text:
December  2000

Cover Story
India's Christians Salt of the earth
--  ‘We chose the Holy Family Hospital because we felt  that it would at least be  God-fearing’
-- ‘Men for Others’
-- ‘We believe that every one is a child of God’
-- ‘Bosco made an enormous contribution to me as a person’
-- Why Sonali Bendre gifted Rs. 25 lakhs to St. Catherine’s Home?
-- ‘I am what I am thanks to my school’
-- Victory over Poverty
-- ‘I am proud to be from a school with workers so committed to education’
-- ‘Spirituality lies in working against injustices, for truth. Without this emphasis
what use is ritualistic faith alone?’— Father Hugh Fonseca

-- ‘Lay persons increasingly feel that the Church should get involved in politics,
in civic issues’ — Father Alwyn D’Silva

A people’s priest
-- The pen as weapon of change

Agnel Baba, ‘Servant of God’

Wedded to the catholic value
-- Christian contribution

Censored history
‘Power within the Church still lies with the upper castes’
A Red Herring called conversion
How Christians have enriched the Word in India

Sentiments Sarswayamsevakji?

The Idea of India

in the courts

Targetting Minorities
Christmas sans joy

Dalit Drishti
Mockery of Justice

Martin Macwan, crusader for Dalits

The mukhaota slips, in New York

The ISI and the truth

Editor's Choice
Ms Neta Golan, Shalom!

The immorality of nuclear weapons

Special Report
Women activists are no witches

Targeting Minorities
Christmas sans joy

[ Subscribe | Contact Us | Archives | Khoj | Aman ]
[ Letter to editor  ]

Copyrights © 2000, Sabrang Communications & Publishing Pvt. Ltd.


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text:
November 27, 2009

Bulk view

Drawing by Seeing, and some reflections on life

Drawing by Seeing (John Torreano) made me think about drawing in a completely different way.

Instead of starting with a line that gets distorted because you can’t see properly and that makes you run out of space because you hadn’t planned for the big picture, start with a shape that you gradually grow until it’s just right, then develop your drawing with marks, so that the entirety of it emerges gradually, instead of piece by piece.

And I thought: This is life. Instead of building  it piece by piece, distorting our drawings because we can’t see properly, start with the rough shape of everything, then fill it in so that all parts develop gradually, and you remember to make room for everything.

Drawing by Seeing (Abrams Studio)
John Torreano

(Disclosure: The link above is an Amazon affiliate link. That said, I recommend checking out your local library. I got this book from the Toronto Public Library, yay!)

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text:
Priorities - A: high, B: medium, C: low; Status - _: unfinished, X: finished, C: cancelled, P: pending, o: in progress, >: delegated. Covey quadrants - Q1 & Q3: urgent, Q1 & Q2: important
BXReply about hipster PDA : E-Mail from Christopher Allan Webber (LifeHacks)

1. How I use my Hipster PDA

After all my experiments with wearable computing using a one-handed chording keyboard and a speech synthesizer, I've found that the most portable device for me is still a 3x5 pack of index cards bound with a fold-back clip. Jokingly dubbed the "Hipster PDA" elsewhere on the Net, this low-tech device is surprisingly flexible and easy to use. I use mine to keep track of tasks and random notes for later entry into my online planner.

My Hipster PDA is composed of:

  • a colored index card with my contact information
  • my inbox: cards with notes on them that haven't been entered into the computer
  • two pages of month templates from a 3x5 day planner
  • a year calendar for 2005 and 2006
  • my archive: index cards that have already been entered but might still be useful
  • a colored index card with yellow sticky notes
  • a stack of blank index cards
  • a fold-back clip holding all of these things together
  • a black signpen or a mechanical pencil tucked into the fold-back clip

One of the things I've found much easier to do with my 3x5 pack of cards than with a PDA or a Franklin-Covey planner is to keep track of get-togethers. When my friends and I schedule our next get-together, I lay the month templates out so that I can see the next 30 days at a glance. This is difficult to do with a PDA because PDA screens are small. A Franklin-Covey planner would probably be more organized, but I like being able to lay things out side-by-side instead of flipping through pages.

When I need to jot something down, I flip the deck and write on the last card. After I finish one side of the card, I turn it over, clip it, and write on the other side. When the whole card is full, I move it into my inbox.

Index cards are handy because it's easy to give information away to other people. Paper gets crumpled and business cards can disappear into the chaos of a purse or a bag. An index card is big and bright. I'm thinking of replacing half of my white cards with brightly-colored cards so that people can easily find information I give them.

I'm planning to do other things with my pack of 3x5 index cards. For example, I can write my projects on the cards. Reviewing these cards will reinforce these goals in my mind and remind me to keep making progress.

Index cards totally rock.

新しいコンピューターは旧型よりも１０倍速い。 The new computer is ten times as fast as the old one.

On Technorati: , , , ,

"Linux: the operating system with a CLUE...
Command Line User Environment".
(seen in a posting in

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I'd love to hear about any questions, comments, suggestions or links that you might have. Your comments will not be posted on this website immediately, but will be e-mailed to me first. You can use this form to get in touch with me, or e-mail me at [email protected] .

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text:
14 Sara Fernandez
14 Sara Fernandez
Height: 5-7
Year: Fr.
Hometown: Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
High School: Colegio Marista
Position: L

High School: Played four seasons of volleyball at Colegio Marista...Served as team captain for two seasons...Named to all-star team in four consecutive seasons...Graduated from Colegio Marista with high honors and a 4.0 GPA in her senior year.

Personal: Sara Fernandez. Nickname: Sari.  Born: 5/7/93.  Parents: Ruben Fernandez and Sara Agramonte. Siblings: Ruben and Adrian. Favorite Teams: Boston Celtics. Favorite Athlete: J.J. Barea.  Favorite Movie: The Hangover.  Favorite TV Show: One Tree Hill.  Favorite Foods: Chicken Fingers and Macaroni and Cheese.  Plans to go to law school in Puerto Rico after graduation.


text:
breast cancer awareness

Photo: Juanedc,, CC

A new peer-reviewed study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives identified seventeen types of chemicals, 102 in total, linked to breast cancer.

The study spearheaded by the scientists at the Silent Spring Institute, found areas in which policy and personal steps are a major opportunity for breast cancer prevention.

As Silent Spring put it,

“Every woman in America has been exposed to chemicals that are linked to breast cancer. Yet little is being done to tackle this problem.”

What did the study find?

There is a lot of information in this study ranging from identifying priority chemicals linked to breast cancer, data on human exposure (studies from the CDC showing how much we are actually exposed to these substances) and ways we can prevent and reduce our exposure to these dangerous chemicals.

Chemicals linked to breast cancer

One of the most alarming parts of the study wasn’t necessarily that 102 chemicals are linked to breast cancer (still shocking), but that we are regularly exposed to these chemicals every day. Data from the CDC shows that these chemicals are routinely found in Americans’ blood, urine and even breast milk.

You may be familiar with some of the chemicals linked to breast cancer as many appear on our Hazardous 100+ chemicals list. Our campaign, Mind the Store, is pressuring the nation’s top retailers to eliminate these harmful chemicals from products on their store shelves.

Summary of the 17 types of chemicals linked to breast cancer:

priority_chemicals_for_breast_cancerThis chart was adapted from the Silent Spring Institute. To read the full list of chemical classes, click here.

What can we do?

When you take a step back it’s embarrassing how little our government is doing to protect us from toxic chemicals. Our primary federal law overseeing toxic chemicals is broken and everyone (even the chemical industry) agrees it needs to be reformed.

But to date, chemicals like the ones in this study are perfectly legal to use in products we bring into our homes. We are urging Congress to pass meaningful reform that will limit exposure to harmful chemicals and put public health first.

Seems pretty straight forward, yes? Take a moment to urge your Senator; for real reform of our toxic chemical laws.

car fumes

Photo Credit: frankieleon,, CC

Silent Spring offers simple steps we can take to reduce exposure to these chemicals. These include:

  1. Avoid second-hand smoke (or first hand).
  2. Decrease exposure to fumes from gasoline and idling cars. Support anti-idling policies at the local and state level. Turn off your car while waiting for friends or family. Sit inside your car while pumping gas.
  3. Reduce exposure to diesel emissions through advocating for stricter emissions standards, anti-idling laws, and buying less stuff!
  4. Use a ventilation fan when you cook and avoid consuming burned or charred food.
  5. Skip products containing styrene including Styrofoam, plastic cutlery (pack your own reusable cutlery in your purse or car), and use the photo copier at work in a well ventilated area. When purchasing a new copier, look for ones with the Green Guard or Blue Angel seal.
  6. Avoid dry cleaning, especially those who use the toxic chemical “PERC” – ask for “wet cleaning” instead.
  7. Filter your tap water, using a carbon block filter.
  8. Avoid all stain resistant materials including clothing, fabrics, furniture, non-stick pans and rugs.
  9. Avoid flame retardant chemicals in furniture and foam products. For more information on avoiding flame retardants click here.
  10. Dust and clean your home on a regular basis. Dust is one of the primary routes of exposure to toxic chemicals, vacuuming with a HEPA filter and regularly dusting can help reduce exposure to chemicals in your home. Open your windows from time to time to air out your home.

Finally, we need a large and systemic shift in our approach to product safety. We clearly need to reform our federal laws on toxic chemicals in a way that is meaningful, and we also need retailers to take the lead in transforming the marketplace.

There’s a lot of work before us, but this study sheds light on the powerful opportunities we have before us.

