text:
On-The-Job Experience: Why Electrification Is Better And Cheaper
By Jessica McVey | July 24, 2018 | 0
Sean Armstrong is the Managing Principal of Redwood Energy, one of the nation's leading ZNE design firms and an Efficiency First California board member. His argument for electrification is based on his extensive experience in multifamily housing.
The conventional wisdom is that when it comes to home heating, gas is cheap. So why is the trend toward building all-electric homes accelerating?
It turns out that building an all-electric home actually costs at least $4,500 less than a gas-powered one, according to KB Homes and City Ventures (SF Chronicle 4/20/16 by CEC and CAISO Commissioners Hochschild and Ferron). In apartments, I have documented $3,500 savings per residence by building all-electric.
These initial building savings have always been there, and in temperate climates, running air source heat pumps has been cost-effective. However, cold climate performance has historically been the Achilles Heel of air source heat pumps. Below 40 degrees Fahrenheit the compressor wouldn't put out heat, and electric resistance heaters were required—an option that became too expensive in the 1970s in all but the hydro-heavy Pacific Northwest.
That was then—for almost 15 years now there have been inverter-controlled compressors that can operate inside the Arctic Circle and are effective down to 27 degrees below zero, as proven by the Canadian ZNE homes designed by Habitat Studio. Growth in all-electric homes with heat pumps is a national phenomenon, illustrated by ICF International in their 2016 Propane Market Outlook that was commissioned by the propane industry (Figure 1). According to this report, since at least 2010 space heating with electricity has gained more market share than any other source in almost every county in the United States. Mentally compare this map to the 2016 Electoral Map, and you can see that electrification is a non-partisan trend.
Figure 1. Electric heating has gained market share nation-wide since at least 2010.
(Source: 2016 Propane Market Outlook, ICF International)
My experience in multifamily electrification
The trend to electrify buildings is accelerating because they're cheaper to build, and in most states, they are cheaper to operate. This unconventional understanding came to me slowly, and I thought it might be helpful for me to share the story of how I learned about all-electric construction with you, my peers in building science.
In 2005 I was hired out of my first career as a local high school science teacher to be a project manager for six years with Danco Communities, an affordable housing developer and the largest general contractor in our area. I learned at Danco that estimating construction costs is core to the business of building—profits are 0 to 15 percent and depend on the accuracy of the initial cost estimate. As a Project Manager, I had to cost-estimate proposed subdivisions, apartment complexes, and even a small town. I particularly enjoyed learning about construction pricing for green building features –I had spent a decade training at HSU's Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (Figure 2), a student-led demonstration house on campus for renewable energy and sustainable living. Our goal at CCAT was to "dispel the myth that living lightly on the Earth is either burdensome or difficult." I learned that people on tours were excited to retrofit their homes and install solar arrays, but worried about upfront financing—money, not willingness, was the barrier.
Figure 2. The Campus Center for Appropriate Technology at HSU is student-led and funded, giving Co-Director students like the author in 1999 the opportunity to learn what it costs to install new 2.3 kW PV array, 500W wind turbine, pedal-powered TV, and biodiesel refinery.
(Source: ccat.humboldt.edu)
At my Danco developer job it was the same situation as a CCAT tour—my CEO and VP of Construction were reasonably supportive of green building, but they saved their deepest enthusiasm for any new trick that would lower old costs. The faded company town of Samoa was my biggest challenge—100 existing homes and 300 new ones planned. The gas line ran down Main St. out to the old lumber mill, but extending gas to the homes would have cost $15,000 per house, almost double the cost of using existing wiring and installing efficient electric heat pumps to replace propane water heaters and wood stoves.
Our experience at Samoa was typical. In April of 2017, Stone Energy Associates submitted a study to the California Energy Commission using actual quotes to illustrate the range of costs for installation of gas heating. As Table 1 shows, the cost just to install the gas lateral to the building from the main pipe in the street ranges from $1,000 to nearly $15,000. Table 2 shows the cost of plumbing gas inside the walls to gas appliances–$200 to $1,000 more per building. In other words, it can cost up to twenty thousand dollars to install gas from the street and through the house—not cheap.
Table 1. Additional Cost of Installing a Gas Lateral from the Main to the Gas Meter.
(Source: SEA letter to the CEC, Docket # 16-BSTD-06 4/21/17)
Table 2. Additional Gas Fixture Costs
And just when you thought gas costs couldn't get worse, it turns out that buying a gas furnace with AC is 50% more expensive than buying the same AC without a furnance, but with heat pump functionality. A heat pump is just a reversible air conditioner—it has a reversible pump, an extra thermal expansion valve, and a little more programming. It's a cheap to change an AC into a heater, about $200, but adding a gas furnace costs $800-$1200. It's the same with Carrier, Goodman, and other manufacturers—heat pumps are cheaper to buy than identical air conditioners with a furnace.
Cheaper to Build
In my experience at Danco, we learned that all told, avoiding the cost of gas saved at least $3,500 per apartment, similar to the finding of KB Homes that they saved $4,500 per house. $3,500 per apartment moves the dial—it's enough to pay for all HERs inspections and efficiency upgrades required for certifying a house to Energy Star for Homes, which is the most expensive and significant green building commitment within programs like LEED.
Using the savings from all-electric design to invest upgrading to LEED Platinum, Zero Net Energy housing, Danco's rural affordable housing could finally beat out the big city competition for scarce Federal grant and loan funds, and Plaza Point is now a local landmark in rural downtown Arcata—twenty-nine 107% solar powered, LEED Platinum low-income senior apartments. Going all-electric and Zero Net Energy has won Danco projects in small towns like Eureka, Fortuna, Fort Bragg (see HEM cover story, Fall '15), Samoa, Bakersfield and Crescent City. Now I work under the auspices of Redwood Energy, and since 2011 we have helped more than 2000 low-income apartments get built with the competitive strategy of cost-savings with all-electric construction, and cheap electricity pre-purchased via a ZNE-scale solar array.
Lest you think I only play with other people's money, in 2008 my wife and I bought an old 1916 farmhouse requiring strategic, cost-effective retrofits with limited funds. We had four-month-old premature twins to keep warm, so after insulating the floor to R-13 with open cell foam for $3,000, we replaced the 55 percent efficient gas wall heater with a 330 percent efficient (HSPF 11) air source heat pump for $2,400. This combination allowed us to keep toasty warm, and dramatically lowered our utility bills. It worked for other low-income households, and it worked for us too.
The old thinking is "gas is cheap" but today's math shows this is wrong. True, a BTU of gas heat is one-third the cost of a BTU of electric resistance heat, but as our experience showed, a 330 percent efficient heat pump uses one-sixth the energy of a 55 percent efficient wall furnace. Our heating budget was cut in half with electrification. Jeff Harkness, a Redwood Energy graduate student intern, kindly compared the energy use of a house like mine and ran it through the EIA average energy pricing for each state. We found that in every state of the U.S., a retrofit like ours would lower a family's monthly utility bills (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Comparative bills analysis showing that an existing low-performance gas house would save monthly utility costs with a high-performance electric retrofit in every state.
A nice example of the utility bill savings from going all-electric is the inspiring Trinity River Elder Village on the Native Sovereign Nation of the Hoopa Indians in rural Northern California. The village of 13 Energy Star-certified homes is 45 miles from a natural gas line, and in this remote area, propane costs are among the highest in the nation. The question remained whether an all-electric or highly efficient propane package would produce the lower bills, so we set up a side-by-side comparison (Table 3). Even a 95 percent efficient propane furnace cost more than a mid-efficiency ducted heat pump (10 HSPF, 19 SEER), and all-electric shaved $15 off a house's monthly utility bills (Table 4). Had this 2015 project used top-of-the-market heat pumps available today (HSPF 14, SEER 33), the bills would be even lower. Importantly, adding solar power to an electric home makes for the lowest bills. Keeping propane reduces the bill available for solar offset, a problem when utility bill reductions via solar arrays raise needed revenue.
(Tables 3 and 4 show an aerial photo of the completed ZNE homes, a comparison of efficiency measures and the resulting utility bills that favor all-electric.)
Natural gas is more expensive than electricity for hot water heating as well. Ken Rider, Advisor to California Energy Commissioner Hochschild, studied the delivered cost of water heating, comparing high-performance, 0.96 EF natural- gas combustion (red with stars in Figure 4) to a 3.0 EF midrange heat pump (blue with stars in Figure 4). Note that over the last 30 years, the two are neck and neck with real-world pricing. But with current heat pump water heaters now operating at 3.84 EF, there is no natural-gas product that can compete.
Figure 4. Energy pricing comparison of domestic hot water fuels and efficiencies by Ken Rider, advisor to California Energy Commissioner Hochschild.
Cheaper to Operate
The fact that all-electric is cheaper to build has always been true, and for a few decades after the second World War electricity was also cheaper per BTU than fuels. But the OPEC Oil Embargoes of 1973 and 1979 quadrupled electricity prices in the U.S., and it took decades of efficiency investments to bring all-electric operating costs back down. Now that electricity is cheaper again, it's fun to revisit that thirty-year period between the 1940s and 1970s.
For example, to spread the good news about low costs with all-electric design, in 1954 180 utilities teamed up and hired Ronald Reagan to be the face of a publicity campaign called Gold Medallion Homes. The future governor and president first lent his talents to the General Electric Theater weekly radio show and then filmed tours of his Pacific Palisades mansion with his wife, Nancy. Reagan had so much charisma that he succeeded in selling colored light bulbs in a black and white film.
More than a million Gold Medallion Homes were built nationwide until the early 1970s. A fancy futuristic home came with the iconic statement Live Better Electrically emblazoned on a brass Gold Medallion plaque mounted next to the doorbell, on ashtrays, key chains, wall clocks and even cufflinks emblazoned with the phrase. During this period Julia Child's "French Chef" show taught American's how to cook haute cuisine on resistance element stoves with the support of an electric utility. The Live Better Electrically movement was like today's Energy Star program but run by master Hollywood marketers with an order of magnitude more money.
In a prescient 1958 Live Better Electrically advertisement, one is introduced to an "all-electric heat pump" that "provides year-round comfort from a single unit which automatically heats or cools as the weather requires." The 1950s era heat pumps had serious limitations—the compressors stopped working at 35 degrees, and at which point more expensive electric resistance heating kicked in, using 2.5 times as much energy as the compressor. This limited heat pumps to the warm South and the hydroelectric Northwest. Today's inverter-driven air source heat pumps operate at an amazing 27 degrees below zero, low enough to go all-electric in almost any climate on Earth.
It was true once, in some parts of the country, that operating with natural gas cost less than operating with a heat pump. This is no longer true—electricity is cheaper. It was once true that drilling for domestic natural gas was a national security strategy to prevent the impact of oil embargoes. This also is no longer true—natural gas represents climate change and profound international instability. Now that wind farms and solar fields are cheaper to build and operate than gas plants, there is simply no reason to waste money on gas for heating—better to save it for making plastic.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Electrification, Energy Efficiency, Home Performance, Sean Armstrong


