text:
In the posthumously published Incidents (1987), Roland Barthes organized much of what he wrote about his experiences in Tangiers around what he termed "les deux Hs," hashish and homosexuality. While the essayist offered very explicit descriptions of both, Marc-Antoine Serra, in the images he present in Backroom, works in the much richer vein of what the literary critic Joseph Boone has identified as the homoerotics of Orientalism, a figurative world in which the pungent smoke of hash resin has long been a crucial factor.
Associations between foreignness and exaggerated eroticism, even perversity, exist in discussions about sexuality in most modern societies. Yet in Western countries, notably France, the links made between the Muslim world and the homoerotic, even the homosexual, have been particularly intense. This has much to do with the French occupation of Algeria (1830-1962), and, later, Tunisia (1881-1956) and Morocco (1912-1956). It is part of the more general phenomenon that Edward Said named Orientalism, in which "Western" descriptions of the (Muslim) "Orient" insisted on stark differences between Easterners and Westerners in order to anchor Western claims to normalcy and superiority.
Representations of different ways of living male sexuality promise both excitement and danger, and erotic photographic and cinematic images of male subjects have made great use of Orientalized bodies. The Baron von Gloeden dressed several of the Sicilian boys he photographed so assiduously in "Arab" garb. The late 1920s French pornographic film "Mektoub, Fantasie Arabe" turned its focus briefly from harem girls to show the sexual domination of the French tourist "Dickie" by the sheik Abd-el-Zab and his male servant. Numerous films by Jean-Daniel Cadinot also explored this terrain.
The young men in this collection of Serra's photographs compellingly bring together two distinct registers with which previous images long played: the hypervirile, on one hand, the ephebe, on the other. There is nothing here, however, of either the brute or the passive effeminacy that usually inheres in one or the other. The titles but also the separation between the young men's eyes and their (circumcised) penises situate them clearly in present-day France. Their nudity is only frontal and it fulfills only some racialized fantasies. These are images for a postcolonial France, of a society where, from "l'affaire Théo" to "l'affaire Meklat" and in the fulminations of Zemmour, Renaud Camus, or Houellebeq and the ruminations of Edouard Louis or Kamel Daoud, young men linked to Africa, North or sub-Saharan, continue to draw much attention.


At MTR we understand that nothing is more important to our customers than the security of their product whilst its with us. Which is why at MTR Group Ltd our facility is designed to offer the highest level of product security during both working and non-working hours.
State-of-the-art CCTV surveillance systems covering all perimeter access points as well as workshop, offices and public areas.
Random security rounds and checks.
Restrictions on personal mobile devices in processing facilities.
Metal detectors and scanners on employee entrances.
Individual fob access control for managers with employees given access via CCTV controlled remote locking.
Secure inventory cages and safes.
Long-term archived storage of security videos.


Art expresses thoughts and feelings in so many ways that words can't. Given a paintbrush and a canvas, or even a pencil and paper, an artist can let loose, and unleash their thoughts. And when these thoughts are brought to life, they can make something alluring, which should be honored in some way or another. That is the purpose of the Art Exhibition: to display and honor the talents of artistic students young or old, in Art classes or in painting clubs, throughout our school. Whether the art was in the form of acrylic paintings, sculptures, or even pencil shading, the best pieces were all put up on display in the hallway at the heart of the school. Prices were placed on the art pieces, for anyone who would wish to purchase. The Art Exhibition showed that art is a greatly valued subject at our school, and also showed that when it comes to putting thoughts on canvas or paper, the only limit is your imagination.


text:
Heinz Koriath (* 22. Februar 1952 in Nidzica, Polen) ist ein deutscher Rechtswissenschaftler. Er war von 1995 bis 2021 Inhaber des Lehrstuhls für Strafrecht, Strafprozessrecht, Rechtsphilosophie und Rechtstheorie an der Universität des Saarlandes.

Leben
Koriath siedelte 1961 im Alter von neun Jahren nach Westdeutschland um. Nach seinem Abitur studierte er unter anderem an der Universität Bielefeld und der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen die Fächer Rechtswissenschaften, Mathematik und Philosophie. 1987 promovierte er bei Fritz Loos in Göttingen über Kausalität, Bedingungstheorie und psychische Kausalität und habilitierte sich ebenda im Jahr 1993 mit der Schrift Grundlagen strafrechtlicher Zurechnung. 1995 nahm er einen Ruf an die Universität des Saarlandes an. Er war dort bis zu seiner Emeritierung 2021 Inhaber des Lehrstuhls für Strafrecht, Strafprozessrecht, Rechtsphilosophie und Rechtstheorie und Direktor des Instituts für Wirtschaftsstrafrecht sowie Internationales und Europäisches Strafrecht.

Forschung und Lehre
Seine Arbeits- und Interessenschwerpunkte liegen im Bereich der Strafrechtsdogmatik und Ethik, namentlich im Gebiet der Rechtsphilosophie und des Rechtspositivismus.

Veröffentlichungen (Auszug)
 Kausalität, Bedingungstheorie und psychische Kausalität. Schwartz, Göttingen 1988, ISBN 3-509-01452-9.
 Über Beweisverbote im Strafprozess. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-631-47226-9.
 Grundlagen strafrechtlicher Zurechnung. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-428-08055-6.
 Heinrich Spoerl: Der Maulkorb. Eine literarische Variation zur materiellen Wahrheit im Strafprozeß. In: Das Recht und die schönen Künste – Heinz Müller-Dietz zum 65. Geburtstag. Nomos-Verlag, Baden-Baden 1998, ISBN 3-7890-5254-X.
 Einige Gedanken zur Notwehr. In: Grundlagen staatlichen Strafens – Heinz Müller-Dietz zum 70. Geburtstag. Beck-Verlag, München 2001, ISBN 3-406-48202-3.
 Über rechtsfreie Räume in der Strafrechtsdogmatik. In: Jahrbuch für Recht und Ethik 2003. Band 11, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-14526-7.
 Muss Strafe sein? Nomos-Verlag, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-8329-0507-3.
 Gerechtigkeit – Eine Illusion? LIT Verlag, Münster 2004, ISBN 3-8258-6915-6.
 Fahrlässigkeit und Schuld. In: Festschrift für Heike Jung. Nomos-Verlag, Baden-Baden 2007, ISBN 978-3-8329-2537-6.
 Kausalität und objektive Zurechnung. Nomos-Verlag, Baden-Baden 2007, ISBN 978-3-8329-2498-0.
 Grundlagen des Strafrechts, Rechtsphilosophie und die Reform der Juristenausbildung. Universitätsverlag Göttingen, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-941875-80-7.
 Zum Streit um den Schuldbegriff – Eine Skizze. In: Goltdammer's Archiv für Strafrecht. (GA) 2011, Band 158, Heft 11. Verlag C.F. Müller, Heidelberg 2011, .
Rezension zu Julia Maria Erber-Schropp, Schuld und Strafe – Eine strafrechtsphilosophische Untersuchung des Schuldprinzips, Zeitschrift theologie.geschichte, 13. Bd. 2018, universaar Verlag.

Weblinks

 Heinz Koriath auf der Website des Lehrstuhls für Strafrecht, Strafprozessrecht, Rechtsphilosophie und Rechtstheorie der Universität des Saarlandes
 Onlinefassung mehrerer Texte, Juristisches Internetprojekt Saarbrücken (JIPS)

Einzelnachweise

Rechtsphilosoph (20. Jahrhundert)
Rechtsphilosoph (21. Jahrhundert)
Strafrechtler (20. Jahrhundert)
Strafrechtler (21. Jahrhundert)
Hochschullehrer (Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken)
Deutscher
Pole
Geboren 1952
Mann
Absolvent der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Harvest is starting at Castle Fruit Farm. The Team arrives !
The year is flying by! I am going to introduce you to our team. The weather, the pollinators, the condition of the trees are all important but above all it is our team that brings the orchards literally to fruition with great quality fruits which keeps us an economic thriving fruit farm. Small family farms like ours are under threat as the economies of scale favours much larger operations than Castle Fruit Farm but we hope that there will continue to be a place for orchards like ours in the rural economy.
Michael and Chrissy Bentley came to Castle Fruit farm in 2002 from an arable background. We were very ably supported by Clive Maile our Manager who has amassed a wealth of experience and knowledge over his 37 years on Castle Fruit Farm. We have now been joined by son Richie , together with wife Claire and sons Oskar and Rudi who bring a great new energy to the farm !
The rest of the team is mechanic Nick, John our longstanding semi retired tractor driver, Artur, our senior tractor driver, Konrad our Field Foreman, Radek, Slavi and Arek.
They are all hardworking young men from Poland who have been with us for some years. They are adept at all sorts of practical work and are not daunted by long hours when needed or working outside in all weathers.
Come harvest time we welcome our Summer family of workers from Chepelare in Bulgaria. Chepelare is a ski area and so in winter many of them are involved in the ski resort : ski instructors, guides, ski room managers . It suits them therefore to come over here for our seasonal harvest work in Summer. And we need them. As I explained in an earlier blog , harvest requires crucial timing and that may mean early start if the fruit is ready and the day hot as well as long hours to ensure our very precise daily orders are met. We would not find enough local people with transport who want the long hours of physical work outdoors just during the summer months. They work hard, are skilled at the different aspects of the work, earn well and go home in the early Autumn. Long may this continue as harvest seasonal workers are vital to our and many other agricultural businesses.
Mira, Krassi and Eva (pictured above) are our experienced summer team for thinning and harvesting.
The cherries have been harvested and amazingly the first Herman plums were harvested on July 4th and we had the honour of delivering the first English plums to Waitrose this season. The Opal plums are ripening and though smaller than usual because of the drought, their flavour is more intense and I have already eaten too many….
Next blog will be recipe ideas for plums….barbecued, dipped in chocolate..
The rest of the team arrive soon and then harvest is truly underway. Look out for English fruit and remember that buying local supports small family farms, rural businesses and our wonderful diversity of landscapes.
Photos above by Chrissy Bentley. Cherry picking photos below by Fran Robinson.


