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My first glimpse of E. O. Wilson came in July, in the late afternoon, when the light fades and dies with alarming speed in Mozambique. He had emerged from his cabin within Gorongosa National Park, one of southern Africa's great, historic game reserves, just as the nightly winter chill was bestirring itself, and across an expanse of garden, he appeared almost spectral: tall, gaunt, white-haired, and possessed of a strange gait—slow and deliberate, yet almost woozy in the faint swerve described by each long-legged stride.
Wilson's head was cocked sharply downward as he walked, as if he suffered a neck condition. (Later he would tell me this habit grew from a lifetime of scanning the ground for insect life.) In his right hand, he carried a flowing white net, like what Vladimir Nabokov might have used to pursue butterflies by Lake Geneva. Without fanfare, just before dark, on the first evening of his first visit to Africa below the Sahara, he had begun his first bug-collecting expedition.
If one had to give E. O. Wilson a single label, evolutionary biologist would be as good as any. Sociobiologist, lifelong naturalist, prolific author, committed educator, and high-profile public intellectual might all also serve. But amidst his astonishing range and volume of intellectual output, Wilson's reputation, and most of his big ideas, have been founded primarily on his study of ants, most famously his discoveries involving ant communication and the social organization of ant communities. As I caught up with him, intending to introduce myself, he stooped down low toward the garden's dirt path to pick one up, pronouncing its scientific name with the raw delight of a boy hobbyist, and exclaiming, "I think I'll keep that one. Let me go get a vial and some alcohol to put it in."
Many more collecting forays would follow over the next two weeks, most of them more concerted than this. But other motives had also lured Wilson, age 82, so far from his home in Lexington, Massachusetts. It is hard to order such things with any precision, so varied and intertwined are Wilson's interests, but the principal attractions, he told me, involved the chance to explore a rare and imperiled African ecosystem—one largely cut off from scientific study until late last year—and to play an advisory role in its conservation. What made this park, at the southern extremity of Africa's Great Rift Valley, of particular interest to him was the chance to revisit a field that he helped invent—biogeography, and specifically the special ecology and biodiversity of islands.
Gorongosa's heavily wooded mountain of the same name was effectively incorporated into the park, by national decree, only last December. It is home to the only largely intact rain forest in all of Mozambique, a semitropical country roughly the size of Texas and Oklahoma. Solitary and broad-shouldered, the mountain rises more than 6,000 feet above the surrounding plains, providing a local climate unlike any other for hundreds of miles around it. It draws its water from the warm, moist winds that blow in from the nearby Indian Ocean, kissing its cool upper flanks and sustaining a unique ecosystem of rare orchids, mountain cypress, and rich bird life like the green-headed oriole, along with any number of other species yet to be identified.
For many years, the religious taboos of local residents kept the mountain from being opened to scientists and tourists, and also offered some measure of environmental protection. Nonetheless, a helicopter ride I recently took revealed the mountain to be under steady attack by locals setting fires to clear fields for farming and to smoke out wild edibles, from bushmeat to insect delicacies. Time and again, Wilson has come back to the subject of ecological hot spots like this in his writing. More than half of the planet's plant and animal species live in tropical rain forests, which occupy a mere 6 percent of the world's land surface—territory roughly the size of the lower 48 American states. Across these unique havens of biodiversity, Wilson has estimated that an area equivalent to half the state of Florida is being destroyed each year.
Wilson described Mount Gorongosa's rain forest to me as "an island in a sea of grasslands," and said that "biologists should be straining to get there," to study it and to save it, just as they would some new reef system discovered in an underexplored part of the Pacific. Of the need to thoroughly survey places like Gorongosa, he wrote in his 1984 book, Biophilia: "No process being addressed by modern science is more complicated or, in my opinion, more important."
Wilson's first book, The Theory of Island Biogeography, published in 1967, became one of the most influential works in ecological studies. It offered a formula that mathematically predicts a geometric reduction in the biodiversity of a given habitat as the size of the habitat shrinks. Part of Wilson's work at Gorongosa involved launching a survey of life on the mountain, and also seeking to understand the special dynamics of a park that is small by the standards of its continent, but that nonetheless may contain thousands of species never before discovered, many of them unique to this lonely peak.
Throughout Wilson's stay here, a team of filmmakers, whose presence attested to a different purpose, trailed him from day to day. Together, Wilson and the filmmakers have selected the park as one of the backdrops for an online, interactive digital textbook called Life on Earth that the Harvard professor emeritus hopes will revolutionize the teaching of biology in secondary schools worldwide.
For all of his projects here, Wilson has a benefactor whose enthusiasm runs as deep as his pockets: Greg Carr, a boyish 51-year-old who grew up in Idaho Falls and made a fortune in the 1980s and '90s by developing corporate voice-mail systems. Since then, Carr has undertaken a variety of philanthropic activities, including the endowment of a human-rights center at Harvard that bears his name. But in recent years he has made the rehabilitation of Gorongosa Park his personal mission. Since he assumed joint operational control of the park in 2004, in partnership with the Mozambique government, Carr has spent, by his own estimate, perhaps $25 million on the park.
In its heyday in the early 1970s, the park, with its savannas and floodplains, provided one of the richest nature- and game-viewing experiences anywhere in Africa, due particularly to the abundance of its so-called charismatic animals—lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, wildebeests, zebras, and more. Back then, it was said that one day spent in Gorongosa was equivalent to three in South Africa's larger and more famous Kruger National Park. In 1977, however, a rebel movement named Renamo launched a civil war from headquarters in Gorongosa, and things went calamitously downhill.
Nearly a million Mozambicans died as a result of the war, and five times that many people were displaced. "Basically every day, there was fighting in this area, and soldiers slaughtered the animals for food, while ordinary people hunted them because it was impossible to farm," said Domingos João Muala, a Mozambican park worker and ethnologist. This led to the wholesale elimination of both large grazing mammals and their predators, although I chanced on a pride of lions, rare within the park today, on one cold morning as we emerged from a Land Rover by the ruins of an old park lodge fittingly known as the Lion House.
Mozambique's civil war came to a negotiated end in 1992, and multiparty elections followed two years later. Rehabilitation work on the park began in 1994, including the hiring of staff and the reopening of roads. Poaching has been gradually suppressed but remains a problem even now. Carr's ambition is to restore as much of the original ecosystem as possible, all the way up to the apex predators, like cheetahs, four of which his foundation recently acquired for release onto park plains already teeming again with antelope, warthog, and baboon.
Wilson's faith in the power of conservation movements to restore and preserve places like Gorongosa waxed and waned during the week I spent with him. He talked about the impact of China's burgeoning appetite for natural resources from Africa, and worried about Africa's booming population, which is projected to go from roughly 1 billion today to twice that by mid-century. And he offered a dark caution about global warming and the unpredictable impact it will have on many ecosystems, no matter how carefully we try to protect them.
Yet these moments of pessimism gradually came to be overshadowed by an abiding optimism, which seemed to grow stronger as he articulated what he saw as a workable vision of this region's future. "When I flew in by helicopter, one of the things that impressed me the most was the agriculture," he said. "Those people are really using the poorest methods to eke out a living, and very little technology. Well, it wouldn't take all that much to change this. With the introduction of fertilizers and better irrigation and more machinery, the yields could go up pretty quickly, and so would people's incomes. And with that, what you would see is people moving to cities, and new cities forming, which is the way to relieve pressure on the land. It should be noted that presently, Africa is the world's fastest-urbanizing continent."
In many of his writings, Wilson places hope in arguments that range from the ethical (humankind will ultimately awaken to its responsibility to the Earth), to the genetic (our evolutionary background has conditioned us to yearn for such things as unspoiled savannas and wilderness), and finally to a kind of naturalist's spiritualism. "For the naturalist, every entrance into a wild environment rekindles an excitement that is childlike in spontaneity, [and] often tinged with apprehension," he wrote in his 2002 book, The Future of Life. Every such experience, he continued, reminds us of "the way life ought to be lived, all the time."
Over dinner on Wilson's first night at Gorongosa, Carr asked whether the park stood any chance of still retaining all the species it now contains when his young niece reaches her 90s. Wilson's answer was an exuberant "Yes!" Eventually, the conversation between the biologist and the billionaire turned to the possibility of dramatically expanding the park to create a protected corridor all the way to the Indian Ocean. It was an idea whose logic flows directly from the precepts of island biogeography, which show a dramatic correlation between the size of a habitat and both its diversity and its sustainability. "I see no reason why not," Wilson enthused. "By all means, you should do it!"
Conversations like these might give the impression that Wilson—one of the most driven and prolific biologists of his generation—has mellowed and is shifting now to a quieter, more retiring, if not truly retired, phase of life, settling into the easy-fitting robes of scientific eminence and mostly lending endorsements and encouragement to the good works of others. And his bug collecting could easily be misinterpreted as a mere enthusiasm, a nostalgic return to the field. But Wilson had rebuked me in our very first encounter, after he had picked up the ant for close inspection, pointedly declaring that he was interested in "more than ants," and his travel here, like almost everything he does, is bound up with ideas and themes that he has doggedly pursued for decades. (Even in his recently published first novel, the best-selling Anthill, his 24th book, readers schooled in evolutionary science cannot miss the play of long-gestating Wilsonian theories, and linkages to his latest work.)
Indeed, while we sat in camp chairs talking about conservation and ants and countless other subjects, a dispute was raging among evolutionary biologists half a world away, one of the most hotly contested in that field in years—and Wilson was at its center. Christopher X J. Jensen, a Pratt Institute biologist who has blogged about the conflict, described it as a "scientific gang fight." Its outcome could have big implications for how we understand ourselves and our motivations—and particularly the complex interplay of selfish and altruistic behavior in human nature.
This is hardly the first scientific controversy surrounding Wilson. An even bigger fight erupted around him in the 1970s, as he laid out his ideas on sociobiology in three landmark books, The Insect Societies, Sociobiology, and On Human Nature. At issue throughout were his claims that our genes not only are responsible for our biological form, but help shape our instincts, including our social nature and many other individual traits.
These contentions drew fierce criticism from all across the social sciences, and from prominent specialists in evolution such as Wilson's late Harvard colleague, Stephen Jay Gould, who helped lead the charge against him.
Wilson defined sociobiology for me as "the systematic study of the biological basis of all forms of social behavior in all organisms." Gould savagely mocked both Wilson's ideas and his supposed hubris in a 1986 essay titled "Cardboard Darwinism," in The New York Review of Books, for seeking "to achieve the greatest reform in human thinking about human nature since Freud," and Wilson still clearly bears a grudge.
"I believe Gould was a charlatan," he told me. "I believe that he was … seeking reputation and credibility as a scientist and writer, and he did it consistently by distorting what other scientists were saying and devising arguments based upon that distortion." It is easy to imagine Wilson privately resenting Gould for another reason, as well—namely, for choosing Freud as a point of comparison rather than his own idol, Darwin, whom he calls "the greatest man in the world."
"Darwin is the one who changed everything, our self-conception; greater than Copernicus," Wilson told me. "This guy is irritatingly correct, time and time again, even when he has limited evidence." In Darwin's mold, the thrust of Wilson's life work has been aimed at changing humankind's self-conception. Indeed it can be difficult, from today's vantage point, to see what much of the fuss of the 1970s was about, so thoroughly has the Wilsonian idea that our genes shape our nature penetrated the mainstream.
This reality is illustrated, among countless possible examples, in Francis Fukuyama's most recent book, The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution. Rejecting the views of classic political philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau that primitive humankind started out as a collection of scattered, unorganized individuals, Fukuyama writes: "Human sociability is not a historical or cultural acquisition, but something hardwired into human nature." Nowhere is Wilson, who pioneered this view, even mentioned.
The current controversy results from another bid by Wilson to overturn conventional scientific wisdom. For more than four decades, evolutionary biology has been dominated by a school of thought known as "kin selection," which postulates that some species arrive at cooperative behavior and a complex division of labor as a matter of reproductive strategy among close relatives. In other words, self-sacrifice and other forms of altruism are really driven by what might be described as a coolly selfish calculation: cooperation among related individuals favors the reproduction of kin and hence the propagation of shared genes. This notion was established in a famous mathematical rule laid out by W. D. Hamilton in 1964, Rb>c, which means that genetic benefits (b) realized by helping a relative (R) pass on his or her genes must be greater than the cost (c) of assisting that relative in order for the behavior to be favored by natural selection.
Wilson believes that this whole theory has been a wrong turn, intellectually, and that this bedrock concept, with major implications for understanding our own nature, is overdue for radical revision.
The furor erupted with the publication, in the scientific journal Nature in August 2010, of an article written by Wilson and two co-authors, Martin A. Nowak and Corina E. Tarnita, both of Harvard. Titled "The Evolution of Eusociality," it amounted to a frontal challenge to a key concept of kin-selection theory, called "inclusive fitness." Among other things, inclusive fitness says that species like ants have become highly social, and that the sisters that make up the overwhelming bulk of any colony cede the right to reproduce to the queen, because of the extraordinarily high degree of genetic relatedness between the sisters, which surpasses even that between mother and daughter.
Ants and humans are among the very few "eusocial" animals—the most highly social creatures in the history of life on Earth, capable of building complex societies in which individuals specialize in various activities and sometimes act altruistically. Darwin himself, in his most influential book, The Origin of Species, recognized the vexing question of why female ants would sacrifice the right to reproduce rather than seek to pass along their own genes as the greatest challenge to his theory of evolution. Now, employing advanced mathematics involving evolutionary game theory and population genetics, the authors of the controversial Nature article have shaken up the evolutionary-biology establishment by rejecting kin selection, and claiming that the close genetic similarity of sister ants is not mathematically necessary to explain their "eusociality"—and, indeed, is not the cause of it.
The mathematical heavy lifting comes from Nowak and Tarnita, showing, in the words of Nowak, that "simple versions of Hamilton's rule … are almost always wrong," and that recent efforts to create more-generalized versions of the rule are of no help in explaining evolution. But the proposed new interpretation of what causes ants and a few other species to become highly social, to the point of intricate specialization and even self-sacrifice, or altruism, is classic Wilson. "The causative agent," the authors wrote, "is the advantage of a defensible nest." Eusocial creatures are driven to cooperate not by their relatedness, in other words, but by the advantages that accrue to any group from the division of labor. As natural circumstance forced individuals to interact, certain cooperative traits became advantageous, and proliferated, in a handful of cases.
In support of their attack on kin selection, the authors invoke the rarity of eusociality across the animal kingdom, even among species in which the genetic similarity of kin is extremely high. Among species that use clonal reproduction, for example, only one major group, the gall-making aphids, are known to be eusocial. What's more, eusocial behavior can occur—even among insects—in the absence of kinship. One example is the propensity of certain solitary bees to behave like eusocial bees when they are forced to live together in the laboratory. "The coerced partners proceed variously to divide labor in foraging, tunneling, guarding."
