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Copycat (software)

Copycat is a model of analogy making and human cognition based on the concept of the parallel terraced scan, developed in 1988 by Douglas Hofstadter, Melanie Mitchell, and others at the Center for Research on Concepts and Cognition, Indiana University Bloomington. The original Copycat was written in Common Lisp and is bitrotten (as it relies on now-outdated graphics libraries for Lucid Common Lisp); however, Java and Python ports exist. The latest version in 2018 is a Python3 port by Lucas Saldyt and J. Alan Brogan.

Description
Copycat produces answers to such problems as "abc is to abd as ijk is to what?" (abc:abd :: ijk:?). Hofstadter and Mitchell consider analogy making as the core of high-level cognition, or high-level perception, as Hofstadter calls it, basic to recognition and categorization. High-level perception emerges from the spreading activity of many independent processes, called codelets, running in parallel, competing or cooperating. They create and destroy temporary perceptual constructs, probabilistically trying out variations to eventually produce an answer. The codelets rely on an associative network, slipnet, built on pre-programmed concepts and their associations (a long-term memory). The changing activation levels of the concepts make a conceptual overlap with neighboring concepts.

Copycat's architecture is tripartite, consisting of a slipnet, a working area (also called workspace, similar to blackboard systems), and the coderack (with the codelets). The slipnet is a network composed of nodes, which represent permanent concepts, and weighted links, which are relations, between them. It differs from traditional semantic networks, since the effective weight associated with a particular link may vary through time according to the activation level of specific concepts (nodes). The codelets build structures in the working area and modify activations in the slipnet accordingly (bottom-up processes), and the current state of slipnet determines probabilistically which codelets must be run (top-down influences).

Comparison to other cognitive architectures
Copycat differs considerably in many respects from other cognitive architectures such as ACT-R, Soar, DUAL, Psi-Theory, or subsumption architectures.

Copycat is Hofstadter's most popular model. Other models presented by Hofstadter et al. are similar in architecture, but different in the so-called microdomain, their application, e.g. Letter Spirit, etc.

Since the 1995 book Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies describing the work of the Fluid Analogies Research Group (FARG) book, work on Copycat-like models has continued: as of 2008 the latest models are Phaeaco (a Bongard problem solver), SeqSee (number sequence extrapolation), George (geometric exploration), and Musicat (a melodic expectation model). The architecture is known as the "FARGitecture" and current implementations use a variety of modern languages including C# and Java. A future FARG goal is to build a single generic FARGitecture software framework to facilitate experimentation.

title: Copycat (software)


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Megan Gale

Megan Kate Gale (born 7 August 1975) is an Australian model and actress. Born in Perth, Western Australia, Gale won a model contest when she was 18 in her home town. In 1999 she was cast in a series of commercials for the Italian branch of telecommunications company Vodafone. This led to wide exposure in both Italy and her homeland Australia, and she appeared in those advertising until 2006. Gale has also appeared in Italian movies and television shows, and as an actress, Gale played Fatma in Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner (2014) and Valkyrie in George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

In 2005 Gale became the national ambassador for "Kids Help Line" and in 2009 she was appointed the first official "National Ambassador" for "The Red Cross".

Early life
Born in Parmelia, Western Australia, Gale's father is English and her mother is part Maori. She is the youngest of three children with two older brothers.

Modelling
Gale won a modelling competition in Perth at 18. After several years of modelling, Gale rose to fame when in 1999 was cast to appear in a series of advertisements for an Italian telecommunication company, Omnitel (now Vodafone Italy); she appeared in the company's advertising until 2006. She was also retained by the Australian Tourist Commission in 2003 as 'their face of Australia in Italy'. Gale has graced the covers of Australian Marie Claire, Grazia, Gioia, Italian and Australian GQ, Italian Maxim, Australian InStyle and featured in editorials for Australian Cosmopolitan and Vogue Italia. Gale has modeled for Italian fashion houses including Gianfranco Ferré, Genny, Gai Mattiolo and runway work for Mariella Burani and Angelo Marani at Milan Fashion Week. Gale also favours many Australian designers, such as Colette Dinnigan, Kirrily Johnston, Lisa Ho, Willow and Alex Perry. In 2006, she was the fashion commentator for the Australian television awards, the Logies.

In January 2008, Gale announced her retirement from runway modelling after 15 years and walked the catwalk for the last time just weeks later at a David Jones winter collection launch in Sydney. Her final outfit was the Wonder Woman outfit she was to wear in the still-shelved film Justice League of America. In March 2011, Gale returned to the runway and closed Alex Perry's 2011 Melbourne Fashion Festival show.

August 2011 marked Gale's 10th anniversary with department store David Jones, the longest held fashion contract in Australia. That same month, Gale became an ambassador for L'Oréal Paris, joining Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani. Gale appeared in a L'Oréal shampoo commercial in Australia, New Zealand and Italy.

Acting
Megan Gale has appeared in the Italian movies Vacanze di Natale 2000, Body Guards as herself in both movies, and in Stregati dalla luna (Bewitched by the Moon in Italian) as "Vivianna". She also had a cameo part in the 2005 movie Stealth where she played Dr. Orbit's secretary. In January 2008, it was announced that she had been offered the part of Wonder Woman in the upcoming George Miller movie version of Justice League of America, before the project was put on hold and eventually cancelled. In August 2009, Gale completed filming a role in her first Australian feature film, the romantic comedy I Love You Too, where she played Italian supermodel "Francesca Moretti". Gale also appeared in 2014 Russell Crowe's drama film The Water Diviner in the role of Fatma, and in 2015 Miller's post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max: Fury Road in the role of the Valkyrie.

Swimwear range
In 2010, Gale launched a swimwear label, "Isola". The line is carried at department stores, including "David Jones".

Television
In 2005, Gale became a guest reporter for Nine Network travel show Getaway from October 2005 to June 2006. She also worked with Mike Munro as co-host of the nine-episode Australian documentary TV show What a Year, which first aired on the Nine Network on 2 October 2006. Gale also appeared briefly on Australia's Next Top Model, Cycle 4 in episode 4. She also appeared in cycle 6 (2010), in which the girls of that cycle were featured in Isola's first fashion show.

Gale also became the National Ambassador for Kids Help Line in February 2005. In 2009, she was appointed the first official National Ambassador for The Red Cross.

In early 2011 Gale became the new host of Project Runway Australia where she would also serve as judge and executive producer of the design-based reality show. The new season premiered on 4 July 2011 on Arena TV. In 2016, Gale became a permanent judge on Australia's Next Top Model.

Personal life
In January 2011, Gale began a relationship with Carlton (and later ) footballer Shaun Hampson. On 20 July 2017, the couple announced their engagement. They have two children, a son and a daughter.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Megan Gale


text: User talk:128.54.177.79

title: User talk:128.54.177.79


text:
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence

The Archdiocese of Florence (Archidioecesis Florentina) is a Latin Church metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy. It was traditionally founded in the 1st century, according to the 14th century chronicler Giovanni Villani. The diocese was directly subordinate to the Holy See (Papacy) until 1420.

Florence was elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese on 10 May 1419, by Pope Martin V. The ecclesiastical province of Florence, of which the Archbishop of Florence in the metropolitan, includes the suffragan dioceses of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro, Fiesole, Pistoia, Prato, and San Miniato.

The seat of the Archbishop of Florence is Florence Cathedral, otherwise the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. Since September 2008 Cardinal Giuseppe Betori has been the Archbishop.

History
On 29 July 1322, Pope John XXII reserved to the pope the right to nominate as well as confirm the bishops of Florence.

Due to heavy rains in the autumn and winter of 1346–1347, the crops were a failure, in wheat as well as in grapes and olives. By May 1347 the price of wheat in Florence had doubled. Arrangements were made to import grain from south Italy, Sicily and Africa, but the merchants of Siena and Genoa, who were contracted to transport the foodstuffs, kept half for their own cities. 94,000 inhabitants of Florence were dependent upon municipal charity, and some 4,000 were said to have died of starvation.

Then, in April 1348, the pestilence known as the Black Death, struck Florence. By July nearly 100,000 people were dead. The historian Giovanni Villani estimated that nearly three out of every five persons in Florence and its neighborhood had been struck down. Ultimately he himself succumbed. In his famous introduction to the Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio repeats the number 100,000 and provides harrowing details of the breakdown of social connections and human feelings.

Other episodes of pestilence in Florence occurred in 1325, 1340, 1344, 1363, 1509, 1522–1528, and 1630.

Council of Florence
In 1438, the Council of Basel was moved to Ferrara, and, in doing so, split into two factions, one remaining at Basel and electing their own pope, the Antipope Felix V. The faction that settled at Ferrara had to leave soon, however, due to an appearance of the plague. They were reconstituted at Florence by Pope Eugenius IV, and became the Council of Florence, which was transferred to Rome in 1443.

Chapter and cathedral
The current cathedral of Florence is dedicated to the Assumption of the Body of the Virgin Mary into Heaven. The cathedral was originally dedicated to S. John the Baptist, and occupied the former temple of Mars. When it became too small for the clergy and necessary rituals, a new cathedral, dedicated to S. Reparata, was built.

In 816, the Emperor Louis the Pious held a council at Aix, at which it was ordered that Canons and Canonesses live together according to a set of rules (canons, regulae). In the Roman synod of Pope Eugene II of November 826, it was ordered that Canons live together in a cloister next to the church. In 876, the Council of Pavia decreed in Canon X that the bishops should enclose the Canons: uti episcopi in civitatibus suis proximum ecclesiae claustrum instituant, in quo ipsi cum clero secundum canonicam regulam Deo militent, et sacerdotes suos ad hoc constringant, ut ecclesiam non relinquant et alibi habitare praesumant. The cathedral was administered by a Chapter, composed of five dignities and thirty-seven Canons. The dignities were: the Provost, the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, and the Dean.

The diocese also had twelve collegiate churches, the most important of which is San Lorenzo.

Diocesan synods
A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See.

