This weekend I took the highly anticipated Fujifilm TCL-X100 for a spin at a wedding I photographed. Here are my initial thoughts. As ever, I'm not going to do a pixel-peeping review. There are places on-line that will do that very well for you. My review is going to be from a "working professionals" point of view. Warts and all.
All the sample images below have been processed a little by me. Rest assured though, for the relevant image, I've included links to the .RAF files so you can take a peek at the actual files yourselves if you so wish.
The TCL-X100 had been rumoured for a 2014 appearance for a long time, but it wasn't until I was at CP+ in February that I first set eyes on this Tele Conversion Lens that will fit the X100 and X100S. At CP+ I literally had a play, I didn't really get any chance to analyse images or shoot with it in anger. The feeling I came away with though was a positive one. As many of you know I'm a huge X100S fan. In fact, I can honestly say it's my favourite camera of all time. I shoot with my two X100S's (and sometimes my original X100 too) at weddings a lot and I love the WCL-X100 which gives me a wider focal length than the camera without an adapter.
So, if you shoot with three bodies, you can have a full system of 28mm, 35mm and 50mm. Perfect I'd say for street photographers and wedding photographers – especially those that shoot in a wedding photojournalistic style as I do.
You shouldn't be surprised to see that the TCL-X100 is somewhat larger than the WCL-X1oo. However, I think you will be surprised actually at how light the TCL-X100 is. It's going to add around 180 grams to the weight of your body. The WCL-X100 is only 150 grams so in real terms, the weight difference is marginal. I've included a few shots below to give you an idea of the difference in size between the WCL-X100 and the TCL-X100.
In the images above, you can see that the TCL-X100 I have is black and, as with the WCL-X100 there will be a choice of black or sliver when you purchase your conversion lens. Operationally, it's identical to the WCL-X100. Once you have screwed the lens onto the front of the camera, you need to pop into Shooting Menu 3 / Conversion Lens and set it to Tele.
For me, this is a little bit of a pain. I would love to see Fuji adapt future versions of the conversion lenses with contacts so the camera can automatically adjust itself for the conversion lens attached. I'm fairly sure this is not possible through firmware (due to there not being any noticeable contacts on the lens), so hopefully on future body's / lenses this will be the case.
You will need to update your firmware before fully utilising the TCL-X100. There was a firmware update to the X100S and X100 recently adding the functionality of the TCL-X100. Some even say there were features added to the firmware that Fuji haven't publicised so even if you aren't going to use the TCL-X100, I'd update your firmware: X100S Version 1.20 Firmware X100 Version 2.10 Firmware As it stands, the TCL-X100 is a really well built, solidly constructed piece of glass. It comes with a lens cap (filter size is 67mm) and the almost ubiquitous soft pouch in a well presented box. All good stuff.
Originally, Fujifilm were quoted on the rumour sites and places like DP Review as saying they wouldn't produce a tele converter lens for the X100S because of the intricacies of the camera, most notably around the Optical View Finder. Well, clearly they did work around that, and when shooting with the Optical View Finder you do of course, see the barrel of the lens protruding into the bright frame. To be honest, this didn't really bother me and it's not that much different to the WCL-X100 in that regards. What you will notice however is that you will see restricted use of the built in flash. The flash sits right above the lens and most of the fall off will be affected. It also affects the focus assist lamp in the same way. If you use your on camera flash a lot, and want to use the TCL-X100 then I'd consider investigating the Fuji EF-X20 flash system.
What about the images and using the lens?
So I took the lens to a wedding. I shot with my core cameras the X-T1 and X-E2 as usual and put the X100S with the TCL-X100 on my hip belt without any issue in terms of weight or pull on the belt. Below are a selection of images I shot on the day. I've included some that are typical of how I work (I don't do group shots and "traditional" wedding photography – I'm shoot pretty much exclusively in a candid fashion). When using the camera with the adapter I found is easy and quick to focus. As quick, or certainly not noticeably different, to the WCL-X100. The viewfinder is not affected by the adapter so you will see the same bright frames and technical details as you would through the OVF or EVF as standard. Shooting with the X100/S with or without a lens converter is a dream for me. The leaf shutter means I can work extremely fast and in close quarters. With the TXL-X100 you are going to have to work that little bit further away. If found the closest focus point to be very close to that of the WCL in practical terms, but in real terms you are likely to be composing very different images. Remember, I've edited these images but you can download the RAF files for each one should you wish (around 30+ mb each).
When I analyse the images closely I notice an absolutely tiny amount of barrelling in the corners. Generally though, I find the image quality on a par as the WCL-X100. I'm very pleased with the results, the additional depth of field and speed of use of the image.
So, I think you'll agree the new range that the X100S with the TCL-X100 offers is a benefit for street photographers and wedding and commercial shooters too perhaps. Of course, for many, the original attraction of the X100/S was the fact it was fixed lens. Me too in fact. It made me think more about my images and made me less lazy as a photographer. Some will also be of the opinion that if you want an interchangeable system then you are better off looking at the X-Pro1, X-E2, X-M1, X-T1 cameras. Perhaps. For me, however, the X100S remains my tool of choice when working very quietly and discreetly. The ability now to be able to shoot longer as well as wider is a huge benefit for the way I work. For me, I will likely shoot with one of my X100S's at the wide end using the WCL-X100 and one loaded with the TCL-X100. I have the 23mm lens on my X-T1 that covers the standard focal length of the X100S. When this copy goes back to Fuji, I'll be putting an order in for the TCL-X100 immediately.
It's a great addition to the system. Enjoy.
You can order the TCL-X100 here.
Just picked up a second hand x100 and getting to know it. Useful to know that there's different focal lengths out there too now. Although I have to say having a fix 35mm lens has been a revelation for me.
Great! – this is the 'lens' I've been waiting for since I got the X100S ( and X100 before that ). Mid May delivery I'm told for my order? The three variations make a perfect travel/everyday/wedding reportage camera. I agree though, shame it doesn't recognize it when attached instead of having to go into the menu to change the setting.
It's legacy I guess….but who knows, maybe in the future.
My understanding is that the images will be recorded fine even if you don't set that menu option. However, the EXIF data will be incorrect which means the editing tools like Iridient Developer etc won't know how to adjust the images correctly.
Love my little X100s as a walkaround camera, but I've always felt the fixed lens could have been a little tighter, so this could be useful. Great review Kevin.
Well, I know the advantages of my X100s, but if I want different focal lengths, I prefer to use my X-T1. I get more lens options, articulated LCD, etc. But that's just me. I love my X100s and use it as is, this way it is small quiet and great.
Good review: I bought the TCL a week ago and it's really a very nice addition to the X100s.
This capacity to change focal length very quickly while keeping a very large aperture is a great plus of this camera system.
Thanks for the review and the RAF files. Wonderful mages. Can I ask how you've processed these black and white images please? Looks to be some creaminess in the highlights? Very nice.
The B&W's have been processed in Capture One. Simple conversion and a bit of clarity.
Kevin – Great shots and impartial review – I get 10x more out of seeing articles from people that actually review how the products work in real-world applications instead of how they look under a microscope.
I had a question though, you mentioned the menu settings – i was under the impression that the firmware update was going to allow the fn button to engage the lens conversion setting. Is this not the case?
Ross – I've upgraded the firmware and you can indeed assign the Conversion Lens setting to one of the configurable buttons.
Yes, completely correct but all that happens is the menu is brought up. What I'd like is for the lens to be automatically detected and no menu interaction needed at all.
Those of you who are thinking "what's the point of a teleconverter when you can shoot with the X-t1 and the 35mm f1.4" may be forgetting about the leaf shutter advantage of the X100s. If you like to use strobes outdoor, the ability to shoot wide open and sync at up to 1000s and use the built in 3 stop ND filter means that I can shoot wide open outdoor and still retain colors in the sky and have strobes light my subject. The X-T1 can't do this. Even if you don't use strobes, having the built in ND filter means you can shoot wide open outdoors. The X-T1 has a 4000 sec shutter speed limit so if you want to shoot wide open you have to screw on an ND filter each and ever time and that gets annoying when you forget to unscrew it when you step indoors and can't figure out why you have to jack up your ISO so high just to get a decent exposure. This teleconverter is a great thing to have. I was hoping they come up with an 85mm teleconverter but I'll take what I can get.
Great point. There is an advantage to both sets of kit. I shoot weddings with X-T1 and X100S as they both offer distinct differences.
Great review Kevin. Love the images. I am more interested in this tcl than the wcl. Do you think its odd to use a black tcl on a chrome/silver x100? Thanks again.
Probably. I was sent a black one by Fuji and both my X100S's are silver. When I purchase the TCL then I'll opt for the silver model I guess.
Kevin – It would be great if the conversion lenses were automatically detected but I don't think that's technically possible.
Yup, totally. That's the point made in the article. If they do that, which I hope they do, then it will have to be in future versions of the camera and lenses. There are no contacts on the lens end (that I can see) that imply any firmwmare update would deal with this so it needs to be hardware adjustments further down the line.
Yes that would have to be something that would be designed for the X200. Or whatever the next model is called. I doubt they will change the setup though.
Hi Kevin, great review. I was wondering if you noticed a loss of quality at f2.0 when using the TCL? A couple of the reviews I've read have mentioned that images get a bit soft in the middle when wide open but was wondering what your opinion/experience of this was. Thanks again!
TBH – I didn't notice anything specific. I haven't looked in minute detail however. I've included the RAF files in the links above so you can take a peak yourself if you want (the files are around 33MB each).
To my eyes, I can't notice any depreciation in image quality. That said, when you are adding any additional glass in front a lens there is bound to be some. It's just a case of being able to notice it I guess.
I see that the filter size is much bigger for the TCL-X100 whereas the WCL-X100 was the same. Is it possible to attach the TCL-X100 without removing the protective filter from the fixed lens, or do you not recommend this even if it's possible?
That's correct David – the filter size is much bigger. I don't actually use any protective style filters on any of my cameras – I'm of the opinion that any additional glass is going to reduce the image quality (whether that's a correct assumption or not, I'm not so sure).
That said, you would need to remove the UV filter from the X100S first. If you want to protect the TCL, then you will have to invest in a new filter at the same filter size.
Thanks, Kevin, for your prompt and informative reply.
Now do I buy a TCL-X100 and sell my 25mm Panasonic Leica f1.4 that I use on my Olympus E-P5, keep the Panasonic only, or have both? Decisions, decisions!!
Great review Kevin – thanks. Used my X100 on yesterday's engagement shoot alongside one of my Nikons and really enjoyed nailing the exposures quicker with the EVF than chimping the back of the Nikon! The TCL would be a great addition to the kit.
I have the X100LE version and was recently thinking of getting an XP1 and 35mm to go with it. Now I'm thinking on the lines of a used X100LE to back up my camera with and fixing the TCL-X100 lens permanently to it. I love the look of the X100 files and as my computer OS is 32 bit, and I would want Capture 1 to use with the X-Trans raw and that means an upgrade to 64bit OS. Going the X100LE route would not only be cheaper, and I would retain the files I so love.
have used my TCL for 2 days now, I find the focus boxes in OVF to be off compared to the EVF. It forces me to use EVF, for me this is the only downside. This also explains why the AF hunts more in OVF, when I pick a spot with contrast, it may be trying to focus on a spot without contrast. In EVF this is not a problem. Do you have the same experience?
Hi Steven – thanks for stopping by. I have to say I didn't notice that at all. When shooting weddings I pretty much always shoot with the OVF and did not have any consideration of it hunting (except in very low light). I only used it for one wedding however, but to be honest, I did not see anything like that – at least not to the point of affecting the way I work.
My black TCL-X100 tele-conversion lens has arrived and I have to say that it looks magnificent! What a superb piece of engineering; it makes my black X100 look really something!
Fuji told me last week that there could be a three month delay on the black lenses but some dealers have an advance supply.
Now, quality of photos. All I can say is 'remarkable'. I've only played around in the garden but off on holiday next week so can really try it out. All of a sudden I'm really glad I didn't sell my X100 – I've even ordered a Gariz Black Label half-case as the Fuji one drives me mad as I can't access the SD card without removing it!
I would think the main benefit is that you don't have to be in someone's face in order to get that tighter shot. How close are you generally when you are taking these photos you show here? I've just got the X100s and absolutely love it. Yes, it has its things to work around, but I find it much easier than my Canon DSLR system to get really high IQ photos. That lack of AA filter seems to really work. I don't have the choice of using non-L glass that I have with my Canon (most of us can't justify or afford all-L glass). I have a great 2.0 lens so though I have some limitations as to focal length, I have so much sharper photos to crop and manipulate later on if needed. Have you found that with the 50 mm converter, that you really can capture pictures you never would have been able to capture? or is it simply convenience of not having to post-process crop, etc.? I would think that if captured in 35mm, the post-processed cropped images would still be plenty sharp and detailed. The different bokeh is another factor I imagine. Nice images BTW.
Great review and great images Kevin, I was directed to your site by a gent who until recently used to be a work colleague, he also lives in Malmesbury and has recently set up his own business (Gary B) – I understand you meet as a group of photographers on a fairly frequent basis.
I had the X100 before upgrading to the X100s end of last year and love it but always longed for a lens for portrait as well as street work but retain the silent shutter as well leaf shutter flash capability.
You review has convinced me and stopped me dragging out my decision………………..now ordered one that should be delivered this week.
Thanks for the info, endorsement and showing some stunning images – a great inspiration to all photographers.
Hi like your work, i have been using the olympus omd's for wedding work for about 6 months now and really liking them mainly the omd 5 mark 2. i am very interested in the fuji x100t and the tcl, in lightroom 5 i saw a bit of C/A with the tcl is this is common ? im thinking of buying the fuji soon, i use prime lens on my omd,s and i think the x100t would complement my setup will. thanks for the great review.
Hi Jay – I've not noticed any CA of note. LR has pretty good tools to automatically remove those if there are any.
I think that the combination "silver-body- black lens" is very good, all in silver makes a very striking camera losing one of its virtues: be invisible.
Would you mind posting comparison 3 images from further away? As if you were shooting street or wedding images?


