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Tag Archives: Jim Comstock
Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Civil War, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Women's History
attorney general, Battle of Gravepine, Battle of Scary Creek, Cap Hatfield, Charleston, civil war, Confederate Army, crime, Dan Cunningham, detective, Devil Anse Hatfield, Ellison Mounts, feuds, Frank Phillips, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Howard B. Lee, Jim Comstock, Johnse Hatfeild, Kentucky, Logan Wildcats, Nancy Hatfield, Roseanna McCoy, Tug Fork, Union Army, West Virginia, West Virginia Women
Howard B. Lee, former Attorney General of West Virginia, provided this account of Nancy Hatfield (widow of Cap) in the early 1970s:
Our next stop was at the home of Nancy Elizabeth, the same home where I visited with her and Cap during my campaign. For nearly three hours I asked questions and listened to that remarkable woman recount many of her experiences as the wife of America's most celebrated feudist.
Nancy Elizabeth's home also held a number of guns, pistols, and other relics of the feud days. But the most interesting item was Cap's bullet-proof, steel breastplate, designed to cover the entire front half of his body from his beck to his lower abdomen.
"Mrs. Hatfield," I said, "judging from the three bullet marks on it, this breastplate was a great protection to Cap; but what was to prevent an enemy from shooting him in the back?" Her eyes flashed as she replied: "Mr. Lee, Cap Hatfield never turned his back on an enemy or a friend."
"I have read two stories, Mrs. Hatfield, each purporting to give the true cause of the feud: One book stated that it was the result of a dispute between a McCoy and a Hatfield over the ownership of a hog. Another book said that it grew out of the seduction of a McCoy girl by Johnson Hatfield, oldest son of Devil Anse. Is either one of these stories true?"
"No, neither story is true," she replied. "The McCoys lived on the Kentucky side of Tug River, and the Hatfields lived on the West Virginia side. Hogs don't swim rivers. I never heard the girl story until I read it in a book, written long after the feud was over. Both stories are pure fiction."
"The truth is," she continued, "in the fall of 1882, in an election-day fight between Ellison Hatfield, a younger brother of Devil Anse, and three McCoy brothers, Ellison was shot and knifed. He died two days later. In retaliation, Devil Anse and his clan captured and shot the three McCoy brothers. It was these four senseless killings that started the feud."
In answer to my inquiry, Nancy Elizabeth said: "Yes, there had been 'bad blood' between the two families since the Civil War. In that struggle the Hatfields were 'rebels',–loyal to their State, Virginia. Devil Anse organized and was the captain of a company of Confederate sympathizers called the 'Logan Wildcats'. They were recruited for local defense; but they left the county long enough to take part in the battle of Scary, fought along the banks of the Kanawha River, a few miles below Charleston.
"The McCoys, and their mountain neighbors, were pro-Union; and to protect their region against invasion by 'Virginia rebels', they organized a military company called 'Home Guards'. There were occasional border clashes between the two forces, with casualties on both sides. The war ended only seventeen years before the feud began, and the bitterness still existed in the minds of the older generation, and they passed it on to their children. It was the old sectional and political hatreds that sparked the fight between Ellison Hatfield and the McCoy brothers."
Nancy Elizabeth declined to estimate the number killed on either side of the feud.
"It was a horrible nightmare to me," she said. "Sometimes, for months, Cap never spent a night in our house. He and Devil Anse, with others, slept in the nearby woods to guard our homes against surprise attacks. At times, too, we women and our children slept in hidden shelters in the forests.
"But these assaults were not one-sided affairs. The Hatfields crossed the Tug and killed McCoys. It was a savage war of extermination, regardless of age or sex. Finally, to get our children to a safer locality, we Hatfields left Tug River, crossed the mountains, and settled here on Island Creek, a tributary of the Guyandotte River.
"No, there was no formal truce ending hostilities. After a decade or more of fighting and killing, both sides grew tired and quit. The McCoys stayed in Kentucky and the Hatfields kept to West Virginia. The feud was really over a long time before either side realized it.
"Yes, Kentucky offered a large reward for the capture of Devil Anse and Cap. The governor of West Virginia refused to extradite them because, said he, 'their trials in Kentucky would be nothing more than legalized lynchings'. It was then that Kentucky's governor offered the reward for their capture–'dead or alive'. Three attempts were made by reward seekers to capture them.
"Dan Cunningham, a Charleston detective, with two Cincinnati detectives, made the first attempt. They came through Kentucky, and crossed Tug River in the night; but the Hatfields soon captured them. A justice of the peace sentenced them to 90 days in Logan County jail for disturbing hte peace. When released, they were told to follow the Guyandotte River to Huntington, a distance of 60 miles, and 'not to come back'.
"Next, a man named Phillips led two raids from Kentucky into Hatfield territory. In the first, he captured 'Cottontop' Mounts, a relative and supporter of the Hatfields, and took him to Pikeville, Kentucky, where he was hanged. But the second foray met with disaster at the 'Battle of the Grapevine'. Phillips, and some of his followers escaped into Kentucky, but some where buried where they fell.
"This was the last attempt of the reward seekers. However, Kentucky never withdrew the reward offer, and that is why Devil Anse and Cap were always alarmed and on the alert."
Source: West Virginia Women (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 151-152
Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Cemeteries, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Logan, Women's History
Appalachia, attorney general, Betty Caldwell, Cap Hatfield, cemeteries, Devil Anse Hatfield, feuds, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Howard B. Lee, Jim Comstock, Logan, Logan County, Nancy Hatfield, politics, Republican Party, Robert Elliott Hatfield, Sarah Ann, Tennis Hatfield, West Virginia, West Virginia Women, Willis Hatfield
HATFIELD WOMEN.
Over the years, much has been written about the male members of the Hatfield clan who took part in that early orgy of blood-letting–the Hatfield-McCoy feud. But nothing has been said concerning the indomitable wives of that stalwart breed of men.
My purpose is to pay a richly deserved tribute to one of those pioneer women–the late Nancy Elizabeth, wife of William Anderson Hatfield, common known "Cap," second son of Devil Anse, and the most deadly killer of the feud.
More than 30 years have passed since I last talked with her; but I still regard Nancy Elizabeth Hatfield as the most remarkable and unforgettable woman of the mountains.
In the spring of 1924, I was a candidate in the primary election for the Republican nomination for attorney general, and I wanted the Hatfield influence. Devil Anse had died in 1921, and his mantle of leadership of the clan had fallen to his oldest living son, Cap–a power in Logan County politics.
I had met Cap, casually, in 1912, but I had not seen him since that meeting. But his sister, Mrs. Betty Caldwell, and her husband, lived in my county of Mercer, and were among my political supporters. To pave the way for my later meeting with Cap, I had Mrs. Caldwell write and ask him to support me.
Later, when campaigning in the City of Logan, I engaged a taxi to take me the few miles up Island Creek to Cap's home. The car stopped suddenly and the driver pointed to a comfortable-looking farm house on the other side of the creek and said:
"That's Cap's home, and that's Cap out there by the barn."
I told him to return for me in two hours.
Cap saw me get out of the car, and, as I crossed the creek on an old-fashioned footlog. I saw him fold his arms across his chest and slip his right hand under his coat. Later, I noticed a large pistol holstered under his left arm. Even in that late day, Cap took no chances with strangers. When I got within speaking distance, I told him my name, and that I had come to solicit his support in my campaign for attorney general. He gave me a hearty handclasp, and said:
"My sister, Mrs. Caldwell, wrote us about you. But, let's go to the house, my wife is the politician in our family."
Cap was reluctant to commit himself "so early." But Nancy Elizabeth thought otherwise. Finally, Cap agreed to support me; and, with that point settled, we visited until my taxi returned.
Meanwhile, with Cap's approval, Nancy Elizabeth gave me the accompanying, heretofore unpublished photograph of the Devil Anse Clan. In 1963 I rephotographed it and sent a print to Willis Hatfield (number 22 in picture), only survivor of Devil Anse, who made the identification. Nancy Elizabeth is number 16, and the baby in her lap is her son, Robert Elliott, born April 29, 1897. Therefore, the photograph must have been made late in 1897, or early in 1898.
A few months after Cap's death (August 22, 1930), the West Virginia newspaper publishers and editors held their annual convention in Logan. I was invited to address the group at a morning session. That same day, Sheriff Joe Hatfield and his brother, Tennis, younger brothers of Cap, gave an ox-roast dinner for the visiting newsmen and their guests. The picnic was held on a narrow strip of bottom land, on Island Creek, a half-mile below the old home of Devil Anse.
I ate lunch with Nancy Elizabeth and her sister-in-law, Betty Caldwell. After lunch, at the suggestion of Mrs. Caldwell, we three drove up the creek to the old home of her father–Devil Anse. It was a large, two-story, frame structure (since destroyed by fire, then occupied by Tennis Hatfield, youngest son of Devil Anse).
The most interesting feature in the old home was Devil Anse's gun-room. Hanging along its walls were a dozen, or more, high-powered rifles, and a number of large caliber pistols, ranging from teh earliest to the latest models. "The older guns," said Nancy Elizabeth, "were used in the feud."