text:
SSU's ARS:
ARS InfoLinks:
[General Info]
Sample Netscape Session
Sample Lynx Session
Error Codes Defined
[Still Pictures]
MPEG Movies/Animated GIFs
[Hard Data]
How fast can we load it?
[The Story]
[System Use]
[Safety: fire, injury]
[The People]
[Who Else Has ARS?]
[Links: ARS, AS/RS]
[AS/RS Consulting]
[My Home Page]
Project ARS: Story
This is a mini-diary of the process from where we moved from an old building into a new one and included a new ARS in the process.
(More below)
Our vendor for the ARS portion of the new library was HK Systems.
Our vendor for the interface used by the public to find books stored in the ARS was done by Innovative. (This includes the web based system that allows you to check the status of items, location, availability, and make requests for items from the ARS.)
I cannot offer a story for the original planning of the new Jean and Charles Schulz Information and Technology Center when it was originally being drafted. The original specifications for the new building were created long before I arrived to work at the SSU Library.
After working here for a few years, I was informed of the new building project. The most exciting part of the project to me was the inclusion of the ARS for automated retrieval of books and items in the library collection. Susan Hagius (the library director at the time) assigned Sandra Walton (Special Collections Librarian) to work on many of the new building issues. Sandra Walton worked many long hours to keep track of all of the new building planning, and organize everything. She mentioned to Cheryl Esch (Library System Department) that she had some technical questions about the new building and the ARS. Cheryl Esch suggested that Sandra Walton talk to me to see if I could examine the technical information on the new building. This is where I came into the project.
It all started easily enough with Sandra Walton and I asking Bruce Walker (Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center Project Coordinator / Director) if we could see the building RFPs (Request For Proposal) for the Power And Signal, Networking, ARS, and ETV (Electronic Track Vehicle). Bruce Walker arranged for me to pick up electronic copies of these, and I read through them. After careful review, I realized the ARS needed the most attention from us in the library.
CSU Northridge has an ARS in operation. Their ARS has been in use for a long time. I made arrangements to go visit the CSU Northridge Library and visit Eric Willis (CSU Northridge Library ARS and Systems member) as he was the system administrator of their ARS Manager/Server. During the visit with Eric Willis, we discussed improvements to the ARS system. He gave me contact information for their ARS vendor, which had changed names since CSU Northridge contracted to have their ARS built.
The visit with Eric Willis was enlightening. I was able to see an ARS in operation, and get some suggestions for our own ARS. Sandra and I spoke about this, and she suggested I start modification to the SSU RFP on our ARS. I proceeded to include a few pages of additions based on the input and suggestions from Eric Willis.
For several months, I pondered upon the use of the ARS. I tried to find problems, issues, and conflicts then solve these. I found many places to improve the RFP for our operation and update it to make it more modern. The original 35 page RFP had grown to well over 70 pages when I finished with all of my inclusions.
I proceeded to contact HK Systems to see what kind of operating system they could offer us for their servers. Northridge was using a UNIX system for their operation. Eric Willis had many good things to say on the stability of their system. It has been running for about a decade or longer at CSU Northridge. We wished to also have stability in our system. The early conversations I had with HK Systems' associates gave us little hope for a UNIX system. Everyone I contacted at HK Systems told me they no longer offered a UNIX system, and only worked with MS Windows NT. My experience at the time with MS Windows NT 4.0 and SP2 left me feeling that Windows NT 4.0 was not an ideal platform for running a critical service that needed to be in operation with tolerable uptime. I knew of many UNIX boxes that were left running for double digit months, and even years at a time. With comparing Windows NT - a new technology, and UNIX - a stable, tried, and tested technology, we favored a UNIX system for our operation.
After about two weeks, my continued attempts to locate someone at HK Systems willing to talk about UNIX servers paid off. Mike Marlowe (presently Mike_Marlowe@Daifukuamerica.com, but before we had decided on a vendor he was Senior Account Manager at HK Systems, now working for a different company called Swiss Log) called me up and let me know they have, sell, and continue to support many UNIX, and UNIX-like operating systems. He was contacted by one of the people I contacted, and followed up by contacting me. He assured me that HK Systems still offered UNIX solutions, and had no plans on discontinuing support for their UNIX servers.
Then I took a trip to Salt Lake City, UT to visit their Salt Lake City offices, and also their production plant in Bountiful, UT. I spoke with many of their people (Don Davis (Assistant Plant Manager), Michael S. Johnson (Vice President - Plant manager), and I think Roger Uhlich (Principal Engineer) and Tracy Larson (Principal Engineer-Software)) to take a tour of their work-place in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. While at the Salt Lake City offices, they introduced me to one of the Engineers who told me they were willing to work with Linux. He said they started to work with Linux on one other projects, but later had to change away from Linux as their Operating System when their customer changed their mind. (To the best of my knowledge, we have the first ARS to use Linux as the core for the Manager/Server.) It was during this visit that HK Systems informed me that the UNLV had a new library that was going to have an ARS made by HK Systems.
I was impressed by the professionalism, and manners of the employees I met while on tour of the Bountiful, Utah production plant and the downtown Salt Lake City, Utah offices. When I was able to get some time away from the rest of the group mentioned above, I was able to speak with the people in the production plant that actually make the equipment and parts. Even without the pressure of the managers with whom I had been touring, the employees had good morale, and good things to say about HK Systems. (From my experience, a company that treats its employees with respect find employees that work hard and also respect the company.) I heard no dissension from any of the employees at HK Systems. From the newly hired people, to the veterans, all spoke highly of their company.
Next, I scheduled a visit to UNLV to visit their library systems department. I spoke to them about their planned ARS, and asked them how they viewed HK Systems. They offered examples of how HK Systems had done very well to meet their needs and in some cases go farther in service and support for the system than was expected.
The reviews from Northridge, UNLV, and the professionalism of everyone at HK Systems starting with Mike Marlowe (now working for http://www.daifukuamerica.com/ but at that time working for http://www.hksystems.com/) through to the people I met on my visit to Utah was very good. I thought that this seemed like a good company to have do work for us with our ARS. They have serviced other library locations, they had good reviews from the systems employees at these locations, and they seemed to me to be intelligent, thoughtful, hard working people.
I completed the work on the RFP for the ARS, and we submitted it through to Bruce Walker and the campus. From there, it was out of our hands while it was put out for public review and open for any company to offer a bid.
Mike Marlowe (now working for http://www.daifukuamerica.com/ but at that time working for http://www.hksystems.com/) contacted me and we worked out a few items in the RFP where a contention for service, or conflict was created that needed resolution. After these items were resolved, we waited a bit longer. (For example, I requested a Linux system on an Intel platform with 64-bit CPU support in the RFP. I originally requested this in anticipation that the Intel Merced would be available. Not only was this release delayed by Intel, but our building project was coming through on time! This caused our RFP to request a product that did not yet exist.)
HK Systems returned a counter to our RFP, and though it did not have all of the features desired in the original RFP, the most useful ones were available. A number of features would have been nice additions for some applications, but the added complexity could have led to conditions for conflict for the employees tending to the system on a day-to-day basis. The items missing in their response were dropped as a result of our conversations and clarifications on directions and responsibilities for the ARS. We agreed that simplicity decreases risk for errors and makes learning cycles for training of employees shorter. These were excellent selling points in weighing added functionality with complexity of use.
I was happy to find that HK Systems won the bid. Later I was contacted by Floyd Roach (HK Systems Project Manager), David B. Simpson (HK Systems Systems Engineer), Yen Cheng Kang (HK Systems Principal Engineer-Software) , and again by Tracy Larson (HK Systems Principal Engineer-Software). We worked out our details, and tried to hammer out some semantics on ordering and processing.
Marilyn Kamp (Library Circulation Administrator and Manager) and I then took a visit to Salt Lake City to review some final interface issues, and features in the system. We discussed project guidelines, system logic, user interface, and functionality. We started to see the project take form and were excited to see the emerging product.
Over many more months of e-mail discussions, we further ironed out details on the system. Eventually, SSU was invited to visit Salt Lake City for a review of a beta system of their ARS Manager software. Marilyn Kamp, Greg Tichava (Library Pre-shelving and Circulation), and I went to this review. We brought a video camera borrowed from the campus media services and filmed our review of the system. (They were very helpful in providing us with a camera and extra battery for filming our review.) Things went well with our review, and I was excited to see the interface up and running. We found a few items that needed to be repaired, and some user-interface issues with meaning of text not conveying what could be easily understood by non-techies. Beyond these small items, we could see most of the software side of the project was ready!
More time passed and I continued to work with David Simpson, and Yen Cheng Kang to deal with other minor issues on user interface.
Andru Luvisi (Library Programmer/Analyst), Phil Huang (Library Systems Department Head), Inna Moroz (Student Assistant) and I borrowed Cheryl Esch's Truck and delivered 3 tables for temporary use with the ARS Manager Servers, printer, and eventual location of the III Server. During these many visits where we brought over tables and chairs, I was introduced to Rick Stallworth (HK Systems Hardware Engineer.) On one of these many trips, we picked up one of the ARS Manager Servers for temporary re-location to our old library building for Host Interface testing with the III Server.
David Simpson and Yen Cheng Kang came to visit us to test the Host Interface with the III server. Our III Contact was Beth Hoffman, and the Host interface test went well. We tested the ability for both machines to transmit and receive a variety of different messages. After this test we were certain that both machines could communicate to each other enough information to offer a good foundation for future performance of the system. All that was left was for III to integrate their module used in testing into their service, and handle the Host Interface messages, and for HK systems to properly handle their messages from the Host interface.
Work for the ARS side of handling messages is completed, and has been tested. Development with III is on-going and will continue to develop over time. We expect the III system to have enough of the Host Interface conversations to offer patrons the ability to perform pick requests from the ARS. Minor details on updating the status of each item within the III System to notify the patron when a book has been requested for removal from the ARS by another patron near the same time, or another patron has picked a book from the ARS for in-house viewing, should be resolved at a later date. We will review desired additions to the III System and prioritize them based on want, need, and necessity.
We delivered the ARS Manager back to the new building, and later brought over the III Server for a live Host Interface test. Later we received training for the system, and started the system acceptance for the university. System acceptance included many kinds of tests including test loads of some library items, and bin dividers. About 1000 low-use items were stored in the ARS in this test. In parallel with our system acceptance, Terry Cheney (SSU Facilities Services) worked with Rick Stallworth to better understand the ARS.
On Tuesday, June 6, 2000 at 4:00pm, we started a meeting with a number of people related to the ARS project. In attendance were Floyd Roach, David Simpson, Rick Stallworth, Bruce Walker, Marilyn Kamp, Greg Tichava and me. After the formality of a few last signatures, at 4:45 PM, the university accepted ownership of the ARS.
Though we did perform a test of the ARS side of the Host Interface to the Snoopy system, we need to verify the functionality of the Snoopy side of the connection. This may be a source of ambiguity for the non-technical people, but I will try to explain this:
When we tested the host interface with III, the ARS was using a completely integrated communications systems. However, the III system was still being configured and tested. While the Snoopy (III) system was not ready, III decided to pull out the module in their server that communicated with the ARS. This special module could then be tested with the ARS to make sure they would both communicate as expected. A few small problems were found on both sides and fixed. At the completion of the first host interface testing, we saw the expected conversations take place between both side without error.
Now we need to arrange for a test with the Host Interface Module re-integrated into the Snoopy (III / ILS) system. This will test to make sure the rest of the Snoopy software reacts internally as expected to the communications received from its Host Interface Modules through the physical Host Interface. We do not expect any problems with this, but it should still be tested.
After the second (and expected final) host interface test, we will then look to methods for transfers of records to the ARS. First we will test an advanced system for automated record transfer on demand from the Snoopy system to the ARS Manager. If it is found that this system is not ready before the end of the first week in July, we will look to manually insert a nearly complete database of library items into the ARS database. Either of the above methods will be necessary for the initial physical loading of items into the ARS starting sometime after July 31, 2000. The database transfer of records to the ARS must happen before we can allow the physical loading of bins because the ARS needs to know about the items being stored in bins.
June 13,2000 we met with William G. Overton from William B. Meyer Incorporated to discuss ARS related moving issues. This company will be dealing with the migration of computers, furniture, and most importantly the books to the new building. This company has openly accepted the challenge of loading the ARS with books and library items. Time-lines are still being worked out for this move.
For the week of July 17-21, 2000 Rick Stallworth (HK Systems) came out for a visit to exercise the cranes and hardware of the system.
On July 20, at 9:15AM PDT the host interface between the III Server and the ARS Manager was brought on-line. Over the whole day I worked with Sandy Heft (Library Technical Services), Beth Hoffman (III) and Yen Cheng Kang (HK Systems) to make sure that we could perform "Item Additions" from the III database to the ARS Manager database. Though the processing is a bit slow, we expect to be able to prepare the ARS database for when the movers will need to load the ARS with the physical items.
