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Bridge of Books Teams with Local Author to Encourage Summer Reading
Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? This is the question children’s book author Audrey Vernick will be asking pre-k children in Keansburg, New Jersey on Wednesday, June 13 when she reads her book of the same title to the young students. Ms. Vernick was delighted to team up with Bridge of Books to bring the wonders of books to the preschoolers. Bridge of Books’ mission is to provide new and gently used books to underserved children throughout New Jersey to encourage literacy skills and a love of reading
Ms. Vernick is very enthusiastic about Bridge of Books’ mission, “If I were a superhero, I'd want my superpower to be getting books into the hands of young children. Luckily, Bridge of Books is precisely that superhero -- ensuring that at-risk children throughout New Jersey have the books that will help them develop crucial literacy skills and a love of reading.” Bridge of Books will be donating copies of Ms. Vernick’s book Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? to each classroom and donating hundreds of other books so that every child will be able to choose two books to take home.
BoB has been donating books to the students of Keansburg for nine years and has organized volunteer readers for Keansburg students for the past four years. This is the first time Bridge of Books has teamed up with a children’s book author to bring the joys of reading to the children of Keansburg.
About The Bridge of Books Foundation
The Bridge of Books Foundation is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) located in New Jersey Bridge of Books’ mission is to provide an ongoing source of books to underprivileged and at-risk children throughout New Jersey in order to support literacy skills and to encourage a love of reading. Since 2003, BoB has donated 300,000 books to more than 100 agencies serving at-risk children across New Jersey.
The Foundation generally acquires books through book drives and individual donations. Bridge of Book operates in accordance with several core beliefs: all children should have ongoing and ready access to age appropriate books; books in the home have the power to change lives – providing an understanding of the world, encouraging imagination and promoting dreams; and sharing books strengthens communities. As Ms. Daly is fond of saying, “Good books should never be read only once!”
About Audrey Vernick
Audrey Vernick is the author of numerous books for young readers. She frequently presents at elementary and middle schools throughout New Jersey and beyond. Her debut middle-grade novel, WATER BALLOON, published last year, received a 2011 Blue Ribbon from the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, honoring the book as one of the best of the year's literature for youth. Her books have also been honored with selection for the IRA/CBC Children's Choice Award; ALA Amelia Bloomer List; Bank Street College's Best Children's Book of the Year; and the Oppenheim Gold Seal.
Ms. Vernick's most recent book, BROTHERS AT BAT: THE TRUE STORY OF AN AMAZING ALL-BROTHER TEAM (about the Acerras of Long Branch, NJ), has received great critical acclaim. The New York Times Book Review said, "A captivating story, impeccable layout and glorious illustrations make this historical account an unqualified winner." And Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. said, "BROTHERS AT BAT is a story any baseball fan will enjoy and one that we all should know."
A two-time recipient of the NJ Arts Council's prestigious fiction fellowship, Ms. Vernick lives with her family in Ocean Township.
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Out of Memory (Topics)
The last few weeks I've been talking about Linux memory management. There was one final topic I wanted to talk about and that's how Android uses the out-of-memory mechanism built into the kernel to manage memory.
Android is getting some play in embedded systems, but you have to remember it is primarily meant to run phones and similar devices where the user is the focal point of the system. The user's experience is the main focus of how Android manages memory.
If you recall, the kernel has the OOM killer that selects processes to kill when memory is low. Android uses a similar mechanism, but it doesn't just wait until there is no memory. Instead, it defines several different memory levels.
It is easier to explain this with a straightforward example. Suppose Android defined three different levels (it defines more, but for now let's say three for simplicity). The first level is whatever program you are using right now on your Android device. The second level is things that you are actively using in the background; for example, a running music player or software to check for e-mail are active but not visible. The third level is for programs you have been using but you've switched away from. The operating system assumes you might switch back at any moment.
The operating system will associate a free memory target with each level (and you can adjust it, if you like). So if memory drops below, say, 100K, Android might start killing the level 3 programs until there is more than 100K free. If free memory drops below 25K, it might start killing the level 2 programs. The limit for killing the foreground application would be very small, since that would be rude to the end user.
The real Android system actually uses six levels:
- FOREGROUND_APP — The application you are currently using
- VISIBLE_APP — An application that is visible but not in the foreground
- SECONDAY_SERVER — A process providing services
- HIDDEN_APP — A process that is hidden, but may be needed by a running program
- CONTENT_PROVIDER — Apps that provide data to the system (for example, synchronizing with the Market)
- EMPTY_APP — An application you were using, but is not currently active
You can control the memory limits by writing to /sys/module/lowmemorykiller/parameters/minfree and /sys/module/lowmemorykiller/parameters/adj. The memory size is in 4K pages, not bytes, so be careful. By understanding these limits and setting the
oom_adj parameter for given processes in /proc, you can exercise great control over how the system manages memory.
Naturally, in a hard real-time system, you don't want all this thrashing around with memory. But then again, you really aren't going to use Android for an actual hard real-time system, are you?
If you are on a system with Google Market access (for example, your phone) you can download a few programs that can control the memory scheme. Search for AMM, for example, in the market. There is also a script called V6 Supercharger. It isn't as user-friendly, but since it is a script, it is easy to look inside and see what it is doing. These tools can actually help a sluggish phone or tablet, which is what most people are using them for.
So that's all about memory for a little while. Are you using Android in any projects? And are you using it fairly "stock" or do you meddle with it to suit your nefarious purposes? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
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One clay project that I did was puppets. The students made the heads out
of air-dried clay. They made a round ball and put an opening in the bottom
large enough for their finger and some fabric. They painted the heads and
then I sprayed them with a sealer to protect them. We then made clothing.
I also used the air-dried clay for students to make Egyptian mummies. The
basic shape was pretty simple and then they could carve in the details.
Don't try to plan projects that you will finish in one class period. Many
of my projects took weeks to accomplish. Just break it down into steps
that can be successfully finished in 20 minutes or so. The kids don't mind
and they will remember well enough from one class to the next what is going
on. Taking a long time to finish each project also taught them to take them
time and do a good job.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
> From: Vicki Bean <vickibean>
> To: artsednet.edu
> Subject: clay recommendations
> Date: Friday, June 26, 1998 8:10 AM
> I am a graphic artist turned art teacher for the coming year.
> I would like to introduce some clay work to the students (K-12). It's
> been years since the school has done this due to block scheduling (30
> minute classes for elementary students) and budget cuts.
> Although I'm stuck with the 30 minute classes for elementary students,
> I'm still trying to figure out a way to work it in.
> The middle and high school students have hour long classes, so time is
> not really an issue with them.
> Any suggestions on lesson plans that utilize clay, and can be done in 20
> minute classes, twice weekly?
> Any suggestions on materials since we have no kiln?
> Vicki Bean
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Posts Tagged ‘Silent Films’
The Glenforest elementary school’s Peter and the Wolf production plans passed from the exploration zone – with the children learning to recognize and identify the characters, the instruments that represented the characters and the themes those instruments play to conjure up the characters - into the actual creating the show zone this week. We began writing lyrics, and the sweet voices of the children chimed in happily as they caught on immidiately to what was happening. So it looks perhaps as if the show is going to be an opera of sorts!
The middle and high schoolers spent the week learning about storyboarding and how that helps the film maker organize his story into the scenes he wishes to shoot. We were very proud of their work, and of their ability to stand and deliver to the class the process by which they divided up their stories created their storyboards. They worked hard on these and in the end all took it very seriously which was a treat. The next step for the kids will be to decide on a theme and divide into groups for the actual creating of the silent movies. We will be introducing classical pieces of music for them to use in their work for the specific purpose of communicating to the audience the moods as well as the action involved in their production.
We are still a long way from knowing exactly how this is all going to look, but I do know that already the children are taking ownership of the process, and the shows can only benefit from that. And the benefits to the children? Well, that is the most important part of all, and the reason we do this.
The middle and high school kids and our music teacher and I have jumped into the study of silent film and how the soundtrack effects us as we watch it with both feet this week. We have been showing the children different types and genres of silent films and asking them to pay particular attention to what the music is telling them during each scene.
This coming week we will begin work on a storyboarding project, asking the students to storyboard the production of Peter and the Wolf we watched and then – take a deep breath – asking them to come up with the story for their own silent film and to create a storyboard for that one.
Sounds simple? I am not sure what will happen! But if I know these guys – and I feel like I am starting to know them - it will be a fun, quirky and very original project. And chaotic, of course, at least at first. But at times like this I always remind myself :
You must carry a chaos inside you to give birth to a dancing star.
OK, future dancing stars, let’s get started…
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June 10, 2004 Astrophysicists led by the University of Chicago's Andrey Kravtsov have resolved an embarrassing contradiction between a favored theory of how galaxies form and what astronomers see in their telescopes.
Astrophysicists base their understanding of how galaxies form on an extension of the big bang theory called the cold dark matter theory. In this latter theory, small galaxies collide and merge, inducing bursts of star formation that create the different types of massive and bright galaxies that astronomers see in the sky today. (Dark matter takes its name from the idea that 85 percent of the total mass of the universe is made of unknown matter that is invisible to telescopes, but whose gravitational effects can be measured on luminous galaxies.)
This theory fits some key data that astrophysicists have collected in recent years. Unfortunately, when astrophysicists ran supercomputer simulations several years ago, they ended up with 10 times more dark matter satellites--clumps of dark matter orbiting a large galaxy--than they expected.
"The problem has been that the simulations don't match the observations of galaxy properties," said David Spergel, professor of astrophysics at Princeton University. "What Andrey's work represents is a very plausible solution to this problem."
Kravtsov and his collaborators found the potential solution in new supercomputer simulations they will describe in a paper that will appear in the July 10 issue of the Astrophysical Journal. "The solution to the problem is likely to be in the way the dwarf galaxies evolve," Kravtsov said, referring to the small galaxies that inhabit the fringes of large galaxies.
In general, astrophysicists believe that formation of very small dwarf galaxies should be suppressed. This is because gas required for continued formation of stars can be heated and expelled by the first generation of exploding supernovae stars. In addition, ultraviolet radiation from galaxies and quasars that began to fill the universe approximately 12 billion years ago heats the intergalactic gas, shutting down the supply of fresh gas to dwarf galaxies.
In the simulations, Kravtsov, along with Oleg Gnedin of the Space Telescope Science Institute and Anatoly Klypin of New Mexico State University, found that some of the dwarf galaxies that are small today have been more massive in the past and could gravitationally collect the gas they need to form stars and become a galaxy.
"The systems that appear rather feeble and anemic today could, in their glory days, form stars for a relatively brief period," Kravtsov said. "After a period of rapid mass growth, they lost the bulk of their mass when they experienced strong tidal forces from their host galaxy and other galaxies surrounding them."
This galactic "cannibalism" persists even today, with many of the "cannibalized" dwarf galaxies becoming satellites orbiting in the gravitational pull of larger galaxies.
"Just like the planets in the solar system surrounding the sun, our Milky Way galaxy and its nearest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, are surrounded by about a dozen faint 'dwarf' galaxies," Kravtsov said. "These objects were pulled in by the gravitational attraction of the Milky Way and Andromeda some time ago during their evolution."
The simulations had succeeded where others had failed because Kravtsov's team analyzed simulations that were closely spaced in time at high resolution. This allowed the team to track the evolution of individual objects in the simulations. "This is rather difficult and is not often done in analyses of cosmological simulations. But in this case it was the key to recognize what was going on and get the result," Kravtsov said.
The result puts the cold dark matter scenario on more solid ground. Scientists had attempted to modify the main tenets of the scenario and the properties of dark matter particles to eliminate the glaring discrepancy between theory and observation of dwarf galaxies. "It turns out that the proposed modifications introduced more problems than they solved," Kravtsov said.
The simulations were performed at the National Center for Supercomputer Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with grants provided by the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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Over the last couple of years, I’ve used a few more or less popular free DNS hosting services, and my best experience so far has been with EditDNS.net — mostly because their service really puts you in control of your domains and records. I started using them when I needed to set up SPF records (which are technically TXT records in a specific format) for a domain, and I discovered TXT records were not supported by most DNS hosting services — EditDNS being one of the few exceptions.
However, a couple days ago I encountered a problem. I wanted to set up a round robin DNS configuration for a domain with two IP addresses, one of them being a dynamic IP (that changed once every month or two). One of the key objectives was that the DNS records should be updated automatically when the IP changed. An obvious solution would be to use DynDNS records (supported by EditDNS), but I quickly learned that it’s not possible to set up two records with the same name (which is the basis for a round robin configuration) and make only one of them DynDNS ready. The system considered both records dynamic and wouldn’t just update one, keeping the other one intact. So, bummer. My next idea was to use the EditDNS API to simply delete the old record and create a new one with the new IP address, but this turned out to be impossible too, as the delete function is not yet implemented in the API. Bummer again.
But there are no unsolvable problems, just unwritten Perl scripts. I ended up putting together a simple script that uses LWP::UserAgent to log in to the EditDNS website and add new records or delete existing ones. The script is flexible enough for general use, so I’m making it available — if any fellow EditDNS users are reading this, maybe you’ll find it useful too.
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Throughout 2012, art museums and galleries across the United States are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the American studio glass movement. To commemorate the event, the Arkansas Arts Center, which has the largest public collection of American studio glass in the state, has organized the exhibition Formed from Fire: American Studio Glass from the Permanent Collection.
This exhibition of 30 works showcases a wide variety of glass techniques including free-blown, mold-blown, cased, hot-worked, cut, cast, polished or layered.
These works were crafted by many leaders of the American studio glass movement including Harvey Littleton, Dale Chihuly, Beth Lipman, Tim Tate, Sonja Blomdahl and more. Each work, in its own way, illustrates the continued evolution of the art form and represents the many ways glass can be manipulated.
For more information, visit www.arkarts.com.
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The Student Involvement category looks at the level of student participation in sustainability initiatives and support for these activities from the college administration. This includes the existence of active student organizations that work toward expanding sustainability efforts within the campus, along with demonstrated support for these initiatives from the administration. Sustainability competitions, often coordinated by students, challenge community members to reduce water or electricity use, for instance, and help to engage the broader campus population by creating incentives for behavioral change.
This category also examines how sustainability policies and culture are integrated into orientation programs for new students. Another aspect of student involvement concerns opportunities for Eco-Reps and sustainability-related work-study jobs, as well as other paid student positions to promote sustainable practices.
- More than two in three schools have introduced sustainability into student orientation. A sustainability awareness/educational component has been integrated into an impressive 69 percent of new-student orientation programs for incoming students.
- Nearly two in five schools have student representation on their board of trustees. Thirty-eight percent of the schools include at least one student representative on their board of trustees.
- Close to half of all the schools have Eco-Reps or other similar programs to promote behavioral change on campus. Forty-two percent of the schools have instituted these programs to encourage sustainable living practices in residence halls.
- Two-thirds of the schools offer paid sustainability opportunities for students. Sixty-eight percent of the schools offer paid positions to students for work on sustainability activities within the facilities department, sustainability office, or other relevant campus office.
- More than two in five schools have a green residence. A green dorm that features green building best practices and/or a dedicated green residence for eco-minded students is offered by 42 percent of the schools.
- Almost three-quarters of the schools host a sustainability competition on campus. Seventy percent of the schools have sustainability competitions on at least an annual basis to promote one or more of the following: increased recycling, waste reduction, and energy or water conservation.
- The average grade for the Student Involvement category is “B-.” For a summary of grade distribution for this category, please refer to the chart on the right.
Leading by Example
Two-thirds of the schools offer paid sustainability opportunities for students.
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Devotionals are designed to bring the reader into a more intimate relationship with God. Dianne Neal Matthews knows no better way for believers to know God more intimately than to immerse themselves in his Word. To that end, her new daily devotional combines fascinating historical background information about the Bible with practical application that readers can implement in their lives each day. She guides readers on a journey through the Bible from beginning to end, highlighting major events, characters, and stories, as well as difficult issues and topics (such as the concept of theophany, God's instructions to the Israelites to show no mercy as they entered the Promised Land, and what seems at first glance to be discrepancies between the Gospels).Readers new to Bible study or those who long to learn more will appreciate the background information Matthews provides, as well as the way she shows how the Scriptures fit together to form a cohesive work. This is the perfect devotional for anyone who desires to go deeper into the Scriptures as they deepen their relationship with God.
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The 1938 Oldsmobile
Many Olds owners would agree that The Year that's Great is 1938. For Oldsmobile in Lansing and General Motors - Holden here in Australia it was a year for refinement. In Australia just 2 years earlier, GM-H had finished commissioning their new vehicle assembly plant in Port Melbourne, Victoria, whilst also commissioning the massive "Hamilton" power press at the Woodville body plant in South Australia. This press provided GM-H with the ability to produce all steel turret top roof panels for Sedans and Sloper bodied Coupes which they introduced on 1937 models - just 2 years later than Olds in the US.
F.38 sedans on the Holden's production line at Port Melbourne Victoria.
For auto manufacturers to make new vehicle models financially viable, its generally recognised that they must maximise a new basic mechanical or body design by making enhancements over 3 to 4 model years before the design becomes out-dated. In the case of the 1938 model year, Olds largely utilised the engine and drive train that was newly released just a year earlier in 1937, and then refined the body design for 1938 models. This resulted in headlights being moved off the grille surround to incorporate them into the fenders, whilst the grille appearance for both the 6 and 8-cylinder models returned to a generally uniform design but with a few extra horizontal bars for 8-cylinder models making it look somewhat heavier.
With General Motors - Holden catering for a generally small population in Australia, it was necessary to frequently review the number of body styles, models, and makes from the worldwide GM family that they marketed in Australia. It was issues such as the great depression of 1929 - '31 that saw Olds discontinued at the end of 1929 in Australia before being reinstated in 1934 - but only in 6-cylinder models. A year later in 1935, GM-H offered both the Olds 6 cylinder and in-line 8 cylinder engines that the US motoring public had as early as 1932. However, with Olds, Buick, LaSalle and Cadillac vehicles being offered by GM-H, there were simply too many eight-cylinder models for a finite base of customers with the extra cash required to move up from a 6 to an 8-cylinder vehicle. GM-H decided the Olds "8" was to go at the end of 1938, and offered just a Sedan body in its final year.
An Olds dealership in 1938 showing the passenger car lineup alongside the Olds truck offerings of the same year.
As GM-H's only existing production records are based upon calendar years and not vehicle model years, the exact number of 1938 Oldsmobiles built here is very much a mystery. The GMH records reflect that 86 8-cylinder and 1589 6-cylinder Sedans along with 135 Sloper bodied 6-cylinder "All Enclosed Coupes" were built during the year of 1938 at the GMH body plant at Woodville SA. However, data gathered from 1938 Oldsmobiles that survive today reflect some substantial variances to the GMH records. These largely confirm that the GM-H records are based upon calendar years and not the more important vehicle model year.
They include -
· 6-cylinder Sedans up to at least body number 133 and 8-cylinder Sedans up to at least body number 19 were built during December of 1937.
· 6-cylinder Sedans were built through to at least November 1938 when surviving body no. 1757 was built (note GMH records show just 1589 cars being built in 1938).
As GM-H had not quite mastered chassis assembly, complete assembled chassis and drive trains along with front body panels that were supported by a temporary timber cowl were brought in from the US. GM-H had earlier received the design drawings of the Olds and other GM vehicles well ahead of the chassis arriving and had prepared bodies that were largely compatible with Buicks and Pontiacs. These bodies were transported to the relatively new assembly plant at Port Melbourne, VIC. where they were dropped on to the chassis and painted in the nominated colour.
Colour & Trim Combinations: "Pearlecent" indicates metalic paint
Some more F.38 sedans in the final assembly area at the Port Melbourne plant.
Back home in the U.S. Olds continued to offer 6-wheel equipment for the very last time, however this very expensive option was only available on 8-cylinder vehicles. Interestingly GM-H must have experienced very little interest in 6-wheel equipped cars as they discontinued the option at the end of 1936 here in Australia. Similarly, Oldsmobile's predecessor to the fully automatic transmission - the "Automatic - Safety Transmission" which was released in 1938 for the domestic US market, was not surprisingly, never made available here in Australia. The "Automatic Safety Transmission" still required the driver to operate the clutch to take off from a standing start position, but then only required a lever movement on the steering column to shift between Hi & Lo gear ranges (Low - 1st & 2nd Hi- 1st, 3rd & 4th) .
A couple of our members '38s. An L.38 sedan and F.38 All enclosed coupe.
By 1938, Australia had largely worked its way out of the "Great Depression" and the need for replacement of aging vehicles was obvious. As a result GM-H recognised the value of advertising and this resulted in a significant increase in the range of sales catalogues printed on the new Olds range. Complementing the full size colour sales catalogue was a smaller "mailing version" along with an accessory catalogue, large "Engineering Information" catalogue, price list and various other small catalogues. GM-H still continued to bring in the workshop manuals, in both full size and glove compartment size formats.
Some of the Australian sales literature for the 1938 model.
The Australian GM-H "1938 Olds - Nasco Accessories" brochure offered potential new owners a range of 18 different accessories. These included
One of our members F.38 Sedans .
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Income inequality is surging, and there are few countries where it is rising faster than the United States. The distance between rich and poor is greater in America than nearly all other developed countries, making the US a leader in a trend that economists warn has dire consequences. GlobalPost sets out on a reporting journey to get at the ‘ground truth’ of inequality through the lenses of education, race, immigration, health care, government, labor and natural resources. The hope is to hold a mirror up to the US to see how it compares to countries around the world.
GlobalPost correspondents gauge the growing distance between rich and poor by comparing Fairfield County, Connecticut with Bangkok, Thailand.
BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut — The distance from here to Bangkok, Thailand is 8,639 miles.
But then, it depends what one means by the word “distance.”
As we discovered in the first installment of this GlobalPost Special Report, by some measures there is not much distance at all.
Take the Gini Index, the scale that economists use to measure income equality, with zero equaling perfect equality and 1 representing absolute inequality in which one person owns everything. Thailand, where Bangkok is the bustling capital city of one of Southeast Asia’s fast growing “Tiger economies,” comes in at .536. The Bridgeport area — Fairfield County — is slightly worse at .539. The two places fall very close in their ranking on the Gini Index as highly unequal.
The Great Divide: Two sides of Connecticut's economic divide reveal price of inequality
The Great Divide: Glitz and desperation in a Bangkok divided by income
Put more simply, these are cities where you can move, often within minutes, between the wrenching poverty of the dispossessed and the opulence of the super-rich. The physical distance between rich and poor in these places is small. But for the people who live in Bangkok and Bridgeport, traveling from the lower economic rungs to the higher ones is extremely difficult.
That has long been true in the developing world. And in America, which has long lived with the idea of mobility and a belief that all have a shot at the American Dream, it is increasingly difficult, as new economic research reveals.
To explore these issues of global income inequality and its cost, GlobalPost begins today a series of reports by more than 20 reporters, photographers and videographers from every corner of the world. The result of more than six months of reporting and data analysis, the Special Report seeks to match and compare American metropolitan areas with foreign countries that have similar levels of income inequality.
For me, the assignment was to return home to Fairfield Country, Connecticut, where I grew up, and explore how the death of industry in Bridgeport has cost good jobs and how US government tax policy over at least two decades has favored the rich, particularly hedge fund managers in the tony town of Greenwich. The result has been vast income inequality.
The Great Divide: The Story Behind the Story - Mike Moran on income inequality
On the other side of the world, GlobalPost senior correspondent Patrick Winn explored Bangkok with its similar level of income inequality in the Gini Index. Winn has lived and worked in Bangkok for the last four years, and his reporting for this project takes readers from the city’s infamous slums to its equally infamous glitzy shopping district where the rich search out world-class bargains on Gucci and Prada.
The journey between Bridgeport and Bangkok was captured in a GlobalPost Special Report video segment titled “The Distance Between Rich and Poor” (above).
It was shot by the award-winning photojournalist Ed Kashi who followed Winn and me through the cities we consider our own.
In both of these places, the top 5 percent of the population controls over 60 percent of income. That translates, in Bridgeport’s case, to a median income for that top 5 percent of over $685,000 a year, while the bottom 20 percent, clustered primarily in dismal slums like Bridgeport’s East End, take home about $15,000, US Census bureau figures show.
For those who live on either side of this divide — in either country — there is a profound lack of identification with the other world. A profound distance.
“I don’t think of it [Bridgeport] at all,” said Karen Schiff, a well-dressed young woman heading home from Greenwich train station from her job in New York. “I don’t think I’ve ever even met someone from there — maybe I drove through, I don’t know.”
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by Budd Davisson
Supreme Commander-Europe, General Dwight Eisenhower, didnít hesitate when ask to list the Allied weapons that most helped end the war. In no particular order he said, ìThe bazooka, the jeep, the atom bomb and the C-47.î
The bazooka made the lowly GI into a feared tank killer. The Jeep gave his commanders incredible flexibility to move about the battlefield. The atom bomb saved many thousands of GI lives by bringing the whole thing to an end. The C-47, however, was the instant pipeline that brought the GI what he needed to fight when and where he needed it. Before there were beachheads, before there were roads, before there was any other way to move men and equipment, the Gooney Bird was there.
Although the C-47 was an adaptation of the DC-3 transport, when the military ordered the first of nearly 10,000 C-47ís in 1940, they initially saw it as a freighter and had large cargo doors and a beefed up floor added. Shortly thereafter, they realized they could load as many as 27 fully equipped paratroopers in it and drop them where needed. These aircraft not only had smaller doors and provisions for seats down the sides, but (are you ready for this?) a round hole in the middle of each passenger window allowed troops to stick their gun barrels out and fire at any fighter that may be attacking them.
The feats of the C-47 during WWII are legendary: 4,800 troopers dropped during the invasion of Sicily, an amazing 60,000 dropped at Normandy in addition to towing several thousand gliders. In the Pacific, as soon as runways were secured or hacked out of island jungles, endless streams of the old birds supplied embattled troops. The C-47 was the Huey of its day, bringing men and equipment in and leaving with the wounded.
Pilots had a real love/hate relationship with the old bird. On the one hand, it was a slow, plodding beast (170 mph on a good day), but on the other hand, pilots knew it would take care of them. Its long wing and big control surfaces let it fly easily on one engine and its crews knew it could handle whatever the weather had to throw at them.
In many ways the C-47 was an aerial jeep because it was used in so many ways for which it wasnít designed. It flew on skis and floats and, during the 1948 Yom Kippur war, Egyptians even tried using them as bombers, rolling bombs out the open door only to find they were dog meat for the Israeli-flown, Czech-built Messerschmitt 109s.
Several wars later, Gooneys armed with a trio of 7.62mm Gatling guns became Spookies or Puff the Magic Dragons over Vietnam. Troops on the ground said the sounds of the 18,000 rounds a minute hitting the jungle sounded like a gigantic bug was chewing on the trees.
Of all the different types of aircraft built during WWII, more than any other, it is the C-47 that is still alive and working for a living in far corners of the world. The old airplane will probably out last every single person reading this, which is a sobering thought. But then, thatís how legends are made.
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Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell Announces $235,543 in Funding for the University of West Alabama for STEM Education
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (AL-07) announced that the University of West Alabama (UWA) was awarded $235,543 from the U.S. Department of Education under the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP). This funding will be used for UWA’s Project Engage which seeks to attract and retain students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, as well as address the shortage of minorities in professional STEM fields.
“I am pleased that the Department of Education will provide this important funding to the University of West Alabama to increase participation and reduce the attrition rate of minority students in the STEM disciplines,” said Rep. Sewell. “As a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, I understand how vital STEM education is to safe-guarding America’s global competitive edge. This funding will help UWA provide much needed resources for students who can lead this nation in innovation and technology,” added Rep. Sewell.
“We are delighted to receive these funds that will improve passage, persistence, and retention rates of students enrolled in STEM majors,” said University of West Alabama Provost David Taylor. “As a model project to assist students entering STEM professions, it will impact the quality of science and math education throughout the Black Belt Region.”
“We would like to thank Congresswoman Sewell for helping us secure these funds and for keeping the promises she made on the campaign trail,” said Livingston Mayor Thomas Tartt. “We all understand the importance of STEM education and this grant will allow the University of West Alabama to launch new initiatives and programs designed to reinforce science and mathematics in the classroom and generate interest in theses critically important subjects.”
Contact: Rob NeSmith; Rob.firstname.lastname@example.org; 202.225.2665
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Apple has not established that its ‘App Store’ mark is famous, in the sense of being ‘prominent’ and ‘renowned,’ and there is also evidence that the term ‘app store’ is used by other companies as a descriptive term for a place to obtain software applications for mobile devices, District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton of the US District Court of the Northern District of California said in an 18-page order.
Apple did have substantially exclusive use of ‘App Store’ when it launched its service a little over three years ago, and spent a great deal of money in advertising and publicity, but the term appears to have been used more widely by other companies as time has passed, Judge Hamilton said.
Moreover, there is no evidence that Amazon intended to create an association between its Android apps and Apple’s apps, and there is no evidence of actual association, Hamilton added.
Apple filed the suit in March against Amazon’s use of Appstore for its online store of applications for devices using the Android mobile operating system. One of Apple’s arguments is that as both companies sell through the internet, and Amazon also offers products from Apple, consumers may be confused when they find Amazon using Apple’s mark for a mobile download service.
The term App Store figures in a list of service marks on Apple’s website. Service marks are used for services, in the manner that trademarks are used for products. Apple’s bid to register the mark in 2008 with the US Patent and Trademark Office was opposed by Microsoft which claimed that the mark could not be registered as it was generic, the Judge noted.
Amazon contends that the App Store’ mark is generic, because Apple’s App Store is simply an online store where consumers can search for, choose and download apps, the Judge said. Amazon has argued that its use of the term ‘Amazon Appstore for Android’ constitutes fair use and is not actionable, even if it is assumed for the sake of argument that ‘App Store’ is famous, a claim which Amazon denies, she noted.
Amazon asserts that it does not use ‘App Store’ as a trademark, but simply to tell the customer that the service is an app store , and that it offers apps for Android, she added.
In a separate order, the judge set October 15, 2012, as the trial date for the case.
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You are invited into the classroom to learn alongside your child and experience Gifted & Talented's unique learning community firsthand.
Advance reservations are required. Please RSVP by completing the online form prior to October 19, 2012. (Please note: Only one individual per family may attend.)
The Gifted and Talented Youth Program at Montclair State University provides accelerated, inquiry based courses designed to meet the unique intellectual and social needs of high ability students in grades K-11. Courses are taught for 9 weekends in the fall and winter/spring and for 6 weeks in the summer. The program provides students with opportunities to explore topics in the humanities, mathematics, and the sciences. Courses stimulate creativity, higher order thinking skills, and problem solving and include a diverse array of topics. Because of the small class size and low teacher-student ratio, students are provided with customized programs. Students delve into topics of personal interest while engaging with other students who have similar abilities and passions. The instructors have diverse backgrounds and include university professors, teachers of the gifted, published authors, and professionals with real-world experience in the topics they present.
"I wanted to thank you for all of your efforts to make the MSU Gifted and Talented Program so exceptional. This is the second semester my son has attended. He continues to stretch his thinking, be inspired, and motivated to return the next week to learn more. I have also learned a great deal through the excellent workshops you have organized. Thank you, thank you. You are making a difference in families' lives." -Laura
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Food for Thought
Students increase their awareness of food by studying their own diet and preparing and eating a Native American dish.
When we eat something, we are enjoying the fruits of photosynthesis. Every morsel of food we ingest was created by the sun, the Earth, water, and carbon dioxide. Each meal represents the beginning, growth, life, and death of plants and maybe animals. Seasonal weather variations can have drastic effects on this cycle, creating anxiety over the prospect of hunger. "Will there be enough to eat?" is a question that shaped human cultures and distribution worldwide.
Our relationship to food changed radically with the industrial revolution. Populations shifted from rural to urban, from food growing to food buying. The exploitation of abundant fossil energy (oil and coal) insulated us against hunger; if a crop failed at home, it could easily be imported from a thousand miles away.
Most Americans today do not know hunger. We expect grocery stores to provide a cornucopia of food year round. We have a feeble connection to preprocessed, canned, and boxed food grown on industrial farms by strangers in unknown places. Food that we ourselves didn't grow is more inclined to be wasted. Our relationship to food has grown as distant as the tropical fruits we import to North America.
