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Of Illinois' last seven governors, four have ended up going to prison. They are:
—Rod Blagojevich—Governor from 2002 through 2009, when he became the first Illinois governor in history to be impeached. Convicted of numerous corruption charges in 2011, including allegations that he tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama's old Senate seat.
— George Ryan—Governor from 1999 through 2003. After leaving office, was convicted of racketeering for actions as governor and secretary of state. In November 2007, began serving a 6 1/2 year sentence in federal prison.
— Dan Walker—Governor from 1973-1977. Pleaded guilty to bank fraud and other charges in 1987 related to his business activities after leaving office. Spent about a year and a half in federal prison.
— Otto Kerner—Governor from 1961-1968. Resigned to become judge, then was convicted of bribery related to his tenure as governor. Sentenced to three years in prison. | <urn:uuid:72880364-61ec-478d-a783-fefd229a8a2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/nationalbreaking/ci_22479079/4-illinois-last-7-governors-went-prison | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980492 | 204 | 1.742188 | 2 |
It mandates that the arbitrator’s fee is to be equally shared by the parties (with no fee cap, meaning RAC could drag the arbitration out indefinitely and make it prohibitively expensive for the plaintiff).
The form contract was presented to him as a non-negotiable condition of his employment.
The decision is already drawing flak from liberal groups and lawmakers, who contend it will stack the scales in favor of corporations. In a statement, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said, “five members of the Supreme Court struck a blow to our nation’s civil rights laws and the protections that American workers have long enjoyed under those laws.”
Until this Supreme Court decision, consumers and employees had the right, under Section 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act, to go to court and ask a judge to find an arbitration agreement unconscionable or unfair and therefore unenforceable. Although most arbitration agreements are enforceable, court review weeded out the very worst abuses—like imposing exorbitant fees, forcing consumers or employees to travel great distances to arbitrate, or allowing a corporation to pick an arbitrator that is clearly biased in its favor. | <urn:uuid:11eac1ce-3f4c-4ba3-9cf2-3bd19a10b443> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://broadcastunionnews.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967048 | 242 | 1.835938 | 2 |
If you’re looking for the quickest way to burn calories and have fun at the same time, exercising in the water may be the perfect thing for you. Unlike your typical stationary bike or treadmill, when you perform exercises in a pool, your body pushes against the water, increasing the resistance and ultimately helping you burn more calories. Water exercises are especially beneficial for overweight people, who are ready to get in shape, because the moves take pressure off the joints, making them safer to perform. Beginning October 26th, WD will feature a new water aerobic exercise move every Monday, Wednesday and Friday that will make a great addition to your aquatic workout routine. Check out the videos we have already featured, including the Kicks and Treading Water exercises and then watch today's video, taught by expert Shawna Zorka, as she demonstrates the side ab exercise using a noodle. | <urn:uuid:7cd78c55-31ff-4793-bc87-92a5078c055a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/workout-routines/water-aerobics-exercise-side-abs-99710 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955732 | 177 | 1.828125 | 2 |
You can be, by following these simple instructions. Background: there is a popular software package for operating surveillance cameras over the Internet, called Axis. This program writes all the stuff coming from the camera into a cgi file which it puts in a subdirectory called /axis-cgi/. Therefore, all the URLs Axis creates in the world have this string in them by default.
Google, the well-known search engine, has a function to look for search terms within URLs by prefixing them with the command inurl: Therefore, we can see all the cameras by searching for inurl:axis-cgi. Try it . Operating notes: most of the camera feeds point to IP addresses rather than domain names, so you will need to do an IPWHOIS lookup to find out whose camera you are looking at. Static images will have the rough format axis-cgi/jpg/image.cgi, while streaming video can usually be found by altering the URL to /mjpg/video.cgi. If the video doesn't start at once, click refresh or add "showlength=1" without the quotes to the end of the URL, then hit refresh. Beware that these streams may suck up quite a lot of system resources.
Now you, too, can be astonished by East Ayrshire council's glaring lack of clue, as shown by the fact their street CCTV appears to be openly available on the web: Camera 1, Kilmarnock, and Camera 2, John Finnie St. Can anyone comment on the Data Protection Act implications? After all, it's one thing to knowingly enter private property, but surely it's something quite different to forcibly film anyone and everyone in East Ayrshire and transfer the results to anyone who asks for them?
Edit: A hat tip is in order to Ray. | <urn:uuid:1d11bc26-d867-4581-92f5-19485cef254a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://yorkshire-ranter.blogspot.com/2005/10/lord-of-thousand-cctvs.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935096 | 368 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Hey all. I'm interested in learning about how you all go about choosing a location for snow pits. Specifically, what are some best practices in assessing a slope when coming over a ridge line? For example, you climb the west face and plan to drop in on the east. Lets assume there is no cornice to cut.
Do most people set an anchor and belay down a few yards and dig a pit while on rope? Do many of you carry rope with you?
How do you assess a slope when you come over a ridge and haven't had any test slopes or any similar aspects to investigate?
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2012 7:42 am Posts: 34 Location: Bozeman
Even if you belay down and dig a pit it will be unrepresentative of the slope you will ride. Climbing a west slope and dropping in on an east facing slope with prevailing westerly winds will typically result in a deeper snow pack near the ridge than lower in the slope due to wind deposition. This will on the long term provide more stable snow, but in the short term during or shortly after a wind event less stable snow than the rest lower on the slope.
That is why I'm curious what people do. Everything I've read indicates that the upper part of the slope, close to the ridge, will be have larger deposits of wind transported snow. So digging right at the top won't tell you anything about mid-slope. What do you do in this situation websherpa?
I think before you even step on snow you should have a basic understanding of what the snow is doing from the UAC. Once you have a basic idea of what the issues are you can start planning your tour. Is it going to be trees, meadows, peaks, etc. I'm looking at general snowpack, deep slab, wind slab, new snow, crust sandwiches, etc. New snow if any, how much and what density. Winds especially, danger rose readings, direction, speed. Recent activity, observations from the UAC and here.
Once on snow I'm trying to use my own observations with what I read to form my final decision. Depending on what your looking for I like punching my handle around to get a feel for layers/crusts, density inversions,etc. Little hasty's for wind slab, or to check how new is bonding to old. Pit's to see how a persistent weak layer heals over time or with the weight of new snow and for general snow structure. I'm also looking for recent acitivity and taking advantage to jump around on every little small test slope I come across on the way up.
Known: winds hammered higher elevations, possible wind slab. Recent activity on the same aspect.
Obvious wind slab, clean shears with the hasty. Jumped on some test slopes stubborn.
Obvious cross loading.
Pocket, slight convex/roll feature, rocky area. Changed my exit plans which were a gully exit and took the long way back out.
More to the point of strategies once on top. If theres a cornice I'll kick it but I think more importantly I think is to have a descent plan. I think you can ride many slopes that have a potential to slide (not including deep slabs of course just wind slabs, soft slabs, etc.) by choosing a smart route. Intentionally avoiding sweet spots, ski cutting, considering your runnouts, and having a general plan, cut here straight there.
I watched Alta bombs pulliing out similar soft slab pockets. I kicked some cornices with no result. My plan was couple turns and then straight it, thinking I might find a pocket in the apron. I did, and was able to use it for the up.
This one speaks directly to what you asked. This is this year, no new snow but winds were in the 70mph range. Slope were getting wind loaded. It was a blessing in a sense because it reset lines that were probably already ridden. You climb W and ride E/NE, so I had no first hand data what conditions were like. When I got to the top the winds were nuking and the slope was obviously cross loaded. However it was isolated and I felt I had a good plan for the descent. Ski cut to perfect safe zone. Stay riders left on a more bench lower angle part of the slope then cut into the chute and straighten out the nose. I chose not to ride a fun line lookers right in the photo because it had a small roll and a sharp turn in the runnout and instead take my same line down for lap two.
Those are my thoughts. Long winded but It's fun to organize my ideas into writing once and a while, thanks for the great post.
My point as it relates to the original question is kind of spread out in all my tangents and is confusing so I thought I would summarize what I was trying to say. I think the idea is the same whether it's a slope you have hands on data for or a slope you have no hands on data for. That is what do you do with the information you already have or observed so far, what is your final decision. Hopefully, you already have some information, wind speeds, wind direction, new snow amounts, etc. You have a general plan based on the current hazards. If it's deep slabs and persistent weak layers your simply writing certain slopes/aspects/angels etc., out of your plans for the day and sticking to meadows or S. faces etc. If it's wind slabs or small soft slabs that are not really propogating but pockety etc., your looking to avoid those obvious features that hold pockets and really making a plan for the descent, ski cutting if possible, paying attention to runouts, rolls and other features, etc. so if you do find a pocket you can react. I hope that makes sense. I think roping up and digging a pit is excellent, really just roping up and doing a hard ski cut across the sweet spot would even be better. But like you said spacial variability, slight changes in aspects, features like gullies and roll overs, etc all play a role.
Edit to add one more thing related to my pictures. In the first instance I had multiple red flags plenty of hands on information yet I justified riding the slope which was a bad decision. In the second and third instances I no chance to dig a pit yet felt comfortable with the info I had observed and read and my overall plan, the terrain, etc enough to justify the decision which I feel were good choices.
Utah - I must of read this post like 5 times through over the past few months. I'm sure it won't be the last time either. Thank you so much for the lengthy response. It's super helpful to have the pictures with overlaid commentary. I usually keep it pretty mellow but as I learn more I'm looking to get into some more fun and steep terrain.
Utah - I'm curious about the run with the soft slab. Did you suspect a pocket in the apron solely by your observation of Alta ski patrol during the ascent or were their other clues as well? Why on the apron and not in the chute as well?
Alta gave me a bit of info on aspect and elevation and the apron provided a nice prone to avy feature. The chutes and rock features in the cirque are steep 40+ so snow doesn't really stick it flushes itself as snow builds and gravity wins and ends up in the apron which is a 35+ degree wide open bowl perfect for avalanching. Your question prompted me to pull out my "Chuting Gallery" book which talks about an avalanche that happened in that same chute. The picture of that slide is identical to the slide I triggered a bit deeper though. So I knew it could slide which is also why I bombed that stuff, I was afraid of what I would find in the apron. Take care. | <urn:uuid:d97a3ecd-8d8d-483c-9b8d-d3f754e861dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://splitboard.com/talk/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14441 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968319 | 1,660 | 1.78125 | 2 |
"The Tycooon" was a pet name that his staff had for him.
I watched the PBS program on Lee last night. On the whole I thought it remarkably fair. The zeitgeist does not permit a truly objective consideration of the man but it was an attempt to do so. There was a certain amount of talk about; his ambition, his defense of chattel slavery, his insistence that his wife's slaves actually work at Arlington, his bad temper at times.
The production acknowledged that he resigned from the US Army in 1861 and that his resignation was accepted. The production implied that but for the generosity of the victors he would have been hanged fror treason. Rubbish. None of the Confederate leaders were tried for treason because it was clear that their defense would be on the basis of the legitimacy of secession. The victors did not want that.
In regard to the slaves, his father in law, Washington's grandson by adoption, ruined the family agribusiness financially and then promised the slaves at Arlington emancipation in his will. Lee was called home from the Army to save his wife's family business. He could not do that if he let the slaves depart. Needless to say they were unhappy with that and there was conflict. This was a lot like Jefferson's predicament when faced with his father in law's debts. Jefferson insisted on paying these off although not legally obligated to do so. "Planting" was not always a profitable business.
Lee's ambition? Would he not have accepted Lincon's offer of command of the US Army if that had been his main impetus in life?
His bad temper? Surely that is a joke! The man lived with stress that killed him. His cold rages were feared. A rebuke from him had the power to kill the soul because he was so revered by "his people." "Come now, General Hill, bury these poor men and let us speak no more of this," he said to AP Hill after Hill tried to explain the debacle at Bristoe Station.
He cared only for his own social class? If that is so, then the men who followed him to the bitter end were truly fools. Longstreet wrote in later life that early in 1863 he noticed that the men would fall silent, stand and remove their hats as Lee passed. Longstreet wrote that at that point he began to consider the Old Man to be a danger because these men would attempt anything for him. Anything.
Was he a Great Captain? That is debatable. He learned and improved steadily as the war progressed. Even near the end at the North Anna he was dangerous. If he had not gone down sick there, he and his scarecrows might have destroyed US 2nd Corps. pl | <urn:uuid:51be1043-4e31-4058-a5e3-565678b04648> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2011/01/the-tycoon-re-lee.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.994869 | 557 | 1.742188 | 2 |
View Full Version : reffing
03-04-2003, 08:53 AM
There have been some posts about poor reffing. What is your definition of a great ref? Just curious.
03-04-2003, 03:27 PM
My definition would be:
Someone who communicates well with players
Gives and receives Respect
Controls the game but does not dominate it
Is able to skate with the players
Is knowledgeable of the rules
Is in posistion to make the correct calls
Has no bias
Is a good person off the court (Most people disapprove of having an ass as a ref)
03-04-2003, 04:21 PM
o and a good ref should be able to call penalties on the right person...i have seen many times resently that someone will for example trip someone and the ref who puts an innoscent person in the box...same team, but not the person who tripped them
03-04-2003, 04:41 PM
We had that problem a few years ago, solved it by having the ref who has called the penalty use their free arm to point at the player as he skastes, the ref, if he is down low, he will wait for the ref up high to come down low then cover high. It works pretty good, but I have been caught a few tiems reffing younger age bracket games at 6 or 7 am and not pointing, but usually the kid knows they got the penalty and will skate to the box for you.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.0 Copyright © 2013 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:87ad2056-9eab-43a2-9216-dc172f7c268c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inlinehockeycentral.com/archive/index.php/t-7647.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957234 | 348 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The Federal Housing Administration rescinded a rule that would have forced potential homebuyers to settle ongoing credit disputes of more than $1,000 before getting financing, according to an alert sent to lenders Friday.
The FHA quietly drafted the rule in March to mitigate risks to its emergency fund. The rule went into effect April 1. Borrowers had to either pay off the outstanding balance on collections accounts or document an arrangement to pay before the mortgage was approved.
Industry experts pushed back, particularly homebuilders and lenders with much of their business tied to first-time homebuyers.
Combined with the increasing insurance premiums to bolster an FHA emergency fund on the brink of a bailout, many claimed more business would be pushed to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage giants the government wants to wind down.
On April 3, the FHA clarified a borrower can be exempted from the rule if the disputed collections account stems from a "life event," such as a medical bill, death, divorce or loss of employment.
Lisa Marquis Jackson, vice president of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, said roughly 25% of the builders they surveyed the week FHA announced the revised rule anticipated either a delay or losing up to 60% of their sales.
"The ripple effects of the FHA credit dispute rule would have had a notable impact on the housing market," Marquis Jackson said.
The FHA delayed the rule a week after it went into effect and said it would take comments from the industry until July.
According to the letter sent Friday, the FHA completely revoked the rule. Any loans written to fit the guidelines in the week between April 1 and April 8 will not be deemed in violation of HUD requirements.
An FHA spokesperson said they are still taking comments on the original proposal.
"We'll issue new guidance very soon," the spokesperson said.
Edward Mills, senior vice president at FBR Capital Markets, said the FHA has to strike a tough balance between helping potential homeowners who cannot get credit elsewhere and protecting the insurance fund.
"FHA killing off the rule is not a surprise when you take into account the resounding objection from the housing finance community and their concern that this would overly constrain credit," Mills said. "This action shows how it can be incredibly difficult to make choices that move towards protecting the insurance fund over keeping mortgage credit available."
Don’t miss out: get HW delivered via email | <urn:uuid:5304dcd2-eb31-4610-9822-e9ecc83c3c67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.housingwire.com/news/2012/06/18/fha-rescinds-1000-credit-dispute-rule | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975478 | 498 | 1.648438 | 2 |
What is the RICS Saying?
- The UK housing market faced a stalemate during June, as demand failed to pick up and supply of new property fell back;
- Demand for property showed little change in June;
- New instructions, which had been stronger in April and May, fell back to a net balance of +1 per cent (from +14 per cent) in June, indicating that sellers are now holding off from putting their properties on the market. This was in part attributed to uncertainty over the economy and a 'wait and see' attitude from potential vendors;
- Surveyors note that properties are still selling, but only if priced realistically;
- House prices at a national level continued to slip during June, with 27 per cent more surveyors reporting price falls rather than rises – the negative net balance was little different from the previous month's reading (-28 per cent).
What Are We Seeing in Scotland?
It should be noted that MOV8 Real Estate operates predominantly on the east coast of Scotland, although we do market some properties through the central belt of Scotland too. June ended up being our second-busiest month of the year in terms of new instructions AND sales. Only March of 2011 shaded ahead in terms of new instructions. So our experience of the market isn't quite what the RICS is suggesting. Prices do seem stable, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Buyer and seller demand also seems stable.
The RICS survey covers estate agents who are also surveyors and members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. It's a good indication of what's going on in certain areas, but it certainly doesn't provide a very accurate representation of what is happening in Scotland where far fewer estate agents, proportionately, are RICS members. | <urn:uuid:f47bd31c-d490-4547-81ed-e1a5c5103ca6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mov8realestate.com/blog/item/83-royal-institute-of-chartered-surveyors-july-2011-housing-market-survey-not-what-were-seeing.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976311 | 363 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Golf is on the curriculum for students in Indian River County, thanks to the Indian River Golf Foundation.
The foundation has been conducting after-school golf programs for elementary and middle-school students.
The group uses the national "Starting New At Golf" program for third- through fifth-graders, and also is open for kindergartners through second- graders.
The program contains age-appropriate equipment and programming to effectively teach golf to all ages and ability levels.
Students from Sebastian River Elementary and Highlands Elementary were able to show off their skills last Saturday at the inaugural tournament at the Indian River Club — with 16 players competing.
The team from Sebastian Elementary, coached by James Batory and assistants Kim Toperzer and Katie Toperzer, came out on top. The team consisted of Dylan Martin, Mikey Hutchins and Dominic Adams.
Middle school students from Gifford, Oslo, Sebastian River and Storm Grove recently competed in a short-game skills challenge at Sandridge Golf Club.
Tournaments involving other schools will be scheduled throughout the school year.
Into the summer, the Indian River County Recreation Department and the Foundation are offering more programs.
Forty-four players — ages 6 to 17 — competed in the second annual Atlantic Junior Golf Team Series Championship at the Indian River Club.
The championship marked the final event for the season, which started in January.
The series champions were Blake Schmalenberger (high school boys), Cassidy Stepanek (high school girls), Griffin Thompson (middle school boys) and Sarah Noonan (middle school girls).
Port St. Lucie's Keiser University is offering a bachelor of science degree in sports management with "concentrations in golf, psychology and sports medicine and fitness technology."
The golf management program teaches students to understand the legal aspects of managing a golf facility as it relates to business law and human-resource management.
Anyone interested in the program should contact the College of Golf campus at 1860 Fountainview Blvd., Port St. Lucie by calling 888-355-4464, or go to www.collegeofgolf.KeiserUniversity.edu.
Martin County Country Club reported three recent aces.
Nov. 20: Charlie Lavansback aced the No. 13 hole at the Blue Course.
Nov. 27: Peggy Mooney aced the No. 2 hole on the Gold Course.
Dec. 6: David Green aced the No. 13 hole on the Blue Course.
Barbara Webster aced the No. 14 hole at Sebastian Municipal Course on Dec. 11 with a 7-wood. The shot was witnessed by Connie Varischetti
Jim Applegate scored an ace at the Santa Lucia River Club in Port St. Lucie on Dec. 9. He holed a 7-iron on the 147-yard, 14th hole. It was his fourth ace. The latest ace was witnessed by Buddy Overholzer, Ron Applegate and Lynn Rosely.
Kate Stadtmueller scored a hole-in-one on Dec. 5 at the Vista Plantation Club. Her ace came on the No. 6 hole, playing at 80 yards. She sank the shot with a 7-iron and it was witnessed by Linda Keenleyside and Lill Pool. | <urn:uuid:52014327-54cc-4427-b066-78a0660d4f34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/dec/20/starting-new-program-hit-with-students/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945187 | 672 | 1.765625 | 2 |
There has been lots of discussion over the years about the “Kitchen Triangle” – a concept that is rooted in the days when Mom did all the cooking while family members parked themselves at the table waiting to be fed. When the meal ended, everyone scattered and Mom was left behind to do all the clean-up. No more! Families have changed since Leave it to Beaver. In many households, both parents either work full-time or have schedules and lifestyles that make the kitchen the active center of the home with many people chipping in. Today, more than one person often cooks, preps and cleans up.
Islands are going to one-level, cabinet doors are either recessed or flat panel and low-maintenance countertops are gaining in popularity. These are just some of the observations we’ve made at Lobkovich Kitchen Designs over the past year. We design about 50 kitchens each year and are always looking at trends in kitchen design. Whatever you choose for your kitchen, it’s all about lasting fashion. Of course, the most important thing is that your new kitchen reflects your taste and works with your family’s lifestyle.
The placement of electrical outlets in a new kitchen always presents a unique challenge. One of the primary hurdles that you must cross in designing a new kitchen is adhering to local building codes. While electrical building codes vary by county, most jurisdictions require them to be located every 4 to 6 feet – with one or two on a kitchen island. The reasoning behind this regulation is to prevent hazards such as stretching a cord across the sink or across a passageway.
Everyone has a face. A kitchen is no different. As humans, our faces express our personality and mood. They are also the first thing we look at when connecting with others. Kitchen’s need a face as well – a focal point people notice first when they enter the space. A kitchen should express the mood and personality of the kitchen. While all elevations in the kitchen should have some interest, the face is the main event with all other elements supporting its leading role.
Since the beginning of human history, the source of water has been one of the most essential elements in the preparation of meals. In the modern day, the kitchen sink became the first “appliance” and remains the workhorse in every kitchen. Some surveys have indicated that we spend upwards of 75% of our time in the kitchen at the sink. This means getting the kitchen sink right in any kitchen design is essential.
Most kitchens have at least one corner. Designing corners presents a unique opportunity to maximize storage space. The traditional solution to the corner storage dilemma is the Lazy Susan. Lazy Susans offer a simple and effective solution. Either rotating or hinging doors are used to access a “two-sided” corner. The Lazy Susan includes a series of rotating shelves inside the cabinet. The best ones are mounted on shelves (which may be adjusted to specific heights), utilize the entire footprint of the corner, and have no center post to get in the way. | <urn:uuid:1b36e1d5-76a4-4216-b8e5-9585a8144dd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lobkovich.com/blog/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961464 | 632 | 1.8125 | 2 |
February 19, 2013 — Sacramento– The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and the California Tax Education Council (CTEC) remind California taxpayers who use a tax professional to make sure they have the proper information to choose one carefully.
CTEC, a non-profit corporation established by the California legislature, and FTB have partnered to educate taxpayers about tax preparer’s legal responsibilities, and to make sure those preparers are complying with the law. While more than 41,000 registered tax preparers are ready to assist California taxpayers, some operate outside the law and run the risk of penalties for themselves and their clients.
FTB advises taxpayers to avoid tax preparers who:
- Claim they can get larger refunds than other tax preparers.
- Base their fee on a percentage of the refund amount.
- Refuse to sign the tax return as the paid preparer even though it is required by law.
- Do not provide a copy of the tax return for the taxpayer’s records.
FTB Publication 982, How to Select an Income Tax Return Preparer offers more guidance on choosing a tax professional. Taxpayers should make sure their preparer is a licensed CPA, enrolled agent, attorney, or a registered tax preparer.
The following organizations provide information about licensed and registered tax professionals in California:
- California Board of Accountancy dca.ca.gov/cba.
- California Society of Certified Public Accountantscalcpa.org.
- State Bar of California calbar.ca.gov.
- California Society of Enrolled Agents csea.org.
- California Tax Education Council ctec.org.
California requires anyone preparing state and federal tax returns for a fee and who is not an attorney, CPA or enrolled agent to register as a tax preparer with CTEC. Each CTEC-registered tax preparer must complete courses on federal and state tax laws each year, plus obtain a $5,000 surety bond to protect clients against fraud.
Unregistered tax preparers are issued a $2,500 penalty, which doubles if the individual continues to prepare returns. Last year, FTB assessed 122 tax preparers with penalties for failing to be properly licensed or registered.
If taxpayers suspect a tax preparer is fraudulent, they should inform FTB online at ftb.ca.gov by selecting “Report Tax Fraud” under the online services, or by calling 800.540.FILE (3453). If a tax preparer cannot be verified as either an attorney, CPA, CTEC-registered tax preparer, or enrolled agent, consumers are asked to fill out a “Noncompliant Complaint Form” at www.ctec.org.
Source: State of CA Franchise Tax Board
Congressman Sherman Announces How Los Angeles Residents Can Find Out If They Have Unclaimed Tax Refunds
CBS Los Angeles and CBS 2 News Los Angeles reported on Saturday, April 14, 2012 that Congressman Brad Sherman (D – Sherman Oaks) has uncovered more than 4,000 taxpayers in LA County who are owed checks from the IRS.
The government says they have been unable to find the 4,176 people in Los Angeles County are owed about $6,722,735 in tax refunds, but at a press conference Saturday, Sherman said he was able to track down some of the recipients. Combined, the LA County residents are owed $6.7 million.
On his website http://bradsherman.house.gov/index.shtml states that Sherman, who is a CPA and tax law specialist, will also volunteer his services to help senior citizens and other local residents at a free tax clinic at Pierce College.
To help assist taxpayers collect their refund, Congressman Sherman has posted a list of all Los Angeles County residents who are owed a refund for their 2010 taxes on his web page.
See if the IRS Owes YOU Money!
For All Residents in Los Angeles County: CA LA County Undeliverable Refunds
If you see your name, call the IRS at (800) 829-1040 and ask forForm 3911 to claim your refund. If you live outside the Los Angeles County Area (or if you did live outside the LA County area when a refund may have been sent to you), call the IRS at that same main number, (800) 829-1040, and an IRS service representative will help you.
More Helpful Refund Information:
Taxpayers should also check with the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) for unclaimed refunds. There are some 52,000 old refunds in California from previous years remaining at the FTB which are cumulatively worth $17 million. The largest outstanding individual refund is worth over $39,000.
To claim a missing refund from the FTB, you must call them at (800) 338-0505 for assistance. Through this telephone number, the FTB can initiate an investigation into a missing refund and, if applicable, issue a new refund check.
Reminder to Taxpayers:
If you need extra time paying your taxes during these hard economic times, you have the option of filing an IRS Form 9465 to request a monthly installment plan (or apply online at http://www.irs.gov). You can also file a California FTB Form 3561 to request an installment plan for your state taxes.
Photo credit to: http://bradsherman.house.gov | <urn:uuid:c7b7c018-d4a2-4fed-8d28-37c9f77ae79c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://diversitynewsmagazine.com/tag/franchise-tax-board/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934032 | 1,123 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Labor & Employment
EEOC Opinion Says Title VII Protects Transgender Workers
Posted Apr 25, 2012 6:00 AM CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
An opinion by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says discrimination against transgender workers amounts to sex discrimination that violates federal law.
The opinion (PDF) issued Monday says such discrimination is based on sex and a violation of Title VII. Gay Marriage Watch, the Washington Blade and the Miami Herald blog Gay South Florida have stories.
The opinion was issued as a result of a complaint by Mia Macy, who claims she was turned down for a contract job at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after she informed a hiring official that she was transitioning from male to female. Previously, Macy says, she was promised the job as long as she passed the background check.
In a press release, the Transgender Law Center calls the opinion “a landmark opinion.” The center’s executive director, Masen Davis, called the opinion “a game changer for transgender America.” | <urn:uuid:48740d04-c87d-4a79-b3cf-b52e322248f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/eeoc_opinion_says_title_vii_protects_transgender_workers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956576 | 215 | 1.703125 | 2 |
One of the pilots, now retired Air Force Lt. Col. Mac Secord, shared his story with the Rotary Club of Griffin last Thursday as the guest of local pilot Phillip Smith.
After joking about being an Alabama graduate and past Kiwanis Club of Atlanta president speaking to a Rotary club just days before the Georgia-Alabama game, Secord asked how many remembered what they were doing 48 years ago.
“It was one of the few times in my life when people were shooting at me,” Secord said, “so it stands out.”
He explained the Congo, “by most accounts is the richest country in natural resources — gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, precious metals, worth about $25 trillion. The same thing that precipitated this mission is now happening again over there.”
The Congo is a former Belgian colony, and “the Belgians were run out in 1960,” Secord said, “with nobody left trained in government administration.” In November 1964, a group of rebels, the Simbas, took over the city of Stanleyville, the head of navigation for the Congo River.
“For some reason they didn’t like white folks and rounded them up in a hotel where they were starved, beaten, and the Simbas cut off various body parts,” Secord said. “They shot and killed a medical missionary who had been there for years.”
Belgium hired 500 commandos and arranged with the U.S. and other countries for an airlift to rescue the hostages, who were mostly religious and medical missionaries as well as business people in the mining industry.
Secord was a C-130 pilot stationed in France at the time.
“All the planes across Europe were recalled,” he said. “We were told to go on crew rest at 10 a.m., and alerted at 4:30 p.m., to man our planes and fly to Belgium.”
The 12 planes loaded up the 500 commandos and supplies and headed out, stopping to refuel in Moron, Spain. Secord said “only the navigators were allowed to get off the planes and could only tell us the destination oncce we reached 10,000 feet.”
He said they flew around Africa to Ascension Island, which he said was a British possession about seven miles across, half of it runway. After three days, he said they flew into Kamina in the Congo, then into Stanleyville to rescue the missionaries.
He explained the plan was for the commandos to parachute in off the first six planes, secure the airfield and head into town to get the hostages and march them back. He said “somebody told the Simbas, they put down 55 gallon drums and junk cars. Job one was to clear the runway so the others could land with supplies and equipment.”
Secord said “they told us 45 minutes to an hour, but nobody took into account the Simbas all along the route. They had to do a fire fight, so it took two and half to three hours.”
Secord said he was was the last one in due to mechanical problems, so I was the first to leave. He said the commandos retured and loaded hostages onto the waiting planes, and “we flew out with about 125 people on board — the plane is rated for 97.”
He said the rebels shot up at the plane, into the wings, where all the fuel is stored.
“There was an awful lot of fuel pouring out near engine three, so we shut it off. We made our way 900 miles to Leopoldville, the capital, where we were met by the U.S. ambassador.”
He said the whole unit was honored by the king and queen of Belgium, and “there was a victory parade in Brussels, the largest since World War II.” The unit was awarded the 1964 McKay Trophy, the award for the most meritorious flight of the year by U.S. Air Force planes.
He also had two “the rest of the story” additions to the story. He said the C-130 he flew on that mission is now on display at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins.
And he said, about five years ago a Presbyterian missionary from the Congo was speaking at his church.
“My wife asked her if she had heard about the rescue mission,” he said.
The woman told her she said she was 5 years old at the time and her family was among those rescued. | <urn:uuid:5e814f4a-2c20-4506-8a71-1947161713c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.griffindailynews.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Rotary+hears+story+of+Dragon+Rouge%20&id=20994968&instance=news_special_coverage_right_column | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986971 | 962 | 1.734375 | 2 |
As children, excursions with grandma were an adventure, with trips to the ice cream shop, the movies, and local restaurants letting her brag about her grandchild to everyone in earshot. As years pass, the ride into the golden years can get bumpy: If you're financially unprepared, it can take a dramatic turn for the worse and even drive you and your family straight into bankruptcy.
However, there are steps you can take prevent a head-on financial collision when you or a loved one needs expensive care.
The big, sick picture
According to data from author and nursing home law specialist Gabriel Heiser, the average cost of a nursing home today is -- fasten your seatbelt -- nearly $7,000 per month, and a typical Alzheimer's patient will spend almost $400,000 for their nursing home care after diagnosis. The folks at MetLife (MET) report that the national average monthly base rate for a berth in an assisted living community is about $3,300.
Even if Alzheimer's doesn't strike you or a family member, you might still be in trouble. According to a recent Fidelity Investments study, an average 65-year-old couple retiring today can expect to pay $230,000 for health care during retirement. That's just an average, meaning that you may get away with less, but you might also be socked with higher costs.
If you're thinking that it's unlikely that you'll end up in a nursing home or needing long-term care, think again. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys has found that though the risk of financial devastation because of a car accident or home fire is less than 1%, it rises 50% when it comes to long-term care. Research by the folks at Conning & Co. reveals that 60% of those who reach age 65 will need long-term care at some point in their lives. And The Wall Street Journal has reported that there's a 75% chance that at least one member of a 65-year-old couple will need long-term care.
Clearly, there's a good chance that you or a loved one will require some expensive care down the line.
Fortunately, you can protect yourself from being wiped out financially. Long-term care insurance can be a smart option for some. It's not cheap, but that's because there's such a good chance that you'll need it. The price is far lower, though, if you buy it while you're still relatively young, such as in your 50s, instead of your 70s. Putting off the purchase can also end up with you developing a condition that leads to being denied coverage. A few points about long-term care:
- Prices can vary widely by insurer, so shop around. But be sure to buy from a company with a high rating, as you don't want them to be out of business when you suddenly need them.
- Consider paying a little more for your policy in order to add an inflation-adjustment rider, especially if you expect to live for several more decades.
- You can cut the cost a bit by only buying three years of coverage, as the average stay in a nursing home is 28 months, and also by including a waiting period of, say, 90 days before the policy kicks in.
Read up more on long-term care insurance at sites such as the National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information.
The Medicaid option
For some, long-term care insurance may not make sense. If you're relatively wealthy, you may be able to handle your health-care costs out of your own pocket. If you're nearer the other end of the wealth scale or your current age makes available policies unaffordable, you're not necessarily out of luck.
Heiser notes that Medicaid can cover much of your health care needs in retirement -- "but only if you know what it takes to qualify for those benefits." He also recommends that people start planning now, even if they're many years from retiring.
It's true that many people won't qualify for Medicaid, but if you know the requirements, you can manage your affairs in order to meet them. Here are some of the current asset limits for Medicaid applicants, according to Heiser:
- Cash: You can hold $2,000 in cash that does not get counted as an asset in determining your Medicaid eligibility.
- Home: Homes valued at $500,000 or less are not counted as an asset, and some states set a higher bar at $750,000.
- Car: You can own one automobile of any value.
- Death funds: The entire value of preplanned funeral or memorial arrangements are excluded. If you don't have such arrangements, you can exclude a separate bank account of up to $1,500 set aside for funeral expenses. Prepaid burial plots are also excluded.
- Property: Any real or personal property that's required to support you, such as rental properties or other income-generating real estate investments, may be excluded. Rental income needs to be at least 6% of the value of the property to qualify.
- Life insurance: Term life insurance policies aren't considered at all, and only the cash value of a whole life policy is counted.
There's more to it, of course, and rules can change over time. But if you're interested in qualifying for Medicaid assistance, you may be able to swing it. You'd do well to consult a financial planner or elder law expert for more guidance.
Yes, some health-care costs related to caring for ourselves or our loved ones can wipe us out. But they don't have to. A little planning can make a big difference.
Longtime Motley Fool contributor Selena Maranjian holds no position in any company mentioned. | <urn:uuid:cf0e6ca7-ceb9-495b-98b3-c44c24d96eff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/12/dont-let-nana-drive-you-into-bankruptcy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965473 | 1,190 | 1.742188 | 2 |
It was in 2004, on his 45th birthday, when Ron D. Cordes decided that by the time he turned 50 he would be on a different path. He had run AssetMark, the company he founded, since soon after his graduation from the University of California at Berkeley. By 2006, Ron and his partners sold AssetMark to Genworth Financial Management, and he used the proceeds to start a family foundation that would be dedicated to social enterprise and impact investing.
On January 26, 2012, we had the pleasure of hearing Ron tell us his story about the lessons he has learned in “infrastructure building” in the investment services business and how he plans to apply this expertise to impact investing.
Ron’s new venture – ImpactAssets – is a non-profit financial services company that aims to aggregate and deploy capital in sustainable social enterprises. The goals of ImpactAssets are to:
Leverage investments to earn a return and create positive social and environmental impact
Increase the amount of capital flowing to high impact social and environmental enterprises
Speed the adoption of impact investing by investors, philanthropists and their wealth advisors
This is a bold initiative that is providing a “circle of capital” around these social and environmental enterprises to help them solve the major problems of the world. During his speech, Ron drew this image to illustrate his point:
On the investment capital side of the equation, Ron has already moved the needle by developing a public database (ImpactAssets 50) that identifies experienced private debt and equity impact investment fund managers. He is also launching debt and equity products that will soon be available to the masses through financial advisors. Now Ron seeks to understand and tap the human capital side of the equation. How can we promote our best and brightest to seek social enterprise?
Unfortunately, it’s rare that someone who has been as successful in the private sector as Ron Cordes decides to put their full energy, capital and resources into solving social issues. But Ron is doing just that – and expanding that group by providing economic opportunities to hundreds or even thousands of people who are seeking ways to make a difference.
His theory? Countless people have a financial advisor, but few have access to the type of social impact investment products like those that Ron and ImpactAssets are creating. Think about it: your long-term investments like your 401K or IRA accounts are invested in a basket of products that may or not be making money for you, but that capital is certainly not being put to work. If you had the chance to put your money to work solving a social issue – while generating a return – would you pass up that opportunity?
Ron is building an infrastructure for impact investing similar to the one he helped build in financial services. ImpactAssets aims to be the resource to engage financial advisors to offer impact investing products to their clients.
As Ron said, “where the goal of AssetMark was to beat competitors, ImpactAssets is mercilessly focused on doing the best for the world.” How can you be the best for the world?
Interested to learn more? Watch Ron’s entire talk here: | <urn:uuid:dbe447b3-b9ae-4207-bd82-1b4b4a4ddac4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cordesfoundation.org/creating-financial-markets-lessons-from-finance-pioneer-ron-d-cordes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971607 | 642 | 1.671875 | 2 |
From the feasting pagans on ancient amphorae to the anodyne pastels of today's tasting rooms, wine and art have long enjoyed cozy companionship. With Arnulf Rainer's somewhat darker Wine Crucifix safely tucked away in the Tate, what shocking developments could lure Wine Country Mouse down to the lair of sophisticated City Mouse, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art? The labyrinthine "How Wine Became Modern" exhibit, through April 17 at SFMOMA, sports nary a canvas, but when we get to the end, there just might be a bit of cheese.
The chief conceit here is that wine became modern in exactly 1976, the year of the so-called Judgment of Paris. Thus, as visitors escape the curious tinkling of rain sticks in the lobby, they enter a shrine to that competition's award winners, alongside a copy of the actual "Judgment" article itself: a dryly-worded brief sandwiched in between advertisements for tires and whiskey. The scene is stolen by a photomural in which the "wine judges" in exquisite period threads ham it up in a tongue-in-cheek, fictitious tableau that evokes The Last Supper.
The hushed reverie of the Terroir room, where international soil samples bathe in their own pool of soft light, begs an interesting question about the fetishization of rocks; the more illuminating feature here is a computer animation depicting the globalization of the wine trade. Hasn't Port always shipped from Portugal? Yes, but as decades tick away in seconds, the world's wine-producing nations bombard each other from across the globe with ever-more vigorous fountains of red. Australia gives up much of its own toward the United States and Britain, while France largely messes upon itself.
The locally filmed Bottle Shock, loosely based on the events of 1976, makes an appearance in a video loop shared with 60 Minutes' "French Paradox" segment, and others; architects from Gehry to Graves makes the scene; critter-labels share a wall with femme fatales; and a faux-counterfeit magnum of 1946 Domaine de la | <urn:uuid:6404b45b-7112-4adf-b97d-dc39c52d55e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bohemian.com/northbay/wine-for-the-modern-mouse/Content?oid=2184113 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932512 | 443 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Published on Thursday, July 6, 2000 in the Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia Political Activists Under A Mysterious Gaze
Men with cameras have been seen keeping tabs on protest meetings. No one is claiming responsibility.
by Thomas Ginsberg
One man held a cigarette. The other held a camera. Together they kept constant watch on the Race Street rowhouse where activists were planning their peaceful protest for the Republican convention.
Why they were there, nobody is saying.
Four weeks before the huge GOP event, the prospect of raucous protests and civil disobedience has created mini spy dramas on the streets of Philadelphia.
Unidentified men with cameras have been seen openly watching and photographing at least five protest meetings in the past month, including one last Thursday observed by The Inquirer.
Simple, unobtrusive surveillance from a public street is not illegal or unprecedented, and, unlike undercover work in a private meeting, it does not require a court order.
Still, the men doing the surveillance have refused to identify themselves or their mission. Police officials say the men are not from the Police Department. FBI officials declined to comment.
That has left activists to come up with their own answers.
Jody Dodd, an organizer at the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, whose Race Street office was watched throughout June, said she believed the city police were responsible.
"It's being done to engender fear, and I find it silly," said Dodd, whose 85-year-old peace group is helping the Philadelphia Direct Action Group, an umbrella protest group brought together for the convention. "PDAG is not a forum for property destruction. . . . They should be focusing their cloak-and-dagger games on the real wing-nuts, and they're not in our meetings."
The surveillance became so open and steady last month that the American Civil Liberties Union, at the request of the league, sent a letter to city officials reminding them that former Mayor W. Wilson Goode issued a directive in 1987 prohibiting any police surveillance or infiltration without the approval of the police chief and city's managing director.
City police have stepped up preparations for dealing with possibly disruptive protests at the Republican convention in the wake of large demonstrations in Seattle last November and Washington, D.C., in April.
Lt. Susan Slawson, a spokeswoman for Police Commissioner John F. Timoney, said city police were not behind the surveillance, which has taken place from a loading dock at the Convention Center.
"Putting somebody on the roof or in a loading dock would be violating" the 1987 directive, Slawson said.
"We are in no way violating it."
"We don't confirm or deny..."
