Ben is a Featured Aggie!

HIGHLIGHTS: OCTOBER 2015

An ongoing series, spotlighting ITS-Davis Alumni

Ben Sharpe’s UC Davis Doctoral Degree Leads to Research Career in International Transportation

  

 

By: Alex Lee

For Ben Sharpe—Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering, UC Davis, 2013—the focus is global.

As a senior researcher for the International Council of Clean Transportation (ICCT), Sharpe and his team actively study the impacts of heavy-duty vehicles for the governments of countries around the world, in particular: China, Brazil, Mexico, the European Union, the United States, and, most recently, India. With offices in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Berlin, the widely respected, independent, non-profit ICCT provides “first-rate, unbiased research and technical and scientific analysis to environmental regulators.”

Although Sharpe has been a senior researcher for only three years, his tenure at the ICCT spans more than six; he started his involvement with the council while still pursuing his Civil Engineering doctorate with a transportation focus at ITS-Davis. Not surprisingly, Sharpe credits a lot of his success in the position with the knowledge and connections he made through his UC Davis transportation graduate program. “My first contact with ICCT was back in 2007. I was super lucky to work with [ITS-Davis Researcher and Energy Efficiency Center Associate Director] Alan Meier. He was with the International Energy Agency for a number of years and knew that I had a strong interest in heavy-duty vehicle efficiency: As part of his class we had done some work looking at tractor-trailer operations in the U.S. Well, IEA was doing a workshop in Paris in 2007 to look at regulation of heavy-duty vehicle efficiency, and Alan was instrumental in getting me some funding and a formal invitation to attend that workshop.”

Now a few years into his career, Sharpe is currently tackling issues involving heavy-duty vehicle efficiency in a number of different countries and regions. Recently, Sharpe and his team authored numerous papers answering technical questions for regulatory design in India and also held a workshop in Delhi in April to foster discussions. His team offers policy and technical recommendations to governments around the world who have various levels of experience in traversing through contemporary transportation issues.

“The current mode that we are in is following need,” he said. “And one of the biggest needs right now in terms of fuel efficiency regulatory development for heavy-duty vehicle is in India.”

Sharpe now lives in Sacramento with his family, commuting to his office in San Francisco via the train a few times a week. As he reflects back, Sharpe notes the lasting impacts of his time at ITS-Davis.

“I really could not have asked for better training for the field I am in now. The research at ITS-Davis is extremely aligned with what we do here at the ICCT,” he said. “In terms of the coursework, getting all the exposure to analytical tools, models, and technical jargon—my experience at ITS was terrific. I could not have envisioned a better segue to the ICCT.”

Holiday Recipes From All 50 States

Just in time for holiday cooking.  Some of these look amazing.

From The New York Times -

The United States of Thanksgiving

We’ve scoured the nation for recipes that evoke each of the 50 states (and D.C. and Puerto Rico). These are our picks for the feast. Dig in, then tell us yours.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/18/dining/thanksgiving-recipes-across-the-united-states.html?mi_u=38867499

Studying Abroad

From The Root - 

Black Students Don’t Study Abroad, but a New Initiative Hopes to Change That

The Council on International Educational Exchange and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Minority Serving Institutions are partnering to support and encourage presidents from colleges and universities that serve minorities in the expansion of their study-abroad programs.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/10/black_students_don_t_study_abroad_but_a_new_initiative_hopes_to_change_that.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content%26

The President Meets the Pope

And the Winner Is . . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/simone-biles-gymnastics-video_5632b0e7e4b00aa54a4da1a8

This Kid is From "The Wire"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-is-what-it-feels-like-to-play-adeles-love-interest_562fdc3fe4b0c66bae59e8fb

Seal Jumps On Guy's Boat And Makes A Friend

STOMP makes basketball music with Harlem Globetrotters

Flying Beavers!

