title: Ghettopoly

abstract: Ghettopoly is a parody of the board game Monopoly invented by David Chang, a Taiwanese American, and released in 2003. The game uses Monopoly-like mechanics but is themed around a caricature of a black ghetto in the United States.

text:
# Ghettopoly

***Ghettopoly*** is a parody of the board game *Monopoly* invented by David Chang, a Taiwanese American, and released in 2003. The game uses *Monopoly*-like mechanics but is themed around a caricature of a black ghetto in the United States.

## Gameplay and differences from *Monopoly*

In *Ghettopoly*, the four railroad properties from the standard version of *Monopoly* are replaced by liquor stores. Other properties include a massage parlor, a peep show and a pawn shop. The *Community Chest* and *Chance* squares become *Ghetto Stash* and *Hustle* squares, while taxation squares are replaced by police-shakedown and carjacking squares.

Instead of building houses and hotels, property owners in *Ghettopoly* build crack houses and projects. The seven game pieces include: a pimp, a hoe, a 40 oz, a machine gun, a marijuana leaf, a crack rock, and a basketball.

## Official description

> Buying stolen properties, pimpin’ ho’s, building crack houses and projects, paying protection fees, and getting car jacked are some of the elements of the game. Not dope enough?...If you don't have the money that you owe to the loan shark you might just land yourself in da Emergency Room.

### Contents

* Game Board
* Loan Shark Tray
* 40 Crack Houses
* 17 Projects
* Pink Slip Cards
* Ghetto Stash and Hustle Cards
* 7 game pieces (Pimp, Hoe, 40 oz, Machine Gun, Marijuana Leaf, Basketball and Crack Rock)
* Counterfeit Money
* 2 Dice

## Racism and trademark issues

The game was criticized as offensively racist by a local chapter of the NAACP and by black clergy, as well as by Asian American groups, including the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium and Organization of Chinese Americans.

The game was pulled from the market by Urban Outfitters, just one of its many retailers. Chang continued to market the game without their support. According to Chang's website, which still sells the game, it is also available on Amazon. Another *Monopoly* variant, *Redneckopoly*, is also available at ghettopoly.com. Further such games were planned, including *Hoodopoly*, *Hiphopopoly*, and *Thugopoly*.

In October 2003, Hasbro sued Chang over the game's similarities to *Monopoly*. In January 2006, Chang was found in contempt of court for failure to produce documents. The court thus entered a "default judgment" for Hasbro's continued use of "Monopoly" as a trademark, and dismissed Chang's counterclaims, which were to revoke trademark status on *Monopoly*. In May 2006, the court estimated that Chang generated US$8,790,000 in profits from the sale of *Ghettopoly*, and that damages of $400,000 were reasonable as reflected in the court documents.

## InfoBox

Ghettopoly
| Designers | David Chang |
| --- | --- |
| Players | 2–7 |
| Setup time | 5–15 minutes |
| Playing time | about 3 hours |
| Chance | Medium |
| Skills | Simple mathematics (such as counting, finding percentages and multiplication);
social skills;
negotiation |


title: Tyrell Shavers

abstract: Tyrell Shavers is an American professional football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, Mississippi State, and San Diego State.

text:
# Tyrell Shavers

**Tyrell Shavers** (born August 18, 1999) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, Mississippi State, and San Diego State.

## Early life

Shavers grew up in Lewisville, Texas and attended Lewisville High School. In his senior year of high school Shavers caught 37 passes for 702 yards, and eight touchdowns. Shavers also rushed for 43 yards. Shavers would decide to commit to play college football at the University of Alabama over other schools such as LSU, and Texas A&M

## College career

### Alabama

In his career at Alabama, Shavers played in 28 games after he redshirted his freshman season. In that span Shavers only caught one pass for 20 yards and had one rushing attempt for 14 yards both coming in the 2019 season. Shavers' best play for Alabama would be on special teams in 2019 when teammate Ale Kaho blocked a punt, which Shavers recovered and returned for a touchdown against Texas A&M. After three seasons with the Crimson Tide, Shavers would decide to enter the transfer portal.

### Mississippi State

Shavers would ultimately decide to transfer to Mississippi State. Shavers' first career offensive touchdown would come against #6 LSU, on a 31-yard pass from quarterback KJ Costello. The touchdown would be the first of Mississippi State's season and the first under new head coach Mike Leach. However midway through the season Shavers would decide to enter the transfer portal again. In Shavers' first and only season with Mississippi State he would bring in nine passes, for 104 yards, and one touchdown.

### San Diego State

Shavers would decide to transfer to play for the San Diego State Aztecs. In Shavers' first year with the Aztecs he put up 18 receptions for 213 yards, and two touchdowns. In the 2022 season Shavers blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown against Boise State to put the Aztecs up 13–0. Shavers would finish the 2022 season with his best collegiate season after hauling in 38 passes for 643 yards, and three touchdowns. For his performance on the year he would be named second team All Mountain West. Shavers ended his career as a special teams ace for the Aztecs after finishing in a tie for first with most blocked punts in Aztec history with three.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 6 ft 4+38 in
(1.94 m) | 211 lb
(96 kg) | 32+38 in
(0.82 m) | 9+34 in
(0.25 m) | 4.59 s | 1.63 s | 2.65 s | 4.30 s | 7.20 s | 33.5 in
(0.85 m) | 9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m) | 3 reps |
| All values from Pro Day | | | | | | | | | | | | |

After not being selected in the 2023 NFL draft, Shavers would sign with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. He was waived on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 22, 2024.

Shavers was released by the Bills as part of final roster cuts on August 27, 2024, before being added back to the practice squad for the second year in a row.

Shavers was called up from the practice squad for the Bills' Week 5 game against the Houston Texans. Shavers made his professional debut in that game, with 16 snaps on offense, but finished without a target in the Bills' 23–20 loss.

## InfoBox

Tyrell Shavers
| No. 80 – Buffalo Bills | |
| --- | --- |
| Position: | Wide receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1999-08-18) August 18, 1999
Lewisville, Texas, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 211 lb (96 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Lewisville (TX) |
| College: | Alabama (2017–2019)
Mississippi State (2020)
San Diego State (2021–2022) |
| Undrafted: | 2023 |
| Career history | |
|  | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
|  | |
| Roster status: | Practice squad |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|  | |
|  | |
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2024 | |
| Games played: 1 | |
|  | |
| Player stats at **PFR** | |
|  | |


title: Ghulam Dastagir Panjsheri

abstract: Ghulam Dastagir Panjsheri was an Afghan communist politician and public servant. Panjsheri was usually identified as a Khalq by fellow Afghan politicians, while outside observers said he was creating his own PDPA group under the name Gruhi Kar.

text:
# Ghulam Dastagir Panjsheri

**Ghulam Dastagir Panjsheri** (1933 – 26 December 2022) was an Afghan communist politician and public servant. Panjsheri was usually identified as a Khalq by fellow Afghan politicians, while outside observers said he was creating his own PDPA group under the name Gruhi Kar.

## Early career

Panjsheri studied at Kabul Teachers College and was the faculty of letters at the Kabul University. After working in a journal under the name, *Anis* and teaching literature at the Kabul Teachers College he started working for the Ministry of Information and Culture. In 1965, he became a member of the Central Committee of the PDPA at their first congress meeting on January 1, 1965. When Babrak Karmal left the PDPA because of the power struggle between the Khalq and the Parchams, Panjsheri left the party with Karmal and the rest of his supporters, he eventually returned to his original position in the PDPA and became a member of the Khalqi faction again. Later on, he tried to establish his own splinter communist party, which turned out to be unsuccessful. Between 1969 and 1972 he was imprisoned for political activities.

It is unknown what position he held or what he did under the rule of Mohammad Daoud Khan's Daoud's Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978).

## Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

After the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) sized power after the Saur Revolution (1978), he was Minister of Education and later Minister of Public Works under Nur Mohammad Taraki. He held the job as Minister of Public Works until Hafizullah Amin rose to power in 1979 after his assassination of Taraki. Under the rule of Babrak Karmal he was promoted to the Central Committee's Politburo. While seen by many as a Khalqi, he was given the position of Chairman of the Party Control Commission.

According to rumours at that time Panjsheri was establishing his own political group within the PDPA with help from the Soviet government in Moscow. The name of his political group was Kar.

He died on 26 December 2022, at the age of 89.

## InfoBox

| Ghulam Dastagir Panjsheri | |
| --- | --- |
| غلام دستگير پنجشېری | |
|  | |
|  | |
| Minister of Education | |
| **In office**
30 April 1978  1978 | |
| Prime Minister | Nur Mohammad Taraki |
| Preceded by | Ibrahim Majid Siraj |
| Minister of Public Works | |
| **In office**
August 1978  August 1979 | |
| President | Nur Mohammad Taraki
Hafizullah Amin |
|  | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1933
Panjshir, Afghanistan |
| Died | 26 December 2022 (aged 89)
Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Political party | PDPA-Khalq |
|  | |


title: Vokesimurex samui

abstract: Vokesimurex samui is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.

text:
# Vokesimurex samui

***Vokesimurex samui*** is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.

## Description

**Original description:** "Shell large, inflated, with bulbous body whorl; 3 varices per whorl; body whorl and varices ornamented with 20 raised, spiral cords; cords on varices become rib-like, often ending in small, scale-like spine; varix with 3 large spines, 1 at shoulder, 1 at mid-body, and 1 at base; short, stubby secondary spines between 3 large spines on some varices; shoulders of spire varices with 1 large projecting spine; siphonal canal with 1 large spine near top, several smaller scale-like spines below; end of siphonal canal smooth; columellar region with large, erect parietal shield that does not adhere to body of shell; aperture very large and flaring, round in shape; shell color uniformly pure white (holotype with some patches of rust stains); intervarical regions with 3 weak, knobbed axial ribs."