 * 1073 - Raynerius.
 * 1139 - Gottifredo degli Alberti.
 * 1310, 13 August - Antonio D'Orso.
 * 1327, 1 August - Francesco di Silvestro.
 * 1343 - Angelo Acciaiuoli seniore.
 * 1346 Angelo Acciaiuoli
 * 1350, March - Angelo Acciaioli seniore.
 * 1372, 13–14 January -Angelo Ricasoli.
 * 1393, 3 July - Onofrio Visdomini.
 * 1415 - Amerigo Corsini.
 * 1446, 22 April - Antonino Pierozzi.
 * 1508 - Cosimo Pazzi.
 * 1517 - Cardinal Giulio de' Medici
 * 1565, 29 March - Antonio Altoviti.
 * 1569, 5 May - Antonio Altoviti.
 * 1573, 9 April - Antonio Altoviti (provincial synod)
 * 1589, 26 March – 11 June - Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici.
 * 1603, 17 June - Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici.
 * 1610, 27 May - Alessandro Marzi Medici.
 * 1614, 4 June - Alessandro Marzi Medici.
 * 1619, 14–15 May - Alessandro Marzi Medici.
 * 1623, 17 May - Alessandro Marzi Medici.
 * 1627, 18 May - Alessandro Marzi Medici.
 * 1629, 10 May - Alessandro Marzi Medici.
 * 1637, 16 June - Pietro Niccolini.
 * 1645, 17 May - Pietro Niccolini.
 * 1656, 4 April - Cardinal Francesco Nerli seniore.
 * 1663, 26 September - Cardinal Francesco Nerli seniore.
 * 1666, 23 September - Cardinal Francesco Nerli seniore.
 * 1669, 25 September - Cardinal Francesco Nerli seniore.
 * 1674, 12 September - Cardinal Francesco Nerli iuniore.
 * 1678, 31 August - Cardinal Francesco Nerli iuniore.
 * 1681, 27 August - Cardinal Francesco Nerli iuniore.
 * 1691, 26 September - Jacopo Antonio Morigia.
 * 1699, 24 September - Jacopo Antonio Morigia
 * 1710, 10 September - Tommaso Bonaventura Della Gherardesca.
 * 1732, 24 September - Giuseppe Maria Martelli.
 * 1905, 21–23 November - Alfonso Maria Mistrangelo.
 * 1936, 10–12 September - Cardinal Elia Dalla Costa.
 * 1946, 8–9 May - Cardinal Elia Dalla Costa.
 * 1988 - Cardinal Silvano Piovanelli.
 * 1992 - Cardinal Silvano Piovanelli.

to 1200

 * Felix (attested 313)

 * Zenobius (c. 376–417)
 * Mauritius ( –550)
 * Mauritius ( –550)

 * Reparatus (attested 679, 684)

 * Speciosus (attested 716, 724)

 * Thomas (attested 743)

 * Aliprandus (attested 826, 833)

 * Rodingus (attested 852)
 * Gerardus (attested 853, 855)
 * Petrus (attested 861)
 * Andreas (attested 873, 876, 890)

 * Grasulphus (attested 897, 898, 904)

 * Podo (Podio) (attested 908–926)

 * Raimbaldus (attested 941, 964)
 * Sichelmus (attested 966, 972)

 * Podio (Podius) (attested 987–999)
 * Guido (attested 1004–1007)
 * Ildebrandus (Hildebrand) (attested 1008–1024)
 * Lambertus (attested 1025, 1028, 1032)
 * Atto (attested 1036, 1037)
 * Gérard de Bourgogne (1045–1058)
 * Petrus Mezzabarba (attested 1065–1068)
 * Sede vacante (1068–1071)
 * Rodulfus, Bishop of Todi, Apostolic Administrator

 * Rainerius (attested 1071–1113)
 * Gotefridus (c.1114–c.1146)
 * Actius (Atto) (1143–1154)
 * Ambrosius (1155–1158)
 * Julius (attested 1158–1182)
 * Bernardus (1182-1187)
 * Paganus (1087–1090)
 * Petrus (1190–1205)

1200 to 1411

 * Joannes de Velletri (1205–1230)
 * Ardingus Trotti (1231–1247)
 * Philippus Fontana (1250–1251)
 * Joannes de Mangiadori (1251–after 1275)
 * Jacobus (Castelbuono), O.P. (1286)
 * Andreas de Mozzi (1286–1295)
 * Franciscus de Monaldeschi (1295–1302)
 * Loterius della Tosa (1303–1309)
 * Antonius Orso (1310–1321)
 * Franciscus Silvestri (1323–1341)
 * Angelo Acciaiuoli, O.P. (26 Jun 1342–1355)
 * Francesco degli Atti (1355–1356)
 * Filippo dell'Antella (1357–1363)
 * Pietro Corsini (1 Sep 1363 Appointed – 7 June 1370)
 * Angelo Ricasoli (1370–1383)
 * Angelo Acciaioli (1383 Appointed – 20 November 1385)
 * Bartolomeo Uliari, O.Min. (1385–1389)
 * Onofrio Visdomini, O.E.S.A. (1390–1400)
 * Alamanno Adimari (1400–1401)
 * Jacopo Palladini (1401–1410)
 * Francesco Zabarella (1410– 17 June 1411)

1411 to 1700

 * Amerigo Corsini (1411–1434)
 * Giovanni Vitelleschi (1435– 9 August 1437)
 * Ludovico Trevisano (Scarampi Mezzarota) (1437–1439)
 * Bartolomeo Zabarella (18 December 1439 – 21 December 1445 Died)
 * Antonino Forcilioni, O.P. † (10 Jan 1446 – 2 May 1459 Died)
 * Orlando Bonarli (16 Jun 1459 – 1461 Died)
 * Giovanni Neroni Diotisalvi (22 Mar 1462 – 1473 Died)
 * Pietro Riario, O.F.M. Conv. (20 Jul 1473 – 3 January 1474 Died)
 * Rinaldo Orsini (28 Jan 1474 –1508)
 * Cosimo de' Pazzi (5 Jul 1508 – 8 April 1513 Died)
 * Giulio de' Medici (9 May 1513 – 1523)
 * Niccolò Ridolfi (11 Jan 1524 – 11 October 1532 Resigned)
 * Andrea Buondelmonti (1532–1542)
 * Niccolò Ridolfi, second term (1543–1548)
 * Antonio Altoviti (25 May 1548 – 28 December 1573 Died)
 * Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici (15 Jan 1574 –1605)
 * Alessandro Marzi de' Medici (1605–1630)
 * Cosimo de' Bardi (9 Sep 1630 – 18 April 1631 Died)
 * Pietro Niccolini (7 Jun 1632 – 1 December 1651 Died)
 * Francesco Nerli (seniore) (16 Dec 1652 – 6 November 1670 Died)
 * Francesco Nerli (iuniore) (22 Dec 1670 – 31 December 1682 Resigned)
 * Giacomo Antonio Morigia, B. (15 Feb 1683 – 23 October 1699 Resigned)

since 1700

 * Leone Strozzi, O.S.B. (21 Jun 1700 – 4 October 1703 Died)
 * Tommaso Bonaventura della Gherardesca (12 Nov 1703 – 21 September 1721 Died)
 * Giuseppe Maria Martelli (2 Mar 1722 – 10 February 1740 Resigned)
 * Francesco Gaetano Incontri (29 May 1741 – 25 March 1781 Died)
 * Antonio Martini (25 Jun 1781 – 31 December 1809 Died)
 * Pietro Francesco Morali (15 Mar 1815 – 29 September 1826 Died)
 * Ferdinando Minucci (28 Jan 1828 – 2 July 1856 Died)
 * Giovacchino Limberti (3 Aug 1857 – 27 October 1874 Died)
 * Eugenio Cecconi (21 Dec 1874 – 15 June 1888 Died)
 * Agostino Bausa, O.P. (11 Feb 1889 – 15 April 1899 Died)
 * Alfonso Mistrangelo, Sch. P. (19 Jun 1899 – 7 November 1930 Died)
 * Elia Dalla Costa (19 Dec 1931 – 22 December 1961 Died)
 * Ermenegildo Florit (9 Mar 1962 Succeeded – 3 June 1977 Retired)
 * Giovanni Benelli (3 Jun 1977 – 26 October 1982 Died)
 * Silvano Piovanelli (18 Mar 1983 – 21 March 2001 Retired)
 * Ennio Antonelli (2001–2008)
 * Giuseppe Betori (8 Sep 2008 – Present)

Churches

 * Santa Maria e Santa Brigida al Paradiso

Reference for bishops

 * (in Latin)
 * (in Latin)
 * (in Latin)
 * (in Latin)
 * (in Latin)
 * (in Latin)
 * (in Latin)

Studies

 * Caponi, Matteo (2009). "Una diocesi in guerra: Firenze (1914-1918)." Studi Storici vol. 50, no. 1, 2009, pp. 231–255. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25677430.
 * Faini, Enrico (2013), "I vescovi dimenticati. Memoria e oblio dei vescovi fiorentini e fiesolani dell'età pre-gregoriana," in: Annali di Storia di Firenze VIII (2013), pp. 11–49.
 * Lanzoni, Francesco (1927). Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604), Faenza 1927, pp. 573–584.
 * Ristori, G. B. (1896). "Alcune notizie sul palazzo del vescovo Fiorentino" in:
 * Schwartz, Gerhard (1907). Die Besetzung der Bistümer Reichsitaliens unter den sächsischen und salischen Kaisern: mit den Listen der Bischöfe, 951-1122. Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. pp. 207–210.
 * Lanzoni, Francesco (1927). Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604), Faenza 1927, pp. 573–584.
 * Ristori, G. B. (1896). "Alcune notizie sul palazzo del vescovo Fiorentino" in:
 * Schwartz, Gerhard (1907). Die Besetzung der Bistümer Reichsitaliens unter den sächsischen und salischen Kaisern: mit den Listen der Bischöfe, 951-1122. Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. pp. 207–210.
 * Ristori, G. B. (1896). "Alcune notizie sul palazzo del vescovo Fiorentino" in:
 * Schwartz, Gerhard (1907). Die Besetzung der Bistümer Reichsitaliens unter den sächsischen und salischen Kaisern: mit den Listen der Bischöfe, 951-1122. Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. pp. 207–210.
 * Schwartz, Gerhard (1907). Die Besetzung der Bistümer Reichsitaliens unter den sächsischen und salischen Kaisern: mit den Listen der Bischöfe, 951-1122. Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. pp. 207–210.

title: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence


text: User talk:69.173.147.202

title: User talk:69.173.147.202


text:
Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and is located at 800 East Broad Street, two blocks from the Virginia State Capitol building. It was formerly known as the Virginia State Library and as the Virginia State Library and Archives.