The authors conclude that a very small number of species simply seem to be genetically "spring-loaded," or "strongly predisposed" to the development of eusociality in conditions where natural selection favors it. The article then ropes humans into the picture in its last and most provocative sentence: "We have not addressed the evolution of human social behavior here, but parallels with the scenarios of animal eusocial evolution exist, and they are, we believe, well worth examining." Until now, the conventional wisdom on the social evolution of humans has focused on the growth and development of the brain, not on the existence of a social gene or set of such genes that may have spring-loaded humans for civilization—or for altruism. Yet Wilson and his co-authors imply that such genes very likely exist.
The outcry from the evolutionary-theory establishment, including luminaries in the field ranging from Richard Dawkins to Robert Trivers, was exceptionally fierce, including unusually personal attacks. One of several critical letters to the editor published by Nature was signed by 137 scientists. Another letter called the authors' findings "largely irrelevant."
Elsewhere, commentators objected that Nature should never have published the article, and only did so because Wilson's name was attached to it. Some claimed that the authors had not fully understood or had willfully misrepresented kin-selection theory. One commentator even wrote off Wilson for his "senescence." On his blog, Jerry A. Coyne, a leading figure in the field and a professor in the department of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago, voiced pity for Tarnita, a Romanian theoretical mathematician who works at Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. Calling the paper "dreck," he said that it "will always cast a shadow over her career."
"Nowak et al.," as the authors are called in the Nature back-and-forth, have firmly held their ground. "Inclusive fitness theory," they wrote in their published response, "is neither useful nor necessary to explain the evolution of eusociality or other phenomena." In an e-mail to me, Tarnita wrote about the criticisms directed at her:
Coming from a mathematics background and having contributed a mathematical argument to this discussion, I am not one to be impressed by such statements, unless they are supported by an actual mathematical refutation of my arguments. So far there has been none.
In collaborating with Nowak and Tarnita, Wilson was in effect reprising a tactic that led to his first major theoretical triumph, with island biogeography—joining forces with talented mathematicians. In that instance, in the early 1960s, he teamed up with the late Robert H. MacArthur, whose work on population growth and competition, Wilson says, made him the most important ecologist of his generation.
"Nothing is more attractive to me than a muddled domain awaiting its first theory," Wilson wrote in Biophilia:
I feel most at home with a jumble of glittering data and the feeling that they might be fitted together for the first time into some new pattern. This inclination made me especially compatible with mathematicians. I became fascinated with the way they think, why they should be so much better at quantitative reasoning than I, what difference it made in the end, why I should be the one so often to suggest moving in a particular direction, but then even more frequently not be able to do so, and finally how different everything looked after a little progress had been made.
Wilson told me the new proposed evolutionary model pulls the field "out of the fever swamp of kin selection," and he confidently predicted a coming paradigm shift that would promote genetic research to identify the "trigger" genes that have enabled a tiny number of cases, such as the ant family, to achieve complex forms of cooperation. His next book, The Social Conquest of Earth, expands on his theories—and takes up the question left dangling at the end of the Nature article. "It starts with posing the questions that I call the most fundamental of philosophy and religion," he said. "Where did we come from, what are we, and where are we going?"
Wilson explained the book, which will be released in April, during an animated two-hour discussion on a day that he'd previously set aside for rest. Earlier that morning, he had turned up in his usual baggy, sagging khaki pants and installed himself at a table outside the Gorongosa camp restaurant, slumping silently into a flimsy plastic chair. Soon he could be seen jotting ideas in his small, neat hand, on a yellow legal pad. Once in a while he would tear off a sheet, number it, fold it carefully, and put it in the side pocket of the same blue-striped sport coat he wore every day.
Later he told me that he's done all of his writing that way, relying on Kathleen M. Horton, the assistant who has worked with him for 45 years, to enter material into a computer and help edit his writing. "Most people are now aware that the digital age is upon us," he said, with a twinkle in his left eye, the other sightless from a boyhood accident. "It has left me behind. I haven't had time to learn iPhones and tablets, or even how to run a computer properly, but it's arrived."
Wilson told me he'd worked for a decade on the ideas he presents in Social Conquest, drawing on the primary literature in a wide variety of fields to refine his views. These ranged, he said, from molecular genetics and ecology to anthropology and cognitive science. In the book, he proposes a theory to answer what he calls "the great unsolved problem of biology," namely how roughly two dozen known examples in the history of life—humans, wasps, termites, platypodid ambrosia beetles, bathyergid mole rats, gall-making aphids, one type of snapping shrimp, and others—made the breakthrough to life in highly social, complex societies. Eusocial species, Wilson noted, are by far "the most successful species in the history of life." Humankind, of course, has thoroughly transformed the environment, achieving a unique dominion. And ants, by some measures, are more successful still. (If you were to weigh all the animals on the planet, you would find that the mass of ants exceeds that of all other insects combined, and also that of all terrestrial nonhuman vertebrates.)
"Wow, the butterflies are out," Wilson interjected mid-sentence, as a pretty, modestly sized, yellow-and-black creature floated dizzily around his chair.
Wilson announced that his new book may be his last. It is not limited to the discussion of evolutionary biology, but ranges provocatively through the humanities, as well. Summarizing parts of it for me, Wilson was particularly unsparing of organized religion, likening the Book of Revelation, for example, to the ranting of "a paranoid schizophrenic who was allowed to write down everything that came to him." Toward philosophy, he was only slightly kinder. Generation after generation of students have suffered trying to "puzzle out" what great thinkers like Socrates, Plato, and Descartes had to say on the great questions of man's nature, Wilson said, but this was of little use, because philosophy has been based on "failed models of the brain."
Answers to the fundamental mysteries of human nature can only be found elsewhere, Wilson told me—in science, and most particularly in genetics and evolution.
Wilson had begun this particular conversation promising to answer the question of what caused the shift from the genus Australopithecus to Homo and led to the line that ultimately became human. But now he asked, "Can we have lunch before I tell you?," clearly enjoying playing up the drama.
His theory draws upon many of the most prominent views of how humans emerged. These range from our evolution of the ability to run long distances to our development of the earliest weapons, which involved the improvement of hand-eye coordination. Dramatic climate change in Africa over the course of a few tens of thousands of years also may have forced Australopithecus and Homo to adapt rapidly. And over roughly the same span, humans became cooperative hunters and serious meat eaters, vastly enriching our diet and favoring the development of more-robust brains.
By themselves, Wilson says, none of these theories is satisfying. Taken together, though, all of these factors pushed our immediate prehuman ancestors toward what he called a huge pre-adaptive step: the formation of the earliest communities around fixed camps.
"When humans started having a camp—and we know that Homo erectus had campsites—then we know they were heading somewhere," he told me. "They were a group progressively provisioned, sending out some individuals to hunt and some individuals to stay back and guard the valuable campsite. They were no longer just wandering through territory, emitting calls. They were on long-term campsites, maybe changing from time to time, but they had come together. They began to read intentions in each other's behavior, what each other are doing. They started to learn social connections more solidly."
Wilson's "campsite" theory, of course, connects us directly back to the species described in the Nature article, and helps him lump humans together with the handful of other known species to have made it across what he calls the evolutionary "bottleneck" toward highly structured social life. "The humans become consistent with all the others," he said, and the evolutionary steps were likely similar—beginning with the formation of groups within a freely mixing population, followed by the accumulation of pre-adaptations that make eusociality more likely, such as the invention of campsites. Finally comes the rise to prevalence of eusocial alleles—one of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation, and are found at the same place on a chromosome—which promote novel behaviors (like communal child care) or suppress old, asocial traits. Now it is up to geneticists, he adds, to "determine how many genes are involved in crossing the eusociality threshold, and to go find those genes."
But the story does not end here. In his new book, Wilson posits that two rival forces drive human behavior: group selection and what he calls "individual selection"—competition at the level of the individual to pass along one's genes—with both operating simultaneously. "Group selection," he said, "brings about virtue, and—this is an oversimplification, but—individual selection, which is competing with it, creates sin. That, in a nutshell, is an explanation of the human condition.
"Our quarrelsomeness, our intense concentration on groups and on rivalries, down to the last junior-soccer-league game, the whole thing falls into place, in my opinion. Theories of kin selection didn't do the job at all, but now I think we are close to making sense out of what human beings do and why they can't settle down."
By settling down, Wilson said, he meant establishing a lasting peace with each other and learning to live in a sustainable balance with the environment. If Wilson's new paradigm holds up—"and it will," he insisted in an e-mail exchange several weeks after visiting Gorongosa—its impact on the social sciences could be as great as its importance for biology, advancing human self-understanding in ways typically associated with the great philosophers he criticized.
"Within groups, the selfish are more likely to succeed," Wilson told me in a telephone conversation. "But in competition between groups, groups of altruists are more likely to succeed. In addition, it is clear that groups of humans proselytize other groups and accept them as allies, and that that tendency is much favored by group selection." Taking in newcomers and forming alliances had become a fundamental human trait, he added, because "it is a good way to win."
Kin-selection theory would explain nepotism, but not the more complex rivalries and alliances that we see throughout human history. If Wilson is right, the human impulse toward racism and tribalism could come to be seen as a reflection of our genetic nature as much as anything else—but so could the human capacity for altruism, and for coalition- and alliance-building. These latter possibilities may help explain Wilson's abiding optimism—about the environment and many other matters. If these traits are indeed deeply written into our genetic codes, we might hope that we can find ways to emphasize and reinforce them, to build problem-solving coalitions that can endure, and to identify with progressively larger and more-inclusive groups over time.
Once the book comes out, Wilson said, he expects parts of the biological mainstream to howl on cue. He is just as certain, though, that there will be many converts. "I am going to get fuselaged—you know, bombarded," he said, laughing. "I don't care, though, because I feel so secure about the theory and interpretation."
In Gorongosa, Wilson's study of complex social behavior was centered on the termite, an insect that seemed to obsess him at times during his stay. Termites are unrelated to ants; rather, they are distant cousins of cockroaches. As such, their reproductive strategy is entirely dissimilar to that of ants. But like ants, they are on the shortlist of eusocial animals. For Wilson, how such different creatures ended up creating highly structured societies, replete with castes and the complex division of labor, remains a source of fascination and ongoing study.
Nonetheless, during much of his stay, termite research was crowded out by the broader conservation effort that had brought him here, and by the Life on Earth project—and indeed, the two often ran together, as film crews shadowed him, recording material for the textbook.
One morning, I traveled with him to Mount Gorongosa for an event billed as a "bio blitz," which combined a classic natural-history specimen-gathering exercise, textbook-filming, and an educational opportunity for the scores of village children who were enlisted in the effort. Normally events like these bring together a diverse team of biologists, but Wilson, who was seated at a table in a makeshift shelter beside a clear stream and just above a waterfall, was on his own this time, and clearly relished being the center of the action.
"You will be seen by other students in many places," he explained through a translator, as video crews filmed. "Because we wish to help science, we wish to know what is all around here, what species exist here. It is good for your education to see how studies in science can be done, how you can do studies in science."
Ziploc-style bags were passed out, and Wilson told the children, who sat on the ground before him, to collect all the "creatures, little animals, insects, spiders" they could find, and bring them to him for identification. With that, the children, let loose on the mountainside, threw themselves into the task with abandon, tromping through the stream, seizing bugs in the tall grass, and pursuing other creatures up the hillsides.
As the bagged bugs, lizards, scorpions, and other creatures they brought forth began to pile high, Wilson became almost giddy, seemingly reliving the thrills of his Alabama childhood, when his avid specimen-hunting fostered a growing fascination with nature, and eventually a love of science. For minutes at a time, the white-haired scientist resembled nothing so much as a grandmaster smiting a score of enthusiastic challengers at a speed-chess exhibition, as he quickly named each animal brought to him:
"And here we have—very good—a lycaenid butterfly. Probably that's a new species, but I'm not going to keep it. Who got that butterfly? … What is this? Wait a minute, where is my magnifying glass, I'll tell you. Oh yeah, that one I know. I know the genus. That one is a Tetragnatha. … Now the ants … This is an important one. Can you be sure to get that one? All right, wait a minute. I want that one. It's different. That's a reduviid, an assassin bug … That's a—wait a minute, it'll come to me. This is a coccinellid."
This medley, one of many, concluded with Wilson saying: "Wow, this is the way to make a real collection, if you are an entomologist. Get a bunch of kids around. No, seriously."
Later, in a quieter moment, I asked Wilson how he managed to name so many of the creatures, particularly ones far outside his specialty, and on a continent he's never visited before. He told me that he'd prepped intensively for the experience for two months, consulting both reference books and experts, committing the descriptions of thousands of species to memory. Silently, I recalled a critic's recent characterization of him as senescent.
A few days earlier, Wilson, remarkably, had taken his very first helicopter ride, a shuttle run that brought him from the nearby port city of Beira to the park's immense floodplain, dotted by riverine pools thick with caucusing hippos and crocodiles, and finally to a close view of the mountain itself. "Mount Gorongosa!" he exclaimed to me later. "It has always loomed in my imagination as this dark, brooding mountain, but boy, is it magnificent; so bright, so full of life!"
With that, I asked Wilson what made this place so special for him. "Every place is special," he answered. "But this is—even among all the varieties of natural history that you can get in parks around the world—this one stands out because of its tragic history. The destruction that is being healed, largely through the efforts of one man, this Greg Carr, showing what can be done."
After a few days here, Wilson amended his vow not to write more books, saying he would like to return next year to work on a book about Gorongosa and its mountain, tentatively titled Gorongosa: The Park as a Window on Eternity. In lieu of producing any more big, theoretical works, though, Wilson tells me, he longs to spend more of his time traveling. Soon, he said, he plans to go to Yosemite National Park to study a rare ant, and late this year he is planning a seven-week expedition in New Caledonia and Vanuatu. He wants to relive his exploits as a 25-year-old naturalist, when he explored the region as part of a 10-year stint of fieldwork during which he worked out the classification of hundreds of species of ants throughout the Pacific region and elsewhere. "These are the things I want to do—travel, visit the places I've wanted to go," he says.
In such a full life, I asked him how he made sense of his own achievements. "How successful you are depends on a small number of qualities and activities, and one of them is luck," he answered, laughing. Then the man who had told me, a few days earlier, that he was interested in more than ants confided that he was lucky to have settled on them at a young age.
"For every organism, there exists a problem, for the solution of which that organism is ideally suited," Wilson said. We had been talking over lunch for about two hours, and Wilson had barely touched his food. He paused for a moment, taking a bite of chicken. "A lot of my work was done with pheromones; then came island biogeography, because I could collect enough ants in a short enough period of time to get an idea of the nature of fauna on different islands." Only then "came the question, 'What are the driving forces of evolution?'" He put down his fork, and gave a slight smile. "Ants are always there, and this has given me an edge," he said. "I've ridden ants the whole way."
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to email@example.com.


