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Hyperion will provide blind persons all around the world access to information and education in voice format and interactive voice interaction system accessed by a webapp on a normal computer rather than costly customized computer with properiotary software.
Here we have decided to develop a state of art application server that hosts our application .The application will be voice interaction and expert system which would act as a interface between a blind and the web world.The whole computation will be done at server end and some at clent side.User (here refering to a visually disabled person) only needs a normal computer or any mobile device with a normal internet connection would be able to access it via a web app.
The interaction will be carried out using aheadphone and microphone.
Also planned is ,to maintain worldwide voice information database with contributors from all over the world just like wikipedia.Funding would require help of some NGO's willing to help the disabled.
We have initial plans using the English as only language but as it grows we can our language processing system to many other languages.
If it succeds then plan are there to design a portable gadget that will act as a third ete i.e it would take pictures and with help of GPU we can exactly process it n give audio input to blind to recognize the object. | <urn:uuid:04b73c24-1d90-4ab7-b30c-95b3549dd848> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dellchallenge.org/projects/hyperion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92999 | 276 | 1.703125 | 2 |
While the economic picture is grim across the country, New York City has been especially hard hit in recent months. The city's heavy dependence on Wall Street revenues has left us facing a projected budget shortfall of nearly $4 billion. Adding to the city's crisis, a quarter of the shortfall is due to state cuts resulting from Albany's crippling financial difficulties.
For More on Helping New York's Economy
Paying Attention to Cities By Jonathan Bowles
After years of federal policies neglecting urban areas, Barack Obama has sent some encouraging signals that he understands their importance. Certainly, New York could use a helping hand. The director of the Center for an Urban Future lays out some ideas for what the president could do to aid New York.
An $825 Billion First Step By James Parrott
The stimulus package proposed by Congress is key to halting the economy's downward spiral but it will not solve all our problems. Economist James Parrott of the Fiscal Policy Institute looks at what the package would do -- and what more needs to be done.
Infrastructure Investments that Make Sense By Carter Craft
As big as the stimulus package may be, the country has to invest the money wisely. An urban planner offers some novel ideas for New York projects -- from recycling grease to ferries for freight.
From Gas-Guzzling Cars to Clean Buses By Charles Stone
Simply lending funds to struggling auto companies won't spur economic growth. Instead, an economist suggests, the government should create a voucher program to deploy the resources of the auto companies, spur investment -- and help the environment.
A Federal Stimulus for City Parks By Anne Schwartz
Advocates hope that President Obama and Congress will recognize that funding parks would not only improve the quality of life and the environment but also spur investment and raise real estate values.
Stimulus Money: The Downturn's Silver Lining? By Graham Beck
The stimulus package could offer more federal funds for transportation projects. The MTA is making its list, but there are sure to be lots of restrictions -- and competition.
The crisis highlights the danger of the city's economic over-reliance on Wall Street. Even when times are good, only a few New Yorkers reap economic windfalls. When times are bad, the entire city suffers.
For all the pain it is causing, though, the sagging economy presents us with the chance to rebuild our economy in a way that prevents similar economic crises in the future. The federal economic stimulus package before Congress presents an opportunity to build a greener and more equitable economy. Urban Agenda, convener of the New York City Apollo Alliance, urges Congress to fund projects that will create high-quality, "green collar" jobs and help make New York City more environmentally sustainable.
A stimulus package for New York City must focus on increasing investments in public infrastructure -- rehabilitating and retrofitting schools, buildings and mass transit systems - not on giving tax breaks. Currently, the Obama administration is proposing $150 billion in tax cuts for businesses. However, prominent economists, including an advisor to Republican presidential candidate John McCain, note that every dollar spent on public infrastructure projects generates $1.50 in economic activity, while tax breaks lack this "multiplier effect." Every $1 in tax cuts produces less than $1-- and sometimes as little as 30 cents -- of economic activity.
Green Is Not Enough
While we need to act quickly, we must also act responsibly. It is not enough to just create "green" jobs. Instead, we must create "green collar" jobs that pay well, provide health benefits and offer opportunities for career advancement while improving our environment.
This is key. Creating jobs that pay poorly and do not provide health benefits or pathways out of poverty will lead to an underclass of workers employed in green jobs but unable to make their way into the middle class. If we consider both environmental benefits and wage and job standards, we can have jobs that will help the resurgence of the middle class, strengthen our economy and make New York City a leader in sustainability.
The NYC Apollo Alliance has compiled a list of recommendations for evaluating projects to ensure that we maximize the potential of our green collar workforce. (The full document can be found here.). Projects funded with stimulus dollars should:
- Create employment for a wide spectrum of workers, from low-skilled to highly skilled.
- Support local employment opportunities. Outsourcing occurs not only when jobs are sent overseas, but also when labor is imported into an area with an already trained and ready labor pool that can, and should, be employed.
- Create jobs that offer good wages, health care benefits and paid time off.
- Promote employment in environmentally sustainable areas, such as retrofitting building, brownfield redevelopment and urban forestry.
- Promote the retrofitting and maintenance of existing infrastructure, such as mass transit systems, roads and bridges.
Using these criteria to evaluate projects proposals will help rebuild our economy and create a greener, more sustainable city. For instance, using federal stimulus funds to create an "Efficiency Matching Fund" providing a 100 percent federal match for state-approved energy efficiency programs would help quickly channel funds to green job development. Every $1 invested in such programs saves $2 to $4 in energy costs for consumers, freeing up additional consumer purchasing power. Energy efficiency programs also bring us closer to environmental sustainability.
The economic stimulus must fund training and readiness programs to ensure there are enough skilled workers ready to do these tasks. The Consortium for Worker Education, the Association for Energy Affordability and the New York Industrial Retention Network developed a plan to integrate economic development and workforce development to promote energy efficiency. With funding, this proposed Green Jobs Center would include a training center to assess, train and place over 2,700 workers in the energy efficiency industry. The center also would provide business services for over 900 businesses seeking to expand or enter the energy efficiency market over a three-year period.
Finally, to ensure that stimulus spending creates jobs in the near future and new industries in the long term, it must include language that allows cities and states to give preference to local companies when they purchase goods and materials used in federally funded capital projects. This will nurture local green manufacturing and reduce the carbon footprint of projects by removing the need to transport products long distances.
The Wall Street disaster offers us the opportunity to build a new economic future. Wisely invested, the federal stimulus can generate the green collar jobs that will rebuild our middle class and create a more sustainable environment for generations to come.
J. Mijin Cha is director of campaign research at Urban Agenda, convener of the Apollo Alliance. The alliance is holding a public forum on Feb. 2nd to discuss the New Apollo Plan, the economic stimulus and New York City. For more information, visit www.urbanagenda.org
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“The working group on internet governance: a feminist conversation”, in Visions in process II the WSIS, Karen Banks, for Heinrich Boell Foundation.
The information revolution is not about technology, it is about people. This is increasingly recognised and has led to the convergence of major global development initiatives. Today, there is a strong correlation in the quest for an inclusive and equitable information society and the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This book argues that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can play a decisive role in both. Drawing on current research, learning and experience from concrete projects, the authors show that ICT provide an overarching enabling platform for development processes. Because of their generic and transformative power, ICT can not only contribute to the achievement of specific development objectives in areas such as health or education, but are also key enablers of sustainable human development in a more general sense.
“Participation in development processes: Can ICT make a difference?” in Access, Empowerment & Governance Creating a World of Equal Opportunities with ICT, Anriette Esterhuysen, for GKP.
The information revolution is not about technology, it is about people. This is increasingly recognised and has led to the convergence of major global development initiatives. Today, there is a strong correlation in the quest for an inclusive and equitable information society and the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This book argues that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play a decisive role in both. Drawing on current research, learning and experience from concrete projects, the authors show that ICT provide an overarching enabling platform for development processes. Because of their generic and transformative power, ICT can not only contribute to the achievement of specific development objectives in areas such as health or education, but are also key enablers of sustainable human development in a more general sense.
“The potential of ICT for promoting gender equality”, in Access, empowerment & governance creating a world of equal opportunities with ICT, Natasha Primo for GKP.
This report is the work of the World Bank’s Rural Development and Natural Resources Sector Unit of the East Asia and Pacific Region. The core team responsible for the preparation of this report was led by Shobha Shetty (sr. economist, EASRD) and comprised Francisco Proenza (economist, FAO Investment Centre), Robert Schware (lead informatics specialist, CITPO), Wati Hermawati (gender and ICT Consultant), Sonia Jorge (gender and ICT consultant), and Chat Garcia Ramilo (gender and ICT consultant).
In November 2005, the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society will meet for the last time in Tunis. In its five year history, the WSIS has failed to succeed in redressing the North-South “digital divide”. Consensus in the WSIS has been elusive: the private and public sectors hold diametrically opposing views on issues such as market fundamentalism, free and open-source software, and intellectual property rights reform; while on issues of financing and internet governance, agreement between governments has been split along North-South lines. It remains to be seen whether civil society groups participating in the summit will be able to shift attention away from these competing interests towards human rights issues.
“Summits and Strategies”, in Big Brother Goes Global, Karen Banks for Index On Censorship, Volume 3/2005.
“Women 2000 and beyond: Gender equality in information and communication technologies” was compiled by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW), with the collaboration of Sonia Jorge, Nancy Hafkin and Chat Garcia Ramilo.
Any world summit is challenging to design and to organize: the World Summit on the Information Society exceptionally so. This book describes, through the voices of some of its major actors, essential parts of the complex undertaking of the WSIS, from conception to realization. The work of many participants culminated in the Geneva Declaration and Plan of Action, as well as in the ICT4D Platform. When moving forward, it is important to remember history. WSIS already has a history of its own. This book is not a history book. But the stories, the contributors to this book tell us, are part of this history. The target audience of this book goes beyond the “usual suspects” and insiders, who has lived and worked in the “WSIS spaceship” for more than two years. The book will reach out to a broader public, because the Information Society is for everybody. The individual articles of this book will enable readers to get a better understanding of the complex issues raised by the WSIS process. It gives the opportunity to see the different perspectives of different players and stakeholders, the controversies and conflicts, which will continue to exist when the process goes ahead. Readers will get firsthand information and personal impressions on how WSIS I was done by governmental negotiators, who have been heavily involved in the deal-making inside and outside the conference halls of the International Geneva Convention Center and the Palais des Nations where most of the sessions took place. Representatives of the private sector and civil society give their perspectives and write about the expectations they have when they discuss the future of the WSIS process. And academic observers add some theoretical analysis which helps to put single issues into a broader context.
The purpose of this paper is to describe our current understanding of the debate about internet governance in WSIS, and to examine the main policy issues that are being considered in that discussion. It also suggests opportunities for developing nation stakeholders to contribute to the processes that are defining the internet governance landscape. The key message is that there are opportunities for civil society to engage and we must take them. Internet governance is one of the most controversial and debated issues to come from the WSIS process. It is also a moving target in that the UN working group that will help define what internet governance is, and identify the public policy issues involved is only just being set up and we can only make a best guess at its working methods and the scope of issues it will consider. As such this paper is very much a work in progress and may be modified over the coming months. | <urn:uuid:5ff0e649-eab7-46fb-aef6-89b311cf4895> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/29?page=40 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935202 | 1,280 | 2.421875 | 2 |
The move sets the stage for an appeals court to review the rights of Guantánamo prisoners.
Handing another defeat to the Bush administration, the US Supreme Court on Monday summarily reversed a federal appeals court decision that had upheld the administration's restrictive view of detainee rights at the Guantánamo Bay prison camp.
The high court reinstated a lawsuit filed against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other military officials by four former detainees at Guantánamo. The four men, all British citizens, were held at the camp from 2002 to 2004.
Government lawyers had argued successfully to a federal appeals court panel that American officials were protected from such lawsuits by qualified immunity. The panel threw the case out in a decision announced in January.
Six months later, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Boumediene v. Bush, ruling for the first time that Guantánamo detainees enjoy at least some constitutional rights. The court did not outline the full scope of those rights, leaving that task to the lower courts.
The Supreme Court's action on Monday sets the stage for the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., to directly address the scope of constitutional and other protections that will apply to Guantánamo detainees. In its order, the high court issued a one-sentence instruction to the appeals court. It said that the appeals court's earlier decision "is vacated and the case is remanded to the [DC appeals court] for further consideration in light of Boumediene v. Bush." | <urn:uuid:687d66f1-7b09-4e09-80cc-6d52a090ece2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2008/1216/p25s23-usju.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96643 | 308 | 2 | 2 |
The Federal Election Commission decided Monday to exempt virtually all political activity on the Internet from the nation's new campaign finance law.
In a 6-0 vote, the commission decided to regulate only paid political ads placed on another person's Web site.
The decision means that bloggers and online publications will not be covered by provisions of the new election law. Internet bloggers and individuals will therefore be able to use the Internet to attack or support federal candidates without running afoul of campaign spending limits.
"It's a win, win, win," Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub said, adding that the rule would satisfy concerns of campaigns, individuals and the Internet community about whether the campaign finance law applies to Internet political activity.
The commission was forced to act after a federal court ruled that the FEC must extend some of the new campaign financial and spending limits to political activity on the Internet.
The 2002 law requires that campaign ads for federal candidates be paid for with money regulated by the law, which limits contributions by individuals to $2,000 and bans union and corporation donations.
In its initial interpretation of the law in 2002, the FEC said no political activity on the Internet was covered. But a federal court judge ruled in 2004 that the commission had to craft a new rule that at the very least covered paid political advertising on the Internet.
The ruling, and the commission's decision not to appeal it, sparked fears among some Internet users that the panel might adopt broader restrictions. But FEC Chairman Michael E. Toner said the new rules give a "categorical and unqualified" exemption for all individual and group political activity on the Internet, except for paid advertising.
"The law was never intended to regulate private citizen communication on the Internet," said Commission Vice Chairman Robert D. Lenhard. "I believe that we have achieved that goal today."
Commissioners said the new rule also specifically changes several other FEC regulations to make it clear that Internet activity, such as blogging, e-mail communications and online publications, is not covered by the campaign law.
For example, the rule says individuals can use union or corporate computers or other electronic devices for political activity, as long they do it on their own time and are not coerced to engage in such activity by the union or corporation.
Bloggers would be entitled to the same exemption from the campaign finance law that newspapers and other traditional forms of media receive.
"There will be no second class citizens among members of the media," Toner said. | <urn:uuid:3abeca5c-617f-4d69-8531-578dc6022059> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,189218,00.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 | 0.963529 | 505 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Start Making Sense
How to get the gobbledygook out of your copy
“A lot of helpful tips including resources to use when explaining technical terms to a nontechnical audience. I gained knowledge that I will carry with me throughout my career.”
— Leslie Beck, communications and marketing associate, Harbor Hospital
Find out what others say about “Start Making Sense”
Jargon. Buzzwords. Acronyms. They’re things that make your readers go “huh?” And we need to get them out of our copy. Gobbledygook:
- Illustrates that your organization may be in trouble. There may be a link between jargon and poor business performance, according to a study by Deloitte Consulting. In one test, Enron’s language got more and more obscure as the company got deeper and deeper into trouble.
- Keeps the media from using your PR materials. Most Canadian journalists, for instance, believe that press releases filled with jargon frequently “get in the way” of their doing their jobs, according to a study by National Public Relations.
- Forces your reader to translate. Your audience may be able to figure out what you’re saying. But why make them work that hard?
- Demonstrates your ignorance. “When people don’t understand the material, they tend to go more with the original, often too-technical and undigested information from a primary source,” says Neita F. Geilker, Ph.D., a.k.a. “The Grammar Guru.” “A writer who really understands the information can translate it accurately into lay language.”
In today’s overloaded information environment, the best communicators are translators. In this handbook, you’ll learn to translate the language of your organization into the language of your readers.
With this manual, you’ll learn:
- How to avoid having your audience delete your message before opening it
- A four-step system for getting the gobbledygook out
- How to determine when to use jargon to streamline communication — and when to avoid it at all costs
- How to avoid telling your audience members that your communication is not for them
- How to communicate when you don’t know who’s in your audience
- What communicators at Coca-Cola, Fidelity Investments, Jenny Craig, CNS Bank, Hartford Investors, Aventis, The New York Times and other organizations have done to battle jargon
- How to develop a style guide for your organization
- A test you can use to determine which terms to use when pitching to trade publications
- How to gain power in the approval process
- A simple tool to add to every piece to make your copy more accessible
- A trick to steal from NASA to make rocket science — or whatever you’re writing about — more accessible
- How to solve the “visual duration-sensing apparatus” problem
- How eavesdropping can make your copy easier to read
- Techniques to steal from Warren Buffett to make complex financial information — as well as your organization’s technical terms — easier to understand
- Two ways to use the words in your readers’ heads, not the words in your head
- How to make sure your definitions aren’t more confusing than the original term
- A technique to steal from Carnegie-Mellon University for clarifying your complex concepts
- How your 12-year-old can help make your copy more comprehensible
- Plus 17 resources for getting the gobbledygook out
- And more tips for translating jargon
Remember: For your readers, clarity means never having to say “Huh?”
Reduce your learning curve
Ann’s learning tools are brisk and loaded with tips. In fewer than 44 minutes, you can be putting these techniques to work.
Plus, get Ann’s Start Making Sense cheat-sheet of formulas and checklists — all the action steps of the manual on one sheet of paper. Keep this checklist by your computer to use on every piece you write and edit. Our clients tell us that this job aide is one of the most valuable tools they receive for applying new skills to their daily writing.
52 pages (PDF). Get your order today — and pay no shipping — when you download this digital learning tool. U.S. $49
Serious about developing your skills? Get Ann’s Power Pack and save! | <urn:uuid:9e6469d3-ff5d-4b4b-9a1e-817ae69487ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wyliecomm.com/learning-tools/start-making-sense-manual-and-cheat-sheet/ | 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 | 0.907416 | 943 | 2.15625 | 2 |
- The Castle from Rochester's Bridge
- Rochester Cathedral
- Rochester Cathedral Interior Interior
- Doorway, Rochester Cathedral
- The "Moonfaced Clock" in High Street, Rochester
- College Gate (or Chertsey's gate), Rochester — John Jasper's Gateway (from the Cathedral)
- In High Street
- Minor Canon's Row
- Eastgate House
- Prior's Gate, Rochester
- The Carved Wooden Figure of Mr. Sapsea's Father
- The Vines and Restoration House
A note about Kitton [PVA]
According to Andrew Sanders in Paul Schlicke's Oxford Reader's Companion to Dickens (1999), the noted Dickens scholar George Frederic Kitton was born near Norwich, England, in 1856. His vast knowledge and appreciation of Victorian book illustration stems from his having apprenticed at seventeen as a wood-engraver on the staff of the London Graphic, one of the greatest of the period's illustrated weeklies; he was a regular contribtor of illustrations to the magazine between 1874 and 1885, during which period his works also appeared in the Illustrated London News and The English Illustrated Magazine. His landscapes and etchings of sites associated with Dickens and his novels appear in W. R. Hughes's A Week's Tramp in Dickens-Land (1891). Paul Davis, in a much shorter biographical sketch in Charles Dickens A to Z (1998), notes that Kitton was one of the founders of what has become the quarterly organ of The Dickens Fellowship, The Dickensian, published monthly until 1919; he was a vice-president of the organization, but died before he could take up the post of editor.
His books on Dickens include Dickensiana: A Bibliography of Literature Relating to Charles Dickens and His Writings (1886), The Minor Writings of Charles Dickens (1900), Charles Dickens by Pen and Pencil, The Novels of Charles Dickens: A Bibliography and a Sketch (1897), and most notably Charles Dickens and His Illustrators (1899), many of whom he had met. After his death, his The Dickens Country (1905) was published. Thanks largely to a campaign he organized, Dickens's birthplace at Portsmouth became a museum owned by the Portsmouth Corporation. After his death, his considerable library "was purchased as the basis of the proposed national Dickens Library to be formed within the Guildhall Library" (Sanders 313), but was instead transferred to The Dickens House at 48 Doughty Street, Holborn, London, in 1926.
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Persistence of traditional industries despite information sector growth
In this excerpt Goodnight evaluates North Carolina's place in the evolution of industry from manufacturing to information and technology. He notes that North Carolina is still a leader in traditional industries like hog farming and that despite the state's high-tech future, it has a long way to go.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Jim Goodnight, July 22, 1999. Interview I-0073. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
I want to ask some questions about your perspective on the wider economic transition in the state. You mentioned a moment ago that here in the RTP -- or the Triangle, maybe -- you think we've got enough built business space now in relation to the infrastructure. It reminded me that I wanted to ask your perspective on how far along this evolutionary trajectory has North Carolina come in itself from its traditional economic character -- textiles, agriculture, tobacco manufacturing, furniture -- to the high tech future. Is North Carolina there?
JG: Well it's hard to say. I think we're still one of the biggest turkey producers and biggest hog producers in the country. We're still having an awful lot of agriculture here in this state, and that's not going to go away. A lot of it's becoming more corporate though, than anything else. We're seeing these huge companies with hog farms down east. I think it'll continue to be a blend of these, but you know these agri-businesses that we see now, even they are getting more high tech. The day of the family farmer with forty acres out there is quickly coming to an end. We can see more and more corporate type farms, but North Carolina certainly has come a long way in the move to an information age. I guess that's what we'll think of the next century as, the information age or the knowledge century. | <urn:uuid:6d13df36-01a4-4dd7-8886-6deef7d99945> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/I-0073/excerpts/excerpt_991.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956992 | 415 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Maria Rainer. Please read more about Maria in the bio footer.
In today’s harsh economic atmosphere, our society has become (not unreasonably) preoccupied with our careers or potential careers. Where college was once a place that fostered education for the sake of education, many schools and degree programs have become more focused on occupational training.
Degrees have become the first step in attaining our dream careers. This isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing; it’s just the way society has been heading. As new students enter the world of higher education, they strive to choose a major that will properly prepare them for their desired career.
While some careers match up with their majors pretty clearly, not all are as clean cut. I am a firm believer that you should study the subject that interests and inspires you most in college. However, if you know that you wish to be a professional writer after you graduate, there are several specific majors that may prepare you more thoroughly for the position you wish to obtain in the future.
1. Major in English
Obviously, English is one of the most popular majors among aspiring writers. Regardless of the type of writing you wish to do in the future, the English major will provide all of the skills and knowledge you need to succeed.
While actual writing experience is a huge advantage for writing hopefuls, the critical thinking and researching skills obtained with an English degree is also endlessly useful. English majors will read, write, and evaluate text over and over again. This regular practice and honing in on writing skills provides a wonderful background for a powerful career in writing.
2. Major in Communications
A degree in communications can lead to a career in many different areas of the professional world. For those wishing to pursue a career in technical writing or copywriting, a communications degree may be extremely useful.
The communications major educates students in the classic study of rhetoric, teaching them to read and respond to their audience. Most Communication programs seek to instill careful and thoughtful reading in students.
This major will help you gain perspective on various texts of all different contexts. This general skill is essential to freelance and professional writing. You must be able to read your audience and social context in order to create the most appropriate and successful material.
3. Major in Creative Writing
For individuals wishing to pursue a career as a poet or fiction writer, Creative Writing is an obvious degree choice. Though not all programs have a dedicated major for Creative Writing, many do and others offer it as a concentration within the English major.
In a Creative Writing degree program, students learn to master the use of creative language and creative plot structure. This program will foster new avenues for creative inspiration and motivation, as well as ample practice in editing and meeting deadlines.
Receiving and responding to feedback on your writing is one of the most important and challenging aspects of being a writer. In a Creative Writing major, you will receive constant feedback on your work from both professors and peers. This is wonderful practice for after graduation.
There are a few other degrees that will help you with your writing career, including Journalism if you want to get into magazine or investigative writing,. A degree in advertising or marketing will be useful if you decide to go into copywriting. While a degree is not necessary to become a professional writer, it can help you learn more about your field and give you a valuable education that will help you throughout your career. | <urn:uuid:39093a28-1f6e-499c-970c-7203cbd770f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inspiredtowrite.com/2011/12/choosing-the-right-degree-to-pursue-a-writing-career.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963588 | 717 | 2 | 2 |
Relatively new to the scene... I have a domain name which I have set the nameservers in (called ns1 and ns2.) they point to my server.... I have pointed the actual domain name to these addresses (as godaddy doesn't have dns). Now I have set my server up (which I think is wrong) with all the stuff you would have in the zone file and yet when I do a ping test, I get an error: 1214. I need help on the setup....
I am running on a vps server with 1 ip.
Domain name is Spartanshosting.info | <urn:uuid:68eba364-c252-43ff-bae8-a7693e327627> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.webhostingtalk.com.au/94936-post1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964983 | 126 | 1.507813 | 2 |
If you wish to use real flowers, make sure you use sustainable varieties (e.g.: stay away from wildflowers unless they were cultivated, try to find flowers that come from draught resistant plants, etc.), use locally grown flowers, and buy from organic, sustainable growers. You might even be able to grow your own cutting flowers if you have the space, plan well (make sure you consider rate of growth, flowering time, etc.) and have a back up plan in case your harvest doesn't meet expectations. Alternatives to real flowers are available as well, but use safe, sustainable materials. Silk is preferable to plastic and has improved aesthetically over the years. Silk is a natural and renewable resource, and lasts a long time, so not only will not fade on a hot, sunny day, but can be used to decorate well after the celebration is over. | <urn:uuid:bc153aac-cde4-4be3-bcec-74293fec3954> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.custompaper.com/Shop/Earth_Friendly/Earth_Friendly_Flowers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957782 | 177 | 2.015625 | 2 |
It is a monument to unintended consequence, hidden dangers, and dangerous assumptions. [...]
[T]he FTC assumes - as media people do - that the internet is a medium. It's not. It's a place where people talk. Most people who blog, as Pew found in a survey a few years ago, don't think they are doing anything remotely connected to journalism. I imagine that virtually no one on Facebook thinks they're making media. They're connecting. They're talking. So for the FTC to go after bloggers and social media - as they explicitly do - is the same as sending a government goon into Denny's to listen to the conversations in the corner booth and demand that you disclose that your Uncle Vinnie owns the pizzeria whose product you just endorsed. [...]
And there is the greatest myth embedded within the FTC's rules: that the government can and should sanitize the internet for our protection. The internet is the world and the world is messy and I don't want anyone - not the government, not a newspaper editor - to clean it up for me, for I fear what will go out in the garbage: namely, my rights.
What I now truly dread is that the FTC is holding hearings about journalism on Dec. 1 and 2. | <urn:uuid:5c362e60-f0e1-4058-8c0f-25f1c05dec87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.com/blog/2009/10/06/more-on-the-fucktardederal-tra | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96896 | 258 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Owen Linderholm on August 30th, 2006
Jack Seward is a leading digital forensic accounting technologist, expert on security auditing and the principal consultant for Jack Seward Consulting.
Jack Seward: My view is that there is more awareness that a security audit has more importance in an organization. We are talking about protecting – in every company – the intellectual property. And to a great extent the intellectual property, the digital assets, are the core of a company's business. So success or failure is very dependent on protecting those assets.
A year and a half ago, how many people were actually even thinking of encrypting their databases, protecting their data, limiting the use of USB drives. There could be a hundred thousand people in a publicly held company and what do we have? How many people are doing security audits? We need to spend more money. I mean security audits are what used to be twenty years ago in accounting when the public accountant and the controller would be protecting the enterprises assets. Today it has to be, it just has to be, the security audit. Security audit means different things to different people. It's not an excuse to get by with internal auditing. It's not a case of dotting the i's and crossing the t's, writing a report so that the audit committee can rely upon it, so that they are going to limit their exposure, and they're not going to be sued and the board's not going to be sued. That isn't what it's all about.
It's about really protecting our companies and our organizations. If any company is going to survive in the digital age – in the 21st century – it's going to be looking at where is the money? The money is on those RAID servers all over the world. And what are we doing about it? How many people do we have involved in security audit? Certainly not enough. It ought to be a profession. There need to be experts and I don't think people are doing enough.
One of my standing practices, for example, in doing an audit is to look for the use of steganography. [Ed: steganography is a technique used to hide messages so that nobody knows of the existence of the message] Digital stenography is one of the greatest risks to an enterprise because you can't see it and you can't hear it. You don't know if it exists and it could be anywhere.
So protecting the enterprise today is certainly on people's minds. You said a year and a half? Can we go back 120 days? 120 days ago we heard about one of the first known cases of backdating of stock options to executives. If you don't have security of the perimeter and security so that somebody can't be going in and changing the metadata on the files, or aren't stopping somebody from accessing information that is confidential or proprietary then we are going to lose. And that means lose lawsuits and lose business and lose jobs.
It isn't that the people doing security audits aren't doing the best that they can it's that they haven't been funded adequately. There are hundreds of thousands of enterprises where the executives are more concerned about [the money coming back out] than about protecting the assets of the enterprise. The we have a real problem because they aren't funding the audit.
IS: Most people are aware of some of the security risks to their organizations. Things like lost laptops, overt external attacks from hackers, the need for firewalls and virus protection. But what about the other risks, the risks they don't know about?
JS: It's the risk from employees and contractors – and I'm using the term contractors very broadly here – I'm talking outsourcing. Outsourcing now takes place all over the world and it includes areas that people may not realize – like insurance. There is a great deal of risk when outsourcing includes parts of the workforce and parts of the intellectual property of a company and in doing a security audit we have to be prepared to look at those arenas and dive in and do what is necessary.
Certainly fraud, the theft of intellectual property and the like, the preponderance of that is within the organization and the people that do it aren't the ones that are career criminals that have been arrested thirty times and just got out of jail. They are typically people who are dissatisfied or a variety of other things. But in the enterprise where the risk is internal, things like allowing the use of iPods and people walking in and out of a company whether it is a factory or an executive office. We ought to be concerned. We ought to be monitoring the use of these devices. How are we freezing them out?
My experience shows me that in the area of fraud, one of the areas that I specialize in, digital fraud, even accounting and financial fraud, it is all part of the IT security arena, part of a security audit.It is passing the torch from the corporate controller to someone who knows how to look for and what to find and who knows how to protect the company's digital assets. Percentage wise the external risk is a lot less than the internal risk.
We also have to be aware of the risk with vendors. The use of EDI, that's an area that bypasses humans and information moves directly from server to server and I don;t know that anything is being done in that area to make sure that it is secure. Somebody has determined that we are saving a lot of money by doing it but nobody has determined are we losing any money by doing it.
IS: What is your sense of the current exposure for organizations in this area? A lot of organizations are not going to be prepared to publicize that they or some part of their organization has lost intellectual property, digital assets or even financial assets.
JS: Unless it is criminal or the Department of Justice is involved, you are not going to know about it. An enterprise cheating another enterprise, through doing business with them. To a very great extent they aren't going to want to admit they shouldn't have entered into an agreement or signed a contract. It's difficult if not impossible to make it come out at the top outside of the boardroom. I think there has to be greater access to the leaders in an organization. Even in doing security audits; it gets to a level and then its been revised so that anything that looks bad or sounds bad is removed or rewritten. Of course they are using a good deal of outsourcing. There are many consultant organizations that are doing internal audits and they have a conflict because they are selling consulting services at the same time as they are doing internal audits.
We need to change the behavior in these organizations. There is software that can tell me every time a device is attached to a computer – whether it is a PCMCIA card or something else and that can make logs and track information. That needs to become part of the standard practice.We've got to be doing it in real time. It's a combination of having people at the top as well – we need to have this position be a senior one. We need people who are motivated, we need the tools, the cutting edge products. We need to do it expeditiously. I think the lawyers have got to understand that it is their corporate responsibility to protect those assets. The external auditors have got to take a look at themselves – are they doing the job that people are thinking they are doing.
IS: Are you suggesting that it is better to run a security audit in house and only go to a consulting organization when you absolutely have to?
