostly sub-bituminous with the exception of the bituminous coals of the Arauco Basin in central Chile.[46]
ChinaEdit
Main article: Coal power in China
The People's Republic of China is by far the largest producer of coal in the world, producing over 2.8 billion tons of coal in 2007, or approximately 39.8 percent of all coal produced in the world during that year.[9] For comparison, the second largest producer, the United States, produced more than 1.1 billion tons in 2007. An estimated 5 million people work in China's coal-mining industry. As many as 20,000 miners die in accidents each year.[47] Most Chinese mines are deep underground and do not produce the surface disruption typical of strip mines. Although there is some evidence of reclamation of mined land for use as parks, China does not require extensive reclamation and is creating significant acreages of abandoned mined land, which is unsuitable for agriculture or other human uses, and inhospitable to indigenous wildlife. Chinese underground mines often experience severe surface subsidence (6–12 meters), negatively impacting farmland because it no longer drains well. China uses some subsidence areas for aquaculture ponds but has more than they need for that purpose. Reclamation of subsided ground is a significant problem in China. Because most Chinese coal is for domestic consumption, and is burned with little or no air pollution control equipment, it contributes greatly to visible smoke and severe air pollution in industrial areas using coal for fuel. China's total energy uses 67% from coal mines.
ColombiaEdit
An open-pit coal mine in the Rhineland lignite mining area (Germany).
Some of the world's largest coal reserves are located in South America, and an opencast mine at Cerrejón in Colombia is one of the world's largest open pit mines. Output of the mine in 2004 was 24.9 million tons (compared to total global hard coal production of 4,600 million tons). Cerrejón contributed about half of Colombia's coal exports of 52 million tons that year, with Colombia ranked sixth among major coal exporting nations. The company planned to expand production to 32 million tons by 2008. The company has its own 150 km standard-gauge railroad, connecting the mine to its coal-loading terminal at Puerto Bolívar on the Caribbean coast. There are two 120-car unit trains, each carrying 12,000 tons of coal per trip. The round-trip time for each train, including loading and unloading, is about 12 hours. The coal facilities at the port are capable of loading 4,800 tons per hour onto vessels of up to 175,000 tons of dead weight. The mine, railroad and port operate 24 hours per day. Cerrejón directly employs 4,600 workers, with a further 3,800 employed by contractors. The reserves at Cerrejón are low-sulfur, low-ash, bituminous coal. The coal is mostly used for electric power generation, with some also used in steel manufacture. The surface mineable reserves for the current contract are 330 million tons. However, total proven reserves to a depth of 300 metres are 3,000 million tons.
The expansion of the Cerrejón mine has been blamed for the forced displacement of local communities.[48][49]
GermanyEdit
Germany has a long history of coal mining, going back to the Middle Ages. Coal mining greatly increased during the industrial revolution and the following decades. The main mining areas were around Aachen, the Ruhr and Saar area, along with many smaller areas in other parts of Germany. These areas grew and were shaped by coal mining and coal processing, and this is still visible even after the end of the coal mining.
Coal mining reached its peak in the first half of the 20th century. After 1950, the coal producers started to struggle financially. In 1975, a subsidy was introduced (Kohlepfennig). In 2007, the Bundestag decided to end subsidies by 2018. As a consequence, RAG AG, the owner of the two remaining coal mines in Germany, announced it would close all mines by 2018, thus ending coal mining in Germany.
IndiaEdit
Jharia coal mine
Main article: Coal mining in India
Coal mining in India has a long history of commercial exploitation starting in 1774 with John Sumner and Suetonius Grant Heatly of the East India Company in the Raniganj Coalfield along the Western bank of Damodar River. Demand for coal remained low until the introduction of steam locomotives in 1853. After this, production rose to an annual average of 1 Mt and India produced 6.12 Mt per year by 1900 and 18 Mt per year by 1920, following increased demand in the First World War, but went through a slump in the early thirties. The production reached a level of 29 Mt by 1942 and 30 Mt by 1946. After independence, the country embarked upon five-year development plans. At the beginning of the 1st Plan, annual production went up to 33 Mt. During the 1st Plan period, the need for increasing coal production efficiently by systematic and scientific development of the coal industry was being felt. Setting up the National Coal Development Corporation (NCDC), a Government of India undertaking, in 1956 with the collieries owned by the railways as its nucleus was the first major step towards planned development of Indian Coal Industry. Along with the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. (SCCL) which was already in operation since 1945 and which became a government company under the control of Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, India thus had two Government coal companies in the fifties. SCCL is now a joint undertaking of Government of Telangana and Government of India.
JapanEdit
The Daikōdō (大抗道), the first adit of the Horonai mine (1879).(also known as the Otowakõ (音羽坑))
Main article: List of coal mines in Japan
The richest Japanese coal deposits have been found on Hokkaidō and Kyũshũ.
Japan has a long history of coal mining dating back into the Japanese Middle Ages. It is said that coal was first discovered in 1469 by a farming couple near Ōmuta, central Kyūshū.[50] In 1478, farmers discovered burning stones in the north of the island, which led to the exploitation of the Chikuhõ coalfield.[51]
Following Japanese industrialization additional coalfields were discovered northern Japan. One of the first mines in Hokkaidō was the Hokutan Horonai coal mine.[52]
PolandEdit
Main article: Coal mining in Poland
RussiaEdit
Russia ranked as the fifth largest coal producing country in 2010, with a total production of 316.9 Mt. Russia has the world's second largest coal reserves.[53] Russia and Norway share the coal resources of the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, under the Svalbard Treaty.[citation needed]
SpainEdit
Spain was ranked as the 30th coal producing country in the world in 2010. The coal miners of Spain were active in the Spanish Civil War on the Republican side. In October 1934, in Asturias, union miners and others suffered a fifteen-day siege in Oviedo and Gijon. There is a museum dedicated to coal mining in the region of Catalonia, called Cercs Mine Museum.
In October 2018, the Sánchez government and Spanish Labour unions settled an agreement to close ten Spanish coal mines at the end of 2018. The government pre-engaged to spend 250 million Euro to pay for early retirements, occupational retraining and structural change. In 2018, about 2,3 per cent of the electric energy produced in Spain was produced in coal-burning power plants.[54]
South AfricaEdit
Main article: Coal in South Africa § Mining
South Africa is one of the ten largest coal producing countries[55][56] and the fourth largest coal exporting country[57] in the world.
TaiwanEdit
Abandoned coal mine in Pingxi, New Taipei.