Some Emoticon History

From Slate - 

When people first started making faces with their keyboards, emoticons were perceived as a tool that would help clarify the tone of online texts. In 1982, Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor Scott Fahlman noticed a problem with the rudimentary online bulletin board his department used to share messages between students, faculty, and staff. Department members liked to make jokes on the forum, but the flat affect of the virtual environment sometimes made it hard to land a punch line. If “someone made a sarcastic remark, a few readers would fail to get the joke, and each of them would post a lengthy diatribe in response,” Fahlman later wrote of the board. “That would stir up more people with more responses, and soon the original thread of the discussion was buried.” On Sept. 19, 1982, Fahlman posted this message:

I propose … the following character sequence for joke markers:

:-)

Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use

:-(

Fahlman is widely credited with inventing the keyboard-rendered facial expression. But as his emoticons gained traction on early computer systems, they took on emotional lives of their own. The frown emoticon that Fahlman pitched to mark a serious post “quickly evolved into a marker for displeasure, frustration, or anger,” Fahlman wrote. “Within a few months, we started seeing the lists with dozens of ‘smilies’: open-mouthed surprise, person wearing glasses, Abraham Lincoln, Santa Claus, the pope, and so on,” each of which conjured a slightly different vibe when deployed in a new context. Fahlman had devised the emoticons to help clarify the meaning of online texts. But he soon realized that the meanings of emoticons themselves were highly subjective. And that was before we started communicating our feelings through endless combinations of tiny, colorful images—pouting cats, silly ghosts, and grinning piles of poo.

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/users/2015/10/emoticons_and_emojis_as_evidence_in_court.html

I Love Pumpkin!

Grandma’s Pumpkin Snack Cake

 

Print

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15-ounce can pumpkin

For the Frosting:

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon milk

Find Delicious Holiday Dessert Recipes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and beat at low speed until combined and the batter is smooth.
4. Spread batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.
5. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in the sugar and milk and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread over cooled bars. Dust lightly with cinnamon, if desired.

As see on Pinterest -

Found on kitchenmeetsgirl.com

Oppressive Heat May Become Deadly Heat

From The New York Times -

By the end of this century, areas of the Persian Gulf could be hit by waves of heat and humidity so severe that simply being outside for several hours could threaten human life, according to a study published Monday. Because of humanity’s contribution to climate change, the authors wrote, some population centers in the Middle East “are likely to experience temperature levels that are intolerable to humans.”

The dangerously muggy summer conditions predicted for places near the warm waters of the gulf could overwhelm the ability of the human body to reduce its temperature through sweating and ventilation. That threatens anyone without air-conditioning, including the poor, but also those who work outdoors in professions like agriculture and construction.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/science/intolerable-heat-may-hit-the-middle-east-by-the-end-of-the-century.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Why Cuban cab drivers earn more than doctors

Fried Chicken

From Buzzfeed - 

Here’s A Mouthwatering Step-By-Step Guide To Making The Most Insanely Delicious Fried Chicken

http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/perfect-fried-chicken#.tneE9QpZq

Sachal Studios' Take Five Official Video

This Study Proves What We Already Know

From The New York Times - 

Who Is Searched, and Who Has Contraband 

In four states that best track stops, blacks were more likely to be searched with their consent than whites, even though the police found contraband less often. 

The chance black drivers or their cars were searched, 

compared with white drivers. 

POLICE AGENCIES

5.0x

Torrington, Conn.

2.9

New Haven

2.6

Conn. State Police

5.2

Equally likely for blacks and whites

Chicago

2.7

Springfield, Ill.

2.4

Hoffman Estates, Ill.

2.1

Illinois State Police

2.0

Aurora, Ill.

2.8

Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C.

2.7

Raleigh, N.C.

2.2

Greensboro, N.C.

1.6

Fayetteville, N.C.

1.5

N.C. State Highway Patrol

2.5

Rhode Island State Police 

The chance black drivers who were searched had contraband,

compared with white drivers.

0.8x

Torrington, Conn.

0.6

New Haven

0.7

Conn. State Police

Equally likely

0.7

Chicago

0.7

Springfield, Ill.

0.9

Hoffman Estates, Ill.

1.0

Illinois State Police

0.8

Aurora, Ill.

0.7

Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C.

0.9

Raleigh, N.C.

0.8

Greensboro, N.C.

0.9

Fayetteville, N.C.

0.8

N.C. State Highway Patrol

1.7

Rhode Island State Police

Of these jurisdictions, only the Rhode Island State Police found

contraband more often among blacks. 