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College coaches think Stevens will do well in NBA
BOSTON (AP) — Brad Stevens has a big challenge moving to the NBA as coach of the Boston Celtics. Massachusetts college coaches, though, are optimistic he can make the jump from Butler.
And he might even start a trend, one of those coaches says.
"I think he'll do well and it probably will open some doors," Holy Cross coach Milan Brown said Thursday. "It'll make some general managers and presidents go, `Who's the next Brad?"'
Brown was one of seven Division I coaches at an event Thursday promoting a tripleheader involving six of those teams on Nov. 10 at TD Garden in Boston. Stevens, hired in early July after Doc Rivers left to become coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, also attended.
One early challenge will be finding a point guard to start the season while Rajon Rondo recovers from knee surgery.
Rondo "is progressing well," Stevens said. "He's been great at what he can do. He's not been cleared to do everything. It looks like that'll be (some time) before he is. Does it look like he'll be there at the start of the season? No.
"But he is in the gym."
Stevens, 36, downplayed his transition to the NBA and what it could mean for college coaches seeking to move to the pros.
"To me, coaching's coaching," he said. "I think that, at the end of the day, it's about going into a situation and working with the right people and trying to figure out ways to be successful. I'm certainly not going to put any pressure on myself to be (a pioneer)."
Butler made it to the NCAA championship game twice under Stevens, who led them to a 116-49 record in six seasons. The Celtics signed him to a six-year deal worth a reported $22 million that made him the youngest coach in the NBA.
Other college coaches at Thursday's event were confident he could make the transition, especially with a young rebuilding team that traded Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets in the offseason.
"There certainly will be a lot of eyes and attention focused on him and his success. The college game is excited for him, proud of him and know that he's going to do an outstanding job," Harvard's Tommy Amaker said. "There are very few college guys that are going to go take over the Miami Heat, when he has the opportunity to go win an NBA championship.
"Obviously, Brad is in a situation here where it appears to be a rebuilding job."
So expectations are low, giving Stevens' players time to adapt to his system and personality without pressure of instant success.
"I'm interested, like everyone else, in that I'm wondering if it can work at that level," Boston College coach Steve Donahue said, "because, if it does, it reinforces everything you think is good about basketball, building a team and doing it a certain way. Brad does that. I think we would all say that he's got everybody rooting for him."
Massachusetts coach Derek Kellogg said coaching the Celtics "is a challenge" for Stevens. "But I do believe that college coaches, at least the good ones that respect what he's done, would be happy to see him do well."