Click here to sign up

Join our email list for tips and action alerts. Together, we’ll prevent cancer before it strikes.


text:
The Department of State Services (DSS) has identified one of the assailants of ThisDay Newspapers in Kaduna today as Umaru Umaru Mustapha of Maiduguri, Borno State.

In a press statement, Marilyn Ogar, a Deputy Director of Public Relations in DSS said that Mustapha and another man drove into R9, Kontagora road, Ahmadu Bello Way in a cream-coloured Honda Accord (Academy), registration number AL 306 MKA, at about 11a.m.  That address belongs to SOJ Global Communications and Investment Limited Plaza, and houses correspondents of The Sun, Thisday and Moments Newspapers.

She said Mustapha alighted “with a container of Improvised Explosive Device (IED).”

“He was immediately challenged by two gallant Nigerians following which he threw the bomb at them and it denoted killing them instantly,” the statement said.  “Subsequently, Mustapha pulled out a pistol and fired several shots in the air in an attempt to escape.

He was however caught and subdued by brave members of the public who refused to be intimidated and handed him over to security forces. Nine persons were injured and are receiving treatment.”

At about the same time, at the premises of Thisday Newspaper in Abuja, another car, a dark green Isuzu Jeep outfitted with bombs, forced its way in, detonated and killed the suicide bomber.

DSS said two other persons were confirmed killed, while five persons were injured.

Extending its sympathies to the families of victims and the deceased, DSS applauded the gallantry and patriotism exhibited by well-meaning members of the public who risked their lives to save others.   It hoped that the “new affront” on the media would not deter patriotic reportage of issues that affect the collective interest of Nigerians.

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Fire at Stoneridge Terrace destroys home, kills pet dog

May 5, 2013

A park home at the Stoneridge Terrace campground on Winona Road was destroyed by fire Saturday night. The Winona Fire Department was alerted to the fire shortly after 9 p.m....

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Leetonia man allegedly shot at son, fled

Felonious assault warrant issued

April 10, 2014
By KEVIN HOWELL , Salem News

LEETONIA- A Walnut Street man is wanted for felonious assault for allegedly shooting at his son during an altercation between the two Wednesday afternoon when Columbia Gas employees attempted to terminate service to his home.

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Take the 2-minute tour ×
Salesforce Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for Salesforce administrators, implementation experts, developers and anybody in-between. It's 100% free, no registration required.

Is it possible to get an admin/audit/other report on ALL changes that were made to a sandbox?

Assuming more than one person is working on a certain SB, I want to know what changes have been made and/or were not deployed.

  • Custom objects
  • Reports
  • VF pages
  • APEX classes/triggers
share|improve this question

3 Answers 3

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Tquila have released a pretty cool tool that lets you do a diff between 2 orgs. It's quicker than using eclipse.

It's very useful and lets you drill down to the exact changes. You can go right into the code to see the additions/removals just like a traditional Diff tool.

Here it is

Org Compare UI

share|improve this answer

Create a new project in eclipse force.com Ide with components like custom objects,reports,vf pages,apex.Then try to deploy the components to server(sandbox) to know the difference the between components in two sandbox instances.enter image description here

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I also use Eclipse with the Force.com IDE for this type of comparison. You can gain more insight into what changes are made instead of just which components are different if you select two src folders and compare them with each other.

enter image description here

From there you will see a Structure Compare dialog, through which you can drill down to individual components and compare their source.

enter image description here

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text:
Deputies Shoot At Suspects During South Bay Marijuana Bust

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Marijuana, pot

A bud on a marijuana plant. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

GILROY (CBS SF) – A man who was shot and injured by Santa Clara County deputies in a confrontation at a marijuana growing site in an area between Gilroy and Watsonville Thursday has been identified as a Morgan Hill resident, officials said Friday.

Alvaro Sanchez, 24, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, commission of a felony while armed with a firearm, unlawful cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale, according to Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jose Cardoza.

Alvarez was shot Thursday around 11:45 a.m., when members of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office’s marijuana eradication team, also known as MET, were hiking with state Department of Fish and Game officials a few miles south of state Highway 152 and Whitehurst Road, Cardoza said.

They came across a marijuana cultivation site, where they were allegedly confronted by two men. MET members including Deputy Justin Harper and a Fish and Game warden fired shots at the two men, who fled the area, Cardoza said.

A large-scale search, which included personnel from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and the California Highway Patrol, continued for hours until Sanchez was found just south of where the shooting occurred, Cardoza said.

Sanchez suffered a non life-threatening gunshot wound to one of his arms, and remains hospitalized. He will be booked into Santa Clara County Jail on his release.

The second suspect was not found in the search and remains at large. He has been described only as a Hispanic male adult, and investigators are still working to identify him, Cardoza said.

The marijuana cultivation site is estimated to contain around 3,400 plants, with a street value of approximately $10.2 million.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff’s investigators at (408) 808-4500 or to remain anonymous, call (408) 808-4431.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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text:
Isaac Sapoaga

49ers players participate in a practice at the team's practice facility in Santa Clara, January 25, 2013. (CBS)

Fans Vie For Glimpse of 49ers At Super Bowl Practice

The San Francisco 49ers have started practicing for the Super Bowl surrounded by tight security and a lot of autograph-seeking fans hoping to catch a glimpse of their heroes even though the practice field is closed to the public.


text:
Skip to page body Home Residents Business Goverment Services About

News Review
Revised Transit Service Plan
Posted Date: 3/25/2013

Dear VTA Customer and Community Member,

In the last several weeks, VTA held six public meetings to present the proposed FY 2014 and FY 2015 Transit Service Plan to the community. VTA received many comments from the community members who attended the public meetings or submitted comments via email, mail or telephone.

As a result of public comments and suggestions, VTA staff made several revisions to the proposed service changes including those on following routes: Lines 19, 32, 61/62, 81, 104, 120, 121, 122, 183, 323 and the DASH (201). Please see the attached list for specific details. The original plan is also available for your reference at:

The Revised Transit Service Plan will be reviewed for final approval by VTA’s Board of Directors at the following committee and board meetings:

  • VTA’s Transit Planning & Operations Committee
    April 18, 2013, 4:00 p.m.
    VTA Administrative Offices
    Conference Room B-104
    3331 North First Street, San Jose
  • VTA’s Board of Directors Meeting
    May 2, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
    Santa Clara County Government Center
    Board of Supervisors Chambers
    70 West Hedding Street, San Jose

The general public is welcome to attend. If adopted, the recommendations in the proposed service plan will be implemented on or after July 8, 2013. If you have any questions or would like to comment on the revised plan, please contact VTA Customer Service by:

(408) 321-2300
 TTY:  (408) 321-2330
 Fax:  (408) 321-7537
 Email:  customer.service@vta.or
 Mail:  3331 N. First Street, San Jose, CA 95134

VTA Customer Service Department

Please click here for more information including Revisions to the Proposed Transit Service Plan.

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text:
Story Photo: Fossils in Wood

Those of you who visit my site frequently know I have a strange fascination for trees and wood.

I see things in them, like ancient fossils trapped inside the wood for years and years.

Your Challenge

What fossil(s) do you see in this piece of wood?

Give a brief description and name for what you see.

Extra Credit Challenge

Tell about how the fossil(s) got inside the wood. Word limit: 100 words.

Final Words

You know the drill; you heard it before….

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!

18 comments on “Story Photo: Fossils in Wood

  1. Lynn says:

    I see an alligator with a friendly eye!
    Lynn´s last blog post ..Sleeping on the back porch, weekend recap and watching

  2. Hilary says:

    Hi Sara .. I see a croc – depends which side of the world you’re on?! But then I see a kingfisher ready to pounce … or a dreamer from another world … a transitional fossil waiting to be found, acknowledged … written about, archived, shown in an exhibiton so that future generations can see the primitive state of the creature we know today … then we will be more aware of how life evolved.

    The piece of wood is wonderful and am so pleased you posted the picture ..

    Cheers Hilary
    Hilary´s last blog post ..Big Freeze 1962/63: part 3 – fun stories, silly outcomes, housing stock and floods …

    • Sara says:

      @ Hilary — thank you. I liked the picture, too. Your answers are lovely–so diverse. I especially liked the “a dreamer from another world.”

      Thanks for seeing so much in this piece of wood:~)

  3. jean sampson says:

    Well it most certainly is a prehistoric hummingbird! But I can see the alligator also. It is so funny what different things we all can see if given a few hints. I think it is the left side of the brain trying to find a way to help us make sense of the world and to put something into one of the categories that is has designed for us to make us not have to confront everything as something brand new and fascinating (and totally unknown), like the right side of the brain does! Hope that makes a little sense! :)

    • Sara says:

      @ Jean — I saw the hummingbird, but the other one was a seal for me. It is amazing how the brain translates what we see in objects. I get teased because I often see things in objects…but not ghosts:~)

      Yes, you make perfect sense to me!

  4. Alien Ghost says:

    Hi Sara,

    I see a baby roadrunner-alligator trying to escape from his mother to go to play, while she sleeps behind him. Are these poor creatures behind bars?

    Alien Ghost´s last blog post ..Aspie World 1 – Perceiving the World

    • Sara says:

      @ Alien Ghost — This is why I have so much fun with these challenges. I didn’t see an alligator at all, but lots of the comments have mentioned one. I like that your alligator is trying to escape his mother to go play.

