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Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To
by DC Pierson
References to this work on external resources.
Wikipedia in English
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0307474615, Paperback)A wildly original and hilarious debut novel about the typical high school experience: the homework, the awkwardness, and the mutant creatures from another galaxy.
When Darren Bennett meets Eric Lederer, there's an instant connection. They share a love of drawing, the bottom rung on the cruel high school social ladder and a pathological fear of girls. Then Eric reveals a secret: He doesn’t sleep. Ever. When word leaks out about Eric's condition, he and Darren find themselves on the run. Is it the government trying to tap into Eric’s mind, or something far darker? It could be that not sleeping is only part of what Eric's capable of, and the truth is both better and worse than they could ever imagine.
(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:50:42 -0500)
Fifteen-year-old Darren, a social misfit who spends his time at school trying not to be noticed while drawing characters for a planned film series and book tie-ins, befriends Eric, another outcast who reveals that he never sleeps.
Is this you?
Become a LibraryThing Author. | <urn:uuid:fcede00d-8be2-4e64-a3c3-03872d134108> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.librarything.com/work/9100424 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917065 | 295 | 1.6875 | 2 |
1989 A Bahri
... for the introduction of new methods in the Calculation of Variations.
1989 K A Ribet
... for his contribution to Number Theory and Fermat's last Theorem.
1991 J-L Colliot-Thélène
... for his work on Number Theory and rational manifolds the research for which was undertaken to a large extent with J-J Sansuc.
1993 J-M Coron
... for his contributions to the study of Variational Problems and Control Theory.
1995 A J Wiles
... for his works on Shimura-Taniyama-Weil's conjecture which resulted in the demonstration of Fermat's Last Theorem.
1997 M Talagrand
... for his fundamental contributions in various domains of Probability.
1999 F Bethuel and F Helein
... for several important contributions to the theory of variational calculus, which have consequences in Physics and Geometry.
2001 R L Taylor
... for his various contributions to the study of links between Galois representations and automorphic forms.
2001 W Werner
... for his works on the intersection exponents of Brownian motion and their impact in theoretical Physics.
2003 L Ambrosio
... for his impressive contributions to the Calculus of Variations and Geometric Measure Theory, and their link with partial differential equations.
2005 P Colmez
... for his contributions to the study of L functions and p-adic Galois representations.
2005 J-F Le Gall
... for his contributions to the fine analysis of planar Brownian motions, his invention of the Brownian snake and its applications to the study of non-linear partial differential equations.
2007 C Khare
... for his proof, in collaboration with Jean-Pierre Wintenberger, of Serre's modularity conjecture in number theory.
|Index of Societies, honours, etc.|
|Welcome page||Biographies Index
|History Topics Index||Famous curves index
|Mathematicians of the day||Anniversaries for the year
|Search Form||Birthplace Maps|
The URL of this page is: | <urn:uuid:c3c96bca-06a8-431d-97f2-1f476ae79a98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Societies/FermatPrize.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912098 | 444 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Today we’re going to have to do some groundwork to set up for a step we’re going to need a post or two from now. It has to do with density in a slightly more abstract context than usual.
Imagine you want to know how many people are living in a particular region. You can multiply the population density by the land area and find out. But things get complicated if the density isn’t uniform. You’d have to separately multiply the density of each small uniform sub-region by the area of each sub-region and add them all together. Mathematically we’d call this integrating the density over the area. To do it we need a function describing how the density changes over the landscape of our region.
Yesterday we talked about how if you dump a bunch of particles in a box they’ll be in various quantum states. There are bazillions of possible quantum states each corresponding to a particular energy, and since we can’t count them all by hand we need some way to say how the states are distributed over something we can count, like energy. Maybe there’s 2 bazillion states with energies between 1 and 2 eV, and 4 bazillion states between 2 and 3 eV. We need a way to figure out just how many there are so we can integrate the states over the energy later on.
So say you’ve got a particle in a 3-d box. It’s a macroscopic box, so quantum mechanically speaking a particle in that box can be described by six effectively continuous quantum numbers. One each for its position on the x, y, and z axes. One each for its momentum in the x, y, and z, directions. In that sense each particle inhabits a six-dimensional phase space, which is an alarmingly jargonized way of saying that those six numbers completely characterize your particle. We want to integrate over that phase space to see how much phase space (or number of states) we accumulate for each bit of energy we add. The total phase space for particles of total momentum between 0 and P will be:
The factor of 1/h^3 is the quantum mechanical size of a unit of phase space. We can prove it without all that much difficulty, but it’s kind of outside the scope of this post. A dimensional argument that length times momentum has the same units as h will be suggestive enough for now.
On to evaluating the integral. The integral over the volume is just the volume V. The integration over momentum space is constrained by the fact that p must be less than or equal to P, which is the same as saying that the momentum for a particle must lie inside a sphere (in momentum space) of radius P. That turns our integral into this:
Now that’s the total number of states less than P. We want to turn this into the number of states between p and p + dp. Which is going to be the actual density of states over each tiny region in phase space. This is just a differentiation:
This is all in terms of momentum. We want it in terms of energy, so we can just substitute the classical formula relating the two:
Which also implies with a little calculus that:
Substitute this into g(p) above and you get:
And we’re done! Integrate that and you can get the number of states between whatever two energies you’d like. I used “bazillions” to describe the number above, and for fun we can actually plug in some numbers and be more precise. Using 1 cubic meter for V and the mass of a helium 4 atom for m, I find that there’s about 1.4×10^33 states between 0 and 1 electron volts.
A little tricky at first, but not so bad. We’ll put this to use tomorrow. | <urn:uuid:a0abfb5d-4838-4fbe-a665-659280c08289> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scienceblogs.com/builtonfacts/2009/04/23/bose-einstein-condensates-pt-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92872 | 810 | 3.109375 | 3 |
- Special Sections
- Public Notices
Haven Hospice was recently recognized as a hospice organization by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC).
Operating since 1985, ACHC is the only national health care accrediting organization started at the grass-roots level by a few home-care providers endeavoring to create a viable option of accreditation sensitive to the needs of small providers. The model was designed to ensure a voice for providers. Accreditation is done by professional peer review administered by a private nonprofit organization, which is structured to establish higher standards than state or federal requirements. Accreditation is the most commonly accepted means of assuring quality care and products.
In recognizing Haven Hospice, ACHC said the organization has demonstrated a commitment to providing quality care and services to consumers through compliance with ACHC’s nationally recognized accreditation standards and is therefore granted accreditation for hospice. The accreditation runs from Dec, 21, 2011 through Dec. 21, 2014. | <urn:uuid:72091b8e-f62e-4cd0-ad7e-3f0be0eddc6a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chieflandcitizen.com/content/haven-hospice-accredited-through-achc?quicktabs_2=0&mini=calendar-date%2F2012-11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962017 | 205 | 1.5 | 2 |
- Mark's Daily Apple - http://www.marksdailyapple.com -
You Are How You Eat
Posted By Mark Sisson On January 13, 2011 @ 9:56 am In Diet,Stress | 68 Comments
We eat while reading the newspaper. We eat while watching T.V. or checking email. We eat while packing the kids’ lunches (over the sink, Moms?), breaking up sibling scuffles, or trying to keep an unruly toddler from throwing every bit of her dinner on the floor. We eat while working or cleaning up or driving. Necessary multitasking, we call it. If we want to eat at all some days, we just have to work it into the mix. I know how it goes. I have my Big Ass salad at my desk nearly every day while I write. The pattern, however, has the potential to sidetrack our best goals, not to mention spoil a good meal. Researchers have increasingly found that the more noise, the more stress, the more distraction we face when we eat, the less satisfied we are.
The result of this constant distraction is easy to guess. We lose track of what we’ve eaten. We end up eating more. We enjoy eating it less. Subjects in a recent study , for example, were instructed to play a computer game while eating. Not surprisingly, they didn’t recall what they ate as well as subjects who ate their lunch uninterrupted. The game players also reported feeling less full and ate more at a second snack time 30 minutes later.
The link, researchers explain , is the environmental and cognitive cues that help define our sense of fullness. We’ve all heard that it can take 20 minutes or more for the body to realize it’s full. (That’s why we suggest in The Primal Leap that you ask yourself not “am I full?”, but “am I still hungry for the next bite?”) Given the physiological “gap” time there, we develop our own ways to gauge when we’ve had enough. Most of us have a pretty good idea of how much food will fill us up. We tend to serve ourselves the same amount of food most of the time in keeping with that principle. If we are not in a position to serve ourselves, we unconsciously or consciously sense how much it’s going to take to satiate us. When we’re distracted, however, we’re not paying attention to those cues, those innate estimations. We’re unable to even remember how much we’ve eaten to begin with, and our memory is obviously key to our internal, cognitive gauge.
Distraction, it turns out, can also influence our sensory experience of food itself. In one study , blindfolded participants were divided into groups that wore headphones and listened to white noise – soft and loud – or to no noise while eating. The louder the white noise, the study showed, the blander subjects rated their food in terms of sweetness and saltiness. Hmmm…transfer that finding to eating in front of the television.
Brian Wansink of Cornell University is one expert who’s focused on the phenomenon of “mindless” eating . In addition to the regular distractions we indulge in while eating, Wansink says our multitasking causes us to grossly underestimate how often we make food choices to begin with. In one of his studies, participants were asked how many times a day they made decisions about eating. Although their responses averaged about 15 times, further questioning revealed many more choices – more than 200, in fact. The additional questions got at the lesser considered details of subjects’ meals – when and where they ate as well as what and how much. Wansink emphasizes that our eating environment and circumstances, whether we consciously choose them or not, can influence our overall diet. We might make better choices, for example, if we eat at certain times of day or at a place away from our desk or the kids’ chaos. Note to self.
Even after we’ve left a stressful environment or come home at the end of a long, taxing day, however, we still might bring baggage to the table. In one study, women participants who were exposed to jackhammer sounds while solving math problems ate more of the offered snacks after the activity than those who weren’t subjected to the sound.
Obviously, I spend a lot of time discussing what to eat while living the PB, but there’s clearly more to the picture. How does eating fit into our day? Where do we eat? When? How much choice do we exercise in these decisions? Do we come away from the table satisfied and pleasantly fulfilled? Do we approach each meal with conscious intention and pleasurable expectation? What, if anything, stands in the way of realizing these ideals? How can we set ourselves up for better enjoyment and success?
I love a good Primal recipe as much as the next person, but I also know that being happy with an eating lifestyle depends in part on the experience of dining. Dining. There’s a concept. It has different connotations than simply eating does, eh? How often do we allow ourselves to dine? I know when Carrie and I go out for dinner with the intent to take the time to enjoy it, there’s a real sense of relaxation and “content” that follows. How much time and attention do we devote to really savoring a meal at home – the taste, the texture, the interplay of flavors? When we sit down with the family or with friends, do we fully experience both the pleasures of food and company? Does eating sometimes feel more like a necessary chore to be worked in rather than an opportunity to relish a sensory event? Oops, time to clear the table, clean the dishes and get back to work…
Here’s a thought for today: eating can and should be a fulfilling experience. It’s about more than simply filling your stomach and even recharging your body. Eating is simultaneously indulgent and sacred. It can be a time for observation – both sensory and personal. Yes, life in all its hectic complication makes it difficult to sit down to – let alone prepare – an experience akin to Babette’s Feast at every meal. Nonetheless, how could you weave a little more enjoyment into your everyday eating? What would it look like? What, if anything, in your Primal life would it change?
Share your thoughts, and have a great day, everyone!
Article printed from Mark's Daily Apple: http://www.marksdailyapple.com
URL to article: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/you-are-how-you-eat/
URLs in this post:
free weekly newsletter: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/feeds/?utm_source=wwsgd&utm_medium=intro_note&utm_campaign=newsletter
Primal Blueprint 101: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/
study: http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2010/12/08/ajcn.110.004580.abstract
explain: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/science/14tier.html?pagewanted=all
The Primal Leap: http://primalblueprint.com/pages/The-Primal-Leap.html
study: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T6T-50H1WMK-1&_user=10&_coverDate=07%2F10%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=55841702d7ee0440ad66696bc79b15cc&searchtype=a
the phenomenon of “mindless” eating: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Dec06/eating.mindlessly.sl.html
women participants who were exposed to jackhammer sounds: http://live.psu.edu/story/6990
Primal recipe: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-recipes/
Babette’s Feast: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babette%27s_Feast
The Primal Blueprint Cookbook: http://primalblueprint.com/products/The-Primal-Blueprint-Cookbook.html
Copyright © 2009 Mark's Daily Apple. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:d2346a8a-16fc-4986-b6fc-4dd84d162de8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marksdailyapple.com/you-are-how-you-eat/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938952 | 1,861 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Modern and Contemporary Art
Wickford Harbor, Rhode IslandMade in United States, North and Central America
William J. Glackens, American, 1870 - 1938
Oil on canvas
Currently not on view
2000-1-2125th Anniversary Acquisition. Bequest of Margaret McKee Breyer, 2000
LabelPhiladelphia-born William Glackens attended the city's Central High School with John Sloan, a fellow artist, and Albert C. Barnes, who would become a famous art collector and founder of the Barnes Foundation. In the early 1890s, during the heyday of newspaper illustration art, Glackens was one of the ablest artist-reporters for various Philadelphia dailies but eventually abandoned illustration for painting. As a member of the informal group of modern urban realists known as "The Eight," Glackens painted dark-hued scenes of city life. By 1909, however, he had adopted a brighter palette, devoting canvases to the fashionable New England beachside resorts. In Wickford Harbor, Rhode Island, Glackens uses energetic brushwork and vibrant colors to show the piquant details and energy of a crowd. | <urn:uuid:17112709-dde7-4ba0-8f65-40a29751dd1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/93581.html?mulR=14788%7C10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945639 | 237 | 2.09375 | 2 |
This is a bit of a conundrum question because first we need to establish that a caricature is in fact a piece of art.
It is interesting that people will often depreciate a caricature, not comparing it to say a portrait or other artwork. In fact many caricatures take just as long and in some cases a bit longer owing to the thought that is placed into the selection of photos to use as the basis for the art and the thought and work to create the often additional inclusions of the artwork.
So with that behind us, let me tell you when a caricature is NOT a piece of art.
It all has to do with the final use. In the case of Caricature King caricatures it is important to think of them as not a piece of art (when in fact they are) but as something else….
They are in fact an emotion. Like Dr Who traveling in time, so the emotion of a caricature is both subtle and complex and interspersed over a period of time.
> Time-frame one. The design stage is when emotion of a number of people is involved. First, once the decision to create a caricature is made, there is the thought as to what to include in it. Here there is excitement, discovery and creativity both on the part of the person ordering the caricature, but also the team at Caricature King who often help the customer realize hidden aspects, which are used to add extra subtlety and complexity to the art.
> Time-frame two. The joy of seeing the finished product and anticipation of the giving. This stage maybe be shared with family or work colleagues adding to the pensive excitement!
> Time-frame three. The giving. Here there is a wide range of emotions from nervous excitement, discovery, uncertainty, amazement, joy expressed as laughter, relief, congratulation (to the person who’s wonderful idea it was!) and happiness.
Yes, a caricature is an emotional investment in a gift. This cannot be matched by just about any other gift because a caricature is unique, it s personal, it shows a level of thought and ingenuity that it recognized and appreciated by the recipient.
So is a caricature a piece of art? Of course, but it is soooo much more! | <urn:uuid:c217b570-e8d8-4c42-b2ad-000122413a64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.caricatureking.com/caricatureblog/tag/caricature/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96536 | 464 | 2.34375 | 2 |
A Circle of Hope
Young homeless men work to turn their lives around in Home on the Range
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Here's a look at the young men currently living at Home on the Range: http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/jan/23/starting-over/
Two years ago, Jared Curtiss was a functioning alcoholic and drug addict. He drank while on the clock at his construction job and took whatever drugs he could get his hands on.
His addictions cost him his house, his driver’s license and, eventually, his job.
“I lived a very destructive lifestyle,” the 25-year-old said.
Eleven months ago, Devin Jacob “DJ” MacDavid was homeless. After a couple of months of couch-surfing, MacDavid had nowhere to turn, severing most of his relationships while addicted to heroin.
He took shelter in a cardboard-recycling bin behind Battle Ground High School — the school he once attended and where he once was a member of the wrestling team.
“I realized how bad it was because I would hop out of my Dumpster and go hunt for money” to buy heroin or alcohol, MacDavid, 18, said.
Curtiss and MacDavid are just two examples of the hundreds of homeless people taking refuge in Clark County.
A one-day snapshot in January 2010 counted 1,104 homeless people in the county. Of those, 209 were living on the streets as opposed to emergency or transitional housing, according to the Council for the Homeless.
Today, Curtiss and MacDavid are off the streets and living in a transitional home called Home on the Range. They’re participating in a vocational training program and working to turn their lives around.
Home on the Range
Home on the Range is a 7,600-square-foot home situated on 7½ acres outside Yacolt. The privately funded program houses six 18- to 25-year-old men for nine to 12 months. Everyone who enters the program does so voluntarily.
Many of the men have histories of addiction, homelessness or criminal activity. For the most part, those histories don’t prevent a person from being accepted. However, men at Home on the Range cannot have any past sex offenses or pending criminal charges of any sort. The main requirement for admission into the program is a desire to make a change.
For those who enter committed to changing their lives, transformations are evident.
“It’s been an incredible change in my life,” Curtiss said. “I’m not doing drugs anymore. I’m not in jail anymore. I’m healthy.”
“There’s a lot of good stuff going on here,” he added. “It’s a blessing.”
In the home, the men learn responsibility and basic life skills. They’re responsible for keeping their rooms clean, doing their laundry and preparing meals. They have weekly chores, from preparing dinner to dusting, scrubbing the bathroom to vacuuming floors.
They’re also building social and familial relationships with their “brothers” in the house. They play games, have movie nights and practice music on the baby grand piano in the living room. They also break into wrestling matches and smack each other with pillows.
“We fight and get over it, just like a family does,” Curtiss said.
For many of them, the home has also given them a chance to reconnect with God and strengthen their faith. Most of the men participate in and lead Bible studies at home and at their churches in the community.
House parents Jack and Jan Narvel live in an apartment in the house and provide guidance and supervision. The men earn privileges, such as spending time away from the home, by building trust and proving they’re responsible.
On weekdays, the men have jobs at nearby Royal Ridges Retreat, a 390-acre center that offers horsemanship programs and Christian youth camps.
Every morning, the men are responsible for feeding the center’s 32 horses and cleaning the horses’ stalls. They also maintain the grounds, doing everything from building fences to repairing existing structures. During the summer months, when the retreat is buzzing with kids at youth camps, the men help on the rock wall and ropes course.
The job teaches the men a work ethic and teamwork, traits many of them admit they were lacking before.
Home on the Range is the second of five phases of the nonprofit Transitional Youth program founded by Prudential Northwest Properties President Bert Waugh Jr. For years, Waugh and his wife gave street kids beds to sleep in at their Yamhill County, Ore., home. Then, in 1991, Waugh began the faith-based Transitional Youth program.
“The disadvantaged and especially youth and street kids have been on my heart going back to high school,” the 67-year-old said.
Fewer resources are available for homeless young adults — ages 18 to 25 — than for minors and older adults, Waugh said. So Waugh made it his mission to reach as many young adults as he could and provide them with resources, opportunity and hope.
“It’s virtually impossible to get all these kids off the streets,” he said. “But I can just do what I can, as one man, taking one step in front of the other and do the best that I can to change their lives.”
The first phase of the program is outreach through a drop-in center in downtown Portland. The center serves meals three nights a week and provides homeless youth with clothing and support. Each year, the center serves more than 10,000 meals.
The second phase of the program is Home on the Range, which opened in September 2009. So far, three men have graduated from the program.
The next phase of the program is Home in the Suburbs, located in Hazel Dell. The 18- to 24-month residential program requires the residents to hold down jobs and/or attend school. The house opened in 2004 and, like Home on the Range, house parents live on site.
Residents are responsible for paying rent, although all of the rent money is returned when they move out. That saved money is the key to phase four, in which residents use their savings to pay the deposit and rent for their own apartments or homes.
In the fifth phase of the program, Transitional Youth and Prudential Northwest Properties help participants purchase their own home. Nobody has reached this stage of the program yet, but at least one resident at Home on the Range plans to use the assistance in the future.
The entire program is privately funded from a variety of sources, including corporations and foundations. Several agents with Prudential Northwest and Columbia Mortgage dedicate a percentage of each transaction to the program, as well, Waugh said. The Portland St. Vincent de Paul food bank provides some food for the drop-in center and homes; area businesses donate manpower and supplies for home improvements; and churches hold clothing and supply drives for residents. In addition, the foundation holds four fundraisers each year.
Back on track
Curtiss and MacDavid sum up the Transitional Youth program in one word: blessing.
After Curtiss lost his construction job, he couch surfed for a while, looking for a way to support his destructive lifestyle. His parents allowed him to move back into their home if he agreed to get help. Curtiss wrestled with his addictions for nine months before getting clean.
A year ago, Curtiss learned about Home on the Range. He completed the program in August and was hired as a supervisor at Royal Ridges. He also serves as a resident assistant at the house.
After a living in a Dumpster for the summer, MacDavid got in touch with his youth pastor, who gave him the phone number for Transitional Youth. He arrived at Home on the Range in August.
“It’s made me realize how off I was,” MacDavid said. “And now, I’m on track.”
Staying there doesn’t always come easy.
At times, the guys slip, perhaps putting themselves in all-too-familiar situations from their past. Many of the men are still learning what “safe” environments look like, house parent Jan Narvel said. When mistakes happen, the men know they have a houseful of brothers and two parents who will hold them accountable, she said.
“Every learning opportunity we can grab a hold of, we do,” she said.
For each of them, progress and advancement at Royal Ridges is tied to success in the house. They cannot founder in one arena and still advance in the other, Jan Narvel said.
The residents also have goals, short- and long-term, and have evaluations with Jan Narvel and a counselor who visits regularly to determine progress and setbacks. In addition to the expectations at home and at the ranch, some of the men have court-ordered treatment programs to attend or conditions of probation to meet.
Every day presents a new challenge.
“Some things you can’t mend, but you try to fix the ones you can,” said 21-year-old Chris Winkel.
Winkel moved into Home on the Range five months ago after four years of homelessness and methamphetamine addiction. And while his stay hasn’t always been easy, Winkel said he’s developed a sense of self-worth and respect for himself and others that he may have never learned otherwise.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said. “It’s the only good thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s a new start.”
Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:056f7bf7-dc38-47fa-9476-ee968acea538> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/jan/23/home-on-the-range-homeless-young-men-amboy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968958 | 2,101 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Ed. note: Cross-posted from ITA's Tradeology blog by Maureen Hinman, Environmental Technology Trade Specialist in ITA’s Office of Energy and Environmental Industries
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Commerce Under Secretary Francisco J. Sánchez launched the Environmental Export Initiative today at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC), the largest environmental industry event in North America and largest annual water exhibition in the world with more than 900 exhibitors and 18,000 water professionals in attendance.
The Environmental Export Initiative is the result of a renewed partnership between the International Trade Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency that seeks to promote environmental exports by leveraging EPA’s unparalleled expertise in environmental management with ITA’s export promotion and market development skills. The Trade Policy Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) initiative was announced on May 14, 2012 at American University by then Commerce Secretary Bryson, EPA Administrator Jackson, U.S. Trade Representative Kirk, and Secretary of Agriculture Vilsak and signifies a government-wide effort to enhance environmental technology exports. Today’s event gave the leading agencies a chance to formally launch the initiative and outline for environmental companies some of the key deliverables under the initiative that will help facilitate increased environmental technologies exports.
In addition to announcing the initiative, Under Secretary Sánchez took the opportunity to launch a deliverable: the Environmental Solutions Exporter Portal. Among the first deliverables of the new initiative, the portal is a single window for environmental exporters to access a suite of U.S. government services. It provides a direct line to U.S. trade and environmental protection specialists and includes information on tailored market research, export counseling, export finance, innovation and project development finance, feasibility studies, trade missions, commercial dialogues, and technical assistance for market development.
During the launch Administrator Jackson announced the roll-out of the U.S. Environmental Solutions Toolkit. The Toolkit is an online and (soon to be) mobile resource for foreign consumers that combine U.S. EPA expertise on solving environmental challenges with a catalogue of U.S. producers of related technologies. Pilot solutions for the module include nutrient removal from municipal wastewater, ground water remediation, mercury pollution control, and emissions from large marine diesel engines. The U.S. EPA and ITA will continue to add environmental issues to the toolkit in 2013, building a comprehensive interface to address environmental problems of all scope and size. For more information on how to participate in the toolkit please contact us at envirotech[at]trade[dot]gov. | <urn:uuid:8a0c7d80-d12c-4912-b19c-4f6869bb8fe5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.commerce.gov/blog/2012/10/01/ita-and-epa-launch-environmental-export-initiative-weftec | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901789 | 528 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Free Trade Agreement Would Benefit United States and Colombia
February 17, 2011
A free-trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Colombia has been stalled in the U.S. Congress for more than four years since it was signed in November 2006. Proponents of the agreement argue that it will promote U.S. exports and deepen our ties with a key democratic ally in South America. Opponents in Congress and the U.S. labor movement contend that the Colombian government has not done enough to curb violence against trade unionists. If enacted, the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement would eliminate barriers to billions of dollars of U.S. exports, according to Juan Carlos Hidalgo, project coordinator for Latin America at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, and Daniel Griswold, director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies, at the Cato Institute.
The pending trade agreement would eliminate about three-quarters of the duties on industrial and agricultural goods immediately. Almost all other duties would be phased out over 5 to 10 years, with a few stubborn agricultural tariff-rate quotas hanging on for 19 years. The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that the agreement would boost U.S. exports by an additional $1.1 billion after full implementation.
A free-trade agreement with Colombia would achieve a number of worthy U.S. policy objectives, say Hidalgo and Griswold.
- An agreement would reduce significant barriers to U.S. exports to a major Latin American market, moving the United States closer to meeting President Obama's goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2014.
- It would remove uncertainty over Colombia's access to the U.S. market, aiding that country's efforts to develop its economy and reduce poverty.
- And it would strengthen civil society in Colombia, reinforcing the efforts of the country's new reform-minded government to reduce violence even further and to bolster the nation's already robust democracy in the face of antidemocratic forces in the region.
Source: Juan Carlos Hidalgo and Daniel Griswold, "Trade Agreement Would Promote U.S. Exports and Colombian Civil Society," Cato Institute, February 15, 2011.
Browse more articles on Economic Issues | <urn:uuid:7c6f30e0-703c-45bb-ac25-473d93248f15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=20345 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948736 | 463 | 2.59375 | 3 |
I am new to using Mathematica and have a problem at hand: I need to solve $y''(x)+ a \sin(y(x)) = 0$ and plot the output, I need a "manipulate" thingy for the two initial conditions. Help needed.
|show 2 more comments|
closed as too localized by acl, belisarius, cormullion, Leonid Shifrin, rm -rf♦ Oct 10 '12 at 14:55
This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.
The function you are looking for is
For one-off execution, you can use this kind of expression:
And for a | <urn:uuid:c2cb8d38-38d8-4505-8e3e-17da661fad97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mathematica.stackexchange.com/questions/11835/need-help-with-solving-non-linear-differential-equation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906109 | 188 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Spam is an ever-increasing annoyance for e-mail users. Most people have some form of spam filtering application that reduces the instances of the frequently offensive unsolicited commercial messages. Many of these filters seek to identify spam based on the address from which the message is sent, but spammers are already wise to this trick, and spoofing is now commonplace. By hiding or misdirecting their transmission source, spammers make it exceedingly difficult for most users to determine from where the spam message actually came.
But there’s some hope for spammer identification. An loose alliance formed by large e-mail services (Microsoft, Yahoo, America Online, and Earthlink), the Anti-Spam Research Group (ASRG), and Intelligent Computer Solutions (ICS) is working on an e-mail sender-authentication system that’s been dubbed the Big Gorilla Project.
Using an identification system based on public key encryption, ISPs who have control over outgoing e-mail can include a piece of encrypted code in header of each outgoing message. The code snippet can be used by receiving ISPs to confirm the identity of the outgoing e-mail server and the authenticity of the e-mail message’s return address.
By confirming the identity of the transmission site, it’s a simple matter to blacklist and block known offenders.
I use a combination of anti-spam filtering applications, both on our incoming mail servers and our client workstations. So far I’ve been able to drop my daily spam tally from over 600 messages to about a dozen, maybe double that on a bad day. But that’s still not good enough. It’s not just receiving junk mail that bothers me, it’s the offensive content.
I’m all for proposals, both legislative and technical, that help kill off spam.
Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below. | <urn:uuid:f2293289-cdad-4d08-b303-5ef8b8e84457> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.geeknewscentral.com/tag/pki/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920195 | 394 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Team Studies Water Quality and Plant/Animal Communities in Local Water Bodies
PBSJ has been selected to provide comprehensive water quality and biological monitoring (HBMP) services related to two significant Tampa Bay Water projects. The two assignments–focused on the Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Facility and the Tampa Bypass Canal/Alafia River Water Supply projects–will analyze water quality, seagrasses and fish communities to track any potential impact of ongoing Tampa Bay Water operations in these areas. As prime consultant, PBSJ is leading a team of estuarine scientists, data managers and field technicians who will carry out the HPMP program.
Tampa Bay Water is a special district created by interlocal agreement to supply wholesale water to Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, St. Petersburg, New Port Richey and Tampa. The development and implementation of a comprehensive HBMP program for the Bypass Canal and Alafia River was required as a condition of approval in the water use permits issued to Tampa Bay Water by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).
PBSJ was responsible for the design of the original HBMP program for the bypass Canal and Alafia River, and for the first four years of its implementation. The HBMP establishes a process through which environmental changes can be detected and assessed. The program was developed with input from a team of consultants and experts from across the academic, regulatory and resource management spectrum, along with participation by environmental interest groups.
The second project encompasses water quality and biological monitoring programs for the Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Facility located on the TECO Big Bend Power Plant site. PBS&J’s team will analyze potential effects of discharge from the desalination facility on Apollo Bay and Hillsborough Bay. A PBSJ -led team with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County. | <urn:uuid:7569dd3c-a7bb-456c-b18b-3b423651ec69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wwdmag.com/pbsj-selected-two-tampa-bay-water-hydrobiological-monitoring-projects | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923961 | 393 | 2.078125 | 2 |
This is the first in a series about the Amazon region of Brazil that is featured in my illustrated picture book, Alexander the Salamander. This post is about Manaus, the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon. Upcoming articles will focus on the Amazon River Basin, the rainforest, indigenous groups and wildlife in the Amazon, and the Amazon Ecopark, an eco-resort. Enjoy these travelogues with photos and stories from the world’s largest rainforest.
