We all know them for sponsoring the Tottenham Spurs and the iPhone look-a-like named S9. But the latest news from the Leagoo stables proofs the Chinese manufacturer can be original too. Leagoo has announced the first rugged smartphone in their range and it looks good: The Leagoo XRover.
When I think of Leagoo, I usually think of cheap and low-end to midrange devices. The Leagoo S8 Pro (a higher end version of their S8) never stood in the spotlights properly. One of the reasons for that could've been the price. When I think of smartphones above the 250 euro marker, Leagoo is just not the first brand to pop in your head. And yet, their latest release, the Leagoo XRover will be in that price range again. Let's take a look at the specs we know so far to see if that price is justified.
First thing I should mention is the fact the XRover is a rugged phone, with an IP68 rating. This means that the smartphone is entirely waterproof and dustproof. On top of that Leagoo has also built the Leagoo XRover so that it can withstand the occassional drop and made it shockproof. Then again the tri-proofing alone doesn't make a phone worth over 250 euro. In fact there are IP68 phones available under the 100 euro marker. The XRover also has a huge screen for a rugged phone since it comes equipped with a 5.72″ 18:9 HD+ display.
The heart of the Leagoo XRover is the Helio P23 octa-core SoC together with no less than 6GB of RAM. You won't have to be afraid to run out of storage since the XRover comes with 128GB ROM. Also in the camera segment the XRover is different from most rugged phones. The phone is equipped with a dual rear camera sporting a 13MP & 5 MP dual camera (main sensor being a Sony IMX258) and an 8MP Sony IMX219 selfie shooter on the front. Everything get's its power from a 5000mAh battery with 9V/2A fast-charging support. So all in all the Leagoo XRover looks like a great rugged phone, but when I look at the price setting and at phones like for example the AGM X2 or the Blackview BV9000 that are about the same price.
I seriously wonder… Would I trust a first-time rugged device? Sure, why not. Enough to pay the same 300 I would pay for a rugged phone from on of the brands that make rugged phones their core business? In all honesty, I can't say. So let's see how it all unfolds. Let's wait for the first testers and reviewers to come with their verdict. For now I think it's an original looking rugged phone with a decent build. And proof that Leagoo doesn't need to copy others to come with a great new device.


I am writing you this quick thank you note regarding your Levbid SL prescription strength. As far as I am concerned this product is the best product on the market. Your statement that it can change your life is the perfect statement!
Q:Are there any benefits to purchasing Levbid SL drugs online?
A:Yes. Legitimate pharmacy sites on the Internet provide consumers with a convenient, private, way to obtain needed medications, sometimes at more affordable prices. The elderly and persons in remote areas can avoid the inconvenience of traveling to a store to purchase medications. The increasing use of computer technology to transmit prescriptions Levbid SL from doctors to pharmacies is likely to reduce prescription errors.
Salmeterol is used twice daily (morning and evening) for the maintenance treatment of asthma and in preventing spasm of the airways (bronchospasm) in patients 12 years and older. Salmeterol is also used for the prevention of exercise induced asthma. Salmeterol is a long-acting beta-2 agonist, its action starts within 15 minutes and can last more than 12 hours. Therefore, salmeterol is useful in patients that require frequent administration of short acting beta-2 agonists, such as albuterol, for control of their asthma symptoms. Salmeterol is generally not used in patients whose asthma symptoms can be easily controlled with infrequent administration of short acting inhalers. Some patients with chronic bronchitis and emphysema may also benefit from salmeterol when their symptoms are related to reversible airway narrowing. Asthma is a breathing problem involving narrowing of the airways. Airways are breathing passages that allow air to move in and out of the lungs. In patients with asthma, airways can be narrowed by accumulation of mucus, spasm of the muscles that surround these airways, or swelling of the lining of the airways. Airway narrowing lead to symptoms of shortness of breath, wheezing, cough and congestion. Medications used in treating asthma open airways are called bronchodilators. Salmeterol is a bronchodilator of the beta-2 agonist type. Beta-2 agonists are medications that stimulate beta-2 receptors on the smooth muscle cells that line the airways, causing these muscle cells to relax, thus, opening airways.


text:
Bigourdan Fjord is a sound,  long in an east-west direction and averaging  wide, lying between Pourquoi Pas Island and the southwest part of Arrowsmith Peninsula, along the west coast of Graham Land in Antarctica. It was discovered by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1908–10, under Jean-Baptiste Charcot, and named by him for Guillaume Bigourdan, a noted French astronomer. It was roughly surveyed by the British Graham Land Expedition, 1934–37, under John Riddoch Rymill, and resurveyed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1948–50.

See also
Swash Reef

References

Sounds of Graham Land
Loubet Coast

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Thank you for reading this blog. It's been quite a journey getting four under two to adulthood and we are still working on it. Somewhere along the way I realized there is much more growth occurring than just my children's. God has a mysterious way of intertwining His plan while we think we are achieving our own. That is what this Blog is about. Please feel free to comment or share.


and masculine sides, because we believe God has both masculine and feminine sides. We embrace who we are, but don't take ourselves too seriously.
Since God speaks through all our circumstances, as long as I see Him in this principle, there will be meaning in all that happens. She showed me how to just be happy.
It became a real-life metaphor whenever we would feel rushed. I don't know what lies ahead, so I just enjoy the ride, each and every day. This is what I want to pass on to my children. As I live my life each day, waking up and finding meaning in all the details, things both scheduled and unexpected, I live each day with purpose.
God trains those whom He calls. And it's definitely worth the work. It takes time and patience, so enjoy the ride.
Joy told me, "I'm not worried when people tell me that I committed some sin, or when the doctor said I have to die and I was a young 34 year old mother. . I love You, and I trust You. I commit my life, if it's a moment, a day, a week, or a year, my life is Yours.


