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Front Page Titles (by Subject) APPENDIX. - The Claim of the American Loyalists
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APPENDIX. - Joseph Galloway, The Claim of the American Loyalists
The Claim of the American Loyalists reviewed and maintained upon incontrovertible Principles of Law and Justice (London: G. and T. Wilkie, 1788).
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THE Commissioner on the part of Great Britain did propose a restitution of the confiscated property; but the answer made by the American Commissioners was, that they had no power from the several States to restore it; and, if they had, they must insist upon compensation for the desolation and damages committed by the British forces, on the towns, private houses, and properties of the American citizens, contrary to the rules of war, an account of which had been taken by order of Congress. Upon this it was agreed, that no actual stipulation should be made for such restitution; but that it should be left to the pleasure of the States, either to keep the property confiscated as a satisfaction for such desolation and waste, or to restore it: that, however, Congress should recommend to the States to make the restoration; and upon this the peace was made, and the restitution left to the pleasure of the States.
Upon this ground, when the States took into consideration the resolve of Congress recommending the restitution, they refused to make it. The State of New York resolved, that there could be “no reason for restoring property which had been confiscated or forfeited, as no compensation had been offered on the part of Great Britain for the damages sustained by the States, and their citizens, from the desolation aforesaid.” And all the other States have acted upon the same principles. From which it is evident, that the confiscated property of the Loyalists was both implicitly and expressly given up to the States as a compensation for the irregular desolation with which they charged the British army; and as the Minister who made the peace has candidly declared, that “he had no alternative,” but to submit the restitution to the mere recommendation of the Congress, it follows that it was also given up as the price and purchase of the peace.
To support these truths, we here insert the resolutions of the State of New York:
“Resolved, That it appears to this Legislature, that in the progress of the late war, the adherents to the King of Great Britain, instead of being restrained to fair and mitigated hostilities, which are only permitted by the laws of nations, have cruelly massacred, without regard to age or sex, many of our citizens, and wantonly desolated and laid waste a great part of this State by burning, not only single houses, and other buildings, but even whole towns and villages, and in enterprises which had nothing but vengeance for their object.
“And that, in consequence of such unwarrantable operations, great numbers of the citizens of this State have, from affluent circumstances, been reduced to poverty and distress.
“Resolved, That it appears to this Legislature, that divers of the inhabitants of this State, have continued to adhere to the King of Great Britain, after these States were declared free and independent, and persevered in aiding the said King, his fleets, and armies, to subjugate the United States to bondage.
“Resolved, That as on the one hand, the rules of justice do not require, so on the other, the public tranquillity will not permit, that such adherents who have been attainted, should be restored to the rights of citizens.
“And that there can be no reason for restoring property which has been confiscated or forfeited, the more especially, as no compensation is offered on the part of the said King, and his adherents, for the damages sustained by this State and its citizens, from the desolation aforesaid.”
The amount of the sum claimed by the United States, for the damages done by the British forces, far surpassed that now claimed by the Loyalists. And as Great Britain must have paid for those damages, or have continued the war, had she not given up the property confiscated; it is evident, that she has disposed of it for more than an adequate consideration, and is a considerable gainer by the bargain. | <urn:uuid:1b908095-099d-4b7b-8cbe-a641d09654b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1333&chapter=88186&layout=html&Itemid=27 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967988 | 1,008 | 1.734375 | 2 |
When Is an Immersive Digital Experience Appropriate?
Published: November 21, 2011
When creating a Web site or application whose primary intent is to house content, or a platform, the primary goal should be getting a user to his destination. Therefore, in creating platforms, you should prioritize usability over providing an immersive experience. However, when designing a program—any Web site, application, or interactive element whose main purpose is to communicate a message—the primary goal should be to communicate the message at every step of a user’s journey toward his destination. That means programs can sacrifice usability, in certain circumstances, in favor of providing an immersive experience.
I started thinking about the conditions under which an immersive digital experience is appropriate when a Creative Director made this comment to me: “Sure, it’s fine to make things usable, but that doesn’t mean we can’t create fun, experiential campaigns.”
I agree with that statement. Fun campaigns that are also usable can be very successful and achieve many types of business objectives. That said, there are a couple of things everyone should understand about creating immersive digital experiences.
What Are You Building, a Platform or a Program?
It’s important to know the difference between a platform and a program.
- We build platforms to manage content.
- We build programs to communicate a message.
You can see examples of both a platform and a program on the IKEA Web site. The site itself is a platform because it manages a catalog of products and services, as shown in red in Figure 1. The area shown in blue in Figure 1 is a program because it communicates a selection of products that are part of a current sale event.
Figure 1—IKEA Web site
So, when developing a Web site or application, one of the first steps on a project is determining whether you’re building a platform or a program.
Building a Platform for Destination-Focused Users
Any Web site or application could be a platform. Determining whether a site or application is a platform really depends on whether you’re creating a system to support content or you’re creating the content itself. Although you could be creating both a system to support content and the content at the same time, content creation generally requires a different process from creating a system to support content. Let’s assume that content strategy and content discovery are already complete, so we can begin to focus on the system requirements that are necessary to support the content.
The three primary objectives a platform needs to accomplish are as follows:
- scaling to support long-term objectives
- organizing content
- ensuring users can find relevant content
Figure 2—Three essential goals for a platform
A Framework for Platform Planning
Now, let’s look at these three aspects of platform planning in depth, as parts of the Platform Planning Framework shown in Figure 3. Table 1 describes each key objective of platform planning in detail.
Figure 3—Platform Planning Framework
Download the Platform Planning Framework as an editable PDF.
Table 1—Platform planning objectives
|One of the keys to a good platform is not only accommodating content that currently exists, but creating affordances for content and functionality that would be desirable in the future. Think about for how long you’d like a platform to last before doing a substantial redesign. It may not be possible to foresee the need for certain features or content, but understanding what kinds of future features and content might be desirable helps in determining a site’s overall user interface and interaction design.||
Strategic road maps
|Information architecture is an important part of every platform. Without an information architecture that groups content in logical categories and utilizes a logical tagging structure, a platform would be unusable. Organization goes beyond categorization and touches on taxonomy, system architecture, and navigation design.||
Card sort or tree-testing results
|Ensuring that users always know where they are, what to do next, and what to expect when they take an action are all parts of findability. Creating a platform that ensures users can find what they’re looking for is not only part of establishing a proper tagging and folder structure, but also factors into interaction design, visual design, copywriting, and information architecture. Understanding what user flows are most important allows an information architect to eliminate less important user flows, if necessary, to keep users focused on the more important flows. When wireframing, an experience architect can express prioritized user flows, according to the saliency and hierarchy of different pieces of content.||
Usability testing results
Site search design
An easy way to determine whether you’re building a platform is to ask yourself: Are users focused more on the destination or the journey? If users’ focus is on the destination, you’re probably building a platform; if their focus is on the journey, you’re probably building a program.
Although platforms should focus on getting users to their destination as quickly as possible, once users have made it to their destination, creating a more immersive experience is valuable. For example, once users get to a product detail page on the IKEA Web site, they’ve essentially reached their destination. So, these platform-level pages can be more immersive than category, department, or collection pages.
Building a Program for Journey-Focused Users
All programs have one thing in common: they focus on the journey. Every program should have defined KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that translate business objectives into measurable actions. KPIs represent conversion factors, so businesses often consider them the destinations of user journeys. As Figure 4 shows, there are three key factors in program planning: mood, journey, and message.
Figure 4—Three key factors in program planning
A Framework for Program Planning
The most effective tool I’ve used in planning a program is the Program Planning Framework shown in Figure 5, which takes the form of a swim-lane diagram. Instead of focusing on usability and feature sets, as in the Platform Planning Framework, this framework focuses on users’ reactions to different messages and milestones in a user journey.
Figure 5—Program Planning Framework
Download the Program Planning Framework as an editable PDF.
The key factors in program planning are as follows:
- mood boards / mood maps—This swim lane can take the form of icons, graphics, storyboards, or words. The intention of this swim lane is to map out the emotional state of users throughout a user journey. Although getting users to the destination should be your goal, progressive conversion can be an effective way of gathering user information throughout an entire user journey.
- user journeys—A user flow diagram that maps back to the other swim lanes best illustrates this swim lane. When you need greater fidelity, you can use thumbnails of each decision point instead of simple page names or labels. For deeply immersive experiences, I like to use the user journey swim lane as a storyboard list. I can blow up each decision point into an illustration that I can import into my wireframes and provide a point of reference within the user interface. I design the user interface itself using a standard wireframing tool like OmniGraffle or Axure.
- messages—This swim lane focuses on how many messages a program communicates and in what part of the user journey to deliver them. This type of message mapping can help an experience architect to clearly understand what each page, feature, and process needs to communicate.
Programs generally comprise several different components. Although each component might communicate a different message, all of them should work together to tell a cohesive story. For example, email messages and banners might deliver teaser messages that ask users to visit a microsite. The microsite might be an interactive film that walks users though a personalized story that ends by asking users to share their story with their Facebook and Twitter friends. Both Facebook and Twitter serve as amplification and awareness-building channels that carry both messages of brand advocacy, as well as messages that ask people to visit the microsite. This example shows how a simple program ecosystem of five channels can tell a cohesive story by communicating a number of different messages. However, some program ecosystems can be much more complex and utilize dynamic messages that send users down dozens of unique user flows.
So, when is an immersive digital experience appropriate? Although platforms should focus on getting users to their destination, the content users find there can be immersive. Programs should be immersive, but balance experiential design with usable design.
Immersive experiences are notoriously difficult to document, from a UX perspective. The frameworks I’ve outlined are helpful in defining immersive experiences to a sufficient level of fidelity for a client to feel comfortable with the direction your solution is taking, but doesn’t inordinately influence the creative team.
To reiterate, I recommend the following process for defining an immersive program:
- Define program objectives.
- Define a content strategy.
- Define a channel strategy.
- Complete a Program Planning Framework.
- Storyboard key experience sequences.
- Define the user interface and interactions, ideally by creating a prototype.
- Animate storyboard sequences and integrate them with your prototype.
(Axure 6 works well for this.)
- Create a design specification document.
- Hand off your design documentation to the creative team.
Of course, following this process isn’t the only way of defining an immersive experience, but it’s worked well for me on several deeply immersive programs. I encourage you to share the process you use in the comments. The next time I’m working on an immersive program, I might borrow some of your ideas. | <urn:uuid:8372285f-8faf-44f2-82d6-b5d006a49f2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2011/11/when-is-an-immersive-digital-experience-appropriate.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908814 | 1,994 | 1.960938 | 2 |
No matter what humans do, Nature seems to do it better. The motor has revolutionised human life since it was invented but Mother Nature has been harnessing mechanical power even before there were humans on Earth!
A billion tiny machines — a thousand times smaller than one human hair — work incessantly inside living organisms to keep them going.
An Indian research team led by Roop Mallik of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, recently opened a new window into the workings of nano molecular motors found in each living cell.
From helping sperm swim towards an egg, to moving neurons long distances to form brain circuits, to fetching disease-causing bacteria so that they can be killed, these motors — or motor proteins to be precise — do it all. Without them, we cannot blink, walk or eat, forget the hundreds of other functions that go on inside our body without our knowledge. And viruses hijack these proteins to get inside a cell and infect it.
Each living cell is amazingly organised. They have several compartments at specific locations, many of which work like specialised factories. The motors transport raw materials required for these factories as well as the finished products created there.
All biological processes require force. For instance, you must generate force to move around. Similarly, cells must generate force to divide. “At a molecular level this force is generated by a motor protein,” says Mallik, a trained physicist who was attracted to biology because of the “challenges” offered by the subject.
There are three different types of motor proteins — dynein, kinesin, and myosin. The force generated by each motor protein is extremely tiny — less than one-trillionth of a Newton. (One Newton is the force required to move an object weighing one kilo to a distance of one metre in a second.) While dyneins move cargo towards the centre of the cell, kinesins move them away from the centre. Myosins are found mainly in muscle cells and are responsible for functions such as walking.
Multiple motors usually have to work in tandem to execute a job. “How these motors team up to generate the required force is extremely important. Our work measures this collective force inside living cells,” explains Mallik.
The work that appeared in the latest issue of Cell journal focuses on dynein, whose working has been a mystery to scientists. Compared to the other two, it is weak and inefficient, but Nature turns to this motor protein when there is need to generate large, persistent forces.
To find how dynein motors work in a team, Mallik’s students, including Arpan Rai, shone a power laser beam on a tiny spot inside a mouse cell. The laser beam could “trap” small objects inside the cells that are moved around by the tiny motors. As the beam fell on them, these motors tried their best to pull objects they were carrying out of the light. “Each dynein showed a special ability to shift gears, just like you shift gears in your car to go uphill. Therefore, each dynein in a team could speed up or slow down… This allowed the dyneins to bunch closer together as they were pulling. The bunching helped dyneins to share their load equitably and work efficiently to generate large forces,” says Mallik.
Apart from Mallik and Rai, others involved in the study are Ashim Rai, Avin Ramaiya and Rupam Jha — all present or former students of Mallik.
“The results are surprising,” says Ron Vale of the department of cellular and molecular pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. These tiny motors have been studied outside of cells for many years. However, it has been difficult to understand how they behave inside living cells. “There are two opposing motors that move material in opposite directions inside the cell, but the new study shows that they work very differently. One motor (dynein) is designed to function like a team of well-trained horses. The other motor (kinesin) is better suited for pulling cargo as a solo motor or in small numbers,” Vale says.
“This study sets new standards of how molecular motors can be studied in living cells and provides important insights into how molecular transport is controlled,” Vale adds.
Apart from increasing our understanding of how cells work, the findings may have clinical implications. Dynein is an essential protein and small mutations in it have been found to lead to stunted development in the embryonic stage. Dyneins play a pivotal role in moving neurons over long distances when brain circuits are being formed. Defects in dyneins are known to cause the lissencephaly syndrome — inadequate development of the brain.
“Further research is need to understand what would happen if dynein’s gear fails to work. Perhaps one day antiviral therapies can be developed by specifically inhibiting dynein on a virus. For this, we need to understand how the virus particle hijacks dynein and uses its force to move inside cells,” says Mallik.
This is one motor that still has humans puzzled. | <urn:uuid:248e31f0-15db-453a-83e9-66c48af28361> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130128/jsp/knowhow/story_16490341.jsp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957373 | 1,080 | 3.828125 | 4 |
Prayer: the key to healthy family life
CWN - September 02, 2010
Research by social scientists has produced a huge mountain of data showing that families with a strong religious commitment—in particular, families that pray together—are more successful in a wide variety of measurements: staying intact, obtaining a good education, avoiding crime, escaping poverty, etc. After citing the data, Patrick Fagan recalls that at a time when New York’s new Irish-Catholic immigrants were regarded as the dregs of society, Archbishop John Joseph Hughes spurred a religious revival that helped mold these immigrants into model citizens. Using the legendary prelate’s nickname, Fagan suggests: “It is time to pray for an African-American Dagger John.”
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All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off! | <urn:uuid:2705e606-e73a-4cf4-847f-29cea74fd43e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=7436 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927904 | 279 | 1.898438 | 2 |
By JEANNE WHALEN and PAUL SONNE
LONDON—Ecuador granted political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Thursday, setting the stage for a standoff between the Andean nation and the U.K., which vowed to extradite Mr. Assange to Sweden to face questioning in a sexual-assault investigation.
Ecuador's foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, told reporters in Quito that the country had granted Mr. Assange asylum to protect him from "political persecution" in the U.S., which Mr. Assange says wants to prosecute him for WikiLeaks' role in publishing thousands of classified U.S. government documents.
A Justice Department spokesman on Tuesday declined to comment on Mr. Assange. The U.S. hasn't charged him with any crime and has no extradition request.
U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said at a news conference that Britain wouldn't guarantee safe passage for Mr. Assange and reiterated his intent to uphold the U.K.'s obligation to extradite the WikiLeaks boss. He also suggested the U.K. could use a little-known 1987 law to enter the Ecuadorian embassy and arrest Mr. Assange. Mr. Hague said the standoff could amount to a waiting game of months or even years. "There are no time limits," he said.
Mr. Patino didn't explain how Ecuador planned to transport Mr. Assange from Ecuador's embassy in London to Ecuador.
The scene from the Ecuadorian embassy in London Thursday.
Mr. Assange requested asylum at Ecuador's embassy on June 19, in an attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations that he raped one woman and molested another during a trip to Stockholm in 2010. He denies the allegations, and he hasn't been charged with wrongdoing.
A Timeline of WikiLeaks
The WikiLeaks founder has long suggested that the Swedish investigation is politically motivated and backed by Washington as a way to speed what he contends would be his eventual extradition to the U.S. He hasn't explained why he thinks Sweden would be more likely to extradite him to the U.S. than the U.K. would. Sweden denies that its probe has any link to the U.S.
This isn't the first time Ecuador President Rafael Correa has riled a Western power. In 2009, he canceled the lease on a U.S. military base in the country, saying he wouldn't allow it unless the U.S. let Ecuador establish a base on U.S. soil.
Mr. Correa has also built a loose alliance with Mr. Assange. A self-proclaimed socialist revolutionary, Mr. Correa expelled the U.S. ambassador to Ecuador after documents published by WikiLeaks showed her alleging that widespread police corruption in Ecuador may have occurred with Mr. Correa's knowledge. Shortly before he sought asylum, Mr. Assange interviewed Mr. Correa and exchanged friendly banter with him on a talk show Mr. Assange hosts.
In a statement, Mr. Assange called Ecuador's decision "courageous." "I am grateful to the Ecuadorean people, President Rafael Correa and his government," he said. "It was not Britain or my home country, Australia, that stood up to protect me from persecution, but a courageous, independent Latin American nation," he said.
In his news conference, Mr. Hague denied that Sweden's extradition request was tied to any U.S. plan to pursue Mr. Assange. "We have no arrangement with the United States," Mr. Hague said. "This is the United Kingdom fulfilling its obligations under the extradition act to Sweden."
U.S. authorities have probed whether Mr. Assange or others working for WikiLeaks did anything to induce an accused leaker of the government documents, Pfc. Bradley Manning, people familiar with the matter have said. The U.S. trial of Pfc. Manning, who is accused of embezzlement, fraud and espionage among other charges, is set to start in the next several months.
But U.S. officials have said it would be difficult to prosecute Mr. Assange, and as of now there is little chance a case could be brought in U.S. courts. During the initial Justice Department investigation, little evidence emerged that Mr. Assange induced Pfc. Manning to leak the documents, U.S. officials have said.
Mr. Patino, the foreign minister, lashed out at the U.K. for what he said were threats in meetings with Ecuadorian officials to storm the embassy and arrest Mr. Assange. He was referring to assertions by U.K. officials in those meetings that a 1987 law allows London to revoke diplomatic immunity for an embassy premises if it isn't being used for proper diplomatic functions. Mr. Patino called this a "clear attack" on Ecuador and said such a move would violate the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.Mr. Hague denied that the U.K. threatened to storm the embassy. But he said he didn't consider "the harboring of alleged criminals" or "frustrating the due legal process in a country" proper diplomatic functions. In a written statement, Britain's Foreign Office said the 1987 act, the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act, "would allow us to take action to arrest Mr. Assange in the current premises of the embassy."
A Foreign Office spokesman said he wasn't aware of a time that the U.K. had ever used the law for this purpose. Some British legal experts questioned whether the law could be put to such use.
Sweden's foreign ministry called Ecuador's decision "unacceptable" and said it planned to summon Ecuador's ambassador to Stockholm for a meeting.
About 20 police officers were stationed outside the Ecuadorian embassy by lunchtime Thursday, along with roughly 25 supporters of Mr. Assange. His supporters—some carrying Ecuadorian flags, others wearing the trademark masks of the Anonymous hackers group—chanted "Hands Off Ecuador! Hands Off Julian Assange!" and played music from Rage Against the Machine and Twisted Sister.
A few supporters scuffled with police. By noon the supporters were outnumbered by about 100 journalists and television cameras waiting for Ecuador's decision.
Outside the embassy Thursday, John Hamblett, a 55-year-old Londoner who manages a café for the Catholic Worker movement, which campaigns against war, poverty and social injustice, said protesters "think it's a crime to make people who try to speak for truth and justice into criminals." He said he didn't know whether Mr. Assange is guilty of the allegations leveled against him in Sweden. "I don't necessarily think there's any truth to them, but I think he should answer them anyway to clear the decks," Mr. Hamblett said.
Saul Yanchaliquin Duran, a 46-year-old Ecuadorian who lives in London and works as a waiter at the House of Lords, held up Ecuador's flag and chanted in favor of Mr. Assange in both English and Spanish. "Until the proof comes, nobody is guilty," Mr. Yanchaliquin Duran said.—Julian E. Barnes, Ana Paulina Escobar and Sven Grundberg contributed to this article. | <urn:uuid:ca1a2751-68ca-4361-bd72-2c1a05e36bad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444508504577592920732178372.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969336 | 1,473 | 1.578125 | 2 |
NASHVILLE - Tennessee's sunshine law would allow more free discussion among elected officials, but violations would be punished by penalties of up to $1,000 under recommendations approved Tuesday by a study panel.
The votes by the Open Meetings Subcommittee came after hours of debate, much of it focused on a recent Knox County Chancery Court verdict that Knox County Commission violated current law.
In general, advocates of more open government saw the vote as a setback, while some city and county government officials saw it as positive.
Under the current legal standards, any meeting by two or more members of a city council or county commission can be subject to the open meetings law.
Under the proposal approved Tuesday, a quorum of a public body, typically a majority of members, would be required to trigger the law.
At the same time, the subcommittee recommended that civil penalties be imposed for the first time in Tennessee for law violations. The penalties would be $1,000 or one-half the monthly salary of an official who violates the law, whichever is less.
For Knox County commissioners, half of one month's salary would be about $830. Many other county commissions, city councils and other public bodies have far lower salaries.
"They gutted the law, and the penalties are so low as to be meaningless," said Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition on Open Government, who also testified to the panel.
On the other hand, Knox County Law Director John Owings said the proposals, if ultimately adopted by the Legislature, would be an improvement over current law.
"That would certainly be creating more clarity," said Owings. "Commissioners need to know what conduct is in violation of the act."
Knox County Commissioner Mike Hammond, a member of the study committee, supported both the quorum rule change and the civil penalties, both modeled after provisions in Alabama's law. Hammond made the motion to approve the penalty provision.
TCOG had proposed a series of other revisions in the current law, which Gibson said would make the law both clearer and more effective. The subcommittee adjourned without voting on those.
They will be taken up at the panel's next meeting, set for Nov. 13.
The proposals still must go to the full Open Government Study Committee, which is charged with making recommendations to the full General Assembly when it meets in January.
The Knox County lawsuit was the subject of extensive discussion and some debate over whether the outcome illustrated the need for changes in the law.
Owings, who represents the commission, spoke to the panel, while Richard Hollow, who served as attorney for News Sentinel Editor Jack McElroy, is a member of the subcommittee.
Hollow represents the Tennessee Press Association on the panel, which includes both state legislators and citizens representing various interests.
The change to a quorum requirement was endorsed by state Reps. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, and Ulysses Jones, D-Memphis, in statements to the committee. Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Nashville, panel chairman, wound up voting for it.
In response to questions from panel members, Owings said the quorum rule would "probably not" have made a difference in the Knox County case even if it had been the law at the time of a Jan. 31 meeting at which commissioners were found to have broken the law.
Hollow said it would be wrong to suggest the Knox County case as a reason to change the law in any way other than to strengthen it. He said actions of Knox County commissioners were "so egregious, so pervasive, so widespread" that the case was really not comparable to other situations.
Hollow argued against the quorum standard, saying the present law of applying an open meetings requirement to "two or more" officials has worked.
Critics of the current standard argued that the rule regarding discussions among two or more inhibited talks that officials need to gain information and insight on issues.
Tom Humphrey may be reached at 615-242-7782. | <urn:uuid:94a76325-6b5e-4de4-a981-bd69e0ba1f32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/oct/24/subcommittee-suggests-quorum-requirement/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967613 | 823 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Louie Verrecchio has negatively interpreted the pontificate of Venerable Paul VI in the light of a statement, made by Joseph Ratzinger more than forty years ago, about a “smaller” “more faithful” postconciliar Church. The fuller quote from the Ignatius press record of the statement is as follows:
From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge–a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so will she lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, she will be seen much more as a voluntary society, entered only by free decision. As a small society, she will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members. Undoubtedly she will discover new forms of ministry and will ordain to the priesthood approved Christians who pursue some profession. In many smaller congregations or in self-contained social groups, pastoral care will normally be provided in this fashion. Alongside this, the full-time ministry of the priesthood will be indispensable as formerly.
The Church will be a more spiritualized Church, not presuming upon a political mantle, flirting as little with the Left as with the Right. It will be hard going for the Church, for the process of crystallization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy. It will make her poor and cause her to become the Church of the meek. The process will be all the more arduous, for sectarian narrow-mindedness as well as pompous self-will will have to be shed…. But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret. . . .
And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already with Gobel, but the Church of faith. She may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but she will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death.
Verrecchio’s quote from this passage is selective, omitting the fact that Joseph Ratzinger’s comments indicate that what he is describing is a necessary process of renewal that will end in a fresh blossoming. He notes that Ignatius Press refers to Ratzinger’s words as “prophetic,” but admits this only in the sense that this prophecy describes a “self-inflicted” disaster.
Verrecchio then goes on to describe the postconciliar disaster that we are all familiar with and attributes it to the ambiguity of the conciliar documents and weakness of Pope Paul VI. Verrechio includes among Venerable Paul VI’s acts of weakness his promulgation of Humanae Vitae.
I have said before that the strength of the traditionalist argument lies on the historical plain. This for two reasons: 1) the empirical evidence weighs heavily in favor of assessing the last fifty years as a disaster; 2) the conclusion by way of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy is lent credibility by making the Council and its proponents the villains of the disaster. What is undemonstrated, and undemonstratable, is that in the long run we would have been better off without the Council. But the argument continues to gain adherents because soundbite ideology is popular, as is facile gotcha apologetics.
Joseph Ratzinger has pointed out that early fathers like St. Gregory Nazianzus and St. Basil the Great were both very skeptical about the value of councils, which seemed to be more a source of confusion and dissension than of clarification and reform. However, their concerns were specific to the Council of Nicaea which ultimately turned out to be a great boon for the Church.
It may be true that there was no doctrinal crisis looming before the Church when Vatican II was inaugurated. However the problems of the modern world needed to be addressed with hard decisions of a pastoral nature. That these necessary and good adaptations would potentially initiate a crisis from which it would take many years to recover is a scenario that not only enjoys plausibility within the dispensations of divine providence; in fact, it is the position of the Church itself, in spite of what the crypto-traditionalists would have us believe.
It should also be noted that the position marked out by Joseph Ratzinger back in the early 70′s was reiterated by him not a year before his election to the Chair of Peter. In his interview with Raymond Arroyo he was asked about how he understood the New Springtime of the Church hoped for by John Paul II. He said that small, convinced communities provide the “future for the world,” in which souls are brought to God because of the “truth” held by believers and “the force of conviction.” He said: “Even when Constantine made Christianity the public religion, there were a small number of percentage at that time [sic.]; but it was clear, this is the future.”
After fifty years of antinomianism, the great patrimony of the Second Vatican Council cannot simply be disregarded in favor of a counterrevolutionary reaction that favors coercion over conviction. This would be the mistake of giving a mandate to an extra-magisterial intellectual elite to tell the rest of Catholics how to live their lives. This is why the Church is run by pastors, not by intellectuals and journalists, though, of course, there is a place at the table for everyone.
The wisdom of God is not the wisdom of men. It seems that Louie Verrecchio does much good work and has the support of a number of bishops for his presentations promoting the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. But his sympathies for the SSPX, his attitude toward Paul VI and his selective use of evidence I find troubling. It is representative of a trend among ostensibly “regular joe” Catholics, and for want of a better way of identifying it, I call this way of thinking crypto-traditionalism.
For a much more balanced presentation of the pontificate of Venerable Paul VI, see William Doino’s article: “Rediscovering Paul VI.” | <urn:uuid:6768689b-724f-4432-b6f1-a25c214cf01e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://maryvictrix.com/2013/01/25/springtime-or-drought/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971394 | 1,445 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Is there anything java can't do?
If the mere smell of a freshly brewed cup of coffee is more satisfying than realizing your husband cleaned the entire house, you're officially a java fiend. And that's not a bad thing: A few cups a day might reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.
The association between coffee and diabetes isn’t new—we’ve covered it before in 12 Ways To Never Get Diabetes—but research presented at the 7th World Congress on Prevention of Diabetes and its Complications, held in Spain, offers further evidence that coffee can curb your risk of the disease.
“Drinking 3 to 4 cups of coffee daily helps lower the risk of type 2 diabetes because of the combination of chemicals contained in coffee beans that are involved in metabolism,” Jaakko Tuomilehto, MD, PhD, and co-director of the Congress, says in a press release. One such chemical, chlorogenic acid, may actually help lower blood glucose levels.
Of course, these latest findings still fall short of establishing a causal relationship between java and diabetes. But this isn't the only potential health benefit linked to a cup of joe. We've got a few extra reasons for you to sip up:
Coffee boosts your memory Researchers at the University of South Florida found that caffeinated coffee increases the levels of a hormone that helps produce new neurons, which may reduce your risk of Alzheimer's. (Combine coffee with these Smart New Strategies To Ward Off Dementia.)
A cup of java promotes heart health A study published in Circulation: Heart Failure found that moderate coffee consumption—approximately two 8-ounce cups a day—was associated with a lower risk of heart failure. (Also nosh on these 9 Superfoods For Your Heart for even more ticker protection.)
The brew reduces your risk of skin cancer Caffeinated coffee can reduce your risk of basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Research. Decaf, on the other hand, didn’t appear to have any effect.
Questions? Comments? Contact Prevention's News Team!
Published December 2012, Prevention | <urn:uuid:0d5cb262-6265-4a67-b298-fb2e36285f9f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prevention.com/food/food-remedies/coffee-can-help-prevent-diabetes?quicktabs_qt_most_popular_food=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940883 | 449 | 2.78125 | 3 |
DOVER — The major transportation infrastructure improvement projects in the Seacoast region are a local example of a statewide issue that is only getting worse, according to a recent report on the state’s roads and bridges.
National transportation research group Trip notes in its New Hampshire report that 31 percent of state bridges show significant deterioration or don’t meet current design standards.
One example in the Seacoast is the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, which connects Portsmouth to Maine and was recently closed temporarily to address problems with the center lift span.
However, officials have said this bridge also has issues with rusting floor beams and the stringers beneath.
The Memorial Bridge, which also connects Portsmouth to Maine, was close in 2011 and is currently undergoing a complete replacement.
The NH Department of Transportation keeps track of “red listed” bridges – those with structural deficiencies that need to be inspected more frequently.
As of 2012, there are 140 state-owned red list bridges, and Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, who serves on the House Public Works and Highways committee, said if no revenue is added, there will be 175 red-listed bridges by 2016 and more than 200 by 2020.
NHDOT Public Information Officer Bill Boynton noted that while “structurally deficient” has an alarmist sound, everything is prioritized and bridges are added and taken off the list each year.
In Strafford County, these red listed bridges include:
— The Gulf Road bridge over the Salmon Falls River in Dover
— The Whittier Street bridge over the Cochecho River in Dover
— The Oak Street bridge in Rollinsford
— The Old Mill Lane bridge over Rollins Brook in Rollinsford
In Rockingham County, red listed bridges include:
— The US 1 bridge over the US 1 Bypass in Portsmouth
— Bridges over the US 1 Bypass in Portsmouth on Islington Street, Woodbury Avenue, and Maplewood Avenue
— The US 1 Bypass bridge over Hodgson Brook in Portsmouth
— The NH 1A bridge over Sagamore Creek in Portsmouth
— The Cate Street bridge over Hodgson Brook in Portsmouth
— The Maplewood Avenue bridge over North Mill Pond
With 33 percent of New Hampshire’s roads in poor or mediocre condition, Trip also notes the wear and tear on motor vehicles. The report states the average motorist in the Dover-Rochester-Portsmouth area loses an additional $400 annually due to driving on deteriorated roads. | <urn:uuid:34596d1e-c325-4b59-b34c-4f6971621e7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130217/GJNEWS_01/130219341/-1/FOSNEWS03&template=PortsmouthRegion&CSProduct=fosters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933841 | 515 | 1.875 | 2 |
Red Wine Compound May Not Help Healthy Women
Oct. 25, 2012 -- New research raises doubts about the health benefits of the much-hyped red wine compound
In a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, healthy women in their late 50s and early 60s who took resveratrol
supplements showed no improvement in factors linked to developing diabetes and heart disease.