As we returned, we stopped at the family cemetery that clings uncertainly to the steep mountainside, overlooking the picnic grounds. There, among the mountains he loved and ruled, old Devil Anse found peace. A life-size statue of the old man, carved in Italy (from a photograph) of the finest Carrara marble, stands in majestic solitude above his grave. On its four-foot high granite base are carved the names of his wife and their thirteen children.
Overton Elkins
Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Civil War, Fourteen
25th Virginia Regiment, Appalachia, Bethany C. Elkins, civil war, Clarinda Elkins, Confederate Army, Corbin Estep, Darby Kelly Elkins, David J. Estep, Elizabeth D. Elkins, Elizabeth Estep, Emily Elkins, Erlery C. Elkins, Fourteen Mile Creek, genealogy, Guyandotte River, Harts Creek, Harts Creek District, Harvey Elkins, history, Jim Comstock, Lincoln County, Logan County, Luanna Elkins, Mary Jane Elkins, Miles Elkins, Nancy E. Elkins, Nancy Elkins, Overton Elkins, Pheobe Elkins, Richard Elkins, Shadrack Estep, Susan R. Elkins, The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Union Army, Wayne County, West Virginia, William F. Elkins, William O. Estep
From "Hardesty's History of Lincoln County, West Virginia," published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for Overton Elkins, who resided at Fourteen Mile Creek in Lincoln County, West Virginia:
Is a son of Harvey and Elizabeth D. (May) Elkins, who were living here before the organization of Lincoln county. Overton Elkins was born in what was then Logan county, Virginia, December 20, 1831, and in Wayne county, March 31, 1853, by the Rev. D.K. Elkins, he was joined in marriage with Nancy Estep. She was born in Wayne county, December 25, 1838, and her parents were Corbin and Elizabeth (Davis) Estep. To Mr. and Mrs. Elkins ten children have been given: William F., born May 2, 1856; Pheribe E., May 1, 1858; Clarinda, March 18, 1860; Mary Jane, June 29, 1862; Luanna, May 30, 1864; Nancy E., March 18, 1866; Bethany C., March 9, 1868, died February 26, 1879; Emily, September 23, 1870; Erlery C., June 25, 1872; Susan R., August 10, 1877. Miles Elkins, brother of Overton, was in the late war, and served from the commencement until the close, and came home without a scar. Shadrack Estep, brother of Mrs. Elkins, served in the Confederate ranks in the war of 1861, and David J. and William O., also her brothers, were in the Federal army, 25th Virginia Regiment. William O. died soon after the close of the war from illness brought on during the service. Richard Elkins, grandfather of Overton, built the first cabin in Hart Creek district, (now) Lincoln county, about the year 1816, when Harvey, Overton's father, was but fifteen years of age. Darby H., brother of Harvey, at the age of nine years killed a panther with a pocket knife and the assistance of his dogs. The animal measured nearly nine feet from the nose to the tip of the tail. Mr. Elkins' mother was born January 10, 1800, and at the date of this writing (July 25, 1883) she can walk twenty miles a day. Overton Elkins is a farmer in Hart Creek district, owning 100 acres of land on Fourteen-mile creek of Guyandotte river, 30 acres under cultivation. His farm is rich and very productive, contains coal, some lead and fine building stone.
Source: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7 (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 133.
The West Virginia Hillbilly (1995)
Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Ferrellsburg
Appalachia, Billy Edd Wheeler, Brandon Kirk, Jim Comstock, Jim Comstock Seminar, journalism, Marshall University, newspaper, Richwood, Steve Eschelman, The West Virginia Hillbilly, West Virginia
I worked on two separate projects with Jim Comstock, West Virginia's most famous newspaper editor, in 1994-1995. Here's a little excerpt from The West Virginia Hillbilly (11 May 1995).


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The Young & The Restless Mishael Morgan talks with Prestige
News & Entertainment / October 22, 2014
CLICK HERE to read Prestige Sept/Nov 2014 Issue
SYLVIA: How did you hear about the role of Hilary Curtis and what was your initial reaction?
MISHAEL: At the time, I had already done quite a few things in Canada and I was working quite a bit right before Y&R, I had just done some other series and some features that I was doing, and I was then engulfed in just pilot season when Y&R came about. And it was just one of those auditions and I think I was doing something like two, sometimes three auditions a day. Four, five days a week. I don't even really remember the audition until they asked me, they started talking about it and then I had to go and look the audition up. Because it was just so much going on at that time. So my agent just sent me the audition and I put it on tape, and after I saw the audition, I remembered it was one of those auditions that I was putting something else on tape, like for a different show, and right after that, my agent called me and said, "Oh, we just got another audition, can you put this on tape? We need it back in four hours." I was like, "Okay." So I just read the lines and I threw it on tape and I set it to him and yeah. There was quite some time that passed before they actually called to talk about me actually coming down and playing Hilary Curtis. I think it was about three, four weeks, almost a month before I actually heard anything else about it, so I totally forgot about it. It was a while.
SYLVIA: Your initial reaction was one of more of surprise because you had forgotten it.
MISHAEL: Yeah, it was really, really surprising when I got it. I was also a huge fan when I was growing up. So my mom watched Y&R since before I was born, and I just remember being five years old being annoyed by Y&R because it was on the same time as Sesame Street and I really wanted to watch Sesame Street, but by the time I got into high school, Y&R, me and my sister were huge Y&R fans, and yeah, when I found out actually booked a role on The Young and the Restless, I was actually just super excited to tell my family because I was acting and I was going to do something totally different before that, which was I was going to go to law school. I was always this academic girl, like it was all academia my whole life. So like, I always felt like I was doing what I loved to do, but my family would never really understand it or appreciate it, and then when I booked Y&R, just knowing how much they are such huge fans, I was so excited to tell them because I finally knew that they would see my work. I would actually be on a show where they would actually be able to see what I do.
SYLVIA: Yes. Okay. Can you tell us a little bit about your character Hilary Curtis and how it feels to portray a character that transforms from victim to villain and then back again?
MISHAEL: Mm-hm. Oh yeah, Hilary came on the show as a vindictive young woman with a vengeance, and from then, she started to just get to know, I guess, the Winters family, especially. And other people in general in the city, and she just started to heal as a person. And it's really empowering to play a character that's going through so much in their lives because I feel like even my transition from going from academia to the arts just overnight was a huge transitional process for me over the six years that I started acting, and it was such a struggle and I feel like so many things change in your life and I feel like I can bring a lot of that to Hilary, because she's going through so many changes and she's meeting so many different people and her entire life is changing before her eyes and because of that, she's changing and she's transforming. It's been a blessing to be able to explore that because it's something that happens to you, but you never really think about it, you know, so it's nice to put some of my own lessons that I've learned in my life into my character.
SYLVIA: Thank you very good. How is the chemistry between you and the Y&R cast? And which one of the Y&R cast members has been your favorite to work with so far?
MISHAEL: [laughs] I think my chemistry with everybody on Y&R has been awesome. I love working with everybody I don't want to choose any specific one because it's just too difficult. I love working with everybody for all different reasons. You know, like Peter Bergman, he's so professional, and he's just such a mentor. He has a mentor quality to him, and I've learned so much just working with him. But then Kristoff St. John, he is just so funny and he's just an awesome person to work with inside and out. He makes you feel so comfortable and he's so real and it's so hard, and then Bryhton James, I feel like we're just the same age and we click on that level where we're both doing our thing, working in the soap world, but trying to navigate our lives at the same time because we're both still really young and we're looking up to all these great people like Kristoff St. John, Peter Bergman and working with Christel's awesome, because she's always giving 110 percent and she's just a great artist through and through, so I can't choose. I just name great qualities of each one.
Read the full interview of Mishael interview in PRESTIGE SEPT/NOV 2014 ISSUE
Tags: mashael morgan, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Comedian Joe Torry: The Best Is Yet To Come
Win A Free Copy of Prestige April 2015 Issue
Y&R Star Kristoff St. John Autopsy Report rule Heart Disease as His Cause of Death March 20, 2019
'Young and the Restless' actor Kristoff St. John dead at 52 February 4, 2019
Young & The Restless actress Jeanne Cooper hospitalized in critical condition April 14, 2013
CLICK HERE to read the full of Joe in PRESTIGE SEPT/NOV 2014 ISSUE SYLVIA: Can You enlighten your fans on this...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Repurposing Gitmo
By Adam Oberdalhoff | October 15, 2012 | No Comments
Camp Justice, formerly McCalla Airfield, at Guantánamo. Photo courtesy of the Historian's Office of the U.S. Navy.
While scanning the port facilities at the US naval station at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on Google Maps, the site of McCalla Airfield caught my attention. Obviously it is no longer in use as an airbase; the runways are devoid of markings, and more importantly covered in tents and sheds. It has been re-purposed.
McCalla Airfield at GTMO is a particularly extensive example of re-purposing at GTMO, which happens at many military bases. However, usually a military facility is either re-purposed for other military uses (hangar space formerly used for aircraft parking on Ford Island at Pearl Harbor was used for storage), or sold off for other uses. McCalla is still part of GTMO, but is not used to support naval operations.
What struck me is how the military has allowed this land to be used for so many different purposes. In addition to the now infamous detention facilities, here you have an entire airfield being turned over to a different use. If I had to make a guess, I would say that Leeward Point Airfield was kept while McCalla was removed from service because it lacks a capacity for growth. Even though Leeward Point is opposite the bay from the port facilities, it has a much longer runway.