      The bars you see are actually sunshine shadows. I couldn’t figure out to get rid of them without getting rid of the picture and so, they stayed:~)

  5. Linda says:

    Hi Sara,

    Another interesting photo to challenge is with. I see a big shark (facing left) with something, possibly akin to Alien Ghost’s baby roadrunner alligator, stuck in his mouth.
    Linda´s last blog post ..Raven Haven

    • Sara says:

      @ Linda — A new animal, other than an alligator. I can see the shark, but I feel sorry for Alien Ghost’s baby roadrunner alligator. Hopefully, the mother alligator will wake up and take her baby back from the shark. In fossil history, of course:~)

  6. Talon says:

    Neat shot, Sara. I see a bird…a wingless variety that couldn’t get away when the situation became dire. Trapped now, but still the bird seems content.
    Talon´s last blog post ..Say Nothing

    • Sara says:

      @ Talon — That’s an interesting take on the picture. I can see the “wingless” part and it does seem true that bird fossil isn’t unhappy.

  7. Chris Edgar says:

    I don’t personally see a fossil (I’m not sure I have the strongest recollection of what fossils look like) but I do see some sort of seabird — perhaps an albatross. I’ll make a token effort to comply with the rules of the challenge by calling it a cretaceous albatross.
    Chris Edgar´s last blog post ..New Steve’s Quest Screenshots

    • Sara says:

      @ Chris — You don’t have to see a fossil, but seeing an albatross is kind of cool. I had look up albatross because I didn’t know what it looked like. According to Wikipedia, “Of the 21 species of albatrosses recognised by the IUCN, 19 are threatened with extinction.” That’s kind of scary, isn’t it?

      Good name: cretaceous albatross

  8. patricia says:

    Ok Sara I will attempt to comply, and I do see Hilary’s croc and bird and also the hummingbird….And I think they got dehydrated and the wood grew around them.

    This picture made me think of my medical intuitive session where she said I was extremely sensitive on all levels and all of my meridians were WOOD. I do not understand this wood concept and have not really studied it but I do have a great fondness for trees and I loved the smell of the western cedar as it was taken down…
    Always fun found here….I missed the parrot will need to go back – the colors draw me in
    patricia´s last blog post ..14,000 things to be happy about ~Barbara Ann Kipfer

    • Sara says:

      @ Patricia — That’s interesting about your meridians being wood. It’s such a interesting part of nature — very strong, but able to bend in the wind. Even after wood dies, it still provides food and shelter. I think you should be honored to have wood as your meridians. Then again, maybe I should asked you first what “meridians” are:~)

      I must have wood in my meridians as I love it — all kinds…trees, timber, dead wood. For some reason, I find it fascinating.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  9. Valerie says:

    Clearly, Jack the parrot rode his bike into a fence…
    Valerie´s last blog post ..Past Tense

Comments are closed.


text:
Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The Tobin Center Presents Lynyrd Skynyrd, Friday

"Legendary rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd returns with a fiery slice of Southern style guitar rock heaven in Last of a Dyin’ Breed, their newest release on Roadrunner/Loud & Proud Records released August 21, 2012. This is the kind of record guaranteed to feed the needs of the multi-generational Skynyrd Nation, and continue the renewed vigor the band exhibited with their last album, 2009’s God & Guns."


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Full-Res: W00080195.jpg

W00080195.jpg was taken on April 28, 2013 and received on Earth April 29, 2013. The camera was pointing toward SATURN at approximately 704,427 miles (1,133,666 kilometers) away, and the image was taken using the MT2 and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2014.

For more information on raw images check out our frequently asked questions section.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

  • Blend space exploration with reading and writing -- Reading, Writing & Rings!
  • Cassini Scientist for a Day -- Students get involved
  • Cassini Raw Images


text:
bugLiberty Eiffel - Bugs: bug #39194, ROPE assumes lower=1

bug #39194: ROPE assumes lower=1

Submitted by:  Cyril Adrian <cadrian>
Submitted on:  Fri 07 Jun 2013 11:51:06 AM UTC
Category: Kernel librariesSeverity: 3 - Normal
Priority: 5 - NormalStatus: Invalid
Assigned to: Paolo Redaelli <Tybor>Open/Closed: Closed
Release: adlerFixed Release: None
Planned Release: None

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Tue 30 Jul 2013 12:38:04 PM UTC, comment #1:

This bug is actually invalid since ABSTRACT_STRING clearly states that it is a "Character STRINGs indexed from `1' to `count'." and therefore defines "lower: INTEGER is 1".

My humble opinion is that code dealing with strings of text shall never makes any assumption of the actual value of lower.
In fact C strings set lower to 0 a manifest legacy optimization as comparing to zero has always been a fast operation even on CPU from seventies.

Removing the invariant "lower = 1" would allow to implement fixed substring of fixed strings using only a reference and two offsets.

Do you think it is worth at least a little debate?

Paolo Redaelli <Tybor>
Project AdministratorIn charge of this item.
Fri 07 Jun 2013 11:51:06 AM UTC, original submission:

While it is customary that ABSTRACT_STRING.lower is 1 it is wiser to remove this assumption even on ROPE.

In fact we may want to change this invariant in future.

Cyril Adrian <cadrian>
Project Administrator

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bugXnee - Bugs: bug #39208, XInput backend seems to be broken

bug #39208: XInput backend seems to be broken

Submitted by:  None
Submitted on:  Sat 08 Jun 2013 05:47:16 PM UTC
Category: libxneeSeverity: 3 - Normal
Item Group: Error reportStatus: None
Privacy: PublicAssigned to: None
Open/Closed: Open

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Sat 08 Jun 2013 05:47:16 PM UTC, original submission:

1. I configured and installed cnee with:
./configure --enable-xinput2 --enable-verbose -enable-buffer_verbose --prefix=$HOME/usr
make install

2. I recorded mouse movements in center of first screen using:
./cnee --record --events-to-record 1000 --mouse --keyboard -o cnee_test.xns -e xnee.log -v

And I tried to reply them with:
./cnee --replay -f cnee_test.xns -v -e xnee.log -ns

But when replaying events, pointer moved to (0,0) corner on the second screen (that's on left side of first screen), and didn't move anywhere else.

Next, I tried cnee with disabled xinput2:
./configure --disable-xinput2 --enable-verbose -enable-buffer_verbose --prefix=$HOME/usr

and this time it worked, with minor bug: http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?39207

I think this bug is related with bug described in this mail:

I tried program from that mail (slightly modified so it compiles with modern X11 which doesn't have XQueryInputVersion function - there's XGetExtensionVersion which can be used instead), and
XTestFakeDeviceMotionEvent seems to be always moving cursor to (0,0) coordinates - except when it gets relative coordinates.

I don't know if it's really xnee bug, but maybe there is some workaround.

Tested with:
X Server version:
X.Org X Server 1.13.4
Release Date: 2013-04-17

XInputExtension 2.2

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- News: new Unix implementation

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The Boundary Between Hardware And Software posted by ineiev, Tue 10 Mar 2015 02:53:11 PM UTC - 0 replies
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new Unix implementation

Item posted by Jason Self <jxself> on Fri 27 Sep 2013 05:55:03 PM UTC.

From: RMS%MIT-OZ@mit-eddie
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards,net.usoft
Subject: new Unix implementation
Date: Tue, 27-Sep-83 12:35:59 EST
Organization: MIT AI Lab, Cambridge, MA

Free Unix!

Starting this Thanksgiving I am going to write a complete
Unix-compatible software system called GNU (for Gnu's Not Unix)...

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Sense of Fashion: Style abounds during Savannah Fashion Week

Posted: April 25, 2014 - 10:01pm  |  Updated: April 26, 2014 - 12:10am
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Submitted photo A piece from the L*Space summer swimwear line
Submitted photo A piece from the L*Space summer swimwear line

In our fair climate we have two seasons – cool and hot.

Shedding our layered looks we are ready to revamp our outlook, get in shape, and are all in need of fresh inspiration. Savannah Fashion Week couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time to meet all of our style needs! Next week will be filled with fresh ideas for everyone, so let’s let it bring us together, inspire us and show off our soon- to-be-summer style.

Glowing look

Let this week bring you together with your best friend, one you never see because you are both so busy. Get a fresh look with a Runway to Reality Makeup Makeover by the Glow Beauty Brigade. Their professional artist makeovers using Glow’s celebrity makeup line by Edward Bess are usually $85 an hour, but all next week they are free! Each guest may also be rewarded with an Edward Bess eye shadow as a gift with purchase.

A lucky winner will be selected for a chance to get a makeover by the man behind the color line, Edward Bess. Take Glow Medspa up on this opportunity and freshen up, smile with your friends and celebrate the arrival of summer.

Little smiles

Time together is precious and it often flies by so fast. If you have a mini-me fashionista in your family the American Girl Trunk Show on April 29 is a fun treat for both of you. Share your love for looks from everyday to church outfits and find her something she can match on her own mini-me. We loved this Savannah summer honey bee dress that says she is ready for the season ahead. Let her pick her own and share her budding style tastes with you as a precious moment to remember. Each time she wears these looks it will make you both smile.

Beach it!

Ready to hit the sand? Well either you are ready, or you can use the inspiration with James Gunn, returning this year to highlight their L*Space summer swimwear line. Grab your boating buddy and find the outfit you both will spend endless hours in while turning golden in this summer. This line is from an eco-conscious designer who also knows we need everything from bikinis to lounge layers for our active summer needs. Featured as one of the favorites for beach yoga because of their comfort and adorable cuts, come see their summer prints and colors. Grab printed pool tops, sheer sun pants to toss into that tote along with your fringed top and you are ready for summer. Smell the salt in the air and on April 29 visit James Gunn in Sandfly, the best way to get inspired for the sun and sand ahead.

Sparkling summer highlights

Make time in your schedule of apparel and handbag crafting to add some new accessories to your looks. Not everyone feels ready for swimwear, although it is a great motivator for exercise! Treat yourself with a bit of new sparkle which can transform any look and make you feel pretty. We have two bold styles that will be unveiled during SFW. Find one that fits you or try both to see how it transforms you!