The 1987 directive does not, however, apply to other law-enforcement agencies. Dozens of agencies are now working on security for the convention, ranging from state police, to U.S. Capitol Police, to the U.S. Secret Service, to the FBI.
An FBI spokeswoman in Philadelphia, Linda Vizi, declined to comment on the possibility of federal surveillance ahead of the convention.
"We don't confirm or deny investigations, no matter what they are," Vizi said.
None of the officials would speculate on how such photographs might be used, how the targets might be picked, and what behavior could provoke surveillance.
In recent weeks, a tip sheet distributed to Philadelphia-area security officials made clear that police consider white, middle-class youths among the most likely anti-corporate protesters.
The tip sheet, provided to The Inquirer by a security firm on condition of anonymity, says the Police Department would like to be notified if there "is a significant increase in the population of predominantly young white males and females in a particular area, especially those who dress in rag-tag clothing and dye their hair in multi-colors."
"No need for this"
In the surveillance last Thursday, two men stood for at least a half-hour inside a covered loading dock at the Convention Center directly across Race Street from the Women's International League office, where activists were holding a meeting that had been widely advertised on the Internet.
Both men were dressed in T-shirts and calmly refused to answer any questions posed by an Inquirer reporter, photographer and later by several activists.
At one point, the man with the camera, when asked whether he knew what was happening inside, answered: "I got no beef with them."
He answered other questions with silence.
The group's organizer, Dodd, reported other instances - on June 7, 12, 15 and 19 - in which she said different men were seen photographing people entering the office for protest meetings that had been advertised on the Internet.
Robert Butera, president of the Convention Center, said the center had not arranged for any surveillance of the league office and had not been informed of police using its loading dock for surveillance.
Amy Kwasnicki, an organizer for the Philadelphia Direct Action Group, which has used the league office, said some members of the protest group also had reported that people dressed too well to be street people had been rifling through trash in front of their West Philadelphia homes.
"There's no need for this," Kwasnicki said. "We're not preparing for war, but it seems like the cops are."
© 2000 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. | <urn:uuid:ad9a27a1-9e05-4695-9e13-5cf0bedc06e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/070600-03.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967791 | 1,097 | 1.578125 | 2 |
No matter how tech savvy you are, you’ve got to admit that setting up and sharing a wireless connection is more hassle than it should be. Or, at least, it used to be thanks to the Cisco Valet.
Wireless internet is everywhere. Yes, that’s kind of the point, but beyond the pun, it’s true. Virtually every laptop you can buy has a built in wireless card and even most desktops come with them today too. The days of wires are fading quickly, which is a good thing.
To this point, setting up a wireless connection hasn’t been alarmingly easy. There are lots of numbers, channels, and encrypted pass codes to keep track of. Once all that’s established, you’ve got to log-in all of the computers in your house. Then, when your friend shows up, he’s got to type in the 26 digit key to access the internet too. While this isn’t rocket science, it’s annoying.
This is also coming from someone with four years experience in computer services. Setting up wireless connections is part of what I do and even I hit a road bump here and there. If it can cause even our digital generation to stumble, you can imagine how much older generations may struggle. After all, there are a lot of people alive to this day who sent telegrams. Telegrams.
Enter the Cisco Valet which advertises itself as “home wireless made easy.” The base model retails for under a hundred bucks and operates under Wireless-N standards, giving it increased speed and range over the still popular Wireless-G band.
Honestly, there is not much to say about this thing other than it is literally the easiest internet connection I’ve ever set-up. The whole process takes under five minutes and that includes the time it takes to open the box. You simply plug the unit into the wall for power and then plug in your Ethernet cable. Then you take the “Easy Setup Key” and plug it into your USB port and follow the on-screen instructions, which basically just amounts to you clicking “Okay.”
You’re done. Seriously. Connected to the internet with a secure, password protected connection. Want to set-up another computer? Plug in the USB key again. Done.
The included program, Cisco Connect, lets you change all the settings – if you want. You can rename your wireless account, change the password, set parental controls, all that good stuff. But you don’t have to. You never have to remember any of that information again, as long as you have the USB key. Just plug it in and go.
The Valet system also sets up a guest network (if you want it to) so you don’t have to share the key with friends who are just stopping by briefly. They can log-in to the guest network and that way any shared documents or printers are protected if your friend is of the sketchier variety.
In terms of speed and performance, the Valet works just as well as any other wireless router I’ve ever used. It’s compatible with Mac and PC. This thing works and works fast. If you’re in the market for an affordable Wireless-N router, I can’t see why you wouldn’t want to go with the Valet and just make things simpler on yourself.
Check out the Cisco Valet on Amazon. | <urn:uuid:c201093b-f299-4d56-9c91-6fdb80e6ddad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.primermagazine.com/2010/learn/wireless-made-simple-a-review-of-the-cisco-valet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94273 | 733 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Yemen signs MoU's for exploration
Dec. 5, 1996 Yemen has signed three MoU's with US and British firms to set up oil exploration projects. Two memoranda of understanding were signed with the Kerr-McGee to explore for oil in sectors 50, 51 and 54 in the Shabwa governorate (former South Yemen. Another MoU was signed with the British company Dove to start oil exploration in sector number 53 in Shabwa governorate. The Yemeni government will contribute 25 % to the project cost in sector 53, starting at the beginning of the explorations. Yemen usually reaches agreements to contribute to the projects only once oil has been found. | <urn:uuid:a548979e-753a-4e69-80cb-d5018a00850b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gasandoil.com/news/middle_east/eb17627667f593543540e6ddd10a0dbc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968537 | 135 | 1.570313 | 2 |
As a followup to the post about a previous post about science fiction, Sarah Hoyt has posted two blog posts about what the group of us are calling “Human Wave science fiction“. Science fiction with a positive tone, a solid story to entertain, and with purpose. One of the things we are doing is making a list of the books we love who would fit into it.
What is Human Wave Science Fiction? Here is Sarah‘s Manifesto, in which she says:
“The purpose of this is to create a new “idea” in science fiction, a new way to look at the genre. Properly observed (and I’ve observed it) I think the genre should be a way to play with possible futures, with possible outcomes, with possible ideas. The wonder of science fiction lays in the open possibility…Because we are rebelling against enforced conformity of style and opinion, of belief and ideology, this list is not “though shalt nots” but “You’re allowed to.”"
And the lists are great. In fact, many of the guidelines, well, they are the basics of the author-reader contract, which I will soon repost here.
E.E. “Doc” Smith: The Lensmen series
“The Girl with the Silver Eyes” by Willo Davis Roberts
“Space Cat” series by Ruthven Todd (I know it was for young kids and backlist is really expensive, but it was cute, funny, and positive!)
“Alan Mendelsohn: The Boy From Mars” by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
“The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet” by Eleanor Cameron
“The White Mountains” by John Christopher and the rest of the Tripod series
“A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle
There are many many others out there, but the above are a few I personally loved reading. The above list also makes me sad, seeing how many of them are out of print, not available as ebooks, or downright collector items. Hopefully some will be revived as ebooks in the future. I would buy them again in a heartbeat.
If you have any other suggestions of what might be considered positive Human Wave science fiction, please post them in the comments section!
Another fun Human Wave SF manifesto is located here.
Kelsey Hale thinks she’s just a typical mixed-up teenager. Everyone feels that way, her teachers assure her. Yet, strange things happen to her, like food disappearing before she can eat it and hearing music no one else hears.
Then a giant flaming bird drops an alien at her feet. Well, good grief, how can you ignore something like that?
Abducted from Earth, the only planet she’s ever known, Kelsey finds herself thrust into the middle of a deadly conflict among alien worlds and parallel universe. She must not only survive herself, but also find a way to rescue her father from a dangerous group with unknown motives.
In the process, she’s confronted by a hidden secret about herself which will shake the very foundation of who and what she thought she was.
And connecting it all are the mysterious Weavers.
A 97,100 word, 389 page (approximate), science fiction novel. | <urn:uuid:7ebaeee3-99cb-42aa-bdf2-76a86d73d7f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jamarlow.com/2012/03/human-wave-science-fiction-reading-list/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946296 | 704 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Maritime Safety Committee - 73rd session: 27 November-6 December 2000
The 73rd meeting of the IMOs senior technical body, the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), concluded (on 6 December 2000) what Secretary-General William ONeil referred to as a session "without parallel" in IMOs history. The eight-day meeting successfully completed a demanding work programme that saw significant progress made on a wide diversity of key maritime safety issues. Among the highlights were the publication of the eagerly anticipated STCW "White List", carriage requirements for "black boxes" and the start of work on a series of measures related to tanker safety that arose from the Marine Environment Protection Committees consideration of the Erika incident.
Important work was also carried out in the continuing fight against piracy and armed robbery against ships, and a broad-based assessment of the safety of large passenger ships, both today and in the future.
In his opening remarks, the Secretary-General said that never before had the Committee, or the Organization as a whole, been asked to adopt so many new mandatory codes or amendments to so many important IMO instruments as at this session.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted mandatory regulations to require ships to carry voyage data recorders (VDRs). The regulations will come into force on 1 July 2002 and all new ships built on or after that date will have to be fitted with VDRs. Existing passenger ships and ro-ro ships will also be required to fit VDRs, while a study will be carried out to examine the need for mandatory carriage of VDRs on existing cargo ships.
The VDR regulations were amongst a raft of amendments to IMOs International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS) adopted during the 73rd session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), IMOs senior technical body, which met from 27 November to 6 December 2000.
Like the black boxes carried on aircraft, VDRs enable accident investigators to review procedures and instructions in the moments before an incident and help to identify the cause of any accident. The regulations for VDRs are contained in a revised Chapter V (Safety of Navigation) of SOLAS.
Currently ships are recommended but not required to carry VDRs. Performance standards for VDRs were adopted by IMO in 1997.
The revised Chapter V also makes it mandatory for certain ships to carry an automatic identification system (AIS). (See also briefing No 28 2000) .
The MSC agreed a list of parties deemed to be fully in compliance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), as amended. A total of 71 member States and one associate member have been included in the initial "White List." (See also briefing No 26)
An MSC Working Group developed a proposed list of measures to eliminate sub-standard ships, and the MSC agreed to refer the list of measures to the Organizations Sub-committees and to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), for general consideration. This work follows agreement at the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in October 2000 to accelerate the current phase-out schedule for single-hull oil tankers. The actual finalized revised phase-out schedule is expected to be adopted in April 2001. (See also briefing No 27)
The MSC agreed to establish a correspondence group to work on issues related to large passenger ship safety, following intensive work by a working group during the session. The aim is to identify the extent to which current regulations should be reviewed, in the light of the sheer size of these vessels and the numbers of persons carried on board, and in particular with regards to emergency situations and seafarer training.
The Working Group on Enhancing the Safety of Large Passenger Ships began a global consideration of safety issues pertaining to passenger ships, with particular emphasis on large cruise ships, in response to a proposal to MSC 72 by IMO Secretary-General, Mr. William A. O'Neil.
During the current session, the Working Group reviewed the current safety regime as it relates to large passenger ships and identified areas of concern relating to:
Ship is its own best lifeboat
The MSC endorsed the working groups decision that future large passenger ships should be designed for improved survivability based on the time-honoured philosophy that "a ship is its own best lifeboat". This approach envisages that passengers and crew should normally be able to evacuate to a safe haven on board and stay there. In addition, this philosophy also envisages that a ship should always be able to proceed to port at a minimum safe speed.
To achieve the above philosophies, the group agreed that special design requirements for future large passenger ships would have to be developed to achieve this "safe haven as ship proceeds back to port" philosophy and that the consideration of new concepts would be essential. The group also was of the view that this philosophical approach would address the risks associated with evacuating and rescuing a large number of survivors by reducing the need to abandon the ship in the first place.
However, notwithstanding the above philosophy, the group recognized that ship abandonment will continue to occur and agreed that future ships should be equipped with effective life-saving equipment and appliances that are designed for survival in the area of operation and take into account the availability of SAR systems.
Preliminary work plan
The MSC endorsed a preliminary work plan as developed by the working group, which includes elements relating to the following areas of concern:
The correspondence group will work on finalizing the preliminary list of concerns and further developing the philosophical approach, goals and objectives for dealing with matters relating to future large passenger ships. It will also assess how areas of concern should be analysed taking into consideration tools such as formal safety assessment, the human element analyzing process, cost/benefit analysis and risk assessment, with a view to linking these tools to each area of concern. A report will be submitted to the next MSC scheduled for June 2001.
The MSC approved the text of a code of practice for the investigation of the crime of piracy and armed robbery against ships.
The Code will be issued as an MSC Circular immediately, with the intention that it should be adopted by the 22nd Assembly in November 2001 via an Assembly resolution.
The Code is intended to provide IMO member states with an aide memoire to facilitate the investigation of the crimes of piracy and armed robbery against ships. The Code gives detailed guidance on investigation of the crimes of piracy and armed robbery against ships under the following headings:
The text for the Code was developed by a Correspondence Group after series of expert missions, seminars and workshops around the world was organized by IMO during 1998 and 1999. Participants at the seminars recommended that Governments needed to intensify their efforts to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships and that IMO should consider developing a code of practice or instrument for the investigation of piracy and armed robbery against ships
United Nations General Assembly resolution
The MSC was informed that IMOs Secretary-General had written to the United Nations Secretary-General to bring his attention to the growing seriousness of the problem of piracy and armed robbery against ships. As a result, the United Nations General Assembly, at its 55th session, adopted resolution A/RES/55/7 on "Oceans and the law of the sea", which urged "all States, in particular coastal States, in affected regions to take all necessary and appropriate measures to prevent and combat incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea, including through regional co-operation, and to investigate or co-operate in the investigation of such incidents wherever they occur and bring the alleged perpetrators to justice in accordance with international law"; called upon States, in this context, to "co-operate fully with the International Maritime Organization, including by submitting reports on incidents to the organization and by implementing the International Maritime Organization guidelines on preventing attacks of piracy and armed robbery"; and urged States to "become parties to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation and its Protocol, and to ensure its effective implementation."
Phantom ships resolution developed
In other crime related measures, the MSC developed a draft Assembly resolution addressing the issue of "phantom ships", in other words, fraudulent registration, certification and identification of ships.
The draft Assembly resolution encourages flag States to ensure that proper checks are made when registering a ship, in order to reduce the number of "phantom ships" and hijackings. The MSC referred the draft to the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation for further development before approval at MSC 74 in June 2001 with the aim of submitting it for adoption at the 22nd Assembly in November 2001.
The MSC approved standardized evaluation and test report forms for all life-saving appliances, from rescue boats to life-jackets, contained in a 850-page document. The forms give detailed test procedures for lifesaving appliances required under SOLAS chapter III (Life-Saving Appliances and Arrangements) of SOLAS and its associated International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code. The procedures update resolution A. 689(17) Recommendation on testing of life-saving appliances and incorporate the subsequent amendments to that resolution in a new, user-friendly format. The standardized tests are an important tool in facilitating and harmonising international approval procedures for these appliances.
The MSC decided, in principle, to make the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code mandatory, aiming at an entry-into-force date of 1 January 2004, and instructed the Sub-Committee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers at its sixth session in July 2001 and the Secretariat to prepare relevant documents such as draft amendments to SOLAS.
The MSC agreed that some chapters of the IMDG Code would remain recommendatory in nature including chapter 1.3 (Training); chapter 2.1 (Explosives - Notes 1 to 4); 2.3.3 of chapter 2.3 (Determination of flashpoint); chapter 3.2 (Columns 15 and 17 of the Dangerous Goods List); chapter 3.5 (Transport Schedules); 5.4.5 of chapter 5.4 (Multimodal dangerous goods form); and chapter 7.3 (Special provisions in the event of an incident and fire precautions involving dangerous goods).
The IMDG Code was introduced by IMO in 1965 as a uniform international code for the transport of dangerous goods by sea covering such matters as packing, container traffic and stowage, with particular reference to the segregation of incompatible substances. At its 72nd session, the MSC adopted a revised and reformatted International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, which is intended to be more user-friendly and understandable.
The MSC approved Guidelines for the design, construction and operation of passenger submersible craft aimed at facilitating the international movement, acceptance and safe operation of such craft and providing a minimum acceptable standard of safety for passengers.
Because it is recognized that submersible craft designs and operational parameters may depend on the geographical area of operation, environmental conditions, intended passenger carrying capability of the craft, and on the degree of surface support provided, the Guidelines do not attempt to specify which particular type of passenger submersible craft should be employed . They recommend that operators examine and identify a most suitable option for the area and type of operation in which they are engaged.
Other issues such as surface support and dive sites, which may be critical to safe operations, are not addressed by the Guidelines.
The Committee approved draft amendments to the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs), to be put forward to the 22nd IMO Assembly in November 2001 for final adoption. The amendments concern:
The MSC agreed to implement a reporting procedure to keep track of incidents of unsafe practices associated with the trafficking or transport of illegal migrants by sea and urged Governments and international organizations to report promptly such practices they become aware of. A circular giving details of incidents reported will be issued biannually.
The reports should include, where available, ship and shipowners details, voyage details, date, time and position of the incident, a description of the incident and measures taken, and information concerning the migrants including number, nationality, sex, any whether any are minors.
In 1998, IMO approved an advisory Circular (MSC.896) outlining Interim measures for combating unsafe practices associated with the trafficking or transport of migrants by sea, which notes that migrants often are transported on ships that are not properly manned, equipped or licensed for carrying passengers on international voyages. It says States should take steps relating to maritime safety, in accordance with domestic and international law, to eliminate these unsafe practices associated with the trafficking or transport of migrants by sea.
Relevant provisions of MSC/Circ.896 are reflected in chapter II on "Smuggling of Migrants by Sea" of the draft Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Air and Sea, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The protocol was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 15 November 2000 and was officially signed at a ceremony in Palermo, Italy, from 12 to 15 December 2000.
The Committee heard that the preliminary results of an IMO research study to establish the nature and extent of unlawful practices associated with certificates of competency had revealed 12,535 cases of forgery in certificates of competency and equivalent endorsements. The study, being carried out by the Seafarers International Research Centre, Cardiff, United Kingdom, is in the final stages having completed the data collection phase and a final report is being produced.
During the study, a total of 97 maritime administrations were contacted for information on various aspects of the issue of unlawful practices associated with certificates of competency and equivalent endorsements, of which 54 had responded to questionnaires giving a response rate of 56%. Of those, 39% had reported a total of 12,635 detected cases of forgery in certificates of competency and equivalent endorsements. The Committee noted, however, that, of the total number of reported cases, 12,000 had been reported by one single administration in South East Asia, and that all these cases were currently being analysed to assess the level and nature of forgery involved.
A total of 1384 seafarers and 22 employers had participated in the survey. 50% of respondents were manning agents, 32% shipowners and 18% ship managers employing an average of 615 ratings and 1091 officers in their companies. 82% percent of the respondents had detected forged certificates of competency in the last five years. Of these, 41% reported having detected forged basic safety training certificates, 27% had reported forged sea service record books and 18% had detected forged OOW (deck) certificates. 14% had also reported false GMDSS (GOC) certificates.
Further information on the study can be obtained from the Seafarers International Research Centre (SIRC), web site: http://www.cf.ac.uk/uwcc/masts/.
The MSC adopted:
The MSC also: | <urn:uuid:b45a30e4-0e8f-4606-a233-a45bde1fa207> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.imo.org/blast/mainframe.asp?topic_id=110&doc_id=350 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951515 | 3,096 | 1.710938 | 2 |
London: King's Fund, 2003.
Draws on the experiences of health and social care staff, older people, policy-makers and local campaigners to offer clear guidance on:
Department of Health
London: TSO, 2003
Following consultation, document outlines new standards for care homes for older people. Many of the environmental standards have been relaxed. The standards that came into force in April 2002 will apply to brand new care homes only. Existing care homes can use them as best practice. All homes will have to provide prospective clients and their carers with information on how they meet the national minimum standards. This will enable people to make an informed choice of home.
Labour Research, vol. 92, Feb. 2003 p. 14-16
Over three in five people in the UK will become carers of elderly or disabled adults. However people in this position have no special employment rights. Very few employers have specific policies to help adult-carers, but there are a few examples of excellent practice.
Financial Times, February 19th 2003, p. 5
Charities for the elderly have complained after the government dropped environmental minimum standards for existing care homes.
A. Comas-Herrera and others
London: Personal Social Services Research Unit, London School of Economics, 2003 (Discussion paper; 1728)
Concludes that, if more effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease and other causes of cognitive impairment are not found, the cost of providing care for this group will rise from £4.6 bn currently to £11 bn in 2031. The study shows that the number of people with cognitive impairment in England is likely to rise by 66% from 461,000 to 765,000 between 1998 and 2031. Of these, the number of people in care homes is projected to rise from 224,000 in 1998 to 365,000 in 2031, an increase of 63%.
Caring Times, Feb. 2003, p. 1+4
Local authority strategies for the direct provision of nursing home services have been strongly criticised by the independent sector, and may be illegal.
Caring Times, Feb. 2003, p.15-16
Calls for a Code of Practice to iron out local variations in the approaches of National Care Standards Commission inspectors. There are concerns about inspectors being rude and aggressive and invading the privacy of care home residents.
London: Age Concern, 2003.
This book provides an overview of recent changes within the NHS, local government and the independent sector, relating to health, housing and social care for older people in England. It gives a brief history and discusses treatment, care and support for older people; regulating services and protecting users; access to services; paying for care; and communication with users and carers.
Registered Homes and Services, vol. 7, 2003, p.133
Government has shown itself willing to water down the National Minimum Standards for Care Homes in practice. However, some of the material in the Standards is replicated in the Care Homes Regulations, which have the force of law. The Chair of that National Care Standards Commission has warned ministers that it will enforce the Regulations relating to the environment of homes rigorously.
N. Keating and others
Ageing and Society, vol. 23, 2003, p. 115-127
There has been increasing interest among policy makers in using the social networks of frail older people to provide informal care in order to limit public spending on health and welfare services. Paper reviews the literature on the caring capacity of informal networks of frail, older people. Makes distinctions between "social", "support", and "care-giving" networks. Argues that transitions of networks from social, through support, to care roles are likely to show systematic patterns, and that at each transition networks tend to contract as the more narrowly defined functions prevail.
Caring Times, Feb. 2003, p. 13
When reporting on adherence to national minimum standards in a care home, an inspector uses a scoring system of 4 (commendable) to 1 (standard not met) for each of the 38. Scoring is based on the inspector's judgement, and is being applied inconsistently over the country. Inspection reports are now available to service users and relatives, and can give a false impression of the quality of care.
Colchester, North Essex Advocacy Teams for Older People, 2003
Research uncovered wide-spread physical and institutional abuse of older people in care homes and sheltered housing. As well as physical abuse, complaints focused on lack of independence, rigid routine, having to share a room, and having to take a bath at set times. Most staff had never been trained on how to deal with physical abuse and feared the consequences of whistle blowing. | <urn:uuid:d7f9f76d-8587-4dfe-9e77-955a2d748bd7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bl.uk/welfarereform/issue44/carelduk.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93755 | 959 | 1.84375 | 2 |
We are doomed – doomed!
Some readers feel I'm laying it on a bit thick about our debt levels. Well, have a look at the charts below, which come from the Bank of International Settlement (hat-tip, Tim Clougherty). Let's start with the three forms of debt in Britain, viz personal, corporate and government liabilities:
There comes a point when the a country's overall indebtedness begins significantly to reduce its growth. The Bank of International Settlement tells us what this point is: around 90 per cent of GDP for government and corporate debt, 85 per cent for household debt. Now here's the bad news. In Britain, government debt is 89 per cent of GDP, company debt 126 per cent and household debt 106 per cent. We are, in other words, in a downward spiral: as growth slows, debt increases.
Another way of looking at it is to tally up our total liabilities over the past 30 years. If you're of a squeamish disposition, look away now:
You might object, in a Matt-Ridley-Rational-Optimist spirit, that things never turn out as badly as the doom-mongers had forecast. The trouble with all these extrapolations, the great Ridley points out, is that they assume that no one will do anything to avert the calamity. Isn't it at least possible that a government will take the necessary steps to balance the books, scrapping some welfare entitlements, pruning the public sector, presiding over a terrible épuration of the quangos?
In theory, yes. In practice, you must be joking. In Britain, as in every Western state, the primary business of government is the employment of its employees. Cutting the state payroll? Look at the hiring spree at the DWP, revealed by an FoI request from the TaxPayers' Alliance. There are 12,790 more staff on the department's books today than 12 months ago: an increase of 13.3 per cent.
Bonfire of the quangos? If only. Whenever a quango is closed, a new bureaucracy springs up to exercise its functions. Like the hydra of mythology, the standing apparat that rules Britain sprouts two head for each one that is lopped off.
It's not that ministers want to keep expanding the state. They can read the figures as well as the rest of us. The trouble is, they can't do anything about it. They find themselves encased in a vast bureaucratic machine, tugging at levers which have worked loose, stabbing at buttons long since disconnected. On the rare occasions that their instructions don't fall foul of the Human Rights Act, the Equalities Act or EU law, they are simply disregarded by the civil service or struck down by some activist judge.
Now here's the truly calamitous news. Like every developed country, we have an ageing population. The number of people of working age will shrink as a percentage of the total, and the number of pensioners will increase. Other things being equal, this will cause a significant deterioration in our national finances. The chart below (hat-tip, Adam Smith Institute) shows what will happen if things carry on as now (red line), if the government manages to reduce spending by one per cent of GDP every year from 2012 (green line), and if the government compensates for the demographic effect by significantly raising the retirement age and/or reducing pension entitlements (blue line).
Now a debt-to-GDP ratio of 300 per cent, let alone 500 per cent, is wholly unsustainable. The single largest item of government expenditure would be interest payments. Except, of course, that there would be no government by then, not as we now know it.
In the run-up to polling day, David Cameron summed it up in six words: "We can't carry on like this." Spot on, prime minister. Any ideas?
The pro-EU campaign is reduced to dressing up Eurocrats as businessmen
May 20th, 2013 16:52
If you're worried about swivel-eyed loons, try open primaries
May 19th, 2013 17:49
This is the closest we have been to leaving the EU
May 17th, 2013 7:08
A small reminder of why we need to quit the Euro-racket
May 16th, 2013 7:07
An In/Out referendum and a Bill in this session: David Cameron has delivered
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One-Armed Sports Star Keeps a Positive AttitudeCLIMAX, MN (WDAZ-TV) - A 17-year-old boy inspires not only his peers, but his parents and teachers because of his optimistic outlook on life.
By: Melanie Orlins, WDAZ
CLIMAX, MN (WDAZ-TV) - A 17-year-old boy inspires not only his peers, but his parents and teachers because of his optimistic outlook on life.
Taylor Grove of Shelly, MN, lost his left arm in a tragic farming accident at the age of two.
Taylor doesn't let his missing an arm sideline him.
A star football and basketball player, he even golfs when he gets the chance, and he plays the trumpet in the band-all with his right hand.
His parents say he's your typical teenage athlete. He drinks a lot of milk, has a competitive attitude, and never lets his missing arm get in the way.
"Not letting the disability get me down is what keeps me going," said sports star, Taylor Grove.
Besides shooting hoops, sacking the quarterback, and learning to drive.
"So you can drive and drive a stick shift? How do you do that?"
"Shift really fast," said Grove.
The only thing he needs that extra hand for is tying his shoes.
"I'm pretty sure tieing my shoes is the only thing I can't do," said Grove.
"Boys even tease him a little bit and they've asked him, when are you ever going to learn to tie your shoes because they'll tie them for him," said Taylor's mom, Janet Grove.
Even though his friends have to help him lace up, they say watching him on the court inspires them to try harder.
"When you go to different schools for sports and stuff you always get the question who's that kid, he's only got one arm how does he play so I think he's very much so an inspiration," said Taylor's classmate, Kyli Bowling.
"The doctor's told us when he had his accident that the only thing he can't do is what we tell him he can't do. Everything he's gotta do he has to do it with one arm and that's what he does and proves us wrong everyday," said Taylor's dad, Kym Grove.
But there are still times, when players from other teams doubt him.
"Kids from Waubun were kind of picking on me from being one handed and they were like aw he's not good, he's not going to be able to do much well I went in the first 15 minutes and scored 10 points," said Grove.
"He surprises us everyday," said Janet Grove.
"He just keeps trying," said Kym Grove.
He's proving people wrong, but more importantly, teaching others a very valuable lesson.
"I don't give up. There are some times where you try and try and try and you can't do something but don't be afraid to ask for help. Set your mind for something and go get it," said Grove.
After high school, Taylor plans on majoring in agriculture engineering. | <urn:uuid:b4cba67a-d69b-4a0d-8e73-c0c3a877234c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/12507/publisher_ID/30/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991513 | 660 | 1.789063 | 2 |
The world of fashion is huge and international, and it includes many different types of businesses.
There's the design group: businesses that design patterns, fabrics, notions, accessories, jewelry, makeup, and lines of clothing.
There's the manufacturing group: businesses that create and package all those items. All those goods have to move around the planet, so there are specialists in importing or exporting clothes and accessories.
There's the professional services group: beauty salons, personal stylists, image consultants, and so on.
And then there are specialists in showcasing and marketing fashions, such as catalog companies, modeling agencies, fashion show production professionals, fashion experts at magazines and on television, photographers, makeup artists, and hair stylists. Even a few niche businesses are included in the fashion realm, such as costume design and makeup for movies, collectors of vintage clothing, and even doll clothes and accessories. The list is endless.
The competition is endless in the fashion world, too. So if you're in charge of one of these businesses, you're always looking for new clients and new projects. How can you beat the competition and land those contracts? You need to learn how to write a business proposal. This is true whether you need to impress a potential client, secure funding to grow your business, or even sell your business or find a partner.
Writing a business proposal doesn't need to be a daunting project. After you understand the standard structure and focus of a proposal, you'll be able to fill in the pages pretty quickly. And when your first proposal is complete, you'll find it much easier to write the next one, and the next.
The first and most basic idea you need to master is that a good proposal is not focused on you. It should be focused on your prospective client or partner - the person who will read your proposal. That reader might be the loan officer at the bank where you're applying for a business loan, the designer whose clothing line you want to manufacture, the production company you are pitching your services to, or the retail chain you want to sell clothing to. Throughout the proposal writing process, put yourself in that party's shoes and consider what they want from you at each step.
All good proposals follow this structure:
The pages in the last three sections will differ depending on your business and what you are proposing, but this sequence of sections should remain the same whether your proposal is four pages long or twenty.
What would you, as a prospective client, want to see as an introduction to a proposal? A Cover Letter, of course. When writing your cover letter, be sure to answer these four questions for the reader:
Next, provide a Title Page, which is precisely what it sounds like. Just give your proposal a logical descriptive name, like “Fashion Show Proposal for QRX Design Company” or “Fabrication and Shipping Services Proposed for West Coast Shops” or “Proposal to Establish a New Consignment Clothing Boutique.”
If your proposal has a lot of pages and details, next you might want to include a Client Summary (a one-page summary of the most crucial details you want even the busiest reader to absorb) and a Table of Contents. That's all you need for the Introduction section.
On to the client-centered section: this is where you need to prove that you understand your potential client. Provide all the information you know about their needs and requirements for this project. If you're writing a proposal to get a loan, this section could be as simple as a list of requirements you know you must meet. But if you're writing a complex proposal, this section could be much longer. For example, if you're producing a proposal to stage a fashion event, you might write pages about the client's need for a venue of a certain size and type, the need to hire models, makeup and hairstyling experts, specialists in lighting and sound, possibly videographers and photographers, the need to notify and invite the media, and so forth. If you're proposing to sell your clothing line to a store, you might discuss their sales seasons, advertising needs, packaging and shipping concerns, and so forth. As well as detailing all the desires of the client, write down any constraints you're aware of - budget, special needs of any kind, deadlines that must be met, etc. The goal of this section is to prove you understand what the client needs. At the very least, you'll need a topic page labeled something like Needs Assessment or Requirements or Specifications. But if the project has many different aspects, you'll need many more topic pages to cover what the client is looking for.
After the client-centered section, write your description of exactly what you are proposing and what it will cost. Do you plan to open a new hair salon? Are you selling jewelry to compliment a clothing line? Are you providing marketing services for a product launch? Are you proposing to design unique evening wear for the wealthiest clients? At a bare minimum, this section should contain a list of Products or Services Provided, a description of Benefits, and a Cost Summary. But the odds are that you will need many more topics, such as Style, Trends, Lifestyle, Concepts, Aesthetics, Accessories, Materials, Venue, Personnel, Schedule, Equipment, Options, Specials, etc. - include all the topics you need to explain about the goods or services you propose to provide. At each step of the way, describe how what you are offering will meet or exceed the client's requirements that were described in the previous section - in other words, how your goods and/or services will benefit the client. If you offer a Guarantee of satisfaction or a Warranty on your products, include that information, too.
Now, in the final supplier-centered section, it's time to persuade the client that you are the best choice for the project. This section should have at least one page explaining Company History or Experience. If you are the star, this section might even include your Resume or Portfolio. Keep in mind that it's always more persuasive to let facts or third parties demonstrate your qualities, so if you have lists of Clients Served or similar projects you've done, special Training or Certifications, Awards, or Testimonials from satisfied customers, by all means add those. If you have helpful Alliances or Contacts that would be useful, include those, too.
If you need appendices, such as sketches, maps, photographs, charts, or lists of suppliers, etc., those will go at the end, but otherwise, you're finished writing your proposal.
But you're not quite done. This is the fashion world, and you have competition, so take the time to be sure your proposal is error-free and looks good, too. This means careful proofreading and formatting. Special fonts, colored titles or borders, logos, and unusual bullet points can add visual appeal. Remember that you want your proposal to represent you at your professional best.
Spend some time to make it look good. Remember, you want to stand out from the competition. Incorporate your company logo, use pages with colored borders, and add custom bullet points and fonts that match your organizational style. Learn how to effectively select colors for a winning business proposal.
After every page has been perfected, print the proposal or create a PDF file and deliver it to your prospective client in whatever way is likely to impress that party (email, upload to your web site, print and mail, etc.). It might be worthwhile to hand-deliver a proposal package or pay for a special delivery to make your offering stand out above the competition.
While your first proposal might take awhile to create, you'll learn that all subsequent proposals will be faster, and you can re-use some of the same information in each. But remember that a good proposal should always be client-centered, and this means that each proposal will be customized to the particular client and project.
It's possible to create a business proposal with any word processing system, but to speed up the process, you should consider using a specialized product like Proposal Kit. It comes with over a thousand topic templates including all of the those mentioned above, over a hundred sample proposals, and even contracts you can adapt for your use. Each template has instructions and examples to guide you as you write, and the sample proposals will show you what a finished proposal might look like and include. You can choose from a variety of graphic designs to represent your organization's style, or you can use your own company logo. Proposal Kit can give you a big head start on writing your proposals, and a big jump on your competition in the fashion world.
Using our professional quality proposal and contract packages, wizards and support documents to develop your proposals will give you a comprehensive final document that will present you and/or your organization as a highly professional alternative that instantly inspires trust. It will definitely give you the inside track.You can order and instantly download the Proposal Kit that best suits your needs.
Create winning business proposals & contracts with minimal effort and cost. Proposal software, proposal templates, legal contracts and sample proposals. | <urn:uuid:ac04d024-2312-43bf-85b9-07f995f75fc4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.proposalkit.com/htm/how-to-write-a-fashion-beauty-proposal.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950776 | 1,884 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Vickroy: The curious case of Sherlock’s fandom
DONNA VICKROY firstname.lastname@example.org | (708) 633-5982 July 13, 2012 10:04PM
Jack Levitt is a Homewood resident and authority on the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. | Larry Ruehl~Sun-Times Media
Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis, Professor Moriarty, was a mathematical genius.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s cases and stories have been translated into several languages, including Braille, shorthand and pig Latin. Jack Levitt has a copy of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” written in Hebrew.
About 500 letters are received at 221B Baker St., Holmes’ address in London, each year. An insurance company claims that address today, but a secretary there answers all inquiries about Holmes with a note explaining the esteemed detective is in retirement.
Holmes is said to have used a 7 percent solution of cocaine, which was not considered illegal.
It’s also believed he used morphine and was a chain smoker. His sidekick, Dr. John Watson, tried tirelessly to get him to kick the drug habit.
Holmes played the violin, but not just any violin. He played a Stradivarius.
Holmes refused to eat while working on cases, believing that starvation would increase blood flow to his brain.
Updated: August 16, 2012 6:09AM
How to explain Jack Levitt’s fascination with famous fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes?
Really, it’s elementary.
“It may sound strange that a fictional character is my hero.” Levitt said. “But in a day and age when we only celebrate celebrities, Holmes stands out as a man who is patriotic, honorable and respectful.”
Not to mention the whole genius thing.
Levitt, 80, recently hosted “My Fascination with Sherlock Holmes” at the B’Nai Yehuda Beth Sholom temple in Homewood. About 40 people turned out to hear him talk about Holmes’ continued popularity among the detective story-loving public. Many also admired Levitt’s collection of books, games, movie posters and puzzles.
Levitt began his lecture by pointing out that with 300 movies, 65 stage productions and some 700 radio shows inspired by Holmes, his personal fascination is hardly an aberration.
“There’s even a Holmes-inspired ballet,” Levitt said.
For the former math teacher and currency exchange operator, the hobby began when he read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” as a freshman in high school.
“I don’t remember the other stories we read that year, but I sure remember that one,” he said.
Since then, he’s read everything about Sherlock Holmes, again and again.
In 1972, Levitt went to a meeting of the Criterion Bar Association, a group dedicated to discussing and honoring Holmes. Levitt said he met lots of interesting people, solved a cryptogram and left with a prize book.
Now in its 40th year, the Criterion club, like other Holmes societies around the world, holds an annual party for the detective on Jan. 6, the date believed to be the detective’s birthday.
In 1984, Levitt became a charter member of the South Downers, a south suburban club aimed at preserving the scholarly memory and study of Sherlock Holmes. The group meets the last Wednesday of every month at Carlo’s Restaurant in Chicago Heights.
“You go to these things and you forget your troubles,” Levitt said. “The meetings always begin with a toast to somebody. Holmes, Queen Victoria, Irene Adler. The members come from all walks of life. We talk about the books and the movies. It’s fun.”
Levitt, a widower, said he finds Holmes’ logical nature and his ability to differentiate between law and justice captivating.
“He is a unique character, not a superman but an apex of what man could be,” he said. “Many of his ideas and ideals are very contemporary, a reminder that a man can be great yet not perfect.”
Levitt told the audience that from 1887 to 1904, Doyle published short stories and novels in which Holmes solved cases of murder, blackmail, vampirism, even students cheating on a final exam.
Doyle, who earned a degree in medicine and wrote to cure boredom, based Holmes on a real-life doctor named Joseph Bell, while Holmes’ sidekick, Dr. John Watson, was based on Doyle himself.
Levitt’s favorite Holmes novel is “The Hound of the Baskervilles.”
“Read it on a winter’s night when the wind is howling,” he said. “Love its surprise ending.”
His favorite Holmes actor is Jeremy Brett, who played the esteemed detective in a long-running PBS series.
“He has all the tics and mannerisms of the fictional detective,” Levitt said. “And he looked like what Holmes would look like.”
Levitt doesn’t care for actor Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of the sleuth in the 2009 film version and its 2011 sequel. But 12-year-old Tyler Burnett, who attended the presentation, does.
“The movies are exciting. I like mysteries. I like figuring things out,” Tyler said.
Dory Machtinger, of Flossmoor, also attended. She loves the Holmes series because it features mysteries set in Victorian England.
“Plus the fact that he’s so smart and picks up such small subtleties,” she said. “It’s all fun and it’s all not for real.”
Diane Wolf, of Homewood, said she attended because, “I like mysteries of all kinds. That’s the dark side of me — I like murder.”
Levitt understands completely.
“Read the stories, then close your eyes and you can see the hansom cabs, the gas lights, the men in long capes,” he said.
And you can also imagine a tall, thin detective with a deerstalker hat and a long-stemmed briar pipe getting to the bottom of things.
For more information on the South Downers group, contact Kenn Czarnecki at (708) 429-4326. | <urn:uuid:72c00e74-5385-489e-a43e-79ff51fcb2c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/lifestyles/13699946-452/vickroy-the-curious-case-of-sherlocks-fandom.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95124 | 1,403 | 1.78125 | 2 |
While Zanzibar is rightfully portrayed in all the travel brochures as an “idyllic tropical paradise” that offers the visitor “a splendour of emerald forests, azure seas, blue skies with playful clouds, palm trees, coffee scented with cardamom, golden beaches and delectable food”, it belies the real Zanzibar that seems so far removed from those idyllic depictions.
For most visitors to this tiny Indian Ocean island tucked somewhere off the east coast of Africa close to the equator, the real Zanzibar sadly, is nothing more than a blur as tourists are sped in air conditioned taxi cabs en route to their resort destinations where comfortable loungers and colourful cocktails adorned with cute little paper umbrellas await their arrival and where men, immaculately dressed in stiffly starched cotton Sherwanis tied with bright silk sashes around their waists, stand silently ready in the shadows of elegant white-washed portals to wait on their every whim.
This publication aims to bring that blur into focus, and to reveal the real face of Zanzibar and its people.
Although it is a face that has been badly scarred over the ages by the grandiose ambitions of Sultans, the avarice of spice merchants and the inglorious evils of slave traders, it is also a face that possesses a rare and timeless beauty.
Discovering the real Zanzibar is a truly serendipitous experience that reflects the many different and varied influences that have given it its almost magical allure and mystical charm.
