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|Elephants in battle|
War elephants were so important that they were frequently portrayed on coins.
War elephants seem to have come to the West from India, via Alexander the Great and his successors. One of these Pyrrhus, invaded Italy using elephants - and the Romans were terrified of them. Polybius does mention that it was the Indoi (or Indians) that were riding these elephants.
The widespread use of elephants seems to died out after Hannibal.
|Silver Double Shekel, Spain, c230 BC|
The head is thought to represent the Punic (Carthaginian) god Melqart, portrayed as resembling the Greek hero Herakles with a club over his shoulder. It may also resemble the current ruler - who would have been Hamilcar, Hannibal's father.
On the reverse is a very clear picture of a war elephant, as used by Hannibal in his great campaign against Rome. It is an African elephant and the driver or mahout is shown with a pointed tool used for controlling the creature. This picture does not show any 'tower' or other structure on the back of the elephant.
The elephants figured on the coins of Alexander, and the Seleucid kingdoms invariably exhibit the characteristics of the Indian type, whilst those on Punic and Roman medals can at once be identified as African, from the peculiarities of the convex forehead and expansive ears. However, there is some doubt as to whether African elephants were ever trained and used as war elephants.
On the following depiction of one of Pyrrhus' elephants, a howdah can be seen on the back of the elephant, housing two archers.
|Epirus elephant dish|
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- Historic Sites
Main Street Of America
It runs from the site of David Burnes’s farmhouse across old Goose Creek to Jenkins’ Hill. Linking the White House and the Capitol, it is Washington’s grand avenue, the
February 1969 | Volume 20, Issue 2
By the end of the ten-year period allotted by Congress for the creation of the city, Pennsylvania Avenue was little more than a clearing in the landscape. Of the city’s 372 private houses—109 of brick and 263 of wood—scarcely a dozen faced the avenue, and most of these were on the north side. A few lots on the south side had been cleared as lumberyards, but as the ground there was low, wet, and swampy, it was not an appealing building site. At high tide the waters of the Tiber came to within twenty-five feet of the avenue itself, and storms regularly brought the water clear across it. Receding, the river left catfish in the puddles. When the tide was low, small boys waded about in the Tiber, looking for turtle nests on its reedy banks. Rabbits and squirrels abounded. When the birds were migrating, there were so many wild ducks in the swamps that a person standing on Pennsylvania Avenue might bring one down with a stone. The Mall was a pasture generally known as the Commons; people had already forgotten that it was supposed to be, in the words of L’Enfant, “a public walk … that will give to the city from the very beginning a superior charm over most of those of the world.” Certainly it is a measure of the optimism of Federal America, as well as of the persuasiveness of its leaders, that by 1800 more than 2,500 citizens called this unpromising village home.
In May of that year the official building period was over; and whether Washington, D.C., was ready or not, the federal government was coming. President John Adams travelled from Philadelphia by coach, taking eight days on the road. The 131 government clerks, and various cabinet members, along with the archives and office paraphernalia, arrived by sloop—down the Delaware River to the ocean, thence up Chesapeake Bay, and up the Potomac to the mouth of Rock Creek. Most of the new arrivals, including the President, prudently left their families at home, for, as the entrepreneur Blodget had foreseen, the capital city was in dire need of lodginghouses. When Congress convened in November, the members were lucky if they slept only two to a room and not two to a bed. Speaker of the House Theodore Sedgwick was the only member of that first Washington session of Congress who found a bedroom to himself. A few members of Congress rented houses for their families in Georgetown; daily contact with them was impossible, however, for after a rain it took hours to ride or drive between Georgetown and Capitol Hill.
The scene around the Capitol was a dismal one. Albert Gallatin, then serving in Congress, thus described it in a letter to his wife: ”… seven or eight boarding houses, one tailor, one shoemaker, one printer, a washing woman, a grocery shop, a pamphlet and stationery shop, a small dry-goods shop and an oyster house.” Westward toward the unfinished President’s House he saw a gash through the alder bushes that was Pennsylvania Avenue; beside it, looking somewhat incongruous, rose the tinner’s and the coachmaker’s and two or three smaller houses.
Washington had purposely placed the Executive Mansion a mile away from Congress so that the President would not be annoyed by congressmen continually dropping in. With a sea of mud between them, there now seemed danger of their losing touch altogether. One of the first acts of the newly convened Congress was to vote $10,000 for making sidewalks on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue. Wide enough to accommodate two people walking abreast, they were made of chips from the stone blocks used to build the Capitol. People complained that the chips cut their shoes and covered them with white powder, and that on wet days the powder turned to ooze in which one might well lose a shoe. Even at that, pedestrians were better off than those who rode in hacks or coaches and were either splattered with mud, choked with dust, or upset by hidden tree stumps. Even the President’s lady, Abigail Adams, who arrived in the fall, was often delayed by mud when paying calls by coach. She described Washington as “a wilderness city,” but bravely added, “It is a beautiful spot, capable of every improvement, and the more I view it the more I am delighted with it.” Tongue in cheek, Senator Gouverneur Morris termed Washington “the best city in the world for a future residence. We want nothing here but houses, cellars, kitchens, well informed men, amiable women, and other trifles of this kind, to make our city perfect.”
But now that the government had taken up its permanent residence, civic improvements began to move at a faster pace. The cost of lots was cut in half, which had the desired effect of stimulating new building. Stage lines, running north and south, made travel more agreeable. Occasionally there were dances and Marine Corps band concerts. A newspaper, the mark of a real city, began publication in the fall. It was called the National Intelligencer . In the winter of 1800–1801, Pennsylvania Avenue was cleared of stumps and bushes to its intended width of 160 feet. Still, not a few of the uncomfortable and homesick congressmen were convinced that the new city would never work, and they nearly succeeded in passing a resolution to move the government elsewhere. Fortunately for the city, the President inaugurated on March 4, 1801, was its greatest backer and enthusiast, Thomas Jefferson.
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Sometimes getting a group to decide on a focus can be very challenging. After you have agreement on the criteria for setting priorities, you could use either of the three methods - "dot" voting, weighted voting or consensus voting - depending on the time, resources and nature of the group.
- "Dot Voting:Give each member a certain number of "votes" using colored adhesive dots. The rule of thumb is each person gets a number of dots equal to 1/4 the number of items. Sorting and combining like ideas can be postponed until after voting, so time is not spent discussing low priority items. Re-voting can be done several times as ideas are sorted and clarified. Or, you invest time initial to clarifying and sorting the ideas, and vote later. The dot voting is a highly visual and simple method. The disadvantages are that it takes up majority opinion, and may alienated a minority group that could damage future group interaction.
- Weighted Voting: Points are assigned to individual rankings. For example, if the members is to rank the top five choices, 5 votes would be given to the first choice, 4 votes to the second, 3 votes to the third and so on. All individual scores for each item are then tallied and items can be ranked by total group score. Weighted voting is more accurate than straight voting in measuring member preferences. Weighted voting can also be conducted and tallied between meetings, so that group time is not spent on this task.
- Consensus decision: This is the most time-consuming method, but important where implementation of the decision will require the acceptance and committment of all groups members. Ground rules for building consensus are:
- Solicit all members in discussion.
- Avoid arguments.
- State all concerns (especially minority views).
- Listen to all concerns - Ask clarifying questions, paraphrase concerns.
- List pros and cons of each position on chart.
- If two positions conflict, look for a third which will reconcile differences.
- Get expression of support from all members before making decisions final.
- Don't change your opinion to keep the peace.
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About ولادة طبيعيه
ولادة طبيعيه ولادة طبيعيه The astronomical cycles described above are not called Milankovitch cycles after Milutin Milankovitch, a Serbian scientist who provided a detailed theory of their potential influence over climate in the 1920s. The seasons are, of course, reversed for the southern hemisphere.
Pegasus sprang from the blood of the Gorgon Medusa when the hero Perseus beheaded her.
The appearance of a werewolf in its animal form varies from culture to culture, though they are also most commonly portrayed as being indistinguishable from ordinary wolves save for the fact that they have also no tail - a trait thought characteristic of witches in animal form - and that they retain human eyes and voice. ولادة المرأة The theory predicts different effects at different latitudes, and thus its use as a predictor of global - or at least hemispheric - climate change is unambiguous. Live Sports The combined effect of the Earth`s orbital motion and the tilt of its rotation axis result in the seasons.
This, of course, would be just the beginning of the controversy surrounding this animal.
Werewolf folklore is rare in England, possibly because wolves had been eradicated by authorities in the Anglo-Saxon period. ولادة طبيعيه They were also committed to this direction and hired and artist and engineer who designed and laid out their first city plan.
It is often worn in hot weather or while swimming.
The second major encounter occurred on January 12, 2003, when a cadre of eyewitnesses claimed to have seen a seven-foot long, three-foot wide, black animal undulating silently down the river.
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By Daniel Hubbard | June 15, 2014
I’m getting ready to give a talk about understanding the use of DNA in genealogical research. It is one thing to just jump right into DNA. It is another to wrap your head around it.
One thing I’ve realized is that I need to point out that there are two types parental role. There is the biological role and the upbringing role—nature and nurture. We are used to those roles being one and the same but they aren’t always. The documents that we use have the potential to tell us about both roles. DNA can only tell us about the people who filled the nature role.
That can be a powerful difference. DNA is not ambiguous about which role is which, as documents can be. Nature is in the DNA, nurture is not. Yet it can also lead down a path that is not truly correct. Once we think that we can use DNA to answer questions like, “Who was his real father?” we have started down that wrong path. The parent that raised a child is just as real as the parent that helped to create the child. Genes are one thing, years of nurturing are another, very real thing. If we are really doing family history, then those parents who filled the nurture role without filling the nature role are people that we need to research, even if they did not pass on their genes to us. Who they were, how they were brought up, who shaped them and raised those that shaped them, are all important influences. They are people who might have made an ancestors life totally different from what it would have been.
DNA can help to unravel the pairs of people who filled the biological role and usually, that tells us about the nurture role as well. Nevertheless, if those biological ancestors aren’t the same as the ones who filled the nurture role, then DNA is silent. In that case, DNA’s strength can become a weakness if we make it so. We make it so if we think that the flow of genes is all that we are researching.Twitter It!
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This native Mediterranean herb has been enjoyed for centuries for both its culinary and medicinal uses. The name comes from a derivative of the Latin salvus, meaning "safe," a reference to the herb's believed healing powers. The narrow oval gray-green leaves of this pungent herb are slightly bitter and have a musty mint taste and aroma. There's also a variety called pineapple sage, which has an intensely sweet pineapple scent. Small bunches of fresh sage are available year-round in many supermarkets. Choose sage by its fresh color and aroma. Refrigerate wrapped in a paper towel and sealed in a plastic bag for up to four days. Dried sage comes whole, rubbed (crumbled) and ground. It should be stored in a cool, dark place for no more than six months. Sage is commonly used in dishes containing pork, cheese and beans, and in poultry and game stuffings. Sausage makers also frequently use it to flavor their products.
From The Food Lover's Companion, Fourth edition by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst. Copyright © 2007, 2001, 1995, 1990 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
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|Cragside the house and its estate was the ancestral home of the Armstrong family. Lord Armstrong was an innovator who created his wealth from ordnance and heavy engineering industry. The engineering was concentrated on mechantile and hydraulics. Cragside the house was built over the period 1870 - 1885 including the many extensions, improvements and upgrading occuring during that period. The house and estate became the property of The National Trust in 1977 and was opened to the public for the first time in 1979.|
Cragside house is heated by two different types of central heating system.
Firstly, many of the rooms in the original part of the house (1863 - 1872) are heated by a warm air ventilation system which warmed that part of the building through a network of ducts, all of which appear to have been built into the structural fabric of the building.
Two large rooms sited in the basement of the house are filled with banks of 4 inch cast iron heating pipes arranged in multiple rows, which acted as plenum heating chambers to warm and raise the temperature of the incoming cold fresh air before it entered the ventilation system.
Pipe Bank No 1 Pipe Bank No 2
Most of the rooms heated by the warm air ventilation system are fitted with floor gratings arranged around the perimeter of the room. Other rooms have the gratings or grilles fitted in the floor outside the entrance door or in the skirtings.
built sections of the house (1872 - 1885) are heated by a low pressure
wet heating system. Rooms, Staircase, Landings and Corridors are heated
by a variety of different shapes and sizes of Victorian style box-ended
pipe coil heaters, and also "Princess" sectional pattern radiators
manufactured by The Beeston Boiler Co.
Unfortunately all the pipe coil heaters and radiators are enclosed in decorative timber enclosures with only the front screen sections being removable. This made photographing the heaters difficult as can be seen from the images shown later.
No indication of the maker's names was found on any of the heaters, so there is a possibility that these cast iron heaters could have been cast and made in one of the many manufactories of Armstrong.
One possible exception to this was the circular vertical pattern heater found in the Water Colour Gallery. This heater appears to be of a similar design to types made by Cannon or William Graham both of London. This is the first example of this circular pattern to be found in a National Trust property and must be considered a great rarity.
Plant, serving the
heating installation is of recent manufacture and therefore not shown,
as it did not
form part of the survey of the historical engineering services.
Bottom of Main Staircase
5 tier 5 row pipe coil heater, with bottom fed cast iron flow & return pipes.
The top of each pipe bank was fitted with an air vent pipe
connected into a header pipe with a single vent outlet.
First Floor Landing
4 tier treble row pipe coil heater with
rectangular box-end headers.
Right hand TBSE flow & return pipe connections.
Water Colour Gallery
8 Section vertical circular pattern heater
12 Section cast iron vertical pattern with diamond cross-sectional waterways.
Radiator is floor standing type with decorative claw shaped feet.
Gun Room Corridor
6 tier double row horizontal pipe coil heater with rectangular box-end headers.
Right hand bottom flow & return pipe connections.
The following description is an edited version of The National Trust leaflet which gives an overview of the history of the electricity supply at Cragside. Armstrong had a lifelong interest in electricity and combined this interest with hydraulics to create probably the very first hydroelectric power house to be installed, at Cragside circa.1868.
A dam was built by Armstrong to provide stored water which was then fed by gravity into a header tank sited on the roof of the power house building.
The hydraulic pump has a twin head arrangement which pumped the water up to a reservoir 200 feet above the house. This stored water was then fed by gravity into the house to be used for domestic purposes, the hydraulic lift, kitchen spit and laundry equipment.
Also in the Power House building in 1878 Armstrong located a 6hp turbine which was used to drive a dynamo generating electricity for the newly installed carbon rod arc lamps lighting the Picture Gallery in the house. The dynamo was a Siemens series wound, bipolar horizontal pattern with a drum armature and single magnetic circuit.
Due to the increased demand for electricity the Burnfoot Power House was constructed in 1886 to house a Gilkes turbine and Crompton generator. 45 new lamps had been installed in the house, which were of the incandescent design type perfected by Joseph_Swan. The turbine was powered from Nelly's Moss Lakes located approx 104 metres (340feet) above the Power House creating a pressure of 150 psi at the turbine. The electricity supply was taken from the generator on ceramic conductors and then routed up to the house by cable housed in a buried wooden conduit supported on trestles.
The Power House needed to be manned at all times by a person aptly named 'caretaker of the electric light'. A telephone was provided to enable him to be in direct contact with the house.
Demand continued to increase in the house for electricity to such an extent that by 1895 two extensions to the Burnfoot Power House were added by Armstrong. These extensions comprised a Battery House and a Gas Engine House. A second generator was also added to the installation, a Thomas Parker dynamo installed by Drake & Gorham of London. To maintain power supplies at times of peak demand a set of batteries was also added and most probably they were connected to and charged directly by one of the generators.
During periods of dry weather the water supply from Nelly's Moss lakes became unreliable so it was considered necessary for a gas engine to be installed that could then be used to drive either or both generators. The gas engine was a 30-hp Tangye horizontal single cylinder pattern.
The nearby town of Rothbury had a town's gas works founded by Armstrong, where the gas was piped to the estate and used to drive the engine. The 'caretaker of the electric light' was required to notify the Gas works before starting the gas engine.
Cragside was connected to mains electricity in 1945.
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Shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) was a self-made multi-millionaire who became one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century. As a boy, he worked with his father, who operated a boat that ferried cargo between Staten Island, New York, where they lived, and Manhattan. After working as a steamship captain, Vanderbilt went into business for himself in the late 1820s, and eventually became one of the country’s largest steamship operators. In the process, the Commodore, as he was publicly nicknamed, gained a reputation for being fiercely competitive and ruthless. In the 1860s, he shifted his focus to the railroad industry, where he built another empire and helped make railroad transportation more efficient. When Vanderbilt died, he was worth more than $100 million.
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December 18, 2009
Deepest Undersea Volcanic Eruption Caught On Video
Scientists have unveiled video footage of the deepest underwater volcanic eruption, at a site where sweltering 2,500-degree lava explodes into cold water nearly a mile below the ocean surface.
Bob Embley, a marine geologist at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Newport, Oregon, said, "It was very exciting. We've never seen anything like that on the ocean floor."The West Mata volcano, six miles long and four miles wide, rises one mile from the sea floor and sits 4,000 feet below the ocean's surface.
Last May, scientists on board the research ship Thomas Thompson deployed an underwater robot called Jason to get a close up on the rumbling volcano. Embley described the scene as "an underwater Fourth of July."
Researchers collected samples near the volcano that showed the seawater to be highly acidic, similar to battery or stomach acid. The lava froze almost instantly as it hit the cold sea water, causing black rock to sink to the sea floor.
Scientists also found and photographed a species of shrimp apparently thriving near the volcanic vents.
Joseph Resing, chemical oceanographer for the University of Washington, said, "Nobody would have predicted that things would have survived long enough in water that acidic. It seems like it's too harsh a condition."
The volcano is spewing a type of lava known as Boninite, which until now had only been seen in extinct volcanoes more than a million years old.
Resing, the mission's chief scientist, said, "Most of the eruptions on Earth happen underwater, and you would think by now we would have seen one. It's a very rare thing that we've never seen flowing molten lava until now."
Scientists hope deep-ocean eruptions can tell them more about how the planet recycles heat and matter at the friction points where Earth's tectonic plates meet. They also hope to learn more about how carbon dioxide and sulfur gases cycle through the ocean.
West Mata lies within the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where volcanoes are common.
In the Philippines, authorities are moving 30,000 people away from the danger zone near the erupting Mayon volcano.
Image 1: An explosion at the West Mata Volcano throws ash and rock, with molten lava glowing below. Credit: NSF/NOAA
Image 2: Shrimp congregate near the summit of West Mata Volcano, withstanding hot, acid waters. Credit: NSF/NOAA
Image 3: The orange glow of magma in an eruptive area the length of a football field along the summit. Credit: NSF/NOAA
On the Net:
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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
The terms “infection” and “disease” are not synonymous. An infection results when a pathogen invades and begins growing within a host. Disease results only if and when, as a consequence of the invasion and growth of a pathogen, tissue function is impaired.
An infectious disease is a disease that is caused by a microorganism, such as a bacterium, virus, or parasite, that is not normally found in the body and is capable of causing infection. Our bodies have defense mechanisms to prevent infection and, should those mechanisms fail, to prevent disease after infection occurs. Some, but not all, infectious diseases are contagious, meaning they can spread from person to person. Other infectious diseases can spread from animals or insects to humans, but not from person to person.
Infectious diseases are responsible for more than 25% of 57 million annual deaths worldwide. 2/3 of 9 million pediatric deaths yearly are from infectious disease. Some of those deaths could be prevented with vaccines. Some infectious agents are easily transmitted (that is, they are very contagious), but they are not very likely to cause disease (that is, they are not very virulent).
There are five major types of infectious agents: bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, and helminths. In addition, a new class of infectious agents, the prions, has recently been recognized.
Developed countries have regulations that help protect the general public from infectious diseases. Public health measures typically involve eliminating the pathogen from its reservoir or from its route of transmission. Those measures include ensuring a safe water supply, effectively managing sewage treatment and disposal, and initiating food safety, animal control, and vaccination programs.
Vaccines can prevent outbreaks of disease and save lives. When a critical portion of a community is immunized against a contagious disease, most members of the community are protected against that disease because there is little opportunity for an outbreak. Even those who are not eligible for certain vaccines--such as infants, pregnant women, or immunocompromised individuals--get some protection because the spread of contagious disease is contained. This is known as "community immunity."
While literally meaning “destroyer of life,” the term “antibiotic” has become the most commonly used word to refer to a chemical substance used to treat bacterial infections. The term “antimicrobial” has a somewhat broader connotation, generally referring to anything that inhibits the growth of microbes.
Sources: AIDSinfo Glossary, AIDSinfo.gov.
Infectious Disease: A worldwide Problem, NIH Center for Infectious Disease Imaging
Community Immunity ("Herd" Immunity), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
Many research studies are underway to help us learn about infectious diseases. Would you like to find out more about being part of this exciting research? Please visit the following links:
Last Reviewed: Jun 06, 2012
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I met Slate's writer Matt Yglesias randomly at an event at the New America Foundation a few years ago and I was happy to run into him. I've always been a fan of his work and you can reliably expect him to go on a rant against the stupidity of the DC Height Act, at least once per quarter, which will earn a constant thumbs-up from me.
So when he asked for some quick pieces of Peak Oil information, I'm happy to jump in. And also because it's my job, since I do work for ASPO-USA and connecting journalists with Peak Oil experts is what we do. ASPO-USA also convenes an annual conference on these issues and releases daily & weekly publications.
What is Peak Oil: Peak Oil is the maximum rate of oil production in the world or a country. Here in the United States, maximum oil production was in 1970, and although there have been recent gains, we have yet to equal or better the peak rate of 1970.
Here it's key to understand that Peak Oil is measured in RATES. It is not measured in total supply. "How much is there" isn't the key question, the question is the rate of production - usually expressed in millions of barrels per day. This is why Peak Oil has nothing to do with "Running out of oil" - that is a misunderstanding of the issue. And since oil is a finite resource and extraction of any finite resource peaks in production, we know that oil will eventually peak. This is certain. And the only way to prove Peak Oil wrong is to prove that oil is infinite.
What is the Peak Oil Debate: It's important not to confuse "Peak Oil" with the "Peak Oil Debate" - a mistake many make. Peak Oil is simply a number, nothing more, nothing less.
The "Peak Oil Debate" is ALL the surrounding commentary around the number. When will it happen? How big will it be? What does it mean for the economy? Et cetera.
In general, optimists believe that high oil prices incentivize new technology to make oil production better and more efficient. They also believe that new technologies, natural gas, and energy efficiency will quickly come online to ease the transition from oil. In recent years, this has come to be known as "Peak Oil Demand" - suggesting that they believe demand for oil will peak before supply constraints become an issue.
The pessimists on the other hand, generally believe that the advancements the optimists hope for will not come online as quickly as they hope. And they fear oil supply constraints will bring painful stress to the economy.
But Peak Oil beliefs are not homogeneous. This is Robert Rapier's second point in his article "The Five Misconceptions About Peak Oil." Often optimists may oversimplify the argument by trying to paint the pessimists as doomsday cultists, but that downplays the wide spectrum of opinions about these issues.
Additional Links to Review
Brad Plumer of the Washington Post has done an excellent job covering these issues in recent years. Here are some of his relevant posts.
- "Why is it so tricky to define 'peak oil'" Oct 2011
- "IMF study: Peak oil could do serious damage to the global economy" Oct 2012
- "Peak Oil isn't dead: An Interview with Chris Nelder" Apr 2013
PDF Articles in Professional Journals
- "Peak Oil and Energy Independence: Myth and Reality" July 2013 - featured article for the American Geophysical Union
- "A Few Words About Peak Oil" Feb 2013 - commentary for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists
- "Oil's Tipping Point Has Passed" Jan 2012 - featured article in Nature
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How to Remove and Install a Car Battery
No matter how well your vehicle is working, if your battery dies and can’t be recharged, you’re stranded in a vehicle that you can’t drive in for service. A battery usually has a sticker on it that shows when you bought it and how long you can expect it to survive. To prevent being stuck on the road with a dead battery, enter that information in your owner's manual and have the battery replaced before it comes to the end of its life expectancy.
Pull your gear together — an adjustable wrench, a couple of clean lint-free rags, a pair of disposable latex gloves, some water and baking soda, a battery brush, and an inexpensive pair of safety goggles — and then follow these steps:
Turn off your engine.
Make sure that your vehicle is in Park, with the engine shut off and the parking brake on.
Open the hood and place a blanket or pad over the fender.
This protects your car from corrosive battery acid.
Remove the cables from the battery terminals.
Look in your owner’s manual to see whether your vehicle has negative ground (most do). If it does, use an adjustable wrench to first loosen the nut and bolt on the clamp that holds the battery cable on the negative terminal. (That’s the post with the little “–” or “NEG” on it.) If your vehicle has positive ground, loosen the cable with “+” or “POS” on it first. Remove the cable from the post and lay it out of your way. Then remove the other cable from its post and lay that aside.
If you have trouble loosening the bolt, grab it with one wrench and the nut with another, and move the wrenches in opposite directions. In this case, you don’t want to remove the bolts; just loosen them enough to release the cable clamps.
Remove whatever devices are holding the battery in place.
When you’re removing a bolt or screw, after you’ve loosened it with a tool, turn it the last few turns by hand so that you have a firm grip on it when it comes loose and it doesn’t drop and roll into obscurity.
Remove the battery.
When the battery is free, lift it out of its seat and place it out of your way.
If the tray on which the battery was standing is rusty or has deposits on it, clean it with a little baking soda dissolved in water.
Wear your gloves because the battery stuff is corrosive, and be sure the battery tray is completely dry before taking the next step!
Place the new battery on the tray.
Make sure it is facing in the same direction as the old one was.
Replace the devices that held the old battery in place.
Try to wiggle the battery to make sure it’s completely secure.
Replace the battery cables on the terminals in reverse order from which you removed them.
If your vehicle has negative ground, the positive cable goes back first. Make certain that the clamps holding the cables on the battery terminals are gripping the posts tightly.
Take the old battery to a recycling center that accepts batteries.
Batteries are filled with a toxic, corrosive liquid and must be disposed of properly. What’s more, old batteries are usually rebuilt into new ones, so just throwing one in the trash is doubly bad for the environment. If you have your new battery installed when you buy it, the shop will recycle the old one for you. They’ll probably want to charge a few dollars for this service, but try to negotiate it into the price. You also can call your local recycling center for a referral.
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Have your children collect 3-4 interesting fall leaves. Help
each child roll pieces of tape and place them under the leaves
to secure them to a flat surface. Next, give them a piece
of paper to lay on top of the leaves. Give your children crayons
that have had their paper removed. Next, show them how to
lay a crayon sideways and rub it across the paper. Encourage
your children to experiment with using different colors of
crayons and occasionally moving the leaves to different positions.
NOTE: If the leaves your children find are not flat, have
them lay the leaves on a table and place some heavy books
on top of them for a while to flatten.
Have your children glue a large leaf on a piece of paper. Then
with a black pen, have them draw on a head, two arms and two
legs. Next have them glue a small leaf on for hands and feet
and one for a hat.
You can make beautiful leaf prints with leaves and some tempera
paint. Have your children lay 2-3 leaves on a piece of newspaper.
Next, have them paint each leaf (the same or each a different
color). Carefully, help each child to move the leaves to a clean
piece of newspaper. Next, have them lay a clean piece of white
paper on top of the leaves and gently rub across the top of
the paper. When they lift off the white paper, they will find
a beautiful print of the leaves underneath.
Give each child a paper plate. Have them draw on facial features
with crayons. Then have them glue small leaves on the top of
the plate for hair.
One of my nicest cooperative room displays with young children
was to let them paint with watercolors on a piece of white
paper. When the papers were dried, I cut them into simple
leaf shapes and used them to decorate a large tree shape on
the wall. I just rolled pieces of tape and stuck them to the
backs of the leaves and placed them on the branches of the
tree and on the ground beneath it.
NOTE: I have never done this, but I saw a great ideas
once, where a teacher had cut old grocery sacks apart and
had twisted them up to resemble a twisted 3-D tree and branches.
It really looked great. You might want to try it. Let me know
how it turns out!
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Researchers have successfully tested first the first time a computer simulation of major portions of the body's immune reaction to influenza type A, with implications for treatment design and preparation ahead of future pandemics, according to work accepted for publication, and posted online, by the Journal of Virology. The new "global" flu model is built out of preexisting, smaller-scale models that capture in mathematical equations millions of simulated interactions between virtual immune cells and viruses.
Mathematical models and computer simulations have been used to understand viral infections and immune response to those infections, including influenza type A viruses, which can cause severe human disease. Type A flu viruses are classified by differing versions of key proteins, hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), on their outer surfaces that attract attention by the human immune system, but that are always changing. Thus, some forms of both seasonal flu and swine flu are designated H1N1 because of their related, but differing surface proteins. The "bird flu" virus that emerged in 2004 is designated as H5N1. The newest, much-publicized strain of H1N1 swine flu is believed to have caused deaths and hospitalizations because victims' immune systems did not recognize the latest variations in these surface proteins. Each year, seasonal flu causes approximately 36,000 deaths in this country for the same reason.
A team of immunologists, mathematical modelers, statisticians and software developers created the new model over three years within the Center for Biodefense Immune Modeling at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The project was led by Hulin Wu, Ph.D., principal investigator of the project, director of the Center for Biodefense Immune Modeling (CBIM) and division chief of the Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, and by Martin S. Zand, M.D., Ph.D., co-director of the CBIM. The work was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
"High-speed, accurate computer simulation tools are urgently needed to dissect the relative importance of each attribute of viral strains in their ability to cause disease, and the contribution of each part of the immune system in a successful counterattack," said Zand. "Real world experiments simply cannot be executed fast enough to investigate so many complex surprises, and we must keep pace with viral evolution to reduce loss of life."
The human immune system is composed of two major branches. The innate system provides immediate protection against bacteria, viruses and other microbes. The second aspect is the more time-consuming, precise and thorough adaptive immune system pumps out vast numbers of immune cells on the hope that one will have the right receptor protein to link up with, and become activated by, any invader encountered. When this occurs, the immune cell expands into an army of clones specifically selected to attack that organism. Workhorses of the adaptive system include "killer" T cells that attack cells that have been infected by viruses before the virus can turn them into virus factories, and helper T cells that orchestrate other parts of the immune response. Both types of T cells are spurred into action by antigen-presenting cells, which engulf the invading microbes and "show" them to the T cells so that the T cells can recognize the infection. In lymph nodes, helper T cells, in turn, cause the second major player in the adaptive response, the B cell, to start mass-producing antibodies, proteins that glom onto and eliminate them from the body.
The new model predicts how rapidly the T and B cells respond to influenza type A virus infection. For the purposes of the simulation, the model set aside the role of the innate immune system, but the researchers plan to add that aspect to future simulations. Depending on the pathogen at hand and a given patient's past exposure, either T cell or B cell responses may play a larger role in clearing the virus. One cell type may lead the immune counterattack in a person with a first-time infection, and another in a patient who has been infected before or vaccinated.
T cells partner with dendritic cells to make careful decisions about which key pieces of viruses will trigger a full-scale immune counterattack. Dendritic cells roam the body, checking each particle they come across for a self or invader "label." Upon encountering an invader, a dendritic cell will "swallow it," cut it up, and carry the pieces to the nearest lymph node. Once there, proteins inside the dendritic cell "present" protein fragments of the virus on the cell's surface for consideration by T cells gathered there. Once activated by high enough levels of target protein fragment, T cells become capable of destroying the virus.
Using a statistical method called sensitivity analysis, Wu, Zand and colleagues used the new model to compare the individual contribution of various immune cells to clear influenza from the body, including the presentation of fragments of pathogenic proteins on the surface of dendritic cells versus the action of helper and cell-killing T cells versus the direct glomming onto disease-related particles by antibodies. The model predicted that drugs and vaccines that change the presentation by dendritic cells of disease-related protein fragments (antigens) to T cells more strongly impact whether or not a given patient beats the flu than other immune factors in patients infected for the first time. Simulations also suggest that an increase in antigen presentation by dendritic cells can compensate for the increased infection rate of highly virulent influenza strains. Existing adjuvants drugs that strengthen vaccines but have no effect alone are available that enhance the ability of dendritic cells to present viral antigens to T cells.
Experiments on the effects of anti-viral drugs on a "flu-infected" virtual immune system also accurately predicted that lowering the viral load or spread within two days of symptoms enables rapid control of the infection. These results match known limitations of neuraminidase inhibitors like the widely stockpiled Tamiflu and Relenza, which inhibit viral reproduction in infected cells, but are only effective if given soon after infection. The model also predicted that antiviral therapies may be more effective if taken in combination, but only if administered within two days of infection. Unlike chronic HIV infection, the acute nature of influenza means there is a narrow time window during early infection when interfering with viral replication can reduce viral load.
"Heterosubtypic immunity" refers to the ability of human immune defenses primed to fight one strain of flu to provide broad protection should other strains of flu be encountered later. Whether or not a single vaccine can protect against any of the many H1N1 Influenza viruses would depend on this property. The team's model confirmed that heterosubtypic immunity to influenza depends on a specific quality, the number of killer T cells present in the lungs of a given individual at the start of infection. Thus, near-future vaccines against swine flu for instance may work better if designed to evoke local immune memory cells in the lungs, rather than administered through the bloodstream.
In addition, the model argues that a strong antibody response, along with local T cell expansion, will be important to ensure protection against future pandemics. The findings suggest that some unconventional therapies that rapidly boost immune responses might be effective in a worst case scenario of a pandemic influenza virus. One possibility is the treatment of those front line of the epidemic (e.g. healthcare workers) with an injection of the liquid portion of blood (serum) taken from patients who have previously been infected and successfully fought off an influenza virus. This serum would contain antibodies against the virus at hand. Current antiviral treatments only work if given with 48 hours of infection, and vaccines take several weeks to start working, leaving a gap that might be filled by immune sera injection.
Because its genetic makeup is new, little is known about the distribution of preexisiting immunity to current H1N1 "swine" flu across populations, the immune response to the virus or the efficacy of available vaccines. The team in Rochester hopes to contribute to the building of models that simulate swine flu infection across the entire U.S. population to better predict its course.
Along with Wu and Zand, major project contributors included Ha Youn Lee, Sung Yong Park, Jeanne Holden-Wiltse and Hongyu Miao in the Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology at the Medical Center; David Topham, Joseph Hollenbaugh, Tim Mosmann and Brian Ward within the David H. Smith Center for Vaccine Biology & Immunology and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology; and John Treanor and Xia Jin in the Division of Infectious Diseases within the Department of Medicine. Alan Perelson led a partnering effort at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
"The right computer model can provide a precise, hands-on way of measuring just how good our theories are about how the system responds to pandemic virus, and how to strengthen our defenses," said Wu.
|Contact: Greg Williams|
University of Rochester Medical Center
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Environmental experts say the new levels are caused by increased global emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. Scientists believe that climate change is the direct consequence of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a heat-trapping or greenhouse
gas. A persistent increase in atmospheric CO2 levels is predicted to lead to increasing temperatures.
Some scientists fear that we might have reached a critical threshold at which emissions cause irreversible climate change for 1,000 years even if they are curtailed.
According to CNN
, Jim Butler, a senior scientist at NOAA, said: "Once emitted, it (carbon dioxide) remains for the ocean atmosphere system for thousands of years, warming the planet. It changes climate and is driving ocean acidification all that time."
It is feared that rising temperatures could lead to major disruptions of the ecological system and induce climatic changes which could adversely affect human populations.
According to the NOAA
, emissions of carbon dioxide due to human industrial activities have increased the atmospheric concentration of CO2 from around 270 to 280 ppm in the late 1700s to the present level of 400 ppm, unsurpassed in at least 800,000 years as evidence of carbon dioxide trapped in ice cores in Antarctica indicate.
The Washington Post
reports that while scientists have direct evidence that the present CO2 levels are unmatched in about l million years, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
estimates that the last time CO2 levels reached 400 ppm was about 3 to 5 million years ago during the Pliocene Epoch
. Scientists say that global average temperatures were then between 5.4 and 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (3 to 4 degrees Celsius) higher than they are today and sea levels between 16 and 131 feet (5-40 meters) higher.
According to The Washington Post
, NOAA senior scientist Pieter Tans, said: "[The] increase is not a surprise to scientists, the evidence is conclusive that the strong growth of global CO2 emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas is driving the acceleration."
reports global CO2 emissions reached 35.6 billion tonnes in 2012, a 2.6 percent increase compared to 2011.
The pattern of rising C02 levels has been monitored since 1958 at the Mauna Loa Observatory
in Hawaii. The Keeling Curve
constructed from a daily record of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels shows that on the first day in 1958 when measurement was taken, the atmospheric concentration was 313 ppm.
notes that the annual pattern since 1958 has been an increase in C02 which reaches a maximum in May, drops to a minimum in October. The pattern reflects how plants withdraw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in summer for growth and release it through decaying leaves in winter.
Scientists are worried about recent patterns of increasing atmospheric CO2 levels. Scripps Institute of Oceanography
notes that plotting the graph across annual maximum-minimum fluctuations shows a recent pattern of increase in CO2 levels of about 2 to 2.5 ppm a year, compared to less than 1 ppm a year in 1950s and 1960s.
According to ABC News
, the NOAA says that the present rate of carbon dioxide increase is more than 100 times faster than the increase that occurred when the last ice age ended.
Michael Mann, a climate researcher at Pennsylvania State University, said
: "We're on course for more than 450 ppm in a matter of decades if we don't get our fossil fuel emissions under control quite soon."
asked some climate scientists for their thoughts on the rising atmospheric CO2 levels and the trajectory of the Keeling Curve. Waleed Abdalati, Director, Earth Science and Observation Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, said:
"Four-hundred parts per million. On the face of it, it is just a number, not much different from 375 of a decade ago or the 425 we can expect 10 years from now. The true significance is not in the number itself, but in the fact that this point lies on a disturbing trajectory. One has to ask: On a trajectory to what? This level of CO2 -- much of which has been introduced by human activity -- is solidly outside of the naturally occurring bounds of nearly the last million years, and it is only getting worse. So this nice round number is significant, not for what it is, but for what it says about what will be. There is an opportunity here to give this number another significance, by turning into a milestone in which awareness of the trajectory is recognized and meaningfully addressed. Whether or not this is the case remains to be seen."
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Whether or not you caught wind of the excited announcement that "Eugene Goostman," a computer program ("chatbot") devised by Vladimir Veselov, Eugene Demchenko and Sergey Ulasen, had passed the Turing Test this past week, there's a good chance you've noticed the widespread public denunciations of the claims.
So noted a champion of artificial intelligence (AI) as Ray Kurzweil dismisses the assertion (and will not, presumably, pay out the money he has promised to the first team to actually pass the test). Gary Marcus, writing in the The New Yorker, is similarly critical.
I find these responses a bit odd. It's a bit like when the inferior team wins a soccer match in a penalty shoot out. They won, but you have the feeling they shouldn't have won, they didn't deserve to win, they didn't really win. Similarly, people here feel, I think, that the threshold for passing was set too low, or that the judges were too simple-minded; they didn't ask the right kind of questions to stump the robot. It won, yeah, but obviously the victory doesn't mark the emergence of true AI. (For a thoughtful discussion, see this piece by MIT engineer Scott Aaronson.)
Good points, all, but they miss the point. It was never Turing's aim to devise an empirically robust way of telling whether someone or something is really thinking. Can a machine think? For Turing that question was, as he wrote, "too meaningless to deserve discussion." What is "thinking" anyway? We can hardly hope to make that notion precise.
Turing's aim, rather, was to provide as a substitute for the meaningless question a perfectly meaningful one that has the virtue of being straightforward and decidable.
The Turing Test is an imitation game. The judge has the task of deciding, on the basis of remote, text-based communication, whether it is communicating with a person or a person-imitation (a programmed computer). The machine passes the test if the judge is unable to identify it as a machine after a suitable interval.
The test makes a lot of sense. On the assumption that people are real thinkers, there is something to the idea that the machine is thinking if you are unable to tell, on the basis of a conversation, that you are not, in fact, conversing with a person. Machines that pass the Turing Test, you might think, at least with regard to written communication, are as good as real thinkers as you can want.
I believe that in about fifty years' time it will be possible, to programme computers, with a storage capacity of about 109, to make them play the imitation game so well that an average interrogator will not have more than 70 per cent chance of making the right identification after five minutes of questioning. The original question, "Can machines think?" I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion. Nevertheless I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted.
And the remarkable thing is that he seems to have been right. AI hasn't proved the existence of artificial thinkers; but it has changed the way we think about thinking and we now find it quite natural to say such things as that Watson, an IBM computer, is the Jeopardy! champion, or that Deep Blue really beat Gary Kasparov in a chess match. And the fact of the matter is, more than 30 percent of the judges in the recent test did not suss out that Eugene Goostman was an imitator, not a child.
Crucially, it was not Turing's view that his test gives you an operational procedure for deciding whether or not Eugene Goostman — or anyone else — is a real thinker.
Recall, Turing's own chief contribution in mathematics — in the theory of computability — was mathematizing the intuitive idea that that some questions, but not all, can be answered by using recipes (or algorithms). It was not his claim that he had proved that all and only the algorithmically computable functions can be computed by what has come to be known as a Turing Machine. At best this is just a conjecture. And anyway, it isn't a mathematical conjecture.
You can't prove, mathematically at least, that you have successfully mathematized a notion in a way that conforms to pre-theoretical understanding. This conjecture — which is now known as the Church-Turing Thesis — is a bit of philosophy, not a bit of mathematics. (Which takes nothing away from the mathematics!)
The Imitation Game is proposed as an instructive test in something like the same spirit.
Now, as a matter of fact, I think it is probably safe to say that work on chatbots, designed to pass the Turing Test, is not at the cutting edge of work in AI. As reaction to the Eugene Goostman test suggests, it it is just too easy for a mindless bag of tricks to imitate thinking within the confines of the game. But that fact itself is instructive and brings us a step forward.
Congratulations Eugene Goostman!
P.S. You can talk to Eugene Goostman yourself here. What do you think? (You may have trouble getting through; the site has been having lots of problems and was down the last time I checked.)
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The Deutsche Mark (German mark) was the official currency of West Germany (1948-1990) and Germany (1990-2002) until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It was first issued under Allied occupation in 1948 replacing the Reichsmark, and served as the Federal Republic of Germany's official currency from its founding the following year until 1999, when the Mark was replaced by the euro; its coins and banknotes remained in circulation, defined in terms of euros, until the introduction of euro notes and coins in early 2002. The Deutsche Mark ceased to be legal tender immediately upon the introduction of the euro-in contrast to the other Eurozone nations, where the euro and legacy currency circulated side by side for up to two months. DM coins and banknotes continued to be accepted as valid forms of payment in Germany until 28 February 2002.
The Deutsche Bundesbank has guaranteed that all German mark in cash form may be changed into euros indefinitely, and one may do so at any branch of the Bundesbank in Germany. Banknotes can even be sent to the bank by mail.
On 31 December 1998, the European Central Bank (ECB) fixed the irrevocable exchange rate, effective 1 January 1999, for German mark to euros as DM 1.95583 = 1. One Deutsche Mark was divided into 100 Pfennig.
A Mark had been the currency of Germany since its original unification in 1871. Before that time, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16 2/3 grams of pure silver. Although the Mark was based on gold rather than silver, a fixed exchange rate between the Vereinsthaler and the Mark of 3 Mark = 1 Vereinsthaler was used for the conversion.
The first Mark, known as the Goldmark, was introduced in 1873. With the outbreak of World War I, the Mark was taken off the gold standard. The currency thus became known as the Papiermark, especially as high inflation, then hyperinflation occurred and the currency became exclusively made up of paper money. The Papiermark was replaced by the Rentenmark in late 1923 and the Reichsmark (RM) in 1924.
Currency reform of June 1948
The Deutsche Mark was introduced on Sunday, June 20, 1948 by Ludwig Erhard. He did this, as he often confessed, on Sunday because the offices of the American, British, and French occupation authorities were closed that day. He was sure that if he had done it when they were open, they would have countermanded the order. The old Reichsmark and Rentenmark were exchanged for the new currency at a rate of 1 DM = 1 RM for the essential currency such as wages, payment of rents etc, and 1 DM = 10 RM for the remainder in private non-bank credit balance, with half frozen. Large amounts were exchanged for 10RM to 65 pfennigs. In addition, each person received a per capita allowance of 60 DM in two parts, the first being 40 DM and the second 20 DM.
The introduction of the new currency was intended to protect western Germany from a second wave of hyperinflation and to stop the rampant barter and black market trade (where American cigarettes acted as currency). Although the new currency was initially only distributed in the three western occupation zones outside Berlin, the move angered the Soviet authorities, who regarded it as a threat. The Soviets promptly cut off all road, rail and canal links between the three western zones and West Berlin - starting the Berlin Blockade. In response the United States distributed the new currency in West Berlin as well.
Currency reform in the Soviet occupation zone
In the Soviet occupation zone of Germany (later the German Democratic Republic), the East German Mark (also named "Deutsche Mark" from 1948-1964 and colloquially referred to as the Ostmark) was introduced a few days afterwards in the form of Reichsmark and Rentenmark notes with adhesive stamps to stop the flooding in of Reichsmark and Rentenmark notes from the West. In July 1948, a completely new series of East German Mark banknotes were issued.
Bank deutscher Länder and the Deutsche Bundesbank
Later in 1948, the Bank deutscher Länder assumed responsibility, followed in 1957 by the Deutsche Bundesbank. The DM earned a reputation as a strong store of value at times when other national currencies succumbed to periods of inflation. It became a source of national pride and an anchor for the country's economic prosperity, particularly during the years of the Wirtschaftswunder in the 1950s. In the 1990s, opinion polls showed a majority of Germans opposed to the adoption of the euro; polls today show a significant number would prefer to return to the Mark.