In Taiwan, coal is distributed mainly in the northern area. All of the commercial coal deposits occurred in three Miocene coal-bearing formations, which are the Upper, the Middle and the Lower Coal Measures. The Middle Coal Measures was the most important with its wide distribution, great number of coal beds and extensive potential reserves. Taiwan has coal reserves estimated to be 100-180 Mt. However, coal output had been small, amounting to 6,948 metric tonnes per month from 4 pits before it ceased production effectively in 2000.[58] The abandoned coal mine in Pingxi District, New Taipei has now turned into the Taiwan Coal Mine Museum.[59]
UkraineEdit
Main article: Coal in Ukraine
In 2012 coal production in Ukraine amounted to 85.946 million tonnes, up 4.8% from 2011.[60] Coal consumption that same year grew to 61.207 million tonnes, up 6.2% compared with 2011.[60]
More than 90 percent of Ukraine's coal production comes from the Donets Basin.[61] The country's coal industry employs about 500,000 people.[62] Ukrainian coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, and accidents are common.[63] Furthermore, the country is plagued with extremely dangerous illegal mines.[64]
United KingdomEdit
Main article: Coal mining in the United Kingdom
A view of Murton colliery near Seaham, United Kingdom, 1843
Before the industrial revolution much of the coal was used near to its production, although there was an active trade along the North Sea coast supplying coal to Yorkshire and London.[1]
Many coalfields were developed in the industrial revolution. The oldest were in Newcastle and Durham, South Wales, the Central Belt of Scotland and the Midlands, such as those at Coalbrookdale. The oldest continuously worked deep-mine in the United Kingdom was Tower Colliery in the South Wales coalfield. This colliery was developed in 1805, and its miners bought it out at the end of the 20th century, to prevent it from being closed. Tower Colliery was finally closed on 25 January 2008.[65]
The United Kingdom was ranked as the 24th coal producing country in the world in 2010, with a total production of 18.2 million tonnes. Coal mining in the United Kingdom probably dates to Roman times; coal production increased significantly during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and peaked during World War I. As a result of its long history with coal Britain's economically recoverable coal reserves have decreased,[66] and more than twice as much coal is now imported than produced.[67]
United StatesEdit
Miners at the Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company Mine in 1974
Main article: Coal mining in the United States
Further information: List of coal mines in the United States
Coal was mined in America in the early 18th century, and commercial mining started around 1730 in Midlothian, Virginia.[68]
The American share of world coal production remained steady at about 20 percent from 1980 to 2005, at about 1 billion short tons per year. The United States was ranked as the second highest coal producing country in the world in 2010, and possesses the largest coal reserves in the world. In 2008 then-President George W. Bush stated that coal was the most reliable source of electricity.[69] However, in 2011 President Barack Obama said that the US should rely more on "clean" sources of energy that emit lower or no carbon dioxide pollution.[70] For a time, while domestic coal consumption for electric power was being displaced by natural gas, exports were increasing.[71] US net coal exports increased ninefold from 2006 to 2012, peaked at 117 million short tons in 2012, then declined to 63 million tons in 2015. In 2015, 60% of net US exports went to Europe, 27% to Asia.US coal production increasingly comes from strip mines in the western United States, such as from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana.[72]
Coal has come under continued price pressure from natural gas and renewable energy sources, which has resulted in a rapid decline of coal in the U.S. and several notable bankruptcies including Peabody Energy. On 13 April 2016 it reported, that its revenue had reduced by 17 percent as coal prices fell and that it had lost two billion dollars the previous year.[73] It then filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 13 April 2016.[73] The Harvard Business Review discussed retraining coal workers for solar photovoltaic employment because of the rapid rise in U.S. solar jobs.[74] A 2016 study indicated that this was technically possible and would account for only 5% of the industrial revenue from a single year to provide coal workers with job security in the energy industry as whole.[16]
President Donald Trump pledged to bring back coal jobs during the 2016 US presidential election, and as president he announced plans to reduce environmental protection, particularly by repealing the Clean Power Plan (CPP). However, industry observers have warned that this might not lead to a boom in mining jobs[75] A 2019 projection by the Energy Information Administration estimated that coal production without CPP would decline over coming decades at a faster rate than indicated in the agency's 2017 projection, which had assumed the CPP was in effect.[76]
George Bretz (photographer)
Coal Measures
Coal preparation plant
Coal slurry impoundment
Coal train
Coal-mining region
Coal#Uses today
Environmental impact of the coal industry
Hurrying
List of books about coal mining
Mine fire
Mining accident
Peak coal
Problems in coal mining
Recovering of heat from old coal mines
Environmental justice and coal mining in Appalachia
^ a b Smith, A. H. V. (1997): "Provenance of Coals from Roman Sites in England and Wales", Britannia, Vol. 28, pp. 297–324 (322–4).
^ National Archives, UK. "19th Century Mining Disaster."
^ "Methods of Coal Mining" Archived 18 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Great Mining (2003) accessed 19 December 2011
^ a b Christman, R.C., J. Haslbeck, B. Sedlik, W. Murray, and W. Wilson. 1980. Activities, effects and impacts of the coal fuel cycle for a 1,000-MWe electric power generating plant. Washington, DC: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
^ a b c d e "Coal Mining. World Coal". World Coal Institute. 10 March 2009. Archived from > the original on 28 April 2009.
^ a b U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (1987). Surface coal mining reclamation: 10 years of progress, 1977-1987. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
^ "Mountain Justice Summer - What is Mountain Top Removal Mining?". 29 October 2005. Archived from the original on 29 October 2005.
^ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Philadelphia, PA (2005). "Mountaintop mining/valley fills in Appalachia: Final programmatic environmental impact statement."
^ a b c "World Coal Production, Most Recent Estimates 1980-2007 (October 2008)". U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2008.
^ "World Coal Production, Primary and Secondary, 2006 (October 2008)". U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2008.
^ "Coal production | Coal | Statistical Review of World Energy | Energy economics | BP". bp.com. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
^ "Coal Statistical Review 2010". Archived from the original on 21 January 2011.
^ "Home". World Coal Association.
^ Engelbert, Phillis. "Energy - What Is A "Miner's Canary"?". enotes. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
^ "Annual Coal Report - Energy Information Administration". www.eia.gov.
^ a b Louie, Edward P.; Pearce, Joshua M. (June 2016). "Retraining investment for U.S. transition from coal to solar photovoltaic employment". Energy Economics. 57: 295–302. doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2016.05.016.
^ "Former Miner Explains Culture Of Mining." NPR: National Public Radio. 7 April 2010.
^ Coal Mining Fatalities 1900-2014 Archived 3 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine, US Dept. of the Interior, MSHA.
^ "Coal Mining Steeped in History". ABC News. 5 January 2006.
^ OccupationalHazards.com. "Respiratory Protection in Coal Mines." Archived 23 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ "CLB :: Deconstructing deadly details from China's coal mine safety statistics". 30 September 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
^ US Mine Safety and Health Administration. "Statistics - Coal Mining Fatalities by State - Calendar Year." Archived 23 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2006 Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor". Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2006).