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Upon PA request, Israel to reduce electricity supply to Gaza Strip amid deepening crisis
May 25, 2017 6:10 P.M. (Updated: May 28, 2017 6:23 P.M.)
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) -- the agency responsible for implementing the Israeli government's policies in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip -- Yoav Mordechai said in an interview on Thursday with BBC Arabic that Israel plans on reducing its electricity supply to Gaza, which has been embroiled in a power and fuel crisis for months.
A COGAT spokesperson told Ma'an that the reductions were being made upon request of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the occupied West Bank, though it remained unclear when Israel would begin lowering the electricity supply.
The PA, which foots Gaza's 40 million shekel ($11,187,021) monthly bill from Israel, allegedly requested that the Israeli government reduce the supply to between 25 and 30 million shekels per month.
A PA spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Last month, reports emerged saying that the PA notified authorities that it would stop paying for the electricity that Israel provides Gaza altogether. Israeli media outlet Haaretz reported that the PA informed Mordechai that the Ramallah-based government would "immediately stop" paying for Israeli electricity provided to the Gaza Strip.
PA spokesperson Yousif al-Mahmoud had said earlier in the month that the PA was committed to covering the costs of Gaza's electricity originating from Israel and Egypt. The PA has been paying 40 million shekels a month for Israeli electricity -- subtracted from taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the PA -- and seven million shekels ($1,913,053) for Egyptian electricity, he said.
The coordinator's bureau stated that Israel provides the besieged territory with 125 megawatts of power, amounting to 30 percent of the overall electricity needs of the Gaza Strip, according to Haaretz.
Despite the 125 megawatts of electricity from Israeli grids, the small coastal enclave needs 500 daily megawatts to service nearly two million residents, who have suffered under an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since 2007, when Hamas was elected as the de facto leading party of Gaza.
Last month, Gaza's sole power plant shut down after donor funds from Turkey and Qatar dried up, leaving Gaza with a total available power supply of less than one third of the daily consumption in the enclave.
The plant shutdown has reduced power supply to residents to just six hours of electricity followed by 12-hour blackouts, compared to the typical schedule of eight consecutive hours of electricity followed by eight without. Meanwhile, electricity lines from Egypt, which power the southern Gaza Strip, have continued to falter, as all electricity lines from Egypt to the Gaza Strip broke down last month.
Critics have said the PA's move represents an attempt by the PA to exert pressure on the Hamas government to release control of the small Palestinian territory, forcing the government to rely almost fully on international assistance and private funds to obtain electricity for Gaza's residents.
Al-Mahmoud, meanwhile, said last month that over the last three months Gaza's power authority was supplied with Qatari-funded fuel, while Hamas collected 100 million shekels ($27,329,329) worth of electricity fees from residents of Gaza "while not paying anything to receive the electricity."
Mordechai reiterated the PA's claims in Thursday's BBC interview, saying "Hamas takes 100 million shekels from the helpless and taken advantage of Palestinians of Gaza every month through taxes and doesn't transfer the money to Palestinian Authority, but uses them to dig tunnels and for the advantage of Hamas."
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released reports this month, warning of a full on crisis should the situation in Gaza continue on its current trajectory.
Even at full capacity, Egyptian and Israeli electricity grids, together with Gaza's now-shut down sole power plant, fail to cover the Gaza Strip's energy need.
The power plant has not run at full capacity in years, with Israel's crippling blockade severely limiting fuel imports into the coastal enclave.
The enclave's severe electricity shortages over the years have exacerbated the already dire living conditions in the small Palestinian territory. War has also taken its toll, and during Israel's 50-day offensive on Gaza in 2014, the power plant was targeted, completely knocking it out of commission.
The UN has warned that the Gaza Strip would become uninhabitable for residents by 2020, pointing to the devastation of war and nearly a decade of Israel's blockade.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Because the public can not scrutinise these proposals. They simply do not have enough detail to warrant a submission.
detail for the Minister's Western Suburbs (G7) proposal, and the rest of them. The LGAB will do this by collecting submissions from the seven affected councils and cobble together a recommendation to the Minister. Guess what? That missing detail added to the Minister's proposal can not be scrutinised by the public prior to going to the Minister because all LGAB recommendations have to be lodged with the Minister by 30 June 2014. There is just not enough time for LGAB to run an open and transparent local government reform process.
The Minister's 12 proposals should be rejected. His proposals set a very low standard with flimsy reasons and scarce detail on the affected local governments and their electors. How can any members of the public with little time on their hands write a submission of any consequence on scarce detail? At best the public would have to get information from their council which shouldn't be the case. The Minister should provide the detail. It's his proposal after all.
The public can not genuinely comment on the Minister's proposal because there is no detail to comment on.
The public can demand that the Minister's proposals should be rejected by the LGAB because they are unable to comment on the missing detail.
The public can claim that the Minister's proposals do not meet the INTENT of Schedule 2.1 Clause 2 (2)(a).
The public can request in their submission that when the LGAB do complete the detail for the Minister's proposal with a recommendation, that the proposal be sent out for public consultation BEFORE it is sent to the Minister for approval (July 2014).
The Board will produce its own detail on the Minister's proposals without public scrutiny.
This entry was posted on March 1, 2014 by Julie Matheson in Amalgamation and tagged council amalgamation, councils, LGAB, Local Government Advisory Board, Local Government Amendment Bill 2013, mergers, Minister's Proposals, no forced amalgamation, Perth Metropolitan area, Public submissions.