JS: I probably agree with you but I have a lot of friends in the third parties who are going to disagree with me. They are going to tell you that they may be able to do a better job. The key word here is 'may'. I don't want to hear may. I want it to be done. I want to hear can and will. I want to see it accomplished, but it isn't being accomplished. Enterprises are being squeezed and they are listening to those screaming the loudest. The partner at an external consulting firm has the ear of the CEO, the CFO and the person in charge of the security audit internally probably doesn't. Unfortunately that's one of the fallacies in the whole internal audit space. And any internal audit that's not considering the aspects of IT security is going to have a big problem. | <urn:uuid:fc7a0d37-5416-4971-addc-ac225e11efc8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itsecurity.com/features/interview-jack-seward-security-audit-083006/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977995 | 1,713 | 1.648438 | 2 |
(Beyond Pesticides, October 28, 2009) Transcripts released last week from an external peer review panel convened in September to evaluate California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) risk assessment of the fumigant methyl iodide show that the panel’s leading scientists have serious concerns about this chemical. Methyl iodide is currently being considered for use on California’s crops, especially strawberries.
The scientific panel held a public workshop, entitled “Methyl Iodide External Peer Review Panel Workshop,” on September 24-25, 2009 in Sacramento, CA as part of an additional, external peer review for methyl iodide. Previously planned public and scientific review processes were subject to cancellation or postponement by the Governor’s office. Led by John Froines, Ph.D., director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of California, Los Angles, the panel consisted of eight experts in various scientific fields. The scientists expressed concern over inadequate buffer zones, ground water contamination and drinking water exposures, body burden, neuro-degeneration, reproductive toxicity and carcinogenicity that are associated with methyl iodide use and exposures. Panel members also challenged EPA’s assessment and found EPA’s scientific conclusions on methyl iodide to be lacking. The transcripts and other workshop presentations are available here. These concerns underscore previous opposition to the use of methyl iodide, including a letter from a group of over 50 of the nation’s most eminent scientists, including five Nobel Laureates that raised serious objections to EPA’s approval of the product.
DPR’s draft methyl iodide risk assessment has already undergone peer review by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, part of the California Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If registered as a soil fumigant, methyl iodide would be applied primarily in California’s strawberry fields before planting, and as a gas it would drift away from the application site, and expose neighboring residents and farmworkers in nearby fields. Methyl iodide is a threat to air and water supplies and has been linked to very serious illnesses, including cancer, miscarriages, thyroid toxicity, and neurological problems.
In 2007, EPA fast-tracked the registration of methyl iodide (a Proposition 65 carcinogen in California) for use as a soil fumigant, despite serious scientific concerns. State legislators also signed a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger urging to keep the controversial pesticide out of California’s strawberry fields. The health concerns associated with methyl iodide suggest the need for continued exploration of safer alternatives, according to advocates. The University of California Cooperative Extension has already experimented with alternatives to pesticide use, including steam and heat. Other alternatives include organic practices which have shown that crops, like strawberries, can be grown organically. | <urn:uuid:6c156370-47bf-471c-b839-6449f3eec893> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=2604 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935512 | 604 | 2.0625 | 2 |
||This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009)|
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared to other city centers on the West Coast because of its geographical situation: hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by the Elliott Bay, and on the south by reclaimed land that was once tidal flats. It is bounded on the north by Denny Way, beyond which are Lower Queen Anne (sometimes known as "Uptown"), Seattle Center, and South Lake Union; on the east by Broadway Avenue, beyond which is the Central District; on the south by Dearborn Avenue, beyond which is Sodo; and on the west by Elliott Bay. Belltown, the Denny Triangle, Pioneer Square, Chinatown, the West Edge, and the western flank of First Hill are sub-neighborhoods of Downtown. Near the center of Downtown is the Metropolitan Tract, owned by the University of Washington, the location of the university's pre-1895 campus. Downtown is Seattle's main financial district, waterfront, and shopping area (surrounding Westlake Center and connected to Seattle Center by way of a monorail), which make up the bulk of Downtown. It is also home to the landmark Pike Place Market.
Downtown Seattle's Columbia Center has a greater number of floors than any other building west of the Mississippi River, at 76, though there are taller buildings in Texas and California by height. (Smith Tower, in the older section of Downtown near the waterfront, once held the title of tallest American building west of the Mississippi.) Other notable buildings are the Washington Mutual Tower, Two Union Square, Nordstrom’s flagship store, Benaroya Hall, the new Seattle Central Library designed by Rem Koolhaas, and the main building of the Seattle Art Museum (built 1991, expanded 2007), the main facade of which was designed by Robert Venturi. Downtown parks include Westlake Park, Freeway Park, and Victor Steinbrueck Park. The Olympic Sculpture Park was completed on the Belltown waterfront in January 2007.
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Downtown Seattle's population is growing, with a number of high and mid-rise condominium towers being constructed. Most of the new units are priced for the top end of the region's housing market.
In 1989, building heights in Downtown and adjoining Seattle suburbs were tightly restricted following a voter initiative. These restrictions were dramatically loosened in 2006, leading to the increase in Downtown high-rise construction. This policy change has divided commentators between those who support the increased density and those who criticize it as "Manhattanization."
Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal Service operates the Seattle Main Post Office (also known as the Midtown Post Office) at 301 Union Street at Third Street. Seattle City Hall is located at 600 4th Ave, adjacent from the King County Courthouse. Downtown is serviced by the Transit Tunnel, in which the Link Light Rail runs through. The terminus for both the Light Rail and the Seattle Center Monorail is located at Westlake Center. A large number of bus lines also run through, with the ones operated by Metro previously being free of charge while in the now defunct Ride Free Area.
- http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002880895_downtown21m.html seattletimes.nwsource.com
- http://seattleweekly.com/2005-05-18/news/the-manhattan-project.php seattleweekly.com
- "Contact Us." RealNetworks. Retrieved on May 26, 2011. "Corporate Headquarters RealNetworks, Inc. 2601 Elliott Avenue Seattle, WA 98121"
- "Cantwell's company pulls welcome mat out from under Gorton." The News Tribune. November 1, 2000. Retrieved on May 26, 2011. "[...] in front of RealNetworks' downtown Seattle office after the hour-long tour."
- "About Us." Picnik. Retrieved on March 5, 2010.
- "Post Office Location - MIDTOWN." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
- Davila, Florangela. "Clock Is Ticking On Filing Tax Returns." The Seattle Times. Wednesday April 15, 1998. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
- "Appeal of CARL A. CURRIER, JAMES KERNS, DAVID BAR - P.S. Docket No. POB 00-209, P.S. Docket No. POB 00-271, P.S. Docket No. POB 00-272." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.[dead link] | <urn:uuid:5209f31b-3e4a-416e-8d05-6d8b0fd505ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Seattle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9389 | 994 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Traditionally, memorials incorporate an object, such as a statue, monument, or fountain, to commemorate a person, group of people, or an event. Though erected for the public as a point of reflection, these memorials often are located in a busy town center or roundabout and become objects to be viewed rather than quiet destinations.
Also, the memorial is often placed in a location with minimal thought given to the surrounding landscape design.
However, designers do have an opportunity to use principles from urban green spaces to create memorials that are engaging and transformative. Urban green spaces provide much-needed respite areas that incorporate nature, allow people to connect with one another, and enhance a sense of community or peace, even amid busy day-to-day life and the bustling urban landscape.
As green space, memorials should be designed to draw people in and encourage them to return. Landscape architecture firm Mahan Rykiel Associates in Baltimore, Md., has designed a number of open, interactive, and contemplative memorial spaces that honor local, regional, and global figures. Creating a memorial in a space where people feel grounded yet connected to the greater whole contributes to the introspection inherent in a commemorative display.
Using the surrounding landscape as an integral part of a memorial creates a thoughtful plan that should capture the vision of the donors and client. Using an object–a statue, fountain, or simply a plaque–as the centerpiece, the resulting space is an experiential place of solitude.
Memorials as places–with or without a focal object–incorporate some common elements, such as pathways through gardens, seating areas, inscriptions along the path, informational markers, or meaningful plantings.
The way in which a memorial is conceptualized and funded can have a significant impact on its design and implementation. Whether by single donor, a group of private individuals, or a municipal body, funding may occur through a single gift or over many years–factors that may affect the actual layout of the memorial or how construction is phased in over time.
Sponsored by his family and inspired by his life and legacy, Pierce’s Park in Baltimore, Md., is a memorial to Pierce Flanagan III. Known as a successful businessman and patron of the city, the park is a celebration of his life-long interests in nature, sailing, music, and literature.
His personality and the interests of the family formed each aspect of the memorial. There will be only one sculpture naming the garden and its donors. The memorial to Flanagan is not an object, but is seen in the symbolic designs incorporated in the space.
The family was involved in selecting items to create their vision for a unique open space that engages children and families as part of the Inner Harbor landscape. Additionally, local groups and individuals were invited to support the project by donating goods, services, and funding.
To make this truly a community space, a variety of elements within the park from the gabion basket benches to the willow tunnels will be built and installed with help from local children and organizations.
In the Gold Star Peace Garden at Memorial Park in York, Penn., the primary donor provided direction and motivation for the project through her personal experience and commitment. Working with the city to acquire the land, her vision for a premier garden took shape.
The entry plaza for the garden will be used as a presentation area for the city’s veterans’ events and incorporates some additional veterans’ statues already on the site.
Acting as a framework to guide visitors through the memorial, well-designed circulation creates an opportunity for visitors to interact and connect with the space–focusing attention on specific design elements.
In Baltimore, the Pope John Paul II memorial garden’s pathways guide visitors along a high wall bearing inscriptions of quotations from the pope and some of his prayers. A larger-than-life statue of the pope on a marble pedestal is the focal point of the garden.
Designed to inspire civic pride, the city of Newport News’ Martin Luther King, Jr., Garden in Virginia was planned as a catalyst for economic development in the surrounding neighborhood. Located along one of the historic corridors, the park is dedicated to King’s life and legacy.
Community members may pass through or visit this space during lunch or in the evenings. A nationally acclaimed sculptor created the centerpiece of the park–a bronze bas relief of King and other marchers carved into the park’s monument wall. A linear thread of bluestone paving begins at King’s foot and extends out toward the city to signify the continuous journey that carries his message of civil rights and equality.
A key element of the King sculpture is its accessibility; the likeness is approachable on a human scale, not as an overblown figure. His face is the only one recognizable in the sculpture that is the cornerstone of this garden. Using various materials to symbolize King’s marches and the “rough road” he walked, visitors interact with the space simply by walking through.
Subtle, Layered Interaction
Careful selection of plant species, materials, inscriptions, and other elements add layers of interest to a memorial. How the landscape changes through the seasons–obscuring or revealing certain design elements, or choosing elements with multiple purposes–adds layers of meaning for the visitor to keep the experience fresh over time.
Separated by the “Ribbon Walk,” Pierce’s Park includes two non-traditional playground spaces for city children. One area attracts older children to an unstructured play area that includes landscaped berms, and an open green with a custom, interactive sculpture. The other area is designed for younger children, and contains a living ”willow tunnel” and two additional interactive sculptures.
The fence around the second play area provides peace of mind for parents as well as engaging children as the fence produces musical sounds when tapped. Benches provide rest areas for parents, tourists, and visitors. Plant selections speak to the park’s harbor-side location, and create a natural setting within the urban context.
The manner in which a memorial incorporates community involvement, spatial relationships, and subtle layered interaction of specific elements enhances the meaning for visitors. Incorporating guidance and design elements from healing gardens and urban parks, a memorial becomes a place of healing, nurturing, and relaxation.
Mahan Rykiel Vice-President Scott Rykiel notes, “Whether the space is a park, garden or plaza, utilizing the landscape as part of the memorial creates rich design opportunities to create a memorable experience.”
Carrie Ann Miller is the Business Development Director for Mahan Rykiel Associates, a landscape architecture, urban design and planning firm, headquartered in Baltimore, Md.
Design Honors Marylanders Lost On Sept 11, 2001
Few things stir more emotion than the memory of September 11, 2001, so creating a memorial in Baltimore, Md., to honor those who lost their lives on that fateful day is no easy task.
With Ziger/Snead Architects taking the design lead, Mahan Rykiel Landscape Architects helped to site the final memorial design which, includes a piece of mangled steel from the north tower of New York’s World Trade Center.
This steel beam will lay horizontally across a marble base inscribed with the names of the Marylanders who lost their lives during the attacks. The piece is laid horizontally in repose to symbolize peace for the victims of 9-11.
The composition will function like a sundial with the Baltimore World Trade Center casting a shadow on the memorial. Every September 11, the shadow will cross inscriptions exactly at the time of the events that fateful morning.
The names and birthdates of all the Marylanders who lost their lives will be inscribed in the marble base but will never be in complete shadow, symbolizing that even in terrible times, there is a glimmer of hope and light. The victims range in age from 3 to 71.
Limestone pieces from the Pentagon’s west wall will also be integrated into the design, and though artifacts cannot be obtained from the Flight 93 site near Shanksville, Penn., that site will be represented in the memorial with three large pieces of polished black granite.
To echo the simplicity of the landscape are 15, 44-inch tall stainless-steel planters that will be planted with hornbeams to create an aerial hedge along Pratt Street. The raised hedge serves as a portal and creates a sense of enclosure which people pass through to the monument. Visitors to the memorial can come right up to 22-foot, 2-ton section of twisted steel and touch it if they wish.
The memorial was dedicated on September 11, 2011, by Governor Martin O’Malley. | <urn:uuid:a7114c59-3fe1-48b8-89e2-4da4078177e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northstarpubs.com/articles/lab/making-a-place-for-a-memorial?wpmp_switcher=desktop | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934457 | 1,803 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Let’s discuss some of the new key concepts of the ever-changing Digital world we live in.
In fact these leading-edge ideas are the subject of talks, panels, analyst papers, even whole conferences.
More – you are nowhere if you can’t posture and pontificate about the leading edge.
So here goes:
The power of experiential selling.
All of these are the result of the Digital Revolution and are blazing new territory for business. If you aren’t a leader – you are lost.
Frankly I have become incensed at the depthless chatter and mindless posing around this and more I am tired of the word traditional, which usually precedes the chatter and posing in order to establish that the chattering poseur is anything but.
Let me be specific –
Social has been with us since Eve offered Adam the apple based on the recommendation of the snake. It is core to our human DNA. In fact it is also core to many living beings, from bees to whales to horses and back again to ants and so on and so forth. It has driven religion, fashion, revolution, not to mention hatred, killing, and war. Digital channels and technology (read applications) might make it more efficient – but it works because it is.
Experiences? Give me a break. The best restaurants (and I mean any best, even a lowly pub, diner or bistro) work that way. The best stores, boutiques, merchants. Every service worth anything from a hairdresser/barber to a tailor to a doctor or lawyer understands the value of experiences. And again I’d posit that the understanding of how experiences drive social behavior is probably what made one cave more popular than another – way back when.
Interactivity? Give me a break. Talk to Lester Wunderman. Or check out the Sears Wish Book from the United States circa 1880 or so. There is nothing online as primally interactive – yet – there will be (continue reading…) I’ve referenced this before – worth Bing-ing to really understand.
The rest I will leave to you – my readers – and hope that you will post some examples – I will too…
However, I will end this part with Free Shipping, as I am still shaking my head in wonder at an analyst report I once read on Amazon extolling the brilliance of this new tactic…So it goes.
I attended a conference at Microsoft last week, Imagine 2011 where I had the opportunity to hear Qi Lu, Microsoft Online Services President and the driving force behind Bing. What struck me in his talk was his view of what he had helped to create. His point was that no one was waiting for yet another search engine – there were more than enough. The trick was to understand human behavior, he said. Watch what people did when they looked for information. What was important to them – where were they frustrated – what value could be added. The result was the decision engine – a way to help people get closer to the decision information they needed as opposed to just general search. Successful? Time will tell – but Google is copying them….
Ron Howard, former US child TV star and world-famous director, also spoke. He reiterated the need to tell stories and good ones at that – yes, technology is great and adds huge value – often unexpected value – but without a good yarn – who cares.
All of which leads me to this thought:
“It doesn’t make a difference what temperature a room is, it’s always room temperature.”
Or as articulated by the Bard –
And there you have it. Call it what you will; cover it in layers of whatever – it is what it is. And my deepest and strongest belief is that we have held back the best development of exciting channels because we seek to reinvent the fundamentals as opposed to building, riffing, and developing paths for clear truths.
Yair Goldfinger, one of the creators of ICQ (why we are all able to IM, BBM and such), once told me that he never used a focus group or took unilateral decisions – he watched people – he sat behind them and observed how they behaved and made use of the early versions and each iteration after.
How refreshing to hear that two of the great tech innovators of our time – Qui and Yair – deferred to you and me…humbling – particularly the next time you are tempted to discuss the recent origins of that new phenomenon known as shopping….
What’s your view? | <urn:uuid:614326c2-c9fc-4624-b0f6-3edb7c17cb1f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklyramble.com/tag/interaction | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96494 | 941 | 1.507813 | 2 |
CONSTITUTION OF THE BANK
Marginal note:Bank constituted
3. (1) There is hereby established a bank to be called the Bank of Canada.
Marginal note:Body corporate
(2) The Bank is a body corporate.
- R.S., c. B-2, s. 3.
Marginal note:Head office
4. (1) The head office of the Bank shall be in the city of Ottawa.
Marginal note:Branches and agencies
(2) The Bank may establish branches and agencies and appoint agents or mandataries in Canada and may also, with the approval of the Governor in Council, establish branches and appoint agents or mandataries elsewhere than in Canada.
- R.S., 1985, c. B-2, s. 4;
- 2004, c. 25, s. 5(E).
Marginal note:Board of Directors
5. (1) The Bank shall be under the management of a Board of Directors composed of a Governor, a Deputy Governor and twelve directors appointed in accordance with this Act.
Marginal note:Deputy Minister of Finance to be member of Board
(2) In addition to the members of the Board as constituted by subsection (1), the Deputy Minister of Finance or, if he or she is absent or unable to act or the office is vacant, such other officer of the Department of Finance as the Minister may nominate, is a member of the Board but does not have the right to vote.
- R.S., 1985, c. B-2, s. 5;
- 2001, c. 9, s. 186(E).
Marginal note:Governor and Deputy Governor
6. (1) The Governor and Deputy Governor shall be appointed by the directors with the approval of the Governor in Council.
(2) The Governor and Deputy Governor shall be persons of proven financial experience and shall devote the whole of their time to the duties of their offices under this Act or any other Act of Parliament.
Marginal note:Tenure and remuneration
(3) The Governor and Deputy Governor
(a) shall each be appointed for a term of seven years during good behaviour;
(b) are eligible for re-appointment on the expiration of their terms of office; and
(c) subject to the approval of the Governor in Council, shall be paid such salaries as the directors determine, but no such remuneration shall be in the form of a commission or be computed by reference to the income or profits of the Bank.
(4) No person is eligible to be appointed or to continue as Governor or Deputy Governor who
(a) is not a Canadian citizen;
(b) is a member of the Senate or House of Commons or a member of a provincial legislature;
(c) is employed in any capacity in the federal public administration or the public service of a province or holds any office or position for which any salary or other remuneration is payable out of public moneys; or
(d) except as authorized by or under any Act of Parliament, is a director, partner, officer, employee or shareholder of
(i) a member of the Canadian Payments Association,
(ii) a clearing house or participant, as defined in section 2 of the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act,
(iii) an investment dealer that acts as a primary distributor of new Government of Canada securities, or
(iv) an institution that controls or is controlled by an institution referred to in any of subparagraphs (i) to (iii).
(e) [Repealed, 2007, c. 6, s. 392]
Marginal note:Prohibitions — federal credit union
(5) Neither the Governor nor the Deputy Governor shall
(a) directly or indirectly hold any interest or right in membership shares of a federal credit union, within the meaning of section 2 of the Bank Act, in excess of the minimum number of membership shares of the federal credit union that is required for membership; or
(b) exercise any right he or she has as a member of such a federal credit union, except any right that he or she has as a customer of the federal credit union.
- R.S., 1985, c. B-2, s. 6;
- 1997, c. 15, s. 94;
- 2001, c. 9, s. 187;
- 2003, c. 22, s. 93(E);
- 2007, c. 6, s. 392;
- 2010, c. 12, s. 2110.
- Date modified: | <urn:uuid:1f00b856-eaa6-46fd-8740-c07ee71d8916> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lois-laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-2/page-2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941466 | 953 | 2.15625 | 2 |
These are considered irregular plurals from Latin and Classical Greek. Rather than me copying and pasting the source, here's the wiki link that explains it.
Here's an excerpt from the link that explains it.
English has borrowed a great many words from Latin and Classical Greek. The general trend with loanwords is toward what is called Anglicization or naturalization, that is, the re-formation of the word and its inflections as normal English words.
Many nouns (particularly ones from Latin) have retained their original plurals for some time after they are introduced. Other nouns have become Anglicized, taking on the normal "s" ending. In some cases, both forms are still competing. The choice of a form can often depend on context: for a linguist, the plural of appendix is appendices (following the original language); for physicians, however, the plural of appendix is appendixes. Likewise, a radio or radar engineer works with "antennas", but an entomologist deals with "antennae".
The choice of form can also depend on the level of discourse: traditional Latin plurals are found more often in academic and scientific contexts, whereas in daily speech the Anglicized forms are more common. In the following table, the Latin plurals are listed, together with the Anglicized forms when these are more common.
See wiki link for list of forms, which includes the plural form for criterion.
As an example, some of the Greek words ending in -a like stigma, dogma and schema, their plural ends with -ata because they are considered neutral in gender. The only time the plural is different is in the genative case (των στομάτων), where -ata is replaced by -aton.
As for criterion (κριτήριο), it too is a Greek noun which is neutral in gender. The rules governing this, however, are slightly different because it ends in -o. The plural for this kind of noun ends with -a. Therefore, το κριτήριο becomes τα κριτήρια. Again, the only time the plural is different is in the genative case (των κριτήριων), where -a is replaced with -on (not to be confused with the singular case, though). | <urn:uuid:6ba7e6ba-e4aa-452b-bb54-58636e4089f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/38109/number-that-should-be-used-here/38113 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94837 | 501 | 2.640625 | 3 |
August 24, 2009
How will the world end? When Hollywood answers that question, the result is often terrifying but completely unrealistic. But the realms of reality can be even scarier than fiction, as astronomer Phil Plait deftly illustrates in Death from the Skies!, which comes out in paperback this week.
Each chapter begins with a movie script-ready scenario of Armageddon. Before delving into the topics of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, for example, there comes the story of a cold winter made worse when an event—prefaced by sunspots but not yet named—knocks out power for half the planet. Without heat, thousands die, and entire countries are driven bankrupt by the catastrophe. Having hooked his reader thusly, Plait then goes on to describe in easy-to-understand language what had caused the disaster, including how we know that such things happen and whether or not we should be scared.
Topics include gamma-ray bursts, black holes and even alien attacks. And a chart near the back of the book handily sums up the risk of each event, level of damage and whether or not we could prevent such things from happening. The most likely scenario is being hit by an asteroid, though we might one day be able to prevent these strikes. Near impossible in our time, thankfully, are the deaths of the sun or the universe. Most worrisome, though, might be the supernovae, which if one occurred close enough to Earth could lead to a mass extinction.
This book should be on the shelf of every disaster flick screenwriter. Perhaps we would then get movies with plots that are even more terrifying for the possibility that they could really happen.
“The Universe is vast beyond imagining, and wields mighty forces,” Plait writes. And for the events in his book, “it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” Scary, indeed.
Sign up for our free email newsletter and receive the best stories from Smithsonian.com each week. | <urn:uuid:30d0553e-f864-4a09-8042-2b588d9d1e12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2009/08/death-from-the-skies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945648 | 421 | 2.75 | 3 |
After the debacle involving the Air Force One backup that flew low over parts of Manhattan, Staten Island and New Jersey, the authorities are leaving nothing to chance.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management announced Wednesday morning that four F-18 Hornets would pass over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at an altitude of 2,000 feet, before turning and following the Hudson River north and descending to a height of 1,000 feet over ships assembled for Fleet Week. After reaching Pier 90, the four fighter jets climbed above 2,500 feet, exiting the city’s airspace over the George Washington Bridge.
The demonstration by the Navy fighter jets signaled the start of the 22nd annual Fleet Week in New York City. The opening day ceremonies included a parade of 13 ships along the Hudson River, including the helicopter carrier Iwo Jima and the missile cruiser Vella Gulf.
The Police Department’s aviation and harbor units were involved in escorting the ships to their destinations, the passenger ship terminal on the West Side of Manhattan and the Homeport Pier off of Staten Island. | <urn:uuid:117a99e4-a5a3-46c9-ab71-812618e2db7e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/with-f-18s-overhead-fleet-week-is-underway/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92714 | 221 | 1.640625 | 2 |
There’s one part of Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s recent remarks that the left seems especially intent on disproving: the part where he said,
… we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.
The rest of Cathy’s comments, if you haven’t already heard, concerned his opinion of the propriety of gay marriage from a biblical perspective. As retribution for his voicing this opinion, some liberals in Chicago and Boston want to deny Cathy and his company the right to operate in their cities.
This is disturbing on a number of levels, two in particular.
The first is the idea that local governments might deny a business license to a company because of the beliefs of its owners. In Chicago, Alderman Proco “Joe” Moreno threatened to do just that in his ward. (The city’s mayor, former Obama aide Rahm Emanuel, was more oblique, voicing sympathy with Moreno’s perspective but saying only that a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Chicago “would be a bad investment, since it would be empty.”)
As Elizabeth Scalia notes, this is how fascism works. As the far-from-right-wing Boston Globe editorialized, in response to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s statement that “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston” and that the company shouldn’t be allowed to open a store near famed Faneuil Hall along the city’s — first irony alert! — Freedom Trail:
… which part of the First Amendment does Menino not understand? A business owner’s political or religious beliefs should not be a test for the worthiness of his or her application for a business license. … If the mayor of a conservative town tried to keep out gay-friendly Starbucks or Apple, it would be an outrage.
The second is the way Menino and Moreno are twisting the definition of the word “discrimination” to apply it to Cathy’s objection to — second irony alert! — the redefinition of the word “marriage” to apply to same-sex couples.
“You can’t have a business in the City of Boston that discriminates against a population,” Menino told the Boston Herald to explain his desire to keep Chick-fil-A out of his city.
“If you are discriminating against a segment of the community, I don’t want you in the 1st Ward,” Moreno told the Chicago Tribune.
But I have yet to see the first shred of evidence Chick-fil-A is actually discriminating against gay couples. Menino and Moreno cited no reports that same-sex couples in a Chick-fil-A restaurant have been denied service or asked to leave, nor any instances of gay employees or job applicants being dismissed due to their sexual orientation. This is hardly comparable to a Southern lunch counter turning away black customers half a century ago.
Nor could anyone accurately describe Cathy or Chick-fil-A as influential political agitators who are enabling some sort of “discrimination.” While much was made back in March of the company’s donations to groups that promote the traditional definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman, the company is practically silent in terms of donations to politicians and political organizations. According to the Sunlight Foundation, the sum total of all political donations by the company, its employees and its PAC, between 1989 and 2012, was just $177,410 — about $7,400 a year. And even this meager spending does not appear to have been tied to the issue of gay marriage.
If a mere difference of opinion with elected officials is enough to qualify as “discrimination,” then in some way or another virtually every employer would be, as Cathy put it in the interview that sparked this episode, guilty as charged. Civil society itself would be fractured irretrievably. As Scalia asked,
… where does the “punishment” spiral stop? The press declares Chick-fil-A “homophobic” (a dishonest word) and then the local governments start penalizing them for it; Jim Henson’s outfit stomps off. What next? Will people against gay marriage start boycotting Muppet stuff? Pyres of Elmo in support of Chick-fil-A’s right to be itself?
We’re already seeing a preliminary version of this: Activists are encouraging same-sex couples to visit Chick-fil-A stores next Friday for a “National Same-Sex Kiss Day”; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is encouraging fellow social conservatives to “buycott” the company by patronizing its restaurants en masse next Wednesday.
Does anyone see this thing headed toward reconciliation?
The idea at the foundation of our freedom of speech is often said to have been summarized by the French philosopher Voltaire: “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” It’s a long way from Voltaire’s France to Menino’s Boston and Moreno’s Chicago, and the direction is a very disheartening one.
– By Kyle Wingfield | <urn:uuid:46f72205-83ba-463f-b732-36facd63d02e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.ajc.com/kyle-wingfield/2012/07/26/the-disturbing-attacks-on-chick-fil-a/?cp=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951494 | 1,104 | 1.757813 | 2 |
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Lake Zurich, IL, 60047
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On Earth Day, being green is top of mind. It’s a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. It’s been said that ‘It’s not easy being green,’ but at WarmlyYours we’ve managed to pull it off with our radiant heating technology.
How you heat your home has an impact on energy costs. With forced air systems, the warm air rises and then cools and falls so it takes more energy to keep the room at a comfortable level.
Radiant heating reduces energy consumption and environmental impact. How? Heat radiating from the floor up is more efficient, allowing you to set your room at a lower temperature than forced air systems. You don’t need as much heat because the heat it emits doesn’t just heat the air; it heats the objects around it meaning the room stays warmer for longer – the combination can mean a big savings on energy costs.
You can further reduce energy consumption with our programmable thermostat that lets you warm only the rooms you use the most and only when you need the heat.
Tile is the most popular flooring surface used with radiant heating – so you can lower your carbon footprint by using eco-friendly tile. Shaw – a leading soft and hard surface manufacturer offers several American-made porcelain tile collections that have 40% recycled content. They have three collections that are stunning and eco-certified! Take a look here: http://shawfloors.com/Eco-FriendlyTile
With Earth Day’s fifth decade underway, we wanted to pause and reflect on some milestones:
- 1970 First Earth Day results in the creation of the EPA
- 1990 Earth Day goes global
- 2010 Earth Day 40th anniversary is ushered in with a Climate Rally of 225,000 at the Nation’s capital. Earth Day’s online base is tripled to 900,000 community members
If you’re like most folks, you may not have been thinking about the eco-friendly aspects of your home when you purchased it. We can’t all rebuild our houses, but we can make more ecologically responsible choices in the future. At WarmlyYours, our radiant heating solutions make it easy to be green.
Want to get involved? One way is to make a donation to the Earth Day Network, visit, http://www.earthday.org/node/66.
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"If you are building a new home floor heating is the only way to go. It is a even heat and nice to have warm feet. My husband's company has built many new houses. They all have floor heating throughout the house. It is also the best way to help on improving our environment."
on 04/26/2011 at 07:59PM
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We welcome your feedback about our company, products and website along with any questions that you may have. Please allow for up to 1 business day for us to respond. Thanks. | <urn:uuid:4653afb6-5726-4be7-b3d9-709348f941bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.warmlyyours.com/en-CA/posts/floor-heating--Earth-Day-The-Greener-Side-of-Radiant-Heating-108 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911268 | 777 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Libertarian activists are pushing ballot measures that would undermine land-use planning in seven Western states this year. Meanwhile, in Oregon, political leaders are trying to mend the damage done by the law that inspired those new initiatives.
Measure 37, passed by Oregon voters in 2004, allows some property owners to challenge limitations placed on the use of their land. To date, landowners have filed claims demanding more than $1 billion in damages from state and local governments. Unable to pay, governments have, in almost every case, opted to waive the rules instead. Oregon’s land-use planning system, once the strongest in the nation, is in limbo.
At the same time, an ambitious effort to revive state land-use laws has been running mostly under the radar. It evolved from an agreement between Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Senate President Peter Courtney, both Democrats, and House Speaker Karen Minnis, R. Created by the Legislature in 2005, the Oregon Task Force on Land Use Planning is charged with creating a new road map for the state’s land use-planning system. It’s a project commonly called "the Big Look."
The task force has held a handful of public meetings to identify major concerns. According to Becky Steckler of the state Department of Land Conservation and Development, it will spend the fall researching these issues, and hold "a public conversation" about possible solutions in 2007.
Nohad Toulan, dean emeritus of the Portland State University School of Urban and Public Affairs, says he’s "guardedly optimistic." Toulan headed a group of academics and planners that, in 1999, scrutinized Oregon’s land-use planning. They found that the system had become autocratic, and blind to the realities of change. The authors urged planners to return to the kind of public outreach common in the early 1970s, when an estimated 100,000 Oregonians helped develop the original land-use rules.
With the Big Look, state leaders may finally be heeding that advice. The final report is due in 2009.