^ "Panel to Explore Deadly Mine Accident". New York Times. Associated Press. 4 September 2007.
^ Coal mining fatalities Archived 19 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine, US Mine Safety and Health Administration, accessed 27 June 2016.
^ Urbina, Ian (9 April 2010). "No Survivors Found After West Virginia Mine Disaster". New York Times.
^ Abelard.org, "Fossil fuel disasters".
^ Jacquelyn L. Banasik (2018). Pathophysiology. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 504.
^ Bauer, ER (April 2004). "Worker exposure and equipment noise in large surface coal mines". Min Eng. 56: 49–54.
^ "Summary of Longwall and Continuous Miner Section Noise Studies in Underground Coal Mines". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
^ Coal Gas Utilisation, www.clarke-energy.com
^ Krah, Jaclyn; Unger, Richard L. (7 August 2013). "The Importance of Occupational Safety and Health: Making for a "Super" Workplace". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
^ a b U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Stats.bls.gov
^ U.S. Department of the Interior. 1979. Permanent Regulatory Program Implementing Section 501(b) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977: Environmental Impact Statement. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior.
^ Clifford Krauss (26 February 2017). "Coal Industry Casts Itself as a Clean Energy Player". NYT. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
^ "Court rules out Hunter Valley coalmine on climate change grounds". The Guardian. 7 February 2019.
^ IEA Key energy statistics 2010 pages 11, 21
^ US Energy Information Administration, International energy statistics, accessed 29 December 2013.
^ "The Importance of Coal in the Modern World - Australia". Gladstone Centre for Clean Coal. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 17 March 2007.
^ "Australia Mineral Statistics 2009- June Quarter" (PDF). Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
^ "September 2015 - Resources and Energy Quarterly" (PDF). Australia Office of the Chief Economist. September 2015. pp. 44, 56. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
^ a b WCA (September 2014). "Coal Statistics". Today in Energy. World Coal Association. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
^ ""Overview of Canada's Coal Sector," Natural Resources Canada" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
^ Hernán Scandizzo (31 December 2016). "Carbón 2.0, otro capítulo de la saga no convencional" [Coal 2.0, another chapter of the non-conventional energy saga] (in Spanish). Rebelion.org. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
^ Davis, Eliodoro Martín (1990). "Breves recuerdos de algunas actividades mineras del carbón". Actas. Segundo Simposio sobre el Terciario de Chile (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Departamento de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Concepción. pp. 189–203.
^ "Where The Coal Is Stained With Blood." Time, 2 March 2007.
^ "DIGGING DEEPER: THE HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS OF COAL IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH" (PDF).
^ "Carbones del Cerrejón y Responsabilidad Social: Una revisión independiente de los impactos y del objetivo" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2017.
^ Kodama Kiyoomi, Sekitan no gijutsushi, p.19
^ Honda Tatsumi, Honda Tatsumi shashinshũ tankō ōsai, p.165
^ Kasuga Yutaka, Transfer and Development of Coal-Mine Technology in Hokkaido, pp.11-20.
^ "BP Statistical review of world energy June 2007". BP. June 2007. Archived from the original (XLS) on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
^ theguardian.com 26. October 2018: Spain to close most coal mines after striking €250m deal
^ Schmidt, Stephan. "Coal deposits of South Africa - the future of coal mining in South Africa" (PDF). Institute for Geology, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
^ "Coal Mining". World Coal Institute. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
^ "Coal". Department of Minerals and Energy (South Africa). Archived from the original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
^ "Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C. - Energy Statistical annual Reports". Web3.moeaboe.gov.tw. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
^ "Coal Mining in Taiwan (ROC) - Overview". Mbendi.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
^ a b Ukraine plans to reach extraction of 105 m t of coal a year, says president, Interfax-Ukraine (30 August 2013)[dead link]
^ Ukraine - Mining: Coal Mining Archived 17 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine
^ Ukraine - Coal Archived 23 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine, eia.doe.gov
^ Ukraine mine blast leaves 16 dead, BBC News (29 July 2011)
^ Illegal mines profitable, but at massive cost to nation, Kyiv Post (8 July 2011)
^ "Jobs to go as South West Wales coal mine is mothballed". South Wales Evening Post. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
^ "United Kingdom". www.worldenergy.org.
^ "International Energy Annual". Archived from the original on 30 June 2012.
^ MCCartney, Martha W. (1989). "Historical Overview Of The Midlothian Coal Mining Company Tract, Chesterfield County, Virginia." Archived 19 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine December 1989.
^ The White House, Washington, DC (2008). "President Bush Attends 2008 Annual Meeting of the West Virginia Coal Association." President George W. Bush Archives. Press release, 31 July 2008.
^ Lomax, Simon (9 February 2011). "'Massive' Closures of U.S. Coal Plants Loom, Chu Says". Bloomberg Business Week.
^ "Quarterly Coal Report - Energy Information Administration". www.eia.gov.
^ Matthew Brown (17 March 2013). "Company eyes coal on Montana's Crow reservation". The San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
^ a b Riley, Charles; Isidore, Chris. "Top U.S. coal company Peabody Energy files for bankruptcy". CNNMoney. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
^ What If All U.S. Coal Workers Were Retrained to Work in Solar? - Harvard Business Review. August. 2016
^ Rushe, Dominic (27 March 2017). "Top US coal boss Robert Murray: Trump 'can't bring mining jobs back'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
^ "US coal output forecast to fall despite Trump revival efforts," Financial Times, January 26, 2019: https://twitter.com/Ed_Crooks/status/1089186288220192768
Daniel Burns. The modern practice of coal mining (1907)
Chirons, Nicholas P. Coal Age Handbook of Coal Surface Mining (ISBN 0-07-011458-7)
Hamilton, Michael S. Mining Environmental Policy: Comparing Indonesia and the USA (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005). (ISBN 0-7546-4493-6).
Hayes, Geoffrey. Coal Mining (2004), 32 pp
Hughes. Herbert W, A Text-Book of Mining: For the use of colliery managers and others (London, many editions 1892-1917), the standard British textbook for its era.
Kuenzer, Claudia. Coal Mining in China (In: Schumacher-Voelker, E., and Mueller, B., (Eds.), 2007: BusinessFocus China, Energy: A Comprehensive Overview of the Chinese Energy Sector. gic Deutschland Verlag, 281 pp., ISBN 978-3-940114-00-6 pp. 62–68)
National Energy Information Center. "Greenhouse Gases, Climate Change, Energy". Retrieved 16 October 2007.
Charles V. Nielsen and George F. Richardson. 1982 Keystone Coal Industry Manual (1982)
Saleem H. Ali. "Minding our Minerals, 2006."