The city lies at the confluence of the rivers Rio Negro and Rio Solimões, the two major tributaries that form the mighty Amazon River flowing east to the Atlantic Ocean. Surrounded by a dense sea of green forest that blankets the region, Manaus is a gritty, industrial city of approximately 1.85 million inhabitants carved out of the jungle. It’s a four-hour flight from São Paulo, the primary airline hub for most international flights entering Brazil.
The name “Manaus” is derived from the Manaós indigenous group that lived in the area until the city’s establishment by the Portuguese in 1669. Manaus has been called the “Heart of the Amazon” and “City of the Forest,” although a more appropriate name is the “Industrial Pool of Manaus,” reflecting the city’s status as an industrial center. A rubber boom in the late 1800s fueled urban growth for half a century. Since the establishment of the Free Economic Zone of Manaus (ZFM) in 1957, a bevy of industries from shipbuilding and petrochemicals to manufacturing and agribusiness have developed thanks to tax incentives offered by the ZFM.
Although the city’s footprint is one of the largest in Brazil, its historic center between the river port and the main square is an easy walk. Visiting Manaus’ highlights is a day tour on foot from any number of hotels clustered in the center. Heading north on Avenida Eduardo Ribeiro takes you to the Renaissance-style Amazon Theater (Teatro Amazonas), an opera house that opened in 1896 and is home to the Amazonas Philharmonic. The easily recognizable dome features a large mural of the Brazilian flag.
The main square is lined with historic buildings that house the Palace of Justice (Palácio de Justiça), São Sebastião Church, Municipal Prefecture, and the Indigenous Museum (Museu do Índio), one of two showcasing local indigenous culture (the other is the smaller, nearby Museu Amazônico). Although small – just one large city block – the square is a must-see when visiting Manaus. Park benches in São Sebastião Park are a great place to stop and enjoy the plaza.
Walking down Avenida Eduardo Ribeiro toward the river port will introduce you to the sights and sounds of Manaus. There are some free-for-all markets that sell a wide assortment of knock-off goods. We passed on the faux leather goods and “Swiss” watches.
Next to the port is a large open-air market surrounding the Church of the Mother Manaus (Ingreja de Matriz Manaus). Cluttered and somewhat disorganized, the place was abuzz with activity when we visited and filled with items that seemed more geared to locals than tourists. We enjoyed browsing the stalls for mementos, food, and drink.
My son enjoyed drinking milk straight from the coconut sold by one of the vendors.
Across the street on the banks of the Rio Negro is the Adolpho Lisboa Market (Mercado Adolpho Lisboa), the city’s oldest market built in 1882. Next to it lies the ornate Customs House (Alfandega) overshadowed by the contemporary but gaudy Ministry of Finance (Fazenda) skyscraper out of place in the historic center.
The large, modern wharf next to the river port crowded with cafes and piers blends in well with the colonial architecture.
The port is a jump-off point for river cruises and tourist excursions that range from daytrips to the Meeting of the Waters at the confluence of the Rio Negro and Rio Solimões to multi-day trips to ecotour resorts.
If you visit the heart of the Amazon, you’ll likely transit through Manaus on your way to the rainforest. Many tourists head straight to the river without stopping to enjoy the city. While much more awaits you in the wild, a brief stopover will introduce you to Brazilian culture and prepare you for the jungle adventure that lies ahead.
About Alexander the Salamander
A young salamander named Alexander living in the Amazon River Basin joins his friends Airey the Butterfly and Terry the Tarantula for an unforgettable jungle adventure. Come along with Alexander and friends as they meet birds, monkeys, and other creatures, enjoy the beauty of the rainforest, and face danger along the way.
The first book in the World Adventurers for Kids Series, Alexander the Salamander is an illustrated story inspired by the authors’ visit to the Amazon in 2008. Fun for kids and adults alike, the story teaches children the importance of listening to teachers and other authority figures.
M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories and Alexander the Salamander, a children’s story set in the Amazon. His books are available to purchase as an e-book and in print from Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.
For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.
© 2012 Brilliance Press. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted without the written consent of the author. | <urn:uuid:cab2a7e9-a8fc-428f-9219-2f9d4887d9a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldadventurers.wordpress.com/tag/teatro-amazonas/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928826 | 1,332 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Spain Auctions Airports, Lottery To Generate Cash
Originally published on Tue September 20, 2011 10:50 am
DAVID GREENE, Host:
As Spain struggles to cope with its national debt, the socialist government there is turning to some extreme measures. It's auctioning off state industries, like airports and the national lottery. The government is hoping to generate enough cash to avoid asking the E.U. and International Monetary Fund for a bailout. But as Lauren Frayer reports from Madrid, selling off state assets is not the most straightforward solution.
LAUREN FRAYER: Madrid's Barajas airport is one of the biggest hubs in Europe and the continent's gateway to Latin America. Terminal 4 is an architecture icon, up there with the Guggenheim Bilbao or Gaudi's funky houses as symbols of modern Spain. But this fall, it's being sold off, part of a government push to privatize the last remaining state assets here.
LUIS CASTALLANOS: Many symbols of Spain are now in the private hands. But the economy, nowadays, the more important thing. We are now in the economy hands.
FRAYER: Luis Castallanos is a chauffeur who's ferried tourists back and forth to Madrid's airport for more than 15 years. He thinks a private operator might be more efficient.
CASTALLANOS: It's a monopoly, you know? Because it's ruled by the government. I think if there are more companies, the prices should be going down, and I think it would be better for us.
FRAYER: But it's a desire for cash, rather than efficiency, that's prompted Spain to sell off its two biggest airports, in Madrid and Barcelona, along with another Spanish icon, the lottery, the biggest in the world. Children sing the winning numbers at the Christmas drawing, El Gordo.
GROUP: (Singing in foreign language)
FRAYER: La Loteria has an unofficial triple-A bond rating, a safer investment than Spain's treasury bonds. But Fernando Fernandez, an economist at Madrid's IE Business School, says regional governments will retain a minority percentage of shares in the airports, making them a riskier investment.
FERNANDO FERNANDEZ: That to me is very worrisome, very dangerous, because it will mean, in particular the operator in Barcelona, probably in Madrid too, will be subject to a lot of political wrangling. And that is a big question mark from the point of view of a private investor. And the rest of the airports, well, there are very few that are profitable.
FRAYER: Still, seven private companies are bidding for 20-year contracts. The government hopes to raise more than $7 billion from the deal.
The airports and lottery are basically all the Spanish government has left to sell. Socialist governments began privatizing state assets in the 1980s as a reaction to the monopolies that existed under the military dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
Spaniards also lost patience with monopolies after last year's air traffic controllers' strike, which stranded thousands of travelers on a holiday weekend. Fernandez says the air traffic controllers were able to hold Spaniards hostage.
FERNANDEZ: Because they were given an extraordinary amount of political power by the government. Any private-owned company that would have operated an airport, could not have afforded those labor conditions.
(SOUNDBITE OF AIRPLANES)
FRAYER: Back at the airport, the driver, Luis Castallanos, shudders when I ask him about last year's strike. He says he thinks this building's architectural clout distracts from mismanagement inside.
CASTALLANOS: In the skyline, you look on a really good building. It looks amazing. It looks huge. For the normal people, it's really good, but sometimes it's a nightmare.
FRAYER: Bidding is underway for the two airports, and the government plans to grant operating licenses by the end of November.
For NPR News, I'm Lauren Frayer in Madrid.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
GREENE: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio. | <urn:uuid:536548a4-bba7-4fd8-844e-626eed86b393> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kanw.com/post/spain-auctions-airports-lottery-generate-cash | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949376 | 877 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Protect Idaho's Wolves
Please don’t buy potatoes grown in Idaho until this state’s violence against wolves stops.
Contact: Gov. Butch Otter or call Gov. Otter at 208-334-2100 to sound off.Governor, respecting wolves and hating them isn’t the same.
Gov. Otter prepares to buy wolf tag and hunt this fall
By Rocky Barker
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter endorsed the 220-wolf limit set by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission and repeated his vow to go wolf hunting this fall.
The commission set the number lower than Idaho hunters and lawmakers had been pushing for in a effort to avoid an injunction that would stop the season by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy. Defenders of Wildlife said after the decision it would ask Molloy to stop the hunt while he decides on the lawsuit it and other groups have filed asking to put wolves in Idaho and Montana back on the Endangered Species list. (cont.)
“I understand the commission’s conservative and thoughtful action that they took because obviously we want to demonstrate we can manage them,” Otter said. “We also want to find out if we can manage them with our hunter community.”
Otter made national news in January of 2007 when he told a group of Idaho hunters on the Capitol steps, “I’m prepared to bid for the first ticket to shoot a wolf myself.” He said Wednesday in an interview he planned to buy an $11.75 tag along with thousands of Idaho hunters.
Otter said he shares the concerns of hunters that wolves are reducing elk populations in the state but he urged them to hold their anxieties in check.
“I believe that the fact we’re going to have a hunting season is important,” Otter said. “We’re going to be given a chance in this hunting season to demonstrate that we can be responsible and the feds are not going to have to come in and manage.”
Otter urged wolf advocates to remember how far the wolf population has come and the promises they made to westerners when they pushing reintroduction in the early 1990s. The original goal set in 1994 was 10 packs in each of three states or about 120 wolves.
“We exceeded their proposed numbers and they were the ones that set those numbers, we didn’t,” Otter said. “In fact our number in 94 was zero.”
Now wolves exceed 1,000 in Idaho alone and they have migrated as far away as Colorado as well as to all of the states surrounding Idaho.
Otter plans to hunt elk and deer in the Lime Creek drainage near his Pine cabin and around the Lemhi County hunting camp of his friend, Department of Administration director, Mike Gwartney.
“They’ve spotted a lot of wolves so I suspect that as we go headed out for elk camp we’ll make sure that everyone that wants one has a wolf tag,” Otter said.
Otter said for many hunters, wolves will be respected as a trophy, which is what the state designates them. That respect will grow over time.
“I think everybody respects them,” Otter said. “You can still hate them and respect their cunning and their place in nature.
“I’m not real fond of rattlesnakes but I understand their place in the system.”
For the full interview read Thursday’s Idaho Statesman.
Post your comment
Comment Guidelines: We welcome your expressions of opinion on this subject. Please avoid false commentary about individuals or groups. Facts must be verified by the person posting. Off-topic comments, and comments inappropriate for a readership of all ages, may be deleted. E-mail addresses will never be published. Only comments with valid e-mail address will be published. | <urn:uuid:de3f5251-ca67-4a68-903c-f1452e2ba892> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.friendsofanimals.org/news/2009/august/protect-idahos-wolve.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966028 | 826 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
|Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana|
Map of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels
Location in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
|Named for||la pointe coupée, French for the place of the cut-off|
|Largest city||New Roads|
591 sq mi (1,530 km²)
557 sq mi (1,444 km²)
33 sq mi (86 km²), 5.64%
41/sq mi (16/km²)
|Time zone||Central: UTC-6/-5|
Pointe Coupee Parish, pronounced "Point Koo-Pee" and (pronounced "Point Coo-Pea" in English) (French: Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée), is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is New Roads. As of 2000, the population was 22,763.
The parish has a total area of 590 square miles (1,530 km²), of which, 557 square miles (1,444 km²) of it is land and 33 square miles (86 km²) of it (5.64%) is water. The land consists mainly of prairies and backswamp.
Major highways
Pointe Coupee Parish has 498.98 miles of highways within its borders.
Minor Highwways
Major Waterways
Adjacent parishes
- Concordia Parish (north)
- West Feliciana Parish (northeast)
- West Baton Rouge Parish (east)
- Iberville Parish (south)
- St. Martin Parish (southwest)
- St. Landry Parish (west)
- Avoyelles Parish (northwest)
||Avoyelles Parish||Concordia Parish||West Feliciana Parish|
|St. Landry Parish||West Baton Rouge Parish|
|St. Martin Parish||Iberville Parish|
National protected area
Pointe Coupee Parish (pronounced point coo-pay) was formed in 1805 as part of the Territory of Orleans (statehood for Louisiana followed in 1812). There were minor boundary adjustments with neighboring parishes up through 1852 when its boundaries stabilized.
|Pointe Coupee Parish Census Data|
As of the census of 2000, there were 22,763 people, 8,397 households, and 6,171 families residing in the parish. The population density was 41 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 10,297 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 68.91% White, 29.61% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 93.61% of the population spoke only English at home, while 4.89% spoke French or Cajun French and 0.96% spoke Spanish.
There were 8,397 households out of which 35.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.70% were married couples living together, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.50% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the parish the population was spread out with 27.30% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $30,618, and the median income for a family was $36,625. Males had a median income of $35,022 versus $20,759 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,387, ranking 23rd out of 64 parishes. About 18.70% of families and 23.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.20% of those under age 18 and 23.90% are the age of 65 and older.
Cities and towns
The Pointe Coupee Parish School Board serves the parish.
In 2008 Pointe Coupee was one of the communities that suffered the most damage by Hurricane Gustav.
Notable natives and residents
- Albin Provosty (1865–1932) – Newspaper editor, preservationist (St Francis Church – oldest in Miss Valley), State Senator, District Attorney, Member and leader LA Constitutionalm Conventions of 1913 & 1921, President, La State Bar Association, builder of "Provosty Hall".
- Auguste Provosty (1818–1868) – State Senator, Member of 1860–61 La Secession Convention – Chaired Committee which produced the bilingual Secession Ordinance.
- Bennet Barton Simmes, State Senator who lived at White Hall Plantation, Legonier
- Buddy Guy, Singer and Performer
- Catherine D. (Kitty) Kimball Chief Justice of LA Supreme Court.
- Charles Parlange Chief Justice of LA Supreme Court.
- Chris Williams plays offensive tackle for the St. Louis Rams
- deLesseps Story Morrison (1912–1964) was born in New Roads.
- Emmitt Douglas (1926–1981) – President of the Louisiana NAACP from 1966–1981, resided in New Roads from 1949–1981
- Ernest Gaines – Author
- James Ryder Randall: Poet, Teacher at Poydras Academy, 1856–1860 (wrote Maryland, My Maryland while in Pointe Coupée).
- Julien Poydras – 1st Territorial Representative for Louisiana; 1st State Senate President, philanthropist.
- Lindy Boggs (born 1916) – former U.S. Representative and U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See
- Major General John Archer Lejeune
- Nauman Scott
- Paul Raymond Smith (born 1959), former Pointe Coupee Parish sheriff
- Russel L. Honoré - retired Lieutenant General, U.S. Army
- Olivier Otis Provosty (1852–1924) – State Senator, Member of 1898 Constitutional Convention, Chief Justice of La Supreme Court
- Zénon LeDoux, Jr. (1820–1850) – Member and Leader, Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1845; Louisiana Secretary of State, 1848–1850.
National Guard
The 1088TH Engineer Company (Combat) resides in New Roads, Louisiana. This unit as part of the 256TH IBCT deployed to Iraq twice, 2004-5 and 2010. This units is a subordinate company of the 256TH BSTB (brigade special trooops battalion).
See also
- LSP – Troop Info – Troop A
- Louisiana @ SouthEastRoads – U.S. Highway 190
- Profile: Pointe Coupee Parish
- Gold Bug Software. "AniMap Plus: County Boundary Historical Atlas".
- United States Census Bureau. "Pointe Coupee Parish Quickfacts". Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- United States Census Bureau. "Louisiana Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana|
- Pointe Coupee Interactive Map
- Official Pointe Coupee Parish website
- Official Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Office website
- Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
- Pointe Coupee at the Millennium Documentary Photography Project | <urn:uuid:3fd51c5e-2566-4773-bbf7-10489851570d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointe_Coupee,_Louisiana | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908259 | 1,764 | 2.640625 | 3 |
IRVINGTON, N.Y., Feb. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ORTHOCON, Inc., a developer of implantable products designed to stop the bleeding from and to deliver drugs to bone, today announced the U.S. launch of its first commercial product, the HEMASORB Absorbable Bone Hemostat Matrix.
The HEMASORB Absorbable Bone Hemostat Matrix is a ready to use, biocompatible, water resistant, and absorbable putty that is designed to rapidly stop bleeding when applied to damaged or cut bone. HEMASORB was cleared for market introduction by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) via the 510(k) premarket notification process. In 2010, ORTHOCON conducted a limited market introduction of this product under its development name, ORTHOstat.
"We believe that HEMASORB is an innovative product that addresses a substantial market opportunity and has the potential to become a standard of care," said John J. Pacifico, President and Chief Executive Officer of ORTHOCON. "It is easy to use; it satisfies unmet needs and it is cost-effective."
Bleeding from cut bone is a common occurrence in many operative procedures. Excessive bleeding from bone during surgery may impair the surgeon's view of the operative field, may result in the need for blood transfusions and may be associated with post-operative complications. ORTHOCON estimates that over 3.5 million patients undergoing surgeries in the U.S. and Europe each year could benefit from the intra-operative use of HEMASORB.
"HEMASORB is the first commercial product that employs our proprietary Syntinate Technology Platform," commented Richard L. Kronenthal, Ph.D., ORTHOCON's Scientific Founder. "We are currently developing a pipeline of follow-on products that will complement Syntinate's utility as a bone hemostat by exploiting its unique potential to deliver drugs directly to bone."
The Syntinate Technology Platform incorporates biocompatible and absorbable solids and liquids to create a synthetic matrix that, when applied to bone, mechanically blocks bleeding. In addition, these constituents may act as drug reservoirs allowing for site specific and extended delivery of local anesthetics, anti-infective agents, and other drugs.
"We believe that our pipeline of products, beginning with HEMASORB, is very compelling and has the potential to create significant clinical and commercial value," concluded Mr. Pacifico. "We expect that the successful market launch of our HEMASORB Absorbable Bone Hemostat Matrix will prime the market for the future introduction of an array of innovative products." | <urn:uuid:3ae63e18-0702-453e-b0a1-5cb0bdf51539> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://medicalhemostat.blogspot.com/2011_02_18_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931961 | 564 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Palm Beach Day School
Palm Beach, FL
Teacher Tom Sarko writes about Space Explorers programs
I have been using Space Explorers programs for six years, going back to the days of Lunar Prospector and MoonLink®. The mission simulation concept is what initially got my attention as this has added a whole new dimension of realism to my Earth/Space Science classes.
I think both my students and I still enjoy preparing for and carrying out the mission simulations the most, in spite of all of the other great elements that have been added to the Space Explorers programs. Assuming the role of a "real scientist" and working as a team to successfully complete a mission is great fun and very rewarding to my students.
My students use the Space Explorers curriculum, simulations and other resources to construct a better understanding of their Universe, what it means to explore that Universe, and how scientists and engineers, in general, go about their work. Whether or not these students pursue careers in math and science, they certainly develop a deeper appreciation of these fields. Who knows, some of them, or their children, may become the "first" Martians. | <urn:uuid:122585e9-8ad5-4e66-bcb6-36921bbc6470> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.space-explorers.com/internal/common/announce/palm_beach_fl1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951542 | 235 | 2.53125 | 3 |
photos by Andrew Brooks
These days a modern urban environment often makes it difficult to realise the origins of a town, of how it was formed, why its location was vital to its survival or even to properly step back and see the lie of the land. Stockport thrived because of the standstone cliffs it was formed around and there’s plenty of evidence of this all around you to this day.
At one particular location on the edge of town there’s a sandstone cliff face and if you’d peered through the trees here until very recently you’d have also noticed there was once a door.
That was until now - the doorway has been sealed up and what lies behind it is documented here for the very last time. This is Dodge Hill.
Began in 1907 and completed in 1912 by A.H Stott & Sons, this is Stockport’s Pear Mill. The mill is Grade II listed and was one of the last cotton spinning mills to be built and to go into production. It ceased operation as a textile mill in March 1978.
Although an usual feature to gaze upon now, the pear that nestles on the water tower wasn’t particularly out of character at the time. These Edwardian mills were often adorned flaboyantly and during the design of the twenty-four A.H Stott & Sons mills, meticulous attention was cast upon the water towers and parapet of the main mill block. A signature style of the architects’ was the use of horizontal bands of yellow bricks above the windows, Accrington brick and terracotta ornamentation.
This behemoth of a pear isn’t the only fruit you’ll find up on the roof, | <urn:uuid:da342e21-694e-4b2e-acf0-ab8db52b9f9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theskyliner.org/tagged/stockport | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975287 | 355 | 2.921875 | 3 |
|The Mechanical Laboratory and Power House, one of Rice's four original buildings (1912), provides the background for these enormous sculptures. The same kind of granite was used in the sculptures as that used by Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson in their building.|
|The titles of the works refer to the angles of the colossal slabs and provide some connection to a courtyard related to engineering..|
Go to the index of works on the Rice University campus.
Click here to return to index of art historical sites.
Click here to return to index of artists and architects.
Click here to return to chronological index.
Click here to see the home page of Bluffton College. | <urn:uuid:16936e9a-1c30-41ed-a4f1-57fa2b13d972> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bluffton.edu/%7Esullivanm/texas/houston/riceheizer/heizer.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937363 | 142 | 2 | 2 |
A little sanity from Laws
Posted on 10:50, January 27th, 2010 by Lew
I often find myself thinking of a saying which I’ve seen variously described as Arabian, African and Chinese, but which I’m pretty sure every culture has in its own version:
Michael Laws and the formerly-divided Wanganui District Council have unanimously condemned the adoption by media (TVNZ, Radio NZ and other outsiders) of the standard Māori pronunciation of “Fonganui”, while quietly endorsing the new “Whanganui” spelling as an official alternative. In an expression of the last phrase of the proverb above, the council also resolved to “work with local Māori leaders to draw up a guideline for national media and organisations as to how the city should be pronounced.”
Quite apart from being an almost unprecedented — and very welcome — indication of goodwill from Laws and his settler-majority council toward tangata whenua, this also marks a subtle shift away from the bombastic demagoguery of the h debate to a sort of diplomacy, perhaps a realisation that civil society solutions to complex political identity problems come about by education and negotiation; they require change by consent. This was the fundamental difference between the pro-h and anti-h arguments in the great h debate of oh-nine: the anti-h position was presriptive, insisting that it had to be a “Wanganui” for everyone with no tolerance for dissent. The pro-h position was about recognition, insisting that “Whanganui” be acknowledged as having preeminence, but not enforcing this usage in an absolute fashion.
But ultimately (although Laws and the council may not have gotten this point) pronunciation is a different question. Pronunciation and dialect in Māori remains an expression of a speaker’s rangatiratanga. Māori was, and to a large extent remains a dialectic language where howyou say something provides important context about who you are and what you’re saying — a concept somewhat unfamiliar to many Pākehā New Zealanders who are used to a reasonably homogeneous accent, but one which will be very familiar to anyone familiar with the USA or the UK. This is why you’ll hear Māori from elsewhere in the country pronouncing it “Fonganui” without much objection from Whanganui Māori, and why you’ll hear Whanganui Māori pronouncing “Whakatane” as “Wakatane”, as well as “wānau” or “ware” or “wakarongo mai”, and while it may draw sniggers from speakers of other dialects, it is generally recognised as a manifestation of Whanganuitanga to speak this way. For their part the Whanganui (and Taranaki*) Māori are proud of their dialect much as Texans or Geordies are. Tariana Turia, in speeches, has described just such situations, such as when visiting relatives from the Tongariro region, the children teased her for poor pronunciation. Far from being ashamed by this, it was a small source of pride for her and a matter of her own mana and Whanganuitanga, a recognition of the small differences between relations which throw the much more important commonalities into sharp relief.
All this is a somewhat roundabout way of saying that, while it’s wonderful that Laws and the council have seen the need to ally with their cousins and neighbours against the world, and moreover have (apparently) seen the need to do so in a diplomatic and non-coercive manner, this is a battle they simply may not win because there is an important distinction between standing on your own mana and trying to force others to adopt your ways, requiring them to sacrifice their own mana in doing so.
* Māori Language Commissioner Ruakere Hond is leading the campaign to promote the Taranaki dialect. | <urn:uuid:674ca036-41e9-4f83-919b-5d934f65b21a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kiwipolitico.com/2010/01/a-little-sanity-from-laws/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96992 | 844 | 1.75 | 2 |
Phones are powerful mini-computers that can be used for much more than chat and texting. We sure spend a lot on new technologies for the classroom. Are we ignoring one of the most important assets already riding around in the backpacks and pockets of our students?
PollDaddy is just one of the many free online polling services that, in some schools, are being used for student surveys, and even fun quiz alternatives. I heard a presentation from a teacher who had students text their short writing exercises to her, had a higher percentage of timely submissions, and the writing was better than in previous assignments. Her students loved writing on their phones, felt more attached to their writing, and indicated they felt the assignment was "valuable" to them. When it was time to edit, they were much more enthusiastic.
In Africa cell phones are used extensively in what we might consider non-traditional ways. Much of the continent is still waiting for the cabling infrastructure to support widespread Internet access, but this hasn't held them back. In Kenya, they are using cell phones in education for assignments, attendance reporting, administrative functions, and many, many other ways. Cell phones have opened up banking functions for people who live far from commercial centers, allowing them to participate more fully in economic activity. Cell phone minutes are bought and sold as an alternate currency in many areas.
I was walking around on the third floor of the CCHS Library Learning Commons the other day, wondering where to place a computer for catalog access. Then it dawned on me. Tons of kids have phones with Internet connectivity. They have access to the catalog already. They have access to the world.
Social media has already gone mobile. By utilizing the power of the cell phone in education, we can also empower kids to recognize the possibilities to do more than text their friends and check their Facebook page.
10 Ideas for Engaging Learners with Cell Phones Even in Districts that Ban Them by Lisa Nielsen
Flickr Creative Commons
todos showing my appsUploaded on July 16, 2007 | <urn:uuid:4525a4cc-95c4-49e2-bb24-50166218c23d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://concordcarlislelibrary.blogspot.com/2009/08/turn-off-that-phone-or-theres-app-for.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97582 | 418 | 2.75 | 3 |
Proposed state bills for this legislative session will be a focus of the first meeting of the Colorado Counties Inc.
Issues that are sure to spark interest include a proposal to eliminate the personal property tax and potential proposals to directly subsidize renewable energy, Routt County Commissioner Doug Monger said.
The tax elimination comes from Senate Bill 1, introduced by Sen. Bruce Cairns, R-Aurora, to phase out the business personal property tax. If approved, in the first year the tax would be reduced by 25 percent, and then continue to decrease by an additional 5 percent annually for 15 years until it's eliminated.
Reasons to support the tax elimination include that businesses would be more competitive, and the economy could recover more quickly, supporters have said.
But, Monger said, Colorado does not rank high among states for its total property taxes received and elimination of the business personal property tax would impact counties and their fire districts, school districts and more.
"It will have a substantial effect on Routt County," Monger said. "But our neighbors to the west will be even more impacted."
Monger pointed out that in Moffat County, about 40 percent of tax revenue comes from the property tax. In Routt County, the figure is closer to 15 percent or more, Routt County Commissioner Dan Ellison said.
Another concern focuses on possible legislation to directly subsidize renewable energy, Monger said. Such subsidies, he said, are achieved through increased utility fees and so are "false" subsidies. He said he does not think such a tax would pass.
The change would be unfair to the coal-fired power plants, such as the one in Routt County, that are important to local economies, Monger said.
The meeting takes place today in Denver. It covers primarily public lands, agriculture and rural affairs, land use and natural resources, and tourism.
The meeting will mark Monger's first session serving on the Colorado Counties Inc. board of directors. He will be one of the six board members who make executive decisions and do administrative work for the organization. Monger formerly was the president for the western district of the organization.
Representatives from 51 of Colorado's 63 counties will meet during the session.
-- To reach Susan Bacon, call 871-4203
or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:cacdb60f-beee-486e-80cc-d92ed640037e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.steamboattoday.com/news/2004/jan/15/monger_to_have/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964199 | 489 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Sat Nov 28 05:45:36 GMT 2009 by Hid Hisam
Sleeps just watching a documentery on the Shorud of Turin and let your dreams tell you if it's true or not. Some fallacies in existance might be solveable by this. Applies to anything observed before sleeping. Might make an interesting experiment.
Every Thing Old. . .
Sat Nov 28 05:51:48 GMT 2009 by Cherry A.
Back in the seventies , when I was in high, school, it was the fad to taperecord your study notes and have them play back while you slept. My friends and I did this before exams. There were also tapes you could buy that whispered words of positive reinforcement for dieting or even business success
I Used To Record My French And Latin Verbs To Play Back As I Slept
Sun Nov 29 07:58:08 GMT 2009 by Pete
this was back in the 70's as others have mentioned, I remember reading or seeing something about it helping so I tried it.
Of course having to read them out loud, then spend an age looping the tape, may well have helped as well.
I still find writing something down makes me far more likely to remember it
Sun Nov 29 19:49:55 GMT 2009 by sheri
I'm going to try this and see if listening to my biology notes while I sleep helps.
Also, I totally agree with other peoples' comments saying that schools should start later. I get up at 7 but I have friends who get up at 5 - 6 its ridiculous. People definately do work and learn better at night (for my agegroup anyway), my optimum is about 10pm I dont get distracted as easily and do all my homework then.
Tue Dec 01 11:56:50 GMT 2009 by Mike
This doesn't work, there have been controlled studies on playing audio during sleep and results showed that learning doesn't occur. Sorry for not providing a citation, but figure if the findings were positive, then it wouldn't have ended in the 70s.
Reading through an overview of your bio notes just before sleep will definitely help however
It Really Works Astonishingly!
Wed Dec 02 13:03:05 GMT 2009 by Satyam Pujari
Believe it or not, but used this method 4-5 years back (self invented)to learn spoken english(especially american accent).My idea then as a begineer was feeding information directly to unconcious/subconcious bypassing concious and let the unconscious instruct the concious.The only thing I knew that time is some basic concepts about brain and dreams as a 1st year psychology student.What I used to do is play CNN on TV the whole night while I was sleeping! It worked for me like,as if I found a bio-chip for american english accent and plugged it into my brain.
Addtionally,beta waves have a high frequency above 12 Hz(roughly) and occur when the brain is quite active, both in REM sleep and while awake.This is the best time for sleep learing and dream control (Lucid dreaming).Perfect brain programming/self hyptnotism can be done while you are Lucid.It is a stage where may be both unconscious & concious are active & talk, that's what I experienced.This stage is both powerful & may be very dangerous.
All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support. | <urn:uuid:a3d675c3-e424-4a52-b1c5-d6a4f648ac13> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newscientist.com/commenting/browse?id=dn18199&page=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955916 | 756 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Out of 25,000 high schools in the nation, Brainerd High School ranks in the top 500, according to Newsweek magazine.
BHS fell into the 345th spot under a formula created by Jay Mathews of Newsweek magazine. He took the number of advanced placement and international baccalaureate tests students took divided by the number of graduates. That formula gave BHS a 1.174 ratio.
Almost 300 BHS students last year took more than 500 advanced placement and international baccalaureate tests to bring the school into this rating. The school also ranked No. 2 in the state for the number of AP tests taken.