McCalla Airfield ceased to be used as an airfield around 1970, and remained empty until the refugee crises in the 1990's. The Cuban and Haitian refugee camps were set up on the former runways, which, being flat and empty, eliminated the need to clear space for the camps. The field was then empty again until 2007 when 'Camp Justice' was erected, the tent city built to house the lawyers for the Guantánamo military commissions.
The re-purposing of the old airfield points toward future uses of the base. Much talk has been made of closing the base completely, but the US Navy is still a tenant, and one unlikely to desire to leave in the future. More likely is an end to the detention of 'enemy combatants' on the base, leaving the detention facilities and McCalla Field open again.
The question that comes to my mind is "what decides how we use these facilities?" The navy, which no longer needs McCalla, would probably be content to have it overgrown with weeds. However, it seems to me that some other use could be found for such an expanse of flat, empty land.
As for the other facilities at GTMO, some things are harder to re-purpose. The detention facilities are only really good for detaining people, and moreover many would be uncomfortable doing anything with the properties. Using the site as a museum may be a promising alternative.
If there was a significant reduction in operations at the base, and a significant thawing of relations between the US and Cuba, more possibilities arise. The naval port facilities, even if still owned by the U.S. Navy, could be used as the nucleus for an expanded harbor, to promote economic growth for Cuba, and the Leeward Point as a foundation for a future Cuban airport. But the politics surrounding the site complicate the possibility of the base being used as a launching ground for a Cuban port city that would benefit the people of the island country.
Posted by Adam Oberdalhoff -Undergraduate student at University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
The University of Minnesota – Twin Cities is participating in the Guantánamo Public Memory Project's National Dialogue and Traveling Exhibit. Opening at NYU's Kimmel Center for University Life Windows Gallery in December 2012 and traveling to 9 sites (and counting) across the country through at least 2014, the exhibit will explore GTMO's history from US occupation in 1898 to today's debates and visions for its future. The exhibit is being developed through a unique collaboration among a growing number of universities as a dialogue among their students, communities, and people with first-hand experience at GTMO.


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Main deck construction begins at Mersey Gateway
Two of the six form travellers for the Mersey Gateway project's main deck have now been launched.
The form traveller machines have moved apart for the first time at the south pylon, marking the start of construction of the 1,000m-long reinforced concrete bridge deck across the River Mersey in north-west England.
The form travellers were assembled at the south pylon earlier this year before being lifted to their starting position about 25m above the riverbed. Construction teams then cast a pier table around the bridge pylon before preparing to start work on the main bridge deck.
The segments – each containing about 130m3 of concrete - are being cast simultaneously from either side of the pylon. Merseylink's operations manager for the main crossing, Kyuyoung Choi, said: "From the third segment onwards, we install the connection boxes, which are called 'delta frames', for the steel stay cables, which are then attached to the upper pylon."
Three pairs of form travellers are being used to build the bridge deck with each pair operating as a unit. The machines will be launched from the north pylon later this month and from the central pylon during October.
Work on the bridge deck is expected to finish in summer 2017. During this time the form travellers will have cast a total of 154 deck segments between them. Each segment of deck will be about 33m wide and 6m long and will take approximately a week to construct.
#Cable-stayed #Lifting & launching #UK #Segmental construction
Construction begins of box-slide bridge for HS2
Carillion completes Loughor Viaduct slide
Project director named for Tappan Zee Bridge replacement


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Cautious women's tennis stars as the 2021 season starts inside the fragile bubble
By Roberto Silman on January 7, 2021 Sports
The first days of the tennis season are moments of unfiltered happiness in normal times, as players again welcome their peers and return refreshed for the year ahead.
But for Ons Jabeur in Abu Dhabi, a touch of resignation accompanies her joy this week: "I hope this bubble life will end very soon," she said. But I'm not sure when it will be done for the covid.
But, I mean, we want our independence. We are professionals and I think we should be responsible for participating and being accountable at the same time in the tournament. We don't need these constraints.
But what can be done? In the legal dispute with the Westin in Melbourne, the government claims that the Australian Open quarantine hotels are secured. Read more The 2021 tennis season starts this week and acceptance means traveling to the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi or the first ATP 250 events in the Turkish city of Antalya or Delray Beach in Florida for professional tennis players.
More than 300 players and some team members will fly to Australia on as many as 18 chartered flights after qualifying for next week's Australian Open is complete. They will desperately hope that their trip around the world will not be ruined when they arrive by a positive coronavirus test. The fact is that the difficult season last year was possibly only a prelude to the many months of players traveling aro
So I thought about taking the mental coach after playing a couple of tournaments at the end of last season and I think that's the right decision right now for me. Abu Dhabi stands as a representation of the pandemic threats of the Tour.
As other ATP and WTA events, the overall prize money is slightly smaller than last year's equivalent tournaments. The entire pot, however, is funded by the WTA, not sponsors, reflecting the challenge of setting up a brand new tournament in the midst of a pandemic with just four weeks notice.
It also shows how challenging even the most successful women's sport is struggling in these days. With the Australian Open on the horizon, it remains to be seen if anyone can comply with the strict rules. During the pandemic, few sports have done as poorly as tennis, with multiple players failing to grasp its importance, especially in the game of men.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated on Monday, Querrey reported that European city airport controls were so weak that even though he was contaminated, he was able to cross the border: London. Nevertheless, this is just another opportunity for most players to play tennis, even though the conditions are not ideal. Former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova cited not moaning about the regulations, conditions and anything else
I can fly, my family is safe, and I can still do what I love.
There is nothing to worry about, I don't think." Then she laughed at herself, "No matter what my results are.
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💡 Optimist's Edge: Get to know the tech that makes digital assets as scarce and valuable as physical
A majority don't know what it is and 19 percent believe non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are silly and pointless. Facts show that this is wrong. We show what massive potential NFTs have – and how you can benefit.
Magnus Aschan 28.Apr.2021 13 min read
📉 What people are wrong about
There is a common perception that NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are pointless. A bad, and even silly, investment. 19 percent of the respondents in our survey have this perception. But a whopping 71 percent don't even know what it is... do you?
📈 Here are the facts
NFTs can, for the first time, create providence, or provable ownership, over digital assets thanks to blockchain technology. Digital collectibles, music, art, event tickets, and much more can now be protected with proven ownership rights. Adding to this, intellectual property can be digitally owned and authenticated by the creator.
Not least, NFTs are already used by major companies and create hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
💡 The Optimist's Edge
NFTs have the potential to revolutionize the digital world because they make it possible to create scarce and authentic assets – something that used to be exclusive to physical assets.
Owning and selling digital assets via NFT technology will allow people and companies to exchange assets that can have real value, and value that can increase over time.
👇 What you can do to get the Optimist's Edge
Selling, owning and investing in non-fungible digital assets is now at a phase where bitcoin was about ten years ago. It's early and we will most likely see big fluctuations. But long term, the digital economy is growing and blockchain technology has proven it's reliability.
As an artist, investor or company NFTs make it possible to buy and sell digital assets, such as art, music, tickets and collectibles, in a completely new way. NFTs can even be sold in fragments, like you buy a piece of a company with traditional company stocks.
Be Creative: Try to think of something in the physical world that is valuable thanks to scarcity and authenticity. Most of these assets can now have an equivalent in the digital world. How can you use this knowledge to create something valuable?
One example of NFT is NBA Top Shot, which allows users to procure a collection of digital basketball highlights, like a video clip of a dunk or a block. By mid-March, it had clocked in over $338 million dollars in sales since it went live in October 2020.
📉 What people believe about NFTs
The interest in non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, has increased dramatically in just a few months, according to Google Trends. Up until the beginning of February 2021 the search volumes where very small, and then – boom.
Searches for the term "NFT" skyrocketed in February 2021, according to data from Google Trends.
It's no wonder then that most people still don't even know what NFTs are, 71 percent according to our survey.
Of those who do, a majority, 19 percent of all respondents, think NFTs are silly and pointless.
Only 10 percent think they are interesting and valuable.
71 percent don't know what NFTs are, according to Warp News survey.
So, how come people's perceptions of NFTs ended up here, at least so far? Most don't know what it is, and those who do know are very skeptical?
In order to explain that, let us introduce Nyan Cat – part cat, part Pop-Tart.
Nyan Cat – part cat, part pop tart. An animated GIF (and video) that went viral in 2011, and sold in 2021 for almost 600,000 dollars.
Nyan Cat went viral in 2011 and if you've been around you've probably seen the animated GIF, or the video, of this rainbow casting feline at least once since then.
What happened in February 2021 was that the GIFs original creator, Christopher Torres, had created an updated version and sold it at an online auction for 300 ether, the cryptocurrency that powers the Ethereum network. 300 ether was the equivalent of almost $600,000 at the time.
So why on earth pay such a huge amount of money, and how can someone even own the original copy of a GIF that was so pervasive around the Internet? It's because it was sold as an NFT and because someone with a lot of ether figured it would be cool to own the Nyan Cat.
About a month later Mike Winkelmann, the digital artist known as Beeple, sold his collage Everydays: The First 5000 Days at Christie's for $69 million. Up until then, the highest price he got for a print was $100.