A.K. Srivastava. Coal Mining Industry in India (1998) (ISBN 81-7100-076-2)
Department of Trade and Industry, UK. "The Coal Authority". Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
Tonge, James. The principles and practice of coal mining (1906)
Woytinsky, W. S., and E. S. Woytinsky. World Population and Production Trends and Outlooks (1953) pp 840–881; with many tables and maps on the worldwide coal industry in 1950
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coal mining.
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Coal mining
Look up colliery in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Glossary of Mining Terms
Coal Mine exploration and preservation
Abandoned Mine Research
Methods of mining – overview and graphic of coal mining methods
Coal Mining in the British Isles (Northern Mine Research Society)
National Coal Mining Museum for England
NIOSH Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program
Purdue University – Petroleum and Coal
University of Wollongong – educational resource on longwall mining
Virtual coalmine – visual e-learning source with comprehensive display of long-wall face
World Coal Institute – Coal Mining
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coal_mining&oldid=906368155"


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Q: ggplot2: Impossible to create stacked bar chart WITHOUT reshape/melt? I am a novice at R and experimenting with as an alternative for data visualisation.
I am having trouble creating a stacked bar chart.
I have tried the reshape2 package with the melt function and have successfully produced one, but I had to explicitly create a dataset containing JUST the x-axis and variables that I want stacked.
It seems extremely counter-intuitive to me that we can't visualise data from a left to right sense (x-axis constant, y variables summed and overlapping).
Is there an alternate method, where I could simply perform a ggplot with the logic of:
ggplot(data=dataset, aes(x=Time, y1=var1, y2=var2, y3=var3.....)) +
 geom_bar(stat="identity",position="stack")

where y1, y2, y3 are the variables I want stacked, but do not have corresponding flags for me to use a "fill=flag" type?
I basically want to work off one large master dataset and export multiple analysis without having to excessively isolate each dataset and melt it

A: In general a stacked bar chart is used to distinguish between variations within a single category of data. For example if you had a bar chart showing the population of three species of migratory fowl that inhabit one specific marsh.
The bars might be mallard ducks, muted swans & Canada geese. Each would have a single whole bar.
The stacking would come in when you looked at these with a trait or quality they might share which you were comparing, such as the number who migrate and those who overwinter locally. The population of each type of fowl would be split into two stacks in the bar, those migrating who are Canada geese, those not...and so on.
It is not really meant to bring together disparate traits into a stack.
So, if you have data that separates out categories of the same population, reshaping the data to create a set of individual types within your data in columns, then differentiating by factors in another (also all in the same column) that is the right move.
If you need to keep it extracted for some reason, you can probably use y = (x$1 +x$2 x$b) to create your stacks, but depending on the data that might fail miserably. The best thing to do is reshape so that the quality you are counting is in a column and you compare those members across some other column with stacks.
If you need to use the data in another format later, create a temporary table, plot and then remove() it and gc() after graphing to get your memory back

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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An Overlooked Chapter in MLB Flag-Based History
MLB teams are currently in the midst of a four-day run of wearing stars/stripes uniforms. This is the latest development in a progression that began in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when MLB teams wore American flag patches over the MLB logo for the last few weeks of the season. (The Mets went further by wearing flag embroidery on their sleeves.)
Up until then, it was fairly rare for the American flag or flag-based imagery to appear on an MLB uniform (more on that in a sec). But since then, it has become increasingly common. Beginning in 2002, teams wore American flag cap patches on Independence Day for several seasons (a ritual that often went awry and occasionally sent unintentionally prophetic messages). The cap patches eventually gave way to caps with stars/stripes team logos, which in turn gave way to the stars/stripes jerseys that we now see every year around this time. Flag patches have also become routine on various camouflage jerseys, and the Nats have had several stars/stripes alternate jerseys.
Prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, it was uncommon for the flag or flag-based imagery to appear on MLB uniforms. The primary examples are as follows:
• In 1917 and '18, many teams wore flags and/or red-white-blue stripes to support America's entry into World War I.
• There was a similar show of support for the war effort during World War II, as teams wore the Hale America "Health" patch and other flag-derived patches.
• The Reds and A's wore American flag patches during the 1990 World Series as a gesture of support for the first Gulf War.
(I suppose you could argue that the baseball centennial patch, worn in 1939, is flag-based, and maybe ditto for the National League centennial patch, worn in 1976, although I don't think either of those quite fits the bill.)
But there's at least one other use of the flag on an MLB uniform that I hadn't been aware of until reader Jeff Scott recently pointed it out to me. It involves former Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons, who for much of the 1980 season wore American flag decals on his shinguards:
If you look closely, you can see that there was a phrase printed beneath the flag: "Free the Hostages," a reference to the Americans who were being held captive in Iran at the time:
Simmons took an additional step on July 4 of that season, when he covered his sleeve numbers with American flags (click to enlarge):
This was all new to me (or else I once knew and just forgot — always a possibility). Big thanks to Jeff for letting me know about unusual chapter in flag-based uniform history.
By Alex Hider
Baseball News: Our own Phil Hecken had a good recap of the MLB's Independence Days unis in yesterday's post, but we have a few odds and ends to tie up: Umpires wore caps with a stars and stripes batterman logo. … The Fox Sports scorebugs dressed up as well. … The Reds painted an "Old English" C on the mound on Independence Day weekend (from Jonathan Cain). … Hanley Ramirez of the Red Sox cut the ends of his sleeves (from TWF). …. Yunel Escobar of the Angels wore his American flag socks as sleeves, and his teammate Jesse Chavez took the field wearing two "stars" socks — no stripes (from Nathan Larsen). … Mets C Rene Rivera had stars/stripes catcher's gear yesterday (from Ryan Feuerstein. … The Indians tweeted a photo of Terry Francona's All-Star Game jersey, which he'll wear while skippering the AL team next week. … The Brooklyn Cyclones wore Captain America jerseys yesterday (from Crazy Tex).
NFL News: A man convicted of double murder in Las Vegas showed up to his sentencing wearing a brand-new Tony Romo jersey last week. When asked if he wanted to take the tag off his jersey, the man declined and said it would "depreciate the value" of the shirt (from Chris Flinn). … Check out this old shot of the Lions wearing navy jerseys with Honolulu blue socks. According to the Gridiron Uniform Database, the Lions wore the darker jerseys in 1964, the 1967 preseason, 1968, 1969, and the 1970 preseason (from NFL Journal).
College Football News: UCLA teased their new uniforms yesterday, and it appears the script on the helmet is going from navy back to powder blue (from Matthew Henderson). … Here are Toledo's new uniforms, which sees them go from a stock Under Armour template to a stock Nike template (from Jordan Strack). … Ohio has officially severed ties with Russell Athletic, as their contract with Adidas began Saturday. The football team will unveil new unis later this month (from Noah Wolf). … The Boise State Gators? … The Gerald Ford Museum and Library in Grand Rapids, Michigan has a replica of the 38th President's University of Michigan football jersey and the original uniform he wore as part of the 1935 College Football All-Star Game (from Andrew Beckman).
