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01/19/2016 Liebherr and Teufelberger develop a high-strength fibre rope for crane operation
- New development for tower cranes, mobile and crawler cranes, as well as maritime cranes from Liebherr
- Field tests are currently being conducted on different Liebherr cranes
- The discarding state of the fibre rope is easy and safely identifiable
Together with the Austrian rope manufacturer Teufelberger Holding AG, Liebherr is developing a new type of high-strength fibre rope for hoisting operations. This project is based on a systematic cooperative venture between Liebherr engineers from various divisions, including Liebherr-Components Biberach GmbH, as well as the three Liebherr manufacturing plants for tower cranes, mobile and crawler cranes and maritime cranes.
The practical requirements of cranes with increasingly higher hoisting heights and maximum load capacities require a realignment in the rope and crane design. The high-strength fibre rope developed after many years of collaborative work between Liebherr and Teufelberger is based on the vast experience of Liebherr in rope applications and winch technology for multi layer spooling and the in-depth know-how of Teufelberger in the development and manufacture of fibre and steel ropes.
The use of high-strength fibre ropes offers huge potential. In comparison to steel ropes, the newly developed rope is significantly lighter and is more durable. The load capacities of the cranes can be increased thanks to the reduced weight of the rope, which also allows to reduce the mass of the hook block significantly. In addition, the ropes no longer need to be lubricated.
Reduced weight of rope increases load capacities of cranes
The weight of the high-strength fibre rope is up to 80% less in comparison to a steel rope. This saving can be reallocated directly to the load being lifted. It is also possible to use lighter load hooks. The load capacities of the cranes are thus further increased.
Another advantage is the simplified assembly and disassembly of the crane thanks to the reduced weight of the rope. Fibre ropes can often be mounted on the crane by hand and without any reeving winches. Reeving around the hook block is also quicker and easier.
Long service life improves crane availability
The high-strength fibre rope developed by Liebherr and Teufelberger is extremely wear-resistant and permits a high number of bending cycles. It lasts much longer in comparison to the steel rope. The higher service life can reduce the number of rope changes.
The crane operator is able to easily and safely identify when the rope needs to be changed. Liebherr adopts a redundancy strategy here, in order to be able to easily recognise the discarding state for all rope constellations and applications through the entire service life. The discarding state is mainly identified when the coat of the rope is clearly worn and the wear indicates that the rope is ready to be discarded.
The fibre rope developed by Liebherr and Teufelberger can cut in the lower layers repeatedly without causing damage. The winding pattern of the new fibre rope is comparable to the winding of a steel rope. If the lower layers are preloaded less than the upper layers, the new fibre rope behaves however more tolerant than the steel rope. In the case of cutting in the lower layers, it frees itself, unlike steel ropes that usually interlock.
In order to achieve controlled wear of the fibre rope, Liebherr relied on the proven Lebus spooling system. A proper winding pattern at the rope drum minimises wear and increases the service life.
En route to practical application
Liebherr is currently testing the new high-strength fibre rope. Firstly, various crane applications are being simulated at the rope test bench in Biberach / Riss (Germany). Since September 2015 field tests have been carried out on various cranes of Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH, Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH and Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH.
The high-strength fibre rope will be launched on the market in two stages. Initially the steel ropes of tower cranes, mobile and crawler cranes, as well as maritime cranes, will be replaced with high-strength fibre ropes. In the second stage, with mobile cranes, for example, the weight saved at the hoist rope is used to reinforce the supporting structure. This permits a further increase in the load capacity.
At Bauma 2016 Liebherr will present the new development in a technology pavilion at its outdoor exhibition stand. The exhibit of the LR 1100 crawler crane will also be equipped with a high-strength fibre rope. Rope drums with fibre rope will also be showcased for the LTM 1750-9.1 mobile crane and the 172 EC-B 8 tower crane.


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McCarthy, Charles
McCarthy, Charles, 1873–1921, American political scientist and author, b. Brockton, Mass. He organized and directed (1901–21) at Madison, Wis., the first official legislative reference library in the country. Through published articles, lectures, and contact with legislators he became one of the chief minds behind the progressive legislation enacted in Wisconsin in the gubernatorial administration of Robert M. La Follette. He wrote The Wisconsin Idea (1912). McCarthy served (1914–15) as the first director of the U.S. Commission on Industrial Relations.
See biography by E. A. Fitzpatrick (1944).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies

subset: commoncrawl


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When I found this over at my friend Brandie's site, The Country Cook, I knew I HAD to try it. She has so many fantastic recipes, head over to her site sometime, you won't be disappointed.
Dale goes on and on and ON about his Grandma's Strawberry Pie. I've tasted it many times, and he is right, it is worth raving over!
I was hoping Brandie's pie would be close, so I gave it a go.
[Drum roll please]
Dale says this pie tastes JUST like Grandma's!!!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Brandie, that is a REAL compliment!) 🙂
Even if you are not a pie baker, you can handle this one, it's super simple. And, if you are ready to conquer your fear of Pie crusts, you can make my Easy Push Crust to go with it. It's super easy, and you CAN do it!
Easy Push Crust
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Chilled Butter-flavored Crisco
- ⅓ cups Cold Water
- 1 Tablespoon Milk, For Basting
Combine flour and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut the Crisco shortening into the flour. Sprinkle the mixture with the water. Form dough into a ball, then divide it in 2. Flatten each half to fit your pie pans and use your fingers to push the crust to cover the bottom and up the sides of both pans. Baste with a bit of milk before baking. You may prick this crust with a fork, but do not go all the way through, or the strawberry glaze will get under the crust and make it soggy.
If you need to do a par-baked crust, like for a Custard pie or Peach Crumble (things with runny liquids), I'd do 425F for 6 minutes, just to give yourself a nice, non-soggy crust. Otherwise, for recipes like this one, or pudding filled, bake at 425F for 15 minutes, cool and then follow your own pudding filled or fruit glaze pie recipe.
Makes 2 crusts.
Farmhouse Strawberry Pie
- 1 whole Pie Shell (Or 1 crust from the above recipe)
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- ¼ scant cup Strawberry Jello Powder
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 1 pint Fresh Strawberries, Hulled And Quartered Or Sliced
Bake Pie Crust per recipe directions, being careful not to prick clear through the crust. Cool.
Wash, hull and quarter or slice strawberries, per your preference.
In a saucepan over medium heat, blend water, sugar, cornstarch, strawberry jello powder and lemon juice. Whisk well until combined, stirring constantly so it doesn't clump. Keep this up until mixture begins to thicken nicely. {It feels like it takes a long time, but keep at it!} Remove from heat when nice and thickened.
Add your quartered strawberries to your now cool pie crust, and pour strawberry glaze over them. It should be thick, but still pourable at this point.
Chill pie until serving time. Serve with a dollop of extra creamy Cool Whip for a fresh and yummy treat!
Bring out your inner Betty Crocker, and try your hand at making this pie!