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YWCA Lancaster was established in 1889 to provide safe and affordable housing for women. YWCA Lancaster has steadily adapted its many services for women over the years to meet emerging community needs, but has continued to maintain its transitional housing program, the oldest and second largest in the county.
Today, YWCA Lancaster offers emergency and affordable housing for low-to-moderate-income single women and women with young children on a month-to-month basis during transitional periods in their lives. Support is provided to residents to help them find permanent housing, employment and to obtain life skills.
While many YWCAs have moved away from residential programs, YWCA Lancaster has remained a beacon of hope, providing countless women and families with safe, affordable and supportive housing during hardship.
Permanent Housing
Raeanna Metzger
Director of Residence Services
rmetzger@ywcalancaster.org
YWCA LANCASTER Provided more than 140 women and families with safe, affordable, and supportive housing during hardship


When you want to start a business what comes to your mind is targeted customers. The main goal to start a business is to sell a product or services and eventually realize a profit at the end.
A business owner has to take time to develop marketing plan for the business. This will help you know how you will reach customers and offer services or sell the product effectively.
The business owner has to identify and focus on most effective marketing plans of a small business. Here are some key marketing ideas you should think of in order to promote your small business.
This is where the owner of the business uses strategic plans to make intended customers aware of the product or services. There are various ways through which the owner can make the customers aware of the product.
It can be done by creating a video on your blog post, upload a video on a you-tube channel, create a Facebook page, start a business blog, just to name but a few ways the owner of a small business can market it.
These are real tangible things that you can use in order to make customers aware of the business. You can design a business card that has description of the product or services provided. You can also design a brochure that is appealing and stands out from the rest. This will motivate customers hence marketing your small business.
It whereby the owner of a business decides to reach customers through direct contact. This can be achieved by organizing for local workshops free of charge, take part in trade shows and exhibitions or introduce yourself to other local small business owners who will assist you with more information.
This is done by the owner undertaking research on where he or she can start a business. With the information the owner can know what to improve on in order to stand from the rest.
An owner of a small business can come up with after sale services that will attract customers to his or her business. This include offering free samples, showing the customers how to use the product, rewarding customers, creating coupons, coming up with programs such as customer of the month.
The owner of the business has to promote good relationship with the customers. This can be done by sending out customer satisfaction on group that will convince the customers about the product. You can ask for referrals from the customers.
The owner of a small business can ask a colleague for a collaboration which will eventually make him or her be known in the market.
To start a small business the owner should come up different marketing plans from the ones used previously. The owner may decide to come up with a colorful advertising bill board that stands out from others, or use time lapse video to showcase your construction project. You can also get linked to online training or a specialist who can help you and eventually ensure that you get to know of new ideas worldwide that you can apply in order to market your small business.
Once you have ideas on how to market your small business you will stand out the best and realize profit at the end.