Bestselling author Nicola Rendell loves writing naughty romantic comedies. After receiving a handful of degrees from a handful of places, she now works as a professor in New England. Nicola's work has been featured in the Huffington Post and the USA Today blog Happy Ever After. She loves to cook, sew, and play the piano. Her hobbies might make her sound like an old lady, but she's totally okay with that.


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Q: Interview Q: How many ways to construct tower of Lego bricks? I found this problem online, but cannot really find a good way to solve it nicely:
Given a set of Lego bricks of height 1, 2, 3, and 4, each colored differently, write a program to compute the number of ways of constructing a tower of height n ≥ 1.
It seems this can be solved with Dynamic Programming, but I am quite inexperienced in this.
Any ideas for a solution to this problem?

A: One possible solution would be something like the following Python function:
def lego(n):
    if n < 0:
        return 0 # invalid case
    elif n == 0:
        return 1 # solved case
    else:
        return lego(n-1) + lego(n-2) + lego(n-3) + lego(n-4)

However, as noted by Oliver, this will have exponential run-time unless you memoize (using something like functools.lru_cache or creating your own memoization decorator if using Python, for example) it.
Nevertheless, there exist even better ways of doing this. For example, you can do something similar to the matrix method of generating Fibonacci numbers.

A: The algorithm is thus:

*

*Place a brick of size k.

*You are now left with the problem of building a tower of size n-k.

A: Well this nice algorithm can be done with a simple for-loop, on a circular array that only remembers the 4 last values of lego tower sizes.
int lego_tower(int n)
{
    int lego[4] = {1, 0, 0, 0}, i;

    for(i=1; i<=n; i++)
        lego[i&3] += lego[(i+1) & 3] + lego[(i+2) & 3] + lego[(i+3) & 4];

    return lego[n&3];
}

Note that i & 3 is the same as i % 4, and that this i+3 is i-1 (modulo 4), i+2 is i-2, and so on, thus you recognize the recursive formula of other answers :

lego_tower(n) == lego_tower(n-4) + lego_tower(n-3) + lego_tower(n-2) + lego_tower(n-1)

The initialization says that for i=0, you have 1 way of building the tower, all other ways (-1 to -3) are impossible, thus 0 ways of building the tower.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Q: Use combineAsArray on Changing Set of Streams in BaconJS Already found questions- how should I keep a running total of several values with bacon.js?
I've already found the above question, which deals with a static set of properties.  However, I'm interested in a variation, wherein the set of properties is dynamic.
My specific case is that I have a set of things which have editable costs, forming an observable Property.  From these, I combine the properties with combineWith to get the total cost for ALL events. (Code at end)
Right now, I've got the properties hooked up properly for a static set of events using jQuery to get the right values, but the idea is that the user could add (or delete) an event arbitrarily and the calculated total will be updated accordingly.
I have a vague inkling that the tool for the job is combineAsArray and some clever usage of event listening at the common parent for all of my streams, or possibly some sort of Bacon.Bus (dynamically plugging streams into it?), but I'm really spinning my wheels now...
The (Pseudo)Code

    <input id="thing1" value="40"></input>

    <input id="thing2" value="40"></input>

$(function() {
  stream1 = $("#input1").asEventStream("change blur keyup").toProperty();
  stream2 = $("#input2").asEventStream("change blur keyup").toProperty();
  totalMonthlyCost = Bacon.combineWith(
    sumAll,
    [stream1, stream2]
  );
});

A: The key to combining a changing set of Properties is flatMapLatest. You can start by representing the current set of active inputs as
inputsP = ...

From that, you can map to the current set of Properties to combine like
propertiesP = inputP.map(i => i.asEventStream("change").map(() => i.value()).toProperty())

This is a Property whose values are Arrays of Properties, or in Haskellish, you can call it a Property (Array Property). You can flatten that into a Property Array, or a Property containing arrays of values, by simply
valuesP = propertiesP.flatMapLatest(Bacon.combineAsArray).toProperty()

And finally, apply your sumAll function as in
valuesP.map(sumAll)

... assuming that sumAll consumes an Array of values as its sole argument.
One might, of course, argue that there are simpler ways to achieve the same result. Like listening to all interesting input events on the whole container element and grepping the input values from the container using JQuery, feeding that stuff to sumAll. Like
$container.asEventStream("change blur keyup", "input")
  .map(() => $container.find("input").toArray().map(() => $(this).value()))
  .map(sumAll)

Or something along those lines. See also: http://baconjs.blogspot.fi/2013/02/chicken-egg-and-baconjs.html


text:
[![build status](https://travis-ci.org/jdan/uptodate.png)](https://travis-ci.org/jdan/uptodate)

Uptodate helps keep your timestamps up to date.

You can read more about it, and see the documentation here: [http://jdan.github.io/uptodate](http://jdan.github.io/uptodate)

### Contributing

* Install the development dependencies (`npm install`)
* Checkout a feature branch (`git checkout -b feature/something-cool`)
* Test your changes (`npm test`)
* Commit your changes
* Push your changes (`git push origin feature/something-cool`)
* Open a pull request