There are 19 AP programs offered at the high school and any student can take the courses, which have been provided for the past 15 years. Some of these courses are calculus, U.S. and European history and two English classes. Students also receive a college credit for taking the classes.
There are 17 teachers who teach AP courses at BHS, and seven were selected to become AP readers for the examinations.
Stuart Lade, AP coordinator, said the reason Brainerd made it in the top 500 is because of the students', teachers' and parents' efforts.
"They were on the same wavelength and developed a real partnership," he said. "This program has been driven by student demand to have this kind of rigorous program."
"It took a strong vision from those who have been working on the program," said Principal Steve Razidlo. "Students have the ability to get into the AP classes through our open door policy and all the students who try for it give it their best shot and the results are fantastic."
Stanton College Prep in Florida ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to Newsweek, with a 4.324 ratio. Other Minnesota high schools that made the top 500 were Central in St. Paul, 238, 1.375; Bemidji, 309, 1.236; Eastview in Apple Valley, 384, 1.120; and Irondale in New Brighton, 390, 1.106.
The federal and state governments support the AP program because it works. The Clinton administration spent $15 million last year on cutting AP and IB test fees, increasing training for teachers and making more courses available. The administration asked Congress for $20 million this year, including money to put AP courses online.
In the last 25 years, these programs have evolved into proven devices for inspiring first-rate academic work by disadvantaged teen-agers, reported Mathews.
More than 1.1 million AP tests and about 43,000 IB tests were given in 13,000 U.S. schools last year -- 52 percent of high school students across the states take the tests. These numbers are expected to jump much higher this spring. States are promising more money for districts that want to expand their AP and IB offerings.
This story contains information from the Newsweek story.
Brainerd Dispatch ©2013. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:6de7cdb7-e512-40e5-ab97-090e65995c4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://brainerddispatch.com/stories/030700/new_0307000025.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972802 | 610 | 1.84375 | 2 |
As the climate changes the National Park Service is monitoring our resources and developing many different techniques to face this new challenge. At Virgin Islands National Park, coral reefs are dying as sea water warms. Photo by NPS.
"The management implications for protecting species, biological communities, and physical resources within finite land management boundaries in a rapidly changing climate are complex and without precedent." — Jon Jarvis, October 28, 2009
As caretakers of our nation's unique and special places, the National Park Service is facing one of its greatest challenges in responding to climate change. The cultural and natural resources we watch over are among the most vulnerable in the country, but also possess the ability to teach the National Park Service and the public about our changing planet. For it is within parks that we begin to understand the larger questions of where we came from, what is our relationship to nature, and what do we want our future to look like.
The National Park Service must build its capacity to cope with rapid climate change. The issue will require us to think about the effects of climate change in a systems context
. This isn't just one more management issue to add to our list of tasks, but is instead a new way of looking at park management that removes the assumption that the future foundation of the landscape will look mostly like the present one. New management strategies will need to be implemented with an unprecedented level of cooperation across jurisdictional boundaries. Effective conservation will require an even greater emphasis on partnerships and multi-agency collaboration, as well as interdisciplinary teams.
Policy and Planning
The National Park Service (NPS) response to climate change begins by examining policy, planning and decision-making. A former Climate Change Response Steering Committee representing parks, regions, managers, and subject-matter experts provided guidance to the NPS in order to set up a strategic framework of advisors, interagency liaisons, and subcommittees to listen to expert suggestions and formulate recommendations. It served both the Climate Change Response Program (CCRP) and the NPS National Leadership Council and helped develop the Climate Change Response Strategy (5198 KB PDF) which was released in September 2010.
The effects of climate change will impact the ability of the NPS to meet its mission and comply with legal mandates. Most resource protection laws that the NPS must comply with were not written considering a changing climate. For decades we have been striving for "natural" or "historical" conditions in the national parks, but such conditions may be more difficult or impossible to maintain under climate change. Even the concept of naturalness becomes convoluted in an era where human activities play a role in shaping global climate. Should our mandate to leave parks "unimpaired" for future generations reference a historical state, or a future one under an altered climate? As the scope and intensity of climate change increases, these kinds of questions will strain the current policy framework unless revisions are made.
Climate change is creating a new and dynamic decision-making environment in which we cannot assume a continuation of historical patterns. Effective decision-making and planning will require decision support systems that are flexible to shifting conditions. Six principles from the National Research Council have been adapted for the Climate Change Response Strategy:
- begin with managers' needs
- give priority to process and products
- link information providers and users
- build connections across disciplines and organizations
- enhance institutional capacity
- design for learning
Existing planning documents, such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review, park general management plans, and park resource stewardship strategies will incorporate climate change into all phases. To allow parks to better cope with uncertainty in future climate conditions, scenario planning
offers an additional approach. When future conditions are uncertain, formulating multiple scenarios and then finding the beneficial actions common to each of the potential futures becomes an efficient approach and will be utilized for park planning. This approach can best be summed up as being prepared—for worst-case scenarios, best-case scenarios, and a range of future alternatives in between.
Four Areas of Emphasis
Although there will always be a need to learn more, we now have sufficient knowledge about climate change to take important steps. Park managers need to determine the extent to which they can and should act to protect the parks' current resources while allowing the parks' ecosystems to adapt to new conditions. The NPS response must be immediate and bold in some areas, methodical and cautious in others, and adaptive to new information and guided by sound science in all cases. Many techniques will be utilized, evaluated, and refined over time until a new science becomes available and the future of climate change unfolds.
Efforts of the NPS Climate Change Response Program are coordinated around four areas of emphasis:
- Using science to help us manage - The National Park Service will uncover and apply the best available climate science. By collaborating with scientific agencies and institutions, we can address the specific needs of park managers and park partners as they confront the challenges of climate change.
- Adapting to an uncertain future - Climate change will alter park ecosystems in fundamental ways. The National Park Service must remain flexible amidst a changing landscape and uncertain future; and swiftly address both natural and human systems when necessary. Scenario planning will be a key tool for adaptation.
- Reducing our carbon footprint - The most effective way to lessen the long-term effects of climate change is to reduce green house gas emissions. The National Park Service should be a leader in reducing its carbon footprint through energy efficient practices and integrating climate-friendly practices into administration, planning, and workforce culture.
- Educating about climate change - National parks are visible examples of how climate change can affect natural and cultural resources. Through clear communication, we will prepare park staff and connect visitors with information concerning the impacts to parks and steps the agency is taking to preserve our heritage. | <urn:uuid:017ba7b5-d87d-402a-91b6-6c5870daa63a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nature.nps.gov/climatechange/response.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92308 | 1,180 | 3.546875 | 4 |
SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley unveiled the strategic plan that will guide the college to its 150th anniversary in 2011 as the fall 2007 semester got under way.
“Our goal is to ensure that all our students receive the best education possible,” Stanley said. She described the plan as “an ambitious document that takes bold, innovative steps to develop our students as true global citizens.”
“Engaging Challenge: The Sesquicentennial Plan” outlines goals in five categories comprising “SUNY Oswego’s Views” under the headings Vitality, Intellectual rigor, Engagement, World awareness and Solutions. These five strategic directions specify priorities that will help ensure that SUNY Oswego becomes a stronger college in the future, Stanley said.
- Vitality involves designing exemplary academic programs, recruiting faculty and staff of distinction, securing robust financial support, and creating a sense of pride
- Intellectual rigor includes fostering an atmosphere of high expectations, recruiting highly motivated students, and providing transformative learning experiences and expanded scholarly and research opportunities
- Engagement entails broadening the college’s service mission and building understanding of civic engagement and a shared sense of community
- World awareness encompasses promoting appreciation of diversity, expanding multicultural and international experiences, and demonstrating stewardship of the environment, and
- Solutions involve nurturing students’ social consciousness, increasing understanding of complicated problems and translating knowledge important to society.
“We’re going to have an exciting time going forward with this plan,” Stanley told a gathering of faculty and professional staff that kicked off the first day of classes recently. “We will move this college to a new level.”
The plan emerged from hundreds of hours of deliberations by the 30-member Sesquicentennial Planning Advisory Board and focus groups of students, faculty, staff and community members.
Next, the president said, she will charge the college’s vice presidents to work toward action plans to implement elements of the plan and then move cross functionally to coordinate them. During implementation, she said, there will be annual updates on progress.
For a copy of the plan, call the Office of Business and Community Relations at 312-3492.
- END -
(Posted: Sep 05, 2007) | <urn:uuid:2824b7d5-982e-4f18-a41d-36a58585ce3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oswego.edu/news/index.php/site/news_archive/engaging_challenge | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903216 | 475 | 1.523438 | 2 |
If you watch enough G4TV, this should be no surprise to you. During the purple reign of the SNES, Nintendo of America maintained a strict censorship policy that limited the amount of violence in the games on its systems.
Then, like now, Nintendo was aiming to market a family console. When the notoriously gory Mortal Kombat began sweeping the gaming world, Nintendo refused to allow the level of violence that the game had on their system.
The blood and finishing moves were toned down, so that when players were hit, cut, or stabbed, they would just sweat profusely. Check out a comparison image between versions here.
Gamers really hated the censorship. The Sega Genesis version, wasn't censored and gamers flocked to it. That version outsold the SNES one by a ratio of 3 to 1! This made Nintendo reverse course and allow the developers to put in anything they wanted for the sequel.
If you know much of Mortal Kombat, you might be wondering why after the first game, Nintendo started allowing the violence. Well until that point, video games weren’t rated in the same way.
Mortal Kombat’s success was the trigger for the creation of the modern video game rating system in the US, and so Nintendo felt its censorship in that department was no longer needed.
As a result, Mortal Kombat II on the SNES outsold the ports on other systems. If there’s nothing else to take away from this, it’s that thanks to gratuitous violence, we now have a safe and reliable way of knowing which games are appropriate for different age groups. | <urn:uuid:c702b979-41f2-46f6-b1dd-e1ec99af5df2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.omg-facts.com/Technology/Mortal-Kombat-For-The-NES-Had-No-Blood-I/52019 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968881 | 336 | 2.09375 | 2 |
11 Years after his First Grand Slam Title
Eleven year ago, the then “Prince” David made his great debut. Being only 16, he participated in the junior draw in the US Open. He started defeating Balazs Veress in the first round, 6-0 and 6-2; Robert Steckley 6-0 and 6-1; Mikhail Youznhy 6-3 and 6-2; Andy Ram (the only player who got one set) 4-6, 7-5 and 6-3; Lovro Zovko in semifinals 6-2 and 6-2; and in the final he defeated another promising junior player: Roger Federer. That was on September 13th, 1998 and the boy from Córdoba won 6-3 and 7-5. That was the first time the Argentine would win a Grand Slam junior draw on hard courts. When he came back, he was welcomed as a hero in Unquillo, the town where he was born; he went for a ride in a fire engine and almost all the people from the town were there. | <urn:uuid:73a3f214-9756-49fb-b6ff-9150740bd00e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.davidnalbandian.com/en/news/?n=561 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981999 | 226 | 1.523438 | 2 |
› Watch the ISS Update recap
ISS Update: SpaceX 2 Lead Visiting Vehicle Officer Dorrie Tomayko – 02.21.13
› Watch video
ISS Update: Interviews (Feb. 19-22, 2013)
NASA Public Affairs Officer Brandi Dean conducts an interview with SpaceX 2 Lead Visiting Vehicle Officer Dorrie Tomayko about the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX.
SpaceX's Dragon capsule will be filled with about 1,200 pounds of supplies for the space station crew and experiments being conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory.
On March 2, Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn of NASA will use the station's robot arm to grapple Dragon following its rendezvous with the station. They will attach the Dragon to the Earth-facing port of the station's Harmony module for a few weeks while astronauts unload cargo. They then will load experiment samples for return to Earth.
Dragon is scheduled to return to Earth on March 25 for a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California. It will be bringing back more than 2,300 pounds of experiment samples and equipment.
ISS Update: Meteorite and Asteroid Flyby – 02.19.13
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NASA Public Affairs Officer Brandi Dean conducts an interview with Lead Scientist For Planetary Small Bodies Paul Abell about the meteorite that hit Russia and the asteroid flyby that took place on Feb. 15.
Asteroid 2012 DA14 is a small near-Earth asteroid that passed very close to Earth on Feb. 15, so close that it passed inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites. The flyby provides a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close.
› Read more about asteroid 2012 DA14
A meteor, which was about one-third the diameter of asteroid 2012 DA14, entered the atmosphere and disintegrated in the skies over Chelyabinsk, Russia, on Feb. 14. The trajectory of the Russia meteor was significantly different than the trajectory of the asteroid 2012 DA14, which hours later made its flyby of Earth, indicating that it was a completely unrelated object. The Russia meteor is the largest reported since 1908, when a meteor hit Tunguska, Siberia.
› Read more about the Russia meteor
NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them, and plots their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.
Abell also talks briefly about orbital debris, or “space junk,” which is tracked as it orbits the Earth.
› Read more about orbital debris
Questions? Ask us on Twitter @NASA_Johnson and include the hashtag #askStation. | <urn:uuid:f89f9172-20c3-4934-85a3-c1ba505d1cba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/update/interviews022213.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907221 | 606 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase I
This map shows the 37 States where new broadband will be deployed as a result of the first phase of the Connect America Fund. The amount of funding by State and number of locations receiving support can be show by moving your mouse over each State. The Connect America Fund aims to connect 7 million unserved rural Americans to broadband in six years, and puts the nation on a path to connect all 19 million unserved rural residents by 2020. The FCC launched this unprecedented broadband expansion last year when it reformed and modernized the Universal Service Fund, which connected rural America to the telephone network in the 20th century. The Commission created the Connect America Fund to unleash the benefits of broadband for all Americans in the 21st century. In the first phase, about $115 million of public funding will be coupled with tens of millions more in private investment to quickly expand broadband infrastructure to rural communities in every region of the nation. | <urn:uuid:b8abcf90-3db6-42f7-97a5-f8b69a78ca86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fcc.gov/maps/connect-america-fund-caf-phase-i?fontsize=largeFont | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92346 | 190 | 2.09375 | 2 |
100 years ago: People we do not like
Posted: 27 Oct 2011 @ 00:00
October 27th, 1911.
ON TUESDAY Parliament reassembled for an Autumn Session under new and unexampled conditions. The Government of this country is now administered by a Single Chamber, for the old House of Lords has been suppressed by its own act and deed, and the Second Chamber that is one day to take its place remains in abeyance until Mr Redmond has dismembered the United Kingdom, and the Welsh Dissenters have made havoc of the Church of the Principality. Then, perhaps, Mr Asquith will proceed to elaborate the scheme adumbrated in the preamble to the Parliament Act, and provide us with a brand-new Second Chamber. But meanwhile the Ministry is in the position of being able to subvert any of the institutions of the country which are not to its liking. The time of this Autumn Session is to be placed at the disposal of Mr Lloyd George, whose ambition it is to give a Christmas-box, regardless of cost, to a particular section of the community. Next year it is to be the turn of other Ministers to bestow like favours on those whom they desire to propitiate. For reasons best known to the Cabinet, a rearrangement of portfolios has been effected. For some time past there had been rumours of a change, but in regard to details the prophets were wrong. Mr Churchill does not go to Ireland, vice Mr Birrell adorned with a coronet. On the contrary, he changes places with Mr McKenna, and takes charge of the Navy. . . Mr Churchill’s appointment is the one we like least. His known opposition to naval expenditure suggests the fear that he may try to cut down the Estimates at the very moment when Germany is increasing hers. Our feeling towards Mr Churchill is that of the epigrammatist towards Dr Fell. | <urn:uuid:e96d9481-0e31-4217-a8ad-1923764e84cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/40387 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966137 | 393 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Low-Maintenance Apple Trees
Disease-resistant varieties cut down on amount of spraying.
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Having a couple of productive, low-maintenance apple trees in the backyard — ones that yield serviceable crops without lots of spraying — sometimes seems like an impossible dream. If the apple is America's favorite fruit, it's also the favorite of several significant diseases and pests.
Depending on the geographical region and the weather, apple trees can be beset by cedar-apple rust, powdery mildew, fire blight, bitter rot and apple scab. Among the bugs, there are codling moths, plum curculios, mites, aphids, scale and leaf rollers.
What usually helps the gardener is choosing disease-resistant cultivars. These varieties won't prevent the bugs from coming to your trees, of course, but they'll at least offer a good shot at thwarting whichever diseases tend to plague apple trees in your area. Planting varieties like these — or others as recommended by your local extension agent (how well any given cultivar does has everything to do with region) — can drastically cut down on the amount of spraying you have to do.
Liberty. One of the best disease-resistant cultivars, Liberty is highly resistant to apple scab and resistant to cedar apple rust and fire blight. It ranges from moderately resistant to susceptible to powdery mildew. A medium-size McIntosh-like fruit that ripens midseason; it's sweet, juicy and crisp; color is red-stripe-over-greenish-yellow. It blooms midseason, so pair with other mid- or late-blooming cultivars. USDA Zones 4 to 7.
Enterprise. Resistant or field immune to apple scab, highly resistant to cedar apple rust and fire blight, and variably moderately resistant to susceptible to powdery mildew. The large, bright red, glossy apple has a juicy, spicy and crisp flavor; it's thick-skinned. The tree blooms in mid- to late-season and the fruit ripens late. It keeps for months under refrigeration, and its flavor improves after the first month. Pair with Goldrush, Gala and Golden Delicious. USDA Zones 5 to 7.
Goldrush. This variety is field immune to apple scab, highly resistant to fire blight, and moderately resistant to powdery mildew. It's susceptible to cedar-apple rust, however, so choose another variety if you live in an area where cedar-apple rust is common. It blooms late; pair with Enterprise, Gala or Golden Delicious. The fruit is large, yellow, semi-tart, crisp and juicy. The fruit ripens late and keeps well.
Pristine. This cultivar is field immune to apple scab, resistant to cedar apple rust, highly resistant to powdery mildew, and moderately resistant to fire blight. It blooms early; pair with Liberty, Pristine, William's Pride, Redfree or Jonafree. The large, yellow fruit is tart and crisp. Great for cooking. Ripens early.
Redfree. Field immune to apple scab and cedar apple rust, moderately resistant to fire blight and powdery mildew, Redfree blooms in midseason. Pair with other mid- and late-blooming cultivars. The medium-sized, bright red fruit is sweet and crisp. Ripens early and keeps about one month in the refrigerator.
Those are just a few of the great disease-resistant apples you could be planting. A couple of other points:
So, about the bugs. These good cultural practices provide a little protection against pest attacks: | <urn:uuid:3715a7c0-f30b-4e05-a15f-a8ed4d4248bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/low-maintenance-apple-trees/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911548 | 784 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Dan Shiffman isn't like most professors. Instead of Scantron sheets and bluebooks, Shiffman prefers to give his final exams on a 120-foot video wall that's the equivalent of six 16:9 displays linked end-to-end.
Yes, it is final exam time for Shiffman's Big Screens Class-at 6PM on a Friday night, with free wine-and I am standing with a couple hundred other likeminded art techies in the lobby of the IAC Building, a curvy glass Frank Gehry creation on the West Side of Manhattan. We are in front of a 120-foot screen that's the equivalent of six 16:9 displays arranged end-to-end, and we are doing what it's telling us to do. We are obeying it.
It tells us to clap, and we clap. Then we stomp our feet and say "la la la." Then we send text messages to it, filled with the anticipation of influencing what appears on its glowing greatness. We clap to shoo white birds off a power line that's strung across its great length. We do it while drinking and taking pictures of the action, and it is good-a techie church for bigger screens, always bigger! We kneel!
Shiffman and his students have the IAC people, in part, to thank for their classroom. Rather than put in a garden or expansive, empty lobby, Barry Diller's IAC conglomerate—which owns several web-related businesses like Ask.com, Ticketmaster, etc—decided to build one of the world's biggest indoor video walls. It's made up of 27 vertically oriented projectors, linked into a single display by software from Spyder and shined onto a translucent screen to create a massive projection image:
For the Big Screens class, the wall is powered by three dual-head Mac Pros, each driving their own pair of 16:9 aspect-ratio screens (splitting nine projectors for each head), for a total resolution of 8160 x 768 pixels.
The class is part of of NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), a two-year graduate degree they've offered since 1979 and the source of all kinds of geeky curiosities. Shiffman, a wizard of the graphical programming language called Processing that many of the students use to fill up the screen (a few others use openFrameworks, another visual language) has taught this class for two years now. Processing has been used in tons of music videos, data visualizations and interactive video art and is popular for its relative simplicity as a way to turn code into amazing visuals.
Talking to the students, it's apparent that such a unique medium can barely be classified as a "screen" in the traditional sense. The immense size, when paired with such an extreme aspect ratio, turns the screen into more of a physical space than anything resembling a TV (even one that's 150-inches). Besides, it's not about resolution, in the home-theater sense. Sure, you can do a lot with 6 million pixels, but it's not why you come to see this 120-foot screen.
Interaction is the key, as you can see in the following videos. Mooshir Vahanvati created a massive 120-foot stretch of powerline with birds who perch when it's quiet and scatter when microphones pick up a loud noise:
Vikram Tank created a six-panel conductor that synced up the crowd's claps, snaps and la-la-las:
Matt Parker's "Caves of Wonder" took a video feed of the crowd from an IP camera and twisted it into a craggy landscape with Processing—part iTunes Visualizer, part Grand Canyon on Mars:
And Alejandro Abreu Theresa Ling combined silohouettes on screen with the shadows of real actors behind the screen to create three vignettes of Chelsea's seedier past:
Shiffman works the controls at the back of the room with a gigantic smile; he is perhaps the only person that could teach this class. He's the primary author of the "Most Pixels Ever" library for Processing, which allows projects to sync up across multiple displays seamlessly without delays-and not just your dual-head monitor. Most Pixels Ever is amazing because it can handle the 6 million pixels of IAC's video wall without blinking, and without it, this class would not exist in its current form. All the art-tech nerds thank him as we file out the door.
"For the students it's just such a completely unique experience-it's unique for anybody, whether you're a grad student or a professional designer. Few people in the world have a chance to work on anything of this scale, and what's great is that I can say to them you can do whatever you want," he says. "You learn a ton about technically producing the work, and also what it means visually to work on that scale."
"I can't imagine that when IAC build that wall that they imagined performances on it with actors casting shadows behind the screen, so that's fantastic." | <urn:uuid:b2899b84-d8f7-4fc4-a685-9364ba575a1f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gizmodo.com/5110633/120-feet-of-video-art-final-exams-at-nyus-big-screens-class | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950688 | 1,060 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Sunscreen is a must for anyone who spends time outside. Your bottle probably mentions something about UVA and UVB rays. Since you care so much about your health, I thought I'd refresh your mind on the difference between the two.
UVA rays: These are less likely to cause sunburn than UVB rays, but they penetrate your skin more deeply. Watch out because UVA rays can go through windows, lightweight clothing, and even your car windshield. Prolonged exposure cracks and shrinks the collagen and elastin in your skin, which is why UVA rays are responsible for signs of aging including wrinkles, saggy and leathery skin, and suns spots.
UVB rays: These are responsible for tanning your skin, but they also cause sunburn. UVB rays are the main culprit when it comes to skin cancer. These rays also go through windows, and it doesn't matter if it's cloudy — you're still at risk for exposure.
Although both types are responsible for different health risks, they're equally harmful to your skin. So if you're planning on enjoying the day outdoors, lube up with a sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays 20 to 30 minutes before heading out. Reapply at least every two hours. | <urn:uuid:b5b5bb03-c4a0-4902-a6df-a37a277ec511> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fitsugar.com/Difference-Between-UVA-UVB-Rays-3181946 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971041 | 261 | 2.1875 | 2 |
necroforest wrote:basically, the weights of a neuron forms a line (or hyperplane) through your input space, and the activation function tells you which side of the line you're on (and how far from the line, if you're using a sigmoid function).
if you have a bunch of neurons organized in layers, the first layer chops up your input space into sections and "transforms" your input into a new space, then each layer transforms that space into another one, etc.
gabrielkfl wrote:I've even seen some examples that seem to work, I just can't understand HOW the hell they work. I mean, they're freaky - you start changing the weight values and suddently your network is able to tell apart a '4' and a '5', what the f*ck?
JPlus wrote:I think this boils down to the question "how is it possible that we can train a network to represent some function when starting out with a completely random weight pattern?". The answer is this: when we try an input on a network, we can see how far the output is from what it should have been. We adjust the weights slightly in a direction that would yield a better output. When we repeat this very often with many different examples, we will eventually have nudged the network enough to more or less do what we want.
gabrielkfl wrote:How is it possible for a neural network to identify a pattern based on numeric (weight) values?
samk wrote:gabrielkfl wrote:How is it possible for a neural network to identify a pattern based on numeric (weight) values?
If the weights are mostly zero, with some large positive and negative values thrown in, they effectively will encode a boolean logic circuit. Making them fractional allows learning by gradually adjusting them and tuning to the most typical input while responding in mostly the same way to small deviations.
cogman wrote:For the training, it is much akin to changing each attribute and having the NN see the differences. It mights see "It is brown" "It has a beak" "It isn't flying" "It doesn't have wings" and guess 0.78 that it is a bird. Your response will be to slap the system and say "No, its a platypus" To which it places a higher value on the wing node and flying node, and lower values on the beak and brown nodes. (based on how wrong it is. It should change the values based on how far off the final conclusions, but not all the way"
Jplus wrote:As cogman said, the reason for multiple layers is that you can abstract more. With a single layer network you can typically only answer yes/no questions (yes, it's a bird, no, it's not a platypus, yes, it might also be bat -- *SLAP*).
If you add a hidden layer, you can calculate continuous functions like z = x2 + y2 (and many, many other things). If you add another hidden layer, you can calculate pretty much anything. The only problem is that the training gets harder for every layer that you add.
Jplus wrote:For as far as I know there is no theory about how to figure out the ideal number of nodes in each hidden layer for a given task. Usually you'll just guess, then try whether your network will learn faster and better if you use more nodes, and if it doesn't, see how many nodes you can leave away without losing training speed and accuracy. The reason for the latter is that it reduces the risk of overfitting.
Jplus wrote:While perceptrons can only represent linearly separable functions, feed-forward networks with a hidden layer can represent any continuous function, and networks with two hidden layers can even represent any discontinuous function.
The proof is complex, but the main point is that the required number of hidden units grows exponentially with the number of inputs. For example, 2n/n hidden units are needed to encode all Boolean functions of n inputs.
Users browsing this forum: Bakstoola and 2 guests | <urn:uuid:dd967f64-f17c-4e9a-8530-c80a42aca1cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?p=2162269 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946015 | 861 | 2.765625 | 3 |
BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of innovative medical technology, today announced the start of the large-scale international MATRIX study (Management and Detection of Atrial TachyarRhythmias in Patients Implanted with BIOTRONIK DX Systems).
The study will collect data from patients implanted with BIOTRONIK's Lumax 740 or 540 VR-T DX implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) devices, which feature complete atrial sensing and detection in a single-lead system. MATRIX is a prospective open study that will include 2,000 patients in 100 sites throughout Europe, Latin America, Canada, Israel and Japan for up to four years. Patients will be followed for two years after enrolment in an unbiased, real-life setting while device data and clinical events are being continuously recorded.
Due to their asymptomatic and paroxysmal nature, atrial tachycardias (AT) are often overlooked in their early stages. The long-term observational MATRIX study will explore the enhanced features and unique capabilities of the Lumax DX ICD system from BIOTRONIK, focusing on detection and management of atrial fibrillation (AF) for optimized patient management and reduction of inappropriate shocks. In addition, diagnostic information continuously collected from the atrium will provide useful insight into the development and subsequent management of atrial fibrillation and its associated complications.
"The DX feature in BIOTRONIK's ICDs promises a significant breakthrough for patients," said Prof. Dr. Gerhard Hindricks, University of Leipzig--Heart Center, Department of Rhythmology, Germany. "It not only lowers a patient's AF-associated risks, but also avoids the risks associated with implantation of a second lead. Plus, you gain a full range of state-of-the-art algorithms to avoid inappropriate therapies."
Undetected and asymptomatic AF bears an increased risk of severe complications such as stroke or the risk of inappropriate device therapies. Since standard single-chamber ICDs use only ventricular information and ignore atrial events to make therapy decisions, the device may misclassify these as ventricular tachycardias and deliver inappropriate shocks. Lumax DX can discriminate between supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs), atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter with its SMART Detection® algorithm, helping to safely reduce this risk.
Due to the still significant risk of additional complications associated with the atrial lead, implantation of a dual-chamber ICD is restricted by current guidelines for indications that require additional pacing capabilities. This could potentially lead to a number of classic and secondary prevention indications being excluded from receiving the additional diagnostics that the Lumax DX offers.
"BIOTRONIK's new Lumax DX ICD system fills an important gap, providing diagnostic information from the atrium in a single-lead system, as well as enhanced care via BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring® -- a system that remotely transmits patient and device status data automatically on a daily basis," explained Hindricks.
"With our DX technology, we have once again proven our drive for innovation, clinical excellence, and ability to shape the future of medical device therapy," said Christoph Böhmer, President International, BIOTRONIK. "The Lumax DX offers an outstanding, innovative, unsurpassed engineering design that is saving thousands of patients' lives around the world. By utilizing data available from the device's home monitoring downloads, the MATRIX study will not only provide empirical data to support the efficacy and safety of the single-chamber Lumax DX system, but will also contribute to open questions in current AF research and thus promote scientific progress in this important area."
About BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KGAs one of the world's leading manufacturers of cardiovascular medical devices, BIOTRONIK is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and represented in over 100 countries by its global workforce of more than 5600 employees. Several million heart patients around the world have received BIOTRONIK implants, designed to save and improve the quality of their lives. Since its development of the first German pacemaker in 1963, BIOTRONIK has launched several innovations into the market--including remote monitoring with BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring® in 2000 and the world's first implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and implantable heart failure therapy devices with ProMRI® technology, approved for MR scanning, in 2012. In 2013, BIOTRONIK will be celebrating its fiftieth anniversary.
For more information: www.biotronik.com | <urn:uuid:ede95fac-4dbf-41c1-b8a3-3aaf3250919e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mdtmag.com/news/2013/01/matrix-study-explore-improved-detection-and-management-atrial-fibrillation-unique-lumax-dx-icd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914146 | 954 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Climate change is occurring, is very likely caused by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems. Each additional ton of greenhouse gases emitted commits us to further change and greater risks. In the judgment of the Committee on America's Climate Choices, the environmental, economic, and humanitarian risks of climate change indicate a pressing need for substantial action to limit the magnitude of climate change and to prepare to adapt to its impacts. A principal message from the recent National Research Council report, America's Climate Choices, this brief summary of how climate change will shape many aspects of life in the foreseeable future emphasizes the vital importance of preparation for these changes.