The author writes from Carlton, Oregon. | <urn:uuid:92ca4678-282d-49a8-87ed-f58f2e0dcbcf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hcn.org/issues/330/16544 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940149 | 436 | 2.484375 | 2 |
MN hospitals teaming up against drug theft
While drug thefts have long been an issue in hospitals and nursing homes, health officials are taking new steps to address the problem. The Minnesota Hospital Association and state Health Department are organizing a coalition of hospitals and licensing boards to identify and close loopholes in drug-handling protocols that make it easier to steal. "People are starting to realize that this is a serious and ongoing problem," said Keith Berge, who chairs the Mayo Clinic's medication diversion prevention committee. "They're starting to recognize what they've been seeing. I think we've been seeing this all along and not recognizing it for what it is." In perhaps the most dramatic recent case, a nurse anesthetist in Minneapolis was accused of taking most of the painkiller intended for a patient undergoing kidney-stone surgery in November. A criminal complaint said the nurse told the patient to "man up" as he endured the worst pain. Opioid pain relievers such as fentanyl or oxycodone are the most commonly stolen prescription drugs, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
- Patient Harm Data to Remain on Medicare's Hospital Compare Site
- Quiet ORs Better for Patient Safety
- Tavenner Confirmed as CMS Administrator
- Leapfrog Hospital Safety Scores 'Depressing'
- Building a Better Healthcare Board
- CMS Seeks to 'Rapidly Reduce' Medicare Spending with $1B in Grants
- Hard-Nosed About Physician Teamwork
- Healthcare Leaders Sound Off on Organized Labor
- Case Study: Advance Care Conversations
- Esther Dyson's Population Health Dream | <urn:uuid:dad382df-6e91-4ed3-b0aa-9151cabecb40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/NRS-266809/MN-hospitals-teaming-up-against-drug-theft.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945031 | 326 | 1.78125 | 2 |
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Would you stop paying for oil changes when you plan on keeping your car so you can save a few bucks? A dollar invested in lead abatement returns upwards of $221 over the long run. That's a better return than a share of Facebook will every pay. Education also has a high rate of return.
Companies borrow money to invest in capital equipment to boost future earnings. Our children are society's capital. I want them to have as high IQs as possible (i.e. no lead poisoning) so they can learn as much as possible (i.e. good schools) and get great jobs that pay good salaries so they afford to pay my social security when I'm old. If that means I have to pay more in taxes now so I can get something back later, so be it.
NJ is one of the wealthiest states in the country. Collectively, we can afford to pay for essential services like lead abatement and education. Or, we can be like that Facebook billionaire who ran off to Singapore to avoid the taxes on his stock sale. He needs to invest in the nation that made his company possible, so we could educate and empower the next generation of Facebook founders.
They ingest lead dust from deteriorating paint when they crawl around and put their fingers in their mouths or lick lead-contaminated surfaces. Lead is actually sweet tasting, so eating a paint chip is a snack. It's what babies do.
Lead poisoning isn't some hypothetical risk. Check out NJ's own data. http://www.state.nj.us/health/fhs/documents/childhoodlead2010.pdf
In 2010, 1,358 children had blood lead levels over 10 mcg/dl. As the editorial notes, over 8,000 fell into the 5 to 10 range where there is still the potential for demonstrable harm to their development.
We're testing children to find out if their homes are contaminated. What an idea! If we did that for radon, we would wait for folks to have lung cancer before checking their homes for this radioactive gas. We should be mandating home testing instead of relying on child testing. Children are not canaries in the coal mine.
The Exchange should be run by experts in health insurance who have no conflicts of interest. What do you think these people make in their day jobs? $50k is cheap. I'd rather them working for the consumers instead of as "volunteers" given time off from their real jobs running health insurance companies and broker agencies or hoping for a big payout when their term was up.
Besides, the Gov could have always conditionally vetoed the salary line if he thought it was too high. Instead, he killed the whole thing.
Sad day for NJ. Health Insurance Exchanges are really just buyer's co-ops where the state helps individual and small businesses negotiate better rates like the big players. Think: Ace Hardware versus Home Depot.
The really winners in this veto are the insurers and brokers who will be able to sell higher-cost plans to people who have no other choice but to pay up or go without.
Unfortunately, the comments above prove my point about the need for an objective policy process driven by peer-reviewed scientific research instead of anecdote, innuendo and ad hominen attacks on the motivations of public health researchers.
The difference between the researchers and the people who object to their conclusions is that the researchers will change those conclusions when the facts warrant it, but the objectors are unmoved by the evidence no matter how convincing. Instead, they will seek new facts to support their unshakeable beliefs.
Father, you must be right when those who disagree respond only with specious and irrelevant arguments and ad hominem attacks.
It is truly sinful that despite paying for an outrageously expensive and poorly performing health care system we still have 47 million people without health care coverage.
True. But the cost per town would be much lower if the data collection was done statewide or in regional consortiums. This would also ensure the data was standardized allowing you to compare your town with others. Finally, local communities don't have the data analysis expertise necessary to present the data in an accurate and meaningful manner.
It would be nice if it we could do it right and cheaply.
We get to agree/disagree about opinions, not objective facts.
By just about every measure, the US health care system falls short of other developed nations. We die younger, our babies die more frequently, our satisfaction is lower, etc., etc. [Commonwealth Fund and OECD Factbook]. We probably wouldn't mind accepting Ford Pinto care if we weren't paying Lexus prices for it. But our national per capita health care expenditures are double Canada's and just about every place else. For a high-healthcare-cost state like NJ, the disparity is probably much greater. [OECD Data]
I would really like to say we're Number One. But we're not and as a nation we should be ashamed. The US has a health care problem. The first step on the road to recovery is to acknowledge it.
Mandates are pesky things. I really hate having to stop at that traffic light. Why should I be forced to get my brakes inspected? If I like stopping Fred Flintstone-style, that should be my choice. But your freedom to do as you choose stops when it begins to affect me. The choice to go without health insurance does affect others.
By the way, so how much money do you think you'll get for your lovely condo next to the burnt-out shell? Or for that matter, how much does it cost you if your suburban tract house is next door to the eyesore with the '57 Chevy on blocks out front and 57 fecund cats inside?
I'm sorry disgusted02, it's too easy to dismiss universal healthcare as "liberalism." Your analogies are faulty.
We don't live in houses, which we can choose to insure or maintain as we like. They're attached townhouses or condos. If you set yours on fire, I have to pay. If yours looks like London after the Blitz, then it's likely to drag my property value down.
When your flabby heart explodes, the local hospital is going to shock it back to life without checking your wallet for a health insurance card or weighing you in first.
Who's paying the price if your car blows up on the Turnpike and I'm late for my dream job interview?
If your a knucklehead who chooses to ride your motorcycle without a helmut, my tax-payer funded rescue squad is going to scrape you off the pavement without asking you if this was a risk you wanted to take. (I know you didn't mention this one, but it bugs me just the same.)
We are forced to pay for plenty of social goods (oooh, there's the ugly S-word -- socialism) because a free marketplace offers no incentive for individuals to provide it for themselves. Think: police, fire, education for all--the Iraq War. Yet, we all benefit when these services are available (maybe not the war).
Like it or not, we are already "sharing the pain" because we are PAYING for the health care of people without health insurance. We PAY for it in increased hospital charges to cover the uninsured, increased taxes for charity care, the need for extra flabby heart shockers, and long emergency room waits because these people have no where else to go for needed care. And we PAY too much because their diseases are neglected and the care rendered is uncoordinated and inefficient.
We also PAY for it with our souls, which are diminished by some small measure when a child suffers needlessly from avoidable illness in the wealthiest nation on earth.
The only alternative that avoids my paying for someone else's heath care costs is to treat people as you would treat your house or your teeth--truly and totally disconnected from everyone and everything else. That is: don't treat any adult or child who hasn't the money or the insurance to pay for their health care.
Several Taco Bell restaurants in Central Jersey were linked to an E. coli outbreak that sickened dozens. Apparently, a supplier provided contaminated produce.
You're right, I don't know enough about how meat processing plants are inspected. I spent some time trying to sort through the USDA regs, but I know the rules were greatly enhanced in the wake of past E. coli outbreaks and didn't want to pretend expertise I didn't have.
Obviously, Hazards Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) procedures failed in this case. When the company is unable to confirm the safety of an entire year's worth of product, something is wrong.
Wouldn't microbiological testing of every lot--not every burger patty--enable the company to be more specific as to which lot was contaminated? This would be a secondary level of safety instead of using the consumer as the canary in the coal mine.
I provide evidence that SCHIP has provided health coverage to children who would otherwise not have it. Objectively, that is a success.
The President and his allies justify the veto by asserting the SCHIP bill as passed is a step towards socialized medicine or healthcare run out of Washington. Again, as I point out in my piece, SCHIP is run by state governments and they typically purchase health care on behalf of the children from existing private health insurers. The care itself is delivered by the same doctors and hospitals as would provide care to insurance company customers who purchased their plans as individuals or private groups.
Finally, opponents say SCHIP will provide subsidized coverage to families who they feel should be able to afford to purchase privately. I point out how much that coverage costs in NJ, even for families at the high end of eligible income. For many families in this income bracket, insurance is virtually unaffordable, especially when you factor in pre-existing conditions.
Faith in the power of an unfettered market is a cornerstone of conservative philosophy. Some of them say they want to shrink government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub"
I believe in the free market but I also believe we need a strong government to balance the excesses and step in where the market has failed. As far as health care in concerned, the market has failed us over and over.
SCHIP works and does none of the things the detractors say it will. If not success, what are they afraid of?
Commenter, ThomasReid, said:Government-purchased health coverage is actually "cheaper" for two reasons. One, the beneficiary is not paying the full cost of the premium, taxpayers pick up the difference. That's why the proposed SCIP expansion has a price tag of $35 billion. Two, government healthcare programs don't reimburse healthcare providers for the actual costs of the medical care provided to patients.
On the first point, it costs S-CHIP about $5 billion annually to cover about 6.6 million people (mostly kids). Nationally, that's an average of $757 per person, per YEAR as opposed to $2,500 in NJ for my hypothetical child's privately purchased health insurance. Even when you factor in the premiums higher-income families have to pay in S-CHIP (up to $1,500 per year in NJ), government is still getting a good bargain. Throw in the fact that it's much more comprehensive (prescriptions, etc.) than the plan I picked and it becomes great coverage.
Now I'm no accountant, but let me try to calculate what government doesn't collect due to the tax deductibility of employer-paid health insurance for more wealthy people. Remember that as a business expense, health insurance premiums come right off the top.
Take a working mom in the 35% tax bracket, add in the 15% social security tax and she's hit with 50% in federal taxes. Throw in 6% for state taxes and you have the government actually picking up 56% of the cost of the premium paid on her behalf. That's $6,720 on a family health plan that costs $12,000. That's a whole lot more than it pays for S-CHIP.
The government could buy the health insurance for less than what's lost in taxes due to employment-based premiums and the employee wouldn't know the difference. Even though it's all money, people see a difference between a "premium" and a "tax." We don't mind paying premiums but we do mind paying taxes.
On the second point...
In most states, the S-CHIP program actually pays private health insurance companies to administer the coverage. The huge purchasing power of the state and the fact that insurance companies don't have to enroll/qualify/rate the applicants lowers the cost substantially. These are HMOs we all know with large networks of doctors and other health care providers who, unlike with Medicaid, are willing to accept the plan and what it pays.
The biggest government-run health plan is Medicare. Most doctors will tell you that it generally pays as good or better than today's private insurance plans. It can afford to be, because it's more efficient than private health insurance. 98% of Medicare's funds are spent on actual health care versus the typical 75 - 80% paid by private insurers. What's left after paying this so-called "medical loss ratio" -- administrative costs and profits.
Finally, it's a whole other issue at to why health care in New Jersey is so expensive. That's the problem with just about every health care plan and reform proposal being seriously debated. None of them address the cost issue, which is driven by high demand for care, horrible inefficiency and huge profits. Streamline the system and much of the high administrative costs would drop out of the price for care.
If you do what some suggest and deregulate health insurance then you wind up with hollow coverage--looks good on the outside, but there's nothing inside when you need it. We'll be back back to the days of drive-by deliveries and throw them out sicker and quicker. | <urn:uuid:28e5448c-761c-4ec0-8bbe-28e61d9025a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://connect.nj.com/user/drewharris/comments.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968895 | 2,921 | 1.734375 | 2 |
There are several treatment options for stomach cancer, depending on the cancer stage and the patient’s age and general health. Patients have time for second opinions and to talk through all of their options with their doctors and develop a treatment plan that best fits their needs. Many patients have one or more of the following:
- This is the most common treatment for stomach cancer. There are two main types of surgery for stomach cancer:
Partial (subtotal) Gastrectomy:
The surgeon removes part of the stomach and may also remove part of the esophagus or small intestine, nearby lymph nodes, and other tissues.
The surgeon removes the entire stomach, nearby lymph nodes, parts of the small intestine and esophagus, and other tissues. The spleen may also be removed in this surgery. The surgeon connects the esophagus to the small intestine and makes a new “stomach” from intestinal tissue.
- A large machine directs radiation at the abdomen and uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. Radiation can be given alone or with chemotherapy, surgery, or both. It is used to destroy cancer cells that remain after surgery and to relieve pain caused by cancer.
- This treatment uses drugs to kill cancer cells. In patients with stomach cancer, chemotherapy is given alone, with surgery, radiation, or both. Most often, drugs are injected into the veins.
Follow-up care after treatment for stomach cancer is an important part of the overall treatment plan. Even when there are no longer any signs of cancer, the disease sometimes returns because undetected cancer cells remained somewhere in the body after treatment.
Social networking and online support groups are important tools. Reaching out to others who have or have had similar experiences can provide you with valuable insights. Check out Cancer Support Community's The Living Room
for more information on clinically faciliated support online. | <urn:uuid:b39c3251-b8de-4c0e-9d8a-c8efef742c43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cancersupportcommunity.org/MainMenu/About-Cancer/Types-of-Cancer/Gastric/Treatment.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945598 | 381 | 2.609375 | 3 |
There’s no place like home — unless your home has been ravaged by colossal debt, political crisis and blazing riots.
The economic situation in Greece, which has buried the country in a quagmire of debt and left more than a million of its citizens jobless and broke, has triggered a new wave of immigration to the United States as Greeks leave their homeland in search of a better life. Many of these immigrants are settling in Astoria, the Queens neighborhood that has for decades been home to a significant Greek population.
Immigration officials say the number of Greeks seeking legal residence in the United States is at a five-year high. Nine hundred forty-nine Greeks were granted permanent resident status by the Department of Homeland Security in 2011, an increase of 27.3 percent since 2010. That number does not include Greeks who have yet to acquire permanent status, who enter the country illegally or who already possess a green card and are returning to the United States after years of living in Greece.
Georgia Apostolidis, who runs the traditional Greek restaurant Stamatis in Astoria, has her 27-year-old nephew and her 23-year-old niece living with her. They arrived three months ago on temporary visas in the hope of getting a job.
“My nephew had a job for six years in the restaurant business. My niece worked at a dance studio, but it got closed down,” said Apostolidis. She said her nephew and niece, who do not speak English well, were looking for employment in Greece for six or seven months before moving to the U.S.
Although they have not yet secured jobs or permanent visas in New York, she said their prospects are bleaker in Greece. “They want to stay [here],” Apostolidis said. “They don’t want to go back.”
New Yorkers who work with Greek immigrants have noticed the influx. “We usually have about 200 clients a month,” said Antonio Meloni, the executive director of Immigration Advocacy Services, an Astoria-based nonprofit that offers legal and practical advice for immigrants. “We’re now seeing 300.”
Meloni said he first started noticing the increase a year and a half ago, when Greece was reeling from increasingly stringent austerity measures after receiving a $145 billion bailout package in 2010. “People aren’t stupid,” Meloni said. “They tend to see what’s going to happen.”
Since the spring of 2010, when Greek bond yields soared after the country’s government debt rating was downgraded to “junk,” Greece’s unemployment rate has climbed steadily from the 10 to 12 percent around which it hovered to an all-time high of 25.4 percent in August 2012. The unemployment rate among 15 to 24 year olds is above 50 percent, compared to 17.4 percent in the U.S.
“Greece is in a dire situation on all fronts and on every level,” said Neni Panourgia, a visiting associate professor of anthropology at Bard College in Manhattan. The job losses and austerity measures taken by the government have “pushed young people to leave,” she said. Most are choosing Northern European countries such as Holland, Norway and Sweden, as relocating within the Eurozone is simpler than emigrating to the U.S., which can have difficult entry regulations. The U.S. immigration system makes it easier for Greeks who already have family here or come with special skills; 65 percent of the Greeks granted permanent residency last year said they were immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, data from the Department of Homeland Security shows, while a fifth cited employment-based reasons.
Evie Poulakis, 31, moved to Astoria two months ago. Born in Athens, she spent her early childhood years in the U.S., lived in Greece between the ages of 5 and 24 and moved back to the U.S. in 2005 – and she has an American passport.
But after a four-year stint in Athens to have her second child, Poulakis found that her husband’s green card had expired, as he had stayed away from the U.S. for too long. This delayed her family’s return here and the visa paperwork set her back more than $7,500.
Staying in Athens was not an option, Poulakis said. “Greece is a nice country — very beautiful — but it doesn’t have any jobs anymore. [We had to move here] for my kids — they didn’t have nothing.” Despite the difficulties she encountered, Poulakis said she is lucky to have a U.S. passport. “All my friends want to come, but they don’t have someone to take them here.”
Like previous Greek immigrants, many in the new wave are making their home in Astoria, which is believed to house the largest Greek population outside of Athens. According to estimations by the American Census Survey, almost 15,000 people in the Astoria area identify as Greek.
“It’s very important to them to be in a Greek community,” said Jeannie Kouros, founder of the Hellenic Immersion Program, a school in Astoria that teaches immigrants to speak English and prepares them for naturalization. “They are very proud of their country and they are proud of their language. But you have to know when it’s time for change.” | <urn:uuid:ed05a402-d708-4f3c-a14e-fea538293eea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.qchron.com/editions/western/greek-debt-crisis-sparks-migration-to-astoria/article_b438949d-fb6e-55e9-a568-ea54b6807446.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975377 | 1,155 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Yesterday, we learned that HP is discontinuing support for Web OS devices, which means no more WebOS phones and TouchPad tablets. (Note: HP bought Palm last year and ditched the Palm name on the Pre, Pixi, and WebOS) First, if you currently have a WebOS device this news doesnt mean anything is going to happen to those existing products. It simply means your next smartphone is probably not going to be a Pre, Pixi, or Veer.
Much of the reporting on the demise of the HP WebOS devices focuses on what it means for the industry going forward and speculates on just how many smartphone OS the market can handle. Id rather take a look back at just what Palm devices did for the mobile industry and how we have a lot of the usability we have today is thanks to a little product called the Palm Pilot.
It started with a little PDA
Back in 1996, Palm (at the time a division of US Robotics) came out with its first PDA, the Palm Pilot. It was definitely different than the other digital organizers currently available. Its pocket-friendly size, four main buttons for navigation (sound familiar?), and a unique handwriting-based input method called Graffiti set it apart. At that time, people were carrying around fairly large devices with full QWERTY keyboards made by companies like Casio. In fact, the only real competition the Pilot had was another device called the Psion Series III Organizer. In case you dont remember what happened to that product, you can still find remnants of it in the Symbian smartphone OS. There was also another product trying to find a place in consumers lives, Apples Newton. (For more information on the Newton, read this story on Gizmodo its a great summary.)
In time, those products disappeared from the market, but not the Palm Pilot. That device continued to evolve. We didnt know it in the late 90s, but the Palm Pilot gave us a glimpse at the type of products we use today. This is probably a result of how it was created. I remember attending a press event for Handspring (the first company to license the Palm OS and was later acquired by PalmOne) where Jeff Hawkins told the story of how he carried a block of wood around in his pocket while developing the Palm Pilot. As he walked around, he would think about what he wanted that piece of wood to do. That speaks to UI on many levels. For example, the first Palm Pilot measured 4.7 x 3.2 x 0.7 inches and weighed 5.7 ounces. That kind of set the standard for the acceptable size of a mobile device. Today, we have tons of smartphones with 4.3-inch touchscreen displays touting a similar size and weight. Take the HTC EVO 3D, for example, it measures 5.0 x 2.6 x 0.5 inches and weighs 6 ounces. Thats not too far off from the first Palm Pilot. It goes without say that the EVO 3D is a lot sexier than the Palm Pilot, but innovation has to start somewhere.
We can also thank Palm for the ability to update an OS and syncing a mobile device with a PC via USB cable (features available on the first Palm Pilot). Today, a lot of thats done over the air, except for iPhone its still done by a USB connection. There were also tons of apps you could purchase for a Palm product (online or at retail). In many cases you could transfer the apps to newer Palm devices. Can you say Android Market or iTunes for iPhone apps?
Making a Connection
Before we started seeing smartphones, we were attaching data modems to mobile devices like the Palm Pilot and Windows CE PDAs. These were far from elegant solutions and often added more bulk than function. Data speeds were slower than a dial-up connection. This showed us that consumers wanted to use these mobile devices to connect to e-mail and even the Internet. Around this time BlackBerry was just a messaging device and you knew you were important if you got a BlackBerry at work. For all of us covering the mobile industry these were big milestones. Cell phones were about to evolve and they were going to have a lot more than a numeric keypad. In 2002, we saw the first Treo smartphone running the Palm OS.
Its inevitable that technologies change and evolve and companies make more innovations. In 2007, the world was introduced to the iPhone and later that year consumers learned about another smartphone OS called Android. Palm did its best to keep up by redoing its OS completely and introduced the Palm Pre running the new WebOS in 2009 at CES. At the time, the Pres specs were right and the new UI was intuitive. There were only a few real problems that held it back: there were simply not enough apps and you couldnt really use old Palm apps on the new WebOS, it didnt come to market soon enough, and lets not forget what CNETs Bonnie Cha wrote about the press experience with the Pre. Not allowing people to touch the device did add to the hype and the mystery, but not in a good way.
Although the Palm Pre and the WebOS had a lot going for it the timing just wasnt right. A year later, HP bought Palm and perhaps that was the beginning of the end for Palm smartphones. Maybe it was earlier. Its hard to say, but it doesnt mean its the end for the WebOS. HP still plans on doing something with it and well just have to see if that OS will innovate another industry.
I, for one, am sad to see the phones go, but let's take a moment and say thanks for all that Palm really did for the mobile industry. I dont think wed have the elegant smartphones we have today without its contribution. | <urn:uuid:944ec596-0ec6-476f-aa36-ef415d880f9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.letstalk.com/blog/post.htm?blogId=1590&artcatId=60 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97608 | 1,181 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Economic and Social Council Chairman's Summary of the Discussions: Panel Discussion on Technology and Natural Disasters
In her introductory remarks, the Executive Director of WFP noted that the number of natural disasters had increased three-fold from the decade of the 1960s to the decade of the 1990s, and that the biennium 1998-99 represented the most costly ever in terms of natural disasters. She felt that this worsening trend was likely to continue, and stressed that poverty was reducing the capacity of developing nations to cope with this trend. She stressed the need for prevention and coping mechanisms to be included into development planning, and for resources to be directed to this end.
The first Panelist was the U.N. Resident Coordinator for Mozambique. He noted that some 500,000 people in Mozambique were still living with international assistance, and that 100 tons of food aid per day was still being provided to the victims of the floods that struck that country early in 2000. The Resident Coordinator stressed the utility of technology in disaster response strategies, even in a developing country such as Mozambique. He noted that GPS and GIS technologies had helped map the affected areas and populations, adding that pre-existing maps had been inadequate. He stressed the need for the development of national and local capacity to use new technologies and the need to deploy appropriate technology for the local population. He also covered aspects of the coordination of military assets, development of preparedness systems and the need to build national human resources capacity.
The second Panelist was the U.N. Resident Coordinator for Turkey. He noted that the earthquakes which had struck Turkey in 1999 had occurred in the most economically advanced area of the country. He stressed that Turkey, although a developing country, had relatively sophisticated technologies, capacities and institutions with which to respond to the earthquakes. He said that a major lesson learned from the earthquakes had been the need to develop better information management, and that the existing institutions had been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information pertaining to the disasters. He stressed also the need to have better links between different sources of information. He added that Turkey's experience reaffirmed the need to have the most up-to-date technology and equipment to maximise the effectiveness of disaster response mechanisms. As priorities to be addressed he identified the need for a link between institutions, the upgrading of technical facilities and effective supply management. He also appreciated the benefits of the World Bank-funded Marmara Earthquake Emergency Recovery Programme in Turkey.
The third Panelist was the U.N. Resident Coordinator for Venezuela who discussed the land-slides which had ravaged the northern coast of Venezuela, killing an estimated 30,000 people. He noted that, in addition to the human toll, the disasters in Venezuela had caused approximately US$3.2 billion in damage, representing about 3% of the country's GDP. The Resident Coordinator felt that technology, including web-based information-sharing systems, had improved the response of the international community. He emphasized, in particular, the role of indigenously developed software in improving the coordination of incoming relief assistance, which Venezuela was prepared to make available to the international relief community. He felt that the first lesson learned of the disaster was the need for better preparation. He appreciated the assistance in coordination provided by OCHA.
The next Panelist was the representative of the Office of Outer Space Affairs. He discussed the role of space-based technologies - remote sensing, in particular - in all phases of disaster management: mitigation, preparedness, relief and rehabilitation. He emphasized the need to enhance the capacity of disaster-prone states to use information already available, but not yet packaged in forms that are sufficiently useful to decision makers in those countries.
The representative of the World Food Programme stressed the link between planning for disasters and development planning. He noted the many uses of technology in disaster management, but stressed that many opportunities to benefit from these technologies were missed. He noted that technology was about people, and the need to make new technologies more accessible to the communities which need those technologies for disaster management. He stressed the need to use, share, package and tailor information more effectively.
The representative of UNDP was the last Panelist to speak. He identified six key issues: the generation of risk scenarios; ensuring that information reaches users; building disaster inventories; developing early warning systems; ensuring sustainability; and developing local-level information systems.
The Moderator then opened the floor for comments and questions. The representatives of Mozambique, Turkey and Venezuela thanked the international community for its assistance in recent disasters, and emphasized the need for better disaster preparedness programmes, the development of capacities to use new technologies, and the need for full coordination of preparedness and relief efforts.
The representative of Finland and the Representative of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) spoke of the Tampere Convention, urging member states to sign, and those which had signed to ratify. The representative of ITU informed the meeting that 47 states have signed the Convention, but only six have ratified it. The United Nations is the designated repository, and the Convention will be held open for signature until June 2003. It will come into force when 30 states have ratified it.
The representatives of Ecuador and South Africa spoke of the distinct but complementary functions of disaster prevention and disaster response. They both expressed some concern about prevention, and the representative of South Africa asked that the Under-Secretary-General a.i. consider a briefing to the Humanitarian Segment of ECOSOC on ISDR. He felt that the Under-Secretary-General a.i. might wish to explain the slow progress of the ISDR in implementing the General Assembly resolution creating it.
The representatives of Italy and Austria spoke of the need to use technology better - for land-use planning, for example -- and asked about how this could be done and how national capacities could be enhanced. The representative of the World Health Organization stressed that disaster response was essentially a health issue, and spoke of the need to use resources and technology to strengthen the capacity of health sector preparedness at the national level.
The representative of the United States welcomed the emphasis on local-level decision making and on enhancing the capacity of such decision makers to use the technologies available in the disaster management cycle. He stressed that technology should not be used for its own sake. He drew the attention of delegates to three up-coming conferences - two in the United States and one in Australia - on the application of technology to disaster management.
The representative of Colombia spoke of the need to change the conceptual framework from one in which the emphasis was on 'disasters' to one in which the emphasis was on managing hazard risk. Several delegates took the floor to agree. The representative of Burkina Faso stressed the role of regional arrangements, particularly when dealing with seasonal climate events. This point was reinforced by others, more than one of whom noted that information from the wider southern Africa sub-region could have given vital information about the floods that later affected Mozambique.
The representative of Belarus commented on the need to strengthen regional disaster coordination mechanisms, and requested the text of the Tampere Convention to be translated into Russian. (It was later confirmed that the text exists in all official languages.)
The representative of China stressed the importance of early warning and disaster reduction measures. He felt that there was a need to assist countries in improving their capacities for disaster response. He also stated the need to analyze the causes of disasters specific to certain areas.
Finally, the Director of OCHA Geneva stated that he fully agreed with the importance of mitigation measures. He also stressed that the United Nations must be prepared to respond to natural disasters when hours count in effective response. To this end, he drew the attention of participants to the work of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Teams, and to the efforts of OCHA to incorporate G-77 countries - particularly in Latin America and the South Pacific - into the UNDAC framework. He also mentioned the Military Civil Defense Unit (MCDU) and the Emergency Telecom Project as well as other recent initiatives, including the Russian proposal made at Fribourg to use additional technologies and the Ericsson Initiative. Replying to a question from the representative of South Africa, he said that he understood that the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs a.i. was hoping to provide delegations with a briefing on ISDR in the next few days, but that this would have to be confirmed with her.
The Moderator closed the session by drawing the attention of delegates to four themes which she felt had come out of the Panel Discussion. Those points were:
- The critical nature of disaster mitigation, planning and preparedness, which might be even more important than disaster response.
- The importance of coordination, between all local, national and international actors.
- The importance of technology, at the international, national and local levels, and of the capacities to use such technologies.
- The need for resources, both national and international.
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/. | <urn:uuid:012556f5-5edd-4000-91b2-3f0ee7f6feaf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reliefweb.int/report/mozambique/economic-and-social-council-chairmans-summary-discussions-panel-discussion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96563 | 1,850 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Optimism, worries amid rush to tap oil from Niobrara ShaleCHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A well named Jake and a controversial drilling technique are fueling a Western oil rush, raising hopes for economic revival and questions about the environment — and who's going to share in the wealth.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A well named Jake and a controversial drilling technique are fueling a Western oil rush, raising hopes for economic revival and questions about the environment — and who's going to share in the wealth.
Not many wells have been drilled yet, but just about everything else is in place for an oil boom in eastern Wyoming, northern Colorado and western Nebraska, where the Niobrara Shale and its hard-to-tap crude lay nearly two miles underground.
Preliminary work is under way to map underground geological formations to figure out the best places to drill. Oil prospectors are poring over courthouse records to see who holds mineral rights so they can negotiate deals.
Companies large and small are betting millions that the Niobrara holds gobs of recoverable oil like the similar — and booming — Bakken Shale field in western North Dakota. With oil money leading the way, North Dakota has coasted through the recession with 3.6 percent unemployment, lowest of any state, and a budget surplus of more than $500 million.
Wealth like that could transform Cheyenne, a wind-swept state capital with too many vacant old buildings, and other parts of the exploration area with more jobs, more tax revenue and bustling support businesses.
Surely everyone is excited, right?
Not exactly, not with so many questions still to be answered.
"I've got mixed emotions about it, really. In the past, it's just been a farmer community," farmer Todd Martin said as he unloaded wheat from a truck to a bin in Carpenter, a town with dirt streets and maybe 100 people 25 miles southeast of Cheyenne. "It's going to change some people's lives, if they hit."
Hardly anyone outside the industry talks about the oil rush for long without mentioning, apprehensively, the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe. Such a difficult-to-end spill would be hard to imagine happening here.
That doesn't mean an oil boom couldn't create a booming headache.
Even minor spills would be a very up-close-and-personal problem for homeowners, particularly in the wide ring of fairly new homes on 5- to 40-acre lots surrounding Cheyenne.
"That Gulf deal makes you a little uneasy," said Paul Terry, a former Oregon logger who moved to his house on 10 acres north of Cheyenne a couple years ago. "If I had them messing with my stuff, I'd want some ground rules. I'm not against it, but I'm not saying give them a free hand."
He said three companies have approached him in the last few months about possibly drilling beneath his property.
As in the Bakken, drilling in the Niobrara wouldn't be profitable without hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which some have blamed for groundwater contamination. It involves pumping a pressurized mix of water, sand and chemicals underground to crack open fissures and improve the flow of oil or gas.