While this century's food production practices have yielded advantages, they have also caused environmental perils. Pesticides make high crop yields and the ability to cheaply feed growing populations possible, but can have deleterious effects on wildlife, water, and people who eat the crop. Culinary diversity has increased with access to Central and South America, where hundreds of square miles of lowland tropical forests, among the most biologically diverse on Earth are being replaced by heavily crop-dusted banana plantations. Attractive, convenient packaging makes food preparation easier but adds to our waste disposal problems. Unlike most of the world, we can afford to eat meat as a staple rather than a delicacy, which contributes to American's high rate of hypertension and heart disease. Our high meat diet exacerbates the impact we have on the natural world by requiring more land be taken from wildlife and used for beef production. For example, millions of acres of tropical forests have been felled to produce cheap beef for American hamburger franchises. The land required to provide food for one meat-eating person could provide enough food for 20 vegetarians.
Our relationship to food and its distribution and processing has changed radically. Appreciating the positive and negative aspects of these changes can heighten our awareness of food, where it comes from, how it's produced, and how it connects us to the natural world. Despite changes during the last 100 years, the same sun and the same photosynthetic reaction that fed our ancestors feeds us.
We will be better Earth citizens if we are as conscious of our dependence upon nature as were our predecessors.
Generate a list of your students' favorite food on the chalkboard. If they suggest something like pizza, leave room underneath it for its ingredients (see below). In the next column, write the raw material it is made from. Next, write down where it came from, if you know. Record the food's packaging.
Then generate a list of foods local Indians might have eaten. The kids will likely guess the animals first. Encourage them to come up with other food they might have eaten such as: tule roots, camas bulbs, thistle shoots, squaw cabbage, clover, gooseberries, mushrooms, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, ants, locusts (and their eggs, larvae, and chrysalides), salmon, rattlesnakes, sage grouse, and large mammals. Record the same information you recorded for our food.
With the class, make a list of advantages and disadvantages of our modern food practices (see below). See what the kids can come up with.
A comparison of today's food production practices to those of Indians:
What are the main differences in the way we procure foods? Perhaps the most fundamental difference is related to petroleum. Because of it, we can cheaply transport and process food. In effect, work that was once done by human muscle is now done by oil.
Now it's time to make an Indian snack. Allow a full hour. The following are recipes for pan bread and for fruit toppings to go with it. Ideally, go into the field with the kids and collect berries. This won't be possible for most classes, so just buy the berries and prepare them in class.
Divide the class into four to six groups. Three to five groups can work on bread while the remaining group works on a fruit recipe.
2 cups unbleached flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup water
Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually mix in water to form a thick dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 15 minutes, or until it is very smooth. Grease bottom and sides of a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Press dough into the pan and cook, uncovered, on top of the stove over low heat for about 10 minutes on each side. Watch carefully so bread does not burn before center is cooked through. Place loaf on a rack to cool. Serves 6.
1 quart fresh raspberries
1/2 cup honey
Puree berries with honey until smooth. Chill and serve as a topping on bread. Serves 4 to 6.
1/3 cup honey
2/3 cup water
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and de-stemmed.
Place honey and water in a saucepan and boil rapidly for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Reduce heat. Drop in the whole berries and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow berries to cool in the syrup. Serve warm or cold, ladling syrup over each portion. Serves 4 to 6.
Recipes from: Cox, B. and J. Martin. Spirit of the Harvest, North American Indian Cooking. 1991. Steward, Tabori, and Chang, New York. 255 pp.
As a follow up activity, you could have the students:
Did You Know?
In 1970 Craters of the Moon became one of the first areas in the National Park System to be designated as a federal Wilderness area. Craters of the Moon contains vast areas where visitors have an opportunity to experience the earth as it was.
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For many years, civil society in Uganda has been criticised for lack of social and political imagination.
It has been mentioned severally that civil society is known only for the workshops and the per diems we offer to participants.
As a result, several civil society organisations have become prisoners of this stereotype. We all seem to be stuck in the notion that we can improve the living conditions of ordinary Ugandans through 'technical' interventions such as capacity building, sensitisation and a host of other jargon-laden development interventions.
These frameworks are not only confined to civil society in Uganda, they are a global phenomenon. A case in point are the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were founded on the principle that - by setting global development goals, the world would follow them and eliminate the targeted problems.
So, we all go out in all corners of the world with these noble goals prescribed for the poor and disadvantaged. The donors then open and close aid taps as and when they wish; NGO workers then projectise everyday life; and consultants ask everyone what they want to know, and then we tell them what they know already.
But this same development experiment has been repeated many times and never seems to yield any results. What citizens over the world seem to be showing us today is that, if the world is going to change then people must become agents of their own development. This is easier said than done.
What it calls for is 'participatory democracy'.
In this kind of democracy, citizens shift from the mode of only voting, paying taxes and then hoping to hold their leaders to account. We should be moving to a democracy where citizens participate in civic life as co-creators of the country they want.
A democracy in which the state enables the social and political construction of places and processes where differences engage rather than collide. A democracy where multi-stakeholder fora and mediated events are the hallmark.
Uganda has had many starts and stops, for example - the bimeeza - (open-air citizen debates broadcast live on FM stations) that were banned, as well as the participatory local government system that was a cornerstone of decentralisation in the late 1990s.
Other forms of citizen engagement, like sector reviews and budget and public expenditure consultative fora, are all important ingredients of participatory democracy. This type of democracy is not a new idea but, rather, one that has been resuscitated around the world because of the failures of several governments to live up to the promises of representative democracy.
The words of Mahatma Gandhi, "we must be the change we want to see in the world", have become an activist's buzzword and indeed one that we should all embrace in Uganda today.
It is clear to all citizens today that faith in the state that is absolute, and assumes that the state is the source of all services, to all citizens, is naïve. While the state serves people, it sometimes has to be compelled by the people it serves.
It is important to underscore that while challenging the state is an important factor in participatory democracy, providing alternatives is equally important. Citizens have the responsibility to ensure that every challenge on the state is followed by a set of alternatives that do not relieve the state from its duties but promotes new forms of solution seeking.
In Uganda, civil society started the Black Monday Movement in November 2012. The Black Monday Movement is a social movement that works to end theft of public money by government officials. Its vision is to contribute towards securing a life of dignity for all Ugandans.
The initiative calls citizens to action - to 'do' something. Participatory democracy is the cornerstone of the Black Monday Movement.
While the Black Monday Movement is about theft (aka corruption) in public life, it is also about growing capacities for citizens to participate in self-directed collective action. The actions should cut across differences in approaches to problem solving and build on individual and common aspirations.
The Black Monday Movement is, therefore, a social movement that depends on health workers, teachers, clergy, homemakers, cab drivers, trade unionists, business owners, civil servants, boda boda riders, hawkers, policemen and women, soldiers and several other people.
When we hear stories of people who have kept the Black Monday Movement newspaper in their taxis so that passengers can read, or churches that allow activists on the pulpit or a space to distribute the newsletter as a gesture of solidarity, or policemen that give a word of encouragement to activists, or bankers that are wearing black on Monday as they go about their business, we should all know that this is the DNA of a social movement anchored in people's participation.
In the Black Monday Movement, we should be able to see ourselves as part of a democratic culture that imagines a society that is built on the ethos of participatory democracy, a society that promotes citizen action, where the 'Citizen is Central'.
When citizens become central to our commitment to improving society, then an important element that should be at the heart of all our actions is 'self-direction'.
As Ugandans, we should get to a place where we act based on our own values and interests. These interests should not be our material desires or institutional mandates but, rather, the common good.
We should get to a point where 'lecturing' citizens does not matter but where 'serving' citizens matters. When we serve citizens, we concentrate on catalyzing action - and this is the heart of the Black Monday Movement.
"A luta continua, vitória é certa"! - (translated as, the struggle continues, victory is certain).
The author is Executive Director, Uganda National NGO Forum.
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An editor is a person that writes and/or approves articles for publications, websites, training manuals, or anything that deals with the printed word. Editors can work at various places, ranging from Fortune 500 companies, to colleges and universities, or magazines and editorials. Sometimes editors can work as freelancers, submitting their articles for publication to magazines. However, freelancers have to really be aggressive in finding editing opportunities, and must have the discipline to be patient and persistent in finding and excelling at their craft as jobs and/or gigs may seem far and in between at times.
Usually editors work indoors on computers. They can work in offices, newsrooms, or even at their own homes. Editors usually sometimes write articles, but usually proofread, rewrite, and review articles for accuracy, references, and makes sure that the article will not harm the organization. For freelance work, usually no formal education is not needed, just proofreading and writing skills. However for most formal organizations a four year degree in English or Journalism is needed. Major publications such as news media, and magazines, usually experience as a writer/editor is greatly recommended and essential.
With editors, there is really no such thing as a typical workday. Usually there are no set hours, as editors have to work with deadlines, which could mean more than often late nights and early mornings.
- Review ideas, suggest improvements, verify facts and references and perform other accuracy tasks.
- Oversee overall production aspects of the work in progress.
- Proofread, rewrite and edit the work various kinds of authors and writers.
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Mountain sights in Sweden
- Sort by:
For anyone interested in Sami culture, it’s worth going out of your way to visit Atoklimpen, a holy mountain that has been the object of worship from the nomadic society’s early days. Evidence of sacrifices, camping and reindeer herding are scattered across the area; a 3km trail leads up to the top. Near the car park (off Rd 1116) is a peat hut and a small cottage. A Sami couple built the hut in 1920 and the cottage in 1925, at a time when the Sami were forbidden to build permanent structures; the ensuing debate over the cottage helped to change the law. The surrounding area still serves as a reindeer breeding ground.
There's not much to Kiruna, but it's the major town this far north - in fact it's the northernmost town in Sweden. The surrounding district includes Sweden's highest peak, Kebnekaise, and some of the country's best national parks and hiking routes; see for suggestions on tackling them.
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Definition of Ileitis, terminal
Ileitis, terminal: Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestine involving only the end of the small intestine (the terminal ileum). Crohn's disease affects primarily the small and large intestines but which can occur anywhere in the digestive system between the mouth and the anus. Named after Burrill Crohn who described the disease in 1932. The disease often strikes persons in their teens or early twenties. It tends to be chronic, recurrent with periods of remission and exacerbation. In the early stages, it causes small scattered shallow crater-like areas (erosions) called aphthous ulcers in the inner surface of the bowel. With time, deeper and larger ulcers develop, causing scarring and stiffness of the bowel and the bowel becomes increasingly narrowed, leading to obstruction. Deep ulcers can puncture holes in the bowel wall, leading to infection in the abdominal cavity (peritonitis) and in adjacent organs Abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and weight loss can be symptoms. Crohn's disease can be associated with reddish tender skin nodules, and inflammation of the joints, spine, eyes, and liver.
Diagnosis is by barium enema, barium x-ray of the small bowel, and colonoscopy. Treatment includes medications for inflammation, immune suppression, antibiotics, or surgery.
Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM
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President Barack Obama this morning gave Congress his $3.55 trillion budget proposal _ a spending plan that would raise taxes on Americans earning more than $250,000 annually and devote more than $600 million to broadening health care coverage.
In the nation’s capital, lawmakers and leaders from New York are poring over the budget blueprint (a more detailed proposal is expected in April) to see what it means for the Empire State.
But after a cursory review, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., gives the proposal a thumbs up, because, she said, it is “focused on solutions, creating jobs through investments in infrastructure and renewable energy, investing in our schools and providing tax relief for middle class families and businesses.”
In a statement, Gillibrand said the president’s budget “has the right priorities — job creation, energy independence, health care reform and investments in education.”
Gillibrand also signaled her support for Obama’s call on Congress to revamp the nation’s health care system.
“Our economic recovery will not succeed without an aggressive strategy to fix America’s broken health care system,” Gillibrand said. “Families and businesses across New York and across the country are counting on us to act.”
Obama’s budget request is simply that — a request — to Congress, and it typically provides only a foundation for lawmakers’ spending. The president’s proposal also is predicated on assumptions that Congress will enact broad health care legislation this year and create a cap-and-trade system with new limits on pollutants blamed for climate change.
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The ranking, based on an annual survey by U.K.-based Hogg Robinson Group, a travel, expense and data management firm, concluded that hotel rates around the globe grew by an average of 1.4% last year, compared to a 1% increase in 2011.
(In the U.S., hotel rates jumped 4.2% in 2012, to an average of $106 per night, according to STR, formerly known as Smith Travel Research.)
But business travelers on a tight budget might want to stay clear of Moscow, where a room last year cost a whopping average of $414 per night, according to the travel company. A hotel stay in Lagos cost $361 a night last year and $350 for a night in New York, according to the survey.
The cheapest hotel rates among major business centers were in Hyderabad in southeast India, where rates dropped from about $162 in 2011 to about $140 last year, according to Hogg Robinson Group.
Follow Hugo Martin on Twitter at @hugomartin
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Saturday, May 18, 2013
Back in early 2009, when a newly elected President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked him to take on the mammoth task of forging a peace agreement in the Middle East, George Mitchell hesitated.
2010 file photo/The Portland Press Herald
President Obama looks on as George Mitchell speaks at the State Department in 2009.
2009 file photo/The Associated Press
"I said, 'I want to consult with some friends,'" said Mitchell, the former U.S. senator from Maine whose resume reads like a still-evolving history book. "And the first six people I called told me not to do it."
"So I stopped calling," Mitchell said with a chuckle. Instead, he followed his own instincts and signed on for what he knew would be the most difficult job of his life.
A job, alas, that wasn't supposed to end like this.
Back in those heady days of a new Obama administration, many around the world hoped out loud that the diplomatic miracle Mitchell achieved in Northern Ireland -- a 1998 peace agreement between Catholics and Protestants that holds to this day -- would be replicated with an end to decades of hostility between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Yet there Mitchell sat in the Oval Office on Friday, making good on a private letter he sent to the president five weeks ago: The two-year hitch Mitchell promised as special envoy to the Middle East is up and, disappointed as he may be at what remains a stalemate in the world's most volatile hot spot, it's time to move on.
"If a person could have succeeded through sheer will and hard work, George would have done it," Obama told me in a telephone interview shortly after the two met. "I'm extremely grateful for his service. His country owes him a high debt."
That we do.
Some in Washington say Mitchell, 77, never got a real chance to maximize his widely respected skills as a global mediator.
They say the White House's micromanaging of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict deprived Mitchell of the maneuvering room he needed to achieve the mutual trust and extract the elusive concessions -- curtailment of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, an end to rocket attacks and other violence by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups -- upon which any lasting peace must hinge.
Others point to the still-unfolding revolutions throughout the Arab world, along with this month's freshly minted alliance between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, as proof that Obama's overall strategy for the Middle East is at best unfocused and at worst nonexistent.
But Mitchell, ever the statesman, had only praise for the president in a 30-minute telephone interview Friday afternoon from his soon-to-be-vacated Washington office.
"I like and admire and respect the president and I told him I appreciated the opportunity to again serve our country," he said. "And I meant it sincerely."
Mitchell also had a few words of advice for whomever picks up where he's leaving off.
"You've got to have a lot of patience, a willingness to travel extensively, to endure a lot of arguing and hostility back and forth and not get unduly upset by it," he said. "And obviously some knowledge and experience in the area."
To be sure, Mitchell said, recent popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria and Libya and elsewhere have left the Israelis and Palestinians unwilling to even talk about resuming talks until both sides can better discern where the political currents are headed.
"You cannot, and should not, view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in isolation from the rest of the Middle East," he said. "The instability that's occurring in the region now has a direct and profound effect upon the parties and vice versa. There's a synergy both ways."
(Continued on page 2)
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These are difficult times indeed, mythologist Michael Meade said. But Meade also sees reason for hope.
He’ll speak tonight at The Evergreen State College about the subject of his new book, “Why the World Doesn’t End: Tales of Renewal in Times of Loss.”
The very word “apocalypse,” which has come to mean the end of the world, actually means “unveiling,” Meade has said.
“We’re in a period of radical change,” the Vashon Island author and speaker said in a phone interview this week. “It’s easy to see gloom and doom and feel that way, because things do end.
“So many things that people were used to have already ended: the idea that each generation has a better economic opportunity, … the sense of progress in education, the idea that education is available to everybody. … The issues are so big that politics can’t handle them.”
But he has a different perspective to share. “One reason I wrote the book is that young people all over the country are asking me, ‘Is this whole thing just going to come to an end?’” Many Evergreen students who’ve read the book have sent him comments and questions along those lines, he said.
“I say, ‘No. It’s coming to a period of radical change where some things are ending and other things that are less visible are changing in a positive way, growing or renewing or appearing for the first time.”
His work has been praised by Alice Walker, Robert Bly and others. “Magical and profound, unlike anyone else one is likely to encounter, Michael Meade is one of the greatest living teachers of our time,” Walker has said.
Meade sees reason for hope among the country’s youth, who are rising to the challenges in a new way.
“The number of young people working in cutting-edge environmental projects and being involved in things that are healing the Earth or helping poor people or something like that, that is back in a growth direction,” he said. “I see much more inspiration among young people than there was 10 years ago.”
He sees it among the elders as well, citing as one example “threshold choirs,” small groups of elders who sing to the dying.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” he said. “They are like angels. It’s not publicized — it probably won’t be publicized — but to me it’s symbolic. … They turn the painful, struggling aspects of dying into a thing of beauty.”
And he sees it among combat veterans, one of the populations with which his Mosaic Multicultural Foundation works. He’s seen veterans struggling to heal from the psychological wounds of battle and then turn around and do permaculture or fight forest fires. “They are models of how you take something that’s painful, threatening, troublesome, difficult to deal with, and you somehow move it into an area of growth and healing,” he said.
The culture and the media often focus on the things that are going wrong, he said.
“Some of these things are just beginning, and many of them have not found their way to the news,” he said. “The news is dominated by all the conflicts and all the threats and all the dangers, and maybe that’s the way it always is.”
The hope, he said, is along the margins of society.
“We’re in a period where top down isn’t working,” he said. “Unseen for the most part, there are things coming from the ground.
“The growth, the hopeful things, the rewarding things are in the margins, the dark places,” he added. “Going to the place that seems scary but intriguing is actually the healthy thing to do.” ‘Why the World Doesn’t End’
What: Mythology scholar Michael Meade, author of “Why the World Doesn’t End: Tales of Renewal in Times of Loss,” promises surprises in an evening of storytelling and discussion.
When: 7 tonight
Where: Longhouse Education and Cultural Center at The Evergreen State College, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia
Tickets: $12; $9 for students
More information: mosaicvoices.org
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Kolam (Tamil: கோலம் ) is a form of sandpainting that is drawn using rice powder by female members of the family in front of their home. It is widely practised by Hindus in South India. A Kolam is a sort of painted prayer — a line drawing composed of curved loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots.
Kolams are thought to bestow prosperity to homes. Every morning in southern India, millions of women draw kolams on the ground with white rice powder. Through the day, the drawings get walked on, rained out, or blown around in the wind; new ones are made the next day. Every morning before sunrise, the floor is cleaned with water, the universal purifier, and the muddy floor is swept well for an even surface. The kolams are generally drawn while the surface is still damp so that it is held better. Occasionally, cow-dung is also used to wax the floors. Cow dung has antiseptic properties and hence provides a literal threshold of protection for the home. It also provides contrast with the white powder.
Decoration was not the sole purpose of a Kolam. In olden days, kolams used to be drawn in coarse rice flour, so that the ants don't have to work so hard for a meal. The rice powder is said to invite birds and other small critters to eat it, thus inviting other beings into one's home and everyday life: a daily tribute to harmonious co-existence. It is a sign of invitation to welcome all into the home, not the least of whom is Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity. The patterns range between geometric and mathematical line drawings around a matrix of dots to free form art work and closed shapes. Folklore has evolved to mandate that the lines must be completed so as to symbolically prevent evil spirits from entering the inside of the shapes, and thus are they prevented from entering the inside of the home.
It used to be a matter of pride to be able to draw large complicated patterns without lifting the hand off the floor standing up in between. The month of Margazhi was eagerly awaited by young women, who would then showcase their skills by covering the entire width of the road with one big kolam.
The ritual kolam patterns created for occasions such as weddings can stretch all the way down streets. Patterns are often passed on generation to generation, from mother to daughter.
For special occasions limestone and red brick powder to contrast are also used. Though kolams are usually done with dry rice flour, for longevity, dilute rice paste or even paints are also used. Modern interpretations have accommodated chalk, and more recently vinyl stickers (that defeat the original purpose).
Kolam is not as flamboyant as its other Indian contemporary, Rangoli, which is extremely colourful.
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ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) -- The Coast Guard is identifying the crew of a replica 18th-century sailing vessel that went down off the North Carolina coast and says the missing are the captain and a 42-year-old woman.
The Coast Guard says they are searching for the ship's captain, 63-year-old Robin Walbridge, and crew member Claudene Christian. The HMS Bounty began taking on water and the crew had to abandon ship about 5 a.m. Monday in the rough waters churned up by Hurricane Sandy. All of the other crew members were rescued.
The Coast Guard says Walbridge and Christian were able to put on survival suits designed to keep them afloat and protect them from chilly waters for 15 hours. The Coast Guard is searching for the two by air and water.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Most of us know the story of Doc Holliday and his exploits after moving west in the hopes that the drier air would help his tuberculosis. But, unless you live in Manitou Springs, Colorado, you might not have heard of Emma Crawford.
Emma was a teenager when her family moved with her to live on Ruxton Avenue in Manitou Springs in 1889. Emma and her mother, both spiritualists, were led to the area by their Native American spirit guides.
Emma loved Red Mountain and often hiked to the top when her health permitted. She claimed to have had a vision there, and tied a scarf to a tree at the spot where she wanted to be buried.
Emma was deeply loved by the people of Manitou Springs, especially by a young railway engineer named William Hildebrand. Emma returned William’s love, and the couple became engaged. Sadly, Emma died before the wedding, at the young age of 19, bringing sorrow and grief to the holiday season of 1891.
Her fiancé, Hildebrand, and a dozen other young men granted Emma’s request to be buried on top of Red Mountain. Although the task of hauling her coffin to the top of the mountain took two long days, at least it didn’t require the mountains of paperwork that one would undoubtedly have to wade through today.
Not long after Emma’s death, her spiritualist mother and sister, Alice, claimed that Emma’s ghost visited Red Stone Castle located on Iron Mountain, to play the piano.
Spiritualism was becoming popular in the years following Emma’s death, and many followers made the trek up Red Mountain in an attempt to communicate with the spirit of the dead woman.
A couple of decades after Emma’s death, the railroad was being built on the mountain, and Emma’s grave was relocated to another spot on Red Mountain.
Less desirable than the location Emma had chosen, weather and time caused the granite to wear away, eventually uncovering Emma’s coffin.
During the summer of 1929, not quite 40 years after her death, Emma’s remains were washed down the 7,200 foot mountain.
Two boys playing in the area found the skull and bones and took them to the authorities.
Emma was reinterred, but in an unmarked grave. In 2004, Emma was given a headstone by Manitou Springs.
Since 1994, Emma has been honored every year at Halloween with the Emma Crawford Festival that includes a parade, and the Emma Crawford Memorial Coffin Race.
The festivities evidently don’t appease Emma’s restless spirit, seen often wandering on the mountain. Many believe she will never rest in peace until her bones are put back where she wanted them, in the original spot where she was buried by her fiancé and friends.
Banks, Cameron. America’s Most Haunted. NY: Scholastic, 2002
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We often walk through Advent with our favorite Saints, and I have suggested a variety of Celtic Saints to provide adult inspiration during Lent. I try very hard to remember that there are fifty days of Eastertide coming, and to try not to rush into Easter when there are so many wonderful things about the anticipation and reflection that occurs during Lent.
There are some wonderful books for Lent. Here are a few of our family’s favorites:
I love this book about Saint Kevin of Ireland and the blackbird’s nest. It tells the story of how Saint Kevin came to gain self-discipline by having to hold a blackbird’s nest for the forty days of Lent. This story would be especially wonderful for the second grader in your house. Continue reading
“Do ye the little things in life.”
I love this day in the year! It is the Feast Day of St. David, patron Saint of Wales. Wonderful, wonderful stories abound about St. David. He was known for his austere monastic lifestyle where he and his monks would hook themselves up to plows instead of using oxen and plough the fields themselves. They ate no meat, nor ale, but appeared to have endless energy for hard labor and for prayer.
However, the main thing St. David was noted for was for his loving kindness, for his gentle words, for his respect for others, the way he observed others and did small things to help build up life in Christ for others.
I often think of St. David. Homemaking, after all, is a labor of small things. Sometimes it is a labor of small things done time and time again. Continue reading
The Anglican Communion recognizes all the great and Holy Early Church fathers, just as our Orthodox and Roman Catholic brothers and sisters do. But we do hold a special place in our hearts for St. Ninian, a pioneer in the Christian faith during the fourth century who established a monastery in a remote isle location in Scotland.
I found a little thumbnail on the Internet that I couldn’t seem to enlarge. It was what is left of the Chapel of Ninian at the Isle of Whitby (Whithorn in his native language). Bishop Ninian is considered Scotland’s first Saint (see my Homemaking in Lent post about the very brief history of Christianity in Great Britain to understand how Christianity was pushed into Wales, Scotland and Cornwall).
There is not much known about St. Ninian. It is almost certain that was a Briton and that he traveled to Rome for training – so therefore, he was more tied into the Roman Church of the time than the Celtic Church. His monastery was a center of learning and it was called the Candida Casa, the “white house”. From there, he went out to the Picts and other neighboring tribes and took the news of Christianity with him. Part of the legend around him stipulates that he sowed seeds that grew so fast they became mature plants in a day and that is how the monastery received its food and survived. He planted his ideas and faith in those studying with him, and St. Kentigern, or Mungo as some of you may know him, became one of the most famous. Continue reading
In homemaking, one thing I would like to encourage is to give value to the innermost experiences of your soul, not just the outward. In other words, homemaking is not just about whether or not the house is picked up or the everyone has clean underwear (although those things are nice, ) , but how you feel about your family and your home during each season. How does your homemaking reflect the seasons of your soul.
This is the eve before Lent begins in the Western Church. Before you decide to click off this page because you are not Christian or anything else, realize that Lent is a season that anyone can celebrate. It is a journey of the heart and the mind, a time of examination and stillness, a time of renewal of life, of renewal of mind heading into a spring that right now seems so far away. For me, Lent is a time where I deliberately examine my own choices – how I am using my time, am I serving my family, am I taking care of myself? It is a time to find a renewed source of strength.
I would like to walk through these days with you with my favorite friends: some of the Celtic Holy ones. I love the Celtic Saints, or you can just call them your Celtic Holy Companions, because they were so very interesting and inspiring and I do think they represent a point of commonality amongst all Christian denominations and form a bedrock of Western Civilization. In Advent, we often travel through Advent and mark St. Nicholas Day and Santa Lucia Day for cultural reasons, for religious reasons and for personal reasons to find light in the darkest of days. Why not do this in Lent? There are wonderful holy people to be celebrated during Lent to inspire you to renewal.
Here is a brief background, based on my understanding of the early Celtic Church, that might help you understand the Celtic Saints a little better: Continue reading
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You can view the current or previous issues of Diabetes Health online, in their entirety, anytime you want.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented stepped-up security measures at the nation's airports in response to the tragic events of September 11. Some new security measures may affect airline passengers with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recognizes the added inconvenience this may pose for individuals with diabetes, but understands the necessity to secure airline passenger safety.
The best approach right now is to exercise on the side of caution.
While passengers with diabetes were previously advised to have prescriptions and letters of medical necessity to present, the FAA's verbal directives to the ADA say those will not be accepted because of forgery concerns.
The FAA now says passengers may board airplanes with syringes or insulin delivery systems only if they can produce a vial of insulin with a professional, pharmaceutical pre-printed label that clearly identifies the medication. No exceptions will be made. Because the prescription information is on the outside of the box that contains the vial of insulin, it is recommended that you do not discard your insulin box so that it may be presented.
Those who test their blood-glucose levels but do not require insulin may board with lancets as long as they are capped and brought with your meter, which needs to have the manufacturer's name embossed on it (i.e., "Accu-Chek," "One Touch," etc.).
Glucagon kits need to be kept intact in the original container with the pre-printed label from the pharmacy.
At this time, individual airline carriers may have other requirements that further restrict a passenger's ability to board with diabetes equipment and supplies. Each passenger is urged to call the airline carrier at least one day in advance of his or her scheduled flight to confirm what that airline's policy is with regard to diabetes medication and supplies. Be advised that each airline's policy is subject to change.
Should a passenger be denied boarding a flight or be faced with any other unforeseen diabetes-related difficulty because of the FAA's security measures, he or she should contact the FAA grounds security commissioner at the departing airport, who should be able to assist with resolution.
In addition, contact the American Diabetes Association at (703) 549-1500 x2108 so that it may be kept informed of airline protocols and security measures. The Civil Aviation Security division of the FAA may also be contacted at (202) 267-9863. The Association will continue to monitor this situation and keep you informed of new developments.
0 comments - Nov 1, 2001
Diabetes Health is the essential resource for people living with diabetes- both newly diagnosed and experienced as well as the professionals who care for them. We provide balanced expert news and information on living healthfully with diabetes. Each issue includes cutting-edge editorial coverage of new products, research, treatment options, and meaningful lifestyle issues.
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A photo of Homer Simpson accompanying a genuine article about multiple sclerosis (MS) has exposed Chinese state-run media's penchant for using images without permission.
The article, which appeared on China's official Xinhua News Agency's English news site on Monday, displays text about a new genetic discovery relating to MS, attributed to "agencies." Alongside is an x-ray rendering of the diminutive brain of the cartoon character Homer Simpson, attributed as a "file photo."
This isn't the first time Chinese media has fallen prey to satire presented to an English-language audience. In 2002, the Beijing Evening News (Beijing Wan Bao) picked up an article from humour site The Onion, stating that the U.S. Congress had threatened to move out of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., unless the building were upgraded to include a retractable dome. The newspaper also ran a drawing The Onion had published of the fictional new roof design.
Both online and print media in China routinely use photos downloaded or scanned from other sources without proper attribution or copyright permission.
Strangely, publications in foreign languages, and therefore those most likely to be read by foreigners, are frequent offenders. Last year, the state-run English-language newspaper China Daily's Web site ran 13 topless images of a female Italian volleyball player, clearly marked both with logos for the magazine Men's Health and an Italian Web site.
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Explore / Articles
The Trojan War
When Paris, prince of Troy, was living as a shepherd on Mt. Ida he judged the beauty contest between the goddesses Athena, Hera and Aphrodite. He gave the prize to Aphrodite, who promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. This was Helen, wife of Menelaos, king of Sparta. Paris stole her away to Troy. Greek forces, under the overall command of Menelaos' brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, set off to recover Helen, and thus the Trojan War began.
The ten year siege saw many acts of heroic valour and many deaths as the fighting raged on the Trojan plain. Patroklos, taking Achilles' place and wearing his armour, was killed by Hektor, the greatest Trojan hero. Achilles rejoined the fight and slaughtered Hektor, then subjected his body to indignities before finally allowing it to be ransomed by Priam, the old king of Troy. Achilles himself fell victim to the arrow of Paris that struck him in his one vulnerable spot - his heel.
The War ended when Odysseus, most resourceful of the Greeks, came up with the ruse of the Wooden Horse. Building a vast, hollow animal, the Greeks concealed their best fighters within it, then apparently left it on the plain of Troy and sailed away. The Trojans took the Horse into the city. At night the Greeks burst out and opened the gates to their comrades, who had secretly returned. By this means the city of Troy was taken.
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Our guest blogger is Sarah Jane Glynn, a policy analyst at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Today is Mother’s Day, the day reserved for children and fathers to lavish the moms in their lives with praise and attention. The news is, of course, full of beautiful and heartrending odes to mothers.
Yet there is one group of moms that are not usually beatified in the press, in fact they are vilified more often than not: Single mothers. The press has unleashed an onslaught of articles in the past few months bemoaning the fact that an increasing number of births are to single moms.
Whether one approves of single parenting or not, the fact is that the majority of births to women under the age of 30 occur outside of marriage. It is in our best interests as a nation to support these women and their children.