Formally founded by the Virginia General Assembly in 1823, the Library of Virginia organizes, cares for, and manages the state's collection of books and official records, many of which date back to the early colonial period. It houses what is believed to be the most comprehensive collection of materials on Virginia government, history, and culture available anywhere. Its research collections contain more than 808,500 bound volumes; 678,790 public documents; 410,330 microforms, including 45,684 reels of microfilmed newspapers; 308,900 photographs and other pictorial materials; 101.8 million manuscript items and records; and several hundred thousand prints, broadsides, and newspapers.

History of the institution
Although the Library of Virginia was officially established January 23, 1823, its history goes back to the collection of materials acquired for official use by the colonial Council and subsequent colonial and state authorities. The first permanent home of the Library was a small room on the top floor of the State Capitol. The state's books and records eventually outgrew this space, and overflow books and documents were then stored in several rented locations across Richmond.

In an 1851 survey by the Smithsonian, the library was listed as having 14,000 volumes.

In 1892, the General Assembly provided for a new Virginia State Library on Capitol Square in what is today known as the Oliver Hill Building. Over the ensuing forty years, the Library again outgrew that building, and in 1940 it moved to its third location at the edge of Capitol Square between 11th and Governor Streets (today the Patrick Henry Executive Office Building). It shared this space with the State Law Library, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, the Virginia Department of Law, and the Office of the Attorney General.

The Library moved to its current location at 800 East Broad Street in 1997. The old library buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and 2005, respectively.

The state library houses one of the most comprehensive collections on Virginia. The collection covers Virginia government, history, and culture. The collection focuses on the varied past of the commonwealth, documenting the lives of important and ordinary Virginians and their deeds. The collections include printed material, manuscripts and photographic collections. The Library also supplies research and reference assistance to state officials; consulting services to state and local government agencies and to other Virginia public libraries; administers numerous federal, state, and local grant programs; publishes award-winning books; provides educational programs and resources on Virginia history; and offers exhibitions, lectures, and book-signings.

Programs and publications
Since 1998, the Library of Virginia and the Library of Virginia Foundation have sponsored the annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards honoring outstanding Virginia authors and books about Virginia in the areas of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They also present annually a lifetime achievement award, whose past recipients are Ellen Glasgow (1998), Edgar Allan Poe (1999), Anne Spencer (2000), Booker T. Washington (2001), Mary Lee Settle (2002), Louis D. Rubin, Jr. (2003), George Garrett (2004), Merrill D. Peterson (2005), William Styron (2006), Tom Wolfe (2007), Rita Dove (2008), John Grisham (2009), Lee Smith (2010), Earl Hamner, Jr. (2011), Tom Robbins (2012), Charles Wright (2013), and Barbara Kingsolver (2014).

The Library of Virginia sponsors the annual Virginia Women in History project to honor eight Virginia women, living and dead, who have made extraordinary contributions to the state or to their professions and also the annual African American Trailblazers in Virginia project.

Library of Virginia hosts the Virginia Literary Festival. This event attracts authors, publishers, and residents of Virginia. Attendees get the chance to meet new authors as well as well known authors. The library awards seven different literary awards at their annual event.

Archives Month focuses on institutions and individuals that have made significant impact on the preservation and accessibility of historical records. In conjunction with the Archive Month the Library of Virginia produces posters commemorating archival and special collections repositories throughout the state. Many archives contribute to the celebration by hosting events.

Library of Virginia hosts an ongoing series of Book Talk Series. These book talks feature authors from Virginia and books on the state of Virginia. These are hosted nearly every week and the cover a wide range of topics: from Virginia's role in the founding of the United States to the legacy of the Civil War to the many facets of the civil rights struggle in Virginia. The audience is given the opportunity to listen and interact with a variety of scholars and literary authors.

The Library's Virginia Heritage Resource Center offers a series of lectures by researchers and subject specialists showcasing the contents of the library's collection and its potential as a resource for researchers.

Library of Virginia offers a variety of workshops each year for anyone who works in library services. These workshops and conferences are designed to help hone skills and develop new approaches. These workshops cover topics such as serving special needs patrons, cataloging databases, and reference services.

In 2007 and 2008 work began on the Virginia Memory project, which serves as an extension of the Library of Virginia's online presence. The project launched in 2009 and has four components, the Library's digital collections, online versions of the Library's exhibitions, an online classroom, and a "reading room" that offers a chronology of Virginia events, articles by Library archivists, and "This Day in Virginia History". The Transcribe program is a collaborative workspace for people to help the Library transcribe documents. In August 2015 the project expanded to include the Document Bank of Virginia, which hosts select documents along with historical context for educational use.

State Librarians of Virginia
During the nineteenth century, Secretaries of the Commonwealth usually oversaw the state library as part of their official duties.

 * John Pendleton Kennedy, 1903–1907
 * Henry Read McIlwaine, 1907–1934
 * Wilmer L. Hall, 1934–1946
 * Randolph Warner Church, 1947–1972
 * Donald Rucker Haynes, 1972–1986
 * Ella Gaines Yates, 1986–1990
 * John C. Tyson, 1990–1994
 * Nolan T. Yelitch, 1995–2007
 * Sandra Gioia Treadway, 2007–2024
 * Dennis T. Clark, 2024-current

title: Library of Virginia


text: User talk:69.226.43.116

title: User talk:69.226.43.116


text:
Talk:Richard Halliburton

Request for expansion
I'd like to see this article expanded. I took some first steps by adding dates of birth and death, and listing his autobiography / collection of letters. I have two things I wasn't sure about:
 * 1) Since his date of death is not known (missing at sea), I used c. 23 March, that date being the last known communication with the ship, and likely somewhat close to the demise of those aboard. Is this acceptable?
 * 2) Where the author's name appears in the title of the work, as in Halliburton's collection of letters, is it repeated per WP style? I couldn't find any info at a casual glance. -- Tetraminoe 05:52, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I think having the date death as an approximate date is fine. In my opinion, you've also cited the collection of letters correctly, if "Richard Halliburton" is the name of the book and the listed author's name. Sayeth 16:00, Apr 18, 2005 (UTC)
 * All looks fine to me, too. -- Jmabel | Talk 05:05, Apr 19, 2005 (UTC)

Fact or fiction?
Isn't there now some doubt about the authenticity of some of his stories? I've started here before exploring elsewhere on the web. Martynz

 * I've never heard any expressed, and certainly some of the more remarkable stories (e.g. swimming the Panama Canal) were easily verified. I know that he was pretty consistent about photo-documenting mountain ascents, etc. On the other hand, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he took some literary license in describing a conversation, but what travel writer doesn't? -- Jmabel | Talk 22:33, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Halliburton offered his readers 'romance.' He never let tedious factual reality get in the way of his telling a good story or sharing an unusual experience. In his writing of 'romantic' travel narrative, the logistical hardships (flight delays, red-tape, customs inspections, etc.) one endures on a trip, unless of peculiar interest, are summarily removed; left then is the drama of the exceptional high points of the trip. By comparison, a two hour feature movie compresses extended stretches of time, as well as eliminates extraneous asides, to reduce, among other things, audience boredom or the threat of it. When put side by side, two accounts of the same event(s), one purportedly historical, the other tendentiously romantic, can illuminate the characteristics of each narrative approach. For examples of how Halliburton embellished his travel experiences, see Barbara Schultz' Flying Carpets, Flying Wings - The Biography of Moye Stephens (Plane Mercantile, 2011) which offers pilot Stephens' 'unromanticized' accounts of events which Halliburton, alternatively, refashioned in his bestselling The Flying Carpet. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.249.91.80 (talk) 15:21, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

Princeton Graduate?
The reference at http://www.memphismagazine.com/backissues/april2001/coverstory2.htm states he graduated from Princeton in 1921, the article here says he dropped out -- which is it? 69.174.71.38 19:57, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

There is an index to Princeton graduates. They don't list Halliburton - in any year. https://library.princeton.edu/special-collections/databases/princeton-university-graduate-alumni-index   — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.241.170.154 (talk) 19:21, 7 December 2020 (UTC)

The index reflects graduate not undergraduate degrees. Halliburton's letters inidicate he received a "diploma"   — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gerry Edward Max (talk • contribs) 23:11, 14 December 2022 (UTC)
 * I don't know offhand, but if someone has a copy of The Royal Road to Romance, it should say. I don't have one handy at present. - Jmabel | Talk 01:07, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I just found my copy {autographed to boot} of New Worlds to Conquer - but am walking out the door to do a show on KLDK. He might say something there. Carptrash 01:35, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Well he diesn't say in this book, but everything I've looked at suggests that he did graduate in 1921 from Princeton. So I'll probably just make that change. Carptrash 04:57, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

Okay. The article says that he droped out, which I think he did, but he then returned and probably graduated. The article is true in-so-far as it goes, there is just more to the story. Carptrash 04:59, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Doubtless someone who cares could get a straight answer from Princeton. - Jmabel | Talk 02:14, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

From The Royal Road to Romance - "June and graduation.... I was at liberty now to unleash the wild impulses within me, and follow wherever the devil lead. Away went cap and gown..." --Think Fast 02:44, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Can you give an edition and page number so that we can cite that? - Jmabel | Talk 05:10, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
 * I am late to the table, but I have to say that Halliburton used even more artistic licence than most travel writers. Just because he uses a certain form of words in his travelogues does  not mean that things happened exactly that way. The first chapter of his first book is mad with poetry; fact mattered less to him. BrainyBabe (talk) 19:28, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Sexuality
Recently Category:LGBT writers from the United States was added to the article. I've removed it, pending citation. There is nothing currently cited (or even stated) in the article to bear out any claim about Halliburton's sexuality. I'm pretty familiar with his writing and don't remember it ever touching on sexuality, his own or anyone else's. Where does this come from? - Jmabel | Talk 18:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

 * I thought the article was fine as it was, and did not see a need to make an insertion about his sexuality. Actually, for someone of that time period, the ending sentence "He never married" could even be interpreted as code to say that he was gay.  While else mention his marital status one way or another, especially as a tacked-on, final sentence?

