Letter from Charles N. Elliot to John Muir, 1912 May 17.

304 HOYT STREEETMay 17, 1912.Dear Mr. Muir:-After hesitating and delaying for many years, T have come to the point of writing you in appreciation of your writings about Nature as she manifests herself on our great West Coast,in our National Parks, mountains, glaciers and valleys, and to thank you for the pleasure and inspiration which has come to me through your hooks and magazine articles, For some eighteen or twenty years I have collected magazine articles by yourself, by John Burroughs and Walt Whitman,together with articles written by others about these three, to me in common with ever increasing thousands,greatest interpreters of Nature, or we are not able to keep in constant communion with the great out-doors, need someone to bring that vast domain to our desks and our evening lamp, and to keep alive in us that, too often smothered,natural impulse to get close to Mother earth at every opportunity, T have just been re-reading your My First Summer in the Sierra ,in which your vital descriptions have made me to walk with you under the translucent fronds of the giant California ferns,face with bated breath the upreared,lei surely tolerant cinnamon bear and sit with awe-struck senses with my heels wedged in a throe inch crevice over the edge of mighty Yoeemite.fhie last scene the more vivid to me,because of bringing to monory ray own feat some years since,in leaping a narrow ribbon of rushing Bnoqualmie and sitting for hours on the point of rock which splits (or did a few years ago) the rushing flood at the very brink of its nerr 300 foot leap, my logs hanging in space, my soul soaring higher than ever the water foil

Letter from Charles N. Elliot to John Muir, [ca.1912 ?].

Charles N. ElliotArchitect325 Failing Building,Portland, Oregon,Dear Mr. Muir:I am at a loss how to adequately express my appreciation of your gift of Stickeen , which has just reached me.I would that I might in some more tangible way than words, show you how deeply your delicate kindness affects me. I have always loved your story of the little dog companion of your dangerous Alaskan adventure, and the book containing it — a gift from its writer will ever be one of my most prized possessions. As 1 have said, I wish it were possible to show my appreciation in some other way than a mere letter — but I cannot in any way give you the pleasure your act has given me, so much remain in your debt, not alone for this gift but for your good letter, your inscription in My First Summer in the Sierra and the perennial pleasure and help your writings bring to me. You see I am hopelessly in your debt.Regarding Stickeen —not alone to you is his little dog-soul immortal, but your touching tale has made him a member of that immortal animal company to which belongs Rab and His Friends , Black Beauty and others whose soul-workings have been revealed to us by sympathetic human eyes and pens.I had intended writing you for one more favor -- which I now hesitate to ask — in view of your generosity, but feel impelled ro risk troubling you, though I hope to be forgiven. I noted in a New York paper that you-had written an appreciation of Mr. E. H« Harriman, published by Doubleday, Page & Co. for distribution to public libraries only not obtainable by purchase at the bookstore or elsewhere. I had our Library obtain a copy for their shelves and have it before me as I write, but I would like a copy of my very own, not only because of its author, but also because of its subject. Mr. Harriman always seemed to me one of America\u27s real noblemen. If I could buy the book I would not ask what I do -- but, under the circumstances, may I hope that you will write the publishers to send me a copy? If there is any reason why this is not to your liking, forgive me and disregard my request.I enclose a copy of my daughter\u27s Class Poem which is an exact expression of the sweet child herself.The thoughts are all her own, and while the composition lacks artistic finish, it is interesting as the expression of a sweet, beautiful and unspoiled nature.Again thanking you and with affectionate regards,Ever faithfully yours,Charles M. Elliot[05344] CLASS POEM-JUNE \u2712LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL,PORTLAND,ORE.How good to gain this sunny,long-sought knoll,All shining with the light of dreams come true.four years toiled we to reach the beck\u27ning goal,Rejoicing that to dare can mean to do .\u27Tis sweet to tarry here among the flowersWithout a care - our youthful labor done;To dream away the idly-floating hoursAnd feel the pride that comes with purpose won.But shall we like dumb brutes without an aimRest ever \u27neath this little laurel\u27s shade,And watch life\u27s sun in high midheaven flame,Then sink to silence ere our mark is made?Nay,see\u27st thou not yon distant mountain crest,Rose-glowing in the light of dawning day?\u27Tis called Success - go, give the world your best,Climb onward,upward;shining gleams the way!And as when Spring has climbed the highest peak,And looking back,surveys her joyful course,Finds all the world is laughing in her wake,Each step flower-jeweled, and each smile the sourceOf streams of joy that swell and flood the world;Each blossomed breath - Life\u27s heartaches blown away,Each fairy touch - man\u27s pleasure-store joy-pearled;An earth transformed - an Eden from cold clay;So let us strive to make our way bloom brightWith radiant joy,with hope and truth and love;To make each deed a shining glory-lightThat points men\u27s souls from earth to thoughts above:Till, looking from from the summit of the years,A thousand barren hearts have burst to bloomFrom seeds we sowed and watered with our tears -The world more joyous for our having come.Far nobler than some selfish object won,Our deeds nor time nor death can e\u27er destroy,Thru\u27 us God\u27s perfect plan more nearly done,When all the world is joy,forever joy!Romaine Elliot.[05344

