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Setting the stage for what could lead to another showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court, Gov. Jerry Brown this week moved to end federal court orders forcing California's prison system to shed thousands of inmates and improve medical and mental health care deemed inhumane just three years ago.
The governor declared the "prison emergency ... over in California," calling the once overwhelming prison overcrowding problems a "distant memory." In court papers, he urged a special federal court panel to set aside a sweeping August 2009 order that already has prompted the nation's largest prison system to release more than 30,000 inmates.
Brown and state prison officials argue that California has done enough to fix its
"California is a powerful state," Brown said Tuesday. "We can run our own prisons. And by God, let those judges give us our prisons back."
But the governor's legal maneuver, which he vowed to press to the Supreme Court if necessary, raised many of the same arguments that have fallen flat in previous attempts to avoid federal court intervention in the state prison system. The question now is whether California can prove prison overcrowding has diminished enough to
Prisoner rights lawyers called the Brown administration's legal arguments frivolous and plan to challenge the request to dissolve the court orders. They argue that health care remains dismal in California's prisons as a result of continuing overcrowding.
"The problem is that rather than fixing the problems, the state is just playing a litigation game," said Rebekah Evenson, a staff attorney with the Prison Law Office.
A three-judge panel had given the state until midnight Monday to reveal how it would finish the task of reducing prison overcrowding. But in court papers, the governor's administration instead argued that "continued enforcement of the order is unfair, unnecessary and illegal."'
The court in 2009 found California's prisons were so overcrowded that they violated the constitutional rights of the prisoners by failing to provide adequate mental health and medical care for inmate population that at times exceeded 160,000. Federal Judges Thelton Henderson, Lawrence Karlton and Stephen Reinhardt found that inmates were regularly dying as a result of poor medical care.
The court ordered the state to reduce
State officials say they've reduced the prison population by 26,000 inmates since October 2011, when the governor's realignment plan went into effect, shifting many low-level offenders, such as probation violators, to county jails, and by more than 36,000 inmates since lawyers on both sides presented their original arguments in 2008. Prison reports show the inmate population at its lowest level since May 1995.
As of two weeks ago, the prisons remained at 149 percent of its capacity, despite the reduction in the overall inmate population. But in court papers, state officials maintain they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars improving the prison health care system and reducing overcrowding, from an $840 million prison health facility in Stockton set to open in July to a $29.5 million treatment center at Salinas Valley State Prison.
And the governor indicated that county jails should not be asked to absorb any more inmates.
Jeffrey Beard, California's new prisons chief, has found the inmates now receive adequate medical and mental health care. Beard, former head of Pennsylvania's prison system, had testified as an expert on the inmates' side earlier in the legal battle.
In a recent interview with this newspaper, Henderson, one of the three judges on the federal panel, said he has met numerous times with Brown in the past year to discuss ways to settle the prison case. Henderson did not reveal specifics, other than to say the state was making progress but areas of disagreement remained.
"I said, "We have to agree to disagree on this,'" Henderson said, last month, well before the governor filed his latest legal arguments. "I believe my job is to bring the prison health care system back to a constitutional level, and that's what I intend to do."
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Brown argued that California's prisons no longer need court-ordered population caps.
"I'm trying to find a balance point, a middle path that spends the right amount of money to achieve a decent amount of public safety," the governor said. "We can't pour more and more money down the rat hole of incarceration. We have to spend as much as we need, but no more, and I think we've hit that point."
Staff writer Steve Harmon contributed to this report. Howard Mintz covers legal affairs. Contact him at 408-286-0236 or follow him at Twitter.com/hmintz
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A: No you don’t actually. They are many water garden owners who leave their koi and goldfish in their water garden throughout the winter season with no issues whatsoever. There are really only two things that you need to do to make sure your water garden is fit to allow fish to winter over:
Does your water garden have a depth of at least 18″?:
This is very important. There are places in the US alone where water freezing depths can easily be around 18″ to 24″. I suggest a minimum of 18″ of depth to be safe, but I am more inclined to recommend 24″ just to be double safe. We want to make sure our fish friends don’t become icicles. In either instance, it’s also extremely important to make sure we keep a hole open in the ice during these cold times, which leads me to the second thing.
Keeping an open hole in the ice during the winter:
During the winter, when the ice forms a solid layer across on the surface of your water garden, there are toxic gases, caused by decaying vegetation or organics, that can build up underneath the ice. This build up can become so toxic underneath the ice that it can kill all of the fish in the water garden. The best thing to do in this situation is to keep a hole open in the ice to allow for these gases to escape. This is actually very easy to accomplish. Using a pond heater/de-icer, such as a Pond Saucer or ThermoPond, is a great way to keep a hole open in the ice. Another way to keep a hole open in the ice would be to use a small bubbler aerator. These will not only keep a hole open in the ice, but will also add oxygen as well! Bubbler aerators can be used all year to keep oxygen levels high.
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AfriGeneas Free Persons of Color Forum
Re: Adolphus Augustus, from Va
In Response To: Adolphus Augustus, from Va ()
What was your ancestor's approximate date of birth?
I know of an Augustus family from the Norfolk area. A famous physician in the Civil War, Alexander Augustus was born around 1819. His mother, Betsy Dyson, was originally from Richmond. Alexander had a brother named Ceasar, but I'm not certain that it is the same Ceasar you identified.
There was alsoa woman/girl named I think, Mary Augustus who escaped from Norfolk via the Underground Railroad. However, I'm not sure what name she used when she settled in Massachusetts.
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LT24 is an experimental time lapse movie directed and produced by Lucio Arese.
The film depicts a 24 hours day (from 0 AM to 0 AM) compressed into 2 minutes 24 seconds where a group of construction workers assemble a steel structure placed into a square arena.
The environment has an atmospheric system based on real solar azimuth and elevation data, corresponding to the geographic location of Turin at the 21st of June 2010 (summer solstice, longest day available in the year).
Every side of the arena is 150 meters long and is perpendicular to a cardinal direction.
CONSTRUCTION SITE - QTVR PANORAMA
Click and drag cursor into the image (Quicktime required)
Compressing 24 hours into 2:24 implies a speed up that can be determined by the following calculations:
24 hours =
1440 minutes = 86400 seconds
2 minutes 24 seconds = 144 seconds
86400 / 144 = 600X speed up
Reality is speeded up by 600 times, so the proportions between real time and film are:
24 hours - 2 minutes 24
12 hours - 1 minute 12 seconds
6 hours - 36 seconds
1 hour - 6 seconds
10 minutes - 1 second
25 seconds - 1 frame (24 fps)
The construction should be considered as some kind of monument, or abstract structure - it has no functional meaning, and it's totally related to the flowing of the soundtrack through time. The building is quasi simmetric, formed by two definite parts: an inner core and an outside perimeter.
The assembling of the two sections takes 1m 12s each (first the inner core, then the outer perimeter), splitting the film exactly into two halves: the first, more intricate and labyrinthic, and the second, more modular and repetitive. The first half also constitutes the first 12 hours of the day (AM), while the second the last 12 (PM).
Watching the soundtrack waveform it's possible to note as the two part division is present also into the music.
CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TIME
This video depicts the building development through time from an aerial view, with a comparison between film time (2m 24s) and real time (24h). According to the 600x proportion 1 hour is corresponding to 6 seconds in the film.
Clik play or move cursor left/right
Timelapse is a technique generally used generally for two basic purposes:
1) To accelerate real time events into speeds that makes them unintelligible (ex. city life, vehicle traffic etc.)
2) To "compress" and make comprehensible long time processes otherwise unnoticeable in real time (ex. cloud movement, growing of nature, organic decomposition etc.)
This film tries to unify these two aspects:: a 24 hour portion of reality is accelerated at whirling speed remaining organized and comprehensible, into the guidelines of a musical structure; at the same time, a 2 minutes 24 seconds portion of music is "projected" into a 24 hour timespan, sinchronizing and shaping every significative event - even the movement of every signle worker is related to the music. This process creates a bidirectional relationship between music and motion picture, linking them into an imaginary dimension where the flow of visual and audio events is totally bounded together: this could be called "structured timelapse".
This technique permits to reproduce reality at multiple timescales mantaining a coherent organization (theoretically even the present film could be, into given limits, played at different speeds). For this film a 24h timespan has been chosen for the harmony of the system and to give a sense of completeness, but many different timescales could be utilized, if not every possible proportion. It could be used for a wide range of purposes and realized with many techniques, real footage as well as digital imagery or mixed solutions.
Concept, design, direction and production: Lucio Arese
Compositing, editing, cinematography: Lucio Arese
Soundtrack: "Lurid Sky and Tama Stream" composed by Ametsub - Album: "Linear Cryptics" (MP 299), Mille Plateaux re-release, 2010
© Mille Plateaux 2010
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Frequently Asked Questions
Pneumonia in Shar-Pei Pups
As you come in the door that afternoon you know something is wrong. Your 3 month-old Shar-Pei pup is not at the door to greet you. You search the house and find him in the family room huddled in the corner, ears down, tail limp, droopy eyes, breathing heavily and coughing softly. He feels warm to the touch. His temperature is 104°F and you know you've got trouble.
The scenario above is pretty typical for pneumonia in the Chinese Shar-Pei. It often occurs in pups 8 - 16 weeks old and seems to come out of nowhere. The only specific signs which may suggest pneumonia are heavy breathing usually with an abdominal component and sometimes a productive cough. By the times these signs are present, you have a very sick puppy and generally have very little time to do much about it. Diagnosis must be quick, accurate and specific. A minimal database must include a CBC and a chest radiograph. We are primarily interested in the white blood cell count (WBC). What we want to see in the sick pup is a high WBC with some young white blood cells called "bands". This would signal an appropriate response and that the pup is fighting the infection. A bad sign would be a normal or low WBC with high numbers of bands. This indicates the infection is winning and this pup may die. Radiographic signs of pneumonia are pretty classic and usually apparent on chest X-rays. Positioning may be less than ideal as the pups will resist being put on their side and we don't want to fight them too much - depending on the degree of lung involvement stress may overwhelm them. It is also helpful to try to stretch out the wrinkles over the chest when the radiograph is taken. Those folds can often obscure the lung changes seen in pneumonia. Pneumonia appears as fluid in the lungs seen in the ventral (lowest) lung fields and located in the cranial (forward) lung lobes. Fluid may accumulate in one lung lobe, cover multiple lobes and also occur in both sides of the chest. The fluid will often obscure the heart shadow on a chest radiograph. The definitive diagnosis is based on a tracheal wash. In this procedure, a catheter is introduced into the trachea and sterile water is flushed into the trachea and then aspirated back out hopefully with the offending bacteria in it. This sample can then be cultured and an antibiotic sensitivity done. This procedure is usually done under sedation or light anesthesia and has some risk involved in it, especially in a sick pup, but the information gathered is critical to instituting the appropriate antibiotic therapy.
What causes pneumonia in Shar-Pei pups? By the time we have a sick pup the lungs have been infected by bacteria. These are usually Gram (-) bacteria such as E. Coli, Klebsiella and Bordetella. Gram (+) cocci such as Streptococcus may also be isolated. It is also known that viruses such as canine distemper, adenovirus and parainfluenza can also cause pneumonia. Shar-Pei also may have an IgA deficiency which occurs in the vast majority of the dogs. IgA is a protective immunoglobulin found in body secretions such as tears, mucous, saliva, etc. It is responsible for local immunity in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogenital systems as well as the skin. IgA deficiency may predispose an animal to bacterial pneumonia. Ciliary dyskinesis is a condition that has been reported in the Shar-Pei in which the cilia of the respiratory tract are abnormal or not present. Cilia are hair-like projections on the lining of the trachea and larger bronchi which are involved in clearance of debris-laden mucous out of the bronchi. This mechanism is vital in preventing accumulation of bacteria in the bronchi and subsequent development of bacterial pneumonia. It appears that this is a heritable condition. Lastly, Shar-Pei are prone to megaesophagus. This is an abnormality involving the esophagus or "food tube" which can result in accumulation of food and secretions in the esophagus. Regurgitation is a common finding in puppies with this condition and this can lead to aspiration pneumonia. Megaesophagus can often be picked up on chest radiographs underlining the importance of doing chest X-rays in any pneumonia workup. Due to the wide range of underlying causes of bacterial pneumonia it is very important to autopsy any Shar-Pei who dies of pneumonia.
Treatment of pneumonia involves the use of antibiotic therapy based on the culture and sensitivity results obtained via the tracheal wash. Pending getting these results back from the laboratory which may take 2-3 days it is necessary to use "Four Quadrant Therapy". This is antibacterial therapy effective against all bacterial groups - Gram (+) aerobes and anaerobes and Gram (-) aerobes and anaerobes. My initial choice is an aminoglycoside and a penicillin. Use of injectable medications is indicated initially. Another choice is the use of a fluoroquinolone and a penicillin. This has the advantage of being given orally. Once the culture and sensitivity results are back specific antibiotic therapy is based on those results. I like to use a different antibiotic every 2 weeks for at least 4-6 weeks. The therapy should be continued for 2 weeks after the chest radiographs appear normal. There is a very real danger of not treating pneumonia long enough and having it recur with the possibility that the antibiotic therapy used either selected for a resistant strain of bacteria or a new bacteria is causing the problem. A "smoldering-type" pneumonia develops and can cause respiratory problems for a long time. This is more apt to occur when a tracheal wash - culture/sensitivity is not done. Injectable antibiotics may be used in a nebulizer which allows the antibiotic to be breathed into the deeper airways and reach the lungs. Additional therapy is supportive. Fluids (IV or subcutaneous) are very important to maintain hydration in the sick pup and to keep secretions thin. This allows the normal respiratory defense mechanisms such as coughing and ciliary function to clear the bacteria from the lungs. Use of a humidifier is useful in this regard. Adequate nutrition is vital to maintain energy levels in the pup and prevent secondary disease. Coupage (thumping the chest) is useful to stimulate coughing, mobilizing fluid in the chest and stimulate deep breaths to prevent collapsed lungs (atelectasis). Mild, frequent periods of exercise help to mobilize secretions and maintain the pup's interest and mental well-being.
Prevention centers around decreasing the pup's exposure to infectious agents. Check your vaccines and be sure they are in-date and stored properly. Be aware of the adverse effects of stress on puppies. Puppy matches, traveling, etc. may need be in the best interest of the young Shar-Pei pup. Isolate puppies from visiting adult dogs. Clean puppy areas with disinfectants frequently. Isolate any sick puppies and care for them last always going from healthy puppies to the sick ones. The use of Bordetella vaccine may be useful although this bacterial agent probably represents a small number of the pneumonia cases.
Maintaining a high index of suspicion for pneumonia in the 8 - 16 week-old puppy is the best way to discover the problem early and get treatment fast. Also remember that pneumonia isn't the only condition which can result in a fever in pups - every fever is not pneumonia especially if not confirmed by the complete blood count and chest radiographs.
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A report from the Nebraska-based Center for Rural Affairs finds those giant wind turbines that dot the farmland skyline are helping power distant cities, not rural homes.
A report from the Nebraska-based Center for Rural Affairs finds those giant wind turbines that dot the farmland skyline are helping power distant cities, not rural homes. Johnathan Hladik, the center's energy policy advocate, says major power lines are -not- connected to the areas where the wind power is generated.
Johnathan Hladik, Center for Rural Affairs "wind turbines"
Nebraska ranks fourth in the nation for wind energy resources, behind Texas, California and Iowa. The Husker State has more than 260 operational wind turbines on 11 major sites. Hladik says only six-percent of the lines 400 kilovolts and above are located in the top ten states for wind energy potential.
It was once common that power plants were located close to the population areas they serve. Now, utilities find it hard to locate new plants in heavily-populated areas. Johnathan Hladik, at the Lyons-based Center for Rural Affairs, says a study found only a few miles of modern, major power lines are located close to the wind turbines that generate the power.
Hladik "only nine miles"
Nebraska is the nation's fourth-largest wind energy resource, yet the report says most of the power generated by Nebraska wind powers far-away cities in other states.
There are some 260 wind turbines spinning over Nebraska, but most of the power they generate is heading out of state. Johnathan Hladik, at the Center for Rural Affairs, says making a more efficient use of infrastructure now in place is a critical first step, and making major improvements will take creative partnerships.
Hladik "regional collaboratives"
The utilities need to come up with plans to move more power over a more efficient energy grid, he says, to insure a clean energy future and more jobs. The Center for Rural Affairs is based in Lyons, Nebraska. Learn more at: www.cfra.org
(image courtesy of stock.xchng)
(courtesy of Nebraska Radio Network)
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Metrics strategy is a vital topic relative to innovation. Despite how important metrics strategy is, it’s a challenging one for many businesses when it comes to innovation. Going back through my own experiences and secondary research on the topic, here are a few starting thoughts on developing what we call a “whole-brain” approach:
Begin developing your innovation metrics strategy by determining what factors drive ROI.
Specifically identify which factors increase positive business returns and which reduce necessary investment. Starting with the end result in mind will better align the overall effort toward delivering a positive return on investment.
Adopt a “whole-brain metrics” orientation.
This means consciously trying to capture both quantitative (left brain) and qualitative (right brain) metrics. Doing so, you satisfy the financial and performance-oriented need for numerical targets and tracking. Adding qualitative measures into the equation, however, also provides the basis to match the numbers with stories, images, and other insights, providing a more complete performance picture.
Within the whole-brain approach, consider three distinct types of metrics related to innovation.
- Culture Metrics – If your innovation efforts are part of an overall push to instill a more innovative approach to a department, business unit, or company, culture-based measures help track how solidly the effort has taken hold. Quantitative metrics in this area may be more activity-oriented, i.e., how many people are participating in innovation efforts and what percent of employees have been trained in creative or strategic thinking disciplines. Qualitative elements can tie to success stories on personal & professional development or other workplace-based changes.
- Process Metrics – The second group of measures relate to systematic innovation activities. Quantitatively, it could be how many ideas have been developed or are in various parts of the innovation pipeline. Longer term, it could incorporate how many patents have been filed and received. Qualitative measures in this area might relate to process learnings or images / descriptions of prototypes developed through innovation efforts.
- Return-Based Metrics – The third group includes ROI, ROC, new products/services as a percent of sales, etc. Here too though, it’s important to augment the quantitative measures with qualitative elements, such as success stories, learnings (from both successes and mistakes), and customer comments (letters, email, online and social media-based responses, etc.).
This is hardly an exhaustive treatment on innovation metrics strategy, but it can be a good starter for expanding what you’re doing now. If, however, you’re doing more currently in this area, then please share what’s working for you. - Mike Brown
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Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is amending the August 5, 1996, Record of Decision (the 1996 ROD) (61 FR 40619) for the Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium Environmental Impact Statement (HEU EIS) (DOE/EIS–0240). The 1996 ROD included DOE’s decision to implement a program to render a nominal 200 metric tons of surplus highly-enriched uranium (HEU) non-weapons-usable by blending it down to low-enriched uranium (LEU) and selling as much of the resulting LEU as possible (up to 85 percent) for use as reactor fuel. In 2007, NNSA prepared a Supplement Analysis (DOE/EIS–0240–SA1) to the HEU EIS but did not make a decision at that time. The Supplement Analysis analyzed the potential environmental impacts associated with ongoing HEU disposition activities and potential changes to those activities: supplying LEU to reactors in foreign countries through U.S. persons under certain circumstances; establishing new pathways for disposing of HEU materials that would not be converted to LEU for reactor fuel; and down-blending additional quantities of HEU for use as reactor fuel. NNSA now is amending the 1996 ROD to make decisions regarding each of these proposals.
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For Greater Officers unable to swear oaths : During the Coronation ceremony delete from standard fealty the words "Here do I swear, by mouth and hands, fealty and service ..." and replace them with "Here do I affirm, by mouth and hands, a contract of service ..."
A personal fealty oath in German by Sir Wolfram Flammenherz
Standard Fealty in Scots English by Domhnall na Moicheighe
Celtic Bard style Laurel oath, scroll
Non-English Fealty Oaths: SCA style in other languages, with pronounciation guides
Fealty Oath, based on the Oath of the Lieutenant and Standard bearer of Queen Elizabeth I, 1601
Oath and Oration, based on Articles of the Weavers' Craft 1492
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With a history that dates 500 years, this stone structure truly deserves its place of honor in the National Historic ... More
Castillo San Felipe del Morro
With a history that dates 500 years, this stone structure truly deserves its place of honor in the National Historic Register. The English and the Dutch attacked El Morro or Castillo San Felipe del Morro repeatedly in its time. Located on the San Juan Bay , the six-story fort was originally constructed in 1540, although its exterior walls were not erected for another 200 years. Inside the walls is a veritable labyrinth of chambers, barracks, hallways and prison cells. The fort was given a complete facelift in 1992.
visited El Morro on a trip to San Juan ,it was my best experience on a vacation to date,
I cant stop thinking about the history of it,
we arrived right when they opened at 10 am, after about 2 hours of checking it out we
exited the fort only to find hundreds of kites being flown in the air, hundreds of
people in the grass area outside the fort, this experience again was unbelivable
WONDERFUL! We visited Ft. Cristobol first and paid an entry fee which included visiting El Morro, too. My elderly mother was with us. We'd rented a wheelchair for our time in Old San Juan. Her entry fee was "waived" as a "handicapped" individual AND so was one other adult's ticket fee as her "companion".
Park Service people were VERY helpful and knowledgeable. Don't miss these TWO forts!
I would only recommend to visit El Morro if you stay longer than 2 days because Old San Juan and El Yunque are much better IMO. It had a great view of the ocean and was very pretty but wasn't worth the time. I don't recommend this to older people because you have to do a lot of walking.
I thought this place was amazing. It was well staffed and that made it a very nice experience. I think this could be for family's who have just gotten off of cruises. I also think young couples would enjoy this together. I think you shouldn't visit during the holidays because it is very packed go at another time.
El Morro is one of the very many places in Puerto Rico I visit with my husband when we go there on a yearly basis. This old Spanish fortress is a must for either history buffs or any romantic that visits. The landscapes that surround the fortress are perfect for photographs and if you just want to have a picnic on any given day, the beautifully green grass is a perfect setting that will give you an awesome view of the ocean. The fortress is run by the NPS, so it is kept very well and is labled only in English to my recollection. It has a gift store and is very close by parking and down town walking distance from all of the Old San Juan shops and sights.
*Terms & Conditions: Savings calculation is based on Flight + Hotel vacation package bookings for a 3 month period for 2 adults with a 2+ night length of stay compared to price of the same components if booked separately during same period. Savings will vary based on origin/destination, length of trip, travel dates and selected travel supplier(s). Savings not available on all packages.
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http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2770634-el_morro_san_juan-i?rpage=5
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|
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A Congressional report due on Monday and a '60 Minutes' story about it Sunday night are putting the alleged threat to U.S. information technology networks from Chinese telecom giant Huawei in the spotlight.
The report from the House Intelligence Committee, which has been studying Huawei, says the company may have violated U.S. laws and poses a security threat to the country.
The report comes after nearly a year of investigation by the committee into the activities of both Huawei and another big Chinese telecom company, ZTE.
The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night that the report will recommend that U.S. regulators block acquisitions or mergers involving either Huawei or ZTE. It also says the government shouldn't use equipment made by them and that American companies should avoid them.
Committee chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, in an interview that appeared on "60 Minutes" on Sunday said, "Find another vendor if you care about your intellectual property, if you care about your consumers' privacy, and you care about the national security of the United States of America."
Huawei, the world's largest telecom equipment maker, has its U.S. R&D center in Santa Clara and its U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas.
The company has repeatedly denied it is a security threat and is reportedly considering a U.S. IPO.
It issued the following statement about the congressional report and TV story:
“Huawei is a globally trusted and respected company doing business in almost 150 markets with over 500 operator customers, including nationwide carriers across every continent save Antarctica. The security and integrity of our products are world proven. Those are the facts today. Those will still be the facts next week, political agendas aside."
|
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.cyberwarzone.com/video-60-minutes-threat-huawei-espionage-and-cyberwar
|
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|
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| 0.95781
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday pushed
back the date on which it will consider whether to review six cases
related to gay marriage.
The high court was scheduled to
consider the cases on November 20 but has rescheduled its private
conference for November 30.
Cases related to marriage equality
petitioned to the court include four challenges to the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA), one challenge to California's Proposition 8 and
one challenge to Arizona's decision to end domestic partnership
benefits for state employees.
DOMA forbids federal agencies from
recognizing the legal marriages of gay couples. Passage of
Proposition 8 in 2008 put an end to the weddings of gay couples
taking place in California after the state Supreme Court legalized
Adam Umhoefer, executive director of
the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), which is
representing the two couples seeking to marry in California, said the
“updated timeline suggests that we will likely find out if our case
will be heard by the nation's highest court, or if marriages can
resume in California, by Monday, December 3.”
The court could also hold the case for
Boies predicts Supreme Court will overturn gay marriage ban Prop. 8.)
|
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=13548&MediaType=1&Category=26
|
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|
en
| 0.917428
| 257
| 1.757813
| 2
|
As it stands, the green economy in New Hampshire is growing, but still lackluster.
According to a Brookings Institution study released in July of 2011, from 2003 to 2010, New Hampshire’s green jobs industry grew at an average of 3.5 percent a year, outpacing the rest of New England. But the result of that growth was lackluster. Only two percent of the state’s workforce holds down a green job, which places New Hampshire square in the middle of the national average.
Solar power is one of NH's growing green industries.
There’s a lot of disagreement about what, exactly, a “green job” is. The Brookings report notes this lack of consensus is one of the reasons it’s difficult to measure national and regional growth. But there is broad agreement that the green economy encompasses renewable energy and technology, environmentally-friendly products manufacturing, and other activities that either benefit the environment, or at least don’t harm it.
Some of the most promising sectors developing in New Hampshire focus on developing and manufacturing
technology for alternative energy and energy efficiency. Southern New Hampshire dominates this growing economy, with Merrimack, Hillsborough
, and Rockingham
counties holding down 80 percent of the state’s green jobs. Meanwhile, using the North Country’s
forests to establish a large-scale biofuels industry has proven difficult.
At this point, the state government isn’t pumping a lot of money into growing the green economy, preferring instead to allow private entities to invest where they see fit. But recently, federal stimulus funds passing through the NH Office of Energy and Planning established the Green Launching Pad. The GLP is a green business incubator at the University of New Hampshire. It will receive stimulus funding through April, 2012.
|
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http://stateimpact.npr.org/new-hampshire/tag/green-economy/
|
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|
en
| 0.919577
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| 2.890625
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|
In a rare acquisition, Apple has acquired Melbourne, Fla.-based mobile and network security firm AuthenTec for $356 million.
New research presented at this year's Black Hat conference in Las Vegas reveals that iris scans can be duplicated, which may give attackers the ability to bypass recognition systems.
The Federal Trade Commission in December plans to hold a workshop to investigate the privacy and security implications of facial recognition technology. The agency announced this week that the workshop, which is free and open to the public, seeks to bring together consumer protection groups, privacy experts, and industry and academic leaders. The meeting is expected to address such topics as whether consumers should consent to the collection and use of their images. Facial recognition products can provide an added security layer at places like airports or automate photo tagging on sites such as Facebook, but critics worry they also could be used for intrusive surveillance. As a result, offerings have emerged that can help people hide their faces from the technology.
We kick off the year with strong authentication as our theme. That includes multifactor and biometric authentication.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a controversial bill that would have banned the use of biometrics data in identification cards.
A bill under consideration in the New Hampshire Legislature, which would prohibit any government agency or private entity from using biometrics in ID cards, is pitting privacy against security.
A biometric solution helps Stock Yards Bank & Trust manage passwords and aids in compliance efforts, reports Greg Masters.
Banks must encourage customers to use online facilities and to protect existing internet customers from fraud.
|
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|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.scmagazine.com/biometrics/topic/115/
|
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|
State health officials stress there is no threat from the crisis in Japan
POSTED: 08:23 a.m. HST, Mar 16, 2011
Fear of radioactive fallout from nuclear plant meltdowns in Japan has prompted a virtual buyout of a pill promoted as a "radiation protection tablet" by a manufacturer.
Major drug retailers in Hawaii have almost run out of the over-the-counter pill made of potassium iodide.
Meanwhile, the state will add two more radiation tracking devices — one on the North Shore and another on Kauai — to warn of any radiation plumes that come from Japan.
State Civil Defense spokeswoman Shelly Ichishita said that based on federal reports, Hawaii is not expected to experience harmful levels of radioactivity.
President Barack Obama said yesterday he has been assured that Hawaii and the West Coast will not be affected by radiation released from Japan.
Ichishita said her agency is not advocating that people buy potassium iodide pills.
State health officials said they have not detected abnormal levels of radiation, and "with the current size of the release and the distance from Hawaii, no public health risk to the state is expected."
Tom J. Miller, who owns parking lots here, said he found out about the shortage of potassium iodide after going to drugstores to try to buy the pills for his employees.
"It doesn't hurt to be a little cautious," he said yesterday, noting he's looking elsewhere for a supplier. "I think we're planning to get some from Chicago."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said potassium iodide in correct doses can block radioactive iodine in the thyroid and reduces the risk of thyroid cancer in radiation emergencies.
But the FDA said potassium iodide is not a general radioactive protective agent. The state Health Department advised against taking the substance because of the low risk of radiation here, and ingesting it "is not an effective precautionary measure."
The FDA said people with known iodine sensitivity, dermatitis herpetiformis and hypocomplementemic vasculitis should avoid consuming potassium iodide.
The FDA said people with multinodular goiter, Graves' disease and autoimmune thyroiditis should use potassium iodide with caution.
Officials for Walgreens in Kailua and Longs Drug Stores said they did not know when the stores would have potassium iodide back in stock.
Vim N' Vigor at Ala Moana Center said before the crisis in Japan, it was selling the tablets as a diet supplement for thyroid support and had about 10 to 20 bottles in stock.
But Vim N' Vigor manager Tiffany Nakano said with the nuclear meltdown in Japan, "our store ran out of it on Saturday."