© 2013 [Jordan Scales](http://jordanscales.com) | MIT Licensed

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Seven Steps to Delivering More Secure Software
Published By: HP - Enterprise Published Date: Nov 22, 2011
Seven Steps to Delivering More Secure Software With all the processes that go into making an application more secure. Where do you start? Learn more
application security, cyber-attacks, software security assurance, dast, sast, software vulnerabilities, critical application vulnerability, hp fortify, sdlc, mobile security, on-demand solutions, software-as-a-service, saas, access control, anti spam, anti spyware, anti virus, ddos, disaster recovery, encryption
Software Security Delivered in the Cloud
HP Fortify on Demand: The quickest, most affordable way to accurately test and score the security of your applications.
application security, cyber-attacks, software security assurance, dast, sast, software vulnerabilities, critical application vulnerability, hp fortify, sdlc, mobile security, on-demand solutions, software-as-a-service, saas, access control, anti spam, anti spyware, anti virus, compliance, ddos, disaster recovery
2011 Web Security Report
This security report provides an overview of the changing ways in which people are using the Internet and the new methods cybercrime is using to target their attacks.
blue coat, wan optimization, secure web gateway, application performance monitoring, anti virus, application security, email security, hacker detection, internet security, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, web service security, infrastructure
2011 Mid-Year Security Report
This report examines the interactions of malware ecosystems, including user behavior, malware hosting sites and delivery networks and offers effective strategies to build better defenses.
blue coat, wan optimization, secure web gateway, malware, defenses, security, attacks, threats, application performance monitoring, anti spam, anti spyware, anti virus, application security, disaster recovery, encryption, firewalls, hacker detection, internet security, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention
Behind Today's Cyber ThreatInstallation Lifecycle
Published By: Damballa Published Date: Nov 13, 2012
How Advanced Malware Morphs to Remain Stealthy and Persistent
advanced threats, apt, advanced persistent threats, targeted attacks, advanced malware, command-and-control, c&c, dropper, call-back, virtual analysis, zero-day threats, tdl4, stuxnet, spyeye, zeus, malware detection, cyber attacks, cybersecurity, cyber threats, cyber espionage
Frost & Sullivan: New Product Innovation Award Cyber Threat Protection
Frost & Sullivan is proud to present the 2011 North American New Product Innovation Award in Cyber Threat Protection to Damballa Inc.
Corporate Risk and Due Diligence in the Cyber threat Crosshairs
Why the C-Suite Must Lead
Advanced Network Protection with McAfee Next Generation Firewall
Published By: McAfee Published Date: Sep 15, 2014
Attacks today incorporate increasingly sophisticated methods of social engineering and client-side software manipulation to exfiltrate data without detection. Some attackers leverage so-called spearphishing to entice employees to give up access information and spread their attacks to other enterprise systems; others use password crackers against compromised applications in order to gain further access rights to the network. The attackers might also set up channels for command and control communications with the compromised systems, as in the case of the Zeus or SpyEye bot infections.
network protection, it security, firewall, hacker detection, security management
Industry Experts Speak Out on Advanced Evasion Techniques: What's Next
Advanced evasion techniques, or AETs, are delivery mechanisms used to disguise advanced persistent threats (APTs) and permit them to slip through network security undetected. AETs work by splitting up malicious payloads into smaller pieces, disguising them, and delivering them simultaneously across multiple and rarely used protocols. Once inside, AETs reassemble to unleash malware and continue an APT attack.
hacker detection, advanced evasion techniques, network security, it security, security management
Solving the Information Security Crisis in Higher Education
Published By: McAfee Published Date: Dec 04, 2014
The attacks continue. The breaches occur. Penalties are assessed. While most universities manage to keep pace with the latest digital trends, they have been far less timely when it comes defending their networks and sensitive data against the latest targeted attacks and threats. This lack of protection is evident as recent headlines expose costly data breaches of student records and research, state and federal compliance violations, and a raft of other privacy and security issues that put students, alumni, staff, and the institutions themselves at considerable risk.
mcafee, security crisis, higher education, breaches, digital trend, privacy, security issues, sensitive data
Eight Central Management Features to Ensure Network Survival
Published By: McAfee Published Date: Jan 20, 2015
Network availability and survivability in the face of an attack requires specific tools and processes. Are you using RBAC, hierarchical policy management and individual domain control? Find out which eight features you must deploy now.
network security, network management, firewall management, enterprise firewall, ngfw, next generation firewall, firewall automation, networking, firewalls, security management
Rethinking Cyber-Security in the Age of Relentless Attacks
Published By: OpenDNS Published Date: Mar 31, 2015
A security strategy centered on preventing identified attacks and threats no longer provides adequate protection. New malware tactics emerge at a rate impossible for security professionals to match. Learn how to become a less appealing target and reduce the potential impact of security breaches.
Information Security in 2015: Just How Much Worse Can Things Get?
Published By: Intralinks Published Date: Apr 13, 2015
The truth is that they can get a lot worse – and no one is immune. Your company's data has never been at greater risk. There is no doubt that 2014 was a dire year for many organizations, as they failed to properly protect their computer systems and the data held upon them. As if it wasn't bad enough keeping on top of new zero-day vulnerabilities, targeted attacks, and revelations of state-sponsored espionage, users are potentially exposing companies' most important data by not following best practices and using consumer-grade cloud services that aren't built with enterprise needs in mind. An ever more mobile workforce wants to work on their files remotely but may be taking dangerous risks with sensitive corporate data at the same time. In this white paper, we detail some of the biggest computer security threats of the last year and offer some predictions on what we can expect to see in 2015.
10 Ways To Protect Your Healthcare Organization From Ransomware
Published By: Mimecast Published Date: Nov 28, 2017
With the healthcare industry as the #1 target for ransomware attacks, it's critical to ensure steps are taken to prevent, detect and respond to these attacks without downtime – and without loss of patient data. A multi-layered approach to protective controls – including a Secure Email Gateway (SEG) with advanced threat protection capabilities – will start your healthcare organization on the right path to ransomware resilience. Download and use this top 10 list of how to protect your organization now. Use it as a reference tool for frequent health checks of your own ransomware resilience program.
healthcare, ransomware, ransomware attack, seg, secure email gateway
Protecting high-value data
Published By: Vectra Networks Published Date: Aug 03, 2015
Protect against advanced attacks.
threat, data, security, it management, budget, firewall, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, ips, ids, advanced persistent threat, apt, mobile malware, malware, risk, data loss prevention, business continuity, firewalls, hacker detection, data protection
Network security redefined: Detect and anticipate attacks in real time
Learn how Vectra empowers IT and security analysts with insights to stop attacks, even while they're happening.
network security management, it security, intrusion prevention, security analysis, cyberattacks, cybercriminals, adaptive protection, intrusion prevention systems, ips, web security proxies, ids, advanced persistent threat, apt, application security, hacker detection, internet security, intrusion detection, security management, vulnerability management
Duqu threat actor: The sequel
Recently, Kasperky Labs disclosed that it was the victim of a sophisticated cyber attack, which they have named Duqu 2.0. The team at Kaspersky Labs has published a detailed analysis of Duqu 2.0 and it's definitely worth a read.
cyber attack, protection, security, network, business continuity, compliance, firewalls, productivity, vulnerability management
The Carbanak Advanced Persistent Threat - Redefining banking malware
Recent research from Kaspersky has revealed a massive criminal campaign that was able to infiltrate more than 100 different banks and steal upwards of $1 billion from the affected institutions. Kaspersky dubbed this operation the Carbanak APT due to a connection between the malware used in the attacks and the now infamous Carberp banking botnet. You may recall the headlines in 2013 that revealed the Carberp source code had been leaked into the wild, making it accessible to virtually any would-be criminal group that may want it. The accessibility of Carberp source code could easily have provided a starting point for the Carbanak as they built their malware.
threat, data, security, it management, malware, banking, cyber theft, remote access tool, remote access trojan, carberp, carbanak, business intelligence, data protection, data quality, data replication, employee performance, productivity
Network-based threat detection
Organizations invest heavily to block advanced attacks, on both endpoints and networks. Despite all this investment, devices continue to be compromised in increasing numbers and high-profile breaches continue unabated. Something doesn't add up. It comes down to psychology: security practitioners want to believe the latest shiny widget for preventing compromise will finally work and stop the pain.
data, security, threats, protection, advanced threat, ips, ids, firewall, antivirus, business continuity, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, security management, vulnerability management
Cybersecurity for power generation and transmission utilities
Learn how Vectra protects Tri-State's corporate and subscriber data and prevents cyberattacks to the power grid.
utilities provider, cyberattack detection, vulnerability management, security management, it security, security solution, network breaches, false threats, real-time insights, critical infrastructure, ids, ips, application security, internet security, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, network security appliance, ssl
The Forrester Wave™: Web Application Firewalls, Q2 2018
Published By: Akamai Technologies Published Date: Aug 22, 2018
Independent technology research firm Forrester evaluated web application firewall (WAF) vendors and published the results in The Forrester Wave™: Web Application Firewalls, Q2 2018. Akamai Technologies emerged as one of the leaders after a comprehensive evaluation on 33 criteria. The report states that security pros require a WAF that will automatically protect web applications, stay ahead of zero-day attacks and protect new application formats including APIs and serverless architectures. The report also reveals detailed findings for the 10 most significant WAF vendors. Akamai's Kona Site Defender was the top scorer in the zero-day attacks criterion and one of the select vendors rated a Leader, the highest-ranking level in the report.
forrester, wave, web, application, firewalls, akamai
Your Employees May Be Under Attack From Cybercriminals
Published By: LifeLock Published Date: Aug 23, 2016
While most employers provide employees with protection for healthcare, accident and illness, many employees are missing protection for identity theft. Employers can now add value to their benefit package and help keep employees protected while on the job.
cyber crime, best practices, identity theft, security, protection
Help Protect Your Business & Employees From Breach
The impact of data breaches and identity theft on a business cannot be overstated. Offering identity theft protection is one solution. Discover how to help protect your business and your employees if they have a non-employer related fraud attack.
best practices, identity theft, security, protection, application integration, business analytics, business management
5 Cyber Security Imperatives For Power Executives
Published By: GE Power Published Date: Oct 05, 2016
Cyber attacks against utilities and power producers are on the rise. Prudent leaders are taking action now to lock down their control systems and operations assets before a potentially catastrophic event occurs. Download the eBook "5 Security Imperatives for Power Executives" to learn how to prepare and react to threats to your business and the public you serve.
energy cyber security, power plant cyber security, digital security for power plants, dcs security, ics security, power plant cyber risk
4 Ways to Reduce the Risk of Ransomware
Published By: Citrix ShareFile Published Date: Jul 11, 2017
In recent years, ransomware such as Locky and KeRanger have emerged as a top threat, not just to consumers, but to businesses with high-value data. Read this whitepaper for four best practices to protect yourself from this costly threat, including: Evaluating web browser configuration and virtualization options Protecting mobile devices against attack through containerization Reducing the risks of collaboration through secure EFSS solutions
ransomware, security, risk reduction, containerization, data security

