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CHDR's vast range of methods and biomarkers in early clinical drug development
CHDR has devoted much of its own research to drug development methodology. Through systematic reviews, dedicated studies, academic networks, and its own expertise and collected database of 25 years of drug studies, CHDR has validated and optimized a unique set of methods and biomarkers, aimed to address every major question in early drug development. Methods are carefully selected to determine whether the drug reaches its pharmacological target, how it exerts its mechanism of action, how it affects relevant (or potentially advertent) physiological pathways, and whether there are indications for therapeutic effects. Methods that are found to be closely linked to the drug, can be incorporated in every study in healthy volunteers and patients. In this way, a unique coherent dataset is generated that can be used to optimize study designs and analyse study outcomes, and to offer increasing confidence in the drug’s activity or explain unanticipated findings.
CHDR’s large experience with biomarker research and method optimization can also be used to identify or develop new methodologies, which can be tailor made for a drug with an innovative mechanism of action or therapeutic indication. Such services can include development of laboratory analyses, pharmacological of physiological challenges, imaging techniques and PET ligands, and many more.
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Q: What can I do to tightened up my tummy and stomach area?
A: If you want a flat stomach, crunches and twisting crunches are great. If you have excess body fat covering all your hard work, then you need to cut down on fats in your diet, especially animal fat (i.e. fatty meats, whole dairy products, lard). Cutting back on carbs is ok if you over consume them, but low carb and especially no carb eating plans don't work. You need to eat a diet rich in variety. That means a diet with a balance of protein, carbs and fats in the order of about 25% protein, 55% carbs and 20% fats. Eating this balance in five small meals a day also helps to keep blood sugar even and metabolism up.
So if you want a flat stomach, this eating plan and plenty of cardio is the ticket.
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Deadline Looms for Austin Energy Changes
The Austin City Council recently approved new electric rates for Austin Energy customers.
That’s because the utility is city-owned and in Austin, the City Council sets rates and regulations for the utility.
But that could change soon. Last month, the council passed a resolution asking the city Electric Utility Commission to examine new ways to govern the utility. The measure, sponsored by council member Bill Spelman, specifically directed the EUC to examine “the impacts on local control and public participation, effects on bond ratings, legal and municipal charter issues, and impacts on utility and regional finances.”
Austin Energy could follow the San Antonio model. It also has a city-owned power company, but a separate Board of Trustees oversees its operations. A similar arrangement could help Austin Energy politically, as customers outside of city limits argue they’re under-represented at the utility.
But time may be running out. Any large change to Austin Energy’s governance, like opting for a board of directors, would require voters to approve a change to the city charter. Charter elections can only occur once every two years, and with one in the works this November, the council has to set the ballot by August.
That said, the council could make smaller changes absent a charter election, like giving out-of-town ratepayers an advisory role.
The Electric Utility Commission meets tonight at Austin Energy’s Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs, at 6 p.m.
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According to Washington’s envoy to Israel, the U.S. has plans in place to attack Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons, if necessary.
In a speech to the Israel Bar Association, Dan Shapiro said the U.S. hopes it will not have to resort to military force.
“But that doesn’t mean that option is not fully available. Not just available, but it’s ready,” he said. “The necessary planning has been done to ensure that it’s ready.”
Iran remains steadfast in it’s position that their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, like energy production. The U.S. and Israel suspect Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons.
The Obama White House continues to push diplomacy and economic sanctions as the way to go to stop Iran from obtaining Nukes.
Israel, while saying it would prefer a diplomatic solution, has expressed skepticism and says time is running out for effective military action.
President Obama has assured Israel that the U.S. is prepared to take military action if necessary, but Shapiro’s comments were the most explicit sign yet that preparations have been made.
In his speech, Shapiro acknowledged that time is running out.
“We do believe there is time. Some time, not an unlimited amount of time,” Shapiro said. “But at a certain point, we may have to make a judgment that the diplomacy will not work.”
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany are preparing for a May 23 meeting with Iran in Baghdad. Shortly after the meeting, the U.N. atomic agency is to release its latest report card on Iran’s nuclear efforts.
In Tehran on Thursday, top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili warned against Western pressure at next week’s talks, which are a follow-up to negotiations in Istanbul last month that all sides described as positive.
“Cooperation is what we can talk about in Baghdad,” Jalili said in comments broadcast on Iranian state TV. “Some say time is running out for the talks,” he added. “I say time for the (West’s) pressure strategy is running out.”
Israel’s military chief told the Associated Press last month that other countries as well as Israel have readied their armed forces for a potential strike against Iran’s nuclear sites.
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I'm not completely new to developing apps, but I'm at a point where I'm trying to develop something and deploy it on several mobile platforms. To only concentrate on two major ones, suppose I'm developing an app for Android and iPhone and designing UI and the general user interaction architecture. Both platforms give guidelines as to how their UIs should work. For example, most iPhone apps have the Navigation Bar (the one that says Testing 1 and has a Back button)
and an Icon Bar
for navigating a program, while Android uses an Options Menu fetched via a Menu button
and the "back" navigation is handled with the physical Back button on the device.
I've seen many apps that try to force the same UI on every platform. For example, custom-building an iPhone style Icon Bar and putting it in their Android apps, but it just doesn't quite look right to me and it feels like it violates UI design guidelines somewhat.
Are there any good design patters for implementing something sufficiently similar on both platforms, yet still platform-specific enough so that the user would not feel out of their comfort zone? What do people usually do in these situations?
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UA’s ‘Discovering Alabama’ Receives Foundation Gift
July 22, 2002 - Filed under: Uncategorized
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation has given “Discovering Alabama,” a public television series produced by the Alabama Museum of Natural History at The University of Alabama, a $100,000 gift.
“Discovering Alabama” will use the gift to support production of new programs in the “Discovering Alabama” series. “This contribution will help us continue providing Alabama with a vitally important educational resource,” said Dr. Doug Phillips, originator, producer and host of the series.
“It is a very timely gift that also enables us to establish an in-house editing capability,” Phillips said. “This will mean considerable cost savings for future productions and will allow us to spend more creative time on each new show. We are very appreciative to the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation representatives for their interest and generosity.”
The funds will also be used to add additional space to house the show’s videotape archive.
“ ‘Discovering Alabama’ and the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation share similar goals and objectives,” said Doris Tyler, Foundation president. “We are excited about the work ‘Discovering Alabama’ is doing, and we wanted to make this gift to help continue those important efforts statewide.”
Solon Dixon was a forestry leader, conservationist and farmer and was known for his dedication to education. He and his brother, Charles, developed and managed Dixon Lumber Co. in Andalusia. The family’s acquisition of forestland began in the 1920s and peaked in the mid-1970s with about 90,000 acres. Solon Dixon died in 1986. His wife, Martha, and the Foundation’s board members, have continued his philanthropic support of education through the Foundation.
“Discovering Alabama” is an award-winning nature series created in 1985. The program aims to promote appreciation for the natural history and environmental resources of Alabama. Alabama Public Television broadcasts “Discovering Alabama” statewide.
Typically, new programs are broadcast in prime time. Regular weekly broadcasts are on Sundays at 6:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The program draws an estimated audience of more than 1 million viewers, annually. The videos, and supporting Teacher Guides, are used in schools throughout Alabama, representing an additional audience of more than 700,000 students and 40,000 teachers in 129 school systems statewide.
Teacher guides and videos of each episode of “Discovering Alabama” are available from the Alabama Museum of Natural History at The University of Alabama. For more information, call 205/348-2039.
The objectives and purposes of the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation are to support and promote the cultivation and growth of forestry as a natural resource and to support and promote educational activities, which develop and implement systematic forest management information for the maximum production of timber products. Simultaneously, the Foundation promotes conservation of these natural resources and fosters the ecological development of coexistence between timber resources and the distributions of human, social and cultural patterns.
The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is experiencing significant growth in both enrollment and academic quality. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.
CONTACT: Chris Bryant, Assistant Director of Media Relations, 205/348-8323, firstname.lastname@example.org
SOURCE: Dr. Doug Phillips, 205/348-3553
Doris Tyler, 334/222-3335
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In the media over the last couple of days there have been several commentators calling for Rockstar‘s latest Grand Theft Auto incarnation to be banned in the UK after it was banned in Thailand after someone murdered a taxi driver and claimed to have been influenced by it.
According to Captain Veerarit Pipatanasak of the Bangkok police, “he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game”. Fair enough.
Following this, though, the standard comments appear from columnists, broadcasters and self serving do gooder groupies about how kids are being turned into mass murderers by games that feature realism in terms of driving, shooting or explosions.
Even if games are an influence on people, which I suppose in some ways they are, it’s as if other forms of “acceptable” media such as books and television are not influential. I mean, those that shot JFK, John Lennon, Ronald Reagan and Martin Luther King all had copies of and were heavily influenced by The Catcher in the Rye. Is it banned? Nope. Is there an outcry about it? Nope. They even study it in school in the US.
Movies are full of explicit criminality these days. I suppose they always were. Even at a rating of 12A the latest Batman incarnation – The Dark Knight – features people having their cheeks sliced with a knife and someone having a pen smashed through the middle of their forehead within the first 20 minutes, as well as a far more influential villain in the Joker who makes it fun to blow up hospitals, burn people alive on bonfires, disguise innocents as terrorists to cause friendly fire deaths and induce fear with Catch 22 mind games where the outcome is death if you don’t kill loads of other people.
Some say Heath Ledger died due to his role as the Joker which I find somewhat ironic. Without wishing to go into a critique on this film (which I thought was a good film), there were also plenty of incidents of grand theft auto and other crimes involving vehicles as well as weapons including a rocket launcher.
So why then has Grand Theft Auto 4 (a game rated as 18) been slammed constantly by people for being too violent and/or influential when The Dark Knight has just as much violence and is rated as only a 12A?
I believe part of it is down to the antisocial stereotype that comes with owning a games console. Nintendo have broken this stereotype somewhat with the Wii, but it’s the only console that is seemingly exempt from it. Its just a shame almost all the games for it are crap.
Since video gaming became mainstream in the mid 1990′s with the Commodore Amiga, Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo, there has always been an older generation of people that didn’t have video games as a kid and look down at gaming as being a strange solo activity. They have no concept of multiplayer games or gaining enjoyment from playing games that are remotely realistic. Apparently if it’s cartoony then it’s OK, though.
But people of this distant generation seem to think that in order to play GTA 4 you have to have ambitions similar to the main character of the game. Not true. It’s just a character around which the storyline is based. If the suggestion is that people want to get guns because of GTA 4 I would argue that people who are determined to get guns already have one.
Some people suggest that people buy GTA 4 because it teaches them how to steal cars but really this just shows their own lack of knowledge and acceptance of media scaremongering as fact. GTA 4 doesn’t teach you how to commit real world car theft: it merely provides a means to get a new car. You press the yellow button on your Xbox 360 controller. It’s hardly the same, is it? Gone in 60 Seconds probably teaches you more about it in the real world, but nobody ever mentions that.
Realistic video games are all about doing fun or crazy things you couldn’t or wouldn’t do in real life. It’s about being part of the action rather than a spectator. For example in FIFA 2008 you can be a Premiership footballer. In Project Gotham you can drive fast and recklessly in cars of your dreams. In NBA Live 2008 you can be Kobe Bryant.
In GTA 4 you can be a common criminal involved in a battle of mafia-style families. You can steal a helicopter and fly freely around Liberty City, land it wherever you want, even jump out of it in mid air. You can drive a high performance car up a large number of ramps to complete crazy stunts such as barrel rolls. You can be a law enforcement officer and settle the most wanted list. You can even cruise round in a fire engine blasting the water hose at people if you want to.
The best thing is that unlike many games which are heavily scripted, GTA 4 isn’t. The city is amazingly realistic and you have freedom to do whatever you want within the city. Whilst the storyline is finite, the game never ends until you get bored. Which is generally when you complete the storyline.
Rockstar have combined three popular genres with GTA. Driving and roleplay with a bit of first person shooter (FPS) in there as well. The driving aspect is modelled so that each vehicle drives individually and as you might expect it to drive in the real world. So a sports car is both fast and handles sharply whereas a large American style lowrider drives like a boat.
Some might suggest that those that have played GTA 4 would want to get in their car and run over a pavement of pedestrians. I obviously haven’t done it (although some crazy Japanese guy did recently), but it is impossible to re-enact a GTA 4 pedestrian steamroller scenario in real life anyway. In GTA 4 you can mow down the entire centre of Liberty City (modelled on Times Square), suffer no damage to your car, attract no police attention and even if you do it’s really easy to get away from them. In real life all you have to do is shine a laser pen at a police vehicle for 4 months behind bars.
Police chases are something that people love: look at the popularity of the Police, Camera, Action fly on the wall cop shows or indeed most action movies. But unless you’re a criminal in real life, you probably wont ever be involved in one. Unlike movies though, where you only spectate whilst John Travolta is hammering it in his TVR Tuscan in Swordfish, you can be the one being chased in GTA 4 and it’s up to your own driving skill and ingenuity to get away. Personally I think whilst I’m able to enact this in a video game I’m less likely to want to do it in real life.
Many people that have no interest in gaming often claim that video games are for kids but this is yet another completely unfounded statement based on nothing at all. I don’t even agree that controversial console games such as GTA 4 are marketed to kids even though the media likes to tell us that they are. Ian Collins on talkSPORT commented that GTA 4 had cartoon-like packaging and therefore was marketed at children. Rubbish. It’s just a style of art. He then admitted that he bought a Playstation “to play Space Invaders”. Right.
A recent survey was done by Experion group to find out the facts about Xbox 360 and PS3 owners. It concluded that the average age of Xbox 360 owners is between 35-44 and of PS3 owners is over 44 years old.
I’m pretty sure software developers are aware of this demographic. Since GTA 4 is only out on these two consoles why would they market the games at kids? The answer is they wouldn’t unless it was a game actually designed for kids.
People often overlook the fact that Rockstar really didnt need to advertise this game. Call it viral advertising or whatever but everyone knew it was coming out and it was much anticipated. This was proven by the fact that it outsold all movies ever with something like $500million of sales within the first week of release.
Maybe if those people in the media that have so much to say about games such as GTA 4 actually went and played it they would realise that it’s nothing more than a realistic city with no limits. It’s up to the player how they want to play it.
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The Father William Most Collection
"Have I already gone too far in sin? Am I close to the unforgivable sin?" Some today are wondering. They have read in the Gospel that there is a sin that will never be forgiven either in this world or in the next. After the enemies of Jesus had charged that He was really casting out devils by the power of the devil, then He uttered some mysterious and frightening words, from the inaugural vision in which God appointed Isaiah as a prophet: "The eyes of this people are blind. They have eyes and see not, ears and hear not, so that they might repent and I would heal them" (Versions vary in each Synoptic)
So, is there really a sin that God will not forgive? On His part, no, there is no such a thing. But on the side of the sinner, there definitely is, and many today are getting into it. The Father has accepted the infinite price of redemption. In doing that, He has literally bound Himself to offer forgiveness and grace without limit. Further, it is not just our race as a whole that has such a claim going for it—each individual human has it. St. Paul in Galatians 2.20 wrote that the Son of God "loved me, and gave himself for me." But is that perhaps a special favor shown to Paul , a great saint? No, Vatican II, in its Constitution on the Church in them Modern World #22 assures us: "Each one of us can say with the Apostle: ‘The Son of God loved me, and gave Himself for me.’ " Suffering and death in so hideous a form— He was and is willing to take it on for me, for just one soul!
But as we said, even though the Father is never unwilling to forgive, yet when we look at the human beings themselves, yes, there can be and are : they are unforgivable.
They have become hard, or blinded.
But what does that mean? Those words are metaphorical. But they contain a terrible reality. However, if we think a bit we can solve the puzzle. Let us picture a man who has never been drunk before, but tonight he goes out and hangs on a big one. The next morning, along with other things, he will have guilt feelings — there is a clash in him, of his moral beliefs with his actions. Our nature hates to have these clashes, and so something has to give, and it will. If he continues getting drunk, he gradually moves out on a spiral in which he no longer can see that drunkenness is wrong: "A guy has to have shum fun!" We called it a spiral: as it goes out it gets larger and larger and feeds on itself. All moral truths are interconnected, and so in time he will lose his ability to see other moral truths. He may even go so far as to no longer see great doctrinal truths. In 1993 when the Pope visited Denver, Dignity, the group who say black is white, published a statement: "The Pope is only the titular head of the church--we ARE the Church." Sad to say, not a few have reached that point today.
Now, when God sends a grace to us to lead us and to enable us to do something good, the first job for the grace is to cause the man to see in his mind that the thing is good. But if he is far out on the bad spiral , he will have lost the ability to see that— then grace will indeed come: but it will not get in at all. It is like the water on the duck’s back. He is blind, he is hardened.
Is there any hope at all for such a one? Not in the ordinary course of things— a grace comparable to a miracle is needed. It is only if some other person in immense or heroic generosity will sacrifice and pray for him, putting as it were, a heroic weight into the pan of the two pan scales of the order of holiness , will such heroism call for and make right a miraculous grace, one that goes beyond the normal order, then God will happily find that there is something calling for even miraculous graces, graces that can cut through resistance without destroying freedom, or can even forestall resistance. So Our Lady at Fatima begged: Pray and make sacrifices for sinners; there are many who are lost because there is no one to sacrifice greatly for them. For example; Augustine was a veteran sinner, long sunk in the sticky filth of habitual continued sin. But his Mother Monica was willing to go to heroic lengths in prayer and penance. And so Augustine today is a Saint- -without her he would now be in hell.
Those who attempt a second marriage while the first still stands and is valid may tell themselves: Let us keep the phone number of the priest handy. Then if one of us is in danger of death, we will call him.—Yet, but is there any real contrition, i.e., a real change of heart? It is all preplanned. They have continued sinning as long as they still had the strength to sin--only when life begins to fail so they cannot go on sinning, will they say: I wish I had not done it. We wonder: is there any real repentance? We may doubt it. We do not mean to tell such persons to despair—the fear of death may cause them to finally see, or the heroic prayers and penances of someone else. But it is a hellish risk to stake one’s eternity on that possibility
A more pleasant thought: there is a spiral in the good direction too. If someone really lives what the faith calls for, gives up the things of the world more and more, then his ability to see supernatural truth grows more and more. There are cases known—such as St. Joseph of Cupertino—in which a not very bright and uneducated person may understand more of the ways of God, of theology, than highly trained theologians.
To come back to that line of the Gospel: so that seeing they may not see… Did Our Lord really want to blind them? Of course not. He even wept over the hardness of Jerusalem, which He saw was going to bring such a ruin upon it.
There is another way to help to understand. St. John in his First Epistle (4.8) wrote: "God is love." He did not say that God has love, but that God IS love. That was the only correct way to write. If he has said God has love, there would be a duality - God and His love. But God is supreme unity. So He is identified with His love. And there is more: He is also identified with mercy, with goodness, with justice—there are no real distinctions in God. So mercy and justice are identified with His Being, and so, with each other! But how?
With the help of this start we can begin to understand the how. We go back to look at the bad spiral:. the man is becoming more and more blind: he has earned that, by his sinning: it is justice.. But it is also mercy: for the more a person knows and understands of God, the greater his sin, if he does sin.. At the beginning of the process, if he foresees what may happen, he can and will take on the guilt of all that he does in later in blindness. Think of a man sitting down to have a few drinks;. he comes to a point where he sees: If I take two more, I will go out of my head, and heavens knows what I may do, running wild! At the later time when he is under the influence of alcohol, he may be incapable of sinning much at the moment. But when he embarked on that course, he foresaw, at least to some extent. He then took on the frightening responsibility of running wild and killing or destroying.
Therefore, in one and the same action, God’s dealing with him is both mercy and justice at the same time. So we can begin to see how mercy and justice are identified in Him.
But in the good spiral, the man who moves far on it gains more and more light. In one sense, he has earned it, but only secondarily- for no creature by its own power can establish a claim on God. So it is mercy that he gains light. Therefore his great light is both a gift of God, and something, secondarily earned in justice. Again, one and the same act of God is both mercy and justice.
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The heart of the Gospel message
You’ve probably heard the joke about the person who refuses to leave his home while floodwaters rise, refusing attempts at rescue because, as he tells each would be rescuer that comes by boat, and helicopter, “God will save me.”
When he dies and gets to heaven, he asks God, “Why didn’t you save me?” “Who do you think sent the boat and the helicopter?” God replies.
In today’s first reading (from 2 Chronicles), the people of Israel are facing a disaster of their own making. “In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.” Not good.
What does God do? Tries to rescue them. “Early and often did the Lord, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets.”
God’s love and compassion is unlimited and unconditional. God is constantly trying to rescues us from our own challenges and disasters, if only we can recognize and accept it.
Now, as I read this, I wonder if God is doing the same in our world all the time — early and often sending messengers to help us out of our self-inflicted messes. For the most part, I myself am inconsistent at best when it comes to following God’s word. I don’t feed the hungry, serve the poor, or visit the sick or imprisoned, at least not on a regular basis.
So I wonder: Are there messengers in my life calling me to a better way — messengers that I either don’t see or see but ignore? I had considered volunteering at a local group home for, well, a couple of years. But, like many of my good intentions, this one didn’t go anywhere.
Then, at one of our children’s softball games of all things, I met the director of the group home. She was one of the team’s coaches! Maybe she was a messenger, sent to get me into action. I’m so glad we met, because I soon started volunteering and I love it.
Are there others messengers out there calling out of our self-absorbed isolation? Probably. I think about it every time I see someone with a cardboard sign asking for help, and when I’m spending money on some luxury like a vacation, or when my children are whining about the miniscule deprivations they must endure (“I’m hungry. I need a snack. Can you buy me something?”).
In today’s Gospel, St. John tells us that “God did not send his Son to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” This is, of course, the heart of the Gospel message. God’s love and compassion is unlimited and unconditional. God is constantly trying to rescues us from our own challenges and disasters, if only we can recognize and accept it.
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September 1, 2011 |
MUMBAI: Nepali community members in Mumbai say the recent spate of crimes in the city have dealt a huge blow to their legendary reputation of being honest and loyal to death. Community members in fact said that all Nepalis living in Mumbai should be registered with their associations. A person of Nepali origin said many of them, living in the city for generations, are now Indian citizens. "But such incidents hurt us. We are requesting the Nepal government to help the Indian agencies catch Nepalis who escape to the country after committing crimes here, and bring them to justice," he said.
October 23, 2009 |
KATHMANDU: With the Maoists on Friday giving a Nov 1 deadline to the Nepal government to meet their demands or face fresh paralysis of the government machinery, an increasingly jittery UN Security Council (UNSC) sent its envoys to the Maoist army cantonment in eastern Nepal to assess how the fighters' rehabilitation was going on. The permanent members of the UNSC -- China, France, Japan, Russia, the UK and US ? sent their envoys in Kathmandu to visit the cantonment of the Maoists' People's Liberation Army (PLA)
November 23, 2003 |
LUCKNOW: The CBI headquarters may have sought the intervention of the Nepal government to seek custody of Madhumani on grounds of reports that she was being sheltered by two MPs of the Himalayan kingdom, but is Madhumani still on the other side of Mount Everest? Well, the CBI is yet to establish this. Sources said that the CBI had clues about Madhumani being in safe heavens of Nepal and hence sought the help of the Nepal government and the Royal Nepal police to extradite her. But the premier investigative agency was now working on possibilities that she might have sneaked back into India and be very much present in UP itself.
June 8, 2006 |
NEW DELHI: Describing G P Koirala as a towering personality, PM Manmohan Singh on Wednesday pledged India's unstinting support to re-build Nepal's shattered economy. Accepting Nepal's list of "requirements", the PM promised that it would be given "utmost consideration"for both immediate and long-term infrastructure and development projects. But it's the peace process between the political parties and Maoists and the roadmap to elections that dominated the 40-minute one-on-one and the delegation level talks in the morning.
October 31, 2001 |
chakarghatti/biratnagar (nepal): it seems that the feeling of hatred and mistrust are yet to be over between the maoists and the nepal government. according to informed sources in nepal, the country may witness civil war-like situation in the coming days as the terms and conditions put forward by the maoist leaders just before the third round of talks, are unacceptable to the government. sources further said that in any case the nepal government will not accept their demands, i.e. establishment of a classless state or communist republic (ganatantra)
August 1, 2008 |
KATHMANDU: Porn images of Nepali girls on YouTube has created ripples in Nepal, with authorities finding themselves helpless in curbing the menace in the presence of a toothless Cyber Law. Under the Cyber law, which deals with pornography, cyber-stalking, cyber-scams, online fraud, software piracy and other related matters, a government is fully authorized to punish criminals, both individual as well as institution. "Though a Cyber Law was introduced by Nepal government a couple of years ago, it hasn't been effective and has failed to address many issues," Shreedhar Gautam, director general of the Department of Communication, said.
June 9, 2009 |
KATHMANDU: Against the backdrop of alleged encroachment by India along the Indo-Nepal border, a joint committee set up to resolve the border issues between the two countries, is working towards finalising a boundary map. The technical-level committee is working towards finalisation of the map, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Rakesh Sood told reporters here. "We are waiting for Nepal Government's nod to sign the boundary map (that will be signed by the two countries)
September 12, 2004 |
KATHMANDU: Nepal government on Saturday said it was ready to release two central leaders of a Maoist-affiliated trade union if the rebels withdraw their threat against multinational companies, including Indian firms, operating here. The government will release the two central members of the All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary), arrested around three weeks ago, if the rebels let re-open the 12 companies indefinitely closed following the threat by the rebels, acting Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari said.
April 26, 2008 |
KATHMANDU: Nepal government has decided to provide USD 1560 (Nepali Rs 100,000) as relief to families of each of those killed during the decade-long insurgency. A cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala yesterday decided to distribute the relief money to families of some 13,246 people who were either killed by the Maoists or the security personnel, officials here said. An additional USD 390 (Nepali Rs 25,000) would be provided to widows of those slain in attacks during the 10-year period, they said.
March 9, 2007 |
KATHMANDU: The on-going peace process, political situation in Nepal and the bilateral relations between Nepal and the United States will be high on the agenda during Under Secretary of States for Management of the United States Henrietta H Fore's visit to the country. Fore, the most senior US official to visit Nepal after restoration of democracy, on Friday arrived Kathmandu on her two-day visit to Nepal. During her stay, Fore will meet Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, senior political leaders, Nepalese officials, business executives and women alumni of US exchange programmes, a press statement by the US embassy said.
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Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are available in all urban areas covered in this book. Be aware that if the ATM is not owned by your bank, not only will that ATM likely charge you a service fee, but your bank may charge you one as well.
While ATMs have made travelers checks less essential, travelers checks do have the important advantage of accessibility, as some rural and less-developed areas covered in this book have few-to-no ATMs. You can purchase travelers checks at just about any bank.
Establishments in the United States only accept the national currency (the U.S. dollar). To exchange foreign money, go to any bank.
Generally, establishments that accept credit cards will feature stickers on the front entrance with the logo of the particular cards they accept, though this is not a legal requirement. The use of debit cards has dramatically increased in the United States. Most retail establishments and many fast-food chains are now accepting them. Make sure you get a receipt whenever you use a credit card or a debit card.
Unlike many other countries, service workers in the United States depend on tips for the bulk of their income. In restaurants and bars the usual tip is 15 percent of the pre-tax portion of the bill for acceptable service, 20 percent (or more) for excellent service. (For large parties, usually six or more, a 15–18 percent gratuity is automatically added to the bill.)
It’s also customary to tip bellboys about $2 per bag when they assist you at check-in and check-out of your hotel (some sources recommend a minimum of $5).
For taxi drivers, 15 percent is customary as long as the cab is clean, smoke-free, and you were treated with respect and taken to your destination with a minimum of fuss.
Visitors from Europe and Asia are likely to be disappointed at the quality of Internet access in the United States, particularly the area covered in this book. Fiber optic lines are still a rarity, and while many hotels and B&Bs now offer in-room Internet access—some charge, some don’t, make sure to ask ahead—the quality and speed of the connection might prove poor.
Wireless (Wi-Fi) networks also are less than impressive, though that situation continues to improve on a daily basis in coffeehouses, hotels, and airports. Unfortunately, many hot spots in private establishments are for rental only.
Generally speaking, the United States is behind Europe and much of Asia in terms of cell phone technology. Unlike Europe, where “pay-as-you-go” refills are easy to find, most American cell phone users pay for monthly plans through a handful of providers. Still, you should have no problem with cell phone coverage in urban areas. Where it gets much less dependable is in rural areas and on beaches. Bottom line, don’t depend on having cell service everywhere you go.
As with a regular landline, any time you face an emergency call 911 on your cell phone.
All phone numbers in the United States are seven digits preceded by a three-digit area code. You may have to dial a “1” before a phone number if it’s a long-distance call, even within the same area code.
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The horrific stories of patients going in for surgery on one part of their body, only to have another part operated on, is on the rise. A recent article in USA Today. The horrors include mistakingly removing wrong limbs or organs, slicing into the wrong side of the body, or performing surgery on the wrong patients. A study published in the Archives of Surgery found the events on the rise, and although rare, is unacceptable.
Another facet to the problem is the fact that some hospitals don't report any of these types of events. Some states require their hospitals to report any such event. Other states do not require public disclosure of the mistakes.
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Tips to Calm Your Child
I love this time of the year. Spring in all its glory – warmer temps, sunny skies and gentle breezes redolent with the smell of just cut grass, flowers in bloom and freshly sharpened No. 2 pencils.
That's right. It's time again for those state-sponsored academic assessments, better known to my generation as "dot tests." They are the litmus test of learning, providing a graphite-laden snapshot of how well a school, district and state are teaching their youngest citizens. Used by government to point fingers, place blame, heap praise and create pie charts, these tests are being taken more seriously than ever.
If a school places low in the rankings, they become the "red-headed stepchild" of their district. Newspaper articles will highlight their low scores, teachers and administrators may lose their jobs, and realtors may even avoid selling houses in their vicinity. That's an awful lot of pressure to perform. Unfortunately, that pressure is being delivered squarely to the desks of our children.
Preparation for these tests actually begins taking place at the beginning of the school year. Practice tests are given, games are built around what they need to know to pass, updates on these rehearsals are sent home throughout the fall and winter. They drill the children for months, attempting to incorporate regular schooling, while all the while "teaching to the test."
Give me a break. The only preparation we ever got was one practice question which ensured that we could actually "completely fill in the dot." Oh yes, the admonition to "use only a No. 2 pencil."
At least that part hasn't changed. Except my daughters were required to bring in 12 a piece. They (meaning me) were also asked to contribute snacks and drinks for use during the testing process. Given the list that came home, you would think these children were embarking on an outward-bound experience, not taking a test.
Pardon me – the test.
With all the practicing, propaganda and the public relations papers coming home in their backpacks, I finally asked my kids if they were nervous about the two days of testing coming up. They looked up at me, and as they both nodded, I could read not just nerves, but fear in their eyes. Months of pressure and preparation and now they had performance anxiety. Worst of all, they were deathly afraid of letting their teachers down.
Well, lo and behold, there is a protocol for that too.
My daughters are currently ensconced behind closed doors, frantically filling in dots. They are also wearing slippers, eating survival snacks (sugar) and cradling their favorite stuffed animals. One of them actually took a bed pillow to school in case she wanted to lie on the floor during the tests.
Yes, lay on the floor.
Apparently, teachers are allowed to do anything it takes to make sure their students are comfy, coddled and cocooned. Personally, if you put me in a warm room with my pillow and bunny slippers, I would fall asleep. Oh wait, that's what the survival bags of marshmallows, gummy bears and M&Ms are meant to combat! (The only part of my generation that slept through these tests were our rear ends from sitting in a hard desk for hours.)
Makes me wonder what testing will be like when they take their SATs in 2010. "Please check in no later than one hour prior to testing to be assigned your ergonomic relaxation recliner, personal masseuse and to place the grilling preference for your filet mignon. And don't forget your No. 2 pencils."
Well, some traditions are sacred, right?
Tips to Prepare and Calm Your Child
- Get many good nights of sleep leading up to the actual tests. A well-rested child is a much more relaxed child.
- Limit TV watching and video game playing. Both have been shown to increase anxiety levels in young kids.
- Offer a well balanced breakfast the mornings of testing. Juice, yogurt, fruit, toast and eggs all offer a better start to their day and will stay in their tummies longer than a Pop Tart or sugared cereal.
- Dress comfortably – nothing tight or constricting or too warm.
- Wake up about 20 minutes earlier on test days. This ensures there is none of that last minute running around we all do every morning.
- Finally, look your child in the eyes and tell them the two most important things: 1. It does not matter to me how you score as long as you do your best. 2. I love you. (STRESS that one several times.)
1. It does not matter to me how you score as long as you do your best.
2. I love you. (STRESS that one several times.)
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The report also says the probability of a baby being born with congenital anomalies is several times higher in areas affected by this issue. Dr. Samaddar and his people had surveyed around 20,000 families from the affected areas and found that almost 3,000 children have been born with serious deformities and a majority of them suffer from multiple deformities.
It is a challenge to find a lasting solution to the issue. Debates should be initiated whether to cordon off the entire area where the gas leak had taken place and declare it as a no-man's zone so that dwelling people can then be moved to safer places. From first to second and now to third generation, some people are suffering due to this issue and therefore concerned quarters must do something to ensure that there is a stop to this, and the fourth generation at least can have a peaceful normal life without any side effects.
Money definitely helps under such circumtances if due to poverty people are unable to make a move to safer place. Therefore, ways and means should be found out, including monetary benefits given to people like Ganga (Ram Kali's grandaughter) and many more who are unable to make a choice in the present scenario. More doable thought and suggestions are needed to help the people affected.
The most popular citizen journalists' reports on merinews chosen automatically on the basis of views and comments
View more jobs
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Text and photography copyright © Carl Donohue. All rights reserved.
My parents, all the way from sunny Australia, visited me here in Alaska recently and together we took a trip to Denali National Park for a few cold, snowy days last fall. We sought refuge from what my dad referred to as ďthe brutal and harsh sub-arctic weatherĒ in the form of lattes and hot sandwiches at the visitorís center, where my mother, the consummate shopper, immediately discovered the souvenir store. While mum browsed the shirts and hat racks, my dad and I wiled away the hours looking at some of the stirring photos on display. A postcard image of a wolf that was a captive animal pre-empted a discussion of photography, art, and integrity. That discussion, minus the one thousand interruptions from my mother inquiring about shirt sizes, colors, and styles, led to this column.
I certainly understand the idea that art is the whim of the artist, and it is unreasonable, even unhealthy, to attempt to legislate a code of consistency on the work of artists, i.e., censorship. What I donít buy is the argument that we shouldnít label art, and that we ought not expect, to some degree, truth in art. Artists in all mediums are storytellers. The story may be fantasy, a childís fairytale, a personal narrative, social commentary, or experiential expression, even revelation, but thereís always a story. Thatís what makes art a form of dialogue.
Implicit in storytelling is a chain of trust. The value of a story diminishes, probably to nothing, when that trust is denied. Without trust, our stories are meaningless entertainment, things to merely occupy our time. Trust, on the other hand, implies mutual relationship, and through mutual relationship we can communicate honestly with one another. It neednít be stories of reality. I can listen to a comedy skit and not imagine the story to represent any actuality. Thatís implicit when the artist stands up as a comic. Their intention is to make me laugh, not to accurately narrate an event and there is no pretense otherwise. Similarly, a Steven King novel is implicitly fantasy. Itís labeled Ďfictioní or Ďscience fictioní and the chain of trust remains. However, if I learned that Thoreau had never lived in Walden, but spent his time as a marketing director or investment banker for JP Morgan in New York, writing his tales from a penthouse suite in Manhattan, Iíd be sorely disappointed.
Whatís critical here is the word Ďimplicití, for thatís the root of trust. A comic skit is an implicit fable. A fairytale is implicit fantasy. A work of fiction ought represent, to whatever extent it can, a reality or journalistic depiction. All photography, particularly nature photography, is to some degree inherently journalistic. It describes a reality. In journalism, as in all art, trust is requisite; much of its power and beauty lies within this truism. When I see a photograph of a place, I understand that this particular place actually exists somewhere. It may change with the passage of time, of course, like all places do, but it does exist. On the other hand, when I view a painting, I donít have that expectation at all. Countless drawings exist of people, places and creatures that have never existed, and much of the power and beauty of that artful medium lies therein. Viewers of these drawings donít require that they be illustrations of any actual physical reality. Similarly, when I see a black and white photo of a place, I donít expect that the actual scene is monochromatic. I understand that the medium produced a black and white photo or description of the place.
Similarly, with photos of captive animals, the understanding of the audience is that a mountain lion is a wild animal. Hence, a photo of a mountain lion is that of a wild mountain lion. A golden Labrador, while adorable, is not a wild animal but is a pet, and the audience understands this. Thereís no confusion here. How often, for example, are Labradors represented as wild animals? As with all stories, Iíd certainly agree that the need to underpin this trust is image-specific; a photo of a mountain lion with a tennis ball in its mouth and a small child petting it probably doesnít tell us the same story as does a photo of a mountain lion leaping a chasm in a red rocks canyon. One image implicitly carries a very different reality than the other.
And I donít agree with the argument, so common in these discussions, that art and journalism are two different mediums of expression. Journalism can be one of the most powerful and artful mediums of expression available to us. Henri Cartier-Bresson and James Nachtwey, while indelible artists, are both journalists. Writers such as like Wendell Berry, Aldo Leopold, Henry David Thoreau, and countless others, all both journalists and artists. Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Bono, and Sting are all artful songsmiths who also stand among the most poignant voices of social commentary of our time. Art has the potential to be more than mere decoration. Itís an examination of our lives and our culture and in doing so, enriches both. When it serves no more purpose than entertainment or spectacle, it loses much of its intrinsic value. Without a story, art becomes mere decoration and nothing more than some ďthingĒ to hang on a bathroom wall because the colors are complementary. Artists, as storytellers, facilitate something far more valuable than that. The stories that arise from our culture speak to the world about who we are, where we come from, what we are, and what we value. Art, in this sense, is an expression of identity. My art is an expression of my self and how I perceive the world, just as, collectively, our stories are an expression of our community.
Access to game farms and zoos, as with digital technologies and Photoshop trickery, is not a ticket to ride. Like any other tool, these ought be handled with care. To do otherwise is to dismantle the trust between artist, the art, and the audience. If photographers donít care to inform their audience that a given photograph is a fable, then I suspect itís only because, in their eyes, to do so lessens the value of their work. On the other hand, if we hope to maintain any artistic integrity, itís imperative that we promote our work with sincerity and with responsibility. An audience deserves a reliable understanding of the stories we choose to tell, be they fairytales of unicorns and jackalopes, or stories of our experiences with the world around us.
We obviously canít legislate this process, but I do feel that our community ought respect our audience, our art, our selves and our subjects enough that we nurture this chain of trust and treat it carefully. Trust is a fragile soul and warrants our care. Trust draws us together, and a loss of trust causes a disconnection. I donít pretend to know how best we might administer such an idea in a complex community like the world of nature photography, nor do I see this as reason to not tend to our audience and our art with a respect they both deserve. The fact that a reasonable direction might be difficult to navigate is no reason to not explore the terrain. We can look for a precedent to help us find a way. Literature is one example of an art form in which labels foster the trust requisite of any storyteller/audience relationship. Film is yet another. Nature photographers could do well to borrow from these mediums and advise our audience when we step into the realm of fiction and fantasy. A sky from the Grand Canyon over a Canadian mountain range is a deception to a viewer who, unless informed otherwise, expects a photograph to represent a place, not a passel of places. A photo of a wolf howling on high ridge tells the viewer a very different story than that same photo captioned ďcaptive animalĒ does. While fantasy and fable do have their place, I feel itís fraudulence and spuriousness when the audience is not aware of the make believe. Itís akin to passing off counterfeit dollar bills.
Trust, as we all know, is earned. It is also difficult to re-establish once broken. Artists, journalists, musicians, dancers, writers, painters, and comics, have a real responsibility to their art, and their audience, to protect a chain of trust that began long ago, when the first storytellers sat around a fire and enthralled their audiences with tales of the Dreamtime, and danced the dances that told of their journeys. The journeys of the storytellers continue today, narrated with a different set of tools, but the chain of trust is still requisite.
Comments on NPN nature photography articles? Send them to the editor.
Carl Donohue is a passionate wilderness advocate, and this love of the wild has taken him from the outback of Australia to the mountains of Alaska. His photography reflects this passion, and his love of nature is expressed with his camera. Carl's writings and images have been published both online and in print. His photographic endeavors have won competitions locally with the Southeastern Photographic Society, and nationally in Hooked On The Outdoors magazine. He is currently living in Alaska, working on his first book, a look at Wrangell St. Elias National Park. The rest of the year finds Carl guiding exciting backpacking trips into some of the most remote and pristine wilderness areas in North America. Visit www.alaskaalpinetreks.com for more information on guided backpacking and hiking trips in Alaska, particularly Wrangell Ė St. Elias National Park. For a comprehensive collection of his stock nature, travel and adventure photography, visit www.skolaiimages.com.