subset: commoncrawl


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Super Steamer
The Anolon 12-inch Stackable Stainless Steel Steamer Insert (#72023) fits into a 12-inch pan, giving you plenty of room for oversize items like asparagus, tortillas or even a whole fish. At department stores and specialty stores in September; 800-326-3933; $39.99.
Grease Catcher
A splatter shield over the pan keeps stovetops clean, but where do you put it when you want to stir or turn foods? The Circulon 12-inch Splatter Shield has a wide opening in the center to accommodate a spoon or spatula, so you don't have to remove the shield when it's time to flip the burgers, while its high-domed walls catch splatters. From www.circulon.com; $30.
It's All in the Details
Everything about these SilverStone ProForged pots and pans is designed to make a cook's life easier. First, the cookware is manufactured from forged aluminum, which offers excellent heat distribution and allows the cookware to be thicker on the bottom for even browning and thinner on the sides so the pieces aren't too heavy. There are straining holes in the lids (no colander needed to drain spaghetti) and spouts on the edge (no spills while you're pouring tomato sauce).
More From Good Housekeeping
The unusual tulip shape of the pots concentrates heat on the bottom while giving you a wide opening for stirring. Last but not least, there's a nonstick finish inside and out for easy cleaning. The 12-piece set includes a 1-quart saucepan, 2- and 3-quart covered saucepans, 8- and 10-inch fry pans, a 5-quart covered Dutch oven, two spoons and a turner. At select JCPenney stores; $139.99.


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This is the fastest spinning star in the universe yet. Rotating at a mindblowing one million miles per hour, it's so fast that its shape is not a sphere anymore. They call it VFTS 102. Boring. I prefer Burger Star.
Twenty times larger than our Sun, Burger Star rotates 100 times faster than our very own ball of exploding hydrogen. Its rotational speed causes enormous centrifugal forces, so incredibly powerful that they have turned it into an oblate spheroid that is more similar to a perfect burger than the usual fire basketball. Around its center you can see a disk of plasma, which is also a result of the speed.
I like to think that plasma is made of mustard and cheddar cheese.
Burger Star is nested inside the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way located just 160,000 light-years away. Since its rotational speed and motion is not normal, astronomers think that it had a very peculiar genesis, perhaps the result of a violent explosion of a binary star.
According to lead paper author Philip Dufton of Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, "the remarkable rotation speed and the unusual motion compared to the surrounding stars led us to wonder if this star had an unusual early life. It was suspicious."
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The M1 chip delivers 3.5x faster performance than the previous generation all while using way less power. Get up to 18 hours of battery life.
The theory is that one of the stars may have exploded as a supernova, sending the other into this mad trip across the Universe. Dufton says that this "is a compelling story because it explains each of the unusual features that we've seen. This star is certainly showing us unexpected sides of the short but dramatic lives of the heaviest stars."
Truly fascinating. Also, now I'm hungry. [Hubble]