Custard hosts Modern Bronze jewelry trunk show on April 29, heralding two Southern sisters from Tennessee. This talented pair will be at Custard Boutique all day long sharing their hand hammered charms, bold stones and more. There will be a free gift with purchase while supplies last, so get there early and find one that calls your name.

Brazenly bold in gleaming silver is the theme of the Zia Boutique event on April 28, featuring Spanish designer Uno de 50. The Spanish brand started out with the philosophy of creating only 50 units of each design, hence the unique art and name for the collection, Uno de 50. Silver, leather and glass combine into bold, chunky and elegant designs for each limited style. Meet your friend for champagne sips and sparkling accents at Zia Boutique while this show is in town.

These are just a few of the highlights this year, so many we can’t make them all! Summer will be in full swing with new collections featured at so many retailers like the DVF Trunk show at Bleu Belle, or the Beach event at Trunk 13, or the latest collection at J. Paige. To see the full list of events with times and places, visit to plan your week of style.

Remember if you miss any of the amazing events, keep in mind that the SFW Pop-up Shop will bring them all together for a one-stop shopping experience on May 2.

Contact Erin Ebert at or go to

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Guyton man part of 'Bold Alligator'

Posted: February 23, 2012 - 1:12am
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A Navy Small Unit Riverine Craft (SURC) and its crew patrol the waterways of Camp Lejeune, N.C., during Exercise Bold Alligator 2012.

A Navy Small Unit Riverine Craft (SURC) and its crew patrol the waterways of Camp Lejeune, N.C., during Exercise Bold Alligator 2012.

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — For the Navy son of a Guyton man and grandson of a Guyton woman, “storming the beach” here looked much different than the iconic World War II photos of landing craft riding the waves to shore, followed by Marines running out with guns blazing. An amphibious beach assault today can mean vehicles emerging from the sea and moving inland where land operations can begin.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brian O. Waters, son of Tracy Bignault and grandson of Annette Waters of Beecher Drive, both of Guyton, is a gunner’s mate with Riverine Squadron 1, Little Creek, Va., and was one of approximately 20,000 participating in our nation’s largest amphibious training exercise in 10 years, named Exercise Bold Alligator 2012.

The exercise recently took place at nine bases along the East Coast and illustrated a revitalization of the fundamentals and tactics of modern amphibious operations. U.S. Marines, sailors, coastguardsmen, along with allied troops from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom participated.

The 2006 Effingham County High School graduate’s role was to help his team practice amphibious operations, and ensure they are ready if called upon.

“I am a gunner crewman aboard a riverine patrol boat in the United States Navy,” Waters said.

The exercise incorporated 25 ships and more than 120 aircraft to improve executing maritime strategy; forward presence, deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, along with working closely with allies.

For Waters, amphibious operations tested here required everyone to undergo specialized training before they could participate in Bold Alligator.

“I’ve gone through months of training cycles consisting of small arms and crew serve ranges, shooting thousands of rounds both day and night,” said Waters, who has been in the Navy for three years.

From the Navy ships offshore, to the Marines patrolling the mock villages located inland, the Navy and Marine Corps together played a major role in making this exercise as realistic as they can. For sailors like Waters, they provided the additional waterway security and maritime combat capabilities necessary for the exercise.

“This exercise is important because it helps us to learn how to operate in joint task force environments,” said Waters.

The skills and tactics refined during Bold Alligator will have a place not only among combat operations, but also with humanitarian assistance, emergency evacuation, flood and earthquake response, tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel and counter piracy. After 10 years of focusing on ground combat, this is the first step for the Navy and Marine Corps team to return to their role as “warriors from the sea.”

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We recognize that investing in equities is a flawed, imperfect science at best.  We start out with a very simple premise; we don’t invest in companies that management is not willing to invest significant amounts of their own money in.  There has been some reason to believe that this is a good first screen.  The  account we manage has outperformed the S&P 500 by over 470% since January 2001.

Stay up to date with the Sax Angle by subscribing to our blog in a convenient email format. It’s a not-so-daily digest of the latest news and some of our best investment ideas.  Your email will not be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

*All Investments involve risk, including the loss of principal. This is neither a solicitation or offer to sell any security. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. An offer can only be made through the Fund’s Private Offering Documents.

For more information

This investment is only available to accredited investors as defined by SEC Definition of Accredited Investor

HSAX & CO., LLC is the general partner and investment manager for the Sax Angle Partners, LP  long-short equity fund.
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Title page for ETD etd-06112009-063822

Type of Document Master's Thesis
Author Wu, Ning
URN etd-06112009-063822
Title Identification of a chromosomal region possibly involved in O-side chain biosynthesis in Brucella abortus
Degree Master of Science
Department Veterinary Medical Sciences
Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title
No Advisors Found
  • Biosynthesis.
Date of Defense 1994-00-00
Availability restricted
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Title page for ETD etd-08242010-152140

Type of Document Master's Thesis
Author Clark, David Bradley
URN etd-08242010-152140
Title 930 sqft of Architecture
Degree Master of Architecture
Department Architecture
Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title
Dunay, Robert J. Committee Chair
Schubert, Robert P. Committee Member
Wheeler, Joseph Committee Member
  • Solar House
  • Form
  • PLUG
  • Material
  • Technics
  • Meditation Room
Date of Defense 2008-10-20
Availability unrestricted
There is no primacy to Architecture.

For centuries architects have posited formulaic approaches to creating spatial environments. Bold maxims for design have defined entire periods and styles of architecture, and each subsequent postulation attempts to disprove the former by challenging its theories against imperfect realizations. Yet nearly all have the same fault; they prioritize characteristics of architecture, attempting to design according to absolutisms of thought and process. I believe this to be a dangerous mode of operation, as absolutisms can be extremely complex and difficult to grasp conceptually, let alone to manifest into realities. Reducing architecture to processes of selection, generalization, singularities, and priorities is just clever ways of dealing with complexity in an attempt to make the intangible tangible. This ‘reduction’ and ‘simplification’ can only hold value as a tool for the study and analysis of architecture, not its practice and execution. Although architecture is universally conditional, it has been assigned universal qualities over time in theory and practice. I believe time requires that those qualities be subject to change and reinterpretation so that architecture may maintain proper relevance, barring one constant: all qualities must exist by virtue of the others and cannot be seen independently; one quality is no more than an aspect of the others.

To better explore this notion, three criteria (qualities, generators) have been identified as a measure for critical analysis of three architectural research projects. They are built from a history of pre-defined criterion, named and redefined in an attempt to elevate a personal study and practice of architecture at a period in time. These projects have a high degree of personal influence and involvement, and so this becomes in a way a self-analysis in the study and practice of architecture. The intention of this compendium is to gain insight towards a personal definition of architecture through an analysis of architectural theory and precedence in comparison to work that is reflective of personal architectonics. In time, I hope it will have continued to develop.

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How NORAD Works

An F-16 flies a NORAD mission over New York City in 2003. See more pictures of military jets.

U.S. Air Force/AFP/Getty Images

Introduction to How NORAD Works

NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, is a military operation run jointly by the United States and Canada. Originally headquartered in a massive complex built within a hollowed-out mountain near Colorado Springs, NORAD's goal is to monitor all possible approaches to the United States via air and space for potential attacks. Created at the height of Cold War paranoia, NORAD is a technological wonder that has been forced to adapt continually to new threats.

In this article, we'll take a brief look at the history of NORAD, the technology behind its operations and where the command stands today.

Military Jets Image Gallery

Deter, Detect, Defend

To understand NORAD, it's important to understand the Cold War fears that spawned it. Consider this quote, written in 1967:

Compare [the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor] with the threat that the people of North America face today: Supersonic and subsonic jet bombers, several hundred in number, capable of reaching any target on the continent; intercontinental ballistic missiles that can travel from deep within the Eurasian land mass at 15,000 mph … submarine-launched ballistic missiles that could strike 40 of the continent's largest cities less than five minutes after launch … Soviet Cosmonauts are harbingers of future danger [source: Talmadge].

NORAD's motto is "Deter, Detect, Defend." Deterrence was accomplished simply through the fact of NORAD's existence. "Potential enemies know that they would suffer disastrous consequences at once if they should be so foolish as to launch an attack against the United States or Canada. Full knowledge of these facts is considered the greatest safeguard and deterrent against sneak attack," reads the introduction of a NORAD guidebook published in 1970 [source: Hough]. In many ways, the creation of NORAD was an act of Cold War propaganda. This is not to suggest that NORAD wasn't capable of doing the things the United States claimed it could do, just that the claims were at least as important as the technology itself.

Detection was accomplished with an ever-growing series of radar installations stretching across Canada. If you look at a globe from directly above, you can see that the shortest path between the United States and Russia is through the Arctic, placing Canada directly between the two Cold-Warring nations. NORAD's "radar fence" was meant to act as a first line of defense, giving as much advance warning as possible when attack planes or missiles were launched toward the United States or Canada. This would provide time to react (with retaliatory missiles) and possibly affect some form of evacuation or allow civilians to reach bomb shelters.

Special squadrons of Air Force fighters and bombers (Strategic Air Command, or SAC squadrons) were set up to perform the defense aspect of NORAD's motto. Able to scramble and take to the air on a moment's notice, these planes could be used to intercept and destroy incoming enemy aircraft. Incoming missiles couldn't be dealt with in any practical way, so bombers would be sent to fire missiles at Russia, ensuring the mutual destruction of both nations.