The report points to the importance of formal and informal education in supporting the public's understanding of those challenges climate change will bring, and in preparing current and future generations to act to limit the magnitude of climate change and respond to those challenges. Recognizing both the urgency and the difficulty of climate change education, the National Research Council, with support from the National Science Foundation, formed the Climate Change Education Roundtable. The roundtable brings together federal agency representatives with diverse experts and practitioners in the physical and natural sciences, social sciences, learning sciences, environmental education, education policy, extension education and outreach, resource management, and public policy to engage in discussion and explore educational strategies for addressing climate change.
Two workshops were held to survey the landscape of climate change education. The first explored the goals for climate change education for various target audiences. The second workshop, which is the focus of this summary, was held on August 31 and September 1, 2011, and focused on the teaching and learning of climate change and climate science in formal education settings, from kindergarten through the first two years of college (K-14). This workshop, based on an already articulated need to teach climate change education, provided a forum for discussion of the evidence from research and practice. The goal of this workshop was to raise and explore complex questions around climate change education, and to address the current status of climate change education in grade K-14 of the formal education system by facilitating discussion between expert researchers and practitioners in complementary fields, such as education policy, teacher professional development, learning and cognitive science, K-12 and higher education administration, instructional design, curriculum development, and climate science. Climate Change Education in Formal Settings, K-14: A Workshop Summary summarizes the two workshops. | <urn:uuid:de7ddf17-1df8-4cd6-a06f-26d39815468c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13435&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nap%2Fnew+%28New+from+the+National+Academies+Press%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941497 | 484 | 3.421875 | 3 |
- tel:212 484 1200 (Tourist information)
- Visit website
- New York, 11201
Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. It stretches 5,989 feet (1825 meters) across the East River and connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. At the time of its construction, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. The bridge was designed by the New Jersey architect John Augustus Roebling, who died before construction began after he contracted tetanus from a wound sustained in a ferry accident during surveys for the bridge project. Built from limestone, granite, and cement, the Brooklyn Bridge is an example of Gothic-style architecture, with its characteristic pointed arches topping twin passageways through huge stone towers. Because Roebling designed a bridge and truss system six times stronger than he thought it needed to be, the Brooklyn Bridge is still standing, while many other bridges built around the same time have had to be replaced.
In the past, the inside lanes of traffic on the bridge carried the elevated trains of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transport (BMT) Corporation from stations in Brooklyn to a terminal at Manhattan's Park Row. Streetcars shared the other lanes with other traffic until the elevated trains stopped using the bridge in 1944 and the streetcars moved to the center lanes. Six years later, the streetcars also stopped running, and the bridge was rebuilt to its present configuration, with six lanes of automobile traffic. A separate walkway runs along the centerline for pedestrians and bicyclists, and boasts some of the best views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines.
read more about Brooklyn Bridge | <urn:uuid:184432bc-eddc-484a-8dc2-f4f7e50f308a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.luxurylink.com/fivestar/new-york-city/attractions/386214-brooklyn-bridge | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949145 | 352 | 3.40625 | 3 |
No fire ban in the city yet 0
A fire ban is not in effect within the municipal boundaries of the City of Greater Sudbury.
The Greater Sudbury Fire Service is closely monitoring the situation and will inform citizens should a fire ban become necessary, the department said in a release.
However, people are reminded to respect the city's Open Air Burning Bylaw. A recent amendment to the bylaw restricts the location of campfires, including fires contained in a burn barrel or chiminea, to at least six metres from any building or structure.
People are also prohibited from burning thatch on residential lawns.
The fire service maintains an automated fire ban information line at 674-4455, ext. 2760. For more information about the bylaw, call 674-4455, ext. 3743. | <urn:uuid:b257ea79-bd25-4e9d-a18f-a426838cf4e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesudburystar.com/2010/04/01/no-fire-ban-in-the-city-yet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919068 | 169 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Is there really such thing as "runner's high" or are they just exhausted and delirious?
Eric Barker stashed this in Sports
To save this post, select a stash from drop-down menu or type in a new one:
Your article says:
The human body produces it's own opium-like compounds to fight pain ("endogenous opioids") and runners "who reported the highest levels of euphoria after running also had the highest levels of opioid release."
I wonder why no pharmaceutical company offers this in pill form. | <urn:uuid:fbc11496-fe53-4d76-830a-c2d29041cd49> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pandawhale.com/post/4662/is-there-really-such-thing-as-runners-high-or-are-they-just-exhausted-and-delirious | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948476 | 110 | 1.5 | 2 |
Lewis Lavoie and his Amazing Mosaics
The always inspiring Neatorama linked to this great piece by mural artist Lewis Lavoie. According to his site, Lavoie prepares all the panels with an undercoat of paint, and then sends them off to various artist friends. The canvases are broken up into three distinct categories, where he will either instruct the artist to 1) use the color he's given them for inspiration (they have free range of what to draw in this case but have to stick to the pallette), 2) to incorporate a particular shape in their drawing (he'll draw some general lines on the canvas to inspire their design), or 3) to draw freely, but pay special attention to the tones of the canvas he's given them. In any case, the results are pretty wonderful. If you like the mural above, be sure to click here to see more. Link via Neatorama. | <urn:uuid:8a14bed8-2fff-445a-9387-c74beb491255> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mentalfloss.com/article/17817/lewis-lavoie-and-his-amazing-mosaics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961845 | 189 | 1.710938 | 2 |
By Catherine Wagley
By Catherine Wagley
By Wendy Gilmartin
By Jennifer Swann
By Claire de Dobay Rifelj
By L.A. Weekly critics
By Catherine Wagley
By Zachary Pincus-Roth
The centerpiece of this show focusing on one decade in the long career of Hans Burkhardt — the Basel-born expressionist who began his career in New York among friends like Arshile Gorky and Willem deKooning, moved to Los Angeles in 1937, and died here, at 89, in 1994 — is a painting from 1968. It’s covered in a mazelike composition of gray and black slashes strangely evocative of both early Piet Mondrian and early Frank Stella. But it is far more visceral and energized — brutishly and elegantly so — and what would otherwise be its somewhat even field of marks is punctuated, perhaps even rebuked, by human skulls stuck among the thick paint and other raw materials. Some of those skulls, gathered by Burkhardt during trips to Mexico, are quite small.
Titled My Lai, the painting calls to mind lines from an interview between CBS newsman Mike Wallace and Paul Meadlo, a soldier who participated in the My Lai massacre: “Q: There were children and babies? A: Yes.” Later paraphrased to “Q: And babies? A: And babies,” the words were overlaid atop a photo from My Lai in a poster produced by the Art Workers Coalition. When the Museum of Modern Art in New York pulled out of a plan to help distribute the poster, the AWC — a group of artist/activists — displayed it in an unauthorized protest in the MoMA gallery where Picasso’s Guernica was then housed.
Unlike that explicit and now iconic poster, you might not look at Burkhardt’s painting and specifically get My Lai without looking at the title, any more than you might look at Guernica and get Guernica, the Basque town bombed by Hitler’s and Mussolini’s air forces in support of Franco during the Spanish Civil War. But one might look at Burkhardt’s My Lai and flash on My Lai, or Guernica, or Auschwitz, or Dresden, or Hiroshima, or the Sand Creek Massacre, or Rwanda, and so on. Burkhardt had a knack for tapping into something timelessly human in its intertwining of the fragile and the brutal. His painting testifies to humanity’s curse to repeat its uniquely human combination of folly, cruelty and death.
Not all is dark in this exhibition. Some of the paintings are buoyant, even lyrical, and many flaunt Burkhardt’s nuanced sense of color. But nothing here lacks an edge. In his ability to mix exuberance, intensity and awe with solemnity and angst, Burkhardt seems almost to have channeled the spirits of Chaïm Soutine and James Ensor, and to have been both a kind of long-distance artistic kin to Francis Bacon and a prefigure of neoexpressionists like Anselm Kiefer.
Burkhardt was always an expressionist, whether delivering quasi-abstract crucifixion-like compositions — of which there are some amazing examples in this show — or painting flower children, or bouquets of flowers, or abstracting American flags and Lucky Strike logos. In the exhibition’s catalog, Jack Rutberg — who has represented Burkhardt, and now his estate, since 1973 — makes an argument against what seems an exclusion of the painter from the history of 20th-century Los Angeles art. One might quibble with some of the specifics of Rutberg’s argument as to how and why this has happened, but viewing this museum-worthy exhibition, as well as examining the broader range of Burkhardt’s six-decade oeuvre, one sees little room for doubt as to the need to reconsider Burkhardt’s place locally and internationally, and to accept that the noirish and manic ends of “Sunshine and Noir” and “Helter Skelter” formulations of Los Angeles art history might have roots running deeper and broader than Raymond Chandler, Ridley Scott and Charles Manson.
Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, 357 N. La Brea Ave., L.A.; Tues.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; through Dec. 24. (323) 938-5222 or www.jackrutbergfinearts.com.
Imagine what the view might be like ascending from Hell, through purgatory, to Heaven in a glass elevator, and you get some idea of the premise behind Marco Brambilla’s Civilization (Megaplex), a high-def video projection that is the centerpiece of his exhibition at Christopher Grimes Gallery. Of course, the remaining question is just what you might see as you pass from one level to the next on such a journey, but Brambilla has filled in all the blanks — hundreds of them — with vignettes pulled from films ranging from the mainstream to the obscure.
Having worked in commercial film before redirecting his energy toward a gallery context, Brambilla clearly has both the access to and the knowledge of digital editing gear, and he puts it all to work here. Most of the segments comprising this incredible trip last only seconds. All are looped, then collaged together with the edges of each vignette blurred into the next. Though you’re cognizant of the loops and the fragmentation, the experience registers as seamless, unending action.
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Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city | <urn:uuid:babc1d2e-2c9f-47d9-a75c-3f31d95dbb7e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.laweekly.com/2008-10-30/art-books/art-around-town/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940464 | 1,232 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Subject: Re: Garlic and animals
From: wolflishus.aol.com (Wolflishus)
Date: 14 Aug 1995 13:28:53 -0400
>>I've been feeding my cats and dog a little garlic every other day. Is there any bad side effects that could result from this? So far it's helped rid them of tape worms, and slightly cut back on the fleas.
>I have done the same myself on cats, dogs and even horses. The only side effect was to have one horse break out in hives as an allergic result and we discontinued dosing her.
>In Diane Stein's book The Natural Remedy Book for Dogs & Cats, garlic is highly recommended for its many healing properties. she suggests using 1/4 of the adult (human) dose for cats and 3/4 for a medium sized dog; full dose for large dogs. She claims that since this is a >food, an actual overdose is unlikely. She also suggests using as pure a brand as possible and curshing the tablets or opening the capsules and mixing with food.
Being a vet tech, I have heard every possible "old wive's tale" in reference to animals. I have also found many of them to be true, or at least based in truth! Garlic is one of the true ones. My one comment is that rather than using a tablet or capsule form of the garlic, use fresh.
From the garden grown without the use of pesticides is best, of course, but dried cloves from the grocery is good, too. Many of the healthful properites of the garlic are carried in the natural oils, and when you remove the oils, those properties are rendered less effective. Non ineffective, mind you, just *less* so. I have discovered that most carnivores (dogs, cats) really like the taste of garlic, and a little minced garlic on top of the bowl of food is a great treat. The herbivores don't seem to like it as well, at least the small ones like the hampster, but I don't know about the horses. With the animals you don't really have to be concerned about their breath or body odor, so why use dried odorless garlic when you can give the fresh, which is cheaper, better for them, and a great treat? : ) | <urn:uuid:111d15f6-f58f-47dd-b456-60562e90d4e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.henriettesherbal.com/archives/best/1995/garlic-pets.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960857 | 482 | 1.703125 | 2 |
The Los Angeles Times yesterday published photos from nearly two years ago of U.S. troops posing with body parts of dead insurgents in Afghanistan. Top U.S. officials immediately condemned their actions. “The behavior depicted absolutely violates our regulations and, more importantly, our core values,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. A Pentagon spokesman called the conduct “inhuman,” while White House press secretary Jay Carney yesterday said the troops behavior was “reprehensible.”
But conservative foreign policy chieftain Charles Krauthammer has a different take. Last night on Fox News, he downplayed — but made sure not to excuse — the incident, saying it’s not as bad as people are saying because some of the dead insurgents were suicide attackers and “did not treat their own bodies with respect”:
KRAUTHAMMER: Look, let’s start by stipulating that nobody should treat the body of a dead person with disrespect. However, this is a strange case because the victims themselves, suicide attackers, are people who did not treat their own bodies with respect. They deliberately destroy their own bodies and turn themselves into body parts.
So here we have soldier soldiers in war abusing what is left of the suicide attackers. I find it slightly different from had they been abusing the body of those who died in combat or who died accidentally. It doesn’t excuse them, but I think there is a disconnect here, because suicide attackers are the most criminal of all the war criminals, abusing all the laws of war and generally speaking attacking helpless and unaware civilians.
Watch the clip:
While the soldiers actions are inexcusable, the New York Times reports today that the incident highlights concerns about the breakdown of discipline at lower levels in the chain of command, mainly due to exhaustion and the so-called “stress on the force” from 10 years of war there. | <urn:uuid:a7ea0439-a9e3-4c81-bbc3-dc0935b5f001> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkprogress.org/security/issue/?m=20120419&mobile=nc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96632 | 393 | 1.617188 | 2 |
In a Nutshell: DIY Nutella
I figured I’ve been in Oregon around 17 months now, I should probably start learning a little more about my newest adopted state. It’s a state known for forestry and fisheries, wine and the Willamette Valley, old school video games and Nike; all great things. But can you guess what the most exciting thing I found out about Oregon is? In addition to being one of the only places in the U.S. you can find fungal truffles, Oregon (and more specifically the Willamette Valley) is one of four of the world’s major hazelnut growing regions. And, depending on whom you ask, Oregon produces between 95 and 99 percent of the hazelnuts consumed in the U.S.. California may have a lock on pistachios, but we’ve got filberts baby!
Besides throwing a few toasted hazelnuts into a white Russian, a warm mushroom salad, a sage pesto, or just snacking on them alone, what just might be the favorite way to enjoy a hazelnut? I hope you answered with the word “Nutella,” the famous spread from Italy that combines buttery hazelnuts with sweet, yet pleasantly bitter dark chocolate.
Originally created by pastry maker Pietro Ferrero as a way to stretch rationed chocolate during WWII, the first form of Nutella was called pasta gianduja, and came in a loaf. According to the Nutella website, it has always been marketed towards mothers as a quick breakfast option for picky children. Hide the taste of whole grains with delicious nutty chocolate, amirite? The stuff has been selling like hotcakes in Europe since the ‘40s, and it was first introduced in the U.S. in 1983.
Like most people, I enjoy slathering Nutella on almost anything. However, after taking a gander at the Canadian-made for U.S. consumption Nutella, I noticed that sugar is the first ingredient listed, followed by palm oil, and hazelnuts squeaking into third place. I think I’ve only eaten Nutella here in the U.S., so I have no idea what the “original” Italian stuff tastes like, but if US Tim Tams are any indication, I think we might getting scammed.
Considering my beautiful Oregon has hazelnut production perfected, I figured I could whip up some ridiculously good Nutella, ridiculously fast. Turns out, I was right.
1 cup toasted hazelnuts, peeled*
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons canola oil
Check the bulk aisle at your grocery store for toasted hazelnuts. If you can only find raw, toasting them is fairly simple, and might be cheaper. Once toasted and cooled, place the hazelnuts in your food processor and blend continuously until they turn into a smooth butter, about three minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and continue blending until smooth and creamy. If stored in the refrigerator, the Notella is good 2 weeks.
*So, I may or may not have paid total attention to this recipe and didn’t peel my nuts. Guess what, it still came out great! In my opinion, peeling is up to you.
Be still my spring-loving heart: yumsugar takes us on a whirlwind tour of international spring veggies. | <urn:uuid:c16086d7-eadd-4501-9431-079dda53c0fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.poortastemag.com/in-a-nutshell-diy-nutella/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945129 | 732 | 1.546875 | 2 |
JOPLIN, Mo. —
I have always said potatoes are my favorite food. I don’t hesitate to order them mashed and baked at the same time, or have a pile of fries for dessert. I always like to have a few red potatoes and russets on hand because they each serve up better in different dishes.
Red potatoes have less starch and more sugar so they are great for boiling, which leads to better soups and potato salads. Its thin skin is usually left on as it is often cooked whole. The skin adds fiber to your dish as well as a little color. While new potatoes can be either red or russett, we more commonly associate red with new potatoes. They are harvested as new when the plants are blooming instead of when the plant has died back. Digging them up in this younger state gives you smaller, rounder potatoes. Avoid those with lots of sprouts growing out of the eyes. While growing a red potato requires no more care than the russet, buying red potatoes will cost you a little more at the grocery store.
Russet potatoes, with their thick brown skin, are high in starch, which makes for perfect light and fluffy mashed potatoes. They also are the potato of choice for French fries and a baked potatoes. With russets, as with any potato, avoid any green spots -- this signals exposure to light, which can also mean they are mildly poisonous. Simply cut out the green and throw it away.
One potato that has received some attention recently is the Yukon gold. It’s a cross between a North American white and a wild South American yellow-fleshed potato, and it has no shortage of fans. With its eye-free skin and yellow-tinted flesh, this versatile spud has medium starch content and is suitable for just about any preparation. It is touted as superb for mashing, roasting, boiling, frying and anything else you can do with a potato. I’ve tried them once and wasn’t a big fan, but perhaps I just used the wrong recipe. I need to give them another chance because I feel like I’m missing something.
I’m excited to join Carol Parker Tuesday at noon on KSN-TV. We will be looking at some great Fourth of July food ideas that are tasty and fun.
Good thing from last week: Berry almond chicken salad from Wendy’s. Order the salad and get the dressing they offer with it. The berries are fresh and the chicken is perfect. A great way to fill up at lunch or dinner.
Last weekend, my daughter, Sarah, and I fixed dinner for a little party in honor of my nephew, Preston Roets, and his fiancee, Christy Hartner. They are such a nice couple, and it was a nice evening. Most of the meal was fixed in five slow cookers lined up on the counter. The creamy red potatoes were so easy. Using my trusty mandolin, I sliced instead of quartering the potatoes. Doing so will cut down on the cooking time if you are in a hurry. I may have printed the chicken recipe before, but it’s worth repeating. I usually double the recipe and use one can of cream of mushroom soup and one can of cream of chicken soup just because I prefer that mixture.
Thanks to my husband, Chris, for performing mallet duty on about 26 pieces of chicken. He helped make this a good dish for a crowd. Roll up the chicken ahead of time and you can tend to other things while dinner cooks in the slow cooker. Just don’t forget to remind your diners that there’s a toothpick in the chicken!
Choose either crunchy or creamy peanut butter for the apple peanut crumble. It’s best served warm with some vanilla ice cream.
All these recipes are from the “Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook.” I’m squeezing in a Yukon gold recipe that is supposed to be the best of the best with rave reviews. Try it and see what you think. Keep cool and happy eating.
Creamy red potatoes
2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of potato soup
1 envelope dry ranch salad dressing mix
Place potatoes in slow cooker. Beat together remaining ingredients. Stir into potatoes. Cover. Cook on low 8 hours or until potatoes are tender. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Chicken cordon bleu
3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 large Swiss cheese slices, halved
3 large, thin ham slices, halved
2 tablespoons margarine
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cut breasts in half. Flatten each half with a wooden mallet. Cover each half with half slice of cheese and ham. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. Brown each chicken roll in margarine in skillet. Transfer to slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over chicken, making sure chicken is fully covered. Cover; cook on low 4 to 5 hours. Makes 6 servings.
Apple peanut crumble
4 to 5 cooking apples, peeled and sliced
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking dry oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons peanut butter
Ice cream or whipped cream
Place apple slices in slow cooker. Combine brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut in butter and peanut butter. Sprinkle over apples. Cover and cook on low 5 to 6 hours. Serve warm or cold, plain or with ice cream or whipped cream. Makes 4 to 5 servings.
Creamy mashed Yukon golds
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup milk, hot, but not boiling
Cover potatoes and garlic with water by at least one inch in saucepan. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to boil. Lower heat to maintain steady simmer. Cover pan partially and cook until potatoes are tender -- pan and dry over medium heat, stirring, until potatoes leave a light film on pan bottom. Use ricer or mash until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, beat in butter then beat in hot milk in 1/4 cup increments. If too thick, beat in a little cooking water. Season with salt and pepper. Yields 4 to 6 servings.
Address correspondence to Cheryle Finley, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, MO 64802. | <urn:uuid:5447be09-a154-4d1b-9368-6e7085ba508f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.joplinglobe.com/food/x439046250/Cheryle-Finley-Potatoes-great-for-almost-any-occasion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938962 | 1,403 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Côte d'Ivoire: Government returns to the north
|Publisher||Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)|
|Publication Date||30 November 2012|
|Cite as||Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), Côte d'Ivoire: Government returns to the north, 30 November 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/50bf1b332.html [accessed 26 May 2013]|
|Disclaimer||This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.|
After almost a decade of rebel rule, northern Côte d'Ivoire is coming to terms with a new authority as the government of President Alassane Ouattara, who assumed power some 18 months ago, establishes its presence in a region which effectively split from the rest of the country.
A 2002 armed insurrection partitioned Côte d'Ivoire into two, with the north under insurgent occupation and the south ruled by Laurent Gbagbo, who was ousted as president in April 2011 after a bloody poll dispute with Ouattara. A 2007 deal between the rebels and Gbagbo provided for the eventual unification of the country.
The return of the government to the Central-North-West (CNO) region that makes up 60 percent of Côte d'Ivoire's territory is slowly reviving the education and health sectors, but residents complain of rising commodity and rent prices due to government levies, and say insecurity remains high, especially in the central city of Bouaké, the former rebel stronghold where some ex-fighters are still armed and are accused of committing crimes.
"There's now an effective return to normalcy," said Daouda Ouattara, administrator of the northern Korhogo District, noting that around 1,000 government workers are back on duty in the various district offices in Korhogo, home to some one million people.
In Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire's second largest city, most government offices have reopened. Lassina Diomandé, the local member of parliament, told IRIN that there was a 95 percent government presence in the city. However, armed forces are still occupying a building meant to house the social security offices.
Private firms are also re-establishing in the north. Major local banks have reopened alongside smaller branches of international banks. Foreign oil companies are also making a come-back to set up filling stations in Bouaké and Korhogo, where many fuel sellers still operate small roadside stations.
Government and tax
For many residents of the north, the return of government is mainly associated with taxation. Under rebel rule, tax collection was rather random. Commodities were smuggled in from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali and residents therefore paid no customs levies.
"We are setting up a public sensitization campaign. For almost 10 years people were used to living free from paying taxes," said Ouattara, adding that a customs office is now operational.
Out of an 800-million CFA (US$1.6-million) tax revenue target for Korhogo District, the authorities have so far collected more than two billion francs ($4 million). "There's good progress. We are able to work. Our aim now is to have people pay the taxes they were never used to paying," a customs officer appointed to the region five months ago told IRIN.
On the streets of Korhogo and Bouaké, many motorbikes do not have registration plates. The authorities there have set low registration fees (compared to the rates in the commercial capital Abidjan), and an end of December 2012 vehicle registration deadline.
"Some people have kept their motorbikes at home because they don't have the money to pay the duty," said Korhogo resident Yaya Soro. "We are all trying to adapt to the new order, but it's difficult to resume a trend we lost 10 years ago."
Bouaké legislator Diomandé argued that the government's presence was beneficial to the people. "People used to pay little, but for low quality products, especially sugar, cooking oil and fuel."
House rents are reported to have tripled as those who fled the area to Abidjan return, and demand has also pushed up by the return of government workers.
Health and education improving
Some 476 volunteer teachers who took over after government teachers fled from the north during the conflict have been trained and absorbed by the Education Ministry, said Louis Vigneault-Dubois, a communications officer with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
In Korhogo, 300 primary and secondary school teachers have been employed, including volunteer teachers to fill a shortage, and a university is also to be built in the region, said Ouattara, the local administrator. The university in Bouaké has been renovated to accommodate 21,000 students who resumed studies in November.
However, in some northern Côte d'Ivoire areas, school attendance is around 40 percent and the region has registered some of the poorest examination results in the past two years, according to officials.
Korhogo region has had one paediatrician, one cardiologist and one gynaecologist for years, said Ouattara. But since the government's return, doctors have been employed and the University of Korhogo is to have a training hospital.
With the return of the administration's regional offices, "people no longer have to make long trips to Yamoussoukro or Abidjan for official documents such as birth certificates," said Diomandé. "It's comforting."
Nonetheless, many still decry the underdevelopment in the northern region compared to Abidjan where infrastructural development is advancing. A few roads have been renovated in Korhogo, according to residents.
A Bouaké resident who spoke to IRIN on condition of anonymity described the return of government as a "semblance of administration."
"The judiciary is not functional yet. If I have problem and I want to lodge a complaint, there is no one to help me."
"I don't object to paying more taxes to the government, but I would like to see the outcome in infrastructure development. Here, nothing has been done," said local restaurant owner Albertine Kouassi. | <urn:uuid:ce0abd3f-366a-43e6-8624-b28353fe978f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&category=&publisher=IRIN&type=&coi=CIV&rid=&docid=50bf1b332&skip=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966049 | 1,355 | 1.898438 | 2 |
The excitement of the season had just begun, and then we heard the news: oil in the water, lots of oil killing lots of water. It is too shocking to understand. Never in the millennium of our tradition have we thought it possible for the water to die, but it is true.
Chief Walter Meganack
Traditional Village Chief
Port Graham NativeVillage, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
(National Wildlife Federation, 1990)
We are now part of a giant experiment on massive chemical toxicity exposure, where insanity, wishful thinking, denial, and outright lies run the show. Where our leaders are completely out of touch with reality and rather than guidance, protection and healing, they offer us disinformation and manipulation. How on earth did we allow this to happen? Then again, what do we expect in a world where psychopathic corporate interests dominate almost every area of life?
An invasive cancer has spread throughout our global society. Mother nature too has succumbed to the effects of this destructive ideology and now carries the seeds of ecological disaster in her womb. Despite all their machinations and carefully laid plans, the hubris and supreme self-interest of the psychopaths that rule our world have set humanity on a course for extinction. Who benefits when there are no people left to rule and control?
In the words of psychologist Andrew M. Lobaczweski:
[W]hat happens if the network of understandings among psychopaths achieves power in leader-ship positions with international exposure? Goaded by their character, such people thirst for just that [...] They do not understand that a catastrophe would otherwise ensue. Germs are not aware that they will be burned alive or buried deep in the ground along with the human body whose death they are causing.
If such and many managerial positions are assumed by individuals deprived of sufficient abilities to feel and understand most other people, and who also betray deficiencies as regards technical imagination and practical skills–faculties indispensable for governing economic and political matters–this must result in an exceptionally serious crisis in all areas, both within the country in question and with regard to international relations. -Andrew M. Lobaczewski, Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes.
It is often said that if we don’t learn from our history, we are doomed to repeat it, and it saddens me to have to say that, as a species, humanity today finds itself on the evolutionary cliff-edge once again. But times of great crisis and tragedy also present an opportunity to finally wake up to the reality of the world around us and the forces that would prefer human beings to go quietly and ignorantly into the cold, dark night of oblivion. Knowledge therefore is crucial, but to acquire and use knowledge, we must first ensure that we have healthy bodies, minds and emotions through which that knowledge will be expressed. It is for this reason that there has been a concerted effort by our political and corporate leaders to ensure that humanity remains caught in the grip of physical, psychological and emotional illness.
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
The Exxon Valdez disaster spilled millions of gallons of oil in Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989. As tragic as it was and still is, it pales in comparison to what happened this year in the gulf. It has been estimated that the BP oil spill poured the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez oil spill every 8 to 10 days. What most people don’t know is that federal records show a steady stream of oil spills between 1964 and 2009 that dumped 517,847 barrels of petroleum – which would fill an equivalent number of standard American bathtubs – into the Gulf of Mexico. The spills killed thousands of birds and soiled beaches as far away as Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Altogether, they poured twice as much oil into U.S. waters as the Exxon Valdez tanker did when it ran aground in 1989. Now with the Gulf Oil Spill we are facing a disaster of epic proportions and consequences, an event that represents a point of no return. Read more… | <urn:uuid:9cd29a74-6a7c-430e-8af9-240df6e8d994> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.health-matrix.net/tag/multiple-chemical-sensitivity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953312 | 835 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Employers, who want to establish a safe and healthy working environment, need to be aware of the many hazards posed to workers. Employee injuries or fatalities, even in extreme situations such as infectious disease, fire, severe weather or acts of workplace violence, can be greatly minimized or prevented with preparation and management. For any business, big or small, being prepared for an emergency can mean the difference between survival and failure. This course is geared towards, owners, managers/supervisors, safety committee members/representatives or anyone who is directly involved in development or execution of an emergency.
For more information or to register for this workshop please call 694-SAFE or email email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:328e6366-e03c-4102-be41-fbd34ff1a51c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://safehospitality.com/emergency_preparedness111.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942845 | 143 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Azerbaijan, Baku, May 25 / Trend /
U.S. President Barack Obama has sent a congratulatory letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of Republic Day on May 28.
"Dear Mr. President, on behalf of the United States, I offer my congratulations to you and the people of Azerbaijan as you celebrate your Republic Day on May 28. Azerbaijan proudly established itself as an independent state on May 28, 1918. The democratic aspirations of the Azerbaijani people never ceased, and they emerged once again more than 70 years later when Azerbaijan regained its independence in 1991," the letter reads.
Obama also noted that this year, the two sides also celebrate an important milestone in the partnership between the United States and Azerbaijan. "2012 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the U.S.-Azerbaijan diplomatic relationship. I would like to note on this significant occasion the valued ties between our governments and our peoples, as well as the significant achievements we have reached together," the U.S. President stressed.
Obama wished a peaceful and prosperous year for all of the people of Azerbaijan.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:48799613-4d83-43f5-bc5a-5ff44ba387b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.trend.az/news/politics/2030136.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965439 | 249 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Christina Koci Hernandez/The Chronicle
One morning in August of 1985, Ken Baldwin told his wife he was going to be home late from work. He then proceeded to drive to the Golden Gate Bridge where he vaulted over the rail into the bay below. Within minutes, the Coast Guard picked him up. That night, he was in intensive care, going in and out of consciousness. He heard the doctor tell his wife he had a 50-50 chance, depending on whether he wanted to live.
“I knew that I wanted to live from the moment my hands left the bridge,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin is one of approximately 8 million living Americans who have attempted suicide. His story, and others, show that it is possible to recover.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Heidi Benson podcasts a conversation with Baldwin, one of many people interviewed for her story.
You can read Heidi’s story (which will publish on Saturday) and the rest of Lethal Beauty, a series about the Golden Gate Bridge barrier debate, HERE.
