In a persuasive essay, you should convince the reader to agree with your viewpoint. Hot issues of today's society make great persuasive topics since people eagerly discuss them, so it's no surprise that you're asked to write a persuasive paper on child abuse. This problem is relevant for all social levels, and your task is to convince others not to turn a blind eye to it.


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Home Finance Fishing Regulator Rejects Lifting Ban on Female Crab Harvest
Fishing Regulator Rejects Lifting Ban on Female Crab Harvest
11 Nov 2022 33 Views
A fisheries regulator on Thursday unexpectedly extended a ban on harvesting female horseshoe crabs from the Delaware Bay to help protect a vital food source for the red knot, a threatened shorebird that migrates via the bay's beaches.
A board at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted to maintain a decade-old zero-quota on female crabs at a closely watched meeting that set next year's crab catch by the fishing industry in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
The decision rejected a plan that would have allowed the industry to catch about 150,000 female crabs in 2023, the first proposed female harvest in 10 years.
The plan had been attacked by conservationists who argued that resuming the female harvest would further reduce food for the red knot and other migrating shorebirds that depend on the bay's crab eggs to complete a long-distance flight each spring from South America to breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic.
The birds' population is also under pressure from the biomedical industry, which uses an extract of crab blood to detect bacteria in medical products and takes blood from an undisclosed number of Delaware Bay crabs each year. Although crabs are returned to the water after being bled, some die or are unable to breed, contributing to the lessening food supply for shorebirds, conservationists say.
The knot population dropped sharply starting in the early 2000s in response to an over-harvest of horseshoe crabs for bait from the bay beaches. The number of birds declined to a record low of 6,880 in 2021 from around 90,000 in the 1990s, according to a count by conservationists.
The commission, using a model-based method for population counts, disputed the conservationists' tally and estimated that the knot population was stable at about 45,000.
Still, the board dropped its plan to restart the female harvest, saying that it wanted to balance the needs of fisheries and the bay's ecosystem and in recognition of public demand for protecting the knot.
"Acknowledging public concern about the status of the red knot population in the Delaware Bay, the board elected to implement a zero female horseshoe crab harvest for the 2023 season as a conservative measure," the commission said in a statement.
In 2021, the commission proposed restarting the 2023 harvest, saying that the bay's population of female crabs had more than doubled to about 11 million. The planned catch of female crabs would represent less than 2 percent of the population and so would damage neither crabs nor birds, the commission argued in its proposal.
On Thursday, it recognized the birds' dependence on crab eggs, and the board set a harvest limit of 475,000 male-only horseshoe crabs for the 2023 season.
Conservationists welcomed the decision, saying that it would improve prospects for the knot's survival and for other shorebirds including the semipalmated sandpiper and the ruddy turnstone, whose numbers have also suffered from the crab harvest over the last 20 years.
"We are grateful that the commission listened to the public and did not authorize a harvest that would put the red knot at even greater risk and further deplete the Delaware Bay ecosystem," said Ben Levitan, an attorney for Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm representing conservation groups that had criticized the commission's plan.
Mr. Levitan urged the commission to disclose the details of its computer modeling if it revisited the female harvest.
"Going forward, the commission should allow full public involvement and respond to scientific critiques before any harvest expansion is again considered," he said.
Allowing female crabs to be harvested again would have accelerated the knots' path toward extinction, said Christian Hunt of the advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife. "Red knots depend on horseshoe crab eggs during their long migration. With fewer eggs, there will be fewer birds," he said.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Notes: Positioning flight for CityFlyer charter.
Notes: Private Charter for Manchester United football matches.
Notes: Operating on behalf of bmi regional.
Notes: Manchester - Southampton charter.
Notes: Return of Manchester - Southampton charter.
Notes: Suitable for ERJ (select FL370) charter spotted on the 18/06/2011.
Notes: Suitable for ERJ flight (select FL360) chartered 18/06/11.
Notes: Charter for BMI Regional.
Notes: Private Charter for Le Mans 24 hour motor race.
Notes: Use BADIM L9 WOTAN if runway 27 in use.
Notes: 2010 Wet Lease operation to Flyglinjen SE. Operated as Eastern Airways flight.
Notes: Subbing for the usual BMI ERJ135 (BMR1347) on the route from Aberdeen.rnIf using the ERJ135 adjust the cruise to FL370.
Notes: Subbing for the usual BMI ERJ135 (BMR1347) on the route from Aberdeen.rnIf using the ERJ135 adjust the cruise to FL360.
Notes: Retired operation. 2003-2009 Aberdeen - Newcastle - Southampton route. Embraer 135 also suitable for this route.
Notes: Retired operation. Newcastle - Bergen direct flight.
Notes: Call signs and route subject to change please report any problems.
Notes: Call signs and route are subject to change please report any problems.
Notes: Retired operation. London Stansted - Manchester Terminal 3 route.
Notes: 2016 Oil Charter Flight to Scatsta.
Notes: 2010 Oil Charter Flight to Scatsta.
Notes: Positioning flight for Manchester - Southampton charter.
Notes: Return positioning flight for Manchester - Southampton charter.
Notes: Official Schedule - Jan 2011. Now to Birmingham Terminal 2.
Notes: Official Schedule - Jan 2011. Now from Birmingham Terminal 2.
Notes: Retired operation. Aberdeen - Oslo.
Notes: Retired operation. Isle of Man - Newcastle route.
Notes: Retired operation. Isle of Man - Birmingham route.
Notes: AFC Bournemouth football charter.


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Side A - natural, colorless staining, allowing for lighter coloration of the wood, possible small pin knots, without other wood blades.
Side B - natural, colorless staining, admitting branches, bark, wood stains. Each slab is unique and different.


I understand that we live in a world in which science has become the dominant rationality. I understand that notions such as centralisation, risk management, economic viability and utilitarianism have necessarily become the touchstones for bureaucratic services which seek to meet the needs of huge portions of the population. I understand that many people who work in the maternity services and related areas are under so much pressure that they barely have time to think about anything other than the task in front of them.
But this doesn't mean that any of those things are OK, or that they are the only or best way of seeing or knowing or being in the world. And it certainly doesn't mean that we shouldn't take time when we can to think and talk and write about other possibilities.