The largest police agencies in four states with measurable consent searches are shown. Connecticut data from Dec. 2013 to Aug. 2015; Illinois, 2009-13; North Carolina, 2010 to April 2015; Rhode Island, Jan. 2013 to May 2014. 

Sources: States’ databases, compiled from local police agency reports 

By The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/us/racial-disparity-traffic-stops-driving-black.html?_r=0

He Was So Much More . . .

Than Just a Doorman



http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/fashion/when-the-doorman-is-your-main-man.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below

Menu Sense

From The Huffington Post - 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/restaurant-menu-tricks-psychology_5627ff66e4b08589ef4aabd6

Recycled Poop

From The Huffington Post - 

2. A bus powered by human poop runs in the U.K.

[JEROAM]/FLICKR

Britain's first "poop bus," an effort towards sustainable transportation, went into regular service this past March. The 40-seat "Bio-Bus" runs solely on biomethane gas, which is generated through the treatment of sewage and food waste. The bus can travel up to 186 miles on one tank of gas, which is equivalent to the waste produced annually by five people, according to the BBC. 

If the bus turns out to be successful, First West of England, which operates the bus, said it will consider introducing a fleet of "poo buses."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/weird-facts-that-are-true-we-swear_561e7e33e4b0c5a1ce616342?ir=Daily%2BBrief%253Fncid%253Dnewsltushpmg00000003

My Favorites

 From The Huffington Post -

33 Dads Who Have This Whole Dad Thing Nailed Down

Follow the link below to see the other 31.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/these-dads-rock_56269651e4b08589ef494f45?ir=Daily%2BBrief&ncid=newsltushpmg00000003

TOWER Revival

Tower Theater is a fitting location for the premiere of "All Things Must Pass," the Colin Hanks' documentary of the rise and fall of Tower Records, which began it's worldwide domination from its humble beginnings in Sacramento.  It all happens tonight at 7:30.

Wish I was there to see this.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article41221047.html#emlnl=Morning_Newsletter

James Baldwin on the Dick Cavett Show - 1968

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-baldwin-breaks-down-our-present-day-race-problem-in-1968_56279f68e4b08589ef49e665?utm_hp_ref=black-voices

“It was a cold, dark night . . .” Not with this.

True confession -

I've been ridiculed by folks (who shall remain nameless, but their initials are B & F) for my love of all things lighted - eyeglasses, baseball caps, etc.  I find them very useful.  Thank you very much.  And when they get my age, I'm guessing they will too.

Anyway, here's another lit up gizzy.

From The Grommet -



https://www.thegrommet.com/x-cap?utm_campaign=20151023&utm_content=25264&utm_medium=email&utm_source=CC&trk_msg=TPS28DJ2V3T4N5AIMJVJ46H88S&trk_contact=6PJ17299EJ5SLGM27119G0AQ7K