Families headed by a single mother are more likely to live in poverty than those headed by a married couple or a single father. Increased employment among single mothers helps in reducing their poverty rates, but the inflexible nature of most workplaces presents unique challenges to single moms. Single mothers who experience work-life conflict are less likely to be employed and less able to maintain employment stability.
A lack of flexibility and paid leave can make keeping a job nearly impossible for many single mothers already struggling to make ends meet. Without a partner to share childcare responsibilities with, single moms must often choose between going to work or staying home with a sick child.
A single mother with no paid sick days, working full-time earning $10 an hour (the average wage for a worker without paid sick days), would fall below the poverty line if her child caught a bad case of the flu and she had to miss three days of work without pay. This doesn’t even take into account the fact that she may be fired for having to miss work in the first place.
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More in Decorating
First install a box to house the front projector. The box is made of plywood and covered in fabric to match the room's decor. The box has an opening just large enough for the projector to beam a picture onto the big screen. Be sure to keep the top of the box open because the projector needs the ventilation.
Mount the surround-sound speakers around the room, and install the surround-sound receiver, which includes a DVD player.
Finally, the big screen frame is a low-cost do-it-yourself option. The frame is made out of 2 x 2s, butt jointed together with drywall screws. Russ went out and bought some absorbent black velvet, wrapped it around the frame and stapled it. Once the frame is wrapped, simply hang it on the wall.
Snap in the screen, which is made of white cloth wrapped around plywood.The screen fabric always goes in last because if it gets damaged, you have to buy a new screen.
The final step is to calibrate the speakers using a Sound Pressure Level (SPL) meter. Inexpensive ones can be found at most electronic stores. Simply hold the meter specifically where the person's ear will be. Point the front (the microphone part) up to the ceiling but not directly at the speakers and keep it in one spot -- no movement. Using the remote, adjust the sound using the meter reading until each sound meters the same. Once all the levels are equal, the audio is calibrated. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Creating this bedroom home theater is an easy weekend project. It has a front-projection system, big screen, surround-sound speakers and an audio-video receiver with a DVD player.
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Admiral Ackbar was the Commander of the entire Rebel Fleet. He is a Mon Calamari who is best known in historical records for his actions in the Battle of Endor, playing a key role in the destruction of the second Death Star.
Along with his heroism in the Battle of Endor, Ackbar led an excellent career in the rebellion. He is often overlooked as one of the minor players in the overall scene, but this is mostly due to a racist plot. The Mon Calamari are an intelligent species, yet are not a highly physical race. Thus, they are often bullied around (will be discussed further- see part about slavery), and as such have not recieved their due respect in history. Also, the human recounts of his actions are slanted, due to the widespread xenophobia on Earth.
Although the Rebellion respected Mon Calamari, they did not record the historical events alone. Over time Ackbar's contribution was still noted, yet without the great importance it once carried.
The Life of Ackbar
Ackbar was not a stranger to leadership when he started serving in the Rebellion. He played a role in the local government on his home world of Mon Calamari. When the Galactic Empire occupied and destroyed much of his planet, Ackbar was taken as a slave. He was given to Grand Moff Tarkin to be his personal servant.
Luckily, Ackbar was very astute and gathered as much information as possible while serving Tarkin. He gathered many military secrets, which would prove to be indispensable for the Rebellion.
During a Rebel ambush on Tarkin's transport, Ackbar was able to flee to the Rebellion. He returned to his people, and eventually led to them to join the Rebel Alliance.
Ackbar was a tremendous leader, and he oversaw the production of the B-wing, which helped him achieve the rank of Admiral. He then led the Rebel Fleet in the Battle of Endor, which is probably what he is best known for. But his service to the Rebellion did not end there! He played a role in the New Republic, and led many attacks on the dwindling Imperial forces.
In the following years, Ackbar would be mired in a scandalous plot conceived by Imperial Intelligence operatives. He withstood them, but not without losing some amount of credibility. After time, he took on an overlooking position to the younger admirals that were leading the fleets.
Admiral Ackbar in action:
An incomplete list of memorable Ackbar quotes:
"It's a trap!"
"Move the fleet away from the Death Star"
"May the force be with us"
"We saw it. All craft prepare to retreat."
"All craft, prepare to jump into hyperspace on my mark."
"The shield is down, commence attack on the Death Star's main reactor."
"We've got to give those fighters more time, concentrate all fire on that Super Star Destroyer"
"We have no choice General Calrissian! Our cruisers can't repel firepower of that magnitude!"
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I was raised on the space program. On my sixth birthday in 1962 my family moved from Fort Worth to Houston so my father could take a job at NASA. He was an aeronautical engineer at General Dynamics in Fort Worth when it was announced that NASA was building a new space center in Houston. He applied immediately, but it was some months before he landed a job there. At that time the Mercury program was in full swing, but Dad was hired to work on Apollo. President Kennedy had already committed the nation to go to the moon.
It took hundreds of thousands of people to make Apollo 11 possible. I am proud of my father’s role, but it is humbling to realize how many others were involved. He worked initially on the aerodynamic design of the launch escape system. That’s the small rocket that sits atop the capsule, ready to lift it quickly to safety if anything goes wrong with the booster. We still have a wind tunnel model which was used to test one of the early designs. Later he worked on the reentry aerodynamics. Coming back from the moon, the Apollo command module would reenter the Earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 mph, much faster than any previous spacecraft. This was an aerodynamic challenge of the first order. On top of that, Apollo was the first capsule designed to be a solid lifting body, so the astronauts could fly it down to the designated target area. With this ability the Apollo missions routinely landed within sight of the recovery ship.
I remember being a space junkie even before we left Fort Worth. At that time, every mission received full TV coverage from launch to splashdown. I was always glued to the tube. I watched the coverage of John Glenn’s first orbital flight, and I remember, even at five years old, the anxiety about whether his heat shield was loose during reentry. Later I followed every achievement of the Gemini program as NASA worked out the techniques that would be needed for Apollo: longer flights, larger crews, spacewalks, rendezvous and docking. Other boys collected baseball cards and memorized game stats. I became a walking encyclopedia of space trivia. I could tell you the height of the Saturn V rocket, the thrust of each stage, and every detail of the mission profile. I knew the names of most of the astronauts and could tell you which missions they had flown on. I had posters of rockets on my bedroom wall. A packet of publicity photos from NASA was one of my most treasured possessions.
The night of July 20, 1969 our whole family gathered around the TV to watch as the Eagle touched down on the moon. What an exciting time it was to be alive. Something like a quarter of the entire world population was watching with us at that same moment. The sense of wonder, pride and history was palpable. After the landing, it was to be several hours before the astronauts exited the vehicle. I remember we went outside and stood in the backyard, staring up at the moon. How strange to think that two men were there on the surface at that moment. I remember marveling at the thought that something could be in plain view, and yet so far away as to be invisible. It was hard to imagine just how far away they were.
When the moon walk started we were again glued to the television. We sat in the darkened living room of our home: my parents, my sister, my grandfather and me. I sat on the floor near the TV with my grandfather behind me on the couch. When the first ghostly images began to be transmitted we strained to make out what we were seeing. There was no doubt, though, about what was happening the moment Neil Armstrong stepped off the landing pad and onto the lunar surface. His words are burned in my memory. “I’m going to step off the LEM now. That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The words seemed so appropriate.
However great the novelty and wonder of that moment was for me, I cannot fathom what it must have been like for my grandfather. Born in the Oklahoma Territory in 1892, he often told us stories of the first time he ever saw an automobile and the first time he heard about the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk. In his lifetime mankind had gone from the first halting steps at heavier-than-air flying machines to massive rockets propelling three people to the moon, a quarter of a million miles away. As we watched the astronauts exploring the surface, every few minutes a title graphic would be displayed on the screen saying “Man on the Moon”. And every time it came on the screen my grandfather would read it out loud, in a tone of voice that spoke volumes. It was as if he couldn’t quite believe he wasn’t dreaming.
My grandfather died in 1979 and my father died in 1995. I have gazed up at the moon thousands of times in the past 40 years, and on none of those occasions was any human presence there to wonder at. Will there ever be again? Surely it will happen again someday, but my grandfather will not be here to see it, nor my father, nor perhaps will I. And now as I think back to that magical night 40 years ago it is as much with sadness as with wonder. The promise of that moment seems yet unfulfilled. I am still a space junkie. I still await eagerly each new development in the conquest of space, but I am chastened by the slow pace at which the future becomes the present. It is in this context that the accomplishments of my father’s generation seem even more extraordinary. Congratulations, Dad, to you and all your colleagues for a feat that only in hindsight, perhaps, we can fully appreciate.
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The Great Spy System, or, Nick Carter's Promise to the President
NICK CARTER'S NARROW ESCAPE FROM A KNIFE.
They turned through the gateway in front of the house almost
together, for Nick forced the senator a little in advance of him as they
arrived at it, and then pushed him forward, for already he had heard the
patter of running feet on the pavement behind him, and knew because of
the sound that some person was running on his toes, in order to approach
as silently as possible.
As the detective pushed the senator forward he turned himself to
face the approaching foe; and just as he did so, saw the man raise his
arm as if to throw something.
Nick dodged, for he suspected what it was, and at that instant
the gleam of a knife-blade, as it whizzed past him, told him that a
knife had been thrown.
But the detective had prepared himself for an emergency of this
sort, for he knew-or, rather, had known that he would not wish to shoot,
and that, nevertheless, he would be likely to need some weapon that he
And now, as the man raised his arm again, to cast the second
knife-knife-throwers always carry a pair of them -the detective drew
back his own hand quickly and let fly a small stone which was one of
several he had put into his pockets for the purpose.
And the pebble-it was scarcely more than that-went true to its
aim ; it struck the man fairly in the middle of his forehead, so that he
fell like a stricken bullock, and the knife he had been about to hurl
clattered to the brick pavement noisily.
Instantly the detective turned, and , seizing the senator by the
arm, hurried him up the steps of the house.Neither of them ran, but they
almost did so ; and even as they reached the top of the steps the
spiteful crack of a pistol told them that their enemies were determined.
But the door was opened for them when they reached it, and they
sprang inside, whereupon it was instantly closed again, and in the light
of the hall Chick stood facing them smilingly.
"Rather a close call, wasn't it?" he asked calmly.
"It's all right," replied Nick instantly. "Neither of us were
touched, although if I had not turned at the right moment one of use
would have had a knife in our flesh, somewhere."
"How many are out there?" asked Chick.
"Six, at least; probably more, Chick," was the reply.
"Where is Patsy?"
"Oh, he is chasing our own trailers along, somewhere, keeping
tabs. He will show up at the right moment. Who was that in the back,
when the spy was captured? You, or Danny?"
"Danny. I was waiting here. He said that Patsy gave him a nice
one, and I reckon he did, for the fellow only came around to his senses
after we got him here, in the house."
"You took him away again, didn't you?"
"Certainly. According to orders. He is over in the southwest
section by this time."
"That is as it should be. Who is with him?"
"I told Danny to stay there. I did not think we would need him
"Quite right. Have the spies attempted to get into this house,
since the man was brought here?"
"Have they? They have made all sorts of excuses, and at last they
threatened. And just now, a moment before you appeared, I think they
were contemplating rushing the door," replied Chick, with a grin.
"Good!" ejaculated the detective. "We will make ready for them,
and then they can rush it as soon as they please-that is, if you have
perfected all the arrangements I told you to fix," he added.
"Everything is ready," said the assistant.
"Did you call upon Major Sylvester, at police headquarters, as
"And he agreed?"
"Yes. He was a trifle slow about it at first. Said it wasn't
exactly right to leave the street unguarded even for a little while,
when there would be such a row going on, but I assured him that nobody
would be in any danger but ourselves, and that we could take care of
that part of it. I finally succeeded in assuring him that it was really
for the good of the nation that you should have your way for to-night,
and he consented at last that there should not be a cop within blocks of
here after ten o'clock. I assumed all the responsibility."
"Good!" said the detective. Then he turned to the senator and
"You see, senator," he said, "I wanted things arranged so that
Mustushimi would have a free hand for to-night. I wanted this part of
the street left unguarded, so that finding it so, they would not
hesitate to resort to extreme measures; and that is what they will do.
By the way, Chick, let me introduce you. This is 'The senator from the
West.' That is the only name we know him by, for the present."
"That is enough for me," said Chick, grasping his hand. "I have
heard all about you, sir, from my chief, who has told me about that
"Let me understand things," said the senator, turning to Nick
again. "Do you mean that the chief of police has withdrawn the regular
police guard from this part of the street, for to-night?"
"For the first part of the night-yes."
"So that Mustushimi may discover that no police are near him. He
will send out his men to find out about that. If there was a policeman
in the way, he would doubtless attack him. But, finding none, he will
assume that the officer has left his post without leave, and will go
ahead with his own plans, leaving a guard to watch for the arrival of
"And what will he attempt to do, do you think?"
"He means to get inside this house, if he can do it; by force, if
it cannot be accomplished in any other way."
"But what for? How will it benefit him to get in here?"
"He wants to recapture his spy, before that spy has a chance to
make a full confession to me; but more than that, he wants to capture
"And now he knows that I am here-more than that, he knows that
you are with me, and I have no doubt that he has suddenly discovered
that you are about as dangerous to him as I am."
"He will be likely to think so, at any rate."
"There are no noises outside the house now."
"What do you suppose they are doing?"
"Eh? For what?"
"Looking to see if there is danger of interruption by the police.
By the way, Chick, have you got anybody in the other house, to keep
"Yes. I've got Gordon, of the secret service. I ran across him
this morning. He said he had a day off, and I told him something of our
plans. He volunteered to assist me, and I took him up. He is over there
now, in the other house, keeping watch out of the front windows."
"Good. I think you had better go over there, Chick. it would not
be surprising if Mustushimi tumbled to the fact that there are two
houses in this affair. He is smart enough to guess that, when he
remembers how closely the two streets come together right here."
"I think he has suspected it already."
"Do you? Why?"
"He has posted two men in front of it. He is in doubt, however,
and won't attempt any breaking in on that side until he is certain. It
wouldn't do for him to disturb peaceable citizens, and you could never
tell from the outside that the house is unoccupied."
"I see. Well, go over there and find out what Gordon has to say,
and when you have done that, return here."
As soon as Chick departed, the senator, who was insatiable with
his questions, turned to the detective again.
"I am worried about that other assistant of yours," he said.
"What about him?"
"Well, so far as I was able to determine, the city of Washington
is just about swarming with spies in the service of that scoundrel
Mustushimi, and if some of them saw your man Patsy strike the spy whom
you caught, isn't it just possible that they have taken after him, and
"Patsy isn't an easy mark for people of that sort," replied the
"Granted; but all the same there are so many of them that Patsy
might have fallen into their hands, you know."
"I don't think so, senator."
"Where do you suppose he is now?"
"Outside there, somewhere."
"What? Among those fellows who are about to attack us?"
"No; but keeping watch over them. Don't worry about Patsy. He
knows how to take care of himself as well as anybody I ever knew. He'll
turn up all right, at the moment when he is least expected, and
therefore probably will be the most wanted."
"Carter, do you really think that those fellows will have the
nerve to attack this house while we are in it?"
"What are you going to do to defend it?"
"Nothing at all."
"Nothing at all. I am almost inclined to leave the door open for
them to enter, only if I did that it would make them suspicious."
"Do you mean that you are going to let them get inside without
offering any resistance?"
"Why, for goodness sake?"
"Because they will discover all the resistance they will care to
meet after they have entered."
"Oh! You mean to fix yourself to fight them, then, eh?"
"I don't really think we will have to do any fighting at all,
"I suppose you have prepared another puzzle for me to solve, eh?"
"Not necessarily. Do you remember that when I was telling you
about these two houses, I told you that I had had the other one wired
thoroughly for electricity?"
"Yes. What has that to do with it?"
"I will tell you. When I thought of using these houses, I
naturally remember that fact about the wiring, for it has just been
done. When I reemerge that, it reminded me of something that I did years
ago, in my house in New York."
"What was that?"
"There was a band of thirteen men who had formed together and
taken a some oath to do me up; to murder me, in short. well, I got onto
their schemes, and I managed to find out what night had been fixed upon
when they intended to visit my house in a body, storm it, and either
kill me, or take me prisoner to kill me afterward. I and just had that
house fitted with electricity at the time, and I went to the power-house
and induced them to help me-with the result that I bagged the whole lot
of them with electricity. Caught every last one of them"
"By shocking them do you mean?"
"And is that what you have fixed up here?"
"Something very like it-as you shall see."
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Joos Van CleveArticle Free Pass
Joos Van Cleve, Cleve also spelled Cleef, also called Joos Van Der Beke (born c. 1480—died 1540, Antwerp, Flanders [now in Belgium]), Flemish painter known for his portraits of royalty and his religious paintings. He is now often identified with the “Master of the Death of the Virgin.”
In 1511 Joos van Cleve entered the Antwerp guild as a master painter, and in 1520 he was appointed dean of the guild. He received a number of commissions from Cologne, where he influenced the local school of painting. The well-known triptychs of the “Death of the Virgin” (Munich and Cologne), painted for the Hackeney family of Cologne, gave the artist the provisional name of the “Master of the Death of the Virgin” among later art scholars. He is thought to have gone to France as a portraitist to Francis I, and his portrait of Henry VIII suggests that he may have visited England.
Joos van Cleve’s work is facile, eclectic, and conservative. He generally altered his style only to agree with the changes in fashion. He is sometimes called “the Elder” to distinguish him from his son, Cornelis van Cleve (1520–67), none of whose paintings survive.
What made you want to look up "Joos Van Cleve"? Please share what surprised you most...
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Introducing TI's most powerful graphing calculator: The TI-89 Titanium, offering new features, preloaded Apps, and even more versatility. A built-in USB port makes data transfer ultra-convenient. Plus, with three times the memory of the TI-89, you can store more Apps, data, and programs.
The TI-89 Titanium's advanced functionality and 3-D graphing make problem-solving for AP*, advanced mathematics, and engineering courses infinitely easier. It's the most powerful TI graphing calculator allowed for use on the AP* Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, PSAT/NMSQT**, SAT® I , SAT II, and Math IC & IIC exams.
The TI-89 is not permitted on the ACT exam. Learn more at The ACT
- 16 preloaded Graphing Calculator Software Applications (Apps), including EE*Pro®, CellSheet™ & NoteFolio™
- 3x the Flash memory of the TI-89
- Built-in USB port with cable
- All of the features & functionality of the TI-89
*SAT & AP are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board, which was not involved in the production of and does not endorse this product. ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc., which does not endorse this product.
** PSAT/NMSQT/SAT/Advanced Placement Program/AP/College Board are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board, which was not involved in the production or development of TI products.
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There are interactive technologies available via the web to create engaging, virtual conversations with different audiences (like youth, parents, teachers, etc.) and deliver targeted information based on their responses. Also, using this approach you'll be able to capture information from the public regarding their perceptions, ideas, insights, etc. about recycling and the environment. All of this can be done in one medium. Youth are on the web and that's where you'll find them! Using the internet will dramatically increase your reach as well as your audience's access to the information (24-7).
Tags for this Thread
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<urn:uuid:97cfbf31-dfc9-4730-a271-0b3123d08a03>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/forum/showthread56e8.html?67-Use-Technology&p=78&mode=threaded
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| 0.92244
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Donating your tissue for research
Human tissue is used in scientific and medical research, to improve understanding of how diseases start and progress and what keeps us healthy. Researchers may find different ways of diagnosing disease, or develop new treatments. Find out more about what is involved, how to donate tissue and the role of the HTA.
The HTA licenses organisations that store human tissue for research. We believe that good regulation supports good science, which in turn leads to improved healthcare. Our regulatory framework ensures that consent is sought, which supports public confidence in the way that human tissue is used. One of the HTA's key strategic aims is to ensure that tissue-based research is not held up by our regulation. Research funders tell us that regulation of the storage of human tissue in research has driven up standards (click here to read some quotes and endorsements).
In consultation with the sector, we have recently developed a new code of practice on research which has been informed by our experience of licensing research establishments and questions we have been asked by professionals and members of the public.
Why do scientists use human tissue for research?
By studying human tissue, scientists improve their understanding of how diseases start and progress, and what keeps us healthy. They may find different ways of diagnosing disease, or develop new treatments. Types of research involving human tissue include developing screening tests for different types of cancer, testing new treatments for conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, looking at how the immune system works to help understand how it combats diseases and researching how stem cells could be used to treat conditions like Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.
Tissue from living people
If tissue or cells are removed during the course of treatment or a diagnosis, there may be some left over that can be used for research. Tissue from living patients - for example biopsy or blood samples - can ordinarily be used for research only with the person's consent. The HTA ensures that it is removed and stored in an appropriate and well managed way.
Consent is not required for research on tissue from living patients if the samples are anonymised (or coded to make sure patient or participant information is not identifiable) and the project has recognised ethics committee approval; or if the tissue samples were obtained before 1 September 2006 (when the Human Tissue Act came into force). Information for professionals on consent and HTA licensing requirements is available in our code of practice on research.
If people do not want their tissue to be used for any medical research, or they want it to be used only for specific types of research, it is important that they make this clear to the healthcare professional who seeks their consent, and that their wishes are documented.
Tissue from deceased people
Consent is always required for research on human tissue from deceased patients unless the tissue samples were obtained before 1 September 2006.
A person may consent for their tissue to be used for research after their death. Consent is always required for research on human tissue from deceased patients unless the tissue samples were obtained before 1 September 2006. If there is no record of the deceased person's wishes, consent for research can be obtained from someone nominated by that person to act on his or her behalf; or, if no one has been nominated, from a person in a ‘qualifying relationship' - this can be a partner, relative or friend. Read about consent and licensing requirements for tissue taken during a coroner's post mortem which may be used for research.
What should you do if you would like to donate tissue before or after your death?
If you are suffering from a disease or condition, you may be asked by the person treating you if you would like to donate tissue after your death. If you would like to donate and have not been approached, you could ask your treating physician.
If you want your tissue to be used for any medical research, or you may want it to be used only for specific types of research, it is important that you make these wishes clear to the healthcare professional who seeks your consent, and that they are stated in writing on a consent form. However, you should be aware that some tissue establishments may not be able to use your tissue at all if you impose very specific requirements for its use. If you are happy for your tissue to be used in any research relating to human health, you should consider giving what is termed ‘generic consent'.
Research tissue banks
A research tissue bank is a collection of tissue that may be used in many different research projects. Tissue that is being stored is often of a certain type; for example, tissue that is collected from people with a particular disease such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease or from a part of the body such as the liver or lungs.
Banks also require tissue from people without a disease to act as a comparison for tissue from someone with a disease. For example, someone who has multiple sclerosis and someone who does not can both donate to a multiple sclerosis tissue bank. If people would like to donate tissue to a research tissue bank, they should contact the research tissue bank directly. The research tissue bank will be able to advise whether it is possible to donate tissue and give more information about what donation entails. Most research tissue banks or disease charities that need donations have websites with contact information for potential donors. Read about the multiple sclerosis (MS) tissue bank at Imperial College London.
Is donating tissue for research the same as donating your whole body to medical science or 'anatomical examination'?
When people refer to donating their whole body to medical science, they usually mean donating their bodies to a medical school after their death (read body donation FAQs). Their bodies will be used to teach healthcare professionals and students about the human body. Whole body donation is different to donating tissue for research only. Click here to find out more about body donation.
Being on the NHS Organ Donor Register does not mean that a person has consented to tissue being used for research after death. Organ donation and tissue donation for research are not mutually exclusive and, depending on the circumstances, someone may be able to do both.
What standards do organisations have to comply with to store human tissue for research?
An HTA licence for research is granted to an organisation if it shows it complies with standards set down by the HTA. These requirements include: consent for the tissue to be used in research is taken by appropriately trained personnel and is recorded; confidentiality is maintained; the environment tissue is stored in is suitable; there are security measures to lock away the tissue; and the tissue is traceable.
Updated January 2012
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I recently added a 320GB 7200 drive to my XP Laptop in the number 1 position, and switched the original 80GB drive to position 2. I used Acronis 2013 to clone the new drive and everything started up and worked out great. I'm only left with one question mark. I'm learning, but am always running into some seemingly simple things I don't understand.
I thought I could use control panel to remove programs from the old (now F drive) to make room for file storage, etc. I cautiously opened F drive, went to control panel and remove programns, and removed a mprogram that was of little consequence. I then closed F drive, opened C drive, remove proigrams, and the program was missing from the new C drive??? I repeated this three times with same results. I know the answer has got to be simple, but I don't understand. If these drives are connected like this I'll never get to clean F drive, and it is full.
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Sharon J. Lettman has plenty to say. And as the newly appointed executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), Lettman, who is straight, has found her platform.
''I always had a passion for the underrepresented,'' says Lettman, a 41-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native who lived in Miami before coming to the D.C. area.
Sharon J. Lettman
(Photo courtesy of the National Black Justice Coalition)
An activist at 17, Lettman got involved with GLBT advocacy later in life while working for People For the American Way, an organization advancing a variety of liberal causes.
''It was important to me to say that if I can lend my voice to something that can make a difference, that's my social obligation. As I learned more about the LGBT community and the issues … it honestly slapped me in the face. [It's] like the civil-rights movement, everything from slavery, to the Jim Crow days, to be being 'separate but equal.'''
At NBJC, Lettman follows former Executive Director Alexander Robinson. She says she wants to bring ''a voice to the black family.''
''My priority is to eradicate what I call 'black on black' crime within the black community,'' she says. '''Don't Ask, Don't Tell' started in the black community well before starting in the military, so it's really to introduce and build power and respect for our LGBT brothers and sisters within the African-American community.''
For Lettman, DADT has become a little more personal since Sept. 9, when she married a man who's serving on active duty.
''For seven months he was over in Iraq. We talked every single day the last four months that he was there. If I was a man, he could not openly have that support. 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' has become very personal to me, because the support servicepersons need of people that they love and care about is unparalleled.''
But Lettman says she is encouraged by President Barack Obama's speech at the Human Rights Campaign dinner Oct. 10, at which he promised to repeal DADT.
''When you have the person who runs the country at the highest level, making that kind of a strong statement, it's not just his own moral obligation he's feeling, it's the level of advocacy that's out there. And the reality that the president is African American puts NBJC in tremendous play.''
Lettman says it's her social responsibility to use this opportunity to remind the masses that gay rights is not a ''white male issue.''
''It's really about bringing some color and awareness that there are people of color who are LGBT, who feel a double whammy. It's about bridging that gap and lifting up the powerful voices and the accomplishments of African-American LGBT individuals.''
NBJC Founding Board Member Donna Payne, who also works as the associate director of diversity at the Human Rights Campaign, met Lettman three years ago.
''She's been around in the community and she understands what we need to succeed,'' Payne says, adding that Lettman's being straight does not make her less qualified than a GLBT person to lead NBJC, a national civil-rights organization based in D.C. that strives to empower African-American GLBT people.
''It's not like you're talking about someone who knows just one or two LGBT people and wants to help. It's not like that. You're talking about someone who has already been in a position of talking and speaking with other LGBT speakers across the country.''
Under Lettman's leadership, Payne says she is hoping to see more programming at NBJC ''that's inclusive of everyone.''
''I know that she will bring that skill set to us,'' Payne says. ''It's going to be good.''
For more about the NBJC, visit www.nbjc.org.
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Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles has dubbed its next generation electric car as the ‘Mahindra e2o’.
Pronounced as ‘Ee-too-oh’, the electric vehicle has undergone extensive testing, validation and has been certified as road worthy in India. The car is slated to be launched soon and would be produced at Mahindra Reva’s recently inaugurated plant in Bangalore , which has a production capacity of 30,000 cars per annum.
“The Mahindra e2o is a game changing development within the personal mobility space that will help the Mahindra Group usher in a positive change in the lives of our customers. This is a significant step towards creating a comprehensive eco-system of sustainable mobility solutions, encompassing alternative technologies such as electric, hybrid and fuel cells into our research, development and commercialisation plans,” said Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra.
The car would use next generation lithium ion batteries and have a range of 100 km per charge, which is adequate for most daily journeys within the city. It will enable users to charge their vehicle through any 15 ampere plug point at home, or at the workplace.
Mahindra Reva has also developed and integrated a host of proprietary technologies for the car. The vehicle is also capable of using the futuristic ecosystem of ‘Sun2Car’, which derives energy from the Sun as a method of charging.
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It seems fair to argue that the PM dominates the central executive territory at the heart of the British political system. The PM has in recent years been accused of presidentialism, making less use of Cabinet, with important decisions been made elsewhere such as in bilaterals (the classic case is “Sofa government” under Blair), increasing the power and status of special advisers, and so forth. These are all ideas that students are familiar with, they sound fairly exciting, and invite easy discussion
And therefore it takes longer to get to grips with what Cabinet does since it is less in the public eye. But Cabinet, and yes this does depend to some extent on how the PM chooses to use the body as collective organ, does still perform some important functions, such as co-ordinating the government’s legislative timetable, dealing with political strategy, keeping ministers up-to-date with latest developments from arenas such as the UN and so on.
Another function of Cabinet is to deal with emergencies, with senior Cabinet members and relevant members of outside bodies (such as the military) in attendance. These special meetings are organised under the term “Cobra”, and one such example happened today. When I first heard about Cobra I imagined high pressured meetings taking place with a giant Cobra symbol on the wall behind the PM. Then I discovered what the acronym stood for. Very disappointing. (That’s a little bit of research for readers who don’t know.)
So, there you go, a very up-to-date example: today’s meeting on dodgy packages in cargo. If you missed the story I am referring to, see here.
If you are on the look out for resources, here is a list of British politics text books I found useful in teaching.
A damning indictment on the English education system by a respected think tank. But it is not all doom and gloomread more...»
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Many doctors used outmoded types of surgery for hernias, hand over this complicated operation to inexperienced juniors or experiment with new, untried techniques.
The statistics are worrying. It's four times more dangerous to have a hernia operation than to go without one if you're over 65, according to the Harvard School of Public Health (New Eng J of Med, 6 December 1973). Death rates vary 14 fold between health districts, and up to 20 per cent of operations have to be repeated within five years. To make matters worse, this recurrence rate rises to 30 per cent following a second operation and by as much as 50 per cent after the third.
In the UK, many patients are stuck on long NHS waiting lists. When it's their turn for the knife, the quality of surgical skill required is described as, as best, "variable", partly because the techniques used to perform the hernia repair vary.
"In the past there have been many types of hernia repair hundreds of different sorts," says John Alexander Williams, a surgeon who has carried out a number himself. "The fact that there are so many is a clear indication that most of them aren't good because a lot have been tried and superceded."
Perhaps surprisingly for such a common operation, a good hernia repair is as difficult to perform as complex cancer surgery, so you might think it demands and receives the skills of an experienced surgeon. Not so.
Consultant surgeons are reluctant to specialize in such operations which they regard as mundane and routine. Often, trainee surgeons are left to cut their teeth on hernia repairs and a lack of general interest is partly to blame for their use of surgical techniques which are considered out of date.
"Surgeons are a very conservative bunch and they tend to continue doing the same things if, as the old phrase goes, it works in their hands," says Andrew Kingsnorth, a consultant surgeon at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and hernia expert. "But we know that experience can consist of doing the wrong things over and over again. This is what's happened in hernia surgery."
A hernia is a bulge, usually in the groin, caused by a weakness in the muscles which form the front wall, or lining, of the abdomen. Surgery pushes back the contents of this bulge and supposedly strengthens the ruptured muscles and ligaments.
Around 80,000 of the estimated 150,000 or so patients who develop hernias each year are admitted for surgery. The abdominal wall may weaken with the passing of time. Sometimes the muscles may be put under a sudden increase in pressure through heavy lifting, sport or coughing. Hernias may occur if you're overweight, or due to the stretching of scars from previous surgery.
There are many different types of hernia, such as the umbilical (near the belly button), inguinal ( the groin), scrotal and femoral (thigh). If left untreated, hernias can get bigger and may cause pain. Sometimes a part of the intestines can slip in and out of the hernia, an entrapment which can lead to permanent strangulation, producing severe pain and sometimes vomiting.
Unfortunately, three out of four surgeons repair the rupture by "darning" it with a criss-cross of stitches that can give way under too much tension. The modern era of hernia surgery began in 1887 with the so-called Bassini operation, named after an Italian who published his techniques in the German medical literature of the day. Although he devised a very effective operation, it was corrupted over the years in the hands of very average surgeons and was successful in only 10 per cent of cases.