After the basic host interface testing was completed, we started the database load of the ARS manager. This is expected to take up to 6 days.
July 24, 2000: Minor problems have slowed our load of the records into the ARS over the host interface, but we feel it should still be possible to finish the electronic load of records into the ARS Manager of items expected to be moved to the ARS before the items are to be moved into the ARS. We continue to work with III to find solutions, and add features for patron interface.
August 2,2000 @ 9:00am : All but a few thousand records have been transmitted to the ARS Manager over the active host interface.
August 2,2000 @ 11:30am : Today we discovered that III has included support for the demand based load-item for the move! This has helped us a great deal to store items that would have otherwise been left out until after the move. We were happy to see III work so hard, and so fast to deliver this feature to us. The inclusion of this just in time for our move allows us to progress forward with the move of books into the system quickly.
August 2,2000 @6:00pm : Today we finished the first full day physical load of items into the ARS. All 6 End-Of-Aisle-Workstation (EAWS) were in operation, and all three cranes were in use over the full day. Here is a table showing the load progress and how fast we were able to load items into the ARS for the initial load.
(The above table can also be seen on a separate page for easier printing.)
August 9,2000 @ 11:52AM : All of the cranes stopped accepting commands. After about 1 hour of research and trouble-shooting, I determined it was a problem with a piece of solid state networking equipment called a "terminal server". I called HK Systems, and spoke with Kang about this, and he relayed the method for the terminal server to be reset and reprogrammed as well as the location of a serial cable to direct communications with the terminal server. I attempted to reprogram the terminal server, and it would spontaneously reboot itself and forget the programmed settings! After 3 attempts of this, and continued examination of the box, the 4th attempt caused the terminal server to retain its settings. We believe this component may have an intermittent short. HK sent us a replacement via overnight delivery.
August 10,2000 @ 3:00PM : The terminal server did not arrive at the boiler plant for Terry to relay it to us, but we know HK shipped it as we have the tracking number.
August 10,2000 @ 6:00pm : A tracking of the package with Airborne's web page for tracking shows it was delivered to Santa Rosa at 11:45AM on August 10th. I left a message with John Griffith (SSU Receiving) asking about the package.
August 11,2000 @ pre 8:00am : John Griffith left me a message on my voice mail about the package. I contacted him at the number he left on my voice-mail, and he arranged for a student to deliver the package right away. (Thanks John!) I have scheduled to replace this part at 5:00pm so I have a 16 hour period to deal with any other problems that might come up as a result of replacing the previous terminal server. ( I believe I could make this change in about 15 minutes or less, but prefer to have more time in case of unexpected events.)
August 11,2000 @ 8:00am : The crane on Aisle 3 had a problem while returning a bin. A proximity sensor was damaged preventing the bin from being returned. We have a call in to have this part sent to us fast. Production loading of the ARS will be down by 33% while one of the cranes is down.
August 11,2000 @ 11:00am : I have confirmation from Jean (HK AS/RS Parts) that 2 of these parts will be shipped to us via Fed Ex overnight with Saturday Delivery. Public Safety will act as receiver of this package as local receiving may not be open on Saturday. We hope to get this sensor by or before 10:00am so we may continue our processing on aisle 3.
August 11,2000 @ 5:15pm : I replaced the terminal server with the new one. The change-over and reprogramming went flawlessly and took about 8 minutes. So far this new one works very well. (The old one continued to function without failure for the rest of the first day of problems and all day August 11th. I replaced it because we did not want to take a risk that the problems we experienced could come back again.)
August 12,2000 @ 8:40am : Maintenance was conducted on the cranes/aisles and the tick locations for the two bins blocking aisle 2 production were updated. Aisle 1 and 2 are operational. The part for Aisle 3 was loaded onto a Fed Ex van in Petaluma at 8:20am.
August 12,2000 @ 10:00am : Fed Ex delivered the parts we needed on Aisle 3 to the right place on campus! (We did not want to try Airborne again after the mistake from before.) Terry replaced the part, calibrated the machine, tested the machine, and made it ready after a member of Public Safety went out of their way to help us out and drop off the part to us. Aisle 3 was up and running by 11:00am! All three aisles are up and running again! (We now have an extra one of these finger sensors in stock in case of a future mechanical failure.)
August 14,2000 @ 3:45pm : A loaded bin would not return to the rack space. This does not affect patron pick requests but did force us to temporarily hold it off to the side at a workstation and shut down that workstation until the technician (Terry) can adjust the bin return coordinates. This has happened rarely in our daily processing of hundreds of bins and was expected to come up occasionally as we start to intensely use the system for the first time.
August 16,2000 @ 3:00pm : We have started working with III to bring up the patron access to the items stored in the ARS. Presently, a few items show up in the web based III sessions, but III needs to make a few more changes for the public side of things to work. Minor problems with the Host Interface today created problems for the movers.
August 17,2000 @ 10:00am : More testing of Patron Based requests is being performed today. We have had very good progress, and have isolated a problem for the first half of the patron request. III is working on a fix for allowing the public to request items from the ARS. (We respectfully ask people to not make requests via the web until after we know it all works. We are trying to meet the deadline of August 23, 2000 before 8:00am.)
August 18,2000 @ 12:30pm : More host interface testing took place today. III Upgraded their Host Interface services, and this has solved the patron status check problem from yesterday.
August 18,2000 @ 3:45pm : Marilyn Kamp, Francia Phillips, Raye Lynn Thomas, Tim Huston, and Sandy Heft worked with me to send through many requests for books stored in the ARS. Over 150 items were processed through to the ARS over the host interface with ZERO host interface errors. We are trying to simulate conditions of a live library setting with many users making requests. We need to code up some web pages in HTML so the errors reported to the patron are more descriptive to the status of the items they are looking to examine.
August 19,2000 @ 12:00pm : We started the final load of books into the ARS for the move.
August 19,2000 @ 6:00pm : We think all of the items expected for move into the ARS have now been transferred.
August 20,2000 @ 5:00pm : I have provided a copy of all items scanned for ARS locations and items not scanned for ARS location to Sandy Heft. She will look to synchronize the III SNOOPY database so the review of items by patrons will properly show ARS stored items as actually being stored in the ARS, and items not in the ARS as not stored in the ARS.
August 21,2000 @ 11:00am : I finished performing the picks and stores on the 150+ items requested by library employees for pulling from the ARS.
August 21,2000 @ 1:00pm : I found, fixed, and tested a problem with the ETV Program service on the ETV Server. Now the ETV seem to work as demonstrated to us. (ETV= Electronic Track Vehicle. These are not part of the ARS, as they were made by a different company called TransLogic, but are part of the process for getting books from the ARS to one of 3 library locations - 2 of which may be used for public pickup: 1st floor circulation, and 2nd floor circulation.)
August 22,2000 @ 1:25pm : I found and fixed the problem with printing! The ARS side should be ready for business Wednesday morning.
August 22,2000 @ 3:30pm : I processed a few more pick requests from the III side, and it still seems to work. The ETV and ARS seem to work.
August 28,2000 @ 8:00am : News paper article in the press democrat discusses the ARS. A link offered in my links page.
To be done:
Synchronization of III and ARS databases: Sandy Heft and III need to synchronize the data I offered them with the Snoopy or III catalog and database. Once this is done, the items physically stored in the ARS will show up as stored in the ARS while items not stored in the ARS will show up with another location. (To my knowledge, this is being processed on the afternoon and evening of the Tuesday before we open! Go Go GO!)
III may need to add a function to limit processing of pick requests during off hours if that is abused.
Please note: We will need to work with III to improve patron access to the ARS. We (the university or library) cannot effect these changes on our own, but are certain that performance and function will improve over time as we are permitted to work with III. Assuming we meet our deadline, we will be going live with a system that has not been fully tested. We expect users to find bugs, and as they are found we will address them.
Comments and/or suggestions?: Email me at: dugan@passwall.com
Copyright/Trademark information:
HK Systems, Mini-Loader 750, ALSS (Automated Library Storage System) and other documents as specified here are controlled by Trademark and/or Copyright by HK Systems. Permission for my redistribution of these was granted to me from HK Systems for information purposes only. The information provided may not be used for commercial purposes unless you have written permission from HK Systems. If you wish to use any content provided by HK Systems, please contact them as I have no authority to offer authorization for more than non-commercial personal web use.
Peanuts, Snoopy, Woodstock, and Charlie Brown are all names controlled by Copyright or Trademark by United Feature Syndicate, Inc. Permission for Sonoma State University to use these names for naming parts of the Jean and Charles Schulz Information center was granted. My references to these names are not to the characters from the comic strip Peanuts, but to the names assigned by the SSU Library and SSU at SSU.
Images, video and text included for archive purposes from online sources include copyright from original sources and should be consulted before you attempt to use them for purposes other than those described by their copyrights and trademarks.
All images, video and text included on my web pages not explicitly referenced for copyright by other parties are Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 by ME. Permission to use my text and images for only non-commercial, non-public, personal-web-browsing purposes is granted. Please contact me for permission to re-publish my on-line content. (Content may change, and I wish to make sure that any site desiring to republish this information also remain current and cite this original site.)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Mr Derek McMinn MD FRCS
Staff Surgeons
← Jumping in at the Deep End
Changing the Channel →
Teacher Comforts
Deputy Head Teacher Mike's BHR Story…
In 1992, at the age of 43 I was first diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both my hips, with my right hip being significantly worse than my left. At that time I was still playing competitive tennis and cricket, having retired from playing rugby two years earlier. I was also running the occasional marathon and, more regularly, shorter distance events. I was cycling several times a week, both on and off road, and I walked regularly in mountainous and coastal areas. I was advised by my GP to give up running, which I did, but I continued with the other activities as best I could.
Over the next ten years my condition gradually deteriorated, but during that time my wife and I walked the 630 miles of The South West Coastal Path. When we started I was hiking with no walking poles, but ended using two. I was uncomfortable at the end of each day, but my biggest problem was getting over stiles. Cycling also became increasingly painful, and at times mounting my bike was extremely difficult.
My work as a deputy head teacher in a large comprehensive school was not really affected, but I gave up organising The Duke of Edinburgh Award, and was no longer able to play in staff versus pupil matches.
Towards the end of 2001, I was in significant pain much of the time, and my active lifestyle was being seriously influenced by my osteoarthritis, so I decided that my only option was to explore the idea of surgery with my GP. Because of my desire to remain as active as possible, I researched the alternatives, and was convinced from the onset that the only surgery for me was the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR), pioneered by Mr McMinn. Having requested, been sent, and watched the promotional video/DVD, it seemed logical to me that to retain the joint, albeit with a resurfaced 'coating', was the way forward. I had no doubt at all that it would be successful in relieving me of pain, and in enabling me to return to activities/events which I was missing.
At the start of 2002, I met Mr McMinn, who increased my confidence in the BHR further, and who suggested that only my right hip required surgery, and that my left one would improve once my right one had been repaired. This proved to be the case. Despite only limited BHR case history, and a short track record in medical terms (at least at that time), I had no reservations whatsoever, and had the surgery on my right hip on 6th February 2002.
Recovery was immediate, and I followed the physiotherapy/exercise plan to the letter, before and after my discharge from hospital. I was quickly back on my feet, and completely pain free. In fact it was only being without pain that made me realise just how much pain I'd been in prior to surgery. Within a month I was walking unaided, and by May I was cycling again. My fitness levels soon returned, and I began long distance footpath walking before the end of the year.
Since my hip resurfacing surgery, my active lifestyle has returned to near normal. I no longer play cricket, but up until two years ago, when I recently sustained a shoulder injury, I enjoyed social tennis and swimming, and have competed in short distance triathlons. I have walked The Cotswold Way, The Severn Way, The Wye Valley Footpath, The Thames Footpath, The Wysis Way and The Gloucestershire Way, all long distance footpaths/national trails. The biggest bonus for me however, was to be able to cycle, in stages, pain free from Chester around the Coast of Wales and South West England to Plymouth, and then from Salisbury along The Mercian Way back to Chester. I have also ridden from Aberystwyth, in West Wales, across Mid Wales and Middle England to London.
My BHR was, and still is, a complete success, and I have no pain in either hip. I do not see this changing in the near future, provided I remain sensibly active.
<Back to Joined@theHip Homepage
This entry was posted in Patient Story - BHR and tagged active hip patients, active hip resurfacing patient, active patients, arthritis, BHR, birmingham hip resurfacing, birmingham UK, conservative hip replacement, cricket, cycling, derek mcminn, hiking, hip arthritis, hip pain, hip replacement, hip resurfacing, hip resurfacing blog, hip surgery, marathon, marathon running, mcminn centre, metal-metal hips, osteoarthritis, pain-free hip, rugby, running, South West Coastal Path, swimming, tennis, triathlon, young patient arthritis. Bookmark the permalink.
Lord Andrew Robathan completes 'Wheels on the Western Front' charity cycle event in France
Bilateral BHR patient David House completes 50k walk for Dimbleby Cancer Care
Trail Blazing Peter Bell gives his BHR the 'ultimate test'
Before and After!
We Made It! McMinn Centre Team Complete 50k walk for charity
Mike Hoskin on Getting a Kick out of his BHR
Anna Prosser on Getting a Kick out of his BHR
Harvey Garfield on Getting a Kick out of his BHR
Ophelia Viltz on Getting a Kick out of his BHR
john stevenson on Getting a Kick out of his BHR
Patient Story – BHR
Patient Story – BKR
patient Story – BMHR
Patient Story – PHR
Patient Story – Total Hip Replacement
© The McMinn Centre - Mr Derek McMinn MD FRCS Hip Resurfacing Birmingham UK