Everydays: The First 5000 Days sold at Christie's for $69 million on March 11 2021.
Of course, these and a handful of other auctions made the headlines – this was first contact with NFTs for most people. But most didn't notice at all and those who did generally found it, as our survey states, "silly and pointless".
But those 90 percent miss the point, both literary or figuratively speaking, and the 10 percent that think this is "interesting and valuable" are on to something...
📈 The facts about non-fungible tokens
The market for NFTs saw a dramatic increase in 2020, climbing to a market cap of at least $338 million from about $41 million in 2018. This is a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 187 percent, according to TradingPlatforms.
But skeptics are, and rightly so, asking whether these assets are really worth the value assigned to them, especially if all it takes to view them is an Internet connection. To understand how this works you first have to understand what fungibility is.
What is an NFT and what is fungibility?
NFT stands for "non-fungible token" where the "fungibility" refers to the ability of an asset to be exchanged or substituted with similar assets of the same value.
"One example of a fungible asset is currency. So lets say you have five Euro bills in your wallet, and lets say that you don't want to carry around all that change so you exchange them for a single five Euro bill. The value of your money is still the same, even though it's now in a different form," says Eric Porper, Chief Business Officer and Blockchain Expert at Warp News.
A non-fungible asset is the opposite as each one is unique and can't be substituted for something similar.
"Think of a famous painting, an original piece of art, like the Mona Lisa. It couldn't just be swapped out for, say, a Mona Lisa poster from the Louvre gift shop. Because the poster doesn't hold the same value, right? Just as the Nyan Cat GIF and Everydays collage you see in the article you're reading right now don't hold the same value as the original – the only difference now is that it's all digital," says Eric Porper.
A five Euro note is fungible. Mona Lisa is non-fungible.
The idea behind an NFT is that you have a digital signature in the same way that a great work of art might bear the signature of the painter. You can always go and look at the original and say, yes, this is the real one, this is authentic.
NFTs do this in the digital realm with blockchain technology.
A blockchain is a decentralized alternative to a central database. Blockchains usually store information in encrypted form across a peer-to-peer network. This makes them very difficult to hack or tamper with and in turn makes them very useful for keeping important records.
An NFT token is stored on the blockchain.
"With an NFT, the information is recorded in same way as they are with crypto currencies. But unlike fungible crypto currencies, like Bitcoin, they are completely unique," says Eric Porper.
The information exists as a string of numbers and letters stored on a blockchain ledger and it can contain such things as who owns the digital asset, who sold it and when it was sold. It's all encrypted which ensures authenticity.
And so, NFTs fix a historically difficult problem for digital creators: How to make your creations scarce and therefore more valuable.
So, in short NFT's enable two key things to remember:
Proof of ownership
And before you say, "what is digital ownership and authenticity really worth", think about what a blue check verification is worth to a lot of people in the world today...
What is the blue check verification worth on a social media account? Ownership and authenticity is already high value in the digital realm.
"Crypto-collecting" and digital scarcity
One of the early applications of creating the scarcity was the digital collectible game, CryptoKitties, which emerged in 2017.
Users were able to buy, trade and breed digital cat collectibles and each new cat was an NFT, which certified its originality and ownership.
"Crypto-collecting" is a growing business. CryptoKitties, released 2017, was one of the early digital collectible games based on NFTs.
Since then, NFTs have been applied to video games, digital art and sports memorabilia.
One example is NBA Top Shot, which allows users to procure a collection of digital basketball highlights like a video clip of a block or a dunk. By mid-March, NBA Top Shot had clocked in over $338 million in sales since it went live in October.
Another example is Sorare where you can collect, trade and play with limited edition digital cards of soccer players. It's big business. At the end of 2020, a unique card of French superstar Kylian Mbappé was acquired for EUR 57,000.
Sorare uses NFTs to create digital trading cards.
Concerns and more complex things
But NFTs are way more than digital trading cards. Unlike with the blockchain underlying Bitcoin, you can do a lot more complex things with NFTs:
Set up terms. A lot more information than who owns the digital asset, who sold it and when it was sold, can be stored. Terms such as "the original creator will on each resale of this asset get X amount", can also be stored.
Fractionalization. With NFTs it's now possible to divide assets into fractions, both digital and physical. This is a game changer. Lets say you're dreaming about owning Michael Jordan's rookie card, or Edvard Munch's famous painting "The Scream" – you now can even if you're not a millionaire, because you can buy a fraction. Just like you buy stocks in a company. Check out Masterworks for example.
Ownership and authenticity on all things digital. Anything that is digital can potentially be connected with one or several NFTs: a meme, a clip from the Super Bowl when an artist performs, parcels of virtual land, a VR experience from the Himalayas, or a unique skin in Fortnite. Creators of all kinds are going to find a platform that allows them to monetize without people sitting in the middle taking a piece of the cut.
Hell, just recently the scientist George Church, who developed the first direct genomic sequencing method in 1984, auctioned off his genome as an NFT.
Of course, there are also concerns. One issue is verification, how do we know that the person selling a digital art piece is actually the original creator? This is difficult, particularly in online marketplaces. But this concern exists when it comes to physical art as well.
Some are skeptical that ownership alone makes digital assets valuable when it comes to digital art. A buyer owns the original digital painting, but the person can't keep others from copying the image and sharing or changing it online.
But this is again also true for the physical world. High resolution cameras, 3d-scanners and 3d-printers makes it possible to copy and share anything in the physical world as well.
Nevertheless, scams and counterfeits exist and need to be addressed – in both the digital and physical realms.
Every aspect of our lives have turned digital, we are to a large extent living in a digital society, but provenance of digital assets has so far remained out of reach. NFTs change that.
Understanding the what's and why's of NFTs can help shift the power of digital goods from the "middle-men" to the creators and the consumers.
With the rise of the creator economy, for example, sending authenticated owners of a music album a new track in the future, creates a whole new opportunity for creators to have a relationship with their fans. This also enables the connection between the physical and digital world opening up even more possibilities.
NFTs are here, they are real, and they are powerful.
👇 This is how you'll get the edge
By using NFT's, you as a creator can limit exposure of copyright violations as authentic copies can be validated. That also unlocks the potential to have a better reseller market and create a relationship with the artist's customer.
"A musician can create an album NFT. A fan purchases the album for $10. The fan can "resell" that album and the artist can receive a guaranteed and automatic payment from the resell. Additionally, if the musician creates a new track, they can add it to the album and ensure it only goes to people who have ownership of that album. That could be for people who paid for a special edition or other unique ways the musician wants to package and sell their music," says Eric Porper.
NFT's extend way beyond art though. We all use digital music, and pay for it, and the example above shows how NFT's can truly empower a musician. It's the same for digital artists. Beyond that, NFT's can disrupt the ticketing industry by eliminating the black market and ticket brokers.
"A sporting event announces a ticket sale starting on a Saturday morning. Today, ticket brokers buy up the majority of the best tickets before most people have a shot. They resell them for a big premium making them unaffordable for most people. The NFT based ticket will make resales less attractive knowing all ticket movement can be tracked. In other words, it can be set so only the original ticket buyer can access the event," says Eric Porper.
Think of anything in the physical world that is valuable thanks to scarcity and authenticity. These assets can now have their equivalent in the digital world. How can you use this knowledge to create something valuable?
Last but not least, there is a saying that goes: during a gold rush, sell shovels. The market for NFTs is growing fast and a lot of services surrounding this business will be needed, such as marketplaces and tech platforms. Can you provide any of these? Can you find a niche? Pixura is a platform that lets you set up an NFT marketplace fast, without coding.
💡 Step-by-step – create and sell an NFT
So, how do you go about actually creating an NFT?
In this example we assume you are the original creator of a digital piece of art in the the form of a png file.
We also assume you have a wallet where you can send, receive, and store digital assets like Ether, and that you have some Ether in your wallet. Examples of wallets are Coinbase and Torus.
First step is to go to Rarible, which is the first community-owned NFT marketplace. Rarible allows digital artists and creators to issue and sell custom crypto assets that represent ownership in their digital work. It's both a marketplace for those assets, as well as a distributed network built on Ethereum that enables their trade without a middleman.
Rarible is both a marketplace and a distributed network built on Ethereum that enables trade of crypto assets without a middleman.
First you Connect your wallet to Rarible, then click on Create. Now choose "Single", since we want your collectible to be one of a kind.
After choosing "Single" you can upload your file to Rarible.
Now you can upload your png file. It's important to understand that the image itself is not stored in the Ethereum blockchain, only meta data such as the name of the image, a description and a link that refers to where the actual image is stored.
In the case of Rarible they take care of this storage and compress the image.
Enter "Name", "Description" and "Royalties". The first time you sell your art you receive 100 percent minus the service fee. Each time your art gets sold after this you can receive royalties where 10, 20 or 30 percent is suggested. You can also choose to set certain "Properties" if you wish.
After this you "Create item", and you're done!
Please note that the minting process, when the token is created, and when you interact with the Blockchain you have to pay what are called gas fees. Gas fees are payments made by users to compensate for the computing energy required to process and validate transactions on the Ethereum blockchain.
💡 Step-by-step – buy an NFT
Other than Rarible, two of the most prominent marketplaces for NFTs are OpenSea and SuperRare.