The finding suggests that resveratrol supplements do not benefit healthy people, says researcher Samuel Klein, MD, who directs the Washington University Center for Human Nutrition.
“There is no evidence that taking these supplements leads to better health in this population,” he says.
Red Wine in a Pill?
For years, studies have suggested a link between drinking wine in moderation and reduced deaths from heart disease.
When researchers began trying to figure out why, they quickly focused on resveratrol, which is found in the skin of red grapes and some other fruits.
Even though few studies in humans have been done, sales of resveratrol supplements have risen to about $30 million a year, Klein says.
In their new study
, Klein and colleagues recruited 29 postmenopausal non-obese women who were healthy.
For 12 weeks, half the women took supplements containing 75 milligrams of resveratrol a day and the other half took
To get the equivalent amount of the compound from wine, the women in the resveratrol group would have needed to have drunk 8 liters of red wine a day.
The researchers measured how well the women's bodies used
insulin to control blood sugar.
They also took small samples of muscle and fat tissue from the women, and they examined
blood pressure, cholesterol, and other measures of health.
None of the tests showed differences between the women who took the resveratrol supplements and those who did not.
The study was published online Wednesday and appears in the November issue of the journal
Cell Metabolism. Resveratrol Benefits Some, Studies Suggest
Resveratrol supplements have shown benefits in small studies of obese men, patients with
type 2 diabetes, and people who have trouble controlling their blood sugar.
But Klein says two of the three studies did not include a comparison group, which lowers the strength of the studies.
“Resveratrol supplementation may benefit these populations, but we cannot really say that without more definitive research,” he says.
He adds that while resveratrol in pill form may not benefit healthy people, the compound still may be involved in the health-boosting benefits of red wine.
Preventive cardiologist Suzanne Steinbaum, MD, of Lenox Hill Hospital is not surprised by the findings.
She points out that the majority of studies examining the impact of nutritional supplements on health have been disappointing.
“At the end of the day it’s about eating well,
exercising, managing stress, and generally taking care of yourself,” she says. “We are not going to find a cure-all in a pill.” | <urn:uuid:b5d906ab-448b-4dae-a2d2-58589baf7504> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://women.webmd.com/news/20121024/red-wine-resveratrol-may-not-help-healthy-women?src=rsf_full-4241_pub_none_rltd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965081 | 642 | 2.046875 | 2 |
The Head of the Dragon.--THE head of the Dragon is masculine, of the nature of ♃ and ♀, and of himself a fortune. 2
The Tail of the Dragon.--The Tail of the Dragon by nature is quite contrary to the Head, for he is evil. I ever found the ☊ equivalent to either of the fortunes, and, when joined with the evil planets, to lessen their malevolent signification; when joined with the good, to increase the good promised by them. The Tail of the Dragon I always, in thy practice, found, when he was joined by the evil planets, their malice or the evil intended thereby was doubled and trebled, or extremely
augmented, &c.; and when he chanced to be in conjunction with any of the fortunes who were significators in the question, though the matter by the principal significator was fairly promised and likely to be perfected in a small time, yet did there ever fall out many rubs and disturbances, much wrangling and controversy, that the business was many times given over for desperate before a perfect conclusion could be had; and unless the principal significators were angular, and well fortified with essential dignities, many times unexpectedly the whole matter came to nothing.
52:2 These points are of no consequence in nativities, except as regards the Moon, who brings benefits when she reaches the ☊ in the zodiac by directional motion, and evil when she reaches the ☋. | <urn:uuid:e24ba366-6ee3-4b14-a501-224583e83b7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sacred-texts.com/astro/aia/aia15.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973204 | 299 | 1.890625 | 2 |
At some point in your life, if you’re lucky, some piece of art or creative event will grab your attention and your heart, and will insinuate itself into you, leaving you changed and perhaps more alive and aware.
Jacques Brel was a Belgian poet-musician who was born in 1929 and died in 1978. Although a Flemish Belgian, he spoke and wrote in French and his words and his music captured the attention of a large, devoted following in France and later Europe and North America. His music and his poetry delve into the depths of human despair and reach for the distant heights of the capacity of love and hope.
His music was first performed off Broadway in 1968 in Greenwich Village and ran for over four years. His songs are raucous, sexy, insistent, and absolutely timeless in their focus on the themes of war, peace, ageing, love, and the human capacity for senseless violence and depravity. Yet, they are evocative of the potential of the human spirit and the power of love.
The last performance of the last night of the Gabriola Theatre Festival was Jacques Brel is Alive, Well and Living in Paris. The group of five from the Point B Theatre who presented this brilliant collection of poetry and song captured Brel’s passion and pathos with exceptional talent and enthusiasm. They played to a full house and a deeply appreciative audience who acknowledged the performance with two standing ovations and, like me, a deep appreciation for being reminded how powerful the written and sung word can be in the hands of a master poet and musician, and a troupe of vibrant and skilled performers.
It is a rare gift when a performance can impact an audience and bring them to their feet. It is a rare gift when the words and music from a poet and musician can be brought to life by talent such as this. It was a rare gift brought to us by the hard work and untold hours of Jim Wilson-Storey and the entire group of volunteers of the Gabriola Theatre Festival.
|The Flying Shingle, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada ~ editor@FlyingShingle.com||Web design: Innovative Illusions (Paul Rudyk) ~ webmaster@FlyingShingle.com| | <urn:uuid:d00c7def-da7d-45da-920a-887c2bb44c5c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://flyingshingle.com/cgi-bin/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=20120827194153558678 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96771 | 465 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Value: Weighed and Measured
Intensification, NIMBYism and the public purse updated
Property Biz Canada
Tue Aug 28 2012
Many Canadian cities have made densification, or intensification, a priority to reduce sprawl and the costs of extending city services to far-flung suburbs. Empty nesters and seniors are also driving demand for new multiple housing units in city centres across Canada as they make lifestyle choices that emphasizes convenience, low maintenance and reduced commute times.
But intensification can spark NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard), where local residents actively rally against new development or redevelopment. We see this most often with the growing pains of small and mid-sized cities (NIMBY movement sweeps Ottawa and Halifax developers want to aim high). But regardless of the city and the circumstances, NIMBYism run wild can become a costly and acrimonious irritant to any development. The onus is on municipal government to implement clear and consistent guidelines to govern the approvals process that will respect existing streetscapes, prevent creation in the absence of taste and provide residents with an active voice in the decision-making process.
It is naive to expect that any infill project in an established neighbourhood can achieve full community support. But it is empty vessels that make the most noise; there will always be that five per cent of residents who raise the most fuss and oppose anything except the status quo, but have no substantive ideas of their own to add to the discussion.
The role of government, however, is to work toward satisfying the goals of the majority. It is city hall which carries the obligation to set clear and rigorous criteria, which must then be consistently enforced, to determine what is appropriate and keep NIMBYism in check.
Planning policies need to have the flexibility to deal with changing circumstances. Too often there seems to be a policy void with unclear Official Plans and reactive rather than proactive zoning processes. Municipal government should be encouraged to develop more definitive planning policies which would not be subject to ad hoc amendments.
Definitive planning policies would help to preclude appeals to one off planning decisions, such as the recent OMB decision in the Westboro neighbourhood of Ottawa that overturned a city approved development. Provincial legislation and planning policies need to be established that result in more vigorous Official and Neighbourhood Plans so that when market demand creates the circumstances for change, the development environment has already been settled. Zoning, which is site-specific as opposed to the overarching character of an Official Plan, needs to be flexible but at the same time, zoning changes should be constrained by any neighbourhood plans that have been previously completed.
Unfortunately, many infill projects are created in the absence of taste. Taste is defined by more than just a building’s height. It is, admittedly, a subjective determination that must take into account a variety of factors, not the least of which is the architectural style of the current streetscape. Public policy that supports the replacement of obsolete buildings often encourages the intensification of development, but the private developers who carry out such infill projects must respect the public to which public policy is responsible.
Changing a uniform streetscape with a new development dominated by eight-foot square garage doors is contrary to the public interest. Large square garage doors are like having an elephant sitting backwards in your neighbour’s yard. The same can be said of towers which are designed to plant commercial store fronts with plate glass on the edge of the sidewalk, when the rest of the street features Georgian-style architecture and five-metre setbacks.
Public policy needs to encourage development and redevelopment, while at the same time protecting the public interest. Public policy is one of the drivers of real estate values, but on occasion these policies can produce perverse results, contrary to the public interest, and have the unintended consequences of disproportionately driving up values, changing land uses and disappointing the public.
Some of our peers in the development industry would have us think that restricting design, height or placement of some features will negatively impact market value and the margin for profit. On the contrary, complimentary development in desirable neighbourhoods should show strong market demand, and the market will react to policies and create projects that are both attractive and meet market demands. One of the net benefits is reduced opposition from residents and local politicians, which will pre-empt costly legal battles before third-party arbiters such as the Ontario Municipal Board.
Taste is personal, and while municipal bureaucrats should not be expected to enforce esthetics, respecting the nature of established neighbourhoods is a first, crucial step in reducing NIMBYism. Planners, designers and architects should look at the community where a new project is planned. If they fire up their imaginations, they might see a way to create something complimentary, and for which there is market demand. Isn’t that what they went to school for?
About John Clark: With over 30 years of experience in the national real estate appraisal and valuation industry, John Clark (BA, AACI, P.App., FRICS, Chartered Valuation Surveyor) is a leading expert on real estate matters that impact the value of commercial, institutional, residential and other special use properties. He joined The Regional Group of Companies Inc. in 1988 and has served as Vice-President of Valuation and Consulting since 1990. He is a Fellow of the Appraisal Institute of Canada and served as its National President, 2001-2002. | <urn:uuid:39781fc5-73ec-49fe-8060-47be8d6cd99c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.renx.ca/Detailed/Commercial/Intensification_NIMBYism_and_the_public_purse_30229.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950563 | 1,105 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Dad is Responsible, too
If we think back to high school or college science courses, we will remember basic genetics: that we inherit half of our genes from each parent. Remember all that information about dominant genes and the possibility of a brown-eyed mother having a blue-eyed baby (I fit that profile)? Even with this basic knowledge, many of us, patients and providers, "forget" that a genetic mutation may just as easily be inherited from dad as from mom. When we think about our family histories of breast and ovarian cancer, we are naturally thinking about women, and we likely are thinking about our mother and her sisters or mother.
This is a report from WebMD regarding a recent study from Canada that was published in The Lancet Oncology. Here is a quote and then a link to read more:
Health care professionals sometimes overlook a family history of breast and ovarian cancer onthe father's side of the family when evaluating a patient, suggesting that some women may miss opportunities for genetic testing and screening, according to a new study.
Jeanna McCuaig, a researcher at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, and colleagues used patient records to compare the number of patients referred with maternal and paternal family histories of breast or ovarian cancer.
Women with a maternal family history of cancer were five times more likely to be referred to specialists. The findings are published today in the online edition of The Lancet Oncology.
According to the authors, 5%-10% of breast and ovarian cancer cases are due to BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Women who carry these genetic mutations face a 55% to 87% increased lifetime risk of breast cancer and a 20% to 44% increased lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. Both men and women who carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have the same 50% risk of passing these genetic mutations on to their children. | <urn:uuid:2b6e3d96-e050-4e65-ba23-3af6e4d39a0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bidmc.org/YourHealth/BIDMCInteractive/Blogs/LivingwithBreastCancer/2010/October/Dad%20is%20Responsible%20too | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950771 | 386 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Researcher looks to make firefighters' work a bit easier
Tyler Hale is a 25-year-old volunteer firefighter with the Cayuga Heights Fire Department. Wires connecting small plastic sensors snake up his arms and legs and down his back and Huiju Park, an assistant professor at Cornell University, directs Hale through a series of movements.
The sensors send data about Hale's movements to Huiju's laptop.
"The system keeps checking and recording the continuous change in range in motion at each joint,” says Park.
Park’s goal is to test the different ways the body reacts to the rubber boots commonly used by firefighters compared to leather ones. Eventually, Hale climbs into his firefighting gear and slips on his boots, the rubber ones first.
As Hale walks around the room, Park watches an avatar mimic the firefighter’s movements on a monitor. A column on the right hand side shows the data collected by those plastic sensors.
So far, he’s found the leather boot can support a wider range of motion than the rubber one. And that, says Park, can make a big difference for a firefighter.
“People tend to believe that, number one, injuries for firefighters is probably burn injury, but surprisingly it’s not the truth,” says Park.
In fact, it’s not even close. According to the National Fire Protection Association, 22 percent of the injuries to firefighters each year are from burns or smoke inhalation while 40 percent are from things like muscle strains and pain.
These are the sorts of injuries that better equipment, like leather shoes, might help to prevent.
According to Hale, he could tell which boot was better right away.
“Putting on those leather boots is like putting on a pair of running shoes,” says Hale.
It doesn’t take a mountain of data and painstaking research to figure out that firefighter’s gear makes the person carrying it sore. But besides the predictable neck and back pain that results from carrying an air tank, Park says the body responds to weight in some other, less obvious ways.
When a person straps on an air tank or any heavy weight on their back, they lean forward to keep their center of gravity in line with their legs.
“That is actually natural body adaptation to prevent injuries, but if you stay in that posture for a long time, your lower back stretches the disk and finally, over time, you will have lower back pain,” says Park.
A good shoe can help by absorbing more of the ground’s impact.
Rubber boots are still much more common among firefighters, according to Hale, because they cost about $200 less than the leather ones.
But the leather boots might be worth the extra cost to a town or city.
According to a Department of Commerce study, firefighter injuries cost anywhere from $2.8 to $7.8 billion every year when you factor in worker’s comp, long-term care costs and lost productivity. | <urn:uuid:7eac3b72-cffa-4d6f-a66c-803faeb317d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wrvo.org/post/researcher-looks-make-firefighters-work-bit-easier | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952328 | 628 | 3.078125 | 3 |
At the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center, chimpanzees form a gallery of grief, looking on as Dorothy–a beloved female felled in her late 40s by heart failure–is borne to her burial.
Image: National Geographic / Monica Szczupider
The Prancing Papio has brought attention to this powerful photograph presented by National Geographic showing chimpanzees focused on the body of a recently deceased member of their community. I still remember the powerful effect it had on me when I saw Jane Goodall’s The People of the Forest which showed how one young male, who was fully capable of taking care of himself, was so distraught by his mother’s death that he refused to leave his nest for days and eventually died. It was a clear example of the power that mourning had over our evolutionary cousins.
As The Daily Mail reported about the photograph:
Until recently, describing scenes such as this in terms of human emotions such as “grief” would have been dismissed by scientists as naive anthropomorphising. But a growing body of evidence has suggested that “higher” emotions – such as grieving for a loved one and even a deep understanding of what death is – may not just be the preserve of our species.
Chimpanzees – as revealed in November’s National Geographic magazine – and closely related bonobos maintain hugely complex social networks, largely held together by sex and grooming. They have often been observed apparently grieving for lost family and tribe members by entering a period of quiet mourning, showing subdued emotions and behaviour. | <urn:uuid:99b6c674-a456-4ab6-93eb-7e2129fd76a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2009/10/29/chimpanzees-mourn-the-death-of/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981413 | 318 | 2.90625 | 3 |
First patient gives birth in water at Abbott Northwestern Hospital
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. 09/22/2011--Aimee Blomberg and Kaelyn Grace Blomberg rested in a cushiony, inflatable tub of warm water in their room at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
The Blomberg Family
Kaelyn was born on September 15, 2011 at 3:37 p.m. Aimee lifted the newborn out of the water and into her comforting embrace.
"I can’t imagine what it would have been like without the water," said Aimee. "It was so relaxing and a huge pain management tool."
"I had no idea what it would be like, but the water definitely made labor a lot easier for her," said Sam Blomberg, who did not get into the tub but was with his wife throughout the process.
Abbott Northwestern is the first hospital within Allina Hospitals & Clinics to offer the water birth option. Abbott Northwestern has the highest birth volume in the region, delivering 4,000 babies each year.
"We have a reputation for excellent care, and we continue to support all childbirth experiences," said Debbie Biffle, RN, labor and delivery nurse, who is leading the water birth initiative at Abbott Northwestern.
Abbott Northwestern requires women to meet certain criteria to use the water birth option. They also must sign consent forms that are provided to physicians and midwives who practice at Abbott Northwestern.
The Blombergs, who are in their early twenties, live in Coon Rapids. Kaelyn is their first child. They chose to give birth at Abbott Northwestern specifically because of the birthing tubs.
"When my midwife said the tubs were available at Abbott Northwestern, I knew I wanted to deliver there even though there were other hospitals closer to where I lived," said Aimee.
About Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Abbott Northwestern Hospital is part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, a not-for-profit health care system of hospitals, clinics and other patient care services that provides exceptional care to communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. More information and the latest health information can be found online at allina.com. | <urn:uuid:805dbe51-5f84-4988-abf6-f454d25ca068> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.allinahealth.org/ahs/news.nsf/newspage/WaterBirths | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97414 | 457 | 1.921875 | 2 |
By Jenifer Goodwin
FRIDAY, June 22 (HealthDay News) -- Skin cell transplants can restore pigment to the skin of some patients with the disorder known as vitiligo, new research finds.
Vitiligo is a skin condition in which melanocytes, or the cells in skin that produce pigment, are destroyed. The result is the skin loses color, often in patches. Vitiligo affects about one in every 200 people in the United States.
In the study, researchers from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit removed a postage stamp-sized sample of skin from the upper thighs of 23 patients. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 60 and included whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics.
Researchers then isolated melanocytes and keratinocytes, another type of skin cell, into a liquid solution.
Next, researchers used a device called a dermabrader to scrape off the white patches of skin, and sprayed the liquid containing the skin cells onto the skin, allowing it to disperse over the entire white patch. The area was then covered in dressings for about a week.
Gradually, the transplant, including the melanocytes, took hold and began to grow. Over the course of one to six months, color gradually returned to the white patches.
On average, the skin regained about 45 percent of its original color, although some patients saw better results than others.
The technique worked best in people who have what's known as "focal" or "segmental" vitiligo, in which color is lost only on one portion or side of the face or body, while the other is normally pigmented. On average, they had about 68 percent of their natural color return.
The treatment didn't work as well in people with "symmetrical" vitiligo, or pigment loss on both sides of the body or face, said senior study author Dr. Iltefat Hamzavi, a senior staff physician in Henry Ford's department of dermatology.
Researchers believe the immune system is more active in those patients, and continues to destroy color-producing cells, including the transplanted ones.
"This is a step forward but it's not a solution for everybody," Hamzavi said.
There were few complications. No patients developed an infection, and only one patient developed mild scarring, he said.
The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Although this is among the first published studies on using skin cell transplants to treat vitiligo in the United States, a similar technique has been used in India and Saudi Arabia, Hamzavi said.
Vitiligo can occur at any age, but it often strikes when people are in their teens and 20s, Hamzavi said. It can be an especially difficult time for people to deal with the cosmetic issues of the disease, he added.
Among the patients who had the procedure done, one admitted he would wear bandages on his face in public to avoid stares; others avoided socializing, Hamzavi said. After their pigment was restored, the patients no longer practiced these behaviors, he said.
It's unknown how long the color remains intact. Researchers followed patients until about six months and none had lost color, while initial reports from Saudi Arabia and India have also not described color loss over time, Hamzavi said.
The researchers are continuing to offer the procedure at their hospital, and Hamzavi said they handle several cases per month.
Dr. Michele Green, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the technique would be welcomed by many patients and dermatologists. Currently, there isn't much in the way of treatments for vitiligo, Green noted.
"It's amazing, if it's really as good as they say it is," Green said. "There are some laser [procedures] that are mildly effective, but short of that there is no treatment for vitiligo. And it's cosmetically extremely disfiguring for these patients. It's really big news."
But, Green cautioned, more research needs to be done. Only 23 patients were treated this way, and not all were helped, she said.
In addition, more needs to be learned about who has the best chances of success with the treatment, including whether it works better on new-onset vitiligo or if it works as well if people have had the disease for many years.
"It's a great preliminary study and very promising, but more investigation needs to be done," Green said.
The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more on vitiligo.
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:46d2b67a-5dc9-419b-874d-bef01dd1b5fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/06/22/skin-cell-transplant-may-offer-new-hope-to-vitiligo-patients_print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972948 | 980 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Humankind began in Africa, but has perennially been driven to see what’s over the next hill. With one next hill after another, in time we came to inhabit most of the globe.
Partly it was the mere urge for survival; but we’ve never been satisfied with merely that. Always we’ve striven for betterment, always seeking greener pastures. Surely that’s why, perhaps 15,000 years ago, people who found themselves in the bleak terrain of eastern Siberia pushed on, across the Bering land bridge, into a new continent. Long before that, a similar land bridge may have brought humans to Australia.
Yet not even open water could stop us. Early peoples also populated many remote islands dotting the vast expanse of the Pacific.
Just imagine such a voyage. Looking out at the horizon, you saw nothing but water. You couldn’t know how far you’d have to go before finding land – if ever. Someone had to go first, after all. And your boat was surely nothing much, a ramshackle little raft or dugout. Yet, impelled by some inner force, you got in that flimsy boat, and you went.
For the people who embarked on such a voyage, it was akin to a moonshot – but without the benefit of a backup team at a Houston control center. They were totally on their own, sailing into the unknown.
No doubt many of their bones lie at the bottom of the sea. But some of them made it.
Back on the other side of the world, people knew nothing of any of this. Eventually they learned to deploy not just rafts and canoes, but sturdy seagoing vessels. Still, those were scant match for the oceans’ caprice, and such voyaging took huge courage. For a long time, people pretty much huddled along their shorelines; the Chinese crept along theirs to explore their neighborhood; the Portuguese methodically felt their way along the African coast; the Vikings hopped from Scandinavia to Iceland to Greenland and even Newfoundland.
But the Straits of Gibraltar, between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, still represented a barrier, not a gateway. Called the “Pillars of Hercules,” they were metaphorically draped with a banner proclaiming Non Plus Ultra – nothing further beyond.
One man, however, was undeterred. And when he set out, with three ships, in 1492, the first (as far as we know) ever to attempt a straight shot out across the open Atlantic, surely this too was akin to a moonshot.
Columbus was wrong about plenty; he grossly underestimated the distance to his actual goal, and never understood what he discovered instead. And for untold millions the consequences were horrible. Still, the ultimate result was to begin the immense process of reuniting all the people who, long before, had spread out among the globe’s far-flung reaches, into one great world community.
When the Spaniards minted coins in the New World, for three centuries they all depicted a pair of pillars, the Pillars of Hercules, but with a new and thrilling banner draped across them: Plus Ultra – there is more beyond.
“O God, your sea is so great, and my boat is so small.” This is the so-called sailor’s prayer. Yes, the sea is vast indeed, and our boats are very small. But with our eyes to the horizon, our faces to the wind, our hopes and our dreams, we set out upon our journey.
And someday shall reach the stars. | <urn:uuid:09fec8d6-1a89-449c-8144-28800e9646d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rationaloptimist.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/plus-ultra/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969048 | 750 | 2.578125 | 3 |
YouTheDesigner.com has posted a list of what they consider to be the most amazing graphic design magazines. As one might expect, Print Magazine, Layers and Before and After all made the list. These magazines cover graphic design trends and techniques for everyone from beginners to experts and are excellent resources for all designers.
But they’re not the best graphic design magazines.
Graphic design is an art that transcends colors, shapes and lines. These things are components of graphic design excellence, for sure, but the truly talented designers rely on inspiration derived from other arenas: social, economic, political, musical, athletic and more.
By familiarizing yourself with the trends, celebrations, challenges, issues and delights of society, one can begin to craft with a style significantly proprietary. Yo-Yo Ma isn’t a highly sought-after performer because he is the best musician in the world, but because he is the best cellist in the world. LeBron James is not the world’s best athlete, but perhaps he is the world’s best basketball player.
These amazing individuals have a style all their own, within an arena (music/sports), and further refined within that arena (cello, basketball). While Yo-Yo Ma and LeBron James have undoubtedly had extensive training in their respective disciplines, their specific styles of play can only be attributed to influences specific to them.
In the same way, graphic designers should work to develop a specific style all their own. Being a great graphic designer is one thing; but being the best logo designer is quite another. It opens up new avenues, helps you simplify your marketing and creates an established and respected name for yourself within your niche.
So what are the 10 best graphic design magazines? That’s completely up to you. They are the 10 magazines you read and enjoy. The magazines that cover the subjects you draw inspiration from. Politics? Sports? History? It doesn’t matter – each can enrich your sense of style, put you in tune with the preferences of many and help you plaster the world with a style all your own.
So, what are the 10 best graphic design magazines in your world? | <urn:uuid:5abe1e86-4759-4815-8c5d-6981d3c3e224> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.psprint.com/printing/the-best-graphic-design-magazines/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949505 | 447 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Belarus has set the maximum selling price of pork carcasses, reported the Ministry of Economy. Prices are now 30% higher than previously.
Maximum selling prices for all types of meat in Belarus have been set by special government decree. According to experts the pork and beef production companies have in recent months become unprofitable due to the rising feed prices, a phenomenon prevalent for in the entire territory of the Customs Union.
The cost of pork is also growing in Russia and Kazakhstan where due to the high value-added, breeders are able to compensate the losses incurred by them due to the more expensive grain price. Belarus farmers now receive the same opportunity. In the view of the Belarusian government 30% should be sufficient to return the producers to the level of profitability.
"The decree was adopted due to the losses of producers after sales of some types of meat in carcasses for the uninterrupted supply of public catering facilities (manufacturing enterprises, therapeutic and educational institutions) on the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Trade, the Minsk City Executive Committee”, explained the representatives of Ministry of Economy.
"Meat processing organisations has been given the opportunity to increase the selling prices of these products, but not to exceed the limit of maximum sale prices," added the Ministry of Economy in an official report.
The decree, No: 78, comes into force starting October, 4 of 2012. | <urn:uuid:6de6aa02-6eb2-4b67-8df4-94e51f0229b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.allaboutfeed.net/Nutrition/Raw-Materials/2012/10/Belarus-Pork-prices-up-30-due-to-higher-feed-costs-1095225W/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958014 | 283 | 1.953125 | 2 |
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Sushi Suzuki, concept developer for Panasonic in Germany. Previously, he founded d.thinking Ponts ParisTech while teaching design innovation at École des Ponts ParisTech he was the Executive Director of the ME310 program at Stanford University.
Over the last few years, I’ve had the pleasure of hosting many design thinking workshops and short courses in various contexts around the world. The format and content for the workshops and short courses are similar (1~3 days, team project based), but there is one large contextual difference in that participants in workshops are not graded while students in short courses are.
I am a firm believer in learning by doing, and as such, in my workshops and courses, participants and students work on various innovation challenges to practice their observation, synthesis, and ideation skills. Recently, I’ve come to the realization that the project results from the workshops tended to be more wild, creative, and challenging while project results from the courses tended to be more conservative, incremental, and at times pedestrian. While it’s difficult to judge results from such a short project, I find the results from the workshops to be more interesting and innovative even if unrefined and seemingly unrealistic. If I was trying to achieve some breakthrough innovation, the workshop results would be a much better starting point in my opinion. It’s easier to make a wild idea more realistic than to make a conservative idea more innovative.
Playing to win vs. playing not to lose
Ichiro, the Japanese baseball player, once commented that in the US, players played to win while in Japan, players played not to lose. I think the same dynamic is in effect here. Students in courses are afraid to be wrong (even if there aren’t any right or wrongs in my courses) and as such, they present more conservative ideas out of fear that the wilder ideas may seem unrealistic. Workshop participants on the other hand are freer from repercussions and as a result, they can be more imaginative and challenging.
Extending this out to the real world, there are some implications that need to be considered in trying to design innovative organizations and executing innovation initiatives. If people have the fear of failure because their wellbeing is closely linked to the results of the project or initiative, it will undoubtedly force them to be more conservative most likely leading to uninteresting results. Some companies have taken note of this and have tried to minimize the fear of failure from their employees. W. L. Gore and Associates has been known to celebrate project cancellations to send a message that because something didn’t work out, it’s not necessarily a failure.
While such initiatives are commendable, there can be difficulties in implementing something like this where the fear of failure is not only part of the corporate culture, it’s part of the national culture such as in my home country of Japan or my adopted country Germany.
An alternative approach to disconnecting fear from failure could be to take the innovation challenges beyond the corporate walls to outside institutions whose responsibilities and dependencies are inherently limited. I believe that one of the many advantages of design and innovation consultancies is that their success is partially disconnected from their clients’. While successful projects could mean more business in the future, failures won’t damage the consultant or consultancy in the same way an employee or manager could be damaged. That with more procedural freedom is a great recipe for innovative work.
Another place to take innovation initiatives is academia. While there are many projects unfit for students due to the technological complexity or confidentiality issues, as long as the students’ grades aren’t too directly linked to client satisfaction, they can be a lot more flexible and imaginative than hand-cuffed employees.
I’m not advocating the complete abandonment of accountability and responsibility, but there are times when such things could be obstructions in trying to accomplish innovative work. Like with everything else in the company, organization structure, work processes, and motivation schemes need to be designed to fit the task at hand.
About Sushi Suzuki
is a concept developer for Panasonic R&D Center Germany in Frankfurt where he works with external partners to develop new ideas in
As a practitioner of the Stanford-IDEO design methods, he has worked on various design challenges ranging from video game controllers to developing world education tools and new radio segments for NPR. He was also one of the founding members of i-kimono.com
, a Japanese start-up company that handles antique kimono and accessories online. Artist by nature, Engineer by training, and Designer by desire, Sushi is always thinking of new ways to do the old things better. Sushi holds a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and B.A. in Studio Arts from Rice University. | <urn:uuid:dc8da626-a5cf-48fc-9833-622ffc4d1935> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cxacademy.org/page/3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958173 | 998 | 1.929688 | 2 |
The cities of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill are nestled in the mid-Hudson Region of New York State’s Hudson Valley. If you’re looking for Fishkill, New York hotels, Extended Stay Hotels has great places to stay, each offering a great rate.
Whether you are a video gamer, do your work over a computer network or just like to surf the web, you have a connection to at least one of the IBM plants in or around Fishkill and Poughkeepsie, New York. In fact, Poughkeepsie is the home to IBM’s Banking Center of Excellence, a Design Center, High Availability Center of Competency, and STG Lab Services. If your business trip here has more to do with clothing than computers, you may be visiting the GAP/Old Navy regional distribution center. This center handles merchandise headed throughout the Northeast.
The Fishkill-Poughkeepsie area is also the home of Vassar College, one of the most prestigious private universities in the country. This is a truly magnificent campus, well worth taking some time to explore. Across the Hudson River and 40 minutes south of the Fishkill-Poughkeepsie area are West Point and the Unites States Military Academy. Founded in 1802, the graduates of West Point have been leading the nation’s military for over 200 years. While not open for self-touring, West Point offers visitors reasonably priced guided tours of the grounds.
History buffs and those with a flare for grand architecture will want to see the various sites in nearby Hyde Park. A good place to begin sightseeing is the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. The museum offers visitors an excellent opportunity to learn about our longest serving President and see items relating to this turbulent period of American history. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s home, Val-Kill, is a surprisingly modest place which has been preserved as a historic site. The third historic site connected to President Roosevelt is his Hyde Park home. Anything but simple, this elegant mansion is well worth a visit.
Called the Gilded Age, the second half of the 19th Century produced hugely successful industrialists and financiers. One of this era’s more famous families, the Vanderbilts, chose Hyde Park as the location for a mansion of amazing proportion. Today the Vanderbilt Mansion is a national historic site open to visitors. Other nearby historic sites include Locust Grove, home to famed inventor Samuel Morse, and Wilderstein, a stunning Queen Anne style mansion overlooking the Hudson River.
To food enthusiasts, the CIA has nothing to do with spies. It stands for the Culinary Institute of America and Hyde Park, New York is home to one of this institution’s campuses. While you may not want to learn to cook, the CIA hosts five fabulous restaurants that are sure to make your time here memorable.
What goes perfectly with exquisite food? Fine wine, of course. This part of the Hudson Valley is also wine country. One way to experience New York State’s famous wine industry is to take the Dutchess Wine Trail. Winding past thoroughbred horse farms, orchards and beautiful woodlands, the Wine Trail invites a picturesque experience of New York’s wine region.