text:
Law Star Game photo gallery - click here
Nominations Sought for Peretta, Perry Service Awards
The Young Lawyers Division is now accepting nominations for the F. Sean Peretta Service Award and the Craig M. Perry Service Award, both presented at the Holiday Party in December. Deadline for nominations is Wednesday, Oct. 22.
Education Summit Oct. 9 with School Chief Hite
While Philadelphia continues to grow and flourish, public education funding remains one of our most significant weaknesses. On Thursday, Oct. 9, join Chancellor William P. Fedullo and Philadelphia School District Superintendent Dr. William R. Hite for the Philadelphia Bar Association's first-ever Education Summit...READ MORE
YLD Bootcamp: Tactics, Tips and Tricks for Law Students, New Lawyers Nov. 14
Hear from experienced attorneys and members of the judiciary at the fifth annual "YLD Bootcamp: Tactics, Tips and Tricks for Law Students and New Lawyers," presented by the Young Lawyers Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association on Friday, Nov. 14...READ MORE
Applicants Sought for FJD Judicial Fellowship Program
Philadelphia judges are seeking to host law school graduates as judicial fellows to provide the graduates with substantive legal experience while benefitting the court system with additional legal talent, as part of the First Judicial District's Judicial Fellowship Program...READ MORE
Judges Wanted for Market Street Invitational Mock Trial Competition
Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law will host the inaugural Market Street Invitational on Oct. 25-26 and needs judges for this mock trial competition...READ MORE
Candidates Sought for YLD Executive Committee; Nomination Deadline is Oct. 10
The Young Lawyers Division is now accepting nominations from any voting member of the YLD interested in serving a three-year term on the Executive Committee. This year's YLD Executive Committee election will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 9...READ MORE
Get Scoop on Nonprofit Board Service Oct. 23
The Board Observer Program CLE "The Inside Scoop on Nonprofit Board Service" will provide training on the basics of nonprofit board service, including charitable issues raised under state and federal laws for current board members as well as people interested in serving on a nonprofit board on Thursday, Oct. 23...READ MORE
CLS 5th Annual 5K Oct. 12 at Memorial Hall
Community Legal Services's 5th Annual Justice For All 5K will be held Sunday, Oct. 12 at 8:30 a.m., at Memorial Hall in Fairmont Park, Philadelphia. The race features an individual competition, a team competition, and a law school challenge. Walkers and people with strollers and pets are welcome to participate. For more information or to register online visit clsphila.org/justiceforall5k or contact Caitlin Brown at cbrown@clsphila.org.
Just One Week Left to Register for Bench-Bar
Online registration for the Bench-Bar & Annual Conference is available until Tuesday, Oct. 14. Twenty-three seminars and 8.5 CLE credits will be available at the conference, being held at Borgata in Atlantic City, N.J. Oct. 17-18...READ MORE
Harvest for Homeless Needs Volunteers
The Young Lawyers Division is seeking volunteers for the annual "Harvest for the Homeless" donation drive on Saturday, Nov. 1...READ MORE
Committee of Seventy Needs Election Volunteers
The Committee of Seventy's Election Program dates back to our founding and is a vital part of our fight for clean and well-run elections. Volunteers spend Election Day visiting polls and providing support for voters and polling place officials, helping resolve issues reported to the 1-855-SEVENTY Hotline for Elections and Voting...READ MORE
The F. Sean Peretta Service Award is presented annually to an individual who has devoted substantial time to an innovative or non-traditional program that serves the community. Peretta was a private practitioner
who died suddenly at age 31 who was a very involved community activist and a mentor to kids in his home neighborhood. He was viewed as a role model for African-American Youth.
The Craig M. Perry Service Award is presented annually to a young lawyer - 37 years old or younger or within the first three years of practice - who has devoted substantial time and energy to community-oriented activities, including, but not limited to, pro bono and charity work. Perry was a member of the YLD Executive Committee who suffered an untimely death. He was very involved in community service and active in student-related and other YLD programs.
Nominations should include the individual's name, address and a brief statement describing his or her qualifications. The deadline for nominations is Wednesday, Oct. 22. All nominations should be submitted to Dawn Petit at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market Street, 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107 or by email to dpetit@philabar.org.
Candidates Sought for YLD Executive Committee
The Young Lawyers Division is now accepting nominations from any voting member of the YLD interested in serving a three-year term on the Executive Committee. This year's YLD Executive Committee election will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Each year, seven new members are elected to the YLD Executive Committee. Any voting member of the YLD is eligible for election provided that the term of office for which the individual runs shall not extend beyond his or her membership in the Division. A member is eligible if he/she is 37 years old or younger in the year 2017 or, if he/she is older than 37, not celebrating more than his/her third year of practice in 2017.
The Executive Committee manages and directs the business and activities of the YLD's approximately 3,000 members, including oversight of more than 30 committees in the areas of public service, law-related education and service to the legal community. Being on the YLD Executive Committee provides lawyers opportunities for leadership, networking, and personal and professional growth early in their careers.
The nominating petition and personal statement must be returned to Dawn Petit, Meetings Coordinator, Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market Street, 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107 or dpetit@philabar.org, no later than 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10.
Bench-Bar Online Registration Ends Oct. 14
Online registration for the Bench-Bar & Annual Conference is available until Tuesday, Oct. 14. The Bench-Bar & Annual Conference provides attendees the opportunity to earn continuing legal education (CLE) credit while networking with colleagues and members of the bench. Hundreds of attorneys and judges are expected to attend. Twenty-three seminars and 8.5 CLE credits will be available at the conference, being held at Borgata in Atlantic City, N.J. Oct. 17-18. Click here to register.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille will receive the Philadelphia Bar Association's highest honor, the Bar Medal, at the Bench-Bar's Opening Luncheon on Friday, Oct. 17. The Bar Medal is given at the discretion of the Chancellor and only when it is felt that someone has contributed to the justice system and/or the community in a manner that is sustained, extraordinary and worthy of emulation.
Attendees will be able join us for "An Intimate Evening With Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals" and hear such classic hits as "Good Lovin'," "Groovin'," "People Got to Be Free," "A Beautiful Morning" and more! Doors open at 10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17 for the concert and concert admission is free to all Bench-Bar registrants.
Full conference registration rates are $449 for members and $299 for Young Lawyers Division members, public interest and government attorneys. Registration for non-members is $599. Registration includes all CLE programing and all sponsored meals and events on Friday and Saturday.
Sponsors for the 2014 Bench-Bar & Annual Conference include USI Affinity, LawCash, Love Court Reporting, Inc., First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Insurance Adjustment Bureau, BPU Investments, JAMS The Resolution Experts, LexisNexis, Robson Forensic, Simon Public Relations, Bellia Print & Design, CourtCall LLC, Family Law Section, FindLaw, MCS E-Document Service, MediaSmack, Pain Management & MRI, ParenteBeard, Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc., Robert Half Legal, US Legal Support, Widener University School of Law, Workers' Compensation Section and The Legal Intelligencer. For sponsorship information, contact Tracey McCloskey at 215-238-6360 or tmccloskey@philabar.org.
While Philadelphia continues to grow and flourish, public education funding remains one of our most significant weaknesses. On Thursday, Oct. 9, join Chancellor William P. Fedullo and Philadelphia School District Superintendent Dr. William R. Hite for the Philadelphia Bar Association's first-ever Education Summit.
Local leaders and stakeholders will share their thoughts and ideas regarding our city's public education crisis. All attendees are encouraged to participate in the discussion on how to best create a path forward. The Education Summit also will be an opportunity for Support Our Schools Campaign participants to reflect on their experiences.
The program begins at 12 p.m. in the 11th Floor Conference Center at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market St. There is no cost to attend this program. Lunch is available for $8 for members of the Philadelphia Bar Association and $12 for non-members. Cancellations require 24 hours notice to receive a refund. Click here to register.
YLD Needs Volunteers for Harvest for Homeless Nov. 1
The Young Lawyers Division is seeking volunteers for the annual "Harvest for the Homeless" donation drive on Saturday, Nov. 1 from approximately 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Ballard Spahr LLP.
Over the next month, the YLD will collect and sort donations of men's, women's and children's clothing. Once the items are sorted, they will be delivered them to local homeless shelters.
The YLD is also looking for volunteers to assist with managing and collecting donations at their firm or employer. Volunteers are needed on the day of the event to help with sorting and distributing the donated items. To volunteer, please contact Bob Zimmerman at rzimmerman@smbb.com.
Donations can be dropped off at the following law firms - Fox Rothschild LLP, 2000 Market St.; Martin LLC, 1818 Market St.; White and Williams LLP, 1650 Market St., Suite 1800; McCarter & English, LLP, 1735 Market St., Suite 700; Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky, One Liberty Place, 1650 Market St., 52nd Floor; Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP, 2000 Market St., Suite 1300; and Griesing Law, LLC, 1717 Arch St., Suite 3630.
The Board Observer Program CLE "The Inside Scoop on Nonprofit Board Service" will provide training on the basics of nonprofit board service, including charitable issues raised under state and federal laws for current board members as well as people interested in serving on a nonprofit board on Thursday, Oct. 23.