## Distribution

**Locus typicus:** "Off Monkey River, Belize."

## InfoBox

| *Vokesimurex samui* | |
| --- | --- |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Family: | Muricidae |
| Genus: | *Vokesimurex* |
| Species: | ***V. samui*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Vokesimurex samui***<br>(Petuch, 1987) | |
|
| Synonyms | |
| *Murex samui* Petuch, 1987 | |


title: Hull classification symbol (Canada)

abstract: The Royal Canadian Navy uses hull classification symbols to identify the types of its ships, which are similar to the United States Navy's hull classification symbol system. The Royal Navy and some European and Commonwealth navies use a somewhat analogous system of pennant numbers. In a ship name such as HMCS Algonquin (DDG 283) the ship prefix HMCS for Her or His Majesty's Canadian Ship indicates the vessel is a warship in service to the Monarch of Canada, while the proper name Algonquin may follow a naming convention for the class of vessel. The hull classification symbol in the example is the parenthetical suffix, where the hull classification type DDG indicates that the Algonquin is a guided-missile destroyer and the hull classification number 283 is unique within that type. Listed below are various hull classification types with some currently in use and others that are retired and no longer in use.

text:
# Hull classification symbol (Canada)

The Royal Canadian Navy uses **hull classification symbols** to identify the types of its ships, which are similar to the United States Navy's hull classification symbol system. The Royal Navy and some European and Commonwealth navies (19 in total) use a somewhat analogous system of pennant numbers.

In a ship name such as HMCS *Algonquin* (DDG 283) the ship prefix HMCS for Her or His Majesty's Canadian Ship indicates the vessel is a warship in service to the Monarch of Canada, while the proper name *Algonquin* may follow a naming convention for the class of vessel. The hull classification symbol in the example is the parenthetical suffix (DDG 283), where the hull classification type DDG indicates that the *Algonquin* is a guided-missile destroyer and the hull classification number 283 is unique within that type. Listed below are various hull classification types with some currently in use and others that are retired and no longer in use.

## Auxiliary ships

## Aircraft carriers

## Corvettes

## Cruisers

## Destroyers

## Frigates

## Minesweepers

## Submarines

* **CC**: World War I era gas powered submarines
* **CH**: World War I era diesel-electric submarines
* **S**: Submarine (retired Cold War era diesel electric: last used by *Oberon*-class submarines)
* **SS**: Submarine (retired, used for US built *Balao* (1961–1969) and *Tench* (1968–1974)-class vessels)
* **SSK**: Hunter-Killer Submarine or long range submarines. Eg *Victoria*-class submarines

## Patrol

* **AOPV**: Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel


title: Papyrus 104

abstract: Papyrus 104, designated by the symbol 𝔓ⁱ⁰⁴, is a fragment that is part of a leaf from a papyrus codex, it measures 2.5 by 3.75 inches at its widest. It is conserved in the Papyrology Rooms at Bodleian Art Library, Oxford, UK. The front (recto) contains lines from the Gospel of Matthew 21:34-37, in Greek, the back (verso) contains tentative traces of lines from verses 43 and 45.

text:
# Papyrus 104

**Papyrus 104** (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by the symbol 𝔓104, is a fragment that is part of a leaf from a papyrus codex, it measures 2.5 by 3.75 inches (6.35 by 9.5 cm) at its widest. It is conserved in the Papyrology Rooms at Bodleian Art Library, Oxford, UK. The front (recto) contains lines from the Gospel of Matthew 21:34-37, in Greek, the back (verso) contains tentative traces of lines from verses 43 and 45.

## Description

This papyrus ranks among the earliest surviving texts of Matthew. It consists of six verses from the Gospel of Matthew, in a fragmentary condition, and is dated from early to late 2nd century. The text of the manuscript concurs with the NA27/UBS4 (Greek New Testaments) completely, with the exception that it does not include Matthew 21:44. This verse is also omitted in manuscripts: Codex Bezae, Minuscule 33, some Old-Latin manuscripts, Syriac Sinaiticus (syrs), Diatessaron. However, it is included in Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi, Regius, Washingtonianus, and Dublinensis. This verse thus belongs to the so-called Western non-interpolations, making 𝔓104 the earliest witness to the interpolated nature of this verse.

## Greek text

The papyrus is written on both sides, and the surviving portion also includes part of the top and outer margins of the page. Since the text for the verso is nearly illegible, only the text for the recto is given. The characters that are in bold style are the ones that can be seen in Papyrus 𝔓104.

*Gospel of Matthew 21:34-37* (recto)

> AΠE-
> ΣTEIΛEN TOYΣ **Δ**O**YΛOY**Σ **AYTOY ΠPOΣ**
> TOYΣ ΓEΩPΓOYΣ **ΛABEIN TOYΣ KAP**-
> ΠOYΣ AYTOY KAI **ΛABONTEΣ OI ΓEΩP**-
> ΓOI TOYΣ ΔOYΛO**YΣ AYT**OY **ON MEN**
> EΔEIPAN **ON ΔE AΠEKTEINAN ON**
> ΔE EΛIΘOB**OΛHΣAN ΠAΛIN AΠE**-
> ΣTEIΛEN A**ΛΛOYΣ ΔOYΛOYΣ ΠΛEIO**-
> NAΣ TΩN ΠPΩTΩN KAI **EΠOIHΣAN**
> AYTOIΣ ΩΣAYTΩΣ YΣTEPON Δ**E AΠE**-
>
> ΣTEIΛEN

> ape-
> steilen tous **d**o**ulou**s **autou pros**
> tous geōrgous **labein tous kar**-
> pous autou kai **labontes oi geōr**-
> goi tous doulo**us aut**ou **on men**
> edeiran **on de apekteinan on**
> de elithob**olēsan palin ape**-
> steilen a**llous doulous pleio**-
> nas tōn prōtōn kai **epoiēsan**
> autois ōsautōs usteron d**e ape**-
>
> steilen

> ...he sent **his servants to**
> the vine-growers **to collect the harvest**
> that was his. And **the vine-growers took**
> **his servants; indeed,**
> they beat **one and they killed another,**
> and another **they stoned. Again, he sent**
> **other servants, more than**
> the first: and **they did**
>
> unto them likewise. **But last of all he sent**...

A total of 110 legible letters are visible on the recto side of the fragment, representing 18 out of the 24 letters of the Greek Alphabet; zeta, theta, xi, phi, chi, and psi being missing. "The scribe uses rough breathings, but no other lectional feature or punctuation is found". The hand is 'early', i.e., before c. 250. It is very carefully written, with extensive use of serifs.

## Further reading

* Thomas, J. David. *The Oxyrhynchus Papyri LXIV* (London: 1997), pp. 7–9.
* Comfort, Philip W.; David P. Barrett (2001). *The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts*. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers. pp. 643–644. ISBN 978-0-8423-5265-9.

## InfoBox

Papyrus **104**
| **New Testament manuscript** | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Name | P.Oxy.LXIV 4404 |
| Sign | 𝔓104 |
| Text | Matthew 21v34-37; 43 and 45(?) |
| Date | 100-200 |
| Script | Greek |
| Found | Egypt |
| Now at | Papyrology Rooms, Bodleian Art Library, Oxford |
| Size | 7 x 5.2 cm |
| Type | Western text-type |
| Category | I |
| Note | Matt. 21:44 omitted |


title: Ursula Dubosarsky

abstract: Ursula Dubosarsky is an Australian writer of fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults, whose work is characterised by a child's vision and comic voice of both clarity and ambiguity. She is the third child of Peter Coleman and Verna Susannah Coleman. She was named after the character of Ursula Brangwen in the 1915 novel The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence. She attended Lindfield, Hunter's Hill and Chatswood Primary Schools, SCEGGS Darlinghurst, then studied at Sydney University and later Macquarie University. She is an Honorary Associate in the Department of English at Macquarie University and has taught courses in children's literature at Sydney University and the University of Technology, Sydney. She is a currently a member of the Library Council of New South Wales.

text:
# Ursula Dubosarsky

**Ursula Dubosarsky** (born *Ursula Coleman*; 1961 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian writer of fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults, whose work is characterised by a child's vision and comic voice of both clarity and ambiguity.

She is the third child of Peter Coleman and Verna Susannah Coleman. She was named after the character of Ursula Brangwen in the 1915 novel *The Rainbow* by D.H. Lawrence. She attended Lindfield, Hunter's Hill and Chatswood Primary Schools, SCEGGS Darlinghurst, then studied at Sydney University and later Macquarie University. She is an Honorary Associate in the Department of English at Macquarie University and has taught courses in children's literature at Sydney University and the University of Technology, Sydney. She is a currently a member of the Library Council of New South Wales.

## Writing career

Ursula is the author of over 60 illustrated books and novels, which have been translated into 14 languages.

She has also written three non-fiction "Word Spy" books for children, illustrated by Tohby Riddle, about language, grammar and etymology. These books have won the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award and the Junior Judges' Award. In the United States and Canada *The Word Spy* is published under the title *The Word Snoop.*

Her novel *The Red Shoe* is included in *1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up* and is one of 200 significant works of Australian literature in the Copyright Agency's Reading Australia program.

In 2014, the annual Christmas Windows of the department store David Jones were based on her story *Reindeer's Christmas Surprise*, illustrated by Sue deGennaro and her book *Too Many Elephants In this House*, illustrated by Andrew Joyner, was chosen for the National Simultaneous Storytime. In 2018 the National Library of Australia published *Midnight at the Library*, illustrated by Ron Brooks, to celebrate the Library's 50-year anniversary. In 2019 a study room at Marrickville Library was named in honour of her novel *The Blue Cat*.

Three of her books have been adapted for theatre: *The Red Shoe*, *The Terrible Plop* and *Too Many Elephants in This House*. She has collaborated on many books and projects with illustrator Andrew Joyner, as well as with Tohby Riddle.

## Awards and honors

She has won nine national literary prizes, including five New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, more than any other writer in the Awards' 30-year history. She was appointed the Australian Children's Laureate for 2020–2021.