The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in June passed a range of tougher state rules for oil and gas drilling, including fracking.
Martin said he researched fracking online and believes it's probably safe enough for his farm on the Colorado-Wyoming line.
"If they cut corners, then sure, it can contaminate the groundwater," he said. "You hope they do it the way they're supposed to."
The situation is complicated by the fact that many people don't own the rights to minerals beneath their land. Whoever does has a right to put an oil well in your yard, with or without your permission, and doesn't have to share the profits — just the pollution.
Even among those who own their minerals, not all are daydreaming much about getting rich.
"Beverly Hillbillies, rags to riches, we've got oil? Not necessarily," said Diane Bishop, who owns 70 acres near Cheyenne. She and her husband, Rick, who are moving here from Texas and plan to build a log home on their land later this year, own the mineral rights beneath half of their property.
"We'll be lucky to get enough money to pay the taxes on our property out there," Bishop said.
Companies intend to drill not only downward to the Niobrara but also horizontally, sometimes half a mile or more, after reaching the formation. That means one well could cross beneath several properties. Anyone who owned less than a substantial chunk of land — upward of a square mile — would have to divvy up royalties with at least one and possibly several neighbors.
Big-time landowners, mainly cattle ranchers who own their minerals, would be in the best position to strike it rich.
All of this speculation began with Jake. The well in far northern Colorado was yielding 1,770 barrels of oil a day — eye-popping production for this region — after it was drilled and fracked for Houston-based EOG Resources last fall. Jake's production has tapered off significantly, as usually happens, but not before other companies took notice.
An old-fashioned land rush was on.
So far this year, more than 100 drilling permits have been granted in southeast Wyoming, far surpassing all previous activity in the area.
Meanwhile, Wyoming has reaped a record $101 million since May by auctioning off rights to drill on state land, the vast majority of it in the eastern part of the state. Nebraska and Colorado have set similar records.
The big question is how much oil is down there, and all eyes are on the next wells to be drilled. As soon as this fall, they could show whether a wide swath of the Niobrara covering hundreds of square miles is likely to be as productive as the Bakken, said Bruce Hinchey, president of Petroleum Association of Wyoming.
"If they come in pretty good, I think next year is going to be a barn-burner," he said. | <urn:uuid:eb565362-edcf-4716-a92c-5b1af64cd48f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/39863/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973011 | 1,288 | 1.882813 | 2 |
The interdisciplinary class that students are taking this semester with Ed Kerns, Clapp Professor of Art, and Suzanne Westfall, professor of English, is completely absurd.
At least, the subject matter is absurd. Kerns and Westfall are team teaching a course called Dada: Visual and Performing Art. Dada was the absurdist, anti-war, anti-art movement in the early 1900’s.
“Together we can ask synthetic questions that we cannot ask from a strictly disciplinary point of view,” Kerns says.
Students in the course have learned about the history of the arts in the early 20th century, read the manifestos and art histories, read plays, visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Dada installations, and attended performances of Dada plays.
This course led up to the College Theater production of Ubu Roi, largely seen as the first absurdist play, April 14-17. Westfall directed the production and the class made the set and served as stage crew. Students in the class also created collage posters for the production.
Midway through the semester, students were divided into three groups and asked to create original performances, incorporating the themes and styles of the Dada artists of the early 20th century with their own more modern concerns. They wrote, costumed, rehearsed, conceptualized, created and performed these 10 minute scenes for an audience.
The students put together the content in secret, with the intention of having the performances be shocking to the audience. Images from the performances included dumping red paint on a girl in a wedding dress, reading poetry in absurd outfits, and throwing ice water on an unsuspecting audience member.
“As a second semester senior, I wanted to challenge myself as an artist and break creative boundaries,” says Kassidy Keller ’11 (Maple Plan, Minn.), an English and art double major. “I enjoy the conglomeration of performance and visual art. I also enjoy learning about the history of Dada such as information about the revolutionary artists such as Marcel Duchamp.”
Art major Imogen Cain ’12 (Perkasie, Pa.) has found the absurdism of Dada to be very interesting.
“Our projects have really been open for us to go wild and I’ve enjoyed having that freedom. We do a lot of group or partner work as well, which has been fun,” Cain says.
Initially, Westfall sought Kerns’s expertise on the art of the Dada period, and then they began talking about offering a Dada course that would combine visual art and performance.
Westfall says the interdisciplinary approach to teaching this material has been beneficial.
“It’s unbelievably rewarding to work in this way—not only for us to brainstorm with each other, but also to combine our expertise and our ideas about such an interesting period…for a class of art and theater students. The projects we’ve worked on this semester not only teach students about a time when various kinds of art intersected, but also get them working outside their comfort zones,” she says.
The interdisciplinary nature of the course appealed to Kelly Rodriguez ’11 (Huntington, N.Y.), an English major.
“In previous courses I was exposed to avant-garde theater and wanted a chance to learn more about this style in depth. I also wanted the opportunity to explore intersections and parallels between theater and visual art,” Rodriguez says.
Westfall hopes students take away a good understanding of how Dada led to other forms of expression.
“It’s great for students to learn that artists felt so passionately about important issues that they used their art for political expression, while at the same time exploding European art into new forms like cubism, surrealism, expressionism. This period gave birth to the style that would become MTV, rock concerts, and performance art. It’s important that our students learn the history of these forms, understand that arts are collaborative, and that art has social purpose. It’s also great for them to create their own art, to work with other artists in other disciplines to create works in which the whole is more than the sum of the parts.” | <urn:uuid:4edc28f7-03b0-4a84-a534-98d8c3eae11f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lafayette.edu/about/news/2011/04/15/absurd-art-interdisciplinary-team-taught-course-shows-students-the-social-and-political-power-of-art/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959267 | 888 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Matching 1 Tags
The song is built around the image of a river flowing through a canyon it has sculpted—an image that can easily be played out as a picture of the way that the Lord has been at work preparing a path for us in the material world, complete with signposts to his former and present activity.
Series: John Polkinghorne on Natural Theology
Polkinghorne discusses the origins and aims of natural theology in this series. It does not offer truth, but rather a “best explanation” for the world, answering primarily meta-questions. Two such questions asked by Polkinghorne are, “Why is science possible at all?” and “What makes the universe so special?” To explore the answers, he looks at the ability of human minds to penetrate mysteries of the natural world as well as the fine-tuning of the universe necessary to produce the fruitfulness of life.
How is BioLogos different from Evolutionism, Intelligent Design, and Creationism?
We at BioLogos believe that God used the process of evolution to create all the life on earth today. While we accept the science of evolution, we emphatically reject evolutionism. Evolutionism is the atheistic worldview that says life developed without God and without purpose. Instead, we agree with Christians who adhere to Intelligent Design and Creationism that the God of the Bible created the universe and all life. Christians disagree, however, on how God created. Young Earth Creationists believe that God created just 6,000 to 10,000 years ago and disagree with much of mainstream science. Supporters of Intelligent Design accept more of evolutionary science, but argue that some features of life are best explained by direct intervention by an intelligent agent rather than by God's regular way of working through natural processes. We at BioLogos agree with the modern scientific consensus on the age of the earth and evolutionary development of all species, seeing these as descriptions of how God created. The term BioLogos comes from the Greek words bios (life) and logos (word), referring to the opening of the Gospel of John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made.” (Updated on March 1, 2012)
How can evolution account for the complexity of life on earth today?
A complex biological structure with many interacting parts might appear, at first glance, as if it were originally created in its present form with all its interlocking components fully formed and intact. It doesn’t seem possible that they developed step by step via biological evolution. In Darwin’s Black Box, Michael Behe introduces a term that he and other proponents of Intelligent Design use for this concept: irreducible complexity.
Are gaps in scientific knowledge evidence for God?
Every field of science has unanswered questions and gaps in our understanding. Scientists typically view these as open research questions. Others sometimes argue that if science can’t explain how something happened, then God must be the explanation. Such arguments are called “god-of-the-gaps” arguments. The risk in these arguments is that science is always developing. If gaps in scientific knowledge are the basis for belief in God, then as scientists fill in the gaps, the evidence for God disappears. The God of the Bible, however, is much more than a god of the gaps. Christians believe that God is always at work in the natural world, in the gaps as well as in the areas that science can explain.
Fine-tuning and the “Fruitful Universe”
I ask the question, “Why is the universe so special?” Now scientists don’t like things to be special; we like things to be general, and our natural anticipation would have been that the universe is just a common specimen of what a universe might be like.
Wheat that Springeth Green
As we remember the narrative that takes us from Good Friday through Easter morning, the image of a buried grain of wheat invites us into the story rather than just describing what happens in it.
Of all the blessings to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day, none of them surpasses the riches of the eternal blessings which the Lord has bestowed on his sons and daughters in Christ Jesus.
The Water Is Wide
While in common parlance we tend to think of something being “co-opted” as a bad thing and a violation of original principles or intentions, the word itself does not imply a “hijacking” so much as a divergence with connection: co-operation between one use and another.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
The complex sounds in the piece are created by only five human voices over a foundation of a single cello—the entirety of the Toby Twining Music ensemble.
Finding Our Voice
I wonder if the answer might lie not in our study of God but in our praise of Him.
What is the character of our creative interaction with the world—not only the material world alone, but also the spiritual one? What do we literally make of the gift we of all creatures have—to see the intricacies of the cosmos and to recognize that they point not just to a god or designer, but to the Lord who invites us into intimate relationship with Him and each other?
Called by Name
Just as the Lord gave Adam the task of naming the animals in the Garden, naming remains a central part of the scientific exploration of the world. But what does it mean to be “called by name”? | <urn:uuid:f3201821-eaa8-40f9-acf5-a7431f288d77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://biologos.org/resources/find/Audio,Question/any/Worship+&+Arts,ID+Movement | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955432 | 1,156 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Australia's 'most Googled' words revealed
- From: AAP
- December 12, 2012
IF you've spent some of the year wondering what permeate is or why it's no longer in some milk, you're not alone.
Because "what is permeate?" was one of Australia's most googled questions in 2012.
Lara Bingle was the year's most searched-for celebrity (ahead of Miranda Kerr and Delta Goodrem).
AFL champions Sydney Swans were the most searched-for sports team (followed by Essendon FC) and Hurricane Sandy was the most searched-for news event.
The results were revealed in Google's annual Zeitgeist report, which the company describes as "a barometer for what captivated Aussies during 2012".
Korean pop act Psy's Gangnam Style was the nation's highest-trending search term, followed by Nine Network's The Voice and English-Irish boyband, One Direction.
The trending category is calculated on the basis of how long a search term remains popular, rather than simply how many people search for it.
The most asked "how to" question on Google was "how to love?" - though it's not clear if the rest of the question was ever followed by anything, for example "yourself" or "someone".
It's also unclear if rapper Lil Wayne's 2011 song "How To Love" played a role in the search term's popularity.
All that loving may have led to Australia's second most searched-for "how to" question - how to kegel?
Kegeling is a pelvic floor exercise for pregnant women to help with urinary control and childbirth.
Swimmer Stephanie Rice was Australia's most searched-for Olympian.
Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong was the nation's most searched-for athlete.
And in case you still haven't googled permeate to find out what it means, consumer group Choice has a handy definition.
"Manufacturers dilute milk with permeate, a solution of minerals and lactose (milk sugar) that's a by-product from making cheese," it says on Choice's website.
Permeate-free milk became popular from June, particularly after Nine Network's A Current Affair ran a series of news stories on the substance. | <urn:uuid:eaa537c9-f5cb-4690-92a3-ac2f52cc59f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/australias-most-googled-words-revealed/story-e6freono-1226535751322 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968097 | 478 | 1.75 | 2 |
The Maryland Chamber joined the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the Commission for Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities (CEJSC) this week in co-sponsoring an important business and environmental justice summit.
The summit “Bringing Businesses and Communities Together in Protecting the Environment: Streamlining the Environmental Permitting Process” was held to start the conversation between the business community and environmental justice advocates. The overall message of the summit was that early proactive and open communication among all stakeholders is key to balancing business productivity with environmental and community protection.
Delegate Mary Washington (D-Dist. 43) of Baltimore City urged business, government and environmental communities to work together in protecting communities while achieving business goals. She said that environmental justice obligations could serve to help economic growth in the state, and more businesses should consider including environmental justice standards as part of their business plans.
The Q&A portion of the meeting revealed a variety of perspectives including the thought that all communities are not created equal. When environmental justice standards are being considered, the business impact on a particular community should first be considered, particularly those sections of the state that are in direct competition with bordering states.
While in the past the business community may have been reluctant to engage in discussions with a sector perceived to want to limit business growth, the summit was a beneficial first step The goal of future meetings will be to move the conversation forward in effort to allow stakeholders to work collaboratively on permitting and regulatory processes that impact many. | <urn:uuid:08576e0f-bafa-4779-8be8-4be96d1b8869> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chamberactionnetwork.com/2012/06/streamlining-the-environmental-permitting-process/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953702 | 314 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Step 1: AC Measurement
For this project, I used an AC clamp. With an AC clamp, it is possible to measure the current traveling through a wire without physically touching it. Basically it is a simple transformer where the wire of interest acts as the primary coil and the AC clamp is the secondary coil. Most AC clamps are integrated into a multi-meter. I used a stand-alone type for my project. It outputs 10mV per ampere and is intended to be connected to a multi-meter. All you do is multiply the voltage reading by 100 to get the current in the wire. These can be found for $20 or less on Ebay. Mine were made by Steren, model MUL-285. The great thing about using an AC clamp is that I was able to do all of my prototyping without ever turning the power off. | <urn:uuid:6d1255b9-63db-4830-97ce-12071babe255> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.instructables.com/id/Real-time-Web-Based-Household-Power-Usage-Monitor/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958213 | 178 | 2.59375 | 3 |
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As a gift to God for His goodness, and in response to many requests, the School Sisters of Christ the King have recorded a CD called “In Praise of our King.” The recording contains portions of the liturgy of the hours beautifully chanted by the sisters.
The CD is available, free of charge, upon request. They may be contacted at School Sisters of Christ the King, Villa Regina Motherhouse, 4100 SW 56th Street, Lincoln, NE 18522-9261.
While you’re at it, you might want to include with your request for the CD a tax-deductible gift to the sisters–not only to offset the cost of the CD, but even more to support the sisters and their apostolic works.
This relatively young community already staffs seven Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lincoln, but needs contributions to continue to train young sisters for this work.
Today is the feast of St. Martin de Porres, one of the most beloved saints in the history of the Church. I thought I would share with readers the following excerpt from the homily of Blessed John XXIII on the occasion of St. Martin’s canonization in 1962, taken from the Office of Readings for today:
The example of Martin’s life is ample evidence that we can strive for holiness and salvation as Christ Jesus has shown us: first, by loving God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and second, by loving your neighbor as yourself.”
When Martin had come to realize that Christ Jesus suffered for us and that he carried our sins on his body to the cross, he would meditate with remarkable ardor and affection about Christ on the cross. Whenever he would contemplate Christ’s terrible torture he would be reduced to tears. He had an exceptional love for the great sacrament of the Eucharist and often spent long hours in prayer before the blessed sacrament. His desire was to receive the sacrament in communion as often as he could.
Saint Martin, always obedient and inspired by his divine teacher, dealt with his brothers with that profound love which comes from pure faith and humility of spirit. He loved men because he honestly looked on them as God’s children and as his own brothers and sisters. Such was his humility that he loved them even more than himself and considered them to be better and more righteous than he was.
He excused the faults of others. He forgave the bitterest injuries, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins. He tried with all his might to redeem the guilty; lovingly he comforted the sick; he provided food, clothing and medicine for the poor; he helped, as best he could, farm laborers and Negroes, as well as mulattoes, who were looked upon at that time as akin to slaves: thus he deserved to be called by the name the people gave him: ‘Martin of Charity.’”
The virtuous example and even the conversation of this saintly man exerted a powerful influence in drawing men to religion. It is remarkable how even today his influence can still come us toward the things of heaven. Sad to say, not all of us understand these spiritual values as well as we should, nor do we give them a proper place in our lives. Many of us, in fact, strongly attracted by sin, may look upon these values as of little moment, even something of a nuisance, or we ignore them altogether. It is deeply rewarding for men striving for salvation to follow in Christ’s footsteps and to obey God’s commandments. If only everyone could learn this lesson from the example that Martin gave us.
St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru in 1579 as the illegitimate son of a Panamanian mother and a Spanish father. Having inherited the dark color of his mother, he was rejected by his father and was therefore raised in poverty. He entered the Dominicans and became renowned for his countless works of charity. St. Martin was the friend of another great Dominican Saint from Peru, St. Rose of Lima, and his bishop for a time was St. Turibius of Mogrovejo.
The following is taken from the Office of Readings for today’s feast of St. Irenaeus, an important second-century bishop and Father of the Church. This selection from St. Irenaeus contains the famous quote that is sometimes translated, “The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.”
The glory of God gives life; those who see God receive life. For this reason God, who cannot be grasped, comprehended or seen, allows himself to be seen, comprehended and grasped by men, that he may give life to those who see and receive him. It is impossible to live without life, and the actualization of life comes from participation in God, while participation in God is to see God and enjoy his goodness. Read the rest of this entry »
Trivia question (answer at end): What would you have if Billie Holliday came back to life and prayed the Liturgy of the Hours?
I still vividly recall entering a religious community in the mid-1980s. A native of Los Angeles and a fairly recent law school graduate, I knew I was stepping into a very different environment. As I settled into this life, I realized that I was doing many of the same things I had been doing before entering this community. I had already become accustomed to daily Mass and Holy Hours. The studies (I was preparing for the priesthood) likewise came naturally to a “professional student” like me. And of course the meals and recreation times were very enjoyably spent with the great guys we had in the community.
The one thing that was markedly different for me was praying the Liturgy of the Hours (aka “Divine Office”) at set times each day with the other seminarians and religious. I had owned and used a breviary (a prayer book containing the Liturgy of the Hours) before entering seminary, but the regularity and fervor of this prayer of the Church was the most distinctive–and in many ways the most enriching–aspect of my seminary journey. This attraction to the Liturgy of the Hours has stayed with me ever since.
Today I want to direct our readers’ attention to a fine article entitled “On the Psalmody of the Divine Office” from the Vultus Christi blog. Author Dom Mark Daniel Kirby (“Father Mark”), a Benedictine prior from Tulsa, is a sound, learned guide when it comes to the Liturgy of the Hours.
Father Mark makes some fascinating points throughout the piece. I had never considered the connection between the choral recitation of the office and the evangelical counsels. His treatment of the Thomistic concept of “tranquility of order” (tranquilitas ordinis) as it applies to liturgical discipline beautifully highlights the peaceful and contemplative qualities of the Divine Office.
While everyone may participate in the Liturgy of the Hours, it’s part and parcel of the daily life of consecrated men and women. As such, Father concludes his article by affirming three fundamental principles regarding the Liturgy of the Hours for religious:
1. The choral celebration of the Divine Office is for all apostolic religious a path to contemplative prayer .
2. The choral celebration of the Divine Office is, according to the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI, your primary service to the world.
3. The choral celebration of the Divine Office assures the supernatural fruitfulness of your apostolic works.
Okay, here’s the answer to the trivia question: Psalm Sung Blue (Yes, my wife didn’t laugh either.) | <urn:uuid:cd4e166d-db44-40f3-9d9b-9a43126b2c37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vocationblog.com/tag/liturgy-of-the-hours/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970808 | 1,734 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The International Commission on Nobility and Royalty | home
HM Juan Carlos I: The King who Championed Democracy
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This article is about the heroism and tremendous political savvy of one of the most unusual and gifted men of the Twentieth Century---His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain. The information was mainly garnered from an article entitled "A King's Struggled for Democracy," Reader's Digest (May 1979), pp. 129-133.
Franco, the dictator of Spain for over 30 years, died at the age of 82 in November of 1975. Being designated by Francisco Franco to be the next King of Spain, Juan Carlos was sworn in as King Juan Carlos I at the age of 36. Many did not take him seriously. He was considered to be both timid and naive by some of his countrymen. Some jokingly stated that “Juan Carlos is a deep thinker, when he was in a submarine.” How wrong they were. “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” it is said, which was so true of this brave and determined man. It was said of him that he looked more like a prizefighter or a policeman than a king. He has a commanding presence. This may have reflected his true spirit. He fought valiantly and skillfully for his country, to give them the very best government a country could ever have. This was a democracy with checks and balances to protect it. As such it protected the prosperity, freedoms and rights of all the people.
The challenge of creating this government from a dictatorship was formidable. It would take a miracle or skill beyond that of any normal man. But Juan Carlos was not a normal man. He was brought to Spain by Franco as the son of the rightful heir to the throne. His father, Don Juan, was the last king’s (Alfonso XIII) designated heir, but he was too opinionated in his views. Franco wanted to groom Juan Carlos, who was young and more pliable and teachable, to be succeed him as head of the government and to be the future king of Spain. When only ten, HRH Prince Juan Carlos of Spain was taken from his family to be brought up in Spain and be educated in his ancestral homeland under the watchful eye of Franco himself. Those who thought Juan Carlos to be “less than brilliant” were terribly mistaken, for Juan excelled in everything. He mastered four additional languages beyond his native Spanish and graduated number three in his class of 271 students at Saragossa Military Academy. He spent a year at each of the regular military academies and was commissioned as an officer in the navy, air force and army. He was quiet, but he was a keen observer and made important friends wherever he went.
The short leash he was on with the dictator Franco demanded his discretion. The Prince had to be very careful as he had to walk a tightrope, for he dare not make any mistakes lest he be thrown out and discarded. At the age of 36, upon the death of Franco, Juan Carlos found himself at the head of the most powerful and deeply entrenched dictatorship in western Europe. He was literally surrounded with dangerous men who were followers and supporters of the former dictator, and authoritarian power brokers.
To take this nation into a modern democracy, without civil disaster or a blood bath, would be a most amazing feat. In the last 100 years, prior to his ascension to the throne, Spain had suffered 26 revolutions and three civil wars. A terrorist organization among the Basques wanted to set up a totally independent Marxist-Leninist mini-state. The Cortez, the Spanish mock Parliament of 561 members, was composed of 457 Franco appointees. The government bureaucracy was filled with Francoist staunch die-hards who would easily lead the country into a military take-over, or another civil war, should their agenda be sidelined. They thought the king would go down in history as “Juan the Brief,” that is, that he would not last for very long. Juan Carlos knew very well that if he moved too quickly in establishing a democracy, or made a false move, he might destroy all hopes for it; the very thing he wanted so dearly for his country and his people.
During Franco's reign, Spain made some remarkable improvements economically, because of the unusual political stability that prevailed. Both foreign and Spanish investors created an industrial giant, where Spain became one of the great industrial powers of the world. Tourists found Spain's sunny climate appealing and came by the millions to visit her. The economy grew at the high rate of 7% a year. But Franco jailed political dissidents, the press was suppressed, freedom of assembly was forbidden and political parties and unions were outlawed. However,all of this new found wealth in the growing middle class brought demands for change; a change fraught with danger on every side.
What the King did was sheer genius and was accomplished with great precision and perfect timing. First he appointed Carlos Arias as president. He had been the former president of the Cortez under Franco. Juan Carlos carefully promoted young military officers he knew and had befriended while in the military academies. He encouraged the Cortez, or legislative appointees to enact the first democratic reforms. These were (a) freedom of assembly and (b) freedom for political parties to exist, except for the Communist Party. After eight months as king, Juan Carlos fired his Franco president and appointed Adolfo Suarez, another Franco party man. This ended up being one of the best moves he made. Suarez formed a cabinet of young political moderates. "Suddenly a new generation was in charge of Spain, men with little concern for the explosive passions that had torn Spain apart in civil war. Suarez turned out be an exceptionally adroit politician, who, despite his Franconist past, approached the task of dismantling the dictatorship with zeal." (p. 132)
He freed the press from years and years of restriction and they became staunch supporters and champions of democracy. The ball was moving in the right direction and the momentum was becoming unstoppable. The courts for political crimes were suspended and abolished. Unions were permitted. The tax system was overhauled with criminal penalties so that neither rich nor poor alike could evade proper payment. "Collections jumped enormously." (p. 132) Then, a most amazing thing happened. With the prestige of the king and the political dexterity of Suarez, the very heart of the Franco system, the Cortez, overwhelmingly voted to abolish itself. A referendum proved that the people wanted a Cortez, not of appointees, but one composed of elected officials. This was the final straw that broke the back of Francoism. 94% of the population voted for a democratic legislature. All parties were legalized and the election gave Suarez a mandate to rule Spain with assurance, and a new era of political freedom and stability was ushered in.
However, both the police and the military were blaming the dangerous upsurge of terrorist activities on the abolition of dictatorial controls. At this point, the king being personally acquainted with the new young military officers, whom he had carefully hand picked for promotion, was able to keep the military hotheads, who were still in powerful positions, from ruining things. Now "the democracy [was] a going concern," but not without some serious threats. The king was the central figure in eradicating a military coup in 1981, which would have destroyed everything they had worked so hard for.
All of this demonstrates that democracy's greatest friend is monarchy. (See "Ideals" and "Advantages") The most free and prosperous nations on earth generally are monarchies. They are more stable, and this lessens risk for investors. They then feel free to help build a better tomorrow by creating jobs, and wealth, knowing that they can profit from their enterprises in a free and open society. The king's most important contribution is intangible and indirect, but very powerful for good.
King Juan Carlos I was a central figure in the transformation from dictatorship to democracy. He has helped maintain the higher ideals of freedom and independence. He had the vision, the savvy and the know-how to do something spectacular. It has benefited his country to such a great degree, that by 2004 the kingdom of Spain had the eighth largest economy in the world. Half of all the new jobs created in Europe since 2002 were produced by Spain. Things aren't perfect, but Spain is an up and coming country with a great king. Recently in the city of Oviedo, he admonished them to always remember and exemplify "democratic harmony, understanding, mutual respect, tolerance and freedom"---qualities that make nations great and their people wealthy, prosperous and free. In May 2007 he was voted the greatest Spaniard of all time, in a television poll, beating Christopher Columbus, Pablo Picasso and Miguel Cervantes. He is truly "a king for all Spaniards." Not that he or his family are perfect, but he was the man of the hour and he has also been the man of a lifetime for his country. He has been a major contributor to the "longest period of stability and prosperity under democracy" Spain has ever experienced.
"King Juan Carlos I is a direct descendant of many famous European rulers from different countries, such as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (who reigned in Spain as Carlos I), King Louis XIV of France and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Therefore, he is related to all the current monarchs of Europe." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_titles_
and_honours_of_the_Spanish_Crown) A Council of Ministers that regulates titles in Spain on November of 1987 because the constitution allows for the use of other historical records determined that the King may officially use the following titles which came to him because he is the rightful heir to the throne of Spain through his fathers or by right of blood succession:
King of Spain, of Castile, of León, of Aragon, of the Two Sicilies ( Naples and Sicily), of Jerusalem, of Navarre, of Granada, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of Mallorca, of Seville, of Sardinia, of Cordoba, of Corsica, of Murcia, of Menorca, of Jaen, of the Algarves, of Algeciras, of Gibraltar, of the Canary Island, of the Spanish East and West Indies and of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea;
Archduke of Austria;
Duke of Burgundy, of Brabant, of Milan, of Athens and of Neopatria;
Count of Habsburg, of Flanders, of Tyrol, of Rousillon and of Barcelona;
Lord of Biscay and of Molina
The King is the Captain General of the Royal Spanish Armed Forces and its Supreme Commander. (Ibid.) History will show he was a worthy king and a great statesman of unusual talent and finese. Hardly any country could wish for a greater man to protect and safeguard them as "the king of all Spaniards."
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© Copyright 2005/2009 -- International Commission on Nobility and Royalty. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:ad030655-1c07-498a-a866-89169fe480c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nobility-royalty.com/id77_m.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980517 | 2,468 | 2.859375 | 3 |
avid Nutt was no stranger to controversy by the time he was fired as chair of the UK’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in October 2009, after claiming that alcohol is more harmful to health, and to society as a whole, than many illegal drugs—including cannabis, LSD, and ecstasy. Though not offering absolute legitimacy to reggae singer Bob Marley’s claim that “herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction,” Nutt called for the use of scientific evidence to inform policy and ran up against a government that didn’t “want facts to get in the way of prejudice.”
Two months after being sacked he launched the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, with a mission to “investigate and review the scientific evidence relating to drugs, free from political concerns.” The indie group’s first major study was recently published in The Lancet (Nov. 6) expanding on Nutt’s earlier ranking of harmful drugs, with particular emphasis on the harms of alcohol. For revelers picking up this magazine after multiple toasts to welcome in 2011, an essay presents his thought experiment on developing a safer, synthetic alternative to alcohol, whose effects could be reversed by antidotes. A revelation! As many revelers can attest, along with George Bernard Shaw, “alcohol [substitute] is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life.”
A call to indie innovators to come up with affordable alternatives
The quest for independence from politics, profits, and influence peddling by megacorporations also underlies the surprising emergence of nonprofit pharmas, as reported in this issue. Chemist Victoria Hale established two nonprofit companies because she wanted to create affordable drugs for people suffering from disease in developing countries. Funded partially by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hale’s Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH) has succeeded in bringing drugs to market by partnering with for-profit manufacturing facilities. The article’s sidebar describes a “brave new world of creative structures and mechanisms”—other hybrid ventures encouraged by government initiatives, such as community interest companies (CICs) in the UK and low-profit, limited liability companies (L3Cs) in the US. These are stirring examples of governments rising above lobbyist influence to develop smart and novel policies.
Continuing on the indie theme, bioengineer, entrepreneur, and author Rob Carlson writes about “biohackers in the garage” who are tinkering with genomes to develop innovative approaches to making drugs and other products. This he puts in the context of the “prudent vigilance” recommendation issued in December by the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, regarding how synthetic biology should be regulated in the US. Carlson warns that restricting access to these tools, in the name of public safety, could actually drive a dangerous black market, as did government efforts to regulate illegal drugs such as methamphetamine. While there is a need for oversight in this brave new world of genomic architecting, achieving sound policy while reaping the benefits of rapid innovation will require a public that can grasp the nuances of modern biomedicine and its methodologies. Hmmm, how and when is that transformation going to take place?
Yet the results are rolling in, leaving no doubt that small is beautiful. Examples of faster-better-cheaper? Yeast cells engineered to produce artemisinic acid, the precursor of a major antimalarial drug. Antibiotic treatment for visceral leishmaniasis, a parasite infection that kills 300,000 people annually, bringing treatment costs from $300 to $10–15. Flu vaccines developed in days to weeks rather than 12 months or more.
In the November 15 issue of The New Yorker, Michael Specter presents a disturbing narrative about epidemic tuberculosis, which claims a thousand deaths per day in India alone, and ten million new cases worldwide in 2010. Detection is key to curing infection, but there is no reliable, affordable diagnostic test. The GeneXpert device can diagnose TB almost without error in two hours, but costs an astronomical $25,000, and $20 per test. The article is basically a call to indie innovators to come up with affordable alternatives, with the nearly certain outcome of saving millions of lives.
And, if that isn’t a sobering task, how about garage-hacking synthetic alcohol? Just don’t forget the antidote. | <urn:uuid:8d3251bd-e0cf-43a3-b565-4164cf5ef386> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/30818/title/Brave-New-Drugs/ | 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 | 0.937942 | 920 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Jeonghwa Seo had teamed up with Hanna Chung to create a project that aims to improve social relationships. As part of Eastern traditions, tea ceremonies bring people together. By creating a calming environment, the designers constructed the 'Ripple Effect Tea Table.'
As beautiful as they are serene, these rippling table tops move by hand motion and bring the relationship closer as ripples meet and societies greet. It is believed that small changes in people's personalities can evolve and grow, in hopes to change the world one tea ceremony at a time. The 'Ripple Effect Tea Table' can have an impact on society as they become major conversation pieces in your homes and personal lives.