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Lecture 4: THE DISCOVERY AND INVENTION OF ANESTHESIA
(Stories in the History of Medicine)
AdamBlatner, M.D.
February 16, 2009. (I plan to revise and polish this a bit yet, but thought I'd get it posted just to get the ball rolling.)
: This is the fourth in a series of presentations given to the February, 2009 session of our local lifelong learning program, Senior University Georgetown.)
Other lectures in this series include: 1. Introduction and Germ Theory, plus supplementary webpages on a brief overview of the history of medicine before 1500,
a brief overview of the history of medicine after 1500, and the history of microscopy.
2: Contagion, Infection, Antisepsis ; 3: The Early History of Immunology ; 5: Recognizing Nutritional Deficiencies ;
6: Hygiene: Sanitation, Hookworm, Dental Floss, & Summary
The focus of this presentation is mainly the stories associated with the pains of surgery, dentistry, and obstetrics, though some later applications to the treatment of chronic pain may be addressed. Of course, there could be two other tracks, one dealing with stories associated with the histories of opium and its compounds, such as laudanum and paregoric, of aspirin and other pain medicines; and a third track would be the stories of recreational drug use, using various substances for intoxication and release—including cannabis, alcohol, and a variety of other recreational drugs. Of course, there is some overlap, but I'll try to stay with the subject. Also, the focus is mainly on developments in the 19th century, and though I touch lightly on further developments in the 20th century, I make no claim to offering a thorough treatment, because ther are so many and their histories are complicated by the inter-disciplinary complexity of fields that characterize our own increasingly postmodern world.
The Need for Anesthesia
Many efforts at alleviating pain and discomfort have been a part of humanity's story since the beginning, and to this end our better-known responses have been the use of alcoholic beverages and the leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant (i.e., marijuana). (The psychedelic drugs derived from plants were strong enough so that where and when they were used, such substances, such as the peyote cactus buds, generally were ingested as part of a cultural ritual, a spiritual container of the visions that would ensue. Such substances were not at all used as anesthetics.) There were other herbs that were used that might add to a person's sense of drowsiness, but when the issue was not just pain but the acute pain of surgery, these anodynes would not suffice.
The pain of surgery was torture! Celsus, a Roman physician, wrote around 100 AD:
"Now a surgeon should be youthful or at any rate nearer youth than age; with a strong and steady hand which never trembles, and ready use the left hand as well as the right; with vision sharp and clear, spirit undaunted; filled with pity, so that he wishes to cure his patient, yet is not moved by his cries, to go too fast, or cut less than necessary; but he does everything just as if the cries of pain cause him no emotion."
Indeed, the necessary brutality of the process---and it also extended to those who extracted teeth---made this activity less attractive, drew significantly less status, than the more quiet and dignified work of the physician. Surgeons were at or below the level of the apothecary---indeed, they as a profession had only begun to emerge from the even lower-status "barber-surgeon." But the sciences of anatomy and pathology, described in previous lectures, as they emerged into culture, raised the status of the surgeon somewhat. Indeed, when anesthesia brought quiet instead of screams into the operating theatre, and antisepsis and then asepsis brought a measure of ritual to the process, surgeons actually transformed into having more status in the early 20th century than non-specialist "family practice" doctors!
Another quote, from the satirical play by George Bernard Shaw, The Doctors' Dilemma, in which a composite successful old codger, Sir Patrick, reminisces:
"He's a clever operator, is Walplole, though he's only one of your chloroform surgeons." [Walpole is a young and perhaps overly-self-confident young man whose mission is to remove some organ--the "nuciform sac"-- that in actually---not in the play---doesn't exist.] Sir Patrick contines: "In my early days, you made your man drunk; and the porters and students held him down; and you had to set your teeth and finish the job fast. Nowadays you work at your ease; and the pain doesn't come until afterwards, when you've taken your cheque and rolled up your bag and left the house. I tell you, Colly, chloroform has done a lot of mischeif. It's enabled every fool to be a surgeon."
In many surgeries, several burly men were needed to hold down patients and surgeons had to make themselves numb to patients' pleas for mercy, coping by seeking to work as rapidly as possible. Alcohol and opium were used at times, as well as mandragora and some other herbs, which worked a little, but not terribly well. In large doses they also had secondary problems and might make the patient throw up and if sufficiently sedated, possibly inhale some of the vomit, causing a kind of pneumonia called aspiration pneumonitis. Ether had that problem too at heavy doses.
Another approach to anaesthsia was what later came to be called hypnosis, earlier called "animal magnetism" by Anton Mesmer in the late 18th century; but "mesmerism" weas not found to be terribly valid. Nevertheless, there were a few physicians who found that it worked with some of their patients in surgery—one fellow, James Esdaile, used it successfully in India in the 1830s -- but it didn't work for him in the less suggestible Scotland when he returned to the British Isles.
The Invention of Ether
The small organic molecule of ether was first created in 1275 by Spanish chemist Raymundus Lullius (shown on the left), as a product of the action of sulfuric acid on alcohol. (Back then sulfuric acid was called vitriol—some of you have heard the word "vitriolic" to describe a very harsh, acidic manner of speaking or a political diatribe.) Re-distilling the product of vitriol and alcohol generated what Lullius called "sweet vitriol." Yet no mention was made of its psychotropic qualities or anesthetic potential.
History is full of this, precursors, someone working with some aspect of the problem. To say again, though, it's not really an invention until—what? When it's recognized and put to use? Like the joke that the fellow who invented the wheel was clever, but the guy who invented the other three and attached them to a wagon—he was a genius! Or should the credit go to the guy who invented the wheel? Well, we'll go into that story later.
So ether was noted if one read carefully in the literature again in 1540, its synthesis being described by German scientist Valerius Cordus (shown at the right); and at about the same time, Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus commented briefly on the hypnotic effects of ether. Later, in 1730, German scientist W.G. Frobenius changed the name of sweet vitriol to "ether." And thus it remained until the early 1800s when gradually people realized that the vapors could generate a pleasant "high" as a recreational drug. But application as an anesthetic awaited four more decades.
The Invention of Nitrous Oxide
Now let's turn to another anesthetic, nitrous oxide, laughing gas. This simple chemical was first manufactured in 1772 by Joseph Priestly in England. Priestly was a pioneer of chemistry—drawing away from the less scientific alchemy a century earlier—and he also discovered the gases nitrogen and oxygen, though he didn't really appreciate the significance of this latter discovery.
A slight digression: Burning and respiration were explained as an action of phlogiston—which, though never detected, was assumed to be there. Nowadays we assume several things like this—dark matter and dark energy, which are said by astronomers to make up 93% of the stuff of the universe; strings which are unimaginably small but their configurations in 10 or 11 dimensional space account for the various sub-atomic particles. Sometimes stuff is theorized and then later the underlying theory is replaced by another one.
In this case, three years later, the great French chemist Anton Lavoisier, in 1775, isolated and defined oxygen and re-conceptualized the nature of oxidation and oxygenation or respiration in living beings. Lavoisier also described the nature of an acid and the way in respiration Oxygen was exchanged for carbon dioxide.
The idea that gases might have therapeutic possibilities became fashionable. A pneumatic medicine institute was started in a spa south of London.
Humphrey Davy
Thomas Beddoes
In 1799 Humphrey Davy discovered anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide (N20)---also known as "laughing gas." He had recently joined Thomas Beddoes' Pneumatic Institution (established 1798) for treatment of disease by inhalation. Beddoes (1760-1808) had picked up on the idea that inhalation of the different kinds of gasses that were being created might have a wide variety of therapeutic applications. (A recent example of a similar fashion was the use of bottles of oxygen that were fashionable in I think the 1990s at some Japanese and European bars for refreshment.) Beddoes was an interesting and multi-faceted character. Because his sympathy for the French revolution made him politically unappreciated in certain cirlces, it was expedient that he resign from his faculty position at Oxford even though his classes were among the most popular.
Davy himself was an exuberant young man who later looked back on this phase of his life with a bit of chagrin; he became a noted scientist who discovered the elments potassium and sodium, invented a miner's lamp, and so forth. Around 1799, though he first experimented with nitrous oxide on animals, then himself, and was most taken with the experience, writing about it with enthusiasm.
There ensued in America and England a bit of a fashion, the idea of enjoying intoxication
with nitrous oxide or ether. In the cartoon to the right, the caricaturist Gillray shows a demonstration, dated around 1802, featuring probably Davy as an assistant. The cartoonist is stretching the truth to weave in a bit of broad humor: Breathing a gas may make you high, but it won't make you fart. Still, it was a topic for satire.
Anyway, people enjoyed getting high, as seen below in another 1808 cartoon of a nitrous oxide gathering:
A wide variety of reactions would come with the breathing of laughing gas---a suffusion of insight, occasional grandiosity, sometimes belligerence, quasi-mystical experiences, but the problem is that attempts to write down these experienced insights didn't work: the idea or feeling slips away like a dream
The point to make here is that the two gasses that were to become important anesthetic were first viewed as merely recreational in nature, and in some places made illegal, the way marijuana or MDMA ("Ecstasy") has been more recently treated.
Here are some other pictures of ether parties in the 1830s:
In the 1820s, a newspaper suggested a way to have one's wife become more tractable and mellow.
Let's get stoned: Young men trying ether in the 1830s.
But it hadn't yet mad inroads to the medical profession. Rather, there was a pride in operating quickly. For example, Robert Liston in London
was a "hot shot" surgeon who was strong and well practiced, and enjoyed high status because of his skill. He could be charitable and kind to the poor, or gentle in the sick-room, but tended to be contentious with peers. A number of anecdotes attend the rapidity of his surgeries—we're talking about finishing the main part of a procedure in less than 2 minutes!
The Discoverer(s) of Anesthesia.
Four professionals later claimed to have been the main one who discovered anesthesia! Their fight went all the way to Washington DC and to the French Academy, and various public figures and later historians tended to support this or that figute.
The first one---who, alas, held back his publication until later!---was Crawford Williamson Long (1815-1878), an established small-town (Danielsville) Georgia physician who
claimed to have used ether for surgery in 1842. He had apprentices---four young gentlemen---Long being around 29 and they around 20. As was common, all held occasional nitrous oxide parties, and one time they had run out of nitrous and Long reminded them that ether might also serve as an intoxicant. This led to his noticing that high spirits during such frolics might result in injury without the person seeming to feel pain. So finally he tried it on a patient, and then several.
His later excuse was that he felt that he needed more of a peer-group consensus and felt intimidated by his small-town status. After anesthesia was publicized, he made his claim that he had tried if four years earlier.
The next candidate was Horace Wells (1815-1848) . He was also a young man who had contact and dealings with the next two people to be mentioned. He was a dentist who, at an exhibition of the use of nitrous oxide, also witnessed analgesia under the influence.
Wells went home and tried it on himself: he had an impacted molar and asked a colleague to extract it, Wells first having inhaled deeply of nitrous oxide. This was successful, so he tried it first on a patient, then several more. Emboldened, he spoke to Jackson, who pooh-poohed the idea, but nevertheless proposed to the nearby medical school that this substance could be a possible anesthetic.
The appointment was set up in 1844, the experiment engaged, but nitrous is too short-acting, and one must also inhale it for quite a while. Even then, possibly breaths need to be taken fairly frequently to maintain analgesia---it wears of fairly rapidly, too. For whatever reason, this demonstration failed: The patient groaned and grimaced as the surgery neared completiong, and the observers jeered. Wells was humiliated and left. What was more galling is that Wells thereupon obtained a great deal of documentation that his approach worked---he used nitrous oxide with many patients who were profoundly grateful. But the opportunity to demonstrate the potential for anesthetic passed to another--William Thomas Green Morton (1819-1868):