Letter from Charles N. Elliot to John Muir, 1913 Jan 15.

January 15,1913.Dear Mr. Muir:-The copy of your little BIG book E.H.Harriman arrived last week. I had not expected you to send me one yourself,but hoped merely that you would write the publishers to consider me a librarian,to the end that I might obtain a copy.Needless,however,for me to say how much more I prize this book which has been handled by its author and which contains the inscription in his handwriting. I truly thank you.I trust that you will receive the little calendar which I had my daughter,Romaine,paint and make up for you. It is nothing - but let it be, as it is,a small but visible token of the love and admiration in which you are held in our household.With sincere regards,believe me,eve

Thought Experiments in Philosophy of Religion

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Passively Adaptive Radiative Switch for Thermoregulation in Buildings

With the ever-growing need to reduce energy consumption, building materials that passively heat or cool are gaining importance. However, many buildings require both heating and cooling, even within the same day. To date, few technologies can automatically switch between passive heating and cooling, and those that can require a large temperature range to cycle states (>15o C), making them ineffective for daily switching. We present a passively adaptive radiative switch that leverages the expansion in phase-change energy storage materials to actuate the motion of louvers and can cycle states in less than 3o C. The black selective-absorber louvers induce high heat gain when closed, yet when open, expose a white, emissive surface for low heat gain. During an outdoor test in which temperature was held steady, our device reduced the energetic cost of cooling by 3.1x and heating by 2.6x compared to non-switching devices. Our concept opens the door for passively adaptive thermoregulating building materials.Comment: 32 pages with supplementary information include

The application of natural language pragmatics in human-computer interaction.

The general aim of the work reported in this thesis is to investigate the viability of applying theories and principles from the field of natural language pragmatics to that of human-computer interaction. In pursuing this aim, the research falls broadly into three phases.The first of these is the exploitation and adaptation of the Gricean Cooperative Principle, its maxims and inferential rules to situations of computer use which do not employ natural language as the medium of communication. The purpose of this endeavour is to provide a novel and revealing analysis of non natural language interaction and to establish principles for dialogue design, the application of which enhance the quality of communication between system and user in such situations.The second phase concerns the application of the adapted Gricean principles to the design of a dialogue management system, intended to address some of the problems which other research has revealed users to experience in using the standard UNIX shell interface. This second phase resulted in the production of the QDOS system, which is both a simulation of part of the UNIX file system and an implementation of the proposed dialogue management system.This software acts as the vehicle for all subsequent evaluative exercises constituting the third phase. This takes the form of an evaluation of the QDOS system and its theoretical underpinning, based on a two-condition experiment and a protocol analysis, involving a number of experimental subjects.This research provides an original application of the Gricean Cooperative Principle in human-computer interaction and a theoretical and practical demonstration of the validity of this endeavour. It also adduces an analysis of the UNIX interface and its vagaries in terms of a principled and consistent set of criteria as well as identifying a significant class of dialogue breakdown, the circumstances and incidence of which cut across issues of interface style

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