Photo Credits: designboom, cribcandy
4,100 clicks in 142 w
More Stats +/- | <urn:uuid:85714836-c3db-4395-bebb-30ff7405dcd6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ripple-effect-tables | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929866 | 161 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Words to The March of the Women
Due to popular request, we searched for and found an old copy of the words for
Under the title of the song is the subtitle,
The words here are exactly as they appeared on the old copy of music, with the same caps, hyphens, and other punctuation.
The words to the first stanza were written above the notated music.
Verse 1Shout, shout, up with your song!
Cry with the wind, for the dawn is breaking;
March, march, swing you along,
Wide blows our banner, and hope is waking.
Song with its story, dreams with their glory
Lo! they call, and glad is their word!
Loud and louder it swells,
Thunder of freedom, the voice of the Lord!
Verse 2Long, long—we in the past
Cowered in dread from the light of heaven,
Strong, strong—stand we at last,
Fearless in faith and with sight new given.
Strength with its beauty, Life with its duty,
(Hear the voice, oh hear and obey!)
These, these—beckon us on!
Open your eyes to the blaze of day.
Verse 3Comrades—ye who have dared
First in the battle to strive and sorrow!
Scorned, spurned—nought have ye cared,
Raising your eyes to a wider morrow,
Ways that are weary, days that are dreary,
Toil and pain by faith ye have borne;
Hail, hail—victors ye stand,
Wearing the wreath that the brave have worn!
Verse 4Life, strife—those two are one,
Naught can ye win but by faith and daring.
On, on—that ye have done
But for the work of today preparing.
Firm in reliance, laugh a defiance,
(Laugh in hope, for sure is the end)
March, march—many as one,
Shoulder to shoulder and friend to friend.
©1996-2012 Sandscape Publications. All Rights Reserved.
Content created and managed by Valarie Morris
Design and artwork by Sherry Miller
For information, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:88a3b9e8-037e-4d98-8dfe-4bc407c1d470> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sandscapepublications.com/intouch/marchwords.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950482 | 479 | 2.28125 | 2 |
You can choose where to focus. You can focus on the rich; that’s not my focus. You can focus on the very poor; that’s not my focus. My focus is on middle-income Americans.
He went on to explain that “[w]e have a safety net for the poor.” And “[i]f there are people that are falling through the cracks, I want to fix that.”
However, the fact that America’s poorest citizens theoretically have access to food stamps, Medicaid and housing vouchers—which Romney cited—does not constitute much of a “safety net” at all. Some Americans, such as senior citizens, are too proud to accept any governmental assistance (other than Social Security and Medicare benefits) or handouts. They have worked all of their lives; and to find themselves in poverty is embarrassing and deeply depressing. They and others are often turned away or sanctioned by the government bureaucracy that can be brutal and cruel, especially to people who are truly in need.
Those Americans who had moved into our “Middle Class” will lose their homes and everything else, which is happening already. The idea that colleges and professional schools were guaranteed pathways to success will also evaporate. Our society and that of other countries will be upended. And yes, there will be “class warfare,” which Barack Obama and his surrogates are fanning already. Leave aside the fact that he will add more debt than all 43 prior presidents combined, demagoguery is in season and full swing.
When I worked in the U.S. Senate as a young lawyer with its Senate Banking Committee and later headed the Senate staff of Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass)—the first African-American in the Senate since Reconstruction following our Civil War, with Obama being the third—the senator and I met with Mitt’s father who was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (1969-1973), and I was very impressed with him. At that time, I was working on the passage and implementation of the Housing and Urban Development Acts of 1969 and 1970, which included the “Brooke Amendment” relating to public housing; and the national “Housing Allowance” program, which morphed into the Section 8 housing program that has helped millions of Americans. The senator, George Romney and I talked about these programs at length.
On behalf of Senator Brooke, I also established a summer program for disadvantaged kids in Massachusetts, in conjunction with the Pentagon, which involved underutilized military facilities within the state (e.g., the Boston Navy Yard, Otis Air Force Base) and served approximately 100,000 kids during its first year alone. Indeed, the senator and I traveled to Massachusetts with then-Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird in his private plane to review the program and its progress.
In making my observations, I am not singling out Mitt Romney for condemnation. I have believed in Mitt for a long time now, and will vote for him—in no small part because I share most of his positions with respect to the economy and national security issues. However, lots of politicians and other successful Americans are “tone deaf” when it comes to the needs of the poor. They do not relate to them at all, and they cannot understand them. To be poor is a sign of failure in our success-oriented and driven society. Our advertising touts beautiful bodies and fancy cars and materialistic dreams. In no way are the poor glorified, much less given dignity. Shame is heaped on them, which is wrong.
When I was graduating from grade school in Los Angeles, my mother came to the ceremony in a wheelchair, and I was mortified. No other mothers were present like that. She had suffered the convergence of two debilitating illnesses, which robbed her of her beauty and almost killed her. By the time that I was entering high school, her right leg had been amputated, which stopped the onslaught of what she had gone through; and during the Vietnam War, she walked with an artificial leg and was named the “Woman of the Year” by the local chapter of the Red Cross—for her outstanding volunteer work.
What all of this taught me was that her faith in God had sustained her, and given her courage, hope, joy and great love. And that stigmas and discrimination attach, especially in Southern California, to those people who are physically or mentally “challenged” or handicapped, the poor, and to those who are not “beautiful.” Hollywood has gone nationwide and worldwide since then, with a vengeance; and life-threatening illnesses and poverty are not part of the “American dream,” which has been embraced by people globally. As the U.S. economy declines more between now and the end of this decade—which will happen to an even greater extent in countries around the world—poverty, human suffering, misery and anger will increase dramatically.
The core issues will be how Americans adjust to their poverty and hopelessness, which will be just as rampant in this decade as during the Great Depression of the last century that did not end until the onset of World War II, at the earliest. There are no easy solutions to losing one’s job, home, car and everything else. As State governments scramble to avoid bankruptcy, programs that might have helped the poor will no longer exist. For example, in California, State parks are being closed; and the nightly price for staying at those that remain open equals the cost of a cheap motel already. Where will the poor stay, especially if they have no family members who can—or are willing to—take them in? How will they afford food to eat, and find transportation to get from one place to another (e.g., looking for work)? When inclement weather sets in, how will they survive?
The published numbers of “poor” do not begin to tell their tragic stories; and the human suffering will increase and become unfathomable during the balance of this decade, whether Romney is president or not. Pure economics will dictate this; and there is nothing that can be done governmentally, by any politician. And yes, many of those poor will be “middle-income Americans” or those who had been members of our Middle Class. They will be devastated; suicides and divorces will increase; and families will be torn asunder. Mitt Romney and the wealthy of the United States—which includes Obama and most members of Congress—need to wake up now, and begin to demonstrate real compassion. The problem is that they have no earthly idea of what it is like to be poor.
In Greece today, parents are giving away their children because they cannot afford them. Kids are being dumped in streets or abandoned at shelters with notes attached to them, saying that one or both parents are at wits’ end. Poverty breeds inhumanity on a scale that is unknown to most Americans; and it also breeds crime (including massive Internet fraud), which will increase in the United States as money for law enforcement declines and as our prisons are overcrowded and prisoners are released. Reality is crashing down with a thud like never before in our lifetimes.
As I wrote almost three years ago:
America and other nations are in uncharted waters; and their politicians may face backlashes from disillusioned and angry constituents that are unprecedented in modern times. Also, the limits of godless secularism and paying homage to the false gods of materialism may become self-evident.
The chickens are coming home to roost, in spades; and the “good times” are ending for vast numbers of Americans and their counterparts around the world.
Others will remain rich, or attain great riches; and I do not begrudge it to them at all. I do not envy or covet what another has. I have never done so. My parents taught me that, by their own words and actions. In my lifetime thus far, I have had lots of money, and none. I have friends with many millions, and one with several billions; and others who have nothing. I have treated them all the same—with love, respect, dignity and compassion.
I lived in a tent for months at a time—with water everywhere inside it, during the rainy season—because that was all I could afford. I have had two cars repossessed, as well as a boat. I have been evicted; and lost my dream house, as well as most of the possessions that were important to me, including priceless family items that had been handed down over generations. When I was in law school, I had a pair of shoes resoled so many times that I was told it could not be done anymore; and I have struggled to make ends meet for food.
I do not wish any of this on others. However, I realize that many Americans have experienced losses, pain and suffering that are far worse than I ever have; and this is true today of people abroad who are dying of wars, diseases and malnutrition, and are being forced into slavery and prostitution. I have great faith in God, the United States, all Americans, and people everywhere. I believe we will survive like my mother did. However, we will be tested like never before.
© 2012, Timothy D. Naegele
Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He practices law in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles with his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, which specializes in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (see www.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/naegele_resume.html). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA, as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He is a member of the District of Columbia and California bars. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g.,www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at firstname.lastname@example.org; see also Google search:Timothy D. Naegele
As discussed later in this article, “housing vouchers” are an outgrowth of the national “Housing Allowance” program that I crafted as a young attorney with the Senate Banking Committee—which was complementary to the “Brooke Amendment,” and morphed into the Section 8 housing program that has helped millions of Americans.
As I have written:
[L]awyers who are prosecutors are often less interested in fairness and justice than they are in winning at all costs, and exercising their raw power and hurting others in the process—such as those who are innocent but are convicted anyway.
And I added:
A federal official with reason to know told me that between 15-20 percent of the indictees in federal courts are probably innocent. Some are seniors who have been charged with cheating the Social Security program, and they are scared to death, so they agree to plea bargains rather than fight for their innocence.
See id. at n.8. This is truly frightening, and cruel. Also, those who are engaged in prosecutorial misconduct are “sheltered” by the government, which is a travesty unto itself. Aside from any civil remedies against them, such prosecutors should be prosecuted and disbarred.
See, e.g., http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-02-06/ted-stevens-prosecutors-justice-department/52922922/1 (“Taxpayers pay to defend prosecutors in Ted Stevens case”); see also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/the-american-legal-system-is-broken-can-it-be-fixed/#comment-1700 (“Perhaps the best remedy for such abuses is to have the ‘guilty’ prosecutors incarcerated; and let justice be meted out with respect to them, by those in prisons”)
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/the-american-legal-system-is-broken-can-it-be-fixed/#comment-1977 (“Law School May Amount To The Worst Investment Of Her Life!”) and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/are-colleges-dinosaurs/ (“Are Colleges Dinosaurs?”) (see also the footnotes and all other comments beneath the article)
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/what-and-where-is-god/ (“What And Where Is God?”) (see also the footnotes and comments beneath the article)
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/the-economic-tsunami-continues-its-relentless-and-unforgiving-advance-globally/#comment-1960 (“Global Economy Could Endure Disaster For a Week”) (see also the article itself, as well as the footnotes and all of the other comments beneath it)
See, e.g., http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/173_212/-365185-1.html (“Greenspan’s Fingerprints All Over Enduring Mess”) and http://www.realclearpolitics.com/news/tms/politics/2009/Apr/08/euphoria_or_the_obama_depression_.html (“Euphoria or the Obama Depression?”); see also http://www.philstockworld.com/2009/10/11/greenspan’s-legacy-more-suffering-to-come/ (“Greenspan’s legacy: more suffering to come”)
See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/divorces/ (see also the footnotes and comments beneath the article)
See, e.g., http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2085163/Children-dumped-streets-Greek-parents-afford-them.html (“Children ‘dumped in streets by Greek parents who can’t afford to look after them any more’”)
See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/lawyers-and-internet-scams/ (“Lawyers And Internet Scams”) (see also the footnotes and all of the comments beneath the article)
See, e.g., http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2012/02/02/the-youngest-and-richest-people-in-america-from-mark-zuckerberg-to-sean-parker-photos.html (“The 10 Youngest Richest, From Sergey Brin to Mark Zuckerberg”)
See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/human-trafficking/ (“Human Trafficking”) (see also the footnotes and all of the comments beneath the article)
See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/america-a-rich-tapestry-of-life/ (“America: A Rich Tapestry Of Life”) (see also the footnotes and all of the comments beneath the article) | <urn:uuid:77323d71-36b0-4eb6-80cb-b584678bcd5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/tag/prostitute/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966468 | 3,473 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Latin Name: Withania somnifera
English Name: Winter Cherry
Sanskrit / Indian Name: Ashvagandha
Withania somnifera is an erect shrub. The plant has steroidal lactones - withanolides, withaferin, which are estrogenic compounds.
The principle constituents of its roots are the alkaloids somnine, somniferine, withanine, tropine, psuedotropine and anaferine. It is used in asthma and as a uterine sedative. Its alkaloids showed relaxant and antispasmodic effects against several spasmogens on intestinal, uterine, bronchial, tracheal and blood vascular muscles. | <urn:uuid:f50d1ab7-8fac-4705-9abc-ee7ad50d08d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.himalayaherbals.com/herbs/Withania-somnifera.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90341 | 148 | 2.515625 | 3 |
USA Badminton is committed to providing a safe sport that maintains only the highest ethical and honorable standards. The Code of Ethics and Conduct ( CEC) presented in the attachment “USAB Coaches Code of Ethics and Conduct” was adopted in its entirety from the United States Olympic Committee's (USOC) Coaching Ethics Code. This code was approved by the USOC Board of Directors.
USAB has adopted this CEC to enforce and keep current the standards that have been spelled out for the benefit of athletes, their families, coaches themselves, and the greater good of the sport.
Current and potential coaches are welcome to review the USAB Coaches Code of Ethics and Conduct.
CLICK HERE to access the new USAB Coaches Code of Ethics and Conduct
Once enforced, current certified coaches and potential (new) coaches will have to attend a one-hour face-to-face module on the new USAB Coaches Code of Ethics and Conduct before signing the “agreement.” The agreement is to ensure that coaches have read and understand the contents stated in the USAB Coaches Code of Ethics and Conduct and that they agree to abide by the Codes, and understand that violation may result in full or partial forfeitures of coaching privileges at sites or events under USAB and USOC governance. | <urn:uuid:ff548b84-3f17-44d1-9718-2906cec5f97f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Badminton/Coaching/USAB-Coaches-Code-of-Ethics-and-Conduct.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965686 | 269 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Click here for a link to Purina All Stars, a video archive of animals. Watching these short video clips with your students will make great discussion starters.
Put on the board questions like:
- What kind of animal is that?
- What is he/she doing?
- What is the owner doing?
- Do you have a pet?
- What kind of pet do you have?
- What is your pet’s name?
- If you don’t have a pet, what kind would you like to have and why?
If you scroll down and look to the left side, you will see tabs for other pages – wildlife, meow, woof, odd couples, little critters and more.
Below is a list of more animal videos. I suggest previewing and downloading the videos before showing them in class ( just to make sure that there are no glitches and nothing inappropriate pops up on the screen – the videos tend to load one right after the other.)
If you don’t have Real Player, click here and download the free version. | <urn:uuid:becafaff-5fc7-4abe-8484-7ce405cf94de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eltworld.net/china/?tag=esl | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92442 | 225 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Two children are angry with each other and hitting, kicking, or shoving. This is not wrestling. In wrestling, children are not angry with each other but are practicing their physical skills. Wrestling is fine as long as it's done outside or in a recreation room and the opponents are reasonably well-matched.
"Don't fight with each other, because disagreements can't be settled by hitting."
While you can have a rule against fighting in your home and yard, you can't control what goes on in the neighborhood or school. Some parents teach their children to fight (but fight fair). Another option is to teach your child to say, "I don't believe in fighting," and to walk away from aggressors. Although the chance of being seriously hurt in a fight is slim, it can happen. Sometimes it's better to be smart than to be brave. Most disagreements can be settled with words, and most bullies can be ignored. You don't have to teach your child physical defense.
Intervene at the early shoving stage. Separate the children without questioning the children. Send both to time-out in separate rooms or separate corners. Another option is to send one child outside. When appropriate, remove the object of conflict, such as use of the TV.
Praise your child for playing with other children in a friendly way and for settling verbal disagreements themselves.
Solve problems without hitting or yelling. Spouse abuse condones physical fighting among children. Also avoid favoritism, which contributes to sibling fighting.
"Don't spit. It doesn't look nice."
If your child spits on another person, use immediate time-out. If your child spits for attention-seeking purposes, restrict the places where it is permitted (such as in the toilet, sink, or outdoors). If your child spits anywhere else, place him or her in time-out.
Praise your child for not spitting in situations where he or she previously spit.
Don't spit yourself. Take a position against chewing (smokeless) tobacco. | <urn:uuid:266ee343-c544-421c-a5e0-bcf1404520b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.archildrens.org/pa/pa/pa_fightsib_hhg.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967529 | 420 | 3.375 | 3 |
When the tentacled aliens from Gliese 581g arrive on Earth, they’ll probably be riding a YikeBike.
At least, that’s how the YikeBike looks. In reality, it’s made for the posteriors of humans, not the glistening thoraxes of our future Gliesean overlords. It’s the most compact electric bicycle ever made, its creators claim, and it looks the way it does because they threw out every preconception about the way bikes are supposed to look.
Instead, they stripped the YikeBike down to its essentials: One big wheel to propel you forward and one little rear wheel to stabilize your ride. It’s a design that inventor Grant Ryan, the founder of YikeBike, calls a “mini-farthing.”
We spent some time with Ryan recently, riding his strange two-wheeled contraption around the Wired parking lot. Watch the video above to see it in action. Despite its looks, it’s quite fun to ride. | <urn:uuid:6b5b3390-cd41-4589-8336-fd70ccb54b1c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dylan.tweney.com/tag/yikebike/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942038 | 226 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Monday, February 27, 2012
Ben Van Berkel Lecture
'The New Understanding'
Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture
2012 Spring Lecture Series invites you to our next lecture:
Wed 29 Feb
BEN VAN BERKEL
'The New Understanding'
6:00pm Carnegie Library Lecture Hall
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the Netherlands Cultural Services
Series cosponsored by the Heinz Architectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art
Today, the discipline of architecture is wide open to the possibility of radical change. The narratives of gain and growth that explained, legitimized and propelled forward so much architecture in the past decades have been interrupted. The focus now is on articulating new conceptualizations of possibly all the vital considerations at the core of the field.
Yet this is nothing new in itself; architecture thrives on newness. Without continuous material, cultural and ideological innovations, the profession loses its specificity and becomes simply a bland part of a generic building industry. With UNStudio we have long realized this, which is why we have pushed ourselves in many different directions, continuously addressing new challenges and questions. But at the same time this experimental attitude has also led us to consciously seek to build as much as we could. Disengagement from the dangers of the building industry within the globalized economy has never been our preferred option.
Perhaps now, more even more than at the height of the boom, this engagement is necessary to identify the topics that we need to understand in new ways. These topics are: knowledge, cultural versus economic values, speed and the future. How do we begin to understand these anew? How can we find a new balance between timeless values endogenous and exogenous to architecture?
BEN VAN BERKEL is co-founder and principal architect of UNStudio. He holds the Kenzo Tange Chair at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and is Professor of Conceptual Design at the Städelschule in Frankfurt.
Lecture takes place at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh.
Series cosponsored by the Heinz Architectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art; we thank them for their continued generous support. Lectures are free and open to the public. Please note food and beverages are strictly prohibited at the theater. | <urn:uuid:0dbc1b6e-e2b9-429a-bb7f-c71f3a7f972b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cmu.edu/architecture/whats-good/spring-2012/van-berkel-lecture.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938755 | 480 | 1.65625 | 2 |
ADDRESS OF JOHN
Friday, 17 October 1980
Your Royal Highness,
NINETEEN YEARS AGO my predecessor John XXIII welcomed Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness to the Vatican. Today this joy and this pleasure belong to me, and it is my desire to greet both of you with the same cordiality and respect that marked the welcome extended by my predecessor.
On that occasion, John XXIII spoke of the great simplicity and dignity with which Your Majesty bears the weight of your many responsibilities. Two decades later, these observations are still so very apt, and it is most evident that the responsibilities incumbent on you have far from diminished. The needs of humanity itself have dramatically increased, as have the problems that confront it in so many vital areas.
In the context of collaboration in our common ideal of service, I am happy to have the opportunity of our meeting in order to speak to you about a number of these issues. Contacts between the Apostolic See of Rome and Great Britain are by no means of recent origin; indeed they span a period of almost fourteen hundred years - back to the days when Gregory I sent Augustine, a Benedictine monk, to bring Christ’s Gospel to the people of your land. Other Benedictine influences touched the lives of the people of Britain, and from your shores they spread throughout Europe by means of the activity, for example, of Saint Boniface, one who has been called “the greatest Englishman” and the thirteenth centenary of whose birth is being celebrated this year.
In the person of Your Majesty I render homage to the Christian history of your people, as well as to their cultural achievements. The ideals of freedom and democracy, anchored in your past, remain challenges for every generation of upright citizens in your land. In this century your people have repeatedly endeavoured to defend these ideals against aggression. It is my prayer that these great benefits will be effectively guaranteed for future generations. The influence of your hardworking people in certain other fields too, and the spread of their language, have been providential instruments for furthering brotherhood throughout the world. May this contribution be realised to the full for the advancement of mankind at this juncture of history, and for the promotion of the integral progress of every man, woman and child in a peaceful world.
Last year, before the United Nations Organisation I had the opportunity to speak of the relationship that exists between genuine development and peace and the cultivation of spiritual values. In this regard I stated: “The pre-eminence of the values of the spirit defines the proper sense of material goods and the way to use them. This pre-eminence is therefore at the basis of a just peace. It is also a contributing factor to ensuring that material development, technical development and the development of civilisation are at the service of what constitutes man”. In the presence of Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness I express the ardent hope that your noble nation will face this great spiritual challenge with renewed enthusiasm and fresh moral vigour.
During the two decades intervening since the last visit of Your Majesty to the Holy See, one notes with a sense of deep satisfaction an ever more cordial relationship existing between various Christian bodies and between other religious men and women of good will. This is eminently true of the situation in your own land; under God’s grace it is owing to the patience and sustained effort of so many honest people moved by the insights of charity and dedicated to a profound conviction that was once expressed by Jesus Christ: “The truth will make you free”. Worthy of special mention in this regard is the zeal with which representatives of the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion have pursued this noble goal of drawing closer together in Christian unity and in effective common service to humanity.
With great anticipation I look forward to having the opportunity of making a pastoral visit to the Catholics of Great Britain. On that occasion I hope to meet them both as sons and daughters of the Catholic Church and as loyal citizens of their nation; at the same time I hope to greet with fraternal respect and friendship other fellow Christians and people of good will.Meanwhile, to Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness I reiterate my personal sentiments of esteem. I ask God to sustain you in all your activities of service and to preserve you in good health. I invoke God’s favour upon both of you, together with the entire Royal Family, and the whole British people. May God bless Great Britain, enabling her to fulfil her exalted destiny in justice and in peace.
Ioannis Pauli PP. II Allocutio ad Nationum Unitarum Legatos, 14, die 2. oct. 1979: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, II, 2 (1979) 532.
*AAS 72 (1980), p.1108-1110.
Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, vol. III, 2 p. 887-889.
L'Osservatore Romano.Weekly edition in English n. 43 p.3.
© Copyright 1980 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana | <urn:uuid:5d1de3a2-5ff9-4ce5-b576-f69c3b649d47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1980/october/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19801017_regina-elisabetta_en.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940743 | 1,054 | 1.617188 | 2 |
There aren't too many high-powered networking occasions when it's acceptable to say "love your shoes".
Then again, the dress standard at the New Zealand Global Women network's first forum in Auckland yesterday was considerably higher than you're likely to see at the average grey-suited gathering of business people.
Launched in July, Global Women aims to provide networking opportunities for women at the top of their game and to mentor emerging female leaders.
The organisation has big names behind it. Board members include former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley, constitutional lawyer Mai Chen and Securities Commission chairwoman Jane Diplock.
Around 160 women attended its first day-long forum at the University of Auckland Business School, a considerably higher turnout than Global Women's base membership of about 75.
The organisation is working towards a "tipping point" where women make up at least 30 per cent of the country's board directors and senior management.
New Zealand's record on this front is dismal. Only 8.65 per cent of NZSX top 100 directors are women, compared with 14.8 per cent in the US.
Sixty per cent of New Zealand's top 100 companies have no women directors; in the UK that figure is just 24 per cent.
Global Women is launching the Women in Leadership programme next year, providing high-level mentoring and targeted professional and personal learning to selected women. The aim is "to build a large and sustainable pipeline of women leaders across New Zealand's large private, public and non-profit organisations".
However, in a lecture theatre at the university's Owen Glenn Building yesterday the main focus was business. The speakers came from diverse sectors.
Former Telecom chief executive Theresa Gattung, now chair of the wool marketing initiative Wool Partners International, delivered an impassioned address on the state of the wool industry. New Zealand produced 30 per cent of the world's strongwool but the highly fragmented sector was not capitalising on this global scale, she said.
Instead wool prices had been steadily sinking for 20 years - from more than $6 a kg in 1989 to under $3 today. Synthetic carpets were now the same price or dearer than wool.
"This is either a comedy or a tragedy - actually it's probably a farce."
Helen Anderson, chief executive of the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology, flew the flag for greater investment in research and development. In Finland business expenditure on R&D was worth 2 per cent of GDP - in New Zealand that figure is 0.5 per cent, she said. The fact that more than half of New Zealand businesses employed fewer than 50 people did not help.
Part of the strategy needed to be helping the firms who "get it", Anderson said.
Katrina Troughton, director of IBM's WebSphere Software Group in Shanghai, spoke of the need for diversity in the workplace and for women to back themselves.
"Sometimes we almost have to be told we clearly have the attributes to do these roles."
Diane Foreman, the owner of ice-cream company NZ Natural, described her excitement at being the first woman entrepreneur to represent New Zealand at the World Entrepreneur of the Year awards in Monte Carlo next year.
The theme of "New Zealand Inc" ran throughout the day, and one had the sense that the country could do worse than letting some of these designer-suited women lead the way.By Maria Slade Email Maria | <urn:uuid:d401b3f6-783b-4095-8c3a-1aaecb7d7a7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10609961 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960901 | 704 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Natural face masks can be made with ingredients already in your refrigerator or pantry or bulk supplies from your local health food store. Choose the right natural face mask recipes for your skin type and plan a relaxing spa evening. Using a face mask suited to your skin regularly can improve the overall appearance of your skin, preventing dryness, redness and reducing breakouts. Save yourself the money on expensive masks made from chemicals derived from natural ingredients and simply make your own.
Crow's feet and laugh lines are endearing terms to describe what are more commonly known as eye wrinkles. Eye wrinkles can result from many different factors---often a combination of factors. Determining the main culprit in any given individual is difficult. Most likely, the causes of eye wrinkles vary from person to person. All people, though, regardless of age and ethnicity, eventually succumb to eye wrinkles.
When it comes to makeup, there are times when natural and glowing are the way to go, and then there are times that call for a little drama. It doesn't take a professional stylist to add some sex appeal to your usual makeup routine. Try these easy tips to glam up your look.
There are tons of facial mask products on the market, but you probably already have everything you need to make a facial mask at home. Basic ingredients from your kitchen are the core of easy recipes for facial masks. These masks are often better than the commercially prepared ones, because they are free of the chemicals, preservatives and fillers that can clog pores or irritate skin.
Several decades ago, there were no makeups formulated specifically for African-American women. Fortunately, times have changed. Due to the pioneering efforts of supermodel Iman, who spent years comparing, creating and testing color palettes that complemented darker skin, there is now a wide array of products on the market for African-American women. With a few basic guidelines, you can achieve a look that is glowing and beautiful.
Throughout history, women have used face masks to revitalize their complexions and produce a natural glow. Fortunately, you probably already own many of the ingredients that are the basis for making an all-natural, homemade face mask. Your concoction has the added benefit of being free of the additives, fillers, fragrances, artificial colors and chemicals that many drugstore and designer brands of face masks contain, all of which can irritate rather than soothe skin. For best results, use a face mask once a week in addition to vitamin E for moisturizing or witch hazel for toning.
You know you shouldn't keep mascara for more than three months; it rarely lasts that long, anyway. Also, your favorite eyeshadow isn't around long enough to need an expiration date. But have you considered your makeup brushes? Good-quality brushes can last for years, which is wonderful on the budget; it can be awful for your complexion, however, if you don't wash them regularly and allow that accumulated dirt and bacteria to go right back on your skin every time you apply powder.
Achieving beautiful skin takes a little work. Here's a skin playbook just for Modern Moms! Follow these "plays" and you'll be on your way to glowing healthy skin!
The first step is using the necessary products to prep your skin for perfection!!
Summer is here, the sun is beckoning and while I love summer and all that goes with it, I sometimes don't want to walk around in that bathing suit all day long. So why not wear that perfect cover-up over your bathing suit? You can have that fashionable I ...
In 1978, Foreigner had a fever of 103. Something tells me they were not talking about the cause of ACNE when they asked you to "feel the fever burning inside of me." Their fever was sexy. ACNE: Not so sexy. Blemishes are not only unsightly but ding our self ... | <urn:uuid:05da4e28-c9c1-4dfa-9475-c12b48b0c833> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.modernmom.com/article-categories/fashion-beauty/skin-make-up?page=19 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95534 | 800 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Possible Hepatitis A Exposure for New Yorkers who Attended a Conference in Las Vegas
Albany, NY, September 27, 2005 - The New York State Department of Health has been notified that persons who attended the Global Gaming Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center on September 13-14 may have been exposed to hepatitis A through an infected individual who worked at the conference.
The person suspected of spreading the illness was working at a Schwan's Food Service booth and was handing out samples of ice cream on September 13 and 14 at the convention center. The individual serving the product is considered the source of possible exposure and not the ice cream product. The infected individual did not show symptoms of the illness until after the conference, nor did he know he was infected.
Hepatitis A is a disease caused by a virus that results in inflammation of the liver. Initial symptoms are usually fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and malaise. This is usually followed by dark colored urine and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes). Most people recover without severe complications. The incubation period for hepatitis A (time from exposure to time when symptoms appear) is approximately 15-50 days.
Individuals who develop symptoms of hepatitis A should contact their healthcare provider. For more information on hepatitis A, call your health care provider or your local health department. | <urn:uuid:436a2a83-b206-40e4-8c39-20d8a652baad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2005/2005-09-27_hepatitis_a_las_vegas_release.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95619 | 281 | 2.8125 | 3 |
It's easier than you think to get your family to go green—and it can cost very little, if nothing at all. Karen and Michael Dunne of Colorado have turned their family "green," and are making a difference.
"I first became interested in going green when I read an article that said the world supply of seafood could collapse by 2048." Karen says. "I thought, 'How is this possible? This is in my lifetime.'
"Once we began looking at how we live, we began making small changes that anyone can do."
- Michael says he used to drive four days a week and take the train maybe once a week. Now he takes the train two or three times a week or more to cut down on carbon emissions.
- The Dunnes even tackle energy saving with their garage—rather than opening and closing the garage door all day, once the car is out in the morning, it stays out until the end of the day!
- A hybrid vehicle is in Karen and Michael's future. Until they can afford one, they use their most energy efficient car as much as possible.
Energy at Home
- To cut down on the amount of dishwasher water usage, the Dunnes have their children choose a different colored water glass for the day, which they use for the whole day.
- The average American can use up to 25 gallons of water per shower. Karen says she put a timer in her shower so she's in and out in less than five minutes!
- The Dunnes have begun paying attention to how many lights they are using, so they can be more energy efficient. They've even moved furniture to take advantage of natural light.
- Karen recommends cleaning the lint out of the dryer after every use. The Dunnes reduce their energy use by up to 30 percent per load by doing this. | <urn:uuid:430579cb-a56e-407a-995d-077a81a9b1ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Holiday-Ecology/7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978128 | 378 | 2.421875 | 2 |
The first five articles of Current Research in Jazz present jazz scholarship in the following areas: musical analysis, research, oral history, and bibliography.
The author identifies aspects peculiar to researching and documenting jazz on film. A bibliography is included.
The ii7–V7–I progression is an essential part of jazz and over the course of the music’s development, transformations of this progression have enriched the harmonic language of jazz. This article explores the harmonic possibilities of the ii7–V7–I progression with emphasis on some important substitute techniques.
Many jazz musicians rely on a finite number of malleable formulas that can be manipulated rhythmically, harmonically and melodically in any number of ways for any number of musical results. This article examines one single formula and its repeated presence in the first chorus of Grant Green’s improvisation on the composition “I’ll Remember April.”