Currency Union with the Saarland
The population in the Saar Protectorate decided in a referendum to join the Federal Republic. Thus the incorporation of the Saar into the Federal Republic of Germany was stipulated by the latter and France, the Protector force, for January 1, 1957. The new German member state of the Saarland maintained its currency, the Saar Franc, which was in a currency union at par with the French Franc. On July 9, 1959 the Deutsche Mark replaced the Saar Franc at a ratio of 100 Francs = 0.8507 DM.
The German mark's role in German reunification
The Deutsche Mark played an important role in the reunification of Germany. It was introduced as the official currency of East Germany in July 1990, replacing the East German Mark (Mark der DDR), in preparation for unification on 3 October 1990. East German marks were exchanged for German marks at a rate of 1:1 for the first 4000 Marks and 2:1 for larger amounts. Before reunification, each citizen of East Germany coming to West Germany was given Begrüßungsgeld, greeting money, a per capita allowance of 100 DM in cash. The government of Germany, and the Bundesbank were in major disagreement over the exchange rate between the East German Mark and the German mark.
Stability of the German mark
The German mark had a reputation as one of the world's most stable currencies; this was based on the monetary policy of the Bundesbank. The policy was "hard" in relation to the policies of certain other central banks in Europe. The "hard" and "soft" was in respect to the aims of inflation and political interference. This policy is the foundation of the European Central Bank's present policy towards the euro. The German mark's stability was greatly apparent in 1993, when speculation on the French franc and other European currencies caused a change in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. However, it should be remembered that "hard" is relative to other currencies. In its 53 year history the purchasing power of the German mark was reduced by over 70 percent.
The first German mark coins were issued by the Bank deutscher Länder in 1948 and 1949. From 1950, the inscription Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany) appeared on the coins.
The masses and dimensions of the coins can be found in an FAQ of the Bundesbank.
There were a considerable number of commemorative silver 5 and 10 DM coins, which actually had the status of legal tender but were rarely seen outside of collectors' circles.
On 27 December 2000, the German government enacted a law authorizing the Bundesbank to issue, in 2001, a special .999 pure gold 1 DM coin commemorating the end of the German mark. The coin had the exact design and dimensions of the circulating cupro-nickel 1 DM coin, with the exception of the inscription on the reverse, which read "Deutsche Bundesbank" (instead of "Bundesrepublik Deutschland"), as the Bundesbank was the issuing authority in this case. A total of one million gold German mark coins were minted (200,000 at each of the five mints) and were sold beginning in mid-2001 through German coin dealers on behalf of the Bundesbank. The issue price varied by dealer but averaged approximately $165 in U.S. dollars.
German coins bear a mint mark, indicating where the coin was minted. D indicates Munich, F Stuttgart, G Karlsruhe and J Hamburg. Coins minted during the Second World War include the mint marks A (Berlin) and B (Vienna). The mint mark A was also used for German mark coins minted in Berlin beginning in 1990 following the reunification of Germany. These mint marks have been continued on the German euro coins.
Between July 1, 1990 (Currency union with East Germany) and July 1, 1991 East German coins of denominations up to 50 pfennigs continued to circulate as Deutsche Mark coins at their face value, owing to a temporary shortage of small coins. These coins were legal tender only in the territory of the former East Germany.
In colloquial German the 10 Pfennig coin was sometimes called a Groschen (cf. groat). Likewise, Sechser (sixer) could refer to a coin of 5 Pfennig. Both colloquialisms refer to several pre-1871 currencies of the previously independent Länder (notably Prussia), where a Groschen was subdivided into 12 Pfennigs, hence half a Groschen into 6. After 1871, 12 Pfennigs of old currency would be converted into 10 Pfennig of the Mark, hence 10 Pfennig coins inherited the "Groschen" name and 5 Pfennig coins inherited the "Sechser" name. Both usages are only regional and may not be understood in areas where a Groschen coin did not exist before 1871. In particular, the usage of "Sechser" is less widespread. In northern Germany the 5-Mark coin used to be also called "Heiermann" (hired man).
There were four series of German mark banknotes:
In the latter two series, the 5 DM denomination was rarely seen, as were the ones with a value greater than 100 DM.
- The first was issued in 1948 by the Allied military. There were denominations of ½, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 DM, with two designs of 20 and 50 DM notes.
- The second series was introduced in 1948 by the Bank deutscher Länder, an institution of the western occupation government. The designs were similar to the US Dollar and French franc, as the job of designing and printing the different denominations was shared between the Bank of France and the American Bank Note Company. There were denominations of 5 and 10 Pfennig, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 DM.
- The third series was introduced in 1960 by the Bundesbank, depicting neutral symbols, paintings by the German painter Albrecht Dürer, and buildings. There were 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 DM denominations.
- The fourth was introduced in 1990 by the Bundesbank to counter advances in forgery technology. The notes depicted German artists and scientists together with symbols and tools of their trade. This series added a 200 DM denomination, to decrease the use of 100 DM banknotes, which made up 54% of all circulating banknotes, and to fill the gap between the 100 DM and 500 DM denomination. Nevertheless the 200 DM denomination was rather rare.
Banknotes of the fourth series (1990-2002)
A 10 Deutsche Mark banknote from Germany 1993 showing Carl Friedrich Gauß
The design of German banknotes remained unchanged during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. During this period, forgery technology made significant advances so, in the late 1980s, the Bundesbank decided to issue a new series of Deutsche Mark banknotes. The colours for each denomination remained unchanged from the previous series but the designs underwent significant changes and a 200 DM denomination was introduced. Famous national artists and scientists were chosen to be portrayed on the new banknotes. Male and female artists were chosen in equal numbers. The buildings in the background of the notes' obverses had a close relationship to the person displayed (e.g. place of birth, place of death, place of work), as well as the second background picture (Lyra and the musician Schumann). The reverses of the notes refer to the work of the person on the obverse.
The new security features were: a windowed security-thread (with the notes' denominations in microprinting), watermark, micro-printing, intaglio-printing (viewing-angle dependent visibility as well as a Braille representation of the notes denomination), colour-shifting ink (on the 500 and 1000 DM denominations), a see-through register and ultraviolet-visible security features.
First to be issued were the 100 and 200 DM denominations on 1 October 1990 (although the banknote shows "Frankfurt am Main, 2. Januar 1989"). The next denomination was 10 DM on 16 April 1991, followed by 50 DM in autumn the same year. Next was the 20 DM note on 20 March 1992 (printed on 2 August 1991). The reason for this gradual introduction was, that public should become familiar with one single denomination, before introducing a new one. The change was finished with the introduction of the 5, 500, and 1000 DM denominations on 27 October 1992. The last three denominations were rarely seen in circulation and were introduced in one step. With the advance of forgery technology, the Bundesbank decided to introduce additional security features on the most important denominations (50, 100, and 200 DM) as of 1996. These were a hologram foil in the center of the note's obverse, a matted printing on the note's right obverse, showing its denomination (like on the reverse of the new 5, 10, and 20 banknotes), and the EURion constellation on the note's reverse. Furthermore, the colors were changed a bit to pastel to hamper counterfeiting.
Spelling and pronunciation
The German name of the currency is Deutsche Mark. Its plural form in standard German was the same as the singular. In German, the adjective "deutsche" (adjective for "German" in feminine singular nominative form) is capitalized because it is part of a proper name, while the noun "Mark", like all German nouns, is always capitalized. The English loanword "Deutschmark" had a slightly different spelling (possibly due to the frequency of silent e in English) and a plural form. In Germany, the currency's name was often abbreviated as D-Mark or sometimes Mark with the latter term also often used in English. Like Deutsche Mark, D-Mark and Mark have no plural form, the singular being used to refer to any amount of money (e.g. eine (one) Mark and dreißig (thirty) Mark). Sometimes, a plural form of Mark, Märker was used as either as diminutive form or to refer to a (physically present or small) number of D-Mark coins or bills (e.g. Gib mir mal ein paar Märker (Just give me a few Mark (-bills or -coins)) and Die lieben Märker wieder (The lovely money again (with an ironic undertone)).
The subdivision unit is spelled Pfennig, which unlike Mark does have a commonly used plural form: Pfennige, but the singular could also be used instead with no difference in meaning. (e.g.: ein (one) Pfennig, dreißig (thirty) Pfennige or dreißig (thirty) Pfennig). The official form is singular.
As a reserve currency
Before the switch to the euro, the mark was considered a major international reserve currency, second only to the US dollar.
The text on this page has been made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License and Creative Commons Licenses
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Boston, July 22, 1859
Release of the Ohio Rescuers.
The Oberlin Rescuers are al at liberty. They came out of their prison on Wednesday, July 6. The same power that put them in took them out. The United States Government, the Union, at the bidding of slavehunters, thrust them into prison. The Union, The Federal Government, at the bidding of slavehunters, has now opened the prison-door and let them out. To gratify the malice of kidnappers, they were seized, and confined eighty-five days in a felonŐs prison. The screen the guilty kidnappers, they are now taken out. They were imprisoned solely because they fed the hungry, clothed the naked, gave shelter to the houseless wanderer, delivered the spoiled out of the hands of the spoiler, and bound up the wounds of those who had fallen among Christian, (?) praying thieves and robbers. They were delivered from prison, solely, at the request of Southern slaveholding kidnappers, to save themselves from prison, a prison, which they had little reason to fear. Ohio is not yet prepared to protect her men and women from kidnappers. Salmon P. Chase and the Republican party, in this State, have no thought of driving kidnappers from their midst – especially when they come as presidents, marshals and judges of the Union. Republicans still think more of the Union than of man – that man is made for the Union, not the Union for man – and that it is all for the glory of their Republican and their Christian god to enslave and sacrifice four millions of men, women and children, to save the Union. SALVEATION TO THE UNION BY THE BLOOD OF THE SLAVE! Is the watchword of their warfare. Why not? If the blood of one man can save the world, surely the blood of four million can save the Union. It is horrible. Let the Union, let the world perish, if it can be saved only by the stripes, the sufferings, the tears and blood of even one innocent man. Let the Man be sacred, though the Union and the World be destroyed.
The enclosed scraps will show you how the rescuers were delivered. The Republicans of the State are glorying in their mighty achievement in freeing these men from prison. These letters of the kidnappers will show you with what reason they boast. The whole is done in obedience to the behests of slaveholders. The Republicans have had nothing to do with it. But, read these letters. In the history of human governments, I don not believe so cool and boastful a contempt for justice and decency can be found as is presented in the imprisonment and deliverance of these Oberlin rescuers. If it was just to fine and imprison them at all, why should they be pardoned out for fear some kidnappers should be punished? If the South assents to this without a roar of wrath, I am much mistaken in their character.
I have just come from a lecture in the Town Hall, by Charles H. Langston, one of the rescuers just out of jail, and whose speech before the Court will not soon be forgotten for its power of eloquence. He lectured on the bearing of the Fugitive Law, and of slave-hunting on the part of the North. He showed that the same demon that put them in jail, took them out. It was laughable enough to see a Republican get up, and claim it as a triumph of freedom, of Republicanism, that Langston and the rest were released from prison. But the people I Ohio, especially on the Reserve, are all in advance of Chase and their other leaser in politics. Yet, they are not prepared for revolution, whether by force or otherwise. Their reverence for Union is still greater than their reverence for man. God, manifest in the Union, not God, manifest in Man, is the object of their worship.
This cannot last much longer.
Yours, HENRY C. WRIGHT.
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This semester I’m teaching a course entitled, “Poetry, Art, and Science in the Age of Wonder” at Georgia Tech. At Tech, there’s no such thing as an English major, and so teaching a humanities course poses some unique challenges. How to make literature compelling for science and engineering majors is one of the questions I frequently ask myself when designing courses. Richard Holmes’s recent The Age of Wonder presented me with an excellent opportunity to combine my students’ interests with Romantic literature. So far this semester, we’ve been reading Holmes’s book and the experience has been, well, wonderful. The text has proven enticing for my students; it’s also a great example – as a notable and bestselling book – of the contemporary interest in and relevance of the Romantics.
One of the concerns I’ve had, however, is that the book is long and detailed, and we’ve spent a lot of time discussing Holmes but less time than I would like discussing Romantic poetry. I tried to rectify that this week by bringing to class a copy of William Wordsworth’s “The Tables Turned.” I handed out the poem after we had discussed Holmes’s chapter on “Dr. Frankenstein and the Soul.” This chapter, more than any of the others, considers why the Romantic poets have frequently been seen as anti-science. I felt that “The Tables Turned” would allow students to dig into those assumptions and see first-hand how complicated Wordsworth’s response to science was in the poem.
In discussion, students targeted the famous line, “We murder to dissect.” Students also started to ask questions, such as, “if the poem is so anti-science, why does Wordsworth use ‘we’ in that line? Shouldn't he say you?” Then students noticed the grouping of “science and art” in the last stanza, realizing quickly that much like science, poems also dissect objects of beauty for analysis in their own way. I was pleased with this discussion, but I also wanted to see how far we could take our analysis of the poem. I asked students to indulge in a creative thought experiment: if they could represent the poem as a work of visual art, any kind of work of art (a painting, a digital project, a comic book), how would they do so?
Students were quiet at first, but then they started to get excited. Really excited. I couldn’t keep up with the hands in the air. Lots of students proposed depicting a dreary lab with a window out on nature; others started to get more complex. One student said she imagined Wordsworth trapped in a bubble made out of math equations floating over a sublime landscape. As the students tossed ideas around about what the poem would look like, they engaged in compelling analyses of the poem: one student, for example, said he worried that representing the lab as dreary and nature as wonderful recreated a dichotomy between science and art that perhaps Wordsworth hadn’t quite meant to create; perhaps we could combine them by making the lab instruments double as natural objects. A tree could be a beaker, a leaf a sheet of lab notes.
All in all, it was a great discussion, and students got to get excited not only about the poem but about their creative capacity for analyzing and representing it. This kind of excitement is important in my course not least because throughout the semester, students are working in groups to develop technologically innovative online exhibitions of Romantic poetry, creating just the sorts of images they imagined in class this week. But I will save those details for another blog post. In the meantime, I’m wondering what other kinds of creative strategies folks have used to get students engaged in discussion, and I’m especially interested in considering the benefits (and perhaps also the drawbacks) of asking students to perform this kind of synaesthesiac experiment – would this experiment be possible to try with music, for example? Or film? Or other mediums?
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Manatees belong to the scientific order of Sirenia, of which there are only four species remaining in the world: West Indian, West African, and Amazonian manatees, and dugongs.
All four species are vulnerable to extinction from habitat loss and other impacts related to human population growth and coastal development.
According to Self-Sullivan, the wholesale slaughter of manatees during the 17th and 18th centuries to feed plantation workers in the Caribbean contributed to their drastic decline.
By the early 1900s manatees were commercially extinct.
"There were no longer enough around to make it worthwhile to hunt manatee," she said.
Today, manatee hunting is illegal almost everywhere in the world, though they are still taken in many places in West Africa and Central and South America, Self-Sullivan says.
In the African country of Ghana, where Self-Sullivan advises a manatee conservation project, the marine mammals are killed "for subsistence," she said.
"People in the villages are obviously having a hard time getting enough food and quality protein."
In other regions, such as the Chetumal Bay bordering Mexico and Belize and the Bay of Honduras that encompasses the coasts of Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala, manatees are thought to be hunted and sold on the black market. (See Belize map.)
In Florida and Belize, boats are the greatest manatee threat.
Almost every adult manatee examined in Florida's waters bears at least one scar from a collision, according to Self-Sullivan.
"It's a matter of shared habitat," she said. "Primary [manatee] habitat is shallow coastal waters, and that's where most of the boats are, the small boats in particular."
Manatee-boat collisions also happen in Belize, Self-Sullivan says, but the impacts are less frequent and less lethal there.
This may be because manatees can hear boats approaching in the channels and lay on the bottom for the boats to pass before coming up to breathe.
However, the giant sea mammals are unable to hear boats that cut across the sea-grass beds because the beds muffle motor noise.
"They can't hear it until it's right on top of them, and then it's startled and as likely to bolt in the direction [of the boat] as away from the boat," she said.
Tour-operator education programs like the one run by Wildlife Trust teach guides not to cut across the beds, thereby reducing manatee collisions.
Auil of the Wildlife Trust says the Belizean government is working with her organization and other conservation groups to post boat speed limit signs in key manatee areas. She now hopes the rules will be enforced.
"If no one is on the water to enforce the signs, boaters may ignore them," she said. "The success is yet to be seen, but we are hopeful they will comply."
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SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
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Latin is often referred to as a ‘dead language’, but in fact it is the origin of words in many languages still spoken today. This language was first written and spoken in ancient Rome, Italy. Today, it is still spoken in some religious sects and by clergy members, and is still used to originate many new words. Many classic pieces of literature were first written in Latin, and it is still taught in most high schools and college universities. There are three main old types of Latin: archaic, classical, and vulgar, which was often spoken by many of the great Romans including Plautus and Cicero. The Latin language continued to be used into the medieval and renaissance periods throughout Europe, and there is still a form of modern Latin utilized by the Catholic and Anglican Churches today. Latin is an intricate language and is an excellent way to understand how much of modern English was crafted. Everything from military and medical terminology to colleges still use Latin phrases in their slogans and as a tool for work, mostly for doctors. While Latin may be considered a dead language, there is no doubt it still continues to play an important role in language today.
Decipiat in usura totus tabula Scrabble
Use this site to better understand how Roman numerals work, and how to read them.
This website displays an informative timeline about the history of the Latin language and its changes over time.
Learn more about the history of the language of Latin, its origins, and more here.
Discussions about Latin, its beginnings, and the different types of Latin spoken and written.
Discover more about the different periods of Latin throughout history.
You can read more about the history of the Latin language and its different periods here.
Find out more about the role Latin played throughout the Roman Empire.
This dictionary helps students understand the Latin language and how it is utilized in grammatical contexts.
This website has an easy to use online dictionary that allows you to translate any Latin word or phrase.
Enter in an English word or phrase, and find out its Latin translation here.
You’ll find a myriad of Latin phrases on this helpful and easy to use website.
Read more about how Latin is considered to be a universal language of the Catholic Church, and the many popes who have spoken Latin.
Here are fifty different Latin phrases that every college student should know.
Here are over 280 different commonly spoken, written, and used Latin phrases.
Discover more about writing Latin, its alphabet, and how to pronounce Latin words.
This website offers a comprehensive guide about the history of Latin, its origins, how and where it is spoken, and much more.
This article delves into whether or not Latin still plays an important role in the spoken and written word today.
These simple lesson plans help students learn how to speak and pronounce Latin, as well as provide common applications of Latin.
This guide explains Latin, and how it can be used and was used in the past in more practical applications.
Here are some prayers often spoken in various religions entirely in the Latin language.
This list provides information on all of the different regions where Latin was spoken.
Use this helpful PDF file to study the vocabulary of Latin.
Use these Latin phrases in your everyday life as a great tool for practicing the language.
This interactive tool allows students to enter in the Latin word, and then view its different types of displays such as Arabic, Greek, and more.
Learn more about different Latin words and names and their many origins.
This fun list explores some commonly used Latin phrases and sayings that are still used today.
Here is an article that explores how the language of Latin is making a popular comeback.
An online Latin dictionary that is easy and fun to use.
You’ll get a kick out of some of these humorous Latin phrases and you might also learn something, too!
You can discover more about the Roman Empire and read some ancient Latin and Greek texts here.
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The U.S. government issued posters during World War II to recruit women for wartime work. Review some examples of World War II posters:
As you look at each poster, answer these questions:
(Note: You may download a printable PDF worksheet with these questions.)
During World War II, 350,00 women served in the U.S. military. Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) flew fighter planes from factories to Air Force bases around the world. They towed targets and tested new aircraft for the U.S. Army Air Force.
Learn more about the WASPs on these Websites:
(Note: You may download a printable PDF worksheet with these links.)
“Fly girls,” as women aviators were called, flew fighter planes at a time when few women held driver’s licenses or traveled on their own. During World War II, the media made it seem like flying planes was an exciting and glamorous job for women.
What was it really like to be a WASP?
Find out by reading these personal recollections of the WASPs:
Compare and contrast these personal recollections with how women were portrayed in World War II posters (and newsreels, if you viewed them).
Select a WASP from the What Was It Like to Be a WASP? worksheet and write a brief essay about her experiences during the war.
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While it was once believed that agriculture and pottery developed concurrently in prehistoric societies, modern research has concluded that agriculture preceded pottery making, since a sedentary life with greater food production led to both the need and time to create storage containers. Bruce Huckell has been at the forefront of a movement in Arizona archaeology that has greatly modified our understanding of the transition from the Archaic to the agricultural periods in the Southwest. Work done by Huckell and others at Matty Canyon has produced the most detailed account available of a Late Archaic village and has been extremely influential in suggesting that the cultivation of maize predated the appearance of pottery. Of Marshes and Maize presents archaeological information obtained from small-scale investigations at two deeply buried preceramic sites in the Cienega Creek Basin. Its report on excavations at the Donaldson Site and at Los Ojitos offers a thorough description of archaeological features and artifacts, floral and faunal remains, and their geological and chronological contexts. From this data, the author concludes that a major shift toward a sedentary lifeway dependent on maize agriculture had already occurred by Late Archaic times (c. 500 to 800 B.C.), demonstrating that previous research on late preceramic sites in this region has provided an inadequate picture of the period. This monograph represents the first full presentation in the literature of an important set of data that is well-known among researchers but has thus far not been easily accessible. It is a classic example of the use of fragmentary evidence in well-dated contexts to introduce new ideas, and will stand not only as an important record of the evidence but also as the primary reference for this significant new interpretation of the late Archaic and the introduction of agriculture into the Southwest.
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International students preparing to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam can follow various steps to increase the likelihood that they will maximize their potential score.
Practicing for the Exam
It is of course a good idea to practice reading, writing, and speaking English in preparation for the exam. One’s facility with English is a skill and like any other skill, practice is the only way to improve upon it. Many people benefit from trying to use English for everyday things, and if possible, immersing themselves in places where English is the primary language used.
But it is also true that taking the IELTS exam is similar to a skill in itself. Many test-takers have found that there scores improve with repeated practice on exercises similar to the ones that will be on the actual exam. Fortunately, the IELTS provides sample exams and sample questions. It is highly advisable that one practices using these valuable resources. A particularly valuable way to study is to try to approximate the conditions on the actual exam day as closely as possible while taking a sample exam. Repeating this procedure often helps students increase their scores, as they become very familiar with the format of the exam and become comfortable answering questions. This can provide test-takers with confidence on the actual exam day.
Other Useful Tips
Be sure to be well-rested. Many studies have shown that people perform worse on exams if they are tired or drowsy.
Plan your itinerary for the day up to and including taking the exam itself. Know the directions to the testing station and the mode of transportation one will use to get there. Test-takers who are feeling stress or anxiety due to factors beyond the exam are at a disadvantage, and it is not a good idea to spend a lot of time trying to find the testing location on the day of the exam. It is best to be as relaxed as possible during the exam.
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Some years back I published an article on ancient Greek music in the electronic book review (ebr) – one of my sporadic forays into classical scholarship, a field in which I have no professional credentials, but an abiding interest.
The article, in a not very scholarly way, posed several broad questions concerning what Greek music was really like, and its relation to poetry. It seemed to me that the answers scholars gave to such questions often suffered from a lack of imagination. Maybe it’s just that they’re trained to eliminate alternatives, so as to arrive at (hopefully) a single plausible one, while I seemed to have no trouble imagining plausible alternatives to whatever answer they gave. As a poet and composer, I had a practical interest in considering all the possibilities, and I thought that could lend a different perspective to the historical discussion.
The first question I considered was this: Did the melodies of ancient Greek music follow the accents of the text? We know that Greek had a pitch accent, which, unlike the stress accent in English, played no role in poetic meter. It would seem natural to assume that poet-singers composed their melodies in a way that reflected, or at least did not conflict with, the accentual rise and fall of pitch in the lyrics as they would have been spoken.
On the other hand, a lot of Greek poetry was strophic, and strophic poetry was generally sung. It would also seem natural to assume that the melody was the same in each verse of a song. But in that case, not all the accents could have been observed, because they often fell on different syllables in different verses.
I recently had a communication from Dr. Armand D’Angour, a classicist at Oxford. Our exchange led me to investigate his own theory on this particular question, which is outlined in his essay “The New Music – so what’s new?” in Rethinking Revolutions through Ancient Greece (Cambridge, 2006).
The “New Music” refers to a stylistic shift that seems to have taken place in the late fifth century BC. It is associated with figures like Timotheus and, in drama, Euripides. Among the features of the new style described (mostly disapprovingly) in the sources are: mixing of different modes within a single composition, setting syllables to more than one note, and a busy, showy virtuosity.
Euripides is pivotal to Dr. D’Angour’s account. It so happens that the only surviving fragments of notated dramatic music—and the oldest notated Greek music of any kind—are from his tragedies. They don’t amount to much, and it’s not even certain if they represent Euripides’ own music, but they do seem to support the idea that music in tragedy, which was mostly on strophic texts, did not observe the pitch accent with any consistency.
It’s usually been assumed that in this respect, at least, Euripides was merely continuing the practice of earlier tragedians. D’Angour, in contrast, thinks that this may have been a further innovation of the New Music. In Aeschylus, Sophocles, and other tragedians before Euripides, as well as in earlier lyric verse, there would have been, on his theory, a far better correspondence between melody and pitch accent, achieved by application, within an oral (non-notated) tradition, of well understood conventions about how to observe the accents in any traditional mode. The result would have been that strophes and antistrophes would not have had exactly the same melody, but because they had the same rhythm and were sung in the same mode, there would still have been a fair degree of musical identity between them.
I had considered something like this in my own article, though briefly and only as one possibility among many. D’Angour gives the idea context, and develops it into a definite historical scenario as only a real classicist, at home in the sources, could do (I hasten to add that his theory owes nothing to me: he had not read my article when he wrote his essay).
He connects the emancipation of melody from verbal accent with two other developments in fifth-century music: its growing professionalization, and the invention of musical notation. The first of these had mainly to do with the rise of instrumental virtuosity, which soon began to influence vocal music as well, while notation, he thinks, may have been invented as an aide-memoire for singers once they could no longer rely on the old conventions for applying melody to words, and were forced to learn melodies that ignored natural word accents.
It’s a persuasive theory, and things may well have happened in some such way, even if not on the exact timescale D’Angour proposes. I would tend to think that any evolution from an oral tradition of singing that observed word accents to fixed, written melodies that ignored them would have to have been more gradual. For one thing, ignoring of word accent was not one of the criticisms made of the New Music. If Euripides had been the first to ignore accents in his text-settings, Aristophanes, who had such fun with other aspects of Euripidean music, would surely have made some joke about it.
As part of a longer musical evolution, the earlier shift from solo to choral lyric, from Sappho and Alcaeus to Pindar and Simonides, would probably be significant as well. It wouldn’t be hard for a solo poet-singer to perform the kind of on-the-spot adjustment of melody to accent that D’Angour envisages, but once a chorus is in play, the problem of coordination arises. If the traditional rules did not give unequivocal solutions in every musical situation, the chorus would have to agree beforehand on how to handle it, or else reconcile their differing solutions on the fly. That’s not impossible, either (cf. American gospel choirs), but it would in any case have made for a whole different approach to music.
I can’t imagine Pindar as one who would allow his chorus to interpret his verses in any way they thought fit. There had to have been a great deal of premeditation and instruction on his part. He was probably the most sophisticated musician of his time.
The tragedians, who were of course also chorodidaskaloi— trainers of choruses—would have to deal with similar problems. Tragic choruses were composed of amateurs, and rehearsal time was limited. Under such conditions, the advantages of fixed melodies singable to different words might have been compelling enough to begin relaxing the requirement that they reflect natural word accents.
And it may well be that Euripides did carry this farther. But if it were not completely new, it is easy to see why his ignoring of accents may not have equaled, in the minds of traditionalists, his more novel and egregious sins against music.
In any case Dr. D’Angour’s ideas are very thought-provoking, and there are more of them in his well written and entertaining essay than just the one I have focused on here. There is for instance, a fascinating account of the tripous, a triple lyre invented by the fifth-century musician Pythagoras (not the famous one), which leads to some interesting reflections on the relative roles of theory and practice in musical innovation.
But strophic song and the different ways of handling it in music is a subject that particularly fascinates me; I’ll likely be returning to it here.
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WHAT IS ACNE ?
Acne is a common disease which mostly affects skin with the densest population of sebaceous follicles; these areas include the face, the upper part of the chest, and the back.
It is linked to hormonal imbalance within androgens effects and is caused by three successive factors:
- a production of excess sebum, which makes skin greasy
- in certain circumstances, this sebum blocks the openings of sebaceous glands and causes a build up of oil underneath
- this blocked sebum stimulates the bacteria P. acnes which causes surrounding tissue to become inflamed
Acne occurs most commonly during adolescence or periods of hormonal change, and tends to disappear over time. However, adult acne breakouts are common.
GOOD TO KNOW
Answers to common misconceptions
- Acne is not a contagious disease.
- Acne spots are not due to bad hygiene.
- The sun is a short-term cure which will often bite back with more severe acne in the weeks following exposure.
- Chocolate does not cause acne.
- Young people are not the only ones with acne; adults and particularly women beteween 30 and 40 are often affected.
Hygiene advice for clear skin
- Cleanse the face twice daily with a gentle face wash for acne prone skin.
- Apply a cream or lotion to the affected areas (non comedogenic cream for the face).
- Apply sun protection before sun exposure
- Use oil-free makeup alongside non comedogenic products
- Remove make up every evening
The different forms of acne
Acne in various forms is defined primarily by the size of the spots and whether it is “inflammatory” or “non-inflammatory”.
Non-inflammatory acne is the start of acne with the smallest type of lesion, called a microcomedo. This is just the beginning of acne formation. Depending on the growth of this microcomedo, it may develop into an open comedo (blackheads) or closed comedo (whiteheads).
Inflammatory acne is characterised by an inflammation of existing comedones caused by P.acnes.
Red spots appear: “pustules” if they are near the skin surface and “papules” (pimples) if inflammation is deeper.
Focus on Propionibacterium acnes
Propionibacterium acnes bacteria, also called P. acnes is part of the skin flora present on most people's skin. When a pore is blocked, this anaerobic bacterium proliferates and secretes chemicals that break down the wall of the pore, letting bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus into the skin and forming an inflammatory acne lesion.
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Can you believe your little one is a year and a half old!? His second birthday will be right around the corner…have you started planning the party yet??? 😉 He is walking all over and getting into everything and should have at least several words he is using consistently now and by the end of this 6 month period he should be putting words together! Let’s see what else is in store for him…
Development from 18-24 Months
As I mentioned in my last segment in this series, the time period from 12-24 months has the largest span of “normal” in terms of speech and language development. Some 12 month olds have many words while others will not utter the first one for a couple more months. Some 18 month olds are putting 2 and 3 words together while others only have 10 words total. This is all normal…but can definitely make it harder to know if your child is on track.
Cognitively and motorically, your little guy is learning new things everyday. He is learning to walk up and down stairs, catching and throwing a ball, and might be starting to scribble little circles. He may (or may not) be interested in putting on and taking off his shoes and socks (my son at 21 months is OBSESSED with socks and shoes right now!) He may also start learning how to jump around 21 months or so and may start to get air! He is starting to know where things belong in your home and where to find them when he wants them. He may start to use toys in different ways and start to experiment with them…which means you better make sure you are keeping your eye on him! This is the time that you might find the entire roll of toilet paper in the bowl or find his trains in some really odd places. Remember how I said he will be using things in new and different ways? Your child’s problem solving skills are developing rapidly and he is starting to realize that he can use a chair or a table as a stool. Say he sees a cookie on the counter and he wants it. He is learning that he can simply pull one of your nesting tables over to the kitchen, climb on top and get that cookie! Your child isn’t being naughty, he is problem solving and this is such an important skill!
Slowly over this time period he should be more and more interested in books and should be able to sit for longer and longer periods of time to listen to the stories. He should be starting to be more of an active participant in story time by turning the pages and pointing to objects when named. He may start to point out objects in the pictures and name them as well. In fact, towards the end of this period you may find him sitting alone looking through books! I remember by daughter was so obsessed with books during this time that she actually slept with them. Which is why the theme of her second birthday party was Bookworm.
(Ellie stopping to “read” all the books she got at her Bookworm Party)
In social and play skill news, your little guy might be starting to “test” his caregivers. You tell him no, and he does it anyway! You try to redirect his climbing behavior but he turns around and climbs something else. Oh yes…it is getting exciting (Remember those problem solving skills that are developing? He wants to use them all.the.time.) He might have attachments to his favorite toys and should enjoy playing near (not really “with”) other children and when playing by himself, you may hear him talking to himself or narrating his play. He may start to enjoy hugging other people around this time as well and should enjoy interacting with children and adults even if he has a shy personality.
Receptively (what he can understand) he should be able to follow simple directives and answer simple questions. When you ask him “Where’s daddy?” he should start to look around for daddy and maybe even find him! He should be able to follow directives like “Get your shoes” or “Kick the ball” and even “Put your dish in the sink” (Yes, my 21 month old knows how to put his dish in the sink!) As I mentioned earlier, he also should be able to point to common objects in pictures when named like balls, doggies, cookies, juice, and other things he may be interested in. My son at 21 months can point out a baseball vs. a football because this is something he is interested in, but I am not sure my daughter did the same at this age.
Expressively, around 18 months of age, your child should have a bare minimum of 8-10 spoken words but could have an upwards of 50 or more. However this is an average. Remember last time I mentioned that my own son at 19 months barely had 8 words but by 21 months he is well over the 50 word mark. During this time frame, your child should be learning new words daily. It is common, however, for your child to seem to learn 20 new words one day and yet not say another “new” word for a few days. Totally normal. It is also normal for a child to seem to “lose” words. For example, my son’s first word was “bye bye” at 9.5 months yet months later he stopped saying it. He was gaining new words and communicating well so I wasn’t worried. However, It is not normal for a child to talk and then stop talking or basically lose all his words. This is a red flag that something might be going on and you will want to bring this up to your pediatrician right away of your child was talking and then stops using words to communicate.
The biggest milestone that happens during this time regarding communication is the transition from the use of single words to the use of two word combinations! This is the beginning of your child using grammar and the beginning of your child using sentences! It seems like just yesterday he was a sweet newborn sleeping in your arms and now he is starting to put two words together to talk about his world.
At 21 months Ev is starting to put two words together
So how does this happen? We don’t really know, but sometime between 18 months and 2 years of age, usually once they have a good 50+ words in their expressive vocabulary, your child tends to enter the time that we refer to as the language explosion. He will begin to put two words together to communicate like “more cookie” or “big truck” and it will seem like he is learning new words by the hour. He also should be asking simple questions either with rising intonation. For example, “Daddy??” or “Where Daddy?” By the time your child hits his second birthday he should have between 100-200+ words and should be starting to combine 2 words. It is such an exciting time!
Your child may be communicating more and more each day but his speech may still be hard to understand. This is ok! It takes years for little ones to learn how to say all the speech sounds in his/her language so at first his words can be difficult to understand, though as a parent you typically understand more than strangers can. However he should be using many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Sounds he should be using around this time are p, m, h, n, w, b, t, d but he may also be using k, g, f, v ,s and z. As he learns to talk, he will not be saying all the speech sounds correctly and he will probably leave some sounds out of some words, and this is OK. You can read a bit more about speech development HERE.
So what does the next year hold in terms of speech and language development? Check back next week as we discuss your child’s speech and language development 2-3 years!
American Speech-Language Hearing Association Website (2011). How does your child hear and talk? Birth to one year. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01.htm (9-1-2012)
Lanza, J.R. & Flahive, L.K. (2008). LinguiSystems guide to communication milestones: 2009 Edition. East Moline, IL: LinguiSystems, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.linguisystems.com/pdf/Milestonesguide.pdf (9-1-2012)
McLaughlin, S. (1998). Introduction to language development. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group, INC.
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Hail to the Bard! 450 Years of William Shakespeare
There are plenty of old writers, poets, and playwrights whose works have stood the test of time—pieces that literary gurus still analyze and quote, and call “classics.” But few have remained so prominent that they have been a common household name for over 400 years.
This year is the 450th anniversary of his birth. 450 years! And still, to this day, who hasn’t heard of William Shakespeare? I bet you can name a least one or two of his plays off the top of your head right now. (I know I can… Or is that cheating?)
And I don’t know about you, but I think every high school English class had to read and/or perform at least one Shakespeare play—costumes and all. Divvying up the characters was an experience ranking somewhere between winning the lottery and getting picked for the reaping, depending on how much you liked performing in front of your classmates. (As long as Romeo and Juliet didn’t have to kiss!)
To this day, performing these plays are still viewed as a rite of passage for many acclaimed actors. If you’re looking to cast your own production, a good start would be to pick a play that fits your manpower:
While you’re planning how to rehearse scenes (or just curious to see if you can guess who’s going to die first), Wolfram|Alpha can show you a timeline of each character’s dialogue through a piece:
Although Wolfram|Alpha does not know any better than Hamlet when it comes to answering, “To be, or not to be….”
But don’t let it worry you! Instead, remember: All’s Well That Ends Well.
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Contraception is any method used to prevent pregnancy. There are many different methods of family planning including condoms, IUDs, contraceptive pills, the rhythm method, implants and surgical sterilisation.
Condoms are an effective barrier method of preventing pregnancy and avoiding sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
There are two types of condoms, the male condom and the female condom.
What is a male condom?
The male condom is a thin covering made of latex, polyurethane or animal membrane that is rolled over an erect penis. The covering prevents semen, the fluid that contains sperm, from entering a woman's vagina.
To provide even greater transparency and choice, we are working on a number of other cookie-related enhancements. More information
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Arts & Entertainment > Hobbies & Creative Arts > Artwork
"The Holy Family", Oil by Francisco Zurbaran (1598-1664, Spain)
Whereas the names and works of Velázquez and Murillo were known and appreciated by European connoisseurs at a relatively early date, Zurbarán was scarcely known outside Spain, and even now there are not very many of his works to be found in European galleries. Born in Fuente de Cantos, a small village in Estremadura, he studied in Seville and most of his work, almost exclusively commissions for monastic orders and churches, was done there. These circumstances determined his themes and the way he treated them: he painted hardly anything but religious subjects, mostly scenes from the lives of the saintly or monastic visionaries. His pictures are generally characterized by a severe structure, vigorous forms, rustic models and a close and detailed observation of nature. During the last years of his life Zurbarán worked in Madrid where, mainly under the influence of Murillo, his interpretation became softer, his way of expression more lyrical and his colours lighter. The Holy Family (The Rest on the Flight to Egypt), signed and dated 1659, is a remarkable example of this late period: a simple composition of half-length figures with an intimate charm and emotionalism strongly reminiscent of Murillo.
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The obsession with how the decision was made to switch Flint to its own water system, and who made it, is misplaced. While it turned into a disaster, it would have been inconsequential had it not been for some bad and baffling choices made before the water started flowing to Flint residents.
On its own, changing from the Detroit Water and Sewerage System to a new regional authority should not have been so tragic for Flint. Even drawing water from the Flint River should not have become such a big deal — the Flint River has been used before as a supplemental source.
Those actions on their own could be considered sound policy — they did save the busted city money — had it not been for the monumental screw-up at the Flint water treatment facility.
That mistake, as has been well reported, was to not add anti-corrosive chemicals to the water before it entered Flint’s ancient system of pipes.
I spent some time this week with several people in the water treatment field, and not one could figure out how such a basic additive was left out. It’s standard practice to put anti-corrosives in water, particularly in older systems.
And had it been done in Flint, as Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech professor who uncovered the high levels of lead in Flint water, told The Detroit News, “nearly all of the problems ... would not have occurred.”
With the right treatment, the Flint River water should have been safe to drink. And it mostly was -- until it left the plant and began interacting with the pipes. That’s how the lead leached into the system.
We still haven’t heard a good answer to why a protective and routine chemical that cost just $150 a day was left out. Was it intentional? An oversight? Was the Flint Water Department advised that it wasn’t needed? If so, by whom? Those questions are more important than the who, how and why of the decisions to leave DWSD.
Switching a major water system from one source to another is a massive undertaking, and is rarely done. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency should have known it requires much more planning, testing and analysis. It should not have been left to trial and error. The opportunists want to make this all about the administration of a Republican governor and the state’s emergency manager law.
Certainly, the MDEQ works for Gov. Rick Snyder, and should have worked much better. But that was a failure of process and not policy. If you add salt instead of sugar to a cake, it tastes disgusting — but the fault rests with the ingredients, not with the decision to bake the cake.
And whether or not Flint had an emergency manager, the outcome would likely have been the same. Local officials, after decades of feuding with the Detroit system over rates, wanted to switch, and would have done so anyway.
There’s plenty of forensic work to do to uncover how this crisis was allowed to happen and why the response was so inept. But the starting point should be at the water treatment plant, where the first tragic decision was likely made.
Nolan Finley’s new book, Little Red Hen: A Collection of Columns from Detroit’s Conservative Voice, issued by Dunlap Goddard Publishing, is available from Amazon.
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General service-learning course examples
The following are just a few examples to help you integrate service-learning into your higher education curriculum:
- Work with neighborhood leadership or advisory boards to put on workshops for residents of low-income areas on household finances and budgeting.
- Assist nonprofits with fundraising efforts (grant writing, investments, budgeting).
- Develop a free tax-preparation and counseling service for low-income individuals (VITA program from the IRS).
- Assist in the running and staffing of a cooperative food store and credit union.
- Work with people in group living facilities to explore their “roots,” and create a book or portfolio with residents and patients.
- Collect and document what life was like during major recent historical periods by visiting nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, and veteran’s hospitals.
- Working with a marketing class, artists can create promotional literature (brochures, displays, videos, photo journals, etc.) for a nonprofit agency.
- In an art history class, students prepare and present a tour of a significant museum exhibit for K-12 students. Thus, students would be learning by teaching and performing a real service to the community.
- Have students work with different age groups in a rehabilitative program—youth, adults and senior citizens—and interpret the changes in the human body into artwork.
- Conduct workshops at elderly resident homes in a type of “What is Happening to My Body” program. In this way, students will learn about the particular nutritional needs of the elderly and physical changes they are going through.
- Work with local schools to conduct presentations on the pathology of AIDS, HIV infection and sexually transmitted disease and prevention.
- Serve at Planned Parenthood as an information line counselor, family planning counselor, fertility information, reproductive physiology, contraception and reproductive health care.
- Work as a guide, helper or animal handler at a nonprofit nature study center, which provides free education programs and tours for inner-city youth.
- Students may develop a business plan or marketing strategy to help high school students in art or shop classes sell their works. At the same time, mentoring is happening and awareness of higher education business opportunities is being shared.
- Create and conduct workshops for homeowners of low-income areas to brush up on budgeting and personal finance skills.
- Students work with faculty to secure research grants, assist with writing proposals and identifying possible funding outlets.
- Students survey food and drug stores in and around the community to establish the relative prices and quality of essential items. They issue a monthly listing of this information, which helps prevent stores in low-income communities from raising their prices above those found in surrounding areas.
- Work with the Junior Achievement Program to give students an overview of the free enterprise system and basic principles of business and economics. Lessons range in difficulty, as students can be placed in elementary, middle and high school classrooms.
Communication, media and theatre
- Conduct media literacy workshops for students in local elementary schools.
- Conduct workshops on interpersonal communication and effective conflict resolution for students in an elementary school or after school program.
- Develop theatre workshops that encourage participants to use theatre as a means of expressing their emotions.
- Design personalized software for local nonprofits to better manage volunteers, resources, finances, inventories, etc. For example, a volunteer center may need a program to match volunteer needs, class goals, with community needs and agency needs.
- Assist a nonprofit agency in developing a website to inform both its clients and the general public of its purpose and activities.
- Design a computer program to assist students in matching interests and skills to find appropriate volunteer placement sites within a community.
- Collect and analyze statistics and finances for a nonprofit community organization.
- Students in a labor economics course work with a community agency that helps the unemployed find jobs that fit their needs.
- Conduct a workshop in a low-income elementary school, teaching its students about free enterprise and financial management.
- Form a team of students from four or five content areas to go into public schools and help teachers design and implement lesson plans that integrate service-learning components into their curricula. Students are not only learning about the pedagogy of service learning, they are seeing the reality of the classroom. There will be mentoring between the experienced teacher and the student.
- Students could make lesson plans and activities that are grade appropriate in binders to donate to area homeless shelters or other places in the community where education and literacy are lacking. Creating these types of binders could assist the student in developing good planning skills in age- and skill-appropriate parts of being a teacher.
- Work with nonprofits to develop hard-hitting brochures for use in recruitment and information.
- Work with nonprofits to write letters to businesses to ask donations of goods and services.
- Practice writing persuasive letters or essays for nonprofits to alert citizens and media.
- Work with artists to create content for cartoons, photo essays or videos promoting a nonprofit.
- Write innovative and high-quality noncommercial radio and television programs or public service announcements for nonprofits.
- Work with nonprofits to write clear and concise grant proposals.
- Read books to, or write books with, children in schools.
- Instructors could develop “pen-pal” programs between their students and Veterans to promote understanding of history as well as improve their writing abilities.
- Work with seniors to develop and publish a local cultural journal that reports on the unique aspects of the community.
- Work with local politicians and policy makers to inform them of the history of an issue and possible strategies for resolving the issues, so that they will be better able to evaluate the opinions and actions of local government officials.
- Work with a local museum or library to have students create displays and serve as tour guides.
- Create an oral history of a decade in your community’s past by partnering with the local senior center or nursing home.
- Complete a fundraising project for an international organization, such as the Zambia project or FUVIRESE, and learn the mission and functions of the organization.
- Work with international students, offering cultural changes, e.g., event showcasing cultures, fine arts show.
- Work with the America Counts program to tutor low-income children in mathematics.
- Develop a mathematics workshop, making math fun for students in low-income elementary schools.
Modern world languages
- Language education students can spend several hours per week tutoring in a local elementary school.