Drug manufacturer Anbex Inc., which promotes potassium iodide as radioactive protection, said it ran out of its stock supply Saturday and is expected to make more for delivery by April. Anbex said the orders have come from within the United States, especially from California.
Hawaii has two radiation tracking devices, one on Oahu on the roof of the state Department of Health building, and another on Hawaii island.
The state has used air monitoring devices for 20 years. In 1999 the state Health Department closely watched results after the Tokaimura nuclear accident in Japan, which killed two people. No radioactivity was detected in Hawaii at that time, health officials said yesterday.
Analysts in Hawaii examine the device's filter twice a week, said Lynn Nakasone of the Health Department's Environmental Health Services Division.
In addition, a satellite dish on the device transmits data in real time to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency analysts in Montgomery, Ala.
Should the crisis in Japan worsen, Hawaii would get three to four days' warning before any radioactivity could reach here. The federal government would also send planes through the plume to analyze the radioactive material in the air.
If a worst-case scenario of a radiation plume hovering over the isles should occur, the state would ask residents to "shelter in place." Shelter in place means to take immediate shelter wherever you might be.
The state would also set up stations to distribute potassium iodine, which helps prevent thyroid glands from radioactivity.
"But we really don't think it'll come to that point," said Loretta Fuddy, interim state health director.
|
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110316_Radiation_fears_spur_run_on_pill.html
|
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|
en
| 0.957313
| 892
| 1.867188
| 2
|
Today the United States switched from daylight savings time to standard time. Europe has already done so, as Lars Christensen noted in a recent post. Lars used the occasion, as I will, to bring up Milton Friedman's analogy between daylight savings time and floating exchange rates in Friedman's essay "The Case for Flexible Exchange Rates" (written in 1950 and published in 1953). Lars used the analogy to discuss nominal GDP targeting. I will use it to discuss its original subject. Friedman contends that instead of changing schedules in the summertime, it is easier for everybody to change the time and keep the same nominal schedules as before. Similarly, he contends that instead of changing many nominal prices, it is easier to change the nominal exchange rate and keep nominal prices the same.
It is unclear whether daylight savings time actually has much benefit. In countries that have it, though, people only change their clocks twice a year. What would it be like if they had to change their clocks twice each minute, which is how fast exchange rates sometimes change? I am aware of no free banking system that has ever had a floating exchange rate as a permanent feature rather than as a temporary expedient. Of course, that was in a context where fixed or pegged exchange rates were almost universally viewed as the norm. Things might be different were free banking to return today. I remain skeptical, though.
|
<urn:uuid:9809242c-7ea1-40d6-8812-acdcc40c8e6f>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.freebanking.org/2012/11/04/daylight-savings-time-and-floating-exchange-rates/
|
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|
en
| 0.974218
| 274
| 2.71875
| 3
|
Pod2g Discovers Security Flaw in iOS That Allows for SMS Spoofing
Pod2g has announced the discovery of a security flaw in iOS that allows for spoofing of SMS messages.
The flaw has been present since the first iPhone and is still there in iOS 6 beta 4, notes the hacker.
In the text payload, a section called UDH (User Data Header) is optional but defines lot of advanced features not all mobiles are compatible with. One of these options enables the user to change the reply address of the text. If the destination mobile is compatible with it, and if the receiver tries to answer to the text, he will not respond to the original number, but to the specified one. Most carriers don't check this part of the message, which means one can write whatever he wants in this section : a special number like 911, or the number of somebody else.
In a good implementation of this feature, the receiver would see the original phone number and the reply-to one. On iPhone, when you see the message, it seems to come from the reply-to number, and you loose track of the origin.
Pod2g outlines some scenarios where this might be dangerous:
● pirates could send a message that seems to come from the bank of the receiver asking for some private information, or inviting them to go to a dedicated website. [Phishing]
● one could send a spoofed message to your device and use it as a false evidence.
● anything you can imagine that could be utilized to manipulate people, letting them trust somebody or some organization texted them.
As final warning, it's suggested that you never trust a SMS received on your iPhone at first sight, at least until Apple fixes the problem.
|
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|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=23913
|
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|
en
| 0.943492
| 359
| 1.929688
| 2
|
Swimmingby Jack Merriott
Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-sea BR poster c 1950s.
Poster produced for British Railways (BR) to promote rail travel to Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea, Lincolnshire. The poster shows a beach scene with a young woman with her arm raised standing on a small bank of sand. The beach unfolds behind her. Artwork by Jack Merriott (1901-1968).
|
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|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.trueartworks.com/poster.php/0001-3570
|
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|
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| 0.901295
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The research events examine the relationship between the encoded and the crafted. The events are organised in respect to three core trajectories examined through the focus on process, technique and theory. The three trajectories:
Trajectory I: the ideal of the optimal, Trajectory II: the ideal of the tectonic and Trajectory III: the ideal of the formal present three optics by which digital practice in architecture is understood. By building a critical understanding of these our aim to build a platform from which the relationships, the connections and conflicts, between the particular optics can be understood and discussed.
The three trajectories are established in the Network’s 5 workshop-seminar events. Here 3 of the 5 events relate to the Trajectory II: the ideal of the tectonic giving the partners an opportunity to explore digital fabrication in respect to the multiple crafts traditions that are embedded into the partnership. These engage directly with the differing tectonic systems of the joint, the mould and the bracing.
The relationships are discussed and framed in the Network’s 2 symposia inviting international researchers and practitioners to a broader field of research findings.
The key aim for the network is to consolidate the existing research within the area of Digital Crafting and allow for research exchanges and the forming of a solid collaborative environment. The network focuses on process, technique and theory. It combines experimental hands on approaches to relevant techniques and technologies with broader theoretical and historical framings as well as presentations of international state of the arts research inside the field of digital crafting. …
The aim is to allow the emergence of a general 3 phases:
Phase 1: Generate shared understanding of key research questions, techniques and technologies between network partners. Consolidate shared language and terminology.
Phase 2: Develop and expand the theoretical and practical knowledge and know-how of the network focusing on the relation between tectonic organisation, material properties and digital and analogue techniques. Develop common research inquiries.
Phase 3: Identify and develop shared research interests across the network. Consolidate the network, develop shared research inquiries to continue beyond the time frame of the ‘Digital Crafting’-network.
The symposia are open events directed at the network participants and invite the involved environments’ researchers and research students as well as other interested parties.
The seminar/workshops are closed events open only by invitation.
The network activities are structured around core 5 workshop/seminar events and two symposia.
The workshop/seminars are aimed strictly at the network focusing on specific theoretical, technical and practical research questions and potentials defined by the network. The workshop/seminars are sites for gaining as well as critically reflecting on experience and know-how in the field of Digital Crafting.
This build up is consolidated in two open symposia inviting international researchers representing state of the art research and findings to further frame and perspectivise the themes of the workshop/seminars and is aimed at the network but will open to a wider group of researchers, architects and students.
|
<urn:uuid:ee32ef30-be2b-40a3-81c9-f4120c8f5127>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.digitalcrafting.dk/?cat=4
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.925587
| 624
| 1.929688
| 2
|
Last week the Obama administration proposed banning the use of electronic cigarettes on airline flights, saying there is concern the smokeless cigarettes may be harmful. Puffing on e-cigarettes is already a no-no on flights, but the government wants there to be no doubt. The proposal would apply to all domestic airline flights, as well as scheduled flights of U.S. and foreign carriers to and from the U.S. E-cigarettes are powered by small lithium ion-batteries and are designed to deliver nicotine to the smoker in the form of a vapor. Experts say there is no possible harm to the public from smoking them, so this will likely be passionately debated as part of passenger rights. (Although, it seems highly unlikely to be adopted.) And for those of you wondering if the smoke detectors in airplane lavatories will sense e-cigarettes, I’m betting the answer is yes. After watching this video, it seems they smell pretty bad too.
Here’s some more travel news you can use:
- If you’re going to be flying during the holidays this year, here’s my advice to you: book early, then track your price on Yapta. Delta, American, and United-Continental are all eliminating flights on some routes this fall – and into next year. With fewer flights in the air, demand for seats will increase – and so will prices. Airlines say they must be careful not to fly with more seats than they can fill at a time when fuel costs are high and fretful travelers could postpone trips because of a still struggling economy.
- Airports aren’t just for flying anymore. Many are re-branding themselves as havens of customer service, picking up the slack from the airlines which pretty much abandoned perks and comforts. Here’s an article that highlights some of the “best oddball airport surprises and services.”
- United Airlines is taking another step in combining its frequent flier program with Continental’s – but the changes may get a mixed reception from travelers. United is boosting rewards only for people who buy some of the most expensive tickets, instead of just those who fly the most miles. The airline says it’s trying to make those expensive tickets more attractive. Also, miles in the combined program will expire after a year and a half. That will not be a change for United travelers. Continental had no expiration date, although accounts could go inactive after a year and a half if no new miles were earned.
|
<urn:uuid:6fa22b9d-2ea6-4121-bdab-fe774a48d8d1>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://blog.yapta.com/yapta/tag/e-smoking
|
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|
en
| 0.956825
| 515
| 2
| 2
|
Baking at elevated ambient temperature
From November 2009 newsletter
We have recently modified our test bakery to provide increased flexibility and control of bakery temperature and humidity. Bakeries in hot c limates, and also in the UK and other temperate climates in the summer, experience rises in temperature and humidity, which can impact on dough handling and bread quality. Test bakes can now be carried out over an ambient temperature range of 20°C to 40°C, with relative humidity ranging from 30% to 80%. This is facilitating our current research work into the effect of environmental factors on dough development and bread quality. The bakery is available to anyone wishing to carry out studies on the impact of the environment on their bakery products and processes.
|
<urn:uuid:1053d614-1d90-4250-a48b-88335df60342>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.campdenbri.co.uk/news/nov09d.php
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.932214
| 146
| 2.1875
| 2
|
Autumn has come to Central Florida. Windows sealed shut for months are finally open to the breeze. It's extra-blankets-at-night, long-sleeve-shirts-during-daytime weather. After a long, hot summer, there's a welcome crispness to the air.
Autumn is my favorite season. When I lived in Pennsylvania and later in Massachusetts, the transition from summer to fall was always dramatic. Bright red, orange and yellow leaves dazzled the eye, vying for attention. Puffs of smoke from fireplaces and wood-burning stoves filled the air with clouds and even a few minutes of outdoor time caused noses and cheeks to take on a ruddy hue.
Florida autumns are far more subtle and not nearly as chilly. Not only do they begin when Northern autumns are winding down, but they also do so in such a muted fashion that they're easy to miss unless you're paying attention.
Instead of brilliant colored leaves, amber and umber tones predominate with a scattering of deep scarlet and mottled greens. Florida autumn is the sunny yellow of cassia blooms and Mexican sunflowers growing alongside the coral-colored pods of golden rain trees.
When I walk outside, my ungloved fingers don't go numb as they would if I were back on Cape Cod. I can still be barefoot and even take a quick dip in the lake, although at 68 degrees, the water is no longer easy to get into.
Autumn in Florida is the season when native grasses go to seed. As I look out across the lake, I see the shimmery glow of broom sedge, wiregrass and dog fennel. Nearby, groundsel bushes boast fluffy white blooms while the plumes of goldenrod sway in the breeze.
I like to be outdoors in November. It's the perfect weather for taking long walks, working in the garden or going for a row. Throughout the summer, my aluminum rowboat sat on the shore, but as soon as the weather cooled down I found myself eager to be on the water. These days, as I stroke along from one end of the lake to the other, I absorb the view as if it were food and in a way, it is… the ultimate soul food.
Speaking of food, autumn is harvest time. In our garden sweet red peppers, leafy kale and green beans are ready to pick, and we look forward to the day (soon!) when the broccoli and tomatoes will be ready to eat. We season many of our meals with fresh-cut parsley, chives, basil and hot peppers. In the fruit department, we've been enjoying an autumn flush of figs and the oranges from our son's Minneola tangelo tree. One hand of bananas is hanging in the pantry with a few more still on the trees.
Unfortunately, our carambola and papaya trees are late in fruiting. Since it's doubtful they'll make it through winter, I spent time seeking out other sources. In older parts of town, I discovered a couple of trees covered with fruit that no one seemed to be picking. After receiving permission, Ralph and I returned to pick starfruit and papayas. It was almost as good as growing our own.
Other fruits are also in season, but rather than attract people, the ripening elderberries, fox grapes, holly berries and sumac seeds fulfill the needs of wildlife. Flocks of American goldfinch have made their annual autumnal appearance, as have the wild turkeys that meander by on most days. A pair of grebes have adopted our lake. Like the turkeys, the little grebes waited until the temperatures cooled down to show up. I didn't see them all summer, but since the beginning of November they've become a regular freshwater fixture.
Autumn has come to Central Florida. I don't care if it is two months later than most Northern autumns, and I don't mind if it puts on an entirely different kind of show than the traditional Northern fall. I love autumn and I always will. Fall in Florida is every bit as welcome and appreciated as any autumn of my youth. It might even be more so because its many differences make it special.
Sherry Boas can be reached at simplyliving@
beautifulbamboo.com. Her columns can be found online at OrlandoSentinel.com/
|
<urn:uuid:b4026156-4cfa-42bf-a4d8-476e1f09f692>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-sherry-boas-111212-20121112,0,5249580.column
|
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|
en
| 0.967753
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| 1.5
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|
Polar Frontier to Open Thursday, May 6
Media Alert: Thursday, April 01, 2010
April 1, 2010
Associate Zoo Director Community Relations
WHAT: The media is invited to preview the Columbus Zoo’s polar bears in their outdoor habitat at Polar Frontier which opens to the public on May 6, 2010. The polar bears arrived at the Columbus Zoo on Friday, February 19 and have been adjusting to their indoor surroundings while work on their outdoor habitat was completed.
WHO: Polar bears “Aurora” and “Anana” are three-year-old sisters. They were born at the Toledo Zoo on November 25, 2006 and lived at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium from December 2008 until coming to the Columbus Zoo. The name “Aurora” is in reference to the northern polar lights and “Anana” is an Inuit word meaning “pretty”.
WHEN: The media is invited to see the polar bears in their Polar Frontier outdoor habitats on Friday, April 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Video footage and still images of the bears are also available.
WHERE: Media should come to the Zoo’s Business Office located on Jerry Borin Trace north of the Zoo. Zoo staff will be available to assist with getting everyone to the habitat and arrange interviews. Please call in advance so we can escort you to the habitat as quickly as possible.
WHY: Polar Frontier represents a long-abandoned mining town and will draw guests into the Arctic Circle; connecting them to the animals that live in some of the coldest climates in the world. In addition to polar bears, Polar Frontier will include brown bears and Arctic fox.
The polar bear habitat features a 1.32-acre yard with two pools, smell ports, dig pits and shelters. The still pool is 167,000 gallons and visitors can view the bears from above, at eye-level, and below (imagine having a polar bear swimming over your head!) The other pool is a surge pool with a tidal effect, providing enrichment with various depths and moving water.
The $20-million attraction is made possible due to the generosity of Franklin County residents and funds raised through a county property tax levy. Corporate and private contributions include significant gifts from Battelle, Nationwide, the David C. Goss family, and the Ed and Ellen Klopfer family.
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is open 363 days of the year 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. after Labor Day. General admission is $12.99 for adults, $7.99 for children ages 2 to 9 and seniors 60+. Children under 2 and Columbus Zoo members are free. The Zoo was named the #1 Zoo in America by USA Travel Guide and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA.) For more information and to purchase advance Zoo admission tickets, visit www.columbuszoo.org.
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“We live together, you and I, in a dark time when all official history is propaganda. If you want truth, you have to struggle for it. This is my struggle. Let me bear witness to what I have seen.”
This is a direct quote from John Taylor Gatto’s The Underground History of American Education, which he wrote after he taught school for 30 years in Manhattan –years of honors and community involvement — quite a phenomenal career. And then during his reign as New York State Teacher of the Year, it all ended abruptly. He quit.
I’m only about a tenth of the way into his book, but already I’m disturbed and deeply alarmed by what his research reveals about the ideas and motives that shaped our government schools over the past 200 years. We send our kids off to school expecting them to become smarter, but he argues, our modern schools were purposely designed to keep us dumb.
Yes, that’s right. To keep us dumb.
When our nation was born, Gatto says,
“…there was no heredity order…We were a nation awash in literate, self-reliant men and women, the vast majority with an independent livelihood or ambitions toward getting one. Americans were inventors and technicians without precedent, entrepreneurs unlocked from traditional controls, dreamers, confidence men, flim-flam artists. There never was a social stew quite like it.”
But even 200 years ago, there was a great temptation to “bend the mass population into an instrument of the elite will.” A man, Andrew Bell, brought back to America a Hindu model designed to preserve the caste system by retarding intellectual development and leading students to “docile cooperation, like parts of a machine.”
Throughout the 19th century, Gatto explains, education became more and more popular in its various forms as the benefits of learning spread across America. America was the best-educated nation in human history because it was the most free.
This free individualistic environment produced entrepreneurs like Thomas Edison, who incidently started a successful business at 12-years old (19th century) and amazing individuals like Benjamin Franklin, who left school at 10 years old, only to become one of the most successful businessman, scientist and writer (18th century) of his time
But things changed at the turn of the 20th century when the idea to force schooling and to impose the ideal of subordination and an old belief in hierarchies came into play. Powerful, wealthy business men of the Industrial Age (Gatto names Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockfeller and Henry Ford) joined forces with the political & educational elite to force American parents to send their children to school for the purpose of creating more productive factories, bringing about economic stability and a gaining a national competitive advantage. Gatto states:
“At first, the primary target was the tradition of independent livelihoods in America. Unless Yankee entrepreneurialism could be extinguished, at least among the common population, the immense capital investments that mass production industry required for equipment weren’t conceivably justifiable. Students were to learn to think of themselves as employees competing for the favor of management. Not as Franklin or Edison had once regarded themselves, as self-determined, free agents.
Only by a massive psychological campaign could the menace of overproduction in America be contained. That’s what important men and academics called it. The ability of Americans to think as independent producers had to be curtailed.”
And as history shows…curtail it they did. It’s ironic that these big industries now are begging our government to bail them out while our children are wasting away with mindless activities and consumerism. It’s not surprising though…nor a coincidence that the erosion of our freedoms has taken its toll on the character of our people and shaken the foundation of our economy. The industries’ success was built on handshakes of the elite and the intellectual sacrifice of American children. They are still banking on us being stupid enough to think they are “too big to fail.”
You may not be able to change our government’s education system, but you can believe in the potential of the kids in your circles, and you can help shape their minds. When you look at your 10-year old, remember self-educated Ben Franklin, who went on to publish Poor Richard’s Almanac, speak with kings and raise money for the American Revolution. When you see your 12-year old selling bracelets, remember Thomas Edison started a newspaper at 12-years old and acquired 500 subscribers. Not bad for a kid! Then went on to be one of America’s greatest renown inventors.
Edison and Franklin’s parents would be jailed today if they allowed their sons the freedom it took to achieve all that they did. Think about that.
Do not underestimate the intelligence of our children. They are capable of learning about business. Remember, the school systems were not designed to create business leaders, they were designed to create employees only…to make the factories more productive. But we know our children deserve more.
Reference: The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto
Tagged: history american education entrepreneurs America
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Financial Status, Corporate Governance Quality, and the Likelihood of Managers Using Discretionary Accruals
Suffolk University - Sawyer School of Management
Harlan D. Platt
September 1, 2009
Accounting Research Journal, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 93-117
We investigate, using data on US manufacturing firms, how and when corporate governance affects managers’ decisions to use discretionary accruals and thereby artificially influence company financial reports. We employ 3SLS to study the relationship between financial status, corporate governance and financial reporting discretion. The sample spans years 2001 to 2003 during a severe downturn in the US stock market. Financial status is measured with the Altman-Z score (Altman, 1968). A significant difference is found between firms not classified as healthy or failed (i.e., the mid-range group) and the two extreme categories when examining governance quotient using a well known index. A positive relationship is found between discretionary accruals and the governance index. Strong governance appears to reduce the incidence of mid-range firms engaging in accruals management. The least healthy and the most distressed companies have the weakest relationship with discretionary accruals. By contrast, mid-range firms are more likely to resort to discretionary accruals. Non-executive members of boards of directors are warned to be particularly vigilant about discretionary accruals with firms transitioning between healthy and high failure risk. The relationship between firms’ financial health and discretionary accruals reveals an agency problem in credit markets with financially stressed firms. More attention is required on firms whose financial condition is uncertain. Also, we document significant findings of importance to the earnings quality and corporate governance literature by documenting the role of corporate governance on discretionary accruals and financial status.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 47
Keywords: Financial Health, Earnings Management, Altman-Z, Simultaneous Relationship, Corporate Governance
JEL Classification: M41, M43, C15, G32, G33, E32Accepted Paper Series
Date posted: June 11, 2008 ; Last revised: December 5, 2012
© 2013 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Throw your plans out the window. We scoured the state in search of the top events and offerings, from South by Southwest in Austin to "Mythbusters" in Grand Prairie. Here’s our super select guide to the things you absolutely can’t afford to miss.
[March 9–March 15]
The Papers Trail
Arizona legislators have followed their controversial immigration policies with the passage of House Bill 2218, which prohibits schools in their state from teaching certain ethnic studies for fear they might promote, among other things, the overthrow of the United States government. As a result, a number of books by Latino authors are being taken out of the classroom, including The House on Mango Street , the bildungsroman by the San Antonio writer Sandra Cisneros. “I’ve read The House on Mango Street twenty times, and I have not read where the young protagonist, Esperanza, said a word about overthrowing the government,” said Tony Diaz, who has organized the Librotraficante project to restore these books to Arizona classrooms. “They’re playing with words and thoughts and sabotaging the American Dream for our young.” Join Diaz’s cadre of free-speech advocates as they caravan from Houston (with a symbolic send-off at the Alamo, in San Antonio) to Tucson, establishing “underground libraries” along the way that comprise these banned titles. Cisneros and a fellow Texas writer, Dagoberto Gilb, whose books Woodcuts of Women: Stories and The Magic of Blood are getting the same treatment, will read and conduct writing workshops. This is your chance to join a revolution. “We’re not violent,” Diaz said. “We’re a bunch of book nerds.”
The Alamo, March 12, 4 p.m. librotraficante.com
People used to attend South by Southwest for the music. They still do, but now the festival draws as many people, if not more, to its film and interactive sessions. In a culture where social currency is wielded by the early adoption of the next big thing, people can’t afford to miss even one of these ten days at the center of the universe. But ultimately, your experience will be measured by what bands you see. This year includes a bunch of superstars. Bruce Springsteen will play an intimate set, Jack White will host a showcase, and Jay-Z will rap at a party for a credit card company. Also, Arcade Fire, though not confirmed, would seem a sure-thing since the band is speaking about Haiti at the University of Texas the Monday after the close of the festival. These sets will be hot tickets, and unless you know someone in the band or someone who runs the festival, you won’t get in. But the beauty is that the next incarnation of these acts could be just around the corner.
Various locations, March 9-18, various times. sxsw.com
What Is Art?
The Houston International Performance Art Biennale will allow the artist Nestor Topchy to do something he has long wanted to do: use his fourteen years as a Judoka (a person who performs Judo) to make a twenty-foot-by-twenty-foot “action” painting. “Me and another Judoka will each be a brush,” Topchy said. “Where we land on the canvas, the impact will create the print.” Topchy is the co-creator of this debut extravaganza of innovative role-playing that will unfurl over the weekend like a Matthew Barney “Cremaster” movie. What you witness will be bewildering and perhaps you’ll be looking around the room to see if you are the only one who is about to burst out laughing at the entertainers’ wild machinations. “If there were any shaman left in the modern world,” Topchy said, “they would be performance artists.”
Various locations. March 9-10, various times. lonestarexplosion.org
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, the hosts of “Mythbusters,” the popular Discovery Channel show that demystifies science and makes it fun, carry out experiments that appeal to brows both high and low. They have traveled to the White House to test the Archimedes solar ray myth with President Obama, and they have appeared on an episode of the “The Simpsons” to get to the bottom of whether or not cats really do land on their feet. At shows on their “Behind the Myths” tour, Savage and Hyneman will enlist some lucky audience members to join them onstage to probe even deeper than usual.
Verizon Theatre, March 12, 8 p.m. mythbusterstour.com
The Dolly Show
Before “American Pickers,” there was Dolly Johnson, who drove across the country in her station wagon dubbed Uncle Sam in pursuit of Americana collectibles; and while she is no longer with us, her spirit and keen eye are channeled through the Dolly Johnson Antique & Art Show.
Will Rogers Memorial Center, March 9-10, 9 a.m. dollyjohnsonantiqueandartshow.com
Smoke on the Waters
We all need a good gross-out to affirm our morality, and a night in a 97-seat theater with the filmmaker John Waters for his show “This Filthy World: Filthier and Dirtier,” will take you to the outer limits of temperance.
Diverseworks, March 14, 8:30 p.m. diverseworks.org
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The WRITE Institute is a National Academic Excellence model for sustained professional development in writing. WRITE establishes partnerships with schools, districts, and county offices of education to improve student achievement by building teacher efficacy and skills in the instruction of writing.
WRITE’s integrated curriculum and assessment, aligned with state standards, prepare English Learners and struggling students to write effectively and think critically. This differentiated program for grades K-12 has evolved to support not only the acquisition of academic language for English learners, but also to promote the academic writing that all students need to achieve.
WRITE trainings are offered each year. Please contact the Multilingual Education office regarding class schedules.
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October 1st, 2007
In the latest edition of Health Affairs and at the journal’s recent Washington briefing, “caring for the vulnerable” was the major agenda. It was a bittersweet occasion. Health Affairs deserves much credit for challenging us on how well we care for the vulnerable.
However. “Caring for the vulnerable” is an important mission, like the heroic efforts of an emergency room staff or emergency responders. “Reducing personal vulnerability” is the most important mission, more like high performance, outcomes-driven, public health addressing health and its determinants. That change in primary focus is what the next 25 years can and must be about.
But changing the focus is not enough. For the past 25-plus years, policies and programs helping people have struggled. The people we wanted to help were complex individuals. Unfortunately, the policy making and program development generally addressed only sets of people with a common characteristic (for example, old age; disability; poor housing; poverty; lack of education; a specific illness; or racial or ethnic status).
Not surprisingly, most policies and programs either failed or produced relatively limited success. Valuable resources were wasted. Important needs were unmet.
Again, the next 25 years can and must be different and better. A new model needs to be put into play that greatly improves the policies and programs we so desperately need. Does such a “reducing vulnerability” model or set of models exist? Why haven’t we used them before now? What makes them better? Are they truly ready for “prime time”?
Fuller answers to these questions will come in another venue, but let me respond with the basics. The underlying models and tools for addressing outcomes, human behavior, and personal and external factors have existed for over 30 years. Only recently have these been integrated into operational models for reducing vulnerability.
So, why haven’t they been used? A key limitation to their use has been the lack of necessary data on personal and external factors to drive the models and their application for policies and programs. In addition, they have been restricted by our limited knowledge of human behavior and its determinants. Further, policymakers have been more comfortable with simpler models focusing on single issues.
Why are these models better? First, they are person-centered models where the analysis and the policy/program design are focused on individuals. In the case of the United States, that is as many as 300 million very different individuals. Second, they address human behavior as integral to the success of any policy or program. Much progress has been made in this area with much more yet to come.
Third, they can handle multiple issues simultaneously in a more comprehensive and systematic way. This helps us better target and coordinate the use of scarce resources. Fourth, they are outcomes-oriented while incorporating the processes and measures producing those outcomes.
But are they really ready for “prime time”? My cynical reply is: “Compared to what?” Sadly, the current models have repeatedly demonstrated they are not sufficiently successful in “prime time.” In any case, we are not discarding current policy and program models; we are going to use the best of them in a more integrated, systematic, person-centered way.
To more directly answer the question, “reducing vulnerability” models are ready for “prime time”. First, they and their underlying models have existed and been used for some time. We are just using them better and more systematically. Second, the individual-level data (subject to strong privacy protection) are sufficient to begin while we continue to develop better data. Third, the human-behavior models are sufficient to start but need to get much better. Fourth, these models are capable today of helping us more successfully tackle multiple issues within and across individuals.
Again, Health Affairs deserves much credit for 25 years of shining light on the vulnerability issue. But, it is the next 25 years over which reducing vulnerability can really happen. I trust that Health Affairs is in this for the long haul and for truly reducing vulnerability in America and beyond.Email This Post Print This Post
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If you currently considering buying a house from a developer or real estate company, an opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint of your home. Rather than abusive or ill-advised home-mortgage terms, you can use this credit to finance the long-term benefits of renewable-energy sources. Tax credits aimed at stimulating the housing market can be used to invest in reducing your home’s energy consumption and monthly utility. Plus, it’s still a buyer’s market out there, and you shouldn’t close on a house without an evaluation of the home’s overall energy-efficiency.
Similarly, if you improve your home, you should consider using materials that are environmentally friendly and can reduce carbon production. Go to any home improvement store, and you’ll find aisles reserved for green building materials.
For flooring use the green material like: Cork floor, Bamboo flooring, Recylced Carpeting, or Linoleum Flooring. Green floors are typically made from renewable or recycled products. These non-toxic flooring materials are said to be safe for the environment and for people, and can be installed in an eco-friendly manner without harmful gas emissions.
For home buyers with a solid credit rating, a standard 2.5kW solar-powered electric system might add between $100-$115/month to your mortgage. Meanwhile, you might easily save this money or more each month by reducing your electric bill. The cost and rewards for geothermal systems can be even more wide-ranging with some estimates suggesting the added cost to your mortgage might be as low as $20-$30/month and generate savings up to $75-$100/month. Naturally. These figures do not apply to every home, otherwise conventional heating and cooling systems would be nearly dead by now, but many homes and homeowners do have this potential and fail to realize it.
