text:
Free books to read online
Home Page

Enjoy Free

 Site Map > Electronic Library > Jules Verne > 20000 Leagues Under the Seas > CHAPTER 10 The Underwater Coalfields

Listen to audiobooks at Litphonix
Listen to audiobooks at Litphonix

20000 Leagues Under the Seas

by Jules Verne

previous: CHAPTER 9 A Lost Continent

CHAPTER 10 The Underwater Coalfields

THE NEXT DAY, February 20, I overslept. I was so exhausted from the night before, I didn't get up until eleven o'clock. I dressed quickly. I hurried to find out the Nautilus's heading. The instruments indicated that it was running southward at a speed of twenty miles per hour and a depth of 100 meters.

Conseil entered. I described our nocturnal excursion to him, and since the panels were open, he could still catch a glimpse of this submerged continent.

In fact, the Nautilus was skimming only ten meters over the soil of these Atlantis plains. The ship scudded along like an air balloon borne by the wind over some prairie on land; but it would be more accurate to say that we sat in the lounge as if we were riding in a coach on an express train. As for the foregrounds passing before our eyes, they were fantastically carved rocks, forests of trees that had crossed over from the vegetable kingdom into the mineral kingdom, their motionless silhouettes sprawling beneath the waves. There also were stony masses buried beneath carpets of axidia and sea anemone, bristling with long, vertical water plants, then strangely contoured blocks of lava that testified to all the fury of those plutonic developments.

While this bizarre scenery was glittering under our electric beams, I told Conseil the story of the Atlanteans, who had inspired the old French scientist Jean Bailly to write so many entertaining-albeit utterly fictitious - pages.* I told the lad about the wars of these heroic people. I discussed the question of Atlantis with the fervor of a man who no longer had any doubts. But Conseil was so distracted he barely heard me, and his lack of interest in any commentary on this historical topic was soon explained.

*Bailly believed that Atlantis was located at the North Pole! Ed.

In essence, numerous fish had caught his eye, and when fish pass by, Conseil vanishes into his world of classifying and leaves real life behind. In which case I could only tag along and resume our ichthyological research.

Even so, these Atlantic fish were not noticeably different from those we had observed earlier. There were rays of gigantic size, five meters long and with muscles so powerful they could leap above the waves, sharks of various species including a fifteen-foot glaucous shark with sharp triangular teeth and so transparent it was almost invisible amid the waters, brown lantern sharks, prism-shaped humantin sharks armored with protuberant hides, sturgeons resembling their relatives in the Mediterranean, trumpet-snouted pipefish a foot and a half long, yellowish brown with small gray fins and no teeth or tongue, unreeling like slim, supple snakes.

Among bony fish, Conseil noticed some blackish marlin three meters long with a sharp sword jutting from the upper jaw, bright-colored weevers known in Aristotle's day as sea dragons and whose dorsal stingers make them quite dangerous to pick up, then dolphinfish with brown backs striped in blue and edged in gold, handsome dorados, moonlike opahs that look like azure disks but which the sun's rays turn into spots of silver, finally eight-meter swordfish from the genus Xiphias, swimming in schools, sporting yellowish sickle-shaped fins and six-foot broadswords, stalwart animals, plant eaters rather than fish eaters, obeying the tiniest signals from their females like henpecked husbands.

But while observing these different specimens of marine fauna, I didn't stop examining the long plains of Atlantis. Sometimes an unpredictable irregularity in the seafloor would force the Nautilus to slow down, and then it would glide into the narrow channels between the hills with a cetacean's dexterity. If the labyrinth became hopelessly tangled, the submersible would rise above it like an airship, and after clearing the obstacle, it would resume its speedy course just a few meters above the ocean floor. It was an enjoyable and impressive way of navigating that did indeed recall the maneuvers of an airship ride, with the major difference that the Nautilus faithfully obeyed the hands of its helmsman.

The terrain consisted mostly of thick slime mixed with petrified branches, but it changed little by little near four o'clock in the afternoon; it grew rockier and seemed to be strewn with pudding stones and a basaltic gravel called "tuff," together with bits of lava and sulfurous obsidian. I expected these long plains to change into mountain regions, and in fact, as the Nautilus was executing certain turns, I noticed that the southerly horizon was blocked by a high wall that seemed to close off every exit. Its summit obviously poked above the level of the ocean. It had to be a continent or at least an island, either one of the Canaries or one of the Cape Verde Islands. Our bearings hadn't been marked on the chart-perhaps deliberately - and I had no idea what our position was. In any case this wall seemed to signal the end of Atlantis, of which, all in all, we had crossed only a small part.

Nightfall didn't interrupt my observations. I was left to myself. Conseil had repaired to his cabin. The Nautilus slowed down, hovering above the muddled masses on the seafloor, sometimes grazing them as if wanting to come to rest, sometimes rising unpredictably to the surface of the waves. Then I glimpsed a few bright constellations through the crystal waters, specifically five or six of those zodiacal stars trailing from the tail end of Orion.

I would have stayed longer at my window, marveling at these beauties of sea and sky, but the panels closed. Just then the Nautilus had arrived at the perpendicular face of that high wall. How the ship would maneuver I hadn't a guess. I repaired to my stateroom. The Nautilus did not stir. I fell asleep with the firm intention of waking up in just a few hours.

But it was eight o'clock the next day when I returned to the lounge. I stared at the pressure gauge. It told me that the Nautilus was afloat on the surface of the ocean. Furthermore, I heard the sound of footsteps on the platform. Yet there were no rolling movements to indicate the presence of waves undulating above me.

I climbed as far as the hatch. It was open. But instead of the broad daylight I was expecting, I found that I was surrounded by total darkness. Where were we? Had I been mistaken? Was it still night? No! Not one star was twinkling, and nighttime is never so utterly black.

I wasn't sure what to think, when a voice said to me:

"Is that you, professor?"

"Ah, Captain Nemo!" I replied. "Where are we?"

"Underground, professor."

"Underground!" I exclaimed. "And the Nautilus is still floating?"

"It always floats."

"But I don't understand!"

"Wait a little while. Our beacon is about to go on, and if you want some light on the subject, you'll be satisfied."

I set foot on the platform and waited. The darkness was so profound I couldn't see even Captain Nemo. However, looking at the zenith directly overhead, I thought I caught sight of a feeble glimmer, a sort of twilight filtering through a circular hole. Just then the beacon suddenly went on, and its intense brightness made that hazy light vanish.

This stream of electricity dazzled my eyes, and after momentarily shutting them, I looked around. The Nautilus was stationary. It was floating next to an embankment shaped like a wharf. As for the water now buoying the ship, it was a lake completely encircled by an inner wall about two miles in diameter, hence six miles around. Its level - as indicated by the pressure gauge - would be the same as the outside level, because some connection had to exist between this lake and the sea. Slanting inward over their base, these high walls converged to form a vault shaped like an immense upside-down funnel that measured 500 or 600 meters in height. At its summit there gaped the circular opening through which I had detected that faint glimmer, obviously daylight.

Before more carefully examining the interior features of this enormous cavern, and before deciding if it was the work of nature or humankind, I went over to Captain Nemo.

"Where are we?" I said.

"In the very heart of an extinct volcano," the captain answered me, "a volcano whose interior was invaded by the sea after some convulsion in the earth. While you were sleeping, professor, the Nautilus entered this lagoon through a natural channel that opens ten meters below the surface of the ocean. This is our home port, secure, convenient, secret, and sheltered against winds from any direction! Along the coasts of your continents or islands, show me any offshore mooring that can equal this safe refuge for withstanding the fury of hurricanes."

"Indeed," I replied, "here you're in perfect safety, Captain Nemo. Who could reach you in the heart of a volcano? But don't I see an opening at its summit?"

"Yes, its crater, a crater formerly filled with lava, steam, and flames, but which now lets in this life-giving air we're breathing."

"But which volcanic mountain is this?" I asked.

"It's one of the many islets with which this sea is strewn. For ships a mere reef, for us an immense cavern. I discovered it by chance, and chance served me well."

"But couldn't someone enter through the mouth of its crater?"

"No more than I could exit through it. You can climb about 100 feet up the inner base of this mountain, but then the walls overhang, they lean too far in to be scaled."

"I can see, captain, that nature is your obedient servant, any time or any place. You're safe on this lake, and nobody else can visit its waters. But what's the purpose of this refuge? The Nautilus doesn't need a harbor."

"No, professor, but it needs electricity to run, batteries to generate its electricity, sodium to feed its batteries, coal to make its sodium, and coalfields from which to dig its coal. Now then, right at this spot the sea covers entire forests that sank underwater in prehistoric times; today, turned to stone, transformed into carbon fuel, they offer me inexhaustible coal mines."

"So, captain, your men practice the trade of miners here?"

"Precisely. These mines extend under the waves like the coalfields at Newcastle. Here, dressed in diving suits, pick and mattock in hand, my men go out and dig this carbon fuel for which I don't need a single mine on land. When I burn this combustible to produce sodium, the smoke escaping from the mountain's crater gives it the appearance of a still-active volcano."

"And will we see your companions at work?"

"No, at least not this time, because I'm eager to continue our underwater tour of the world. Accordingly, I'll rest content with drawing on my reserve stock of sodium. We'll stay here long enough to load it on board, in other words, a single workday, then we'll resume our voyage. So, Professor Aronnax, if you'd like to explore this cavern and circle its lagoon, seize the day."

I thanked the captain and went to look for my two companions, who hadn't yet left their cabin. I invited them to follow me, not telling them where we were.

They climbed onto the platform. Conseil, whom nothing could startle, saw it as a perfectly natural thing to fall asleep under the waves and wake up under a mountain. But Ned Land had no idea in his head other than to see if this cavern offered some way out.

After breakfast near ten o'clock, we went down onto the embankment.

"So here we are, back on shore," Conseil said.

"I'd hardly call this shore," the Canadian replied. "And besides, we aren't on it but under it."

A sandy beach unfolded before us, measuring 500 feet at its widest point between the waters of the lake and the foot of the mountain's walls. Via this strand you could easily circle the lake. But the base of these high walls consisted of broken soil over which there lay picturesque piles of volcanic blocks and enormous pumice stones. All these crumbling masses were covered with an enamel polished by the action of underground fires, and they glistened under the stream of electric light from our beacon. Stirred up by our footsteps, the mica-rich dust on this beach flew into the air like a cloud of sparks.