NBA News: The refs for the NBA Summer League are sporting some new threads. It would be interesting if they were in fact wearing new Nike shirts, considering Adidas is still making the Summer League jerseys (from Josh Edney and Ryan Fishoff).
Soccer News: Sport Recife and Atlético-PR of Série A in Brazil went red-on-red yesterday (from Andre Noruega). … Mexican League teams Cruz Azul and Monterrey played a game in Houston yesterday, and Issam Konsul" noticed a bunch of players with three digit numbers. The teams were playing as part of the SocioMX Cup and not in league play, so these players could be young prospects not typically on the roster. Does anyone have any other theories?
Grab Bag: The Choctaw Nation has updated its official seal (from Chance). … The Wisconsin State Journal is running a contest to redesign the flag for the city of Madison (from Sleep Without Cotton). … New hockey sweaters for NCAA DIII's Elmira College (from The Goal Net).
Equipment/Accessories General History MLB Patches
Not sure if it's just my computer, but three of your images for today's post are broken. The only one I see is the Pete Rose/Ted Simmons photo. The lead photo isn't showing up, and the two photos before the Rose/Simmons photo isn't showing up, either.
Shaftman says:
It's not just you. I can't see them either.
Weird. I'll see what I can do, but please (a) tell me which browsers you're using and (b) see if the problem also occurs in other browsers. Thanks.
Try it now.
Thanks, Paul, I can see them now. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the browsers before I left — had to go run a quick errand. I had tested it on Chrome and Firefox. When I grabbed the URL for those photos, I got a "Page could not be found" error. Just letting you know for future reference.
Proofreading – conservation of "the"s
"a photo of the Terry Francona's All-Star Game jersey"
"a replica of 38th President's"
Also, like Rich, I'm not seeing the first three images on a couple of platforms.
Typos fixed. Try images now.
They're now visible. Thanks.
They were visible to me all along. But I wondered if changing the images from being hosted at uni-watch.com to Flickr would help. Apparently that did the trick for you. But I don't know why you couldn't see them to begin with, as I did. Hmmmmm.
Payton Guthrie says:
Typo in the grab bag.
It's "Choctaw" not Chocktaw
"UCLA teased their new uniforms yesterday, and it appears the script on the helmet is going from navy back to powder blue (from Matthew Henderson)"
Actually the script has been royal blue, which never matched the jersey. And not "going…back to powder blue", since it never was powder blue.
Matt Henderson says:
No, the script has always been navy blue, not royal. But you are right, it's not "going back" to powder blue; this is new.
JoeUser says:
Typo in college football news – "The Gerald Ford Meseum"
What really impressed me about the Ted Simmons/Pete Rose photo is how Simmons stood up (literally) to Pete Rose at home plate (looks like they may have exchanged forearms). "Simba" never backed down from anybody.
Sport Recife and Atlético-PR of Série A in Brazil went red-on-red yesterday (from Andre Noruega).
Not really. Follow the responses to Mr. Noruega's original tweet and you'll see the matchup was red/black vertical stripes vs a sort of orange shade.
As to the three-digit numbers for Cruz Azul and Monterrey, other posters on this site have noted that every player on a Mexican club — from the senior squad on down to the youth teams — as a unique squad number that they are registered with for the season. The senior squad get the more conventional numbers; the youth teams will often have players in triple digits. If a youth player gets called up to the senior team, he must wear his original number.
Diego Yanez says:
Yeah. And they can't receive a new number until the next season. Also, some Mexican teams are missing several starters due to Confed. Cup and Gold Cup leaving space for youth players
The primary shade of blue that UCLA Athletic uses is called True Blue. It's darker than powder blue is.
It was True Blue. On July 1, UCLA released their new athletic brand standards, which name their colors as "Powderkeg Blue" and "Westwood Gold," along with designating Pantone, CMYK, RGB, and Hex values for these colors.
That definitely coincided with the official switch to Under Armour. I guess True Blue was an adidas thing, which explains the name changes. The Westwood Gold name makes sense for obvious reasons.
I saw this, and I wonder if they are any different. Seemed like the Adidas True Blue was getting darker and darker, becoming almost royal blue. I believe Powerkeg Blue was what it was originally called when Red Sanders changed the navy to light blue for the football team. I know in the 1960s and 70s their jerseys were light blue, and the basketball uniforms were closer to royal blue. At some point they tried to get a common blue that was a darker shade of light blue.
I lived in LA in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I know it's anecdotal, but UCLA's unis were definitely a powder blue then, for all teams. Now they are what I would call a light royal. I wish they hadn't changed, and I wish people would not use "powder blue" to describe their current color.
Even though I'm a graduate of USC, I grew up being a huge UCLA basketball fan. I went to many games. Their home white uniforms had a darker shade of blue, more like royal blue lettering and numbers. And their away uniforms were light blue, but darker than "powder blue" or "baby blue". The fans got very upset with Larry Brown when he changed the uniforms to a lighter shade like his beloved North Carolina.
UCLA switched to a darker blue (not quite royal but closer) in the early 2000s and called it "true blue." "Powderkeg blue" was what Red Sanders called UCLA powder blue when he switched from the original navy. So calling the current shade "powderkeg blue" is a bit misleading as it's not the same color that Sanders used (and was worn by the likes of Beban, Easley, Aikman, McNown, etc.).
In any case UCLA ditching navy as an accent color is a big mistake. They tried using "true blue" on the away FB unis for a couple of years in the Karl Dorrell era and they looked bad. Being in close proximity to gold made the blue look turquoise, and the whole thing appeared washed-out. Navy is much sharper and clean looking, and it is traditional as it was UCLA's original color (Jackie Robinson never wore powder or true blue at UCLA) and had been used on the away unis and helmets for literally decades. Oh well.
Actually the turquoise look on the road uniforms was only recently before switching to navy. They had light blue for many years on their road uniforms and they look great. I think it was an Adidas thing where they just didn't do a good job with it.
Rick, when did UCLA have light blue on the away FB uniforms (prior to the KD era)? I have never seen any photos of such uniforms. Beban, Easley, Aikman… all had navy trim on the white FB uni.
R.S. Rogers says:
On the black-and-white photo of Simmons and Rose, the flag on Simmons' shoulder appears to have a broken line below the bottom stripe of the flag. Which makes me suspect he used the same stickers on his sleeves that he used on his shin guards, with the "Free the Hostages" text.
Good rememberance of the simple post-9/11 tributes to our country. I can't imagine MLB removing its logo from the back of the jersey in 2017, no matter how horrible the tragedy. The Yanks went with a black armband and the Mets wore a simple mishmash of NY-area first responder caps, most of which were snap backs. No doubt garish memorial patches and "official" New Era first responder caps (only $38 at MLB.com!) would be rushed out if, God forbid, something like that happened again.