Zanzibar seems to be caught in the grip of a distant time gone past, with its Moorish, Arabic, Persian, Indian, Indonesian, Portuguese, English, and of course... its richly African roots still very visible all over - in its architecture, in its music, in its food, and in its people, if only one dared to pause for a moment and allow the veil to be drawn back to reveal something of the mood and the real face of a very special place... | <urn:uuid:46b6e905-772f-495d-a181-08e5625d26b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blurb.com/b/2510294-african-impressions-zanzibar | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949504 | 433 | 1.695313 | 2 |
According to a recent report on state government management, "Utah has been a clear leader in sound government based on smart planning and effective performance management that emphasizes long-term results ... Utah manages all facets of state government well, emphasizing long-term goals and performance outcomes. The executive and legislative branches work together effectively to align expenditures with the strategic direction of the state." (1) Like other state governments, Utah has developed a performance culture that focuses on outcomes and uses tools that allow state's limited resources to be managed more effectively. Such sound management is facilitated by Utah's comprehensive performance measurement and management initiative, Performance Elevated.
Utah's Performance Elevated, which began in 2005 as an executive branch initiative, is a management tool for improving performance and efficiency in state agencies.
The program consists of four central elements for "creating a culture of quality governance"--strategic planning, performance management, collaboration and training, and enterprise innovation. Each element will be addressed in turn below.
All of Utah's state agencies develop and annually review and revise a strategic plan that answers three critical questions:
1) What is your mission?
2) What is your strategy for accomplishing your mission?
3) How do you know when you are successful?
The strategic plan helps the agency rationalize and justify the performance metrics it is tracking. Each plan contains the following elements:
* Scope statement--an explanation of the role of the strategic plan in managing operations.
* Current environment--an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and a discussion of critical short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term issues.
* Strategic … | <urn:uuid:0000ef0b-7284-4a41-85b2-502d44b48bb4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-185487710/utah-elevates-its-performance-performance-elevated | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932553 | 335 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Click to enlarge
How to Entertain and Baffle Your Friends with Magic
- Card Tricks and other Close-Up Illusions
This is probably the one book that a beginner really needs. Although it has a jazzy new title and a flashy Harry Potter look-alike on its cover it is the book that was once called Close Up Magic for Beginners. Harry Baron's wonderful books on magic were responsible for the early interest in magic of Paul Daniels and David Copperfield and many many more top names. If you could perform just a handful of the tricks in this beginners book you could still baffle experienced magicians.
This book is packed full of superb and baffling magic that anyone can perform and any of the material if studied and practised can earn you a big reputation. If you are teaching youngsters magic get this book. If you are a beginner yourself then get your own copy and get to work. Virtually everything in this book can be performed without using props or apparatus. I have been involved with magic for around 50 years so do me a favor and trust me on this one. It is a great and wonderful book. Martin Breese, London | <urn:uuid:e03f6a2b-2470-43a6-8705-b5bfcaee4f68> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.themagicdepot.com/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=1137 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96388 | 237 | 1.59375 | 2 |
|Raffles Singapore celebrates its 125th anniversary.|
Monday, 3rd September 2012
Source : Raffles Hotels
There are a few hotels in the world whose names have become virtually synonymous with the cities in which they are located – and none more so than Raffles Hotel in Singapore.
Named after Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, Raffles started out as a 10-room bungalow, 125 years ago.
Over the next 20 years it grew to become the landmark that it is today - and the haunt of tycoons, rogues, adventurers, movie stars, authors and journalists. Visiting writers included Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward, a host of foreign correspondents – all of whom fed in the stories and legends, fact and fiction, which have clung to the hotel ever since. Through their stories, the Long Bar, the Palm Court and the Billiard Room with its tiger, became familiar to people who had never even been to Singapore. Today these stories remain and are relished – but time has not been allowed to stand still at Raffles Hotel.
In September the iconic Raffles Hotel, Singapore, celebrates its 125th anniversary. So what better way to mark this special point in time and Raffles’ continuing story, than to turn to another timeless symbol of good taste and style: Jaeger-LeCoultre, whose own history goes back over nearly 180 years?
The company’s double-sided Reverso watch line is a classic. When its case is turned over, the Reverso is transformed into a jewel that can be personalised forever by an engraving.
Now, to mark its 125th, Jaeger-LeCoultre has created an exclusive engraving “Raffles Hotel 1887-2012 Singapore”, available on Gents’ Reverso Grande Taille, and Ladies’ Grande Reverso Lady Ultra Thin.
Pierre Jochem, General Manager of Raffles Hotel commented:
“Like Raffles, Jaeger-LeCoultre never stands still – it continues to inspire and surprise. Whether it’s staying in Raffles or wearing a Reverso, style and magic has nothing to do with age. Timelessness is about moving with the times and adapting to the world around us – but never forgetting our heritage, which is priceless.” | <urn:uuid:90dcd4ee-06dd-4037-bf6a-63459f9e8b16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.4hoteliers.com/news/story/10365 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948685 | 498 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The Idaho Transportation Department has issued a permit today for a mega-load to roll across Idaho from the Port of Wilma in Washington, entering Idaho on Route 128, and along U.S. Highway 12 to the Montana border. But this time, the shipment – which weighs approximately 520,000 pounds – is water purification equipment destined for northern Alberta.
The load, which has been shipped up the Columbia River, is expected to leave the Port of Wilma beginning Monday, October 22, and take four days to reach the Montana border before heading north.
The mega-load, which is 300 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 22 feet high, will be accompanied by three flagging teams, three pilot vehicles, two vehicles with portable signs, and the Idaho State Police.
(By George Prentice, Boise Weekly) | <urn:uuid:17ed29af-84ee-45c6-847f-2bf0c33eec69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wildidahorisingtide.org/2012/10/17/idaho-transportation-department-greenlights-mega-load-for-u-s-highway-12/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960812 | 168 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Here is a quick and easy project. All you need are a handful of black hot glue sticks and a non-stick surface – I chose the mat that came with my glue gun.
To make the web, draw four intersecting lines; then, starting at the center, begin to swirl your glue out towards the ends of the lines. Viola, a nice little spider web to add to windows, mirrors, fridge doors, etc.
*Caution, it’s still glue, so I wouldn’t recommend putting them on a south facing window that gets a good amount of sun. I learned the hard way, it still comes off, but it took a bit of work.
Now, here’s the real story behind this little project. I started out making Christmas present window clings with the kids. I had thought if I made the design with the hot glue, they could fill it in with glitter glue and it would make lovely, colorful clings. Yeah, not so much the glitter glue either disappeared – and trust me, we had it on thick – or it peeled right out of the design. So I’m back to the drawing board. At least the kids still had fun making them!
Check out my Linky Parties page for where I like to share stories like this one. Either follow the link or find it on the right column of the blog under pages. | <urn:uuid:0b748293-28f7-4b8c-931e-b810f248b300> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myveryeducatedmother.com/2011/10/spider-web-window-clings.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954535 | 288 | 1.773438 | 2 |
From its early exuberance and success through police suppression, Occupy at one year is graduating thousands of activists and hundreds of new social movements.
What must it have been like to be a banker as Occupy Wall Street achieved national prominence and political centrality a year ago?
Just a couple of weeks earlier, the only street protests around, staged by the Tea Party, were actually on your side, providing a grassroots face for the austerity-industrial complex.
And then, suddenly, because a few anarchists started sleeping in a park, people began to notice that you, not history teachers and farm workers, were the ones who bilked them. Seemingly overnight, there were concerned citizens attending teach-ins about credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations and bond yield splits.
There were protests every day in the neighborhood where you worked, the signs and chants justly pointing to the gross over-financialization of the American economy, the capture of state functions by the ownership class, and the increasing wealth inequality plaguing 99 percent of the country.
There were pesky reporters asking obnoxious questions: Who controlled the American political economy, how had everyone accumulated such crushing personal debt and why did billionaires need bailouts, but underwater homeowners were, to quote CNBC's Rick Santelli, "losers."
If the sector I worked in accounted for 40 percent of all corporate profits and was only surviving by the good graces of a central bank willing to guarantee trillions of dollars of its loans, the last thing I'd want would be the masses up in arms.
And were we ever! On October 25th, 2011, the day after the City of New York first tried to shut down Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Wall Street shut down Times Square, cheering en masse every time a news ticker, visible to the thousands in the street, revealed that the movement had gone global.
In Munich, in Brussels, in Tokyo, in Seoul, in Rome, in Manila, in Vancouver, in Paris, in Mexico City, in Stockholm, in Hong Kong, in Berlin, in Sydney, in Amman, in Taipei, in Santiago, in Tel Aviv - and all across the United States, from Puerto Rico, to Hawaii (where no fewer than five rallies sprang up), to Washington, DC.
All across the American South, including Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy. All across the Midwest, including in front of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. And in the Southwest, and out West, in Seattle (the site of the last noteworthy American protests against neo-liberalism, in 1999, just before the Bush-era housing bubble), and even up in Fairbanks, Alaska, people Occupied on October 25th.
In India and South Africa and Colombia and Singapore and Pakistan and Brazil and Costa Rica and Iran and Bangladesh and Malaysia and Singapore, in two different Antarctic locations, and of course in Iceland and Egypt and Tunisia and Spain and Greece and the UK - all over the world, hundreds of thousands of people gathered at more than 900 locations. They displayed signs in all their languages. The common features were the ever-present "99 percent" and the Guy Fawkes masks they wore.
They professed solidarity with one another and very frequently with their American comrades, and in hundreds of locations around the world they called "Mic check" to activate the people's microphone. They held general assemblies, and they showed enthusiasm by waggling their fingers. They performed street theater, and they tweeted and shared photos and videos and quotations and accounts with the whole rest of the world.
What must it have been like to be a banker on that day?
Well, if the subsequent month was any indication, the bankers felt as though the whole heap was slipping out from under them, because the state and media they own instituted a dissidence-crushing regime straight out of the Petraeus counterinsurgency playbook.
They went to work overtime with smear campaigns, brutal evictions and the implementation of a virtual police state, including counterterrorism units, cavalries of horses, motorcades and air support, to accompany any protest, however small. They entrapped luckless and ignorant young people in alleged "terrorist" plots. They cultivated an image of occupiers as violent, deranged, nihilistic rabble. They nearly killed a marine by shooting a teargas canister directly into his face.
The wild success of Occupy Wall Street spoiled many of us, just as surely as its devastation at the hands of American law enforcement addled us. One year on, though, organizers have dusted off, steeled their resolve and begun a series of projects, affiliations and organizing drives that plan to transform the electricity of the occupations into a sustainable social movement to carry us through the next chapter, in what anthropologist David Graeber memorably called "a wave of negotiations over the dissolution of the American Empire."
"I think that a lot of what happened over the last year was a tremendous experiment in radical democracy," says Jose Martin, a worker-owner of OccuCopy, one of the four worker cooperatives that has come out of Occupy Wall Street. "I hope," he says, "that the proliferation of these examples of actual bottom-up job creators, as well as socialized production, is going to increase and understand itself as part of a larger radical infrastructure for social movements for years to come."
OccuCopy is only one of Martin's ongoing activist efforts stemming from Occupy Wall Street. He also intends to continue spreading the gospel, as it were, by leading "anti-repression, anti-racist, feminist and theory-based workshops for newly radicalizing activists." Crucial victories in those fields, he thinks, are soon to come. "I think that we are near to defeating stop-and-frisk. There's a great possibility that we'll defeat that one method of racist police violence, and that a victory will invigorate people to keep fighting on these fronts a lot more."
Approaching racism in the criminal justice system from a different angle, Nelini Stamp has headed to Florida to work with an organization called Dream Defenders. "It came out of the 40-mile march we did from Daytona to Sanford, in the wake of Trayvon Martin's killing," she says.
Students - particularly students of color - have set up Dream Defenders chapters at six colleges in Florida to confront the school-to-prison pipeline through trainings that provide "different ways people can get involved," Stamp says, "be it the civil engagement process or direct actions."
Dream Defenders, says Stamp, combines a "traditional, chapter-based organizational model" with Occupy Wall Street-inspired "horizontal, democratic decision-making processes and direct action.
"Different campuses have autonomous, local campaigns, but "there are a couple of people like myself," she says, "working to make those state-wide connections." As Floridians watch juvenile offenders transferred from detention centers into newly constructed private prisons, Stamp's goal is to "help facilitate a new generation of all leaders. With Occupy, people were ready to get involved. People were ready to do something, and outside being a part of the encampments and the general process, people didn't really have outlets to plug into."
Hundreds of other campus activists flooded Columbus, Ohio this summer for the National Student Convergence.
Max Berger, one of the convergence's lead organizers, is also interested in the question of fusing Occupy Wall Street's aspirations to horizontalism and local autonomy with best practices from more traditional organizing.
"As of 2011," Berger says, "we operate under a new set of principles and rules about what's possible for how you organize people." The Columbus convergence, he says, has laid the groundwork for further organizing, by establishing a series of working groups - statewide organizing, next convergence, communications hub, messaging, and principles of organization. "It's premature at this point to talk about a national coordinating body," he says, "but the goal is to start building at a local level" with Berger and other experienced organizers "serving some of the roles of an organization, without putting in place a formal hierarchical structure - in terms of press, online reach and organizational support."
Moving forward, says Berger, "there will be convergences locally and on a national level," but interested student activists "aren't stepping into something; they're stepping up." The challenge, he says, is that "you have to have some kind of common goal or common identity. What do you do with a movement that started out with a bunch of random people showing up at a park together? There's nothing really holding that together. People don't understand how they're part of the same thing. What are the identities we have available to us that people can mobilize around?"
Nicole Carty at least wants to remind activists organizing around different struggles that "we share a common enemy," to wit, Wall Street. Carty and a small team are in the process of establishing a web site called Where's Wall Street? slated to go live sometime in October. The web site hopes to act as a hub for "the logistics of solidarity," says Carty. "Whether people are working on immigration, the environment or prisons, we hope that we can help draw connections, cast the struggles in a new light, and trace them back to Wall Street."
Activists "on the front lines, actually fighting back against actual problems," but working on seemingly independent and disconnected initiatives, will be able to use the web site "to support each other's actions and movement work," she says.
"This is a young movement," Carty points out. "As Frances Fox Piven notes, no large change comes from a movement that has been organizing for under ten years." It is better, Carty maintains, "to consider this the incubation period of a movement yet to come."
* * *
If I close my eyes and try really hard, I can still summon the exuberance of those early days in the park. Like the morning the UPS store called whoever's contact information was on the mail box to report that it was overflowing and to request immediate attention. In came several dollies packed high with cartons containing everything from a coffee-maker, to produce, to several hundred of those packets filled with mysterious chemicals that warm up when you shake them. Included were notes: "I don't have a job, and I can't get to New York, but I wanted to contribute somehow,"; "Please call me at this number if there's anything else you need,"; "Solidarity from Halifax," - that sort of thing.
We were toddlers on Christmas morning, if toddlers wore Guy Fawkes masks and Santa had a grudge against futures traders.
That same morning, if I'm not mistaken, was the day Detective Rick Lee of the New York Police Department, better known as Hipster Cop, turned up at Zuccotti Park. Like an alien in an old-school sci-fi B-movie, Lee asked to be taken to our leader. When the response came that no such person existed, Lee looked at us as though we were the aliens: What is this strange life form, and how can it not have leaders?
It seems that Brookfield Properties, the real estate corporation that owns Zuccotti Park, was interested in negotiating with the rabble, if only we'd send some leaders its way. The rabble insisted that all of our decisions were taken collectively, and if Brookfield's spokespeople wanted their interests accounted for in those decisions, they were as welcome as anyone to come to a General Assembly and attempt to generate consensus around their proposals. Lee couldn't understand why we were refusing to see reason, and we couldn't understand why he was.
Like a lot of occupiers, I am distressed that I only have access to the palimpsest of that excitement, and that accessing even that much requires such effort. And yet, the proverbial million flowers seem like they're getting ready to bloom. As Carty says, "It's all coming to a head, and when it does, Occupy will be there." | <urn:uuid:bd152539-2d14-4404-801f-27f3a232c1f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/11586 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97223 | 2,477 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The changing shape of health care in 2013
Marketplace health care reporter Dan Gorenstein shares his thoughts on a few pressing questions coming to the fore.
On implementing the Affordable Care Act:
"A top question in my mind is whether the states and the federal government can pull off these so-called health exchanges -- those are the online website where consumers go to shop for insurance...Starting this fall lots of people are going to be buying insurance, many of them for the first time, and they are not even aware of these exchanges, so there has to be a serious advertising campaign. And on top of that, the government wants to make sure the websites are simple enough to make sure that people buy the health insurance plans that make the most financial sense for them."
On controlling health care costs:
"There are lots of efforts underway to control all kinds of costs. Providers and insurers are entering into these contracts where doctors and hospitals are given financial incentives to spend less money. Traditionally the providers are paid for every service they offer -- doctor's visits, MRI's, etc. Under these new contracts the idea is to encourage more coordinated, proactive care. If all that saves money, the doctors and the hospitals keep a portion."
To hear more about what's next in health care, including a new lottery scheme for compliant patients, click on the audio player above. | <urn:uuid:e9184837-9fdb-458b-bb6a-61c15597981b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/health-care/changing-shape-health-care-2013?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+APM_Marketplace+%28APM%3A+Marketplace%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960002 | 278 | 1.835938 | 2 |
(the picture of the probably not elected but self-pro-claimed president Enrique Pena Nieto.)
Ignored in the most mainstream media are the huge protests in the streets of Mexico. The people are robbed again from an elected president.
The election campaign was full of protests and biased media attention for PRI ‘s presidential candidate Pena Nieto. The “President” Pena Nieto proclaimed himself winner before the election results where final. The voter fraud and buying votes have been not really researched yet, but the claims and evidence becomes even clearer. After massive protests and statements of fraud there was within one day a partial re-count. The irregularities were pronounced off the table after one day again the Pena Nieto proclaiming he was the one. This seems to be defying the power of the Mexican people. Whilst the real voting results and re-count can only be official after 6 september 2012 it is strange again that the re-count in full is not completed and the president proclaimed twice.
The streets have seen masses of students protesting against this undemocratic election and behaviour. It becomes evident that issues of self-proclaimed leaders and politicians taken power without honouring their constitution and people is a recurring problem. Vote rigging and buying, media manipulation it is all to see even in so-called bastions of “democracy”. Therefore watch Mexico! | <urn:uuid:d6061c99-82ef-4229-8990-299c5b8840e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lucas2012infos.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/lucas-watch-mexico-10-july-2012/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97679 | 278 | 1.5 | 2 |
Florida population booming again
Published: Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 11:10 p.m.
Coming back strong after a post-recession starching, Florida is now growing so quickly that the Sunshine State could soon overtake New York as the nation's third most populous state.
According to newly released Census Bureau data, Florida's population hit 19.3 million last summer, while New York came in at 19.6 million.
But those figures belie growth rates that could have widespread ramifications — especially for Southwest Florida, which has gained 46,000 new residents since 2006.
Florida's population, fueled by job seekers, foreign immigrants and baby boomer retirees, is growing at a much faster percentage rate than New York's — growth that is likely to continue through 2013.
Florida grew by 235,000 people in 2012, but a handful of economists contend 2013 growth will be even higher, as high as 360,000 new residents.
“Florida is getting its economic groove back,” said Mekael Teshome, an economist at PNC Financial Services Group who covers the Southeast region.
Moody's Analytics economist Chris Lafakis agrees.
Moody's is among those predicting Florida's population will swell by 360,000 this year. New York, by comparison, is expected to add between 50,000 and 100,000 new net residents.
“We do expect very strong population growth over the next few years, accelerating to over 2 percent, which would be double the national average, by 2014,” Lafakis said.
Between 300,000 and 400,000 new net residents would be considered very strong growth. By comparison, during 2005, the peak of last decade's economic growth, 427,000 people moved to Florida, Lafakis said.
Teshome expects Florida's year-over-year population gain to stabilize in the upper 200,000s, which would further fuel recoveries in real estate, retail sales, construction and other sectors.
“I don't know whether it is going to happen in 2013 or 2014, but Florida is going to pass New York in population in the next few years, that's for sure,” he said.
Lafakis said the shift stems from Florida's demographic drivers — good weather, advantageous business climate and employment and retirement opportunities.
The idea that Florida could overtake New York in population is not new, said Sean Snaith, a University of Central Florida economist.
“Recession and the housing crisis threw a wrench into the works,” said Snaith.
Snaith expects the state to tack on another 265,000 residents this year.
“If home prices start to recover up north more quickly over the course of the year, the ability to sell a house and finance retirement is going to improve for a lot of baby boomers,” Snaith said. “That could stoke our population growth.”
Higher home prices in Northern states also spurs labor force mobility, which helps the state's economy.
Sarasota-Bradenton also benefits from having specialty industries in areas like insurance, employee leasing, and various financial-related endeavors.
“You have a specialized workforce that will attract employment opportunities as the economy gets going,” Lafakis said.
Health care, always a strong job driver in Florida, is likely to remain strong, he added.
An influx of retirees will boost populations from Bradenton down through Naples, and on the east coast from Deltona to Port St. Lucie, according to Lafakis' data.
In the six years since the height of the residential real estate boom, Florida's population has grown by 1.2 million, Census figures show.
Texas added even more residents — 2.6 million people during the same six years. Its current population is 26 million. California's population grew by 1.6 million, to 38 million, during the same timeframe.
As such, the rankings of the top four states by population have remained static for many years. California is No. 1, followed by Texas, New York and Florida.
Southwest Florida counties, which were hard hit by the housing crash, have also eked out net population gains since 2007.
Manatee County added 21,000 people during the last six years, bringing its population to 334,000.
Sarasota County added 17,000 residents during the past six years, bringing its population to 386,000.
Charlotte County, meanwhile, added 8,000 to reach a population of 162,000.
That puts Southwest Florida in the middle of the pack in terms of growth statewide. Miami/Dade led the state, adding 189,000 residents to get to a population of just under 2.6 million.
While population never went down in Florida, the Census numbers show, it did flatten out in 2008 and 2009. “When population growth stopped or went negative for a year or two, we saw just how important that was,” said UCF's Snaith. “The lack of that population growth to date has made our recovery much more difficult.”
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | <urn:uuid:61e1179b-1eed-414a-a993-5ef9c2191c40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130313/ARTICLE/130319820/0/newssitemap | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960543 | 1,117 | 1.757813 | 2 |
US 4710948 A
A geologic core holder includes an elongated barrel constructed of a composite of wound and longitudinally extending nonmetallic fibers embedded in a resin matrix to provide a high strength structure which presents minimal attenuation of x-rays and magnetic flux. The barrel has opposed end flanges and the core holder includes removeable end plugs which are slideable in a bore formed by the barrel. Opposed pairs of split retaining blocks are engageable with the end flanges for securing the end plugs in the barrel bore. One of the end plugs is adapted to support a flexible sleeve for holding the core sample within a cavity formed in the barrel bore whereby fluid pressure may be applied to exert a particular pressure and temperature condition on the core so that pressure fluid flow characteristics through the core may be studied and x-ray imaged.
1. A core holder for testing geologic core samples including x-ray imaging of said core samples under various test conditions comprising:
an elongated cylindrical barrel adapted to provide minimal attenuation of x-rays when subjected to x-radiation, said barrel comprising a composite of wound non-metallic filaments embedded in a thermoset polymer resin matrix and said barrel including opposed ends;
opposed removeable end plugs insertable in a bore formed by said barrel and defining a cavity for receiving a geologic core sample, one of said plugs including means for supporting said core sample within said bore; and
plug retaining means engageable with said barrel at opposite ends thereof for retaining said plugs in said bore, respectively.
2. The core holder set forth in claim 1 wherein:
said barrel includes opposed radially extending flange means at opposite ends of said barrel and said retaining means comprises a pair of opposed retaining blocks for at least one end of said barrel, said blocks each being engageable with said flange means, and fastening means for securing said retaining blocks to said barrel for retaining one of said plugs in said blocks.
3. The core holder set forth in claim 2 wherein:
said flange means each define a transverse endface of said barrel, and said flange means include an inclined surface opposite said endface and delimiting said flange means, and said retaining blocks each include groove means for receiving said flange means for interfitting said blocks with said barrel and for retaining said one plug in assembly with said barrel.
4. The core holder set forth in claim 3 wherein:
each of said retaining blocks includes a substantially semi-circular groove defining said groove means for receiving a portion of said flange means whereby said barrel may be clamped between opposed ones of said retaining blocks.
5. The core holder set forth in claim 4 wherein:
said one plug includes an enlarged diameter portion having a diameter only slightly less than the diameter defining a bore of said barrel whereby said one end plug may be slideably received in said bore and retained therein by said retaining blocks.
6. The core holder set forth in claim 4 wherein:
said one plug includes means for supporting an elongated flexible sleeve for disposition in said bore of said barrel, said sleeve supporting a geologic core, and a closure plug disposed in the opposite end of said sleeve for retaining said core within said sleeve.
7. A core holder for testing geologic cores including at least one of x-ray imaging and magnetic flux measurement of said cores under various test conditions comprising:
an elongated cylindrical barrel adapted to minimize the attenuation of x-radiation and magnetic flux and comprising a composite of wound non-metallic filaments embedded in a thermoset polymer resin matrix, said barrel including opposed ends;
opposed end plugs closing a bore formed by said barrel and defining a cavity for receiving a geologic core, one of said plugs including means for supporting said core within said bore, said one plug including a portion having a diameter only slightly less than the diameter of said bore of said barrel whereby said one plug may be slideably received in said bore; and
plug retaining means engageable with said barrel and comprising a pair of opposed retaining blocks engageable with said barrel, said retaining blocks each being engageable with fastening means for securing said retaining blocks to said barrel for retaining said one plug in said bore.
8. The core holder set forth in claim 7 wherein:
said barrel includes flange means defining a transverse endface of said barrel, said flange means including an inclined surface opposite said endface and delimiting said flange means, and said retaining blocks each include groove means for receiving said flange means for interfitting said blocks with said barrel and for retaining said one plug in assembly with said barrel.
9. A core holder for use in x-ray imaging of geologic cores comprising:
an elongated cylindrical barrel member adapted to minimize the attenuation of x-radiation and magnetic fluid imposed on said barrel member, said barrel member forming a cylindrical bore and having opposed radially outwardly projecting end flanges, and said barrel member being constructed of a composite of circumferentially wound and longitudinally extending elongated non-metallic filaments embedded in a thermoset polymer resin matrix;
opposed end plugs forming closures for said bore, each of said end plugs including a cylindrical portion adapted to be disposed in close fitting slideable relationship in said bore and including seal means for providing a fluid-tight seal between said barrel member and said end plugs, respectively;
at least one of said end plugs including means for supporting a geologic core in said bore of said barrel member whereby said core may be subjected to various conditions of fluid pressure and temperature imposed on said core; and
retaining means for each of said end plugs, said retaining means including respective pairs of opposed retaining blocks, each of said retaining blocks including means defining a groove for receiving at least a portion of one of said flanges and a transverse end face engageable with one of said end plugs for retaining said one end plug in said bore; and
fastening means for securing said retaining blocks to each other in opposed pairs for securing said retaining blocks to said barrel member and so as to retain said end plugs in said bore, respectively.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a core holder for testing the characteristics of geologic formation core samples.
Geologic core holders have been developed of a type which permit testing the fluid flow characteristics of a geologic core sample at various temperature and pressure conditions. One deficiency of known types of core holders has been revealed as a result of the introduction of the use of computerized tomographic scanners for viewing the fluid flow patterns through various types of core samples under laboratory conditions. Metal core holders made of metals of high atomic number are particularly unsuitable in that the attentuation of the x-rays do not permit the use of these types of holders for producing computerized tomographic images. The substitution of metals of lower atomic numbers is unsuitable for many laboratory test conditions because of the pressure and temperature limitations at which metals such as aluminum may be used.
Accordingly, a profound need has been realized for the development of a geologic core sample holder which provides minimum attentuation of x-rays to permit the x-ray imaging of cores under various test conditions. There has also been a need to develop a core holder which will withstand the test pressures and temperatures needed to simulate actual subterranean formation environments and recovery processes which are likely to yield commercially viable quantities of hydrocarbons such as the West Sak and Ugnu oil fields in Alaska.
Still further, it has been recognized that the specialized use for a suitable core holder meeting the criteria mentioned above makes the cost of these structures relatively significant, and, accordingly, the need for a more versatile core holder suitable for operating under various conditions of core sample length and diameter, and core sample test conditions, has been particularly great. The need for an improved core holder has been recognized, not only in connection with the use of x-ray linear core scans and computerized tomographic scans, but magnetic measurements of core samples has also been viewed as requiring the use of non-magnetic core holders. Accordingly, the problems and desiderata associated with the development of an improved core holder have heretofore been unresolved but are largely met by the improved core holder of the present invention.
The present invention provides an improved device for holding geologic core samples and the like under various temperature and pressure conditions whereby various pressure and fluid flow tests may be performed and wherein linear and computerized tomographic x-ray images of a geologic core sample may be provided.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improved core holder having an outer housing in the form of a cylindrical barrel which is formed of a composite material which will permit operation of the core holder at temperatures and pressures greater than those permitted with core holders made of conventional non-magnetic metals while also permitting examination of a core sample under various pressure and temperature conditions by linear and computerized tomographic x-ray imaging. The composite construction of the core holder barrel may comprise circumferential windings and longitudinal extending strands of non-metallic filaments, such as glass or aramid fibers embedded in a resin matrix. In particular, the core holder barrel preferably also comprises an impermeable, corrosion resistant, inner liner on which is circumferentially wound a pretensioned layer of polymer-coated filaments, followed by a layer of tensioned longitudinally extending polymer coated filaments.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improved core holder having a generally cylindrical barrel made of a composite material having low x-ray attenuation characteristics and adapted to be connected to an improved retainer structure whereby removable end plugs, one of which may support the core sample within the holder barrel, are conveniently retained in assembly with the barrel to provide for substantially leak-proof testing of the core sample under various pressure and temperature conditions.
The improved core holder of the present invention may be used under a wide variety of core sample testing and examination conditions and wherein core samples of various lengths may be tested utilizing a single core holder structure.
Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages of the improved core holder of the present invention upon reading the detailed description which follows in conjunction with the drawing.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal central section view of the improved core holder of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a transverse end view of one end of the core holder showing the configuration of one of the split end plug retainers for the core holder barrel; and
FIG. 3 is a transverse end view of the opposite end of the core holder.
In the description which follows, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawing with the same reference numerals. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a unique geologic core sample holder in accordance with the present invention and generally designated by the numeral 10. The core holder 10 is characterized by an elongated cylindrical barrel member 12 having opposed end flanges 14 and 16, respectively. The barrel 12 is characterized as a cylindrical tube wherein the flanges 14 and 16 are delimited by transverse planar end faces 15 and 17, and respective opposed inclined or frustoconical faces 18 and 20. The barrel 12 is advantageously constructed of a composite of non-metallic circumferentially wound filaments 22, as indicated by way of example, and longitudinally extending filaments 24. The filaments 22 and 24 are preferably pretensioned and are embedded in a resin matrix, preferably comprising a thermostat polymer having an oxygen to carbon linkage with a very dense, highly cross-linked molecular structure. One type of composite structure which may be used for the barrel 12 is manufactured under the trademark PYROITE by Tencom International, Inc., Avon, Ohio.
The filaments 22 and 24 are wound and laid in alternating layers, on an inner liner 26 which may be formed of a suitable plastic such as a fluorocarbon composition. In a typical example, a core holder having a barrel 12 of approximately 12.0 inches overall length, 3.70 inches outside diameter and 3.0 inches inside diameter, and manufactured of the abovedescribed composite materials, is suitable for working pressures of about 5000 psig at 250 x-rays by the barrel 12 provides for use of a core holder having a barrel 12 wherein particularly high resolution x-ray images may be developed by a linear scanner or a tomographic type scanner.
The core holder 10 is further characterized by a first generally cylindrical end plug 28 having a cylindrical section 30 which is dimensioned to fit closely within the bore of the liner 26 and includes a suitable o-ring seal 32 to form a fluid type seal between the liner and the end plug. The end plug 28 includes a reduced diameter portion 34 delimited by an end face 36 and having a suitable o-ring seal 38 disposed on the circumference thereof and adapted to be in sealing engagement with an elongated, generally flexible cylindrical sleeve 40. The sleeve 40 is preferably formed of a suitably flexible material such as rubber, a urethane elastomer or fluoroplastic and is adapted to support a geologic core sample 42.
The end of the sleeve 40 opposite that connected to the plug 28 is closed by a removeable end plug 44 having an o-ring seal 46 disposed on the periphery thereof and in sealing engagement with the sleeve 40. The end plug 28 has a suitable passage 48 formed therein and opening to the end face 36. The passage 48 is also in communication with a suitable tube fitting 50 threaded into the outer end of the plug 28 at a second reduced diameter portion 29. The end plug 44 also has a passage 52 extending therethrough and opening to a transverse end face 45. The passage 52 is also in communication with a fitting 54 which is connected to an elongated fluid conducting tube 56.
The core holder 10 further includes a second end plug for the barrel 12, generally designated by the numeral 60. The plug 60 includes a cylindrical portion 62 having a diameter only slightly less than the inner diameter of the liner 26 and provided with suitable groove means for holding an o-ring type seal 64 on the periphery thereof whereby a fluid type seal is formed between the liner 26 and the plug 60. The plug 60 includes a reduced diameter portion 61 supporting spaced apart conventional conduit fittings 54 which are, respectively, in communication with internal passages 66 and 68 extending through the plug and opening to an end face 69. The plug 60 includes an elongated bore 70 for receiving the conduit 56 in slideable relationship thereto. A suitable fluid-tight packing 72 is disposed in a counterbore opening to the end face 69 and is retained by a removeable retainer plate 74.
Accordingly, an internal cavity 13, defined by the barrel 12 and the end plugs 28 and 60, is operable to receive pressure fluid through one or the other of the passages 66 and 68 wherein the other of the two passages may be used for bleeding air from the cavity 13 and/or used as a tap for a pressure guage or the like. Moreover, fluids may be injected into the cavity containing the geologic core sample 42 through one or the other of the conduit 56 or the passage 48 with flow through the core sample 42 exiting the other of the two flow paths. In this way, the flow permeability and other characteristics of a geologic core may be tested for various types of fluids and at various pressures and temperatures.
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 also, the core holder 10 includes an improved arrangement of retainer members for retaining the end plugs 28 and 60 in sealing engagement with the barrel 12. The retaining means for the plugs 28 and 60 comprise respective pairs of opposed retaining members 80 characterized as generally rectangular blocks, each having a support surface 82, defined by pedestal portions 83. The blocks 80 are also each provided with spaced apart parallel bolt receiving holes 85 for receiving threaded bolt assemblies 86 whereby the blocks 80 may, in pairs, be adapted to clamp to the respective barrel flanges 14 and 16 for retaining the respective plugs 60 and 28 in assembly with the barrel 12, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The blocks 80 each include a substantially semicircular clearance recess 88 to provide clearance around the reduced diameter portions 29 and 61 of the respective end plugs.
The blocks 80 also each include generally semicircular grooves 90 delimited by a transverse surface 92, FIG. 1, and an inclined surface 94 whereby the blocks may be clamped together by the bolt assemblies 86 and in assembly with the barrel 12 in wedging engagement with the inclined surfaces 18 and 20 of the respective barrel flanges. Clearance around the barrel 12 is also provided by generally semicircular recesses 91 which intersect the grooves 90 opposite the recesses 88. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the retaining blocks 80, when in assembled relationship with the barrel 12, are dimensioned such that clearance gaps 96 and 98 are formed when respective pairs of retaining blocks 80 are assembled, as shown, to assure that a tight interfitting relationship occurs between the flanges 14 and 16 and the respective pairs of blocks.
The respective pairs of retaining blocks 80 serve as the sole means for retaining the end plugs 28 and 60 in the barrel 12 under the substantial fluid pressure forces which act on these plug members to eject them from the barrel. Any clamping forces acting on the barrel flanges 14 and 16 tending to collapse the barrel are opposed by the presence of the end plugs 28 and 60 themselves if the barrel undergoes elastic deformation in response to tightening of the bolt assemblies 86. Accordingly, the barrel 12 is not deformed and a fluid tight seal is assured between the respective plugs 28 and 60 and the bore formed by the liner 26. The retaining blocks 80 may be easily removed from the barrel 12 by merely unthreading the responsive nuts 87 of each of the bolt assemblies 86 and removing the retaining blocks by moving each block transversely with respect to the longitudinal central axis of the barrel 12 until sufficient clearance exists that the plugs 28 and 60 may be removed from the barrel.
For example, if it is desired to remove a core sample and replace it with another sample of different length or different geological characteristics, only the retaining blocks 80 which retain the end plug 28 are required to be removed from the barrel 12, whereupon the end plug 28, the core sample retaining sleeve 40 and the end plug 44 may be removed in assembly through the end of the barrel 12, normally closed by the plug 28, for interchanging a core sample or inspection thereof. The tube 56 is typically provided to be of sufficient length to permit withdrawal of the plugs 28 and 44 is assembly with the sleeve 40 out of the cavity 13 without disconnecting the tube 56 from the plug 44. After inspection of a core sample such as the core sample 42, or replacement thereof with another core sample, the plug 28 may be reassembled into the end of the barrel 12 and the pair of retaining blocks 80 securing the plug 28 may be reassembled and the bolt assemblies 86 tightened to securely clamp the blocks 80 to the barrel 12 and to retain the plug 28 within the barrel.
Thanks to the arrangement of the opposed flanges 14 and 16 on the barrel 12, including the inclined surfaces 18 and 20 which are engageable with the inclined grooved surfaces 94, the barrel 12 is not unduly stressed at its opposite ends by forces due to assembly of the end plug retaining means with the barrel 12. Accordingly, the arrangement of the retaining blocks 80 not only provides for ease of assembly and disassembly of the core holder 10 but reduces stresses on the barrel 12 which might tend to aggravate the total stress on the barrel under certain working pressures and temperatures and reduce the actual working load capability of the barrel.
The operation of the core holder 12 is believed to be readily understandable from the foregoing description. Detailed descriptions of the various pressure fluid flow lines and sources adapted to be connected to the passages 66, 68 and 48, as well as the conduit 56, have been omitted in the interest of clarity and conciseness. Moreover, those skilled in the art will recognize that multiple passages may be provided in the end plug 28, for example, for use in injecting more than one fluid and/or for measuring pressures within the cavity containing the core sample 42 during test conditions. Thanks to the provision of the composite construction of the barrel 12, the core holder 10 advantageously provides for high quality x-ray imaging of the geologic core sample 42 under various pressures and temperatures as well as various fluid flow conditions imposed on the core sample.
Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail herein, those skilled in the art will recognize that various substitutions and modifications may be made to the core holder 10 without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as recited in the appended claims.
Citas de patentes | <urn:uuid:80ad9954-4026-4503-8387-af9de90d09c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.google.es/patents/US4710948?hl=es&dq=flatulence | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943318 | 4,294 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Hope is defined in dictionaries as "looking forward to with confidence or expectation". It's a beautiful thing to have in life at one point or another because it allows us to persevere through the times when we are awaiting the fulfillment of whatever it is we are hoping for.
Hopelessness, on the other hand, is having "no possibility of solution; impossible". This is the state of our souls if we are to carefully consider the truths that we have gone through in the first part of this series. By now we should realize that the Bible has made it clear that we ALL are sinners and are deserving hell - the second death, as payment for our sinfulness. This is a reality we all cannot escape. The Bible clearly states that ALL of us have sinned before God, no one is exempted, no one was spared. How did this happen? I'm glad you asked...
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" (Romans 5:12)
"For as in Adam ALL die..." (1 Cor. 15:22)
Now since this is our case, we all must realize that what we have in us are plainly deadened souls. The Bible states that we are dead in our sins and transgressions. (see Ephesians 2:1). We have gone through our attempts for holiness in Part 1 and we ought to realize by now that our striving and our effort to become righteous and pleasing before God is to no avail.
What then is our hope for heaven? All human beings long for it, you know, that place of peace, rest and forever happiness that is untouched by anything evil. Heaven is a place our inner being call "home". Why? Because God's presence is there. The very reason He brought us into existence is to enjoy fellowship with Him and to glorify and exalt Him as our Creator, our Master, our Lord.
Our souls long for it every second of our lives without us realizing it. This is the void we all are trying to fill with just about anything we manage to scavenge on this earth - wealth, fame, pleasures, relationships... this longing and void for something will remain and it will reach full gear when we break free from our bodies and live for eternity. Yet, when we all die, we face the reality of God's wrath towards sinners. This is what we all need to be saved from - God's wrath is poured out to transgressors and unrighteousness.
You may say to yourself, "I don't believe that, because God is a loving God." I totally understand where you're coming from. But may we allow Scripture to explain to us where this Love lies and what this Love truly means? God reveals himself to us through His Word and this is what we see...
"The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!"
(Psalm 50:6, emphasis added)
"God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts."
(Psalm 7:11-13 ESV, emphasis added)
"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked] every day." (Psalm 7:11 KJV, emphasis added)
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."
(Romans 1:18, emphasis added)
"I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy,
because I am holy..." (Leviticus 11:44)
We ought to understand that the nature of God is not limited to his being a God of Love. He is a righteous judge as well as a Holy God. That is why His anger burns against unrighteousness because His holiness cannot tolerate any drop of sin!
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their spanc is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
(Psalm 90: 7-12)
This is how God's LOVING nature becomes evident and magnified. Because we are all subject to God's wrath and are objects of His continuous anger (remember SIN in us?), God's Sovereignty reveals the Love that God shows towards man. This is the Love we all tend to misunderstand and we all tend to abuse...
"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
"Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him." (Isaiah 30:18)
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
This is the love of God... He does not want any of us to perish, thus He shows His mercy towards us. He showed compassion to a world that is dead. He said this of Himself that He is our SAVIOR and thus, He himself provided a way for man to be reconciled to Him, for man to come to repentance, for man to be saved from His wrath! His love is about our Salvation. It was never about Him becoming tolerant to sin. It was never a license for man to continue sinning.