text:
Home :: Policy :: Planning Policy Statements and Supplementary Planning Guidance :: PPS 18 (Draft) :: Preamble
Draft PPS 18: Renewable Energy
Planning (NI) Order 1991
PPS 1: General Principles
Policy PSU 12: Planning Strategy for Rural NI
The Department of the Environment (the Department) is responsible for planning control in Northern Ireland. The Planning Service, an Agency within the Department, administers its planning functions. The Department of Finance and Personnel have responsibility for the building regulations, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI), is responsible for Energy.
The Department has a statutory duty, laid down in Article 3 of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, to formulate and co-ordinate policy for securing the orderly and consistent development of land and the planning of that development. The Department is required to ensure such policy is in general conformity with the Regional Development Strategy.
The Department's planning policies are normally issued through Planning Policy Statements (PPS) and PPS 1 'General Principles' advises that:
"Planning Policy Statements set out the policies of the Department on particular aspects of land-use planning and apply to the whole of Northern Ireland. Their contents will be taken into account in preparing development plans and are also material to decisions on individual planning applications and appeals."
This Planning Policy Statement, PPS 18 'Renewable Energy' sets out the Department's planning policy for development that generates energy from renewable resources. The PPS also contains policy provisions on the application of the principles of Passive Solar Design in new development. It embodies the Government's commitments to: sustainable development; reducing emissions; and a move from being an overly fossil fuel reliant economy to one which seeks to maximise on the Region's substantial renewable energy potential.
The Department was assisted by an external stakeholder group in bringing forward this PPS (see Annex 4) and would like to take this opportunity to thank individuals for their participation to date.
When issued in final form, the policies of this Statement will supersede Policy PSU 12 'Renewable Energy' of the Planning Strategy for Rural Northern Ireland. Where the above policy is referred to elsewhere in the Planning Strategy, the policies of this statement will take precedence. The policies of this PPS do not apply to off-shore renewable energy development as these are not subject to control under the land use planning system.
The PPS has been subjected to an equality impact screening exercise in line with the statutory obligation contained in Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The outcome of this exercise indicates that the PPS is unlikely to have significant adverse implications for equality of opportunity or community relations.
Nothing in this document should be read as a commitment that public resources will be provided for any specific project. All proposals for expenditure by the Department are subject to economic appraisal and will also have to be considered having regard to the overall availability of resources.
PPS 18 Home
Planning Policies