The program has been approved for 1.5 substantive CLE credits. Participants wishing to receive the CLE credit will be required to pay a fee of $40 for members of the Philadelphia Bar Association admitted for more than five years and $35 for members of the Philadelphia Bar Association admitted for less than five years. Click here to register for CLE credit.
Registration and breakfast begin at 8:30 a.m. in the 11th Floor Conference Center at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market St. Click here to register to attend without CLE credit.
Hear from experienced attorneys and members of the judiciary at the fifth annual "YLD Bootcamp: Tactics, Tips and Tricks for Law Students and New Lawyers," presented by the Young Lawyers Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association on Friday, Nov. 14.
The topics and presenters for the 2014 YLD Bootcamp are:
Interview Skills with panelists Linsey B. Bozzelli, Attorney Recruiting Committee Chair, Blank Rome LLP; Jason B. Conn, Assistant Deputy General Counsel, Comcast Corporation; Austin R. Freundlich, Founder, Freundlich & Littman, LLC; and Jason Y. Mandel, Director of Legal Recruiting, Alevistar Group.
Advice from the Bench with Judge Kevin M. Dougherty, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Family Division; Judge Anne E. Lazarus, Superior Court of Pennsylvania and Judge Timothy R. Rice, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Considerations Before Starting Your Own Solo Practice or Small Firm with Vern Anastasio, The Anastasio Law Firm; Brad V. Shuttleworth, Alva & Shuttleworth, LLC; and Matthew Toll, Law Offices of Robert J. Garnick.
You Passed the Bar, Now What?: How to Succeed in Your First Year As an Attorney, and How to Gain Experience with Grant G. Berger, Fidelity National Law Group; D. Max Friedman, Hovatter, Friedman & Stofman, P.C.; Jamie M. Gershkow, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP; Dana B. Ostrovsky, Fidelity National Law Group; and Brandon R. Sher, Landman Corsi Ballaine & Ford, P.C.
The cost is just $10 and includes lunch, each of the panel presentations and networking opportunities throughout the day. The program will be held in the 11th Floor Conference Center at the Philadelphia Bart Association, 1101 Market St. Click here to register. A YLD Networking Happy Hour follows the boot camp at the Field House, 1150 Filbert St.
Philadelphia judges are seeking to host law school graduates as judicial fellows to provide the graduates with substantive legal experience while benefitting the court system with additional legal talent, as part of the First Judicial District's Judicial Fellowship Program. Now in its fourth year, the Judicial Fellowship Program was created in 2011 to address the difficult hiring climate for lawyers that many recent law graduates were facing.
The Judicial Fellowship Program aims to provide high-caliber law graduates with substantive experience in the law, and to support the Court in carrying out key functions. Fellows volunteer their time, have the same responsibilities as regular paid judicial law clerks, and gain the benefit of training by judges in the Philadelphia courts. Judicial fellows' service helps our high-volume court system maintain its superior quality of service to the Philadelphia community. Judges help judicial fellows by mentoring and providing legal experience that will enhance their competitiveness for paid employment as new lawyers.
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Lisa M. Rau developed the program with help from Professor Chapin Cimino of Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law as well as faculty and administrators from career services offices at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Temple University Beasley School of Law. The Judicial Fellowship Program quickly expanded and now welcomes graduates from law schools from across the country. The Philadelphia Bar Association has been a constant supporter of the Judicial Fellowship Program.
The application process is streamlined and selective. Prospective judicial fellows apply directly via email to judges with whom they are interested in working. Judges select judicial fellows from those applicants who apply to them directly. The list of judges with available positions for judicial fellows is provided on the Judicial Fellowship Program's website. Each judge and fellow team designs a flexible schedule (minimum of 20 hours per week) that ensures reliable service to the judge but permits the fellow to seek a paid position elsewhere. Judicial fellows do not commit to any length of service enabling them to leave the fellowship with two weeks' notice to their judge upon obtaining paid employment.
As of September 2014, more than 61 judges have volunteered to host judicial fellows and the court has hosted 175 judicial fellows from 36 different law schools. The vast majority of judicial fellows who have left their fellowship departed for paid jobs using their legal skills.
For additional information and fellowship application forms, please visit www.courts.phila.gov/jfp
The Committee of Seventy's Election Program dates back to our founding and is a vital part of our fight for clean and well-run elections. Volunteers spend Election Day visiting polls and providing support for voters and polling place officials, helping resolve issues reported to the 1-855-SEVENTY Hotline for Elections and Voting. Thanks to the dedication of thousands of volunteers over the years, the program has become one of the largest and most sophisticated in the country.
Field Teams work in groups of two or three to monitor polls in a specific ward, checking for inappropriate behavior and answering voters' questions. They report incidents and ongoing problems back to the Committee of Seventy.
Roving Teams also work in groups of two or three but are assigned specific districts (each includes 5 to 10 wards). They respond to incidents and problems reported to Seventy by field teams or others calling the 1-855-SEVENTY hotline. We encourage returning volunteers (especially those with cars!) to consider serving on a roving team
Hotline volunteers work in Seventy's office on Election Day, answering calls from voters, poll officials and Seventy Volunteers. Hotline volunteers staff the 1-855-SEVENTY Hotline for Elections and Voting and help voters find their polling places, give basic assistance with Election Day rules, direct problems to the correct authorities and document problems that will be responded to by field and roving teams.
Registration for the Nov. 4 Election Program is now open. Click here to get involved.
Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law will host the inaugural Market Street Invitational on Oct. 25-26 and needs judges for this mock trial competition.
The tournament will host a field of up to 24 teams from schools all over the East Coast, including teams from Drexel, the University of Pennsylvania, Fordham University, the University of Richmond and the University of Maryland. With four rounds over the course of two days, we are expecting 48 exciting trials of Lee and Andy Park v. Hayden Duran, a wrongful death suit where the plaintiff is alleging that the defendant's child shot their daughter when the children were at the plaintiff's home alone one day.
Judges are needed for four rounds - two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Each trial is limited to no more than three hours. There will be a judges' meeting one hour prior to the start of trial. Breakfast or lunch will be provided at this meeting (depending on the time of day), and over the course of the meeting all judges will be made familiar with the case and with the basics of judging collegiate mock trial. The morning rounds will have a judges' meeting at 9 a.m. with the rounds ending around 1 p.m. Afternoon rounds will have a judges' meeting at 1:30 p.m. with the rounds ending around 5:30 p.m.
If you are interested and available to judge, even if only for a round, please click here to register.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The following Doxycycline Nausea side effect reports were submitted by healthcare professionals and consumers.
which developed after the beginning of treatment. This side effect report can indicate a possible existence of increased vulnerability to Doxycycline treatment in female patients suffering from endometritis, resulting in Nausea.
. Concurrently used drugs: NA. This finding indicates that some patients can be more vulnerable to developing Doxycycline Hyclate side effects, such as Nausea.
and. Doxycycline dosage: One Time. Concurrently used drugs: NA.
Drugs used concurrently:NA. The patient was hospitalized. Although Doxycycline demonstrated significant improvements in a number of clinically relevant cases, troublesome symptoms, such as Nausea, may still occur.
and. Location: US , 59 years of age, weighting 190.0 lb, patient began experiencing various side effects, including: Directly after treatment started, patient experienced the unwanted or unexpected Doxycycline side effects: lupus-like syndrome, musculoskeletal stiffness, arthralgia, movement disorder, gait disturbance, nausea, headache, confusional state. Additional medications/treatments: The patient was hospitalized.
The patient was hospitalized and became disabled. Although all drugs are carefully tested before they are licensed for use, they carry potential side effect risks. Some side effects, such as Nausea, may become evident only after a product is in use by the general population.
This opens a possibility that Doxycycline could cause Nausea and that some female patients may be more susceptible.
and was treated with Doxycycline. Directly after treatment started, patient experienced the unwanted or unexpected Doxycycline side effects: suicidal ideation, mood swings, nausea, headache. Doxycycline dosage: 200mg Stat; Then 100mg Once Daily. These side effects may potentially be related to Doxycycline.
. Doxycycline Hyclate dosage: 200 Mg, Stat. Additional drugs used at the same time: NA.
which developed after the beginning of treatment. This side effect report can indicate a possible existence of increased vulnerability to Doxycycline Hyclate treatment in female patients suffering from NA, resulting in Nausea.
This finding indicates that some patients can be more vulnerable to developing Doxycycline Hyclate side effects, such as Nausea.
Although Doxycycline demonstrated significant improvements in a number of clinically relevant cases, troublesome symptoms, such as Nausea, may still occur.
This opens a possibility that Doxycycline Hyclate Capsules 100 Mg could cause Nausea and that some female patients may be more susceptible.
This Nausea side effect was reported by a physician from US on Nov 12, 2013. A female patient from US , 57 years of age, was treated with Doxycycline Hyclate 100mg (doxycycline Hydrochloride) (100 Milligram, Tablets) (doxycycline Hydrochl. Patient felt the following Doxycycline side effects: nausea, vomiting. Doxycycline Hyclate 100mg (doxycycline Hydrochloride) (100 Milligram, Tablets) (doxycycline Hydrochl dosage: Unk.
These side effects may potentially be related to Doxycycline Hyclate 100mg (doxycycline Hydrochloride) (100 Milligram, Tablets) (doxycycline Hydrochl.