### International

* Luchs (Lynx ) Award for Children's Literature for *The Golden Day* (in German *Nicht Jetz, niemals*)

* YALSA (Division of the American Library Association) Excellence in Non-fiction for Young Adults Nominee for  *Word Snoop*

### Australian

## Theatrical productions

## Bibliography

* *Maisie and the Pinny Gig* (1989) illustrated by Roberta Landers
* *High Hopes* (1990)
* *Zizzy Zing* (1991)
* *The Last Week in December* (1993)
* *The White Guinea-Pig* (1994)
* *The First Book of Samuel* (1995)
* *Bruno and Crumhorn* (1996)
* *Black Sails, White Sails* (1997)
* *The Strange Adventures of Isador Brown* (1998) illustrated by Paty Marshall-Stace
* *My Father Is Not a Comedian!* (1999)
* *Honey and Bear* (1999) illustrated by Ron Brooks
* *The Even Stranger Adventures of Isador Brown* (2000) illustrated by Paty Marshall-Stace
* *The Game of the Goose* (2000) illustrated by John Winch
* *The Two Gorillas* (2000) illustrated by Mitch Vane
* *Fairy Bread* (2001) illustrated by Mitch Vane
* *Abyssinia* (2001)
* *The Magic Wand* (2002) illustrated by Mitch Vane
* *Special Days with Honey and Bear* (2002) illustrated by Ron Brooks
* *Isador Brown's Strangest Adventures of All* (2003) illustrated by Mitch Vane
* *How To Be a Great Detective* (2004)
* *Rex* (2005) illustrated by David Mackintosh
* *Theodora's Gift* (2005)
* *The Puppet Show* (2006) illustrated by Mitch Vane
* *The Red Shoe* (2006)
* *The Word Spy* (2008) illustrated by Tohby Riddle Published in the United States as *The Word Snoop* (2009)
* *Jerry* (2008) illustrated by Patricia Mullins
* *Tibby's Leaf* (2009) illustrated by Peter Bray
* *The Terrible Plop* (2009) illustrated by Andrew Joyner
* *The Cubby House* (2009) illustrated by Mitch Vane
* *The Deep End* (2010) illustrated by Mitch Vane
* *The Return of the Word Spy* (2010) illustrated by Tohby Riddle
* *The Honey and Bear Stories* (2010) illustrated by Ron Brooks
* *Free: Stories about Human Rights* (2010) (contributor) Amnesty International/Walker Books UK
* *The Golden Day* (2011)
* *The Carousel* (2011) illustrated by Walter di Qual
* *The Word Spy Activity Book* (2012) illustrated by Tohby Riddle
* *Too Many Elephants in This House* (2012) illustrated by Andrew Joyner
* *The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno and Alberta: The Perplexing Pineapple* (2013) illustrated by Terry Denton
* *The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno and Alberta: The Looming Lamplight* (2013) illustrated by Terry Denton
* *The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno and Alberta: The Missing Mongoose* (2013) illustrated by Terry Denton
* *Violet Vanishes* (2013) illustrated by Annie White
* *Rory Rides* (2013) illustrated by Annie White
* *Ethan Eats* (2013) illustrated by Annie White
* *Ava Adds* (2013) illustrated by Annie White
* Introduction to *Lillypilly Hill* (2013) Eleanor Spence Text Classics
* *The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno and Alberta: The Dismal Daffodil* (2014) illustrated by Terry Denton
* *The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno and Alberta: The Quivering Quavers* (2014) illustrated by Terry Denton
* *The Cryptic Casebook of Coco Carlomagno and Alberta: The Talkative Tombstone* (2014) illustrated by Terry Denton
* *Two Tales of Twins from Ancient Greece and Rome* (2014) illustrated by David Allan
* *The Great War: Stories inspired by objects from the First World War* (2014) (contributor) Walker Books UK
* *Tim and Ed* (2014) illustrated by Andrew Joyner
* *Reindeer's Christmas Surprise* (2014) illustrated by Sue de Gennaro
* *One Little Goat* (2017) illustrated by Andrew Joyner
* *The Blue Cat* (2017)
* *Brindabella* (2018) novel illustrated by Andrew Joyner
* *Leaf Stone Beetle* (2018) illustrated by Gaye Chapman
* *Midnight at the Library* (2018) illustrated by Ron Brooks
* *The Boy Who Could Fly and other magical plays for children* (2019) illustrated by Amy Golbach
* *Ask Hercules Quick* (2019) illustrated by Andrew Joyner
* *Pierre's Not There* (2020) novel illustrated by Christopher Nielsen
* *The March of the Ants* (2021) illustrated by Tohby Riddle
* *The Magnificent Hercules Quick* (2021) illustrated by Andrew Joyner
* *Mary and Marcus* (2022) illustrated by Andrew Joyner
* *Hercules Quick's Big Bag of Tricks* (2023) illustrated by Andrew Joyner
* *Ethel the Penguin* (2024) illustrated by Christopher Nielsen

### Critical studies, reference books

* *The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature* (2015) edited by Daniel Hahn
* *1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up* (2009) edited by Julia Eccleshore Cassell Illustrated
* *The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature* (2006) edited by Jack Zipes
* *The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English* (2001) edited by Victor Watson
* *The Oxford Companion to Australian Children's Literature* (1993) edited by Stella Lees and Pam Macintyre
* Bond, Gwenda (December 2013). "Locus Looks at Books : Divers Hands". *Locus* (635): 22–23. *The Golden Day*
* Bradford, Clare (2014) "The Red Shoe" Copyright Agency Reading Australia https://readingaustralia.com.au/essays/the-red-shoe/
* Hale, Elizabeth (2021) "Mystery, Childhood, and Meaning in Ursula Dubosarsky's The Golden Day" in *Our Mythical Hope: The Ancient Myths as Medicine for the Hardships of Life in Children's and Young Adults' Culture* University of Warsaw Press pp. 451-469 https://rune.une.edu.au/web/handle/1959.11/54660
* Hateley, Erica (2009) "Puck vs. Hermia: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Gender, and Sexuality," in *Shakespeare in Children's Literature: Gender and Cultural Capital* New York: Routledge Chapter 4 (on *How to Be a Great Detective*)
* Holden, Kate (2021) "Ursula Dubosarsky" *The Saturday Paper* March 13-19 https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/culture/books/2021/03/13/ursula-dubosarsky/161555400011259#hrd
* Lavi, Tali (2018) "Know the Author: Ursula Dubosarsky" *Magpies* vol 33 pp 4-6
* Pennell, Beverley (2003) "Leaving the Men to Drown?" in *Fin de Siecle: Reconfigurations of Masculinity in Children's Fiction* Roderick McGillis Praeger International Research Society for Children's Literature Chapter 19 (on *Bruno and the Crumhorn*)
* Stephens, John (2003) "Always Facing the Issues--Preoccupations in Australian Children's Literature" *The Lion and the Unicorn* 27(2) Johns Hopkins University Press

## InfoBox

| Ursula Dubosarsky | |
| --- | --- |
| Dubosarsky in 2000 | |
| Born | 1961<br>Sydney, New South Wales |
| Occupation | Writer for children and young adults |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Years active | 1989- |


title: Ursula Engelen-Kefer

abstract: Ursula Engelen-Kefer is a German politician who held the position of Deputy Chairman of the German Confederation of Trade Unions from 1990 to 2006. She is currently a lecturer at the German Federal Employment Agency’s special training school Hochschule der Bundesagentur für Arbeit in Schwerin. She also teaches at the Free University of Berlin and chairs the Social Policy Working Group of the non-government organization Sozialverband Deutschland. From 1986 to 2009, Ursula Engelen-Kefer belonged to the 45-member „Executive Committee“ of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). She was chosen by the district of Ingolstadt, Eichstätt and Neuburg-Schrobenhausen to be its direct SPD candidate for the Bundestag in the last federal election. In July 2009 she was elected as a member of the "Executive Committee" of the Social Democratic Party in Bavaria.

text:
# Ursula Engelen-Kefer

**Ursula Engelen-Kefer** (born 20 June 1943) is a German politician who held the position of Deputy Chairman of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund; DGB) from 1990 to 2006. She is currently a lecturer at the German Federal Employment Agency’s special training school Hochschule der Bundesagentur für Arbeit in Schwerin. She also teaches at the Free University of Berlin and chairs the Social Policy Working Group of the non-government organization Sozialverband Deutschland. From 1986 to 2009, Ursula Engelen-Kefer belonged to the 45-member „Executive Committee“ of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). She was chosen by the district of Ingolstadt, Eichstätt and Neuburg-Schrobenhausen to be its direct SPD candidate for the Bundestag in the last federal election (on September 27, 2009). In July 2009 she was elected as a member of the "Executive Committee" of the Social Democratic Party in Bavaria.

## Early life and education

Engelen-Kefer was born in Prague. She studied economics at Cologne University and got her doctorate with a thesis *Retraining in a growing economy — the experience of the United States*.

## Career

Engelen-Kefer started as a freelance journalist in New York and later joined the Economic and Social Science Institute of the DGB (Wirtschafts-und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut des DGB). In 1974 she moved to the DGB as an expert for international social policy. From 1980 to 1984 she headed DGB’s department for labour market policy. In 1984, the Government of Chancellor Helmut Kohl appointed her Vice President of the German Federal Employment Administration (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, BA), a position she held until 1990.

In 1990, the German Trade Union Federation Congress in Hamburg elected Ursula Engelen-Kefer as Deputy Chairman of the DGB. Re-elected three times, she held this position until May 2006. During that time she was alternate chairman of the managing board and later the supervisory board of Federal Employment Agency (BA). For several years she also chaired, on an alternate basis with the top employer representative, the German Social Security Administration (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund, formerly Verband Deutscher Rentenversicherungsträger). From 1985 to 2010, she was a member of the Committee for Social Order (Kammer für Soziale Ordnung) of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). For two terms she represented the Unions in the EKD’s leading body (Synode), in the Senate of the Max Planck Society and in the ZDF Fernsehrat, the supervisory body of Germany’s second public television channel.

After Heinz-Werner Meyer, the DGB’s chairman, died shortly before the DGB Federal Congress in 1994, Engelen-Kefer had to assume the chairmanship on a temporary basis until Dieter Schulte, member of the Managing Board of IG Metall, was nominated and elected as new DGB chairman. After serving four terms, at the DGB Federal Congress in May 2006 in Berlin, Engelen-Kefer decided to stand again for election. In the election of the new DGB Managing Board on 23 May 2006, she was defeated by Ingrid Sehrbrock, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who had been nominated by the chairmen of the eight unions that form the DGB. 161 delegates voted for Engelen-Kefer, 212 delegates voted for Ingrid Sehrbrock.