Speaking of the US flag on sports uniforms, I have always been intrigued by major junior hockey's Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. For well over a decade, they have sported the US flag permanently as their left shoulder patch:
I have not seen an explanation as to the reason why. May have to do with the Chiefs being one of the few American teams in the CHL. This is their way to represent.
It is an intriguing uniform detail considering it is combined with the Chiefs' indigenous themed logo and on a template borrowed from the Montreal Canadiens.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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6 Awesome Pinball Machines That Unite Generations
A pinball machine can be a great addition to a home or business. Whether you want to create a comprehensive game room at home, offer your customers or employees play at your business premises, or simply want something the whole family can enjoy, the best pinball machine is a solid purchase.
Our team has reviewed ten of the best pinball machines to assess the playability, layout and features. We've compiled a list of the best tables and our editor's choice Stern Pinball The Beatles offers a perfect balance of playability, theme and nostalgia for this iconic and timeless group. However, we've also ranked other tables including both classic and modern themes to ensure a top pick for everyone no matter what age or taste.
Our researchers have completed a thorough analysis of the pinball machines including the design, type, size and other features. Using this data, we have created in depth reviews, product tables and a useful buying guide to assist you in making a purchase decision.
Editors Choice: Arcade1Up Star Wars Digital Pinball
"Play classic pinball in star war nostalgia setting."
Most Atmospheric: Stern Pinball Stranger Things
"This edition is based on the Stranger Things Series and is an ideal option for the fans of the story."
Best Tabletop Pinball Machine : JUJUN Space Pinball Machine for Kids
"A great tabletop pinball machine for kids that includes the sounds effects, the lights that respond to gameplay, and even the digital scoreboard."
Best 3D Virtual Table: Prime Arcades Virtual Pinball Machine
"This is a full-size virtual pinball machine that gives you hundreds of fun games at the push of a single button."
Budget Pick: Stern Pinball Star Trek
"Pro Edition of a pinball machine based on The Star Trek Into Darkness movie and featuring a massive USS Vengeance model, LED lights and magnetic locks."
Top 6 Pinball Machines Review 2023
Arcade1Up Star Wars Digital Pinball – Editors Choice
Edition: Star Wars Digital
Speakers: Dual Speakers with metal grills
This is an immersive arcade game that has been designed to provide players with the nostalgic experience of classic pinball machines while at the same time introducing them to a new digital gaming experience.
Arcade1Up has created a pint-sized pinball table that is cheaper than the classic variety, yet is also of the same quality. While it's not the most authentic pinball around, this machine has a lot of variety and can be a great addition to your home arcade!
Since it's a digital pinball table, you won't actually be using the plunger to shoot a real ball or moving real flippers but rather be pressing buttons. The Arcade1Up Star Wars Pinball simulator comes with a 24-inch LCD screen that displays 720p resolution. Despite all its strengths, Arcade1Up (and any other machine like it) will never be able to replace the feel of actually playing pinball. The use of haptic feedback and sounds that emulate the impression of a real game provide a great level of immersion, but can't reproduce the sensation of contact with physical pins. Yet this pinball machine is still great as opposed to traditional pinball tables. Arcade1Up's games have a lot of variety so you can play different machines all the time.
Arcade1Up, one of the premier names in the arcade cabinet business, has partnered with Zen Studios to create a digital pinball game like you've never seen. Time to jump on board and switch your focus to the virtual world for a while!
This is a great gift for any family with kids or adults who love to play games.
Adjustable Variable Volume
In Game Settings Menu
On-Screen Game Selection Menu
Real Working Plunger
Adjustable Metal Legs
By Tastemakers, LLC
Games Included
Boba Fett · A New Hope · Ahch-To Island · Battle of Mimban · Darth Vader · Masters of the Force · Star Wars: Rebels · Han Solo · The Force Awakens · The Empire Strikes Back
Each game has it's own theme, sounds and layout. This means every play is a unique experience.
Haptic touch flippers
Virtual Flappers
Stern Pinball Stranger Things – Most Atmospheric
Edition: Stranger Things
Dimensions: 27″ x 55″ x 75.5″
Extra features: interactive RGB general illumination, improved playfield monsters, LED lit popper, LED lit moving targets, LED Drac coffin, Premium Enhanced Sound System, XL display, HD color upgrade
This Stranger Things edition has been designed to exceed the superb standards of the original pinball with LED lighting, modern electronics, and the latest technology. This creates the pinball experience you may remember from yesteryear with the craftsmanship and reliability that is required in today's market.
The Special Edition boasts of the incomparable atmosphere of the series, walking you through all the familiar settings and events. This pinball features fully interactive illumination that alters the general playfield illumination to enhance your playing experience. This feature allows each monster to have its own unique light show that adds to create a thoroughly eerie performance.
The game looks superb, and the design will easily create that mysterious, dark atmosphere. The model features custom speech by David Harbour who plays Police Chief Jim Hopper, which only adds to the overall impression.
Interactive RGB illumination
Atmospheric Stranger Things design
Custom sounds and speech
JUJUN Space Pinball Machine for Kids – Best Tabletop Pinball Machine
Edition: n/a
Year released: n/a
Dimensions: 42 x 24.5 x 27 cm
Extra features: electronic lights, sound effects, and LCD scoring
For those without a traditional game room and much gaming space, the JUJUN Space Pinball Machine for Kids is a stellar alternative. As the name suggests, its theme is the stars, the night sky, and outer space. Additionally, it is designed to be fairly compact and for tabletop play. Consequently it only measures 42 x 24.5 x 27 cm. This means that you can store it in the garage and only bring it out on game day.
The ABS construction, while solid, is also reasonably light, which of course, enhances the overall portability. Additionally, it comes with other inclusions to make play exciting for young kids. These include the sounds effects, the lights that respond to gameplay, and even the digital scoreboard. That said, as adults, we didn't have any issues using the machine.
For kids, the inbuilt bumpers and obstacles are great for improving hand-eye coordination. They can also enhance your child's capacity for critical and logical thinking, imagination, and even their communication skills. This is in addition to being a great bonding tool for parents who want to spend time with their kids.
Some of the components, however, could prove to be hazardous for younger kids. After all, kids under three years like to put everything and anything that can fit inside their mouths. Lastly, you need to buy and install some batteries for the digital components and sound effects to work.
What stands out?
Fairly inexpensive
Interactive components, e.g., lights and sounds
Compact, portable, and easy to store
What cons did we manage to find?