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Raw candy pops recipe
Prep Time
Total Time
Shelf LifeUp to 2 weeks in freezer
RatingRate me!
- 1 1/2 cups dried, shredded coconut
- 1/8 cup maple syrup (or honey or agave nectar)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/16 teaspoon sea salt
Recipe Directions
- 1. Place dried, shredded coconut in food processor. Process for a couple of minutes. (It will seem like the coconut is too dry and you will want to add liquid. DON'T DO IT! Just keep processing. Eventually it will start to cling together and get oily-ish!)
- 2. Once it starts to get quite moist, add all remaining ingredients and process again until almost similar in texture to wet oily peanut butter! Or hummus! You know, all wet! (Or perhaps not QUITE as wet as hummus or PB, a bit crumblier than that, but it should definitely be moist and not grainy at all.)
- 3. Spoon your crazy white mixture into whatever candy molds you want and PRESS DOWN FIRMLY WITH YOUR HANDS.
- 4. Place in freezer for at least 60 minutes. (They will harden when frozen)
- 5. Store your raw candy pops in the freezer at all times since they will melt in room temperature.
The Rawtarian's ThoughtsBy The Rawtarian
Yes friends, it's raw Halloween candy for the spooky season! Since these will melt at room temperature they aren't an option to give out as trick-or-treats, but they will be tasty to nibble on while you're doling out treats to the children at the door!
Don't fear though (fear, get it? Aaha, yes, I am punny around the holidays!), if you don't have a fancy ghosty chocolate lolly mold, you can make this recipe in a big dish instead (similar to my raw white chocolate recipe) and then break the candy into pieces for a less spooktastic experience. But the flavor will be the same :) And as for the flavor, it has a very sweet, almost white-chocolate flavor. It does have a coconutty taste, but for me it leans more towards white chocolate than coconut, in my opinion.
I had fun making these little guys for a raw Halloween treat. I am not normally into novelty items like this, but I was suddenly struck with the Halloween spirit this year!
Nutrition Facts
- This recipe is very low in Calories, Carbohydrates, and Sodium.
- This recipe is low in Fat.
- This recipe is a noteworthy source of Dietary Fiber.
Amounts per 27 g (1 oz) suggested serving
|% Daily
|6 %
|1.4 g
|2 %
|13 g
|16 %
|9 g
|3 %
|Dietary Fiber
|3 g
|10 %
|6 g
|12 mg
|1 %
|0.66 mg
|5 %
|32 mg
|1 %
Print This Recipe (PDF)
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Comments and Reviews
Top voted
Oct 28, 2013
Thanks Mary! I had a lot of fun making them
Nov 14, 2013
These are really cute! I like the regular small square candies you have in the back of the ghost pops. This is a nice change from coconut oil based chocolates which I don't care for too much.
Nov 14, 2013
These are really cute! I like the regular small square candies you have in the back of the ghost pops. This is a nice change from coconut oil based chocolates which I don't care for too much.
Thanks! The square candies are made from the same mixture, but just placed into different molds. :)
Oct 28, 2013
Thanks Mary! I had a lot of fun making them
Leave a Comment or Review
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The Political Ticker blog died of old age on Oct. 13, 2014, after eight years of faithful service to CNN's readers.
The Ticker began quietly in October 2006, fueled by a realization that a blog could capture and influence the political conversation. It hit 1 million page views during CNN's 2006 election coverage a month later, and in its heyday became one of the most trafficked forums in political media.
Alaska's Senate race is an increasingly prime pickup opportunity for Republicans, with Democratic Sen. Mark Begich trailing challenger Dan Sullivan by 6 percentage points, a new CNN/ORC International Poll shows.
Sullivan earned 50% support compared to 44% for Begich, according to the survey of 704 likely voters that was conducted October 1-6. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 points.
The race is key for Republicans who hope to gain control of the Senate by capturing at least six seats currently held by Democrats. It looks increasingly important as Democrats pump resources into states like Kansas and South Dakota that weeks ago looked like GOP locks.FULL STORY
Two sources inside Mitt Romney's inner circle tell CNN that while Romney isn't planning a presidential bid, he's listening to a lot of people who want him to get in the race - although he remains skeptical himself.
"A lot of people in Romneyland are rooting for him to get in," says one source. "He's not one of them."
Another source close to Romney puts it this way: "I wouldn't bet on it, but I wouldn't bet either."
The key, these sources say, is that Romney wants to see a Republican candidate who can win the White House. So there's a willingness to wait to see who will run for the GOP nomination. While these sources say that, as of today, it's not likely Romney would run, it can't be ruled out entirely - and if the early seeding were to produce a weak field, Romney might be in a position to be a late entrant.FULL STORY
Sen. John McCain slammed President Barack Obama on Monday over his comments that U.S. intelligence underestimated ISIS.
McCain countered Obama's assertions made on CBS' "60 Minutes," saying that ISIS' expansion in Syria and Iraq was tied to the President's decision not to leave a residual U.S. military force in Iraq and his refusal to arm moderate Syrian rebels last year despite urgings from his national security advisers.
"We predicted this and watched it," McCain said on CNN's "New Day." "It was like watching a train wreck and warning every step of the way that this was happening."FULL STORY
Republicans who want to taint Hillary Clinton are going to lengths to link the former secretary of state with President Barack Obama and his sagging poll numbers.
Throughout the party's infrastructure, Republicans say that linking Clinton with Obama, especially labeling her possible 2016 campaign as "Obama's Third Term," is the most potent attack.
America Rising, an anti-Clinton super PAC that has looked to define the former first lady for the better part of a year, will push out a series of talking points giving Clinton the third-term label, and the group plans to fundraise off the push.
"Hillary Clinton has a Barack Obama problem," reads a lengthy research document that will go out to GOP pundits, strategists, conservative organizations and media members Tuesday. "No matter how many of her advisors whisper to reporters that she's different from Barack Obama, Americans still know who she is: Barack Obama Part Deux."FULL STORY
For a small band of supercharged Democratic organizers, the pleasant Des Moines neighborhood of Beaverdale goes by another name: Obamadale.
The moniker was bestowed three years ago by a motley crew of Democrats who first met as strangers over martinis at a local restaurant in the early days of President Obama's re-election bid, brought together under the aegis of the "neighborhood team" model that defined the campaign's bottom-up volunteer structure.
Led by Kimberley Boggus, a bubbly 33-year-old nursing student, and Sam Reno, a 42-year-old no-nonsense construction crew supervisor, the platoon of volunteers eventually managed to turn out more than 700 Democrats to their local caucus precinct on a chilly January night in 2012 - and that was for an uncontested race overwhelmingly won by Obama. By November, in another show of force, "we turned out 87 percent of the Democratic voters in Beaverdale," Boggus recalled with evident pride.
After the campaign, Obama's behemoth political organization became Organizing For America (OFA), but the group has struggled to maintain a coherent identity outside the president's campaigns.FULL STORY
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had harsh words Thursday for the committee investigating allegations of abuse of power and the orchestrated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, known to many as the "Bridgegate" scandal.
"It's absolutely not true and it is a completely, a completely partisan act to be doing the leaking that they are doing," he said in response to a reporter's question about claims that his lawyers would not hand over certain documents, citing executive privilege.
The governor lambasted Democratic New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski, co-chairman of the Select Committee on Investigation, saying he wanted to keep his name in the newspapers and his face on TV.
"We have fully cooperated, absolutely fully cooperated with them, and I am really growing tired of him," Christie said at a news conference in Trenton, New Jersey.FULL STORY
The National Rifle Association will weigh in on three of this year's key Senate races with a multimillion dollar ad buy beginning Wednesday.
The NRA effort is aimed at boosting Republican Senate challengers in Arkansas, Colorado and North Carolina - the outcomes of which could likely determine which party controls the chamber.
The group's campaign is expected to top $4 million in these states, spokesman Andrew Arulanandam confirmed to CNN. It will spend $1.4 million to boost North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis, who is running against incumbent Democrat Sen. Kay Hagan.
"Our Second Amendment rights are under attack by the Obama Administration, and we need leaders like Thom Tillis in the Senate to fight back," states the ad.FULL STORY
A new political ad against Republican Scott Brown could easily have been an attack ad against Mitt Romney in 2012.
One of the toughest spots to hit Brown this cycle, the 30-second ad paints the former senator from Massachusetts as a "yes man" to a large corporation that has outsourced jobs.
While the ad never mentions Romney, who campaigned for Brown this summer, the outsourcing attack was a key strategy used by Democrats two years ago when Romney, a former private equity executive, was running for president.FULL STORY
"It's been seven years, and a lot has changed," Hillary Clinton said Sunday in her first visit to Iowa since the state dealt her presidential campaign a devastating body blow.
But there was a moment in the afternoon when it seemed like not much had.
Roughly 200 credentialed media were gathered in a far corner of the Indianola Balloon Field, the grassy expanse where Sen. Tom Harkin was convening his 37th and final Steak Fry, an annual fundraiser that doubles as a point of entry for ambitious Democrats curious about the Iowa caucuses.
After a 90-minute wait, the press scrum - scribblers and photographers alike - were herded like cattle through a series of gates and escorted up to a hot smoking grill, waiting to capture the same image: a staged shot of Bill and Hillary Clinton, fresh out of their motorcade, ritualistically flipping steaks with Harkin.
The Clintons ignored the half-hearted shouted questions from reporters - "Mr. President, do you eat meat?" - with practiced ease. They were two football fields away from the nearest voter. Mechanical, distant, heavy-handed: The afternoon spectacle felt a lot like Hillary's 2008 caucus campaign, a succession of errors that crumbled under the weight of a feuding top-heavy staff and the candidate's inability to connect with her party's grassroots.
And then the head fake - and something different.


text:
Jury duty! The worst. Civic duty? Oh please. And since we can't avoid serving, it better be good. One unnamed juror from the high-profile Oracle v. Google case was described by Jury Foreman Greg Thompson, 52, as dissatisfied with Oracle uber-lawyer David Boies's attempts to prove Google had infringed on both its patents and its copyrights in building the Android mobile OS.
Collectively, they were unmoved by the nuanced interpretations of "fair use" and "transformative works" and underwhelmed by the case presentations in general, Foreman Thompson told Wired:
Thompson said that in the end, the jury did not feel that Oracle's arguments were convincing. That's when he quoted another juror as saying he was "waiting for the steak and only got the parsley."
On the copyright charges, the jury came down 9-3, in favor of fair use. Which, if you know anything about IP law is actually very interesting, given the high profile of the case. Not that anyone cared or cares, though, because we're all just so very boooored of your "civil procedure." Next. [Wired - Image via PedroVieira/Shutterstock]