On the international stage, Engelen-Kefer was active in several institutions and bodies. She represented the DGB unions in the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) from 1991 to 2008. She also was a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) of the European Union (1978 to 1986 and 1990 to 2006) and a member of the Consultative Committee of the European Social Fund (1974—1980). She was a member of the Executive Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC; 1990—2006) and of the Executive Committee of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) from 1990 to 2006.

On 28 April 2010, the governing board (Senate) of the University of the German Federal Labour Agency(Hochschule der Bundesagentur für Arbeit), Mannheim and Schwerin, appointed Dr. Ursula Engelen-Kefer as a professor (honorary professorship) for "International and European Labour Market and Employment Policies" at the University of the German Federal Labour Agency, effective 1 April 2010.

## Recognition

Engelen-Kefer received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Cross of Merit First Class) presented to her by the Minister of Labour, Norbert Blüm.

## Other activities

## Personal life

Engelen-Kefer is married to the economic journalist Klaus C. Engelen. The couple has two sons.

Ursula Engelen-Kefer at IMDb


title: Moreno Department

abstract:
Moreno Department is a department of Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina. The capital lies at Quimilí. The department covers an area of 16,127 km². The population as of 2001 was 28,053. The department contains the following municipalities:
  - Las Tinajas
  - Otumpa
  - Patay
  - Quimilí
  - Tintina
  - Weisburd

text:
# Moreno Department

**Moreno Department** is a department of Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina. The capital lies at Quimilí.

The department covers an area of 16,127 km². The population as of 2001 was 28,053. The department contains the following municipalities:

## InfoBox

| Moreno Department | |
| --- | --- |
| Department | |
| Location of Moreno Department within Santiago del Estero Province | |
| Coordinates (Quimilí): 27°38′S 62°25′W / 27.633°S 62.417°W / -27.633; -62.417 | |
| Country | Argentina |
| Province | Santiago del Estero |
| Head town | Quimilí |
| Area | |
| Total | 16,127 km2 (6,227 sq mi) |
| Population (2001) | |
| Total | 28,053 |
| Density | 1.7/km2 (4.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (ART) |


title: Usutu virus

abstract: Usutu virus (USUV) is a flavivirus belonging to the Japanese encephalitis complex, which is an emerging zoonotic arbovirus of concern because of its pathogenicity to humans and its similarity in ecology with other emerging arboviruses such as West Nile virus. It mainly infects Culex mosquitoes and birds; humans form a dead-end host. First identified in South Africa in 1959, the virus has caused outbreaks in birds across Europe since 1996. Nearly 50 cases in humans have been reported as of 2019, mainly in Europe. These are predominantly asymptomatic, but some people experience neurological symptoms.

text:
# Usutu virus

**Usutu virus** (USUV) is a flavivirus belonging to the Japanese encephalitis complex, which is an emerging zoonotic arbovirus of concern because of its pathogenicity to humans and its similarity in ecology with other emerging arboviruses such as West Nile virus. It mainly infects *Culex* mosquitoes and birds; humans form a dead-end host. First identified in South Africa in 1959, the virus has caused outbreaks in birds across Europe since 1996. Nearly 50 cases in humans have been reported as of 2019, mainly in Europe. These are predominantly asymptomatic, but some people experience neurological symptoms.

## History

USUV was first identified by Bruce McIntosh in *Culex neavei* mosquitoes in South Africa in 1959, and is named after the Usutu River. The virus was later identified in *Mansonia aurites* mosquitoes in Uganda. In 1996, USUV was identified outside Africa for the first time, causing significant mortality among Old World blackbirds in Italy.

Only two human cases have been identified in Africa, in 1981 and 2004, with one benign and one severe case described. The first human case outside Africa was reported in Italy in 2009, where an immunocompromised patient was infected, causing encephalitis.

## Virology

USUV has a diameter of 40–60 nm and is enveloped. The genome is a +-sense, single-stranded RNA of 11,064 nucleotides with a 5′ N7-methylguanosine-triphosphate cap. There is one open reading frame, which encodes a 3434-amino acid polyprotein. This is processed to generate eleven proteins: three structural and eight non-structural proteins. Replication occurs in the cytoplasm of the host cell.The virus has eight lineages, five in Europe and three in Africa.

## Epidemiology and host range

USUV has been reported from several African countries including Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda, as well as from Israel. Since 1996, it has also been found in European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland, and more recently the Netherlands, and was spreading across Europe in the late 2010s. Outbreaks are often simultaneous with those of the related *West Nile virus*.

USUV's host range includes primarily *Culex* mosquitoes and birds. The main bird hosts are blackbirds (*Turdus merula*), magpies (*Pica pica*) and owls, including the great grey owl (*Strix nebulosa*). In addition to humans, the virus has been isolated from *Pipistrellus* bats, and anti-USUV antibodies have been found in horses, dogs, deer, wild boar, rodents and shrews. Humans and horses are dead-end hosts. The vector is one of several mosquitoes that bite birds, in Europe particularly *Culex pipiens*. For example, a 2008–2009 survey of mosquitoes and birds in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy detected USUV in 89 *C. pipiens* pools and in 2 *Aedes albopictus* pools, suggesting the possible involvement of *A. albopictus* in the virus cycle. The virus was also found in twelve wild birds, primarily Eurasian magpies (*P. pica*), hooded crows (*Corvus cornix*), and Eurasian jays (*Garrulus glandarius*). In Africa multiple *Culex* species are involved, as well as several species of *Aedes* and other mosquitoes.

In 2020 the virus was detected in London, and has spread in wild birds since.

In 2024 the virus was detected in blackbirds in Denmark for the first time.

## Disease

Two cases of symptomatic infection in humans have been reported from Africa, with fever and skin rash but no neurological symptoms. In Europe, 46 infections were detected up to 2019; these were mainly asymptomatic, but neurological symptoms including encephalitis and meningoencephalitis have been observed.

The virus is highly pathogenic in birds, causing central nervous system symptoms, enlargement of the liver and spleen, and infiltration by inflammatory cells in a wide range of organs.

## InfoBox

| *Usutu virus* | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
|
| Virus classification | |
| (unranked): | Virus |
| *Realm*: | *Riboviria* |
| Kingdom: | *Orthornavirae* |
| Phylum: | *Kitrinoviricota* |
| Class: | *Flasuviricetes* |
| Order: | *Amarillovirales* |
| Family: | *Flaviviridae* |
| Genus: | *Flavivirus* |
| Species: | ***Usutu virus*** |
|


title: Mooring mast

abstract:
A mooring mast, or mooring tower, is a structure designed to allow for the docking of an airship outside of an airship hangar or similar structure. More specifically, a mooring mast is a mast or tower that contains a fitting on its top that allows for the bow of the airship to attach its mooring line to the structure.
When it is not necessary or convenient to put an airship into its hangar between flights, airships can be moored on the surface of land or water, in the air to one or more wires, or to a mooring mast. After their development mooring masts became the standard approach to mooring airships as considerable manhandling was avoided.

text:
# Mooring mast

A **mooring mast**, or **mooring tower**, is a structure designed to allow for the docking of an airship outside of an airship hangar or similar structure. More specifically, a mooring mast is a mast or tower that contains a fitting on its top that allows for the bow of the airship to attach its mooring line to the structure. When it is not necessary or convenient to put an airship into its hangar (or shed) between flights, airships can be moored on the surface of land or water, in the air to one or more wires, or to a mooring mast. After their development mooring masts became the standard approach to mooring airships as considerable manhandling was avoided.

## Mast types

Airship mooring masts can be broadly divided into fixed high masts and fixed or mobile low (or ‘stub’) masts. In the 1920s and 1930s masts were built in many countries. At least two were mounted on ships. Without doubt the tallest mooring mast ever designed was the spire of the Empire State Building which was originally constructed to serve as a mooring mast, although soon after converted for use as a television and radio transmitter tower due to the discovered infeasibility of mooring an airship, for any length of time, to a very tall mast in the middle of an urban area.

Another unique example may be found in Birmingham, Alabama, atop the former Thomas Jefferson Hotel. Now known as Thomas Jefferson Tower, the mast has been recently restored to its original appearance. It was originally erected in 1929 as a way for the hotel to capitalize on the futuristic public image of airships inspired by the success of Graf Zeppelin. However, the tower itself was never intended to be used and would likely not withstand the stresses involved.

The mooring mast atop the Rand Building in downtown Buffalo was similar, with the mast designed to attract what was then a popular means of air traffic. However, records from the local Courier Express and Buffalo Evening News have no reference to a zeppelin using this particular mast.

## Leonardo Torres Quevedo

The structure known as the ‘mooring mast’ was invented over 100 years ago when a solution was needed for ground handling problems that resulted in many airships crashing, being deflated or being significantly damaged. Previously to the mooring mast, major problems with mooring emerged as on-land sheds could not handle adverse weather conditions and meant many airships were damaged when landing. In their book, González-Redondo & Camplin discuss the first attempted solution that partially overcame the ground-handling difficulties, a shed that floated on water which could turn freely and automatically align its long axis with the direction of the wind. This meant that airships could now land regardless of air currents. Airship design was then altered to allow blimps to float on water so that they could be placed into their water hangars more easily, but a lack of any method of open mooring meant that airships still suffered from engine failure, damage due to a change in weather conditions (storms) and operational difficulties involved in such anchoring systems. Multiple airships were lost under such circumstances. In an attempt to avoid the various issues with loading airships into their sheds and to prevent further accidents, engineers would often deflate their blimps, accepting the financial loss and time cost of any damage caused by dismantling it out in the open.