Sometime around Valentine's day a couple of years ago, I found an article while I was carrying out a literature search for shoulder dystocia. (I have since written more about this in another post). I was struck by Sister Morningstar's description of how it is possible to weave heart-centredness into practice which is rooted in trust and yet still informed by evidence. I am always delighted to read such articles, for I firmly believe that we need to speak and write about and publish our thoughts and experiences in order to generate discussion about them and to preserve this kind of knowledge for future generations.
I wonder how many practitioners feel that heart-centredness is of value in practice? For many years, I have shared my belief that knowledge comes in many forms, and in writing the editorial mentioned above I noted that consideration of love and of trusting women's knowledge is frequently lacking in modern maternity care.
Some of the worst things I witnessed in hospital practice involved emergencies and the way mothers were so sidelined – it was as though they weren't there as the professionals panic stricken wrenched babies out anyway they could – the vibe in the room was terrifying – I pitied the fathers most – how must they feel when I as a midwife was distressed witnessing these things? But in a home birth – just me and dad – how different when the same emergency happened – no emergency bell – no extra staff – how calm – the mother managed beautifully – later the parents barely knew if was a close call. I was blessed in my practice ………. So many midwives today have never witnessed a mothers true strength.
Of course ..YES! What's stopping us write about this – go midwives go!
Oh that we all learn that babies and mothers are powerful when working together protected and supported by those who love and respect them!!
Recently I have started private practice I feel so liberated to be able to be myself and to honour the power of women, the sacredness of birth in a whole hearted way.
I have seen the true power of women in birth centre and at home. Having worked in obstetric units I have seen women's birthing power there too. Much depends on the open-heartedness of the midwife (and doctors) to make any emergency situation a positive birth experience. I have seen it in hospital as well as at home, that when the woman trusts her care-givers, and knows they believe in her she can move mountains (or stuck babies). It is of course much more likely if a woman knows her care team, and mutual trust and respect is paramount.
Working from the heart becomes harder in short staffed hospitals, where staff are not loved or respected by their employers. Looking after too many women sometimes causes carer's hearts to close. I didn't notice this until I became an Independent midwife, and realised some professionals seemed 'dead behind the eyes', my terminology for having switched off emotionally for their own protection.
how awful it would be to have one of these automaton midwives attend one of the most important moments in your life. Sadly, several women have described this very situation to me.
Thanks for this Sara, I am just starting on my 'research career' and you have always been a great inspiration to me. I have often thought about the role of love within midwifery/maternity care and how important it is in influencing my practice. I agree with Joy how challenging it is within the NHS and the lack of recognition this kind of care receives and the effects it has on the midwives.
I struggle with how highly scientific research is so highly valued, with it's prescriptive methodology, rigid structure of dissemination and application, where midwives with a heart-centredness approach and women themselves don't seem to be valued, casting aside this valuable source of knowledge.
I hope these thoughts and values are reflected in my 'outputs' and will endeavour to keep talking about theses things with my ARM, midwifery and academic colleagues.


CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Lauren Adams, Nancy Lopez Knight, Loretta Young, Danny Thomas, Rowan Atkinson, Syd Barrett, Danny Pintauro, Joey Lauren Adams, Bonnie Franklin.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): First impressions may not be very reliable. You may well feel that you're forging ahead on the work front, or that you've dealt with any lingering tension on the romantic front sensitively and firmly. However; the slippery Venus/moon mix suggests that you may have missed something quite small but important!
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A minor Saturn/sun mix suggests that there may be something you need to let go, once and for all. If you're simmering over a recent argument or misunderstanding now is the time to put it behind you and move on. That said; it may be easier said than done to impose the necessary distance you need!
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You'll perhaps be a little more alert to the slightly unreliable vibe. That said; while you may need to watch that you don't make mountains out of molehills, it's possible that you'll need to deal with a slight dilemma on the work front swiftly and firmly. Don't leave it for another day!
CANCER (June 21-July 22): It's perhaps a day where communications will appear to flow reliably. There's a definite sense of progress to be made with a work-based relationship, but don't make any snap decisions, since incoming information later in the day may well change your mind about a particular issue!
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You may feel a sense of the recent pressure easing, but don't take it as a green light to kick back, since a recent initiative or scheme that has yet to take off could stall. By the same token, a specific development that is possibly connected to an emotionally-based exchange may need a little more attention!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A Venus/moon mix is likely to bring a slightly restrictive vibe, although it will be very subtle. Both practical and material blips may appear to be just that: minor blips. However, while the practical issue should be easily resolved, the material issue may not disappear without a certain amount of effort!
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The lighter-hearted influences will offer a possibly mistimed boost. A brief break may well be on the cards, although you may be unwise to take advantage of this. If you have just made considerable headway on the career front, now is not the time to rest on your laurels!
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A marginally improved vibe should help to clarify a confusing matter that may be leftover from recently. A heart-to-heart may help to clear the air, but you may need to schedule it in sensibly. In other words; don't leave it for too long; don't let it get too drawn out, either!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A Venus/moon mix is likely to bring in a misleading vibe. You may be tempted to downplay the importance of a potentially significant matter. This could be connected to incoming news in your personal sphere. However; it may be that you need to take it a little more seriously!
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You may feel on top form; it may be that yesterday's blips melt away, but there may be minor pitfalls that you'll need to avoid, in order to make the most of the seemingly supportive vibe. As with other signs, the main pitfall may be centered on ignoring a minor but very obvious concern!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A marginally warmer vibe is likely to bring a small improvement in your relationship-zone. However, you may need to bear in mind that you may more susceptible to flattery than normal. Casual comments made today could turn into rather inflexible commitments later in the week!
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Bubbly influences will appear to liven up your social life, and while it will be possible to enjoy an easier day, you may well need to take preventative measures in order to sidestep a possible awkward situation later in the week. Do guard against tricky or vague suggestions!
FOR THOSE OF US BORN ON THIS DAY: Happy Birthday! The months ahead are likely to start with miscommunications and mixed signals; a surprising piece of news in March will get you thinking about your future, while a period of social events in June should provide a welcome break. Don't hold your cards close to your chest in September; open up a little. October sees a backward step in terms of work or school, but this will be ultimately useful! A change of career or options in late fall sets the pace for the coming New Year. A dream is realized in November. April provides a chance of a holiday romance, while August will strengthen a particular relationship! Watch the cash flow in December!
CELEBRITY GOSSIP: Her film career may have slowed but right now Cameron Diaz is feeling on top of the world as she is now newly engaged to be married. According to the planets, this could be the beginning of a number of positive developments in Cameron's life including a boost to her celebrity status!