Morton was another dentist---and a one-time partner with Wells!---also living in the greater Boston region. He had studied with a man named Charles Jackson (about whom we'll hear more) and who suggested that Morton try using ether.
Morton tried this on some animals and finally approached the cheif surgeon at the Massachussets General Hospital where earlier Wells had failed. On October 16, 1846 the demonstration again was held---Morton actually came in late, delayed by last-minute adjustments to the ether inhaler in the picture to the right:
The scene that ensued has been painted and shown by a number of artists:
The same surgeon who had given Wells a chance finally was able to operate without a screaming patient. At the end, Dr. Warren said, "Gentlemen, this is no humbug." Many who witnessed it said that they were profoundly moved!
The third fellow, Charles T. Jackson, is an interesting character, a man not afraid of claiming to have influenced matters—he claimed to have given the idea of morse code to Morse of the telegraph fame. In this case, he may have been somewhat active in suggesting to both Wells and Morton the potential for anesthesia in these gases—Jackson was in a role to do this; and he claimed to have done it; but didn't demonstrate it or write it up early. Historians are mixed about his priority. A few give him credit, others consider him a scoundrel and probable a bit of a sociopath
The fourth man is Thomas Morton, who has been given the main credit by many medical historians because he stuck with it and demonstrated the effectiveness of ether—that was what he used—at the Massachusetts Hospital— and the one who brings the method to the public gets the real credit. But there are several catches and circumstances.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior—the pioneer against unwashed hands in the prevention of childbed fever mentioned in the second lecture—also lived in Boston area, heard about the demonstration, and wrote Morton, commending him and suggesting the use of the term "anesthesia."
Subsequently, all four of them or their surviving family members and associates battled in congress and up to the Supreme Court as to who deserves official recogniton! Wells appealed to the French Academy. Money was a hoped-for side benefit, the claimants wishing they could get something additional along with that recogniton. It went on for years and various notables took sides.
A few side issues: Morton was not entirely forthcoming about the formula: He had added a bit of artificial fragrance to a fairly widely known and common substance, and re-named it Letheon. He hoped to patent it and profit from it, but the chief of the hospital held out until he admitted it was simple ether. Now there's another historical note here: Ever since there was a bit of a scandal about some docs in the previous century who kept back as a secret gimmick only they could use—the word for that is "proprietary"— the use of a more effective design for obstetrical forceps—which could have saved thousands of lives—the ethos was reinforced that this kind of patenting of what everyone should be able to use is unethical.
At any rate, this indeed was a true breakthrough of the first order, and it rightly swept the civilized world within a year or two. In contrast to the slower and more contested growth ofvaccination or germ theory, I guess the squeeky –or perhaps, a more appropriate word is screaming—wheel gets the grease. Nevertheless there was wariness among medical men and clergy, some of whom thought that pain was good, right, just, natural, and should not be interfered with.
So, then, who is to get the credit?
C. Long
H. Wells
Wm T. Morton
Chas T. Jackson
It's really a rather sad story. Wells sought justification, but interestingly, a few years later, discovered chloroform, which is a rather seductive substance, and became habituated. He went downhill, also using alcohol, and finlly killed himself in jail! Morton and Jackson also struggled and also had unhappy ends. Long died of natural causes.
England and James Simpson
Within a year people had been incorporating ether into their surgical practice in England and Western Europe. The aforementioned Robert Liston had amputated a leg with the patient anesthetized and announced, "This Yankee dodge, gentlemen, beats Mesmerism hollow!"
In January, 1847, James Young Simpson (1811-1870) used ether as an aid to reduce pain in a difficult childbirth in Edinburgh, Scotland, which, at the time, had one of the top medical schools in the world. Ether, however, was by no means an ideal anesthetic. It tended to make people cough, could feel stifling and generate struggling in those who didn't trust the method, and sometimes made people throw up. It took a while to get them to sleep and smelled funny. It wasn't easy to use. Therefore, Simpson undertook to explore the range of other possible anesthetic agents. Finally he came upon chloroform, which he tried a few times not only on himself, but also on some friends.
He hit upon chloroform, which knocked him out, made his friends act weird, but it was a pleasant type of unconsciousness and it smelled better than ether.
Simpson tried it on some patients and then on some obstetric patients. It became accepted in many circles because Simpson was associated with high status faculty and there didn't seem to be much problem. Again clergy and some doctors objected, but Simpson responded with reason and good arguments.
The use of chloroform became even more mainstream when Queen Victoria used it in 1853 to help with the birth of her son Leopold. John Snow (1813-1858) had become better known for his work on a cholera epidemic---we'll talk about that more in the last lecture. Her Majesty recorded in her journal, "The effect was soothing, quieting & delightful beyond measure."
Even some doctors objected, such as the old codger described jokingly in Bernard Shaw's "The Doctors' Dilemma," noting the old days when you had to be fast, and now with chloroform anyone can do it and take their time.
An interesting thing about chloroform, though: It is good, but not as safe as some originally thought. If there's any adrenaline in the system, people tend to get cardiac arrest and die. Also, there are occasional late complications of severe and fatal toxicity to the liver, which leads to a distinctly uncomfortable death. Happens a bit more in kids.
It took 30 years to really run the numbers but it became ever-more clear that ether was safer, with something like 3 per 1000 occasions of mortality versus 14 or so for chloroform.
Technological Developments
Codman ether inhaler
Codman nitrous oxide inhaler
Ormsby Inhaler
Allis Inhaler 1880s
Drip inhaler
Junker's inhaler
In the wake of the new technology of the gaseous anesthetics, a variety of inhalant systems were invented and revised in an attempt to promote the easiest, smoothest, most comfortable, most convenient, and in other ways a better way to use these substances.
Some of the questions asked might include the following: What can ensure adequate air or oxygen supply while breathing nitrous? How about compressing the gas so that it need not fill large bags? That requires the building of metal bottles and compressing equipment, and also valves so all doesn't go into mouth or lungs and blow them up with compressed air. (That's one of the functions of that little side non-inflatable bag you see.)
Further Developments: Endo-Tracheal Anaesthesia
This is where they put the patient to sleep with an intravenous anaesthesia, then put in a topical spray on his vocal cords so they don't go into spasm, and slip a tube down his windpipe a bit. There's an inflatable cuff so no fluid (saliva, vomit) can get down into the lungs. It's needed so they can breathe for you.
The first problem was that going into the chest broke a kind of vacuum that's needed for effective breathing. They needed this technology so they could "bag" the patient, breathe for him, even if the diaprhagm muscle can't expand the lungs. This allows the surgeon to operate on the lungs, esophagus, heart or anything else within the chest cavity.
Another need for this kind of breathing is that if they do deep abdominal surgery, they need to counteract the tendency of the abdominal muscles to contract. It's more than difficult to retract and keep it open with this spasm. Either they must increase the depth of the anesthesia to dangerous levels or pharmacologically relax the muscles.
In the 1940s they discovered the active ingredient in South American Amazon Indian arrow poison: It's Curare. They synthesized it. The only problem with using this stuff is that you are so relaxed you can't breathe or swallow---but you're fully awake. So what needs to happen is to put you out deeply, then relax your muscles, and then time it so that the relaxant wears off before the anesthesia---which is one reason why you need a specialist! (I suspect they don't need to do this with the more recent laparoscopy procedures.)
Topical, Local, and Regional "Block" Anaesthetic
Almost everyone has experienced their dentist putting an injection of novocaine or something like that into their gum area before working on a tooth.That process requires a number of developments that emerged in the mid-late 1800s. First, they needed the invention of the hypodermic syringe, which with improvement became possible to go intravenously and even into the spinal canal.
Second, you need a liquid anesthetic to inject. In the early 1800s some chemists had brought back the leaves of the coca plant from South America and began to extract and identify the active ingredient that they named "cocaine." Gradually its properties became a little more known, and one physician who was especially interested in its energizing properties was a general practitioner with some background in neurology, named Sigmund Freud. Age 29, Freud tried drinking a fluid extract of cocaine and was very pleased---enough to encourage his fiancee at the time, Martha Bernays, to, well, warm up a bit.
Freud also turned his friends on to cocaine, and was dismayed to discover that some of them became addicted. This he hadn't anticipated. Indeed, for a while cocaine was actually used as a treatment for morphine addiction, which had become not uncommon by that time in Europe and America.
Freud shared his enthusiasm for the potential of this new medicine with a friend, the eminent (in Vienna, anyway) ophthalmologist, Carl Koller.
Dr. Koller also noticed the way cocaine numbs the skin and mucous membranes, and from there Koller experimented and found cocaine to be a good local anesthetic for the eyes. Others discovered that it was also good for surgery or other procedures on the nose, inserting catheters into the urethra, and other procedures for which a topical anesthetic is indicated.
In the United States, the idea of local anesthesia appealed to up-and-coming surgeon William Stewart Halstead (1852-1922) who also experimented on himself and with some friends and found that it could work. Alas, he also became addicted!
Hypodermic needles had been invented in the 1850s and improved thereafter. Halstead tried not only topical anesthesia, but putting this numbing agent around nerves, and found again that it worked in depth. He is the pioneer then of what is called "conduction" anesthesia.
An interesting side problem: It turned out cocaine was addictive, and a few years later, Halstead went into a hospital and was treated with morphine to counter the withdrawal symptoms from cocaine, whereupon he became addicted to morphine instead of cocaine, and in spirt of a few efforts to conquer this addiction, relapsed several times. An interesting point is that except for Halstead not being terribly social, he was for the most part able to function, be maintained on his morphine, and adjusted to that maintenance dose, was quite alert—enough to function as perhaps the most outstanding surgeon in the United States at the time! This went on for at least a decade or more! This story has implications for our views of what are the necessary consequences of addiction and how much is due not to the substance or addiction so much as the illegality of the whole process, and when is something to be called a disease?
Back to anesthesia: So now we have two types of anesthesia, inhalation of certain gases and hypodermic. A third route, intravenous, came with the continuing development of better needles, finer and more flexible, less likely to break off— and also the invention of the chemical, barbituate, and its derivatives. Old phenobarbital was developed in the early 1900s, but it was too long-lasting. Around 1915 someone invented some shorter-acting meds.
Another thing about cocaine and morphine, for your interest. They had invented another type of opiate that would be helpful in countering morphine addiction: In 1895 Heinrich Dreser working for The Bayer Company of Elberfeld, Germany, finds that diluting morphine with acetyls produces a drug without the common morphine side effects. Bayer begins production of diacetylmorphine and coins the name "heroin." In 1898 the Bayer Company introduced heroin as a substitute for morphine. In the early 1900's the philanthropic Saint James Society in the U.S. mounts a campaign to supply free samples of heroin through the mail to morphine addicts who are trying give up their habits. In 1902 in various medical journals, physicians discuss the side effects of using heroin as a morphine step-down cure. However, several physicians would argue that their patients suffered from heroin withdrawal symptoms equal to morphine addiction! And by 1903 heroin addiction rises to alarming rates. (Interestingly, around 1946 Demerol (meperidine or pethidine) was introduced with a similar claim of being less addicting, but by the 1980s it became clear that this medicine was no better than morphine in its effectiveness and no better than morphine also in its addictive potential— and in some ways worse in its side-effect profile.
For a while several served mainly as recreational drugs—which leads me to state right now that there are several drugs developed more in the last fifty years that have been made almost impossible to explore regarding serious medical applications, psychiatric applications—LSD being one, MDMA also known as ecstasy another—although they may offer correspondingly significant benefits. So what is considered recreational and naughty and worthy of suppression may need to be re-thought—that's one of the first morals to this story.