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Started this discussion. Last reply by Nancy Marsh Nov 17, 2010. 2 Replies 0 Likes
I have 268 followers and I'm looking for more people to exchange follows with. :) Visit me at http://www.lipglossdmom.com and follow if you like. Be sure to…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Lindsey Crockett Oct 16, 2010. 16 Replies 0 Likes
I have 90 right now and would love to have 100! Check out my blog and, if you like it, follow me! I always follow back and I'm an active commenter so it will be great getting to know some more…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Crystle H Jun 17, 2010. 4 Replies 0 Likes
I would love some more followers for my blog and on twitter as well. I ALWAYS follow back and I'm an active commenter as well. Thanks, ladies! :)…Continue
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I don't know if the phrase "Just breathe." is inspiring to me or just flat out annoying. I don't mean to be a negative nellie, but is it just me or is that phrase a LOT easier said than done? My life has been nothing short of a whirlwind and it has been becoming more and more hectic each day that passes. My current goal? To try and make things as manageable as I can and just... well... breathe.
Posted on January 12, 2011 at 2:23pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
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Suspected gunman in Vegas shooting arrested at L.A. apartment
A weeklong multi-state manhunt for the suspected gunman in a Las Vegas Strip shooting and crash that killed three people ended when he surrendered in Los Angeles while apparently going about life as usual.
Ammar Harris, 26, a self-described pimp, was jailed pending an extradition hearing Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
A neighbor, Gail Gaghagen, said she thinks she saw Harris on Tuesday sitting alone in the gym at Archview Luxury Apartments in Los Angeles' Studio City neighborhood, dressed in shorts and a tank top.
"I just walked by and there was a glass door," she told The Associated Press. "I just I looked at him and he looked at me and that was it."
Gaghagen said she told the same story to FBI agents she met in the apartment elevator after Harris surrendered Thursday. A woman in the apartment was being questioned but wasn't charged with a crime.
The arrest of Harris, a convicted felon in South Carolina who shows fists full of money on Internet posts and boasts of a high-rolling lifestyle with prostitutes in Miami and Las Vegas, ended a manhunt that began after a Feb. 21 shooting and spectacular, fiery accident that killed three people and injured five at an intersection home to the Bellagio, Bally's, Flamingo and Caesars Palace casino resorts.
"I hope anyone out there watching understands clearly if you live in this city, if you work in this city, or you visit this city and act like this person, we will find you, we will prosecute you, and we will send you to prison," Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie said Thursday in Las Vegas.
Court documents allege Harris was driving his black Range Rover SUV when he fired at least five shots into a Maserati sports car, killing Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr., a rapper who called himself Kenny Clutch.
A passenger in the Maserati, identified as Freddy Walters, was wounded in the arm.
Harris and Cherry had argued minutes earlier in the valet area of the glassy Aria resort, after a night featuring Morocco-born rapper French Montana at the hotel nightclub Haze, authorities said.
The Maserati, with Cherry mortally wounded at the wheel, slammed into a taxi that burst into flames. The cabbie, Michael Boldon, and passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, of Maple Valley, Wash., were killed.
Two days later, police found the SUV parked at an apartment complex two blocks east of the crash scene.
Lt. Ray Steiber, who headed the investigation, said Thursday that investigators learned that Harris left Las Vegas "pretty rapidly." Detectives fielded hundreds of tips and reviewed surveillance images of the disagreement between Harris and Cherry, collected bullet casings, listened to audio recordings from nearby taxis of the gunshots and obtained traffic camera video of the Maserati speeding through the Las Vegas Boulevard intersection at Flamingo Road.
The day after the shooting, prosecutors obtained a warrant for Harris' arrest on three murder counts, one attempted murder count and several shooting charges.
Las Vegas police said Thursday they had located and talked with all three women who were in the SUV with Harris at the time, including Tineesha Lashun Howard, 22, of Miami. None of them was charged with a crime, Capt. Chris Jones said.
Steiber called the discovery that Howard, who has a history of prostitution arrests, left Los Angeles on Wednesday on an eastbound bus "one of the factors" that led investigators to find Harris in Studio City. Police have not said where Howard was found.
As police in Los Angeles searched the Studio City apartment, Steiber noted that the investigation was not finished.
"We have captured Ammar Harris," the police lieutenant said. "This is an open and ongoing investigation. This is not closed."
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said Thursday that anyone who helped Harris elude police for a week could still face criminal charges.
Ritter reported from Las Vegas.


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**Now with options**
For Changelog visit website - http://www.benbeckford.com/blog/2009/11/29/chrome-extension-resolution-test.html
Resolution Test changes the size of the browser window for developers to preview their websites in different screen resolutions. It includes a list of commonly used resolutions and the ability to customise that list.
This extension was written in my spare time, if you would like to support its development you can buy me a coffee or donate any amount using this link - http://bit.ly/ResBeer - thanks in advance :)
How to use:
1. Restore your window (un-maximize it)
2. Click the resolution test icon in the top right of your browser window
3. Choose a single resolution, or select multiple resolutions and press "View all selected".
4. Your window will be resized


text:
or make 4 interest-free payments of $137.50 AUD fortnightly with More info
100% cashmere crop loose turtleneck knit in black. This square cut relaxed turtleneck is light with a loose ribbed neck that sits away to keep you warm but not constrict. Casual & classic this knit is perfect to dress up with a skirt, layer with some pants or wear casually with jeans.
Composition : 100% Pure Cashmere - GOTS Certified Organic
Care : Hand wash or machine wash on 'hand wash cycle' temperature cold
Size : Small - Medium - Large
Our model is 177cm/ 5'10" and is wearing a size - Small
Available in other colours
Free shipping worldwide


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My Cart
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Free Shipping over $49
Please browse our great range of Pink Paintball CO2 Bottles - HPA Compressed Air Tanks. So your ready to Play Paintball? Paintball tanks come in a few different basic varieties. CO2 Tanks are your basic starting tanks. Co2 tanks come in 12oz, 20oz, and 24oz varieties and are typically made of aluminum. The preferred tank for paintball is a compressed air tank. Compressed air / HPA tanks are measured by volume for Size 48 , 68, 88 ci (Cubic Inches). And by the maximum pressure held. Made of aluminum -3000psi or carbon Fiber - 4500 PSI. Always be sure to read your tank directions prior to use. PaintballDeals.com ships all tanks empty to comply with Federal and state regulations. You can typically get your tanks filled at a local paintball Field, sporting goods store, Scuba or welding supply shop. Don't forget free shipping over $50. If you need any assistance please get in touch and a member of our expert team will help you with any query you have.


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Discover our collection of men's casual shirts. From flannel plaid shirts to solid colours and styles. Shop our selection of men's casual shirts online and in-store.
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Student artists display work at county government center
LAS CRUCES - More than 100 pieces of original student artwork from the Las Cruces and Gadsden Public Schools have been installed in the first-floor corridors of the Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Blvd. The exhibit includes paintings, etchings, photographs and drawings. The artists range in age from elementary students to high schoolers.
The official opening of the newest student show will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2. Many student artists, their families and art teachers will be on hand. Refreshments will be served, and the public is encouraged to attend.
The student art shows have been a rotating fixture for Doña Ana County's main lobby since 2000, with thousands of works by local student artists displayed for the public during that time, according to a county news release.
The student art exhibit complements the permanent art collection within the Doña Ana County Government Center, which includes 41 original oils and acrylics — mostly landscapes — donated in December of 2013 by Las Cruces artist Joyce T. Macrorie, as well as a series of historical photographs in the upstairs rotunda, and a photograph of the Organ Mountains donated in 2007 by Las Cruces artist R. Frederick Silva. The piece, titled "Fall Splendor," hangs on a second floor east wall, adjacent to the main entrance to the administrative offices of the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners and the Office of the County Manager.
Also on display in the upstairs rotunda are works by students from the Hatch Public Schools, as well as a 10-piece mural by Las Cruces artist Meg G. Freyermuth, who made a long-term loan to the Doña Ana County Government Center's art collection. Titled, "Leap: It is Unchanging, Yet Trembles Sweetly," the impressionistic depiction of the Organ Mountains hangs on the west wall of the second-floor rotunda of the building. Below it is a plaque with information about the painting, its history and its dedication. Freyermuth coordinated the loan through the Doña Ana County Special Projects Office, which curates both the rotating student art shows and the building's permanent and semi-permanent collections.
On permanent display downstairs is an original oil painting by the late Las Cruces artist Alice Terry donated to the Doña Ana County Government Center in 2008 for permanent display. The painting, titled 'Heart of the Problem,' depicts a dry desert arroyo and represents the artist's respect for the power of arroyos and the damage they can inflict to property during the summer Monsoon Season inherent to southern New Mexico.
Las Cruces artist Virginia Maria Romero donated four signed prints to the Doña Ana County Government Center for permanent display. The pieces are on display on the second floor near the elevators. Romero is a 20-plus year resident of Doña Ana County who has shown her work regionally, nationally and globally. The four pieces featured at the Doña Ana County Government Center are titled "Outcasts," "Migration," "Survival" and "Tonantzin."
On semi-permanent display in the main lobby is one of New Mexico's most famous painted ponies. Caballo de Las Cruces is covered with more than 2 million tiny, decorative, glass beads. The pony is for sale by the Doña Ana Arts Council, with the proceeds to benefit the historic Rio Grande Theatre. To date, none of the bids for it have met the minimum allowable for sale. The pony will remain on display near the main reception desk of the Doña Ana County Government Center until it changes ownership. Caballo de Las Cruces was designed by local artist Julienne Hadfield. The beading process took more than 4,000 hours to complete by a dedicated group of more than 100 community volunteers. The pony was designed to honor Las Cruces and the surrounding area.
Also on semi-permanent display is "The Gift" by New Mexico artist David Linn. "The Gift" is on loan from the New Mexico Arts Council's Art in Public Places program. The painting is displayed downstairs near the central elevators.
The public is invited to tour the art exhibits both upstairs and downstairs at any time during normal county business hours.


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Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering Project (BKCASE)
"The BKCASE products continue to provide a living, shared and authoritative guide to the full scope of Systems Engineering Knowledge, becoming the most used reference in the world to guide systems engineering graduate education and systems engineering practice." – BKCASE Vision 2014.
The Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering Project (BKCASE), began in the fall of 2009. Its original vision was that, through its work "Systems engineering competency models, certification programs, textbooks, graduate programs, and related workforce development initiatives around the world align with BKCASE."
As we begin the next stage of the BKCASE project we would like to restate the vision as shown above to reflect the growing value BKCASE can bring to our stakeholder community:
By continuing to work towards aligning technical initiative and research, competency models, certification programs, textbooks, standards and guides, graduate programs, and related workforce development initiatives around the world to BKCASE our sponsors can enhance their ability to:
To work towards this vision, BKCASE created two closely related products:
Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK)
A living, authoritative guide to the knowledge most relevant and important to the advancement of systems engineering. SEBoK discusses what is included in the discipline, how this knowledge can be structured to facilitate understanding, and what documents are most important to the discipline. More information
Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE®)
Curriculum guidance for systems engineering master's program. GRCSE makes reference to sections of the SEBoK to define its core knowledge and suggests broader program outcomes and objectives that reflect aspects of the professional practice of systems engineering as discussed across the SEBoK. More information
An outline of the work done by the original BKCASE project team and its leadership and sponsors to create the first versions of these products and make them freely available to the Systems Engineering community can be found in BKCASE History.
With the successful completion of the initial phase of its work the BKCASE leadership has now reorganized into a dynamic partnership between three well known organizations that include the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society (IEEE-CS), and the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC). Two representatives from each of these organizations make up the BKCASE Governing Board. This board is responsible for overseeing policy for both SEBoK and GRCSE.
The detailed content and use of SEBoK, GRCSE and any future products are now driven by a BKCASE Editorial Board who will carry-on the same professionalism once pioneered by the original BKCASE Authors.
The aim of the Editorial Board is to continue the maintenance and evolution of BKASE products in close partnership with the visions, plans and technical activities of its sponsoring organizations; and to broaden this stakeholder base to encompass a growing partnership with all those involved in the practice of Systems Engineering now and in the future.
If you would like to find out more or become part of this partnership please contact us at email@example.com.