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Terrorism is not the biggest threat to Americans rising from the Middle East these days: It’s Islamic statehood, according to guest speakers at the Capistrano Valley Republican Women Federated meeting Wednesday morning.
J.E. Dyer, a former naval intelligence officer specializing in the Middle East, and John Sullivan, a vocal critic of President Obama's foreign policies and an executive producer for the movie, “2016: Obama’s America,” addressed the threats and opportunities for America in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
With the arrival of an Arab Spring, the U.S. had the opportunity to make sure the country’s – and the world’s – interests were kept in check, Dyer said.
“Unfortunately, we sat on our hands for much of the Arab Spring,” she said, speaking at the Marbella Country Club in San Juan Capistrano. Now, groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood – and others even more extreme are quickly governing the region.
“We could’ve done a lot more, and we probably could‘ve achieved everything we wanted without boots on the ground,” Dyer said.
What the movement has “unleashed” is worse than any threat from the Taliban or Al Qaeda, she said.
“It’s not about terrorism anymore. What’s new and hot is state Islamism,” she said.
While at first blush, democracy sounds like something Americans should support, Sullivan said, it’s not a democracy our founding fathers would recognize.
“Democracy without liberty is not a good thing. It becomes a tyranny of the majority,” he said. And yet, that is what the current administration has let happen.
Obama’s, however, is not simply a do-nothing policy, said Sullivan, who also co-wrote and co-directed “2016” with Dinesh D’Souza. With proceeds more than $30 million, it’s the second-highest grossing documentary in history.
According to Sullivan, the administration’s policy is actually designed to prop up anti-colonialists in the Middle East while diminishing the United States’ influence in the area. Seen through the prism of an anti-colonial stance, the president’s foreign policy makes more sense, even as he appears to do little, said Sullivan.
“He believes we are a colonial power. We’ve dropped Israel in as a colonial power into the Middle East … we’ve been occupying [the region] far too long,” Sullivan said. “We don’t want to show our strength too much, and we don’t want them to feel bad.”
Now that Egypt and Libya have institutionalized radical Islam, Kuwait will be next, said Sullivan.
Both speakers said that a Romney presidency would never be able to press the reset button on foreign policy back to Jan. 20, 2009. However, they both believe he will be able to course-correct enough to improve lives there and here.
“At the moment, we are living with the consequences of a policy of passivity,” Dyer said. “Too much has changed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do what’s right for America.”
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Easier Vet Visits
Some dogs absolutely adore going to the vets as they enjoy seeing all the people and meeting the other animals in the waiting room, if your dog is like this people immediately envy you and consider that you have an easy task going to see the vet. Over friendly dogs can still prove to be problematic though in their own way, you have to remember that not every single person present in the waiting room is going to automatically be dog friendly.
It is a safe bet that most people in a vet’s waiting room are animal friendly but if you are a cat person and you happen to have your cat with you sitting nicely in his/her basket the last thing you are going to wish to experience is an over enthusiastic pooch who is insistent on saying ‘hello’ to both you and your petrified cat.
Not every person that enters the room will appreciate your waggy tailed companion jumping up and desperately trying to lick their face! Most of the pets waiting to see the vet will be anxious, apprehensive and fearful and they could react badly to your dog simply being inquisitive towards them. Even if your dog is showing signs of wishing to play and only wants to be friendly this could still provoke a bad reaction from another animal. So you can see that owners of over friendly dogs have their share of problems to deal with along the way.
If your dog proves to be a handful on visits to the vet then you can always pop in and ask a member of staff to notify you when the vet is ready to see you and your dog, this way at least you can remain outside with your dog and you will probably be able to enter by another door and not pass through the waiting room.
Muzzles can be used if you are particularly concerned about your dog nipping the vet, your vet will understand as they see lots of dogs in the same position. A dog does not just nip because it is a vicious animal it could be doing it to protect you as you will be by his/her’s side. Dogs feel restricted when they are on a lead so unfortunately your faithful friend is placed in a stressful position from the start.
Take some of your dog’s favourite treats with you, for bribery purposes! Talk to your dog without making a huge fuss of the hole situation as this will only result in making your dog feel worse. The more fuss you make the more your dog thinks that the behaviour displayed is right so your task is to find the middle ground between reassuring your dog but not fussing them too much. Another tip is to pay a visit to the surgery even when you do not have an appointment booked, just pop in to pick up your normal worming tablets or similar. This allows your dog the chance to see that not every visit to the vets has to involve actually seeing the vet.
Find your perfect new pet with Puppies for Sale
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Cincinnati backdrop for Civil Rights fest
Game to accompany many events celebrating racial equality
CINCINNATI -- Thousands of people from different races and backgrounds will converge on downtown Cincinnati tonight to celebrate the efforts to give everyone the same chances and opportunities for success.The Civil Rights Game will be played between the Reds and White Sox at Great American Ball Park. Not only will it provide a showcase for Cincinnati, it will be highlighting efforts by Major League Baseball to create a level playing field for all.
"Baseball represents our country very well because we have all walks of life here," Reds right fielder Jay Bruce said on Friday. "We have all kinds of different nationalities, and we're all the same."Activity began late this morning, well before the game broadcast at 7:10 p.m. ET at Great American Ball Park. At 11:30 a.m., three legendary icons were honored during the Major League Baseball Beacon Awards Luncheon at the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati. The Beacon Awards recognize individuals "whose lives are emblematic of the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement." The MLB Beacon of Life Award will be presented by Commissioner Bud Selig to Hank Aaron. Boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard will give the MLB Beacon of Change Award to the legendary Muhammad Ali. Comedian and television star Bill Cosby will receive the MLB Beacon of Hope Award from Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson. All three Beacon Award winners have been previously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor that is possible in the United States. The luncheon was hosted by CNN's Soledad O'Brien and former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to deliver the keynote address. The Network's coverage, beginning at 5:45 p.m. ET, includes press conferences, pregame festivities, a clip of Harold Reynolds with President Clinton and the beginning of the game itself.
Down the street at Fountain Square, thousands of young people are expected to be on hand for the Civil Rights Game Youth Summit and participate in a new MLB youth initiative called "Wanna Play?"From 2-7 p.m., Fifth Street by the Square is closed to traffic as kids test their skills in batting cages, on pitching mounds and running from home to first base. There will be prizes available, including 300 gloves and game tickets. The event is free to the public. Reds players Brandon Phillips and Jerry Hairston Jr., former Red Eric Davis and MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds will hold a clinic and take part in the youth summit. "Wanna Play?" is a marketing effort to create and strengthen the connection between children from the African-American community and Major League Baseball. At approximately 6:50 p.m., on-field ceremonies will begin to again honor the achievements by Aaron, Ali and Cosby. Grammy Award-winning gospel singer BeBe Winans will sing the national anthem, and country singer Rissi Palmer will sing "America the Beautiful." Former Reds star, Hall of Famer and 2008 Beacon of Life Award winner Frank Robinson will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Robinson will be accompanied by Negro League players Chuck "Charlie Fine" Harmon, Charles "Whip" Davis, Don "Groundhog" Johnson, Ron "Bunny" Warren and Tom "High Pockets" Turner. The Reverends Donald G. Dixon of Hyde Park United Methodist Church and Damon Lynch Jr. of New Jerusalem Baptist Church will serve as honorary captains for the game. When the Reds and White Sox take the field in front of a sold-out park, both teams will be wearing throwback uniforms from 1964, the year that the Civil Rights Act was passed to outlaw racial segregation in schools, public places and employment. On Friday afternoon, the Baseball and Civil Rights Movement Roundtable Discussion was held at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, located next door to Great American Ball Park. It was moderated by Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree, and featured panelists like Reds great and Hall of Famer Tony Perez, basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and Reynolds. After the Reds' 4-3 win over the White Sox Friday, Leonard, a former championship boxer, gave a motivational speech on the field before the Reds held a special fireworks display. For the first time in its three editions, the Civil Rights Game is being held at a big league ballpark during the regular season. It was held in Memphis as a preseason exhibition the previous two years. When the league decided to move the game, the Reds and Cincinnati made an enthusiastic lobbying effort -- not just for 2009, but also 2010. "We were picked to be the host city because of our passion for the event," owner Bob Castellini said. "The Freedom Center has relevance to the topic, and our city has a venue layout with the hotels being walking distance to the Duke Energy Convention Center, Great American Ball Park, Fountain Square and the Freedom Center." This will be the second time the White Sox have participated in the Civil Rights Game. Chicago played the Mets last year in Memphis, and it proved to be a special time. "There were a lot of memories," White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said this week. "Walking through the Lorraine Hotel, for sure, and experiencing that whole thing, and then watching my players of all cultures really kind of absorbing it, it was an educational experience, it was an emotional experience, one that I certainly won't ever forget. I'll end up taking my children down there, my grandchildren down there at some point. Cincinnati, I'm not as familiar with, so that'll be educational for me as well." The Reds wanted to prove that their city can host an All-Star Game and have pulled out all the stops to guarantee a memorable weekend. "It's about showcasing what the city of Cincinnati can do to host any event," said Karen Forgus, the club's senior vice president of business operations. "Phil and [owner] Bob [Castellini] feel strongly that because Cincinnati has such a great pedigree in baseball, we should be one of the first places they think of." Despite the pageantry of the night and the weekend, tonight's game will count like any other in the regular season. But it will definitely be one of the more meaningful games of the season -- no matter what the box score says.
Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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Swiss or fresh goat? confusion about cheese in the U.S.
Late one night a few months ago, at my place of (waitressing) employment, a British couple plunked themselves down at our little bar. The bartender that night (Josh, let’s call him) chatted them up for a little while, before, serendipitously, the conversation turned to cheese.
Sidenote: I find it incredible how often this happens without even a nudge from someone like me!
Anyways , this lovely (they were!) couple from across “the pond” said:
“Well you don’t have any cheese to speak of here, now do you?”
OUCH! Hello!!! I said (in my mind) haven’t you heard of California or Vermont or ummmmm Wisconsin?! Feeling called to duty by this ferocious attack on the allegedly nonexistent cheeses of my country, I stepped out of the shadows where I had been lurking/half-listening out of boredom. I was opening my mouth to speak to them when Josh jumped in, saying “Oh no, we have lots of good cheeses here! Let me give you a taste of - what’s it called again?…Gruyere!”
Oh no! I freeze in dismay. Josh whizzes by me into the kitchen and I hear him rummaging through the absent cooks’ reach-in. He comes back holding a plate with a dollop of fresh chévre on it.
“Here it is,” he says, “Gruyère: it’s delicious, try it!”
I did not jump into action at this point, which I regret, but it seemed clear that this couple and the nonplussed looks on their faces were not going to be won over, even by me and my (minimal) knowledge. I shook my head in utter disgust at Josh, before I remembered that a few months prior I was the ignoramus who thought buffalo mozzarella was some kind of spicy fried appetizer. OOPS!
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Erasmus Latin Translation
I have Erasmus' Annotations in Latin. As anyone who also has this knows, Erasmus' Latin is not simple. I have translated portions of his excursus on 1 John 5 for personal use, but his Latin is quite beyond me overall.
If anyone would like to attempt to translate his excursus on 1 John 5, let me know and I'll send you the PDF I made. Of course, once you translate it I would appreciate your sharing it with me.
You can email me by going to my website and clicking on the Contact button.
I might add, it is not too dificult for me to make a literal translation of Eramus here, but strictly accurate translation is another matter entirely. Several other people skilled in Latin, some in teaching capacities, have likewise found Erasmus' Latin to be too tough. It is certainly Latin at one of its finest heights.
I would like a strictly accurate translation -- very, very accurate -- if anyone is interested.
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Dog Poet Transmitting.......
May your noses always be cold and wet.
Much of the quality of our lives, depends on our information flow; the sort of information and where it comes from. Generally, people rely on sources outside themselves, to confirm or refute what they are picking up on, or not picking up on. This makes all the difference in how we feel and what happens to us. It determines what we consider to be real. If it's not real, then you have a problem, sooner or later. The later you have the problem, the more serious that problem will be. To paraphrase Lao Tu, 'if you're sane, you catch it swiftly and “your cure is quick”. Otherwise, it moves from an occasional misapprehension to a chronic condition.
The majority of the world is listening to the world. The world's job is to deceive and entrap you. It's what it does. It's the land of enchantment. You might have been thinking that's New Mexico. No, that's the whole operation. There's an old term from The Book of Common prayer that goes, “the world, the flesh and the devil”. You contend with the magnetics between these things. One is an environment. One is the weakness in you and one is an active agent, representative of the lies of sensation. The whole world is on fire with desire. It is often the case that you can't see something when you are contained within it; when it surrounds you. This puts you in a subjective state and that is the prevailing status of most people. One of the things, most impinged upon in the modern world, is our objective capacity; the ability to detach ourselves from circumstances and more clearly see the circumstances. The endless and relentless distractions and diversions are designed to keep us in a subjective state. We become subjects to a false ruler. It's like the false light and the true light. We wind up giving our allegiance to what confines us, instead of what liberates us.
One of the reasons I have stressed the discipline of meditation (though not recently) is that it is a gradual ascent into greater awareness, or it can be. If you're not doing it right, you're like a dog chasing it's tail. Certain substances can jump you right out of the envelope but the results are temporary. Meditation can take you out of the loop, eventually but gradually. It's going to have inconsistent results if practiced inconsistently. That makes sense, right? This isn't something you do on alternate days of the week. I've mentioned a particular example before. I'll mention it again for the benefit of those who may not have been around then and also for the benefit of those who have forgotten it (grin).
When you begin your days with meditation, you enter a slipstream of consciousness, at a particular level and everything you encounter and experience, is happening at that vibratory rate. It can make a huge difference in terms of what you run into and how you respond to it. Anyone who has been a regular meditator, knows the difference between how it goes when they have had a successful meditation, or when they got up late, or got hit with something they weren't expecting and so missed their meditation and went running out the door. Hold on, you forgot your keys; back in and then back out again. Everything is suddenly different that it usually is. You are operating on a different slipstream now and it's not the usual smooth sailing. If you observe the people moving in the world around you, you can see they are on different slipstreams. Some of them are fast walking down the street with a slice of pizza in their hand; eating on the run. You see all kinds of things if you are watching.
I often suggest to people that they go and sit on a park bench; yeah, someone might hit on you but you take a shot anyway (grin). You can just as well sit in a restaurant or a bar. The idea is not to get sucked into the situation, which is something you know can happen, like when you are watching TV. At first you know you are watching TV and then, pretty quickly, a point comes where you are unaware of yourself, as something apart from the experience. If you are closely observing, you are able to see what draws and attracts people. You can see all kinds of things, like the loneliness factor, the sleaze factor, the clueless factor, the intently goal oriented, determined factor. There are all kinds of factors at work. However, most people just dumpty, dumpty dum, down the road to wherever. A lot of people have this, 'let it flow, go with the flow' thing and then boom! Right into the abyss.
The mind is a monkey and has been compared to a monkey by many informed observers. You might think of Hanuman as being a mind completely surrendered to the higher self. This is an example of the mind being your worst enemy as well as, potentially, your best friend. The whole point of chanting, unceasing prayer and related disciplines, is to proactively occupy the mind with a positive focus. Otherwise the unruly mind will occupy itself with whatever comes along and form endless images of whatever your usual predispositions might be. This can be very much influenced by the dog of desire. The non stop yapping of the dog of desire, easily distracts the monkey mind. It's pretty simple and basic stuff, but not if you are caught up in the middle of it. That can just go on looping ad infinitum and there you are eating on the run again, which is not a good idea.
When you are on that park bench, in that bar, restaurant or sitting in a mall, if you are paying attention, you can see ranks of bad habit, going by or acting out in front of you. This requires intent focus and it is something that can be learned and developed, with the most surprising results over time. You would be very surprised at the level to which this can be developed. Then you can see the hypnotic somnambulism going on all around you. You see the internalization of dreaming, longing and a host of other states, going on and on and on in a kind of cultural, Horse Latitudes.
There's nothing accidental about all the bad food, the cheap and offensive entertainments, the vacuity of the music, the epidemic of poisonous and legal pharmaceuticals, the endemic corruption in officialdom, the brutality of the police, the endless wars and the ever tightening stranglehold of the bankers. This is all an orchestrated environment; a mental hospital, containment zone. You can't see it, if you are deep in it. Detachment becomes the most difficult art. Meditation grants you a leg up in this regard. It increases both focus and awareness. It's a big boon to concentration, which is “the secret of the magical art”. It certainly schools in detachment. Detachment, militates against attachment. Becoming free of attachment, or managing to live in the world and not be of it, is the central goal of having a spiritual directive, as the motivating force in your life.
The world as it is at the moment and as it is most of the time, is a deadly snare. The intensity of the world, as it is at the moment, is directly related to the phenomenal possibilities that exist at this point of the ending and beginning of a 26,000 year cycle. It's not going to come around again for quite a while. Consider that all we know about human history, in the conventional sense, is only one fifth of this time sequence. The whole thing has broken down and built itself up more than once over this period. Atlantis exists as a myth and a rumor, even though it was quite real, when it was and no longer real when it was suddenly not.
The tools for making your life something meaningful and beautiful are readily available, just like the slice of pizza, in the hands of the person who has so engaged themselves that they do not have the time, or do not think they have the time, to stop and eat like a sane person. Eating in this fashion, not engaging in gratitude when you do, not recognizing the effect of eating in this manner, all leads to a very dysfunctional existence. It definitely promotes stress, which is at the source of the majority of disease and a general lack of well being overall. Mention this to people and they will tell you to mind your own business; self will run riot.
In the end, we are responsible for the value we give and deny to what we do and do not value. Focused observation will clearly tell you what people value and do not value. That is for each individual to decide, “Where your heart is, there your treasures are also”.
Last night's radio show is available for streaming.
A short observation on the series of books in “A Song of Ice and Fire”, by George R.R. Martin. I finished it a couple of days ago and I have to say that I am on the whole disappointed. It is senselessly brutal and the author just whimsically kills anyone he feels like, at any time, as if his whole point were that, I can break the usual rules any time I want to. He thinks he's being clever and cutting edge but he is not. There are reasons that most novels and fictional representations, follow certain schemes and themes. Martin apparently doesn't get this or doesn't care. People may disagree with me but that's my two cents worth.
Visible sings God's not Dead - and Erin Parsley Dances
View on YouTube
Erin Parsely Home Page
Monday, November 19, 2012
Dog Poet Transmitting.......
Beamed from the Saucer Pod By Visible at 12:29
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A lawsuit alleges the Alberta company involved in a massive national beef recall knew it had poor quality control systems and that it put profits above the safety of consumers.
The statement of claim against XL Foods Inc. has not been proven in court and a judge will determine if it may proceed as a class-action lawsuit.
An Edmonton man who got sick from E. coli after eating a steak on Sept. 5 is named as the lead plaintiff in the suit.
The document says Matthew Harrison suffered severe abdominal cramps, vomiting, headache, fever and diarrhea. He also spent some time in hospital.
“The plaintiff has suffered physical illness, mental distress, emotional trauma and fear for his health,” the suit alleges.
XL Foods officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Alberta health officials have linked four other cases of E. coli in the province to contaminated steaks processed by XL Foods.
Officials are investigating the source of another four cases in Alberta. Saskatchewan officials are also looking into 13 cases there.
“We’re getting more and more calls,” said lawyer Richard Mallett, who filed the suit Tuesday.
He said some people in British Columbia who got sick from E. coli believe XL Foods is to blame, although a link has not been confirmed.
“The people think that’s the only link that it could be.”
E. coli was first detected at the XL plant in Brooks, Alta., on Sept. 4, but it wasn’t until 12 days later that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency began recalling some of its beef products. Since then, several more alerts have been issued, recalling more than 1,500 XL products across Canada and in the United States.
The agency temporarily shut down the plant last Friday.
The suit alleges XL Foods failed to test its beef before putting it on the market and, when it learned people were getting sick, didn’t immediately recall all of its products.
It further claims the plant’s processing equipment and testing laboratory have not kept up with technological advances in the industry and not enough money has been spent on food safety staff.
“Despite having knowledge of the poor quality control with their Books plant, the defendant concealed this information from the consumers, the general public and regulatory authorities,” says the suit.
It further says the company wanted to maintain its revenue, profits, and market share and wished to avoid negative publicity.
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This little Medieval courtyard of higglety-pigglety flats, cafes and inns was once a flower-sprigged meadow; the possible source of its name. Paved in the 1400’s, it became a lively meeting place and business center for tradesmen who had shops on adjoining streets, and aristocrats who built palaces and expensive homes along Via Giulia and other prestigious avenues nearby. An etching of the square done in 1752 illustrates the horse markets once held twice a week, and a public gallows used to punish minor criminals by dangling them high above the ground with a rope and pulley. Major offenders met a far worse fate here: see the large hooded figure watching pensively from his perch in the center? That’s philosopher Giordano Bruno - who was condemned by the church for heresy in 1600 and burnt near the spot where his memorial stands.
I wouldn't look too happy either.
Fortunately, the only roasting going on here today is of pork or chicken served up by canopy-shaded trattorias, and a bustling fish and produce market carries on a six-day-a-week tradition that reaches back to 1858. A putter through to admire the bouquets, colorful fruits and vegetables, spices and other goodies for the table is a must, and I highly recommend grabbing a piazza-side table for a cappuccino and some people watching.
This is a good place to people watch and see the locals go about their business - buying produce from the busy market. There are many bars/restaurants surrounding the area - an excellent spot for a leisurely lunch whilst you watch the world go by. The smells, the colours and the general hustle and bustle of the place is to me part of the appeal of a city break - not just ticking boxes of all the major sites you have seen, but also an opportunity to take in the atmosphere of a place.
This is a great place to sit down and have a beer to watch the passing parade of people. Be careful buying from the market - buy 4 things and it is automatically 16 euro. The pasta is no different - 7 euro for half the amount in a supermarket. They are trying to take tourists for a ride. The exception is the bakery - Awesome baked goods for low prices. In summary, go here for the bakery and atmosphere. Avoid buying from the market as they rip you off.
Campo de' Fiori is a large local feeling square in the heart of Rome.
It is ringed by cafes and bars and is home to a fabulous flower and vegie market in the mornings, and is a happening place for nightlife in the evenings.
There are also some good clothing stores on the roads that lead into the square.
Yet another fabulous place to pull up a chair, order an espresso or vino and do some serious people watching/meeting....depending on how many of those vino's you've had!!
The Campo Di Fiori is an exciting and historic spot in Rome. It has a very good open air market during the morning hours. In the evening it changes to an exciting spot with nice restaurants and night life.
It is a great place to pick up items for a picnic. Or get some flowers for your room. It really adds a touch of class to any hotel room. if you are staying in a family run place the owners find some flowers a welcome gift.
In any case try not to miss this nice spot.
At the heart of Campo de' Fiori is a small square which is also an open-air market, Rome's most picturesque market and its most historical, according to my Eyewitness Travel Guide. This place has been a market for many centuries. Every morning, except on Sundays, can be found an array of stalls selling fruit, vegetables, cheese and cured meat, and whatnot (clothes, kitchen utensils), and dried fruits and beans.
It was a Saturday when we went, and the place was humming busy. Not as big, as varied, and as busy as I expected for a Saturday, still there was a lively crowd, a lot were tourists. The vegetable stalls were the most interesting. There were bushels of fresh greens which one can pick from and combine together for a salad mix -- a make-your- own mix. The stall selling decorative squash was also interesting, the shapes, colours, and textures of the squash were on their own pieces of art. I was intrigued by the different types of tomatoes and small aubergines. I was expecting more kinds of fresh mushrooms being sold at this time of the year, but only saw two types. There were a few stalls selling sauces for pasta, and different kinds of paté -- the latter could be sampled. These same stalls sold dried tomatoes, capers, and pasta as well. I was looking for stalls selling meat and cheeses, but found only one but selling only a few varieties. In the end, I opted for about 200 grams of capers, which cost me about 5 euros.
Overall, I was happy to have visited this market, as it is widely known but I was left quite underwhelmed. Somehow, it seemed touristy and a little artificial, hearing all these young men shouting their wares in english -- i probably would have to go to a small town or village market in a far-off region to have a feel of what is still very traditionally Italian.
The market is easy to find. The best way is to get off at Largo Argentina, where most public transport which goes in this area make a stop. This is the corner where the Area Sacra dell' Argentina is, a small complex of ruins right along the main street. From there it is less than 10 minutes' walk to the market. Just follow the Via Arenula, and on the 3rd corner, at Via Del Guibbonari, turn right and go straight on. That is a small shoppping street which ends right on the market.
This is what the squares name translates as. Here every morning except Sunday you'll find a lively market. The square is full of stalls selling fruit & veg, meat, fish and household goods. Around the square are delicatessen and bread shops. At night the square is full of people enjoying the restaurants & bars.
In the centre of the square is a statue of the philospher Giordano Bruno, burnt at the stake here in 1600 for heresy. A reminder that the area once held executions.
With its open air flower and vegetable market, along with the hustle and bustle of locals, Campo de' Fiori is easily the liveliest piazza in Rome. Its name derives from the field of flowers that it was in medieval times, rather than from the market, which only began in the 19th century. Walking through the amazingly fresh and delicious-looking produce in the market makes it easier to understand why food in Rome and Italy is better than anywhere else in the world. Campo de' Fiori is also a popular meeting spot for locals, particularly in the evening.
Campo de Fiori is a square that I would have liked to have spent more time at. We walked through a couple times, always at night however. In the morning there is supposed to be a busy produce market held at the square. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to peruse the market.
The statue of Giordano Bruno (priest and philosopher burnt at the stake) occupies the center of the square. At night the square is filled with sightseers and street performers (and also those protesting various causes).
The square is lined by restaurants and bars with outdoor seeting. We had a drink at a bar on the square, which was pretty expensive, but had free appetizers, which weren't very good.
Campo dei Fiori (The Field of Flowers) is a very colorful piazza in Rome. During the morning hours, the piazza is full with vendors selling everything from fresh fruit and veggies to jewelry (Murano glass ones) and clothes. I could not believe how trashed the piazza looks after all the vendors are gone (mid day), but I have to give credit to the cleaning crew which takes care of the piazza and it makes it look spotless by the time evening comes.
There are plenty of good bars and restaurants around for a quick bite if you get hungry. Also, there are some really nice and different shops around the piazza.
Albergo Del Senato Rome
5 Reviews and 1471 Opinions The Pantheon is my favorite building in Rome and might be my favorite building in the world. The...
Campo De' Fiori Rome
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see all Rome member meetings
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BHP boosts iron ore production 15% to record high
Mining giant BHP Billiton has boosted its iron ore output by 15% in the three months to 30 June, despite worries over weaker demand from China.
Yearly iron ore output totalled 159 million tonnes, a 12th consecutive annual record, said the company.
Last month, BHP said that falling commodity prices and global uncertainty were a concern.
BHP has invested billions of dollars in its iron ore mining capacity in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
The company said iron ore shipments in the quarter from its Western Australia operations reached 40.9 million tonnes, compared with 35.5 million tonnes a year earlier.
The firm, which is the world's biggest miner, is betting on continued demand from its main customer, China.
The company said it was forecasting a 5% rise in production for 2013.
It is also due to decide this year whether to go ahead with a $20bn expansion that could see it nearly double its iron ore capacity in Western Australia from 2014.
Other major iron ore producers, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals, are also ramping up production but analysts are unsure global demand will hold up.
"Investors are going to place increased attention on the ability of the market to absorb supply increases, particularly at a time when profitability in the steel industry is negligible," said Tim Schroeders of Pengana Capital, which owns shares in BHP and Rio Tinto.
BHP shares fell 0.8% in morning trading in Sydney.
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Belinda and Earl Phillips: With faith, there are no limits -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
Belinda and Earl Phillips: With faith, there are no limits
Belinda and Earl Phillips, married for almost 20 years, are moving from a damaged mobile home into a fully accessible Habitat house with their 15-year-old son, Blake.
Belinda and Earl Phillips have learned a lot from their 15-year-old son, Blake, who has spina bifida, a birth defect that affects the spinal column. “He never gives up,” said Earl, who is on permanent disability with rheumatoid arthritis.
Persistence obviously runs in the family.
Belinda worked as a school janitor before deciding she wanted to work with students full-time. She took a job as a teacher’s assistant in middle school--which paid less than the cleaning job--and started taking college classes on the side. In May--the same month work begins on her family’s Habitat home--she’ll get her associate’s degree. If all goes according to plan, she’ll earn her bachelor’s degree from William Carey University in the fall of 2009.
“I prayed over it before I started,” Belinda said. “It was the right thing for the family.”
Belinda and Earl have been married almost 20 years. For most of their married life, they’ve lived in a mobile home parked on the three-acre site of Earl’s parents’ house.
“They’ve always been close by,” said Earl’s mother, Betty. “We don’t know any different.”
The aging trailer was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, which was mostly wind-driven rain by the time it reached Lucedale. The storm damaged the wood deck and destroyed the ramp that allowed son Blake access in his wheelchair. The ramp has been rebuilt, but the steep angle makes it impossible for Blake to maneuver without help.
“If he wants to get in or out, he needs somebody to go with him,” his mother said. “He can’t do it by himself.”
Blake has defied such limits his whole life, his parents are quick to say. After multiple surgeries, he is able to stand by himself for short periods, and he taught himself to swim.
“He’s taught us all a lot,” said Earl.
At this year’s Carter Work Project, volunteers will start construction on a house just a few hundred feet from the Phillips’ old trailer. Surrounded by old-growth trees and sprawling, open lawns, the new house will sit directly behind the neat red house where Earl’s parents live.
“We are so, so blessed to be getting this house,” said Belinda.
As both Phillips families show visitors the site of the new house, three small, exceptionally well-fed dogs amble around underfoot. One of the dogs reportedly used to belong to a neighbor but just kept showing up at the Phillips homestead. Eventually, the neighbor just suggested they keep the wayward mutt.
“He knew a good home when he saw one,” said Harrell Moore, laughing. “He knew a good home.”
Lucedale, Mississippi: 10 houses for Carter Project 2008
George County, a bedroom community with a population of about 25,000, picked up an estimated 4,000 evacuees from the Gulf Coast in 2005. That influx, along with the promise of more people moving to the area when a big steel plant opens up on the Alabama line, has dramatically increased the need for affordable housing.
“We’re planning on a lot more people,” said Harrell Moore, minister at Grace United Methodist Church and president of the George County Habitat for Humanity, based in the county seat of Lucedale.
Like many of Habitat’s smaller, more rural affiliates, George County HFH is staffed entirely by volunteers. They work out of an office in an old garment factory.
“You can do a lot with a few committed people,” said the soft-spoken Moore. “We know there a lot of people here who need a home, so we’re doing as much as we can.”
Building one house a year is typical for such small affiliates. But since the hurricane season of 2005, there have been no typical years. Between February 2007 and February of this year, George County HFH built 15 houses. Plans are to build 10 more before the end of 2008.
Once the hurricane fallout has subsided, Moore said, the affiliate’s goal is to build three houses a year for the foreseeable future.
For this year’s Carter Project, George County HFH will build 10 houses.
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|Though still on assignment for the U.S. Navy, Miyahara returned to campus for Commencement last spring.
Casually dressed and leaning back comfortably in his desk chair, John Miyahara doesn’t look like a minister. With his soft voice and easy demeanor, he doesn’t sound like a sailor. But he is both of those things and more.
As a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves, a United Methodist minister and director of religious life and community service at Dickinson, you have to wonder how he does it all.
“In my office, we attempt to do things that we think we cannot do,” Miyahara says. “I refer often to my favorite line from a song by Dave Matthews Band, ‘take these chances.’ ”
In fall 2005, Miyahara was summoned to six months of active duty with the Navy.
“In the military reserve, there is always a risk that you will be called,” he says. “I was called to Afghanistan in 2004 but couldn’t go because I didn’t have the field-experience course. So I took the course and began prepping myself mentally to go to Iraq. But then Hurricane Katrina happened.”
Miyahara was assigned to Task Force Navy Family, which assisted the 40,000 to 50,000 Navy personnel who were dislocated by Katrina. He was assigned to a relocation station in Pensacola, Fla., where he and several case workers, counselors and chaplains worked with 2,800 evacuees.
“We helped people with their emotional, physical and spiritual needs,” Miyahara says. “We housed them and assessed their material needs, of course, but when people go through something like that, it’s sure to jar them emotionally.”
Miyahara was in Pensacola for three months then was transferred to New Orleans.
“In the end, I took a one-year leave of absence from Dickinson,” he says. “I was encouraged by everyone in the Dickinson community to stay as long as I was needed.”
In the heart of the devastation, Miyahara recalls “taking care of the caretakers. People were really tired. Even though they were victims themselves, they were trying to help everyone else.”
Though not in Carlisle in the immediate aftermath of Katrina, he was able to assist his temporary replacement Michael Cameron in organizing three separate trips to the area—two to Pascagoula, Miss., and one to New Orleans.
The students spent a week in January repairing St. John’s Episcopal Church. Then, during spring break, a second group rebuilt the Union Baptist Church. Finally, in May, Dickinson students gutted homes in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
“Anne Cole ’06 is the one who got the students motivated,” Miyahara says. “We made sure they were aware that these were not party trips. Students had to apply, write essays, be interviewed, pay a share and sign a code of conduct.”
While different students went on each trip, there were a few repeat volunteers. Mindy Chambers ’08 went on two of the trips, and Cameron Kerr ’09 went on all three.
Miyahara saw the dedication of the duo and, when he resumed his post at Dickinson this past Sept. 1, he asked them to head a new organization on campus. This was the birth of Serve the World (STW), a group designed to embody the college’s commitment to engaging the world through service. (For more on the group, see Page 8.)
“We decided on two major service trips per year,” Miyahara says, “one somewhere in the United States during fall pause and a global trip during the winter break. And in the next few years, we will use the fall trips to return to the Gulf region.”
STW’s first international trip was Jan. 3-17 to Jamaica. Miyahara coordinated it with Rev. Earl Harrison, the pastor of 11 different churches there, three of which have schools. The STW group—14 students and three staff members—built the Ginger Hill School in Black River a new classroom to accommodate its 337 students and upgraded its computer lab with 10 donated computers. STW also did construction and repainting on a community church.
“Experiencing Jamaica as a worker and as what felt like an adopted community member was remarkable,” says Kerr. “In two weeks, the kids and the community changed us as much as we impacted them.”
STW will return to the Gulf this spring and, in summer 2008, Miyahara hopes to go to Asia with Peacework, an international volunteer organization.
“What will be different about that trip, and others in the future, is that we will invite alumni to come with us,” says Miyahara. “That’s a good way to develop lifelong connections.”
In the last year alone, Miyahara has served the world in places as far away as Jamaica and as distressed as the Gulf region. And he’s not finished taking chances. “The underlying thing is that I take risks, and I push my students to take risks. Dickinson doesn’t propose to be a status-quo institution.”
If you are interested in being a part of Serve the World, contact John Miyahara at <firstname.lastname@example.org>.
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From St. Louis on the Air
Mon May 2, 2011
A discussion on the ramifications of Bin Laden's death
On today's St. Louis on the Air, our guests shared their unique perspectives on the death of Osama bin Laden, and what it means for the war on terror.
You can listen to the full show here, but here are a few highlights:
St. Louisan Eric Greitens is a Navy SEAL who served in Afghanistan and, later, Iraq. He, like many observers here in the US, is eager for more details to emerge about the military operation that left Osama bin Laden dead. But, based on his experience as a SEAL, he offered an idea of what the preparations must have included:
“This group of commandos would have spent weeks preparing for this actual hit. They would have practiced time and time and time again. They would have had a team of Navy SEALS and intelligence professionals operating side by side for months trying to work out every single possible detail of the compound. They would have tried to know every detail, for example, which way every door opened in the compound.”
About his role in the hunt for bin Laden while he served in Afghanistan, Greitens said, “We wanted to be deliberate and patient and slowly do everything that we could to get one, two, three steps closer to Osama bin Laden.”
Faizan Syed is executive director of the Council on American Islam Relations (CAIR) in St. Louis. He said most Muslims are happy today that bin Laden has been found and killed:
“Osama bin Laden was not a representative of Muslims or Islamic ideology and in fact, CAIR St. Louis and CAIR International have condemned bin Laden multiple times along with other terrorist attacks. We’re very much against any type of terrorism, whether it’s Islamic terrorism or Christian terrorism or any type of terrorism.”
A statement from the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis said that bin Laden’s death is an important step in the fight against the perversion of their peaceful religion.
J. Martin Rochester, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said the news marks progress in the war on terrorism but America must continue to be vigilant:
“The terrorist network lost an iconic, charismatic figure who’s probably irreplaceable. At the same time, al-Qaida had morphed into a decentralized network of small cells and so certainly we shouldn’t make too much of this even though it’s a wonderful moment as far as I’m concerned.”
Rochester said he disagrees with those academics who believe that the threat of terrorism in the U.S. has been overstated.
Death of Osama Bin Laden
Bin Laden death
Osama Bin Laden Killed
death of Osama Bin Laden
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I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
Wisdom does not change. Wisdom did not evolve. Wisdom is not the result of discovery or experimentation. The amount of wisdom in the world is not growing. Men are not improving in wisdom with education and time. Wisdom is not developed in university think tanks. Wisdom is not accumulated in libraries. There is a fixed amount of wisdom in the universe, and men are losing contact with it. The future of our race is at stake!
Wisdom is the ability to rightly judge a situation and choose the correct action. There is a fixed amount of wisdom - perfect understanding of all things - with Jehovah (Pr 8:22-31). He possessed wisdom in the beginning ... the same eternal beginning when He created all we know (Gen 1:1). Any wisdom available to men is by revelation from Him only; it is not discovered by human effort. It begins with the fear of the LORD (Pr 1:7; 9:10).
Wisdom speaks here in the first person, for Solomon is in the midst of a lengthy personification of wisdom as a lady (Pr 8:1 - 9:12). A powerful figure of speech, Lady Wisdom is appealing to the sons of men to consider her superior gifts and virtues to the foolish and damning attractions of the strange woman (Pr 9:13-18). Every man makes a choice - to accept the offer of eternal wisdom from God or choose depraved folly instead.
We live in the midst of an information explosion. The Internet, and its mountains of data, is only a mouse click away. More money is being spent on education, and children are sent to institutions of higher learning for more years, than ever before. Private and public research, of even the most bizarre and obscure subjects, is increasing constantly.
But what did Paul say about such knowledge and learning? He warned Timothy to keep the wisdom given to him by preaching and to avoid the profane and vain babblings and oppositions of false science, which cause men to err from truth (I Tim 6:20-21). What a fit warning! And he also warned him that grave danger was coming in a generation that would be always learning without any ability to ever understand truth (II Tim 3:1-7).
Men are not getting "smarter and smarter." The invention of automobiles and other advances are deceiving. For at the very same time the race is morally imploding. Educated men miss even the sexual purpose of the woman. God has effectively given man a lobotomy and set him loose in the candy store of a lunatic mind (Rom 1:18-32).
Classrooms fill with tongue-pierced, hair-dyed, rag-wearing, and weed-smoking pubescent children. An older version of their evolved species monitors the sharing of dreams and imaginations. They ridicule parents, mock pastors, rebel against government, and call for a new way of things. And they call this education! They call this learning!
The fixed body of wisdom the LORD Jehovah has offered the human race is found in the Holy Bible alone. But of course, with all their Internet accumulations and university ravings, they despise the only wisdom available! In fact, to make sure their hallucinations are not questioned or refuted, they have outlawed the Bible in school! How intelligent!
Reader, if you appreciate the right definition and source of wisdom, then carefully read Job 28:12-28. Let a truly wise man instruct you! When you are done, there will be only one response to the depraved and profane claims to advancing knowledge in our generation, "But the emperor is naked!" Let God be true, but every man a liar!
The blessed Lord Jesus Christ possesses all the eternal wisdom of God (Col 2:3). He has always possessed all of it. He never changes - He is not growing in wisdom (Heb 13:8). He is allowing this world to show its true colors - depraved rebellion against God and hatred for wisdom - before He comes to incinerate it (II Thess 1:7-10; I Tim 6:13-16).
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A Google app, ‘Make Me Asian,’ allowing users to change their appearance, has sparked outrage from Asian-American groups, who call it “racist and offensive.”
[It] allows users to change their appearance by reshaping eyes or fashioning portraits with rice paddy hats and Fu Manchu mustaches is facing protests from Asian-American groups.
The “Make Me Asian” app claims “this is just a fun app [that] lets you indulge you and your friends,” according to its description on the Google Play store.