 * I wanted (casual) readers of the article to judge Halliburton by his work, not by his sexuality. As a popular travel writer in the 1930's, mentioning his homosexual liaisons in his books would certainly not have been a wise career move - therefore you won't find any.  Given the taboos against homosexuality that have only recently begun to erode, there is generally - and VERY deliberately - not much evidence left behind to prove that any historical figure was not straight.  It is always hard with lists of LGBT individuals; some people perceive including someone as defamation of that individual - to quiet them, nothing short of a mountain of evidence will do - in this case, the article would have been reduced to a dissertation about Richard Halliburton's queerness.  I'm NOT saying that you fit in this category, from your diligence in taking care of this article; I truly think you simply want to see it kept accurate.

 * Some evidence exists for Richard Halliburton's queerness (I use the word because I do not know if he was gay or bisexual) because he had a relationship with silent film star Ramón Novarro, one of the few actors of the period who refused to hide his homosexuality. There is a good telling of their relationship in "Ramón Novarro: A Biography of the Silent Film Idol" ISBN: 0786400994.  Richard Halliburton was a fixture of sorts in the gay community of Laguna Beach, one of the first gay enclaves in California.  His house by West Beach (which even today is the local gay beach) was known as "Hangover House."   I have even heard that the crew of men sailing with him in the junk from China to the World's Fair was primarily gay.  Udibi | Talk 07:02, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Quite familiar with Ramón Novarro. We should explicitly cite that source. It is worth a line in the article. A liaison with Novarro would be notable, if not exactly rare. Given Halliburton's generally macho image, it seems to me that queerness, well-cited, rates a mention. Obviously "I have even heard" is not a citation; so just which parts of what you just wrote are citable? & can you give specific citation (pages?) - Jmabel | Talk 18:06, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Here's the most relevant passage from André Soares, Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro, St. Martin's Press, 2002. ISBN 0-312-28231-1.

 * p.163: …Novarro spent much of… late 1930 in the company of… Richard Halliburton, whom he probably men through Pancho Barnes [(Florence Barnes)]. … [In] The Royal Road of Romance (sic)… he narrates some of his notorious capers—though carefully omitting any mention of his sexual orientation and frequent libidinous escapades.

 * Some reports have contended that Novarro and Halliburton were more than just pals, but there is no indication of an affair in Halliburton's lettters to their common gay friend Noël Sullivan, even though the adventurer was generally quite open about his romantic and sexual romps in his correspondence. …"

At p.302, Soares asserts that Paul Mooney, who disappeared with Halliburton on his fatal sea voyage, was his lover.

Also, a note on p.343 (endnote related to p.163) refers to Michael Blankenship, "A Fellow Traveller", The Advocate, July 18, 1989 for discussion of Halliburton's sexuality. He says that Ellenberger's Ramon Novarro and "the gay press" have asserted a sexual relationship between Halliburton and Novarro, which he sees as possible but unproven. And apparently much of Noël Sullivan's correspondence with Halliburton has been published. - Jmabel | Talk 05:38, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

All of which makes "Halliburton never married" look a bit coy. - Jmabel | Talk 07:24, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Discussions of Halliburton's personal life have reached the stage of a debate on the pages of the article itself. I am sure everybody means well, so let's all step back and look for citeable quality data on the subject. Agreed? Bigturtle 17:59, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Again, here is where I had this last December:

This was referenced to André Soares, Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro, St. Martin's Press, 2002. ISBN 0-312-28231-1. p.163. Despite someone else's effort to argue this in the article, the statement that this is clear from his correspondence was Soares', not mine. Soares does indeed doubt other authors' claims that Halliburton and Novarro were lovers, but that is neither here nor there: being gay or bisexual does not mean that he had a sexual relationship with every one of his gay or bisexual male friends. I invite anyone to check the source: Soares leaves no doubt at all that Halliburton had sex with men, he only questions whether he had sex with Novarro.

On this basis, I am restoring my earlier version. - Jmabel | Talk 19:57, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

My name is Laura Halliburton. Richard Halliburton was my great uncle. He was obviously a homosexual.

 * Halliburton was bisexual, and his life partner was writer Paul Mooney, writes Stuart Heaver in the SCMP . 58.152.150.23 (talk) 09:28, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

Yes, you are right Laura, Halliburton was for sure homosexual (or bisexual). In 1935, french police wrote in his file on Halliburton (matricule 69000.245.) that he was a "very famous homosexual" frequenting gay areas in Paris :

"Romancier américain. 35 ans. Né à New York. Habite 1, rue Scribe. A franchi les Alpes au col du Grand Saint-Bernard sur son éléphant Dolly. Ci-joint un article de Paris Soir (3 août 1935) montrant Dolly au repos dans un parc zoologique et le même en train de se désaltérer, place de la Concorde. Mr Halliburton est un homosexuel très connu dans certains établissements spécialisés. Il a pris l'habitude de racoler rue Saint-Lazare. Il propose des "succions buccales" (blow jobs) aux passants". You can read it in the book of François Buot, but it's not translated from french into english :

http://books.google.fr/books?id=NMfAYezBcr4C&pg=PT133&dq=gay+paris+richard+halliburton&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=LY0ZVPHfDtLtaIOWgeAJ&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=gay%20paris%20richard%20halliburton&f=false

So Richard Halliburton's homosexuality is a certainty.

It is 'abundantly clear,' from his extant correspondence that he was gay. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.219.162.138 (talk) 12:51, 12 July 2022 (UTC)

"A year after their son’s disappearance, Halliburton’s parents published his correspondence, excising any mention of Mooney and other men with whom their son might have been romantically involved". https://paw.princeton.edu/article/what-would-halliburton-do I don't know if the extant correspondence is now available, or destroyed by Halliburton's parents.

Frimoussou (talk) 13:32, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

The classic Halliburton quote
I live next door to Rhodes College, home of the Halliburton Bell Tower and the Halliburton Rare Book Collection and went to the same high school as Halliburton. I have always been a casual fan but do not know where to document his most famous quote, demonstrating the epitome of reckless, early-20th century, amateur-adventurer insouciance. Supposedly the last communication from the junk was Halliburton himself radioing/telegraphing: "Southerly gales, squalls, lee rail under water, wet bunks, hard tack, bully beef, wish you were here . . . instead of me."

If confirmed, I believe this signally defines the man. It is, however, so good as to be equally likely a posthumous embellishment.

Scorlew 23:56, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

 * Love it.TCO (talk) 17:23, 30 June 2013 (UTC)

Date of disappearance
Both 23 and 24 March seem to abound in Google as the relevant date. Could it be that the last radio message was received on 23 March in the USA but it was actually 24 March where Halliburton was because he was beyond the International Date Line? -- JackofOz 06:43, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Memphis Magazine article
If someone wants to expand this, there's an article from Memphis Magazine in 1977 that might be useful.

 * Guy Townsend, "Richard Halliburton: The Forgotten Myth", Memphis Magazine, originally published August 1977, reprinted April 2001.

It's no longer on Memphis Magazine's own site, but it can be found on the Internet Archive.

It appears to be a citable source for a quotation already in the article, and I will use it as such. - Jmabel | Talk 21:14, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

 * I agree it looks good and have added it to the further reading list. BrainyBabe (talk) 16:25, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Buzzle.com?
The article on Buzzle.com linked blindly from the references section doesn't look to me like something I would presume was a reliable source. It seems to have his date of birth wrong (our article previously reflected this apparent error). It's written by someone whose bio doesn't suggest any reason to think he'd be more authoritative than a random Wikipedian.

I'd suggest dropping the link. And I still think it would be a good idea for someone to work with some solid sources and do a good job of actually citing for what we say here. - Jmabel | Talk 23:14, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

 * Agreed. I will remove the link. BrainyBabe (talk) 15:28, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

the image of Halliburton
at the top of the article appears in India Speaks, so was taken by 1933. Carptrash (talk) 16:15, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Removal of gay material
I disagree with the removal of the following:
 * As he matured, he became bisexual, as observed by at least one traveling companion. Halliburton kept his sexual orientation secret from his public and his parents, who longed for grandchildren. His correspondence and his relations clearly offer this view of his orientation. He was a friend, and may have been a lover, of one of the first openly gay film stars, Ramon Novarro. A biographer of Novarro asserts that Halliburton chose Paul Mooney as crew for his fatal final voyage because the pair were lovers.