text:
La 9 division d'infanterie indienne est une division d'infanterie indienne de l'armée britannique créée pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. La division faisait partie du III corps indien du commandement de la Malaisie pendant l'invasion de la Malaisie. Il était commandé par le major général Arthur Edward Barstow.

Histoire
La 9 division d'infanterie indienne a été formée le 15 septembre 1940 à Quetta, en Inde, avant d'être transférée en Malaisie. Le 15 septembre 1940, les trois brigades originales de la division étaient les 15, 20 et 21 brigades d'infanterie indienne. Le régiment 3 / 17 Dogra de la 9 division fut la première unité de l'armée du Commonwealth britannique à connaitre son baptême du feu contre les Japonais à la bataille de Kota Bharu le 8 décembre 1941. La 9 division indienne mena une retraite défensive relativement réussie sur la côte est de la Malaisie jusqu'à ce que la 22 brigade soit coupée du reste de la division sur un pont ferroviaire, démoli près du village de Layang Layang, dans l'état de Johor. Le major général Barstow a été tué en traversant le pont, alors qu'il tentait de contacter la brigade. La 22 brigade a été balayée en essayant de trouver un autre moyen de se rendre à Singapour.

Ce qui restait de la division fusionna avec la 11 division indienne.

Unités composantes 1941-1942
8 brigade d'infanterie indienne - Brigadier Berthold Wells (Billy) Key

 3 / 17 régiment Dogra - Lieut. Col George Alan Preston DSO (blessé à Kota Bharu)
 2 / 10 régiment Baloutches - Lieut. Col James Frith
 2 / 12 Frontier Force Regiment (2 Sikhs) - Lieut. Col Arthur Cumming VC
  infanterie Mysore (Indian States Forces) - Lieut. Col K. H. Preston
  infanterie Hyderabad (Indian States Forces) - Lieut. Col Charles Albert "Clive" Hendrick (✝⚔ à Kota Bharu)

22 brigade d'infanterie indienne - Brigadier George Painter

 Brigadier Painter
 2 / 18 Royal Garhwal Rifles - Lieut. Col L. H. Cockram / Lieut. Col G. E. R. S. Hartigan
 5 / 11 régiment sikh - Lieut. Col John Parkin / MacAdam
 1 / 13 Frontier Force Rifles - Lieut. Col Clarence Gilbert

Unités de soutien
 ARC - Brigadier E. W. Goodman
 5 Field Regt. - Lieut. Col E. W. F. Jephson - Royal Artillery (16 x obusiers de 4,5 pouces)
 88 Field Regt. - Lieut. Col Sylvain Claude D'Aubuz - Royal Artillery (24 x 25 pdrs)
 80 Régiment antichar - Lieut. Col W. Napier - Royal Artillery (48 x 2 pdrs / 47 mm Bredas)
 21 Mountain Battery, IA - Major JBSoper IA (4 x obusiers de montagne QF 3,7 pouces)

Notes et références

Voir aussi

Bibliographie

Liens externes
 Malaya Conflict Site
 9th Indian Infantry Division (1941–42)

Unité ou formation militaire créée en 1940
Division de l'armée indienne britannique
Unité ou formation militaire dissoute en 1942


text:
Current Biography is an American monthly magazine published by the H. W. Wilson Company of New York City, a publisher of reference books, that appears every month except December. Current Biography contains profiles of people in the news and includes politicians, athletes, businessmen, and entertainers. Published since 1940, the articles are annually collected into bound volumes called Current Biography Yearbook. A December issue of the magazine is not published because the staff works on the final cumulative volume for the year. Articles in the bound volumes correct any mistakes that may have appeared in the magazine and may include additional relevant information about the subject that became available since publication of the original article. The work is a standard reference source in American libraries and the publisher keeps in print the older volumes.  Wilson also issues cumulative indexes to the set, and an online version is available as a subscription database.

Monthly content
Current Biography profiles are written by the Wilson Company's in-house staff. They are typically produced by consulting previously published press accounts and occasionally by conducting interviews with the subjects. Running from 2,000 to 5,000 words, articles usually are accompanied by a black-and-white photograph of the subject, a mailing address for the subject, and a short bibliography. Between 15 and 20 profiles are included in each monthly issue. Obituaries are regularly printed of those previously profiled. They briefly summarize the life of the subject and add details occurring subsequent to the original profile. The entire series is available through the company's WilsonWeb on-line service, which many public libraries subscribe to.

Unlike other Wilson publications, when quoting, Current Biography cited authors, publication titles, and publication dates. These sources are not included in each entry's further reading section, which included page numbers but not authors.

A 1979 reference confirmed that Current Biography is a standard biographical reference work at accredited American library schools. Current Biography Yearbook provided short obituary notices from people of all nationalities.

Its first cumulated index, in 1973, aggregated and replaced the decennial indexes contained in the 1950, 1960, and 1970 Current Biography Yearbooks. It listed names alphabetically with references to the relevant Current Biography issue or yearbook.

In 2003, the H.W. Wilson Company began publishing an annual sister volume, Current Biography International Yearbook, which focuses on people living outside the United States. This series was discontinued after publication of the 2007 volume.

Articles in Current Biography are often used and listed as supplemental material in obituaries that appear in major media outlets.

Contributors
Notable contributors who have written for Current Biography include Cullen Thomas, the author of the prison memoir, Brother One Cell (2007); Mike Batistick, the author of the play, Ponies, which was produced Off-Broadway in 2003; Albert Rolls, the author of the books, Stephen King: A Biography (2008) and "Thomas Pynchon: The Demon in the Text" (2019) among others; Daniel Ford, author of "Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942" (2016) and other books; and Yongsoo Park, author of the novels, Boy Genius (2001) and Las Cucarachas (2003), and the memoir The Art of Eating Bitter (2018), and writer-director of the independent feature film, Free Country (1996).

Charles Moritz served as editor-in-chief of Current Biography from 1957 until 1992. He was succeeded as editor-in-chief by Judith Graham and then Elizabeth A. Schick. From 1998 to 2011, the editor-in-chief was Clifford Thompson, winner of a 2013 Whiting Writers' Award for nonfiction for Love for Sale and Other Essays and author of Twin of Blackness: A Memoir as well as a novel, Signifying Nothing.

References

Bibliography

Further reading

 Book Review Digest 1941
 Literary Research Guide J585

External links
Official site (print)
Official Site (Online)

Magazines published in New York City
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1940
Online person databases
Biographical dictionaries


I have been a client at PVS since the early 90's. My dog, Bear, was just a young guy then. Every time I would bring him in, they would make him feel like he was the only dog on earth in that moment. Because of PVS, Bear was with me until he was 16. He was a Black Lab/Golden Mix.
It is Sunday, July 15th 2007. Throughout the day, Bear started sending me signals that his body was failing him. I'm sure he had tried to tell me before that day, and maybe I just didn't want to see. I took him out to his favorite eatery for lunch, and then we just spent the rest of the day at home resting. By 6pm, he was not showing any improvement so I had a decision to make – Bear looked in my eyes and told me, it was time for him to go.
I called Penobscot Vet and spoke with Dr. Tina. I took him over and the 3 of us sat in what looked like some kind of lab/surgery room. We just spoke for hours talking about Bear who lay on my lap. He would get a burst of energy and jump off my lap to walk around the room. I said, "See he is feeling better, I think we will just go home." I was in fact being foolish and selfish, thinking of just my feelings. I finally left at 11pm and Tina continued to hang out with my baby until well after midnight. PVS was so kind to me throughout all my grief attacks and took care of him there for me rather than sending him to the emergency clinic. He now sits in a gold urn in my office, with me always.
Three weeks later, I adopted a 5 year old named Maggie from a Maine rescue; she was also a Black Lab/Golden Mix. She could have been Bear's sister. Two days after bringing her home, she was limping pretty badly so I brought her in to Penobscot for a look see and they found out that she needed ACL Surgery on her left leg. Then a year goes by and we do the right leg also. To complicate things, we found out she has severe arthritis and she is only 6 years old. She had endured a lot of abuse before I came along and I was determined not to give up on her! In the 2 years I was blessed with this girl, she spent more time at PVS then she did with me – I loved her so, I would do anything, spend any amount of money to help her. It was not meant to be. I lost her Friday Nov 6th, 2009 to liver cancer. I was swimming in grief once again. It was really tough because I was still grieving over Bear.
Two days later, November 8th 2009, I decided to save another; just the therapy I so desperately needed. I found Marisa in Cullam, Alabama. A Black Lab mix, only 10 weeks old. I adopted her and was holding her in my arms November 21st 2009. I picked her up in Wells, Maine. She had come up on the transport. Three months later, I found out she was scheduled to die in a gas chamber that very day I adopted her!! PVS keeps my little lady healthy, I keep her happy!
July 31st 2010, Benjamin comes to town. He needs a home – Black Lab/Golden…umm see a pattern? Marisa welcomed him into our home with open paws.
April 8th 2012, I was checking out a social networking site and I stumbled on to Alec. 4 month Black Lab mix scheduled for the gas chamber on April 10th 2012 – now what?? Something about him, could not, would not let him die. I made one phone call and all of a sudden he was on his way here!!! Wow, since then it has been a whirlwind here. This house is so full of love I sometimes think it will burst at the seams. I am so lucky to have Penobscot Veterinary Services at my service!