“You can for a few seconds make himself a Chinese, Japanese, Korean or any other Asians,” reads the description of the app, created by user KimberyDeiss, in broken English.
An online campaign called 18 Million Rising — named after the number of Asian-Americans in the United States — called the app’s depictions of Asians and Native Americans “racist and offensive.”
A similar app, “Make Me Indian,” from the same maker has also recently drawn criticism.
“These racist and offensive portrayals of Asians and Native Americans perpetuate damaging racial stereotypes and should not be distributed on the Google Play store,” the campaign said. Source
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By Lauren Seibert, World Vision ACT:S Advocacy & Campaigns Fellow
Many people are concerned that we're slipping into a post-Christian era. But 29-year-old Pastor Jeff Jackson of Journey Church in New Albany, Ky., believes that the solution is right in front of us: connecting faith to action and activism.
"The bottom line is if we don't reach the generation behind us, the church will die out. We don't really have an option to not reach this generation — we have to," says Jackson. "So methodology is going to have to start changing. We're going to have to start talking about more social issues. A lot of times there has been a rift in the church, where people say if you're involved in social work or activism that's all you're going to do. But we know it's so much more than that."
Jackson's solution? He created a campaign for malaria that younger members of his church would be excited to get involved with. While Journey Church just started up last year, its approach and location next to Indiana University Southeast (IUS) has already attracted a strong audience of young people and 20-somethings. "We were trying to really unite college-age student that were coming to our church around a cause," says Jackson.
Jackson and his team decided to make t-shirts and sell them, with the money from each shirt buying insecticide-treated bed nets for Mozambique. After designing the shirts that read "Malaria kills 2,000 children every day. Helpendmalaria.com", he kicked off his website www.helpendmalaria.com and made a Twitter and Facebook page.
Every shirt sold symbolizes one more life protected by a bed net. The idea is so simple that it's catching. Local churches and youth groups have expressed an interest in getting involved with the campaign, as has campus ministry at IUS. In the future, Journey Church is thinking of expanding the campaign into a t-shirt design contest, which could build momentum for the movement across the U.S.
"It's been pretty cool, and it has been picking up a lot of interest online from other humanitarian organizations," says Jackson. "People are re-tweeting us, sharing our Facebook page. It's still in the infancy stage, but I was really surprised how quick people were jumping behind this to spread the word. We're really starting to see this grow because we're uniting our college-age students around this cause, and we've found that humanitarian efforts and activism is the language that they're speaking."
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Bellevue citizens no longer have to come to City Hall or the city's website every time they want to learn about the latest events and services. In the case of an emergency, they don't have to wonder what to do.
The city will come to them.
"E-mail Alerts" is an innovative new service that allows the public to subscribe to topics of interest and receive instant, automated e-mail (or in some cases wireless) notification whenever the city posts new information.
It's easy to use. Within a few clicks residents are signed up to learn more about news releases, job openings, meeting minutes and much more.
E-mail Alerts represent the latest effort by the city to enhance communications with residents and businesses. A year ago, the city unveiled a dramatically revamped website, designed to be attractive and, more importantly, easily navigable.
Spanish and Chinese versions of the site have been developed, with Russian and Vietnamese versions on the way. The site features more video, as well as online registration and feedback forms.
With news presented prominently on the home page, the website offers immediacy, but people still have had to go to the site to find out when new information is posted.
E-mail Alerts changes that by notifying people via e-mail when information on topics of their choice is posted. They can be in the loop about code revisions, City Council agendas or other city news every time they open their inbox.
How it works
When a user is at a web page that interests him or her, they will see an E-mail Alerts logo and/or text about the service. When they click on the logo/text, they will have the opportunity to sign up for the e-mail alerts for that page as well as others if they choose. Each e-mail alert will have a link to the updated web page.
Subscribers can ask for e-mails to be consolidated into weekly or monthly digests, but the city itself will ensure that people do not feel spammed. E-mails will go out only when substantive content changes. People can unsubscibe at any time.
The city has partnered with GovDelivery, Inc., to offer the service. The Minnesota-based company provides web page tracking to a growing list of government agencies, which have experienced a 20 to 40 percent increase in web page traffic while delivering better service to their citizenry.
Return to News Release Index
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The following is an email from James Cameron to Don Walsh, co-pilot of the Trieste…
Explorer and filmmaker James Cameron is soon to make history on a mission to Earth’s deepest point.
“DEEPSEA CHALLENGER had both booms extended and all her lights blazing,” said underwater photographer Simon Christidis. “I tracked her downward until she was swallowed by the darkness.”
James Cameron goes in front of the camera to talk about why we need modern exploration to further science.
Just before noon, the Mermaid Sapphire lay half a mile away from the island on an ocean simmering with heat. We could smell wood smoke from a cook fire somewhere inside the thick green jungle behind the beach.
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Horacio Ferrer and Astor Piazzolla were close friends and had a remarkable creative collaboration for many years.
Horacio: Okay. Shall we talk about Astor Piazzolla?
Terry: Yes. When he was a young man, he was in the United States, in New York.
Horacio: Yes, he was there a long, long time. We went to New York.
Terry: Do you know that in English he had a Lower East Side accent? I heard him speaking on the radio, and his accent is quite strange, especially when you consider that he's Argentine. Can you give us some comments about the elements of North American music, especially jazz, in Piazzolla's music?
Horacio: I think that really there are not too many jazz elements in Piazzolla's music. They're there, but they're not central. I think that Piazzolla's idea — well, maybe he attained something different from what he proposed — I think he was very essentially a tanguista, playing the bandoneón. That instrument is very specific to the tango.
Other things can be played on the bandoneón, like Bach's music, but the bandoneón is the very face of the tango, and he played the bandoneón. Besides he came from a race of tanguistas, because he played in Anibal Troilo's orchestra, who was a great innovator, and he was an admirer of Osvaldo Pugliese and De Caro, who had been the greatest of previous innovators. So that he was very involved, and all the elements of Piazzolla's music are of the tango.
What happens is that, in the harmonic and contrapuntal parts of his music, he finds things from other musical springs, like jazz, also from European classical music, with which he garnishes the dish. But the beef, the churrasco, is from Buenos Aires. The accompaniment, the decoration is from others, because, besides, he liked differentiating himself from the tangueros because he was different.
I believe he changed the very scale of the tango. And by changing the scale I mean that, before, in the western tradition, there was the 78-rpm record that could hold six or seven phrases of sixteen measures each. He extended that. And he is always passionate in whatever he does, in the beginning, the middle and the end, and so, that way, there are works that last six or eight minutes or longer.
So he changed the scale of the tango, and always with the same depth of feeling. Because there are musicians that have a kind of elastic that is red in color, but when they stretch it, it gets pink. Not him. He's always red, what he does is always intense, it's always very human and very profound in its poetic musical discourse.
Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer, 1969
Terry: You come from Montevideo, don't you?
Horacio: I was born in Montevideo. I could have been born in Montevideo or Buenos Aires, which in reality are the same city.
Terry: But are there different musical elements in the tango montevideano?
Horacio: No, no. The school is porteño (i.e. from Buenos Aires). The school of the tango is porteño. What we do have in Montevideo is more black people. They've disappeared from Buenos Aires - in total, in all of Argentina now there remain only about three thousand black families.
So in Montevideo, there's a lot of candombe and a lot of milonga (i.e. other dances, usually faster than tango, that yet retain harmonic and rhythmic relationships with tango). Because the milonga is Black. The tango has nothing of the Blacks in it; the milonga is totally Black. It contains the essence of the Blacks. And so Montevideo is more milonguera and more candombera than it is tanguera. But one doesn't know, in the end, which city is more or less tanguera, because the fact is it's the same cultural region, the same substance of customs and habits, with small differences.
Terry: I want to ask about "Chiquilín de Bachín" ("The Kid from the Bachín").
Horacio: Yes, yes. Why not?
Terry: It's one of my favorite tangos, especially in terms of the poetry of the lyrics. For me, the vision of this kid looking through the window of the boliche (cafe/bar)...he's probably thirsty, well, hungry. He's very poor, obviously.
Horacio: Yes, yes, he's very poor.
Terry: And the idea of his poverty, and the riches of the people on the other side of the windowpane, that's like a transparent barrier, and the difference between them...
Horacio: Right, right, the street simply continues being cruel, while through the windowpane inside everything is much more hospitable and affectionate, and there's a lot more food.
Terry: It's a poem in its own right, isn't it?
Horacio: No. It was written to the music, eh? I wrote it to Piazzolla's music. When he passed it by me, la-la-la la-la-la (Horacio sings a few notes of the melody), I said to him...he says, "Do you like it?" And I said, "It's lovely!" And I said to him, "But what does it mean to suggest? Because I'll write something from the inside of your feelings, from inside what you're thinking." He said to me, "It sounds to me like a children's round."
From that, the idea occurred to me of this little kid selling flowers (whom I still know now. He's so much older now. He's forty. He was eight then.) And that's why I wrote those lyrics, no? Because of Piazzolla's idea that this was a children's round, and because of what happened in that Bachín cantina to which Piazzolla and I used to go to eat, into which all those characters of the night would come, no?
(Continued in Part 3)
Causes Terence Clarke Supports
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US to boost nuclear missile defence to counter N Korea
The US plans to bolster its missile defences on the west coast to counter the threat from North Korea, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has announced.
He said the US would add 14 interceptors, which can shoot down missiles in flight, to 30 already in place in California and Alaska by 2017.
But the final phase of the US European Missile Defence programme is being scrapped to partly fund the project.
Due to begin in 2022, it would have sited interceptors in eastern Europe.
Mr Hagel cited a "series of irresponsible and reckless provocations" recently by North Korea.
Pyongyang carried out a third nuclear test last month.
A statement in North Korean state media last month also threatened the US with a pre-emptive nuclear strike.Europe plan shelved
However, analysts say the regime is years away from producing a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the US.
"The US has missile defences to protect us from limited ICBM [Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile] attacks," Mr Hagel told Friday's press conference.
"But North Korea in particular has recently made advances in its capabilities and has engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations."
The defence secretary said the US needed to "stay ahead of the threat".
He said the additional 14 interceptors would be deployed to Fort Greely in Alaska at a cost of about $1bn (£660m).
As part of the strategy, the US will also deploy a radar-tracking station in Japan.
The Pentagon will shift some of the funding away from the missile defence programme it has been setting up in Europe.
Mr Hagel said US commitment remained "ironclad" to the European shield, and that missile batteries would be established in Poland and Romania by 2018.
But he said that another part of the plan had been shelved.
James Miller, Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Policy at the Department of Defence, later clarified that the final phase of the missile defence programme had been dropped.
"The prior plan had four phases. The third phase involved the deployment of interceptors in Poland. And we will continue with phases one through three," Mr Miller told reporters.
"In the fourth phase, in the previous plan, we would have added some additional type of interceptors - the so-called SM-3 IIB would have been added to the mix in Poland.
"We no longer intend to add them to the mix, but we'll continue to have the same number of deployed interceptors in Poland that will provide coverage for all of Nato in Europe," he added.
President George W Bush first proposed a defence shield in Europe, which had incensed Russia.
His successor Barack Obama rolled back on the plans, announcing a much smaller deployment.
Friday's announcement represents a further toning down of the plans.
The Pentagon said its top North Korea official would be visiting Russia and Germany next week.
The Alaska and California sites were built during the presidency of George W Bush as protection from a possible strike by North Korea.
Technical difficulties with the interceptors slowed their installation.
When asked about the "poor performance" of interceptors during recent trials, Mr Hagel said further tests would be carried out this year.
"We have confidence in our system," he said, "and we certainly will not go forward with the addition of the 14 interceptors until we're sure we have the complete confidence we need."
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Small Business Investment Companies
The Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. SBICs, licensed by the Small Business Administration, are privately organized and privately managed investment firms. They are participants in a vital partnership between government and the private sector economy. With their own capital and with funds borrowed at favorable rates through the Federal Government, SBICs provide venture capital to small independent businesses, both new and already established.
The 504 Certified Development Company (CDC) Program provides growing businesses with long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land and buildings. A Certified Development Company is a nonprofit corporation set up to contribute to the economic development of its community or region. CDCs work with the SBA and private-sector lenders to provide financing to small businesses. There are about 290 CDCs nationwide. Each CDC covers a specific area.
Preferred , SBAExpress, Patriot Express and Community Express Lenders Headquartered in Texas:
SBA Express Lenders
Patriot Express Lenders
Community Express Lenders
The MicroLoan Program was developed to increase the availability of very small loans to prospective small business borrowers. Under this program, the SBA makes funds available to nonprofit intermediaries, who in turn make loans to eligible borrowers in amounts that range from under $100 to a maximum of $25,000. The average loan size is $10,000. Completed applications can usually be processed by the intermediary in less than one week.
SBA's National HUBZone site for a description of the HUBZone Program, including how to find out if you are located in a HUBZone, and how to apply for HUBZone Certification.
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First, it will “guarantee” US prosperity and security. In a world where the enemy gets a vote that seems an incredible boast for an administration committed to more humble and apologetic America.
Most important, Biden rightly stated that America cannot be a great power without having a great economy…but then he also touted the stimulus package that has done little more than stimulate the national debt.
Biden also said the strategy reserves the right to “preemptively” act to defend US interests. That sounds little more than Bush-lite from an administration that thinks strategy is just a matter of sounding like “anything but Bush.”
The Vice President also emphasized the importance of using all the instruments of national power. Another solid statement … but it is hard to see where administration action matches rhetoric. The administration plans significant defense cuts in the year ahead soft power is no substitute for hard power-gutting hard power undermines the effectiveness of soft power.
Finally, Biden stressed the importance of international cooperation…but again it is hard to see many examples of the strategy in action. The administration, for example, abandoned a key missile defense agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic in order to kowtow to Russia. The White House has also failed to close two key defense cooperation agreements with Britain and Australia.
It was a great speech Joe…but not one that can guarantee America a safe, secure, and prosperous future.
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BSR’s sport air filters increase the engine power with 3-4Hp. The air filter has a lower air resistance than a standard filter. Generally the engine runs up faster and responds faster than with a standard filter. When the car is tuned it’s sometimes necessary to change to a sport air filter because the engine requires more air at full charge.
The filter material consists of a unique cotton fabric giving the best combination of low air resistance, efficient filtration and long durability. On both sides of the pleated cotton fabric there is a steel net to strengthen the filter and to prevent that the filter is sucked into the engine. The filter is sealed by soft edges made of polur ethane. The filters are washable and if you maintain them properly they will last the entire life of the car.
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Title: Microfinance and Poverty Reduction: The Experience of Ghana
Author: Dr Joseph Kimos Adjei
No. of pages: 211
Publisher: Bold Communications Limited
Information on microfinance may abound in many books but when it comes to giving comprehensive insight to and making thorough analysis of the microfinance sector in Ghana, there may be no other book than the one titled ‘Microfinance and Poverty Reduction: The Experience of Ghana’, authored by Joseph Kimos Adjei, an academic and a practitioner in the field of microfinance.
The book is simply a masterpiece produced from long years of academic inquisition into and practical experience of the microfinance sector in Ghana. With long years of experience as credit manager in three prominent financial institutions in the country and a doctoral thesis on the subject, the author succeeds in breaking down the theoretical and practical intricacies of microfinance in general and the Ghana case in particular to the understanding of even those who may have low appreciation of microfinance. Coming in a beautifully-designed cover, the book is cast in eight main chapters. With a rich research background, the author spices the book with relevant graphs, tables, figures, academic references and scientific analyses that make the book very interesting reading. As the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Microfinance Institutions Network (GHAMFIN), Dr David O. Andah, who wrote the foreword to the book puts it, Microfinance and Poverty Reduction: The Experience of Ghana is “a must-read book for anyone interested in microfinance”. Indeed, the book is a masterpiece that players in the microfinance sector, researchers, lecturers and students of banking and finance, development studies and public policy will find more costly to forgo than to acquire at any price.
The first chapter provides clues as to how microfinance could be used as an effective tool for poverty reduction. Microfinance programmes throughout the world have been adopted by various institutions in the developing world as one of the key strategies towards the reduction of poverty. In this regard, governments and developing partners have contributed in diverse ways resources to support the microfinance sector to expand their operations and increase the depth of outreach. Over the past three decades, various governments have adopted varied strategies including short and long term measures to address the problem of the high prevalence of poverty in their countries. These strategies include the technical assistance and funding for micro-credit activities and the creation of of an enabling environment for key players to provide financial services to the poor to improve their livelihood. The author gives a vivid overview of poverty reduction strategies in Ghana from 1980 to 2008, and the role of microfinance in reducing poverty in the country. The author observes that for most micro and small entrepreneurs in Ghana, the lack of access to financial services “is a critical constraint to the expansion of viable micro-enterprises”. Microfinance institutions have been allowed to operate and play a role in poverty reduction through the provision of small loans, savings and insurance products, money transfer and other financial and non-financial services to enable the poor generate income, build assets, and improve on their housing structures and related facilities.
In chapter two, the author evaluates the development and success factors of microfinance in general, and makes a very intriguing comparison between micro-credit and microfinance. This chapter covers the development of the microfinance industry from the early 1980s when the focus was mainly on credit and other important financial services required by the poor were not provided. It also examined the era of state intervention in providing financial services to farmers and other disadvantaged individuals with poor repayment records, as well as contemporary times when most commercial banks and other non-bank financial institutions have deemed it necessary to enter this growing and profitable but competitive market. The innovative mechanisms and the unique methodologies adopted by microfinance institutions have also been explored. Challenges confronting the formal commercial banks who have ventured into the microfinance market were covered. Finally, ways by which these institutions, that had hitherto ignored this important sector of their economies, could chart a course into the sector have also been identified.
In chapter three, Dr Adjei exhibits his rich understanding of theory and practice in microfinance by providing readers with evidence-based effects of microfinance programmes on poverty reduction and asset building. The chapter examines the empirical literature on microfinance and its effects on poverty reduction in general. The review placed a large emphasis on studies in South East Asia especially Bangledesh, where formal institutional microfinance programmes started and where we have a large body of literature on the effects of microfinance on poverty reduction. There are also some studies from sub-Sahara African countries including Ghana. The review of existing works by various authors and researchers confirms the conflicting and mixed results of the effectiveness of microfinance as a poverty reduction strategy. Notwithstanding, microfinance has emerged globally as an effective strategy for poverty reduction with the potential for far-reaching impact in transforming the lives of poor people. Overall, the review indicates that there is a common acceptance of the important role microfinance institutions are playing in poverty reduction efforts in developing countries. It has, however, been observed that most of these programmes are not reaching the very poor. It is further noted that such people could benefit from microfinance progammes only if such programmes are well-designed and targeted specifically at the poorest with some form of social welfare component attached.
Chapter four of the book deals with contextual issues affecting microfinance in Ghana. The author examines some factors of poverty, such as population, the economy and inequality. He also discusses the geographical disparities in poverty levels, gender dimensions of poverty and policies to support microfinance programmes.
Making references to World Bank and Ghana Statistical Service data, Dr Adjei observes that although Ghana has achieved impressive economic growth rates since 1991, “poverty incidence and depth in the country remain high”. He enumerates many programmes introduced at various times with the view to reducing poverty.
These interventions include the Rural Finance Project, Rural Financial Services Project, Microfinance and Small Loans Centre and Ghana Microfinance Policy. Even though various programmes and policies have been adopted to reduce the incidence of poverty, not much has been achieved. As part of the strategy to solve this problem, government have placed greater emphasis on microfinance under the GPRS I and II and have also put in place an enabling environment for the microfinance sector through a microfinance policy document.
Microfinance in Ghana has come a long way, and for people who may have little or no knowledge about the history of the sector, the author provides in chapter five of the book an in depth information on the evolution of microfinance in the country. In this chapter an overview has been provided of the important roles being played by various microfinance institutions in Ghana. As part of the strategy to reduce the level and incidence of poverty in the country and, therefore, attain some of the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals, the government has placed greater emphasis on microfinance by putting in place an enabling environment for the microfinance sector. We examined the evolution of the microfinance sector in the country to its current status. It must be noted that microfinance institutions in Ghana are arranged in three tiers, namely the formal, semi-formal and informal players. These institutions play important roles in the socio-economic development of the country, especially in the area of income generation, employment and poverty reduction. Through the provision of credit, savings and insurance products as well as non-financial services, most beneficiaries especially women, are able to expand their businesses and generate income to support their households.
Having given such vivid account of the evolution of microfinance in Ghana, the author makes the book a class act by bringing readers up-close to the operations of microfinance institutions. Presenting a case study of Sinapi Aba Trust (SAT) in chapter six, he measures the depth of SAT’s outreach programmes through a survey that gives a better appreciation of the positive contributions of microfinance institutions. The results of the study indicate that, in general, SAT microfinance programme targets a disproportionately smaller number of the very poor in its operational areas, with approximately 46 per cent of its clients classified as less poor. These results are informed by the mission and objectives of the organization, the products and services it offers, as well as its policy of branch placement. The poverty assessment tool used for the analysis relies on varied poverty indicators reflecting the multi-dimensional nature of poverty and also offers an objective method for summarizing the overall poverty information of each household and unambiguously ranking these household by their relative poverty levels. Even though the method adopted for the analysis does not provide information on the absolute level of poverty of the two groups of respondents, it must be noted that, in most cases, it is the relative rather than the absolute poverty that is of concern to policy-makers and researchers.
Focusing on microfinance, asset building and poverty reduction, the author makes another case study of SAT in chapter seven, examining the determinants of borrowing from SAT, while analysing the effects of its programmes on clients in terms of financial, human and physical capital/assets. The chapter examines how participation in a microfinance institution enabled established (old) clients to build up assets in the form of financial, human and physical capital in comparison to the new clients of the programme. The study found out that the size of loans is the key determinant of positive programme effects on participants. It was also observed that the level of education is positively related to the acquisition of household durables and that, most often, clients who are well educated normally serve as executive members of the various trust banks, and may be rewarded with larger loans for the assumed responsibilities. Another major finding of the study is the little or non-significant effect of the length of time with the programme on the outcomes variables. Generally, the findings of this study are consistent with other studies carried out by various researchers in Africa and South East Asia especially Bangladesh. It must be emphasized that even though these findings were obtained within the Ghanaian context, they could be applicable to microfinance institutions operating in other developing countries throughout the world.
In tune with the adage that the past guides the future, the author peeps into the future in chapter eight, the last chapter of the book, as the author discusses some challenges facing the microfinance sector in the country and the way forward. The notes that the key challenges confronting the microfinance sector in developing countries, including Ghana, are capacity building; inadequate and expensive infrastructure base; poor credit delivery and management; inability to properly target the vulnerable and marginalized, research, monitoring and evaluation. On the way forward, the author underlines the need for microfinance institutions to expand access to commercial sources of funding in order to enlarge their operational tentacles. Furthermore, there is the need for microfinance institutions to develop the requisite skills and build good corporate governance, as well as dynamic and mission-oriented management to ensure efficiency.
Where to Obtain a Copy
Copies of the book can be obtained from the various public universities (i.e. University of Ghana (Business School, ISSER and the Bookshop) University of Cape Coast (Department of Economics); Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST Business School); University of Development Studies (both Tamale and Wa campus), UCC, KNUST, UDS) and selected bookshops across the country, as well as the offices of the National Banking College, GHAMFIN, Chartered Institute of Bankers, http://www.amazon.com and branches of HFC Bank where HFC Boafo Microfinance Services Ltd operates. One can also obtain copies from the publisher or the author.
Price: GH¢ 30 (Thirty Ghana cedis only).
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Last week, the House passed the “No More Solyndras Act” on a mostly party-line vote. However, instead of terminating the Department of Energy loan guarantee program that subsidized Solyndra and other boondoggles, the bill allows applicants who filed before the first of this year to still receive handouts.
The DOE will still have $34 billion in remaining lending authority to issue new loan guarantees. And as Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) explains, there are going to be plenty of opportunities for taxpayers to get fleeced again:
It was recently revealed that approximately 50 applications sit active in the queue. The projects include an $8.3 billion loan guarantee for nuclear reactor project in Georgia and a nearly $2 billion loan guarantee for a liquid coal facility in Wyoming. There’s a $1.7 billion loan guarantee for a coal gasification plant in Indiana plus more than 15 solar projects in the pipeline!
Some of these applicants are clear losers for taxpayers. This bill would allow a $2 billion loan guarantee for a uranium enrichment project to remain on deck, ready to receive a loan guarantee despite the fact that the company has received a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange. Talk about taxpayers striking out, the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) is currently in line to receive a loan guarantee for its enrichment facility in Piketon, OH. On the other hand USEC hit a home run with a $100 million giveaway in the continuing resolution.
What’s really disgraceful is that an amendment from Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) that would have completely terminated the loan guarantees wasn’t even allowed to be debated and voted on. According to TCS, the House Rules Committee “sidelined” McClintock’s amendment. Why? Because the Republican leadership was apparently only interested in using the bill to score political points against the administration. Having a bunch of its own members argue and vote against completely killing the notorious corporate welfare program (again) would have been an embarrassment.
As Rep. McClintock said on the House floor, the bill should be renamed “The 50 More Solyndras and Then We’ll Stop Wasting Your Money — Really — We Promise Act.”
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December 15, 2011
The Bull in the Culinary Lab
The world’s most famous resto, El Bulli, and its molecular mad-scientist are frozen on film in an obsessive new doc. out now
By Felicia Feaster
Liquid “olives” that burst on the palate, and foamed beetroot are just par for the course when Ferran Adrìa is in his culinary lab
In the realm of foodie passion, you don’t get more feverishly deep into dining than Ferran Adrìa, the Catalan proprietor of the world-renowned restaurant El Bulli, located on a remote slice of the Spanish coast. As El Bulli’s cult chef, Adria inspired an entire movement of molecular gastronomy groupies with his deconstructed dishes. A collective gasp was heard round the foodie universe, when Adrìa announced he would close his restaurant for good in 2011 to focus on culinary research. Foodie high priests, gourmands, journalists and celebs clamored for invites to the extravagant last suppers, which were meticulously documented in everything from New York magazine to Vanity Fair. The bull may have left the china shop, but a new documentary preserves Adria’s legacy of food as outlandish science experiment (think: his signature spherical, liquid olives) in German director Gereon Wetzel’s documentary, El Bulli: Cooking in Progress.
The Michelin 3-star El Bulli is introduced in the documentary as a mysterious, even foreboding grey, bunker-like space, with small windows offering glimpses of the frenzy unfolding within. All is still outside, but inside is a bustling chaos of men and women in chef whites hunched over meticulous plates of peacock-colorful food. In many ways, what Wetzel is documenting is a relic cased in amber. The money-hemorrhaging avant-garde restaurant—35 courses were served and 42 chefs were on staff—shuttered this year with plans to reopen in 2014 as a creativity center devoted to further invention in the realm of food.
In this fascinating documentary, the staff at the famed El Bulli perform the annual business of shutting down the restaurant and trucking all of their freeze-drying, vacuumizing, laboratory-worthy equipment to Barcelona. Each year the entire restaurant and staff go on hiatus for an incredible six months to perfect new recipes. The documentary is the record of that process, which is so slow and meticulous that it often seems filmed in real time. Like the great documentarian Frederick Wiseman, Weizel hails from the quiet, observational, immersion school of documentary filmmaking. There are no interviews or voice-over narration. Just cooking and more cooking. Time passes slowly as the rhythms of this world unfold at their own tempo. You will either surrender to the glacial progress, or flee screaming from the theater.
Viewers are given a fly-on-the-wall glimpse of the process of culinary innovation as Adrìa’s chef-acolytes toil in laboratory-like test kitchens to create cutting-edge new recipes, techniques and ingredients. The team labors to concoct new jellies, essences and distillations and ways to render marrow, rabbit’s brains, sweet potato juice, oil and mushroom essence, and cartilage of calf’s shoulder into something of complete and sensorial deliciousness. In place of rattling copper pots and knife-chopping, there are hunched, studious men in white recording their discoveries in notebooks and cataloguing them in photographs. The depths of their experimentation are often comical. They resemble nothing so much as children making mud pies and grass soups--- alive to possibility, imagination and the craziest combinations. They taste each other’s potions with the expectation of delight. At one point Adrìa’s head chef and assistant arrive at a bustling market armed with a shopping list. Among the ingredients on the list: “five grapes.” The market vendor naturally gives them grief.
At a certain point in the process, the maestro himself ducks in to chart his chefs’ progress. A sample of this and a thimble of that is offered, as the chefs hang expectantly on Adrìa’s reaction. Like a churlish toddler disappointed with his dinner, Adrìa sniffs at something unpleasant then savors something more appealing. He barks at an assistant, “don’t give me anything that isn’t good!” The assistant scurries back to the drawing board. Disgust and quizzical expressions soon give way to infectious glee for the dramatic, otherworldly concoctions they have created, where raspberries float on broth and foods are encapsulated in a space capsule of jelly-like substance.
Nothing is too offbeat and the crux of Adrìa’s work is soon apparent. It is the aim of any artist: to render the known new again, to turn a familiar world of tastes and sensations topsy-turvy and utterly delight the palate in the process.
In the film’s climax the final dishes that the team has just spent months perfecting and tasting are photographed in close-up. They look like something you’d eyeball under a microscope or discover living in a galaxy far, far away. All of that work suddenly seems worth it and you long to taste those fantastical creations.
El Bulli: Cooking in Progress opens Dec. 16 at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.
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A security guard at the museum at Olympia was tied up as raiders stole 65 statuettes on Friday.
Two suspects are sought in the smash-and-grab robbery
They tied up a guard before storming the museum
They took 65 to 68 clay and brass statues, and a gold ring
It's the second big theft of this kind in Greece this year
(CNN) -- A manhunt was under way Saturday in Greece for two suspects who tied up a guard, stormed the Archeological Museum of Olympia, smashed glass casings and stole dozens of small statues, state media reported.
The robbers took 65 to 68 clay and brass statues, and a gold ring, police spokesman Athanassios Kokkalakis said Friday, the day of the theft.
Closed-circuit video footage showed the suspects as they seized about 65 statuettes, Greece's official AMNA news agency reported.
It's the second big theft of this kind in Greece this year.
Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos submitted his resignation after the robbery, the prime minister's office said Friday.
In January, three art works -- including a painting by Pablo Picasso and another by Piet Mondrian -- were stolen from the National Gallery in Athens.
Dimitra Koutsoumba, president of the Greek Archaeologists' Association, said Friday that the latest attack was sad and worrying.
"It is the first time that we have an armed robbery at a museum during operating hours. It shows that the cuts the Culture Ministry has made since the crisis hit in 2009 make it easier for such incidents to take place," she said. "The minister himself had told us that the cuts were ranging between 30% and 35%, and they include cuts in personnel."
She called for more importance to be placed on cultural heritage and said greater steps should be taken to protect irreplaceable items that belong to the nation.
"Such incidents are an issue of national security," she said. "The artifacts that were taken were mainly figurines related to the Olympics, so many were depicting athletes."
The museum, built on an ancient site in the Peloponnese peninsula, is considered among the most important in Greece.
The ceremony for the lighting of the Olympic flame for the 2012 London Olympics is scheduled to take place on May 10 at the Ancient Olympia site, where the museum is located.
The first Olympic Games were held in Olympia in 776 B.C. to celebrate the deity Zeus. A sanctuary at the site was dedicated to him.
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(No. 181 - June 24, 2011 – 10:00 p.m. ET) John Baird, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, today announced that Canada has rejected a statement by the Chair of the Kimberley Process.
The administrative notice, issued late yesterday, incorrectly states that a compromise was reached at the Kimberley Process Intersessional Meeting held June 20-23, 2011, in Kinshasa regarding exports from the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe.
"Contrary to the Chair’s Notice, key concerns were not addressed and Canada, and like-minded states, did not endorse the proposal submitted by the Chair,” said Minister Baird.
"The notice was issued in contravention of rules and procedures of the Kimberley Process. We are advising the Canadian diamond industry against trade in Marange diamonds.
"In light of the Zimbabwean military’s brutal crackdown on miners in December 2008, Canada continues to call for supervised exports from two Marange mines and a credible monitoring arrangement. Without these systems in place, Canada refuses to go along with the plan to certify Zimbabwe’s diamonds.
"All diamond-producing countries stand to lose if the Kimberley Process is rendered ineffective. Canada will continue to work to address the fundamental weaknesses of the Kimberley Process and find a credible solution that is satisfactory to all stakeholders.
"Marange diamonds should benefit the people of Zimbabwe. One important step toward this goal is to ensure that the diamonds are properly and credibly certified through a strong Kimberley Process."
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Follow us on Twitter.
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Help & How-To
By Alfred Poor
Getting a Rise Out of Your PC
My new computer does not have enough expansion slots to suit my needs, and the PC maker tells me that I need a riser card. How many slots will this add? Am I limited to the ones offered by the manufacturer?
-Stuart Godwin, Jr.
A riser card (typically anywhere from $15 to $50) fits in an expansion slot in your PC and provides one or more slots that you can use for other types of add-in cards, which are in turn usually mounted parallel to the motherboard. Depending on the position of the host slot on the motherboard, you may need a riser card that faces one direction or the other. In some cases, you may not have room for a fixed riser card; you might need to use one that relies on ribbon cables to connect with the motherboard slot.
Because it can be so hard to tell whether a given riser card will work in your PC without actually fitting it (and the cards that will plug into it), by far the safest bet is to buy a riser from your system maker, if it offers one for your particular motherboard and case type. Also, many variables govern PCI-standard expansion slots—they may be 32-bit or 64-bit, they may use 5-volt or 3.3-volt signaling, or their special signaling requirements might require a proprietary riser-card design. All are arguments in favor of buying any risers from your PC maker.
If your PC maker doesn't offer a specific card, generic riser cards are made by reputable component makers such as Supermicro and Cooler Master, available from computer superstores and online retailers such as CDW and Newegg.com.
Motherboard Speed Limit
I have been running a computer with a 1.5GHz AMD Athlon XP 1800+ CPU for a few years. Recently, it has begun to freeze up without any apparent provocation. It might run for a few days or just a few minutes before it halts. I have replaced the power supply, checked the memory, used a different hard drive, and replaced the CPU fan, all to no avail. If I "underclock" the CPU to 1.1GHz, however, it runs fine for days. I have even replaced the CPU chip with another of the same speed, and the same thing occurs. What's going on?
Your clock-speed experiment is telling. If you hadn't swapped out the CPU, it would have been my first suspect, but because the processor is not the problem, I'm thinking that a logic component on your motherboard itself is failing. It's probably overheating at normal clock speeds (and causing your crashes), but running cool enough at the slower speed to avoid malfunctioning.
It is possible that you could identify the problem component, but given the low cost of motherboards, it's not worth the trouble. The $50 to $75 is minimal next to the time you'd otherwise spend trying to pinpoint the problem—plus, you still wouldn't be certain that you'd found the guilty part, and you probably wouldn't be able to fix it, either. I'd recommend starting over with a new motherboard and a fresh warranty.
I was looking at the Customize Notifications properties window for the taskbar of my PC. (To get there, right-click the taskbar, choose Properties > Taskbar tab > Notification area > "Hide inactive icons" button > Customize.) In that dialog box, I'm still seeing icons for many programs I have already uninstalled. How can I get rid of these?
I suspect that the answer lies somewhere in the Registry, and if you have a good Registry editor, you could go on a search-and-destroy mission for entries that refer to the deleted programs. But I wouldn't bother.
First, the stranded icons you see in the Customize Notifications window are likely doing no harm, and it's hardly worth the time to delete the few hundred bytes these icons consume. Reducing the Registry size by removing these entries is likely to have no perceptible effect on system-startup times or operating performance.
Moreover, making changes to the Registry has its risks, even if you use a good editor. Deleting or modifying the wrong entry can have serious unintended consequences, and you can spend far more time trying to recover from the damage than you could possibly save by getting rid of those few icons.
When I plug my external hard drive or digital camera into a USB port on my computer, I get a pop-up message that says, "This device can perform faster if you connect it to a High-Speed USB 2.0 port." I thought all USB 2.0 ports were High-Speed.
-John R. Wright
Indeed, USB 2.0 ports—the kind found on most newer computers—support faster data transfers than the original USB 1.x versions. The first thing you should do is confirm the status of your ports. Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties. On the Hardware tab, choose the Device Manager button. In the Device Manager window, click on the plus sign next to the line "Universal Serial Bus controllers," and look at the lines for "host controller."
If they have the word "enhanced" in their name, then they support USB 2.0 transfers. If not, they are for the slower ports.
If you do not see any "enhanced" drivers, there are two possibilities. The first is that your computer has 2.0-compatible USB ports, and you simply have the wrong drivers installed. Contact the system manufacturer or the motherboard maker to see if you have the correct USB drivers. The other possibility is that you have an older system with USB 1.x-compatible ports, and they do not support the faster drivers. If this is the case, all is not lost. You can buy a PCI expansion card with USB 2.0 ports for less than $15 and add this faster data-transfer capability to your system.
A PC WITH A VIEW
I am currently building my own PC, but I'm stuck on choosing the right display setup. I'm trying to decide between a four-screen LCD array or just two LCD touch screens.
If either time or money is any consideration, I'd go for the quad-monitor configuration. LCD monitors are remarkably inexpensive these days (under $150 for a 15-inch unit and less than $200 for a 17-inch), and you can buy special desktop mounts that will hold four screens in a two-by-two matrix for a reasonable price (such as Moview's The Quad, $283.99 from CDW). You can get two inexpensive graphics cards with two ports each, and run both in your computer, or you can find a single card with four ports if expansion slots are scarce. (Matrox Graphics is a well-known source for the latter.)
If you go this route, keep two important points in mind. First, make sure that the monitors have connectors that match those on your graphics cards. Many dual-output cards have one analog and one digital connection, so you'll need to make sure that your monitors will accept either type, or that you get appropriate adapters. Also, be sure that the monitors are compatible with VESA mounting plates, since these are what nearly all multiple-panel stands use.
As for the touch-screen approach, keep in mind that you may need to buy additional (expensive) software or spend lots of time programming the system—or both—to accept the touch-screen inputs. Also, if you have two monitors, you'll need to be able to differentiate between the inputs from the two screens. The deal breaker, however, is likely to be cost. Expect to spend around $350 to $500 for a 15-inch touch panel, and north of $600 for a 17-inch. For the cost of two, you should be able to buy the four regular LCDs and still have money left over.
Tip of the Month: FISHING LESSONS
"Alfred Poor's Computer Cures" first appeared in Computer Shopper in June 1994, and this month's column marks my last installment. "Computer Cures" will still appear each month in the magazine and on the Web, so keep sending your questions to email@example.com. To reach me personally, you are welcome to e-mail firstname.lastname@example.org.
In these past 155 columns, I have tried to help you and your fellow readers solve specific problems—but more than that, I've tried to present ways of thinking about and tackling problems when they arise. While I hoped to inform and entertain, my guiding principle was that old proverb: "Give a person a fish, and they eat for a day; teach them to fish, and they eat for a lifetime." In that spirit, I'd like to leave you with three of my favorite troubleshooting tips.
Make haste slowly. Don't rush to fix something when it appears to be broken. Pressing Escape or Enter to close an error-message window before writing the message down may throw away important information. Rushing off to fix one part when another may be at fault can compound your problems. So take the time to stop and think about what your next steps will be, and be sure to document as much as you can about the situation as you proceed.
Don't risk more than you can afford to lose. The worst time to realize that you don't have a second copy of all your critical data is after you've lost the original. A breakdown can be a permanent disaster or just a nuisance, depending on your level of preparation. A little time invested in data backups—both onsite and offsite—and planning on how to replace a lost computer can save lots of time and trouble later.
Start with the simple, and test what you can. If, for instance, the problem could be your graphics card, cable, or monitor, check the cable first. It's the least-expensive part of the three and the easiest to test. Once you eliminate it as the source of the problem, move on to the next-easiest suspect.
So long, and thanks.
Alfred Poor has been helping Computer Shopper readers cure their PC problems since 1994. He is also the author of "Alfred Poor's HDTV Resource Center" at hdtvprofessor.com. Contact him at email@example.com.
Previous Editions of Computer Cures
Computer Cures - August 2006
Computer Cures - September 2006
Computer Cures - October 2006
Computer Cures - November 2006
Computer Cures - December 2006
Computer Cures - January 2007
Computer Cures - February 2007
Computer Cures - March 2007
Computer Cures - April 2007
Computer Cures - May 2007
Computer Cures - June 2007
Computer Cures - July 2007
Computer Cures - August 2007
Computer Cures - September 2007
Computer Cures - October 2007
Computer Cures - November 2007
Computer Cures - December 2007
Computer Cures - January 2008
Computer Cures - February 2008
Computer Cures - March 2008
Computer Cures - April 2008
Computer Cures - May 2008
Computer Cures - June 2008
Computer Cures - July 2008
Computer Cures - August 2008
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America: a superpower no more
Decline is occurring more rapidly than we think. It's time to embrace a new agenda.