To see video of the Golden Gate bridge, click HERE. | <urn:uuid:3fb45d67-e91d-478a-bfa5-a4d3ad760a40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.sfgate.com/chroncast/2005/11/04/lethal-beauty-survivor-recalls-the-day-he-jumped/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971015 | 230 | 1.609375 | 2 |
It doesn’t take much to startle most journalists in Connecticut, many of whom are as lion-shy as gazelles. A growl from a snarling lawyer is in most cases sufficient to quiet the whole herd.
Dismayed by a political column written by Chris Powell of the Journal Inquirer, World Wide Entertainment (WWE) senior vice president of marketing and communications Brian Flinn wrote to Mr. Powell an e-mail threatening to sue if Mr. Powell did not issue a retraction “by June 4, 2012 in as public a manner as that in which you made these false statements.” Should Mr. Powell fail to comply with Mr. Flinn’s demand, “we will seek legal and all available remedies,” the e-mail specifies.
In the e-mail sent to Mr. Powell, copied to many other Connecticut newspapers, Mr. Flinn advises, “This time, WWE is taking a proactive and aggressive approach to ensure that accurate facts and statements are made about our company and brand. This has absolutely nothing to do with politics.”
A threat to sue must mention the word “malice,” and Mr. Flinn’s e-mail does not disappoint: “That you would repeat the false statement that WWE is in the pornography business, after being told of the falsity of that statement, is especially strong evidence of malice.”
In the context of the First Amendment, public officials and public figures must satisfy a standard that proves “actual malice” in order to recover for libel or slander. Legal malice must be committed intentionally without just cause or excuse.
In order to recover damages, WWE would have to show “actual malice” on the part of Mr. Powell. The legal standard for publications is New York Times vs. Sullivan 376 U.S. 254, 84 S. Ct. 710, 11 L. Ed. 2d 686 (1964).
In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that public officials and public figures cannot be awarded damages unless they prove that the person accused of making the false statement did so with knowledge that the statement was false or with reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity of the statement. Demonstrating malice in this context does not require the plaintiff to show that the person uttering the statement showed ill will or hatred toward the public official or public figure.
It is nearly impossible to sustain that standard in a commentary piece. There are multiple difficulties, these among others: Courts have allowed hyperbole in commentary pieces; pornography, more often than not, lies in the eye of the beholder; most often, communications of the kind sent by Mr. Flinn are intended to curtail free speech, and the First Amendment is a mighty bulwark against the suppression of speech.
This is what Mr. Powell said of Mrs. McMahon in his column: “Her practical qualifications for office did not extend beyond her fantastic wealth, and that wealth derived from the business of violence, pornography, and general raunchy.”
This is what Mr. Flinn said Mr. Powell said in his column: “That you would repeat the false statement that WWE is in the pornography business, after being told of the falsity of that statement, is especially strong evidence of malice.”
In a suit alleging legal malice, a court would likely examine the statement to which Mr. Flinn imputes malice rather more closely than he might like. Mr. Powell is not saying that WWE is in the pornography business. The present tense – “IS in the pornography business” – is important. The subject of the putative “malicious” sentence is also important. Nowhere in the column does Mr. Powell mention WWE. Therefore, Mr. Powell is not repeating “the false statement that WWE is in the pornography business.”
WWE, as others have pointed out, is in a process of transition, and its present rating falls on the non-pornographic side of pornography. The “entertainment” provided by WWE, like the side-shows of P. T. Barnum’s day, are intended to fool the foolish. Virtually all of the set-piecesin the WWE ring are highly scripted. The “Barnum effect” is an actual term used by professors of psychology in which students purposely are gulled into believing invalid results of psychological tests in ethics courses. Deceptions of this kind always involve ethical catches. But courts are not chiefly concerned with ethics: They are concerned with the veracity of charges.
And Mr. Powell, in the line adduced by Mr. Flinn as legally malicious, is making a statement about 1) Mrs. McMahon’s “practical qualifications for office” and 2) Mrs. McMahon’s wealth, which Mr. Powel conjectures “derived from the business of violence, pornography, and general raunch” -- nice distinctions that will be important to a court gathered to rule on the nature of Mr. Powell putative malice.
Of course the court must also decide whether Mr. Powell’s statement breeches the wall erected by other courts interested in preserving both the letter and the spirit of the First Amendment, which allows both Mr. Powell and Mr. Flinn a certain latitude of expression without which public speech would be matter decided through frivolous legal suits. Absent a presumption in favor of untrammeled speech, even masters of prose such as Honoré de Balzac, self-described as “a galley slave to pen and ink,” would not have been able to write without fear of prosecution the line: “the secret of great fortunes without apparent cause is a crime forgotten”.
The line above from Balzac introduces Mario Puzo’s Godfather, though it is there misquoted as: “Behind every great fortune lies a crime.”
Balzac’s statement is carefully qualified, the improvising somewhat reckless. Most galley slaves to pen and ink depend on courts to take note of such differences. | <urn:uuid:f5532cb7-8250-4eea-a216-ef8ed4b8e30b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://connecticutpoliticalreporter.blogspot.com/2012/05/wwe-vs-powell.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951574 | 1,267 | 1.539063 | 2 |
My notes on Sally Shuttleworth's BSLS talk: 'Childhood Lies in Victorian Literature and Science'.
Part of her current book project on child psychiatry. Spans the 1850s to 1890s, and described a loosening from strict, heavily disapproving ideas of a child liar (including a child fantasist), towards more positive images of the child’s imagination. This covered the origins of child psychiatry and the parallel development of the child study movement. The talk discussed notions of truth, rationality, childhood and morality, the ways in which these concepts changed and effected each other throughout late 19th century.
To me, it was a refreshing and enlightening discussion of the complexities of Victorian ideas of the child, especially interesting as childhood studies sometimes over-emphasises on the Romantics. As Shuttleworth argued, the Victorian's complex entanglement of both negative and positive images of childhood fantasy are still with us today.
She started the talk with a poem by Isaac Watts, Against Lying, although written in 1715 was reprinted throughout the 19th century, disseminated in tuppance publications, and young girls asked to embroider the scarier statements from it into samplers. I scribbled down the last two lines “Since God a book of reck’ning keeps, For ev’ry lie that children tell” – generally the moral was that you would burn in hell if you uttered even the slightest untruth.
Child psychiatry did not exist much before the 1850s as it was assumed children could not be insane. It was assumed that as children had not yet attained reason, unreason could no happen. With the changing ideas of madness, however, ideas of the mad child started to develop, with some writers even suggesting pre-natal madness. According to Shuttleworth, mid-19th century discourse on the child pathologised ideas of lying. Mental ‘derangement’ in adults life even understood as a consequence of a childhood indulgence of fantasy. Any form of untruth was as morally repugnant, but also with mental health association, both a symptom and the form of a disease.
Instilling fear in children about the moral and health consequences of telling an untruth, she mentioned a description of one boy who would preface every statement with ‘perhaps’ (as one commenter in questions mentioned – not dissimilar to the academic). What was must fascinating to me was the connection of the idea of the lie with any idea of fantasy, with the image of the imaginative or fairy-tale loving child pathologised equivalently to anyone aiming to deceive; ‘there is no virtue where there is no reality’.
One book talked of the ‘petulance of falsehood’, advising a parent must ‘fumigate the atmosphere of fictions’. It is telling that the word ‘fictions’ is used here, rather than lies, or falsehoods, reflecting the Victorian desire that a strong boundary between truth and illusion must be instilled within the child’s mind.
In terms of reflections of such debates within fictional literature, Shuttleworth continually applied a fascinating reading of Jane Eyre. In this novel we see the child Jane both accused of lying, as well turning this on the accuser, the moral child wanting to see truth in others. The book also contains many references to Jane’s fantasy life, her imaginative travels, playing on associations between liar and fantasist, and the alternative positive and negative moral readings we might assume to either.
Mirroring the development of all these controlling ideas of the moral and public health requirement to tell nothing but truths, was also a discourse (more literary based, less psychiatric) celebrating the child’s fantasy world. Writers such as RL Stevenson celebrated childhood play and the private internal life of a child’s mind within which adults could not see and might be scared by the possible deviance of. The child was seen under celebrations of the savage, but was a more domesticated savage, one that lived in a garden. Shuttleworth also suggested a class element to this, with the idea of a ‘well brought up’ child able to play and imagine in a way that not others would not be allowed.
As I said earlier, I enjoyed the paper for not obsessing with Rousseau, but I was concerned that she did not mention the Romantic context at all. The paper was in danger of suggesting the image of the child as true was something constructed within the mid 19th C, through processes of getting girls to embroider poetry on samplers. Where as, I think the idea of the child as truth-teller has a longer history than this, and that the idea of a child who tells lies as morally repugnant may well connect to romantic images of the innocent, uncorrupted child. It might well be that I am simply anachronistically projecting a post Victorian idea on the Romantics - I would be happy for Shuttleworth to refute this. Also, it was only a short paper on work in progress, I’m sure she’ll refer to the broader historical context when she finishes this work. I am also interested in the broader development of the idea of the fantastical as being especially childlike and the processes of telling differences between fact and fiction being an aspirational quality in the process of maturation. These ideas did not arrive with the Victorians (though I’m convinced that complex contemporary notions of child, truth and allusion owe much to the 19th century treatment) and it’d be interesting to reflect on this.
Finally, I was surprised that she managed to talk on the topic of fantasy and the Victorian child for about three quarters of an hour without once mentioning Wonderland (this, again, was in many ways refreshing). She admitted this was in part because Gillian Beer is writing a book on Carroll’s work – all go in studies of child, science and the book, very exciting! | <urn:uuid:77c64f44-0206-491c-9d9b-48414bfd7f38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.echae.com/scienceproject/archives/2007/04/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967774 | 1,230 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Masters of Information Systems and Technology - Research
School of Information Systems & Technology
Alony, Irit, Human influence on the adoption of Lean strategy in the process industries: a case study of an Australian steel-manufacturer, Masters of Information Systems and Technology - Research thesis, School of Information Systems & Technology, University of Wollongong, 2010. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3480
Lean strategy has become widely recognised since it was first popularised by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. However, despite its promised benefits and widespread proliferation, Lean strategy has not been extensively adopted in process industries (e.g., steel-making). This study examines an unsuccessful attempt to implement Lean strategy in a large Australian steel-manufacturing organisation, and pays particular attention to factors influencing scheduling decisions. This attention to scheduling decisions is both unique to the literature and crucial to a deeper understanding of Lean strategy enactment.
Multiple facets are involved in the complex implementation of Lean strategy, and thus this study draws on multiple academic sources. Operations-management and behavioural decision-making literatures are reviewed, to identify aspects relevant to this complex initiative. Common to both literatures is the importance of schedulers, who daily make operational decisions that directly affect strategy execution. This study develops a framework for factors influencing schedulers’ decisions that affect the enactment of Lean strategy, based on a categorisation of factors: individual, task, and context-related.
Scheduling decisions often strongly depend on their context, and are sensitive to many interrelated factors. To identify these factors and provide an in-depth understanding of their influence on the enactment of Lean strategy, this study examines scheduling decisions within their natural setting, using an exploratory and descriptive approach. It employs a longitudinal and retrospective case study of a single company to examine these issues with greater depth than possible when examining multiple companies.
Specifically, this study draws on two sets of data collection, which cover two different perspectives on scheduling. The first set retrospectively examines the implementation of Lean strategy in a steel-manufacturing business unit. This includes interviews with eight of the individuals involved in the implementation, as well as archival documents. To overcome the limitations of a retrospective study, this study examines current scheduling practices and factors that influence their alignment with Lean strategy. This examination is conducted through a second set of interviews, which examines current influences on scheduling practices, by interviewing eight key scheduling-team members from two different business units. In addition, documents relevant to current scheduling practices were also examined. A thematic analysis of the two sets reveals factors from three different categories (individual, task, and contextual) that support or impede Lean scheduling practices.
Findings show schedulers are critical to the sustainable enactment of Lean strategy. Schedulers were found to influence the enactment of Lean strategy in two ways: (1) They facilitate cross-functional collaboration, which is necessary for Lean strategy, and (2) They have the discretion to balance and trade-off production and sales requirements. The level of alignment between this trade-off and Lean principles can sustain, or inhibit, the enactment of Lean strategy.
When examining individual factors that influence schedulers’ decisions, the findings highlight the role of schedulers’ interpersonal skills and intuitive decisionmaking. Interpersonal skills enable schedulers to enact a strategy that they find beneficial for the business. Intuitive decision-making is influenced by two main factors that impede the enactment of Lean strategy: (1) schedulers’ attitude towards Lean practices, and (2) emotions the schedulers expect as a result of following traditional practices versus Lean practices.
While schedulers are directly responsible for making decisions that align with Lean strategy, this study identifies several contextual and task-related factors that can also impede or support this alignment. These factors include assumptions shared amongst organisational members concerning the source of business success, the way to successfully address customer demand, the role of kanbans, the way to achieve high utilisation, and the length of lead times. The study extends existing literature on Lean strategy, by identifying factors that have the power to impede its adoption in the steel industry, and emphasises the important role schedulers play in sustaining alignment. | <urn:uuid:ac0850af-9db0-41d3-aa6d-51199852cefa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3480/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921352 | 864 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Health for Older Adults
The Program:A multidisciplinary team of health professionals, including psychiatrists, geriatricians, nurses, social workers, kinesiologists and therapeutic recreationists provide effective and integrated mental health services to older adults.
Consultation, diagnosis, case management and treatment recommendations are provided to individuals experiencing mental health problems or who have a complex mood disorder.
Individual and group psychotherapy, as well as innovative exercise, leisure and health education services are available.
Supplementary educational and support services are also offered to individuals and their families.
- Must be over the age of 65 and living with an age-related mental health problem or over 50 with a geriatric age related disorder.
- Must be over the age of 50 with a complex mood disorder
- Any individual may initiate a referral to the program. This includes referrals by family physicians, specialists, other health professionals or self-referral.
- All referrals must be made in agreement with the family physician.
- Once all the necessary forms have been received, a clerk will contact the individual or his/her family to schedule an initial appointment.
- Prior to the initial appointment, a nurse case manager will contact the individual and his/her family to obtain additional health-related information. Based on the information gathered, the case manager, in collaboration with the family physician will then determine the type and intensity of care that the individual requires. | <urn:uuid:19874ce4-416c-4d30-a78e-38da43449838> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stjoes.ca/default.asp?action=article&ID=609 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930351 | 289 | 1.796875 | 2 |
LOS ANGELES — Space shuttle Endeavour returned to its California roots Thursday after a wistful cross-country journey that paid homage to NASA workers and former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband.
"That's my spaceship," said Endeavour's last commander, Mark Kelly, as the couple watched the shuttle loop over Tucson, Ariz.
Later in the day, a 747 jet carrying Endeavour swooped out of the desert sky and glided down a concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base, 100 miles north of Los Angeles, not far from where the now-retired shuttle fleet was assembled.
The shuttle and jumbo jet take off again after sunrise Friday to make low, sweeping passes over Sacramento, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.
Next stop: Los Angeles International Airport where Endeavour will be prepped for a slow ride on a special flatbed trailer through city streets next month to its final destination as a museum showpiece.
Endeavour's highly anticipated homecoming was twice delayed by stormy weather along the Gulf of Mexico. Early Wednesday, it departed from its Cape Canaveral, Fla., home base, soared over NASA centers in Mississippi and Louisiana, and made a layover in Houston, home of Mission Control. Crowds craned their necks skyward as the shuttle circled low over Florida's Space Coast and Houston.
After refueling in El Paso, Texas, Thursday, it flew over the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, an emergency shuttle landing site used once. Kelly requested that Endeavour pass over Tucson to honor Giffords, who is recovering after suffering a head wound in a shooting rampage last year. Before retiring from her House seat, she was a member of the House committee on science, space and technology.
The couple watched from the roof of a University of Arizona parking garage.
Former Giffords aide C.J. Karamargin said Giffords was "elated" and started "hooting and hollering" when she spotted Endeavour.
Kelley said seeing the shuttle reminded him how difficult it was to land.
"Landing a space shuttle is not easy," he said. "It doesn't glide very well."
Endeavour's maiden voyage into space two decades ago ended with a planned touchdown at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center based at Edwards. Unlike a return from orbit, no ear-splitting twin sonic booms accompanied the latest return.
Known as the baby shuttle, Endeavour replaced Challenger, which exploded during liftoff in 1986. NASA lost a second shuttle, Columbia, which broke apart during re-entry in 2003. A replacement was not built. Fourteen astronauts died in the accidents.
Six years after the Challenger tragedy, during Endeavour's first flight, three spacewalking astronauts made a daring rescue of a stranded communications satellite. A year later, it was launched on a service repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Endeavour flew 25 times, mostly to supply the International Space Station. It spent 299 days in space and circled Earth nearly 4,700 times, logging 123 million miles.
The space shuttle has deep roots in California: The main engines were manufactured in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. The heat shield tiles that protected the shuttle during re-entry were invented in Silicon Valley. The shuttle's "fly-by-wire" technology was developed in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey.
Shuttle parts from California and other plants around the country were shipped to Rockwell International's assembly factory in Palmdale near Edwards. In the early days, landings occurred in the desert before switching to Florida. Edwards remained the backup landing site.
Endeavour is the second of three surviving shuttles bound for its retirement home. In April, Discovery landed at the Smithsonian Institution's annex in Virginia after victory laps around the White House, the Capitol and the Washington Monument.
Atlantis will remain in Florida and will be towed in November to the Kennedy Space Center's visitor center.
Enterprise, a prototype that flew in approach and landing tests but never went into space, sailed up the Hudson River by barge in June en route to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
After three decades of service, NASA permanently grounded the shuttles last year under a White House mandate to focus on destinations beyond low-Earth orbit with goals to land astronauts on an asteroid and eventually on Mars. The space agency is relying on Russian rockets to the space station until private companies can provide regular taxi service to the giant orbiting lab.
NASA deeded Endeavour to the California Science Center last year. The estimated coast-to-coast shipping and handling costs is $28 million to be paid for by the science center. A final cost has not been calculated. NASA officials have said it didn't cost extra to fly over Tucson because it was on the way.
After landing at LAX Friday, Endeavour will undergo several weeks of preparations for its last mission: Inching through the streets of Los Angeles in early October to its museum home, a 12-mile crawl that required chopping down hundreds of trees and rerouting power lines.
For shuttle workers, it's a "bittersweet moment. The shuttle is finally retired and done. But for us, it's a great beginning of its next mission," said museum president Jeffrey Rudolph.
Davenport reported from Tucson, Ariz. Associated Press writer Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston contributed to this report. Alicia Chang can be followed athttp://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia
Shuttle history: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle
California Science Center: http://www.californiasciencecenter.org | <urn:uuid:eeab8698-6457-40ee-b4a0-9e0ab20ce079> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2012-09-20/endeavour-salutes-giffords-en-route-calif | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946071 | 1,195 | 1.71875 | 2 |
OMG is a curriculum of origami mathematics developed by BiJian.
Origami math originated from the art of paper folding. A folding diagram below illustrates the mathematical concepts from geometry and fraction to spatial visualization and computer aided design. As foldings have been formulated mathematically, they can be programmed and carried out on computer. Origami can solve mathematical problems and has found applications in engineering design of airbag, stent, space telescope, and many more.
Origami math integrates art and mathematics, brings fun and hands-on activity into learning. Students can learn the math concepts used to create origami artwork, build confidence and skill in learning math. Origami math has been taught worldwide and proven effective in math education. BiJian would like to excite and empower children and adults to learn science and art, stimulate their intellectual curiosity.
More information about the OMG can be found at www.BiJian.com | <urn:uuid:6948777d-5d21-4b58-a39f-7ca8a5701671> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/dec/03/artist-and-mathematician-bijian-brings-omg-origami/?yournews=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930642 | 188 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Exporting pollution abroad means more environmental problems here at home, including contamination of our local air and waterway. If even one of these proposed terminals went forward, shorelines would be given over to industrial sites with enormous piles of coal and constant noise and coal dust.
To build the terminals, the companies would degrade wetlands, impacting marine ecosystems on which herring, salmon, orcas and fish depend.
There are significant costs in the lifecycle of coal, as documented by Harvard ProfessorPaul R. Epstein, M.D., M.P.H., Center for Health and the Global Environment, in the study the Full Cost for Accounting for the Lifecycle of Coal: “Each stage in the life cycle of coal—extraction, transport, processing, and combustion—generates a waste stream and carries multiple hazards for health and the environment. These costs are external to the coal industry and are thus often considered ‘externalities.’ We estimate that the life cycle effects of coal and the waste stream generated are costing the U.S. public a third to over one-half of a trillion dollars annually.”
Coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel. Coal power plants emit at least 1.6 tons of climate changing gases for every ton of coal burned. A single large plant can emit upwards of 10 million tons of climate pollution a year.
There would also be significant environmental impact abroad. As the world’s largest coal user, China produces at least 375 million tons of toxic coal ash annually or enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool every two and a half minutes. Coal ash disposal sites release lead, boron, selenium, cadmium, thallium and other pollutants – posing a serious risk to the health of those living nearby.
And the air pollution doesn’t stay near to home – more coal burning in China means more toxic air pollution traveling across the Pacific to contaminate our Northwest rivers, lakes and fish, including mercury and ozone pollution. | <urn:uuid:4bbb07f0-c047-45b9-8369-48e49ec8c196> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerpastcoal.org/impacts/environmental/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936938 | 411 | 3.59375 | 4 |
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he has “big heels to fill” and recalled a childhood brush with communism in first-day remarks to State Department employees that gave no indication of changes he may envision for U.S. foreign policy.
On Kerry’s first formal day on the job, he pledged to focus on the safety of U.S. diplomats around the world and to not let politics obscure the legacy of four Americans killed in the September attack in Benghazi, Libya. He spent the weekend after his Friday swearing-in ceremony making calls to allies around the world.
The former Massachusetts senator is the first white male to hold the job as top U.S. diplomat in 16 years. He takes on the post as the United States is working toward withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, facing a civil war in Syria and rising Islamist threats in North Africa, and dealing with tensions over disputed claims in the oil-rich South China Sea. Most pressing may be the looming specter of a confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program.
None of that made it into Kerry’s welcome remarks, which he kept light and — for a famously loquacious speaker — relatively short. He alluded to his two immediate predecessors, Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice.
“Here’s the big question after the last eight years,” Kerry told the hundreds of employees who crowded the lobby of the Harry S Truman Building. “Can a man actually run the State Department? As the saying goes, I have big heels to fill.”
Kerry thanked Clinton and President Barack Obama “for his trust in me to take on this awesome task.”
Obama’s “vision and what he has implemented” over the last few years, “without any question, has restored America’s place and reputation in the world,” Kerry said.
Kerry, 69, is the first white male to hold the job since Warren Christopher stepped down as Secretary of State in 1997. Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Rice and Clinton have held the office since then.
Kerry, a 28-year veteran of the Senate and the former chairman of its Foreign Relations Committee, told the crowd he had the Senate in his blood, “but it’s also true that the foreign service is in my genes.”
His father was a foreign service officer who took his family overseas to Berlin. His sister worked at the United Nations and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, speaks five languages, he said.
Holding up his first diplomatic passport, issued when he was 11 years old, Kerry told the crowd that when his family lived in Berlin, he once used the passport to bicycle into the Russian-controlled sector of the postwar divided city.
“As a 12-year-old kid, I really did notice the starkness,” Kerry said, recalling the dark clothing and that “there was no joy on those streets.”
Joking that today’s tabloids would comment on “Kerry’s early Communist connections,” the new Secretary of State said the experience taught him a great lesson in the virtues of freedom, even if it did get him grounded by his angry dad. | <urn:uuid:00247093-c5aa-4403-bf5e-9b2412203d43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nashobapublishing.com/politics-national/2013/02/john-kerry-sees-big-heels-to-fill-as-secretary-of-state/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976268 | 675 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Massive crowds of Wisconsin union protesters. Collective bargaining rights being challenged by right-to-work laws. Union picketing of private homes. Paint bombs. Bullying. Alinskyite tactics. All of this and more is documented in a blog post about the situation in Wisconsin regarding the gubernatorial election and controversial union demands.
Except there’s one very peculiar twist: The blog post is dated April 17, 1956.
Or at least it would have been a blog post, except that back in the ’50s there were no blogs, no Internet. If you wanted to disseminate coverage of unreported political outrages, you had to publish a printed pamphlet and distribute it by hand. Which is is exactly what Herbert Kohler, President of Kohler Co., did in 1956 after he personally witnessed the violent bullying tactics of Wisconsin unions.
I recently discovered this now ultra-rare pamphlet for 25¢ in the “ephemera” section of a local white elephant sale in Oakland. But its contents were so modern-seeming and so relevant to the recall election of Scott Walker happening right now in Wisconsin that it seemed as if it was a blog post written yesterday. The issues, tactics and warring sides are almost exactly the same today as they were 56 years ago. I was so amazed by what I read that I decided to take this April 17, 1956 blog post and finally put it on the Internet.
Why? Because the voters of Wisconsin need to know that this drive by Wisconsin unions to control the employment market and the levers of political power has been going on for an extremely long time; the upheaval that has wracked Wisconsin since Scott Walker first won the nomination to run for governor in 2010 is just the latest battle in a decades-long war.
At the conclusion of this post you will find high-resolution scans of each page from the short pamphlet entitled In Freedom’s Cause: The Menace of UAW-CIO Coercion, by Herbert Kohler. But first, a short explanatory introduction.
In Freedom’s Cause: The Menace of UAW-CIO Coercion
From the 1930s through the late ’60s, Herbert Kohler was the president of Kohler Co., a major plumbing and household supplies manufacturer headquartered in Wisconsin and founded in the 19th century by his immigrant father, John Michael Kohler. In 1954, the UAW tried to unionize all the employees at the Kohler factory, despite the fact that they were already among the best-compensated manual laborers in the state. The UAW played hardball in contract negotiations with Kohler management, and at first won some wage-hikes. But when Kohler resisted additional demands, the UAW ordered a massive strike against Kohler, and things started to get ugly.
The 1954 UAW action is now known as “The Kohler Strike” and is considered one of the most contentious and violent in American history:
Six years of sporadic violence ensued between strikers and strike breakers. In time, the company would charge opponents with more than a thousand acts of vandalism. At one point, more than 300 people were arrested. Calls for a national boycott of Kohler products were vociferous and sometimes effective. Strikers were able to continue their often violent activities because of some $12 million provided by the UAW.
The strike lasted for six years, until 1960, and was not fully resolved until 1965, with a partial victory for the UAW, after the National Labor Relations Board mostly sided with the union (as it almost always does). But Kohler Co. successfuly resisted efforts by the union to take over the corporation, and survived the boycotts, and to this day remains privately owned and very profitable.
In the middle of all this, Herbert Kohler went on a speaking tour around the country trying to warn people about the hyper-aggressive Wisconsin union political tactics and what it meant for American freedom overall. His stump speech was then typed up and supplemented with photographs documenting some of the union behavior, and it was turned into a smal pamphlet entitled In Freedom’s Cause: The Menace of UAW-CIO Coercion, which you can read in its entirety below.
Interestingly, many of the union tactics descibed and documented by Kohler are what would now be called “Alinskyite” tactics. But this is no accident: Saul Alinsky himself said that he learned the ins-and-outs of in-your-face “community organizing” by working with brutal CIO union enforcers in Chicago early in his career.
When reading the 1956 pamphlet, keep in mind its relevance to the 2012 gubernatorial recall election, coming up on June 5. The exact same issues which drove the union-initiated recall and underlie the left’s hatred of governor Scott Walker — collective bargaining, right-to-work laws, union pensions, and so forth — were what spurred the Kohler Strike in the 1950s.
Your vote and your sympathy, now as then, hinge on one question: How much power do you want to grant the unions? And will they bankrupt the state, as they tried to bankrupt Kohler, given a chance?
Here are a few short excerpts from the pamphlet, with transcriptions:
“The greatest power of coercion is latent in the government. Through its “political action” program, the union seeks to take over this power and use it to its own ends.”
“The Class Struggle — The promotion of class hatred and class warfare aids only those who would supplant our economy with a socialist economy. Union leaders who convince the workman that his employer is his natural enemy — that his interests call for ‘militancy’ and constant conflict — serve only the Marxian doctrine.”
“Are unions entitled to engage in violent, coercive and illegal conduct to enforce their demands?
This is the issue we have been facing at Kohler the past two years.
That is the issue that faces the American public.”
“The principal demand was for some form of ‘union shop’ — i.e., compulsory unionism.
It is our belief that the company has no more right to force an employee to join a union to get or hold a job than it has to prohibit his joining a union.
Kohler Co. is opposed to any form of compulsory unionism.
The widespread public support of our position in this respect has caused the union to drop this demand temporarily.
But, and make no mistake about it, this issue is never abandoned. The UAW-CIO is as violently opposed as ever to ‘right-to-work laws’.”
“The UAW-CIO did not come to Kohler with the high purpose of protecting down-trodden workingmen. They came to a company where physical working conditions are exemplary, where real wages had been maintained and earnings were high, to a field which appeared ripe for a harvest of dues.”
“The fact is you can never settle with this union except on their terms. You meet their demands exactly, or else.”
“Then began the picketing of homes of non-strikers. Mobs of hundreds of strikers and sympathizers, howling and hooting, threatened non-striking employees and their families. This was finally stopped by an injunction.
There have been more than 800 incidents of violence and vandalism away from the picket lines. These included gunshot blasts into homes, dynamiting of automobiles and buildings, paint bombings, window smashing, tire slashings, the throwing of acid onto automobiles and inside houses.”
Below you will find full-page scans of the entirety of In Freedom’s Cause: The Menace of UAW-CIO Coercion. Click on each image to see it in high resolution.
And don’t forget to vote on June 5! | <urn:uuid:4c555f52-6d94-430d-89b8-e2c2bf2bb133> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pjmedia.com/zombie/2012/05/21/wisconsin-election-update-blog-post-from-1956-documents-bullying-union-tactics/?singlepage=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972453 | 1,651 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Urgent: Tell Congress to protect the world's forests and wildlife from illegal logging
Almost half of all rainforest destruction is done illegally. Government corruption, lax laws and poor enforcement result in widespread illegal deforestation across the globe. This unofficial forest clearing makes it extremely challenging to truly protect critically endangered species like the orangutan or Sumatran tiger from extinction, and it contributes enormous amounts of carbon to our atmosphere.
And now the best law on the books to prevent illegal logging worldwide—the Lacey Act—is under attack.
The Lacey Act prohibits illegally sourced wood and wood products from being imported into the country, reducing global deforestation rates and preventing job losses in the American forest products industry. But the Lacey Act is under fire by those wishing to end environmental protections and regulations.