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This boot is stunning, but without any zipper you either have to have a very small foot, or once you get the boot on, your ankle area (I assume) will look huge. I couldn't get the bottom of my foot into the shoe (even a half size up) so these are going back.
LOVE the color and they are dressy!!!


You are here: Home > blog > Earning money from the Internet is not just for nomads!
Although this web site is primarily about working and traveling it should not be overlooked by anyone seeking an extra income or even those hoping to quit the rat race one day.
Earning money from running web sites is for anyone. All you physically need is a computer and an occasional Internet connection. Your geographical location is irrelevant as I am proving.
As far as time commitments go you can work as much as you like, at any time of the day as see fit. Even the subject of your work (what you make your web pages about) is up to you!
I would imagine anyone in the groups listed below could give this way of working a go.
If any non-backpackers are successfully running web sites I'd love to hear your stories. I will post them on Working Nomad to hopefully inspire others.


Very early this morning, Gus Sentementes of the Baltimore Sun contacted me about a patent that he had discovered about a 3D interface from Apple. In his report, he assigns the technology to Apple's rumored tablet. Not that the technology couldn't pertain to a tablet, because it most certainly could, but indirectly. The patent in question never uses the term tablet as Apple has in many instances including one reported on today in a granted patent report. The new patent in question, credits Fabrice Robinet, Thomas Goossens and Alexandre Moha of France. The catch here of course is that Alexandre Moha is Product & Engineering Manager at Apple. So there's no doubt that it's an Apple patent and there's equally no doubt that the patent places emphasis on a 3D interface coming to Apple's media players -the iPhone specifically. Although the patent figures don't go into as much detail as another recent 3D patent from Apple, there's no doubt that this patent advances and confirms that this is a direction that Apple is taking their media players in the future. Equally important, in my view, is that this patent points to a new unique camera built into a future iPhone that will allow the user to rotate the position of the optical sensor within the iPhone's housing so that a single optical sensor could be used for both video conferencing and still and/or video image acquisition. Turn the camera out for pictures and turn the camera in for video conferencing. That may end up really being the magic to this patent.
Will Apple's MobileMe Support Disney's Upcoming VOD Services?


I have a fellow Accent Press author visiting me today. I'm delighted to welcome, Tom Williams to talk about his latest novel, His Majesty's Confidential Agent.
My agent, back in the days when I had an agent, told me that historical novels were clearly my thing and that I should sit down and produce something new in that genre. This turned out to be easier said than done.
I was chatting to a friend that I knew from time spent in Argentina and she pointed out that there were lots of interesting characters from the early days of that country. I have loved my visits to Argentina and the idea of setting a novel there really appealed. So I started a fairly unsystematic search for interesting characters from 19th century Buenos Aires. And I came across James Burke.
I could only find one article about him that was written in English (and my Spanish is certainly not up to reading academic historical journals). It turned out that somebody had stolen the British Library's copy but they were able to dig out another in their reserve collection up in Yorkshire. When I finally managed to get my hands on it, James Burke turned out to be the ideal character for historical fiction. He was a real person and a real spy. His nefarious work meant that there aren't an awful lot of details about his life but we do have good reason to think that he was in Buenos Aires while the British were planning to invade South America during the Napoleonic Wars. He was also (a massive bonus for the novelist) something of a ladies' man. In the novel his conquests include a princess, a queen, and the mistress of a ruler I'm not going to mention here, because it would be a spoiler. The incredible thing is that these affairs all quite probably happened.
Once I started writing, I really enjoyed His Majesty's Confidential Agent. The details of Burke's life may be a bit uncertain, but the context within which his adventures take place is very clear indeed. I have made several trips to Buenos Aires and on some of them I was able to make a point of visiting buildings from the period when the story is set. Burke's adventures take him out of the town and into the country, so I spent a day on an estancia, where I was able to go out riding with the gauchos – a truly memorable adventure. I even recreated Burke's crossing the Andes by making the attempt out of season, as he does in the novel and, even though we had to turn back because the depth of snow, it was an unforgettable experience. It's only around a page of the finished book, but very definitely worth it.
His Majesty's Confidential Agent allowed me to write about a country I love during a fascinating period of history. And it's got spies and battles and duels and beautiful women and real queens and princesses and moments of humour and romance in between the plotting and bloodshed. It was fun to write. I hope you find it fun to read. In this excerpt we meet two of Burke's fictional associates: William, a fellow soldier who appears as his servant, and Molly, who has helped Burke out before and is to help him out again.
Molly counted the pesos carefully. She still thought of them as 'pieces of eight'. It hardly seemed real money – not like the golden guinea she'd earned on the Rochester. She had to smile when she remembered that. It had almost been like a game, for all there'd been killing involved. But Mr Burke's man, William, had explained she was doing it for the king, so she'd really been doing a good deed as well as making a guinea. And she'd found she enjoyed the pretending. After all, most of what she did for a living was pretending. The moaning and the screaming and 'You're the best,' and 'I always feel happy when you call.' But never happy enough to forget to take the money.
She wrapped the coins in an old stocking and returned them to their hiding place under the floorboard. There was a prodigious amount of silver in the stocking. The voyage had been a long one but coming to a country where men so outnumbered women had undoubtedly been a good move.
There was a sudden knocking from the door on the street below. She heard her landlord answer. She paid him well – in cash and kind – as her protector and he took his duties seriously.
Molly opened the door an inch or so and peered through the gap at the mirror strategically placed at the top of the stairs, affording her a view of anyone waiting below. To her surprise, she saw William. Well, she thought, he'd seemed too self-contained, somehow, to be calling on her but it took all sorts … And he was a good looking enough young man. She judged him to be still in his twenties, though he carried himself with an air that made him seem much older.
She had just time to run her fingers through her curls and arrange herself on the bed when William entered the room. He took one look at her and the bed and the shutters closed against the daylight and he hurried to disabuse her of any expectations she might have.
As he explained what he wanted her to do, she found her heart beating with the thrill of it. Another chance to serve her king, playing a part to fool some foreigners. And this time with real excitement, almost like a Drury Lane play. And another guinea for her trouble.
As William explained the details of her role, she found herself admiring his broad chest, his well-shaped calf in his tight breeches.
He had a lovely voice, too. She realised that he was waiting for her to say something and tried to concentrate on what he had been asking.
Molly allowed her eyes to run over that chest again. Those calves. And his hands. They looked like strong hands.
Molly knew the value of what she sold her customers. And she knew the importance of never allowing herself to give away what should be paid for.
She patted the bed beside her.
'That's unkind, William,' she said, pouting.
So he stood and she sat on the bed and looked up at him and thought, 'This is ridiculous,' and yet, in her line of business, what else could she do? And so, at last, she said, 'I'll do it,' and William thanked her gravely and said she was a brave girl and left.
She waited in silence until she heard the front door close behind him.
She lay back on the bed.
We did have a ferret, which I thought would be an appropriately writer sort of thing to have around but he recently got even older than me (in ferret years) and died. I'd try to say something snappy and amusing about that but we loved that ferret and snappy and amusing doesn't quite cut it.
If you all buy my book, I'll be able to finish the next ones and I'll never have to work for the insurance industry again and that will be a good thing, yes? So you'll not only get to read a brilliant novel but your karmic balance will move rapidly into credit.
Many thanks Tom- we'll let you run away and hide now!!
I have wanted to go to Argentina for many a day and I never knew this history re The Napoleonic Wars. This book looks great fun. When I get time I shall read it. So Flashman is reincarnated is he. No, much, much better, Tom. A lovely post. Carol.
I thoroughly enjoyed Tom's post. The background to his book – and I hope it's a series – is fascinating. With that wonderful self-deprecating sense of humour and the ability to dance a mean tango he's definitely babe magnet material. This has absolutely nothing to do with age.