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
← P.S. If you want to help the migrants
They expect us to forget →
Which of the dead should we respect?
Uncritically praising and fondly remembering a famous person when they die, as is being done now in all the mainstream media after the death of former president George H.W. Bush and was done recently when Senator John McCain died, is an insidious form of national propaganda. I'm sure it's done in the name of "respect for the dead," but isn't respecting the nameless folks whose deaths were caused by these powerful men more important? It is to me, though I realize that as an anti-war far-leftist, I probably represent a small minority. Still, I think we all could stand to be more thoughtful about our history.
Bush was undoubtedly a "good person" as an individual, but in public life he was a privileged millionaire Republican, who represented the interests of other members of the corporate elite and continued and initiated destructive US foreign policies, which try to control the world for that elite's benefit. During his year as CIA director under President Ford (1976-77), for example, he actively supported the murderous and repressive Operation Condor operations of right-wing military dictatorships in Latin America.
Operation Condor, as noted in Wikipedia, was "a US–backed campaign of political repression and state terror involving intelligence operations and the assassination of opponents, officially implemented in 1975 by the right-wing dictatorships of the Southern Cone of South America. The program, nominally intended to eradicate communist or Soviet influence and ideas, was created to suppress active or potential opposition movements against the participating governments' neoliberal economic policies, which sought to reverse the economic policies of the previous era. Officially, the targets were armed revolutionary groups, but the governments broadened their attacks against all kinds of political opponents and their families. The Argentine 'Dirty War,' part of this phenomenon, resulted in approximately 30,000 being kidnapped, tortured, and killed. All in all, the dictatorships and their intelligence services were responsible for tens of thousands of killed and missing people in the period between 1975 and 1985. Victims included dissidents and leftists, union and peasant leaders, priests and nuns, students and teachers, and intellectuals."
Bush, Sr. didn't initiate US cooperation with and aid to Operation Condor – that was the arch-war-criminal Henry Kissinger – but he continued it with no apparent qualms. Wikipedia says "the United States provided key organizational, financial and technical assistance to the operation into the 1980s, sponsoring and collaborating with intelligence organizations in Condor countries. Evidence shows that it was aware of the relevant coups and planning of human rights violations before they occurred and did not step in to prevent them."
As president, Bush was responsible for the invasion of Panama in 1989 and the Gulf War (August 2, 1990 – February 28, 1991). Both of these military actions, in the American backyard of Central America and the oil-rich Middle East – key areas of US control – were initiated to remove former US puppets becoming too independent/no longer serving their purpose: Manuel Noriega and Saddam Hussein. Noriega ended up in prison and the US was able to install a new puppet in Panama, but Saddam Hussein wasn't ousted until Bush's son, George W., launched a new and much more costly military action, the 2003-2011 Iraq War.
What was the cost of the Panama invasion? Wikipediasays that "the US reported 23 servicemen killed and 324 wounded, with Panamanian casualties estimated around 450. Described as a surgical maneuver, the action led to estimates of civilian death from 200 to 4,000 during the two weeks of armed activities. The United Nations put the Panamanian civilian death toll at 500, the United States gave a figure of 202 civilians killed, and former US attorney general Ramsey Clark estimated 4,000 deaths. The number of US civilians (and their dependents) working for the Panama Canal Commission and the US military, who were killed by Panamanian Defense Forces, has never been fully disclosed.
On December 29th, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling the intervention in Panama a 'flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of' Panama. A similar resolution in the Security Council was vetoed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
The urban population, many living below the poverty level, was greatly affected by the 1989 intervention. As pointed out in 1995 by a UN Technical Assistance Mission to Panama, the bombardments during the invasion displaced 20,000 people. The economic damage caused by the intervention has been estimated between 1.5 and 2 billion dollars."
How about the Gulf War (Desert Shield and Desert Storm)? According to Wikipedia, "the increased importance of air attacks from both coalition warplanes and cruise missiles led to controversy over the number of civilian deaths caused during Desert Storm's initial stages. Within Desert Storm's first 24 hours, more than 1,000 sorties were flown, many against targets in Baghdad. The city was the target of heavy bombing, as it was the seat of power for Saddam and the Iraqi forces' command and control. This ultimately led to civilian casualties. In one noted incident, two USAF stealth planes bombed a bunker in Amiriyah, causing the deaths of 408 Iraqi civilians who were in the shelter.
The Iraqi government claimed that 2,300 civilians died during the air campaign. According to a Project on Defense Alternatives study, 3,664 Iraqi civilians were killed in the conflict. A Harvard University study predicted tens of thousands of additional Iraqi civilians deaths by the end of 1991 due to the 'public health catastrophe' caused by the destruction of the country's electrical generating capacity. 'Without electricity, hospitals cannot function, perishable medicines spoil, water cannot be purified, and raw sewage cannot be processed," the report said. The US government refused to release its own study of the effects of the Iraqi public health crisis.
An investigation by Beth Osborne Daponte estimated total civilian fatalities at about 3,500 from bombing, and some 100,000 from the war's other effects. Daponte later raised her estimate of the number of Iraqi deaths caused directly and indirectly by the Gulf War to just over 200,000.
A United Nations report in March 1991 described the effect on Iraq of the US-led bombing campaign as 'near apocalyptic,' bringing Iraq back to the 'pre-industrial age.'
The exact number of Iraqi combat casualties is unknown, but is believed to have been heavy. Some estimate that Iraq sustained between 20,000 and 35,000 fatalities. A report commissioned by the US Air Force estimated 10,000–12,000 Iraqi combat deaths in the air campaign, and as many as 10,000 casualties in the ground war.
The US Department of Defense reports that US forces suffered 148 battle-related deaths (35 from friendly fire). A further 145 Americans died in non-combat accidents. The UK suffered 47 deaths (nine from friendly fire, all by US forces), France nine, and the other countries, not including Kuwait, suffered 37 deaths (18 Saudis, one Egyptian, six UAE, and three Qataris).
Many returning coalition soldiers reported illnesses following their action in the war, a phenomenon known as Gulf War syndrome. Common symptoms were reported chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and gastrointestinal disorder. Infants born to male veterans also had higher rates of heart valve and kidney defects. Many have cited the use of depleted uranium in armaments as a contributing factor to a number of major health issues in veterans and surrounding civilian populations, including birth defects and child cancer. In 2004, Iraq had the highest mortality rate due to leukemia of any country."
Posted on December 2, 2018, in Capitalism, Civil and human rights, History, Resource wars, US foreign policy and tagged Should we respect recently dead national figures more than those they were responsible for killing?. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.


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Living Down to Expectations
Natalie Y. Moore
During his first term, his nicknames in the local media ran the gamut: "Big Diamond," "thug," "pimp," "player," "Kwame Soprano," "Swami," "his thugness," "ghetto," "gangsta," "inept club crawler," "hustler," "Puffy Kilpatrick." Often it was just plain ole Kwame—the reverent title of "Mayor," "Mr. Mayor" or "Mr. Kilpatrick" chucked aside.
Back then, stereotypical characterizations like that made me cringe and embarrassed for my colleagues in the news media. Now, as Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced his resignation and heads to jail, all I can do is just shake my head. He is fulfilling a prophecy the media laid out for him long before the indictment, before the jail stint, before he sent enough sordid text messages to his married chief of staff to fill a bookcase full of Zane novels.
Black politicians of the world, especially the upcoming generation of leadership, please, please! Listen closely: Stop letting the media write your script! This was the message in the first chapter of my book, "Deconstructing Tyrone," a profile of Kilpatrick that doubled as a cautionary media tale.
During my time as a newspaper reporter in Detroit, I watched the city crumble as we focused on the most banal and trivial topics. Kilpatrick's wardrobe alone was enough to deliver a keynote address: There was the 1.5 carat diamond earring that for years flashed from his ear, which at the time was mentioned within the first 10 seconds of any news account of the then-wonder-boy mayor. He definitely oozed that Detroit flair, but drew the line at colored suits. "If I wore a red suit, it'd be on the front page of the papers," he sarcastically explained once. Apparently that did not rule out purple ties, pink handkerchiefs, electric blue stripes or classic Detroit gators. He used to step out with his sons in matching black suits and gold ascots—his fraternity colors. An asterisk to his florid style was a mayoral fleet that included a black Cadillac Escalade.
In other words, he hand-delivered chalk to caricature artists. Chris Rock has said he partly used Mayor Kilpatrick as a model for his role as the first black president in the movie "Head of State." But in the short stint that I covered him a few years ago for The Detroit News, while reporting on the Detroit City Council, I came to see other images: A father of three, former schoolteacher married to his college sweetheart. I found a self-described "citizen of the world" who loved to quote the Bible. A lawyer. A man of privilege who refused to turn his back on his hometown.
But Kilpatrick and I were both members of the post-civil rights generation, so I didn't make too much of his hip-hop style. Our relationship over the short time I covered him was good-humored, given our antagonistic roles. ("You eat pork?" he once asked incredulously during a breakfast interview, skinning his face as though I'd slaughtered the pig with my bare hands. This, after he ordered enough food for two starving people.)
Politicians are bound to have tension with the media performing a watchdog role. But many black politicians don't seem to understand that part of their job is media relations. After being elected to positions of power, black politicians often reflexively assume a beleaguered stance, which is understandable, given the historical representations of blacks in the media. But many of them seem to forget that the whole point of electing black leaders is for them not to be helpless actors, but to wield power and influence, yes, even with the media.
Contrast the Kilpatrick train wreck with Sen. Barack Obama's handling of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy. Obama saw the ball was going in the wrong direction in the ridiculous debate over Wright. Instead of whining in Philadelphia, Obama took the opportunity to stop the ball, turn it around and deliver a landmark address on race. Unfortunately, this kind of approach has been more the exception than the rule. As a whole, black politicians are surprisingly naïve and often willfully ignorant of the way media works. And they either don't care or don't realize that their ethical gaffes play right into the media's hands.
And so it was when Kilpatrick breezed into office in 2002. At first, the local and national media descended and fawned over his youth and vision for a new Detroit. An article in The Christian Science Monitor assessing his first six months in office was representative: "Hip-hop mayor aims to rev Motor City engine," the headline read. The youngest big-city mayor was described as "bold, charming, direct and determined to succeed….he's taken on his job with all the vigor and—some would say—bravado expected of someone his age."
There was a brief moment of optimism that comes with reporters who are hungry to hear new political voices. Kilpatrick snatched some upbeat coverage during the 2004 Democratic National Committee convention in Boston when he was chosen to share the stage on national television with Sen. John Kerry after the presidential candidate's speech.
Back then, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile said Kilpatrick was a source of inspiration to the party because of his understanding of urban issues. In 2005, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, founded by a Harvard University professor, awarded Kilpatrick with the top city award, based on business ventures in the urban core.
But the honeymoon didn't last long. Soon reporters were swooning when he lied about buying his wife a Lincoln Navigator with city money. In early 2005, it could've been a one-day story about the $25,000 vehicle—if the mayor hadn't lied about it. Everyone could have kept it moving to deal with the bigger issues, namely the city's finances. The storyline about his cherry-red Navigator carried on for more than a week, and that symbolism would stick.
Kilpatrick's denial and handling of the stupid Navigator story gave respectability to an obnoxious television "reporter" for the local ABC affiliate, a Michael Moore knockoff who stalked the mayor like a one-night stand who didn't get the hint. "Oh my goodness," the mayor said under his breath after being confronted with the reporter in a stealth ambush in Washington, D.C. He'd be happy to give an interview, Kilpatrick told his plump nemesis as a camera rolled. "We can go liiiiive, anytime," Kilpatrick taunted eight times, jabbing his finger in the air. Watching their pissing match escalate into a series of television reports in which said reporter was shoved into a wall by a member of the mayoral security detail, you're thinking, this can't be good for democracy.
Eventually, it dissolved into farce. "Quit hiring prostitutes," the mayor told the ABC guy as cameras chased him through the streets of Detroit. Then Kilpatrick gave this parting shot for good measure: "Fat-ass."
Maybe Kilpatrick was just following the example of his civil rights generation predecessor, Detroit Mayor Coleman Young. During his two-decades-long reign, Mayor Young cussed on a dime and had a strained relationship with the mainstream media. But while Young had more than his share of media run-ins, he had been in office long enough to build support among residents and build alliances that helped him to do his job.
In contrast, Kilpatrick's whole tenure was focused on scandal. When the rumors surfaced of a wild party at the mayoral mansion, Kilpatrick played the role of the media victim in a 2003 interview with The New York Times. "If I was 60 years old, if I came from the 'country club community,' if I came out of an established private firm or something like that, none of these would get the lift that they have," he told the reporter. "I guess it's believable that a 32-year-old black man with an earring in his ear has parties like that. It's so unfortunate. I'm here to fight that stigma." In a 2004 speech about the state of black boys, the media whining from Kilpatrick continued: "We believe the traditional things said about African-American men…philanderer, thug, hang with drug dealer."
He's right. There is a double standard, but savvy politicians accept, even cuddle, that paradigm and proceed accordingly. In the end, what did Kilpatrick do? Philanderer? Check. Felon? Check.
With his latest turn of fortune, I feel for Kilpatrick's family. But what can't be ignored is the dire straits the Motor City is in. When politicians and the media become consumed by steamy headlines while ignoring the nuts and bolts of good government, it is the public that suffers. It is a lesson that should be applied on the national stage, as well.
In the meantime, everyone seems to be perfectly happy to ignore the city of Detroit's toilet-flush spin. Sadly, that will be the real legacy of Detroit's so-called hip-hop mayor.
Natalie Y. Moore is a reporter at Chicago Public Radio. This article was adapted from "Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation."