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Quality is our number one priority
Every property is checked before your arrival to ensure the best possible stay.
4-room apartment 52 m2 on 1st floor, west facing position. Living/dining room with satellite TV and air conditioning. Exit to the terrace. 2 rooms, each room with 1 french bed (160 cm, length 200 cm), air conditioning. 1 room with 1 french bed (160 cm, length 200 cm). Open kitchen (oven, 2 ceramic glass hob hotplates, freezer). Shower/WC, sep. WC. Air-conditioning (extra). Terrace 8 m2, roofed. Terrace furniture. Marvellous view of the sea. Facilities: Internet (WiFi, free). 1 pet/ dog allowed.
Apartment house "Cico". 6 km from the centre of Gdinj, in a quiet, sunny position, 10 m from the sea, 10 m from the beach. For shared use: property 200 m2 (fenced). Terrace (20 m2), garden furniture, barbecue. In the house: internet access, bicycle rental. Parking at the house on the premises. Shop 6 km, restaurant 40 m, rocky beach, concrete beach 10 m. Please note: private mooring, on request. Motor-boat rental possible (on request, extra).
Prior to your departure, you will receive the key collection information for your stay, along with your travel documents.
You can see the location of your accommodation here.
Croatia , Dalmatia, Central Dalmatia , Hvar, Hvar/Pokrivenik
Every property is checked before your arrival to ensure the best possible stay.
Key collection is arranged by our helpful staff. Available 24/7 or on-site service to help you with all your questions, e.g.: tips and insights for your holiday destination and your booked accommodation.
Be your own boss, eat whenever you want and make the most of plenty of space for all your friends and family.
It has never been easier to find your perfect holiday. Do you want to explore new travel destinations? There is no better way than doing it in a holiday home: Enjoy "la dolce vita" in Italy, feel the charming lifestyle of the French Riviera or the Spanish way of life. Be inspired by our travel ideas and book online - quick, easy, and secure with Interhome.
Your stay in a holiday house or a holiday apartment offers plenty of advantages: spend your time exactly as you want. No disturbance from other guests or hotel staff, just spend your holiday according to your own rules. Whether you are looking for a city trip, a relaxing holiday with your family or with friends. Simply enjoy lots of room, flexibility and freedom in your holiday home.
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text: Outline Past Annual Meetings2022 Annual Meetings About the 2022 Annual Meetings Arrival in Accra Commercial banks Health services Medical Network Staying in Accra The Republic of Ghana 2022 Annual Meetings Speakers 2021 Annual Meetings About 2021 Annual Meetings 2021 Annual Meetings News 2021 Annual Meetings Videos 2020 Annual Meetings2020 NewsCôte d'Ivoire - African Development Bank: a longstanding partnership About 2020 Annual MeetingsBefore travelling Foreign and diplomatic representations 2020 Videos 2020 Annual Meetings Photos2020 Annual Meetings : Opening Session 2020 Annual Meetings: Closing Session 2019 Annual Meetings 2018 Annual Meetings 2017 Annual MeetingsAbout Gandhinagar & Ahmedabad About the 2017 Annual Meetings Conference facilities Hotels for the 2017 Annual Meetings in Ahmedabad, India MultimediaPhotosPhotos - Monday 22 2017 Photos - Thursday 25 May 2017 Photos - Tuesday 23 May 2017 Photos - Wednesday 24 May 2017 Videos News ProgrammeAfrica India Cooperation - Session 1: Exploring Diversity: Promoting Trade and Investments Publications & Documents Speakers Speeches & Interviews Your Stay in Ahmedabad 2016 Annual MeetingsAbout 2016 Annual Meetings Publications & Documents Your StayThe Republic of ZambiaZambian missions Abroad Diplomatic missions in Zambia Travel to and from ZambiaVisa requirements Health travel advisory to Zambia Air Transport Customs Formalities Programme News Speeches & Interviews Speakers Photo gallery Video gallery 2015 Annual MeetingsAbout us Your StayThe Republic of Côte d'Ivoire Foreign Embassies in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire's Embassies Abroad Before arrival in Abidjan Your Stay in Abidjan ProgrammeAfrican Economic Outlook - 2015 Economic Growth in Africa: Leaving No One Behind International Dialogue on Peace Building & State Building – Steering Group Meeting (Closed Session) Publications & Documents News Speeches & Interviews Multimedia 2014 Annual MeetingsPhoto gallery ProgrammeAccountability and Transparency Africa's Cities of the Future Cashing in on the Demographic Dividend Enterprising Africa From Inherited to Created Wealth: Natural Resources Management Green Growth: The Future for Africa Harnessing the Investment Climate High Level Debate - "The Africa we Want" International Bond Markets Leadership for the Africa we Want New Business Models for Private Sector Resource Mobilization Reducing Perceived Riskiness of Investing in Africa's Infrastructure Tech.- 4 Development The Gender Dividend Where are the Jobs? Your StayBank Branch Offices Ground Transportation Health Services Hotel Accommodation in Kigali Spare Time in Kigali 2013 Annual MeetingsAbout us Your StayArrival in MoroccoHotel Accommodation in Marrakech Health Services Car Rental Services Bank Branch Offices Restaurants Shopping Centers Before Arrival in Marrakech MoroccoAbout Marrakech Countries Whose Nationals are Exempt from the Visa Requirement for Entry into Morocco Countries that have Signed Agreements with Morocco Abolishing Entry Visas for Holders of Official Passports International Organizations in Morocco Moroccan Embassies Abroad Public Bodies in Morocco Foreign Embassies in Morocco Documents ProgrammeAfrica Competitiveness Report (ACR) 2013 – Connecting Africa's Markets in a Sustainable Way Disclosure and Access to Information (DAI) Policy: Regional Dissemination and Awareness Workshop (North Africa) Africa Development Report 2012 African Economic Outlook Report 2013 - Structural Transformation and Natural Resources Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Africa – eTransform Africa Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Forum Plenary for the High Level Seminars Financial Presentation Africa's Illicit Financial Flows: What do they tell us? African Bankers Awards Illegal Trade in Wildlife: A Rising Threat to Development Opening Ceremony Closing Session NewsParticipants' Reactions Multimedia Speeches & Interviews 2012 Annual Meetings ‹ 2020 Annual Meetings: Closing Session up 2018 Annual Meetings ›


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Sunday, November 11, 2007
Meet Me at Third and Fairfax: The Farmers' Market Challenge
I've loved the old Third and Fairfax Farmers' Market since I first visited it as a teenage tourist in LA. When I moved to LA, ten years ago, I lived in Park La Brea, so I was within walking distance of the FM and spent ample time there in the last years of its pre-Grove existence. In fact, my oldest daughter's first trip outside the house after coming home from the hospital was for a lunch at the FM.
In a world of carbon copy food courts (do people still say "carbon copy" or does that just date me?), Cheesecake Factories and fast food, the FM is a breath of fresh air, Starbucks and Pinkberry notwithstanding. It has a vast array of eateries encompassing a number of genres and ethnicities in a casual, old fashioned market setting.
Over the years, I've sampled many of the wares at the FM and have many favorites, but there are some, both old and new, that I just have never gotten around to. I pledge, here and now, to cure that shortcoming. By the end of the year, I will dine at every food stand at the Market and review them here.
I'll start with my old stand-bys, move to my stand-away-froms and close up with the brand new tries. I will ignore the few chains and the mediocre food at the adjacent Grove shopping mall, as well as the newly adjacent restaurants, such as Marmalade Cafe, which are really more Groveish. This will be the old-school FM food stalls.
Next week, I'll begin with some of my favorites, the top tier of Farmers' Market dining.
Labels: Farmers Market
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Comcast Cable appears to have a community-powered online video service on tap, but can't quite decide how to roll it out. The site, dubbed Ziddio, got its domain name registration less than two weeks ago, and on Thursday, Comcast issued a press release to trumpet its existence to the world. But a visit to Ziddio.com earlier today yielded the following message:
"We will be up and running at 12PM (EST) on November 2nd. After that, you'll be able to upload your video and show Niecy Nash and Style why you have the messiest home in the country!"
Even that notice is now gone, replaced by a simple "Coming soon" sign. Somebody must have hit the emergency brakes, as the original press release is no longer available. The fragments of information left around the blogosphere talk about a mix between America's Funniest Home Videos and YouTube, where ordinary viewers can win prizes by submitting funny or poignant reality videos to the site. Winners would purportedly be featured on a matching Comcast On Demand channel.
Niecy Nash, for the uninitiated, is the host of Clean House on the Comcast-owned Style Network. Other than Style, contest sponsors are expected to include Lucasfilms, Cinemax, and HBO. Other Comcast properties like the Golf Channel, G4, and E! would also make realistic partners.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Comcast had been in talks with everyone from YouTube to Revver to set this service up, but the contract eventually landed with privately held Web design firm Genex. The service does sound intriguing—who doesn't like a chance to win money?—but we will have to withhold further comment until the site actually goes live. For now, you can peruse Comcast's FAQ about Ziddio and build up your own expectations.
Will we see a groundswell of user-submitted videos making their way onto mainstream television screens in the near future? Now that YouTube has proper corporate backing and a few big-name studio agreements, and Comcast is trying to start its own equivalent service with explicit TV tie-ins, similar moves from combinations like Fox/MySpace (both News Corp subsidiaries) or Disney/ABC/iTunes (with Steve Jobs as the common thread) shouldn't be far behind. Getting the viewer emotionally involved in your content is never a bad idea, and the technology has pretty much been figured out by now, it seems. Watch this space.