Don't you love it when you pick up a piece of clothing that seems to work with everything? That is what I'm finding with this lace pencil skirt. I had tried this on about 2 months ago and waited patiently for it to go on sale. I talk often about how I'm attracted to colour and this blue just pulls me in every time. The fact that it is lace is an added bonus. I wore this outfit to my jewelry show this past weekend.
Let's talk Christmas. I might well be known as The Grinch in my neighbourhood. We haven't put up any lights or decorations, no tree and I turn off Christmas music every time I hear it. I don't mind Christmas…on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I've been like that for a few years now. It just seems that the whole idea of Christmas has become so commercialized. It is hard to find the warmth that Christmas used to carry in the over crowded malls and parking lots with everyone fighting for parking spaces and swearing at each other.
I do have what I consider a valid excuse for not putting up decorations as we often go away for the holidays. This year we are hoping to score a last minute deal to somewhere warm…fingers crossed. Last year we travelled to be with family. We don't buy each other gifts as the traveling is our gift. It's a sensible solution to the buying frenzy that seems to happen every year.
Love the print and lace mix and your necklace/brooch is really pretty with it!
Cute outfit! and I love the header of your blog!
Beautiful look,very unique blue leopard with blue top!
I've been feeling a little of the same way about Christmas this year. We finally put up our tree this week only b/c my daughter (9yrs) cried b/c we were the only ones in the neighborhood w/o our tree up. I think she's a little dramatic, but nothing like a little mom guilt around the holidays.
Sending out good thoughts that you get to someplace warm this holiday!
the blues look really nice together. i love those unexpected pieces that end up being favorites.


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There are three most memorable dates in the history of the United Nations: on 25th April 1945 representatives of 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to start the United Nations Conference on International Organization.
Together with non-governmental organizations they worked for two months on drafting a Charter for the United Nations, which was signed on 26th June of the same year. Due to internal political instability Poland was unable to sign the charter by 15th October, though it is regarded as one of founder states.
The charter was to come into effect when it is ratified by the current Permanent Members of the Security Council: the Republic of China, France, Russia (at that time the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom, the United States and the majority of the other 46 signatories. This took place on 24th October 1945 – the United Nations was officially established. This date has been celebrated every as the United Nations Day since 1948.
However, the very foundations of the United Nations had been laid earlier. The idea of setting up a peace-keeping organization came up during the First World War and was realized through the creation of the League of Nations, which proved to be ineffective in achieving its goals. While establishing the rules of procedure of the United Nations, the founder delegates bore in mind avoiding the weaknesses of the predecessor. However, some successful bodies of the League of Nations such as the International Labour Organization were preserved and came under control of the new organization.
The Conference will be held in Canberra. Delegates will explore the theme 'Forces of Change', examining advocacy on both an international and local level. They will learn about the way that Australia and other nations work to enact change through the United Nations and other multinational forums, as well as examples of advocacy within our national borders. Over the course of the week, delegates will also develop the skills necessary to advocate for change in their own communities.


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Home » News » The Pennsylvania Book Publisher with a Purpose
The Pennsylvania Book Publisher with a Purpose
Ever since I was a kid, my room has been over-flowing with books—science fiction, history, action, classics. You name it, I read it. So, this week I was thrilled when I got to fulfill the life-long dream of bookworms everywhere; to go behind the scenes and learn about the people who make books.
I sat down with Bruce Franklin, a descendant of Benjamin Franklin's brother John Franklin, and it was obvious how his passion for history had bound him to his latest project: Westholme Publishing, an independent body of authors which he alone directs out of his 19th century farmhouse in Yardley, PA. Right away he took me to his library, which, brimming with books, showed me that his passion for pages is what it takes to be a wholesome book-maker. Here's what else Bruce had to say about his verbatim adventures:
Maureen Petrosky Lifestyle [MPL]: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got here?
I was studying for my Ph.D. at University of Chicago when I got a part-time job working at the U. Chicago Press in production. Someone was leaving and they offered me a full-time job—so I stepped up.
I was what we call "A.B.D."—all but dissertation—I had given up on it. I learned how books are designed and produced and how to get rights.
Bruce was so passionate about writing history that he couldn't wait any longer. He got a position at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Press house, which is where he learned about publicity and marketing, rounding out his publishing repertoire.
We don't have a T.V. in our house. An avid listener of sports radio, Bruce instead stresses the importance of reading to and with his two kids. After all, it would be hard to resist getting lost in that library he's created.
MPL: So, how did you start Westholme Publishing?
I began my career in university press publishing, but university presses operate on a different model than trade presses. They are constricted by the expectations of their authors and their mission to the academy. I wanted to publish books I like to read and admire. Every publisher has a unique set of ISBNs, the numbers that identify individual books, and I bought 1000.
I guess I was optimistic!
It turns out this was a genius move. In 2003, when the Seabiscuit movie came out, Bruce took on a re-print of the 1940's original story by a then-famed horse-track writer.
Through production contacts, I figured out how to re-print the book.
This re-print turned out to be a wild success. He was quickly featured in Publisher's Weekly and he sold upwards of 20,000 copies.
MPL: How does the book publishing process work?
First, we take 10 weeks for the editorial process. Bruce takes the book from beginning to end and shares directly with the authors his own insights and edits. In Westholme's earlier days (that's still the first decade of the 2000s) he worked with an author, Hugh Soar, exclusively over fax machine.
He was located in the U.K. and we talked back and forth over fax machine. I used floppy disks, but even then floppy disks were outdated.
Luckily the book, "The Crooked Stick," was a niche hit and it caught the eye of Erich Eichmann, reviews editor of the Wall Street Journal. A colleague of his was a long bow fanatic and that led to a major review in the paper. Bruce keeps in touch with Eichman and the two share a passion for discussing books and publishing.
MPL: What has been one of your best-received books?
It was To Raise Up a Nation by William King. He's a truck driver who would think through everything while driving and then go to the public library when he was free to write the book. Usually I say, 'If you get bored, cut it,' but this one was exciting all the way through.
In fact, this book sold more than 5,000 copies and was given the Outstanding Academic Title award by Choice magazine, which reviews academic libraries.
This title is considered "tenure-granting" for university professors.
In other words, it was an overwhelming success for Bruce, who does all of this work from the comfort of his 19th-century farmhouse.
MPL: Tell me about your authors. How do you find them and who are they?
I have authors all over the world. I was recently working with an author who's living in Chile, and many are from the U.K. I sometimes commission books, but I also get plenty of proposals. The great thing about commissioning a book is that you have no competition.
As tribute to Westholme's global reach, it turns out that Pope Francis has gotten his hands on a copy of Saint Katharine, one of Bruce's Fall 2014 new releases, a nun who defended the rights of African Americans and Native Americans to equal education across the country.
MPL: Who are your biggest fans?
I target general readers of history, mainly guys in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who are passionate about history.
He explained that the unsung heroes and unwritten stories make his publishing house stand out among the rest.
MPL: What do you think about e-books? Do you think people would rather hold a book than see it on a screen?
Contrary to what some suppose, I think they are ideal for older readers. E-books have allowed an older generation of reader to continue to enjoy their pastime, a "bonus" market, if you will, from the intended younger, digital audience that first spurred e-book development. In addition, those with eye problems, young and old, have benefited from being able to adjust the size of the type on the screen.
For my business, it's great because those over 40 do begin to lose the ability to read smaller type.
People buy books to take a break from their screens. But, I can't imagine [print] books going away anytime soon because so many people are still writing away. And I still get the thrill of seeing how a finished book looks.
MPL: Who else is on your team? Who does marketing for you?
I have a group of people who have been with me since the beginning. My designer is in Brooklyn, my proofreader in Oregon, my cartographer in Oklahoma, my indexers in Maine and Indiana, and my copy editors in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Virginia. I do all the marketing, editorial, and production tasks myself, and anything else that needs to be done.
And it's clear his hard work has paid off – this year was Westholme's 10th birthday!
Interview and Story by Jack Meyers
by intern
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The Ashern Formation (Middle Devonian) is the basal unit of the Kaskaskia Sequence in North Dakota. It unconformably overlies the Interlake Formation (Silurian) and underlies, probably paraconformably, the Winnipegosis Formation (Middle Devonian). The Ashern is present in the northwestern one-half of the state, and attains a maximum thickness of 180 feet (55 meters) The Ashern Formation may be subdivided into a lower red member and an upper gray member. The latter directly overlies the Interlake Formation where the red member is absent. Both members are argillaceous, microcrystalline dolostones containing minor quartz silt. Anhydrite, present in both members, is much more abundant in the red member, frequently forming beds or layers of nodules.
The red member is present in a north-south trending, linear band in western North Dakota. This area probably was weakly positive and remained emergent during the initial Ashern transgression. Coastal sabkhas developed on this peninsula, or large island, in the early Ashern sea, which was located between 10 and 20 degrees south latitude. These sabkhas are represented by the red microcrystalline dolostones and nodular anhydrite of the red member.
Except for calcispheresin the gray member, no fossils have been found. However, stratigraphic relationships and datable faunas in central and northern Saskatchewan and Alberta and southern Northwest Territories strongly suggest an Eifelian (early Middle Devonian) age for the Ashern.
Lobdell, Frederick K., "The Ashern Formation (Middle Devonian) in the Williston Basin, North Dakota" (1984). Theses and Dissertations. 176.