The ground rose appreciably as it moved away from the sand flats by the waves, and we soon arrived at some long, winding gradients, genuinely steep paths that allowed us to climb little by little; but we had to tread cautiously in the midst of pudding stones that weren't cemented together, and our feet kept skidding on glassy trachyte, made of feldspar and quartz crystals.

The volcanic nature of this enormous pit was apparent all around us. I ventured to comment on it to my companions.

"Can you picture," I asked them, "what this funnel must have been like when it was filled with boiling lava, and the level of that incandescent liquid rose right to the mountain's mouth, like cast iron up the insides of a furnace?"

"I can picture it perfectly," Conseil replied. "But will master tell me why this huge smelter suspended operations, and how it is that an oven was replaced by the tranquil waters of a lake?"

"In all likelihood, Conseil, because some convulsion created an opening below the surface of the ocean, the opening that serves as a passageway for the Nautilus. Then the waters of the Atlantic rushed inside the mountain. There ensued a dreadful struggle between the elements of fire and water, a struggle ending in King Neptune's favor. But many centuries have passed since then, and this submerged volcano has changed into a peaceful cavern."

"That's fine," Ned Land answered. "I accept the explanation, but in our personal interests, I'm sorry this opening the professor mentions wasn't made above sea level."

"But Ned my friend," Conseil answered, "if it weren't an underwater passageway, the Nautilus couldn't enter it!"

"And I might add, Mr. Land," I said, "that the waters wouldn't have rushed under the mountain, and the volcano would still be a volcano. So you have nothing to be sorry about."

Our climb continued. The gradients got steeper and narrower. Sometimes they were cut across by deep pits that had to be cleared. Masses of overhanging rock had to be gotten around. You slid on your knees, you crept on your belly. But helped by the Canadian's strength and Conseil's dexterity, we overcame every obstacle.

At an elevation of about thirty meters, the nature of the terrain changed without becoming any easier. Pudding stones and trachyte gave way to black basaltic rock: here, lying in slabs all swollen with blisters; there, shaped like actual prisms and arranged into a series of columns that supported the springings of this immense vault, a wonderful sample of natural architecture. Then, among this basaltic rock, there snaked long, hardened lava flows inlaid with veins of bituminous coal and in places covered by wide carpets of sulfur. The sunshine coming through the crater had grown stronger, shedding a hazy light over all the volcanic waste forever buried in the heart of this extinct mountain.

But when we had ascended to an elevation of about 250 feet, we were stopped by insurmountable obstacles. The converging inside walls changed into overhangs, and our climb into a circular stroll. At this topmost level the vegetable kingdom began to challenge the mineral kingdom. Shrubs, and even a few trees, emerged from crevices in the walls. I recognized some spurges that let their caustic, purgative sap trickle out. There were heliotropes, very remiss at living up to their sun-worshipping reputations since no sunlight ever reached them; their clusters of flowers drooped sadly, their colors and scents were faded. Here and there chrysanthemums sprouted timidly at the feet of aloes with long, sad, sickly leaves. But between these lava flows I spotted little violets that still gave off a subtle fragrance, and I confess that I inhaled it with delight. The soul of a flower is its scent, and those splendid water plants, flowers of the sea, have no souls!

We had arrived at the foot of a sturdy clump of dragon trees, which were splitting the rocks with exertions of their muscular roots, when Ned Land exclaimed:

"Oh, sir, a hive!"

"A hive?" I answered, with a gesture of utter disbelief.

"Yes, a hive," the Canadian repeated, "with bees buzzing around!"

I went closer and was forced to recognize the obvious. At the mouth of a hole cut in the trunk of a dragon tree, there swarmed thousands of these ingenious insects so common to all the Canary Islands, where their output is especially prized.

Naturally enough, the Canadian wanted to lay in a supply of honey, and it would have been ill-mannered of me to say no. He mixed sulfur with some dry leaves, set them on fire with a spark from his tinderbox, and proceeded to smoke the bees out. Little by little the buzzing died down and the disemboweled hive yielded several pounds of sweet honey. Ned Land stuffed his haversack with it.

"When I've mixed this honey with our breadfruit batter," he told us, "I'll be ready to serve you a delectable piece of cake."

"But of course," Conseil put in, "it will be gingerbread!"

"I'm all for gingerbread," I said, "but let's resume this fascinating stroll."

At certain turns in the trail we were going along, the lake appeared in its full expanse. The ship's beacon lit up that whole placid surface, which experienced neither ripples nor undulations. The Nautilus lay perfectly still. On its platform and on the embankment, crewmen were bustling around, black shadows that stood out clearly in the midst of the luminous air.

Just then we went around the highest ridge of these rocky foothills that supported the vault. Then I saw that bees weren't the animal kingdom's only representatives inside this volcano. Here and in the shadows, birds of prey soared and whirled, flying away from nests perched on tips of rock. There were sparrow hawks with white bellies, and screeching kestrels. With all the speed their stiltlike legs could muster, fine fat bustards scampered over the slopes. I'll let the reader decide whether the Canadian's appetite was aroused by the sight of this tasty game, and whether he regretted having no rifle in his hands. He tried to make stones do the work of bullets, and after several fruitless attempts, he managed to wound one of these magnificent bustards. To say he risked his life twenty times in order to capture this bird is simply the unadulterated truth; but he fared so well, the animal went into his sack to join the honeycombs.

By then we were forced to go back down to the beach because the ridge had become impossible. Above us, the yawning crater looked like the wide mouth of a well. From where we stood, the sky was pretty easy to see, and I watched clouds race by, disheveled by the west wind, letting tatters of mist trail over the mountain's summit. Proof positive that those clouds kept at a moderate altitude, because this volcano didn't rise more than 1,800 feet above the level of the ocean.

Half an hour after the Canadian's latest exploits, we were back on the inner beach. There the local flora was represented by a wide carpet of samphire, a small umbelliferous plant that keeps quite nicely, which also boasts the names glasswort, saxifrage, and sea fennel. Conseil picked a couple bunches. As for the local fauna, it included thousands of crustaceans of every type: lobsters, hermit crabs, prawns, mysid shrimps, daddy longlegs, rock crabs, and a prodigious number of seashells, such as cowries, murex snails, and limpets.

In this locality there gaped the mouth of a magnificent cave. My companions and I took great pleasure in stretching out on its fine-grained sand. Fire had polished the sparkling enamel of its inner walls, sprinkled all over with mica-rich dust. Ned Land tapped these walls and tried to probe their thickness. I couldn't help smiling. Our conversation then turned to his everlasting escape plans, and without going too far, I felt I could offer him this hope: Captain Nemo had gone down south only to replenish his sodium supplies. So I hoped he would now hug the coasts of Europe and America, which would allow the Canadian to try again with a greater chance of success.

We were stretched out in this delightful cave for an hour. Our conversation, lively at the outset, then languished. A definite drowsiness overcame us. Since I saw no good reason to resist the call of sleep, I fell into a heavy doze. I dreamed - one doesn't choose his dreams - that my life had been reduced to the vegetating existence of a simple mollusk. It seemed to me that this cave made up my double-valved shell. . . .

Suddenly Conseil's voice startled me awake.

"Get up! Get up!" shouted the fine lad.

"What is it?" I asked, in a sitting position.

"The water's coming up to us!"

I got back on my feet. Like a torrent the sea was rushing into our retreat, and since we definitely were not mollusks, we had to clear out.

In a few seconds we were safe on top of the cave.

"What happened?" Conseil asked. "Some new phenomenon?"

"Not quite, my friends!" I replied. "It was the tide, merely the tide, which wellnigh caught us by surprise just as it did Sir Walter Scott's hero! The ocean outside is rising, and by a perfectly natural law of balance, the level of this lake is also rising. We've gotten off with a mild dunking. Let's go change clothes on the Nautilus."

Three-quarters of an hour later, we had completed our circular stroll and were back on board. Just then the crewmen finished loading the sodium supplies, and the Nautilus could have departed immediately.

But Captain Nemo gave no orders. Would he wait for nightfall and exit through his underwater passageway in secrecy? Perhaps.

Be that as it may, by the next day the Nautilus had left its home port and was navigating well out from any shore, a few meters beneath the waves of the Atlantic.

Turn to the next chapter: CHAPTER 11 The Sargasso Sea

Privacy Policy


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Skip to main content

Click on the word "Donate" above to make an online contribution or payment. This will direct you to the secure United Way of Clinton County, Iowa website page where you may enter the amount of your gift and your payment preferences.

Please note the purpose of your gift/payment: annual contribution or payment, BBQ or Flower Fundraiser purchase, or event price.

Please also note that PayPal takes 3%  your contribution or payment as a processing fee, if you choose to pay online, whether that be via your PayPal account or a credit/debit card.

You can also mail a check to United Way:
United Way of Clinton County, Iowa  - 405 S. 3rd St, Ste 200 - Clinton, Iowa 52732

BBQ Order Form at this link

Thank you for your gift or payment.

*All donations are tax deductible. Your gift to United Way of Clinton County, Iowa allows us to do the most good for our entire community. Giving to UWCCI's diverse range of programs works to address the complex problems associate with poverty and need in a way no other individual program can.{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}

{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C} {C}{C}{C}{C}{C}{C}

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2018-47
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for November 2018
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-147-220-51.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.15 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 0.11-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


text:
Former Wilco Member Jay Bennett Dies at Age 45

An autopsy is scheduled Tuesday (May 26) to determine the cause of death of Jay Bennett, a former member of the band Wilco, who died in his sleep Sunday (May 24) at his home in Urbana, Ill. He was 45. The multi-instrumentalist was a member of Wilco from 1994 to 2001 and was featured on three of the band’s most significant albums — Being There (1996), Summerteeth (1999) and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002). Earlier this month, Bennett filed a lawsuit against Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy for breach of contract and unpaid artist’s royalties. At the time of his death, Bennett was recording his fifth solo album, Kicking at the Perfumed Air.


text:
Town officials looking at the bright side of summer replenishment

It was good news and bad news for local beach towns last week, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and contractor Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. met with local officials for an update on the planned beach replenishment projects in Bethany Beach, South Bethany and Fenwick Island.