text:
Halsted Sayer Cobden (20 November 1845 – 5 January 1909) was an English cricketer. He played four matches for Gloucestershire in 1872. His brother, Frank Cobden, also played first-class cricket.

References

1845 births
1909 deaths
English cricketers
Gloucestershire cricketers
People from Marylebone
Cricketers from Greater London


In honor of Women's History Month, we recently asked Humanities Texas board members, former board members, and a selection of friends of the organization to tell us about women they admire. From cowgirls to Cabinet members, from poets to pioneers, and from astronauts to artists, these women have made inestimable contributions to their fields and to society as a whole. They are an inspiration to us all.
"I admire the life and work of Jessie Daniel Ames, a 1902 graduate of Southwestern University who is credited with leading national efforts to prevent lynching in the United States."
Jessie Daniel Ames (1883–1972) was a suffragist and anti-lynching reformer born in Palestine, Texas. As treasurer of the Texas Equal Suffrage Association, she helped lead the push for Texas to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment. In 1919, she founded the Texas branch of the League of Women Voters and served as its first president. She also founded the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching, serving as its president for thirteen years.
Read more from an online exhibition from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
"Gloria Anzaldúa is one woman who influenced my thinking [and] my scholarly and creative work and must not be ignored as we celebrate Women's History Month in Texas. As a philosopher and theorist of the border, Anzaldúa's book Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza and subsequent publications enriched our understanding of the border and allowed us to break out of staid and restrictive formats and epistemologies. The Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa exists to promote and celebrate the contributions of this remarkable woman. Gloria Anzaldúa, born in Hargill, Texas, died of diabetes complications in 2004 at the age of 61."
"If I had to pick just one woman: Gloria Anzaldúa, author of Borderlands/La Frontera. Her writing, which is a combination of Spanish and English, autobiographical prose and poetry, myth and reality, Texas and Mexico, and everything else in between, captures what living along the South Texas/Northern Mexico border is about. No other Chicana writer has been able to match what she accomplished in this one book."
The Benson Latin American Collection at The University of Texas at Austin acquired Anzaldúa's archive. Read more here.
"Anne Armstrong was an extraordinary woman. She moved with grace and charm between the ranch in deep South Texas, where she raised five children, to the Court of St. James, where she served as U.S. Ambassador. A skilled communicator, she served on numerous Fortune 500 corporate boards and as a Regent at Texas A&M University. She captivated all who knew her with her wit and wisdom."
"In the great admiration for Moses and Stephen F. Austin, many overlook Emily Austin, daughter of Moses and sister to Stephen F. This stalwart woman overcame whatever obstacles stood before her to help family, friends and country. It was women like Emily who helped make this state. When her husband James Bryan died, she took in boarders and taught school to keep her family going. After she married James Franklin Perry, they moved to Texas and began Peach Point Plantation in her brother's colony. She fled with her children during the Runaway Scrape and remained strong for them and the other colonists who were also running. Light Cummins, author of the biography of Emily Austin, says: 'Emily was very much her own woman, with strong, well-articulated personal feelings centered on a steely personality. Her rock-solid resolve for action enabled her to survive almost six decades of frontier hardship . . . Above all else, Emily Austin was the touchstone at the center of an extended family that provided a common point of reference for four generations . . . ' "
"I admire Emily Austin Bryan Perry, the sister of Stephen F. Austin and the daughter of Moses Austin. She was born in 1795 at Austinville, Virginia, and died in 1851 at Peach Point Plantation near present-day Freeport. Emily's life was filled with movement across American frontiers that carried her from her birthplace in Virginia, then to Missouri, and finally to Texas, where many of her descendants still remain today. She was a resolute plantation mistress who became one of the most significant women in antebellum Texas. As such, Emily was fundamentally a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a wife, a mother, a sister-in-law, an aunt, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother who served as the center focal point for several generations of the Austin family in Texas. She helped to define what a woman should be in early Anglo-American Texas."
Read a short biography of Emily Austin by Light Cummins.
"The magnificently original and vibrant American poet Lucille Clifton, who died on the eve of Valentine's Day, 2010, shines forever in heart and mind. If you haven't read her poems yet, give yourself the gift of Lucille! A voice of immense clarity and succinct wisdom, a funny, resilient voice, able to filter, with immediacy and brevity, through chaos, chit-chat, and struggle. You always feel better after reading Clifton poems. I admire her forever, she is a beacon for life."
Learn more about Lucille Clifton and read samples of her poetry on poets.org.
"I wish to showcase Juanita Craft, whose life reveals the power of one individual to change an evil system of segregation and racial inequality. Recognized today as one of the pivotal civil rights leaders in the state of Texas, Craft worked as a field organizer for the NAACP and established 182 branches throughout Texas. One of the unsung heroines in civil rights history, Craft visited the White House at the invitation of three U.S. presidents, and President Jimmy Carter called her a living treasure. Although I never had the great fortune to meet Ms. Craft, I admired her work, her humility, and her courage when I lived in Dallas during the early 1980s."
Read an oral history of Juanita Craft here.
"Miss Ima Hogg (1882-1975) profoundly impacted the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), the city of Houston, and the state of Texas. Her curiosity and passion for music, art, gardening, and many other endeavors led her to establish great institutions that continue to inspire thousands of Texans every day. In addition to donating her renowned collection of American art along with her estate—Bayou Bend—to the MFAH, Miss Hogg founded the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Child Guidance Center, and served as the first woman president of the Philosophical Society of Texas.
"The MFAH is fortunate to have benefitted from the vision and generosity of many women, including Audrey Jones Beck, Alice Pratt Brown, Nina Cullinan, Caroline Wiess Law, and countless others. Miss Hogg led the way, showing all of those around her that a single person can indelibly change the world, and we remain deeply moved by her legacy."
Read more from the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens.
"Lady Bird Johnson was my mentor and my inspiration and is my most admired woman. In her lovely way she led us all to the truth that our native plants that grow in each corner of this world are the foundation of all life on earth as we know it, and then she taught us how to preserve and celebrate them. Mrs. Johnson's vision for a healthy, beautiful earth is my inspiration. I am forever grateful for her guidance, her support, and her abiding presence in my life. Thank you for giving me this chance to say thank you!"
"Mrs. Johnson is without thought the woman I admire most. I think it is because I got to understand her life through making a documentary about her for her 80th. She had a passionate core and embodied love and inspiration with her tenacious focus for nature and family. She had the type of wisdom and dignity that is rarely seen and had the unusual ability to make a lasting impression. And luckily for us she loved this country we live in. I feel blessed that I got a glimpse of knowing this incredible woman, and I feel she is a role model for all generations to come."
–Grace Guggenheim, executive producer, Guggenheim Productions, Inc.
Read a tribute from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
"Of course for me, the two Texas women I have come to admire greatly with the passing of the years are Barbara Jordan and Ruthe Winegarten. Both held a fierce commitment to democracy and fanned the flame so that American women might take their rightful places as leaders, scholars, and advocates of the highest humanitarian goals and precepts."
Barbara Jordan (1936–1996) became the first black woman from a Southern State to serve in Congress in 1973. Her political career began with registering black voters for the 1960 presidential campaign, and in 1967 she became the first black state senator since 1883. Jordan was also an inspiring public speaker and an educator who taught at the LBJ School of Public Affairs.
Also see Max Sherman's biography Barbara Jordan: Speaking the Truth with Eloquent Thunder. Sherman is professor emeritus and former dean of the Lyndon Baines Johnson School at The University of Texas at Austin.
"Helen Keller, for innumerable reasons—but mostly for being brave, and daring, and optimistic, even when she had good reasons not to be. And, for two of my favorite quotes: 'Life is either a daring adventure or nothing' and 'Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.' "
Read more from Helen Keller's birthplace in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
"Many watched Sarah Lea as she became an admired figure in her desert home. She grew as a civic leader and a presence throughout Texas, serving as the first woman on a bank board and lauded for the 'gold dust' she raised for worthy causes. Sarah Lea assisted her husband in painting the mural Southwest for the El Paso Public Library, and she inspired the most beautiful portrait in the world. Based on a photograph Tom Lea looked at longingly as he traveled during World War II, Sarah in the Summertime was painted in the gratefulness of being home. With the sun at her back and her head against the sky, Sarah Lea stands changeless, immortal to our mortal eyes."
Read more from the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin.
"I chose Christa McAuliffe. I was a freshman in high school and I remember the excitement about this teacher going off into space. I was a child then; I had no idea I wanted to be a teacher at that time. I remember after that tragic event, my science teacher and several other teachers were sobbing, explaining to us the significance of what had just occurred. I didn't understand it then . . . Boy if I was a teacher then . . . just think of the lessons I could have developed around this exciting event. I became a science teacher and now as an educator for the past thirteen years, this job is about sacrifice and dedication to help motivate and inspire students to be the best they can be. Christa McAuliffe was representing all teachers at that time—just think of the wealth of knowledge, recognition and appreciation we (educators) gained from this event. Most of all her dedication to education is what inspires me the most. She and I have one of the most important jobs ever: to influence, motivate, and inspire."
"Thanks so much for honoring me with the request to talk about a woman whom I admire. That person—one of many—would be Mother Teresa. Her selfless acts of service always bring me to my knees in appreciation of the goodness of humankind. Mother Teresa saw humans in our simplest form: beings with inherent dignity. She knew her purpose in life, and she lived her purpose. Without apology to anyone or any man-made institution, she served where she was; she served the person in front of her, sharing love, the gentleness of the human touch, and other basics such as blankets and food. Mother Teresa was an example of Love in action, honoring, what I believe to be, the core of who we are."
"Tuffy Osborne was my Girl Scout leader when I was growing up in Pampa, Texas. Her real name was Marian Rosalie, but Tuffy fit her better. When her rancher husband died suddenly, she had two small girls to raise, a wheat crop to get in, and cattle that were ready for market. With the help of neighbors, they harvested the wheat and trucked the cattle to the auction barn. Then Tuffy packed up her daughters and moved to town with her widowed mother—to Pampa. She commuted the seventy miles to West Texas State University in Canyon and earned a college degree so that she could support her family. As our Scout leader, she taught us to ride fence, de-horn cattle, drive any vehicle that had a clutch, and dig ditches—and we loved every minute of it. In the process, she also taught us that a woman can do anything she sets her mind to–and this was back in the 1950s, when such radical ideas were practically unheard of. In part because of her influence, all of us in G. S. Troop 22 graduated from college and went on to successful professional careers. Although she died many years ago, I miss her still, and I'll always admire her."
"There are those who suggest that the American story is the story of expanding liberty to all. I think an equal contender for the American story is the story of ensuring social justice for all. Those who support that idea deserve our admiration for their courage and compassion. They have mine. So, Frances Perkins is a woman I admire. She fought for social justice for all Americans. She especially fought for those on the margins of our society who have no access to power. Even more remarkably, she did when she had power and access to those who had even more power."
Frances Perkins (1880–1965) served as Secretary of Labor under Franklin Delano Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945. She was the first woman to serve in the Cabinet. She played a crucial role in crafting New Deal legislation such as minimum wage laws, child labor laws, and the Social Security Act of 1935.
Read more from the Frances Perkins Center.
"Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980) was a Texas writer whose stories are linguistically flawless and accomplish the goal of literary art: to wrestle with what it means to be human. With a mother who died when Porter was two and a father who was neglectful, her fiction exemplifies the toughness of a Western pioneer, tackling themes of justice, betrayal, and people's unforgiving nature. Both political and personal, her thin but impeccable body of work is expertly crafted and imbued with true Texas spirit."
–Nan Cuba, professor of English at Our Lady of the Lake University and Humanities Texas Award recipient.
Read more about Katherine Anne Porter from the New Yorker.
"Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943): Author, illustrator, respected mycologist, conservationist, sheep breeder, farmer, business woman . . . these are some of the many facets that define Beatrix Potter, a woman who defied period conventions and became financially independent in spite of her Victorian upbringing. She is the author and illustrator of some of the world's best selling children's books of all time (The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tailor of Gloucester, and The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies). I admire her accomplishments, her gumption, her desire for knowledge, and her perseverance. I respect her love for animals and the environment. I appreciate the charming quality of her children's stories and the delicate artistry found in her illustrations."
Read more from The World of Beatrix Potter.
"I nominate the late Hazel Harrod Ransom, widow of Harry Ransom, former chancellor of The University of Texas System and founder of the world-renowned Ransom Humanities Research Center. My conviction is that Harry's many accomplishments would have been harder for him to achieve without the loyal and constant support that Hazel gave him. That was during his life, but after his death she continued to be a supporter of his projects, financially as well as intellectually, editing and publishing most of Harry's writings, which he either left unfinished or dispersed in periodicals. Apart from that, she was an author in her own right. There are three titles in her own name registered in the UT library. Also there is a sample of her narrative in Don Graham's book Literary Austin, published by Texas Christian University Press."
"In 1997, when she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame at age 96, Connie Douglas Reeves stood at the podium and without a note and in clear voice gave an acceptance speech that didn't leave one dry eye in the house. She also gave a piece of advice that resonated with everyone in the room and has become often quoted: 'Always saddle your own horse . . . I still do.' Indeed, even well into her 90s, Connie was saddling her horse and riding almost daily. But her message spoke to much more. All of her life, Connie did what had to get done with no thought of being able to walk away when things got tough. She took care of business. As the riding instructor at Camp Waldemar, Connie taught over 30,000 young women how to ride, and more importantly, touched their lives with her remarkable spirit and unparalleled love of horses and nature."
"I admire Ann Richards for her Texan-style candor, her keen humor, quick wit, and her 'moral compass.' I especially appreciated her for her genuine love for the people of South Texas."
Ann Richards (1933–2006) served as Texas's second female governor from 1991–1995, having previously served as state treasurer and Travis County commissioner. She was known for her devastating wit and compelling speaking style, notably at the 1988 Democratic Convention.
Read more from "Texas Governors" from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
"I discovered Jean Rhys the summer of 1974 while teaching at the Graduate Institute of Letters at the University of Buffalo. I taught a James Joyce seminar in the morning and spent the rest of the day trying to complete a book I was writing on Joyce. I went to the campus bookstore one evening, desperate to get away from Joyce, and on a whim bought a novel titled After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie by Jean Rhys. It turned out to be one of the most beautifully written books I had read in years. I immediately began to write a book about her work. Rhys had a difficult life and career, struggling with her art and facing devastating disappointments. It wasn't until the publication of Wide Sargasso Sea in 1966, when she was 72 years old, that she achieved any real literary recognition. The novel's great popularity broadened her reputation and brought attention to her earlier novels, which were all reissued. In 1974, Al Alvarez in the New York Times Book Review called her "the best living English novelist," vaulting her status in England to that of a minor cult figure for the remaining years of her life."
"Elegant and eloquent, Professor [Elspeth] Rostow's lectures were works of art as she wove political history, penetrating analysis, personal anecdotes, and wry humor into inspiring hours in the classroom. As Dean of the LBJ School and professor at many respected institutions, she set the highest example as a brilliant, effective woman with her inimitable style, grace, and intelligence."
Elspeth Rostow (1917–2007), a renowned scholar of politics and U.S foreign policy, served as dean of the LBJ School from 1977 to 1983. She also taught at Barnard, Sarah Lawrence, MIT, Georgetown, American University, and the University of Cambridge. In 1991, she founded The Austin Project, a comprehensive investment program in children and young people.
Read more from our January 2008 "From the Director" column.
"One of the women that I admire most is not a social reformer, nurse, first lady, or artist. . . she is a teacher. In some respects I suppose that her role as an educator encompasses all of those other duties as well, but it is her ultimate role as a teacher that compels my respect and admiration. Her name is Anne Sullivan. At times I think that her achievements as a teacher have been overshadowed by the amazing accomplishments of her famous student, Helen Keller, but it is Sullivan's dedication and determination to teach what others considered an 'unteachable' student that I consider most admirable. Instead of giving up on her, Anne Sullivan found a way around the obstacles that isolated Helen Keller from the rest of the world and guided her around them as well. Anne Sullivan accomplished what every good teacher works towards and hopes to accomplish—she changed her student's life through education."
Ruthe Winegarten (1929–2004) authored or co-authored twenty works on women in Texas history. Winegarten tirelessly collected oral histories and other materials around the state to tell women's stories. Among her many accomplishments, she served as research historian for the Texas Women's History Project and advised the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum on its representation of women.
Read more from Women in Texas History, a project of the Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women's History.
Jessie Daniel Ames. Photo courtesy of the A. Frank Smith, Jr. Library Special Collections at Southwestern University.
Cover of Light Townsend Cummins's biography of Emily Austin.
Juanita Craft at the dedication of Juanita Jewel Craft Recreation Center. Photo by LeAnn Gillette©.
Ima Hogg. Photo courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Lady Bird Johnson in the back yard of the White House. Photo by Robert Knudsen, White House Press Office (WHPO).
Barbara Jordan delivers the keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Helen Keller in 1912. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, prints and photographs division.
Sarah in the Summertime by Tom Lea. Image courtesy of Adair Margo Fine Art.
Christa McAuliffe. United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), S85-41239.
Frances Perkins. Photo from the Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-1132.
Katherine Anne Porter. Photo: Papers of Katherine Anne Porter, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.
A photograph of Beatrix Potter, aged 15, taken by her father.
Hazel Harrod Ransom. Photo courtesy of the Alcalde.
Connie Douglas Reeves in 2002. Photograph courtesy of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.
Helen Keller with her tutor, Anne Sullivan, in 1881. Photograph from the New England Historic Genealogical Society.