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Benefits of adoption far outweigh the costs
Most couples spend nine months preparing for a baby. Melanie and James Kochersperger spent nearly three years.
The Kocherspergers always wanted a family, one a little larger than the couple and their dog Maui. But after a year of trying it was obvious it wasn't going to happen, Melanie said. They decided to adopt.
Two adoption agencies, hundreds of pages of paperwork, a trip to Poland and $36,000 later, Melanie and James Kochersperger achieved their dreams of becoming parents.
"We would do it all over again if we had to," Melanie said, bouncing her son B.J. on her lap.
It's been just a little more than a month since the couple welcomed B.J. to their Galesburg home, but he's adjusting quickly. He's a little small for his age at 21 months and wears clothes for a 12-month-old. His tiny khaki cargo pants slide down as he crawls around.
B.J. was born into a Warsaw orphanage. While he seemed to be healthy and well-cared for, the couple said he was behind most American babies his age developmentally. There just wasn't the staff to make sure all 30 infants received individual attention. B.J., which stands for Bartholomew (Barlomiej in Polish) James, was the oldest of the children there.
"He acted just like a baby," James said of when they first met their him at the orphanage. But that's changing fast.
Melanie and James are working to introduce their son to plenty of new things. B.J. had never eaten solid food. The orphanage, designed for infants, didn't have time to teach one baby how to feed himself, so he drank formula. Now B.J. shovels forkfuls of banana into his mouth.
The thing that struck Melanie the most, though, was the lack of affection her son showed. He didn't respond to physical contact. When Melanie or James hugged him, he held his arms out in front of him or straight out to the sides. But that's all changed now.
"Now he hugs and blows kisses," Melanie said.
Overhearing his mom, B.J. puts his tiny hand to his mouth and smacks his lips, blowing a kiss. Melanie beams.
It was a long journey to build the family she has today. In late 2007, Melanie and James began working with an adoption agency. The couple loves to travel so international adoption seemed like a good fit for them. Plus, three other couples they're friends with had recently adopted children internationally. According to the U.S. Department of State, 17,438 children were adopted internationally by U.S. citizens last year.
Originally, the Kocherspergers wanted to adopt a child from Kazakhstan, one of the 10 most popular countries to adopt from. They turned in an application to Children's Hope International in September, but in January the couple discovered that Kazakhstan only gave blind referrals, meaning the adoptive parents didn't know anything about the child until the day they met. Often parents discovered the child had severe health problems. This was a problem for the Kocherspergers. CHI representatives recommended the couple adopt a child from Russia instead. But Russia's waiting list is at least two years long. After already waiting so long, the Kocherspergers said they couldn't imagine waiting another two years.
The Kocherspergers went back to researching and eventually settled on Poland. While neither Melanie nor James are Polish, they both have a European ancestry they wanted to share with their child. They also said their research showed that Polish children were typically healthy because, as Melanie said, "Poland takes good care of their orphans."
While Melanie and James said they had liked working with CHI, they decided to switch agencies to speed up the process. They settled on Charlotte-based St. Mary International Adoptions, an agency that works closely with Poland, Ukraine and Bulgaria.
The mountains of paperwork that followed was one of the most difficult parts of the process, the Kocherspergers said.
"It was like getting my master's degree all over again," Melanie said.
Everything about the Kocherspergers went into their files. Medical records, police reports, financial records.
"Your whole life is exposed," Melanie said.
For the next 10 months the couple completed document after document. Much of the paperwork had to be turned in to Immigrantion Services.
Their hard work and patience paid off May 22 when they got a phone call from the agency, asking if they'd like to receive information and a photo about a 17-month-old boy. The couple said they fell in love immediately. From then on they knew B.J. was their son.
In July, the couple boarded a plane and flew to Warsaw. They moved into a suburban apartment, where Melanie would stay for a little more than a month. (James had to return after three and a half weeks for work.) At first, they could only visit B.J. at the orphanage. Melanie said the new family clicked right away.
"It was almost as if he knew we were there for him," she said.
For almost the first half of their stay in Poland, the couple visited B.J. at the orphanage. Then on Aug. 17, they celebrated Gotcha Day, the day B.J. officially became a part of the Kocherspergers' family, and he moved into the apartment.
Those initial few days were full of firsts for the new family, and especially B.J.
"It was the first time he saw grass," James said.
The family toured Warsaw, exploring the city and the culture. All their videos and photos became a part of a blog the couple started at the beginning of the adoption process, http://jmkochersperger.blogspot.com. Not only is it a resource for other adopting couples, but it will be a keepsake for B.J. so he can learn more about Polish culture.
In mid-September, Melanie returned home, bringing her new son with her. B.J. learned how to crawl up and down the stairs and started walking short distances. Now he's learning some English. The couple isn't sure if he spoke Polish. Neither Melanie nor James speak the language and couldn't tell if their son's first sounds were Polish words or just baby talk.
Melanie said throughout the process the couple received nothing but support from both friends and strangers. A kindergarten teacher at Gale Elementary School, Melanie said students' parents she had never seen wished her luck.
As statistics show, attitudes toward adoption have changed, society becoming more accepting. Some adoption agency employees attribute that to the increase in reported infertility rates, as 80 percent of adoptions are by couples unable to have children.
Melanie agreed, noting that people are more open now about everything from discussing salaries and politics to posting their interests on Facebook. Discussing infertility and adoption are no different.
The supportive attitudes certainly made the trying experience easier, Melanie said. And despite the setbacks, paper work and money, she said she wouldn't change a thing.
"It was very rewarding," she said. "We feel lucky to have him."
Process not cheap
In total, the Kocherspergers spent $36,000 on their adoption, including travel. The cost of adoption ranges from $11,000 to $40,000, but the average cost is $15,000 to $30,000.
Becky Fawcett, co-founder and executive director of Help Us Adopt, an organization dedicated to funding adoptions, said the cost is so high because it covers a wide variety of services.
"The reason adoption is so expensive is because adoptive parents pay for both sides," she said.
Those sides include funding for both the adopted parents' expenses and the birth parents or orphanages.
To help with the cost, the Kocherspergers applied for about 14 grants. They researched and found plenty of agencies and nonprofits created to assist families financially in the adoption process.
With the help of their friends and family, the couple raised $5,895 through a $2,500 matching grant from, Lifesong for Orphans, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting orphans. They also received a $4,000 grant from a like-minded organization, Saohannah's Hope.
The Kocherspergers said they found a few organizations that said they would provide funds as they neared their travel date, but when the time came, the money wasn't there. Organizations have been suffering because of the poor economy. A large part of the grants they provide are funded by contributions, and fewer donations resulted in fewer grants.
The number of international adoptions declined in 2008, in part because of the economy, a survey by Adoptive Families Magazine showed. Of 1,000 families, more than one-third said they have found themselves reconsidering their adoption route. But slightly more than half said the economy hadn't affected their plans.
The Kocherspergers said those interested in adopting shouldn't let the cost stand in their way. While the couple is financially stable and their finances are in order (a crucial component of being approved as an adoptive parent) they said adoption wasn't something they could have afforded on their own.
Kellie Bramlet can be reached firstname.lastname@example.com.


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ComingNext Skin Fetcher
ComingNext Skin Fetcher is a tool to automatically create background images based on the currently used skin and wallpaper. The resulting images can then be used for WRT widgets to look like native widgets. What's New in This Release: · updated self-signed certificate to be valid again What's New in 1...Read more


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Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing it, between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time), by using the blue link-up button below.
Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse – Newfoundland
Note: I'm going to be tied up with work this week so I will be extra slow in responding to comments and getting around to everyone's posts.
If you are contributing to Thursday Doors this week please make sure to add your post to the link-up list so that it is easy for me and for others to find it. Just look for the blue froggie button at the bottom of this post.
Sitting on a rocky outcrop at the northern entrance to Bonne Bay on Newfoundland's west coast, Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse has been guiding ships into the bay since 1898.
The lightkeeper's house, a shed, and a few outbuildings are all part of this heritage status site within Gross Morne National Park.
Hiking trails and guided interpretive walks take visitors around the site, allowing them to discover not only the harsh coastal beauty found in this part of the world, but also the importance of lighthouses throughout history.
The lighthouse was manned continuously from its beginnings right up until automated equipment was installed in 1969.
Robert Lewis was appointed the first keeper of Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse for an annual salary of $504.
Lewis was succeeded in 1902 by William Young who held the position there until his son George took over in 1941. George was the final light keeper staying until it was automated in 1969.
With its many rocky outcrops and uneven shoreline it is easy to understand the need for a light to guide ships into the harbour by night.
The fact that there's a few well-preserved old buildings to discover is an added bonus.
As always, thanks for stopping by 🙂
Want to join in on the fun and share your own Thursday Doors post with other door lovers? Click on the blue button below to add the link to your Thursday Doors post to our link-up list.
Don't forget that if you share your blog posts on Twitter and Instagram, use the #ThursdayDoors hashtag to help others find you, and please do take a few minutes to visit some of the Thursday Door posts shared by others.