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When scientists socialize we often find ourselves talking shop like any profession, I imagine. This weekend I heard of a young scientist who was fired by a biotech company. When control sample data differed from “the right answer,” the young employee added a mathematical “fudge factor” so that the control data – and all the associated sample data – would come out “right.” A coworker discovered the instrument was out of tune (I’ll spare you the technical details) and stumbled upon the young scientist’s flawed data analysis. The young scientist was warned and re-schooled on how to maintain the instrument and conduct the assay properly. Unfortunately a couple of months later, coworkers discovered the scientist was still fudging the data and so was fired. Those of us hearing the sad tale were flabbergasted – did the employee really not understand the scientific method, or was this a dishonest character, or was the supervisor putting pressure on the young scientist to get data?
These days “Big Datasets” in biology and biomedical science are the next new thing. Thought leaders, pundits and excitable sorts are harking the beginning of the personalized medicine age. Armed with an individual patient’s human genome data, the hope is that physicians can treat that person’s disease with the right drug at the right time. To be sure, progress is being made. Most work to date correlates subsets of the genome (biomarkers or gene variants or expression profiles) with a particular disease or treatment regimen. I’ve worked with these datasets in my previous two jobs. Luckily I had top-notch biostatisticians, instrument technicians and database administrators at my side. These datasets are big, complex, and as confusing and confounding as human biology. How easy might it be for a dishonest scientist to fudge or over-interpret this data?
Last night 60 Minutes delved into that question. They featured the Anil Potti scandal. Potti and his colleagues at Duke Medical School used Big Genomic Data Sets to guide a clinical trial for lung cancer. It turns out that Potti manipulated the data underlying the clinical trial design (not to mention a series of high-profile publications). Yes – that’s right – a dishonest scientist fudged data and then used that data to treat cancer patients (there is no WordPress formatting that can adequately convey my dismay!). Some patients’ families are suing the university, but Duke decided to cooperate with 60 Minutes as a cautionary tale. Yes, Potti was fired but he’s still practicing medicine and treating patients somewhere in South Carolina. Yes, Potti’s supervisor is contrite, but he assures us the patients involved were provided proper medical care.
This is a horrible story that damages the trust patients and the public put in research hospitals and science. But we all bear responsibility for these stories when we hype a new technology before its time (Especially to patients – but also to Governors, voters and investors). We bear responsibility when we give scant attention to best practices or the “boring” infrastructure of scientific research – that is – the controls, the statistical analysis, the data management. (The Duke Review Board IGNORED warnings from two respected biostatisticans!). We bear responsibility when we tie career advancement or company goals to the “right” data or publication. I’m fairly certain the Potti Case will provide plenty fodder for scientific ethics classes and research review committees across the CSU this year. It would be a mistake to analyze it as a case involving only one dishonest scientist.
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In my experience, good parenting is a matter of follow-through; making the decision to stay committed in spite of circumstances that can seem insurmountable at times. Being a father is a 24-hour-a-day job that can be as thankless as it can be rewarding. Unfortunately, some brothas don't want to do the job at all. Others lose focus on their children. What can President Obama do? Little, outside of being a good role model for black men in general.
The beauty of Obama’s town hall meeting on fatherhood and responsibility is that he is a figure who doesn’t have to speculate about the pitfalls of fatherlessness. The work for Obama is to go beyond the symbolism of the day and to enact policy that addresses the connection between fatherlessness and unemployment, implementation of programs that can enhance a father's ability of to become a more skilled parent, and to begin a frank discussion about father’s reproductive/parental rights. While there will be limits to what "government" can do, the point is to create the political will in the country to make sure the concerns of parents considered nationwide.
As much as they are born, fathers are also made. Our hope and mission as dads each day has to be to become closer and more connected with our children.
To see Barack Obama pride himself on being the dad that he is, is inspiring. It's not his responsibility to raise our kids, but to see him as the ever vigilant caretaker that he is for his family can motivate African-American dads everywhere.
-Glenn Minnis is a NYC-based writer
"Black Fatherhood only comes back into the Black America in a forceful and beneficial way when we decide to prioritze it over pride, frustration, anger, fear, and money. The expectation that Black men will not be involved in the lives of their children must be forever changed. The condonation of non-committed Black women not advocating for or blatently interfering with healthy, regular relationships between their children and their children's fathers must be challenged. There needs to be an internal change of heart in our communities before we can hold the courts and government accountable for the continual decay of the Black family."
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"Where the hell is Little Orphan Annie today?" screamed a man's voice over the telephone. Senior Editor Ross MacGarble wiped a worried brow, tried to soothe his angry caller, jumped into his high powered car, and rushed two days of comic strips to his indignant subscriber. He explained patiently his paper's policy of omitting comic strips that are deemed not in the best public interest.
In another community one recent Friday morning, a pathetic 72 year old widow became so nauseated after reading a Morrie Ryskind column, she had to be rushed to a hospital and kept on oxygen and intravenous fluids for three days before she could return home in time to collect her unemployment insurance. Significantly, this gentle oldster was kept waiting in the emergency room for one hour and ten minutes while interns were feverishly transfusing an A.M.A. official who had suffered an inconsequential gastric hemorrhage while reading Walter Lippmann over a second cup of coffee laced with an expensive imported brandy.
All over the nation in thousands of communities Americans are becoming more and more disturbed about the disruptive state into which their news media have fallen. News and factual information, except in a few weighty papers like the venerable Boston Globe and in magazines like Playboy, have been pushed aside to make way for more advertising copy and a bumper crop of news analysts and GNP charts. It is estimated that there are 34,251 communities across the nation with no newspapers of their own. Citizens are forced to depend on news filtered through large metropolitan dailies which often arrive 12 to 14 hours after coming off their presses, or on the unsatisfactory blurred images and sounds emanating from faulty television sets. With the import of excellent Japanese transistor radios drastically curtailed by restrictive legislation, many must get their news only from poorly made, mass-manufactured American imitations, that often go dead in the middle of the weather-girl report. Hundreds of cities no longer get the Sunday night Ed Sullivan show because of "selective" programming on TV. It is reported that as many as 22 of the nation's newspapers even do not carry the column of Presidential Award winner, Ralph McGill.
Americans in every state are concerned about their news media: the poor quality of news interpretation too many of us receive, frightening differences in editorial points of view, erratic and delinquent newspaper delivery, blackouts in TV and radio programming, disinterested and materialistic editors and publishers, rapidly rising costs. All are serious complaints.
Costs are skyrocketing. Price increases up to 500% are common. Afternoon dailies that once sold for 2 cents now cost 5 cents or more: Sunday papers have gone from 5 and 10 cents to as high as 25 and 30 cents; newsmagazines, once bought for 10 cents, now sell for 35 or 50 cents. Newspapers that used to arrive in time for an early breakfast now appear in mid-morning or not at all. The prices of radio and television sets have risen precipitously; repair bills have reached astronomical figures.
Dissension and unrest are widespread throughout the country among ordinary citizens, and within the news profession itself, about the materialistic attitude and concern with money matters evidenced by many in the communications industry. There is a documented report of one prominent national figure who has managed to amass a fortune in millions by the manipulation of television monopolies and subsidies. Walter P. Clambake, the renowned television commentator, reportedly receives an income in excess of $500,000 yearly for his news programs and various sideline endorsements. Winken and Blinken, whose popular news program, "Ham on Wry," got the nod in top ratings several years ago, spend their vacations in plush resorts at home and abroad, and drive around in fleets of air-conditioned Lincoln Continentals. "I get a lousy 70 bucks a week;" complains Griswold Sobbins, "for two hours every day on Cap'n Blotto's Kiddie Korral and drive a second-hand Volkswagen, while some of them crumbs are hauling down $100,000 a year for regurgitating undigested news."
Editors formerly dedicated to preserving liberty and freedom of the press are now too busy taking polls, philosophising, and travelling about the country on expense-paid junkets - trends that threaten to undermine a once noble calling. Shamus T. Ginsberg, now of the Institute of Public Information and Deception, in a study of American newspapers, found that one editor was away from his desk 286 days out of the last 365. Ginsberg noted that in the recent election 45.1% of the nation's editors supported the Republican ticket. Says Hobart J. Perkins, proprietor of eastern Vermont's largest newsstand, "This kind of irresponsibility has got to be stopped, or we will all end up without Social Security."
In a report based on six months of research in thirty communities from coast to coast talking to publishers, editors, and newsboys, it was found that 92% of them were disturbed about deficiencies in the news profession. "Things are getting out of hand" observed publisher Herschel S. Blight when interviewed at the Thoroughbred yearling auction, where he had just purchased two colts for $180,000 to add to his modest racing stable. "Some of these writers are demanding salaries as high as $50 a month for pecking out a weekly column that my grandson could write better."
The communications industry as a whole is also worried about its public image. Many national associations and guilds of radio, television and publishing that used to hold their yearly conventions in customary intellectual and cultural centers like New Orleans' famed Vieux Carre, Miami Beach and Acapulco, now have taken to scheduling meetings in the Bible belt, often in conjunction with Billy Graham revivals. Phineas Frugg, a director of the Publishers Welfare Society, is pleased with his organization's efforts to remold its public relations: "It's high time we learned that all uplift is not confined to the tassle-twirlers on Bourbon Street"
But not all newsmen agree. Quentin Groots, famed war correspondent, voiced this complaint about the industry's new preoccupation with decency: "Where are the old rum-pots and free-loaders of yesteryear? The public used to respect the disreputable, two-fisted, chain-smoking editor who could toss off two columns of copy in a drunken stupor while being held up to his typewriter by a couple of floozies. Now they all want to go respectable. They worry about cancer of the lung. Security is the watchword. They spend all their time lecturing to Leagues of Women Voters and university forums, or else they are up in Washington as subsidized advisors smoking filter-tips and sipping watered Martinis." Groots still proudly wears the lapel button of the nation's third highest military award. The decoration was bestowed for gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty when Grools singlehandedly overcame a platoon of marauding GI's and rescued five cases of champagne destined for an Army Commander's surprise birthday party at Caserta during the bitter Italian campaign of World War II.
Criticism of the way newsworthy events are presented and interpreted is prevalent throughout the land. Gomer S. Cringe, president of the new National Council for Moderation of Extremism, finds a deplorable lack of quality in present day news analyses. "Facts are all right in their place," says Cringe, "but the public nowadays has had the benefit of progressive education and is impatient with eighteenth century reporting. They don't care if Susie Jones was hit over the head with an axe and cashed in. They need to understand her lack of motivation and the sociologic implications involved. The newspaper that sticks to reporting uninterpreted news is living in prehistoric times." Samuel Finke, chairman of Americans for Serfdom, says, "The industry needs more men, the caliber of Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in it. Men who are at home in the discotheques and who can lead us to greatness."
"Things have certainly gone to pot when a former President has to come out and criticize the industry in public," says retired syndicated columnist Wesbrook Haggler complaining about the poor quality of news distortion. "The smear and scatter technique used by some of these juveniles masquerading as columnists would not have raised an eyebrow in my day."
Bliss Gallupin, astute young columnist of a large southern daily and recent winner of the Red China Fair Play in Reporting Award, is upset about the hatemongers who fill their columns with personal piques and vilifications calculated to influence the reading public. "It's disgusting. The lengths to which some of these unwashed extremist sympathizers went in defending the obviously incompetent Republican candidate during the last campaign speak poorly for our profession. Although I have been criticized for never descending to calumny and trying to maintain a tolerant middle-of-the-road policy, I have heard about two of these so-called columnists who were depraved enough that they once peddled marijuana to unwed mothers. On several occasions I saw another one of these loathsome hacks enter that same men's room in the Y.M.C.A. basement where the Goldwater-Miller fascist supporters tried to frame loveable Walter Jenkins."
Study after study has shown that a shocking shortage of trained personnel is one of the communications industry's greatest problems. Journalism courses at most of the nation's high schools report a dropout rate of 60% or more. Many oddball college eccentrics, once a prime source of talent for the nation's news industry, are now attracted to more rewarding fields like psychoanalysis and the ministry; others prefer to remain in university centers where they can continue post-graduate training in establishing meaningful relationships with members of the opposite sex.
In spite of its manpower shortage, alarming discriminatory practices continue to exist throughout the communications field. Less than one percent of the country's females write news columns. The number of Negro editors in the country is appallingly small. "I won't say there is racial prejudice," says journalism major, Cadmium Green, "but when I applied for an editorial desk at the local newspaper, I was told they had no vacancies." And the situation is even worse in the specialty of television news analysis, which seems to be in the hands of a tightly organized, exclusive group.
No aspect of the profession seems free of blemish. In one area a state's largest newspaper, which professes to have the world's greatest sports staff and sports coverage, gets thousands of calls each fall weekend from irate readers who complain that they can find nothing in the sports section except accounts of the local football game. "Every Sunday I'm waiting to see who won in the sixth at Bowie, and all I can find is football games and ten pictures of the same play where some jerk is catching a pass," moans Elbert T. Hotwalk, a disenchanted subscriber. Hotwalk also did not discover that this year's Olympic games were over until three weeks after the last gold medal was presented. "Them sophomores was too busy describing belly serieses and averaging punt returns to worry about Olympians."
Aging pundit Waldrup Slippshod, the wise and revered dean of the nation's political writers, sees only trouble ahead for the communications industry unless steps are taken to reverse the present trends. "We have lost our direction," says Slippshod. "it is the responsibility of all of us who are the straight thinkers and intellectuals of our profession to lead the way back to sanity. The disturbing rise of rationality and dissent among the nation's journalists has exerted a stultifying effect on our progress toward the Great Society and Ultimate Oblivion. It is obvious, even to the unlettered, that sinister forces are at work within our ranks creating a climate of reason and distrust, and this can only lead to a national disaster unless we, the leaders in enlightenment, face up to our challenge squarely. We must adopt a firm but punitive attitude toward those divisive elements that call for individualism and outmoded constitutionality. The sincere but misguided extremists of the near-Left, mid-Left, Right and Center must be directed back to sensible middle-of-the-road moderation and socially-conscious conservative liberalism. They must be made to realize that the responsible members of the news profession, first and foremost, have the public interest at heart. Our duty to the people of this great nation must always be to insist, perhaps on penalty of federal reprimand, that the dissemination of news be carefully screened and intelligently edited so as to promote a satisfying uniformity of opinion that will guide and move us forward as a truly united America. Only when all dissent is tranquilized, and only when all of the communications media are brought into a harmony that speaks with one voice in the defense of Liberty, shall we have achieved success and realized the glorious motto of our founding fathers that underlies all Freedom, `E Pluribus Unum'."
So says Slippshod. And millions of Americans across this great continent know in their hearts he is right; that he speaks with a wisdom that confirms his senility. If the communications industry faces up to its challenge, we will solve our massive problems of news dissemination and emerge from this troubled period with better information for all.
If the industry stubbornly fails to meet the challenge, inevitably, necessary changes must be imposed, and the destiny of a once great profession will slip from the grasp of its hard working members into the unsympathetic hands of others.
(c) The Bulletin of the Muscogee County (Georgia) Medical Society, Editorial, Dec 1964, Vol. XI No.12, p.10
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It is happening frequently lately. A major weather event occurs---perhaps a hurricane, heat wave, tornado outbreak, drought or snowstorm-- and a chorus of activist groups or media folks either imply or explicitly suggest that the event is the result of human-caused (anthropogenic) global warming. Perhaps the worst offender is the organization www.350.org and their spokesman Bill McKibben. Close behind is Climate Central, which even has an extreme weather/climate blog. The media has noted many times that the U.S. in 2011 experienced a record 14 billion-dollar weather disasters--and many of the articles imply or suggest a connection with human-forced global warming. Even the NY Times has jumped into the fray recently, giving front-page coverage of an unscientific survey that found that a large majority of Americans believe recent extreme weather events are the result of anthropogenic global warming. One does not have to wonder very hard about where Americans are getting their opinions--and it is not from the scientific community.
But what is so disturbing about all this is that there is very little evidence that these claims are true....that the extreme events of late are the result of greenhouse gas increases caused by humans.
Take the recent amazing heat wave in the eastern and central U.S.: canary in the coal mine for global warming? No evidence of this. In fact, an in-depth analysis by Dr. Martin Hoerling of NOAA Earth Systems Research Lab (ESRL), found here, suggest that the heat wave was the result of natural variability and an unusual, but not unprecedented, change in the upper level flow pattern that pushed tropical air northward over the eastern U.S.. A recent discussion of the March warming by UW Professor Michael Wallace, one of the nation's leading climate scientists and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, found here, reaches a similar conclusion.
Well, what about the extensive tornado outbreaks of 2011 over the southeast U.S. and the early tornadoes of 2012. Unusual extreme weather connected with global warming? There is no reason to believe this is true. Backing for this statement comes from a comprehensive report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on extreme weather events, found here. To quote the IPCC report: "There is low confidence in observed trends in small spatial-scale phenomena such as tornadoes and hail."
What about hurricanes? Have we seen an upward trend in those? The IPCC conclusions:
"There is low confidence in any observed long-term (i.e., 40 years or more) increases in tropical cyclone activity (i.e., intensity, frequency, duration), after accounting for past changes in observing capabilities."
What about extreme temperatures, heavy precipitation, and drought? To aid us in evaluating the trends in these extreme climate events, the National Weather Service has developed a Climate Extremes Index that you can access and plot online.
I tried it out and here is the information for these parameters for 1910-2010:
An important issue that is rarely discussed is that changes in extremes...either natural or from human-forced global warming will not be spatially uniform. So even a strong global warming signal will result in some places getting more extreme weather, while others will get less extreme weather. An obvious example is temperature....if temperatures warm there will be a tendency for more extreme highs and more heat waves. But that also implies that the cold waves will be weaker and less extreme. Ever wonder what is the biggest weather killer in the Northwest U.S.? Not hurricanes or tornadoes, not heat waves or droughts, not windstorms and floods. I am convinced from that statistics I have collected that roadway icing kills and injures more people around here than anything else. And warming should help reduce those deaths and injuries.
And consider that most of the climate models suggest the jet stream will move north under global warming. Big storms and floods are associated with the jet stream. So some folks (on the north side of the current jet stream location) may experience more extreme storminess, but those on the south side could well experience less. There will certainly be losers due to changed extremes under global warming, but there will be a lot of winners as well. Never seem to hear about that.
It is somewhat embarrassing for me to admit this, but part of the problem is that a small minority of my colleagues--people who should know better-- are feeding the extreme-weather/climate hype in the mistaken belief that by doing so they can encourage people to do the right thing--lessen their carbon footprint. Here is an example.
Three final points:
(1) Even if there are changes in the frequency of extremes, that does not necessarily mean human influences are behind them. For example, the earth has been warming for roughly 100-150 years as the planet exited the "Little Ice Age". Much of this warming has undoubtedly been natural, with human-forced warming only really significant during the past 30 years or so. Glaciers have been melting back over the past century and thus some of this loss is undoubtedly due to natural causes.
(2) If we haven't seen trends in extremes that does not mean that we won't see them in the future when the impact of anthropogenic greenhouse warming increases substantially. The earth is only starting to warm up due to mankind's influence on greenhouse gases. The big action...including changes in extremes...is AHEAD of us. Activist types have made a huge mistake in thinking they need to point to observed changes in extremes to make their case for dealing with GW. They are particularly making a mistake when they make claims that have no scientific basis. Global warming skeptics and deniers have made the huge mistake of assuming that a lack of clear changes in the atmosphere during the past decades says something about what will happen in the future, since most of the GW impacts have not yet occurred . Ironically, the activist types are providing the deniers with a potent weapon, since it is pretty easy to disprove many of the activist claims of human-induced global warming enhancing past and current extreme weather.
(3) The media has to do more homework on the claims of GW/extreme weather connections. All too often they simply quote and replay the baseless claims of advocacy groups, or juxtapose stories on extreme weather events and the potential for extremes under global warming...leaving their readers to reach their own, and often incorrect, conclusions. And as a side issue, when is the media going to provide information about some of the nonsense than denier groups are pushing (that global warming is ridiculous because the concentrations of CO2 are so small, that we can't forecast climate if we can't predict weather next week, etc....)
I believe the science is fairly clear...the impacts of global warming due to human-enhanced greenhouse gases will be be very significant, that the effects will increase gradually at first, but then accelerate later in the century. There will be substantial impacts on extremes, but the magnitudes and spatial distributions will be complex, and we don't necessarily have a good handle on it at present.
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Accounts payable workflow
Accounts payable workflows are often very manual processes. In many cases, they even involve paper invoices being sent by post from the accounting department and allocated in a very long cycle.
With document process automation software, these manual processes can be abolished and AP cycles substantially shortened.
Making the accounts payable workflow greener
Automated accounts payable workflows are nowadays becoming standard among progressive and modern AP and accounting departments around the world.
The software does not only shorten payment cycles and improve AP processes, it is also environmentally friendly, since less paper and transports are needed in the accounts payable workflow.
Automation of the accounts payable workflow - how it works
The first step towards automating the accounts payable workflow cycle is to capture information from invoices that come in to the AP or accounting department. Paper invoices are scanned and E-invoices are imported into the accounts payable workflow.
Purchase order invoices can be automatically matched against a purchase order in an ERP system enabling a fully automated AP process where the accounting department doesn't even have to see the invoice after scanning.
If there are deviations from the PO, or if it a general expense invoice, it is passed to the accounts payable workflow cycle for processing and allocation in an easy-to-use web interface.
The benefits of automating the accounts payable workflow cycle:
The accounts payable workflow cycle will be faster, enabling you to get early payment discounts and avoid late payment fees.
The accounts payable workflow will be less expensive since less accounting staff is needed to process invoices.
The accounts payable workflow will become more efficient since your AP staff can concentrate fully on accounting tasks and process improvement instead of invoice keying.
You will have better control of the full accounts payable workflow process through continual APstatistics and a full audit trail.
Read more about Accounts PayableWorkflow on ReadSoft's website >>
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Mexico declares nature reserve on Cozumel island
Mexico’s environmental authorities say they have declared the northern shore of the Caribbean island of Cozumel a protected nature area, with strict limits on human activity there.
The Environment Department says about 146 square miles (378 square kilometers) of the island and coastal waters will be protected under the measure.
The area designated Wednesday constitutes the shores and offshore shelf on the northern half of the island. The area is mostly unpopulated and well away from Cozumel’s town, marinas and cruise ship dock.
Two species have native ranges only on the island: the Cozumel spiny lizard and the Cozumel racoon, which is a dwarf raccoon.
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Temples of Thailand - a photographic journey
Bangkok Area Provinces: Central North North-East West South East
Wat That is probably the most photographed temple of Khon Kaen city since it sits picturesquely at the lake in front of the skyline of the city. The temple contains a beautiful Lan Chang-style Buddha image called Luang Phor Phra Lub. The temple was built in 1789, however today's chedi is of a later date.
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Embargoed until 11:00 a.m.
July 29, 2004
State Assessment results encouraging Achievement gap
continues to close
(Springfield) State Superintendent Robert E. Schiller
Thursday announced that overall performance on state assessments
continue, especially among Hispanic, low income and black
students in the areas of reading, mathematics, writing
and science, however, he said he remains concerned about
flat performance by high school students in nearly all
areas, except social science.
When we look at the gains that our black, Hispanic
and low income students have made since 2001, it is remarkable,
Schiller said. We are seeing steady and significant
improvement which again illustrates that our students
are succeeding and our schools certainly are not failing
At a Springfield news conference, Schiller released the
statewide aggregate scores on the 2004 Illinois Standards
Achievement Exam (ISAT), given to elementary school students;
the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), given to high
school juniors; the Illinois Measure of Annual Growth
in English (IMAGE), which measures the progress of students
with limited English proficiency in attaining English-language
reading and writing skills, and the Illinois Alternate
Assessment (IAA), designed for students with Individualized
Education Programs for whom all other state assessments
are inappropriate, even with accommodations, because of
Six-year assessment data for Illinois elementary school
students show an upward trend in mathematics in all grades
tested, and over the past four years there is a continued
narrowing in the achievement gap in many subjects and
grade levels for black, Hispanic and low-income students.
A snapshot of performance:
- Reading: Moderate gains in grades 3 and 8,
marginal gain in grade 5.
- Mathematics: All grades continue to improve,
with 65.4 percent of third graders meeting or exceeding
standards, of those students there were significant
gains by black students who made a 5.2 gain; Hispanic
students made a 6.7 gain; and low-income students made
a 5.7 gain.
- Writing: Overall performance has been erratic,
but there were year-to-year gains in each grade assessed,
including 5th graders who moved from 64.8 to 69.9.
- Science: Remains steady with small gains in
both grades 4 and 7.
- Social Science: Despite moderate gains in 2003,
we actually saw a small decrease in 2004.
- In each subject area, Reading, Mathematics, Writing,
Science and Social Science we saw slight improvement,
with the exception of Mathematics which saw a .02 decrease.
- 11th grade students who were assessed in writing showed
marked improvement, of nearly 7 points.
- In grades 3,5,8, and 11 writing performance in the
expanding and transitioning levels increased, especially
in grade 5 where there was a 23.4 jump and grade 11
where there was an 11.9 increase.
These results are a very important tool,
Schiller said. Noting the decline in Social Science
in both fourth and seventh grade, it begs the question,
should we put an increased emphasis on History and Geography?
Schiller explained how the assessments support our states
education foundation: The Illinois Learning Standards,
which were adopted in 1997. State assessments are aligned
with the Illinois Learning Standards and measure student
achievement against those standards and inform the public
about how Illinois children are learning. For students
to do well on state assessments, their curriculum must
be aligned with the state standards.
State Board Chair Dr. Janet Steiner, noted that the assessment
data allows us to appreciate the gains that all students
are making, and the State Board is particularly proud
of the narrowing of the achievement gap. Programs
like the 21st Century Grants and Summer Bridges which
target students in need through after school and summer
school programs really do make a difference. We consistently
see the positive impact of using our resources on students
who are struggling but want to learn, Steiner said.
The most recent state test was given in April. Elementary
school students are tested in reading, writing and mathematics
in grades three, five and eight and in science and social
science in grades four and seven. Eleventh graders are
tested in reading, writing, math, science and social science
as part of the PSAE, which also includes the ACT test
and two ACT Work Keys assessments.
The test results from reading and math are used to comply
with the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind
Act and are used to calculate Adequate Yearly Progress
(AYP) as required under the law. The AYP results are used
to identify Title I schools that must offer school choice
and Supplemental Educational Services.
School districts this week got their first look at their
performance data as part of the second data verification
window. Schools previously reviewed their demographic
and enrollment data and in the next few weeks will finalize
the assessment information that will be used to create
the State and local school report cards to be released
The complete data charts for all grades and subjects
tested can be viewed at: http://www.isbe.net/pdf/2004_assessment_results.pdf
Audio clips are available at:
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GC Interview Questions Answer in Java
Garbage collection interview questions are very popular in both core Java and advanced Java Interviews. Apart from Java Collection and Thread many tricky Java questions stems Garbage collections which are tough to answer. In this Java Interview article I will share some questions from GC which is asked in various core Java interviews.These questions are based upon concept of How Garbage collection works, Different kinds of Garbage collector and JVM parameters used for garbage collection monitoring and tuning. As I said GC is an important part of any Java interview so make sure you have good command in GC. One more thing which is getting very important is ability to comprehend and understand Garbage collection Output, more and more interviewer are checking whether candidate can understand GC output or not. During Java interview they may provide a snippet of GC output and ask various questions based on that e.g. Which Garbage collector is used, whether output is from major collection or minor collection, How much memory is free from GC, What is size of new generation and old generation after GC etc. I have included few Garbage collection interview questions and answers from GC output to help with that. It’s recommended to prepare questions from Java collection, multithreading and programming along with Garbage collection to do well in Java interviews at any stage.
Interview questions on Java Garbage collection
Here is some Garbage collection Interview questions from my personal collection, which I have created from my experience and with the help of various friends and colleagues which has shared GC interview questions with me. Actually there are lot many questions than What I am sharing here but to keep this post small I thought to only share some questions, I can think of second part of GC interview question if you guys find this useful.
Question 1 - What is structure of Java Heap ? What is Perm Gen space in Heap ?
Answer : In order to better perform in Garbage collection questions in any Java interview, It’s important to have basic understanding of Java Heap space. To learn more about heap, see my post 10 points on Java heap space. By the way Heap is divided into different generation e.g. new generation, old generation and PermGen space.PermGen space is used to store class’s metadata and filling of PermGen space can cause java.lang.OutOfMemory:PermGen space. Its also worth noting to remember JVM option to configure PermGen space in Java.
Question 2 - How do you identify minor and major garbage collection in Java?
Answer: Minor collection prints “GC” if garbage collection logging is enable using –verbose:gc or -XX:PrintGCDetails, while Major collection prints “Full GC”. This Garbage collection interview question is based on understanding of Garbage collection output. As more and more Interviewer are asking question to check candidate’s ability to understand GC output, this topic become even more important.
Question 3 - What is difference between ParNew and DefNew Young Generation Garbage collector?
Answer : This Garbage Collection interview questions is recently asked to one of my friend. It require more than average knowledge on GC to answer this question. By the way ParNew and DefNew is two young generation garbage collector. ParNew is a multi-threaded GC used along with concurrent Mark Sweep while DefNew is single threaded GC used along with Serial Garbage Collector.
Question 4 - How do you find GC resulted due to calling System.gc()?
Answer : Another GC interview question which is based on GC output. Similar to major and minor collection, there will be a word “System” included in Garbage collection output.
Question 5 - What is difference between Serial and Throughput Garbage collector?
Answer : Serial Garbage collector is a stop the world GC which stops application thread from running during both minor and major collection. Serial Garbage collector can be enabled using JVM option -XX:UseSerialGC and it's designed for Java application which doesn't have pause time requirement and have client configuration. Serial Garbage collector was also default GC in JDK 1.4 before ergonomics was introduced in JDK 1.5. Serial GC is most suited for small application with less number of thread while throughput GG is more suited for large applications. On the other hand Throughput garbage collector is parallel collector where minor and major collection happens in parallel taking full advantage of all the system resources available like multiple processor. Though both major and minor collection runs on stop-the-world fashion and introduced pause in application. Throughput Garbage collector can be enable using -XX:UseParallelGC or -XX:UseOldParallelGC. It increases overall throughput of application my minimizing time spent in Garbage collection but still has long pauses during full GC.This is a kind of Garbage collection interview questions which gives you an opportunity to show your knowledge in detail while answering. I always suggest to answer these kind of questions in detail.
Question 6 – When does an Object becomes eligible for Garbage collection in Java ?
Answer : An object becomes eligible for garbage collection when there is no live reference for that object or it can not be reached by any live thread. Cyclic reference doesn’t count as live reference and if two objects are pointing to each other and there is no live reference for any of them, than both are eligible for GC. Also Garbage collection thread is a daemon thread which will run by JVM based upon GC algorithm and when runs it collects all objects which are eligible for GC.
Question 7 - What is finalize method in Java ? When does Garbage collector calls finalize method in Java ?
Answer : Finalize method in Java also called finalizer is a method defined in java.lang.Object and called by Garbage collector before collecting any object which is eligible for GC. Finalize() method provides last chance to object to do cleanup and free any remaining resource, to learn more about finalizers, read What is finalize method in Java.
Question 8 - If Object A has reference to Object B and Object B refer to Object A, apart from that there is no live reference to either object A or B, Does they are eligible to Garbage collection ?
This Garbage collection interview questions is related question 5 “When object become eligible for Garbage collection”. An object becomes eligible for Garbage collection if there is no live reference for it. It can not be accessible from any Thread and cyclic dependency doesn’t prevent Object from being Garbage collected. Which means in this case both Object A and Object B are eligible of Garbage collection. See How Garbage collection works in Java for more details.
Question 9 -Can we force Garbage collector to run at any time ?
Answer : No, you can not force Garbage collection in Java. Though you can request it by calling Sytem.gc() or its cousin Runtime.getRuntime().gc(). It’s not guaranteed that GC will run immediately as result of calling these method.
Question 10 - Does Garbage collection occur in permanent generation space in JVM?