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text:
The Distance To the Sun
Flat-Earthers say that the sun is not 93 million miles away, but a mere few thousand. There are variations, of course, but most give the figure 3000 miles for the altitude of the sun above the Earth "plane." There have been several ways of calculating this, though most who give the figure just don't know where it comes from.
When I was participating in an exchange on Twitter recently, one flat-Earth proponent presented me with this graphic:
Now, a few people who saw this mentioned that the problem with the graphic was the assumption of a flat Earth. But I didn't have a problem with that; it's what I expect a flat-Earth proponent to do. But I saw two other, quite different, problems with this graphic.
The first problem is that it's a lie. Portland, Oregon, is not 3,000 miles from New York, it's closer to 2,500 miles. And the sun is never, ever directly overhead in Portland. I know, I've been there. It's too far north for the sun to ever be 90 degrees above the horizon. So, this entire graphic is made of whole cloth.
The second, and much bigger problem, is the assumption that, since you can take these two points on the Earth, triangulate the position of the sun, and arrive at a distance that is much closer than the accepted figure, that you've proved your case and your work is done. Let's see how this works out.
Okay, we're going to assume a flat Earth in the following calculations. And we're going to simplify the scenario, while using actual data instead of made-up data. The simplification consists of two parts, neither of which is fudging: first is to choose locations along the Tropic of Cancer on June 21st, so that the sun can actually be overhead, and the second is to pick locations where the solar noon and noon on the clock line up, so that we're comparing apples to apples from different time zones.
All of the coordinates I'm giving are at 23.43 degrees north, so I'll only give longitudes. My anchor point is near Indore, India, at longitude 75.5 E, which is at UTC+5. It will be noon there, and the sun is, indeed, directly overhead, 90 degrees above the horizon. That's my version of Portland, with the benefit of having real data instead of assumptions.
My version of New York will be in Taiwan, at 120.5 E, UTC+8, where it's 3:00 p.m., same as in the graphic. But at 3:00, the sun isn't quite at 45 degrees; that was another assumption, a convenient halfway point. The real angle is 48.86 degrees. The distance from Taiwan to Indore is 2,841 miles, making the height of the sun, if the Earth is flat, 3,252 miles.
Sounds good. That's really close to the figure given by flat-Earthers. So, without the assumption that the Earth is a globe, we have an alternate figure that's just as valid. Right?
Not so fast. Two data points don't constitute proof. Let's up the ante a little. We'll start small, and move over just one time zone, a little north of Vietnam, 105.5 E, UTC+7 at 2:00 p.m. at a distance of 1897 miles from Indore. Now the angle of the sun above the horizon is 62,5 degrees. With these new figures, the calculated height of the sun is now 3,644 miles. That's quite a discrepancy.
What if we move further away? When it's noon in Indore, it's 7:00 a.m. at the Prime Meridian, which at this latitude is in Algeria. So, we're at 0 degrees longitude, UTC+0, and Indore is now 4,724 miles away. The sun is to the east now, at an elevation of 21.71 degrees above the horizon. If we triangulate on that, the altitude of the sun now calculates out at 1881 miles.
What happened? I think you know the answer. These elevations all make sense on a globe.
Measuring the actual distance to the sun is not easy. It took literally a couple of thousand years for astronomers to get close, thanks mostly to insights by Edmund Halley, who didn't live to see his work put to use. To think that these oversimplifications and cute and completely misleading graphics can usurp the work of brilliant minds over millennia is the pinnacle of hubris, and unfortunately a common thread in the arguments of proponents of the flat-Earth.
ADDENDUM: A Twitter user took me for task for calling the data I used real, stating that I was just assuming that the data were correct. His argument was that, as I didn't collect or verify the data myself, I was wrong to trust them or use the word "real." This is a common misunderstanding used (and abused) by pseudoscientists who, out of ignorance or malice, misuse the words verifiable and falsifiable.
The data I used are both verifiable and falsifiable. They are straightforward numbers which could, at any time, be challenged by independent observers all over the globe, who would either confirm them or discover them to be wrong. It is not necessary for every single user who employs the data to verify all of it; what would be the point of collecting, publishing, and calculating data if everybody had to do it all over again? No progress would ever be made with that kind of burden.
And so I stand behind my use of online data, in this case from NOAA, to demonstrate the fallacy of measuring the distance to the sun assuming a flat Earth. I suggest that any flat-Earther who wants to challenge my conclusions stick to facts and avoid attacking tried-and-true methods and data sources.
Posted by Gordon Brooks at 7:42 AM 9 comments:
Labels: flat earth, misleading graphics, sun distance, triangulation
Flat Earth Credibility
Dear Purveyors Of the Flat Earth:
You know how I feel about your beliefs. I would be perfectly willing to let your beliefs alone, though, if you would stop trying to dress them up as science, or even worse, "real science." But, I would like to point out a couple of subjects you should just avoid mentioning altogether if you want to retain even the appearance of credibility.
Andrea Barnes
Honestly, everyone who's paid any attention should know by now about Andrea Barnes, the woman who, in the film In Search Of the Edge, goes on a quest to find the edge of the Earth and is lost in Antartica, leaving nothing but a note, which is found three decades later, saying, "I have been there, the debate finally comes to an end," and a camera which is inadvertently opened, spoiling the film.
What you should certainly know by now is that Andrea Barnes and her story are fiction, not a hoax but a mock documentary created under the auspices of the Canadian Film Board for the purpose of teaching Canadian students critical thinking skills. There are clues scattered throughout the film that it is completely bogus, and the disclaimer at the end notes that all the characters are fictional, save for some of the on-screen talent and famous scientists from the past.
So, if you're tempted to use the story of Andrea Barnes to show that Antarctica is not a continent, but an impenetrable ice ring, resist the temptation.
Jarle Andhøy
Yet another Antarctic explorer, who was supposedly stopped at the ice wall, arrested, kidnapped, and heavily fined. Here's a more accurate account from The Old Salt Blog:
Last February, Jarle Andhøy and Samuel Massie set off from the yacht Berserk II in McMurdo Sound on the Antarctic coast in an attempt to drive ATVs towards the South Pole. Shortly thereafter, in an Antarctic storm, the EPIRB [emergency position indicating radiobeacon] from the Berserk II was activated. Following an extensive search by the New Zealand Coast Guard and private ships, the only sign of the yacht or the three crew aboard was debris and an empty life raft. Andhøy's ill-fated expedition was mounted without authorization or insurance. He later paid a fine of 25,000 NOK to the Norwegian Polar Institute.
It is important to note that 25,000 Norwegian kroner is about $3,000US. Jarle is still out on the high seas and getting in trouble with the law, but nothing that's killed him or even put him behind bars.
Cold Moonlight
I don't know where this one started, but it's long past its prime. There are two problems with the argument that moonlight is cold, and therefore the moon shines by its own light and not the light of the sun.
The first problem is that it's simply not true. Experiments designed to test this end up only demonstrating that something used to shade a thermometer from moonlight ends up trapping the heat rising from the ground from the day's sunshine. Even a flat-Earther, who did the obvious control of repeating the experiment during the new moon, concluded that cold moonlight is a non-starter.
The other problem, of course, is that it does nothing to prove that the Earth is flat. I supposed it's just supposed to be something else that "they" are lying about, but that's not evidence of any kind. And while we're on the subject of moonlight:
The Moon In Front Of the Clouds
There are lots of videos on YouTube purporting to show that the moon is closer to Earth than the clouds. They are shots of a big, featureless, fuzzy white moon, with clouds passing by and not showing up in front of it.
Of course, this can only be seen when the cloud cover is very thin, and the reason is simple: the moon is shining light through the clouds. If the shot were exposed for the moon instead of the clouds, you might be able to see them in front of the moon, but not easily because they are so thin, This never works with thick cloud cover.
And it has, again, nothing to do with the flat Earth, for the flat-Earth model has the moon 3000 miles above the ground just like the sun, which is far higher than any clouds, as anyone who's done any flying knows. And we're not done with the moon yet:
The Moon and the Sun Together In the Sky
I've lost count of how many videos I've seen showing the sun in the sky at the same time as the moon, with some comment about how the moon should be full, or how the moon isn't pointed toward the sun.
Okay, here's a basic rule about trying to overturn a standard model of anything: you can't debunk something by misrepresenting it. In the standard model of the solar system, the moon is a quarter million miles away, and the sun in around 93 million miles away. It's not going to look as if they are at the same distance. It just doesn't work that way.
And moon phases are not caused by the Earth's shadow on the moon. That's an eclipse. If you can't figure out what you're seeing in the sky, get a book on astronomy. If you still think it doesn't match up, then you make your own model that makes it work. But don't think you're onto something just because you don't understand what you're looking at.
Bali To Los Angeles By Way Of Alaska
You must know this story by now. A woman went into labor on a flight from Bali to Los Angeles. The pilot diverted to Alaska, but the baby was born on the plane before the plane landed. Flat-Earthers made a big deal, doing videos that showed how the plane was going way out of the way on the globe map, but right on the way on the flat-Earth map.
Except that they weren't using the globe at all; they were using the Mercator projection. Plotting the path on an actual globe, it makes perfect sense. In fact, it would be something like this (the plane took off from Taiwan):
So if you're tempted to trot out the story of the baby born on the plane, just don't.
In fact, any time you're thinking about using the Mercator projection to make a point about the globe, just stop. You're comparing one distorted projection to another, and it's making you look ignorant or dishonest.
This has been a public service message. Carry on.
Posted by Gordon Brooks at 7:21 AM 27 comments:
Labels: Andrea Barnes, Antartica, cold moonlight. bali flight, flat earth, Jarle Andhøy, Mercator, moon, sun
Gravity is a problem for flat-Earthers. Because of the way gravity works, anything as large as the Earth would certainly have to pull itself into something resembling a sphere.
Not only that, but if the Earth could somehow retain a disc shape, gravity on such an Earth would behave quite differently than what we experience. As we moved south (which, on the flat-Earth model is toward to outside of the disc), we would encounter more and more force drawing us back toward the center. IN the Southern Hemisphere, or outer circle, we would increasingly experience the feeling of going uphill when, in fact, we were not.
So how do the flat-Earthers deal with the problems posed by gravity? Simple: they deny that gravity exists at all.
In the flat-Earth world, the effects that we see from gravity are easily explained by buoyancy and density. Things that are more dense move downward past things that are less dense, and things that are less dense move upward through things that are more dense.
Thus, hammers fall, oceans stay put, and helium balloons float. Really simple. And completely wrong.
Now, I'm not a physicist. I can't give you all the details of how gravity works. For that, I suggest you read a good book on elementary physics, or if you're really ambitious, Newton's Principia. But there are some things so obviously flawed in the flat-Earth denial of this most basic of physical laws that pretty much any thoughtful layman can easily see right through it.
Let's start with this: the existence of gravity is an established scientific fact. It isn't "just a theory." There are theories of gravity, which attempt to describe what gravity is and why gravity is, but that gravity is is not in doubt. That's why there is the Law Of Universal Gravitation.
And we need to get another thing straight in our minds: gravity is not a one-way street. It isn't just the Earth pulling things toward its center; those things that are being pulled are doing a little pulling themselves.
So, let's kill the density argument very quickly. Take two steel balls, one an inch in diameter, the other three inches in diameter. They are of equal density, but the three-inch ball has 28 times the mass of the one-inch ball. drop the two balls into a body of water (I don't recommend a tub unless you want to damage it). Which one makes a bigger splash?
Same density, different mass, different amount of force applied by (you guessed it) gravity.
So now let's work on buoyancy. Buoyancy is what makes a rubber raft float on a lake, and a helium balloon float in the air. But the helium balloon is not defying gravity any more than the rubber raft is. The Earth is still pulling on the balloon, and the balloon is still pulling itself toward the center of the Earth. But it's being pushed as well, the exact same way the rubber raft is being pushed to the surface by the density of the water.
But at some point, both the raft and the balloon will stop rising. The raft meets the point where it is not longer being pushed up by the water. The balloon either reaches the point where the air is no longer more dense than the gas inside it, or it bursts.
Both are the result of gravity. It's gravity that makes air pressure higher close to the ground than several thousand feet up. Buoyancy means nothing without gravity.
So let's eliminate buoyancy altogether, and see how gravity works in a vacuum. Here's a video from the BBC:
Not only do the feather and the bowling ball fall at the same rate, but notice how much damage the bowling ball causes, while the feather causes none at all. Density, buoyancy have nothing to do with it. It's all about that mass.
Flat-Earthers claim that no experiment has ever shown that two objects attract each other except by magnetism. They discount the Cavendish Experiment as a failure, or a fraud, and claim that it has never been duplicated. But even physics students can prove the effects of gravity.
And so can you, using your phone. Your phone has a gravity sensing system that uses accelerometers. If you try to attribute the phone's ability to detect rotation to acceleration from the turning of the phone, however, you're left to explain how the phone knows its initial position when you first turn it on (even from the state of having removed all its power). It detects this state from the acceleration of Earth's gravity.
We haven't just proved gravity, we measure it and use it every day. And because gravity exists, the flat Earth doesn't.
Labels: buoyancy, Cavendish Experiment, density, flat earth, gravity
Where Are the Stars?
In order to counter the many pictures of Earth from space, ranging from low-orbit satellite photos and International Space Station video, to distant photos taken from the moon, to the "Pale Blue Dot" image taken from 3.7 billion miles away, flat-Earthers have to claim that all such pictures are faked.
Most of their "proof" comes down to, "it looks fake to me," or more commonly, "come on, you don't think that's real, do you?" But the one argument they make that might, at first blush, sound plausible is: "Where are the stars?"
In the famous "Blue Marble" photo taken from Apollo 17 in 1972, there are no stars visible in the space surrounding the Earth. Most pictures taken from the International Space Station also fail to show stars. Doesn't that show that they weren't actually taken from space?
Only if you've watched too many movies.
Stars are very bright. But they are also very far away. If you're out in an isolated area on a very dark night, you can see perhaps as many of 5000 stars in the sky. Any light pollution, from the moon, from lights in a nearby city, and the number drops off very sharply. And your eyes can discern a much wider range of light and dark than any photographic system.
I don't know if you've done enough star-gazing to recognize the difference between the planets and the stars in the sky (assuming you believe in planets), but if you have, you know that the closer and larger planets appear brighter in the night sky, and they don't twinkle nearly so much.
That's because, although the planets are smaller by far than stars (well, Jupiter is almost big enough to be a star), and shine by reflected light instead of producing their own light, they are simply much, much closer to Earth than the stars are.
So back to the photography. If you are taking a picture of something big and bright against a background of black plus some lights that are relatively dim (in this case because they are so far away), the dim lights in the background just won't show up. If you want to get them to show up, you have to expose for them.
Which means you are vastly overexposing for the big bright object, which means it will register as a big white circle, and maybe a big white circle that's very fuzzy around the edges.
So why, in the movies, do we see lots of stars in the background? Because it looks cool, that's why. And also because we expect to see them there, something that art directors figured out many decades ago. The producers of Star Trek did a lot of tests with shots of the Enterprise using information from astronomers to make it look as realistic as possible, including having no "whoosh" sound when the ship sped by in the opening credits, as would be true in space.
It didn't work. Nobody thought it looked real. With no experience in space, we have preconceived notions of what it would be like to be in space, to watch a spaceship zip by, and they just don't match the reality.
Which brings me, briefly, to another topic: the moon in front of the clouds. I've seen a lot of footage that purports to show the moon (or the sun) in front of the clouds, and so thus much lower than we've been told.
Two problems with that. First, the moon is not is front of the clouds; it's an illusion caused by overexposing the moon. If you expose the moon so that you can see all its features, then the clouds will also be visible drifting in front of it (it only works with relatively thin cloud cover).
The second problem is that having the moon closer than the clouds also violates the flat-Earth model, at least as far as most understand it. It's something that's not often brought up, but if any flat-Earther tried to claim that the moon is closer than the clouds, especially because plenty of people have flown above the clouds in an ordinary jetliner, they would suddenly have a lot of explaining to do, even more so than they do now,
We like to think that our everyday experience can tell us the real from the fake, but that's only true if our everyday experience takes place in the realm of what we're trying to judge. We can't judge what outer space looks like, because flew of us have been there. We can't judge what the microscopic world looks like, because we don't live at that scale.
Sometimes, and I know this is an uncomfortable idea for some, you have to trust the people whose job it is to actually explore those realms, and who, because of the time they've spent at it, know much more about it than you do.
You can't trust everything that everyone says. But the fact is that most people are telling you the truth.
Posted by Gordon Brooks at 6:18 PM 2 comments:
Labels: clouds, earth, flat earth, moon, photographs, space, stars
Gleason's Map
When flat-Earthers talk about the shape of the Earth, most of them propose that it is a disc, with the North Pole as the center, and what we think is the South Pole around the rim, forming a great ice wall. As I showed on my previous post, the idea is that the sun and moon circle around the disc and create day and night, and somehow moon phases and eclipses.
But that's not the subject of this post. There was quite a stir awhile back on YouTube when someone found a map in the collection of the Boston Public Library. This is the map:
Look! there it is! North Pole in the middle, big ice ring around the perimeter. The flat Earth!
Well, maybe. Closer examination reveals a few clues. The first is in the upper left corner, where is says: Longitude and Time Calculator. There is also that weird something sticking out from the center, that seems to be riveted in the middle and torn off at around 30 degrees north. What is that for?
And there are numbers around the rim that must serve some function.
More telling, especially to anyone who's had a little bit of cartography education, is one very important word near the top. It says that this map is "On the Projection of J. S. Christopher, Modern College, Blackheath, England." Projection means that it is derived from some other shape, like maybe a globe.
Flat-Earthers make much of the words "As It Is" and "Scientifically and Practically Correct," and even more of the descriptions of the motion of the sun in the lower corners. But what did Gleason have to say about it? Do we know?
Well, we certainly know what he said on his US Patent application from 1895. Here is Gleason's concept drawing as submitted:
You can read the entire patent, which describes the map's use as a time calculator for students. But the most important passage from the flat-Earth standpoint is this:
The map is not so extorted as to lose the relative latitude and longitude of any places on the land or sea, but retains all latitudes and longitudes of places agreeing with other recognized authors; and as the proper relations of continents and countries all stand in their relative position to each other, they are thus impressed upon the mind of the student. The extorsion of the map from that of a globe consists, mainly in the straightening out of the meridian lines allowing each to retain their original value from Greenwich, the equator to the two poles.
The use of "extorted" in the sense of "distorted" is interesting here, but the intent is clear; the map is not "as it is" (which I think may have been a slogan of the map's publisher), but a projection that preserves the positions with regard to longitude lines, but not the distances between them (distances between lines of latitude, however, are preserved). And note his phrasing "the equator to the two poles." A flat Earth does not have poles.
This type of projection is know as an azimuthal equidistant projection, and when properly used it has many applications in navigation, telecommunications, and even military planning. The projection method has been known for about 1000 years. Azimuthal projections are not always centered on the North Pole; they can be generated mathematically from any point on the globe. You can generate one for yourself online.
The fact that so many flat-Earthers automatically dub this a "flat-Earth map" everywhere they see it shows a profound lack of willingness to do deep research, and a penchant for jumping onto bandwagons.
I think Gleason would be appalled.
ADDENDUM: Well, apparently I was wrong about Gleason. He really was a flat-Earther after all. I will do a full post on this when I get the chance.
So why did the patent examiners of several nations grant a patent to a flat-Earth map? Because the patent application conveniently left that little detail out. More to follow, along with revisions to this post.
Labels: azimuthal equidistant projection, cartography, flat earth, flat earth map, geography, Gleason, time calculator
One of the biggest problems with the whole flat-Earth idea is the lack of any model which comes close to explaining how we see the sun and moon appear to rise and set at the horizon.
Not the the flat-Earthers haven't tried. They present computer models that look like this:
It's almost plausible. The disc world is part in darkness and part in light. Some versions even show the disc exactly half lit, though how the sun manages that is never made clear.
But it's never rendered from the ground. Well, I've seen it done once, and it completely blew the disc world model to bits, which was more-or-less the point.
So how do flat-Earthers explain sunsets? Perspective. They say the sun just gets smaller and lower in the sky as it moves away from you, creating the illusion that it is being blocked by a horizon.
And that, too, sounds plausible. As long as you don't actually know anything about perspective.
Perspective is a set of techniques employed by artists to simulate a three-dimensional world using a two-dimensional medium, like a drawing. It's all based on one real-world observation: things appear smaller when they are farther away from you. That's the whole thing.
This means that everything appears smaller, not only objects, but the spaces between objects. And they all shrink at the same rate.
So, for example, if you hold a one-foot-diameter ball one foot above a table, and then walk away from it until the ball looks about half its actual size, then the space between the table and the ball will appear to be half the diameter of the ball. Simple.
So, why, then, are we asked to believe that the sun on a flat Earth, which is supposed to be 36 miles in diameter and 3000 miles above the ground, could ever appear to even touch the ground, much less sink beneath it?
When I bring this up, flat-Earthers tell me that I don't understand perspective. But they can never explain perspective in any way that coincides with any of the principles of perspective that artists have developed over the past 600 years.
And their attempts to demonstrate perspective and sunsets are laughable. Like this video showing a hand sliding a coin on a table, as if the sun is actually touching the ground.
Like pictures of railroad tracks and telephone poles from an art book, as if the size relationship between the sun and it's altitude above a plane could compare with the distance between two railroad tracks.
If they want to sell this idea (and make no mistake, they are pushing it hard), they have to come up with, at minimum, a model that explains this one simple thing.
Or, and this is just a thought, they could just give up on this crazy idea altogether.
Labels: debunked, flat earth, perspective, sunrise, sunset
Playing Fast and Loose With Polaris
One of the most frustrating things about dealing with flat-Earthers is the way they will suddenly change the subject from whatever you were talking about to a completely new line of thought. I saw an example of this on Twitter recently when the question of seeing the North Star, Polaris, from Reunion Island, which is more than 21 degrees south of the equator, came up out of nowhere.
This is, of course, impossible. There was an illustration, showing that this is impossible. But no proof that it had ever actually happened. The poster just took it as read. So I decided to find out where the story came from.
A little searching brought me to the only place I can find where anyone claims that Polaris has ever been seen from Reunion Island: a massive book called The Greatest Lie On Earth: Proof That Our World Is Not a Moving Globe by Edward Hendrie. There is no other source for this claim, even on flat-Earth websites.
Fortunately, Google books has a preview inside where I found page 105, where Hendrie says:
Below is a time lapse photograph of the North Star (Polaris). The photograph was taken in October, 2008, from the Le Make Reunion Astronomical Observatory on Reunion Island.100 That observatory is at an altitude of 4,921 feet and is located at 55.39° east longitude and 21.5° south latitude. The photograph was taken by Laurent Foumet and lean-Philippe Olive, who are members of the Club Astro Astrium in Toulouse, France. Olive and Foumet used an Olympus camera, 28mm f/8 lens, 2 hours and 40 minutes exposure time; Ektachrome 210 ASA film.
Note how detailed this is, how it looks so accurate and well thought-out. It even has a source reference. Very convincing. Except for two things: the photograph, which I will give you the link to presently, which shows, in the center of the star trails, not a bright star, but a dim cluster; and second, that I know what is described is impossible.
So, let's check out that reference. Hmm. Seems that this picture is not of Polaris at all. It says right in the text that these are southern circumpolar stars.
So, is Hendrie just missing something? Or was he just counting on everyone who read the text not bothering to check the reference? In either case, it seems that anyone who writes a 400-page book claiming that the Earth is not a globe should have a better standard of evidence.
Labels: circumpolar stars, Edward Hendrie, flat earth, Polaris, Reunion Island, star trails