Not Surprised

That Texas = Crazy

~~~~~~~~~~

From Texas Monthly -

If you’re Norwegian or happen to spend a lot of time around Norwegians, then this fact that absolutely blew our minds might not be news to you—but apparently the word “Texas” is slang for “crazy” or “wild,” as in, “the end of the [whatever sport they play in Norway] game was totally Texas!” 


See more at: http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/yall-norwegians-use-the-word-texas-as-slang-to-mean-crazy/utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Vox%20Sentences%2010.22.15&utm_term=Vox%20Newsletter%20All#sthash.t2aDvu4q.dpuf

More Creed

Kind Cards

From Upworthy - 

Have you heard of Sneaky Cards? The game is turning everyday life into quite an adventure.

There are people out there putting money in vending machines and then quickly walking away. On purpose.

Others are asking strangers to cut in front of them in line.

It's all part of the game.

"Sneaky Cards: Play It Forward" is a new card game that's the ultimate reminder that random daily moments and interactions with strangers can be a lot of fun. 

Image via Sneaky Cards.

It's the ultimate way to mix up your day and challenge yourself.

Sometimes you interact with people, sometimes you do a nice thing, sometimes you make art. 

http://www.upworthy.com/have-you-heard-of-sneaky-cards-the-game-is-turning-everyday-life-into-quite-an-adventure?c=upw1&u=6861cbea6edfdfe5a709ee39ad3c14b64135e61f

Post Racial or Racist Posts?

From The Root - 

Black Students at DC’s American University Post Racist Social Media Messages on Campus to Draw Attention to Campus Race Issues

The students are tired of the racist posts on social media targeting black students.

BY: YESHA CALLAHAN

Posted: Oct. 21 2015 8:50 AM

 

Racist social media posts on Yik Yak THE DARKENING 

Editor’s note: This article contains social media posts that some may find offensive.

Being a black student on a predominantly white campus isn’t always easy. Especially when some of your white classmates repeatedly post racist comments on a popular social media app used by college students.

Such is the case at American University.

Members of a student-led, racial-justice community organization called the Darkening launched #TheRealAU campaign so that students could share their experience with racism on campus, something the organization says the university’s president, Neil Kerwin, has failed to address aside from a memorandum written in April.

Racism on display via American University’s Yik Yak users THE DARKENING

“Recently members of our campus community were subjected in social media to racist, offensive comments that were reprehensible,” Kerwin wrote. “Similar experiences are occurring with disturbing frequency nationwide at other colleges and universities, but they are especially unwelcome at our university, which so actively strives to be diverse and inclusive. ... Like all institutions devoted to learning, we face a great challenge in balancing conditions that make it possible for every member of the community to learn and work in a respectful environment that also supports free academic inquiry and unfettered speech.”

However, black students on campus say that racist messages are being 

left on the popular Yik Yak app and that although they’ve complained 

to the president about it, nothing has been done. As a result, the students 

decided to take action.

On Oct. 8 the students posted screenshots of the racist messages all 

around campus in hopes of drawing attention to the ongoing issue. 

But eventually the images were taken down by campus security.

Racism on display via American University’s Yik Yak users THE DARKENING

“The American University community has demonstrated that it does 

not care enough about the experience of black students here. I should 

not have to deal with micro-aggressive students, staff and professors 

every day,” said Tatiana Laing, co-founder of the Darkening. “Enough 

is enough. Free speech is not the same as hate speech. It shouldn’t be 

up to me to train people on structural racism because we lack mandatory 

racial education. I need American University to make concrete changes, 

and I needed it yesterday.”

The black students on campus want their voices heard. Some may 

suggest that they ignore the app because only cowards would use it 

to post anonymous messages. But black students on campus shouldn’t 

have to be on guard and subjected to cowardly acts of racism—

offline or on social media.

http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2015/10/black_

students_at_d_c_s_american_university_post_racist_social_

media_messages.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content%26

Workers?

From The Atlantic - 

Earlier this month, McGraw Hill found itself at the center of some rather embarrassing press after a photo showing a page from one of its high-school world-geography textbooks was disseminated on social media. The page features a seemingly innocuous polychromatic map of the United States, broken up into thousands of counties, as part of a lesson on the country’s immigration patterns: Different colors correspond with various ancestral groups, and the color assigned to each county indicates its largest ethnic representation. The page is scarce on words aside from an introductory summary and three text bubbles explaining specific trends—for example, that Mexico accounts for the largest share of U.S. immigrants today.

The recent blunder has to do with one bubble in particular. Pointing to a patch of purple grids extending throughout the country’s Southeast corridor, the one-sentence caption reads:

The Atlantic Slave Trade between the 1500s and 1800s brought millions of workers from Africa to the southern United States to work on agricultural plantations.

The photo that spread through social media was taken by a black Texas student named Coby Burren, who subsequently texted it to his mom, Roni-Dean Burren. “Was real hard workers, wasn’t we,” he wrote. Roni-Dean quickly took to Facebook, lambasting the blunder: the reference to the Africans as workers rather than slaves. A video she later posted has been viewed nearly 2 million times, and her indignation has renewed conversations around the Black Lives Matter movement while attracting coverage by almost every major news outlet. “It talked about the U.S.A. being a country of immigration, but mentioning the slave trade in terms of immigration was just off,” she told The New York Times. “It’s that nuance of language. This is what erasure looks like.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/the-history-class-dilemma/411601/

This is What Happens When . . .

A Raincoat For Your Handbag

From The Grommet -



https://www.thegrommet.com/handbag-raincoat?utm_campaign=20151019&utm_content=26556&utm_medium=email&utm_source=CC&trk_msg=U3BKEFHVACL4D0PJCD54PFAF3C&trk_contact=6PJ17299EJ5SLGM27119G0AQ7K

Sign Me Up!

From News 360 - 

Scoot, the San Francisco-based electric scooter ride share network, has teamed up with Nissan to create a four-wheeled two-seater enclosed vehicle onto the streets of San Francisco. Starting today, Scoot members have the option to rent one of these adorable little cars to get them anywhere in the 7×7.

http://news360.com/article/317518952

Helping Kids Grow

From USA Today - 

"It's the three T's," she says: "Tune in, talk more and take turns."

That's the mantra of the Thirty Million Words initiative, an experimental effort to build young brains with words. The program gets its name from a study published in the 1990s that found children in low-income homes heard 30 million fewer words by age 3 than children in high income homes. They also heard a smaller variety of words and fewer words of encouragement. And those differences in language exposure had an apparent effect: Children from word-poor homes ended up with smaller vocabularies and worse school performance.