So, what is our Hope? It is this promise that we should not perish, but have everlasting life! This everlasting LIFE (and no longer Death) is what we Hope for... what we look forward to with confidence and great expectation!
More wonderful is the fact that Hope works hand in hand with Faith. For the Bible defines Faith this way...
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
When we hold on to "Hope", we are holding on to something we do not yet see. We look forward with eager expectation. Faith, however, raises our Hope to a different level! It gives EVIDENCE to what we do not see. Do you know what an evidence does to a presumed thing? It gives proof, a clear indication, and gives the knowledge on which we base our belief. It makes the promise sure. It gives the one who hopes CONFIDENCE on the promise, on the thing we all hoped for.
My friends, do you know that we CAN know for sure if we are going to heaven or not? Though many believe and say "I really hope to get to heaven someday..." or "I'm trying my best to at least get to heaven one day...", the Word of God has a promise, a Hope for the hopeless to embrace, that speaks of assurance of our place in heaven - forever reconciled and in fellowship with God!
We will look into this ASSURANCE of HEAVEN in the next part of our series... | <urn:uuid:3d2ba79d-287f-435f-b99b-00c3cd2a5382> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://purplecookiejar.blogspot.com/2011/04/holy-week-special-part-2-hope-for.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9619 | 1,642 | 1.789063 | 2 |
The National League of Cities, with support from the Surdna Foundation, has created a guide to help city officials promote youth civic engagement in municipal government. "Authentic Youth Civic Engagement: A Guide for Municipal Leaders", offers municipal officials a framework for developing and improving youth civic engagement in their communities.
Getting youth involved in our communities is something of interest to all of us. Keeping our youth involved can help to create a sense of place from within as they make decisions on where to make their home as they become adults. Many local officials across the state are involved with youth programs and many local units even have their own youth representatives to council.
Providing a setting in which the community is seen as welcoming and inviting to youth can lead to a wide range of benefits and allow young people to have a impact on issues in your town. Its why the League's "Center for 21st Century Communities" has identified K-16 education has one of the key assets of vibrant places and a avenue for collaboration and why a pre-con session at convention is specifically geared for local officials to learn about strategies for youth.
Arnold Weinfeld is Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 or by e-mail. | <urn:uuid:cfd83947-be77-4ce4-b0c8-1cfc541470ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mml.org/resources/21c3/post/2010/08/10/Engaging-youth-in-the-community.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96948 | 261 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Calm Living Spaces
Is your space stressing you out? Relax and get some tips on how to create a calming atmosphere in your home.
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According to Joseph Schiavo, a simple layout and neutral design elements create a harmonious space and he provides these ideas for toning down a hectic room:
Designer Ashli Mizell helps homeowner Peggy Friend convert her chaotic living room into a serene sanctuary:
Schiavo thinks a room has to be as simple as you can manage to serve its purpose. It should look as if nothing needs to be done so select things that are easy to maintain and if something isn't working, remove it.
Be extremely sensitive to how colors are communicating with one another in order to create a space that's in harmony. Use a fairly neutral color palette, but that doesn't mean that it has to be just cream — it can be all shades of a color with other colors introduced as well.
This living room is certainly attractive, but it's definitely not calming. Lots of clutter and bright colors don't put the homeowner at ease.
The difference is clear. Where there once was harsh color and disorganized furniture, there's now peacefulness and simplicity. It's definitely a room that's easy on the eyes and ultimately more relaxing.
curtains, throw pillow, leather and wood chair (Donghia Furniture/Textiles Ltd.)
faux fur throw (Pierre Frey)
glass nesting tables (Usona)
black window painting by Vladamir Makarov (Mimi Ferzt Gallery)
clear glass vase (IKEA)
Resident designer Carriann Arkowski works her magic on an oddly shaped room.
Soothing blues add color while creating a calming effect in this living room.
A new living room look remains comfortable for a Cancer, but it also has enough glitz for a spotlight-seeking Libra.(4 photos) | <urn:uuid:cf57881a-7874-472e-af2e-e93008524ff2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/calm-living-spaces/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931267 | 418 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Lipe is a bitch who blows at all aspects of life and has never succeeded at anything he has ever attempted.
Lipe truly is a bitch
The root of the word Lipe is lipo, which refers to fat as a noun.
Lipe::noun:: A Lipe is a rather fat individual. Someone who is obese, or even just a bit wide in the belly can be referred to as a Lipe.
Lipe::adj:: A food which has a high fat content, or an activity/lack of activity that may lead to obesity can be referred to as Lipe.
Damn. Did you see that dude's rolls? He's a lipe big time.
C'mon, man. Doritos are real lipe. Keep eating those and you'll be 300 pounds.
Dude. All you ever do is play video games. Do you know how lipe that is?
Keep doing nothing. Thats so lipe.
The state of being in high focus and concentration. When a person is experiencing lipe, they are unstoppable.
Erwin: How do you think you did on the final exam.
Jason: I was totally liped when I took that.
Erwin: Ah man, you probably aced it.
Chuck Norris was born with lipe in his genes.
To repeatedly fail at something miserably.
Don't lipe it!
I can't believe you liped it again. | <urn:uuid:73b1c6ab-6146-4e14-b699-04c60b5ac235> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lipe&defid=1938350 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969738 | 305 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Sto Corp. has been awarded the ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System certification for all North American Sto Corp. locations. The certification was granted by SGS, the world's largest control and inspection company.
The ISO 14001:2004 international standard provides both a model for streamlining environmental management and guidelines to ensure environmental issues are considered within decision-making practices.
Sto Corp., maker of cladding, coating and restoration systems worldwide, attained the ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System accreditation after a series of audits at its manufacturing facilities in North America as well as the corporate headquarters in Atlanta. Locations will be assessed annually to ensure continual development of the Environmental Management System currently in place.
“Sto’s motto for more than 50 years has been ‘Building with conscience’,” said Sto president and CEO David Boivin. “This means that our guiding force in the design and manufacture of quality products is the impact that we make by our operations, services and products. Simply, this means doing the right thing for our customers, employees, communities, stake holders, and the environment.”
Sto Corp. products are designed to minimize environmental impact by their use and their manufacture. Sto Corp. manufactures insulated wall claddings, fluid-applied waterproofing/air barriers, and even coatings that have pronounced self-cleaning properties. These products are key components in sustainable construction today.
Since the implementation of the EMS system, Sto Corp. has achieved a huge reduction in materials sent to landfill through company-wide recycling programs including paper and cardboard recycling. Other areas of improvement include: reduction of electricity use in all facilities; waste water reduction and recycling in its manufacturing processes; and a program for airborne particulate capture and exposure reduction. These efforts help Sto minimize its carbon footprint.
Initiatives for 2009 include continuation of the program aimed at reducing overall energy consumption, further increasing recycling frequency and type, and improving employee’s environmental awareness. These initiatives offer additional business benefits as well as an even greater reduction in environmental impact.
For more information, visit www.stocorp.com or call toll free (800) 221-2397 or (404) 346-0755. | <urn:uuid:e2af9281-5024-4c31-a3cd-74e1731b2e62> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.durabilityanddesign.com/news/?fuseaction=view&id=2849 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948178 | 458 | 1.625 | 2 |
Jared Fogle, aka the Subway guy, has done what many dieters dream of. He lost 245 pounds in a year and has continued to keep the weight off. Here is a look back at Jared before and after the Subway diet. To this day, Fogle still carries around the 58-inch waistline jeans he once wore.
Jack Gruber, USA TODAY
Jared at 12 years old. Fogle says he was a video game addict by the third grade and interested in nothing else except eating lots of junk food.
Jared at 13 years old.
Jared with college friends at Indiana University. While a student Fogle says he would drink 15 cans of full-sugar sodas and eat 10,000 calories per day.
At his heaviest he wore 425 pounds and says he couldn't fit through doorways or squeeze into car seats and chairs would bend when he sat in them. He suffered sleep apnea because the fat around his neck obstructed his windpipe.
He finally was convinced to try something drastic after he fell asleep at the wheel and woke with his car in the ditch. In 1998 he decided cold turkey to cut his daily calorie consumption to 2,000. He walked into a Subway in his apartment building and read the nutritional information and started his diet.
About a year later, by combining diet and exercise Fogle was down to 190 pounds. After appearing in the student newspaper, Subway 'discovered' him and began featuring him in regional and then national ads.
The partnership proved very successful for both Jared and Subway as growth at the fast food company exploded during the 15 years. Jared is picked up by Subway co-founder Fred Deluca and headquarter employees shortly after the partnership began.
Fogle has become a mini-empire as well. He has been in more than 300 TV ads, written a book and is a top-tier motivational speaker.
Jared says the hardest part has been keeping the weight off. Subway pays for his gym membership and has hooked him up with a personal trainer. In 2010, he ran the New York Marathon.
He also lends his support to charities like the American Heart Association Heart Walk.
Fogle serves sandwiches to military personnel in Bethesda, Md., on Veteran's Day in 2012.
Fogle participates in the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn in 2012.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary, Subway's congratulatory campaign will feature all of Subway's top athletes, including Michael Phelps.
Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:
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It's rife with redundant phrases, confusing methodologies, and tiny graphs. Reading page after page of long words in small font is better than any over-the-counter sleep aid out there for getting the job done.
Occasionally, the rare gem will come along just when you least expect it, providing a readable (dare I say—enjoyable) account of the latest research.
So begins a paper published this past week in Neurology:
"It was a quiet Thursday afternoon when 'A.S.', a 68-year-old woman from a suburb of Chicago, awakened from a nap to the realization that something was terribly wrong."
What?! What's wrong! Must...keep...reading...
As the article continues, we learn how A.S. and another patient, J.D., adjust to their lives before and after their diagnoses of Bálint's syndrome. | <urn:uuid:3ede9676-ca75-4163-851f-c2eb797acee4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gainesonbrains.com/2012_09_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951055 | 185 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Insurance affects-and protects-virtually all the most fundamental parts of our lives here in North Carolina: home, health, transportation, and even work. Most of us are obligated to earn a living in some way, and, for some of us, work-related matters can lead to some unusual insurance policies and claims. Sure, if you're a professional musician in an orchestra, you might want to insure your bassoon, but in what circumstances would you ever need to insure your behind?
Body part insurance may be suitable for anyone whose physical traits enable him or her to earn an income. A professional baseball player may want to ensure the arm that he uses to pitch. A trombone player may insure the elbow she uses to move the slide back and forth. Actress Jennifer Lopez famously insured her derriere-which helps to, ahem, elevate her celebrity status and therefore serves to generate some income-for a whopping one billion dollars. Singer Bruce Springsteen insured his voice, Dolly Parton her breasts, and model Heidi Klum her legs. An Australian cricket player named Merv Hughes even insured his mustache, which is a big part of his image. Which part of your body do you rely on in order to do your job and bring home the bacon? Have you ever considered insuring it?
In 2010, a retired police officer that was shot in the chest by a sniper while on the job some 32 years earlier received a $350,000 settlement. The former cop claimed he had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder for decades as a consequence of the shooting. Even though he sought compensation so many years after the event took place, a city council voted to approve his settlement. Makes you think back to injuries you might have sustained on the job years ago (like that time you bonked your head while getting into the pizza delivery vehicle)...would you dare to try to cash in on them today?
This is a type of business insurance that enables business owners to take out policies on their employees. If a business employs a very crucial person on whom it relies heavily, and that employee dies, the business receives a payout. Employees must give permission before such policies can be created for them. This type of coverage may be suitable for employees who wield great influence over the financial health of the companies that employ them. Imagine being so important at work that your company insured you!
For more information about the more unusual varieties of insurance coverage, contact High & Rubish Insurance Agency today. | <urn:uuid:e0d568ec-d70f-4836-8cf0-0784f5b4f33b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.highandrubish.com/blog/unusual-work-related-insurance-policies-and-claims | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974394 | 505 | 1.609375 | 2 |
California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington state will share $500 million in grant money won in the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant competition, the Obama administration announced Friday.
In addition to the $500 million awarded to Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grantees, seven states—Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—have applied for a share of the $200 million to invest in K-12 education reform. Awards will be announced later in December.
"Education must be our national mission," said President Barack Obama. "All of us must work to give all our children the best education possible. And today, we're acting to strengthen early childhood education to better prepare our youngest children for success in school and in life"
Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius made the announcement of state grantees on Friday, December 16, at a White House event with over 100 early learning and development experts, educators, policymakers, and researchers. Rich Long, the International Reading Association’s Director of Government Relations, attended the meeting at the White House on December 16. Read his comments on the IRA advocacy webpage.
"In a matter of months, early education and child development experts throughout the country, together with state and local leaders, worked to build comprehensive plans for expanding access to high-quality early learning," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "All applicants showed tremendous dedication and drive to build stronger foundations and create greater opportunities for more children. Their work will help lead the way in ensuring excellent early learning and support for every child."
"A strong educational system is critical not just for our children but also for our nation's economic future," said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. "The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge takes a holistic approach to early education, promotes innovation, and focuses on what it takes to help put young children on the path of learning, opportunity, and success."
Studies show that children who attend quality early education programs do better in school, are less likely to spend time in prison later, and to make more money as adults. But children from low-income families who start kindergarten without any schooling are estimated to start school 18 months behind their peers, a gap that is extremely difficult to overcome.
The U. S. Education Department website has the winning states’ applications. For more information about the program, visit http://www.ed.gov.
State Waiver Applications on CEP Website
Legislative Hot Topic from the International Reading Association Government Relations Department
Literacy Advocacy Legislative Workshops and Webinars | <urn:uuid:7838c917-c606-48fa-bc2e-5db7799db169> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reading.org/general/Publications/blog/legislationpolicy/page/7/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948097 | 580 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Eighth grader Michelle Barnett has created artwork that will be displayed at the presidential debate at Hofstra University in October. Her creation, an artistic depiction of the word "dream," was chosen from among entries across Long Island and will be on display for all the attendees to see as part of the Expressions of Democracy 2012 exhibit, called "Social Realism." Michelle said she feels honored to be able to participate. "I was really surprised to find out that my piece was chosen for the art show," she said. "It's really overwhelming to know that I am going to be a part of such a historic event." | <urn:uuid:d8a0b373-4045-444e-ba2a-91e0608959f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://threevillage.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/gelinas-student-s-artwork-selected-for-exhibition-at-8e67a16b4c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988256 | 125 | 1.804688 | 2 |
A friend of mine likes to visit boot fairs and low value auctions. He’s got a great eye and will often come home with a delicate set of antique silver spoons, bits from an old grandfather clock or some old table.
“Very collectable,” he will be heard to say of his early morning bargains as he sets about restoring furniture or giving the brass on a magic lantern a bit of a rub. Stuff is repaired and piled up in various rooms in his house. His plan is that he will sell most of it on eBay, and indeed he has made some killings with items bought for a few pennies being sold for hundreds of pounds. The problem is that while he may sell a few things every few months, each week he is accumulating far more.
And there is the rub. If he was able to get on top of his ever increasing pile of clutter he would generate a not insignificant second income, but he has a fulltime job and sees his rummaging and collecting as a hobby.
And how many businesses may have the same challenge? When it comes to digital data, businesses are increasingly rich, data is piling up across different databases, but are they succeeding in building “Big Data” and extracting the maximum value? No, inevitably they are not, especially when the data is not seen as a primary revenue source. | <urn:uuid:34311822-930e-4bad-afee-b9814bb75f4c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://contentrev.com/category/news | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982414 | 280 | 1.789063 | 2 |
In its blog post, Twitter says that the content showing on the Discover tab is being sourced, in part, by algorithms identifying tweets that are popular among the user you follow, and the users they follow.
Next to each popular story, you’ll see context on why it’s there, such as the Twitter avatars of your contacts that have shared the story. There are also links to view popular tweets about the story or to tweet your own response to it.
In a separate post, Twitter’s engineering folks explain in a bit more detail how the new Discover tab works. The first step, they say, is
…to identify your connections and rank them according to how strong and important those connections are to you.
Once we have that network, we use Twitter’s flexible search engine to find URLs that have been shared by that circle of people. Those links are converted into stories that we’ll display, alongside other stories, in the Discover tab. Before displaying them, a final ranking pass re-ranks stories according to how many people have tweeted about them and how important those people are in relation to you. All of this happens in near-real time, which means breaking and relevant stories appear in the new Discover tab almost as soon as people start talking about them.
On many occasions in the past, Twitter has discussed its desire to improve content discovery on the site — especially when the company has rolled out new versions of its home page and/or other updates to the Twitter.com user experience.
This latest update involving more personalization appears to be coming from the Julpan team that Twitter purchased last year.
Twitter says these changes on the Discover tab will be rolling out on Twitter.com and its iPhone and Android apps in the next few weeks. | <urn:uuid:44ba3f28-1e09-4825-8800-e675325555a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marketingland.com/twitter-adds-more-personalization-on-the-discover-tab-11086?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mktingland+%28Marketing+Land%3A+Main+Feed%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958591 | 366 | 1.617188 | 2 |
How to create jobs
Unemployment is a human crisis. Yet the Obama administration, Congress and the Fed mostly act like it's not their problem.
A record number of Americans are poor. And by any measure, the poverty rate is rising.
Why the protesters are angry
The protesters sleeping in the cold do not claim that 99 percent of Americans agree with them. Their point is that the top 1 percent plays by different rules.
An interview with Gary Dorrien
Social ethicist Gary Dorrien talked to Century executive editor David Heim after writing his cover story on "the case against Wall Street."
Whatever its explicit message, Occupy Wall Street has made a powerful statement with its very mode of existence.
The Century's work relies primarily on subscriptions and donations. Thank you for supporting nonprofit journalism.
Support us by buying books: | <urn:uuid:6a3ca30a-0d68-4ae2-8960-ebb088a6a38b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.christiancentury.org/category/keywords/great-recession | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947875 | 170 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Either energy is serious, or it isn't. If it isn't, then stop blathering about conservation and changes in lifestyle. If it is serious, than controlling energy amounts to controlling people, and you may have to fight to prevent someone controlling your energy resources.
The Emir of Kuwait, we're told, had solid gold bathroom fixtures, or maybe they were platinum, or plutonium. While I was in Kuwait, I met people who had been tortured, had spent months in hiding, and had had friends and loved ones disappear or be killed. Just exactly what is the relevance of the Emir's plumbing?
We did. The UN mandate for Desert Storm was to expel Iraq from Kuwait. What part of that didn't we do?
So why didn't we go on and topple Saddam Hussein?
Why don't we just let the generals fight the wars? Clausewitz once noted that "war is politics conducted by other means." The only reasons rational nations fight is for political ends. Irrational nations fight for adventure or plunder perhaps, but then rational nations have to fight to defend themselves against them. So war is inherently political. If you want a war free of political constraints you want what never was, never will be, and never can be. While we're at it, I'd like an absolutely unrestricted research budget.
The last general who got to fight a war absolutely on his own terms was probably Napoleon. He'd probably have been much better off if he'd had a politician reining him in and giving him reality checks.
Nobody elected us to remake these countries in our image. That was never our mission.
Ever since the Gulf War, the media has been cringing in embarrassment over the way they were "handled" by the military. There are two main reasons why:
So while many media critics lament the "uncritical" reporting during the Gulf War, my perception is that between the inherent excitement and fast pace of the events, plus adroit work by the military, for the first time in many years the media covered an event solely by reporting the facts largely devoid of ideological spin. The Gulf War was reporting done the way it ought to be done if the media were doing their jobs properly.
A good indication of how the media would like to have handled the conflict was the way one network tried to get permission to film inside the facility in Dover, Delaware where bodies would be returned. The military refused access and were upheld in court. Exactly what information would filming there have provided the American public? How bodies are processed for burial? Any funeral director can tell you that. The number of casualties? Maybe, if there were any suspicion the casualty figures were being faked. But there are too many ways to spot fakery to make that an even plausible scenario. We're just too open a society. There is no information whatsoever to be gained by filming inside the facility; the only purpose of doing so would be to create emotional impact. Creating emotional impact takes us outside the realm of journalism and into the realm of entertainment or political advocacy. Both are protected by the First Amendment but they don't carry the same aura of sacredness as informing the public. The government is obliged to help keep the public informed; it's not obliged to keep them entertained or to provide material for political activism.
We're causing immense suffering to the people of Iraq by continuing the embargo.
Excuse me. Who's causing the suffering? It wouldn't be Saddam Hussein by any chance? And it wouldn't be the Iraqi people, who allowed him to come to power and are doing nothing to get him out?
We also caused immense suffering in Germany during World War II. The suffering was caused by the actions of Adolf Hitler, who was allowed to come to power by the German people, and who failed to take effective action to remove him once his policies had proven disastrous.
Does this seem harsh? Ask yourself two questions:
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Los Angeles has always been home to some of the world's most expensive real estate. But forget Beverly Hills, 90210: The new hot spot for multimillion-dollar mansions is Duarte, 91008.
Duarte, Calif., home to the 91008 ZIP code, is a small suburb northeast of downtown LA, near the Los Angeles national forest. The median cost of a house in this tony town is a whopping $4,276,462, making it the most expensive housing market in the country. It ranks No. 1 on Forbes' annual ranking of America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes.
A scant 1,391 people live in 91008 ZIP code, and only 12 homes are currently on the market. So a single high-priced listing (like the mammoth nine-bedroom, built this year, that's selling for $19.8 million) is enough to skew the median price skyward.
The ascent of Duarte — for which the 91008 ZIP was created since 2000, to accommodate a growing population — shows that wealth is still drawn to big cities, even if their postbubble housing prices have dropped.
"In the big California markets there is essentially a chronic shortage of homes," says Mike Simonsen, CEO of Altos Research, a Mountain View, Calif., firm that tracks housing market data. "For the number of people that might want homes, there's always an order of magnitude fewer homes available than there are in Midwest, for example." More than half the locations in our ranking of America's 500 most expensive ZIP codes are in California.
The median price of America's high-end homes continues to slide, but not as fast as it did last year. Our index of 500 high-end ZIP codes saw the average home price fall 5 percent, to $1.2 million, from the same time last year. In 2009 the markets on our list saw a 7 percent price drop.
About 35 percent of the ZIP codes in our index saw median prices increase or stay flat, but that's likely because more high-priced homes are coming on the market, while more affordable housing continues to falter. "The year-over-year price changes we're seeing here aren't necessarily the change in price for your house, if you have a house in this area," says Simonsen. "It's a change in the mix of homes on the active market."
Real estate trends are highly localized. Most cities are a collection of dozens of mini housing markets, so we bore down to the granular level to find out what neighborhoods are really on the rise.
Altos Research collects data on more than 20,000 ZIP codes; we asked it to rank them all to find the 500 most expensive in the country. Altos ranked each ZIP on the median asking price for single-family homes and condominiums, weighting the price based on the mix of homes in the market.
On the ZIP code level some housing markets contrast dramatically with their surroundings. Miami, for example, where housing prices have plummeted and foreclosures continue to mount, still contains some of the most expensive homes in the country, with four ZIPs on the list, including 33109, in the No. 37 spot. This ZIP code, for celebrity enclave Fisher Island, boasts a median home sale price of $2,295,291.
In Nevada, a state with 14 percent unemployment and the highest level of foreclosures in the country, there's still one ZIP on the list: Lake Tahoe's 89451, which takes the No. 389 spot.
Our index points to a slowing slide in the high-end market, but if a wave of foreclosures hits homes at the luxury level, as some experts predict it will, that slide could accelerate.
"We have yet to see mortgage defaults climb aggressively into higher-priced homes, but there are some signs that those could hit in next twelve months," says Simonsen. "If those mortgage resets drive inventory at the higher end, that would cause major problems."
© 2012 Forbes.com | <urn:uuid:52e91775-63a6-4d6a-af1e-9b0d9711a18f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rss.msnbc.msn.com/id/39521539/ns/business-forbes_com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951341 | 840 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Hobby Lobby is owned by CEO and founder David Green and members of his family. "The foundation of our business has been, and will continue to be strong values, and honoring the Lord in a manner consistent with biblical principles," a statement on the Hobby Lobby website reads, adding that one outgrowth of that is the store is closed on Sundays to give its employees a day of rest. Each year the company also takes out full-page ads in numerous newspapers proclaiming its faith at Christmastime and on Independence Day.
The store is not formally connected to any denomination, but the Green family supports numerous Christian ministries and is behind the Green Collection, one of the largest private collections of biblical antiquities in the world. The family plans to permanently house the collection in Washington at a museum set to open in 2016.
On Friday, attorneys for Hobby Lobby petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene and provide temporary relief from the the fines until the case was decided by the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
Wednesday evening, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles emergency appeals from the 10th Circuit Court, said the company failed to meet "the demanding standard for the extraordinary relief," and that it could continue to pursue its challenge in lower courts and return to the higher court, if necessary, after a final judgment.
"Hobby Lobby will continue their appeal before the 10th Circuit. The Supreme Court merely decided not to get involved in the case at this time," Duncan said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment on the high court's move.
White House officials have long said they believe they have struck an appropriate compromise between religious exemptions and women's health. The White House has not commented specifically on the Hobby Lobby case.
"It's just so sad that Hobby Lobby is facing this choice. What company, even a successful family owned business like Hobby Lobby, how can they afford the government $1.3 million in fines every day? It's just really absurd that government is not giving on this," said Maureen Ferguson, a senior policy adviser for the Catholic Association. Religious liberty groups like hers are watching the Hobby Lobby case closely.
"I am optimistic that these cases will eventually snake their way back up to the Supreme Court and given a full hearing on the merits of the case, I am confident that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of religious liberty," Ferguson said. "But in the meantime there is serious damage being done to businesses like Hobby Lobby and nonprofit charitable organizations."
The Hobby Lobby case is just one of many before the courts over the religious exemption aspects of the law. The case represents by far the biggest for-profit group challenging the health care mandate. | <urn:uuid:c7f8ec97-89a6-43ea-ad0c-459a42bc4f19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mor-tv.com/Hobby-Lobby-faces-fines-in-health-care-case/-/13431468/17919084/-/item/1/-/ug0mmn/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966483 | 553 | 1.578125 | 2 |
blue 1 noun, adjective; blue·er, blue·est
1. a color whose hue is that of the clear sky or that of the portion of the color spectrum lying between green and violet.
Something old, new, and borrowed? Sure. But why blue? According to the longstanding tradition, so many brides have walked down the aisle carrying tokens of blue because the color represents fidelity. And there certainly is a steadfast, unwavering quality to the shade. Blue is dependable, and eternal. Blue has been blue as long as there has been an ocean or sky.
“Blue is the only color which maintains its own character in all its tones…it will always stay blue.” ~ Raoul Dufy
What color is love? ocean blue, candy green, raspberry sorbet? I look into your eyes and I see joy, a lifetime of happiness and you, always you.
I take you to be my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.
If you’ve planned a wedding recently, you know that it’s a delicate balancing act: reconciling wants with budget is a reality for most brides. Our Madrona store received a call late Thursday afternoon from an anxious bride to be. She had come to the realization that her decision to forego glassybaby at her wedding ceremony was a mistake, and had to be rectified. The challenge was that her wedding was in Dallas in less than 48 hours and she wanted to rent 50 glassybaby! Three Madrona staff people flew into action, contacting our shipper, packing up some gorgeous, cream glassybaby, printing out shipping labels, and dispatching glassybaby out the door at warp speed so that they would arrive in Dallas in time for the Saturday evening nuptials. We were honored that the start of this bride’s happily-ever-after could be lit with glassybaby. ~Mary | <urn:uuid:e24ed009-a6b3-4c27-a4d6-eb798ac9d1fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glassybaby.com/handmade-glass-votive-candle-holders-blog/tag/martha-stewart-colorful-weddings | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967482 | 474 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Severe weather caused BC Ferries to cancel several sailings on Saturday morning and prompted a flood warning in Delta.
Although ferry service out of Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay had resumed by the afternoon, the cancellations caused traffic to be backed up at the terminals.
BC Ferries also had a separate incident that delayed traffic. The company said the 3 p.m. sailing to Victoria from Tsawwassen was delayed about 25 minutes after ferries staff sent a rescue boat to help four people on board a sailboat that had sprung a leak and was sinking near the Tsawwassen terminal.
All four adults that were on board the 37-foot vessel were unharmed and safely taken to shore and the boat was towed to a dock at the terminal, according to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria.
Meantime, the Corporation of Delta issued a warning Saturday, saying certain areas of Delta were at risk for flooding on Monday morning.
The warning said the areas of Boundary Bay, Beach Grove, Tsawwassen Beach and Westham Island are at risk of flooding between the hours of 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. Monday because of a high tide, strong winds and a storm surge.
Waterfront areas along the Tsawwassen First Nation are also at risk, the warning stated.
Crews are spending the weekend sand-bagging beach walkways and Delta's emergency operation centre is set-up and will open early Monday.
Environment Canada also issued a warning Saturday morning as winds of up to 100 km/h were expected over the Central Coast and near northern Vancouver Island. | <urn:uuid:37b8fd9b-f697-45e5-8d71-09520dab0db5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.canada.com/news/metro/Ferries+cancels+sailings+weather/7705171/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974465 | 341 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Association ou organisation à but non lucratif
Dernière mise à jour: 1 mai 2013 17:44:50
The mission of Midwife International is to improve women's health and birth outcomes by providing excellence in midwifery education.
The United Nations Population fund and their partners gathered data from 58 countries and confirmed that the world lacks approximately 350,000 midwives to fully meet the needs of women around the world. Every year approximately 350,000 women die while pregnant or giving birth — almost 1,000 a day. Of these women, 99 percent die in developing countries.
Our solution is to train midwives who will be equipped to provide high-quality maternity care in a variety of settings, especially in challenged regions where birth outcomes can be improved and the need for professional midwives is great. Our comprehensive academic and clinical program encourages graduates to develop themselves as leaders (not just practicing midwives) who understand world culture and women's issues, embrace civic participation and promote the development of midwifery as a whole.
Midwife International partners with established clinics and professional midwives to provide leadership and midwifery training opportunities abroad. While each host site offers a unique educational experience, our students are connected internationally through a shared curriculum that combines hands-on skills training with book study and service projects — fostering leadership and personal growth. Apply now.
We do more than just train midwives. Our Global Midwife Training, Advanced Internships, Midwifery Intensives and 3-Year Midwifery School provide a challenging environment intended to influence the way student midwives see themselves and their role in the communities they serve. Through our service learning model, which includes a combination of clinical rotations, book study, reflection and community projects, students will develop the skills necessary to become the future leaders of positive change in maternity care. Apply Now.
Take a look at our unique approach to midwifery education and international clinical experience. Find out how we integrate service learning into our methodology. Learn more about midwife certification and the Midwives Model of Care, or how our programs can help you to become a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) through NARM. Read inspiring stories about how to become a midwife on our weekly blog. Learn about the state of maternal health worldwide. Share the UNFPA "Call to Action" with your network. | <urn:uuid:dd7c2ec5-9599-4511-9411-26918c2e81d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fr.idealist.org/view/org/fMXc8d7bnWmD/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931502 | 488 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Sat December 31, 2011
'The Real Elizabeth' As Friends And Family Know Her
JACKI LYDEN, HOST:
This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Jacki Lyden.
In February of the New Year, the British will prepare a major celebration. It's not another Royal wedding. It's the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne. It's an exceptionally long reign; only one other British monarch has reigned as long, her Royal Majesty Queen Victoria.
In six decades, Queen Elizabeth's reign has spanned 12 British prime ministers, 12 American presidents and six popes. She's one of the world's most famous women, instantly recognizable and eternally private.
Journalist Andrew Marr has written a new book about Queen Elizabeth II. It's called "The Real Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II," after many interviews with those closest to the Queen including her friends, advisors and her children. Andrew Marr now joins us from our studios at the BBC in London.
Andrew Marr, it's a real pleasure to have you with us.
ANDREW MARR: It's great to be talking to you, Jacki.
LYDEN: You know, it's fascinating to read through this book, a woman about what you think you know a lot, and then go into all the details - almost a pointillist picture - of how she becomes who she is. For example, we think of her as a figurehead, a unique symbol. But you say that that is really difficult job.
MARR: It's a lot harder perhaps than it looks. Every single day of the year, except for Christmas Day and sometimes Easter Day, the Queen sits down and works her way through a great, thick wodge of official papers. She reads all the most secret papers of the British state; all the stuff of the intelligence services and the rest of it. In Whitehall, they call her Reader Number One. She does that.
She travels around the world a lot, really at the behest of the British government as part of the sort of trade and diplomatic mission that goes on. She is traveling all the time around the country, going to small towns and hospitals, and police stations and so on. And she does this year in, year out.
Of course she has wonderful palaces and lots of luxury around her, but she works with truly hard.
LYDEN: And you say this stuff comes over from Whitehall in these red boxes. Everything is...
MARR: That's right.
LYDEN: ...is quite formal. So, when the Queen receives these papers each morning, what does she do with that knowledge?
MARR: That's a very good question. What she does with that is that she questions the ministers, ambassadors, above all, the prime minister. And the prime minister at the moment, David Cameron, said to me, said what's really useful for me is that I'm in all sorts of arenas and forums all the time, being asked questions. But here, once a week, in complete privacy, I'm being asked what do you really intend to do? Why have you done that? What is your thinking about this - by somebody who has great knowledge, not only of what's happening right now what happened before.
LYDEN: Reminders of how big is the realm is, the former and current realm.
MARR: Well, she's Queen of, of course, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But let's remember that she's Queen of Australia. She's Queen of Canada. And, indeed, as head at the Commonwealth, she's head of an organization which represents around a third of the globe's humanity.
LYDEN: She has to be the monarch at all times. She can never be spontaneous and this, too many of us, makes her appear rather stiff.
MARR: She is the exact opposite of everything in the modern age we are taught that as sort of celebrity, or a public figure, you should be. We're all encouraged to be outgoing, heart on our sleeve, emotional. If you're a public figure, people want to hear you to vivid and provocative and fresh language from you. And all of that is constitutional forbidden to the Queen.
Because if she takes a strong view about something, or says something cutting, or hurtful, or mocking or whatever, then she is speaking on behalf of the British state and that's just not acceptable. Her job is to be the figurehead.
LYDEN: Let's go back to the moment that summarizes given who the Queen is in many ways. And that is the moment that she finds out that her father is dead. She's 25 years old and she is going to ascend to the throne.
MARR: She had said goodbye to her father who was ill but didn't seem mortally ill at all. And she was in Kenya as part of what was going to be a very long tour; going off to Australia and New Zealand, in place of her father who was too ill to do that tour.
And then, suddenly this blow falls. But she didn't make a scene. She didn't complain. She simply apologized to everybody for the disruption that this was going to cause. And fact, the tour had to be canceled and wrote lots of letters of apology. And set off her - though it's said that she was crying as the plane set off for England.
And then, she landed and there waiting for her on the tarmac with great, big slightly sinister-looking official limousines clustered around the Vez(ph), Winston Churchill. There's all the senior politicians waiting for this very slight, small 25-year-old woman. From then on, she touches the tarmac; her entire life is different, her entire life is ruled by ritual and the demands of the British state.
LYDEN: You know, you write that for her this is almost like a religious vocation because she is representing, as you say, the people. So that when the different premierships or parliaments come to grief, she is there as a representative, well, of her subjects.
MARR: I think it's not an almost religious thing for her, I think it is a religious thing. I think she feels that she was God-called; that this is a religious vocation as well as a political one. Very interesting. At the time of her coronation, she insisted that it be televised and filmed against the advice of many ministers and courtiers and others.
She said no, she wanted to be crowned in sight of all her subjects. But there was one moment of the ceremony which was never filmed and never seen and that was the moment when she was anointed with oil by the archbishop and became queen. That was, if you like, the god-called moment. And I think she still regards herself quite literally as put there on behalf of all the British people by God.
And I don't think it is a metaphor for her or a simile. I think it's what she really believes.
LYDEN: Andrew Marrs' book is called "The Real Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II" comes out next week. Thank you so very much.
MARR: Thank you very much indeed for talking to me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio. | <urn:uuid:f617a9ed-e5ce-4299-b805-d0c1dd36fbbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://northernpublicradio.org/post/real-elizabeth-friends-and-family-know-her | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98081 | 1,548 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The "Superman" Approach: A Business Leader's Guide to Effective Education Reform
Traditionally, we in the business community, like most other partners, have taken something of a “Clark Kent” approach to helping our students and schools. We’ve been supportive and encouraging by mentoring children, sponsoring special events and field trips, donating supplies, and funding scholarships. These are all worthwhile activities that should be continued—but they’re not enough.
With the looming shortage of well-educated and skilled workers and serious threats to our nation’s competitiveness, it’s time to start asking for a return on our investment and asking school leaders tough questions about how and why things are done—much as we do in our successful business ventures.
This toolkit will show you how you can take a “Superman” approach to spurring effective education reform in your community in three key areas: great teachers and leaders, more innovation, and better data.
Follow Us »
The Central Florida Education Summit will be hosted by the Central Florida Partnership and sponsored by the Orlando Regional REALTOR Association, in partnership with the National Chamber Foundation, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, and the Central Florida Public School Board Coalition.
U.S. News STEM Solutions 2013 will bring together business, education and government leaders who have long recognized the need to connect the dots between STEM education and careers. Adding to last year’s successful conference format, the second edition will give more dedicated time for these leaders to interact and collaborate. | <urn:uuid:179030d8-21a4-4346-a7e7-735072528b5d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://icw.uschamber.com/publication/superman-approach-business-leaders-guide-effective-education-reform | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932473 | 317 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Modern life and better communication. Dinasaurs like myself remember having experiences in places far away from home without any expectations of communicating with the homebase regularly. The whole year that I spent in Honduras I talked to my mom about 6 times on the phone – but conversations via snail mail were long and frequent funnily enough. Living on an island and Greece and communicating with the family only a few times when the local grocer was open and kind enough to shout my name out if someone called. Going on Interrail and having adventures without anyone at home follow our route or adventures. These are just a few examples of life and travels without the expectation of being constantly available or at least updating regularly back home. I thought about this in the summer when my 20 year old brother spent a month or two backpacking around Europe and my dad worried about not hearing from him for a few days. I think about this often when I get slightly annoyed about not reaching someone because my own expecations have changed – I have grown accustomed to being connected.
It is of course still possible to go out and have an experience far removed from your home, family or friends but the strange thing is that the more we become used to being able to follow our loved ones through modern technology the more fearful we become when we lose that contact, even if only for a short time.
That is food for thought – food that NPR just decided to taste in a recent story called Texting, Skype Alter Peace Corp Experience. Very interesting for all prospective, current and former Peace Corp volunteers – and for that matter anyone who has ever tried to venture out into the world and experience life in another culture. | <urn:uuid:677567b2-c050-4857-a47d-b9e7d60eedf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.miis.edu/communications/tag/texting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970922 | 333 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Tokyo zoo stages earthquake drill
A zoo in Tokyo stages a drill to prepare for the possible escape of its animals in the event of an earthquake.
Source: ABC News | Duration: 34sec
A huge tornado rips through Oklahoma City, killing scores and flattening buildings.
Find out about some of the largest and most destructive storms to batter America's tornado belt.
Ray Manzarek, a founding member and keyboardist of The Doors, has died at the age of 74.
Ben Knight tours the heart of US retail to see how department stores are combating online shopping. | <urn:uuid:bf0c4098-ffe4-4bee-88d7-2960c5ab5ca8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-02/tokyo-zoo-stages-earthquake-drill/4497564 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948661 | 119 | 1.546875 | 2 |
|Written by Administrator|
|Saturday, 09 August 2008 07:49|
Constitution of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
Louisiana Tech University Chapter
Last Revised: September 16, 2009
Article I – Organization Name
The name of this Organization shall be the Louisiana Tech University Student Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, also known by the acronym AIChE.
Article II – Purpose
The purpose of this chapter shall be (1) to promote the professional development of its members by its programs and by its relationships with other Student Chapters and with the parent body, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and (2) to contribute to the development of chemical engineers at Louisiana Tech University through activities involving the faculty and the student members.
Article III – Membership
Section 1: Any student enrolled in the chemical engineering curriculum at Louisiana Tech University shall be a prospect candidate and shall be eligible for membership.
Section 2: Students enrolled in related engineering or scientific courses may be declared eligible for membership by a simple majority vote of the AIChE Members. Such Vote shall be considered as applying to all the members of such groups rather than to a specific individual.
Section 3: In order to be added as a member to the chapter, a yearly fee of $20 must be purchased.
Section 4: The elected officers for that school year are exempt from this yearly membership fee.
Article IV – Officers
Section 1: To direct the activities of the chapter, the following officers and committee members shall serve for the entire school year. President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Social Chair, Conference Chair, Web Master, as well as Freshman and Sophomore Representatives.
Section 2: The President, Vice-President and Treasurer must have had a membership for at least one year in order to be eligible for these candidacies.
Section 3: The newly elected officers will take office the Fall of the presiding school year.
Section 4: At a regularly scheduled meeting, any member may request in writing the removal of an officer. This request is automatically tabled until the next regularly scheduled meeting. A discussion of the officer being requested for removal must be held and 2/3 of the members present must vote against the officer for his purge.
Article V – Officer Duties
Section 1: The President shall be the chief executive officer of the chapter and assume responsibility for leadership in the work of the chapter. He must also bring before the chapter all communications from the university or the National Chapter Leaders. He must also assist all committees, plan and assist on the chapter programs and activities. The president must preside all meetings, serve as a Chairman of the Program Committee and as an exo-offico member of all other committees.
Section 2: The Vice-President shall assist the president in the performance of his duties and shall preside the meetings of all other committees in the absence of the President.
Section 3: The Treasurer shall collect all chapter membership fees, charitable donations, and fundraiser profits. In addition, he must pay all bills of the chapter prior to the approval of the president. He shall keep adequate financial reports and permit their inspection by any other officer of the chapter or the advisor upon request. Upon request of the President he/she shall present an oral financial report at any meeting of the chapter. He/she shall present a complete and final written report at the last meeting of each school year, and at that time he shall deliver to his successor all chapter records and funds in his/her possession. He/she shall preside the meetings of the chapter in the absence of the President and Vice-President.