This area may not yet have any major league sports, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t fun sporting events to attend. Fishkill is home to the Hudson Valley Renegades, minor league affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball.
For those who would rather participate in sports than watch them, Dutchess County has plenty of golf opportunities. One course sure to please is the Casperkill Golf Club, a Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed golf course in Poughkeepsie.
For a comfortable, convenient, and affordable hotel in Fishkill, Extended Stay Hotels has just what you are looking for. | <urn:uuid:20a8f992-0dbd-43be-bc04-7accbfcf3812> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.extendedstayhotels.com/hotels/metroarea/Fishkill/Fishkill-hotels-and-travel-guide.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938359 | 808 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Thursday, February 15, 2007
A Good Article
By Mike Whitney
"The bombing of the Golden Dome Mosque in Samarra is the cornerstone of Bush’s psychological operations (psy-ops) in Iraq. That’s why it is critical to have an independent investigation and discover who is really responsible. The bombing has been used as a "Pearl Harbor-type" event which has deflected responsibility for the 650,000 Iraqi casualties and more than 3 million refugees. These are the victims of American occupation not civil war.
The bombing was concocted by men who believe that they can control the public through perception management. In practical terms, this means that they create events which can be used to support their far-right doctrine. In this case, the destruction of the mosque has been used to confuse the public about the real origins of the rising sectarian tensions and hostilities. The fighting between Sunni and Shiite is the predictable upshot of random bombings and violence which bears the signature of covert operations carried out by intelligence organizations. Most of the pandemonium in Iraq is the result of counterinsurgency operations (black-ops) on a massive scale not civil war.
The Pentagon’s bold new approach to psychological operations (psy-ops) appears to have derived from the theories of former State Dept official, Philip Zelikow (who also served on the 9-11 Commission) Zelikow is an expert on "the creation and maintenance of 'public myths’ or 'public presumptions’. His theory analyzes how consciousness is shaped by "searing events" which take on "transcendent importance" and, therefore, move the public in the direction chosen by the policymakers......
In fact, the bombing of the Golden Mosque is a reenactment of September 11. In both cases an independent investigation was intentionally quashed and carefully-prepared narrative was immediately provided. The government’s version of events has been critical in supporting the extremist policies of the Bush administration.
Just as 9-11 has been used to justify the enhanced powers of the "unitary" president, the evisceration of civil liberties, and a permanent state of war; so too, the bombing of the Golden Mosque, has been used to create a fictional narrative of deeply ingrained sectarian animosity that has no historical precedent. Both events need to be exposed by thorough and independent investigations.
The Bush administration has consistently abandoned the limitations of "reality-based" politics. They govern through demagoguery, force and deception. This is no different.
9-11 and the Golden Mosque are the foundation blocks in the Pentagon’s "Strategic Information" program. It is a war that is directed at the American people and it relies heavily on the power of myth.
Forewarned is forearmed. " | <urn:uuid:f2ba94df-9895-4432-82f9-f50314ddd36c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://palestinianpundit.blogspot.com/2007/02/information-warfare-psy-ops-and-power.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960268 | 574 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Aside from games, another genre of application that seems superbly suited to the current wave of smartphones is photo manipulation. As the in-built cameras become more sophisticated, more and more of us are using our handsets to snap pictures. Indeed, many of our Facebook pages are more full of photos than a Gran's sideboard drawer.
So it's good to find the occasional photo editing app that offers something different to the others. And today's app of the day certainly falls into that category...
- iPhone, iPod touch (iPad version also available)
One of the major new features of Photoshop CS5 that has had everybody a-buzzing is "Content-aware Fill", a one-click solution to removing unwanted objects (lens-flare, shadows, etc) in photographs without having to do the hard work yourself.
Well, that's exactly what Touch Retouch does too. For 59p.
And not only is it cheap, it's also extremely simple to use. Just load a picture into the software, paint on the section you want to remove, click "Go", and it will magically disappear before your eyes. You can change the size of the brush so you can be more accurate with the area you paint over, and if you make a mistake, you can redo or use the eraser to refine the area you've selected.
There's also a lasso tool to mark around a zone, so you don't have to scribble all over it, and you can pinch and zoom a picture as you see fit, allowing for the most intricate of editing.
Pictures can be grabbed from the device's library (or from camera, if there is one) and there are a couple of in-built training videos that can be played when you start up the application. They're handy, although the use of a computer text-to-speech voice is a tad unnerving. It's as if Stephen Hawking's guiding you through the process. Who knows, maybe he is!
The other caveat of the software owes more to initial expectations than anything. Touch retouch works best when the background is fairly uncomplicated. The more chaotic and colourful the scene, the more likely that it will offer up some bizarre results. However, the same could be said with the Photoshop equivalent, and that's hundreds of pounds.
As a cheap and simple photo manipulation tool, Touch Retouch presses all the right buttons, and is essential for any amateur photographer who doesn't have the time or inclination to spend hours on editing. | <urn:uuid:802fe441-44b2-4e2e-bf61-23a3ee2b68ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/106541-aotd-touch-retouch-iphone-ipod | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958172 | 519 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Press - what people say about APC-201210-15587
APC: A progressive organisation to warm the heartJohan and I often get to feel very despondent about various things out there in the world; environmental issues, political corruption, abuse of human rights, consumerism, and poverty. We notice how often conversations of any meaning end up in what we call the doom and gloom scenario, which we deal with by saying we must just try to focus on what we can do in our own environment. So how wonderful it is to encounter an organisation like APC, which does something important globally in a progressive and heart-warming way.
APC (Association for Progressive Communications) first came to us 8 years ago – were in fact the very first workshop we had here. And if we were cheered by them then, now two visits and 8 years later, our admiration for them has only grown.
It’s not just the nature of their commitment to encourage free and open internet to create a more just world (mission statement). Nor the fact at they execute this commitment in real and tangible local and global projects (e.g. helping women activists build websites and other communication strategies, inserting gender issues into policy at various levels, helping people tell their stories of abuse and harassment online). Nor is it that they are sustainable – despite not only funding challenges, but the fact that since they come from all over the world, they connect largely in cyberspace.
But it is how they do things. Then as now we see a group of mostly (but not exclusively) women with extraordinary commitment (in fact most of the people who came now came 8 years ago). They work incredibly hard, yet integrate into their work laughter and play, caring and respect, and they conduct themselves in an entirely non authoritarian way – whatever their organisational structure.
This particular set of two workshops at Fynbos included, (for the first workshop) staff, board members, APC members and partners developing the APC Strategic Plan for 2013-2016.
The second workshop was a gathering of all partners working on an APC project called “End Violence: Women’s rights and safety online” (For more on this project see http://www.apc.org/en/node/15007/) | <urn:uuid:dd5b0060-6557-4d6a-8e85-12c9ba63258d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.apc.org/fr/node/15587 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957696 | 472 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Abstract Although, dairying is the most ancient occupation established in the rural setting of Bangladesh, its development is unsatisfactory due to several problems. The main problems concern breeding, feeding, management, diseases and marketing. The dairy sector has also not received adequate attention in respect of information and research with present policies and issues. National milk production can only meet 13% of the current milk consumption. The demand for milk is growing at a faster rate than supply because of the rapid increase in population, creating a widening imbalance between demand and supply. There is a need to have knowledge of the existing demand, its growth over time, and the existing supply possibilities. There are also many types of information needed for proper functioning of markets. In the light of such knowledge it would be necessary to take policy measures for providing strong institutional support to increase domestic production and reduce the imbalance between supply and demand. To address the industry’s problems effectively, sources of market failures and of government policies in contributing to its poor performance are discussed in this paper. | <urn:uuid:28f0be4e-68f4-4874-938a-eecca3dbfdf7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/agsaare00/123730.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966007 | 206 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Traffic accident data
Road traffic accidents kill or injure thousands of people
in the UK every year. Traffic accident casualty information on
Merseyside is collected by the Police, who maintain a central
database. The information is made available to each local authority
on a monthly basis. The information for Sefton is available
through our Breathing Space website.
The information provided on the website will allow you
to look at accident casualty records , look for trends in the data
and examine figures for the most vulnerable road users and the
numbers of casualties of different types in any specific area.
For every accident where someone is injured, the Police
compile a detailed accident report containing all the information
known about the accident and how it occurred. This report includes
- How serious the accident was, in terms of numbers of people
either killed, seriously injured or slightly injured and whether
the casualties were adults or children.
- The numbers and types of road users involved, e.g. pedestrians,
cyclists, motorcyclists, vehicle passengers, vehicle drivers.
- The types of vehicles involved, e.g. bicycle, motorcycle, car,
We acknowledge that there are some limitations in the
information collected, mainly because it is collected within a
short period of time after the accident. It doesn't provide
therefore, details of the longer term implications of the accident,
which might be important in terms of health effects. However, it
does demonstrate the need to make our roads safer for
Please note that the information provided relates only to
collisions where someone was injured. It does not include
Last Updated on 11/2/2012 | <urn:uuid:e40c225a-0937-48d9-ae36-e6e2d402b650> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sefton.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=3365 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911518 | 344 | 2.21875 | 2 |
In this hymn the THEME OF TIRUPPAVAI is brought out in a nutshell and by veneration Parasara Bhattar takes refuge in Goda.
Sri Parasara Bhattar was the Chief priest of the grand temple of Srirangam. Due to escalating enmity with the king, he left the place and was residing at Tirukkottiyur.
He was in all sadness due to the separation and deprivation of the daily rituals to Sri Ranganatha. To ward off this melancholy, his disciple Nanjiur requested him to compose hymns to extol Andal.
Parasara Bhattar felicitates Andal in one poem given here and eleven other Alwars in another poem.
To That Krishna who enjoys the bliss of sleep
On the lofty, hillocky breast of Nila,
Oh! Goda thou had offered floral garland
After adorning thy own tresses foremost;
Bound forcefully and enjoyed Him;
Had awakened the lion in Him;
Enticed and imparted to thy dependence;
The fact indicated in the vast Hymns of Vedas and Upanishads;
Unto thee I offer my felicitation again and again. | <urn:uuid:0caacd55-4fd8-405e-9715-d5c7622e0ea4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tiruppavai.net/hymn.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929285 | 257 | 1.984375 | 2 |
An access audit is a way of finding out how accessible a building or an organisation is and what adjustments or changes can help to make the building accessible to disabled people. Those changes don't necessarily have to be expensive.
We can put you in touch with qualified access auditors who can help your organisation offer better service to disabled people.
When thinking about using an auditor to carry out work of this sort, you should bear in mind that:
Some offer limited access audits at low prices - others only offer a very full service at commercial rates.
Some do audits for any organisation - others only work for voluntary groups, or may offer them special prices
Some say clearly that they are committed to working within the Social Model of Disability, and some may consider that access audits are only valid if carried out by disabled people - others do not see these things as essential to their access work.
Some only offer advice on physical changes to buildings - others offer advice on the changes in the way a business operates, or on the staff attitudes that also help improve accessibility.
Some only offer advice on accessibility for people with particular impairments (for example visual impairment or mobility difficulties) - others offer advice on a wide range of impairments.
With any work that is contracted to external advisers, you should ask auditors for detailed written quotations - and try to see examples of their work, or talk to previous customers.
One national organisation - the National Register of Access Consultants (NRAC) - provides a national register of accredited Access Auditors and Access Consultants.
Can I get a grant to make accessibility adaptations?
Commercial organisations are usually unable to get funds from charitable or government sources to help make changes which are required by law - for example to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (1995). Further advice for commercial organisations is available through the Equality and Human Rights Commission, (sucessor to the Disability Rights Commission) or through the other organisations listed in the Business FAQs.
The Church Urban Fund had some grants available for places of worship - or other buldings associated with them - to help make them more accessible for community activities. This involved any denomination or faith (not just Christian churches) - but funds were only available in areas classified as most deprived. Contact the Fund for more details of availability. | <urn:uuid:df3491aa-99e6-43bb-8089-56f407e3fdbc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.merseydisability.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=55 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940711 | 465 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Business Insider was quick enough to take a screenshot of an unfortunately photoshopped Michael Vick posted by ESPN to their piece “What if Michael Vick were white?” before it was inevitably removed.
The piece itself addresses the question asked how people would reactions to Vick’s career, particularly his dog-fighting arrest, would have been different if he were white. Ultimately the author — Touré — concludes that Vick’s identity and the circumstances of his life are so tied up with his race, it isn’t possible to hypothesize that he’d even be playing football as a white man.
The picture wonders a significantly more literal question, then answers it in the most tasteless way possible.
Interestingly, Touré seems to have had the biggest beef with the picture. From his twitter:
Here’s my ESPN mag essay about Michael Vick & race. http://es.pn/qRFBAH I asked them not to call it What If Vick Were White but they did.
I had no idea they’d put a pic of Vick in whiteface. Makes no sense w an essay saying it’s impossible to re-imagine him as white?
In the magazine world writers don’t title their stories & don’t have a voice in deciding the artwork that goes with their stories.
My essay on Vick is nowhere near as inflammatory as the pic of him in whiteface which contradicts me saying you can’t imagine him as white.
A newspaper can sympathize with ESPN that it’s not always easy to find good art to compliment a story. But, well, it’s not THAT hard either. | <urn:uuid:b827af51-5e5e-469f-a3b3-624a920fe107> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.beaumontenterprise.com/hottopics/2011/08/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98038 | 348 | 1.664063 | 2 |
High Court Considers When Bad Lawyers Taint A Case
On television, most criminal cases are tried before a jury. But in reality, more than 90 percent of all criminal cases in the United States never get to trial; they are resolved with a plea bargain. For the state, these bargains save money and resources, and they often include agreements that the defendant will help prosecutors make other cases. But plea bargains have also been criticized as a boon for real criminals who have information to bargain with, while little guys, with nothing to trade, can get mauled by the system.
On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in two cases involving defendants who claim they were mauled, not by the system, but by their own lawyers.
In both cases, the defendants claim that their lawyers' conduct was so bad that it amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel, denying them the legal help that the Constitution says they are entitled to when facing criminal charges. And in both cases prosecutors claim the Constitution only guarantees a right to a fair trial, not a fair plea bargain.
The first case involves a Missouri college student named Galin Frye who was picked up repeatedly for driving while his license was revoked. The fourth time he was arrested, he was charged with a felony because of his prior offenses. But the prosecutor sent his lawyer a letter offering to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor if Frye would plead guilty and agree to a 90-day jail sentence.
The lawyer, however, never informed Frye of the offer, and it expired after a month. Frye, knowing nothing of the prosecutor's willingness to cut him a deal, eventually pleaded guilty without any conditions and was sentenced to three years in prison.
He only learned of the offer after his incarceration when his appeals lawyer discovered it.
Nobody disputes in this case that Frye's original lawyer violated a legal duty to keep his client informed of plea offers, and nobody denies that Frye ended up with a sentence more than 10 times longer than he likely would have gotten had he accepted the misdemeanor plea offer. His new lawyer, a public defender, will argue that part of any defense is the conduct of plea negotiations, and that by failing to tell Frye of the prosecutor's offer, the first lawyer denied Frye the effective assistance of counsel guaranteed by the Constitution.
But prosecutors will counter that the Constitution doesn't guarantee any right to a plea bargain; it only guarantees a right to a fair trial, and that since Frye pleaded guilty anyway, he wasn't denied a fair trial or the effective assistance of counsel at trial.
Similar arguments will be made in a second case involving clearly erroneous advice from a lawyer. A Michigan man named Anthony Cooper shot a woman in the thigh and buttocks and was charged with assault with intent to murder.
Twice prior to trial, prosecutors offered to reduce the charge with a recommended sentence of roughly four to seven years in prison. But Cooper's lawyer advised him to reject the offer, telling the defendant that under Michigan law, he could not be convicted of attempted murder for wounds below the waist. That advice was indisputably wrong, and Cooper was convicted and sentenced to three times as much jail time as he would have served under the plea offer.
A federal appeals court subsequently ruled that the lawyer's clearly faulty advice denied Cooper the right to make an informed choice on whether to accept the plea or risk a trial. But the state appealed, contending that since Cooper concedes he got a fair trial, he has no valid claim.
Even if the Supreme Court agrees that either of these defendants was denied the effective assistance of counsel, the justices face a second thorny question: what to do about it. Should the defendant have a second chance at the plea offer? Do courts have the power to order that sort of remedy? Or should the defendant be restored to his original place in the system, before a trial and before a plea offer was made? | <urn:uuid:6f854f29-71aa-4b28-b59f-646770d71f10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wyso.org/post/high-court-considers-when-bad-lawyers-taint-case | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981231 | 801 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Stats project IDEAS!!
I need to do a project for stats..and perform a test, and all that.
It can be about anything I want, anything that would interest me.
Well, heres some things that interest me..
*ones that id like to do somthing with the most.
Can someone give me ideas?? Of somthing that would be interesting to find out!!?
A group of friends and I did one just a few weeks ago.
Originally Posted by Morgan82
We had to present it to the class, Powerpoint presentations, the whole works.
We played rock paper scissors, with the exception that players draw the balls out of a bag, instead of a pre-meditated selection. Did the theoretical and real outcomes, calculations etc.
And overall got quite good mark. (90+ %)
I don't know what level you though. This is first year stuff. | <urn:uuid:abfd05aa-7c75-4ac9-94dc-0158a4e4500d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mathhelpforum.com/statistics/39906-stats-project-ideas-print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954599 | 190 | 1.65625 | 2 |
High Performance Rooftop Unit Challenge
In January 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) joined industry partners in the Better Buildings Alliance (BBA) to release a design specification for 10-ton capacity commercial air conditioners, also known as rooftop units (RTUs). The specification was issued as an "RTU Challenge," since it aimed to catalyze the market introduction of cost-effective, energy-saving RTUs that would significantly outperform any models that were currently available. The BBA includes an array of building owners that purchase large volumes of RTUs, so their issuance of a specification outlining common performance requirements and desired features represents a powerful demand signal to manufacturers.
RTU Challenge Update Summer 2012
DOE announced on May 24 that Daikin McQuay's Rebel rooftop unit system is the first to meet DOE's Rooftop Unit (RTU) Challenge. Five manufacturers—Daikin McQuay, Carrier, Lennox, 7AC Technologies, and Rheem—are participating in this challenge to commercialize highly efficient commercial air conditioners that satisfy a DOE-issued specification for energy savings and performance.
The final participant list was announced by Dr. Kathleen Hogan, deputy assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency, at the Energy Department's first Efficiency Forum, a public stakeholder engagement event hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado
The companies have until April 1, 2013 to submit a product for independent evaluation according to the specification. When built to meet the specification, these units are expected to reduce energy use by as much as 50% over current standards. Nationwide, if all 10 to 20 ton RTUs met the specification, businesses would save over $1 billion each year in energy costs, helping American companies better compete on a global scale.
Read the full announcement.
Enormous Energy and Cost Savings Potential
RTUs are used in nearly half of all cooling conditioned commercial floor space in the United States. RTUs built according to the specification are expected to reduce energy use by as much as 50% compared to the current ASHRAE 90.1 standard, depending on location and facility type. Nationwide, if all 10-20 ton commercial units were replaced with units built to this specification, businesses would save about $1 billion each year in energy costs. DOE developed an RTU Comparison Calculator so one can easily compare the energy and financial benefits of high-efficiency units to standard equipment.
Primary features of the specification include:
- High-performance Integrated Energy Efficiency Rating (IEER) of 18
- Direct digital controls
- Operational fault detection
Role and Opportunity for BBA Participants
The RTU Challenge aims to benefit all stakeholders that utilize 10-ton RTUs, so resources like the specification and RTU Comparison Calculator are freely available and promoted via webinars and other public engagement events. As partners in this initiative, participating BBA members have the added benefit of:
- Informing the development of the specification
- Leveraging DOE technical assistance to conduct demonstrations of successful RTUs
- Participating in unique public relations opportunities, such as the Efficiency Forum, which highlight successes that can be replicated by the broader commercial sector.
As a signal of their support for the RTU Challenge, participating BBA members issued the following statement:
"We will strongly consider purchasing units that meet the specification, are consistent with our cost-effectiveness criteria, and align with our procurement timeframes. We look forward to working with the manufacturers and DOE to factory witness tests of prototype units that meet this specification. We understand that DOE has committed resources and technical assistance to help U.S. manufacturers design and develop products to meet this specification. We look forward to the near-term market introduction of reliable, energy-efficient and competitively priced rooftop units which increase the energy efficiency of the sector."
Participating BBA members include:
- Cleveland Clinic
- Costco Wholesale Corp.
- Edens & Avant
- Grubb & Ellis Co.
- Gundersen Lutheran Health System
- InterContinental Hotels Group
- Lowe's Companies, Inc.
- Macy's, Inc.
- McDonald's Corp.
- Publix Super Markets
- Target Corp.
- The Home Depot, Inc.
- Walmart Stores, Inc.
- Yum! Brands
Consider joining the BBA if you are interested in this and similar energy saving projects!
Role and Opportunity for RTU Manufacturers
In order to participate in the RTU Challenge, manufacturers of RTUs (not individual component suppliers) had to satisfy an initial DOE screening by May 15, 2012. During the screening, DOE technical experts reviewed preliminary product details to determine if the manufacturer was on a reasonable path to have a complete product ready for full DOE evaluation by April 1, 2013, and available to the market thereafter. The full DOE evaluation entails an in-depth review of certified IEER performance and any deviations from the specification, and only one candidate product per manufacturer can be submitted. If the full evaluation is satisfactory by this deadline, DOE will recognize the product for meeting the RTU Challenge.
Public relations activities are being pursued at various stages to ensure that key developments and resources reach a broad audience. Products that meet the RTU Challenge may also be eligible for demonstrations in BBA and federal facilities, and their performance may be characterized in DOE decision tools so that potential customers can evaluate these products relative to typical RTUs.
Visit this page again for regular updates on the RTU Challenge. | <urn:uuid:aba7091a-db5c-4fb6-886f-81876d4bf932> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial/m/bba_rtu_spec.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937518 | 1,127 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Indonesia: Anti-Pornography Law Raises Fears for Minorities
The recent arrest of six people in Indonesia over a nightclub show is raising concerns among minority groups and secularists about a new anti-pornography law. In late 2008, Indonesia's parliament passed a broad law aimed at stamping out what many politicians saw as an epidemic of pornography. Pushed by Islamic conservatives, the law outlawed anything - from books to paintings to some bodily movements - considered capable of raising feelings of lust.
Liberals and non-Muslims opposed the law, saying it is too harsh and too broad. But there was little action - until the arrest last month of four women for dancing in their underwear at a nightclub in Bandung.
The women arrested at the Belair Café and Music Lounge are likely to be the first people tried under the law and could face up to 10 years in prison. Their agent and a club manager could be jailed for 15 years.
Rights activists say the use of the law is the first step of a crusade they fear will spread beyond the fight against smut, and become a campaign against regional traditions and religious minorities. The concern is that everything from traditional dances to Hindu temple carvings could fall afoul of the law.
Ellin Rozana, the director of the Indonesian women's rights group Institut Perempuan, says the anti-pornography law is part of a project by some Islamic parties to push Indonesia toward adopting aspects of sharia, or Islamic law.
"The spirit of the law is to fight against Indonesian pluralism," she said.
Rozana says the law discriminates against women. She is urging police to drop charges against the six arrested people, who are yet to go to trial.
Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population - more than 200 million people. But it also has a secular government and many minority groups who practice a variety of other religions. The culture mixes in Hindu, Buddhist and folk traditions that date back before Islam came to the islands.
The secretary of West Java's top council of Muslim clerics, Rafani Achyar, says the new law is essential to uphold moral values. He says suggestive acts like the dancers at the Belair Café are a stain on Bandung, and a threat to Indonesia's future.
He says heavy punishments should be a warning to people to watch their behavior.
The head of Bandung's public order police, Ferdi Ligaswara, says the raid on the Belair Café is in line with a broader vice crackdown by the city mayor.
He says authorities have officially declared Bandung a "religious city." But Ligaswara says that is not the same as declaring it an Islamic city.
He says the city is working hard to wipe out what the local government sees as pornography, including dances involving nudity or too much eroticism.
But many are concerned the law could go further.
Mas Nanu Muda is a Muslim and a practitioner of jaipongan, a local dance that draws on West Java's pre-Islamic heritage.
The provincial governor has already criticized the swaying women's movements in jaipongan as being too suggestive.
Although local officials say there are no plans for a crackdown on jaipongan, Mas Nanu says he thinks the dance will be next.
He says the problem with many of the politicians is that they think they are being good Muslims by trying to replace local traditions with Arab culture.
It is a complaint heard frequently in Indonesia. The country has long had a reputation as a bastion of moderate Islam. But moves such as the new anti-pornography law are seen by many as a sign that reputation may be under threat. | <urn:uuid:e617ac68-4037-4ae9-b1f5-27795ad41eab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wluml.org/zh-hant/node/5940 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965642 | 767 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives is a standing committee within the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Jurisdiction includes the Census Bureau, the National Archives and Records Administration, health care, and the District of Columbia. It was previously known as the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives.
During the 112th Congress, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee went through a reorganization under chairman Darrell Issa. As a result, jurisdiction over several matters were shifted between various subcommittees. For example, Information Policy, which as formally under the jurisdiction of the subcommittee, was transferred a new Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform. Jurisdiction over matters involving the District of Columbia were transferred to the subcommittee from the former United States House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia. | <urn:uuid:adb9a412-c010-4090-8e09-bb894d530b0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_Oversight_Subcommittee_on_Energy_Policy,_Health_Care_and_Entitlements | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945631 | 184 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers at Harvard University announced today that they have derived 17 new human embryonic stem-cell lines. The new cell lines will be made available to researchers, although at this time United States policies prohibit the use of federal funds to investigate these cells.
The cell lines were derived using private funds by researchers in the laboratory of Douglas A. Melton, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator at Harvard University. The researchers described the stem-cell lines in an article published online on March 3, 2004, in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The article will also be in the March 25, 2004, print edition of NEJM. Human embryonic stem cells have the potential to yield treatments for several devastating human diseases, as well as to enhance understanding of human development. "Studies of embryonic stem cells in several different organisms indicate that these cells have the capacity to give rise to nearly all of the cell types present in an adult organism," Melton said. "The cell lines that we are making available are robust, they grow well and are easy to handle."
In 2001, Harvard University, HHMI and Boston IVF began a collaborative research effort that sought to realize the great therapeutic promise offered by human embryonic stem cells. Melton, Andrew P. McMahon, Chad A. Cowan, the article's lead author, and colleagues at Harvard worked with Douglas Powers and scientists from Boston IVF to produce the supply of human embryonic stem cells. Boston IVF supplied Melton and his colleagues with the excess, pre-implantation frozen embryos from which the stem-cell lines were derived.
Funding for the research and construction of the research facilities in which the stem-cell lines were derived was provided by HHMI, Harvard and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Melton has been an employee of HHMI for nearly 10 years.
Melton is hopeful that the availability of the new cell lines will speed research developments in the area of stem cell biology. "Consistent with the general practice among academic scientists, these cells are a reagent that will be shared," said Melton. "We hope that sharing these cells will quicken the pace of discovery."
Melton's laboratory will use the stem-cell lines to pursue their interest in type 1 diabetes. His research team has been studying the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells that are missing in patients with type 1 diabetes, which commonly afflicts children. His group's long-term goal is to learn how to direct the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells, so that they can generate pancreatic beta cells that can be used as a therapy for type 1 diabetes.
The availability of the cell lines should provide a boost to stem cell researchers worldwide. According to the National Institutes of Health, there are about 15 human embryonic stem cell lines available for researchers in the United States who are doing federally funded research. The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), an independent, non-profit organization formed to foster the exchange of information about stem cell research, says the number of available human embryonic stem cell lines is a matter of some debate. The ISSCR Web site states that only about 8-10 cell lines in total are currently widely accepted as true human embryonic stem cells.
The techniques used by Melton and his colleagues to derive the human embryonic stem cell lines were based, in part, on technology developed decades ago for mouse embryonic stem cells and more recent work by Ariff Bongso at National University Hospital in Singapore and James A. Thomson and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Melton noted, however, that in the course of their experiments, they discovered an easier way to tease stem cells free from surrounding tissues by using enzymes. "One of the things our paper shows is that it's possible to select for cells that can be easily grown by using enzymes rather than by the tedious process of hand-dissecting them," Melton said. "I would anticipate that in the future, researchers would use this method."
Distribution of the cell lines will be handled through Melton's HHMI laboratory at Harvard. Melton said it is difficult to anticipate how much demand there will be for the cells, but he is confident that his group is ready to meet that demand. "We are planning to distribute [the cells], to the extent possible, more or less the same way that we distribute any reagents we publish, be it a DNA clone or any other cell line."
Researchers requesting the cells will do so according to directions that can be found on a Web site run by Melton's group, which can be viewed at http://www.mcb.harvard.edu/melton/hues. After the request is received by staff in Melton's lab, it will be forwarded to the Office for Technology and Trademark Licensing at Harvard University. Researchers requesting stem cells will receive a material transfer agreement from Harvard, which they must complete and return to Harvard before the cell lines are shipped. At this time, researchers will not be charged any fees for the stem cells beyond the actual shipping costs to their institution.
Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt | <urn:uuid:3dec7ae7-1826-4880-8c35-14de80cae2a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2004-03/hhmi-nhe030104.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952627 | 1,116 | 2.5 | 2 |
Read the Original Article at http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225200311
We all focus on the cool technologies and products which make contemporary wireless so exciting. Handsets are nothing less than powerful, albeit tiny, PCs. Broadband wireless offers megabits of throughput, with a lot more on the near-term horizon. But none of this is possible without a highway upon which drive all those handsets.
This is the domain of spectrum policy and regulation, and herein lays the greatest challenge to the future success of wireless overall. Things are not going well, and history is to blame.
OK, let's blame technology a little, too. Radios which stayed on-frequency weren't easy to build way back when, and almost all were specialized for particular applications. It thus made sense to have a spectrum-regulation policy which considered making orderly use of the airwaves by reserving particular frequency bands for particular applications.
Historically, the biggest chunk of spectrum space went to whatever was popular at the time. This is why government has so much, and why the broadcasters also have vast amounts of prime spectral real estate. But times change. Back in the mid-1990s, it became clear that more bandwidth would be required for mobile (and eventually broadband) applications.
At the same time, governments around the world, strapped for cash, began to realize that an auction process could bring vast amounts of money to the general coffers. Thus spectrum regulation took on a new goa: not just the orderly use of a precious natural resource, but also vacuuming vast amounts of cash out of the customers forced to pay billions in licensing fees.
You may have heard about the FCC's plans for a national broadband policy, which includes allocating (actually, re-allocating) 300-500 MHz of spectrum to new mobile broadband services. This makes sense, except that that spectrum will likely come out the pool currently occupied by the TV broadcast industry, and they are none too happy about this.
These guys got all their spectrum at no charge, and hey, why shouldn't they be allowed to operate broadband services in the spectrum they already have? (Note that I don’t use the word "own" here.) That’s a political, not a technical, question.
My real purpose in this column is to suggest that the auction process is little more than the path to yet more hidden taxation. Prices for wireless broadband would be lower if this burden on the carriers didn't exist. While we're at it, let's break the FCC into at least two pieces, one which regulates and one which (if it must) generates revenue.
Note that a similar division was recently put into place for the Federal agency which collects similar fees on the oil industry. Of course, it took the huge oil spill off Louisiana to get the bureaucrats moving in this case, so I'm not holding my breath.
But there's an even bigger problem at work here, and that is that the regulators' current model of allocating spectrum to particular applications no longer makes sense. We can build very sophisticated cognitive radios today which can quickly switch frequencies and other operational parameters on a moment's notice.
This means that we really should be looking not at licensing spectrum to individual operators, but rather deploying large pooled frequency bands that can be allocated based on instantaneous need; a spot market in licensed spectrum, if you will. No entity, perhaps with the exception of those involved in national security, should have exclusive access to spectrum.
Today's technology allows us to deploy on-demand, priority-access, open-access, and network-neutral wireless broadband services that can easily serve us all, and, in the process, make the best use of that very precious natural resource. Do we have the political will to allow our thinking to be thus interrupted? I personally doubt it. But with the information superhighway increasingly becoming a highway in the sky, it's time for such an interruption to reach the front burner in the policy-making kitchen. The alternative is the perpetuation of the politics of scarcity, which seem to enrich everyone but the customer.