Stress is a word that lots of people use when they feel like things are getting too much to deal with. Stress is different for everyone. Some people find moving house stressful, this might not be a problem for others. Most people feel stress at some time in their lives. Stress can make you feel very poorly. You should get some help to make things better.
Stress can affect how you feel and how you behave.
Unable to control your temper.
Tired or not wanting to do anything or go anywhere.
You might get headaches or feel dizzy.
Your heart might beat faster.
You might get pains in your stomach.
You might get pain in your muscles.
You might think you might find it harder to breathe.
You might get angry at people.
You might start drinking or smoking more than normal.
You might not want to eat much, or eat too much.
You might have problems sleeping.
If you have some of these things, you might be feeling stressed.
Why do people feel stressed?
Lots of things that happen in your life can make you feel stressed.
Someone close to you dying.
Losing your job or starting a new job.
Having a lot of changes happening.
Arguing with your friends or family.
Talk to people about how you are feeling.
Try to think about good things that you like.
Plan your time, do one thing at a time and remember to take breaks.
Relax – take time to enjoy yourself.
Talk to your doctor, if these things don't work.
Have a holiday if you can.
At 20 years of age my long held 'secret' had to come out, for years I had been portraying I was okay to the world whilst sinking in a pit of despair. You wouldn't know, I had mastered the art of functioning enough to get by so that I didn't draw attention to what I was struggling with. I would push on through my day and crash at night, my tank was running on empty but I made every last drop count.. I wanted to keep up with the world, the social gatherings, work, family, university assignments, exams, independent living... becoming an adult. This was a time of change I would tell myself, it's meant to be difficult.. But this was more than difficult, life was unbearable.
I didn't want to 'rest and repair' as much as I knew I needed to, I didn't feel I could afford to. I would push on and hopefully it would all miraculously disappear. I identified myself as an individual that was capable, strong, resilient, perseverant and independent.. all of which I felt ran contrary to my belief of what telling another person of my struggles would mean. I was afraid of judgement, in fact paralysed by it.. I had visions of going to the Doctors and being told 'You're not trying hard enough, how dare you consider yourself to be depressed'... these were my own voices, due to a lack of knowledge I had erroneously envisioned depression as an illness that captures an individual to their bed leaving them permanently disabled.. I would think 'this isn't me, I'm able to get out of bed, push through and function, I'm not bed bound.. surely I can't be depressed'.
So I 'pushed on' and on until I crashed, upon reflection there were many signs leading up to finding myself at crisis point I just didn't know where to turn, I felt utterly helpless. People had began to notice something was up they just didn't know what, how could they if I would smile and tell them I'm great, I would deflect, deflect, and deflect some more.. The final blow so to speak came when I had been out drinking with my friends, upon returning home my dog was nowhere to be seen.. 'Where is he' I panicked, he hadn't been well for a while, I feared what this meant, when I opened the door to find my parents in tears without Storm but his dog collar in hand it was evident he had passed, I broke down, I couldn't take any more suffering, the stress and despair was too great to burden.
Landing myself in front of a crisis team Psychiatrist was the last thing I wanted but it was what I most needed, I couldn't go on struggling any longer, finally I had to open up, reach out and allow others to understand how I was struggling.. I quickly realised I wasn't alone feeling overwhelmed, depressed and anxious, others shared their own struggles and my world got that much bigger, I wasn't a 'failure' for feeling this way, no I was simply struggling and requiring help, something we all need from time to time. I visited the GP with my then girlfriend and felt supported and validated, I learned there were medical terms and explanations for why I felt how I felt and why I had difficulties with sleep, mental cognition, hunger, exhaustion, low mood, numbness, negative intrusive thoughts and so forth.. I was forwarded to the local NHS Adult mental health service and began discussing my difficulties with a Psychologist, I undertook CBT therapy and my wellbeing gradually improved.
I learned the impact of stress on my mental wellbeing and the process of how I had come to find myself at crisis point. I gained awareness on how to manage my mental health and the importance of talking about my difficulties. For a long time I was paralysed with a 'secret' that I felt I had to hold alone, little did I realise many other individuals also felt the same. I'm very grateful for all the support and help I received, if I could have changed one thing it would have been that I spoke about my difficulties sooner. Only through clear and honest communication can we let others help us, and I'd like to offer suggestions on what could make that transpire.
When reaching out to discuss mental health there are steps that can be taken to make the experience more comfortable, such ingredients as the environment, timing, person/organisation of choice, self-education, knowledge of what needs to be communicated and form of communication. All ingredients that can be modified to make the experience a more comfortable setting to share and discuss mental health struggles.
If it feels unbearable to speak with a GP about your mental health, you can always write on a note how you feel and bring it with you to the appointment, or if you simply want to discuss your mental health with a family member or friend pick a time that feels less intrusive and stressful for you such as whilst walking the dogs, leisurely sat sipping a cup of tea or during a stroll in the park. From my own experience talking about mental health can be uncomfortable but it is nowhere near as painful as suffering mental illness, so please seek support. And I ask helpful others that may be on the receiving end of an individual wanting to discuss mental health difficulties to listen attentively with non-judgement, this act alone creates pathways to increased support, resilience, self-advocacy and healing.
Recovery College Online offers informative resources and educational resources that can foster understanding for not only individuals suffering with mental illness but family, friends, caretakers and professionals to make discussing mental health a meaningful experience. The website offers a host of knowledge from understanding mental health, how to seek treatment, the process of recovery and how to support someone with mental illness. All aiding the process of recovery, reducing stigma and improving mental wellbeing.


01 – Uhhh… So I flew from The Velvet Teen tour to Sitka, Alaska to play my first ever solo show (accompanied by my best bud Caitlin Love.) Highlights included this F-ING EAGLE sitting outside of my hotel.
02 – Sitka is gorgeous. And yes, I DID take this photo, however, if you Google 'Sitka, Alaska,' this exact shot will show up numerous times. I also ate fish every day I was there, because Alaska, duh!
04 – Sitka is most definitely a fishing town. Over at the Pioneer Bar, you can chain smoke with the locals as they explain every photo hanging on the wall, every sea conquered, and every ship lost. They totally hazed me while I was at the jukebox yelling, "He'll probably just play Morrissey or Modest Mouse," even though I only ever listen to Beyoncé.
05 – My setup for my electronic set is the same as my TVT rig plus my little Roland Gaia. Caitlin rocks a Novation Bass Station, Monotrons, drums etc. And if you don't know C-Love, she shreds with me as well as her own band called 'HOT VICTORY' who totally rule.
06 – I was in Sitka to play the 10th and final Home Skillet Festival. My favorite performance at the festival was Seattle's Jarv Dee. Dude slayed so hard! Look him up.
08 – Fast forward two flights later and I'm back in Philadelphia with The Velvet Teen! Seriously though, this month is nuts! Judah got an OP-1 and has been writing music like crazy. Every time he takes his headphones off you hear a little blast of awesomeness leaking out.
09 – After the show we when to Pat's for a Philly cheesesteak, because Philadelphia, duh! Provolone is the only option.
10 – Ordering at Pat's takes about five seconds, which includes receiving what you ordered. Any longer and you're doing something wrong.
11 – That's me. I'm eating less meat this year than is normal, but not in Philly.
12 – Zero miles 'til empty! Van-Life almost came to a raging halt!
13 – Oh thank heavens for cheap gas though! Take that California.
14 – And speaking of Heaven, we played in the basement of St George's Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg, VA. It's been a long time since I've played music in a room full of teenagers. All-ages shows need to happen more often.
15 – Casey Deitz is the best F'N drummer in the world btw.
16 – Onto Raleigh, NC! Judah ordered 'The Daredevil,' a pizza with ghost chili pepper salami, fire roasted tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh jalapeno, caramelized onions, and sriracha!
17 – Sorry, one more pizza photo. I just had to show you how hypnotizing this spicy pizza really was!
18 – AAAAAND onto Atlanta. Jeez, this batch of photos is really jumping around a lot. I didn't even show you NY! No worries though, I'll be back there in three weeks with The Good Life! But this photo is of the electronic master Dark Room! His set was so good and full of glitch madness!
19 – And here is Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun! I love sharing the stage with fellow synth nerds. It is somehow very comforting to me in a largely guitar universe.
20 – And we'll finish out this week with Judah getting a sweet Atlanta / Drunken Unicorn tattoo. We've been here many times and we'll be back.