An oral history of singer Earl Coleman, covering his life and career, this article includes accounts of Coleman’s interactions with Charlie Parker, Gene Ammons, Erroll Garner, Benny Carter, Jay McShann, Fats Navarro, Ross Russell, Mike Abene, and others. It also includes his views on other vocalists including Roy Felton, Harlan Lattimore, Melvin Moore, Billy Eckstine, Herb Jeffries, and Al Hibbler.
Change was a short-lived jazz publication from Detroit, MI, which existed from 1965 to 1966 and was edited by John Sinclair, Charles Moore, and Leni Sinclair. Excerpts from an interview with Leni Sinclair provide details on the history of the magazine.
For further information, please contact:
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
This page last updated December 31, 2009, 12:01 | <urn:uuid:ec59b497-8bbe-4a61-a2a1-d6ad6f538022> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crj-online.org/v1/index.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903089 | 381 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Some Things Looks Awfully Similar
By Quincy Vagell on April 13, 2012, 8:13pm
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories.
Hot similarities, but we're actually talking about Monday's weather...
Gil and I were looking at some historical data early today and we came across something that was particularly interesting.
The surface and upper levels weather charts from April 2010 were very similar to what we are forecast to see happen by Monday. Well, what's the big deal? Well, the warmth of April 2010 was particularly noteworthy. In fact, Bradley Airport hit 93 degrees on April 7th, 2010, which is quite some impressive heat for so early in the season.
Check out the following slides to see some weather maps and see how similar the pattern really is. As the heat comes in, Gil could very well be right with his forecast of potential 90 degree temperatures... | <urn:uuid:5681ee02-eb68-4d0a-b621-9ff655f21aca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wxedge.com/articles/20120413something_looks_awfully_similar | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981188 | 186 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Over 8,000 websites created by students around the world who have participated in a ThinkQuest Competition.
Compete | FAQ | Contact Us
This site is a great resource on budgets for kids. We have pictures of examples of budgets. Kids can even practice making their own budget using Excel. Review all that we've taught you by viewing our Powerpoint slide show. After you've viewed our site, check out our fun activity page to see what you've learned.
19 & under
Social Sciences & Culture > Teen Issues | <urn:uuid:964be300-7f1f-4db9-9f9c-45fa3872f73f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkquest.org/pls/html/f?p=52300:100:7717429892126070::::P100_TEAM_ID:501577497 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92161 | 106 | 2.140625 | 2 |
|By Marketwire .||
|November 24, 2012 08:00 AM EST||
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/24/12 -- To mark Financial Literacy Month and Financial Planning Week (November 19th - 25th), BMO Financial Group is releasing a series of financial tips. As part of BMO's commitment to 'Making Money Make Sense', the tips are designed to help individuals and families save and manage their day-to-day finances more effectively.
BMO's Tip of the Day: Creating a financial plan, which includes an emergency fund, can help ensure you are prepared for tomorrow's unforeseen expenses and avoid incurring high interest debt.
Many Canadians budget and have a financial plan for their day-to-day finances and savings goals. However, unexpected costs such as car repairs, major purchases or going over your budget for the holidays could leave you short on cash. BMO reminds Canadians to build an emergency fund into their financial plans.
"The general rule of thumb is to have an emergency fund set aside that is equal to three to six months of your income to use for unexpected expenses," said Marlena Pospiech, Senior Manager, BMO Wealth Planning Group, BMO Financial Group. "Creating a budget and a financial plan you can live with is key to ensuring you don't get in over your head."
Ms. Pospiech notes that, for those already in debt, it is easy to feel discouraged. To help close the gap between achieving financial freedom and debt, she encourages Canadians to begin the process of identifying exactly how much comes in, how much needs to go out and what expenses can be cut.
"CFEE commends BMO's ongoing efforts to support Financial Literacy in Canada and promote ways in which Canadians can increase their competence and confidence when managing their personal finances on a day-to-day basis," said Gary Rabbior, President, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE).
To learn more about how financial planning can help you feel confident about your future or to contact a financial planner visit www.bmo.com/savingandinvesting or call 1-888-389-8030.
BMO Financial Literacy Month Tips
November 5: Space out payments to avoid cash-flow problems.
November 10: Understand what you can hold in your RRSP.
November 17: Take advantage of spousal RRSPs.
About BMO Financial Group
Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $542 billion as at July 31, 2012, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.
- "All It Took Was One E-Mail to Larry," Says Former eBay Research Director As He Moves to Google
- Google Ramps Up Its Mobile Reach: Launches "Mobile Web Search"
- VoIP Update: Yahoo! Buys DialPad
- Ericsson + Napster = World's First "Wireless Digital Music" Brand
- SYS-CON i-Technology Podcast August 30, 2005
- A Flair for Food - Health-Conscious Cooking Is This Chef's Cup Of Tea
- Sony PSP May Feature Porn
- Free Guest Passes for the SOA World Conference & Expo in NYC
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- Kapow Helps Seiko UK, Provides SMS Text-Alert Services
- Will the Mac OS Now Be Offered by Dell?
- UK Targeted for Trojan Attacks | <urn:uuid:cc06d1ab-5423-4f74-a6fc-e0d03ffa739e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uk.sys-con.com/node/2457589 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918306 | 757 | 2.046875 | 2 |
I was looking into designing circuits around photo-couples/opto-isolators instead of transistors, but I have found that I need an inverter of sorts. I need something that stops current flow through the outputs when current flows through the inputs. So the LED opens the circuit using the collector/emitter rather than closing it.
My understanding of photocouplers was derived from the description of a very simple four pin photocoupler I got from a computer power supply. I was very intrigued by the way it isolated inputs and outputs, so I wanted to see if I could build logical devices out of them instead of transistors. I quickly discovered that I needed something that turned the output off rather than on when the current flowed through the input. | <urn:uuid:29e27e04-195e-46aa-ba70-fa16fe53b89a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/29656/photo-couple-opto-isolator-that-stops-current-through-the-output-when-current-fl | 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 | 0.969982 | 155 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Polycythemia vera (POL-e-si-THEE-me-ah VAY-rah or VE-rah), or PV, is a rare blood disease in which your body makes too many red blood cells.
The extra red blood cells make your blood thicker than normal. As a result, blood clots can form more easily. These clots can block blood flow through your arteries and veins, which can cause a heart attack or stroke.
Thicker blood also doesn't flow as quickly to your body as normal blood. Slowed blood flow prevents your organs from getting enough oxygen, which can cause serious problems, such as angina (an-JI-nuh or AN-juh-nuh) and heart failure. (Angina is chest pain or discomfort.)
Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body. They also remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) from your body's cells and carry it to the lungs to be exhaled.
Red blood cells are made in your bone marrow—a sponge-like tissue inside the bones. White blood cells and platelets (PLATE-lets) also are made in your bone marrow. White blood cells help fight infection. Platelets stick together to seal small cuts or breaks on blood vessel walls and stop bleeding.
If you have PV, your bone marrow makes too many red blood cells. It also can make too many white blood cells and platelets.
A mutation, or change, in the body's JAK2 gene is the major cause of PV. This gene makes a protein that helps the body produce blood cells. What causes the change in the JAK2 gene isn't known. PV generally isn't inherited—that is, passed from parents to children through genes.
PV develops slowly and may not cause symptoms for years. The disease often is found during routine blood tests done for other reasons.
When signs and symptoms are present, they're the result of the thick blood that occurs with PV. This thickness slows the flow of oxygen-rich blood to all parts of your body. Without enough oxygen, many parts of your body won't work normally.
For example, slower blood flow deprives your arms, legs, lungs, and eyes of the oxygen they need. This can cause headaches, dizziness, itching, and vision problems, such as blurred or double vision.
PV is a serious, chronic (ongoing) disease that can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated. PV has no cure, but treatments can help control the disease and its complications.
PV is treated with procedures, medicines, and other methods. You may need one or more treatments to manage the disease.
The NHLBI updates Health Topics articles on a biennial cycle based on a thorough review of research findings and new literature. The articles also are updated as needed if important new research is published. The date on each Health Topics article reflects when the content was originally posted or last revised. | <urn:uuid:1b1b4bef-0eb4-4268-8f89-09f0f4b5a02f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/poly/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945006 | 609 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Gregory (The Other Queen, 2008, etc.) leaves Tudor gowns behind for the Jazz Age in this addictive tale, originally published in the United Kingdom in 1993, of two wounded soldiers and the pervasive cost of war.
The novel begins with Stephen Winters recalling the Flanders fields of World War I, of the deep mud and bits of bodies underfoot, of the unrelenting terror of gunfire. Since his father’s stroke (at the news of favorite son Christopher’s death), Stephen has taken over the law practice, and he finds solace only with Coventry, his mute chauffer and wartime aid. Then he sees Lily Valance singing at the theater and is thunderstruck by the luminous joy of her face and voice—she reminds him of girls before the war, before everything was ruined. He courts her with his wealth, but his advances are rejected; Lily is 17 and in love with the theater’s musical director, Charlie Smith (though devoted to Lily, he refuses to marry her—a war wound has left him impotent). When Lily’s mother dies, Stephen, convinced Lily will cure him of his shell shock, coerces her into wedlock at her most vulnerable. Their honeymoon is a disaster (Stephen is sadistic and controlling), and the marriage continues in this vein when Stephen brings her to live with his mother Muriel, disapproving of the merchant-class theater girl, and his father Rory, upstairs and half-dead. But Lily is bright and resilient, and soon she is singing again professionally (after a fat lip from Stephen). She has Rory up and beginning to speak, and even Muriel begrudgingly admits Lily has an undeniable grace. Their house becomes fashionable with both society mavens and young bohemians—the only one not happy is Stephen, who has become more violent and unpredictable. When they have a little boy, the emotional torment really starts. The only bright spot in Lily’s life is Charlie Smith, who vows to save Lily and her son, if only he’s able before Stephen destroys them all.
This great doorstop of a romantic tragedy illustrates Gregory’s winning formula: A young woman triumphs despite a hostile male society. | <urn:uuid:f17afe5f-136f-4e0f-a8eb-bce9abb55c8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/philippa-gregory/fallen-skies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957768 | 460 | 1.5625 | 2 |
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Public Services has been gettting ready for this storm and the rest of the winter.
The city has plenty of resources to combat winter weather this year. Last winter, Portland used less than half the amount of road salt it usually does.
Trucks were loading up with that road salt to use for the snow the city is expected to get Wednesday night. For more serious snow and ice events this season, the city is teaming up with the Maine Department of Transportation to make brine to pre-treat the roads.
"Particularly because we're strategic in where we apply it, it just allows us to be more efficient with the rest of our equipment and it certainly promotes more safety for motorists and pedestrians on our streets and sidewalks" Portland Public Services Director Michael Bobinsky said.
City officials are reminding drivers to be cautious in any messy weather. They say it's especially important in areas where they are doing road work. | <urn:uuid:534e9a45-de52-4175-81c6-04957544ec36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wlbz2.com/news/article/221349/3/Portland-ready-for-winter-weather | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957036 | 200 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Teaching Matters, the awesome non-profit dedicated to bringing technology into NYC schools, created a cool "Writing the City" e-Zine for middle schoolers where teachers get their students published, e-style. There's nothing like a little virtual graffiti to motivate a unit.
This is also an excellent resource for educators looking for exemplary peer mentor text organized into various genres: editorials, realistic fiction, features, poetry, memoir, short story, fairy tale, and non-fiction. While teaching a unit on editorials or organizing a debate about whether or not cell phones should be banned in school, check out what our City's students are already saying and raise the bar. It's as easy as one, two, three, write that e-Zine: | <urn:uuid:20c2c3c5-4872-479b-8ca1-30f9624a242c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.educatingtomorrow.org/taxonomy/term/163 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939129 | 156 | 2.15625 | 2 |
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A southern Philippine town plans to hold funeral rites for the world's largest saltwater crocodile and then preserve its remains in a museum to keep tourists coming and prevent their community from slipping back into obscurity, the town's mayor said Monday.
The 1-ton crocodile was declared dead Sunday a few hours after flipping over with a bloated stomach in a pond in an eco-tourism park in Bunawan town, which had started to draw tourists, revenue and development because of the immense reptile, Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said.
"The whole town, in fact the whole province, is mourning," Elorde said from Bunawan in Agusan del Sur province. "My phones kept ringing because people wanted to say how affected they are."
Guinness World Records had proclaimed it the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity last year, measuring the giant at 6.17 meters (20.24 feet). The reptile took the top spot from an Australian crocodile that measured more than 5 meters (17 feet) and weighed nearly a ton.
The crocodile was named Lolong, after a government environmental officer who died from a heart attack after traveling to Bunawan to help capture the beast. The crocodile, estimated to be more than 50 years old, was blamed for a few brutal deaths of villagers before Bunawan folk came to love it.
The giant reptile has come to symbolize the rich bio-diversity of Agusan marsh, where it was captured. The vast complex of swamp forests, shallow lakes, lily-covered ponds and wetlands is home to wild ducks, herons, egrets and threatened species like the Philippine Hawk Eagle.
Wildlife experts were to perform an autopsy as early as Monday to determine the cause of its death, Elorde said.
Bunawan villagers planned to perform a tribal ritual, which involves butchering chicken and pigs as funeral offerings to thank forest spirits for the fame and other blessings the crocodile has brought, Elordie said. A group of Christians would separately offer prayers before the autopsy.
The rites would be held at the eco-tourism park, where the reptile had emerged as a star attraction, drawing foreign tourists, scientists and wildlife reporting outfits like the National Geographic to Bunawan, a far-flung town of 37,000 people about 515 miles (830 kilometers) southeast of Manila.
The crocodile's capture in September 2011 sparked celebrations in Bunawan, but it also raised concerns that more giant crocodiles might lurk in a marshland and creek where villagers fish. The crocodile was captured with steel cable traps during a hunt prompted by the death of a child in 2009 and the later disappearance of a fisherman. Water buffalos have also been attacked by crocodiles in the area. Continued...
About 100 people led by Elorde pulled the crocodile from a creek using a rope and then hoisted it by crane onto a truck.
Philippine officials had planned to construct a road to the park to accommodate the growing number of tourists, Elorde said, adding that he planned to have the crocodile preserved and placed in a museum so Bunawan villagers and tourists could still marvel at it.
"I'd like them to see the crocodile that broke a world record and put our town on the map," he said.
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Stephen Frye has covered the police beat and courts for The Oakland Press and now serves as online editor for www.theoaklandpress.com.
Informs on and discusses current matters of legal interest to readers of The Oakland Press and to consumers of legal services in the community.
Caren Gittleman likes talking cats. She'll discuss everything about them. Share your stories and ask her questions about your favorite feline.
Roger Beukema shares news from Lansing that impacts sportsmen (this means ladies as well) and talks about things he finds when he goes overseas to visit his children, and adding your comments into the mix.
Join Jonathan Schechter as he shares thoughts on our natural world in Oakland County and beyond. | <urn:uuid:81bd6d89-6e60-45d3-b2a8-c152b5b7320f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2013/02/11/news/nation_and_world/doc5118cb1fde127450909858.txt?viewmode=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948952 | 1,128 | 2.203125 | 2 |
More people are mired in poverty in eight Indian states than in the 26 poorest African countries, according to a new UN-backed measure of poverty.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) looks beyond income at a wider range of household-level deprivation, including services, which could
then be used to help target development resources.
Its findings throw up stark statistics compared to regular poverty measures.
The study found that half of the world's MPI poor people live in South Asia, and just over a quarter in Africa.
There are 421 million MPI poor people in eight Indian states alone -- Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal -- and 410 million in the 26 poorest African countries combined.
The researchers said that the extent of poverty in India had often been overlooked, by figures comparing percentages of poor people in countries as a whole rather than sheer numbers.
According to the index, 64.5 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa are MPI poor. In South Asia, 55 per cent of people are MPI poor. Both figures are higher than the number considered extreme income poor -- living on less than 1.25 dollars per day.
The new index was created by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at Oxford University in southern England, and the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
"Our measure identifies the most vulnerable households and groups and enables us to understand exactly which deprivations afflict their lives," said OPHI director Sabina Alkire.
"The new measure can help governments and development agencies wishing to target aid more effectively to those specific communities."
The MPI will be used in the forthcoming 20th anniversary edition of the UNDP Human Development Report. It supplants the Human Poverty Index, which has been used since 1997.
The index takes into account that people living in MPI poverty may not necessarily be income poor: only two-thirds of Niger's people are income poor, whereas 93 per cent are poor by the MPI, it found.
It also showed that "multi-dimensional poverty" varies a lot within countries. In Delhi, 15 per cent of people are MPI poor, compared to 81 per cent in Bihar.
© Copyright © 2013 HT Media Limited. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:8e896421-de1c-46fc-a8c3-d79c27f7b227> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/571783.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932851 | 492 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Officially renamed the Charlton Thompson Memorial Garden, the once neglected park’s renovations were a six-year effort by veterans who wanted to honor the two Bronx heroes for their sacrifice.
Army Sgt. Cornelius Charlton and Army Pfc. William Thompson both served in the 24th Infantry Regiment, the famous Buffalo Soldiers, the last segregated outfit during the Korean War.
Both posthumously received the Medal of Honor. | <urn:uuid:828cebed-8f57-4161-8a5d-17c791e03a62> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newsone.com/1467555/park-transformed-into-buffalo-soldier-memorial/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967156 | 87 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Minneapolis Commission on Civil Rights
Established in 1975, the Civil Rights Commission implements the City's Civil Rights policies through public information, education, mediation, conciliation and enforcement as stated in the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances. The primary objective of the Commission is to promote and protect the civil rights of the citizens of Minneapolis.
The Commission's purpose:
- To provide leadership in the areas of civil rights.
- To encourage and educate the public in the promotion of civil rights.
- To ensure that each Commissioner is kept up to date on the latest developments in the law and on community issues.
- To identify issues of principle concern to members of the community in the area of civil rights and set priorities and objectives.
- To develop a productive rapport with members of the City Council and Mayor's office.
- To advise the Mayor, City Council, and City agencies and departments with respect to Civil Right matters.
- To conduct research and studies to best carry out the objectives of the Civil Rights Ordinance.
- To enforce the Civil Rights Ordinance through education, conciliation, mediation and adjudication.
There are 21 members on the Commission, appointed by the Mayor and the City Council. The appointment is for a three year term. Mayoral appointments are subject to approval by the City Council and Council appointments are subject to Mayoral consent.
The Chair and officers of each standing committee meet monthly to set agenda for regular commission meeting.
- Public Relations/Education
Creates Commission's public image; educates constituencies about Commission; monitors treatment of protected classes within the educational system.
Monitors and revises internal, and external, rules and procedures of the Commission.
A primary function of Commissioners is to serve on administrative hearing panels to decide discrimination cases investigated by the Department of Civil Rights. The investigation finds either probable cause or no probable cause.
If the Director finds probable cause and the matter has not been settled, the case is referred to Public Hearing made up of three Commissioners, one of whom must be an attorney in order to conduct the hearing. The Commissioners hear the case as as administrative trial, make their written findings, and issue an order either dismissing the case or to remedy discrimination. The hearing panel has broad powers: the ability to award damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, and other relief. Commission orders may be appealed for review by the State Court of Appeals.
If the Director finds no probable case, a three-person Commission panel may review the determination on the Complainant's appeal.
The Commission meets on the third Monday of every month at 6:00 PM. The executive committee meets on the first Monday of every month at 5:30 PM. In instances where the third Monday falls on a holiday, the Commission meets on the fourth Monday.
Commissioners must be residents of Minneapolis and must favor the principles of equal opportunity and non-discrimination. Commissioners receive an honorarium for attending Commission meetings. Commissioners are required to adhere to attendance guidelines and Internal Operating Rules and Procedures.
Application materials are available from:
The Office of the City Clerk
304 City Hall
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Persons may apply on their own behalf or may nominate other persons for consideration.
Last updated Nov. 15, 2011 | <urn:uuid:dd0ea65b-65cc-4784-aa6e-a784c350a82d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.minneapolismn.gov/civilrights/commission/civil-rights_commission_history | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915501 | 662 | 2.65625 | 3 |
"Barley grass" is just barley harvested for the tender young growth instead of letting it mature to grains. I haven't grown barley grass for juicing, but I have grown and started a lot of plants in pots using the technique below with excellent results.
Since you want to grow indoors, start with a sturdy tray at least 3" deep. Make sure the tray has drainage holes so there will be no standing water.
Get your seeds -- you'll have to decide what variety to use based on whatever you're trying to achieve. I would look for varieties specifically promoted for use in growing barley grass; some barley cultivars have specific cultural requirements that would seem to make them poor choices for your application.
Create a soil mixture using:
- .5 gallon peat
- 1/4 cup pulverized lime
- .5 gallon perlite or vermiculite
- .5 gallon finely sieved high-quality compost (1/4" mesh sieve)
Reserve a small amount of the perlite to use for top dressing after planting.
(Adjust the quantities if you need more or less, but maintain the ratio.)
Add this mix to your pot to a depth of 2". Water thoroughly -- slowly pour water evenly over the entire surface until water comes out the drain holes in your tray. Wait a while (maybe an hour or two) and then repeat this process. You want the potting mixture to be thoroughly wet.
(See note regarding chitting at the bottom of this post.)
Broadcast your seed across the surface of the soil. As you saw in the video, it should be planted rather thickly, but you don't want it so thick that there's a layer of seeds on the surface -- the plants need a little bit of space to breathe. Your experimentation and experience will be the best teacher here. (Or see the reference at the bottom of this post.)
Sprinkle the top with about 1/4" of the reserved perlite.
Set the tray in a cool, dark place.
Some people would tell you to cover the tray with plastic wrap at this point -- I don't like to do this because it creates the potential for problems with mold/fungus. It does have the advantage of holding moisture in, which the germinating seeds need.
During germination keep the soil moist -- mist lightly with water 1-2x daily. Don't let it dry out during germination! You should see sprouts within 1-3 days.
As soon as you see sprouts, move the tray to the light. Most of the time "a sunny window" is not sufficient. I would use fluorescent lights -- position the lamp 1" above the surface of the soil, and raise the light as the plants grow so that they stay 1-2" from the lamp. If you have a sheltered spot outside that gets all day sunlight, you can grow outside. (This will dry out the soil faster, adjust your watering accordingly.) It's harder to get sunshine all day indoors, but if you think you can provide it, give it a try.
Do not over water, but don't let the soil get dried out either. How often you will need to water depends somewhat on the environment you provide. (See notes above regarding outdoor sunshine vs indoors vs lights.)
Within a couple of weeks it should be ready to harvest at 6" or higher. You may be able to get a couple of cuttings if you maintain the light and water.
As I got to the end of writing/researching this post, I stumbled across this reference on growing barley grass, which confirms for the most part the advice I've given above. They have different recommendations regarding growing medium -- try both approaches and see which works better for you. They also have recommendations for amount of seed to use in terms of density. And they claim chitting (pre-sprouting) is required, but I'm skeptical about the need -- try it both ways to see whether one way is more work or provides more yield.
I'd recommend taking a look around their website -- especially this note on barley grass:
Many folks have been seduced by advertising, into thinking that Barley is the way to go. As we say - research we've seen does not indicate that - and frankly, the juice of Barley Grass is horrid! We will mix Barley with Wheat (4:1 wheat) as they grow at the same rate, but we have found no other way we can even tolerate Barley Grass juice.
In doing research for this post, I'd have to agree with their skepticism on the outcome you can expect from barley grass juice. The research does not seem to have confirmed much in terms of benefits. | <urn:uuid:8c01b252-a726-45ed-957e-206a16d7ad68> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/1609/how-can-i-grow-barley-grass-indoors | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951258 | 974 | 2.015625 | 2 |
A Bit of PCA History
The excitement and splendor of our present Poodle Club of America specialty shows should make us all look back and question "How did this all begin?"
In Volume I of Poodles in America, edited by William H. Ivens Jr., we find valuable historical data including an article, "The Poodle in America before 1929" by Miss. Flora M. Bonney.
Dr. Ivens states that the Poodle Club of America was formed in 1931 when interest in the breed was steadily climbing. In 1932, a "new" standard for the breed was approved by AKC and published. And the first specialty show was held by Poodle Club of America in June of 1932 at North Westchester as would be the National Specialties through June of 1937.
In 1938 PCA held it first independent specialty at Far Hills New Jersey. The entry at this show was 142 Poodles. In the following years, PCA moved to Rye, New York, was cancelled in 1942, and a part of Westminster Kennel Club from 1943 through 1945. In 1946, PCA moved to Garden City, New York where it remained for many years. Other show sites included Bryn Mawr Polo Grounds, Ludwig Corners, PA, and Upper Marlboro, MD.
During the early years, it was permissible for the specialty clubs for breeds divided by Varieties to hold their specialty shows within an All Breed show and to give an award for Best of Breed. However, this was no longer possible after July 1, 1965 when the rule was changed.
In other breeds, there were numerous Parent Clubs which served their breeders by holding regional specialty shows throughout the United States and were not locked in to one geographical area. After numerous discussions and the passage of several years PCA decided to hold a Regional specialty event in addition to the annual Parent Club specialty show. This was held in Topeka, Kansas in 1974. It was hosted by the Poodle Club of Topeka and supported by other Poodle Clubs in the region.
Since the first Regional PCA Specialty there have been many successful events across the United States, the most recent being held in December 2009 in Long Beach, California.
Clearly, we love our Poodles and we want them to be exhibited where they can be seen and appreciated for their intelligence, beauty and their irrepressible personalities.
Helen Lee James
PCA Past President | <urn:uuid:30a5388a-5ff2-4bb6-a4a4-36efebe5739a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.poodleclubofamerica.com/events.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979147 | 500 | 1.804688 | 2 |
|Syed Zahar ([email protected])|
|Monday, 02 July 2012 17:04|
You’ve just finished a late night meeting and can’t wait to get home. Walking to your car at a deserted mall car park, all you can think about (besides work) is spending some time with your family for at least a few hours before you go to bed. Little did you know that you’re being followed and about to get jumped by three men.
What are you going to do?
What can you do except to fight back and risk getting killed or give him everything you have and let them carjack you in the process?
- There must be one panic button for every 500 bays, subject to a minimum of one per floor.
- The panic button must also be linked to a siren or beacon system to emit a loud sound or strobe light when activated.
- Security guards must be sent for annual or regular training programmes to maintain service standards.Compulsory and mandatory - Walkie-talkies by security guards | <urn:uuid:d680c8a3-0463-4742-b245-4eb9bbb2fa7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://malaysiandigest.com/opinion/62691-the-losing-battle-against-car-park-attacks.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951205 | 222 | 1.914063 | 2 |
CHAPEL HILL, NC (NEWS RELEASE) -- Boys in the United States appear to be entering puberty much earlier than in the past – a trend researchers caution may have important medical, psychosocial, public health and environmental implications, according to a new study.
The research, published online in the journal Pediatrics, was presented Oct. 20 at an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) conference and exhibition in New Orleans.
“Pubertal data are an important part of monitoring the health of our nation’s children,” said Marcia Herman-Giddens, Dr.P.H., lead investigator for the study and adjunct professor of maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health.
“Our findings suggest we need to reevaluate anticipatory guidance provided to boys – the famous ‘birds and bees’ talk may need to happen earlier – and examine what contributing factors might be behind this phenomenon.”
On average, boys now begin puberty at around ages 9 or 10, depending on race or ethnicity – a full six months to two years earlier than ages documented by data several decades ago. Researchers assessed pubertal onset through visual inspection of genitalia and pubic hair growth and physical measurement of boys’ testes – tell-tale signs that sexual development has started. Unlike in prior studies, researchers included the latter measure – testicular enlargement – a key physical marker of puberty.
Overall, African-American boys were more likely to enter puberty earlier than white or Hispanic boys. The earliest stage of puberty was found to occur at 9.14, 10.14 and 10.4 years in African-American, non-Hispanic whites and Hispanic boys, respectively. Researchers say they don’t know why these racial and ethnic differences exist.
“It may be largely genetic, as it is well known that different races have different timing in puberty, other factors being equal. But the variation also may be influenced by environmental factors,” Herman-Giddens said. “One thing that concerns me about our overall findings is the expanding gap between the onset of physical development in boys and the maturity of the brain.”
She said these two maturation processes rarely stay in sync, and early physical maturation only extends the period during which only one area of the person has developed. It’s not until late adolescence or early 20s before individuals develop mature judgment and cognitive abilities.
“Based on our study, boys are undergoing sexual development at an earlier age – earlier than in previous generations -- yet they are in no way equipped to deal with the issues that come with it,” Herman-Giddens said.
The study results underscore the need for parents, medical providers, public health officials, environmental researchers, school personnel and others to recognize the apparent shift to earlier puberty and how that may impact health, she said. In particular, clinicians may consider the findings when making decisions about further evaluation or referral of boys for apparent early or late onset of development.
Researchers studied secondary sexual characteristics in 4,131 boys at well-child visits in 144 pediatric offices in 41 states between 2005 and 2010. Boys ranged in age from 6 to 16 years. Boys with chronic conditions or medications that could affect puberty were excluded from the study.
Future research should continue to include puberty studies because age of onset of puberty is not static, Herman-Giddens said. Subsequent studies also should consider potential factors causing or influencing the decreasing age of puberty in boys. Examples include nutrition, environmental disruptors, stress, maternal factors and modern lifestyle.
The study was conducted through the AAP Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS), practice-based research network, a system of hundreds of pediatricians nationwide who contribute data to AAP-led scientific studies on children’s health.
A 1997 PROS study by Herman-Giddens and colleagues was the first large study to document earlier pubertal onset in U.S. girls. Until now, little information has been available about contemporary boys’ onset of puberty because boys are harder to study and there has been less interest in the topic. To ensure accurate data, measurement of early testicular growth is required, which is not normally part of a well-child exam.
Co-authors of the Pediatrics report are Michael Hussey, doctoral student in biostatistics at UNC Gillings School of Public Health; Jennifer Steffes, Donna Harris and Eric Slora, Ph.D., from the AAP; Steven A. Dowshen, M.D., from the Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children; Richard Wasserman, M.D. from AAP and University of Vermont; Janet R. Serwint, M.D., from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Academic Pediatric Association; Lynn Smitherman, M.D. from Wayne State University School of Medicine and the National Medical Association; and Edward O. Reiter, M.D., of Tufts University School of Medicine. | <urn:uuid:79a1c0a5-87e4-4bb2-8e33-2ba9f6c36e42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wwaytv3.com/comment/reply/42104 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938755 | 1,037 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Gambia, the smallest country in Africa, does not have many sights, but it does have magnificent countryside to be enjoyed to the full. Gambia is only 320 kilometres long and 35 kilometres wide. The River Gambia divides the country into two parts and turns upwards towards the coast, which means that Gambia is often called the country of the smile.
A peaceful atmosphere radiates from Banjul, Africa’s smallest capital city. You feel that you are wandering around a village rather than a commercial centre. | <urn:uuid:62128193-6b0a-41bb-9185-1cedce761f16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brusselsairlines.com/en_it/look-for/destinations/Gambia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952638 | 106 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The most destructive war in America's history was fought among its own people.
The Civil War was a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. For four long and bloody years, Americans were killed at the hands of other Americans. One of every 25 American men perished in the war. Over 640,000 soldiers were killed. Many civilians also died — in numbers often unrecorded.
At the battle of Antietam, more Americans were killed than on any other single day in all of American history. On that day, 22,719 soldiers fell to their deaths — four times the number of Americans lost during the D-Day assault on Normandy in WWII. In fact, more American soldiers died in the Civil War than in all other American wars combined.
The war was fought in American fields, on American roads, and in American cities with a ferocity that could be evoked only in terrible nightmares. Nearly every family in the nation was touched by this war. Scarcely a family in the South did not lose a son, brother, or father.
Four long years of battle changed everything. No other event since the Revolutionary War altered the political, social, economic, and cultural fabric of the United States. In the end, a predominantly industrial society triumphed over an agricultural one. The Old South was forever changed. The blemish of slavery was finally removed from American life, though its legacy would long linger.