Answer : This is a tricky Garbage collection interview question as many programmers are not sure whether PermGen space is part of Java heap space or not and since it maintains class Meta data and String pool, whether its eligible for garbage collection or not. By the way Garbage Collection does occur in PermGen space and if PermGen space is full or cross a threshold, it can trigger Full GC. If you look at output of GC you will find that PermGen space is also garbage collected. This is why correct sizing of PermGen space is important to avoid frequent full GC. You can control size of PermGen space by JVM options -XX:PermGenSize and -XX:MaxPermGenSize.
Question 11 : How to you monitor garbage collection activities?
Answer : One of my favorite interview questions on Garbage collection, just to check whether candidate has ever monitored GC activities or not. You can monitor garbage collection activities either offline or real-time. You can use tools like JConsole and VisualVM VM with its Visual GC plug-in to monitor real time garbage collection activities and memory status of JVM or you can redirect Garbage collection output to a log file for offline analysis by using -XlogGC=<PATH> JVM parameter. Anyway you should always enable GC options like -XX:PrintGCDetails -X:verboseGC and -XX:PrintGCTimeStamps as it doesn't impact application performance much but provide useful states for performance monitoring.
Question 12: Look at below Garbage collection output and answer following question :
[ParNew: 1512K->64K(1512K), 0.0635032 secs]
15604K->13569K(600345K), 0.0636056 secs]
[Times: user=0.03 sys=0.00, real=0.06 secs]
1. Is this output of Major Collection or Minor Collection ?
2. Which young Generation Garbage collector is used ?
3. What is size of Young Generation, Old Generation and total Heap Size?
4. How much memory is freed from Garbage collection ?
5. How much time is taken for Garbage collection ?
6. What is current Occupancy of Young Generation ?
This Garbage collection Interview questions is completely based on GC output. Following are answers of above GC questions which will not only help you to answer these question but also help you to understand and interpret GC output.
Answer 1: It's Minor collection because of "GC" word, In case of Major collection, you would see "Full GC".
Answer 2: This output is of multi-threaded Young Generation Garbage collector "ParNew", which is used along with CMS concurrent Garbage collector.
Answer 3: [1512K] which is written in bracket is total size of Young Generation, which include Eden and two survivor space. 1512K on left of arrow is occupancy of Yong Generation before GC and 64K is occupancy after GC. On the next line value if bracket is total heap size which is (600345K). If we subtract size of young generation to total heap size we can calculate size of Old Generation. This line also shows occupancy of heap before and after Garbage collection.
Answer 4: As answered in previous garbage collection interview question, second line shows heap occupancy before and after Garbage collection. If we subtract value of right side 13569K, to value on left side 15604K, we can get total memory freed by GC.
Answer 5: 0.0636056 secs on second line denotes total time it took to collect dead objects during Garbage collection. It also include time taken to GC young generation which is shown in first line (0635032 secs).
Answer 6: 64K
Here are few more interesting Garbage collection Interview question for your practice, I haven’t provided answers of all garbage collection interview questions. If you know the answer than you can post via comments.
Question - What is difference between -XX:ParallelGC and -XX:ParallelOldGC?
Question - When do you ConcurrentMarkSweep Garbage collector and Throughput GC?
Question - What is difference between ConcurrentMarkSweep and G1 garbage collector?
Question - Have you done any garbage collection tuning? What was your approach?
These were some Garbage collection interview questions and answers, may help on your Java Interview preparation. If you have got any interesting interview questions related to GC than don’t forget to share with us.
Other Java Interview resources from Javarevisited
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Sharp-eyed Bob Baran spotted this old Red-tailed Hawk nest, high in the boughs of a silver maple, while stuck in traffic. See it? There, in the upper right corner of the photo.
Well, Red-tails made the nest but someone bigger and far tougher has come along and appropriated it.
Bob took a close look and spotted telltale ear tufts projecting above the nest. Great Horned Owl! Bob was good enough to let me know where the nest was, which turned out to only be 15 minutes or so from where I live in western Franklin County, Ohio. Look closely - she is staring daggers at your blogger, ears erect and visible on the nest's left side.
BOTANY LESSON: Those little red globules are the flowers of the silver maple, our first tree to burst into bloom. But the owl gives not a whit of such stuff. They are strict carnivores with no interest in namby-pamby vegetarian stuff. Had the owls even suspected that I knew about and was interested in such matters as flowers, they probably would have set upon me and torn your narrator asunder.
Some Great Horned Owls use large tree cavities created by broken-off branches or other such damage, but in these parts most use the stick nests created by raptors, especially Red-tailed Hawks. The hard-working legitimate nest owners can squeal and circle all they like, but it'll be for naught. Nothing rivals the Great Horned Owl for sheer ferocity in the bird world, at least in my neck of the woods, and they take what they want.
Very early nesters, Great Horned Owls are sitting on eggs now, and should you espy a hawk's nest, pull out the binocs and have a gander. Perhaps you, too, will see the Tufts of Doom jutting from the twiggy jumble. Great Blue Heron rookeries are always worth a search, as the owls frequent comandeer one of the lanky-legged wader's abodes. As herons return early to their colonies, an uneasy truce sets in as the birds set up house-keeping while trying to ignore the killers in their midst.
The male owl was perched in a gnarly tangle of branches, not far from where his mate warmed their eggs. These birds are legitimate bada**es - there is just no other way to put it. I've seen scores of Great Horned Owls over the years, and never fail to be struck by the absolute ferocity that they project. Those glaring yellow eyes pierce you with a withering stare that would be terrifying if one were potential prey. A bird with such prominent ear tufts could run the risk of appearing comical or clownlike, but in the case of the Great Horned Owl, they only add to the purposeful, slightly sinister look.
I, for one, am quite pleased that there are Great Horned Owls living nearby. They are common in the City of Columbus, and I sometimes hear a pair duetting from my window. The male's HOO's are deep and basso; hers are higher in pitch.
Common as they may be, it isn't everyday that one gets to see a nest and I thank Bob for tipping me to this one. If time allows, I'll try and get back and check on them. We had an absolute humdinger of a thunderstorm blow through here last night, and hopefully the owls got through that with eggs intact. We could use some more Tigers of the Air around here.
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Want to test your knowledge of taxes and the common good?
Check out these two short quizzes for a quick minute of fun.
Once you’ve seen what you know, share the quizzes with your colleagues and request a training for your workplace!
Nonprofit Tax Quiz by Kim Klein and Blue Avocado
Everyone talks about the weather, but how many of us actually know what a lenticular cloud is or what the dew point means? In the nonprofit sector we throw around tax opinions, but here’s a chance to learn something (uh oh).
What’s Your Common Good IQ? by Kim Klein and CompassPoint
The Commons is a new way to express a very old idea—that some forms of wealth belong to all of us, and that these community resources must be actively protected and managed for the good of all—resources such as air, oceans and wildlife, as well as shared social creations such as libraries, city parks, public art, sidewalks, and water fountains.
The Common Good is a way of looking at the world in which all actions, laws, policies and customs are examined to see if they benefit as many people as possible, if they protect the most vulnerable, and if they promote a rough social equity so that there is very little distance between the richest and poorest people in the community.
Although it is easy to believe in the common good, we often find we don’t know much about what that would look like in practice. Test your knowledge about the commons and the common good and then resolve to learn more.
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GBIF data network helps map plants used in Aboriginal medicine
31st August 2011
The Customary Medicinal Knowledgebase (CMKb), based at Macquarie University, is teaming up with the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), which hosts the GBIF national node, to integrate medicinal knowledge with other information on Australian biodiversity.
A recent study modelled suitable ecological niches for more than 400 plant species that are of medicinal importance, using data accessed through the GBIF portal and Australia’s Virtual Herbarium (AVH), one of the main resources contributing data to ALA.
The outcome was a map of potential “bio-cultural diversity hotspots”, areas suitable for the occurrence of multiple species known to be used in traditional medicine.
Read the full press release here.
21st May 2013
10th May 2013
1st May 2013
26th April 2013
25th April 2013
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is the earliest surviving novel by Jane Austen
. It is written in letter form
, and is the story of the scheming
of the beautiful, amiable, and thoroughly wicked
Lady Susan Vernon to woo, sleep with, or marry the men it was most convenient to do so with, and to enforce her iron will on her poor daughter Frederica
, as to who she
The date of composition is unknown, but probably it was around 1795, when Jane was twenty, and had exercised herself in increasingly brilliant juvenilia. From the time she was eighteen or twenty she started writing full adult novels. As far as we know she wrote four novels in this early period. The others were Marianne and Elinor, First Impressions, and Susan (a completely different work). At this time she favoured the eighteenth-century epistolary style, where the parties are conveniently separated by such distances that they can tell the whole story in their overlapping letters. None of the other three novels survives in its early form, because in Jane Austen's mature period they were thoroughly reworked into three of her late novels. Only Lady Susan remains to show us how she tackled the style as an adult. It was published by Jane Austen's nephew in 1871, along with some of her other minor works and letters, in his memoir of his aunt.
The manuscript can be dated from the paper to around 1805, when she had begun to take up her early work and revise it, make fair copies, and in the case of Susan (later Northanger Abbey) send it to a publisher. But nothing much came of this middle period. So we have a revised Lady Susan that falls between two stools: the now obsolescent convention of letters, and the greater sexual freedom of the previous century, combined with the more mature Jane Austen's serious thinking about how to do novels. She converted her other early works, but the sheer wickedness and licentiousness of Lady Susan perhaps proved impossible to translate into the more pious nineteenth century.
She is an extremely charming widow who has been having dalliances with two men in the one household, trying to set up the less amusing of the two as husband material for her 16-year-old Frederica, and when the repercussions of this finally blow up too much to be amusing, she flees to her brother-in-law's house. The main correspondence showing both sides of the situation is, on the one hand, between Lady Susan and her good friend Mrs Johnson, equally devoid of any morality but selfishness, and on the other her sister-in-law Mrs Vernon to her mother Lady De Courcy.
The interesting thing is that Lady Susan's side is told with a great deal more wit and panache than Mrs Vernon's. From the beginning Mrs Vernon is a little doubtful, but pretty sure that Lady Susan is a thoroughly vile, wicked creature, but even she falls to a certain extent under her charms. Everyone else is easy prey. Mrs Vernon's brother Reginald De Courcy comes prepared to scoff, having heard all about Lady Susan's notorious exploits, but becomes her devoted admirer. Poor naive Frederica falls for Reginald, and the furious Lady Susan has to exercise all her wiles to prevent Reginald seeing the truth. She is quite shameless; and disturbingly appealing.
The mature, moral Jane Austen would have had great difficulty shifting the focus in this story, keeping Lady Susan as charming and interesting as she was, while not seeming to cheerfully condone it. So we have a stepping-stone: a picture of how she worked in her earlier years, not converted into one of the late great novels.
In the last section she gives up the pretence of letter format and devotes a chapter with gentle mockery to why it could no longer be kept up, and spells out some of the eventual resolutions. Lady Susan has to settle for a lesser match, and the path seems to be cleared for Reginald and Frederica.
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SOLD....Portrait of Jane Bickerton, Duchess of Norfolk (?), Circle of Lely c.1678
Oil on canvas in a period carved and giltwood frame.
This beautiful portrait of 'cabinet size' is thought to be of Jane Bickerton; (the 'cabinet' in the 17th century was a small, intimate room in which were kept items important to the owner, and only their closest friends would be admitted).
The painting has a great theatrical sense of movement and solidity, using a combination of drapery and pose. this portrait is a perfect example (on an unusually small scale) of Lely's late portraiture with its unashamed courtly sensuality.
The pose in this painting seems to have been reserved by Lely and his Studio for the portraiture of courtesans and mistresses.
JANE BICKERTON, DUCHESS OF NORFOLK (1643/4 - 1693).
Mistress, then wife, of Henry Howard, the 6th Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal of England. She was the daughter of Robert Bickerton, Gentleman of the King's Wine Cellar and his wife Anne Hester.
Jane had lived with Norfolk since the death of his first wife in 1662. They had four children and some time before 18 January 1678 they married, causing protests from Norfolk's legitimate children.
Bickerton represents a rare example of a woman of relatively modest background marrying into the highest level of the aristocracy.
After Norfolk's death in January 1684 she married Thomas Maxwell, Quartermaster-General to the army.
SIR PETER LELY (1618 - 1680) was the most important portraitist in the reign of Charles ll. Principal Painter to the King, he painted everyone of importance, maintaining a busy and active Studio to help with the huge demand for his portraits. Members of his Circle, many of them talented artists in their own right, emulated his style to supply this constant market.
SIZE: 29 x 21 inc. frame
PROVENANCE: Anonymous sale, Christie's 16 June 1967.
Then forty two years in a private London Collection.
(B) portraits SOLD
us if you are interested
in this antique
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The last two paragraphs in Charles' article are the most disturbing of all. Sinnett acknowledges Boeing does not yet know root cause of the battery incidents and may never know.
I'd like to use expletives in a response to Mr. Sinnett. NASA spent hundreds of millions of dollars in testing and redesign to protect the lives of the approximately 200 astronauts that flew after the Columbia accident. MILLIONS of airline passengers will fly on 787s, and they say they may never know the root cause?
That is unnacceptable. The two battery incidents occurred within weeks of each other. As @williamweaver noted, it is statistically certain it will happen again if they don't discover root cause. It should not be that difficult for Boeing and its battery supplier to run tests until they get a similar failure.
We're putting our lives in the hands of the FAA - let us hope they tell Boeing that the redesign is a good start, but they must find the root cause before the planes carry passengers again.
I live in metro-Seattle; this grounding is only going to hurt the economy here if they can't get the planes back in the air. But I do not want them flying based on what we've learned from Mr. Sinnett's teleconference.
@williamweaver made reference to NASA (the way attitudes brought to reality the Columbia accident). Mr. Sinnett in his teleconference proved Boeing is taking exactly the same path: he tries to justify the battery incidents by saying lots of battery incidents have already occurred, that battery incidents are somehow the norm rather than the exception. NASA did the same thing by accepting again and again insulating foam liberation events as normal when in fact ANY foam liberation violated launch specifications and should have been investigated.
Instead, such incidents were accepted as routine up until Columbia was fatally damaged. NASA had a rude reality rubbed in its nose when a projectile test showed exactly what happened to Columbia. almost 2 years of redesign later, to NASA's horror, on the very first return-to-flight launch a very large piece of foam liberated from the external tank. Luckily for them, it happened well after the time in which it could cause damage. NASA thought they had all bases covered, so they had to go back to the drawing boards again.
Mr. Sinnett has set himself and Boeing up for more failure with the words used in his teleconference.
Charles noted that Boeing's done several things to prevent POSSIBLE failure modes. Adding insulation can't hurt, I suppose. The addition of locking fasteners implies that they weren't locking fasteners in the original design. I thought aerospace construction was all about locking fasteners, or locking wires on the fasteners?
You're right though, all of the new features of these batteries sounds like bandaids.
According to Snopes.com even as reports of the Titanic disaster began to reach America early in the morning of 15 April 1912, the Vice-President of the White Star Line in New York stated, without qualification, "We place absolute confidence in the Titanic. We believe that the boat is unsinkable."
And 100 years later, we have from Mike Sinnett, Boeing Co. Vice-President and Chief Engineer of the 787 program, "This enclosure keeps us from ever having a fire to begin with. That's the number one job of this enclosure. It eliminates the possibility of fire."
With that, Vice-President Mike Sinnett should turn in any Engineering credentials he claims to have. And to get them back, he needs to take a mandatory High School-level course in Statistics and Probability. This is the same road taken by NASA when the administrators stopped being Scientists and Engineers and turned 100% Politicians. This goes in the same category as Politicians who claim on the stump, "We have passed a law restricting everyone's liberty that will ensure that this tragedy will never happen again."
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." - Mark Twain.
Yes, Al, it's important for Boeing to regain some confidence that's been lost as a result of this incident. This is going to be watched carefully for some time to come because of lithium-ion's prominent place in the auto industry.
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
Advantech has launched a new series of motion-control I/O modules to meet the increased demands that come with more distributed industrial systems that require control of a growing number of axes and devices.
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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I am especially excited to have the accounts of the current owners of Hopsewee Plantation, the Beatties, and Dr. Cheryl Lane, Assistant Professor, Francis Marion University. I can imagine one day, the descendants of former slaves finding great value in this collaborative effort. Thank you for sharing this experience with us!
About Our Freedom
Collaborative Efforts of The Slave Dwelling Project Embraces Hopsewee
By Joseph McGill, Jr. |
Program Officer, Southern Office
William Aiken House, 456 King Street, 3rd Floor, Charleston, SC 29403 | Phone: 843.722.8552 |
Fax: 843.722.8652 | Email: email@example.com |www.preservationnation.org
Saturday, August 6, 2011 found me at Hopsewee Plantation. Located on the North Santee River in Georgetown County, according to its website, Hopsewee, a South Carolina National Historic Landmark, is preservation rather than a restoration and has never been allowed to fall into decay as it has always been cherished. Only five families have owned it, although it was built almost 40 years before the Revolutionary War. Hopsewee would be my third stay in Georgetown County, Hobcaw Barony and Mansfield Plantation being the other two.
This stay came about as a collaboration with the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor. The South Carolina National Heritage Corridor extends 240 miles across South Carolina, stretching from the mountains of Oconee County, along the Savannah River, to the port city of Charleston. It is divided into four regions and contains the following counties: Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Edgefield, Georgetown, Greenwood, McCormick, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens and Saluda. The 17 counties of the Heritage Corridor offer a cross-section of the state's historical, cultural, and natural resources that tell the vibrant story of South Carolina's centuries-long evolution and culture. The area describes the progression of upcountry and lowcountry life, from grand plantations and simple farms to mill villages and urban centers, and how their history affected South Carolina as a state and America as a nation.
My limited research revealed that there were at least 33 plantations located on the North Santee River in Georgetown County. Other rivers located in Georgetown County are South Santee, Black, Sampit, Waccamaw and Pee Dee which all contained numerous plantations. From the 18th century to the Civil War, slaves planted, tended, and harvested the crops that made plantation owners wealthy and Georgetown County, South Carolina, the second largest rice producer in the world.
Arriving early would prove to be beneficial, I took advantage of the time to explore the cabins and take lots of pictures before the mosquitoes ran me back into the Tea Room where the dinner and presentation was going to be held. After dousing myself with insect repellent, I decided to give it another try. The repellent worked. I took more pictures and even went to the waterfront to spend a little time there. I parked myself on the jogging board which was located next to the mansion. A joggling board is a long, pliable board that is supported on each end by wooden stands. The board is springy, and a person sitting on it can easily bounce up and down. It originated in the Lowcountry of South Carolina around Charleston in the early 19th century.
As I began to reflect on the Slave Dwelling Project, I could hear thunder and see lightning bolts off in the distance. When one of those thunder claps was heard immediately over head, I decided that I had done enough reflecting and went back to the Tea Room giving praise that I had taken lots of pictures while the sun was still shining.
Aside from the dinner and the lecture, one other new twist was being added to this stay. For the past six months or so, I have been working with Dr. Cheryl Lane, Assistant Professor at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC. Dr. Lane received a grant from Francis Marion to conduct research on the Slave Dwelling Project. This was the night that she would experience a stay first hand. Dr. Lane and her husband, Tom, shared one cabin while Terry James and I occupied the other. For you first-time readers of this blog, Terry James is a fellow Civil War reenactor from Florence, SC. This was Terry’s sixth stay, and yes, the fifth time he slept wearing authentic slave shackles.
When the dinner crowd began to arrive, a number of us went on a tour of the mansion. To my amazement, no subject matter was taboo for the tour guide. I was thoroughly impressed that a Caucasian female was so knowledgeable, willing and comfortable with interpreting all aspects of slavery that made Hopsewee function as a plantation.
The dinner was excellent. I lectured as folks continued to eat. During the lecture, I yielded some time to Terry James so that he could talk about sleeping in shackles. I then allowed Dr. Lane to end the lecture talking about the research grant that she received from Francis Marion University for the project. Adding those two elements to the lecture still did not prepare me for the first question that I got which was. “How do you feel about the confederate flag?” My immediate thought was what does the Slave Dwelling Project have to do with the confederate flag, but I did not say that out loud. Luckily, as a Civil War reenactor for the last twenty years and wearing my Civil War uniform at the time the question was asked, I had heard this question before and gave my opinion accordingly.
The next morning we all gathered in the Tea Room for more conversation and breakfast before we all went our separate ways. We all came to the conclusion that Hopsewee Plantation and the Slave Dwelling Project must continue to work together because of our similar interests. As I drove away, I was still haunted by the query about the confederate flag. My only conclusion is that maybe the Slave Dwelling Project has nothing to do with the confederate and maybe it has everything to do with the confederate flag. I do know this: As proven my overnight stay at Cliveden in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, slavery also existed north of the Mason-Dixon Line. As I continue to seek permission to sleep in former slave dwellings from the owners, I know that there are more out there like Frank and Raejean Beattie who will grant me my request. It is their work that has to be highlighted so that they may inspire others to do likewise. This project will examine slavery wherever that institution existed. I will continue to work with the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor and Hopsewee Plantation to help preserve the dwellings and interpret the stories of the all the people involved in America’s “peculiar institution.”
494 Hopsewee Road
Georgetown, SC 29440
Dr. Cheryl Lane, Assistant Professor, Francis Marion University
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Happiness Comes From Nowhere by Shauna Gilligan is one of the very best debut novels I have read in many years. The prose is masterful and it takes us deeply into the characters, who we feel we know and care about in all their too human frailty. It is rooted in place, in contemporary Ireland with some side trips to Rome and elsewhere, but its themes are universal. It deals with the core issues of human existence
The novel opens with us sitting in on the attempted suicide of Dirk, the main male character in Happiness Comes From Nowhere. The attempted suicide is very well depicted and felt very real, almost uncomfortably so. Of course I wanted to know what forces could have driven a young man in the prime of life to think that suicide was his best option. Gilligan is too sensitive an artist and too close a student of the human condition to try to directly answer this question for us in a linear fashion by simply narrating sad events in his life (we all have sad events). The rhetoric of fiction in this novel involves multiple view points, shifts in time and alteration of the prose style in order that the form of the work itself echo the narrative action.
I will try to explain a bit what I mean by this. I think that Gilligan is forcing us to work to put together a linear narrative so we can feel the discordant forces impacting on the mind of Dirk.
As I was reading Happiness Comes From Nowhere I somehow had a flashback to a class on early modern art that I took many years ago. One of the themes of Happiness Comes From Nowhere is the nature of knowledge, memory, and the construction of history. In a way, Gilligan is almost doing in a novel what the Cubists tried to do in their movement (time frame 1907 to 1921.) This quote from Wikipedia is very useful:
In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context. Often the surfaces intersect at seemingly random angles, removing a coherent sense of depth. The background and object planes interpenetrate one another to create the shallow ambiguous space, one of cubism's distinct characteristics.
I see the among the ancestors of Happiness Comes from Nowhere, Ford Madox Ford's great masterwork, Parade's End and my favorite Virginia Woolf novel, The Waves.
Stepping back a bit, the relationship of Dirk and his mother is brilliantly developed. Shortly after the segment on the suicide attempt of Dirk we see how much his mother loved and cherished him in his very early ages when his mother goes through the agony of placing him in a school for the first time. The novel is also about the search for human happiness. We see characters try to find it or to void out their despair at their inability to do so through drugs, alcohol and casual sexual relations. There are a lot of quirky minors characters that sort of serve as mini commentaries on the search for happiness from an Aunt dedicated or emerging her self in the role of good auntie to a woman spying on others at a hotel. Sometimes if one cannot find happiness one can try to find solace in making ourselves appear morally superior to those who do. This is a serious novel but it is also fun to read as we witness Dirk's various relationships with women. We also get a good look at the marriage of Dirk's parents, Sepp and Mary.
I liked Happiness Comes From Nowhere so much and felt such depth of meaning in the pages of the book that I read it back to back twice in a row, something I have not done since I read Gravity's Rainbow nearly four decades ago. It is also funny, very well plotted and the prose style is hauntingly beautiful.
Gilligan has a very interesting web page where you can learn more about her work and read some of her shorter fiction.
Happiness Comes From No Where is available in both Kindle and paperback editions through Amazon, on the publisher's web page, and in book stores throughout Ireland.
I want also to quote from the publisher's description of the novel to make sure I am doing all I can to convey the power of this work and to let you see what two of Ireland's leading writers think of the book.
Happiness Comes From Nowhere
Happiness Comes From Nowhere follows the lives of the Horn family: Mary, Sepp and Dirk. Their paths cross and intertwine with those of extended family, friends and acquaintances as journeys are made through the changing city of Dublin. People also venture further in search of happiness: Mary and Dirk wander the streets of Rome and Ita watches a cargo ship unload in Spain. Expressed in ways as different as suicide, art and sex, the inseparable pangs of loss and happiness – remembered and present – are threaded through the novel.
'A refreshingly thoughtful novel, poised and unpredictable. Delicious in its sensuous details and mischievous sense of humour. Happiness Comes from Nowhere is a truly impressive debut from a writer of exceptional talent.'
Éilís Ní Dhuibhne
'In Shauna Gilligan’s unsettling novel-in-stories, Dirk has troubles that his mother Mary may not be able to right, much as she tries. Gilligan writes intimately of one mother’s possessiveness, devotion and ambition for her son. Rich with insight, this is a book that informs as much as it haunts. As a début it is a very fine piece of work.’
Nuala Ní Chonchúir
Happiness Comes from Nowhere is the sort of book that rewards a single reading; the parts fit together like a jigsaw, and it’s nice to keep them fairly close in one’s mind so that the narrative thread remains pretty whole. I liked the way that characters were introduced and having bit parts in one story then become the centre of a later story. And yet, although each part can stand alone, there is a narrative development about loss, which comes together towards the end.
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Wed September 5, 2012
In 1972, Davis Blazed Party Trail On Gay Rights
Originally published on Wed September 5, 2012 11:05 am
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, I had some thoughts about why we so love to show our scars. We, meaning the public and our leaders. That's my Can I Just Tell You essay and it's in just a few minutes.
But, first, it's time for our Wisdom Watch. That's the part of the program where we speak with those who've made a difference through their work and, in this political season, we're talking with a political pioneer.
At the 1972 Democratic National Convention, Madeline Davis asked for something that had never been proposed at a major party convention. In a floor speech, the New York delegate asked her fellow Democrats to endorse platform language defending the civil rights of gay people. And now, 40 years later, marriage equality has been adopted as a plank in the 2012 Democratic Party platform.
So we thought this would be a good time to check in with Ms. Davis. Madeline Davis, welcome. Thanks so much for joining us.
MADELINE DAVIS: Thank you.
MARTIN: Can I ask you to go back and say - how did you get picked for this opportunity? Or did you see it as an opportunity?
DAVIS: Oh, I absolutely saw it as an opportunity, and I got picked due to the efforts of a professor named Jim Zais, Z-A-I-S, who taught at the University of Buffalo. He taught political science and he called me up. It was early spring of '72. It was 11 o'clock at night and he said, are you a registered Democrat? And I said, no. And he said, well, you're not a Republican, are you? And I said, no. And he said, are you Independent? I said, no. He said, well, what's going on? I said, I'm not registered at all.
I guess my defense is that, for years prior to getting involved in managing, I had been a librarian and a beatnik folk singer and, therefore, anti-establishment and I wasn't going to get involved in party politics. He said, I want you to go down to the Board of Elections tomorrow morning and register to vote as a Democrat. We're going to run you for delegate to the Democratic convention.
MARTIN: OK. Just like that? OK.
DAVIS: This is after no involvement in party politics at all. So I did. I - like a good little soldier, I went down and registered as a Democrat and, immediately, the gay community started walking around getting petitions, getting signatures and the ballots came in like a month later and there I was on the ballot.
MARTIN: We're making it sound like a lark here, but this was a very different era for gay rights and for gay and lesbian Americans at that time. I mean, at the time of your speech, homosexuality was still classified as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM. In some states, same-sex activity was a crime.
MARTIN: And I just have to ask. Were you afraid at all of identifying yourself in this public way and speaking out about this issue in such a public way?
DAVIS: There was looking at myself in the mirror and saying, this is where you're leading your life. And I called my mother and said, guess what? My latest lover is a woman. And she said, oh, Madeline, you've done everything else. You know, it's like - that was the end of it. And she met my subsequent girlfriends and my grandmother did and the whole family was OK and it just became a part of my life.
So, when this came along, I thought, well, you know, this is really not going to happen. They don't vote for lesbians. And then they did.
MARTIN: And you were there.
DAVIS: And so...
MARTIN: So you went to Miami Beach.
MARTIN: Now, I understand that you actually have a copy of your speech, your historic speech, with you.
DAVIS: I do. I just gave it to her.
MARTIN: Do you mind reading a little bit?
DAVIS: If you would like, you can actually hear it.
DAVIS: I have the CD...
DAVIS: ...with Walter Cronkite introducing me.
DAVIS: Oh, yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED SPEECH)
WALTER CRONKITE: The speaker who has just started is Madeline Davis, a 32-year-old communications worker from Buffalo, New York, who just identified herself as a lesbian. Let's listen.
DAVIS: It's our opportunity to speak to you. Twenty million Americans are grateful and proud of the Democratic Party. We are the minority of minorities. We belong to every race and creed, both sexes, every economic and social level, every nationality and religion. We live in large cities and in small towns, but we are the untouchables in American society. We have suffered the gamut of oppression, from being totally ignored or ridiculed, to having our heads smashed and our blood spilled in the street. Now we are coming out of our closets and onto the convention floor - to tell you the delegates and to tell all gay people throughout America that we are here to put an end to our fears - our fears that people will know us for who we are - that they will shun and revile us, fire us from our jobs, reject us from our families, evict us from our homes, beat us and jail us. And for what? Because we have chosen to love each other.
I am asking that you vote yes for the inclusion of this minority report into the Democratic platform for two major reasons. First, we must speak to the basic civil rights of all human beings. It is inherent in the American tradition that the private lives and lifestyles of citizens should be both allowed and ensured, so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others. A government that interferes with the private lives of its people is a government that is alien to the American tradition and the American dream. You have before you, a chance to reaffirm that tradition and that dream. As a matter of practicality, you also have the opportunity to gain the vote of 20 million Americans that will help in November to put a Democrat in the White House.
MARTIN: How did you feel when it was over?
DAVIS: I felt like I was on another planet. But some very nice things happened to me. I came down off the podium and the first thing that happened was this extremely tall, sort of, Hispanic-looking man came up to me - he was wearing all black - and he hugged me and he said, you did such a great job. I'm going to take your cause back to my people and make sure that it's something that we deal with. Because it's not something we've ever really thought about before. And then, he took a little pin - a Thunderbird pin - off of his lapel and he pinned it onto my blouse and said thank you very much, and he walked away. And I had no idea who he was. And so I asked and someone told me that he was Caesar Chavez's cousin who had invented the Thunderbird pin for the United Farm Workers.
DAVIS: So that was the first incident. And there were things like that that happened all through that convention.
MARTIN: If you've just joined us, this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin and I'm speaking with Madeline Davis. In 1972, she was the first openly lesbian delegate to a major national political convention. She also offered the first proposed language embracing LGBT rights at that convention.
After you spoke, a female delegate from Ohio rebutted your proposed plank. And then in her remarks, she connected homosexuality with prostitution and pedophilia...
MARTIN: ...and then your plank was defeated. What was your takeaway from all of that?
DAVIS: We knew right away - we meaning the gay and lesbian caucus. We were pretty disgusted about the way she did it. We knew, of course, that there was going to be someone who would speak against it. But the way it was done, the words that were used, were pretty horrible. And we wrote a letter of protest. And she wrote a letter saying she was sorry. I have it. Her name was Cathy(ph) Welch and she was from Ohio. And she said: I oppose the plank for reasons of political expediency. The analogies I drew in the speech were aimed to show the possible ramifications of the plank as a political document. I was not aware that the speech would imply that homosexuals are child molesters. Child molestation is largely a heterosexual, not homosexual, problem. I heartily apologize to all members of the Gay Liberation Movement for any other implications which were derived from my speech. And - oh, I will do all in my power to urge Senator McGovern to publicly repudiate the statement as prepared by the platform committee staff and to publicly reaffirm his support for gay civil rights.