Only some basic things you need to know about washing machines when you shop. First, you’ll need to decide whether you want a front load model or a top loading model. Energy efficient front load models use about 2/3 of the amount of water that a cheaper, top loading washer uses to clean the same amount of clothes. Whether you’re concerned about your pocket book or the environment, investing in a front loading washer is an excellent decision. These washers do come with a higher initial price tag, but when you consider energy and water savings, that front loading washer is going to pay for itself as the years go by. Other options that will make your life easier. Automatic temperature controls and water level controls make for a more efficient appliance, and features like automatic detergent dispensers and timers make a more efficient life for you as well.
A dryer isn’t nearly as complex of a machine when it comes to washers and dryers. Basically they consist of a huge, heated tumbler that vents moisture out through a dryer vent as it dries your clothes. Your biggest decision here is going to be whether to choose a gas or electric model. Gas models are more expensive initially, and they are more efficient. Again, purchasing a gas-powered dryer is one of those investments that is going to pay for itself over the life of the machine when it comes to energy savings. Finally, look for a dryer that has either a moisture sensor or a thermostat that regulates interior temperature. These features allow the clothes dryer to gradually decrease heat and energy consumption over the course of the drying cycle. It adds years to the life of your appliance, and it is much easier on your clothes, meaning you’ll save money on both energy bills and clothes purchases over the long run.
Washing Machine Maintenance and Dryer Tips
Washers and dryers require regular maintenance to ensure they operate properly and safely. With washing machine maintenance, the best thing you can do is check the rubber hoses from time to time for any sign of wear and tear. Often, small blisters or cracks develop in the rubber, which can rupture and lead to flooding and severe water damage to your home. Most manufacturers recommend replacing the hoses every five years, whether it’s needed or not. If your hoses are more than five years old, it’s probably a good idea to call in an appliance repairman to come and switch the old hoses out.
Other washing machine maintenance chores are more spot repairs than preventative measures. Motors, switches, pulleys, timers, agitators, and a host of other parts will wear out over time. Calling in an appliance repairman to fix these washing machine maintenance problems is your best bet, especially if you need to get your washer and dryer up and running as quickly as possible, which is usually the case.
When it comes to the dryer half of your washer and dryer setup, the main thing is keeping it clean of lint and making sure your unit is well-vented. Always install aluminum or metal venting hose, never plastic, to reduce fire hazard, and have your dryer vent hose cleaned out once a year to remove lint buildup. Besides those basic maintenance tasks, there’s not much you can do except call in a repairman when more critical parts breakdown
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UIL Essay Contests
Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition
(Entry Form now available)
Latino History Essay Competition
(Entry form now available)
Download Promotional Flyers
ENTRY FORMS NOW AVAILABLE. See home page for each contest.
UIL Academics is proud to sponsor two essay competitions that provide exciting opportunities for students to explore the contributions of historically underrepresented groups to the history and culture of Texas. With a focus on original research and the use of primary sources, students are encouraged to look to their own communities in finding topics for their essays.
Both competitions are open to all students in grades 9-12 attending UIL member high schools. All entries submitted according to contest guidelines will be evaluated by experienced judges. State finalists will be selected from the entries submitted for each competition. Students selected as state finalists will be considered for state awards and have the opportunity to have their work added to the historical record of the state of Texas. All students selected as state finalists will also become eligible to apply for TILF scholarships; the TILF program provides dozens of scholarship opportunities each year.
Specific guidelines for entries are provided on the page for each competition as specified below.
Founded in 1995 as an event sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin, the Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition moved to its new home with UIL Academics in 2011-2012. The competition provides students an opportunity to explore the contributions of African Americans to Texas history, as well as honoring the legacy of its namesake, Barbara Jordan. The theme of the competition is "African Americans in Texas: Past and Present."
Founded in 2011 by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at UT-Austin, the Latino History Essay Competition has found a new home with UIL Academics beginning with the 2012-2013 school year. In its initial year the competition was open to students in South Texas; beginning with 2012-2013 entries will be accepted from students statewide. The theme of the competition is "historical and cultural legacies of Latinos in Texas history."
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Is modern life in western societies too complex? Are there just too many choices out there? Have we completely over-complicated what could otherwise be a much more simple and meaningful life? Do less modern societies actually have it better, at least in some ways, than more modern societies?
Humans seem destined to "progress" towards some unknown idea of "better". And built in to that progress, is the idea that life will somehow be better, that we will reach some point where we are happy, or satisfied. On the other hand, there are many people who seemingly have what others can only dream about (I'm not talking about wealth). They have some sense of satisfaction, or some sense of a connection with themselves that allows them to be satisfied with their lives.
We are also saddled with the cultural pressure to "succeed". But the definition of success that is most strongly portrayed and worshipped, is monetary wealth and material possessions. So, as a result, so many of us chase that goal, erroneously thinking we will find happiness.
On the philosophical side, we have all heard, repeatedly, that happiness is within and should be embraced. But that is nebulous, and unsatisfying. It is elusive to many for various reasons, obviously.
Personally, I can take inventory and feel good about where I am at. But simultaneously, I can easily complain about what I have not been able to accomplish. Without the litany of excuses, I can only say that I simply failed to persist towards those things that I thought were so important. Most of them turned out to be hobbies at best, but a few remain troubling to me.
I have indeed wished I could take another shot at it!
As far as the future, technically I have lived 2/3 of my life. I'm 50 this year, and I suppose I could live another 30 if I stay healthy and lucky. What can I do to fill some of the gaps I feel today? I don't really know, but I think about it a lot. Thanks for the gentle reminder!
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Near the Coast of Peru
1966 October 17 21:41 UTC
This earthquake, centering just off the coast from Callao, claimed about 125 lives and injured some 3,000 persons. The town of Huacho was the most severely damaged with over 20,000 inhabitants left homeless. A religious festival was being held in Callao and several were killed when some of the churches collapsed. One street in this city was split by a chasm several feet wide. In Lima, 2,300 houses suffered severe structural damage. Cars were tossed about, cornices plunged into streets, and traffic was snarled for hours. Landslides and huge ground cracks were reported along the Pan American Highway north of Ancon. This shock generated a tsunami with heights of 11.3 feet at La Punta-Callao.
Abridged from Earthquake Information Bulletin, Volume 1, Number 1, March 1967, and United States Earthquakes, 1966.
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Opposition leaders in eastern Congo are planning to protest the disputed re-election of President Joseph Kabila beginning Tuesday morning. And while organizers say the protests will be peaceful, some opposition supporters say they fear rallies will spark violence.
Protesters around the world, and in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, have been holding rallies since before the November 28 vote that opposition leaders called a "mock election."
Tuesday, opposition supporters in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, a war-torn eastern province, plan to march on the electoral commission and the governor’s office. Protesters say they will demand the government recognize the authority of Etienne Tshisekedi, the self-proclaimed elected president of Congo.
Rubens Mikindo is a leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress party in Goma. It is the party of Mr. Tshisekedi, who finished second in the official ballot count, with 32 percent of the vote. Mr. Kabila won with 49 percent.
Mikindo says the police and local authorities are prepared for the rally, and protesters will be protected by the considerable show of military might already on the streets of Goma.
He says supporters of Mr. Tshisekedi will be joined by members of the Union for the Nation of Congo, the party of Vital Kamerhe, who came in third in the presidential race with 7.7 percent of the vote. Other, smaller parties will take part as well. Mikindo says protesters have been instructed to be peaceful, and not damage any properties. He says does not know how many people may attend.
Other opposition officials say despite their non-violent intentions there is no guarantee the day will end without incident. They say rallies will continue throughout the week and beyond.
But behind a tin door in one of Goma’s many slums, some opposition supporters say protests in Goma will not remain peaceful in this province, where conflict involving rebel groups, militias and the government still rages in the countryside. Fifty-eight-year-old Felix Badila says he is angered by Mr. Kabila’s election, but he will not join the protests.
Badila says he fears any protests will not remain calm, and security forces will react in kind. On Sunday, Congolese officials said they were prepared to deal "harshly" with anyone caught disturbing the peace.
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Once in a while a good computer security scare comes along that has all the makings of a taut Cold War spy thriller and the latest news of a global computer espionage ring is one such story.
A new report entitled “Tracking GhostNet: Investigating a Cyber Espionage Network,” argues that poorly defended computers used by government and private organizations in 103 nations may have been violated. The study has attracted widespread media attention after a New York Times story about it at the weekend.
The study by a group of activist researchers based in Toronto called “Information Warfare Monitor” says computers in various foreign ministries, embassies and Taiwanese trade groups have been pilfered by computers located at a Chinese government intelligence center on the island of Hainan. A computer in the private offices of the Dalai Lama was infected and e-mail lists and negotiating documents were stolen using a virus that “phoned home” to its controller, it alleges.
Data retrieved in the attacks appears to have been used to rein in Tibetan critics of China. But the report has trouble pinning the theft of computer secrets back to the Chinese government. It is also unclear how much information of value was gathered, outside a handful of instances. It conflates evidence of sniffing with acts of actual snooping.
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April 30, 2011
When you reach the end, start again.
I’ve been reading about acrostics here. And writing some:
My body relaxes to the pleasant,
Suddenly, a clash of cymbals, a burst of trumpets.
Is something the matter?
Calm returns with the strings.
Can I do it?
Have I the stamina to stick to it for
A whole month?
Lovely idea, but is it possible for
Every letter in the alphabet?
Never skipping one? Not even X?
Go for it!
Thank you for following my A to Z Challenge. I’ve enjoyed it.
April 29, 2011
(continued from yesterday)
Is life a zig-zag path, with many diversions but always leading to your destination?
Zig-Zag Path, Bournemouth
Yes – that’s it.
Please return tomorrow…
April 28, 2011
Is life a yoyo with its ups and downs, a game that we eventually lose when we can’t rise up any more?
Or… (continued tomorrow)
April 27, 2011
I’m ashamed to say that, despite having a degree in Maths, I remember very little of it now. But one thing I remember is that x is the first unknown factor in an equation.
In the equation of our lives, the unknown factor is the future. We don’t know what will happen to us. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying to influence it. And somewhere in my future, I am going to make lots and lots of people aware of social anxiety.
I hope that starts soon … now?
April 26, 2011
What would you think if you saw a grown man hugging a teddy bear in a train? Would you think it was weird? What would you do about it?
I would think it was weird. I would wonder what problems this man has that cause him to do something most adults grew out of long ago. I certainly wouldn’t do anything. Why should I?
Someone in the train with this man hit the teddy in the face. The man burst out crying.
The man suffers from acute anxiety. In this case, his anxiety was intensified by the fact that the train was delayed at a station for nine minutes. Why? I don’t know. I don’t know enough to even attempt to understand. When his anxiety escalates, it comforts him to hug the teddy.
Why do people who don’t understand have to interfere? Why can’t they leave others alone?
April 25, 2011
I learned to play the violin when I was a child. I was quite good at it. I passed exams and became the leader of my school orchestra. I haven’t played for ages. Perhaps I should. It would be hard but enjoyable, I think.
If I’d got round to scanning in the photos I acquired recently, I could have posted one of me playing the violin. Time to get started on that, too.
Are there any activities you’d like to take up again?
April 24, 2011
Posted by Miriam under Social anxiety 1 Comment
“The best years of your life.” Is that how you view university? Wild parties? Getting drunk? Leaving studying for all-nighters?
That wasn’t my experience. But I still enjoyed my three years at uni. I was lucky enough to find some real friends for the first time in my life. I’m still in touch with them.
Many students with social anxiety have a terrible time at uni. I know that because I’ve been on social anxiety forums where they write about their troubles. They’re shunned by fellow students and spend their time alone in their rooms. They worry themselves sick when they have to give a presentation. Many of them drop out.
It seems such a shame. If only they could get some help, their university experiences would be infinitely better.
April 23, 2011
I wrote this comment recently on Catdownunder’s blog when she wrote about the joys of Twitter:
When you suffer from social anxiety, Twitter gives you an opportunity to feel as competent as the people you’re chatting to. Well, almost.
Almost, because I still worry that what I write doesn’t really express what I want to say. Or that what I write could be deemed rude or weird or something else I don’t intend. Or that the person I’m chatting with doesn’t really want to chat with me. So I often take too long to reply.
But yes, I like Twitter, and Facebook, and emails, and blog comments. I like the interaction that I miss or struggle with in the real world.
April 22, 2011
Spring has Sprung.
The Sun is Shining.
Songs make me Smile.
I’m Stuck with SA.
Well, nothing’s perfect, but mostly things are Satisfactory. Sometimes they’re even Super and Splendid.
See you tomorrow with T for terrible… tragic… troubled. Or none of those.
April 21, 2011
During the two years I’ve been blogging, I’ve posted a few rhymes which you can see by clicking the Rhymes category on the right.
Most of them were just a bit of fun. Only one of them really says something. In fact, it says it all:
The voice in my head shouts out loud,
But its sound isn’t heard by the rest of the crowd.
The voice in my head speaks in no tongue,
And yet its caustic words have stung.
The voice in my head says I’m stupid and dumb.
The voice in my head says I interest no one.
I try to tell it it’s got it all wrong,
But the voice in my head just sounds the gong.
“Go back,” it says, “And hide away.
Nobody wants to hear you today.”
Next Page »
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For dive fanatics, the name Kadidiri Island is a familiar leading destination in Indonesia, although it is as yet still little known outside the diving community. Located at the tip of the Gulf of Tomini in Central Sulawesi, Kadidiri is one of the islands in the Togean National Park that contains the wealth of the Coral Triangle.
With white sand beaches and astonishingly glassy water, Kadidiri’s exotic beauty and charm make it one of the key tourist destinations of the area. Kadidiri is a paradise for divers for its stunning underwater landscapes, rich coral reefs and exquisite marine life. The waters surrounding Kadidiri support over a thousand species of sea creatures, many of which are endangered and protected.
The Togean Islands were formed by volcanic activity, and are covered in dense rainforests, bordered by ancient coral reef formations. The islands are an extremely remote paradise, consisting of 56 nearly-uninhabited islands that have managed to preserve a natural elegance, not yet spoiled by man. The Togean Archipelago is not easy to get to, but anyone willing to make the effort will be more than rewarded with everything you would expect from such a hard-to-reach destination—and more! Ultimate seclusion, endless relaxation, and superb diving and snorkelling that may very well be the best found in Indonesia if not the world.
Situated in the Coral Triangle that stretches from the Philippines and East Malaysia through the Indonesian archipelago to Timor Leste and on to the Solomon Islands, the Togeans are the only islands in Indonesia where all major reef types can be found in one place: atolls, barrier, and fringing reefs.
The reefs are in excellent condition and sustain an almost impossibly abundant marine life. Parrot fish, banner fish, moonfish, starfish, blue banded sea-snakes, and spotted stingrays are just a few of species you may encounter in the ankle-deep waters, barely a few meters from the coast. For more advanced divers, eager to head further out to sea, sightings of sea turtles, black-tail barracudas and blue marlins are fairly common. If you’re patient (or lucky) enough, the scalloped Hammerhead Shark may even pay a visit. Another popular dive site is the wreck of an American B24 bomber from WWII. The plane is for the most part intact, and is home to nudibranchs, lion fish, and huge schools of jackfish.
As the Togean Islands are part of the National Marine Park, no fishing is allowed at any of the resorts or diving areas. Fishing charters can be arranged to take you out of the “no take” zone, though preferably on a catch and release basis. Spear fishing is not permitted anywhere in the Marine Park.
Kadidiri’s unique ecology is not limited to beneath the surface of the water. Beyond the beaches, creatures of land and air roam freely. The thick forests are habitat to monkeys, pig deer, Sulawesi hornbill and parrots, just to name a few. If you dare to venture into the forests by night, you may even spot the giant, tree-climbing Coconut Crab. Coconut Crabs are the largest living land arthropods in the world, and have a leg span that can reach up to 3 feet. In 2008, a new species of bird was discovered on the island—literally living proof of the islands well-preserved environment.
The best time to visit is in the dry season between April and November, during which, visibility can reach up to 40 meter
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Several books and surveys contain results on planar graphs. We refer, for example, to Tutte [Tu84]. Algorithmic aspects are treated in [NC88, Wi85, Ya95]. Kelmans' survey [Ke93] includes material that has been published only in Russian journals. Of course, the Four Color Problem, which is the subject of the monographs [AH89, Ore67, SK77], involves some theory on planar graphs.
In this chapter we concentrate on a few fundamental results which are useful when going to higher surfaces. We also present rigorous proofs of the topological prerequisites for studying graphs in the plane and on surfaces beginning with the Jordan Curve Theorem, which says that a simple closed curve in the Euclidean plane partitions the plane into precisely two parts: the interior and the exterior part of the plane. Although this fundamental result seems intuitively obvious, it is fascinatingly difficult to prove. There are several proofs in the literature. A relatively elementary proof (involving only approximation with polygons) has been published by Tverberg [Tv80]. Our proof is taken from [Th92]. Apart from very basic point set topology and a few simple properties of the plane, it uses only basic tools from graph theory. The properties of the plane needed in our proof are that R2 is an arcwise connected Hausdorff space, that K3,3 cannot be embedded in R2, and that no simple arc separates R2. These properties are indeed sufficient for every simple closed curve in a topological space X to separate X as shown in [Th90a]. These ideas are used in [Th90d] to obtain a characterization of the 2-sphere in terms of Jordan curve separation. They are presented in Section 2.10.
We also present the short proof by Thomassen [Th92] of the Jordan-Schoenflies Theorem which says that a homeomorphism of a simple closed curve in the plane onto a circle in the plane can be extended to a homeomorphism of the entire plane. Again, this result seems intuitively clear but a rigorous proof involves a number of technical details. While the Jordan Curve Theorem is also valid for spheres in R3, the Jordan-Schoenflies Theorem does not extend to R3 (as shown by the so-called Alexander Horned Sphere, see, e.g., Moise [Mo77]).
Sections 2.3 - 2.8 give basic combinatorial and geometric results about planar graphs: We present a short proof of Kuratowski's Theorem which characterizes planar graphs in terms of forbidden subgraphs. Several other characterizations of planar graphs are presented. We establish many properties of planar graphs and discuss various kinds of representations of planar graphs. In Section 2.8 we give a proof of the Koebe-Andreev-Thurston Circle Packing Theorem in a very strong primal dual version due to Brightwell and Scheinerman [BS93]. This result has important applications. In particular, a short proof of Steinitz' theorem is derived. In Section 2.9 we indicate how Rodin and Sullivan [RS87] used it to give a simpler constructive proof of the Riemann Mapping Theorem.
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This is an excerpt from quite possibly the geekiest forensic pathology article I have ever read. Three pathologists discuss the physics of how a Mexican coin ended up in the brain of a dead shooting victim.
They speculate he may have been holding it in his hand while shielding his head and the bullet impacted on the coin and both ended up deep in the brain. Oh, but with maths.
The images on the left are an artist’s reconstruction of the position of the man when shot and the path of the bullet, and a photo of the coin in the dead man’s brain.
Items that become accessory or secondary projectiles usually possess a minimal amount of energy, producing superficial or insignificant wounds. The secondary projectile in this case, a coin, gained sufficient kinetic energy to penetrate the scalp, skull, and brain. We believe the coin was being held by the decedent in his left hand next to his head at the time of the shooting. The bullet passed through the hand, producing the described injury and picking up the coin as a secondary projectile before entering the head.
The coin, a 1970 Mexican 50-centavo piece, was 25 mm in diameter with a weight of 6.4 g. In comparison, the diameter of a 1970 U.S. quarter dollar coin is 24.3 mm with a weight of 5.6 g. Both coins contain a mixture of copper and nickel, and the U.S. coin is coated with silver. The mixture of nickel and copper is relatively soft and permits deformation, as seen in this case. The primary projectile, a .380-caliber automatic Colt pistol 9- √ó 17-mm Winchester Silvertip bullet, weighs 5.1 g, with a rated muzzle velocity of 304 m/second (1000 feet/second). The mass of the conjoined projectile more than doubled with addition of the coin, yet retained sufficient velocity to produce the described lethal injury.
We attempted to see if this would be theoretically possible using some simple physical principles. Under ideal conditions, this event represents a form of an inelastic collision. We assumed that there was conservation of momentum between the oncoming bullet and the departing conjoined bullet-coin mass that subsequently penetrated the skull and brain. If momentum is conserved during this collision, then the mass of the bullet multiplied by its velocity would equal the mass of the conjoined bullet and 50-centavo coin multiplied by their departing velocity. The velocity of the bullet just prior to striking the coin is unknown and could not be determined.
For our calculations, we used the known muzzle velocity of this ammunition, understanding the limitations of such an assumption. We also calculated the kinetic energy and momentum of the oncoming bullet and exiting conjoined bullet-coin before and after collision. The results indicate two things: as expected in an inelastic collision, the kinetic energy of the conjoined bullet and coin is much less than that of the oncoming bullet, and the velocity of the conjoined projectile drops by greater than a factor of two. No doubt some of this loss in kinetic energy resulted from the energy expended in deforming the Mexican coin. The calculated loss in velocity of the bullet postcollision slows this projectile (i.e., the conjoined bullet/coin) to <150 meters per second (<450 feet/second). However, this velocity would still be well in excess of the minimal velocity needed to penetrate skin and bone, which has been reported to be about 66 meters per second (200 feet/second).
Forensic pathology has this morbid deadpan geekiness about it which just makes it so interesting to read.
You can just see them in the pathology room, arguing about what happened and sketching calculations on the back of envelopes.
Link to PubMed entry for article.
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Auckland expects that its economic growth will be transformational, inclusive and equitable; built on innovation, a green economy and a business-friendly attitude.
KO TE ARO WHAKARRO O TĀMAKI MAKAURAU TĒRĀ ANA MAHI OHAOHA TE HUA HEI MEA RITENGA HŌU, MAHI TAKITAHI, MANAWA TAURITE HE MEA HANGA I RUNGA I TE WHAKAARO HŌU, TIKANGA TIAKI I TE TAIAO, ME TE HINENGARO TUWHERA HAUTŪ PAKIHI.
365_ To achieve the vision for Auckland, its economy must be transformed and its economic prosperity dramatically improved. We need to innovate constantly. Our advantages lie in our technical capabilities, our Kiwi ingenuity, our strong sustainability focus and resource utilization, and the quality of life Auckland offers. A prosperous, culturally diverse city, that is innovative and capitalises on its knowledge, skills and creativity is attractive to entrepreneurial workers and enhances liveability.
366_ We will ensure that growth is inclusive and equitable, so that all Aucklanders participate in growing the economy and can enjoy its benefits. We need to earn more income, increase our skills, use our resources more effectively and make better use of our comparative advantages. This is especially important for Auckland, because prosperity and opportunity are unevenly distributed.
367_ Auckland is interdependent with the rest of New Zealand. It is the major domestic market for producers throughout New Zealand and is the distribution hub for the upper North Island cities and regions. This emerging northern North Island urban and economic system, comprising the cities and towns north of Taupo (52% of New Zealand’s population), has significant business and freight connections with Auckland. With freight volumes to and from provincial centres and Auckland projected to double over the next decade, this interdependence will increase. Auckland also relies on energy and productive resources outside the region.
368_ Auckland’s contribution to the national economy and improving
New Zealand’s economic performance is critical. It is home to one third of the population, is the largest commercial centre in New Zealand, comprises a substantial proportion of the domestic market, contributes significantly to New Zealand’s imports and exports, acts as a key service centre for other parts of the country, and has a high concentration of tertiary and research institutes.
369_ Measured internationally, Auckland’s performance is relatively poor: it is ranked 69th out of 85 metro regions in the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of GDP per capita. New Zealand’s economic performance has declined relative to other OECD countries in terms of GDP per capita33 to its position at 21st, but has stabilised at around 80% of the OECD median.34
370_ Auckland’s relative size is a disadvantage, because the scale of cities affects output per capita and levels of productivity. Auckland has lower productivity and wages than the cities that we compete against for the title of ‘most liveable’.
371_ Auckland competes internationally for ideas, talent, skills and capital. Australian cities, for example, attract thousands of our talented young people each year and compete with us for immigrants from Europe and Asia. This has contributed to Auckland having a 40% lower GDP per capita than Sydney and Melbourne.
372_ We have set bold economic targets for Auckland’s economic prosperity, supporting central government’s ambitious aspiration for New Zealand to achieve parity with Australia in terms of GDP per capita over 15 years. This is likely to require average real GDP per capita growth of above 4%, more than twice
New Zealand’s average rate over the last two decades.
373_ Achieving our economic targets requires a fundamental structural change in Auckland’s economy. Auckland is still primarily an inwardly-focused city, with an economy driven by consumption, real estate, and domestically-focused services. Although New Zealand has experienced a period of high economic prosperity over the last 15 years, largely driven by the primary sector, Auckland has not established itself as a centre of excellence or innovation regarding the development of export products.
374_ To achieve the required transformation, Auckland’s economy must shift from being import-led to export-driven. It must encourage the emergence of ‘new economy’ sectors, complemented by long-term sustainable growth in our internationally competitive sectors: marine, tourism, food and beverage, high tech, screen and creative, finance, and tertiary education and training (see Priority 2 for further detail).
375_ Growing new markets, such as in the Asia-Pacific region, provide a ready outlet, because New Zealand does not compete directly with those economies. We must improve our labour and capital productivity significantly, through growth in skills, labour market participation, innovation, and access to capital.
376_ Auckland needs an effective strategy to grow the ‘economic pie’. This depends on collaboration from stakeholders including central government, local government in Auckland and beyond, business, education and research institutes, and the community. Central government establishes the economic macro context through its policies, and supports a network of agencies to coordinate activity nationally. This Plan identifies key Auckland-wide issues and establishes the framework for achieving Auckland’s vision. Auckland’s Economic Development Strategy, developed in parallel with the Auckland Plan, expands on the economic priorities and crosscutting opportunities set out in this Plan.
377_ Map 6.1 outlines the key economic directions for Auckland. Understanding how Auckland is expected to grow and planning for this growth will ensure that Auckland maximises its potential, while retaining liveability – aspects that attract investment and entrepreneurial talent. Map 6.1 identifies the major centres and business areas in Auckland and the economic corridors which connect them, and provide for new business activity. The corridors highlight the flows of economic activity from Auckland to the rest of New Zealand. Economic infrastructure is shown, such as the ports and airports that help drive our economy and connect us globally (refer Priorities 1 and 3), and some of the elements (e.g. visitor attractions) that make us attractive to visitors (Priority 5). The map displays elements of the innovation system associated with Priority 2.
378_ The remainder of this chapter focuses on:
- the five priorities
- the cross-cutting opportunities that underpin these priorities.
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(May 25, 1950)
In an effort to further stabilize the Armistice Agreements, and to control the flow of arms to the Middle East, France, Britain and the United States announced, on May 25, 1950, their decision to stabilize the situation in the region by an agreement among themselves not to supply weapons to a state harboring aggressive designs. They also agreed to take action both within and outside the U.N. to prevent any change in the armistice lines. Text of the Declaration follows:
The Governments of the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, having had occasion during the recent Foreign Ministers meeting in London to review certain questions affecting the peace and stability of the Arab states and of Israel, and particularly that of the supply of arms and war material to these states, have resolved to make the following statements:
1. The three Governments recognize that the Arab states and Israel all need to maintain a certain level of armed forces for the purposes of assuring their internal security and their legitimate self-defense and to permit them to play their part in the defense of the area as a whole. All applications for arms or war material for these countries will be considered in the light of these principles. In this connection the three Governments wish to recall and affirm the terms of the statements made by their representatives oil the Security Council on August 4, 1949, in which they declared their opposition to the development of all arms race between the Arab states and Israel.
2. The three Governments declare that assurances have been received from all the states in question, to which they permit arms to be supplied from their countries, that the purchasing state does not intend to undertake any act of aggression against any other state. Similar assurances will be requested from any other state in the area to which they permit arms to be supplied in the future.
3. The three Governments take this opportunity of declaring their deep interest in and their desire to promote the establishment and maintenance of peace and stability in the area and their unalterable opposition to the use of force or threat of force between any of the states in that area. The three Governments, should they find that any of these states was preparing to violate frontiers or armistice lines, would, consistently with their obligations as members of the United Nations, immediately take action, both within and outside the United Nations, to prevent such violation.
Source: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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We're pumped to present our favorite story of the week from our BFFs at FitSugar!
The only real way to prevent a hangover is by watching your alcohol intake, but if you've already passed the point of no return then you'll need some sort of relief. Hangovers have been around since the invention of wine, so there are a lot of theories out there on how to rid yourself of one. If sleep isn't an option, try one of these aids to see what works best with your system. They work better than their myth-based counterparts and won't make you feel like hugging the toilet.
- Myth: painkillers. Taking painkillers either the night of drinking or the morning after can cause damage to your liver, among other serious health issues. Your body can only absorb approximately 1.5 ounces of hard liquor per hour (the equivalent to one beer or one glass of wine) and unless you stick to that drink-per-hour rate, you'll likely still have alcohol in your system upon waking up.
- Fact: Alcohol depletes a number of vital minerals including potassium, vitamin B, and vitamin C. Try eating a banana, taking a B-complex vitamin, or drinking Emergen-C instead of taking pills like Tylenol or ibuprofen. If you really must take these, make sure you leave enough hours in between drinking and don't take them while experiencing abdominal pain or nausea, since they might irritate hangover symptoms further.
- Myth: hair of the dog. Although another drink the morning after a binge may seem like the road to recovery, it offers only temporary relief and prolongs the process.
- Fact: Try water and electrolytes instead to fill your body with fluids that will balance out your system. Coconut water is a great source of rehydrating electrolytes and potassium, which can speed up relief. Pedialyte is also a great way to get electrolytes without the sugar found in sports drinks like Gatorade.
- Myth: cup of joe. Coffee will only dehydrate you further following a night of drinking. Additionally, caffeine narrows your blood vessels and boosts blood pressure so this will make a hangover feel even worse.
- Fact: Antioxidant-rich fruit juice is a much better alternative since it is nutritious and won't dehydrate you; also, while there is little evidence that supports the belief that the fructose in fruit juice will help your body metabolize alcohol faster, the natural sugar may help give you more much-needed energy. If you have a juicer, press your hangover away with this hangover juice recipe.