The good news: Replenishment was coming, and soon, and the federal government is picking up the tab.

The bad news: It’s not coming soon enough to avoid impacting this summer season.

But local officials are definitely looking on the bright side.

“Any concerns the Town might have regarding the schedule for replenishment and its possible impact on the Town are overridden by how pleased and fortunate the Town is to once again have its protective beach and dune restored,” Bethany Beach Town Manager Cliff Graviet told the Coastal Point this week.

With Bethany’s replenishment work scheduled to start in mid-May and run through mid-June, the early part of the summer season — vital to business owners and property owners who rely on summer rental income — will certainly be impacted by the replenishment work, which will close a 1,000-foot section of the beach that will move about 200 feet each day as subsections are completed.

“Might there be some minor impact on revenues? Yes,” Graviet acknowledged, “but those impacts are minimal compared to the impact of having no beach in Bethany this summer, or a dune to prevent the kind of damage that any significant nor’easter or hurricane might have on the community.”

With the area seeing high seas and beach erosion from a nor’easter in the first few days of March and an additional storm looming over the area early this week, Graviet said his focus was firmly on the benefits replenishment provides to the town and its property owners, no matter what the timing.

“We realize the potential inconvenience  of replenishment in a May/June timeframe, to homeowners, renters, visitors, businesses, etc.,” he said, “but a person only needs to watch today as the current storm destroys what little dune is left on our oceanfront while waves break on our steps to the beach, to realize how important replenishment is today to Bethany Beach.”

Those steps, he noted, will be getting rebuilt as part of the project, along with beach access via dune crossovers and dune fence to help protect and grow the dune after it is reconstructed — all at no cost to the Town.

To minimize the impact of the work on the summer season, the Corps has approved work to take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and Graviet said the Town will cooperate with that effort by not enforcing noise ordinances that might hinder progress.

“While we realize the inconvenience that some may experience while crews work 24 hours a day, we also realize that a project that is scheduled to take 28 days, working three shifts a day, would take much, much longer during the summer on any other schedule,” he said.

Graviet said that the replenishment should have no impact on the Seaside Craft Show on June 2, or any other summer events that the Town is aware of at this time.

Nor’easter offers reminder of the benefits

Just down the coast in South Bethany, officials also recognize that while some may not be happy about the timing and other inconveniences of the project, most have been through this before and will relish the wider beach and restored dune once the work is complete.

“We live here and we have a house right on Ocean Drive, and it’s pretty much an ocean town, so we’ve pretty much been front-and-center for breach replenishment,” South Bethany Town Council Member Tim Shaw told the Coastal Point.

When they first built the dune, the construction was very disruptive, he said, but replenishment isn’t as bad now, he asserted, since the dune blocks some light and noise from the construction zone for those living in the nearby houses — both full-time residents and those visiting for a vacation.

“Since we do have still our dune, that does help a bit to keep [out] the light and sound from the worker bees,” he said. “They work 24/7. … This is a temporary thing. We’re very sad that it disrupts someone’s vacation plans. We don’t have control over it, and we need it.”

Shaw, too, had only to look out his window to see the impact a nor’easter can have on an unreplenished beach after last week’s storm.

“We had very little beach,” he said.

That will start to change beginning in mid-June, running through early July. And when all is said and done, Shaw noted, “This too will pass. And at the end of it, we will have a beautiful beach and a protective dune.”

Shaw emphasized that the Town expected no impacts on its streets due to the work, which will include contractors returning within 14 days of the sand work to address fencing and crossovers, while the dune grass won’t be replanted until at least October, due to planting requirements.

Shaw said South Bethany lifeguards will be working to ensure beachgoers don’t venture into the closed section of beach, and he acknowledged that there will be some inconvenience that they’ll have to deal with.

“Clearly, we need to advise our owners and renters and rental agents about the impact,” he said. “Better to be forewarned than to be surprised. This will also probably impact the beach movie schedule and things like yoga and boot camp on the beach, and possibly even the Fourth of July festivities,” he noted.

Communication a focus in Fenwick

On the other side of state park beaches and dunes, Town Manager Teresa “Terry” Tieman told the Coastal Point that Fenwick Island, too, is prepared to deal with the inconveniences for the sake of the finished product and its benefits.

“We can’t control it,” she acknowledged. “Of course we appreciate that the businesses and the people that have rentals will be affected, but we also know this is a necessary project, and it is federally funded — and the beach doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to the State.

She said Fenwick has survived replenishment work before and will survive it again.

“When they’re working in an area, we’ll have to pull the Mobi-Mats up,” she said of the accessibility-enhancing mats the three towns use on their dune crossings, which she said will be put back down once the project is done.

Tieman noted that the Fenwick Island Beach Patrol always offers assistance with beach access to those with handicaps, using a “side-by-side” off-road vehicle. People can already request a ride over the dunes, and the service seems to increase in popularity each year, she said, adding that she expects requests for transport over the dunes to increase this year.

She said the beach patrol and longtime Capt. Tim Ferry are familiar with the replenishment projects, too, and will be ready to help out as needed.

Tieman said she realizes there will be some inconveniences and concerns for local residents, visitors and businesses.

“The business community — they’re, of course, upset and concerned how this will affect their revenues for the beach season. We’re going to do everything we can do, by communicating every day changes that we know,” she said.

“Right now, we plan to be ‘business as usual,’ except working around the replenishment schedule. It’s estimated about three weeks here in Fenwick,” she said of the work, which is scheduled for early to mid- or late July in Fenwick Island.

“It’s needed, and I’m sure we’ll get through it,” Tieman said. “It’s going to take teamwork and good communication.”


text:
What’s Happening

Filter by Category

Events for January, 2651

No events were found that matched your criteria

< November, 1969 | Current Month | February, 2651 >

About the Event Calendar

The Colby College event calendar displays all of the events happening on campus. This list is maintained by the Office of Campus Events.


text:
• Your one stop for college news and resources!

Jason Evangelho

Review: CrashPlan backs up your life for less

Should you give CrashPlan a few bucks a month for peace of mind? Spoilers: Yes.

As cloud-based storage continues to dominate the way we use and save our files, more and more companies spring up offering automated backup services – and with them, peace of mind. Perhaps the most well-known service is Mozy, but we’ve taken CrashPlan for a spin over the last 6 weeks, and it definitely deserves your attention whether you’re a student needing a “set it and forget it” backup plan, or an entire family with multiple devices.

CrashPlan has a lot going for it, not least of which is its multiplatform support; you can use it for Windows, Mac or Linux. Beyond its availability is the service’s flexibility, enabling anyone from novices to power users to backup and restore an unlimited and customizable amount of data.

We tested the CrashPlan+ Family Unlimited plan, which costs $10 per month if you pay for one year upfront (or $12 month-to-month). Consider that this gives you unlimited cloud storage for up to 10 computers, and you begin to see the value. The service even lets you invite friends to backup their content to your computer. We found this feature especially useful for our parents, allowing them to use our beefy hard drive to quietly backup their laptop without worry. And since we can have CrashPlan subsequently backup their content in a separate set of files, there’s no mess to clean up.

Crashplan Backup Features

We gave CrashPlan – and our internet pipes – a workout, leaving the software running 24/7. It didn’t miss a beat, backing up more than 50GB of music, documents, videos and photos to CrashPlan Central. Obviously your first backup can take days or weeks depending on your upload speeds.
Once your initial backup is complete, though, CrashPlan runs quietly in the background, monitoring any changes and uploading them accordingly. At that point, you can duplicate the backup to another computer, a USB drive, or restore the entire thing from the service’s web interface in the event of a PC meltdown.

To give you an idea of how we use the service, we created three different backup sets: one for our personal documents and photos, one for our music, and one to act as a real-time backup of other website projects. Then, we set the software to automatically send an email with backup alerts, and tweaked the actual backup settings to give us maximum horsepower when in front of our PC. You can tell CrashPlan that a user is “away” after, for example, 10 minutes of no activity. Then it takes full advantage of your CPU to enhance backup scanning and speeds. When you’re trying to game, browse or get work done, you can tell it to only use a certain percentage of your CPU. (Or you can just leave the default settings alone, as they’re configured for most users.)

What we love about CrashPlan is that it just works. So does Mozy, but CrashPlan offers more features at a lower cost (if you want an unlimited plan for just yourself, it’s only $3/month if paying yearly). The CrashPlan website has a good amount of documentation and help, and overall, it was a very seamless experience getting things up and running as well as restoring our data.
Personally, I’m happy to shell out $3 a month for peace of mind – especially unlimited peace of mind!

Find out more at www.CrashPlan.com

Turn your tablet into a productivity powerhouse

Get more done with your tablet, without breaking the bank

Tablet ownership among the college crowd has tripled over the last 12 months, and for good reason: They’re powerful, affordable, portable, and have features ideal for serving their content-hungry owners. But the biggest bummer of tablet ownership is their lack of productivity; no one wants to bang out term papers or even lengthy emails with their thumbs. We want to keep our awesome multitouch screens and games without paying loads of cash for a touch-screen enabled laptop. Is it possible to have the best of both worlds? You bet!

We’ve rounded up some of the best accessories for turning your tablet into a productivity powerhouse, without making your bank account scream for mercy.

Satechi R1 Tablet/Smartphone Stand

We tried several, but there was one clear winner balancing features, design and price. Compatible with just about any 7″ or 10″ tablet you throw on it, Satechi’s R1 is our ideal choice for a versatile stand. Its solid aluminum build makes it durable, and  its small form-factor and sleek design make it discrete and idea for cramped quarters. It’ll even fold away neatly. The padding on the base prevents slippage, and the padding on the stand itself prevents scratches and holds your tablet in place during normal (stationary) use.

Best of all, the arm hinges adjust painlessly to accommodate a huge variety of angles and heights, making it perfect for video chatting, TV watching, or serious work.

  • Price: $44.99
  • Available at Amazon.com and Satechi.net

Verbatim: Bluetooth Mobile Folding Keyboard

Verbatim’s bluetooth keyboard has more going for it than just its compact size. The foldable bluetooth device comes in white or black, and ships with its own carrying case and a built-in kickstand for your iPhone or other similarly sized smartphone.

While it’s volume and media buttons are targeted at iOS owners, it’s perfectly compatible with Android, and can remember up to six different devices, pairing automatically with the one you’ve got powered up.