The edit summary said these sources were unreliable. I have not seen them, but they seem like serious biographies. I do not want to get into an edit war, so perhaps someone with access to the texts could check these. BrainyBabe (talk) 06:08, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

 * The edit and demand for more proof seems little more than thinly-veiled homophobia. The anonymous editor also chose to delete references to Halliburton's Laguna Beach house and his two gay roommates (one of whom was his editor). A podcast by Ted Williams about the house can easily be accessed at http://twls.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=190016#.  How many citations does Mr/Ms "76.217.117.156" want? In the course of a couple of short paragraphs, there are a total of 3 different sources cited to substantiate Halliburton's queerness.  "Horizon Chasers: Lives and Adventures of Richard Halliburton and Paul Mooney" by Gerry Max, and Playing the Game: The Homosexual Novel in America by Roger Austen could potentially also be added to the list.Udibi (talk) 04:51, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

 * I suspect you are right, but one never knows another's motivation and I do my best to assume good faith. Would you be able to add those two sources to "Further reading"? Thanks.  -- Oh, and I am delighted that Hangover House now has its own article! BrainyBabe (talk) 08:13, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

 * Halliburton was for sure homosexual (or bisexual). In 1935, french police wrote in his file on Halliburton (matricule 69000.245.) that he was a "very famous homosexual" frequenting gay areas in Paris :

"Romancier américain. 35 ans. Né à New York. Habite 1, rue Scribe. A franchi les Alpes au col du Grand Saint-Bernard sur son éléphant Dolly. Ci-joint un article de Paris Soir (3 août 1935) montrant Dolly au repos dans un parc zoologique et le même en train de se désaltérer, place de la Concorde. Mr Halliburton est un homosexuel très connu dans certains établissements spécialisés. Il a pris l'habitude de racoler rue Saint-Lazare. Il propose des "succions buccales" (blow jobs) aux passants". You can read it in the book of François Buot, but it's not translated from french into english :

http://books.google.fr/books?id=NMfAYezBcr4C&pg=PT133&dq=gay+paris+richard+halliburton&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=LY0ZVPHfDtLtaIOWgeAJ&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=gay%20paris%20richard%20halliburton&f=false Frimoussou (talk) 13:35, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
 * I agree with the fact denounced by Udibi that the edits demanding for more """proofs""" seem little more than thinly veiled homophobia. Indeed, The 31th of March, 2a02:8109:8080:2700:945e:8a53:f29f:cafe vandalized this article with these spiritual words : "Halliburton may have been a three-headed alien-mutant-zombie from outer space, or just bisexual. We will never know. However we will harp this subject in lieu of anything of importance". It's a little bit curious to claim in principle and in an ideological way that we will "never know" an already well documented fact... Homosexuals et bisexuals are not weird aliens and there is absolutely no difficulty to establish the homosexuality or the bisexuality of people insofar as relevant """proofs""" are available. In the case of Halliburton's sexual orientation, the sources and scholarly references quoted by BrainyBabe and Udibi were already enough, but it seems that another source is perhaps not very well known in Anglo-Saxon area yet : in the summer of 1935, Halliburton was in Europe and in Paris, where the police kept homosexuals under surveillance. It's a fact that, as François BUOT, who consulted Archives, wrote in his book entitled Gay Paris. Une histoire du Paris interlope entre 1900 et 1940", Richard Halliburton was recorded by the police as a customer of homosexual establishments in the french capital and as cruising for sex in the Saint-Lazare street. 83.199.129.74 (talk) 02:27, 24 April 2016 (UTC) All of this make of Halliburton's homosexuality a rather artificial """mystery""". Frimoussou (talk) 16:22, 24 April 2016 (UTC)
 * it is important to keep wikipedia accurate, true to the sources, but it is also good to remember that there is nothing bad or wrong about being gay or bi-sexual. Carptrash (talk) 17:29, 24 April 2016 (UTC)

Character of published work
I think the "Character of published work" section currently lets off Halliburton a bit easily on his attitudes about race. No, they weren't particularly extreme for his time and class, but they were certainly not universal for that time or class, and in some places (e.g. when writing about Haiti in the Book of Marvels) they come through very strongly, coloring not only his description of his own experiences but his entire view of history. - Jmabel | Talk 18:56, 18 August 2008 (UTC). See Adam Hochschild, American Midnight--The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis (New York, Harper/Collins Publishers, 2022) for repressive elements and factional strife in American social and political life during Halliburton's college and post-graduate years at Princeton. For a view on racial attitudes in post-World War I era America, see Hochschild, pp. 108-109.

other legacy
Perhaps someone knows, so this is just rumourculation now, but from his travels in the tropics, when/where everything mildewed, didn't his name become associated with tropical sealed luggage, which later became the halliburton luggage company, then the aluminum halliburton cases, then, when the halliburton company put oil-field testing intruments into the desert-use sealed cases, got halliburton lots of oil-related business, which is the connection to the halliburton company of today, with contracts all over the world, especially in the oil districts. ???? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.54.94.114 (talk) 22:58, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Check out the references in Zero Halliburton, Erle P. Halliburton, and Halliburton. BrainyBabe (talk) 01:00, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

Re-instatement of deleted paragraph on sexuality
A couple of years ago this well-sourced paragraph was deleted. It was re-instated. At some point in the last six months, it was removed again, with no discussion nor even the courtesy of an edit summary. I have re-instated it again. BrainyBabe (talk) 00:55, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

I am not sure why this was removed
"Like Greek historian and geographer Herodotus, Halliburton was a cultural relativist: he adhered to the credibility of multiple perspectives and believed that "culture was king", stances which may explain his purchase of a slave child in Africa, or adopting the garb of a particular region to "go native." As a sort of cultural ambassador, he met heads of state from Peruvian dictator Augusto Leguia, to Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, to the Last Emperor of China, to King Feisal al Husain of Iraq and his son the Crown Prince."

A source for it would be a good thing, but a citation tag instead of cutting it out seems more appropriate to me. Carptrash (talk) 18:48, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

Good article on Halliburton
Much to offer: Richard Halliburton: the hero time forgot, by Stuart Heaver in the SCMP. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.152.150.23 (talk) 09:39, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

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title: Talk:Richard Halliburton


text:
AB Standard (New York City Subway car)

The AB Standard was a New York City Subway car class built by the American Car and Foundry Company and Pressed Steel Car Company between 1914 and 1924. It ran under the operation of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) and its successors, which included the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), the New York City Board of Transportation, and the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA). The cars were designed following the signing of the Dual Contracts, which called for a major expansion of the BRT. A total of 950 cars were built.

In their earliest days of service, operating crews frequently called them Steels to distinguish them from the wooden BU elevated cars. However, these cars were most commonly referred to as BRT Standards, BMT Standards, or simply Standards. Train crews and the car shop departments often referred to them as 67-foot cars, AB-types, or most frequently ABs. For their time, the cars introduced a significant number of improvements to urban rapid transit. The AB Standards were slowly retired in the 1960s, last running in 1969. Several AB Standards have been preserved.

Background
When the BRT was to begin operating new subway lines that had been planned under the Dual Contracts of 1913, it marked the BRT's entry into providing subway service in New York. Previously, the BRT had only provided passenger rail service on elevated or surface routes. Expansion into the subway meant the BRT had to design a subway car suitable to run underground in tunnels. This also meant the new cars would have to be very different from the BRT's elevated fleet, and significantly stronger. The BRT was a forward-thinking company and sought to design a car that improved upon those already in use on the IRT subway.

To do this, the BRT hired engineer Lewis B. Stillwell to design the cars, based on his work in the railway industry. It was known ahead of the actual signing of the Dual Contracts that the BRT was to operate subway routes, so the engineering effort actually began prior to 1913. Stillwell completed his initial designs for the new 67-foot Standard cars by 1912. In September 1913, a wooden mockup of Stillwell's Standard design was placed on display in Brooklyn for the public and received generally positive reviews. This was enough to go ahead with an order of the new cars.

Service history
All told, 952 A/B Standards were purchased between 1914 and 1924, 2 of them being replacements for 2 others that were damaged in a collision. 100 motorized cars were ordered every year from 1914 to 1922, and 50 unpowered trailer cars were ordered in 1924. 2 additional cars were delivered as part of the 1919 order to replace 2 cars (2208 and 2274) that had been damaged the previous year. As delivered, all 902 motor cars were "singles", meaning that each could be run entirely by itself if so desired. Trains would be made up of singles coupled together. However, many cars as delivered in later years were immediately coupled into units as indicated below.

The first run of the cars was not until early 1915 when several units specially equipped with trolley poles test operated on the Sea Beach Line prior to its formal opening as a subway line, which took place on June 22, 1915. The poles were also used to move the cars around the 39th St. Shops where they had been originally delivered in 1914. Cars so equipped were 2000, 2001, 2010, 2021, 2042, 2050, 2051, 2054, 2060, 2071, 2087, and 2092. After June 22, 1915, the A/B Standards operated regular subway service. Trolley poles were removed from those cars which had been specially equipped.

During their service lives, the A/B Standards saw service on all four routes serving Coney Island: the West End Line, Culver Line, Sea Beach Line, and Brighton Line. They also ran in the Fourth Avenue Subway, the Broadway Subway, and on the Astoria Line, as well as parts of the BMT's "Eastern Division", which includes the Broadway–Brooklyn/Jamaica Line, Broadway–Myrtle Ave. Line, Nassau Street Subway, and the 14th Street–Canarsie Line. Beginning December 1, 1955, well into their service lives, the cars also saw service on the IND Queens Boulevard Line once the 60th Street Tunnel Connection was completed and BMT Brighton Local service was extended to Forest Hills–71st Avenue in Queens (some units had operated on this line to 179th St. during the 1957 motormen's strike). In 1958, a brief test was conducted using a train of these cars in IND F service between Jamaica–179th St. and Broadway–Lafayette St.

Several significant modifications were made during the cars' period of service. In approximately 1919 and 1920, the passenger compartment of the oldest cars was upgraded to add fans, additional lighting, and more places for standees to hold on. Also at that time, the cars were modified to operate in new arrangements (see letter designations below). In addition, the cars were also modified to allow an entire train's doors to be opened or closed from one point on the train. Prior to this modification, it had been necessary to station a conductor in every car of a train to operate doors prior to the advent of MUDC. Following the modification, one conductor could operate the doors for an entire train. This allowed the BRT, and after 1923, the BMT, to reduce operating costs. The modification involved connecting 9 point jumpers between cars to pass along electric door control signals from the conductor's position. Exterior guard lights had to be added to all cars on all divisions equipped with MUDC (Multiple Unit Door Control). On these cars, these were placed on the same fuse that operated the Empty and Load feature (described below). This was done to save on battery current.

In 1927, platforms along the Southern Division stations were being extended to allow for the operation of full length, 8-car trains. Such trains still required the use of two conductors; it was not until September 1958 that they began operating using only one conductor.