TODAY'S CHINESE PROVERB: To attract good fortune, spend a new coin on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend, and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon.
TODAY'S MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE: All nature is but art unknown to thee; All chance, direction, which thou canst not see; All discord, harmony not understood; All partial evil, universal good; And spite of pride, in erring reason's spite, One truth is clear, whatever is, is right. – Alexander Pope.
TODAY'S WISDOM FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Do not put your spoon into the pot which does not boil for you. – Romanian proverb.


There are few things more satisfying than reeling in a fish at a favorite fishing spot. Of course there is also the inevitable solitude and peaceful time spent in the outdoors. A day on the water can offer a great respite from the workaday world. You will find some wonderful places to fish around Austin, without even driving very far. It is time to get away from it all, cast in a line and pull in some fish!
It is easy to get started. First you will need to get your fishing license, whether you are a resident or a Texas visitor. Be familiar with fishing rules and regulations in Texas, and then simply have fun! A long list of lakes gives you the opportunity to pick and choose where you want to head this weekend.
Walter E. Long Reservoir should be your first stop. Metropolitan Park has picnic tables where you can take a break and have lunch, in between catching largemouth bass, striped bass or some nice-sized catfish. If you want to catch those largemouth bass, concentrate your efforts around the edges of the reservoir where there are high quantities of submerged vegetation. Crank your crankbait over the top of the grass and you'll almost certainly make a catch. Also try your plastic worms and jigs during the day, but earlier in the morning and later in the evening, topwater baits will work best. Channel catfish love the stinkbait. Sunfish will respond heartily to meal worms and crickets.
If you love night fishing, you will love Lady Bird Lake to hook some largemouth bass. The lake provides all kinds of bank access, particularly at Festival Beach. Red Bud Island is also good up near Tom Miller Dam. Catch carp, catfish and sunfish as well. Bring light spinning tackle to try for the sunfish, and minnows for live-bait fishing.
Discover bass weighing in at around eight to ten pounds at Lake Austin. The weed beds along the shore are the best for these babies. During the summer months, the lake gets pretty crowded so fishing early in the morning or at night is best. Use plastic worms and jerkbaits when you want to use the artificial lures and minnows for live-bait fishing.
Lake Kyle is 19 acres of lake which provides great fishing. If the kids are with you and they get bored after a little fishing, there is a play area for them while you pull in some catfish or perch. Try between the beaver and lake dams to find some particularly large perch. Over five pound bass have been caught in this lake, so maybe you can go for a trophy catch.
Head up to Round Rock for more fishing options. You will find the park system in this metro area gives you access to all sorts of fishing. For instance, Meadow Lake offers the chance for you to pull out some bass or catfish. The bass are known to be of fairly good size here too. There is a lot of undeveloped shoreline where you can relax while you wait for that telling tug on your line.
Also in Round Rock you will find excellent fishing at Bright Lake. There is a fishing pier and plenty of bank access. Old Settlers Park is a great place for the kids too. You will find plenty of bass, perch and catfish. In between times fishing for that large fish, you can hike on any of the numerous hiking paths.
South of Austin you will find Bastrop State Park where you can engage in outdoor recreation of all kinds. Hiking is fun here, but fishing is the main choice. You can fish from the bank or from a canoe which you can rent right here at Lake Bastrop. This is known as THE place to go for bass even though they aren't huge (mostly between two to five pounds). You can also find blue catfish, channel catfish and flatheads here. Try topwater bait when the water temps warm up more than 60 degrees in the summer months. When using plastic worms, the best colors are june bug, watermelon, and tequila sunrise. It is anybody's guess why this is so, but give it a shot.
There is nothing like fishing around Austin, enjoying the wonderful climate of Texas and spending time in the sun or under the shade of a tree. A fishing vacation is one of the best kinds for all members of the family. Take some time and explore Austin and its most popular "fishing holes" before summer is over.
Joe Laing is the Marketing Director for El Monte RV, your nationwide source for RV rentals. El Monte RV also sells used motorhomes through eight different locations across the United States. For more information on purchasing a used motorhome see http://www.elmontervsales.com/home/.
My name is Elizbeth Smith. I work at lazydays.com – a RV Sales & Services Company. I wanted to let you know that i have been following your website for a while and i would like to become a contributor.
So, is there a way that i can submit a guest post to your blog ?
I am very much passionate and knowledged about the area of RV-Outdoor Recreation-Travelling.


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post world games
Protocol Game Series
In the Vacuum of Space, Sci-Fi RPGs Suck
October 20, 2015 May 18, 2016 postworldgames15 Comments
I'm not going to debate your own anecdotal data on why YOUR campaign for Space Rider 6000 was so awesome. Good for you. We need more examples of successful scifi campaigns. But this post is an intellectual exercise to examine why — as a whole — Scifi RPGs suck. To do that, we need to do some taxonomic work and then we can break down what goes wrong when interrossiter X and hydro-spanner Y collide.
When I say suck, I'm clearly being provocative. I'm about to examine why it's so hard to run a good science fiction campaign. It's okay if you disagree with me.
Fantasy games are defined as sword and sorcery adventure hackery. That is, limited tools, magic, and adventure mixed together in any combination. We know these when we see them. Even when they are stupid, we still know what we are doing in them.
Traditionally, science fiction is the literature of the human species encountering change. Some people have said it's about whether or not we have the right to rule. In either case, that's high-brow chatter. Most of us just want to shoot a laser blaster.
Because science fiction is sometimes high-brow, we often have a hard time defining what it's about. The debate over what science fiction and scifi are is so rampant (even I'm guilty of it) that it has no place in this article. For my purposes, if it has advanced technology, it is scifi. I will explain this as I go. But knowing that science fiction started a long time ago to tell moralistic tales about the present only to morph into giant mecha robots is a wide umbrella to stand under. In order to talk about scifi, we have to know what it is. And because we don't know what it is, it makes talking about it very difficult. As such, this will not be an easy post. Wish me luck.
Veneer is not genre. It is a component of genre. Oftentimes scifi is just a veneer. In these instances, there is no possible way to make an argument for or against something being scifi. It has laser guns. Woohoo. It's scifi.
Genre has become a meaningless term in roleplaying games. Everything is a mashup, devoid of theme, and heavy on veneer. Therefore, talking about scifi in any context is most likely about the veneer of it and not the structure.