In 1861, everyone predicted a short war. Most believed that one battle of enormous proportion would settle a dispute at least 90 years in the making. But history dictated a far more destructive course. | <urn:uuid:96443b0b-1f1e-425c-bfee-1f20e01f3d77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ushistory.org/us/33.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978097 | 325 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Increasing Bisphenol-A levels in urine are associated with worsening male sexual function, according to a Kaiser Permanente study appearing online in the Journal of Andrology.
Increasing urine BPA level is associated with decreased sexual desire, more difficulty having an erection, lower ejaculation strength and lower level of overall satisfaction with sex life, researchers said. The five-year study examined 427 workers in factories in China, comparing workers in BPA manufacturing facilities with a control group of workers in factories where no BPA was present.
BPA is an ingredient in manufacturing polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins and is now contained in a wide variety of consumer products from baby bottles, plastic containers, and the resin lining of cans for food and beverages, to dental sealants. People can be exposed to BPA by using BPA-containing products.
In a previous related study, Kaiser Permanente researchers measured BPA exposure based on work history and environmental BPA exposure in the workplace. This new study measured urine BPA among participants and examined the correlation between their urine BPA level and their reported problems of sexual dysfunction.
"This is the first human study to show that high urine BPA is associated with lower male sexual function," said study lead author De-Kun Li, MD, PhD, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. "Also, even among men exposed to BPA from only environmental sources (no occupational exposure and with average BPA level lower than the average observed in the American population), there were indications of an increased risk of sexual dysfunction." He explained that although the estimates in the environmentally exposed group were not statistically significant due to small sample size, this finding may enhance the understanding of the BPA effect in human populations with low-dose environmental exposure and have important public health implications.
The researchers observed a dose-response association between increasing urine BPA level and declining male sexual function. The observed negative association was consistent across all categories measuring male sexual dysfunction.
This study is the second part of Kaiser Permanente's ongoing research to look at BPA's reproductive effect in humans. Both studies are the first to look at BPA's reproductive effect in humans. The adverse effect of BPA on the male reproductive system previously had been examined in animal studies only.
The study was conducted among 427 male workers in four regions of China where high levels of BPA exposure existed. These regions were chosen because there were factories where BPA or epoxy resin was manufactured. Researchers also identified workers from factories with no occupational exposure to BPA in the work environment in the same regions. Many participants provided urine samples that were tested for BPA concentration using high-performance liquid chromatography. Male sexual dysfunction levels were ascertained using standard male sexual function inventories and through in-person interviews. Through the in-person interviews, researchers also ascertained information about potential confounders including demographic characteristics, factors that may influence sexual function -- including smoking, alcohol use, chronic diseases, exposure to other chemical and heavy metals -- and occupational history.
The researchers explained that BPA is suspected from animal research to be a highly suspect human endocrine disrupter, likely affecting both male and female reproductive systems.
"Toxins in the environment contribute to diseases and health conditions. Preventing those environmental exposures requires evidence, and this study greatly enhances our understanding of the health effects of BPA," said Kathy Gerwig, Kaiser Permanente's vice president of Workplace Safety and environmental stewardship officer.
Explore further: Driving and hands-free talking lead to spike in errors, study shows | <urn:uuid:26aa0981-a135-4118-8199-89cbbdf1cd0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/news194179309.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94941 | 743 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Sat April 7, 2012
Week In News: Obama, Romney Eye General Election
Originally published on Sat April 7, 2012 5:25 pm
LAURA SULLIVAN, HOST:
It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Laura Sullivan.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Businesses created another 121,000 jobs last month in the unemployment rate ticked down. Our economy has now created more than four million private sector jobs over the past two years.
MITT ROMNEY: A record number of Americans are now living in poverty. And the most vulnerable are the ones that have been hurt the most. Thirty percent of single moms are now living in poverty.
SULLIVAN: President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney from this week on the economy. James Fallows of The Atlantic joins us, as he does most Saturdays, for a look behind the headlines, although it's been a while since we've heard from him. Hello, Jim.
JAMES FALLOWS: Hello, Laura. I'm back from Australia.
SULLIVAN: And you were down there for a month.
FALLOWS: I was indeed, but I'm glad to talk to you again.
SULLIVAN: Welcome home. Well, this week, Mitt Romney claimed primary wins in Maryland, Wisconsin and right here in D.C., extending his significant lead in delegates. And also in D.C., we saw back-to-back appearances of Romney and Obama at the AP luncheon with what amounted to really general election speeches. What did you make of those speeches?
FALLOWS: I thought those were valuable speeches. And assuming, as we probably can, that it will be Governor Romney against President Obama this fall, I thought those speeches were illustrative and worth reading in two ways. One is the clips you just played showed that what the election will probably turn on, which is the ancestral question of are you better off than you were four years ago, as Ronald Reagan famously asked in 1980, that mainly turns in the economy, and the two candidates made their pitches about whether things are getting better or worse.
But the more interesting parts of the speeches, I thought, were their foreshadowings of what would come after that. Well, President Obama was making a more fleshed-out version than he sometimes does of how he would try to use governmental power harnessed with private initiative to restore the economy in another four years, and Governor Romney was making his contrary case. So I think these are worth reading as barometers to the next few months but also the next four years.
SULLIVAN: Well, also earlier this week, President Obama spoke about the Supreme Court's argument against his health care plan. He said that the laws overturning would be unprecedented. And he even invoked some of the language that we often hear from conservatives regarding unelected judges making changes to the law. Now he's since clarified these remarks a bit, but they really took many people by surprise.
FALLOWS: I think Barack Obama, as a former constitutional law teacher, recognized even as the words were coming out of his mouth that unelected judges was not a good thing for him to be saying. After all, the federal judiciary is, by definition, unelected. And for a long time, we've accepted that it has final jurisdiction over what the Congress and the president do. But the other part of his argument, saying that if the Supreme Court rules against the health care bill or the individual mandate provision that that would have sweeping implications, I think there is more substance behind what he was saying there.
Without going into all the details, he alluded to the Lochner case of 1905, back when the Supreme Court said that Congress and the states had no business whatsoever interfering in private commerce. And to go back to that would be quite a change in judicial, president and actual economic activity.
SULLIVAN: Well, I want to ask you, Jim, since you've been out of the country for a month, what is the view like from the outside of the American political situation?
FALLOWS: Australia, where I've been, has its own histrionic parliamentary politics that they often feel somewhat embarrassed about themselves. But I think there is not just in the Democratic world, in a lot of the world, there is some consternation about the nature of this year's presidential cycle in the United States of so much money, so much press attention, so much bad feeling, so much histrionics about things that probably will not be the (unintelligible) of whichever person is the president next year for his actual governing and don't seem that connected to the affairs of the larger world.
And the only thing I can say in defense of American politics as seen from the outside is the - some of the governing spectacle we've seen in China over the last month or so is less transparent, more unpredictable and even further divorced from their fundamental problems, but they are a Communist Party, a dictatorship, so we should aspire to a higher standard.
SULLIVAN: James Fallows is national correspondent with The Atlantic. You can read his blog at jamesfallows.theatlantic.com. And his new book "China Airborne" will be released next month. Jim, it's so great to have you back.
FALLOWS: Thank you, Laura. It's very nice to talk to you again. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | <urn:uuid:17955012-2d47-406b-9782-413bbe1b932c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://northernpublicradio.org/post/week-news-obama-romney-eye-general-election | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98057 | 1,135 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Is The Smart Money Really All That Smart? Written By Albert D. Bates
Article Date: 03-01-2005
Copyright (C) 2005 Associated Equipment Distributors. All Rights Reserved.
Two approaches to improving financial performance in terms of the impact on profitability.
In recent years, a somewhat heated debate has developed regarding the most appropriate approach to improving financial performance. In simplest terms, the two approaches are an operations approach and a working capital approach.
The Profitability Impact The chart on page 40 presents financial results for the typical AED member. Typical means half of the firms will perform below the results shown and half will perform above the results.
- The Operations Approach – This view, which is more traditional, suggests that firms should focus on the income statement side of the business, emphasizing modest sales growth, gross margin management and the tight control of expenses. Small improvements in performance are suggested. In this perspective, inventory and accounts receivable are viewed as necessary investments to generate required levels of sales volume.
- The Working Capital Approach – This more-contemporary view suggests inventory and accounts receivables are major cash traps that must be drained. The cost savings associated with lower investment levels will provide the higher profit for the firm. The emphasis is on making dramatic changes in investment levels rather than small ones. From a Wall Street perspective, this would be characterized as the “smart money” approach to improved results.
This report examines the two approaches to improving financial performance in terms of their potential impact on profitability.
According to the most recent CODB Report, this typical firm generates $25 million in sales volume, operates on a gross margin of 22.0 percent, and produces a pre-tax profit of $375,000 or 1.5 percent of sales.
The key issue from a working capital perspective is that the firm requires $13.9 million in total asset investment in order to generate this level of sales and profit. Of this amount $10 million is in inventory and $2.5 million is in accounts receivables. With this investment, the firm produces a return on assets of 2.7 percent.
The second column of numbers, Operations Control, looks at how the same firm would have fared if it had been able to produce 2 percent improvements in three areas of business. That includes (1) a 2 percent higher sales volume, (2) 2 percent more gross margin dollars on those higher sales (moving the gross margin percentage from 22.0 percent to 22.4 percent) and (3) a 2 percent reduction in payroll expenses.
The operations impact is straightforward – an increase in both sales and gross margin and a decrease in payroll. There is also an increase in inventory and accounts receivables to support the sales. The overall result is that profits are increased sharply, from the $375,000 current level to $655,700, an increase of 74.9 percent. In addition, the ROA increases to 4.6 percent. In short, even modest improvements in operations have a large profit payout.
In contrast, the final column of numbers, Working Capital Control, examines the impact of a rather dramatic 10 percent reduction in both inventory and accounts receivables. To make the best case for the working capital approach, it is assumed that the investment reductions can be made with no decrease in sales. Clearly, there is the potential that such large changes could undermine the entire business.
The working capital approach rests upon generating costs savings from the lower level of investment. In the analysis, a carrying cost of 15 percent is assumed for both inventory and accounts receivables. This reflects the interest expense and related costs associated with maintaining such investments.
With the 10 percent reduction in both inventory and accounts receivables, total assets fall by $1,025,000. Using the 15 percent carrying cost, the total cost savings is $153,750. When the expense reduction and investment reduction are combined, the ROA is 4.1 percent.
Some financial observers suggest the actual carrying cost is in excess of 15 percent. However, in a low-interest-rate environment, 15 percent is high. This presents the best-case scenario for the working capital approach.
The net result is that small changes in operations are much more significant than even large improvements in working capital management. This is not to say that the working capital approach is without merit. Surely, excessive investment should be avoided. However, it clearly points out that massive changes in investment are required to generate a significant profit improvement.
The implication for AED members should be obvious. There is certainly a need to control the investment level. However, the operations side of the business must continue to be paramount.
An Integrated Approach
The debate as to whether firms are best served by dramatically reducing investment or by improving operations should not be a debate at all. Improv-ing operational performance will increase profitability quicker than any other approach and with less effort.
At the same time, the challenge of managing cash flow has led firms to look at the working capital approach more than ever. What most firms should focus on is making small improvements in investment levels, not large ones. They must make the changes without reducing the effort that must be devoted to the operational side of the business.
Following are some suggestions for highly specific goals for AED members. They are larger than the two factors used before, but are reasonable expectations for every firm. If implemented, they will allow the firm to grow without facing cash flow challenges and produce a sharp increase in profits.
This list is for a typical firm. Since no firm is exactly typical, every firm should tailor these goals slightly. Guidelines for doing so are contained in the Profit Improvement Profile that is contained in AED's Cost of Doing Business report.
- Sales increase - 3 percent to 5 percent
- Gross margin percentage increase - .2 to .3 percentage points
- Payroll percentage decrease - .1 to .2 percentage points
- Inventory turnover increase - .1 to .2 turns
- Average collection period decrease - .5 to 1.0 days
To ensure adequate profit levels in the future, AED dealer members must focus on the factors that matter. For the vast majority of firms, the factors that matter are on the operations side of the business. The control of both inventory and accounts receivables can be a valuable adjunct to improved operations. However, they should remain an adjunct only, not the primary focus of the firm.
[ TOP ] | <urn:uuid:bfa0443b-bd1c-4ce2-9b5f-df44e269e33b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cedmag.com/article-detail.cfm?id=10921952 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941383 | 1,319 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Because it’s been almost 100 years since the last major hurricane, Florida officials are working harder than ever to convince individuals and businesses to be prepared.
It’s not just physical property that can be damaged by a big storm. Your finances can take a hit too. Have you considered what you would do if your local bank branches were inaccessible because of flooding or structural damage? Banks are required to be prepared to continue banking services in the event of a disaster.
You should take steps to prepare too. Preparations can include enrolling for direct deposit whenever possible and signing up for online banking to give you access to your account information anywhere, any time. Businesses that rely on getting to the bank to deposit checks can set up Remote Deposit Capture that will allow them to deposit checks from their own location electronically.
For more information on Hurricane preparedness Click Here | <urn:uuid:6d453b74-26a1-4ca7-bdb9-c2d965121740> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://flagshipcommunitybank.com/_blog/Flagship_Business_Sense/post/Are_You_Prepared/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94323 | 175 | 1.890625 | 2 |
How to Use
Reading 1: Stephen Decatur, A Nation's Hero
Born in 1779 to a prominent Philadelphia family, Stephen Decatur was reared in the traditions of the sea. His father had been a successful privateer during the American Revolution and assumed command of a naval vessel when the official American navy was established in 1798. At the same time, young Stephen Decatur embarked as a midshipman aboard the new frigate United States. It took him only a year to be commissioned as a lieutenant.
Decatur's first real act of heroism came during the Barbary Wars of 1801-1804. For decades the North African states of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli had seized ships, crews, and passengers all over the Mediterranean Sea and held them for ransom. European nations avoided such incidents by paying an annual sum of protection money, or tribute. Both Presidents Washington and Adams had followed that custom, but President Jefferson balked at the idea. Tripoli declared war on the United States in May 1801, and Jefferson sent a naval squadron to the Mediterranean. The war dragged on with few victories for either side. Then in 1804, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur performed a bold act. Under cover of darkness, he and 10 sailors slipped into Tripoli Harbor and set fire to the captured U.S. frigate Philadelphia guaranteeing that the ship could not be used by the Tripolitans against the Americans. His feat earned him a promotion to captain, and also the praise of Lord Nelson, England's greatest naval hero, who proclaimed it "the most bold and daring act of the age." The deed has been memorialized by the phrase in the Marine's Hymn: "to the shores of Tripoli."
During the War of 1812, Decatur and his men captured the British ship Macedonian, and brought her back as a prize to the safe shores of the United States. In 1815 Decatur commanded a squadron to Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli where he secured agreements forever ending U.S. payment of tribute to the Barbary States. After both triumphs, Decatur's exploits were widely described in newspapers. Greatly admired for his courage and cleverness, Decatur was honored with public dinners in New York and Norfolk, and presented with gifts of silver from Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Until the mid-19th century, captors of enemy vessels were entitled to receive a portion of the proceeds earned from the sale of the cargoes of captured ships. Decatur accumulated quite a generous sum through his exploits. With this prize money in hand, and with his appointment as a Commodore who would serve on the Navy Board of Commissioners, Decatur and his wife Susan came to Washington in 1816. Many people were eager to entertain the Decaturs, holding celebration dinners in the hero's honor. The reciprocal parties and dinners the Decaturs gave after they built their mansion on President's Park initiated the tradition of Decatur House as a focal point for Washington society.
The Commodore's reputation was that of a man with an engaging personality and good conversation. His wife charmed their guests with her intellectual achievements and her talent in playing the harp. Both were excellent hosts, and a party at Decatur House was always considered a notable event.
Questions for Reading 1
1. What actions made Stephen Decatur a national hero?
2. How did he become wealthy?
3. Why did Decatur settle in Washington and build his stately home there? | <urn:uuid:4a3c711a-0cb8-410d-8b6c-dd6662a08e27> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/19decatur/19facts1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972742 | 711 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Near the end of his life, the prophet Nephi referred to the day of judgment and declared that we, the readers of the Book of Mormon, will stand face to face with him before the bar of Christ (2 Nephi 33:11). Similarly, the prophets Jacob and Moroni referred to meeting us when we appear before "the pleasing bar" of God to be judged:
finally I bid you farewell
until I shall meet you before the pleasing bar of God
which bar striketh the wicked
with awful dread and fear
and now I bid unto all farewell.
I soon go to rest in the paradise of God
until my spirit and body shall again reunite
and I am brought forth triumphant through the air
to meet you before the pleasing bar
of the great Jehovah
the eternal judge of both quick and dead
For the righteous, the bar of God may well be pleasing, but not for the wicked, as Jacob himself says in Jacob 6:13: "which bar striketh the wicked with awful dread and fear." Nor do the nine other occurrences of "the bar of God" denote anything necessarily pleasing. In fact, three of them refer to it negatively:
2 Nephi 33:15
for what I seal on earth shall be brought
against you at the judgment bar
to stand with shame and awful guilt
before the bar of God
how will any of you feel if ye shall stand
before the bar of God having your garments stained
with blood and all manner of filthiness
Christian Gellinek (who studied law at the University of Gttingen in Germany) believes that the textually difficult reading "the pleasing bar of God" can be readily resolved if we replace the word pleasing with pleading—in other words, Jacob and Moroni will meet us before "the pleading bar of God" (personal communication, 25 September 2003). Phonetically, the words pleading and pleasing are nearly identical. What seems to have happened is that Oliver Cowdery, being completely unfamiliar with the legal term pleading bar, twice substituted the more familiar word pleasing for pleading, even though pleasing does not make much sense.
There are a number of examples in the original manuscript where Oliver made this kind of mistake—that is, if a word or a phrase was unknown to him, he substituted a more common word or phrase (but with varying degrees of success). In each of these cases, the substitution seems to have occurred in the original manuscript (O) as Oliver took down Joseph Smith's dictation and later copied it into the printer's manuscript (P):
weed (O, P) instead of reed (1830 edition)
1 Nephi 17:48
and whoso shall lay their hands upon me
shall wither even as a dried weed > reed2
bosom (O, P) instead of besom 'broom' (1830 edition)
2 Nephi 24:23
and I will sweep it
with the bosom > besom of destruction
arrest (O, P, 1830) instead of wrest (1837 edition)
behold the scriptures are before you
if ye will arrest > wrest them
it shall be to your own destruction
for behold some have arrested > wrested
drugs (O, P) instead of dregs (1830 edition)
and they drink the drugs > dregs of a bitter cup
fraction (O, P) instead of faction (1830 edition)
behold we fear that there is some fraction > faction in the government
The examples of weed for reed and fraction for faction are not impossible readings, but given Oliver's predilection to misinterpret unfamiliar expressions, weed and fraction are probably errors (see, for instance, the discussion regarding weed, in the recently published part 1 of volume 4 of the critical text).3 For each of the five cases listed above, English language usage supports the current reading.
For four of the expressions, the 1830 typesetter figured out the correct interpretation and emended the text appropriately (in the case of besom, he seems to have consulted his King James Bible). But the 1830 typesetter, just like Oliver Cowdery, could not figure out the correct reading for two cases—namely, the phrase "wrest the scriptures" and the legal expression "before the pleading bar." The 1830 typesetter set both as Oliver had written them: "arrest the scriptures" and "before the pleasing bar." The first of these was later corrected in the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon, but the other has remained in all printed editions, apparently because no one until recently has recognized pleasing bar as a possible error for pleading bar.
One might wonder how Oliver Cowdery could have twice misinterpreted pleading bar as pleasing bar. Moroni 10:34 and Jacob 6:13 are located some distance apart; about 110 manuscript pages of O separates them (under the assumption that the small plates of Nephi were translated last). But one should note that the example of "wrest the scriptures" is also twice misinterpreted as "arrest the scriptures" and the distance between Alma 13:20 and Alma 41:1 is almost 70 manuscript pages of O, also a large amount. It is clearly possible to make the same misinterpretation at different times.
The term pleading bar appears to have been used in the English courts of earlier times, according to the following historical information available on the Internet:4
"The people who made the film reproduced the court room back at their studio. They had the jury bench, the pleading bar, everything, right down to the smallest detail of King Charles II's coat of arms.". . . In real life the court's pleading bar, where prisoners stood while on trial, is at the head of the stairs.
On the first floor is the Court Room where all criminal cases in Fordwich were tried until 1886. The accused would stand flanked by the Town Constables, at the "pleading bar" situated at the head of the stairs. (Hence the expression "prisoner at the bar"). The Judge or chief magistrate was the Mayor for the time being and he sat in the chair at the north end of the room, flanked by six Jurats on each side, seated on the "bench".
The term pleading bar is now archaic in England. Note that the first Internet citation provides a definition for "the court's pleading bar," and the second uses quotation marks in referring to the "pleading bar." The legal language now used in England refers to the defendant as "in the dock" (no longer "standing at the bar"). The Oxford English Dictionary lists no citations of the term pleading bar, but my colleague Ed Cutler in the English Department at Brigham Young University has found the following two instances of the term on Literature Online; both citations date from the early 1600s (spelling regularized here):
John Harington, Orlando Furioso (1607), stanza 46, lines 369–72:
If you deny my claim, here I will prove it,
This field the court, this list my pleading bar,
My plea is such, as no writ can remove it,
My judge must be the sequel of the war.
John Webster, Appius and Virginia (no later than 1634), act 5, scene 1
Fortune hath lift thee to my Chair, and thrown me headlong to thy pleading bar.
And the actual translator of the Book of Mormon—either the Lord himself or his translation committee—seems to have been familiar with the term! And it provides a vivid picture of how momentous and potentially dreadful the day of judgment will be for us as defendants standing at the pleading bar, with the Lord as judge, twelve apostles as jury (1 Nephi 12:8–10), and Nephi, Jacob, and Moroni as witnesses. ! | <urn:uuid:b7e19260-de96-4ab6-a89c-ac5806411002> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/insights/?vol=24&num=4&id=390 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937484 | 1,623 | 2.25 | 2 |
Just heard that California is about to start working on formal regulations for robot cars to travel their roads which is the second state to regulate these autonomous machines, the first was Nevada. At the moment the legislation signed into law requires CA to draft regulations for these vehicles by January 1, 2015.
I suppose being in the IT industry this shouldn’t be a surprise to me or anyone else. Google has been running autonomously driven vehicles for over 300K miles now.
But it always seems a bit jarring when something like this goes from testing to production, seems almost Jetson like. I remember seeing a video of something like this from Bell Labs/GM Labs or somebody like that when they were talking about the future way back in the 60s of last century. Gosh only 50 years later and its almost here.
DARPA Grand Challenges spurred it on
Of course it all started probably in the late 70s when AI was just firing up. But robot cars seemed to really take off when DARPA, back in 2004 wanted to push the technology to develop a autonomous vehicle for the DOD. They funded a and created the DARPA Grand Challenge.
In 2004 the requirements were to drive over 150 miles (240 km) in and around the Mojave desert in southwestern USA. In that first year, none of the vehicles managed to finish the distance. Over the next few years, the course got more difficult, the prize money increased, and the vehicles got a lot smarter.
In 2005 DARPA grand challenge once again a rural setting, 5 vehicles finished the course 1 from Stanford, 2 from Carnegie Mellon (CMU), 1 from Oshkosh Trucking, and the other 1 from Gray’s Insurance Company. At first I thought an insurance company, then it hit me maybe there’s a connection to auto insurance.
DARPA’s next challenge for 2007 was for an urban driving environment but this time DARPA providing research funding to a select group as well as larger prize to any winners. Six teams were able to finish the urban challenge, 1 each from CMU, Stanford, Virginia Tech, MIT, University of Pennsylvania & Lehigh University and Cornell University. That was the last DARPA challenge for autonomous vehicles, seems they had what they wanted.
Google’s streetview helped
Sometime around 2010, Google started working withg self-driving cars to provide some of the streetview shots they needed. Shortly thereafter they had logged ~140K miles with them. Fast forward a couple of years and Google’s Sergey Brin was claiming that people will be driving in robotic cars in 5 years. To get their self-driving cars up and running they hired the leaders of both the CMU and Stanford teams as well as somebody who worked on the first autonomous motorcycle which ran in the Urban Challenge.
For all of the 300K miles they currently have logged, the cars were manned by a safety driver and a software engineer in the car, just for safety reasons. Also, local police were notified that the car would be in their area. Before the autonomous car took off another car, this one driven by a human, was sent out to map out the route in detail including all traffic signs, signals, lane markers, etc. This was then up(?) loaded to the self-driving car which followed the same exact route.
I couldn’t find and detailed hardware list but Google’s blog post on the start of the project indicated computers (maybe 2 for HA), multiple cameras, infrared sensors, laser rangefinders, radar, and probably multiple servos (gear shift, steering, accelerator and brake pedals), all fitted to Toyota Prius cars. Although the servos may no longer be as necessary as many new cars, use drive by wire for some of these function.
I could imagine quite a few ways to monetize self-driving, robotic cars:
- License the service to the major auto and truck manufacturers around the world, with the additional hardware either supplied as a car/truck option (probably at first) or provided on all cars/trucks (probably a ways down the line).
- Cars/trucks would need computer screens for the driving console as well as probably for entertainment. Possibly advertisements on these screens could be used to offset some of the licensing/hardware costs.
- Insurance companies may wish to subsidize the cost of the system. Especially, if the cars could reduce accidents, it would then have a positive ROI, just for accident reduction alone, let alone saving lives.
- In the car internet would need to be more available (see below). This would no doubt be based on 4G or whatever the next cellular technology comes along. Maybe the mobile phone companies would want to help subsidize this service, like they do for phones, if you had to sign a contract for a couple of years. I am thinking the detailed maps required for self-driving might require a more bandwidth than Google Maps does today, which could help chew up those bandwidth limits.
- With all these sensors, it’s quite possible that self-driving cars, when being driven by humans, could be used to map new routes. If you elected to provide these sorts of services then maybe one could also get something of a kickback.
I assume the robotic cars need Internet access but nothing I read says for sure. Maybe they could get by without Internet access if they just used manual driving mode for those sections of travel which lacked Internet Perhaps, the cars could download the route before it went into self-driving mode and that way if you kept to the plan you would be ok.
Other uses of robotic cars
Of course with all these Internet enabled cars, tollways and city centers could readily establish new congestion based pricing. Police could potentially override a car and cause it to pull over, automatically without the driver being able to stop it. Traffic data would be much more available, more detailed, and more real time than it is already. All these additional services could help to offset the cost of the HW and licensing of the self-driving service.
The original reason for the DARPA grand challenge was to provide a way to get troops and/or equipment from one place to another without soldiers having to drive the whole way there. Today, this is still a dream but if self-driving cars become a reality in 5 years or so, I would think the DOD could have something deployed before then.
If the self-driving car maps require more detailed information than today’s GPS maps, there’s probably a storage angle here both in car and at some centralized data center(s) located around a country. If the cars could be also used to map new routes, perhaps even a skosh more storage would be required in car.
Just imagine driving cross country and being able to sleep most of the way, all by yourself with your self-driving car. Now if they could only make a port-a-potty that would fit inside a sedan I would be all set to go…, literally | <urn:uuid:ac9bd505-6b91-4a1e-9783-5b0d7a2d4a20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://silvertonconsulting.com/blog/2012/09/28/robots-on-the-road/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97235 | 1,444 | 2.25 | 2 |
Elevator motor causes fire in Hall of Languages
A fire in a mechanical room on the ground floor of the Hall of Languages was discovered Sunday morning, according to a Syracuse University news alert released that afternoon. SU Public Safety and the Syracuse Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.
The fire was contained within the 8 feet by 10 feet room that holds the motor for the building’s elevator, said Kevin Morrow, director of SU News Services. There was significant damage to the ground floor and floors above from smoke and hydraulic oil that leaked from the motor.
The motor malfunctioned and leaked hydraulic oil, which spread in a puddle across portions of the ground floor, including some classrooms, and fueled the fire, Morrow said. The smoke also carried an oily mist that damaged walls and ceilings on the ground floor and higher floors of the building.
A repair company ripped up portions of damaged carpet and mopped down the floors, walls and ceilings, Morrow said. Some doors will need to be replaced, and workers are determining whether walls on the ground floor absorbed the oil puddle.
There was no structural damage to the building, according to the news alert.
The total cost of repairs has not been decided because the extent of the damage is still being determined, Morrow said.
The College of Arts and Sciences faculty and staff have been relocated to other offices on campus, Morrow said. The fire will not delay the posting of grades for the fall semester.
The Hall of Languages was opened in 1873 and is SU’s oldest building, according to SU’s Web site. The interior of the building was renovated in 1978, and its classrooms can now hold up to 2,235 students.
Man of faith: Thomas Wolfe uses role as dean of Hendricks, student affairs to connect with SU students, faculty, staff
Thomas Wolfe has many talents. He can ride a unicycle, craft a perfect tuna noodle casserole and bring a community together in the face of… Read more »
UPDATED: May 22, 2013 at 3:05 p.m. Once again, Syracuse men’s head basketball coach Jim Boeheim made the most of any Syracuse University employee in… Read more »
IRS form shows SU's legal fees almost doubled from 2010-11; increase coincides with year of Bernie Fine allegations
UPDATED: May 22, 2013 at 3:07 p.m. The year sexual abuse allegations against Bernie Fine publicly broke, Syracuse University’s legal fees increased by about 92 percent. The… Read more » | <urn:uuid:c0d2ab93-c407-41c2-a2ed-7ec448ee4163> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sports.dailyorange.com/?p=3344 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956946 | 522 | 1.515625 | 2 |
MUNSTER — Indiana's worsening drought is raising concerns that Fourth of July fireworks could spark sizable fires.
Abnormally dry conditions cover most of the state and a large portion of northern Indiana is experiencing a moderate drought that has left lawns and fields parched, elevating the risk of fires.
State Fire Marshal Jim Greeson told The Times of Munster for a story published Sunday that it isn't just municipalities' pyrotechnic shows that pose a threat. He said small fireworks, cookouts and bonfires could also spark fires.
"In these dry conditions, fires can ignite and spread very quickly," Greeson said.
As of Sunday afternoon, 20 Indiana counties had banned outdoor burning and some are considering extending that ban to cover fireworks.
While the dry conditions concern fire officials in the northern Indiana communities of Hobart, Schererville and Hammond, officials have no immediate plans to ban fireworks.
Bob Patterson, Schererville's fire chief, said using fireworks in dry weather is always a concern, but he isn't aware of any plan to restrict fireworks beyond current rules.
Police in Hobart, Hammond, Cedar Lake and Lake Station, also in northern Indiana, said they will enforce local and state ordinances.
"If the weather stays like it is, we will be strictly enforcing the ordinance that we have on the books," Cedar Lake Police Chief Randall Mayersky said.
Hobart Police Chief Jeff White said his department is taking a zero-tolerance stance on anyone shooting fireworks outside of designated times and dates.
An Indiana ordinance that most communities follow states that consumer fireworks are to be used only from 5 to 10 p.m. June 29 through July 3; 10 a.m. to midnight July 4; 5 to 10 p.m. July 5 through 9 ;and 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
In counties without burn bans, the state Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning asking people not to set off fireworks, but to be careful if they choose to do so.
Capt. Ron Lipps of the Fishers Fire Department in north suburban Indianapolis said fireworks tend to generate "a lot of silliness" and unsafe behavior among holiday revelers. He said every year someone inevitably throws fireworks in a trash can and it goes up in flames.
"We can't be at everybody's backyard display, and if things go wrong there and people aren't prepared or operating safely, we could have a little bit of a problem," he told WISH-TV.
Lipps advises area residents that if they do set off fireworks or use an open fire, the ashes or used fireworks should be put in a bucket of water for at least 24 hours.
The state fire marshal offers the following dry weather fire safety tips:
Store fireworks in a cool, dry area. When using fireworks, always have a fire extinguisher, water supply, hose or bucket of water nearby.