To find a resolution to the slew of problems faced by airship engineers to dock dirigibles, Spanish engineer and inventor Leonardo Torres Quevedo drew up designs of a ‘docking station’ and made alterations to airship designs. In 1910, Torres Quevedo proposed the idea of attaching an airship's nose to a mooring mast and allowing the airship to weathervane with changes of wind direction (see Fig.1). The use of a metal column erected on the ground, the top of which the bow or stem would be directly attached to (by a cable) would allow a dirigible to be moored at any time, in the open, regardless of wind speeds. Additionally, Torres Quevedo's design called for the improvement and accessibility of temporary landing sites, where airships were to be moored for the purpose of disembarkation of passengers. The final patent was presented in February 1911 and Leonardo stated his claims regarding the nature of his invention as such:

> *1)    '*\[The mooring mast\] *comprised a metal column erected on the ground to the top of which the bow or stern of the airship was directly attached by a cable*
>
> *2)*  \[The airship\] *moors at the top of the metal column on a pivoted platform so that it can turn in a circle about the column and remain end-on to the wind;*
>
> *3)   The “crab” or winch receiving the end of a cable attached to the airship and the point of attachment on the airship; and*
>
> *4)   The cone connected to the upper end of the column, conforming to the end of the airship'*

## Early enhancements

Mooring an airship by the nose to the top of a mast or tower of some kind might appear to be an obvious solution, but dirigibles had been flying for some years before the mooring mast made its appearance. The first airship known to have been moored to a mast was HMA (His Majesty's Airship) No.1, named the ‘Mayfly’, on 22 May 1911. The 38 ft (12 m) mast was mounted on a pontoon, and a windbreak of cross-yards with strips of canvas were attached to it. However, the windbreak caused the ship to yaw badly, and she became more stable when it was removed, withstanding winds gusting up to 43 miles per hour (69 km/h). Further experiments in mooring blimps to cable-stayed lattice masts were carried out during 1918.

## Impact of minor developments following Leonardo Torres Quevedo's design

Mooring mast technology following Leonardo Torres Quevedo's design became widely utilised in the 20th century as it allowed an unprecedented accessibility to dirigibles, negating the manhandling that was necessary when an airship was placed into its hangar. Due to his inventions, mooring masts were designed simply to allow airships to be docked on ships, land and even atop buildings, all while withstanding gusts and adverse weather conditions. Such versatility meant that mooring masts became the standard approach to docking dirigibles, as blimps could now operate from mobile masts for long periods of time without returning to their hangars. Developments to these mooring technologies allowed for further advancement of airspace technology in the 20th century.

After the advent of Torres Quevedo's revolutionary rotating mooring tip, the mooring mast structure was constantly improved and developed upon over the following decade. High and low masts were experimented with by French, English, American and German engineers in order to determine which technique was the most effective in terms of stability, cost, ground-handling and their ability to allow blimps to weathervane and therefore minimise outdoor-related damage. The procedures for mooring to either a low or high mast were the same, with the blimp approaching the protected side of the mast at the same height. The nose winch is then attached, and the dirigible is fixed into the rotating mast tip, free to move with the wind. Low masts required a number of ground crew members to constantly attend to the changing directions of the wind as they attempted to re-inflate and repair the airships. In order to reduce the large number of men required to bring the blimps in and out of their hangars and on and off their masts, a number of additions were made to Torres Quevedo's traditional design. Examples of these include cradles and lattices that were attached to mobile mooring structures to further limit the amount of yawing and pitching, and pyramidal towing masts known as “iron horses” that were able to extend the height of the original mast structure.

Between 1900 and 1939, ground handling methods for rigid-airships were constantly developed on. Split into three main systems; The German, The British and the American, these procedural techniques each has major advantages and disadvantages. The British system (as discussed in Gabriel Khoury's *Airship Technology*) is most similar to Torres Quevedo's design, which makes sense seeing as his patent was the main influence for British engineers concerned with mooring dirigibles at the time. All three major rigid airship ground handling systems are extensively discussed in his book.

## British high mast operations

The British mooring mast was developed more or less to its final form at RNAS Pulham and Cardington in 1919–21 to make the landing process easier and more economical of manpower

The following account of the British high mast in its fully developed state at Cardington, and its operation, is abridged from Masefield.

> Mooring masts were developed to act as a safe open harbour to which airships could be moored or unmoored in any weather, and at which they could receive (hydrogen or helium) gas, fuel, stores and payload.
>
> The Cardington mast, completed in 1926, was an eight sided steel girder structure, 200 feet (61 m) high, tapering from 70 feet (21 m) diameter at ground level to 26 feet 6 inches (8.1 m) at the passenger platform, 170 feet (52 m) from the ground. Above the passenger platform was the 30 feet (9.1 m) of the conical housing for the mooring gear. A lower platform 142 feet (43 m) above the ground accommodated searchlights and signalling gear in a gallery 4 feet (1.2 m) wide. The top platform, at the height of 170 feet (52 m), from which passengers embarked and disembarked to and from the airships, was 40 feet (12 m) in diameter and encircled by a heavy parapet. The top rail of the parapet formed a track on which a gangway, let down from the airship, ran on wheels to give freedom for the airship to move around the tower as it swung with the wind. An electric passenger lift ran up the centre of the tower, encircled by a stairway to provide foot access.
>
> The upper portion of the tower, from the passenger platform upwards, was a circular steel turret surmounted by a truncated cone with its top 23 feet (7.0 m) above the passenger platform. A three-part telescopic arm, mounted on gimbals, projected through an opening at the top, free to swing from the vertical in any direction up to 30 degrees of movement. The top of the arm consisted of a bell-shaped cup mounted to rotate on ball bearings.
>
> A cable extended through the bell-mouth which, linked to a cable dropped from airship to be moored, enabled the nose of the airship to be drawn down until a cone on the nose locked home into the cup and so secured the airship to the tower. The telescopic arm was then centred, locked in the vertical position, and made free to rotate on a vertical axis so the airship could swing, nose to tower, in any direction of the wind.
>
> In the machinery house at the base of the tower three steam-driven winches operated the hauling gear through drums 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter to give cable hauling speeds of 50 feet a minute.
>
> While an airship approached the mast slowly against the wind a mooring cable was let out from nose to the ground and linked, by a ground party, to the end of the mooring cable paid out from the mast head. The cable was then slowly wound in with the airship riding about 600 feet (180 m) above the mast and down wind, with one engine running astern to maintain a pull on the cable. At this point, two side wires – or ‘yaw guys’ – were also connected to cables taken from the nose of the airship to pulley blocks some hundreds of feet apart on the ground and thence to winches at the base of the mast.
>
> All three cables were then wound in together, the main pull being taken on the mooring cable while the yaw guys steadied the ship. When all the cable had been wound, an articulated mooring cone on the nose of the airship locked home into the cup on the mast. The mast fitting was made free to rotate as the airship swung with the wind with freedom also for pitch and roll.
>
> A gangway, like a drawbridge, which could be drawn up flush with the nose of the airship, was then let down with its free end resting on the parapet of the platform running round the mast. Passengers and crew boarded and disembarked from the ship under cover along this gangway. About twelve men were needed to moor an airship to a mast.
>
> Four high masts of the Cardington type were built along the proposed British Empire Airship Service routes, at Cardington itself, at Montreal (Canada), Ismailia (Egypt) and Karachi (then India, now in Pakistan). None of these survive. Similar masts were proposed at sites in Australia, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Bombay, Keeling Islands, Kenya, Malta, at Ohakea in New Zealand, and in South Africa. The general site specifications can be found in documents produced by the British government.

## German mast techniques

German mooring methods differed significantly from those adopted by the British. To quote Pugsley (1981):

> "the Germans, originally for ease of transport and for economy, developed a system using much lower masts. The nose of the ship was tethered as before to the mast head, which was only a little higher than the semi-diameter of the ship's hull. The lower fin at the stern was then fixed to a heavy carriage running on a circular railway track around the mast, and this carriage was powered so as to be able to move around the track to keep the ship head on to the wind. In the most sophisticated form, used by the Hindenburg, the rail system was linked to rails running from the mast straight into the airship shed, and the mast was powered so that the ship could be moved mechanically into the shed, complete with mast and stern carriage".

The following account of landing the German airship Graf Zeppelin is abridged from Dick and Robinson (1985):

> Before attempting a landing, contact was made by radio or flag signals with the ground crew to determine the ground temperature and wind conditions. For a normal calm weather landing the ship was trimmed very slightly nose down, as this gave a better gliding angle and the ship almost flew herself down. A smoky fire was started on the ground to show the wind direction. The ship then made a long approach with a rate of fall of 100 feet per minute, and the lines were dropped when she was over the landing flag. When conditions were unusual, as in gusty and bumpy weather, the Graf was weighed off a little light, and the approach had to be fast and preferably long and low.
>
> When the airship was over the field the engines had to be reversed for some time to stop her, and this also helped to get the nose down. Yaw lines dropped from the ship's nose were drawn out to Port and Starboard by thirty men each, while twenty more on each side pulled the ship down with spider lines (so called because twenty short lines radiated like the legs of a spider from a block). When the airship reached the ground, fifty men held the control car rails and twenty held those of the after car. With thirty men in reserve, the ground crew totalled two hundred men.
>
> The ground crew would then walk the Graf to a short, or ‘stub’, mast, to which the nose of the airship would be attached. The airship would then rest on the ground with its rear gondola attached to a movable weighted carriage that enabled the airship to swing around the mast with the wind. In some places the stub mast was mounted on rails and could be drawn into the airship hangar, guiding the nose of the ship while the tail was controlled by the carriage attached to the rear gondola. Airships designed for landing on the ground had pneumatic bumper bags or undercarriage wheels under the main and rear gondolas (or tail fin).

Dick states that the Germans never used mooring masts until the Graf Zeppelin entered service in 1928, and never moored to high masts. To some extent this probably reflects the conservatism of the Zeppelin company operations. Long experience in handling airships in all sorts of conditions was valued and innovations or significant changes in practice were unlikely to be adopted unless clear advantages were apparent.

## United States

In the US a mix of techniques were applied, and airships moored to both high and stub masts. Large ground crews (or ‘landing parties’) of up to 340 men were required to manage the large airships *Akron* and *Macon* at landing or on the ground, before they could be attached to the stub mast. Being part of a ground crew was not risk-free. In gusty conditions, or if mis-handled, an airship could suddenly rise. If the ground crew did not immediately let go of the handling lines they risked being carried off their feet. In one famous incident captured on movie film in 1932, during the landing of the US airship *Akron*, three men were carried off their feet in this way, two to fall to their deaths after a short time. The third managed to improve his hold on the handling rope until he could be hauled into the airship.