text:
Obama to set big goals in first budget
By Caren Bohan - Analysis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's budget this week will set out big goals: to rescue the economy from freefall, expand U.S. health care coverage and move within a few years to slash huge deficits.
The budget, due out on Thursday, will indicate Obama's timeline for achieving many of the domestic priorities he pushed during the campaign.
Sources familiar with the administration's thinking have said the blueprint will reflect Obama's interest in moving forward on a pledge to expand health care coverage to the 46 million Americans who lack it.
Health care will be an important theme all week, including in Obama's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night in which he will sketch out his major domestic and foreign policy goals.
Steps to tackle global climate change could also be incorporated in the budget for the 2010 fiscal year that begins on October 1.
At the same time, it will show the impact on the budget deficit of the recently passed $787 billion economic recovery package, the largest fiscal stimulus in history.
The stimulus is the centerpiece of initiatives Obama has put forth to jolt the economy out of a year-long recession.
While acknowledging the stimulus added massively to the government's red ink, Obama will promise budgetary discipline in the future, a theme he will highlight at a bipartisan "Fiscal Responsibility Summit" at the White House on Monday.
'STICKER SHOCK'
As he rolls out the budget, one of Obama's challenges will be to overcome skepticism about what he can achieve. Many doubt there is political will to tackle bold initiatives like health care reform while Washington grapples with the more immediate problems of the recession and the financial meltdown.
"All of these goals are extremely challenging," said William Galston, a former domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton. "Universal health coverage and a major assault on climate change would have been a tough sell in best of times, but these are the worst of times."
There is already "sticker shock" at the cost of the stimulus and the $700 billion financial bailout. Galston, a professor at the University of Maryland, said "members of Congress are going to be more reluctant than they would have been otherwise to go along with big-ticket spending items."
An administration official said Obama's budget would show a reduction in the deficit to $533 billion by 2013.
Private economists project that the deficit will swell to $1.5 trillion or higher in the 2009 fiscal year that ends September 30. That would be more than triple the $455 billion deficit recorded in 2008.
Obama inherited a more than $1 trillion deficit from President George W. Bush but that number will increase as a result of the two-year stimulus package.
Officials said that Obama would reduce the deficit in future years through increases in taxes on wealthier Americans and spending cuts.
His budget projects that the drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq will yield savings, though it is unclear how much of that might be offset by a buildup of troops in Afghanistan.
To lay the groundwork for the legislative efforts ahead, Obama, a Democrat, is continuing to try to reach out to opposition Republicans.
Despite an effort to court Republican support for the stimulus package, it got the backing of just three Republican senators and no members of the House of Representatives from the opposing party.
Obama has invited lawmakers of both parties, business people, union leaders and economists to Monday's fiscal summit to discuss long-term issues such as health care, entitlement programs and federal contracting in areas like defense.
Prominent Republicans including House of Representatives Minority Leader John Boehner and Arizona Sen. John McCain, Obama's rival in last year's presidential campaign, have said through their aides that they will attend.
Boehner and other Republicans have offered scathing criticisms of the stimulus bill, labeling the spending proposals wasteful and warning that it would bloat the debt.
A Boehner aide said the Ohio Republican is attending to the fiscal summit to see how "the administration plans on tackling our skyrocketing debt."
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office and an adviser to McCain during last year's campaign, also will attend the summit.
While critical of the stimulus, Holtz-Eakin said he is eager to hear what the administration says about health care reform, an area where he said there is some potential for common ground between Republicans and Democrats.
"There's common ground on some of the reforms to the practice of medicine," he said. But Holtz-Eakin added, "There's a huge difference in what has been said on the approach to enhancing coverage, insurance reform and things like that."
Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro, Editing by Jackie Frank


text:
Biden gets first-hand look at costly damage to California's Central Coast
The president met with state and local officials amid ongoing effort to evaluate damage from storms.
By Wes Venteicher
President Joe Biden got a first-hand look Thursday at the costly damage in California from a series of powerful storms, where rain, floods and surging waves have caused billions in damage and at least 20 deaths.
Biden, accompanied by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials, flew by helicopter over the battered Central Coast, an area south of San Francisco that experienced some of the worst ravages of the storms that began in late December and only tapered off this week.
His itinerary included the beach town of Capitola, the setting for some of the most dramatic scenes in recent weeks as large waves tore apart a historic wooden wharf and smashed the community's bright homes and businesses, depositing heavy debris on beaches. People crowded public areas to catch a glimpse of the president.
Speaking from a recently cleared section of beach, Biden predicted it would take years to recover for some areas. He said the federal government would help build stronger infrastructure to withstand extreme weather that — driven by climate change — is becoming common in the state. He noted his administration has already sent $9 billion in disaster aid to California since he took office.
"There's got to be significant changes made and the federal government's going to be here to help get that done," he said.
Local officials have just begun tallying the damage left by the storms: Preliminary estimates from Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Sacramento counties put the figure at a combined $250 million. The statewide total will be well into the billions.
The figures eventually will affect how much money California communities receive through Biden's recent disaster declaration, which he expanded Wednesday to cover 100 percent of costs for certain debris removal, emergency protective measures and other public assistance in affected areas.
Successive atmospheric rivers barreled over California starting shortly after Christmas, dumping a statewide average of 11.47 inches of rain from Dec. 26 to Jan. 17, with parts of the state receiving more than 30 inches, according to National Weather Service figures published Wednesday evening.
Creeks and rivers flooded, falling boulders destroyed roads and expansive pools formed in low-lying agricultural and suburban areas, damaging homes and vehicles. Winds that gusted above 100 miles per hour in some places downed trees and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people.
At least 20 people died, including a 1-year-old boy who was crushed when a tree fell on a mobile home in Sonoma County.
Those accompanying Biden also included Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, Sen. Alex Padilla, Rep. Anna Eshoo and other officials.
Anna Eshoo,
Joe Biden,
Joe Biden 2020,
California,
Floods,
Gavin Newsom,
Natural Disasters,


text:
Un feature freeze est un point temporel dans un cycle de développement logiciel où l'on décide d'interdire tout ajout de nouvelles fonctionnalités. Ce choix délibéré a généralement pour but de permettre de finaliser un état stable d'un programme pour aboutir à une livraison.

Voir aussi
 Test d'acceptation

Programmation informatique


text:
Sporadic violence, low turnout mar Nepal's elections
Nepal Election
Nepalese people cast their vote during the general election in Lalitpur, Nepal, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. Voters in Nepal lined up Sunday to elect members of Parliament in hopes that a new government would bring political stability and help with the Himalayan nation's development. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
BINAJ GURUBACHARYA
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Sporadic violence and lower-than-expected turnout on Sunday marred Nepal's parliamentary elections, which many hoped would bring political stability in the Himalayan nation that has changed 13 governments in the last 16 years.
One person was killed, two were wounded and voting stopped in at least 15 places, said Nepal's Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya. He said that elections would be repeated in those locations in the next two days while counting of votes in most places, including capital Kathmandu, will start Sunday night.
It wasn't immediately clear what triggered the violence.
Army helicopters will fly ballot boxes from remote mountain villages to district capitals on Monday, he said.
Turnout was estimated at 61%, which he said was lower than anticipated.
The main contestants in Sunday's election were the ruling alliance of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's Nepali Congress party and the Maoist communist party, which were running against the Nepal Communist Party (United Marxist-Leninist), headed by former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.
Security was stepped up across the country as a separate communist group, known for violence in the past, called for boycotting the polls and threatened to disrupt the election.
Sunday was declared a national holiday and vehicles were barred from the streets.
"The new government should be focused on development, it should be able to work, determined to develop the country, and be in touch with the people," said Ravi Shrestha, a retired government worker who was among the first ones to vote in Kathmandu.
"We need young leaders. We have seen the old generation work but now we need to see new people, new faces, new talent to come up, which is the desire of the people," Shrestha said.
Frequent changes in government and squabbles among parties have been blamed for a slow economy. Many voters say they are tired of the same leaders retaining power and failing to deliver on promises to improve lives while the country makes little progress.
"I am here to make sure that we elect good people who are able to work for the upliftment of the country and who are not corrupt," said businessman Manik Man Tamrakas.
Election results are likely to take days, if not weeks. Once all votes are counted, the 275 elected members of Parliament will chose a prime minister who will have to get the support of half the chamber.
The next government, likely a coalition, will face challenges of keeping a stable administration, reviving the tourism industry and balancing the relationship between two neighboring giants — China and India.