Section 4: The Secretary shall keep a strict record of all meetings and procedures; assist the president by sending out notices promptly. He must also inform in the committees of important due dates.
Section 5: The Social Chair shall report all the chapter activities on campus. He/she must also inform the members of chapter meetings and upcoming events.
Section 6: The Conference Chair must inform the chapter of important National and Regional Conferences. As well as to look up sign up dates, conference fees, location, hotels and estimated a budget for the chapter trip as soon as information is available.
Section 7: The Web Master shall generate an online public webpage that is capable of informing the chapter goals, duties and upcoming events to everyone that is interested.
Article VI – Officer Election
Section 1: Election of the next school year officers listed in Article IV shall take place no later than the next to the last meeting of each school year.
Section 2: Nominations for every officer position shall be made by any current officer or member. Nominations must be communicated to any chapter officer in any kind of written medium, preferably in a letter or email.
Section 3: Ballots shall be made for the voting day and officers must be elected in the order presented in Article IV.
Section 4: Any vacancies in officers which should occur before the end of the school year shall be filled by means of appointment by the current officers.
Article VII – Method of Selecting a Faculty Advisor
Section 1: The Faculty Advisor shall be selected by the elected officers with a majority vote decision.
Section 2: The Faculty advisor must be on familiar terms with The Louisiana Tech University Student Handbook, Local and National Chapter Constitutions. The Faculty advisor must also certify his role as an advisor for the student chapter and that it is in no way associated with his employment at Louisiana Tech University.
Article VIII – Meeting Notifications
A week before the planned meeting, all COES students shall be notified via email. Another email directed to only organization members shall be sent. Flyers shall be made and posted by the Secretary around campus. These flyers shall be certified by the SGA and Housing Office before posted.
Article IX– Amendments to the Constitution
Section 1: Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed at any regular meeting by any member of the chapter.
Section 1: Adoption of a modified or new amendment shall be by three-fourths vote of all members attending a later appointed regular meeting, provided that such three-fourths majority shall include at least half the members of the chapter.
Article X – Organization Statements
The organization denotes to have read, understood, and agreed to abide by the regulations and policies stated above and in the University Student Handbook. Additionally, the organization understands that there are copies of the Student Handbook Available in Keeny Hall 305.
The Louisiana Tech University AIChE Chapter agrees upon following Robert’s Rules of Order with all its Parliamentary Laws in meetings as well as in National and International presentations.
The Louisiana Tech University AIChE Chapter agrees upon the avoidance of encompassing any action or activity that does not contribute to the positive development of a person who inflicts or intends to cause mental or bodily harm or anxieties; or which may demean, degrade, or disgrace any person.
September 16, 2009
|Last Updated on Thursday, 17 September 2009 16:32| | <urn:uuid:22b1826e-5b1a-441f-b545-eefb6206fd9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://orgs.latech.edu/aiche/index.php/programs/plant-tours?17d142f3af6d53ba937b6c1592047b3a=844465e66cbf43b57f0e8e63b29379c9 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953644 | 1,428 | 1.585938 | 2 |
EXCLUSIVE: Mythology Entertainment partners Bradley Fischer, James Vanderbilt and Laeta Kalogridis have secured rights to turn the non-fiction book The Nazi And The Psychiatrist into a feature film and a play. The book, written by Jack El-Hai and slated for publication by PublicAffairs Books, explores the complex relationship between American psychiatrist Dr. Douglas M. Kelley and Nazi war criminal and Hitler’s right-hand man Hermann Goering. The book is the first to access Kelley’s personal and professional papers from the Nuremberg Trial years, which the shrink’s family had hidden away for years. Mythology’s Fischer, Vanderbilt and Kalogridis will produce both the film and stage versions.
Surrounded by the postwar ruins of the Third Reich, 22 top Nazi prisoners awaited trial at the 1945-46 International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. Kelley, who studied the essence of evil and the anatomy of the Nazi personality, was among the few people allowed regular contact with the prisoners. There, he developed a complex and close relationship with Goering, a clever and manipulative prisoner who was the highest-ranking Nazi in Allied hands. As the psychiatrist tested and interviewed Goering and the other prisoners, he reached conclusions that shook his assumptions and sowed the seeds of his own downfall. READ MORE » | <urn:uuid:d29f2dc7-12b3-4854-80e0-c8b09db46c28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.deadline.com/tag/mythology-entertainment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947834 | 276 | 1.65625 | 2 |
On March 4, 2010, the Rev. David Norgard was invited to address the students and faculty of Virginia Theological Seminary. Norgard is the President of Integrity USA. His topic was "THE FUTURE OF INCLUSION." Integrity USA has been an advocate for full inclusion in the Episcopal Church for 35 years. Norgard's historic address focuses on how far we have come and where Integrity and the Episcopal Church are heading. This address will be published in two parts. It is a must-read for anyone who believes that nothing short of full inclusion is good enough for Jesus or for the church.
Virginia Theological Seminar
March 4, 2010
The Rev. David Norgard
President, Integrity USA
Good evening. I want to begin by thanking the Dean for the invitation to be with you this evening. It was a most gracious offer that he made to me to come and speak here at the seminary and I am delighted to be doing just that. I also wish to thank you all for being here. I consider it both a great pleasure and a privilege to share with you my perspective on “The Future of Inclusion in the Episcopal Church.”
As you may be aware, the Dean issued the invitation to me to speak on this topic in my capacity as President of Integrity USA. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, Integrity is an organization dedicated to advancing the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons (LGBT) in the life and ministry of the Episcopal Church. Composed of individual members and parish partners from across the country, it has been engaged in its ministry of advocacy and education for thirty-five years now, ever since being founded by an Episcopal layman from Georgia, Dr. Louie Crew, in 1974.
When Mike Angell, a student here from the Diocese of San Diego and occasional preacher to the President, first contacted me about arranging this visit, he posed a straightforward yet intriguing question: What is the future of inclusion in the Episcopal Church? If I were someone who was prone to pithy answers, I would say “bright” and call for the next question. The very fact of my being here – at the Virginia Theological Seminary – as President of Integrity – provides strong evidence for the soundness of such optimism. There was a time within the living memory of some in this room (myself included), when such an occasion as this would not have been contemplated, let alone realized. This moment we are sharing right now, my friends, is in itself richly symbolic of the long road we have traveled together as Episcopalians over the past four decades. In fact, I believe that it is a directional sign toward where we are headed as a church….as you put it here, “orthodox and open”
I am not prone to pithy answers though, as you can already tell. So I would like to expand on my sunny forecast and give you a full report of the indicators as I read them. Speculating intelligently on the future is always first an exercise in interpreting history, particularly recent history. So let me begin there.
Recent history clearly has been a story of advances toward a more and more inclusive church, with only occasional setbacks. Looking at the issue broadly, we can see this progression a number of ways. For instance, we can observe how the role of women in the church has evolved and expanded. Thirty-five years ago, there were no women in the House of Bishops. Now there are sixteen. Thirty-five years ago, women were still somewhat new to the House of Deputies. Now a woman is President. In a similar vein, we can look at how the Spanish language has entered the life of the domestic Episcopal Church. Four decades ago, to hear Spanish in an Episcopal church was a novelty. Nowadays, many dioceses have at least one congregation where Spanish the primary language. We can look at various demographic trends and, generally speaking, they point to a denomination that is exhibiting more diversity in both its membership and leadership. My particular competence, however, lies in the area of the conscious inclusion of sexual minorities and, on the national level, that particular storyline begins in 1976.
That year General Convention debated a resolution which acknowledged and recognized homosexual persons as [quote] “children of God.” When you stop to think about that for a moment now, in 2010, to some of us it sounds just a little quaint…kind yet presumptuous in that old-guard, true-blue Episcopalian sort of way. That body of mostly churchmen, in all their magnanimity and sagacity, were moved to vote on the question of who was a child of God.
Thankfully – and to the great relief of many whose ontological validity hung in the balance, the vote was in the affirmative. (Don’t some of you feel much better now?!) Soon after that, presumably in the spirit of that declaration, the Bishop of New York, Paul Moore, ordained the first openly lesbian woman to the priesthood, Ellen Barrett, at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Manhattan.
The church at large was not at all amused, however. Mountains of letters of protest were delivered both to the parish rectory and the diocesan chancery, including (sadly) no small number of bodily threats and spiritual curses. Apparently, being a child of God was one thing; being a priest was entirely another. In a notable demonstration of elegant backtracking, another resolution passed at the next convention, declaring the Ordination of “practicing homosexuals” to be “inappropriate” at that time.
Permit me a personal excursus here. Despite the apparently ill-timed nature of my desire or desires (whichever), upon returning from the convention in Denver, I proceeded with my own plan of seeking Ordination and enrolling in seminary. It was a very big step for my home diocese, Minnesota, to sponsor an openly gay man. As a lot, Minnesotans are quite reluctant to be inappropriate; it’s just not in their nature. But the bishop, Robert Anderson, was a man of steadfast conviction and quiet courage. As the local process proceeded and the national debate intensified, he never wavered in his support. I recall one instance that might resonate especially with those here tonight. After receiving my admission application, the dean of the divinity school where I applied called my bishop to express his serious concern. He explained ever so delicately, almost apologetically, that I had listed Integrity – of all things – among my church involvements. The dean discreetly whispered over the phone to the bishop, “He is probably gay;” to which the bishop whispered back, “Actually, I have met his partner, and he is definitely gay…Is there some problem?” There was none for him if there wasn’t any for the bishop, the dean stuttered, leaving the bishop to wonder: Was it his chairmanship of the board or his matter-of-fact approach that had been more persuasive?
Back to the larger saga: For the next dozen years, no convention was without its resolutions about homosexuality. The topic seemed to move from being the love that dare not speak its name to the debate that would never end. Meanwhile, more and more lesbian and gay people, lay and ordained, lived on one side or another of an increasingly sharp and deep divide within the church. On the one side, more than one bishop prohibited any known homosexuals from serving at their cathedral’s Altar, unless they first took a vow of celibacy. At a prominent seminary, openly gay clergy were barred from serving as supervisors of field education. On the other side, another divinity school named a scholarship after Dr. Crew…and several bishops became increasingly vocal about their gay-supportive views, rejecting outright the argument that the church would fall apart if it accepted lesbian and gay people fully. Douglas Theuner, a predecessor of Gene Robinson in New Hampshire, coined the rallying cry of the whole movement. “There can be no unity without justice,” he declared emphatically to the House of Bishops. For years, his quote was displayed on the front cover of every Voice of Integrity magazine. And I dare say that it is still timely and pertinent today on an even larger plane.
By the start of the nineties, more than a decade of debates and studies and hearings and speeches had brought no resolution. They had brought dozens of resolutions actually but no solution to the controversy. So, what was an “Episcopal” church to do when confronted with such vexation? Turn to its bishops was the answer that came to the Phoenix convention in ’91. The theologians among them (“bishops” and “theologians” not being coterminous, you realize) would undertake another extensive study and report back at Indianapolis in ’94. If nothing else, we are a studious church. Just parenthetically, I do wonder about our bishops sometimes. They have studied homosexuality for years and some still claim to be perplexed. It only took me a summer to learn it…but I suppose that is a story for another time.
Back to Indianapolis: The bishop who succeeded Paul Moore of New York, a man by the slightly unfortunate name of Dick Grein, delivered the report to a packed and tense House of Bishops. The report started well enough from the perspective of those hopeful for a breakthrough in LGBT equality. It recognized that gay people existed, that they were in the church, that indeed they were children of God, that they did some good things, and that many of them were actually very nice…lovely, in fact…devoted to partners, devoted to church, great on the Altar Guild, etc., etc…but…But the report concluded, nevertheless, they still should not be ordained and we should not be marrying them either, particularly to each other.
That night everyone felt a pall hang over the entire convention. Liberals were in despair. Conservatives were anxious. What would happen next? It was not at all obvious. Integrity folk worried: Would these unfounded conclusions somehow end up enshrined in canon law? Had the struggles and efforts of so many of us for so long been for naught? As a church, were we about to retrench?
Well, perhaps I should have guessed what was coming, since I happened to know the antagonist so well. The next afternoon, a son of this very seminary, the famous or infamous Bishop of Newark, Jack Spong, stood to a point of personal privilege. Slowly, dramatically, he read what eventually became known as a Statement of Koinonia, i.e. of community. With forceful eloquence, he stated unequivocally that he would ordain whoever was fit and called, homosexual or heterosexual. He took a similar stand with respect to blessing the committed relationships of same-gender couples. Then, with savvy and audacity, he invited his colleagues with courage enough to share his convictions publicly to sign the statement along with him. That evening the special service sponsored by Integrity was overflowing…and so were the tears. By 7:00 o’clock, about five hours later, dozens of other bishops had signed that statement and by late the next day the number had reached 78. There could be no mistake. It was by no means the end of the struggle…but our church had reached a turning point. TO BE CONTINUED.........
Part II of The Rev. David Norgard's VTS address: The Future of Inclusion will be published tomorrow.
Open up the conversation about the future of inclusion at your school. If you are a faculty member, administrator, student, or alum of any one of the Episcopal seminaries, Integrity President David Norgard is available to speak at your school. To inquire about this possibility, please contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:bc259e94-9005-45a1-a23a-f9d072959bdc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://walkingwithintegrity.blogspot.com/2010/03/david-norgards-vts-address-future-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979909 | 2,466 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The people of Juist call their island Töwerland, which means 'magic land' in the low German dialect. With 17 kilometres of beach straddling the Wadden Sea and the wild North Sea, Juist's nickname is understandable. It really is a special place!
Juist, located between Borkum and Norderney, is the longest of the East Frisian islands at 17 kilometres. This narrow strip in the North Sea, barely seven kilometres from the mainland, is an oasis of peace and tranquillity. There are no cars on the island and the sea is within easy walking distance on all sides. What's more, Juist lies in the heart of a natural wonder – the Wadden Sea, which has been a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site since 2009. Here, holidaymakers can marvel at the ebb and flow of the tides. The eastern tip of the island is also a great place to spot colonies of seals sunbathing on the sandbanks. Juist has many regular guests who return year after year to the island, which with its wonderful marina is the perfect destination for families with children. And the endless stretches of sandy beach will have everybody reaching for their buckets and spades!
In addition to its relaxed feel, the island is also a popular destination for health-oriented holidaymakers , offering thalassotherapy and wellness as well as unforgettable mudflat walks and cycle tours – perfect ways to round off a long day of leisure. But all this rest and relaxation doesn't mean that there is any shortage of lively festivals on Juist, which hosts a music festival in late spring and a crime fiction festival in September.
The East Frisians are proud of their beautiful islands, although they have set their sights on a further goal: that of having Juist declared the world's first carbon-neutral tourism destination by 2030. For this reason, the island is also a strong promoter of sustainability. | <urn:uuid:ffd73e38-1ce0-4184-9e25-c89471032fbf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.germany.travel/hr/leisure-and-recreation/germanys-islands/north-sea-islands/juist-island.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956703 | 394 | 1.757813 | 2 |
DR Congo government troops are raping and killing women in remote villages where hundreds were the victims of mass rapes by militias just a few weeks ago, a top UN envoy said Thursday.
Margot Wallstrom, UN special envoy on sexual violence against women in conflict, said it was "unimaginable" that the same communities in the mineral-rich region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were again the target of sexual assaults.
She said the UN mission, MONUSCO, had reported new attacks in the Walikale region where in late July and August militias and Rwandan rebels rounded up women and raped them in front of their villages and families.
Wallstrom has in the past called DR Congo the "rape capital" of the world.
"I am greatly concerned about the ongoing military operations by FARDC (DR Congo army) in the Walikale territory and the implications for the protection of civilians," she told the Security Council on Thursday.
"Thousands of FARDC troops have been deployed to the territory in an operation to implement the president's moratorium on mining in the area and to reassert government control.
"There is already some information from MONUSCO peacekeepers on the ground that rapes, killings and lootings have been perpetrated by FARDC soldiers.
"The possibility that the same communities that were brutalized in July and August by FDLR and Mai-Mai elements are now also suffering exactions at the hands of the FARDC troops is unimaginable and unacceptable."
Wallstrom blamed the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Mai-Mai militia for the mass rapes in July and August.
A Mai-Mai leader, Lieutenant Colonel Mayele, was arrested in an operation by Indian peacekeepers with the MONUSCO mission on October 5. Wallstrom praised the Indian soldiers.
But she called on the DR Congo government to investigate the new attacks and "swiftly hold any perpetrators to account."
Source: AFP Global Edition | <urn:uuid:2ff911ce-c868-40a8-a4ec-6fae0731ce32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blnz.com/news/2010/10/14/Congo_troops_commit_rapes_stricken_b0f0.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965249 | 405 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Visibly shaken by the collapse of her house on Wednesday that killed one worker who had crawled underneath it, Rebecca Kary noted that the contractor she had hired to restore the century-old structure was “experienced.”
One thing she didn’t mention was that the contractor, Ace Foundation Repair and Remodeling, did not possess a license to do remodeling work.
That fact came to light on Wednesday after 42-year-old Martin Lopez, a day laborer, was crushed when the pier-and-beam foundation fell on him. Workers had raised the wooden structure with jacks and crawled underneath the home when it suddenly shifted.
An employee for the company called the death a “freak accident.” But Rod Sanchez, interim director for the city’s development services department, cautioned homeowners: “I would recommend that you hire a licensed contractor.”
Investigators are working to determine the cause of the collapse.
- Brian Chasnoff | <urn:uuid:01c15be1-1bbe-445b-826c-a7ca2da44e4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.mysanantonio.com/police/2006/11/contractor-that-worked-on-collapsed-house-was-unlicensed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974996 | 204 | 1.5 | 2 |
Your resume is your first impression with a prospective employer. Resumes must highlight your accomplishments, illustrate your strengths and persuade employers to bring you in for an interview – all on one page. Larry Maier, president of Peerless Precision, a manufacturing plant, states that it takes no longer than 30 seconds to review a resume.
Glenn Shagena, the director of human resources at the Chrysler Group, says that they receive 10 to 50 resumes for every job posting. Both of these statements mean that it is crucial you engineer your resume to stand out from the rest if you wish to earn an interview. Below are strategies for crafting a resume that will stand out and give hiring managers exactly what they are looking for.
Strategies for Resume Success
These are time-honored strategies that will help you create a resume that informs hiring managers of exactly what they want to know – with no pointless information.
Craft A Job-Specific Resume – Perhaps you have a number of degrees, talents and qualifications that allow you to pursue a number of careers. Do not try to cram all of that information into one resume. Create multiple resumes for each of your specialties. Larry Maier stated that when he receives resumes from technical applicants, all he wants to see is highlighted technical training and relevant work experience – nothing more.
Use Direct Language – Be direct in every area of your resume. Your resume is your time to brag about yourself. There is no need to try to rely on implications or be modest. According to Peter Kistler, contributing writer for Brand Yourself, be very specific about your accomplishments. For example, instead of saying, “Responsible for making collection calls”, say, “Called customers who were late on payments and generated a 50 percent call-to-payment ratio.” Simply stating you were responsible for something does not say how successful you were at it.
Highlight Recent Accomplishments – John Challenger, executive at the consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, advises resume creators to focus on accomplishments and relevant work experience within the past 10 years. Do not treat every job you’ve held equally, and completely leave off irrelevant information.
The one exception to this rule is education – always detail formal education received. For example, if you are applying for a job in the public health industry, mention that you have completed public health masters programs. Additionally, if you received your degree online, explain that it was an online degree. To an employer, there is essentially little to no difference between an online degree and a traditional degree.
Edit, Edit, Edit! – Editing is the most important step in engineering your resume. The quickest route to losing a job prospect is to have spelling or grammar errors in your resume. Read your resume multiple times aloud to yourself. Run it through online proofreading tools. Kistler suggests sending your resume to two or more friends and having them proofread your resume. Additionally, ensure that you edit your resume down to a single page. It is fine if it goes beyond one page when initially writing it, but it must be refined to fit on a single page.
Use Proper File Names and Types – Now that your resume is ready to send, ensure that it is saved properly. According to Kistler, the preferred file extension is .PDF. Most word processors will allow you to save your document as a PDF. This file type saves all of your formatting and avoids aesthetic or functional issues that can arise from different versions of word processors. Lastly, the file name should be FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_Resume.pdf. Imagine you are a hiring manager who received 50 emails each containing a resume. You save them in a special folder. If they are all named “resume” you may end up deleting them, accidentally (or on purpose). Having a personal file name helps the hiring manager keep them organized – something they will appreciate.
Engineer Your Resume to Meet Success
The above strategies can be successfully employed to tailor a stellar resume that helps you stand out from the crowd. Even though many of these tips and strategies have been around for a while, hiring managers still appreciate them. You may be surprised how many applicants employ distasteful and time-wasting practices. These strategies are designed with the hiring manager in mind and assure them that you are a professional that is worthy of their time.
William Miller is a masters-level student on in an online human services degree program who also works as a consultant when he’s not busy studying or writing papers.
You’ve spent the past two years taking courses, writing papers, preparing case studies and perhaps completing an internship to earn your Master of Business Administration or MBA. When you entered the program at first, you had a vague idea of what you wanted to do when you graduated, but now that the day has arrived, you’re feeling a little lost and unsure of which path to take.
The good news is that now that you have the MBA, you have opened the door to a wide assortment of options. Thanks to your commitment and all of the hard work you poured into your studies, you have far more career options that you did before you began the program.
Move Up the Ladder
Many people enter MBA programs with a desire to move to the higher levels within their career, whether at the company they currently work for or at a new company. With the practical knowledge and skills that you gain while studying for your MBA, combined with your performance on the job, you can often rise to the top of the candidate pool for open positions. In fact, in a survey by the staffing firm Accountemps, more than 80 percent of top-level executives indicated that an advanced business degree is a required for moving into executive positions.
And, in most cases, the work that you put into your MBA shows in your paycheck. As you move up the ladder, you can expect to earn more than you those in lower level positions, and those who do not have the advanced degree.
Get a Job
Almost no one enters an MBA program thinking that they are going to immediately retire or head to the unemployment line. It’s a sad fact though, that many college graduates these days finish school without a job lined up and it often takes them months, even years in some cases, to find a well-paying job in their field.
While getting an MBA is not a guarantee that you’ll get a job, it increases your chances of joining the working world exponentially. A recent survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council found that the job market for MBAs has improved considerably over the past few years. Of the 216 international companies that were surveyed, almost 75 percent indicated that they plan to hire MBA graduates in 2012, an increase of nearly 20 percent over 2011.
And it’s not only domestic opportunities that are increasing. MBAs have more international employment opportunities than ever before, especially in Asia with its rapidly growing economies.
Change Your Career
MBA programs today offer more specialization than ever before; in fact, very few students actually earn a strict “Master of Business Administration” but instead choose to focus on a specialty area, such as marketing, accounting, finance, organizational leadership or economics. While the core subjects of the MBA program are similar across the board by specializing in an area outside of your experience or undergraduate degree, you open the door to more opportunities. For example, you may hold a degree in accounting – and have several years of experience in the field – but studying marketing at the master’s level allows you to move into those types of positions.
Keep On Going!
For many students, earning an MBA is the end goal; they do very well with that as the terminal degree. However, for others, the MBA is just a stepping stone to further education. Accountants, for example, may seek an MBA in Accounting to meet the prerequisites for becoming a Certified Public Accountant, while finance majors seek an MBA in preparation for taking the Certified Financial Analyst exam. In many cases, the work you do as a graduate student will meet the requirements for standard certification, which improves your employment prospects and earning potential in the long run.
Earning an MBA is an accomplishment that cannot be understated. Unlike other degrees, which may prepare students for a specific career path, MBA studies open a whole world of opportunity. Whether you want to climb to the top of the ladder, change your career, move forward with a higher level of certification or even own and operate your own business, this versatile degree will help you to meet your goals.
This article was written by Justin Davis who has been pursuing his MBA online and expects to have his degree by next year.
In the business world, the current trend has crowned the small business king. With internet technology vastly expanding the horizons of small businesses and making it easy for anyone to start and run a business, entrepreneurs are springing up as if from the earth itself and giving big business a run for its money.
Glamorous as it may look, however, starting a business is extremely hard work, and entrepreneurs are some of the most ambitious, talented, and innovative people in the working world. Instead of working for someone else, small business owners have decided to go up against international chains, million and billion dollar companies — and if that wasn’t enough, many of the most successful entrepreneurs are under thirty years old.
Where do these business pariahs and prodigies come from? Where did they develop their impeccable business acumen? For many, the answer is business school.
If you’re looking to start your own business and take the ultimate risk as an entrepreneur, business school (or B-school, for the initiated) may be one of your best bets. But not all business schools are created equal. In fact, some of the most successful entrepreneurs of our age never even went to school, or if they did, they dropped out.
Here are the top MBA programs for those brazen individuals we call entrepreneurs:
- Stanford Graduate School of Business. Consistently ranked as at least the second best MBA program in the nation (if not the world), the Stanford Graduate School of Business in Stanford, California is a visionary program for business students, focusing on innovation and change in the business world. Their unofficial tag line says it all “Change lives. Change organizations. Change the world.” The connections you make at Stanford will be some of the most important, long-lasting, and powerful you’ll make anywhere. It’s the network you pay for, and it pays you back with interest.
- University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The Booth School of Business in Chicago, Illinois has one of the most innovative and hands-on entrepreneur-developing environments in the academic world. The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship on campus connects graduate students with entrepreneurial alumni to establish a mentor/mentee relationship, and allowing the students to experiment with ideas and use successful entrepreneurs with real-world experience as sounding boards. The Booth School of Business also awards $100,000 in business plan competitions every year.
- Rice University Jones Graduate School Entrepreneurship Program. Located in Houston, Texas, one of the largest metropolitan and business cities in the world, the Jones Graduate School Entrepreneurship Program boasts a faculty comprised entirely of prior and current entrepreneurs. Learn the trade from people who know it, and compete for a piece of the $1,311,150 in business plan competition money awarded each year.
- The School of Hard Knocks. Also known as “the streets.” One of the most important lessons to be learned from entrepreneurs is that you don’t necessarily have to go to business school to be successful. Yes, graduating from one of the schools listed here will certainly help your network and give you the resources you need to know how to start a business — but the only way to actually start a business is to do it. And you don’t need a professor to tell you how to do that. All you need is an enterprising spirit, a great idea, and a willingness to hit the grind stone every single day. You can make all the connections you need, and learn every single lesson there is to learn on the streets, it just might take a little longer, and be a little more difficult (understatement). Still, it’s possible, and some of the most famous entrepreneurs out there took this path.
No matter what school you attend, you will find that entrepreneurship is more about initiative than expertise. Knowing something inside and out will certainly help you along the way, but without a healthy dose of perseverance and absolutely no fear of failure, an expensive education will be wasted. That’s probably why Stanford, as prestigious as it is, generally doesn’t accept undergraduates right after they complete their first degree. They prefer their students to have some real-world knowledge and experience under their belts because they know that initiative can’t be taught.
This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: firstname.lastname@example.org
Yes, as I’ve written sometimes back at the time applying for the Tata Jagriti Yatra -2011 that I am quite sure that would be visiting the same this time.
I got selected for the same this time around also and it really feels good to be on the list. But unlike planed I have decided to drop out from the same. I know it was a hard decision for me, I had been dreaming and planning since last year. As I said at the time of applying that I was selected for the TJY -2010 also but couldn’t visit due to some medical reason with family. This time around I was determined to be on the train and enhance the spirit of entrepreneurship but reasons those made me to pull my name out of the TJY -2011 are …
I kept thinking since the time I applied this time that whether it would be useful for me? Will it make any difference knowing that I am already involved in many social organisations working with tribal, downtrodden people here in India. Knowing that I love writing very mush and I would love to be a writer one day, knowing that I’ve to work on the business plan that I have, knowing that I’ve to work for the disadvantaged people. I mean I kind of know what I want from my life and what I should be doing, then would it be much useful for me to visit TJY-2011. I know it feels really great to see and meet influential people but would it bring me a step closer to my goals?
I’ve been living in the mining area since last almost 4years and I’ve witnessed the lives of people who don’t have anything to wear, eat … and TJY is doing the same, i.e. they will take us to disadvantaged societies and make us work closer to them what I have been doing since last 4years. Would it add anything to me? Am I sounding some kind of selfish?
There were few other reasons also those made me to pull myself from the TJY this year also, such as money i.e. coast of visiting TJY and professional goals.
After thinking over whether it would add anything to my personality and considering other minor reasons I decided that it would be great if someone else visit on my place and he/she would be able to utilize this opportunity more usefully. I know, I’d be at some disadvantage for not visiting and would be losing the contact with hundred like me but I will try to cover that online via visiting and walking online through the TJY.
For future applicants, I would suggest don’t try to be someone, else just try to be yourself and you will be in. One thing more I would be available for reviewing any application for the TJY in the future years also, as I think I know what TJY guys are looking in you. So, one can email me (see my email id in “About Me” section) and I hope would be able to suggest you something good.
P.S.: TJY is now JY only! Visit at http://www.jagritiyatra.com/
Earlier in the post, I had asked my blog readers that Is it a right time to go for MBA when US and all other markets are falling steeply?
I got few interesting replies and I’m sharing here with all of you the article written by R. Todd King, an MIT MBA on http://www.bschooladmissionsformula.com under the name of “Look at the Economy! Is now the right time to apply to Business School”
Mr. R. Todd King mentioned my previous post and gave important lessons.If you are working toward a firm career goal along your current career path or on one close to it, then apply. That is true regardless of the state of the economy. However, if you plan to pursue a new career path very different from your current one, or if you have no career goal in mind other than something that pays very well, and you want an MBA simply to help you switch careers, then reconsider—because in a troubled economy, recruiters in your new field will likely not hire you without previous related experience and you may find yourself unemployable.
You can read the complete article from here.
Is it a right time to go for MBA when US and all other markets are falling steeply? Are we on the verge of another recession? I am just watching market details of various markets of world and finding everything in red though I am trying hard to get few green signals! It seems like after S&P’s downgraded the rating of US from AAA to AA+ market is falling freely and going against the Newton’s law of gravity! US’s market Dow, Nasdaq; Europe’s market FTSE, DAX; Asia’s market Nikkei, Hang Sang and India’s market BSE and Nifty everyone is in blood red and seems like there will be a more blood in coming days!
Earlier there were dark clouds over the Europe market but those dark clouds have moved to US and almost all other countries to downpour and make billions dream shatter. Experts are saying this time recession will affect Asia the most, the fact that is making me sick!
Now, the question is it is right time to go for MBA when we are welcoming (disheartened) recession! Few people will reply there is never a bad time to add qualifications but I think MBA is not just another degree. Would it be better to get a MBA online at this time, then getting it through a traditional school? One need to think seriously about this before going for MBA if one is young with not much experience and in the earlier days of his career. One also needs to take care of personal and family commitments keeping forthcoming recession in mind.
I’m really confused now and can’t collect my thoughts right now. I think I need some help from everyone, please reply in comments.
Here are few of the related links:
The Economist: Think twice | <urn:uuid:d0be7bde-a15c-45e4-9509-7ce3b8059e8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rolipolli.wordpress.com/category/entrepreneurship/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964328 | 3,966 | 1.765625 | 2 |
In my new column, I argue that the rationale for Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's plan to disable the Commonwealth's wholesale and retail spirits monopoly goes far beyond revenue-neutrality. Policymakers take their eyes off the ball when they fail to account for: (1) the benefits that accrue to the state and taxpayers from new transportation investment (which ABC privatization plan would facilitate), and (2) getting the state out of an archaic, non-core enterprise that abuses taxpayers. An excerpt:
Still, some in the Assembly are complaining that the current plan would not be revenue-neutral, since the annual revenue derived from the proposed spirits excise tax would fall $47 million short of the $226 million currently raised through the existing ABC monopoly markup and excise taxes (which would be eliminated under the plan). This argument isn't unexpected-state legislators do not release their grip on state revenue streams easily, after all-but it is short-sighted, for two key reasons.
First, the current ABC monopoly is profitable because it does what monopolies often do-it abuses its monopoly status by overtaxing spirits consumers, sending profits to the state's general fund to pay for general government services. Those services ostensibly benefit all Virginians, so the costs of those programs should properly be borne by all taxpayers alike, not just the convenient target of spirits consumers.
In that light, the fact that the proposed ABC plan would generate less revenue for the state suggests a major step in the right direction, since it implies that consumers and taxpayers would gain some relief from overtaxation concurrent with the benefits of more choice, convenience and competition. Weaning the state from excessive monopoly profits should not be construed as a bad thing, despite the inevitable complaints from legislators that would always prefer more tax dollars to spend.
Second, ABC privatization is not a fiscal issue, it's a government reform issue. Running a liquor monopoly is not a core function of government, as Gov. McDonnell and others have stated repeatedly. A majority of 32 states rejected the state ABC monopoly model outright at the end of Prohibition-opting for privatized spirits wholesale and retail from the outset-and no state has ever transitioned from a privatized model to a state monopoly model. Texas, Arizona, Georgia, California and the other 28 privatized states simply recognized early on that alcohol is alcohol, and it doesn't make sense to treat spirits any differently than beer or wine. | <urn:uuid:cd743dfc-2a08-43e6-b8d1-489d111e27d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.org/blog/show/virginia-abc-privatization-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949193 | 487 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Return to (contextual qualifier) (qualifier value)
Power Slowly Returns to Much of Northeast After Sandy
But almost 4 million remain without electricity as death toll rises to 92
FRIDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Millions more in the storm-ravaged Northeast woke up Friday morning to restored electricity as the region slowly recovers from "superstorm" Sandy.
But the U.S. death toll from the storm climbed to 92 by Friday as more bodies were recovered from wrecked and flooded homes, the Associated Press reported.
Overall, 3.8 million people remain without power, down from a peak of 8.5 million, the AP said.
Cities and towns hit hard by Sandy had begun to restore power and transportation Wednesday and early Thursday. In New York City, officials reopened the Stock Exchange after a two-day shutdown, airports began to resume service and theater lights went on once more. Partial service has been restored to New York City's subway system.
Sandy -- which started as a hurricane until being dubbed a post-tropical cyclone Tuesday -- made landfall near Atlantic City, N.J., Monday evening.
Millions have seen power restored to their homes, but the AP reported Friday that 1.3 million people across New York State were without power. In New Jersey, more than 1.6 million people are without electricity, as are 372,000 in Pennsylvania, 241,000 in Connecticut, more than 104,000 in West Virginia and just under 89,000 in Ohio.
Heavy snowfall in states such as Kentucky, West Virginia and Maryland are adding to power outages. In West Virginia, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin requested a federal disaster declaration after nearly three feet of snow fell in that state.
Eqecat, a company that predicts the costs of catastrophes for insurance companies, said Sandy's economic damage could total $10 billion to $20 billion, the Washington Post reported.
For the millions still without power, preparation will have been key, said one expert.
Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said it's important to have stockpiles of prescription medicines, special medical supplies, nonperishable foods -- baby formula and pet foods, too -- as well as emergency essentials.
"Be prepared to be self-sufficient for one to five days without access to grocery stores," Glatter said.
Experts also advised that local authorities must be told about any elderly, disabled or bedridden people who might need emergency assistance. Find out where your community's emergency shelters are.
If you evacuate, Glatter said it's important to have a ready-made kit or "go bag," including extra eyeglasses, sanitized baby bottles and diapers. People with diabetes should keep extra insulin on hand and a ready supply of snacks in case their sugar levels drop, he said. Store insulin or any liquid antibiotics on ice or cold packs during power failures, he suggested.
Patients who use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may need an alternative power source during the storm. This includes a CPAP battery pack, he said.
To be on the safe side, assemble a one- to two-week supply of prescription medications, Glatter said. And "stay connected -- have a list of your doctors with their contact information."
Keep emergency phone numbers near every phone and in your cellphone "contacts" list.
"Have coins and cash available, too," Glatter said.
In terms of hurricane supplies, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested the following:
- Three to five days' worth of water, about five gallons per person, in clean containers and three to five days' worth of nonperishable food.
- Well-stocked first-aid kits for your home and car. The car also needs maps, food, blankets and basic tools such as pliers and tape.
- Charged cellphones, flashlights, a battery-powered radio and extra batteries.
- Extra blankets or sleeping bags.
- Soaps, toothpaste and other personal hygiene necessities. Also, paper towels or baby wipes for personal cleaning if showering or bathing isn't possible.
- Water-purifying supplies such as chlorine or iodine tablets or unscented household chlorine bleach.
- A fire extinguisher that all in the family know how to use.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about emergency preparedness. | <urn:uuid:7d362d1a-002e-4b90-8ef0-8b82e3f00556> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthline.com/healthday/power-slowly-returns-to-much-of-northeast-after-sandy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949418 | 932 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 20, 2012
When seeking equity investments, the source of capital is, for the most part, tied to the stage of capital being raised. Most companies that raise equity capital and are eventually acquired or go public receive multiple rounds of financing first.
Do you intend to go big before selling or becoming publicly-traded? asks Growthink President and co-founder, Dave Lavinsky, who in a recent website post has clarified the funding options available to entrepreneurs.
According to Lavinsky, there is no right or wrong answer. However, he does believe that if it is an entrepreneurs vision then it is important for them to consider when negotiating deal terms on earlier stage financing rounds.
As Steven Covey said, you’ll want to begin with the end in mind and not make arrangements with your angel and/or early investors that will complicate later stages of funding, said Lavinsky.
Lavinsky believes that if it is not the plan of an entrepreneur to get venture capital down the road, then they will probably stop in Stage 2 – receiving enough funding to boost marketing, sales, and infrastructure to grow organically from there to the point where they are satisfied or ready to sell.
The five main stages of equity capital as revealed by Lavinsky are as follows:
Stage #1: Pre-Seed Funding
Pre-seed funding refers to the initial capital a company brings in that comes from friends, family members, credit cards and whatever else they can get. This could be as small as $ 5,000 and as high as $ 100,000.
Though the dollar amounts are lower, this round is more difficult to get institutional funding for (“institutional funding” is when a financial institution, rather than an individual person, funds a business). Banks are not ready to make a Small Business loan on a company that has yet to launch, break even, or establish a track record.
Nevertheless, according to Lavinsky this is when you get the startup money to kickstart your business with the bare essentials needed to begin making and fulfilling your first sales. Necessary machinery, an initial website, your first batch of inventory-things you can’t function without. Put everything else on your wish list to buy with revenues from sales or additional financing.
With this funding, the company often perfects its business plan and starts building its management team in order to position itself for its next round of funding. Your first year or two in business is where your dreams merge with reality and take a new form to guide your future efforts, says Lavinsky.
Many entrepreneurs end up taking their company in a different direction after some time spent testing the initial business model. As an example, Lavinsky refers to the founder of Wrigley’s chewing gum, who began selling baking powder and soap door-to-door and giving away gum as a bonus before discovering people wanted it a lot more than soap.
So during this round, you’ll be testing what works and what doesn’t. Here, you prepare to scale up the things that do with future funding. It might even be a good thing to not have too much funding at this point of your business so you don’t invest too much going in a direction you’ll abandon later, said Lavinsky.
Stage #2: Seed Funding
Seed funding (also called seed capital) typically ranges from $ 100,000 to $ 500,000 and is often provided by angel investors, and is usually structured as convertible notes or common stock.
With seed funding, you hope to grow your business and, at the very least, gain proof of concept. That is, you’ll use the funding to build a product or service and prove that customers want to buy it. At this point, you will be ready for institutional investors who can provide funding to scale or rapidly grow your business, Lavinsky says.
Stage #3: Early Stage Investment (Series A & B)
Series A is the term used to describe the first round of institutional funding for a venture. The name is derived from the class of preferred stock investors receive in return for their capital.
The average Series A round is between $ 2 million and $ 5 million, with the expressed goals of funding early stage business operations. Providing enough capital for 1 to 2 years of operations, funds obtained from the Series A round can be used for the full gamut of needs-from product development and marketing to employee salaries.
Series B is the round that follows series A in early stage financing. In this round you can generally raise $ 5 million to $ 10 million, but can sometimes you can raise up to $ 20 million in capital or more.
Stage #4: Later Stage Investment (Series C, D, etc.)
Series C, D, etc. (some venture backed companies have raised over 10 rounds of financing) are further rounds of venture capital funding.
Each round may raise between $ 5 million and $ 20 million or more. Series C, D, etc. rounds are also typically obtained from venture capital firms and/or strategic/corporate investors.
Stage #5: Mezzanine Financing
Mezzanine capital, often provided by private equity firms, is capital provided either as equity, debt, or a convertible note that is provided to a company just prior to its Initial Public Offering.
Mezzanine investors generally take less risk, since the company is generally solid and poised to “cash out” relatively quickly.
Lavinsky believes that there is no sense in going after venture capital if the time isn’t right, or if it’s not needed to reach a companys vision. For most entrepreneurs, the main concern will be preparing your business for angel financing until the time is right for venture capital, Lavinsky said.
Growthink provides business planning services and training products to help entrepreneurs start, grow, and successfully exit their businesses. For more funding tips, go to http://www.growthink.com/products/truth-about-funding. To download Growthink’s business plan template, visit http://www.growthink.com/products/business-plan-template. To learn about Growthink’s business plan services, visit http://www.growthink.com/businessplan. | <urn:uuid:37dfd498-d723-44ef-8810-60b68d966e0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mtst.info/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946816 | 1,307 | 1.570313 | 2 |
The-Dream is the man behind tons of huge pop hits like Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” and J. Holiday’s “Bed” to name a few. Because he is a songwriter and also a performer it’s his job to take note of trends within the music industry. One trend that he’s noticed that he finds kind of alarming is the lack of soul music coming from black entertainer’s these days in the U.S.