A discrete lock button prevents it from folding while resting on your lap, and we found the the keyboard easy to type; despite its thin design the keys have a nice give to them.

Author’s Note: We loved the white version, but its carrying case is a bit feminine. Nothing wrong with that, but guys may want to opt for the black version.

  • Price: $56
  • Available at Amazon.com

Verbatim: Easy Riser Bluetooth Notebook Laser Mouse

Verbatim also has an affordable Bluetooth mouse which has a nice balance of features, comfort, and price. In addition to it being designed for both lefties and righties, the height of the mouse is adjustable to accommodate all kinds of different hands. It also has a sleep mode to conserve your battery, and the built-in bluetooth also makes it perfect for traveling with your standard Windows PC or Macbook.

  • Price: $29.99
  • Website: www.verbatim.com

iHome iDM5 Bluetooth Workstation

If you have a bit more coin, iHome’s bluetooth workstation can solve multiple productivity needs whether you’re working with a 10” tablet or a 4” smartphone. Its main features is the full-sized keyboard with media controls which work with any connected device.

It also rocks stereo speakers with SRS TruBass enhancement, giving you rich audio output for music, games, movies, or telephone calls. Yep, it has a built-in mic for phone calls and video chat, too. But it gets even better.

The iDM5 has two USB charging ports built in, and a 3.5mm audio input jack for connecting another audio device for music playback while you’re working.

It’s a durable piece of kit and functions as a desktop replacement; that being said, bear in mind it costs $149 (which we think is a value when looking at the features), but is meant to be a stationary device as it only functions while plugged into A/C power. Still, with this on your desk, it’s a budget-conscious workstation with everything you need to get serious.

  • Price: $129.99
  • Available at Amazon and www.iHomeAudio.com

Ex-Microsoft employees create algorithm to combat bra sizing problems

2 ex-Microsoft employees have created an algorithm to take the stress out of shopping for ladies undergarments.

Ladies, ever had the joy of going bra shopping or going along on a bra shopping trip? We know it’s no trip to the candy and puppy store, but ex-Microsoft employees have used their geek credentials and created an algorithm to take the stress out of shopping for ladies’ undergarments. Aarthi Ramamurthy and Michelle Lam launched True & Co on Wednesday. The website allows women to choose the best possible bra from the comfort of their own home.

No more shopping trips where you try on dozens of bras to only find one that fits. True & Co uses an algorithm based on unwritten rules that the top lingerie experts use when fitting a bra. No measuring tape or trip to the mall needed. The site asks you to take a quick survey that includes questions about your shape and current undergarments. Based on the answers, you are given customized store to pick three bras from. The other two bras are picked by experts also using your answers.

The bras cost no more than some popular lingerie store’s undergarments. Their selection costs $45, even from some high-end brands. For a deposit of $45, you are sent the five. Don’t like any? Send them all back at no cost. You only pay for those you keep.

There haven’t been any reviews of the service as of this time. It will be interesting to see how well an algorithm works for a variety of women.

[via NY Daily News]

AViiQ's Portable Charging Station: The travel companion for gadget lovers

Neatly organize and easily charge up to 4 devices

When I travel, I don’t skimp on the gadgets. At the very least, I’m dragging along my PlayStation Vita, Samsung GALAXY Note, and iPad or Transformer Prime. Let’s not forget the wireless bluetooth speakers for the hotel room, and the tangle of cords and chargers needed to keep everything powered up. So, it’s nice to see that accessory company AViiQ has come up with an elegant solution for gadget junkies like me.

Their Portable Charging Station is actually the 2nd generation of this accessory, but it packs some awesome improvements, like the removable cable rack which provides a solution for all those tangled cables. And the cable winder keeps your cords nice and short when they need to be.

But one of the key features is the sleeve’s charging capabilities. It will charge up to 4 USB devices with only one outlet port — even tablets like the iPad which typically require higher wattages than most USB power provides.

Now instead of stuffing everything haphazardly into a backpack, I can secure them, organize them, and zip them up in an attractive folio.

The AViiQ Charging Station with Cable Rack is available now from AViiQ for $79.99

Review: Sharp AQUOS 60-inch Smart TV (LC-60LE64OU)

Is it possible for an HD TV to look too good? And why are we using literary and robotic terms to review a television? Read on to find out!

The Uncanny Valley. It’s a term used in the field of robotics to explain that uncomfortable feeling people experience when seeing a lifelike robotic version of another human being. The Uncanny Valley was most recently experienced in the mainstream with the release of Rockstar’s “L.A. Noire” video game, a title that boasted such realistic human faces and nuanced emotions, some people found it difficult to become immersed in the actual game; it made the suspension of disbelief tough to achieve.

So what on earth do these robotic and literary terms have to do with a television review? Quite a bit, as it turns out.

First, let’s talk about what Sharp’s massive AQUOS LCD Television packs into its slender frame.

• Screen size: 60” (measured diagonally)
• Display format: 1080p
• Display type: Edge-lit LED backlight
• Resolution: 1920×1080
• Viewing angle: 178 degrees
• Audio: Built-in 10 Watt stereo speakers
• Network: Wi-Fi and Ethernet
• Connections: USB x2, HDMI x4, Composite, VGA, Optical, Component, RCA Audio Line-in x3

This AQUOS Smart TV from Sharp has enough connections to accommodate audiophiles, hardcore gamers, and everyone in between. It goes without saying that with 4 HDMI connections, it rocks as a computer monitor. (Hook your gaming desktop up to it and play “Diablo III” for 60 inches of awesome.) We were also pleasantly surprised at the television’s light weight (under 70 pounds) meaning any modest entertainment center can support it.

Smart, But Not Brilliant

Getting set up out of the box is a snap, as the menus guide you through basics like adjusting your time zone and adding your wireless network. Once your internet access is established, you have access to Smart Central’s array of apps like Vudu, YouTube, CinemaNow, and Netflix.

Conspicuously missing from that lineup are two apps we consider vital to our television and movie consumption: Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus. While Amazon’s app is only available on a few devices (like the PlayStation 3), the absence of Hulu is regrettable. Sure, you can watch it via your Xbox or PS3, but the aim of a Smart TV is to provide a comprehensive suite of services that make watching television convenient. Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Instant (especially for Prime members) are the cornerstones of our television fix. We need all of them!

*Note that these apps could be added down the road via firmware updates

Anyone in the market for a 60” TV likely has or is planning to purchase a surround sound system or Sharp Soundbar to accompany it. The good news here is that if you’re budget-strapped, the AQUOS speakers deliver some powerful, rich sound without distorting. The level of bass was especially impressive — by no means will it replace a Soundbar or subwoofer, but you won’t have any complaints in the audio department. (TechTip: For those of you with an Xbox 360 Kinect, you may want to place the Kinect under the TV and not above it — the rear speaker placement of the TV could bounce audio off the walls and interfere with your voice commands. It’s a minor concern, but one to be aware of.)

The AQUOS menu screens have big icons to steer you in the right direction, with help text explaining each option if you hover over it long enough — something you’ll appreciate for the more advanced picture preferences. Other modern TVs like Sony’s Bravia line have more intuitive interfaces. The menus themselves don’t feel as snappy as they should be, either, with noticeable lag when clicking between each category. Again, a minor complaint that wouldn’t dissuade us from a purchase, but something anyone preparing to drop a significant amount of money should be aware of.

The Uncanny 60” Valley

What follows in this review is strictly a matter of preference and your mileage will certainly vary. We want to emphasize that the following is a wholly subjective opinion. For some, this AQUOS display will simply dazzle you in all the right ways; for others, it will plain creep you out.

Our first true test of the 60” HDMI LCD display was “The Lord of the Rings” on Blu-Ray, played via our PlayStation 3. It went beyond looking lifelike; rather, it gives your brain the impression that the cast was actually acting out the movie in your living room. In part, this can be toned down by turning off the “Motion Enhancement” options, which artificially inserts frames in an attempt to smooth fast-paced sequences or even low-quality YouTube streams. But even with motion enhancement deactivated, viewing the film with default settings looked too good.  (For more about this issue, research Peter Jackson’s decision to film “The Hobbit” in a 48fps format.)

The sad reality, in our experience anyway, is that it removes the suspension of disbelief as your brain struggles to remember that you’re not watching something in the real world — especially with such lifelike depictions of scenery and people. It took us out of the action and detracted from the overall experience.

The flip side to this? This is THE TV for sports fans with HD subscriptions. Animation buffs will also have a field day. Pop in Wall-E on Blu-Ray and your eyes will thank you for a lifetime. Gamers, too, will appreciate the screen real estate and may finally be willing to share it for some “Gears of War” or “Borderlands” couch co-op.

In an odd way, we were relieved to ship the AQUOS back to Sharp and downgrade back to our 4 year old Westinghouse 37” TV. We’ll miss the Sharp’s slender frame and its gorgeous 60” screen; we’ll miss the instant-on web apps and the surprisingly awesome sound. We’ll especially miss how lifelike an HD basketball playoff game looks.

But sometimes your brain needs an escape from reality — it needs to be safe in the assumption that The Lord of the Rings isn’t a story that takes place in New Zealand, but rather in Middle Earth.

Review statement: A loaner unit of this TV was provided by Sharp for the purpose of this review. This TV retails for $1,499, but you can usually find it much cheaper on places like Amazon.com

Tablet rundown

The next generation

Once a luxury, then a necessity, laptops are quickly becoming obsolete; replaced by a thinner, leaner and sexier alternative: tablets. In fact, during the last year tablet ownership has tripled among the college crowd.

Technology evolves at a breakneck pace. Though we featured a tablet breakdown in last summer’s issue, your choices this year are twice as good, for considerably less coin.

Tablets were popularized by Apple’s original iPad, but the geeks at Cupertino are no longer the only game in town (Apple fanboys and fangirls, cover your ears now) — and they’re certainly no longer the best game in town. From Transforming tablets to “phablets” and eReaders on steroids, there’s something out there to suit just about anyone.

While there’s no denying the iPad dominates the tablet arena, a fascinating competitor has snuck up on Apple. Amazon’s Kindle Fire is 3 inches smaller and not remotely as powerful. Yet Amazon is taking deep bites into Apple’s sales. Why? For most people, the iPad is used primarily for consuming content and playing games; something the Fire is allows you to do for an average of $300 less. Now even the Fire has worthy alternatives, so read on for our recommendations!