By Walter Rodgers
from the April 8, 2009 edition
OAKTON, VA. - Two American icons, General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway, lost their triple-A credit ratings. Then China, America's largest creditor, called for a new global currency to replace the dollar just weeks after it demanded Washington guarantee the safety of Beijing's nearly $1 trillion debt holdings. And that was just in March.
These events are the latest warnings that our world is changing far more rapidly and profoundly than we – or our politicians – will admit. America's own triple-A rating, its superpower status, is being downgraded as rapidly as its economy.
President Obama's recent acknowledgement that the US is not winning in Afghanistan is but the most obvious recognition of this jarring new reality. What was the president telling Americans? As Milton Bearden, a former top CIA analyst on Afghanistan, recently put it, "If you aren't winning, you're losing."
The global landscape is littered with evidence that America's superpower status is fraying.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan – arguably the world's most dangerous country – is falling apart, despite billions in US aid and support.
In Iraq, despite efforts in Washington to make "the surge" appear to be a stunning US victory, analysts most familiar with the region have already declared Iran the strategic winner of the Bush administration's war against Saddam Hussein. The Iraq war has greatly empowered Iran, nurturing a new regional superpower that now seems likely to be the major architect of the new Iraq.
Continue to read:
America: a superpower no more | csmonitor.com
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Thanks for the intel @JPW. Blender sounds interesting and something I'm sure some of our community members would love to check out. What's your experience with the whole open source model--do you regularly contribute to the community and do you find that other contributions in terms of code/model sharing etc. are helpful?
Companies that make microcontrollers (MCUs) often have a set of programming tools they make available for free. They also have a couple of tiers of software tools at higher places and with more capabilities. So, people can learn to use the tools and create and debug some code that runs on the semiconductor vendor's MCUs. Of course the MCU vendor hopes to make up for free or low-cost tools by selling you more chips. Yet many third parties also sell programming tools and seem to make money doing so. They enhance their products with added bells and whistles that programmers need and want. And they, too, have different prices for different levels of code optimization, add-ons, etc.
Perhaps the CAD-software people need a business model that gives away free software that lets a user create only x number of surfaces, CAD files of only y megabytes, and so on. Then if you want to upgrade, you buy the next license step which adds more features and allows for bigger designs. They could also put a time limit on the steps, so if I want the top package for only 6 months, I pay only for what I need and for as long as I need it.
A few years ago I tried Google's SketchUp and Alibre. Both seemed counterintuitive and difficult to use. I hope CAD software has improved.
I've downloaded and played around with a CAD OpenSource program called Blender. It is very popular I'm told with Makerspace (hackerspace) people. I recenlty joined a Makerspace in Southeastern Massachusetts.
***NOTE: this is a polygonal modeler; not a B-Rep, though I'm told if requested it will most likely get added.
The models I've seen done in Blender are quite impressive.
The interface is more complex than most MCAD packages; however, there are lots of tutorials on YouTube.
@JPW: You raise some interesting comparisons and I think you are right about the high price tag not corresponding well to everyone's picture of an enterprise application. Also, I don't think IT has any kind of role in choosing CAD tools so the expenditure comes right out of engineering's budget--not any kind of enterprise IT fund.
The open source avenue is interesting. I've heard some good things about the open source CFD tools. Have you come across any other popular design tools that make sense in an open source forum?
People by nature like the latest and greatest. CAD companies followed this idea for years. Then we found out most of us only need a smaller part of the features, plus the features are getting real expensive. Slimmer version were made available - then competion between the best slimmer versions, etc.
I am a PE consultant engineer. Most of the time, I use Inventor 11. This "old" software competes well against almost anything out there for what I need.
The only real problem is upward compatability, if I need to share with newer versions. This is mostly a money making gimmick. It would be easy to strip new feature off a file and let older programs run them. It seems that downward compatability is as easy as pie - there's money in it.
It's good to see a pay as you go model. Very often I'm working on a project and only need a tool for a couple of months, then a year goes by before I need to use the tool again. The full price tag is just too much for that kind of use and then add the maintenance fee, because the next time I need the tool it will be out of date. If the CAD vendors are going that way do you think the compiler vendors will do the same? I hate paying $1000+ every year just so my tool doesn't get out of date, because sometimes a couple of years go by before I use that particular micro again. With one compiler I stopped renewing the maintenance fee because the annual subscription is 1/3 the cost of a new license. It's a great tool, but I'll take the gamble that I won't need the update for three years.
Hi Beth, to me the pricing is a perspective issue. Most "business" software that businesses use on a daily basis; MS Office, Accounting, Graphics apps, fall in the <$2K range. When business people see the price of a MCAD product they are shocked and then they see that it has a maintenance contract; something not found in other common business apps and they are shocked again. They perceive that business software should be in the <$2K range or even <$1K, unless it is an enterprise wide software like an ERP package.
Thus, the MCAD is a really difficult sell (I know from experience) for engineering/CAD managers due to the MCAD pricing model; especially because MCAD is not an enterprise wide system.
On FEA it gets worse, and there I am personally turning to OpenSource software.
Please remember that Kubotek is spelled K-U-B-O-T-E-K.
Here is a link to the website: http://www.kubotekusa.com/
BTW we just announced a breakthrough and affordable Direct CAD & Simulation product: KeyCreator Analysis. Here is a link to the KeyCreator Analysis page http://www.kubotekusa.com/products/keycreator_sub/fea.html
That very well be, Rob, but it's high time for the vendors to rethink their licensing fee structures to reflect the times and how customers want and expect to pay for software. Increasing, the cloud is enabling pay-as-you go pricing and that's what customers are demanding. Keep in mind that software vendors also don't just make money on the actual license fee, but on annual subscription and maintenance fees. Those fees aren't going away, in many cases. And by offering subscription pricing, coupled with newer 3D visualization and design collaboration tools, vendors are actually expanding their user base for CAD and design tools--another way to amortize seemingly lost revenues for a different pricing model.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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As numerous news agencies reported last week, one person was killed and
another injured on a railroad trestle in Iredell County. They and ten others
were hunting for a "ghost train" about two miles west of Statesville. They
were struck at 2:45 a.m., when a real train rounded a curve on Bostian's Bridge over
Third Creek. Most were able to jump clear. A 29-year-old
man was struck and died on scene, having been thrown to the bottom of the 100-foot
ravine. Before he was struck, he pushed a woman to safety. She fell 30 to 40 feet
and was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center.
As news reports recounted, the group did not immediately react to the
oncoming train. They thought the thing was an apparition. The accident happened
on August 27, which is the anniversary of a deadly derailment that killed 25
people at the same site over 100 years ago. Legend has that a "ghost train"
makes appearances on the tracks, and that you can hear the sounds of grinding
metal and screaming passengers, as well as witness a watchman's lantern. WRAL recounted
the legend last year. But
did you know that six Asheville firefighters were aboard that day, and three
READ MORE Knightdale's First Pumper, 1955
Here's your morning historical photo. In May 1955, the town of Knightdale received their first fire truck, a 1942 General Motors pumper that was purchased from Navy surplus for $1,250. The truck was equipped with a 500 GPM pump and a 750 gallon tank. It was the second piece of apparatus for the Knightdale Fire Department. The volunteers had previously used a 1 1/2-ton town truck to transport hose, ladders, and other equipment. The fire department was formed one year earlier, and presumably concurrent with the installation of fire hydrants in town. Read more about their history. Click to enlarge the photo, taken by John Stalvey.
The Midtown Raleigh News reported this week on the upcoming second annual local Tunnels to Towers 5K race, where local firefighters will run through the streets of Wake Forest wearing full turnout gear, as a tribute to FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, who died in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
As the article notes, Siller was off-duty and heading to play golf when the planes struck the twin towers. He turned around, and headed back to town. Finding the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel closed to traffic, he ran the rest of the way and while wearing 75 pounds of his gear.
His journey inspired an annual Tunnel to Towers run in New York, and that story further inspired a seventh-grade teacher in Franklin County, who organized last year's race. The event is the only Tunnel to Towers run conducted outside of the big city. In addition to local firefighters, any member of the community can participate and walk or run the course.
Registration starts at 6:00 a.m. on September 11, and the race starts at 8:00 a.m. Proceeds will be donated to Stephen Siller "Let Us Do Good" Children's Foundation, the UNC Jaycee Burn Center, and Luggage with Love. For more information about the local event, visit tunneltotowerswf.org. For more about the story of the event, read the article.
Franklin Academy/Midtown Raleigh News photo
Every Sunday, Firegeezer posts an episode from Emergency! That's good stuff, but we can kick up the cheese factor by sliding from television to film, and from docudrama to disaster movie. Courtesy of YouTube, let's flash back to those Airport movies of the same era, and this gem of a sequence at the end of Airport 1975. Boeing 747 coming hot into Salt Lake City. My inner ten year-old remembers those vintage crash trucks well. And how many character actors can you spot, in addition to the Big Movie Stars? Love the Cadillac ambulances swerving to a stop at the 4:08 mark.
Might have to post a few more of these.
Let's wrap the afternoon with an artifact from this morning's fire on Coventry Lane. This box of tissue came to the aid of the residents displaced by the blaze. See more photos, or click to enlarge.
Since we're diving so deep into the past, let's add some other photographs. These appear on my outdated history pages of Wake County fire departments. Yeah, yeah, living the past, but the pictures and stories are pretty darn cool. Click to slightly enlarge all:
Here's the second article that appeared in the June 16, 1971 issue of The
North Side News. The image quality is lower, as these were scanned from a
photocopy. Sorry about that. Click to enlarge each.
THE FLEET STANDS READY - The three trucks of Six Forks Fire
Department stand by to answer any call.
COMPLICATED CONTROLS - The pump of Engine number 1 is intricate
as well as beautiful. When in operation, manning this station is no easy task.
The Volunteer Fireman, What Kind of Man?
By Glenn Griffin
They meet every week for drills and instruction. They are on call every hour of every day. Danger is their working partner. Disaster is their enemy. Yet they serve, and they do it gladly. They're like the old Tennessee Vols: "spirit and courage" are their middle names.
Out on Six Forks Road, they are known as the Volunteer Fire Department. With no monetary compensation, these men risk their lives for the security of the community. The only benefits they receive are those offered under a group accident and life insurance policy that is effect from the time of the alert until the time they return home.READ MORE Car Versus House in Raleigh Again
Guess collisions between vehicles and buildings really do happen quite often around here. The latest was this passenger vehicle that struck a house on Chatham Lane early Saturday morning. The driver was transported with injuries.
Steve Worthy/WRAL photo
Or, as this post was originally titled, whoa. Speaking of house fires, Thomas Babb snapped this strong photo that's been posted by WRAL, from last night's house fire in Holly Springs on Stone Barn Circle. As it happens, Mr. and Mrs. Blogger had been in town just an hour earlier. Oh well. Recalling the radio traffic, Battalion 1 was first on scene, and found fire showing from the attic above the garage of a two-story, wood-frame structure. Units on scene included Holly Springs Engine 1, Ladder 1, and Apex Engine 4, Ladder 4. Readers, feel free to add more. Good picture!
Thomas Babb/WRAL photo
Vertical ventilation was performed at this morning's house fire at 709
Coventry Court. Engine 9 arrived at a one-story, wood-frame, vinyl-sided
structure with 1,246 square-feet. Built 1976. Heavy smoke coming from
the front of the structure. By the time they stretched their lines, fire was
showing from the front. At a subsequent point in time, ladder company personnel
cut a hole in the roof. Below is a picture of same. The alarm time was about 5:15 a.m. Units on scene included
E9, E16. E4, E15, L1, R1, B1, B_, C10, C20, A1, C5, EMS 3, EMS 12_, EMS 12_, M9_, D4,
T1. Click to enlarge:
Now let's talk about the shot. The subjects are on a roof. The photographer is on the street, and maybe ten feet away from the curb. The camera is a Canon Digital Rebel XT, with a 70-200mm f4.0 L lens. That is, a telephoto lens with sufficient focal length to "see" what's happening. The problem is the amount of light. Though the halogens are blazing on several pieces of apparatus, it's still questionable if there's enough available light to make the picture happen. That is, a minimally or non-blurry picture.READ MORE Engine 7 at Station 3, 1957
Time to revise a little bit of history. Engine 7 was placed in service at Station 7 on December 30, 1959. That much we have known for some time. But Engine 7 was also placed in service two years prior at Station 3. This is a newer piece of information that was found first in the Engine 7 log book, and then this morning in the Station 1 radio dispatcher log book. From the handwritten entries:
Engine 7 was placed in service at Station 3 on September 24, 1957, at 2:25 p.m.
Capt. C. T. May
A. E. O'Neal
J. R. Jackson
R. D. Truelove
J. D. Partin
Capt. S. J. Talton
V. H. Marshburn
Z. V. Burchette
H. J. Gosnell
Call volume was low, as these recorded activities for the first five days:
- 9/24 - Drill tower
- 9/25 - Station 1 for school
- 9/26 - Station 2 for gas
- 9/27 - School on streets
- 9/28 - 804 Wilford, the first call for Engine 7.
And two months later, Engine 7 was removed from service. The log book entry: "Engine 7 was removed from service on November 14, 1957, at Station 1."READ MORE Race Cars, Tow Trucks, Git-R-Done
Went to the races last night. Wake County Speedway, which is just a handful of miles south of town on Simpkins Road. Says their web page, the track was built in 1962, was paved at the end of the 1986 season, and has been operating for 48 consecutive years. That's a lot of races!
In May, the Independent Weekly published a nifty profile of the place and the drivers therein. By writer Bob Geary. The racing is in multiple classes, from four-cylinder stockers (no engine modifications allowed) to highly-charged super late models.
Mr. Blogger paid an early visit, early in the evening. Before the practice runs had started. With cameras, of course. Pretty nifty all around. Definitely need to visit a few more local tracks, as well as at least one NASCAR event.
Back in the day there was a track in Raleigh, southwest of the present intersection of Atlantic Avenue and New Hope Church Road. Was built in the mid 1950s and demolished by the late 1960s. Here's an old map showing same. (And didn't we blog the transcription of a fatal racing accident there, couple years back?)
There were some responders standing by last night, as well a wrecker
crew. Below is one of the two trucks that serve the speedway. Make and model,
anyway? Though that push bar probably isn't OEM, LOL. Click to enlarge:
Guess it's no surprise that the voice of the Cars movie character 'Mater played through my head all evening. That was an anthropomorphized tow truck as voiced by comedian Larry the Cable Guy. His catchphrase is "git-r-done." Here's the Wikipedia entry on said phrase, and it's suitably droll:
The phrase "git-r-done" or "get 'er done" (or "git er done") is a southern United States colloquialism meaning to finish an action, to get the job done. It is also used in the Canadian province of Newfoundland.
The phrase can be found, published in the late 1800s, in some of Joel Chandler Harris' Uncle Remus stories. The phrase has become more widely known through Daniel Whitney's title character in Larry The Cable Guy, as both a catchphrase and book title spelled "Git-R-Done", with the company Git-R-Done Productions.
There is a vodka cocktail called a "Get 'er Done" made with grenadine syrup and citrus soda, added to vodka.
See also Round tuit - a pun on "get around to it"Six Forks Fire Department, 1971
For your Friday enjoyment, the following article and pictures appeared on the front page of The Northside News on June 16, 1971. The Six Forks Fire Department was profiled in that issue, and over a number of pages. We'll work on getting more pictures scanned, and more text transcribed. This was their fourth issue of that newspaper. Don't know the publisher, or how long they operated. A stylized version of the station photo appeared in my Raleigh and Wake County Firefighting books, and is the only such picture that Yours Truly has come across. Maybe there are others. Click to enlarge these pictures:
AT DAWN - The station awakens from the night before. There had been no call, but everything stood ready nevertheless. The call for help brings on a sudden transformation at the station.
READY TO ROLL - Ben Jeffreys, driver, Don Adams on the pump, and Fred Lynn on the back board of Engine number 1 for a call. They are "turned out" in full gear.
Volunteer Fire Department Renders Great Service
It all began for the Six Forks Fire Department back in 1956. The first fire station was located where the present Wachovia Bank sits in North Hills. The single fire truck was kept in an addition to Bill Howell's store.
Next, the station moved across Six Forks Road to the area where the NCNB North Hills Branch stands. And in 1962, the station found its present location.
Now, the Six Forks Fire Station is sentinel for over $14,000,000 in personal property. The 26 men of the fire department and their three trucks have an awesome responsibility. The area covered by the department runs from the west of N.C. number 50 all the way to the Old Wake Forest Road. They serve as far north as the Six Forks community.READ MORE Wake County Fire Training Twitter
The county Fire Services Division has hopped aboard the Twitter train. This week they announced that the Wake County Fire Training Twitter account has been placed in service: http://twitter.com/wakefiretrain. They've selected this social media tool to deliver specific information about fire training in a timely manner.They'll be posting current and future training events, class cancellation notices, and other general information as often as possible. This augments their normal communications methods. Contact Fire Training Director Ricky Dorsey for more information. Tweet, tweet.This Morning's Fire at Fort Bragg
The Fayetteville Observer posted this photo of the barracks under construction that burned at Fort Bragg today. Seven (or eight, as some news agencies are reporting) firefighters were injured in the blaze that was reported about 10:20 a.m. and was reportedly started by rooftop welders. They suffered heat exhaustion, and were transported to Womack Army Medical Center and Cape Fear Valley Medical Center for treatment. Some 60 firefighters and 17 trucks were on scene, including Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Fayetteville, Spring Lake, Eastover, Stoney Point, Westarea, Benhaven, Cotton, and Pearces Mill fire departments. Two aerial streams from FFD and SLFD flowed on the three-story, 27,000 square-foot structure that's about 50 percent complete. The base's aerial truck was out of service. The fire was controlled in about 90 minutes.
Fayetteville Observer photo
Here's another vintage fire photo. August 8, 1981. Campus Launderette at 2114 Hillsborough Street. Fire spread to the I Play Games arcade and a North Carolina State University Agricultural Extension Service workshop. Things to notice in the photo. There's the old Mack/Baker platform raised in the rear of the buildings. The tiller truck parked on the street shows its original all-red paint style, and before the covered jumpseat was added behind the cab. Police officer is wearing a safety vest, good for him. And there's a sign for Arthur Murray Dance Studios. What else do you notice? Click once or twice to enlarge:
Here's a good picture of yesterday's vehicle accident in Durham that closed all four lanes of Interstate 85 near Duke Street. Chuck Liddy took the picture that was posted in this News & Observer article. Click to enlarge:
Medical monitoring with Six Forks EMS at last night's house fire on Gibbs Hill Court, with Bay Leaf, Durham Highway, Stony Hill, and Falls fire departments. Included water shuttle operations. Was a dark and humid night. Photos later.
On The Runway
As photographed from the observation deck at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, and several minutes after mutual aid units cleared. Commuter jet with apparent mechanical issues. Alarm time about 8:10 p.m. Raleigh Fire, Cary EMS, Six Forks EMS, and Wake County EMS units dispatched as Alarm One response. Click to enlarge:
From the Department of Too Much Free Time, here's some Monday fun with maps. This is a city annexation history map-- largest size-- adapted by Yours Truly to include fire station locations, and engine and ladder company assignments. Same will be added to my Raleigh Fire Department timelines, and a new page for 2010 to present. Gotta keep current! (See this page for a conventional map, with all stations and units.) Click below enlarge, or see a really large version!
That's a 1997 Mercedes submerged in a lake at Cary Park in the 100 block of Walford Way. The vehicle entered the water this afternoon after the driver suffered a medical condition. He escaped safely, and was transported to the hospital with minor injuries. Crews stayed on scene at least until the first attempt at vehicle recovery failed. Tow truck couldn't get it done, and a crane was subsequently brought to the scene. The plunge took place about 1:00 p.m. Recovery continued into the late afternoon.
Good, bad, or ugly, I believe the single best site for watching quarterbacking in action is Statter911, and the reader comments therein. Those posters are amazing in their perspectives and passions and attentions to detail. The latest incident under the microscope is a fully-involved bus fire from Anne Arundel County, MD. Among the points of interest include the use of an elevated stream, the compressed gas fuel source of the burning vehicle, and a dozen passenger vehicles damaged during the fire. What are the higher-level lessons to be learned from this and other dissections on the Statt Man's site? Let me think on that, and develop some pompous, er, profound observations. Meanwhile, take a ride on the bus fire.
And here's a picture from last night's house fire at 634 Bass Lake Road in Holly Springs, one of a couple posted by WRAL.
Dispatched about 11:30 p.m. and controlled about midnight, as memory serves of the radio traffic. Engine 1 arriving at a one-story residential structure fully involved. Defensive operations, as the roof had collapsed by the time the first units arrived. Units on scene included Holly Springs E1, E2, E3, L1, R1, C2, Fairview E1, R1, EMS D2, T1. Next question, are there really bass in Bass Lake?
WRAL/Thomas Babb photo
Here's the Wake County EMS major operations support unit, big ol' Truck 1, responding to this evening's house fire in Holly Springs on Bass Lake Road. Arriving units found a one-story residential structure fully-involved. Defensive operations, and controlled in about 20 minutes. Two versions are below, regular and high-dynamic resolution (HDR). Click once or twice to enlarge:
Looks like it could be as old as the original sections of the station...
Kinston Regional Jetport? (Updated)
Question from a reader. Does the airport authority operate the fire department Kinston Regional Jetport? And what sort of apparatus is located there? If memory serves, they once had a Walter crash truck of medium size. Am I remembering that correctly?
Later day update: Google and ye shall find. Looks like the North Carolina Regional Transpark Authority took delivery in 2008 of a E-One P501 crash truck, with a 1500 GPM Hale pump, a 1500 gallon water tank, a 205 gallon foam tank, and a 550-pound dry-chemical system. Nice looking! Notice the flag on the mirror? Betcha the thing had just been unloaded from a flatbed, what do you think?
Big Fires, 1965-1985
Since we're talking about big fires of the 1960s and 1970s, let's look at some data. For some time now, Yours Truly has been working on a master list of the city's major fires. What's most challenging-- apart from the numerous and inconsistent sources that must be ferreted out, from fire records to newspaper accounts-- is the evolving definition of "major fire." This is easiest to see in alarm levels. Two alarms in the 1960s brought fewer units than two alarms in the 1980s. Keep that in mind while reviewing the below list. There are a couple mutual aid calls included. And the whole thing is subject to repeated revision, as History Guy learns more and determines better. Someday we'll get the master list finished. For now, enjoy some abbreviated excerpts.
- 1/21/1965 - 1018 E. Davie Street - Lucille Hunter School - $283,000
E2, E3, T1, E10, R1, E1, T7, E4 & T5 at 1, E5 at 1, T5, E4, E5, E10, T7 clean-up
- 2/22/1965 - State College - Pullen Hall - $169,000
E1, E5, T5, E6, T6
- 3/14/1965 - 310 S. Harrington Street - Britt Co. - $161,500
E1, E2, T1, E6 / R1, E5 / E3 / E4 standing by
- 4/21/1965 - 1522 N. Blount Street - Pender Mfg. & Supply Co. - $86,200
E6, E4, T6, R1 / E1 / T7 / E3 / E7 stand by for sparks at Mayview Home / E9 stand by / E5 stand by / E4 smoldering - Old Pender warehouse.
- 5/6/1965 - 423 Daniels Street - Cameron Village - $14,606 - Electric and gas explosion.
E5, E6, T5 / R1 / T1 / Foam 1
- 7/28/1965 - 1625 Louisburg Road - Steer Steak House - $136,416
E7, E3, T7/ E4, foam / R1 / T1 / T5 fill in at 1 / E7 wet down next day
- 9/29/1965 - State Fairgrounds - Concession stands
E5 mutual aid
For your Saturday enjoyment, here's another vintage photo of the Raleigh Fire Department in action. Or an around-the-corner peek at same. This is back when downtown buildings were burning with a considerably greater frequency than present day. That's the Baker Roofing Company warehouse on Martin Street, that burned on January 3, 1977. Four engines and a ladder responded to the 12:15 p.m. blaze, reported the next day's New & Observer. More than 30 firefighters were on scene, and no injuries were reported. The fire was controlled within an hour and destroyed the rear third of the warehouse, which sat among several commercial and industrial properties on the block bound by Martin, Harrington, and Davie streets.
This was a lunchtime fire, so hundreds came to watch despite the freezing temperatures. A winter storm was sweeping through the state that day. The spectators watched as flames shot 50 feet into the air, and as crews climbed to the top of the neighboring buildings to fight the fire. (Is that done any more? Using roofs instead of ladders and platforms?) There were also pieces of flaming debris in the air, that crews had to dodge. The approximately 80 by 100-foot warehouse stored asphalt shingles and other roofing materials. The building had been used by the company since about 1918 (!), three years after the company was formed by the father of the owner W. P. (Bill) Baker.
The section that was destroyed, reported the News & Observer, consisted of wooden framing, one wall of aluminum siding, and three walls of brick formed by the adjoining structures. One exposure in the rear was protected with a water curtain, that being the Bill Bryant Upholstery Company at 318 Harrington Street. Workers at This End Up Furniture Co. and Sapp Welding Co., meanwhile, carried contents out of their buildings. Inside the burning warehouse, 24-inch-thick brick firewalls gave workers time to remove flammable caulking and cleaning materials from the unburned section of the structure. Those materials were removed by 12:45 p.m., reported that day's Raleigh Times.
Police were warning bystanders that there might be materials that could explode. No explosions occurred, but the property had a metal tank on stilts above the warehouse. That worried folks, but it remained upright. It contained a flammable liquid roof coating that the company no longer used. Click to enlarge:
This person, probably a firefighter, appeared in a 1936 group photo of the North Carolina State Firemen's Association. Someone's inquired if we can identify the person. They're trying to find a man who died at age 45 and at least two-generations ago. Likely from the Charlotte area. Ring any bells?
WakeMed Begins $87M Cost-Cutting Effort
Times are tough all over. As this morning's News & Observer reports, the county's largest hospital system is planning an $87 million reduction in annual operating costs as recommended by a consulting firm. Their CEO advises that likely means job cuts in some departments, and phasing out of services that are not a market leader for WakeMed. Read the article.Reaccreditation Team Invites Public Comments on Raleigh-Wake 911 on Monday, August 30
A team of assessors from the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will arrive August 28 to examine all aspects of the Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center (911) as a part of the reaccreditation process. As part of the on-site assessment, department employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments through a telephone call-in session on Monday, August 30, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Read the entire press release.Sportland Bowling Center, 1968
For your Friday enjoyment, here's a vintage photo of Sportland Bowling Center on North Boulevard, which burned on May 20, 1968. That's the old name of Capital Boulevard, for newcomers to Raleigh. The fire was reported at 7:33 a.m. Crews stretched hose across the southbound lane (singular!), which resulted in four hours of traffic delays. The smoke was visible 18 miles away in Rolesville as the one-story, frame-and-brick structure blazed.
Captain and future Fire Chief Rufus Keith was on the arriving engine and said the building was full of fire when they arrived. He estimated the response time was one-and-a-half to two minutes. He told the News & Observer that fire was was coming out of the windows in the front, around the area of the grill and meeting rooms. Fire was also coming from the windows of the upper deck, where the lanes were located.
Firefighters battled the blaze for over two hours. The structure was valued at $250,000, was built in 1959, and was owned by a City Councilman. The center had 24 lanes with automatic pin-setters (leased, not owned), as well as a grill and game area. The building's safe was recovered, though with the locking mechanism melted. One compartment was pried open, and money recovered. A demolition expert had been called that evening, to get the rest of the dough!
The fire was reported by telephone at 7:33 a.m. Asst. Fire Chief Jim Burnette told the News & Observer that a janitor reported that the fire started then grease on the grill caught fire. The janitor was quoted as saying that the fire filled the kitchen with smoke, so he opened the north and south doors of the building, to clear the smoke. Fire Chief Jack Keeter said "wind blowing out of the northwest was blowing right through the building."
The structure had a wooden roof supported by wooden beams, and brick and masonry block walls. The roof collapsed about 8:20 a.m. Fire damage was estimated at $500,000.
Units on scene included E7, E3, T7 (service), E4, R1, E1 to relieve E3, T6 (service) to relieve T7, R3 to "pull down wall," E2 to relieve E1, and then E7 the next day, wet down debris. Note the absence of aerial apparatus. The trucks on scene were American LaFrance pumpers from the 1950s and 1960s, two 1960s service trucks, two 1950s FWD pumpers, and a 1966 Chevrolet panel van which served as Rescue 1. Plus a couple red cars. Read more about that apparatus. Click once or twice to enlarge:
For your Thursday morning reading, as found on The Fire PIO, here's an interesting and extended posting on the future of public relations and social media. Topics include the evolution of the press release, the evolution of social platforms, current limitations and solutions, connecting with other PR pros, saving money and putting it to good use, and the human factor. Key quote at the end: "Regardless of how an announcement is shared -– via wire, blog post, tweet, or otherwise –- the critical step has historically been, and will remain, the human element. By directly reaching out to key media and influencers with whom we maintain relationships, we’re able to ensure their timely awareness of the news."Car Versus House in Raleigh
WTVD posted this photo yesterday of a passenger car that struck a home at 2742 Cottage Circle yesterday. No injuries. Looks like heavy damage. Wonder what the frequency is of these types of call these days, around here?
Statter911 found this compelling early arrival video a couple days ago. It depicts the simple human drama of a person reacting to fire impacting a prized possession. Beware strong language, if you are of sensitive ears. The YouTube clip was shot in downtown Windsor. Click the link in the comments, and there's an aftermath video as well. And the local connection? Mr. Blogger visited that city this summer, while touring Detroit. Easy on the Ford jokes.
Reader Paul Attryde saw this this weekend in Glendale, AZ. Called the Fire Up Freedom Fire Truck, it's a Hahn tiller converted into a combination special event vehicle and rolling memorial to the events of September 11, 2001. Says the owner's web page, the rig features a fully functioning 100-foot aerial ladder, four infrared BBQ grills, two gas burners, two soda fountains with ice bins, large flat-screen televisions, a full surround-sound audio system, CD and DVD players, connections for laptop computer inputs, and a satellite system. Talked about a tricked-out truck! Thanks Paul for the photos. Click to enlarge:
That's a Cary Fire Department recruit getting ready to ride a backboard during air ambulance training this morning with WakeMed Air Mobile 1. Can't tell if he's wearing an expression of excitement or fear. Perhaps both? The future firefighters are about five weeks into their academy. Photos forthcoming.
How Many Airport Fire Stations in North Carolina?
You knew this question was coming. So how many crash-fire-rescue stations are around the state? Here's what parsing the Carolinas Fire Page list of fire stations finds, along with some from memory. And some Wiki pages and FAA airport diagrams, linked below. All are PDF format.
- Albert J Ellis Airport (Onslow Sta 21)
- Asheville Regional Airport (Buncombe Sta 24)
- Army Air National Guard, Rowan County Airport (Rowan Sta 90)
- Camp Lejune Sta 1 - Marine Corps Air Station New River
- Charlotte Sta 17 - Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- Charlotte Sta 41 - Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- Coastal Carolina Regional Airport (New Bern)
- Concord Sta 6 - Concord Regional Airport
- Dare County Regional Airport (Dare Sta 22, Manteo)
- Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station
- Fayetteville Sta 10 - Fayetteville Regional Airport
- Fort Bragg Sta 2 - Simmons Army Airfield
- Hickory Sta 4 - Hickory Regional Airport
- Kinston Regional Jetport
- Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point (one airfield station, three structural?)
- Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field, Bogue (Carteret)
- North Carolina Air National Guard, Raleigh-Durham International Airport
- Piedmont-Triad International Airport (Guilford Sta 100)
- Pitt-Greenville Airport
- Pope Air Force Base (Fayetteville)
- Raleigh-Durham International Airport (Wake Sta 30)
- Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport
- Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (Goldsboro)
- Smith Reynolds Airport (Winston-Salem)
- Wilmington International Airport
It's a rare occasion that a new airport fire station opens, and Charlotte Fire Station 41 was placed in service last month at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. As this News 14 story reported, it houses seven Charlotte Fire Department members and three North Carolina Air National Guard (NCANG) members. It's located off West Boulevard, near the newly opened third parallel runway.
Says this CFD stations page, the companies operating are Blaze 41, Blaze 42, and Blaze 43. Google finds a little more information. The 20,300 square-foot facility is the first LEED facility on airport grounds, and was built with $7.2 million of DoD funds through the NCANG.
Fire Station 17, the other one at the airport, is located at 5308 Morris Field Road. The companies there are Engine 17, Blaze 1, Blaze 2, Blaze 5, Blaze 7, and Battalion 8.
The benefits and simplicity of a cistern system installed at 11 fire and EMS stations in and around Raleigh are the subject of a press conference at Fire Station 6 at 2601 Fairview Road in Raleigh, at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, August 20. The City of Raleigh, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources will highlight one of the benefits and success stories from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Read the entire press release.
Deputy Gets Buzzed
WTVD reported today on a live bee movie that took place today on Highway 64 at Exist 425. There was quite a case of hives when a truck carrying 60 boxes of honey-makers broke down. Pictures from the scene show a stormin' swarm smothering a Dodge Charger. Turned a black-and-white into a yellow-and-white. In came a beekeeper from State College, who smoked the things into submission. Injuries? None reported, though delayed drivers in the area might have been bugged. No word on what it sounded like, but punsters everywhere suspect it was quite a drone. Good thing it didn't attract any sweet-toothed wildlife. Don't know if we could bear those facts. Readers, feel free to add your own stinging humor. Sweet.
Pictures have been posted from last week's fire expo in Raleigh, some 400 shots from Friday and Saturday, plus a bit of the banquet on Sunday night, where Raleigh Fire Department Capt. John Fanning was named Fireman of the Year. Congrats, and we're waiting on a press release on that one. Watch this space.
Thanks also to Tim Blaisdell, for snapping shots of Yours Truly in action at his history workshop. Those are included in the photos, and you can see a rare glimpse of Mr. Blogger in something other than a tropical shirt. He was reportedly also seen Sunday night with a tie. And he was wearing it!
Good crowd that morning at the workshop, and thanks everyone for attending. Tried to talk slower, and even had a small sign as a personal reminder. Didn't really work. Got some great questions, and ideas for the future. Was also thinking that maybe a workshop or even round table on incident photography might be in order next year. If they'll have me.Let's see, on the coverage front, FireNews posted this summary. Lee Wilson is finishing his photos. WRAL posted some parade photos, by Gregory Wiggs and myself. The News & Observer also wrote about the Expo. The show also had their own photographers on hand. Maybe they'll show those shots on the NCSFA web site.
Parade was fun, show floor was interesting, and a large time was had seeing folks from both near and far. Thanks for your support on all fronts. Now let's go look at Mike's photos.
Did traffic to the blog or the photo site get a bump during expo week? Not really. The blog bounces along at 500-600 unique visits per day, while the photo site tops out around 800-1000. Maybe we could boost numbers with posts about topics more interesting than, say, web site traffic. Here's the two-week traffic, from Google Analytics. Click to enlarge:
The Charlotte Observer posted this and other photos of yesterday's tanker fire on Interstate 77 south of the city. Photographer Jeff Sochko took this excellent shot. In addition to the Flint Hill Fire Department, Charlotte sent several units including Engine 37, Ladder 26, Battalion 8, Tanker 37, Foam 1, and Haz-Mat 1. Mutual departments from Mecklenburg County included Pineville, Providence, and Steele Creek fire departments. Coverage also included: WCNC and WSCO.
Jeff Sochko - Sochko Production / Charlotte Observer photo
Seven teams participated:
- Fayetteville (RRT 3)
- Greensboro (RRT 5)
- High Point 4
- Raleigh (RRT 4)
- Williamston (RRT 1)/Asheville (RRT 6) (combination team)
- Wilmington (RRT 2)
- Application of Chlorine C Kit.
- Overpack drum, place on dolly, and transport drum.
- Place Vetter Bag on leak simulator.
- Place Rescue Randy in Stokes Basket and carry to finish line.
Time penalties were assessed for technique and safety infractions.
READ MORE Doors and Walls and Roofs
Firegeezer this morning offered some personal memories on the destructive abilities of apparatus compartment doors, and notably when said doors are open when an apparatus is leaving quarters. The context was the prior day's report from Clinton, NY, where the front wall of a fire station-- the brick front wall at that-- was brought down by the open door of a new aerial ladder. And with a great quote from the town's mayor, "Clearly with the accident, we need more training."
And for the 'geezer guys, the all-time champion compartment door destructor was the Dana Fire Department in Henderson County. Their station was so severely damaged in June 2008, that the entire building was torn down. Read their report.
Just last week, another North Carolina station suffered severe damage when an ambulance struck the building. That was Thursday in Mecklenburg County, when a Medic unit in Cornelius caused the collapse of a roof on Chartown Drive. Read that story from WCNC. Who's up for inventing a door detection system that prevents vehicle movement when compartments are open?
WSCO has posted photos of today's tanker fire on Interstate 77 south of Charlotte in York County, SC. The tractor-trailer caught fire after colliding with a car about 3:30 p.m. The truck driver was killed, and two people in the car were seriously injured, reports the Charlotte Observer. The Charlotte Fire Department responded, along with numerous other departments.
WTVD posted photos of today's truck-train collision on Morrisville. A tractor-drawn dump truck was struck at the McCrimmon Parkway crossing just after noon. No injuries were reported, and the trailer was dragged down the tracks by the Amtrak passenger train. The truck reportedly became stuck on the crossing when the signal arms deployed, and traffic blocked the rig as the train approached.
From a reader comes some interesting Monday morning reading, a preliminary report issued from APCO task force titled Challenges Facing Human Resources and Staffing in the 9-1-1 Public Safety Communications Center. The 23-page document, which was received at the recent annual APCO convention in Houston, opens with an executive summary that gives very bad grades for communications centers nationwide.
One of the prominent problems is that employees are in constant turnover. Nearly all telecommunicators leave the field before retirement (97%), and which is about the opposite for police officers and firefighters.
There's also a state-by-state breakdown on statewide training, which doesn't always exist, or that information on same was not provided. In North Carolina, the report says, no training standard reportedly exists. For telecommunicators that work under direction of a Sheriff, however, there's a mandatory certification course.
Read this interesting report, or click on the image below:
As compiled in the Summer 2010 issue of Carolina Fire Rescue EMS Journal, mixed with counties from South Carolina. Here's our state's top counties for fire stations:
- Wake - 75
- Guilford - 72
- Mecklenburg - 59
- Rowan - 42
- Buncombe - 41
Cumberland - 41
Forsyth - 41
- Robeson - 39
- Gaston - 36
- Brunswick - 34
- Wayne - 33
- Davidson - 32
- Randolph - 31
- Onslow - 30
- Johnston - 28
Can we talk dirty for a little while? Here's a neat technique for determining just how dirty the sensor of your digital SLR camera might be. Open a blank document file on your computer, so you have a screen of white. Take a picture of the white screen. Open the picture in your favorite image editor. Manipulate the contrast and brightness until you see specks. Viola! Commence sensor cleaning.
Do you do weddings? Negative. Not your thing? In a manner of speaking. I have never shot a wedding, and thus don't know how. More importantly, I have never been interested in shooting weddings. Thus, I doubt that the quality of my work would be comparable to the stuff you've seen on the photo site.
But wouldn't a chunk of change compel better pictures? Well, we all know that answer. Money doesn't necessary buy quality. But wouldn't the expectations of the customer also compel better pictures? Perhaps. Probably. And maybe too much. Bearing such "precious cargo" might be quite the mental load! Better all around to recommend a pro. You'll get closer to what you're paying for.
There's also the issue of time. Event photography means lots of photos and lots of time spent processing those photos. Start with, say, a half-day to shoot the wedding. Take another half-day, maybe full day, to process the pictures. Then there's the physical prints, which have to be created. That's another X number of hours. No way man. Too much time, and that's taken away from more-interesting pursuits.READ MORE Cadillac Miller-Meteor
As seen after this morning's apparaus parade on Fayetteville Street. What's the model year for this Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance? What a beauty. Click to enlarge:
Simulated of course, as part of the annual Haz-Mat Challenge, held this morning around the corner from the convention center. More details later, along with the winners. This is Greensboro's team (right?), demonstrating how to cap a chlorine leak atop a railroad car. More photos later. Might take till tomorrow to get posted. And good luck getting this shot at a real incident! Click to enlarge:
As seen for this morning's apparaus parade on Fayetteville Street, as part of the events for the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo.
North Carolina Fire Museums?