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FSFE Newsletter - May 2013
Note: As Matthias Kirschner is on vacation, this edition of the monthly Newsletter is written by Erik Albers. Enjoy!
Document Freedom Day 2013
Every year on the last wednesday of March, Document Freedom Day (DFD) takes place: the global day to raise awareness of Open Standards, organised by the FSFE. It has been amazing to see year by year how the message of freedom and Open Standards has continued to spread around the world. This year, there were 59 events in 30 countries, and many first time participants, including Niger, Indonesia and the United States.
Highlights from Document Freedom Day include more than a hundred press articles and blogs, Libre Office's publication of a new migration guide, support from Lawrence Lessig, and a storm of social media coverage and opening up discussions.
But let's not forget: all these events were organised by local groups. Among them were many FSFE Fellowship groups, a wide variety of other Free Software community organisations, and teams of friends who care about Open Standards. So, this is a big thank you to everybody who made this year's DFD so successful! It is awesome to see how Free Software and Open Standards connect people around the world. Read the extended report online.
Free Software Legal & Licensing Workshop
In early April, we held our annual Free Software Legal & Licensing Workshop in Amsterdam. More than 70 Free Software legal experts from the Legal Network came together for two days in order to share their knowledge and discuss cutting-edge questions in the field.
Topics discussed this year included recent court rulings, patent-related developments, and transferring Free Software licensing ideas to hardware. Stefano Zacchiroli, Debian's (now former) project leader, delivered a keynote speech, describing the community perspective on legal issues.
Several talks at the conference were covered by LWN, for example those by Eben Moglen, Daniel German and Anthonia Ghalamkarizadeh.
FSFE welcomes Ceata as associate organisation
A new foundation from Romania and Moldova has joined FSFE's program of associate organisations. Ceata has been promoting Free Software and culture since 2008, and in February this year was officially incorporated. The group, based in Bucharest with local chapters in Cluj and Chișinău, organises conferences on Free Software, Free hardware, and Free culture. Ceata also develops their own applications, translates programs into Romanian, and participates in international campaigns. Fundația Ceata and FSFE will now join forces and work more effectively on promoting software freedom in Romania and throughout Europe.
The German Parliament (the 'Bundestag') has voted on a joint motion against software patents. The resolution urges the German government to take steps to limit the granting of patents on computer programs. The Parliament's resolution reminds the government that, under the EU's Computer Programs Directive, software is covered by copyright, not patents. It calls on the government to finally put the directive's "copyright approach" into practice, and make German law more concrete in this regard. It also points out that the restrictions which patents impose are incompatible with the most widely used Free Software licenses.
The winner of the election for FSFE's Fellowship GA is Heiki "Repentinus" Ojasild. The election period for this year's Fellowship GA seat ended on March 15, and proved exciting to the end. Thanks to all Fellows who participated in the process and made this a valuable experience for the Fellowship and for FSFE.
Please welcome the latest Fellowship group, from Bari, South Italy! The way the group was formed was unprecedented in FSFE history: As a former GNU/Linux user group, 15 people joined FSFE simultaneously to create a new Fellowship group. According to the members, they took this step in order to be more active on a political level in future.
The chancellor of the "Freie Universität Berlin" has asked all staff to use exclusively 'Apple iTunes U' for the publication of University materials, such as recordings of lectures. To access University resources therefore, students now have to use Apple iTunes, which excludes users of Free Software operating systems, and includes a variety of anti-consumer measures to lock them in to the service. FSFE has written to the chancellor explaining why University resources should be available without software barriers (German).
As part of the Ask Your Candidates campaign, FSFE has sent out 'voting benchmarks' ("Wahlprüfsteine") for all three elections in Germany, that will be in autumn this year. The aim is to obtain public statements on Free Software policies and committments from parties which are hoping to be elected. Some responses have already been received and will be published soon.
FSFE participated in the Chemnitzer Linuxtage conference this month. The FSFE booth received lots of attention, and many people approached the team to ask about campaigns. Free Your Android proved to be a hot topic, generating many questions and ideas. Reinhard Müller, FSFE's Financial Officer, gave a talk entitled "Free yourself: how to save the world in five easy steps", and Erik Albers, Fellowship Deputy Coordinator, gave a presentation on Free Your Android. Erik was in Freeing frenzy this month, and delivered the same talk at Cebit in Hannover, Germany. The conference organisers filmed and hosted a video of the talk, but unfortunately only in Adobe Flash.
Hugo explains why the HTML5 <video> tag has been a failure and still is. He argues that we need to weigh in to the political process which is shaping HTML5, and to fight the surrounding Fear Uncertainty and Doubt to keep the Internet a place where everyone is free to express themselves - without having to ask for permission or signing a restricted-patent-license.
Mia Julia Eley encourages women that are interested in technology and engineering to apply for GNOME's Outreach Program for Women. "Plenty of women out there have skills that could benefit the Free Software movement and the barrier to entry should be clearly understood" she states.
Torsten Grote reports about the latest changes in CyanogenMod's [http://www.cyanogenmod.org/] privacy policy. Before, they were collecting anonymised data for statistical purposes including the option for everyone to opt-out. Suddenly, this opt-out feature was removed and a tracking feature was added that sends the collected data to Google Analytics, too. After some days, the first decision was reversed, that means you have the option to opt-out again. But, still, if you agree that your data will be sent to CM, it will also be sent to Google Analytics. Read all details on Torsten's Blog.
Paul Boddie reflects about "The Academic Challenge: Ideas, Patents, Openness and Knowledge" and argues why Universities should insist on freedom of knowledge instead of just defending openness of knowledge. Read why there should be no commercialisation of academia and no monopolization of ideas.
Did you already set up your Fellowship card? If not, you might be interested in a 'How To' which was made by Jens Lechtenbörger to support the already existing Fellowship How to.
Beside this, Jens Lechtenbörger also explains why, for privacy reasons, Ubuntu users should not update to Ubuntu 12.10 or 13.04, but instead stick with version 12.04 LTS.
Finally, some fun: Henrik Sandklef shows how to use your calendar for artistic purposes, in this case to illustrate the Fellowship Plussy
Get active: oppose integration of DRM into HTML5
FSFE, FSF and other prominent organisations defending digital freedom have prepared a joint letter to the World Wide Web Consortium and its member organisations urging them to reject the Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) proposal. This proposal aims at incorporating support for Digital Restriction Management (DRM) into HTML5 and might become a threat to Free Software users. Please join us in calling on the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and its member organizations to reject the Encrypted Media Extensions proposal (EME).
Thanks to all the Fellows and donors who enable our work,
Erik Albers - FSFE
FSFE News
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Erik Albers