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Children and adults celebrate Earth Day at Fort Walton Landing
FORT WALTON BEACH — A group of children were entranced as Gail Meyer showed them different toys and decorations they could make from reused items.
They played with a Jacob's ladder made from ribbon and wood blocks, watched a brightly colored fish mobile made from old Christmas cards spin around and inspected a butter tub turned flower pot.
"The idea is that things that are old can become new again," said Meyer, manager of the Indian Temple Mound Museum in Fort Walton Beach.
Hands-on educational booths set up by numerous local organizations and businesses drew children and adults to Fort Walton Landing on Saturday for Fort Walton Beach's Earth Day Celebration.
See a photo gallery. >>
For Shelly Depiazza, the event was a fun way to spend an afternoon with her 3-year-old daughter Lilly and friend Chelsea Simpson. Depiazza got some ideas for sustainable projects at her home — a compost and a rain bucket — and Lilly got to pet a snake.
"I couldn't do it," Depiazza said, making a face.
At the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park booth, kids not only made paper fish googly eyed fish, but learned about being responsible caretakers of the ocean and its creatures. They learned about cleaning up after themselves at the beach and knocking over sandcastles or filling holes in the sand to help baby sea turtles journey from their nest to the water.
"They learn to leave nothing but their footprints," said Stacy DiDonato, education coordinator at the Gulfarium.
Visitors were able to learn about climate change at the booth manned by 350 Pensacola, an organization working to solve climate change. Volunteer Christian Wagley had information on climate change for parents and a Lego town for children to learn about green cities. The kids saw the good in having a city with plenty of sidewalks, parks and surrounding forests
"I think kids can handle more than we give them credit for sometimes," Wagley said.


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This month's slate of movies includes yet another Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a horror spoof starring Cedric the Entertainer (A Haunted House), an Arnold Schwarzenegger "comeback" with Johnny Knoxville (The Last Stand), and an oft-delayed fairy tale turned action flick (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters). Welcome to January! For decades, studios have used the first month of the year as a dumping ground, either to even out their equilibrium from the past few months of releasing intelligent Oscar bait or to serve lovers of shlock who have been dying of crap starvation through said Oscar season.
Still, 2013's shaky lineup will have a hard time reaching the lows of Januaries past. (Will Gangster Squad raise the median? We shall see.) In an effort to see just how poorly Hollywood has historically treated January, we looked back at the major film releases in the maiden month for the past 25 years and averaged their Rotten Tomatoes scores, then listed them in order from worst to best. Interesting to note that the eighties are represented both at the top and bottom of this list, but this could be more a result of the fact that far fewer movies used to be released then, so it took less to sway the average. But even if you don't care for the science, you'll enjoy this walk down crappy-movie memory lane!
Rotten Tomatoes average: 16 percent
Highest: Gleaming the Cube, 29 percent
Lowest: DeepStar Six, 0 percent
Other releases: The January Man, Physical Evidence, Three Fugitives
Rotten Tomatoes average: 19 percent
Highest: From Dusk Till Dawn, 64 percent
Lowest: Big Bully, 0 percent
Also: Bio-Dome, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, Dunston Checks In, Eye for an Eye, Lawnmower Man 2, Two If by Sea, Bed of Roses, Screamers
Rotten Tomatoes average: 22 percent
Highest: The Couch Trip, 43 percent
Lowest: Return of the Living Dead 2, 0 percent
Also: For Keeps
Rotten Tomatoes average: 23 percent
Highest: Final Destination 2, 47 percent
Lowest: Kangaroo Jack, 8 percent
Also: Just Married, A Guy Thing, National Security, Darkness Falls, Biker Boyz, The Recruit
Rotten Tomatoes average: 24 percent
Highest: Freedom Writers, 69 percent
Lowest: Epic Movie, 2 percent
Also: Code Name: The Cleaner, Happily N'Ever After, Alpha Dog, Primeval, Stomp the Yard, The Hitcher, Blood and Chocolate, Catch and Release, Smokin' Aces
Rotten Tomatoes average: 25 percent
Highest: Fantasia 2000, 82 percent*
Lowest: Down to You, 3 percent
Also: Next Friday, Supernova, Isn't She Great, Eye of the Beholder
Rotten Tomatoes average: 26 percent
Highest: Coach Carter, 65 percent
Lowest: Alone in the Dark, 1 percent
Also: White Noise, Electra, Racing Stripes, Are We There Yet?, Assault on Precinct 13, Hide and Seek
Rotten Tomatoes average: 27 percent
Highest: Varsity Blues, 40 percent
Lowest: Virus, 9 percent
Also: At First Sight, Gloria, She's All That, In Dreams
Rotten Tomatoes average: 27 percent
Highest: Fallen, 41 percent
Lowest: Firestorm, 12 percent
Also: Half Baked, Hard Rain, Star Kid, Phantoms, Spice World, Deep Rising, Desperate Measures, Great Expectations
Rotten Tomatoes average: 28 percent
Highest: Teacher's Pet, 75 percent
Lowest: My Baby's Daddy, 4 percent
Also: Chasing Liberty, Along Came Polly, Torque, The Butterfly Effect, Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!, The Big Bounce, The Perfect Score, You Got Served
Rotten Tomatoes average: 28 percent
Highest: Tie between Blink and Iron Will, 64 percent
Lowest: Tie between House Party 3 and Car 54, Where Are You?, 0 percent
Also: The Air Up There, Cabin Boy, Intersection, Blink
Rotten Tomatoes average: 29 percent
Highest: Cloverfield, 77 percent
Lowest: One Missed Call, 0 percent
Also: First Sunday, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, 27 Dresses, Mad Money, How She Move, Meet the Spartans, Rambo, Untraceable
Rotten Tomatoes average: 33 percent
Highest: Nanny McPhee, 73 percent
Lowest: BloodRayne, 4 percent
Also: Grandma's Boy, Hostel, Glory Road, Last Holiday, Tristan and Isolde, End of the Spear, Underworld: Evolution, Annapolis, Big Momma's House 2
Rotten Tomatoes average: 34 percent
Highest: Gridlock'd, 88 percent
Lowest: The Shadow Conspiracy, 0 percent
Also: Jackie Chan's First Strike, The Relic, Turbulence, Beverly Hills Ninja, Metro, Fierce Creatures, Zeus and Roxanne, Meet Wally Sparks
Rotten Tomatoes average: 34 percent
Highest: White Fang, 63 percent
Lowest: Eve of Destruction, 0 percent
Also: Lionheart, Not Without My Daughter, Flight of the Intruder
Rotten Tomatoes average: 35 percent
Highest: The Pledge, 78 percent
Lowest: Double Take, 12 percent
Also: Antitrust, Save the Last Dance, Sugar & Spice, The Wedding Planner
Rotten Tomatoes average: 35 percent
Highest: Matinee, 92 percent
Lowest: Body of Evidence, 6 percent
Also: Leprechaun, Alive, Nowhere to Run, Aspen Extreme, Hexed, Children of the Corn II, Sniper
Rotten Tomatoes average: 36 percent
Highest: Tie between Daybreakers and Youth in Revolt, 67 percent
Lowest: The Spy Next Door, 13 percent
Also: Leap Year, The Book of Eli, Extraordinary Measures, Legion, Tooth Fairy, Edge of Darkness, When in Rome
Rotten Tomatoes average: 36 percent
Highest: Taken, 58 percent
Lowest: Tie between Bride Wars and The Unborn, 11 percent
Also: Not Easily Broken, Hotel for Dogs, My Bloody Valentine 3-D, Notorious, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Inkheart, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, New in Town, The Uninvited
Rotten Tomatoes average: 37 percent
Highest: The Count of Monte Cristo, 73 percent
Lowest: Kung Pow! Enter the Fist, 11 percent
Also: Impostor, Orange County, Snow Dogs, The Mothman Prophecies, A Walk to Remember
Rotten Tomatoes average: 39 percent
Highest: Haywire, 80 percent
Lowest: One for the Money, 2 percent
Also: The Devil Inside, Joyful Noise, Contraband, Red Tails, Underworld Awakening, The Grey, Man on Ledge
Rotten Tomatoes average: 39 percent
Highest: The Way Back, 75 percent
Lowest: Season of the Witch, 10 percent
Also: The Dilemma, The Green Hornet, No Strings Attached, The Mechanic, The Rite
Rotten Tomatoes average: 41 percent
Highest: Far From Home, 57 percent
Lowest: Houseguest, 15 percent
Also: Demon Knight, Higher Learning, Murder in the First
Rotten Tomatoes average: 44 percent
Highest: Juice, 83 percent
Lowest: Freejack, 15 percent
Also: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Kuffs, Shining Through
Rotten Tomatoes average: 63 percent
Highest: Tie between Internal Affairs and Tremors, 88 percent
Lowest: Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, 14 percent
Rotten Tomatoes average: 79 percent
Highest: Radio Days, 95 percent
Lowest: Outrageous Fortune, 50 percent
Also: The Bedroom Window, The Stepfather
*This post initially stated that Fantasia 2000 had a Rotten Tomatoes score of 25 percent.