For the purposes of this argument, roleplaying games are any tabletops game where you play a single character or agent in a story and there is a gamemaster. Roleplaying games can be divided into games about adventure and games about drama. The best games are about both.
GMless games have their own challenges and strengths. Some are perfectly suited to address scifi gaming.
This is a complex topic. If anyone has written about this in the context of scifi gaming, I've not read it. Feel free to point me to it.
I don't think this can get resolved with only 5,400 words. But I've started something here. And dammit. I'm going to finish it. (Puts on sunglasses and 8-track tape in stereo.)
Maybe this is a rough draft for a larger piece of work?
In the process of writing this, I realized that I gave up on scifi games a long time ago. There may be a good scifi game that came out in the last 10 years and I just never tried it. But this isn't an attempt to win anything or even be right. This is an attempt to ask meaningful questions about scifi gaming and how to make it 'not suck.'
In order for a traditional roleplaying game to succeed at what it does, there must be a gamemaster. If your gaming background includes mission-based or location-based adventures, you know that the gamemaster must know the characters, logic, physics, plots, rules, storylines, and world better than anyone else. This mastery is necessary for any game environment. Without it, you might as well just let the PCs 'win' on round one. And for scifi gaming, trying to master all of these details can be crippling. In fact, data creep is a real problem in games like Pathfinder, Shadowrun, World of Darkness, and so on. Gamemasters have trouble keeping up with the sheer volume of data available in the 86,000 pages now available for these gamelines. Nevertheless, the gamemaster can often trump this data creep by simply saying, "Well, in this world that isn't true." This solution is often met with the crook-eye or outright hostility. I would argue that it's a difficult tool to wield when running scifi for a given group.
If the gamemaster is not the expert on these details, a mission-based game will derail instantly. Players with more knowledge of engineering/physics/programming/science will solve a problem quickly, rendering conflicts inert. In a fantasy game, 'magic' explains away everything. "Sorry. Your magic fireball fails this time." In a science fiction game, you can't do this. "Sorry. Gravity… uh… fails. This time." The gamemaster-veto cannot stop science.
For the players, this isn't really an issue. If you're solving all of the mission-based obstacles and side-complications in one round with your advanced degree in Theoretical Quantum Physical Statist Egoism, then it might not bother you when the 4-hour mission is over in 30 minutes. But for the gamemaster, this threatens the entire campaign. How can anything be a challenge if the players can solve it all with technology the gamemaster doesn't understand? By extension, gamemasters with a penchant for writing story, but a low threshold for understanding every nuance of the Rutherford-Bohr model aren't likely to want to run a science fiction campaign. Conversely, someone who salivates over the second law of thermodynamics but who lacks the skills to write an adventure well, may not be a good gamemaster. As the pairings of these two skill sets narrow, the Venn-diagram of science-adventure-game-writing has virtually no overlap. Those few GMs who have feet in both camp are so rare as to be virtually non-existent.
Spheres of Control
As stated above, the gamemaster must feel like he or she is in control when running a traditional roleplaying game. This isn't always true. Expert gamemasters may enjoy playing games by the seat of their pants, acting like a cosmic force to disrupt players' plans. But most gamemasters like to have an adventure, plan, or sandbox to operate in. Via technology, scifi games give players a lot of power and control, moreso than in other genres. Scifi games do not come with a master's degree in physics. All of the magic in D&D is explained at the end of the player's handbook. Every spell. Every miracle. Every ritual. Every religious pathos. But scifi games lack a chapter on 'Science for Dummies 101.'
It's easy to say, well if the PCs can use technology to solve a problem, the gamemaster can use technology to create new ones. This would be true if all gamemasters were cut from the same cloth, but they are not. In fact, roleplaying games succeed only when they can be run well by novice gamemasters. So, here again, scifi games fail. D&D has many introductory tools to help gamemasters build one-shot adventures from scratch. And because 50% of the environment of fantasy games is rooted in history, we can easily visualize a fantasy village without prompting. If the gamemaster fails to explain that it's dirty, we can probably assume it is anyway.
But scifi environments are alien. The technology is alien. The cultures. The physiology. All of it needs to described to the players, because they cannot assume anything. Licensed products have a little bit of a leg up here, but it's not a slam dunk to set a campaign in the Star Wars universe. Unless the entire campaign is set on Hoth or Tatooine, each planet is a new landscape that must be described, with new cultures, conflicts, rules, and so on. Removing Star Wars from the equation and running a pure science fiction exploration campaign causes this problem to multiply. Each new planet means new aesthetics and thematic complications. For example, people living on an all iron planet must deal with a lot of toxic dust when then mine the 'soil.'
I know it's not scifi, but I should probably mention this. Years ago, a friend of mine ran a short-lived Earthdawn campaign. His descriptions of dungeons were amazing. Detailed. Rich. Original. I could have listened to them for days. Sadly, he had no skill at running any other part of the game — including encounters, fights, and NPCs. Having mastery over the environment is only part of the skill set a good gamemaster needs.
I've stated this before, but it can't be ignored that if one player has a better understanding of engineering and science, than it is likely that the gamemaster will have trouble challenging that player. Spheres of Control means knowing your stuff. The go-to crutch for some gamemasters (like me) is to soften the importance of science and recreate otherworldly or foreign sciences beyond the realm of what humans know. Interstellar (the movie) is a great example of this. All of the science of the movie holds up until they reach the edge of what we know. It's just guesswork in the last 30 minutes of that movie, much like scifi games are with technology.
"Sure. In the future they'll invent a pill you can take after you die to come back to life. Why not?"
All of these complications aside, this doesn't stop people from making science fiction games. Nor should it. But the field of who can play these kinds of games is limited. In order to make them work, we often have to chip away at the science, until the games become nothing more than generic fiction. In fact, the entire genre of science fiction gaming starts to become suspect when everything is reduced to another genre with lasers. And since entire game books have been written without any advice for gamemasters to effectively run a particular game, what you do with it is questionable. After all, what is the goal of Star Trek? To explore? Why do I have a hundred different skills diplomacy and science skills at 99% if I'm supposed to explore? If there's zero chance of failure, what do I need stats at all for? And if it's about exploration, why was the 1982 edition essentially a table-top war game? Even at a design level, science fiction games are often reduced to something else other than science fiction to make them work.