MORE ON SELF.COM:
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In an effort to keep a city landfill up and running for as long as possible, the city of Albany presented another plan to expand the Rapp Road dump around the Pine Bush Preserve.
On Tuesday, Sept. 19, General Services Commissioner Bill Bruce unveiled a plan to expand the Rapp Road landfill eastward into land owned by the state.
The city of Albany recently dropped a controversial plan to expand west into dedicated land in the Pine Bush Preserve. The new proposal would add to the landfill between 2.7 acres and 6.2 acres of land acquired by the state in 2000 after it gave a developer 19 acres in the Harriman State Office Building Campus in exchange for 45.8 acres of Pine Bush land.
This is the city's third landfill expansion proposal in a year.
Earlier in the year, the City Council decided not to remove the dedicated status of up to 12 acres of land in the Pine Bush Preserve to expand the dump, which is rapidly running out of space.
This is a much better alternative, said Christopher Hawver, executive director of the Albany Pine Bush Commission. "It is great? No. Is it better? Absolutely."
Unlike the last proposal, the land that would be taken is not dedicated to the Pine Bush as "forever wild."
"It is considered protected, but it is not dedicated to the preserve," Hawver said.
One of the objections to the last plan was that removing the dedicated status of any land in the Pine Bush could result in a slippery slope leading to further expansion of the dump into the environmentally protected area.
"That was, in my opinion, a really bad precedent to set forth," said Hawver.
Although it never ended up happening, an announcement from Gov. George Pataki's office following the 2000 land swap deal said "the Pine Bush parcel, which borders Rapp Road, will be dedicated to the existing Pine Bush Preserve."
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pair of socks
buttons (just two for the eyes)
needle and thread
This free sock monkey pattern shows you how to make a classic sock monkey with a step by step tutorial. We start by making the body and legs of the monkey. First, turn one of the socks inside out and flatten it so that the heel is centered (as in the picture above). Use your pen and straight edge to draw a line down the center of the leg. You're going to sew alongside this to create the monkey's legs, starting about an inch or so from the heel (his bum). In my case, I'm going to start sewing at the first dark brown stripe below the heel. I've already put pins along the sides to hold the sock together. (This is particularly useful when you've got a design like stripes that'll look bad if it doesn't line up somewhat.)
Here I'm beginning to sew the first leg. Note: You don't sew on your pen line; you sew on either side of it (thus creating two legs). The width of your machine's presser foot - about 1/4 inch - is just right. As I said, start at the top about an inch or so below the heel. Be sure to back up a little to secure your stitches. (For those in the know, you may want to use a ballpoint needle on your machine if you've got one. Otherwise, don't worry about it.) Sew all the way down til you get to the sock's cuff. Then stop every so often and turn the sock so you round off the foot. You can see this better on the next page. (And yes, I sew over my pins. I'm very naughty.)
Here you can see my line of stitching down the sock and the way I've turned it to round off the foot. Don't worry if you can't get the curve perfect; mine turn out pretty angular actually. Once you've finished the foot, take a few backstitches to secure the seam and break the thread. Then go back to the heel and do the same thing again on the other side of your pen line. This next picture shows the end result pretty well.
Here you can clearly see the seam lines delineating the legs, each ending in a rounded off foot. Now it's time to separate them! Use your scissors and cut along your pen line up from the cuff towards the heel. Stop where you started sewing. You've now got an inside out monkey torso!
Your inside-out monkey torso has a convenient hole in the crotch through which you can turn him rightside-out. Do this now. You can cut the hole a little bigger if you're having trouble pulling him through, but try to keep it as small as possible. A chopstick or knitting needle can be helpful for pushing his legs out properly. Here he is, all ready to be stuffed!
And here he is in three dimensions! I've stuffed him with generic polyester stuffing I got at the craft store. (Note: I've tried stuffing monkeys with recycled quilt batting cut up into pieces, but they just come out too lumpy and weird-looking. I wouldn't advise it.) Yes, you're stuffing him through the crotch. I think pulling the stuffing into smaller pieces and pushing each one into place results in a nicer look than trying to wedge in big handfuls. Again, a chopstick is useful for pushing the stuffing down into skinny legs. Don't be afraid to stuff him quite firmly. Nobody likes a floppy monkey!
It's finally time to sew up that monkey crotch. I just use plain white cotton thread and a sewing needle. Make a fairly large knot (otherwise it'll pull through) and come up from the inside to secure it. You're basically going to be pinching the raw edges together and tucking them to the inside. Then just take little stitches across the folded edges as best you can. It always gets a big difficult in the middle, when your sock inevitably stretches a little thin and you've got monkey legs flopping about, but just do your best. This really is a very forgiving project. I generally go all the way across the opening and then back again for extra strength. The next photo shows this process a little better.
In this one I've got the monkey turned upside-down. You can clearly see that I've pinched the raw edges in together and I'm taking each stitch through both folded edges. It's no use trying to use pins here; the monkey is too puffy and they'll just get in your way. Try to keep your stitches small and tight and they won't show so much on the finished toy. When I'm finished, I generally knot the thread two or three times close to the surface and then go back down the last hole and come out somewhere else. Gently pull the knot into the body, cut the thread, and let the tail disappear into the monkey.
Finished monkey crotch! You've now got a faceless sock monkey torso with no arms. Scary, I know. It's time to make him some limbs
Now it's time for the other sock. We'll start by making the tail. Turn the sock inside-out and flatten it, but flatten this one in profile (as seen above). I've drawn a line from the toe to the cuff that's one inch in from the edge. You can make the tail wider if you have a bigger sock as long as you don't get too close to the heel. We're eventually going to be cutting the heel out in one piece for the monkey's face, so your tail width is limited by that. I've again secured the sock with pins to keep the stripes from shifting around too much.
We sew the tail just like we did the legs. Start at the toe (but not in the toe itself; we're just going to throw that away) and sew all the way down to the cuff, rounding off the end again. This time sew on the line
Cutting time! Start by cutting off the toe of the sock. You won't need that anymore. Now we're going to free the tail. Cut as shown along your sewn seam all the way to the cuff. (Again, I generally try to have a quarter-inch seam allowance, but you can get a little closer if you need to.)
Turn your tail rightside-out and stuff it. You should end up with this lovely snakey thing and a random piece of sock. We come to that next...
We're going to cut the rest of the sock as shown into three pieces. The short rectangle on the left (from the foot part of the sock) will become the monkey's ears. The heel in the middle becomes the monkey's face. And the long rectangle on the right (from the leg of the sock) will become the monkey's arms.
Start with the arm piece first. That's the longer rectangle. We need to cut it up the middle length-wise to make two long skinny pieces. (Your sock already probably has a crease there.) Then fold one of these pieces in half, right sides together, and pin it along the raw edge. Then sew along this edge starting from the non-cuff end. (My seam allowance here is probably less than a quarter-inch, simply because I don't want the arm to be any skinnier than necessary. Don't get too close to the edge though or you'll run into trouble. The raw edge has a tendency to curl and I often have to stop and readjust things below the presser foot.) Round off the cuff end for the hand just as you did the legs and tail. You're basically just making yet another little tube. Once you've done one, make the other just the same
Now for the ears. Take your remaining bit of sock and cut it lengthwise as you did with the arms. Then cut each of those bits in half widthwise. We're basically looking to get four little squares all the same size from this operation, as seen here.
Take two of the matching squares and stack them with right-sides together. Then pin the heck out of them as shown. I don't bother trying to make circular ears; these squarish ones look fine. Use your pen to draw on the ear shape. I generally just draw it with a quarter-inch seam allowance and round off the corners. (Once you've done a couple, you won't even need to draw it.) As you can see, one side is left open. We're now going to sew along the line
Here I am sewing along the ear line. Just go slowly and try to keep everything together as best you can. Once you've finished one, make the other just the same. You can trim off some of the excess seam allowance (like the square corners) when you're finished.
You should now have all the basic pieces of your sock monkey. Turn the arms right-side out and stuff them as you did the tail. Turn the ears as well and stuff them lightly. You're now done with the sewing machine and everything else will be done by hand
First, a word of warning. Don't try to make this perfect. There's no easy way to sew two tubes together at right angles. Just do your best and know you'll get better with each one. The general idea here is just like it was with the crotch - fold raw edges inside and use small tight stitches to graft everything together. We start with the tail. I knot a length of thread and bring it up from inside the tail near the seam to secure it. Then fold the raw edges inside, pinch a bit of the tail to the body, and start tacking it down with stitches. Try not to stretch the tail "circle" out too far. I try to keep the long tail seam at the bottom to hide it (but sometimes the tail rotates a bit as you sew it). I generally go around the tail twice to make it as strong as possible. Then secure your thread and hide the loose end in the body.
Next the arms. Do these exactly like you did the tail. I generally position them about halfway up the body. (It's useful to have stripey socks for this, because you can use the stripes to line up the arms perfectly.) Again, I tend to sew around each arm twice for strength.
Your monkey now has all his limbs! It's time to give him a face.
Take a look at the heel before we get started. It probably looks pretty big in comparison to your monkey's head. That's good. You see, the trick when you sew it on is not to sew it on flat. We want to leave room to stuff it and have it look three-dimensional. Just keep that in mind.
I start by folding down the top edge of the face and centering it on the monkey's head. Then I pin through that folded top edge to hold it. (It's nice to have a heel that's a different color from the rest of the sock because the color change makes for a good fold line.)
In this next shot, you can see that I've folded and pinned the top edge at each corner as well. You can unpin it and move it if it looks off-center between the arms. Please note that we haven't touched the bottom edge yet, and there's still plenty of material bunched up in the center. Don't try to stretch it flat. We just want our top edge to be a nice curve, almost a half-circle.
It's time to start sewing the face. Starting at the left corner (as you're looking at the monkey; he's upside-down here) sew along the top just as you did on the arms and tail. You can hide your knot inside the face. Just take tiny stitches catching a bit of the folded face edge and the body behind it. Stop when you get to the opposite corner. Remove your pins
Now for the bottom of the face. Fold the raw edge in and pin it down in the center as shown. Pin the bottom edge a little higher than your first instinct; we want to leave extra material in the middle to fill with stuffing. (You can see it bunched up here.) Continue sewing from the right corner down to the bottom center. Then stop, because it's time to stuff!
Here you can see me stuffing the face through the opening at the left corner. Just tear your stuffing into small pieces and shove them in. Don't be afraid to stuff it quite firmly. If you've done it right, you should get a nice three-dimensional "lump". Then just continue sewing around to close the gap. I don't think it's necessary to go around the face twice (as the monkey's owner hopefully won't be picking it up by the face like they would the arms and tail), but you might want to do it anyway. Secure your thread and hide the loose end in the body.
Here's our sock monkey so far! Now we just need a few finishing touches... Ears, eyes, and a smile
Basically, what I'm doing here is my own monkey ear innovation. Before I attach the ear to the monkey, I sew a few big stiches along the edge to give a little ear rim definition. I just think it looks a little nicer. You don't have to do it though.
This shot is me sewing on one of the monkey ears. It's done the same way as everything else, by tucking in the raw edge and tacking the folded edge down to the body. Ears are a little more tricky (in that they're not a nice circle), but just go round them twice and don't be afraid to pull them into place. I generally place them in line with the arms just below where the toe of the sock starts. (Again, stripes are nice here for aligning perfectly.) Don't worry too much if they don't match exactly. I always end up with one slightly farther back than the other but it's part of the charm, right?
Here's the attached ear so you can see the placement and my little ear rim stitches...
Now with both ears attached...
For eyes, I like to use matching buttons. (I've also used "googley" eyes in the past but I think they look a little scary.) My buttons came from the bargain bin at my local sewing shop. Just pick out two you like and tack the first one down. I knot this thread a few times and then pull it down into the body to start. Once you've secured the button, take the thread down into the body and bring it back up for the second eye. After you've secured that, you can bring the thread up in the face to complete the smile. You can choose any embroidery stitch you want. I tend to use a bastardized version of the stem stitch, but a backstitch would work well too. It's up to you! When you're done, knot the thread and hide it down in the body
Check out some of our sockmonkey variations below using fleece socks and furry novelty socks.
This project was contributed by Kristine Howard from web-goddess.org
By Shellie Wilson. Shellie is the chief creative editor for Craftbits.
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A narrow majority of registered voters in Colorado think marijuana should be legal according to the latest Public Policy Polling (PPP) poll and the voters of the state may soon have a chance to make that a reality. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol is currently gathering signatures to put a marijuana legalization measure on the ballot in 2012. From the Poll:
Do you think marijuana usage should be legal or illegal?
Legal ………… 51%
Not sure ……. 11%
Not surprisingly the break down of support for legalizing the use of marijuana in Colorado is nearly identical to the patterns we have seen nationally. Support for legalizing the usage of marijuana is strongest among very liberal voters (82%), Democrats (65%) and voters under 30 (71%). While the least amount of support comes from very conservative voters (28%), Republicans (31%) and senior citizens (36%).
One very interesting piece of information from the cross tabs is that individuals who voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 election overwhelmingly think marijuana should be legal by a margin of 68 percent legal – 21 percent illegal. In Colorado, at least, President Obama’s stance on both recreational and medicinal marijuana use is radically out of line with his base.
Although majority support for marijuana legalization is a good sign for this Colorado campaign, it should be noted that in 2010 the California marijuana legalization measure, Proposition 19, was ahead in early polling but ended up losing narrowly on election day. This Colorado effort should be in slightly better shape than Prop 19 was because they are trying to put the issue on the ballot in a Presidential Election year. Presidential elections tend to see much higher turn out among young voters who strongly support legalization.
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http://justsaynow.firedoglake.com/2011/08/12/51-of-colorado-voters-think-marijuana-should-be-legal/
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High concentrations of blood fats known as triglycerides are common in the United States, according to a report in Monday’s issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Lifestyle changes are the preferred initial treatment for “hypertriglyceridemia” (the resulting condition), but physical inactivity, obesity and other modifiable risk factors remain prevalent.
“Increasing evidence supports triglyceride concentration as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” the authors write.
In a study of 5,610 participants, Earl S. Ford, MD, MPH, and colleagues at the CDC found that 33.1% had a triglyceride concentration of 150 mg/dl or higher. A concentration between 150 and 199 mg/dl is defined as borderline high by the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program.
Even scarier, 17.9% had a concentration of 200 mg/dl or higher (defined as high), 1.7% had a concentration of 500 mg/dl or higher, and 0.4% had a concentration of 1,000 mg/dl.
Those who had high levels were more likely to be older, white and have no education beyond high school. They were also more likely to smoke, be overweight or obese, and/or have diabetes.
Diet and exercise are the first lines of defense in preventing and treating hypertriglyceridemia. At very high levels, healthcare providers may recommend medication to lower triglyceride levels.
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http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/health/high-triglyceride-levels-common-among-americans/comment-page-1/
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Former Czech President Vaclav Havel, former U.S. President George W. Bush, U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), and dozens of international leaders have taken to RFE’s airwaves in Belarus to call attention to the plight of hundreds of Belarusian activists jailed in the wake of the dubious December 19 election.
By reading each person’s name, we are signaling that he or she is not forgotten. Since the vote, which handed incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka a fourth term as president, more than 700 protestors have been beaten, arrested, fined, and imprisoned for disputing the election. The vote was widely criticized by the Belarusian opposition and Western observers as falling short of democratic standards.
Other prominent officials who participated in the Radio Svaboda project, known as “Voices of Solidarity,” included U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Endowment for Democracy (NED) President Carl Gershman, Freedom House Executive Director David Kramer, Johns Hopkins University Professor Francis Fukuyama, Russian human rights activist Elena Bonner, RFE President Jeffrey Gedmin, and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. [See the full list and LISTEN]
“By reading each person’s name, we are signaling that he or she is not forgotten,” says RFE Belarusian Service Director Alexander Lukashuk. “We know from former Belarusian dissidents that inmates routinely smuggle shortwave radios into prison in order to listen to Radio Svaboda.”
The “Voices of Solidarity” project is also drawing a huge online audience. In a single day after the crackdown, Radio Svaboda’s website recorded more than 900,000 page views – a 20-fold increase in traffic. And more than 30,000 people listened to the station’s streaming audio programs – a 50-fold increase.
In Minsk, Belarusian officials are defiant. On December 30, Lukashenka referred to the protestors as a “handful of traitors trying to overthrow the country.” He hinted that some detainees would face stiff prison sentences.
In The Globe and Mail, RFE Writer-at-Large Jamie Kirchick described the scene on election night in the Belarusian capital as “like something out of the former Soviet Union.” He said “the crackdown marks the tragic failure of a years-long engagement process spearheaded by the European Union.” [FULL STORY]
For complete coverage, visit RFE’s Belarus Crackdown Page. The site features video of the protests, photogalleries, commentary, and ongoing news updates from Minsk.
About RFE’s Belarusian Service
In a country that has been referred to as “Europe’s last dictatorship,” RFE’s Radio Svaboda is one of the few independent media outlets accessible to Belarusians in their own language. Established, in 1954, the station is on the air eight hours-a-day and, in partnership with Poland’s Belsat television company, produces a popular weekly half-hour television news and current affairs program.
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http://www.bbg.gov/blog/2011/01/18/world-leaders-speak-out-for-imprisoned-belarusian-protesters/
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Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed, as observed when a wave passes from one medium to another. The most common example is the refraction of light, as happens in the formation of rainbows in the sky or rainbow-like bands when white light passes through a glass prism. Other types of waves also undergo refraction, for example, when sound waves pass from one medium into another.
The refraction of waves through a medium is quantified in terms of what is called the refractive index (or index of refraction). The refractive index of a medium is a measure of how much the speed of light (or other waves) is reduced inside the medium, compared with the speed of light in vacuum or air. For example, if a sample of glass has a refractive index of 1.5, it means that the speed of light traveling through the glass is 1 / 1.5 = 0.67 times the speed of light in vacuum or air.
Based on knowledge of the properties of refraction and refractive index, a number of applications have been developed. For example, the invention of lenses and refracting telescopes rests on an understanding of refraction. Also, knowledge of the refractive index of various substances is used to evaluate the purity of a substance or measure its concentration in a mixture. In eye tests performed by ophthalmologists or optometrists, the property of refraction forms the basis for the technique known as refractometry.
In optics, refraction occurs when light waves travel from a medium with a particular refractive index to a second medium with another refractive index. At the boundary between the media, the wave's phase velocity is altered, it changes direction, and its wavelength increases or decreases, but its frequency remains constant. For example, a light ray will undergo refraction as it enters and leaves glass. An understanding of this concept led to the invention of lenses and the refracting telescope.
Refraction can be seen when looking into a bowl of water. Air has a refractive index of about 1.0003, and water has a refractive index of about 1.33. If a person looks at a straight object, such as a pencil or straw, which is placed at a slant, partially in the water, the object appears to bend at the water's surface. This is due to the bending of light rays as they move from the water to the air. Once the rays reach the eye, the eye traces them back as straight lines (lines of sight). The lines of sight (shown as dashed lines) intersect at a higher position than where the actual rays originated. This causes the pencil to appear higher and the water to appear shallower than it really is. The depth that the water appears to be when viewed from above is known as the apparent depth,
The diagram on the right shows an example of refraction in water waves. Ripples travel from the left and pass over a shallower region inclined at an angle to the wavefront. The waves travel more slowly in the shallower water, so the wavelength decreases and the wave bends at the boundary. The dotted line represents the normal to the boundary. The dashed line represents the original direction of the waves. The phenomenon explains why waves on a shoreline never hit the shoreline at an angle. Whichever direction the waves travel in deep water, they always refract towards the normal as they enter the shallower water near the beach.
Refraction is also responsible for rainbows and for the splitting of white light into a rainbow-spectrum as it passes through a glass prism. Glass has a higher refractive index than air and the different frequencies of light travel at different speeds (dispersion), causing them to be refracted at different angles, so that you can see them. The different frequencies correspond to different colors observed.
While refraction allows for beautiful phenomena such as rainbows it may also produce peculiar optical phenomena, such as mirages and Fata Morgana. These are caused by the change of the refractive index of air with temperature.
Snell's law is used to calculate the degree to which light is refracted when traveling from one medium to another.
Recently some metamaterials have been created which have a negative refractive index. With metamaterials, we can also obtain the total refraction phenomena when the wave impedances of the two media are matched. There is no reflected wave.
Also, since refraction can make objects appear closer than they are, it is responsible for allowing water to magnify objects. First, as light is entering a drop of water, it slows down. If the water's surface is not flat, then the light will be bent into a new path. This round shape will bend the light outwards and as it spreads out, the image you see gets larger.
The refractive index (or index of refraction) of a medium is the inverse ratio of the phase velocity (defined below) of a wave phenomenon such as light or sound, and the phase velocity in a reference medium (substance that the wave passes through). It is most commonly used in the context of light with vacuum as a reference medium, although historically other reference media (e.g. air at a standard pressure and temperature) have been common. It is usually given the symbol n, In the case of light, it equals
where εr is the material's relative permittivity (how a material affects an electric field), and μr is its relative permeability (how a material reacts to a magnetic field). For most materials, μr is very close to 1 at optical frequencies, therefore n is approximately . n may be less than 1 and this has practical technical applications, such as effective mirrors for X-rays based on total internal reflection.
The phase velocity is defined as the rate at which any part of the waveform travels through space; that is, the rate at which the phase of the waveform is moving. The group velocity is the rate that the envelope of the waveform is propagating; that is, the rate of variation of the amplitude (the maximum up and down motion) of the waveform. It is the group velocity, the velocity at which the crests and troughs of a wave move through space, that (almost always) represents the rate that information (and energy) may be transmitted by the wave—for example, the velocity at which a pulse of light travels down an optical fiber.
The speed of light
The speed of all electromagnetic radiation in vacuum is the same, approximately 3×108 meters per second, and is denoted by c. Therefore, if v is the phase velocity of radiation of a specific frequency in a specific material, the refractive index is given by
This number is typically greater than one: the higher the index of the material, the more the light is slowed down. However, at certain frequencies (e.g., X-rays), n will actually be smaller than one. This does not contradict the theory of relativity, which holds that no information-carrying signal can ever propagate faster than c, because the phase velocity is not the same as the group velocity or the signal velocity, same as group velocity except when the wave is passing through an absorptive medium.
Sometimes, a "group velocity refractive index," usually called the group index is defined:
where vg is the group velocity. This value should not be confused with n, which is always defined with respect to the phase velocity.
At the microscale, an electromagnetic wave's phase velocity is slowed in a material because the electric field creates a disturbance in the charges of each atom (primarily the electrons) proportional (a y = kx relationship) to the permittivity. The charges will, in general, oscillate slightly out of phase with respect to the driving electric field. The charges thus radiate their own electromagnetic wave that is at the same frequency but with a phase delay. The macroscopic sum of all such contributions in the material is a wave with the same frequency but shorter wavelength than the original, leading to a slowing of the wave's phase velocity. Most of the radiation from oscillating material charges will modify the incoming wave, changing its velocity. However, some net energy will be radiated in other directions (see scattering).
If the refractive indices of two materials are known for a given frequency, then one can compute the angle by which radiation of that frequency will be refracted as it moves from the first into the second material from Snell's law.
Negative Refractive Index
Recent research has also demonstrated the existence of negative refractive index, which can occur if ε and μ are simultaneously negative. Not thought to occur naturally, it can be achieved with so called metamaterials. It offers the possibility of perfect lenses and other exotic phenomena such as a reversal of Snell's law.
List of indices of refraction
|Material||n at f=5.09x1014 Hz|
|Air @ STP||1.0002926|
|Liquid Water (20°C)||1.333|
|Teflon||1.35 - 1.38|
|Acrylic glass||1.490 - 1.492|
|Crown glass (pure)||1.50 - 1.54|
|Polycarbonate||1.584 - 1.586|
|Flint glass (pure)||1.60 - 1.62|
|Crown glass (impure)||1.485 - 1.755|
|Flint glass (impure)||1.523 - 1.925|
|Cubic zirconia||2.15 - 2.18|
|Moissanite||2.65 - 2.69|
|Cinnabar (Mercury sulfide)||3.02|
Many materials have well-characterized refractive indices, but these indices depend strongly on the frequency of light. Therefore, any numeric value for the index is meaningless unless the associated frequency is specified.
There are also weaker dependencies on temperature, pressure/stress, and so forth, as well as on precise material compositions. For many materials and typical conditions, however, these variations are at the percent level or less. It is therefore especially important to cite the source for an index measurement, if precision is required.
In general, an index of refraction is a complex number with both a real and an imaginary part, where the latter indicates the strength of absorption loss at a particular wavelength—thus, the imaginary part is sometimes called the extinction coefficient k. Such losses become particularly significant—for example, in metals at short wavelengths (such as visible light)—and must be included in any description of the refractive index.
Dispersion and absorption
In real materials, the polarization does not respond instantaneously to an applied field. This causes dielectric loss, which can be expressed by a permittivity that is both complex and frequency dependent. Real materials are not perfect insulators either, meaning they have non-zero Direct Current (DC) conductivity. Taking both aspects into consideration, we can define a complex index of refraction:
Here, n is the refractive index indicating the phase velocity, while κ is called the extinction coefficient, which indicates the amount of absorption loss when the electromagnetic wave propagates through the material. Both n and κ are dependent on the frequency.
The effect that n varies with frequency (except in vacuum, where all frequencies travel at the same speed c) is known as dispersion, and it is what causes a prism to divide white light into its constituent spectral colors, which is how rainbows are formed in rain or mists. Dispersion is also the cause of chromatic aberration in lenses.
Since the refractive index of a material varies with the frequency (and thus wavelength) of light, it is usual to specify the corresponding vacuum wavelength at which the refractive index is measured. Typically, this is done at various well-defined spectral emission lines; for example, nD is the refractive index at the Fraunhofer "D" line, the centre of the yellow sodium double emission at 589.29 nm wavelength.
The Sellmeier equation is an empirical formula that works well in describing dispersion, and Sellmeier coefficients are often quoted instead of the refractive index in tables. For some representative refractive indices at different wavelengths, see list of indices of refraction.
As shown above, dielectric loss and non-zero DC conductivity in materials cause absorption. Good dielectric materials such as glass have extremely low DC conductivity, and at low frequencies the dielectric loss is also negligible, resulting in almost no absorption (κ ≈ 0). However, at higher frequencies (such as visible light), dielectric loss may increase absorption significantly, reducing the material's transparency to these frequencies.
The real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index are related through use of the Kramers-Kronig relations. For example, one can determine a material's full complex refractive index as a function of wavelength from an absorption spectrum of the material.
The refractive index of certain media may be different depending on the polarization and direction of propagation of the light through the medium. This is known as birefringence and is described by the field of crystal optics.
The strong electric field of high intensity light (such as output of a laser) may cause a medium's refractive index to vary as the light passes through it, giving rise to nonlinear optics. If the index varies quadratically with the field (linearly with the intensity), it is called the optical Kerr effect and causes phenomena such as self-focusing and self phase modulation. If the index varies linearly with the field (which is only possible in materials that do not possess inversion symmetry), it is known as the Pockels effect.
If the refractive index of a medium is not constant, but varies gradually with position, the material is known as a gradient-index medium and is described by gradient index optics. Light traveling through such a medium can be bent or focussed, and this effect can be exploited to produce lenses, some optical fibers and other devices. Some common mirages are caused by a spatially varying refractive index of air.
The refractive index of a material is the most important property of any optical system that uses the property of refraction. It is used to calculate the focusing power of lenses and the dispersive power of prisms.
Since refractive index is a fundamental physical property of a substance, it is often used to identify a particular substance, confirm its purity, or measure its concentration. Refractive index is used to measure solids (glasses and gemstones), liquids, and gases. Most commonly, it is used to measure the concentration of a solute in an aqueous solution. A refractometer is the instrument used to measure refractive index. For a solution of sugar, the refractive index can be used to determine the sugar content.
In medicine, particularly ophthalmology and optometry, the technique of refractometry utilizes the property of refraction for administering eye tests. This is a clinical test in which a phoropter is used to determine the eye's refractive error and, based on that, the best corrective lenses to be prescribed. A series of test lenses in graded optical powers or focal lengths are presented, to determine which ones provide the sharpest, clearest vision.
Alternative meaning: Refraction in metallurgy
In metallurgy, the term refraction has another meaning. It is a property of metals that indicates their ability to withstand heat. Metals with a high degree of refraction are referred to as refractory. These metals have high melting points, derived from the strong interatomic forces that are involved in metal bonds. Large quantities of energy are required to overcome these forces.
- Fishbane, Paul M., et al. 2005. Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. ISBN 0131418815.
- Hecht, Jeff. 2006. Red Light Debut for Exotic 'Metamaterial.' NewScientist.com News Service. 13:38. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
- Henderson, Tom. 2004. Refraction and the Ray Model of Light. The Physics Classroom. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
- Ward, David W., Keith A. Nelson, and Kevin J. Webb. 2005. On the Physical Origins of the Negative Index of Refraction. New Journal of Physics 7:213. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
- Reflection and Refraction. (Java explanatory animation.) Retrieved April 19, 2007.
- Refraction. (Java simulation of a ripple tank.) Retrieved April 19, 2007.
- Refraction through a Prism. (Java simulation.) Retrieved April 19, 2007.
- Index of Refraction - Eric Weisstein's World of Physics. Retrieved April 19, 2007.
- Index of Refraction - Hyperphysics. (List of refractive indices.) Retrieved April 19, 2007.
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
- Refraction (Feb 6, 2007) history
- Refractive_index (Feb 6, 2007) history
- List_of_indices_of_refraction (Feb 6, 2007) history
- Refraction_(metallurgy) (Feb 6, 2007) history
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
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An introduction to the relationship between
composers, science and the natural world.
Further information on this subject can be found in the New
Anyone who reaches the end of the RE activities, there is a surprise
that could be to his or her advantage.
What was the first music?
Two stones clapped together to make a rhythm? Feet stamping on the
Or perhaps just the clapping of hands.
When did music begin?