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Q: Why does the OK button remain disabled while creating new AVD in my updated adt-bundle?
I just installed updated adt-bundle for development but the problem is that when I go to create a new AVD, the OK button will not be enabled. What is the problem? Why OK button stays disable? What packages should be installed in SDK manager.

A: While creating new AVD you have to fill all compulsory fields with appropriate values.If you entered or selected wrong configuration then it will display error at left side.so make sure that no error is present..
Ok button enable only when all configuration are correct
@bhakti here from snapshot it seems CPU/ABI fiels shows No system images installed for this target(API 20),it means that you don't have installed system images for corresponding target.
Android SDK Manager check that you have installed "ARM EABI v7a System Image" (for Android version which you have selected and on you have to install a system image to be able to run a virtual device).
At last you have to restart your eclipse to see installed system images.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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England, Tyne and Wear, Whitley Bay. Incoming tide engulfs the causeway linking St Mary's Island & lighthouse to the mainland.


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My Greatest Save: The Brave, Barrier-Breaking Journey of a World Champion Goalkeeper Book Review
To be a pioneer is anything is an experience that few have. While we celebrate these people for the paths they created for others, we sometimes forget the hardships they had to go through.
My Greatest Save: The Brave, Barrier-Breaking Journey of a World Champion Goalkeeper, by World Cup champion and Olympian Brianna Scurry, was published in June. The memoir, co-written by Wayne Coffey and with a foreword by television anchor Robin Roberts, is the story of Scurry's extraordinary life.
The youngest of nine children, Scurry was a tomboy as a child. Finding a niche in soccer, she excelled at the game from a young age. Following her passion all the way up through adulthood, she reached professional levels that many dream of, but few reach. Along with being the only African-American and gay player on the team, she also dealt with mental and physical health problems, in addition to financial difficulties.
In terms of the genre, the narrative is fairly generic. Though Scurry's achievements are nothing to sneeze at, I was not as inspired as I thought I would be. When I got to the low in the story, it felt like it was just rushed through. I wanted what she was going through, but I couldn't.
My Greatest Save: The Brave, Barrier-Breaking Journey of a World Champion Goalkeeper is available wherever books are sold.
Author WritergurlnyPosted on August 12, 2022 Categories Book Review, Books, Feminism, Mental Health, TelevisionTags African-American, Briana Scurry, LGBTQ, Mental Health, My Greatest Save: The Brave Barrier-Breaking Journey of a World Champion Goalkeeper, Robin Roberts, soccer, The Olympics, Wayne Coffey, World Cup1 Comment on My Greatest Save: The Brave, Barrier-Breaking Journey of a World Champion Goalkeeper Book Review
Flashback Friday: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
The Indiana Jones film series is one that keeps on giving. Forty-plus years old, the story of historian/adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) has kept audiences enraptured for generations.
The 4th movie in the narrative, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) takes place in 1938. Indy's father, Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) disappears while looking for the Holy Grail. On top of searching for his father, Indy, with the help of Elsa (Alison Doody), has to stop the Nazis from getting their hands on the grail and its power.
This movie is so much fun. It is a heart-pounding, blood-pumping, roller coaster of a ride. Ford and Connery have incredible chemistry as on-screen father and son.
My only complaint (which, as I spoke of in my last post), is that Doody as Elsa (who does not have a last name) is a film version of the "girl of the week". Just like Connery's other well-known series, James Bond, there is a new female love interest/co-adventurer in every story while the male lead remains as is.
Author WritergurlnyPosted on August 12, 2022 August 12, 2022 Categories Feminism, Flashback Friday, History, Movie Review, MoviesTags Alison Doody, Harrison Ford, Holy Grail, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, James Bond, movie sequels, Nazis, Sean Connery, World War IILeave a comment on Flashback Friday: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
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It has been a wonderful summer season but with night drawing in and thoughts turning to putting your boat to bed there is no better time to replenish your library of charts and pilot guides.
There are few things to beat spreading out a new chart on the dining room table while thumbing through a pilot guide and planning out next season's cruise.
The good news is that our friends at Imray have very kindly agreed to give one lucky reader a helping hand this time around and is offering £100 worth of pilot guides and charts of your choice from their extensive collection.
Entries close on October 29 and the lucky winner will be selected at then request a choice of pilot books and charts with Imray.


As Team Canada arrives in Victoria, BC, for the first week of training in the run-up to the 2017 Invictus Games, Cold Furnace's very own artist and military advisor, Dave Desjardins, is on hand with updates.
Team Canada has 90 athletes, including 16 basketball players. Overall, this year's games include 550 competitors in 12 different sporting events.
The athletes are training for up to six hours a day at top facilities including the Pacific Institute for Sports Excellence (PISE). For the basketball team, that means hill training, chair handling drills, ball handling drills and shooting techniques.
All players are involved with Soldier On, a Canadian Armed Forces program that promotes rehabilitation through sports. The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry in 2014 with the objective of using the power of sports to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understand for veterans and their families.


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Home › Entertainment
Janet Jackson introduces baby boy Eissa to Twitter crowd
Welcome to the spotlight, Eissa Al Mana.
The three-month-old son of Janet Jackson co-starred with his music superstar mom in a photo she posted on Twitter Friday. The picture shows Jackson kissing her yawning son, with the caption saying, "My baby and me after nap time."
Early response indicates Eissa's debut was a hit: By Saturday afternoon, the photo had been retweeted more than 23,000 times, earning more than 78,000 likes along the way.
Jackson recently split with her husband and the boy's father, Wissam Al Mana. He posted a note titled "Love" on his website, with a picture of Jackson, 50, in the background.
The undated message read: "To the most beautiful person in the world, thank you for your divine love, your eternal support and for being my best friend. I love you so much, inshallah/we will be together in the Great Forever x."
Janet Jackson shares first baby photo amid split from husband
Janet Jackson's baby has made his Instagram debut.
"My baby and me after nap time," she wrote on a post showing her with son Eissa, who was born in January.
Motherhood hasn't come without difficulty for Jackson, 50, who recently split from billionaire husband Wissam Al Mana.
"She thought he had become too controlling during the pregnancy, and she had already allowed him to dictate her appearance and even the way she performed at concerts," said a source of the couple's break up.
Page Six exclusively reported that she had already had the locks changed on their Trump International apartment before the announcement of their separation.
"She wanted the locks changed a few weeks ago, and no keys for him," an insider said.
See the first photo of Janet Jackson's baby boy
Fans got a first glimpse of Janet Jackson's baby boy, Eissa, via the pop star's website and social media on Friday.
"My baby and me after nap time," Jackson wrote in the photo she shared that shows her hugging Eissa while he yawns.
Jackson, 50, and her husband, Wissam Al Mana, welcomed their first child in January after a "stress-free healthy delivery," a representative for the singer said.
Last year, Jackson announced that she was postponing her tour amid speculation that she was pregnant.
"I thought it was important that you be the first to know," she said in a video. "My husband and I are planning our family, so I'm going to have to delay the tour."
Jackson then went under the radar, though she was spotted shopping in September and appeared to be pregnant in photos published by "Entertainment Tonight" on the show's website.
The singer publicly confirmed the she was expecting in an interview with People in October.
"We thank God for our blessing," she told the publication.
There are reports the superstar singer split from her husband of five years shortly after giving birth to their son.
Jackson's representatives have not commented on the current state of her marriage to Al Mana, a Qatari businessman.
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