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Founding Father John Jay
AO August 7, 2017
American HistoryArticles0 Comments 0
Founding Father John Jay was a patriot and diplomat along with one of the signers of the Treaty of Paris. Along with that, he was the second Governor of New York, 1st Chief Justice of the United States, President of the Continental Congress, and the U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs. For a few months, he acted as the U.S. Secretary of State before Thomas Jefferson and was also a diplomat in Spain. Jay was a leading slavery opponent and made many attempts to put an end to slavery in New York, and eventually succeeded.
On December 23, 1745, John Jay was born in New York City to Peter Jay and Mary Van Cortlandt. His father came from a wealthy merchant family and his mother's father was a politician in New York. Three months after Jay was born, they moved to Rye, New York so Peter could retire after two of his children were blinded by an epidemic of smallpox.
Growing up in Rye, Jay's mother educated him until he was sent to New Rochelle when he was eight. There, he studied under Pierre Stoupe, an Anglican priest. Three years later he returned home to continue his homeschooling with his mother.
At fifteen, Jay started at King's College in New York City, which was later renamed Columbia College at the time of the American Revolution. Jay met and befriended many future influential people. Robert Livingston, who was the son of a prominent aristocrat and Supreme Court Justice, was one of his closest friends. Like his father, Jay became a Whig. Four years later in 1764, he graduated and went on to work for Benjamin Kissam as a law clerk.
Jay was admitted to the New York Bar in 1768. He used money from the government to establish his own legal practice. For three years, Jay worked there until in 1771 he created a law office. Up until 1774, he was a member of the New York Committee of Correspondence, then becoming its secretary.
A member of the conservative faction, he believed in protecting property rights along with preserving the law and feared "mob rule". Though he believed it was wrong for the British to tax Americans without proper representation, in the First Continental Congress, which he was a delegate of, he was on the side of the delegates hoping for conciliation with Parliament. Jay continued to work hard as a supporter of the revolution and suppressed the Loyalists when the war broke out. He had started off as a moderate patriot, but soon become a very ardent and passionate one when he realized that there was no way they could reconcile with Britain.
On April 28, 1774, John Jay married the eldest daughter of the New Jersey Governor William Livingston, Sarah van Brugh Livingston. Sarah was nearly ten years his junior at seventeen while he was twenty-eight. They had six children (Peter Augustus, Susan, Maria, Ann, William, and Louisa). When Jay went to Spain as a diplomat, she joined him. Their children also accompanied them to Paris where they lived with Benjamin Franklin for some time. After both his parents died, Jay was especially stressed out after having to care for his two bling siblings, his brother with a mental disability, and his brother dealing with financial problems.
Like many wealthy New Yorkers of his time, Jay owned slaves. Though after 1777, he began working to abolish slavery. He even drafted a law to abolish slavery, but it did not pass, and neither did a similar one in 1785. Nearly every member of the New york legislature in 1785 agreed to emancipate slaves in New York, but they argued on what freedoms should be given to former slaves. After the war, many slaveholders in New York freed their slaves, but that did not mean that all were free. In 1785, he founded the New York Manumission Society with the purpose of boycotting newspapers and merchants that were involved in the slave trade. Along with that, they also provided legal help to free blacks that were either claimed to be slaves or kidnapped.
As Governor of New York, Jay signed a law of gradual emancipation that the Society had helped enacting in 1799. By July 4, 1827, all slaves in new York were emancipated.
Shortly before the American Revolution broke out, Jay was elected to serve on both the First and Second Continental Congress. Originally, Jay favored rapprochement and also assisted in writing the Olive Branch Petition, which was a petition asking the British to reconcile with the colonies. However, it soon became evident that war would break out and there would not be reconciliation, so Jay began supporting both the revolution and the Declaration of Independence. Originally a moderate supporter, by the time the war began, he was staunchly and ardently supporting the war.
Jay returned home to New York when the Continental Congress closed and served on the Committee of Sixty. When he was elected to the third New York Provincial Congress, he drafted the Constitution of New York in 1777. As a Congressman, he was unable to vote on or sign the Declaration of Independence. On May 8, 1777, he was elected Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature.
Not even a week after becoming a delegate to the Continental Congress, he was elected President of it. Eight states voted for him while four voted for Henry Laurens. So from December 10, 1778-September 28, 1779, he served as President of the Continental Congress. Jay did not have much power in this role, and it was for the most part ceremonial.
Jay's term as President of the Continental Congress came to an end when he was appointed Minister to Spain on September 27, 1779. There, he was looking for financial aid and commercial treaties along with the Spanish to recognize the ongoing war. The Spanish royal court feared that recognizing American Independence would start a revolution in their own colonies, so they refused to officially receives him as Minister of the United States. While unable to meet with them, Jay was able to convince them to give the US government a loan of $170,000 and departed the country after two and a half years on May 20, 1782.
From Spain, Jay travelled to Paris, arriving on June 23, 1782. There, they were beginning negotiations to end the American Revolution with a treaty. Out of the group, Benjamin Franklin was the most experienced in diplomacy, which is why Jay wanted to stay near him so he could learn from him. First, the U.S. agreed to meet with the British and then with the French afterwards. Over a year later, the war came to an official end when the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783 after having been drafted the previous November. It became effective on May 12, 1784.
Upon his return to the U.S., Jay served as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs until 1789. The September of 1789, Congress passed a law that gave the department more domestic responsibilities and the department's name was also changed to the Department of State. Up until March 22, 1790, Jay was the acting Secretary of State. During this time, he worked to establish a strong foreign policy for the U.S. that would be long lasting. He also hoped to gain recognition from the European powers, who unlike the U.S., were already well established and much more powerful. On top of all that, Jay worked on establishing a stable currency for the country so they could pay off their heavy ward debts. Jay was able to achieve many other things during this time, including securing fishing rights in Newfoundland, establishing a robust maritime trade route for goods from American, solve regional difficulties within the colonies, and much more.
Jay joined Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, two other founding fathers and prominent politicians, in advocating for a much stronger government instead of the Articles of Confederation in 1788. While not in attendance of the Constitutional Convention, Jay ended up joining with the two in working aggressively to promote the new Constitution. So together, they penned the Federalist Papers under the name of "Publius". Overall, they wrote eighty-five articles, with Jay only writing five, Madison writing twenty-nine, and Hamilton fifty-one.
When offered the position of Secretary of State by the new president, George Washington, in September of 1789, Jay declined. In response, Washington instead offered him the title of Chief Justice of the United States, which Jay then accepted. The nomination was then made official the same day the position was signed into law by the Judiciary Act of 1789 on September 24, 1789. Two days later, the senate unanimously confirmed him and that day, Washington signed and sealed the commission. The following month on October 19th, Jay was sworn in.
For the first three years, the court mainly worked on establishing rules and procedure, reading commissions and attorneys' admissions to the bar, and duties of the Justices. Due to a light workload, Jay often was involved with Washington and his administration.
During Jay's time as Chief Justice, only four cases were heard. The first, West v. Barnes, was in 1791, almost two years after the court was created. In 1792, Hayburn's Case was heard then Chisholm v. Georgia the following year, and finally, Georgia v. Brailsford.
As a Federalist, Jay ran for governor of New York, but was defeated by his Democratic-Republican opponent, George Clinton. Though Jay did receive more votes, a few of the counties were technically disqualified, and therefore Clinton barely beat him.
In 1794, the U.S. and Britain were on the verge of yet another war because of exports from Britain dominating the market in America. However, the British were blocking American exports. On top of that, Britain had agreed to surrender forts in the north in the Treaty of Paris, but at that point they were still occupying them. More conflict was created by the British impressment of American sailors and taking their ships and supplies. James Madison proposed a trade war, but this was rejected by Washington, who sent Jay to Great Britain as a special envoy to work on negotiating a new treaty. While he was gone, Jay kept his position as Chief Justice. Alexander hamilton wrote out instructions for Jay under Washington's request for what to do when negotiating. By March of 1795, Jay returned and brought the result, the Jay Treaty, to Philadelphia. Hamilton wanted to keep up good relations and told the British that they wanted to remain neutral and would not join the Swedish or Danish governments. This made Jay loose most of the leverage he had.
Though the treaty got rid of British ports in the northwest and the U.S. was given "most favored nation" status along with the U.S. agreeing to restrict commercial access to the British West indies, there were still many grievances. The Democratic-Republicans denounced the neutral shipping rights and impressment. As Chief justice, Jay decided not to take part in any debates regarding the treaty. The British did continue to impress American ships, which was part of the reason of the War of 1812. Washington believed in the treaty and the Federalists, Hamilton included, were not opposed to it. In the end, the treaty was ratified with a 20-10 vote by the Senate, which was the exact amount to meet the requirement of a two-thirds vote. The Democratic-Republicans believed this to be a betrayal of American interests. Many also wrote graffiti with rude messages to John Hay.
In May 1795, John Jay succeeded George Clinton as Governor of New York. On June 29, 1795, he resigned from the Supreme Court. Jay spent six years as governor, leaving office in 1801. In 1796, Jay even ran in the presidential election, though he only won five electoral votes, and one when he ran again in 1800.
Jay declined the nomination for governor in 1801 and a nomination to return to his post as Chief Justice, but he declined both. He decided to retire from politics to lead a private life of a farmer in Westchester County, New York. Not long after, his wife died. For the most part, Jay stayed out of politics while he farmed and was able to maintain good health. However, there was one exception when it came to politics when he condemned Missouri's bid as a slave state to be admitted to the union in 1819 in a letter. In 1814, thirteen years after retiring, Jay and his son, Peter Augustus Jay, were both elected to serve on the American Antiquarian Society.
On May 14, 1829, Jay most likely had a stroke when he was struck with palsy that night. For three days, he lie awaiting his death in Bedford, New York before passing away on the 17th. John Jay was buried in his childhood hometown of Rye.
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Jay Dobyns: The Man Who Took On The Hell's Angels
Bodie: From Violent Village To Ghost Town


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Q: 1>MDAVSCLI : error : EPERM, operation not permitted 'C:\Windows\CSC\v2.0.6' I recently installed VS tools for Cordova on VS2013 with a successful install of all default settings.  Upon trying to build and run the default "BlankCordovaApp" template, I get a node error.