Not the most durable
A hazard to smaller kids
Prime Arcades Virtual Pinball Machine – Best 3D Virtual Table
Dimensions: 45.5″ x 23.5″ x 74″
Extra features: 820 Classic Pinball Games in 1 + 125 Pinball FX2 FX3 (Total 946 Games), coin acceptor
The Prime Arcades Virtual Pinball Machine is a great addition to any game room and it offers an affordable way to get an authentic pinball experience. A pinball machine can range in price from $6,000 up to $10,000 and you only get a single game. That makes them less flexible and they are out of the price range of most pinball enthusiasts. Another aspect of genuine pinball ownership is that the machines are complex and they require regular maintenance which can be expensive. This virtual pinball machine offers a viable alternative and you're sure to enjoy the large number of built-in games.
This is a full-size pinball machine that gives you 100's of fun games at the push of a single button. There are pinball table emulators from the 1940's up to the present-day models with 3D graphics. The 42" LED playfield screen is made from toughened black glass and the entire machine feels robust. Prime Arcades have a 1-year warranty for the motherboard coin acceptor unit and a 5-year warranty on parts. An astonishing 820 classic pinball games are included and the volume is adjustable via the coin door. The entire machine sits on stainless steel legs with a locking bar and side rails for stability. The full dimensions are 45.5" x 23.5" x 74" high and it weighs 320 lbs. If you're in the market for an genuine and affordable pinball experience this is the ideal machine to meet your needs.
The sheer volume of games, you're sure to discover some new favorites
It weighs over 300 pounds!
Stern Pinball Star Trek – Budget Pick
Edition: Pro
Dimensions: 29″ x 58″ x 77″
Extra features: the all-LED playfield, includes an animated battleship, three lightning fast ramps, three flippers, resettable memory drop targets and other; six missions for casual players, 18 complex treks to immerse enthusiast players, three action-centered flippers, features phaser flashes and photon torpedoes
The Star Trek universe has a long history within the pinball world and the licensing has been used for some great tables. While there have been some not so great tables, the Stern Pinball version is one of the best.
The table is largely based on the Star Trek Into Darkness movie and features some high tech elements that will keep players entertained and coming back for more. The centerpiece of the table is a massive USS Vengeance model that dominates the entire playfield. There are also LED lights and magnetic locks that allow this table to embrace its sci-fi inspiration and heritage.
There are some great bells and whistles, but it is the playability that makes this table stand apart. While it is great for new players, even pros will find it fun. There is an excellent skill curve that makes all players feel they have gotten their money's worth. The Stern Pinball Star Trek table perfectly marries style and substance, making it a great option for series and movie fans, but also fans of pinball in general. While some may consider the theming a little on the old size, it has a thoroughly modern feel.
Great skill curve
Amazing USS Vengeance model
High tech feel
Some may consider the theming a little old
If you're considering a pinball machine, you need to ensure that your purchase meets your specific needs. So, we've put together this buying guide to explore all of the features to consider and some answers to questions that you may still have.
Things to know before buying a pinball machine
The best pinball machine can be an asset to any home, creating a fun feature that can entertain family and friends alike. However, there are some things you need to know before you make a purchase decision. You need to think about how much you are prepared to spend and who will be using it. Consider whether adults or children will be playing and where it will be placed in your home. Is the pinball machine going to be used in your home or placed in a business location? Would you prefer a brand new model with very few worries or an older, refurbished table that has that classic feel but will need a little more TLC?
Features to consider when choosing a pinball machine
With so many different pinball machines available on the market, making a purchase decision can be a challenge. So, here are some of the important features that you should consider before you make a purchase decision.
There are a few types of pinball machine. EM or electro mechanical are relay based tables that are controlled by stepper units and a score motor. These types of tables often contain a lot of switches and moving parts and were the most common until the late 1970s.
Solid State (SS) pinball machines have an electronic microprocessor to control them and often feature digital scoring and sounds.
DMD or Dot Matrix Display machines are an SS machine that also has a display used for low res videos and scoring.
LCD or Liquid Crystal Display machines have only been around for the last few years and are similar to DMD machines, but they feature a larger LCD display that can be used to show high quality animations, graphics or even TV or movie clips.
The game theme is a crucial consideration when looking at the best pinball machines of all time. You need to choose a theme that holds your interest or there is no point in putting it in your home. Just because Stern Pinball The Beatles is highly rated, it you don't really care for the band, then it is not the best pinball machine for you. You need to look for a theme that appeals to you personally, but don't just be attracted by the theme. There are some tables that may feature great movies or characters, but they lack playability. Fortunately, the models we've featured in our list balance great themes with fantastic playability.
Most pinball machines are available in several editions. Pro editions are typically the "original" table, so if you're looking for an iconic build of a particular game, this is likely to be the edition for you. Generally, Pro versions are a little simpler compared to premium or limited editions, so they tend to be better suited to wider age groups. Pro editions are also considered a benchmark for all the variations, so if you're unsure about a game, try the pro edition first.
Classic editions take inspiration from previous games, replicating many of the game features and layout designs. Premium machines tend to have a different set of artwork and may have additional complexity such as more bumpers or targets.
Finally, as the name suggests, limited editions are a limited run of a particular machine. These tend to be something special and are aimed at the serious collector. Generally, limited editions feature all new and exclusive artwork and some extra features to make the game more exciting and challenging. Limited editions are usually supplied with a certificate of authenticity and a numbered plate.
Game rules and complexity
Another important consideration is the game rules and complexity. Ideally, you should play the game before you buy it, but if this is not possible, you need to look for a game suited to your skill level. Many games have simple or complex rules and playfield to offer hard or easy play. If you're a beginner, you need a game that offers straightforward play to start, but with some interesting levels that will still provide a challenge as you become more familiar with play.
Pinball machines are available in different sizes and shapes, but generally, they weigh approximately 250 pounds and have dimensions of 55 inches long, 27 inches wide and 75.5 inches high.
Most machines produced in the last twenty to thirty years have been made to these approximate dimensions, but it is important to verify the size and weight of a machine before you make your purchase decision.
Most of the best pinball machines have a line of accessories to further enhance play and create a custom look that will draw the eye in your games room. These include accessories such as backbox toppers, side armor, shooter knobs and a variety of playfield enhancements like flipper button protectors, beverage holders and colored leg protectors.
Please briefly answer the following questions:
Do I need to use coins or tokens to play my pinball machine?
No all of the modern pinball machines feature a "free play" function that will allow the game to be played without any need for coins or tokens.
How often will I need to have my pinball machine serviced or repaired?
It is a good idea to have your pinball machine checked every couple of years. However, if the table will be used in a commercial environment, you may need to increase the service intervals to every three or four months to provide an opportunity for preventative maintenance.