Again, we assume you have a wallet where you can use digital assets like Ether.
OpenSea claims to be the largest NFT marketplace.
Today we research pretty much everything we buy, before we buy it. NFTs are no different, so the first step before you buy is to do research, especially on the origin of the NFT.
If you see an NFT you'd like to purchase on OpenSea for example, you should click the collection name at the top and check if the creator has added social media accounts. If they have, look for the OpenSea collection URL on their profile.
Checking the smart contract info is a good idea, since you want to be sure you're buying the correct NFT.
Do your research. On OpenSea, the Chain Info section can be found on every NFT page. Shown above is SuperNfty's official contract.
Like with social media accounts, some collections have blue verification ticks on their NFT pages. These ticks are added to high-profile collections and are in place because there is a higher chance of fakes being created elsewhere across the market. So make sure to check this as well.
If all looks good it's time to "Place Bid" or "Buy Now", depending on how the NFT is sold. If you've connected your wallet to OpenSea this step is very simple: add funds (Ether) to your wallet, and proceed to Checkout.
The last step is to sign the transaction using your Ethereum wallet to complete your purchase.
✅ Done, you now own an NFT and are an early adopter in a marketplace that will most likely turn over billions in volume within a couple of years.
You now have an edge because you have gained this knowledge before most others – what will you do with your Optimist's Edge?
❓ What more can you do?
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Note: The survey was conducted on 500 respondents using Google Surveys.
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3 Card Brag Cheats
3 Card Brag has notoriously been a game that has its fair share of cheats and cheating methods. You just need to look at the fixed game in Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels to see how lucrative cheating at the game can be, enticing players to ditch fairness for taking players to the cleaners.
If you play in your local against real players, then forewarning yourself about these cheats could just help you avoid becoming a prize chump. By uncovering these cheats and knowing what to look for, you can ensure your game is fair and square for everyone.
The Over Shoulder Brag Card Beholder
This technique is the one best illustrated by the camera and receiver rig in Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. Basically, one player has an advantage as he's able to see the other player's cards. It could be with a camera, or it could be something more low tech, as in a friends sat at the bar giving signals back to the cheating player.
Betting Blind But Always Winning
Be alert, just because you fellow player is playing blind, it doesn't mean he hasn't already seen his cards. He could have used a reflection cheat to see them, or more likely employed the age-old technique known as "a quick sneaky look whilst no one's watching…" If the player is betting and winning with big blind hands, then keep an extra beady eye on them to see.
Spiking The Pot
A nasty little trick this one, deft handed players adding funds to a large pile of coins can sneakily take out more than they put in. Keep an eye on the stakes and what's being put in / changed by the player and make sure it does what it says on the tin.
Setting Up A Winning Hand
Another old favourite from the less than honest player. Unless a game is won with a prial, the cards are added back to the deck at the bottom and the deck is not shuffled. It's not unheard of for the dealer to 'fix' the way the cards are added back to the bottom of the deck, knowing full well that they will come around to him in X number of goes providing there's not a prial in the meantime.
Online Cheating
Thankfully, playing the game online can negate a lot of these problems. Card counting can still happen in the game, but if the amount of players in each game fluctuates it can mess that up. Sneak peeks and pot cheats can't happen, but be weary, it is possible for players to play in tandem, communicating with each other via IM outside of the game. It's not likely to do them a lot of good, but it can give an advantage if you know you pal has a good hand and doesn't need your cards. Overall though, online cheating at any card games is pretty rare, so don't let it worry you.


With identity theft a growing concern for many businesses, shredding services in White Plains are a must to keep confidential documents secure. Keeping client information safe and secure is the number one way to warrant trust between your company and your customers. White Plains document shredding ensures that all personal information is properly disposed of, giving you peace of mind by significantly reducing the likelihood of a security breach. XRefer will provide you with important details on different types of paper shredding companies in White Plains to make sure your legal, educational and medical confidential records are safely destroyed.
The average cost for on-site paper shredding in White Plains is $19.64. Pricing for on-site paper shredding in White Plains varies depending on the number of boxes to shred, and how often you need on site shredding service in White Plains.
The average cost for off-site paper shredding in White Plains is $22.74. Pricing for off-site paper shredding in White Plains varies depending on how often you need shredding service, and how boxes/bins/lbs. need to be shredded.
The average cost for hard drive destruction in White Plains is $15.50. Pricing for hard drive destruction in White Plains varies depending on the amount of hard drives to destroy.
Reduce the potential damages of data breaches by having a reliable document shredding company in White Plains destroy files right at your business. On-site shredding is ideal for businesses of all sizes and is the most convenient option. Some shredding trucks even offer a video monitor that provides a visual of the documents being shredded. This provides business owners with security and guarantees (with a certificate) the documents are properly destroyed. Especially ideal for companies who have large amounts of documents they need to destroy, on-site shredding can be used as for one-time service, periodic clean-outs or, more conveniently, scheduled monthly service.
Regardless of your business, you are mandated by law to protect the privacy of your customers and employees and need practices in place to ensure that there is no potential misuse of private information. Document shredding companies in White Plains should be insured and bonded and should not hesitate to provide you with that information. Several privacy laws and federal regulations have been put in effect to ensure businesses have the proper guidelines for data-management.
For parents, students and educational institutions, the FERPA is a federal law that applies to shredding medical records in White Plains. FERPA ensures the privacy of student education records and gives parents exclusive rights until their children reach the age of 18. Although schools are allowed to disclose directory information without a parent or students consent, this Act requires that the school provide a reasonable amount of time to allow the parent and/or student to request the information not be disclosed.
All document shredding companies in White Plains should be licensed and bonded and should adhere to specific guidelines set forth by federal laws pertaining to privacy. Different types of federal laws include FACTA, HIPAA, GLBA, and FERPA.
Taking caution and extra steps to prevent identity theft and data-breaches can save your clients a lot of pain and your company hefty legal fees. Whether you are looking for an on-site or off-site document shredding location, XRefer has put together the best White Plains paper shredding companies so you can stop worrying about destruction of sensitive information.
There's a high demand for White Plains paper shredding. Call or request a quote right now!
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Posted on June 30, 2015 by ipconcerns Tagged Agreementemployeeindependent contractorUber	CommentsNo Comments on UBER- Independent Contractor or Employees?
UBER- Independent Contractor or Employees?
Uber has been a hot topic lately. Usually they are in the news for making cab companies mad but the recent California Labor Commission ruling that an Uber driver is an employee, not an independent contractor, has put the company's entire business model into turmoil. Uber Technologies Inc. v. Berwick. The case was filed in the Superior Court of California, as an appeal from the Commission decision. The ruling awarded the plaintiff payment for business expenses, e.g. tolls, mileage. These are things that employees, not independent contractors, can be reimbursed for in many companies. This ruling may eventually mean that Uber may have to give these "employees" health insurance and other benefits afforded to employees. This could radically disrupt the manner in which Uber does business. Something for other companies that operate as Uber does to consider is that, based on this ruling other companies could have their independent contractors ruled as an employee. Let's consider a few recommendations that could help you to distinguish independent contractors with your company from company employees.
Businesses that engage someone as an independent contractor should, first and foremost, have an independent contractor agreement with that individual or that individual's business. This agreement should specify the contracted services and what the contracted rate is for those services. If you can, the duration of the agreement should be specified. It could be something as simple as stating that once a project is over the arrangement ends. Most employees, if they have a written agreement with the company do not have an end date since the arrangement isn't viewed with an ending date but rather to continue as long as the employee is doing the job hired to do. In addition, if applicable, the agreement should specify that the company is not providing insurance to cover the services. The agreement should also specify that no taxes will be withheld and no additional benefits will be provided. The independent contractor agreement should specify how payment will be made and that the business will issue the independent contractor a Form 1099 at the end of the year.
Once you have the agreement in place, consider who will decide how the work will be performed. To be an independent contractor, the company should not dictate how, or potentially eve when, the services are performed. Courts have frequently denied a business' claims that an individual was an independent contractor when there is evidence that the business is controlling the means and methods for how the individual performs the work. Indeed, permitting contractors to determine when they perform the services, how they perform the services, and who they may hire to assist them in performing the services, is another important factor in achieving a determination that the individual is an independent contractor. Independent contractors should also use their own tools or materials and perform the services at their own location or office, if possible. The company should never mandate exactly when an individual must show up for the job or when to leave. The company should not require the independent contractor to follow all of its employment rules or guidelines. If there are safety guidelines that are required by law to follow, then that doesn't fall under company guidelines, but if the company has rules that are not mandated by law, these may be considered company rules or guidelines. The company should never dole out, to an independent contract, discipline of a type that would be similar to what would be given to an employee who failed to comply with those rules or guidelines.
If the company has employees that perform tasks, then an independent contractor should not be engaged to do similar work. The agreement should identify that the contractors are responsible for their own expenses, including but not limited to mileage, tolls, phone and Internet, particularly if the business reimburses those expenses to its employees. If litigation occurs, businesses should obtain the tax returns for these individuals to determine whether or not they deducted these business expenses on their tax returns.