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NASA Sending Frankenstein Into Space?Nah, Just 'Monstrous' Space Robot
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Astronauts bound for orbit this week will dabble in science fiction, assembling a "monstrous" two-armed space station robot that will rise like Frankenstein from its transport bed.
Putting together Dextre, the robot, will be one of the main jobs for the seven Endeavour astronauts, who are scheduled to blast off in the wee hours of Tuesday, less than three weeks after the last shuttle flight.
They're also delivering the first piece of Japan's massive Kibo space station lab, a float-in closet for storing tools, experiments and spare parts. For the first time, each of the five major international space station partners will own a piece of the real estate.
• Click here for FOXNews.com's Patents and Innovation Center.
• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Space Center.
At 16 days, the mission will be NASA's longest space station trip ever and will include five spacewalks, the most ever performed while a shuttle is docked there. Three of those spacewalks will feature Dextre, which is sure to steal the show.
With 11-foot arms, a shoulder span of nearly 8 feet and a height of 12 feet, the Canadian Space Agency's Dextre — short for dexterous and pronounced like Dexter — is more than a little intimidating, at least for astronaut Garrett Reisman.
"Now I wouldn't go as far to say that we're worried it's going to go run amok and take over the space station or turn evil or anything because we all know how it's operated and it doesn't have a lot of its own intelligence," Reisman told The Associated Press last week.
"But I'll tell you something ... He's enormous and to see him with his giant arms, it is a little scary. It's a little monstrous, it is."
Dextre will be flying up aboard Endeavour in pieces, and it will be up to a team of spacewalking astronauts to assemble the 3,400-pound robot and attach it to the outside of the space station. That job will fall to Reisman, Michael Foreman and Richard Linnehan.
"I feel kind of like dad on Christmas Eve, you know, opening up this present and trying to put it together for the son or daughter and going, 'Whoa, what have I gotten myself into here with this 'some assembly required' part of the space station," Foreman said.
Reisman, who will be moving into the space station, can't wait to see Dextre rise from its shuttle transport pallet, rotating up "almost like it's Frankenstein's monster coming alive."
In reality, there's nothing sinister about Dextre. The robot, in fact, was once in the running to be the Hubble Space Telescope's savior.
Following the 2003 Columbia disaster, NASA canceled the last remaining Hubble repair mission by shuttle astronauts because of safety concerns, and considered sending Dextre up to do the job.
The shuttle flight was restored after a change at NASA's helm — it's scheduled for late summer — and Dextre went back to being a space station assistant.
Dextre — which cost more than $200 million — was created by the same Canadian team that built the space shuttle and space station robot arms.
Equipped with a tool holster, Dextre is designed to assist spacewalking astronauts and, ultimately, to take over some of their dangerous outdoor work.
Dextre can pivot at the waist, and has seven joints per arm. Its hands, or grippers, have built-in socket wrenches, cameras and lights.
Only one arm is designed to move at a time to keep the robot stable and avoid a two-arm collision. The robot has no face or legs, and with its long arms certainly doesn't look human.
Space station astronauts will be able to control Dextre, as will flight controllers on the ground. The robot will be attached at times to the end of the space station arm, and also be able to ride by itself along the space station arm's railway.
Canadian officials said they're convinced Dextre could have pulled off the Hubble repair job, and should have no problems replacing old batteries and other space station parts.
"It's quite surprising what a robot like Dextre can do with its sense of touch and its precision," said Daniel Rey, a Canadian Space Agency engineer who heads the project.
Dextre has only three tools, for now, versus the more than 100 tools available to spacewalking astronauts, Rey said. It will probably take months to learn how to properly use the robot; its first real job could come next year.
Linnehan, who worked on Hubble in 2002, wonders just how much Dextre will be able to do.
Even though it's suited for space station maintenance, astronauts are faster, Linnehan said. As for Hubble, he said Dextre cannot compare to a human repairman because it lacks fine motor control, and cannot think and react to problems that might crop up.
That said, Linnehan acknowledges it's "a cool project" that reminds him of Japanese animation shows from decades past, namely Gigantor the space-age robot. NASA officials agree that a big part of Dextre is learning how robots operate in space, for future exploration.
Dextre, by the way, isn't necessarily a "he."
"I tend to use 'he' because I think Dextre is a masculine name," Rey said. "But it's a robot. It's tele-operated. It doesn't have artificial intelligence yet. So I need to be more careful when I say 'he.' "


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For those just hitting the site (now defunct), here is a compendium of the knowledge I've derived from American Idol. Much of the code used in making the models is found on Github, as is the data in the database.
First, the models:
- A new model of American Idol, the main prediction methodology for finals rounds (i.e. what 90% of people care about)
- The semi-final model (when Dialidol was functional) and the post-Dialidol semi-final model
- The reasoning behind the Top 3 Tracker, used to project the Top 3 as the year went on
I am also particularly proud of the Statistical Snapshot of American Radio (methodology here, see all posts here), a large data-mining effort to quantify what songs are predominantly played on radio by format, time-period. I built some fairly sophisticated data visualization tools for these, also on Github, along with all the data.
On more Idol related issues:
- Brief description of the Twitter Sentiment methodology, code here.
- The distinct advantage of singing last, quantifying how the "pimp spot" is a very good place to be
- How (the also now-defunct) VoteForTheWorst was funny but made bad choices about who to vote for (this post ruffled some feathers)
- A quantitative look at how great Dialidol was (pre-2012)
- An expansive, 3 part series about how screen time during the audition rounds was a way for the producers to affect the contest (part 1, part 2, part 3)
- The save rule, and how it was mostly used to great effect
- Also, a link to one of my most cited posts, Americans love white guys with guitars
It wouldn't be a website in the 2010s without some listicles:
- The most totally baffling runs in Idol history, a recounting of amazing runs of luck awful singers had
- On the flip side, the contestants who were seriously robbed
Finally, I spent many hours compiling video retrospectives of the first three seasons. You can watch them all here.


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Caps top Rangers in SO
New York, NY – Nicklas Backstrom scored in the fourth round of the shootout to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Backstrom also had a goal and an assist during regulation. Alex Ovechkin tallied a goal and a helper for the Capitals, who won their third straight game. Braden Holtby stopped 30 shots.
"We've been playing good hockey for a while," Capitals coach Adam Oates said. "Desperation or just solid hockey, I'm not quite sure. Obviously, the points are important for everybody and we played good."
Arron Asham, who hadn't played since Feb. 19 due to a back injury, had a goal for the Rangers. Derek Stepan also lit the lamp for New York, which lost for the fifth time in seven contests.
Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves in defeat.
"Overall, I think we had enough chances to win this game," Lundqvist said. "I only stopped two of four in the shootout. I have to be better. You face really good players. I think the last one was a really good shot. Ovechkin, I felt like I had him, but I didn't get the stick down."
Ovechkin scored on a wrist shot in the second round of the shootout, but Stepan netted the equalizer on the ensuing try with a backhander. Brad Richards shot wide of the net, and then Backstrom scored on a blast into the right side of the net.
Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman was whistled off the ice for holding at 7:43, and the Capitals scored the game's first goal 11 seconds later. Ovechkin's shot from the left circle was deflected on its way to the net and was temporarily stopped by Lundqvist. The puck caromed into the air and went off the body of Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi and then Backstrom into the net.
Ovechkin scored less than two minutes later on a deflection in front off a high slot shot from Steve Oleksy, but the Rangers countered at the 14:12 mark on Asham's second goal of the season. Asham skated on a 2-on-1 break and delivered a successful shot from the left circle that beat Holtby high to the glove side.
The tying goal came during a 2-man advantage with 1:57 left in the first when Stepan's shot deflected off the pad and into the net.
Marian Gaborik was denied by Holtby on a breakaway chance with nine minutes left in the second period. A rising shot clanked off Lundqvist's mask in the final minute of the stanza.
The Caps outshot the Rangers, 11-5 in the third period and again (5-1) in overtime.
Game Notes
Rangers coach John Tortorella remains one win shy of earning his 400th career triumph as a National Hockey League head coach ... Ovechkin has four goals and five assists during his current six-game points streak.


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One of the joys of my life has always been doll making.
I have carved wooden dolls for as long as I remember, and I am now enjoying teaching my 5 year old grandson how to make wooden dolls, too.
I gave him a piece of wood, and had him draw a figure on it.
Then, I burned the lines he had drawn:
You can see to the right of his doll, a doll that his Mamma made when she was his age, and one that I am currently working on.
He chose some colors, and started adding them….
I cut her out with the bandsaw and he took her home, but wasn't pleased that she had rough edges.
So, the next day, I took some of my tools over so he could work on sanding her and finishing her.
He's already immersed in the family culture of being a Maker!
I've been giving him lessons on how to use a hand saw in a Zen way, as he tends to approach tools with wild abandon, which is not something I encourage at all.
Gently, gently, is my motto….
Ah, the bliss of being a granny….
my heart sings!