Well, of course, that wasn't going to happen.
MARTIN: Wow. That's interesting.
DAVIS: Yeah. Yeah. She...
MARTIN: That's all very, you know, layer upon layer of back-story there.
DAVIS: Yeah. It is.
MARTIN: Yeah. You know, so - and as we mentioned, this year's Democratic platform embraced same-sex marriage rights, which you weren't even asking for at that time. I mean you were basically saying, please stop discriminating against us, stop firing us from jobs, stop, you know, signaling us out for criminal prosecution. You weren't even asking for marriage equality at that point.
DAVIS: That's right.
MARTIN: Now the platform embraces that. Do you remember when you heard that that was the case and how do you feel about it?
DAVIS: First of all, you have to know, I've been working in gay rights for 40 years. So I came to this information after a long journey. And I thought - isn't that nice?
DAVIS: I thought, well, it took such a long time for them to do this. And then I started washing the dishes. And...
DAVIS: And I went back to talk to my wife Wendy and I said, did you hear, they put marriage equality in the Democratic platform? She said, oh yeah, I just heard it a little while ago. And neither one of us had that oh, isn't that wonderful, reaction. It's just another steppingstone for us. Now first of all, we have to elect Obama. And then they have to get rid of DOMA. And then they're going to try and put this in place and the states are going to rebel and take it to the court. And then all the levels of the courts, right up to the Supreme Court, will have to judge this.
Now how many years away is that going to be? So I can't get excited yet. I'm 72 years old. It's quite possible - if not probable - that I will not see this in my lifetime.
MARTIN: Does that hurt?
DAVIS: Oh. I don't think it hurts. It's sad, but life goes on. And thank God there are younger people now who are taking up this cause and doing a wonderful job. And I can rest a little and watch them.
MARTIN: Before we say goodbye, I'd like to ask you the question that we've been asking most of our guests during the last two weeks of political conventions, which is: what does a successful country look like?
DAVIS: It is much less angry than this one is. It looks like spring, it looks like hope.
MARTIN: Madeline Davis is an activist for LGBT rights. She introduced the first LGBT-friendly language to the Democratic Party platform in 1972. And Madeline Davis joined us from NOR member station WNED in Buffalo, New York.
Madeline Davis, thank you so much for speaking with us.
DAVIS: And thank you very much for having me, Michel.
MARTIN: As I mentioned, Madeline Davis is also a former singer and songwriter. And here is part of her song about the gay rights movement "Stonewall Nation."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STONEWALL NATION")
DAVIS: (Singing) ...see you can if you're taller and (unintelligible). We're going to be ourselves and love it. Stonewall Nation is going to be free. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
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By Neal Broverman
Originally published on Advocate.com July 23 2012 5:58 PM ET
Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, passed away at the age of 61, leaving behind her longtime female partner.
Ride, who suffered from pancreatic cancer, died peacefully Monday. Born in Los Angeles in 1951, Ride obtained degrees in physics and English before signing up to become a NASA astronaut in 1977; it was the first time NASA allowed women in space. Ride apparently wasn’t out then — it's unlikely an openly gay person would be allowed to become an astronaut at the time, as the government believed gays represented security risks thanks to potential blackmail situations. She was actually married to a fellow astronaut, Steven Hawley, during part of her time with NASA.
Ride was chosen to be an astronaut in 1978 and jetted out of Earth's orbit in 1983 as the first American woman to go into space. Ride was part of the Challenger mission and would attend another Challenger voyage in 1984. A third trip was halted after the deadly 1986 Challenger explosion killed several astronauts and teacher Christa McAuliffe. Ride retired from NASA in 1987, eventually becoming a college professor in California.
A hero to millions of girls and women, Ride leaves behind her partner of 27 years, Tam O’Shaughnessy, as well as her mother, Joyce; her sister, Bear; her niece, Caitlin, and nephew, Whitney; her staff of 40 at Sally Ride Science; and many friends and colleagues around the country, according to Ride's website.
"Sally Ride and Tam O’Shaughnessy became friends at the age of 12 when they both played tennis," an article on Ride's website recalls. "While their lives took different paths, they stayed in contact over the years." Ride went onto Stanford and became the first American woman in space, while O’Shaughnessy became a professional tennis player, then earned degress in biology and psychology and became a science teacher. She worked with Ride on six books — Voyager, The Third Planet, The Mystery of Mars, Exploring Our Solar System, Mission Planet Earth, and Mission Save the Planet. She also helped lead Sally Ride Science, which Ride founded in 2001 to inspire children through science.
"The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers, and explorers," NASA administrator Charles Bolden told USA Today.
Ride may have been the first LGBT person in space, but she isn't the only to contribute to the advancement of space exploration. Scientist James Pollack worked alongside Carl Sagan and was a top researcher on planetary science and the effect of nuclear war. The late Todd Hawley is one of the three founders of the International Space University and came out publicly in 1990 when faced with a whisper campaign seeking to undermine him.
See more images from Ride's life on the following pages.
Sally Ride, left, and Tam O'Shaughnessy discuss the role of women in science and how the earth's climate is changing at the American Library Association's annual conference in Anaheim, 2008.
NASA astronaut Robert Crippen (center, first row), the Space Shuttle Challenger crew commander, poses in January 1983 in Johnson Space Center, Houston, with his crew members, astronauts Frederick Hauck (right), Shuttle pilot, Sally Ride (left), and John Fabian and Norman Thagard, mission specialists.
Astronauts Kathryn D. Sullivan, left, and Sally K. Ride display a "bag of worms." The "bag" is a sleep restraint and the majority of the "worms" are springs and clips used with the sleep restraint in its normal application. Clamps, a bungee cord, and Velcro strips are other recognizable items in the "bag."
Ride served as communications officer at NASA (CAPCOM) for STS-2 and STS-3 missions, communicating with shuttle crews from mission control.
Former tennis star Billie Jean King (left) and former astronaut Sally Ride arrive at the induction ceremony for the California Hall of Fame December 6, 2006, in Sacramento. The Hall of Fame, which was conceived by California first lady Maria Shriver, inducted King, Ride, Alice Walker, Ronald Reagan, Cesar Chavez, Walt Disney, Amelia Earhart, Clint Eastwood, Frank Gehry, David D. Ho, John Muir, and the Hearst and Packard families.
Instructor Mardell Wilkens works with Sally Ride during the Fortune Magazine Clinic at the LPGA Samsung World Championship on September 14, 2009, at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif.
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One of the features of curling throughout its history has been that it is what social workers of the present day would call 'socially inclusive'. You might be the laird and provide the pond on your land but unless you could curl well you couldn’t aspire to skipping a rink.
We historians of the game like to emphasise its egalitarianism. There’s the famous story – perhaps even spurious – about the poacher and the sheriff, both members of Peebles Curling Club in the early years of the nineteenth century. They played in the same rink. The poacher was the skip because of his skill on the ice. Sadly, from time to time it fell to the sheriff to have to jail him for unlawfully taking red fish during the summer. The story goes that during one bonspiel the poacher skip shouted down the ice to the sheriff, “Shirra, do you see this stane?” “Aye”, said the sheriff. “Weel, just gie it sixty days!”
I was delighted recently to come across two newspaper reports that showed that even far from home the Scot took what opportunity he could to indulge his passion for his favourite, national game.
The first appeared in the Aberdeen Weekly Journal of February 7, 1895.
“Parliamentary curling is at present popular among members of Parliament. Mr Graham Murray, at the Crystal Palace, has won the point medal with a capital score of 23. The Parliamentary players include Mr G. Whitelaw, Mr William Whitelaw, Sir John Kinloch, Mr Cochrane, Mr H. Anstruther, Mr Thorburn, and Mr Ramsay.”
The second appeared in the pages of the Glasgow Herald of February 12, 1895.
“A curling match between certain members of the House of Commons and the curling club was held at Wimbledon on Saturday. Of two Parliamentary rinks one was composed of Mr Bruce Wentworth, Sir John Kinloch, Mr William Whitelaw, and Mr Parker Smith; while the other consisted of Mr Graham Murray, Mr J.A. Baird, Mr Anstruther, and Mr Graham Whitelaw. But the Wimbledon Club won by three points.”
The lake at Wimbledon, which still exists close to the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s headquarters, had been used for some time by curlers, mainly of the expatriate Scots type. The Wimbledon CC had joined the RCCC as recently as 1893, but the Crystal Palace CC had been on the go since 1870.
Of the Parliamentary curlers:-
A Graham Murray, was MP for Bute,
William Whitelaw was MP for Perth City,
Sir John Kinloch was MP for East Perthshire,
Thomas Cochrane was MP for North Ayrshire,
Henry Anstruther was MP for St Andrews, and
Walter Thorburn was MP for Peebles and Selkirk,
The Hon. Charles Maule Ramsay was MP for Forfar,
Bruce Vernon Wentworth was MP for Brighton, and
John Parker Smith was MP for Partick.
The geographical spread is notable.
Graham Murray was, perhaps, the most distinguished of these curlers. He became an advocate in 1874, and his career blossomed. He was appointed an Advocate Depute in 1888-90, Sheriff of Perthshire in 1890-1, QC in 1891, was Member of Parliament for Bute from 1891 to 1905, Solicitor General in 1891-2 and 1895-6, Lord Advocate 1896-1903, Secretary of State for Scotland 1903-5, Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session, 1905-13. He was created a peer as Lord Dunedin in 1905, and was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (that is, a judge of the House of Lords) from 1913 to 1932. In fact, he is regarded as one of the most important and famous of Scots judges.
Despite these onerous offices he kept up his interest in curling. In 1897 we find him writing the Sport of the Month article, on curling, in The Pall Mall Magazine. Until he moved to London in connection with his Lords appointment he was an active member of the club which was the successor to the ancient but defunct Duddingston Curling Society, namely Coates CC. He was a member of Crystal Palace CC.
When he was made president-elect of the Royal Club in 1908-9 the editor of the Annual wrote: “It is also pleasing for us to have as President-elect at such an interesting juncture, the Right Hon. Lord Dunedin, who throughout his career of strenuous activity in the profession of which he is now the honoured head, never missed a day on the ice when a game was available, and as a ‘keen, keen curler’ discarded his ‘briefs’ for the nonce when he heard the curlers’ war-cry and the sound of the channel-stane.”
In the next year he succeeded Lord Strathcona as the Club’s President.
As for the other Parliamentarians’ curling connections in the year 1895, so far as I have been able to find them:-
William Whitelaw was president of Perth CC,
Sir John Kinloch was a member of Strathmore CC,
Thomas Cochrane was a member of Dalry Union CC,
Walter Thorburn was vice-president of Peebles CC,
The Hon. Charles Ramsay was a member of Brechin Castle CC,
Bruce Vernon Wentworth was vice-president of the family club, Dall CC, at their estate of Dall on Loch Rannoch, and
John Parker Smith was a patron and member of Partick CC.
David B Smith.
Top: Curling on Wimbledon Lake, January, 1891, from a private album.
Graham Murray, also known as Lord Dunedin, as president-elect of the Royal Club. From the programme of the dinner held by the Royal Club to honour the first team of Canadian curlers to visit Scotland in 1909.
A sketch from The Penny Illustrated Paper of January 14, 1893. The accompanying article commented on how seldom the Scottish game of curling could be played in the south of England and also remarked that Wimbledon because of curling had become a sort of Scottish colony.
All illustrations are courtesy of David B Smith.
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Choice... It's an interesting thing that some people like to throw around as if everything is a choice. Sometimes things are a choice, and some things are not. I can choose whether or not to have a cookie before dinner. But I can't choose what my favorite ice-cream is. In that instance, I taste different flavors and have an involuntary feeling about the different flavors. I simply taste and I like it or I don't. Some people like to claim that sexual preference is a choice. Is it though? These people would have you believe that people that identify as homosexual sat down one day and asked themselves who they wanted to be attracted to. They thought long and hard about it and eventually came to a decision.
If this premise were true, that would also suggest that heterosexuality is also a choice. So, I ask of you... If you're 'straight', when did you sit down and decide that fact? Was it difficult to come to that decision? Or were you like me (and everyone else I've asked this question), and simply were how you are? I'm a heterosexual, and can tell you that I never had to 'decide' that fact. So why should we believe homosexuality is any different? Some people are of one sexual preference, some are another, and some are another still.
But lets just assume that it is a choice for arguments sake. Lets go with the claim that heterosexuality is the default sexual orientation. So even then, what makes someone think that a person can simply change away from that preference of favoring and being attracted to the opposite sex, to being attracted to the same sex? Remember, what you like is involuntary. Just like if you like a food or you don't, you either like men or you like women. Just like you can't simply decide to like Brussels Sprouts, you can't just decide to be attracted to a sex that you previously weren't attracted to. That's like saying that any one of us can just decide to be attracted to any person, whether our 'type' or not. In this sense, sexuality is not a choice at all!
I also hear a similar claim when it comes to religious belief... or more specifically, my lack thereof. I've been told that "You just don't want to believe", or asked "Why don't you just believe just in case?" Such silly statements when you consider that belief is involuntary. It is not a conscious choice that you get to decide. Let me ask... Do you believe in the Tooth Fairy? No? Well, go ahead and decide to believe in the Tooth Fairy anyway. You'll quickly find that you can't simply decide to believe in something that you don't actually believe in. True, you can always fake belief just like parents fake belief in Santa to their kids. But the simple fact is, that when you look inside, you still don't actually believe in the Tooth Fairy, or jolly old Saint Nick no matter what kind of front you put up.
In that same way, I can't simply decide to believe in a deity, or decide not to. It's all a matter of being convinced by the data your brain has at it's disposal. When you're a child, you believe your parent's authority when they tell you of Santa. But as you grow and learn, things just start to add up until one day you realize that you don't believe in Santa anymore (unless your parents tell you first). There was no conscious decision of whether to believe in Santa or not. There just came a point where your brain made the connections that lead it to determine that it was no longer a believable premise. It's much the same when my non-belief is the topic of discussion. I don't lack belief because I want to. Actually, I think it would be cool if some form of reincarnation were actually real. However, what I want doesn't enter into what I'm convinced by.
Given what I know, I'm simply unconvinced by god claims. If arguments don't meet the required muster to convince me, my belief will remain unchanged. That said, my atheism is open to revision should something come to light that would convince me that some form of theism were true. However, I can not simply decide to believe, or not believe, any more than anyone else can decide to believe in any matter of fantastic creature through sheer will alone. You can't decide to stop loving your spouse, but you can stop loving them if new information or actions come to your attention that undermine the previous data set your feelings were built on. It's an unconscious weighing of everything by your brain. I cannot decide to believe, just like one can't decide to not be afraid of a Lion or a clown. You can conquer these fear through other means, buy simply deciding not to be afraid isn't one of them.
As you can see there are times when the 'choice' that someone may bring up wasn't a choice at all. But rather a natural reaction or the result of the actions of the unconscious mind drawing conclusions from knowledge and experience. And that's not a bad thing. In fact being aware of this fact is good and can be the path to some of the most honest answers and opinions you could ever get.
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Usually, most taxpayers make mistakes by overstepping tax law boundaries. However, the IRS is not above making mistakes too, and can create tax problems and disputes as a result. When this happens, we stop and take notice. An article by Janet Novack of Forbes The IRS Art Advisory Panel Has Its Head In the Clouds reports on one such noticeable case; the strange and bizarre tax dispute between the IRS, its IRS’ Art Advisory Panel and the estate of deceased art collector, Ileana Sonnabend.
IRS Tax Issues Began with a Value of Zero
Sonnabend died in 2007 with an estate valued at $876 million. Her massive art collection including works by Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Cy Twombly were all appraised at fair market value by Sotheby’s except one: Robert Rauschenberg’s famous collage “Canyon.” This special art piece; part painting part sculpture was given the value of “$0” because it cannot legally be sold. The reason: the piece includes a stuffed bald eagle that if sold, the seller would risk violating two federal laws protecting bald eagles and face a year in jail. In 1981, Sonnabend was issued a special permit by U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents and allowed to keep “Canyon” to lend to museums. Its current spot is at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The IRS values art such as “Canyon” through its Art Advisory Panel. The panel consists of independent experts, an IRS official chair and the Director of Art Appraisal Services. The New York Times reports in their article Art’s Sale Value? Zero. The Tax Bill? $29 Million that one expert who analyzed “Canyon” Stephanie Barron is a senior curator at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), where “Canyon” was exhibited for two years. She said this piece was “a stunning work of art” and valued solely on its artistic value without regard to laws regarding the eagle. The panel estimated the piece to sell for $65 million.
IRS Creates Value, Demands Tax Debt and Penalties
Believing the panel’s valuation may have been too high, the lead IRS auditor valued “Canyon” at $15 million. Ralph E. Lerner, the estate’s attorney disagreed with the art having value and pretty soon the estate received an IRS Notice of Deficiency stating the value of “Canyon” to be $65 million and for the estate to pay the following:
o An additional $29 million in tax
o $11.7 million “gross valuation misstatement” penalty
Lerner complained to the IRS Director of Art Appraisal Services and was told by the Director that the art was given this value because there “could be” a market for such a piece supposing “a recluse billionaire in China might want to buy it and hide it.” Since Sonnabend or her heirs have no “black market” business dealings, and it would be illegal to peddle the art in any marketplace, it’s hard to believe the $65 million valuation will stick.
Tax Resolution May Come with Negotiation
The situation is tricky. If the estate does not pay back taxes and penalties, they will be in violation of federal tax laws, but if they try to sell “Canyon” to pay their tax debt, they could go to jail. The Sonnabend heirs can only hope their tax lawyers will bring them some tax relief by negotiating with the IRS to drop this matter or at the very least, get the $29.2 million in delinquent taxes and IRS penalties reduced to a more manageable amount.
More Tax Help, IRS News and Tax Relief Tips:
- Michael Rozbruch Interviewed in Opportunist Magazine
- Tax Help Tip-Avoid the Delinquent Tax Return Trap
- Nicolas Cage Pays $6 Million-Tax Lien Released
- Tax Expert Gives Tax Filing Info on Fox News
- Sales Tax Issues-Amazon & Texas Face Off
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Originally Posted by tanVincent
I thought when H2O2 touches water, it disintegrates into hydrogen and oxygen compounds? If that is the case, it will not have any effect at all. Please correct me if I am wrong.
I'm not Gomer, but what the hey.
You buy H2O2 in highly diluted form- only 3% diluted in (you guessed it) water. When putting it in the aquarium, you dilute it much more. It will oxidize organic matter with the release of oxygen. That's the bubbling you see when it is working. It will most certainly do something when in the tank. Too much will kill everything in the tank!
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How the Pakistan army was involved in the ‘tribal incursion’ of Kashmir in 1947-48
For those who are still under the delusion that Pakistan army wasn’t involved in the so-called “tribal incursion” of Kashmir in 1947-48, here is an old interview with Major General (Retired) Naseerullah Khan Babar.
Naseerullah Babar later served as the interior minister of Pakistan in the Benazir Bhutto government from 1993-1996. While most people remember Babar for his active role in starting the Taliban in Afghanistan and for aggressively fomenting the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, this interesting bit about his association in the 1947-48 Kashmir War caught my eye.
I would like to add that during my stay in PMA I volunteered for service in Kashmir and took part in the 1947–48 Kashmir War as commander of a Tribal Lashkar in Jul/Aug 1948 in the Poonch Sector.[link]
This is truly amazing because cadets still undergoing military training at Pakistan Military Academy actually volunteered and commanded tribal Lashkars in Kashmir in 1947-48. Understandably, the Zias, Mushharafs and Kayanis of the later era just built upon such glorious foundations laid in Pakistan Army by its founding fathers.
Of course, as this blog has argued earlier (here), it only goes on to prove that the Islamist jehad by Pakistan in Kashmir didn’t start in 1989. It started in 1947.
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Family: Scolopacidae, Sandpipers view all from this family
Description ADULT Looks pale buffy orange overall, darkest on back and wings. In summer plumage, close inspection reveals intricate dark marbling on back and upper wings and subtle barring on underparts. Bill is mostly pink with a dark tip. Legs are dark and relatively long. In winter, plumage looks paler overall and less colorful, with much less intense barring on underparts; pink on bill is more extensive. JUVENILE Similar to winter adult.
Dimensions Length: 18" (46 cm)
Habitat Fairly common, breeding in wet grassland and marshes, mostly in the northern Great Plains. Winters on coasts, mainly south of our region, but reasonable numbers remain on Gulf coast (mainly Texas) and Atlantic coast (mainly Florida to North Carolina); favors mudflats, estuaries, and sandy beaches. Common during migration along suitable areas of coastline.
Observation Tips Easiest to see in spring and fall on coasts.
Range Southeast, California, Texas, Northwest, Florida, Alaska, Plains, Eastern Canada, Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Western Canada
Voice Utters a loud ker-Wik in flight.
Discussion Large and subtly patterned shorebird. Bill is extremely long and nearly straight (distal half is slightly upturned), allowing easy separation from similarly-sized Long-billed Curlew, which has downcurved bill; bill is used to probe mud and soft sand for invertebrates. In flight, wings are mainly uniformly orange-buff above and below but with dark carpal patch on upper wings. Typically tolerant of observers. Outside breeding season, often roosts at high tide with flocks of other, similarly-sized shorebirds. Sexes are similar.
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The N.C. Department of Transportation’s “Booze It & Lose It” campaign kicked off last weekend, and attempts to greatly reduce the amount of drunk driving across the state.
“State and local law enforcement officers will be out in force as part of the Holiday Booze It & Lose It campaign,” said State Transportation Secretary Gene Conti in a press release.
According to the release, “checkpoints and stepped-up patrols began Friday, Dec. 7, and will continue through Wednesday, Jan. 2, across North Carolina in an effort to remove impaired drivers from the roads.”
“Make the responsible decision to designate a driver if you plan to drink this holiday season,” said Conti. “The choice you make could save a life.”
In 2011, there were more than 950 alcohol-related crashes in North Carolina during the holiday season, which runs through Jan. 2, resulting in 44 fatalities and 702 injuries.
Officers charged more than 3,600 North Carolina motorists with driving while impaired during the 2011 Holiday Booze It & Lose It campaign. More than 10,000 stepped-up patrols and checkpoints were conducted that year.
Drinking and driving isn’t just a problem during the Christmas holiday season.
According to Gottholm, Welborn & Benton PLLC, a Statesville criminal law attorney, the N.C. DOT’s Booze It & Lose It campaign counted 2,957 DWI charges over Labor Day weekend in 2011.
In the past two years, other measures besides the Booze It & Loose It campaign have been taken to minimize the number of drunk driving fatalities, and not only during holidays.
On Dec. 1, 2011, North Carolina’s new drunk driving law, known as Laura’s Law, established much more severe sentences for repeat DWI offenders, according to Gottholm, Welborn & Benton PLLC.
The law is named after Laura Fortenberry, a 17-year-old resident of Lowell, who died when the vehicle she was in was struck head on by a repeat drunk driver in July, 2010.
Gottholm, Welborn & Benton said the new law will mainly target three-time DWI offenders, whose punishment will be an “optional fine of up to $10,000 (up from $4,000) and a mandatory prison sentence of one to three years (up from 30 days to two years) without parole.”
Despite the new laws and continued efforts by the N.C. DOT, North Carolina is still 22nd out of the 50 states in the total number of fatalities as of May, 2011, according to statistics from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
Statistics from MADD also show North Carolina had 388 alcohol impaired fatalities in 2010, and that figure has held steady at 388 from May, 2010, through May, 2011.
While North Carolina’s rate has remained constant, other states have shown a decrease in the rate of alcohol-related fatalities.
According to CenturyCouncil.org, “41 states and Washington D.C. had decreases in the number of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities. Consumption rates nationally and among those under the legal drinking age showed marked decreases in 2011 reaching historic low levels.”
CenturyCouncil.org also reported alcohol-impaired driving fatalities have declined 35 percent nationally, and among the United State’s under 21 population, those fatalities have declined 58 percent.
With the DOT’s continued efforts, like the Booze It & Lose It campaign, DWI’s could begin to decrease in North Carolina in the coming years.
For more information regarding Booze It & Lose It or for citation totals, contact Don Nail at (919) 733-3083 or visit the DOT’s website at www.ncdot.gov/programs/ghsp.
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The Wild Horse, Yesterday and Today
Modern horses are part of the family Equidae. The fossil history of Equidae is well documented, but new evidence about its evolutionary history—and new interpretations of it—continue to accumulate.
The earliest known genus of the Equidae family is Hyracotherium, which included several terrier-sized species that lived 55 to 45 million years ago, during the Eocene epoch. Since then, multiple lineages of horses have evolved, with much diversification occurring during the Miocene, about 25 to 8 million years ago.
Over time, the number of digits on the limbs tended to decrease in number: While Hyracotherium had four toes on the forefoot and three on the hindfoot, in the lineage that led to modern horses these were reduced to a single digit on each limb. By about one million years ago, members of the one-toed genus Equus (Latin for “horse”) were found across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, in enormous migrating herds.
All surviving species of the family Equidae are members of this single genus, Equus. These species are:
- Equus caballus, the common horse. All horse breeds, from Shetland ponies to Shire horses, belong to this species.
- Equus przewalskii, the wild Przewalski's horse, or takhi, as it is known in its native Mongolia. Some systematists and conservation biologists consider this to be a distinct species, whereas others believe it is a wild subspecies of Equus caballus.
- Equus asinus, the North African wild ass, domestic ass, burro, or donkey. The species’ native range is in Ethiopia and Somalia, yet domesticated and feral populations now exist in many parts of the world. Equus africanus is currently considered to be the name for the wild form of Equus asinus, and is ranked as Critically Endangered in the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Equus burchellii, the plains zebra, common zebra, or Burchell's zebra. This species lives in east and southern Africa, from southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia, south to southeast Congo, southern Angola, northern Namibia and Botswana, and South Africa.
- Equus grevyi, Grevy's zebra or Imperial zebra. It lives in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and is ranked as Endangered in the 2007 Red List.
- Equus hemionus, the kulan or “half ass.” It lives in southwestern Mongolia and adjacent China and is ranked as Vulnerable in the 2007 Red List.
- Equus kiang, the Asiatic wild ass, or kiang. It resides in northern India, Turkmenia, and Iran.
- Equus onager, the onager. It lives in central Asia.
- Equus zebra, the mountain zebra. It resides in southern Angola, Namibia, and South Africa and is ranked as Endangered in the 2007 Red List.
One additional species, Equus quagga—the quagga—was formerly distributed in South Africa but is now extinct, according to the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The last individual died in captivity in 1883.
Where Did Modern Horses Come From?
Modern species of horses, such as the common horse, Equus caballus, evolved on the North American continent and migrated across the Bering land bridge into what is now Siberia. From there, horses spread across Asia into Europe and south to the Middle East and northern Africa. At the end of the Pleistocene epoch—about 10,000 years ago—a series of devastating extinctions took place in North and South America. Many large mammal species died out on the American continents, including mammoths, saber-tooth tigers, and all horse species. The cause of these extinctions is unknown. Possible factors may have included climate change, hunting pressure from early tribes that came across the Asia-Alaska land bridge, or perhaps some epidemic disease.
Better Luck in Eurasia
On other continents, however, Equus was very successful. Equus caballus lived on the lowlands north of the great Asiatic mountain ranges, probably in abundant herds. By around 4,000 B.C., several subspecies had developed on these grassy lowlands. The tarpan (Equus caballus gmelini), a small gray horse with a black tail and mane, lived around the Black and Caspian Seas. This was probably the first domesticated horse, and indeed, most contemporary domestic horses may derive from tarpan stock. The forest horse (Equus caballus sylvaticus), which once may have occupied parts of Central Europe as far west as the Rhine, became the ancestor of the heavy horses used by knights in the Middle Ages, as well as of later-day draft horses. The takhi (Equus przewalskii) was found in Mongolia and northern China.
Humans Squeeze Out the Wild Horse
Most scholars agree that the horse was probably first domesticated several thousand years ago on the treeless steppes of west-central Asia, north of the Caspian Sea. Early peoples first domesticated whatever species or subspecies of horse was found nearby. Then, altering the gene pool via trading or selective breeding, they engineered different types of horse suited for different activities. Today, there are at least 200 different domestic breeds of Equus caballus around the world, from tiny ponies to racehorses to huge draft horses.
A combination of factors—including hunting and competition with humans who wanted land and water for their livestock—reduced the range of the wild horse and drove it into ever more remote areas. Wild populations might have existed into the Middle Ages in Spain, the Alps, and the valley of the Danube, but some of these “wild” horses were probably actually feral: stock that had escaped captivity and returned to the wild. The forest horse persisted in the wild in eastern Poland until about 1800, but is now an extinct subspecies. Widely hunted as game, tarpans too died out; the last specimen died in captivity in the Ukraine in 1918. By the nineteenth century, most naturalists believed that no truly wild horses still existed, so great excitement greeted the 1879 rediscovery by Nikolai Przewalski of wild horses in southwestern Mongolia.
Takhi—The Only Wild Horse
The takhi is the only true wild horse left in the world. These dun-colored, black-maned equids have not been domesticated, and they remain genetically distinct from the common (domestic) horse. The takhi has 66 chromosomes instead of the common horse's 64. Because of this genetic distinction, some scientists recognize the takhi as a separate species from Equus caballus, rather than a closely-related subspecies. However, when the common horse and the takhi are cross-bred, the first-generation offspring have 65 chromosomes and are fertile. If parents can produce fertile offspring, according to systematic convention, it usually indicates that they do not belong to different species.
Another factor suggesting that the takhi might be a subspecies of Equus caballus is that if a first-generation horse-takhi hybrid is bred with a horse, the second-generation offspring have only 64 chromosomes and bear little resemblance to the takhi ancestor. Scientists who study equid systematics and conservation, however, are likely to debate the matter further. In fact, there are many approaches to how a species should be defined and the takhi provides a very good example of how difficult it can be to decide what “species concept” is the best.
If we accept the opinion that Przewalski's horse is a distinct species—Equus przewalskii—then we can say that the species became extinct in the wild in the 1960s. Now, populations have been successfully reestablished in several Asian locations.
More About This Resource...
Our innovative Science Bulletins are an online and exhibition program that offers the public a window into the excitement of scientific discovery. This essay was published in May 2008 as part of The Last Wild Horse: The Return of Takhi to Mongolia Bio Feature.
- It begins with an overview of the earliest known genus of the Equidae family, Hyracotherium, and traces the evolution to the single genus, Equus.
- It then details the species of Equus, including information about how wild horses spread from North America to Asia and Europe and how the horse was domesticated.
- The essay concludes with a look at takhi, the only true wild horse left in the world.
Supplement a study of biology with a classroom activity drawn from this Science Bulletin essay.
- Ask student what they know about horses. How many species are there? How do they think the species has evolved over the past 50 million years?
- Have them read the essay (either online or a printed copy).
- Working individually or in small groups, have students research the different species of Equus detailed in the article and create a display that shows the variety found within this single genus.
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Several factors are likely at work. First, health departments are operating on the correct premise that any time people are clustered together public water and sewer service is a good idea. Second, when health departments try to nudge a public sewer/water project forward, it is never in their best interest to understate the need. That means they may portray the danger to be a bit more dramatic than it actually is.
And finally, when a government employee says something a higher-up doesn't want to hear, the employee is generally leaned on to retract or modify the statement, even if it's true.
A new water-project proposal wasn't what the commissioners wanted to hear. They might lose the votes of people who don't want the pipelines (public water projects haven't been politically popular since the days of Appius Claudius.)
Commissioners President Greg Snook came right out and said of the water project, "I ain't going close to it" unless it's the state pushing the envelope. Translation: Unless the state plays the bad guy and gives me political cover, public health is not a priority.
That's not leadership. A leader would ask the people who are opposed to the project to examine their positions in more detail. It's natural for a perfectly well-meaning person to say his well is fine, so he has no need for public water. But perhaps while his well is fine, the well of his neighbors and his neighbor's kids is not. When you begin to think of the health of your community and not just of you yourself, things can look a bit different.
And even people who have good wells now, may be subject to others people's bad septic systems later. Groundwater and sewage doesn't stop at the property line.
Ultimately, I think the health department's message is that while you shouldn't be panicked, you should certainly be concerned.
Not that it will matter much if the county balks at the public water and sewer project, even with its modest costs.