~~~~~

"Not having money in your pocket has never made a brain not grow," says Dana Suskind, a University of Chicago surgeon who founded the Thirty Million Words project. But little brains do need words to grow, she says: "In the beginning, the food for the developing brain is language and interaction."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2015/10/18/baby-talk-brain-programs/73808670/

Sisters Having Fun

Zadie at 4 yrs old, Theia at 4 mths old

Still Life Official Trailer 1 (2015) - Eddie Marsan Drama HD

There's an article in the New York Times today, that is about the life and death of a man who died alone.  It took months to positively identify him and even longer to find someone who knew him.

It is also speaks to the work of the people trying to piece together this man's life.

I found it intriguing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/nyregion/dying-alone-in-new-york-city.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

This movie is about a man whose job it is to find the next of kin of people who die alone.

It is thought-provoking, too, although Forrest might beg to differ.

A Warm Welcome

One of my first introductions to people from this part of the world happened at my first principalship. We had a Sikh student who wore the traditional turban, and he was being harassed on the playground.  This came to a head (no pun intended) when his turban was pulled off.  An absolute no no.

I called the Sikh student in, along with his parents, and dealt with the instigating student in no uncertain terms.

Later, I was invited to a Sikh church service.  At this time in my life I didn't want anything to do with anything or anyone related to organized religion.  I had been hurt deeply by Christian folks, so I done with them all.

However, the invitations continued, and I continued to put them off.  In passing, I mentioned this to Forrest, who in his infinite wisdom brought on in part by being ten years older than me, said I had to go.

And so I did.

First there was the church service, where the women sat on one side and the men the other.  This reminded me of the Catholic church I attended as a child, where typically the men and women sat on opposite sides of the church.  We took off our shoes at the door and sat with legs crossed on the floor. There was singing and worship in a language I didn't recognized.  I remember being taken aback by the joy and peacefulness that filled the place.

This was followed by a presentation in a meeting room, explaining who they are (Sikhs) and how they're different from Muslims, although they were/are being lumped together.  This was post-9/11.  The presenter was a prominent doctor from UC Davis, and a high ranking member of the church.  There were about a dozen visitors, including me.  It was totally enlightening and totally engrossing.

Then we were ushered into a hall where there were trays and trays of food on the floor.  Again we took off our shoes and made our way to a tray where we were directed to help ourselves from the huge assortment of food laid out before us.

This day, of learning and growing and experiencing new things, was wonderful.

I'm forever grateful that Forrest nudged me into accepting this invite.  It was an eye-opening experience, and although I had no idea at the time, but it would be a precursor of things to come, as I've learned to immerse myself in this Arab world I call home.

The article below reminded me of the incredible hospitality I experienced.  I thought it was a one-time thing helping to clarify their message of who they are after 9/11, but this hospitable spirit seems to be ingrained in who they are.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sikh-langar-parliament-of-world-religions_5622c61be4b02f6a900c9e68

An Unbelievable Catch!

Shaquille O'Neal and DeMarcus Womack on American Graduate Day 2015

Giving Back in a Big Way

From The Root - 

Former NFL Player Warrick Dunn Celebrates Helping His 145th Single-Parent Family Purchase a Home  

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer is giving back to his community in a major way.

http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2015/10/former_nfl_player_warrick_dunn_celebrates_helping_his_145th_single_parent.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content%26