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We've seen pictures taken using Google's new glasses and, while some were ropey, others were fairly impressive. Now, Google has released the first video footage recorded using the device.
The clip lasts just 15 seconds, is shot in 720p, and is a first-person view from someone bouncing around on a trampoline. The quality's not absolutely amazing—though, hey, it's not bad—but then, we still have little idea what technology is crammed into the glasses. It is, however, pretty neat to see things from the exact point of view of someone else.
Google also released some more new pictures along with the video, which further demonstrate that the perspective they offer is pretty amazing. [Google via The 4Cast via The Verge]
Images by Google
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Early season weed control is vital to both future yields and profitability, because early weed flushes compete intensely with corn for both nitrogen (N) and water. Dense weeds can also shade soils and make them cooler so that corn grows more slowly.
So, when does early season weed control need to be done before it's too late to stop yield loss? According to weed research, conducted across the Midwest including South Dakota, given that you start with a clean field, the most competitive weeds in corn will be about 3-4 in. high when corn reaches the V3-V4 growth stage. If you don't remove those 3-4-in. weeds promptly, you'll be losing about 3 bu./acre for every day you delay. Minnesota studies over three years show corn lost between 12-13 bu./acre within the first week and 27-29 bu./acre within the second week if weeds were allowed to remain in the field after they reached 4 in. in height.
A big yield loss early in the season could mean the difference between making or losing money, Depending on soil moisture and fertility levels, waiting to control weeds until corn reaches the V3-V4 growth stage can push you over the economic threshold for profitability. At about 4-6-in.-tall corn and weeds, is when producers typically pass the breakeven mark and start losing money to lost yields from weed pressure after factoring in the cost of the herbicide application.
Especially in corn, profitable weed control is all about timing to ensure successful weed control. University Weed Scientists and Extension Specialists recommend the following five tips to help guide farmers towards more profitable corn weed management:
Start clean
A clean field at planting is essential for starting the corn crop off right. This can be achieved by using tillage, herbicides or some combination of the two.
SDSU Extension Weed Science Project recommends using a burn-down with residual chemistry that is targeted to the specific weed spectrum for each field. Use of a soil-residual herbicide will help to both start the crop off clean and to manage the field for any potential glyphosate-resistant weeds, such as waterhemp and giant ragweed, or to reduce the potential development of these and other herbicide-resistant weed biotypes.
Minimize risk
A total post-emergence program is the most risky weed-control system, because the timing of a post-emergence herbicide application is almost completely up to Mother Nature, and no one can control the weather. Instead, try using an integrated program with some soil-residual products. Also, farmers could consider a split application of an early pre-plant treatment followed either by a pre-emergence or a post-emergence treatment to provide more consistent weed control than a single, early pre-plant application.
A pre-emergence herbicide application will help keep late-emerging weeds small and uniform enough in height to boost odds for success when following up with a post-emergence treatment. Using a pre-emergence herbicide buys you more time to apply your post-emergence herbicide for optimal weed control," he says.
In addition, a pre-emergence herbicide can be an especially good investment with irrigation, which ensures moisture is available at the right time to activate the chemistry. When dealing with dry land cornfields using a residual pre-emergence program will still be beneficial in reducing potential problems with glyphosate-resistant weeds, even if a lack of rainfall delays activation past the ideal time for starting corn out in clean fields.
Timing is everything
The main management focus should be on controlling those early weeds. Research conducted in Minnesota, and Wisconsin, shows that at about the V3-V4 stage, if weeds aren't removed, fields will suffer an average 3 bu./acre/day yield loss up until the end of June. In fact, farmers should plan to have all their weed control completed by the Fourth of July.
Timing is important for both post- and pre-emergent applications. For pre-emergent herbicide applications, try to time them closer to when you plant, especially if you have a weed spectrum in the field that can emerge later in the season, such as waterhemp.
Weeds that re-infest after an initial herbicide application can also be very competitive. The SDSU recommends being vigilant to control these later weed flushes, if necessary, while they are also still small.
Avoid reduced rates
Many farmers run reduced herbicide rates of soil-residual herbicides to save costs. However, with reduced rates, you may be setting the product up to fail earlier, depending on weather conditions and weed pressure. Using a full, or a nearly full rate based on soil type often provides an extended period of weed control that you don't always have with reduced rates.
Especially in the post-emergence arena, good early season weed control has a lot to do with proper timing and not skimping on rates. Also, when you do post-emergence weed control, make sure you don't go too fast and check to make sure you're getting good spray coverage on weeds."
Scout and reassess
After each weed-control practice, producers need to scout fields and evaluate how well their treatment worked and whether or not a remedial treatment might be needed.
Source: iGrow
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I thought insomnia was my lot in life. I hadn't had a good night's sleep in — well, I honestly couldn't remember when. And neither, it seemed, had most of my friends. We made jokes about starting a book club that would meet in the dead of night. We looked forward to the day when sleepless women all over New York City, where I live, would pass the time of day — I mean, night — by lifting their windows and calling out to one another.
"What did you have for dinner?"
"Shrimp with linguine, and I added sautéed fresh mint, and it was delish!"
We were funny about our insomnia, but it was cramping our styles. By 9 at night, I craved sleep, but I have a teenager I like saying good night to, which meant I had to force my cranky self to stay up until 10 or later. I'd fall asleep reasonably quickly, but I'd wake up two or three times in the night and sometimes be up for an hour or two. Or I'd wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. and lie there, miserably watching the black night sky outside my bedroom window lighten to gray until it was time to drag myself out of bed and start the day.
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I've learned that there are two types of insomnia: difficulty falling asleep and wakefulness during the night. I suffered from the second type, and so did most of my friends, but some had both. We all assumed that our problem had something to do with menopausal hormone changes, and that there was nothing much to be done about it. The jury is still out on that question, but apparently women are twice as likely as men to complain about sleeping difficulties, and most begin having problems in their late 40s or early 50s.
A lot of my friends used sleeping pills — I have, too, off and on — but none of us liked them much. They were a great help for falling asleep, but then we'd all be wide-awake about four hours later. And we worried about becoming habituated to them.
Then I heard about an online course to combat sleeplessness. The Conquering Insomnia Program is a $25, five-week interactive course developed and overseen by Gregg Jacobs, Ph.D., a psychologist and insomnia expert at a University of Massachusetts sleep-disorders clinic in Worcester. I read on his Website (cbtforinsomnia.com) that Dr. Jacobs based his program on 20 years of research at Harvard Medical School, where he'd been a professor and worked at Massachusetts General Hospital's Mind Body Institute. His in-office therapy with patients, as well as the Internet version, relies on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a technique pioneered in the 1950s. The idea is that by applying self-help techniques to a problem (sleeplessness), you can get out of a rut, change a bad habit, or, in my case, hopefully find a "cure."
The statistics are impressive: Ninety percent of the several hundred patients who took part in one Harvard study reported improved sleep, and the same number reduced or eliminated their sleep medication.
Dr. Jacobs's Website also offered his observation that most chronic insomnia develops from occasional insomnia. We take that short-term insomnia and run with it, as it were. We adopt attitudes about not sleeping that make us not sleep, like worrying about it or fretting about how badly we'll function the next day if we don't get enough rest. We then start associating our beds with anxious nights spent thrashing about.
Likewise, we develop habits that we hope will make up for our sleep-deprived nights but which actually keep us from regular sound slumber: napping, sleeping in on weekends (which throws off our sleep clock), going to bed before we're really tired.
By changing various habits and attitudes, Dr. Jacobs's program promised, chronic insomnia sufferers like me could learn to snooze serenely.
I was impressed.
And I thought: This is not going to work for me.