Craig Mathias is a Principal with Farpoint Group, a wireless and mobile advisory firm based in Ashland, MA. Craig is an internationally recognized expert on wireless communications and mobile computing technologies. He is a well-known industry analyst and frequent speaker at industry conferences and trade shows. | <urn:uuid:a906c75c-1d84-4496-ac54-edb09ac5ef6a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techweb.com/taxonomy/index/printarticle/id/225200311 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957579 | 907 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Verbal Apraxia and Keegan, part 1 Keegan (33 months) has been diagnosed with verbal apraxia and general dyspraxia. I wanted to capture some video of him "speaking" so I could document his progress as we begin some intensive therapy and supplement trials. Keeping him engaged is sometimes hard to do, as you will see by about half way through... :)
Childhood Apraxia Intervention with Phonic Faces and Books The visual cues of Phonic Faces and Phonic Faces storybooks (available at ) help children with childhood apraxia produce and remember how to place their articulators in sounds and sentences.
Anna Grace Haukoos: Apraxia Progress Anna Grace "reading" her books and giving a demonstration of what 2 years of intense speech therapy can do for a child with apraxia. Video includes ideas for doing speech related activities at home and general information about apraxia.
Nathan 22 Months (Verbal Apraxia) This is Nathan at 22 Months. I'm documenting his progress through speech therapy to try and help others in the same situation. Nathan is now 2 1/2 years old and was recently diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech. It's not an official diagnosis yet but they are pretty sure that's what he has. They will know more after a couple of months of speech therapy. He started speech 2 months ago and he's making great strides.
Luke's Speech Apraxia Therapy - 2 December 18th, 2008. To see more of Luke's journey visit
Apraxia (USA) - DNA Nanobots Visit for more info. Music Video for Apraxia's DNA Nanobots. The video deals with nanotechnology, science fiction, mortality, bionics, research, and cosmology. It does all of this with a sense of humor.
Apraxia - In The Deep Dark Forest (AUDIO) Apraxia - In The Deep Dark Forest - from the album "Hymns Of Dark Forest (1998) Pagan Black Metal from Belarus then changed Name (Molot) and music style
Beckman Oral Motor - Apraxia Case Child with Apraxia received traditional speech therapy with poor results, then began treatment with Beckman Oral Motor Therapy with very successfil results.
Luke's Speech Apraxia Therapy-1 Luke six weeks after beginning speech therapy! He's 2, and has been diagnosed with childhood Apraxia of speech. More info.
5 1/2 yr old with apraxia talking - update on Oscar 4 1/2 yr old with apraxia talking The last video I did was when Oscar was 41/2. He is now in kindergarten and doing wonderfull. I wanted everyone to see how well he has progressed in just one year - its amazing and I am soooooo proud of him! He is so smart and he will NOT let apraxia get in the way of showing everyone how smart he is. I hope this gives others hope and lets them see their kids will get better, just work with your children and read read read - every day! Oscar worked very hard to get where his is today and hopefully within the next year he will be out of a special ed classroom and just get help from the resource specialists a short time each day! I just have to tell everyone that my son has had the gretest teachers in the world. Teachers don't get enough credit for what they do for our children. They work so well with him and the improvement in him shows that.
JUAN CARLOS "MASGREN3" MENTAL APRAXIA "BOJAYAS BUTCHERY" TOTAL BRUTAL DEATH METAL FROM CALARCA COLOMBIA /JUANMASGREN
Jack, apraxia, 33 months Jack has Childhood Apraxia of Speech and is currently in speech therapy. He has been taking fish oil supplements as well. He's 33 months in this video.
Developmental Apraxia of Speech Developmental Apraxia of Speech 6 year old.
Nathan 19 Months (Verbal Apraxia) This is Nathan at 19 Months. I'm documenting his progress through speech therapy to try and help others in the same situation. Nathan is now 2 1/2 years old and was recently diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech. It's not an official diagnosis yet but they are pretty sure that's what he has. They will know more after a couple of months of speech therapy. He started speech 2 months ago and he's making great strides. I started him on Fish Oil Supplements 2 months ago right after his 2nd birthday.
Apraxia - CASANA 2007 National Conference on Childhood Apraxia of Speech This video was shown at the conclusion of the 2007 National Conference on Childhood Apraxia of Speech in Anaheim, California at the Grand Californian Hotel.
apraxia public service anouncements 2 of 5 Some warning signs of apraxia- where to look for Early Intervention.A good resource book for parents and professionals,"The late talker,what to do if your child isn't talking yet" By Lisa Geng and Dr Agin, St Martin's Press, May 2003 can be gotten anywhere. Also check out Learning Disabilities Association of New , from the national website,.On our digest from the website link we also have a playdate list for families of the children to get together in different areas/countries,please email Jeanne off list to be added to it.Our grassroots nonprofit organization is also in the process of our newest project a worldwide documentary. It is also geared to medicalprofessionals,parents,slp's,ot's,college professors,teaching hospitals. We have the families,and film production company will keep you updated. Please contact Jeanne jbmistletoe@ if you have any questions including the playdate list. Thank you for helping spread to spread awareness,please pass the information onto anyone dealing with children.
Callosal Apraxia and Aphasia Documentary. Split brain research. Learn about the functions of each hemisphere of the brain. Very interesting. The first woman featured has apraxia (a neurological disorder characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform the movements). The second patient in the film has aphasia (a loss of the ability to produce and/or comprehend language, due to injury to brain areas specialized for these functions. It is not a result of deafness or muscle paralysis, and it does not necessarily affect intelligence). Both apraxia and aphasia arise from lesions in the language-dominant hemisphere (which for most people - 95% - is the left hemisphere). Experiments conducted by Scott Johnson-Frey.
After Taking Fish Oil For Verbal Apraxia For 6 Months For additional information visit: This is a video of 33 month old Owen after taking fish oil for 6 months after his Verbal Apraxia diagnosis. He has made incredible progress in a very short period of time. Not all children with Apraxia will be responders to fish oil, but the ones that do respond generally make dramatic progress, such as Owen did. Please visit the web page I cited above for further information and resources on Apraxia, and treating Apraxia with a fish oil supplement.
Speech Therapy at Home Autism Apraxia This is my daughter who was born with a rare chromosome disorder and later diagnosised with Autism, and Severe Speech Apraxia. She is homeschooled and in private therapy. In this video she is using the Kaufman Speech Kit 1. We use a variety of techniques at home to teach Anna and I will try to post some to share with others. She also uses a Vantage Plus Augmentative device to communicate. This is a great alternative to using the PECS system. I found keeping up with all the pictures and setting up pages for each activity to be overwhelming. I hope this video helps others looking for speech tools for non verbal children. Also I am always open to any ideas for new techniques/tools from other parents, teachers, and therapist.
Apraxia of Speech in Children: CASANA on WQED WQED in Pittsburgh did a story on Childhood Apraxia of Speech that aired in 2005.
3 and a half year old with Apraxia of Speech, Jack DeZur More of my almost 4 year old who was diagnosed with apraxia of speech and sensory integration disorder when he was 2 years old. Attempting words like marshmallow and Tyler.
Apraxia of Speech with Nancy Kaufman or This is a promo for Episode 4 Apraxia of Speech with Nancy Kaufman. For more information about Nancy Kaufman and The Kaufman Children's Center visit Inspiration and Information On-Demand: The Yvonne Pierre Show is a talk radio show that covers topics ranging from inspirational stories, parenting to business tips.
Jack, apraxia, 37 months Jack is talking about the Halloween decorations at Mendards and Target. Six months from our first video. He's in preschool 5x/week (special education) and receives ST, OT and PT. Jack also has SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder). We love him so much and are very proud of him!
Apraxia Annual Campaign for CASANA Apraxia Programs and Research This is the CASANA Annual Campaign Video sent out to members of Apraxia-Kids Website in order to raise funds for projects, education and research into Childhood Apraxia of Speech.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech 3 year old girl 3 1/2 year old girl started speech therapy at 2 1/2 years old. At 3 years, 5 months, she had a clear MRI and saw a pediatric neurologist who diagnosed her with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. She has no other developmental delays. With continued therapy, she has made WORLDS of progress in the last 4 months. I believe attending preschool and being forced to communicate with other children has helped her in her goal to want to be understood!
Verbal Apraxia exercises on DVD and VHS speech-therapy-on- provides the opportunity to practice professional speech therapy everyday to improve verbal apraxia! Designed by a team of professional speech pathologists, this innovative video is the most affordable, easy-to-use therapeutic tool in the industry.
Childhood Apraxia Intervention WEBSITE: MorphoPhonic Faces were used to quotbootstrapquot word and sound production for a nonverbal child with apraxia.
Severe Apraxia & Possible ASD~Julian Video 2 This is the second in a series of videos I'm taking of our son Julian who has severe Childhood Apraxia of Speech and likely is "on the spectrum." The purpose of this video series is to show how much motor planning is involved in speech production for these children that suffer from this neurological condition and also just how hard Julian is trying. If you would like to know more about CAS please visit the CASANA website @ www.apraxia-
4 1/2 yr old with apraxia talking This is my 4 1/2yr old son Oscar. He started speech when he was 2 and diagnosed with apraxia at close to 3. He also has fine motor delays and oral dysplasia but has almost overcome that obsticle completely with OT.
Jack, apraxia, 31 months Jack has childhood apraxia of speech and has been taking fish oil supplements for 7 weeks.
Apraxia in a Movie - Leland City Club, Detroit Instrumental version of Stranger used in Shadows on the Wall, an expressionist noir shocker filmed in Detroit. Scene at the Leland City Club, Detroit, Club Convulge in the movie. Check out Apraxia on Facebook:
PSP Dysarthria and Apraxia
Aphasia and Apraxia Presenter: Darlene Williamson. Producer: Winston J Lindsley
Julian Lane-Childhood Apraxia of Speech and Autism Julian, recently diagnosed (finally) with PDD-NOS (an Autism Spectrum Disorder) is doing well with his speech. We're working very hard on intonation, purposeful/functional use of language, and social skills. Here is a video of him doing some of his YBCR cards and talking.
Jewel verbal apraxia 4 yrs 9 months
apraxia public service anouncements 1 of 5 Apraxia Network of Bergen County(NJ) USA. More resources,articles,support,where ever it is needed in the world. The website is , , many other different support groups and information online. Please also the information in the descriptions under each video,thank you all for viewing and rating them. Please feel free to post your comments on the video's. It is also important to get the right diagnosis for the children, because it can affect the therapy that they get for their child.The wrong therapy can be more frustrating for the child.In many countries early intervention is called by a different name.You can also check out on apraxia network of bergen county group on facebook under groups.
apraxia...soda is great Gabe talking in the car...he is 35mo old...and can't wait till his 3rd b-day...less then a month to go!!
apraxia apraxia. gabe is 34mo in this video.
Apraxia A film made for the Des Moines 48 hour film festival. The film is about a man tries to deal with his own reality by inventing a new one, but when he is forced to confront his actual reality he loses his mind. Written and directed by Kyle Niemer and Alexander Thomas Scott, starring Ed Vos and Deb Copeland. Silent Film Alan West, a door to door salesman blue painters tape "what's it to you pal." | <urn:uuid:cde60301-c40a-4756-b7d3-90c8fa38c67b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://crosswords911.com/apraxia.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95196 | 2,858 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Mysteries of the Nautilus
Situated in Discoveryland, the Nautilus is based on the writings of Jules Verne and the tails of Captain Nemo. The attraction is a walk-thru, and usually has no wait.
Although it is usually only open between 11:30 am and 5:00 pm, it can be closed in incliment weather (due to the steps that one has to take to get into the submarine).
Length: 70 Meters
What a great tie-in to the Disney classic | <urn:uuid:18ca759f-b0e9-4a4d-990b-3cf5438ebe21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.disney-pal.com/Disneyland%20Paris/mysteries_of_the_nautilus.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961572 | 111 | 1.640625 | 2 |
For Release: November 26, 2012
To download images, visit the Smithsonian National Zoo's Flickr page.
The Speedwell Foundation Conservation Carousel—one of the only solar-powered carousels in the world—is now open at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. The carousel, made possible by the Speedwell Foundation, features hand-carved and hand-painted animals and has a net-zero impact on the Zoo's energy consumption. One hundred and sixty-two solar panels donated and installed by Pepco Energy Services power the Conservation Carousel. Any excess energy is diverted back to the Zoo's electrical grid.
Tickets for the Conservation Carousel are $3. It is open during regular Zoo hours and during ZooLights—powered by Pepco—the annual holiday-lights festival hosted by Friends of the National Zoo. All proceeds from the Speedwell Foundation Conservation Carousel support animal care and conservation science initiatives at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
"First and foremost, the carousel is a great attraction for the whole family," said Dennis Kelly, director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo. "But I'm hoping that the riders will be inspired by the conservation messages. Some of the gorgeous animals reflect the great conservation success stories of our time while others represent animals we are racing to save."
The Conservation Carousel features 58 hand-carved and painted animals for visitors to ride. Many represent endangered species that Zoo scientists and animal care experts have spent years studying, breeding or working to reintroduce to the wild. The animals spin past scenery panels depicting scenes from forest, grassland, savannah and aquatic habitats. Decorative panels, each featuring a different migratory bird species, adorn the top of the carousel. The detailed artwork celebrates animals living at the Zoo, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and in the mid-Atlantic region.
An interactive digital dashboard, also donated by Pepco Energy Services, allows guests to see how the carousel generates and uses solar energy in real time. A touch-screen display translates the energy the Conservation Carousel saves into more familiar terms, such as the number of trees saved, the hours of video games that could be played or the cups of coffee that could be brewed with the same amount of energy. Using the dashboard, visitors will also be able to see how much energy the carousel has saved since its debut.
For more information about the Speedwell Foundation Conservation Carousel visit the National Zoo's website. Follow the National Zoo on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates about exhibits, amenities and animal news.
# # # | <urn:uuid:f041e47f-fb96-47b0-b375-eb1ab0d180e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nationalzoo.si.edu/publications/pressmaterials/pressreleases/press-release.cfm?id=136 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904947 | 520 | 2.796875 | 3 |
1505 - November 23, 1585
born in England, composed during the Renaissance period
The career of Thomas Tallis, Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, spanned a period of spectacular change in the English liturgical climate. Born early in the sixteenth century, his first musical appointment was as organist to a Benedictine (Catholic) Priory in Dover, two years before Henry VIII's definitive break with Rome in 1534. By 1537, Tallis was serving a London parish church as organist; in 1538 he was performing the same task for the Abbey of Holy Cross, Waltham, though this position evaporated when King Henry dissolved the monasteries in 1540. After a brief clerkship at Canterbury Cathedral, Tallis joined the Chapel Royal, where he played, sang, and composed for the remainder of his life, serving in turn Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I. Among the lavish rewards he eventually reaped was a famous bequest of 1575, giving him and his young pupil, William Byrd, a complete monopoly on the printing of music and ruled music paper in England.
The liturgical music in England during this time underwent great changes, not the least of which was the shift between Latin and vernacular texts. At the outset of Tallis' career, the prevailing English style of Latin music followed the soaring treble-dominated textures of the previous century, as exemplified in the Eton Choirbook; his early Latin motets reflect this. But by the late 1540s, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was working toward a standard liturgical practice, built around his Book of Common Prayer, that would finally replace the Sarum (English Latin) rite in 1559 with exclusively vernacular worship music. The reign of the Catholic "Bloody" Mary Tudor briefly interrupted this trajectory towards the vernacular with a militant resurgence of Catholic music in an older style; Tallis' Missa Puer natus and the motet Gaude gloriosa apparently date from this time. Stylistically, the church music of England over the second half of the century was yielding to the influence of the Continental imitative style, through the music of the transplanted Italian, Ferrabosco.
Through all these changes, Tallis appears to have retained a professional steadiness and respectability, making music and composing with grace and equanimity as his situation changed. His English-language settings range from simple treatments of the psalms to anthems (such as Hear the Voice and Prayer) to three complete settings of the Anglican Service; this music is commonly imbued with a somber and penitential mood. His Latin-texted pieces, whether following the stylish "modern" mode of pervasive imitation or not, demonstrate restraint and even tenderness. (One of the few exceptions, though, is his best-known work today, an over-the-top and still rather mysterious experiment in polychoral writing, the 40-voiced Spem in alium). Surprisingly little of Tallis' instrumental music survives, despite his over 50 years of professional organ playing. ~ Timothy Dickey, Rovi | <urn:uuid:c5895d04-de0f-4e1d-a18b-48acfdb8db8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pandora.com/tallis-scholars/tallis-scholars-sing-thomas-tallis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96142 | 648 | 3.078125 | 3 |
What if we found ourselves building something that nobody wanted? In that case what did it matter if we did it on time and on budget?
I've come to believe that learning is the essential unit of progress for startups.
If you cannot fail, you cannot learn.
Qualitative learning is a necessary companion to quantitative testing.
Pay no attention to the eight people behind the curtain.
When I could think of nothing else to do, I was finally ready to turn to the last resort: talking to customers.
That which optimizes one part of the system necessarily undermines the system as a whole.
Large batches tend to grow over time.
The paradoxical Toyota proverb "Stop production so production never had to stop."
We routinely asked new engineers to make a change to the production environment on their first day... They would ask, "What will happen to me if I accidentally disrupt or stop the production process?" ... We told new hires, "If our production process is so fragile that you can break it on your very first day of work, shame on us for making it so easy to do so." If they did manage to break it, we immediately would have them lead the effort to fix the problem as well as the effort to prevent the next person from repeating the mistake.
Switching to validated learning feels worse before it feels better... the problems caused by the old system tend to be intangible, whereas the problems of the new system are all too tangible. | <urn:uuid:7361c654-6236-4169-82df-a56d90e8d4bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jonjagger.blogspot.com/2012_10_14_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967659 | 298 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Halah Touryalai, Forbes Staff
I stalk Wall Street. Stopping short of phone hacking, of course.
As the world’s most powerful investment bank Goldman Sachs is no stranger to fighting all sorts of battles, but the city of Oakland, Cailf. is challenging the firm like no one ever has before.
The Oakland City Council voted unanimously (one member was absent) last week to end its relationship with investment banking giant, Goldman Sachs, if it did not terminate a costly financial agreement.
At the heart of the matter is a so-called interest rate swap deal that the city entered with Goldman back in 1997. In its most basic form an interest rate swap involves two counterparties; one party is concerned that the interest rate will go up and the other is worried it will go down. “To protect themselves the parties engage in a contract where, in effect, they cover each others’ risk,” explains Tony Cherin finance professor at SDSU.
In this case, Oakland wanted to protect against higher interest rates so it locked in a fixed rate of 5.6% that it would pay to Goldman. In exchange, Goldman would pay the city a variable rate tied to Libor.
Back when Oakland first entered the deal at 5.6% on $187 million in bonds it was deemed a safe bet because it shielded the city from a potential hike in future rates. It worked out well for the city until the financial crisis hit and interest rates hit rock bottom.
The deal backfired as interest rates have dropped to record levels near 0% in the aftermath of the financial crisis when the Fed pushed rates down. Meanwhile the city of Oakland is still stuck paying the 5.6% rate until 2021 when the contract expires while Goldman is in paying the city the now very low variable rate near zero.
The city says the deal, which was pitched as a way to save it money, is costing it $4 million annually. According to one group in favor of terminating the contract with Goldman Oakland will end up paying $20 million by 2021.
Last week Oakland’s city council voted 7-0 in favor of passing a resolution that authorizes the City Administrator to negotiate the termination of a swap agreement with Goldman. But it gets even more interesting because the City Council says if Goldman refuses to terminate the deal (and waive all the termination fees) then the city of Oakland will never do business with the bank again in any capacity. It goes as far as to say that a refusal by Goldman to terminate will force it to use all good faith efforts “including options proposed by the Stop Goldman Sachs Coalition”–a group with members affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Requests to the City Council for comment have yet to be replied to.
It’s unlikely Goldman will give in to those kinds of demands because for one thing no bank is willing to tear up a contract that has the potential to give it millions in payments. (And this is the vampire squid we’re talking about, after all.)
The matter was addressed by CEO Lloyd Blankfein during the bank’s annual meeting with shareholders on May 24 when an Oakland resident brought it up. The Oakland resident told Blankfein Oakland is already facing dire economic conditions with libraries closing and police officers being laid off adding that since Goldman received taxpayer bailout money in 2008 it should consider terminating the swap agreement in order to protect residents in Oakland. He also called it “an issue of morality.”
Blankfein did not agree with that particular sentiment. “No. I think it’s an interest of shareholder assets. The fact of the matter is we’re a bank,” he replied. He later said he would acknowledge the request.
Goldman’s refusal to agree to such terms (cancel the agreement and waive all fees) makes sense. It doesn’t appear that Oakland was lured into a deal with false promises of say, a guarantee that it would save money, for example. It appears to be an unfortunate case of buyer’s remorse on the part of not just Oaklandbut many municipalities that entered interest rate swap deals before the crisis and that are now paying up on bad bets on the movement of interest rates. | <urn:uuid:7285ae09-14c9-4764-af13-5c9ec6945f0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2012/07/11/city-of-oakland-taps-occupy-wall-street-to-take-on-goldman-sachs/?feed=rss_search | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965018 | 877 | 1.59375 | 2 |
LOAN PROGRAMS - NO PMI OPTION
First, it is very important that you understand exactly what PMI is and what it does for you. PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance, which is required on virtually all conventional loans when your down payment is less than 20% of the appraisal value or the sale price. In these situations, PMI protects the lender in the event that you default on the loan. PMI charges vary depending on the size of the down payment and the loan, but they typically amount to about one-half of one percent of the loan, The monthly PMI premium is included in your monthly mortgage payment and not tax deductible. PMI must be carried with your home loan for at least one year before you can request its elimination. To eliminate your PMI, you must demonstrate that:
- Your loan balance is 80% or less of the current market value
- You have made all your mortgage payments in a timely manner for 12 consecutive months
Ways to Avoid PMI
One way to avoid PMi is paying more interest in the loan you borrowed. Some lenders will waive the mortgage insurance requirement if the buyer accepts a higher interest rate on the mortgage loan. The rate increases generally range from .75 percent to 1 percent, depending on the down payment. The advantage is that mortgage interest is tax deductible.
At Lending Century we work on a smart way for you. We provide financing options that eliminate the need for PMI when your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price. We accomplish this by providing you with two loans with the following format.
- A first mortgage for up to 80% loan-to-value (determined by a property appraisal or purchase price of the home, whichever is lower).
- A second mortgage to cover the remaining balance. The second mortgage has a higher interest rate but since it applies to less than 20% of the total loan, the monthly payments on the two mortgages are still lower than paying one mortgage with mortgage insurance. Plus, again, there is the advantage of mortgage interest being tax deductible.
Here is an example on how No PMI option might benefits you:
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Not the program you are looking for? Don’t forget to check out our other options.
| Here are the some of our program highlights:
- Stated Income/No Documentation (Perfect for self-employed individuals or borrowers who may have difficulties documenting income via traditional methods: 2 years of tax returns, pay stubs, and W2 forms)
- 1st time home buyers
- 2nd homes or vacation homes
- Investment properties
- 1-4 unit properties
- Less than perfect credit
- Interest only option | <urn:uuid:2a63b702-9461-494e-93be-c7ee3ed25ea9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lendingcentury.com/(S(dgkrfkqv3mxce355rbhgyun3))/purchase.aspx?id=32&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949307 | 641 | 1.539063 | 2 |
EN-Genius Network's Dennis Feucht answers your design
queries in his new Circuit Design Clinic!
EN-Genius Network presents a new, interactive
analog design service to readers! Send us your design questions (with
relevant data; schematics in JPEG or GIF, please) for some free
engineering advice from EN-Genius Network's circuit
consultant, Dennis Feucht, on how you might solve a design problem or
improve circuit performance. Submissions may be edited for clarity or
brevity, and submitters and their email addresses will remain anonymous
(unless otherwise indicated). Please send your questions to Dennis here.
Power Electronics and Motor Drives: Advances and Trends
Bimal Bose is a prominent researcher in power electronics, mainly associated with high-power motor-drive systems. This book shows the maturity of a leader in the field in that he combines power conversion with motor control in one intertwined presentation. It is not an introductory book on the subject and is optimal for those who already have some grounding in the principles of power conversion, electric machines, and their control. It is oriented toward high-power techniques and applications, though much of it applies at any power.
The book is written in a novel format. When you are searching through a technical book for a topic you need to find out about, do you focus on the text or the illustrations? I suspect most of us look at the graphics. Yet books are written with graphics as support material for the text. Why not swap the priorities and let the illustrations drive the text instead? This storyboard format is used by Bose. Each illustration starts a page and is explained by the underlying text, which can flow onto the next page.
The book opens by explaining power semiconductor devices, then moves into phase converters and cycloconverters. Following this are voltage- and current-input converters and PWM techniques, after which a few chapters cover electric machines (mainly induction and synchronous motors), simulation, and digital control. The rest of the book applies advanced methods of control such as fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks to motor control. He gives some specific examples.
In its many pages the book presents much content, mostly in the form of system-level block diagrams. There are equations here and there, but very little derivation of them. The author assumes them from more basic books. There are also not many circuit diagrams having any detail -- mainly circuits in simplified form to express an idea.
Bose does a good job of conveying the basic ideas behind otherwise complicated concepts. In particular, he explains (mainly graphically) some of the newer forms of PWM control, including multilevel PWM and "space vector modulation," which he considers one of the larger breakthroughs and one of the latest in the field.
The advanced control methods applied to power electronics are particularly interesting. The use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) included examples of fuzzy logic and ANN application to motor drives. Other control methods such as adaptive control appear, making this a good book for control theorists to also delve into.
For those interested in alternative energy, wind generation makes an appearance, with some rather insightful explanation on wind turbines from a power electronics (instead of aerodynamic) viewpoint, including control schemes. Electric vehicles are discussed at some length, with an excellent coverage of the relative merits of hybrid vehicles.
Additionally, what the best kind of motor for electric vehicles is includes a personal note recounting Bose's days at GE Research in Schenectady, NY, from whence essentially all the motor experts of Bose's generation came, including my motor mentor, Allan B. Plunkett of AC Drives Technology, Sherwood, OR, Tom Lipo at the U of WI, Madison, a prolific contributor to advancement of the motor art, and Paul C Krause of Purdue U, who completed the theory of electric machines in the mid-1980s and wrote, Analysis of Electric Machinery, originally published by McGraw-Hill in 1986 (ISBN 0-07-035436-7), now available reprinted in paperback from the Armory Bookstore, Purdue U, 1511 Armory Bldg., Room B1, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1511 (ISBN 0-931682-38-X) for USD $33, payable to Purdue University. To me Krause's book is the most rigorous and elegant textbook on electric machines (with some deference to Enrico Levi of Brooklyn Tech and his and Marvin Panzer's Electromechanical Power Conversion, Second Edition, Dover # 0-486-60592-2, 1966) though Bose, Lipo, and another eloquent UWM motor professor, Donald Novotny (from the last I spoke with him), would disagree about the presentation of vector theory instead of the steady-state phasor theory to undergraduate students. Krause's book would make a good complement to Bose's because both tend to use the same generic GE motor notation and talk about motors and drives in a GE way.
Bose's book would be useful to anyone doing motor-drive design, especially for applications over 10 kW. | <urn:uuid:3720a09e-857e-48f3-8319-50e6faee7e2c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.en-genius.net/site/zones/designDEN/Columns+%26+Book+Reviews/book1218 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935287 | 1,067 | 1.625 | 2 |
Symphony No. 4 : Work information
- Gustav Mahler ( Music, Images,)
- Performed by
- Leonard Bernstein (Performer), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), Reri Grist (Soprano), Reri Grist (Performer), John Mcclure (Producer), New York Philharmonic (Performer)
- Work name
- Symphony No. 4
- Work number
- 1900-01-01 02:00:00
- SONY CLASSICAL
- Recording date
Known more during his lifetime for his conducting than for his composition, Austrian composer Gustav Mahler once referred to himself as a thrice-homeless man: a Bohemian among Austrians, an Austrian among Germans and a Jew among the people of the whole world. As the bridge between the Austro-Germanic traditions and early modernism, though, he can be regarded as one of the most important figures in Western art music of the 20th century.
Born in Kalsicht, Bohemia on 7 May 1860, Mahler's early years were spent in the German-speaking Jewish community of Iglau. Celebrated as a local wunderkind, he was accepted into the Vienna Conservatory as a pianist in 1875. However, he soon turned to composition as his primary focus for study, developing an early enthusiasm for Wagner and Bruckner.
In his final student years, Mahler began the activity that would dominate the rest of his career and provide his income, conducting. His early conducting posts included spells at Kassel, Prague, and Lepzig, as a colleague of Artur Nikish.
Resigning from Leipzig, Mahler next took up a position at the Royal Hungarian Opera in Budapest. His life here was stressful, mostly as a result of the nationalist tensions generated by Germanophile Magyars, and composition therefore became difficult.
A significant move to the nationalist right made Mahler's position as a representative of Austro-Germanic art untenable and in March 1891 he left Budapest to become chief conductor of the Hamburg Stadttheater. Here he raised standards to new heights, though his insensitive handling of people led to a number of arguments; on one occasion Mahler had to be escorted home by the police to protect him from an angry mob led by a snubbed flautist.
In 1893 Mahler established a pattern of returning to Austria in the summer to compose while maintaing his conducting duties throughout the rest of the year. In 1894, he succeeded Hans von Bülow as director of the Hamburg subscription concerts, a task that seemed to offer him more flexibility as a conductor than his opera position.
By 8 September 1897 he had risen to the top of his profession as director of the Vienna Hofoper, though he had to convert to Roman Catholicism to be considered for the post. A decade of memorable opera productions followed, marred only by Mahler's irascible relationship with his performers. He also conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in a series of subscription concerts until the work-load became impossibly heavy.
In November 1901, having spent the summer at a new villa on the Wörthensee, Mahler met Alma Schindler, a composition student 20 years his junior. After a brief courtship, they were married in March 1902 on the condition that Alma renounce her own compositional ambitions, a sacrifice that soon led to marital disharmony.
By now, Mahler was devoting less time to his official duties, and in 1907, after the death of his daughter, Maria, he took up a position with the New York Metropolitan Opera. Returning to Europe each summer, Mahler spent his seasons in New York from 1909 with the New York Philharmonic, conducting eclectic programmes of modern works.
However, tensions soon developed with the orchestra and in February 1911 Mahler, already suffering from a heart defect, was diagnosed with bacterial endocarditis. He returned to Vienna where he died on 18 May.
Mahler's work, banned by the Nazis in the 1930s, was largely forgotten until 1960, his centenary year. His symphonies became some of the most popular concert works of the 1970s and, along with his songs, have become firmly established in the repertoire.
- Bedächtig nicht eilen 5:41 min
- 1b. Tempo I 4:38 min
- 1c. Wieder wie zu Anfang. Sehr gemächlich, behaglich 2:17 min
- 1d. Wieder plötzlich langsam und bedächtig 4:14 min
- 2a. Movement II. In gemächlicher Bewegung. Ohne Hast 4:38 min
- 2b. Nicht eilen 4:28 min
- 3a. Ruhevoll 4:28 min
- 3b. Viel langsamer 3:45 min
- 3c. Anmutig bewegt 5:10 min
- 3d. Andante 4:07 min
- 3e. Vorwärts. Poco più mosso 3:01 min
- 4a. Movement IV. Sehr behaglich 3:02 min
- 4b. Wieder lebhaft 1:43 min
- 4c. Tempo I. Sehr zart und geheimnisvoll bis zum Schluss 3:48 min
At once Mahler's return to traditional symphonic writing and his most sophisticated extra-musical programme, the Fourth Symphony is also a popular and lyrical work. Composition began during the summer of 1899 at Aussee in the Styrian Salzkammergut and continued the following year at Maiernigg on the Worthesee in Corinthia.
The programme of the Symphony is clear. With its tonal centre moving from G to E major, its use of the Das himmlische Leben text (the heavenly life) from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and an increasing simplicity of texture, it describes a journey from earthly experience to heavenly innocence.
The complex wind-dominated textures of the sonata-form first movement are followed by a delicate, dance-like movement complete with a Viennese waltz. The opening of the Ruhewoll anticipates the string texture of the 5th Symphony's Adagietto and demonstrates how far along the Symphony's journey we are. Heavenly innocence is finally achieved in the child-like Sehr Behaglich and the work ends serenely.