## Ship-mounted mooring masts

At least two ships have mounted mooring masts. As the US intended to use large airships for long-range maritime patrol operations, experiments were made in mooring airships to a mast mounted on the ship USS *Patoka*.

Over time the airships USS *Shenandoah*, *Los Angeles*, and *Akron* all moored to the mast mounted at the stern of the ship, and operated using her as a base for resupply, refuelling, and gassing.

The Spanish seaplane carrier *Dédalo* (1922–1935) carried a mooring mast at the bow to cater for small dirigibles carried on board.

Around 1925, the Royal Navy considered the monitor, HMS *Roberts*, for conversion to a mobile airship base with a mooring mast and fueling capabilities, but nothing came of this proposal.

## Utilisation of mooring mast technology

By 1912, dirigibles were widely acknowledged as the future of air travel and their flexibility as both civilian transporters and military vehicles meant that continual advancements were made to both airships and their mooring masts. The mooring mast or “open-mooring” allowed airships to accompany armies in their manoeuvres through a safe, quick and relatively inexpensive ‘universal’ docking system that worked well for all types and sizes of blimps whether they were non-rigid, semi-rigid or rigid and which could withstand meteorological events. After their involvement in WWI as passenger carriers, aerial reconnaissance vessels and long-distance bombers, military authorities lost interest in airships. However, considerable advancements made in the construction and operation of both dirigibles themselves and mooring technologies meant that airships were soon developed by civilian companies and other government departments.

In 1929, the Empire State Building was proclaimed to be the tallest building in the world, topped with a dirigible mooring mast that could ‘accommodate passengers for the already existing transatlantic routes, and for the routes planned to South America, the West Coast, and across the Pacific’ (Tauranac). The mooring mast was installed to provide unprecedented, accessible air travel, on top of one of the world's most recognisable landmarks. New York would therefore become the epicentre of modern aerospace technology in the United States. However, an obvious drawback to this mooring site is the lack of adequate terminal facilities, with passengers expected to walk down a plank extended from the blimp to the platform on the 102nd floor. It was proposed that buildings were to be knocked down to allow for a “sky terminal” but the costs to this were far too great, so it was dropped. John Tuaranac discusses how only one dirigible ever made contact with the Empire State Building in 1931, and it was “brief at best”:

> *A privately-owned dirigible, fitted with a long rope was in mooring position for half an hour, until the ground crew could catch the rope...fastened atop the mooring mast for three minutes whilst the crew hung on for dear life...the traffic halted below...the dirigible never made permanent contact with the building.'*

Today, modern technology has seen a rapid advancement in mooring mast systems, despite the neglect of 20th century dirigibles, which are now often seen as ancient technologies of a long-forgotten past. Indoor and outdoor airships, used predominantly at sports games and in advertising require a modern mooring mast design, fitted with superior measuring devices that can provide an aural warning to the ground crew to move the airship and the mast inside when the atmospheric conditions are not suitable for outdoor storage. Other components such as cameras, mounting and demounting of fins and any repair operations are now made far safer with indoor mooring masts, utilised inside hangars to further promote freedoms of yawing, pitching, rolling and height-adjustability to moored airships.

## Modern-day mooring masts

Smaller mobile masts have been used for small airships and blimps for a long time. They may be wheel or track-mounted, and can be operated by a small crew. The general operating principle is broadly similar to the larger masts. Modern blimps may operate from mobile masts for months at a time without returning to their hangars.

Developments in aerodynamics and structural designs as well as greater access to more advanced materials has allowed for airship technologies to become much more sophisticated over the past 30 years. The construction of durable engines has meant that blimps can now fly for considerable periods of time, completely autonomous of a pilot or crew. However, these new innovations have also led to the disuse of mooring masts as the additions of air-cushioned landing systems means dirigibles can be landed almost anywhere without a ground crew or mooring mast, *“the onboard computer tells the aircraft what to do and it does it"* (Peter DeRobertis). Since the Hindenburg disaster of 1937, whose tragic docking remains an icon of aerospace gone wrong, modern-day airships are now designed as hybrids of lighter-than-air and fixed-wing aircraft. At a fraction of the cost and fuel of regular aircraft, modern dirigibles can carry enormous payloads without requiring such vast amounts of tarmac necessary for conventional air travel.

Despite the disuse of commercial airships popular in the early 20th-century, the notion that airships represent the future of air cargo is being revived by a new generation of entrepreneurs. Modern-day mooring masts are still developed on for the utilisation of indoor and outdoor dirigibles. Used mainly at sports games and in advertising, a mooring mast is used to secure these airships and keep them safe in storage. As they traditionally occupy great amounts of space, many engineers now design mooring masts as easily foldable and portable stands with long legs for adequate ground-stability. Such mechanisms employ spring-activated quick-response rods, with special design emphasis placed on kinematic elements to ensure the masts are not placed under great stresses from the weight of the airships. A modern-day solution to the once large mooring towers is portable and foldable masts which guarantee that indoor and outdoor blimps and their masts do not consume a great amount of space. For outdoor airships, spring-loaded devices are incorporated, fitted with alarms which notify ground crews and operators when wind speeds exceed a safe threshold, so that the airship can be taken and stored indoors. For mobility, the masts are mounted on a foldable leg base which can be wheeled around. In terms of indoor dirigibles, lightweight masts are just as stable and portable, accommodating non-rigid blimps up to five metres and successfully limiting yawing, pitching and rolling.


title: V. P. Menon

abstract: Vappala Pangunni Menon was an Indian civil servant who served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of the States, under Sardar Patel. By appointment from Viceroy and Governor-General of India Wavell, he also served as Secretary to the Governor-General (Public) and later as Secretary to the Cabinet. He also was the Constitutional Adviser and Political Reforms Commissioner to the last three successive Viceroys during British rule in India. In May 1948, at the initiative of V. P. Menon, a meeting was held in Delhi between the Rajpramukhs of the princely unions and the States Department, at the end of which the Rajpramukhs signed new Instruments of Accession which gave the Government of India the power to pass laws in respect of all matters that fell within the seventh schedule of the Government of India Act 1935. He played a vital role in India's partition and political integration. Later in his life, he became a member of the free-market–oriented Swatantra Party.

text:
# V. P. Menon

**Vappala Pangunni Menon** CSI CIE (30 September 1893 – 31 December 1965) was an Indian civil servant who served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of the States, under Sardar Patel. By appointment from Viceroy and Governor-General of India Wavell, he also served as Secretary to the Governor-General (Public) and later as Secretary to the Cabinet. He also was the Constitutional Adviser and Political Reforms Commissioner to the last three successive Viceroys (Linlithgow, Wavell and Mountbatten) during British rule in India. In May 1948, at the initiative of V. P. Menon, a meeting was held in Delhi between the Rajpramukhs of the princely unions and the States Department, at the end of which the Rajpramukhs signed new Instruments of Accession which gave the Government of India the power to pass laws in respect of all matters that fell within the seventh schedule of the Government of India Act 1935.

He played a vital role in India's partition and political integration. Later in his life, he became a member of the free-market–oriented Swatantra Party.

## Early life and career

The son of a school headmaster Chunangad Shankara Menon, in Kerala, Pangunni Menon worked as a railway stoker, coal miner and Bangalore tobacco company clerk. Menon joined the Provincial Civil Service (PCS) in 1914. He served as Assistant Secretary to the Government of India in the Reforms Office from 1933 to 1934. He later served as Under Secretary from 1934 to 1935, Deputy Secretary from 1935 to 1940, Joint secretary to the Government of India from 1941 to 1942. By working assiduously, encouraged by Edwin Montagu, Menon rose through the ranks to become the highest serving Indian officer in British India.

Menon served as Joint Secretary to the Simla Conference in June 1945. In 1946, he was appointed Political Reforms Commissioner to the British Viceroy.

In Patrick French's *India: A Portrait*, a biographical book on the Indian Subcontinent, it is mentioned that V.P. Menon moved in with his Keralite friends after his wife left him and returned to south India. The two friends, who were a couple, had arranged his marriage and helped raise his two sons – Pangunni Anantan Menon and Pangunni Shankaran Menon. When the husband died, Menon married his widow.

Menon was given the title of *Rao Bahadur*, appointed a CIE in the 1941 Birthday Honours and a CSI in the 1946 Birthday Honours. He was offered a knighthood as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in a final imperial honours list in 1948, but refused. In a formal statement to the outgoing British authorities, Menon declined the knighthood, stating that with Indian independence, he had entered the service of the new Indian government. According to his grandson, however, Menon later privately told his daughter-in-law he could not accept a knighthood for having caused the partition of his country.

## Partition of India

Menon was the political advisor of the last Viceroy of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten. When the interim Government had collapsed due to the rivalry between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, Menon had proposed to Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Indian leaders, the Muslim League's plan to partition India into two independent nations - India and Pakistan, helping draft the instrument of accession.

Menon's resourcefulness during this period caught the eye of Sardar Patel, who would become the Deputy Prime Minister of India in 1947. He became the envoy to negotiate with the Maharajas.

V.P. Menon was present at the meeting between Lord Mountbatten and Hanwant Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur. It was at this meeting that Hanwant Singh signed the instrument of accession to India. After he had signed and the Viceroy Mountbatten left, only Menon was in the room with him. The Maharaja took out a .22 calibre pistol and pointed it at Menon and said 'I refuse to take your dictation'. Menon told him that he would be making a very serious mistake by threatening him and would not be able to get the accession abrogated in any case.

On 25 October, V.P. Menon arrived at Srinagar to assess the situation of Kashmir and advised Maharaja Hari Singh to proceed to Jammu as invaders were very close to Srinagar. Maharaja Hari Singh left from Srinagar to Jammu on the same night. V.P. Menon along with Mehr Chand Mahajan (Prime Minister J&K) left for New Delhi by air on the morning of 26 October. On arriving at New Delhi, Lord Mountbatten assured militarily intervention in J&K only after instrument of accession were signed. V.P. Menon then left from New Delhi to Jammu by air on the afternoon of 26 October, secured signature on the legal documents, returning that evening by air to New Delhi. The next day, on 27 October Lord Mountbatten accepted the accession of the Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir to India and Indian Army landed on Srinagar airport on the same day.