Further modifications were made in the late 1950s. As the A/B Standards were nearing the end of their useful service life, the New York City Transit Authority set up a plan to retire the cars by the end of the 1960s. Trailers were to be retired first, in the early part of the 1960s. This was a matter of practicality since all trailer cars in the New York City Subway were being phased out. Motor cars would be retired next, starting with the oldest cars (cars 2000–2299, along with a few 2300s). The rest of the fleet would need to serve longer until new car orders could replace them, so cars 2400–2799 were to receive a light overhaul to allow them to serve through the 1960s. Car 2899 was also overhauled, as it was part of a three-car set with two cars (2700s) that fell within the scope of the program. Cars 2800–2898 were not overhauled as they had a non-standard group box switch. The remaining 2300s and the 2800s were retired during the mid-1960s; and the overhauled cars continued in service until the last train operated on August 4, 1969, in Myrtle–Chambers service. Overhauled cars received sealed beam headlights to illuminate tunnels. In addition, their interiors were revitalized with enhanced lighting and seat cushions. Overhauled cars also received a more modern General Electric propulsion control package during this time, which was believed by the Transit Authority to be an upgrade over the older Westinghouse packages. About half the overhauled cars were so equipped.

Retirement
The BMT AB Standards were slowly retired through the 1960s and replaced by R27s, R30s, R32s, R40s, and R42s. Retirement began with the trailer cars, progressed to older motor cars that were not overhauled, and finally progressed to the rest of the fleet. The last of the cars were retired from passenger service in 1969, making a final run on the BMT Myrtle Ave. Line on August 4, 1969.

Following their removal from service, all but five AB Standards were scrapped. The five cars that were not scrapped have been preserved:
 * Car 2204 has been preserved by the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn, NY. It is currently a static display, as it is not operational.
 * Cars 2390, 2391 and 2392 have been preserved by Railway Preservation Corp. They were restored to operating condition in 2015 and have operated on New York Transit Museum-sponsored excursions since then.
 * Car 2775 has been preserved by the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven, Connecticut. It is not in operating condition, due to a flood at the museum site.

It has also been reported that car 2321, when retired, survived integrally and intact. The current status of this car remains unclear.

Construction and design
The A/B Standards, when ordered, were a noticeable upgrade in the quality of New York's urban transportation. Their longer (67 feet) and wider size (10 feet) distinguished them from smaller IRT subway cars. There would be more room in each car and more space for seats. Unlike the IRT cars, end side doors were offset from the ends of the cars to aid better passenger flow. This design is covered under, with Mr. William S. Menden (chief engineer, and later general manager of the BRT) as the inventor. In addition, there was also a set of center side doors, making for a total of three sets of doors per side. Each door set consisted of two leaves separated by a center post, which allowed more than one person to use it at once. This arrangement proved superior to all previous designs.

The cars were built with a very strong frame that utilized truss construction and allowed thin metal to be used for the side plating. This made the A/B Standards, foot for foot, lighter than similar all-steel IRT subway cars, but with a body twice as strong. Therefore, A/B Standards were considerably safer than any previous design, as they would not telescope in a collision. The strength of the design proved itself over and over again. Even in the 1960s, when the A/B Standards were at or approaching 50 years of age, a couple of cars were involved in minor yard collisions with newer cars. Yet in each case, the older cars appeared to have gotten the better of the collision afterward.

Motorized A/B Standards (motor cars 2000–2899) were built with 2 "maximum traction" type trucks where wheels closest to the center of the car were 341/4 inches in diameter, while wheels closest to the ends of the car were just 31 inches in diameter. The motors were attached to the axles that bore the larger wheels. This design was believed to better distribute the car's weight to provide the best adhesion between the wheels and the rails to prevent wheelslip. Unpowered BX trailer cars 4000–4049 used more conventional trucks where all wheels were 31 inches in diameter.

Innovations for riders
Seating was designed to be comfortable and spacious. The A/B Standards had short rattan benches arranged in both transverse (forward- or rear-facing) and longitudinal (sideways-facing) positions. Two to three people could fit comfortably on each bench. This gave each rider more legroom and personal space. Supplemental seats located by each side door could be folded down for rider use at a conductor's discretion. When lowered, these seats would block side door leaves, so they were protected by lock to ensure only a conductor could lower them. Many of these latter were removed in later years. On the outer side doors, these were situated toward the center of the cars on cars 2000–2299 and toward the end of the cars on cars 2300–2899 and 4000–4049. Under regular conditions, 78 seats were available for riders in each car. During the 1950s, many (but not all) of the rattan seats were replaced by sprung leather or a plastic compound (velon) that replicated the feel of rattan.

For standees, the cars featured four poles by each side door and small handles on the ends of transverse seats (in later years, two of those poles per doorway were removed on many cars). Due to higher than anticipated ridership, metal straps were added above longitudinal seats to improve standee accommodations in 1919–1920. All orders of these cars delivered later (cars 2600–2899, 4000–4049) came with metal straps already in place. During the late 1930s, many (but not all) of the cars saw the metal straps replaced with horizontal steel bars. These accommodated even more riders than the straps had, further improving the cars. With the earlier ACF built cars, all but around 93 of these cars underwent this conversion; of the later Pressed Steel cars, just under half were converted.

As delivered, the A/B Standards were particularly luxurious for a subway car. Each window came with a shade that could be drawn down to block out sunlight, or raised if a rider desired more natural light. Soft white glass globes served as enclosures for the car's incandescent lighting, to soften the harsh glare of the bulbs and redistribute light evenly throughout the car. However, the globes were ultimately removed from the cars between 1925 and 1927 and the shades between 1927 and 1938. In car 2221, the shade boards were altogether removed as well.

During the winter months, electric heaters under the seats provided plenty of heat. P. Smith heaters were used on cars 2400–2599 and a Gold Car Heating model for the rest of the fleet. In warmer weather, vents in the roof accommodated the influx of fresh air from outside the car. Three different vent types were used on these grill type (2000–2499), box type (2500–2599), and clerestory type (2600–2899, 4000–4049). With the earlier ACF cars, the interior ventilation grills were readjusted with each order of cars to attempt to get the ideal angle for the best ventilation. In addition, riders could open the drop sash side windows for extra ventilation. Initially made from wood (2000–2599), on later cars they were brass (2600–2899, 4000–4049). After early complaints about the summer warmth of the cars, ceiling paddle fans were added during the 1919–1920 modifications. Later cars came already equipped with fans.

Innovations for the crew
The A/B Standards introduced interior conductor's controls. Now a conductor could stand inside rather than outside and between cars when operating the doors. The button board controls only worked if the conductor activated the board by key. This prevented tampering or error. The button boards were equipped with an indication flag which told the conductor when all doors were finally closed. As mentioned above, each car as delivered required its own conductor to operate doors. During the 1919–20 modifications, the cars were unitized into new arrangements (see letter designations below) and converted to allow one conductor to control an entire train's doors. This made operation of the cars more efficient, and reduced labor costs.

Like all previously designed subway cars, A/B Standards featured end storm doors for riders to pass between cars. However, due to the car's longer 67-foot length and resultant overhang, crossing between cars was particularly dangerous on curves. Therefore, storm doors were kept locked on these cars, although in emergencies, they could be opened pneumatically by the conductor from the button board. For emergencies, the cars also featured emergency brake cords like other subway cars, but added an emergency alarm which could be activated to notify the train crew in case of emergency.

Electric tail lights and running lights were introduced to the subway with the A/B Standards. Low running lights would display white at the front of the train, while tail lights displayed red in the rear. This feature was directly connected to the motorman's reverser control. This was in contrast to the IRT practice of using kerosene lamps at the ends of trains, which had to be physically changed over when the train reversed direction at a terminal. At the time the A/B Standards were delivered, the white running lights were deemed sufficient for lighting tunnels. However, during the 1950s, the New York City Subway made a system wide shift to sealed beam headlights to improve safety. Therefore, those that received overhaul from 1959 to 1962 (cars 2400–2799 and 2899) received sealed beams.

Coupling and uncoupling of trains were simplified by new automatic couplers. The new WABCO couplers automatically made and broke electric and air connections as trains were coupled or uncoupled. This reduced the amount of work for train crews during the process. For example, IRT crews had to physically connect or disconnect high voltage jumper cables when coupling or uncoupling their trains. BRT/BMT crews on A/B Standards did not. The only jumper such a crew would ever have to connect or disconnect was the 9 point low voltage jumper introduced with the 1919–1920 modifications. Coupling and uncoupling, therefore, were much simpler on these cars than on equipment that came before them

Also introduced was the rollsign to the New York City Subway, an innovation that would be repeated on many other rolling stock orders. Older cars had metal signs which had to be physically removed and replaced to change. Rollsigns simplified the process by allowing train crews to update the sign's display by merely turning a hand crank (which would later be replaced with an allen wrench to prevent tampering in later rolling stock). Early A/B Standards (cars 2000–2499) had the smaller size rollsigns installed in the windows behind side door pockets, while later cars equipped with larger signs placed them in the upper half of side windows for better visibility. These were shifted to a different window in the 50 trailers of 1924.

During the late 20s and early 30s, the BMT installed special features on some of these cars. 2222-3-4 had a bridge/tunnel indication light at each end of that unit. 2553 had arm bars on the side seats alongside the doors opposite from where the drop seats were located. Also, the following units were furnished with gum dispensing machines: 2300-1-2 through 2357-8-9, 2375-6-7, 2400-4000-2401 through 2424-4012-2425. 2018 had elongated arms on its hand stanchions.

Shortly after unification, car 2014 was out of service long term due to some major mechanical problem. When it reappeared in service after a few years, there had been some changes - it received the larger door pocket compartments typical of the later Pressed Steel cars rather than the smaller variety that the ACF cars had. Additionally, it was equipped with longer emergency light fixtures that extended further out.

In the mid-40s, the Board of Transportation experimented with different interior paint schemes as an alternative to the more usual olive drab. All divisions had cars that were tested for different combinations. With the A/B Standards, the following cars were tested:

2333-4-5 dark, green, and gray.