One part of the problem is that in most scifi games, we really don't know what we are doing. As stated above, what is Star Trek about? The original series claimed to be a five-year mission to explore strange new worlds. But at the end of the day it was about Captain Kirk always doing what his gut told him, despite Spock's logic telling him otherwise. If the show is successful, it's because of the relationships and certainly not the crappy-costumed aliens they encounter. Or the techno-babble they spew to solve the episode's core conflict in the last four-minutes of the show.
Another part of the problem is that we can't agree on what science fiction is. The umbrella is so wide, that it's meaningless, and attempts to narrow its definition lead to debates about rhetoric and taxonomy. But in design, taxonomy is not rhetoric. Taxonomy is everything. Now. It's true, entire genres of games have nothing in the way of a mission statement and then continue to succeed. But just because something succeeds, doesn't make it good. Or playable. It just makes it succeed. But that too is rhetorical, because now we have to define the terms of success.
And that's not what this is about.
So. Rather than argue semantics, let's explore what constitutes a scifi roleplaying game, so we can understand what does and does not work. Star Wars is a great place to start.
Star Wars, at its core, is a Western film set in space, with laser swords, mysticism, and imperialistic overlords. If you remove the words laser and star, you could be describing a Wu-Shu film about the Shaolins' corruption, with Wong Fei Hung as Luke Skywalker. All of my reductionism aside, none of this stops Star Wars from being a great game. In fact, it's the best example of a non-fantasy game succeeding in the gaming market. And even if I include it as a scifi game (and I never would), it does a lot of things really well. But, in order to be fun, it takes a lot of short cuts and trims away many elements of a 'true' scifi game.
In this context, Star Wars is about to make a liar out of me, because even I — a noted snob of Star Wars — must admit that every edition of Star Wars has been fun. But, let me continue my logic. Star Wars has no thermodynamic laws to confound play. No computer programming C+ language to confuse the players. No engineering logic that would stop the gamemaster from knowing just as much as the players. In fact, because Star Wars is so foreign to real-world "logic," anyone can gamemaster it. Star Wars is successful, because it's adventurous, fun, light, and for all intents and purposes a game everyone can enjoy without the inherent debates of math and physics that hinder traditional scifi games. So. In order to be a fun scifi game, Star Wars has to reject everything about scifi and just become an adventure game.
Am I splitting hairs? No. Not really. If Star Wars is truly scifi, then it is the exception that proves the rule. It has nothing in common with Eclipse Phase, Fading Suns, GURPS: Space, Star Trek, Tekton, and so many others that wear the veneer of scifi, without actually assuming the responsibilities. Sort of like a little kid wearing dad's clothes, but not actually going to work. As you'll see, this rhetoric is an important distinction to get us to a where we want to be as scifi designers and gamers. Star Wars succeeds by understanding what it is and playing upon its strengths.
And this is why scifi fails.
GURPS: Space is a great example of too much garbage gunking up the works. There are skills for every single scientific minutia one can imagine. Star Trek did this too (see below). Scifi seems to bring out pedantic spreadsheeting fetishism on a scale which fantasy gaming cannot compete. Don't get me wrong, Chivalry & Sorcery had its deluge of nonsense with armor plating locations, and deflection values and whatever else the ren-faire enthusiasts thought was important to enjoy the game. But nothing competes for the depth and length of scifi charts. If it's not skill charts, it's weapon charts. If it's not weapon charts, it's equipment charts. If it's not equipment charts, it's bionetics charts. If it's not bionetics charts, it's computer program charts. Should I go on?
Shadowrun understands (and ignores) this rhetoric better than any roleplaying game. Let me explain. Cyberpunk is an entire genre of fiction invented by writers like William Gibson. The roleplaying game based on this namesake genre is arguably about the cultural divide between statists and those living on the fringe. But one could also argue that Cyberpunk 2020 is about creating your identity in a world where identity isn't valued. Insufficient mechanics aside, the game gave players the opportunity to create vibrant characters in a world filled with bland oatmeal. In order for Cyberpunk 2020 to be a different game experience than other adventure games, it needed to feel desperate and mean; deadly and final. In its time, Cyberpunk 2020 thrived in an environment where scifi games hadn't before.
In comes Shadowrun, stealing all of the veneer and none of the substance of cyberpunk.
Now. In full disclosure, I hate Shadowrun. I want to love it, because the world is so rich, but the game is nothing more than D&D with panther cannons. I wouldn't play Shadowrun if you paid me. So I can't be 100% objective here. But I'll do my best.
Players take on the roles of fantasy races — dwarves, elves, etc. — armed with magic and weapons and going on missions to retrieve money from others. These missions often involve vaults of hidden data (gold pieces) and caches of secret tech (magic items) that will help the characters take on bigger missions later. The veneer is so thin, that I have literally played the game three times and only enjoyed the moments before the first die roll.
"Why are we playing this instead of D&D?"
So. If Shadowrun is scifi, then in order for it to succeed it has to become something else. It is not about the exploration of societal change. This is not discovery of new worlds. This is not a struggle against the status quo. This is the metaphoric murderhobo wearing a flak jacket instead of a cloak. Once again, in order to be effective, this version of scifi becomes something else. Or something else pretends at being scifi.
Now. I promised I wouldn't do exactly what I just did. But I am trying to make a point here. Because scifi can mean anything, it means nothing. I cannot refute that a game is good at being scifi, because frankly, we don't even know what scifi is anymore. So new questions get raised because the old debates are tiresome. Is Stargate (regardless of mechanics) good scifi because it's about adventure with laser pistols? If that's your criteria for good scifi, then yes. You win and you can stop reading now. But if scifi is more than that, we have a lot more questions to ask. What are the key ingredients of a Stargate scenario? New races? Conflict that cannot be solved by anyone else in the encountered world? Diplomacy? Secrets? Military secrets?
If you were ask "What is the quintessential fantasy adventure?" most people would say Temple of Elemental Evil. Without question, it has all of the hallmark elements that define fantasy for traditional gamers. But can you say the same thing of scifi? Can anyone at the table agree of what they are expecting when they sit down for a Star Wars campaign? Star Trek? Traveler? Jovian Chronicles?
