Articles Books

This is a short biography about me. If you know a little about my career and are curious to learn more, this has been written about me based on a phone interview where I described my work interests and my personal life.

I enjoyed everything about this biography, but felt there has to be more to the story somewhere out there. How did Church get from being a reporter for the Civil War - to towering cynic - to the man who would write "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus"? There are some serious gaps in the story I thought needed filling. Although Church wrote anonymously most often at The Sun, surely somewhere is a collection of his editorials that might shed some more light on the heart and soul of this man? A man who said 'Free your mind of Cant' who will declare that Santa Claus exists and lives forever in the heart and soul of man? Francis Pharcellus Church is a true enigma.

I finally decided to splurge the $10 and see what this little bio had to offer. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. It gave me some interesting information and it was a lot better than I expected. I am a die-hard Richie Tankersley Cusick fan, so in my opinion, this was worth the $10 spent. The only thing I didn't like was that it hasn't been updated since 2003 so her newest novels are missing. Also, I wonder if things have changed since then. If there is ever an updated version, I would love to read it.

Interesting article for anyone who needs to know about Eugene Kennedy.

I am an admirer of Peggy Noonan and my mark might be biased. I failed to get any real insight into the quintessence of her writings and how her Catholicism has influenced her writing.Dr Jusuf Hariman

Who would have thought that an office park would become one of the most romantic places? The ASM offices in Kirtland, Ohio is just that, though! My husband and I have spent so many hours there (after the offices are closed) and visit it each time we go back to Ohio for holidays. Surprisingly, the dome doesn't get many visitors. When I was a child, this used to be one of our standard yearly field trips. However, it seems, there aren't many in Ohio that seem to be aware of this magnificent structure and the place is completely empty when we visit.

The dome is beautiful from any angle, but when standing directly underneath such a large unusual structure, it's truly a site to behold-- breathtaking and even awe-inspiring. According to the asm website below, this particular dome is "the largest open-work dome in the world, and was one of Fuller's favorites." The ASM gardens and fountains underneath Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome here are gorgeous at almost any time of year.

[...]

Lloyd Steven Sieden's article is superb if you have any interest at all in the history of these types of structures. The author explains the history of the structures, Buckminster Fuller's contributions, and describes probable uses for the structures in the future.

Fuller created his first dome in 1948, and it took him over 2 years to do the calculations, according to the author. Yet, sadly, while Fuller and his students paused to look at their completed structure, it immediately sagged and collapsed!

Thankfully, this didn't deter Fuller from completing his dreams, which he did. The author of this article truly admires Buckminster Fuller and says of the dome:

"It properly stands as a monument to the work of Buckminster Fuller, who successfully shared his vision of a world that works for everyone. He also inspired scores of people to work, as he did, to establish a network of equally significant individuals supporting humanity's emergence into a new era of cooperation. That relationship between individual human beings, as well as that between humans and their environment, is not modeled by the rigid conventional buildings that fill our environment. It is modeled in the amazing geodesic dome's network of lightweight, resilient struts, wires, and panels."

The article is short and concise, yet definitely will give you a full history of these fascinating structures.

I was really excited to see this book, as I am very intrested in learning more about Latino and Afro Latino religions and spiritual expressions, as well as the visual representations that come along with them (altars, dress, etc). The book itself has beautiful detailed pictures taken from the Los Angeles area botanicas and homes of practitioners of Curanderismo, Espiritismo, Santeria, and Palo.

The concept of the book is documenting religious expression of Latin Americans in L.A. Unfortunately becuase of the very academic approach, the first two chapters (which are really the reflections of the ethnographer who visits various botanicas) are very dry and detached. They are definately written from the perspective of "an outsider looking in" to an extreme extent. The information is presented in a way such that someone who is completely unfamiliar with Afro Latino/Latino religions and spirituality is assumed to be the reader.

Despite that, most of the other chapters (written by various authors) are very warm and include interviews with practioners, as well as personal knowledge and experiences of the authors themselves within various practices. Subjects included in the book are Puerto Rican Mesa Blanca (espiritismo), the Guatamalan saint San Simon, understanding what a botanicas are and why they exist, and a breakdown of the African origins and orishas of the Santeria and Palo traditions.

This book is by no means comprehensive of Latin American spiritual tradtions, however it is a good introduction to the religious expressions of the Dispora found in "the City of Angels".

Funnier than anything Jim Carry's ever done.

Overall, a good article that will be useful to those working in the field. However, it is clear that this civillian author would find it difficult to make it through any sort of Marine Corps training herself. This author needs a dose of the real world.

This article by Harry Hutchinson originally appeared in "Mechanical Engineering-CIME" (volume 127, issue 1) on January 1, 2005. It outlines steps that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking to institute quantifiable Risk Analysis (RA) methodologies in addressing terrorist threats against American infrastructure.

The article doesn't get into the details of assigning quantities to the components of risk; the article defines risk only as the product of frequency, vulnerability, and cost of the consequences (R=FVC). Lawrence Stanton, a DHS specialist in this area explains the methodology of deriving these values, and then applying the results to a nationally implemented antiterrorist strategy dubbed "RAMCAP," short for Risk Analysis and Management for Critical Assets Protection. The methodology is explained and key concepts are introduced, none of which will surprise most safety professionals. The article really doesn't draw extensive comparisons between RAMCAP and RA in the nuclear industry specifically, despite what the title would have you believe, but the article is, nonetheless, a valuable and quick introduction for anyone interested in Risk Analysis in a national security framework.