The last occult writing of Austin Osman Spare, the founder of Sigil Magic.
A richly illustrated book of images. Some of Spare's techniques, particularly the use of sigils and the creation of an "alphabet of desire" were adopted, adapted and popularized by Peter J. Carroll in the work Liber Null & Psychonaut. Carroll and other writers such as Ray Sherwin are seen as key figures in the emergence of some of Spare's ideas and techniques as a part of a magical movement loosely referred to as chaos magic. Zos Kia Cultus is a term coined by Kenneth Grant, with different meanings for different people. One interpretation is that it is a form, style, or school of magic inspired by Spare. It focuses on one's individual universe and the influence of the magician's will on it. While the Zos Kia Cultus has very few adherents today, it is widely considered an important influence on the rise of chaos magic.
Wisdom is a stasis: Knowledge is like the 'snake of eternity', constantly eating itself and never finishing. More bathos: connexity of all our bloody selves to Ego is a nightmare commanded by the overlooked, unobeyed latencies of return, essential for re-union. Ego expands by that which evokes mutual effluxes; therefore look for the Theocentric in the Egocentric. If God personalizes our deficiencies, then, we thus personify his? Subject understanding object by 'as if' may become, with courage, an ingressive emotional experience giving mutual expression. Falsehood, and all sham conceits, are the reflected memory of the de-related and forgotten event resurging, re-exhibiting for validation; for whatever you pretend, holds a misplaced Truth, i.e., inaccurately related time and place. This also is true of the future. Time here is long… Of whom do we ask forgiveness when we hate ourselves?


didn't originate from Letterman. In fact, Letterman will admit attempting to borrow from many REAL COMICS – Carson, Jack Benny, Steve Allen, etc. And, it still didn't help.
the air at CBS largely for his political correctness, beloved by his media mogul Les Moonvez (and much of Hollywood) for his leftist slant, which began to wear thin as he continually deprecated anyone right of center .
show up was there a bit of excitement.
along with getting great artists to sit in with the band, ala Doc Severinson on the old Carson show .
During better times for the Letterman show, here Bud Melman tries to answer a viewer's question in a 1985 airing. That character and others' often carried the show.
So, Letterman was allowed to coast with lower ratings until he admitted this year IT WASN'T FUN anymore; he had promised to retire when that time came . As some pundits have said, he should have retired years ago, with the gimmick guests like Melman and Rupert and Pet Tricks (borrowed from Ernie Kovaks) who really made the show now long gone. But, judging by Letterman's actions, he was going through the motions at the end, just riding on his past and political correctness , which would bring him guests LIKE the President and Hanks and most of Hollywood, which leans left.
Whereas Johnny Carson was involved in his bits like the Seer, Aunt Blabby, etc., Letterman was , if anything, the straight man for others and contributed little real humor, himself . His penchant to continually put down Republicans like President Bush and the current long list of presidential candidates only turned off more people; Carson, Leno and others weren't so political and were equal -opportunity comics, keeping both sides aware and involved. In recent years Letterman seemed to slow into an un-funny, stammering old fool. If not for his old, loyal, politically correct friends – and the fact that Moonvez overlooked the lower ratings in exchange for Letterman's politics- he would have been canned long ago.
Who will forget the classic closing show when Bette Middler sang that tearful goodbye to Johnny Carson? That was over 10 years ago. As Letterman even admits, or at least jokes about, the new, younger crop of comedians are funnier than he and it's time for him to move on, whereas Carson retired still at the top of his game. Doubtful Letterman's departure will have the same impact.


text:
'Hacksaw Ridge,' 'Allied' Land China Release Dates
6:51 AM PST 11/14/2016 by Patrick Brzeski
'Allied'
The country's usually strict quota on foreign film imports continues to expand, as regulators rush to counteract a slowdown in box-office growth.
Desperate times call for desperate measures?
Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge and Robert Zemeckis' Allied, starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, have both secured theatrical release dates in China, as the country's film regulators appear to be scrambling to counteract a sudden slowdown in box-office growth. Allied will arrive on Chinese screens on Wednesday, Nov. 30, and Hacksaw Ridge will open on Thursday, Dec. 8.
In an ordinary year, China's release calendar for Hollywood titles would be set in stone by now, since the country runs a quota that allows the import of just 34 foreign films per year on revenue-sharing terms. But after China's box-office growth for the year slowed to just 4.7 percent by the end of October — a drastic deceleration compared to 2015's huge 48 percent growth rate — regulators began loosening up. At current count, there will be about 40 Hollywood films released in China through the quota system by the end of 2016.
China's 2016 release calendar also is bucking past precedent by letting a couple of Hollywood titles squeak into December. International films are usually blocked from the market for the full final month of the year, as China operates one of its "blackout periods," boosting local film companies by giving them an uncontested run at cinemas. Preventing full-year box-office growth from possibly dipping into the negative appears to be the bigger priority this year, however.
Other major overseas films heading to China in the weeks ahead include: Deepwater Horizon on Tuesday; Disney's Moana and Warner Bros.' Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on Nov. 25; and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Japanese anime smash hit Your Name on Dec. 2.
Patrick Brzeski


text:
The 2019 Corrigan Oil 200 is a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race held on August 10, 2019, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 105 laps due to an overtime finish on the  D-shaped oval, it was the 16th race of the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season, and the final race of the regular season before the playoffs.

Background

Track

Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a  moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than  approximately  south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation (ISC). Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards). Michigan is the fastest track in NASCAR due to its wide, sweeping corners and long straightaways; typical qualifying speeds are in excess of  and corner entry speeds are anywhere from  after the 2012 repaving of the track.

Entry list

Practice

First practice
Ross Chastain was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 38.724 seconds and a speed of .

Final practice
Christian Eckes was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 39.081 seconds and a speed of .

Qualifying
Ross Chastain scored the pole for the race with a time of 39.179 seconds and a speed of .

Qualifying results

Race

Summary
Ross Chastain started on pole and led all 20 laps of Stage 1. His day ended early after contact between Johnny Sauter and Codie Rohrbaugh on pit road severely damaged Chastain's truck as it sent Rohrbaugh's truck into Chastain going onto pit road.

Ben Rhodes assumed the race lead and held it until Christian Eckes spun and brought out the first caution on lap 33. Rhodes and many of the leaders pitted for tires and fuel, but Brett Moffitt stayed out, beating Austin Hill during the final laps of Stage 2.

When the final stage began, Sheldon Creed and Rhodes (who were both playoff contenders) battled fiercely, exchanging the lead multiple times until Cory Roper slammed the wall on lap 57 and brought out the yellow. Moffitt stayed out again and assumed the race lead on the restart, but was passed by Todd Gilliland later on that lap.

The caution was brought out again on lap 66 when Rohrbaugh spun, prompting Moffitt to pit while Gilliland stayed out. Gilliland and Rhodes battled for the race lead from the lap 70 restart up until lap 76, when they made contact while blocking each other. This caused Gilliland to drop from the lead to sixth, while Rhodes was forced to pit after cutting a tire. Hill inherited the lead afterwards, battling with Tyler Ankrum through two cautions for Eckes spinning twice on lap 86 and lap 93.

On lap 97, Ankrum took the lead on the restart but spun his tires while Matt Crafton was pushing him, sending his truck spinning into oncoming traffic on the frontstretch, destroying the three DGR-Crosley cars while also taking Gilliland out of playoff contention.

Afterwards, Hill held off a charging Creed to win the final race of the 2019 regular season. Grant Enfinger captured the regular season championship by the end of Stage 1, securing 15 playoff points. Due to Hill's win, Crafton took the final playoff spot on points over Rhodes, Creed, Tyler Dippel, and Harrison Burton.

Stage Results

Stage One
Laps: 20

Stage Two
Laps: 20

Final Stage Results

Stage Three
Laps: 65

. – Driver made the playoffs cut.

References

2019 in sports in Michigan
Corrigan Oil 200
NASCAR races at Michigan International Speedway