I've got a terrible track record for changing my bad habits. I still pick at my cuticles after trying everything — including sitting on my hands — to stop, and I never turn down chocolate, even when I need to lose 10 pounds.
I also admit I was skeptical. I suspected that the program, despite Dr. Jacobs's Harvard bona fides, might be like those Make a Million Dollars by Buying Foreclosed Houses or Get Rock-Hard Abs in a Month programs advertised on middle-of-the-night television (as you might imagine, I've seen them all). Five weeks and $25 didn't seem like nearly enough time, or money, to qualify as a serious program.
But I decided to take the course. Maybe I'd learn a couple of tricks to reduce the time I spend feeling around with my legs for a cool place under the sheets from two hours to one. Maybe Dr. Jacobs had a fun version of counting sheep.
Maybe, just maybe, I would conquer my insomnia.
Next: The program begins.
Week 1: I Admit a Hard Truth
To start the program, I was asked to merely record my sleep habits by filling out a log, sent to me via e-mail. There were nine questions about every night's sleep. The second question, after "What time did you go to bed?" was: "What time did you turn the lights out to go to sleep?"
I was mortified to admit it, but most nights I didn't turn out the lights — I just fell asleep to the TV. I used Law & Order as my narcotic. That dong! seemed to work on me like a mug of warm milk. (I was usually out before the show ended, but no matter — my husband, who goes to bed later than I do, always TiVoed it for me, so I could finish watching it when I woke later in the night.)
Once upon a time, I wouldn't have considered going to bed without reading, and I actually turned off my lamp after a half hour or so, and then drifted off. But it now occurred to me that I probably had both types of insomnia; I'd just masked the first. The sorry fact was that I had poorer going-to-sleep habits than a toddler. I'd expected more of my two children when they were still in diapers.
I e-mailed Dr. Jacobs my first week's log. It revealed that I fell asleep within a half hour every night (dong!) but that I woke up every night as well, usually more than once and on several nights for an hour and a half to two hours.
Week 2: I Get with the Program
The second week's session suggested I make changes in my habits: I was to use my bed only for sleep (and sexual activity). The instructions told me to spend no more than 20 minutes to a half hour in bed before going to sleep and after waking up. I could read or watch TV, but only for that limited, "transitional" time, not as a prolonged activity. My brain needed to relearn to associate my bed with sleeping. Likewise, I was to cut out any other activities that I enjoyed doing in bed — like working or talking on the phone — since these activities turn our beds into what Dr. Jacobs calls "cues for wakefulness," rather than invitations to sleep.
And when I woke up in the night, I was to give myself only 20 to 30 minutes (an estimated 20 to 30 minutes, since I wasn't supposed to watch the clock) to fall asleep again. I could read in bed, but if I couldn't drop off within a half hour, I was to go into another room and do something relaxing until I felt drowsy.
To improve my sleep efficiency, I was to go to bed later and get up at the same time every day. Based on an analysis of my first week's sleep log, I was told my earliest lights-out should be 11 p.m. Since I was an early-ish riser anyway, I should get up consistently at 6:30 a.m., using an alarm clock if necessary.
I didn't like having to stay out of bed until at least 11 p.m. Sometimes I am so tired from living my life that I crawl in long before then — not to sleep, but just to sip a cup of tea and watch the news or a movie with my family. Years ago, I decided not to convert the dining space in our apartment into a family — that is, TV-room, and demoted the TV to our bedroom. The good news is that we have a lovely dining area; the bad news is that the master bedroom is now our family room, and the TV is the fifth member of our family. (In addition to my 14-year-old, I have a 24-year-old daughter who recently moved to her own apartment.)
And I wasn't crazy about being told I had to get up at 6:30, either. Even if I happened to be awake at 6:30 most days, I wanted it to be because that's the way it happened, not because I was following a rule.
But I did want to give the program a shot. So that second week, I made myself spend the evenings out of my bed. If I watched TV, I sat in an easy chair in the bedroom. If I wanted to phone a friend or sew on a button, I made myself do it in another room, or I sat in that same bedroom chair. And once in bed, I made myself turn out the light after a half hour of reading. It felt a little forced, but I did it.
To my total surprise, I found that I fell asleep fairly quickly. Any trepidation about lying there ruminating on my life and its problems just...didn't happen. It was as if my brain and body wanted the program to work in spite of all my misgivings.
I was less inclined to give up my dead-of-night TV habit. I guess I felt most vulnerable late at night, and I was probably rewarding myself for being such a good girl about going to sleep; whatever the reason, I continued watching TV whenever I woke up in the wee hours for most of that second week.
Next: Does it work?
Week 3: I Think Positively
The third week's session suggested I replace my fretfulness about my insomnia — which triggered stress and, in turn, more sleeplessness — with what Dr. Jacobs calls "accurate, positive thoughts about sleep" (supplied in the material e-mailed to me). For example, Dr. Jacobs's research has taught him that we need less sleep than we think — seven hours is fine for most adults — and most of us can function effectively, for days and even weeks, on less. For the third week and then into the fourth, I followed the other rules as best I could, even though I badly missed hanging out in my bed. When I woke up at night, I read — and mostly dozed off quickly. If I couldn't fall back asleep, I went into the kitchen, wrote a letter or read the paper, and then headed back to bed and promptly fell asleep.
Given the changes I was having to make, I did wish Dr. Jacobs had come up with more enthusiastic responses to the sleep logs I sent. One evaluation from his office told me, for example, that I had woken up at the same time most days that week and had therefore "met this goal," but since I had lain in bed more than a half hour after waking most mornings, I therefore "did not meet this goal." I'd hoped for more encouragement, along the lines of "Great going!" and "Keep at it!"
I woke up almost every night, but I was sleeping longer than I was accustomed to, or even felt necessary — eight to nine hours some nights. I was also dreaming more than I had in years, and my dreams were vivid and detailed. In one, Kevin Costner and I spent a beautiful afternoon skiing together. He schussed down the slopes deftly, which he probably does in real life, too. I also schussed gracefully, which in real life I do not.
And I broke the pill habit. My first week, I'd taken sleeping pills twice when I'd woken in the night. I assumed we weren't supposed to use sleeping pills at all, so I didn't take any the second week. I was wrong: The third week's session included instructions on tapering off sleep medications (and it's important for regular users to follow them). In any case, with the exception of one additional night, I did not use sleeping pills for the rest of the program. And I didn't miss them.
Week 4: I Graduate
By the fourth week, to my delight, I felt I'd successfully completed the program. I wasn't perfectly consistent with my going-to-sleep and getting-up times and I still woke up most nights, but I didn't mind — my wakings were far fewer and less lengthy. (And they would get briefer and briefer; I now can fall back asleep within five minutes.) I dropped off without TV — and with lights out! — and woke up feeling refreshed. I felt so good, I only skimmed the instructions for the fourth and fifth weeks. These described relaxation techniques to lessen stress and promote a good night's sleep. I've saved them because I can always use tips on relieving stress, but I don't seem to need them for sleep at the moment.
I called Dr. Jacobs when I finished the program. The doctor sounded serious but passionate about what he does. "One of the reasons I got into this area was because of a period of insomnia I had back in the eighties. I was able to use CBT techniques, which solved my problem in a couple of weeks," he told me.
I told him that I felt the program had "cured" me by the end of the third week. "That happens with most people," he said. By then, most participants have reduced their insomnia to once a week and have added an hour per night of sleep. The fact that I sometimes slept more than I felt necessary was probably my body's effort to catch up after a long period of crummy rest, he explained.
The notion that we need eight hours of sleep a night is "a myth that has been promoted by some sleep researchers," Dr. Jacobs says. People prone to insomnia in particular may need less than eight hours — he told me we're called "short sleepers."
Why would researchers want to peddle an eight-hour agenda? "The pharmaceutical industry provides a lot of the funding for insomnia research," Dr. Jacobs says. If the industry can make us think we must get eight hours of sleep, he argues, it can sell more sleeping pills.
I thanked Dr. Jacobs for his help and told him I would spread the word about the eight-hour myth based on my own example. Seven hours seemed to do me just fine. "I couldn't sleep eight hours if I tried," he said cheerfully. Six hours can be enough for him, and if it isn't, "a 20-minute nap will carry me through the day."
I don't see the 20-minute nap in my future — in my opinion, any self-respecting nap should last an hour, and I had to give up long naps as part of the program. On the other hand, I'm a happy sleeper for the first time since I can remember. And I have Dr. Jacobs to thank for it.