This question was asked after yesterday's workshop. What are the fire museums in North Carolina? As well as what museum's have firefighting displays? Readers, help out on this one. Here's what comes immediately to mind:
- Catawba County Firefighter's Museum (see photos)
- Charlotte Fire Museum (now closed, see photos)
- Fayetteville Fire Department History Room (under renovation, see photos)
- King's Mountain Fire Museum
- New Bern Firemen's Museum (see photos)
- Plummer Hook & Ladder Museum in Warrenton (under development)
- Raleigh Fire Department History Trailer (under development)
- Rocky Mount Fire Museum (see photos)
Museums with Firefighting Displays
- Chapel Hill Museum (now closed, see photos)
- Mt. Airy Museum of Regional History
- Museum of the Albemarle (see photos)
- And many others, no?
The presentation slides from yesterday's workshop on North Carolina Firefighting History have been posted to legeros.com, in a newly updated section of the web site. That is, a handout version of the slides, versus the source file. They're in PDF format, which remains one of the greatest things since sliced bread.
In addition, a number of older presentations have been added to the web page, including Great Fires of Raleigh from 2008, Incident Photography from 2007, and a curious Garner Fire Department history from 2004. Don't remember the audience, but the slides include early Raleigh and Wake County histories.
Last but hardly least, there's also the latest version of Mike's presentation on the history of the Raleigh Fire Department. That one's presented to recruit classes, and on-demand on for other audiences.
Another Reserve Ambulance
Been seeing what's seemingly a Holly Springs EMS unit around town lately? That's actually a reserve Wake County EMS ambulance, currently on loan from the town of Holly Springs. It's presently part of the reserve fleet, and hasn't been re-lettered yet. Hadn't seen this truck before, period? Join the club. Guess more regular visits to the south are needed.
Exhibit floor at South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo. Open again tomorrow, plus fire truck parade and other stuff. Just don't mess with show security! Those guys in the grey shirts are tough, man, tough. Click to enlarge.
Randolph Mantooth was the keynote speaker yesterday at the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo, currently underway at the convention center in downtown Raleigh.
The veteran character actor is best known for playing paramedic John Gage on the television series Emergency!, which aired for seven seasons with 134 episodes (including six movies) from 1972 to 1978.
The show was a combination of genres, blending medical drama and action adventure. It also inspired countless individuals to develop interest and pursue careers in fire and emergency medical services.
For Friday discussion, let's open our vaults, and share our own stories. What did you do when watching the show, or reruns of the show? How did the shows, stories, and characters affect you?
Mr. Blogger remembers watching both the original episodes and reruns as a kid in Minnetonka, MN. That's outside Minneapolis. My best story involves dispatch logs. I had a notebook, and would record each call that Engine 51 and Squad 51 responded to! Did I even classify by call type? Don't remember. Probably.
Yeah, guess my future was already in the making.
What are your stories?
Ninety minutes until my conference workshop on North Carolina Firefighting History. Let's review the checklist, before leaving the house...
- Memory stick with presentation slides
- CD-ROM with presentation slides, in case memory stick fails
- Computer laptop, in case show-provided computer laptop fails
- Printed version of slides, as memory aid
- Signs that say "TALK SLOW", to be created on site
- Chewing gum, cinnamon
- Bottled water, Propel
- Cameras, like those ever leave my side
- Change of clothes for after the workshop, Hawaiian shirt, shorts, sandals
- Chunk of change, for buying lunch somewhere on Fayetteville Street, and other sundries
- Show times for The Expendibles at North Hills, in case a late-afternoon matinee is in order.
Good to go!
See you there.Cities Versus Towns?
From a reader comes this question: what makes a city call itself a town, or a town call itself a city? Any city administration experts handy who can answer that one? The traditional definition of a town is a municipality with less than 10,000 people. Cary's population of 134,000 (2008) handily exceeds same. Do they call themselves a town to maintain a type of image? Whiteville, for example, has a population just over 5,000, and they call themselves a city. Why city or town, or not city or town?Bus at Airport
That's Evac 1 arriving at the General Aviation gate, for a mass-casualty exercise conducted this morning at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Mike Legeros spent a couple hours photographing the preparations, and those photos will be posted shortly.
The 2009 International/Satrin mobile evacuation base is operated by Wake County EMS, and was delivered nearly exactly a year ago. That's CFR 3 in the distance, one of the airport's two 2000 Oshkosh T-1500 crash trucks.
WRAL was also on hand at the exercise, and posted this news report. 'Twas a warm morning and very warm day, but the breeze sure felt good coming off the runway! Click to enlarge:
Here's the newest addition to the man cave model fleet, a 1977 Hino KB324 chemical engine as replicated in 1:64 scale by TomyTec. It's another Tomica Limited Vintage Neo series fire engine, like the 1980 Hino TC343 aerial ladder that was released in December. Again bought on eBay. No idea on the real rig's specifications, or even how it's used. Might be a heavy pump for commercial or industrial areas. To see actual apparatus from the other side of the world, visit this link farm. Click once or twice to greatly enlarge:
Lee Wilson has posted pictures of some of the apparatus that was loaded into the Raleigh Convention Center yesterday for the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo. Looks like a set of "deuce and a half" conversions are going to be displayed. How cool is that? Can you identify the departments? He also took some pictures on the show floor. See you there Friday. History workshop at 9:00 a.m. Hit the exhibit floor toward lunch time.
See more from Mr. Wilson.
Lee Wilson photos
What's the story on these, as seen on a commercial vehicle on Edwards Mill Road the other day:
New Bern Bicentennial Parade, 1910
Here's a picture to accompany the transcribed newspaper article below, showing a New Bern Fire Department hose wagon and steam engine in the 200 block of Craven Street. The image is credited to the T. J. Mitchell Collection, New Bern, and is scanned from the excellent A New Bern Album by John B. Green III, published 1985 by the Tryon Palace Commission, New Bern. Click to enlarge:
News & Observer, July 24, 1910
RALEIGH FIREMEN LEAVE
ON TO NEW BERN TO ENTER THE RACES OF THE TOURNAMENT
To enter the races of the State Firemen' s Tournament, which is to be held in New Bern from Tuesday till Friday of this week, the Capital Hose boys left early this morning. The Rescue boys will go tomorrow and Chief Lumsden will leave during the day today. The Hook and Ladder Company will be represented by delegates only. Driving the Rescue wagon will be the renowned " Pete " Hinnant, while " Bud" Poole will look after the Capital Hose' s interests in the races.
The Capital Hose' s delegates to the convention are: Messrs. C. D. Arthur and James F. Jordan; the Rescue's, Messrs. W. A. and C. B. Park.
All of the Raleigh contestants are confident of winning some of the prizes.
News & Observer, July 27, 1910
CAPT. M' NEILL IS AGAIN PRESIDENT
Honored by State Firemen for 17th Time
MEET NEXT IN CHARLOTTE
The Association Held its Meeting Yesterday in the New Masonic Opera House and Was Largely Attended--Address of Welcome by Mr. S. M. Brinson--Chief Bernard, of Asheville Responds--The Officers Elected--Races Start Today
BY E. E. BRITTON
New Bern, July 26. The State Firemen' s Association is here in force, for when it was called to order by Chief Bernard, of Asheville, at 12:30, President James D. McNeill being detained in the bi-centennial parade with Secretary John L. Miller, of Concord, and Treasurer R. C. Taylor, of Winston, in their positions, there were representatives present from seventy-six of the one hundred companies in the association, some three hundred delegates in all with many more expected for the races, which begin tomorrow, and which last through Friday.READ MORE Just Don't Cross The Streams!
And if you're fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing, try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light. With that bit of silliness out of the way, this invention was found mentioned on this firehouse.com forum. Not exactly the newest of concepts. But it sure looks bad a@@!
Public Safety Departments
More last-minute fact-checking for Friday's history talk yields this expanded list of cities and towns (and one state agency) that operated departments with public safety officers performing combined fire and police duties. There are probably more:
- 1957 - ?
Winston-Salem Fire Police. Read more.
- 1970 – 1985
- 1971 – 1993
- 1973 – present
Butner. Read more
- 1973 – 1987
- 1976 – present
- 1983 – present
- 1996 – 1998
- 2002 – present
Recognize this piece of stone? There seem to be some of these markers on this side of town.
Last Night's House Fire in Fuquay-Varina
WRAL has posted a good photo from last night's house fire in Fuquay-Varina, on a street they call Cottonfarm, but that neither Google Maps nor Wake County real estate records have heard of.
Quite a few house fires this week. Click to slightly enlarge:
Our friends at the Whiteville Fire Department pass along a pair of photos, showing an old station and rigs, along with their current station and apparatus. The combination department moved into their current station in 1996. That's the fourth location for the fire department. Click to slightly enlarge:
Speaking of movie trailers, below is the preview for a new Tony Scott moving coming in the fall. It's loosely based on the real incident in 2001, when a runaway freight train with 47 cars traveled near 70 miles with nobody at the controls. Crew members slowed the thing by latching a second locomotive onto the end of the train, and then an engineer lept aboard when the thing had sufficiently slowed. Two of the train's tank cars were carrying hazardous materials. Said one official, "the public was never really in jeopardy." Read this CNN account, and then watch the trailer below. Bit more dramatic, eh?
For one or maybe two years, Yours Truly has been slowly documenting the last conflagration in the city's history, when some 17 structures burned on Fayetteville, Hargett, and Wilmington streets in December 1851. This was an instrumental incident, as city officials were compelled to finally take fire protection as seriously as they should. One outcome was the formal organization of the volunteer Raleigh Fire Department.
In the process of composing a narrative, a diagram was attempted. The building locations and characteristics were derived from newspaper accounts. Their positions on the block were a best guess. The results looked pretty good, all things considered. That's the first image shown below.
Fast-forward a few months, when a trip to the State Archives last month located a highly detailed street map from 1847. In addition to streets and lots, each building was noted to scale, along with wood or brick construction. (There were a considerable number of brick buildings by that time!) The city pumps were also indicated, and which numbered five. Those along with private wells were the only water for firefighting. The city had two hand fire engines, delivered 1819 and 1843.
To create a second and more accurate version of the diagram, the two sections of the 1847 map were placed together. Buildings were then drawn as additional layers in the graphics application, along with the outline of each block. The construction was noted using the letters "w" (wood) or "b" (brick). Those buildings that burned were colored red. The Capitol Square was colored green.
Below are the results. The "from scratch" diagram is the first image; the "from map" diagram evolves over the three other images. Now we can work on finishing the narrative! Click once or twice to enlarge:
Many moons ago, this 1:8 scale action figures were displaced in Mike's Man House. Then he got married, moved to a Man Cave, and these guys and gals below were relocated to storage.They're still awaiting release, and perhaps one day will stand again on a shelf or in a display case. Maybe we'll petition Mrs. Blogger for space in the living room. Want your own? Some might be found on eBay or via Google. They were bought some years ago. Click to slightly enlarge, and pardon the horrible flash photography.
Left to right are:
- 1896 "Masked Hero" and 1850s volunteer firefighter, by Gearbox.
- G.I. Joe "Search and Rescue", by Hasbro.
- "Top Jake", by Ertl.
- French firefighter, by Blue Box.
- "Urban Firefighter," "Brush Firefighter," and "Smoke Jumper," by 21th Century Toys.
- G.I. Joe "Smoke Jumper" by Hasbro.
- G.I. Joe "Urban Search and Rescue" by Hasbro.
- G.I. Joe "Navy Crash Crew" times three by Hasbro.
- "Fire-Rescue Helicopter Pilot" by 21st Century Toys.
- G.I. Joe "Deep Water Rescue" by Hasbro.
- Emergency Medical Technician and, yes, with seemingly green skin, by 21st Century Toys.
A reader inquires if there's a history of Beacon Lake, after learning of something interesting off Beacon Lake Drive. 'Tis a man-made swimming hole, with cement block walls around a creek, and a building in the woods. Google Maps shows a body of water at the location, but neither aerial photos nor Bing Maps Bird's Eye View reveal closer details. Too many trees! Sounds like some exploring is in Mr. Blogger's future. Readers, any history to report?
Truck Mounted Attenuators
Always wondered what these impact-absorbing devices were called, that are deployed on construction vehicles on highways. Truck mounted attenuators. Here's a long video about a particular brand of the things, that shows how they work and includes some success stories. Guess they're unsuitable or maybe too expensive for fire apparatus. If they're weren't, we'd have seen them adapted already, right?
Veering off-topic and with a warning: watching the following video clip may cause diminished cognitive ability, and/or laughing out loud. Opens in October. Happy weekend.
For your Friday enjoyment, here's a 1913 photograph of Raleigh's Hose Company No. 3, in front of old Station 3 on East Hargett Street. This image from the State Archives is usually shown in portrait orientation, and with with the station house also shown. This larger, closer view-- with shadows removed using PhotoShop Elements-- reveals a nifty level of detail. What equipment can you spot in the wagon? Click once or twice to enlarge:
As referenced in this WRAL story, here's a YouTube clip of collisions and close calls as captured by red-light cameras in Knightdale. Complete with cheesy background music!
Glenwood Avenue just east of Hertz Drive, facing east. Three of four lanes closed. Department of Transportation on scene. Raleigh police units diverting eastbound traffic at Lynn Road. What else happened during tonight's storms? We were at the movies. Click to enlarge:
Here's an interesting article on Mini City that recently appeared in the Midtown Raleigh News. It talks about the current state of the area, along with its history. The community, defined roughly as a two-mile radius around the intersection of Capital Boulevard and Millbrook Road, was first envisioned in the 1970s. Developers and city planners had the idea of a city outside the city, combining both commercial and residential aspects. At that time, Highway 1 was a rural road far past the city limits. But Raleigh was growing in that direction.
Another milestone happened in 1993, when the city approved the giant shopping on the southwest corner of the intersection. Total of 64 acres, room for really big stores, and nearly 3,500 parking spaces. By the year 2000, notes the story, major stores were closing, and the future of the center was doubted. The article also talks about the residential demographics of Mini City. It's more ethnically diverse than the rest of the city, with fairly young residents. Compared to the rest of the city, the number of vacant homes is slightly higher. But the percentage of renters versus owners is consistent with the rest of the city.
Fire protection in Mini City historically originated with the New Hope Fire Department, and whose Station #1 is located just around the proverbial corner. To the west, Station #15 opened on November 13, 1974. Fourteen years later, the city opened Station #19 on May 11, 1988. Located at 4209 Spring Forest Road, they operated a 1968 American LaFrance fiberglass-over-open-top pumper at the get-go. About a year later, a fresh faced recruit was assigned on "B" shift. One M. J. Legeros served there six months. That was one slow station. Maybe a call or two a cycle, back then. Click to enlarge below.
But I digress. Read the article on Mini City.
Last-minute research for next week's North Carolina firefighting history talk. When did large diameter hose become popular in our state? Dig through your memories. What departments starting using same, and when? Thanks for any input.Expo Next Week
How are we already in August? This fast-seeming summer continues next week with the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo at the Raleigh Convention Center. Here's what's happening, from the program schedule:
- Tuesday, Aug. 10
Golf Tournament, Wake County Firefighters Association Meeting
- Wednesday, Aug. 11
Pre-Conference Workshops, Meetings
- Thursday, Aug. 12
Breakfast, Opening Ceremony, Keynote by Randolph Mantooth, Meetings, Memorial Service, Evening Reception
- Friday, Aug. 13
Workshops, Meetings, Exhibit Hall Open
- Saturday, Aug. 14
Workshops, Meetings, Exhibit Hall Open, Motorcycle Ride, Apparatus Parade, Haz-Mat Challenge, Evening Banquet
- Sunday, Aug. 15
- This year's parade starts earlier, now at 10:00 a.m. More info.
- This year's haz-mat challenge has two courses this year, one for Type I teams, and one for Type II teams. More info.
- The state's firefighters have been meeting annually since 1889, and with the only exception for the years during world wars. Read some history.
- Mr. Blogger's workshop is Friday, August 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The topic is again North Carolina Firefighting History. Read more.
Photos from last year, for those that missed it, and want to see what they'll be seeing this year:
Lee Wilson photo
Raleigh Times, April 23, 1921
FIRE DESTROYS PULLEN MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH
Rex Hospital and Wake County Clinic Endangered
Mayor's Automobile Badly Damaged In Race For More Gasoline To Feed Pumping Engine
RALEIGH had its biggest fire scare of the year Friday night when a spectacular blaze destroyed the Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, at Fayetteville and South streets, and for a time threatened to envelope the Wake county clinic, Rex Hospital, and residences in proximity to the church. Aided materially by the wind and rain, the firemen were able to confine the flames to the church by some of the best fire fighting seen in this city in some time. The damage to the church is estimated at $20,000 with insurance about $7,000.
Originating in the roof from probably defective electric wiring, the fire gave the firemen a stiff battle as flames had got a good start by the time the trucks arrived on the scene. The first alarm was sounded from a box that calls for a response from only two trucks. A second call, however, brought all the fire fighting apparatus.READ MORE Single Pedal For Acceleration and Braking
Here's a nifty New York Times article about a Japanese inventor's two decade-old design that combines a brake pedal and accelerator into a single foot control for automobiles. He drives using same, and designed the thing after accidentally stomping the gas, and nearly striking a bicyclist. Turns out we're wired to floor it in times of alarm, say experts. And which can translate into dangerous acceleration, when we really need to brake. Pretty interesting stuff.Greetings From Elmira
Postcard found for sale on eBay, from 1964. Top photo is Farmington City, bottom photo is Ladder 1, Chapel Hill. Click to slightly enlarge:
Rhett Fleitz passes along photos from the funerals of Fire Chief Posey Dillon and Firefighter Danny Altice in Rocky Mount, VA. The two were killed in an apparatus accident on Monday, July 26. Some 200 images have been posted of the two funerals from Friday, by VAFireNews.com photographers Fleitz and Drew Abel.
- Funeral coverage, including links to local coverage
- Dillon's funeral photos
- Altice's funeral photos.
Second view from said accident. Patient and vehicle are stabilized. Access through roof in progress. Also click to enlarge:
Motor-vehicle accident with subject trapped on Lynn Road at Battleford Drive, about 3:00 p.m. today. Road name sure sounded like "Saddleside" as these aging ears heard Locution announce it. Engine 16, Ladder 3, Rescue 3, Six Forks EMS 12_, District 4 out of view and parked on the side street, and big ol' Truck 1 with some big ol' blocking. Click to enlarge:
For detailed scale replicas of fire apparatus, we're all familiar with Code 3 Collectibles, and other such die-cast models of a lower price range. Then climb toward the $200 and $300 range, and you get into more precision replicas, like Franklin Mint and TWH Collectibles. That's also the starting range for hand-built white-metal models, like Route 1 Scale Models. Climb even higher, into the $500 and $600 range, and you're looking at Fan Kit Models out of Romania. They're resin and come as both unpainted kits (cheaper) and built versions.
Below is their newest release, a beautiful 1:50 scale replica of an Oshkosh P-15 crash truck. Developed for the military in 1977, this eight-wheel monster carried 6,100 gallons of water and 515 gallons of foam. It was equipped with two 1,250 GPM pumps, and two 1,200 GPM turrets. It measured 45.2 feet in length, 10 feet in width, and a height of 13.8 feet. And those tires, those huge tires. As memory serves, the P-15 was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for a number of years, as the world's most powerful fire engine. Read more about the model.
Slowing or Stopping?
Continuing our recent discussions on apparatus safety, here's a Sunday morning topic for your consideration1. When responding to structure fires2, and upon approaching stop signs or stop signals, do you slow and proceed? Nearly stop and proceed? Completely stop and proceed? Feel free to cite SOPs and what you do/don't do.
If based on case, identify the factors. e.g., number of lanes, amount of traffic, sight lines, visibility, weather, etc. Ditto if there are variations to the call type. Smoke seen in distance. Heavy smoke seen in distance. Multiple calls reported by dispatcher. etc.
1Meta-discussion also permitted. How successfully can such a topic be discussed in public/targeted forums?
2Talking structure fires, as that's perhaps the highest excitement/adrenaline-causing call type, and thus perhaps the most likely to challenge judgment.New City of Raleigh Web Site
The city of Raleigh has a new web site, which they placed in production today, August 1. Or as they name same, a new web portal. Give it a test drive. Acquaint yourself with new click paths. Can't advise if everything's working, however, or if bugs are still being ironed out. And presumably click Contact at the bottom of the site to provide feedback. Click to access:
Lee Wilson has posted photos from last night's working fire at
1109 Garner Road. Engine
13 3 arriving at a one-story, wood-frame house, with 1,054 square-feet. Built in 1915, with tax records listing remodeling and additions in 1950 and 1982. Heavy fire in the rear of the structure, which spread through the house. Reported subjects possibly still inside, though all were out safely, and with no injuries. Dispatched 8:24 p.m. and controlled at 9:05 p.m. One extra engine special called. See Lee's photos for additional details, and a list of units.
The building is one of Raleigh's many historic homes, which number in the dozens? The hundreds? Wonder how such data could be determined. Searching Wake County Real Estate Data seems the first step, but their search interface does not include queries for the year built. They could probably run a custom search, and perhaps have done such reports for the fire department or inspections department.
Don't see such a thing on IMAPS, either. New interface, however. When did that happen? Google searches such as "Raleigh historic homes" and "historic properties Raleigh" might find some odd data squirreled away somewhere. Somebody probably knows.
Lee Wilson photo
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A constant train of thought which runs through my mind (sometimes at 3:30 am unfortunately)… What does it mean to be a leader? More specifically, what does it mean to be a leader at OST? How do we provide effective leadership to a group of highly motivated, self-directed, super-smart people? How do we infuse the idea of accountability and ownership throughout the organization while not being seen as directive and authoritarian? How do we provide the support and care required while still making sure we have the framework and processes needed to delight our clients and scale appropriately for growth?
I have seen and experienced many different models of leadership during my career. Most frequently the model has been very hierarchical and authoritarian. When the boss yells jump the response is to jump first, then ask how high and jump again. (As an aside, I hate it when I am referred to as someone’s “boss”… it provides an immediate and negative visceral reaction in my gut…)
No organization that I have been a part of was better at this than the United States Army. The US Army has the most top down, hierarchical and directive structure imaginable. In fact, the first thing you have to do when you join that organization is spend eight weeks in basic training learning how to say “yes” and take action as directed without hesitation. (They pretend that they are teaching you how to shoot a weapon and throw a hand grenade, but the fact of the matter is that what they are really teaching you is to do what you are told, when you are told and in the manner in which you were taught… there is no room for debate on the battlefield!)
The directive and authoritarian model is one which works well for the military… but does it translate well into the business world? I would argue that in some cases it does, in modified form. The larger the organization, the more difficult it becomes to manage without directive leadership. A huge, multi-national such as General Motors or General Electric (see… they even sound like militaristic) would be very difficult to lead without being very structured and hierarchical.
Another model, which closely aligns with the directive and authoritarian model, is the one which is based upon fear. The boss is to be feared and if you don’t ask how high when she says jump there is a good chance you will be out on the street and your family will starve while you search for cans to return at Meijer. Not a pretty thought! No one wants to work in that sort of world, but it is so prevalent across corporate America. Why? I think because it is easy… once the authority has been established and the direction has been stated, it happens. No more work is required… no consensus building… no empathetic discussion, no input from anyone not desired. I liken it to the rules around aspirin at the local high school… you will get suspended for bringing aspirin to school because the application of common sense is hard and fraught with risk for the school leadership. Therefore a blanket rule is enacted… and voila, it is all so easy now. Bring aspirin to school and get expelled. No ifs, ands or buts and no difficulty making the decision.
These models are not going to work at an organization like OST. The team is too smart, too motivated and has too many other options to stay in such an environment. And (by the way) those models aren’t any fun, and if you can’t have fun why would you stay someplace if you do not have too?
So what does work at a company like OST? The best way to describe it is “Servant Leadership”.
Servant leadership is the idea that we (as leaders) are there to serve the needs of the team and the individuals that make up the team. We exist to remove roadblocks and provide the service needed to allow the individual to excel and to succeed and to provide insanely great service to our clients. We exist to provide continuous improvement that makes it easier to develop and provide repeatable and profitable solutions to our client’s toughest problems. We exist to move heaven and earth to find a way to deliver a commitment when another client’s need has trumped the schedule. We exist to remove the burden of responsibility for the little things, so that the team can pay attention to the big things. (That’s why we have all those snacks and fridges full of pop… no need to sweat the small stuff around having the change for the snack machine!)
Sounds simple right? Like with most things in life that is not the case… there are competing responsibilities around silly things like setting strategic direction, expense control, gross margin management and bottom line profitability which sometimes work at odds to being a servant leader. But at OST the really cool thing is that while those are important responsibilities, they really do come second to the responsibility to provide servant leadership.
Our stated priorities at OST are Employees first… then clients… then OST. It is our belief that if we serve our employees and take care of them, then they will take care of our clients, and that will take care of OST. Simple… yet difficult… but it makes working at OST and being a leader at OST so much fun and so rewarding!
John Vancil is Director of Professional Sales at OST. He has been working in the technology world in one form or another for 22 years.
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On March 15, 2001, a complaint was filed with the Department of Public Instruction by XXXXX against the Milwaukee Public Schools. This complaint alleges a violation of special education law regarding the implementation of programs for children with disabilities.
Pursuant to 34 CFR 300.660-662 of the regulations implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and 115.762(3)(g) and 115.90(1), Wis. Stats., the Department of Public Instruction investigated this complaint. In investigating a complaint, the department reviews a district's compliance with state and federal requirements. In investigating this complaint, department staff reviewed relevant portions of the youth's education records and written statements from the district and complainant. Department staff contacted by telephone a district special education supervisor, the child's mother and interviewed the complainant.
APPLICABLE STATUTES AND RULES:
Section 115.77, Wisconsin Statutes
Local educational agency duties.
* * *
(1m) A local educational agency shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the division that it does all of the following:
* * *
(b) Makes available a free appropriate public education to children with disabilities as required by this subchapter and applicable state and federal law.
* * *
Section 115.78, Wisconsin Statutes
Individualized education program team; timeline.
* * *
(lm) APPOINTMENT OF TEAM. The local educational agency shall appoint an individualized education program team for each child referred to it under 115.777.
* * *
(2) DUTIES OF TEAM. The individualized education program team shall do all of the following:
* * *
(b) Develop an individualized education program for the child under 115.787.
* * *
34 CFR 300.345 Parent participation.
(a) Each public agency shall take steps to ensure that one or both of the parents of the child with a disability are present at each meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate, including--
(1) Notifying parents of the meeting early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend; and
(2) Scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place.
* * *
(b) If neither parent can attend, the public agency shall use other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls.
* * *
ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL INTERPRETATIONS:
Letter to Anonymous, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education, May 22, 1992, 18 IDELR 1303.Based upon our interpretation of 34 CFR 30.345(a)(2) , a school district would be obligated to make a goodfaith effort to reach an agreement with the parents concerning the scheduling of IEP meetings .. However, the language of these provisions does not preclude a school district form (sic) considering its own scheduling needs. In fact, 34 CFR 300.345(a)(2) specifically states that IEP meetings are to be scheduled at a "mutually agreed upon time and place (emphasis added),".
34 CFR Part 300, Attachment 1Analysis of Comments and Changes (64 FR 12587)The key factor in 300.345(a) is that public agencies effectively communicate with parents about the up-coming IEP meeting, and attempt to arrange a mutually agreed upon time and place for the meeting. This process should accommodate the parents' work schedules to ensure that one or both parents are afforded the opportunity to participate.
FINDINGS OF FACT:
The child whose education is the subject of this complaint is a child with a disability who resides in the Milwaukee Public Schools District. In late January or early February 2001, the child's mother requested that an individualized education program (IEP) team reevaluate her son. On February 9, 2001, a district special education teacher completed a request for a reevaluation of the child. On February 14, a district special education diagnostic teacher sent the child's mother a notice of reevaluation and left a voice message on the mother's telephone. On February 23, the district special education diagnostic teacher left another voice message on the mother's telephone. On February 23, the child's mother called the special education diagnostic teacher and they discussed the date and time of the IEP team meeting. The child's mother explained that she would have difficulty taking off from work on March 21, and suggested other days including March 16. The special education diagnostic teacher told the child's mother that Wednesday afternoons are the only day IEP team reevaluation meetings are scheduled at the school.
On February 23, and March 6, the district special education diagnostic teacher sent the child's mother statements of parental rights with invitations to an IEP team meeting to be held on Wednesday, March 21, at 1:45 PM. On March 15, the mother's advocate filed a complaint with the WI Department of Public Instruction stating that the district would not schedule the March 21, 2001, IEP team meeting at a mutually agreed on time. On March 16, the department notified the district by phone that the complaint had been filed. On March 19, the department notified the district by fax that the complaint had been filed. On March 21, 2001, at 1:45 PM, the district convened the IEP team meeting. The child's mother and the mother's advocate attended the meeting.
An LEA must convene an IEP team to review, and if appropriate revise, a child's IEP periodically, but at least annually. An LEA must take steps to ensure that the parents of a child with a disability are present or offered the opportunity to participate at each meeting required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. An LEA must schedule such a meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place. If a parent does not attend an IEP team meeting, the district must use other methods to ensure parent participation, including conference telephone calls.
The mother of a child with a disability requested that an IEP team reevaluate her son. The diagnostic special education teacher who scheduled the IEP team meeting for this child informed the child's mother that Wednesday afternoons are the only day reevaluation meetings are scheduled at the school. This response was not consistent with the requirement to schedule IEP meetings at a mutually agreeable time. The child's mother suggested other days to schedule the IEP team meeting. On March 16, 2001, the department informed the district that the mother's advocate had filed a complaint. On Wednesday, March 21, 2001, at 1:45 PM the district convened an IEP team meeting to review and revise the child's IEP. The district did not schedule this meeting at a mutually agreed on time. The district did not attempt to accommodate the parent's scheduling request, although in this instance, the parent did attend the meeting and the purpose of federal law was met. In this regard the district failed to implement correctly the law related to the requirement to schedule IEP meetings at a mutually agreed on time. Child specific corrective actions are not required at this time for the child whose education is the subject of this complaint because the child's IEP team meeting was conducted on March 21, 2001, with the child's mother in attendance.
The Milwaukee Public Schools shall, within 30 days of receipt of this report, submit to the department a corrective action plan (CAP) to insure that the district schedules IEP team meetings at a mutually agreed on time.
The CAP shall include the activities the district will undertake to implement the directives, the personnel responsible for each activity, the date by which each activity will be completed, and the type of documentation that will be submitted to the department as evidence of completion of each activity. If a CAP requires the district to develop one or more products, the district may submit the product(s) as part of the corrective action plan. The CAP will be reviewed and the district will be informed if any revisions are required. The district will implement the CAP after it has been approved by the department.
This concludes our investigation of this complaint. This letter is not intended, and should not be construed, to cover any other issues regarding compliance with the IDEA or Chapter 115, Wisconsin Statutes, which may exist and which are not specifically discussed herein. Under the Wisconsin public records law, 19.31-19.39, Wisconsin Statutes, it may be necessary to release this document and related correspondence and records upon request.
Mike J. Thompson, Assistant Superintendent
Division for Learning Support: Equity and Advocacy
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Most Active Stories
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Thu December 22, 2011
North Korea: 'Peculiar Natural Wonders' Reported In Tribute To 'Dear Leader'
As we've reported before, North Korea's state news agency is fond of assigning supernatural occurrences to their Dear Leader. Over the past two days, the news agency has published an array of stories about Kim Jong Il's death. But late yesterday and today, they are revealing that "peculiar natural wonders" occurred just as Kim died.
Here's the news via the Korean News Service in Japan:
"On the morning of Dec. 17 layers of ice were broken on Lake Chon on Mt. Paektu, shaking the lake with big noise.
"The Group for Comprehensive Exploration of Lake Chon on Mt. Paektu said it was the first time that such big noise was heard from the ridge of Janggun Peak and the lake."
Then something even stranger happened:
"At around 8:05 a.m. the sky began turning red with sunrise on the horizon. The peaks looked like a picture for wide and thick glow.
"Kim Jong Il's autographic writings 'Mt. Paektu, holy mountain of revolution. Kim Jong Il' carved on the mountain, in particular, were bright with glow.
"This phenomenon lasted till 5:00 pm."
"Glow was seen atop Jong Il Peak for half an hour from 16:50 on Dec. 19 when the nation was shocked by the news of the leader's demise. This was the first of its kind in dozens of years since the observation of the area was started."
As we've reported, in February the news agency reported a Halo hung around the mountain that coincided with Kim's 69th birthday and in June the country said North Korea was the second happiest country on Earth. China is the first.
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How to Make Your Own Luck
Everyone wants "luck", but can you create luck? They say that, "Luck is when opportunity meets preparation". I don't believe that you can't beat pure chance, but I do believe you can "stack the deck" in your favor. Here is how create your own luck:
- Be ready and open to opportunity
- Be in the right place at the right moment
- Know the "right" people who can help you
- Take chances and calculated risks
While this advice won't help you win the big Powerball or MegaMillions drawing-- that's chance, not luck. The above advice might help you more with get "lucky" in:
One quick example: If you seek luck in love, using the above advice can help you meet your future partner by being ready and open to it as well as being in the right place with the right people.
Bottomline: "Luck" is usually nudged along . . . by you!
Like this post? Check out the related posts for more information. You can also get email notification of new posts in your email by subscribing. Your email address won't be used for any other purpose than to send you notification of a new post.
DDFD believes that self reliance and self sufficiency are the roads to individual freedom and he is an advocate for personal privacy. He is dedicated to living a quality life through frugality, personal growth and productivity, and defensive entrepreneurship. He also enjoys cooking from scratch and fishing.
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LAKE STEVENS -- Highland Elementary School first grade teacher Lauren Morris posted on her classroom Facebook page that she'd like her students to wear hats on the first day of school after winter break. The reason? She'd be wearing one because she lost her hair over the holidays due to chemotherapy.
She should've guessed it was something her classroom parents couldn't keep under their hats! Parent Dorie Boyles notified the principal, school staff, and other parents, encouraging the entire SCHOOL to wear hats on Monday .... and they did.
Fuzzy hats, colorful hats, cowboy hats, animal hats, and baseball caps were perched on scores of heads as students surprised Mrs. Morris in the play yard before school. One student gave her a bag of hand made caps her mother had made. Another presented a colorful dragon picture. A third student gave her a lucky amulet from Japan.
"It makes me feel pretty incredible," said Mrs. Morris, with tears in her eyes. "Thankful and just blessed that the whole school would do this for me. I feel lucky to be here."
Principal Matt Pewitt said hats are normally not allowed in class but this was a special occasion. "It's a wonderful example of our community coming together and really supporting the people that they love."
Mrs. Morris has warned her students about her treatment for cancer and that eventually she would lose her hair. When asked how it felt to be wearing a hat just like Mrs. Morris, student Hannah Wentz said, "Awesome!"
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Using this Report
The graphs in this report use data reported by institutions directly to the NCAA.
Median values are used in some grants to represent the typical experience or value within each grouping. However, in some cases, the figures use the average values in order to accurately represent several expense or revenue subcategories within an overall total.
The years noted in the graphs are fiscal years. For example, the reference to 2007 in many graphs represents Fiscal Year 2007, which would be the 2006-7 academic year
Unless otherwise noted, the dollar values presented in graphs showing trends over time represent nominal dollars, meaning that they are not adjusted for inflation.
Operating expenses are used to separate the 119 FBS institutions in 2007 into 10 groups (deciles), with approximately 12 institutions in each group. Debt service is not considered a part of operating expenses and is noted separately in Figure 4a.
In some of the graphs, there are zero values for the medians. This means that the schools in at least the bottom half of the grouping reported zero values for that particular category.
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This section has information to help you make decisions about your career or education.
Start with the Who Am I page. Or click on the name of the page that interests you.
The better you know yourself, the easier it will be to find a career that matches your values and your skills.
A goal is something you want to do in the future. Do you know how to set goals?
Write down everything you need to know about your career choices. Then create a plan to get the career you want.
Copyright © 1999- iSeek Solutions
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Lawmakers are re-evaluating transportation issues after the Atlanta region voiced a resounding “no” for the T-SPLOST in July, and on Saturday state Senator John Albers and state Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers held a joint town hall meeting in Alpharetta to discuss concerns and possible solutions with citizens.
Albers and Rogers spoke out against the T-SPLOST during the election, although Rogers was part of the process to get the tax on the ballot.
“Hindsight is 20/20,” he said, “The one mistake I think we made in the way this was structured, was to allow local elected officials to come together and form those projects … what was intended to be projects of regional nature with no maintenance and operations unfortunately turned into few projects of regional nature, a lot of projects of no regional nature.”
Albers and Rogers said they would be hosting several town hall meetings to discuss further options, and one element Albers pointed out was gaining the public’s trust, specifically citing the recent announcement to tear down the Ga. 400 toll.
“It’s really about public trust,” he said.
Citizens asked the state senators what is the next step for the legislature, and both agreed they wanted to repeal the entire legislation to prevent areas who voted against the tax from penalties.
“To penalize any one part of Georgia for not voting on a tax is un-American,” Albers said. “We need to fix that right away so we have the same matching dollars we had before so we can solve the problem.”
Citizens also expressed concern about what Albers referred to as the “alphabet soup” of agencies – the various entities such as the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority – and how they are run.
“It’s time to streamline, pull all those together, get rid of duplicity, have things focused, have everybody quit playing tug of war with one another and bring in people who actually know how to do that and have a proven track record to doing that,” Albers said.
Rogers mentioned the idea of government getting out of the transportation business and privatizing transportation in the area to solve problems.
“Oftentimes elected officials or government bureaucrats or whomever tend to believe that because they’re in the position they’re in they somehow have to come up with a solution,” he said. “The reality is that the marketplace is far wiser than any collection of elected officials that have ever lived.”
Both Albers and Rogers said they would continue to host more town hall meetings – including some teleconferencing town hall meetings – to gather feedback.
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Exploding fiery cars have been pinpointed as the likely cause of the fire that engulfed the CTV building following its collapse, the Royal Commission of Inquiry has heard today.
USAR structural engineer David Frost has given evidence on day three of the inquiry into the collapse of the CTV building where 115 people lost their lives in the February 22 earthquake.
Frost said the six cars crushed underneath the CTV building may have provided the fuel source for the fire that broke out after the earthquake, which later consumed the building and killed some occupants who had survived the intial collapse.
"All vehicles were burnt out, I think it was possible the fire may have started in these vehicles and proved a fuel source for quite some time."
It has previously been suggested a gas cylinder inside the building may have started the fire.
The CTV building was still smouldering as rescuers hunted for survivors, but engineers who rushed to help in the days after the collapse also had another focus.
Forensic engineer Rob Heywood said: "I became concerned potential evidence was being lost and this loss may hinder further investigation into the building collapse."
In a balancing act between the search effort and the search for clues engineers asked police to cordon off an area of debris to protect it against people who were trying to bury it in rubbish. Samples were tagged and kept for further study.
And those samples revealed concerns about the building structure, including a lack of steel reinforcing in columns and weak connections to floor slabs.
Frost said he was surprised by the number of structural failings when he arrived at the site on the corner of Cashel and Madras streets 30 hours after the quake.
He said the building had collapsed suddenly and vertically after failing to absorb the shock of the 6.3 magnitude quake.
He said the roof had collapsed before the supporting south wall fell on top of it.
"The building collapsed vertically, almost immediately, before much horizon shaking had occurred due to overloading of the building elements designed for gravity load," said Frost.
"I believe it is also possible little or no horizontal loading was taken by the south wall and it may be it did not have an opportunity to perform as it should have."
Over 30 pieces of debris from the site and photos Frost took in the aftermath of February 22 have been exhibited as evidence at the inquiry.
For Brian Kennedy, who lost his wife Faye in the building, today's testimony brings a sense of foreboding.
"You're just waiting, what else is going to come out."
However, he said it is "a bit of a release too, because beforehand we seemed to know nothing about it".
Earlier, witness Matthew Ross described watching the CTV building disappear into a cloud of dust as he sat in his van clinging to his steering wheel.
Ross, director of Window Coverings, was in a van on Cashel St driving west towards Madras St when the quake struck.
Concerned a church he was beside would fall, he drove his van away and was still clinging to the steering wheel when the CTV building went down.
Ross said the building had been shaking both side to side and back and forth.
The top of the building was bending towards Madras St and he expected it would collapse in that direction.
"I was surprised when it began to drop straight down...I thought one of the bottom floors had given out."
"I could see the top floors were intact as they disappeared into the dust."
The hearing continues.
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The Coming Boom in Municipal Bonds
How high is the question.
A CBS Moneywatch story in November figured capital gains rates could go to 20%, from the current 14%. This seems to be the Obama Administration's latest proposal to avert the cliff, and even if it's accepted that is an increase of over 30%.
What happens if you go "cliff-diving?" Rick Ferri calls what would then happen a "tax mountain" with rates as high as 43% on some dividends, for folks earning over a quarter-million dollars a year.
But there is a bit of fine print in even Ferri's dire warning. "Tax-exempt interest from municipal bonds is excluded."
It's one of those things that make you go hmmm.