The work had its first performance in Munich on 25 November 1901, shortly after Mahler had met and fallen in love with his future wife, Alma Schindler. | <urn:uuid:540d4f72-2a02-4dd4-a823-9514327313b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.classical.com/listen/player4/index.php?token=7RCiGOZiiZO~h$0Wr0RdiO3MiO26ZVdV92H&inline=1&type=mini | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954135 | 1,405 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Event Kicks off Public Education Campaign to Protect Affordable Care Act
WASHINGTON, DC – On the National Day of Service, doctors and medical students gathered in DC to educate the public about how important the Affordable Care Act is for the country. The day kicked off Doctors for America’s One Million Campaign. Throughout 2012, doctors and medical students will protect the Affordable Care Act by educating people about the facts and pushing back against misinformation and confusion.
The day began with 30 physicians and medical students who gathered to learn the facts of the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Zeke Emanuel – one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act – then led a white coat jog on the National Mall, where they educated the public about health reform facts.
- Doctors in many states, including Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Louisiana, and Georgia, went to local Martin Luther King Jr. Day events and handed out fliers on health reform facts.
- Doctors in California, Georgia, Ohio, and other places are working with local community organizations to educate the public through community forums.
- Doctors for America is launching an online campaign – collecting stories of the ways the Affordable Care Act is helping or will help physicians, their patients, and their communities. | <urn:uuid:a5cf212a-b1e9-4f21-ae9a-92845f945ec4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drsforamerica.org/press-releases/doctors-take-to-the-national-mall-for-health-reform | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944638 | 247 | 2.15625 | 2 |
When we took our grandchildren to the apple orchard it reminded me of my favorite way to introduce the idea of sequencing to my Kindergartners. I usually began by introducing the idea of the beginning, middle and end of a story. I began by showing pictures similar to these.
I told the children that I had a story to tell them, and I put the three pictures in a pocket chart or on the floor in front of the children in a mixed up order.
Then I said “I ate up my whole apple, then I ate the first bite and then I picked the apple off of the tree!”
Of course I used a fun tone of voice, that invited the children to correct me – and they always interrupted and said that it was not right. I asked what was wrong and called on a few children. Sometimes they said you have to pick the apple first, sometimes they actually said something about being in the wrong order.
So I would say “Oh, I get it! I picked the apple off the tree, then I ate it all up, then I had the first bite.”
They would correct me again and finally I would retell the story in the right order. I would try to get someone to tell me that the story did not make sense when I told it out of order – if they didn’t say that I would tell them that it did not make sense.
Then I would retell it again, adding the terms, beginning, middle and end – saying “at the beginning of my story I picked an apple off the tree. Then in the middle I took the first bite. At the end of my story I ate it all up.”
Then I would tell them that most stories are like that – they have a beginning and a middle and an ending. I would tell them that we were going to read a story and I wanted them to tell me what happened in the book at the beginning, middle and end. I usually did this the first time using a familiar story, often a fairy tale like the 3 Bears or Little Red Ridinghood.
After using my apple story it was easy for the children to identify beginning, middle and end with clipart of the apple. Sometimes I had them draw a simple picture of each part of the story.
If my children were ready to draw and/or write more I might give them a folded booklet.
I would run these back to back, adding a title to the front, then fold them to make a booklet 5 1/2 x 8 inches.
If you would like to use this idea for sequencing a story, but not just the beginning, middle and end you could add an apple tree. My story would be something like this:
One day I saw a beautiful apple tree. I picked a delicious looking apple. I took a bite out of the apple. I ate the whole apple and just left the core.
Of course I would mix it up and tell it in the wrong order first.
Here’s another choice if you want longer lines for the children to write on:
I would cut these in half and collate the pages to make horizontal books.
I always found that I needed to explain to the children that there are lots of events that happen in a story. There is usually one beginning and one ending, but lots of things in the middle. They could choose one or two things that happen in the middle of the story.
After introducing the idea of beginning, middle and end, I would usually teach a lesson about events of a story. I used a footprint to symbolize the idea of the events. You could actually draw a simple picture or clipart on each foot and the children could lay them out in the right order. It is fun to let them walk along telling the events – taking a step for each one. Instead of clipart I usually just cut out footprints from construction paper.
You would probably want to enlarge this footprint on a copy machine – or find your own. This one got blurry when I tried to make it bigger.
Choosing the right story to teach sequencing is important because there are a lot of stories that the correct order is not really important. For example, Brown Bear, Brown Bear – there are a lot of characters but they seem to be in random order. You might use a story like that just to teach the idea that a story can have a lot of events. If you are asking them to remember the correct order, try to find a story that makes the sequence easier to remember. In The Napping House the characters get smaller through the story – the Granny, the child, the dog, the cat, the mouse etc. I always pointed this out to the kids as we read and reread the story. In The Mitten – the characters get larger until the last animal. In the Three Bears – the bears went for a walk, Goldilocks came into their house, the bears came home and found her – she ran away.
When I wanted the children to remember the sequence of a story I always read it more than once, and often acted it out or used flannelboard pictures, puppets or magnetic pictures to retell it as a group. Sometimes I just photocopied important pictures from the book itself. You can call on children to come up and sequence the pictures in the right order. When you reread a book many times it helps all children to be successful. | <urn:uuid:fea230e7-ac49-44fe-95e0-2f8dccaf0f33> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dbsenk.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/sequencing-stories/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975119 | 1,120 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Essential Readings on Motivation
Jacquelynn A. Malloy, Barbara A. Marinak, and Linda B. Gambrell, editors
Walk into a classroom of motivated learners, and you feel a special energy. Students are collaborating on projects, discussing their ideas, and sitting engrossed in reading and writing. They are on the road to powerful learning — and increased achievement.
We all want to work in classrooms of engaged learners. But how do we motivate all our students to develop their literate potentials?
With this collection, leading educators Jacquelynn Malloy, Barbara Marinak, and Linda Gambrell showcase outstanding articles designed to support teachers as they motivate students to reach new levels of literacy. They demonstrate how the often-neglected element of motivation is essential to students’ growth and participation within a learning community of literate souls.
Engagement Activities included with each article will inspire teachers’ own professional growth related to study and discussion of the readings. These activities and suggestions for further reading make the collection ideal for personal professional development or use in school-based learning communities and teacher education classrooms.
© 2010 | 184 pp.
ISBN 13: 978-0-87207-810-9 | <urn:uuid:26218b6f-5a7a-47a8-87dd-2128d8e22cd6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reading.org/General/Publications/Books/bk810.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928965 | 250 | 3.578125 | 4 |
- Bargaineering - http://www.bargaineering.com/articles -
What is the Wealth Effect?
Posted By Jim On 04/21/2010 @ 7:15 am In Personal Finance | 17 Comments
Have you ever heard of the wealth effect? Basically, it’s the idea that you will spend more because you feel richer. You feel richer because you think home prices are up or because your stock portfolio has increased in value. Economists like to talk about the wealth effect whenever they look at consumer confidence and consumer spending numbers, because those are economic figures. It’s a term that really becomes very popular when the stock market goes up, as it has in recent months. People see their portfolios, with all that unrealized gain, and feel richer. It was a popular topic in the dot com boom and the subsequent housing boom. You see home prices go up and you feel richer.
The problem is that you aren’t actually richer. Unrealized stock market gains are unrealized. Home equity is imaginary value stored in the walls of your home. The wealth effect may give you the confidence to spend more but it doesn’t give you the money to spend more. Your gains are still locked in their investments but you’re spending money like you’ve actually locked in those gains.
The net effect? You are more likely to borrow more on credit because you feel like you can pay it back with the money you’ve “earned.” The wealth isn’t tangible and, more importantly, can evaporate just as easily as it appeared. Home values can fall, stock markets can sink, but that credit card and home equity line of credit debt… those things stick around and demand payment each month.
The easiest way to avoid the wealth effect is to ignore the hype. While it’s great to see your stock portfolio jump in value, remember that you haven’t actually pocketed any extra money. If it’s a retirement account, remember that you can’t cash it in until you retire. It’s OK to get excited but don’t do anything that increases your financial burden.
Do you believe in the wealth effect? How do you counter it? How do you take advantage of it?
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Most of the netiquette rules you'll find in this book apply to most areas
of cyberspace. Nevertheless, remember that cyberspace is composed of
various network domains and services, each with its own character and
rules. Currently, cyberspace can be divided into two major domains: the
Internet and the commercial online services.
Many people have heard of the Internet, but confusion about what it
actually is remains. There is a technical definition:
- The Internet is a network of networks all running the TCP/IP protocol
suite, connected through gateways, and sharing common name and address spaces. (Endnote #6)
Don't worry about the "TCP/IP protocol suite" and the rest of the jargon. The key here is the concept of "network of networks." The Internet is not a service per se, like CompuServe or cable TV. Started by the
U.S. military in the 1960s, it's evolved into a cooperative arrangement
among thousands of university, government, and corporate networks
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Index ... Netiquette Home
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The comment about small ground straps from the body to the engine block is a valid point. If you connect the negative cable to the engine block - not the frame - you will be fine. Making a good electrical contact with a jumper cable clamp and a rusted or painted part of a steel engine block may be difficult so you may have to choose the connection point carefully. Providing an adequate ground on moving equipment has proven to be a diffuclt challenge to meet. Imagine the static that used to build-up on cars in the 50's. Eventually methods were developed to allow the static charge to bleed-off, but before then, passing a bill to a toll attendant could cause some fairly dramatic shocks.
Instructions for jump-starting vehicles typically recommend that the last jumper cable connection be made to the chassis of the vehicle, rather than to the battery itself. This is supposed to prevent a spark near the battery vents where hydrogen gas could ignite. This is not bad advice to prevent a hydrogen explosion, but there is generally very little risk of an explosion (safety conscious people: bash me now).
If the dead/low battery is no longer capable of sourcing enough current to crank the engine after a few minutes of charging, then a different kind of fire hazard is created by following the "safe" instructions. The heavy-gauge negative cable from the battery typically connects to the engine block, because the starter usually draws more current than any other electrical device in most (production, non-electric, non-hybrid) cars and trucks. There is usually a lighter-gauge strap from the engine to body/chassis. If you connect the jumper cable to the chassis, and the cranking current must flow through the jumper cable, that is, if it is not sourced by the dead/low battery, then cranking current flows through the strap.
In this situation, the strap gets very hot, very quickly. I witnessed a not-so-helpful tow-truck driver try to jump start my truck and the procedure melted the ground strap and started a small fire.
One reason this doesn't happen more often is that the jumper cables most people own are of small wire gauge, so there is significant voltage drop across the cable during cranking.
Does anyone know of a safe, non-destructive procedure for jump starting???
I just love it when customers or end users make changes, without understanding the logic of what they have changed, and then blame the designer for producing a defective part. This problem runs across the full spectrum and is not confined to weak minded people. If two is good, why three must be better. I am sure this vehicle would perform better with a different tire size. Etc, etc.
Great job of trouble shooting and you did not lose a customer, you solved a problem yet to come.
Wit our sensors, which detected shock waves traveling in the metal, I found that every installation needed to either pick up the substrate that the sensor was mounted on, or else have a very thin insulkated shield bonded to the substrate, with the sensor then bonded to the shield. This avoided there ever being more than a few volts between the sensor and the conductive surface that it was mounted on. That might be a problem for strain gauges, I have not studied it. Possibly a rigid enoug epoxy would work.
Good point William, in practice the load cells were never attached to the shield because of problems with ground loops. Some of the load cells were trailer hitches or physical links between the wagon body and wagon frame. Tail lights, alarm horns and other accessories would wreak havoc with the signal if the shields were terminated.
This is an interesting example of one of the problems that will pop up when the efforts to keep low level signals in the low level realm are inadequate. I can understand that it was cheaper to simply glue the strain gauge to the axle, but the shiels of the cable should have been connected to that axle, or another conductor, if not the shield. MY reasoning is that aside from the voltage build up, the conductive axle is a good candidate to pick up a lot of noise and couple it to the strain guage. I learned all about the coupling of undesired signals while working with a non-strain-gage pickup as part of a product development project. Compensating cor the mount material potential is vital.
The two solution options would have been to either ground the axle to the input circuit, or to float the input circuit from all other potentials, but that would be difficult and expensive.
I remember that story, Jenn. I liked it for two reasons. First, it was a clever solution. Second, instead of coming up with some costly, convulted solution, they simply stopped testing their phones when a frieght train would pass.
On the subject of ground straps, I've seen missing ground straps on motor vehicles, and what often happens is the cranking current for the starter motor will go through the next best conductor, often the driveshaft U-Joints, fries them pretty well.
Hi Chip--great story. It is always challenging supporting customers in the field. You were lucky to get the parts back.
Once I was involved with design, production, and then support of an antenna module for commercial telematics. It consisted of an amplified GPS patch antenna integrated to a cellular omnidirectional antenna printed on an FR4 PCB. There was a long cable pigtail to allow the installer to locate the antenna in a good but hidden place in vehicles. Most often, it was placed under the dash on top of wire bundles or air ducts etc.
Two support challenges were memorable. I don't need to give all the details, just the solutions. Case 1: "We recommend you do not locate the antenna inside the glove box as the antenna won't perform well inside of a metal enclosure". Case 2: We added a label "This Side Up" to ensure the GPS patch was facing the sky, not the ground.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
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 | <urn:uuid:e232b60a-52ae-4494-87d2-7435aa40754f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.designnews.com/messages.asp?piddl_msgthreadid=262088&piddl_msgid=917170 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961218 | 1,457 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Unlike other forms of art, graphic design is not just about taking paper and pen and letting the work flow.
Graphic designers have to help viewers get the message and help sell a service or product.
Creating a design for a client with little or no strategy just doesn’t work. Unlike traditional art, graphic design has to convey a very narrow message.
Developing a system for the graphic design process can help the designer achieve the best results.
Systematizing any sort of project, whether graphic design, web design, programming or otherwise, gets the work done faster, keeps the project organized and yields better results.
Here is a simple six-step graphic design process, which you may want to take wholesale or build on.
1. Collect the Necessary Information
You might be tempted to jump right in and start designing, but collect the necessary information first. For most graphic designers, this information will come from the client. Even for your own projects, though, assembling the necessary information first is essential.
Most clients will probably contact a graphic designer in this kind of way:
I need a poster made for my new product X, [followed by project description]. We will be displaying them in location A and location B, and we need a talented graphic designer to make a poster that “sells.”
The client would likely go on to ask for a quote and provide contact information. All is well from the client’s perspective, but you, the graphic designer, really have nothing to go on still.
Some clients might leave you with more information, and some less. However much you get, though, will usually not be enough. Before providing an estimate and starting the project, make sure the following information is spelled out:
The Target Audience
You might be able to get a good idea of the target audience from the line, “We will be displaying them in location A and location B,” but asking the client explicitly for this information will better define the target audience for you.
Just because the posters will be put on college campuses, for example, we shouldn’t assume that the target audience will be college students in general. Does the client have a certain group or sub-population in mind? Design students? Engineering students? Faculty and staff?
Information about the target audience should include age range, geographic location, interests and needs.
Learn What the Exact Message Is
For product advertisements, “Buy Me!” obviously isn’t going to cut it. Ask the client how the product, service or message should be conveyed. Does the product need the high-end treatment, or a more personal feel?
Every kind of graphic design—logos, posters, t-shirts, etc.—needs a message. Get this out of the client before moving forward.
If it’s a poster, what are the dimensions, exact colors and number of copies needed. Would the client like to include any other elements in the design? If it’s a logo, have any colors or branding already been established? Does the client already have ideas for it? If it’s apparel, what dimensions, colors and templates are required?
With any graphic design, you have to ascertain certain fundamentals before getting started.
Forgetting something important could mean your having to redo a large part of the project… and earning less money than you had originally figured. Make sure to research and discuss all of these details before beginning the design phase.
Budget and Deadlines
You will also have to discuss the budget, deadlines and other business-related details that will go in your design proposal (discussed below). For one thing, this will weed out any misdirected clients right away: clients whose deadlines are too tight or whose budgets are ridiculously low.
Be sure to share with the client your pricing structure and reasonable deadlines, and ask if they have any other requirements to discuss. You can add a firm quote and specific deadlines to the proposal later.
To systematize this initial communication with the client, use a pre-set questionnaire. This should cover most of the bases and keep you from forgetting anything important.
You can always customize the questionnaire to the project. The point is that the questionnaire is supposed to save you from having to rethink all of the basic questions for each client.
It might also help to get the client involved in some sort of collaboration tool, such as BaseCamp or Google Docs. Sharing and discussing questionnaires can be much easier without email, and it can set a good precedent for managing the rest of the project.
2. Write Out a Proposal, Firm Quote, Contract and Plan
You have a lot of ground to cover at this stage, but it doesn’t have to be a lot of work if most of it is systematized. All of these things (quote, proposal, contract and even the outline or plan) can come from templates that are slightly customized to the job. Systematization can take care of this portion of the project quickly and painlessly.
If you don’t already have a system in place, you’ll have to create these documents as soon as possible. This will take quite a bit of work up front but will make your life much easier down the road.
If you are employed by a company, you may already have access to some of these templates already. Freelancers, though, will have to start on their own.
Create templates for all of these documents, perhaps even basing them on templates that you find on the web. The ideal template would require you merely to fill in the client’s name and contact information.
The proposal is different because it will have to be customized for each client and project. Simply filling in the client’s name won’t work here.
A graphic design proposal should tell the client what the process will be, the final deadline and budget information. It should also formalize the information from the questionnaire: target audience, objective, etc. It is the overall plan for the project.
Templates will save time here, too, if section headings and routine bits are pre-written. Just add the content to the proposal and you’re done.
A Personal Plan
Your personal plan will contain much of the proposal but will be adapted to meet your needs.
For example, while the proposal might state a certain date as being the deadline for the initial mock-up, your personal plan would include deadlines for certain milestones that you need to reach in order to meet the deadline in the proposal. This could include days for brainstorming, implementing the initial design and finalizing and organizing.
You can use a template again, as long as you customize it for each project. The template is where you systematize the processes that work best for you.
Think about the regular tasks that you do for every project, and systematize them to make them more efficient. Write out a step-by-step process that is organized and easy to follow. You’ll save time and minimize the chance of forgetting something.
3. Brainstorm, Research and Inspiration
Many designers find that going straight to work after all the business details are taken care of doesn’t yield the best results.
Rather, you might want to take time to find inspiration, research similar or competing designs and brainstorm freely.
Without this part of the graphic design process, the designer may find himself continually starting over, or revising the same parts of the design, or just being inefficient. By taking the time to get inspired and organize our thoughts, you will actually work faster in the long run.
Inspiration is the first step and leads to the brainstorming and research. Below are some great ways to find inspiration:
- Read a book
Many designers look to other graphic design or art for inspiration. One of my favorite ways to find it, though, is just by reading a book. Focusing on words alone makes your imagination do the work, and then you can transfer that creativity into your work.
- Visit a museum
This is a more visual approach to inspiration, and a fun one. But it doesn’t have to be an art museum. I find that going to any museum can bring me inspiration and help me unwind.
- Free-write (yes, write)
Like reading a book, writing can trigger the imagination in a way that the visual arts can’t. Many writers find inspiration by free-writing, which is writing without thinking, analyzing or planning. It is a great way to get your ideas down on paper and then build on them.
Unwind, take a walk, get out, have some fun. Not thinking about work is a great way to stop those old ways of thinking that were getting you nowhere. It can open your mind and help you discover new things. Once you’ve unwound, you can go back into design mode and bring your new ideas with you.
Brainstorming is the process of taking inspiration and organizing it in a form that can be incorporated in a design. Ideas, styles and elements that you’d like to include in the design are all a part of the process, even if they are still a bit rough.
Sketch some layouts, experiment with color schemes and typography, and try out different ways to present graphics. Sketching is a part of this phase, as is testing one’s creativity to the limit. This is when the general idea for the design comes into focus.
This is when you research the final idea and how to make it happen. I like to collect examples of elements from other projects and see what works best. You could also look up tutorials on effects that the design calls for. This is a great way to try something new and get the perfect look.
Collect resources and learn a few new things. Then you should be ready to create a draft for the client.
4. Try Different Things
Having collecting resources and researched styles, you’ve probably come upon new ideas. Try a few different things, using your original goal as your reference point. Don’t just jump in, create something and leave it at that. Not only will you learn something new, you will also have a few other ideas to show the client if they want to see variations.
5. The Revision Phase
Many designers don’t appreciate the revision phase, especially if they feel a client has poor taste and wants to ruin the design they have worked so hard on. Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be so painful.
Share with the client your initial design or, as many graphic designers like to do, multiple options for designs. Make sure the client feels free to share what they would like changed or to mix and match features from the different options you present.
It can be difficult to understand clients who don’t know what it is they don’t like about a particular design but just want “something different.”
Keep showcases and examples for inspiration on hand for the client. So, if the client doesn’t like a font that you used for the logo, share a logo design showcase with them. Ask them to choose a few that they like, to get a better feel for their style; that might be easier than getting someone who has no background in design to explain what they mean.
This part of the graphic design process requires the most attention and is the hardest to systematize, but keeping such resources on hand can help. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and collaborate with the client when they are being vague. Taking the time to tease out their thoughts is quicker than making revisions that they might not like anyway.
In systematizing any process, the tips we’ve shared can help. But you should also identify the tasks that you do regularly and figure out how to make them more efficient.
Don’t let the process we’ve outlined stop you from asking yourself what is unique about your way of working.
With a system, the correct tools and better overall organization, taking on more clients and getting projects done faster and with better results is possible.
Businesses have to take advantage of the opportunities that systematization holds.
Written exclusively for Webdesigner Depot by Kayla Knight.
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Despite the internet being relatively new technology, your attachment to the web is genetic. According to a study conducted at the University of Bonn, researchers have found a biological link between Internet addiction and smoking addiction, pinpointing it to a specific gene—and it's usually found in women.
For the study, researchers interviewed 800 people about their internet habits, and how they felt if that access was denied to them. Of those, 132 people seemed most addicted, so their genetic makeup was compared to those of an Internet "healthy" control group. They found that many of the Internet addicts had the same genetic variant as nicotine addicts.
Dr. Christian Montag, said that subjects in the study who exhibited "problematic internet behavior" tended to be women and that "the sex-specific genetic finding may result from a specific subgroup of internet dependency, such as the use of social networks" like Facebook and Twitter. So all those pictures of people's meals and status updates about how they're at the gym or how much they love their moms? They're not merely unimportant, annoying details about someone's boring life—they're a symptom of a larger problem (that still mostly just clogs up your feed).
Image via pzAxe/Shutterstock | <urn:uuid:9154329a-afef-406e-8f94-f65c963d82bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jezebel.com/5939540/women-are-genetically-predisposed-to-internet-addiction-so-its-not-your-fault-that-you-cant-stop-stalking-your-ex-on-facebook-or-whatever | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968064 | 254 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Crestline Heights Shopping Center
The Crestline Heights Shopping Center is a 102 x 145-foot retail strip completed in October 1947 on Church Street in Mountain Brook's Crestline Village. It was developed by John Strange, designed by Pembleton & Mims architects and constructed by Curtis Hooks for $125,000, including land. The center's original tenants included an A&P Super Market, Savage's Bakery, a pharmacy and a beauty salon.
A "New Crestline Heights Shopping Center" was added, adjacent to the Mountain Brook City Hall on Oak Street in 1955. The 192-foot strip was designed for seven retail tenants, including a beauty shop, dress shop, and children's apparel store. Each space featured 11-foot plate glass front windows, and acoustical tile ceilings with fluorescent strip lighting. The outside of the building was constructed of Roman-style brick. The developer was Joe Scotch of Scotch Real Estate and Insurance Co.
- "New Crestline Heights Shopping Center" (August 1947) Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
- "New Crestline Hts. Shopping Center Slated For Completion This Week" (August 29, 1955) Birmingham Post-Herald - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections | <urn:uuid:6655e3cb-fa86-4542-84ff-391c9f1282e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bhamwiki.com/w/Crestline_Heights_Shopping_Center | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921542 | 252 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Next year the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup calendar will undergo a facelift: the disappearance of four-cross and the official introduction of the cross-country eliminator (XCE) aim to keep the mountain bike discipline abreast of current trends.
However, the UCIâs Manager of Off-Road Disciplines, Peter Van den Abeele, stresses that the withdrawal of four-cross from the World Cup in no way rings the death toll of this spectacular format.
âFour-cross has been an important part of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series for many years,â says Peter Van den Abeele. âSince its introduction, it has been highly appreciated both by riders and spectators. The UCI supports four-cross and sincerely hopes that organisers will continue to register their four-cross events on the UCI international calendar.â
He confirmed that the withdrawal of four-cross related only to the World Cup. The format will remain for the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Leogang, and registrations for four-cross races are still being accepted for the UCI international calendar. Peter Van den Abeele adds that the UCI is open to working with any organiser looking to host a UCI registered four-cross event during a World Cup weekend.
âWith enough advance notice, we can work together to ensure that, where possible, timetables and services complement each other for the benefit of the sport.â
So why will we no longer see four-cross at the World Cup?
âFour-cross has proved more successful in some regions than others. This fact, coupled with the high financial costs and the environmental issues associated with the building of four-cross courses has led the UCI to make this decision. Four-cross competitions remain viable in a few World Cup venues but the lack of interest in others does not warrant continuing with this format in the World Cup series.â
He added that the gravity events were an important part of the mountain bike discipline and would still be strongly represented in the World Cup by the ever-popular downhill competitions. One of the aims of the decision to withdraw four-cross was to nurture and develop the format in regions where it has a large following, without forcing it on regions where it generates little interest.
âAlthough there is low participation in four-cross events in the World Cup, the UCI is convinced that the development of more regional, national and other international events will benefit this exciting format,â said Peter Van den Abeele.
Meanwhile the increasing popularity of the cross-country eliminator format has led the UCI to officially integrate it into the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.
Introduced in Europe two years ago, this format, suited to Olympic cross-country (XCO) specialists, sees four competitors race each other over a lap of around 1km. World Cup test events held in Dalby Forest (GBR) and Nove Mesto na Morave (CZE) last season were very successful, and in 2012 the format will be part of the World Cup events in Houffalize (BEL) Nove Mesto na Morave and La Bresse (FRA).
2012 will also see the crowning of the first XCE World Champion: this new format is being introduced to the UCI World Championships, and will be raced the day after the XCO event.
Development of gravity endurance events
Another flourishing mountain bike format is that of gravity endurance, which UCI Gravity Endurance Coordinator Chris Ball is looking to develop within the UCI by working with existing âenduroâ events and riders.
His aim is to develop a discipline that will attract an increasing number of mountain bikers as it combines the physical endurance of cross-country riding with the technical difficulty and excitement of downhill racing.
The UCI invites organisers of current gravity enduro events to contact the UCI with a view to establishing a UCI Enduro Calendar from 2013. Enduro events can be in the form of multi-stage races, day races or mass start races.
UCI Communication Services | <urn:uuid:60b68850-2cfe-4403-843f-588f49e68158> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uci.ch/Modules/ENews/ENewsDetails.asp?id=NzY0NA&MenuId=MTI2Mjc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94056 | 838 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Q. If I pick up the phone and hear a telemarketer, do I have to listen? If I am too timid to tell her that I'm not interested, can I just hang up? And what about the salesperson herself - isn't she guilty of invading my privacy? AP
A. Your question illustrates that many of our everyday dilemmas are not really questions of ethics but rather of etiquette. There are many norms of considerate behavior that are not really ethical obligations, but we should still strive to fulfill them.
A telemarketer who tries to interest me in a savings plan, or a door-to-door salesperson who wants to sell me cosmetics or cleaning products has no particular right to my attention and resources. I don't have to stay on the phone, nor open the door.
Even so, remember that everyone has to make a living, and this includes salespeople. Ask yourself how you would want to be treated by prospects if you were in this line of work! You will probably conclude that if the salesperson and the product are not particularly offensive, the best course is to be polite, and say, "Thank you, but I'm not interested" before closing the receiver or the door. If you're not rushed for time, you might try and listen to the pitch for at least a few seconds so as not to discourage the caller.
A telemarketer is forbidden to call back after being told not to, so don't hesitate to hang up on someone who harasses you in this way. It goes without saying that there is nothing unmannerly about hanging up on a machine.
You should be aware that there are regulations that protect consumers against unwanted telemarketers. Many states in the US maintain lists of consumers who are not interested in telephone sales pitches, and it is forbidden for telemarketers to call them. The Federal Trade Commission has a telemarketing web page - www.ftc.gov/telemarketing - that includes a link to the FCT Telemarketing Sales Rule, giving principles which all telemarketers in the US must abide by.
Telemarketing harassment is just a new version of an age-old dilemma. The Sages of the Talmud discussed the problem of door-to-door salesmen. The Rabbis recognized that these peddlers provide a valuable service, by proffering unique goods and reaching consumers who find it hard to reach a store. On the other hand, such salesmen have an unfair advantage over local merchants, whose expenses are greater because they pay local taxes. Other passages show that the Rabbis recognized the peddler's potential for mischief. Jewish law, millennia prior to the FTC, regulates such selling so as to balance the benefits such salespeople bring and the danger they can cause.
SOURCES: Shulchan Arukh Choshen Mishpat 156:6.
Send your queries about ethics in the workplace to email@example.com
The Jewish Ethicist presents some general principles of Jewish law. For specific questions and direct application, please consult a qualified Rabbi.
The Jewish Ethicist is a joint project of Aish.com and the Center for Business Ethics, Jerusalem College of Technology. To find out more about business ethics and Jewish values for the workplace, visit the JCT Center for Business Ethics website at www.besr.org.
Copyright © JCT Center for Business Ethics. | <urn:uuid:e23cb9ac-079e-447a-84be-f4fb4cb6a619> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aish.com/ci/be/48880097.html?s=rab | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949366 | 703 | 1.539063 | 2 |
FRONT PAGE CONTRIBUTOR
HuffPo sets groundwork for impeaching Obama.
I know, I know: that wasn’t the intent. The intent was to flog the concept that a debt ceiling is itself unconstitutional as per the 14th Amendment, thus obviating forever the need for Democratic politicians to stop spending money that we don’t actually have. Here’s the text from the 14th:
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
…and it’s been argued – pretty much mostly by neo-Keynesian (and former conservative) Bruce Bartlett, which is something that the HuffPo author did not mention (can’t imagine why he’d think that actual conservatives would react badly to a Bartlett scheme) – that the text means that any attempt to enforce a real cap on indebtedness is thus unconstitutional, so there, neener neener. If you’re wondering, however, how you can make it unconstitutional to enforce a cap on indebtedness while not also conceding that it’s unconstitutional to incur that debt in the first place, well, I regret to tell you this: you are immediately disqualified from writing for HuffPo. Or writing fiscal policy for the Democratic party, apparently.
As you might have guessed, I look forward to the Democrats using this argument, for the following reasons:
- The Tea Party is not going to shut up because a Democrat screams “Unconstitutional!” at them. Partially because they can read the blessed thing themselves, and they’re going to notice that the 14th says nothing about requiring that debt be incurred*; and partially because the Tea Party has, collectively and individually, rather more brains than Democrats give them credit for having.
- People are “divided on whether the debt limit should be raised, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that found 41 percent opposed to the idea and 38 percent in favor.” Let me translate that out of AP-ese: the Democrats will start this discussion trying to convince the American people that the plurality opinion on this issue is unconstitutional. That in itself is not an insurmountable problem, but it is complicated by the detail that ‘Do not raise the debt ceiling’ is semantically equivalent to ‘Stop spending money that we don’t have, you idiots.’
- Remember Obamacare? Remember how unpopular it was? Remember how unpopular it kept being, no matter how hard the Democrats tried to move the needle? Remember how the Democrats ignored popular opinion on that, and passed it anyway by cheating? And remember when there were sixty Democrats in the Senate, and two hundred and fifty-nine in the House? All of those questions are related.
But. If the Democrats want to take a position on the debt ceiling which puts the members of the Executive Branch by the Democrats’ own interpretation of the language of the Constitution in danger of violating Article II, Section 4:
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
…and I think that deliberately choosing to violate the Constitution – again, by the Democrats’ own interpretation – qualifies. Although it’s more about what the House leadership would think, of course; …anyway, if the Democrats want to give us this gift, who am I to prevent them?