How NORAD Works

Cheyenne Mountain, site of the NORAD control center

Photo courtesy North American Air Defense Command, Public Information Division

NORAD Technology

The technology NORAD used to accomplish its mission was made of three main parts:

  • Detection: mainly using numerous radar installations
  • Command and control: using state-of the-art computer and communications systems housed in Cheyenne Mountain
  • Response: using the Air Force's fighters, bombers and missiles

The first set of NORAD radar stations, the Pinetree Line, used pulse radar, which had trouble detecting planes close to the ground. The line, built in 1954, ran roughly along the U.S./Canadian border in the west, then cut across eastern Canada. This was too close to the potential targets of Soviet attacks to provide much advance warning. Pinetree was quickly supplanted by the Mid-Canada Line (MCL), which was positioned farther north. The MCL used Doppler radar, a more advanced technology that offered increased efficiency and low-altitude detection. The construction and early operations of these two systems actually predated the formation of NORAD by several months.

The Distant Early Warning (DEW) line of radar was built at almost the same time as the MCL. It stretched across Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland several hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle. Completed in 1958, the DEW line, like the Pinetree Line and MCL, was designed to detect Russian jet bombers. However, the transition to Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) made these systems obsolete almost immediately [source: Talmadge]. MCL and Pinetree were no longer in use by the mid-1960s, while DEW stations were gradually shut down or converted to other uses, although some stations remained operational into the 1990s.

The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) was NORAD's answer to ICBMs. Three massive radar installations in Alaska, Greenland and Britain make up the BMEWS, which went into operation in 1960 [source:Talmadge]. The BMEWS radar operated at such long range that its mission was expanded to include monitoring of orbital satellites. All three BMEWS stations are still in operation (following upgrades in recent decades), though the Alaskan station was converted into a PAVE PAWS installation. PAVE PAWS is the most modern NORAD air and space tracking system, first implemented in the 1980s.

Interpreting and combining the information from all these radar systems requires the use of sophisticated computer systems (at any given moment, been repeatedly upgraded over the decades). Each radar station is connected to NORAD command and control by redundant communications systems, using hardwired connections and satellites as well as microwave communications.

Today, NORAD is able to track virtually every inch of North American air space and can detect missile launches almost anywhere in the world, using satellites to spot heat signatures and exhaust plumes. In addition, NORAD tracks all man-made objects in space. All of this information is cross-referenced with civilian and military air traffic control. As a result, NORAD can quickly detect an unauthorized aircraft. Many of these turn out to be drug smugglers -- about 100 are caught each year with NORAD's help [source: Above Top Secret].

How NORAD Works

A worker inspects one of the 1,000-pound springs under the NORAD complex in Cheyenne Mountain, Colo.

Photo courtesy North American Air Defense Command, Public Information Division

Cheyenne Mountain

The most famous part of NORAD is probably the NORAD headquarters and control center. The United States wanted a control center that could be temporarily self-sufficient and withstand a nuclear attack, so it hollowed out a granite mountain in Colorado to house it. The Cheyenne Mountain complex is enclosed by 25-ton steel blast gates and hundreds of feet of solid granite. The inner area is a series of large chambers covering more than four and a half acres [source: Talmadge]. Within the chambers are buildings, built as freestanding structures within the mountain. Each building rests on immense coiled steel springs for isolation from the seismic shock of a nuclear blast (they work against earthquakes, too). Each of the 900 springs weighs 1,000 pounds [source: Hough]. Extensive ventilation systems provide fresh air, while food stores and natural water springs can provide sustenance for up to a few weeks. The center does have a generator, but it draws power primarily from the local electric grid.

Construction of the complex began in 1961 and cost $35.5 million for the first phase. It took three years and more than a million pounds of explosives just to hollow out the mountain [source: Hough]. Ultimately, Cheyenne Mountain cost hundreds of millions of dollars to maintain and upgrade. As of 1994, annual operating costs for the facility were $152 million [source: Above Top Secret].

More than 1,800 people once worked within the mountain, but in 2006 NORAD's operations were shifted to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. A skeleton crew continues to maintain the Cheyenne Mountain complex in a "warm standby" state, ready for use as a backup whenever it may be needed.

Until recently, the Canadian NORAD headquarters was also centered in an underground complex. It was located in North Bay, Ontario, and housed most of the computer and communications systems. The Canadian NORAD command also uses a military base in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which serves as the administrative headquarters [source: National Defence of Canada].

On the next page we'll learn about what happens if NORAD spots a missile coming toward the United States.

How NORAD Works

The NORAD command center in the late 1960s/early 1970s

Photo courtesy North American Air Defense Command, Public Information Division

Alarm Levels and Joint Operations

NORAD's highest level of alert during the Cold War was Alarm Level 1. Fortunately, it was never activated, but a Level 1 contact would have played out like this:

The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) detects something flying within its radar range. The computer systems check and don't recognize the object. It appears as a colored light on an electronic map of North America, and Alarm Level 3 is activated. The computers begin making predictions -- if the object is a missile, where might it be aimed, and how long will it take to get there?

Once the BMEWS starts tracking the object, it will be able to tell where it's heading. If it's moving toward or into North America, NORAD moves to Alarm Level 2. At this level, a series of checks are run to make sure the object isn't a bad signal or something harmless. If nothing checks out, NORAD moves to Alarm Level 1.

Strategic Air Command (SAC) squadrons have already been notified and are scrambling -- now they can be released into the air. Missile launch sites are on alert and preparing to launch. Meanwhile, computers continue tracking and refining the missiles' estimated impact sites. Once everything has been fully confirmed, all possible mistakes are ruled out and NORAD commanders know for certain that the United States is under attack, they then reach for the Presidential hotline. This special phone connects directly to the President without delay. Only with his authorization can military elements be fully activated to attack and launch their missiles.

Joint Operations

NORAD is a rarity -- an ongoing joint defensive military operation between two countries. The U.S. and Canada realized in the 1950s that any Russian threat posed to one was also going to be faced by the other. In the interest of working together to detect and stop such threats, the two nations signed an agreement to form NORAD on May 12, 1958 [source: National Defence of Canada]. It was originally known as North American Air Defense Command, but "Air" was changed to "Aerospace" to reflect the expanded duties brought on by satellites and other space-born threats.

NORAD's commander is appointed by (and answers to) the U.S. President and the Canadian Prime Minister. An American Air Force general is usually chosen to be NORAD commander, with a Canadian deputy commander. The NORAD agreement has been steadily renewed over the years, though the two countries have disagreed on the funding of facility construction and maintenance. Most of NORAD's functions are accomplished by the two nations' air forces, but because it is a binational agency, it is not technically a part of either air force.

In the United States, the 21st Space Wing of the U.S. Air Force provides missile warning and space control functions to NORAD. And various air wings throughout the United States provide the actual air-combat presence of NORAD. The Royal Canadian Air Force operates Canadian NORAD bases.

On the next page we'll learn about how NORAD works today and how it has changed with the end of the Cold War and the new threat of terrorism.

How NORAD Works

One of the 25-ton blast doors that protect the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain complex

Robert Nickelsberg/AFP/Getty Images

NORAD has changed in many ways since the end of the Cold War. While tracking drug smugglers helped keep it relevant in the 1990s, the terrorist attacks of 2001 drastically changed NORAD. Since its inception, NORAD's very nature has been to monitor the North American airspace for threats coming from other nations. An airborne attack from within U.S. borders was not expected. In fact, when Air Force fighters were first sent into the air on Sept. 11, 2001, some of them followed predetermined mission plans that sent them out to sea to intercept incoming attackers [source: Colorado Springs Gazette].

Following the attacks, NORAD turned its watchful eyes inward, intently scanning U.S. skies for threats. When a civilian plane crashed into a New York City apartment building in October 2006, NORAD sent Air Force fighters into the skies above New York and other major North American cities within minutes [source: Colorado Springs Gazette].

In 2005, NORAD adopted a new system using low-intensity lasers to warn commercial airline pilots when they've entered restricted airspace above Washington, D.C., near military installations and other sensitive areas. The system is more effective and less expensive than the previous method of sending fighter jets to intercept the plane [source: Airline Industry Information]. NORAD's systems and communications have been better integrated with the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of civilian air traffic. This includes FAA officials working directly with NORAD [source: Calgary Herald].

Canada has also recently moved its NORAD operations -- headquarters are now in an aboveground building near the North Bay bunker .

What does the future hold for NORAD? The United States and Canada will probably always need a way to monitor the skies for potential threats, and those threats will continue to evolve. The methods used to accomplish NORAD's mission will change with technology, always shifting to meet the needs of national security, just like they have since the 1950s.

For more information on NORAD and related topics, check out the links on the following page.

Lots More Information

Related HowStuffWorks ArticlesMore Great LinksSources
  • Airline Industry Information. “NORAD to use laser beams to warn pilots.” April 12, 2005.
  • Boeing. “Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Background.”
  • Canadian Department of National Defense. “Backgrounder: NORAD.”
  • “Cheyenne Mountain and the NORAD Complex.” Above Top Secret.
  • “Yankees pitcher killed in crash of small plane in Manhattan.” Oct. 12, 2006.
  • Hough, Henry W. NORAD Command Post: The City Inside of Cheyenne Mountain. Green Mountain Press (1970). 978-0877680062.
  • NORAD. “About NORAD.”
  • Slobodian, Linda. “Norad on Heightened Alert: Role of air defence agency rapidly transformed in wake of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.” The Calgary Herald, Oct. 13, 2001.
  • Stockman, Tom. “Memoir: NORAD False Alarm of Soviet Missile Attack, November 9 1979.”
  • Talmadge, Marian and Gilmore, Iris. NORAD: The North American Air Defense Command. Dodd, Mead (1967).
  • Zubeck, Pam. “Closing NORAD may cost $12B.” The Colorado Springs Gazette, June 15, 2007.
  • Zubeck, Pam. “Minutes after crash, NORAD was there.” The Colorado Springs Gazette, Oct. 12, 2006.