Speaking of Jovian Chronicles, years ago, my buddy Aaron ran a short-lived Jovian Chronicles campaign. We played on Mars and dealt with Bradbury-esque social issues. But Jovian Chronicles tried to be so many things to so many players, that I think we may be the only people in history to play Jovian Chronicles that way. The most popular part of Jovian Chronicles might have been the mecha combat. And I'm sure you can imagine what I think of anime mecha. Jovian Chronicles is so so so good. And yet, it suffers from everything I've stated above. It doesn't stop me from loving it, but when I run it, I know exactly what I have to trim away to make an effective campaign out of it.
One of the things that separates historic life and modern life is the cultural evolution of roles into goals; your place in society vs. your relationships. It's also what separates traditional roleplaying games from modern games. Who you are is only half the equation of your role in the group. Who you know is the other half. Changing one means you impact the other. And this is a strange new merit of roleplaying games that confuses and bothers people who think World of Warcraft is roleplaying. Using the tired trope of fighter-cleric-rogue-wizard to explain roles is how most people gravitate to adventure gaming in the first place. Even if it's a game you've never played before, someone at the table is asking, "Which is the tank class?" And this kind of thinking doesn't hold up anymore outside of adventure gaming.
Science fiction gaming has traditionally been at odds with its own paradigm because it is made in the vacuum of roles, without taking into how people know and interact with one another. If Star Wars is a game about a kid, an old man, a scoundrel, a walking carpet, and two droids meeting each other and dying for one another within the span of 90 minutes, then it is really silly. Star Wars, as a universe, is pretty well-defined. It's huge. It's so overpopulated, there is no way your character doesn't have 50+ contacts, friends, and associates. But every campaign opens with five strangers getting involved with the rebels, or taking a mercenary job, or just running into each other in a bar. Maybe the gamemaster asks how you know each other, but that's not in the rules.
If you want to run a great Star Wars campaign, you need to make the characters care about one another. Or at least be invested in one another… even if it's hatred. (Cf. Dark Stryder campaign)
But relationships aren't in the books.
If you've been gaming a long time, you've made characters for Traveler. In fact, you've made hundreds of characters for Traveler. Back in the day, there was no better game for making characters. It was fast, fun, and deadly. You always went back in for more training. And you always eventually died before you were done creating your character. I don't think there is any proof of a single Traveler campaign existing ever. But there were a lot of characters created. All jokes aside, Traveler was a combat and exploration game, wearing the veneer of science fiction. In fact, it was so heavily combat oriented that a character's rank was a vital part of the character creation. You even 'mustered out' when you finally stopped making your character. This doesn't make it bad or wrong, but it was just another way of playing D&D as far as I was concerned.
Once again, Traveler may be the game that makes a liar out of me, but it really wasn't about science.
Carbon Skies
I have been working on a science fiction roleplaying game for a while. I intend to make it 'about something' and put my money where my mouth is. But, like its predecessors, it will be low on science and high on fiction. But I'm doing everything I can to not make it D&D with lasers, but instead mold a specific game experience. Your mileage may vary.
I love Blue Planet. I think it is genius. I could talk at length about why it's so great, but that wouldn't help my case. I will say this — I never ran a successful campaign of it, and I think a lot of that was players' attention spans. The other part was probably that scifi games fail and you can't ramp up the gonzo in the same way you can with fantasy.
And there it is. If you're not familiar with the term, gonzo is slang for ramping up the stupid. In movies, it's when John McClain intends to save everyone in the building by slowing destroying the building. It's the moment Stallone walks onto the screen. It's that tonal shift that you make in game that once you make it, you cannot come back from. Going gonzo is essentially turning a realistic game into a hyper-active affair by introducing a new 'elevated' element. It's a sloppy trope for gamemasters that have run out of ideas OR who seeing the player's attention waning.
"All of a sudden, a giant black dragon the size of ten red dragons comes over the horizon. It is so big, you can't tell how far away it is. It might have its own gravitational pull."
If a gamemaster does this in a fantasy game, magic usually explains it away. And there's always bigger magic, right? But if a gamemaster tries this in a scifi game, it's over. There is no coming back. This is the ultimate limit of what science knows. If you've pulled out the gonzo hammer, you are now throwing out science. I've never watched Doctor Who, but based on its themes, I have to assume the show thrives on this.
The Mr. Fantastic Effect
I always hated the Fantastic 4. Yes. I know it's superheroes. Stay with me. Every issue, Mr. Fantastic always solved a problem using techno-babble nonsense that came out of nowhere. I could never understand what he was saying and therefore I could not appreciate what he was talking about. Granted I was 12 at the time, but still. Dr. Doom always had these corporeal plans that one could see and understand. And on page 20, Mr. Fantastic would come along with his own version of the sonic screwdriver and undo all of it. I call this nonsense the Mr. Fantastic Effect. It's no different than magic or god coming along with some deus ex machina, but worse. Because at least when Sophocles used deus ex machina, I knew I was in for some awesome human tragedy afterwards. Fantastic 4 just used it as a punchline.
Scifi sometimes uses this trope to solve problems in as uncreative a fashion as it can. If the players employ this tool, with a simple die roll about a subject they don't understand it's sometimes a fine contrivance. If the gamemaster ever did this to the players, there would be mutiny. You can argue all day about how the players are 'supposed to win,' but it doesn't make the game any better when this tactic is employed from either side of the screen. Scifi, as I'll soon address, needs to be about more the science die rolls.
My experience with transhumanist science fiction is limited to Blue Planet. Fundamentally, transhumanism is so far removed from what we understand that it's essentially magic. Which brings us back to the argument above that in order for a roleplaying game to work, the gamemaster must have god-like knowledge/power above and beyond the players, lest the challenge that he or she creates be limited to areas that the players can ruin with their expertise. Transhumanism works because it ignores all those other potholes that stop scifi games from becoming 'playable.' The game isn't about debating engineering knowledge.
But there's a flaw to transhumanist scifi. What do I do in it? If transhumanism is a true genre, then it is about people who have evolved into something better. Greed, jealousy, and all those petty problems are not faced by the collective. What conflict is there if we are not bound by petty human problems? What are we dealing with? A good designer will be able to answer this and give us a conflict that we must deal with, but what is it that keeps us transhuman, but still invites us to this conflict? What do I do?
Mass Effect is a great example of transhumanism that is disrupted by forces that challenge that 'utopia.' In essence, it becomes about the conflict and less about the society. An ideal roleplaying game version of this would have you playing a character at a political level, military level, and societal level. Now that would be an awesome game. (Scribbles notes.)