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Sitting there watching Samsung unveil the new Tab Pro and Note Pro devices, I was struck with one thought: what on earth does Pro actually mean?
To me, the suffix was always applied to the devices that actually gave you the option to type more effectively, or allow you to do your day job on the go without needing to resort to a larger, more cumbersome machine.
I'm all for Android as an OS, but it's still not quite there in terms of letting the average consumer go about their business in an efficient way. My brother-in-law uses the Galaxy Note 10.1 in his day to day working life and I often get texts asking me if I know of a good app to let him do various workflow-related tasks.
Nobody has yet nailed the 'professional tablet' market yet - Microsoft is closest with the Surface Pro 2 but it's a long way from taking serious market share from laptops in the workplace. Plus, it has a keyboard, which is the one thing nearly every 'pro' user is looking for.
Samsung has called 2014 "a year in which Samsung truly establishes its leadership in the tablet market", yet this market segmentation is going to prevent it from doing just that – this is a company that needs a streamlined tablet range to challenge the likes of the iPads and Surfaces of this world, not confuse consumers with different ranges seemingly offering the same things.
At its booth here in CES Samsung has a dedicated show that runs on a loop, outlining the ways the Note and Tab Pro can help revolutionise your working and personal life. What's noteworthy about this presentation is that there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of content around what makes this a good tablet for the professional.
Therein lies the rub: the Tab and Note Pro range don't seem to be geared towards making your working life any slicker at all. Well, that's not strictly true – as someone pointed out to me, the Note Pro 12.2 device is great for graphic designers, pushing technology into those creative hands that usually would cost thousands.
But the Pro range simply makes no sense with that moniker. The power, the screen quality, even the re-designed Magazine UI (which is a pretty messy affair) all scream of a company wanting to make a really good tablet to prove continued relevance in a world dominated by Apple and break-even tablets from Amazon and Google.
Samsung is a company that suffers from agitation when it comes to full innovation – since becoming the dominant player in the smartphone world its been full focused on evolution over revolution, and this 'Pro' release is another example of that.
It's all the more frustrating given that underneath this confused exterior lies a company with a real passion for product, and the ability to make stunning pieces of machinery.
It's no accident that Samsung has nearly a fifth of the tablet market share worldwide and is gaining on Apple rapidly – cynics could point to a gargantuan marketing budget that keeps consumers buying, but loyalty only comes when products are usable.
Of course consumers need choice, but Samsung's tablet range is too sprawling at the moment, and the Pro team just makes that worse. At current count, Samsung has 11 different tablets on the market (not including Wi-Fi and 3G variants) compared to Google's two and Apple's four.
How is a consumer supposed to know which tablet is right for them? The Tab 3 8.0 or 7.0, which have a vastly different spec list? Should they get one with an S Pen or not? Do the newer models offer enough of an upgrade to warrant spending the extra cash?
Samsung will argue it's offering choice, but consumers need help in nascent markets. It's so frustrating that Samsung doesn't focus its efforts on true flagship tablets in the same way it does with phones. The Galaxy S4 in one option, the S4 mini is there for those that want a little lower cost. Want a powerful device with a larger screen? Note 3. Easy.
The Pro range are powerful tablets that don't compromise and are truly viable Android alternatives to the iPad or iPad mini. But they're not professional devices, merely really well specified units with added protection and a few subscriptions bunged in.
Consumers like choice, but they like to know their options. With so many tablets at each screen size, the question will be 'Should I get the iPad Air, the Nexus 10 or… which Samsung is the good one?' when it should be 'I want the new iPad, but I really like the look of Samsung's new Tab / Note'.
So come on Samsung – choose your heavyweight, middleweight and lightweight, and make them truly exceptional (and lower the price while you're there if possible too). Let people understand what makes your stuff so great without feeling like you need to wrap it in marketing or flashy-but-useless features.
Or just sell the Pro with a keyboard.


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Battle Mountain Sanitarium
|Battle Mountain Sanitarium
|Current Status
|Building Style
|Radial Plan Institutions
|Hot Springs, South Dakota
|Alternate Names
Battle Mountain Sanitarium (now part of the Veterans Affairs Black Hills Health Care System) was part of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, which provided care for Union veterans after the Civil War. It was the first and only National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers built solely as a short-term sanitarium for veterans with lung or respiratory problems, not as a long-term home. Unlike the other National Home branches, veterans went to Battle Mountain Sanitarium for brief intensive treatment. Upon completion of their treatment, they were transferred to another National Home branch. Battle Mountain Sanitarium opened in 1907, offering veterans a complete array of services including plunge baths and an amusement hall. Located in the town of Hot Springs, South Dakota, the Sanitarium, made from local pink sandstone, rises above the town on a bluff to the northeast of the resort section of the town at an elevation of 3400 feet. A majority of the buildings predate 1930, and many of them are still used for their original purposes. The curving road system that winds through the facility is also original. The National Cemetery is located in the eastern section of the campus.
Founded in the 1880s as a warm water mineral springs health resort, the town of Hot Springs became a popular destination for regional health seekers by 1900. Tourists enjoyed the benefits of the waters and the mountain scenery. The local effort to build a National Home branch began in the 1890s. The possibility became likely after an inspector for the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers inspected a State Soldier's Home in the area and stated that he was impressed with the therapeutic qualities of the water. After this, 30 veterans from the Western Branch went to the State facility, and the treatments improved their health. In 1898, the Grand Army of the Republic formed a committee to convince Congress to locate a National Home branch in Hot Springs. In 1902, Congress passed legislation authorizing the new facility; the bill allocated $150,000 for the construction of buildings and $20,000 for equipment. Battle Mountain Sanitarium opened in 1907 for its first patient, Charles Wilbert, from the Marion Branch.
Since the Sanitarium was not a long term residential facility, veterans only stayed as long as they benefited from the treatment. The Sanitarium treatment options included bathing in or drinking the mineral waters. This treatment particularly helped veterans with musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, and respiratory conditions and skin diseases. Once cured, or no longer improving, the patients went back to their residential branch. Between 1908 and 1909, 865 Civil War and Spanish American War veterans received treatment at the facility. While the treatments were beneficial, inspectors complained that the facility was too isolated and difficult for veterans to reach; the trip was especially strenuous for very ill men. By World War I, tuberculosis treatment became the primary focus of the Sanitarium.
Thomas Rogers Kimball of Omaha designed the original buildings at Battle Mountain Sanitarium in a Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival style using local sandstone. The facility was also inspired by the Romanesque Revival style that was prominent in the town of Hot Springs. George E. Kessler designed the landscape of the campus. In 1915, the construction of 204 pink sandstone stairs, referred to as the Grand Staircase, connected the resort district of Hot Springs to the Battle Mountain Sanitarium. The campus remains largely intact and unaltered from when it was a National Home branch with the addition of only a few new buildings.
The original building complex from 1907 is in the radial or panoptical hospital design. Kimball designed the buildings in a circular arrangement with the wards projecting out like spokes on a wheel. An inner circular arcade connects the wards and service buildings. The center of the circle is an open courtyard with a fountain. This design allowed for the separation of patients based on the type of disease they had, to avoid contagion. Kimball placed a service tunnel under an arcade for utilities and a tram for food distribution. To make cleaning easier, all of the angles in the building were rounded off. This radial complex connects 11 buildings: the Administration Building (Building 1), Mess Hall (Building 2), Hospital Wards (Buildings 3-8), Plunge Bath (Building 9), Maintenance/Engineering Building (Building 10), and the Library/Auditorium (Building 11), a 1911 addition. Most of these buildings still serve their original functions.
Just south of the main hospital complex is the residential section. Kimball designed residential quarters for the staff living on the campus in a Colonial Revival style with some Tudor details. These include the Governor (Building 23), Chief Engineer (Building 24), Treasurer (Building 25), and Quartermaster's Quarters (Building 26). The Chaplains Quarters (Building 27), in a Neoclassical style, dates from 1910. These buildings are still used as residences today. Also from 1910 is the Neoclassical Nurses Quarters (Building 20), now used as a day care center.
Post World War I growth led to a building campaign in the 1920s to construct more staff residences. Neoclassical Duplex Quarters (Buildings 28 and 29) date from 1920 and 1927; one is still used as staff residences and the other as transitional rehabilitation housing. The 1926 Neoclassical nurses' quarters (Building 21) have been used as apartments for employees since the 1950's.
Because of the influx of veterans with tuberculosis, the increasing need for space led to construction of the Main Hospital (Building 12) in 1926 to the east of the original building complex. The number of veterans at the Sanitarium grew as veterans who were not members of another National Home branch became eligible for tuberculosis treatment at the Sanitarium. Other historic buildings on the campus include a Conservatory (Building 16), Stable/Carriage House (Building 17), Bandstand (Building 19), and Root Cellar (Building 35). The Conservatory (Building 16) is the sole survivor of its kind from the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers era.
The cemetery at Battle Mountain Sanitarium dates from 1907 and became a national cemetery in 1973. The cemetery has several monuments in it. Dedicated in 1914, the Battle Mountain Monument is a 32-foot tall obelisk tower situated on the cemetery's highest point. The inscription on the monument reads "National Home, Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Battle Mountain Sanitarium, 1914" "In Memory of the Men Who Offered Their Lives in the Defense of Their Country." The Squire Monument is a granite block memorial erected in 1940 to honor Army Chaplain Guy P. Squire. He served in the Spanish American War and World War I, and later served as chaplain at the Hot Springs VA Medical Facility. The Veterans of Foreign Wars, District 10, erected the monument. The cemetery is currently closed to additional internments.[1]
Images of Battle Mountain Sanitarium[edit]
Main Image Gallery: Battle Mountain Sanitarium