Toshiba Excite 7.7

Toshiba’s 10″ Thrive was well received, and now they’re getting into the 7-inch game. Available by the time this issue goes to print, Toshiba’s Excite 7.7 is a powerhouse. The AMOLED display will put the best laptop screens to shame, with deep contrast and amazing color. Truly, it’s a dazzling display; you won’t want to turn your eyes away. It also packs near-console quality graphics with a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor. It’s not going to disappoint TV junkies or movie lovers either, with its HD output. The only thing that won’t get you excited about the Excite 7.7 is the price: $499.

Another 7-inch contender deserves your attention, and it’s only half the price:

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0)

In late April, Samsung did something that is making Amazon, Apple, and every tablet maker in the world sweat bullets: They released a 7″ tablet with incredible specs, Ice Cream Sandwich (aka Android 4.0), front and rear cameras, 8GB of built in storage, expandable MicroSD storage, and a snappy dual-core processor. And they did it for $250.

If Amazon’s 7-inch $200 Kindle Fire is eating away at iPad sales, you can expect Samsung’s new 7-incher to eat away at Kindle Fire sales, considering it costs $50 more and gives you a more open, robust experience. Like the Amazon ecosystem? Just install the Amazon App Store on top of the Android Market (now called Google Play) and you have the best of both worlds. Perfect for mobile gaming, HD movies, reading, web browsing, tweeting, and if you want to get serious, just sync a Bluetooth keyboard with it and use it for hammering out those lengthier emails and reports using Google Docs or the free Polaris Office.

ASUS Transformer TF300

We’ve spent extensive time with the Transformer line, and it blows away the iPad in the features department, and does so at a tantalizing price: $380. HDMI out? Check. Expandable storage? Check. USB connectivity? Check. The latest version of Android? Check. WiFi and GPS? Of course. And with the optional $149 keyboard dock, you not only turn this sexy tablet into a slim laptop, but also juice it up with an extra 6 hours of battery life, giving you between 14-18 hours depending on usage. Oh, and you can plug a USB gamepad into it and play a variety of console-quality games.

We could spend 1000 more words explaining why the ASUS Transformer trumps the iPad, but trust us when we say that if you’re not married to Apple’s ecosystem, this is the first 10″ tablet to consider.

Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet

We’re not gonna lie: Lenovo’s Thinkpad Tablet isn’t going to turn heads, but it will stand up to abuse. The IPS screen has Corning Gorilla Glass, and this is one rugged, durable slate. The Thinkpad Pen lets you annotate docs or take shorthand notes. The optional (but essential) folio case wraps the tablet in leather and adds a fully functional keyboard and optical trackpoint to the mix. And as all tablets should (we’re glaring at you, iPad) it has mini HDMI, micro USB, and a 3-in-1 media card reader.

Here’s the thing: This one is marketed toward the business professional, but after our time with it, we confidently recommend it for the serious student. It puts productivity front and center, and its lack of fragility means it’s a reliable computing companion.

The modern e-Reader isn’t just for reading books. Amazon and Barnes & Noble both offer 7” tablets at $199. They’re designed to purely consume content, and both excel at it. Which one you decide to buy may come down to brand loyalty and personal preference. We’ve spent a month with each, and here’s a rundown of their pros and cons:

Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet

PROS:  Amplified Editions of eBooks give the Nook Tablet a decidedly awesome edge. Listening to William Shatner wax nostalgic inside the virtual pages of Shatner Rules or watching Kevin Smith be his hilarious, raunchy, transparently honest self before each chapter in Tough Sh*t is delightful, and nearly addictive. The video playback and display quality is better than the Kindle Fire, and it has 2 important features the Fire lacks: expandable storage and actual volume and home buttons.

CONS: The NOOK Shop has a limited selection of apps and games compared to Amazon’s App Store, and anyone who already loves the Amazon ecosystem is best served choosing the Fire.

Amazon Kindle Fire

PROS: The Fire ships with your Amazon account built-in, which is both awesome and diabolically evil. If you love the Amazon ecosystem, then buying movies, books and music with 1-click makes the experience a breeze.

CONS: The Fire has an uninspired, chunky design, and the screen isn’t as vivid as the Nook Tablet’s. It also lacks any physical buttons which means extra clicks to do something as simple as adjust volume or brightness.

What the heck is a phablet? You can thank Samsung for that term, even though it’s snarky tech journalists who coined the phrase. The GALAXY Note is Samsung’s newest AT&T 4G LTE phone, and it’s been our constant companion on the road. It’s $299 with a 2-year contract and worth every penny. The 5.3” HD AMOLED screen is massive for a phone and has insane pixel density (translation: it’s gorgeous), but after you grow accustomed to it, we’d wager you’ll have a bit less love for the iPhone. It also has a stylus, giving you an edge during sessions of “Draw Something!” or shorthand note-taking.

Like the ASUS Transformer line, we could spend 1000 words convincing why it’s amazing, but all you have to do is cruise into your local AT&T store or a Best Buy, hold it in your hands for 60 seconds, and the truth will slap you in the face.

Beyond that, it has an 8MP camera, microSD slot, super-snappy dual-core processor, and is large enough to do just about anything you want, while being compact enough to stay your mobile companion. Expect other phone manufacturers to start adopting this “phablet” design soon!

iHome iDM5 | Bluetooth Tablet Workstation

iHome’s iDM5 won iLounge.com’s Best of Show 2012 for good reason: It offers a complete solution for turning your tablet into a productivity workhorse. It boasts a stand that will accommodate any tablet from your 10” iPad to the “phablet” sized Samsung GALAXY Note, and a chimp-simple bluetooth system. Via Bluetooth, the iDM5 provides a full sized keyboard, microphone, speakerphone, and surprisingly loud, rich audio that can be pumped in through any bluetooth device, or the included auxiliary line-in jack.  It even sports two USB ports for charging your iPhone or other USB powered devices.

Essentially, it’s an affordable gateway to your favorite tablet becoming your desktop replacement.
Our only gripe with the iDM5 is the lack of any securing mechanism to hold your tablet in place beyond the raised shelf, though to be fair it is meant to stay stationary. Outside of that minor complaint, you can’t go wrong with the iDM5, especially at a suggested retail price of $129.99.

eGlide XL Pro 2 10” Tablet

A 10” tablet for $219 sounds like a pipe dream, but that’s exactly what Ematic is delivering with their newly announced eGlide XL Pro 2. Let’s be clear from the onset: This budget offering isn’t for the gamers in the house, as its modest 1GHz CPU and 400MHz GPU won’t be competing with the New iPad for eyecandy. What it does provide is exceptional value: 4GB of built-in storage (expandable to 32GB with a cheap MicroSD card), built in WiFi, a front-facing camera, gyroscope, and “Ice Cream Sandwich,” the newest version of Android.

It even packs in something to compete with SIRI: The Ematic Digital Assistant & Navigator. EDAN for short, this personal voice-operated assistant comes pre-installed, and allows users to use only their voice to compose emails, post Facebook and Twitter updates, and find local restuarants and movie times.

All of this for $20 more than a Kindle Fire sounds like a bargain to us.

Musubo brings their unique iPhone 4 cases to US

From retro to rubber bands, Musubo’s iPhone cases ooze awesomess

Inspired by Toyko street fashion, Musabo’s iPhone 4/4S cases just landed in the US, and it looks anything but ordinary. The moment the company shared them with us, we had to share them with you guys.

Our favorite by far is the “Retro,” which reminds us of those classic vocal “grill” microphones, except with modern curves and great grip. It even includes a folding stand for watching vids on the go.

The second model that stood out was the Rubber Band case, a bright throwback which drips 1980s style and should certainly appeal to the ladies.

Third on our favorites list is the MatchBook Pro, which is so original and sleek looking it’s borderline ridiculous (in a good way). The matchsticks are silicon-tipped and act as both sturdy grip and kickstand for media viewing.

All three are available now on Amazon.com for between $29.99 and $34.99 MSRP.

You can check out Musubo’s other iPhone accessories at http://www.musubo.com.hk/

Third Rail's iPhone 4 system delivers slim case, smart battery

Comes with super slim case, and a universal, stackable smart battery

There’s no denying the market for iPhone accessories is crowded, to put it mildly. But Third Rail Mobility recently introduced a slim case and smart battery for iPhone 4S that’s worth your consideration.

Not only is it the thinnest battery-enabled case on the market, but the backup battery that comes with it is universal (it can literally charge 100s of other devices as well), hot-swappable, and stackable! Basically, this means that you can stack the batteries (sold separately) and charge everything from the micro-USB on your case.

The most important aspect to us is that the smart batteries are future proof. They will be compatible with all existing and future Third Rail cases, which means you’ll likely be buying a new iPhone more often than you buy a new battery 😉

The Third Rail Mobility system for iPhone 4S is available for 89.99 on their website, and you can read a recent hands-on review of the product here

Protect your gear with iSafe's Collegiate Laptop Backpack

Pump thieves full of 120dB of regret

Picture this scenario: You’re walking through your campus, backpack stuffed with your iPad, smartphone, laptop, textbooks and other valuables slung across one shoulder. Maybe a zipper is partially open, or some nefarious dude just sees an opportunity to strike. With an ordinary backpack, your only option may be to report the thief to campus security and pray your items are returned.

iSafe has other ideas. Like the ability to instantly and effortlessly trigger an alarm on your shoulder strap the second your valuables get swiped. That alarm, by the way, is 120dB — the equivalent of a rock show or ambulence siren up close and personal. And just in case that doesn’t get people’s attention and stop the thief dead in his tracks, the strobing LED lights probably will.

On the features side, it also boasts a roomy interior (it’ll hold a laptop with a screen as large as 15.4″), secure compartments for your smaller, mobile gear and a 30 day money back guarantee.

You can read a full review of the iSafe Collegiate Laptop Backpack here, and our sources say the product could be coming to a campus bookstore near you very soon.

PlayStation Vita Racing Roundup

Buying advice for PS Vita-owning racing fans

Racing games are a staple of any new videogame system launch, and the PlayStation Vita is no exception. Close to a month after its release, 5+ racers are available for Sony’s new portable console, but not all of them are worthy of your dollars. Here’s a rundown of the best – and worst – racers for the Vita.