1>MDAVSCLI : error : EPERM, operation not permitted
  'C:\Windows\CSC\v2.0.6'

According to other SO posts, the directory it references is tied to offline sync, of which I have since turned off and restarted the machine with no success.
I've searched and found similar issues, but none that deal with this directory and none that have resolved the issue.
The full build output is below:
1>------ Build started: Project: BlankCordovaApp1, Configuration: Debug Windows Phone 8 ------
1>C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\TypeScript\Microsoft.TypeScript.targets(95,5): warning : The TypeScript Compiler was given no files for compilation, so it will skip compiling.
1>  GeneratedJavascript=
1>C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\CordovaTools\vs-mda-targets\Microsoft.MDA.targets(208,5): error : '\\vmware-host\Shared Folders\Documents\Visual Studio 2013\Projects\BlankCordovaApp1\BlankCordovaApp1'
1>C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\CordovaTools\vs-mda-targets\Microsoft.MDA.targets(208,5): error : CMD.EXE was started with the above path as the current directory.
1>C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\CordovaTools\vs-mda-targets\Microsoft.MDA.targets(208,5): error : UNC paths are not supported.  Defaulting to Windows directory.
1>  C:\Windows>call "C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\"\nodevars.bat
1>  Your environment has been set up for using Node.js 0.10.33 (ia32) and npm.
1>  ------ Ensuring correct global installation of package from source package directory: C:\PROGRAM FILES (X86)\MICROSOFT VISUAL STUDIO 12.0\COMMON7\IDE\EXTENSIONS\QUH3Q3IS.ARB\packages\vs-mda
1>MDAVSCLI : error : EPERM, operation not permitted 'C:\Windows\CSC\v2.0.6'
========== Build: 0 succeeded, 1 failed, 0 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========
========== Deploy: 0 succeeded, 0 failed, 0 skipped ==========

I'm running Windows 8.1 Pro in a VM (VMWare Fusion 7) with all the latest updates from VS and Windows Update, etc. and kept everything as vanilla as possible to get started.
Any ideas what is going on?

A: I dug a little deeper and ran the diagnostic build from Visual Studio (Tools>Options>Projects and Solutions>Build and Run>Set MSBuild project build output verbosity= Diagnostic), and saw more details about a UNC path error that was thrown, which was also shown in my original output.  Turns out you can't build with a UNC path.
I moved my project to a local folder (C:\Projects...) and that allowed it to build just fine.

A: The solution that I found was moving the project to C:\MyProject and then start Visual Studio as administrator and it works properly


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Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Remember Ilan Halimi -Tortured To Death By Muslim Barbarians In Paris 2006 Because He Was A Jew
Remember Ilan Halimi -Tortured To Death By Muslim Barbarians In Paris 2006 Because He Was A Jew
Murder of a Jew, France, 2006
How a Jew was tortured to death in France because he was a Jew. In 2006. From Giulio Meotti
France did not deserve to be the resting place of this precious Jew.
That poor body was also burned, as if it the horror had taken place during the Spanish Inquisition of the 15th century .
Because all that was to remain of Ilan Halimi was his name.
Then that would also have been erased by French hypocrisy.
As Francis Szpiner, the lawyer for the family of the boy slaughtered because of his Jewish identity, said, "the silence killed Ilan Halimi and justice has helped to perpetuate this conspiracy of silence, because the public was not told why he was killed".
Seven years ago, at the outskirts of the Ville Lumière, Paris, a Jewish boy named Ilan Halimi was kidnapped and held prisoner for twenty-four days, tortured to death because he was a Jew. A poor human torso to dismember and throw in the street, as you do with the remains of dinner, thrown to the dogs.
Now a famous French director, Alexandre Arcady, a friend of Interior Minister Manuel Valls, has made a film on Halimi. The film's title, " 24 Jours (24 Days)", comes from the book written by Ruth Halimi, Ilan's mother.
"I wanted to make this film because in France the emphasis has been put on the killers, not the victims," Arcady said to the French press.
France discovered Ilan's contagious smile only after his brutal death. A smile that says nothing of the hatred and the ferocity which marked his last three weeks of life. Ruth repeats that the killing of her son is "unprecedented since the Shoah".
The murder of Halimi was a ritual murder executed in the name of the Islamic crescent in the French Republique. But France still denies that crescent.
We discovered it during the trial of Youssouf Fofana, the head of the "barbarians" who kidnapped and killed Halimi. Fofana entered the courtroom with a smile and shouted: "Allah will win". When asked about his date of birth, the terrorist replied: "February 13, 2006 in Sainte -Geneviève -des -Bois".
That's the day that the body of Ilan was found, naked and tortured to death.
Fofana sent a letter of insults to the court, accompanied by a photo of a Palestinian Arab suicide bomber who had blown himself up at a nightclub in Tel Aviv: "On behalf of Muslims and African victims of Zionist terrorists, the bearded men in kippahs, Inshallah".
Fofana was defended in court by Emanuel Ludot, the same lawyer who had coordinated the defense team of Saddam Hussein, and by Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, wife of one who had the absolute confidence of the bloodthirsty terrorist Carlos, also known as " the Jackal". Carlos was also behind the Palestinian Arab terrorist commando group which kidnapped and killed Israeli athletes at the Olympics in Munich.
Ilan's uncle told the court that during phone calls to family members of the boy, the kidnappers read aloud verses from the Koran. The kidnappers knew that Ilan's mother was a telephone operator. And that Ilan worked in a cell phone store. The terrorists were not looking for money, there was none to be had, but for the perverse pleasure of mutilating the flesh of a Jew.
Ilan was held hostage in a three-room apartment on the third floor of a tower block on Prokofiev street, Bagneux, in the department of Hauts-de-Seine. An eleven-story building inhabited by hundreds of people, who took the elevator every day and certainly heard the screams and moans of Ilan.
But no one seems to have heard anything. No one seems to have noticed anything. Not even the comings and goings of all those young Muslims who held Ilan bound and gagged since the day of his abduction.
They fed him by proteins purchased in a pharmacy. They slapped him, beat him on the head, back, legs, mouth, hit him with the back of the hand or the handle of a broom. They used that broom to simulate a scene of sodomy and photographed Ilan in a degrading position. The autopsy revealed an incision of between six and seven inches on Ilan's left cheek. Outside the apartment it was zero degrees, the apartment was not heated and Ilan was completely naked.
The terrorists sent a photo to the family with some colored balloons behind a "happy birthday" wish. The executioners enjoyed torturing Ilan. "They celebrated their victory," writes Ruth Halimi. "The victory of having captured a Jew and butchering him cheerfully."
The French journalist Guy Millière writes that "Ilan 's screams were heard by neighbors because they were especially atrocious: the killers disfigured the flesh of the young man, broke his fingers, burned him with acid and eventually with fire." They even cut the hair of Ilan's body, in order not to leave any trace of his passage on earth.
Ilan was wrapped in a cloth bought at the grocery store on the corner, as you do with dead bodies. Fofana arrived in the middle of night. While Ilan looked at him, the Islamist cut Ilan's carotid artery with a knife. Then he burned him with a can of gasoline.
This is how the life of a French Jew ended.
A year after Ilan's death, Ruth Halimi took the remains of her son and transported them to Jerusalem. " I felt it was my duty as a mother to give my son a rest that I judged impossible in France, where Ilan was starved , beaten, wounded, burned. How to rest in peace in a land where he suffered so much? Someone could have spit on his grave".
France did not deserve to be the resting place of this precious Jew. There is a photograph of Ilan Halimi in which he has short hair, wears a t-shirt and a happy smile, looking forward to life.
That gentle smile, which reminded me of the photo of the Jewish boy in the Warsaw ghetto, should forever torment the bad conscience of Europe.
But Ilan's martyrdom in the French suburbs is a new Vichy of complacency and indifference.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14443#.UuVSsoc8KK0


text:
Noxon may refer to any one of the following:

Pune
 Noxon, Montana

India 1996
 Christopher Noxon (b. 1968), American writer and journalist
 James Noxon (1818–1881), New York lawyer and politician
 Marti Noxon (b. 1965), television and film writer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Dave Pettigrew – Join Dave's Band!
a community focused on worshiping God & serving others.
Life is hectic. It seems almost impossible to feel connected to something bigger than yourself. You long for a deeper connection with God and with others while making a difference.
Your life was meant for community and connection so you can impact the world around you. We provide weekly worship, devotionals, and a caring community who encourages and supports each other so you can grow and impact the world around you.
Join with us on Facebook or on our podcast for LIVE Worship 2-days a week.
Be a part of a community that encourages, supports and prays for one another.
Directly help two ministries care for the most vulnerable. JOIN DAVE'S BAND to support children through HOLT INTERNATIONAL and help those struggling with addiction through Teen Challenge.
Its been a year now and from the moment I experienced his performances I knew Dave had a heart for worship that was anointed and spirit-filled. The love of Christ for the broken and the orphan transcends through his music. A must see, he doesn't disappoint"
He brings hope, light, truth, faith, and mostly...love to the world through his message and music. If the world had more people like him, bringing God's love to us all...what a spectacular and beautiful place this would be.
An amazing experience if you are into listening to someone who knows how to integrate the love of God with a passion for music.
Monday Night Worship, through Dave's leading, has become a source of hope and support for people who would never have connected otherwise. He sings from his whole heart and draws us into worship from the first note. He's a man of prayer, leading us in beautiful heartfelt prayers, encouraging us to pray for one another not only on Monday nights but throughout the week as well. I know that I always feel closer to the Lord during & after tuning into Monday Night Worship.