“It’s called rhythm and blues; they just took the blues out of it for so long. What’s crazy is that blacks can’t do soul records any more.” he told the UK’s Guardian. “We love Adele singing it, but Beyoncé singing it? No, the tempo’s too slow, gimme the club hit. Now the blacks in America are responsible for the pop records, and everybody else is singing soulful records. It’s weird to me. We’re pigeonholed over there.”
Take a minute to think about it. Is he right? Or is he exaggerating a bit too much? | <urn:uuid:966ad2b9-fade-45a8-bd67-a8a9cf229bef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://broadwayallday.com/the-dream-says-black-singers-in-the-u-s-cant-do-soul-music-anymore-we-love-adele-singing-it-but-beyonce-singing-it-no-the-tempos-too-slow/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935763 | 272 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Egg bound chicken ?
Hello, I have a hen around the age of 5. Yesterday, she was lying down a lot, fluffing her feathers and looked to be straining to lay an egg. I read everything I could on egg bound chickens, and she fit the profile. I sat her in warm water, then put mineral oil in her vent, then put her in a wire cage with steam under her and 2 hours later~~~~nothing.
She was then given an injection on oxitosin, calcium gluconate and trostaelandin. Hour later~~~ nothing.
Ok, so then, my husband put mineral oil on his pinky and went in her vent looking fir an egg and didn't find one. What he found was a mass-like substance. He said that it was a hard, rubbery type of structure, but not an egg.
She was then given an xray and there was nor an egg, but you could see calcium deposits.
Does anyone have any idea what is going on with this hen? We are simply perplexed.
Any help, comments, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance. | <urn:uuid:7a3854d6-00c5-41db-83ab-8c9811510a4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.poultryconnection.com/forums/showthread.php?4496-Egg-bound-chicken&p=15941&mode=threaded | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98418 | 240 | 1.78125 | 2 |
UFO SIGHTING REPORT
70 MILE HOUSE
August 25th 2001
Location: A few kilometres south of 70 mile house, british columbia
Date: 08/25/01 just around dusk, between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m.
Approach Direction: It came from the west going east
Departure Direction: It came from the west going east
Witness Direction: We were driving north towards 100 mile house
Description: I first noticed it and had said to the other passengers, "look there's a meteor" and we stared at this huge white fireball with a long tail on it. As we watched, it went from a white to a red then it turned brown then black as it fell behind the tree line.
Color/Shape: It seemed like as it was steaking across the sky that it was burning out as it was coming through the earths atmosphere. That is why the color of it changed from white to black
Height & Speed: I'm not sure on the speed of it but it sure seemed awfully fast and it seemed pretty big. Maybe the size of a small car. We did watch it for about 15 to 20 seconds.
TV/Radio/Press: I don't believe it was reported on the t.v. or radio.
Follow-up Report from Brian Vike:
Thankyou for responding to my sighting. I'll try and answer all of your questions the best I can. As for a tail behind it, I wouldn't say it was like a jet but there was a tail but not very long. I don't recall seeing sparks. I do feel it hit the ground soon after going over the tree line because of how close it looked to us. I also don't recall hearing any sound because, I guess, we were driving in our car. I do remember as it cooled and changed color, I noticed it seemed pitted-not round but a dented oval shape. Kind of like that white meteor that it shows at the beginning of Voyager(Startrek) but a different color. Also it is hard to judge the amount of time we saw it for. Maybe it was even only 10 seconds. It just seemed like we were watching it for quite a while. It was nothing like
seeing a shooting star at night. I hope I answered all of your questions.
p.s. There were 2 other people with me who witnessed it as well.
[UFOINFO thanks Brian Vike for the follow-up.] | <urn:uuid:8c64d3ff-1ddd-41bc-9a76-77fdfcde43f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ufoinfo.com/sightings/canada/010825.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986131 | 516 | 1.5 | 2 |
MARK D. PESCE
"Is it a virus, a drug, or a religion? What's the difference?"
Twelve months have passed since "Pathogenic Ontology", and the ideas contained within it, began to take shape. It seemed more of an introduction than an overview, a statement of direction rather than a survey. Despite all the talk of the "infobahn" and a universe of "channels" serving up pay-per-view, cyberspace, the realm of visualized, virtualized communication, is no nearer. Somehow, like AI, cyberspace has managed to show incredible promise without delivering anything substantial, apart from a few experiments which highlight both the promise and stagnation of its current state.
Most significantly, this work has added a new plateau in its discussion of cyberspace, that of *vivogenics*. This neologism, born from a need to define an opposite to pathology, has come to encompass an approach, an assemblage, which frames cyberspace in terms of mythological content and communicative bilaterality. In the essay that follows I argue that these elements are fundamental to the design of cyberspace, whether consciously intended or subconsciously realized.
Immediately following the Third International Conference on Cyberspace (where this work was first presented), conference attendees Dr. Brenda Laurel (author of _Computers as Theatre_, and an expert on the human/machine interface) and filmmaker Rachel Strickland, began the PLACEHOLDER project at the Banff Center for the Arts in Alberta, Canada. Their goal, to create a sense of "place" within a synthetic world, encompassed many of the same design guidelines outlined in this work. Most importantly, they moved the mytho-content of the space into the foreground, and this formed the basis for self-representation and navigation. Furthermore, the mythological representation was consistent, and this meant that participants in PLACEHOLDER did not need to be "trained" to use the system. It was a well-executed example of what Dr. Laurel calls "No Fucking Interface!"
My own work has resumed its fundamentally technical course. Over the next year cyberspace, in the sense of a three-dimensional "consensual hallucination" envisioned by St. Gibson of the Matrix, will come to be realized, in part because of certain technical innovations to which I have been a party. Cyberspace will move into reality, and its fictive evocations will fade before its implementations. The experimental mytho-logic of highly connected spaces for communication will become the practical "laws" of the medium. If I could wish any response from the reader of this work, I would ask that it evoke a terrorizing fear; that our unprotected minds are soon to be laid open, to be pried apart in ways that would make William Randolph Hearst or Joseph Goebbels green with envy. A dedicated study of vivogenics is, in my assessment, the only thing which could afford us any protection at all.
I wish to draw the reader's attention to the one part of this work which I feel has been overlooked; the definition and exploration of the qualities of the "trans-space," a highly participatory, highly bilateral environment for communication. While it may be some time before the media permit a high-fidelity experience in the trans-space, it is now possible to create a low-fidelity experience which has analagous qualities. To this end, I have defined and am working toward the realization of the VOCE project. VOCE, in its organic form, is a group activity of "toning" (vocalization of continuous sounds) which corresponds to and follows the yogic defintion of the chakra centers. Individuals who participate in this experience report that they feel a certain sense of union or unity with the other participants in the VOCE session. Using newly available techniques, we will be moving VOCE into an electronic context, where (in its final demonstration), it will be possible to walk around a physical space, corresponding to a dymaxion map of the earth, and hear the sounds of those engaged (coming from all corners of the planet) localized to their specific presence in the map. It will be possible, in this sense, to hear the "song of the world", and furthermore, to participate, via cyberspace, in an experience of union with other humans. Fitting the requirements for vivology in cyberspace, I look forward to meeting you there.
Mark Pesce, April 1994
The history of the human relation to technology is one of the gradual replacement of organic function with that of mechanical or electrical artifact. A century and a half ago humans extended and superseded their organism through the use of the electric technology of the telegraph. In an instant the velocity of human communication and the ability to coordinate human activity reached its uppermost physical limit, the speed of light. This phenomenon has been described by Marshall McLuhan, in _Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man_, as an extension, or outering, of the human nervous system:
"After three thousand years of explosion, by means of fragmentary and mechanical technologies, the Western world is imploding. During the mechanical ages we had extended our bodies in space. Today, after more than a century of electric technology, we have extended our central nervous system itself in a global embrace, abolishing both space and time as far as our planet is concerned. Rapidly, we approach the final phase of the extensions of man--the technological simulation of consciousness, when the creative process of knowing will be collectively and corporately extended to the whole of human society, much as we have already extended our senses and nerves by various media. Whether the extension of consciousness, so long sought by advertisers for specific products, will be a "good thing" is a wide open question. There is little possibility of answering such questions about these extensions without considering all of them together. Any extension, whether of skin, hand or foot, affects the whole psychic and social complex." (McLuhan, _Understanding Media_, 3-4)
The primary quality of any electric medium is its inherent electroplasticity, that is, its ability to construct a range of perceivable effects. The telegraph has a binary electroplasticity, dit and dah, whereas High-Definition Television has an exceptionally broad range of possible effects. As is natural in any technological evolution, electric media have tended toward a greater range of effects, or greater electroplasticity, through time.
Roughly a decade ago, major research began on media which are both highly electroplastic and designed to produce holosthesia. This word, coined by Martens (1989) has its roots in the Greek holos (whole) and aisthesia (to feel or perceive), and describes any medium which produces the perception of an event through several (or all) sensory modalities in a self-consistent manner. Immersive technologies such as virtual reality fall into this class of electroplastic media. The fundamental intent of virtual reality is to produce in the observer the perception of an event as if it had occurred in the physical world. Holosthesia is the necessary component of such a form of synthetic perception. Cyberspace, at the union of the holosthetic technology of virtual reality and communications technology can create a shared holosthetic experience. (_Mondo 2000_, Fall 1990, 76) It is nowhere implied that this experience will be safe.
This is an important point, if only for the following reason; within twelve months, hundreds of thousands of children will be experimenting, on a daily basis, with a highly holosthetic medium. Experimenting is the operative word; within a few days more hours will be logged inside virtual environments by these children than has been amassed by the scientific community over a decade of research. Furthermore, as our tools and technology evolve beyond their current and primitive state, our ability to orchestrate holosthetic experience will be similarly extended, and this too raises questions: not of what is possible, but rather, what is safe. For this reason, this paper will directly address the issue of safety within holosthetic environments, particularly with respect to cyberspace.
Having participated in the design and implementation of one of these "Home VR" systems (Sega VR), I have come to a realization which relates to all research work thus far performed in the field of holosthetic technology; while careful attention has been paid to the biological aspects of such systems, to prevent adverse physiological effects, very little research or design work has been conducted on the ontological or mythological content presented by these devices. Yet these aspects are fundamental to the devices themselves; the creation of a world necessarily implies the creation of a world-view. Geoffrey Hill, in _Illuminating Shadows: The Mythic Power of Film_ discusses cinema, the most holosthetic of our current media, in the context of mythology:
"The cinema has become to the modern world the collective cathedral of primitive participation mystique. It is the tribal dream house of modern civilization...Indeed, the cinema is the theater of life, the screen of human existence casting illuminating shadows onto the wall of tribal participation...If Marshall McLuhan is correct in arguing that each of our media is an extension of ourselves, and that the medium is the message, then his argument would support the contention that film is but an extension of our most inner and ancient consciousness...The dark cavern of the cinema is reminiscent of a ceremonial sweat lodge, an initiation pit, the dark night of the soul, the belly of the fish, the alechemical grave, or the wilderness of the night journey...It is the baptismal font where our skepticism is drowned in the motherly sea of awe and wonder." (Hill, 4-20)
If these statements are true of cinema, how much more so for immersive technologies, which, beyond providing a space for the "suspension of disbelief", bind the participant to the mythology through interaction within the mythos? Cinema is the passive viewing of a mythology, cyberspace the active participation within a space that is essentially mythic. Thus far this technological development has been an unconscious enterprise, directed primarily toward entertainment, but always containing a scientific as well as mythic or ontological thread. Like the works of William Irwin Thomson, I suggest the existence of a continuity between these aspects; each helps to create and sustain a particular configuration of the other:
"The scientist tries to examine the 'real' nature of the photograph; he tries to get away from psychological configuration, the meaning of image, to move down to some other, more basic level of patterns of alternating dots of light and dark, a world of elementary particles. And yet what does he find there but another mental configuration, another arrangement of psychological meaning? If he persists in this direction long enough, the mythological dimensions of science will become apparent in his work, as they would if he had asked questions about the meaning of sunlight rather than questions about the behavior of photons. Science wrought to its uttermost becomes myth...But what is myth that it returns to mind even when we would most escape it? Forms of knowledge change as society changes. Sometimes these changes are small and incremental; at other times the changes are transformations of the structures of knowledge and not merely the contents...But this movement is not simply a linear and one-directional shift toward increasing rationalization and demystification; when the rational historian has come in to take away authority from the mystical and tribal bard, the artist has returned to create new forms of expression to resacralize, re-enchant, remythologize." (Thomson, 3-4)
In this piece I am using a conceptual framework, known as perceptual cybernetics, for discussion of both the scientific and ontological issues raised by holosthetic media. I argue that holosthetic media have the ability to cause a change in the physical state of the user. Further, these states can be pathogenic, that is, they can produce conditions harmful to the organic being of the participant. My main thesis is that these states of physical pathology have an analogue in the psyche, that is to say, holosthetic media can create states of "pathogenic ontology". This pathogenesis has roots in both aspects. Further, holosthetic media can rapidly deliver an individual into a psychotic state.
If it is possible to create states of pathogenic ontology, is it possible to know in advance which configurations of holosthetic media give rise to such states? Using perceptual cybernetics as a model, I describe an experiment which illustrates some of the potential dangers of high-fidelity holosthetic media; it represents one possible model for how this pathogenisis might take place. Conversely, it is equally possible that holosthetic media could produce a vivogenic ontology, one which strengthened the durability and responsiveness of the psyche, particularly with respect to interactions between participants. The model also yields some possible designs of these kinds of spaces as well.
Finally, I want to explore some of the likely effects of long-term exposure to holosthesia. In doing so I will comment on the phenomenon of "incorporated experience", that is, the construction of a world-view and experience base built upon elements from both the physical and synthetic worlds.
NARCISSUS AS PSYCHOSIS: AMPUTATION OF THE ORGANIC FUNCTION OF THE SELF
While a great deal of work has been done to forward the "engineered" aspects of holosthetic media systems, little or no research has been done upon the effects of such use. McLuhan makes the following point:
"In the history of human culture there is no example of a conscious adjustment of the various factors of personal and social life to the new extensions except in the puny and peripheral efforts of artists." (McLuhan, 64)
And goes on to send a warning:
"As long as we adopt the Narcissus attitude of regarding the extensions of our own bodies as really out there and really independent of us, we will meet all technological challenges with the same sort of banana-skin pirouette and collapse." (McLuhan, _UM_, 68)
To continue research into the development of holosthetic media without any examination of the consequences of its unique qualities--that it can generate "real" experience in a "virtual" world--would be a mistake of the highest order. Starting with two explanations of the effects of technologies upon their users, one developed by Marshall McLuhan, the other provided by perceptual cybernetics. Holosthetic media have a qualitative aspect unknown in earlier technologies: they lead to a total replacement of an organic function of the self with an electronically mediated self-experience. I will use my experience in the development of telepresence systems to illustrate this point.
TECHNOLOGICAL STRESS AND SELF-AMPUTATION
In Understanding Media, McLuhan frames a basic model for the effects of technology upon its users. Those in the grip (or thrall) of a technology willingly undergo a painful psychological amputation:
"Any invention or technology is an extension or self-amputation of our physical bodies, and such extension also demands new ratios or new equilibriums among the other organs and extensions of the body... Physiologically, man in the normal use of his technology (or his variously extended body) is perpetually modified by it..." (McLuhan, _UM_, 45)
An oft-given example is the automobile. The technology of the automobile was created to satisfy the demands of speed-up in transportation which followed the widespread adoption of the electric technologies of telegraph and telephone. (McLuhan, _UM_, 42) The automobile greatly increases the speed of locomotion through the conscious self-amputation of the human organs of motion. The legs, which in their pure biological function carry human beings from one place to another, are self-amputated and replaced with a control interface (literally, a cybernetic interface). This amputation enables a greater speed of locomotion, which relieves the speed-up stress, but introduces new stresses of its own. The replacement of the biological or evolutionary function of organism by control or cybernetic function is the essential element in the human relationship to technology.
The stresses caused by recent technologies have been outlined by many authors, including Allucquere Rosanne Stone:
"At the close of the twentieth century, I would argue that two of the problems are, first, as in Paul Virilio's analysis, speed, and second, tightly coupled to speed, what happens as human physical evolution falls further and further out of synchronization with human cultural evolution. The product of this growing tension between nature and culture is stress...The development of cyberspace systems--which I will refer to as part of a new technics--may be one of a widely distributed constellation of responses to stress...Cyberspace can be viewed as a toolkit for reconfiguring consciousness in order to permit things to go on much in the same way." (Stone, 110)
The challenge of humans in the late twentieth century's technological societies has been the development of a strategy for maintaining equilibrium (both physically and psychically) in an information-rich environment. The explosion in the accessibility, quality and quantity of information available to the individual is the hallmark of our cultural epoch, and from MTV to computer viruses, the human relationship to information is changing. Information has become our clothing, our food, our air, and free access to it is becoming perceived as a basic human right. (Kapor, 1991) Yet, at the same time, humans can be overwhelmed by information, drowned in a sea of choices, confused by conflicting viewpoints and data, and find themselves unable to navigate or make decisions within the info-sphere. (Toffler _Powershift_, 316) This is a basic source of stress in our culture, for as this wave of information has burst upon us, it has become clear that, while for most of human history, only a few "decision makers" needed access to vast amounts of information, the very content of each of our lives is so dependent upon the flash-flood of data that each individual, in order to reach their potential within our civilization, also needs to have access to it and a degree of mastery of it. (Toffler _Future Shock_, 45) Holosthetic media are the natural reaction to this stress. Humans seek to overcome the stresses of the informational space by placing themselves wholly within it, immersing all sensory modalities. This gives humans the power to completely modulate the effects of the info-sphere, for information is used to provide a shield against information. However, holosthetic media necessarily imply a self-amputation of the highest order, that of all sensory modalities, and, as will be shown, of the sense of self. Any technological amputation always has a consequent effect in the structure of the self, as the reconfiguration of the senses produced by self-amputation introduces a new gestalt, or world view.
Total amputation within holosthetic media produces a complete reconfiguration of the human universe, but as all the senses are involved, these reconfigurations take place within the holosthetic space, further binding its participants to it. In a sudden cycle of positive feedback, people will find themselves unable to live without cyberspace almost as soon as they inhabit it. This quality has been identified by Stone:
"...there is also a protean quality about cybernetic interaction, a sense of physical as well as conceptual mutability that is implied in the sense of exciting, dizzying physical movement within purely conceptual space. I find that reality hackers experience a sense of longing for an embodied conceptual space like that which cyberspace suggests. This sense, which seems to accompany the desire to cross the human/machine boundary, to penetrate and merge, which is part of the evocation of cyberspace, and which shares certain conceptual and affective characteristics with numerous fictional evocations of the inarticulate longing of the male for the female, I characterize as *cyborg envy*." (Stone, 108)
The great rush to design holosthetic media has, as one of its primary undercurrents, this cyborg envy. A direct result of the stresses of the info-sphere, cyborg envy appears as a phantom pain, localized in no organ of perception yet created. It is the overloaded self crying out for final amputation within cyberspace.
PERCEPTUAL CYBERNETICS: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
A conceptual framework to express, in terms of information theory, the relation and interaction between humans and their artifacts, or technologies, has been developed by Dr. David Warner, a Medical Neuroscientist at Loma Linda Medical Research Center. This framework, known as "Perceptual Cybernetics," describes a system of feedback loops and information interfaces which define the essentials of the relationship between a technology and its user(s). The major components of this system are described below.
PHI--The physical universe, the set of items outside of the self. In the example of the automobile given previously, PHI represents the machinery itself, and the interface it presents to the human. It can be more than just the control interface; an automobile indicates its performance by sound and feel, rather than by pure instrumentation. In more philosophical terms, PHI is the "other", the exterior, and can contain within itself the potential for independent action.
Fx ("Fecks")--The human biology, the raw organs of perception; the eyes, ears, nose, skin, and myriad other "senses" (sensors?) which provide humans the basic data by which they can create a view of the world. It is the affective interface as well, the means by which humans modify their world. In the sense that the eye watches road and traffic, the feet depress petals, and the hands steer the wheel, Fx is the interface between human beings and the other.
PSI--Psychology, the mental state, the human world view, or mind. In the framework of Cognitive Psychology, PSI contains "experience," and all perception is mediated by it. Our assessment of traffic, choice of routes taken, and concern about punctuality are events which occur within PSI.
Fx serves as the mediator between PHI and PSI. All human action expresses itself as PSI acting through Fx, and PHI expresses itself to human thought through Fx. Yet Fx can act of itself. Reflexes, such as the involuntary shutting of the eyes in response to a bright light, show that Fx, rather than just the slavish servant of PSI, has priorities of its own.
Each of these components presents an "interface" to its companion component. PHI and PSI both have interfaces to Fx, while Fx presents interfaces to PHI and PSI. In scientific terms, the PHI/Fx interface is studied in the discipline of neurophysiology, the Fx/PSI interface in Physiological Psychology, and PHI/PSI in psychophysics. These interfaces are the most interesting feature of this framework, with respect to holosthetic media. If, as Aldous Huxley, William James, and the cognitive psychologists have suggested, consciousness is largely a reducing function, (Huxley, 22) an extraction from the universe of a restricted set of "events" that allow us to create a world view, a large part of this filtering occurs at these interfaces. The ear accommodates itself to a continuous sound. The eye adjusts to a constant pattern or movement.
Seen as a cybernetic model, each of these interfaces represents an information "barrier" between a component and its neighbor component. It is possible for PHI to present information filtered by Fx (infrared light, for example), and it is equally possible for information to traverse the PHI/Fx barrier only to be stopped at the Fx/PSI barrier (Hungarian speech when all I understand is Japanese). Devices such as the Nanomanipulator demonstrate how holosthetic media can be used to "bandwidth-shift" information contained in PHI so that in can be presented (mapped visibly and tactilely) to Fx, to produce an understanding in PSI. (Taylor et. al., 1992) Conversely, most of the human aesthetic experience is predicated upon the assumption that it is impossible to directly communicate a PSI state from one human to another, and therefore music, dance, the visual arts and other media are employed to express what remains inexpressible. In the well-designed user interface, PHI speaks to both Fx and PSI in clear, unambiguous messages. (Laurel, 1990)
TELEPRESENCE AS ELECTRONICALLY-MEDIATED SCHIZOPHRENIA
In order to understand how this model works with respect to a holosthetic medium (in this case, telepresence), I will focus upon what we learned while building an inexpensive telepresence system. Our work was, from the point of view of technical feasibility, a very simple implementation of a well-understood technology, (Donahue and Pesce, 1991) yet several of the phenomena we encountered have led us to believe that the potential of holosthetic technologies for eliciting pathogenic effects is greatly underestimated.
In the experiment, our goal was to construct a complete telepresence system for under a thousand dollars. With the exception of the video cameras, the total cost was under $250.00. The system consisted of a head-mounted display containing stereo headphones and two LCD color televisions mounted in a rigid framework located around a full-face motorcycle helmet. These televisions and headphones were wired to two video cameras mounted approximately 300 mm apart (lens center to lens center), again on a rigid frame. In the head-mount, two fixed lenses created a 40< binocular field of view (FOV) for the user. (Interocular adjustments could not be made.) During the construction of the system, four phenomena in particular were observed which relate to the pathology of holosthetic media.
The first two of these phenomena caused motion sickness. In the first case, one of the experimenters spent several hours adjusting the lens system and tuning the interocular gap. After enduring hours of a poorly focused environment, the experiment had to be halted temporarily due to nausea and a headache. In the second case, the right and left video channels were reversed with respect to the displays in the head-mount. Although little disorientation was noticed immediately, as soon as the cameras were moved, the experimenter became suddenly and violently ill. The phenomenon of motion sickness in holosthetic environments is at least partially understood, (Robinett, 1991) and is known to occur when too great a disagreement exists between sensory modalities. For example, "lag times" of greater than 100 ms in virtual reality systems place the user well within the "barfogenic zone", and for many people the threshold is much lower.
The third phenomenon arose from the mountings of the cameras. Because of the size of the video cameras, it was not possible to mount the lenses any closer together than 300 mm. The human interocular gap averages 65 mm, and our perception of binocular parallax, one of the six determinants of depth perception, is based upon the constancy of that gap. The experimenters and their test subjects noted, when inside the system, that their sense of depth and focal plane were markedly different from that which they normally experienced. Objects 5 m away were perceived as though they were less than 2 m distant. Objects closer than 1 m could not be fused binocularly. The experimenters christened this phenomena the "hippopotamus-eyes' view" (hyperstereo), and, while confusing, caused no pathological state to arise in any of the test subjects.
In perceptual cybernetics, these first three phenomena involve the interface between PHI and Fx. They arise directly from biology. It is possible, even easy, to pass information across the interface that is pathogenic to one of the components of the interface. The information barriers that exist between the different components will not automatically reject any pathological information. In fact, motion sickness induced nausea is believed to be a response to the pathological effects of neurotoxic poisons, which can have similar disassociative effects upon the senses. From an evolutionary perspective, rejecting information within Fx, just because it is pathogenic, would tend against longevity, natural selection, and would countervail the building of the human experience base which is key to the evolutionary success of Homo Sapiens. Humans have evolved to collect experiences, and use these experiences as a basis for a survival strategy for themselves and consequently the whole species. Lacking the specialization of particular sensory modalities, such as the dolphin's ear or dog's nose, humans must involve the entire sensorium in the selection of survival strategies. (Fuller, 27-28) The fourth phenomenon was purely psychological, and unlike the previously discussed phenomena, could not be predicted from a physiological model. The experimenters guided a series of test subjects through the system. This included instruction on how to wear the head-mounted display, and how to fuse the image (in the absence of an interocular adjustment). Once the subject was comfortable, a telepresent tour of the lab began. The subjects were asked to identify objects in the lab and state how far away they perceived them to be. At the end of the experiment, the cameras were turned upon the subject. Without exception, the test subjects failed to identify themselves immediately, and most then passed through a shock of recognition as they realized that "they" were "out there." This phenomenon has been observed by others, including Rheingold:
"I began to accept the odd sensation that accompanied the act of transporting my point of view to that of a machine--until I swiveled my head and looked at myself and realized how odd it seems to be in two places at the same time. Using your eyes and ears and hands to control a robot equipped with cameras, microphones, and mechanical manipulators sounds like a bit of fun, but I never thought of it as a thrill. What you don't realize until you do it is that telepresence is a form of out-of-body experience. It tasted to me like a little advance sample of the way it feels to be part of a silicon symbiosis." (Rheingold, 255-256)
In its purest sense, telepresence, one of the simplest and most direct of all holosthetic technologies, creates a profound sense of disembodiment, one that in almost any other state of being would be called pathogenic. It is a form of electronically-mediated schizophrenia, where the self, through its various holosthetic extensions, removes itself from itself.
The event occurs entirely within PSI. The system itself was well tuned, and gave no cause for physical discomfort in any of its users. Yet the image itself was disturbing. That is directly due to the fact that no image of the self exists within the self. The self is never seen, as it forms the background of perception. With telepresence, the background and foreground can be reversed. If PSI is considered a set of information from which an image or thought can be developed, the following can be stated: PHI delivered, and Fx presented, through its interface to PSI, data which contradicted an understanding or relationship internal to PSI. The set of experiences of the self do not include the direct experience of the self; the set PSI attempted to contain its contradiction, anti-PSI.
The impossibility of the situation presented in this phenomenon, as a psychological event, its imminent self-contradiction, forces the discussion into terms which are essentially mystical, or ontological. At the same time, it is a profoundly pathological state, an electronic disembodiment, and can only occur when an amputation of the self qua the self has occurred. A sense of disembodiment from the self is not uncommon among schizophrenics or those in psychosis, but it is also a sought-after state of grace among mystics. Holosthetic media, in their capacity to create responses within PSI, will be able to express both of these ontologies.
THE LANGUAGES OF HOLOSTHESIA
As can be seen through the development of the previous example, two parallel languages are required to describe the effects of holosthetic media. The first is the rigorous language of science, of a blue light flashed at 3Hz into the right eye while a 1500 Hz tone at 80dB assaults the left ear. It is the language of systematic methodologies and perceptual cybernetics. While this language describes the actualities of perception, it fails completely when talking about events within PSI. The interface between Fx and PSI is the territory of semiotics; the human process of mapping event into symbol and symbol into understanding and understanding into world view. Cognitive psychologists are at the beginning of understanding the ties that bind subject to referent, of proximal events to distal perception.
The second language speaks directly to being, and to those parts of humans which can accept breaches in rationality and causality, which sustain a world view through faith in unseen events. A large part of perception, even in the most "rational" human beings, is based upon a set of unconscious assumptions which provide the framework for a world view. When these assumptions are brought into the foreground, they take the form of mythology or magic. As David Tomas says:
"This mytho-logic suggests that one of cyberspace's more fundamental social functions is to serve as a medium to communicate a form of 'gnosis, mystical knowledge about the nature of things and how they came to be what they are.' In cyberspace, the classical hardware interfaced cyborg and the postclassical data-based cyborg or personality construct meet with new post-human intelligences that engage in revelatory and pedagogic activities reminiscent of the activities of shamanistic figures who mediate between traditional sacred and profane worlds. Such mediations between human and post-human, analogue and digital spaces, suggest that cyberspace must be understood not only in narrowly socioeconomic terms, or in terms of a conventional parallel culture, but also and more importantly as an inherently original and inventive metasocial operator and potential creative cybernetic godhead." (Tomas, 41)
Given McLuhan's assertion that the form of the medium determines the message delivered by the medium, it seems clear that holosthetic media, and cyberspace specifically, have a form that must be expressed in mythological terms. It is the only language which can frame the effects (in PSI) of holosthetic media. The language of PSI in relation to PSI, and the relationship between contradictory states of PSI (which exist in all humans) is the language of mythology and ontology. Because holosthetic media talk to PSI in the language of worlds, which is the internal language of PSI, it is necessary to create a language of myth, find expression for ontos, in order to fully understand the effect of holosthetic media upon PSI.
From the Sumerians to Joseph Campbell, numerous systems have been developed to discuss mythology. The media which mostly closely resemble the myth- or world-creation skills needed to design holosthetic media are writing and the dramatic arts, which can, for limited periods, "suspend disbelief," and speak directly to PSI in its internal language.
Pathology then, has two languages of description with respect to holosthetic media. The pathology of sensory tricks and confusion can be described, for the most part, in the scientific language. The pathology of world-views requires a frank and open usage of such value-laden words as evil, as the expression of pathology in mythical space. (Peck, 129)
The thesis advanced in the previous discussion, that holosthetic media can express pathogenic states, relates directly to the form of holosthetic media. The entire process of holosthetic media, seen from perceptual cybernetics, is that of a tuning, an adjustment of the interfaces between PHI and Fx, and Fx and PSI, to produce the widest possible range of holosthetic responses. Holosthesia is a form of interaction highly tuned to the particularities of the interfaces presented by each of the components of the model. A head-mounted display, for example, provides a high-bandwidth, self-consistent interface to the visual sense, so much so that it creates the perception of "space" within the mind of the participant. The improvement in the quality of the holosthetic relationship between PHI and Fx can therefore produce a qualitative change in PSI as well.
Although current holosthetic technology is, at best, a crude attempt to optimize information transfer across these interfaces, an enormous amount of work is being done to improve these limitations. Most of this work, at the present, is being directed at the PHI/Fx interface, with technologies such as high-resolution head-mounted displays, spatial localization of sound, and tactile feedback.
During the exploration of the PHI/Fx interface, researchers also carry on an exploration of the Fx/PSI interface. The greater the "fidelity" which can be achieved through the holosthetic optimization of the PHI/Fx interface, the more plastic PSI becomes vis a vis PHI. The eventuality of this process is that PHI will be able to completely (or almost completely) determine PSI. This is the true "man/machine" symbiosis, the end result a true cyborg, human united to machine. This process has its reverse component; work continues toward the expression of mind, or PSI, within the machine. Speech recognition, with its unfathomable ambiguities, outlines the difficulties inherent in such a task, but, as a more complete picture of Fx is created, the process will accelerate, and may, at some future point, succeed. This would represent a fully bilateral symbiosis, where machine steers mind as mind steers machine. A dance.
These speculations, even in dim outline, trace out the most important details in the newly developing relationship between humans and their technologies. Perhaps the most relevant detail to this analysis is the component of speed. The electric age gave instantaneous speed to the entire spectrum of human interaction, now it moves forward into the entire spectrum of human relation to the machine.
Much has been said on the potentials of holosthetic media in education. It is widely believed that virtual reality represents an incredible tool for investigation and study, for learning and experimentation. If that is so, it is primarily due to the fact that information presented will be "tuned," presented in a holosthetic form (via PHI/Fx/PSI) which is uniquely well suited for human absorption. Holosthetic media hold out the possibility for greatly accelerated learning, almost, as described by Rheingold, acting as "mind amplifiers." But this potential for speed-up represents only one aspect of such an amplifier. (Rheingold, 68-69) Like every technology, this speed-up will pair with self-amputation. However, rather than a "sensory" amputation, this holosthetic effect will lead to an amputation within the organic function of the "self." Integral to the human process of consciousness is the "reducing function," which operates at both the purely organic level and at the level of mind. For example, certain individuals suffering from forms of obsessive-compulsive disorders have "racing thoughts"--an organic condition that results in the inability to effectively discriminate between and retain trains of thought. In this case the organic reducing function is impaired. In order to speed information transfer from machine to mind, from PHI to PSI, this reducing function will need to be eliminated or circumvented all together. This, however, can only be done at great peril to our own sanity.
A thought experiment illustrates this point. Suppose the existence of a high-fidelity holosthetic device, capable of creating and maintaining a world self-consistent in both biological and mythical or ontological aspects. This device has been designed to uniquely match the capabilities of a test subject who is placed into the device, or rather, immersed within the holosthesia generated by it. At the beginning of the experiment, the test subject has a known PSI, or mental state. The experiment begins with a full-fledged assault upon the test subject's senses, using every trick of holosthesia to express PHI, with the highest possible fidelity, and the greatest speed, through Fx, to PSI. The machinery creates a world, a world which the test subject inhabits. Furthermore, the machine has been programmed to create the anti-PSI state in the test subject (i.e., to present information pathogenic to the world view of the test subject). Under normal circumstances, this information would be discarded by PSI. But in this case, these mechanisms have been effectively disabled. The test subject would then enter a state of holosthetic psychosis, unable to create or maintain a consistent world view. The damage inflicted in such a condition could well be permanent.
While this experiment may seem predicated upon tools and technologies which are still some distance away, the effects of holosthesia upon PSI can not yet be predicted. The biological boundary states expressed in PHI/Fx and Fx/PSI have chaotic components. It is therefore difficult to predict the results of an experiment, especially a highly complex one, involving mythology or ontology, before the experiment is performed. The change or addition of an otherwise inconspicuous component could have profound effects. It may be, and probably is, a great deal easier than the example given above to produce holosthetic psychosis. Even the relatively simple experiment in telepresence already described expressed a significant portion of the PSI-state required to produce such a condition. At the very least, it is important to note that speed-up in information absorption carries with it a consequent lack of discrimination, and this, by itself, can lead to holosthetic psychosis.
REVERSALS OF AN OVERHEATED MEDIUM: LIMITS OF HOLOSTHESIA
In _Laws of Media: The New Science_, Marshal McLuhan identifies four questions--comprising what he terms a "tetrad"--that can be asked of any human activity or artefact, whether technological or purely social: 1) What does it enhance or intensify?; 2) What does it render obsolete or displace?; 3) What does it retrieve that was previously obsolesced?; and 4) What does it produce or become when pressed to an extreme?" (McLuhan, _Laws of Media_, 7)
Holosthetic media, like all other forms of media, can be analyzed through this tetrad. Of particular interest to the current work is the issue of the extreme case of holosthesia, the final item in the tetrad. The extreme of any medium produces reversal; that is, the phenomenon of speed-up at its outermost limits reverses the normal effect of the medium. Holosthesia is artifice, synthetic experience, but its reversal through speed-up is the opposite, reality. In this case the form of the medium is reversed from synthetic to physical, from interior experience to exterior reality. Holosthetic psychosis is a pathogenic state of the complete exteriorization of ontology, whereas the trans-space (discussed below) is a vivogenic state of this same exteriorization.
TELEPATHOLOGY: CYBERSPACE AND HOLOSTHETIC MEDIA
Cyberspace, as a specific form of holosthesia, is a communication space. Its essence is in that it is occupied. (Benedikt, 160) In this case, PHI appears as the mediator between two presumably (but not necessarily) human entities. PHI is the Matrix, the network, the device that facilitates the communication, but does not of necessity shape it. This is left to the participants in the communication. One goal of research into cyberspace systems is to optimize the interface between the participants, to present the clearest possible connection between the PSI of one participant and the PSI of another. This has been named "post-symbolic communication." (Lanier, 279) In essence, such a device will create the sensation of empathy and telepathy. It is already possible, using telepresence, even if only in the most tenuous sense, for one human being to inhabit the "self" of another. This connection need not be fully bilateral; nothing guarantees it, and this is likely the greatest danger of holosthesia in cyberspace.
All of the possibilities present in the relationship between humans and holosthetic media are also present in the interrelationship of humans through holosthetic media in cyberspace. Pathologies are as possible, perhaps even more possible, in cyberspace. For the moment, the only tool capable of adeptly manipulating a human mind is another human mind. The capability will come with us into cyberspace, but greatly amplified. Thus, cyberspace presents an opportunity for telepathology; the expression of pathogenic ontologies, through holosthetic media, from a distance.
EXPLORATIONS OF HOLOSTHETIC SPACE
Having framed the dangers of holosthetic media--how they can elicit a wide range of pathological physiological effects and an as-yet-undefined range of pathological psychological effects--it becomes even more necessary to examine strategies for the prevention of such pathologies. It is both possible and desirable to develop a design methodology for holosthetic systems which tends away from pathology, and researchers in holosthetic media need to be able to identify those features which must be present to prevent holosthetic pathology.
The next portion of this work examines the basic relationships which exist between PHI, Fx, and PSI to serve as a guide to the construction of safe holosthetic media. While inherently safe media are an honorable design goal, it is as yet impossible to develop an accurate model for the cognitive effects of holosthesia. The most accurate model is the "real" world, but it is neither unsophisticated nor safe. Nevertheless, it is possible to use the human conception of real space, and the mechanisms already present in our biology and ontology, to maintain our sense of self in holosthesia.
NAVIGATION WITHIN HOLOSTHETIC SPACES
Designing to avoid disorientation is the first prerogative in the engineering of a holosthetic environments. Disorientation represents a step toward the amputation of the self, and necessarily precedes the dislocation of self that culminates in holosthetic psychosis. This portion of this work will concern itself with elements of this design.
Navigation, and the design of systems which promote self-orientation in holosthesia, should be a primary focus in development of holosthetic media. If you know where you are, you probably know who you are. As has been noted by Benedikt and others, aids to navigation, such as a clock dial on the horizon, (Lanier, 279) or a well-defined "floor," are necessary features in a holosthetic space. Navigable space implies a continuity and regularity in holosthetic space which resembles "real" space, and provides a set of "cognitive handholds" which participants in the space can use to preserve their self-orientation. This metaphor could be extended as far as desired, with a sun in the sky to indicate up-down orientation, or perhaps a hand-held compass or world-map. (George, Plate 4) In general, the widest possible set of navigation aids should always be provided in holosthesia.
In addition, there should be another prerogative in the development of holosthetic environments; there should be a "real world," or "Earth" (Pesce and Donahue, 1991) present in cyberspace. This doubling of the physical world in holosthetic space can serve as both an experimental space, where the subconscious aspects of navigation can be explored and discovered, and as a transition space between the physical and holosthetic environments.
These suggestions primarily confine themselves to the visual realm, which is, in western civilization, the ultimate realm of organization. However, holosthesia may not have a strong visual component, or may lack it entirely. There is a need, therefore, for the development of cognitive handholds within other sensory modalities, to serve as "reality checks," or navigation buoys in an invisible space.
A class of experimenters needs to be found with the specific skills required to create these cognitive handholds. They will serve as the first "explorers" within holosthesia, and need to be trained to act as "rock climbers," placing the pitons in the sheer rock face of sensory experience. We have a suggestion from McLuhan on where to find and recruit such a class of explorers:
"Artists in various fields are always the first to discover how to enable one medium to use or to release the power of another...[T]he artist is indispensable in the shaping and analysis and understanding of the life of forms, and structures created by electric technology...[and in providing] exact information of how to rearrange one's psyche in order to anticipate the next blow from our own extended faculties...[I]n experimental art, men are given the exact specifications of coming violence to their own psyches from their own counter-irritants (self-amputations) or technology. For those parts of ourselves that we thrust out in the form of new invention are attempts to counter or neutralize collective pressures and irritations. But the counter-irritant usually proves a greater plague than the initial irritant, like a drug habit. And it is here that the artist can show us how to 'ride with the punch,' instead of 'taking it on the chin.'" (McLuhan, _UM_, 54-56)
McLuhan points out that artists are the cultural agents of adaptation to new media, mapping disparate sensory modalities, and acting as the buffers of self-amputation. Experimental art in the twenty-first century, then, is an attempt to map the holosthetic space created by electroplastic media. Artists' action in the present, as opposed to the reaction to the past, uniquely equips them to explore the rich but dangerous ground of holosthesia.
Art performs a necessary reversal of foreground and background, reversals common within holosthetic space. Artists create familiar objects in unfamiliar spaces and unfamiliar objects in familiar spaces. Both of these capabilities must be enlisted in the exploration of holosthetic space, and artists, as the individuals in our culture best-equipped to confront holosthesia, should form the "pioneer" base of this process.