Companies should pay for the work performed and avoid paying their engaged contractors a static, weekly payment, for the performance of their services. The more that it looks like a salary and that the individual is receiving all of his or her pay from one source, the more it looks like the individual is an employee. Companies should strive to pay just for the job performed, which would ideally be accompanied by an invoice submitted by the contractor for the services performed. Similarly, companies should not disallow work for other companies but should support the individual's pursuit of other contracts with other businesses, as that further supports the fact that the individual is truly independent.
Above all other considerations, consistency in demonstrating that engaged independent contractors are treated differently from hired employees and that they are, in fact, independent in the manner and method in which they perform services will go a long way to defeating potential allegations of misclassification of workers.
If the Uber ruling stands, many companies will need to reassess their classifications and determine how to best protect their interest. Only time will tell if the ruling will stand.
Posted on June 22, 2015 by ipconcerns CommentsNo Comments on What are the legal risks for employers of the new wearable technologies like smart glass, fitness tracking bracelets, and smart watches?
What are the legal risks for employers of the new wearable technologies like smart glass, fitness tracking bracelets, and smart watches?
Much like bring your own device (BYOD), where employees conduct company business on their personal smart phones or tablets, wearable technology use requires strong cyber policies to avoid company exposure. However, avoiding exposure with BYOD with wearable technology is not the only legal risk employers should be concerned with.
Wearable technology goes a step farther in that products such as smart glass (Google Glass) bring a new dimension to risks in such areas as workers' comp and product liability. For the insurance industry, smart glass products can augment adjudicating claims, creating an almost real-time assessment of losses.
Wearable technology may boost productivity across several business sectors, but has its potential drawbacks as well. For example, an employee wearing company-issued Google Glass might become distracted and cause an accident. If an employer has authorized use of this wearable technology and something happens during the course of the work, it can become a serious issue.
Company-issued glass also can be used to invade someone's privacy, as Google Glass is able to capture real-time facial images and video, and search and/or post data on that person.
Companies that engineer and deliver wearable devices such as fitness wristbands also face exposure. If a fitness wristband device is collecting information on a person, it can definitely lead to privacy-related concerns. The private health data on such devices also puts the manufacturer at risk if protected data is lost.
As this technology is relatively new, discussions are beginning so that everyone's risks are accessed. However, due to the current nature of this wearable technology, companies are not managing the risk like hospitals or large cloud-based companies. Many of the companies are only beginning to take measures to manage this. In the future regulatory laws are bound to be put forth to address this, but right now it is unclear who owns the data and who can see the data generated by this wearable technology.


The following table contains details of many of the major shower bathroom manufacturers producing for the UK market and worldwide.
We have included a short list of the products made by each manufacturer. Each list is very brief so please check out the manufacturers' websites for more comprehensive lists of the bathroom products made by each individual company.


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rail project declared
Home > rail project declared
Projects Rail and AMTRAK Service in North Carolina - NCByTrain
Current and future rail improvement projects. . NCDOT authority to purchase railroads and preserve rail corridors, and declared it a public purpose for NCDOT.
Southern Rail strike: Driver-only trains declared safe as fresh .
3 days ago . Britain's rail safety watchdog today declared that driver-only operated trains are safe, in a dramatic intervention before next week's planned rail.
CPEC rail project: Govt seeks to avoid financial risks in $9b deal .
Sep 14, 2018 . ISLAMABAD: In a major development, Pakistan has announced exploring the possibility of shifting financial risks of a $9 billion railway project.
Parkes declared the epicentre of inland rail project | Parkes .
Jul 18, 2018 . Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack today described Parkes as the epicentre of the inland rail project.
Carmichael coal and rail project - Adani Australia
The Carmichael coal, railway and port project includes building Australia's . The Project was declared a 'significant project' under the State Development and.
Calvert to Kagaru (Qld) | Inland Rail
This corridor links the West Moreton line near Calvert to the interstate rail line . On 16 June 2017, the Queensland Coordinator-General declared the project as.
Inland Rail Freight Corridor - Project - Infrastructure Pipeline
The 2017-18 Federal Budget announced that $8.4 billion in equity over seven years is to be invested into the ARTC for the delivery of Inland Rail. Under the.
Southern Rail's controversial driver-only trains are declared 'safe .
3 days ago . Southern Rail's controversial driver-only trains have been declared safe by Britain's transport . Salary : Train to become Project Manager.
High-speed rail funds scatter to other states
Dec 9, 2010 . . and other states, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday. . Now, almost all of the $1.2 billion from the two projects will be . Doyle called the loss of the high-speed rail funds a "tragic moment for the.
Assessment of the Launceston and North-East Railway and the Rail
Sale of rail infrastructure to contribute to project cost . .. TasRail supports the declaration of the NE rail line as a strategic infrastructure corridor as it incurs costs.
Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project: Coordinator-General's .
Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail project: Coordinator-General's .. 3.2 Coordinated project declaration . .. Evaluation of environmental impacts—project wide.
Dilip Buildcon declared as L-1 bidder for Indore Metro Rail Project .
Sep 21, 2018 . Dilip Buildcon has been declared L-1 bidder for the Indore Metro Rail project, Phase-I, valued at ₹228.96 crore by the Madhya Pradesh Metro.
Baffinland railway may be "dead," Pond Inlet group declares
Jan 8, 2018 . But in February 2016, Baffinland said they now want to ship their ore by rail, in a project that would involve five diesel-electric locomotives and.
Melbourne Metro Rail Project - Planning
The Melbourne Metro Rail Project includes the following key components: Twin 9 kilometre . Declared 'public works' under the Environment Effects Act 1978.
NSW/QLD Border to Gowrie (Qld) | Inland Rail
The NSW/QLD Border to Gowrie (B2G) section is one of 13 projects that . of an application for a 'coordinated project' declaration under the provisions of the.
Carmichael coal mine - Wikipedia
The Carmichael coal mine is a proposed thermal coal mine in the north of the Galilee Basin in . the Coordinator-General declared the proposed Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project was being assessed as a 'Significant Project'.
Planning Metro Tunnel
Dec 21, 2016 . The Metro Tunnel project has undergone an extensive and robust planning assessment process. As part of this, the Melbourne Metro Rail.
Malaysia Scraps Multibillion-Dollar High-Speed Rail Project to .
May 28, 2018 . Malaysia Scraps Multibillion-Dollar High-Speed Rail Project to Singapore . Move needed to 'avoid being declared bankrupt': prime minister.
Major transport projects
The Premier may declare a transport project to be a declared project to . Both Regional Rail Link 1 and Regional Rail Link 2 were.
Railways seeks 'national project' tag for Bilaspur-Leh line to get .
Oct 18, 2018 . In terms of funding, once the project is declared a national project, . The first survey for the proposed railway line has been completed and the.
MELBOURNE METRO RAIL PROJECT
Nov 24, 2015 . Melbourne Metro Rail Project - EES Scoping Requirements the environmental effects of the declared public works. 1.2. Purpose of this.
Update: Where is the California High-Speed Rail Project Headed .
Feb 4, 2018 . Brown and the rail authority is that the project is making steady . the former-CEO of the rail authority, Jeff Morales, announced his exit plan and.
Indian Railways Bilaspur-Leh proposed line may be declared .
Oct 18, 2018 . The Indian Railways has suggested that strategically important 465-km . border be declared a "national project", a Northern Railway (NR).
High-speed rail's strongest backers now express reservations - latimes
Mar 26, 2013 . But in a recent legal declaration, filed in a civil suit seeking to halt the project, Kopp, a retired judge, said the project as now planned violates.
A $100 Billion Train: The Future of California or a Boondoggle .
Jul 30, 2018 . Proponents of the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed rail line hope . Valley," the High-Speed Rail Authority declared in a recent business plan. . Work on the $100 billion project is under way at 21 construction sites in.
Bilaspur-Leh proposed railway line may be declared national project
Oct 19, 2018 . The railways has suggested that strategically important 465-km railway line proposed between Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur and Jammu and.
For land acquisition for projects railway streamlines norms- The New .
Nov 15, 2016 . NEW DELHI: With delay in acquiring of land hampering rail projects, the . for projects which have been declared as Special Railway Project,.
Inland Rail - Border to Gowrie
Nov 19, 2018 . Inland Rail - Border to Gowrie. Print . Proponent, Australian Rail Track Corporation Limited . 251 KB) of 'coordinated project' declaration.
Planning | Ballarat | Regional Rail Revival
Oct 26, 2018 . Rail Projects Victoria intends to request the Minister for Planning to . of Victoria declared the Ballarat Line Upgrade to be a project to which the.
California Hits the Brakes on High-Speed Rail Fiasco - Bloomberg .
Jun 28, 2016 . California's high-speed rail project increasingly looks like an expensive . OPERATING SUBSIDIES," a 2013 fact sheet declared, in all caps.
Jammu–Baramulla line - Wikipedia
The Jammu–Srinagar-Baramulla railway line is a railway track being laid to connect the . 2002: The government of India declares the railway line a national project, funded entirely by the government; its estimated cost is ₹60 billion (US$834.9.
Dilip Buildcon gains 3% as co declares lowest bidder for metro rail .
Sep 21, 2018 . The company has been declared lowest bidder (L-1) by the Madhya . Bhopal (MP) for a metro rail project in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Rail Trail Corridor Declared Crown Reserve - Snowy Valleys
May 7, 2018 . Member for Albury, Greg Aplin announced last week that the site proposed . The pilot rail trail is a significant economic and tourism project for.
Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail project - Department of the .
The Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail project has been approved under national environment .. The World Heritage Committee's declaration was made when the.
Dilip Buildcon Ltd declared L-1 for Indore Metro Rail Project, Phase-I .
Sep 21, 2018 . Dilip Buildcon Ltd declared L-1 for Indore Metro Rail Project, Phase-I . Bhopal (M.P) for a Metro Rail project in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Carmichael Coal Project - SourceWatch
Dec 20, 2016 . The Carmichael Coal Project is a coal mine proposed by Adani . had declared the proposed Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project as a.
Beerburrum to Nambour Rail Upgrade Project (Department of .
The B2N Project business case investigated the duplication of the North Coast Line . The Queensland Government has declared the future road and rail land.
Railways pitches for strategic line in Leh to be declared national .
Oct 17, 2018 . The first phase of the survey for the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh railway line project has been completed and initial estimates put the cost of the 465 km.
Malaysia, Singapore agree to postpone High-Speed Rail project for .
Sep 3, 2018 . Malaysia, Singapore agree to postpone High-Speed Rail project for two years: . An artist's impression of a KL-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) station. . Mahathir Mohamad declared his intention to cancel the HSR project,.
Armenia-Iran project to be launched in 2015 – Railway Pro .
May 27, 2014 . The development of the railway project that links Iran and Azerbaijan does not erase interest in the Iran-Armenia project", declared Alexander.
Melbourne Metro Rail Project - Smart Planning Program
Find information about the Melbourne Metro Rail Project including the Minister for Planning's . Declared 'public works' under the Environment Effects Act 1978.
Expansion and reconstruction of existing Line ML-1 | China-Pakistan .
Proposing Agency: Ministry of Railways; Implementing Agency: Pakistan . Feasibility completed; ML-1 Project declared 'Strategic' by 6th JCC in Beijing.
Coordinated projects
Jun 11, 2018 . The Coordinator-General is not bound to declare a project a coordinated project merely because it satisfies one or more of . There are two types of coordinated project declaration: .. Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project.
Dilip Buildcon declared L-1 bidder for Bhopal Metro rail project .
Aug 21, 2018 . Dilip Buildcon Limited has said that it has been declared L-1 bidder for Bhopal Metro rail project, Phase -I, valued at Rs. 247.06 Crore by the.
Tehran-Kabul Rail Project: A Regional Game Changer Financial .
Sep 24, 2016 . Work has started on the Afghan side of a rail link between Khwaf in northeast . The project was declared open earlier this month at a ceremony.
Has High-Speed Rail Been Derailed? - Governing magazine
Four years after President Barack Obama declared high-speed rail a national . The project costs $68.5 billion, and California officials expect the feds to pick up.
Standard Gauge Railway Project Kenya Facebook
Standard Gauge Railway Project Kenya added 11 new photos. country has been auctioned and it's just a matter of time before we are all declared squatters!
At 5,360 meters above sea level, Bilaspur-Manali-Leh rail line to be .
Oct 17, 2018 . The railways wants the strategic line, to be completed by 2022, along the Indo-China border to be declared a national project. The railways is.
Railway Age: Home Page
Breaking news and analysis on North American freight and passenger railroad industry. Coverage includes rail transit, legislative and regulatory issues, finance,.
Queensland Government steps up to progress Adani mine project .
Oct 9, 2016 . The combined mine, rail and associated water infrastructure have all been declared critical infrastructure – the first time this has happened in.
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If you wish to adopt a bonded pair adult or senior dogs, it is 50% off for the second dog. This adoption fee includes: - Spaying/Neutering - Microchip - Heartworm Test - Rabies, Distemper and Kennel Cough Vaccines – Deworming/Defleaing - Collar, Leash, ID Tag - Free physical with your veterinarian - Valuable dog behavior information and free behavioral information and referral for your pet. If you have a favorite leash or collar please bring it along and your new dog can wear it home.
This adoption fee includes: - Spaying/Neutering - Microchip - Rabies and Distemper Vaccines - Feline Leukemia Test – Deworming/Defleaing - ID Tag - Free physical with your veterinarian - Valuable cat behavior information and free behavioral information and referral for your pet. Adopters may bring their own carriers or may purchase a cardboard carrier for $5.
Birds - Adoption fees varies by type of bird. Please call the Adoption Center.
If a small animal arrived in a cage, he may go home with it at no extra charge. Adopters may bring their own carriers or may purchase a cardboard carrier for $5.


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Activist Harrison Gwamnishu reveals how a pastor lost 8 million Naira in a Ponzi scheme
Rights Activist, Harrison Gwamnishu revealed how a pastor reportedly lost 8 million Naira meant for church building in a Ponzi scheme.
He announced this on his Facebook page, saying, "A Pastor persuaded two account signatories of the church and withdrew 8 million Naira." Because the Chief Executive Officer is a Pastor, he invested the monies in RABBI capital investment. The pastor persuaded over a hundred members to invest and receive a 100 percent return in four months.
He said that the funds had been raised by church members for a building construction project. Now, all of the monies have been spent with no return on investment.
The post elicited a lot of mixed reactions. Here are a few:
According to Stanley Worgu, when Christians and Pastors took over the infamous 'MMM gospel,' it had the greatest multiplier effect. He went on to say, "Most pastors don't realize how much their congregations love and trust them, and in that case, you have to be absolutely certain of what you're saying." He concluded by saying that pastors should focus on the gospel and keep business and politics out of God's house.
This, according to Andy Itohowo, is why he advises people not to mix business and the word of God.


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Airport security personnel help a man (center) to leave the departure area of the Hong Kong International AIrport on Tuesday after protesters surrounded him on suspicion that he was a mainland public security officer. Photo: Bloomberg
Beijing blasts protesters' attacks on mainlanders at airport
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council condemned attacks by anti-government protesters against two mainland men at the Hong Kong International Airport on Tuesday, calling them horrifying and "near-terrorist acts".
HKMAO spokesperson Xu Luying said in a statement on Wednesday that they "completely breached the bottom line of law, morality and humanity", the state-owned China Daily reported.
"Their flagrant acts of serious violent crimes in public were shocking and chilling," the newspaper quoted Xu as saying. "Their violence was an extreme contempt for the rule of law, which has seriously damaged Hong Kong's international image and hurt the feelings of compatriots on the mainland.
"We firmly support the Hong Kong police force and the judiciary in carrying out resolute and strict justice and bringing criminals to justice as soon as possible," she added.
Xu extended sympathies to the mainlanders and Hong Kong police officers who were injured during the chaos at the airport on Tuesday.
Thousands of protesters occupied the arrival and departure halls at the Chek Lap Kok terminal on Monday and Tuesday, disrupting airport operations and hundreds of flights.
They were condemning what they called excessive force used by the police against protesters in clashes over the weekend while pushing their demands, including the establishment of an independent commission to investigate violent incidents related to the now-suspended extradition bill.
On Tuesday, protesters attacked two mainland men they thought were mainland agents. One of them was later confirmed to be a reporter of Global Times, a tabloid under the auspices of the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily.
Beijing's Liaison Office in Hong Kong issued a separate statement on Wednesday expressing extreme indignation of the attacks on the two mainland citizens and their confinement by protesters at the airport.
"The atrocity has totally gone beyond the bottom line of a civilized society, which is no different from terrorists' acts, the statement said.
The liaison office said "the protesters have torn down their deceptive masks of 'peace, rationality and nonviolence'".
It also said the protesters have damaged Hong Kong's global reputation and hurt other people's rights by paralyzing the airport and harassing passengers of different nationalities, China Daily reported.
The office pledged that it will continue to stand behind relevant authorities to safeguard the personal safety and legitimate rights of mainland residents in the city.
That "extremely violent people" surrounded, frisked, illegally detained and savagely beat up a mainland reporter was a challenge and insult to the global journalism industry and a serious trampling on press freedom, the office added.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations) Terence Mak Chin-ho said in a regular press conference on Wednesday that the police force is keeping a close eye on the situation, adding that at the moment mainland allegations about "terrorism" and what happened in Hong Kong are not the same.
Mak said the current situation is that only a few extremely violent protesters are trying to make waves, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported.
Senior Superintendent Steve Li Kwai-wah of the Police Organised Crime and Triad Bureau said although some of the protesters' extreme and violent acts satisfied what is defined as terrorism by the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance, they are not seen as trying to force the government in order to make a statement about politics, religion or ideology, and this indicates that terrorism is not yet involved.
Asked by a Xinhua reporter whether the police force is still capable of maintaining public order as doubts have been raised since the onset of the anti-extradition bill movement, Chief Superintendent John Tse Chun-chung of the Police Public Relations Branch did not give a direct response but only referred to the incidents at the airport on Tuesday night.
Tse said the police were deployed at the airport only to try to save the victims and they succeeded in taking them for medical treatment.
Li said police are keeping close contact with the Airport Authority and the airport security.
During Wednesday's press conference, a mainland reporter asked the police to answer questions in Putonghua but his request was denied.