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I must admit, this caught my attention. Seems to work quickly?
FileURLS is a nifty online tool that quickly lets you share a file – no need to set up an account. It lets you set an expiry day up to 9 days.
You may email the url created, or place it in your blog or wiki.
Here's a Factsheet on dietary sources of Omega 3 that I used to this tool – it quickly generated this URL – http://fileurls.com/carado
This is too simple to be true! How did you go downloading the file?


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Playing this video requires the latest flash player from Adobe.
Download link (right click and 'save-as') for playing in VLC or other compatible player.
In this talk, I will discuss about the notion of quantum renormalization group, and explain how (D+1)-dimensional gravitational theories naturally emerge as dual descriptions for D-dimensional quantum field theories. It will be argued that the dynamical gravitational field in the bulk encodes the entanglement between low energy modes and high energy modes of the corresponding quantum field theory.


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Alex Solano is the Director of Creative Development at Joe Agency. There she works on a slate of scripted and unscripted projects for Peacock, Netflix, and various digital and linear television platforms.
She is the Co-Creator and Co-Executive Producer of the Peacock Original Series "TRUE COLORS." Alex brings industry relationships with representatives, talent, and filmmakers to her role while developing original concepts for Features in US Hispanic, Sports, Human Interest, Travel, and Food spaces based around talent roster and current events.
Previously, Alex worked on projects with companies including NBC, Paramount, Warner Bros., Legendary Entertainment, and Corkscrew Media. The principal executive at her current company has also worked on projects with Fox, Sundance, Brad Lachman Productions, and more.
Alex's extensive experience in content creation, and her unique cultural background, bring a perspective to story that go beyond what's on the page. Her work has been instrumental in guiding projects through their scripted stage to attract talent and lock financing.
Alex looks for all Genres of Features and Television - especially Drama, Comedy, and stories centered on People of Color.
Please note: The industry executives who work with Stage 32 do not accept unsolicited submissions. Contacting this executive with an unsolicited submission outside of Stage 32 is a violation of our user policy and could result in suspension from the site.
Tips on pitching to Alex Solano
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(If you're reading this and you're on a ZHC and would be willing to contribute your story toward a project I'm planning on the impact of ZHCs, please let me know via the comments section of this post!)
I wrote last night about the information I've started to find out about 'zero-hours contracts' in the NHS. The issue of zero-hours contracts generally has started to receive some media coverage recently, but the scale of the problem in the UK is very hard to quantify, because commercial companies are not generally subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and do not have to declare the numbers they employ on these contracts.
Because the NHS is subject to the FOI Act, the scale and extent of the use of these contracts in the NHS is a useful barometer of the wider problem of these contracts in the UK. My article last night covered only one FOI response I've received so far from the initial 6 (now 7) FOI requests I sent to different NHS Trusts. That one Trust responded exceptionally quickly – the others still have almost a month to provide their own responses. The Trust in question, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Trusts, employs a staggering 1,281 people on these onerous contracts.
Last night's article has been widely read. From some of the ensuing comments and discussions on Twitter, it's clear that there's some confusion in people's minds between a zero-hours contract and a casual contract. This is not surprising – both types of contract have no guaranteed hours, so no security of income for those working under them; under both you can take holidays and sick leave, but you won't get paid for them.
However, the two contracts are not the same. There are very crucial differences. Below is the description of a zero-hours contract from a site that specialises in these and other types of legal contract and document:
"This Zero Hours Contract is designed to create an 'on call' arrangement between Employer and Employee. Zero hours contracts are used to cope with varying staff requirements, where the Employer is under no obligation to offer an Employee work but, when it does, the Employee is required to accept the offer."
(emphases mine)
A different page on the same site clarifies the difference between casual contracts and ZHCs:
"The basic difference between these two contracts of employment are that a Casual Worker Contract does not oblige the workers to accept the work offered to them, but a Zero Hours Contract will oblige workers to accept the assignment(s) offered to them"
This is a massive difference. If you work under a casual contract and your employer offers you work that isn't convenient, you're perfectly free to say 'No thanks'. This means you can use a casual contract as a 2nd job to top up your income from another job, whether full- or part-time. If offered work under the casual contract that clashes with your main work, you simply decline it.
Under a ZHC you have no such freedom. As the first quote states, the ZHC creates a continuous 'on-call arrangement'. If offered work, you have to take it. This means it's almost impossible to take even a part-time job while you're under a ZHC, because you're required to be available to do any hours the employer wants at very short notice. Unless you're extremely lucky and find completely casual hours to top up your income, from an employer who won't mind if you have to turn down work or even suddenly leave work if your ZHC employer wants you, you're completely at the mercy of the whims, wishes and needs of your ZHC employer. He gets you when he wants you – and if he doesn't, you don't earn. This makes you a kind of 'bonded casual' worker in a completely one-sided arrangement. You get all of the disadvantages of being self-employed, but none of the benefits such as being able to claim for travel and expenses.
The second key difference is that, because the zero-hours contract is a full-time arrangement (but to be on call, rather than working), ZHC workers will not be eligible for unemployment benefit even if they go a whole week or month with no work. In the last few months of ONS employment statistics, I've seen increases in the number of people on benefits even while the headline number of unemployed people has fallen. In part, this will be caused by people being forced to take low-wage jobs, who still need to claim some form of income support. However, it's almost certain that this phenomenon is also directly related to increases in the numbers of people on ZHCs – who will have to claim income support whenever their hours don't yield enough income to live on. But it's a very complicated situation for anyone in it – trying to claim income-related benefit when in some weeks your income may be too high and in others low enough to qualify must be a bureaucratic nightmare!
So ZHCs are a blight on our society in a number of ways. Most importantly, they deprive workers of the security and dignity of a steady, reliable income while offering none of the upsides of casual or self-employment. Less but still very important, they represent an additional way in which taxpayers are subsidising the profits of business. Employers get all the benefits of an available, flexible workforce but get to avoid all the costs apart from the direct cost of hours worked – while the taxpayer has to make up the shortfall when hours worked are not enough to support workers and their families.
Zero-hours contracts are not a new phenomenon. But it seems clear that they are an increasing one. And they represent yet another way in which the government and its backers get to strip security away from working people so that they can be forced into accepting all kinds of onerous measures – while funds are funnelled ever faster from the public purse into private profits.
I call on every journalist, newspaper and news station to highlight this blight on our social structure – and on every politician to make eradicating these malignant contracts from the UK's workplaces a priority issue.
And if you're not a journalist, editor or politician, you can still take part and help to get rid of zero-hours contracts. Find your MP on http://www.theyworkforyou.com/ and write to her/him to tell them that you expect them to make this matter a priority until it's resolved.
If enough of us bother, we can effect a change for the better.