- Students in an international business and language area studies course can make a presentation (in their studied language) to community members on a course related topic.
- World Language students could translate documents for the local school district so that community members who speak an alternate language are able to better communicate with the district and its teachers, and fully participate in their children’s education.
- Students could work with local nonprofits translating vital information for clients who speak another language.
- Students could present a specific aspect of language or culture to residents in a local nursing home.
- Conduct healthy eating and exercise clinics for students in a local elementary school.
- Develop a sports league for students in low-income elementary schools.
- Conduct sports clinics in a variety of sports.
- Form a non-partisan watch dog group that gives background on candidates, their voting histories, their associations, finances, issues, affiliations, etc. so that voters can make a truly informed decision.
- Have students assist voter registration efforts as a means to collect qualitative data. Then write a paper or create a poster presentation on apathy/involvement/attitudes of the public.
- Have students work with a senior citizen group to lobby for legislation to meet their needs or the needs of some other population or interest group. Grass roots organizing techniques would be stressed.
- Work to apply social psychological principles to promote positive behavioral changes, such as a change in recycling habits.
- Students apply class principles to work at a hotline for victims of domestic violence.
- Work with an agency that provides therapy to children with autism or other developmental disabilities.
- Serve at any nonprofit organization that places an emphasis on human services.
- Come to an understanding of the workings of the community by working with a citizen group or neighborhood resource center.
- Students in a society, sex, and marriage course could serve at an organization that provides mediation and support for families in crisis.
- Develop a program to teach elementary school students about gang prevention in their school.
- Partner with local police or school-police liaisons to develop youth crime prevention for parents.
- Assist a local school in conducting an evaluation of its programs and materials for inadvertent forms of institutionalized inequality.
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Most of the technology we are so used to, and sometimes take for granted, was either released or improved in the 80s. Everything futuristic was the focus, and 80s technology did not let us down.
One of the biggest advancements concerning 80s technology is the home computer.
Computers were around before the 80s, but primarily for governments and businesses, as they were also extremely expensive.
The most legendary of them all is the Commodore 64, with 64 kilobytes, which seems silly by today’s standards, but was innovative in the 80s. The popularity of the Commodore was partially because of better graphics and sound, but also because it was half the price of its competition.
Computers released by IBM used DOS, which was another new development. This command - line interface was hard for the less computer-savvy to grasp, but was easy to program.
Apple stopped making the Apple II in the early 80s and focused on the Macintosh. This was another huge step forward, as it used a Graphical User Interface instead of DOS, which was much easier to look at. Instead of white or green text on a black background, it was black text on a white background.
The Macintosh also introduced us to the very first mouse and actual fonts instead of block characters.
80 Cell Phone Technology
It’s hard to believe how big early 80s cell phones were, but they were a necessary step forward. Motorola made the first cell phone approved by the FCC for the masses – the DynaTac 8000X. Ameritech launched the first 1G network in 1983 using this new phone.
Everybody wanted one, but the hefty price tag of almost $4,000 made it somewhat unrealistic for many people to purchase.
80s Video Game Console Technology
Though available in the late 70s, video game consoles saw a huge surge in popularity in the 80s. The mother of them all was the Atari 2600. It didn’t get much simpler than two joysticks with big orange buttons.
Some awesome games were available for this machine, including Pitfall, Pac Man, Asteroids, and Centipede.
Competition was hot on the Atari’s heels, and in 1985 a new king was crowned – the Nintendo Entertainment System. Nintendo originally had Donkey Kong in arcades, which propelled the super popular Mario franchise, but now you could play at home.
Nintendo also gave us unforgettable 80s games like Mario Bros, Duck hunt, Excitebike, and Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, just to name a few.
Other systems like the Sega Master System were also released in the 80s, but were not as popular as the Atari or NES.
80s Audio Technology
The 80s were also the era of new ways to listen to our new tunes. Sony released the Walkman in the US in June of 1980. With your favorite cassette tape, a pair of headphones, and a few batteries, you could listen whenever and wherever you wanted, without bothering a soul with your choice of music.
Another great audio development was the compact disc. They had a much clearer sound than vinyl or cassette, and eliminated the annoying hiss that they both emitted. There was also no warping, stretching, or a player ‘eating’ your favorite tape.
Another great thing about these new CD’s was that there was no longer a need to fast forward or rewind to get to your favorite song.
Some of this 80s technology seems so simple, but we had to be at point A before we could move toward point B. This technology was life-changing to say the least, and it’s hard to imagine life without it.
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DALLAS ― Consumer awareness of “bad” fats, trans fatty acids and saturated fats, is at an all-time high, but consumers still need to improve what they eat, according to a new American Heart Association (A.H.A.) survey. Most Americans know what ― but not where ― the bad fats are.
The survey shows that while 92% of consumers are aware of trans fat ― a significant jump from 84% in 2006 ― only 21% may name three food sources of trans fat on their own. And while 93% of consumers are aware of saturated fat, only 30% may name three food sources of saturated fat on their own.
There is, however, good news. Awareness of the link between fats identified as bad by the A.H.A. and increased heart disease risk is up from 63% in 2006 to 73% in 2007 for trans fat, and from 73% to 77% for saturated fat.
"We’re encouraged to see that consumer awareness of saturated and trans fats is higher than ever and that more people understand the link between these fats and increased heart disease risk," said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, past president of the A.H.A., chair of its trans fat task force and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center. "But it’s clear that consumers need to know which foods contain what fats to minimize both saturated and trans fats and make heart-healthier food choices. Food labels help, but it goes far beyond that in knowing more about the food products without labels we purchase in the grocery or when eating out."
Consumers also are taking action more often to eat healthier, particularly as it relates to trans fat. When provided with health information in grocery stores or healthier options to order in restaurants, a small but growing number of Americans are more proactive when choosing what to eat, according to the survey.
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China has used hybrid rice technology to help feed more than 20 percent of the world’s population using just 10 percent of the world’s total arable land. Hybrid rice allowed for a 14 percent reduction in total rice-growing acreage since 1978, while total rice production has increased 44.1 percent. Yield increases have helped China feed an extra 60 million people every year. Hybrid rice also has contributed to improved food security in China, which has limited the increase in global rice prices to the benefit of poor consumers in other countries. China’s rice breeders began hybrid development in 1964 using a three-line system. By 1976 China started large-scale commercial production of the three-line hybrid rice. In 1995, China successfully commercialized the two-line hybrid rice technology, and by 2002 the total area under two-line hybrid rice occupied 3.3 million ha, or 22 percent of the hybrid rice acreage. In 2000, the “super hybrid rice breeding” Phase I objective of 10.5 t/ha was attained, and the Phase II objective of 12 t/ha was accomplished in 2004. China’s hybrid rice seed production yields rose from 450 kg/ha in the late 1970s to 3.75 t/ha in 2008. This has ensured the quantity of commercial seed and lowered costs. The Chinese government provided critical support to the hybrid rice program through funding and policies. Government policies, standards, and investments in human resources and necessary infrastructure made hybrid rice attractive, profitable, and sustainable. To ensure the continued success of the hybrid rice program, further advances in biotechnology will be crucial for overcoming the challenges from increasing biotic or abiotic pressure, including the ever-decreasing water supply and more severe drought from global warming.
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Have We Reached the End of Science?
Regis NicollRegis Nicoll's weblog
- 2013 Nov 16
In a rare, unguarded moment, physicist Lawrence Krauss confided, "I worry whether we've come to the limits of empirical science.”
That was over four years ago. Since then, experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have confirmed the existence of the Higgs boson, an elusive particle thought to give rise to the most fundamental property of our universe: mass.
Commonly associated with weight, mass is the measure of an object’s resistance to an applied force. But what gives an object its mass, and why is it that some particles, like electrons, have it and others, like photons, don’t?
In 1964, physicist Peter Higgs conjectured that mass was caused by an invisible field that pervades the entire universe. Composed of what were later dubbed “Higgs particles,” this field can be thought of as a kind of cosmic molasses that preferentially inhibits the motion of certain particle types. Because of its importance in understanding the nature of the universe, the Higgs has been referred to as the “God Particle.”
But now that the Higgs has been verified, questions have turned to where it comes from, why it has the properties it has, and why it acts on different particles differently. Such questions signal that materialistic science has approached the edge of an ever-receding black hole of inquiry.
Betraying their lingering angst about the future of science, physicists at a recent conference identified a number of other unsolved mysteries they suggest are keeping them up at nights, including... Continue reading here.
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The Sheep and the Goats
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him…he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left” (vv. 31–33).- Matthew 25:31–46
According to Matthew’s gospel, only two kinds of people walk this earth: those who love Jesus and those who do not. There is no middle ground — either we are for the Savior or against Him (12:30). On one hand, Herod’s evil plans showed him to be one of the Lord’s enemies (2:16–18), and on the other, Matthew’s leaving all to follow Christ indicated what side he was on (9:9). Then there was the rich young ruler, whose seeming love of money placed him on the wrong side (19:16–22). Those who refuse to invest their goods and talents for the sake of the kingdom have no love for Jesus, but the people who put their gifts to work for God will be seen for the kingdom servants they are (25:14–30).
The picture of final judgment in today’s passage is further evidence that all people will be grouped into two categories at the end of this age. Most Christians have heard the account of the sheep and the goats used as an exhortation for the church to meet the needs of all the destitute. Certainly, we must care even for the needy who are not part of the covenant community. After all, the Mosaic law encourages generosity toward strangers (Lev. 23:22), a principle not limited to the old covenant era (Luke 14:12–14). Not inappropriately, believers have served all mankind based on Matthew 25:31–46. However, Jesus in today’s passage is not dealing first and foremost with poor people in general. Instead, He is referring primarily to our care for other Christians. Since Christ identifies His disciples as His brothers elsewhere in Matthew (12:46–50), the story of the sheep and the goats concerns our treatment of other believers (see 25:40). John Calvin and other commentators recognize this point.
This does not mean that doing good to believers merits salvation. Jesus is merely teaching that “if anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar” (1 John 4:20). True love for the Savior begets love for all those united to Him by faith. Even if only in simple deeds, the sheep are to serve one another, especially the needy. Goats, though they dwell among God’s flock today, disregard the sheep and overlook their needs. Thus, they manifest hatred for the One to whom the sheep are united and deserve only a dreadful fate (Matt. 25:41–46).
We actually serve the Lord when we do simple acts of service for one another. It does not take much effort to make a meal for new parents or a family who has recently lost a loved one. A call or visit to the lonely or shut-in takes mere moments but can reap lasting rewards. The donation of time, money, or supplies to your church’s mercy ministry is an act of love for Jesus. Our profession of faith is invalid if we are not engaged in these or other similar activities.
Passages for Further Study
1 John 3:16–18
For permissions, please see our Copyright Policy.
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- 4 updates
Our Science Editor Lawrence McGinty explains why DNA, previously classed as having no obvious use, could in fact be used to fight off genetic disease.
- The genes that control the colour of your eyes, or your blood group, or anything else about you, make up only 2 per cent of the total.
- Until recently large amounts of the human genetic code, or genome, were dismissed as "junk" - DNA sequences that had no function.
- The findings show that around 80% of the genetic code is actively involved in keeping life going.
Scientists have discovered that huge parts of our DNA - which were previously thought to have no obvious use - could in fact be essential in controlling genetic diseases.
So-called 'junk' DNA contains millions of 'switches' which can turn genes on or off. That could include controlling genes which lead to a hereditary diseases such as breast cancer or cystic fibrosis.
In the future, scientists hope the findings will lead to a deeper understanding of numerous diseases and help them devise more effective diagnostic tools and treatments.
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Apache Commons Net
Apache Commons Net™ library implements the client side of many basic
Internet protocols. The purpose of the library is to provide
fundamental protocol access, not higher-level
abstractions. Therefore, some of the design violates
object-oriented design principles. Our philosophy is to make the
global functionality of a protocol accessible (e.g., TFTP send
file and receive file) when possible, but also provide access to
the fundamental protocols where applicable so that the programmer
may construct his own custom implementations (e.g, the TFTP
packet classes and the TFTP packet send and receive methods are
Supported protocols include:
- FTP over HTTP (experimental)
- Time (rdate) and Daytime
Apache Jakarta Commons Net started as a commercial Java library called
NetComponents, originally developed by ORO, Inc. in the early
days of Java. After its 1.3.8 release in 1998, the source code was
donated to the Apache Software Foundation and made available under
the Apache License. Since then, many programmers have contributed
to the continued development of Jakarta Commons Net. The current
version numbering scheme bears no relation to the old. In other
words, Jakarta Commons Net 1.0 succeeded and supplanted
Apache Jakarta Commons is now an independent project and is called Apache Commons.
Commons NET includes several working sample applications that you can use.
Source files are included in the source (and binary) archives, and a compiled jar is provided.
To use one of the sample applications, ensure that the example and main jars are both in the same directory.
Then run the class as per the following example:
java -jar [path/]commons-net-examples-3.1.jar FTPClientExample [parameters]
This uses the helper application which supports shorthand class names.
Alternatively, ensure that the example and main jars are on the classpath.
Then invoke the class directly, for example:
java -cp commons-net-examples-3.1.jar;commons-net-3.1.jar examples/ftp/FTPClientExample [parameters]
FTP (package: examples/ftp)
demonstrates file download and upload, LIST, MLST etc over FTP(S) and FTP over HTTP
This program arranges a server to server file transfer that transfers a file from host1 to host2.
This is an example of a simple Java tftp client
MAIL (package: examples/mail)
This is an example program demonstrating how to use the IMAP[S]Client class.
This is an example program demonstrating how to use the POP3[S]Client class.
This is an example program demonstrating how to use the SMTP[S]Client class.
NNTP (package: examples/nntp)
Simple class showing one way to read an article header and body.
Simple class showing some of the extended commands (AUTH, XOVER, LIST ACTIVE)
This is a simple example using the NNTP package to approximate the
Unix newsgroups command. It connects to the specified news
server and issues fetches the list of newsgroups stored by the server.
On servers that store a lot of newsgroups, this command can take a very
long time (listing upwards of 30,000 groups).
Sample program demonstrating the use of article iteration and threading.
This is an example program using the NNTP package to post an article to the specified newsgroup(s).
It prompts you for header information and a filename to post.
NTP (package: examples/ntp)
This is an example program demonstrating how to use the NTPUDPClient
class. This program sends a Datagram client request packet to a
Network time Protocol (NTP) service port on a specified server,
retrieves the time, and prints it to standard output along with
the fields from the NTP message header (e.g. stratum level, reference id,
poll interval, root delay, mode, ...)
This is an example program demonstrating how to use the TimeTCPClient
and TimeUDPClient classes.
This program connects to the default time service port of a
specified server, retrieves the time, and prints it to standard output.
TELNET (package: examples/telnet)
This is a simple example of use of TelnetClient.
This is an example of a trivial use of the TelnetClient class.
It connects to the weather server at the University of Michigan,
um-weather.sprl.umich.edu port 3000, and allows the user to interact
with the server via standard input.
Unix utilities (package: examples/unix)
This is a simple example of use of chargen.
This is a simple example of use of daytime.
This is a simple example of use of echo.
This is a simple example of use of finger.
This is a simple example of use of fwhois.
This is a simple example of use of rdate.
This is a simple example of use of rexec.
This is a simple example of use of rlogin.
This is a simple example of use of rshell.
For more info, see the JavaDoc, or look at some of the following articles:
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According to the Sandusky History website, Helen Keller addressed the national convention of the Lions Club at Cedar Point on June 30, 1925. Miss Keller was known for her social activism and public speaking skills, and for having overcome the challenges of being both deaf and blind. The plaque marks the spot where Miss Keller spoke at the Cedar Point resort in 1925. Read more about the amazing Helen Keller at the website of the American Foundation for the Blind. Helen Keller died on June 1, 1968, and she was buried at the Washington National Cathedral.
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<urn:uuid:6707435e-3e2f-42b9-b506-ec274ed465ed>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://graveyardrabbitofsanduskybay.blogspot.com/2014/08/sentimental-sunday-helen-keller-plaque.html
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Household Income Sinks to 1995 Level
September 17, 2012
According to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau, the median annual household income has fallen to 1995 levels due to the poor economic growth the nation is experiencing. The report also covers other economic concerns such as poverty rates and health care, says the Wall Street Journal.
- The median annual household income has fallen for the fourth straight year to $50,054 in 2011.
- This is 8.9 percent lower than the peak of the median income, which was $54,932 in 1999.
Despite this, the report's findings on the poverty rate were positive.
- The poverty rate held steady for the first time in four years in 2011.
- The official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent.
- But that fell to 15 percent in 2011.
- Furthermore, the report doesn't capture the income gains made in 2012 or the gain in assets, which have also helped many families.
- Moreover, the report does not include measures such as subsidized rent or the Earned Income Tax Credit, which would have put the poverty rate at 13.2 percent.
The report shows many gains made by Americans in health care.
- The number of uninsured Americans dropped from 50 million in 2010 to 48.6 million in 2011.
- This brings the uninsured rate down from 16.3 percent to 15.7 percent.
- The number of those insured by the government rose to 32.2 percent in 2011 from 31.2 percent in 2010.
- The share of people covered by private insurers remained flat, at 63.9 percent in 2011 compared to the 64 percent in 2010.
- The drop in the uninsured rate may be because the falling incomes of families have qualified them for Medicaid.
- Forty percent of the drop in the uninsured rate came from gains in coverage by the 19-to 25-year-old age group, which can now stay on their parents' health plans.
Source: Conor Dougherty and Anna Wilde Mathews, "Household Income Sinks to '95 Level," Wall Street Journal, September 13, 2012.
Browse more articles on Economic Issues
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http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=22365
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The Degree to Which Senators Vote the Same Way. Source: The Economist.
The two-week Federal government shutdown in early October brought international attention to the level of polarization afflicting American politics. “We moderates are an endangered species,” Representative Jim Cooper of Tennessee told the Times.
A recent analysis by The Economist shows to what extent Republicans and Democrats can’t get along. The graph above represents the voting habits of Senators. Each node is a Senator, with blue connoting Democrat, and red connoting Republican. The placement of nodes is based on cooperation levels, thus placing more bipartisan Senators closer to the center.
In 1989, voting habits had a considerable amount of overlap across party lines; the graph for that year’s session of Congress looks like a ball of yarn. However, over the past fourteen years, overlap has become less and less common. By the 113th Congress (the 2013 session), the once closely-knit network had been nearly cleaved down the middle.
To get occasional notifications when we write blog posts, sign up for our email list.
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<urn:uuid:32772965-5be0-47fc-b45b-6e5bb87e095d>
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http://priceonomics.com/how-partisan-is-congress-anyways/
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A selection of articles related to bastille day.
Original articles from our library related to the Bastille Day. See Table of Contents for further available material (downloadable resources) on Bastille Day.
- What day are you born on?
- The day of the month on which the you were born - regardless of which month or year it is - is a key numerological indicator, providing an excellent "thumbnail sketch" of standout traits. It strongly influences your Life Path and is helpful in...
Symbology >> Numerology
- King James Bible: Leviticus, Chapter 23
- Chapter 23 23:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. 23:3 Six days shall work be done:...
Old Testament >> Leviticus
- The Sacred Wheel: The Sabbats
- The Wheel of the Year honors the never ending cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It expresses the belief which Pagan religions hold that time is circular, not linear. The Sabbats are derived from the rich traditions of seasonal festivals as celebrated by...
Paganism & Wicca >> Holidays
- Samhain, The Celtic New Year
- Samhain (pronounced Sowain, Sah-uin, or Sahm-hayn) is also called the Celtic New Year, The Third harvest, All Hollows Eve, the Day of the Dead, and of course Halloween. There are many more names for Samhain, but rather then having a different meaning, they...
Holidays >> Samhain
- King James Bible: Numbers, Chapter 7
- Chapter 7 7:1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; 7:2 That...
Old Testament >> Numbers
- Litha, The Summer Solstice
- Litha is also known as the summer solstice, Midsummer, All Couples Day, and Saint John's Day. Litha is one of the fire festivals and occurs on the longest day of the year. This is the time of year when the sun reaches its highest apex, at the Tropic of Cancer....
Holidays >> Mid Summer
- King James Bible: Exodus, Chapter 12
- Chapter 12 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the...
Old Testament >> Exodus
Bastille Day is described in multiple online sources, as addition to our editors' articles, see section below for printable documents, Bastille Day books and related discussion.
Suggested Pdf Resources
- bastille poster 2010
- 14th Annual Bastille Day Celebration. 3 Evenings of Fou! LE FOU CIRQUE.
- Propagation of Bastille Day Event to Voyagers 1 & 2, January 2001
- The Bastille Day (July 14, 2000) CME was the biggest so far this solar cycle. ○ This CME is similar to those thought to have triggered the two episodes of.
- Downolad the full info here
- P. Bastille Day Parking Discount. Bastille Day Tuesday, July 14.
- Bastille Day - ESL Holiday Lessons
- Bastille Day is France's most important national holiday. It is celebrated on ... Bastille Day celebrates the most important day in French history.
- Spectra and solar energetic protons over 20GeV in Bastille Day event
- We studied the solar proton differential energy spectra with energy range of 1– 500 MeV at several time intervals during Bastille Day event. It was shown that the ...
Suggested Web Resources
- Bastille Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is formally called ...
- Bastille Day (2016) - IMDb
- Directed by James Watkins. With Idris Elba, Richard Madden, Kelly Reilly, Charlotte Le Bon. A young artist and former CIA agent embark on an anti-terrorist ...
- Bastille Day in France - Timeanddate.com
- Bastille Day is a day of celebrations of French culture. Many large-scale public events are held, including a military parade in Paris, as well as communal meals, ...
- Bastille Day - official trailer - in cinemas April 22 - YouTube
- Feb 16, 2016 Idris Elba stars in high-octane action thriller Bastille Day - in cinemas April 22 Michael Mason (Richard Madden, Game Of Thrones) is an ...
- Bastille Day | French holiday | Britannica.com
- Dec 2, 2015 In France and its overseas départements and territories, holiday marking the anniversary of the fall on July 14, 1789, of the Bastille, in Paris.
Great care has been taken to prepare the information on this page. Elements of the content come from factual and lexical knowledge databases, realmagick.com library and third-party sources. We appreciate your suggestions and comments on further improvements of the site.
Bastille Day Topics
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It has been more than 150 years since the Civil War Battle of Antietam, the deadliest one-day battle in American history. More than 22,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after 12 hours of brutal combat near Sharpsburg, Md., on Sept. 17, 1862.
But the Scouts of the Mason-Dixon Council haven’t forgotten. The 2012 Antietam Encampment featured 650 Scouts camping on what was the Confederate army line. The Scouts helped support the official 150th anniversary observance of Antietam by parking cars, helping out at living history sites, handing out water to visitors, giving directions and being available to provide first aid if needed.
The Scouts received the Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger Award for their service.
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I may be misunderstanding, but the length of an ellipse circumference is not
gotten by that formula. As a matter of fact, the circumference of an ellipse is
rather difficult to calculate. That is where Elliptic integrals come in.
Can anyone help me with regards ellipse geometry.
I have an issue were i have to be able to calculate the major and minor axis of an ellipse when i have the circumference.
I know Ellipse Circumference = pi*sqrt((major^2+minor^2)/2)
My relation from major to minor is: major = minor + constant (say 2.5 to start)
This now leaves me with:
Ellipse Circumference = pi*sqrt(((minor + 2.5)^2+minor^2)/2)
I have re-arranged the equation to give me:
2*((ellipse circumference/pi)^2) = (minor + 2.5)^2 + minor^2
Continuing to manipulate I get:
2*((ellipse circumference/pi)^2) = 2*minor^2 + 5*minor + 6.25
I am now stuck on where to go to calculate minor if i know the circumference as using a quadratic equation -b (+/-) sqrt(b^2-4ac)/2a I am left with a negative square root which i can not solve.
Can anyone HELP, where do i go from here?
Given that formula you have can you tell were it came from?,
Given that formula you have stated, what is "n", and how would i solve to get a or b, i will still be left with having to solve 2*minor^2 + 5*minor + 6.25 were i replace a with b + constant (2.5)
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http://mathhelpforum.com/differential-geometry/94814-ellipse-geometry.html
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Ronald Coase, who died this week at the age of 102, was one of the greatest economists of the 20th century. His impact on academic thought and public policy is incalculable.
In 1991, Coase won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, in part for a theorem he set out in a 1960 article that is, by a large margin, the most cited law-journal paper of all time. The Coase theorem produced a revolution in thought and public policy.
His target was the great British economist Arthur Cecil Pigou, who contended that if a polluter is emitting smoke, and thus causing injury, the best response is to make the factory owner pay for the injury or to impose a corrective tax.
Coase said Pigou failed to see “the reciprocal nature of the problem.” Suppose that a very noisy factory is causing legal injury to a doctor operating next door. Under Pigou’s approach, the factory should be required to pay damages to the doctor. But Coase pointed out that we could also make the doctor bear the cost. His central insight was that if people can bargain with one another, and if it isn’t costly for them to do so, it just doesn’t matter who is required to pay: People will negotiate their way to the efficient solution.
Here’s the basic idea: Suppose that under the law, the factory has to pay damages to the doctor. If the doctor can avoid injury by moving his office a few blocks away, and if he can do that cheaply, the factory will pay him to move, and that’s what he’ll do.
Suppose under the law, the doctor bears the cost. If he can avoid injury by moving his office a few blocks away, that’s what he’ll do. The legal rule won’t affect the outcome. The example is perfectly generalizable. The same analysis holds whenever people are harming each other (but are in a position to bargain).
Coase recognized, of course, that it will often be costly for people to negotiate with one another. If a factory emits pollution that affects thousands of people, a bargain is unlikely. Coase’s analysis suggests that when people can’t negotiate, policymakers should try to identify the agreement they would reach if they had been able to do so. To identify that agreement, they have to analyze the benefits and costs of the harm-producing activity. Coase emphasized that “all solutions have costs and there is no reason to suppose that government regulation is called for simply because the problem is not well handled by the market or the firm.”
“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood,” John Maynard Keynes wrote. “Indeed, the world is ruled by little else.”
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http://www.tbo.com/list/news-opinion-commentary/late-economist-deserved-our-gratitude-20130907/
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Date of Award
Master of Music (MM)
Four composers have been chosen for this study. They were the leaders of four successive generations of composers influential in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Their masses were written between the years 1420 A.D. and 1560 A.D. Many significant changes took place during this period of one hundred forty years. Older compositional techniques such as the use of formes fixes and isorhythm all but disappeared. Cantus firmus technique was transformed and extended to unify the mass cycle. Aesthetic considerations became more important to the composer than liturgical canons, and composers began to regard themselves as artistic creators not mere servants to the Church. The rise of humanism placed man at the center of his music, making it more expressive and personal then ever before.
Giffin, Janet E., "The Evolution of the Cadence in the Cyclic Masses of Dufay, Ockeghem, Josquin, and Gombert" (1985). Graduate Thesis Collection. Paper 32.
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http://digitalcommons.butler.edu/grtheses/32/
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Just about everyone who visits this area is aware of some of the recent native American inhabitants of South Florida. The Calusa indians controlled the waterways from the Florida Keys as far north as Tampa Bay. The Seminole and Miccosukee roamed the inland areas and the Everglades while even more tribes settled other regions of the state. In fact, when Christopher Columbus first came to this part of the world, it is estimated that there were more than 300,000 natives in Florida.
Many of these Indian nations did not have a written history, and it seems that stories passed from one generation to another have been forgotten, leaving us to piece together any information through the discovery of artifacts and bones. The rest is all speculation, theory and a reliance on geological science, so it’s hard to say who was here before the Indian nations that we’ve learned about but let’s explore one of the more popular theories available.
If you stood on Marco Island beaches 20,000 years ago, you would have to walk another 50 miles or more before you could go swimming. We were in the midst of an ice age, and when very cold weather dominated our planet like that, ocean levels and water levels in general around the world were much lower. The Florida peninsula had nearly twice the land mass that we see today.
Since the water level was so much lower at that time, a land bridge existed between present-day Asia, Alaska and what is now the Aleutian Islands. The waters were 400 feet lower, and this land mass was nearly 1,000 miles wide. It is thought that several groups migrated to enter and populate North America, eventually reaching Florida about 14,000 years ago.
Known as Paleoindians, these early inhabitants camped near many fresh water sources of Northern Florida and probably moved from one to another. As glaciers continued to melt and Florida became a wetter land — around 9,000 BC — the nomadic habits of these dwellers disappeared, and a more sophisticated lifestyle began. This settling brought on a need for dwellings of a more permanent nature as well as the need for pots and utensils. The populations of different geographic regions throughout the state developed individual cultures, according to their needs and their environment. When a village became too big, one or more families would break away to form a new community nearby.
By 3,000 BC, Florida became the land that we see today. By 500-700 AD, farms developed, and a sense of social cooperation to work the fields, store produce, protect the lands and to harvest crops became necessary. This type of society thrived in Northern Florida.
However, the lands of South Florida were not really suitable for the corn, beans and squash that the northern tribes grew, so Indians here learned to rely on the animal life and sea life for their sources of food. In order to protect the sources of food along the shorelines, several tribes like the Calusa gained very fierce reputations.
The Calusa ruled our region for nearly 2,500 years. They successfully fought the Spanish, who wanted their lands, and defeated all intruders for nearly 200 more years. As the Spanish, French and English settled North Florida and decimated Indian populations there, the fate of the Calusa was all but sealed. The combination of new diseases, military encounters and forced labor ended their existence.
By the 1750s, the population of all Indians in Florida was probably less than 1,000 people. A thriving, diverse society of more than 300,000 in 1492 was virtually eliminated in less than 300 years.
Stepping stones….This ancient civilization braved a land bridge, carved a path through glacier filled territories and made their way to what is now our paradise. More than 100 tribes spread throughout the state, many whose names will never be known. For 14,000 years, they improved their society.
I embrace their spirit. I honor their ability to expand and explore, their presence of mind to develop cooperative communities. Though they are gone, long live the adventurous nature of these free people!
Bob is a Master Naturalist and owner of Steppingstone Ecotours. He is also a member of the Dolphin Explorer’s 10,000 island dolphin survey team and a member of Florida SEE (Society for Ethical Ecotourism). Bob loves his wife very much!
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.coastalbreezenews.com/2014/04/23/before-the-calusa-who-was-here/
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Perri, E. and Tucker, M. E. (2007) 'Bacterial fossils and microbial dolomite in Triassic stromatolites.', Geology., 35 (3). pp. 207-210.
Triassic stromatolitic dolomite from Italy preserves mineralized bacterial remains, one of the first unequivocal identifications of such structures in the geological record. They consist of empty spheroids 1.0 µm diameter resembling coccoid bacteria, and smaller, 150–400 nm, objects interpreted as dwarf bacterial forms, occurring within and between syn-sedimentary dolomite crystals. Moreover, gently folded sheets, 100–200 nm thick and several micrometers long, form a sub-polygonal network reminiscent of EPS (extracellular polymeric substance). Their granular-textured surfaces suggest bacterial degradation of original organic matter. These features confirm a biological origin for the stromatolites, as in modern microbial mats, and the preserved original geochemical signatures indicate early precipitation of Mg-carbonates induced through microbial sulfate-reducing metabolic activities.
|Additional Information:||Geological Society of America, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140 USA (http://www.geosociety.org)|
|Keywords:||Bacterial fossils, Microbialite, Dolomite, Stromatolite, Triassic.|
|Full text:||Full text not available from this repository.|
|Publisher Web site:||http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/G23354A.1|
|Record Created:||13 Mar 2007|
|Last Modified:||08 Feb 2011 16:35|
|Social bookmarking:||Export: EndNote, Zotero | BibTex|
|Usage statistics||Look up in GoogleScholar | Find in a UK Library|
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://dro.dur.ac.uk/2190/
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Spinal stenosis (or narrowing) is a common condition that affects many adults 50 yrs old and older. This occurs when the small spinal canal, containing the nerve roots and spinal cord, becomes constricted or compressed. This can lead to a number of problems, depending on which nerves are affected. In general, spinal stenosis can cause cramping, pain or numbness in the legs, back, neck, shoulders and/or arms; a loss of sensation in the extremities; and sometimes, in rare cases, problems with bladder or bowel function. In general, spinal narrowing is caused by osteoarthritis, or "wear and tear" arthritis, of the spinal column. This results in a "pinching" of the spinal cord and/or nerve roots.
People suffering from spinal stenosis may have trouble walking any significant distance, and usually must sit or lean forward over a grocery cart, countertop or assistive device such as a walker.
Typically, a person with spinal stenosis complains about developing tremendous pain in the legs or calves and lower back after walking. Pain occurs more quickly when walking up hills. This is usually very reproducible and is almost immediately relieved by sitting down or leaning over. When the spine is flexed forward, more space is available for the spinal cord, causing a reduction in symptoms.
WHAT CAUSES IT?
Spinal stenosis is usually caused by progressive degenerative changes in the spine. This is usually called "acquired spinal stenosis" and can occur from the narrowing of space around the spinal cord due to bony overgrowth (bone spurs) from osteoarthritis, combined with thickening or calcification of one or more ligaments in the back. Stenosis can also be caused by a bulge or herniation of the intervertebral discs. This must be differentiated from the stenosis caused by the bony overgrowth that can occur on the vertebral bodies, or facet joints. Spinal decompression therapy may not be appropriate in moderate to severe cases of spinal stenosis with many spurs and thickened ligaments. On the other hand, if the stenosis of the central canal is primarily from bulging discs, or herniated discs, then non-surgical spinal decompression may be very successful.
Sometimes people are born with a smaller spinal canal. This is called "congenital spinal stenosis" and may become problematic at an earlier age.
WHO GETS IT?
The risk of developing spinal stenosis increases in those who:
Conditions that can cause spinal stenosis include:
HOW IS IT TREATED?
Typically, spinal stenosis is treated with conservative non-surgical therapies. One important therapy is exercise. Keeping the muscles of the hip, back, and legs toned allows for improved stability and will improve walking.
Medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) also may be appropriate and helpful in pain relief. Cortisone injections into the epidural space, the area around the spinal cord, may provide temporary relief to people suffering from this disorder.
Non-surgical spinal decompression therapy may help those with herniated or bulging discs, lateral canal stenosis, and facet syndrome.
Under severe and rare circumstances, surgery to correct this disorder may be appropriate. In these severe cases, nerves to the bladder or bowel may be affected, leading to partial or complete urinary or fecal incontinence. If you experience either of these problems, seek immediate medical care! Decompression laminectomy, which is the removal of a build-up of bony spurs or increased bone mass in the spinal canal, can free up space for the nerves and the spinal cord. However, adequate decompression of the neural elements and maintenance of bony stability are necessary for a good surgical outcome for patients with spinal stenosis.
Several studies report that surgical treatment produces better outcomes than non-surgical treatment in the short term. However, these results tend to deteriorate over time. In addition, lumbar decompressive surgery can be complicated by epidural hematoma, deep venous thrombosis, dural tear, infection, nerve root injury and recurrence of symptoms.
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http://www.americanspinal.com/spinal-stenosis.html
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The Twilight Years
Martha’s death on May 22, 1802 marked the end of an era. Because Martha and George Washington had no children together, each spouse had made provision for the division of their estates among other family members and friends.
George had left Mount Vernon and much of its land to his nephew, Bushrod Washington. In addition to providing for other nieces and nephews, he also set aside gifts for his step-granddaughters and for their children. With her bequest, Martha Parke Custis Peter built a fine home called Tudor Place in Georgetown, designed by William Thornton, architect of the first U.S. Capitol. In Alexandria, Elizabeth Parke Custis Law erected Hoxton House, another fine example of Federal architecture.
George had a special place in his heart for the two children that had grown up in his home. George gave Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis (Nelly) and her husband about two thousand acres from the Mount Vernon estate, which became the site of her home, Woodlawn.
To his mischievous step-grandson, George left a lot in the federal district of Columbia and a 1200-acre estate on the Four Mile Run in northern Virginia. Here Wash would build his home, which he called Arlington. In 1831, Wash’s only daughter (who was Martha Washington’s great-granddaughter) married the U.S. Army officer and future Confederate General Robert E. Lee (scion of the Lee family, one of the oldest and most illustrious in Virginia), who took up residence in Arlington until the Civil War.
Soon after George’s death in 1799, Martha had made her own will. As a widow, she owned all the personal property in the house, including silver, china, linens, and portraits. She also possessed a certain amount of money that she had brought into the marriage and a piece of property and townhouse in Alexandria, Virginia, that George had bequeathed to her. In addition, she owned one slave, a mulatto named Elish. Martha had no control over the goods, slaves, or property that belonged to the Custis heirs and which were to be distributed among the Custis grandchildren after her death.
Martha’s death brought the Custis heirs even greater riches. Each of Martha’s four grandchildren received substantial amounts of land and money that been held in trust for them for years. Moreover, each received a share of the so-called “dower slaves,” the descendants of the slaves once owned by Martha’s first husband, Daniel Parke Custis. Martha Parke Custis Peter, for example, received 61 slaves at the time of the division of the estate.
Martha also singled out certain individuals in her will for special bequests. Two of the granddaughters each received a remembrance of Mount Vernon: for Elizabeth Parke Custis Law, John Trumbull’s portrait of General Washington, a dressing table, and a special looking glass; for Martha Parke Custis Peter, a writing table, a chair, and a engraved print of General Washington.
But the two grandchildren Martha had raised as her own received extra gifts. To her dear Nelly, Martha gave furniture, linens, mirrors, glassware, and china from Mount Vernon. And to her beloved Wash, Martha left the bulk of the valuables in her personal estate, including silver, china, pictures, linens, and bedding.
Martha’s legacy lived on in the collective national memory. During the American Revolution, General Washington had named a row-galley in the Continental Navy after his wife, calling it the Lady Washington. Music was composed in her honor. Much later, during the First World War, a troop transport ship would be baptized the USS Martha Washington. Martha Washington was the first woman to appear on U.S. currency, on paper money printed in the years 1886, 1891, and 1895. She was also the first woman to appear on a U.S. postage stamp, initially in 1902, with other stamps following in 1923 and 1938.
During the 1840s, women sought to honor her memory in another way. Throughout the country, social reform groups arose, calling themselves the “Martha Washington Societies.” Committing to advancing the cause of temperance and to relieving the suffering of the afflicted, these organizations, like their namesake, were dedicated to serving the public good.
With Martha’s passing in 1802, “the worthy partner of the worthiest of men” had died.* Within two months of her death, all the items from Mount Vernon, including household goods, livestock, farm tools, and office supplies, had been given to the appropriate heirs or sold at auction.
Washington’s nephew, Bushrod Washington, came into possession of Washington’s lands and estate. Washington’s slaves had been emancipated; the Custis slaves were sent to their new owners. The Mount Vernon that Martha Dandridge Custis Washington had once made into such a warm and welcoming home was no more.
*Alexandria Advertiser and Commercial Intelligencer, May 25, 1802.
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What is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)?
GMT was established to aid worldwide oceanic navigation and is based on the rotation of the Earth. It was not until the British railway system started using GMT in the mid 1800s that GMT was adopted "for land use". And it was not until the late 1800s that GMT was adopted universally. At this time, the 24 time zones were created along with the International Date Line.
I know, you want to know how to convert GMT into your local time zone. Well, it goes like this:
During Daylight Savings Time, GMT is 4 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). So if the time is 0800 GMT, it is 4:00 a.m. in New York City and Miami and 1:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. During Standard Time, GMT is 5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST). So, 1000 GMT corresponds to 5:00 a.m. in New York City and Miami and 2:00 a.m. in Los Angeles.
Please note that GMT may be listed as Zulu (Z) or Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/gmt.shtml
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| 0.954727
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In this early chapter, Russell addresses one major issue—matter. He sets out to decide whether we can be sure that matter exists or if we must admit that matter is something imagined, as real as a dream might be said to be real. The criterion for our certainty is the independent existence of physical objects, for we have identified matter with physical objects in the preceding chapter. The object now is to establish what many philosophers suspect, that the table exists independent of our perception of it, that if we turn away from it the table is still there. Initially, Russell reminds us that while we are doubting the physical existence of an object, "we are not doubting the sense-data, which made us think there was a table," the immediate experiences of sensation.
If the table is real, then our confidence in our senses has been well-placed, and we might be said to have reasonably inferred reality from its appearance. If we find, with Russell, that the table is not real, then the "whole outer world is a dream." It is vital to grasp the difference between these two hypotheses. One affirms our common-sense view of reality, and the other holds that "we alone exist" and nothing we experience is real in our ordinary sense. Russell will contend that it cannot be proved that we are not dreaming "alone in a desert," but also argues that there is no reason for supposing that this is the case.
Here, Russell refers to Descartes' Meditations. Descartes believed in nothing that was not clearly and distinctly true. He imagined the possibility of a disordered, deceptive reality. Descartes considered the deceitful demon possible because he could not prove that it wasn't the case. However, Descartes found that it could not be the case that he himself did not exist; it was impossible because if he did not exist, then he could not be deceived by a demon. Since he doubted, he necessarily existed. Russell highlights Descartes' service to philosophy as that of illustrating that "subjective things are the most certain."
A formal statement of the problem goes: "Granted that we are certain of our own sense-data, have we any reason for regarding them as signs of the existence of something else, which we can call the physical object." The first reason that Russell examines involves the idea of public experience versus private experience. If a group of people is sitting together at a dinner party around a table, then it is reasonable to assume that they see the same forks and knives, the same tablecloth, the same glasses. Since the sense-data is private to each person, "what is immediately present to the sight of one is not immediately present to the sight of another," and it is reasonable to infer that "they all see things from slightly different points of view, and therefore see them slightly differently." Common experience suggests that we believe in such "public neutral objects," as Russell calls them. And if these objects are to exist, objects which more than one person can know, then it seems as though there must be something that transcends the private experience of sense-data. Further examining this reason for believing in the independent existence of physical objects, Russell next inquires as to why we should believe in public neutral objects.
It is true that though people's experiences may vary a little, they can be remarkably similar. It is also true that the variations between their descriptions may vary according to scientific principles having to do with perspective and reflection. However, at this moment Russell retreats from the height of this inquiry to point out that to the extent that we have admitted the experiences of other people, we have made a mistake. Supposing that other people exist begs the question at stake, since the existence of other people is predicated on the assumption that physical objects exist independently. In this stage of the argument, other people are only represented by sense-data. Russell's conclusion from this example is that we must make no appeal to sense- data outside our own private experience.
Here Russell acknowledges that, strictly speaking, we could never truly know that the whole outer world is not a dream. It is always a logical possibility that we are deceived about the true nature of reality and that it is hidden from us. It is possible because "no logical absurdity results from the hypothesis that the world consists of myself and my thoughts and feelings and sensations." However, Russell's argument is that though there may be no way to disprove this "uncomfortable" possibility, there is no reason in support of it either. What is simpler and more plausible is the hypothesis that independent physical objects exist "whose action on us causes our sensations." The advantage of this hypothesis is in its simplicity.
In western scientific magazines editor screen the content of submissions (nice word!) out of other cultural realities
have a look at
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Advanced Device Physics
This course will focus for a large part on MOSFET and CMOS, but also on heterojunction BJT, and photonic devices.
Advanced Solid State Physics
This course is about the electronic properties of materials and contains lectures about scattering, transport in metals, phonons and superconductivity.
Mesoscopic physics is the area of Solid State physics that covers the transition regime between macroscopic objects and the microscopic, atomic world. The main goal of the course is to introduce the physical concepts underlying the phenomena in this field.
Calculus-Based Physics is an introductory physics textbook designed for use in the two-semester introductory physics course typically taken by science and engineering students.
21st Century Physics FlexBook: A Compilation of Contemporary and Emerging Technologies
This particular pilot FlexBook aims at several outcomes: Supplementing currently used Virginia physics textbooks by making valuable contemporary and emerging physics ideas available to all teachers at a single URL; Making laboratory activities that employ industry state-of-the-practice equipment available to all teachers; Providing a path for continuous improvement from teachers themselves through comments and new ideas after using a chapter with their physics classes
The People's Physics Book
The authors' intent is to produce an alternative textbook, as one part of a multifaceted strategy to teach physics conceptually and mathematically. As a reference guide and problem text, it is carried easily and is especially helpful in preparation for the AP Physics B & C exams.
General Physics II, Spring 2009
This course is the second of a two-part introductory, calculus based, general physics course intended for non-physics majors. The course is designated to train you in a wide variety of problem-solving skills that you will be able to transfer far beyond this physics course. Doing well in this course does not require you to be a “genius”, but you will have to think about the physical concepts in order to understand them and you will have to apply these ideas in order to solve computational p
The Spotlight - SoPHYSticated - Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences
Features an interview with Mic Farquharson, Chair of the Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences department. The discussion focuses on interesting research, the newly renovated Tandem Accelerator Lab, and information regarding the Honours Medical & Health Physics program. To view the episode, click on the image.
Part 1 - Physics of Trapping
History and principle of optical the trap ( laser tweezers ) explained according to light momentum.
The Modern Revolution in Physics
This book addresses the following topics: Relativity, rules of randomness; light as a particle; matter as a wave; the atom.
Some of the topics addressed in this book are: Scaling and Order-of-Magnitude Estimates; Velocity and Relative Motion; Acceleration and Free Fall; Force and Motion; Analysis of Forces; Newton's Laws in Three Dimensions; Vectors; Circular Motion; Gravity.
Discover Physics is a conceptual physics textbook intended for students in a nonmathematical one-semester general-education course.
This is a nonmathematical physics textbook, designed so that it can be used either for a semester-length course of the type popularized by Hewitt, or for a shorter course of 8 or 10 weeks. This book is essentially a rewritten version of Discover Physics. The rewrite is intended to do two things: (1) make the book less closely tied to a particular method of teaching, and (2) make it possible to use the book in shorter courses (such as Fullerton College's Physical Science 103A) with the omission o
Simple Nature: An Introduction to Physics for Engineering and Physical Science Students
Simple Nature is a physics textbook intended for students in a three-semester introductory calculus-based course.