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NASA Space Science Technology

Suggesting Innovative Uses For Retired Space Shuttles 127 127

coondoggie writes "It was a sad event when the iconic NASA Space Shuttle program ended last week with the landing of Atlantis. After the last mission the flying shuttles will all be assigned to museums where millions will admire them as static displays. But wouldn't it be cool if they were put to use in places where you might not expect?" (Best viewed with the slide-show consolidating software of your choice.)
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Cthulhu Lives in The Blog Cave

i-811fbd406ae61332ef2f2a59d670d6c4-Cthulhu-thumb-300x408-66010.jpgApropos Linux in Exile losing his Linux System to a Predatory Windows Install the other day (see Windows killed my laptop, again) I’ve been thinking about and beginning to do something about cleaning house. See below for my latest Windows mini-horror story (not as bad as LIE’s). But first, a word about Cthulhu. Who lives in my blog cave.

I have three computers sitting here in the blog cave, two of which I use on a regular basis. The Windows computer is used at this time only for scanning slides because the software that comes with the scanner for Windows is convenient and nice and the software Epson tossed off for the Linux community sucks. Well, it works fine, but it assumes that you want to do all the work yourself.

Anyway, behind my four monitors, three keyboards, and so on there is a tangle of cables connecting five or six external hard drives, a printer, a scanner, some video equipment, and who knows what else to the two computers and input devices. You can imagine that just the power cords for fifteen or sixteen things that plug in is a tangled mess. The USB cables are myriad. If Cthulhu come over to give me a hard time he would be overwhelmed with this tangle and I would be able to defeat him easily. In fact, I’m pretty sure Cthulhu is already there, easily hiding … well, sleeping … among the wires, undetectable (see illustration).i-b976dfa0cf6da4452b6e3c70168a6f74-messbehindthescreen-thumb-300x225-66012.jpg

A while back I got some cable straps and a few other pieces of hardware and resolved to clean this mess up. That came a few days after … and I am not making this up … my external computer speakers, which were turned off, started putting out AM radio signals. Seriously. I figured that if that could happen, anything could happen.

That did not work of course. I think I didn’t have a good enough plan for running cables. The mess didn’t go away. It just got less dusty because messing around with the cables caused some of the dust to fly away, and I blasted some of the larger dust bunnies with canned air. Also, the lengths of the USB cables had only one criterion: Being long enough. Most were too long. I had 6 foot USB cables connecting things that were 8 inches away from each other, for example.

So, I bought some shorter USB cables on line, where USB cables are very cheap. I have a variety of shorter lengths now. And, I’ve dutifully stored them away in the box I keep USB cables in and have not installed them, because I’ve not been quite ready to deal with it yet. I’m afraid to go back there. Cthulhu lives there, you see.

Three weeks ago, on two separate occasions, I ran into deeply discounted wireless Logitech mice, the kind with the USB dongle. One had a large dongle, the other a small one suitable for a laptop. They were so cheap I bought them both, with the intention of using them instead of wired mice. Two cables would then be eliminated. I’ve decided to get rid of the external powered speakers too. They are very old … they probably pre-date all of my hardware, and most of my hardware is old. They started to make funny noises other than the AM radio signals. They consist of too many large parts and too many wires and cables. I’ve discovered that I can wire my computers directly to speakers built into monitors. Of course, I disconnected the external speakers but I’ve not extracted them from the Cthulhu behind my monitors yet because they are too tangled in.

Also, I’m thinking of getting an external speaker that runs off a powered USB port anyway. I’d use it at home but have it handy to give to Amanda for presentations at school, and to take it to my own lectures and talks. There is that moment now and then when you need sound but the presentation hardware you’ve got to work with is not set up for it. A small powered external speaker would rarely be ideal but it would always be better than the laptop speaker.

I haven’t extracted the no-longer-used mice yet either. As a matter of fact, there is an HP wireless mouse that has a charging cradle with a USB wire …. a mouse that gives you no wire on the device itself but adds a wire to your tangle …. that broke a while back and is still integrated into the tangle. Who knows what else is in there. There may or may not be a label printer in there somewhere. I think there might also be a couple of squirrels that got in there the other day when I left the garage door open for a while. Of course, Cthulu may have eaten them by now.

Oh, the Windows story: I wanted to plug in one of the new mice dongles to each of two computers, a Linux and a Windows computer.

I plugged one of them into the Linux computer and it worked fine, no delays, no mess, no fuss, no dialog boxes, no conversations with the system, no dirty looks from the computer. It just worked.

Then I plugged the other mouse dongle into the windows computer. Well, first, I unplugged the old mouse and that caused the computer to beep and start up a process and throw up a dialog box that said something unhelpful. Then, I plugged in the new dongle, and that caused the computer to beep and start up a different process. Some old software installed by the proprietary driver for a scanner that no longer exists then started up and searched for the scanner. Window’s hardware searching software started to run. A dialog box told me that new hardware had been plugged in, as though it was possible that I could not know that. A few more dialog boxes opened but then closed, mercifully, on their own. A warning came up that the scanner could not be found (the one that does not exist and has nothing to do with the mouse). Then the mouse sat there unusable for about another 20 seconds, then it started to work.

Soon, I will do it. I’ll probably remove every single cable and piece of hardware, to the other side of the room, sorting it all into piles of like kind (cpu’s in one pile, keyboards in another, USB cables organized by length, etc). Then I’ll dust and clean everything. I may build a small shelf to hover over my desk … something about a foot high so that things can sit on it as well as below it, to sort things out a bit more. Then I’ll place all the hardware sans cables or wires where I think everything might go …. the monitors and keyboards obviously have to go in certain places, but the CPU’s have somewhat more flexibility, for instance. Then, I’ll figure out a configuration of power strips so that I can flip switches to turn off categories of things. Most of the perhipherals sit there not being used most of the time. A printer/scanner switch and a secondary external disk drive switch would be nice. Then, a switch for each CPU/Monitor combination from which I’d also power the powered USB breakouts and any required external hard drives. I’d route and tie up the power strip and device power cables as needed. Then, the monitor cables would be routed and tied off as appropriate, then finally the USB cables.

i-8bf935dc1678cef5a767267f2f11dce7-Ernestine1-thumb-300x329-66014.jpgThat’s sort of what I did last time, but now it would be done with fewer cables. I also may do something smart with the breakout boxes. It turns out that no matter how convenient networking is, switching a USB cable is easier, more efficient, and safer for some applications. For instance, I mentioned that my Windows computer does a better job (and I promise you that I’m choking on these words as I write them) than the Linux computer at interfacing with my scanner. But, sometimes it is easier to use the Linux computer. Rather than having the scanner available on some inter-OS network that would never work right and sit there sucking up resources all the time so I could use it five times a year, I would just unplug the USB from one computer and plug it into another. Same with my printer, and with two or three of the external hard drives. So, I’d have a powered USB breakout box for each computer sitting there within reach (and labeled!) and the CPU-end of the USB cables for five or six devices right there, so I could change connections much like an old fashioned telephone swithboard operator (see illustration).

Eventually, everything will be wireless except for my Avant Stellar keyboard.

  1. #1 Stephanie Z
    June 10, 2011

    Hmm. I don’t know what you want your scanning software to do, but VueScan has suited our purposes well. There is a Linux version.

  2. #2 Scott Rowed
    June 10, 2011

    I second Stephanie’s recommendation of Vuescan. It does a great job of scanning on Linux with my three scanners – a Minolta Dimage Scan Multi Pro for scanning film (slides and negs, both 35mm and medium format), an Epson Perfection 4990 Photo and an Epson Perfection 1650. The only glitch I have is that on the Minolta, since upgrading from Linux Mint 9 to Mint 10, is that the scanner is not recognized by double clicking on the file. Rather I have to type in the terminal:
    sudo ./vuescan

  3. #3 Greg Laden
    June 10, 2011

    Well, I want it to be open source. I’m not totally against non-open source software, so I may give it a try.

    Scanning software, for the purposes of scanning, doen’t need to do too much. Other than controlling the hardware, everything you can do to an image can be done in other software. What I like about the Windows epson software is the way it handles file names, incrementing the numbers added to the name, etc. … remarkably, the Linux version does not do that VueScan probably does something along those lines.

  4. #4 Benton Jackson
    June 10, 2011

    The more ambitious you make this reorganization project, the less likely you are to ever actually do it. You need to do it in small stages- take one cable, and untangle it from Cthulhu. Tomorrow, do something else. Eventually it will get done, and a lot faster than your current world domination plan.

    One more thing- some peripherals don’t like being turned off from a power strip. For example, an ink jet printer needs to “park” the print head before turning off, or it’ll dry out. External hard drives probably need to flush buffers.

    Here’s another organizing item you might like- monitor arms. Like this:

    It frees up the desk space under your monitors, leaving more room for crap. I love mine.

  5. #5 Greg Laden
    June 10, 2011

    OK, installed, tested, works great! Thanks for the suggestion. I may well pay the 40 bucsk for this.

    See how fast doing stuff in Linux is?

  6. #6 Greg Laden
    June 10, 2011

    I’ve looked at monitor arms and other devices of that sort and I can easily get into using such items. Right now I don’t think I need them .. my “desk” is custom built from dumpster parts and works fairly well.