Explorers would be charged with two tasks; the placement of navigation aids, our cognitive handholds, and the creation of maps. It is unwise, however, to place too much faith in artists. The PHI/Fx/PSI interfaces under exploration in holosthetic space are essentially personal. Although human beings have a number of characteristics in common at the psychological and social level, artists can only explore the boundaries of their own private holosthetic spaces, spaces that posses meaning (or pathology) only for them. But it's a beginning.
MAPS OF HOLOSTHETIC SPACE
Humans have a substantial history of exploration, both at the cultural and the personal level. A common feature of exploration is the map, a tool for navigation in an unknown space. Maps are reassuring, they show humans what to expect within a space, and, to some degree, help to prepare them for it. Explorers of the holosthetic space must make a map of that space as it relates to pathogenic ontology. There already exists a substantial base of information with which such explorations can be guided. The exploration of holosthetic space is an exploration of the human perceptual space. *Maps of the outside (cyberspace) are maps of the inside (perceptual space)*. Research into the scientific specifics of perception, a century of work, from William James to Edwin Land, should be drawn from and form the basis of such explorations. Yet this work confines itself to the biological aspects of perception, the PHI/Fx interface. Very little of it is applicable to the Fx/PSI interface, the architecture of the self. For this, the cognitive psychologists provide some useful starting points, but hardly a detailed landscape. The holosthetic map must necessarily contain an ontological or mythological component to describe the effects of holosthetic spaces, in the language of PSI.
Using a mythological basis such as that presented by Carlos Castaneda, one possible map of holosthetic PSI-space could be divided into three components: the "known," the "unknown/knowable," and the "unknown/unknowable." (Castaneda, 75) In the realm of the known, familiar objects are found. This is the "real world" in holosthetic space. In the unknown/knowable realm, it is possible for an individual to comprehend the PSI-effects of holosthesia and to develop a framework for understanding and navigation within it. This is the space of cognitive handholds and navigation buoys. In the last case, unknown/unknowable, the structure of the holosthetic space itself is such that it defies both reason and myth. Nothing can be learned in such a space; it contains elements which represent anti-PSI influences. Such spaces should be identified by these explorers, marked on the maps, and avoided.
Here the limits of human expression become visible. It is necessary to create these maps of holosthesia, so that a mapping can be made of the regions of pathology. However, these spaces are not necessarily or primarily visual. Is it possible to create maps of non-visual holosthetic spaces, such as would be required for the exploration of haptic, kinesthetic or olfactory spaces, in such a way that the information can be conveyed to other people? Some work has been done on the mapping of the timbre space into the visual space, (Martens, 1988) but a heavy reliance on our over-developed visual facility will leave some information outside of the realm of expression. I propose that an investigation into the study of "holosthetic cartography," the science underlying the design of such maps, begin. This is analogous to and would draw from Robinett's (1992) proposed taxonomy of synthetic experience.
Once sufficient information has been gathered to create maps of the pathology of holosthetic space, experimenters will be able to "map out" those states within the devices producing holosthesia. In the production of commercially available holosthetic media, regulations may be required (similar to those required for other human-factors devices) to prevent the accidental or intentional marketing of devices which can produce pathogenic holosthesia. Fortunately, the unregulated products on the market presently, or soon to be introduced, are unsophisticated enough to severely restrict the range of holosthesia an individual may experience while using them, but there is no guarantee that these products are intrinsically safe.
PROBABLE PATHOGENIC ONTOLOGIES
To focus on the "content" of holosthetic space--i.e., the world-view or PSI-state expressed in holosthesia--requires a discussion of the mythology or ontology embodied in the design of such a holosthetic space. An examination will now be made of the ontological elements which could contribute to pathology in these spaces. Using the guidelines given above, the outlines of vivogenic holosthetic spaces are also clearly defined, and will be discussed in the context of games and communication.
CONTINUITY AND MYTHOLOGICAL SPACE
A "mythos" or world-view is the dominant feature expressed in a holosthetic space. The expression of that mythology may be a conscious design goal, or it may be inferred from a contextual analysis of the space, but it in all ways permeates the holosthetic space. It is impossible to produce true holosthesia without an ontological component, that is to say, without a place for "being" in the world. The various sensory modalities may be tricked into a minimal holosthesia, but the participant will not "suspend disbelief" to enter the world.
Drawing upon the explorations of the human/machine interface described by Laurel, it is clear that one way to express the mythological component of a holosthetic space is through the classical dramatic arc of exposition, inciting incident, rising action, crisis, climax, falling action and denouement. (Laurel, 86) Just as in the case of a poorly designed user interface, a confusion of these principles in holosthesia, with consequent violations of the expectations of dramatic causality, will lead to confusion within the space.
Due to the finite human capacity to withstand discontinuity, the need for spaciotemporal reason sets a clear boundary beyond which holosthetic space can not extend with any degree of safety. Discontinuity is an anti-PSI state, as PSI is responsible for orchestration of the events of perception into a continuum. This is not to say that classical drama presents the only model for interaction. A study of mythological archetypes, especially those which have evolved outside the flow of Western thought, could give rise to vivogenic environments which are not, in the strictest sense, rational, but adhere to and create worlds within deeper structures of PSI.
Of particular relevance is the relationship between cyberspace and pathology. As has been stated previously, telepathology is one possible result of this relationship. Cyberspace is a region of communication; its form is dynamic and derived from the connections present, at any moment, within it. (Benedikt, 180) Almost all of the holosthetic connections controlled by only one (or very few) participants in the "holosthetic connection space" are pathogenic. McLuhan states clearly:
"Once we have surrendered our senses and nervous systems to the private manipulation of those who would try to benefit from taking a lease on our eyes and ears and nerves, we don't really have any rights left. Leasing our eyes and ears and nerves to commercial interests is like handing over the common speech to a private corporation, or giving the earth's atmosphere to a company as a monopoly." (McLuhan, _UM_, 68)
Broadcast holosthesia, the transmission of information from one to many, represents, in most cases, a highly pathogenic ontology. The mythology inherent in such a space can only be autocratic or messianic. Holosthesia will create an implosion of far greater mega-tonnage than that produced by the introduction of the radio or the public address system, technologies that McLuhan believes allowed Hitler to come into political existence by directly relaying his thoughts to the German people. (McLuhan, _UM_, 300) It reverses the foreground and background of the self, and the history of the self, in a final self-amputation. In the absence of safeguards, the experience of holosthetic autocracy will be dramatically easy to create. The design of holosthetic media, then, especially with respect to cyberspace, must tend away from broadcast holosthesia.
EROS AND THANATOS: PATHOLOGY IN THE DILDONIC SPACE
One of the rarely acknowledged but well-known ends of the development of holosthetic media is "dildonics." This term, coined by Theodor Nelson to describe the sexual relationship between human and machine, or human-to-human mediated by machine, raises a host of issues involving the interface between human biology and the conception of self. (Rheingold, 179) Stone, in her interviews with phone sex workers, outlines the creation of a sexual ontology, constructed over the low-fidelity telephone, in which the worker deftly manipulates the client's PSI-state with a stream of information:
"Phone sex is the process of provoking, satisfying, constructing desire through a single mode of communication, the telephone. In the process, participants draw on a repertoire of cultural codes to construct a scenario that compresses large amounts of information into a very small space. The worker verbally codes for gesture, appearance, and proclivity, and expresses these as tokens, sometimes in no more than a word. The client uncompresses these tokens and constructs a dense, complex interactional image...This act is thoroughly individual and interpretive; out of a highly compressed token of desire the client constitutes meaning that is dense, locally situated, and socially particular." (Stone, 103)
These "tokens of desire" are themselves highly "tuned" to elicit specific, if personal, responses, and represent the "high-fidelity" transmission of PSI-state from one communicant to another. Here the primary question is of the relationship between sexuality and pathology, and how, mythologically, each expresses itself in the other. The long-term existence of an S/M subculture and the recent appearance of the cyberpunk-cum-"Modern Primitives" are the visible evidences of such a relationship. However, our earliest civilizations show a common consciousness of the connection between sexuality and pathology. Pathology may be the essence of sexual reproduction.
From Oedipus to Freud, love and death have always been paired archetypes. Hence, one flavor of the human sexual drive is to "push the envelope" within the field of sexual experience, up to (or beyond) the limits of pathology. This will present a very compelling temptation to creators and users of holosthetic media. I would argue that the first accidental sufferers of holosthetic psychosis will encounter it during experiments in dildonics. Caution is especially required in the exploration of dildonic holosthesia, because biology would, of its own, tend away from it.
PROBABLE VIVOGENIC ONTOLOGIES
Of equal importance to the mapping of holosthetic zones of pathogenic ontology is the identification of those factors which produce a vivogenic holosthesia, an environment which, in the very elements of its design, tends away from pathology. Certain safeguards for human biology can and will be built into holosthetic media, but no mechanism can detect the presence of a pathogenic ontology. In vivogenic ontologies, a careful selection of a mythology and the creation of a nurturing "place for one's self" are absolute necessities.
"We think of humor as a mark of a person of sanity for a good reason: in fun and play we recover the integral person, who in the workaday world or in professional life can use only a small sector of his being...Games are popular art, collective, social reactions to the main drive of any culture. Games, like institutions, are extensions of social man and of the body politic...counter-irritants or ways of adjusting to the stresses of the specialized actions that occur in any social group...dramatic models of our psychological lives providing release of particular tensions. Ancient and nonliterate societies naturally regarded games as live dramatic models of the universe or of the outer cosmic drama." (McLuhan, _UM_, 235-236)
Here McLuhan describes the perfect form of involvement in holosthesia. Games are stress-relievers, and connect humans, at a basic level, to themselves and their beliefs about the world. Games, as restricted forms of behavior, with their own complex of internal rules systems, are, by and large, the least pathogenic forms of holosthetic media.
For example, SIMNET, the Defense Department's battle-readiness simulation training system (specifically, a cyberspace), shows how humans can quickly adapt and come to "enjoy" a game-based holosthesia. Indeed, most participants feel as though they were "really there," fighting the battle, and exit the system praising the "reality" of what is, in fact, a low-fidelity experience. The rule set of SIMNET, however, exactly conforms to the rules of engagement (on both physical and ontological levels) that the participant has been trained to expect. The fulfillment of expectations in game-based holosthesia is part of the enjoyment, whereas the lack of rules or the arbitrary mutability of these rules would produce confusion. Both complete flexibility of the rule space and spaces with only a few rules can be pathogenic.
Games in cyberspace are thoroughly democratic systems of communication, insofar as their rules allow. All play, within the rules, is safely bilateral. If the rules are known and agreed to in advance, any lack of bilaterality is replaced with a meta-bilaterality, the social contract that participants accept to enter the game. "Simon Sez," for all of its childishness, speaks volumes about the social contract implicit in the game; that even liberties integral to the self can be safely suspended for specific purposes.
One approach in the design of a vivogenic space would be to focus upon the mythology present in such a space, and bring it into the foreground. For ourselves as humans, this tradition comes from shamans and high priests, from covens and conclaves. It is, viewed from the self, a "religious" event, or space, a place where the gods speak and are spoken to.
In cyberspace there may be a holosthesia that is less communication than communion. Certainly the capability immediately exists for darshan, the mystical experience of being simultaneously present with a multitude of others. When it is possible, in a few years, to gather a billion people into a single space, fidelity may not be necessary to produce the sensation of a profound, and for some, mystical, experience.
It is possible to extend this even further. At its most comprehensive, trans-space represents the fully multilateral, holosthetic union of a large number of human beings. I have no wish to speculate about the qualities of trans-space, except to state that it could well be a "holy" place.
One of the outcomes of long-term exposure to high-fidelity holosthetic media may well be a progressive blurring of the "in-here" and "out-there" sensory modalities, with consequent confusions in the psyche. Well-designed holosthesia will linger in the consciousness, and perhaps form part of the human experience-base. This "incorporated experience" (Chrichton, 187) will not be based on physical actualities, but rather, on the subtle interplay of biology, mythology and ontology. It is also possible that as the base of incorporated experience extends within an individual, that individual will broaden the plasticity of their ontology (i.e., have a greater tolerance for and ability to survive in the presence of previously pathogenic ontologies). Our children, without an extensive experience-base to serve as filter and navigation guide, will incorporate much more holosthetic experience into their self-ontology than those who have formed a self and personality in the absence of such technologies. Those who have grown up in holosthesia will have considerably more plastic definitions of their "selves" and of "reality." These humans will weave experiential modes, both physical and holosthetic, to arrive at a new understanding of self. They will be able to tolerate spaces that others, less flexible in their ontologies, would find immediately pathogenic.
The expression of experience gathered by a participant in a holosthetic space safe to the participant, but pathogenic to others, cannot occur. The expression would need to take place within that space itself. When the human experience base has become so broad that human communication becomes impossible across certain boundaries, a threshold of note has been crossed. I believe that the next generation of children, raised in holosthesia, will be very different from their parents, so much so that the TV-generation "gap" will seem ridiculous by comparison. With holosthetic media we are creating a new language. Like any highly complex language, only native speakers will have "internal fluency" in its nuances and idioms. Our children will be those native speakers.
This work, which is at best introductory, outlines some of the mechanics and specifics of a new human relationship. There is a dialectical, biological process involved in the relation of humans to their machines, as has been carefully outlined by McLuhan, Stone, Warner, and others. This dialectical relationship can be expressed in both scientific or mythological terms. Holosthesia and holosthetic media require that both languages be employed, for we are engaged in making machines that can contain our myths. This simultaneously represents a chance for ecstatic communion or the utter destruction of self, for "darshan" and "Gehenna." These machines *can* be employed in malevolent ways, either by themselves or through the agency of others, can speak to and subvert us at our most vulnerable inner selves. We have created the most potent technology for mind control since the advent of human culture; if we remain ignorant of this potential we will inevitably pay a heavy price for it. The potentials for addiction and enslavement do not outweigh the potentials for creative play and communication, but to ignore one and focus on the other is both short-sighted and foolhardy. The decisions made today by the architects and designers of holosthetic media will set the tone, *define the mythos*, for the coming community. We must do our best to construct a vivogenic cyberspace, one that supports both individual and community, where every person can extend their creative potential, free from pathogenic influences.
The situation speaks for itself. Very soon hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of children will be enjoying holosthesia daily. Fortunately, the hardware is primitive, the range of possible effects narrow, and, directed as they are toward entertainment, the market will provide a range of games, safe content for a dangerous medium. In this there is some temporary refuge.
A few years will pass before high-fidelity holosthesia becomes widely available. Then, only our research, exploration and mapping can guarantee our safety. We would do well to begin a full-scale investigation of pathogenic holosthesia, ferret out those spaces, and write on the maps "Here Be Dragons!" A future Columbus may prove us wrong, but to err on the side of caution will save ourselves, and our children, from an uncertain insanity.
I am indebted to two individuals from whom I drew the structure for this work: Marshall McLuhan and Dr. David Warner. Dr. William Martens contributed holosthesia, a very useful word, and has provided extensive documentation, based upon his own work, to support my thesis. Both W. Gregory Jacobsen and Robert Powers were instrumental in helping me outline and organize the concepts expressed. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Sandy Stone, the gang at Ono-Sendai: Michael Donahue, Darr Aley, Marc de Groot, bandit, Michael Perry, Dan Lynch, Rosemary Machado and Timothy Childs, Peter Kennard, D. Owen Rowley, Linda Fleming, and Dr. Stephen Corey. Lastly, I would like to thank my family, who has consistently supported me throughout my years of research.
1. We recognize this as a fault of the system. Ideally, the cameras would be able to "cross" their lenses and so fuse the binocular field.
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George, Stan. _Cyberspace: The First Steps_. Benedikt, ed. MIT Press: Cambridge. Plate 4. 1991.
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Laurel, Brenda. _Computers as Theatre_. Addison-Wesley: New York. 1991.
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_Mondo 2000_. "An Interview with Jaron Lanier." Fall 1990. No. 2: 76.
Peck, M. Scott. _The People of The Lie_. Random House: New York. 1983.
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Tomas, David "Old Rituals for a New Space: Rites de Passage and William Gibson's Cultural Model of Cyberspace." _Cyberspace: The First Steps_. Benedikt, ed. MIT Press: Cambridge. 1991. | <urn:uuid:1a3c2de5-a777-434d-877b-e89e68e5e19f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nideffer.net/proj/_SPEED_/1.1/pesce.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93645 | 15,785 | 1.609375 | 2 |
A young cancer survivor on Wednesday came face to face with the New York firefighter who saved her life.
Five years ago, Firefighter Doug Chiz donated his bone marrow to a teenager he had never met, Angela Rugh from Pennsylvannia. That allowed her to beat Hodgkin's lymphoma.
"I'm just extremely thankful. From the bottom of my heart," Angela said. "Words are hard to describe the thanks and gratitude that I have for him."
When he first joined the FDNY, Chiz signed on to the department's bone marrow registry on his drill instructor's urging.
Just a few months later he got a call that he was a match for Angela, who was then just 17.
"After five years I never thought day would come," Chiz said. "I had always in the back of my mind hoped for the best and to now know she is doing well, it's a great feeling."
When Angela needed another operation in 2011, the family again turned to the hero firefighter, who donated his stem cells. He again proved you don't need to run into a burning building to save a life.
Chiz is in good company. Another firefighter from Ladder 136 in Queens, Scott Anaselli, gave life-saving bone marrow to Merritt Navazio. Anaselli was at Navazio's wedding.
Firefighter Cody Baker's bone marrow is the reason Rick Smalley from Texas is alive today.
Firefighter chiz said donating bone marrow caused some discomfort but the reward is well worth it.
"I would absolutely do it again," he said. "I would urge everyone to join the registry. You can make a difference."
The FDNY makes up 10 percent of the New York Blood Center's donations. This is a beautiful example of how those donations pay off. | <urn:uuid:66de02c8-3643-40bb-8199-206b49ed4df7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/21418696/bone-marrow-recipient-meets-donor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981317 | 379 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax
Motor Fuel Tax Report for the month of April 2012, including April 2011 and Fiscal Year to Date (2012)
In April 2012, motor fuel tax collections totaled approximately $149.1 million (after refunds). There were approximately 536.8 thousand gallons of fuel taxed which included almost 127.0 thousand gallons of special fuels. Special fuels are considered diesel, kerosene, and propane.
Figures in this publication are from the Excise and Motor Fuel Tax Division of the Ohio Department of Taxation. | <urn:uuid:b5f26bb6-a203-4542-8675-277b4c931753> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tax.ohio.gov/tax_analysis/tax_data_series/motor_fuel/mv1/0412MV1.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964186 | 109 | 1.632813 | 2 |
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Overseas buyers return to Spain
Spanish property investment from overseas buyers increased by 2.9% last year, the first time that any growth has been seen in the market since 2003. The report was issued by the bank of Spain and revealed that the biggest increase came in the fourth quarter of 2010, which leaves the market optimistic for 2011.
The report echoes a similar report published by Spain's Ministry of Housing, which recorded a 5.89% growth in property sales overall. Assuming both reports are accurate, then the number of overseas investors is not only growing, but also the value that is being spent.
Good news for the Spanish property market at last ? The cliched 'real estate boom' hit Spain harder than most other countries, and when the crash eventually came in 2008, it came to light that Spain was simply building more properties than were required. In fact more properties were built in Spain between 1998 - 2003 than in Germany, Italy and France put together.
Sales had begun to slow down by 2005 and by 2008 sales had dropped, leaving builders committed to thousands of proprties, will thousands further still that they had little hope of selling.
The good news for buyers is that the over-supply of properties has finally been shown to have take effect on values. Properties have started to be priced at realistic values and sales have started to pick up. Good news for the property market and good news for the economy.
There was never any doubt that the Brits would return to the market - it was just a question of when.
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Published Friday, 04 May 2012
The scene of Friday's security alert in Lurgan. (© Pacemaker)
A number of residents were evacuated as police investigated a report that a suspect device had been left on the railway line at Bell's Row.
The alert was sparked after the PSNI received a phone call at 1.30am on Friday.
Residents evacuated to a nearby leisure centre have now been allowed to return home.
Roads closures have been lifted - but the train service in the area remains disrupted.
Passengers using the Belfast to Dublin Enterprise service are being transported by bus to and from Newry.
In Lurgan, passengers are being taken by bus to the train station at Moira where they will continue their journey.
SDLP Upper Bann MLA Dolores Kelly has condemned those behind the alert.
"I am appalled at the actions of those who have brought such disruption, once again, to the lives of the people of Lurgan.
"Being evacuated from your home in the early hours of the morning is a traumatic experience for anyone, let alone anyone elderly or with small children."
The party's deputy leader said that there appeared to an object burning on the railway line earlier.
"This type of reckless action was wrong in the darkest days of the Troubles and it is wrong now.
"Those behind it must be caught and put through the criminal justice system, so I appeal to anyone with information to contact the police or Crimestoppers immediately."
Ulster Unionist MLA for Upper Bann Jo-Anne Dobson has also condemned the hoax.
"This was a reckless and troublemaking act which has achieved absolutely nothing except to disrupt the daily lives of local people and commuters.
"We all want Lurgan to be in the news for the right reasons. This is the year of the centenary of Lurgan Show, a showcase event which unites all of the people of Lurgan, incidents like the one we had today simply attempt to divide."
She added:"People do not want this and my thoughts are with those residents who were evacuated from their homes in the middle of the night and those who have been considerably disrupted in their travel plans today.
"I appeal for anyone who can help the police with their enquires to contact the PSNI at Lurgan." | <urn:uuid:ac756f73-251a-4ba5-99dd-9d6a434b8fff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.u.tv/News/Hoax-device-at-railway-line/95d9ecff-8a4e-4293-b72e-392076b41737 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979719 | 473 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Topic : We Disagree On Punishment
Created on : Thursday, June 30, 2005, 12:51:36 pm
"My husband is a spanker, but I don't believe in hitting my child." "My son knows he can run to my wife when I've told him no." Does this sound familiar? Tell us your story.
As of January, 2009, this message board will become "Read Only" and will be closed to further posting. Please join the NEW Dr. Phil Community to continue your discussions, personalize your message board experience, start a blog and meet new friends. | <urn:uuid:178e2843-c2d3-4e92-ab7b-cbd6e42bebfa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drphil.com/messageboard/topic/127/20/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956687 | 124 | 1.515625 | 2 |
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Hybrid bikes have recently the taken bicycling world by storm, but what exactly is a hyrbrid? In short, Hybrid bikes feature the best characteristics of both road and mountain bikes into a versatile ride thatís equally comfortable on both local errands around town as well as a trip on the local bike path. Also known as dual sport bicycles, Hybrids have features of both mountain and road bikes including:
ē An Upright, More Comfortable Riding Position
ē More Durable Frame
ē Wider Tires to Handle Off-Road Terrain Road
ē Lighter Rims for Faster Riding
ē Lighter Components with Faster Gearing
Hybrid bikes are wise choice if youíre looking for versatility in a bicycle, since it can accommodate much more abuse that a standard bike. Although many may not consider Hybrids among performance bicycles, there are available designs that clearly deliver excellent durability and superior speed.
Hybrids: The Components
When it comes time to shop for Hybrid or Dual Sport bicycles, itís a good idea to understand what to look for and a good place to start is taking a closer look at the components. Therefore, consider these characteristics commonly shared some the best Hybrid bikes:
Frame Ė Frequently constructed from aluminum or steel, Hybrid frames generally offer a more comfortable, upright position. Typically the higher-end frames of these dual sport bicycles are lighter and stronger than lower quality options.
Wheels Ė A true combination of mountain and road bikes, Hybrid bike tires have a wider tread helpful in off road riding while using a higher air pressure for greater firmness and stability. The result is a durable, firm tire that offers greater speed than most mountain bikes. If you plan on more off-road riding, look for a wider wheel, while a thinner wheel will help you ride faster on the street.
Handlebars Ė Flat and extending from the stem, handlebars on dual sport bicycles resemble those on their off road cousins. Typically, the best Hybrid bikes will have handlebars that are situated in a way to maximize comfort, visibility and control.
Gearing Ė The gearing on highbrids tends to be a bit higher, avoiding the lower gears that are often found on mountain bikes. To familiarize yourself with the gearing on a bike, youíll have to take a test ride to determine how it may meet your needs.
Pedals Ė Basic Hybrids come equipped with a basic platform pedal, while higher performance bicycles may be available with alternatives like toe clips or clipless pedals. Typically most riders of Hybrid bicycles prefer the platform pedal due to frequent stops, but clip-in systems offer greater power if youíre comfortable with them.
How to Find the Best Hybrid Bikes for You
When shopping for a new bike, itís easy to get confused by numerous choices and brands. Typically, you should avoid trying to compare Hybrid bikes based on their components, since this could take a long time and still not give you the type of guidance you need. Therefore, you would be well served to get back to basics when considering the many dual sport bikes available. Focus on these basics:
Take a Test Ride Ė No matter what amount of research you may do in searching the many Hybrid bicycles available, there is no replacement for a test ride. Normally a twenty minute ride should be plenty to help you determine with the Hybrid will fit your needs. | <urn:uuid:98220794-ca3c-4e29-bfb5-1754c1ccd09f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4418027&lmdn=Suspension&f=PAD%2FDSG_Bike_Suspension%2FNone&fbc=1&fbn=DSG_Bike_Suspension%7CNone | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935661 | 746 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Fourteen Highline elementary schools certified as HealthierUS Schools
Seven schools earn highest honor: Gold Award of Distinction
Fourteen additional Highline elementary schools have earned certification as HealthierUS Schools (HUSSC) bringing to 18 the number of Highline schools certified.
The program, initiated in 2004, recognizes schools that have created healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity.
Seven schools earned the Gold Award of Distinction, four earned the Silver Award, and three earned the Bronze Award.
“These awards reflect a true collaborative effort by nutrition services staff at our schools, school principals, and staff at central office,” said Chris Neal, director of Nutrition Services. “The level of achievement and number of schools recognized means that many people across the district are working on behalf of the welfare of Highline students. It is just awesome to be recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in this way, and I want to thank every person in Highline who contributed to this achievement.”
The level of certification is based on a series of criteria, including the number of different fruits and vegetables served per week, the percentage of whole grains served, and other factors such as wellness education offered and amount of time devoted to physical activity.
The Gold Award of Distinction, the highest honor, was bestowed on Bow Lake, Hazel Valley, Hilltop, McMicken Heights, Midway, Mount View, and Seahurst Elementary Schools.
The Silver Award was given to Cedarhurst, Gregory Heights, Parkside, and Shorewood Elementary Schools; and the Bronze Award was received by Des Moines, Marvista, and North Hill Elementary Schools.
To acknowledge their achievement, the schools will receive a HUSSC award plaque, a display banner, and a monetary incentive award - $2000 per school for the Gold Award of Distinction, $1500 per school for the Gold award, $1000 per school for the Silver award, and $500 per school for the Bronze award.
Highline schools previously certified include Beverly Park, Madrona, Southern Heights, and White Center Heights Elementary Schools. All received Silver awards.
The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) is a voluntary certification initiative established in 2004 to recognize those schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have created healthier school environments by making changes to their schools’ nutrition environment, improving the quality of the foods served, providing students with more nutritious, healthy choices, and enhancing their physical activity program.
In February 2010 the HealthierUS School Challenge was incorporated into the Let’s Move campaign, aimed at raising a healthier generation of kids. | <urn:uuid:ea12ba4e-0e77-4b10-987b-9c4b373d527a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.highlinetimes.com/2013/02/06/news/fourteen-highline-elementary-schools-certified-he | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960404 | 541 | 1.734375 | 2 |
yadave wrote:You are correct. I will try to dot my i's in future and use "idealism" rather than "solipsism" to describe the view that "reality is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial."
Ok, but it isn't "mentally constructed" either, a mental construction would have to originate from a mind.
yadave wrote:I did not know you were a guru. Right on.
I didn't know I was either, but yes... right on!
yadave wrote:I would need you to unpack this for me before I know how to respond.
Modern cognitive science and buddhism may have some parallel similarities on a relative level but ultimately they're not of the same nature.
yadave wrote:Well, there is no "me" as you pointed out above and my concern was how your (1) and (2) treat the brain as a source of things. I compare the brain to the heart. Some years ago, Israeli scientists successfully coerced stem cells into heart cells and the damn things were beating. It's amazing, they know how to be a heart on the cellular level. Similarly, brains know how to think, brains exude thoughts.
I didn't say there's no "you", i said there's no "you" apart from the concept of "you", apart from the conventionality of language the self or agent has no inherent existence. But i suppose that's irrelevant since you're thoroughly convinced you're not equipped with any frame of reference with which to gauge what i'm saying. I'm essentially some guy talking on an internet forum, you can't believe there's no self or substratum, it isn't a philosophy, it requires first hand experience for validation. How can the brain be the source of things?
yadave wrote:"Reality" is a word. It is subject to the world's shared definition of it if we are to heed Buddha's advice and "accept what the world accepts."
Yes reality is a word, so is every other word on this forum. I'm using the term reality to describe this "happening" called life. If the Buddha truly believed that one should "accept what the world accepts" then everyone would remain in ignorance.
yadave wrote:But it is a new paradigm, my Lord. I think that should count for something.
I'm sure that day countless centuries ago when someone declared the world is indeed flat, that paradigm counted for something then as well.
yadave wrote:Actually, lots of people are saying "the car really doesn't exist" or "ultimately, the car doesn't exist." It's awful. If this Ultimate Reality is not unreal then the car really doesn't exist and Buddhism reduces to Idealism.
Why would that be awful? Idealism asserts that reality is fundamentally a mental construction, again a mental construction would depend on the existence of a mind.
yadave wrote:Seems simpler to just say "for Buddhists, the car is not what it seems" and if anyone is curious we explain how the car depends on many factors. I mean, look at the expression "inherently existing". Does *anything* have this property? No? The darn thing (i.e., the concept "inherently existing") is metaphysical to start with yet it litters every other sentence. I appreciate its importance but wonder if we could leave existing language conventions, like "exists" and "reality", out of it and simply say "the car is empty" which has a specific meaning that differs from the notion of "empty space" which is what "nonexistent" brings to mind.
Why would this only apply to "Buddhists"? No-thing has inherent existence, every-thing is empty, including emptiness. It's no more metaphysical than believing you're a subjective entity encased in a body experiencing a physical world which is separate from you. And sure say "the car is empty".
yadave wrote:The car will pass by and we will see it regardless of whether:
4) We both somehow magically create mental projections of the same blue car moving at the same speed; or
5) The car possesses an external reality / existence that causes us both to experience the same thing.
I'm a Number 5. I think both (4) and (5) require us to grow up in similar environments where there are cars and such.
Ok, if you want to believe the car has an external existence have at it! I'm not here to win you over, i have no way to convey to you that essentially all that is, is timeless "consciousness" devoid of duality. Those are just words typed onto a computer screen, I really wouldn't want you to believe what i'm saying anyways in all honesty... adopting that as a belief and attaching to that would be just as counterproductive as insisting any other point of view.
yadave wrote:The language is too far from the world. Trust me on this one.
Yes that point of view certainly mirrors what you believe to be true.
I don't really understand the nature of this debating going on, refuting what's said, i mean it's all well and good refute what's said all you want it's just a conversation... but what is your perception of buddhism? Are you just here to stir the pot? Because that's great if that's the case, debates of this nature are good to get people thinking and answer questions for not just the ones debating but for others reading it. Or are you just attempting to have someone thoroughly convince you out of your conditioned point of view you've had your whole life? Only YOU can do that. You don't seem to be very "open" to the teachings, insisting the point of view you champion is some kind of ultimate truth.... almost like you're trying to convince yourself that your point of view is correct for reassurance. I'm not here to propagate some belief system or philosophy, the teachings may be presented in that manner but ultimately they're to be applied to yourself and to your experience, empirically, to bring about a change in perception and being. Buddhism is meant to radically alter life in it's entirety. The effects of the teaching are real, the change is real, but you have to want it, and you have to be open to it, otherwise you remain attached to an archaic conditioned point of view which only leads to suffering.... liberation is here for the taking, everyone wants you to know that love, but nobody can save you except yourself. | <urn:uuid:8dc6ccd7-156b-42ee-865d-8a0571ebfc61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?p=77572 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975484 | 1,363 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Download Research Tools
The Kinect for Windows SDK beta was honored as one of the “10 Most Innovative Tech Products of 2011” earlier this week at the 2011 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards ceremony held at the Hearst Tower in New York City. Gavin Jancke, general manager of Engineering for Microsoft Research, who led the engineering and release for the Microsoft Research release of the Kinect for Windows SDK beta, accepted the award on behalf of Microsoft.
Award recipients were invited to demonstrate their technologies at a reception following the seventh annual ceremony. Gavin presented the SDK (software development kit) from a developer perspective discussing, among other things, skeletal tracking and raw sensor data. Jacob Vanderplas, an astronomer at the University of Washington, further illustrated the potential applications of the SDK in natural user interface (NUI) technologies with a presentation of the Kinect-controlled WorldWide Telescope concept demonstrator.
From left to right: Jim Meigs, editor in chief of Popular Mechanics; Gavin Jancke, general manager of Engineering for Microsoft Research; and Bill Congdon, publisher of Popular Mechanics, pictured at the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards ceremony
The ceremony was our second visit to New York City in as many months. Previously, we were pleased to present the SDK at the World Maker Faire 2011, which was held at the New York Hall of Science in late September. Maker Faire is an inspiring showcase of creativity and cool technology that celebrates technology enthusiasts of all ages. This year’s event attracted 35,000 attendees, up 40 percent from the previous year.
Presenting at Maker Faire 2011
We were joined at this year’s Maker Faire by our colleagues from Microsoft Robotics and Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer. Our teams jointly exhibited in a combined tent. We offered attendees just a taste of our technologies that are available for hobbyists, enthusiasts, and educators. The showpieces in our tent were the newly launched Robotics Developer Studio 4 beta and a new reference design robot, EDDIE, available from Parallax, Inc. We also presented two Kinect SDK beta demos: on-board robot sensing and NUI robot control—including a roving “party photographer” robot that proved very popular with young and old alike.
In addition to demonstrating our technologies, we were also honored with two awards at the Maker Faire: an inaugural “Makey” award for Kinect, and an “Editor’s Choice” blue ribbon for our combined booth. It was fantastic to see so many people inspired by technology, including our own. We continue to look forward to seeing your inventions and ideas come to fruition.
—Stewart Tansley, Director of Natural User Interface, Microsoft Research Connections
On October 5, 2011, on the stately campus of the University of Edinburgh, Sir Tim O’Shea, principal of the University of Edinburgh, and Rick Rashid, chief research officer of Microsoft Research, officially inaugurated a significant joint initiative in informatics. It was standing room only in a crowded lecture hall as Rick delivered a Distinguished Lecture on the topic, “It’s a Data Driven World—Get Over It.”
Rick Rashid and Andy Gordon with the supervisors of the first group of PhD students in the joint initiative. From left to right: Stratis Viglas, Charles Sutton, Guido Sanguinetti, Rick Rashid, Amos Storkey, Jane Hillston, Andy Gordon
The new initiative brings together researchers from two of Europe’s leading centers in informatics: the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics (the UK’s largest and foremost university research center in informatics), and Microsoft Research Cambridge. It builds on the deep intellectual ties between the two institutions—ties that include research into programming languages and semantics, bioinformatics, machine learning, computer vision, natural-language processing, and security. Microsoft Research Cambridge’s Managing Director Andrew Blake, Distinguished Scientist Christopher Bishop, and Principal Researcher Andy Gordon all hold part-time professorships. University of Edinburgh faculty members—including Paul Anderson, David Aspinall, Gordon Plotkin, David Robertson, Sethu Vijayakumar, and Bonnie Webber—have received funding for PhD scholarships and senior fellowships from Microsoft Research in the past.
To celebrate and consolidate these relationships, we are delighted to announce that Microsoft Research Connections is co-sponsoring four studentships (PhD scholarships) to be awarded to students at the University of Edinburgh. As Rick Rashid said at the launch, “PhD students are the glue that binds together collaborations between Microsoft Research and the university.” The studentships, which are offered through the Microsoft Research Connections PhD Scholarship Programme, receive half of their funding from Microsoft, and half from matching funds obtained by the university. As with all studentships provided by the PhD Scholarship Programme, the recipients will receive a three-year bursary and invitations to the Microsoft Research annual PhD Summer School in Cambridge, where they learn about Microsoft Research Cambridge research projects, acquire key transferable skills, and share ideas with Microsoft researchers. All students are supervised by a university faculty member and co-supervised by a Microsoft researcher. In addition, some of the University of Edinburgh studentship recipients may also be offered an internship at Microsoft Research.
Applications for the first round of scholarships closed in September 2011. University of Edinburgh faculty members submitted proposals for twelve research projects for the studentships and the following four projects were selected:
The students who are selected to participate in these research projects will begin their studies in September 2012.
Microsoft products have previously benefited from Edinburgh research—for example, the technology behind the Microsoft Visual F# programming language was derived from research at the University of Edinburgh. As reported in The Scotsman, it’s hoped that the new initiative will encourage a new generation of innovators in Scotland. So strike up the bagpipes—here’s to more Edinburgh innovations!
—Andy Gordon, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research Cambridge, and Scarlet Schwiderski-Grosche, Program Manager, Microsoft Research Connections EMEA
Astronomy is rapidly becoming exponentially data rich, with data management, data exploration, and knowledge discovering becoming central to the research enterprise. This has brought about great opportunity for growth and discovery in both astronomy and computational science. It has also created many technical and methodological challenges. The emerging field of AstroInformatics provides a bridge between the scientific challenges that are associated with this rapid data volume growth and the inherent complexity of astronomy, engineering, computer science, and applied statistics.
This fascinating field was the subject of the AstroInformatics 2011 Conference (AI2011) held in Sorrento in September. The four-day conference attracted a broad community of astronomical, biomedical, computational, and educational professionals from around the world. An estimated 10 percent of the conference speakers presented via Skype, in keeping with the spirit of informatics. I’m proud to say that a number of representatives from the Earth, Energy, and Environment (E3) division of Microsoft Research Connections were active participants, both as attendees and presenters—including several keynotes.
Keynote by Dan Fay, director of E3 at Microsoft Research Connections, on “The Rise of X-Informatics.
Demonstrating Thought Leadership
The conference began with a keynote by Dan Fay, director of E3 at Microsoft Research Connections, on “The Rise of X-Informatics.” Dan’s presentation successfully guided the discussion throughout the event on engaging scientific research with advanced computing technologies such as WorldWide Telescope, Microsoft Silverlight PivotViewer, and OData.Later, Jenn Lin, senior test lead, Microsoft Silverlight, presented “Interactive Visualization of Massive Datasets Using Microsoft PivotViewer.” During the session, Jenn demonstrated compelling examples of how PivotViewer, an interactive data visualization tool, can be used to visualize and facilitate discovery of hidden science in large datasets. Audience feedback to Jenn’s session was positive.
“We should really explore interactive visualization tools like this while doing our data mining,” commented visionary scientist George Djorgovski. Another attendee, May Wang, immediately began visualizing ways to integrate the tools into her own work. “My (biomedical informatics) research can really benefit from PivotViewer,” she noted.
Building a Better Scientist
On the final day of the conference, I had the honor of opening the Computational Education for Scientists Workshop with my keynote presentation, “Building a Better Scientist.” I should note that several of the researchers who attended AI2011 have been significant contributors to—and supporters of—the Microsoft Research Transform Science effort since 2007. They recognize not only the importance of interdisciplinary computing for sciences, but also the urgency of creating a generation of computationally empowered scientists. “Computational literacy and data literacy are critical for all,” said Kirk Borne, a professor at George Mason University.
The day’s presentations stimulated a passionate discussion within the audience. Many people expressed their great expectation for Microsoft to help create computational thinkers among young scientists. “‘Building a Better Scientist’ will be a reserved topic at the next AstroInformatics meeting,” said Professor Giuseppe Longo a professor at the University Federico II in Naples, Italy, and a co-founder of the annual AstroInformatics conference.
The grand finale of AI2011 was a half-day workshop on Microsoft Research WorldWide Telescope (WWT). A dozen local science educators from high schools and a regional science museum joined the session attendees for this fascinating workshop.
I began the workshop by introducing Microsoft Research’s twentieth anniversary and presented WWT as a showcase project. Next, I introduced Alyssa Goodman of Harvard University who presented “Seamless Astronomy Enabled by WWT,” in which she discussed research that we recently featured on Science@Microsoft (see WorldWide Telescope and Seamless Astronomy). Her enthusiasm for WWT was reflected in her presentation. “WWT has made it to the community beyond personal levels,” she said. Speaker Ed Valentijn demonstrated WWT and Kinect in his session, the aptly named “Demonstrating WWT Live to 5,700 Festival Visitors.” (“The same will happen in Italy soon,” noted Professor Longo.)
During an hour-long Q&A session, I demonstrated how easy it is to create an astonishing WWT tour by combining data and images in WWT, with additional presentation materials in almost any form: astronomical images, music, clip art, narrative audio, etc. The excited audience couldn’t help but discuss it amongst themselves (in Italian). Although I could understand only a little of their conversation, I knew that—once again—WWT had wowed the audience.
—Yan Xu, Senior Research Program Manager, Microsoft Research Connections | <urn:uuid:6fd09780-516e-4123-a5f3-5c396768e03e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.msdn.com/b/msr_er/archive/2011/10.aspx?Redirected=true&PageIndex=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930043 | 2,268 | 1.59375 | 2 |
More ‘Bipartisan’ Congress Not Likely, Pence Says
November 14, 2008Republican Rep. Mike Pence and a government expert from the Heritage Foundation said they would be surprised if a larger margin of Democrats produced more bipartisanship in the next Congress.
The Democrats gained 18 seats in the House and seven in the Senate in the Nov. 4 election. A few days earlier, on Oct. 28, Pelosi said: "Elect us, hold us accountable, and make a judgment and then go from there. But I do tell you that if the Democrats win, and have substantial majorities, the Congress of the United States will be more bipartisan."