2381-2-3 brown and tan.

2666 dark, red, and gray, with a red stripe running just above the windows.

2698 dark, green, and gray.

2747 dark, blue, and gray.

It was finally decided to paint the BMT cars with a light apple green and olive drab combination, and this was applied as well to the IRT Steinways, both regular and World's Fair, that were now being maintained in the Coney Island Shops.

Propulsion and braking
Low Voltage propulsion control was coming into style around the time the earliest A/B Standards were being delivered. Therefore, it was no surprise that they arrived with this feature. On earlier high voltage propulsion control systems, 600 volts ran through the motorman's control stand, as well as through the train via the use of jumpers between cars. This had to be the case to make the electrical contacts to allow all of the motor cars of a train to draw power in a synchronized effort from the third rail. However, this could be dangerous for motormen and shop personnel alike by creating an electrocution hazard. Even unpowered trailer cars had to carry the 600 volts through these jumpers because it was necessary to pass on the voltage to motor cars behind the trailer so as to synchronize them with the lead car. However, Low Voltage propulsion control utilized battery voltage (32 volts) to control the train's motors. This battery voltage was what would pass through the motorman's control stand and between cars. Tractive effort throughout the train was synchronized by the battery voltage in this way. Meanwhile, each car would respond individually to the battery voltage, by moving its own 600 volt contacts to direct power obtained locally by each car directly from the third rail toward the motors. Using 32 volts to control the propulsion in this way was a much safer proposition than the 600 volts associated with the older high voltage setup. This also meant that an A/B Standard crossing onto a dead section of the third rail would not energize it by bridging the gap between it and the previous live section. This was especially beneficial to track workers who had requested the third rail power off in performing their duties. All told, Low Voltage propulsion control tremendously improved safety for train crews, shop crews, and track gangs. However, the conductor had a 600 volt knife switch located inside his control panel to activate the ventilation system and other accessories.

One of the drawbacks of the A/B Standard was its lack of speed. Due to its length, it was a much heavier car than the IRT steel cars of the time. But with only two motors per car at 140 horsepower each, it was actually underpowered for its size, particularly when running in a train with one or more unpowered trailers. Therefore, the top speed of this type car was somewhat low, when compared to other rapid transit equipment that has historically run in New York City.

One other interesting note about the car's propulsion concerned the placement of the motorman's controls in the cab. A/B Standards stuck with BRT tradition, which placed the train's controller nearest the right hand and the brake nearest the left. This was in contrast to IRT equipment, which placed the controller nearest the left and the brake nearest the right. The city-owned IND system would emulate the IRT's practice. Meanwhile, later BMT designs would replicate the A/B Standards. Therefore, the controls in subway cars of BRT or BMT design would appear "backwards" to motormen who were acclimated primarily to IRT or IND equipment once the subways had been unified

An electropneumatic braking system which synchronized the braking effort of every car in the train to provide a faster braking response was first introduced on the A/B Standards. This newer type of braking, WABCO schedule AMUE, would become the industry standard in New York's subways and on other systems through the 1930s and lasted in limited quantity until as late as 1977 (when the R1-9s, the last of the prewar cars, were retired from service). Additionally, a "Variable Load" feature, designated on these cars as an "Empty and Load" device, automatically adjusted each car's braking effort to compensate for uneven passenger loads in different cars throughout the train. This activated when the doors opened and shut down while the last door of a car was closed, provided that the motorman's electric brake plug was engaged. At terminals, this was customarily deactivated. It was basically a fledgling system, yet to be perfected, as other cars using this same AMUE Universal braking system that did not have this variable load feature were actually seen to have a more effective braking response, such as with the Low-Vs and Steinways on the IRT.

An interlock system was introduced on these cars between the motorman's control system and the door operation, in which a stationary train could not be moved when the doors were opened; conversely, there was a feature by which the doors could not be opened when the speed of a train was 4 MPH or higher, provided that the train was taking power at the time and not coasting.

With most cars, the door control magnets under the seats each controlled a whole panel, meaning both leaves at each door opening. Cars 2250–2299 were different in that each magnet controlled a separate door leaf.

Experimenting with new technology
A handful of A/B Standards became the first New York City subway cars to experiment with a public address system. Car 2369 was the first to be so equipped; ultimately, several cars received a loudspeaker telephone system in 1923–24 to aid conductors in making announcements. The experimental setup was removed by 1928, but the idea was ahead of its time. PA systems did not come into widespread use in New York's subway until the 1950s.

The A/B Standards were also the first New York City Subway equipment to experiment with cab signaling. The underlying rationale for the experiment was to allow trains to run safely at closer headways to provide more frequent service. An attempt was made in 1916 on car 2148 to test a GRS cab signal system using A/B Standards. While generally working as intended, the experiment did not have staying power. The equipment necessary for its use was removed by 1918. It was not until the 1990s that a similar idea would be revisited in the subway, when MTA New York City Transit installed modern CBTC signal equipment on the BMT Canarsie Line.

Letter designations
Over their service life, the A/B Standards used several letter designations depending on the configuration of the cars. Originally, the first 600 cars as delivered could operate singly and dubbed A-types. During the 1919–1920 modifications, much of the fleet was reorganized into semi-permanently coupled units as an MUDC system was being added. The following configurations refer to the cars in operation over the years:

The frequent operating and shop personnel references to the cars as ABs or AB Types were derived from the above letter designations, as the vast majority of the cars were originally A units, and later reorganized into B units.
 * A units were motorized single cars and capable of running independently.
 * B units consisted of three motorized cars that ran in a set. The two end cars retained their operating cabs at the front and rear, but blind cabs were made inactive. Door control button boards were similarly deactivated in the end cars, but retained in the center (master) car. The center car's blind cabs were made inactive.
 * BT units consisted of two motorized cars that ran in a set. Each car retained its operating cab at the front and rear, but blind cabs were made inactive. On these units, there was no provision made for door operation, and thus, these units could not be operated independently by themselves. (Note: this designation was also used much later on to designate cars formally from BX units that had their trailers removed but did not receive a former A car as a replacement.)
 * BX units were three-car units consisting of an unpowered trailer between two motorized cars. The two end cars retained their operating cabs at the front and rear, but blind cabs were made inactive. There was a restriction on the use of these units; one such unit was not permitted to operate by itself, nor could two of these units operate together in one consist. In addition, for many years they were forbidden to operate on the Manhattan Bridge, but this restriction was lifted when the majority of the units were reassigned to Coney Island to provide for the expanded service via the 60th St. Tunnel Connection on December 1, 1955.
 * AX units were trailers that operated in connection with an A-type car, loosely associated. Five trailers were originally set up in this manner, but the arrangement was not found to be satisfactory, and they were ultimately coupled into BX units as the rest of the trailers already had been. Though they did not themselves have motors, the cabs could control the entire train's propulsion. They were typically added onto trains to lengthen them during the rush hours, and they were used strictly on the 14th St.–Canarsie Line.

Additionally, it is noted that other letter designations were used temporarily involving an extra "A" preceding the unit name. This was done as the A/B Standards were being modified in regard to their jumper cable connections. This work went on from approximately 1928 to 1931, and during those years, one could see units carrying designations "AA", "AB", or "ABX". The extra "A" signified that the car had been so equipped. These designations with the extra "A" prefix were temporary, and when the entire fleet of these cars had been so equipped by 1931 or 1932, the extra "A" prefix was dropped from the designations.

Regarding the first 600 cars, while they were being unitized, it was found that 2 cars of this series (2399 and 2500) did not fit into the system as it was being set up. These were relegated to work service and not used again until 1953, when 2 of the regular motor cars (2006 and 2330) were damaged in an accident near Broad St. Thus, these 2 cars were returned to passenger service to replace the 2 that had been damaged. As a consequence, there have never at any time been more than 948 in service and 952 were actually built, but the number 950 serves as a convenient benchmark. 2 A cars (2714 and 2741) were used to replace those that had been in work service and were returned to passenger service.

Regarding the 300 Pressed Steel motors, as they were first being delivered, the decision was made not to unitize the first 150, or half of them, to allow for the operation of more varied train lengths, notably for maximum 8 car length. The final 150 were unitized as B-types in much the manner of the earlier sets.

In 1959, the first 3 2800 series units were tested for few months with the center car as a trailer, much like a BX unit. After the test was concluded, the motors were returned to these units, and they resumed operation as normal B-types.

In later years, as the 2400 series was undergoing rebuilding, it was decided not to include the trailer cars in the rebuilding. The first 70 2400s had a 2600 series A-type car inserted in the unit (a total of 35 of these cars were used for this purpose); these units were designated as B-types. The remaining 30 2400s just remained as two car BT units, with as before, no provision for door operation in these cars.

One first that occurred with these newly constituted units was, except for the first units put out, the remainder were equipped with link bar connections rather than couplers, making for a more permanent coupling that could only be broken up with great difficulty in the shops. All new cars subsequently purchased for the system made use of this feature and couplers were no longer used to join component cars in units.

It should be pointed out that for several years prior to these rebuilt cars appearing in service in March 1959, many of the features introduced were already being tested out on a few cars.

The rebuilt cars had their lighting system rewired for brighter lighting, similar to the IND R1-9s and the IRT World's Fair Steinways, in a single circuit hookup. Car 2710 was tried out simply with additional lighting fixtures along the sides, and car 2006 (ex-2500) with the revised circuitry for brighter lighting. The decision was made to use the revised circuitry and also add a single light fixture in the corner opposite the motorman's cab. This latter was tried out on eight cars prior to rebuilding – 2060, 2184, 2333–4, 2354-5-6, 2618. The wiring used for these cars was defective and resulted in numerous fires, far more than with other types of cars.

At the ends of the cars, the cross seating was removed between the outer set of side doors and the car ends, leaving only the side seats in their place. On the test cars (2119, 2396-7-8, 2482-4041-2483), this was done only at the blind, non-operating ends, but eventually, the cars that were rebuilt received this at all ends.