    On turning off peripherals and such: It depends, but that would have to be taken into account. The external disk drives may shut themselves down when they are not in use so turning them off with the power strip would probably be OK since that would only happen about once a week. But what I’m really thinking of is turning off all the transformers that are plugged in even to unused devices. I’m not certain, but I think a lot of things drain power when “off” or not in use, such as a powered USB hub. I’ve got at least one monitor that tells me it is “off” by shining a yellow light … obviously it is not really off.

    So yes, everything has to be turned off properly, but a power swtich can then kill those other pesky leakers.

    Regarding world domination …. we shall see … we shall see …

  7. #7 gruebait
    June 10, 2011

    O.T. and odd to mention perhaps, but I have never, ever heard “dongle” used like that. (I suppose because I spent so many years cursing them at work)

  8. #8 Greg Laden
    June 10, 2011

    Yes, I think the word Dongle has come to refer to the blue tooth or whatever technology device because a) it looks like a dongle and b) does not have a name.

    I might have gotten that word from Linux in Exile now that I think of it.

  9. #9 uncle Glenny
    June 10, 2011

    “dongle” was used 20 years ago at Apple to refer to things attached to the USB, I’m not aware that any such devices existed.

  10. #10 D. C. Sessions
    June 11, 2011

    My solution to ‘puter proliferation is to use VMs. One physical computer, as many virtual ones as I want. I’ll send you a picture of my physical setup (yup, monitor arms and wireless keyboard and mouse) as soon as I’m back from the current road trip.

  11. #11 Dan
    June 11, 2011

    Hey Greg, have you heard of Synergy (http://synergy-foss.org/). It is FOSS software to share one physical keyboard and mouse (not really one as it is two devices…) between multiple computers. So you can have multiple monitors on your desk, each connected to a different computer, and just move the mouse between them.

  12. #12 Greg Laden
    June 11, 2011

    Dan, Imma look into that. I’m a little reticent to use software solutions when hardware ones do as well for the simple reason that I can move my hands from one keyboard to another with zero system resource drain, and it looks cooler, but still, it could be good.


text:
Mike the Mad Biologist

Category archives for Religion

I’ve noted before that the background to the ‘culture wars’ is that white, male, Christian (often Protestant) is no longer the cultural default setting. Regarding religion:

By way of a link from Pam’s House Blend to this post, I came across a really good question about funding faith-based initiatives (bold original):

Who woulda thunk it? It’s already well-established that the good souls of the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives had a ‘No Jews need apply’ policy*. Now it turns out that, like so many bigots, they’re also corrupt (italics mine):

I’ve discussed Republican rising star Bobby Jindal’s public support for creationism before. What’s galling is that his idiocy can’t be laid at cognitive deficiency or ignorance. I was in the same graduating class as Jindal, and I know that every biology major had considerable exposure to evolutionary biology.

Recently, I ripped into Kathleen “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer” Parker for mainstreaming white power garbage. But Gregory Rodriguez makes a good point about the “formal re-articulation of whiteness as a social category and a racial interest group” (italics mine):

Tristero correctly points out those churches that are concerned that they will lose their tax exempt status have a solution to their problems:

Sunday Sermon: Purim, God, and Free Will

One of the interesting things about Purim is that nowhere in the entire book is God mentioned. This is unusual for a religious text, to say the least. Over at South Jerusalem, Haim Watzman describes a sermon about Esther and free will. The whole post is worth a read, but I really liked this part:

When I first read that Amy Sullivan, in honor of her new book, is guest posting at the Washington Monthly, I said to myself, dear Lord, more ‘Democrats need to get religion’ blather. Sadly, I was not disappointed. Already, there’s a book review and a post.

KIDDING. But if you’re in Boston March 24, feel free to drop by the Boston Skeptics first EVAH! meeting and hear me speak.

I believe I did. And on cue, a bigot steps right up (italics mine):


text:
i-f875c0b07d9b3cb6229668554781b35a-alice.jpgThere’s an article on the New York Times Online about Allannah Thomas, founder of Helicon, a non-profit that helps low-income women learn math skills they need for better jobs. Thomas’s courses are called “math boot camp” because of their focus on fundamental skills, and she works with women to help them develop those skills you need for business, quantitative reasoning, scaling, or technical work.

The article reminds me a bit of the philosophy of Bob Moses, founder of the Algebra Project — somehow, we live in a culture where it is somehow okay for adults to say to kids asking for help on their math homework, “Oh, I can’t help you — I was always terrible at math when I was a kid.” Moses argues math is as fundamental a skill as reading, and as critical a skill for being a full citizen in contemporary American society.

Let’s hope such interventions survive in this economy.

  1. #1 Amy
    April 24, 2009

    Wow! What great programs. Thanks for sharing.

  2. #2 Hilary Domush
    April 24, 2009

    I hope that when I have kids that I am able to help them with their math. It was my worst subject, but if I can help them then I will finally learn it too.

  3. #3 Becca
    April 24, 2009

    I get so frustrated when someone tells me “I can’t do math.” I agree with Moses, it is as fundamental a skill as reading. I am encouraged to hear about these programs. Education is the first step to improving your conditions.

  4. #4 Lilian Nattel
    April 24, 2009

    Math must be in the air. I just wrote about Jump Math, a fabulous math program for kids. The way math is now taught (or not taught) to kids drives me crazy because it sets people up for a lifetime of innumeracy. And it doesn’t have to! That’s the frustrating part. What’s worse is that it increases the class divide. Even as an educated middle-class parent I had trouble finding a decent program I could use–it took me a year and a half to do so. What do parents with fewer internal & external resources do? One of the things I like about the JUMP math program is that the organization is doing outreach through Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

  5. #5 Jennie
    April 24, 2009

    Interesting, too bad the workshops are only in New York. My friend, who is a single mother, was telling me that her daughter’s homework (age 10) is getting to the stage where it’s really hard for her to help, as she was “always bad a math.” I found it interesting that she pretends to like math and be good at it for her daughters sake. In some aspects it’s nice to put a positive light on it, but the other side is that it might be good to own up to the fact that math doesn’t always come easy and some people have to work hard at it, and that working hard is a good thing. I was hoping my friend could take this workshop to show her daughter that even mommy’s still like to learn math and then she could actually help her daughter with homework, instead of texting her friends for the answers (the mom does this).

  6. #6 Katie
    April 25, 2009

    I was just asked by a friend to help her daughter with math as well — because she (the mom) “just doesn’t get math”. I said yes, but really just wanted to scream and tell her I would teach her and then she could help her daughter – but I know that she would never do that. Thanks for the link.

  7. #7 Courtney
    April 26, 2009

    I teach algebra I to non-traditional students, and it’s fascinating to watch them “get” it. Some of them, of course, are already good at math, but most of them are math-phobic. All of them are going back to school, and 90% of them are trying to increase their earning power. They want to learn, and though they may not understand why knowing math is required, they dig into it with great seriousness. I get warm fuzzies teaching them to use algebra in their everyday lives. And comments like this: “the support of the instructor with this course was invaluable”

  8. #8 Allannah Thomas
    April 26, 2009

    Hi Y’all!
    I’m the Allannah Thomas whose organization, Helicon, Inc., was featured in the New York Times last Sunday. The article mentioned that I’m the sole instructor here; what it didn’t mention was the fact that I’m the sole [unpaid] employee. I’ve written hundreds of proposals requesting funding from many foundations and have received hundreds of rejection letters. (I used to think that funders believed that women couldn’t learn math; therefore funding Helicon, Inc.’s initiatives would be a waste of money. I now think that funders–who, it can be convincingly argued, reflect the values of society at large–are positively terrified at the idea of women, particularly women of color, having the enormous power of math.) The latest rejection letter, which arrived yesterday, contends that Helicon, Inc.’s activities are not directly related to poverty fighting; that Helicon, Inc.’s”interventions” don’t boost participants’ income or earning potential. I’m glad to learn that y’all get it…

  9. #9 Ning
    April 27, 2009

    I read the article on Allannah Thomas helping women improve their basic math skills. I firmly believe that basic math skills are so critical to success no matter what one chooses to do. It provides the training for logical thinking, problem solving and of course ability to resolve any issues where numbers are involved. If one can master the math up to 6th grades, he/she will not have trouble with most of the jobs out there. It is this belief that has led me to start a website, which helps kids master their math skills from k-6. I think part of the reasons our kids have trouble with math is that they dont practice enough to truly master the concept. I grew up in China and I know how much the Chinese students practice math. We created to make it easier to parents or teachers to help their kids be better at math. It uses assessment test to design a personalized study guide for each student, assign worksheets and tests, and then grades the worksheets and tests instantly online, with a good tracking tool to allow teachers and parents to track progress. I never thought about promoting this service to other people. But reading the NYT article made me realize that other people can use it as well. My son uses it regularly and he makes a lot fewer mistakes on his tests now. I would love to see how our service can help Allannah Thomas in her cause to help low income women.

  10. #10 Playstations
    April 27, 2009

    Yeah, She’s great 😉

  11. #11 Alisha
    April 28, 2009

    Great post and comments! I’m struggling with a related frustration. Our county adopted a new math curriculum last year. After hearing some folks grumbling, I borrowed a teacher’s guide and took a good look at it. This curriculum totally rocks! Written by Dr. Karen Fason, the Math Expressions curriculum incorporates all of the recent research on how kids learn math, learning styles, social constructivism, and best practices in teaching. I love this series.
    Many of my friends (upper middle-class, white, well educated) don’t like it because they don’t understand what their kids are doing. ME stresses different strategies for solving problems rather than teaching one rote routine. Parents are screaming “Why are they teaching my kid to add left to right?” I reply “That’s the way I add all the time in my real life. As long as you regroup correctly, it’s just as good as right to left, and sometimes better.”
    I’m considering offering some workshops for parents to help them learn how to support their children’s success in math. If we don’t get the parents’ buy-in, they will pressure the county to drop it and go back to “drill and kill” methods. What a royal waste that would be!