Physics: Light and Matter Series (CA Textbook)
This series of six books is intended for a one-year introductory course of the type typically taken by biology majors. Algebra and trig are used, and there are optional calculus-based sections. This digital textbook was reviewed for its alignment with the content standards only; California’s Social Content Review criteria were not applied. Districts, schools, and individuals planning to take advantage of this free textbook are reminded to conduct their own review to determine whether this res
Basic radio physics
A general introduction to basic physics relevant for wireless networking.
The Physics of Water
PD. Dr. Lothar Mühlbacher (Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg)
New Physics at the LHC: where, what and how?
Dr. Georg Weiglein (DESY Hamburg)
Symmetries and Symmetry Breaking in Particle Physics
Prof Dr. Thomas Mannel (Universität Siegen)
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A group of scientists are hunched over, their eyes intently scanning the jumble of rocks on the ground. Every now and then, someone picks one up for closer inspection, turning it over and over again in their hand. Occasional comments ring out in the still desert air:
"Is this one?"
"Hmm … This probably isn't anything."
"Look at that; you found a good one!"
We were hunting for fossils in an ancient seabed that dates back to the Devonian Period, roughly 400 million years ago. At our feet, rock fragments are embedded with trilobites, brachiopods, corals and other sea creatures both extinct and still existing in the oceans today. Although some of the fossils look quite alien, they are unmistakably remnants of life.
This field trip in the Morocco desert was organized by the International Research School of Planetary Sciences' Ibn Battuta Centre. The various locations we visited were meant to illustrate how this region of Africa has many similarities to the alien landscape of Mars.
Finding evidence for life on Mars will entail much more than scooping fossils up from the arid surface. Most scientists think that if Mars ever had life, it was microbial, and special instruments will be needed to detect it. [5 Bold Claims of Alien Life]
Deep-digging drills will be required to access any possible remains, since they might be buried in marine sediments dating back to 3.5 billion years ago. Such drills also could help us discover whether life exists on Mars today, surviving in underground reservoirs where it would be protected from the harsh surface conditions.
It's still just a hypothesis that the surface of Mars was once awash with liquid water, but over the past 40 years different missions have gathered a compelling amount of evidence that supports this scenario.
Whether life on Mars ever existed, however, is still an open question.
The hunt for Mars life
NASA's first search for life on Mars took place in the 1970s, as part of the Viking mission. Looking for chemical signs of existing microbial life, Viking's Labeled Release experiment added liquid nutrients to Martian soil.
The presumption was that any microbes living in the soil would eat the nutrients and expel certain gases as a waste product. Scientists are still arguing about the results, but most think the instantaneous gas release that occurred was due to a purely chemical reaction, since life presumably would need more time to process food.
The controversial Viking experiment caused NASA to turn to the basics, and look for the liquid water and organic molecules that life on Earth needs for its survival. That's been the focus of missions like the Phoenix Mars Lander, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and various satellites such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. [Latest photos from NASA's Mars rovers]
The search for life itself will begin again with the Mars Science Laboratory, scheduled for launch this year. MSL, renamed "Curiosity" rover, will look for biosignatures and evidence of microbial metabolisms. The planned ExoMars missions, joint ventures of NASA and the European Space Agency, also will hunt for life on Mars.
Reading Earth life's signature
Our fossil-hunting grounds in Morocco included mud mounds that — although today high and dry — were born in a relatively shallow sea. Such submarine mud volcanoes can be the result of gas escaping from underneath Earth's crust, forcing great quantities of liquid and fine-grained rock to the surface.
To my eyes, the mounds looked like ogres in a science fiction film, the ancient vents forming drooping eyes and a sagging, crumbling mouth. The monstrous mounds remained mute during our visit, but scientists are trying to learn their story by other means.
A vein of travertine, for instance, is a clue that at least one of the mounds we visited had a hydrothermal origin. Other mounds may have been built by so-called "cold seeps," which have milder temperatures.
Several mounds are lined up in a row, indicating they bubbled up along a natural fault in the Earth’s crust. First identified by scientists in the 1930s, many of the Morocco mounds are made of carbonate mud. The term "mud" refers to the grain size of the rocks — micrite and fine-silt — rather than a composition of sediment mixed with clay.
One question scientists are trying to answer is how much of the mounds were generated by geological processes, and how much do they owe their existence to life? The abundance of fossils in and around the mounds may have caused the mounds to grow ever larger, as structures like corals acted as catchment basins for sediments and life’s waste products that piled up over time.
The "overprinting" by fossils also masks a deeper truth: the role played by life that we can't see with the naked eye.
Microbial mounds of Earth
Microbes may have been crucial in building the mounds, since the anaerobic bacterial oxidation of methane can lead to carbonate precipitation and also turn mud into stone.Barbara Cavalazzi of the University of Johannesburg, one of the field trip leaders, published a 2007 study in the journal Astrobiology that discussed the various microfossils found within the mounds.
But even after years of analysis, the mounds remain frustratingly impenetrable. There aren't any fresh cross-sections available for easy viewing; the few mounds that were cleaved in half through fortuitous natural processes are now so weathered that the details have faded away.
Another way to inspect the inside layers of a mud mound would be to arduously drill holes at different points along them. A less strenuous study would look at rocks that have fallen down off the mounds.
However, "those studies don’t provide a full picture of the mounds, and are really just random shots in the dark," said Abigail Allwood, a geologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who attended the field trip. To date, there is no complete picture of the structure and method of formation of the mud mounds.
Studying such mounds on Earth can inform our investigations of Mars. Research published in the journal Icaruslast year pointed to possible mud volcanoes in the northern plains of Mars.
The Icarus study mapped more than 18,000 circular mounds thought to be mud volcanoes in the Acidalia Planitiaregion, and estimated that more than 40,000 eventually could be found.
Using data obtained from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the scientists were able to investigate the structure and mineralogy of some of the mounds. This allowed them to rule out other means of mound construction, such as meteorite impacts, lava flows, or ground deformation caused by ice or evaporation.
Life probably didn't play a role in building the Martian mounds as it did on Earth.
However, because volcanoes bring up fluids from deep underground, any biosignatures of past or present life also could have been brought up to the planet’s surface. The study authors therefore point to the mounds as key places to search for evidence of life on Mars.
The sweep of history
We were in Morocco in February, when history of the human sort was being made nearby. Every TV set was tuned to the street protests in Egypt, and President Hosni Mubarak seemed poised to step down from office. Or would he refuse to relinquish the reins of power that he had held for 30 years?
For some in Morocco, there was no question, as one local said adamantly, "He is finished," making a sweeping motion with his hand. Turns out, he was right. By the end of our journey, Mubarak had stepped down, bowing to public pressure.
From present-day politics to fossils suspended in time, life had a story to tell wherever we traveled.
Some tales were short but thrilling: a shed snake skin, obvious proof of recent life. Other stories were as intangible and ephemeral as a spoken haiku: potential "trace" evidence such as bird tracks in desert sand.
Then there are long and complicated sagas, such as the 600-million-year old stromatolites that were evidence of ancient lagoon-dwelling microbes.
Stromatolites are an example of the difficulties that can arise when interpreting evidence for life. These rock structures are built by microbes and are the lithified remnants of biofilms that grew in watery environments.
However, rocks that resemble stromatolites also can be made through the natural accumulation of minerals or sediments. The older a stromatolite gets, the harder it can be to link it to life, since the delicate materials of organic bodies degrade over time.
"Proving that morphological structures like stromatolites were produced by bacteria requires the preservation of multiple lines of evidence consistent with life," said Sherry L. Cady, editor-in-chief of the journal Astrobiologyand one of the field trip participants.
Cady and her colleagues published a 2003 paper in the journal that discussed the limitations of using fossil structures to identify microbial life. While the biological origin of the stromatolites we visited is not disputed, the debate over other, much older structures complicates the story of life's history on Earth.
What tangled tale still waits to be told on Mars? Despite talk of sending a human mission to the Red Planet, it will be awhile before astronauts can hunt for fossils in Acidalia Planitiaand other promising sites on Mars.
Robots will be our avatars for the foreseeable future. This second-hand survey is more difficult, since robots are ponderously slow, require a constant stream of commands from Mission Control, and can't get help if they get caught in a sand trap or some other tight spot.
And perhaps, such a remote-controlled search is a bit less satisfying in the end.
For those of us who didn’t find any salvageable fossils in Morocco, beautiful specimens were on display at shops at the desert's edge.
The fossils for sale were larger and more impressive than the shattered fragments in the field, but as one of the scientists noted, "The fossils you find yourself just seem more special."
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What does Magdala mean?
Magdala [mag-dala] as a name for girls has its root in Hebrew, and the meaning of the name Magdala is "woman from Magdala; tower". Magdala is an alternate form, with the prefix Mag-, of Madeline (Hebrew): variation of Madeleine. Magdala is also a form of Migdalia (Spanish, Hebrew). See also Alena.
Magdala has 1 variant: Migdalla.
Magdala has 19 more related forms via Madeline, Migdalia: Mada, Madalena, Madalyn, Madel, Madella, Madena, Madina, Madzia, Magda, Magdalen, Magdalena▼, Magdalene, Magdalina, Magdaline, Magdalini, Magdelina, Magdolna, Maidel and Mala.Creative forms:
(female) Magdali, Magdana, ..
(male) Magdalak, Maghal, .. Middle name pairings:
Magdala Precious (M.P.), ..
How popular is Magdala?
Magdala is an uncommonly occurring given name for females. Magdala is also an uncommon last name for both adults and children. (2000 U.S. Census)
Which version is better?with its source forms and related girl names. Shown below is an analysis of the history of the girl name Magdala and associated names. Popular varying forms of Magdala (not ranked) are Madeline (#90 a year ago), Madalyn (#570), Alena (#596), Magdalena (#1103), Magdalene (#1807), Migdalia, Magdaline, Magda, Mada and Magdalen. Other forms, like Magdolna, are uncommon. These forms of Magdala were popular as birth names a decade ago (median #1392) and are somewhat less widespread today (#1416, 35% less usage). Madeline has generally been popular among parents, although Alena appears to be gaining favor too, while Magdalena is now less popular. (Top Baby Names, 2015)
Similar NamesRecommended names are Adala, Addala, Brandala (see Brandy), Cadhla, Camala, Candela, Fadila, Kaala, Maaja, Macaela, Mackayla, Madera, Madira, Madona, Madora, Madra, Mafalda, Maffalda, Magaley, Magali, Magalie, Magaly, Magdelena, Maggali, Magli, Magnilda, Magnolia▲, Mahala▼, Mahalah, Mahali, Mahalia, Mahalla, Mahalya, Maida, Makara, Makayla▼, Makyla, Malana, Manda▼, Mandalin (see Mandoline), Mandalyn, Mandisa, Manuela▼, Maraya, Marcela, Marcila, Marella, Margalo, Marial, Mariana, Mariela▼, Marilla, Marla▼, Marlana, Marmara, Marsala, Marsalla, Marvela, Masada, Matana, Mayana, Mayda, Maydena, Michala, Miguela, Mohala, Mykala, Natala, Pamala, Samala and Sammala. These names tend to be more frequently used than Magdala.See names in meaning and etymology.
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Once a domain of the sea god Poseidon, Atlantis may have been named after Atlas the Titan, said to have been Poseidon's son. According to Plato, the city's kings conquered parts of both Europe and Africa before being defeated by Athens.
The gods, angered by Atlantis's greed and corruption, unleashed a barrage of floods and earthquakes on the fabled kingdom, sinking it into the sea in a single day. (Athens was destroyed by natural disaster at the same time.)
The bulk of Plato's account is clearly fictional. The war between Athens and Atlantis takes place more than 11,000 years ago, at a time when the civilization he describes could not possibly have existednor could his victorious Athens.
But Plato's use of vivid details has led scholars to speculate that his fabled island was based on a real place. Some believe Atlantis is Spartel Island, a mud shoal in the Strait of Gibraltar that sank into the sea 11,500 years ago.
But Kühne says Spartel Island is too smallPlato wrote that Atlantis was bigger than Libya and Asia put togetherand could not have possessed the high culture described by Plato.
Instead, Kühne points to satellite photos of a salt marsh region called Marisma de Hinojos, near the city of Cádiz in Spain, as the possible location of Atlantis. The photos, Kühne says, show two rectangular structures in the mud and part of concentric rings that may once have surrounded them.
"These rectangular structures could be the remains of the temples described by Plato," Kühne said in a telephone interview from his home in Braunschweig, Germany.
While transmitting the Atlantis story, the Greeks may have confused the Egyptian word for "coastline" with one meaning "island," Kühne speculates. The "plain" described by Plato could be a plain that extends today from the Spanish southern coast to the city of Seville, he said.
"I cannot say with certainty that Atlantis was located [in southern Spain]," Kühne said. "But these photos suggest that we should take a closer look at this location."
The Fairy Land
Erlingsson, meanwhile, says Atlantis is a literary construction by Plato. "Its existence has not been proven," he said in a telephone interview from Ireland, where he was doing research. "We know it was a utopia."
But Erlingsson is convinced that Plato based the geographical description of his fabled kingdom on a real place and argues that even the empire might be historic. He claims he has calculated with "99.98 percent probability" that the island Atlantis was modeled on Ireland.
"It is the only island in the world that matches the criteria of the island described by Plato," Erlingsson said.
The island that sank was not Ireland, he suggested, but nearby Dogger Bank, which was struck by a flood wave in 6,100 B.C.
The geographer says Ireland's megalithic monuments, dating back to 3,000 B.C., can be associated with the palaces and temples described by Plato. The megalithic culture of Western Europe and Northern Africa was more advanced than other Stone Age cultures, and Ireland is one of its core regions, he noted.
"The hill in which the Atlanteans' maternal ancestor, Cleito, was born resembles Tara, the legendary seat of the high king of Ireland, while Newgrange resembles the palace of their paternal ancestor, Poseidon," he said.
Erlingsson says he started his studies believing that Atlantis never existed. But he is now convinced that Plato knew of Ireland.
"He obviously blended fantasy and fact. But the question is not whether he made something up. It's if he made everything upor if he based it on some real data," Erlingsson said.
"With very high probability the answer is that he based it on actual geographic information," the geographer said. "Ireland comes out as the only logical location for the central island of the Atlantean empire in Plato's tale."
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This chapter positions “learning” in the midst of the real-life experiences and events above and beyond formal instruction that still prevail in the majority of classrooms. The chapter argues that significant events in human culture should become unorthodox subject matter to be critically examined and to learn from. Applying the intellectual corpus of, among others, French philosophers, Gilles Deleuze and Julia Kristeva, to educational theory, this chapter also explores Nel Noddings’ recent call for critical lessons as a paradigm for educating in/by events and learning from experience. The chapter suggests that real-life events, such as 9/11, can become a means for creating the new pedagogy of hope paramount for our global age. The chapter introduces and develops a novel concept of the new values education as an ethics of integration in education and proposes that teachers, both at pre-service levels and in the form of professional development, be exposed to the fundamentals of these ethics so as to incorporate them in their classrooms, because classical ethical theories have become redundant in twenty-first century culture. The chapter represents a heavily conceptualized conclusion to the section on values education and wellbeing as good practice curriculum and pedagogy.
International Research Handbook on Values Education and Student Wellbeing p. 319-336
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Res ipsa loquitur
In the common law of negligence, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (Latin for “the thing speaks for itself”) states that the elements of duty of care and breach can be sometimes inferred from the very nature of the accident, even without direct evidence of how any defendant behaved…
In layman’s terms, res ipsa loquitur means that someone had a duty of care toward other people and/or their property. The individual(s) in question failed in that duty, and the nature of the resulting fiasco makes that failure clear.
Following the Second World War, the governments of the western world had a duty to protect their own people and their allies against a resurgence of anti-Semitism, foreign aggression, and totalitarian expansionism. They had a duty to round up the worst of the Nazis and then to make certain that they could commit no more evil.
When it came to Nazis in the Balkans and in the Middle East: EPIC FAIL.
Instead of acknowledging how much Islam and Nazism have in common with each other as expansionist, enemy totalitarian systems that seek to rid the world of everything that they cannot control, the governments of the US and of western Europe have most often made common cause with the Muslims. Western governments have not only tolerated, but also worked hand-in-glove with, known ex-Nazis who are also militant Muslims.
Why do Western governments keep collaborating with their Muslim enemies?
Some of this collaboration happens because too many US politicians are in the pockets of the lobbyists for Arab oil interests. (Of course, our “leaders” who have been bought by Muslim lobbyists cannot afford to notice that every attempt to help or appease any Muslim nation harms US interests, because Muslims inevitably take it as a sign of weakness.)
Some of it happens because the governments of the US and the EU are infested with liberals, who are guaranteed always to be wrong about everything.
And some of it happens because ambitious politicians of England, France, and later, the United States, foolishly believed that they could carve out a financially and geopolitically advantageous “sphere of influence” out of the Muslim world, without undertaking the immense effort of both de-Nazifying and de-Islamizing those territories.
EPIC FAIL, indeed.
The Muslim Hitler, Haj Amin al-Husseini, Was Promised Leadership of Israel [Palestine] After Annihilation of Jews
By Pam Geller
Islamic Jew hatred. It’s what drives the genocide of the Jews in the Muslim world today. It’s what drove the Muslim world in their partnership with Hitler, and it fueled the oppression, humiliation, and slaughter of the Jews throughtout Islamic history.
The role of the Mufti and the Muslim world in World War II has been whitewashed from history. Why? So that they might rise again to commit the same unspeakable, horrific crimes againt humanity?
Haj Amin al-Husseini should have been executed at Nuremberg. Instead, he was given the same status of The Jewish Agency at the UN in 1947, when it was debating the partition of the Jewish State, despite the stunning evidence (documents, files, etc.) against him (outlined here) and presented to the UN.
According to testimony by Nazi war criminals, the Mufti’s influence was critical to the German decision to annihilate the Jews of Europe. At the Nuremberg Trials in July 1946, Eichmann’s deputy Dieter Wisliceny (subsequently executed as a war criminal) testified: (here)
“The Mufti was one of the initiators of the systematic extermination of European Jewry and had been a collaborator and adviser of Eichmann and Himmler in the execution of this plan… He was one of Eichmann’s best friends and had constantly incited him to accelerate the extermination measures. I heard him say, accompanied by Eichmann, he had visited incognito the gas chambers of Auschwitz.”
I have long been reporting on the deep ties between the leader of the Muslim world, Haj Amin al-Husseini, and Hitler and the Third Reich. Scroll here: Islam: Instigator, Originator, Collaborator of the Final Solution.
The “peace process” is a lie. The Muslim world cannot and will not accept Israel under any circumstances. The “peace process” is Jewish surrender to Isalm in installments.
In 1943, the Mufti traveled to Bosnia, where he helped to raise a Bosnian Muslim Waffen-SS Hanjar, who slaughtered 90 percent of the Jews in Bosnia…Other Bosnian Muslim units raised by the Mufti were sent to Croatia and Hungary, where they participated in the killing of Jews.
NEW YORK – A newly released report by the US National Archives details the close collaborative relationship between Nazi leaders and the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, indicating that Nazi authorities planned to use Husseini as their leader after their conquest of Palestine.
Husseini was paid handsomely by the Nazis for his efforts, recruited Muslims for the SS and was promised that he would be made Palestine’s leader after its Jewish population of 350,000 had been murdered.
The report, Hitler’s Shadow: Nazi War Criminals, US Intelligence and the Cold War, was prepared on the basis of thousands of documents declassified under the 1998 Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act.“Hitler’s Shadow” is an addendum to a 2004 US government report, US Intelligence and the Nazis.
The new report’s authors, Norman J.W. Goda of the University of Florida and Richard Breitman of American University, said the addendum was particularly important.
“We thought the information was significant and detailed,” Breitman told The Jerusalem Post regarding the newly uncovered facts on the Jerusalem mufti in particular.
“We thought the April 1945 contract between the [German] Foreign Office and Husseini was striking evidence of an ideological collaboration both sides hoped would continue after the war.”
Husseini, who died in Beirut in 1974, was apparently paid 50,000 marks per month, and 80,000 additional marks a month for living expenses, according to a contract with the Germans. This was a time when a German field officer typically earned 25,000 marks a year.
According to the report, on November 28, 1941, Adolf Hitler told Husseini that the Afrika Korps would “liberate” Arabs in the Middle East and that “Germany’s only objective there would be the destruction of the Jews.”
“SS leaders and Husseini both claimed that Nazism and Islam had common values as well as common enemies – above all, the Jews,” the report states.
In fall 1943, it says, Husseini went to the Croatia, a German ally, to recruit Muslims for the Waffen-SS.
“During that trip he told the troops of the newly formed Bosnian-Muslim 13th Mountain Waffen-SS division that the entire Muslim world ought to follow their example,” the report states.
Husseini also organized a 1944 mission in which Palestine Arabs and Germans would carry out sabotage and propaganda after German planes dropped them into Palestine by parachute.“Husseini insisted that the Arabs take command after they landed and direct their fight against the Jews of Palestine, not the British authorities,” according to the report.
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Have you ever bought a carton of yogurt that was pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten? What about the fresh broccoli that you had to throw out?
You might not have thought of it as tossing a few dollars bills into the garbage can or disposal, but that’s basically what we do when we buy food that we never consume.
What better way to stop wasting money than to reduce food waste?
Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe are launching the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, a nationwide effort to reduce, recover and recycle U.S. food waste.
In 2010, 133 billion pounds of food from U.S. retail stores, restaurants and homes never made it into people’s stomachs. That’s about 30 percent of the food supply, the USDA estimates.
Here are the EPA’s suggestions for reducing food waste.
World War I Era Poster, Committee of Public Safety, Department of Food Supply, South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
Storage and Preservation
|Some consumer-level food waste arises from consumers or retailers throwing away wholesome food because of confusion about how to safely store it. USDA and other federal agencies offer guidelines for food storage to keep families safe and reduce food waste.|
- Meat, eggs, and other: Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential to prevent foodborne illness and reduce waste. See the Basics for Handling Food Safely fact sheet focused on handling food safely, including storage information.
- Shelf-stable foods: Most shelf-stable foods are safe indefinitely. In fact, canned goods will last for years, as long as the can itself is in good condition (no rust, dents, or swelling). Packaged foods (cereal, pasta, cookies) will be safe past the ‘best by’ date, although they may eventually become stale or develop an off flavor. See the Shelf-Stable Food Safety fact sheet.
- Frozen foods: Frozen foods remain safe indefinitely, though they may become a bit dry or start to acquire a “freezer” taste. See Focus on Freezing fact sheet for tips and advice on safe food freezing.
- Fresh produce: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides safe handling tips for fresh produce and fresh-squeezed fruit and vegetable juices – including information on safe storage.
- Take-out foods: In today’s busy world, take-out and delivered foods are experiencing runaway popularity. USDA offers guidelines for safe handling.
- Left-overs: Often when we cook at home or eat in a restaurant, we have leftovers. USDA provides recommendations for handling leftovers safely.
- Canning: USDA offers advice to home canners in the Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2009 revision.
- The Food Keeper: In this guide, the Food Marketing Institute and Cornell University offer guidelines to consumers on food quality, safe handling, and storage. The Food Marketing Institute provides searchable Food Keeper information on the proper storage and handling of shelf stable foods, food purchased frozen, food purchased refrigerated, bakery items, and fresh produce.
- Other federal: Links to federal government information on food storage and preservation
Consumers may discard wholesome food because of confusion about the meaning of dates stamped on the label.
USDA provides information on food-product dating—including what it is and what it means.
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New Zealand deploys creative accounting to allow emissions to rise
Read the full analysis here.
New Zealand is far from doing its “fair share” of climate action, with its climate plans, submitted this week to the UN, and rated as “inadequate” by an independent international analysis: the Climate Action Tracker.
The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) is an analysis undertaken by four independent European research organisations: Climate Analytics, Ecofys, NewClimate Institute and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. It has developed a groundbreaking method to measure the fairness of governmental climate action efforts.
New Zealand this week submitted its provisional INDC – (intended nationally determined contribution) to the UN with a target to reduce emissions by 30% below 2005 by 2030 which is equivalent to 11% below 1990 levels by 2030.
New Zealand’s “inadequate” rating indicates that its commitment is not in line with any interpretations of a “fair” approach to reach a 2°C pathway: if most other countries were to follow New Zealand’s approach, global warming would exceed 3–4°C, a world that would see oceans acidifying, coral reefs dissolving, sea levels rising rapidly, and more than 40% species extinction.
“New Zealand’s climate target shows it’s far from doing its ‘fair share,’ and is anything but ambitious,” said Bill Hare, CEO and Senior Scientist at Climate Analytics.
“While most other governments intend cutting emissions, New Zealand appears to be increasing emissions, and hiding this through creative accounting. It may not have to take any action at all to meet either its 2020 or 2030 targets. ”
The Climate Action Tracker’s assessment shows:
- Based on current policies NZ emissions per capita, while likely to remain stable at around 17 tonnes of CO2e per person (or decrease slightly), are set to surpass those of the US by around 2025. US per capita emissions in 2012 were 20.6 tonnes of CO2e per person and decreasing steadily. This reflects the underlying reality that while the United States is taking action on climate change with a wide range of policies, New Zealand has few policies in place to cut emissions, and has no emissions cap in its domestic Emission Trading System (ETS).
- If New Zealand applies the rules it is proposing to use after 2020 to account for its Kyoto surplus and forestry credits, its overall agriculture, energy, waste and industrial greenhouse gas emissions could increase to 11% above 1990 levels by 2030;
- New Zealand's proposed 2030 INDC target is not on a direct path to its 50% reduction by 2050 goal, unlike other major economies such as the EU and the USA. But New Zealand’s 2050 goal is also insufficient, and would require a 45% reduction by 2030 below 2005 levels (30% below 1990).
- There are virtually no policies in place to address the fastest-growing sources of emissions in New Zealand from transport and industrial sources, which comprise over 50% of the growth in emissions (excluding forestry) in New Zealand since 1990.
- While New Zealand has not agreed to accept a legally binding commitment for the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period, yet it appears to be planning to apply accounting rules that carry over surplus units from the first commitment period. This is something that is available to countries with commitments under the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, but not those without a commitment, like New Zealand. The legal basis upon which New Zealand is seeking to rely upon these accounting rules is therefore unclear.
“New Zealand’s climate policy is projected to head in the opposite direction from the world’s biggest emitters such as China, the United States and the European Union. It has taken little or no action on climate change since 2008 – except for watering down its ETS, and we can find no evidence of any policies that would change this,” said Prof. Kornelis Blok of Ecofys.
“Accounting credits claimed by New Zealand to meet its 2020 target could see emissions (excluding forestry) increase without constraint to 32% above 1990 levels by 2020, rather than decreasing to 5% below 1990 as stated in the government’s original unconditional pledge,” said Dr Louise Jeffery from Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
“Unusually, New Zealand’s INDC is stated as being provisional pending confirmation in or after Paris of the accounting rules for the land sector and access to carbon markets. However, New Zealand may struggle to secure the rules that it needs to allow its emissions to continue increasing, which raises another question: what would New Zealand’s target be if its preferred rule-set fails to materialise?” said Dr Marcia Rocha from Climate Analytics.
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Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
A cancer survivor is an individual with cancer of any type, current or past, who is still living. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) pioneered the definition of survivor as from the time of diagnosis and for the balance of life, a person diagnosed with cancer is a survivor. This expansive definition of "survivor" includes people who are dying from untreatable cancer. NCCS later expanded the definition of survivor even further to include family, friends and caregivers who are affected by the diagnosis in any way.
The National Cancer Institute's Office of Cancer Survivorship uses a variant of this expanded definition, which is sometimes ridiculed for the potential to abuse its inclusiveness: "I got cancer, and the government now says every person in my whole neighborhood is a so-called cancer survivor." Oddly, cancer is the only disease in which friends and neighbors are officially encouraged to use language with the potential to misidentify themselves as having personally been diagnosed with the disease instead of being a voluntary caregiver. This is essentially unknown among people with similarly devastating diseases, such as AIDS, Alzheimer's, or heart disease.
Many cancer survivors describe the process of living with and beating cancer as a life-changing experience.[How to reference and link to summary or text] It is not uncommon for this experience to bring about a personal epiphany, which the person uses as motivation to meet goals of great personal importance, such as climbing a mountain or reconciling with an estranged family member.
- Cancer Survivors Online
- National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
- Cancer.Net, by the American Society of Clinical Oncology
- People Living Through Cancer
- Cancerland, a critical essay by journalist and breast cancer survivor Barbara Ehrenreich
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).|
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by Staff Writers
Bristol, UK (SPX) Mar 20, 2014
Northeast Greenland, where the glacier is found, is of particular interest as numerical model predictions have suggested there is no significant mass loss for this sector, leading to a probable underestimation of future global sea-level rise from the region.
An international team of scientists, including Professor Jonathan Bamber from the University of Bristol, studied the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream which extends more than 600 km into the interior of the ice sheet: much further than any other in Greenland.
Professor Bamber said: "The Greenland ice sheet has contributed more than any other ice mass to sea level rise over the last two decades and has the potential, if it were completely melted, to raise global sea level by more than seven metres.
"About half of the increased contribution of the ice sheet is due to the speed up of glaciers in the south and northwest. Until recently, Northeast Greenland has been relatively stable. This new study shows that is no longer the case."
The researchers analysed a large collection of historical aerial photography, radar measurements and satellite data that measure the surface elevation, ice speed and bed elevation of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream.
They found that the glacier started to speed up and lose mass around 2003 as a consequence of a localised increase in temperatures. Their results also showed that mass loss has continued up to the most recent observations in 2012 despite regional temperatures falling back to more typical values.
Professor Bamber said: "Most projections of the future behaviour of the ice sheet have no, or little, contribution from this part of Greenland but these new results suggest that this region is sensitive to changes in climate and has the potential to contribute significantly now and in the future."
'Sustained mass loss of the Northeast Greenland ice sheet triggered by regional warming' by Shfaqat A. Khan, Kurt H. Kjaer, Michael Bevis, Jonathan L. Bamber, John Wahr, Kristian K. Kjeldsen, Anders A. Bjork, Niels J. Korsgaard, Leigh A. Stearns, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Lin Liu, Nicolaj K. Larsen and Ioana S. Muresan in Nature Climate Change
University of Bristol
Beyond the Ice Age
|The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.|
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The main goal with theme-related snacks is to make the lesson more real to students. Try this snack when teaching about Noah’s Ark.
Animals on Board
SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 6:9 ““ GENESIS 9:17
– Bran loaf or ginger bread loaf (a loaf will serve approximately 8 children, so you may need two.)
– Cream cheese
– Animal crackers
Cut the loaf into eight pieces, and lay them flat. Spread with cream cheese generously. Stand four animal crackers on each piece, using the cream cheese as your sticky standing tool. Sprinkle each piece with raisins, then a light sprinkle of cinnamon.
Bread knife for cutting and spreading
Paper plates or paper towels for serving
Noah saved the real animals in the flood but it’s okay for us to eat ours served especially on small arks!
What do you think of this idea? Like it? Love it? Would never try it in a million years? Give me some feedback and let me know by leaving a comment in the box below!
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When we think of babies, most of of think of the adorable fat rolls that give them their oh-so cuddly look. Some parents however, have taken their fear of obesity to new levels by putting their chubby infants on diets.
Many parents and health care providers are concerned about the obesity epidemic, especially as the rates begin to reach down to children and infants. Currently, it is thought that one out of ten toddlers under the age of 2 in the US is overweight by some degree. For young children, however, extra weight can be a good thing, and is usually outgrown with little to no health problems. Not all parents are so unfazed by the sight of their chubby little ones.
“I have seen parents putting their infant and 1-year-old on diets because of history in one parent or another,” Dr. Jatinder Bhatia, chair of the nutrition committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
In some extreme cases, parents have been found starving their infants in hopes of keeping them slim and trim. Though, even in milder cases, parents have worried about over feeding their children and have tried to keep their little ones from putting on too many pounds. Sadly, some doctors have even given the OK to concerns over these infants.
Dr. Bhatia told ABC, “We need to stop the notion that fat, cuddly, cute babies are a good thing.”
When it comes to feeding infants and toddlers, what they eat is often more important than how much their weigh. A larger baby who is breastfed and given a diet of fruits and vegetables is significantly healthier than a thin child who eats french fries and chocolate milk. What foods the parents choose to feed their child is a greater indicator of health than how much weight gets put on. Choosing healthy foods on a regular basis should be the goal for parents who are worried about their children’s health. – Summer, staff writer
- More Than 80% Of Parents Feed Their Kids Fast Food Once A Week
- Lack Of Sleep For Babies & Toddlers May Increase Obesity Risk
- Kids Are Flooded With Junk Food Advertising
- Some Parents Are Using Personal Trainers To Help Their Children Lose Weight
- Experts Say: Target Empty Calories in Kids’ Diets at the…
- Doctors Recommend Eating Cookies To Treat Obesity Epidemic
- Schools Looking To Serve Healthier Lunch Options
- Baby’s Diet has Long-Lasting Effects, Researchers Say
- The Cost of Eating Healthy? 2K More Per Year For A Family Of
- 15 Reasons to Eat Grapefruit Daily while Pregnant!
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News last week that Christopher Reeve could move his fingers and toes gave hope to thousands of patients with complete paralysis.
But nearly half of patients with spinal cord injury are partially paralyzed, and recent advances in rehabilitation are helping hundreds of these patients actually walk.
These less severe injuries are also known as "incomplete," meaning the patients have some type of sensation or motion below where their injury occurred. This differs from a "complete" injury, where there is no sensation in the paralyzed area at all.
"A great deal can be done with individuals who have incomplete injuries, in terms of improving their function," said Dr. John McDonald, director of the spinal cord injury program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo and also one of Christopher Reeve's doctors. "I think it would be a rare case where something could not be done at all."
Some medical centers across the country even make a point of focusing on treating these patients.
"The kind of movement that you saw with Christopher Reeve, that would not be a goal for us," said Edelle Field-Fote, assistant professor in the division of physical therapy at the University of Miami School of Medicine. "We don't only want patients to be able to move their leg — we want them to be able to move their leg in a way that means that they can now walk."
Making Strides with Small Steps
Rehabilitative therapy has proved successful at improving function in many patients with partial paralysis. The type of therapy that is currently leading the pack is called body weight supported treadmill training. With this system the patient is placed in a harness that is suspended over a treadmill. A therapist then moves the patient's legs to help "reteach" them how to walk.
"This allows us to begin exercising people who do not have enough muscle function to support their weight," said Field-Fote. "In traditional therapy, if the person can't support their own weight, then they can't begin walking training."
While few large-scale, multi-center studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of rehabilitation, therapists and patients have been impressed with the changes. Not only does the exercise improve the patient's cardiovascular health and overall well-being, some are even able to take steps and walk short distances on their own after sticking with this extensive program.
However, this treatment is often tiring for therapists themselves who have to be involved manually with every step. For this reason, a new robotic system is being introduced at several medical centers around the country that automatically moves the legs for the patient.
An even more significant problem with body weight supported therapy is that it's not available for all people, since it can only be administered at a medical center.
"What we need to do is to develop therapies that can be delivered in the home that are cost-effective but more importantly time-effective," said McDonald. "Individuals who have a disability don't have time to go down to a center three times a week. They are usually more limited by time than they are by money."
On the Horizon
As for current research, there are several areas that are being explored aggressively in an attempt to regenerate the nerves of the spine in the hope of reversing paralysis.
Naomi Kleitman, program director of spinal cord injury research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Md, said there are three areas that hold the most promise in this area: placing fetal tissue in the spinal cord to see if it can act as a relay or a bridge; moving cells from the arm or leg to the spine; and inserting cells from the eye in the spine
"However, none of these concepts has been brought to humans yet," said Kleitman. "The research in animals is promising but still begs questions for how this can safely be brought to humans. We don't want pain to replace the paralysis."
"Very credible places all over the world have shown that you can reconnect areas of the spinal cord [in animals] that are physically disconnected anatomically or are very badly damaged, and you can bring function back," said Dr. Barth Green, president and founder of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami. "The challenge that we are facing now is what's the best approach — is it stem cells, is it fetal cells, etc."
The question of how far researchers are from using these therapies in humans is one they are often asked.
"My message to the patients and families is for the first time we can say that we have things in the human experimental pipeline, and that it is going to get better from here," said Dr. Daniel Lammertse, president of the American Spinal Injury Association and medical director of Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo. "Is it going to happen fast enough for anybody? No. Should we be optimistic? Yes. Is it going to happen tomorrow? Unfortunately, no."
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Magnetic Hard Disks
Magnetic Hard Disks
Ever since engineers first took the RAMAC disk for a spin in the 1950s, magnetic disk storage has held sway.
There are periodic predictions of its demise. In 1975, Andrew Bobeck, developing “bubble memory” at Bell Labs, forecast the end of “those marvelous mechanical whirling dervishes….” But the dervishes remain.
Disks endure because they store data permanently, and are rewritable, relatively fast, and portable. Capacity continually grows thanks to improvements in read/write heads and a reduction of the “flying” height between head and disk surface, which allows more tightly packed data bits.
The RAMAC operator could watch the disk’s operation through a glass window.View Artifact Detail
This successor to the RAMAC 350 had one head that “flew” aerodynamically over each disk surface. The SABRE airline reservation system used 16 units, each with 28 MB.View Artifact Detail
This breakthrough drive used removable disk packs to allow unlimited offline storage -- like tapes, but faster. Data could be easily moved to another computer, or changed to run a different application program.View Artifact Detail
Eight drives (plus a spare) with removable 29 MB disk packs shared one control unit. Attached to a System/360 computer, it supported applications like online banking, ATMs and just-in-time manufacturing.View Artifact Detail
This Winchester technology drive array was IBM’s last storage system with large removable disk packs. Strings of 2 to 8 3340 drives could be attached to an IBM mainframe computer, providing a storage capacity of up to 280 million bytes per string.View Artifact Detail
IBM heavily promoted RAMAC with brochures, films, magazine articles and public appearances, describing the disk as “a miracle memory.”View Artifact Detail
The first removable disk, this 10-pound package with a convenient handle held six 14” platters that stored just 2M characters. Since the disks were not sealed, dust contamination was a problem.View Artifact Detail
This 1MB disk cartridge was used with the IBM 1800 and 1130 computers. It provided easily transported “personal storage” for users of those small computers.View Artifact Detail
The Market Gets Crowded
As personal computer use exploded, so did demand for hard disks. Competition to meet this burgeoning demand peaked in 1984 with 77 manufacturers. After that, decreasing profit margins—and the strength of more established manufacturers—brought consolidations and closures. Only a handful of disk drive companies remain.
IBM, inventor of the hard disk, saw its market share shrink to 10%. It exited the business by selling it to Hitachi in 2002.
CDC was one of the largest makers of disk drives from the 1960s through 1980s. CDC's storage module device (SMD) disk drives were critical to the mainframe and minicomputer market.View Artifact Detail
This first 5¼ inch hard disk was the size of a 5¼ inch floppy disk drive and had a similar interface, so it was easy to add to PCs. Many startup companies made compatible drives. Few survived.View Artifact Detail
Designed for consumer products such as digital cameras, this hard disk used a 1 inch platter and stored up to to several GB. Tiny disks like these were largely overtaken by flash memory.View Artifact Detail
This was the storage for music in the first Apple iPod. Engineering head Jon Rubenstein said “The key element was the drive.”View Artifact Detail
Many companies made their own drives to IBM media standards. Diablo used IBM 2315-type cartridges but had much faster data access. They shipped to their first customer, DEC, less than a year after the company started.View Artifact Detail
The $4,995 IBM PC /XT was essentially an IBM PC with a hard disk. Its 10MB disk was often the Seagate ST-412, a popular disk drive at the time whose interface became a standard.View Artifact Detail
Although not the first, Conner’s 3½ inch hard drive propelled the company to $1.3 billion in sales in four years, a record in US history.View Artifact Detail
Disks Go Global
Disk drives were born in San Jose, California. But they exploded into an international industry.
Fierce price competition drove manufacturers to make the drives where labor costs were lower. Seagate moved production to Singapore in 1982, where assemblers were paid a dollar an hour. Today, East Asia produces most disks.
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Hawaii Court Records
This entry was originally written by Dwight A. Radford for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
The “Act to Organize the Judiciary” of 1847 set up four levels of courts in Hawaii: the state supreme court, the superior courts, circuit courts, and district courts. Each of these courts have records of genealogical value. Many of these court records are on file at the Hawaii State Archives and on microfilm at the FHL.
The state supreme court in Hawaii has final appellate jurisdiction in all cases from inferior courts and original jurisdiction to issue all writs over its appellate jurisdiction. Supreme court cases prior to October 1904 are filed with the first circuit court records. If it was an appeal from the first circuit, the records were filed with the original case; if the appeal was from another circuit, the case was given a first circuit number according to the type of case. For example, if a probate was appealed from the second, third, fourth, or fifth circuit, the appeal record will be filed and indexed as though it were a first circuit case. Supreme court cases after October 1904 are filed with the state supreme court clerk’s office.
The superior court of law and equity is an appellate court for most cases and a court of origin primarily for cases involving the government, admiralty affairs, bankruptcy, and foreign officials. In 1852 the original state supreme court was abolished and the superior court became the state supreme court.
On 1 January 1893 the circuit court was organized into five districts as follows: first circuit (Oahu); second circuit (Maui, Molokai, and Lanai); third circuit (Kau, Kohala, and Kona on Hawaii); fourth circuit (Hamakua, Hilo, and Puna on Hawaii); fifth circuit (Kauai and Niihau). This division continued until 1943 when the third and fourth circuits were combined, the fourth circuit was abolished and the Island of Hawaii once again became the third circuit court. These courts are over criminal cases, probate cases, and divorce cases. Juvenile cases are under the circuit courts in a family court division.
Family court cases usually involve paternity, guardianship, adoption, FC (misdemeanors and felonies), UCCJ (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction), miscellaneous, and domestic abuse. The only type of family court records that are restricted and not open to the public are cases involving adoption, paternity, and guardianship. Others can be viewed at the courthouses as long as they are not marked confidential.
There are four district courts (or justice courts) in Hawaii with divisions the same as the circuit courts. There are smaller districts on each island. Their jurisdiction involves minor criminal and civil cases.
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The spread of prostate cancer can be halted with a drug which "strangles" tumour cells by cutting off their blood supply, a study has suggested.
Glivec is normally used to treat leukaemia
Tests on mice showed that using the leukaemia drug Glivec helped stop prostate cancer spreading to the bone.
Prostate cancer experts said the study was promising, but more work was needed for the benefits to men to be clear.
The University of Texas research was published in the Journal of National Cancer Institute.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK.
About 32,000 men are diagnosed and around 10,000 die from the disease every year.
In the US research, mice were injected with multiple drug-resistant prostate cancer.
Some were then treated with a combination of the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel and Glivec (also known as imatinib), while others were given no treatment.
Bone tumours grew in only four out of 18 animals who received the drug treatment, but tumours grew in all 19 who were not treated.
Paclitaxel (Taxol), which causes cancer cells to kill themselves, is already a key treatment for prostate cancer, but tends to become ineffective as resistant tumour cells spread, so doctors are seeking other drugs to use with it.
Glivec works by blocking signals that allow cells to multiply.
The researchers found the drug blocked the mechanism that triggers the growth of blood vessels linked to tumours.
It targets the endothelial cells lining the walls of existing blood vessels, preventing them sprouting new branches, by inactivating a receptor called PDGF-R on the blood vessel cell surface .
This led to the blood vessel cells dying, followed by the tumour cells one to two weeks later.
'Seed and soil'
Lead researcher Dr Isaiah Fidler, director of the Cancer Metastasis Research Centre, at the University of Texas, in Austin, said: "We didn't attack the tumour, we attacked the blood vessels.
"We target and destroy the vasculature that provides oxygen and nutrients to tumour cells."
Most cancer cells are known to die once they have moved away from the original tumour.
Metastatic (secondary) cancer that develops away from that starting point originates from less than 1% of a tumour's cells and can even arise from a single cell.
This is known as the "seed and soil" hypothesis - the seeds being the metastatic cells.
Dr Fidler said: "Here, we attack the soil. The seeds can be resistant. Kill the endothelial cell, you kill the soil."
Chris Hiley, head of policy and research at The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "This research is at a relatively early stage in developing a possible new treatment.
"The study was completed on mice, so it will be some while before we know how well these studies transfer to men with prostate cancer and data is available from extensive trials, for review."
She said: "This further work is likely to take some years, but developing drugs to destroy the blood supply to tumours is a promising approach and clearly has had good results so far.
"The researchers will need to discover how effective the new treatment is and what the side effects might be before we can be more certain of its significance in men."
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Question: What is the difference between anxiety and phobia?
Answer: A phobia is a type of anxiety. It's an irrational, unreasonable fear of an object or situation. Common phobias may be fear of the heights, dark, fear of certain animals such as snakes or spiders, or fear of blood -- some people get frightened of having their blood drawn when they go to see their doctor.
Many of us have these and often they originate in childhood. But they becomes a phobic disorder -- or known as specific phobia -- when that fear is so great and the worry about encountering a snake or a spider or a dark place makes our life miserable and makes us unable to function.
Previous: What Is The Difference Between Having An Anxiety Disorder And Feeling Stressed-Out?
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By Dr. Jim Ringelman, DU Director of Conservation Programs, Dakotas and Montana
A late spring storm in North Dakota dropped one to two feet of snow across the state, creating chaos for citizens of the Northern Plains. For most waterfowl, however, the snow is just a temporary setback. In fact, the extra moisture from the storm will help fill the small, seasonal wetlands so important to breeding ducks in the Prairie Pothole Region.
Except for some local Canada geese, which may have already started nesting, most waterfowl are either waiting for weather to break so they can proceed with their migration or awaiting the spring thaw and open water in ponds, which will trigger nesting. Short-term unavailability of food is generally not a problem for spring migrants, as most species pack on enough body fat to power their migration and enable them to endure spring snowstorms. These fat reserves are but one of the many adaptations of waterfowl that make them so successful.