Wipeout 2048 | Studio Liverpool

Wipeout 2048’s vibrant color palette will trick your mind into thinking you’re playing on a PlayStation 3. Despite 7 opponents on the track at blistering speeds with weapons flying everywhere, there is no slowdown or hiccups. Cityscapes are detailed, neon billboards crisp, and quite frankly it’s a stunning showcase for the PS Vita’s capabilities.

“Wipeout 2048” is the complete package, and another hit from Studio Liverpool. In fact, it’s worth mentioning that Sony’s internal studios have crafted several top-notch launch titles, which is crucial to the Vita’s success moving forward. With minor exceptions (a lackluster, repetitive soundtrack and a short single player career), this is a complete console-class racer with an astonishing sense of speed, lush graphics, and weeks of competitive gameplay. Don’t be surprised if this stays at the top of your playing rotation. We suggest just buying it digitally so that you can launch it on a whim from the Vita’s home screen without having to hunt down that tiny game card.

Wipeout 2048, courtesy Sony

Ridge Racer | Namco Bandai

Another staple of console launches is “Ridge Racer” – for better or for worse. In the case of the uninspired Vita version, it’s much, much worse. The game gives you 3 courses and 5 machines – machines which are identical except for their appearance. Another “feature” is the complete lack of a single player campaign (with the exception of ghost races), in favor of a bare-bones socially-driven multiplayer mode.

In essence, this boils down to repetitive time-trials on 3 tracks, with the same vehicle. All for the low price of $29.99. “Ridge Racer Vita” is a disgrace to the iconic franchise, and Namco Bandai should be ashamed at charging $29.99 for this game. Our advice? Grab your iPhone and download “Asphalt 6” for $.99 (but avoid “Asphalt Injection” for the Vita – it’s the same game for $28 more). Which brings us to:

Asphalt: Injection | Gameloft

“Asphalt: Injection” is an ever-so-slightly enhanced version (you can use the system’s rear touch screen to imitate paddle shifters, for example) of “Asphalt 6,” a racer that goes for $.99 on the iTunes store. It’s a light-hearted, competent racer, but charging $28 more for the Vita version shouldn’t be legal. That being said, it’s an absolute steal for $.99, so if you have an iDevice, pick it up!

Modnation Racers: Road Trip | SCE San Diego

Modnation Racers, Courtesy Sony

Kart racers are all about arcade-y action, outlandish jumps and flips, wild, imaginative tracks, and collectibles and power-ups that weaponize your kart and add boosts to its speed or shield it from other players’ weapons. “Modnation Racers: Road Trip” has all of these things in its portable version of the popular PS3 title.

Best of all, players can create custom tracks and karts with ease (the touchscreen makes this chore much simpler than a controller would), then share them with other Vita players, or even download existing tracks created by PS3 players, which amounts to literally 1000s of extra courses.

Unfortunately, the game’s multiplayer element is stripped down, offering a variety of sharing options, ghosts, and time trials, but doesn’t deliver true, real-time races. Still, if you’re looking for a fun, whimsical kart racer to pass the time, you can’t go wrong here.

Motorstorm RC | Evolution Studios

A miniaturized version of the bombastic Motorstorm series, “Motorstorm RC” takes the racing action from apocalyptic events with supercharged vehicles, to fun little tracks with remote-controlled cars. Using a top-down view of tracks inspired from previous Motorstorm games on PS3 and PSP, “RC” offers racing fans 12 tracks, a host of RC cars, a reasonable single player campaign, and multiplayer events. But those multiplayer events can also be played online with PS3 owners of the game. It offers substantially more content than Ridge Racer, and how about this: It’s completely free from the PS Vita store for a limited time.

The PlayStation Vita is available now for $249.99. College News highly recommends checking it out.

Author’s Note: Some of these titles were provided by the game’s publishers.


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Landscape and Plant Care

Be Sure to read these tips before, during and after your planting to get the best possible results with your products from Nebraska Nursery & Color Gardens. Doing so will reward you with a beautiful landscape that will thrive well into the future.

Before You Dig

We’re farmers at heart.  When you think about it, growing a beautiful landscape is just like farming.  In order to produce the best crop of flowers, fruit, and overall appearance we need to grow like the farmers:

Begin by tilling the soil and adding soil amendments.  We cannot stress this step enough!  You can’t grow fabulous plants (like you see in magazines) in unprepared soil!

Pick out quality plants that will thrive in the location you’ve prepared.

Follow the rest of our care tips to ensure a successful transplant.

Site Requirements

Before you dig your hole, are you sure your plant will thrive in this location?

Some plants/trees/shrubs prefer their “feet” (roots) to stay moist and love organic soil.  Others prefer to have their feet dry, and suffer when over-irrigated or planted in fertile soil.

How much sunlight does this plant like?  While you may enjoy burning in the sun, shade plants don’t!  Make sure you plant shade lovers in the shade, and sun lovers in the sun.

Do you have enough room for this plant to grow?  If you don’t leave enough room for a plant to reach it’s mature size, you may be heading down a road that leads to disease and bug infestations!

Digging & Setting Your Plant

Dig your hole twice as wide as the container or root ball

Dig your hole only as deep as the root ball.  You’ll be breaking away some of the dirt, and the root ball may settle.  You’ll want to keep the top of the root ball about 1″ above the grade of you yard.

If you are planting container nursery stock, remove the pot completely. Take a sharp knife and cut (score) the root ball 1″ deep.  Your cuts should be at an angle, going from the top of the root ball to the bottom. You should end up with 5-6 cuts around the root ball.  Note: the bottom of the root ball should also be scored.  If a thick covering of roots is gathered at the bottom, cut the bottom 1″ of the root ball off.

If you are planting Balled & Burlap nursery stock, place the entire root ball (just as it is) into the hole.  You may need to add soil under the root ball to ensure the plant sets above grade level.  Remove the roping that secures the plant to the wire cage.  Remove the top two rings of wire that circle around the root ball, including the “handles”. Remove the burlap from the top of the root ball and where the top two rings of wire were removed.

Once the Plant is in the Ground

Make sure the top of the root ball is at least 1″ above the grade.  You may need to backfill the hole with dirt to raise the plant above grade.

Use your dirt/compost mix (see “Before You Dig”) to loosely backfill around the root ball.  Use water to help the mix settle around the roots.

You may have to add mix to the hole, but be sure to leave the top of the root ball exposed.

Never push the dirt down with your foot, shovel, or anything besides the water. Water your plant in thoroughly, making sure to water in the mix around the root ball, as well as the root ball itself.

Care After Planting

Be sure to check the soil frequently to see if your plant needs water, especially during the heat of the season.

The best way to check for moisture is to dig (about 3-4″ deep; 3-6″ away from the plant) into the original root ball and the surrounding dirt.  Feel the soil with your fingers to test if it is wet or dry.  If the soil is wet, do not water.  If the soil is dry, thoroughly soak the root ball and surrounding soil.

Did you know that plants show similar symptoms when they are over-watered and under-watered?  Always check the soil before you water, you may find the plant is staying too wet; pull back the mulch and let the soil air out.

Contact Nebraska Nursery & Color Gardens if you have questions about maintaining your plants!

© Copyright 2012 Nebraska Nursery & Color Gardens - WordPress customized by Slide Arts Graphic Design


text:
Search This Blog

Friday, June 15, 2012

A Closer Look at Smart's Award-Winning Electric Bike [Treehugger]

© Mairi Beautyman
It's big news when a leader in the sustainable transportation market goes all out on an electric bike: Meet the Smart ebike, which Mike brought to our attention last month in the article Smart's Award-Winning Electric Bike is Coming to the United States. The ebike is now on sale in Europe, but won't hit the U.S. market for a few more months.

© Mairi Beautyman
As Mike mentioned, the ebike recently picket up the prestigious Red Dot award for its design. Now it has been named a participant in Germany's most prestigious design prize, the Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, and I got to see it first-hand at contemporary design show DMY Berlin. Winners in the awards program will be announced in the fall.

Post a Comment


text:
Combustible Celluloid
Stream it:
Download at i-tunes iTunes
Own it:
Download at i-tunes Download on iTunes
Get the Poster
Search for streaming:
NetflixHuluGoogle PlayGooglePlayCan I
With: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale, Robert Sampson, Gerry Black, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Peter Kent, Barbara Pieters, Ian Patrick Williams, Al Berry
Written by: Dennis Paoli, William J. Norris, Stuart Gordon, based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft
Directed by: Stuart Gordon
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 86
Date: 10/18/1985

Re-Animator (1985)

4 Stars (out of 4)

Heads over Squeals

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

A clever, madcap mid-80s cult classic combining sinister comedy with bloody horror: an intense young scientist Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) invents a glowing green formula that can resurrect the recent dead, but with horrible side effects -- the victim goes completely insane. This doesn't stop him and his roommate Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) from using the formula over and over again, on a cat, a future father-in-law, and a professor's severed head.

Though the film has its share of gory thrills, the emphasis is squarely on the laughs. Completing the mood, composer Richard Band blatantly rips off Bernard Hermann's Psycho score, and gets away with it (it works beautifully). The film is obviously based on the Frankenstein concept that man who creates life (as opposed to woman) is monstrous. But Re-Animator goes one further by giving us the villain Dr. Hill (David Gale), an ineffective scientist unable to grasp the true nature of life and death, and an ineffective lover, whose advances toward cute student Megan Halsey (Barbara Crampton) are seen as pathetic. That's the film's biggest joke: we actually identify with the monsters and not with this "ordinary" loser.

Director Stuart Gordon and many of the cast and crew came from a Chicago theater troupe notable for performing early David Mamet plays. The 1985 theatrical release ran 95 minutes, but Gordon's director's cut -- presented here -- actually runs shorter, at 86 minutes. (The DVD includes all the outtakes and "extended scenes" for completists.) Gordon's next film was, From Beyond (1986), based on another H.P. Lovecraft tale.

Anchor Bay Entertainment has basically re-released Elite Entertainment's superb 2002 two-disc set for 2007. The digital transfer and audio are, as far as I could tell, exactly the same, as are the commentary tracks and most of the extras. However, here are a few crucial differences. Anchor Bay's new set includes a brand-new (not very interesting) documentary, close captioning (neither set comes with optional English subtitles) and a green highlighter pen inside the box. The only thing it doesn't carry over from the previous set is the music-only audio track featuring Band's score. It's a close call, but I'm choosing the new set over the old one.