On election night, Pelosi said: “They [the American people] have called for a change for America. A very important part of that change will be the bipartisanship, and the civility in which we engage in our dialogue.”
But Pence, who is running for Republican Conference Chair in the House of Representatives, told CNSNews.com on Nov. 10 that he will be surprised if politics in the 111th Congress ends up as bipartisan as Pelosi predicts.
“I hope so,” said Pence. “Our hope is that that [partisanship] changes, but we will not be surprised if it doesn’t.
“As it’s been said before, I have an open mind but not an empty mind,” Pence said. “What we saw in the first two years of Democratic majorities was a fairly draconian control of the floor with little opportunity for the development of bipartisan consensus or the consideration of Republican alternatives.” Danielle Doane, director of congressional relations for the House at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told CNSNews.com that historically, dominant control of the House by one party or the other does not translate into bipartisan politics.
“With bigger majorities it is highly unlikely that Democratic leadership, or Speaker Pelosi in particular, will want or need to make overtures to the other side,” Doane said. “When you have tighter numbers, you are forced to go to the other party because you need their votes.”
Pence added that Republicans are preparing for a fight.
“We are going to take stands on key issues in vivid contrast to the liberal Democrat agenda, and we are going to engage the American people on a regular basis on those stands,” Pence said. “The strategy House Republicans will be advancing is one that says we are going to battle on the floor, in the air and on the blogosphere. We are going to call in the reinforcements of the American people.”
Doane said that Pence’s strategy is one that has been historically adopted by the minority party.
“If you are in the minority, you don’t want bipartisan – you want the fight,” Doane said. | <urn:uuid:c55b4bfc-5b80-4c2c-9a49-eab28c723fe0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cnsnews.com/news/article/more-bipartisan-congress-not-likely-pence-says | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956382 | 597 | 1.609375 | 2 |
LONDON (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency said it has launched a review of Merck & Co Inc's cholesterol drug Tredaptive after the medicine failed a U.S. trial assessing its effectiveness and safety.
Although the commercial fallout from any decision to pull the drug from the market in Europe would be limited, it would be a blow to Merck's reputation.
Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson estimates that Tredaptive sales in Europe and other non-U.S. markets are running at only around $50 million a year, compared to Merck's overall revenue of $47 billion.
The drug is designed to raise "good" HDL cholesterol but the 25,000 patient study found it didn't do better at preventing heart attacks, deaths or strokes than traditional statin drugs that lower "bad" LDL cholesterol.
The large-scale trial also found that patients taking the drug suffered more non-fatal but serious side effects than those only taking statins.
The medicine was approved for use in Europe in 2008, but U.S. regulators were unwilling to approve it until Merck conducted the costly long-term study to better assess its safety and effectiveness.
Merck said on Thursday that it no longer planned to seek regulatory approval for the drug in the United States and recommended that doctors did not start new patients on Tredaptive in countries where it is already available.
The regulator backed that advice on Friday, but added that patients currently using the drug should speak a doctor at their next appointment but not stop their treatment.
Tredaptive is sold under the brand name Pelzont in Italy and Trevaclyn in both Italy and Portugal. A decision on the future of the drug in Europe is expected in January.
(Reporting by Chris Wickham; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) | <urn:uuid:6be3992a-8b1b-4620-b615-9fbc4ce56ac8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wncy.com/news/articles/2012/dec/21/european-watchdog-starts-safety-review-of-merck-cholesterol-drug/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963858 | 373 | 1.578125 | 2 |
As of Wednesday morning, the number of Boone County customers without power was 10,489 of 12,938, or 81.1 percent of all customers in the county. The power company has given no date when they think power will be restored, but there have been reports that power has been restored in some parts of the Van and other areas of the county.
Shelters are open in Boone County, including the Fountain of Life Church in Rock Creek; Racine Fire Department; Morrisvale Community Center; Orgas Community Center; and the Madison Memorial Building. A complete listing of shelters open in West Virginia can be found online at http://www.governor.wv.gov/pages/shelters.aspx
Appalachian Power released a prepared statement saying, “Preparation for this storm began last Friday. Appalachian Power has declined requests to send crews to the Northeast so that all resources can be devoted to restoring power here. At the same time, additional crews were secured for our own restoration efforts from our six sister companies within AEP.”
The power company said on Monday, it staged hundreds of contractors along with its own employees in the storm areas.
“Because this storm covers a very broad geographic area and millions of people are without power nationwide, securing additional resources will be difficult beyond what we already have in place,” the company said in its press release. “Ongoing inclement weather is also making it difficult to assess damage to some of our electrical facilities. Appalachian is dealing with significant transmission damage which is typically assessed by helicopter. However, crews are having to assess damage by 4-wheel-drive and ATV vehicles, and even by foot patrol in the most remote, mountainous regions of our territory until it is safe to fly a helicopter. In addition, shorter daylight hours mean less time to perform damage assessments and to safely restore power. These complications will hamper the pace of power restoration.”
Below is Appalachian Power’s “Status Of Restoration Efforts.”
As of 7:30 p.m., more than 13,000 customers in Virginia and an additional 146,000 customers in West Virginia are without electric service as a result of the storm. Outages peaked today around noon at approximately 182,000 customers.
Our early assessments indicate extensive damage to both the distribution and transmission systems.
More than 40 distribution substations, 90 circuit breakers and approximately 47 transmission lines remain out of service. Transmission lines typically run from power generating plant-to station and station-to-station.
Until assessors can provide a clearer picture of the amount of damage caused by the storm, we are unable to provide specific restoration estimates with any degree of accuracy in most areas. However, similar to after this summer's Derecho, some customers could experience extended outages.
Restoration estimates have been determined for the following areas:
Christiansburg , Fieldale, Rocky Mount, Stewart, Wytheville Late tonight
Floyd, Glen Lynn, Pulaski and Woodlawn 4 p.m. Wednesday
Glade Spring, Roanoke Wednesday night
Lebanon, Tazewell Thursday night
We currently have more than 1,100 company and contract line mechanics and more than 250 damage assessors dedicated to service restoration.
Predicted snow accumulation totals in certain areas has increased since this morning.
Snow totals of 10 to 20 inches over eastern West Virginia by daybreak Wednesday with 45 mph wind gusts are aggravating the situation.
Wet snow will also accumulate up to 12" in mountains around Charleston, WV.
Heavy snow will also continue in the mountains along the KY - VA border with up to 16" storm totals over higher elevations.
HOW WE PRIORITIZE RESTORATION EFFORTS
Safety is our highest priority. Once outages occur, damage assessment begins as soon as the weather passes to the point that it is safe for workers to be in the field. Service restoration is handled by priority meaning essential public safety facilities are repaired first followed by trouble areas affecting the most customers. From there, small of customers are repaired and then individual homes and businesses.
We will be in contact with emergency management agencies, elected officials and state regulatory commissions, making them aware of our preparations.
A "snapshot" view of current outages is available anytime at AppalachianPower.com. Go to the Outages and Problems section of the site and click "View Outage Map."
Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/AppalachianPower and on Twitter at Twitter.com/AppalachianPowe
Severe weather can cause power lines to snap or poles to come down. Fallen power lines are dangerous because they carry an electric current that can cause serious or fatal injury. Never touch a fallen wire, no matter how harmless it looks. And keep others away from the potential hazard as well. If you encounter fallen wires, stay away from them and immediately contact Appalachian Power.
In the event of a major power interruption, life-support customers are encouraged to contact Appalachian Power's toll-free customer service number to advise our representatives of their situation. Due to the nature of restoration activity, Appalachian Power cannot assure priority restoration for life-support customers. Life-support customers are advised to take precautionary measures to protect themselves in the event of a power loss. Contact relatives or friends for assistance or temporary accommodations in the event of a prolonged outage. Keep emergency phone numbers (physicians, hospitals, safety services, utilities) posted near your telephone.
Electric consumers are asked to report their outage again if they have not called within the past 24 hours. This will ensure that all consumers' electricity is restored as quickly as possible.
We will be in contact with emergency management agencies, local elected officials and state regulatory commissions, making them aware of our restoration efforts. We will continue to provide information to you as we have more information about the weather forecast.
Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/AppalachianPower and Twitter.com/AppalachianPower
To see current outage numbers and maps, log on to: | <urn:uuid:58932ec4-2f8e-4b3e-aed5-96b9bbe3ed32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.coalvalleynews.com/view/full_story/20668907/article-Thousands-in-Boone-County-remain-without-power?instance=popular | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940933 | 1,248 | 1.609375 | 2 |
2nd Annual Stop the Silence, End the Violence 5K Run/Walk
|Entry Fees:||$20 Early Registration (Submitted by Feb.8)
$25 Feb 9-15
$30 Race Day% of proceeds to benefit The Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc.
|Goodies:||Short Sleeve T-Shirt
Water along the race course
|Sleep-in Participant:||$20 For those who can’t make the run (or get out of bed) but want to join in the cause. Register, pick up your t-shirt and be excused from the run.|
|Medals:||Top 3 overall – Male and Female
Top 3 in each age/gender group (5 year increments)
|Friday, Feb. 15 11-6 – Cenizo Flats Apartments Clubhouse
Race Day, Feb. 16 7:30-8:30AM – South Side Lions Park – Pavilion 4
Mission Statement: The Kristine Meza Foundation’s Mission is to raise awareness in our community on the impact of domestic violence. The foundation is committed to strengthen individuals by education, compassion and courage. To serve as a resource to those associated with its physical, emotional and mental harm and by doing so, preventing the loss of wholesome lives. History of KMF: The Kristine Meza Foundation was organized in response to a tragic event that occurred on February 11, 2011. Kristine Meza fell victim to domestic violence. She was ambushed in her driveway on her way to work by her estranged ex-boyfriend. As a result, a group of individuals united to embark on a mission in hopes of making a difference for those who feel locked in silence. KMF was born September 2011. Our goal is to host an annual STOP THE SILENCE, END THE VIOLENCE 5K Run/Walk in order to raise more awareness on the issue and impact of domestic violence. Along with hosting an annual 5K run to generate awareness, KMF’s goal is also to recruit as many support members and offer resources for help. | <urn:uuid:8d36e54d-407f-4813-a19e-7abcc15edf3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thekristinemezafoundation.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934098 | 431 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Ingredient - Seafood
The key to preparing salmon this way is to make certain that your smoke is rather cool, about 100 degrees. If it is warmer, decrease the smoking time. This recipe takes a fair amount of time, but most of that is spent waiting rather than working. The selection of sauces served is up to the cook, so feel free to experiment. A horseradish sauce will work also. The salmon can also be served on bagels, as pictured here. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.
This recipe and others can be found in the following article:
Borneo's Forest Food
Article and Location Photos by Victor Paul Borg
Chef Chris Fernandez, originally from Mexico, is now the Master Chef of Red Mesa Restaurant in St. Petersburg. This recipe reflects his "Nuevo Latino with a Mexican Twist" style. He specializes in using nouveau techniques to combine traditional Mexican recipes with Latin flavors.
I’m winging it here, as Doug Gibson, of course, had no written recipe. I watched carefully but am guesstimating the ingredient amounts. But what the hell, he was cooking on the beach! The conch does not burn, it just turns quite dark because of the seasoning.
Red Stripe beer is the magical ingredient in this ship-shape dish from St. Vincent. Make sure you buy extra beer for the cook; that way, you may get to have the big piece of lobster during dinner!
This recipe creates a dry cure rub for fish; use instead of brining in preparation for smoking. Read more about smoked fish in Mike Stines' article here.
Use only fresh fish that has been kept clean and cold. Salmon are split with the backbone removed or filleted; bottom fish filleted; herring and smelts are headed and gutted. (Herring are also traditionally split for kippers.) Rinse the fish with running cold water to remove all traces of blood.
This is a quick to prepare and unusual seviche. In Ecuador it’s served with cancha, which is a toasted corn but, since it’s not readily available, the popcorn is an American substitution. This seviche is a quick one because you use precooked, frozen, small shrimp. If the popcorn is a bit " out there" for you, there are a number of other garnishes that are also popular. Garnish with black olives, sliced hard-boiled egg, feta cheese, or a slice of corn on the cob.
Also called escabeche, this tart, hot and spicy marinade for fish is an integral part of Jamaican and Puerto Rican foods. In Jamaica it is made with consists of pimientos (allspice), black pepper, onions, garlic, vinegar and Scotch bonnet peppers. Although in Jamaica this dish is made with saltwater fish, use whatever individual-sized fish you can find, like trout.
Fish is such a common and cheap food in West Africa, it's no wonder that there are numerous recipes for spicy fish cakes such as these. Try them served hot with a spicy dipping sauce.
A gumbo is a Cajun soup that has a roux as a base and uses file (sassafras leaves) and/or okra as a thickening agent. This dish probably has African origins, as the Bantu word for okra is gumbo! Often served as a main dish, this "soup" may contain chicken, meat, or ham in addition to vegetables, tomatoes, and spices. Serve with potato salad, sourdough bread and blackbottom pie for dessert. Note: Gumbo can be prepared ahead of time. Prepare the gumbo up to the point to where the fish is added. Refrigerate until ready to heat and serve. | <urn:uuid:73042003-b293-4db6-b573-1be50082015e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fiery-foods.com/recipesearch/category/seafood?start=60 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948319 | 792 | 1.570313 | 2 |
NATO backs Patriot anti-missile system for Turkey
NATO announced Tuesday that it will deploy Patriot anti-missile systems near Turkey's southern border, shoring up defenses against the threat of cross-border attacks from Syria and bringing the United States and its allies closer to Syria's civil war.
The alliance's 28 members decided to limit use of Patriots solely for the defensive purpose of warding off the mortar rounds and shells from Syria that have already killed five Turks. But the announcement also appeared to be a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime at a time when Washington and other governments fear Syria may be readying its chemical weapons stockpiles for possible use.
"We stand with Turkey in the spirit of strong solidarity," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters. "To anyone who would want to attack Turkey, we say, `Don't even think about it!'"
Fogh Rasmussen stressed that the deployment of the Patriot systems - which includes missiles, radar and other elements - wouldn't be a first step toward a no-fly zone over parts of Syria or any offensive operation against the Arab state.
But the decision to deploy the systems takes the U.S. and its European partners closer to the war, with the possibility of U.S.-made and NATO-operated hardware being used against the Assad regime for the first time.
Officials say the Patriots will be programmed so that they can intercept only Syrian weapons that cross into Turkish airspace. They aren't allowed to penetrate Syrian territory pre-emptively. That means they would have no immediate effect on any Syrian government offensives - chemical or conventional - that remain strictly inside the country's national borders.
Still, Fogh Rasmussen insisted that the weapons could help de-escalate tensions along a border across which tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have fled and which has emerged as a critical transit point for weapons being smuggled to the rebels fighting to overthrow Assad.
Germany and the Netherlands are expected to give Turkey several batteries of the latest PAC-3 version of the U.S.-built Patriots air defense systems, which intercepts incoming missiles. The U.S. would likely fill any gaps, possibly by sending some from its stocks in Europe.
But the exact details of the deployment and the number of batteries are still to be determined by NATO. A joint team is studying possible basing sites in Turkey, and parliaments in both Germany and the Netherlands must then approve shifting the assets and the possible involvement of several hundred soldiers.
It's unclear if any American soldiers would need to be deployed.
Due to the complexity and size of the Patriot batteries - including their radars, command-and-control centers, communications and support facilities - they cannot be flown quickly by air to Turkey and will probably have to travel by sea, alliance officials said. They probably won't arrive in Turkey for another month, officials predicted.
NATO, like the U.S., doesn't want to be drawn into the Syrian conflict. Washington has refused to entertain proposals for no-fly zones over Syria or for providing military support to Syrian rebels, fearful of making the conflict even more violent after 21 months in which more than 40,000 people have died.
The U.S. also cites the risk of extremists among the rebels getting their hands on weapons that they may later use against U.S. allies such as Israel.
NATO previously installed long-range Patriot batteries on Turkish territory during the 1991 and the 2003 Iraq wars. They were never used and were withdrawn a few months later.
The Patriot, which first entered service three decades ago, has been successively upgraded over the years. Although mostly used for anti-aircraft defense, advanced versions can also be used against cruise missiles and against medium- and short-range ballistic missiles. They have a maximum range of about 160 kilometers (100 miles) and can reach altitudes of about 80,000 feet.
Syria is reported to have an array of artillery rockets, as well as short- and medium-range missiles. These include Soviet-built SS-21 Scarabs and Scud-B missiles. The Scuds are capable of carrying chemical warheads.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the alliance's 27 other foreign ministers "unanimously expressed grave concerns about reports that the Syrian regime may be considering the use of chemical weapons," according to Fogh Rasmussen.
"Any such action would be completely unacceptable and a clear breach of international law," he said.
His comments came a day after President Barack Obama warned of consequences if Assad made the "tragic mistake" of deploying chemical weapons. American officials say the U.S. and its allies are weighing military options in light of intelligence reports showing the Syrian regime may be readying its unconventional weapons and may be desperate enough to use them.
German ambassador Martin Erdmann said the Bundestag will probably take up the matter next week.
The decision was announced after the NATO foreign ministers met Tuesday with their Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The Kremlin has stymied more than a year of international efforts to apply global pressure on the Assad regime, its strongest ally in the Arab world, but officials say it has expressed equal concern about the threat of any chemical weapons.
Speaking to reporters, Lavrov said Russia wouldn't object to the Patriots.
"We are not trying to interfere with Turkey's right" to defend itself, he said. "We are just saying the threat should not be overstated."
Lavrov stressed that Syrian artillery strikes into Turkey were accidental. And he warned that the conflict "is being increasingly militarized," and that more weaponry in the area would only add to that problem.
Addressing Lavrov and the other 27 NATO foreign ministers, Clinton said Washington and Moscow still have major differences on the political transition needed in Syria. She and her NATO partners issued a statement later, also stressing that the Patriots "will in no way support a no-fly zone or any offensive operation."
Turkey, one of the harshest critics of the Assad regime, asked for the Patriots to defend against possible retaliatory attacks by Syrian missiles. It welcomed the NATO decision, adding in a government statement that it would press on with efforts "to solve the Syrian crisis through peaceful ways, with the same resolve as before."
Turkey and Syria share a porous, 566-mile (911-kilometer) border, which has allowed rebel leaders to take shelter in Turkey and brought the countries to near war in recent months. Syria was blamed for shooting down a Turkish plane and for lobbing mortars that killed two women and three children.
Syria, which is party to the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning chemical weapons in war, has repeatedly insisted it would not use them even if it did possess such weapons.
Associated Press writer Christopher Torchia in Istanbul contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:cafe8238-976a-4e2b-a84b-f4c0262ae460> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://doloresstar.com/article/20121204/API/1212040571/Officials:-NATO-to-decide-on-missiles-for-Turkey&template=dsart | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96657 | 1,395 | 1.640625 | 2 |
A Life of Impact by Ayo Adebamowo
Price: $2.40 USD. 66440 words.
Published by Imprimata Publishers on September 8, 2010. Nonfiction.
In this motivational primer, you will discover why:
the informed succeed, the best gain at the expense of the rest, those who dare get their share, the top is meant for the tough, messengers do end up as managers, adversities have advantages, failures should be viewed as moments and not as monuments, the future belongs to the disciplined,results enhance capacity to make impact, and much more. | <urn:uuid:ddefa1b7-6c3f-4284-aee9-15a86743246b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/adebamowo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953019 | 125 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Dave has no choice. He has to rescue us from the Euromess
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Britain is reaching a fork in the road in its relationship with the European Union.
Just look at what Angela Merkel said to David Cameron at their Berlin meeting yesterday: “We need more Europe, a budget union and we need a political union first and foremost.
“We must step by step cede responsibilities to Europe. We must not remain immobile because one country or another does not want to follow yet.”
Pretty unequivocal. Faced with the sovereign debt crisis crippling the Eurozone states and now raging through the arteries of the Continent’s banking system, Germany has opted for full integration. The United States of Europe has just come a whole lot nearer.
Needless to say, the idea is insane. Having failed to fit all the countries of the Eurozone into a one-size-fits all currency, Plan B is to fit them into a one-size-fits-all superstate. It will prove an even bigger disaster than the euro.
How can so many countries, with so many different languages, cultures and interests surrender their ancient sovereignties to a single political authority?
Britain cannot and will not go down this road, as Cameron made clear in Berlin. Referring to Merkel’s plans for pan-European political parties, the PM said that was unrealistic given the varieties of institutions and traditions among the member states.
The idea that 500 million people across the EU would feel loyalty to a single flag and Parliament was “nonsense”, he added.
So what should our next step be?
We cannot go down the road marked the United States of Europe, where most of the 27 member states are headed. That means we will have to chart a different course.
And that course will result in Britain having a looser, arms-length relationship with the Continent. We will want to remain members of the single market, which ensures free trade, and we will want to cooperate on diplomatic, environmental and military matters.
But subsuming ourselves into a European superstate is out of the question.
We have avoided one madcap European scheme, the euro, and will avoid the next one, the USE. We will again turn our gaze towards the wider world (as we did in the 18th and 19th centuries) and look for commercial, diplomatic and cultural links elsewhere.
The challenge facing Cameron is to spell out this vision of a new relationship between Britain and the EU – and the world at large. Margaret Thatcher did as much in her Bruges speech nearly 25 years ago. Dave must come up with Bruges II.
And, of course, all this must be put to the British people in a referendum. The question could be one designed to give the PM authority to renegotiate our relationship with the EU. But perhaps a simple in/our question is all that is needed now. If out, renegotiation would follow naturally.
Cameron came to power vowing not to bang on about Europe. But the beauty of politics is that leaders don’t get to choose the dilemmas they face. They have to deal with the world as it is and as it evolves.
Whether he likes it or not, it has fallen to Dave to get us out of this Euromess. | <urn:uuid:c07dc132-768c-46bc-a57c-159c4ca33412> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wood.dailymail.co.uk/2012/06/dave-has-no-choice-he-has-to-rescue-us-from-the-euromess.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964386 | 692 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Krio, a graphical interface to your Diamond Rio.
News updated: May 04, 2012
Krio must be run as root, or SUID root because the functions which
communicate with the rio use direct io access. The 0.19990421 and earlier
releases do not do any checking before downloading or uploading. This
could result in a user being able to overwrite and/or upload arbitrary
files as root.
All versions >= 0.19990425 do not have this problem. If you have a
version earlier than 0.19990425, I strongly urge you to upgrade.
Krio requires the kde and qt libraries to run.
Krio has been tested with Debian 2.1, Redhat 5.2, Redhat 6.0, Slackware 3.5,
SuSE 6.1, and Mandrake 6.1. Krio is in the FreeBSD ports tree.
It should work with flash cards, but I don't have one to test it with. It
should also work with the Rio SE, but I don't have one to test it with. If
you do have a rio with a flash card (or a SE), please
let me know if it works with Krio.
It has been reported to work with a 16mb and a 32mb flash card. It has been
reported to work with the Rio SE with a few minor chagnes (tx delay).
Krio is based on the command line utility written by the Snowblind Alliance. | <urn:uuid:5f89f9a6-1729-4008-bd69-b9b89b66bbb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://krio.sourceforge.net/index.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940915 | 319 | 1.515625 | 2 |
All U.S. pensions are managed to balance short-term riskier investing and long-term “safe” investments. These safe investments come in the form of bonds which are a type of debt. Virtually all managed pensions need to have up to 40% of their asset allocation in these perceived “safer” instruments. However, since 2001, the asset that underpins debt – collateral – has been largely out of the sight or mind of regulators due to what was called a financial innovation – credit insurance.
Tomorrow, the Obama Administration faces an untenable decision thrust upon it by the opaque management of AIG which has led to the largest (and incomplete) charge-off in U.S. history. If it saves AIG in some federally-owned shell, it will delay disclosing to the U.S. citizens that their pensions are technically insolvent due to the erasure of credit insurance and the future failure of the insured bonds. You see, AIG has both primary and reinsurance risk on an estimated 4 trillion dollars of credit risk insurance and in their current default and bankrupt position, they will, with their announcement tomorrow, technically default on the credit insurance obligations meaning that tomorrow, EVERY pension fund will no longer be compliant under ERISA laws and management practices.
If the government allows AIG to fail, the exact same reality will be evident however, it will not have appeared to cover up the problem. Rather, as with the Nixon administration’s decision in departing from the gold standard on August 15, 1971, President Obama can declare an immediate federal adoption of the ERISA obligations under to 2006 pension fund laws and simply use the federal money to create an immediate bond insurance liquidity pool. By doing this he would save his credibility and allow the “intervention” to directly benefit the public rather than trying to bail out an entirely failed financial institution.
Once stabilized, President Obama can then establish a management function (modeled after the FDIC but NOT the illiquid FDIC) which can take the appropriate time and process to assess the true collateral inadequacies in municipal and corporate debt and then adjust the insurance demands commensurate with measured risk rather than impulsive guesses.
To hear the way another President managed this crisis: | <urn:uuid:a212a55e-50e4-41ef-a27d-acf668b70e27> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.invertedalchemy.com/2009_02_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953431 | 458 | 1.664063 | 2 |
BOULDER, Colorado (VN) — The UCI’s technical commission doesn’t make idle threats.
To the exasperation of both riders and team mechanics, UCI commissaires have used the Tour of Qatar to begin enforcing an anti-modification rule that effectively bars team mechanics from filing off the small “lawyer tabs” present on the bottom of every team’s forks, just as the governing body promised it would last spring.
The tabs are designed to keep the wheel within the fork even if the quick release opens, but in the world of professional racing, mechanics have always removed them to hasten front wheel changes. Only French squads were previously forced to retain the tabs, due to French law. Now every squad must leave the tabs untouched.
“We’ve already had a front wheel change, I had one rider who was really upset about it,” Sky mechanic Gary Lim said in Qatar.
The enforcement is born of a rule long ignored within the professional peloton. Article 1.3.002 states, simply, “A license holder is not authorized to modify, in any way, the equipment given by the manufacturer used in competition.” With the adoption of the UCI’s sticker program, the governing body has strengthened its enforcement of the modification rule.
The UCI originally warned teams that the rule would be enforced early last spring, and UCI officials in Qatar have checked bikes to ensure compliance.
“The UCI like to make life difficult for us,” Lim joked in Qatar. “It takes us a few more seconds, but it’s more frustrating for the rider because they’re the ones who have to chase back. Basically, what the UCI are saying is that they want to see the riders motor pace more, because that’s what’s going to happen.”
Riders are certainly not pleased. The additional time may be small, but every second counts when the peloton is riding away at 50 kph. A fast front wheel change can take as little as 15 to 20 seconds; bumping that up to 25-30 seconds is a significant change.
“With strict rules, sometimes people are not happy,” admitted Belgian Thierry Diederen, president of the UCI jury in Qatar, before defending the policy. “After a while it’s finished and everyone understands that it works. It’s for security, not to create problems for the bikes.
“I know it’s slower to change the wheel when you have a puncture, but the more important point is the security of the rider.”
Crashes caused by the loss of a front wheel are extremely rare, however, particularly in road racing. A front wheel falling off as a result of a crash, rather than causing one, is far more common. Mark Cavendish’s final-stage crash in the 2010 Tirreno-Adriatico is one such example; his front wheel went flying into the air as he hit the deck.
“I don’t know why they made the rule, but I think it had to do with the insurance companies,” noted BMC Racing mechanic Ronald Ruymen. “You’ve seen in the past when riders crash really hard and the wheels fly out.”
Both Diederen and team mechanics were quick to point out that every team had to deal with the same issue now, creating a level playing field. More level, in fact, than when it was only the French squads that were forced to retain their lawyer tabs.
“Yeah, you have to turn a little bit more to close the wheel now. When it’s the same for every team, though, it’s ok,” Ruymen said. Diederen agreed: “If it’s the same for everyone, no problem. If the security’s better, it’s more important.”
The renewed execution of such a long-standing rule is tied to the UCI’s ongoing implementation of its “UCI Approved” sticker program. That program is designed to remove the misunderstanding and controversy that plagued start lines for years, as race commissaires used their own, often contradictory, discretion in enforcing the technical rulebook. A bike that was legal one race might be deemed illegal the next, without any actual rule change.
The stickers, in theory, allow a commissaire to simply note that an item has been pre-approved and move on. The stickers are only on frames now, but will soon be applied to forks and other components. If modifications are allowed after the approval process, the whole system loses its teeth. That is why “it is forbidden for the mechanic to change something about the material from the constructor,” as Dierderen explained to VeloNews. “With the stamp, you can’t change anything. It’s very important for the security of the riders.
Gregor Brown, in Doha, Qatar, contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:44f5b234-3d2d-4f60-8019-e8fa8f99a374> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/02/news/uci-begins-enforcement-of-fork-lawyer-tab-rule-in-qatar_274065 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963419 | 1,068 | 1.554688 | 2 |
In early years, bodybuilding was considered only a profession and professional bodybuilders were indulge in building muscles to compete different bodybuilding competitions and contests but nowadays bodybuilding has become the daily routine of people who want to look attractive and healthy. Gaining strong and burly muscles has now become the desire of every individual especially that trend is more in youngsters.
When it comes to bodybuilding, no one can deny the importance of supplements and diet. Nutritious diet along with good quality supplements not only boost the energy level in human body but also make muscles strong that‘s why professional bodybuilders always recommend nutritious diet and supplements during bodybuilding workout.
Not only diet and supplements are important for building muscles but bodybuilding equipments also play a vital role in building healthy muscles. No one can build muscles without weight training and that training cannot be performed without muscles building machines.
Different bodybuilding machines are available in the market for weight training. Some machines are useful for building chest muscles some are for abdominal muscles and some for building legs and arms muscles. It is very difficult for someone to buy such equipments as most of these are costly and ranges from few hundreds to even thousands of Dollars.
Gyms are the best affordable solution for bodybuilding. By paying a nominal monthly or yearly subscription to the gym, one not only can get benefit of all types of bodybuilding equipments but also the useful advices of bodybuilding professionals.
Gyms also create an environment of competition among the subscribers that ultimately leads to more concentration towards bodybuilding. Therefore it is always recommended to join gym even one can afford all bodybuilding equipments.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests) | <urn:uuid:81a012df-e62f-4a6c-816a-aceae39aeb49> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indiasupplement.com/bodybuilding/threads/255-Why-Gym-is-the-best-Bodybuilding-Solution | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966622 | 346 | 1.742188 | 2 |
But it’s not an alibi to remember, first of all, how heavy have been and are also some politicians’ responsibilities, who have consciously used the hostility against immigrants, dropouts, outsiders to increase their votes. They have been effectively defined “political entrepreneurs of fear”. Above all members of centre-right parties, but not only: their ideas have influenced, affected, also part of the centre-left, which has been for years very faint, very weak, in opposing to these dangerous campaigns.
It’s not a malicious assumption of ours, this bad role played by a bad politics. A few weeks ago, one of the most important leaders of the Northern League, a party very aggressive against immigrants (and even against the presence in northern regions of Italian people coming from South Italy), loyal ally of Berlusconi in his government, Roberto Maroni, has publicly acknowledged: “When we understood that this issue gave us a political profit, we took advantage of it, we abused of it”. Much more relevant, this admission, if you consider that this man has been for years Minister of the Interior, responsible for the refoulement policy, for the boats full of immigrants driven back to Libya. One word can be sufficient for a politician to create an atmosphere of anxiety and concern about the newcomers: as happened when Berlusconi, during the so-called “Arab spring”, defined as “human Tsunami” the refugees who were leaving to Italy. A few thousand people (much less than those headed in other countries) depicted as a dangerous wave which was going to devastate the Italian coasts. In such a situation, it’s not easy for journalism to contain the widespread hostility, to counter an atmosphere of social alarm.
Nevertheless, we can’t escape our responsibilities: if some political campaigns have been so successful, great part of the reason is in the support they have found in our media. In many cases without awareness: but unconsciousness can’t be pleaded by a journalism which wants to be considered reliable by the public opinion.
The turning point, for us, was at the end of 2006. In a small town near Milan, Erba, four persons were killed: an Italian woman, her little son, her mother and a neighbour. For the following 24 hours, all Italian media were unanimously sure that the murderer had to be the woman’s husband, a North African immigrant. In a few days, the police investigation discovered that the killers were a couple of Italian neighbours. But the compact racism that our media had shown was an enormous problem. Someone criticized us harshly: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees asked the Italian journalism to apologize. And this call met the embarrassment felt by a growing number of journalists. So, we together (Unhcr, our Union and the National Association: in Italy we have also an Order of Journalists, you know) decided to give ourselves a new, more detailed system of rules: the socalled Charter of Rome, that is a “code of conduct regarding asylum seekers, refugees, victims of trafficking and migrants”.
We had to overcame some distrust: above all the perplexity of a lot of colleagues towards the risk to write a new text, full of noble principles but bound to stay unused. So the aim has been to do something that journalists can be stimulated to use in the everyday work. Starting from the first materials we employ: the words. That’s the reason why you can find, as annex to the Charter, a small glossary. Admitting our ignorance, we have underlined the differences, not obvious, among asylum seeker, refugee, irregular migrant. Ten years ago, the most common word in Italy to define the immigrants was “vucumprà”, which reproduced in a scornful way the words used by the immigrant hawkers (“vucumprà” means “do you want to buy?”). Then we have learnt that this word was too derogatory, and have replaced it with the word “clandestine”: but used in a too widespread way, without understanding the negative “aftertaste” of the word (clandestine is someone who lives in the shadow, potentially dangerous), and defining “clandestine” also people who are asylum seekers, or refugees.
"To discuss on the use of words was the first step in the commitment to training colleagues that we put at the basis of the Charter of Rome. To avoid that the fight against intolerance in media remains empty, rhetorical statement, we have therefore chosen to force us to study on it. The new generations of journalists must study: since two years the Charter of Rome is part of the texts that you have to know to overcome the examination, which in Italy you have to pass if you want to become professional journalist. But also (perhaps especially) we older journalists must study, because we have arrived at the profession in years in which the ethical sensitivity of this issue was not yet well developed. For this reason we have arranged workshops in different Italian regions (some of them in cooperation with the Unar, the Italian institutional regulatory body of intervention against racism), and we are organizing training sessions in the largest television companies (starting from Rai, the Italian public service broadcasting).
To be interested in training activities does not mean to leave out harder and more direct interventions, necessary when some journalists write articles with a racist tone. In fact during the last years, the Order (the national Association which has, on the basis of the sharing out of responsibilities, the role of the ethical surveillance) has begun to punish those who, for example, write about "Romanian scum", inspired by news reports in cases in which were involved immigrants from Romania; or those colleagues who arrange bad campaigns against Roma camps in the suburbs. But we are convinced that – together with the right punishment – the training sessions are indispensable, because it's necessary to change the way of thinking and talking of each of us, stopping to reflect on cultural prejudices in the use of the words that journalists have, even those of us who think to be open-minded. “Ethical journalism is thinking journalism. But, to be ethical, journalists need time to think”: these are the first words of the study “Getting the facts right”, that now we are going to know. Precisely: to stop and to think. Sentences, ethical convictions are important, but they are not enough.
Along with the training activity, the warranties of concreteness that we wanted for our Charter was the monitoring activity. We joined with the Italian university faculties, which study the relationship between media and immigration, to establish with all of them an Observatory that makes a periodical survey on the trends of our information. Since now, we have had three public events, three presentations of these reports, that provide scientific basis to the clear perception that we had yet as journalists: our media talk about immigrants almost exclusively for crime news and trials (or for landings on the Italian coasts). On the contrary, our media pay no attention to the positive experiences of integration (which exist, nevertheless, in the Italian society). If ten immigrants are held in a police station, for a fight with a use of a knife, just outside a disco, this is news. But if three immigrants take a degree in a university, this is not news.
If journalism work this way, it is obvious that people are convinced that immigrants are only a great danger. Yet the Charter of Rome does not ask to our colleagues be "kind" with immigrants, it doesn’t ask to have a favour treatment to them. What is required to journalists is to be journalists: to respect the truth of the facts, of data, of statistics. The Charter of Rome asks them to give the same emphasis for a crime, regardless of the nationality of the person who committed it. And if a horrible crime, such as a rape, deserves the front page - when the man who does the crime is an immigrant - the same journalistic emphasis must also have a rape committed by an Italian citizen. But this equality of treatment there is not. I wish to quote only one number, provided by a recent university research: in Italy, the rapes committed by Italian citizens are 61%; on the contrary, in the media, articles and reports dedicated to rapes committed by immigrants are three times more than the ones dedicated to the rapes committed by Italians. It is an awful and shameful fact. Perhaps the author of the individual article is not aware, and he is not racist. But we are doing racist information, because we feed a hostility in the public opinion that is not justified by actual data. On these data we have to stop to think about in our training sessions, so that directors and editors take the data into account to modify their criteria for choosing articles.
There is another guarantee of effectiveness, we wanted to give to our Charter: we are journalists, but we think that these issues should be discussed not only among journalists. Our work involves the whole society, and therefore we thought it was right to open ourselves to comparison, criticism, cooperation with those organizations that are active on immigration issues in Italy, and who pay the consequences of political and media campaigns. Therefore, to go on both training of journalists and monitoring activity, we have created an association, whose members are 15, at the moment (but we are sure that the number will grow up): organizations of volunteers, associations of migrants, movements, NGOs: we wish to have their opinions, their proposals, their experts in our meetings. We think it's the only way to avoid the risks of a corporative system, that is the closure of a category in itself.
The work done with the Charter of Rome has also been useful to get in touch with colleagues who were born abroad but who worked in Italy for such long years, and who are obviously very sensitive to these issues. Thus, on the basis of the Charter, within our union was born a new group of specialization, the National Association of Intercultural Press. It deals with, among other things, making easier the recognition of a career for foreign journalists who work in Italian newspapers. Because we are convinced that it’s here - looking at the future - one of the solutions to the problem of intolerant information: it is important to have their reports about immigration, because those journalists can tell us from a perspective less full of prejudice.
Finally, the movement that was created around the Charter of Rome has had a further good result few months ago: Fnsi and Order, together with some associations, had launched a campaign, a year ago, against the ban on access for journalists to the Identification and Expulsion Centres for immigrants. To enforce this ban was the same Minister of the Interior, about whom I spoke earlier, arguing that journalists would have been a hindrance, an obstacle to the operations of assistance to immigrants. A brutal attack to our right and duty to inform, and to the right of immigrants of being treated in a human, civil way within detention structures that many say are worse than prisons. We have insisted for months, and when the Berlusconi government has been replaced by the Monti government, the new Minister of the Interior has removed the circular of her predecessor (although in different cities the police is still doing resistance to the access of journalists, and is creating bureaucratic excuses to prevent us from doing our reports).
So, this is part of our work, that I have had the opportunity to share with you. We think that it has something to do with the fight against populism, against the risks that Europe is facing. Protecting a good, more responsible journalism is not so far from protecting our democracies". | <urn:uuid:adad3dcd-f47a-4429-a3f6-f805fd5439f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fnsi.it/FNSI_international/Pagine/C_legginews.asp?ID=109 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975164 | 2,398 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Scott Turow recently jilted Farrar, Straus & Giroux, his longtime publisher, for Grand Central Publishing, for the sequel to Presumed Innocent due out in 2010. Turow is one of many authors who have cut editorial ties in a grim economy, and some people say writers are becoming “less loyal” to their publishers. Is that a bad thing? Is loyalty a virtue?
Diana Athill, the English writer and former editor for the firm of André Deutsch, says in her elegant new memoir, Somewhere Towards the End:
“Loyalty is not a favorite virtue of mine, perhaps because André Deutsch used so often to abuse the word, angrily accusing any writer who wanted to leave our list of ‘disloyalty.’ There is, of course, no reason why a writer should be loyal to a firm which has supposed that it will be able to make money by publishing his work. Gratitude and affection can certainly develop when a firm makes a good job of it, but no bond of loyalty is established. In cases where such a bond exists – loyalty to family, for example, or to a political party – it can be foolishness if betrayed by its objects. If your brother turns out to be a murderer or your party changes its policies, standing by him or it through thick or thin seems to me mindless. Loyalty unearned is simply the husk of a notion developed to benefit the bosses in a feudal system.” | <urn:uuid:709a8776-46ed-46d0-b22b-69c680aa2491> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/should-writers-be-loyal-to-their-publishers-is-%E2%80%98loyalty%E2%80%99-a-virtue-quote-of-the-day-diana-athill/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=e94a57fbb5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96957 | 309 | 1.515625 | 2 |
A couple of months ago I preached on meekness
this was a message that certainly challenged me. I was reading in Philipians this morning the following passage which to me seems like a commentary on meekness. I love the bit about counting others more significant and concerning ourselves with their interests also. It is rightly a famous passage. If we all lived like this what a better world it would be!
Bible Gateway : PHIL 2; 1So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. | <urn:uuid:f9121123-8520-4650-b502-10122b9f1038> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.patheos.com/blogs/adrianwarnock/2003/04/meekness-explained/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976079 | 329 | 1.773438 | 2 |
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All are advised to read"Are you really healthy" by Radhika Kinger. It's an eye opener. You become what you eat . you should eat as your stomach requires & not as your tongue asks. As Sri Sri Ravishankar says "Discipline brings freedom in long run" e.g. brushing your teeth is a discipline but it brings you freedom from tooth problems in long run so one has to have discipline in eating to have good health in long run.
As per the above mentioned book, 90 % of food we eat today is wrong, SO GO BUY THE BOOK.
To give a direct answer to your question, jeene ke liye khana jaroori hai bcoz food is one of the sources of energy that body can't do without and whatever you do should be source of joy both in short term & long term. more importantly in long term.
Well noone would have expected such a profound answer to such a simple question. | <urn:uuid:10d3fd87-f532-400e-aeaf-e4b750b1a3d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://qna.rediff.com/questions-and-answers/name-the-three-famous-music-genius/8011099/answers/2665486 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97535 | 212 | 1.796875 | 2 |
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