And, if worse comes to worse, ducks and geese can always do an about face and fly south to temporary quarters. Most people, on the other hand, are destined to spend the next few days with snow blowers and shovels.
Post your spring migration sightings on DU's Habitat Map.
More on spring migration and waterfowl breeding habitat:
Habitat for Building Fat Stores
Nest Site Selection
Waterfowl Mating Systems
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Click on an item in the set below to see more info.
1. Developmental Assessments
Description: Norm-referenced scales that assess infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Developmental assessments are used to find strengths and weaknesses in very young children who are thought to be experiencing delays.Examples: Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL-3) and the Denver Developmental Screening Test II.
2. Screening Tests
Description: Quick, easy to administer tests that are used to identify children who may be below the norm in certain areas. The purpose is to quickly assess the potential problem so more in-depth assessments can be administered.Examples: The Pre-Kindergarten Screen, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Revised Behavior Problem Checklist, and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT-2).
3. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Tests
Description: Generally given to students who are being considered for special education, IQ tests help determine if the student's learning problems are connected with intellectual abilities or other difficulties such as learning disabilities or emotional disturbance.Examples: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (4th ed.) and the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III).
4. Academic Achievement Tests
Description: Academic tests evaluate the student's performance in reading, writing, arithmetic, and other school subjects. These tests are usually given to students being considered for special education.Examples: Peabody Individual Achievement Test—Revised/Normative Update (PIAT-R/NU), Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement/Normative Update (K-TEA/NU), and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-II).
5. Adaptive Behavior Scales
Description: A student diagnosed with intellectual disabilities must show a deficit in adaptive behavior, or basic living skills. Adaptive behavior scales assess skills in daily living, community participation, social abilities, motor abilities, and communication.Examples: AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scales (ABS-II), and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (Vineland-II) .
6. Behavior Rating Scales
Description: A parent or teacher fills out scales that rates particular behaviors of the student. Determines how intense or frequent a challenging behavior is by comparing scores to other students.Examples: The Devereux Behavior Rating Scale—School Form, and the Social Skills Rating System.
The set is continued below.
7. Curriculum-Based Assessment
Description: Determines the student's skill level in a specific curriculum at a particular point in time. This form of assessment can determine if the student is making progress towards his IEP goal.Examples: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), and AIMSweb.
8. End-of-Grade Alternate Assessments
Description: All students are tested at the end of each grade to show that they have made progress. Accountability laws, such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), require that each student makes annual yearly progress. Students in special education usually take these tests with accommodations or take an alternate assessment.Example: State Standardized Tests.
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Myth: Larger Modern Cattle Operations Today Have a Greater Negative Environmental Impact Than Small, Local Operations
Many studies show quite the opposite. Agriculture operations of any size can be managed in environmentally sound ways. But modern operations can benefit from sophisticated environmental controls.
A 2010 Washington State University 1 study examined modern beef production and found that since 1977 advances in production practices resulted in 13 percent more beef with 13 percent fewer animals. The study found that modern beef production uses 30 percent less land and 20 percent less feed.
These findings make some sense considering that when more cattle are together in a controlled environment, feed is provided and manure is managed through sophisticated systems, which reduce environmental impact.
Interestingly, new research 2 from the University of California Davis underscored how modern practices can help the environment. Researchers there studied two groups of cattle in a feedlot setting. One group utilized modern technology while the other did not. The first group generated 31 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than those without implants or additives.
In addition, Washington State research also shows that pound-for-pound, beef produced with grain produces significantly less greenhouse gas emissions than grass-fed beef. A grain diet is more easily digestible than the cellulose fibers of grass, producing less methane.
According to the research, it takes 226 more days for grass-finished cattle to reach market weight than grain-finished cattle, meaning that each pound of grain-finished beef requires:
- 45 percent less land
- 76 percent less water
- 49 percent less feed
- While generating 51 percent less manure
- and 42 percent fewer carbon emissions
- Environmental Sustainability of Beef Production Has Improved Considerably over Last 30 Years, WSU Expert Says, Washington State University, August 1, 2011.
- Feedlot efficiency implications on greenhouse gas emissions and sustainability , Journal of Animal Science, August 1, 2011.
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Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt, by James Henry Breasted, , at sacred-texts.com
The Pharaoh himself might reasonably expect that his imposing tomb would long survive the destruction of the less enduring structures in which his nobles were laid, and that his endowments, too, might be made to outlast those of his less powerful contemporaries. The pyramid as a stable form in architecture has impressed itself upon all time. Beneath this vast mountain of stone, as a result of its mere mass and indestructibility alone, the Pharaoh looked forward to the permanent survival of his body, and of the personality with which it was so indissolubly involved. Moreover, the origin of the monument, hitherto overlooked, made it a symbol of the highest sacredness, rising above the mortal remains of the king, to greet the Sun, whose offspring the Pharaoh was.
The pyramid form may be explained by an examination of the familiar obelisk form. The obelisk, as is commonly known, is a symbol sacred to the Sun-god. So far as I am aware, however, little significance has heretofore been attached to the fact that the especially sacred portion of the obelisk is the pyramidal apex with which it is surmounted. An obelisk is simply a pyramid upon a lofty base which has indeed become the shaft. In the Old Kingdom Sun-temples at Abusir, this is quite clear, the diameter of the shaft being at the bottom quite one-third
of its height. Thus the shaft appears as a high base, upon which the surmounting pyramid is supported. This pyramidal top is the essential part of the monument and the significant symbol which it bore. The Egyptians called it a benben (or benbenet), which we translate "pyramidion," and the shaft or high base would be without significance without it. Thus, when Sesostris I proclaims to posterity the survival of his name in his Heliopolis monuments, he says:
[paragraph continues] His meaning is that his name shall survive on his great obelisks, and in the sacred lake which he excavated. The king significantly designates the obelisk, however, by the name of its pyramidal summit. Now the long recognized fact that the obelisk is sacred to the sun, carries with it the demonstration that it is the pyramid surmounting the obelisk which is sacred to the Sun-god. Furthermore, the sanctuary at Heliopolis was early designated the "Benben-house," that is the "pyramidion-house." 2 The symbol, then, by which the sanctuary of the Sun-temple at Heliopolis was designated was a pyramid. Moreover, there was in this same Sun-temple a pyramidal object called a "ben," presumably of stone standing in the "Phœnix-house"; and upon this pyramidal object the Sun-god in the form of a Phœnix had in the beginning first appeared. This object was already sacred as far back as the middle of the third millennium B.C., 3 and will doubtless have
been vastly older. We may conjecture that it was one of those sacred stones, which gained their sanctity in times far back of all recollection or tradition, like the Ka‘aba at Mecca. In hieroglyphic the Phœnix is represented as sitting upon this object, the form of which was a universally sacred symbol of the Sun-god. Hence it is that in the Pyramid Texts the king's pyramid tomb is placed under the protection of the Sun-god in two very clear chapters, 1 the second of which opens with a reference to the fact that the Sun-god when he created the other gods was sitting aloft on the ben as a Phœnix, and hence it is that the king's pyramid is placed under his protection. (See pp. 76–77.)
The pyramidal form of the king's tomb therefore was of the most sacred significance. The king was buried under the very symbol of the Sun-god which stood in the holy of holies in the Sun-temple at Heliopolis, a symbol upon which, from the day when he created the gods, he was accustomed to manifest himself in the form of the Phœnix; and when in mountainous proportions the pyramid rose above the king's sepulchre, dominating the royal city below and the valley beyond for many miles, it was the loftiest object which greeted the Sun-god in all the land, and his morning rays glittered on its shining summit long before he scattered the shadows in the dwellings of humbler mortals below. We might expect to find some hint of all this on the pyramids themselves, and in this expectation we are not disappointed, in spite of the fact that hitherto no exterior inscription has ever been found actually in position in the masonry of a pyramid, so sadly have they suffered at the hands of time and vandals. A magnificent
pyramidal block of polished granite, found lying at the base of Amenemhet III's pyramid at Dahshur, is, however, unquestionably the ancient apex of that monument, from which it has fallen down as a result of the quarrying by modern natives. 1
On the side which undoubtedly faced the east appears a winged sun-disk, surmounting a pair of eyes, beneath which are the words "beauty of the sun," the eyes of course indicating the idea of beholding, which is to be understood with the words "beauty of the sun." Below is an inscription 2 of two lines beginning: "The face of king Amenemhet III is opened, that he may behold the Lord of the Horizon when he sails across the sky." 3
Entirely in harmony with this interpretation of the significance of the pyramid form is its subsequent mortuary use. A large number of small stone pyramids, each cut from a single block, has been found in the cemeteries of later times. On opposite sides of such a pyramid is a niche in which the deceased appears kneeling with upraised hands, while the accompanying inscriptions represent him as singing a hymn to the Sun-god, on one side to the rising and on the other to the setting sun. The larger museums of Europe possess numbers of these small monuments.
In the selection of the pyramid, the greatest of the Solar symbols, as the form of the king's tomb, we must therefore recognize another evidence of the supremacy of the Solar faith at the court of the Pharaohs. 1 It is notable in this connection that it was chiefly against Osiris and the divinities of his cycle that protection was sought at the dedication of a royal pyramid tomb. 2
The imposing complex of which the pyramid was the chief member has only been understood in recent years as a result of the excavations of the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft at Abusir. The pyramid occupied a prominent position on the margin of the desert plateau overlooking the Nile valley. On its east side, properly called the front of the monument, and abutting on the masonry of the pyramid, rose an extensive temple, with a beautiful colonnaded court in front, storage chambers on either side, and in the rear a holy place. The back wall of this "holy of holies" was the east face of the pyramid itself, in which was a false door. Through this the dead king might step forth to receive and enjoy the offerings presented to him here. A covered causeway of massive masonry led up from the valley below to the level of the plateau where pyramid and temple stood, and extended to the very door
in the front of the temple, with whose masonry it engaged. The lower end of the causeway was adorned with a sumptuous colonnaded entrance, a monumental portal, which served as a town or residence temple of the pyramid and was probably within the walls of the royal residence city below. These temples were of course the home of the mortuary ritual maintained on behalf of the king, and were analogous in origin to the chapel of the noble's tomb already discussed (p. 62). The whole group or complex, consisting of pyramid, temple, causeway, and town temple below, forms the most imposing architectural conception of this early age and its surviving remains have contributed in the last few years an entirely new chapter in the history of architecture. They mark the culmination of the development of the material equipment of the dead.
Each Pharaoh of the Third and Fourth Dynasties spent a large share of his available resources in erecting this vast tomb, which was to receive his body and insure its preservation after death. It became the chief object of the state and its organization thus to insure the king's survival in the hereafter. More than once the king failed to complete the enormous complex before death, and was thus thrown upon the piety of his successors, who had all they could do to complete their own tombs. When completed the temple and the pyramid were dedicated by the royal priests with elaborate formulæ for their protection. The building was addressed and adjured not to admit Osiris or the divinities of his cycle, when they came, "with an evil coming," that is of course with evil designs upon the building. On the other hand, the building was charged to receive hospitably the dead king at his coming. The priest addressing the building said: "When this king
[paragraph continues] Pepi, together with his ka, comes, open thou thy arms to him." At the same time Horus is supposed to say: "Offer this pyramid and this temple to king Pepi and to his ka. That which this pyramid and this temple contain belongs to king Pepi and to his ka." 1 Besides this the buildings were protected by doors with boukrania upon or over them, and "sealed with two evil eyes," and the great hall being "purer than the sky," the place was thus inviolable 2 even by the mortuary patron god Osiris if he should come with malicious intent.
Similarly the pyramid and temple were protected from decay for all time. When the dead king appears in the hereafter he is at once hailed with greetings by Atum, the ancient Sun-god; Atum then summons the gods: "Ho, all ye gods, come, gather together; come, unite as ye gathered together and united for Atum in Heliopolis, that he might hail you. Come ye, do ye everything which is good for king Pepi II for ever and ever." Atum then promises generous offerings "for all gods who shall cause every good thing to be king Pepi II's; who shall cause to endure this pyramid and this building like that where king Pepi II loved to be for ever and ever. All gods who shall cause to be good and enduring this pyramid and this building of king Pepi II they shall be equipped (or prepared), they shall be honored, they shall become souls, they shall become mighty; to them shall be given royal mortuary offerings, they shall receive divine offerings; to them shall joints be presented, to them shall oblations be made." 3
Again the priest addresses the Sun-god under his earliest name, Atum, and recalls the time when the god sat high on the sacred ben, the pyramidal symbol at Heliopolis,
and created the other gods. This then is a special reason why he should preserve the pyramid of the king forever. "Thou wast lofty," says the priest, "on the height; thou didst shine as Phœnix of the ben in the Phœnix-hall in Heliopolis. That which thou didst spew out was Shu; that which thou didst spit out was Tefnut (his first two children). Thou didst put thy arms behind them as a ka-arm, that thy ka might be in them. O Atum, put thou thy arms behind king Mernere, behind this building, and behind this pyramid, as a ka-arm, that the ka of king Mernere may be in it enduring for ever and ever. Ho, Atum! Protect thou this king Mernere, this his pyramid and this building of king Mernere." 1 The priest then commends the pyramid to the whole Ennead, and finally proceeds to another long Utterance, which takes up the names of all the gods of the Ennead one after the other, affirming that, "as the name of the god so-and-so is firm, so is firm the name of king Mernere; so are firm this his pyramid and this his building likewise for ever and ever." 2
Resting beneath the pyramid, the king's wants were elaborately met by a sumptuous and magnificent ritual performed on his behalf in the temple before his tomb. Of this ritual we know nothing except such portions of it as have been preserved in the Pyramid Texts. These show that the usual calendar of feasts of the living was celebrated for the king, 3 though naturally on a more splendid scale. Evidently the observances consisted chiefly in the presentation of plentiful food, clothing, and the like. One hundred and seventy-eight formulæ or utterances, forming about one-twentieth of the bulk of the Pyramid Texts, 4 contain the words spoken by the royal mortuary
priests in offering food, drink, clothing, ointment, perfume, and incense, revealing the endless variety and splendid luxury of the king's table, toilet, and wardrobe in the hereafter. The magnificent vases discovered by Borchardt at Abusir in the pyramid-temple of Neferirkere (twenty-eighth century B.C.) are a further hint of the royal splendor with which this ritual of offerings was maintained, while the beauty and grandeur of the pyramid-temples themselves furnished an incomparable setting within which all this mortuary magnificence was maintained.
All this system of mortuary maintenance early came under the complete domination of the Osirian faith, though the very tomb at which it was enacted was a symbol of the Sun-god. Osiris had died not in the distant sky like Re, but on earth as men die. The human aspects of his life and death led to the early adoption of the incidents in his story as those which took place in the life and death of every one. Horus had offered to his father the eye which Set had wrenched out, and this evidence of the son's self-sacrifice for the father's sake had made Osiris a "soul," and proven of incalculable blessing. The "Horus-eye" became the primal type of all offerings, especially those offered to the dead, Osiris having been dead when he received the eye. Thus every offering presented to the king in the ritual of the pyramids was called the "Horus-eye," no matter what the character of the offering might be. In presenting linen garments the priest addressed the dead king thus: "Ho! This king Pepi! Arise thou, put on thee the Horus-eye, receive it upon thee, lay it to thy flesh; that thou mayest go forth in it, and the gods may see thee clothed in it. . . . The Horus-eye is brought to thee, it removes not from thee
for ever and ever." 1 Again in offering ointment the priest assuming the office of Horus says: "Horus comes filled with ointment. He has embraced his father Osiris. He found him (lying) upon his side in Gehesti. Osiris filled himself with the eye of him whom he begat. Ho! This king Pepi II! I come to thee steadfast, that I may fill thee with the ointment that came forth from the Horus-eye. Fill thyself therewith. It will join thy bones, it will unite thy members, it will join to thee thy flesh, it will dissolve thy evil sweat to the earth. Take its odor upon thee that thy odor may be sweet like (that of) Re, when he rises in the horizon, and the horizon-gods delight in him. Ho! This king Pepi II! The odor of the Horus-eye is on thee; the gods who follow Osiris delight In thee." 2
The individual formulæ in the long offering-ritual are very brief. The prevailing form of offering is simply: "O king X! Handed to thee is the Horus-eye which was wrested from Set, rescued for thee, that thy mouth might be filled with it. Wine, a white jar." 3 The last words prescribe the offering which the formula accompanies. Similarly the method of offering or the accompanying acts may be appended to the actual words employed by the priest. Thus through the lengthy ritual of six or eight score such utterances, besides some others scattered through the Pyramid Texts, the priest lays before the dead king those creature comforts which he had enjoyed in the flesh. 4 In doing so he entered the mysterious
chamber behind the temple court, where he stepped into the presence of the pyramid itself, beneath which the king lay. Before the priest rose the great false door through which the spirit of the king might re-enter the temple from his sepulchre far beneath the mountain of masonry now towering above it. Standing before the false door the priest addressed the king as if present and presented a vast array of the richest gifts, accompanying each with the precribed formula of presentation which we have already discussed. But the insistent fact of death cannot be ignored even in these utterances which exist solely because the dead is believed to live and feels the needs of the living. In the silent chamber the priest feels the unresponsiveness of the royal dead yonder far beneath the mountainous pyramid, and hence from time to time calls upon him to rise from his sleep and behold the food and the gifts spread out for him. In order that none of these may be omitted, the priest summarizes them all in the promise to the king: "Given to thee are all offerings, all oblations, (even) thy desire, and that by which it is well for thee with the god forever." 1 Added to all this elaborate ritual of gifts there were also charms potent to banish hunger from the vitals of the king, and these, too, the priest from time to time recited for the Pharaoh's benefit. 2
The kings of the early Pyramid Age in the thirtieth century
[paragraph continues] B.C. evidently looked confidently forward to indefinite life hereafter maintained in this way. In a lament for the departed Pharaoh, which the priest as Horus recited, Horus says: "Ho! king Pepi! I have wept for thee! I have mourned for thee. I forget thee not, my heart is not weary to give to thee mortuary offerings every day, at the (feast of the) month, at the (feast of the) half-month, at the (feast of) 'Putting-down-the-Lamp,' at the (feast of) Thoth, at the (feast of) Wag, at the period of thy years and thy months which thou livest as a god." 1 But would the posterity of an Oriental sovereign never weary in giving him mortuary offerings every day? We shall see.
Such maintenance required a considerable body of priests in constant service at the pyramid-temple, though no list of a royal pyramid priesthood has survived to us. They were supported by liberal endowments, for which the power of the royal house might secure respect for a long time. The priesthood and the endowment of the pyramid of Snefru at Dahshur (thirtieth century B.C.) were respected and declared exempt from all state dues and levies by a royal decree issued by Pepi II of the Sixth Dynasty, three hundred years after Snefru's death. Moreover, there had been three changes of dynasty since the decease of Snefru. But such endowments, accumulating as they did from generation to generation, must inevitably break down at last. In the thirtieth century B.C., Snefru himself had given to one of his nobles "one hundred loaves every day from the mortuary temple of the mother of the king's children, Nemaathap." 2 This queen had died at the close of the Second Dynasty, some
two generations earlier. Snefru, while he may not have violated her mortuary income, at least disposed of it after it had served its purpose at her tomb, in rewarding his partisans. In the same way Sahure, desiring to reward Persen, one of his favorite nobles, finds no other resources available and diverts to Persen's tomb an income of loaves and oil formerly paid to the queen Neferhotepes every day. 1 There is in these acts of Snefru and Sahure a hint of one possible means of meeting the dilemma as the number of tomb endowments increased, viz., by supplying one tomb with food-offerings which had already served in another. Even so the increasing number of royal tombs made it more and more difficult as a mere matter of management and administration to maintain them. Hence even the priests of Sahure's pyramid in the middle of the twenty-eighth century B.C., unable properly to protect the king's pyramid-temple, found it much cheaper and more convenient to wall up all the side entrances and leave only the causeway as the entrance to the temple. They seem to have regarded this as a pious work, for they left the name of the particular phyle of priests who did it, on the masonry of the doorways which they thus closed up. 2 After this the accidentally acquired sanctity of a figure of the goddess Sekhmet in the temple, a figure which enjoyed the local reverence and worship of the surrounding villages, and continued in their favor for centuries, resulted in the preservation of a large portion of the temple which otherwise would long before have fallen into ruin. Sahure's successor, Neferirkere, fared much worse. A few years after his death a successor of the same dynasty (Nuserre) broke away the causeway leading up to the
pyramid-temple that he might divert it to his own temple near by. The result was that the mortuary priests of Neferirkere, unable longer to live in the valley below, moved up to the plateau, where they grouped their sun-dried brick dwellings around and against the façade of the temple where they ministered. As their income dwindled these dwellings became more and more like hovels, they finally invaded the temple court and chambers, and the priests, by this time in a state of want, fairly took possession of the temple as a priestly quarter. Left at last without support, their own tumble-down hovels were forsaken and the ruins mingled with those of the temple itself. When the Middle Kingdom opened, six hundred years after Neferirkere's death, the temple was several metres deep under the accumulation of rubbish, and the mounds over it were used as a burial ground, where the excavations disclosed burials a metre or two above the pavement of the temple. The great Fourth Dynasty cemetery at Gizeh experienced the same fate. The mortuary priests whose ancestors had once administered the sumptuous endowments of the greatest of all pyramids, pushed their intrusive burials into the streets and areas between the old royal tombs of the extinct line, where they too ceased about 2500 B.C., four hundred years after Khufu laid out the Gizeh cemetery. Not long after 2500 B.C., indeed the whole sixty-mile line of Old Kingdom pyramids from Medûm on the south to Gizeh on the north had become a desert solitude. 1 This melancholy condition is discernible also in the reflections of the thoughtful in the Feudal Age five hundred years later as they contemplated the wreck of these massive tombs. (See pp. 181–4.)
What was so obvious centuries after the great Pharaohs
of the Pyramid Age had passed away was already discernible long before the Old Kingdom fell. The pyramids represent the culmination of the belief in material equipment as completely efficacious in securing felicity for the dead. The great pyramids of Gizeh represent the effort of titanic energies absorbing all the resources of a great state as they converged upon one supreme endeavor to sheath eternally the body of a single man, the head of the state, in a husk of masonry so colossal that by these purely material means the royal body might defy all time and by sheer force of mechanical supremacy make conquest of immortality. The decline of such vast pyramids as those of the Fourth Dynasty at Gizeh, and the final insertion of the Pyramid Texts in the pyramids beginning with the last king of the Fifth Dynasty about 2625 B.C., puts the emphasis on well-being elsewhere, a belief in felicity in some distant place not so entirely dependent upon material means, and recognizes in some degree the fact that piles of masonry cannot confer that immortality which a man must win in his own soul.
The Pyramid Texts as a whole furnish us the oldest chapter in human thinking preserved to us, the remotest reach in the intellectual history of man which we are now able to discern. It had always been supposed that the pyramids were all without inscription, until the native workmen employed by Mariette at Sakkara in 1880, the year before his death, penetrated the pyramid of Pepi I, and later that of Mernere. For the first edition of the Pyramid Texts we are indebted to Maspero, who displayed great penetration in discerning the general character of these texts, which he published during the next ten years. Nevertheless, it has been only since the appearance of Sethe's great edition in 1910 that it has been possible to
undertake the systematic study of these remarkable documents. 1
Written in hieroglyphic they occupy the walls of the passages, galleries, and chambers in five of the pyramids of Sakkara: the earliest, that of Unis, belonging at the end of the Fifth Dynasty in the latter half of the twenty-seventh century B.C., and the remaining four, those of the leading kings of the Sixth Dynasty, Teti, Pepi I, Mernere, and Pepi II, the last of whom died early in the twenty-fifth century B.C. They thus represent a period of about one hundred and fifty years from the vicinity of 2625 to possibly 2475 B.C., that is the whole of the twenty-sixth century and possibly a quarter of a century before and after it.
It is evident, however, that they contain material much older than this, the age of the copies which have come down to us. The five copies themselves refer to material then in existence which has not survived. We read in them of "the Chapter of Those Who Ascend," and the "Chapter of Those Who Raise Themselves Up," which purport to have been used on the occasion of various incidents in the myths. 2 They were thus regarded as older than our Pyramid Texts. Such older material, therefore, existed, whether we possess any of it or not. We find conditions of civilization also in the Pyramid Texts which were far older than the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties. In
summoning the dead to rise he is bidden: "Throw off the sand from thy face," 1 or "Remove thy earth." 2 Such passages as these must have arisen in a time when the king was buried in a primitive grave scooped out of the desert sand. Similarly when the king's tomb is opened for him that he may rise he is assured: "The brick are drawn for thee out of the great tomb," 3 a passage which must have come into use when the kings used brick tombs like those at Abydos in the First and Second Dynasties. Like the sand grave or the brick tomb, is the common representation of the king crossing the celestial waters on the two reed floats, used by the peasants of Nubia to this day.
Parallel with these hints in the conditions of civilization are others referring to the political conditions, which plainly place some of the Pyramid Texts in the days before the rise of the dynasties, in the age when South and North were warring together for supremacy, that is before 3400 B.C. We find a sycomore-goddess addressed thus: "Thou hast placed the terror of thee in the heart of the kings of Lower Egypt, dwelling in Buto" (the capital of the prehistoric Delta kingdom), 4 a passage evidently written from the point of view of the South in hostility toward the North. We read of Horus "who smote the Red Crowns"; 5 again "the White (southern) Crown comes forth, it has devoured the Great (northern) Crown;" 6 or "the horizon burns incense to Horus of Nekhen (capital of the South), . . . the flood of its flame is against you, ye wearers of the Great (northern) Crown." 7 It is said of the king that
[paragraph continues] "he has eaten the Red (crown), he has swallowed the Green" (Buto goddess of the North); 1 and in the hereafter he is crowned with the White (southern) Crown. 2 There too he receives the southern (Upper Egyptian) district of the blessed Field of Rushes, 3 and he descends to the southern district of the Field of Offerings. 4 As priest of Re in the hereafter the king has a libation jar "which purifies the Southland." 5 Finally, "it is king Unis who binds with lilies the papyrus (the two flowers of North and South); it is king Unis who reconciles the Two Lands; it is king Unis who unites the Two Lands." 6 It is evident therefore that the Pyramid Texts contain passages which date from before the union of the Two Lands, that is before the thirty-fourth century B.C.; and also others which belong to the early days of the union when the hostilities had not yet ceased, but the kings of the South were nevertheless maintaining control of the North and preserving the united kingdom. All these are written from the southern point of view. It should not be forgotten also that some of them were composed as late as the Old Kingdom itself, like the formulæ intended to protect the pyramid, 7 which of course are not earlier than the rise of the pyramid-form in the thirtieth century B.C. Within the period of a century and a half covered by our five copies also, differences are noticeable. Evidences of editing in the later copies, which, however, are not found in the earlier copies, are clearly discernible. The processes of thought and the development of custom and belief which brought them forth were going on until the last copy was produced in the early twenty-fifth century B.C. They therefore represent a period of at least a
thousand years, and a thousand years, it should not be forgotten, which was ended some four thousand five hundred years ago. Such a great mass of documents as this from the early world exists nowhere else and forms a storehouse of experience from the life of ancient man which largely remains to be explored.
While their especial function may be broadly stated to be to insure the king felicity in the hereafter, they constantly reflect, as all literature does, the ebb and flow of the life around them, and they speak in terms of the experience of the men who produced them, terms current in the daily life of palace, street, and bazaar, or again terms which were born in the sacred solitude of the inner temple. To one of quick imagination they abound in pictures from that long-vanished world of which they are the reflection. While they are concerned chiefly with the fortunes of the king, these do not shut out the world around. Of the happiness of the king beyond the grave it is said: "This that thou hast heard in the houses and learned in the streets on this day when king Pepi was summoned to life." 1 Of this life in the houses and on the streets of five thousand years ago we catch fleeting glimpses: the swallows twittering on the wall, 2 the herdman wading the canal immersed to his middle and bearing across the helpless young of his flock, 3 the crooning of the mother to her nursing child at twilight, 4 "the hawk seen in the evening traversing the sky," 5 the wild goose withdrawing her foot and escaping the hand of the baffled fowler in the marsh, 6 the passenger at the ferry with nothing to offer the boatmen for a seat in the crowded ferry-boat, but who is allowed to embark and work his passage wearily bailing the leaky craft; 7
the noble sitting by the pool in his garden beneath the shade of the reed booth; 1 these pictures and many others are alive with the life of the Nile-dweller's world. The life of the palace is more fully and picturesquely reflected than that of the world outside and around it. We see the king in hours heavy with cares of state, his secretary at his side with writing kit and two pens, one for black and the other for the red of the rubrics; 2 again we discern him in moments of relaxation leaning familiarly on the shoulder of a trusted friend and counsellor, 3 or the two bathe together in the palace pool and royal chamberlains approach and dry their limbs. 4 Often we meet him heading a brilliant pageant as he passes through the streets of the residence with outrunners and heralds and messengers clearing the way before him; 5 when he ferries over to the other shore and steps out of the glittering royal barge, we see the populace throwing off their sandals, and then even their garments, as they dance in transports of joy at his coming; 6 again we find him surrounded by the pomp and splendor of his court at the palace gate, or seated on his gorgeous throne, adorned with lions’ heads and bulls’ feet. 7 In the palace-hall "he sits upon his marvellous throne, his marvellous sceptre in his hand; he lifts his hand toward the children of their father and they rise before this king Pepi; he drops his hand toward them and they sit down (again)." 8 To be sure these are depicted as incidents of the life beyond the grave, but the subject-matter and the colors with which it is portrayed are drawn from the life here and the experience here. It is the gods who cast off their sandals and their raiment to dance for joy at the arrival of the king, as he crosses the heavenly
[paragraph continues] Nile; but they of course are depicted as doing that which the Pharaoh's subjects were accustomed to do along the earthly Nile. It is the gods who dry the Pharaoh's limbs as he bathes with the Sun-god in the "lake of rushes," but here too the gods do for the Pharaoh what his earthly chamberlains had been wont to do for him.
But notwithstanding the fact that these archaic texts are saturated with the life out of which they have come, they form together almost a terra incognita. As one endeavors to penetrate it, his feeling is like that of entering a vast primeval forest, a twilight jungle filled with strange forms and elusive shadows peopling a wilderness through which there is no path. An archaic orthography veils and obscures words with which the reader may be quite familiar in their later and habitual garb. They serve too in situations and with meanings as strange to the reader as their spelling. Besides these disguised friends, there is a host of utter strangers, a great company of archaic words which have lived a long and active life in a world now completely lost and forgotten. Hoary with age they totter into sight for a brief period, barely surviving in these ancient texts, then to disappear forever, and hence are never met with again. They vaguely disclose to us a vanished world of thought and speech, the last of the unnumbered æons through which prehistoric man has passed till he finally comes within hailing distance of us as he enters the historic age. But these hoary strangers, survivors of a forgotten age, still serving on for a generation or two in the Pyramid Texts, often remain strangers until they disappear; we have no means of making their acquaintance or forcing them to reveal to us their names or the message which they bear, and no art of lexicography can force them all to yield up their secrets. Combined with these
words, too, there is a deal of difficult construction, much enhanced by the obscure, dark, and elusive nature of the content of these archaic documents; abounding in allusions to incidents in lost myths, to customs and usages long since ended, they are built up out of a fabric of life, thought, and experience largely unfamiliar or entirely unknown to us.
We have said that their function is essentially to insure the king's felicity in the hereafter. The chief and dominant note throughout is insistent, even passionate, protest against death. They may be said to be the record of humanity's earliest supreme revolt against the great darkness and silence from which none returns. The word death never occurs in the Pyramid Texts except in the negative or applied to a foe. Over and over again we hear the indomitable assurance that the dead lives. "King Teti has not died the death, he has become a glorious one in the horizon"; 1 "Ho! King Unis! Thou didst not depart dead, thou didst depart living"; 2 "Thou hast departed that thou mightest live, thou hast not departed that thou mightest die"; 3 "Thou diest not"; 4 "This king Pepi dies not"; 5 "King Pepi dies not by reason of any king . . . (nor) by reason of any dead"; 6 "Have ye said that he would die? He dies not; this king Pepi lives forever"; 7 "Live! Thou shalt not die"; 8 "If thou landest (euphemism for "diest"), thou livest (again)"; 9 "This king Pepi has escaped his day of death"; 10—such is the constant refrain of these texts. Not infrequently the utterance concludes with the assurance: "Thou livest, thou livest, raise thee up"; 11 or "Thou diest not, stand up,
raise thee up"; 1 or "Raise thee up, O this king Pepi, thou diest not"; 2 or an appendix is added as a new utterance by itself: "O lofty one among the Imperishable Stars, thou perishest not eternally." 3 When the inexorable fact must be referred to, death is called the "landing" or the "mooring" as we have seen it above, 4 or its opposite is preferred, and it is better to mention "not living" than to utter the fatal word; 5 or with wistful reminiscence of lost felicity once enjoyed by men, these ancient texts recall the blessed age "before death came forth." 6
While the supreme subject of the Pyramid Texts is life, eternal life for the king, they are a compilation from the most varied sources. Every possible agency and influence was brought to bear to attain the end in view, and all classes of ancient lore deemed efficacious or found available for this purpose were employed by the priests who put together this earliest surviving body of literature. Speaking chronologically, there are strata here representing the different centuries for a thousand years or more as we have seen; but speaking in terms of subject-matter, we must change the figure and regard the Pyramid Texts as a fabric into which the most varied strands have been woven. Whether we make a vertical or a horizontal section, whether we cut across the fabric transversely or longitudinally these varied elements are exposed and contrasted. Cutting transversely we discover the varied constituents side by side, the strands of the warp running in most cases from end to end of the fabric; whereas when we cut longitudinally we disclose the changes due to time as the woof is wrought into the fabric. We shall make the transverse cut first and ascertain the character of the
constituent strands, without reference to the time element. Our question is, what is the content of the Pyramid Texts?
It may be said to be in the main sixfold:
1. A funerary ritual and a ritual of mortuary offerings at the tomb.
2. Magical charms.
3. Very ancient ritual of worship.
4. Ancient religious hymns.
5. Fragments of old myths.
6. Prayers and petitions on behalf of the dead king.
There is of course some miscellaneous matter and some which falls under several of the above classes at once. Taking up these six classes we find that the priestly editors have arranged their materials in sections often of some length, each section headed by the words: "Utter (or Recite) the words." Each such section has been called by Sethe in his edition a "Spruch," and we call them "Utterances." Of these the first of the five pyramids, that of Unis, contains two hundred and twenty-eight, while the others contain enough additional "Utterances" to make up a total of seven hundred and fourteen. In their modern published form, including the variants, they fill two quarto volumes containing together over a thousand pages of text. 1
With the exception of the funerary and offering ritual, which is at the head of the collection, and with which we have already dealt in the preceding lectures, the material was arranged by the successive editors almost at haphazard. If such an editor had the materials before him in groups he made no effort to put together groups of like content, but he copied as he happened to come upon his
sources. He must have had before him a series of ancient books, each containing a number of groups of Utterances falling into all six of the above classes, but he copied each book from beginning to end before he took up the next one. Thus it is that we find groups of charms, or prayers, or hymns devoted to the same subject embedded in various places widely separated, or distributed throughout the entire collection, without any attempt to bring them together.
There can be no doubt that a considerable portion of the Pyramid Texts were intended to be employed as charms. Some of these were used by the mortuary priest at the interment; others were wielded by the deceased himself in self-defence. "King Pepi is a magician, King Pepi is one who is possessed of magic," 1 say the texts. The dead are called "the glorious by reason of (or 'by means of') their equipped mouths," 2 meaning that their mouths are equipped with the charms, prayers, and ritual of the Pyramid Texts. It is evident that the dead king was supposed to employ magic power, and the agency of this power was the Pyramid Texts themselves. They are sometimes unequivocally called magical charms. "This charm that is in the belly of king Pepi is on him when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky" affirms one passage, 3 and the Utterance referred to is an accompanying list of the limbs of the king, which are thus protected. Again in a remarkable passage the ancient text insists: "It is not this king Pepi who says this against you, ye gods; it is the charm which says this against you, ye gods," 4 and "this" is the text of the accompanying Utterance. The possession of such charms was vitally important, so that a special charm was included to prevent the departed
[paragraph continues] Pharaoh from being deprived of his charm or his magical power. 1
The distinction between a charm and a prayer in these texts is difficult for the reason that a text of a character originally in no way connected or identified with magical formula may be employed as such. We find a Sun-hymn 2 called a "charm" in the Pyramid Texts. Again the archaic hymn to Nut, 3 a fragment of ancient ritual, is later employed as a household charm. 4 The question is not infrequently one of function rather than one of content. The serpent-charms are distinguishable as such in the Pyramid Texts at the first glance in most cases; but the question whether a hymn or a prayer may not be designed to serve as a charm is sometimes not easily decided. The question is an important one, because some have averred that the whole body of Pyramid Texts is simply a collection of magical charms, and that therefore the repetition of any Utterance was supposed to exert magical power. Such a sweeping statement cannot be demonstrated. An ancient hymn supposed to be repeated by the dead king, when it is accompanied by no express statement that it is a charm, may have served the same function with regard to the god to whom it is addressed, which it served in the ancient ritual from which it was taken; and because some such hymns have been inserted in charms is no sufficient reason for concluding that all such hymns in the Pyramid Texts are necessarily charms. The Pyramid Texts themselves are one of the most important documents in which we may observe the gradual invasion of mortuary religious beliefs by the power of magic, but when the last of the Pyramid Texts was edited
in the twenty-fifth century B.C. the triumph of magic in the realm of such beliefs was still a thousand years away.
Besides the funerary and offering ritual employed at the tomb, and besides the charms unquestionably present, there is then a large residuum of ancient religious literature, consisting of ritual of worship, religious hymns, fragments of old myths, and finally prayers on behalf of the dead (Nos 3, 4, 5, and 6, above). An Osirian Utterance in the Pyramid Texts 1 occurs over a thousand years later as part of the ritual at Abydos on the wall of the Atum chapel in the Seti temple of Osiris. There can be little doubt that it was temple ritual also in the Pyramid Age. It is not unlikely that the religious hymns embedded in this compilation, like the impressive Sun-hymn in Utterance 456, 2 or the archaic hymn to the Sky-goddess, 3 or the hymn to Osiris as Nile, 4 also belonged to temple rituals. In this case they fall in the same class with temple ritual and should not be made a class by themselves. In so far as the fragments of the old myths fall into poetic form they too are not distinguishable from the religious hymns. These fragments in most cases recite current incidents in which some god enjoys some benefit or passes through some desirable experience or attains some triumph, and the same good fortune is now desired for the deceased king. Many of them, as we have already seen, relate to matters which unhappily are unintelligible without a full knowledge of the myth from which they are drawn.
While the content of the Pyramid Texts may be thus indicated in a general way, a precise and full analysis is a far more difficult matter. The form of the literature contained
is happily more easily disposed of. Among the oldest literary fragments in the collection are the religious hymns, and these exhibit an early poetic form, that of couplets displaying parallelism in arrangement of words and thought—the form which is familiar to all in the Hebrew psalms as "parallelism of members." It is carried back by its employment in the Pyramid Texts into the fourth millennium B.C., by far earlier than its appearance anywhere else. It is indeed the oldest of all literary forms known to us. Its use is not confined to the hymns mentioned, but appears also in other portions of the Pyramid Texts, where it is, however, not usually so highly developed.
Besides this form, which strengthens the claim of these fragments to be regarded as literature in our sense of the term, there is here and there, though not frequently, some display of literary quality in thought and language. There is, for example, a fine touch of imagination in one of the many descriptions of the resurrection of Osiris: "Loose thy bandages! They are not bandages, they are the locks of Nephthys," 1 the weeping goddess hanging over the body of her dead brother. The ancient priest who wrote the line sees in the bandages that swathe the silent form the heavy locks of the goddess which fall and mingle with them. There is an elemental power too in the daring imagination which discerns the sympathetic emotion of the whole universe as the dread catastrophe of the king's death and the uncanny power of his coming among the gods of the sky are realized by the elements. "The sky weeps for thee, the earth trembles for thee" say the ancient mourners for the king, 2 or when they see him in imagination ascending the vault of the sky they say:
A fundamental question which arises as one endeavors to interpret these ancient documents is that of the method of employment. How were they used? In all likelihood the entire collection was recited by the mortuary priests on the day of burial. The entire offering ritual (including in the different pyramids one hundred and seventy-eight "Utterances") was furthermore recited on all feast days, and probably also on all other days. The fact that each "Utterance" is headed by the words "recite the words" also indicates this manner of employing them. A large proportion are personal equipment of the dead king to be recited by him as occasion demanded. This is shown by the curious fact that a number of long sections were in the first person originally, and were so engraved on the pyramid walls; but these passages were afterward altered to the third person, usually by the insertion of the king's name over the old personal pronoun. It is evident that many of the charms were designed for use by the dead, as when a Sun-hymn is accompanied by directions stating that the king is to employ it as a charm, which, if he knows it, will secure him the friendship of the Sun-god. 2 When the whole collection was recited by the priest he of course personified the king, in all passages where the king speaks in the first person, just as he personified so many of the gods who are depicted speaking and acting in these texts; but the fact that a large body
of texts address the dead king in the second person clearly shows that they were uttered by the priest or some one on the king's behalf. In one case the speaker is the living and still reigning king who offers eye-paint to his departed royal ancestor. 1
On one other question in this connection there can be no doubt. These mortuary texts were all intended for the king's exclusive use, and as a whole contain beliefs which apply only to the king. 2 This is not to say, however, that some archaic texts in use among the people have not here and there crept into the collection. To these may possibly belong the addresses to the dead as if buried in the desert sand, or a few others like simple serpent charms, or passages according the king hereafter a destiny not strictly peculiar to him and one which ordinary mortals already believed attainable by them. It is a significant fact that the nobles of the age made practically no use of the Pyramid Texts in their own tombs.
While the Pyramid Texts have not been able to shake off the old view of the sojourn at the tomb, they give it little thought, and deal almost entirely with a blessed life in a distant realm. Let it be stated clearly at the outset that this distant realm is the sky, and that the Pyramid Texts know practically nothing of the hereafter in the Nether World. Echoes of other archaic notions of the place of the dead have been preserved here and there.
[paragraph continues] The oldest doubtless is contained in that designation of the dead which claims ignorance as to their whereabouts, and calls them "those whose places are hidden." 1 Another ancient belief conceives the dead as somewhere in the distant "west," but this belief plays practically no part in the Pyramid Texts, and is discernible there only in an archaic title of the mortuary Anubis of Siut, who occasionally has appended to his name the words "First or Lord of the Westerners," 2 a designation which served as the name of an old mortuary god at Abydos, who was later identified with Osiris, and his name appropriated by him also occurs a number of times in the Pyramid Texts. 3 But the "west" hardly attains even a subordinate rôle in the beliefs which dominate the Pyramid Texts. We hear of it once as a means of gaining access to the Sun-god: "These thy four ways which are before the tomb of Horus, wherein one goes to the (Sun-) god, as soon as the sun goes down. He (the Sun-god) grasps thy arm. . . ." 4 In one passage, too, the dead is adjured to go to the "west" in preference to the east, in order to join the Sun-god, but in this very passage he appears as one whose function was in the east. 5 An analogous passage affirms: "King Unis rests from life (dies) in the west, . . . King Unis dawns anew in the east." 6 The west is mentioned casually, also along with the other celestial regions where the Sun-god in his course finds the translated Pharaoh. 7 It is the east which with constant reiteration is affirmed to be the most sacred of all regions, and that to which the dead king
should fare. Indeed he is explicitly cautioned against the west: "Go not on those currents of the west; those who go thither, they return not (again)." 1 In the Pyramid Texts it may be fairly said that the old doctrine of the "west" as the permanent realm of the dead, a doctrine which is later so prominent, has been quite submerged by the pre-eminence of the east.
This "east," therefore, is the east of the sky, and the realm of the dead is a celestial one, using the term with none of its frequent theological significance in English. Two ancient doctrines of this celestial hereafter have been commingled in the Pyramid Texts: one represents the dead as a star, and the other depicts him as associated with the Sun-god, or even becoming the Sun-god himself. It is evident that these two beliefs, which we may call the stellar and the Solar hereafter, were once in a measure independent, and that both have then entered into the form of the celestial hereafter which is found in the Pyramid Texts. In the cloudless sky of Egypt it was a not unnatural fancy which led the ancient Nile-dweller to see in the splendor of the nightly heavens the host of those who had preceded him; thither they had flown as birds, rising above all foes of the air, 2 and there they now swept across the sky as eternal stars. 3 It is especially those stars which are called "the Imperishable Ones" in which the Egyptian saw the host of the dead. These are said to be in the north of the sky, 4 and the suggestion that the circumpolar stars, which never set or disappear, are the ones which are meant is a very probable one. 5 While there are Utterances in the Pyramid Texts which define
the stellar notion of the hereafter without any reference to the Solar faith, 1 and which have doubtless descended from a more ancient day when the stellar belief was independent of the Solar, it is evident that the stellar notion has been absorbed in the Solar. There is a trace of the process in the endeavor to reconcile the northern station of the "Imperishables" with the "east" as the place of the dead in the Solar faith. We find provision made that the deceased king "may ferry over to Re, to the horizon . . . to his station on the east side of the sky, in its northern region among the Imperishable (Stars)." 2 Thus the stellar and the Solar elements were combined, though the Solar beliefs predominate so strongly that the Pyramid Texts as a whole and in the form in which they have reached us may be said to be of Solar origin.
The Solar destiny was perhaps suggested by the daily disappearance and reappearance of the sun. We find the texts assuring us, "This king Pepi lives as lives he (= the Sun-god) who has entered the west of the sky, when he rises in the east of the sky." 3 It should be noted that the place of living again is, however, the east, and it is not only the east, but explicitly the east of the sky. Death was on earth; life was to be had only in the sky.