Now. An argument could be made that transhumanism is about the 'transition' from petty humanity to something greater. Which is great. That sounds like an awesome place to game in. Since Vampire already does that so well, I know for a fact stories and games about the duality of human nature are among the best out there. If a campaign truly offered me an opportunity to play in a group setting where we are all struggling with our past humanity and morphing into something greater, I would sign up for that in a heartbeat. But I can only speculate on how it is handled. I know Blue Planet has lots and lots of charts for biogenics, mutations, and cybernetics, which means I'm once again defined by my equipment instead of by me.
Nearing Infinity
A lot of what I've said so far is rhetorical. It's actually quite easy to pull apart any one of these arguments because game X isn't exactly what I think scifi should be, but game Y fits your needs perfectly. And that's okay. As stated above, games are either about adventure or drama. Everything on top of that is veneer. Technically, the sword and sorcery of D&D is veneer. The true purpose of a game is to define the 'intentions' of the game. What is it about? What will the player characters be doing? What is the zeitgeist? How is this any different from this other thing I already play? Answering these questions is vital to a good gaming experience. If it you're not doing it extrinsically, most good gamemasters are doing it intrinsically.
Because I have so many questions I have to ask about it. Because I have so much work to turn someone else's game world into a playable thing. Because I am always left asking, 'how is this different?' I will always treat scifi as a veneer. Maybe that's my anthropology background speaking, but I don't want to solve human-made problems with more technology. I don't want to displace my value to the game with an equipment list. I don't want to displace human interactivity with engineering die rolls.
This is why scifi fails. This is why it belongs in other mediums and not roleplaying.
So. What Would Make Scifi Work?
Let me be very clear here. I want to see good scifi games. Not pew-pew scifi, but Logan's Run scifi. Or Equilibrium scifi. Or Foundation and Empire scifi. Caves of Steel scifi. Rendezvous with Rama scifi. China Mountain Zhang scifi. V for Vendetta scifi.
And I think the only way to accomplish that is with specificity. Games with narrow subjects that don't address how the technology works. I don't want to debate with the other players about why the theoretical threshold of a gamma radiation concussive force is between 1.5 and 2.6 mhz per liter. Just like I don't want to argue about the movement rates of a hippogriff. This isn't gaming. This is spread-sheeting and data porn. Regardless of system.
I think that's it in a nut-shell, really. Not only making games with focus, but creating game space with shared expectations. Some people hear science fiction and they immediately want to play the pilot, because that sounds like fun. It never is. Other players want to be the engineer so they can apply their real-life knowledge to problem-solving inside the game. And that's no fun for anyone else. If scifi is about fixing broken parts and buying cargo, it might as well be a worker placement board game. If the medium of roleplaying games isn't part of the equation of what we play, then why even have this debate at all. Let's all just mix Rifts with Mario Cart and be done with it.
In my opinion, scifi games need to be about something intangible FIRST and the technology and transhumanist equipment lists can come second.
I would like to end on two notes. One is that this is a difficult exercise to undertake. Arguing about whether or not sci games are any good without the context of defining what scifi is, is difficult if not impossible. And defining what scifi is, is a tiresome argument that rages across the net. I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in making games that are about something, and if possible, games that matter. And my path to that has rarely involved science fiction gaming.
Secondly, I've had this conversation numerous times over the years with people. Never at this length. And while I think it is tired and outdated in the modern roleplaying medium to even worry about these things, the exercise of asking what works and what doesn't works is valuable. To me anyway. I've personally never played in a science fiction campaign that lasted longer than a few sessions and whenever I say that people bring up Star Wars. And while I've never found that to be true, I know people have made it work.
Star Wars may very well be the best and purest scifi roleplaying game ever. And if it is truly scifi, then I've been bested by George Lucas. And no writer wants to admit that. Ever. Ever ever.
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Writing Adventures vs. Writing Stories
art directing ccgs
What's Been Going On?
State of the (Post World) Union 2016/2017
what happened here?


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« 1 Corinthians 14:3
1 Corinthians 14:6 »
by Grant Richison | Jan 9, 2003 | 1 Corinthians | 3 comments
4 "He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification."
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself,
The tongues speaker edified himself when he spoke in tongues because he was the only one who knew the intent of what he said if no one present understood the language he spoke, or there was no translator. The speaker in tongues did not understand the words he said, but he knew what he intended to say. The tongues speaker knew that the Holy Spirit enabled him to do this, so he was blessed by the gift of tongues.
but he who prophesies edifies the church.
Edifying the church is more important than edifying oneself.
I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied;
Paul made the point that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with speaking in tongues and that it would be nice if everyone could do it – implying that not all spoke with tongues. Glory in supernatural manifestations is not nearly as important as communicating the Word of God.
for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues,
The comparative value of speaking in tongues is much lower than prophesying because of its usefulness. Tongues are of less use than communicating the Word of God.
unless indeed he interprets,
The one qualification to the previous statement is that should one "interpret" or translate what was said, then the person listening could understand what was said in his own language. Translation implies that tongues are foreign languages.
that the church may receive edification.
Edification or building up the maturity of the believer is central to the function of a church. Edification of the church is far more important than the edification of self in the previous verse.
What we do in the assembly must be done for the whole.
Understanding is central to the Christian life. People who do not understand what is said in the message miss the dynamics of the Christian life. The erection of Christian character rests on what people hear and understand. We do not get anything out of listening to a foreign language message, so we cannot be edified by it. No one can be edified without understanding. Are you seeking to raise your understanding of the Word of God and thus build an edification construct in your life?
john hill on March 25, 2018 at 2:01 pm
14-4 is where the speaker is taking to God directly; not important for the church to understand, God does. Most commentaries are negative regarding tongues. I can tell , those do not speak, I've been speaking for 45 years. God shared he was praying for my future and divine protection. You cannot get this knowledge except from God.
John Hill, Ph. D. structural engineer, department of defense
Scott on May 27, 2018 at 10:47 am
Hi Grant — when the apostles spoke in tongues was in only by the Holy Spirit's enablement ( meaning the Spirit moved upon them or fell on them giving them the gift to do so) vs speaking in tongues by free will? Tongue talkers today say they speak in tongues at will whenever they want. Alot of what I hear is giberish made up or rhyming calling it tongues when it is clearly not a fluid language. However I did see a lady on tv that spoke in fluent french and she had never learned the language before. So I tend to think that tongues have ceased but i have heard some people speak as it sounds like a foreign language
Grant on May 27, 2018 at 5:19 pm
Scott, I have an academic study that shows that the Greek word for tongues means foreign language(γλῶσσα). I presume that if it is a foreign language then the speaker speaks the foreign language at will. You may want to look at this critique of modern tongues movement: https://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/doctrine/44583-2/


Jomer F la ut et spørsmål 3. apr.