On that topic, if you're into the sport of charting County Commissioner inconsistencies, this is a good one: One reason against the project, commissioners say, is that they need to keep paying down, not adding to, the county's sewer debt.
Oh? If that's the case, then why is the county about to open a dialogue with state lawmakers so the commissioners can reduce the annual amount they are paying on the sewer debt?
Of course it gets back to the airport. As is, the county won't have the cash flow it needs to make payments on the debt it is about to incur to extend the airport's runway. So it is going to need to rob sewer to pay airport.
Not only are we going to have a whole new raft of airport debt, but the old sewer debt will not be paid back as fast. Thus, the sewer debt is an excuse where a water project is concerned, but it is not a problem where a runway project is concerned.
And meantime, Boonsboro water is exactly the type of project that is going to be lost in the shuffle. Not just for now, but for the next decade. Public health, public safety, public schools and public everything else is going to take a back seat while the commissioners are off chasing jets.
While I agree that the runway extension would be a nice thing to have, water is an essential thing to have. At the very least, it should not become an element of politics.
Last summer we had one of the worst droughts on record, and the last commissioners were so concerned - or said they were so concerned - that they partially banned new housing construction.
Some other folks with real concerns about the county's well-being approached the board and offered to provide a cheap hydrological study of the county. It would have mapped where our water comes from, where it goes and where shortages and pollution were most likely to occur. It would have been a valuable map for planning development and ensuring a safe and adequate water supply even in times of severe drought.
But the commissioners weren't interested. And even after heavy rains restored the water table, the moratorium remained. Turns out, water wasn't the real issue; the real issue was pleasing a bloc of voters who do not favor growth.
In a way, this is to be expected. Water has been a part of politics for centuries, and often with far more sinister intent and gross mismanagement than what we're seeing here.
But the experts at the health department say there is a serious risk that wells will become contaminated and people will get sick. Such a warning should at least stir a little thought and debate. Even a little bit of concern would have been nice.
But because it might cost them a few votes, Washington County's top leadership ain't going close to it.
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I have small bumps all over my nose and under my eyes, and I can’t seem to get rid of them. Help!
It sounds like you don’t know what your skin bumps are. To me it seems like they could be either pimples or whiteheads. Basically, these are the same thing — both pimples and whiteheads are clogged pores. I’ve dealt with just about every skin issue imaginable, so I think I can help you with your skin bumps. Here’s what I would do if I had some whiteheads that wouldn’t go away:
It sounds like your whitehead/pimple problem is very minor and that you just need to give your skin some TLC to get rid of the skin bumps. Be sure to take care of it, use gentle products and keep it well cleansed and moisturized — and you’ll be on your way to smoother skin.
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Related Stories: Letters from readers: Skeptical about outcome of Trayvon Martin
The Germans were running airplanes, trains, trucks, buses and cars on hydrogen fuel in the 1930s. The United States did much work with hydrogen fuel, also. Hydrogen is the fuel of the future. It can be produced now at competitive prices.
Florida Times-Union via Google News
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The answer thus far would appear to be that low-income consumers are looking forward to smarter energy offerings based on fresh data from the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative.
A recent survey for Collaborative sheds light on the opportunity and the challenge of engaging consumers who have annual family incomes up to $20,000 (for a family of 1-2 persons) on up to $50,000 (for a family of 9 or more).
While roughly four in ten low-income consumers who are aware of the term “smart grid” have less than favorable opinions toward it and smart meters, another four in ten ARE favorable; the remaining 20% are neutral.
One of the more interesting findings is that low-income consumers — much like the population at large — have a strong interest in dynamic pricing; this despite the fact that 42% of them say they do not use the internet and roughly the same percentage do not have a cell phone. As a result, survey respondents are more receptive to automated phone calls than the general population.
Fewer and shorter power outages are high on the list of what they want out of a smarter grid and the smart meters that can make it happen.
Time-of-use (TOU) and critical-peak-rebate (CPR) pricing programs could find a receptive market among these consumers, the research showed.
The goals of saving money and using less energy appear to ring true no matter how much money people make.
While the research results augur well for continued progress for smart grid deployment, the research underscores the need for more effective outreach to low-income consumers. Their knowledge and support could be integral to dealing with activists opposing smart meters with claims that have yet — and may never be — substantiated.
Low-income consumers deserve the customized communications just as much as other segments of the population are starting to receive. Where needed, using the Spanish language and Spanish-language media are no-doubt critical for engaging low-income Hispanics.
Respondents had to be 18 or over and the head of the household. The sample was stratified by ethnicity targeting 400 whites, 300 African Americans, 300 Hispanics. Aggregate data were weighted by age, ethnicity, gender and region to align with low income population parameters. Those interviewed, including those in Spanish, totaled 1,001.
Read more about the research, conducted by Market Strategies International, here.
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|Contexts and Comparisons||Chapter 8 - 19th Century Prose Narrative|
Cervantes' Don Quixote, which focuses on a man who seeks to right the wrongs of the world while pursuing his ideal woman, exemplifies the archetypal male narrative. The term "novel," however, was not often used to describe fiction derived, like Don Quixote, from the chivalric romances of the late Middle Ages (see Chapter 4 ). When the term became the accepted English name for an extended piece of prose fiction in the eighteenth century, "novel" usually denoted what might be called the archetypal female narrative, a minutely detailed social record of a young woman's progress toward marriage.
Many of the first great novelists were in fact women, notably the Japanese Lady Murasaki, who wrote The Tale of Genji in eleventh-century Japan, and Marie de La Vergne de La Fayette, who wrote La Princesse de Clèves in seventeenth-century France. However, most scholars agree that the English social novel begins with a man who wrote for women, Samuel Richardson. A printer by profession, Richardson composed conduct books that helped newly literate ladies' maids and aspiring women of the growing middle class learn how to behave in polite society. Since the prevailing mode of social communication in the eighteenth century was the letter, some booksellers asked Richardson to go beyond these general guides to good manners and publish a collection of form letters that would provide models for their women customers to copy and adapt for a number of social situations. In working on this project, Richardson suddenly realized that these exemplary letters could be arranged not only to demonstrate modes of letter-writing but also to tell a story.
This insight launched one of the most remarkable careers in novelistic history, for Richardson began a tradition of literary impersonation with his novel Pamela (1740), a story which evolves through letters supposedly written by a fictional young woman. While some prominent literary men laughed at this new format, other men--and women--loved it. The increased subtlety of Richardson's next epistolary novel, Clarissa (1747-48), led readers of both sexes to accept as authoritative accounts of intimate female experience filtered through a man's understanding.
The Richardsonian psychological novel as a genre frequently has been viewed with condescension, dismissed as the "sort of thing that women like." In fact, one of Richardson's greatest admirers, Jane Austen, has the narrator of her first novel, Northanger Abbey(1) give a spirited defense of her heroine's choice of reading matter, the novel. Remarking that most fictional protagonists scorn the literary form which gives them their being, Austen's narrator insists that the novel has "afforded more extensive and unaffected pleasure than . . . any other" mode of writing. Nevertheless, with a diffidence typical of women writers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Jane Austen chose never to have her name appear on the title page of any of her published works. Sense and Sensibility, published in 1811, was advertised as "By a Lady," and each of her subsequent works was "By the Author of" the previous novel. The three Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, published as Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, purposely choosing ambiguous pseudonyms.
This fear of self-exposure resulted from the prevailing tendency to dismiss a woman's book with disdain as a woman's book combined with the idea that it was indelicate for a woman to seek public attention. The pressure that such creative spirits as Austen and the Brontes felt to disguise their productivity mirrors the pressures felt by their heroines, strong characters who also must be "good girls" and who generally end up submerging their own identities in marriage. Significantly, most of the early women novelists who did not use pseudonyms masked their real selves on their title pages anyway, as Mme. de La Fayette, Mrs. Radcliffe, Mrs. Gaskell, and so forth.
|Anne, Emily and Cherlotte Bronte. Painting by their brother, Patrick Bramwell Bronte. (8.5)|
Apparently in this tradition of self-abnegation, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre leads up to a famous sentence: "Reader, I married him." The heroine, however, exhibits considerable independence as she moves toward achieving her new name. Like so many nineteenth-century novels, Jane Eyre focuses on the growth and moral development of an orphaned, neglected, and mistreated leading character. Jane Eyre must work to support herself, and hires herself out to be a governess in the aptly named Thornfield Hall. Whatever their intellectual attainments, most governesses had few opportunities for self-expression. Instead, they lived lonely lives, excluded because of their indeterminate social class both by the domestic servants of the household and their privileged employers.
Brontë dramatizes Jane's eagerness to explore life by having her explore the various passageways of the mansion of Mr. Rochester, her enigmatic master. In a daring mood, Jane ascends to the top of his mysterious house and steps out onto the roof of Thornfield. This setting eventually will be the scene of death and destruction before she can become Mrs. Rochester and celebrate her marriage in a house called Ferndean. Here, fresh from school and inexperienced, Jane looks boldly out on the world of whose gifts she has been deprived.
Excerpt From Jane Eyre, Chapter XII
Anybody may blame me who likes when I add further that now and then, when I took a walk by myself in the grounds, when I went down to the gates and looked through them along the road, or when, while Adèle played with her nurse, and Mrs. Fairfax made jellies in the storeroom, I climbed the three staircases, raised the trap-door of the attic, and having reached the leads, looked out far over sequestered field and hill, and along dim sky-line -- that then I longed for a power of vision which might overpass that limit; which might reach the busy world, towns, regions full of life I had heard of but never seen: that then I desired more of practical experience than I possessed; more of intercourse with my kind, of acquaintance with variety of character, than was here within my reach. I valued what was good in Mrs. Fairfax, and what was good in Adèle; but I believed in the existence of other and more vivid kinds of goodness, and what I believed in I wished to behold.
Who blames me? Many, no doubt; and I shall be called discontented. I could not help it; the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes. Then my sole relief was to walk along the corridor of the third story, backwards and forwards, safe in the silence and solitude of the spot and allow my mind's eye to dwell on whatever bright visions rose before it -- and, certainly, they were many and glowing; to let my heart be heaved by the exultant movement, which, while it swelled it in trouble, expanded it with life; and, best of all, to open my inward ear to a tale that was never ended -- a tale my imagination created, and narrated continuously; quickened with all of incident, life, fire, feeling, that I desired and had not in my actual existence.
It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. Women are supposed to be very calm generally; but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.
(1) Completed by 1803 but not published until 1818, the year after Austen had died.
A Brief Introduction to the Novel
|text only copy for printing||Next: Passage for Study:
African-American Women and the Slave Narrative
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Flagrantly unfair - 25 Comments
Howie Carr lapses into garbled journalism with his column on Gov. Deval Patrick’s tax plan (Jan. 16). The Census Bureau reports that Massachusetts residents paid 10.2 percent of their income in 2010. Massachusetts had lower taxes than 24 other states. This is hardly “Taxachusetts.”
It is true that the Massachusetts tax system is flagrantly unfair, however, with low- and middle-income folks paying a far larger share of their income in taxes than high-income people, as detailed by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.
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Blepharoplasty (Eyelid Surgery) (cont.)
In this Article
What Are the Possible Complications From Eyelid Surgery?
As with any surgical procedure, there is some degree of risk. However rare they may be, it is important to be aware of potential complications before you decide to have an eye lift.
Complications and unwanted results from an eye lift are rare, but sometimes they do occur. Most patients are very satisfied with the procedure.
Problems with eyelid surgery can include:
If you experience any of these complications, contact your doctor as soon as possible.
Does Insurance Cover Eyelid Surgery?
An insurance carrier may only agree to cover this surgery if the patient's eyelids are drooping to a level that impairs his or her vision. Vision tests are required before surgery to confirm the problem. Otherwise, the procedure is considered cosmetic and not medically necessary.
WebMD Medical Reference
Reviewed by Michael J. Wheatley, MD, on September 19, 2009
Last Editorial Review: 9/19/2009
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE!
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Summer is gearing up and it is sponsorship season for those of you fortunate enough to have a two seat Vintage Wings aircraft pass through your neck of the woods. There are a large variety of types that can be sponsored and these days the busiest airplane is our Stearman. There is something known as the Stearman smile that virtually all sponsors wear for quite a while after a flight in this aircraft. We never seem to run short of them.
This aircraft is not any old Stearman but one of the few left that actually flew in the BCATP. While over 10,000 Stearmans were manufactured(including spares), only 300 were delivered to Canada. They had the army designation of PT-27 and the Boeing model type as a D75N1.
In fact, the BCATP Stearman story was one of great frustration for the RCAF. Like the Cornell, Tiger Moth and Harvard, significant modifications were requested, many of them in order to cope with the bitter Canadian winters. These modifications included a canopy, heater, blind flying hood, night flying equipment, a landing light, and an engine baffle to keep the cylinder temperatures up on the uncowled engine. But despite repeated prompting from the RCAF’s representative in Wichita, only the very last Stearman was delivered with the extra equipment. As well, none of the night flying equipment was installed which meant that the three Stearman equipped RAF flying schools had to retain a number of properly equipped Tiger Moths.
By the fall of 1942, Stearman flying had come to a halt due to the cold weather. With no short term solution in sight, the 287 surviving Stearmans were flown back to the US in the dead of winter. They were exchanged for Cornells with the USAAF. This closed the short chapter of Stearman history in the BCATP.
While the type did not last very long Canada, it still did train many pilots in Alberta(along with a few based at a flying instructor school in Arnprior). It seems only fitting that the Vintage Wings PT-27 is returning to Alberta in order to make a new home for at least the medium term. It will be taken on strength by Vintage Wings West at the Springbank Airport in the City of Calgary. The very same city where it was taken on strength just over 70 years ago on May 27th 1942.
But first it has to get there, and while this could be done over several long sunny days, it just wouldn’t be right to pass by all those cities and towns enroute without offering up the chance for the public to get a first hand look. So it will be making frequent stops with smiles available to anyone willing to sponsor a flight.
Meanwhile you can follow it's progress on the Yellow Wings Blog at http://www.yellowwings.ca/?page_id=13
Here is a list of location we will be visiting:
Regina June 1-3
Moose Jaw June 4,5
Swift Current June 6,7
Medicine Hat June 8,9
Calgary June 13-28
Edmonton Muni July 1,2
Red Deer July 3-18
Calgary July 20-permanent
Last week I visited Winnipeg to help Dave Maric and Ron DuJohn fly lucky sponsors over Winnipeg and Brandon. The weather made things difficult but we were able to do 11 rides on Saturday. Here is a nice look at the Manitoba legislature for one of our smiling sponsors and pilot.
A close-up of downtown with the airport in the background just above the javelin.
Portage and Main lie just off the lower wingtip while the Red River lies just off the upper wingtip. All of my passengers were able to either fly over their home or their work.
Vintage Wings pilot Ron DuJohn gets ready to take another sponsor overhead Winnipeg from the International Airport. Earlier in the week, the nearby Starbuck Airport was visited as well. Special thanks to Calm Air for helping support our operation.
Back among BCATP friends at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Manitoba. In the background is a Crane, Harvard, Cornell, and Stinson L-5. This fascinating museum focuses exclusively on the BCATP in Canada and is a worthwhile visit for any aviation enthusiast or those curious to learn about the greatest industrial project in Canadian history. The museum was kind enough to let us stay for two nights.
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The central bank will almost certainly raise the official interest rate next week
Okay, so it’s good news for:
- investors (who’ll have less competition from homebuyers and who will be able to promptly pass the rate rise on to their tenants);
- the rich; and
- people who prey on social unrest.
But it’s very bad news for:
- homeowners with mortgages (whose repayments will rise);
- renters (whose rents will rise);
- those who’d like to buy a house to live in (who will be even less able to compete with investors);
- parents (who want their adult offspring to finally move out); and
- the community as a whole, which benefits from the existence of a healthy middle-class.
Another step widening the gap between rich and poor. Well done, Australia.
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By California Healthline On Tuesday, California doctors announced a package of five bills that aim to address the state's physician shortage, the Sacramento Business Journal report. The bills were unveiled at the California Medical Association's annual legislative conference (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 4/16).
California doesn't have enough primary care physicians. Forty-two of its 58 counties fall short of the federal government's most basic standard. The state needs another 2,000 doctors, and the situation will get dramatically worse next year -- even in Silicon Valley -- when between 2-4 million Californians obtain health insurance under Obamacare and go looking for a doctor.
by: Laurel Rosenhall, Bee Capitol Bureau Citing a need for more medical professionals able to treat patients who will soon have health insurance under the federal Affordable Care Act, state Sen. Ed Hernandez on Wednesday introduced a package of bills to expand the services that optometrists, pharmacists and nurse practitioners can offer patients.
The so-called "scope of practice" bills set the stage for a massive fight with the state's physicians, who will look to protect their role as gatekeepers to medical care.
A California lawmaker proposes to allow some healthcare workers to expand their range of services in order to meet the new demand for health care under the Affordable Care Act. Democratic State Senator Ed Hernandez says there is already a limited number of family doctors in the state, especially in rural areas and inner cities.
And he says the health system must get ready to add as many as five million Californians to health coverage next year.
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I was interviewed last week for an article on how companies are using collaboration technologies to reduce operating costs during the current economic downturn. The article, entitled Virtual Conference Victory for Cisco Systems, was published in the Technology section of the Financial Times today.
When I spoke with the author, Joseph Menn, I tried to make it clear that using Web-based collaboration technologies like video conferencing to avoid travel costs was simply a baseline management activity. The most effective organizations use these technologies in bad and good times to not only minimize operating costs, but also to maximize productivity. After reading the FT article today, it was clear to me that Joe had indeed understood my point.
There is a larger story here though. The quote from me that was actually published,
“There’s a real, fundamental change going on in the way we work, both as companies and as individuals.”
is a c. 5 second sound-bite of a much longer conversation, in which Joe and I discussed how enterprise collaboration and social software are changing the way organizations are structured and how work gets done. Most of that didn’t make it into the article, but that’s OK. We can discuss it here.
Increasingly, organizations exist to provide specific assets and services to employees, including:
- a clearly defined and shared business mission and strategy
- a favorably recognized brand
- marketing and sales
- project management
- bookkeeping and accounting
- legal services
- organizational knowledge networks and repositories
Individual employees can provide pretty much everything else they need to work efficiently and effectively themselves.
The role that corporate IT departments play has evolved markedly over the last decade. Ten years ago, IT departments laid infrastructure, built and deployed applications, and managed both as their primary function. The focus was not on the end user. Today, the IT function is viewed as providing assets and support services that enable workers to do their jobs in a productive manner. A huge and important change in perspective has occurred.
I believe we are nearing the time when entire organizations will make that same shift of perspective. Hierarchical command and control structures already have (mostly) given way to matrixed organizations. The next step in organizational evolution will be the formation of networks of individuals who work together to solve a specific business challenge, and then disband. The organization will support their endeavors by providing the assets and services listed above. Organizations will endure only as long as they can continue to form networks of knowledge workers and supply the assets and services those workers need.
How do I know this? I already work for such an organization!
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Wood County Schools saw a decrease of 136 students between this time last year and now.
Assistant Superintendent Sue Woodward says that's partly due to class size. Classes coming in are smaller than ones graduating.
But when the state plans funding for next year, this decrease in enrollment means less money for the school system.
"And our preliminary numbers with our decrease in enrollment would say that 7-9 positions would have to be cut for next year. Some of those can be absorbed by combining small classes that are at some schools this year or programs that aren't up to full capacity and through attrition, retirement, etc," says Woodward.
Woodward adds there will be a realignment to absorb those 7 to 9 positions throughout the school system.
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Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011
Grounded research: Prairie soil may provide answers to countering climate change
MANHATTAN -- Explaining the purchase of a hundred pounds of dry ice to the authorities might be a bit awkward for some people; however, for Ari Jumpponen, associate professor of biology at Kansas State University, it's just another day as a scientist.
A $2.5 million grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy to Kansas State University, Oregon State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, allows Jumpponen and his collaborators to investigate how the soil microbial community responds to changes in rainfall patterns and if that response will affect how carbon is stored and cycled in the soil.
Jumpponen uses dry ice to stop biological activity in soil samples while they are being shipped to his colleagues across the county. The dry ice keeps the soil biologically inactive so that the microbes within the soil can be analyzed as they were under the field conditions.
"We are currently trying to understand what happens to soil carbon dynamics as a result of predicted environmental change," Jumpponen said.
Soil carbon is the largest storage of carbon on land. Playing a major role in the carbon cycle known as sequestration, carbon is extracted from the atmosphere during plant photosynthesis and stored in the soil as dead plant matter, Jumpponen said. He hopes that understanding the function of soil microbes in the carbon cycle will lead to ideas to decrease atmospheric carbon.
"The more carbon we retain in the soil pools, the less there is in the atmosphere," Jumpponen said. "If we can increase sequestration and cut emissions, we might be able to counterbalance some of the on-going CO2 driven environmental change."
Soil samples are collected at Konza Prairie Biological Station, a tallgrass prairie preserve near Manhattan managed by Kansas State University's Division of Biology. The soil at Konza Prairie is rich with carbon stores, and the site has a unique rainfall alteration device known as rainfall manipulation plots, maintained as a part other extramurally funded research programs. The plots are designed to mimic current and predicted rainfall patterns that may accompany environmental changes.
"The manipulation plots are a fantastic resource, and they have allowed manipulation of one important aspect of environmental change: shifts in precipitation patterns," Jumpponen said.
Jumpponen gathers soil samples from the plots before a rain event and immediately after, which allows researchers to determine how soil organisms involved in carbon cycling may differ in their responses to rainfall.
"There is very little metabolic activity happening until we actually wet the soil; then there is this enormous increase in enzymatic activity," Jumpponen said.
Jumpponen and his colleagues look at the genes that the microbes express before the rain event and compare them to the patterns immediately after rain.
"We are trying to mine out the carbon cycling related pieces," Jumpponen said. "We are asking questions such as: In terms of the carbon cycling, what were the processes that were increased as a result of the rain pulse and how do they differ among different rain manipulation treatments?"
Two different rainfall manipulation treatments are used in this project: ambient and increased interval. The ambient allows rain to fall in a pattern and amount consistent with nature, while the increased interval plot collects rainfall, only distributing it every other time it rains naturally. Even though the plots differ in frequency of rainfall, the amount of rainfall over time is equal between the plots, Jumpponen said.
"There is a long list of carbon cycling genes that are expressed and translated into proteins in the soil," he said. "We want to actually know which ones seem to be responding to the delayed treatment in the rainfall manipulation plots. We are mostly interested in the nuts and bolts behind carbon cycling."
Jumpponen joined the university's Division of Biology faculty in 2000. He received his doctoral degree in forest science from Oregon State University in 1998.
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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – February 7th
This year’s theme for the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) will be “I Am My Brother’s/Sister’s Keeper: Fight HIV/AIDS”. NBHAAD encourages mobilization of the Black community in HIV education, testing, involvement and treatment.
To read more and find events on the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, click here.
XIX International AIDS Conference – Deadline for Registration and Abstract Submissions
The XIX International AIDS Conference, to be held July 22-27 in Washington DC, will host an expected 200 countries, 2,000 journalists, and 25,000 participants to address this year’s theme of “Turning the Tide Together." The conference is now open for registration, as well as for submissions of program activities and abstracts. The categories for abstract submissions are: Basic Science; Clinical Science; Epidemiology and Prevention Science; Social Science, Human Rights and Political Science; and Implementation Science, Health Systems and Economics.
Submissions for program activities and abstracts will close on February 15th, 2012,
Registrations at standard fee will close on February 23rd, 2012,
Volunteer applications open April 1st 2012,
Abstract submissions for late breakers open April 19th 2012,
Registration late fee closes May 3rd, 2012,
Abstract Submissions late breakers close May 22nd, 2012.
Learn more about the abstract submission categories and program activities.
Find out more information about registration.
Find other important deadlines.
“Is HIV Surveillance a Tool for Prevention Justice?” Webinar
Wednesday, February 15th, at 3:30 ET, the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance will be hosting the webinar, “Is HIV Surveillance a Tool for Prevention Justice?”. The webinar will provide tools to advocates of HIV prevention justice on how to use the CDC’s most recent surveillance data and link more people to care.
To register for the webinar, click here.
Sign-On in Support of the Affordable Care Act!
Lambda Legal and 16 other HIV advocacy organizations, including AIDS United, filed a brief in support of the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the brief, Lambda Legal, et al., support the argument that the minimum health coverage requirement is constitutional and demonstrates how it increases access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS. AIDS United strongly encourages organizations to sign on to support of this brief.
To read AIDS United’s press release about joining with Lambda Legal and our HIV advocacy colleagues in support of the ACA, click here.
To sign-On, email Amy at email@example.com no later than March 1.
View the sign on letter here.
Read the Brief for Lambda Legal, et al., as Amici Curiae in Support of petitioner on the Minimum Coverage Requirement Issue.
The Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Healthcare Reform
The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for March 26-28, 2012, on the legality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as healthcare reform. Twenty-six states have filed a joint challenge against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Supreme Court will hear on four specific issues: the Anti-Injunction Act, Individual Mandate, Severability, and Medicaid Coercion.
AIDS United Hiring Regional Field Organizer
AIDS United seeks a Regional Field Organizer to work with its grantees, partners, and allies to implement a coordinated national organizing strategy. The Regional Field Organizer will help mobilize grassroots state and federal HIV/AIDS-related advocacy to achieve the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The Regional Field Organizer will be located in Texas.
Learn more about the Regional Field Organizer position.
AIDS United’s Pedro Zamora Public Policy Fellowship
AIDS United is looking for the next Pedro Zamora Public Policy Fellow to start mid-February. In the spirit of AIDS activist, educator, and reality-show trailblazer Pedro Zamora’s work to combat the spread of HIV, AIDS United offers a public policy fellowship in his name. The Pedro Zamora Public Policy Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate students seeking experience in public policy and government affairs focused on HIV/AIDS issues. Completed applications must include: a cover letter indicating areas of interest, resume, three to four page writing sample and an essay answering the following questions.
Describe your participation in any school or extracurricular activities related to HIV or AIDS (i.e. peer prevention programs, volunteer activities, etc.).
Describe your participation in any school, work, or extracurricular activities related to advocacy (lobbying, political campaigns, etc.).
Why would you be the best candidate for the Pedro Zamora Fellowship (i.e. what do you bring to the organization?)?
How would you use the skills you acquire from this fellowship?
What time period (spring, summer, or fall) and length of time are you available?
E-mail completed applications to firstname.lastname@example.org (MS Word and Adobe Acrobat file attachments only).
Learn more about the Pedro Zamora Public Policy Fellowship.
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International English Center, Division of Continuing Education and Professional Studies
Course Context: The course is an Intermediate 3 Listening/Speaking class in a pre-university intensive English for academic purposes program. This is a high intermediate level class in a multi-leveled program (beginning-advanced). The class meets 4 days per week for one hour and fifteen minutes. Students attend 20-23 hours of English (ESL) classes per week which include a reading, writing, and English structure class in addition to the listening/speaking class. The class was taught in two consecutive eight-week sessions in the Spring 2011 semester. There were 15 students in the class in the first session and 13 in the second.
What did you do?
Target of improvement/evidence: I was trying to raise student awareness of the academic behaviors and skills necessary to listen to an academic lecture, take effective notes and later recall information. In the second session, I also worked on raising student awareness of skills necessary to give an effective prepared speech in English.
Students in the high intermediate Listening/Speaking class are working on improving their ability to understand academic lectures and recall information. They are at a level where their conversational and functional listening skills are usually adequate in social and practical situations. They do not have the same competence in listening to academic topics in extended discourse. They have difficulty in listening to an excerpt from an academic lecture (of usually 5 to 10 minutes) and understanding key or main ideas and distinguishing them from specific details such as examples, explanations, reasons, etc. that are presented by the speaker to support the key points.
I want to improve the students’ ability to understand academic discourse through developing multiple strategies. Evidence for this improvement will be better performance on activities which break down the skills of identifying pronunciation, structure, and rhetorical cues while listening to extended academic discourse. Completion of outlines and other graphic organizers in note-taking and recall of information of different academic lectures at a later date where they put together all the strategies will assess whether students were able to use the strategies to improve this academic skill.
I also want to improve students’ ability to give an effective prepared speech. Evidence of this improvement will be in various aspects of formal speaking –delivery (body language, voice, pronunciation, and grammar) and content (organization and development of ideas.) Video-taped three to five minute speeches will assess the students’ success with all these aspects of public speaking.
What did you do?
In each session, I began with an initial survey of the students’ ideas about skills required for understanding academic discourse and their opinions of their own strengths and problems. The survey also included a similar section on speaking skills and activities.
The initial survey included the following items:
List three skills you think you need to understand academic lectures.
List three listening activities that you think would help you improve your listening skill.
List three problems or difficulties you have in understanding a lecture.
List three strengths you have as a listener.
List three skills you think you need to give effective speeches.
List three speaking activities that you think would help you improve your listening skills.
List three problems or difficulties you have in expressing your ideas in English.
List three strengths you have as a speaker.
I made word clouds of skills and activities and shared the word clouds with the students as a starting point to introducing and developing the new strategies for understanding the lectures. In the first eight-week session, I focused on listening and in the second session, I also looks at speaking strategies.
In both sessions, I used an initial listening to identify some of the difficulties the students had in understanding the lecture and taking effective notes. I then broke down the listening task into skills that I think a good listener (an expert) has and focused attention on them in separate listening tasks.
These steps were 1) hearing words that are stressed (louder and longer) to emphasize words and phrases that the speaker perceives of as important or key ideas, 2) hearing connecting words and grammatical structures that indicate transitions between ideas as well as the relationships between ideas, 3) hearing repetitions that signal important or key ideas, and finally 4) putting it all together to ’get’ and sort out the main ideas from the supporting details so that this information can be recorded in a meaningful way using appropriate graphic organizers.
Midway through the eight weeks, I did a minute-paper that asked the students to identify ways in which they felt that they had improved or not and what had helped them most. At the end of each eight-week session, I did another survey.
In the second session, I also focused on speaking. I gave the students a speech assignment that I said would be video-taped. We worked on some of the presentation skills in impromptu speaking and other class activities that I usually do with students. Students were required to do peer evaluations during the speeches by writing down one thing they thought the speaker had done well and one thing they thought the speaker could do better. Following the speeches, each student received the video tape of his or her speech and was required to watch it and complete a self-evaluation. I completed a more extensive evaluation for each student after reviewing the video-taped speeches. All of this is typical of how I handle speeches. What I did differently for this assessment of student learning was that I added discussion of what made a speech effective or not in the class following the speeches to raise awareness of the various components of a good speech. Students, at this point had given a speech and observed those of their classmates. As one of our learning outcomes is participating in and leading discussions, I used the task of examining the processes involved in giving a good speech as the topic of the discussions. Students worked in groups of three to create and then present their lists to the whole class. I shared the ideas in the lists with students in a hand out which also contained my ideas on the skills necessary to give an effective speech so that the students could see that their ideas fit with mine. While not a word cloud, I did use a larger font for each repetition of an idea so students could see which ideas were listed more frequently. (See attachment.) As a next step, I asked students to watch their own speeches again. After students got peer feedback, teacher feedback, and analyzed their own speeches, they reviewed all the feedback including the shared ideas from the discussion groups and created one specific goal to focus on in their next speech. In my feedback on that speech, I focused on that goal and commented on the students’ efforts on that particular goal.
I felt that the initial surveys revealed that the students initially really weren’t able to break down listening and speaking into specific skills that could be addressed with targeted strategies and tasks. The largest word in our initial word clouds for both skills in both sessions was ‘vocabulary’. While vocabulary is very important, students’ ability to listen and speak well depends on more than that. It is an over-simplified view of what it takes to learn to listen and speak, especially in academic settings. They also used the words ‘listening’ and ‘speaking’ which also didn’t get at specific s.
On the one-minute paper at midsession, most students said they felt that they had improved their academic listening skills and mentioned that the class activities were useful though few were able to identify specific strategies that helped them. I also did a final survey at the end of the class asking which listening activities were most helpful, but I realized the question was too broad and again, students did not identify specific strategies but rather stated that listening to academic lectures, including visiting a class on campus, were helpful activities.