## Integration of India

After the independence of India, Menon became the secretary of the Ministry of the States, headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, with whom he had developed a bond of trust. Patel respected Menon's political genius and work ethic, while Menon obtained the respect for his work that a civil servant needs from his political superior.

Menon worked closely with Patel over the political integration of India, in which, over 565 princely states were merged into the union of India, managing the diplomacy between the States Ministry and the various Indian princes, acting as Patel's envoy and striking deals with reluctant princes and rulers. Patel respected Menon's ingenuity in diplomacy, and often did not question if Menon exceeded any instructions.

Menon also worked with Patel over the military action against the hostile states of Junagadh and Hyderabad, as well as advising Nehru and Patel on relations with Pakistan and the Kashmir conflict. The Cabinet had dispatched Menon to obtain the accession of Kashmir into India in 1947.

## Later years

After his stint as Secretary, he was Governor of Odisha (*Orissa then*) for a short period in 1951. He authored a book on the political integration of India, *The Story of the Integration of Indian States* and on the partition of India, *Transfer of Power*. He later joined the Swatantra Party, but never contested the elections. Menon died on 31 December 1965 at the age of 72.

Indian actor Ashish Vidyarthi portrayed Menon in the 1993 film *Sardar*, based on the life of Indian statesman Vallabhbhai Patel.

In 2020, his great-granddaughter Narayani Basu wrote a biography on him named, *V. P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India*.

## Bibliography

## Further reading

* Gandhi, Rajmohan (1990). *Patel: A Life*. Ahmedabad: Navajivan.
* Basu, Narayani (2020). *V. P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India*. Simon & Schuster India. ISBN 9789386797681.

## InfoBox

| V. P. Menon | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
|  | |
| Acting Governor of Odisha | |
| **In office**
6 May 1951  17 July 1951 | |
| Preceded by | Asaf Ali |
| Succeeded by | Asaf Ali |
| Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of the States | |
| **In office**
1947–1951 | |
| Constitutional Adviser and Political Reforms Commissioner to Viceroy of India | |
| **In office**
1942–1947 | |
| Preceded by | Harry Hodson |
| Succeeded by | Abolished |
|  | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vappala Pangunni Menon
(1893-09-30)30 September 1893
Ottapalam, Malabar District, Madras Presidency, British Raj (Present day Palakkad district, Kerala) |
| Died | 31 December 1965(1965-12-31) (aged 72), Cooke Town, Bangalore, Mysore State
(now Karnataka) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
|  | |


title: More than Puppy Love

abstract: More than Puppy Love is a 2002 American family film directed by Tom Whitus and starring Pamela Bach and Diane Ladd.

text:
# More than Puppy Love

***More than Puppy Love*** is a 2002 American family film directed by Tom Whitus and starring Pamela Bach and Diane Ladd.

## Plot

A family is given a puppy for a year to undergo domestic training to become a help dog for the disabled. The young daughter in the household becomes a best friend of the puppy and finds it difficult to be parted from him when the time is up for him to leave.

## Cast

## InfoBox

| More than Puppy Love | |
| --- | --- |
| Directed by | Tom Whitus |
| Written by | Tom Whitus |
| Distributed by | Allumination FilmWorks |
| Release date | * March 10, 2002 (2002-03-10) |
| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |


title: Morley Top railway station

abstract: Morley Top railway station served the town of Morley, West Yorkshire, England, from 1857 to 1969 on the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway.

text:
# Morley Top railway station

**Morley Top railway station** served the town of Morley, West Yorkshire, England, from 1857 to 1969 on the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway.

## History

The station opened as Morley on 10 October 1857 by the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway. Its name was changed to Morley Top on 2 March 1951 to avoid confusion with another station of the same name. The station closed to passengers on 2 January 1961 and closed to goods in May 1969. The station master's house still survives.

| Preceding station | Historical railways | | | Following station |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gildersome West
Line and station closed |  | Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway |  | Tingley
Line and station closed |

## InfoBox

| Morley Top | |
| --- | --- |
| The station just before goods closure in April 1969 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Morley, West Yorkshire
England |
| Coordinates | 53°44′27″N 1°36′04″W / 53.7409°N 1.6011°W / 53.7409; -1.6011 |
| Grid reference | SE264272 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Northern Railway |
| Post-grouping | LNER
British Railways (North Eastern Region) |
| Key dates | |
| 10 October 1857 (1857-10-10) | Opened as Morley |
| 2 March 1951 | Name changed to Morley Top |
| 2 January 1961 | Closed to passengers |
| May 1969 (1969-05) | Closed to goods |
|  | |
|  | |
|  | |


title: Morley Tunnel

abstract: Morley Tunnel is a railway tunnel in West Yorkshire, England, situated between Morley and Batley railway stations on the Huddersfield line. From its northern end, it extends 3,369 yards (3,081 m), passing beneath Morley town centre, to its southern end.

text:
# Morley Tunnel

**Morley Tunnel** is a railway tunnel in West Yorkshire, England, situated between Morley and Batley railway stations on the Huddersfield line. From its northern end (53°44′56″N 1°35′34″W / 53.7490°N 1.5927°W / 53.7490; -1.5927), it extends 3,369 yards (3,081 m), passing beneath Morley town centre, to its southern end (53°43′34″N 1°37′09″W / 53.7260°N 1.6192°W / 53.7260; -1.6192).

## History

The construction of Morley Tunnel began in 1845. The first stone was laid on 23 February 1846 by John Gott, the chairman of the Leeds, Dewsbury and Manchester Railway. The tunnel was finally completed on 9 May 1848, when the last keystone was placed at the Morley end of the tunnel by Thomas Grainger, the principal engineer. The completion of the tunnel created much excitement around the town, and a band marked this occasion when it played at the event. The resident engineer was Henry Renton. However, by 6 May 1846, the original contractors for the tunnel, Jones, Humphries and Pickering, were dismissed as work had been progressing from both ends of the tunnel that had been undertaken too fast, and the two sections would not have met in the middle due to a height difference.

The completion of the tunnel provided a much needed rail link between Yorkshire and Lancashire. During construction, 18 working shafts were sunk so that work could proceed at a clearance rate of 300 yards (270 m) per month. In addition, there are four permanent vent/construction shafts still in use today at Town End, Hopewell Farm, America Moor and Howley Park. At one time, men worked at 48 different points along the length of the tunnel. This was made possible by using steam engines to lower men down the working shafts to the level of the tunnel and raising stone and clay to the surface.

To construct the tunnel, 11 powerful steam engines, 15 double horse gins, 2,000 men and 330 horses were used, and the work caused a huge change to the then known landscape, particularly in the area where Morley Low station is situated, where a huge cutting had to be excavated and the valley stream had to be culverted. At its deepest point the tunnel is 400 feet below ground level. It is almost level throughout its length except for a slight gradient to allow for drainage. The tunnel is 3,369 yards (3,081 m) long, 26 feet (7.9 m) high and 26 feet wide to accommodate two tracks. Between 1857 and 1961, the other station (Morley Top) was 200 feet (61 m) above the centre point of the tunnel. The construction of the tunnel was undertaken in a shorter time-span than that of Standedge Tunnel, which was being built around the same time, even though Morley Tunnel is longer. However, the challenging conditions at Standedge made that work harder.

Morley Tunnel was built above substantial coal measures that had been licensed to the Earl of Cardigan. Large sums in compensation money had to be paid out to his estate as mining underneath the tunnel would have led to subsidence issues. In 1890, a decision was taken to quadruple the route between Leeds and Huddersfield, but Morley Tunnel proved to be too much of an engineering issue to overcome, so the Leeds New Line was promoted instead to provide extra traffic. However, coal mining did create a myriad of problems as the tunnel was built over the workings of two local collieries; Morley Main and Howley Park. The whole tunnel was rebuilt during the 1920s, with single line working implemented. The portal at the southern end (nearest Batley), was taken down completely and rebuilt using Staffordshire Blue Brick, with this work not being completed until 1933.

The rock and clay brought to the surface from the tunnelling project was used as building material, producing bricks from the excavated clay. Much of the sandstone not suitable for this was used in road building.

## Today

Today, the tunnel is used by the local services run by Northern and the long distance services between Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly by TransPennine Express as part of the London North Eastern (LNE) route (Network Rail designation), between Leeds and Huddersfield.

### Sources

* Fraser, Neil (2019). *Yorkshire Lines of the LNWR*. Catrine: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-561-3.
* Joy, David (2021). *Piercing the Pennines : heroic railways linking Lancashire and Yorkshire*. Bradford: Great Northern Books. ISBN 978-1-914227-02-8.
* Ward, Norrie (1973). "Genesis; the cutting of Morley Tunnel". *There's no place like Morley*. Driffield: Ridings Publishing. ISBN 0901934208.

## InfoBox

Morley Tunnel
| Northern portal at Morley railway station | |
| --- | --- |
| Overview | |
| Line | Huddersfield line |
| Location | West Yorkshire |
| Coordinates | 53°44′23″N 1°36′12″W / 53.7397°N 1.6033°W / 53.7397; -1.6033 |
| OS grid reference |
| System | National Rail |
| Start | Morley station |
| End | Upper Batley |
| Operation | |
| Constructed | 1845–1848 |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator |  |
| Traffic | Train |
| Character | Passenger |
| Technical | |
| Design engineer | Thomas Granger |
| Length | 3,369 yd (3,081 m) |
| No. of tracks | Double track |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) |
| Tunnel clearance | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Width | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Morley Tunnel (West Yorkshire) | |


title: VASCAR

abstract: VASCAR is a type of device for calculating the speed of a moving vehicle. The first VASCAR device was created in 1966 by Arthur Marshall. It is used by police officers to enforce speed limits, and may be preferred where radar or lidar is illegal, such as some jurisdictions in Pennsylvania, or to prevent detection by those with radar detectors.

text:
# VASCAR

**VASCAR** (**Visual Average Speed Computer And Recorder**) is a type of device for calculating the speed of a moving vehicle. The first VASCAR device was created in 1966 by Arthur Marshall. It is used by police officers to enforce speed limits, and may be preferred where radar or lidar is illegal, such as some jurisdictions in Pennsylvania, or to prevent detection by those with radar detectors.