A speckled green interior paint was applied to these cars. There was a sample car (2654) for the first 8 that went into service (2472 (ex-2771)-4036-2473 (ex-2753), 2588-9-90, 2693, 2743), and for the remainder, which were painted on the interior further up toward the roof line, there was a sample car (2675) for this as well.

Around this time, car 2851 had one set of center doors painted over on its lower panes.

The first 8-car train of sample cars went into Brighton Express service in March 1959. With the shifting of equipment concurrent with service changes two months later, the train was moved to Sea Beach Express service. Soon afterward, the train was broken up and was freely mixed with other A/B Standards, as were cars that were later rebuilt. Rebuilt and unrebuilt cars were freely mixed in consists henceforth.

Headlights were added to the rebuilt cars beginning in 1962, when the rebuilding program was about complete. In anticipation of this installation, two cars were modified to have only one running light fixture: 2060 and 2743. Car 2709 never received headlights altogether; ironically, it was one of the cars scrapped when some of these cars were substituted on the scrap list for those to be preserved for the museum. 15 of the 2800 series cars (5 units) remained in Coney Island Yard for 2 years after their service ended. No move was made to save any of them for the museum.

Beginning in 1956, the exterior painted on numbers were supplanted by number plates. After 1959, all cars being rebuilt received them.

Summary of differences within the AB Standard fleet
The following differences existed within cars comprising the fleet of AB Standards:

 * Of the sixth set of cars (4000 to 4049), only 4036 had been rebuilt, removed from service when it was decided not to use trailers in this program. It survived a few years afterward, used as a yard office, and was finally scrapped at the time remaining unrebuilt cars were being retired.

See the Description above for more details.

title: AB Standard (New York City Subway car)


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Gouldian finch

The Gouldian finch (Chloebia gouldiae), also known as the Gould's finch or the rainbow finch, is a colourful passerine bird that is native to Australia.

Taxonomy
The Gouldian finch was described by British ornithologist John Gould in 1844 as Amadina gouldiae, in honour of his deceased wife Elizabeth. Specimens of the bird were sent to him by British naturalist Benjamin Bynoe, although they had been described some years before by French naturalists Jacques Bernard Hombron and Honoré Jacquinot. It is also known as the rainbow finch, Gould's finch, or sometimes just Gould. The Gouldian finch is sister to the parrotfinches in the genus Erythrura.

Description
Both sexes are brightly coloured with black, green, yellow, and red markings. The females tend to be less brightly coloured. One major difference between the sexes is that the male's chest is purple, while the female's is a lighter mauve.

Gouldian finches are about 125–140 mm long. Their heads may be red, black, or yellow. Formerly considered three different kinds of finches, it is now known that these are colour variants of one species that exist in the wild. Selective breeding has also developed mutations (blue, yellow and silver instead of a green back) in both body and breast colour.

There are several "prominent rounded tubercles" with an "opalescent lustre" at the back of the gape. These tubercles are commonly (and incorrectly) described as phosphorescent in spite of much scientific evidence to the contrary. It is believed that these tubercles simply reflect light and are not luminescent.

Distribution and habitat
Gouldian finches are native to northern Australia, in particular the Kimberley and Northern Territory.

Prior to the Australian government's ban on the export of Australian fauna, Gouldian finches were exported worldwide, which has resulted in viable captive breeding populations being held in many countries.

Conservation status
The number of Gouldian finches in the wild decreased dramatically in the 20th century due to human-caused habitat loss. The population went from hundreds of thousands in the early 20th century to 2,500 or fewer by the 1980's. The current estimated population continues to be 2,500 or fewer birds. Early research suggested that a parasite called the air sac mite was responsible for the species' decline, but the mite is no longer considered a major factor. The primary threat to wild Gouldian finch populations is an increase in extensive wildfires in the late dry season of its native habitat, which negatively impacts the availability of both tree hollows for breeding, and the seeds that comprise the bulk of the Gouldian finch's diet. Cyclones and climate change have also negatively impacted tree hollow availability in the Northern Territory.

Behaviour
Outside the breeding season, Gouldian finches often join mixed flocks consisting of long-tailed finches and masked finches. Flocks can consist of up to 1,000–2,000 individuals. During the breeding season, they are normally found on rough scree slopes where vegetation is sparse. In the dry season, they are much more nomadic and will move to wherever their food and water can be found.

Feeding
Like other finches, the Gouldian finch is a seed eater. They eat up to 30% of their bodyweight each day. During the breeding season, Gouldian finches mainly feed on ripe and half-ripe grass seeds of sorghum. During the dry season, they mainly forage on the ground for seeds. During the wet season, spinifex grass seed (Triodia sp.) is an important part of their diet. So far Gouldians have been recorded eating six different species of grass seed, but researchers have yet to find evidence of insect consumption.

Breeding
Gouldian finches will usually make their nests in tree hollows. They usually breed in the early part of the dry season, when there is plenty of food available. When a male is courting a female, he bobs about and ruffles his feathers in an attempt to show off his bright colours. He will expand his chest and fluff out the feathers on his forehead. After mating, the female will lay a clutch of about 4–8 eggs. Both parents help brood the eggs during the daytime, and it is the female who stays on the eggs at night. When the eggs hatch, both parents care for the young. Gouldian finches leave the nest after between 19 and 25 days and are completely independent at 40 days old.

Gouldian finches have brightly coloured gapes and call loudly when the parent birds return so that they are able to find and feed their mouths in the dark nest.

It has been shown that female Gouldian finches from Northern Australia can control the sex of their offspring by choosing mates according to their head colour. A certain amount of genetic incompatibility between black and red-headed birds can result in high mortality (up to 80%) in female offspring when birds of different head colours mate. If the female mates with a finch of different head colour, this genetic incompatibility can be addressed by over-producing sons, up to a ratio of four males to one female. This is one of the first proven instances of birds biasing the sex of their offspring to overcome genetic weaknesses.

Aviculture
Gouldian finches are a popular species in aviculture because of their striking colours and low care requirements. Gouldian finches get along well with other species of grass finch and some other docile species of bird, such as waxbills and parrot finches.

Trapping for aviculture
In the Kimberley District of Western Australia, where most wild Gouldian finch were trapped for aviculture, it was often reported as one of the more common of the eleven finch species. Until 1977, it was trapped in greater numbers than any other finch. From 1897, when finch trapping started in the Kimberley, it was the most sought after finch by trappers and the most desired by fanciers. Between the years 1934 and 1939, the Gouldian finch was the most exported single finch species. The Perth Zoo exported 22,064 finches of which 12,509 were Gouldian. Private dealers exported 35,315 finches, of which 14,504 were Gouldian. The number of finches taken in the 1958 finch trapping season was the largest for one year, of the 38,649 finches taken, 11,286 were Gouldian. The last licensed trapping of Gouldian finch in Western Australia was on 15 November 1981. In that year's finch trapping season, of the 23,450 finches taken 1,054 were Gouldian. However, it is now illegal to export these birds from Australia.

In popular culture
The Gouldian finch is used as the basis of the ViewSonic logo.

title: Gouldian finch


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MultiRider

The MultiRider was a pre-purchased magnetic-stripe ticketing system used on rail, bus, and ferry services operated under the Transperth brand, either by or under contract for the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia.

Equipment
The MultiRider system was based on a series of validation equipment and driver consoles supplied by the UK-based company Wayfarer Transit Systems.

Cards
The system was based on magnetic stripe cards containing simple information such as the number of trips that they can be used with, the number of transit zones that can be traversed, and the time and location of the last validation. Before boarding a service or transferring between train and bus services, passengers had to validate the card by inserting it into a MultiRider validator located on train platforms and on buses.

Fare Determination
If this was the passenger's first trip using the card, or a previous validation was over two hours ago (for 1-4 zones, 3 hours for 5-8 zones), a trip was deducted from the card, and the information about the current trip was printed onto the front of the card. If the passenger was transferring between services, and their current trip was still valid, a "T" was printed onto the card (on 10-trip MultiRiders only).

MultiRiders could be purchased for use over any distance from two sections to eight zones. MultiRiders came with 10, 20, or 40 trips encoded onto them, and were up to 25% cheaper than the equivalent cash fares at the time. The 40 trips of MultiRider tickets used to be known as MultiRider Plus.

Variants of MultiRider tickets
There were a large variety of MultiRider tickets available:

Student MultiRider
The Student MultiRider was introduced on 10 October 2005. This type of MultiRider provided a 50 cent fare on a journey, valid for three hours in all zones. The Student MultiRider also was available in two types of tickets, in 10 trips, or in 40 trips. The Student MultiRider was available for primary and secondary school students only.

Controversy
While the Student MultiRider was introduced, the Curtin Student Guild pointed out that state government did not provide the 50 cents student fare on tertiary school students (university and TAFE student), and the state government should provide the same concession price as primary and secondary school students. However, the state government replied that the tertiary school students can have the standard concession fare for their journey.

MultiRider phase out
On 8 April 2007, the MultiRider ticketing system was withdrawn and replaced by SmartRider. In the lead-up to its withdrawal, it was phased out in stages.

First Stage (from 14 February 2007)
 * The SmartRider ticketing system completed full rollout and SmartRider cards became available from Transperth InfoCentres and authorised SmartRider Retail Outlets across the Perth metropolitan area.
 * The SmartRider system operated in parallel with the existing MultiRider to allow passengers to use up any remaining value on MultiRider tickets.

Second Stage (from 5 March 2007)
 * MultiRiders were withdrawn from sale

Third Stage (from 8 April 2007)
 * The MultiRider ticketing system was withdrawn from use on the Transperth network
 * Passengers who had any remaining value on their MultiRiders were able to transfer the value to their SmartRider by completing a MultiRider refund form, which is available from Transperth InfoCentres, at authorised SmartRider Retail Outlets or online.

Transwa MultiRider
When MultiRiders were phased out by Transperth, Transwa introduced its own MultiRiders for use on its Australind and AvonLink services. Transwa now use SmartCommuter cards instead.

title: MultiRider