I tried each session to spend more time on raising awareness and reflecting on what helped and what didn’t with the students. I believe that, as the session progressed, the students became more aware of the fact that there are multiple strategies at play in understanding academic discourse and taking notes in ways that improve later recall. However, my attempts to verify this were not as successful as I’d hoped. Other than anecdotal evidence and improved listening scores for some students, the students were not able to express their ideas in ways that suggested they ‘saw’ the skills in more specific term.
I feel that my attempts in the second session to break down the speaking skill into strategies that would contribute to more effective formal speaking proved more successful. The process of identifying what made an effective speech in post-speech discussions helped the students identify and clarify skills required in ways they couldn’t at the beginning of class. I believe this helped them when they were asked to identify and focus on one goal to work on for the next speech.
What difference did it make?
I do believe that the students became more aware of layered strategies at play in both academic listening and speaking if for no other reason than I was focusing attention on it and using it as a topic of discussion in class as well as asking them to think about it from the beginning of the class until the end through the surveys and one-minute papers. I think the clearest evidence that this was happening was in the second eight-week session when students were able to identify an appropriate goal and show improvement on that goal from one speech to the next. Several students made it a point to ask me after class if I thought they’d achieved their goal. They were clearly thinking about a more specific strategy than they had been in the first speech. As one student put it on the SOQ (Student Opinion Questionnaire) evaluation of the class (the IEC’s FCQs) –“I think her class schedule was well organized. For example, after presentation, she gathered advices from classmates, and then give another presentation.” Thus, I think the students are going forward with more awareness of the steps involved in improving their overall listening and speaking skills.
How did the classroom assessment (feedback gathering) help you make adjustments mid-course?
As stated above, I spent more time in class discussing the meta-skills that I believe are a threshold concept in language learning. In many ways, it is easier for students to grasp this in speaking activities than in listening because in speaking activities, there is a ‘product’ that can be examined and speaking is often referred to as an ‘active’ skill whereas listening is considered a ‘passive’ skill. Therefore, when I applied techniques to make individual strategies more transparent in the speech assignment, there seemed to be more meta awareness of skills by students who spent more time discussing the skills and reflecting on them and then made adjustments in how they handled the next speech through goal setting. I plan to continue to find ways to raise student awareness, help them reflect on what they are doing, and have them set goals for themselves as a regular activity in my classes.
What did you learn? What’s next?
What worked? What did you learn?
I think what worked best in my class was engaging the students in discussion of what we were doing and raising their awareness of why it was useful in improving their listening or speaking skill. Awareness of the strategies and processes involved in engaging in specific tasks may be a threshold concept in language learning. Students who are identified as having ‘aptitude’ for languages may naturally understand this and utilize these strategies. The bottleneck comes into play when students, who are unaware of the processes involved, passively participate in classroom activities without actively focusing on how best to learn and do not know how best to take advantage of the tasks.
It’s important to help students break down the skills required to improve their language ability. What seems obvious to us as language instructors, i.e., experts, is not necessarily transparent to students. I think that adding in a reflective component to all language skill instruction in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, is one way to help students acquire behaviors that will lead to better language acquisition. Raising their awareness of strategies we think are important in the process can contribute to making them more receptive to and able to take advantage of those strategies. This past semester showed me that the students were willing to examine their own processes and seemed to perceive of the tasks involved in doing that as useful. I learned that, with guidance, students will think critically about what they are doing to learn the language. I need to provide opportunities for this in my language classes.
Sharing with colleagues?
The workshop provided all of us who attended with the opportunity to reflect on how we teach and assess students. I thought the ideas about threshold concepts and bottlenecks was worth sharing with our colleagues, so I created a handout with some of my notes. We shared ideas from the first workshop with the whole faculty during an assessment in-service we held in February. (See attachment.) Now that we have completed the workshop, we will put our reports on our IEC network for other faculty to read. We also plan to submit a proposal and present what we did and what we learned in the workshop in a presentation at our local ESL conference in the fall.
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Quantifying Commit Time
Apr 13, 2006 / By Christo Kutrovsky
Have you ever wondered how fast you can commit ?
I’ve been introduced to an application which was doing commits in every step of a higher level transaction. The result was a significant portion of the time was spent in “log file sync” and there was nothing you could do. A commit can only be so fast. Your overall high level transaction speed will be limited by how fast you can commit.
No matter what you do, a true commit will take time. The time will be very small, but it will still be more then doing an in memory query of a lookup table. And worst of all, you will serialize at the entire instance on it. If a commit has caused a “log file sync”, another session will have to wait for the already started flush, and then wait for it’s data to be flushed in effect waiting twice the time.
So I did a test on how fast you can commit with 1 session. This will be the absolute maximum you can achieve in commit performance.
Starting in Oracle 10g testing commit time is a bit easier. With the introduction of the new commit parameters, “batch” and “nowait” and more importantly, the “wait” counterpart.
The default commit does this:
1. writes ‘end of transaction’ record into the redo buffer
2. posts (sends message) LGWR, telling it to flush the redo buffer to disk
3. waits for the flush to finish into the well known ‘log file sync’ event.
The “nowait” and “batch” parameters control how far in those steps you want to go. Basically:
- commit write nowait – will avoid step 3 (it will still tell LGWR to flush the buffer)
- commit write batch,nowait – will avoid step 2 and 3, allowing the data to remain buffered into the LOG_BUFFER until either someone else commits, causing a flush, or some of the background events cause the buffer to be flushed asynchronously. The background events are:
- the buffer is 1/3 full
- the buffer is 1 mb full
- 3 seconds have elapsed
A lesser known fact is that PL/SQL will silently optimize your commits to “commit write nowait”. Only the last commit in a given call will be a real “commit”.
The reason for this optimisation is the nature of client/server relationships. In theory, if you call a PL/SQL procedure, the client gets no information about its progress until the procedure has returned. So why wait for disk flushes?
You can easily verify this by running the following example (10g only):
We’ll create this table in and use it in all of our tests:
create table c_test (a number);
Then run this code :
set timing on declare i number; begin for i in 1..10000 loop insert into c_test values (55); commit; end loop; end; /
And notice how much time and how many “log file sync” waits (the count, not time) you had.
Then run this code:
declare i number; begin for i in 1..10000 loop insert into c_test values (55); commit write wait; end loop; end; /
Now you will get “the real” number. The actual amount of time it took to wait for 10 000 disk syncs.
I specifically choose 10 000 for the loop number, so that I can easily measure the average time to commit. This number however, will not be pure as there’s some extra time for the call to return back to sqlplus, but it’s close enough.
I got 4.6 seconds. Doing the math, this means a single disk sync (or SAN sync should I say) took 0.46 ms. How much did you get? Please post your results along with a quick overview of the system you ran this on in the comments to this post!
For the record, this is LINUX Red Hat 4, with a 3.8 Ghz XEON with 2mb cpu cache with 64 bit Oracle. The redo is on a dedicated ASM diskgroup, using a single ASMLIB disk, which is a raid 1 (mirror) array of 2×36 gb hard drives, 15k RPM inside an IBM SAN, with 1gb of mirrored cache (512mb effective) with 2gbit fibre channel adapters. The SAN setting for “write-back cache” is on.
Now here’s the strange thing. I found that any other disk IO activity on the machine will dramatically increase your commit time. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a separate spindle/device/LUN. The time to complete the operation is so short that it is affected by the smallest change in the working conditions. In fact it is so small that I’m pretty sure just taking a deep breath will probably affect it. This is with the default IO scheduler. I havent tried any of the fancy ones.
I noticed this behaviour during archiving. I actually have 2 pairs (4 drives) with 4 redo groups on alternating pairs. So when I write to side A, side B can be archived and vice versa. So no concurrent IO on the redo spindles whatsoever.
If you’re wondering the time difference is about 30% in my case.
Running multiple sessions at the same time, and monitoring “service time” and “average wait time” with iostat deserve a separate post.
7 comments on “Quantifying Commit Time”
Pingback: Asynchronous Commit « Oracle and other
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Historical skills : dating documents
Explains the different dating conventions employed in historical documents. For example, the system of dating by reference to a religious feast day and the year of the reigning monarch has little in common with the modern calendar. Even where a recognisable date is provided, it may not be what it at first appears.... The resource includes a glossary, bibliography and translation of relevant Latin numbers/phrases. Illustrative images of items from our collections appear throughout.
Historical skills : using archives
This resource provides a general introduction to what archives are, where they are kept, how to find relevant material, and what to expect on a visit to an archives office. A glossary and bibliography are also provided along with numerous links to relevant external resources. The scope of this unit principally reflects the archival holdings of the University of Nottingham and illustrative images of items from our collections appear throughout.
Historical skills : weights and measurements
Aims to identify and explain some common difficulties in deciphering units of weights, measurements, and money in historical documents. Explores English and Welsh measuring systems, predominantly those used from the late sixteenth and early 17th centuries onwards, and those in force after the Weights and Measures Act of 1824. The resource includes a glossary and bibliography. Illustrative images of items from our collections appear throughout.
A new career in the health service Professor Beasley addresses the Nursing graduating class of 2006. In this Podcast, Professor Beasley talks about the importance of optimism in the ever-changing field of Nursing. She also stresses the need to take risks to further your career.
Professor Beasley addresses the Nursing graduating class of 2006.
In this Podcast, Professor Beasley talks about the importance of optimism in the ever-changing field of Nursing. She also stresses the need to take risks to further your career.
Postgraduate study skills in science, technology or mathematics
Are you about to undertake a PhD in science, technology or mathematics? If so, this unit will help you to examine your work processes. You will consider and develop the nature of postgraduate work and look at the planning of work needed at doctoral level.
Developing modelling skills
This unit is the third in the MSXR209 series of five units on mathematical modellng. It provides an overview of the processes involved in developing models, starting by explaining how to specify the purpose of the model. It then moves on to look at aspects involved in creating models, such as simplifying problems, choosing variables and parameters, formulating relationships and finding solutions. You will also look at interpreting results and evaluating models. This unit assumes that you have pr
Dance communicates ideas through movement and is an expressive art form. Students need to learn how to use their body in a safe and healthy way, whilst developing a wide-ranging movement vocabulary. The use of different dance techniques can be an effective way of building vocabulary and developing different kinds of skills and abilities. Technical dance skills can form the foundation on which to develop and enhance each individual's performance. As dance teachers, we may have a range of skills,
Essay Writing Skills
Essay Writing Skills
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Write Now! Career Writing Prompts: Co-Chief Executive Officer
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This video gives the titles of various activities and careers in French. (There is no English spoken on the video.) The French words accompany the image. There are several 'volumes' within this video.
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In Summer 2007, a Virginia Tech Doctoral cohort completed EDAE 6924, School Community Partnerships. Here is a personal reflection authored by Stanley Jones.
Hodges Health Career - Care Domains - Model
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Modeling Research Skills
The fifth lesson in the Family, History and Memory module centers on developing students' research skills. Using the book The Diary of Anne Frank as a starting point, it guides students through the necessary steps for conducting good-quality research and developing a subsequent presentation. Students work as a group to develop their presentation. The lessons can be delivered as a module or as individual units.
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Governors who refuse to expand their Medicaid programs for the poor may cost employers in their states as much as $1.3 billion in federal fines, a study found.
A clause in the 2010 health-care overhaul penalizes some employers when their workers aren’t able to obtain affordable medical coverage through the company. Employers can avoid those fees if their workers qualify for Medicaid as part of an expansion that as many as 22 states have rejected, according to a report today by Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc.
Without Medicaid, a “shared responsibility” payment of as much as $3,000 may be triggered for each employee who can’t get insurance through their company. In Texas, the largest state to refuse to increase Medicaid, employers may be liable for as much as $448 million in fines, the study found. In Florida, where the legislature has refused an expansion supported by Governor Rick Scott, employers may pay as much as $219 million.
“A lot of businesses have taken the position that they oppose a Medicaid expansion because it would increase their taxes,” Brian Haile, senior vice president for health policy at Jackson Hewitt in Parsippany, New Jersey, said in an interview. “The irony of this, or the paradox, is that the opposite may be true, at least for some businesses in some states.”
Under the Affordable Care Act, states are expected to expand Medicaid, the joint federal-state health plan for the poor, to cover every person earning wages close to the poverty level. Medicaid’s expansion is one of two core provisions in the law’s mission of extending health coverage to about 27 million uninsured people. The Supreme Court said in June the federal government can’t force states to expand the program.
With as many as 22 states potentially opting out, more workers will have to rely on the other core provision of the law, subsidized insurance sold through health exchanges. That would trigger the shared responsibility payment for each employee who can’t get insured through their company and in turn qualifies to use the exchanges.
Employers wouldn’t have to pay the penalties if their workers enroll in Medicaid. Under the law, a family of four making about $32,500 this year would be eligible for the program.
The shared responsibility clause applies to companies that offer health insurance and have at least 50 employees.
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Infamous ska/reggae artist and skinhead. The King of rudeness.
Born Alexander Minto Hughes in Kent, England. Died from a heart attack March 13th 1998 after a concert in a pub in Canterbury, England at the age of 53.
Renowned for his beer belly and dirty lyrics described as, "as subtle as a smack in the ear with a housebrick".
After Bob Marley & the Wailers he is the second best selling reggae artist in the history of the British charts.
Also, he was the first white reggae artist to have a hit and perform in Jamaica. The jamaicans did not know this though when Dread entered the stage, but when looking at the numbers of sold records on the island, he did not disappoint them.
Known for his Big-hits ("Big One", "Big Six", "Big Nine" et. c.)and his tribute to the golden days of the skinhead culture in "Last of the Skinheads". Dread also sang covers of classic ska hits like Phoenix City, Skinhead Moonstomp and Rudy, A Message to You.
For more info about Judge Dread, check out: http://www.tic.de/mkrauel/dread.htm
Picture of Judge Dread: http://www.conne-island.de/nf/31/9c.jpg
"You talk about punk, but I was a punk ten years ago. I was doing things against society long before anyone else. I've been shocking people for years. What it boils down to now, is you're always known for it. It doesn't matter wether it's clean or dirty. I've had the highest number of records banned in the history of music. 20 singles and 8 LPs. I've applied to Guiness Book of Records twice."
His last words was, "Let's hear it for the band."
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A speaker brought out to the pulpit a bucket of water. Without saying anything, he rolled up one sleeve and put his hand and arm down in the bucket and then pulled it out. He looked back into the bucket and then said, “Well, what do you know? There’s no hole left where my arm was! The water has rushed to fill it up and leveled off at the top and no one would know my arm filled up space there.”
The worst feeling we can have is to believe life is void and we’ll live and die without making any difference. A resident of a nursing home asked a visitor as he was leaving, “Have you left anything behind?” She was thinking of a hat or raincoat or umbrella. But that question burned in his mind as he went about his daily duties. Will we “leave anything behind” that will make a positive difference through time on earth and through eternity?
He then explained that so many live and labor and die with time and circumstances “filling the hole up” leaving no record of any contribution we have left behind. What can we do that will not be washed into oblivion by time and circumstances? Will anything “last forever?”
I suggest four ways we can do something that will last forever. First, absorb and apply the Holy Bible. Second, affiliate with “Christ’s bride,” the Church. Third, live by the Holy Spirit God makes available for us. Fourth, do deeds or righteousness that help and encourage.
Isaiah said “So shall my word be which goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return unto me empty without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” (55:11) So, God’s word, the scriptures, will be forever and that word, holy scripture, will help us latch on to something eternal.
There is something else which is eternal. Jesus says of the Church: “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt. 16:18). God’s word and God’s church will never fade away and what we do to embody what the scriptures say and participate in His church will never return empty. They are forever!
“If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” (Ro. 8:9) What we do in the name and Spirit of Christ will last forever.
As Christmas approaches, I’ll take advantage of every opportunity to hear and maybe even participate in singing The Messiah. The high point in the Messiah is the Alleluia Chorus proclaiming “And He shall reign forever and forever!”
The Word of God, the Church of God, the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ, deeds done for Christ … these keep life from being meaningless and passing into nothingness. Forget the disappointment of pulling your arm out of a bucket of water and not seeing any evidence you were here on earth! If you accept the Word of God and become part of the Church of God and live by Christ’s spirit within you, every thing you do — even giving a cup of cold water — becomes part of eternity. Let this Christmas reassure us all we can be a vital part of eternity.
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But my question was if you know a better way with only one interrupt
I think his approach is quite convoluted - C10 for example only serves to tell time, which the mcu can do with ease.
The basic theory here is that when you charge up a capacitor with a constant current, the voltage rise
deltaV = I * Tc / C, assuming deltaV is sufficiently small and ESR is sufficiently small.
When you discharge, the residual voltage at Td is
Vd = deltaV * exp(-Td / (ESR * C)).
So after each charge/discharge cycle, the voltage across the capacitor has gone up by Vd.
If, after n such cycles, the voltage across the capacitor is V, you have
V/n = (I * Tc / C) * exp (-Td / (ESR * C)), assuming of course V is sufficiently small.
If you know V, n, I, Tc, Td, C, you can solve for ESR from the above.
You can take his hardware, and you can rewrite the software:
1) charge the capacitor at I for Tc;
2) discharge the capacitor for Td;
3) go back to 1 for n times;
4) measure the voltage across the capacitor, V;
5) calculate ESR.
No need to have a comparator.
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long does take b12 shot take effect
A: I’m not a medical doctor, for starters. Consulting a *good* MD is a start to narrow down what might be the cause. Getting a shot or taking a pill or vitamin is not always the answer to long-term good health.
There are many things that can be the cause of your fatigue. You mentioned anemia, so that gives me an indication your eating habits (diet) may be poor. A lot of MDs don’t ask what you’re eating daily. Food = mood. Especially if you’re a female. Your body is telling you something is really off kilter, otherwise you would have a normal energy level.
Sugar can have a tragic effect on those with hypoglycemia — leaving you feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck and no amount of sleep seems to shake it. A simple and cheap test is a glucose tolerance test. Sugar/starch is the culprit for a lot of people (bread, pasta, cereals, peas, corn, etc.). Hormones are another topic entirely.
Try keeping a log of everything you put into your mouth (liquids, food, medication, etc.) for a week or two. Have this ready to present to a qualified and credentialed medical practitioner (MD, RN or holistic provider). It could be something very simple such as dietary or even allergy.
Whatever the cause, you have done the right thing by reaching out. You are correct that fatigue can be life-limiting. Now you’re on your way to resolving it. Some people don’t get that far…
Q: Solutions to Major Life Burnnout?
I am a 21 year old single mom with a 5 month old infant. I stayed full-time in school this past fall – she was born one month into the semester. Then took a winter session course – basically was putting about 40hours/week into that class (all of which had to be done at night when she was asleep), then spring semester started and I’m taking 14 credit hours and barely keeping up (i need to graduate by summer so i can get a descent job is my reason for doing this much).
I have been on the 2-4 hours of sleep/day plan since she was born in Sept. I’ve taken the B12 shots from my doctor to keep alert enough to absorb what i need to learn, caffiene no longer produces any effects (not even monster or those types). I don’t have any close family and she has strong stranger anxiety and won’t let anyone else care for her. Even when family comes to visit it really doesn’t help much – one day of sleep just doesn’t counter the damage already done. I just am losing strength to keep going.
Any other ideas how I can keep going without keeping getting sick from lack of sleep and high levels of stress. Her dad is out of the picture entirely and will not help me out.
I am home with my baby all but 6-8 hours a week – just can’t any schoolwork done when she’s awake. Can’t afford to stay where I am after summer – I’m going to need to move back home again – so finishing by summer is important to keep me from going into too much debt.
A: Firstly congratulations on your baby and well done – you are working so hard and good on you for trying to better yourself through education and working towards getting a good job to support yourself and your baby. But you have to take a step back and decide whether burning yourself out so that you are too sick to finish the course, look after your baby and yourself is worth it. Your baby will only be a baby for such a short time – enjoy this time, you can’t ever get it back again. Is it so important to get a good job by summer, or can you stretch it out so you have more of a balance in your life – if it means you are on a benefit for another year or so longer, at least you are on it knowing that you are actually doing all that you can do to get off of it, but use that time to enjoy being a mum aswell as trying to get a better job. All the best.
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A demo of App Inventor
Last month, Google announced that the company will be shutting down Google Labs — a hub for the testing of new products. Google said that while most of the products were being shut down, a few products from Labs will be saved, but it appears the Android App Inventor, announced late last year, will not be one of them.
App Inventor was aimed at providing an educational bridge for people who wanted to create Android Apps but weren’t versed at Java. The app was even used at many camps to teach early programming. It’s sad to see such a great educational tool go and we wonder if it is a sign of something bigger in the tools area or maybe a sign of Android divesture of Java. Luckily for those who don’t want to let go, the project will be open-sourced. (via Hack Education)
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http://9to5google.com/2011/08/09/google-to-shut-down-android-app-inventor/
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6 December 2004
As someone who uses version control all the time, I think it's something that can grow into more areas of computer use. Other than software developers, few computer users use version control. Yet as software developers know, version control is a great mechanism for collaborative work, allowing multiple people to work together on a single software system. What would be the benefits of version control being more widely used?
We've reached a point where it's practical for everyone to use version control systems in their work. Subversion is a freely available system that supports binary formats easily and removes many of the limitations of CVS. Disk space is cheap enough that you can put people's entire working directory under version control.
At the moment the big limitation is that not enough applications and tools are aware of version control. Word has had some change tracking capability for a long time, but it's not written with version control in mind. What would version control facilities, with diff and merge, look like for common applications that people use. How could these kinds of applications make use of these ideas?
I do schematic drawings with tools like Visio. It would be nice to be able to diff drawings to see what changes have made between versions and to see what changes someone else made to my diagram.To really get the value of this kind of things we may need tools that support a SemanticDiff.
This might be a real opportunity for the open source community to take conventional applications and move them in this direction, building on the fact that everyone can easily obtain and use subversion. Some good ideas around here could really enhance collaborative work.
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http://www.martinfowler.com/bliki/MoreVersionControl.html
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Commentary Database Security
A Look At Encrypted Query Processing
Stupid encryption tricks, only without a funny YouTube video
Encrypting data is one of the most basic -- and most effective -- data security measures we have at our disposal. But when used with relational databases, encryption creates two major problems.
The first problem is relational databases require that you define the data type prior to storage. VARCHAR() is a common database data type for storing application data, but requires a pre-defined size. Encryption algorithms typically output binary data, whose output length is not known beforehand. This creates a mismatch that requires redefining, and in most cases rebuilding, the database to accommodate encrypted data. The second and more serious issue is you cannot perform queries or functions on encrypted data. You can't check date ranges or make comparisons inside the database when data is encrypted. And you can effectively use indexes to sort and mange data either.
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There are several ways encryption is employed today to address these issues, most commonly a) using a form of transparent encryption or b) encrypting at the application layer. With transparent encryption data stored on disk is encrypted, but processed inside the database in clear text. With encryption at the application layer, the app decrypts and processes data locally and uses the database purely as a place to store data.
But what if you don't trust the DBA? Or you just don't trust your cloud service provider? Worse, what if you think the database engine may be compromised by an attacker? I came across a post on Werner Vogels' blog Back-to-the-Future Weekend Reading - CryptDB, where he discusses a research paper on processing encrypted data within a relational database. The idea that is presented in this research paper is "SQL-aware Encryption." The goal is to keep data protected even if the database server and app server have been compromised. Their approach is to provide encryption that still allows normal relational database functions to work.
What does this mean? It means comparisons of two encrypted values like "=", or ">" would work on encrypted data. Database functions and most comparisons operations would continue to work in the scheme being described. SQL queries of the most common types will continue to work as before, so you get full database functionality on encrypted data. That sounds ideal, right? Not so fast.
The concept the authors are trying to duplicate is homomorphic encryption. But there is no true homomorphic encryption available commercially today. What they are in fact doing is using "off-the-shelf" encryption algorithms like AES, only without initialization vectors or nonce to randomize the output of the block cipher. That means when you encrypt the word "SELECT" with a specific key, you get the same binary result every time.
And that makes it a lot easier to guess the encrypted values! Keep in mind that SQL queries have a common structure and finite set of elements. It's fairly easy to pre-compute encrypted values on the words SELECT, FROM, WHERE, MAX, SORT, GROUP BY, DISTINCT, etc. If all data is stored under Bob's schema is encrypted with Bob's single key, text can be guessed by their frequency of occurrence.
So what's going on here is we are sacrificing a degree of security encryption provides us to make it harder for an attacker to steal sensitive information should they compromise the database server, the application server, or both. The degree of security is inverse to the level of utility. The more complex the query operation provided, the less secure the encryption variant. The data won't be sitting in clear text where a malicious party can steal it. However, if the host platform has been compromised, your data is still subject to several types of attack. It's much more likely an attacker will conduct word-frequency attacks and guess the contents of the database -- with a reasonable degree of accuracy. It's more security, but a 'speed-bump' rather than a barrier.
The lesson here is there is no free lunch. If you want strong crypto to preserve the privacy and integrity of data for long periods of time, some of the variations described in CryotDB will not be a good option. It will -- as the paper posits -- raise the bar on data privacy while allowing the relational database platform to still function. There are several small commercial vendors that offer this type of technology today -- with the same basic methods and the same basic flaws. But if you have a database environment you suspect will be compromised, there are better technologies available. Use tokenization or masking to create non-sensitive random copies that also preserve data value and database operations. Those technologies completely remove the risk without the performance penalty or complexity.
Adrian Lane is an analyst/CTO with Securosis LLC, an independent security consulting practice. Special to Dark Reading.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.darkreading.com/views/a-look-at-encrypted-query-processing/240007705?cid=SBX_dr_related_commentary_default_blog&itc=SBX_dr_related_commentary_default_blog
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Tradition and Engagement: The Language of Exile in Mahmoud Darwishs Poetry
A lecture by Terri DeYoung, University of Washington
Published: Monday, January 25, 2010
Language and its role in poetry as a tool that both emancipates and impedes the artist was a consistent theme in Darwish's writing that only grew stronger over time. This paper will offer some observations on 3 particular Arabic words that serve as touchstones (and problems) for the question of exile in Darwish's work: hanin (nostalgia), manfa (exile) and mawt (death). Each of these words--as they develop meaning over Darwish's career, and connect his work to great Arab writers of the past--illustrate how language was both a problem and an oppotunity for Darwish, the quintessential modern Arab poet in search of a homeland.
Lecture was part of the one-day conference held on November 5, 2009.
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http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=113654
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Produces a mixin, which is a procedure that encapsulates a class extension, leaving the superclass unspecified. Each time that a mixin is applied to a specific superclass, it produces a new derived class using the encapsulated extension.
The given class must implement interfaces produced by the first set of interface-exprs. The result of the procedure is a subclass of the given class that implements the interfaces produced by the second set of interface-exprs. The class-clauses are as for class*, to define the class extension encapsulated by the mixin.
Evaluation of a mixin form checks that the class-clauses are consistent with both sets of interface-exprs.
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The Parable Of The Two Sons, The Parable Of The Two Sons Meaning, The Parables Of The Two Sons Commentary, The Parable Of The Two Sons Explained. A Summary Of The Parable Of Two Sons Is Presented, Along with A Reflection On The Parable. The Parable Of Two Sons is a Parable Of Jesus From The Bible, From Matthew 21:28-32. It Is A Thought Provoking Parable That Teaches The Meaning Of True Obedience and What It Means To Do God’s Will. The Man With Two Sons is God, Our Father, and We Are God’s Sons.
The Parable Of Two Sons Provokes Us – What Kind Of Christian Are We? And What Kind Of Christian Do We Want To Be?
Please Scroll Down For The Parable Of Two Sons Meaning, The Parable Of The Two Sons Commentary, The Parable Of The Two Sons Explained; and finally: The Parable Of Two Sons Reflection, Summary & Prayer.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Parable of the Two Sons
What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, Son, go and work in the vineyard today. And he answered, I will not, but afterward he changed his mind and went.
And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, I go, sir, but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said, The first.
Jesus said to them, Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
The Parable Of The Two Sons Meaning – Our Commentary & Explanation
(Please keep on reading to see The Parable Of The Two Sons Reflection, Summary & Prayer.)
What is the meaning of The Parable Of The Two Sons? This parable teaches and reminds us what true obedience is, and what it means to do the will of God.
In this parable (see Bible verses above), A father has two sons. He asks them both to go out and work in the vineyard. One son said very respectfully (paraphrasing) – “Sure sir, no problem – I’ll go work in the vineyard!” but for whatever reason, ended up not doing what his father had asked him to do.
The other son said (paraphrasing) – “Sorry Dad, I don’t plan on going out to work in the vineyard.” But later on, he “regretted” what he had said to his father, and goes out and works in the vineyard.
Who “talked the talk”? Who said all the right things? Who “looked” right?
Who actually got the job done? Who ultimately pleased his father?
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day could be compared to the initially seemingly obedient son. On paper, they looked just perfect. They appeared to be obedient to God, do God’s will and to always put God first, and in fact this is what they taught others to do. So they “talked the talk.” But in reality, they were disobedient to God, their hearts were far away from God, their motivations were all wrong, they rejected the message of God, and no, they did not live lives that were obedient or pleasing to God.
The tax collectors and prostitutes of Jesus’ day could be compared to the initially seemingly disobedient son. Tax collectors in those days were known for ripping people off, cheating, stealing and for being very dishonest. Tax collectors and prostitutes committed open sins against God and against others. But many of them, after hearing the message God had sent, repented, turned to God and started living lives that were obedient and pleasing to God. One such example that comes to mind is Zaccheus. Just like the ultimately obedient son in the parable, they started out saying no to God, but they later repented and did what they knew they were supposed to do – living lives that were pleasing to God.
But Please Note:
While what the ultimately obedient son did was much better than what the ultimately disobedient son did, neither situation was ideal. The ideal situation would be a son that would say “Yes Dad, I’ll do it!” and then would cheerfully, without complaining, obey his father completely. This kind of son will no doubt bring immense joy to his father.
The Parable Of The Two Sons Reflection
The Parable Of The Two Sons really makes you think. How many times have we gone to church on Sunday, singing all these worship and praise songs with such beautiful and heartfelt words of worship and adoration? But are we worshiping God with our lives on Monday through Saturday?
For those that have heard God speak to you about something, have you obeyed? Time is flying by and you are still thinking about it. Yes, you plan on doing it, but somehow time keeps passing by, and you still have not obeyed. Is it enough to agree that what God told you to do is a good idea? Does that get our Father’s job done?
Even if you have never heard God speak to you concerning something very specific like in this parable, what about the things you do know, beyond a doubt, that God wants us all to do? How do we treat others – Christians and Non Christians alike? Are we obeying God’s basic commandments – like “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself”?
Are we being kind and considerate to others? Are we allowing the love of money and the love of the world to control us and determine what we do and who we are? Do we make empty promises to God and to others? Are we putting God first in all that we do? Are we being obedient to our Heavenly Father as we go through the journey of life?
Are we acting like God is indeed Our God – whether we are among other Christians or not? The Parable Of Two Sons provokes us to determine – What kind of Christian are we? And What kind of Christian do we want to be?
Let’s take a moment to think and reflect on these things.
The Parable Of The Two Sons Summary
We should be obedient to God, not only in words, but also in our actions. Our words – no matter how impressive they are, no matter how convincing they sound, no matter how much we mean them when we say them… without being backed by actions, are worth nothing. Our words without actions are useless.
These following Bible verses also reinforce this important lesson:
James 1:22 – 25 (ESV)
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
James 2:17 (ESV)
“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
The Parable Of The Two Sons – Prayer
Dear Lord, Thank you for your Word. Thank you for teaching us, again and again, how to live a life that is pleasing to you. We pray that you continue to reveal yourself to us. Help us to honor you not only with our words but also in our deeds. We pray that we will obey you whether it is “convenient” or not. We pray that we will serve you, honor you, glorify you, and show you respect by doing what we know pleases you.
We pray that our lives will reflect who you are. We pray that our lives will glorify you and continually attract and lead others to you. We pray that we will be children that you can count on. Help us to be wise, not foolish, and to be aware that we are ineffective Christians when we “talk the talk” but do not “walk the walk”. Help us remember that in obeying you, we really are doing ourselves a favor – because you will bless those who obey you.
Thank you Lord, for being so patient with us, for forgiving us, for giving us chance after chance after chance. We pray Lord, that we will never take your sweet grace for granted. We pray that our lives will be a sweet smelling aroma to you.
In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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