[paragraph continues] This idea that life was in the sky is the dominant notion, far older than the Osirian faith in the Pyramid Texts.
[paragraph continues] So powerful was it that Osiris himself is necessarily accorded a celestial and a Solar hereafter in the secondary stage, in which his myth has entered the Pyramid Texts.
The prospect of a glorious hereafter in the splendor of the Sun-god's presence is the great theme of the Pyramid Texts. Even the royal tomb, as we have seen, assumed the form of the Sun-god's most sacred symbol. The state theology, which saw in the king the bodily son and the earthly representative of Re, very naturally conceived him as journeying at death to sojourn forever with his father, or even to supplant his father, and be his successor in the sky as he had been on earth. The Solar hereafter is properly a royal destiny, possible solely to a Pharaoh; it is only later that ordinary mortals gradually assume the right to share it, though, as we shall see, this could be done only by assuming also the royal character of every such aspirant.
Passing as the king did to a new kingdom in the sky, even though the various notions of his status there were not consistent, he was called upon to undergo a purification, which is prescribed and affirmed in the texts with wearisome reiteration. It may take place after the king's arrival in the sky, but more often it follows directly upon his resuscitation from the sleep of death. It may be accomplished by libations or by bathing in the sacred lake in the blessed fields, with the gods even officiating at the royal bath with towels and raiment, or by the fumes of incense which penetrate the limbs of the royal dead. 1 Sometimes it is the water of the traditional Nile sources at Elephantine which, as especially sacred and pure, should be employed, 2 or the dead king appears there and the goddess of the cataract, Satis, performs the ceremonies
of purification. 1 That this purification might have moral aspects we shall later (p. 171) see. But it was chiefly intended to produce ceremonial cleanness, and when this was attained the king was prepared to undertake the journey to the sky.
We have already had occasion to remark that the region toward which he fared was the east of the sky, which in the Pyramid Texts is far more sacred than the west (pp. 100–102). Not only was the Sun-god born there every day as we have seen, but also the other gods. Over there was "this field, where the gods were begotten, over which the gods rejoice on these their New Year's Days," 2 and there likewise they were born. 3 Similarly according to one view, not infrequently occurring, the deceased king is born there. 4 It was there too that the eye of Horus fell when it was wrenched out by Set. 5 In this sacred place are the doors of the sky, 6 before which stands "that tall sycomore east of the sky whereon the gods sit." 7 Again we hear of "the two sycomores which are on yonder side of the sky," which the king seizes when "they ferry him over and set him on the east side of the sky." 8 Here in this sacred place too the dead king finds the Sun-god, or is found by him, 9 here he ascends to the sky, 10 and here the ferry lands which has brought him over. 11
When the deceased Pharaoh turned his face eastward toward this sacred region he was confronted by a lake lying along the east which it was necessary for him to cross in order to reach the realm of the Sun-god. It was on the further, that is eastern, shore of this lake that the eye of Horus had fallen in his combat with Set. 1 It was called the "Lily-lake," and it was long enough to possess "windings," 2 and must have stretched far to the north and south along the eastern horizon. 3 Beyond it lay a strange wonder-land, alive with uncanny forces on every hand. All was alive, whether it was the seat into which the king dropped, or the steering-oar to which he reached out his hand, 4 or the barque into which he stepped, 5 or the gates through which he passed. To all these, or to anything which he found, he might speak; and these uncanny things might speak to him, like the swan-boat of Lohengrin. Indeed it was a wonder-world like that in the swan-stories or the Nibelungen tales of the Germanic traditions, a world like that of the Morte d’Arthur, where prodigies meet the wayfarer at every turn.
To the dweller along the Nile the most obvious way to cross the Lily-lake is to embark in a ferry-boat. We find it among the rushes of the lake-shore with the ferryman standing in the stern poling it rapidly along. To do so he faces backward, and is therefore called "Face-behind," or "Look-behind." 6 He rarely speaks, but stands in silence awaiting his passenger. Numerous are the pleas and the specious petitions by which the waiting Pharaoh
seeks to cajole this mysterious boatman with averted face. We hear him assured that "this king Pepi is the herdman of thy cattle who is over thy breeding-place," 1 and who must therefore be ferried over at once in the ferryman's own interests. Or the king brings with him a magic jar the power of which the boatman cannot resist, 2 or the ferryman is assured that the Pharaoh is "righteous in the sight of the sky and of the earth" and of the isle to which they go. 3 Again the king is the dwarf or pygmy of the royal dances "who gladdens the (king's) heart before the great throne," 4 and he must therefore be hastened across to the court of Re to gladden the Sun-god. Indeed this is matter of common knowledge, as the ferryman is now told: "This is what thou hast heard in the houses and learned in the streets on this day when this king Pepi was summoned to life. . . . Lo, the two who are on the throne of the Great God (Re), they summon this king Pepi to life and satisfaction forever: they are Prosperity and Health. (Therefore) ferry over this king Pepi to the field of the good seat of the Great God." 5 We hear the boatman's challenge of the new-corner: "Whence hast thou come?" and the dead king must prove his royal lineage. 6 Or appeal may be made directly to Re: "O Re! Commend king Teti to 'Look-behind' ferryman of the Lily-lake, that he may bring that ferry-boat of the Lily-lake, for king Teti, in which he ferries the gods to yonder side of the Lily-lake, that he may ferry king Teti to yonder side of the Lily-lake, to the east side of the sky." 7 If in spite of all the king's efforts the shadowy boatman proves obdurate and refuses to bring his boat to the shore, then the king addresses the oar in the ferryman's hand: "Ho!
[paragraph continues] Thou who art in the fist of the ferryman," 1 and if his words are powerful enough, the oar brings in the boat for the king. Sometimes it is on the opposite shore in charge of four curly haired guardians. These four are peremptorily summoned to bring it over to the king: "If ye delay to ferry over the ferry-boat to this king Pepi, this king Pepi will tell this your name to the people, which he knows; 2 . . . king Pepi will pluck out these locks that are in the middle of your heads like lotus flowers in the garden." 3
Again, as so frequently in these texts, an unknown speaker in the king's behalf stands forth and threatens the boatman: "If thou dost not ferry over king Unis, then he will place himself upon the wing of Thoth. He, (even) he will ferry over king Unis to yonder side of the horizon." 4 There is also another ferryman of a boat bearing the remarkable name of "Eye of Khnum," 5 who may be called upon in emergency; and should all other means fail the sceptres of the Imperishable Stars may serve as ferryman 6 or the two sycomores in the east may be prevailed upon to perform the same office for the king. 7 Even Re himself is not unwilling to appear and ferry the dead king across. 8 In any case the dead cannot be left without a ship, for he possesses the cunning charm which brings them all together: "The knots are tied, the ferryboats are brought together for the son of Atum. The
son of Atum is not without a boat; king Mernere is with the son of Atum; the son of Atum is not without a boat." 1
From the earliest days the prehistoric peasant might cross the Nile on two reed floats bound firmly together side by side like two huge cigars. 2 One of the earliest folk-tales of the Sun-god's voyage depicted him as crossing the celestial waters on such a pair of floats, and however primitive they might be, their use by the Sun-god had become common and involuntary belief. It required but the proper "sympathetic" transference of their use by Re to the dead Pharaoh, to insure him certain passage like that of the Sun-god. Horus (who, we recall, is but another form of the Sun-god) ferries over to the east of the sky on the two floats and he commends the dead king to "these four youths who sit on the east side of the sky, these four youths who sit in the shade of the tower of Kati," 3 "these four youths who stand on the east side of the sky . . . (and) who bind together the two floats for Re, . . ." will also "bind together the two floats for this king Pepi." 4 Thus just as "the two floats of the sky are placed for Re that he may ferry over therewith to the horizon," so "the two floats of the sky are placed for
king Unis that he may ferry over therewith to the horizon to Re." 1
But even these many devices for crossing the eastern sea might fail and then the king must commit himself to the air and make the ascent to the sky. "Thy two wings are spread out like a falcon with thick plumage, like the hawk seen in the evening traversing the sky, "says the mysterious speaker to the king. 2 "He flies who flies; this king Pepi flies away from you, ye mortals. He is not of the earth, he is of the sky. . . . This king Pepi flies as a cloud to the sky, like a masthead bird; this king Pepi kisses the sky like a falcon, this king Pepi reaches the sky like the Horizon-god (Harakhte)." 3 The variant text has like a grasshopper, and in accordance with this we find that the dead king was born with the back of a grasshopper. 4 As the Egyptian grasshopper flies like a bird to vast heights, the back of a grasshopper was undoubtedly an appropriate adjunct to the royal anatomy. But it was the falcon, the sacred bird of the Sun-god, whose lofty flight was especially desired for the king. He is "the great falcon upon the battlements of the house of him of the hidden name." 5 "Thy bones are falconesses, goddesses dwelling in the sky," say they to the king; 6 or again, "Thou ascendest to the sky as a falcon, thy feathers are (those of) geese." 7 The speaker also sees him escaping from the hands of men as the wild goose escapes the hand of the fowler clutching his feet and flies away to the sky; 8 "the tips of his wings are those of the
great goose." 1 Thus he "flies as a goose and flutters as a beetle." 2 "His face is (that of) falcons and his wings are (those of) geese"; 3 "king Unis flaps his wings like a zeret-bird," 4 and the wind bears him on high. "King Unis goes to the sky, king Unis goes to the sky! On the wind! On the wind!" 5 "The clouds of the sky have taken him away, they exalt king Unis to Re." 6 He "has ascended upon the rain-cloud." 7 Or the priest sees strange forms in the cloud of incense that soars above him and he cries: "He ascends upon the smoke of the great incense-burning." 8
In the oblique rays of the sun also, shooting earthward through some opening in the clouds, they beheld a radiant stairway let down from the sky that the king might ascend. "King Pepi has put down this radiance as a stairway under his feet, whereon king Pepi ascended to this his mother, the living Uræus that is on the head of Re." 9 "Thou climbest, thou mountest the radiance, "says the speaker 10 as he beholds the king grasping the Solar rays. 11 Thus "stairs to the sky are laid for him that he may ascend thereon to the sky." 12 It is of course with the city of the sun that this stairway is associated: "The spirits of Heliopolis, they set up for him a stairway in order to reach the top." 13 Sometimes the Solar splendor seems stretched out to him like vast arms, and the king "is a flame (moving) before the wind to the ends of the sky, to the ends of the earth when the arm of the sunbeams is lifted with king Unis." 14 Lest any portion of the king's body should fail to rise with him, all of his members, or at least the more important
ones, twenty-six in number, are enumerated by name, beginning with the crown of his head and descending through face, eyes, nose, mouth, etc., to his toes, each member being identified with a different god, "when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky." This canny device is of irresistible magical potency, so that "every god who shall not lay steps for this king Pepi when he ascends" shall suffer loss of all his offerings. Moreover, the gods are bidden to remember that "It is not this king Pepi who says this against you, it is the charm which says this against you, ye gods." On the other hand, "every god who shall lay steps for king Pepi when he ascends" is promised all offerings, and if he extends a helping hand to the king as he climbs up, this god's "ka shall be justified by Geb." 1
Again the broad sunbeams slanting earthward seem like a ladder to the imagination of this remote people and they say, "King Unis ascends upon the ladder which his father Re (the Sun-god) made for him. " 2 Indeed we find the Sun-god making the ladder: "Atum has done that which he said he would do for this king Pepi II, binding for him the rope-ladder, joining together the (wooden) ladder for this king Pepi II; (thus) this king is far from the abomination of men." 3 Again it is the four sons of
[paragraph continues] Horus who "bind a rope-ladder for this king Pepi II; they join together a (wooden) ladder for king Pepi II. They send up king Pepi II to Khepri (the Sun-god) that he may arrive on the east side of the sky. Its timbers are hewn by Shesa, the ropes that are in it are joined together with cords of Gasuti, the Bull of the Sky (Saturn); the uprights at its sides are fastened with leather of ⌈—⌉, born of the Heset-cow; a great support is placed under it by 'Him-who-Binds-the-Great-One.' Lift ye up the ka of this king Pepi II; lead ye him to the two lions; make him ascend to Atum." 1 An old Solar legend places the ladder in charge of Set, or at least associates it closely with him. We find it called the "ladder which carried the Ombite (Set)"; 2 but it also appears occasionally under the guardianship of Kebehet, daughter of Anubis. 3 Sometimes the Sun-god summons all his divine subjects to assist in making the ladder. "It is done for this king Pepi by Atum as it was done for himself (Atum). He brings to this Pepi the gods belonging to the sky, he brings to him the gods belonging to the earth. They place their
arms under him. They make a ladder for king Pepi that he may ascend upon it to the sky." 1 The spectacle of the ascending king calls forth the admiration of the gods: "'How beautiful to see, how satisfying to behold,' say the gods, 'when this god (meaning the king) ascends to the sky. His fearfulness is on his head, his terror is at his side, his magical charms are before him.' 2 Geb has done for him as was done for himself (Geb). The gods and souls of Buto, the gods and souls of Hierakonpolis, the gods in the sky and the gods on earth come to him. They make supports for king Unis on their arm(s). Thou ascendest, O king Unis, to the sky. Ascend upon it in this its name 'Ladder.'" 3
Men and gods together are called upon in mighty charms to lift the king. "O men and gods! Your arms under king Pepi! Raise ye him, lift ye him to the sky, as the arms of Shu are under the sky and he raises it. To the sky! To the sky! To the great seat among the gods!" 4 Or the daughter of the ancient mortuary Anubis offers him her shoulder: "Kebehet places him on her shoulder, she puts him down among the gardens (like) the herdmen of the calves," 5 a picture which we often see in the mastaba reliefs, as the cowherd wades cautiously across the canal, immersed to the waist, with a calf borne tenderly upon his shoulders, while the solicitous mother beast follows anxiously behind licking the flanks of the calf. Should all other means fail, Isis and Nephthys will offer their hips upon which the king mounts, while his father Atum reaches down and seizes the arm of the Pharaoh; 6 or the earth itself may rise under the feet of the
waiting king and lift him to the sky, where Tefnut grasps his arm 1 and leads him into the celestial fields.
But the possibility remained that the gates of the celestial country might not be opened to the new-comer. Over and over again we find the assurance that the double doors of the sky are opened before the Pharaoh: "Opened are the double doors of the horizon; unlocked are its bolts" 2 is a constant refrain in the Pyramid Texts. That art which opened the door for Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves had opened many a gate in the ancient East, thousands of years before the Arabian Nights made it familiar to us of the western world. The king faces the gates with these words: "O lofty one, (Gate) whom no one names! Gate of Nut! King Teti is Shu who came forth from Atum. O Nun! (the primeval waters) cause that this (gate) be opened for king Teti." 3 "He causes that those double doors of the sky be opened for king Teti (by the following charm):
A similar method appealed to the fact that the sky-gates had once opened to each of the four eastern Horuses, and by sympathetic analogy they must now inevitably do the same for the king. "The double doors of the sky are opened, the double doors of the firmament are thrown open to Horus of the gods. . . . The double doors of the sky are opened to this king Pepi, the double doors of the
firmament are thrown open to this king Pepi." 1 In the same way the approaching king is identified with the four eastern Horuses one after the other, after which Re may be appealed to as his father: "O father of king Pepi, O Re! Take thou this king Pepi with thee for life to thy mother Nut, who opens the double doors of the sky to this king Pepi, who throws open the double doors of the firmament to this king Pepi." 2
The difficulty of the gates and the ascension might, however, be met by an appeal of men directly to the Sun-god: "'Ho Re,' say men, when they stand beside this king Pepi on earth while thou appearest in the east of the sky, 'give thy arm to king Pepi; take thou him with thee to the east side of the sky.'" 3
It will be seen that in spite of the conviction of life, abounding life, with which the Pyramid Texts are filled, they likewise reveal the atmosphere of apprehension which enveloped these men of the early world as they contemplated the unknown and untried dangers of the shadow world. Whichever way the royal pilgrim faced as he looked out across the eastern sea he was beset with apprehensions of the possible hostility of the gods, and there crowded in upon him a thousand fancies of danger and opposition which clouded the fair picture of blessedness beyond. There is an epic touch in the dauntless courage, with which the solitary king, raising himself like some elemental colossus, and claiming sway over the gods themselves, confronts the celestial realm and addresses the
[paragraph continues] Sun-god: "I know thy name. I am not ignorant of thy name. 1 'Limitless' is thy name. The name of thy father is 'Possessor-of-Greatness.' Thy mother is 'Satisfaction,' who bears thee every morning. The birth of 'Limitless' in the horizon shall be prevented, if thou preventest this king Pepi from coming to the place where thou art." 2 The king wielding his magical power thus makes himself sovereign of the universe and will stop the very rising ("birth") of the sun if he is halted at the gate of the Sun-god's realm. Far less impressive is the king's threat directed against the gods who oppose him as he mounts the ladder. "Every spirit and every god who shall oppose his arm to this king Pepi, when he ascends to the sky on the ladder of the god, the earth shall not be hoed for him, an offering shall not be brought for him, he shall not ferry over to the evening meal in Heliopolis, he shall not ferry over to the morning meal in Heliopolis." 3 Likewise Kebehet, the daughter of Anubis, perched on the two uprights of the ladder, is adjured to "open the way of king Unis, that king Unis may pass by," and in the same words the "Ostrich on the shore of the Lily-lake" and the "Bull of Re, having four horns," one toward each of the cardinal points, are warned to make way for him. 4
And so at last the departed king draws near the eastern shore of the Lily-lake, 5 and "this king Pepi finds the glorious by reason of their equipped mouths, 6 sitting on
the two shores of the lake, . . . the drinking-place of every glorious one by reason of his equipped mouth." Then they challenge the new arrival and the king replies: "I am a glorious one by reason of his equipped mouth." "'How has this happened to thee,' say they to king Pepi, . . . 'that thou hast come to this place more august than any place?' 'Pepi has come to this place more august than any place, because the two floats of the sky were placed,' says the morning-barque, 'for Re'"; 1 and at the story of his successful crossing as Re had crossed, the celestials break out into jubilee. 2 Thereupon the Pharaoh lands, takes up their manner of life, and sits before the palace ruling them. 3 Again we hear a solitary voice issuing from the world of the dead and challenging the king as he ascends and passes through the gates of the sky, led by Geb: "Ho! Whence comest thou, son of my father?" And another voice answers: "He has come from the Divine Ennead that is in the sky, that he may satisfy them with their bread." Again comes the challenge: "Ho! Whence comest thou, son of my father?" and we hear the reply: "He has come from the Divine Ennead that is on earth, that he may satisfy them with their bread." The questioner is still unsatisfied: "Ho! Whence comest thou, son of my father?" "He has come from the Zenedzender-barque." And then we hear the question for the last time: "Ho! Whence comest thou, son of my father?" "He has come from these his two mothers, the two vultures with long hair and hanging breasts, who are on the mountain of Sehseh. They draw their breasts over the mouth of king Pepi, but they do not wean him forever." Thereafter the challenging voice is silent 4 and the Pharaoh enters the kingdom of the sky.
71:1 BAR, I, 503.
71:2 BAR, III, 16, l. 5; Cairo Hymn to Amon, V, ll. 1–2, VIII, ll. 3–4; Piankhi Stela, l. 105 = BAR, IV, 871.
71:3 Pyr. § 1652.
72:1 Ut. 599 and 600. Their content with quotations is given below, pp. 76–77.
73:1 It was published, without indication of its original position, by Maspero, Annales du Service des antiquités, III, pp. 206 ff. and plate; see Schaefer, Zeitschrift für aegypt. Sprache, 41, 84, who demonstrates its original position. This had also been noted in the author's History of Egypt, Fig. 94.
73:2 The same inscription is found accompanying the eyes on the outside of the Middle Kingdom coffin of Sebek-o at Berlin. (See Steindorff, Grabfunde des Mittleren Reichs, II, 5, 1.)
73:3 It is evident that the identification of Osiris with the pyramid and temple in Pyr. §§ 1657–8 is secondary and another evidence of his intrusion in the Solar faith of which the Pyr. Texts furnish so many examples.
74:1 There is possibly another connection in which the pyramid form may be discerned as belonging to the Sun-god. The triangle of zodiacal light which some have claimed to be able to discover in the east at sunrise at certain times, and the writing of the Solar god, Soped's name with a triangle or pyramid after it, may have some connection with the use of the pyramid as a Solar symbol. The architectural evolution of the form through the compound mastaba, the terraced structure, like the so-called "terraced pyramid" of Sakkara, has long been understood.
74:2 Pyr. Ut. 534, all of which is a long prayer intended to prevent the appropriation of pyramid, temple, and their possessions by Osiris or the gods of his cycle. This important Utterance is taken up again in connection with the dedication of the pyramid, pp. 75–76.
76:1 Pyr. §§ 1276–7.
76:2 Pyr. § 1266.
76:3 Pyr. Ut. 599.
77:1 Pyr. Ut. 600.
77:2 Pyr. Ut. 601.
77:3 Pyr. § 2117.
77:4 Ut. 26–203.
79:1 Pyr. Ut. 453.
79:2 Pyr. Ut. 637.
79:3 Pyr. Ut. 54.
79:4 The ritual of offerings, properly so called, in the Pyramid Texts, begins at Ut. 26 and continues to Ut. 203. This ritual as a whole has received an Osirian editing and only Ut. 44 and 50 are clearly Solar. Each Spruch, or Utterance, contains the words to be used by the priest, with some designation of the offering, sometimes no more than the words "Horus-eye." Not infrequently directions as to the place p. 80 where the offering is to be put accompany the formula, with memoranda also of the quantity and the like. A little group of prayers and charms (Ut. 204–212) follows the offering-ritual. This group also concerns offerings, but it is all Solar except the first and last utterance. The other texts concerning material needs scattered through the Pyramid Texts, conceive the king as dwelling no longer in the tomb in most cases (e.g., Ut. 413). There is a group of twelve Utterances on food (Ut. 338–349), and a larger group concerned chiefly with the physical necessities (Ut. 401–426).
80:1 Pyr. §§ 101 c, d.
80:2 Pyr. § 204.
81:1 Pyr. §§ 2117–18, restored from Pap. Schmitt.
81:2 BAR, I, 173.
82:1 BAR, I, 241.
82:2 Borchardt, Das Grabdenkmal des Koenigs Sahure, pp. 94 ff.
83:1 Confer Reisner, Boston Mus. of Fine Arts Bulletin, IX, 16.
85:1 Maspero'S edition appeared in his journal, the Recueil, in volumes 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14; it later appeared in a single volume. Sethe's edition of the hieroglyphic text in two volumes (Die Altaegyptischen Pyramidentexte von Kurt Sethe, Leipzig, 1908–10) will be accompanied by further volumes containing translation and discussion of the texts, and with palæographic material by H. Schaefer.
85:2 Pyr. § 1245; see also § 1251.
86:1 Pyr. § 1878 b.
86:2 Pyr. § 747, same in § 1732.
86:3 Pyr. § 572.
86:4 Pyr. § 1488; this passage was first remarked by Sethe as showing the early date of the document, Zeitschr. für aegypt. Sprache, 38, 64.
86:5 Pyr. § 2037.
86:6 Pyr. § 239.
86:7 Pyr. § 295.
87:1 Pyr. § 410.
87:2 Pyr. Ut. 524.
87:3 Pyr. § 1084.
87:4 Pyr. § 1087.
87:5 Pyr. § 1179.
87:6 Pyr. § 388.
87:7 Pyr. Ut. 599–600; see infra, pp. 75–76.
88:1 Pyr. § 1189.
88:2 Pyr. § 1216.
88:3 Pyr. § 1348.
88:4 Pyr. § 912.
88:5 Pyr. § 1048.
88:6 Pyr. § 1484.
88:7 Pyr. § 335.
89:1 Pyr. § 130.
89:2 Pyr. § 954.
89:3 Pyr. § 730.
89:4 Pyr. Ut. 323.
89:5 Pyr., passim.
89:6 Pyr. § 1197.
89:7 Pyr. § 1123.
89:8 Pyr. § 1563.
91:1 Pyr. § 350.
91:2 Pyr. § 134.
91:3 Pyr. § 833.
91:4 Pyr. § 775.
91:5 Pyr. § 1464 c.
91:6 Pyr. § 1468 c–d.
91:7 Pyr. § 1477 b.
91:8 Pyr. § 2201 c.
91:9 Pyr. § 1975 b.
91:10 Pyr. § 1453 a–h.
91:11 Pyr. § 1262.
92:1 Pyr. § 867.
92:2 Pyr. § 875.
92:3 Pyr. Ut. 464.
92:4 See also Pyr. § 1090.
92:5 Pyr. § 1335.
92:6 Pyr. § 1466 d.
93:1 Exactly 1051.
94:1 Pyr. § 924 b.
94:2 Pyr. § 930 a.
94:3 Pyr. § 1318 c.
94:4 Pyr. § 1324.
95:1 Pyr. Ut. 678.
95:2 Pyr. Ut. 456.
95:3 Pyr. Ut. 429–435.
95:4 Erman, Zauberspr. für Mutter and Kind, 5, 8–6, 8.
96:1 Pyr. Ut. 637.
96:2 See above, pp. 13–14.
96:3 Pyr. Ut. 427–435.
96:4 Pyr. Ut. 581.
97:1 Pyr. § 1363.
97:2 Pyr. § 1365.
98:1 Pyr. § 393.
98:2 Pyr. Ut. 456.
99:1 Pyr. Ut. 605.
99:2 The presence of the word "mn" = "so and so" instead of the king's name (Pyr. § 147) does not necessarily indicate the use of the passage by any one, but simply shows that the priestly copyist, when first recording this text in his manuscript, did not know for what king it was to be employed. Then in copying it on the wall the draughtsman by oversight transferred the "so and so" from his manuscript to the wall, instead of changing it to the king's name.
100:1 Pyr. § 873 et al.
100:2 Pyr. §§ 745 a, 1833, 2198 b.
100:3 E. g., §§ 650, 759. See infra, p. 38.
100:4 Pyr. § 1355.
100:5 Pyr. §§ 1531–2; see also § 1703, where, by total inversion of the myth, the king is born in the west. Similarly in § 470 it is the western horn of the sky-bull that is removed for the passage of the dead.
100:6 Pyr. § 306.
100:7 Pyr. § 919.
101:1 Pyr. § 2175.
101:2 Pyr. § 1216.
101:3 See the author's History of Egypt, p. 64.
101:4 Pyr. § 1080.
101:5 Borchardt, in Erman, Handbuch der aegypt. Rel., p. 107.
102:1 Pyr. Ut. 328, 329, 503.
102:2 Pyr. § 1000.
102:3 Pyr. § 1469.
102:4 Pyr. § 604.
103:1 Pyr. §§ 27–29, 275, 920–1; Ut. 323.
103:2 Pyr. § 864.
104:1 Pyr. § 1116.
104:2 Pyr. § 1187.
104:3 Pyr. § 928.
104:4 Pyr. § 607.
104:5 Pyr. §§ 594–6, 947.
104:6 Pyr. §§ 1343, 1440.
104:7 Pyr. § 916.
104:8 Pyr. § 1433.
104:9 Pyr. § 919.
104:10 Pyr. §§ 326, 883, 1530.
104:11 Pyr. § 1541. The supremacy of the east is such that even the Osirian Isis and Nephthys appear as "the great and mighty pair, who are in the east of the sky" (Pyr. § 2200). In spite of the fact that Osiris is "First of the Westerners" he goes to the east in the Pyramid Texts, and the pair, Isis and Nephthys, carry the dead into the east (Pyr. Ut. 702). In Pyr. §§ 1496–8 the east combines with the south and "the middle of the sky" as places where the ascent to the sky may be made.
105:1 Pyr. § 595 b.
105:2 Pyr. § 2061 c.
105:3 Pyr. §§ 802, 1376–7. On the eastern position of this lake see also Pyr. Ut. 359. The chief references on the subject are Pyr. §§ 469 a, 543 b. 802 a, 1102 d, 1138 d, 1162 d, 1228 d, 1376 c, 1345 c, 1441 a, 1084 b; Ut. 359.
105:4 Pyr. § 6021.
105:5 Pyr. § 926.
105:6 Pyr. §§ 1201, 1227.
106:1 Pyr. § 1183.
106:2 Pyr. § 1185.
106:3 Pyr. § 1188.
106:4 Pyr. § 1189.
106:5 Pyr. §§ 1189–91.
106:6 Pyr. § 1091.
106:7 Pyr. §§ 599–600.
107:1 Pyr. Ut. 616.
107:2 To know the name of a god is to be able to control him.
107:3 Pyr. § 1223. See also: Pyr. §§ 597, 599, 697, 925, 946, 999, 1091, 1441, 1769, 1429, and Ut. 310, 516–522, 616.
107:4 Pyr. § 387; see also §§ 595–7, 1489, 1175.
107:5 This is of course parallel with the designation, "Eye of Horus," which may also be applied to the boat. See Pyr. §§ 946, 445, 1769.
107:6 Pyr. § 1432.
107:7 Pyr. § 1433.
107:8 Pyr. § 363.
108:1 Pyr. § 1472.
108:2 The writer was once, like the Pharaoh, without a boat in Nubia, and a native from a neighboring village at once hurried away and returned with a pair of such floats made of dried reeds from the Nile shores. On this somewhat precarious craft he ferried the writer over a wide channel to an island in the river. It was the first time that the author had ever seen this contrivance, and it was not a little interesting to find a craft which he knew only in the Pyramid Texts of 5000 years ago still surviving and in daily use on the ancient river in far-off Nubia. There can be no doubt that this is the craft so often called the "two sḥnwy" (dual) in the Pyr. Texts.
108:3 Pyr. § 1105.
108:4 Pyr. § 1026.
109:1 Pyr. § 337. The floats were a favorite means of crossing; they are found frequently in the Pyramid Texts. See besides the above passages also §§ 342, 351, 358, 464, 926–7, 932–5, 999–1000, 1085–6, 1103, 1705.
109:2 Pyr. § 1048.
109:3 Pyr. §§ 890–1.
109:4 Pyr. § 1772.
109:5 Pyr. § 1778.
109:6 Pyr. § 137.
109:7 Pyr. § 913.
109:8 Pyr. § 1484.
110:1 Pyr. § 1122.
110:2 Pyr. § 366.
110:3 Pyr. § 461.
110:4 Pyr. § 463.
110:5 Pyr. § 309.
110:6 Pyr. § 336.
110:7 Pyr. § 1774.
110:8 Pyr. § 365.
110:9 Pyr. § 1108.
110:10 Pyr. § 751.
110:11 Pyr. § 547.
110:12 Pyr. § 365.
110:13 Pyr. § 1090.
110:14 Pyr. § 324.
111:1 All the preceding from Pyr. Ut. 539. It seems impossible to separate these primitive means of reaching the sky from the similar or identical means employed in later astral theology in the Mediterranean. They have survived in the grotesque tale of the ascent of Alexander in the late western (Latin) version of Pseudo-Callisthenes, from which they passed even into art. See Burlington Magazine, vol. VI, pp. 395, ff. The ladder of the next paragraph was a common device in astral mortuary theology. (See Cumont, Astrology and Religion, p. 184.)
111:2 Pyr. § 390; similarly the ladder is associated with Heliopolis in Pyr. § 978.
111:3 Pyr. § 2083.
112:1 Pyr. §§ 2078–81. The exhortation at the end is addressed to the four sons of Horus of Letopolis, Imset, Hapi, Dewamutef, and Kebehsenuf, who made the ladders. Some of the names and epithets are obscure; the two lions are Shu and Tefnut, see § 696 c and parallels. The Solar character of the ladder is evident in this passage also, which is one of the indications that the four sons of Horus are of Solar origin. Even in Osirianized passages the Solar origin of the ladder is unequivocal. See especially Pyr. § 472; also § 971 and infra, p. 153.
112:2 Pyr. § 1253. In § 971 it is called "ladder of Set," though as a pendant to this it is also called "ladder of Horus." Throughout this Utterance (478), however, it is afterward called the "ladder of Set," and it is evidently regarded as his, even though Osiris climbs it. Is this another form of the tradition that Set was forced to carry Osiris?
112:3 Pyr. § 468; besides the preceding references see also Pyr. § 1431, where the ladder is called "Ascender to the sky."
113:1 Pyr. §§ 1473–4.
113:2 For the interpretation of this equipment, see p. 61, note 3.
113:3 Pyr. §§ 476–9.
113:4 Pyr. § 1101.
113:5 Pyr. § 1348.
113:6 Pyr. §§ 379–380.
114:1 Pyr. § 990.
114:2 Pyr. § 194.
114:3 Pyr. § 603.
114:4 Pyr. § 604.
115:1 Pyr. § 1408.
115:2 Pyr. §§ 1479–80. There are four Utterances which are built up on the four Horuses: 325, 563, and 479, which are of the same general structure; and 573 of different structure, in which the identification of the king with the four Horuses perhaps takes place. On the latter see also infra, pp. 154–6.
115:3 Pyr. § 1496.
116:1 To know the name of a god was to hold sway over him.
116:2 Pyr. §§ 1434–5. Compare similar threatening of the Sun-god, infra, p. 308.
116:3 Pyr. § 978.
116:4 Pyr. §§ 468–471; see also §§ 504, 1432, and 914.
116:5 This was the case whether he ferried over by boat or employed the ladder; for the latter was set up in the east, and the ascent was made there; e.g., Pyr. § 928.
116:6 For the explanation of this term see p. 94.
117:1 Pyr. §§ 930–2.
117:2 Pyr. § 935.
117:3 Pyr. §§ 936–8.
117:4 Pyr. §§ 1116–19.
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|Publication number||US5602853 A|
|Application number||US 08/333,914|
|Publication date||11 Feb 1997|
|Filing date||3 Nov 1994|
|Priority date||3 Nov 1994|
|Publication number||08333914, 333914, US 5602853 A, US 5602853A, US-A-5602853, US5602853 A, US5602853A|
|Inventors||Siman-Tov Ben-Michael, Michael Ben-Nun|
|Original Assignee||Digital Equipment Corporation|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (3), Referenced by (93), Classifications (10), Legal Events (11)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This invention relates generally to the field of computer networks, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for segmentation and reassembly of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) packets using only dynamic random access memory (DRAM) as local memory for the reassembly of packets.
In general terms, a computer network is a collection of end systems (also known as nodes) interconnected through one or more communication links. Generally, the end systems both send data to other end systems on the network and receive data sent by other end systems on the network. When an end system is a sender of data, it is referred to as a source for that data; when it is a receiver of data, it is referred to as a destination for the data. Typically, end systems act as both sources and destinations depending on whether they are sending or receiving data. When acting as a source, the system typically sends data in the form of messages over a communication link. Messages can flow back and forth to other communication links and end systems within the network through bridges or routers, which are used to interconnect multiple communication links.
Each message comprises a sequence of bits. Typically, messages sent over a network are divided up into smaller blocks of information called packets. The flow of packets in the network is usually referred to as traffic. An important design objective in networks is controlling traffic so that individual packets will not be transmitted at a faster rate than they can be processed by the communication links, or intermediate systems such as bridges or routers, through which the packets will pass, or by the destinations.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is one of the general class of digital switching technologies that relay and route traffic by means of a virtual circuit identifier (VCI) contained within the cell. Unlike common packet technologies, such as X.25 or frame relay, ATM uses very short, fixed length units of information, called cells. In applications utilizing ATM, packets at a source are first broken up into these fixed length packets (ATM cells), transmitted, and then reassembled at a destination. ATM cells are 53 bytes long. They consist of a 5-byte header (containing an identifier of data flow which implicitly identifies the source address and the destination address) and a 48-byte information field. The header of an ATM cell contains all the information the network needs to relay the cell from one node to the next over a pre-established route. User data is contained in the remaining 48 bytes.
ATM uses a concept of virtual networking (or channels) to pass traffic between two locations, establishing virtual connections between a pair of ATM end-systems which are needed to connect a source with a destination. These connections are termed "virtual" to distinguish them from dedicated circuits. ATM cells always traverse the same path from source to destination. However, ATM does not have to reserve the path for one user exclusively. Any time a given user is not occupying a link, another user is free to use it.
ATM connections exist only as sets of routing tables held in each network node, switch, or other intermediate system, based on the virtual circuit identifier (VCI) and virtual path identifier (VPI) contained in the cell header. When a virtual path is established, each node (or switch) is provided with a set of lookup tables that identify an incoming cell by header address, route it through the node to the proper output port, and overwrite the incoming VCI/VPI with a new one that the next node along the route will recognize as an entry in its routing table.
The cell is thus passed from switch to switch over a prescribed route, but the route is "virtual" since the facility carrying the cell is dedicated to it only while the cell traverses it. Two cells that are ultimately headed for different destinations may be carried, one after the other, over the same physical wire for a common portion of their journey.
With current implementations of ATM, adapters use local memory in a variety of ways. A first implementation uses two local memories in the ATM adapter. One ATM adapter local memory is used for ATM cell reassembly, while another ATM adapter local memory is used to segment packets in ATM cells. With such an arrangement, an extra ATM adapter local memory is necessary for segmentation.
In another current ATM implementation, one local memory in an ATM adapter is used for both ATM cell reassembly and packet segmentation. In such an implementation, the operations of segmentation and reassembly are done concurrently in the one local memory. The available bandwidth from the local memory is the maximum number of bytes (or bits) one can read or write from or to at a unit of time. This bandwidth is a function of the local memory speed and its data width. With such an arrangement, as an example, in order to support a serial line input/output rate of 155.52 Mbps, a bandwidth of 155.52 times 4 is needed. The 4 Mbps comes from the fact that when a packet is reassembled it is written first, cell after cell, then read at 155.52 times 2 when reassembly is complete. In addition, when a packet is segmented it is first written into the local memory and then read, cell by cell, each time for transmission on the serial line (i.e., 155.52 Mbps times 2). Thus, the bandwidth requirements from the local memory is bigger when the local memory is used for both segmentation and reassembly. the segmentation is accomplished by first preforming a direct memory access (DMA) of the whole packet into the ATM adapter local memory and then starting to segment the packet by sending an ATM cell one at a time.
In still another ATM implementation, a local memory of an ATM adapter will only be used to store a number of control variables. In such an implementation, segmentation and reassembly are accomplished in a host memory. With such an implementation, bursts of 48-bytes are not optimal to use the maximum available system bus bandwidth because (1) the longer the DMA transfer bursts are, the higher bandwidth from the system bus is obtained (this is also true for the local memory since DRAM also uses bursts, and the longer the bursts are, the more bandwidth one can get out of the local memory); and (2) "48" is not a binary number; since most cache lines are in length of 2 to the X power, if a write operation finishes in the middle of a CPU cache line, the next burst will result in one additional update because writing in the middle of the CPU cache line causes the CPU to update the CPU cache line again in its main memory.
A method of handling the reassembly process in one ATM adapter local memory is needed where segmentation may be done by utilizing a relatively small buffer on a chip.
In accordance with the present invention, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network adapter having a receiver portion, the receiver portion capable of receiving a first plurality of ATM cells and assembling the first plurality of ATM cells into a first plurality of packets, and a transmitter portion, the transmitted portion having a means for processing a second plurality of transmit host memory packets and segmenting the second plurality of packets into a second plurality of ATM cells. Furthermore, the receiver portion contains a local memory while the transmitter portion contains no such local memory. With such an arrangement, one local memory is used for the reassembly process while segmentation is accomplished by a relatively small buffer on a chip.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as features and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the detailed description of specific embodiments which follows, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) local area network (LAN);
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an exemplary ATM cell;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an exemplary ATM cell which includes a credit field;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary network station on a computer network, including an exemplary ATM adapter; and
FIG. 5 is block diagram of an ATM adapter in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) local area network (LAN) 10 is shown to include four stations labeled as 12, 14, 16, and 18, respectively. The ATM network 10 is also shown to include two ATM switches labeled as 20 and 22, respectively. An ATM adapter resides in each of the stations 12, 14, 16, and 18. By way of example, if station 12 is transmitting packets for station 16, the ATM adapter in station 12 is involved in segmenting the packets into cells, and affixing the appropriate fields in a cell header (of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). The ATM adapter in station 16 is involved in reassembling the cells received into a complete packet and delivering the packet to station 16. Control of the ATM network 10 resides in the ATM switches 20 and 22, which route messages between stations. For example, the station 12 may send a cell over a line 24 to ATM switch 20 through port 26. ATM switch 20 will route the cell to a destination, Station 16, for example, according to a VCI/VPI in an ATM cell header.
Because each port 26 is dedicated to one station 12, other stations (14 for example) do not have to contend for access to the ATM switch 20. Thus, the station 12 has full access to the line 24 regardless of the activity of other stations with other such connections. For example, if a 5 Mb file is being transmitted from station 12 to station 16, it can move to the ATM switch 20 in a continuous burst at the full channel rate, instead of sharing the communication link with the other stations and having intervening frames from other stations as with other LANs, such as Ethernet, Token Ring, and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) LANs.
Each message in the ATM network 10 is comprised of one or more fixed length units of data called ATM cells. Referring to FIG. 2, an ATM cell 30 is shown to be 53 bytes long. The ATM cell 30 is typically divided into a 5-byte header 32 and a 48-byte information field 34. The 5-byte header 32 contains several fields 36. Specifically, a first byte contains a generic flow control (GFC) field 38 and part of a virtual path identifier (VPI) field 40. A second byte contains another part of the VPI field 42 and part of a virtual channel identifier (VCI) field 44. A third byte contains another part of the VCI field 46. A fourth byte contains the remaining part of the VCI field 48, a payload type identifier (PTI) field 50, and a cell loss priority field (CLP) 52. A fifth byte contains a header error check 54.
The address of the ATM cell 30 is contained in the fields labeled VPI (40 and 42) and VCI (44, 46, and 48). This two-part identification allows the ATM network 10 (of FIG. 1) to route data contained in the information field 34 between locations while maintaining the identity of individual circuits within a trunk.
Referring to FIG. 3, an alternative header 62 of an ATM cell 60 is shown. The header 62 is 5 bytes long and contains several fields 64. Specifically, a first byte contains a GFC field 66 and a part of credit virtual circuit identifier (credit VCI) 68. A second byte contains another part of the credit VCI 70. A third byte contains part of a destination VCI 72. A fourth byte contains a remaining part of the destination VCI 74, a PTI field 76, and a CLP field 78. A fifth byte contains a header error check field 80.
Referring to FIG. 4, a diagram of a network station 100 is shown coupled to a network 102 via a communications link 103. The network station 100 shown in FIG. 4 is an exemplary embodiment of any one of network station 12, network station 14, network station 16, or network station 18, as shown in FIG. 1. The network station 100 includes a network adapter 104 coupled to a system bus 106, a central processing unit (CPU) 108 coupled to the system bus 106, and a host memory 110 coupled to the system bus 106. For purposes of example, the network adapter 104 is an ATM network adapter, and the network 102 is an ATM network.
By way of example, ATM cells received by network station 100 via the communications link 103 are reassembled into packets in ATM adapter 104 and sent via the system bus 106 in the host memory 106. On the other hand, packets which are transmitted from the network station 100 are sent from host memory 110 via the system bus 106 to ATM adapter 104. While in ATM adapter 104, packets are segmented into ATM cells and sent out to ATM network 102 via the communications link 103.
Referring to FIG. 5, the ATM adapter 104 of FIG. 4 is shown to include a system bus interface unit 120 for communication with the system bus 106 (of FIG. 4) and a PHY interface 122 for communication with a PHY chip 124. In addition, the exemplary ATM adapter 104 is shown to contain a scheduler 121, a transmit DMA prefetch 126, a transmit packet memory 128, a transmit FSM (transmit state machine) 130, a store machine 132, a packet assembly machine 134, and a local memory 136. In FIG. 5, for convenience, thin lines represent control lines, while thick lines represent data flow lines.
The exemplary ATM adapter 104 operates in the following manner when receiving ATM cells. Incoming ATM cells are received by the PHY chip 124 via the PHY interface 122 and into the packet assembly machine 134. The packet assembly machine 134 assembles the ATM cells into a packet in the local memory 136 attached to it. Once the assembly of the packet from received ATM cells is complete, the packet assembly machine 134 signals packet assembly completion to the store machine 132. The store machine then reads the assembled packet from the local memory 136 and sends in to the host memory 110 (of FIG. 4) via the system bus 106 by way of the system bus interface unit 120.
The exemplary ATM adapter 104 operates in the following manner when transmitting packets. A packet is received from the system bus 106 via the system bus interface unit 120. A scheduler 121 decides which packet data will be DMA into the ATM adapter 104. The scheduler 121 also paces the transmissions on a set of different virtual circuits. The transmit DMA prefetch 126 reads chunks of the packet data from the system bus interface unit 120 and stores them in the transmit packet memory 128. The transmit FSM 130 contracts fifty-three byte ATM cells out of the data chunks in the transmit packet memory 128, thus accomplishing a segmentation process. The transmit FSM 130 then sends the fifty-three byte ATM cells through the PHY interface 122 to the PHY chip 124. The transmit FSM 130 will start its operation as soon as it detects enough bytes in the transmit packet memory 128 to construct at least one fifty-three byte ATM cell.