Marvelous upcoming "high-speed Servant action game."
Marvelous has released the first official Fate/Extella details and screenshots following its announcement in last week's issue of Weekly Famitsu.
Fate/Extella is a high-speed action game where players control Heroic Spirits and Divine Spirits known as Servants, and defeat hundred of enemies with overwhelming power that defies human intellect.
On the Moon exists a Spiritron computer called the "Moon Cell Automaton," which holds the power to grant any wish. Fate/Extra depicted the "Holy Grail War" on the Spiritron imaginary world "SE.RA.PH," which was waged between Servants-Master duos against each other over the Spiritron computer. What awaits the Master who wins the Holy Grail War and obtains the Holy Grail?!
One of the Servants who won through the Holy Grail War of the Moon together with her Master. She is a swordswoman Servant with exceptional sword skills and balanced abilities. She calls herself "Emperor," and behaves arrogantly regardless of dealing with friend or foe, but has deep faith in her Master.
One of the Servants who won through the Holy Grail War of the Moon together with her Master. She is a Magus Servant able to cast a number of magic skills. She is considerably cunning, and is only courageous and obedient when it comes to her Master.
A swordswoman Servant who first appeared in the Extra series. She is a proud, rational warrior. However, she seems "empty" somehow, and doesn't hesitate with her sword, and when it comes to battle showcases a violent battle style.
"Form Change" is a new element that powers up Servants and alters both their outward appearance and weapons, allowing them to mow down the surrounding enemies. In the screenshots, we see Nero wrapped up in warrior-like armor.
Fate/Extella is due out for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita in Japan in 2016. Visit the game's official website here. The website features a countdown—labeled "The clock starts again, waiting for one's return"—that ends on Sunday, March 27 at 2:15 p.m. Japan time.


text:
By Barbara Kessler
A woman walks into a bookstore . . . No, wait. The woman owns the bookstore and now she's bought a hardware store.
It makes perfect sense, right?
It does when you hear the story: The woman, Sharon Anderson Wright, is the book store owner. Actually, she owns 125 book stores as the CEO and president of Half Price Books, the fabled Dallas used book and record store begun by Wright's mother Pat Anderson and Pat's partner Ken Gjemre back in 1972.
Sharon Anderson Wright. Courtesy of Jason Kindig.
Today, with Wright at the helm since 1995, Half Price has spread around the country faster than Stephen King can outline a novel. The chain has more than doubled its outlets in the past 20 years, with locations in 17 states. Wright, meeting with me at the expansive but spotless flagship location and executive headquarters on Northwest Highway in Dallas, says it's a bustling period for Half Price. But at the same time, she describes the store as a "well-oiled machine" run by veteran staff that long ago figured out what they were doing. Plainly, the business model is working.
Which brings us to that hardware store – that would be Rooster Home and Hardware, previously known as Gecko Hardware, also on Northwest Highway, but in the Lake Highlands area of East Dallas.
Wright, who lives in the neighborhood, began spending time at Gecko a couple years ago. Along with books, she's got a penchant for hardware and "fixing things," she says, noting that she's refurbished tack for her horses and is a crafter who makes jewelry and block cut art prints. She's a vegetarian and a locavore, too, so she enjoyed the local offerings at the green-oriented Gecko.
Andrea Ridout, the owner and manager of Gecko, proved to be another attraction. Ridout, who's owned and run other businesses and had hosted a green living radio show for Mother Earth News, was working hard to make Gecko a destination for urban homesteaders, a unique place that was one-part hardware and one-part DIY supplies for the back-to-the-earth crowd.
Wright and Ridout hit it off, becoming friends over their mutual interests in healthy living and retail.
Andrea Ridout and George the Rooster. Courtesy of Ridout.
"We had a ball together," said Ridout. "There aren't that many women business owners that are in this sort of thing."
Wright's daughter Ivy also enjoyed Gecko with its local crafts, honey, cottage foods and living, crowing mascot, George, a rust-colored Buff Orpington rooster. The Wrights would drop in on weekends after Ivy's art classes nearby.
"We just kept going over there playing and working," Wright says. "Ivy, she grew up in Half Price Books, so she'd start straightening up the shelves."
Gecko had opened with much fanfare and enormous early success in mid-2013, Ridout says. It even won an award for best new hardware store to open in the nation. But by 2015, the store was facing financial troubles brought on by a weird confluence of a bad weather spring that dampened gardeners needs and the opening of two nearby hardware competitors.
"We had four terrible months, and it just socked it to us," said Ridout, who by then was the only remaining manager of the original investors.
Wright, by now more than a customer, stepped in to help. She suggested strategies and searched for unique products at Dallas Market Hall to improve Gecko's offerings. Her retailing instincts told her that the store had more potential than it was realizing. Perhaps, too, she had a soft spot for hardware. Wright mentions that her father had worked for a time selling hardware, tools and paint as a traveling salesman.
But finding investors to help Ridout keep the store open proved elusive. A GoFundMe campaign raised $10,000 and a small initial investment from Wright helped, but couldn't keep the enterprise fully afloat.
"Finally it got to a breaking point, it was going to close," Wright said. "When I was talking to Ivy about it, she said she had a lot more fun working in the hardware store than the bookstore. She loved going over there and working."
So Wright weighed the challenge and risks against the promise of taking on the store and decided to dive in. In September, she bought the store's assets, along with her sister, a silent investor. Gecko officially became Rooster Home and Hardware and plans are swirling for its re-invention.
"We're going to be local. We'll carry local products, invite people in," Wright explains in a rush of words. "It will be a gathering place. We're going to build a cuter environment for the chicks, George and Gracie's, to play in…where they can have little ramps and houses. So it will be a great place to bring the kids."
Gecko was always fun to visit, but now there'll be even more to see and do, promise Wright and Ridout, who is remaining as a marketing advisor and handler for George. All 12 current employees are remaining, and the staff will include a newly hired manager and another new employee with bee-keeping experience.
The store plans to bring in experts for backroom classes and offer best-in-class products for all those re-emerging homemaking activities that are captivating millennials and boomers, such as canning, organic gardening, composting, beekeeping and chicken-tending. Wright digs out a catalog from a satchel jammed with papers to show some of the latest portable urban hen houses – they're pretty highly evolved -- and a set of crockware that would appeal to cooks. Finding unique and local goods will be vital, she says, though she also has ideas for a couple items from crafters she knows in Mexico, including handmade hammocks.
Although Wright runs a landmark bookstore chain with $260 million in revenues, she says the prospect of operating a local hardware store, albeit not as the day-to-day manager, both "freaks me out and excites me."
As we talk, it seems like the excitement is winning out over the anxiety.
Wright says she wants Rooster to rival Wild Birds Unlimited with its offerings of bird feeders and houses; to rival Whole Earth Provisions with its useful gee-gaws and toys.
Rooster also will fulfill its mission as a full-service, True Value-branded hardware supplier to the neighborhood with all the usual supplies – tools, screws, lightbulbs, water hoses, air filters, laundry soap, charcoal and paint. These items will be arranged around the perimeter of the store, Ridout said.
George, who's something of a local Internet celebrity already, and his betrothed, Gracie, will occupy the center stage, with the latest homesteading offerings clustered around that main display in the 15,000 square foot store.
"The urban homesteader is our focus and our target, plus anyone who's trying to add a little green to their life, and also our neighborhood, we want to serve them," Ridout says.
And in case you've been wondering, yes, Rooster does share key qualities with the brand Wright knows best. She puts her finger on it effortlessly:
"We have giant hardware stores all around (Rooster) and we have TreeHouse (an eco-friendly home store) coming in (to Dallas), but we're going to offer something that's local and personal -- kind of like Half Price Books. You know, all of our stores are personal because 70 percent of their inventory is created by the neighborhood that they're in. They bring the books in and we sell it back to the neighborhood."
Wright believes a similar neighborhood synergy will spur success for Rooster Home and Hardware, just as it has Half Price Books.
"I look at it as the Half Price Books of hardware stores," says Wright.
Only in this case, instead of reading tables, there'll be potting benches. In lieu of stacks of shiny magazines, there'll be rows of colorful eco-paints. And instead of record albums, there'll be, perhaps, roto-tillers. (Get it, they both spin?)
There will also certainly be occasional pesky people talking too loudly in the next aisle. That's a given. But maybe George the Rooster will crow and make them jump.
Rooster Home and Hardware will have an official grand opening celebration in December at its store at 10233 Northwest Hwy, #409, Dallas, TX 75238. The public is invited.
Half Price Books is a finalist in the 2016 Green Source DFW Awards.
Gecko Hardware opens doors
Gecko Hardware founder Andrea Ridout to launch new eco-friendly radio show
Eco-friendly Gecko Hardware in Dallas seeks community support to stay open
Austin-based TreeHouse to bring premium green home improvement products to Dallas
Sign up for the weekly Green Source DFW Newsletter to stay up to date on everything green in North Texas, the latest news and events. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Gardens and Gardening
Barbara Kessler
Journalist Barbara Kessler of Flower Mound has specialized in environmental issues and children's welfare, working in TV and at newspapers, such as The Dallas Morning News. She operated a syndicated green living website that provided stories to dozens of TV stations. She produces EcoBayou.com, an online resource that advocates for slowing climate change, accelerating green energy and saving wildlife. Contact her at [email protected]
Architecture / Design / Landscape
Citizens' Climate Lobby
Clothing / Fashion
Gas Drilling
Green Mountain Sun Club
Green Organization
Interfaith Power and Light
Pope visit
Shopping Green
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