In 2012, Anchor Bay issued an essential new Blu-ray release. It contains most of the extras from the DVD, except the DVD-Rom goodies (the story and the screenplay).

Best Buy Co, Inc.


text:
Latest Site Updates (View all updates)
    Latest Comic-Con Updates (View all updates)

      The Wired Cafe at Comic-Con 2009 - Day 2
      View Comments

      07/24/2009 - The Omni Hotel San Diego
      Bobby Campo, Cassandra Hepburn, Jaime Ray Newman, Matthew Gray Gubler, Rutina Wesley, Sanaa Lathan, Ashley Greene, Charlie Saxton, Garrett Hedlund, Sam Huntington

      blog comments powered by Disqus


text:
/ 16.11.11 / 8 Comments /

Get Ready for Christmas in Seven Days!

Have you ever noticed how some of the 'biggest' jobs on your 'To Do' list rarely take as much time as you thought they would?  Christmas looms for many of us because every task seems BIG.

This year, I surprised myself when I found that I had completed most of my shopping in less than 3 hours! Online..of course. Between Amazon and Melissa & Doug (a fun and educational toy supplier), I was able to do 90% of my christmas shopping..for the packages that need to be shipped.

It felt so strange to have that particular job--DONE--just like that. I feel positively giddy!

That got me to thinking... Could it be that many of the tasks that we do to prepare for Christmas aren't so scary after all?  How about, if for the next week or two, we skipped movies, or computer games...for Christmas projects. :o)
Between now and Thanksgiving, I'm going to run a 'test'. How long does it really take? This is the secret to eliminating procrastination on most jobs.

Wouldn't it be lovely to enjoy the holidays and not get overwhelmed with dread over jobs that ought to be fun..rather than chores? Of course, if you wait until the first week of December, you will probably start to feel that way. I always feel behind ..and then the parties and activities start rolling in.

If we try to squeeze parties, Christmas prep and our normal work into one month there will be a lot less cheer for sure.

Christmas in Seven Days Plan

Here's my plan for the next week. Perhaps it will help you too. (Some of this could be done after Thanksgiving..but try to finish before Dec. 5th.) I'm trying to tackle jobs that are best done early.

Day 1 - Christmas Shopping - Online! Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Melissa & Doug are great stores to start with. Most stores offer free shipping, gift wrapping etc.  You don't have to send gift cards..but they are great options in a pinch. :o)  Do you really need a list? We keep it simple--immediate family, their spouses, parents and grand-children.

I asked hubby to pick gifts for the men in the family i.e. his brothers and our grown boys, and a brother-in-law.  I picked the gifts for the women, and grandchildren.

Day 2- Christmas Cards and Family Newsletter - Spend an evening with the kids, or hubby and start addressing those envelopes!! (That's the only part I don't like.) Sign the cards. Then write a SHORT letter with the news for the year.  You can include two or three significant photos in the document and then print ten to fifteen copies.

Day 3 - Homemade Goodies for Neighbors and Friends - It's always nice to have gifts for neighbors, friends, and co-workers. Homemade ones are meaningful and frugal too. We are going to spend one evening making up cookies in a jar to give away. I'll add the ingredients to tomorrow's grocery list. That way we'll be ready on Friday.  I may even rope my BOYS into helping with this. Why not?

Day 4- Pick photos for Family Photo Album 2011 (Gift to our parents).  Every year, we pick out the 'best' photos of the year and print them. We either do an online album (which I love doing!) and pay for two copies or we just get a bunch of prints done and put it in an album ourselves.  Picking out the best photos for the year would be a fun thing to do with the kids.

Day 5 - Get the Livingroom Ready for the Holidays.  If you are like us, you have to rearrange the furniture to get the Christmas tree in. Now is a great time to do that.  Vacuum everything..even under the furniture. DeClutter everything you can!  Wash the windows inside and out. Polish and clean ALL of the knick-knacks.  Now you are ready for Thanksgiving AND Christmas!  If you have time, you might want to tackle the fridge and oven too.  Might as well get it over with.

  I know..it's not fun..but at least you'll feel prepared for the holidays.

 Day 6 - Wrap the gifts and get them ready to ship. Make this a FUN night. Get your first dose of egg nog... or spiced cider, turn on the Christmas music and if you live in our area..turn down the a/c.   I'm excited already. (Be sure to stock up on wrapping supplies BEFORE today..or you could get stymied here.)  Wrap the photo album too.

Day 7Get the Christmas decorations out and ready to go.  Now is the time to note which strings of lights work..and which don't. Check out my post on the 'Zapper' if you want to save some of those strings.   If you are doing outdoor lights, do them this next Friday. You don't have to turn them on..just get them hung. Thanksgiving weekend, while the men are off work, is a great time to do this job.

Just imagine how much more prepared you will be for the holidays if these seven jobs are done.  Even if you don't get all the gifts bought and wrapped...or don't finish every job on this list, you'll be way ahead of the game.

I want to ENJOY this next few weeks, not get all stressed out and cranky.  Remember..everything doesn't have to be homemade!

Let the Holiday Season begin!

Share This Post :
Tags :

Debby said...

I always strive to have the gifts purchased by Thanksgiving as I hate crowds. I also like to do my cards on Thanksgiving week-end and decorate as soon as Thanksgiving passes. Since I usually host Turkey Day my house is clean. I like to be finished with most everything, not baking or wrapping by the first week in Dec. Sometimes though I am always waiting on the next paycheck to finish. Good tips. I think we are seasoned Christmas ladies.

Donna said...

Well.. you may be seasoned Debby, LOL, but me? I'm usually scrambling all month. Me and Procrastination are good friends.

This year, I decided to turn over a new leaf. Maybe it's because I have so many kids. Who knows? I'm impressed at how well you keep on top of the holiday rush. :o)

Deb said...

I still say you need to hire out. You are one of the most efficient people I know!!! I'm determined not to get so overwhelmed this year. Too many other things taking higher priority!!! Thanks for such great ideas!!!

Needled Mom said...

I try to be all done by Dec. 1st, but it won't be this year. Best laid plans, as they say!!!

Donna said...

Update: I got 20 cards signed and addressed and did our Christmas newsletter! I can hardly believe it. It only took two hours from start to finish.

That means I've done 3 out of 7 things...cleaning, gifts, and cards/newsletter. Pinch me--is this real? I've NEVER had the cards ready in NOVEMBER.

Family are going to flip when they get MY card on Dec. 1st. I'm just about tempted to send them so they arrive the day before. But that would be a little mean..don't you think? LOL!

Caroline said...

Hi Donna! Living in a college town is interesting because most of the Christmas "social calendar" takes place in the first half of december. but by the 15th your calendar is blissfully empty. We doa new year's letter instead and have it done while KEvin is home for his work holiday.

I do need to order photos for the grandparents though, and get a bunch of Christmas present MAKING done - ours is also complicated in that Gideon's birthday is the 9th and we wait to do most of our decorating until right after his birthday. But we do need to get the christmas boxes down and the advent stuff out because advent starts in 9 days!!

Maria Killam said...

Such a great post, I love how you made it all seem so easy :0 I'm listening to Christmas music right now! I love everything about it!

Natasha in Oz said...

I am very late to visit and to say thank you for linking up to my Pinning and Singing party-I am so sorry Donna! I have been a bit pre-occupied with my 12 Days of Christmas series on my Christmas blog! Have you been by to visit? I would be so thrilled if you did-there's lots of Christmas inspiration over there!

Thanks again for linking up and sharing these great pins! This was a brilliant post! I really think you are onto something here-all we need to do at this busy time of year is focus on time management and re-setting our priorities!

Best Christmas wishes to you!

Natasha @ 5 Minutes Just for Me

“There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.” ~ Margaret Sangster
Welcome to Comin' Home! If you lived nearby, I'd invite you over to my neck of the woods for a nice long chat and a cup of tea out on the deck. But since we can't do that, I hope you'll stay and look around. I love learning new things and sharing what I learn with friends. Comin' Home is where I share tips from my many projects. Let's have some fun together! XO Donna

From the Heart

[5][Sidebarposts][recent][From the Heart]

Friends of Comin' Home


text:
Back to All Events

Corbin & Shlohmo - VENUE CHANGE

**Note New Venue! This concert has been moved from The Commodore to Fortune Sound Club. All tickets purchased for The Commodore will be honoured at Fortune. All other show info remains the same. Refunds available until Thursday September 14th at Noon.**

with guest D33J

Tickets $28.50 + s/c
19 Years and Older (2 Pieces of Gov't Issued ID Required)
Doors 8:00pm / Show 9:00pm
General Admission

Shlohmo is the creation of 22-year-old Henry Laufer, LA-native and visual artist turned selftaught musician. As a founding member of the WEDIDIT collective (RL Grime, Groundislava, D33j, Purple, 2kwtvr, Juj, Nick Melons), Henry's early work placed him at the forefront of a new wave of rising talent amongst west coast producers. With an effortless grasp on sound design, Laufer combines deceptively simple and emotive melodies, subtle bass drops and swinging slow motion drums. Receiving support from Pitchfork, BBC Radio, the New York Times, NPR, Resident Advisor and many others, Shlohmo leads the way in a new generation of promising young producers with his unique blend of dark and sensual R&B tropes.

Earlier Event: September 16
Shaggy (Late Show) - SOLD OUT
Later Event: September 22
Allan Rayman - SOLD OUT


text:
Sunday, July 13, 2014

Cocoa Candied Almonds

This story starts at costco, as all good stories do. They were out of the roasted, salted almonds in the two pound box, so...
My dad bought the 3 pound bag of raw almonds.

Figuring we could bake with them, or roast them ourselves, or whatnot.

This is dangerous. We ate more than a pound in probably 2 weeks, and there are 3 of us. And I'm sure I ate more than a third of that, too.

They're sweet and salty, crunchy, a treat but still a snack, and eminently grabbable on a pass through the kitchen.

All it takes is a little bit of aggressive whipping of egg whites and sugar to make the crunchy meringue that will shield the nuts in a protective, chocolaty armor. Cocoa powder adds that somethin'-somethin' and mm mm good factor. Joy adds a hint of cayenne, which you can do, but we don't eat spicy things at home so I added a bit of cinnamon instead.