Having described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will now become apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments incorporating its concepts may be provided. It is felt therefore, that this invention should not be limited to the disclosed invention, but should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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|U.S. Classification||370/474, 370/395.6, 370/471|
|International Classification||H04L12/56, H04Q11/04|
|Cooperative Classification||H04L2012/5652, H04L2012/5615, H04L2012/5616, H04Q11/0478|
|3 Nov 1994||AS||Assignment|
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|27 Mar 1998||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: CABLETRON SYSTEMS, INC., NEW HAMPSHIRE
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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown at sacred-texts.com
num 5:2THE UNCLEAN TO BE REMOVED OUT OF THE CAMP. (Num 5:1-4)
Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper--The exclusion of leprous persons from the camp in the wilderness, as from cities and villages afterwards, was a sanitary measure taken according to prescribed rules (Lev. 13:1-14:57). This exclusion of lepers from society has been acted upon ever since; and it affords almost the only instance in which any kind of attention is paid in the East to the prevention of contagion. The usage still more or less prevails in the East among people who do not think the least precaution against the plague or cholera necessary; but judging from personal observation, we think that in Asia the leprosy has now much abated in frequency and virulence. It usually appears in a comparatively mild form in Egypt, Palestine, and other countries where the disorder is, or was, endemic. Small societies of excluded lepers live miserably in paltry huts. Many of them are beggars, going out into the roads to solicit alms, which they receive in a wooden bowl; charitable people also sometimes bring different articles of food, which they leave on the ground at a short distance from the hut of the lepers, for whom it is intended. They are generally obliged to wear a distinctive badge that people may know them at first sight and be warned to avoid them. Other means were adopted among the ancient Jews by putting their hand on their mouth and crying, "Unclean, unclean" [Lev 13:45]. But their general treatment, as to exclusion from society, was the same as now described. The association of the lepers, however, in this passage, with those who were subject only to ceremonial uncleanness, shows that one important design in the temporary exile of such persons was to remove all impurities that reflected dishonor on the character and residence of Israel's King. And this vigilant care to maintain external cleanliness in the people was typically designed to teach them the practice of moral purity, or cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. The regulations made for ensuring cleanliness in the camp suggest the adoption of similar means for maintaining purity in the church. And although, in large communities of Christians, it may be often difficult or delicate to do this, the suspension or, in flagrant cases of sin, the total excommunication of the offender from the privileges and communion of the church is an imperative duty, as necessary to the moral purity of the Christian as the exclusion of the leper from the camp was to physical health and ceremonial purity in the Jewish church.
num 5:6RESTITUTION ENJOINED. (Num 5:5-10)
When a man or a woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord--This is a wrong or injury done by one man to the property of another, and as it is called "a trespass against the Lord," it is implied, in the case supposed, that the offense has been aggravated by prevaricating--by a false oath, or a fraudulent lie in denying it, which is a "trespass" committed against God, who is the sole judge of what is falsely sworn or spoken (Act 5:3-4).
and that person be guilty--that is, from the obvious tenor of the passage, conscience-smitten, or brought to a sense and conviction of his evil conduct. (See on Lev 6:2). In that case, there must be: first, confession, a penitential acknowledgment of sin; secondly, restitution of the property, or the giving of an equivalent, with the additional fine of a fifth part, both as a compensation to the person defrauded, and as a penalty inflicted on the injurer, to deter others from the commission of similar trespasses. (See on Exo 22:1). The difference between the law recorded in that passage and this is that the one was enacted against flagrant and determined thieves, the other against those whose necessities might have urged them into fraud, and whose consciences were distressed by their sin. This law also supposes the injured party to be dead, in which case, the compensation due to his representatives was to be paid to the priest, who, as God's deputy, received the required satisfaction.
num 5:9every offering . . . shall be his--Whatever was given in this way, or otherwise, as by freewill offerings, irrevocably belonged to the priest.
num 5:12THE TRIAL OF JEALOUSY. (Num. 5:11-31)
if any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him--This law was given both as a strong discouragement to conjugal infidelity on the part of a wife, and a sufficient protection of her from the consequences of a hasty and groundless suspicion on the part of the husband. His suspicions, however, were sufficient in the absence of witnesses (Lev 20:10) to warrant the trial described; and the course of proceeding to be followed was for the jealous husband to bring his wife unto the priest with an offering of barley meal, because none were allowed to approach the sanctuary empty handed (Exo 23:15). On other occasions, there were mingled with the offering, oil which signified joy, and frankincense which denoted acceptance (Psa 141:2). But on the occasion referred to, both these ingredients were to be excluded, partly because it was a solemn appeal to God in distressing circumstances, and partly because it was a sin offering on the part of the wife, who came before God in the character of a real or suspected offender.
num 5:17the priest shall take holy water--Water from the laver, which was to be mixed with dust--an emblem of vileness and misery (Gen 3:14; Psa 22:15).
in an earthen vessel--This fragile ware was chosen because, after being used, it was broken in pieces (Lev 6:28; Lev 11:33). All the circumstances of this awful ceremony--her being placed with her face toward the ark--her uncovered head, a sign of her being deprived of the protection of her husband (Co1 11:7) --the bitter potion being put into her hands preparatory to an appeal to God--the solemn adjuration of the priest (Num 5:19-22), all were calculated in no common degree to excite and appall the imagination of a person conscious of guilt.
num 5:21The Lord make thee a curse, &c.--a usual form of imprecation (Isa 65:15; Jer 29:22).
num 5:22the woman shall say, Amen, Amen--The Israelites were accustomed, instead of formally repeating the words of an oath merely to say, "Amen," a "so be it" to the imprecations it contained. The reduplication of the word was designed as an evidence of the woman's innocence, and a willingness that God would do to her according to her desert.
num 5:23write these curses in a book--The imprecations, along with her name, were inscribed in some kind of record--on parchment, or more probably on a wooden tablet.
blot them out with the bitter water--If she were innocent, they could be easily erased, and were perfectly harmless; but if guilty, she would experience the fatal effects of the water she had drunk.
num 5:29This is the law of jealousies--Adultery discovered and proved was punished with death. But strongly suspected cases would occur, and this law made provision for the conviction of the guilty person. It was, however, not a trial conducted according to the forms of judicial process, but an ordeal through which a suspected adulteress was made to go--the ceremony being of that terrifying nature, that, on the known principles of human nature, guilt or innocence could not fail to appear. From the earliest times, the jealousy of Eastern people has established ordeals for the detection and punishment of suspected unchastity in wives. The practice was deep-rooted as well as universal. And it has been thought, that the Israelites being strongly biassed in favor of such usages, this law of jealousies "was incorporated among the other institutions of the Mosaic economy, in order to free it from the idolatrous rites which the heathens had blended with it." Viewed in this light, its sanction by divine authority in a corrected and improved form exhibits a proof at once of the wisdom and condescension of God.
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The #Tesla #Powerwall being installed in #VT by @GreenMtnPower. Learn about #EnergyStorage https://t.co/CrjuVLe7AP
Conservation tip: Kill your screensaver
Business school geeks (like us) know Nicholas Carr as the author of the controversial “IT Doesn’t Matter” article in the Harvard Business Review. In his excellent blog, he sometimes touches on the mostly-unnoticed environmental impact of computer technology.
For example, he entertainingly dissects corporations’ Dilbert-like attempts to instill “corporate values” via bloated screensaver apps. What effect these screensavers have on corporate values is unclear, but Carr can put some hard numbers around the environmental consequences.
A PC with a screensaver going can use well over 100 watts of power, compared with only about 10 watts in sleep mode. An analysis by the University of New Hampshire indicates that if an organization has 5,000 PCs that run screensavers 20 hours a week, the annual power consumed by those screensavers “accounts for emissions of 750,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 5,858 pounds of sulfur oxide, and 1,544 pounds of nitrogen oxide.” Considering that there are something like 600 million PCs in use today…we’re talking some big, ugly numbers.
In another post, Carr discusses the data center energy crisis. He cites a paper by a Google engineer that predicts that, unless hardware becomes more efficient, within a few years power consumption will cost more than the computers themselves.
What can you do about these issues? For starters, make sure your computer is configured so that it can go to sleep when it’s not in use. Also bear in mind that power consumption of a laptop computer is about 20% of a comparable desktop PC. Finally, for maximum impact, you can try to raise awareness of this issue at your place of work. Small policy changes can have a big impact.
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Author: Colin Dickey
Publisher: Unbridled Books, September 2009
Summary: What do Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart all have in common besides being great composers? For one thing, they all had their skulls, or at least part of their skulls, stolen from their graves. Cranioklepty relates the intriguing history of Phrenology and the attempts made by phrenologists to validate their beliefs. According to Webster, phrenology is “the study of the conformation of the skull based on the belief that it indicates mental faculties and character traits.” It was developed in 1796 by Franz Gall and was very popular through the 1800’s. There were famous supporters of phrenology, including Walt Whitman who made references to it in some of his writings. There were famous skeptics as well. Mark Twain was openly critical when writing about the skull readings he received. Phrenologists were careful to “not to predict genius from the shape of the skulls but instead to confirm the already established genius in the heads before them.”
Skulls of prisoners and insane asylum patients were easy to acquire, but phrenologists were desperate to study the skulls of famous citizens, especially anyone with creative or intellectual genius. Since no one was offering to donate their skulls to this strange science, practitioners had to resort to grave robbing. The collecting of skulls became a hobby for some, and an obsession for others. Elaborate glass cases were designed to display the skulls in homes and offices. What we think of as morbid today, was thought of very differently in the 19th century. Keeping relics of someone you knew or admired was considered an honor. One collector, Joseph Hyrtl, donated his collection which is now housed in Philadelphia’s Mutter Museum. If you are a fan of the macabre, you should read Cranioklepty. If you are ever in Philadelphia, you should visit the Mutter Museum.
Who will like this book? Fans of the bizarre and slighly morbid.
Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator
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One of the outcomes of Common Core has been to silence teachers who speak out against it. Common Core has been federally adopted and has silenced the voices of parents and teachers. It is parents and teachers role to advocate for the success of our children as it relates to the curriculm taught in our schools. We need these voices to insure that we meet the needs of the children in our local communities.
Is Common Core a good thing? Or, is Common Core another step towards manipulating children to all look, think and act alike? Kind of scary isn’t it? Is it reminiscent of a future where we all live in idyllic communities such as that portrayed in the movie; “The Stepford Wives?” Why would a nation built on rugged individualism strive to develop “Stepford Children,” or “Stepford Employees?”
The YouTube video below, exemplifies the dangers of this national standardized curriculum called “Common Core.” What will the future of education and the children who’s lives will forever be impacted by it, be? Please take a moment to watch this video and talk to your child’s teacher.
Rugged individualism – noun 1. individualism in social and economic affairs; belief not only in personal liberty and self-reliance but also in free competition
individualism – a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence.
~ Kris Halterman
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When it comes to tax policy, there is no racial nor gender gap.
Let's look at two groups big-tax advocates like to claim are helped by an ever-growing welfare state: women and minorities.
A poll conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide of 1,000 women found that only one issue -- crime -- was more important than pocketbook issues like high taxation for American women.
Women know that the economy affects their daily lives and shapes their family's future. That's why taxes and the health of the economy are more important to most women than issues typically identified as "women's issues." Women want take home more of what they earn.
Federal taxes are a family issue in many ways. A mother who must pay Clinton's big government the same amount in taxes as she pays for her child's food, clothing and shelter combined finds such a high rate of taxes to be not only burdensome, but immoral.
A mother who must work January through May before she starts to work for her family rather than the government, finds federal taxes immoral.
A mother who would rather spend more time at home with her children but can't make ends meet if she works reduced hours because of excessive taxes, finds federal taxes immoral.
A mother that gives thirty-three percent of her income to big government to allow it to make the decisions she feels she should make, finds federal taxes immoral.
Female entrepreneurs who strive to see their businesses expand are frustrated to see their dreams diminish as big government bogs them down with excessive capital gains taxes and overreaching government regulations.
American businesswomen, who now control a third of all U.S. firms, know sluggish profits and the inability to hire more employees are partly to blame on excessive taxes producing a sluggish economy.
Professional women want more take home pay for their families so they can save for their children's college education. They also want a balanced national budget for lower interest rates. Women find federal taxes and government regulation suffocating the American dream.
A similar situation holds true for America's minority communities:
A Kennesaw State College (Marietta, GA) survey of the black businesses on Black Enterprise magazine's top 100 list reveals that over 58% estimate that the long-term survival of their business after the death of the current owner(s) will be "significantly more difficult" to "impossible" because of federal taxes. Because black-run business are more likely to be family run than other businesses, the estate tax in particular hits black businesses especially hard.
On a 10-point scale with 10 being a major concern, more than half of Black Enterprise Magazine's top 100 businesses rated the federal estate tax at least a nine.
The average top 100 black business surveyed had spent $67,914 planning to reduce the estate tax's impact. These are funds that could have gone into business expansion, thereby creating more jobs, or into savings.
For the top 100 black firms where heirs were expected to inherit the businesses, 29% would have to sell all or part of their business to pay the estate tax. For 53% of the businesses, this would result in a loss of jobs.
The top 100 black-owned businesses are overwhelmingly family-run. 97% were closely-held or privately run family businesses. All are first generation-owned. On average, the businesses employ 2.4 family members on a full-time or part-time basis. Only 35% have stockholders who are not family members. All have created new jobs, an average of 27, in the last five years. The average business surveyed started in 1984 and currently employs 96 people. These are growing businesses our country should cherish. Instead, our current tax policy is their worst enemy and a threat to their very survival.
African-American Lonnie Thigpen, the son of 84 year-old Mississippi tree farmer Chester Thigpen, himself a grandson of slaves, and, with his wife, last year's National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year, recently testified before the House Ways and Means Committee about the injustice of the estate tax. Said Thigpen: "We're not rich people. My father and I do almost all the work on our land ourselves. Without estate tax reform, many [tree farmers'] properties will be broken up into smaller tracts or harvested prematurely. Some may no longer be economical to operate as tree farms and will perhaps be converted to other uses or back into marginal agriculture... My father and I planted some more trees not long ago. He knows he will not likely be here to see them mature. But he hopes that his grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be able to watch those trees grow on the Thigpen Tree Farm..."
Advocates of the big-tax welfare state like to tell Americans that the welfare state is good for America's minority communities, but the facts are different. The high-tax welfare state keeps black family businesses from creating wealth and, most importantly, keeping their businesses intact. Big government is simply no friend to black-owned family businesses.
Too often, the enemies of tax control have portrayed advocates of tax limitation as rich and heartless. In fact, oppressive tax policies enrich only the state, and its advocates are the ones who are heartless.
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New Live-Cell Printing Technology Works Like Ancient Chinese Woodblocking
Embargo expired: 10-Feb-2014 3:00 PM EST
Source Newsroom: Houston Methodist
Newswise — HOUSTON -- ( Feb. 6, 2014 ) -- With a nod to 3rd century Chinese woodblock printing and children's rubber stamp toys, researchers in Houston have developed a way to print living cells onto any surface, in virtually any shape. Unlike recent, similar work using inkjet printing approaches, almost all cells survive the process, scientists report in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers, led by Houston Methodist Research Institute nanomedicine faculty member Lidong Qin, Ph.D., say their approach produces 2-D cell arrays in as little as half an hour, prints the cells as close together as 5 micrometers (most animal cells are 10 to 30 micrometers wide), and allows the use of many different cell types. They've named the technology Block-Cell-Printing, or BloC-Printing.
"We feel the current technologies are inadequate," Qin said. "Inkjet-based cell printing leaves many of the cells damaged or dead. We wanted to see if we could invent a tool that helps researchers obtain arrays of cells that are alive and still have full activity."
Recent work to print cells in two and three dimensions using electricity-gated inkjet technology have been largely successful, but sometimes only half of the printed cells survive the printing process -- a source of frustration for many laboratory scientists.
"Cell printing is used in so many different ways now -- for drug development and in studies of tissue regeneration, cell function, and cell-cell communication," Qin said. "Such things can only be done when cells are alive and active. A survival rate of 50 to 80 percent is typical as cells exit the inkjet nozzles. By comparison, we are seeing close to 100 percent of cells in BloC-Printing survive the printing process."
BloC-Printing manipulates microfluidic physics to guide living cells into hook-like traps in the silicone mold. Cells flow down a column in the mold, past trapped cells to the next available slot, eventually creating a line of cells (in a grid of such lines). The position and spacing of the traps and the shape of the channel navigated by the cells is fully configurable during the mold's creation. When the mold is lifted away, the living cells remain behind, adhering to the growth medium or other substrate, in prescribed formation.
Qin's group tested BloC-Printing for its utility in studying cancerous cells and primary neurons. By arranging metastatic cancer cells in a grid and examining their growth in comparison with a non-metastatic control, the researchers found they could easily characterize the metastatic potential of cancer cells.
"We looked at cancer cells for their protrusion generation capability, which correlates to their malignancy level," Qin said. "Longer protrusion means more aggressive cancer cells. The measurement may help to diagnose a cancer's stage."
The researchers also printed a grid of brain cells and gave the cells time to form synaptic and autaptic junctions.
"The cell junctions we created may be useful for future neuron signal transduction and axon regeneration studies," Qin said. "Such work could be helpful in understanding Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases."
While it is too early to predict the market cost of BloC-Printing, Qin said the materials of a single BloC mold cost about $1 (US). After the mold has been fabricated and delivered, a researcher only needs a syringe, a carefully prepared suspension of living cells, a Petri dish, and a steady hand, Qin said. Inkjet cell printers can cost between $10,000 and $200,000.
"BloC-Printing can be combined with molecular printing for many types of drug screening, RNA interference, and molecule-cell interaction studies," he said. "We believe the technology has big potential."
While the fidelity of BloC-Printing is high, Qin said inkjet printing remains faster, and BloC-Printing cannot yet print multi-layer structures as inkjetting can.
Qin and postdoctoral fellow Kai Zhang, Ph.D., are BloC-Printing's co-inventors.
Qin and Zhang's PNAS coauthors are Chao-Kai Chou, Ph.D., and Mien-Chie Hung, Ph.D., (the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center), and Xiaofeng Xia, Ph.D. (Houston Methodist Research Institute). The researchers acknowledge support from the National Institutes of Health, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the U.S. Dept. of Defense, the Emily Hermann Research Fund, the Golfers Against Cancer, and the Alliance for Nanohealth.
In addition to his position in the Houston Methodist Research Institute's Department of Nanomedicine, Qin is also a Weill Cornell Medical College assistant professor of cell and developmental biology.
To speak with Qin, please contact David Bricker, Houston Methodist, at 832-667-5811 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Success has many fathers. The history of the car teems with names like Amédée Bollée, Josef Bozek, Walter Hancock, Karl Benz and Rudolf Diesel. But the best known name remains that of Henry Ford, who worked out how to make hundreds of thousands of cars and sell them like brooms. Ford and its prime competitor, General Motors, made the United States of America a nation of car drivers; thanks to their invention of mass production, the US remained the world’s leading car producer for a century. What Henry Ford would have thought of Alan Mulally, the latest chief executive of his company, is unclear; probably he would not have employed Mr Mulally at all. For he has come out with the opinion that the age of cars is coming to an end and that people should start using buses. That is not treason, for Ford is not just a car manufacturer; it produces many more trucks, buses and carriers than cars. But the view deviates from the universal image of the car as an American’s castle.
It will not shock Indians as much, for they are used to being packed into buses, trucks, rickshaws, and other, stranger vehicles. Even as riders of common carriers, though, they are missing out on many comforts offered by a company like Ford or Volkswagen. For the Indian concept of a bus as a vehicle with forty seats and a hundred standing spaces is outdated. Only Indian companies produce such a limited range of collective passenger vehicles. Ford itself produces buses seating 8-17 passengers in comfortable seats with ample leg space. A company like Volvo that specializes in buses offers many more choices from rapid transit to cosy snooze.
Variety is not unknown to the Indian vehicle industry. The range in what are known as utility vehicles — those made for rough rides on country roads — is enormous. The buyer faces a rich variety of options in comfort and cost. A similar range is available around the globe in buses; but it is much more limited in India. The buyer is the cause. For most major Indian cities have a municipal bus service. Municipalities buy buses in bulk by tender; so the cheapest supplier wins. To make cheap buses, they have to be produced on a large scale. So India is stuck with a handful of bus makers who produce cheap models. No doubt, some cities allow private operators, but price control on bus fares ensures bad service from rickety vehicles. Indians should get serious for a shift from cars to common carriers; the way to make it is to remove control on bus fares. The rich will travel comfortably in any case; but even in comfort, they will take less road space if luxury buses of different sizes are sold and made in India. That will not be unless bus fares are decontrolled.
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The Inherent Racism of the OlympicsJuly 25th, 2008 by Michael Kwan
The 2008 Summer Olympic Games are set to take place in Beijing next month, but most of the hype leading up to the monumental two weeks of action has little to do with the athletic competitions themselves. Instead, we find newspapers filled with stories about potential protests, human rights violations, and the brutal censorship of the international press. In going through these stories, I started to think about one Olympic topic in particular and it’s something that I guess I knew all along; I just never explored it.
The Olympics Are Inherently Racist
We live in a day and age where it is not appropriate to discriminate based on someone’s race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or any number of other characteristics. In the interest of fairness, everyone should be treated equally and have equal opportunity. That’s partly why it’s a little ironic that one of the largest international gatherings has an inherently racist slant to it.
Separated Based on Country of Origin
The Olympic teams have not been determined based on some sort of random draw or draft lottery. The competitions are not like those of professional sports, because while they may be aiming to be crowned as the absolute best in the world, the athletes are still considered amateurs and they generally don’t have much of a choice in terms of which teams to join.
It’s the United States vs. Austria. It’s Japan vs. China. It’s Egypt vs. Denmark. In many ways, the Olympics are there to determine which country is athletically superior. Who has the best swimmers, the fastest runners, and the most amazing table tennis players? That was part of the reason why Germany wanted to host the Olympics in 1936. Adolf Hitler aimed to “prove” the superiority of the Aryan Race. We all know how that went.
Implied Racism of the Olympic Rings
Most people know that the Olympic rings, shown at the top of this post, are meant to represent the continents of the world and how they can intertwine during the Olympic Games. That’s the official answer, because every national flag in the world contains at least one of those five colours.
I’m not sure how official this is, but I have also heard that each colored ring is actually associated with a particular region of the world. The blue ring corresponds to Europe and the green ring corresponds to Oceania, but the other three seem to be treading on thin ice. The yellow ring corresponds to Asia, the red ring to America, and the black ring to Africa. Right. That’s not racist at all.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos
This is venturing a little off-topic, but it’s worth discussing as well. You may have heard about Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the two African-American athletes from the 1968 Olympic Games. Standing on the podium in first and third place, they decided to hold an anti-racism protest by wearing black gloves and holding their fists in the sky (“Power to the People” salute). This was in protest to the treatment that African Americans were receiving in the States at the time.
But what about the guy in second place? As it turns out, Peter Norman of Australia implicitly supported the political statement expressed by Smith and Carlos… but he is curiously missing from the commemorative statue at San Jose State University. That’s counter anti-racism, isn’t it? You can read more about this on Wikipedia and on this post.
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Abraham about to sacrifice his son Isaac – human sacrifice apparently still part of the culture of his time. An angel is interfering. (Painting by Rembrandt.)
The word Hebrew has been associated with the word Hiberu and Apiru, names that Sumerians, Hittites, Egyptians and others gave to people variously described as nomadic, semi-nomadic, rebels, outlaws, raiders, mercenaries, servants, migrant laborers, and slaves.
The Hebrews described in the Old Testament have also been called Israelites. They appear to have been semi-nomadic herders of sheep and goats and occasional farmers, without knowledge of metal working, without sophisticated craftsmanship and, as scholars claim, without a written language (an alphabet) until maybe around 1000 BCE. note8 Like other nomadic herders, they were tent dwellers – as Abraham is described in the Book of Genesis 13:3.
The ancient Hebrews have been described as organizing themselves around their extended families and Hebrew families as combined into kinship groups governed by a council of elders that left the head of a family with a sense of self-rule. These heads of families were males said to have absolute authority over their wives and children, and they were the priests for their families, each family having its own sacred images.
Canaan in the 1200s was a thinly populated land with Phoenicians and Amorites, both of whom have been called Canaanites. The Amorites lived primarily in the hilly regions west of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan River. Israelites were settled in the less fertile hills east of the coastal plains,
Mark S. Smith, a scholar in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, begins Chapter One of his book The Early History of God claiming,
Early Israelite culture cannot be separated easily from the culture of "Canaan." The highlands of Israel in the Iron Age (ca. 1200-587) reflect continuity with the "Canaanite" (or better, West Semitic) culture during the preceding period both in the highlands and in the contemporary cities on the coast and in the valleys.
Israelites have been described as living in tight communities led by priests or military chieftains, and others as living in Canaanite towns, including a town that was to be known as Jerusalem – described in the Old Testament as inhabited by Jebusites, a people the Old Testament describes as living also in the mountainous area around Jerusalem.
Some of these Hebrews are said to have worked at agriculture, and some had become tradesmen and involved with the caravans that carried spices, ointments and resin across Canaan. Others have been described as herders who wandered with their flocks to and from desert watering places. They have been described as migrating during dry seasons to the greener pastures of Egypt's Nile delta and then returning to Canaan when pastures near home turned green again. According to the Old Testament, some Hebrews wandered into Egypt and stayed, and there they were despised by the Egyptians for their foreign ways.
Egyptian armies led by pharoahs had been trodding through Canaan to Syria since the 1500s BCE. They had withdrawn from area in the 1300s and were soon back again with Pharoah Ramses II early in his reign in the 1270s doing battle with the Hittites. He returned to Egypt in 1270s after having established a treaty of "everlasting peace" with the Hittites, and he put slaves to work on his creation of great buildings and monuments to celebrate what he claimed was his victory. No mention of the Israelites appeared on his monuments. The first mention of the Israelites by the Egyptians known to archeologists came with Ramses' successor, Pharaoh Merneptah, who reigned from 1213 to 1203. On a monument today called the Merneptha Stele he described his victory over the Libyans and their allies, and in the last 3 of its 28 lines of text he described a separate campaign that reads, "Israel had been wiped out...its seed is no more." The pictogram used for Israel indicates a tribal or nomadic people lacking a centralized government.
Meanwhile, during Mernetpah's reign Egypt was threatened by "Sea People," believed today to have been Indo-Europeans from the Aegean Sea region. Under Merneptah they were driven off. Then around 1177 BCE, in the eighth year of the reign of Merneptah's successor, Ramses III, more raids came by the sea. Ramses III repelled the invaders, and he boasted of re-establishing Egyptian rule through Canaan as far north as the Plain of Jezreel.
The Philistines had a language that had been spoken in Crete, Cyprus and the southwestern portion of Asia Minor called Caria. And the script of this language echoed the script of the Mycenaean Greeks, whose civilization was among those disrupted by the aforementioned great migrations from before 1200 BCE. Some have speculated that the Philistines were Greeks fleeing from the invasions that ended Mycenaean civilization. At any rate, it appears that in Canaan they mixed and probably intermarried with the Canaanites. They adopted the Canaanite language. They melded their religion with Canaanite religion and gave to their gods the names of Canaanite gods.
Two of these gods were Ba'al and El. The god El was described on Canaanite tablets as The Creator, the majestic father and the king of gods and men. Ba'al was his son and a god of life and fertility in continual combat with the god Mot, a god of death and sterility. Ba'al was a god of the mountains where rainstorms were said to begin. He was described as riding the clouds that brought rain. Worshipers of Ba'al saw him dying when the dry season came and vegetation disappeared, and they saw him as resurrected during the rainy season, when vegetation reappeared.
In their coastal cities, the Philistines maintained some cohesion as a people. The Israelites were resisting occasional attacks by camel riding nomads from the east. Then the Philistines attempted to expand against them. The Philistines forced the Hebrew tribe of Dan to leave their home in the foothills and to migrate to the north.
A legendary leader from the tribe of Dan who fought the Philistines is described in the Old Testament as Samson. Samson is thought to have lived between 1118 to 1078 BCE. In the Book of Judges 16:17 he is described as a Nazirite. Chapter Six of the Book of Numbers describes the Nazirites as engaged in ecstatic frenzies and abstaining from wine, strong drink and in refraining from cutting their hair. The Nazirites were zealous, and if they were strong enough they were inclined to take the lead in combating people they detested – and they are said to have detested the Philistines.
The Old Testament story describes Samson as a leader in the fight against the Philistines and as having a weakness for Philistine women. The Book of Judges describes Samson as burning Philistine crops and killing a thousand Philistines in a place called Ramathlehi, which means "the hill of the jawbone." Judges 15:17 describes this as the place Samson killed Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. According to the Samson legend, Samson told a Philistine woman, Delilah, that if his hair was cut he would lose his strength. As Samson slept, Delilah cut his hair – a lesson for Israelites about the dangers of foreign women.
Having lost his strength, the story goes, the Philistines overpowered Samson and gouged out his eyes. They took Samson to Gaza, bound him in chains and put him to work "as a grinder." There his hair grew back. And when "the lords of the Philistines" assembled they had Samson brought to them so they could look upon him with amusement. Watching from the roof of the building were about 3,000 Philistine men and women. The Philistines put Samson between two pillars. Samson, using his legendary strength, pushed on the pillars and brought the roof crashing down, killing himself and all the Philistines in and on the building – an act perhaps not unlike some suicide-retribution acts in the Middle East in the 21st century.
Copyright © 1999-2015 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.
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The combination of a winter-time jet stream, warm tropical air and a full moon is turning Sandy into a huge and complicated storm that has the potential to devastate the Northeast and parts of the Mid-Atlantic. TODAY's Matt Lauer reports.
Hurricane Sandy is posing a monster challenge for weather forecasters and emergency agencies, due to an amazing combination of meteorological factors, but what's just as amazing is how well they've been able to predict what seemed to be an unpredictable disaster.
"It looks like we've been fairly consistent on this, even five days out," Chris Landsea, science and operations officer at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, told me today. "I think when all is said and done, on the track forecast, we're going to be quite accurate."
Sandy's path, which took a left turn from the Atlantic to slam head-on into the heavily populated Northeast, is just one of the unusual aspects of this storm. "The size of this system, the late-season nature, and the track — all these are fairly unique characteristics," Landsea said. To look for precedents, you have to go back to infamous hurricanes such as Agnes in 1972, Hazel in 1954, even the great storms of 1944, 1938, 1815 and 1804. But today, the region is so much more populous and developed that the impact is certain to be far greater.
Here are five factors that have turned Sandy into a superstorm:
Northerly track: Atlantic tropical storms most commonly tear through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and lose energy as they pass over the U.S mainland. This storm, however, crept along the Eastern Seaboard, where waters that were warmer than usual for this time of year kept the storm alive. As the storm moved northward, it morphed into a hybrid storm, drawing additional strength from the differential between the storm's warm air and cold northern air from the jet stream.
"There's a transformation that this system is undergoing," Landsea explained. "This is actually evolving into a winter storm, and later, a nor'easter." One result of this evolution is that the storm system has widened to more than 800 miles in diameter, stretching from the Carolinas to Maine and Canada.
NASA / NOAA
NOAA's GOES-13 weather satellite shows the storm system associated with Hurricane Sandy covering the northeastern United States even before landfall on Monday.
The left turn: Hurricanes that get so far north could drift off into the cold Atlantic to die — but they can also be pushed into the mainland, as Hurricane Irene was last year. Irene followed a path that was roughly parallel to the coastline, but Sandy took a hard left turn that put it on a course for a direct, perpendicular strike on the coast. That's because a cold front on the mainland is drawing the storm westward, while the current state of a weather pattern known as the North Atlantic Oscillation is blocking the storm from heading eastward.
Storm surge: Sandy's top sustained winds of 85 miles per hour typically wouldn't rate as a superstorm, but its effects will be magnified, Landsea said. "Even though it's not a 'major' hurricane by any means ... there is substantial threat because of the storm surge and because of the rainfall. There's going to be flooding. Both of those factors are going to be killers," he said. The storm surge is projected to range from 6 to 11 feet. One of the big reasons for such a high surge is that the waters off the coast of New York and New Jersey are so shallow: As the surge from the deeper ocean nears the coastline, all that water piles up to create a higher wave.
Full moon: Another reason for the huge storm surge is the fact that the moon is hitting its full phase just as Sandy is making landfall. The celestial lineup of the sun, moon and Earth contributes to higher-than-normal high tides.
Winter storm: Sandy is such a late-season storm that it's running into winter weather in the northeastern United States, which is adding an extra dimension to the misery. "I have not been around long enough to see a hurricane forecast with a snow advisory in it," Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told NBC's TODAY. The storm could trigger up to 3 feet of snow in the Appalachians, the National Weather Service reported. The Weather Channel's Tom Niziol said that "an amazing combination of factors" have come together to make Sandy a threat due to the snow as well as the rain.
Landsea and other forecasters may marvel at the factors behind what some have called a "perfect storm" or "Frankenstorm," and there'll surely be lots of lessons learned for future weather modeling. But that's not what's uppermost on their mind right now. "What's really important are the impacts," Landsea said.
To keep on top of the storm, and to keep safe, keep an eye on NBC News' hurricane coverage:
- Sandy swamps coastal towns, cuts power to 700,000
- Live updates on Hurricane Sandy
- Your images of Hurricane Sandy
Update for 3:10 p.m. ET Oct. 30: The storm surge was clearly one of the biggest impacts of Hurricane Sandy, and for good reason: The National Hurricane Service reported that in some cases, the surge exceeded its own maximum prediction of 11 feet. At New York's Battery Park, for example, the surge measured 13.7 feet — and it was devastating. On another note, I've corrected the spelling of Landsea's apt last name since this item was originally published.
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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In an earlier post, I covered the topic of vowel to vowel linking. Today I’d like to introduce another form of linking: consonant to vowel.
When a word ends in a consonant sound and is followed by a word starting with a vowel sound, the final consonant links onto the front of the vowel sound.
For example (with dashes indicating consonant-vowel links):
The black-and white house-is-an-example-of colonial-architecture.
In speech, this sentence sounds a bit more like:
The bla-k-and white hou-s-i-s-a-n-examp-l-of colonia-l-architecture.
where the dashes indicate the connection of sound between the two words. Wherever there is a dash, you want to run the words together, linking the sounds. You shouldn’t take a breath or stop between these words.
In international environments, it has been argued that linking does not improve intelligibility, but could in fact, make you harder to understand. I don’t always agree with this argument.
If you are speaking to a non-native English speaker with less than advanced fluency, and you mumble your words together, yes, linking could be a problem.
But for people who have a tendency to drop word endings and have trouble pronouncing final consonant sounds, consonant to vowel linking basically solves this problem.
Instead of seeing the sounds as the word endings you have trouble with, you can turn them into word beginnings. This makes final consonant sounds easier to pronounce, and it ensures that you don’t lose these sounds which play a huge role in whether others understand you.
To hear some examples of linking, listen to Part 5 of the Pronunciation Short Course.
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|| HistoryCentral.com > America's Wars > Revolutionary War > Major Events and Battles > Benedict Arnold -- Traitor
Arnold Traitor September 25, 1780
In an act that has made his name synonymous with treason in American history, General Benedict Arnold conspired to turn his command of West Point over to the British. In return, he was to receive money and become a general in the British army. His treason was discovered when Major Andre, his British contact, was captured. Andre, seen here, was reluctantly hung as a spy.
|General Arnold’s career seemed to go into a nose dive after the victory at Saratoga. After his second marriage, he found himself in debt, and he harbored simmering resentment at not receiving the credit he felt he deserved for his military exploits.Thus when he was approached by the British, Arnold was receptive to abandoning the patriot cause. Arnold demanded £20,000 and a commission as a major general in the British army for giving up West Point.
|| Andre's Death Journal of Dr. James Thacher.
Major Andre is no more among the living. I have just witnessed his exit. More
|Thus when he was approached by the British, Arnold was receptive to abandoning the patriot cause. Arnold demanded £20,000 and a commission as a major general in the British army for giving up West Point.
|| Arnolds Plans
Intelligence Report of Andrew Elliot
A meeting with the French generalsMore
|On September 21, British Major Andre came ashore in full uniform near Havestraw from the HM Vulture. There, he met Arnold to finalize the agreement. Unfortunately for them, the Vulture then came under American fire and headed away, leaving Andre stranded. Andre reluctantly donned civilian clothes and headed down the Hudson with a safe conduct pass from Arnold. Near Tarrytown, Andre was captured by three militiamen, who turned him over to the commander at North Castle. The jig was up. Andre was found carrying incriminating papers. When Arnold was notified at breakfast on April 23 that a British officer had been captured, he fled by boat to the Vulture. Andre was later hung as a spy.
|| Washingtons ReportTO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS
Robinson's House in the Highlands,
September 26, 1780 More
Other Internet Links on General Arnold
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Containment can be a very valuable tool for anyone dealing with overwhelming emotions, thoughts, feelings, memories,
or urges. It is a way to manage disruptive thoughts, feelings, situations, and other triggers that can lead to
flashbacks, pain attacks, explosive behaviors, self-harm, and dissociative episodes.
Containment can also be used to store positive thoughts and feelings that can be drawn upon in difficult times to
assist you with coping. There are a variety of things you can use for your positive containment store.
- Affirmations from self and others
- Special cards or notes
- Pictures of loved ones or pets
- Special poetry or writings,
- Ideas for self-soothing
- Ideas for creative outlets
- Drawings or other special art.
For the containment store you can use any type of box or container. Try to be creative, such as collaging or drawing
positive images on a wooden box for your positive containment store.
The primary purposes of containment are:
- prevent you from feeling overwhelmed
- increase your ability to cope with stressors
- decrease dissociative episodes
- prevent potentially dangerous behaviors
- allow you to feel more in control of your thoughts and emotions.
People often confuse containment with "stuffing feelings." It is important to know that these concepts are not the same
thing. Containment is a temporary method to manage disruptive thoughts, feelings, or situations, until it is the
appropriate time to deal with them.
For example, it would not be helpful to process a flashback just prior to going to bed but it may be helpful to discuss
it with your therapist the next day.
Containment allows you to feel more in control of the situation, rather than feeling out of control. "Stuffing your
feelings" is a method that encourages denial and not dealing with situations. This strategy often results in long-term
Many people initially find the skill of containment difficult to grasp; however, with practice it is something that you
can apply to your life daily to improve you quality of living. It is extremely important that you practice containment
daily. You should initially do this practice when you are not feeling overly stressed. As you gain increased
understanding of you triggers and waring isgns, you can begin to use containment ot prevent potentially dangerous
- Step One:
- The first step in learning containment is to begin to recognize disruptive thoughts, feelings, and situations.
There are a variety of ways in which you can accomplish this. You may choose to keep a journal or log of events,
such as flashbacks, panic attacks, and dissociative episodes. You can use this to assist you in identifying problem
areas specific for you.
- Step Two:
- It is also important for you to learn to identify both internal and environmental factors that occur prior to the
behavior occurring. These factors are referred to as triggers.
- Step Three:
- After you have begun to identify potentially overwhelming factors, the next step is to decide what types of
containment strategies you will use. Most people have to experiment with several methods until they find one that
works well for them. Remember that the goal is to contain thoughts or feelings until it is a safe time to deal with
Strageties that you may choose to use are:
- Journal and then put your journaling aside.
- Write down your thoughts feelings, or situation and then put it away until you can talk about it with someone you
trust (ex: therapist's office, glove compartment, trunk of car, box, closet, etc.).
- Use imagery to visualize putting away the thoughts and feelings until you feel safe to deal with them. Examples
include: safe place, computer, boxes, jars, a safe, a room, a desk. Use your imagination.
- Use actual boxes, jars, or other containers. Try making a negative containment store.
- Use distraction skills (soothing music, deep breathing, meditation, getting involved in another activity).
- Use self-talk or affirmations. Draw from your positive containment store.
Two Rivers Psychiatric Hospital. (2003). Containment [patient informational handout].
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|THE PIG ECONOMY|
|Rupert J. Ederer
Ruskin (1819-1910), in many ways a tortured soul, once referred to economics as
"the pig philosophy." The English writer, artist, and social critic
was referring to the economic thinking which prevailed at the time in Victorian
England—the so-called classical economics, also known as Manchester
liberalism. It was shaped by the likes of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas
Malthus, John Stuart Mill, and Jeremy Bentham; and it stemmed directly from
Enlightenment philosophy. The resultant laissez-faire capitalism was based on a
false notion of natural laws applied to economic life. Thus, human labor came to
be treated like just another commodity whose price was determined by the
so-called "laws of supply and demand." The same market laws governed
wages, as determined the prices of wheat and pork. Society, like the physical
universe, supposedly operated in accordance with laws designed by the deists'
dispassionate "Architect of the Universe," when He created the world.
Hence there could be no greater mischief than to have men mess with the working
of such laws. That is how the solemn pronouncement <laissez faire, laissez
passer; le monde va de lui meme> got into classical economic thought and into
economic life: It was a brainstorm of the French physiocrats, deists who also
were the first to call themselves <les economistes>. As a consequence the
hallowed principles of just price and fair wages for work, along with the
long-standing distinction between legitimate interest and usury, were tossed out
as relics of the pre-enlightened medieval era.
Fortunately for England and for its cultural offspring, the infant United States, these were to be the first beneficiaries of the unprecedented burst of technological genius that started in the late eighteenth century and came to be known as the Industrial Revolution. Unfortunately for the aggressive and thriving Anglo culture, it was at the same precise point in history that Manchester liberalism-the pig philosophy-became its prevailing social gospel: self-interest pursued without social restraint, regulated only by equally unrestrained competition would automatically lead to maximum well-being in the national economy. This was unfortunate for two reasons: first, because of that philosophy the unquestionable blessings of technology came to be enjoyed increasingly by an ever diminishing number of citizens, specifically by the rising capitalist class.
Secondly, people made the mistake, then and now still, of attributing the undeniable blessings of the providential explosion in technical know-how to the depraved philosophy of economic liberalism. As Pope Paul VI said, "It would also be wrong to attribute to industrialization itself evils that belong to the woeful system which accompanied it." (<Populorum Progressio> #26)
By and by, England's rebellious colonists across the Atlantic fell victim to the same "pig philosophy." However, the colonials also soon became the beneficiaries of vast and fertile rich farmlands beyond the frontiers of the original thirteen colonies. In New England, with its harsh geographical endowment, nature was in many ways as niggardly as it was in old England. However, things were different in the rich lands beyond the Alleghenies. There the fertility and the sheer vastness of the area made it possible for farm families to at least sustain themselves, even in the cyclically recurring periods of economic hardship which came to characterize the capitalistic era. Inevitably though, the ruggedly individualistic farm folk, hard-pressed by hostile economic conditions, learned the art of cutthroat competition when they delivered their surplus crops to glutted markets in rivalry with their neighbors. Needless to say, they were not organized among themselves, because such action was one of the very few no-no's of the prevailing free market ideology.
Christianity's healing graces came to flow ever more sparsely in the Anglo culture during the centuries following the Protestant revolt. Hence the important social teachings which developed on the European continent during the latter part of the nineteenth century had scant impact in Great Britain while Manchester liberalism grafted onto the Industrial Revolution was gradually turning British mills and mines into a "bloody hell." There was no Hitze, no Vogelsang, no Toniolo, and no Bishop von Ketteler. Consequently, social criticism fell predominantly to literary figures like Dickens, Carlyle, Ruskin, and later on to Fabian socialist types like H. G. Wells and George Bernard Shawl Among such, the tendency was toward romanticist solutions like surrealistic communes of the Owenite stripe, or Fabian socialist schemes. Even the giants of the Oxford movement like Cardinal Newman, G. K. Chesterton, and Hilaire Belloc did not generate solid social teachings in the tradition which was to lead into and flow from <Rerum Novarum>. Because of the ambience in which they were forced to operate, these great men did their best work in the area of apologetics, defending their Faith in an extremely inhospitable climate.
Meanwhile, first-hand observation of the plight of the English workers in the mills and factories of Victorian England fired the revolutionary zeal of Friedrich Engels whose wealthy German father operated a textile mill in Manchester. Karl Marx, Engels' mentor who was banished from the continent for his inflammatory writings, also brooded over what he saw in England where he wrote and published the first volume of <Das Kapital> in 1867.
Not many years later, another exile from the Continent, cut from an entirely different cloth, also witnessed the plight of the English workers and came up with a radically different solution—solidarist economics. Heinrich Pesch was sent to England in 1885 as a Jesuit scholastic, to complete his theological studies. Pesch had to leave Germany because of Bismarckian <Kulturkampf> laws against Jesuits. His studies at Ditton Hall near Liverpool enabled to him to observe firsthand the demoralizing conditions under which people had to work in the leading industrial centers—Liverpool, London, and Manchester. This was all still prior to Leo XIII's definitive commentary <On the Condition of Labor>. What Heinrich Pesch saw in England led to his lifelong study of how the workers' plight could be alleviated. As he noted later in his monumental <Lehrbuch der Nationalokonomie>, capitalism was destroying family life among the workers. That has now been achieved.
Inevitably, the predictable result of a "pig philosophy" put into operation on a broad scale over a prolonged period of time would be a pig economy. Based on recent Federal Reserve studies, scholars are discovering that our United States at present compares very unfavorably with the other leading economic powers in the way wealth and income are distributed. For example, the wealthiest 1 percent of American households owns nearly 40 percent of the nation's wealth. These are people who enjoy a net worth of at least $2.3 million. By contrast, the wealthiest 1 percent of households in Great Britain whence we inherited the "pig philosophy" has 18 percent of that nation's wealth.
Britain has, of course, gone through a "socialistic" shakedown in the years of Labor Party rule and criticism following World War II. (In the early 1920s, the top 1 percent there owned 59 percent of all wealth!) Things do not improve much as we broaden our base to include the wealthiest 20 percent of our population, which includes all with holdings worth over $180, 000. These own 80 percent of the national wealth. That leaves the remaining 80 percent of our population sharing just 20 percent of our nation's wealth. Scarcely a middle class society!
Aside from inheritance and occasional rare interventions by "Lady Luck," accumulated wealth is generated for the most part from current income; and the picture there is, if anything, even less encouraging. Figures on the 1993 income of families reveal that the wealthiest 5 percent got 20 percent of all after-tax income, while the top 20 percent earned 48.2 percent. That leaves 80 percent of our population sharing the remaining 51.8 percent. Perhaps their plight is made less severe by the fact that the bottom 20 percent must settle for only 3.6 percent of after-tax income!