Urge your House representative to vote no on the RELIEF Act (H.R. 3210) or any other bill that would weaken the Lacey Act. | <urn:uuid:3c833d79-3d7f-477e-a582-bc7228fe5dc3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://act.ran.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6386 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917491 | 194 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Matt Yglesias makes an observation that many colored people I have known have made (including family members):
There’s often a kind of conventional idea on the left that the United States is an unusually racist society. And I think there’s also often a kind of image of Europe as a place where more of the progressive agenda has been achieved than in the USA. But I think that you’ll find if you look at Europe through the eyes of the liberal agenda that while the German left has certainly been more successful than the American left at securing universal health care, it’s been much less successful at promoting a tolerant, integrated, multicultural society. And allowing for the errors implicit in making any kind of sweeping generalization, I’d say that’s pretty generally the case across Europe. This Swiss People’s Party campaign poster would, I think, make Jesse Helms blush. And I’m not even sure which of the Northern League posters from Italy is the most egregious.
It’s not only on the Left, many Europeans think that the United States is particularly racist, until you point out to them that Americans are actually less anti-immigrant and more pro-diversity than most Europeans. This isn’t that unknown of a concept, years ago Jonah Goldberg argued for a pro-immigrant policy because it would dampen any tendency toward socialism. This sort of argument is to me a classic illustration of overemphasis on the power of the free market totally extracted and abstracted from concrete real world institutions and societies (and Goldberg isn’t even a libertarian).
Just a reminder to everyone on the Left and the Right that we don’t live in the world of Dr. Pangloss, there are trade-offs in this world. | <urn:uuid:86bc77a2-7a59-4644-9c9c-aa901daf32df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://secularright.org/SR/wordpress/its-not-always-better-in-europe/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955737 | 369 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The gate is controlled by a Stanley 24600 gate controller, which has the fairly simple task of running the motors to open the gate and close the gate as appropriate. Everything worked fine for years, until one recent day it just stopped working, which was rather inconvenient. When I opened up the controller box, I noticed a couple potential problems.
First, the circuit board had some disgusting cocoons on it, which were apparently shorting out the board and preventing it from working. I don't know what sort of insect made the cocoons, and I didn't want to wait around to find out.
In addition, see those light brown piles at the bottom of the controller box? An ant nest had decided to move in for some reason, and they had brought thousands of eggs with them. I don't think the ants were actually interfering with the function of the controller, but it's hard to debug a circuit when ants keep crawling on you. Here's a closeup of the pile of eggs:
Getting rid of the ant nest was easy. Opening up the box scared the ants, and they scurried around and moved out in 15 minutes flat, taking the eggs with them. I replaced the weather stripping around the box to keep them out.
The hideous cocoons on the other hand were a bigger problem. I removed them from the board and scrubbed the circuit board clean with rubbing alcohol. After replacing the circuit board, the gate would start opening but would not stop opening, which was a change but not really an improvement.
Everything else checked out fine (power, fuses, sensors, motors), so I knew the problem had to be in the controller. Unfortunately the controller is obsolete and nobody makes replacements or has documentation, so I figured I better get it fixed. I started poking around the circuit boards to try to figure out how they worked and where the problem might be.
The logic provided by the controller is simple, but not trivial: it can use a signal to open, or can use a signal to both open and close, or can use a signal to reverse, and has a stop signal. It also has a separate board to automatically close after a delay.
The controller is implemented using some CMOS gates and flip flops for the logic, and a couple 555 timers to control how long to run the motors to open and close the gates. Three big relays and two giant capacitors control the motors, while a few small relays provide additional logic. The controller also has a handful of transistors for various functions, and a bunch of resistors, diodes, and capacitors. The board on the right is the main logic board, and the smaller board on the left provides the optional automatic-close function. Note the variable resistors (with long white shafts) to adjust the various timings. There's also an AC-to-DC circuit on the board to power the logic, and a triac to switch low-voltage AC on and off for reasons I never figured out.
Newer controllers, of course, replace all this discrete logic with a microcontroller. They also provide a lot more functionality and options. It's interesting, though, to see how these circuits were implemented in the "olden days".
I spent a bunch of time following PCB traces around (both visually and with a continuity tester) trying to figure out how all the pieces work together. It was a slower process than I had expected, since many of the traces go under components and you can't see where they end up. I was getting frustrated and considered building my own controller out of an Arduino, since it would be about 10 lines of code. However, I figured interfacing with the sensors and AC relays would be a pain, and I didn't want to burn out the expensive motors with a programming error. Thus, I continued to analyze the existing controller.
I got most of the logic figured out when I happened to discover a trace that didn't have continuity from one end to the other. Apparently one of the traces that powers some of the transistors had cracked while I was cleaning off the cocoons. I put a jumper across the bad trace, and everything worked perfectly:
I've had lots of computer problems due to bugs, but this is the first time my problem was real live insect bugs. (Obligatory Grace Hopper bug link.)
Update: Nature still hates my gateToday, my gate would only close half-way. After some investigation, I discovered that a vine had somehow gotten caught on the gate, and it was strong enough to keep the gate from closing all the way. I was a bit surprised that the gate motors weren't strong enough to rip the vine off, but I guess as a safety feature they don't have a lot of extra force. This problem was a lot easier to fix than the previous, since I just needed to remove the vine.
I conclude, however, that nature hates my gate and is trying to keep it from working, whether it takes insects or plants. What next? Ice storm? Tornado? | <urn:uuid:ca01f6ae-0af7-4a03-92cc-91c0b2af13e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.righto.com/2010/08/getting-literal-bugs-out-of-driveway.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981014 | 1,038 | 1.625 | 2 |
A game of jacks and a bicycle she shared with her brother. That's all Virginia Crystal needed as a child.
The native of Cincinnati grew up at a time when the simplest of pleasures did the trick. It was a time when there was a distinct line between need and want as the United States struggled to survive amid a Great Depression that hit six years into Crystal's life.
At the time, Ohio was considered more fortunate than most other states. River trade, made possible by the Ohio River, proved successful and less expensive than trade by rail. But jobs were still hard to come by.
Crystal's father briefly held a position in a local department store before opening his own business selling car piston rings. When the Depression hit, he lost it all.
"We were lucky because we lived in a flat above my grandparents," said the 89-year-old Ventura woman. "Back then, they had two-story houses broken up into two flats. My grandparents owned the house. My grandfather had a big garden, so we never went without fresh fruit or vegetables."
She attended Hughes High School, graduating in 1941. She enrolled that fall in courses at the University of Cincinnati. She planned to become a dietitian.
"My family often listened to Bob Hope's radio show," Crystal said. "One night, he sang a pep song that talked about all the things women were doing in the service."
In early 1943, a year and a half into her time at the University of Cincinnati, Crystal decided to give the Women's Army Corps a shot. Her brother, Edward, had been drafted into the Army and was on active duty in the Pacific.
Crystal traveled to the local recruitment office in Cincinnati and took the official oath of duty. She was sent to basic training in Des Moines, Iowa, in April 1943.
"There was a lot of discipline," she said. "We learned to march, clean floors and properly line up beds so that they'd match up when you'd string a rope around the head of the bed."
After three months of basic training, Crystal was given a choice of where she would like to be stationed.
"My grandmother always talked about California," she said. "So that's where I decided to go."
She was assigned to the Long Beach Army Air Field.
"When the placement officer looked at my work experience, all he saw was lab tech at Procter & Gamble," Crystal said. "He sent me to work in the hospital, but I tried to explain to him that yes, I was a lab tech, but I tested cooking oils to see how long they lasted. It was really for sales purposes. I didn't know anything about blood work. But he wasn't getting it. Luckily, the two gals I worked with both had degrees as bacteriologists. They taught me everything I needed to know."
Crystal worked in the hospital at the airfield, completing blood tests until February 1946, when she was honorably discharged from the Army.
Edward also was honorably discharged and returned home safely with only minor wounds to show. Those wounds included shrapnel that, as it did with many veterans, became a permanent fixture under the skin of his neck. Several years later, doctors found cancer near the site of the shrapnel. It then spread to Edward's lungs. He succumbed to the disease at age 38, having never been a smoker.
"They said there was no relationship between the shrapnel and the cancer," Crystal said. "But I've always wondered."
Crystal was living in California when her brother died. It was where she decided to make a life for herself after the war.
"For one thing, there were more job opportunities," she said. "And it just seemed more exciting."
She studied for and passed the California State Board exam to become a licensed hospital laboratory technician. She then began a career working in hospitals and doctor's offices throughout Long Beach and the San Fernando Valley.
But there was more Crystal wanted to do.
Eligible for the G.I. Bill, she signed up to take flying lessons at the now closed and nearly unknown Cranford Airport in Artesia. There, she met Sidney Crystal, who worked fueling and servicing planes. He, too, had served in the Army during World War II. He was a veteran of the Battle of Bulge. The couple married in June 1947. They had two sons, Mike and John.
Prior to the birth of her children, Crystal worked at the Birmingham Veterans Hospital in Van Nuys. The hospital was later transformed into Birmingham High School, where both Mike and John eventually became students. At the time, it seemed her life had gone full circle.
"I feel like my decision to join the Army really made a career for me," Crystal said. "It's what led me to become a lab tech. I got so much out of that experience that I probably wouldn't have otherwise."
"Of War and Life" tells the stories of area veterans. Write to Jannette Jauregui at email@example.com or c/o Ventura County Star, P.O. Box 6006, Camarillo, CA 93011. | <urn:uuid:31152b97-c395-4ce1-ba70-8e3a4ea36ae5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/jun/15/of-war-and-life-military-helped-launch-ventura/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990792 | 1,073 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Ground Zero: The Design Competition
Rafael Vi_oly, Architects PC, New York
Description: Rafael Vi_oly and Frederic Schwartz led the THINK team, whose design was one of two finalists for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's World Trade Center design competition. In this talk at MIT, Vi_oly gives a candid and personal account of one of the most emotionally charged competitions in US history. He talks about winning and losing, down to the final moments of the competition.
About the Speaker(s): Rafael Vi_oly is the principal of the internationally recognized firm of Rafael Vi_oly Architects, which he established in 1983, with practices in New York, Tokyo and Buenos Aires. Mr. Vi_oly was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. The son of the artistic director of the Sodre Opera Theatre and a noted film maker, Vi_oly spent his early years in Uruguay and Argentina, where he moved with his family at the age of five. Surrounded by music as a child and a serious student of the piano, Vi_oly developed a professional career as a concert artist before turning his attention to architecture. After completing his studies in architecture at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Vi_oly, with six associates, formed the Estudio de Arquitectura. This firm ultimately became one of the largest architectural practices in South America. He earned a Masters Degree at the University of Buenos Aires and then joined its faculty, teaching architectural theory in the graduate architecture program. In 1974, a military coup resulted in a major reorganization of the University and Vi_oly left to help found the alternative architecture school, which operated independently during the occupation. Vi_oly came to the United States in 1978, first as a guest lecturer at Washington University and then at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He settled permanently in New York in 1979, setting up an independent practice, providing a wide array of architectural, interior design and urban planning services. Recent awards include an Excellence in Design Award 1994 by the New York State Association of Architects for the Lehman College Physical Education Facility; a Bard Award from the City Club of New York and the first prize in the national design competition for the Snug Harbor Music Hall, Staten Island.
Host(s): School of Architecture and Planning, Department of Architecture
Tape #: T16102
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More from MIT World — special events and lectures
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I had the privilege of being a recent graduate of the International Masters in Instructional Technology Program: Distance Learning Strand that partnered Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA with the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. To find out more about this innovative Masters and the work of the participants visit http://www.imscet.org/
BlackCat Slideshow, a simple and easy to use tool for creating multimedia
presentations, is one of thirty Granada Learning titles which have been
supplied to all primary schools in Northern Ireland as part of Classroom
2000 (C2k) http://c2kschoolbox.granada-learning.com
Since it is a new piece of software the pilot had the potential to provide feedback on the use of Slideshow in primary schools whilst at the same time offering me an opportunity to draw together all that I had learned over the course of the Masters program in an online teaching practice, where I would design, build and teach an online course. My objectives were:
Proactive evaluation (Sims, 2001) at each stage of the journey from design, through development to implementation and evaluation helped me to clarify my thinking and also highlight any potential flaws. It involved experimentation, discovery and growth, as I created the course materials (Wood, 1988), and involved identifying an area where there was a need for change and then, subsequently, trying to provide a remedy through an evaluative process (McNiff et al., 1996).
This approach allowed me to identify the fact that the teachers would not be able to meet each other face-to-face as a weakness in this pilot, and I therefore set about ensuring that they all met me individually; a strategy that had modelled by Linda Wojnar in her early contact with us at the beginning of the Masters. It proved very useful in breaking down barriers and creating an atmosphere of trust (Hill, 2000) where people are more willing to take risks and share the lows as well as the highs, an important factor if the pilot was going to be used to inform future planning of support.
I felt it vital that I create and provide the participants with a guide to assist them logging on, in their navigation of, and the process involved in posting messages and uploading files to the online environment. I was also careful in providing them with a clear outline of what was involved in the pilot so that they would have the big picture up front and be aware of the commitment they were making to engage in three types of interaction: learner - content, learner - instructor and learner - learner (Schoenfield-Tacher et al., 2001).
The transcripts illustrate the supportive climate created by the participants in the pilot. They encouraged and supported each other in the non-threatening virtual learning environment. The participants were willing to take risks and experience success. They asked questions to clarify their understanding of how individual slideshows were created, seeking assistance in the 'Questions and Answers' section and offering solutions to each others problems. Such an environment builds confidence and motivates teachers to learn more. In this pilot the teachers were exploring the software without fear of failure and many experienced success by trial and error. As a result, they were more willing to take risks, try different media, and hence become more confident and effective in their use of the software, for as Hopkins (1997) reports,
Learning is enhanced by risk taking, and ICT provides a medium where many more pupils are prepared to take risks.' p.164
By sharing their slideshows in this safe environment the participants had the opportunity to try out things they had not considered themselves, so sharing and celebrating good practice as well as providing them with a bank of 30 slideshows in return for sharing three of their own.
I loved your slideshow on the Vikings! I will use it next year (if you don't mind!) Can't wait to download the second part! Keep up the great work… Derek 19 April
Derek - We used your quiz today - very enjoyable! Class worked around laptop (with a ref!) in groups and answered the questions. We had prizes and the works… Never thought of using SS in this way… Adrian 24 April
Your fairy tale is super. These are giving me ideas for creative writing with my lot…Pauline 18 April
Thanks, you've given me a starter for my history in the last six weeks of term. Keep them coming. Well done. If we make any I'll send them to you… Pauline 22 April
I really have discovered a wonderful range of ideas/approaches to
using slideshow - well done to everyone who has participated. Now I'll
have to get recording and photographing from real life...Derek 27 April
These next two excerpts from the discussion forum illustrate the way in which participants were reflecting on each others work, striving to ensure they fully understood the process by which the slideshow was created.
I used Derek the Troll in my class today and my lot loved it - they are jealous that our sound recorder isn't working properly. But will force me to do something about it now. Congratulate your class - the story was superb, as were their voices and the vocabulary they were using. Did you spend long discussing/writing away from the computer? Did the clip art provide the stimulus for the story or did they choose the clip art to suit the story already written?...Adrian 24 April
I put the clipart pics onto acetate and let the kids view them. We
discussed the "bones" of fairy tales -characters/setting/problem/solution
etc and then they drew and wrote story boards in groups. From that, we
built up one of the stories, using ideas from everyone (data projector
was very handy), put the pics in order and then the kids (a lot of it in
their own time as I am not a KS2 teacher and so see the kids for short
spells only) drafted and redrafted the story itself. If I had more time,
I would have recorded the sound individually, one child at a time. This
was quite rushed and the other 26 were sitting listening as it was being
recorded each time! Scrape that chair or cough AND DIE!!!
Janine Thur 25 April
In addition, there is evidence of the good practice being shared within their schools where teachers have used SS created by others during the three week period to encourage others within their staff to investigate the potential of Slideshow, so acting as a catalyst for self-supporting staff development.
…Well done. I look forward to showing it on Monday to my key stage one staff. Hope it inspires them… Pauline 13 April
I really enjoyed your SlideShow! I told our P5 teacher about it and she is very interested… Janine 9 April
Just thought I'd tell you that when our principal saw what we were doing on Slideshow, he asked for it to be loaded onto his computer as he felt he could cope with this programme as he couldn't master PowerPoint… Alice 25 Mar
Throughout the pilot the online communication has served to record and paint the special stories behind the creation of the Slideshows. The stories which have allowed all the participants in the pilot to peer through virtual windows into each others classrooms and bring the learning situations to life, as illustrated below.
This slideshow was created by a group of less able pupils. One of
the children has a serious speech problem and I was a bit nervous about
letting her speak but she did extremely well. This same child took over
management of the last slide, explaining to another exactly what to do,
she even recorded the speech herself as I had to leave the classroom. She
made the other girl record it twice because she wasn't happy with the first
recording. I can now go to Italy happy as I'm obsolete in my classroom…
Alice 28 April
I ensured that as well as posting announcements to the Virtual Learning Environment, I sent a copy of all announcements to the participants email accounts, a very effective strategy which I first saw modelled by Nagy of Duquesne. In this way I tried to encourage those who had been participating whilst at the same time gently nudge those who needed it. They served to summarise happenings to date and alert participants to the changes made in light of experiences in the pilot.
I also used the strategy of adding forums as the time progressed and confidence grew rather than overwhelming the participants with too many places to navigate through and potential places to get lost in as they took their first steps in to VLE (Hill, 2000). I used this same strategy in the introduction of the Virtual Classroom to offer differentiated learning experiences for those who needed stretched. I was therefore delighted to find several messages in the same vein as this one:
Pauline > Hi, I was checking the mail and found this. Looks very
exciting. How does it work?
Whilst I see synchronous chat as vital element in online learning I am a firm believer that one of the biggest flaws is that of the chat not being focused. Therefore in an attempt to ensure that the participants had prior knowledge of what I hoped we would achieve as a group from the chat I posted three questions several days before the scheduled chat. The 8 page transcript is summarised in Appendix 1.
Assessment and Evaluation
I felt it would be valuable to have all the participants complete a questionnaire at the conclusion of the pilot. Much of the information in the questionnaire served to triangulate the data from the online transcripts and my own observations, as well as provide useful background information on the participants. Appendix 2, the collated questionnaires, provides a rich source of information which highlights the participants views on their learning, the positive aspects to sharing their work, as well as, mirroring the literature (Ko and Rossen, 2001;McConnell 2000; Palloff and Pratt, 2001; and White and Weight, 2000) in their identification of the benefits and drawbacks of working in a VLE.
As stated earlier Slideshow had only recently been introduced to all primary schools in Northern Ireland and the pilot had the potential to provide feedback on the use of Slideshow in primary schools I would suggest that the comments from the discussion forums and questionnaires (Appendix 2) validate the use of Slideshow as tool for multimedia presentation in the primary school. In some cases it might be used as a precursor to PowerPoint for older pupils.
They all loved doing it! The rest want their turn on the next slideshow! Ursula 17 April
Almost all of my class (also P7) have found it quite straight forward to use. I showed a small group how to use it and got them to show the others. Adrian 23 April
The pilot with Slideshow was filled with more highs than lows. Undoubtedly we had technical difficulties; mainly with the time it took to upload and download the Slideshows and I can only applaud the teachers for the tenacity and powers of endurance as they worked through technical problems to share their work. In light of this they will be burned onto CD-Rom for distribution!
I have considered the issue of sustainability at two levels. Firstly within the life of the project did I as course designer and tutor facilitate and encourage the participants to ensure the collaboration online was sustained and did not wane? Secondly, has this pilot provided evidence to suggest this type of approach has potential for the future?
In terms of the life of the project, it was scheduled to run for three weeks and generated a total of 337 postings, 82 emails and an 8 page synchronous chat transcript.
In the forums specifically for each week the postings were as follows:
The second issue of evidence to support the potential of this type of approach for the future is best supported by qualitative data generated through this pilot, in the chat transcript and in the returned questionnaires. All the participants said they would consider being involved in future projects and, whilst their recommendations are all documented, a resounding endorsement came from one participant:
'If this approach was adopted when introducing any new software,
teachers would not experience many of the difficulties they currently do!
Being introduced to the resources with time in a relaxed setting allows
teachers to experiment and enjoy the software. They are more likely to
then use the software positively with children. Also knowing that immediate
help is at hand (by telephone/email/conferencing) re-assures staff. I thoroughly
enjoyed my involvement in this pilot scheme and would recommend a similar
approach to any future initiatives.'…
This pilot provided a 'powerful method of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of education' (McNiff, 1988, p. 1) where the focus was on the effective use of Slideshow by teachers and pupils and support was channelled through a VLE.
Post Script: I just wish you could all see the wonderful work that the
children and the teachers in the project have produced
Batovsky, J. (2002) Facilitation Considerations and Tips for Online Educators and Trainers http://itforum.coe.uga.edu/paper61/paper61.htm
Hill, J. R. (2002). Strategies and techniques for community building in Web-based learning environments. Journal of Computing in Higher Education,14(1), 67-86.
Hill, J. R. and Raven, A. (2000) Online Learning Communities: If You Build Them, Will They Stay? http://itforum.coe.uga.edu/paper46/paper46.htm
Hopkins, C. (1998) 'The role of information and communication technology in providing access for all'. Support for Learning, 13(4), 163-166.
Klemm, W. R. Eight Ways to Get Students More Engaged in On-line Conferences. The Higher Education Journal. 26 (1): pp. 62-64 Retrieved June 29, 2001 from http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/wklemm/Eight%20Ways/8waystoengage.htm
Ko, S. and Rosen, S. (2001) Teaching Online: A Practical Guide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
McConnell, D. (2000) Implementing Computer Supported Cooperative Learning (2nd Edition). London: Kogan Page.
McNiff, J., Lomax, P. and Whitehead, J. (1996) You and Your Action Research Project. London: Routledge.
McNiff, J., (1988) Action Research: Principles and Practice. London:
Palloff, R. M. and Pratt, K. (2001) Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Schoenfeld- Tacher, R., McConnell, S. and Graham, M. (2001) Do No Harm - A Comparison of the Effects of On-Line Vs. Traditional Delivery Media on a Science Course. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 10(3), 257 - 265
Sims, R. C. (2001) From Art to Alchemy: Achieving Success with Online Learning http://itforum.coe.uga.edu/paper55/paper55.doc
White, K. W., and Weight, B.H. (2000) The Online teaching Guide. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Wood, P. (1988) Action Research: A Field Prospective. Journal of Education for Teaching. 14(2), 135-156. | <urn:uuid:826b31b6-ccc5-4236-963c-3b6c1ea286e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://itforum.coe.uga.edu/paper64/paper64.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96027 | 3,199 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Anonymous Surfing provides a means for you to surf the web without revealing personally identifiable information about yourself.
Normally, when you surf the web you can be tracked by websites you visit, using your unique "IP address". Your IP address provides a lot of information about you, including your ISP, country and city. When co-related with ISP records, your IP address can pinpoint your precise identity.
Your IP address also provides a target for spammers, malware and identity thieves, who can use it to attack and break in to your computer.
With our Anonymous Surfing services, you can surf the web without revealing your IP address to sites you visit. They will see the IP address of our servers, not of your computer. This provides a high level of security against tracking, profiling and break-in attempts against your computer.
Additionally, our Anonymous Surfing service also secures your web surfing with 256-bit SSL encryption, which secures your surfing traffic against eavesdropping by your employer, neighbors, ISPs, and local authorities.
Another benefit of our Anonymous Surfing service is that it can help circumvent locally imposed censorship. Surfing using our service you will be able to access any sites that may be blocked or censored at your location. | <urn:uuid:3b9f4fec-2a43-46ee-aab6-27fa0e6b0502> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://neomailbox.com/support/faq/anonymous-surfing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941306 | 252 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Bit rateIn telecommunications and computing, bit rate (sometimes written bitrate) is the speed at which bits are transmitted via radio or wire. It is also sometimes used interchangeably with baud rate, which is not in general the same.
It is usually expressed as bits per second, abbreviated bit/s, b/s, or informally bps. The b should always be lowercase, to avoid confusion with bytes per second (B/s), although this convention is often ignored.
Other SI prefixes are often used:
- 1000 b/s = 1 kb/s (one kilobit or one thousand bits per second)
- 1000 kb/s = 1 Mb/s (one megabit or one million bits per second)
- 1000 Mb/s = 1 Gb/s (one gigabit or one billion bits per second) ...
There are typically eight bits in a byte, but communications data rates are almost never expressed in bytes per second, with the notable exceptions of disk and memory I/O transfer rates. To convert from byte/s to bit/s, simply multiply by 8. | <urn:uuid:f44c12d2-fc06-4aaa-af98-a4a66d5edf7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/b/bit-rate.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935098 | 232 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Justin Randall Timberlake was born in Shelby Forest, Tennessee, a small town just outside of Memphis on January 31, 1981. Despite his humble beginnings, this person has become one of America’s most widely recognized and celebrated pop icons in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century.
Justin Timberlake’s career began early in his life when he appeared on the extremely popular television show, Starsearch. Later, Timberlake would go on to star, with fellow Nsync member, JC Chasez, on Disney’s hit-series, The New Mickey Mouse Club. Despite his success on television, Justin Timberlake would make his explosive debut on the American pop-charts during the late 1990s as the lead singer of one of America’s most popular all-male musical ensembles, N’sync. This band was nothing special. No doubt, their music and their dance moves were some of the best in the United States. However, the “boy band” has been a sort of American institution since the late 1980s and early 90s, when bands such as the New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men also were influencing the development of pop music.
Many of these bands’ careers are relatively short-lived. One of the reasons for this is the fact that many of these bands find their audiences in female middle schoolers, whose taste in music is as predictable as the path of a tornado. Therefore, bands such as The New Kids on the Block usually collapse under the weight of their own popularity, and devastating public scandals, which is detrimental to their profits and marketability. Justin Timberlake is a different sort of man. Despite the many scandals that have surrounded him and his married to fellow pop sensation Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake has continued to develop as an artist, and enjoy a great deal of financial success both at home and abroad.
Mr. Justin Timberlake has recorded two best-selling solo-albums to date. These albums are “Justified” and “Future Sex/Love Sounds”, which have both sold over seven million copies worldwide. Furthermore, songs such as “Cry me a River”, Sexy Back”, and “What goes around, comes around” are among the songs, which are downloaded from computers and servers most often. Justin Timberlake has won six Grammy awards for his contributions to the industries of pop, television, and cinema. His roles in film include large parts in films such as; “The Social Network”, “The Bad Teacher”, and “Friends with Benefits”.
JustinTimberlake has also begun to venture off into other businesses such as fashion design, the restaurateur-business, and musical production. From the information presented here, it is easy to see that Justin Timberlake has succeeded where similar people have failed miserably. Justin Timberlake will certainly be creating art, and entertaining millions for many years to come. Furthermore, his story will hopefully lend the much-needed support and drive to those young people, who aspire to follow in his footsteps. | <urn:uuid:09f5b9e6-c3cc-46fb-95de-9ce8fd562b96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.timberlakefan.com/justin-timberlake-the-life-and-times-of-a-pop-icon/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981103 | 639 | 1.71875 | 2 |
If the gaggle of lobbyists representing various gaming interests at City Hall really want to sell Toronto on the idea of a downtown casino, they should start by telling us the odds.
What are the odds that a casino complex actually improves the economic climate in a city over the long term? What are the odds that a casino produces a net increase in the number of jobs? What are the odds that a casino will cause an increase in social problems that will impact our social services budget?
And can a municipality like Toronto really strike it rich after building a casino? What do the odds say about that?
Despite this casino argument dragging on for months, I haven’t seen these questions answered. Instead, the gaming industry, echoed by Mayor Rob Ford and assorted hangers-on, likes to throw around vague numbers. A casino resort would create thousands of jobs, they say, and inject billions into the local economy.
But there have got to be enough case studies out there now to make for a more detailed business case. If casino resorts have such profound impacts on local economies, the industry should be able to point to hard data and success stories. Show us the municipalities that are much better off since blackjack and craps came to town.
I’m not convinced they can. A look at the casino operations in Niagara Falls and Windsor shows that both facilities have had a negligible impact on the operating budgets of both municipalities, with gaming revenue contributing only tiny amounts to their coffers. The Ontario government has benefited, sure, but municipalities seem to get the raw end of the deal.
Maybe the vision for Toronto is different. Maybe there are ways Toronto can use a casino to drive more direct municipal revenue and put the money toward infrastructure and services. But if that’s the idea, then someone needs to explicitly make that strategy clear. We need some real numbers.
That said, I don’t really buy a lot of the arguments made against a casino at last night’s meeting of the Toronto & East York Community Council, either. I agree that gambling addiction is a serious problem that constantly needs to be addressed, but governments at all levels have been in the gambling business for years. They make money off lottery tickets, off-track betting facilities, slot machines and whatever else. A Toronto casino isn’t going to push our society past a point of no return.
But even if you set aside all the social and emotional arguments on the con side, it’s still not clear that there’s a good long-term financial argument to be made in favour of Casino Toronto. And that’s where the onus lies. The gaming industry and their phalanx of lobbyists isn’t going to lure this city with vague numbers and promises of glitz and glamour. They need to convince Toronto that this is a game worth playing.
So, again: Tell us the odds. | <urn:uuid:19fefbb4-e878-4162-b4e2-f65c02b0d9a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://metronews.ca/voices/ford-for-toronto/400129/toronto-casino-arguments-go-bust/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942311 | 596 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The document I discussed in my previous post also provides concrete examples of a point I’ve made before: DRM is the technological equivalent of central planning. In their efforts to prevent piracy, the Windows A/V system is becoming more and more monolithic, with the operating system performing more and more functions that would traditionally be performed by third party software, and prohibiting third party software from overriding those functions. Monolithic software has many of the same flaws that centrally planned economies do: the thousands of third-party software developers out there have local knowledge about what their customers want that Microsoft does not possess. Hence, the more Microsoft centralizes decisions about what A/V features the OS will have, the more likely they’ll screw up and fail to provide needed functionality. That gives you lovely outcomes like this:
As well as overt disabling of functionality, there’s also covert disabling of functionality. For example PC voice communications rely on automatic echo cancellation (AEC) in order to work. AEC requires feeding back a sample of the audio mix into the echo cancellation subsystem, but with Vista’s content protection this isn’t permitted any more because this might allow access to premium content. What is permitted is a highly-degraded form of feedback that might possibly still sort-of be enough for some sort of minimal echo cancellation purposes. The requirement to disable audio and video output plays havoc with standard system operations, because the security policy used is a so-called “system high” policy: The overall sensitivity level is that of the most sensitive data present in the system. So the instant any audio derived from premium content appears on your system, signal degradation and disabling of outputs will occur.