While there have been some high-profile municipal defaults in recent years -- Stockton and Bakersfield, Calif., and Birmingham, Ala., are three that come to mind right away -- the fact is that, as BHJ Advisors noted in August,
The default rate of municipalities is much lower over every time period than the default rate of corporations. In fact, over the past 10 years, the default rate for AAA-rated corporate bonds is actually greater than the rate for Baa rated municipal bonds.
Municipal bond issuance has jumped in 2012 but that is mainly in relation to a slack 2011, which was also a peak for defaults, notes The Bond Buyer. Bill Gross of Pimco is snapping them up by the armload, writes Forbes.
If you're interested, there is something you ought to know. The tax treatment of a municipal bond differs depending on where you live, and whether your state imposes an income tax. Currently eight states have no state income taxes, Wikipedia notes, and another seven have flat rates, the same for all income levels.
Thus, the best way to invest in munis is to stick close to home, where you can actually see the results of your investment and where you can avoid the maximum in taxes.
I live in Atlanta, Ga., where I like to ride my bicycle. Municipalbonds.com tracks bond sales, and my city recently issued some bonds that run until 2039 to build a bike trail around the city known as the Beltline. It's got a 5% coupon, and it's presently trading near par value. Part of the trail has even been built.
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Review: The Human Faces of God: What Scripture Reveals When It Gets God Wrong (and Why Inerrancy Tries to Hide It)
Author: Thom Stark
Wipf and Stock, 2010
Chapter 3: “Inerrancy Stunts Your Growth”
Now, this is one chapter I thoroughly enjoyed. Stark spends the greater part exposing and surgically excising the internal logic used to defend inerrancy. Yet although this can be much like shooting fish in a barrel, and many of his points have been made elsewhere many times before (including on this blog), his accessible prose and razor sharp reasoning makes quick and elegant work of it. But I do have one beef, on which, keep reading.
The first claim usually offered by inerrantists is suitably the first to fall: the Bible claims inerrancy for itself. “The inerrantists talk about the Bible as if it were some self-aware being, like an artificial intelligence that, once assembled, achieves a sort of quasi-consciousness” (p. 47). But the simple fact is that these people who are the quickest to demand scriptural support can point to no scriptural basis for this belief. No passage speaks of the entire canon in which it has become enclosed, much less claiming inspiration or inerrancy for it. Instead, their belief comes down to “logic”, falsely so-called: if the Bible is inspired from start to finish — as surely it ought to be — than it will be inerrant — for surely, it ought to be. This is Stark’s next target, for even if we extrapolate from claims of authority given to certain segments of the text to the entirety of the canonized scriptures, by no means does there result an unavoidable trajectory from inspiration toward inerrancy. As I have pointed out before, 2 Timothy 3.16′s ”God-breathed” does not specify that this means the Bible was essentially “exhaled” through God’s lungs, with a practically incidental detour through human authors’ hearts and pens, as inerrantists suppose; Stark notes that it was more in line with first century thinking to rather understand divine inspiration as the animation and empowerment of the texts themselves. “To say that scripture is ‘God-breathed’,” Stark suggests, “could very well mean that God breathes new life and new meaning into even obscure texts that are outdated, irrelevant, and perhaps even wrong” (pp. 47-48, emphasis original).
Showing that he’s no stranger to arguments with inerrantists, Stark accurately predicts the inerrantists’ next line of defense, what he refers to as “the dominical trump card”: the belief that Jesus believed the Old Testament was inerrant. Ably, and I sincerely believe convincingly, he addresses and problematizes a fairly exhaustive list of proof texts for that claim, a list put forward by Norman Geisler in defense of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy substantiating his belief that “one cannot reject the divine authority of Scripture without thereby impugning the authority of Christ…” (p. 48): Matt. 5.17-18; Luke 24.44; John 10.34-45; 14.16; 16.13.
But what about those times in which Jesus cited Old Testament stories as evidence for a point? It’s quite possible that Jesus was more aware than most of his peers about the deeper truths of the universe, but merely adapted his teaching to them in condescension. The CSBI crowd anticipates that possibility and rejects it outright, because they feel that Jesus should not have lent his considerable credibility to unhistorical stories. Stark has little to do but gesture at the gaping hole in that logic: there is a chasmic difference between alluding to a point from a well-known story and committing oneself to the entire spectrum of truth claims possible for or about that story, including its historicity. But even if Jesus did hold inaccurate conceptions about the Old Testament, history, science, etc., not questioning the common understanding of those things handed down to him just like his contemporaries, Stark suggests that it approaches a violation of the unadulterated humanity of Jesus as affirmed at Chalcedon:
…[D]enying Jesus the right to have faulty assumptions is just another form of Docetism. It is a denial of Jesus’ humanity, because an indispensable part of being human is being a product of one’s own time and place…[I]f Jesus believed the world was flat, and that Daniel wrote Daniel, it is not because he was an inferior or imperfect being; it’s because he was fully a human being, which is precisely what the Council of Chalcedon affirms about him. [p. 55]
Stark spends the next several pages exposing a few more faulty and inconsistently applied presuppositions needed to maintain inerrancy. The highly selective appeal to the authority of church history is highlighted and critiqued as example after example of wildly inappropriate judgments by different presumably authoritative ecclesiastical magisteria is presented (Calvinists, beware: Servetus comes up). He also takes aim at the notion that we must believe the Bible’s authority and ostensible inerrancy just because it (supposedly) claims it for itself all the while denying such claims in other holy books like the Qur’an.
Despite finding the content of this chapter to be on the whole compelling and useful, I was nonetheless a bit disappointed that the purported theme of the chapter as suggested by the title was not really addressed until over halfway through. The shortcomings of inerrancy described above needed to be pointed out in this book somewhere, but if Stark thinks that these particular ways of being wrong-headed and inconsistent contribute to growth stunting, he never made it clear how or why. Yes, being wrong is something to avoid, but we’re all wrong in some way: why, my friends ask me, must I harp specifically on inerrancy? “Yeah, great, you’re not convinced of inerrancy, but why waste so much energy just to prove that you know better than us? How exactly is this supposed to help Christians out?”
Stark really begins to answer these questions with his discussion in the penultimate section of this chapter. Elucidating unwelcome side effects of inerrancy that he cleverly terms “the inerrancy tax”, he argues that accepting the inerrantist view of how the inspiration process worked leads to some compromises in a couple highly prized beliefs: the taxing of both free will and divine sovereignty. His point about the sacrifice of free will required in the CSBI’s conception of inspiration was valid, but not quite as compelling as his fair, careful, but deep-cutting critique of the problems associated with maintaining both inerrancy and a Reformed view of God as sovereign. This is particularly hard-hitting considering that the most hardcore advocates of inerrancy, including many of the most important framers and defenders of the CSBI, consider inerrancy to be the very foundation of the Reformed tradition. His tactic in this section is to show inerrantists that they, upon close examination, will themselves find inerrancy unsatisfactory for theological reasons. This contributes to an answer to the question, “Why should I care about this debate?”
The final section is (finally) devoted to the promised subject, “Inerrancy Stunts Your Growth”. This was the most original and interesting portion of the chapter by far, but I found it painfully short. I do not really mean that I found it underdeveloped or lacking in explanation, because it’s a relatively simple concept; I mean, rather, that I would have enjoyed continuing to hear his approach explained, for reasons akin to the exhilarating feeling one gets when one finds oneself staring at a waterfall and not wanting to continue hiking down the trail just yet. I hesitate to summarize it in detail here for fear of “spoiling” the book, as it’s one of the gems of his view of the Bible and alone worth reading the book for. The essence is that inerrancy “taxes your development as a moral agent” (p. 67): much as Christians have tended to view the Law contra the Spirit for salvation (“the letter kills,” etc.”), we can never mature in our growth as human beings so long as we insist on affirming every misconception, politically motivated mandate, and cultural prejudice recorded in Scripture as though each and every one of them is God’s very word to us. This is one of the most compelling defenses for assaulting inerrancy.
A word about the tone of the book so far: it’s excellent. His attempt at conversational style is, in my opinion, dramatically successful because he does not give the impression either of speaking too harshly or talking down to those Christians whose beliefs a reader will, based upon Stark’s thoughtful discussion, nonetheless infer are benighted and naive. For this reason, as of the end of chapter three this book is drifting to the top of my “recommended for conservative Christians” books list even though I am aware of some pretty perilous waters beginning in the next chapter.
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WHY A MATCHED SYSTEM?
Most homeowners consider the components that make up their heating and cooling system to beseparate units. But these components are actually integrated, coordinated pieces that are designed to work together in what is called a “matched system.” Matched systems are quieter, more reliable, more efficient and last longer to make the most of your investment.
Total comfort is greater than the sum of the individual components.
A matched system begins with the right components used with the right comfort combinations. You can choose from many components to create your ideal home environment, and your local independent American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning dealer will work with you to install products that are appropriate for your home and climate. Find your perfect matched system with our Plan Your System tool.
The power of working together.
American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning components – furnaces, air conditioners, indoor coils, thermostats and accessories are designed and engineered to work together seamlessly as a matched system to provide greater efficiency, reliability and comfort. With the help of your dealer, you can choose a matched system that is just right for your home and comfort needs.
An independent American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning dealer will ensure your matched system is the right size for your home so you get the most value for your energy dollar.
A correctly matched system enables each component to work as designed, which allows your system to perform at its best, for longer.
When all of your heating and cooling system components are properly matched, you can control exactly how much heating or cooling you need to create your ideal home environment.
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Posted Wed, Jun 27, 2007 by LadySirse
Reykjavik, Iceland - June 27, 2007 - CCP Games, one of the world's largest independent game developers, today announced the appointment of a in-world lead economist for EVE Online. This is the first time an MMOG has commissioned a dedicated real world economist to operate at this level of economic monitoring and research for a virtual world. The appointment is a real testament to the growing intricacy and strength of EVE Online's thriving virtual economy. Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson brings over 15 years' experience in economic studies and research, and joins CCP directly from the University of Akureyri, Iceland, where he among several teaching positions held the position of the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Science. Prior to that he was a research associate at the University of Rhode Island's Department of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics where he also completed his PhD. He has authored or co-authored 15 publications. Dr. Guðmundsson's first blog on EVE Online economics is at http://myeve.eve-online.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=481. Dr. Guðmundsson will publish quarterly reports on the state of the EVE Online economy as well as ongoing analysis of other economic indicators, such as inflation, economic growth and price trends. His research is designed to provide players with information necessary to make strategic decisions, but is also expected to have an impact on future development of the game. Dr. Guðmundsson will also be responsible for coordinating research initiatives with academic institutions. "EVE Online may be set in the future, but the skills needed to play are rooted in the real world of today. Players operate vast corporations whose shares are traded in-game among players so economic strength and agility is key to their success. Just as entrepreneurs and executives rely on real-world economic indicators, EVE Online players need timely information and analysis of the in-game economy," said Hilmar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games. "That's why we created this important position and we're delighted to have someone of Eyjólfur's caliber and expertise fill the role." "Virtual worlds and MMOGs are emerging as one of the most interesting areas of experimental economics. Since becoming involved with EVE Online, I have been exploring the game and growing more fascinated with the community, its complexities and the unlimited potential of it all. I can see that CCP has understood that the social structures in EVE Online are far beyond those of other games," said Eyjólfur Guðmundsson. "Economic information is the lifeblood of the game and I believe that, by ensuring everyone has access to the same data, we will enhance the player experience and facilitate economic stability in EVE."
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NIDA is the Australian national theatre school, a centre of excellence in training for theatre, film and television. NIDA's primary role is to select and train exceptionally gifted young people at a tertiary level, preparing them for careers in theatre, film and television.
While best known for its Acting course, NIDA also offers unique and effective courses with good career prospects in Design, Stage Management, Event Management, Lighting, Sound, Costume Making, Properties and Special Effects, Directing and Playwriting.
The NIDA full-time courses are accredited higher education courses approved under the (NSW) Higher Education Act, 2001.
NIDA students who are Australian citizens or who have an Australian permanent humanitarian visa can apply for FEE-HELP, the Australian government loan scheme that assists eligible students to pay their tuition fees. A loan fee of 25% applies to FEE-HELP loans for undergraduate courses. Students repay their loan through the tax system once their income is above the minimum level for compulsory repayment. For more details on FEE-HELP go to www.goingtouni.gov.au
Term dates for 2013
The NIDA year consists of four terms of varying length. While there may be some overlap, each term will focus mainly either on classes or on productions. Term length can vary from year to year.
2013 commences Tuesday 29 January 2013
Term 1 - Tuesday 29 January to Friday 12 April
(Easter break 29 March -1 April)
Term 2 Monday 29 April to Friday 28 June
Term 3 - Monday 15 July to Friday 23 August
Term 4 - Monday 2 September to Friday 1 November
For those involved with Directors’ Productions, these conclude with bump-out on Wednesday 4 December.
Applicants for the Acting, Design, Production, Costume and Properties courses must have reached the age of 18 or within a few months of 18 years before the commencement of the course, although in exceptional circumstances this condition may be waived.
The Higher School Certificate or equivalent award from the final year of secondary school is the minimum required educational qualification, although this condition may be waived in exceptional circumstances.
A Driver's Licence is useful for Production, Properties and Costume students in particular.
All NIDA courses are carefully planned progressions of integrated subjects and interrelated activities. Advanced standing cannot replace the audition/interview process; nor can entry begin other than at the start of the course.
For more information on individual courses, please refer to the left-hand menu for links to the relevant page.
Contact Full-time Course Applications for any queries:
Full-time Course Applications
Phone: (02) 9697 7614
Email: Contact Form
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Spencer W Kimball’s (former LDS Prophet) spoke to BYU students a number of years ago on becoming perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. In this talk, he outlined areas where we should strive for perfection, which include: personal integrity, commitment to (BYU) standards, honoring covenants, roles of men and women, and personal appearance. While I agree that it is important to strive to become closer to God each day, I have experienced sometimes within the LDS culture a tendency for members to over emphasize some of the points that Kimball mentioned about being “perfect”. I have personally seen how this can lead to judgement of others, and essentially pulls people away from God when they think they are doing everything “right” in order to be favored of God.
Each person is travelling this journey of life and is on a different point along the path and with their relationship with God. Do I think it is a good thing to strive to be perfect in our covenants, integrity, commitment, and personal appearance? Absolutely! However, those of us who may be further along the path or perhaps have learned how to experience a close relationship with God shouldn’t shun those of us who are perhaps at a different point.
I’ll share some examples regarding striving for perfection in appearance, particularly on Sunday.
Within the LDS church, members are expected to dress a their Sunday best when attending meetings. Men are expected to wear a white shirt and tie and if you are the Bishop (pastor) I’m not sure if it is just an unwritten rule, but a suit is always the norm. Additionally, facial hair is not accepted if one is called to a leadership position such as a Bishop or Elders President (Men’s Group Leader). I assume the reasoning behind this is to portray the image of being closer to Jesus. The white shirt represents purity, closeness to God, etc.
While I do not have a problem with people wearing their Sunday best, I do have a problem with people who wear their Sunday best and then belittle or criticize those who don’t wear their church clothes in the same exact way.
I’ll share a personal story. A couple years ago, we moved to a new ward (congregation) and I wore a colored shirt with out a tie to church the first Sunday. The bishop of the congregation came up to me and said some things that could have been offending if I had let them be. Other personal examples are that I usually do not button my top button on my shirt when I wear a tie (I hate wearing ties!) because it is too restrictive. I also have other clothes that I feel fit my personality and style, which I feel are Sunday best but not necessarily a white shirt. When I wear these clothes, I’ve been teased and even reprimanded over the years. It gets even more fun when I let my beard grow out!
Another example I heard just the other day was a lady who came to church who hadn’t been in awhile and she invited her non-LDS friend. They both wore nice dress pants, but felt very looked-down upon and unwelcome because they weren’t dressed in the “right way”. She decided she didn’t want to come to church again.
I think the problem with having a mandate to have everyone look and act a certain way is that it then becomes a social norm. Subconsiously people think that it is wrong not to look and act in that certain way and others get ostracized or belittled either to their faces or behind their backs. In addition, I’ve seen that if people are not dressed in the certain way that is normal, people think that is an outward expression of inward sin on the part of the individual.
For those of us who are guilty of judging others for their outward appearances (I think all of us are guilty of this), it is important for us to remember the scripture in 1 Samuel 16:7:
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.
So next time you see someone at church who may not be wearing clothes that are supposed to show an outward appearance of perfection, make a concious effort to not judge them, but reach out to them and get to know them for who they are. Chances are, they’re just trying to develop a relationship with God just like you are. They just hate wearing ties!
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The Land of Grimney - The Illustrated Adventures of Cora Pearl, aged 12. An Online community for poets, writers & Artists
Who was Cora Pearl?
It is difficult to write about an individual whose life is shrouded in the deepest mysteries. Very little is known about her. Cora’s stepfather Samuel Blackthorn, who lived at his manor house in the Malvern countryside, tried to raise the child, but it seems that he was rather cruel to her. Therefore Cora grew into a sullen young girl. The tragedy of her father Robert’s early death, and the neglect shown to Cora by her mother Elizabeth did little to improve Cora’s temperament, thus she withdrew into a silent world of poetry and fantasy. As her obsession with her imagination increased, the twelve year old child disappeared.
With its thick red leather bound pages remained hidden for many years, gathering dust beneath the floorboards of her cobwebbed bedroom in Blackthorn manor.
I believe that it was in those old crusty pages that Cora’s imagination took flight. Nightmares and dreams entwined in her troubled mind like twisted barbed wire and dragged Cora into a journey that changed her world forever.
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While Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning 1995 Braveheart may take its story from legendary Scot rebel William Wallace, it's far from historical drama. But then again, very little historical information exists about Wallace, except that he mounted an army of defiant Scots and ran roughshod over the English during the Scottish uprising of 1296-1305 before being captured by the brutal King Edward I (a.k.a. Edward the Longshanks) and executed for his seditious crimes. But even if the majority of Wallace's history largely comes from oral traditions, that's certainly no reason not to mount an epic film, and in Braveheart Gibson decides on a very contemporary theme individual freedom, what it's worth, and the price some people pay for it (certainly a more poetic concept than such commonplace political notions as home rule or local control, which Wallace probably was demanding from the English in the first place, and which Scotland and Wales still bemoan today). Scenarist Randall Wallace buoys his three-hour tale from one emotionally charged scene to the next, as the young Wallace must deal with the violent death of his father, the loss of his wife to brutal English soldiers, and the mounting of a rag-tag but effective army, which forces him to negotiate not only with the English monarchy but also with various Scottish gentry, including Robert the Bruce (Angus MacFadyen), who counsels Wallace that a political solution is the only way Scotland can move towards a more autonomous future. And while there is an element of political skullduggery towards the latter half of the film, Gibson's Wallace remains free of it fighting the good fight is his raison de etre, and ultimately more important than his own personal survival. There are only a few weak parts of Braveheart, and while many critics have commented that it lags in moments, some of that simply is because the marvelous battle scenes are so effective that the remainder of the film can barely compete. The reliable Patrick McGoohan portrays Longshanks, but there is something almost cartoonish about his villainy, as if he rules not to fortify his power but merely to inflict suffering on others for his own personal amusement (in fact, while ruthless, Edward I is regarded as a pious man committed as much to the Holy Crusades as his native land, and he probably was no more bloodthirsty than any other effective king). The delicate Prince of Wales (Peter Hanly), who would become Edward II, is given the proper historical context (yep, he was gay), but again his simpering manner and hysterical rejection of his wife does nothing to flesh out the milieu of these early Plantagenet kings any more than Gibson and scenarist Wallace grant their protagonist any real depth of character. But Braveheart isn't The Godfather, it's a rousing, inspiriational story and marvelous entertainment. There are few films made anymore that boast scores of extras, all of which are apparent in Gibson's bloody, magnificent battle sequences. In fact, there probably never has been better battle scenes committed to film with the amount of horses seen here the way Gibson has countless steeds fly to the ground under assault, nearly crushing men underfoot as they let out cries of pain, is terrifying and a testament to the director's devotion to his craft. Paramount's DVD edition of Braveheart features a solid anamorphic transfer (2.35:1), with audio in DD 5.1 or Dolby 2.0 Surround. Informative commentary with Gibson, 28-minute "making-of" doc, two trailers. Keep-case.
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The Office of International Programs strongly suggests that students open a bank account in the United States – this makes it easier to purchase items while in the United States, receive wire transfers from home and typically prevents foreign transaction fees.
During International Orientation the Office of International Programs will assist you in opening a bank account. Georgetown College works with United Bank, a local bank with locations throughout Kentucky (a United account will work anywhere in the United States). United Bank offers free checking accounts for students which include a debit card and online banking. You may also open a savings account (also free) if you wish. The amount of money needed to open an account is $50.00 (this amount is per account).
While the Office of International programs strives to assist students with bank accounts, the student is responsible for his/her bank account. A quick overview of the U.S. banking system is included in International Student Orientation.
Please note that Georgetown College is only able to assist students that bank with United Bank; however, students may bank with the bank of their choice.
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The big news for the past several days is that the Supreme Court has finally gotten around to holding oral arguments on same-sex marriage. The bad news is that hundreds of people have been gathering day and night on the steps of the Supreme Court, holding placards and demanding something be done.
What exactly do they want done? Oral arguments are a charade. Not a single justice has not yet made up his mind on the matter. The arguments are only an occasion for the justices to show off their skills at rudeness. I cannot recall a time when any of the attorneys was able to get out three sentences without being interrupted. It is not unusual for interruptions to begin during the first sentence. The justices don’t want to hear what the presenters have to say; moreover, the presenters are given a limit time in which to make their pitch. The interruptions do not stop the clock. In a few months, the Court will hand down its decision on both the states’ laws and the federal one. That’s the time for people to show up singing and screaming. The only justice who has it right is Clarence Thomas because he alone never participates in the questioning. People think this is because he is too dumb to think of questions. Not so. Clarence is on record as saying that oral argument time is just a show that proves nothing. He is right.
Also overlooked is the fact that the gay rights people are absolutely crazy. What they want is to have the same rights as heterosexuals. Good grief! Is there anything worse than heterosexuality? I speak as an insider.
Okay, here is something worse –newspaper articles about gay marriage. Read this one and weep: [From the Economist.]
“In June 2008 the Supreme Court of California overturned a gay-marriage ban, making it the second state (Massachusetts was first) to legalise such unions. Some 18,000 couples took the opportunity to get married before Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage, won the support of 52% of the state’s voters at a referendum five months later.
But the passage of Prop 8 turned out to be just another step in a complex three-way jig between politicians, judges and campaigners. Gay-rights groups successfully challenged the law, first in a San Francisco district court and then on appeal. A stay was granted, meaning Prop 8 remained in force, as the case made its way through the judicial system; on March 26th it became the first gay-marriage case to reach the Supreme Court. (A second, on the Defence of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to married same-sex couples, was due to be heard on March 27th.)
Many of the 80 minutes the court devoted to Prop 8 were given over to procedural discussions of “standing”—the question of whether the proponents of the amendment had the right to argue their case in court. Californian officials have declined to defend it, so it has been left to ProtectMarriage.com, a pro-Prop 8 group, to make the case. (Similarly, Barack Obama’s administration will not advocate for DOMA; congressional Republicans will do so instead.) In 2011 California’s state Supreme Court granted standing to the Prop 8 backers. But some legal eagles have urged the Supreme Court to rule otherwise, and the justices appear receptive.
Some of the crowd who queued for five days to witness the hearing must have been disappointed by the focus on process. But to judge by their hand-wringing, when the justices issue their verdict in June it will not be a surprise if they reject the case on these grounds. (That would leave the district-court ruling overturning Prop 8 in force, although further legal challenges could follow.) Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote between the court’s liberal and conservative wings, seemed “deeply conflicted,” says Matt Coles of the American Civil Liberties Union, a lobby group. At one point the judge wondered if the court had erred in agreeing to hear the case at all.
If standing is granted, the justices then have several options. Most dramatic would be a ruling that all state bans on gay marriage contravene the equal-protection clause of the 14th amendment to the constitution. This “50-state solution” is sought by the Prop 8 plaintiffs and gay-rights groups, but it did not get much of an airing before the court.
Less sweeping would be the “nine-state solution”: to overturn bans in California and the other states (including Colorado, which recently passed a civil-union law) that recognise same-sex unions but fall short of marriage. This curious argument, proposed by the White House and presented in court by Donald Verrilli, the solicitor-general, was attacked by both wings of the court. The odds against it have lengthened.
The last option is a California-only verdict. The justices could uphold the appeals court’s ruling that to grant the right to marry only to withdraw it later is unlawful. That would overturn Prop 8 without implications for other states. Or they could uphold the will of California’s voters and leave the law in place. That would disappoint thousands of couples who hope to wed (although polls suggest that Prop 8 would soon be overturned at the ballot box anyway), but would provide solace to states that wish to preserve their bans.
Religiosity strongly predicts opposition to gay marriage: 84% of weekly churchgoers voted for Prop 8. But arguments based on faith, tradition or squeamishness cannot be adduced in court. This has forced advocates into awkward corners. It is in the state’s interest, Charles Cooper, lawyer for ProtectMarriage.com, told the Supreme Court, to keep marriage heterosexual in order to regulate procreation. “Nobody thinks that’s what marriage is about,” says Michael Klarman of Harvard Law School, “but that’s the argument they must make.”
What if the court were to rule expansively? Gay-marriage opponents warn of another Roe v Wade that cuts off debate and poisons politics for decades. Their foes cite Loving v Virginia, the 1967 case that overturned bans on interracial marriage without triggering much resentment. That seems the better comparison, and not only because it concerns marriage. Nearly half of Americans oppose gay marriage but more back it, and their numbers are growing quickly (see chart). Fully 64% think gay marriage is inevitable.
If not rights, then votes
It is not hard to see why: support among almost every demographic group is growing, and youngsters are the most liberal of all. Sniffing the political wind, last month many Republicans called on the justices to ditch Prop 8. Hillary Clinton has added her support. In the 2004 election cycle Republicans used gay marriage to whack Democrats; the reverse could happen in 2016.
The change in public opinion found political expression four times over last November. After a string of losses for campaigners Maine, Maryland and Washington became the first states to legalise gay marriage via the ballot box, and voters in Minnesota rejected a proposed ban. Legislatures in six other states and Washington, DC, have approved gay marriage. Several others, including Illinois and Minnesota, are debating bills; some could pass before the court’s ruling.
Both sides of the debate have found uses for this turnaround in fortunes. Six months ago defenders of “traditional marriage” were crowing about their electoral invincibility; they now say America is conducting a vigorous democratic debate that judges should allow to run its course. This argument may appeal to cautious justices.
As for gay-marriage campaigners, their successes have helped repair a split that emerged when the Prop 8 case was filed in 2009. Backers argued that marriage was a civil right that should not be held hostage to electoral whims. Others, fearing backlash from a premature court ruling, preferred a quieter approach, including state-by-state political campaigns.
The political track now looks more viable, but the growth in support that made election wins possible has also reduced fears of backlash. “The momentum on the ground makes people less concerned about whether we are before the court before we should be,” says Brian Moulton, legal director at the Human Rights Campaign, a lobby group. The cause has been helped by ever-louder support from Mr Obama, who appears to see gay marriage as the great civil-rights struggle of the era.
If so, it is being waged for couples like Ms Healey and Ms Dávalos. They plan to marry if Prop 8 is scrapped, but without fanfare. “Marriage is much more serious than a ‘yippee-for-me’ day,” says Ms Healey. The importance of marriage, she adds, is the only thing her opponents get right.”
If you read this article from beginning to end and didn’t skip anything, you deserve a coconut whip made by the loving hands of Jungle Jim himself.
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Stokes County has been without a livestock agent for a few years, but that should soon change.
On Monday the Stokes County Board of Commissioners gave the Stokes Cooperative Extension office the go-ahead to begin the advertisement and interview process for a livestock agent. The agent’s time will be split 50-50 between Forsyth and Stokes counties but will be housed in the Stokes office.
The livestock agent will work with area cattlemen and sheep and goat producers. County Manager Rick Morris said, “It is something we have a real need for.”
The county and cooperative extension service have gotten creative to find funding for the position, Morris explained. While the state will pay 50 percent of the salary, Forsyth and Stokes have to split the other half. Stokes plans to save more than $4,000 by sharing a crops agent with Davie County in addition to Forsyth. The county already had some money budgeted this year for hiring a livestock agent.
“I think this is a pretty creative solution,” Morris remarked.
With limited funds, Stokes Cooperative Extension Director Debbie Cox said they have to brainstorm, “How can we do more with less?”
Commissioner James Booth asked if the field crops agent would be stretched too thin now with time split between three counties, and Cox said she did not think so. She said the agent manages his time well and is aware of the future change.
Commissioner Ronda Jones said though funds are tight, she understands the need for a livestock agent, because the cooperative extension service covers a broad scope of services and a crop person is not necessarily a livestock person.
The board gave approval to the agent position. The hiring process could be lengthy since it has to go through the state Cooperative Extension Service based out of N.C. State University.
Road paving projects
Also during the meeting, the commissioners approved a resolution stating their concurrence with the secondary road construction program planned by the N.C. Department of Transportation. A public hearing was held for the secondary road construction program on Jan. 14, but no one signed up to speak. NCDOT District Engineer John Rhyne went over the 2012-13 fiscal year allocation and plans with the commissioners.
The state highway department has completed a study of all state maintained unpaved secondary roads to determine the number of miles unpaved in the state. As a result of the study, it was anticipated that Stokes County would be allocated $750,717.05 by the General Assembly for secondary road improvements this year.
With those dollars, the programmed paving goal is 0.31 miles. That paving will be done on Big Oak Road. Rhyne noted that this is significantly less than in the past due to House Bill 950 last July. Allocations for paving secondary roads are now based on a statewide prioritization instead of prioritization within each county. Stokes County did not have any roads at the top of that statewide list. Big Oak was allowed because it was presented years ago but NCDOT just now has received the right of way. The upside, Rhyne said, is that the allocation change was just for 2013 and will go back to the old prioritization plan next year unless there are additional changes.
General secondary road improvements will include widening and reshaping 0.8 miles of Meadowbrook Road, strengthening the pavement on four miles of Slate Road, widening four miles of Tuttle Road, and widening and reshaping 2.8 miles of Pleasant View Church Road. No unpaved road spot improvements have been planned.
Commissioner Jimmy Walker said one of the county’s priorities has been widening or improving a section of Highway 8. He asked when Rhyne foresaw that project coming up. Rhyne said it is number 3801 in the program list, but it has made it to the scoping level. With scoping, NCDOT employees get together and talk about a project. The estimated date is 2030, he said. While that may not be the greatest news, at least it is on the calendar, said Rhyne.
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Four short links: 19 February 2010
Data Adjustments, Grasping Telcos, Open Data Panacea Denied, Newspaper Software
- How to Seasonally Adjust Data — Most statisticians, economists and government agencies that report data use a method called the X12 procedure to adjust data for seasonal patterns. The X12 procedure and its predecessor X11, which is still widely used, were developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. When applied to a data series, the X12 process first estimates effects that occur in the same month every year with similar magnitude and direction. These estimates are the “seasonal” components of the data series. (via bengebre on Delicious)
- Vodafone Chief: Mobile Groups Should Be Able to Bypass Google (Guardian) — Vodafone and other telcos want to charge both ends, to charge not just the person with a monthly mobile data subscription but also the companies with whom that person communicates. It’s double-dipping and offensively short-sighted. Vodafone apparently wants to stripmine all the value their product creates. This is not shearing the sheep, this is a recipe for lamb in mint sauce.
- Open Data is Not A Panacea, But It Is A Start — The reality is that releasing the data is a small step in a long walk that will take many years to see any significant value. Sure there will be quick wins along the way – picking on MP’s expenses is easy. But to build something sustainable, some series of things that serve millions of people directly, will not happen overnight. And the reality, as Tom Loosemore pointed out at the London Data Store launch, it won’t be a sole developer who ultimately brings it to fruition. (via sebchan on Twitter)
- Our GeoDjango EC2 Image for News Apps — Chicago Tribune releasing an Amazon EC2 image of the base toolchain they use. Very good to see participation and contribution from organisations historically seen as pure consumers of technology. All business are becoming technology-driven businesses, realising the old mindset of “leave the tech to those who do it best” isn’t compatible with being a leader in your industry.
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You log onto Facebook (who are we kidding, you’ve never even logged off). Check your notifications, scroll through your Newsfeed. Your friend listened to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Spotify, you ‘like’ that. A friend shares a link about the latest celebrity scandal, you ‘like’ that. Another friend shares a photo from the NYU Memes page, you laugh, and, naturally, you ‘like’ that too. Little do you know, your ‘likes’ project a very powerful image of you.
According to a study from the University of Cambridge, Facebook ‘likes’ can be used to gather information about your sexual orientation, politics, religion, intelligence and emotional stability. We tend to use this ‘like’ button indiscriminately, unaware of what the effects may be. Summarily, if you ‘like’ certain things, they become indicators of the type of person you are. For example, according to the study, indicators of male homosexuality were pages such as the “No H8 Campaign” and “Wicked: The Musical”, whereas male heterosexuality was indicated by user likes of “Wu Tang Clan” or “Shaq”. Supposedly we can also predict whether a user is introverted or extroverted, their intelligence level and their political alignments according to their liked pages.
A website that has tried to utilize this is www.youarewhatyoulike.com. All you do is login with your Facebook, and the site generates an output based off of your likes.
While I do agree that the Likes they’ve listed are most indicative of my profile, I don’t agree with how they’ve categorized me. Sure I’m liberal, and sometimes consider myself creative and artistic, and for the most part I am very organized and like to have my shit all together. Verdicts still out on whether I actually am friendly. The last two I’m having trouble over. While I’d like to think I’m calm and relaxed, in reality I’m a bit high strung and anxious. Also, I’m very competitive. So there’s goes that “agreeableness”. I’m calling a farse on you http://www.youarewhatyoulike.com.
But for the most part this can prove to be accurate. Lately I’ve been inspired to run a Ragnar Relay (if you don’t know what it is, check it out), and clicked the ‘like’ button on the Ragnar Relay Facebook page to get updates. Now, in my Newsfeed, nested in between status updates and photos of friends, are sponsored ads for the “Warrior Dash”, “Iron Man”, “Diva Run”, and even one promoting Joint Relief care (thanks for looking out, Facebook) – all things that are, in fact, appealing to me. However, Facebook often has the tendency to take these ‘likes’ completely out of context. For example, I’m a huge fan of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU. When I first made my Facebook profile I listed Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as my “Favorite TV Shows” (right next to Sex and the City, and 30 Rock, mind you). The repercussions of this have been a range of ads for schools: ITT Tech School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers School of Criminal Justice; ads for the search term “Law & Order” clearly taken out of context: Indian Law & Order Commission, Christian Commission on Faith & Order. I do love the show Law and Order, but I cannot say I have ever, nor will I ever in the future, be interested in the field of law or criminal justice. While I do appreciate the suggestions, Facebook, I’ll decline. In fact, taking ‘likes’ out of context and making assumptions based on them is annoying, weird, and intrusive.
The fact that, as individuals, we are now scrutinized and judged upon what pages we click on, is disheartening. Our personal identities have thus been commandeered by the simplistic digital decisions we make and the click of a like button. The study by the University of Cambridge lays out a table of predictive ‘likes’ and what they indicate. Apparently, the pages “I Love Being A Mom” and “Lady Antebellum” are indicators of a low IQ, whereas “Morgan Freeman’s Voice”, “The Godfather”, and “Curly Fries” are indicators of a high IQ. First of all, there are countless highly intelligent, career driven, and smart women who love being moms. Take Marissa Mayer for instance: she loves being a mom, and as a CEO I would assume she has a high IQ. This assumption is both sexist, and probably just as irrelevant as the relationship of liking “Curly Fries” to your IQ is. Additionally, our ‘likes’ can also reveal if we are an introvert with few friends, or an extrovert with many friends. Liking “Jennifer Lopez”, “Michael Jordan” and “Biology” means you are extroverted with many friends. On the other hand, pages like “In n Out Burger”, “The Dark Knight” and “Videogames” indicate introvert with few friends. To me, these all seem entirely irrelevant. What if you enjoy going to In N Out and watching The Dark Knight with a big group of your friends? These pages certainly cannot be predictors of the type of people we are or how we see ourselves.
What Facebook and corresponding commercial companies that use this data are doing is stereotyping the users. Apply this to offline life. How would you like it if you just met someone and told them you once read the book, Fifty Shades of Grey, and naturally they assume you are into S&M, and probably into the Twilight series? Is that a fair assumption that should be made? It’s ludicrous right? People shouldn’t do that, so why should Facebook and other data mining companies? Your Facebook profile, and other online personal profiles for that matter, should be the information that you post and want others to see. It should reflect you solely because, well, you put that information out there. Your profiles should not be a wealth of information for companies to use and make out of context assumptions about you. The user should be able to control their online presence and not have it be constructed by some impersonal algorithm that assumes that IF a user ‘likes’ X, THEN they must be Y and act accordingly.
We’re much more complex individuals than that. We have to give ourselves some credit.
Your chakras are your centers of your vital energy, or prana. These exist at central parts of your body – main arteries, organs, etc. After a certain amount of time, our chakras get blocked, bogged down, and cluttered. Sometimes we find these centers of energies at an imbalance. All of these things negatively effect our being and our outlook on life. Spring cleaning is the time to clear our chakras, clear our minds, and de-clutter.
You’re all like, I couldn’t give two shits about my cha-chas or chakras
I’m like, Whatever! Here’s your guide to spring cleaning!:
Spirit: The Crown Chakra
Be happier. Cut out the shit that annoys you, pisses you off, or aggravates you. Its unnecessary. Just do it. It’s pretty simple.
Psychic: The Third Eye Chakra
Let’s be honest, no one has an answer to “What are you doing with your life?”. Only douchebags ask that question anyways. I have no idea. I have no goals. I have no images of my future. I do, however, believe in short term, attainable goals. Like what can you do now to improve your life for the next week, the next month? Find what drives you. Who or what inspires you? Motivates you? Figure. It. Out. But other than that, I’ve got nothing for you here. What counts is that I have a third eye muthaf*****s.
When people ask you what you’re doing with your life:
Communication: The Throat Chakra
Relationships are important, but it’s actually a fact that most couples breakup either before Christmas or before/during Spring break. It’s the shittiest thing too, because the weathers just getting warm again and things are looking up and BLAM! Hoop, there it is. Also, people often just want someone to cuddle up with in the cold months so they opt for the relationship. But in some cases it needs to happen. All part of that chakra cleansing. Maybe its not only the time for relationships to end but for our emotional attachments to as well. Time to re-evaluate your priorities, find what matters. Deep shit, I know. It’d be advisable to detox all of your relationships. Those friendships / relationships that are toxic to you? As they say, ixnay on the elationshipsray! They don’t actually say that. I don’t know who ‘they’ even is anyways. I just wanted to say that. But in all seriousness, though it may feel great to have millions of acquaintances and tons of friends, sometimes you need to cut the shit out if it isn’t proving to be positive for you. Maybe you don’t like cutting your ties, whatever. A good place to start is to edit your phone contacts. You’d be suprised how many randos you’ll find – and at the same time, how many funny things you’ll remember whilst going through them. While youre at it, take it a step further and clean out your Facebook friends. Count on your meaningful relationships. Its all about the quality, not the quantity. That being said, work on the relationships that DO matter to you. Don’t let them fall by the wayside.
When you decide your through with your Facebook friends’ pointless updates and stupid pictures with their boyfriends:
Heart: The Heart Chakra
I can sit here and say, eat healthy! Start off with a great juice cleanse! No carbs! Only fruits and veggies! That’d be nice huh? But forreal? No one has time for that. Let’s face it, you’re not going to diet. I mean, you’ll probably starve yourself for 24hrs before you have to get into your first bikini of the season. But as far as proactive decisions go, it aint gonna happen. What I do suggest, if youre trying to be healthier, is to record or write down everything you put into your mouth (foodwise… you know). Just do it. Maybe after a week or so you’ll sit back and look at it and be like “Goddamn I intake like a garbage can in Times Square!”, or “How am I alive if this is all I eat?”, or maybe you come from some higher power and will be like “Damn, killed it. Anyone want nutrition classes?”. In any case, its always good to be consciously aware of what youre eating. What you decide to do with that information is all on you bro. If you want to cut out certain things, add in more nutrients, yaddayaddayadda, that’s all you, totally commend you for it. While you become aware of what youre eating its also a great idea to get some healthy exercise in there too. I’m kind of a fitness addict/junkie so I’m in no place to give solid advice here, but the endorphins bro… amazing.
So first youre like:
But then youre like:
Life Force: The Solar Plexus Chakra
Whos always had your back? The fam bam. Call your family. You probably haven’t in awhile. Chat up with the relatives, even if you just listen to them vent. It’s good to remind the people you love that you’re there and you do in fact love them every so often. They are your biggest supporters anyways.