One tell-tale indicator of how income distribution gets so badly distorted is the way we remunerate our corporate executives in comparison with other countries. In wealthy, non-socialistic Japan manufacturing executives on average earn ten times more than their workers. Our corporate elite are paid twenty-five times as much as their workers on average. In 1994, 65 percent the CEO's of America's largest publicly held companies received compensation of at least $1 million. The top three, heading relatively obscure firms, got $39.6 million, $28.98 million, and $25.2 million respectively.
At the opposite end of this picture we find that our nation's poverty rate is now the highest in ten years. This translates to 15.1 percent of our population who earn at below the poverty level, including some 11 million households on food stamps. Apparently, these "poor relatives" are the embarrassing element which, it is now being widely proposed, we should simply disown. George F. Will, the syndicated apologist for free market capitalism, commented that the kind of harsh inequality portrayed in the aforementioned Federal Reserve study "offers upward mobility equally to all who accept its rewarding disciplines." That resonates remarkably with, "If they have no bread, let them eat cake." So much for economic Darwinism. Ebenezer Scrooge couldn't have expressed it better. Meanwhile, the breadless and cakeless ones are not heard.
They don't own or write for newspapers, if indeed they can afford a newspaper at all.
In a strictly egalitarian society, the percentage of income earned would correspond exactly with the percentage of the population, i.e. 5 percent of the people would earn 5 percent of the income and so on. No sensible person proposes that. Different people bring varying levels of ability, property acquired by work or inheritance, energy, and intense activity to the national economic effort. On the other hand, if income were distributed simply according to the differing levels of native ability, its distribution would assume a shape approximating that of the now infamous "bell curve." Small numbers of people have very low levels of ability, so that incomes based solely on that would be very low. At the other side of the curve, small numbers of people have very high levels of ability, so that based on that criterion alone, they would enjoy very high incomes. Once again, we cannot expect such an income curve to be realized because other legitimate factors besides native ability enter into the economic mix. These would include acquired ability as well as productive wealth derived from inheritance or from past effort, along with just plain luck. both good and bad.
Putting the economists' toys aside, however, who can look with equanimity at the kind of income distribution that applies now in what we used to call our "affluent society?" Is it unpatriotic to call attention to our economic shortcomings, and even to contrast our badly skewed income distribution pattern to more equitable ones in the other advanced economies in the world where, one must add, market economies are also in place?
There is something badly out of order here, and it cries out for remedial action by those who are in positions of influence in our economic system. However, all indications are that help is not on the way!
Right now demagogues are at work tampering yet one more time with our tax system.
It seems that our so-called statesmen have been running away from fiscal responsibility like scared rabbits ever since Walter "Who" warned voters that, if elected president, he was going to have to increase their taxes to deal with mounting annual deficits. So now we are faced with the pathetic spectacle of proposing to repeat the disastrous tax policies of the Reagan-Bush era. The Gingrich crew promises what all citizens, especially the wealthy ones who will benefit the most, love to hear: lower taxes, along with, you guessed it, the promise of balanced budgets. So we are headed back to that old Laffer- Kemp - Reagan "magic," which put this country in a hole it cannot possibly get itself out of except by the most drastic Draconian devices! Now President Clinton, a consummate politician, and mindful of Walter Who's plight, is no Harry Truman, nor for that matter a John F. Kennedy. He has already indicated that he is prepared to join the stampede into more fiscal irresponsibility. After all, the first rule of democratic politics is to get elected and then re-elected. Over the years, I grudgingly came to accept the validity of Winston Churchill's barbed remark that "Democracy is the worst possible system of government except for all other forms." Watching the antics of our politicians in the face of the present fiscal challenge, I am now convinced that democracy will no longer work at all in such circumstances! Indeed, there are snake oil salesmen even now preparing the tax cut medicine in a new attractive packaging called the "flat rate tax." Everyone pays at the same rate regardless of income. Concessions are made only at the very lowest income levels where people are so far out of the economic mainstream that nothing much matters there anyway. The figure that is being proposed now to yield the kind of revenue present fiscal needs call for is 17 percent. You don't have to be, to use an overworked bromide, a rocket scientist to figure out who gains the most from a flat income tax rate of 17 percent. The squeals of protest against the rates Clinton got through Congress in 1993 come from those with incomes between $140,000 and $250,000 who must pay at the 36 percent rate, and from those who are fortunate enough to have incomes above that level, so that they must pay 39.6 percent. The fellow living in the Maytag box is scarcely concerned in any case, nor probably is the underemployed worker who is paying income tax on his unemployment insurance. To the others of the dwindling middle class, who will not benefit from a cut to the 17 percent rate, an appeal is being made to the great simplicity of the flat tax. The new, improved tax form, we are told, will be the size of a postcard. The glaring hypocrisy lies in the fact that some of the same people who are proposing such a disastrous tax policy are at the same time supporting a balanced budget amendment!
The case for flat tax rates is often based on the pretext that Marx and Engels in the <Communist Manifesto> proposed a "heavy progressive or graduated income tax," as one of the "despotic inroads on the rights of property," that would eventually "wrest, by degrees, all capital from the bourgeoisie ...." The trouble with false prophets is that they often deal in half-truths more so than in total depravity. For example, the <Manifesto> proposal also calls for the "centralization of the means of communication and transportation in the hands of the State." Lots of countries which are by no means socialistic do that. One has to wonder whether our chaotic, near-bankrupt airline and railroad systems are faring better than, say, Lufthansa or Swissair, and the fast and efficient railroads of France and Germany. The Marx-Engels program also called for "free education for all children in public schools." We offer that in the U. S., even while we allow parents to double tax themselves by establishing alternative schools. In other words, not everything the socialists proposed was 100 percent wrong, or else they could scarcely have fired up half the world over the past century. Nor was the pig philosophy 100 percent right. It gave rise to the "pig economies" which always supplied the Marxists with plenty of ammunition.
As Great Britain learned in the period after World War II, if the electoral process will not bring fiscal discipline, the buck will stop at the water's edge! Foreigners are not impressed with our performance, and what is happening to the American dollar is reminiscent precisely of what happened to the British pound a half century ago. By the end of WWII it was replaced as the dominant world currency by the American dollar—just as the dollar is now being replaced by the mark and the yen. These are the currencies of countries where, among other things, in come is distributed far more equitably than in the United States, and where programs decried here as "socialistic," are taken for granted. For example, in Germany universal health care has been a foregone conclusion for over a century. The four- to six-week vacation for workers, even new entrants into the workforce, is standard. Also, family allowances—<Kindergeld>—are firmly in place. Our government, instead, provides "health care" money to exterminate our unwanted <Kinder> before they are born. Consequently, something like a middle class society is clearly in place in the nations of the European Economic Community. Here, it has been nipped in the bud.
It must be noted in fairness that the mal-distribution of income and wealth did not crop up overnight. Our income and wealth distribution patterns were never good, as is apparent from the table below. However, the irresponsible and flawed fiscal policies of the Reagan-Bush era demolished what was left of fiscal integrity, and it did not help income distribution, as a comparison of the figures for 1980 and 1992 indicates.
A detailed examination of the causes of such mal-distribution would require more space than these pages permit. Yet, such figures provided annually by our Census Bureau, should dispel any naive, jingoistic suppositions that we have here the accomplished society. The attempts to reestablish laissez-faire, free market capitalism that are ongoing over the past decade and a half have merely highlighted and aggravated an already far from optimum situation. It appears that the working and middle classes were given a brief respite during the period marked by World War II, its immediate prelude, and its prolonged aftermath. That aftermath includes the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. Without being too cynical, one could toy with the view formerly suggested by some Marxist critics, that our capitalistic economy can maintain relative prosperity only under the impetus of major wartime, government spending. Indeed, now that we are out from under the Cold War, it's getting easier for those of us who have some recollection of the Great Depression to begin experiencing a discomforting <deja vu>. Ultimately, it was the national trauma of the Depression and the fear of relapse after the cessation of wartime expenditures by the federal government that prompted Congress to pass the largely symbolic Full Employment Act of 1946.
At the same time, the sad plight of labor unions at present is sharply reminiscent of the 1920s, known in the textbooks as the "period of welfare capitalism." It was a period when unions had to gain acceptance and to battle, sometimes literally, for survival without the benefit of any legislative protection for the right of workers to organize. At the same time employers, the more benevolent ones at least, were assuring their employees that the capitalists would see to their welfare, and that outside (i.e. union) help was unwelcome and unnecessary. The velvet glove held out paternalistic practices like company unions, shop picnics, profit-sharing plans, and the open shop campaign billed as "the American plan." Inside was the iron fist which included, aside from harsh strike breaking tactics, spying on and blacklisting "troublemakers," i.e. union agitators.
Also there was the infamous "yellow dog contract," a common condition for being hired, requiring the worker to sign an agreement that he would not join a union.
Now the United States work force was never unionized or even prone to unionize to the same degree as were workers in major European industrial nations. Even at its peak during the World War II era, union membership never exceeded 30 percent of the non-agricultural work force. At the same time, the influence of unionism during that period was more influential in the economy than the figure indicates for at least two reasons.
First, key industries were highly unionized, like steel, automobile, mining, and transportation and communications. Also, wage rates and working conditions in non-union companies were affected by the unions even when they were excluded as evidenced in the anxiety of employers to pacify their workers and keep unions out.
Why pay dues to an "outside" agency, and risk time lost due to strikes and labor disputes, when one's employer is offering a decent wage, shop picnics, and or even a profit-sharing plan (sometimes in lieu of a decent wage!)?
The tenuous pro-union climate established during the early New Deal years and during the early '40s, began to change soon after World War II In 1947, the landmark Taft-Hartley Act was passed over President Truman's veto. That law and subsequent legislation, like the Landrum Griffin Act of 1959, reflected in part growing public disapproval of the way union power was being used. It is an unfortunate fact that some union leaders had also learned the "pig philosophy" all too well from employers with whom they dealt. When they got power, they sometimes acted in the same socially irresponsible manner so as to give unionism, which never enjoyed the full favor of the image-makers in our society, a bad name. That made it easier for legislators to "lower the boom" just a scant twelve years after the Wagner Act had for the first time effectively protected the right of industrial workers to organize. In any case, notwithstanding the impressive gains in government employee unionism since the 1960s, the lot of unions has not been a happy one, especially after Ronald Reagan provided an example of effective strike-breaking early in his administration.
The weakening of organized labor, it is generally agreed, has contributed significantly to the decline of the middle class, especially at its lower income levels. That was reinforced by the mass exodus of industries, first to the South, where unions were weak or absent, and then to low-wage countries in our own hemisphere and eventually also in Asia, where instances of actual slave labor have been discovered. What remains is an anomalous mixture. On the one hand, there is a well-paid elite made up of persons at the higher managerial levels, certain professions, and the outrageously overpaid entertainment figures including those in the media and in professional sports. There are also the parasitical types who actually produce little of value-the raiders and takeover artists. They devote their considerable energies to seizing industries already in place to add them to their conglomerations, to fatten their profits, and sometimes even just to titillate their economic megalomania. In the process they often displace thousands of workers. Not infrequently such actions devastate entire communities which depended heavily on some factory which the wheelers and dealers decided to wipe off the "chessboard" like pawns in the takeover game.
Now we have a growing class of people who must combine two or more incomes to survive, including the vast numbers of minimum wage workers who staff our fast food industry and the redundant shoe stores and dress shops in our shopping plazas. Even those who are "lucky" enough to earn a paltry seven or eight dollars an hour cannot begin to support "comfortably" a worker and his wife and children, as Pope Leo XIII described the function of the just wage more than a century ago! Ironically, the growing numbers of underpaid, underemployed, or unemployed are once again looking invidiously on certain categories of workers who were looked upon a few years back as underpaid and unenviable, like teachers, policemen, and other civil servants. That is frighteningly reminiscent of the Depression of the '30s when such persons were regarded as among the fortunate because, as the saying went, "They have their steady paycheck."
The mal-distribution of income apparent in the statistics published by our own government agencies demonstrates the point I made in a previous article in <Fidelity>.
The <solidarity> implicit elsewhere in economic life, as in the production process, is put to its severest test in the income distribution process. When it comes to dividing up the proceeds of what people have cooperated to produce and to sell, the pig philosophy inserts itself. Unless it is kept under control, a pig economy results! That is where the top 20 percent of income earners grab more of the national income than is left for the bottom 60 percent!
In any case, whatever one may think about the income and wealth distribution studies that are now gaining some attention, they should not be shrugged off as the work of "Marxist cranks." No one who has recently gone through the experience of the Reagan-Bush failed promise to do the impossible by "voodoo economics," should be inclined to fall for yet another pitch by still other "snake oil salesmen." Whether one likes Clinton or not, he drew attention at a recent press conference to a glaring fact of American economic life. The interest on the amount added to our national debt since 1980 is by itself equal to our present annual $200 billion plus budget deficits.
The tax cut by John F. Kennedy in the early '60s, which inspired the Laffer-Kemp-Reagan policies, was in order and probably overdue. It finally made an end to the very high rates imposed during the Roosevelt administration to help finance World War II.
(The top rate actually reached 94 percent briefly in 1944.) Except for those high rates, of course, the inflation occasioned by the pressures of wartime finance and by the shortages of consumer goods during and immediately after the War would have far been worse than it was. Furthermore, the steeply progressive tax rates amounted to a conscription of wealth at a time when young and able-bodied men were conscripted to put their lives on the line for the rest of the nation. They were compensatory rather than confiscatory.
On the other hand, the tax cuts by the Reagan administration, especially the second one in 1986, were unnecessary and unwise, especially in view of the announced intention of intensifying Cold War spending. The Kennedy tax cut brought the top rate on personal income tax down to 70 percent by 1964. The first of Reagan's tax measures, the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, cut the top rate down to 50 percent, along with significant reductions in the corporate and capital gains tax rates. The second deficit-defying tax measure passed in 1986 brought the top rate down to 28 percent. Such fiscal folly led to the historically unprecedented increase in the national debt which now approaches $5 trillion, along with further distortion in our already bad income distribution pattern in favor of the well-to-do. At the country clubs and among the forests of masts that one sees at marinas along our coastlines there is little real suffering caused by taxation. The pain is largely symbolic. As usual, it is the poorer sectors of the population which do the real suffering.
If we keep compounding the annual deficits to where the mounting interest alone begins feeding on itself so as to make continuing deficits inevitable, we are heading for economic catastrophe. I have not yet heard anyone, including the demagogues who are again advocating tax cuts, seriously propose any way to come to grips with our staggering national debt which is so large that realistically there are even now only two ways left in which we can rid ourselves of it. One is simple repudiation. That implies breach of contract on a massive scale, along with the attendant destruction for a long time to come of our national credit. Nations, like Russia after the overthrow of the Czars, have done this. The other way is to simply print money to pay off the debt, as Germany did to deal with the impossible situation facing it after WWI. That avoids the legal formalism of breach of contract but, in effect, it amounts to the same thing. The vast amounts of new money cranked out to pay a debt that is so large, would in short order render the outstanding money supply as well as savings, debt contracts, etc., worthless because of the skyrocketing prices which accompany runaway inflation. In effect, therefore, such inflation amounts to a gigantic tax, with scant deference to the subtleties of distributive justice. The pious ongoing proposals for a balanced budget amendment is pure demagogic fluff, and cannot be taken seriously. That is especially so because the same politicians who promote it are at the same time proposing tax cuts for the wealthy! Nero could have taken violin lessons from these geniuses!
I have long been a firm believer that the great teaching popes of the Catholic Church over the past century are the prophets of our time. For example, I marvel at the prophetic vision of Leo XIII's statement that the separation of church and state (widely confused with religious freedom) is a "fatal theory" when I ponder the gigantic ongoing abortion holocaust. Now, faced with the imminent collapse of our own economic system, I reflect on the vision of Paul VI expressed in his encyclical <Populorum Progressio>. In it he made an urgent appeal to the rich nations to help the poor nations reach the level of economic development which the blessings of modern technology make possible, instead of squandering their wealth on costly armaments and wasteful extravagance. The pope called that "solidarity in action at this turning point in human history." (PP # 1) Halfway through he begged "that those in authority listened to Our words before it is too late!" (PP #53) And he ended his Cassandra-cry with the appeal: "We ask you, all of you, to heed Our cry of anguish, in the name of the Lord." (PP #87)
More than a quarter century has gone by, and the urgent plea went largely unheeded.
Instead, the <Wall Street Journal> denounced <Populorum Progressio> editorially as "warmed over Marxism." Small wonder. This was a call to remedy the mal-distribution of income among nations on a world-wide scale. And the world had not then, nor has it now, caught up with the prophetic warnings against the mal-distribution of income within national economies by Leo XIII and Pius XI. It should be painfully clear by now that neither a national economy internally, nor the economy of our world grown small since World War II, can prosper in the face of rampant injustice. Whether it is recognized or not, <solidarity>, i.e. interdependence, is a fact of life within a national economy and also among nations. Recognizing that and acting accordingly is what the <virtue> of solidarity is all about.
Percentage of Income Received by Each Fifth and the Top 5% U. S. Families
Taken from the October 1995 issue of "Fidelity" Magazine, 206
Marquette Avenue, South Bend, IN 46617.
Provided Courtesy of:
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Read full article onlineFull Article
By definition, structural materials are used for mechanical strength at room and elevated temperatures, to withstand cyclical loading and for wear and fracture resistance. Structural nanomaterials (with grain sizes less than 100 nm) are distinguished by unusually high strength, hardness, and wear resistance as well as good fatigue resistance, fracture toughness, and extensive high-temperature formability. However, commercial applications have only begun to tap the potential of high-strength parts (e.g., nearly 1 GPa in nano-Al alloys, known as GIGAS, and high-strength nano-SiC springs). More commonly, they are used as thermal barrier coatings, or in friction-resistant and wear-resistant rotating parts (e.g., sleeves or bearings).
Nanomaterials used for structural applications may have nanometer size in one dimension (1D), two dimensions (2D), or three dimensions (3D). Generally, 1D nanomaterials are wires, 2D refers to coatings and films, and 3D solids are used to make bulk parts. In this entry, bulk or 3D materials are emphasized, but some 1D and 2D nanomaterials used for their mechanical properties are also presented.
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Did you know that there is a massive garbage "slick" in the central Pacific Ocean that is twice the size of Texas and weighs 3.5 million tons? And did you know that most of it comes from land-based garbage? And did you know that it can kill ocean animals like turtles that are used to eating things like jellyfish that look a lot like a plastic bag? Sad, isn't it?
It's the problem of plastic as the new plankton.
There are also some scary new problems emerging, such as the breakdown of garbage into tiny microscopic pieces of plastic that can build up in tissues and concentrate toxic chemicals.
The problem of ocean garbage is getting national attention today, thanks to the efforts of first lady Laura Bush and Ocean Conservancy. At a press event today, Ocean Conservancy released a landmark new study on garbage in the ocean, also known as marine debris, and Bush announced a new US government program to attack the problem of garbage in the ocean.
Bush was reportedly bothered by the large amount of garbage she saw in her visit to remote Midway Island. During her visit, she said:
"People do need to know that if you drop your cigarette lighter in the gutter, it's likely to wash out and finally end up in an ocean and, in this case, end up in the stomach of a baby chick albatross," Bush said. "And I know people aren't that aware of this, and I think if they were aware, they'd be a little bit more careful."
Thanks to Laura Bush for highlighting the problem, now let's hope the new White House program will generate some solutions. Tweet
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In 1969, while composer in residence at the University of Cincinnati, John Cage (1912-1992) was approached by a local art patron, Alice Weston, with the idea of producing a commissioned lithograph in response to the recent death of Marcel Duchamp. Cage's influence was already widespread throughout the visual arts and his friendships with and support of artists such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Max Ernst and, most notably, Duchamp, now place him at the forefront of the 20th century's most influential American artists.
"I had been asked by one of the magazines to do something for Marcel," Cage wrote. "I had just before heard Jap (Jasper Johns) say 'I don't want to say anything about Marcel,' because they had asked him to say something about Marcel in the magazine too. So I called both the Plexigrams and the lithographs, Not Wanting to Say Anything About Marcel, quoting Jap without saying so."
Cage created the Plexigrams using "chance operations" procedures, for which he was well known. Working from the 1955 edition of The American Dictionary, he defined groups of pages from which he would derive a word or word fragment. Using three coins, which could yield eight different combinations, Cage employed the first flip of the coins to establish the vertical location of one of the sixty-four squares and subsequent flips to locate the horizontal. Once this process had isolated a group of pages, he would toss the coins again to determine the specific page, and yet again to locate an individual word. Cage's system also included charts of typefaces and images. Cage collaborated with Calvin Sumsion, an artist, designer, and visual communications consultant, on the Plexigrams and lithographs.
Art historian Barbara Rose notes that Cage set out to explore specific problems in the Plexigrams and lithographs. "He is especially interested in the use of chance as a means of determining image, composition, and color. But he is also examining the problem of meaning and ways of behaving as well. By posing himself the problem of creating an homage to his late friend Marcel Duchamp without referring to Duchamp, he is asking what happens when one avoids something deliberately. Among the things he is trying to avoid are conscious choice, or taste, harmony and quality as deliberately imposed elements."
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The study published in Nature Communications shows that resistance emerges through mutations that converge on similar physical changes in the bacteria. Quantifying these changes by measuring the expression of a small number of genes can be useful in predicting a bacteria’s response to a given antibiotic, and knowing which genes are important may contribute to the development of new ways to prevent resistance.
To perform this complex genetic and phenotypic analysis, Shingo Suzuki, Takaaki Horinouchi, and Chikara Furusawa first used a technique called laboratory evolution to create 44 strains of E. Coli, each resistant to one of 11 different antibiotics. Then they examined how each of these resistant strains responded to 25 antibiotics they had never encountered. The tests showed that most strains had developed resistance to several of the 25—a phenomenon called cross-resistance—even when these antibiotics worked differently from the one used to generate the resistance. The team also found that in the case of two classes of antibiotics, cross-susceptibility developed—bacteria that become resistant to one type became more vulnerable to the other.
The researchers reasoned that similar alterations in gene expression might be one cause of cross-resistance. To test this hypothesis, they identified the changes in gene expression for each of the resistant strains using microarray analysis. Then, they combined this information with the resistance, cross-resistance, and cross-susceptibility data from some strains to make a simple linear model that did a very good job predicting the resistance and susceptibility patterns of the remaining strains. Furusawa notes that, “these high-precision predictions were possible using a small number of genes, making this a powerful way to describe a bacteria’s phenotype and its expected response to antibiotics.”
The researchers also looked for fixed mutations that might link the development of resistance across antibiotics. For example, they found that almost all strains had fixed mutations affecting a particular multidrug efflux pump—a pump that bacteria use to expel unwanted molecules. However, one of the main findings was that although the bacteria showed similar changes in expression patterns, these often resulted from different changes in the genome, and frequently from a combination of several different mutations. Furusawa speculates that, “this type of convergent evolution may be a key factor that drives the development of antibiotic resistance.”
The cross-susceptible classes of antibiotics were found to have gene expressions and fixed mutations that did not overlap at all. Strains resistant to aminoglycoside antibiotics, for example, showed mutations and down-regulation of genes that while effective in blocking aminoglycoside antibiotics, also resulted in less effective multidrug efflux pumps. This explains why these strains became more susceptible to all the other antibiotics—the bacteria could not send them out of their cells.
Understanding the common factors that result in antibiotic resistance could help combat this growing problem. As Furusawa reflects, “by making it possible to quantitatively determine what genes contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance, this research could lead to new methods for blocking acquisition of resistance and to the development of new antibiotic compounds.”
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I. What is Pacing?
Pacing is what determines how a story moves along. As with cadence in poetry, and tempo in music, pacing directly affects the impact of the story as well as the reader's response to it.
Pacing can be fast. Very fast. Staccato. Immediate. Sweat on your brow. Lump in your throat. Words turn to grips or slaps or shrieks. We're not waltzing here. Oh no. This is all about now. Here and now. Right now. You with me?
Pacing can also be a lingering, luxurious stretch of story that rolls across the page in unhurried, elegant waves. When the words go all slow, hot summer indolent and cautious feline curious, they seem to envelope the reader in silk and seduction. The story wraps gentle arms around you and carries you along through the passages of prose as though you were light as a feather.
Pacing a story is not about composing nonstop in your face speed text or rocking and drifting along the story river. A story's pacing has to shift, like moods, as the plot unravels and the conflicts rise and fall.
Another way to think of pacing is as the story's heartbeat. It may slow down or speed up, depending on what's happening, but there is always a regular rhythm to it.
II. What Factors Determine a Story's Pacing?
Story elements contribute a lot to pacing. We know as readers that action and dialogue generally tend to speed up the pace of a story, while narrative and description usually slow it down. Chapter beginnings and endings can segue fast or slow, or knock us out of the story altogether. Things like footnotes, fancy font shifts or illustrations sometimes bring the pacing to a screeching halt.
Story theme and genre also affect pacing. A typical fast-paced read would be a crime fiction thriller, as they contain a lot of action. On the flip-side, I have yet to read a fast-paced literary novel.
The word choices a writer makes also influence the pace. If you look again at my two examples up there, you'll notice that the words in the fast-paced paragraph are short, simple and provocative. By comparison, the slow-paced paragraph contains words that are longer, more complex and less aggressive.
Pacing also depends on the tone and ambiance of the writer's storytelling voice, which may be tied in with the writer's personality. I tend to be very impatient, focused and driven, and that comes out in my writing voice and pacing. One of my writer friends is a lifelong dreamer and philosopher, and his books have a far more leisurely pace compared to mine.
III. Pacing Quicksand and Avalanches
A well-paced book, like a healthy heart, has a consistent, logical rhythm to it. As conflict and tension rise and fall in the story, your pacing should shift right along with them.
Troubleshooting your pacing starts with a straight-through read of your story from beginning to end. Use a highlighter to mark passages that don't feel consistent in timing and rhythm with the rest of the story. Once you've identified these problem areas, it's time for a diagnosis.
Spots where you feel the story bogs down or drags are caught in pacing quicksand; you need to pull those passages out and get them moving. A lot of new and inexperienced writers end up in pacing quicksand because they can't resist explaining too many details for their reader. The safe bet is you need more action and dialogue to correct these areas, but you may also just need to trim down your wording, or see if you're telling more than showing.
Likewise when the story races too fast or is confusing -- these are pacing avalanches that need to be diverted and spread out. Narrative and description are not the only ways to deal with the pacing avalanche; you might need to buff up your scene choreography, your characterizations and/or your plot involvement. Don't fall into the pit trap of piling more explanations for the reader into the problem area -- then you may be right back up to your neck in quicksand.
As with any aspect of what we write, it can be hard to judge how well you handle story pacing, especially when you're close to the work. If you're not sure how consistent your pacing is, ask for some opinions. A writer or reader friend may be able to spot those pools of quicksand or crashing avalanches, and offer suggestions on how much less or more they'd like to see in the story.
IV. Why Pacing is Important
Gone are the days when a writer could spend three chapters luring a reader into a story. Most editors now want readers hooked on the first page, and kept on that hook for the rest of the story. Whether you agree with that or not, it's got to factor into how you pace what you write.
This is not to say everyone out there has to write only fast-paced stories or they'll never work in this biz. Stephen King doesn't hurry with the pacing of most of his novels, and after reading fifty pages of Suzanna Clarke using footnotes in her big fat whatever that book was, I'm firmly convinced the market for slow-paced writers out there is alive and well.
In the end, if you find the rhythm that works for you as a storyteller and you're consistent with it, you'll produce stories that keep the reader involved and you in print.
For a chance to win one of today's two Left Behind and Loving It goodie bags, which will be filled with a signed copy of my novel Blade Dancer (paperback), as well as unsigned copies of Tied to the Tracks by Rosina Lippi (trade paperback) Soul Song by Marjorie M. Liu (paperback), Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith (fun guided writing journal), The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan (hardcover), The Very Thought of You by Angela Weaver (paperback), a copy of the May/June 2007 issue of Writers' Journal magazine and some surprises, in comments to this post ask a question or share your view on pacing, or just throw your name into the hat by midnight EST on Wednesday, July 11, 2007. I will draw two names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners today's goodie bags. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.
Some other links on pacing:
Pacing by Dr. Vicki Hinze
Keep it Moving: Pacing a Novel by Darcy Pattison
Other virtual workshops now in progress:
LJ Cohen's Organize your Novel with a WIKI
Rosina Lippi's Workshop Day 1: The Story Machine
Shiloh Walker's Heat with Heart Day 1, finding that missing emotion
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A Learning Circle (LC) is a structure for organizing the work of a small group to accomplish a specified task. You can learn more about the LC model that this project will use by visiting http://sites.google.com/site/onlinelearningcircles/. In this activity, LCs will be the supportive learning environment in which you will develop evaluation skills and knowledge that you can use in your everyday work. As a way to focus the content of this learning circle, each participant will construct an evaluation plan of a project that is currently being funded by the Native Hawaiian Education Program, and develop, improve, or enhance evaluation activities related to their project.
A Learning Circle brings together a group of people in a process of collective inquiry to explore issues and questions that are of mutual interest to the group. The group itself decides where to focus its collective attention and is only guided by a facilitator to deepen its collective learning. As such the Learning Circle process can take different many forms. While a few opening activities and tasks have been selected to help get this group moving, the direction, format, and activities of this group may be modified as the group develops and becomes more comfortable with each other. This process will be facilitated by Dr. Anna Ah Sam. Dr. Ah Sam is currently an American Evaluation Association's 2009 Learning Circles Fellow, and is facilitating this process as part of her fellowship experience. If you have any questions about this process or your part in it please feel free to contact the facilitator Anna Ah Sam at email@example.com or directly at 808-956-9217.
The Native Hawaiian Education Program (NHEP), administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education, provides millions of dollars each year in grant funds to organizations that implement innovative educational programs to assist Native Hawaiians. The NHEP is authorized under Title VII, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
There has been growing concern, on behalf of the Federal government and within the Native Hawaiian community, that the measures and indicators currently being used by NHEP grantees are not well aligned with the intent of the Native Hawaiian Education Act to educate Hawaii’s children from a Hawaiian cultural perspective. Improving Native Hawaiian education requires holistic and integrated approaches that address both the classroom in which children receive instruction and communities in which children are raised” (Ka Huakai: Native Hawaiian Educationl Asssessment, 2005, p.15). Additionally, many of the educational indicators currently used by the US DOE don’t reflect the goals and values identified by the Native Hawaiian community. It is widely agreed by the Native Hawaiian community that learning must be broadened to measure more than simply years of schooling, academic achievement in specific subjects, or performance on standardized assessments.
In the last two years, the Native Hawaiian Education Council has initiated efforts to build culturally aligned Native Hawaiian “measuring sticks” to fully capture NHEP grantees’ stories of success and accomplishment. They have made great strides in their task to establish a set of target impacts for NHEP funded efforts that will align funding priorities to program design and evaluation efforts, creating a culture of impact and accountability that meets the needs of funder and community, alike.
NHEP grantees vary in terms of their size, level of resources, and internal capacity related to evaluation. Many grantees rely on NHEP and similar funding for their “bread and butter.” They are deeply invested in serving the Native Hawaiian community and are motivated to evaluate their programs. However, not all organizations hire external evaluators skilled in culturally responsive evaluation, nor do they have staff with specific training in evaluation. This LC would enable interested staff from these NHEP-funded organizations and/or external evaluators interested in conducting culturally responsive evaluations to build their evaluation skills around educational projects serving the Native Hawaiian community.
Six to eight evaluators, and/or staff from Native Hawaiian non-profit organizations, who are charged with evaluating projects funded by the US Department of Education’s Native Hawaiian Education Program. Ideally, participants will represent 6-8 different organizations within Hawaii who currently, or have previously received, or a future applicants for funding through the NHEP.
Roles and Responsibilities
(1) The facilitator will coordinate LC meetings, update the LC website, serve as a “supportive coach” to LC members, and conduct an evaluation of the LC initiative.
(2) Participants will commit at least one hour each week to the LC. Each participant will engage in bi-monthly meetings for a period of 4 months (8 meetings total), and to mutually agreed upon tasks related to individual and group deliverables.
(3) Participants will complete a pre-survey of their knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward culturally responsive evaluation prior to or at the first meeting, a post-survey of the same at the end of the 4 months, and a follow-up survey 3-6 months following the end of the LC.Modes of Communication
There will be a variety of communication modes. One meeting a month will be face-to-face (if possible and if it is the consensus of the group) for a total of 4 meetings, and one meeting a month will be via SKYPE (for a total of 4 meetings). The schedule (day/time), mode (in person or via SKYPE), and duration (1 hour, 1.5 hours, 2 hours) will be determined at the first meeting, which will be face-to-face. Members in the LC will communicate with each other asynchronously on an ongoing basis for sharing information and providing feedback to group members.Deliverables and Dissemination
Specific deliverables will be discussed at the first meeting. Examples of completed products may be:
(1) Evaluation plans for specific NHEP-funded projects
(2) A program logic model on what culturally responsive evaluation within a Native Hawaiian context should address
(3) A presentation at the annual meeting of the Hawaii Pacific Evaluation Association (September 2010)
Given that the participants are likely to be employed full-time, the time commitment may be an issue that affects their full participation in the LC. Also, if prospective participants reside on the Neighbor Islands or elsewhere in the Pacific, they may be unable to meet face-to-face for some of the meetings. Lastly, some prospective participants may not be comfortable with technology or with participating in distance-based meetings. As a result, they may not want to participate. However, if the time commitment and mode of communication is clearly mentioned as a requirement for participating, this may aid in attracting participants who can fully commit. Additionally, it is anticipated that because each member will be bringing their own NHEP-funded project as a learning tool to be worked on by the group, this will motivate them to participate.
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Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is an infection caused by the bite of an infected tick. In recent years, it has affected over 2,000 people a year in the U.S. and usually occurs from April until September, but it can occur anytime during the year where weather is warm. The mid-Atlantic and southeastern states are most affected. The disease is spread to humans through a bite from an infected tick; it is not spread from one person to another.
In the U.S., the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), have been identified as vectors that transmit the RMSF bacteria.
The following are the most common symptoms of RMSF. However, each person may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
- A non-itchy rash that usually starts on the hands, arms, feet, and legs and occurs seven to 10 days after the bite. The rash consists of flat, pink spots.
- Decreased appetite
- Sore throat
- Nausea or vomiting
- Body aches
- Sensitivity to light
RMSF is a serious illness that needs treatment as soon as possible. Death has occurred in untreated cases of RMSF.
Symptoms of RMSF may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Consult a doctor for diagnosis.
Diagnosis is based on symptoms and past history of a tick bite. The appearance and character of the rash is important. Skin samples and lab tests (antibody titer, kidney function tests, platelet count, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, urinalysis, and red blood cell count) are usually done to rule out other conditions and confirm diagnosis.
Specific treatment for RMSF will be determined by your doctor and may include antibiotics (usually doxycyline until several days after the fever goes away) and supportive care.
Once a person has RMSF, he/she cannot be reinfected. Some general guidelines for preventing RMSF include:
- Since ticks cannot bite through clothing; dress your child and family in:
- Light-colored clothing
- Long-sleeved shirts tucked into pants
- Socks and closed-toe shoes
- Long pants with legs tucked into socks
- Check often for ticks on:
- All parts of the body that bend: behind the knees, between fingers and toes, underarms, and groin.
- Other areas where ticks are commonly found: belly button, in and behind the ears, neck, hairline, and top of the head.
- Areas of pressure points, including:
- Where underwear elastic touches the skin
- Where bands from pants or skirts touch the skin
- Anywhere else where clothing presses on the skin
- All other areas of the body and hair, and run fingers gently over skin. Run a fine-toothed comb through your child's hair to check for ticks.
- Other helpful measures include:
- When possible, walk on cleared paths and pavement through wooded areas and fields.
- Shower after all outdoor activities are over for the day. It may take up to four to six hours for ticks to attach firmly to skin. Showering may help remove any loose ticks.
- Consider using insect repellents safely:
- Products that contain DEET are tick repellents, but do not kill the tick and are not 100 percent effective. For children, use a children's insect repellent (20 to 30 percent DEET) and check with your child's doctor if your child is younger than age 1 before using.
- Treat clothing with a product that contains permethrin, which is known to kill ticks on contact. Do not use permethrin on skin.
- Check pets for ticks and treat as needed.
Click here to view the
Online Resources of Infectious Diseases
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(KGW) A Portland, Oregon company has a fascinating plan for capturing bicycle pedal power to purify water.
“It’s proven technology. We know it works,” says Amy Doering Smith, the CEO of Safi Water Works.
The Portland startup has created a bicycle aimed at helping the 600 million people in the world who don’t have access to clean drinking water.
The bike delivers pedal power to a battery which fuels an ultraviolet bulb.
“Exposure to the bulb purifies and disinfects the water,” Doering Smith explains, “UV is used on a much larger scale for water systems in New York and Seattle.”
Read more: http://bit.ly/1pAhqAO
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3. The Northern Campaign
True to his word, General Mariano Arista directed Mexican troops to cross the Rio Grande. On April 25, 1846, at Rancho de Carricitos (about 25 miles northwest of present-day Brownsville), 2,000
men under command of General Torrejon ambushed a squad of U.S. dragoons led by Captain Seth Thornton. During the skirmish which followed, the patrol lost 14 men killed, with the remainder being taken
prisoner. Two wounded Americans later died.
General Taylor immediately sent a report of the "Thornton Affair" to President Polk. It was received in Washington on the evening of Saturday, May 9, 1846. After consulting with his cabinet on
Sunday, Polk addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress the following day, proclaiming to the assembled senators and representatives: "American blood has been shed on American soil." Not
surprisingly, Polk called for an immediate declaration of war. Two days later, on May 13th, Congress made it official.
In the days immediately following the ambush of Captain Thornton and his men, General Taylor became increasingly troubled by reports that the Mexican army, split into two divisions, had crossed
both above and below the fort, with a view to attacking Taylor's vulnerable supply depot at Point Isabel, located on the Texas coast about twenty miles northeast of Fort Texas. Accordingly, on May 1,
1846, Taylor took the bulk of his troops and marched for Point Isabel, arriving there safely on May 3.
On that very same day, taking advantage of General Taylor's absence, the Mexican forces in Matamoros, commanded by General Mejía, began shelling the tiny garrison left behind at Fort Texas.
The siege and almost constant bombardment lasted six days. Miraculously, during that time the fort's commander, Major Jacob Brown, and Sergeant Horace Weigart of the 7th Infantry were the only
Although greatly outnumbered and unsure when the rest of the "Army of Occupation" would be able to come to the rescue, the garrison, under command of Captain Edgar Hawkins, who took over after
Brown was injured, refused to surrender.
On May 7, after loading a large number of supply wagons, the army set out from Point Isabel to relieve Fort Texas (also called Fort Taylor). The next afternoon, General Taylor found the road to
the fort blocked by the Mexican army, under command of General Arista, at a place called Palo Alto, about eight miles north of the Rio Grande. There, the first major battle of the Mexican War took
place. Primarily an artillery duel, the engagement resulted in heavy casualties for the Mexicans and the need to pull back to a more easily defensible position. Since they were not driven from the
field, the Americans claimed a victory, although it was not a decisive one.
The following day, about three miles north of the river, the two armies met again at Resaca de la Palma. There, the Mexicans were firmly entrenched along a long, shallow stream, hidden in the
dense chaparral characteristic of the region. This time both infantry and dragoons were called into play, as well as artillery, and the losses on both sides were much higher than the day before.
In the end, the Mexican army was defeated and driven back to Matamoros. General Arista's victory meal, being prepared at his camp nearby, in anticipation of success, was eaten that evening by
Following their victories at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma (and the subsequent relief of Fort Texas), the American army added to its successes with the bloodless occupation of Matamoros on May
18, 1846, after Arista abandoned the town and withdrew his forces to the relative safety of Monterey, about a hundred miles to the south.
During the summer of 1846 the war entered a brief lull while thousands of volunteers, authorized by Congress for twelve-months service, arrived in the lower Rio Grande Valley. At the same time,
volunteers initially mustered in for three and six months had to be let go. Taylor, frustrated with the Quartermaster's Department at New Orleans, was unable to move further into Mexico for lack of
transportation and supplies. As a result, he and the thousands under his command had to sit and wait until the end of July before they could begin moving upriver to the next staging point, a little
Mexican town called Camargo.
By September, although it was necessary to leave a number of troops behind in Camargo, Taylor managed to march a large force to Monterey and lay siege to that city. The fighting was fierce. In the
end, it came down to hand-to-hand combat in the city streets. But again, the American army was victorious after the Mexican forces agreed to a capitulation, the terms of which were criticized in the
During August and September 1846, a second force, made up largely of volunteers, was assembled at San Antonio de Bexar, Texas, under command of General John E. Wool. By the beginning of October,
they were on the march into Mexico, to link up with Taylor in Chihuahua.
A third large force, mostly Missouri volunteers under command of Colonel Alexander Doniphan, after helping General Stephen W. Kearney secure Santa Fé, New Mexico in August 1846, began their
long march south into Chihuahua. They first fought a battle near present-day Las Cruces, New Mexico, then occupied El Paso del Norte (present-day Ciudad Juarez) before continuing their journey. In
February 1847, they were met by a large Mexican force near the Sacramento River in Chihuahua, where a battle ensued and Doniphan's men emerged victorious.
Almost simultaneously, on February 22nd and 23rd, 1847, the American army under command of General Taylor, along with General Wool and his men (who had arrived in Northern Mexico by that time),
fought a Mexican force led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, vastly superior in numbers, near the hacienda of Buena Vista.
The Battle of Buena Vista (or La Angostura, as it is called in Mexico) was one that could have gone either way for the Americans. It was the single bloodiest battle of the war. Hard pressed on all
sides, fighting on some of the roughest terrain any army has ever encountered, it appeared for a while that the Mexicans might prevail. But in the end, Santa Anna withdrew, leaving Taylor with yet
another victory to his credit. This added to his stature as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States - a position he was to win in the election of 1848.
After Buena Vista, Northern Mexico was relatively quiet as the Mexican army's attention was, of necessity, drawn to the central coast. There, in March 1847, General Winfield Scott's "Army of
Invasion," landed at Vera Cruz, the first step towards their ultimate goal: the capital, Mexico City.
END OF "THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGN"
< BACK | HOME | NEXT >
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Create Excel names that refer to cells, a range of cells, a constant value, or a formula. Then, use those names in formulas, to replace values or cell references. If Excel names refer to cells or a range of cells, you can use the names for navigation, to quickly select the named range.
In Excel, you can create names that refer to a single cell, a group of cells on the worksheet, a specific value, or a formula. After you define Excel names, you can use the names in a formula, instead of using a constant value or cell references. For example, a cell that contains the tax rate could be named SalesTax. Then, other cells could multiply sales amounts by the named range, SalesTax.
For Excel names that refer to a cell or a range of cells, you can use the names to quickly select the named range, and that makes navigation easier. Just select a range name from a drop down list, and you'll immediately go to that range.
You can create a named range quickly by typing in the Name Box. There are a few rules for Excel names
An Excel name can't contain space characters, and there are other rules to follow when you're creating a name.
After you create a named range, you might need to change the cells that it refers to. Follow these steps to change the range reference:
To quickly name individual cells, or individual ranges, you can use worksheet labels as the names. Watch this video to see the steps. Written instructions are below the video.
A quick way to create names is to base them on worksheet labels. In the example shown below, the cells in column C will be named, based on the labels in the adjacent cells, in column B.
To name cells, or ranges, based on worksheet labels:
After creating names that refer to a range, you can select a name in the Name Box dropdown list, to select the named range on the worksheet.
You can also use names in formulas. For example, you could have a group of cells with sales amounts for the month of January. Name those cells JanSales, then use this formula to calculate the total amount:
In the following example, the names TotalSales and TaxRate have been defined.
=TotalSales * TaxRate
To view the steps in a short Named Range video, click here.
If the list that you want to name will change frequently, having items added and removed, you should create a dynamic named range. A dynamic named range will automatically adjust in size, when the list changes. Here are two ways to create a dynamic named range:
In Excel 2007 and later, the easiest way to create a dynamic named range is to start by creating a named Excel table. Then, define a range based on one or more columns in that table.
In this example there is a list of parts on the worksheet, and a named table, and dynamic named ranges will be created.
First, to create the table:
Next, to create a dynamic list of part IDs:
To see the name's definition, click the Ribbon's Formulas tab, and click Name Manager. There are two named items in the list -- the Parts table, with the default name, Table1, and the PartIDList, which is based on the PartID field in Table1.
Because the PartIDList named range is based on a named table, the list will automatically adjust in size if you add or remove part IDs in the list.
When you create a named range in Excel, it doesn't automatically include new items. If you plan to add new items to a list, you can use a dynamic formula to define an Excel named range. Then, as new items are added to the list, the named range will automatically expand to include them.
If you don't want to use a named table, you can use a dynamic formula to define a named range. As new items are added, the range will automatically expand.
Note: Dynamic named ranges will not appear in the Name Box dropdown list. However, you can type the names in the Name Box, to select the range on the worksheet.
Last updated: June 22, 2016 7:52 PM
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Photo: John Talbot (flickr)
Does your dog seem unhappy? Well, in a new study in Current Biology, researchers say that dogs can become pessimistic in certain situations.
Leaving your already anxious dogs at home alone may leave them in a permanent bad mood.
Twenty-four shelter dogs were studied. Researchers placed dogs in isolated rooms with furniture. While alone, dogs barked, jumped and scratched. Next, researchers placed bowls in two rooms.
The bowls either did or did not contain food. They trained the dogs to understand that sometimes the bowl contained food and sometimes it didn’t. Researchers then placed bowls in random spots in the rooms.
Some dogs raced to the bowls and were said to be optimistic. While other dogs slowly explored the food and were said to be more pessimistic. The more a dog acted out against the furniture, the more likely the dog was to have a pessimistic reaction.
What It Means
Dogs that are left alone for many hours a day and exhibit separation anxiety may need special treatment. They could be unhappy or unstable.
- When a Dog’s Dish Seems Half Empty (The New York Times)
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