  12. #12 Carrie
    April 28, 2009

    Like Courtney, I also taught math to non-traditional students (while I was an undergrad). The best part for me was to watch a student, who at the beginning of the year stated “I just can’t do math”, get ‘it’ and gain confidence and the knowledge that they CAN do math. It was great.

    Most of my students were women as well — the whole conditioning of Math is Hard and women don’t Do Math. Really, 75% of my teaching was just building confidence and 25% were the basic math skills!

  13. #13 Yolanda M. Taylor
    July 3, 2009

    Miss Allannah Thomas, I truly empathize with you and your frustrations of trying to get funding. Your efforts will soon be rewarded as God is watching over you and the women you’re teaching. Wait on His reward and it is coming. Keep the faith, believe, and know that your due is coming. Your service is so well needed. You are actually doing exactly what I hope to do in the metro-Detroit area soon. But again, there seems to be no funding. It truly amazes me that their aren’t federal government grants for your type of program although it may NOT BE not-for-profit. Check out my blog at and Email me at is you need help with some campaigning or letter writing and getting your voice heard RE: the need to deliver basic math skills to the underpriviledged. I am with you 100%:)

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text:
Editor's note: Part 2 of Clinton Parks's article, African and Caribbean Brain Drain, will appear on MiSciNet on Friday, 2 April 2004.

T he Problem

The success of Asian immigrants in science and engineering (S&E) in the U.S. is well publicized. However, the 1.6 million African and Caribbean immigrants (from 1960 to 1995)1 are a largely ignored part of the S&E workforce. Although their numbers are comparatively small, they are significant. Africans received the highest percentage of Third Preference visas (for those with specialized skills) from 1980 to 1989,2 and a high proportion of West Indian immigrants have a postsecondary education.3 The loss of these highly educated professionals from developing countries to developed nations has been termed "brain drain" or reverse transfer of technology (RTT).2

According to Jean-Baptiste Meyer, socio-economist at France's Institute of Research for Development, "knowledge is now the fundamental source of the creation of wealth and the primary factor in international competitiveness."4 Critics claim that RTT deprives developing countries of the knowledge base critical for nation building. This article examines the data concerning African and Caribbean immigrants in S&E positions in the U.S. and their implications.

The Impact of Brain Drain

Brain drain is so prevalent that more African scientists and engineers work in the U.S. than Africa,5 and over 70% of Guyanese3 and 75% of Jamaicans4 with a postsecondary education live in the U.S. "They work in universities, research institutions, and industry," according to Uzo Mokwunye, director of the U.N. University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa. The relative value of S&E workers is much higher to developing countries than developed countries because of the extreme shortage of S&E professionals in developing nations.4

The problem also extends to the children of these immigrants. The children of S&E migrants (who also tend to be highly educated) are unlikely to participate in developing their parents' home country, thus losing their potential contribution.2 The loss of scientists and engineers not only means losing their labor,2 but also their knowledge pool--critical for educating future generations.4

Brain drain also incurs more tangible losses. A net financial loss results from losing potential S&E worker's substantial income tax base--estimated at $184,000 per professional.4 RTT can also eliminate the creation of new S&E jobs and decrease the need for unskilled labor required to support scientists and engineers.4 The economic loss is especially devastating when S&E migrants are educated domestically at their home government's expense. Postsecondary education is free in most African and Caribbean nations.2 Africa spends $4 billion annually to replace its intellectual loses, which is higher than what is spent on native S&E workers.4 These factors ultimately harm Africa's ability to compete in the international economy.2

With the amount of apparent harm being done by brain drain, why do S&E students and workers migrate from Africa and the Caribbean? Experts point to various pull and push factors.

Pull Factors

Better employment and career opportunities are brain drain's largest pull factors.2 The U.S. and other Western nations have benefited from immigrant S&E students and professionals for the past few decades. The scientific pull of the U.S., in particular, stems from academic "centers of excellence."6 The U.S.'s expansive higher education system, scholarship opportunities, and relatively lenient immigration policy (pre-9/11) attracted students from around the world.7

However, since 9/11, student visas are down (27% during the 2003 academic year) and many are denied for unknown reasons. The events of 9/11 accelerated the shift already occurring,8 sending a larger proportion of S&E migrants to the U.K., Canada, and Australia.9 While student movements themselves are not defined as brain drain, many foreign S&E workers originally migrated as students.10

The recent mass movement of foreign S&E workers has been due to the expanded movement of capital and labor across borders--the alternatively demonized and canonized phenomenon known as globalization.11 The existence of job opportunities combined with flexible career paths, a strong entrepreneurial culture, and high living standards are reasons for S&E migration to the U.S.7 These conditions create a positive feedback effect that attracts even more graduate students, postdocs, and senior scientists, solidifying a knowledge pool that gives a nation a competitive advantage.7

However, that competitive advantage comes at a price to the host country. Ajit Ghose, senior economist at the International Labour Organization, notes that globalization lowers salaries, employment, and labor standards in the host country. Even so, U.S. employers have actively sought foreign S&E workers to meet needs in industry, government, and academia. In 1999 a third of all U.S. S&E Ph.D.s in industry were foreign.13 This number grew by 5% in the late 1990s, whereas the proportion of U.S. domestic S&E workers fell.7

Push Factors

Besides the lure of host nations, poor internal conditions cause S&E workers from developing nations to leave their homeland. In many African and Caribbean nations, economic and political instability are primary RTT push factors, and these problems have burdened each region's educational system. Opportunities for higher education--especially graduate studies--are limited in Africa and the Caribbean. Fewer than 5% of youth receive postsecondary education in sub-Saharan Africa12 and about 9% in the Caribbean,13 compared with about 51% for industrialized countries.13, 14

Their respective educational systems are growing due to increasing student demand, with fierce competition for spaces.13, 14 For Africa, the increased demand has taken place as financial support has fallen, thus overburdening Africa's educational system and creating overcapacity, dilapidated facilities, obsolete equipment, and outdated materials.14 Because research and development investment in Africa is only 0.5% of the world total, some African nations lack the necessary infrastructure to support S&E students and workers. Until recently Gambia lacked the facilities to support postsecondary education needed to employ scientists and engineers to teach future generations. These situations depress job creation in the private sector.

Lack of jobs, low pay, and a lack of resources are also push factors for African and Caribbean S&E migrants. Moustapha Diouf, associate professor of sociology at the University of Vermont and native of Senegal, noted "a correlation between the state of [a country's] economy and the level of brain drain."14 Some African governments and grant aid programs, whose salaries and benefits are paid by foreign governments,4 exacerbate RTT by relying on foreign S&E workers at the expense of equivalent nationals. Zephania On'gata of the Kenya Institute of Policy Management (KIPM) notes that aid packages often require hiring expatriates in favor of qualified citizens. Lalla Ben Barka, U.N. Economic Commission for Africa deputy executive secretary, notes, "In every African country there is a paradox of high rates of unemployment and under-employment among school leavers, including university graduates--even scientists and engineers."15

To Be Continued ...

Brain drain's external pull and internal push factors offer no simple solutions, but repatriation, cost remittance, and network development are possible resolutions being used or discussed nationally and internationally. Some argue that brain drain can become "brain circulation" to the benefit of developing nations. Part 2 of the article addresses these possible solutions in-depth.

  • Levinson, David and Ember, Melvin, Eds. (1997). American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation, Volume I: A- J. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing Group LLC.

  • Okome, Mojúbàolú O. (September 2002). The Antinomies of Globalization: Some Consequences of Contemporary African Immigration to the United States of America. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Carrington, William J. and Detragiache, Enrica. (June 1999). How Extensive Is the Brain Drain? Online Finance & Development, Volume 36, Number 2. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Meyer, Jean-Baptiste. (July-August 2001). The "Brain Drain": New Aspects of the South/North Exodus. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Federation for American Immigration Reform. (October 2002). Brain Drain. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Mahroum, Sami. Europe and the Challenge of the Brain Drain. Online The IPTS Report. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Teferra, Damtew. (Winter 2000). Brain Drain of African Scholars and the Role of Studying in the United States. Online International Higher Education. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Diouf, Moustapha. (7 and 8 March 2004). Personal communication.

  • Joffe, Josef. (23 November 2003). Locking Out the Brainpower? Online Washington Post. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Guellec, Dominique. Science and Development Network, Brain Drain Introduction. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • (22 September 2003). ILO Economist Offers Solution to Brain Drain in Region. Caribbean Net News. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Bollag, Burton. (12 July 2002). Chaos on African Campuses: Strikes, Protests, and Arson Are Common, But Poverty Is the Real Plague. Online Journal of Higher Education. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Jules, Didacus, Miller, Erol, and Armstrong, L. Ancilla. A Caribbean Education Strategy

  • Jones, Deborah. (28 November 2001). Brain Drain Dizzys Africa, Carribbean. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Mutume, Gumisai. (July 2003). Reversing Africa's "Brain Drain": New Initiatives Tap Skills of African Expatriates. Online Africa Recovery, Vol.17, Number 2. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:

  • Clinton Parks is a writer for MiSciNet and may be reached at cparks@aaas.org.

    Clinton Parks is a writer for MiSciNet and may be reached at cparks@aaas.org.