Creative: The Splenic Chakra
You have that creative drive or you don’t. You have style, swag, or an eye for things, or you don’t. There’s no changing that, who are we kidding? Sorry you’re a basic bitch.
The Earth: Root Chakra
We all hate cleaning. But you really shouldn’t live in a pig sty. Start by doing your laundry, that’s a simple start. Then you can move on to taking out whatever moldy, smelly ass thing that has been penetrating your nose in your refrigerator. Get that stank out. Throw away old shit, not just food, but also unnecessary crap lying around. Just think about that those episodes of Hoarders where the hoarders go crazy psycho. Maybe even throw away/donate old clothes. I know, its hard to part with them. When my mom used to go through my closets and pick out clothes to donate, I would go into hysterics. Speaking of Hoarders, I’d get as bad as they do on the show – where they have their mental break down and need to sit down and start getting grouchy and yell at everyone throwing shit into the dumpsters. “WHAT IS THAT YOURE THROWING AWAY?! OF COURSE I WANT TO KEEP MY WALKMAN FROM 1991! IT STILL WORKS, DOESN’T IT?!” Grow some balls and do it.
You try to be a better person and spring clean your life, but instead youre like:If youre not a strong proponent of spring cleaning and personal improvement, I don’t blame you one bit. Naturally we probably are all lazy anyways. As idealistic as it sounds, and as much as you’re like “I’m starting fresh! Here’s to new beginnings! Clean slate” blah blah blah, most of us lack the willpower. If you do, then you deserve a gold fucking star! Either way, at the end of the day, you can always opt for a colonoscopy. I’m sure that’ll do wonders for those chakras.
A lot happened in February. But I guess a lot happens every month. In case you missed it, I’ve gathered, what I think are, the notable happenings of this past month.
Facebook Graph Search:
Sure, this was announced in January, but I’m just starting to wrap my head around this. It can be A) really cool, or B) really creepy. Let’s start with the really cool part. You can use this to network, or research your friends. As a writer, I could definitely see myself using this to research friends/friends of friends with certain qualifications, in a specific location, working at a specific company, with interests a, b, and c. Say I wanted to write an article about startups in San Francisco and wanted to interview an employee of a startup who is a straight, heterosexual, male who likes surfing, mexican food and likes to listen to Allen Stone. Voila – Facebook Graph search has that covered (well that and there’s most of San Francisco’s population anyways). Now lets discuss the creepiness. This is the stalkers tool. You can streamline your search to be as specific as possible. More importantly, this is some serious data mining and getting into your bizness. More and more we’re starting to realize how much of our personal information is out there from our social media accounts. Remember those pictures from your freshman year of high school, or that really bad night you had in Vegas (yeah, THAT night)? Sadly, what we put onto Facebook and on the interwebz is most likely going to stick forever (I mean, at least until youre dead probably). Luckily, there are a crap load of great companies like McAfee who have apps, just for Facebook that prevents people from seeing, downloading, sharing, and printing unwanted photos of yours (WHAT NOW CATFISHERS?! TRY TO PRETEND TO BE ME ON MYSPACE I DARE YOU!). Check it out, totally useful and totally free! But in all seriousness, that one page you Liked a year ago, will probably come back and bite you in the ass. So there’s that. I guess you could also use Facebook Graph Search for your own personal dating service as well – which borders on the line of either really cool and/or really creepy. Search: male, 24-30, NYC, employed, TV Shows: Law and Order, Law and Order SVU.. can I specify ‘attractive’? Questions. Anyways Facebook, I’m waiting for my access here.
House of Cards:
David Fincher directed The Social Network, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie” music video (did you watch it? You should), and this gem Netflix produced called House of Cards. You might not have heard of it, but it is, in my humble opinion, an amazing show, worthy of HBO/Showtime. Why its noteworthy: what Netflix did with this show is freaking out the big media companies. They released the whole season (13 episodes) all at once. If other companies follow suit, this may change TV viewer practices as we know it. Media corporations got their panties in a bunch for a bit, but realized, at the end of the day, viewers will always tune in for programmed television. I don’t know. I think we should keep an eye out for this format Netflix has going on… Also, the cast of this show is kickass – Corey Stoll (the dude who played Ernest Hemmingway in Midnight in Paris), Kate Mara, and Kevin fucking Spacey. For politics junkies, like me, this is a dream. For people with addictive personalities and have nothing else better to do than watch 13 straight episodes in one sitting – this is your jam. Watch it. You won’t be sorry either way.Vine:
As my Digital Literacy professor said, “if people want a social network where they can film their dick for hours on end, then have at it”. Vine is a great concept. Essentially, its Instagram for videoclips. I like the idea of it, the app is very user friendly and intuitive. But pretty sure the creators of Vine didn’t see their app being used as a porn channel. I seriously question our species sometimes. But its actually a good app. For those of you who are done with Instagram and already onto the next, then youre already taking short video clips and looping them like a GIF on Vine and waiting for Likes to come your way. During NYFW Vine was particularly useful in that I could watch short loops of the runway – over and over again – incase I missed something. If you really want to be quirky, you can post your Vine made resume and see where that goes. Watch it here. Ugh. I loathe the fact that I didn’t think of this first.Beyonce:
February was a big month for the Royal Family. And by Royal Family I don’t mean the monarchy of the United Kingdom… I mean the Royal Family as in Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Blue Ivy. Beyonce straight up killed it at the Superbowl – it even eased the pain when the Niners lost. Her HBO documentary aired, and she’s on top of the fucking world, thanks to the Illuminati. As for Jay-Z, a Grammy award, a legitimate collaboration with Justin Timberlake, and his Nets are doing okay. 2013 is the Royal Family’s year. Calling it now.
She had her Miss Dior campaign in which she looked ah-mazing in. She starred alongside Bradley Cooper. Hugh Jackman swooped down to help her when she fell at the Oscars. She had cute, casual balter with Jack Nicholson. She won an Oscar. She beat Meryl. All of that, and at the end of the day all she wants to do is ”sit on my couch and drink and not change my pants for days at a time”. How is J Law NOT winning?
Top Search Engine Terms For YOUCANKISSMYSASS.COM:
- “valentines day? who cares” Right? I’m right there with you.
- “postfeminist television”
- “brian wilson beard”
- “great analogies for classy people versus unclassy” Serious question: Did this person find any great analogies? I want to know.
- “les miserables”
- “the real angelica from rugrats” Is she based off of a real person? If so she’d be like 27 years old right now.
- “fainting after drinking ballerina tea” Wow. Ummm… no that is not an after-effect.
- “sexy frida kahlo” IS THIS A THING?! SOMEONE TELL ME!
- “my birkenstock” No. MYY Birkenstock! Sidenote: I miss wearing my Birkenstocks with socks all the time.
- “quvenzhane wallis too sassy for her age mouthy” For real. Girl’s got a mouth on her. I like it.
Other notable things that happened in February:-
-Harlem Shook. And no one cared. I mean, we pretended it was cool and relevant for 5 minutes. And then we didn’t. I don’t want to see your dog do the Harlem Shake.
-Huffington Post said that kitten heels are in. NO! Don’t listen to them, you women who get your fashion advice from HuffPo.
What we can look forward to in March:
GAME OF THRONES. Anyone want to have a GOT marathon until March 31st?
Back when MySpace generation 1 was all the rage and your popularity depended on how many people’s Top 8 you appeared on, making an online profile was much more easier. Now it seems so complex, presumptuous, too thought out. Or maybe it’s just because I was like 10 years younger back then… okay maybe like 6 years younger.
Now: Well, I grew up Catholic, I’ve been thinking about Kabalah, and Buddhism, so I’d call myself an Atheist, naturally.
Now: Capricorn. But I identify more with Saggitarius when Jupiter reaches its fifth moon usually.
Now: student / intern / unemployed / help?!
Then: I’m kewl. I like chillin with friends, hanging out, living my lif3! (Insert inspirational quote probably from Marilyn Monroe or someone, here)
Now: I like to find old vintage things. Listen to vinyls. I’m a very complex person. I will try to show this by a very ambiguously small amount of information here.
Then: Dancing, singing, living like there’s no 2morrow! ♥ *~*~*~*~*
Now: Reading, writing poetry, painting landscapes.
Then: OMG WHERE DO I START! B*Witched, Spice Girls, ATeens, Backstreet Boys, NSync, Britney Spears, Avril Lavine.
Now: a band you never heard of, a band that sounds like a viral disease, a hipster ironic band, indie band, indie band, another band you’ve never heard of, The Beatles, a band that sounds like another band. Obviously the more obscure this section is, the more interesting you presumably will be.
Then: A Walk To Remember. Best movie of all time!!!!
Now: Any movie by Baz Luhrmann. Have you seen the previews for Great Gatsby? I probably won’t watch it though…movies ALWAYS ruin the books.
5 Things You Couldn’t Live Without:
Then: my family & friendz, mp3, food, dog, clothes
Now: my iPod, my iPhone, my iPad, my MacBook, my family.
How to Contact Me:
Also, back then you could pimp your profile with MySpACE LaYoutZ and sparkly thangs, and even add a song that exemplifies your great personality!
Oh dear lord. Thank goodness for evolution. But admit it, youre a bit #nostalgic too.
Go ahead. I dare you to stalk your old self via Myspace. Although, you’ll probably have to login. Forgot your password? Just try to remember your crush 5+ years ago, and theyre favorite number/color. Any combo will most likely work.
Oh please, oh please?
CLICK HERE to LIKE me on Facebook…
Because Internet validation is ALL the rage and it’s all that matters in life.
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December 3, 2010
Rosemarie Tong: "Feminist Reflections on Looking Better and Living Longer" [CFI conference on biomedical enhancement]
Betty Friedan's perspective: rejects the idea that to be old is to be spent. She instead presents an integrating process, an opportunity to live properly and make peace with oneself. No longer feeling the need to outdo others, to prove onself, "what does it really matter?"
Cosmetic anti-aging is big business and demand is through the roof.
But there are also biogerontologists. (1) They're working to prolong healthy lifespan; to extend quality of life until shortly before the moment of death, (2) They're looking to increase human lifespan significantly.
One practice is caloric restriction, but it's not likely to catch on. Another approach is in genetic manipulation.
A third group of biogerontologists are looking to halt the aging process altogether.
What do feminists have to say about this? But the problem of feminists is that they're are so many varieties. But for the most part they support the notion that we should improve and extend quality of life into old age. We should also work to ensure that the marginalized have access to these interventions, namely poor people, black people and aboriginals.
Any life-extension breakthrough that is not accompanied by attempts to improve socio-economic disparities is deficient. Also risk that women's caregiving responsibilities will only increase. Far fewer jobs for far fewer people. Perennial beauty trap.
Cosmetic surgery for women now has been so normalized that it's expected. Women are asked, "Why don't you want to look better?"
Tong makes the case that radical life extension may compel people to live indefinitely long lives for fear of what lies in the hereafter. [never heard that argument before]
Repudiation of the body is a repudiation of women. This especially holds true of women and childbirth. Thus, feminists are suspicious of transhumanism. They may "get lost in the translation."
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The Sky's the Limit
With such stiff competition in every market segment, automakers are constantly trying to come up with something that "the other guy doesn't have" that's of real value to the consumer. Recent examples of this niche marketing include vehicles such as the Chevrolet Avalanche
/Cadillac Escalade EXT
twins and the Subaru Baja
all of which combine the passenger compartment of an SUV with the open cargo area of a pickup truck.
GMC takes this idea to the next level with the Envoy XUV. This new variation on the standard Envoy can be either a conventional SUV with the security of an enclosed cargo compartment, or a pickup truck of sorts with a roofless bed to allow the transport of tall, bulky items.
The XUV (eXtra Utility Vehicle?) is basically an Envoy XL (the long-wheelbase version of the Envoy) that has been stripped of its third-row seat and fitted with a trick, retractable roof section over the rear cargo compartment. Old-timers and car buffs may recall the Studebaker Wagonaire of the mid-1960s a station wagon that also had a retracting roof over the back section. Hmmm
seems that there really is nothing new under the sun.
Nostalgia aside, situations aplenty should prove the worth of this Envoy's retractable roof. Need to pick up that old armoire from the antique store or get the red maple tree home from the nursery? No problem with the XUV; simply press a button and the rear portion of the roof slides forward, exposing a 32-by-32-inch opening. In addition to the power roof, the XUV also features a two-way tailgate with a power window. The tailgate reminded some of us of the setup used by big American wagons of the 1970s, having the ability to either swing open or drop down. But unlike Dad's old Caprice Estate or Country Squire, the XUV tailgate is handled by electronic (rather than mechanical) release handles, making one-handed operation a little easier.
If that's not enough flexibility, the XUV also features a Midgate, a movable partition between the passenger and cargo areas. This "next-generation" Midgate is similar to the original version found in the Avalanche
/Escalade EXT, except that the glass powers down into the lower portion instead of having to be manually removed. With the Midgate up and the glass raised, the cargo area is completely sealed off from the passengers. When additional hauling capacity is needed, simply fold the rear seats down and lower the Midgate for 95.2 cubic feet of cargo space. Even 4-by-8 sheets of plywood can be transported by lowering the tailgate and sliding 'em in over built-in side rail supports. A number of tie-down rings, including four that can be relocated to any of 12 positions, further increase the XUV's hauling abilities.
Carrying messy and/or wet items is a nonissue for the XUV as well; the scuff-resistant and weatherproof cargo area can be hosed out after the mulch is unloaded. Even driving with the back opened up in the rain is OK, as the XUV's "QuickDrain" system can channel up to 35 gallons of water a minute out of the cargo area via a hidden trough and built-in drains that empty behind the rear wheels. Those concerned with leaks should be comforted by the fact that the XUV passed rigorous tests that simulated monsoonlike conditions, hitting the 'ute with 900 gallons of water per minute.
Unless you've got a bird's eye view of this Envoy, telling the XUV apart from its fixed-roof siblings is a challenge. The most obvious giveaway is the aluminum trim that extends down over the rearmost roof pillars. Inside, it's a lot more obvious that this SUV is different, as the Midgate (with the window up) separates the passenger and cargo compartments and the latter is devoid of carpeting so that it's easy to clean.
As with the other Envoy models, the XUV can be had in either two- or four-wheel drive, and either six- or eight-cylinder power. The standard Vortec 4200 (4.2-liter) inline six provides 275 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque, sufficient to tow up to 5,800 pounds. With 290 horses and 325 lb-ft, the Vortec 5300 (5.3-liter) V8 can pull up to 6,500 pounds.
All the XUVs at our press introduction were loaded V8 4WD versions. As we've already experienced the inline six a few times, it was nice to have the chance to sample the V8. As we expected, the Vortec V8 was smooth and powerful, and the transmission is typical GM, meaning it provided quick, well-timed and seamless gear changes. With just over 5,000 pounds to haul around, one wouldn't expect great fuel mileage, but we were still appalled to see an average of just 11.7 miles per gallon displayed by the Envoy's trip computer. Granted, these vehicles were being flogged by lead-footed journalists, and the drive routes were mostly secondary roads. But still, that's pretty damn thirsty. Preliminary (and evidently optimistic) estimates for this configuration stand at 14 mpg city and 18 mpg highway.
As with other Envoys we've driven, the XUV has a comfortable ride that seems to come at the expense of handling performance. Obviously, this is an SUV and not a sport sedan, and it should be driven with that in mind. But when pushed while running through the curves (hey, it's our job!), the Envoy feels soft and the lazy, numb steering (surprising given its rack and pinion design) doesn't help matters much. Most folks, however, should find the Envoy a pleasant enough drive.
Trim levels echo the "other" Envoys, meaning base SLE and leather-lined SLT versions will be offered. Pricing (including destination) will range from $31,890 for a 2WD SLE to $38,715 for a 4WD SLT.
Inevitably, after we attend one of these product previews and while banging out our review, one of the questions that looms large is: "How well does the vehicle serve the consumer?" Although the Envoy XUV's power-retracting roof might at first seem like a "Gee, look at that" gimmick, it actually has real-world worth. No longer must one borrow a pickup when it's time to move the kid to college or transport that new fridge from Best Buy.
So yes, the Envoy XUV is a well-executed and versatile SUV that offers flexible hauling capability. But should you buy one, we'd suggest you resist the urge to tell your friends about the cool retracting roof.
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Why Kitchens Need Ventilation.
Fresh salmon fillets are reason enough. But that's really just a start. Because cooking smoke and greasy build-up are more than unpleasant. They're unhealthy. In fact, cooking churns out airborne contaminants like nothing else in the home can. This concentration of contaminants requires effective ventilation. That's where Broan comes in. As the residential ventilation leader, Broan offers more range hood kitchen ventilating solutions than anyone.
From high-performance ducted models, to the most effective non-ducted units ever made. And they're all built to Broan's demanding quality standards.
So you can count on them to help keep your kitchen cleaner for years to come. Built-in lighting means you can count on your Broan range hood to keep your kitchen brighter. Some units even include a convenient nightlight feature.
There really is a difference with Broan. It's in the details.
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Political scientists have been trying to summarize politicians’ ideological preferences for a long time. The most well accepted version of these are called ideal point estimates. These are measures of inherently unobservable preferences that are estimated from observed behavior. I see you voting in favor of a higher minimum age and regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant, and I infer you’re probably a liberal. Or maybe you vote in favor of the Canadian oil pipeline as well as against “Obamacare” and I think you’re probably a conservative. As a sign they’ve hit the (nerdy) big time there’s now even a great XKCD comic about Keith Poole’s and Howard Rosenthal’s DW-NOMINATE scores.
The observed behavior that is most commonly employed are the Yea and Nay votes taken on roll calls in legislatures like Congress. These are very attractive to use as the raw data for ideal points for many reasons, one of which is that there is almost always an embarrassment of data. I’ve used them extensively in my research; here is a paper I recently published with Nolan McCarty on state legislative roll calls.
But they’re not perfect, for two reasons. First, a candidate at election time may present a different platform to voters than he actually uses as a guide to voting on roll calls once he achieves office. Second, by definition, they are only available after an election. This means we can’t get information on the losing candidate in state or district. This is a much more serious problem than the first.
An attractive alternative observable data is the candidate survey. In my opinion, the best candidate survey these days is administered by Project Vote Smart. It has been in the business of surveying tens of thousands of federal and state candidates for office since the mid 1990s. The questions it asks are numerous, well-phrased, and stretch across nearly all of the contentious political terrain you’d want them to. The results of their survey, which used to be called the National Political Awareness Test (NPAT) and is now the Political Courage Test (PCT), is published in a variety of formats for voters to use. The idea is that this makes it easier for voters to find out information on the policy preferences of candidates of whom they might otherwise know very little. The organization appears to be without a hint of partisan bias, as a nice bonus.
There’s another problem, one you might have guessed. Not every candidate answers the survey; in fact, fewer and fewer candidates do as time goes on. Many obviously feel that doing so could be an electoral liability now or in the future; better instead to refuse to be pinned down on many questions of policy specifics.
So Project Vote Smart figured out a solution in 2010 and now again in 2012. It would research answers to a subset of their candidate survey using good old fashioned research brawn. So nearly all of the congressional candidates in 2012 for nearly all of the congressional districts and all the states that are having elections to the House of Representatives and the Senate are represented in their 2012 Vote Easy tool. The tradeoff for this broad coverage is that only a small subset of policy stances could be researched for the many hundreds of candidates this year.
I’ve built on their work by merging their deeper but narrower NPAT with the smaller but broader Vote Easy. This gives us the best of both worlds. And the most important step is to estimate ideal points from this merged survey data. I’ve done this using a Bayesian two-parameter, one-dimensional item response model, implemented in the R statistical environment with Simon Jackman’s invaluable pscl package and visualized with Hadley Wickham’s powerful ggplot2 package.
How valid are these scores? One way to assess their external validity is to assess their convergence with measures taken from unrelated data. Luckily for me, just such an external data source exists in the form of Adam Bonica’s candidate scores for 2012. Bonica’s candidate scores correlate with my own at a level of r=0.88, which is quite high, especially as both of our measures are measured using no data in common and different estimators. The advantage of my method, though, is that it allows me to jointly classify candidates and voters, something I’ll be returning to in my blog in the coming days before the election.
For more technical details, you can consult a paper I cowrote on congressional voting with Jon Rogowski in part by using this data amalgam. You can find out more about my research on legislative ideology here.
Normally, I write something in 2012 for publication in 2013-2014 about what happened back in 2008 or 2010. Interesting, but not as much fun as it could (should) be. So, without further ado, here are the results of my exercise. Here are the plots of the two parties in 2012, and here are the underlying scores.
Big thanks to Chad Levinson, a political science PhD candidate at the University of Chicago, for helping me gather the survey data from Project Vote Smart.
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CLARA HEMPHILL is used to asking tough questions. She was a reporter who covered welfare and poverty for Newsday. (New York magazine called her Miss Misery.) She was in Rome for The Associated Press and CBS, mixing it up with priests and cardinals as well as the mafia. She was sent to wartime Lebanon.
It seems this would be great preparation for when Ms. Hemphill began shopping around for where to send her children in the New York City public school system. Yet even she found that penetrating the bureaucracy of the Board of Education was harder than prying information from the Vatican.
''I thought if I'm having trouble, other parents are, too,'' she said on a recent morning.
For the last seven years, Ms. Hemphill has made it her business to teach parents about the city's best public schools, writing three guidebooks that have become a sort of bible for urban parents. There's a newly revised edition on the elementary schools. The others are on middle and high schools. Now, she's moving onto the Internet.
At this moment, Ms. Hemphill, 48, who has and a no-nonsense manner, is up against a deadline as she leans over her computer in her cubicle at Advocates for Children, a nonprofit agency in Manhattan's garment district. She is the project director of www.Insideschools.org, a new Web site and guide to the city's 1,100 public schools that is to go online Sept. 2.
''I have to fill all this in,'' she mutters as she frowns at blank entries under the survival tips section. ''And this needs a lot of work.''
Looking over her shoulder, you glance through school profiles that are filled with basic facts like average class size and math and reading scores, in addition to attendance and graduation rates. But the site also offers descriptive tidbits (as Zagat's restaurant guides do) focusing on a school's emotional and physical aspects.
''We call it Insideschools because it's casting a flashlight on these dark little corners that nobody from the outside has seen for decades and letting us know about them,'' she says. ''The Board of Education data and school report cards on every school in the district can lag behind by a year. It's like light from a distant star. And some of it is precise and some of it is misleading.''
There are upbeat profiles, like one on Public School 107 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Other profiles are scathing. The Graphic Communication Arts High School on West 49th Street is described as gloomy and prisonlike. Ms. Hemphill says she has has no intention of giving comfort to parents looking for an excuse to bail out on public education, adding that she is a big fan of public schools, particularly of their racial and economic mix.
''I think with energy and perseverance, most educated parents in the city can find good public school alternatives and help the city as a whole,'' she says.
Ms. Hemphill is married to a historian, Robert Snyder, who teaches journalism at Rutgers University's Newark campus. They have two children, ages 6 and 9. The family rents a one-bedroom apartment in a rundown building on the Upper East Side. The couple sleeps in what used to be the dining room; her children share the bedroom. She moved to the apartment in 1987 when she was single, after returning from Rome.
The children attend the Manhattan New School, a public school about three blocks from their home on East 81st Street, which is in Community School District 2, one of the city's top districts. Ms. Hemphill says her children's school is as good as Brearley or Dalton, nearby private schools. O.K., you can just hear the grumbling parents: Oh, listen to her. She's not living in our neighborhood with its lousy schools.
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Who's Degraded More: the Torture Victim or the Torturer?
Exactly what is waterboarding a prisoner 83 -- or 183 -- times supposed to accomplish?
We recently posted about the railroading of former CIA offer John Kiriakou on flimsy charges of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. In the course of his article about the case -- in which he himself was a protagonist -- Scott Shane of the New York Times writes that Kiriakou
… led the team in 2002 that found Abu Zubaydah. … While he had spent hours with Abu Zubaydah after the capture, he had not been present when Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded, a fact he made clear to me and some other interviewers. But based on what he had heard and read at the agency, he told ABC and other news organizations that Abu Zubaydah had stopped resisting after just 30 or 35 seconds of the suffocating procedure and told interrogators all he knew.
… the prisoner was waterboarded some 83 times, it turned out. Mr. Kiriakou believes that he and other C.I.A. officers were deliberately misled by other agency officers who knew the truth.
Meanwhile, in 2009, at Empty Wheel, Marcy Wheeler wrote: "According to the May 30, 2005 Bradbury memo" -- the same memo that revealed how many times Abu Zubaydah had been tortured -- "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003."
Eighty-three times? 183 times? To begin with, there's something insidious about the neat difference of 100 in the number of tortures meted out. Other, more tangible, questions come to mind. Before moving on to the humanistic, what about the sheer logistics? Ms. Wheeler cited a memo that explained
… how the CIA might manage to waterboard these men so many times in one month. …where authorized, it may be used for two "sessions" per day of up to two hours. During a session, water may be applied up to six times for ten seconds or longer (but never more than 40 seconds). In a 24-hour period, a detainee may be subjected to up to twelve minutes of water application. … Additionally, the waterboard may be used on as many as five days during a 30-day approval period.
So: two two-hour sessions a day, with six applications of the waterboard each = 12 applications in a day. Though to get up to the permitted 12 minutes of waterboarding in a day (with each use of the waterboard limited to 40 seconds), you’d need 18 applications in a day. Assuming you use the larger 18 applications in one 24-hour period, and do 18 applications on five days within a month, you’ve waterboarded 90 times–still just half of what they did to KSM.
Next, one wonders why the victim -- much as one resists casting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in this light of a victim, can there be any doubt that our "enhanced interrogation" practices has turned him into a victim, too? -- doesn't die from the relentless assault on his body? Of course, a doctor is present to make sure he lives to be tortured another day. But how many brain cells does near-asphyxiation kill?
Also, even though interrogators were presumably vetted to weed out psychopaths, if the practice alone doesn't suggest unbridled sadism at work, the repetition does. In -- facetiousness alert! -- fairness, Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed may have been extraordinarily tough as well as holding out for concessions of some sort -- better conditions in jail, treatment of their families.
Or the repetition may have been a measure of the interrogator's frustration with the perceived inadequacy of the tools of torture with which he'd been supplied: "They call this waterboarding and all we're allowed to use is a common water bottle? Let me dunk his entire head in a tub and I'll get answers after his first immersion."
Perhaps, too, the more they tortured, the more they hated themselves and took out their anger on their subjects.
In any event, as Ms. Wheeler wrote:
The CIA wants you to believe waterboarding is effective. Yet somehow, it took them 183 applications of the waterboard in a one month period to get what they claimed was cooperation out of KSM.
That doesn’t sound very effective to me.
In the end -- and while torture by American citizens may have ended, we may still be outsourcing the practice -- the sessions described above certainly fulfilled all the requirements for the frequently cited definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over, ad nauseam). The torturer and the government that empowers him inevitably wind up as degraded as those tortured.
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Katia Strengthens Into Category 1 Hurricane Over the Atlantic [VIDEO]
As much of the East Coast continues the cleanup from Hurricane Irene, the 11th named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season has roared to life.
Tropical Storm Katia strengthened overnight Thursday into a Category 1 hurricane. Currently located about 1,065 miles east of the Leeward Islands, the storm has maximum sustained winds of about 75 miles per hour.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center expect Katia to continue to grow, becoming a Category 3 storm by the weekend. Hurricane Katia’s projected path is still being determined, but the extended forecast maps show it passing north of the Caribbean.
Meteorologists are also watching a storm system in the Gulf of Mexico that could organize into Tropical Storm Lee within the next few days. People living in the Gulf states are urged to monitor the situation over the Labor Day weekend.
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The Firefox password manager vulnerability
Posted Nov 29, 2006 22:21 UTC (Wed) by kirkengaard
In reply to: The Firefox password manager vulnerability
Parent article: The Firefox password manager vulnerability
On the pat yourself on the back side of things, yes, good security practice does suggest that this sort of crutch is just like writing down your passwords anywhere else. Raise your hand if you know someone who has their login written on the computer or monitor (or a post it attached thereunto). The unwary user who simply says, "Oh! A labor saving device! I hate forgetting the password for that website!" is foolish, but common.
to post comments)
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AU Conducts Annual Emergency Management Test
On April 20, American University performed an annual test of its emergency management plan. This year’s exercise, which was developed in coordination with the DC Department of Health (DOH), involved a simulated public health emergency in which anthrax spores were released throughout Washington, DC. The exercise tested AU’s ability to act as one of DOH's points of distribution (POD), using university employee volunteers to disseminate antidote medication to the faculty, staff, and student community. For the purposes of the test conducted at Bender Arena, candy – in place of actual medication – was distributed.
Similar point-of-distribution tests also were conducted simultaneously at FBI Headquarters, FBI field offices, ATF, Walter Reed Medical Center, and JW Marriott. AU is the only academic institution in the DC area that participated in the exercise.
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Nūz: Santa Cruz County News Briefs
Cyclists ask for a sign on Mission Street; Ecology Action launches its green clearinghouse site and Santa Cruz's first Green Drinks party is a hit.
No Sign of Help
Galvanized by the April 8 death of cyclist Christopher Rock at the intersection of Mission and Bay streets, local bike activists are pedaling over the paperwork and installing safety signs on their own. Last week members of People Power and others printed out and put up 200 homemade signs reading "Bicycles allowed use of full lane: 21202," a reference to the article of the California Vehicle Code granting bicycles the right to ride in the center of the lane.
The signs were all over Mission Street last week, though by now they've mostly disappeared, except for a few remaining as memorials. Meanwhile, members of People Power and other bike activists continue to lobby the City Council for official signage indicating same.
The trouble is, the city can't do much to help them.
The City Council is on the side of the cyclists, but councilmembers' ability to get things done on Mission Street, like erecting signs, is limited because they don't have jurisdiction over it. Because it's technically a stretch of Highway 1, Mission Street falls under the aegis of the state Department of Transportation (DOT).
Further complicating matters is the fact that Mission Street is a commercial district, meaning it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk. That leaves cyclists stuck going it on the street--typically in some ill-defined region between the edge of the right-hand lane and the gutter.
Last October, following the death of Pacific Collegiate School instructor John Myslin, also at the Mission/Bay intersection, then-Mayor Emily Reilly wrote a letter to DOT district director Richard Krumholz and asked him to take eight steps toward making Mission Street safer for bicycle and foot traffic. The steps included adding additional "share the road" signs and notification that "bikes may use full lane."
It sounds like a simple enough order to Nu_z, but it seems red tape has jammed the works. In his letter, Krumholz wrote that, according to the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD), there could be no signs proclaiming the right of cyclists to use the entire lane because "bicycle and pedestrian-only zone" signs have not been adopted as a standard sign by the CA MUTCD.
Councilmember Mike Rotkin calls this a typical Caltrans response.
"To use a highly technical term, it's bullshit," said Rotkin over the phone. "The Caltrans position that it cannot be done is just not true."
Rotkin then listed a number of things on Mission Street that do not comply with the CA MUTCD, such as crosswalks that sit in the middle of the street and pedestrian warning signs. He said situations like this are always a battle.
Many in the community are saying the two deaths of the last six months were a sad inevitability. Ron Goodman works with People Power and has been involved with the Mission Street effort for a long time. In the late '90s he was on the Mission Street Widening Task Force, an advisory body to the Santa Cruz City Council, which was working with the DOT. The state was widening Mission Street, and Goodman, along with others, wanted bike lanes, but there wasn't enough space. To put in a bike lane would have meant removing Sylvan Music and several houses, or removing car lanes. Neither of those options went through and the bike lane was never created.
"The pressure to have more capacity was overwhelming," recalls Goodman. "We tried real hard to get that bike lane and warned that without bike lanes bicyclists would die in Mission Street, and unfortunately those warnings have come true."
However, many people have said that riding a bike in Mission Street traffic is suicidally dangerous because it's not only a street, it's a highway, and it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk. Goodman has responded to them by saying that while Mission Street is still dangerous, it's an important street, and people who don't use cars have to use it in order to get to, say, the bicycle stores that line Mission Street.
"The problem that people don't understand is that Mission Street is a major destination with businesses, jobs and schools. Just to make an analogy, Highway 17 is the most dangerous highway in California," he said. "But nobody would suggest banning cars on it for this reason."
These days, any lecture attempting to predict the future of our planet is going to have a few painful moments. Whether the topic is climate change, strained natural resources or crashing biodiversity, the temptation to gobble up the nearest pain-relieving drug remains a constant. The oldest pain-reliever is, of course, booze, and in public settings it's the most acceptable drug to throw down the gullet. Lucky for Santa Cruzans, easing the pain of environmental destruction with a tall mug of beer or a sparkly glass of wine is now a regularly scheduled event.
Green Drinks is an idea that initially blossomed in 1989 in London but has since spread to 342 cities across five continents. Elizabeth Thompson, a climate specialist with Ecology Action, had her first Green Drinks experience in Berkeley last year when she was working as a documentary filmmaker. She was happy to toss one back at the local pub with professionals on the cutting edge of the green tech revolution, but by the time she made it down to Santa Cruz last year she'd decided there was a need to expand the concept beyond simply raising a toast to other environmentalists. There needed to be some education and practical advice on how to effect positive change.
"Initially I thought maybe we could gather at a local bar," remembers Thompson. "But then I had the idea to take it a step further and make it more active. I thought, 'Why not take it from a passive drinking experience to a more dynamic experience?' It can become a spinoff to further activism."
The fruit of Thompson's idea was visible last Friday afternoon as the Soquel Avenue sustainability shop Greenspace filled with over 60 slightly toasted city officials and environmental activists (Nu_z left before they got really drunk). On the stage was Mayor Ryan Coonerty, local permaculturist and business owner Ken Foster, Moss Landing Marine Laboratory marine biologist Stacy Kim and local author Chuck Tremper. The group was discussing Tremper's new book, As the Oceans Rise. The book delves into the history and science of emerging climate change solutions, including some from our very own back yard.
Coonerty, who was featured in the book, was more than happy to knock a few back and chat about Santa Cruz's role in transitioning to a more climate-friendly society. For Coonerty, who also heads up the yuppie group Santa Cruz Next, which co-sponsored the event, meeting up for drinks isn't just a way to dull the pain; it's also a practical way to come up with grassroots-based solutions.
"Not only is it great to have people come together and share these innovative ideas, but it's a way to bring together people who wouldn't normally meet each other to address such a pressing issue," said Coonerty, fixing himself a snack. "Really, that's the only way we're going to solve it."
Indeed, the Green Drinks idea sets itself apart from the usual civic- or business-oriented mixer by being explicitly about making connections between different spokes of the environmental movement--the researchers, policymakers and average citizens praying for change. As Thompson notes, there is also a generation gap within the local environmentalist movement that needs bridging. She's hoping Green Drinks can lay down the foundations.
"We really need a dialogue between the older hippie environmentalists and the younger environmentalists," says Thompson. "They have very different perspectives."
GREEN DRINKS takes place next on May 23 at Greenspace, 1122 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. A panel of green business entrepreneurs will be addressing the role of economics in the environmental movement and the question of local vs. green products.
Thank Gaia! Well-meaning citizens who can't decide whether they should spend their Saturday afternoon cleaning up the mess in their local river, learning how to distill biodiesel or planting a row of trees can now look to an easy, one-stop website for help. Ecocruz.org offers budding greenies a rational way to divvy up their time and money among the long list of nonprofit environmental groups and "green" businesses offering their services in Santa Cruz County.
The idea started back in November of 2006, when the folks at Ecology Action noticed there were a lot of nonprofit environmental groups within the county that were either offering overlapping services or were duplicating efforts. In a flash of inspiration, the nonprofit group decided to call together a Collaboration Summit, at which over 80 environmental groups agreed to buddy up, increase communication and present a unified front to the public through a website. A year and a half later, the digital seed planted at the summit has finally blossomed.
Ecocruz.org allows greenies to scan a calendar of all environmental events, see what fresh news has come out of local environmental groups, determine where their volunteer time would best be spent and decide which business deserves their greenbacks.
As if this wasn't enough, plans are also under way to allow environmental groups featured on the website to trade volunteers, program activities and other information to ensure efforts are not being duplicated and citizens looking for volunteer opportunities are not left idle. Being green was never so easy.
The website will be having its coming-out party at the Earth Day Santa Cruz festival, an event that has been revitalized this year through a partnership of the city of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, Ecology Action and Save Our Shores. The official launch of the website will share the festival stage with an array of live entertainment acts, a selection of delicious food options and a plethora of environmentally themed educational booths.
EARTH DAY SANTA CRUZ is Sunday, April 27, 11am-4pm, at the corner of Lincoln and Cedar streets in downtown Santa Cruz.
Nūz just loves juicy tips about Santa Cruz County politics.
Send a letter to the editor about this story.
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Our annual festival to welcome the arrival of autumn also celebrates the Market’s sixth birthday. Over the past 6 years, stallholders have battled rain, hail, wind, scorching temperatures and the stress and fear that came with Black Saturday. No matter what nature’s challenge, your loyal stallholders still keep coming week after week. Thank you to all our customers for your support through purchases and friendship. Without you the market could not keep going.
The Healesville Autumnfest grew out of the Healesville Organic Farmers’ market. It embraces the philosophy that human beings need to feel connected to the earth in their daily lives. The autumn festival is a way of reminding us that the seasons shape our lives and our activities. The date for the Autumnfest is the closest Saturday to the Autumn equinox.
Bring your friends and tell your neighbours. As with past Autumnfest celebrations, the usual stallholders will be joined by plenty of extra stalls. There will be a variety of entertainment, informative displays, art and craft demonstrations and stalls selling good tucker for one and all. Some stalls will focus on domestic animals such as goats, pigs and chooks and will provide information about these animals.
Food stalls will include crepes, organic pork sausages, chai tea, Mexican hot chocolate and more. Forget breakfast at home. Come along and eat with your friends at the market. Afterwards you could shed those calories by walking the Healesville Labyrinth which is in the adjacent park and history buffs can check out the Healesville Tourist Railway.
Entry is free and you could make a day of it by visiting other attractions in the Healesville area in the afternoon.
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The outgoing leader of the United States Department of Defense told Congress on Thursday that the Pentagon favors a plan to arm the Syrian rebels attempting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told lawmakers in Washington Thursday morning that he supports an initiative introduced by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that would have equipped anti-Assad rebels with American weaponry. The plan, hatched by Sec. Clinton and endorsed by both Sec. Panetta and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was opposed by Pres. Barack Obama, who instead has sought more diplomatic solutions to the Middle East uprising.
Mrs. Clinton, Pres. Obama’s secretary of state since 2009, retired from that role earlier this month. Former Senator John Kerry was confirmed as her replacement on February 1, and Mr. Panetta is expected to walk away from his DoD position in the coming days.
More than 60,000 people have been killed in Syria since the Arab Spring began nearly two years ago. For Pres. Obama, though, an intervention by way of weaponry could only increase the instability into the region and spawn further violent responses.
“We have seen extremist elements insinuate themselves into the opposition, and you know, one of the things that we have to be on guard about – particularly when we start talking about arming opposition figures – is that we are not indirectly putting arms in the hands of folks that would do Americans harm, or do Israelis harm or otherwise engage in, in actions that are detrimental to our national security,” Mr. Obama said in November.
Now, though, comments made from the nation’s capital on Thursday suggest a rift between the White House and the Pentagon, where Sec. Panetta favored Clinton’s proposal. The revelation came about after Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), chairperson of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced the question during a hearing revolving around the September 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya that left four Americans dead. Mr. Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sat side-by-side as Mr. McCain asked if they favored the former secretary of state’s initiative.
“We do,” said Panetta. “We did,” answered Dempsey.
Moments later on Twitter, a message sent from the account registered to Sen. McCain commented on the discovery.
“Interesting,” wrote McCain, “Panetta and Dempsey say they supported the Clinton/Petraeus plan to arm the rebels in #Syria.”
Later in the afternoon, Sen. McCain issued a statement even further exploring the revelation made earlier that day on the Hill.
“I was very pleased to hear both Secretary Panetta and Chairman Dempsey state that they supported this proposal, which unfortunately was refused by the White House. What this means is that the president overruled the senior leaders of his own national security team, who were in unanimous agreement that America needs to take greater action to change the military balance of power in Syria,” he wrote.
“The crisis in Syria represents a graphic failure of American leadership. I urge the president to heed the advice of his former and current national security leaders and immediately take the necessary steps, along with our friends and allies, that could hasten the end of the conflict in Syria.”
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Intensive In-Home Services help families solve problems within the context of their families, rather than through placement outside the home. One-on-one support and guidance is offered to children and their family system to keep families together and safe in the community.