Perhaps it all began with the dancing, drumming and chanting at religious
ceremonies. Such rituals seem to stretch back towards the beginning
of human consciousness. But, in the end, there is no way we can ever
know for certain.
Whatever its origins, music is one of the most important ways we have
of giving expression to - and creating - emotion. Love, of course,
and our wonder at the natural world, all these feelings can be expressed
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AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A mysterious disease that has killed more than a million bats in the eastern and southern United States has arrived in Maine.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said Tuesday it has received confirmation that the disease known as white-nose syndrome has been confirmed in Maine.
The U.S. Interior Department launched a national plan last week to combat the disease, which is caused by a fungus.
First identified in upstate New York in 2006, white-nose syndrome has been confirmed in states from New England to Tennessee and in three Canadian provinces.
One theory is that the fungus irritates the noses, wings and ears, causing bats to wake often during hibernation and burn so much energy that they starve to death before spring. It does not affect humans.
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What is Social Media?
When it comes to marketing, Social Media is a platform that you or your business can use to communicate with your audience “socially”. So, unlike your website which, is less interactive, social media platforms are used to actually interact with your fans and clients. Generally businesses use social media sites to share content, encourage audience participation and conversation. It’s also great for assisting clients (think live customer service), building a reputation for your brand across the web and sending targeted traffic to your website.
What are some popular Social Media websites?
Social sites can range from Social Bookmarking Sites to Social News Sites. Eminent Social Media focuses on Social Networking Sites and Social Photo and Video Sharing Sites for our client Social Media development and management.
Social Sites Defined:
- Social Bookmarking Sites: (Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon) Interact by tagging (bookmarking) websites and searching through websites bookmarked by other people.
- Social News Sites: (Digg, Reddit) Interact posting your own content or by voting for articles and commenting on them.
- Social Networking: (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+) Interact by adding friends, commenting on profiles, joining groups and having discussions.
- Social Photo and Video Sharing Sites: (YouTube, Flickr) Interact by sharing photos or videos and making comments on other videos or images.
Social Media Optimization verses Social Media Marketing: What’s the difference?
When you register for a new social media account, you are prompted to fill out bios, add business details, links back to your website, etc. Because there is an opportunity to utilize free flowing fields on many of the popular social sites, this is where we would optimize your profiles using your keyword strategy and other relevant information to make your profiles more visible to the search engines. Optimization is built in to the on-going strategy as well, through content and interaction.
Social Media Marketing is taking your now optimized platforms and using them to market to your audience. This can be done through sharing, interacting, posting images and videos, commenting on relevant posts, etc. When you use our marketing services, we also link boost your profile locations, which is an SEO technique used to increase your search engine rankings for relevant keywords from your marketing strategies.
How many social media sites should I sign up for?
There are thousands of social media sites to choose from, but reality is, it’s impossible to play an active role on them all. Depending on your niche and industry, it’s more effective when 2-5 Social Media communities are being utilized. Most businesses need a Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. If you have videos then we also recommend YouTube and sometimes Vimeo. For images and custom photography, we recommend Flickr.
When building your Social Reputation and Brand Identity it’s important to keep your profiles and accounts limited to what is realistically manageable, so you know the message being communicated is precise and consistent and your efforts are focused on the platforms that reach the largest, most targeted audience.
Why is Social Media marketing worth my time and investment?
Social Media is KEY to your online marketing strategies. When done properly, your optimized social media profiles will dramatically increase your brand awareness, create viral marketing opportunities, allow you to speak directly to your audience and lead nurture followers who may have not converted initially, but will over time through your social interactions. Social media can be built into your website and readers can share your content, helping it gain additional exposure which expands your reach on the internet. There is also a lot of search engine value in social marketing and referral traffic, resulting in increased website traffic and conversions.
How much traffic can I expect to get from social media?
Social Media referral traffic to your website ranges as much as business types vary. There is not a ‘set’ number you can expect, you may get nothing or you may get thousands of visitors. Some social sites (like Facebook) are capable of sending several thousand of visitors, while smaller, niche sites may send a few hundred or less. Pages that draw a lot of inbound links are likely to rank well in search engines, which in turn can lead to tons of on-going traffic. But remember, the goal is to focus on quality, not necessarily quantity – social media should never be about how many followers you can get, or how much traffic you can generate; but rather increasing quality traffic for better conversions.
How can I make money with social media?
Generally speaking, Social Media should be looked at as part of a larger marketing strategy. Of course there are businesses that have a lot more viral marketing opportunity through social media interaction simply because of the type of service or product they have – however, many traditional businesses should expect social marketing to be somewhat supplemental to other website marketing strategies, such as SEO and Link Building or Pay Per Click Campaigns for increased website traffic. However, social media marketing can certainly generate leads, direct clicks (referral traffic), newsletter sign ups and raise awareness for your brand – all resulting in increased conversions and increased bottom lines!
Have a question of your own? Bring it on! Just send it to firstname.lastname@example.org, contact us here or give us a call at 800-871-4130 ext 1!
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News coverage of the presidential campaign has been consistently negative, media researchers reported Friday, but it's been significantly friendlier to Republican nominee Mitt Romney since he was widely declared to have won his first debate with President Barack Obama in early October.
The report, by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, noted a clear turning point in mainstream news coverage beginning Oct. 4, after Obama appeared subdued and distracted during the previous night's debate in Denver.
Before the debate, 44 percent of news stories about Romney were "negative," as defined by the researchers, compared with 11 percent that were "positive" (the rest were considered neutral). Afterward, only 30 percent of his coverage was negative, while 20 percent was positive.
Coverage of Obama swung the other way in lockstep. Twenty-seven percent of his pre-debate coverage was negative and 22 percent was positive; post-debate, the split was 36 percent negative to only 13 percent positive.
Pew examined and classified major campaign news stories on 11 newspapers' front pages, the 12 largest news websites (including msnbc.com/NBCNews.com), the three broadcast networks, the three cable news networks, and three radio networks, including NPR. "Favorable" and "unfavorable" didn't necessarily mean an individual story made any value judgment about either candidate, Pew said; instead, it could also be a measure of the news in the story, such as another politician's critical remarks.
From tramping through cornfields to munching ice cream cones to holding babies – the time-honored traditions of the campaign trail leave President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney looking surprisingly alike.
The survey covered Aug. 27 through Oct. 21. That includes both party nominating conventions but only the first two of the three presidential debates.
For the entire period, coverage broke down this way:
That's a big difference from 2008. More of Obama's coverage was favorable that year than unfavorable, by 36 percent to 29 percent. Republican nominee John McCain's coverage, by contrast, was even more unfavorable than Romney's has been, at 57 percent negative to 14 percent positive.
Pew theorized that the difference could partly be attributed to the economy, which Obama has overseen for four years as president after having been able to run against it in 2008.
A striking conclusion of the survey is that, contrary to popular perception that campaign coverage is dominated by inside baseball (who's up or down in the polls, tactics and the like), there has actually been much less "horse race" coverage this year.
Such coverage — a perennial target of media scholars and pundits — has made up only 38 percent of news reports this year, down by 15 percentage points from 2008, when it was a clear majority of all coverage at 53 percent. Pew offered no theories on why.
The study also tried to quantify the ideological divide among the cable networks. According to Pew's analysis, Fox News leaned heavily pro-Romney, while MSNBC leaned even more toward Obama:
(CNN came in somewhat more even-handed. Coverage of Obama was about even, but unfavorable coverage of Romney outweighed favorable coverage by a 3-to-1 ratio.
Two important caveats should be noted:
Pew reports that it reviewed the cable networks for only 4½ hours of the day, mainly in the evening, when Fox (Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity) and MSNBC (Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz) schedule programs that are open in their partisanship. The study looked at the networks' dayside programming — when both networks say they strive for impartiality — only from 2 to 2:30 p.m. ET.
Nor does it break down how much of the coverage comes from news agencies like The Associated Press and Reuters — identical versions of which could appear dozens of times across multiple platforms, potentially overweighting their influence.
More coverage from NBCPolitics.com:
- Candidates back to aggressive campaigning
- Bloomberg endorses Obama, citing Sandy and climate change
- Ad spending closes in on $1 billion
- NBC/WSJ/Marist polls: Obama leads in Iowa, running neck and neck in N.H, Wis.
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Imagine you were a robot who only knew how to describe the world in four ways: self, other, time, and object. Now imagine you were struck by a bolt of lightning and found your robot brain aware of a whole new column in the spreadsheet...Place. You'd feel like a whole new robot and you'd probably sing a very happy robot song.
That's what the social web is going through right now, with the rise of location data and services as a viable pivot point for developers to work their magic with. Next week 2nd place check-in app Gowalla says it will launch at least the beginning of something a small but fascinating group of robot magicians has long waited for: a write-capable API.
What Kind of Apps Might We See?
Imagine a mobile app that let you check-in at all the famous art museums of the world, post photos of yourself outside them and see which museums your friends have been to. Or the best places in the world to eat grilled cheese sandwiches, if that's your thing.
Niche topical apps like that could become easier than ever to create and tie-together with larger more established location based social network providers with the availability of multiple write APIs.
You could have your cheese sandwich check-ins show up in your Gowalla and Foursquare social networks, if you want, or you could view and use an app built on top of those APIs that only published and displayed check-ins at cheese sandwich related places. It's really all about cheese sandwiches.
Leading check-in app Foursquare has an API, or Application Programming Interface, that developers can already build software on top of that reads Foursquare data and can publish check-ins to Foursquare as well. But competitor Gowalla has had a read-only API, meaning 3rd party apps could display user location data but couldn't publish back to Gowalla.
Gowalla developer Adam Keys told the company's developer email list today that unlike previous promises a write-API was coming "next week," this time he means it. "The good news is that I think I've got the foundation in place," he wrote. "I'm hoping to write up the docs and get *something* out next week, even if it's not complete API access."
The Gowalla apps include one thing that Foursquare does not - the ability to upload photos of places along with your check-in. Might that be a part of the new Gowalla API? We certainly hope so.
What Does This Mean?
It means there's more than one game in town. There's a very big difference between one hot check-in app you can publish to and two. As ReadWriteWeb's resident hacker and geofreak Tyler Gillies told me this afternoon, "I think this will really change the game as far as people's ability to create applicatons that allow you to check into a venue on multiple services."
The value of a multi-platform check-in app is that you don't have to choose, you can participate in and see your friends' activity across services you yourself don't spend a lot of time on.
At the same time, it means you get to choose. If everyone in the world was on AT&T and they couldn't call out to Verizon, you'd never leave one service because it would mean you'd lose contact with your friends.
Enter interoperability and you've got customer choice, vendor competition and a new wave of innovation.
At least that could be how it turns out with regard to the addition of interoperable Place streams across multiple vendors.
Foursquare today lets a user opt-in to have news and reviews from favorite organizations like the Huffington Post, the Wall St. Journal and the Independent Film Channel pushed automatically to their phones when they check-in near a place that those organizations have annotated. That's hot and it's just the beginning of the kind of features these kinds of location apps will be able to offer in the future. Like a robot that's been struck by lightning.
A service provider or developer can offer software users a lot if they know what the user likes, who the user is friends with and how recent all that data is. Add knowing where people, places and things are and you've got a big jump in potential recombination of factors. Not just for location apps themselves either, but in all kinds of apps that use the location data such apps make it easy and compelling to publish.
Maybe even with pictures.
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In the heart of Colorado lies South Park, an area that manages to encompass all that is Colorado and bears little resemblance to "South Park," the Comedy Central TV show. With 14,000-foot peaks, a rolling and colorful river valley, mining history, ancient trees and abundant wildlife the real South Park in Colorado's Park County is one of the state's most beautiful designated heritage areas and is home to the towns of Fairplay and Alma.
The term South Park was first used in the 1840s by hunters and trappers who traversed the Rocky Mountains. Ten years later, word spread across America of three successful gold strikes in Colorado. Fortune seekers flocked to the area and gold camps sprang up overnight. From 1860-1863, Park County boasted $1.5 million in gold extraction. By the 1880s the area was known for its mineral springs, hunting, fishing and wildflower meadows.
In the days of the early pioneers, hopeful gold prospectors fanned out across the area. The town of Fair Play was established in 1859 at the junction of Beaver Creek and the South Platte River, and served as a supply center for nearby mining camps. Fair Play was rechristened as South Park City in 1869, then changed back to Fairplay (one word) in 1874. As the mining industry faded, tourism, along with cattle-raising and hay-growing, became the economic mainstays of the area.
Known today as the Trout Fishing Capital of Colorado, anglers seek out the area's Gold Medal streams. And in 2009, South Park and the area around Fairplay were designated a National Heritage Area by the U.S. Congress for its distinctive landscapes, historic structures, recreational resources. Traveling around, you'll see South Park's 19th-century ranches, old mines and other historic sites.
On the edge of Fairplay lies South Park City, an extraordinary museum with 40 historic buildings. It was created in the late 1950s by a group of citizens concerned that the old mining and ghost towns of Park County were being dismantled and destroyed. The group recreated an 1800s gold mining town. Buildings were brought in from the high gulches of the Mosquito Range and from mining towns such as Alma, Leavick, Buckskin Joe and Montgomery. Most of these buildings showcase an array of period furnishings and equipment, and tours take you back in time to South Park's early days.
Alma, northwest of Fairplay, once served as the ore-processing center of South Park and once numbered 900 residents. The commercial district also served as an entertainment district, because the manager of the Moose Mine would not allow saloons or gambling in Dudley — a town located just a mile away. Today many visitors chuckle at a sign above a local drinking establishment that says: Alma's Only Bar. Before leaving town, catch a glimpse into the life of the early pioneers at Alma's cemetery. One stone is carved with a cryptic message: "I love you but please go to sleep."
Today Alma welcomes mountain-hiking enthusiasts, ghost hunters and tourists from Leadville and Breckenridge. Must-sees include Kite Lake, at a crisp 12,400 feet and the ghost town of Buckskin Joe. The four-wheel-drive Mosquito Pass, the highest motor-vehicle pass in North America, above Alma is the area’s most popular summer attraction.
Also above Alma may be one of the most interesting spectacles in South Park — the Bristlecone Pine Scenic Area. You can drive part way to the site, then hike the remainder in summer or ski it in winter. Standing on a barren bluff overlooking the valley are 2,000-year-old bristlecone pine trees, gnarled into grotesque beauty by the wind.
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I find myself suddenly in a dark pit, illuminated only by scattered fires and glowing lava pools. I fumble with my phone, but there are no bars. I start recording…
Me: Wow, it’s hot! And what is that smell?
The fiery pit is large and barren of life. Despite the overwhelming heat, the center of the pit appears to be frozen and covered in ice.
I search through the dense, noxious vapors when suddenly I am startled by an old, filthy, bent, solitary man in rags standing in a mist and staring upwards towards the center of the pit.
Old man: The odor is a mix of sulfur and decomposition. And it’s always hot in Hell.
His descriptions seem melodramatic, but they certainly fit. I slowly work my way towards the wretched figure.
Me: Who are you?
Old man: I am the great Greek philosopher, Plato.
Out of courtesy and pity, I attempt to conceal my skepticism. I smile at the old man, but he continues to look away.
Me: If you are now in Hell, then I’m not sure you were such a great philosopher when you were alive.
Momentarily irritated by my comment, Plato continues in a practiced, haughty tone.
Plato: Transformed into icy granite, I am frozen for eternity with my gaze fixed upon my master.
I look around and see no one else in view.
Me: Who is your master and where is he? I don’t see anyone else here but you and me.
Surprised by my questions, Plato indignantly responds with a booming, though trembling voice.
Plato: My master is none other than Lucifer himself! Bow to his magnificent beauty as he towers before us with majesty and power in the center of this very pit.
I carefully follow the old man’s gaze towards the frozen center of the pit. It is empty, save for a large pool of ice.
Me: Sir, you are mistaken. There is no one else here in this Godforsaken place besides you and me.
Plato is unsurprised.
Plato: You lack discernment.
I won’t argue with him there, but I cannot help but begin to question his grasp on reality.
Me: You are also not made of stone. Here, let me help you sit.
I step towards the miserable figure when he suddenly erupts, halting my progress.
Plato: No! It is you who are wrong! Do you even know what today is?
Me: It’s November 6, 2012, Election Day in my country.
Plato: By the numbers it is 11:6, a day for the occult invocation of the uncompleted Tower of Babel. The old order was torn down on 9/11/01 — 9/11 is an inversion of 11:6 — the Tower was completed anew on 1/4/10 and the final chapter before the birth of the New Order starts today, 23 days after my master fell to Earth a second time.
Numbers. The occult loves numbers like 2,717, the secret height of the Burj Khalifa, which I had derived directly from the proportions of the Georgia Guidestones months before the Burj’s true height was publicly known. 2,717, the first Greek number skipped in Strong’s Numbers for the New Testament, a number that some say foreshadows the Antichrist, a number that corresponds to “make waste” or “to be made desolate” in the Strong’s Hebrew Concordance.
One of the most diabolical examples of Georgia Guidestones numerology involves the Magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku, Japan, earthquake that claimed nearly 16,000 lives. This massive disaster struck Japan on March 11, 2011, exactly 11,311 days after the Georgia Guidestones monument was officially completed on March 22, 1980. The number “11,311″ in day/month/year format (“little endian,” which is most commonly used around the world) or year/month/day format (“big endian,” which is used by the military and also in Japan) can be written 11/3/11. This corresponds to March 11, 2011, the actual date of the earthquake.
Furthermore, the earthquake occurred exactly 9 years, 6 months after 9/11/2001. Treating these dates as vectors and adding them together we get: [ 9, 11, 1 ] + [ 3, 11, 11 ] = [ 12, 22, 12 ] or December 22, 2012, the day after the end of the Mayan calender, or, more appropriately, the first day of a new age.
However, regarding the old man’s last assertion, try as I might, I cannot contain my laughter.
Me: Are you saying that Felix Baumgartner is Satan?
Plato: Fool! Ceremonies on the mortal plane open portals within the spiritual realm. You claim to be an expert on the Georgia Guidestones, so how many days will it be since the day the monument was completed until December 21, 2012, the Mayan Day of Destruction?
I’m startled that he seems to know who I am.
Me: It would take me a few minutes to figure that out with no computer here. My phone has no signal…
Plato: You should already know the answer. It’s 11,962 days. Does that number look familiar to you?
Me: No. Let me think; I have an app on my phone that might help. 11,962 is an unusual number since it has only two prime factors: 2 and 5,981. Why should I know more about it?
Plato: Your country uses many codes, this is one of them.
Me: Codes? Yes, it does look like a Zip Code, but I have no idea what community it corresponds to.
Plato: It is the code for Sagaponack, New York.
Me: Really? I recall Sagaponack was listed as the most expensive small town in the country. The median house price in Sagaponack is over $4-million! I think Jimmy Fallon lives there among the 500 or so residents; it’s a tiny place.
Me: Jimmy Fallon. He is a comedian who appears in credit card commercials trying to convince a baby to take money. The baby keeps throwing the money back in his face.
Plato laughs uncontrollably for several seconds before recovering himself.
Plato: And you still do not understand? You are being mocked, ridiculed! That baby has more wisdom than you!
Me: I guess I do not understand. Please explain.
Plato: Sagaponack is the home of Lloyd Blankfein…
I turn white and my stomach tightens.
Me: You mean the CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs?
Is December 21, 2012, a financial doomsday that will bring down the world’s nations, or does it have some other significance? You need to answer that question yourself. What I will tell you is that The Georgia Guidestones, 9/11, the Burj Khalifa, Ted Turner, Goldman Sachs, the Mahdi, today’s elections, earthquakes, storms, riots and the war to come are all part of the same ceremony that balance on the fulcrum that is the date December 21, 2012. And it is all made possible through an illusion. Your money holds no value, but its illusion of value has been maintained by your world’s insatiable love for base, material things.
The moneychangers are the rulers of your world and now they plan to bring it all down through a final series of Grand Illusions. They will wipe the Earth clean, disposing of billions of human lives, and, using the benefits of high technology, erect a New World Order for their master, Lucifer. This New World Order is a society I designed thousands of years ago; I am the architect.
My head spins with this information. It is hard to dispel, but I don’t want to believe it. If all he says is true, then a supreme irony is that at least part of the Georgia Guidestones project was not funded by money, but rather paid for with gold. Last summer, my wife contacted the publisher of Common Sense Renewed, the companion book for the monument. The aging publisher told her that the book was paid for anonymously using South African Krugerrands, gold bullion coins. More ironically, the publishing company is located in Mason City, Iowa, a town founded by Freemasons.
I reach out my right hand to help the old man sit, but I slip on the icy ground and grab his arm for support. His arm is frigid and hard and unyielding like rock. I look at his face closely for the first time and his eyes are gone, clawed from their sockets. The life I saw in him has vanished and his form has been replaced by a crudely hewn granite statue.
I step back in terror when I am suddenly gripped with pain in my right hand. The color drains from it and I can no longer move my fingers. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a massive figure looming overhead. Unmistakeably, it’s winged Lucifer, frozen in the center of Hell.
But he’s melting and his huge head pivots towards me. I recognize him! How could I be so stupid not to have known sooner? I must warn everyone before it’s too late!
But I can’t move. My feet have turned to stone as has most of my body. I only have a few more seconds before I’m completely rendered in granite. Maybe if I shout loudly enough, someone will hear me.
Me: Lucifer walks the Earth again! His name is…
For more on the sinister Georgia Guidestones monument, please see here, here and here.
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When we first look at an equation, we see if we can guess the answer by mentally trying numbers and thinking about what the equation is asking us.
|to solve||we think||to find|
|"I'm looking for a number whose square root is 4"||
|"What number for x gives 2x = 3?"||
|"Three divided by what number gives -1?"||
|"What exponent will make the exponential be 1?"||
|"What numbers make each factor zero?"||
|"What numbers make the numerator zero?"||
|"What values make the sine value equal to 1?"||
If we can't solve an equation mentally, we may be able to solve it by applying operations to it: the rules of equality allow us to perform the same operation on both sides of an equation. Thus, we can add or subtract the same number from both sides, or we can multiply both sides by the same number (as long as we avoid dividing by zero), etc. This is how we solve equations in the following topics.
Some equations we can solve exactly, often by using algebra. For example, the equation 7x - 1 = 0 has the solution x = 1/7. Other equations may be more difficult or even impossible to solve exactly. In these cases it may be possible, and easier, to obtain an approximate solution by using a graph or a numerical method on a calculator. The equation 7x - 1 = 0 has the approximate solution , since (1/7) = 0.142857...). In this case we use the approximately sign () to emphasize that the solution is not exact.
Note how the problems at the top of this page are solved mentally by thinking about what the equation tells us. Do this for the following problems to find the solution to each in your head.
Note that you can get new practice problems by clicking the "Refresh" button at the bottom of the practice set.
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DOE Secretary Bodman Takes Part in Energy Savings Assessment at Caterpillar Facility
April 10, 2006
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman toured the Caterpillar plant in Peoria, IL on April 6, 2006 to participate in an Industrial Technologies Program Energy Savings Assessment (ESA) conducted there, and to reiterate the goals of President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative. As part of DOE's "Easy Ways to Save Energy Now" campaign, 200 of the nation's most energy-intensive manufacturing facilities will be evaluated for energy-saving opportunities. The first 21 ESAs have identified opportunities to reduce natural gas use by more than 8 trillion Btu per year, equivalent to natural gas consumed by more than 100,000 homes annually.
This Caterpillar site is among the 200 plants to be assessed. Caterpillar's energy managers teamed with a DOE Energy Expert to identify energy savings in the plant's process heating system at the Track-Type Tractors and Transmission Business Unit, part of the company's Motion and Power Control Division. This facility designs and manufactures transmissions and other drive train components for Caterpillar and other OEM equipment vendors.
"President Bush has called on all Americans to be more energy efficient. Private industry is joining the federal government in taking a leading role in this effort," Secretary Bodman said. "DOE's Energy Saving Teams are playing a key role in assessing and recommending energy efficiency strategies for some of the largest industrial facilities across the nation."
Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. The company has a long and successful R&D partnership with DOE, which includes developing clean diesel engines, advanced combustion regimes, alternative fuels, combined heat and power, cross-cutting advanced materials, fuel cells, and advanced product and process simulation. Read the DOE Press Release.
Visit the Industrial Technologies Program Save Energy Now Web site to learn more about the 200 plant assessments and numerous resources to help U.S. industry save energy and money and increase productivity right now.
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Head of Egypt's National Council for Women, Mervat al-Talawy, said on Saturday that the council established an institution called 'Friends of the National Council for Women' to create small projects and open literacy classes.
The institution will open its membership unconditionally to all Egyptians, men and women who believe in development and women rights.
Nearly 27 percent of Egypt's 85 million citizens are illiterate, the female illiteracy rate is even worse -- some 20 percent higher than among males, particularly in the 15 to 35 age group, according to a report issued by the government's Information and Decision Support Centre.
The former Minister of Social Affairs said that the institution will provide rural and urban pioneer women with training courses as they are an important segment of civil society.
Talawy added that the institution will provide financial and in-kind assistance for the poor and create a library for women.
She emphasized that the institution aims at communicating with women who participate in the process of development and those who will benefit from the activities of the institution.
The National Council for Women had received approval from the Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs on the establishment of the institution in December.
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See the Glossary for more terms.
Table of Contents
Absolutely. NIAID is committed to increasing the number of investigators from underrepresented groups in fields related to its mission. The Institute supports several programs targeted to underrepresented students and investigators, including fellowships and research supplements. For a complete list, go to Diversity Programs Supported by NIAID.
For Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research, the principal investigator (PI) applies. If you wish to be hired under a supplement, talk to a PI.
Find other opportunities on the NIAID Funding Opportunities List.
NIH considers the following groups as underrepresented in biomedical research:
Even if you don't fit one of the categories, you may still qualify for some special programs if you can show that you are underrepresented at your institution.
For more information, contact NIAID's Office of Research Training and Special Programs at AITrainingHelpDesk@niaid.nih.gov.
Yes. Pacific Islanders, such as Guamanians, Hawaiians, and Samoans, are considered underrepresented. Others include African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaskan Natives. Go to our definition for underrepresented groups.
Yes. NIH considers that person to be an African American.
Go to the Research Supplements page of the Research Funding Web site and Research Supplements in our Advice on Research Training and Career Awards. Also, read the Supplement Types Awarded to Research Grants SOP and Special Supplements for Individuals SOP.
Yes. Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research allow PIs to hire high school students who want experience in various aspects of health-related research.
Through Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research, predocs with disabilities can get up to five years of support for biomedical, behavioral sciences, or health services research.
Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research also support disabled students.
See Research Supplements. Also, for students, we support Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research.
Yes. With the Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research, you can get up to five years of support for research training. For more information, see Fellowships in our Advice on Research Training and Career Awards.
No. This award is also for people with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Remember that underrepresentation varies depending on the setting. If your institution can show that you belong to an underrepresented group, you are eligible.
That said, your institution must certify in a letter that you are a member of an underrepresented group. For more information, see the Fellowship Grants SOP and the F31 funding opportunity announcement Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research.
It depends on the education and experience of the worker. Scroll to the "Salary and Budget" header in Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research.
Yes. By applying for Primary Caregiver Technical Assistance Supplements, PIs can obtain technical support for postdocs who are taking care of children or ailing family members.
Definitely. PIs who interrupt their careers to care for children or attend to other family responsibilities can apply for Supplements to Promote Reentry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers. These are administrative supplements to existing NIH research grants that support full-time or part-time research to bring skills and knowledge up to date. For more information, see Reentry Supplements.
Email email@example.com with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. We answer questions by email and post them here. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base.
Last Updated November 23, 2012
Last Reviewed August 08, 2012
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Hoop Dreams: The Criterion Collection
Enveloped by the cold, decaying, concrete embrace of the inner-city, dodging drug dealers and gang members on their way to woefully under-funded schools staffed with teachers either too apathetic, too scared, or too overwhelmed by corruptive influences beyond their control to provide proper instruction, where else, pray tell, is a young African American male expected to find solace other than the playground basketball court? (Perhaps a makeshift recording studio, but that's another lament for another time.) And after decades of games played, refined, and heightened in this contentious, competitive milieu, expanding beyond the set-shot and bounce-pass to the innovation of, for example, the crossover dribble and the slam dunk, can it be considered anything but inevitable that the National Basketball Association quickly came to be dominated by individuals of color hailing specifically from the economically depressed neighborhoods of this country's major metropolises? Until 1994, insight into this man-made sociological phenomenon had been provided by several noteworthy books (most notably Rick Telender's Heaven is a Playground), but the breadth of the process, from recruitment to coaching to probable disappointment, was so shadowy and involved as to be rendered completely incomprehensible to outsiders. Hoop Dreams (1994), a four-year-plus labor of love by the documentary filmmaking team of Steve James, Peter Gilbert and Frederick Marx, changed that. Following two young prospects, Arthur Agee and William Gates, from their playground discovery to their senior years in high school, the film lays bare a system that teasingly builds up as swiftly as it ruthlessly breaks down. This might've been achievement enough, but the filmmakers' compassion and humanity ultimately gets the better of them, and their narrative, directed by the mercurial whims of the universe, becomes a living, breathing Dickensian document of urban American life that may never be surpassed.
The journey begins with a freelance scout (aka a "bush beater") plucking Agee out of a pick-up game, impressed with his quick first step, and hauling him out of his rough Garfield Park environs to the comparatively verdant Chicago suburbs where St. Joseph's, one of the city's prep basketball powerhouses, is holding a mini-camp for a bleacherful of 14-year-old might-bes. Agee and his family get a private consultation with the legendary coach Gene Pingatore, who dangles the promise of a scholarship to a top college as reward for four years of hard work before trotting out his most successful graduate and primary recruitment draw, Detroit Pistons All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, to close the deal. Despite his seductive spiel, Pingatore expresses immediate doubts about Agee's potential (he acknowledges the skill but doesn't see the confidence), while talking up the current year's freshman blue chip, Gates, who he thinks has the raw talent to make the pros in another six to eight years. Both Agee and Gates enroll at St. Joe's, but only the latter makes the varsity team. One year later, Agee is essentially discarded by Pingatore and the school due to financial hardship (both parents lose their jobs), though they scramble to assist Gates as he encounters similar obstacles. While Agee is consigned to the turmoil of an inner city public high school, where his grades and game regress, Gates flourishes, earning "next Isaiah Thomas" accolades from the top Chicago sportswriters, and (not that it matters) making the honor roll. However, as good as Gates is, he fails to take his team to the state championship in his first two years, and, tragically, misses most of his third year when he tears ligaments in one of his knees. As Gates's fortunes plummet, reaching a gut-wrenching low when he pulls up lame in front of a star-studded audience of college coaches at an annual Nike development camp for elite high school seniors, Agee's outlook suddenly improves, driving the film to a rousing and unlikely finish twice as improbable as anything John G. Avildsen ever attempted.