Moe Lane (crosspost) | <urn:uuid:016f3c79-3a00-4d83-bef5-fb07f6159c58> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2011/06/29/huffpo-sets-groundwork-for-impeaching-obama/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935704 | 820 | 1.726563 | 2 |
End disappearances now
FOR the next three weeks extended discussions will be held and searching questions, often painful, asked about one of Pakistan’s major festering sores — enforced disappearances. Should one hope that all this debate will lead to a meaningful conclusion?
The exercise will begin today, when the families of disappeared people and human rights activists join the worldwide observance of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. One of the key demands rights activists are likely to reiterate is that Pakistan must immediately ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons of Enforced Disappearance and start implementing its provisions. A cursory reading of the convention is enough to reveal the significance of this step.
The convention defines enforced disappearance as the “arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with the, support or acquiescence of the state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law”.
According to the convention, an enforced disappearance cannot be justified by invoking any “exceptional circumstances whatever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency”. Further, “the widespread or systematic practice of enforced disappearance constitutes a crime against humanity as defined in applicable international law and shall attract the consequences provided for under such applicable international law”. Surely Pakistan would not like to be branded an outlaw by the international community.
Since the state is ultimately responsible for each instance of enforced disappearance, a state party to the convention “shall take the necessary measures to ensure that enforced disappearance constitutes an offence under its criminal law”, that it shall hold criminally responsible any person involved with enforced disappearance and his supervisor, and “no order or instruction from any public authority, civilian, military or other, may be invoked to justify an offence of enforced disappearance”. The appropriate penalties for the offence of enforced disappearance must “take into account its extreme seriousness”.
The convention obliges a state party to inform the family or counsel of the disappeared person of the authority that ordered deprivation of liberty; the date, place and time of occurrence; the identity of the supervisory authority; the whereabouts of the disappeared person; the date, time and place of release and the state of his or her health; and in the event of death the circumstances and cause of death and the destination of the remains. The convention also emphasises victims’ right to compensation: “Each state party shall ensure in its legal system that the victims of enforced disappearance have the right to obtain reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation.” Reparation includes, besides “material and moral damages”, restitution, rehabilitation, “satisfaction, including restoration of dignity and reputation”, and guarantees of non-repetition.
It is easy to see that all the issues embraced by the convention have been debated in Pakistan over and over again during the past eight years. During this period it has been established that: the victims of enforced disappearance have been picked up by state agencies under the cover of anti-terrorist operations or without any excuse; that often arrests are made by unauthorised officials and the victims are detained at unauthorised places and almost invariably tortured; that recourse to courts for the recovery of the disappeared has only been partly successful and that the intelligence and security agencies have found ways to circumvent and defy the orders of even the Supreme Court; that the recommendations of the three-member judges’ commission of 2010 of a ban on arrests by unauthorised personnel, new legislation to rein in intelligence agencies and payment of compensation to victims’ families remain largely unimplemented; and that the dumping of the mutilated corpses of missing persons is a crude bid to terrorise the entire population and prevent it from asking for justice.
Nobody today challenges the view that failure to end disappearances has on the one hand emboldened the perpetrators of this crime against humanity and, on the other, fuelled public anger and separatist tendencies in Balochistan. Of late there has been a spike in cases of disappearance in Sindh and observers have started warning the authorities against a Balochistan-like crisis in this province too.
All these matters will figure in the discussions a delegation of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will hold with government representatives, civil society organisations and hopefully members of the victims’ families from Sept 10 to 20. The government would do well to use the intervening days to make adequate preparations for offering the maximum possible satisfaction to the UN mission.
First, the authorities must reject concealment in favour of transparency and denial in favour of acceptance of responsibility. The delegation should be enabled to meet not only official denial experts but also all others that have anything to contribute to a realistic assessment of the situation. The latter must obviously include informed and articulate members of the victims’ families and their counsels.
Second, discussions with the UN team could become easy and fruitful if Islamabad ratified the relevant convention before the delegation’s arrival. This will obviate the need for sparring over the nature and size of the problem and allow detailed discussions on ways and means of tackling it in accordance with international standards.
However, the government’s responsibility will not end with cordial exchanges with the UN delegates or with making brave promises. Regardless of the outcome of the UN mission, Pakistan will delay putting an end to enforced disappearances at grave peril to itself.
That Pakistan must enact laws to make enforced disappearance a serious penal offence, comparable to terrorism, and lay down adequate penalties for offenders should be pretty clear to anybody who matters. One effective way of ending enforced disappearances could be to compile a complete list of detention centres, safe houses, et al, maintained by any state institution or agency and bringing them under a scheme of periodic and surprise inspection by judicial authorities. Heavy penalties may be imposed for illegal detention anywhere and the punishment may be made more severe for anyone who detains a person at a place outside the list mentioned above. | <urn:uuid:0ec075d4-cb0b-4d0d-a05c-2d758755ead5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dawn.com/2012/08/30/end-disappearances-now/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943762 | 1,265 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Wednesday, May 2 at 7 p.m @ The Tyngsborough Public Library
Organic? Synthetic? Just Loam? Compost? Should you go organic with your lawn care? Understand the health and environmental risks of using synthetic fertilizers. Learn how to deliver small amounts of fertilizer each time you water through fertigation.
Join us at the Library and make your yard and garden SAFE for your family, your friends, your pets and the environment. Bring your questions and lawn care challenges!
Presented by DGC Fertigation Masters of Tyngsborough. | <urn:uuid:7445c625-4b26-4145-a8b4-29d486a12f13> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tyngsboroughma.net/archives/607/comment-page-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919995 | 119 | 2.109375 | 2 |
How sick is Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua?
In May, he admitted during a live television broadcast that he suffers from a kidney ailment, but sought to quell rumors that he was terminally ill by insisting that fears for his health were greatly exaggerated and politically motivated. There are plenty of world leaders in less-than-perfect health. But the stakes are especially high in Nigeria, where Yar’Adua embodies the country’s delicate political balance.
With the fall of Nigeria’s dictatorship and the introduction of democracy in 1999, governors in the mainly Muslim northern provinces believed they had struck a deal with their southern counterparts on a regional rotation of the presidency. Last year, arguing that it was their turn to choose a chief executive, they bitterly opposed a bid by then-president Olusegun Obasanjo, a southerner and a Christian, to rewrite Nigeria’s Constitution in hopes of winning a third term. Southern governors countered that the north had controlled the country through more than three decades of authoritarian rule and that a southerner should hold the presidency for years to come. Tensions very quickly mounted.
Once it became clear that his gambit would fail, Obasanjo found a compromise — he named a man he trusted, Yar’Adua, a little-known northern governor and devout Muslim, as his preferred successor. In April last year, Yar’Adua won a disputed landslide presidential victory. Western and African observers charged that widespread vote-rigging had tainted the official result and Nigeria’s Supreme Court has yet to rule on challenges to the election’s legality.
But Yar’Adua shrugged off charges of electoral fraud and in the first days of his presidency, he drew praise, both at home and abroad, for promises to tackle corruption and pursue an agreement with militia groups in the oil-rich, violence-plagued Niger Delta region. In reaching out to armed groups like the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), one of his primary assets has been his vice president, Goodluck Jonathan, a native of the area.
Pacifying the Delta is vitally important, because Nigeria, the world’s eighth-largest oil producer, earns 86 percent of its export revenue from oil. Attacks on pipelines have recently intensified ahead of a planned summit meeting between the government and various militia leaders, as small groups of militants stage attacks on oil infrastructure in the Delta to establish their relevance and win a potentially lucrative seat at the negotiating table. The summit is likely to generate an agreement and positive media coverage, but northern Muslim members of parliament could complicate efforts to implement the deal.
The Nigerian government could use some good news. Electricity shortages have intensified on Yar’Adua’s watch, producing blackouts in many areas of the country and darkening the foreign investment climate. Rising food and energy prices pushed inflation up to 9.7 percent in May, from 8.2 percent in April. Corruption investigations launched by Yar’Adua’s government have uncovered broader and deeper problems than many knew existed. A battle between the president and legislature over control of federal spending has not been fully resolved.
For foreign investors, the greatest near-term concern may be a broad range of attacks from parliament and some of Yar’Adua’s economic advisers on Charles Soludo, the central bank governor, who is widely credited for Nigeria’s improved economic performance in the past several years. Under Obasanjo, Soludo initiated much needed banking reforms and argued strenuously that Nigeria should pay its foreign debt. | <urn:uuid:71c0e6a6-d492-4f61-a945-44b2b56df89c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2008/07/29/2003418785 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969884 | 751 | 1.734375 | 2 |
The symptoms of CF usually develop during early childhood. Both lungs and pancreas produce abnormally viscous mucus. The mucus in the lungs can become a growth medium for bacteria, resulting in chronic respiratory infections and eventual permanent damage to the lung tissue. As lung function deteriorates, CF patients develop pulmonary hypertension and eventually cor pulmonale. Death usually occurs from severe infection or heart failure. These thick secretions also obstruct the pancreas, preventing digestive enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and absorb food.
History and Statistics
Cystic fibrosis was first described as a disease in the late 1930s. It is the most common genetic disease among people with European ancestry. Approximately one in every 25 people carries one normal and one CF gene. Since cystic fibrosis is recessive, both copies of the gene have to be CF genes to cause the symptoms that occur in about 1 in every 2500 children. The high incidence of this lethal gene can be explained by the fact that CF carriers, who don't show any symptoms, enjoy some protection against cholera, since the extreme water loss in the intestines is prevented. People from areas where cholera is not a problem show a much lower incidence of CF.
In its most common form, a single amino acid mutation leads to the production of an abnormal transmembrane CFTR protein (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) which functions in transporting chloride ions across epithelial cells found in the lung and intestinal tract. Since water follows ions by osmosis, this results in water depletion and viscous mucus.
Recent medical research is beginning to show that an imbalance of essential fatty acids may play a role in cystic fibrosis. Tissue samples from both mice, and more recently humans, with CF show an excess of arachidonic acid (AA) and a deficiency of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Research has also indicated that healthy individuals with one copy of the CF gene and one copy of the normal gene have fatty acid levels in between those of CF patients and people with no CFTR gene mutations. Further research is needed to show how this is linked to the CFTR gene defect and what implications this may have on treatment of Cystic Fibrosis.
CF patients often cannot interact with each other socially due to worries of cross-infection of Pseudomonas, MRSA, Cepacia, and other bacteria. These infections thrive in the thick mucous of CF patients' lungs and cause complications and possibly death. Therefore CF patients who do not have a certain bacteria type cannot meet with those who do. Because of this risk CF patients must remain in isolation during hospital stays, and special precautions must be taken. This risk previously caused many CF-clinics to recommend that CF patients live in isolation and never meet. However recently these views have been changed because of the possible psychological problems this may cause; instead CF patients are encouraged to exercise caution, avoid direct physical contact, and possibly wear surgical masks.
In addition to pulmonary infections, most persons with CF also have problems with digestion, particularly the digestion of fats. This leads to malabsorption and difficulty gaining and maintaining weight, which in turn affects overall health. This is due to the abnormally sticky mucus that blocks the release of digestive enzymes from the pancreas. Pancreatic insufficiency is treated with supplemental enzymes. Usually water-miscible forms of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are required as the decreased fat absorption can lead to deficiencies of these vitamins.
CF patients also have a high incidence of diabetes mellitus because of the pancreatic blockage. The chronic blocking causes the Islets of Langerhans to degrade over time and decrease insulin production, causing hyperglycemia.
Daily chest physiotherapy and aerosol breathing treatments are very commonly prescribed for CF treatment. Typical physical therapy involves manual chest precussion (pounding), or possibly using a device such as the ThAIRapy Vest or the Intrapulmonary Precussive Ventilator (IPV) to achieve the same effect: loosening of the thick mucous. Aresolized medicines commonly given include Albuterol, Ipatropium Bromide, and Pulmozyme to loosen secretions and decrease inflammation. Tobramycin is sometimes given to fight infections, however it causes long-term hearing damage and cannot be used constantly.
CF patients are typically hospitalized somewhat regularly, often every 6 months depending on the severity of the case. Patients often have IV antibiotics through a PICC line or chest port for IV Antibiotics.
Earlier approaches to diabetes treatment among CF patients generally did not address long-term effects because of the short CF life expectancy. However due to improving treatment of CF patients and their resulting longer lifespan, it is increasingly common to address Diabetes symptoms that are not immediately harmful. As maintaing body weight is important for CF patients, a typical diabetic diet is not feasible and therefore insulin doses are instead adjusted to fit the typical high-calorie/high-fat CF diet.
Due to advances in medical treatment, the median life expectancy of a newborn with cystic fibrosis increased from 4 years (in the 1960s) to 32 years today. These procedures include the intake of digestion enzymes, nutritional supplements, percussion and postural drainage of the lungs, improved antibiotics and inhalation of aerosols containing medication. A few attempts of gene therapy were initially successful, but failed to produce acceptable long-term results.
da:cystisk fibrose es:Fibrosis quística nl:mucoviscidose sv:Cystisk fibros | <urn:uuid:dacec1b8-3262-40c8-926f-cee6c87258e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://askfactmaster.com/Cystic_fibrosis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935591 | 1,161 | 3.890625 | 4 |
We found a great post this past weekend on fastcompany.com which we thought we’d share with you. Author David Zax describes an interactive video game designed by researchers in the bioengineering department of Stanford University that uses living cells as part of the game mechanics. These “Biotic Games” are played much like any arcade classic however characters such as Pac-Man are substituted with paramecium instead.
Checkout the video below from Stanford University and be sure to read the full blog post at fastcompany.com
The study was published in the latest issue of Lab on a Chip which can be retreived by following the link below:
Riedel-Kruse IH, Chung AM, Dura B, Hamilton AL, & Lee BC (2011). Design, engineering and utility of biotic games. Lab on a chip, 11 (1), 14-22 PMID: 21085736 | <urn:uuid:e6b0ed16-b3a3-48fd-9890-e8df52d9a199> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanbiotechnologist.com/blog/tag/stanford-university/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955109 | 190 | 2.5 | 2 |
Reporting from Sacramento — State lawmakers on Monday jumped into the decades-old campaign to give residents of East Los Angeles their own city, advancing a plan to bail out the financially struggling movement even though Republican legislators said it was not the state's business to do so.
Three previous attempts at cityhood failed in the 1960s and '70s, and the latest proposal to incorporate an area with 130,000 residents is in jeopardy because of a lack of funds.
The state Senate approved an emergency bill to provide money for a study to determine whether cityhood is financially viable before the idea can be submitted to voters.
Cityhood backers, who face a deadline Thursday to come up with the money for the study, said they were optimistic about its prospects in the Assembly but are writing letters to the governor in hopes of getting his required approval as well.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on the loan, a spokesman said Monday.
"We're almost there," said Benjamin Cardenas, president of the East Los Angeles Residents Assn. "We're very excited that the bill is moving."
The Local Agency Formation Commission, which processes cityhood plans, determined in January that the residents group had turned in enough signatures to trigger a new cityhood process.
The citizens have raised about $100,000 to pay for the financial studies, to be conducted by the commission. But the legislation is needed to provide the remaining $45,000 to meet the cost of the analysis, according to state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles).
Romero noted that about 10 million people in Los Angeles County are represented by five members of the county Board of Supervisors. "It's no wonder people have come to say, ‘We would like local control, self-determination,'" Romero said.
Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) said he supports the right of people to form new cities. "However, these efforts must be community-based and have local community support," Cox said. "This is a local process that should remain local. The state should not be a source of funding."
Sen. Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) said that if cityhood proponents can't come up with $45,000 to study whether a city would be financially viable, that failure answers the question.
"They can't afford to become a city," he said.
But Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) said the area seeking cityhood is one of the poorest in the state and was still able to raise significant money in the middle of an economic downturn.
"What price democracy?" Cedillo asked before the loan measure squeaked by with no votes to spare.
Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Montebello), who wrote AB 711, noted that this was not the first time the Legislature had helped a cityhood drive.
In 1999, the state provided $1.8 million for a financial study on a cityhood proposal by the San Fernando Valley. Voters later rejected the Valley cityhood measure.
A preliminary analysis of the East Los Angeles cityhood plan, paid for by the residents group and conducted by financial analysis firm Burr Consulting, indicated that it was financially viable, according to Romero, and said the area would generate about $51 million a year to pay for services.
Romero said the state has a legitimate interest in helping the cityhood drive because the culture of East Los Angeles is part of California's identity around the world, Romero said.
"East Los Angeles is internationally recognized, so we think it's something for which there is a statewide interest," she said. | <urn:uuid:3932d02b-c0cd-4a5f-a4a8-99a48641e439> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/27/local/la-me-eastla-20100427 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972262 | 745 | 1.609375 | 2 |
One of the things I enjoy doing is following the exploits of present-day adventurers and explorers. I am especially interested in what makes them tick and why they take the kinds of risks they take. Whether some intrepid adventurer is trekking to the top of the world, slogging through snow at the bottom of the world, or rowing across an ocean, technology makes it possible for us to vicariously travel along. And because we live in a connected world, we are not likely to see again the kinds of sagas reminiscent of explorers like Sir Ernest Shackelton or Douglas Mawson. These two adventurers survived lengthy and life-threatening ordeals during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration — the period from 1897–1922 during which sixteen major expeditions from eight countries focused on the Antarctic continent. These guys had no way to call for help.
In recent days I have followed the adventures of Eric Larsen and his Cycle South Expedition 2012 — an attempt to ride 750 miles from Antarctica’s Hercules Inlet to the geographic south pole. Larsen has previously climbed Mount Everest and trekked across the planet’s frozen poles. Larsen’s Cycle South Expedition combined adventure with advocacy. He wanted to be the first person to ride a bicycle — yes, a bicycle — to the geographic South Pole. Why? Because he is passionate about demonstrating the many ways in which people can use bicycles to protect our environment and improve the quality of their lives. Sadly, hardly two weeks into his adventure, Larsen had to turn around because he was averaging less than ten miles a day, a pace too slow to make it to the pole with the food and supplies he carried with him. Rather than run out of food and risk not being rescued, Larsen turned around.
I applaud Larsen for his heroic attempt but also for knowing when to turn around so that he could live to ride another day. If Sir Ernest Shackelton was alive today, he would understand. In September 1909, Shackelton and three companions trudged to within 96-miles of the South Pole. However, finding themselves dangerously short of supplies, Shackleton made the most difficult decision of his life — he turned his men toward home. He later told Emily, his wife: “I thought you’d rather have a live donkey than a dead lion.” Shackelton returned to Antarctica in December 1914 in hope of being the first to complete a trans-Antarctic crossing. Instead he gave the world one of the greatest and most inspirational survival stories of all time. He is one of my historical mentors and heroes.
I hope that Larsen will return to Antarctica to try again. I am one who believes that our world needs more people like Larsen — folks who are not afraid to attempt hard things and who inspire others to do the same. Larsen’s recent attempt to cycle south is only a chapter in his story, but it is not the end of the story. The next time you attempt to do something hard, remember guys like Larsen and Shackelton. And if you don’t make it, then don’t let that be the end of your story. Pick yourself up and try again. It’s just like riding a bicycle! | <urn:uuid:2912d233-c6aa-4a96-8306-11ad02d67238> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gobeyondblog.com/2013/01/05/cycle-south-expedition/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969031 | 673 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Organization & Formatting
APPLICATION OF ORS 742.005(2)
ORS 742.005(2): If the director finds it [forms] contains any provision, including statement of premium, or any label, description of its contents, title, heading, backing or other indication of its provisions, which is unintelligible, uncertain, ambiguous or abstruse, or likely to mislead a person to whom the policy is offered, delivered or issued.
Product standards require policy language to set forth clear and understandable descriptions of coverages. The statutory authority for this standard is ORS 742.005(2). This statute also applies to the design and organization of forms. Coverages, limitations, exclusions and other matters are to be organized in logical, reasonable, understandable, and rational order and set forth in such a way that it is clear and unambiguous to the consumer.
General Guidelines for Design and Organization
The term "restrictions" in these guidelines is used generally to refer to exclusions, limitations, abridgements, etc.
- Restrictions need to be in close proximity, immediately following the coverage, or in a separate identified section.
- Restrictions need to be prefaced as such. The format needs to alert the reader that coverage and restrictions are present if combined in the same sentence, paragraph or section.
- Coverages are clearly outlined and there is a clear distinction between what is and is not covered.
- When using titles, labels, or heading for restrictions, it should reflect the type of restriction contained in the provision or section, i.e., limitations are identified as limitations and not exclusions.
- All important words that affect the coverage must be defined. If defined in a definitions section, the word must be distinguished as a defined word (e.g. in quotes, bolded, underlined, capitalized, etc.).
- The definition of a word cannot alter a coverage unless it is also described in the coverage or restriction provision.
- Policy format and organization is internally consistent. | <urn:uuid:1a1917be-ac35-4586-9314-b82065801324> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbs.state.or.us/ins/insurer/rates_forms/rateform-health-1c.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914443 | 421 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Ventspils is a city in northwest Latvia on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It has a current population of 44,000.
Because of the insufficient number of safe pedestrian crossings, we will improve 125 of these with horizontal street signs, traffic signs and signal lights in order to provide more safety in the municipality up to 2009.
Because of inadequate pavement quality, many accidents occur daily among pedestrians and car drivers. Therefore, the municipality has decided to reduce the number of accidents by monitoring pavements and ensuring prompt reconditioning. For this, we will reconstruct pavements in order to ensure a defect-free pavement of approximately 62,000 square meters, 6.2 % of total pavements, starting at the beginning of 2008 and concluding at the end of 2010, including the cooperation of construction companies.
Because of insufficient and inadequate traffic organisation equipment, such as signal lights and traffic signs, which are vital for secure driving in the city, we will replace all signal lights with LED sections and set up new control panels. Our objective is to reconstruct 19 street crossings with 260 signal light sections by 2008.
Many accidents occur because of insufficient street lighting on neighbourhood roads. In order to deal with this problem, we will make investments to increase the number of properly lit streets to 95% of the total amount of streets over the next three years. | <urn:uuid:f0348387-6cbf-4574-9614-b19e88436c11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.erscharter.eu/es/signatories/profile/13531 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932884 | 272 | 1.75 | 2 |
Research carried William G. Christen Harvard Medical School in Boston United States showed that consumption of fish containing omega-3 can significantly reduce the risk of Age-related Mucular Degenerations (AMD).
In his research, reviewing data Christen 38.022 women who previously suffered blindness due to aging. This research is one part of a long-term study called the Women’s Health Study.
The women’s diet was studied through interviews at the beginning of the study, including information regarding the intake of fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) – omega-3 fatty acids found in fish. The study also tracks consumer intake of AA (arachidonic acid) and linoleic acid which is an omega-6 fatty acids.
After monitoring for about 10 years, researchers found 235 cases of AMD among the respondents.
The research, published in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology found that women who consumed the most DHA recorded 38 percent lower risk of suffering from AMD than those who consume the lowest amounts.
Consumption of one or more servings of fish contain omega 3 in a week, compared with the intake of one serving of fish per month, with regard to 42 percent lower risk of AMD.
“This lower risk is present mainly in the consumption of tuna and dark meat (dark meat),” said Christen. | <urn:uuid:93daed46-26f9-4070-aea8-e6c3e8f26723> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blackbirdbistro.com/tag/dha | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946648 | 293 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Trip Start Nov 23, 2011
20Trip End Jan 07, 2012
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Located 45 km East of Lome, Togo's colonial capital until 1920, famous for it’s colonial architecture. Historically it was called "Little Popo" and was of a Portuguese slave port and a commercial center. In the 1880s it became the German capital of Togo, which later got transferred to Lome in 1897. The city is a center for voodoo culture and the people rely on the fishing and farming industries.
Transportation: Taxi to and from Lome
Marche des Feticheurs: A fetish market, one will see tables covered in
animal parts for the purpose of concocting medicines
Peter and Paul Church: 19th c.
German Cemetery: A unique look at the city’s colonial history | <urn:uuid:3f136d2d-2bfe-4525-bdb5-21f1b9664a5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chrlttzmmrmn/1/1298505299/tpod.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916109 | 180 | 2.28125 | 2 |
November 5, 1999
Amsterdam/New York, November 5, 1999 — The emergency medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today expressed its deep concern about the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka. The recent outbreak of major fighting in Sri Lanka has caused civilian casualties and further hardships for the population in the contested northern areas. MSF has called on the warring parties to respect international humanitarian law and stop indiscriminate attacks that are injuring and killing civilians. The parties should also guarantee front-line passage for relief goods and access for other humanitarian agencies.
"MSF field workers near the combat zone have already come across sad evidence of the indiscriminate use of force," said Operational Director Marcel van Soest. "Both the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers must respect the right of civilians not to be targets of attack."
On November 3, shells hit the village of Paliyady in Mullaitivu District. MSF health workers at Mallavi Hospital treated three children with minor shrapnel wounds who were injured on their way home from school, and a 63-year-old man with severe injuries to both legs, resulting in an emergency amputation. The same area was bombed that evening by a Sri Lankan Air Force jet. Eleven seriously injured people were taken to Mallavi Hospital – of these, six were dead upon arrival and a seventh died following several hours of extensive surgery. Four casualties remain in Mallavi Hospital in stable condition.
MSF teams in Mallavi and Puthukkuydiyiruppu are isolated from the south of the country, but they can still accomplish some work. It is unclear how long the teams can continue with their existing supplies. Says van Soest, "We are concerned that should fighting continue for an extended period, the civilian population in the affected areas is likely to face severe shortages of food and essential medical supplies. It is necessary that both sides take steps to ensure the open flow of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population."
MSF has been working in Sri Lanka since 1986. MSF has a program in the Mallavi hospital (surgery, pediatrics, gynecology, and lab research) and a malaria program in Puthukkuydiyiruppu. Additional teams operate in Batticaloa (surgery, mobile clinics, and rehabilitation of the hospital), Vavuniya/Murunkan (Murunkan hospital and mobile clinics), and Jaffna Teaching Hospital (pediatrics, maternity, sterilization, and hygiene education). There are a total of 31 MSF international volunteers in Sri Lanka.
MSF is the world's largest independent international medical relief agency aiding victims of armed conflict, epidemics, and natural and man-made disasters, and others who lack health care due to geographic remoteness or ethnic marginalization in more than 80 countries.
© 2013 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) | <urn:uuid:aed81bc8-0f8c-4dcf-8651-5b95147d1820> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release_print.cfm?id=515 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950891 | 606 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Diagnosis of Pathological Gambling
Individuals with this Impulse-Control Disorder recurrently fail to resist gambling to such an extent that it leads to disruption of major life pursuits.
(2) needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement
(3) has repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop gambling
(4) is restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling
(5) gambles as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphonic mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)
(6) after losing money gambling, often returns another day to get even ("chasing" one's losses)
(7) lies to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling
(8) has committed illegal acts such as forgery, fraud, theft, or embezzlement to finance gambling
(9) has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of gambling
(10) relies on others to provide money to relieve a desperate financial situation caused by gambling
B. The gambling behavior is not better accounted for by a Manic Episode. | <urn:uuid:bb3e33bc-a764-4be1-aac4-894defaa537b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nevadacouncil.org/diagnosis.php?bi=1343097285 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931486 | 257 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Who said that economists never agree on anything? NPR’s Planet Money has drafted a six-point plan that is “backed by economists of all stripes, but probably toxic to any candidate that might endorse it”.
One: Eliminate the mortgage tax deduction, which lets homeowners deduct the interest they pay on their mortgages. ….
Two: End the tax deduction companies get for providing health-care to employees. Neither employees nor employers pay taxes on workplace health insurance benefits. ….
Three: Eliminate the corporate income tax. Completely. ….
Four: Eliminate all income and payroll taxes. All of them. For everyone. …. Instead, impose a consumption tax, designed to be progressive to protect lower-income households.
Five: Tax carbon emissions. Yes, that means higher gasoline prices. ….
Six: Legalize marijuana.
“Six Policies Economists Love (And Politicians Hate)“, Planet Money, NPR blog, 19 July 2012.
These proposals received unanimous approval from five prominent economists with political views ranging from Dean Baker (co-director of a Washington, D.C. think tank) on the left to Russ Roberts (George Mason University professor) on the right. For details, click on the link above.
The first two proposals are very specific to the US tax code. The other four are applicable to nearly all countries, and just as unpopular with voters.
A seventh proposal, popular with economists but unpopular with voters, is ‘Eliminate all taxes on imports and exports’. I do not understand why that was not included, unless trade taxes are so low in the US that they are no longer an issue.
HT Mark Thoma | <urn:uuid:0bf82347-d05d-4907-ba71-c5430a48f6e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://larrywillmore.net/blog/2012/07/20/policies-that-economists-love/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954894 | 353 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln will end its latest deployment where it started when the warship sails into San Diego Bay this Saturday to offload some of its 5,500 personnel. The Lincoln will also fly-off its air wing while it is in Southern California waters, the Navy says.
The Lincoln is homeported in Everett, Washington. But such ships sometimes stop in Southern California to take on personnel and their air wings, which is what the Lincoln did last fall. Lincoln will be continuing on to Everett after its San Diego visit.
The ship operated in the western Pacific, and did not come into direct contact with radiation released by the crippled nuclear-powered plants in Japan. However, the Navy has announced that two of carriers, the San Diego-based Ronald Reagan, and the George Washington, which is based in Yokosuka, Japan, have been exposed to low-levels of contamination.
The Reagan is continuing relief efforts in Japan. Stars and Stripes reports that the Reagan Carrier Strike Group "flew 29 sorties Tuesday, delivering 17 tons of supplies, including food, water and blankets, to hard hit areas of northeastern Japan. To date, 25 tons have been delivered.''
Two other San Diego-based warships -- the destroyer Preble and the cruiser Chancellorsville, are traveling with the Reagan. | <urn:uuid:6edf8280-9609-46ba-b331-fbaba292fdf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2011/mar/16/carrier-lincoln-stop-san-diego-saturday/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963367 | 269 | 2.046875 | 2 |
- Written by Piero Gabucci
- Published on 12 April 2010
While attending CEDIA 2009 in Atlanta I was introduced to Innovolt Inc. a company founded by Georgia Tech professor Dr. Deepak Divan in 2005 to develop surge protection for all types of applications. Although they make a variety of products including LED lighting fixtures, I was most interested in those that applied to our hobby of audio/video.
I was offered a plug-in unit called Plug In Protector (PIP-8) to take home and simply plug into a few outlets around my house for the purposes of recording electrical occurrences in my house. The unit keeps track of a variety of events including spikes to outages and brownouts. After about a month I returned the device for analysis. While I had it however it gave me instant feedback lights like improper grounding at any outlet via LED light readouts.
Within days I was sent a chart that shocked me outlining the behavior of the electricity in my house.
Current Spikes - 29
Voltage Spikes – 0
Over Voltages – 1
Brown Outs -2
Outages – 22
Although the PIP-8 offers each outlet protection, something more substantial was required for a whole system and Innovolt sent their new surge protection flagship in the HEM-X1000.
- Nominal Operating Voltage: 120V AC 50/60 Hz
- Maximum Continuous Current: 15 Amperes
- Interrupt Rating: 1000 Amperes per UL 1077
- Response Time: 4 ms
- Over Voltage Limit: 145 VAC +/- 4V
- Under Voltage Limit: 90 volts
- Voltage Surge per UL 1449: 2400 Joules
- Voltage Protection Rating: L-N 500V, L-G 600V, N-G 600V
- Unconditional Replacement Guarantee
- MSRP: $999 USA | <urn:uuid:4f46a75b-eb87-4501-a3a7-f711d0602434> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/surge-protector-ups/surge-protector-ups-reviews/innovolt-hem-x1000-power-protection.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918294 | 384 | 1.703125 | 2 |
So you’re a recent college graduate. Too bad you spent most of your college career watching "Office Space" rather than preparing to work in one. Now you find yourself thrust into the real world, but you're not quite ready to simply sit behind the desk as a means to make ends meet.Here's a list of jobs that pay well, actually exist, and are easily more entertaining than any job you’ll probably end up with.
There are plenty of food-related businesses out there that actually hire and train people to make sure the foods they are producing remain consistent in taste. For example, Godiva hires people to test their chocolate and make sure their product satisfies what customers have come to expect. Food-tasting jobs aren’t easy to land, but the average food tester makes around $35,000 with some making as close to $70,000. Not a bad deal for a person who eats chocolate for a living.
If you managed to make it through college without catching crabs, well done. But if you want a little excitement in your daily work, you should try catching some. While shows like "Deadliest Catch" may have glorified the profession a bit, it’s still one that will keep you on your toes on a regular basis. It’s definitely not a glamorous job, but there is potential to earn around $60,000 in just a few months if all goes well on an outing.