## Operation

A VASCAR unit uses a stopwatch and a simple computer. An operator records the moments that a vehicle passes two fixed objects (such as a white circle or square painted on the road) that are a known distance apart. The vehicle's average speed is then calculated by dividing the distance between the points by the time taken to travel between them. The mean value theorem implies that at some time between the measurements the vehicle's speed must be equal to its average speed.

VASCAR can be used from a moving or stationary vehicle or helicopter or other aerial platform. The target vehicle may be travelling in any direction, in front of or behind or below the observer.

A 1991 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that VASCAR-plus units produced errors of less than 2 mph if used correctly.

If VASCAR is used incorrectly, any operator can easily falsify a reading.

## Users

VASCAR is known to be used where radar or LIDAR is illegal, such as some jurisdictions in Pennsylvania. Many police vehicles in the United Kingdom are fitted with a device, especially those used for traffic enforcement. The system is also used by airborne units - in some remote locations of the United States airborne speed enforcement is employed regularly.

## History

VASCAR was invented by Arthur Marshall, a real-estate investor living in Richmond, Virginia in 1966. He was inspired to create the device after watching a police car driving dangerously trying to pace a speeder. The original version of the device was entirely mechanical, using a governed motor and a gear system to move a pointer to the correct speed value. Subsequent versions used a microprocessor to perform the speed calculations. By 1968, the device was in use in North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, and New York. In 1971, Marshall formed a company, Traffic Safety Systems, Inc., to market the device. After his death, Traffic Safety Systems was purchased by Power Systems & Controls, Inc., which had long manufactured the devices. They continue to produce similar devices under the name VASCAR-plus.

## Technical Specifics

VASCAR relies on the accuracy of the patrol vehicle's speedometer drive (generally located within the vehicle transmission) for determining the distance traveled, using an odometer within the VASCAR system itself. Recently-purchased law enforcement vehicles generally have electronic speedometers, and a sensor wire is connected to the speed-sensor feed wire to count the pulses from the drive. Older vehicles, with cable-driven speedometers, are connected to the VASCAR unit with a mechanical-optical adapter which attaches to the cable. Pulses are counted the same way for both input methods.

The time and distance registers are completely separate from each other, and each is controlled by a toggle switch, which is operated by the traffic officer. To clock the patrol vehicle's speed (for instance, when the speed is matched with the violator's vehicle), both switches are operated simultaneously. Most often, however, the TIME toggle is activated when the violator's vehicle passes an identifiable landmark (such as a signpost), and the DISTANCE toggle is activated when the patrol vehicle passes the same landmark. When the violator passes a second landmark, the timer is stopped, and when the patrol vehicle passes that landmark, the distance measurement stops. These two values are then compared by the digital computer, which displays the average speed over that distance.

Early VASCAR units were made up of three parts. The main computer section was a box which was installed in a trunk or under a seat, the odometer drive was installed under the vehicle dashboard, and the control unit was mounted in a convenient operating location. Later systems combined the control and computer sections into a single unit, and replaced the earlier Nixie tube displays with LEDs.

Some VASCAR systems have included the ability to set a specific distance, allowing a traffic officer to avoid having to measure each time that stretch of road was checked. It is also possible to retain an earlier measurement, to be used with multiple vehicles (for instance, when spending a morning enforcing speed in a school zone). Until a new distance is put into the system memory, all speeds will be calculated based on the previous distance information.

## Strengths and weaknesses of VASCAR

The VASCAR system has one major advantage over the RADAR and LIDAR systems also used for determining speed, in that it is not necessary to be in (or close to) the line of travel of the target vehicle. RADAR and LIDAR clock speed using the Doppler effect, so a vehicle traveling at an angle in relation to the unit will have a lower speed reading than actual speed. VASCAR, however, can provide an accurate speed clock under any conditions in which both a start and a stop point can be identified. It is not even necessary to see the entire course over which the target vehicle travels, so long as that specific vehicle can be identified as it passes the start and end points. The greater the distance (to the limit of the device), the more accurate the average speed.

The primary weakness of VASCAR is that it can be easily falsified.

A second weakness is that it can only provide an average speed, in contrast to the near-instant speed readout of a Doppler-effect system. Thus, it is possible for a vehicle to be well above the speed limit, then slow to the same amount below the limit for the same period of time, and have a legal speed.

A third weakness is that the operator must be able to visually identify the target vehicle and both start and end points, as well as operating the switches at the precise moments necessary.

## Similar devices

While the name VASCAR is no longer trademarked, VASCAR and VASCAR V PLUS are trademarked in South Africa by Signal Systems (Pty) Limited. Power Systems & Controls holds the trademark to VASCAR-plus. Other companies sell similar, though non-VASCAR-branded, systems. For example, under the category "electronic speed timing devices (nonradar), which calculate average speed between any two points", the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation authorizes two devices in addition to the various VASCAR-plus models: the Tracker, by PATCO, and the V-SPEC, by YIS/Cowden Group.

1. Allcott, William (August 1, 1987). "A Better Speed Trap". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
2. Fuoco, Michael (April 28, 2002). "Local police use radar in 49 states, but not here". *Pittsburgh Post-Gazette*.
3. Peterson, Craig (June 20, 2010). "Blast from the Past: VASCAR Returns". Retrieved January 4, 2011.
4. Analysis of VASCAR (PDF) (Report). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 1991.
5. Lincoln, Marshall (August 1967). "Watch It, Speeders!". *Popular Mechanics*.
6. "The Highway: Versatile VASCAR". *Time*. February 9, 1968. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010.
7. "Company Profile". Traffic Safety Systems, Inc.
8. U.S. Trademark 72,235,004
9. U.S. Trademark 74,566,845
10. "Approved Speed-Timing Devices and Appointment of Maintenance and Calibration Stations". Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. December 26, 2009.


title: Gordon Sandeman

abstract: Gordon Sandeman was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Queensland Legislative Assembly, and the Queensland Legislative Council.

text:
# Gordon Sandeman

**Gordon Sandeman** (1810 – 14 March 1897) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Queensland Legislative Assembly, and the Queensland Legislative Council.

## Early life

Sandeman was born in Edinburgh and was the son of a merchant. He emigrated to the Moreton Bay district in 1838 and established a mercantile business. He also acquired significant pastoral interests in the Wide Bay and Burnett districts. After suffering some financial difficulties in the 1880s Sandeman returned to the United Kingdom where he died aged 87.

## State Parliament of New South Wales

In the first election for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1856, Sandeman was elected unopposed as the member for Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett and Maranoa. Sandeman's election occurred prior to the separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859 and his electorate was in an area which is currently part of South-East Queensland. He resigned from parliament after 18 months to concentrate on his business interests.

## State Parliament of Queensland

After Queensland separated from New South Wales, Sandeman represented the seat of Leichhardt in the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1863 to 1870. In 1874 he was then appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council, holding that position till it was declared vacant in 1886.

## InfoBox

| Gordon Sandeman | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
for Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett and Maranoa | |
| **In office**
17 April 1856  10 October 1857 | |
| Preceded by | New seat |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Leslie |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Leichhardt | |
| **In office**
30 June 1863  13 September 1870Serving with Charles Royds, Edmund Royds | |
| Preceded by | Robert Herbert |
| Succeeded by | John Scott |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Council | |
| **In office**
2 January 1874  18 August 1886 | |
|  | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gordon Sandeman
1810
Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 14 March 1897
Brondesbury, London, England |
| Occupation | Pastoralist |
|  | |


title: Gosari inscription

abstract: Gosari inscription or Butulan inscription is an inscription dated 1298 saka located in the Butulan cave, limestone mountain region in Gosari village, Ujungpangkah, Gresik, East Java. Unlike other ancient inscription that usually carved on a large monolith stone, this inscriptions was carved on the cave wall. The villagers from surrounding area were already aware of the existence of the inscription for quite a long time, however it was formally reported to local authority in 2004. Since 2005 further study was conducted and concluded that the inscription was connected to the Majapahit kingdom and written during the reign of king Hayam Wuruk. Also concluded that the inscription was written about a ksatrya (knight) named Sang Rama Samadya that inhabit the cave because he was being exiled. Historian suggested that Sang Rama Samadya probably was once an important ksatrya (knight), a palace courtier or an official in the Majapahit court that was defeated in court politics and lost the favour of the king. As the result he must endured an exile in this cave, and performed semadi (meditation) probably to pursue spiritual or martial art mastery.

text:
# Gosari inscription

**Gosari inscription** or **Butulan inscription** is an inscription dated 1298 saka (1376 CE) located in the Butulan cave, limestone mountain region in Gosari village, Ujungpangkah, Gresik, East Java. Unlike other ancient inscription that usually carved on a large monolith stone, this inscriptions was carved on the cave wall.

The villagers from surrounding area were already aware of the existence of the inscription for quite a long time, however it was formally reported to local authority in 2004. Since 2005 further study was conducted and concluded that the inscription was connected to the Majapahit kingdom and written during the reign of king Hayam Wuruk. Also concluded that the inscription was written about a *ksatrya* (knight) named Sang Rama Samadya that inhabit the cave because he was being exiled. Historian suggested that Sang Rama Samadya probably was once an important *ksatrya* (knight), a palace courtier or an official in the Majapahit court that was defeated in court politics and lost the favour of the king. As the result he must endured an exile in this cave, and performed *semadi* (meditation) probably to pursue spiritual or martial art mastery.

## Content

Gosari inscription has been translated by Luthfi from Gadjah Mada University with archaeology team from Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2005.

1. *diwasani ngambal 1298*
2. *duk winahon denira san(g) rama samadya*
3. *makadi siri buyutarjah tali kur si*
4. *raka durahana*

## Translation

1. In the year 1298 (saka, 1376 CE) in Ambal
2. at that time was inhabit by San(g) Rama Samadya
3. buyut arjah talikur
4. the exiled one

* **Kompas**. 27 July 2010.  *Prasasti Gosari Terkait Dengan Majapahit*. Kompas Jawa Timur page K