So run to your nearest bulk nuts seller (ewwwww) and make these in your kitchen today. They will last longer than cookies, but not that much longer. They will sustain the 3pm hunger crash. They will satisfy the chocolate cravings.

[You know they say that if you're craving chocolate, your body really wants the fat from the cocoa butter, and that you can "satisfy" that craving with peanut butter? Um, I think these are an even better option.]

These almonds make a great World Cup snack, too!

Cocoa Candied Almonds
Yield: a two week supply for 3 ravenous people

  • about 3 cups raw almonds (I used a bit more, probably 4 cups, and there was PLENTY of meringue for all of them)
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used dutch process, because guess what? We have a costco thing of that too.)
  • a pinch of cayenne or cinnamon, according to your tastes

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. [I forgot to do this step, and they turned out great, so if you don't have time, skip this:] Roast almonds on a baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool while you make the meringue.
  3. Put butter in a rimmed baking sheet (lining with foil makes for easy cleanup later) and melt in the oven for 5-7 minutes, making sure that the milk solids don't burn. Remove and set aside.
  4. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl and with a hand mixer, whip the egg whites and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt until frothy. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until white, glossy, and almost at stiff peaks.
  5. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, cocoa powder, and spice, and mix again (slowly at first) to combine.
  6. Add the almonds and stir to coat evenly. Spread in the baking sheet with the melted butter in an even layer.
  7. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the coating has darkened in color and is crisp and dry. Remove and let cool before storing in an airtight container.

Recipe from the Joy the Baker Cookbook (love.)

No comments:

Post a Comment


text:
Forestry pruning in the Japanese Garden

Every February & March St. Paul’s Forestry Department prunes in the Japanese Garden. They prune the Austrian pines on a rotating basis (ex. one year they will prune half of the pines and the next year they will prune the other half). The purpose of prunning these pines is partially done for aesthetic reasons, but also for the health of the pine. The lower branches can be shaded out by the branches above and can die as a result. Prunning the upper branches lets more light into the lower branches preventing this from happening. Aesthetically, the pines are pruned according to Japanese Gardening standards. Any new growth is thinned by removing growth upward or downward of the branch. In general the branches fork into two branches and then continue to fork by twos, any growth extra of this is removed. You can see a good picture above of a tree that has been pruned and one that hasn’t. The tree to the left of the Forestry employee has been prunned, the tree that the Forestry employee is in has not.


text:
Microsoft Gold Partner in Mumbai

To offer you the best software solutions, we have partnered with Global IT companies who deliver world-class software products. We are one of the leading partners of Microsoft in Asia Pacific with Gold Certification since 2001. We also have partnerships with other Global IT companies such as Adobe, Autodesk, LS Retail, Resco, CWR Mobility & IPM Global.

Contact Us

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Not readable? Change text. captcha txt


text:
Give your IT staff the power to make things happen automatically, the way they should.

Put Your Business in Autodrive

The key to consistency in user and data management and security is automation. By defining rules about your management requirements in a policy and having that policy automatically applied by the network, you can acheive results that were previously unattainable.

The policy engine in our products gives you the power to make IT actions happen the way you want them to, giving you the flexibility to change your mind later without all the headaches.

Permission-Based File Management

Automation ensures that the right people have the right access to the right files through automated network actions surrounding user membership and security.

Groups Are Always Up-to-Date

Group membership is always accurate with automated updates, so everyone is setup for success.

More Effective Storage Management

With automation, stale, orphaned, and unstructured data, becomes a thing of the past through applied policies for grooming, deletion and retention.


text:
design element

design element
Menu pointMenu pointMenu pointMenu pointMenu pointMenu point
design element

MEMBER PROFILE: Hon. Beverly J. Hodgson

Connecticut mediator Beverly  Hodgson
design element
Hon. Beverly J. Hodgson
Arbitration, Mediation, Consulting
17 Temple Court
New Haven, CT 06511

Tel: (203) 497-8571
Email: Click for email

View availability dates

design element  View Printable PDF Resume

View maps and directions

Calendar Last Updated: 9 Nov 18

ADR Services:
design elementMediator
design elementArbitrator
design elementEarly Neutral Evaluation
design elementFact Finding
design elementDiscovery Referee
design elementMini-Trial Judge
design elementADR Training/CME

Hon. Beverly J. Hodgson has experience in the following areas of Civil Law:
design elementADA Disability
design elementCivil Rights
design elementClass Actions
design elementCommercial/Business
design elementCommunity Associations
design elementConstruction
design elementConsumer Fraud
design elementContract Disputes
design elementDiscrimination
design elementEEOC
design elementEducation
design elementEminent Domain
design elementEmployment
design elementFamily Businesses
design elementInsurance
design elementLabor/Unions
design elementLandlord/Tenant
design elementLegal Malpractice
design elementLibel & Slander
design elementLocal Govt./Municipalities
design elementMedical Malpractice
design elementNon-profit Organizations
design elementPartnerships
design elementPersonal Injury
design elementPolice
design elementPremises Liability
design elementProbate
design elementProduct Liability
design elementProfessional Fees
design elementProfessional Liability
design elementProfessional Malpractice
design elementProfessional Negligence
design elementProperty Damage
design elementReal Estate
design elementSexual Harassment
design elementTitle Disputes
design elementTorts
design elementTrusts / Estates
design elementWage & Hour/FMLA
design elementWrongful Death

Biographical Notes:

design element
After over 15 years as a Judge of the Connecticut Superior Court, Beverly J. Hodgson has become a private arbitrator and mediator. She was the first judge assigned to the Complex Litigation Docket at its inception in 1998, and she has adjudicated and conducted settlement negotiations in a wide variety of civil cases, including commercial and contract disputes, medical and legal malpractice, land use, employment, construction, consumer, will contests, insurance coverage, environmental and personal injury cases.

She is an elected member of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, an association of prominent practitioners.

Her experience includes litigating class action lawsuits as a lawyer and adjudicating them as a judge. She served as a court-appointed monitor in Allen v. Department of Correction, a sexual harassment case pending in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut, and as interim executive director of the Connecticut Office of State Ethics in the fall of 2007.   She also served as aconsultant/fact-finder for Yale University's Committee on Sexual Misconduct and for a corporation in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

She served as the Project Neutral on the development-construction  project for the  $30M renovation of highway service areas in Connecticut.

She has taught a course on ADR Skills at Yale Law School, where she taught Trial Practice for many years.

She is the co-author of Alternate Dispute Resolution in Connecticut's Courts (Atlantic Law Books), a compendium of Connecticut case law and procedure in arbitration and other ADR matters. Since 2003 she has written a monthly column on ADR subjects for the Connecticut Law Tribune. A graduate of Brown University and Yale Law School, she was a trial lawyer and partner at one of Connecticut's leading law firms before going on the bench in 1987. She successfully argued a case in the United States Supreme Court.

She is the recipient of the Connecticut Trial LawyersAssociation Judiciary Award and the Robert Zampano Award for Excellence in Mediation.

She has arbitrated or mediated hundreds of cases involving many kinds of claims, including but not limited to product liability, employment, property rights, insurance coverage, construction, will contests, personal injury, contract, and discrimination.

She appears frequently on CLE panels on ADR subjects.

design element
Brown University A,B.
Yale Law School  J.D.
Harvard Graduate School of Education  M.A.T.

AAA Arbitration Awards: Safeguarding, Deciding & Writing Awards; AAA Dealing With Delay Tactics in Arbitration ; AAA Chairing an Arbitration Panel: Managing Procedures, Process & Dynamics; AAA Labor Arbitrator II Training: Advanced Case Management Issues; AAA Commercial Arbitrator II Training: Advanced Case Management Issues; Arbitrator Update ; AAA Arbitrator I Training-Fundamentals of the Arbitration Process; Connecticut Judicial Branch, Mediation Skills for Judges; Connecticut Judicial Branch, Mediation Techniques.

design element

Memberships & Affiliations:

design element
 Connecticut Bar Foundation, New Haven County Bar Association
Board member:  Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Clifford Beers Clinic.  Past board president, Eli Whitney Museum

Rates: $400 per hour cancellation fee applies
design element

View Complete Connecticut Roster  ::  Legal Notice  ::  CTAMA is the Connecticut Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (

design element


text:
After Liam Gallagher’s shock announcement on Wednesday that he had buried the hatchet with brother Noel fans are eagerly awaiting news of an Oasis reunion.

Bookmaker Paddy Power has already released odds on whether or not we’ll see the brothers on stage together again next year - but fans shouldn’t hold their breath.

Liam GallagherLiam is back on good terms with brother Noel in time for Christmas

Following Liam’s surprise tweet which read, “I wanna say Happy Xmas to team NG it's been a great year thanks for everything looking forward to seeing you tmorrow AS YOU WERE,” Paddy Power slashed the odds on an Oasis tour in 2018 from 100/1 to 8/1.

The bookmaker is also offering 10/1 odds on the band releasing a new album in 2018 and 16/1 odds they’ll reunite for a show at Knebworth. However the odds of Liam tweeting the band will never get back together again in 2018 are at 6/4.

But speaking to Australian newspaper The Age on Wednesday night, Liam confirmed the truce, but also added that a reunion wasn’t on the cards yet.

Explaining how the brothers became on good terms again, Liam said: ”I got a little thing through the door from his management team and so I think there's been a bit of a reach-out and a bit of a truce.

”It's all good - season of goodwill and all that, you know?” he added.

More: Liam Gallagher And Noel Gallagher Reconcile For Christmas

When asked about the internet excitement regarding his tweet, Liam seemed baffled. "I don't look at the internet, what's it saying then? About a reunion and that?

"All is good in my neck of the woods," Liam said, before adding that a reunion was not on the way. "Oasis isn't getting back together, not at all,” he continued.

“I'm doing my thing, he's doing his thing and that is the end of it. It's still the same - it's just that I've called a truce on it and he's called a truce on it and no more slagging.”

Liam and Noel have been famously estranged for years and have often engaged in slagging wars over Twitter.

Just last week Noel told ‘The One Show’ he would not be getting his brother a Christmas present this year because “Liam’s been benefiting from my genius for a long time”.