Crime Scene Cleaner
If you spent a good amount of time in a fraternity, then cleaning up a crime scene should be a piece of cake. Really though, if you have a strong stomach and don’t mind blood or decomposing bodies, then look into becoming a crime scene cleaner. After a violent crime occurs, it’s the job of the crime-scene cleaner to come in and remove any sign of what happened and any biohazards that may have resulted from the incident. You can expect to make around $37,000 in your first year, but up to six figures as you move up the ranks.
While we're discussing dead bodies: if you don’t mind being around them, then consider embalming as a potential future occupation. This job requires sanitizing dead bodies and then injecting them with embalming chemicals to keep them from decomposing long enough for any necessary public display. The average embalmer makes close to $45,000 per year, which is pretty good considering you don’t have to spend any of that money on clothes to impress people at work.
Maybe you want to live like the rich and famous do right out of the gate, but you don’t exactly have the means to do so. Look into the wonderful world of luxury house sitting. Ridiculously rich people can’t always be at home when they have all that money to travel the world. That’s where you come in. A luxury house sitter stays in the home while the owners are away and maintains its upkeep. Once you build up a respectable reputation as a luxury house sitter, you can earn as much as $200 a week, which isn’t all that much on its own, but you get free room and board in an incredible home. Not a bad tradeoff.
Think about how many companies need instruction manuals for their products. If you half-assed your way through college, but for some reason always excelled in writing, this might be a cool way for you to work from home. While creating instruction manuals isn’t exactly the most thrilling job in the world, if you can freelance for a number of companies, it will pay off. Technical writing is one of the only jobs other than stripping that you can do in your underwear and make an average of $65,000.
You managed to get a degree even though 76 percent of your college experience involved watching reruns of "Family Guy." Well, why stop watching all that television when you can become a professional TV watcher? Although competitive, certain production-assistant jobs for clip shows require a serious amount of channel surfing. If your typing skills are above average, you can caption television shows for the hearing impaired. Salaries start around $25,000 and go up from there.
If people told you in school that you had a voice for radio, it either meant you’re ugly or you actually do have a voice for radio. Voice acting can be as competitive as on-camera acting, but if you can get work regularly, it can really pay off. A lot of voice acting only requires a few hours of work a week and salaries can get into six figures easily. People who do voiceovers for movie trailers regularly can earn over a million dollars. And if you end up voice acting on a hit cartoon like "The Simpsons," your salary can approach seven or eight figures.
If you knew as a kid that you could someday grow up and test waterslides for a living, would you have even bothered with school? A man named Tommy Lynch gets to live every kid’s dream. Lynch works for First Choice, the U.K.’s leading leisure travel company. His job is to travel all over the world to test waterslides at various locations height, speed, water quantity, and safety. He has traveled and tested waterslides in Greece, Ibiza, Florida, Turkey, and a number of other locations. How’s that desk job treating you right about now?
Next: 10 Most Badass Road Races
Professional Prostitute Tester
Most likely this job doesn’t actually exist, but we wish so much that it did, we’ve included it on the list anyway. You will probably have to go overseas for a gig like this one. Reportedly, a DJ from South America named Jaime Rascone actually has this job. His title at Fiorella Companions, a brothel in Chile, is Quality Control. After potential escort candidates are narrowed down with interviews, psychological tests, and photo shoots, it is Rascone’s job to have sex with them and take detailed notes on each one. It’s your call if you want to take off to a foreign land and find out if this job really exists, but if you find that it does, please let us know immediately. | <urn:uuid:c7ab8149-4aad-42c0-a9d6-f46a7469f010> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mandatory.com/2012/05/16/10-odd-jobs-that-pay-well/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962272 | 1,308 | 1.820313 | 2 |
A Lupus Widower Laments to Friends
By Mr. D.R.
So many people have had comments like, "I had no idea Susan was so sick." That was because Susan did not want anybody to know.
Because lupus is such a crafty disease and flies under the general public's radar, this is a good opportunity to clear things up.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease, not an infectious disease like HIV. People with lupus have an overactive immune system. The body's defenses actually attack healthy tissue. This has been happening to Susan for 30 years or more.
She was diagnosed around 1990, but she had symptoms way before then. Originally, the disease would manifest itself as flu-like symptoms for about three weeks out of every three months, with fatigue extending a month after every flare-up.
In 2000, lupus attacked her central nervous system and involved her brain. The original result of this new development was pain. From late in January 2000 until the day before she died, she was in pain. On the scale of 1 to 10, there was no day that she didn't feel pain on an 8 to 10 level. (With 10 being all-encompassing.)
Lupus attacked her lungs, causing shortness of breath, sleeping problems, and more pain in the form of pleurisy. In addition to Hashimoto's thyroiditis (causing cold extremities) and Sjogren's syndrome (extremely dry eyes) and a few more isms that I have forgotten, life was getting difficult.
Around 2003, it was emerging that her brain was more affected by the central nervous system lupus. As much as they tried, there was nothing that her doctors could do about this. Motor coordination, balance, and some cognitive skills were diminishing. It was at that time she decided to retire from teaching college and we planned to change our lifestyle.
Her condition continued to worsen, and about two years ago, we decided that a lifestyle change was not to be and we vowed to just have fun every day. Also, it was time to tell our children that lupus was slowly killing Susan.
Shortly afterward, she gave me permission to mildly explain her condition to a few friends. Some of you may recall those discussions.
Earlier this year, we took her to the hospital. It was her ninth visit in less than four years. She was diagnosed with meningitis. It was the bacterial kind caused by listeriosis bacteria—a nasty bug, one of the doctors told me. Her condition at the time was described as grave. After a week, she was showing improvement, and 11 days after admission, the doctors took the breathing tube out. When I could go in and see her, I was excited to see her face without the tape and tubes, and I told her that I missed that face. To my surprise, she looked up and said, "I miss you, too." Those were her last words to me.
While I imagined another week in the hospital and then a return home, the doctors cautioned me to think months and years for recovery and then never a full recovery.
Two days later, she experienced convulsions and got bile into her lungs. She was without oxygen for an unspecified amount of time. The tube was back in, and her brain test was showing abnormal brain activity. She had internal bleeding and would need an operation to correct it. Shortly after, she had two strokes that would require brain surgery.
One doctor took me aside and explained that the Susan I saw in bed at that moment was all the Susan I was ever likely to get. And the pain seemed to get worse for her. Nearly four weeks after admission, we put her on comfort medication and removed most of her tubes. What the doctors thought might take 20 minutes ended up taking 20 days. As the days wore on, Susan became more and more beautiful. The steroids wore off and her face looked as it did so long ago. The bruises from the tape healed and she looked as if she was 30.
A month and a half after admission, she quietly slipped away at about 10:15 in the morning, with her daughter, son, and me at her side.
Last Editorial Review: 8/10/2007
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE! | <urn:uuid:14eac20d-2e65-4885-b12b-925271292777> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=83144 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991338 | 894 | 1.78125 | 2 |
An artist's rendering of the new entry rotunda for the Joyce Eichhorn Ames School of Art Building
Gift to Give New Look to
Ames School of Art
May 26, 2011
The Joyce Eichhorn Ames School of Art Building will have a new look this fall, complete with studio and office renovations and an entry designed to showcase the school. The new construction is made possible by a gift from B. Charles "Chuck" Ames '50 and Joyce "Jay" Eichhorn Ames '49.
Construction began in May on a more than 2,400-square-foot glass rotunda and lobby for the entrance of the art building, designed by CSO Architects and consultant R. Paul Bradley. The building, which is part of the Alice Millar Center for the Arts, houses classrooms and studios for painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, graphics and other art activities. The building also accommodates the Merwin and Wakeley art galleries.
"There is so much creativity and beauty in the work of those in the School of Art, and we wanted the exterior of the building to reflect that," said Jay, who was an art major at Illinois Wesleyan, where she developed a lifelong passion for visual arts with professors such as Art Department Chairman Kenneth Loomis. "We want visitors to know, with one look, that this is the art building."
The School of Art was named in honor of Jay in 1998, when her husband decided to surprise her on Valentine's Day with an endowment gift to the University. The Ameses, longtime supporters of the University, are honorary chairs of the Transforming Lives campaign. The couple is responsible for major gifts that include a challenge to raise money for the construction of The Ames Library, which opened in 2002. They also made history in 2009 with a $25 million gift for the Wesleyan Fund and faculty endowments, the largest in the history of the University.
Renovations to the School of Art through the Ames' gift will also include much of the first floor outside the Merwin and Wakeley art galleries. "This will provide more room and an inviting atmosphere for the many gatherings, openings and receptions for artists held near the galleries," said Roger Schnaitter, the former associate provost and current University liaison for construction projects in academic buildings.
To accommodate the new lobby, faculty offices will relocate to the second floor of the building. According to Schnaitter, the construction also provided the University the opportunity to improve the existing space. "The four current instructional studios will be revamped into three larger, more spacious studios for students," he said.
The University expects the instructional studios and faculty offices to be ready before the 2011 fall semester begins and the rest of the project completed soon thereafter.
Contact: Rachel Hatch, (309) 556-3960 | <urn:uuid:0218cd84-3ecf-46b5-a290-cbf3d0cde137> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iwu.edu/campaign/ArtRotunda.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958242 | 578 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Confirmation by selective quotation, that deceptive exercise in hermeneutics, is a familiar method of the religious scholar and the politician. So it's no wonder that was the tactic employed by advocates of a bill sponsored by state Sen. Larry Haines that aims to ban censorship of religious references in American history.
Dressed in colonial costume, proponents of the measure recently enlightened members of the Senate Economic and Environmental Matters Committee with quotations from Jefferson, Washington and Charles Carroll. The epigrams may have been apt, but the committee cast a deservedly skeptical eye over the bill. It would allow teachers to disseminate religious tracts under the imprimatur of history, a decidedly improper use of public schools.
The legislation reflects some deep-rooted concerns of Mr. Haines' conservative, Christian constituency that is worried about secularization of the educational system and of religious values. Their agenda is long, incorporating many of the "family values" issues.
But the Haines' measure does address the perception of revisionism of history in modern school textbooks. There is a fear, expressed by the Republican senator, that any reference to spiritual motivation for important human events, be it the Reformation or Thanksgiving, is being erased by timorous educators fearful of breaking the taboo of separation between church and state.
As an example, he cited a third-grade textbook that omits any reference to Thanksgiving as an occasion for the devout Pilgrims to thank God for their survival. He's also concerned that teachers are censoring such religious references even if they are in approved texts.
If the national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, the national motto, etc., refer to God, there's no reason for educators to feel uncomfortable in teaching that part of our national civic heritage. If teachers are explaining other parts of these basic American tenets, there's no reason for them to shrink from explaining what "under God" or "in God we trust" means.
If that happens, local school authorities should correct the instructor and insist on historical accuracy. They don't need this foot-in-the-door legislation by Mr. Haines to get it right. | <urn:uuid:5d219742-f8ac-4429-87ce-3262af11b7ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-02-08/news/1993039160_1_religious-references-haines-religious-tracts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953523 | 438 | 2.078125 | 2 |
World Masterpiece Theater, from 1969 to 1997 was a Japanese Anime television series which adapted literary classics to anime.
After a 9 year hiatus, news is they are returning.
What with, you ask?
Fuji Television Network’s “World Masterpiece Theater” animation series is returning to the airwaves after an interval of 9 years. The series was scrubbed in the past due to a decrease in audience rating. The newly produced 24th work has been announced as Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette, based on the book of the novel by Victor Hugo. Chinese CCTV will co-produce the 52 episode work.
I’m sure I’ll be able to find it for download somewhere, but I won’t understand the Japanese… | <urn:uuid:ef2bf9be-3a62-4f7d-b9f7-b8208c28c6de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://transylvaniandutch.com/td/archives/1553 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965901 | 162 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Over half of creekside campers gone
Although the no-camping ordinance hasn't even been used yet, well over half of the tent-pitching transients have vacated their sites on public property since its
approval in late February.
“You better believe it, absolutely,” said Robert Holmes, director of Homeward Pikes Peak, the city umbrella agency for homeless issues, when asked if he thought the existence of the new law was part of the reason.
In all, by March 10, out of more than 300 who had been camping along the creeks and in other public places a month ago, almost 200 are gone. The most popular place for them is the Express Inn (through its C-C Boarding House program), which has taken in more than 100 former campers. Another 40 or so have boarded buses to other communities - in keeping with Holmes' policy that tickets would only be bought if it could be determined that such people had programs and/or family ready to help them in their new destination.
Not all of those coming up from the tents have thrived in motels. Holmes said that 27 had to be “dismissed for blatant infractions,” such as excessive drinking or trash. “We just don't have the luxury to tolerate behavior like that,” he said.
Holmes also said his efforts have been aided by “exceedingly good luck.” Part of that luck has been Karl and Teresa McLaughlin, local business people who chose on their own last fall to start spending time with the campers and have of late convinced scores of them to move up to more permanent digs. Another part is the Express Inn owners, the Tiggemans, who had previously worked out a business model that makes use of volunteer help, donations and grants to offer rooms for as low as $60 a week, with food, clothing, phones, laundry, Internet access, paperwork and job counseling thrown in. That availability worked out well when Holmes obtained a $100,000 grant from the El Pomar Foundation that allows him to pay the motel costs for people who want to get off the creeks but have no money or jobs.
There is no time limit for people staying at the Express Inn, said co-owner Barry Tiggeman. “However, anyone that is sponsored through the El Pomar grant must be actively working toward self-sufficiency (ie actively seeking jobs, sending out resumes, applying for food stamps in a timely manner, looking for more permanent housing, etc.),” he said. “It is not the goal of the El Pomar grant to assist in laziness and apathy.”
So far the effort to find work for the relocated has been a success story. “Nobody (out of 29) has lost their jobs,” Holmes said. “They're hungry, in the metaphorical sense.”
If any business needs workers, he urged them to call him at 955-0731. “We do screen people,” he noted. “So we're careful who we send out.”
The remaining 125 or so creekside campers may be a little tougher to uproot. Holmes said many are drug and alcohol abusers and have declined requests to move so far. But Officer Brett Iverson, who leads the special Colorado Springs Police Homeless Outreach Team (HOT Team, as it's known) said he thinks there are “just five, maybe,” who might resist once police start handing out warnings (they've held off doing that until this week). One of them even told him, “You're going to have to arrest me,” Iverson said. “But I still hope to get out of this without writing one ticket.”
A potential problem in the homeless relocation effort looms in May, which is when the El Pomar grant is expected to run out. This has brought criticism from some of those who had argued against the no-camping ordinance to begin with, saying the motel-relocation effort will fall apart as a result. But Holmes said he is working to find other assistance, from sources such as churches and individuals who were donating food, firewood and clothing to the homeless in the camps. He is urging them now to start providing case management for the increasing numbers of people trying to rise up from homelessness.
But in the end, Holmes believes, personal incentive is necessary. “The difference between the liberal do-gooders and me is that they see homelessness as a permanent situation, and I don't,” Holmes said. “I ask not to be called a homeless advocate. I'm an advocate for self-sufficiency.”
City Council approved what are two ordinances Feb. 23, essentially disallowing public camping.
Westside Pioneer article | <urn:uuid:7dbd8a1a-b2fd-4fe5-a301-94f2bf9e62cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://westsidepioneer.com/Articles/031110/Campers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981105 | 1,008 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Probably no plant says summer, freshness, coolness and beauty to a location more than the fern.
There are hundreds of ferns and many are in the market scene for the home gardener. There are ferns for hanging baskets, for containers on stands and for growing directly in soil. There are ferns for indoors, for the porch or patio and for the outdoors.
They all have about the same requirements. The major one is water. If you aren’t planning to water your ferns regularly then leave them at the nursery.
Most ferns need shade or partial shade. An indoor plant in front of a window that is sunny part of the day will do well. A fern in a hanging basket or on a plant stand on your porch that gets plenty of light but little direct sun will do well. A fern in the ground that gets dappled sun will do well. Put any of these in full sun all day and the plants will not do well. They may live, but that will be the most you’ll get from them.
When planting a fern, set it in a pot containing good garden soil and a lot of humus, such as material from your compost pile, peat moss or shredded bark. Think of the fern’s natural habitat, which is on the ground under trees where it lives happily on the composted leaves and bark.
There are three decisions regarding your fern choices.
The first is size. If yours is for your porch or patio, you will probably want a large fern to fill the basket or planter and to “make a statement” on the porch. You probably would not choose a small plant such as polypodium polyp diodes, the little 5- to 7-inch fern that would like living in a shaded rock garden. The one most often offered by garden centers is nephrolepis exaltata, “Bostoniense,” usually called Boston fern.
The second decision is form. For baskets and containers on stands, choose a plant with the cascading fronds that flow over the basket downward. As new fronds develop, their growth will be upward, so your basket will be filled with both upward and downward fronds.
The third decision is hardiness. Most ferns like warm weather and can take coolness but not frost. There are some ferns, including evergreen crytomium falcate, or holly fern, and the Christmas fern, which will survive our cold for years, but will look pretty ratty by winter’s end.
Most ferns have to be brought indoors when the weatherman predicts freezing temperatures. They will live indoors through the winter, but you have to keep them watered and misted. Heating systems, though welcomed by the human residents, are a bane to ferns, drying their leaves.
There are dozens of lovely ferns to choose from: fluffy ruffles, maidenhair, asparagus, Christmas fern, etc. Therefore, your assignment: Plan to use more ferns in your indoor/outdoor garden designs. | <urn:uuid:29b9183c-6cc3-4fc9-b399-c6f7edec8638> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/sep/04/just-add-water-ferns-are-beautiful-indoors-or-out/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94323 | 664 | 2.484375 | 2 |
My apologies to Nico, and others if my assertions were overly abrupt. And my thanks to Hennie, and others for you're affirmation. I must agree with Nico, trees will never talk, at least in any anthropocentric way. They dont have vocal chords. Writing accurately and specifically, much of the current research, based on the recognized hard sciences is not looking at "trees" and "talking" but rather "communication" more generally than "talking"; and at "plants" more generally than just "trees". Further, the more specific knowledge details communication within a single plant, though there is some evidence of communication between plants; and between plants and the community of soil based micro-organisms at the roots.
I am certainly not an expert, nor do I know all of the research; my comment of sending the trees off to war was a bit over the top, but not entirely uninformed. As a species, we do tend to find some way to abuse most of what we acquire dominion over. However, as this is the list for skeptical druids; I post below a sampler of citations. These are meant more to suggest the direction of further research than to post complete objective evidence. Much of this work is published under subscription and copyright. Hence, I include here the (Harvard form) citations, along with relevant samples from the text.
Witzany, G. 2008, "The Biosemiotics of Plant Communication", The American Journal of Semiotics, vol. 24, no. 1-3, pp. 39-39-56,208.
This contribution demonstrates that the development and growth of plants depends on the success of complex communication processes. These communication processes are primarily sign-mediated interactions and are not simply an mechanical exchange of information) as that term has come to be understood (or misunderstood) in science. Rather, such interactions as I will be describing here involve the active coordination and organisation of a great variety of different behavioural patterns - all of which must be mediated by signs.
Thus proposed, a biosemiotics of plant communication investigates communication processes both within and among the cells, tissues, and organs of plants as sign-mediated interactions which follow (1) combinatorial (syntactic), (2) context-sensitive (pragmatic) and (3) content-specific (semantic) levels of rules. As will be seen in the cases under investigation, the context of interactions in which a plant organism is interwoven determines the content arrangement of its response behaviour. And as exemplified by the multiply semiotic roles played by the plant hormone auxin that I will discuss below, this means that a molecule type of identical chemical structure may function in the instantiation of different meanings (semantics) that are determined by the different contexts (pragmatics) in which this sign is used.
Biosemiotics investigates the use of signs within and between organisms. Such signs may be signals or symbols, and many of them are chemical molecules. In the highly developed eukaryotic kingdoms, the behavioural patterns of organisms may also serve as signs, as for example, the dances of bees. Such signs obey the semiotic rules appropriate to their three level types. Thus: (1) their syntax determines the combinatory possibilities of a given set of signs - whether physical and chemical (e.g., Watson-Crickbase-pairing), or spatial, temporal, and rhythmical (i.e., the relationship among the signs); (2) their pragmatics determines the relationship between a sign-user (within its interactional context) and the signs to be negotiated, and (3) their semantics (which is to say: their meanings) depend on the pragmatic interactional contexts within which a sign-using individual is, by necessity, interwoven - and, therefore, on the particular relation between the signs and the signified content that is required in the specific context.
Recent investigation into the biosemiotics of plant communication provides robust empirical evidence about sign-mediated interactions taking place incessantly both within and between plants, as well as between plants and non-plant organisms. As can be seen, there is a great variety of signalling processes in the organismic kingdom of plants, and this argues against the notion, held for too long now, that plants can be considered as automation-like organisms. With this article I hope to show that further investigation into the biosemiotics of plant communication may help us to better understand these fascinating organisms, in all of their communicative competence.
Zimmermann, M.R., Maischak, H., Mithöfer, A., Boland, W. & Felle, H.H. 2009, "System Potentials, a Novel Electrical Long-Distance Apoplastic Signal in Plants, Induced by Wounding1", Plant Physiology, vol. 149, no. 3, pp. 1593-1593-600.
Understanding systemic signaling in plants has long been recognized as a major scientific challenge. In principle, the systemic signaling induced by wounding and/or pathogen or herbivore attack may be realized by either chemical or electrical signals. Chemical signals have been shown to be involved in long distance signaling, propagating likely from organ to organ either through the vascular system or as volatiles that are released into the atmosphere, carrying the message not only to organs within a plant but possibly to neighboring plants as well (Heil and Silva Bueno, 2007; Heil and Ton, 2008; Howe and Jander, 2008; Mithöfer et al., 2009). Other studies suggest that upon wounding, electrical signals may travel through phloem and/or xylem elements (Davies, 1987; Rhodes et al., 1996). Interestingly, such electrical signals have also been shown to affect systemic leaves, for example, by regulating genes (Graham et al., 1986;Wildon et al., 1992; Stankovic and Davies, 1997; Herde et al., 1998). Among other genes, proteinase inhibitor (Pin) and calmodulin mRNA have been up-regulated in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) upon wounding and the application of heat stimuli (Stankovic and Davies, 1997). Plants that elicited no electrical signal did not accumulate Pin mRNA (Stankovic and Davies, 1997). In particular, the induction of Pin genes is striking because these proteinase inhibitors are induced upon insect herbivory as a defense reaction (Green and Ryan, 1972). Proteinase inhibitors either harm the attackers or simply prevent insects from feeding (Koiwa et al., 1997). Although, in principle, cellular reactions in plants have also been demonstrated to follow the release of electrical signals induced by heat, chilling, or electric voltage, to what extent such signals carry specific information in nonspecialized plants or organs is disputed.
Karban, R., Shiojiri, K. & Ishizaki, S. 2010, "An Air Transfer Experiment Confirms the Role of Volatile Cues in Communication between Plants", The American Naturalist, vol. 176, no. 3, pp. 381.
Previous studies reported that sagebrush plants near experimentally clipped neighbors experienced less herbivory than did plants near unclipped neighbors. Blocking air flow with plastic bags made this effect undetectable. However, some scientists remained skeptical about the possibility of volatile communication between plants since the existence and identity of a cue that operates in nature have never been demonstrated. We conducted an air transfer experiment that collected air from the headspace of an experimentally clipped donor plant and delivered it to the headspace of an unclipped assay plant. We found that assay plants treated with air from clipped donors were less likely to be damaged by naturally occurring herbivores in a field experiment. This simple air transfer experiment fulfills the most critical of Koch's postulates and provides more definitive evidence for volatile communication between plants. It also provides an inexpensive experimental protocol that can be used to screen plants for interplant communication in the field. | <urn:uuid:069c6899-1cbd-4bf6-be2e-fb7071b0e040> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.druidry.org/board/dhp/viewtopic.php?p=414484 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941634 | 1,642 | 2.1875 | 2 |
WasteNot iPhone App Lets You Grow a Garden of Good Ideas...and Learn to Write Your Own Green Apps!
Screenshot via WasteNot
WasteNot is a new app for your iPhone that gives tips for living in a more eco-friendly fashion. But it's not your typical tips app. This one has some very neat features that not only lets you know ways in which you can be more green, but also lets you share ideas and see how your ideas and actions are making a real impact. It does so by creating a garden - each idea is a "seed" and using the seed is equal to "watering" the garden. As more people incorporate your tips into their life, and you incorporate theirs in yours, the more your garden grows. And (possibly) even more exciting, they tell you how to write your own app. WasteNot is a free app that allows you to post a "seed" of an idea that other people can "water" by using your idea in their life. Your impact becomes a "garden" and the world grows into a better place through this idea sharing. You can incorporate "seeds" from other people into your life too. Check out how it works in the video below.
So, you can browse and search for good ideas to reduce your impact on the environment. Share your ideas with others, and see how all those ideas are making an impact globally.
"Water Seeds to let us know that you're using an idea in your life. We keep track of all of the waterings so you can see how much of a difference you and everyone using WasteNot are making. Check out our interactive world maps that let you zoom in to see where Seeds have been watered. Watch the savings grow in MyGarden because of your ideas and actions."
DON'T FORGET: TreeHugger has an iPhone app too, so you are never far from the top green stories of the day! Download it for free.
It's a really fun idea for being interactive in the green community and what's extra brilliant is that the urge to see our virtual gardens grow will keep people returning to the app and implementing more ideas into daily life. Smart! But that's not the only smart part.
WasteNot took thousands of hours from a team of over 20 people to build, all because they started from scratch rather than going off expert input. While the learning experience was fun, they want to help others create apps more quickly, so they wrote a book, including chapters on: Privacy, Technology,
Legal & Corporate Formation, their core "FailSoft" strategy, app Marketing, and
one describing the major decisions when building WasteNot itself.
"By launching the book and the app together, we hope that they'll combine to get
our messages of "help others make the world better" and "world good before
profit" out to as broad as an audience as possible while we have this unique
window of opportunity, inspiration, and world-wide focus on the environment.
And if the two efforts end up driving sales to each other, and we end up able to
pay our bills and debts as a result, even better."
We love it. And the app sounds like fun!
More on Green Apps
More Than 100 iPhone Apps For Green Shopping, Eating, Travel and Fun
New iPhone App Helps Locate Free, Hyper-Local Fruit
GreenMap's New iPhone App Helps You Find The Green Hotspots Nearby | <urn:uuid:5675542e-e303-4ae6-ab67-7a5a80321571> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/wastenot-iphone-app-lets-you-grow-a-garden-of-good-ideasand-learn-to-write-your-own-green-apps.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948572 | 714 | 2.25 | 2 |
Horse shows and events are prime places for a horse to catch an infectious disease. In recent years there have been reports of disease outbreaks at horse shows, thus simple measures to protect your horse could mean the difference between coming home with a blue ribbon or a sick horse. Contagious diseases significantly endanger the well-being of horses in addition to having potentially devastating financial and emotional effects. Horses that travel are exposed to conditions outside the normal including enclosed spaces, poor ventilation, fluctuations in ambient temperatures and co-mingling of a large number of horses from different areas, states or countries. In addition to abnormal conditions, horses that travel are stressed resulting in a decrease in immunity making them likely to develop clinical disease when exposed to common pathogens (germs).
There are simple steps deemed the ABCD’s of biosecurity for the traveling show horse that will help to assure the health of your horse is not compromised. These steps involve proper health care, disinfection and an awareness of day-to-day hygiene. "A” stands for appropriate health care, which starts at home. This refers to establishing the best practices to maintain the general health of your horse and includes appropriate vaccinations, proper deworming, a suitable diet and proper exercise. The goal is to keep the immune system healthy. An appropriate vaccination schedule can be discussed with your veterinarian who will know of the possible contagious diseases in your area and the area you are traveling to.
"B” refers to the best form of transportation for the horse. The ideal means to transport your horse is in a properly cleaned and disinfected trailer, preferably your own. If commercial transportation is the only way you can ship your horse, research the company and ship only with a company that appropriately cleans and disinfects the trailer. If you can "smell horse” in the empty trailer then it has not been cleaned and disinfected properly. It is best not to ship with other horses of unknown health status. Good ventilation when shipping is important as is tying the horse loosely in the trailer. Research has shown that tying a horse’s head up makes it more prone to respiratory disease because it is harder for the horse to clear the airways of debris and mucous.
"C” refers to cleanliness especially of the show grounds. Stalls should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between uses either by the event coordinator or by the participants. Prior to putting your horse into the stall, note if the stall has been cleaned. If there is old bedding or feed material in the stall, you know it has not been properly cleaned and disinfected. There are times when it is nearly impossible to appropriately clean and disinfect a stall because the material the stall is made out of is porous (i.e. wood) and the floor is dirt. In a perfect world the best cleaning methodis to remove all bedding, scrub the walls and floor with a detergent, rinse, allow walls to dry, and then spray with a disinfectant. The literature has shown that physically scrubbing surfaces with soap and water followed by rinsing removes about 90-95% of bacteria and viruses. Unfortunately this is not practical thus a modification is to remove all of the old bedding and feed material and spray the surfaces with a disinfectant. If there is a large amount of organic material (dirt, fecal matter) on the walls, removal with soap and water is recommended prior to applying the disinfectant. A garden pump sprayer makes a good way to carry and apply disinfectants (photo at right). In this scenario an appropriate disinfectant is one that is effective even in the presence of organic material such as a "phenol” compound. These disinfectants can be recognized by "-phenol” or "-phenate” at the end of the chemical name on the label (examples include One-Stroke Environ® or Tek-trol®). Diluted bleach (8 ounces bleach to 1 gallon of water) is an inexpensive disinfectant but it works best on a surface that has been thoroughly cleaned.
"D” refers to day-to- day hygiene. This refers to many day to day activities at the show that put your horse at risk for exposure to germs. Closed or heated show grounds ay be comfortable for you but usually result in poor ventilation and exposure of your horse to temperature fluctuations. Good ventilation and temperature control can help to reduce stress on the respiratory tract and circulation of germs/pathogens. Although it is impossible to restrict traffic around your horse, it is possible to limit direct contact to only essential people. Don’t let unfamiliar people pet or handle your horse because they may have just been touching another horse that was sick. Alcohol based hand sanitizers or disinfectant wipes are an effective means to reduce the amount of germs on your hands. Do not loan or borrow equipment including buckets, towels, brushes and mucking equipment. If you need to borrow equipment appropriately disinfect it prior to using it on your horse. Avoid taking your horse to community water or grazing areas. Communal water hoses can be a source of contamination, thus bring your own hose. In general do not submerge the end of the hose into the bucket because the end could be a potential way to transmit germs from bucket to bucket. Monitor your horse’s temperature several times a day. Be aware of other horses stalled near your horse. Listen for coughing and observe for nasal discharge because this may be a sign of an infectious disease. Don’t let your horse touch other horses especially nose to nose because this is a common way to spread contagious organisms. Wearing rubber soled shoes allows for proper disinfection of your footwear. Consider keeping rubber slip-ons to wear only when around your horse thus preventing tracking of germs from the show grounds to your horse.Biosecurity does not stop once you leave the show grounds. Before leaving the show grounds clean and disinfect tack, boots, equipment and grooming supplies. Once at home change your clothes and boots prior to handling resident horses. Isolate the returning horse from your resident horses for 14 days and monitor for clinical signs of an infectious disease. Appropriate biosecurity is important for the traveling show horse. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. | <urn:uuid:7b461c16-fd86-4d32-8bb6-7a71a04a6eea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.roodandriddle.com/news/biosecurityforthetravelingshowhorse.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945885 | 1,285 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Owners of investment properties such as apartment buildings and duplexes have to comply with this law by Jan. 1. Most agents like me who deal with buying and selling real estate have been privy to this for quite some time. In the case of short sales it is typically the agent who ends up installing or at least paying for them to be installed prior to the close of escrow, because the seller has typically decided not to put any more money into the home.
The law says that these detectors must be installed in all dwelling units. What is considered a dwelling unit? A dwelling unit is defined as a single-family dwelling, duplex, lodging house, dormitory, hotel, motel, condominium, time share unit or a multiple-unit dwelling building. Essentially, it's anywhere where someone sleeps.
These devices should be installed outside each sleeping area within the home. Following the manufacturer's instructions will help you determine where they are most appropriate. These devices do not take the place of a smoke detector. There is, however, a combination smoke and carbon monoxide
Also coming in 2013 is a California law that will protect homeowners who default on their refinance loans from personal liability for any deficiency following foreclosure. Currently, anti-deficiency law protects a borrower from personal liability for the difference between the principal balance and what the lender receives at foreclosure if the loan is a purchase money loan secured by an owner-occupied property with one to four residential units.