For fans of the series, the Stern Pinball Stranger Things is a highly fun pinball machine that is suitable for different skill levels. Adding modern features and technology together with the custom design took the classic game to a whole new level. While the Stern Pinball Deadpool is all modern, taking inspiration from the movies and comic to bring the wise cracking character to life with some interesting features and a plethora of updates. However, our pick for the best pinball machine has to be our editor's pick; the Stern Pinball The Beatles. This table features the timeless group in a superb presentation with licensed hits and some classic game features. This is the perfect piece of Beatles nostalgia that will appeal to all ages and fans of the music for play for many years to come.
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Country couple works hard and likes to play hard..
Married bi ssbbw looking for some online fun.


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WSJ: McMahon returning to WWE to sell company
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that disgraced WWE CEO Vince McMahon could be coming back to the company with the goal of eventually selling the WWE to a prospective buyer.
The report states that McMahon, the majority share holder, plans on putting himself as well as Michelle Wilson and George Barrios on the board of directors, ousting three current members. Wilson and Barrios were WWE co-presidents in the past. McMahon needs approval from the board for this to happen. The McMahon owns 92 per cent of the company's shares, each equals 10 votes.
In a statement McMahon said: "WWE is entering a critical juncture in its history with the upcoming media rights negotiations coinciding with increased industry-wide demand for quality content and live events and with more companies seeking to own the intellectual property on their platforms. The only way for WWE to fully capitalize on this opportunity is for me to return as Executive Chairman and support the management team in the negotiations for our media rights and to combine that with a review of strategic alternatives. My return will allow WWE, as well as any transaction counterparties, to engage in these processes knowing they will have the support of the controlling shareholder," he said.
McMahon claims to have no intension of reclaiming his past roles in the company which included overseeing all WWE broadcast content.
"I look forward to working closely again with Michelle and George – as well as the Company's remaining directors and management team, who have my full support and confidence. WWE has an exceptional management team in place, and I do not intend for my return to have any impact on their roles, duties, or responsibilities," he also said.
Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan have been co-CEOs since McMahon left the company. Both serve on the board along with Paul Levesque, the chief content officer.
McMahon exited the company last year after being investigated for payments he made to settle settle allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity with former WWE employees and subjects outside the company.
A few weeks ago, John Ourand of The Sports Business Journal predicted that NBCU will not only pull in Smackdown but will buy the WWE.
He wrote in his column: WWE goes all in with NBCUniversal. The WWE's TV deals expire at the end of 2024, but it will start to negotiate new deals in April, right around when "WrestleMania" is in L.A. By the end of the year, the group will have a deal in place with NBCU that keeps "Raw" and "NXT" on USA and moves "SmackDown" from Fox to one of NBC's channels. The real significance of this deal comes in two years the two negotiate their Peacock deal. The deals for "Raw" and "SmackDown" will lay the groundwork for NBCU to buy WWE outright.
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What do you do if you have problems seeing the 'magic eye pictures' though? For that part so if you know how to you can do this exercise. Especially if you can see already particles make up everything.
It's interesting you said you could see swirls in darkness. I've always seen that, ever since I was a kid. When I got older I just assumed that it was my eyes adjusting to the light, but regardless, I always saw things.
I laughed and said "I'm not scared of you!" And while still smiling, the images immediately frowned and disappeared. It's a reoccurring memory that pops up any time I just look into the darkness even today.
I wonder if that means anything? *shrugs* Maybe, but I'm gonna have fun finding out regardless!
There are others in my Keep, either currently unidentifiable or still under the guise of personalities. Still soul-searching!
This is very interesting! Thank you so much for sharing I just bookmarked this thread's link on my google chrome hehe >w< I'd love to try it soon!
But again how do you do the 'magic eyes' exercise? I find it very hard even though my eyes are normal? I am also short sighted and wear glasses when looking at things in the distance. I tried to see 'magic eyes' pictures to train but can't for some reason so what am I doing wrong or what is wrong? Unless there is something with my subtle body which I need to fix with alchemy.
ServantofJustice wrote: What do you do if you have problems seeing the 'magic eye pictures' though?
I've never been able to see those, either.
The picture will fuzz out and move around like it's floating in a pond, but that's about it.
you have to do a special way fo gazing at stuff, called "cross eyed" or "wall-eyed"
How do you do astral, magick or communication work if you 'can't visualize' for you? And would there be any sorts of 'medication', chemicals/drugs or alchemical elixirs that can be used if thats true for anyone? I'm not sure as to what counts as visualizing but it would be good to know how you cope just incase I have any problems with it.
Dragonoake wrote: How do you do astral, magick or communication work if you 'can't visualize' for you? I'm not sure as to what counts as visualizing but it would be good to know how you cope just incase I have any problems with it.
Magick isn't that big of a problem.
In essence, magick is simply the application of a motivating force to the focused intent of reaching a specific goal.
For example, let's say you want to go to Kansas City.
The path to reaching that goal may vary a bit depending on the motivating force you use, but the end result is the same whether you choose to take a car, a boat, a train, or an air plane to get there.
Communication has always been a major problem.
I don't know whether is is because of the ADHD (My brain works a little differently, so I probably don't see the world in quite the same way that most people do.) or if it's because I grew up an outsider in a very ethnocentric small town and wasn't around people very much, but I have never been very social. Therefore, I don't know what people talk about, let alone what I would say to a god.
Some people are easier to talk to that others and yes, it applies to other beings as well (Attis in particular) but there are other ways of working around the problem.
One is Presence. I don't usually see my Demon Dragon, but I know when he's there.
And since I've learned that he usually shows up when I need to be watching for something up the road, I've got the message even if he doesn't talk to me.
Another is music. I always have music in my head, but if a song seems out of place, it's usually something I need to pay attention to.
One night, I was waiting for a RA when Black Sabbath's "Neon Knights" started playing in my head. It was strong, so I knew it was telling me something but I didn't know what until the next day when I got an e-mail from Charles the next day telling my being had come through... One of which took the form of an animated suit of armor.
Then there was the time I was poking around the Satan and Suns website and apparently caught the attention of one of their Demon Commanders.
It wasn't so much a calling as it was a friendly greeting, like running into a former co-worker that you haven't seen in a few years.
I didn't get anything about name or appearance, but the impression I got was of something dark, warm, and oily; along with a taste I can only compare to the old alcohol-based cough syrups with that vaguely black licorice flavor.
Another method I've been using a lot lately stems from a mid-90's discovery that I could reach out and connect with certain people on an essence level.
When I say connect, it's not so much talking to Bob as it is a blending that gives me a taste of what it is to be Bob. It's more of a communion (or maybe a shamanic connection) than it is communication, at least not in the usual sense of the word.
I find that this works very well with spirits (especially in deep meditation) and gives some really intense connections, even if I don't remember very much of what happened.
And would there be any sorts of 'medication', chemicals/drugs or alchemical elixirs that can be used if thats true for anyone?
I've never done hallucinogenics, so I don't know anything useful about them.