* * *
Subjecting Hoop Dreams to the tidiness of a plot summary is to do the film a profound disservice. Though Arthur and William are undeniably the tale's protagonists, it's the travails of their friends and family that give the story its uniquely poignant and, at times, heartbreaking texture. For instance, there's Arthur's father, Bo, who tumbles into a drug addiction so consuming that at one point he saunters off a playground basketball court to cop a fix in full view of his son and the filmmakers. Bo eventually bounces back through the salvation of the church, but even his resilience produces a number of difficult scenes, like his humbling supplication in the bursar's office at St. Joe's to free up Arthur's transcript. But it's the arc of Arthur's mother, Sheila, that lingers most indelibly; a proud woman who never cracks under the unfair misfortune heaped upon her by a callous system, her redemption, delivered via a hard earned nursing certificate, is cheering even as her achievement is celebrated in a room filled with empty folding chairs. As has been noted by several critics, the only event liable to draw crowds in the inner city is a high school basketball game, where dreams are dashed far more readily than they're realized. The film's final miracle is its end-credit epilogue informing us that Arthur and William have survived their respective disappointments and, thus far, an early grave.
The Criterion Collection presents Hoop Dreams in a fine full-screen transfer (1.33:1) with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio. Interestingly, for a film so generous in its running time, Criterion has opted for brevity with this release, seeking only to enhance one's viewing experience rather than broaden the context (which would be difficult given today's vastly different recruiting process that now includes scouts from the pros and the major shoe companies). Both audio commentaries, one featuring the filmmakers and the other reuniting Gates and Agee (who've stayed in touch over the years), are exemplary. The former offers some very candid self-criticism as to whether they overstepped their role as documentarians (or if they did enough as reasonably compassionate human beings), while the latter allows Arthur and William their chance to sound off on the process and reminisce (sadly, ten years later, there's additional pain to pick over). Also worthwhile is a collection of segments from "Siskel & Ebert" following their tireless advocacy from Sundance to a Best of the Decade special. A 37-page booklet offers essays by John Edgar Wideman and Alexander Wolff, a reprint of Michael Wise's 2004 Washington Post article checking in on the Agee and Gates families, and a dedication from the filmmakers. Also on board are a music video and theatrical trailers. Keep-case.
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THE VIRTUAL FACULTY
Check details of our Postgraduate Diploma courses, to be offered from 2003
Since 1st January 1996 the web counter
visitors to this page
This 'virtual faculty' began to form in late 1994. As faculty members we share a sufficient common interest to have enabled us to come together in this networked forum nearly one year later. Perhaps the 'key plank' in our common interest is what has been termed 'the discursive turn' (aka 'the second cognitive revolution') that has begun to occur in a number of areas of contemporary psychology. What is this 'discursive turn'?
Our delineation of the subject matter of psychology has to take account of discourses, significations, subjectivities, and positionings, for it is in these that psychological phenomena actually exist. For example, an attitude should not be seen as a semipermanent mental entity, causing people to say and do certain things. Rather, it comes into existence in displays expressive of decisions and judgements and in the performance of actions. Each reconceptualization helps to draw attention to the fact that the study of the mind is a way of understanding the phenomena that arise when different sociocultural discourses are integrated within an identifiable human individual situated in relation to those discourses
This common interest is represented in different ways in the work of individual faculty members. The faculty members are at the same time jointly working to realise some shared projects within this computer-based medium. One practical application of this common interest animates the emerging field of narrative therapy.
A related project is Daniel Chandler's work centred in The University of Wales at Aberystwyth, the Media and Communications Studies Page. This has been described by Connect (Fall 1995 issue), the journal of the Center for Media Literacy, Los Angeles, as 'perhaps the most comprehensive media lit site. Overflowing with links to media lit articles, research, educators, organizations, industries, advocates, etc. Subjects include communication theory and visual literacy'.
A second related project is being developed by Joseph Petraglia at Georgia Institute of Technology. First, web-based resources for the study and teaching of rhetoric are being put in place; and second, a collaborative project there is working to put in place software to support constructivist learning.
A fourth related project is Vinnie Hevern's Resources for Narrative Psychology, which focuses upon narrative perspectives in psychology and allied disciplines and provides an interdisciplinary guide to bibliographical and Internet resources concerned with "the storied nature of human conduct" (Sarbin, 1986) broadly conceived.
And a fifth related project is Lois Shawver's Postmodern Therapy News, a regularly updated newsletter, background and compilation of current discussions on the Postmodern Therapy mailing list.
Note:Links to papers available at this point generally call up the full texts directly. Some of these papers are of the order of 100k and may take a while to download.
Bronwyn Davies and Rom Harré
Jim Wertsch and Mike Cole
Abstracts of papers are available from Volume 1, 1994 to date
At this point in this 'virtual faculty's' development there are lots of things we maintain an interest in. Not all of these are central to our academic interests. Some of our current interests are in things that are just the kinds of technological gizmos you might need if you want to try this exercise for yourself. But in terms of what we are trying to do, these things are just gizmos that help us to keep on trying. Please let us know of additional links we should list. Note also that these pages are in the process of construction, and some links will take you away from this site at what might be inappropriate times. So remember to use your 'back' button as needed until we sort out a better format.
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There are tragic Seattle echoes in a move by the operators of the Deepwater Horizon drill rig to limit their liability for the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Transocean Ltd. has asked a federal judge in Houston to pre-empt pending lawsuits by capping the company's liability at less than $27 million.
The company claims its financial responsibility is limited, under the Limited Liability Act of 1851, to the value of the oil platform and its cargo.
A ruling often cited in such cases came in a Seattle courtroom, following a shipwreck that killed 353 people including at least 149 from Seattle.
On Oct. 25, 1918 the luxury ship Princess Sophia left Skagway, Alaska for Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle. The ship was licensed to carry 200 passengers, but it was freeze-up season in Skagway and thousands were willing to pay a premium for almost any space. The Sophia's owners, Canadian Pacific Railway, arranged for a special one-trip license to carry an extra 100 people.
At 3 a.m. Sophia smashed into Vanderbilt Reef, south of Juneau. The ship's speed carried it high onto the rocks where it hung, firmly wedged, for 40 hours, as a wind and snow storm raged.
By daylight, eight rescue ships were circling. Cornelius Stidman of Seattle, a deck hand on the harbor boat Peterson, wrote the Seattle Times that two of the rescue ships moved within a few feet of an open cargo port on the Sophia during a lull in the storm, and offered to attempt a transfer of the passengers, but Capt. Leonard Locke refused. The passengers were better off where they were, Locke insisted. A sister ship of the Sophia was said to be on its way, to take on the passengers soon as the storm cleared.
"There is no appropriate comment on this needless loss of life," Stidman wrote. "They all could have been taken off."
By nightfall of the second day, all but one of the rescue ships had run for shelter. At 5:20 p.m. the Sophia's radio operator signaled, "For God's sake come and save us." It was the last anyone heard from the ship. Huge waves tore it from the rocks, turned it end-for-end, and dumped it into the sea. Everyone died.
Canadian Pacific was a huge corporation for its time, with more than $1 billion in assets when a billion was serious money. CPR's brochures, hawking tourism on the Sophia and ten other Princess ships running the Inside Passage, emphasized the skill and competence of their captains and crews. But when the Sophia smashed the reef, it was running an estimated 11 knots, in the dark, in a blizzard, with no forward watch. Electronic navigation aids were years away; ships' navigators plotted their way through the darkness by sounding their whistle and timing the echoes from the shoreline. The Sophia was a mile-and-a-half off course in notably dangerous waters.
The owners quickly denied responsibility, fighting even the payment of workers' compensation to the families of the crewmembers. Canadian Pacific's attorneys, Bogle and Gates of Seattle, fought off years of lawsuits by families of the passengers, most of them represented by Seattle attorney William Martin.
In 1921, U.S. District Judge Jeremiah Neterer issued a preliminary ruling against CPR. If the company were found negligent, which he indicated it would be, it would owe $2.5 million to the families of the victims, plus another $1 million in attorneys' fees.
The company filed for a rehearing on the same testimony the judge had already heard, and ten days later Neterer overruled himself.
He found that Canadian Pacific's liability, under the 1851 Limited Liabilities Act, was for only the total passenger and freight fares and baggage, plus the salvage value of the wreck at the bottom of the Inside Passage. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Neterer and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case.
Lloyd's of London had insured the Sofia, and Canadian Pacific collected $250,000. But that payment belonged to the company, not the heirs of the doomed.
Transocean says it will net $270 million from its insurance policy on the Deepwater Horizon. The company also announced plans to distribute $1 billion to its shareholders, at the same time as it seeks to limit its liability for 11 deaths and what may be the world's worst environmental disaster.
Eighteen Democratic U.S. Senators including Washington's Patty Murray have asked the Justice Department to investigate Transocean's finances. Meanwhile, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York says he'll introduce a bill to repeal the law that has for 159 years provided a peculiar legal shelter to ship owners. The shelter worked out for Canadian Pacific, which settled damage claims for $643.50 — that's $1.82 for each life lost aboard the Princess Sophia.
Footnote: Portions of this story appeared in the Seattle Weekly in October 1993. That story resulted from the author's access to the files of the late Alex Johnson of Lake Forest Park, including letters from Johnson's uncle, D.A. Muirhead, a land-based agent for CPR steamships. For a more detailed account, see Ken Coates and Bill Morrison, The Sinking of the Princess Sophia: Taking the North Down With Her, University of Alaska Press, 1991. See also "Shippers' Limitations of Liability," by Walter W. Eyer, Stanford Law Review, 1964.
Like what you just read? Support high quality local journalism. Become a member of Crosscut today!
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TVA Hosts Workshop With Native American Tribes
May 22, 2012
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - As part of an ongoing commitment to consult with Native American tribes in the region, the Tennessee Valley Authority hosted a three-day workshop inviting representatives of more than a dozen federally recognized tribes.
The workshop, held May 15-17 in Chattanooga, included discussions about the proper identification and care for Native American remains and other issues important to both TVA and the tribes.
TVA has hosted these workshops every five years since 2002. TVA is also required under federal law to consult regularly with federally recognized tribes.
“Hosting this workshop allows TVA to listen to the tribes’ concerns and encourages honest communication and transparency regarding TVA undertakings,” said Pat Ezzell, TVA historian and Native American liaison. “Strong relationships are important because each tribe is its own sovereign nation and together they represent a wide geographic area.”
Tribes in attendance included representatives from the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Chickasaw Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Muscogee Creek Nation, Thlopthlocco Tribal Town and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Each of the tribes is recognized in federal law as having the power to make and enforce laws, and establish courts and other forums for resolving disputes.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for business customers and distribution utilities that serve 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at prices below the national average. TVA, which receives no taxpayer money and makes no profits, also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists utilities and state and local governments with economic development.
Scott Brooks, Knoxville, (865) 632-8031
TVA Media Relations, Knoxville, (865) 632-6000
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Information contained on this page is provided by companies via press release distributed through PR Newswire, an independent third-party content provider. PR Newswire, WorldNow and this Station make no warranties or representations in connection therewith.
SOURCE EcoDual Inc.
GREENVILLE, S.C., March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the nation's foremost centers for automotive innovation has partnered with a market leader in advanced technology research and development to advance commercial availability of natural gas engine systems for heavy duty diesel trucks.
The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) and Beaufort, S.C.-based EcoDual Inc. will focus their combined resources on conversion of diesel engines already on the road to natural gas operation and reduction of exhaust emissions.
The team subsequently will address challenges associated with optimizing natural gas use in new diesel engines under development by OEMs. The team also will research strategies to develop clean combustion engines aimed at minimizing the need for costly and cumbersome "exhaust after-treatment" -- a strategic expertise found uniquely in the CU-ICAR faculty.
"We expect to see a significant uptake in the use of natural gas for heavy duty vehicles in the immediate future, driven by the projected low prices of this fuel compared to diesel," said Zoran Filipi, Timken endowed chair in vehicle system design at CU-ICAR.
"The increased use of natural gas for transportation is the most cost-effective way to utilize the vast quantity of newly discovered domestic reserves," Filipi said. "This new research relationship with EcoDual is very exciting for us, and will unlock the full potential of this technology, including the possibilities to make engines run cleaner.
"This partnership creates outstanding opportunities for our students and faculty to engage in transforming the commercial fleets on the nation's roads," he said.
EcoDual's system allows conversion of a heavy duty diesel to run on a combination of natural gas and diesel fuels. More than 60 percent of the engine's power is generated by burning natural gas.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently approved the first EcoDual conversion systems for the 15L Cummins ISX, the nation's most popular Class 8 heavy duty diesel engine. Development is underway for additional Cummins and Detroit Diesel heavy duty engines.
In dual-fuel operation, trucks maintain the same torque, power and fuel economy as when they run on straight diesel fuel. Systems can be configured for ranges of more than 800 miles on compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas.
Equally important, there is no "range anxiety" with EcoDual systems, as they automatically run on 100 percent diesel if the natural gas tanks ever run out.
Scott Myers, EcoDual's chief executive officer, said, "CU-ICAR is a key development partner who will help us accelerate next-generation product development, and will enable us to broaden our market penetration.
"Our partnership with CU-ICAR provides tremendous faculty expertise and world-class development facilities. We look forward to this collaboration."
The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR)
CU-ICAR is an advanced technology research campus where academia, industry and government organizations collaborate to create a global venue for the automotive industry. The 250-acre campus in Greenville, S.C is composed of five technology neighborhoods, each designed uniquely for optimizing an innovative and collaborative environment. CU-ICAR is home to Clemson's Department of Automotive Engineering, which offers masters and Ph.D. programs and is conducting leading-edge applied research driven by industry needs.
EcoDual Inc. is an independent provider of patent-pending dual fuel conversion systems enabling existing heavy duty diesel trucks to operate on a combination of diesel and natural gas. The EcoDual team has designed, developed and sold natural gas systems for heavy trucks globally for more than 15 years.
©2012 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.
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Washington has raised alarms over Qatari arms shipments to Libya possibly being redirected to militants. The concern comes despite the fact that last year the US authorized Doha to export weapons to Libya as it struggled for democracy.
The Obama administration is highly concerned that Islamist militants are arming themselves with weapons exported to Libya by Qatar, the New York Times quotes US officials and diplomats as saying.
Following last year’s uprising and the subsequent overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya remains highly destabilized and flooded with weapons, which circulate among different armed groups. Some of those groups could easily include Islamist militants.
Qatari weapons are also reportedly leaving Libya and being shipped to other countries in the region, like Mali, where al-Qaeda-linked militant groups are trying to establish an Islamic state.
Mali has been in chaos since March when the military toppled the president, after which Tuareg rebels managed to seize two-thirds of the country. On Wednesday, the African Union appealed for UN funding to fight Islamist extremists in northern Mali.
Although Qatar has never officially confirmed its arms supplies to Libya, numerous reports allege that Doha was directly involved in last year’s conflict in Libya.
Qatar is believed to have supplied Libya with small arms, including machine guns, automatic rifles and ammunition.
The imports reportedly took place with full US approval, the New York Times said. Since Washington did not want to commit to a ground operation, or deal with the politics of smuggling arms to rebels, it leaned on help from regional allies such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Some US officials claimed that Qatar would not ship arms in defiance of US wishes; others said that Washington has little leverage over Doha when it comes to Qatari interests in the region.
A debate about the weapons shipments was the central subject of least one meeting of the second-highest-ranked officials of major US national security agencies, the New York Times said, citing an official who attended the panel.
Washington initially declined when Qatar asked for approval on the sale of US-made weapons to Libya. However, the US had no such objections against the sale of French- and Russian-designed arms, the New York Times reported.
The report also claims that Mahmoud Jibril, former prime minister of the Libyan transitional government, expressed frustration at the United States allowing Qatar to arm extremist groups who opposed the new leadership.
More than a year after the overthrow of Gaddafi, Libyan authorities have failed to establish full control over Libya’s disparate armed groups. In October, the three-week-long siege of the city of Bani Walid killed dozens, and wounded over 100 more. The conflict began after armed militants invaded the city; government forces attempting to restore order faced fierce resistance from well-armed rebels.
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Once again, although there was no stunning movement either up or down in the latest results, both the local public systems beat the Georgia average (fairly easy to do, alas) and the U.S. average (far more meaningful for local evaluation purposes).
Both of them have been doing this for years, which is a particularly meaningful result. Class SAT scores fluctuate due to the luck of the genetic pool (having a couple of true geniuses as seniors raises all scores) and how many choose to take the exam. In both this area, and the state as a whole, the numbers trying the three-part (reading, writing, math) mastery exam tend to be way higher than in many other parts of the country.
In a sense, no matter the numerical score (1514 for Floyd, 1508 for Rome out of a possible maximum of 2400) those solid averages, considering the high level of participants, really means most young people exit the public schools with a pretty solid education. That is something to brag about.
Now then … how do we keep all the young folks in school long enough to get to the point where taking the SAT is possible?
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Mother Natures’ four elements have been an integral and symbolic part of rituals, celebrations and ceremonies, especially those which would insure the ancients a bountiful harvest, fertility, or protection from unfriendly tribes. One could logically wonder if perhaps the interpretations for the use of ceremonial incense may have also included masking odors from sacrificial animals, which were strongly believed to carry prayers to the Pagan Gods. However, historians have found evidence that ancient practitioners discovered the unique vibrations which Herbs, Oils and Incense emit, therefore making them invaluable tools for magickal, spiritual, and medicinal purposes.
The composition of incense has long been surrounded by Occult mystery lending itself to the mystique surrounding it. There are two types of incense: Combustible and the non-combustible. The former contains potassium nitrate (saltpeter) to aid in burning, while the latter does not. Combustible incense can be molded in a variety of forms, although bricks, cones, and sticks are the most familiar and popular. Non-combustible incense must be sprinkled onto a glowing charcoal block in order to release its power and pungent fragrance.
The mystical effect which produces the esthetically appealing billow or cloud of smoke is obtained from powdered, raw or granular incense. Cones, sticks and block incense burn at a controlled, steady rate, which cannot create desired dramatic effects.
Magickal incenses are not blended to smell pleasing to the human nose, clear the air or mask odors. They are compounded and used to make things happen, thereby manifesting a goal, purpose or need. While it is true that some magickal incenses produce a pleasant odor; many do not. For countless centuries, the Roman Catholic Church has used censers in which to burn the raw, extremely pungent but cleansing combination; Frankincense and Myrrh. This is a spiritually symbolic form of ancient ceremonial smudging.
Non-combustible raw incense is not as easy to judge or work with. But with the aid of a charcoal block, practitioners have found that granular and powdered incenses are much easier to manage. Home crafted Candles, Oils, Soaps and Incense are ancient, time consuming arts, such as; fall home canning.
Designed by Dave Gilbert.
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A hot, rocky planet discovered using the Kepler space telescope is the smallest ever found outside our solar system.
The new planet, called Kepler-37b, has a radius less than a third the size of Earth’s, making it roughly the size of the moon, a paper published online in the journal Nature reported Wednesday.
"The thing that really I find astounding about this is we’ve managed to find a planet that is smaller than any that we know of in our own inner solar system,” Thomas Barclay, a researcher at NASA-Ames Research Center, who led the study, said in an interview with CBC News.
Barclay noted that many of the first planets found outside our solar system were larger than the planets found in our own solar system, showing that stellar systems could be quite different from our own.
"Now we know that things are not only larger than what we have in our own solar system, but also smaller,” he said.
Kepler-37b is “significantly smaller” than Mercury, which has officially been the smallest planet in our solar system since Pluto was demoted to a “dwarf planet” by the International Astronomical Union in 2006.
Kepler-37b is the inner-most of three planets detected orbiting a star called Kepler-37, located about 210 light years away from Earth in the constellation Lyra.
The star is sun-like, but cooler and a little bit smaller than the sun, according to the paper.
Kepler-37b is thought to be rocky, with no atmosphere, like Mercury. Because it is very close to its star, its surface temperature is estimated to be a scorching 400 C. The little planet is also a speedy traveller, completing its journey around its star once every 13 days.
The two other planets in the system are Kepler-37c, which has a radius about 70 per cent the size of Earth’s, and Kepler-37d, which has a radius about double that of the Earth’s.
The Kepler space telescope, launched in 2009, is pointed at stars in the constellations Cygnus and Lyra located between a few hundred and a few thousand light years away, within our own Milky Way galaxy.
The telescope detects planets by measuring the brightness of stars over time and detecting dips in the brightness caused by planets passing in front of the star during the course of their orbits. The smaller the planet relative to the size of the star, the smaller the change in brightness and the more difficult the planet is to detect — even though smaller planets are expected to be more common than larger planets.
Barclay said it was a bit of luck that allowed his research team to detect Kepler-37b from an extremely tiny signal. The star is relatively bright and doesn't have a lot of activity on its surface such as star spots and flares that could cause other variations in brightness. Such phenomena would make it more difficult to detect the dimming caused by planets.
"For most stars we are not so lucky," Barclay added.
While it's hard to extrapolate how common planets this size are from a single sample, he said, "the fact that we found one around one of the very few stars that we could find one is suggestive that small planets may be very common.”
In order to confirm that Kepler-37b is actually a planet and not a “false positive” caused by some other phenomena, such as planets passing in front of other stars in the background, the researchers took extra high-resolution images and measurements using ground-based telescopes.
They also used a computer to simulate possible scenarios that could generate a signal that looked like a planet, allowing them to rule out almost all those possibilities.
"The result was a 99.95 per cent confidence that Kepler-37b is a bona fide planet," Barclay said.
As of Wednesday, the Kepler mission had confirmed the detection of 105 planets.
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This Land Is
Reports from a Divided Nation
by Barbara Ehrenreich
Order the book
This year, Americans will spend about $9.8
billion on health care for their pets. The leading pet hospitals offer CT scans,
MRIs, dialysis units, and even a rehab clinic featuring an underwater treadmill.
A consultant to pet health facilities justified these huge investments by
pointing out that pets are, after all, "part of the family."
Well, there's another category that might
reasonably be considered "part of the family." True, it can take years to
housebreak them; their standards of hygiene are lamentably low, at least
compared to cats; and many cannot learn to "sit" without the aid of Ritalin. I'm
talking about children, of course, and while I understand why many people would
not want one of these hairless and often incontinent bipeds in their homes, they
can provide considerable gratification. They do tend to fall sick a lot,
however, so I checked with one animal health insurer to see what coverage would
cost for a child companion comparable to a three-year-old dog: I was amazed that
a "premium" policy would run to a mere $33 a month.
The Senate Finance Committee approved a bill to
provide state health insurance for 3.2 million kids who are not currently
covered. The president then vetoed the bill, but I have the answer: Open up pet
health insurance to all American children now!
Copyright © 2008 Barbara Ehrenreich
Order This Land Is Their Land
Here are links to booksellers where you can purchase This Land Is Their Land.
Also available as an ebook:
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For many parts of the U.S., February is the snowiest, coldest month of the year with many days without sunshine. That may mean lots of indoor, togetherness time! Homeschool families often consider this a positive since one of the reasons for homeschooling is to build close family relationships. So this month we want to focus on how to dispel the dreariness of the dark days of winter while encouraging family unity. (For our readers in sunny California, Florida, and Hawaii--we are now accepting invitations to come for a visit!)
KEEPING IT LIGHT
Interjecting creativity into your teen's day will spice up his life, and you will be surprised at how it will deepen your relationship with one another. Don't let the academics obscure the necessity of spending quality time with your teen and getting to know him better through times of fun, times of open communication, and times of "being there." For most of us, the tendency will be to emphasize the academics--but often it is during...
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NEW YORK—Azimjan Askarov, a leading human rights activist imprisoned in Kyrgyzstan, has taken his case to the UN Human Rights Committee, in a complaint filed on his behalf by the Open Society Justice Initiative and Nurbek Toktakunov, a Kyrgyzstan-based lawyer.
The detailed 115-page filing provides extensive evidence that, beginning with his arrest in June 2010, Askarov was subjected to torture, to arbitrary and unlawful detention, and ultimately to an unfair trial process which led to him being sentenced to life in prison. The filing argues that Askarov, now aged 61, was targeted for abuse both because of his work as a human rights defender, and because of his ethnicity, as a member of the Uzbek minority in southern Kyrgyzstan.
Over the past two years, Askarov has unsuccessfully requested an investigation of his complaints by the authorities in Kyrgyzstan.
In a statement to his lawyers from the prison where he is held in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, Askarov said:
“I am appealing to the United Nations because of the appalling lack of the rule of law in Kyrgyzstan; the authorities just disregard the Constitution. I am just one of the many people imprisoned after arbitrary detention, torture and unfair trial. I feel the need to let the international community know about the injustice that is still ravaging my country.”
In June 2010, Askarov, a well-known human rights defender who focused on reporting police abuse, was detained after a police officer was killed in an outburst of ethnic violence in the Bazar-Korgon region of southern Kyrgyzstan. His detention was not registered for 24 hours, and his family was not informed about his detention. At the police station, Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek, was repeatedly beaten, degraded, and denied medical treatment on account of his human rights work.
His lawyer, who was only able to see him after a week of torture, was attacked when he tried to visit. These attacks continued during Askarov’s flagrantly unfair trial. In addition to the defendants being subjected to beatings by the police, crowds at the trial shouted ethnic abuse at the defence lawyers, and threatened potential defence witnesses with violence.
After Askarov was sentenced to life in prison, the sentence was upheld both during an appeal marred by similar violations, and by the Supreme Court in Bishkek. He remains in prison today, where he is denied medical treatment for the effects of his torture and other serious medical conditions.
“Askarov’s trial is a textbook case of denial of justice, said James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative. “The immediate release of Azimjan Askarov is the first step that Kyrgyzstan authorities should take if they are serious about the rule of law and reconciliation. Kyrgyzstan also needs to address systemic failures of its detention, investigation and trial procedures that made such blatant violations possible”.
Nurbek Toktakunov, who also represented Askarov in domestic proceedings added: “Askarov’s case is, undoubtedly, a litmus test whether fair administration of justice is possible in Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyzstan authorities need to get the courage to review their decisions. While judicial reform is important, it is a long process, and Azimjan should not spend his only life in prison, after torture and a bogus trial, waiting for justice. He should be immediately released.”
The complaint urges the UN HRC to request that Kyrgyzstan quash Askarov’s conviction and immediately release him, and provide him with a full medical examination and treatment. It also asks for the creation of a commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances of Askarov’s detention and torture, and to review all other convictions related to the 2010 violence.
Kyrgyzstan also needs to introduce recognized safeguards against torture, including the timely registration of all detainees; proper monitoring of detention facilities; independent medical examinations; prompt and unimpeded visits by the lawyers to anyone in detention; and the creation of an independent mechanism entrusted to investigate torture.
The abuses suffered by Askarov are representative of a wider pattern seen in a series of prosecutions of ethnic-Uzbeks that followed the ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010. Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, noted after a visit to Kyrgyzstan in December 2011 that the police had failed to take meaningful steps to investigate complaints of torture in the aftermath of the violence.
Azimjan Askarov is recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He has received international human rights awards from the Moscow Helsinki Group, People in Need (a Czech-based organization), and this year from the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
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In the first part of this analysis, we saw the PC movement rise to prominence in U.S. academia. We saw how what started as an attempt to protect diverse viewpoints evolved into a tool for restricting the free exchange of ideas (i.e., socially conservative viewpoints were dismissed as intolerant bigotry). Now we turn to the inclusion of religion in the PC movement, which is of particular relevance to atheists.
Around the time the PC movement was becoming synonymous with diversity and multiculturalism, an important shift was taking place within multiculturalism itself. The social sciences initially viewed multiculturalism as involving race, ethnicity, and gender. However, the scope of multiculturalism was now widening to include sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and eventually even religious and spiritual beliefs.
This expansion makes sense given definitions of culture as "socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought" (Dictionary.com). However, the historic role of the PC movement as opposing social conservatism and fundamentalist religion was at first difficult to reconcile with this new expanded view. The PC movement was so used to criticizing fundamentalist religion, how could it suddenly afford religious belief the same "off limits to criticism" status that it had previously reserved for gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.? Moreover, how could conservative Christians who had previously been attacked for their racism and homophobia suddenly enjoy this protected status where their religious beliefs could not be criticized?
The initial solution was for the PC movement to distinguish between dogmatic religion (bad) and open-minded spirituality (good). For obvious reasons, this distinction was never clear and soon collapsed. The next attempt to reconcile the apparent contradiction involved a full embrace of religion but attempted to distinguish between real (intrinsic) beliefs and those adopted just for show (extrinsic). This approach was much more popular because it could be used to say that intrinsically religious persons were open-minded and tolerant while extrinsically religious persons were intolerant, conservative, ignorant, etc. Despite this appeal, the distinction was not without problems. Conservative Christians argued that their religious beliefs were part of their culture. As their numbers grew during the Reagan and Bush I eras, they could no longer be ignored.
In Part III, the implications of the inclusion of religious belief in the PC movement will be examined.
Subscribe to Atheist Revolution
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The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice says juvenile delinquency on school grounds has gone down by roughly half in the last eight years.
But, the bad news, many say, is the study shows minority and disabled students continue to get arrested at more than double the rate of other kids.