Here is how homeowners are protected now: Under California law, homeowners who borrow money to buy a house are protected from "deficiency liability" under California Code. Unfortunately, that protection is lost when the mortgage is refinanced, since the debt is no longer a "purchase money" obligation.
The new law, SB 1069, which was signed by Gov. Brown on July 9, extends that anti-deficiency protection to include any loan used to refinance the purchase money loan, plus any loan fees, costs and related expenses for the refinance. The anti-deficiency protection, however, does not extend to any "cash out" in a refinance, which is when the lender advances new principal not applied to any obligation owed under the purchase money loan.
Chris Vigil is Broker Owner of Chris Vigil Real Estate in Whittier and can be reached at www.ChrisVigil.net or 562-945-4422. | <urn:uuid:0ade17ca-c830-4e4f-9f26-cb0158526f03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whittierdailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_22132138/chris-vigil-new-laws-affect-housing-market | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963155 | 491 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Take a Pass on Passover Markups
The Jewish holiday of Passover (April 19-26 this year) celebrates the exodus of the ancient Israelites from Egypt, when they filled their baking pans with unleavened dough and left slavery behind for the wide-open possibilities of the desert.
But that doesn’t mean modern-day Jews need to be slaves to exorbitant kosher-for-Passover markups. Passover food tends to run 20% above already inflated kosher prices. We’re talking $5 jars of jelly and $6 boxes of cereal. Sure, the certification process is time-consuming, requiring around-the-clock supervision, sterilized production equipment, and rabbi-approved individual ingredients. But with limited competition, food companies are taking full advantage.
In the early 1990s, the three major Passover food manufacturers — Manischewitz, Streit’s, and Horowitz — were implicated in a price-fixing scheme. Fines were levied and kosher food donations secured, but little has changed despite mounting complaints.
The time has come for consumers to take back the leaven-free holiday. Here are some tips to get you started.
1. Learn to Cook
Hit up your grandmother for some of her favorite kosher-for-Passover recipes, roast your own veggies, bake your own apples, or buy some matzo meal and go to town. I know it’s time-consuming, but do you really want to pay $12 for a Passover fruit cake that tastes like yard art? Buy cheaper cuts of meat or, better yet, go fish. (See also: How to Shop for Fresh Fish)
2. Be Label-Conscious
Depending on your Jewish sect and observance level, not every food item needs a kosher-for-Passover seal of approval. Fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, fresh meat and fish, as well as detergents and scouring powders are certified kosher year-round. Even unopened packages of coffee, pure white sugar, spices, honey, milk, butter, cottage cheese, cream cheese, and baking soda are perfectly fine if they were purchased before Passover, according to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s Committee on Law and Standards. Combine these ingredients with the tip above, and you’ll have enough money leftover for a fancy-schmancy Seder plate.
In general, the following items always need a kosher-for-Passover label: baked goods, wine, candy, canned tuna, and bottled juices. For a complete list, check out this article on what to eat and not eat during Passover. Certain foods are banned entirely, including leavened bread, cakes, crackers, wheat, barley, and oats. Beware of matzah that is not marked kosher-for-Passover (yes, people really do eat matzah at other times of the year). Some Jews even feed Fido table scraps and matzo farfel or loan him to a non-Jew during Passover to avoid the inevitable dog-food conflicts.
3. Jump on the Gluten-Free Bandwagon
Our gluten-intolerant friends really paved the way for Passover cuisine. The holiday’s dietary restrictions are largely gluten-free. Trader Joe's has a huge selection of tasty, non-wheat goodies without the Passover price tag. Just be sure to check the ingredients. If you have wheat allergies, remember that the reverse isn’t always true — just because something is OK for Passover doesn’t mean it’s gluten-free. (See also: Homemade Gluten-Free Noodles and Homemade Gluten-Free Bread)
4. Buy in Bulk
More is less when it comes to buying Passover food in bulk. Join a food co-op through a Jewish organization or hightail it to Costco. The major discount chain has significantly expanded its kosher and kosher-for-Passover offerings in recent years, including its private-label Kirkland Signature brand. The largest selection is still concentrated in the northeast and in South Florida. Costco’s location in Lawrence, NY, for instance, has been dubbed the Costco Kosher Capital. | <urn:uuid:b07dc2e5-2382-4136-b4b6-641161c72a7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wisebread.com/take-a-pass-on-passover-markups?quicktabs_2=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933311 | 874 | 1.992188 | 2 |
A group of over 100 people protested at Parliament on Friday against a proposal by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies to label goods originating from Israel as made in “occupied Palestinian territories”.
The protesters held aloft posters urging, among other things, “Justice for Israel”.
According to an information brochure handed out during the protest, the trade and industry department planned to require products produced in areas under Israeli control - but envisaged as part of the 1947 UN partition plan to be part of a future Arab state - to be labelled “Produced in the occupied Palestinian territories”.
“Aside from a number of technical flaws in promulgating and applying such a regulation, the decision to cast a spotlight on this particular case relating to Israel, in the absence of similar initiatives relating to a multitude of other disputed territories, indicates political pressure and exploitation,” it said.
Labelling products “made in the occupied Palestinian territories” would also transform the status of the land from “disputed” to “occupied” and further undermine the importance of arriving at a negotiated settlement by the parties involved.
The protesters handed a jointly-issued memorandum from the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (SA), Bridges for Peace South Africa, Transformation Africa, and various other organisations, to African Christian Democratic Party MP Steve Swart and a representative of the trade and industry department.
The ACDP had joined in the peaceful demonstration together with individuals, churches, and Christian and Jewish groups.
Swart said Parliament exercised oversight over all actions by the executive and “we parliamentarians will definitely be monitoring the process” regarding the proposed regulation very closely.
He also undertook to ensure that a copy of the memorandum was forwarded to the chair of the portfolio committee on trade and industry.
“We join all organisations in praying and working for a peaceful resolution to the challenges in the Middle East,” he said.
South Africa, with its history and example of peaceful resolution, could play a meaningful role in assisting in bringing peace to the Middle East.
“We have diplomatic ties with Israel and recognise its sovereignty. Yet our government makes no effort to conceal the fact that it supports the Palestinian cause.
“One seldom hears an unbiased statement in Parliament. We would urge the government to desist from taking sides if it truly wishes to assist in resolving issues in the Middle East,” Swart said. - Sapa | <urn:uuid:cdcbb362-f40d-4768-bf90-48a209156c53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iol.co.za/business/business-news/pro-israel-protest-at-parliament-1.1331236 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947747 | 499 | 1.765625 | 2 |
|Lecture: Statics and Motions|
Hubbard remarks about faith; disparages other religions on this subject.
Now, you can get a shadow of ARC by the creation of statics—belief: “You have to love Mama,” and so on.
“Because I say so.”
That operation immediately starts the child down on the dwindling spiral. But this is what you are processing out of people; you are processing beliefs out of them.
I don’t want you to believe a single one of these axioms until you have looked it over and seen what you have seen in the physical universe. Otherwise, the same thing will happen here that happened in organized religion, and we don’t want anything to do with that. They say, “Now, you’ve got to have faith, and we’re going to explain to you so you will understand.” You might as well say “The reason why we have a can of lampblack here is because it’s all full of white paint—but it’s lampblack.”
“Have faith, and now you understand why you have faith.”
People say, “But I don’t understand why it is that Mohammedanism and Buddhism and Christianity are so much alike and yet they had all these fights.” They might as well save their breath. They are talking about faith and there is no understanding on the subject required!
Now, authoritarianism is a static. That is why it is not liked. Somebody says “Now, you’ve got to believe so-and-so and so-and-so about this,” and people say, “Why?”
—L. Ron Hubbard
Lecture 09 October 1951: Statics and Motions
|< Previous Article||Next Article>| | <urn:uuid:f73d1a85-24ce-4c41-8027-f1314792748c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://carolineletkeman.org/sp/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=167&Itemid=185 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958133 | 399 | 1.992188 | 2 |
ARCHIVE: Food supply disruption risks
Disruptions to food supply are most likely to be triggered by a wider emergency where another Department is in the lead or Defra is leading because of its other responsibilities.
Defra’s role is to provide an assessment of the food supply situation in England and to develop and agree a handling and communications strategy in association with the food sector and other Government Departments.
What we are not responsible for
Food contamination and standards (including labelling, additives etc) are the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency.
Page last modified: 17 September 2009
Page published: 13 February 2008 | <urn:uuid:3648ee70-5873-49d2-bb80-f7eda00c464f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/how/contingency/topics/food.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955528 | 127 | 2.625 | 3 |
Should a woman have hormone replacement therapy?-A A +A
To Your Health
Friday, November 23, 2012
FIRST and foremost, this author would like to apologize to our dear readers and friends for the delay of the appearance of this article, which for all the high-tech advantages of computers and gadgets, got lost in transit. At any rate, it is our fervent hope that the delay has not at all, diminished the enthusiasm and interest of our beloved women of menopausal age, including their anxious husbands.
Our health columnist-colleague Ms. Sara T. Poumerol says that doctors prescribe HRT for two major reasons; relief of menopausal complaints, in which treatment is given for two to three years and then tapered off; and/or protection against osteoporosis and other long term ailments. Women have a variety of treatments from which to choose.
Women who have had hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) together with her two ovaries are often given estrogen therapy. Otherwise, most women use a combination of two hormones (estrogen and progesterone) to counter the negative effect of estrogen on the uterus. Relief of urogental signs and symptoms is also available in estrogen vaginal suppositories, cream and the so-called vaginal ring.
Today, doctors and psychologists as well as marriage counselors understand the more complex nature of the maintenance of libido (sexual urge and desire) of women, even in their menopausal stage. Female sexual urges, as well as the male libido is activated by male sex hormones or androgens. Women naturally produce androgens during their 20s and 30s - more than their output of estrogens. A new formulation that combines male and female hormones (estrogen-androgen combination) replaces the lost androgens in menopausal women providing a big boost to their sexual drive and a significant improvement in their mood and energy level, thus improving their quality of life. Also, as compared to estrogen alone, the estrogen-androgen combination may better protect against ospteoporosis because androgens are important for maintaining bone density.
Some researchers have shown that when taken for over five years, HRT might boost a woman's chance of getting breast cancer by 30 to 40%. The data so far are not compelling nor consistent for a strong link between HRT and breast cancer. At that time, the medical world recommended against prescribing conventional HRT for women at high risk for breast cancer (if she has a mother, sister or daughter with premenopausal breast cancer.
Nowadays, the thinking and the attitude has changed. Many medical societies have discovered that based on experience and research, the benefits of HRT greatly outweighed the risks, unless the woman has two family relatives with breast cancer. Besides, some researchers believe that estrogen may actually benefit women who have already survived breast cancer.
As a personal rejoinder, this author strongly advise every woman, of menopuasal vintage, to consult their family physician and make informed co decisions before their consent is given to undergo hormone replacement therapy.
Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on November 24, 2012. | <urn:uuid:fd52a9a5-be2a-4586-8508-b1427f4be3f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/opinion/2012/11/23/dumaguing-should-woman-have-hormone-replacement-therapy-254815 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954379 | 644 | 1.671875 | 2 |
National Geographic News
The Earth is dressed in layers that protect it from the sun's fierce winds, and scientists have identified a new one they call a "warm plasma cloak."
The magnetosphere—the shield of ions and electrons that envelops Earth—extends far beyond the atmosphere, defending the planet from the harmful solar wind.
(Related: "Sun's Mysterious Waves Found; May Be Solar Wind Source" [December 6, 2007].)
Charles "Rick" Chappell, a physicist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, led a research team that assembled information dating back decades to describe the new magnetosphere layer.
Some of the first hints of the cloak first showed up in data from research satellites in the early 1970s. The cloak was finally confirmed by NASA's Polar satellite, which ended a 12-year run in April 2008.
The cloak's discovery creates a theoretical home for particles that didn't fit with any of the other understood parts of the Earth's magnetosphere, Chappell said.
"The cloak particles didn't fit with any of the other regions."
The results appeared in fall 2008 in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
Chappell and his colleagues called the layer the "warm plasma cloak" because it conjured an image for them of a person on a horse, wearing a long cloak. Plasma is ionized gas found in space.
The cloak's tails billow in response to the direction of solar winds.
The warm plasma cloak begins thinly on the nightside—or darkside—of the planet and wraps around to the dayside, where it becomes thickest until noon. In the afternoon, convective winds push the cloak out toward the edge of the magnetosphere, where it's peeled off by solar winds.
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES | <urn:uuid:008ad33b-6b34-41c3-bf83-5a9220f4b617> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090107-warm-plasma-cloak.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921214 | 375 | 4.125 | 4 |
In a move that should not be considered as unexpected, the Swiss have voted to deport foreign criminals:
Swiss voters have agreed to expel foreigners convicted of crimes ranging from murder to welfare fraud, without appeal, in the latest example of a sweeping set of popular antiforeigner measures around Europe.
Some 53 percent of Swiss voted for a “Deportation Initiative” brought by the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) a year after it engineered an initiative banning the building of minarets. Senior European Union officials decried a new “populist surge” on the continent…
The Deportation Initiative requires local judges to automatically deport persons of foreign origin whether or not they were born in Switzerland – and deportations apply to major crimes as well as lesser crimes, such as drug trafficking or fraudulent acceptance of unemployment benefits. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/1129/Swiss-vote-to-expel-foreign-criminals-adds-to-populist-surge-across-Europe
This is causing Switzerland some international concerns as some of the, now to be required, deportations may violate various international treaties the Swiss have approved.
The vote also resulted in protests in Zurich.
But across Europe, Europeans have been rising up against certain immigrants and practices (such as what the Swiss did last year, see Switzerland Votes to Ban Minarets and the French and others are doing, see Burqa Banning in Belgium, Italy, France, and Australia). There is voter unrest and even some civil unrest.
Things are changing in Europe. Including in Switzerland.
Two articles of possibly related interest may include:
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? What is ahead for Europe?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? | <urn:uuid:71627bbe-c68b-4c29-8d1a-afa5f3f4061b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cogwriter.com/news/religious-news/swiss-vote-to-expel-foreign-criminals/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944061 | 516 | 1.820313 | 2 |
The collection is the lifeblood of the Museum and in 2011/12 the BM
was fortunate to be able to acquire a wide range of objects, from the large-scale to the humble, due to the unstinting generosity of individual donors, fundraising bodies and foundations. Acquisitions include: the funding from Hamish Parker to acquire a complete set of Picasso's Vollard Suite produced in the 1930s (currently drawing crowds to the Prints and Drawings gallery); an extraordinary set of 17th century private tokens from London which provided small change for local goods and services across the city; and the Museum's most recent acquisition made just last week was a donation of a pin badge commemorating the visit of Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to the UK, which shows her as a modern saint with the London Eye as a halo. All acquisitions both large and small ensure that the Museum continues to reflect world culture, both ancient and contemporary.
Equally important is the display of the collection. Thanks to funding from Citi we have been able to re-display the BM's pre-eminent collection of coins and banknotes, presenting a significant new history of the world through the prism of currency. The opening of the gallery at a time of global financial crisis reminds us of the long history of boom and bust, bubbles and slumps. The gallery investigates the extraordinarily wide range of forms money can take and the equally extraordinary range of uses to which people have put their money over the centuries. Future galleries include a major redisplay of the gallery of early modern Europe, looking at the wider world of Sutton Hoo. This has been made possible by a generous donation from Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock. The BM's collections on this period are among the best in the world and reach from North Africa to Scandinavia and from the Atlantic to the Asian Steppes. The new display will open in 2013/14. In addition the Museum can announce generous new funding from the Rothschild Foundation to support the re-display of the famous Waddesdon Bequest. The bequest was originally made to the Museum in 1898 and is one of the most remarkable collections of its kind, a group of almost 300 objects of medieval and renaissance jewellery, metalwork, glass and ceramics including the extraordinary Holy Thorn Reliquary and the Lyte Jewel (which will feature in the Shakespeare exhibition). The collection will be displayed in its entirety in an original Smirke designed room beyond the Enlightenment Gallery.
Funding for the Museum's major capital project, the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre received a further £10 million funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund ensuring the project is now nearly 90% funded. Building work continues and the Centre will open in March 2014 with a major exhibition on the Vikings. The BP exhibition (working title The Viking World') is a collaboration with the National Museum of Denmark and the Museum for Prehistory and Early History in Berlin and will emphasise the significance of the Vikings in a global context, rather than in the usual focus on northern Europe and the North Atlantic. The Viking age was a period of major change, both in terms of the Viking impact on neighbouring areas, and the introduction of external influences into Scandinavia. Viking Scandinavia was more diverse than previously recognised, and drew external influences from both Christian Europe and the Islamic World. The exhibition will explore these cultural influences, and will highlight recent reinterpretations of the Vikings. It will include major finds never seen before in the UK, including a purpose-built representation of the longest Viking ship ever found, the warship 'Roskilde 6'. At 37m long it will incorporate the surviving elements of the ship in a framework which indicates the total size and shape of the ship, and highlights the capacity of the new exhibition space. In addition to objects from Scandinavia and the UK, the exhibition will also include finds from Russia and eastern Europe, as well as treasures from the BM's own collection including the Vale of York hoard, found in 2007. The BM version of the exhibition will also include a section on the continued legacy of the Vikings in the UK today.
The generosity of the Dorset Foundation and money from the Art Fund Prize has supported the BM's national programmes across the UK. A series of Spotlight Tours of single objects begins with the loan of an important sculpture of Herakles travel to Bexhill, followed by the Gayer Anderson Egyptian Cat to Shetland and the Mildenhall Great Dish to Suffolk. The Dorset Foundation has committed funds to support national activity for the next three years. This will include a major new touring exhibition which will explore the diversity of the Roman Empire and a partnership gallery at Lews Castle, Shetland.
2011/12 in numbers
The British Museum received over 5.8 million visitors in 2011/2012, and is the most popular cultural attraction in the UK for a fifth year running
Grayson Perry: the Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman was seen by 117,000 visitors.
Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam was seen by 140,000 visitors. 66% from a black and minority ethnic background with 47% Muslim attendance.
Future exhibitions in 2013 will look at Ice Age art and the archaeology of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The BP exhibition 'The Viking World' will open in 2014.
Picasso Prints: The Vollard Suite has received 147,000k visitors in the first 8 weeks.
'The horse: from Arabia to Royal Ascot', the Museum's Diamond Jubilee exhibition has been seen by over 59k visitors since it opened on the 24th May.
Online and On Air
Online visitors increased by 35% to more than 11.7 million to britishmuseum.org
Total visits to all BM websites were over 23 million.
The BM's Chinese site received 2.3 million visits in the last year, double the figure on the previous year.
Online collection records grew to over 2 million, the largest figure of any comparable museum or gallery.
Over 28 million downloads of the A History of the World radio programmes worldwide and over 360,000 copies of the accompanying book have been sold worldwide.
The RAJAR's for the radio series 'Shakespeare's Restless World' recorded an average weekly reach across the 2 slots of at least 4m adults. The accompanying book for the series will be published by Penguin in September 2012.
The BM now raises nearly 50% its income from fundraising and other revenue generating activity matching every pound it receives from the government. Fundraising is now the second largest income stream after government funding.
The World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre received additional support with a generous award of £10million from the Heritage Lottery Fund in January 2012
The project is nearly 90% funded through philanthropy and underwriting.
£118million out of the total project costs of £135 million raised.
Renewed its longstanding partnership with the Museum resulting in a five-year programme of special exhibitions. This commences with the BP Exhibition 'The Viking World' in March 2014.
For the first time, BP will support a BM exhibition abroad when 'Mummy: the inside story' opens in Mumbai in November 2012.
Partnership work undertaken by the BM is estimated to have added 942k additional visitors to UK museums.
In 2011/12 the BM loaned 1196 objects nationally across the UK to 70 venues.
Major successes included the tour of Pharaoh: King of Egypt which attracted 155,000 visitors to the Great North Museum in Newcastle and led to a 430% increase in visitors to the Dorset County Museum.
The tour of 'China: Journey to the East', supported by BP, an exhibition of BM collection objects sent around the UK was the most successful of the BM's touring exhibitions and was seen by over 450,000 people.
Future support of the BM's National Programmes has been committed by the Dorset Foundation.
The Museum continued to develop collaborative partnerships across the world
Leadership Training Programme, India
The Museum recently completed a bespoke training programme for future museum leaders in India.
Developed with the Indian Ministry of Culture and the National Culture Fund of India it involved 20 museum professionals from across India being trained across a wide variety of disciplines.
1294 objects were lent internationally to 102 venues outside the country. Highlights included Chinese and European porcelain in Beijing, Egyptian Mummies in Australia and classical sculpture in Mexico and Japan. | <urn:uuid:231ad51d-bd6c-49ba-be84-13b71c4e0b89> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artdaily.com/section/lastweek/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=56615&int_modo=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947809 | 1,729 | 2 | 2 |
Extractive industries in the surface and underground
This Directive aims primarily to improve the safety and health protection of workers in the surface and underground extractive industries.
Council Directive 92/104/EEC of 3 December 1992 concerning minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers in the surface and underground extractive industries (12th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) [Official Journal L 404 of 31.12.1992].
This Directive, which fills the legal vacuum arising from the exclusion of the extractive industries from the scope of Council Directive 89/654/EEC, covers the other two sectors of the extractive industries which are not covered by the Directive on exploration and exploitation by means of boreholes, i.e. exploration for and exploitation of minerals in surface or underground mines and quarries.
This Directive does not concern operations connected with the transport of workers and products outside the workplace. The provisions of Directive 89/391/EEC apply in full without prejudice to the more binding provisions contained in this Directive.
Definition of "surface and underground extractive industries": all industries engaged in activities concerned with extraction of minerals in the open air or underground and/or prospecting with a view to such extraction and/or preparation of extracted materials for sale, but not the processing of extracted materials.
General obligations of the employer
In accordance with this Directive, the employer shall be required to:
- ensure that workplaces are designed and operated in such a way as to protect the workers' safety and/or health;
- make provision for responsible supervision during operation of manned workplaces;
- entrust work involving a special risk only to competent workers;
- ensure that safety instructions are comprehensible to all the workers concerned;
- provide first-aid facilities and run safety exercises at regular intervals;
- prevent fires, explosions and health-endangering noxious atmospheres by taking measures and precautions appropriate to the nature of the operation;
- ensure the presence and maintenance of escape and rescue facilities;
- provide the necessary communication, warning and alarm systems enabling immediate implementation of rescue operations;
- ensure the presence and maintenance of sanitary installations and rest rooms;
- inform workers of the measures to be taken concerning safety and health at the workplace;
- ensure that workers undergo regular health checks;
- ensure consultation and participation of workers on the matters covered by the Directive.
Prior to the commencement of work, the employer must ensure that a document concerning safety and health is prepared and kept up to date (in accordance with Articles 6, 9 and 10 of Directive 89/391/EEC). This document must show, in particular, that the risks run by workers at the workplace have been determined and assessed, that appropriate measures have been taken and that the workplace is designed, operated and maintained in line with safety requirements.
Where workers from more than one firm are present at the same workplace, the employer responsible for the workplace must coordinate the health and safety measures applying to these workers and set them out in the document. This coordination does not affect the liability of individual employers. The employer must immediately report fatal and serious occupational accidents and dangerous occurrences.
Workplaces involving exploration for and exploitation of minerals in mines and quarries used for the first time after 31 December 1993 must satisfy the minimum requirements laid down in the Annex; modifications made after 31 December 1993 must also comply with these minimum requirements; workplaces already in use are allowed a further nine years in order to take account of the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Amendments to the Annexes are to be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 17 of Directive 89/391/EEC.
Member States may waive implementation of this Directive in respect of extractive industries involving dredging, provided that the general principles for protecting the health and safety of the workers concerned are respected.
Member States shall report to the Commission every five years on the implementation of this Directive.
Entry into force - Date of expiry
Deadline for transposition in the Member States
OJ L 404 of 31.12.1992 | <urn:uuid:07337046-2c80-4a0a-8771-189e3509d473> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/employment_and_social_policy/health_hygiene_safety_at_work/c11123b_en.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931692 | 845 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Taman Negara, Malaysia’s premier national park covers four thousand square kilometres of rainforests and is estimated to be more than 130 million years old! A real paradise for nature lovers and everybody else looking for some literally wild excitement.
There is so much to do in the park; anything from rafting to an overnight stay in the caves. I came here to walk the longest (530m) man-made suspension bridge in the world. Walking across the canopy 40m above the ground seemed very exciting so I booked the trip as soon as I got to the nature reserve.
The park was just as I imagined; hot and very humid. The oversized vegetation and unidentified sounds coming from the forest gave me goosebumps. I don’t mind monkeys and birds but just thinking about snakes makes me nervous. So with very mixed emotions, I entered the canopy bridge.
Even though the canopy bridge made of ropes and wood looked pretty stable, my first step onto it made my heart beat go up a little. But a few minutes on the tiny suspended structure between the canopies made me comfortable enough to enjoy the view of the park from above. I really liked that experience, it gave my a new perspective.
Unfortunately there were a few drawbacks about the canopy walk. One, was that there were so many tourists that sometimes the only thing we could hear were the screams of people entering the bridge.
And the second, was that I saw more animals on the streets of India than in the rainforest park. | <urn:uuid:f99ba050-10bc-4f0b-9752-8f934bee056e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itsgoodforus.com/?p=673 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97355 | 310 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Jaime Hayón has recently produced this range of objects - each featuring a unique artwork by the designer - for Japanese ceramics company Choemon.
Also involved in the collaboration is Japanese product design brand Maruwakaya, and between the three of them, have created what we think is a beautiful collection inspired by Japanese culture.
In particular, it's the culture of the dinner table - a realm Choemon have been designing pieces for since 1879, because for over 130 years, they've made everything from tableware to tea sets by hand using traditional techniques passed on from generation to generation.
Using the word and concept ‘Tsunagari' - meaning "relationships", Jaime, Choemon and Maruwakaya put these skills into a contemporary collection.
Drawing from key ideas in Japanese culture concerning relations and links between the people at the table, food, seasons and table wares, the goal was to create pieces that help people recognise these relationships.
And the resulting series of beautifully crafted bowls, cups and vessels is a sensitive balance between the design ideals and philosophies of two cultures. | <urn:uuid:da0862cc-f9f2-4291-a2ec-160817cbae93> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medesignmag.com/products/2533/jaime-hayon-designs-for-kutani-choemon | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967024 | 227 | 1.578125 | 2 |
I miss the Treaty Tree, even though the closest I ever got to it was the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 as they climb from the Nisqually Delta.
It was a snag more than a tree, killed by a cold snap in 1979. But its bare and jagged top was high enough to mark what remained of the grove where Territorial Gov. Issac Stevens and leaders of the South Puget Sound tribes met and signed the Medicine Creek Treaty in 1854.
This wasnt just any treaty. Medicine Creek was the first treaty with Western Washington tribes, establishing the reservations of the Nisqually, Squaxin Island and Puyallup tribes while transferring 2.2 million acres of land to the federal government. Unhappiness with the terms and especially the hillside location of his tribes reservation led to resistance by Nisqually Chief Leschi. The tribe lost the resulting war but did gain a revision of its reservation boundaries to include its current land on the river. Leschi was the final casualty, being unjustly tried and executed despite objections from federal soldiers.
The treaty gave the tribal members rights to fish, hunt and gather in their usual and accustomed places in common with all citizens of the territory language interpreted in the so-called Boldt court decision as reserving half the fish catch for treaty Indians.
This was a spot where history was made that affects both native and nonnative people to this day, said Lacey historian Drew Crooks. When I-5 was built, it was engineered to avoid the grove of Douglas fir on what is now called McAllister Creek, though it might have been too close for the long-term health of the trees, and just one remained.
It was great when we had visitors to be able to point and say Thats where our treaty was signed, said current Nisqually Chairman Cynthia Iyall, a descendent of Leschi.
But nearly six years ago, another storm completed what the 1979 storm set in process. Among the first to notice its absence from the tree line west of the freeway was state forester Ken Russell. He and Olympian columnist John Dodge hiked into the now-remote edge of the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and found the shattered remains.
A short time later, a team from the state and the refuge ventured in by boat and collected what it could. The largest piece was small enough for me to pick up and put over my shoulder, said Department of Transportation landscape architect Ed Winkley.
It was sort of shocking, recalled refuge manager Jean Takekawa of the damaged remains. You wouldnt know there was a tree there.
The biggest chunk was presented to the Nisqually Tribe. At the time, Iyall said the tribe was discussing ways to use it to commemorate the tree and the treaty it came to symbolize. While the treaty had once been seen as the start of the tribes decline, it is now symbolic of its campaign to defend its treaty rights and the newfound self-sufficiency that effort has produced.
Its taken time for the tribe to be in a place to reach self-sufficiency, she said. It was a long journey.
But hopes of marking the place where the treaty was signed or using the wood for a bench or a marker have not been realized. The remains are kept in the tribes archives but are too large to fit in display cases. And the place on the creek is difficult to reach, especially as the delta returns to a natural state.
Takekawa described it as a difficult hike through off-limits sections of the refuge and blackberry patches.
At certain tides, its underwater, she said. It can be reached by boat up the creek, but that, too, would require a very high tide.
A person would have to take you there, she said. Youd have a hard time finding it.
The tribe does have one daily reminder, however. In a quiet corner outside tribal headquarters is a small Douglas fir, planted six years ago. It is one of several started from seeds of trees surrounding the Treaty Tree, trees that were themselves grown from seeds taken from the Treaty Tree in 1975.
The spirit of the tree lives, said Iyall.
Peter Callaghan: 253-597-8657 | <urn:uuid:cc9de3d0-a44b-4c61-9275-2329ad7e55e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/10/14/2331621/slow-rebirth-of-treaty-tree-mirrors.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980938 | 880 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Small Memories (Paperback)
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Short Description for Small Memories Traces the formation of an artist fascinated by words and stories from an early age and who emerged, against all the odds, as one of the world's most respected writers.
- Published: 07 October 2010
- Format: Paperback 208 pages
- ISBN 13: 9780099520481 ISBN 10: 0099520486
- Sales rank: 159,962
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Full description for Small Memories
Born in Portugal in 1922 in the tiny village of Azinhaga, Jose Saramago was only eighteen months old when he moved with his father and mother to live in a series of cramped lodgings in a working-class neighbourhood of Lisbon. Nevertheless, he would return to the village throughout his childhood and adolescence, its river landscape and olive groves seeping deep into his memory. Shifting back and forth between Azinhaga and Lisbon, this touching book is a mosaic of memories, a gathering together of the fragmented recollections that make up the idea of one's youth. Written with Saramago's characteristic wit and honesty, Small Memories traces the formation of an artist fascinated by words and stories from an early age and who emerged, against all the odds, as one of the world's most respected writers. By the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. | <urn:uuid:13eed343-4dee-41dc-a6e8-11428109b273> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780099520481/?a_aid=randomhouseaffiliate | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941044 | 392 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Final day of heat wave approaching record
Updated: October 24, 2012 10:09PM
The final day of a three-day heat wave that has scorched the area remains a couple degrees short of breaking the record high temperature for the day.
The mercury climbed to 99 degrees at O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday afternoon — one degree shy of the all-time record of 100 degrees set on July 17, 1942, according to the National Weather Service. The heat index at O’Hare hit 106 just before 3 p.m.
About 5 p.m., it was 98 degrees at O’Hare and Midway, 95 degrees in West Chicago, 98 degrees in Wheeling and Waukegan, and 99 degrees in Gary, Ind.
O’Hare, which is Chicago’s official recording station, has already had temperatures of 100 degrees or higher four separate times this year.
The weather service is predicting a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10 p.m., when a heat advisory is set to expire.
The temperature is expected to fall to 74 degrees early Wednesday, when a west a southwest wind will shift to northeast wind blowing at 5 to 10 mph, the weather service said.
The high temperatures are expected to range between 86 and 90 degrees the rest of the week with a chance of thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday, according to the weather service.
Temperatures had been 10 to 15 degrees above normal from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic during the heat wave, the weather service said. | <urn:uuid:c6ce654c-b44d-4578-a42a-83b25c170ef3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://elmwoodpark.suntimes.com/news/13835287-418/final-day-of-heat-wave-approaching-record.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93685 | 321 | 1.882813 | 2 |