And, even more frightening, this:
Beyond the obvious playback-quality implications of deliberately degraded output, this measure can have serious repercussions in applications where high-quality reproduction of content is vital. For example the field of medical imaging either bans outright or strongly frowns on any form of lossy compression because artifacts introduced by the compression process can cause mis-diagnoses and in extreme cases even become life-threatening. Consider a medical IT worker who’s using a medical imaging PC while listening to audio/video played back by the computer (the CDROM drives installed in workplace PCs inevitably spend most of their working lives playing music or MP3 CDs to drown out workplace noise). If there’s any premium content present in there, the image will be subtly altered by Vista’s content protection, potentially creating exactly the life-threatening situation that the medical industry has worked so hard to avoid. The scary thing is that there’s no easy way around this – Vista will silently modify displayed content under certain (almost impossible-to-predict in advance) situations discernable only to Vista’s built-in content-protection subsystem.
In previous versions of Windows (and every other sane OS on the planet) if an operating system’s built-in libraries didn’t provided needed functionality (or had “features” that degraded the OS’s functionality), a third-party developer had methods of patching the OS to make it behave in the way required by the developer’s customers. In the brave new world created by the DMCA, such modifications are federal crimes if they in any way modify “technological protection measures,” which in this case is Vista’s entire A/V subsystem. The only way a third-party developer can get a needed “protection” feature in Vista turned off is for them to petition Microsoft to provide the functionality they need. And if Microsoft is too busy or incompetent to add the feature, or they decide that allowing the functionality would conflict with one of its other goals, that developer–and his customers–are out of luck.
This is particularly problematic because often the best ideas come from unexpected sources. Technological platforms are often designed for one use and then find a “killer app” that’s totally different. This kind of open-ended experimentation is hampered when the needs of copy protection require that all possible uses of the system be spelled out in advance by Microsoft’s engineers. | <urn:uuid:3af82e10-92ee-4155-8942-4a0c1ac761f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techliberation.com/2007/01/04/drm-as-central-planning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934498 | 855 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Everyone wants to see Mount Fuji, but not everyone is brave enough to climb it. The view from the top is best at dawn, when the mountain is not covered with clouds.
Mount Fuji is a popular subject for Japanese art. Has it ever been used in coin art?
In 1999, Mount Fuji (also known as "Fuji-san") appeared on this coin
with chrysanthemum flowers. The coin commemorates the 10th year of the
Emperor's reign. Mt. Fuji is one of Japan's national treasures and landmarks.
Can you think of an American mountain that is
also a landmark and has appeared on a coin?
South Dakota's Mount Rushmore was shown on commemorative coins in 1991.
The coins were struck 50 years after the mountain was carved into
an American national treasure.
Teddy Roosevelt, one of the presidents carved on the mountain,
was given the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to keep Japan and Russia from
going to war through peaceful talks.
Uh-oh! Better watch where you're going, Plinky!
Is Bill big on wrestling?
Just ask him! | <urn:uuid:e575c951-0600-4094-818d-0af7a80d9d7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usmint.gov/kids/cartoons/coinsOfTheWorld/html/japan/index.cfm?s=10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968107 | 234 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Literary fiction, like poetry, is a quixotic and lovely thing. It’s never been an easy sell because the genre is an anti-genre. It’s “This doesn’t fit into another category, so we’ll call it literary.” In some cases, perhaps many, it means it’s a tough read. In other cases, it just means it doesn’t have a typical dramatic story structure, but there’s structure and much to love.
Only the Impassioned by H.C. Turk is all these things. It’s often beautiful, it’s impassioned, and it’s tough to follow. The story revolves around twenty-two-year-old Andrew Bower, a draftee in Germany at the end of the war. The first four chapters detail Germany at the end of the war, rendered brilliantly but also at times surrealistically as if Francis Ford Coppola had outtakes of Apocalypse Now from 1945. Our hero is merely trying to survive while everything falls apart. He’s “Bower” the first four chapters and mostly “Andrew” for the rest of the novel after he’s shot in the chest and tries to recover.
The book starts out on a train: “In a stolen train, eleven men rode to the end of the war. Confiscated by Allied forces, which had penetrated deeply into Germany by April of 1945, the Brechtesmeister passenger train was a string of six cars pulled by a quiet diesel, the sparkless engine an invention of a German mind, the same as the classical symphony and the Third Reich.” The polar opposites of the last sentence, German philosopher Georg Hegel might appreciate. The novel is built in such dualities: life and death, feeling and not feeling, war horrors and natural beauty, and more.
There’s also a back and forth between long scenes heavy with dialogue as the soldiers try to make sense of it all, contrasted with intense action. Andrew enters a liberated death camp where he puts out of his misery a Jew who had been encased in concrete up to his neck, with the man’s wife, Annelisa, at his side. This is contrasted, in flashback, of Andrew’s horrible father who seemed to try to kill him when Andrew was younger.
Once Andrew is shot and realizes he can die, he’s just trying to figure out if he’s alive or dead. So is the reader. Lyrical sections abound, such as the first long italicized one where, “Bower felt that he could see forever, for he viewed sky and foliage and buildings, but no strafing planes, no thudding mortars, no blasting artillery, no soldiers and the raucous, recoiling firearms.” The reader, in essence, just has to go with the flow. Otherwise it’ll become frustrating.
Andrew is nursed by Annelisa, and she takes him to her country of Ilysia, where her father is a Duke. Andrew must get to a hospital if he’s to survive. His time in Ilysia takes up much of the rest of the novel. To tell you more might diminish it, though you can read into Ilysia, “Elysian Fields.” The novel is unusual—a high quotient of symbolism and surrealism. Think of a tone poem with exposition and some action. If you give it patience, you will leave with the sense that life is a dialectic.
About the Author: Christopher Meeks
Christopher Meeks began as a playwright and has had three plays produced. His short stories have been published in a number of journals and are available in two collections, The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea and Months and Seasons. During the last five years, he's focused on novels. The Brightest Moon of the Century is a story that Marc Schuster of Small Press Reviews describes as “a great and truly humane novel in the tradition of Charles Dickens and John Irving.” His new comic novel, Love At Absolute Zero, is about a physicist who uses the tools of science to find his soul mate--and he has just three days. Critic Grady Harp calls the book “a gift." | <urn:uuid:55485b3b-56f7-40a3-828d-47e88b0d56ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/blog/2012/07/review-only-the-impassioned-by-h-c-turk/?afilter=groups | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967842 | 911 | 2.078125 | 2 |
(1) A graphical user interface developed by Digital Research that is built into personal computers made by Atari, and is also used as an interface for some DOS programs. Like the Macintosh interface and Microsoft Windows, GEM provides a windowed environment for running programs.
(2) Short for Globally Executable Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) it defines specifications based on MHP together with DVB. GEM is a framework not a standalone specification, used by those wanting to define specifications based on MHP. The GEM specification lists those parts of the MHP specification that have been found to be DVB technology or market specific. The OpenCable Project is based on the GEM standard. | <urn:uuid:154548cf-d51e-4549-a915-63f75ec3b8ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/G/GEM.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933967 | 142 | 2.96875 | 3 |
After Singapore and Malaysia, India is set to formalise a free trade agreement (FTA) in goods, services and investments with Thailand. Thailand's foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, who was in New Delhi recently to prepare grounds for his prime minister's visit in February, talks to Shruti Choudhury & Amiti Sen about the trade ties between the countries. Excerpts:
Thailand is already a part of the India-Asean FTA. Why did your country feel the need for a separate bilateral FTA with India?
A bilateral FTA will complement the regional Asean-India FTA and the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) FTA, which will be concluded soon. We believe that some issues, such as market access, can be more openly discussed through bilateral negotiations. Also we hope that our bilateral agreements on goods will be more liberal than the Asean-India FTA.
India and Thailand entered into an early harvest programme, including about 82 items, several years back. Why has it taken so long to start work on a full fledged FTA?
We had launched our bilateral and regional FTA talks in 2003. At that time we had very little experience in negotiations of FTAs. Over the years, our expertise has grown and so it is appropriate for us to start the agreements now.
How soon do you think the FTA can be concluded? What are your expectations?
The negotiating teams had met last week in Bangkok. We are expecting the talks to be concluded by March 2012. The FTA is expected to provide great benefits in areas of trade, services and investments. The early harvest scheme has already led to an upsurge in bilateral trade by more than 200% .
India is aggressive in the services sector. Is Thailand comfortable with giving more access to Indian professionals?
In the overall picture, more market access will lead to liberalisation of sectors that would provide mutual benefits to both our countries.
What are the issues that you have taken up with the Indian government?
We plan to discuss a wide range of topics with the Indian government like mutual cooperation in trade, defence, security, education, culture and other regional cooperation frameworks. Thailand views India as an important strategic partner and we are committed to enhance bilateral cooperation in all sectors that are consistent with our policy.
Since 2006, there has been a vast expansion in trade between the countries and it has doubled to about $6.6 billion today. The Thai government is also encouraging business communities in both the countries to increase their interactions so that we could explore further business opportunities. We believe there is huge potential in areas of science and technology as India has remarkable research and development capabilities.
Based on Thailand's' own experience in allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, please share your thoughts on the ongoing debate in India on opening up the retail sector?
We believe in free trade and we believe that it is beneficial for consumers. If the retail market is open then a whole lot of benefits will fall on the Indian consumers. | <urn:uuid:ddd2e73d-0ec4-4a80-b58f-85acf5e6f2fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-12-29/news/30568876_1_asean-india-fta-india-asean-fta-services-and-investments | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967162 | 628 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Development of “idling stop system” for small-size motorcycles
advanced system aimed to reduce fuel consumption and exhaust
emissions by means of an automatic engine stop, while the vehicle
is stopped due to a traffic signal, traffic jam, etc.
||Ever since its inception, Honda
has been conscious of environmental protection, as evidenced
by the challenges for application of 4-stroke engines
in Honda products. Shifting to 4-stroke engines for all
Honda motorcycles, including scooters, to reduce fuel
consumption while assuring clean exhaust gases, Honda
introduced the new-generation 4-stroke scooter in 1999.
While maintaining fundamental performance, this scooter
became the benchmark in terms of environmental protection
by reducing CO and HC emissions approximately 50% below
the 1998 Domestic Exhaust Emission Regulations. Also fuel
consumption was decreased by approximately 30% from the
previous models. All this was achieved by applying the
latest 4-stroke engine technologies. Additionally, the
newly developed “idling stop system” was employed to minimize
idling, further decreasing fuel consumption, exhaust emissions,
vibration, and noise. When compared to models without
the “idling stop system”, fuel economy improved by 5.1%.
In 2001, the “Crea Scoopy-i” was introduced as the first
50cc scooter equipped with a water-cooled 4-stroke engine,
which is lightweight and has an outer-rotor-type ACG starter.
Coupled with the use of the “idling stop system”, the
fuel economy improved by 5.5%* while reducing CO2 emissions
by 5.2%, CO by 8%, and HC by 2% without an additional
emission control system.
*Tested using domestic exhaust emission measurement mode
(city-driving) designated by Ministry of Transport
Scoopy-i” equipped with “idling stop system”
Dio Deluxe” equipped with “idling stop system” | <urn:uuid:798c50f7-7423-49ab-ac07-c5aa177879e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://world.honda.com/motorcycle-technology/Engineidlingstop/p1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938035 | 438 | 2.046875 | 2 |
ROME.- The exhibition, organized in conjunction with the Lazio Regional Authority's Culture, Performance Arts and Sport Department, with the significant contribution of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage Superintendence for Etruria Meridionale Archeological Heritage, tells the story of the Etruscan civilization in Lazio and describes its extraordinary level of achievement through the development of its main urban centers. Veii, Cerveteri, Vulci and Tarquinia were four cities that began life with many of their more ancient features stemming from common roots, only later going on gradually to differentiate from one another both in terms of their artistic output and in more general terms of culture and worship, of life style and of trading practices.
The second part of the exhibition is devoted to the ties between these ancient cities and Rome itself, highlighting the huge influence that the Etruscan civilization had on the Roman world, on its religious practices and on its symbols of power, pointing to continuity but also to the differences between the two cultures.
The individual character of these four cities in southern Etruria is illustrated by a selection of some of the most important works of art from each locality, many of which will be on public display for the very first time.
Veii is the capital of choroplastic art, in other words the manufacture of terracotta for decorating roofs and for ex-voto statuettes. Alongside the objects on display that were dedicated to the sanctuary, the reconstruction of a part of the temple of Apollo in the Palazzo delle Esposizioni's central octagonal hall recreates for visitors the spectacular scenographic impact of this skilled interweave of architecture and sculpture, with the statues of Apollo, Latona and Hercules in their original positions on the apex of the roof.
Cerveteri is celebrated for its particularly splendid tomb architecture, as evinced in its famous necropolis. A life-size tomb is rebuilt in the exhibition hall to illustrate the pomp and ceremony of the Archaic era, in which the cult of one's ancestors played a hugely important role.
Vulci is represented by monumental sculpture in local stone, and by works from the neighboring sites of Ischia di Castro and Tuscania which were placed at tomb entrances and which often depicted mythological beasts. From the closing years of the VIIIth century B.C. on, Caere (Cerveteri) and Vulci were the focal points of the flourishing trade routes from the Greek world, and it was through these markets that precious decorated ceramic vases from the Greek Orient, from Corinth and later from Attica reached the various locations in Etruria. Several large vases are on display, all of them veritable masterpieces of the Greek painting that had such a profound influence on Etruscan figurative art.
Tarquinia, with over 100 frescoed tombs ranging in date from the Archaic period to the Hellenistic era, was the single most important "art gallery" in the ancient world before Pompeii. A number of the most significant finds from this extraordinary treasure trove of painting, much of which is little known to the general public, is on show at the exhibition. The discovery of the sacred area of Gravisca, the port of Tarquinia, in the early seventies proved crucial in affording us a better understanding of the economic dynamics that molded trade relations in the Tyrrhenian area. In fact, the very first emporium on Etruscan soil frequented in particular by Greek merchants was excavated at the site. The exhibition tells the story of the sanctuary in Gravisca not only through the display of many of the ex-voto offerings left by worshippers at the site, but also through a virtual reconstruction of the temple of Adonis, where the celebrations marking the annual cycle of the young hero's death and rebirth were held. | <urn:uuid:7118ecbd-d75d-4799-b96f-55f9d67b64d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=26518&int_modo=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965562 | 801 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Jutta Treviranus, Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre, been named by Zoomer Magazine as one of Canada's Top 45 Over 45, people who "have made a difference in their chose fields and passions while improving our lives and that of our country."IDI Hosted Public Debate on AODA Changes
The first DEEP conference was a great success. Watch the video from AMI-tv
Find out more about the DEEP conference on the G3ict Web Site
A talk by Jutta Treviranus about current disruptions brought about by global networks, pull markets, mass customization systems, cloud services and pervasive technologies that provide opportunities to support greater diversity and inclusion at Digital Odyssey 2012, June 8 2012, Toronto.
Supports for complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
How do I make my web site accessible? How do I make my office documents accessible? How do I make information available in alternative formats? Businesses and organizations read our AODA Help.
Master of Design in Inclusive Design
Welcome to the IDRC
The IDRC is a research and development centre at OCAD University where an international community of open source developers, designers, researchers, advocates, and volunteers work together to ensure that emerging information technology and practices are designed inclusively. Learn more about the IDRC. | <urn:uuid:fd91d7db-3b7b-4b77-a5a4-57a8255ef9aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://idrc.ocad.ca/index.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925106 | 280 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Imagine being able to provide your heirs, possibly for generations to come, with a really special gift – a tax break. Recent changes to the Individual Retirement Account distribution guidelines make such a benefit possible.
For years, the IRA has been a tool to save for retirement and defer tax payments until distribution. Once used solely as retirement vehicle, the IRA is increasingly being used in planning strategies for passing wealth to your heirs. In this use, an IRA is known as a “stretch” IRA. Establishing a “stretch” IRA allows the period of tax-deferred earnings to extend – “stretch” – beyond the life of the original owner.
“Stretch” IRAs are gaining in popularity for two reasons: First, it’s a relatively simple technique that can potentially save your heirs a great deal of money in taxes. Second, there are a growing number of affluent retirees who have enough income without completely depleting their IRA funds, thus leaving these funds available for inheritance.
Generally, here’s how a “stretch” IRA works:
In most cases, the money is left to a spouse. The spouse will roll the money into an IRA in his or her name and select a younger beneficiary (“X”), often a child. The spouse must take at least required minimum distributions (RMDs) beginning at age 70 ½. Once the spouse reached age 70 ½, ongoing RMDs must be taken annually based in part upon his/her life expectancy.
When the spouse dies, distributions go to X, who now “owns” the inherited IRA. The schedule of RMDs for X will be based on X’s life expectancy reduced by one for each year. X then names a new beneficiary of the IRA. When X dies, payments continue to the new beneficiary on the same schedule established by X.
Although each new inherited IRA owner can designate their own inherited IRA’s beneficiaries, the RMD payment schedule remains locked in. Assets in the “stretch” IRA continue to grow tax deferred and, if managed wisely, can increase well beyond their original value. Taxes only are paid on distributions, so additional savings are realized when the funds are paid out over time instead of in a lump sum which would be fully taxable.
“Stretch” IRAs aren’t right for everyone and you should be careful of claims by salespeople about how much of a return you can anticipate. Such predictions are often based on a few general assumptions that may or may not apply to your particular situation.
Before you decide to establish a “stretch” IRA, you should understand and consider these basic assumptions on which many “stretch” IRA models are built:
n You don’t need your IRA money for your retirement. This means you have adequate funds elsewhere and will have IRA funds remaining at your death to pass to your heirs.
* You take only the minimum distribution out of your IRA that’s required and start taking it at the latest possible time allowed without penalty – age 70 ½.
* Your beneficiaries die before all the IRA funds are distributed and there are remaining funds to pass on.
* Tax laws stay the same for the life of the IRA. We already know that the current estate tax exemption will be changing over the next few years and will return to prior law in 2011, unless Congress extends the exemption.
* There is no or little inflation. A high rate of inflation will impact the purchasing power of your “stretch” IRA dollars. A realistic example of your potential investment value should include adjustments for a reasonable rate of inflation.
* The rate of return on your IRA investment stays constant. For estimating purposes, “stretch” IRA models often use a constant rate of return projected over the long term. In the real world, returns are rarely constant and projecting them with precision over many years can be difficult.
Even taking into account these assumptions, “stretch” IRAs can be a solid estate planning strategy. To see if a “stretch” IRA is right for you, talk to your financial services provider.
Susan Davis is senior trust administrator for Wells Fargo Private Client Services in Colorado Springs. | <urn:uuid:2bbca6d0-e624-4dcc-841a-22698bb21747> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://csbj.com/2004/06/04/stretch-your-ira-to-your-heirs-and-even-theirs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94287 | 882 | 1.875 | 2 |
Documents Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI, 7 July 2007
Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI
on the celebration of the Roman Rite according to the Missal of 1962
[Original : latin, unofficial Vatican Information Service translation]
Up to our own times, it has been the constant concern of supreme pontiffs to
ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty,
'to the praise and glory of His name,' and 'to the benefit of all His Holy
Since time immemorial it has been necessary - as it is also for the future -
to maintain the principle according to which 'each particular Church must concur
with the universal Church, not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the
sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by
uninterrupted apostolic tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid
errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law
of prayer corresponds to her law of faith.' (1)
Among the pontiffs who showed that requisite concern, particularly
outstanding is the name of St. Gregory the Great, who made every effort to
ensure that the new peoples of Europe received both the Catholic faith and the
treasures of worship and culture that had been accumulated by the Romans in
preceding centuries. He commanded that the form of the sacred liturgy as
celebrated in Rome (concerning both the Sacrifice of Mass and the Divine Office)
be conserved. He took great concern to ensure the dissemination of monks and
nuns who, following the Rule of St. Benedict, together with the announcement of
the Gospel illustrated with their lives the wise provision of their Rule that
'nothing should be placed before the work of God.' In this way the sacred
liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and
piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin
liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian
era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many
peoples in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety.
Many other Roman pontiffs, in the course of the centuries, showed particular
solicitude in ensuring that the sacred liturgy accomplished this task more
effectively. Outstanding among them is St. Pius V who, sustained by great
pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed
the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books
amended and 'renewed in accordance with the norms of the Fathers,' and provided
them for the use of the Latin Church.
One of the liturgical books of the Roman rite is the Roman Missal, which
developed in the city of Rome and, with the passing of the centuries, little by
little took forms very similar to that it has had in recent times.
"It was towards this same goal that succeeding Roman Pontiffs directed their
energies during the subsequent centuries in order to ensure that the rites and
liturgical books were brought up to date and when necessary clarified. From the
beginning of this century they undertook a more general reform.' (2) Thus our predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, St. Pius X (3), Benedict XV, Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII all
played a part.
In more recent times, Vatican Council II expressed a desire that the
respectful reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the
needs of our time. Moved by this desire our predecessor, the Supreme Pontiff
Paul VI, approved, in 1970, reformed and partly renewed liturgical books for the
Latin Church. These, translated into the various languages of the world, were
willingly accepted by bishops, priests and faithful. John Paul II amended the
third typical edition of the Roman Missal. Thus Roman pontiffs have operated to
ensure that 'this kind of liturgical edifice ... should again appear resplendent
for its dignity and harmony.' (4)
But in some regions, no small numbers of faithful adhered and continue to
adhere with great love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms. These had
so deeply marked their culture and their spirit that in 1984 the Supreme Pontiff
John Paul II, moved by a concern for the pastoral care of these faithful, with
the special indult 'Quattuor abhinc anno," issued by the Congregation for Divine
Worship, granted permission to use the Roman Missal published by Blessed John
XXIII in the year 1962. Later, in the year 1988, John Paul II with the Apostolic
Letter given as Motu Proprio, 'Ecclesia Dei,' exhorted bishops to make generous
use of this power in favor of all the faithful who so desired.
Following the insistent prayers of these faithful, long deliberated upon by
our predecessor John Paul II, and after having listened to the views of the
Cardinal Fathers of the Consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply
upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the
help of God, with these Apostolic Letters we establish the following:
1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the
'Lex orandi' (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite.
Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John
XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same 'Lex
orandi,' and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These
two expressions of the Church's Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division
in the Church's 'Lex credendi' (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of
the one Roman rite.
It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the
Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal
promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary
form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as
laid down by earlier documents 'Quattuor abhinc annis' and 'Ecclesia Dei,' are
substituted as follows:
Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people,
each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the
Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal
promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception
of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the
other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his
Art. 3. Communities of Institutes of consecrated life and of
Societies of apostolic life, of either pontifical or diocesan right, wishing to
celebrate Mass in accordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in
1962, for conventual or "community" celebration in their oratories, may do so.
If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to undertake
such celebrations often, habitually or permanently, the decision must be taken
by the Superiors Major, in accordance with the law and following their own
specific decrees and statues.
Art. 4. Celebrations of Mass as mentioned
above in art. 2 may - observing all the norms of law - also be attended by
faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.
Art. 5. § 1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of
faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should
willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of
the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these
faithful harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the
guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and
favouring the unity of the whole Church.
§ 2 Celebration in accordance with the
Missal of Bl. John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and
feast days one such celebration may also be held.
§ 3 For faithful and priests who request
it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for
special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations,
§ 4 Priests who use the Missal of Bl.
John XXIII must be qualified to do so and not juridically impeded.
§ 5 In churches that are not parish or
conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the
Art. 6. In Masses celebrated in the presence of the
people in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII, the readings may be
given in the vernacular, using editions recognised by the Apostolic
Art. 7. If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 § 1, has
not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform
the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes.
If he cannot arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be
referred to the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei".
Art. 8. A bishop
who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable
to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission "Ecclesia Dei" to obtain
counsel and assistance.
Art. 9. § 1
The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission
to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism,
Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would
seem to require it.
§ 2 Ordinaries are given the right to
celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if
the good of souls would seem to require it.
§ 3 Clerics ordained "in sacris
constitutis" may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in
Art. 10. The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it
appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with can. 518 for
celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a
chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.
Art. 11. The Pontifical
Commission "Ecclesia Dei", erected by John Paul II in 1988 (5), continues to exercise its function. Said Commission will have
the form, duties and norms that the Roman Pontiff wishes to assign
Art. 12. This Commission, apart from the powers it enjoys, will
exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and
application of these dispositions.
We order that everything We have
established with these Apostolic Letters issued as Motu Proprio be considered as
"established and decreed", and to be observed from 14 September of this year,
Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, whatever there may be to the
From Rome, at St. Peter's, 7 July 2007, third year of Our
Benedictus PP XVI
(1) General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, no.
(2) John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus", 4
December 1988, 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.
(4) St. Pius X, Apostolic Letter Motu propio data, "Abhinc duos
annos", 23 October 1913: AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cf John Paul II, Apostolic
Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus", no. 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.
(5) Cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Motu proprio data
"Ecclesia Dei", 2 July 1988, 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498. | <urn:uuid:ed1c8b1b-8415-4ccd-aab4-f0f38c4c1fb6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fssp.org/en/sumpont.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926957 | 2,634 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine research study
The research study conducted by the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in 2004 has provided modern scientific evidence of the health benefits of the Kenkoh Health Sandals.
The premise of the study was that the Kenkoh Health Sandal can ease or prevent fatigue.
Tiredness is a serious problem for people in our stressful modern society. Various alternative treatments and health products are gathering attention for relieving tiredness and associated complaints and illnesses. There is however little research on how such sandals affect tiredness. In this research, the health benefits of massage sandals were examined, a simple health product anyone can use, to see its capability in preventing and easing tiredness.
The findings of the study concluded that after wearing the Kenkoh Health Sandal, participants had:
- more energy
- a pulse rate that remained significantly lower/improved circulation
- reduced swelling (in the feet and legs)
- reduced foot pain
- a warmer, happier mood
You can read the statistics and more detailed information on the Kyoto Study here. | <urn:uuid:e9ac8ab5-f530-4f47-9bb4-6d6bd0dd4ba1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kenkoh.co.uk/content/benefits_kyoto/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956032 | 223 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Aspley Guise Maps
The following maps are only a selection of those held at Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service. To see a larger version of each map, please click on the relevant thumbnail
This map was made in 1745 and shows the landholding in the village before inclosure; note that the top of the map west.
Aspley Guise was inclosed in 1761, the second parish in the county to undergo parliamentary inclosure, and this map was probably created in that year or slightly later. The map is not to scale and is at first difficult to interprete, the easiest way to use it is to find the church and look to the left to find The Square. Note that Spinney Lane does not, at this time, run from Woburn Lane to Mount Pleasant as it stops more or less where the school currently stands [MA94]
This part of the Inclosure Map showing the Mill and Radwell pit (above).
1st Edition Ordnance Survey 25 Inches to the Mile Maps
The lower part of Weathercock Lane in 1883 showing the county boundary and almost nothing on the Aspley Guise side
The upper part of Weathercock Lane and Aspley Hill in 1882, showing the county boundary (since changed)
West Hill, Woodside and Woburn Lane in 1882
West Hill, The Square, The Avenue, Church Street and the western part of Bedford Road in 1883
The lower part of Church Street, Salford Road and the upper part of Wensdon in 1883
Bedford Road, Wendson and Mount Pleasant in 1883 | <urn:uuid:a69af969-b654-4948-9968-41e349963daa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/AspleyGuise/AspleyGuiseMaps.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940678 | 337 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Re: debian vs centos as server
On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 06:38:18AM +0530, Raj Kiran Grandhi wrote:
> hhding wrote:
> >why debian?
> >why centos?
> >It seems same to me, and current we run debian as server.
> >But managers want run centos instead.
> If you are using some proprietary software that is supported on RHEL (or
> Centos) and not on Debian, and you depend on that support.
> Can't think of any other reasons. We run a couple of proprietary
> applications at work that are only supported on RHEL. I have had no
> problem running them on Debian Etch. YMMV.
Right. But then again, that software is probably not certified to work
on CentOS. It's certified to run on RHEL. CentOS is not RHEL, even
though it is based on its code and it is pretty close.
Tzafrir Cohen | firstname.lastname@example.org | VIM is
http://tzafrir.org.il | | a Mutt's
email@example.com | | best
ICQ# 16849754 | | friend | <urn:uuid:530e76b6-10dd-49d2-881c-545229929304> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2008/02/msg02690.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942282 | 272 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Today is the birth centenary of the unforgettable singer, Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, who soared to the heights on the performance stage and in Tamil films but plumbed the depths towards the end of his life. He was the ‘Prince of Actors’, not only in South India but also in Burma, Malaya and Ceylon.
Today is the birth centenary of an unforgettable singer who soared to the heights on the performance stage and in Tamil films but plumbed the depths towards the end of his life. I wonder how many remember Thyagaraja Bhagavathar for his successes and not for the sad events that led to his final decline.
Born into a goldsmith’s family in Mayavaram, Thyagarajan demonstrated his singing talent from childhood. In Trichinopoly, to where the family moved, he spent more time at concert venues, listening to singers and learning from them, than on his studies. His father’s efforts to get him to concentrate on the latter as well as on the family business led him to run away from home and become an itinerant singer, till his father found him singing to a large audience in Cuddappah, brought him back home and let him have his way.
When senior railwayman F.G. Natesa Iyer, who ran an amateur theatre group, heard the 10-year-old Thyagarajan, he was convinced he had a star in the making and gave him a role in his ‘Harischandra’. Thyagarajan stole the show. But even while he continued to make an impression on the stage, he began taking lessons in Carnatic music. When, after six years of training, he gave his maiden concert in Trichy, one of the maestros in the audience, overwhelmed by the talent he had listened to, described the teenage singer as a ‘Bhagavathar’. And, Thyagaraja Bhagavathar he was for the rest of his life.
Bhagavathar, however, felt he needed to hone his singing skills further and, even as he continued with his training in Carnatic music, decided to make the stage his profession. His success in ‘Pavalakkodi’ in 1926 had him on his way to becoming a stage star wherever there was a Tamil audience. They called him the ‘Prince of Actors’, not only in South India but also in Burma, Malaya and Ceylon. The best, however, was yet to come.
Two film producers who had watched ‘Pavalakkodi’ on the stage decided to make a film version with the same leads, Bhagavathar and S.D. Subbulakshmi. Released in 1934, it was an immediate box office hit. One successful Bhagavathar film followed another. And, some proved record-breakers. “Chinthamani” and “Ambikapathy” vied with each other in 1937, the former scoring by running for over a year in many a theatre at home and abroad, the first Tamil film to do so. It was a record to be broken by Bhagavathar’s “Haridas” in 1944 when it ran for 114 weeks in the Broadway Theatre in Madras.
Two noteworthy features of Bhagavathar’s career in those heady days were: (1) he refused to take part in any film which had atheistic leanings, and (2) he was totally committed to the Tamil Isai movement. As a consequence of the latter, no stage, other than the Tamil Isai Sangam’s, gave him a concert platform despite his mastery over Carnatic music. Nor was he allowed to sing at the Thyagaraja Aradhana in Tiruvaiyyaru.
By the 1940s, he was the most successful Tamil actor — and the richest, living a life of luxury. But fate has a way of playing sad tricks. In 1944, a muck-raking journalist C.N. Lakshmikantham was murdered and Bhagavathar was brought to trial as one of the accused. He and that great comedian of the time, N.S. Krishnan, were found guilty, but after spending 30 months in prison were released when their appeal to the Privy Council — which was returned to the Madras High Court — proved successful.