TL/JC/CG
Another mainland man is carried on a stretcher by paramedics after he was attacked by protesters at the airport on Tuesday. He was later confirmed to be a reporter of mainland newspaper Global Times. Photo: Reuters


On Friday, January 6, Esteban Santiago picked up his luggage from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport's Terminal 2 baggage claim, walked into a nearby bathroom, took out his checked firearm and loaded it. What happened next has been in the headlines for five straight days.
13 innocent people traveling to Fort Lauderdale were shot by Santiago. Five of them died. One couple was traveling to Florida to enjoy a cruise, another were attending a friend's 90th birthday. Some were returning home from a long vacation. None of them were expecting to have a gun drawn on them at an airport.
According to TSA's guidelines for transporting firearms and ammunition, you can bring a gun on a plane as long as it is inside a hard-sided container, which is not easily opened, in your checked baggage. The traveler must declare the firearm to the airline when checking the bag at the ticket counter.
So to answer the questions most people have been asking: Yes, you can fly with a gun as long as it resides in your checked luggage.
Santiago did just that. He followed the rules. He checked the gun and 2 magazines in the only luggage he brought with him to Fort Lauderdale from Alaska, where he lived.
So, what now for airport security? Time and time again events have shown that while airport terminals are some of the most safe areas in a city, those areas on the perimeter are the vulnerable underbelly. We've seen shootings at arrival and departure sidewalks, we've seen bombings in security checkpoint lines, we've seen TSA agents shot and killed just outside ticket counters.
How do we secure this defenseless area?
While we've seen an uptick in officers patrolling these areas, not much else has been done as a result of these horrific events. I remember in the days after the attack on the Brussels' airport, many security professionals predicted that we'd see a widening of the perimeter secured by TSA. That travelers and passengers would be screened before they even made it into the door of the building.
While this sounds like a good idea at first, it comes with its own set of problems. No matter where you put the security checkpoint lines, there will always have to be a place for people to wait. In some of the busiest airports, security lines can get backed up to an almost three hour wait during high flying times. These lines are in-and-out of themselves a soft target to begin with.
The first solution I thought of when I saw this headline on Friday was, "Don't let anyone check a firearm." I mean it sounds like a pretty common sense thing to me. If you need your gun to be somewhere, then ship it ahead of time. Is it worth it to check your firearm onto a plane if you know that others, less stable than you, can, too?
Tweet me your thoughts at @1105Sydny.


Making face masks is a simple and fun craft activity you can enjoy with kids of all ages. And once you have a completed face mask, your kids can get busy dressing up and playing imaginary games. Our animal face mask templates makes it easy and include a colour-in option.
This mask-making activity not only makes for a great thing to do on a rainy day, but can bring out the storyteller in your little animal.
Open the animal face mask template and print out.
If you're using the black and white template, colour in both the animal face and the separate nose section.
Cut along the dotted lines in the animal face to allow the nose to slot into place.
Taking the nose, fold down along the dotted lines using the edge of a ruler to get a straight edge.
Glue or tape the 'paste' tabs under the side nose fold.
Attach the nose by slotting each tab into the matching tab slit in the mask. When each tab is in place, glue each to the underside of the mask. (See the additional instructions on the template for the elephant's ears).
Place sticky tape over the tab on each side of the mask for added strength, then make a hole through the tape and the tab using a hole punch.
Tie a length of string or elastic to each side of the mask so it holds firmly to your child's face.
This article was written for Kidspot New Zealand.
What is your child's favourite dressup?
The templates are so cute. My kids love playing with masks and pretneidng to be animals. And they love crafting. This ticks all the boxes, and might be just the ticket for school holiday fun ☺ especially if we end up with a wet Easter.
Mr 4 loves spideman! Mr 10 loves being a footballer! These marks would make a great party game. Thanks for sharing.
the tiger mask looks awesome. I think that my boys would love a dinosaur one as they already love pretending that they are dinosaurs.
These are so cute! Our daughter is getting more into dressing up and role-playing so this is a great opportunity to encourage some animal play too.
These are so cute!! My kids love to dress up, they would really enjoy these!
This is cool 2 of my kids would love this a great weekend or school holiday thing to do. It's funny how kids put on a mask and turn into a different person what fun it is.


Located in the heart of Harrogate, CES is close to all the cultural attractions. We are right beside the fashionable shopping area and the world famous Bettys Tea Room.
There are excellent local train services to Leeds and York and from these cities connections to the whole of the UK on the National Rail Network.


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Seeing Shadows of Ancient Galaxies
By: Shannon Hall January 18, 2016 0
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A new technique lets astronomers measure nearly invisible clouds of hydrogen gas from across the universe.
An artist's impression depicts how astronomers can now measure the size of gas clouds with a background galaxy (wider red cone) as opposed to a background quasar (narrow blue-white beam).
Adrian Malec (Swinburne University) / Marie Martig (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg)
Most of the universe is hidden from view. The world's best telescopes can't pick up rocky asteroids that orbit the far reaches of the solar system, exoplanets that circle distant stars, or galaxies that formed in the early universe. Instead, science is often done in silhouette. Astronomers spot such evasive objects only by the shadow they cast when they pass, by chance, in front of a more distant light source.
A new study improves upon that method, bringing to light so-called damped lyman-alpha systems, giant clouds made mostly of hydrogen gas in the early universe. Jeff Cooke (Swinburne Institute of Technology, Australia) and John O'Meara (Saint Michael's College) announced at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Kissimmee, Florida, that they've found one of these clouds that spans three times the width of the Milky Way.
Because neutral hydrogen emits no radiation, damped lyman-alpha systems are notoriously difficult to detect directly. Instead, astronomers use a simple trick: they catch the clouds' shadows. The flood of light from distant quasars — a class of intensely bright galactic cores with supermassive black holes that are gobbling down gas and dust — casts a spotlight on otherwise invisible gas. Any intervening hydrogen atoms absorb a specific wavelength of the quasar's light, leaving a dark absorption line in the spectrum that reaches Earth.
The shape and depth of that absorption line reveals some information about the intervening cloud. Astronomers now know, for example, that a similar total amount of hydrogen gas exists in these early clouds as in the interstellar medium of most galaxies today. As such, they're a good proxy for the star-forming regions within galaxies in the early universe. Detailed measurements of these clouds could therefore shed light on how galaxies form and evolve.
How Big Are They?
To date, astronomers have used absorption lines within quasars' light to study thousands of damped lyman-alpha systems. But there's one big disadvantage. Because quasars themselves are very small objects, only a few light-years across, astronomers can only probe a tiny portion of these systems. Cooke compared this problem to illuminating a massive college campus with just the tip of a laser pointer. You'll likely only spot a blade of grass or a sliver of a cement rooftop.
"For 40 years we've been using this technique to understand gas in early galaxies, but we've been missing out on two really important, fundamental pieces of information," says O'Meara: the clouds' sizes and masses. "That's kind of embarrassing." As such, astronomers are unaware if these systems are just small clouds within a galaxy or massive clouds within the intergalactic medium that are ready to form a galaxy.
So Cooke (pronounced like the treat) and O'Meara decided to look for background galaxies instead. A larger background light source will illuminate far more — if not all — of an intervening cloud and reveal unprecedented detail. Distant galaxies are usually too faint to use as spotlights, but the technique becomes feasible with larger telescopes coming online in the near future.
This simple cartoon shows what astronomers see when they probe damped lyman-alpha systems using quasars (panels a and c) and galaxies (panels b and d). The cloud's size can be found only when using background galaxies.
Jeff Cooke
Shadow of an Ancient Galaxy
As a proof of concept Cooke and O'Meara looked for damped lyman-alpha systems in the signatures of 54 bright galaxies using the Keck Observatory's twin 10-meter telescopes and the Very Large Telescope's four 8.2-meter dishes. One galaxy, known as VVDS 910298177 (located at a time when the universe was only 3 billion years old), clearly showed a damped lyman-alpha system. The absorption line drops all the way to zero all the way across the background galaxy, which means that the gigantic cloud in front of it must cover the whole thing. That makes the cloud at least three times the size of the Milky Way — much larger than astronomers could have guessed given a background quasar.
"So what we've done is increased our ability of understanding the size of things by about a factor of a hundred million, which is really kind of cool," says O'Meara.
The finding might help solve the puzzle of where these early clouds reside. "The damped lyman-alpha systems we've found appear to be essentially 'stand alone' clouds in the intergalactic medium," says Cooke. They are so large that they "will likely form full mature galaxies like the present-day spiral galaxies like the Milky Way."
Dawn Erb (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee), who was not involved in the study, thinks the method will be a useful complement to the work she does. Erb studies galaxies at similar cosmological distances, but she does so by looking at their emitted light, rather than their absorbed light. By looking at these galaxies in both emission and absorption, she says, astronomers can gain a far better understanding of their overall morphologies.
The new technique holds a lot of promise in the era of 30-meter telescopes. "These monster-machines that are getting built are going to be able to use this technique by the thousands," says O'Meara. And they'll do so much more in 18 hours than Cooke and O'Meara were able to accomplish on the Very Large Telescope. There are far more galaxies than quasars in the first place, so soon enough astronomers will be able to "map out a three-dimensional tomography of all of the gas in the universe," says Cooke.
Jeff Cooke and John O'Meara "A New Constraint on the Physical Nature of Damped Lyman Alpha Systems." Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2015 October 15.
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