Deborrah Brodsky, the director of FSU's Project on Accountable Justice, says, "This will be a hindrance to them as they're trying to seek employment throughout their lives, trying to get into schools, into the military, all of these things. This never goes away for a child. So, the best thing that we can do is to avoid contact with the system altogether."
The DJJ report says Florida youth arrested at school dropped by 48 percent.
Black youth, however, account for 47 percent of all school related arrests, although they represent 21 percent of youth aged 10 to 17.
Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students account for 29 percent of arrests on school grounds, although they represent 14 percent of the state's public school students.
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary is asking law enforcement to use alternatives such as ticketing offenders for minor crimes instead of arresting them. Leon County has been doing that for years, and deputies say it's been very effective.
LT Rory Robins with the Leon County Sheriff's Office says, "We're diverting the kids from the juvenile justice system. We do that in every opportunity that we can, not matter who it is."
LCSO says it issued 145 civil citations last year, with an 86 percent success rate.
Leon County was one of the sheriff's offices to do the pilot civil citation program. Deputies say student arrests dropped 54 percent last year.
LCSO says civil citations are given when its the student's first offense. The student has to admit that they did wrong, and the student and parent(s) must agree to the terms, which include counseling and community service.
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Biography of Theodor Adorno
Theodor Adorno was a man of many fields; music, sociology and political philosophy. Adorno is best known for his involvement in the creation of the Institute for Social Research at Frankfurt School.
His most famous work, The Authoritarian personality (1951), focused on antisemitism and discussed ways of how human desire to conform to social demands can result in contradictions and paradox.
Adorno also wrote widely on aethetics. He was especially critical of art propaganda being used under capitalism to spread the capitalist system.
In 1969, during the student revolts, Adorno failed to come out publicly in support of the students causing them to turn against him. This also led to university and governmental authorities labeling him a radical and blaming him and his beliefs for what others were doing. He then left the university and died soon after.
Also check out Theodor Adorno quotes
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An OpEd in today's Wall Street Journal by Stan Liebowitz on the recent SOPA/FIFA furor is spot on. Most of the opposition to SOPA/PIPA is misguided. The "free speech" argument originated with people who either oppose intellectual property rights or want to substantially weaken existing copyright law. If you really believe piracy (stealing) is wrong but that SOPA/PIPA are flawed, then suggest a better way to combat piracy.
Critics of these proposed laws claim that they are unnecessary and will lead to frivolous claims, reduce innovation and stifle free speech. Those are gross exaggerations. The same critics have been making these claims about every previous attempt to rein in piracy, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that was called a draconian antipiracy measure at the time of its passage in 1998. As we all know, the DMCA did not kill the Internet, or even do any noticeable damage to freedom—or to pirates.
What have been damaged are industries susceptible to piracy—that is the unlicensed reproduction and/or sale of music, movies, books and other products that belong by law to the people who made them. For example, my analysis of statistics from the Radio Industry Association of America clearly reveals the decimation of the sound-recording industry since 1999. The cumulative sales losses, since the ascendancy of the music-sharing site Napster, amount to $70 billion (inflation adjusted) in the U.S. and about twice that amount for the entire world. In percentage terms, inflation-adjusted yearly sales are down more than 50% in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Any industry experiencing a decline of this magnitude would consider it a catastrophe. And it has been brought about by theft, not creative destruction from a superior product.
Similarly, people such as Declan McCullagh make the argument that privacy demands are just a cover for squelching free speech. But keep this in mind: people are making money tracking you, selling advertising keywords to pirates, and even running ads on sites featuring pirated content. It's disingenuous to describe such activity as innocent free speech.
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Dec. 23, 2004 December 10, 2004 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released information today about research on melatonin supplements. The research was conducted at the University of Alberta for the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative medicine. U of A researchers did a comprehensive review of all studies on the use of melatonin supplements to treat sleep disorders. Some of the highlights of their findings include:
* melatonin supplements appear to have little benefit for jet lag sufferers or night shift workers
* the supplements do not appear to benefit people who suffer from sleep disorders such as insomnia
* the supplements appear to help some people fall asleep sooner once they go to bed, but the benefits are limited
* the supplements do not appear to affect sleep quality, wakefulness after sleep onset, total sleep time, or percent of time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
* the supplements are safer over the short term (days or weeks), but the safety of long-term use (months and years) is unknown
The lead investigator of this study is Dr. Terry Klassen, chair of the U of A Department of Pediatrics.
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University Of Alberta.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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| 2.515625
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Hopkins, Lewis D. Urban Development: the Logic of Making Plans.
|Article Type:||Book Review|
|Subject:||Books (Book reviews)|
|Publication:||Name: Canadian Journal of Urban Research Publisher: Institute of Urban Studies Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Social sciences Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2004 Institute of Urban Studies ISSN: 1188-3774|
|Issue:||Date: Winter, 2004 Source Volume: 13 Source Issue: 2|
|Topic:||NamedWork: Urban Development: the Logic of Making Plans (Book)|
|Persons:||Reviewee: Hopkins, Lewis D.|
Hopkins, Lewis D. Urban Development: The Logic of Making Plans
Washington, D.C.: Island Press 288 pp. ISBN: 1559638532 US$ 32.00
In Urban Development: The Logic of Making Plans, Lewis Hopkins explores the logic of how urban plans are made, how they work, and how they relate to urban development activities.
Hopkins' work is based on his long academic and professional experience in the discipline as well as his meticulous observation of the planning process in his home of Champaign County, Illinois. Hopkins' exposure to how planning is done in the developing world Nepal in particular consolidates this book.
Hopkins presents plan and plan-making--a topic seldom examined systematically and in such detail--in a simple, easy to understand manner. This examination of the basics of planning goes a long way towards clarifying some of the myths and facts around plans and how plans are developed.
The book has ten chapters. It starts by explaining what planning is and how it works. It then questions whether planning actually does work, if it is even important to make plans, and who is involved in making plans. Hopkins untangles the complex systems of rights related to land and regulations, and explains how these systems affect plan-making. Towards the end of the book, Hopkins explains the role of peoples' participation in plan-making and concludes that, despite its usefulness, participation is not a "magic solution" for better planning, let alone a cost-effective alternative to traditional planning. The last two chapters examine plan-making in further depth by prescribing who should make plans and under what circumstances plans should be made.
There are several interesting and important ideas that one can take away from the book. The first is that plan-making is more complex than many imagine it to be. Second, the general belief that plans are a substitute for decision-making processes is incorrect. Plans are tools that can only help people make decisions, and, depending on the situation, may have only limited application. For instance, plans alone cannot overcome the difficulties of 'social cognition' (individuals as a source of the interests of the group) or the 'aggregation of preference' (the collected preferences of individuals) that societies face. We should know when planning works and when another approach is more appropriate. Third, plan-making is not an activity exclusive to the public-sector. Fourth, plans are not regulations, but they are important to the creation of regulations. Fifth, the logic of making plans (i.e. knowing when to use plans and knowing how to make plans) is fundamental to the profession of planning.
The book is dense but very well-structured and easy to follow for committed readers. I have a slight problem with the title of the book, though. The title is a bit misleading: while the book is about the logic of making plans, it is not about urban development, per se. Urban development is a broader term and encompasses much more than just plan-making, such as real estate issues, economic feasibility of developments, environmental impact, and so on. Overall, however, this is a good read for both planning scholars and practitioners.
School of Urban and Regional Planning
|Gale Copyright:||Copyright 2004 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.|
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Drawings and Watercolours 1946-1996
“Drawing was undeniably a necessary and essential instrument for Cremonini, enabling him to express the impenetrable presence of a ‘natural’ world that was petrified in its existence. It was a world that, even then, assumed that there was no coincidence between image and meaning but, at the same time, it was one that demanded inquisitive research into the primordial origins of the now lost forms and identity of all things”. Giuliano Briganti wrote these words in 1971 about the graphic works of Leonardo Cremonini (Bologna, 1925). Almost forty years after his monograph was published, this new volume examines the graphic art forms of one of the most important post-war Italian painters, with over three hundred drawings and watercolours ranging from his early works at Accademia di Brera in the 1940s through to the most recent graphics of the 1990s. Edited by Flavio Arensi and Alberto Buffetti, this book contains several works that have never been published before and, for the first time, it provides a complete analysis of Cremonini’s graphic language, examining his best-loved subjects, with women, plants, animals, rooms, human perspectives, bathers, and mysteries: a world in which reality enters the irrational and the irrational creates not the representation of form but an emblem of all existence. Texts by Max Clarac-Sérou, Flavio Arensi, Giuliano Briganti, Jacques Brosse, Eleonora Frattarolo. Grizzana Morandi.
A cura di
: Flavio Arensi and Alberto Buffetti
: 29 x 32 cm
: English edition
sconto 15% € 68,00
Aggiungi al carrello
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phenopticon writes "Researchers at Berkeley are attempting to revive the extinct passenger pigeon in order to set up a remote island theme park full of resurrected semi-modern extinct animals. (Well, maybe not that last part.) Quoting: 'About 1,500 passenger pigeons inhabit museum collections. They are all that's left of a species once perceived as a limitless resource. The birds were shipped in boxcars by the tons, sold as meat for 31 cents per dozen, and plucked for mattress feathers. But in a mere 25 years, the population shrank from billions to thousands as commercial hunters decimated nesting flocks. Martha, the last living bird, took her place under museum glass in 1914. ... Ben Novak doesn't believe the story should end there. The 26-year-old genetics student is convinced that new technology can bring the passenger pigeon back to life. "This whole idea that extinction is forever is just nonsense," he says. Novak spent the last five years working to decipher the bird's genes, and now he has put his graduate studies on hold to pursue a goal he'd once described in a junior high school fair presentation: de-extinction. ... Using next-generation sequencing, scientists identified the passenger pigeon's closest living relative: Patagioenas fasciata, the ubiquitous band-tailed pigeon of the American west. This was an important step. The short, mangled DNA fragments from the museums' passenger pigeons don't overlap enough for a computer to reassemble them, but the modern band-tailed pigeon genome could serve as a scaffold. Mapping passenger pigeon fragments onto the band-tailed sequence would suggest their original order."
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DOVER — Tobacco products will soon be restricted in portions of Henry Law Park after Youth to Youth addressed the City Council last week.
The Youth to Youth program, made up of more than 70 members in Grades 6-12 in Dover and surrounding communities, requested the City Council to change an ordinance, restricting the use of cigarette smoking in front of the Children's Museum of New Hampshire, by the Rotary Pavilion band shell and in the playground near the indoor pool. The City Council approved the resolution unanimously.
“Smoking can make the area very uninviting for the children and their families,” Brian Eldridge, of Youth to Youth, said. The program contacted the Children's Museum, the Rotary Club and the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce, who were all in favor of the ordinance change.
Last summer, Youth to Youth members picked up nearly 1,000 cigarette butts in 30 minutes at Henry Law Park, which led them to ask the City Council for an ordinance change.
The ordinance, under offenses in chapter 131-18, will be changed and the Youth to Youth members will post signs throughout the park this spring.
Youth to Youth coordinator Dana Mitchell said the fundraising for the signs and the design of the signs will be decided upon within the next few meetings.
Mitchell said signs may be wooden to fit the environment of the park, but nothing has been decided.
“There will be just enough signage so the public is informed,” he said, adding that he does not think the police department will ever issue a summons in the park, “because most people will comply.”
“I think what you will see happen is a sign at the playground that says, 'Thank you for not smoking in the playground area,' and signs at the access points to the park,” Mitchell said.
For more information, contact Youth to Youth at (603) 516-3274.
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From beginners to intermediate
Please click here to read our "setting up for success” article.
At Cardiff Violins, we believe that a careful selection of a beginner's first instrument is crucial for the future enjoyment of music making. It has always been our policy to supply instruments that work well at affordable prices. For these reasons, we upgrade inexpensive Chinese instruments that will end-up cheaper than non-upgraded European instruments, yet work much better than a lot of them!
We have a wide range of instruments at different prices available. It is difficult for us to tell you exactly when to change to a new instrument, because it depends on what the player wants to do with their music, how enthusiastic they are, if they or they parents feel they deserve another one, if their teacher thinks they need to upgrade, if they are going through the grade system, or if they just want to treat themselves to a better one!
As this page is still under construction, please bear wih us as there will be more information and photographs of our instruments to come!
Please do not forget that we can take your first instrument in part-exchange (if you have bought it from us), so do bring it along! If your first instrument was purchased somewhere else, we will try and help you buy your next one, by part-exchanging it, but cannot promise to do so, as it depends on the make and condition.
Please call us on 029 20 22 77 61 to discuss your needs or for more information.
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Census records are probably the single most valuable resource in genealogical research. However, the census records have many pitfalls you need to be wary of.
Census takers were usually people in the community that were unemployed and were in need of a temporary job. They weren't necessarily the brightest people around. Their command of the English language might not have been the best. They also might not have taken their job as seriously as they should have. If there was no one home at a particular house, they may have relied on the testimony of a neighbor instead of coming back to interview the occupants. Even if someone was home, they may not have questioned the occupants properly. If the parents were out in the field working and a six-year-old child answered the door, the census taker may have just taken the word of the child.
However, we cannot put all of the blame on the census taker. Sometimes the occupants intentionally lied to cover up illegitimate births and people living together out of wedlock. Sometimes the occupants were illiterate and unable to give correct spellings of the names. In very large families the ages of the children could be confused, especially if the census taker did not speak with the mother.
Another problem you might see is a family omitted or a family recorded more than once. This was a frequent problem when families moved. If the census had not been taken at their old residence, but had already been taken in the new area, the family would be skipped. On the other hand, they may have been enumerated before they left and then again in their new home.
Never take for granted the relationships given on a census record. For example, in the 1920 census my grandfather was living in the household of his uncle. My grandfather's mother had died in childbirth, and his father was unable to raise an infant. His brother and his wife took in my grandfather. On the census record my grandfather is listed as a son of the head of household.
If I did not know the entire story, I could have made a very wrong assumption. Whether or not the census taker assumed my grandfather was a son, or the uncle declared him as his son, we will never know.
As valuable as the census records are, you must always look at them with a skeptical viewpoint. You must consider all possibilities and not make any hasty assumptions.
The family reunion announcements have started to trickle in.
I am sorry that I did not receive the information for the Ansley Family reunion in time to get it in the paper. The Ansleys met at White Columns April 15-17.
The Dozier Family will be having their annual reunion at the White Oak Campground Saturday, July 23. The contact person for this event is Roger Dozier. You can reach him at home at 595-4203, by cell phone at (706) 831-5559, or by email firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Stephen Jay Gould, the evolutionary theorist at Harvard University whose research, lectures and prolific output of essays helped to reinvigorate the field of paleontology, died yesterday at his home in Manhattan. He was 60.
The cause was cancer, said his wife, Rhonda Roland Shearer.
One of the most influential evolutionary biologists of the 20th century and perhaps the best known since Charles Darwin, Dr. Gould touched off numerous debates, forcing scientists to rethink sometimes entrenched ideas about evolutionary patterns and processes.
One of his best known theories, developed with Niles Eldredge, argued that evolutionary change in the fossil record came in fits and starts rather than a steady process of slow change.
This theory, known as punctuated equilibrium, was part of Dr. Gould's work that brought a forsaken paleontological perspective to the evolutionary mainstream.
Dr. Gould achieved a fame unprecedented among modern evolutionary biologists. He was depicted in cartoon form on ''The Simpsons,'' and renovations of his SoHo loft in Manhattan were featured in a glowing article in Architectural Digest.
Famed for both brilliance and arrogance, Dr. Gould was the object of admiration and jealousy, both revered and reviled by colleagues.
Outside of academia, Dr. Gould was almost universally adored by those familiar with his work. In his column in Natural History magazine, he wrote in a voice that combined a learned Harvard professor and a baseball-loving everyman. The Cal Ripken Jr. of essayists, he produced a meditation for each of 300 consecutive issues starting in 1974 and ending in 2001. Many were collected into best-selling books like ''Bully for Brontosaurus.''
Other popular books by Dr. Gould include ''Wonderful Life,'' which examines the evolution of early life as recorded in the fossils of the Burgess Shale, and ''The Mismeasure of Man,'' a rebuttal to what Dr. Gould described as pseudoscientific theories used to defend racist ideologies.
Dr. Gould was born on Sept. 10, 1941, in Queens, the son of Leonard Gould, a court stenographer, and Eleanor Gould, an artist and entrepreneur. Dr. Gould took his first steps toward a career in paleontology as a 5-year-old when he visited the American Museum of Natural History with his father.
''I dreamed of becoming a scientist, in general, and a paleontologist, in particular, ever since the Tyrannosaurus skeleton awed and scared me,'' he once wrote. In an upbringing filled with fossils and the Yankees, he attended P.S. 26 and Jamaica High School. He then enrolled at Antioch College in Ohio, where he received a bachelor's degree in geology in 1963.
In 1967, he received a doctorate in paleontology from Columbia University and went on to teach at Harvard, where he would spend the rest of his career. But it was in graduate school that Dr. Gould and a fellow graduate student, Dr. Eldredge, now a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, began sowing the seeds for the most famous of the still-roiling debates that he is credited with helping to start.
Studying the fossil record, the two students could not find the gradual, continuous change in fossil forms that they were taught was the stuff of evolution. Instead they found sudden appearances of new fossil forms (sudden, that is, on the achingly slow geological time scale) followed by long periods in which these organisms changed little.
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A new medical study by Stanford University suggests organic doesn't necessarily mean healthier.
Researchers at Stanford looked at data from more than 200 studies of food sold in stores as certified organic versus conventionally grown food and concluded that organic food and non-organic food were virtually the same in vitamin content.
"I was absolutely surprised," said Dr. Dena Bravata, a senior research affiliate at Stanford and long-time internist who began the analysis because so many of her patients asked if they should switch.
"There are many reasons why someone might choose organic foods over conventional foods," from environmental concerns to taste preferences, Bravata stressed. But when it comes to individual health, "there isn't much difference."
A local dietitian agreed with the study.
“Nutritionally there's no greater value between organic or inorganic produce,” said Ruth Carey, who supports the findings.
The research also found that although organic foods had less pesticide residue, all the produce studied had pesticide levels that fell below federally-set safety limits.
It is research that Forest Grove organic farmer Amy Love thinks is flawed.
Love says organic fruit and vegetables are picked and sold at the peak of ripeness, and the fresher the food the more nutritious it is.
“You're picking right when it’s ripe… you don't have to pick it green so that it can travel thousands of miles and spray it with ethylene so it will ripen in the store,” said Love.
Love claims truly organic food is healthier for the body simply because is grown without any chemicals.
While this latest study found little evidence of added health benefits of organic food, experts agree long term studies need to be done.
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Moving History by
Governor Bill & Vera Daniel Historic Village
recent death of Bill Daniel of Liberty
removed from East Texas one of its
most colorful personalities, a bigger-than-life rancher and politician who, according
to one of his eulogists, "squeezed a lot out of life."|
Daniel, who was
90 when he passed away, was a member of a dynasty which produced Texas Governor
and U.S. Senator Price Daniel, Bill's brother.
Bill himself became governor of the U.S. Territory of Guam in 1961 through a presidential
appointment by John F. Kennedy.
But Bill Daniel is best remembered by
some admirers for one of the strangest events in East
Texas--the move of an entire town from Liberty
to Waco, a distance
of more than 200 miles, in October of 1986 during the Texas sesquicentennial celebration.
Daniel and his family lived on historic Plantation Ranch. Over the years,
he acquired more than two dozen historic buildings around East
Texas, restored them and established a frontier village on the ranch.
In the l980s, Daniel and his wife Vera donated the buildings, their furniture
and artifacts to Baylor University, where he graduated.
The caravan of
forty moving companies from six states, made up of nearly 100 vehicles, snaked
its way across the East Texas landscape
through Palestine, Mexia,
Groesbeck and dozens
of smaller towns, seldom traveling more than 20 miles an hour.
caravan of nineteen truckloads of more than 8,000 artifacts and furniture preceded
the procession of buildings to a site near the Brazos River on the Baylor campus.
The moving came with some restrictions from the Texas Highway Department.
No structure could be more than 18 feet tall, 24 feet and six inches wide, or
eighty feet long. Fortunately, the longest building in the village was a livery
stable measuring 74 feet. Visions of a quaint caravan of antique buildings snaking
across the landscape were dashed by another Highway Department regulation. The
two dozen buildings and their support vehicles had to be divided into five separate
caravans a mile apart, allowing for the passage of other vehicles on the roads.
Among the transported buildings were a 300-year-old water wheel-operated grist
mill, a one-room schoolhouse, a town hall, a potato shed, a hide house where animal
hides were cured, a log house where slaves lived, and twenty-three horse-drawn
Larger buildings, such as the town hall and livery stable, had
to be separated from their roofs or altered to permit the move down the highways.
At the time, the move was believed to be the largest ever made for an entire village
in the United States.
The Daniels bought Plantation Ranch in 1949, becoming
the fourth owner. The ranch's founder was Aaron Cherry, Sr., who came to Texas
in 1818, made friends with the Coushatta Indians and built his plantation home
on a bluff overlooking the Trinity River. Cherry's friends included General Sam
Houston and Captain Hugh Blair Johnson, Daniel's great-great grandfather and the
first alcalde (mayor) of Liberty.
When the Daniels bought the ranch, it had reverted to a jungle. "There
were vines and brush growing even in the plantation house, the fences were down
and wild hogs ran everywhere," said Daniel in 1986.
Over the years, the
Daniels opened Plantation Ranch for special parties for crippled and handicapped
children, bringing in such stars as Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Loretta Lynn and Hank
Williams to entertain.
Today, visitors to Waco
can see the village standing near the Strecker Museum.
Bill & Vera Daniel Historic Village Mayborn
Museum Complex, Waco,
1108 university Parks D.
Mon.- Sat. 10 a.m.
Hotels > Book Your
Hotel Here & Save
August 7, 2006 Column|
Published with permission
Distributed by the East
Texas Historical Association. Bob Bowman of Lufkin is a former president of the
Association and the editor of more than 30 books about East Texas.
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Throughout the school year, we've been following two bright, young, future doctors. Now, we're wrapping up the journey with a one-hour documentary about the crucible of medical school, set against the backdrop of some of the most dramatic changes in health care in a generation. Listen to the full hour or individual segments online, below, or download and listen on the go.
As we celebrate the conclusion of our school-year-long series "Future Docs," guest blogger Dr. Stanley M. Aronson reflects on how far medical education has come since he entered the field 70 years ago.
Throughout the school year, we’ve been documenting the experiences of two Brown University medical students. They’ve begun their careers at a time when health care is changing dramatically – from where we get care to who provides it and how we pay for it. But our Future Docs Sarah and Peter are ready to dive in. They’re about to begin their third year in medical school, leaving behind the familiarity of the classroom for the new world of the hospital wards.
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I am moving a comment thread up here to its own post because it’s sliding down the front page and because I think it’s becoming both interesting and amusing. The commenter is now using the name The Other David, due to some confusion between two Davids in the thread. The discussion was originally about the Catholic League’s reaction to Bill Maher’s satire about Falwell but has now moved on to a more general discussion of constitutional law, which is of course one of my favorite subjects. In particular, it is now focused on the meaning of the 1st and 14th amendments. David is now making two principal claims: that the 14th amendment did not incorporate the 1st amendment and that the free speech clause should protect only political speech. Here’s his statement on the first claim:
Sorry Ed, but if the Constitution said Congress then the Constitution said Congress. There really can be no argument here. In particular, the First Amendment does not bring in the states. Congress is not part of the governance of the states. The states created Congress. That is why we have state Constitutions. Yeh, I know, the SCOCUS (sic) interprets that the 14th Amendment supersedes all states rights. I don’t believe the states felt that way at the time when three out of four of them were ratifying it. Even with the carpetbaggers twisting the arms of the South making them ratify, the overwhelming consensus was that the 14th was only to rectify black rights. Perhaps it is time to rethink that one and repeal it?
It’s amazing how common this argument is given the utter lack of historical support for it and the overwhelming evidence in favor of Congress’ clear intent to apply the Bill of Rights to the states. All one has to do is read the Congressional debates on the matter and the history of the drafting of the 14th amendment and it becomes quite clear not only that those who wrote it did so precisely so that the Bill of Rights would be applicable to state actions, but that they advocated it publicly as doing exactly that. Let’s look at some of that evidence.
In early 1866, the push for the 14th amendment began. The battle was led in the house by Reps. Stevens of Pennsylvania, Bingham of Ohio and Deming of Connectictutt, and in the Senate by Brown of Missouri and Howard of Michigan. The first to go was Bingham, who introduced the amendment to his House colleagues with a rousing speech urging its adoption and explaining its provisions. Knowing that it would be important to get the word out to the public to gain support for this amendment in the states, Bingham had that speech published and distributed as a pamphlet. The title of that pamphlet says it all:
One Country, One Constitution, and One People: Speech of the Hon. John A. Bingham of Ohio, in the House of Representatives, February 28, 1866, In support of the proposed amendment to enforce the Bill of Rights.
In urging his colleagues to pass such an amendment, Brown said it should be adopted “so as to declare with greater certainty the power of Congress to enforce and determine by appropriate legislation all the guarantees contained in that instrument (the Constitution).” Rep. Donnelly said that Bingham’s proposed amendment “provides in effect that Congress shall have power to enforce by appropriate legislation all the guarantees of the Constitution.” Bingham himself said that the amendment would give the Federal government “the power to enforce this bill of rights as it stands in the Constitution today” and to “punish all violations by State Officers of the bill of rights.”
Now, anyone who takes an originalist perspective on constitutional law would have to agree, based on the historical record, that incorporation of the Bill of Rights is precisely the proper reading of the 14th amendment. Whether one looks at the original intent (stated above with quotes from those who wrote it – and one could literally go on al day with similar quotes) or the original public meaning (which is the same thing here because the meaning applied above is precisely how the amendment was described in the press and sold to the public), there is no doubt at all about the proper interpretation here.
David’s second argument to this effect is that the first amendment is not applied to the states because the purpose 14th amendment “was only to rectify black rights.” Like the argument above, this one is very popular and also very wrong. Laws may be prompted by all sorts of specific situations, but they are written in broader language on purpose. Thus, when the 14th amendment says that no state may violate the “equal protection” of the laws, it does not specify only equal protection of the races, but of all citizens.
David’s argument is like someone looking at the historical record and saying that since James Madison was motivated to write the religion clauses of the first amendment by seeing Baptist ministers in jail in Virginia, therefore the first amendment applies only to Baptists. But this is clearly absurd. Now remember one of the first rules of conservative jurisprudence: textualism. It’s the text that matters most, and the text of the 14th amendment applies to all citizens, not only to those whose rights were violated on the basis of race.
Another basic rule of textual interpretation is to look at alternative wordings that may have been considered and rejected. Obviously, it is absurd to suggest that those who wrote a law intended result X if they had an opportunity to make X explicit and voted it down. And that is the case here. When the Joint Committee was considering possible wordings for the 14th amendment, the second one they considered was proposed by Rep. Stevens. It read:
All laws, state or national, shall operate impartially and equally on all persons without regard to race or color.
That would have done what David claims, apply the 14th amendment only to the specific issue of racial discrimination. That wording was rejected in favor of the much broader wording of the final amendment. For purposes of statutory interpretation, this is highly conclusive evidence against his position. If they had intended it only to rectify racial inequalities, they could have done so; the fact that they specifically rejected that wording pretty much settles the question.
It should also be noted that David’s theory about the 14th amendment is unsupported even by the most conservative jurists and legal scholars. No one, not even Bork, Scalia, Thomas or Rehnquist, takes the position that the Bill of Rights was not applied to state actions by the 14th amendment. This issue was settled a long time ago and even the most conservative scholars today do not take that position. The only place that position is popular is among the neo-confederate crowd.
David’s second argument is that the first amendment, even if it was applied to the states, applies only to political speech. He made that claim in a previous comment, to which I replied:
You’re mistaken. There is no such limitation on the first amendment, no qualifier for what particular type of speech is protected. This is the same incredibly stupid argument that Robert Bork made, one of the many reasons why he was rejected by the court. Are you really going to suggest that the first amendment does not protect against a government ban on literary speech? Or scientific speech? Or satirical speech?
And David replied:
You know Ed, I thought I was going to have to research the Federalist papers to find the meaning of “speech” in terms of the 1st Amendment but you saved me the trouble. If Robert Bork says the intent was to limit only political speech in a political setting then it must be true. He is smarter than either of us.
That’s just plain funny – not only a naked appeal to authority (that’s a logical fallacy, David) but an appeal to a very lonely authority. Bork is absolutely alone in his position that the first amendment applies only to explicitly political speech. As above, even the most conservative legal scholars, including Scalia, think this position is laughably absurd. There is not a shred of evidence for this position.
Now David, if you want to search the Federalist Papers on the intent of the first amendment, feel free; you’ll be wasting your time. First of all, the Federalist Papers were all written before the first amendment was proposed, so they would have no bearing at all on the meaning of the first amendment. Second, you certainly will not find any support whatsoever in the writings of Madison, Hamilton or Jay to support the notion that the government has the authority to censor scientific speech, literary speech, satirical speech or any other type of non-political speech.
You will find lots and lots of statements to the contrary, especially from Madison, who staunchly advocated the natural rights principle that no government had the authority to violate the right of free expression except when that expression violated the rights of others (thus, laws against fraud or libel are fine, laws against publishing stories the government doesn’t like are not). Your position isn’t just incredibly stupid, it’s also very dangerous; imagine for a moment a nation in which the government can throw people in prison for writing satire, or religious criticism, or short stories, as long as they are not “political.” Welcome to Orwell’s worst nightmare.
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The Spring Assisted Knife Definition: a spring-assisted knife is a folding knife with a spring that collaborates with the process of deploying a folding knife’s blade by helping and reinforcing the action of extracting that blade out of the knife’s handle. Doesn't that sound scientific, right? Well, I came up with the above and proud of it but let's talk like humans and get to the point. And the main point would be to understand the difference between automatic knives a.k.a switchblades and the versions of spring assisted knives.