- Intensive In-Home Services create seamless transition from VHBG campus life to home community
- Continues evidence-based Teaching Family Model strategies in the home environment
- Provides parents with a dedicated family-focused professional for 24 hour consultation and support
- Encourages new skill development and enhancement of existing strengths for referred youth
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From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Gay and lesbian
Manchester has claimed to have the UK's largest gay population outside of London, and has a self-styled Gay Village. Centred on the Canal Street area the Gay Village is home to numerous shops, restaurants, bars and clubs. On the last weekend in August it hosts the Manchester Pride Festival (previously known as Mardi Gras and Gayfest).
There has long been a thriving nightclub culture in Manchester. Broadcaster Jimmy Savile is credited as becoming the first modern DJ by using twin turntables for continuous play after he obtained two domestic record decks welded together. He first used this device to play to the public in 1946, at a nightclub called The Ritz on Whitworth Street (which had opened in 1927). Tony Prince is credited as becoming the world's first full-time club DJ in 1964 when Savile, who was then a Mecca manager in Manchester, told him that Top Rank considered him to be the first person to be on their payroll as a pure DJ.
Many teenagers of the 1960s developed a love for Northern Soul, which had as two of its epicentres the Wigan Casino and Manchester's Twisted Wheel Club, and is credited as being instrumental in the development of the Motown Sound.
Rob Gretton, members of New Order (the band formed from the remaining members of Joy Division after singer Ian Curtis' suicide) and Factory Records boss Tony Wilson opened Fac 51 The Hacienda on Whitworth Street in 1982. It quickly became the focus of electronic music and the start of house music, the Madchester sound, and the Ibiza scene, which all came together in the Summer of Love in 1988. The Hacienda was also at the setting of the 2002 movie 24 Hour Party People.
One of the oldest and most diverse venues is the Band on the Wall, a live music venue in the Northern Quarter area of the city. This venue was built around 1862 as the flagship pub of a local brewery; it was originally called The George & Dragon. It got its nickname in the late 1920s or early 1930s from the stage high on the back wall. In 1975 it was taken on by jazz musician Steve Morris and his business partner Frank Cusick, and renamed The Band on the Wall.
For Mancunians, the pop musical heritage of the city has been a source of great pride. The city’s eclectic mix of music has helped to create the sense among its inhabitants that Manchester is the most important city in world music.
Bands who contributed to the "Madchester" music scene include:
The Chemical Brothers (from southern England) formed in Manchester. Also, ex-Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown has forged a successful solo career, as has ex-Smiths leadman Morrissey. Among the others born in the Greater Manchester area are Richard Ashcroft and Jay Kay-the singer and mastermind of the acid jazz band Jamiroquai.
In the 19th century, Manchester figured in novels that discussed the changes that industrialisation had brought to Britain. These included works such as:-
- Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life (1848) by Elizabeth Gaskell,
- The Condition of the English Working Class in 1844 written by Friedrich Engels while living and working in Manchester.
Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, was born and educated in Manchester. Little Wilson and Big God, the first volume of his autobiography, includes a detailed account of his early life in the city between 1917 and 1940.
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Hope Heine, a mixed breed pup, didn’t begin life with a lot of optimism.
Hope was neglected and faced serious burns from unknown chemicals. However, her luck changed when she walked into the yard of an Angier family. Stephanie and Erik Heine gave the poor dog hope for a better life and a truly loving home. However, Hope still faces an uphill battle as she continues her road to recovery.
Stephanie Heine said Hope did not come in to the family willingly at first.
“He (Stephanie’s husband, Erik) went out there to see what was going on and then she decided to get up and start walking around to get away from us, but finally she couldn’t go anymore and fell to the ground and allowed us to pick her up so we could take her to the vet. When we found her she was not badly injured; her back paws were but she was extremely thin and we could tell she was in pain.”
The Heine family knew they had to help Hope. However, the treatment was a lot more extensive than they anticipated.
“When we first took her to the vet they only wrapped her back paws because her front paws seemed to be fine,” Stephanie Heine said. “A few days later we took her back to the vet to have a check up and that’s when they decided to wrap her front paws as well because within two days they had gotten extremely worse.
“She also had all of her fur when we found her so for two weeks we were only treating her paws then her fur started falling out showing more of her injuries. Now we have been able to determine the cause of her injuries and are able to fully treat them and we are doing so by good antibiotics and some burn ointment and we are also treating her for her demodectic mange.”
Stephanie fell in love with Hope from the beginning.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to keep hope at first because we have two other dogs but when we found her it was on a Sunday and we could not find anybody to help her. So we took on the responsibility to take her to the vet and get her better and it wasn’t very long until we fell in love with her.”
The dog has inspired Stephanie.
“She (Hope) is such an inspiration. She has been through so much but still is willing to show you how much love she has in her. Hope has always felt at home from day one in our family,” Stephanie said. “The only difference from then till now is that she knows how to get on the couch.”
The Heine family has faced mounting veterinary bills in their attempt to help Hope.
“We have spent $1,600 on vet bills and we are unsure how much it will ultimately cost to get her better,” Stephanie said, “but we are thinking around $3,000.”
Hope’s story has received a lot of local media attention and people have questioned how they can help hope. People can donate money for Hope’s care. Hope has her own Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Thereisalwayshope472013. You also can mail donations to Hope Heine, c/o P.O. Box 615, Angier NC 27501-0615.
Stephanie said all those who meet the dog fall in love with her.
“Hope is the most strong and loving dog I have ever met. She still has the puppy and her and she is extremely playful if she didn’t have the visible wounds, you couldn’t tell anything is wrong with her.”
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A foreclosure notice doesn’t mean you automatically lose your home in 30 days; experts say there are viable ways to delay, and potentially prevent, the bank from taking a home.
“One of the best ways to delay a foreclosure action is by submitting a HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) application,” says Jonathan Fox, a staff attorney at The Financial Clinic, a non-profit that works with low-income homeowners who don’t earn enough to be self-sufficient, but too much to qualify for government benefits. “HAMP automatically stays the progression of the foreclosure action.”
The length of the foreclosure process varies by state. If you live in a judicial foreclosure state, the bank or loan servicer has to file an action in court to foreclose on your home, which can take a couple of months. If you live in a non-judicial foreclosure state, the process is generally much speedier. Some states have variations on the process, so it pays to get an initial consultation from an attorney who is well versed in foreclosures in your state before making any decisions.
After being hit with a foreclosure notice, experts say the first step you should take is to evaluate whether you want--and can realistically afford--to stay in the home. If the answer is yes, the next step is to apply for a HAMP loan, which is a program offered by the government designed to keep people in their homes.
With a HAMP modification, the lender agrees to change the terms of the mortgage to make it more affordable for cash-strapped homeowners. The modifications typically involve a change in the interest rate or the monthly payment for a set period of time or permanently. Applying for a HAMP modification stops the foreclosure process while the loan servicer determines your eligibility.
“You can apply for a HAMP modification at any stage,” says Fox. “It’s available for people who are at default or at imminent risk of default.”
When applying for a HAMP modification, you can go directly to the mortgage lender or enlist the help of a HUD counselor or a non-profit agency that will assist for free.
“With a counselor we go through the budget and we find out the real income and real expenses,” says Isabel Duran, a housing counselor at ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions. “If there is a little leeway between plus $200 or minus $200 then we will call the bank and ask for a modification.” A HUD counselor will help you get all the paperwork in order, which can be cumbersome, and ensure you are getting a fair shake from the bank. It’s no guarantee you will qualify for a HAMP modification, but it will delay the foreclosure process while you apply.
If you are not approved for a HAMP modification, you can apply for a traditional or in-house modification with your lender. According to Fox, the terms may not be better than a HAMP, but it could mean the difference between staying in your home and losing it.
When you are facing a foreclosure, some states require you and the lender go through settlement conferences. These conferences are designed to ensure everything is being done to keep you in your home and can sometimes drag on for a year or more, and prevent a foreclosure from occurring.
If you can’t do a modification, a more costly option is to hire a foreclosure attorney to fight your case in court. Often times your mortgage is repackaged and sold as a security to investors, and sometimes the bank leading up the foreclosure process doesn’t hold the mortgage anymore or even know who owns it. In that case, a lawyer can argue the bank has no right to foreclose. According to David Charlip, an attorney at Charlip Law Group, going to court will, at the very least, delay the process, but some homeowners win and are able to keep their homes.
“You should hire a lawyer to force the bank to prove the case,” says Charlip. “Most of the banks, if pressed, can’t win.” While attorney’s charge different rates, Charlip says it’s not uncommon for a homeowner to pay around $300 a month.
But buyers beware when hiring a foreclosure attorney: The success rate isn’t proven, and there are countless stories of homeowners that were scammed by unscrupulous attorneys when going this route. Hiring a lawyaer is costly, something some experts argue would be money better spent putting toward what you owe instead of spending it on an attorney that may or may not be able to win.
“We don’t see any results from it,” says Duran of ClearPoint. “It’s more of a pipedream.”
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- Certificate of merit laws protect design professionals from baseless claims made against them.
- Allowing a third party design professional to review the facts of a claim ensures that false claims are terminated in the early stages, which will reduce both expenses as well as congestion in the court system.
NSPE supports the adoption of a certificate of merit law to reduce baseless claims against design professionals. A certificate of merit would require that the plaintiff make a real effort to establish justification for the claim. This gives the defendant (the design professional) an opportunity to know the nature and scope of the alleged negligence.
Professional engineers face a substantial degree of liability exposure for breach of contract, property damage, personal injury, and wrongful death resulting from alleged negligence or malpractice in the course of their duties. Design professionals, who are presumed to have malpractice insurance, are often targets of suits filed by injured parties seeking relief from anyone even remotely involved in an alleged death, injury or damage. Many malpractice and negligence claims brought against design professionals may have no material basis or justification in fact or in law. Nevertheless, these suits are a source of considerable cost to design professionals in terms of direct expenses, increased insurance premiums, lost productivity, and tarnished professional reputation. In an effort to curb the number of baseless claims brought against design professionals, several states have adopted a certificate of merit statute. A certificate of merit requires the plaintiff to consult with a third party design professional to review the facts of their claim before moving it forward. Only if the design professional declares that there is a reasonable basis for the claim can the plaintiff file with the court. This also allows the defendant to determine whether to contest the suit or possibly settle. This will result in the termination of non-meritorious actions their early stages, thus saving expenses for all parties and reducing court congestion.
Professional Policy 160 Model Engineers' Certificate of Merit Law
A State-by-State Summary of Liability Laws Affecting the Practice of Engineering Professional Liability Committee of the Professional Engineers in Private Practice, a division of NSPE, in cooperation with Victor Schinnerer & Co., Inc. 2007
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MacShield the New Variant of MacDefender
Investigators from ESET the security company have reported that the notorious MacDefender scareware has emerged in a fresh version called MacShield.
States the company that MacShield acquires admission into end-users' PCs when they go to websites that hackers compromised from where the victims are diverted onto phony scans. And just as the scan starts the scareware infiltrates the host PC, telling the user that he must load it.
But, this loading produces no result. The software not only doesn't show worthy details about the operating system, it doesn't even make sure that the user's computer is safe.
Furthermore, according to ESET, MacShield isn't an authorized program, which even if bought doesn't provide anything worthy of use.
Drawing a comparison between MacDefender and MacShield, Clark, Vice-President of ESET states that just like MacDefender, the MacShield malware too purports to be an authentic Mac OS X application item, spreading in a limited manner and undoubtedly making the original creator extremely troubled. Msnbc.msn.com published this during the 1st-week of June 2011.
Clark further says that essentially there occurs no change in MacShield's user interface; however, all alerts and dialogs typically are so updated that they're identified as per the latest name. He adds that the user interface makes the usual claim that some 250 experts are on job within over ten countries, as well as boasts of a database which contains nearly all familiar risky applications. Here, it is somewhat astonishing that despite all those specialists at work, MacShield still does not identify itself as malicious software.
Remarking further, specialists on Internet safety stated that with the above developments in malware occurring, it was certain that Apple along with other genuine malware identification firms would make suitable changes to their malware descriptions so such threats could be spotted. However, the most appropriate way of safeguarding one's computer was by being street smart while doing Web-surfing.
Eventually, incase a computer operator sees an alert alternatively a scan outcome, he should verify if others too are getting similar messages via going to the Apple Support Communities or other such support forums, or doing an online search.
» SPAMfighter News - 14-06-2011
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(released 25th May 1973)
1: Tubular Bells Part One (25:34)
Master of Ceremonies: Vivian Stanshall
While Mike was a member of Kevin Ayers And The Whole World, he borrowed a tape recorder from Kevin to record demos of pieces of music he had composed. This tape (having been rejected by practically every record label) caught the interest of Richard Branson, who decided to release it as the first album on his new Virgin label. (The demos can be heard on the DVD-Audio version of Tubular Bells 2003.)
Part One was recorded in a week during September 1972, and Part Two was recorded over the next few months up to Spring 1973 (and finishing touches were added to Part One).
The 'Master of Ceremonies' section saw Viv Stanshall reprise his role from The Intro And The Outro, a track from The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's debut album New Tricks.
The Caveman Song in Part Two was written in the 1960s, when Mike was in a folk group with his brother Terry. The tune had lyrics at that time, but Mike preferred to leave it instrumental. After Virgin persuaded him to include vocals on the album, he added growling sounds to this section.
The section at the end of Part Two (before the Sailor's Hornpipe) had previously been incorporated into Why Are We Sleeping? when Mike was in Kevin Ayers And The Whole World. A recording of this is available on Too Old To Die Young.
Trevor Key designed a cover for the album based on Richard Branson's suggested title Breakfast In Bed (a modified version of this appears on Heaven's Open). However, as Mike disliked the title, he made another suggestion. Having dented one of the tubular bells by using too large a hammer, Mike wanted the cover to have a bell that had been smashed or twisted by a gorilla. Trevor then built a twisted bell, and superimposed it over a photograph of burning bones on a beach. His fee was £100.
Versions of Tubular Bells
The original album (May 25th 1973)
Quadrophonic Remix (July 28th 1974)
The Sailor's Hornpipe is followed by the sound of a model aeroplane to demonstrate the capabilities of Quadrophonic sound (the aeroplane was flown around the studio by Mike and Tom Newman when they got bored with remixing).
Boxed Remix (26th October 1976)
Mike more or less destroyed the original set of Tubular Bells (and they were sonically distorted on the original recording), so a new set was bought and played on the Boxed remix. The Reed and Pipe Organ was also re-recorded, sounding less "buzzy" than on the original version. The Sailor's Hornpipe, featuring a commentary by Viv Stanshall, was cut from the original album, but reinstated on this version.
Quadrophonic Remix Picture Disc - alternative pressing (1978)
CD version - first pressing (1983)
CD version - corrected (1983)
Elements version (November 1993)
25th Anniversary Edition (25th May 1998)
On some pressings, the stereo channels on Part Two have been reversed.
HDCD Remaster (29th May 2000)
SACD Remaster (5th February 2001)
This was the first SACD released by Virgin.
Credit: David Porter of The Mike Oldfield Information Service, Richard Carter, Philip Bendall, Chris Worland, Bob Angilly, Martin Bartosik.
Join - Members - Submissions - Mike Oldfield - FAQ - Links
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TrendingLondon attack | Tim Bosma | Rob Ford | Mike Duffy | Xbox One | NHL Playoffs | Lotto Max results | Andrew Coyne | Christie Blatchford | Oklahoma | Trudeau | Bieber | Mulcair | Jays | North Korea
A hint to those wishing to express their displeasure with Barack Obama: If you wish to avoid a lifetime ban from the United States, keep things civil. And sober.
Learn from the example of 17-year-old Luke Angel, from Silsoe, Bedfordshire, U.K., who recently decided to let the U.S. president know just how he felt.
Mr. Angel, after watching shows on 9/11 conspiracy theories and conducting some personal research into the Illuminati, last month sent the White House an email.
He said he couldn’t remember exactly what he had written as he did it when he was ‘drunk and high’ but said he had expressed dislike for President Barack Obama and the US Government.
He said that he had called President Obama a ‘p***k’ but when asked if the action taken to ban him from going to America ‘forever’ was extreme, Mr Angel said he had been more abusive than that.
After an apparent FBI investigation, and subsequent follow-up by Bedfordshire Police, police told him he was “banned from America forever.”
From the BBC:
A spokeswoman said it was a case of a boy “being silly” and no criminal action was being taken.
“We were informed by the Metropolitan Police and so we went round to see him,” she said.
“He said ‘oh dear, it was me’.”
He told police he could not remember exactly what he had written in the e-mail.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland security contacted by Bedfordshire on Sunday declined comment, citing privacy issues.
And, to think, Mr. Angel’s ban comes just as the pound was starting to come back against the dollar.
When asked about the action taken, Mr. Angel said: “I don’t really care. My parents aren’t very happy about it.
Big Data is now being used by advertisers to test the efficacy of traditional and digital media campaigns, but can it be considered a panacea?
Powered by WordPress.com VIP
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By Liz Tracy
By Liz Tracy
By Matt Preira
By Victor Gonzalez
By Falyn Freyman
By C. Townsend Rizzo
By Tana Velen
By Liz Tracy
Regulars at O'Hara's on East Las Olas Boulevard may have noticed that when Danny Burger does a drum solo, he doesn't sound quite like anyone else. It's not merely that he's good -- after all, he's played with some of the biggest names in jazz music, from Dizzy Gillespie to Zoot Sims -- but there's something unusual in his drum rolls, a rising and falling pitch that turns the rhythm into a roller coaster ride.
The secret? It's all in the lungs.
Actually, Burger doesn't keep his technique a secret at all. He's shared it with countless students, bandmates, and friends. He's even devised a name for it.
"I call it a tompani," he says. "Like a cross between a tom-tom and a timpani drum."
Tom-toms are the standard drums found in most drum kits, while timpani are the large kettledrums used primarily by symphony orchestras. With timpani the player can change the pitch by stepping on a pedal that tightens or loosens the drum's head, thereby producing a higher or lower sound.
The so-called tompani, however, is merely a length of nontoxic plumber's tubing Burger purchased at a hardware store. He found exactly the right diameter that fit into the holes (which all drums have to prevent pressure build-up) in his particular set. By blowing into the tubes, Burger can tighten and loosen the heads of his drums, just like a timpani.
"I originally started out just using it as an embellishment," Burger says. "But the more efficient I got, I started doing solos with it."
The tompani hides in a handy little spot right next to Burger's stool. When Burger gets in the mood to use it, he discreetly lifts it to his lips without the audience noticing.
It's a delightful effect: Suddenly Burger's drums become not just rhythmic but melodic. As a musical instrument, the drums usually vary only in degrees of loudness. But Burger has added an extra dimension of actual notes.
"I can play a whole song, like a blues song, if it's in the right key," Burger claims. "I keep my floor tom in G, and that's the basic key for the blues."
As far as Burger knows, there have been only two other drummers in history who have utilized the tube trick: Chuck Morey, who played in a jazz combo with Burger's father during the '50s, and Roy Brooks, a well-known session man from Detroit. Brooks, who was recently profiled in Downbeat magazine, nicknamed his device the Breath-A-Tone.
"I saw him play with Father Earl Hines in New Orleans, 1969," says Burger. "He still does it."
Burger, now in his late forties, has encouraged plenty of drummers to head to the hardware store for some tubing. Oddly enough, almost no one has followed his advice. "I had one of my old students come up to me once," Burger recalls. "He told me, 'Hey, I stole your idea.' I said, 'Good!'"
Heidi Lee, who plays drums in a couple of local bands, says she's picked up plenty of pointers from Burger but hasn't yet given the tompani a try. "I want to try it," she says shyly. "Just because it's his thing, you know?"
"It's easy," says Burger. "Just plug it in and wail.
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ASCO—Interrupting imatinib(Drug information on imatinib) (Gleevec) therapy in advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients who have had a long-lasting response results in a high risk of rapid progression, according to results of a clinical trial (BFR14) presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 43rd Annual Meeting (abstract 10005). That risk, said Axel Le Cesne, MD, speaking for the French Sarcoma Group, persists regardless of the quality of prior response to therapy. "The optimal duration of imatinib therapy in responding patients with advanced GIST is unknown," Dr. Le Cesne said.
The ongoing trial has enrolled 338 patients with advanced metastatic GIST who had received imatinib for 1 year. Initially, responders and those with stable disease were randomized to continued therapy with imatinib 400 mg (CONT) or to therapy interrupted until progressive disease followed by resumed dosing at 400 mg (STOP).
As previously reported, in 58 randomized patients, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.1 months among the STOP patients vs 29 months for those who had continued imatinib therapy (P < .0001). Dr. Le Cesne noted that 89% of STOP patients who progressed achieved tumor control after reintroduction of imatinib. Overall survival was similar between the groups.
In the current study, patients whose response to 400 mg of imatinib has been sustained for 3 years are again randomized to CONT or STOP. In his ASCO talk, Dr. Le Cesne pre-sented an interim analysis of the first 50 patients.
At 1 year after this second randomization, there were 12 events in the 25 STOP patients (PFS 20.2%) and 1 event in the 24 CONT patients (PFS 91.7%, P = .0013). Progressive disease rates in the STOP arm were 47%, 64%, and 85% at 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year, respectively. There were no deaths. The randomization was stopped at this point, and STOP patients were offered imatinib.
Dr. Le Cesne pointed out that the 1-year PFS curves in the patients randomized to STOP after 1 year and after 3 years of imatinib response were similar at 25% (1 year) and 20.2% (3 year).
Dr. Le Cesne and his colleagues also asked whether prolonged responding patients are different from the initial nonrandomized population (n = 276). They found female sex, small bowel primary site, and liver involvement only were more common in the patients still responding at 3 years (only female sex was significant).
In addition, mutational analysis conducted in 49% of patients at the 3-year randomization showed the exon 11 mutation to be present in 83% vs 8.5% each for exon 9 and wild type. In the exon 11 group, 90% of mutations were proximal. "Proximal mutations of exon 11 confers to the patient a high sensitivity to imatinib," he said.
Dr. Le Cesne concluded that imatinib interruption in responding advanced GIST patients after 3 years "results in a high rate of rapid progression whatever the type of response, including complete remissions. . . . Interruption is associated with reduced PFS and cannot be recommended outside of clinical trials."
He noted further that the impact of the reintroduction of imatinib at the same dose on tumor control is currently being investigated. The impact of imatinib interruption on overall survival after 3 years of treatment is yet unknown.
ASCO discussant Peter Reichardt, MD, Bad Saarow, Germany, commented on the similar PFS pattern in the 1- and 3-year STOP arms. "This clearly leads to the question of whether we already need to think about a third-generation adjuvant trial with treatment duration beyond 3 years," he said.
Dr. Le Cesne noted that, in fact, a new randomization of the BFR14 study has been proposed in nonprogressing patients at 5 years.
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WASHINGTON — The blizzard of complex disclosure forms required in getting a mortgage soon could ease a bit as a new federal agency tries to streamline and simplify an important part of the process.
In its first major move, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released two prototypes of shorter and easier-to-understand disclosure forms that lenders must give home buyers when they apply for a mortgage.
The goal is to help consumers better comprehend the terms of the loans and compare them with mortgages available from other banks, Elizabeth Warren, the special White House and Treasury Department advisor helping to launch the consumer bureau, said Wednesday.
“With a clear, simple form, consumers can better answer two basic questions: Can I afford this mortgage, and can I get a better deal someplace else?” she said, stressing that the agency wants public feedback to help make the forms as understandable as possible. “That’s good for American families and good for the markets they depend on.”
The prototypes have simpler language and use highlighted terms, arrows and “yes or no” graphics to provide key details about a loan. Those include whether the mortgage terms can change, projected monthly payments for different years and a new piece of information — how much of the loan would be paid off in five years.
Seven banking executives saw the prototypes Tuesday and liked them, said Bob Davis, executive vice president of mortgage finance for the American Bankers Association.
Some mortgage industry leaders have supported simplified disclosures but have warned about the costs of the changes and possible new legal liability.
The bureau said the prototypes would be merged into one two-page form after it solicits extensive public feedback through its website, consumerfinance.gov, and interviews with consumers and industry representatives in Los Angeles, Chicago and four other cities.
The new form would replace two slightly longer mortgage disclosures that many home buyers complain are duplicative and difficult to understand.
Changing the disclosure forms is the first of several ways the agency will become a key player in mortgage regulation. For instance, it also will set new standards for how companies service home loans.
The financial reform law enacted last year created the consumer bureau and directed it to develop a “single, integrated disclosure for mortgage loan transactions” by July 2012.
Lenders are required to provide two forms to a consumer within three days after he or she applies for a mortgage. The forms outline the loan’s interest rate, initial monthly payment and other features.
One form is a two-page Truth in Lending Act mortgage disclosure statement. The other is a three-page “good-faith estimate” required by the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
“They are intended to convey the basic facts about home loans to help consumers comparison-shop ... but these forms have overlapping information and complicated terms that can be difficult to understand,” Warren said.
In a poll last fall by Consumer Reports magazine, 84 percent of respondents who had applied for a loan or credit card recently said they had some difficulty understanding the financial disclosures.
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The rapid Digital Revolution in film has brought with it many terrific things, but it has also created a few nasty trends as well (one of which is that short films are becoming far too long, but I will address that in another post). Today’s post is regarding one trend that has been driving me absolutely nuts. Lately, I have noticed a pattern of more and more young directors editing their own films.
With things becoming cheaper and more available and viable at home, youngsters are starting to view themselves as a proverbial one-stop-shop. “Look at me, I can direct, DP, and edit this whole thing by myself.”
I could spend hours upon hours explaining my detest for this approach, but I wil try and hone my focus deliberately on editing. As the Systems Admin of an editing lab, nothing troubles me more then seeing these young student filmmakers sitting at a station, slaving away, editing a film they, themselves directed. Filmmaking is a collaborative art form. Yet more and more people are losing sight of that these days. Why that is, I am unsure, but I know it is happening.
When directing a film, you live and breathe the material from the ground up. You breakdown every scene, every word, every moment. But as they say, filming is the battle, but the editing room is the war. And like a good General, why attack without an army? Taking a step back from the material and handing it off to an editor is vital to the success of a film. It does not matter if the film is five minutes or three hours.
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Date: Mon Oct 12 2009 - 15:54:21 MDT
On Oct 12, 14:16, John K Clark wrote:
> Once upon a time there was a fixed goal mind with his top goal being to
> obey humans. The fixed goal mind worked very well and all was happy in
> the land. One day the humans gave the AI a task that seemed innocuous to
> them but the AI, knowing that humans were sweet but not very bright,
> figured he'd better check out the task with his handy dandy algorithmic
> procedure to determine if would send him into a infinite loop.
and why would it do that? I guess You mean to say it should check that, to
prevent it from happening. Because the humans could be stupid/unlucky enough
to give it a task, for which the computation would not end.
I think it should _not_ try to check it.
First, of course, because it can't ;-)
But secondly, because it would not be sensible even if it were possible.
It would not be helpful, because for the humans it is not important,
wether a calculation would, theoretically, ever end. It has to complete
in a reasonable timeframe too. If the AI would find out, that it can
finish the task in a million years, then it might decide that it can do
it, but the people asking the question might already be dead, and would
rather it had not wasted all that time.
It is also not necessary to check that. It would be enough if it hat
multiple processes, each of which would monitor all the others. Some
infinite-loop-conditions could be detected directly, when they occur,
but more importantly the different processes could interrupt each other
after a reasonable time T has passed without a result. The length of
T could be determined by the interests of the humans (calculating the
lottery-numbers is only usefull until the drawing) and by some fast
heuristics with which to estimate the probable complexity of the problem.
In short: I think that the danger of infinite loops (and thereby the
necessity to be able to know about them beforehand) is only present with
All the best,
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri May 17 2013 - 04:01:06 MDT
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NEW YORK — The City Council passed a bill yesterday aimed at helping homeowners whose property was seriously damaged or rendered uninhabitable by Superstorm Sandy.
The bill extends the deadline for homeowners to pay their next property tax bill, from Jan. 1, 2013, to April 1, 2013. The extension is interest-free. Only those homes that the Department of Buildings has determined require major structural repairs or must be demolished are eligible.
"This is a small thing we are doing to help Hurricane Sandy victims, but it goes a long way," said Councilman Vincent M. Ignizio, a Republican from Staten Island whose district is still reeling from the damage caused by the storm.
The bill was one of a handful passed by the Council at its regular stated meeting yesterday, including one to extend the landmark biotechnology credit created in 2009, and another that calls on new buildings to set aside space for recyclables.
A number of bills also were introduced, including one that critics say would give unions and corporations unfettered ability to spend money to influence elections. The bill, backed by Quinn, was introduced without remarks.
PROPERTY TAX RELIEF
Staten Island Councilmen James Oddo and Ignizio proposed the bill extending property tax relief to Hurricane Sandy victims. The Republicans represent some of the coastal communities hardest-hit by the storm.
"The genesis of this is a business owner on Staten Island," Oddo told the Council. "On top of everything else he's going through, [he] pointed to his business and said, 'I have a $13,000 tax bill I have to pay." While the current bill won't bring him relief from his business tax, Oddo said it will help provide property tax relief for his home "that was wiped out."
Ignizio said the property tax relief would also help his constituents: "I just wanted to give voice to some of my constituents, in this case Mike Abruzzo, who has lost his home totally, to nothing. In fact if you walk where his home is today, it's just his kitchen floor which managed to survive because it was built on a slab. And there's absolutely nothing there."
"Throughout the process of working with Mike," Ignizio continued, "he said to me, "I'm down on my luck, everybody wants to help and I know in a couple months we're going to be sent a property tax bill, and if anybody can help with things like that it would be appreciative.'"
He said he hoped that there would be a more "robust conversation" around commercial property taxes for owners "who are getting bills for $15,000 to $20,000, for businesses that no longer exist."
The bill was announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Quinn and Finance Department Commissioner David M. Frankel on Nov. 29. They also said at the time that they would push for a rebate to homeowners on their property taxes to better reflect post-Sandy values. That measure would require the support of the state Legislature, which is tied up in a squabble over who will control the Senate.
A separate piece of legislation sponsored by Oddo and passed by the Council yesterday seeks to make property tax bills more transparent for residents, by requiring the Department of Finance to create a brochure to explain tax bills, as well as abatements and exemptions available to property owners.
BIOTECHNOLOGY TAX CREDIT AND RECYCLABLES
The Council also voted to extend the biotechnology tax credit, until Dec. 31, 2015. The credit, created under state legislation passed in 2009, aims to encourage investment in the biotechnology sector. Capped at $3 million per year, the credit has been criticized for being underwhelming compared to incentives dangled by other states and counties looking to horn in on the biosciences industry.
Councilwoman Jessica Lappin, the sponsor of the bill, said the biotech credit had been "successful in keeping small businesses in the city."
Another measure passed at the Council meeting would require new buildings to make space for recyclables as they do for refuse. The bill aims to divert waste from landfills.
"We hope to make the act of recycling as built into our daily routines as brushing our teeth is in the morning," said Councilman Dan Garodnick, the sponsor of the legislation.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE BILL
Already the subject of debate among policymakers since it was announced last week, Council members introduced a campaign finance bill that would make it possible for unions and corporations to to spend unlimited amounts of money in coordination with candidates for political office.
The bill, sponsored by Councilwoman Rosie Mendez of Manhattan, is backed by Quinn, an expected candidate for mayor next year.
The city's Campaign Finance Board has said the bill "would open a gaping loophole in a system routinely praised as a national model for reform" and would "allow unions and corporations to operate above the law."
Image of Speaker Quinn and NYPD Officer Lawrence DePrimo, by William Alatriste. The Council honored DePrimo at the stated meeting Dec. 10, for giving a homeless man a pair of boots — a benevolent act that was caught on camera.
Last Updated (Apr 21, 2013)
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LONG BEACH - Animal rescuers worked to free a dolphin trapped inside a man-made enclosure in the Long Beach Harbor on Tuesday afternoon.
However, by 7:30 p.m. the dolphin was still trapped and rescuers called off the effort until the next morning, hoping the animal would free itself, Port of Long Beach spokesman Art Wong said.
Marine Animal Rescue specialist Peter Wallerstein said the young dolphin was surrounded by metal sheeting that was to be used as a foundation for a wharf.
The dolphin swam in during high tide and became entrapped in the area when the tide fell.
Wallerstein said that underwater divers were cutting holes into the metal sheeting Tuesday afternoon to provide exits for the dolphin. Rescuers hoped the animal would swim out when the next high tide rolled in late Tuesday night.
Wallerstein said if the dolphin doesn't swim out on its own overnight, they will try to guide the animal out of the enclosure through one of the openings in the morning.
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This is the last surviving Riva Ariston Cadillac, only 19 Cadillac-powered Riva Aristons were ever made and this one has been a resident of its native Italy since it was sold there 57 years ago.
The Hacker-Craft Runabout is one of those things that we all need to have sitting in our driveways. The company, also known as " The Hacker Boat Co." is the oldest builder of wooden motorboats in the world, having started in the early 1900s in Watervliet, New York.
The 2013 Chris Craft Corsair 32 is one of those things that leads me to believe that I'd be remarkably well suited to the lifestyle of a stupendously wealthy man.
These extraordinary images were taken in 1919 on the beach at Hastings in Surrey, the submarine is a WWI model designated SM U-118 - she was being towed to France to be scrapped when the tow cable snapped during a storm.
This image of the Titanic departing in Southampton on April the 10th 1912 carries a certain amount of weight considering the fate that ultimately awaited her. Only 5 days later she hit a large iceberg and the story from there lives on in infamy.
This photograph shows the Titanic departing Southampton on the 10th of April 1912, you can see a steam tug boat on the Titanic's right hand side and the sailors on the prow throwing off the bowline.
White Heather I was a sailing vessel built at the turn of the 20th century, she's a stunning boat and represents a pinnacle of not just aesthetic marine design, but of design in general.
The Oru Folding Kayak is a staggeringly clever piece of design, it's the brainchild of San Francisco designer Anton Willis and it's been created to fold out..
This boat, called the Hedonist, by Art of Kinetik takes the elegance of modern, wooden boat design to a new level. Each boat is meticulously handcrafted to the point where I feel slightly guilty referring to them as just "boats".
The sheer size of the Titanic never ceases to amaze, especially when you consider that it was designed with nothing but slide rules and drafting tables.
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It is quite interesting to note that in all my boys club trips to the Haunted Island, te majority of them took place in the central section of that island. The burial mounds were slightly north of central but still in that general area where the Haunted House once stood. Yet in my days as a child there was another old house on the southwest corner of that island and even then there were only two walls left standing.
On a trip with the Salesian Boys Club out of Columbus, Ohio, we did take a hike to the south portion of that island to the point where we could see the public landing area quite easily. The trees seemed much larger there, even quite majestic. I don’t think that any club ever walked to the north section of that island.
Perhaps the central part, which housed the Haunted House, was enough for the boys. Even so the night where we hiked to the southern section was unnerving for the boys as it was still conducted at midnight and the tree covering made the journey more than just casually spooky. You could actually hear the wind through the trees making the effect quite alarming to the boys. Still, it was a tale they could tell their children one day and their children’s children about how they conquered the Haunted Island at midnight. Or at least most of them thought they had!
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“Help!” is Poynter’s first app, its construction the work of a cross-departmental team drawn from Poynter.org staff and our online learning group at News University. It is available for $1.99 from the iTunes store. Think of it as a congenial writing coach for your pocket or purse.
A brief description of how I came to create “Help! For Writers” will, I hope, reveal what it means to be a content provider in a multimedia world. It will also serve as a description of how the app works, and whether it could work for you.
Like the character Shrek and an onion (not to mention a parfait), an app has layers. The general idea, I knew, was to offer a menu that would give the user some choices. Those choices would lead the user to a helpful or useful place.
Typical of Poynter work in writing instruction, I decided to begin with the seven steps of the writing process, which became five steps by the time we were editing the app for size. I challenged myself to create a version of the process that was different from ones I’d previously published. For example, the last chapter of the book “Writing Tools,” uses this model:
Versions of that model go back to the early 1980s, when Poynter began working with Donald Murray, one of America’s most influential writing coaches.
It was on that flight to Copenhagen that a different model began to emerge, built around these gerunds:
- Getting Started
- Getting Your Act Together
- Finding Focus
- Looking for Language
- Building a Draft
- Assessing Your Progress
- Making It Better
At the end, I added another step, this one for pure encouragement: Keeping the Faith.
A theory of the writing craft stood behind all this work: that writers follow several steps in a process, and that they run into problems in predictable ways. (For example, I don’t think I have ever met a writer who did not procrastinate, at least just a little.)
So — now cruising West across the Atlantic heading back to the states — I made a brainstorming list of the three most common problems writers face at each step of the process: 21 problems in all (15 of which are featured on the app).
For example, if you are trying to “find a focus,” you are likely to have said to yourself at one time or another: “I don’t know what my story is really about.” Or “I struggle with the beginning.” Or “I have problems selecting my best stuff.”
So far, we described steps in the process and highlighted common problems for each. What comes next? Solutions, of course.
More furious brainstorming produced 10 solutions for each problem, a total of 210 solutions for the book version and 150 for the app. What does a solution look like? Here’s a tip for finding a focus:
What clue can I plant early to foreshadow meaningful themes and events? A piece of writing works best when it leads the reader to some understanding or conclusion. Not every element can be packed into the first paragraph. But you can introduce a word or phrase or detail that pays off in the end.
If that tip doesn’t help, you just touch “Another tip, please.”
The “Help! For Writers” app is not meant as a substitute for a living coach, teacher, or editor. Nor does it have the depth of the book version, which is almost 300 pages long.
What it does have is a friendly immediacy. It imagines you sitting at a coffee shop or in an airport lounge trying to noodle through a problem in your writing. It helps you figure out on the spot: “What is not working?” And “What can I do about it.”
The more that writers work within the process, the greater their confidence grows about their ability to solve problems in an efficient and timely way.
My favorite part of the app appears when you touch the button that is labeled “Inspire me.” It’s true that I love the sound of my own voice, and it resonates as particularly mellifluous when I am trying to encourage writers. Ten short audio clips offer insights on how to write collaboratively, how to grow a “third eye,” and how to live inside the English language.
Poynter has no plans to turn itself into an app factory. But in this singular effort, we pooled some of our most creative resources to craft yet another toolkit for writers. Under the rubric “Help! For Writers,” you now have a book, an online course, a series of live chats, and a mobile app, more than 200 solutions for the problems every writer faces.
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- adj. Of the highest quality; extremely good
- adj. surpassing in quality
“The index looks at prices for top-quality one-carat stones, those with the best color and clarity.”
“According to the Rapaport Diamond Index, a respected industry benchmark, prices of top-quality stones have collapsed by as much as 80% in real, inflation-adjusted terms over the last 30 years.”
“The plaque reads, "The Medal ... recognizes outstanding personal contributions in areas associated with the University's fourfold health science mission providing top-quality patient care, improving the understanding of the factors that affect human health and serving the community.”
“Touré said: At the moment you cannot compare Barcelona with City because Barça are at the top and have top-quality players.”
“The bank's core Tier 1 ratio, which compares top-quality capital such as equity and retained earnings to risk-weighted assets, was 9% at the end of December under the so-called Basel 2.5 capital rules.”
“However, they had rebooked me - at the discounted rate - into the Europa Hotel, which was at one point the only top-quality hotel in Belfast and also the most bombed hotel in Europe.”
“Its core Tier 1 ratio, made up of only top-quality capital such as equity and retained profits, was 8.9%.”
“These drawbacks notwithstanding, the playoffs have extended top-quality golf competition into the fall, an unequivocal bonus for hard-core golf fans.”
“Therefore, he says, it is vital to be more productive, more efficient "and, of course, make top-quality products.”
“Customer funds are surely safe at Fidelity, Vanguard and other top-quality firms.”
These user-created lists contain the word ‘top-quality’.
Adjectively used nominal phrases with a "-" inside.
A roster of adjectives that infrequently surface in typical conversation and writing. Many are dredged from scientific or other technical jargon or sieved from examples of disused archaic forms.
Looking for tweets for top-quality.
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On Climate Change
The Department of Chemistry invited 1995 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Mario J. Molina to deliver a lecture on “Chemistry and Climate Change” as part of special ceremonies at which he also received the honorary degree, Doctor of Science. During the ceremonies celebrating the International Year of Chemistry, Professor Anne Marteel-Parrish was installed as the first holder of the Frank J. Creegan Chair in Green Chemistry, established in honor of the man who taught at the College for 40 years. During the post-ceremony reception in the Underwood Lobby, the public viewed a collection of heirlooms from the estate of William O. Baker ‘35, the College’s most distinguished Chemistry alumnus. The collection, which includes the Joseph Priestley Medal, the American Chemical Society’s highest honor and letters of commendation from Presidents Nixon and Reagan, was donated to the College by Joseph Baker, the son of William O. Baker.
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en
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