There is a lot of interesting people on this website who are nothing short of my idols (and I can imagine that I am not the only one who feels that way). Without a doubt, one way to mimic the successes of these people is to do what they do. So I was just wondering if some of you guys cared to share what does your normal day schedule look like.
Sorry if this is a repost, I tried to find if a similar topic had been done before but I did not find anything.
6:00 am: Rise from bed.
6:15 - 6:30: Dumbbell exercise and wall-scaling.
7:15 - 8:15: Study electricity, etc.
4:30 - 5:00: Baseball and sports.
5:00 - 6:00: Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it.
7:00 - 9:00: Study needed inventions.
I'm pretty sure this is from The Great Gatsby -- I remember the dumbbell part. Am I right?
Yes. I remember the "practice elocution" part.
How does one "Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it?"
This is my perfect schedule that I do when everything goes right. Sometimes I deviate from it. Also, I'm a single man living in NYC, so YMMV.
As a married guy in a small, sleepy town I must say I envy your schedule a bit.
I wish I had that kind of flexible work schedule.
Disagree. Thinking like that is a common logical fallacy. Suppose you find a relation "isHacker?" <~> "schedule type". Then you have NO evidence at all that that these are related since your whole sample are hackers. Also you don't know anything about the causality.
Even if there is some relation (which I doubt) probably there are some other reasons and "reasons" ~> "isHacker?" and "reasons" ~> "schedule type"
You are not the first person to point it out. See explanation below.
- I was spending almost 2 hours a day on chit-chat with friends at work. This time is usually counted as work, but it really isn't. So now I stay in the office less, and go out with friends more. Same productivity, more fun.
- I was spending way more time than I thought on email, facebook, and reading news. Now I use a tool called StayFocused to limit my email/facebook time to 1.5 hours a day.
- I spent way too much time on technical support, so I went ahead and hired an intern to handle that.
Overall, I now work less and get more done, which is great.
13:00 start to get uncomfortably hungry, locate some nutrients, and absorb them orally. Usually about half an hour or an hour.
Between 17:00 and 20:00, varying depending on the day brain begins to emit SIGHUP signals and I end up doing something else, whether that's going for a run, watching some brain-dead TV, reading a book, or even spending the evening with my girlfriend.
Rarely, I go out to networking events or other social functions. Most of the time, though, I stay in, and go to bed by about midnight.
I think the most important thing I learned about working from home was that you have to act as if you had work hours, and protect that time so you don't spend it doing stupid chores like laundry or shopping or whatever. I do my shopping in the evening, like everyone else. I do my bills in the evening, like everyone else. Daytime is reserved for real, productive work.
2-5am: When I'm ready to fall over at the keyboard I head to sleep. If I hit a really good stride I might keep going through to the morning, which wrecks my schedule for the next day.
On weekends or other nights that I go out (~3 nights a week), I usually stop working around 8-10pm.
P.S. if you couldn't tell, I work from home.
08:30-PM Back to home. Dinner and shower and TV.
Not joking, my real daily schedule.
So you are actually working 1h30 a day ? What do you do in life ?
Medicine Student. I forgot to tell that I have an Intern that I don't attend.
> Without a doubt, one way to mimic the successes of these people is to do what they do.
Careful with that thought. If someone creates their own path, following in their footsteps after the fact will be an entirely different journey than the one they took.
That said, I'm curious as well. With the crowd that HN attracts, personal anecdotes can get pretty interesting.
- Learning how to get yourself into a creative state - Automating non-creative, repetitive tasks - Discerning when one should delegate or seek help from others and picking the right way to do that for the situation. - Taking the time to learn principles/foundational material for a new tool. In other words, RTFM.
Sure but that is dependent on how low-level your definition of "mimic" is. I did not mean that I would do the very same thing. This might not be the most instructive example, but for example if someone said "I work hard all day long", you can certainly get successful as well by doing that. I guess I should have said "get inspiration" instead of "mimic".
Totally agree. Just figured I'd put that out there since some people waste too much effort trying to take on the superficial mannerisms and habits of successful people as a distraction from the more difficult task of actually getting things done.
6:15PM-10:00 Program or socialize. So far this has been a 50/50 split.
On weeekends I try to get up early and hit a coffee shop from 9:00-3:00. I get somewhere between 15-20 hours of programming in per week (outside of my job).
9:55 arrive at the coffee shop near the office : take my coffee outside, with first cigarette of the day.
10:00 login to my computer, check emails, review todo list.
Then either I go to have a drink somewhere with some friends, or go&eat at some friend place.
22:00 SHOWER TIME § YHAHOO !!!
7:15 works begins. no distractions.
i am very pleased with this schedule and very productive. i'll probably wake up later in the fall/winter.
8:30-midnight: Take rest of night off or perhaps have another couple hours of productivity.
It's not as bad as it sounds cause usually the "procrastination" is me experimenting with new code or programming languages (or reading HN), just not what I'm "supposed" to be doing.
yeah, whats up with the 17.00 - 19.00 crazy productivity?
Usually at some point I start yelling at myself "ok, you REALLY need to work now" and once I get into it I'm extremely focused and productive, especially if a deadline is looming.
When I worked in an office I was the same way. If I hit a good stride by like 4-5pm, I would usually end up staying until 7-9pm. It's good to have bosses that recognize that 40 hours a week don't have to be at the same time every day to maximize productivity.
My commute is mostly by train, so I spend that time reading or on computer+WiFi, depending on my needs. I often work from home too, which shifts things around a bit but I basically keep the same work hours so I'm in sync with colleagues.
One thing you should consider is that the successful people you want to imitate are probably partially successful because they did not imitate others, but did what worked for them.
Everybody is different and will work best under different conditions. Try to find out what schedule works best for you.
I get the most work done later in the day, but I still find myself most productive if I get up reasonably early. So I allocate easy / non-thinking work in the morning, and do stuff that really requires creativity and brainpower in the afternoon / evening.
Here's mine. I like to get an early start. My eyes are generally open before the 5:00 AM alarm rings.
My time on the bus is spent reading or resting.
wake up at 7.30AM, check email/twitter.
home by 19.15, snack at 21.30, work/read/music/video games till 1.30, exercise & stretch, sleep by 01.30.
I've recently given up caffine and most sugars, and try to sleep only 6 hours a night and have been a factor of ten more productive. Also, only checking twitter on iPhone, heh.
Interesting. Are you saying that sleeping 8 hours would make you less productive ? How did you find out ?
I find I'm more alert with 6 hours sleep. Also generally two hours more each and every day.
I noticed you forgot "Return some videos" in that list.
Note: You are awesome if you catch the reference.
9.00 AM Rise from bed 9-9.45 AM Get ready, breakfast, bath etc. 10 AM - Leave for work (that pays real money and keeps immigration officers off my back) 10.15 AM - Reach work. start working(Java, GWT related, I know, learning PHP, JS and Jquery now. ). 1. PM - Lunch. 1.45 PM - Start work again. 6.30 PM - Leave work, Go home. 7 PM - Start working on my startup. 8.30 PM - Dinner. 9.30 PM - Start startup work again. 1.00 AM or 2.00 AM - Dead tired, go to sleep.
My schedule is different every semester and summer but here is my current summer schedule.
Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late. I use the side door, that way Lumbergh can't see me. Uh, and after that, I just sorta space out for about an hour. I just stare at my desk but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch too. I'd probably, say, in a given week, I probably do about fifteen minutes of real, actual work.
Wake up between 7 and 8 (naturally, no alarm clock), answer emails, go get breakfast, eat while watching the daily show. Check what's new online. Start actually working at 10. Go out for a walk around 13, and get some lunch, 14:30 back, and work till 10pm. Sometimes will go out around 8pm to meet people.
One thing that surprised me is that most hackers here work out physically regularly.
I do as well, and I also find post-workout protein drinks are essential. I tried not using them for 2 weeks and found the lack of them rendered my workouts totally meaningless (I track weight and body fat, another good thing to do).
Do remember that people tend to describe themselves as they would like to be, not as they are. I'm sure all of us have some point in the day we would like to be at the gym -- whether we get there is another issue. I don't know a lot of hyper-fit developers in my area.
Is answering or seeing this thread right now in your planned schedule?
12-1: eat, email, news, etc.
Yeah, I eat a lot.
Interesting that no one is a night owl here.


This flower pin offers the perfect opportunity to add a splash of color to anything you want.
Big flowers are right in line with the fashion trends and is perfect for any special occasion.
Available in 19 color palettes in stores by special order only.


text:
Kirtland's Warbler No Longer Needs Protection from Brown-Headed Cowbird in Michigan
A Kirtland's warbler perched on a branch. (Courtesy of Nathan Cooper)
For the past 40 years, brown-headed cowbirds have been trapped and killed in Michigan to prevent them from laying eggs in endangered Kirtland's warbler nests—causing warbler parents to care for cowbird chicks instead of their own chicks. A study published today in the Journal of Wildlife Management by scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and Utah State University found that Kirtland's warblers may no longer need the extra protection against parasitic brown-headed cowbirds. In 2018, cowbirds parasitized less than 1% of Kirtland's warbler nests in Michigan after scientists gradually removed cowbird traps during the previous three nesting seasons.
"We think this is a turning point for Kirtland's warbler management," said lead author and Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center postdoctoral fellow Nathan Cooper. "In 2015, the first year of the study, after we started removing cowbird traps, everybody was shocked when we only found two parasitized nests. By 2018, we thought that it might actually be possible to stop trapping cowbirds altogether, which would be exciting because it means that this species is less reliant on conservation than previously thought."
From 2015 to 2018, researchers found only 20 cowbirds during surveys in the warblers' core breeding range in Michigan. During those four nesting seasons, only four of 514 Kirtland's warblers' nests were parasitized by cowbirds. Initially in 2015 and 2016, scientists closed 12 cowbird traps at four study sites. Seven additional traps were closed in 2017. Finally, in 2018 researchers closed all of the traps across the entire core breeding range in Michigan.
Kirtland's warblers became dependent on conservation efforts in Michigan, which is where their summer nesting grounds are, in 1972. Although cowbirds are a native species to North America, they had not lived in Michigan before the early 1900s. By 1971, only 200 male Kirtland's warblers remained in the wild and about 70% of their nests were parasitized by cowbirds. There are now 2,300 breeding male Kirtland's warblers and the number of cowbirds in Michigan is decreasing, not due to trapping, but more likely because of changes to the surrounding landscape. Northern Michigan is now much more forested than it was in 1972, due to reversion of lands from agriculture to forested habitats. Cowbirds do not like to live in forests and prefer open landscape, or landscapes that have been cleared for agriculture.
The evidence of the Kirtland's warbler's ability to thrive in their core breeding range without the intervention of cowbird control is especially timely because the species is being considered for removal from U.S. Endangered Species List during summer 2019. If the Kirtland's warbler is delisted, it will still be monitored to avoid another population crash, but the birds will receive less funding to support conservation measures like cowbird control and habitat creation.
Despite its potential change in status, the Kirtland's warbler will still receive help from management agencies. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will assume control of managing the cowbird population after the Kirtland's warbler is delisted. They will monitor the rate of parasitism of Kirtland's warbler nests by brown-headed cowbirds and will resume trapping efforts if it becomes necessary again. During the next few years, authors of the study will develop a monitoring program that will cost substantially less than original trapping program.
Additional authors on the paper are Clark Rushing, Utah State University, Department of Wildland Resources, and Peter Marra, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Migratory Bird Center.
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute plays a leading role in the Smithsonian's global efforts to save wildlife species from extinction and train future generations of conservationists. SCBI spearheads research programs at its headquarters in Front Royal, Virginia, the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and at field research stations and training sites worldwide. SCBI scientists tackle some of today's most complex conservation challenges by applying and sharing what they learn about animal behavior and reproduction, ecology, genetics, migration and conservation sustainability.
Download a full-size version of this image (413.02 KB)
Kirtland's Warbler
Smithsonian scientists study the Kirtland's warbler, one of North America's rarest songbirds, to better understand and protect the species.
A Day in the Life of a Conservation Biologist in Search of a Rare Songbird's Nest
Tracking Technology Exposes Secretive Long-distance Movement of Kirtland's Warblers
2019's Conservation Stories Worth Celebrating (Part Two)
Kirtland's Warbler Expedition Blog