Hello, is there a free shuttle bus from airport to the hotel? If it's not free, then how much would it cost? Thank you!
Can I use the swimming pool after check out? If yes, can I take a shower as well?
"Club Mirage suiten var veldig flott, men dyrt å betale ekstra for barn på ekstraseng."


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Home » People » Blog » Home Grown: From Foals to FEI Horses » Trailering South For The Winter
Trailering South For The Winter
Here's a look at how Bridget Hay trains her horses in Florida.
By Bridget Hay | July 24, 2018 | 3 minutes read
When I shivered during my rides in a frigid indoor ring during January, my thoughts were focused on heading south to Florida at the end of that month. The trip with five horses—the most I've ever taken down here–was about a lot more than the weather.
Of course, it helps if the temperatures are balmy. I can let the horses relax on the trails and turnout in the sunshine doesn't involve dealing with heavy blankets.
But even more important, it's a great opportunity for me to get some first- class training from Olympic and world championships veteran Adrienne Lyle, whose barn is just a few short minutes from the stalls I rent at Ariane Vasquez's lovely Hidden Road Stables.
The Adequan Global Dressage Festival also offers an opportunity to compete against accomplished riders and give my horses the kind of mileage they can't get at home. Everyone is here—you name them, they're in Wellington for the winter.
While my friends already were down here weeks before I arrived, I always go at the end of January because I just can't afford to spend the whole season in Wellington. So I make the most of the time that I can be here.
I have an incredible group of horses this year, and I am really excited to get back in the show ring. My last competition was in November, at the U.S. Finals in Kentucky. That was where I showed another of my homebreds, six-year-old Fauna, who is now owned by Amy Price, in the Fourth Level Open Finals. She finished sixth in the country at Fourth Level, showing in the freezing cold.
Last weekend, I showed her in the Open Prix St. Georges against the likes of U.S. Dressage Federation President George Williams and was thrilled to tie with him for seventh place in a class with 19 entries.
Faolan, meanwhile, is moving up to the Intermediaire II. And I'm really excited to bring out my coming five year old, Fidelity, a full sister to Fauna who doesn't look anything like her. Fauna is grey; Fidelity is black (though she looks dark bay when clipped) and still growing at nearly 17 hands.
I started her last year when I got home from Florida, and had hoped to get her out late last year, but it just never happened. I like to bring my horses to a small local schooling show in New Jersey for their first outing, but it wasn't in the cards for 2017. Fauna also had never been to a show at Fidelity's age, and I took her to Florida that season as well.
After settling in, I brought her to the White Fences schooling show in Loxahatchee, about 20 minutes or so from Wellington for her first outing, and then she started showing at Global.
Fauna took it all in stride and came back from that first season having really grown up. My hope is the same for Fidelity. It doesn't look like there will be any opportunities to enter her in schooling shows this season, but my plan is to take her to the shows anyway just to school and get in the show rings as a start.
Fauna and I enjoy competing at Global.
I really feel that the best way for them to grow up and see the world is simply to bring them along with me. When I take them out of their home environment, which for most of my horses is the farm where they were foaled, they rely strongly on me for their comfort.
It really helps them to look to me for that support and trust. I find that this creates a deeper relationship and strengthens my bond with them, which is important for the training.
Since the environment and shows in Florida have so much to stimulate my horses and lots for them to look at, they come to develop a greater trust in me and then go out and do their jobs. Hopefully, Fidelity will follow in the hoofprints of her siblings and benefit from the opportunities in Florida.
Fidelity and I at our barn in Wellington.
I'm also in charge of two other horses, Rhi (who shows as Renaissance) and Tiko. I can't thank my mother, Barbara Hay, enough for coming down with me to help get us all set up.
Posted in Blog, Home Grown: From Foals to FEI HorsesTagged Bridget Hay, Dressage
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Lexington township
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Median business size in Le Sueur County in 2016: less than 5 employees
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Median-sized businesses in Le Sueur County zip codes in 2016 have less than five employees, according to County Business Patterns (CBP) statistics provided by the United States Census Bureau.
One business in Le Sueur County had more than 500 employees in 2016
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There was one business with an address in Le Sueur County zip code that had more than 500 employees in 2016, according to County Business Patterns (CBP) statistics provided by the United States Census Bureau.
Three businesses in Le Sueur County had between 250 and 499 employees in 2016
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FLIGHT delays are something that cost airlines a lot of money — and although customers aren't often able to take the airline to court for delays, the experience seriously hampers customer loyalty and lifetime value.
According to a report from T2RL and Amadeus, the estimated cost of flight disruption to airlines amounts to 8 percent of airline revenues — worth US$60 billion worldwide.
Unfortunately, according to experts, airlines operating in the APAC are under tremendous pressure to avoid delays — because of the rising pressures, bad weather, and other mechanical factors.
"The Asia Pacific has some of the most treacherous flying and landing conditions in the world – our climates are so varied, weather conditions unpredictable, and geographical limitations so wide that even the best pilots need full attention and careful precision when flying in the region," said Honeywell APAC Commercial Aviation Senior Director Sathesh Ramiah.
Ramiah is, of course, referring to the connected ecosystem that modern aircraft and airlines have built, and advises that those ecosystems be leveraged to combat flight delays entirely.
According to the Honeywell veteran, airlines should leverage their ecosystem to build a predictive maintenance tool that helps staff fix aircraft problems before they occur.
Further, he suggests tapping into the ecosystem to increase operational efficiency, improve fleet management, ensure flight safety, and reduce aircraft turnaround time — ultimately providing passenger satisfaction.
Cathay Pacific is an example that Ramiah often cites when asked how connected systems can help airlines.
Through a pilot program at Cathay Pacific, Honeywell has demonstrated how connected systems can improve the first-time fix rate and reduce the workload of technical services team and front-line support executives.
At the end of the day, Ramiah is confident that more airlines will be exploring how connected systems can help them reduce delays and deliver better experiences in the coming months. The technology is here, and the market seems ready.