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Deleted Questions
20 controversial programming opinions
One of the very first ideas we had for this blog was to convert some of the wonderful gems of the early era of our site, the undisciplined period, to blog posts. Questions that were once enthusiastically received by the community, but no longer fit Programmer's scope.
The first deleted question I've chosen is Jon Skeet's "What's your most controversial programming opinion?" question (available only to 10K+ users, sorry), a +391 scored question that was originally asked on Stack Overflow on January 2, 2009. What follows are twenty of the highest voted answers, in random order…
Programmers who don't code in their spare time for fun will never become as good as those that do.I think even the smartest and most talented people will never become truly good programmers unless they treat it as more than a job. Meaning that they do little projects on the side, or just mess with lots of different languages and ideas in their spare time.
by rustyshelf
Unit testing won't help you write good code.The only reason to have Unit tests is to make sure that code that already works doesn't break. Writing tests first, or writing code to the tests is ridiculous. If you write to the tests before the code, you won't even know what the edge cases are. You could have code that passes the tests but still fails in unforeseen circumstances. And furthermore, good developers will keep cohesion low, which will make the addition of new code unlikely to cause problems with existing stuff.
by Chad Okere
The only "best practice" you should be using all the time is "Use Your Brain".Too many people jumping on too many bandwagons and trying to force methods, patterns, frameworks, etc. onto things that don't warrant them. Just because something is new, or because someone respected has an opinion, doesn't mean it fits all.
by Steven Robbins
Most comments in code are in fact a pernicious form of code duplication.We spend most of our time maintaining code written by others (or ourselves) and poor, incorrect, outdated, misleading comments must be near the top of the list of most annoying artifacts in code. I think eventually many people just blank them out, especially those flowerbox monstrosities. Much better to concentrate on making the code readable, refactoring as necessary, and minimising idioms and quirkiness. On the other hand, many courses teach that comments are very nearly more important than the code itself, leading to the this next line adds one to invoiceTotal style of commenting.
by Ed Guiness
"Googling it" is okay!Yes, I know it offends some people out there that their years of intense memorization and/or glorious stacks of programming books are starting to fall by the wayside to a resource that anyone can access within seconds, but you shouldn't hold that against people that use it. Too often I hear googling answers to problems the result of criticism, and it really is without sense. First of all, it must be conceded that everyone needs materials to reference. You don't know everything and you will need to look things up. Conceding that, does it really matter where you got the information? Does it matter if you looked it up in a book, looked it up on Google, or heard it from a talking frog that you hallucinated? No. A right answer is a right answer. What is important is that you understand the material, use it as the means to an end of a successful programming solution, and the client/your employer is happy with the results.
by PhoenixRedeemer
Not all programmers are created equal.Quite often managers think that DeveloperA == DeveloperB simply because they have same level of experience and so on. In actual fact, the performance of one developer can be 10x or even 100x that of another. It's politically risky to talk about it, but sometimes I feel like pointing out that, even though several team members may appear to be of equal skill, it's not always the case. I have even seen cases where lead developers were 'beyond hope' and junior devs did all the actual work – I made sure they got the credit, though.
by Dmitri Nesteruk
I fail to understand why people think that Java is absolutely the best "first" programming language to be taught in universities.For one, I believe that first programming language should be such that it highlights the need to learn control flow and variables, not objects and syntax. For another, I believe that people who have not had experience in debugging memory leaks in C / C++ cannot fully appreciate what Java brings to the table. Also the natural progression should be from "how can I do this" to "how can I find the library which does that" and not the other way round.
by Learning
If you only know one language, no matter how well you know it, you're not a great programmer.There seems to be an attitude that says once you're really good at C# or Java or whatever other language you started out learning then that's all you need. I don't believe it- every language I have ever learned has taught me something new about programming that I have been able to bring back into my work with all the others. I think that anyone who restricts themselves to one language will never be as good as they could be. It also indicates to me a certain lack of inquistiveness and willingness to experiment that doesn't necessarily tally with the qualities I would expect to find in a really good programmer.
by glenatron
It's OK to write garbage code once in a while.Sometimes a quick and dirty piece of garbage code is all that is needed to fulfill a particular task. Patterns, ORMs, SRP, whatever… Throw up a console or web application, write some inline SQL (feels good), and blast out the requirement.
by jfar
Print statements are a valid way to debug code.I believe it is perfectly fine to debug your code by littering it with System.out.println (or whatever print statement works for your language). Often, this can be quicker than debugging, and you can compare printed outputs against other runs of the app. Just make sure to remove the print statements when you go to production (or better, turn them into logging statements).
by David
Your job is to put yourself out of work.When you're writing software for your employer, any software that you create is to be written in such a way that it can be picked up by any developer and understood with a minimal amount of effort. It is well designed, clearly and consistently written, formatted cleanly, documented where it needs to be, builds daily as expected, checked into the repository, and appropriately versioned. If you get hit by a bus, laid off, fired, or walk off the job, your employer should be able to replace you on a moment's notice, and the next guy could step into your role, pick up your code and be up and running within a week tops. If he or she can't do that, then you've failed miserably. Interestingly, I've found that having that goal has made me more valuable to my employers. The more I strive to be disposable, the more valuable I become to them.
by Mike Hofer
Getters and Setters are highly overused.I've seen millions of people claiming that public fields are evil, so they make them private and provide getters and setters for all of them. I believe this is almost identical to making the fields public, maybe a bit different if you're using threads (but generally is not the case) or if your accessors have business/presentation logic (something 'strange' at least). I'm not in favor of public fields, but against making a getter/setter (or Property) for everyone of them, and then claiming that doing that is encapsulation or information hiding… ha!
by Pablo Fernandez
SQL is code. Treat it as such.That is, just like your C#, Java, or other favorite object/procedure language, develop a formatting style that is readable and maintainable. I hate when I see sloppy free-formatted SQL code. If you scream when you see both styles of curly braces on a page, why or why don't you scream when you see free formatted SQL or SQL that obscures or obfuscates the JOIN condition?
by MustStayAnonymous
UML diagrams are highly overrated.Of course there are useful diagrams e.g. class diagram for the Composite Pattern, but many UML diagrams have absolutely no value.
by Ludwig Wensauer
Readability is the most important aspect of your code.Even more so than correctness. If it's readable, it's easy to fix. It's also easy to optimize, easy to change, easy to understand. And hopefully other developers can learn something from it too.
XML is highly overrated.I think too many jump onto the XML bandwagon before using their brains… XML for web stuff is great, as it's designed for it. Otherwise I think some problem definition and design thoughts should preempt any decision to use it.
by Over Rated
Software development is just a job.I enjoy software development a lot. I've written a blog for the last few years on the subject. I've spent enough time on here to have >5000 reputation points. And I work in a start-up doing typically 60 hour weeks for much less money than I could get as a contractor because the team is fantastic and the work is interesting. But in the grand scheme of things, it is just a job. It ranks in importance below many things such as family, my girlfriend, friends, happiness etc., and below other things I'd rather be doing if I had an unlimited supply of cash such as riding motorbikes, sailing yachts, or snowboarding. I think sometimes a lot of developers forget that developing is just something that allows us to have the more important things in life (and to have them by doing something we enjoy) rather than being the end goal in itself.
by Greg Beech
If you're a developer, you should be able to write code.I did quite a bit of interviewing last year, and for my part of the interview I was supposed to test the way people thought, and how they implemented simple-to-moderate algorithms on a white board. I'd initially started out with questions like:
Given that Pi can be estimated using the function 4 * (1 – 1/3 + 1/5 – 1/7 + …) with more terms giving greater accuracy, write a function that calculates Pi to an accuracy of 5 decimal places.It's a problem that should make you think, but shouldn't be out of reach to a seasoned developer (it can be answered in about 10 lines of C#). However, many of our (supposedly pre-screened by the agency) candidates couldn't even begin to answer it, or even explain how they might go about answering it. So after a while I started asking simpler questions like:
Given the area of a circle is given by Pi times the radius squared, write a function to calculate the area of a circle.Amazingly, more than half the candidates couldn't write this function in any language (I can read most popular languages so I let them use any language of their choice, including pseudo-code). We had "C# developers" who could not write this function in C#. I was surprised by this. I had always thought that developers should be able to write code. It seems that, nowadays, this is a controversial opinion. Certainly it is amongst interview candidates!
by Greg Beech
Design patterns are hurting good design more than they're helping it.Software design, especially good software design is far too varied to be meaningfully captured in patterns, especially in the small number of patterns people can actually remember – and they're far too abstract for people to really remember more than a handful. So they're not helping much. And on the other hand, far too many people become enamoured with the concept and try to apply patterns everywhere – usually, in the resulting code you can't find the actual design between all the (completely meaningless) Singletons and Abstract Factories.
by Michael Borgwardt
Less code is better than more!If the users say "that's it?", and your work remains invisible, it's done right. Glory can be found elsewhere.
by Jas Panesar
What do you think? And more importantly, what's your most controversial programming opinion?
A few more controversial programming opinions:
- Hopefully More Controversial Programming Opinions, by James Hague,
- 12 (Really) Controversial Programming Opinions, by Bill the Lizard.