Released from prison in 1947, Bhagavathar found himself not exactly in favour with the film community. He began producing his own films, he acted in a few for others, but none of them was a success. It almost seemed as though the public had rejected him. Or did they prefer the MGR-Annadurai-Karunanidhi school of cinema? Whatever the reason, a disillusioned and impoverished Bhagavathar took to spiritualism and became a pilgrim, singing only in the temples he visited. He was out of the public eye when he passed way on November 1, 1959.
Many moons ago, Sailendra Bhaskar got in touch with me and wanted to know whether I could provide any information on a Rev. John Breeden who had built the Egmore Wesley Church and then gone on to found Bhaskar’s old school, St. George’s Homes, Ketti (Ooty). I’m afraid I was of no help, but Bhaskar, with four other old boys based in Australia, the U.K. and the Nilgiris, got down to following the Breeden trail about 18 months ago.
Bhaskar writes, “Between us, we could find huge amounts of information on the Reverend and his work, his movements in and out of India, his speeches from the pulpit and at fund-raising events in India and the U.K., and so much more. Why, one of us even managed to locate and buy two copies of a book written by the good Reverend — one of those copies was actually signed in his own hand! This copy has been handed over to the old school for safe-keeping.
“Over the months, we realised that the Reverend must actually have been a reclusive sort, who shunned publicity and actually stayed out of pictures.”
The focus of the search now became a picture of Rev. Breeden if one was available anywhere. They found 12 pictures in Egmore Wesley Church of former pastors. But the pictures were not captioned. So, was Breeden one of them? They had no idea, till one of the group, John Castellas from Melbourne, holidaying in London, visited the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies’ Archives and came across a photograph of a group of missionaries who had lectured at an exhibition in Britain in 1907. The picture was fortunately captioned — and John Breeden identified, providing the opportunity to match one of the faces in the Egmore Church with it. Bhaskar tells me that now the Church will know what its founder looks like and won’t have to heed the advice of a caretaker who had suggested: “Choose any picture and call it Rev. Breeden and no one will know the difference.”
St. George’s Homes, which opened its doors in May 1914 after planning and fund-raising efforts that John Breeden had started in 1910, is now called the Laidlaw Memorial School and Junior College. But that’s another story. Today’s is a tribute to an example set for all researchers: Persistence pays. | <urn:uuid:0a132269-8942-4d3b-8095-3108c368579f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thehindu.com/arts/swing-high-swing-low/article123716.ece | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987853 | 1,591 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Lox/LH2 propellant rocket stage. Loaded/empty mass 123,800/28,600 kg. Thrust 2,284.00 kN. Vacuum specific impulse 439 seconds.
No Engines: 2.
Status: Cancelled in 2001.
More... - Chronology...
Gross mass: 123,800 kg (272,900 lb).
Unfuelled mass: 28,600 kg (63,000 lb).
Height: 20.40 m (66.90 ft).
Diameter: 20.70 m (67.90 ft).
Span: 20.70 m (67.90 ft).
Thrust: 2,284.00 kN (513,463 lbf).
Specific impulse: 439 s.
Specific impulse sea level: 339 s.
Burn time: 886 s.
XRS-2200 Rocketdyne lox/lh2 rocket engine. 1192 kN. Development ended 1999. Isp=439s. Linear aerospike engine for X-33 SSTO technology demonstrator. Based on J-2S engine developed for improved Saturn launch vehicles in the 1960's. More...
Associated Launch Vehicles
X-33 American winged rocketplane. NASA-sponsored suborbital unmanned prototype for a single-stage-to-orbit rocketplane. The Lockheed Martin vehicle would have used a linear aerospike engine, metallic insulation, and other features similar to their Starclipper shuttle proposal of 1971. In 1999 catastrophic failure of the composite fuel tank during static test brought into question the technical feasiblity of the design. The program was cancelled in 2001 before any flight articles were completed and after over $1.2 billion had been expended. More...
Lox/LH2 Liquid oxygen was the earliest, cheapest, safest, and eventually the preferred oxidiser for large space launchers. Its main drawback is that it is moderately cryogenic, and therefore not suitable for military uses where storage of the fuelled missile and quick launch are required. Liquid hydrogen was identified by all the leading rocket visionaries as the theoretically ideal rocket fuel. It had big drawbacks, however - it was highly cryogenic, and it had a very low density, making for large tanks. The United States mastered hydrogen technology for the highly classified Lockheed CL-400 Suntan reconnaissance aircraft in the mid-1950's. The technology was transferred to the Centaur rocket stage program, and by the mid-1960's the United States was flying the Centaur and Saturn upper stages using the fuel. It was adopted for the core of the space shuttle, and Centaur stages still fly today. More...
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© / Conditions for Use | <urn:uuid:c3499361-2c24-4883-aa83-533dcb17d21e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.astronautix.com/stages/x33.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93135 | 558 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Water pipeline plans worry anglers
Tasmanian anglers are concerned about the expansion of an irrigation scheme in the Midlands.
The Irrigation Development Board is planning to pipe water from Arthur's Lake to the towns of Oatlands and Kempton.
The northern part of the scheme, a pipeline from Conara to Ross, has been put on hold after farmers rejected the water because it was too expensive.
Angler's Alliance chairman Richard Dax says despite the scheme's problems, the Board has approval from the State Government to draw extra water from Arthur's Lake.
"We have ongoing concern about the ability of Arthur's Lake to supply the amount of waters which started off at some 28 thousand mega litres then went to 31 and it's now 40 odd thousand mega litres," he said.
Farmers have until March to sign up for the rights to water from Arthur's Lake | <urn:uuid:b304f993-0c0f-407d-bf6c-91dc611f8341> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-02-09/water-pipeline-plans-worry-anglers/324852 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964544 | 182 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Gardening with Laurie: How to make your soil come to life
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Last week, I wrote about the importance of a healthy soil to all living things, not just humans. I pointed out some of the effects of using man-made synthetic produces and the negative impacts caused by them.
This week, I'd like to stress the importance of a healthy, living soil and how to make your soil come to life.
Long before man, the soil on this planet grew all kinds of vegetation. Plants would sprout, grow to maturity, produce and die. Dead plant material would then fall to the ground, and with time, decompose along with any other dead organic matter that happened to be lying around.
When animal life came on the scene, they provided different manure that were then added to this decaying matter.
As all these materials decomposed, they added nutrients back to the ground. All these nutrients helped new vegetation to sprout and start the whole circle of life process over again.
I believe this whole process of events that nature started with the beginning of time, is still the best way to build the health of our soils and also one of the easiest and cheapest.
Applying composted matter to your soil on a regular basis is the whole principle of natural gardening, more commonly known as organic gardening.
Compost is good for all types of soils. The nutrients in compost are slowly released into the soil over months and years.
Using compost on a regular basis will actually help the soil to retain fertilizers better. Compost helps to buffer soils, which then neutralizes both alkaline and acidic types of soils.
This process then brings the soils PH levels to an optimum level so that nutrients in the soil are made available to the plant life.
Compost helps sandy soils retain moisture and nutrients. Compost helps compacted heavy soils by loosening the soils structure so roots can spread, so water can drain and oxygen can penetrate it.
As compost changes the soils structure, this then helps also to prevent erosion.
Compost brings and feeds many types of beneficial soil life; earthworms, fungi, insects and more. All this soil life helps to increase the health of plants.
Some of the soil's beneficial bacteria break down organic matter so plants are then able to obtain nutrients from them.
Some of the burrowing types of beneficial life that compost brings to soils, such as earthworms, help to keep soils enriched and well aerated.
All this life in the soil helps to prevent many disease problems and harmful pests.
Microbes that are found in compost are also able to break down certain toxic compounds that can be present.
Compost can be used as a soil amendment, as well as a mulch. Compost is a soil amendment not a fertilizer.
Add a good organic fertilizer to enhance the compost. Always make sure you add lots of compost and natural fertilizer to any flowerbed or vegetable garden when first tilling them up.
Compost and fertilizer can always be applied as a top dressing to any established areas. A thin layer of compost over the lawn along with some fertilizer will help to keep it green and healthy.
Compost is the backbone of any organic gardening practice. I hope this new year you will decide to start gardening in a more natural way, the organic way. Lots of good compost will help you to get started.
Until next time, let's try to garden with nature, not against it, and maybe all our weeds will become wildflowers.
Laurie Garretson is a Victoria gardener and nursery owner. Send your gardening questions to firstname.lastname@example.org or in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77902. | <urn:uuid:8b9be9e4-a421-4248-a49d-674cca518e78> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2012/jan/19/hg_laurie_garretson_012012_164603/?noprompt=www | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942988 | 783 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Mama's favorite phrase when I was growing up -- particularly during the defiant teenage years, especially when I sassed her -- was "you're gonna pay for your raising one day, little lady. Let me assure you of that. You just wait until you have children and see how they behave."
She repeated it so often that it became ingrained in my subconscious and I began to worry over that. Life is full of enough problems without volunteering to bring more upon yourself.
So I decided to outsmart Mama and the powers of fate by not having children. After all, if you don't have children, how can you possibly pay for your previously childish ways?
Lately, though, I've been thinking that perhaps I've outsmarted myself. Perhaps I've missed a good opportunity to leave behind wisdom and lessons of experience that my children could have passed on to their children and they to their children.
Perhaps something that I've learned down this journey of life would have helped someone two generations from now.
All this started playing in my mind when I wrote my latest book, "There's A Better Day A-Comin'."
Those words were the mantra of my parents passed down to them from their folks, those hard-working, barely-getting-by people of the Appalachian foothills. For generations, the only way my people could make it when the skies refused to rain and crops lay dying was to assure one another, "There's a better day a-comin'. Just wait and see."
Mama and Daddy lived by that promise and I learned -- finally -- that better days do come again. They always do. No matter how hard or sad times are, better days always return. And sometimes a better day arrives when you least expect it.
As I wrote this book with its stories of promise and people who refused to give up when adversity rolled with the weight of a dump truck over them, I found that repeatedly I quoted Mama and Daddy. I shared their wisdom, so pure, so true and sometimes so simple.
"Be careful what you tell your best friend," Mama opined. "She may not always be your best friend. And when she's not, she'll tell your secrets."
"A man who lies to you will steal from you," Daddy said adamantly, tossing a forefinger meant to put a period on the end of that and stop any further debate.
"The best a man will ever treat you is before he marries you," Mama often counseled to any young woman seeking her counsel. "If you don't like it now, you're sure not gonna like it later."
"When you pray about something, put it in the Lord's hands and walk away from it," Daddy lectured. "Don't keep pestering him with it. Pray about it, release it then stand on your faith."
This barely scratches the surface of their wisdom. They were thinkers who watched life, studied on the human behavior of others and assimilated observations from it all. Repeatedly, I quoted them because often there was the moral to a story that could be summed up in a quote from them.
Equally, though, I quoted myself taking away from experiences -- both personally and those of others -- bits and pieces of wisdom. From Mama and Daddy, I learned that every situation has a "takeaway," some things to be remembered and learned from including some actions never to be repeated.
"It only takes one yes to wipe out a thousand no's," is a self-penned mantra that I developed when first trying to capture the attention of New York publishing.
"Courage comes by choice and not by chance," was learned while observing heroes up close and personal. It inspired a chapter about the ones who taught me. As I proofed the book, I realized that I had outsmarted myself.
Sure, I don't have to pay for my raising but I've also missed the opportunity to pay it forward.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of "There's A Better Day A-Comin.'" Visit www.rondarich.com to sign up for her weekly newsletter. | <urn:uuid:1079eccc-659e-4496-8dc2-16e516e5d18a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newtoncitizen.com/news/2013/feb/12/ronda-rich-parents-wisdom-passed-down-through/?community | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984651 | 856 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Pre-race vet check critical for Quest canines
By Marcel Vander Wier on January 29, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Two by two, the sled dogs were brought in Saturday for their final examinations prior to their 1,000-mile run across the Arctic tundra.
Twelve mushers and their dogs went through the four veterinary stations set up Saturday at Northerm Windows in Whitehorse.
A simultaneous vet check was held in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Mushers were allowed to have a maximum of 16 dogs examined, and teams arrived at hour intervals throughout the day.
Dogs new to the Yukon Quest were fitted with a microchip in their neck, and their body condition was ranked on a scale of one to nine.
Other examinations on the checklist included range of motion, teeth and gums, body functions, heart rate, potential frostbite areas, and checking for possible foot and wrist contusions.
“It is a very thorough assessment,” Quest operations manager Fabian Schmitz explained. “It’s super important for the Quest. You can’t just put any dog in a 1,000-mile race. This is the way to do it. We need to have a veterinarian, someone with authority in that field, to make those decisions.”
Veteran mushers are able to have their dogs examined by a vet of their choice, and Schmitz said, and three Alaskan mushers did just that.
Each dog that lines up in the starting chute Saturday will have been thoroughly examined by a veterinarian.
Mushers will begin the race with a maximum of 14, and minimum of eight dogs in front of their sleds.
YQ300 vet checks will be held on Friday, just prior to race day.
Four vets from Alpine Veterinary Medical Centre volunteered their time at the Whitehorse vet check.
“I think the biggest thing that we’re looking for is body condition, ensuring that their weight, muscle mass, and fat reserves are sufficient to get them through a 1,000-mile race,” said Dr. Jessica Heath. “My biggest concern is making sure they’re in really good condition.
“The two other things I’m focusing on are their feet ... and looking where their harness rubs on them. If they’ve got any patches of bare skin, there’s a risk of frostbite.”
Heath said a typical sled dog is in excellent shape.
“These are dogs that have probably done over 1,000 miles in training in preparation for this race, and so they’re all in very good physical condition. They’re in better shape than I am,” she chuckled.
Defending Quest champion Hugh Neff said a thorough examination is invaluable for a musher.
“There’s no reason to make these dogs run a race they’re not up for,” he said.
Each dog will get their turn in the harness, with veteran mushers running an average of seven races per season.
The Yukon Quest, featuring 26 mushers, gets underway in Shipyards Park this Saturday at 10 a.m. | <urn:uuid:88826390-7de9-4957-9a31-527bc7b1ef89> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whitehorsestar.com/archive/print/53955/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968406 | 672 | 1.617188 | 2 |
If this involves selecting a breed lots of people possess a desire to have a certain breed – a Labrador, German shepherd, Spaniel or whatever. But as it pertains lower to brass tacks, the financial systems from the situation, we cannot always pay the cost of the purebred puppy. Existence and family get in the manner, competing for that finances. This is when Dog Rescues can walk into the breach and fill a necessity meaning that sometimes there is no need for dog boarding London.
Dog Rescues are run by individuals who care enough about dogs which have been roughed up, abandoned or quit on by their previous proprietors. The entire goal of those organisations is to locate a new house with caring parents so these unfortunate dogs can live the relaxation of the lives inside a secure and loving atmosphere.
Dog rescues normally cater for the variety of dog. This will make existence simple as once you have found one for that breed you are curious about then it is just a situation of signing up and waiting for that right dog in the future in dog walkers London. Usually they’re going to have a message list which could keep you informed when new dogs are available in.
Getting a dog save is often as simple as searching inside your phone book or searching on the net. Carrying out a regional search by putting your city within the search terms will make the nearest leads to you.
One factor you have to be ready for having a Dog Save may be the third degree analysis into your viability like a potential adoptive parent. Don’t be concerned – they stop lacking the vibrant lights and also the coshes.
Be ready to provide them with particulars on previous dog possession, your loved ones, your home and yard and in which you intend on keeping your dog or otherwise dog walking London may seem like a sensible option. They’ll should also know regarding your experience training dogs and just how you discipline your pet. And they’ll also spend some time speaking along with you, attempting to assess your character and just how it’ll participate in the specific dog you’re considering implementing.
Have patience – there’s a very good reason with this. All they are attempting to do is make certain that your dog really are a perfect fit. The final factor they need is perfect for your dog revisit them at a while later on. These dogs have previously lost out once. Frequently they’ve experienced abuse and neglect and also have fears and neuroses. The whole goal from the Dog Save would be to avoid that happening again and provide your dog a high probability of just living a contented existence for that relaxation of their days. So, getting stated all of this, what else could you expect from the save dog? The apparent difference would be the cost payable. Count on paying a handful of $ 100 instead of the $1000+ for any purebred puppy. | <urn:uuid:43bf100b-9230-45b9-ba46-cdc013e91c1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wellbreddesigns.com/brightstar/brightstarrescue.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960133 | 592 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Don't Build Kingsnorth: A campaign to stop the construction of a new round of coal-fired power stations in the UK.
Tar Sands in Focus: UK based campaign to shut down the Alberta Tar Sands project.
Climate Camp: The Camp is a place for anyone who wants to take action on climate change; for anyone who’s fed up with empty government rhetoric and corporate spin; for anyone who’s worried that the small steps they’re taking aren’t enough to match the scale of the problem; and for anyone who’s worried about our future and wants to do something about it.
Plane Stupid: Plane Stupid is a network of grassroots groups that take non-violent direct action against aviation expansion.
Climate Rush: Climate Rush is inspired by the actions of the Suffragettes 100 years ago, who showed that peaceful civil disobedience could inspire positive change. We are a diverse group of women and men who are determined to raise awareness of the biggest threat facing humanity today - that of Climate Change.
E.ON F.OFF: The energy giant E.ON want to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent - the first new coal plant in the UK for over 30 years. Together through direct action we can stop Kingsnorth and we can stop new coal.
Workers' Climate Action: Campaigning for a worker-led just transition to a low-carbon economy. It has been and continues to be heavily involved in the Vestas struggle.
Climate Justice Action: Global action network against the root causes of climate change and to resist the false solutions of the December 2009 COP15 Climate Talks.
Not Stupid: Not Stupid is the action campaign of the climate blockbuster The Age of Stupid. Ready to change history?
Earth First: The general principles behind Earth First! are non-hierarchical organisation and the use of direct action to confront, stop and eventually reverse the forces that are responsible for the destruction of the Earth and its inhabitants. EF! is not a cohesive group or campaign, but a convenient banner for people who share similar philosophies to work under.
Stop Climate Chaos: The UK’s largest group of people dedicated to action on climate change and limiting its impact on the world’s poorest communities. Our combined supporter base of more than 11 million people spans over 100 organisations, from environment and development charities to unions, faith, community and women's groups.
Activists Legal Project: Lots of direct Action Resources from the ALP.
Network for Climate Action: Direct action guide produced by the Network for Climate Action (a UK wide network of groups and individuals taking action on the root causes of climate change).
UHC: Action guides produced by the Ultimate Holding Company (a Manchester based collective exploring the modern city through critical cross disciplinary art practice).
RANT: RANT works to develop capacity within global justice movements to carry out creative, effective nonviolent direct actions to dismantle unjust systems, institutions and corporations while building power for our movements.
Crime Think: To be honest, I'm not really sure what this site is about - I just copied it from an activist guide I got given.
Earth First!: Public Order guide - a brief guide to surviving public order situations, and slowing down or preventing the police from gaining the upper hand once a situation has occurred.
Yes Men: Subvertising & identity correction from the Yes Men.
Root Force: Campaign strategy & sabotage.
Omnipresence: Eco-defence monkeywrenching guide.
UK Action Medics: A network of activists who have medical skills, from first aid to qualified doctors. We want to ensure that ourselves and others are trained in the unique areas of medicine in protest situations.
Oxford Action Medics: Action Medics in Oxford - if you're planning an action, they may be able to offer medic support.
Activist Trauma: For political activists who may be injured during or by their political activities and/or struggling with other mental health issues related to activism.
Bust Card: A handy summary of police powers & your rights for stop & search and arrests - useful to keep one in your pocket when on actions. Based on the bust card used by Climate Camp. Available as [PDF 22K], [RTF 27K] & OpenOffice [ODT 44K]. Don't forget to fill in the number for your own arrestee support!
Activists' Legal Project: The Activists' Legal Project is a not for profit collective which provides information about the law to a wide range of grassroots social change activists as well as people who are considering taking action for the first time. Check out the Climate Activists Guide to the Law [PDF 498KB].
FreeB.E.A.G.L.E.S.: A non-profit collective run by campaigners for campaigners. The articles provided are equally applicable to human rights, animal rights and environmental activists.
SHAC: Useful summary of laws used against activists.
Activist Security: Handbook with in-depth security advice.
Bindmans LLP: Law firm based in London - they have a history of using the law to protect civil rights and have supported many activists. They are the Climate Camp's first preference for lawyers.
Earth First!: Action reports website.
Seeds for Change: Seeds for Change work with activists and campaigners in the UK to help them organise for action and positive social & environmental change. They can offer some free workshops and training for grassroots campaigners, as well as briefings and resources on practical campaigning skills and working in groups.
Artists Project Earth: Artists Project Earth aims to create a better world by bringing the power of music and the arts to 21st century challenges. It supports effective projects and awareness raising initiatives to combat climate change and raises funds for natural disaster relief.
Art Not Oil: Since 2004, Art Not Oil has aimed to encourage artists - and would-be artists - to create work that explores the damage that companies like BP and Shell are doing to the planet, and the role art can play in counteracting that damage.
All content anti-©opyright : Hosted & designed by ox4.org | <urn:uuid:b3d5799f-04c9-4dd1-b6a5-82bf56d81a68> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tvca.ox4.org/links.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929426 | 1,259 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Will my baby get diabetes?
If you have diabetes you may ask yourself: “Should I have a baby when there is an increased risk of the child getting diabetes?” In one study 3% of the children of mothers with diabetes went on to develop diabetes themselves by the age of 10-13 years (which is about 10 times the risk of the child of a mother without diabetes). Although it is believed that half the factors contributing to diabetes are inherited, only about one in every 10 children with newly diagnosed diabetes has a parent or sibling with diabetes. The hereditary disposition for developing Type 1 diabetes is very common, at least 40% according to certain studies. From this it follows that a person with diabetes should not automatically be discouraged from having children.
This content is based on Dr Ragnar Hanas' helpful book, Type 1 Diabetes in children, adolescents and young adults. Click here to order copies of Dr Hanas' book online. | <urn:uuid:fcb88ff5-604e-4e1a-9bf4-d95110b175af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lifescan.co.uk/type-one/article/havingchildren/will-child-have-diabetes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946053 | 190 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Pittsburgh’s only public radio partnership - 91.3fm WYEP and 90.5 WESA – works to inform people in ways that engage and inspire them to create dialogue about community issues and stories. Come meet people in The jobs in the field are host, reporter, producer, and director of programming. Learn how Science, Technology, Engineer, and Math work into these. http://www.wyep.org/Tour Your Future is a career exploration program that connects girls ages 11-16 with Pittsburgh-area institutions and gives them an opportunity to meet female professionals who work in those organizations. The program shows girls that they can find a place in science by introducing them to diverse STEM careers, from avian zoologists to accountants, software engineers to surgeons.
Please contact email@example.com with Questions.
The Girls, Math & Science Partnership's mission is to engage, educate, and embrace girls as architects of change. Working with girls age 11 - 17 and their parents, teachers, and mentors, we draw organizations, stakeholders, and communities together in an effort to ensure that girls succeed in math and science. GMSP is a program of Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Learn more atwww.BrainCake.org.
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Please sign up each girl individual. Students 0.00 | <urn:uuid:a162e847-375d-48b4-918f-c95820c14b73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wpxi.com/events/detail/2339203/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903404 | 278 | 2.359375 | 2 |
President Barack Obama declared an end to the war in Iraq Friday, one of the longest and most divisive wars in U.S. history. He announced that ALL troops will be withdrawn by the end of the year.
President Obama’s statement “After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over.”
This statement put an end to months of debating over whether the U.S. would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011.
He spoke at the White House after a private video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and he offered assurances that the two leaders agreed on the decision. The American withdrawal by the end of 2011 was sealed in a deal between the two countries when George W. Bush was president. Obama declared the end of the combat mission earlier this year.
Way to go OBAMA and it’s about damn time!! | <urn:uuid:ab6a145c-255a-4660-be82-c88f4e6e2c10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.askkissy.com/2011/10/22/our-president-barack-obama-declares-all-u-s-troops-will-be-home-from-iraq-by-the-end-of-the-year/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960099 | 184 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Track ConditionCondition of the racetrack surface. Ex: fast; good; muddy; sloppy; frozen; hard; firm; soft; yielding; heavy.
TrifectaA wager picking the first three finishers in exact order. Called a "triactor" in Canada and a "triple" in some parts of the U.S.
Trifecta BoxA trifecta wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are bet upon.
TripAn individual horse's race, with specific reference to the difficulty (or lack of difficulty) the horse had during competition, e.g., whether the horse was repeatedly blocked or had an unobstructed run.
Triple CrownUsed generically to denote a series of three important races, but is always capitalized when referring to historical races for three-year-olds. In the United States, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. In England the 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and St. Leger Stakes. In Canada, the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes and Breeders' Stakes. | <urn:uuid:f2eabb58-b046-4b47-8c29-ddd7141b4770> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://monmouthpark.com/glossary.aspx?id=218&page=2&pagesize=10&alpha=T | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940309 | 239 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Historic Inn Overlooking Bay and Astoria–Megler Bridge
The town of Astoria is tucked away in the northwestern corner of Oregon on a peninsula that juts into the mouth of the Columbia River. In the late 1800s, this was one of the busiest ports on the Pacific coast, and today, the river still bustles with fishing ships, sailboats, and private yachts. At the Astoria Riverwalk Inn, you'll have a front-row view of the bay, as each guest room has a balcony that overlooks the marina and its passing vessels. You can also catch a glimpse of the town's iconic landmark, the Astoria-Megler Bridge, which runs for 4 miles along the horizon and connects Oregon to Washington state.
Just outside the Astoria Riverwalk Inn, rental bicycles are available to explore the grounds and surrounding area. You can also hop aboard the historic Astoria Riverfront Trolley for a ride to the town's many attractions.
Included with this Getaway are passes to the town's Heritage Museum, as well as the Flavel House, an 1885 Queen Anne–style Victorian home. The mansion has been returned to its original splendor, with period furnishings and a restored three-story octagonal tower. The Oregon Film Museum has exhibits that chronicle the blockbuster movies filmed in the area, including The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop.
Astoria, Oregon: Frontier Port with Victorian Architecture and Museums
One of the oldest US settlements west of the Rockies, Astoria brims with relics of its storied past. The town itself is named after John Jacob Astor, who founded the Pacific Fur Company and established Fort Astoria in 1811. The area's rich nautical history is documented through interactive exhibits at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Here, you'll find artifacts such as a US Coast Guard surf rescue vessel, a historic sword and scabbard rescued from a shipwreck, and a 17th-century chunk of beeswax.
A few miles west, in Fort Stevens State Park, you can view remnants of the Peter Iredale shipwreck, an English vessel that ran aground in 1906 while the captain was texting and steering. Nearby, there are plenty of opportunities to hike on the wooded shores of the Columbia River.
Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions. | <urn:uuid:244efeb9-ec10-455e-8540-049c038e271d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fatwallet.com/local-deals/seattle/one-or-two-night-stay-with-trolley-and-museum-passes-at-astoria-riverwalk-inn-in-astoria-or/175500/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956177 | 487 | 1.765625 | 2 |
I believe that tools like Quest Shareplex are excellent for creating an alternate copy of a database for report generation, DSS, data mining and other external applications. However, I don't believe that they are adequate for DR. Database (-only) replication tools only replicate the data in the database and nothing more. They do not replicate the executable or configuration files associated with the database. They do not replicate any other files on the primary system, apart from the contents of the database.
Host- or array-based replication tools such as VERITAS Volume Replicator and Hitachi TrueCopy can replicate all of the data on the system. They do a much more thorough job, and are sure that a modified configuration file, or a patched executable are not overlooked in the replication process.
Most database replication tools do not copy the data, they send the transactions to the remote site, and re-execute them there. As a result, the database on the remote side is not exactly the same as it was on the primary side. Transaction numbers and locations of information will likely be different, confusing any tools that rely on that information.
While tools like Shareplex definitely have their place in the market, I believe that they are not adequate for DR, and tools that do full data replication should be used instead.
Thank you for question. If you have any other questions, please feel free to follow up.
Evan L. Marcus
Editor's note: Do you agree with this expert's response? If you have more to share, post it in our .HcX6azlxeJg^0@.ee83ce2!viewtype=&skip=&expand=>Administrator Central discussion forum.
This was first published in July 2002 | <urn:uuid:ba6d4079-076d-4023-98bf-d2deb94604e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/answer/The-pro-and-cons-of-replicating | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936306 | 357 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Now that Newt Gingrich has become the latest in a series of Republican frontrunners, he is getting the kind of scrutiny and attacks that have done in other frontrunners.
One of the issues that have aroused concern among conservative Republicans is that of amnesty for illegal immigrants, especially after Gingrich said that it would not be “humane” to deport someone who has been living and working here for years.
Let’s go back to square one. The purpose of American immigration laws and policies is not to be either humane or inhumane to illegal immigrants. The purpose of immigration laws and policies is to serve the national interest of this country.
There is no inherent right to come live in the United States, in disregard of whether the American people want you here. Nor does the passage of time confer any such right retroactively.
The Wall Street Journal, usually sober and thoughtful on issues other than immigration, outdoes Newt Gingrich’s claim that it would not be “humane” to deport illegal immigrants who have been living here a long time. A Wall Street Journal editorial says that it would be “psychotic” to do so.
“No one honestly believes the government should or will mount a nationwide manhunt to deport millions of people,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
What we have today is virtually the opposite of that. Cities that openly proclaim themselves “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants put their own policemen under strict orders not to report illegal immigrants to the federal authorities, with the result that illegal immigrants who have committed crime after crime are free to stay here and commit more crimes, including murder.
You don’t have to launch a “manhunt” when a known criminal is also a known illegal alien. Many local policies have virtually put illegal aliens in a witness-protection program.
The more doctrinaire libertarians see the benefits of free international trade in goods, and extend the same reasoning to free international movement of people. But goods do not bring a culture with them. Nor do they give birth to other goods to perpetuate that culture.
Why do people want to come to America in the first place? Because America offers them something that their native countries do not. This country has a culture that has produced a higher standard of living and a freer life than in many other countries.
When you import people, you import cultures, including cultures that have been far less successful in providing decent lives and decent livelihoods. The American people have a right to decide for themselves whether they want unlimited imports of cultures from other countries.
At one time, immigrants came to America to become Americans. Today, the apostles of multiculturalism and grievance-mongering have done their best to keep foreigners foreign and, if possible, feeling aggrieved. Our own schools and colleges teach grievances. | <urn:uuid:2d06edc0-3b71-4b0c-ad1a-3c5f810f9039> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nationalreview.com/articles/284245/gingrich-and-immigration-thomas-sowell?pg=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953859 | 578 | 1.578125 | 2 |