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Slow and Steady but not SORRY!
Aliska Bajracharya (Head of Solutions Mapping for UNDP's Accelerator Lab in Nepal)
"We are Accelerators and we are here to do things quickly!" This was the mantra UNDP's Accelerator Lab team chanted as we embarked on this amazing journey. The Lab comprises of three members, me Head of Solutions Mapping, Exploration Analyst and Experimentation Analyst.
As the Solutions Mapper, I kept an eye-out for possible local solutions that could address two frontier challenges of youth unemployment and unplanned urbanization. In Nepal, unplanned urbanization is a root cause of complex issues like solid waste mismanagement, rise in air-pollution, lack of open public spaces and more. We took stock of what is already in place to tackle some of these complex issues. The findings were interesting!
The ground reality
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "park"? Some of you may have just looked out your window and found one right outside. Some of you may have recalled play time with friends. But for a resident of Kathmandu valley "parks" are a luxury, simply because they are so uncommon. If you are in Kathmandu, you will notice that the city is densely populated and at every turn you will find either a market place, buildings, temples or neglected barren open spaces used for dumping waste.
Thus, for our first intervention as the Lab, we chose tactical urbanization with the mission to convert neglected open spaces into green pocket parks. The idea behind the pocket park concept is to create breathing spaces, refuge for the community when natural disaster strike and increase the green cover of Kathmandu Valley while incorporating innovative tools and techniques to make these parks environmentally sustainable.
There is a clear budget allocation from the government and there is a clear requirement for the people then why is there a disconnect between the two? Unanswered questions like this convinced us to take up this issue and think-through possible solutions. Here are three things that we uncovered:
1) What is happening under the radar?
During one of these sites visits we came across a group of volunteers named "Vriksha" ('vriksha' means 'tree' in Nepali) who in just eight months have led various community level initiatives to make this city more habitable and greener by cleaning these open spaces. Their vision is to respect change while not letting it imprison basic human requirements.
2) How can we help?
Grassroots solutions cannot scale if the government imposes regulatory restrictions on them and government intervention cannot flourish if people don't accept them. Thus, they must meet half-way! That's where AccLab Nepal comes in. During our first Collective Intelligence exercise, community members, government officials, private sectors and architects came together to discuss the sustainability quotient of these parks in terms of usage, maintenance and accessibility. Mr. Prabin Shrestha from Lalitpur Metropolitan City office said, "The collective intelligence exercise has helped shed light into the individual grievances that people face, I am motivated by their level of dedication and enthusiasm to support the government in making the vision of pocket parks a reality. Ms. Laxmi Pandey, housewife, said, "This is the first time I am speaking with a government official and I feel empowered to be able to voice the concerns of my fellow community members on an issue that is dear to our hearts."
3) What is the scale up scope?
Lalitpur, a small district of 53 square kilometres in Kathmandu Valley has more than 30 barren and neglected public spaces. Local government and the community need to work together to make pocket parks a reality, not an easy task but if the activities of past 2 months are any testament for the future- we are optimistic about its success and scale-up in other provinces of the country. Ultimately, the lab also aims to incorporate local innovations while designing these parks such as concrete walkways made from re-cycled plastics and outdoor seating furniture made from discarded tyres. We are also tapping into the existing expertise of UNDP's Environment team to monitor overall control of the CO2 emission and carbon sequestration through plantation and more.
When I was a kid my dad used to take me to a play area a few minutes from my home. It was a small open space with a big tree, a common hang-out space of kids and adults alike, today that open space is functioning as a dumping site for construction materials. Only 15 years ago, this city was a different place, the sense of community was stronger and not to mention it was a lot cleaner, greener and more beautiful. But now, the city has lost its charm, we often contemplate as to why things have changed so drastically, but the reality is we cannot stop change and a big part of change in context of economic development is bigger buildings, narrower roads and heavier traffic.
For the Accelerator Lab in Nepal, we are exploring and mapping local level solutions that holds the potential to solve problems that are defining our generation. With our portfolio of experiments approach we aim to continue working closely with the change-makers from local communities who are focused on inclusive development above everything else. As the first experiment of the Lab, we are working with Vriksha, Lalitpur Metropolitan City and the local community to turn one previously neglected open space into a pocket park by December end of 2019. Starting January of 2020, we are eyeing seven more and at this point in time, this is exactly what this city needs. No, I am not talking about the pocket parks, I am talking about a proactive government and community to endorse an "accelerated approach" to creating impact.