Legally speaking, and that’s the important part, a switchblade has a button or something on its handle; you press on that button or whatever and the blade pops out. That’s it. A spring-assisted knife does not have anything on its handle that will fire the blade out. It has always something on the blade itself; a stud/s on one or both sides of the blade and/or, most cases, on the blade’s spine. You push, a little, on the blade’s stud and the blade pops out.
So what’s the big deal? Well, it has more to do with politics than with anything else. It’s true, from the technical-effectiveness stand-point that the automatic/switchblade is the easiest; the fastest knife-deployment system. Well, the assisted-opening-knife-system is as good in the case of Smith & Wesson assist knives, and almost as good with any other assisted-knives makers. On the other hand, things are getting really nasty when it comes to the legal aspect of carrying an automatic knife.
Here is the big deal:
It is legal, in most states as far as we know, to carry a spring assisted knife. It is illegal, for a civilian-with-healthy-arms-and-hands to carry an automatic knife/switchblade in every single-one of our beautiful states in the mighty USA.
Want to hear something funny? I never, ever heard about spring assisted knives in Europe or Asia. I don’t know about the Far-East. Basically, the assisted knife is an American substitute to the switchblade considered as a weapon by our lawmakers. In California, you can carry a switchblade but its blade can’t be longer than 2 inches. Go figure.
Men Personal Effects 11230 Sagehaven Dr Houston TX 77089
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In Chapter Five of A New Earth, we explore how negative emotions and old memories – if not faced and seen for what they are in the moment – become fuel for the pain-body.
"It may be shocking when you realize for the first time that there is something within you (the pain-body) that periodically seeks emotional negativity, seeks unhappiness. You need even more awareness to see it in yourself than to recognize it in another person" (p. 145).
One of the things I have tried very hard to eliminate from my life is negativity. Negativity is nothing but toxic energy. This toxic energy can come in the form of toxic people, or energy vampires whose only job is to suck and drain the life out of you; or toxic situations. When I find myself in one of these toxic environments, be it with people or circumstances, if I cannot turn the situation around, then I merely excuse myself and remove myself.
If someone offered you a bottle of poison to drink, would you? Yet, you deliberately ingest someone else’s negativity or toxicity. This is the same as ingesting poison. The next time you are in the presence of a toxic person or an energy vampire, remember the bottle of poison analogy, and don’t allow their toxins to enter into your soul.
A negative emotion is any "emotion that is toxic to the body and interferes with its balance and harmonious functioning. Fear, anxiety, anger, bearing a grudge, sadness, hatred or intense dislike, jealousy, envy—all disrupt the energy flow through the body, affect the heart, the immune system, digestion, production of hormones, and so on" (p. 136).
Then, there are those of us who do not need the negative people or situations, because we can be negative all by ourselves. We manufacture our own negative thoughts and continuously feed on them. The bottle of poison is still appropriate here, yet we are self-inflicting the poison. We have very little control of what thoughts enter our heads. But we have definite control of what thoughts remain there.
The next time you notice that you are in the grip of a negative emotion, become still and pay attention to the way your body feels. See if you can locate the negative emotion in your body. Perhaps your heart is beating fast, your jaw is tense or your belly is tight. By being present with your body, you can allow the negative emotion to dissipate instead of reacting to it.
"You will be free to let go of your unhappiness the moment you recognize it as unintelligent. Negativity is not intelligent" (p.112).
This week, pay close attention to negative thoughts, feelings or actions and any background unhappiness, including resentment, discontent, nervousness or being "fed up." Become alert to your negativity and repeat silently: "At this moment, I am creating suffering for myself."
Questions to Ponder:
“Who are the toxic people in my life?”
“Who are the nutritious people in my life?”
“Who do I choose to spend more time with?”
Stay positive on purpose!
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WINNER: HUMANA, INC.
ENTRY: CHECK YOUR CHOICES
THE BIG IDEA: It started with a simple and rather obvious question from one of the dining operation managers: “if we're going to subsidize something, shouldn't it be something healthy?” (at the time the location was offering free fountain soda)
Good question, and the result was Check Your Choices, which began as a subsidy program to encourage healthier vending choices, and later was broadened to encompass entrees and salad bars in the cafes as well. It now operates in 25 locations in the Humana network.
The idea behind Check Your Choices is simple: people don't like to be forced to make healthy choices, but they will respond to incentives. Hence, Check Your Choices doesn't remove unhealthy options from either vending machines or the cafes, but it does encourage the purchase of the healthier options by making them more cost-attractive.
The cost of the program, certainly relative to its benefits both for employee health and productivity and on company integrity (Humana is a health insurer among other things), is minimal. The vending program costs about $29,000 annually while the café component costs $132,000 for the four locations. The costs are partly offset by $86,000 in annual vending commissions.
Does it work? Definitely. Within Humana, there was a 30 percent shift in purchases of healthy snacks and between 10 and 21 percent shift in healthy beverage purchases. In addition, the vending company that supplies Humana in Louisville reported that Humana customers select healthy items 13 percent more often than the firm's other customers in that city.
PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS:
associate programs and services
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- Thu, 7 Jun 2012
As with other electronic devices digital cameras are programmed to operate in a certain way. Along with all operative and display functions, the software inside a camera will be responsible for all aspects of processing images, knowing just how much sharpening, noise reduction and any other alterations to apply. More commonly referred to as firmware, this is determined by the camera's manufacturer, and will typically see minor revisions throughout the course of a camera's lifetime.
Firmware updates, which are also issued for accessories such as lenses and flashguns, are made available after a manufacturer or early users spot potential issues with a camera's behaviour. These may concern oddities arising in images or certain functions not working properly, as well as sometimes expanding a feature, such as a camera's sensitivity range.
Once the firmware update is announced and made available, the user will need to download it from the manufacturer's website, before transferring it onto a memory card. From here it may be installed through the camera, a process usually explained in more detail in a camera's instruction manual. If you've missed an update, you can typically find it - or at least information on where to obtain it - in the Support section on most manufacturers' websites.
There's no obligation to install an update if one becomes available for your camera. Sometimes these can can concern very minor issues, although manufacturers have, in the past, used them to deliver features as significant as Raw shooting to certain models.
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An early miscarriage is usually due to a problem such as a chromosomal or structural abnormality in the fetus. It may also be caused by a fibroid (a non-cancerous growth in the uterus), an infection, or an immune system disorder. Miscarriage occurs more commonly in older women, in smokers, and in multiple pregnancies.
If you miscarry, it's important to know that it wasn't linked to anything you did, such as exercise, sex, or travel. Also, there is no evidence that rest reduces the risk of a threatened miscarriage going on to become inevitable.
If you bleed in early pregnancy, contact your doctor immediately who will arrange for you to have a pelvic exam and/or ultrasound scan. If a scan shows a healthy fetal heart, the chance of miscarriage is reduced. If there is no heartbeat, or no developing baby, the doctor will assess if you've had a complete or incomplete miscarriage. A complete miscarriage doesn't require treatment. If it is incomplete, you may be offered medication to hasten the miscarriage, or a procedure to scrape the uterus, although your doctor may recommend expectant management-monitoring the situation while letting your uterus expel its contents. Expectant management means that you avoid risks such as infection from an invasive medical procedure, but its disadvantage is that you may bleed longer. Discuss the options with your doctor.
If you have two or more miscarriages in a row, known as "repeated miscarriage," your doctor may arrange tests to see if there is a cause. About half the time, no cause will be found but sometimes testing will find fetal chromosomal problems, uncommon uterine problems, or blood disorders or other medical conditions.
Your period may be delayed by 6-12 weeks. Once the bleeding stops, there is no medical reason to not try to get pregnant again. The only problem is that you may not know if your period is late since your cycle is readjusting after the miscarriage, or whether you are pregnant again. It's wise to wait until you both feel mentally ready to try again. Talking to a close friend, family member, or a counselor, can help you come to terms with your loss.
Excerpted from Pregnancy Day by Day.
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Buy this book now!
© 2000-2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Located 7 miles north of Line Pine on Highway 395, the Manzanar National Historic Site contains evidence of several historical eras. The Paiute and Shoshone people occupied the Manzanar area for centuries. American Indian archeological sites are important parts of the Manzanar story.
In the late nineteenth century, a cattle ranching homestead flourished here. In the early 1900's the town of Manzanar grew to be a thriving pear and apple orchard community. By 1913, the city of Los Angeles completed its aqueduct and owned 95% of the Owens Valley. The town of Manzanar was then abandoned and the land remained vacant, until March 1942.
Two months after Pearl Harbor was bombed, President Roosevelt signed an Executive Order calling for all those of Japanese ancestry to be placed into relocation camps. Manzanar was one of those relocation centers, built initially as a temporary center it became the first permanent relocation center in the United States.
The entire Manzanar detention facility encompassed 6,000 acres. The camp itself consised of 36 blocks of wooden barracks confined within a one-square mile area. In addition to the detention camp the facility consisted of adjacent agricultural use areas, a reservoir, an airport, a cemetery and sewage treatment plant. Of this area a rectangle of approximately 550 acres, containing the living area for the internees and various administrative facilities, was enclosed by barbed wire fences and secured by guard towers.
The 10,000 internees sought to establish some semblance of normal life and beautified the barracks with gardens and ponds, and tendered the orchards remnants which still remain today. Manzanar was the only camp to have an orphanage, which housed 110 children.
When the camp was closed in late 1945, the wooden barracks and administration buildings were sold at auction and removed from the site. Among the visible remains is the camp auditorium, a large wood-frame building. In addition, the stonework shells of the pagoda-like police post and sentry house and portions of other building in the administrative complex remain,as do concrete foundations and portions of the water and sewer systems throughout the camp.
An annual pilgrimage, sponsored by The Manzanar Committee, is held on the last Saturday of April near the cemetery monument. Former internees, their descendants, friends and general public join for a day of remembrance, education and re-dedication of the cemetery in religious (Christian and Buddhist) Ceremonies.
As part of the Save America's Treasures millennium grant , the historic perimeter barbed wire fence that enclosed the living area of the camp will be rebuilt. Plans are underway to adaptively restore the Auditorium, reconstruct one of eight guard towers, at least one barrack and internee-built garden and ponds.
Significant collections of photos, drawings, painting, and artifacts associated with Manzanar have been gathered over the years. Many of these can be seen in the Manzanar National Historic Site Interpretive Center or in the Eastern California Museum, located five miles north of the camp in the town of Independence.
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Local control is the sacred cow of K-12 education in Colorado. Local control is enshrined in the Colorado Constitution and is a guiding principle of our local and state boards of education. The governor likes it, and the majority of state legislators like it, too. Most Democrats like local control as much as Republicans, and short of chocolate and kittens, I canít think of much else those two groups can agree to support. But for the sake of both iconoclasm and common sense, Iíd like to propose that local control be given serious examination in a critical light, and now is the time to do it.
Simply put, the principle of local control means that nearly every town in Colorado locally controls its own school district. Every single town. Denver has a district, and so does Durango. So does Dolores. So does Silverton. Actually, you donít even need to have a town to have a school district: Even the unincorporated area of Agate, recognizable by a post office and grain elevator near some railroad tracks, has its own district with 10 students. This means that Colorado has more than 183 separate school districts plus a special district for students housed in state- run detention centers. Local control also means Colorado has 183 different school boards, 183 superintendents with 183 administrative professionals assisting them, 183 finance directors, 183 systems for evaluating teachers, 183 different ways to teach algebra Ė you get the point.
Whatís wrong with all of this local control? It is remarkably expensive, remarkably inefficient and results in incredible disparity from district to district.
Letís look at our area for examples. Durango and the surrounding area has nine districts, ranging geographically from Silverton to Pagosa Springs to Ignacio to Dove Creek. These nine separate districts pool some resources to get special services such as speech pathologists through a Board of Cooperative Services unit called San Juan BOCES. Altogether, there are about 12,000 total students in these districts. That means nine superintendents oversee 12,000 students. Assuming an average salary of around $115,000 (some make more, some less), that means local taxpayers are paying around $1,035,000 worth of salary Ė not including benefits Ė for nine superintendents. Thatís a lot of money that is not going to supplies, books and teachers.
Now, I would hate to be accused of picking on superintendents, so letís look at other areas of replication. These nine districts have nine different sets of, for instance, ninth-grade English textbooks. They have nine different human resource directors, nine different people to oversee finances. They buy everything from markers to toilet paper to computers to football helmets to health insurance nine different ways. They have nine very different salary schedules for teachers, and attrition rates reflect the disparities in pay. This is the definition of expensive inefficiency.
But the real issues arenít just expense and efficiency Ė the real issue is equitable access to public education. Students in Durango have 175 contact days with teachers. Students in Bayfield get 169. Students in Cortez get only 164.
Recently, the Montezuma-Cortez school district took part in Ė and won Ė a lawsuit challenging the system of funding Colorado schools. This lawsuit currently is headed to the Colorado Supreme Court. Teachers testified that their social studies textbooks were so outdated that, in them, George H.W. Bush (that was the first Bush) still was the president and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center still were standing.
In Durango, students have the luxury of choosing from a wide variety of Advanced Placement classes. That is not equity Ė itís de facto segregation.
So here is my proposal: First and foremost, Colorado and its residents must make a commitment to our children and the long-term economic and social well-being of our state by fully funding K-12 and higher education. This commitment must include a tax increase Ė thatís not politics; thatís just math.
Next, rethink local control by turning BOCES districts such as San Juan BOCES into consolidated school districts with one highly competent and well-compensated superintendent and administrative staff. Take advantage of large-scale purchasing for things such as supplies and health insurance. The cost savings would be significant and could be used to increase instructional days, make salary schedules more competitive and offer a greater variety of programs to students.
Finally, fund all schools in a way that puts an end to the unconscionable inequity that currently exists. This doesnít mean Durango and Cortez, or Bayfield and Pagosa, would have to abandon their rivalries on the football field and basketball court. It just means that those rivalries shouldnít translate into disparities that follow kids into their classrooms.
Elizabeth Collins teaches social studies at Durango High School. Reach her at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Over the weekend I finished reading Seamus Haney's translation of Beowulf and then started in last night on Hilary Mandel's Wolf Hall, both of which are excellent reads. That got me thinking this morning about how much I would enjoy seeing both works adapted to the screen. It would be fantastic to see a version of Beowulf that stuck to the powerful, melancholy rhythm of the original text instead of turning it into a motion-captured action movie (). In my mind an animated adaptation from the filmmakers who made The Secret of Kells would be sublime. They've already proven their ability to turn the Insular style of art into wondrous animation, and I feel like that age-old framework of Beowulf might make up for some of Kell's shortcomings in storytelling.
Similarly, I'm only a few dozen pages into Wolf Hall and it already feels like material that would be ripe for adaptation into a TV series. True, there are already lots of drama series that tackle the same story of similar periods (The Tudors, The Borgias, Game of Thrones, etc), but Mantel's sharp and incisive writing and plotting should be enough to make a Thomas Cromwell series stand out. Plus, Cromwell himself is a character that would fit right in with the great male TV anti-heroes that are currently in vogue like Tony Soprano, Al Swearengen, Walter White, and Tyrion Lannister.
So, what works would you like to see adapted? I limited myself to just the books I've been reading, but make it any damn thing, including remakes of older films or TV series.
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Variety may be the spice of life, but in a manufacturing plant it simply spells confusion and uncoordinated effort. This is where one manufacturing corporation was when about 30% of its operations were tracked using various statistical-process-control (SPC) methods, including a mix of dedicated data collectors and various software programs.
"We wanted to standardize and get away from expensive data-collection units that are great for collecting data, but lousy for manipulating it. We also wanted PC software that was user-friendly," said a quality director for the metal-stampings and welded-assemblies manufacturer in the Detroit areI. In addition, the company had reliability problems with the three different types of collectors.
The Solution was to purchase automated SPC software, SPC1+Pro, from Advanced Systems & Designs Inc., Troy, MI. Although other products were evaluated, one of the reasons for this choice was that the quality director was familiar with the product.
The company slowly phased in the new SPC system, first targeting those operators who were using data collectors. "SPC training on the basics is ongoing and done on an as-needed basis. One of the obstacles we had to overcome was some people's fear of computers, but working with them one on one helped eliminate this concern," said a quality technician. "It's easy to train people on the system and it's user-friendly enough so that they can go quite a way on their own," he added.
Because this manufacturing company customizes its products, it waited until new products were ready for production before making the switch to the new SPC software. This strategy meant that all but one department was running the new system within 5 years, the quality director said. "As we progressed to new jobs, we designed new gaging and implemented the centralized SPC system," he added.
One wrinkle that was worked out with Advanced Systems & Design was to customize the software so that it would accept data directly from the company's coordinate-measuring. "We needed conversion software to gather the data and manipulate it," said the quality technician.
Overall the new SPC system has proven worthwhile. It has helped this company boost its average Cpk by 40%, reduce bad starts on new products, and it made real-time information available, Commans said. In addition, 92% of process characteristics are at a Cpk of 1 or greater, up from 60% before the automated system was implemented.
In my experience with ASD I have found their representatives to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful. The software I have used is among the most comprehensive and user friendly systems I have tried. I would recommend them to anyone trying to establish real time data collection and analysis.
The GageMux works great!!! I am pleased with your service and follow up to ensure complete satisfaction. Your timely fashion to complete your orders is unsurpassed by any other vendor that I use. Thanks for checking in with us, and I am sure that there will be more GageMuxs purchased in the near future as we are embarking on a paper-less system in our plant in the next few months.
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You have to remember that we're talking about 1908 here. Nobody was thinking about buildings in this way before. In a way, the fact that you find this building meaningless is even more telling of its complete ubiquitous power. These types of buildings and their way of thinking about space totally revolutionized manufacturing throughout the world and it happened in the matter of a few decades, which is why it feels so normal, but at the time this was really new and groundbreaking shit. Even Corb's manifesto which says that "Architecture is a machine for living in" wasn't published until 15 years later. And Corb was in fact greatly influenced by what he saw during his visit to industrial America. Architecture was starting to empathize with and incorporate the car. For me, the real interesting thing that this building talks about is how our lives were starting to become compartmentalized. Now (in 1910), you would GO to work, and GO on vacation, and GO to grandma's house. Our lives were exceedingly being dictated by the clock and reduced to schedules. You can read this in the elevation of the building. It's a grid of repetitive rectangles all working together to create the mass of a whole building. I mean, is it just a coincidence that the elevation of the building, as wholly dictated by it's functionality, looks exactly like a calendar? This was also happening in painting at the time too, which of course was equally revolutionary. Cubism was partly about deconstructing the body into parts and reassembling them. It was about, for me, the beginning of the lack of cohesiveness in our daily lives. Highland Park is where all of this started.
I was a bit young during the time that I remember VR being hyped up so I can't really add to its discussion. I do however remember the Power Glove and Lawn Mower Man and I do remember thinking that VR was going to be everywhere in no time. If you asked people in the 50's what kind of personal vehicles we would have by the millennium they would tell you that we would all have flying cars. And when the hoverboard was featured in BTTF II, I could have sworn you would be able to buy one the week after. These days I'm not so easily cajoled. As someone who hears the words 'Master Plan' a lot in my profession, I have to say it's laughable. Predictions of the future rarely come true, yet I understand the temptation. So, in the spirit of argument (and in giving into temptations), let me declare - 3d printers will NEVER be in the AVERAGE middle-class home. The reason is simply because it will never be practical enough. This to me though this isn't even close to what is actually compelling about 3d printing because I do believe that they are revolutionizing the way we design and build and the way we think about design and build.
First off, coupling two technologies like VR and 3D Printing for a discussion is myopic at best and does neither of their virtues any service. I think that VR is WAY more complex than 3d printing in terms of mechanics. Fooling haptics is no easy task. But what is really interesting to me concerning 3d printing is the way is allows us to think about material differently. It's on par in this respect to the recent molecular gastronomy food movement in terms of a complete paradigm shift. I wouldn't really call this molecular gastronomy, but check out MIT's food printer: http://web.media.mit.edu/~marcelo/cornucopia/ as one example. Printing chicken nuggets at home is now a reality even if it it is quite silly. Printing in terms of its architectural merit is more realistic and what I want to focus on...
Printing lets us think of material in terms of its basic components and their propensity to amalgamate and that's really exciting. I once heard someone say that Legos are destroying design because they allow for only additive, i.e. tectonic, making which is the counterpoint to something like carving terracota which is subtractive making, or stereotomic. Printing makes us think about both simultaneously. As we discover ways to 'powderize' more materials, then our horizons will continually expand. Right now on Shapeways, we can order a print in plastic, metal, ceramic, and glass http://www.shapeways.com/materials/ and there are places that can fire or dip anything printed so the question of quality and durability is now irrelevant. Also, I can't believe that wood isn't being printed yet - think medium density fiberboard (MDF). The truth is, entire commodity chains will be affected by the way printing consumes material.
Another important aspect of printing is the way it grants people access to advanced design. I've been actually playing with 3d printing for about 10 years now myself and I can say first hand how incredibly liberating it is to send my rhino file to the printer and watch it bake. Try it and your mind will explode (just like the first time you used Napster) For me, printing allows us to create beautiful designs like people used to spend time doing. I think there is a direct lineage from Louis Sullivan's frieze: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zJpnTu57Koc/TF48wG6rkRI/AAAAAAAAVt... to Michael Hansmeyer's computational architecture: http://www.michael-hansmeyer.com/projects/columns.html#1 decoration is affordable again. And, oh shit, look at what's coming next: http://cosmopolitanscum.com/2011/09/23/the-worlds-first-prin.... In the future this will be no biggie.
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Many homeowners long to hear the magic words, “your home equity loan is approved.” But for most, this type of loan, which allows a homeowner to borrow against the equity in the home, is hard to get.
The typical barriers are lack of equity, impaired credit and inadequate income to support additional borrowing.
Of those, negative equity, also referred to as being “upside down” or “underwater,” may be the most daunting hurdle.
More than 27 percent of U.S. homeowners who had a mortgage were in a negative home equity position or had less than 5 percent equity in their home as of Sept. 30, according to CoreLogic, a real estate data service in Santa Ana.
Negative equity is heavily concentrated in five states: Nevada, where 67 percent of homeowners who had a mortgage were upside down, Arizona (49 percent), Florida (46 percent), Michigan (38 percent) and California (32 percent).
Those figures mean substantial numbers of homeowners in those states have no chance of getting a home equity loan, even if they meet the income and credit score guidelines.
Homeowners who have equity, a strong credit score and enough income to support a second loan payment can still find only limited options to get a home equity loan or line of credit. That’s due largely to changes in the lending industry, according to Shari Olefson, a real estate attorney with Fowler White Boggs in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and author of “Foreclosure Nation,” a book about the foreclosure crisis.
These changes, Olefson says, include the following:
• Consolidation in the lending industry, resulting in fewer lenders, loan officers, mortgage brokers and so-called lead aggregation companies that used to heavily promote home equity loans.
• Stricter government regulations, requiring lenders to hold higher reserves and generally constraining all types of lending, including home equity loans and lines of credit.
• Short sales, foreclosures and borrowers who have decided not to make their mortgage payments, even though they can afford to do so, making lenders more risk-adverse and skittish about equity-based lending in particular.
• Lenders who offer equity loans can charge higher interest rates to offset those perceived risks.
“Second mortgages really do reflect the idea of risk pricing,” Olefson says. “But even with risk pricing, now, lenders have gotten wise and said, it’s not worth the risk at any price because people have embraced the option of just walking away from (a loan), and how do we price for that risk?”
Homeowners in such equity-rich states as New York, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, to name the top five according to CoreLogic, are in a much better position to get a home equity loan or line of credit.
And some lenders still approve these loans, if the homeowner has enough “borrowing power,” says Gary Korotzer, senior vice president of marketing for home equity at Wells Fargo in San Francisco.
That power consists of collateral, which refers to the home’s value as determined by an appraisal or automated-valuation model, AVM, and capacity, which refers to the borrower’s income relative to debt obligations, Korotzer says.
Borrowers should expect to provide paycheck stubs, tax returns or other documentation, so the lender can verify income.
Beyond those generalities, there are “no absolutes that say minimum this or maximum that,” Korotzer says. Rather, loan approvals are based in part on local market conditions and the borrower’s personal situation, including his or her intended use of the money. Home improvements, debt consolidation and college costs may be more likely to make the cut than, say, buying groceries.
“The best thing to do,” Korotzer says, “is to come in and talk to a banker about your situation. At the end of the day, it’s a combination of factors, and you should have a conversation with someone who can guide you through the process.”
(Reach Marcie Geffner at firstname.lastname@example.org Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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Back to School: A Time to Rethink Time
Another year has passed, and schools are still captives of an outdated calendar.
In June 2005, I wrote a column at the start of the summer vacation, describing its roots in our agrarian past, when children were needed to harvest the crops. (Growing one's food can be a powerful educational experience, but that's the topic of my next column.) In it, I referred to a 12-year-old report from the U.S. Department of Education's National Education Commission on Time and Learning, entitled "Prisoners of Time." (The entire document is available online.) The report concluded, "Our schools . . . are captives of the school clock and calendar. We have been asking the impossible of our students, that they learn as much as their foreign peers while spending only half as much time in core academic subjects."
Another year has passed, and American schools are still captives of an outdated calendar. It's mid-August, and the world of education is awakening from its three-month slumber. The seasons of schooling set the schedules for close to seven million K-12 educators and staff and 55 million students and families. Yet our schools and universities stand alone in hewing to a calendar with a long summer vacation added to holiday and spring breaks. No other sector of our society -- government, business, transportation, health care, manufacturing -- considers its year to be composed of 180 days or 36 weeks.
Add to this "outer limit" the "inner limit" of the 50-minute period of most secondary schools, and we have a pigeonholed system of schooling. This time frame was born out of the Carnegie Unit, which requires 120 hours of class time for high school courses. (Five such periods each week for 31 weeks achieves the 120-hour requirement.) The Carnegie Unit grew out of the early work of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, endowed by industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1906, and surely it's time for education to leave behind a 100-year-old idea.
Simply extending the school day with rote memorization and drill and practice on low-level skills, however, will not increase student learning and may well decrease motivation to learn, and teachers should be paid for working additional time.
Forward-thinking educators are changing this thinking and providing students with a rich array of learning experiences beyond the 180-day, six-hours-per-day limit. Around the nation, a new definition of educator is emerging as schools work in partnership with many community-based groups to extend learning beyond the school clock and the building's walls with noncredentialed instructors.
These informal educators or community educators come from science centers, art museums, boys' and girls' clubs, and many other nonprofit, youth-serving organizations. More importantly, they are increasing not only the time students spend learning but also how they are learning during afternoons, evenings, weekends, and summers.
Here in California, Proposition 49, approved by the voters in 2002, is now making about $550 million available for these after-school partnerships. This amount represents a major infusion of funding for the state's schools, which have declined from their collective status as one of the best school systems in the nation in the 1970s.
There are models to build on, such as the Los Angeles Unified School District's Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, a campus for students in grades preK-12 located in Pacoima. There, principal Yvonne Chan grasped the need to extend the school year from 180 days to 200 days to serve the needs of her students, of whom 97 percent come from low-income families and 78 percent are English-language learners.
Vaughn fills each day with a rich array of after-school learning activities and services, including universal preschool, full-day kindergarten, technology integration, arts classes, service learning, and school-based health and counseling services. Over the course of five years, the average scores of its students on the state Academic Performance Index have risen more than 200 points, from 443 to 672 (in a range of 200 to 1,000).
This fall, a new task force on time, learning, and after-school, on which I've served, organized by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, will issue its report updating and expanding themes from "Prisoners of Time." I hope it will be widely read and will catalyze new thinking about how time is used and learning is viewed. As students head back to school, it's high time to rethink school seasons. Fall should be the time to plant the seeds of learning, and summer should be the time to harvest those crops -- students' minds that have grown and developed over an entire year.
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The Best Kind of Different: Our Family's Journey with Asperger's Syndrome : Until the summer of 2007, the word Asperger's was not a part of Shonda Schilling's vocabulary, but that summer changed everything. By then, her household was in chaos as her son Grant spiraled out of control. His acting out and refusal to listen had grown to epic proportions, but even worse was his apparent inability to relate to the people around him. None of the Schillings' other three kids ever acted like Grant; his behavior wasn't just unruly, it was irrational. Complicating matters was the fact that Shonda's husband, Curt, was constantly on the road pitching for the Boston Red Sox, so he wasn't always around to see Grant's behavior firsthand. Seemingly everyone Shonda encountered had an opinion - "he's too spoiled," "he needs a good spanking," "he needs more discipline" - but it was a disastrous first attempt at summer camp that told Shonda something was definitely wrong. It was then that a neurologist diagnosed Grant with Asperger's syndrome - a form of high-functioning autism that, in recent years, has been found in children who at first glance appear disruptive and difficult. Now in The Best Kind of Different, Shonda details every step of her family's journey with Asperger's, offering a parent's perspective on this complicated and increasingly common condition. Looking back on Grant's early years, she describes the signals she missed in his behavior and confronts the guilt that engulfed her after she came to understand just how misguided her parenting had been before the diagnosis. In addition, she talks about the harsh judgment she's faced from people who don't buy into the diagnosis and how she's used passion and information to fight the ignorance of others.
|Biografía y Autobiografía||Personal Memoirs|
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Tuxy said it first: sleep paralysis is freaky stuff.
It used to happen to me every morning in the summer time about 8 years ago. For those who have not had the pleasure; after a long nights sleep you start to wake up. However there can be a point where you are awake an conscious able to remember and think etc.
Heres the thing......
your body is paralysed, for all intense purposes its still asleep. To make matters worse you panic a bit and naturally your heart beats faster but cause your body is asleep you are tidal beathing...fells like suffocation. You try to move an arm/leg or even say something cause if you do it generally snaps you out of it and wakes up your body. You get this feeling that when you are lying there and you feel you cannot breath that if you fall asleep again that you could die....its freaky.
Scientists have discoved that there are hormones that are responsible for awaking the body and another for the mind. Sometimes one starts before the other explaing sleep walking and alternatively sleep paralysis
Anyone else inflicted?
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