Be cautious when lighting fireworks when it is windy and avoid lighting them on or near dry grass, fields, shrubs or other vegetation. If fireworks do ignite a fire, contact your local fire department or 911 immediately. Do not attempt to extinguish a large fire by yourself. | <urn:uuid:265d16d4-86dd-49b8-a51d-50f3640b3419> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120618/NEWS/120619633/0/FRONTPAGE | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956552 | 668 | 2.125 | 2 |
OpenTeacher is a vocabulary training application that helps you learn a foreign language. It uses a list of words in both a known and a foreign language and tests you. It supports smart question asking and interval training with Think answers, shuffle answer, and repeat answer input modes. It has easy symbol, Greek, and Cyrillic input, and reads and writes T2K (Teach2000) and WRTS files, and reads ABBYY Lingvo Tutor files. It is available in Arabic, Australian English, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
StressItOut is a hardware stressing and testing program for GNU/Linux. Its main purpose is to strain the computer to ensure the hardware is in good state. There are several test modules: CPU load, memory test, 2D OpenGL painting, 3D OpenGL rendering, hard drives, optical drives, serial ports transmission, and parallel ports. Support for lm-sensors is in the works. This software, when ready for release, will mainly be aimed at the QA departments of hardware manufacturing companies, who need to ensure their newly produced machines perform correctly under heavy workloads, and that all their components work as expected. | <urn:uuid:9aae4bf0-3c65-4394-a903-2c8e4e21d73a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freecode.com/tags/test?page=1&sort=created_at&with=1451&without= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944816 | 277 | 1.867188 | 2 |
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Dear 5th graders, Please take the reading survey.
Students have been enjoying tweeting weekly in class. Mrs.Tolisano has been coming in each week to teach the process of tweeting. She developed this info-graphic for us to follow. We are developing a routine in class so that students are able … Continue reading
Today in Math class, we started the process of learning how to create a tutorial. Mrs. Tolisano came in and we did a “hands-on” activity which made us realize how important it is to have clear and simple directions when … Continue reading
The 4th – 6th grade are invited to sing ‘One Day’ at the JJC Kehilat Kesher service. The following are the youtube video and lyrics. Enjoy!
My professional goal this year is to implement the Daily 3 (an adapted version of the Daily 5). The Daily 3 is a way of structuring our language arts block so every student is independently engaged in literacy tasks. These research-based … Continue reading
Fifth graders jumped right into reading this first week. We started our first story Frindle. The students worked on some comprehension questions, and we discussed plot, character traits, and sequencing. The class divided up into groups and acted out the beginning, middle, … Continue reading
I can’t wait to see everyone Monday morning. I have posted Math and Social Studies homework for the week. Make a copy for your binder. (You can hand write it or print a copy.) Practice getting on your blog if … Continue reading
Welcome to Fifth Grade! Please check back on Sunday for next week’s homework and any other important information. I am looking forward to a great year! Mrs. Zavon
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjgds/sets/72157629953200742/ Today we had snack with our VPK buddies and then we played in their classroom. Morah Liat says that she is not sure who had more fun, the preschoolers or the big kids. | <urn:uuid:270ffaf4-51a4-4508-ae39-896d72c1538b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mjgds.org/classrooms/5thgrade/category/uncategorized/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938204 | 468 | 2.234375 | 2 |
: No Code Stone Unturned"> No code stone unturned All code must be rigorously audited, even simple scripts that run on a Web site. In fact, for sites to be secure, administrators must have intimate knowledge of every application, every API and every part of the network infrastructure.This comes at a cost that rises quickly relative to presence online. For any site to be considered secure, PC Week Labs estimates that a company must dedicate at least 8 hours per week. Assuming a 40-hour work week (OK, we know thats low-balling the average IT managers week, but we have to figure the math somehow), this equates to at least one person dedicating 20 percent or more of his or her time to Web security. With the base salary of a decent administrator starting at around $65,000, this amounts to a little more than $1,000 per month for a base-package site to remain securely online. For sites with more servers, more software and more connections to the Internet, the costs rise quickly.The hackpcweek.com site also showed us that some simple security measures, such as complex passwords, are great in theory but nearly impossible in practice. The hackpcweek site comprised six servers. Imagine how difficult it was to remember passwords such as [Athl!g. We couldnt and had to rely on a list of log-ins and passwords stored on a laptop. If this laptop had been compromised, our entire site would have been vulnerable. After going through these tests, we cannot understate the importance of a good firewall. We used Axent Technologies Inc.s Raptor firewall and blocked every port except Port 80 for regular HTTP traffic. This configuration is about as simple-and safe-as it can get. Proxying firewalls require more processing power than stateful inspection firewalls. The Raptor firewall provides a circuit-level proxy. We chose this because it terminates both ends of a connection and acts as an arbitrator. A stateful inspection firewall, in contrast, is basically souped-up packet filtering. Administrators must also be sure to dedicate enough horsepower to their firewalls. We installed the Raptor firewall on a Hewlett-Packard Co. LPR server with two Pentium IIs running at 450MHz. This level of horsepower is necessary because every session going in and out of the servers has to be monitored. This is not an area where you want to skimp. Opening new doors Many companies are outsourcing portions of their Web development, which presents the need for administrators to audit code produced by third parties. Companies should make technology transfer a major part of any outsourcing agreement and should add in extra time to train internal staff on the new code. The concept of open source adds a new twist to the problem of security. While having access to source code should make code more secure through peer review, this is not always the case. Often, security holes can be the result of specific configuration options, not necessarily bad code. The bottom line is daunting: Dont let your guard down--ever. | <urn:uuid:5f1b18f9-9c28-433d-a9e7-97aaa3770667> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/OpenHack-1-Attacked-and-Hacked/1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942892 | 627 | 1.90625 | 2 |
" . . . A beautiful portrait . . . a finely woven web that traps you into the magnificent history of the Wars of the Roses."
—Marie Burton, The Burton Review
". . . Highly recommended for any fan of this period as well as a good eye-opener for those new to it."
—At Home With a Good Book and the Cat
". . . Beautifully written . . . Higginbotham's novel is not only well researched, but also expertly crafted rendering the reader unable to set the novel down."
" . . . Fans of English historical fiction anchored by facts will enjoy the exciting saga of The Stolen Crown."
" . . . Higginbotham . . . hits another historical high note in her latest fictional foray into the British monarchy. This time around, the Wars of the Roses provides the colorful backdrop for a plot oozing with romance, intrigue, and political maneuvering. . . . This fictional prelude to the Tudor era will appeal to fans of Philippa Gregory’s historicals."
—Margaret Flanagan, Booklist
" . . . There is a story to be told—a very dramatic one—and Higginbotham tells it well."
—Becky's Book Reviews
". . . Higginbotham has created a compelling and thrilling tale of the Wars of the Roses."
—Confessions and Ramblings of a Muse in the Fog
" . . . Full of drama and passion and betrayal and redemption."
—Confessions of a Book Hoarde
" . . . Impeccably researched . . . Higginbotham uses vivid historical details in order to bring the places and people she is writing about to life."
—S. Krishna's Books
". . . Well researched and well written. The characters are believable and ‘real’ in the sense that you begin to feel what they feel and think how they think."
—She Read a Book
" . . . a wild ride through the lives of Henry and Kate, from the moment a four-year-old Henry learns of the death of his grandfather, the First Duke of Buckingham, to their first meeting as children and their marriage and lives together. Through the emotion and intimacy of their lives, we are taken on a journey through the story of the War of the Roses, told in a way that even those unfamiliar with the history will be able to follow along with the many historical figures to whom we are introduced, and the swirling tides of battles, victories, and shifting loyalties. "
—Dionne Obeso, Renaissance Magazine | <urn:uuid:dec9b76a-ac2d-42a8-8f93-77f545660f6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/subpages/reviewsstolen.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923694 | 538 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Usually, when most people want to uninstall a program for some reason or another, they usually go to Windows’ own Add or Remove Programs utility right within the Control Panel. (If you’re not sure how to use that, here is an article you can read that will help you).
But, oh boy! Isn’t it a pain?! I mean, it takes forever to load up, it doesn’t give you a whole lot of information about what the programs are and it seems to miss an awful lot.
So, what else can you do?
Well, there are a number of free programs available that do a far better and more complete job. So, what do you say we check them out?!
Basically, they fall in two categories:
1.) Improved versions of the Add and Remove programs utility – These ones give you more information and a more complete listing. Plus, they generally take a snapshot of your system before you install a new program and they then compare it with a snapshot afterward, just to see what has changed and what needs to be removed.
2.) Clearly, the second option is the more thorough choice, but it does take more time when it comes to installing and uninstalling your programs. Also, you must remember to make sure the program is actually running when you go to use it.
Alright, let’s give a quick rundown of two programs (one in each category) so that we can see what improvements over Windows you can get with them.
This is obtainable from this Web site. But, keep in mind that the download link is a long way down toward the bottom of the page, so be prepared to scroll down until you see the link.
Download the program to your hard drive and then extract the file of “myunist.exe” from the zip file and place it anywhere on your computer that you want. (There is no installation as such. It just runs straight “out of the box”).
Once you run the program for the first time, you will see a screen somewhat like this:
As you will see, not only is it quicker (and I’ll tell you how to make it even quicker in a minute), but it’s also far more comprehensive in its scope. You get a fuller description of where a program is located and a whole host of other relevant information.
Also, note the two icons circled at the top of the page. The first one is the one you can use to carry out a standard uninstall, but the second is used to remove an entry for a program that has previously been uninstalled. (Now, this can sometimes happen with Windows and it normally means delving into your Registry Editor to get rid of it, but don’t worry, MyUninstaller does all that for you instead).
Now, if you remember, I mentioned a way you can list the programs even quicker when you fire up the MyUninstaller program. To do this, first look at this screenshot:
If you go to View and then select Quick Mode, MyUninstaller will save a copy of the previous listings and bring them up again the next time you use the program. Of course, if you have installed new programs since then, they will not show. In this case, just press F5 to refresh the list if you want to see them too.
And that’s about all there is to that!
Now, on to the second category of uninstallers.
2.) ZSoft Uninstaller
The Web site for this download can be found here.
Note: Make sure you download from where I have circled above. The download link above is for a beta version instead.
That will then take you to another page on the site where you will need to click on another link to get to the Web site of www.download.com.
Taking you here:
So, go ahead and download it and then install it in the normal way.
The first running of the program will give you this screen:
Then followed by this one:
Basically, it can be used as a “normal” uninstall program. But, note what happens if you right click a selected item.
You then have the option to get more information, like what’s show below, about the program:
Now, let’s move on to its “extra” feature that allows you to enable a complete uninstall of a program.
First, click on the Analyze button.
You’ll then get the following options:
If you are installing a new program, you would click on the first button that says, “Analyze an installation.”
You can then indicate which drive or drives you want to analyze (drive C: is usually sufficient).
The program will then start to go through your files and all the registry entries you have at that moment. By doing that, the program can then form a “before” image of your system.
Now, still keeping the program running, begin the installation of a new program. When that has finished, go back to the ZSoft Uninstaller and press the After Installation button. It will then go through the same process, only now, it will take a snapshot of the files after the installation.
Next, you are asked to give a name to this installation.
The program then does a quick calculation and it will shut itself down.
That’s it! Well, at least until it comes time to delete that program, if you ever want to.
So, go on and fire up the ZSoft Uninstaller. On the main screen, select the Analyzed Programs tab.
Select the program you wish to uninstall and then right click your mouse.
Click on the Uninstall button to get to this screen:
You will notice that the author has put in a lot of boxes for you to checkmark, which is just him covering himself in the event of problems. You will have to checkmark them if you want the program to work. Also, do make sure you click the bottom box that says, “I don’t want to confirm every delete.” Otherwise, you will have to say “yes” to every single file it seeks to delete, which can be a very tedious process!
Well, that should be that. A full and compete uninstall!
By the way, the ZSoft Uninstaller has a few other tricks up its sleeve that I don’t have time to go in to now, but read the Help file and see what else you can do. The options are endless!
~ David Woodford | <urn:uuid:bb24101e-bd76-4b7f-a333-aa73b57ede53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldstart.com/the-uninstallers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933052 | 1,387 | 1.59375 | 2 |
“Saviour Siblings” vs “"Whoops I did it again" Kids: Any Ethical Difference?
From BBC News, here is story of what a family in Minnesota did in 2000 to save their daughter from a fatal illness.
"A test-tube baby has been selected by doctors using controversial genetic screening to save the life of its older sister.
Already questions are being raised about whether the baby boy was really wanted or merely 'created as a medical commodity' to save his sister.
Doctors genetically tested the embryos of an American couple before implanting one of them in the mother's womb.
They chose the embryo that would have the exact type of cells needed to save the couple's six-year-old daughter, who is suffering from a life-threatening bone marrow deficiency."
Stem cells were taken from the resulting boy to be given to his sister to restore her damaged bone marrow.
A similar case in California in the early 1990s involved a daughter born, after genetic selection to be a bone marrow donor for her leukemic sister. Such children born to donate to their siblings are called “saviour siblings”. There, obviously, is controversy whether it is ethical to analyze a number of parental zygotes, find the appropriate one and then implant it in the uterus, anticipating the birth of a child who can donate cells to their sick sibling. Some wonder if this amounts to bringing only a "commodity" into the world. There is nothing in these stories about ‘saviour siblings” suggesting the new child is ignored or unloved.
An ethicist writing on a bioethics listserv wrote the following recently:
"Personally, I think I would have been a lot nicer to my younger brother
if I'd known he saved my life.
As to the charge that a child conceived and/or selected for this purpose
would be loved less, we don't interfere in parental reproductive
decision-making that is motivated by far worse motives. Nor is there any
evidence that saviour siblings are any less loved. In fact, I suspect
that once we have a sufficient number to study, we will find that these
kids, like the kids of IVF and ARTs in general, have better and more
attentive parent-child relations than the ‘whoops I did it again’ kids."
I wonder what my visitors think about the ethics of this practice and particularly if there should be any concern about the parental love and attention of these “saviour siblings” And what if more than just cells or bone marrow is to be donated but actual organs or parts of organs? . ..Maurice.
ADDENDUM 6-5-2008: After reading this thread, you may want to go to a thread begun on this date which discusses the issue of the adoption of a child to serve as an organ resource. | <urn:uuid:da35163b-6362-4857-bf49-16fd06f03513> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bioethicsdiscussion.blogspot.com/2007/01/saviour-siblings-vs-whoops-i-did-it.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964797 | 598 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Setting this up took me a couple of minutes — finding the reason why it didn’t work a couple of hours. The question has hundreds of hits on Google, a simple answer hasn’t. Hope this helps
someone somewhere you.
Create script to parse incoming mail
<?php $data = file_get_contents("php://stdin"); ?>
Add a new email address to Postfix configuration
sudo vi /etc/aliases
and add the following line (everything on one line)
email+to+redirect: "| php -q /home/user/full/path/to/your/new/script.php"
Apply the changes to the aliases by running
To make sure Postfix will pick up the newly added alias soon. If you’re in a hurry, do a
One thing that took some time to figure out: my php script ran ok from the prompt, I had supplied it with test data and I saw all the expected data in my database. Yet, when I triggered the script by sending an email to the new address, Postfix bounced it right back at me, saying
The e-mail system was unable to deliver the message, but did not report a specific reason. Check the address and try again. If it still fails, contact your system administrator. < xxx.yyy #5.0.0 X-Postfix; Command died with status 255: "php -q /home/user/full/path/to/your/new/script.php">
In the end, the reason for this error is simple. It is Postfix telling me PHP stopped executing the script as it found an error. In my case, the error occured when the script ran as user Nobody. When tested from the prompt, I didn’t get the error, as the user had sufficient rights. | <urn:uuid:e5de14c0-418c-42e7-8c66-1b4482e82c1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jeroensmeets.net/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905853 | 390 | 1.726563 | 2 |
In July 2006, a vaccine for the prevention of infections caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) was approved for sale in Canada.
A second vaccine is currently undergoing Health Canada review. In its December 2007 issue, The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) summarizes the most recent evidence on the efficacy and safety of these vaccines. It also presents the results of some cost effectiveness analyses and discusses a number of unresolved questions about HPV vaccinations: ideal age for immunization, duration of effect, immunization of women already infected, vaccination of males, implication for Papanicolaou (PAP) smear programs, barriers to uptake, need for monitoring and registries, cost-effectiveness, and programs to ensure access for special populations.
To learn more:
|Adapted by :||Myriam Hivon, Ph.D.| | <urn:uuid:60052cfd-fd1f-418e-8367-ade586d63dc4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hinnovic.org/lang_frnotes-sur-les-technologies-de-la-sante-en-emergence-vaccins-contre-le-vphlang_frlang_enissue-in-emerging-health-technologies-hpv-vaccineslang_en/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937304 | 181 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The Conan stories take place in the mythical (created by Howard) "Hyborian Age", between the time of the sinking of Atlantis and the rise of the known ancient civilizations.
Conan is a superbly formidable barbarian warrior from the northern land of Cimmeria, who in the course of the tales has many colorful and exciting adventures with fabulous monsters, evil wizards, and delicious wenches and princesses. After many battles, Conan eventually becomes king of Aquilonia, the most powerful kingdom of the age.
The Conan stories are informed by the popular interest of the time in unscientific ideas on evolution and "social Darwinism". Are some peoples destined to rule over others? Are our physical and mental characteristics the result of our experiences or our inheritance from our ancestors?
The character of Conan has proven durably popular, resulting in pastiche Conan stories being assembled by later writers such as Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp from Howard's notes and by rewriting his stories of other similar heroes. Conan has also appeared in comic books and in films, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Terry Pratchett has parodied him with the Discworld character "Cohen the Barbarian", and numerous "Conan the Librarian" parodies have cropped up, including sketches in the Weird Al Yankovic comedy film UHF and on the children's television series Reading Rainbow. Independent comic legend Dave Sim's 'Cerebus' also began as a Conan parody.
Conan the Barbarian movie quotes: | <urn:uuid:4a05ac18-2fd2-407b-9576-749f3b6ea477> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fact-index.com/c/co/conan_the_barbarian.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958915 | 306 | 2.125 | 2 |
The World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Rural Development Institute (RDI) are launching a new initiative that will improve the livelihoods of farmers by creating a system of Web-based multimedia tools to illustrate and communicate complex property rights issues in Africa. The initiative is funded with a grant to WRI from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
By Norbert Henninger and Florence Landsberg on October 8, 2009
State of the art GIS maps shed new light on Uganda’s development challenges.
This map shows the percentage of households that cannot afford to use soap, a measure from the census showing the lack of basic necessities.
This map shows the percentage of households relying on open sources of drinking water, such as lakes, streams, etc., and therefore at risk of waterborne diseases attributed to unsafe sources.
This map shows the densities of households without access to improved sanitation in each subcounty.
The more darkly shaded areas have the highest density of households without adequate sanitation,
This map displays the poverty density (the number of poor people per square km) for subcounties that had not achieved Uganda’s interim national rural target of 58 percent improved sanitation coverag
This map displays the poverty rate (the percent of the population below the poverty line) for subcounties that had not achieved Uganda’s interim national rural target of 58 percent improved sanitation
This map highlights the rural subcounties that had not attained the Uganda’s interim national rural target of 58 percent of improved sanitation coverage (HSSP I) in 2002.
This map shows the spatial distribution of improved sanitation coverage data by subcounty.
Planners can use this map to identify areas of progress as well as underachieving locations.
Note: Seven subcounties in Kaabong District, all with safe drinking water coverage below 20 percent, are not shown in this map because reliable poverty estimates were not available for 2005.
This map highlights the rural subcounties with safe drinking water coverage rates below 60 percent.
This map shows the proportion of the rural subcounty population with safe drinking water coverage.
Greater meat consumption and demand for fossil fuels worldwide are expected to cause increasingly more harmful algal blooms and dead zones in coastal and freshwater areas.
A new report of scientific findings confirms not only that human activity is the primary cause of rising temperatures, but that climate change impacts are accelerating.
10 G Street NE Suite 800,
Washington, DC 20002, USA /
Phone +1 (202) 729-7600 /
Fax +1 (202) 729-7610 | <urn:uuid:32cd5a82-b5c4-456b-b926-ce74ac2748d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wri.org/topics/africa?page=6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909049 | 539 | 2.859375 | 3 |
There are three main types of archaea: the crenarchaeota (kren-are-key-oh-ta), which are characterized by their ability to tolerate extremes in temperature and acidity. The euryarchaeota (you-ree-are-key-oh-ta), which include methane-producers and salt-lovers; and the korarchaeota (core-are-key-oh-ta), a catch-all group for archaeans about which very little is known. Among these three main types of archaea are some subtypes, which include:
Methanogens (meth-an-oh-jins) — archaeans that produce methane gas as a waste product of their "digestion," or process of making energy.
Halophiles (hal-oh-files) — those archaeans that live in salty environments.
Thermophiles (ther-mo-files) — the archaeans that live at extremely hot temperatures.
Psychrophiles (sigh-crow-files) — those that live at unusually cold temperatures.
Then microbiologist Carl Woese devised an ingenious method of comparing genetic information showing that they could not rightly be called bacteria at all. Their genetic recipe is too different.
So different Woese decided they deserved their own special branch on the great family tree of life, a branch he dubbed the Archaea. | <urn:uuid:9a3639f0-5085-4f21-b980-7ee7723a5099> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.microbeworld.org/component/content/article/42-what-is-a-microbe-sp-828/types-of-microbes/149-archaea | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922887 | 289 | 3.96875 | 4 |
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League issues social media guidelines
The Premier League have revealed new guidelines for social media by players, on the afternoon the Football Association charged Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong with improper conduct relating to recent comments on Twitter.
The 20-year-old responded to a Tottenham fan on July 15 and although he shortly removed the comment from the social networking site, it did not escape the attention of the FA.
They issued a statement which read: "Arsenal's Emmanuel Frimpong has been charged under FA Rule E3 for improper conduct in relation to recent comments made on Twitter."
It continued: "The allegation is that Frimpong posted comments amounting to improper conduct and/or which brought the game into disrepute, which included a reference to ethnic origin, faith or race. The player has until 4pm on 27 July 2012 to respond to the charge."
Arsenal confirmed the player had been "reminded of his responsibilities when representing the club", which Press Association Sport understands included internal disciplinary action.
While many top-flight clubs have their own social media rules, after requests from some teams the Premier League have - following several months work which included consultation with the Professional Footballers' Association and FA - now put together guidelines which set out clear direction to players on the use of social media.
Those focus on a number of areas including: the benefits of using social media to engage with supporters, understanding the potential audience of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, understanding that it is possible to commit offences online via social media and advice on the endorsement of brands, goods and services.
The guidelines also reminded players of prohibiting confidential information about team selection, injuries or tactics from being disclosed on social media and outlined the FA regulatory role in respect of disciplinary action that can be taken against players who make improper comments on social media websites.
The Premier League, though, views the use of social media as generally positive and chief executive Richard Scudamore said in a recent interview on the subject: "Social media is doing a good job of allowing fans to feel closer to the players. There is a more human side now to some of the players and the public can communicate more directly with them.
"Clearly it isn't the same as texting your best mate or talking to someone in person and sometimes there can be abusive comments, but generally the internet, online chat rooms, and the way people are communicating is healthy." | <urn:uuid:454e028f-246f-43e0-85c0-dd20f704732a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/sport/national/sport/9834967.League_issues_social_media_guidelines/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960047 | 514 | 1.546875 | 2 |
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - Did you make a resolution to be healthier in 2013? 47% of people make self-improvement related resolutions starting right after New Year's Eve but only 8% of people are successful in achieving their goals.
Right at the top of the list? Losing those last 10 pounds.
Brenda Booth, of Body One Wellness, joined KARE 11 News @4 with some simple but effective tips to finally say goodbye to the tough ten.
1. Eat More Fruits and Veggies by Juicing-
Brenda says to giving your body the daily vitamins and minerals by juicing.
2. Spend More Time Around the Dinner Table.
3. Drink Fewer Calories-
Brenda says to cut out the soda and try for a healthier alternative. She also says it's all on the label. Always look for "all-natural" and "no preservatives" drinks.
4. Consume Less Coffee-
Brenda says a healthier alternative to coffee is Tea!
(Copyright 2013 by KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) | <urn:uuid:5a84ab91-1ae5-4d05-9fd3-49ea808d7539> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kare11.com/news/newsatfour/article/1004821/323/Losing-those-last-10-pounds-in-2013 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909341 | 238 | 1.96875 | 2 |
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DoE forges ahead in green trend
Monday - 7/9/2012, 7:06pm EDT
Special to Federal News Radio
Changes to the Energy Department Forrestal Building, the centerpiece of the department's headquarters complex, will save an estimated $600,000 annually.
"Through the installation of the new chiller plant, we're saving money on our air conditioning bills with more efficient equipment while providing much more reliable air conditioning to our critical facilities", said Peter O'Konski, the director for the department's Office of Administration, in a release. "That's good for our environment, our customers and our bottom line."
Energy used an Energy Savings Performance Contract, which is a public-private partnership with NORESCO, to construct the chiller plant. This contract lets the department apply industry best practices and use private financing for the project, according to a blog post on Energy.gov. Recovery of the financing costs comes from the energy savings.
The partnership, in addition, will introduce improvements such as LED exterior lights, steam-trap repairs and a variable air-volume system that are expected to save $59.5 million over the long term.
These improvements are part of the way the agency says it's meeting Secretary Steven Chu's energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals established in support of Executive Order 13514 Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance.
To adhere to its sustainability commitment, the department recently replaced its aging roofs at Forrestal. According to the blog, the new, cool roofs reflect heat and reduce the energy needed for cooling — saving more money and improving comfort. DoE's Germantown office is completing a similar cool roof installation this year.
In 2010, Chu required the agency to install cool roofs at DOE facilities. Chu announced this initiative will demonstrate the benefits of cool roofs and display the government leading the nation toward a more sustainable building practices, "while reducing the federal carbon footprint and saving money for taxpayers."
In the Office of Management and Budget's 2011 sustainability scorecard, DoE's sustainability-energy efforts earned a green score for its efforts to meet the emission reduction target and use renewable energy. But the agency earned red scores in the green building and petroleum usage categories.
DoE is trying to improve its low score in green building sustainability efforts by installing 126 new cool roofs on its buildings around the country this year.
Taeja Smith is an intern with Federal News Radio. | <urn:uuid:4fde28c1-b7b1-4113-91e5-076d307c75dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.federalnewsradio.com/124/2936461/DoE-forges-ahead-in-green-trend | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9027 | 648 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Waterproof... Sweat proof... Sunblock... These terms are so widely used on sunscreen labels that we have become blind to their meaning. Many consumers grab the bottle with the most "proofs" and the highest SPF and call it good.
Well, this "no-brainer mindset" concerning sunscreens will soon be a thing of the past. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on June 14, 2011 new requirements for all over-the-counter sunscreens. These new regulations are aimed at improving the effectiveness of sunscreen products currently being sold, and make them easier for consumers to identify and use.
The new FDA sunscreen requirements address UVA and UVB protection, as well as the water and sweat proof claims. Certain terms like (you guessed it!) "waterproof", "sweat proof" and "sunblock" will no longer be permitted on sunscreen labels, as the FDA sees these claims as misleading. The new terminology you will come to recognize will be "water resistant" and "very water resistant".
What is the new water resistant requirement?
In these new rules, which go into effect next year, water resistance claims on product labels must state how long the user can expect the specified SPF protection to hold up while swimming or sweating. Manufacturers are allowed to claim how long their products are water resistant, based on standard testing.
How are products tested for water resistance?
A sunscreen claiming to be water resistant must pass third party testing. This test involves applying sunscreen to human volunteers. After at least 15 minutes of drying time, the volunteer is immersed to mid-back in gently flowing water between 25 and 32 degrees celsius. The subject stays immersed in water for 20 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of drying period. This is repeated again for a total of 40 minutes of water immersion, for the 40 minute claim. The actual effectiveness of the sunscreen after the 40 minutes of water immersion is then measured. This is the SPF that can then be printed on the bottle of the sunscreen that claims 40 minutes of water resistance. Very resistant tests would repeat until a total of 80 minutes immersion is reached.
If a product carries no water resistance claims, the label must advise users to apply a water resistant sunscreen while swimming or sweating.
So, how often should you really reapply?
At least every 2 hours, according to the FDA. If a product is labeled "water resistant" reapply after 40 minutes of vigorous activity in water, after 80 for "very water resistant". Same goes if you have been sweating a lot or towel dry. Remember: It is always better to be safe than sorry. Here are sun safety tips straight from the FDA:
- Use sunscreens with broad spectrum SPF values of 15 or higher regularly and as directed.
- Limit time in the sun, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun's rays are most intense.
- Wear clothing to cover skin exposed to the sun; for example, long-sleeved shirts, pants, sunglasses, and broad-brimmed hats.
- Reapply sunscreen at least every 2 hours, more often if you're sweating or jumping in and out of the water. What about SPF?
The FDA has proposed capping SPF values at 50, unless the manufacturer can provide information supporting a higher number. This is due to no solid data showing SPF higher than 50 provides any further protection. Right now there are sunscreens on the market offering 100 SPF or higher.
SPF covers damage from UVB rays, the ones that cause sunburn. But the new FDA regulations require a sunscreen be tested for protection against the more harmful UVA rays, linked to premature aging and skin cancer. Products which protect against both UVA and UVB will be labeled "broad spectrum".
Which sunscreens provide the best sun protection?
Mineral Sunscreens containing healthy oils and waxes are naturally more water resistant. TRUE sunscreens are made with a special Zinc Oxide and provide serious sun protection and water resistance. Organic Soybean Oil, Sunflower Seed oil, and Jojoba oil boost water resistance and nurture skin. These oils also create a smoother application.
It may take up to a year for the new sunscreen labels to appear on store shelves. In the meantime purchasing a nontoxic mineral sunscreen is your best defense. | <urn:uuid:b149aef7-5788-4ba8-a221-c2578f598746> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lavera.com/blog/post/view/identifier/new-fda-rulings-on-water-resistant-sunscreen/?cat=182&certifications=234&page_id=new-fda-rulings-on-water-resistant-sunscreen%2F | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928585 | 905 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Today is Grandparents Day, when we pause to honor and celebrate a generation that is making enormous contributions to our families and our country. It’s also a holiday that I just recently learned has an official flower with a striking name: the forget-me-not. Sadly, it got me thinking about how often grandparents as caregivers and breadwinners are forgotten in this country, notably in our public policies.
Grandparents today face significant – and increasing – work and family responsibilities. Nearly four in 10 grandparents in the United States are now responsible for the care of their grandchildren. And more than half of the seven million grandparents who live with their grandchildren are in the workforce.
Grandparents also need and depend on care from family members who have jobs. In fact, in 2009, more than five million unpaid family caregivers in the United States were caring for a grandparent or grandparent-in-law.
But despite this growing pressure on grandparents and their caregivers, under current federal law, neither grandparents who care for grandchildren nor grandchildren who care for grandparents can take job-protected time off to meet their caregiving needs. And it is a terrible and often devastating problem for families.
That’s why lawmakers at all levels need to prioritize and advance family friendly workplace policies that would support grandparents. At the federal level, there are already proposals in Congress that would help tremendously. The Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act and the Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act would expand access to unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to grandparents so that both working grandparents and employed family caregivers can take job-protected leave when caregiving needs arise.
But giving grandparents and their caregivers access to unpaid leave isn’t enough. These workers – and all workers – need access to paid time off in order to meet their caregiving responsibilities without jeopardizing their economic security. And that’s why passing national paid sick days legislation like the Healthy Families Act and a paid family and medical leave insurance program are absolutely critical.
So, this Grandparents Day, let’s remember all that grandparents do, and urge our elected officials as well as candidates for office to stand up for the family friendly workplaces policies the nation needs. The forget-me-not may be the official flower of Grandparents Day, but it shouldn’t reflect the ways our policies neglect grandparents’ contributions and needs. | <urn:uuid:dbbd7d65-c1b8-4d40-b9aa-2c1339b85e53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.nationalpartnership.org/index.php/2012/09/grandparents-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955054 | 482 | 2.21875 | 2 |
How to Maintain Your pH Balance in an Acidic Lifestyle
People are living longer today. The reason isn’t due to increased health, but more medical intervention. More than ever before, our bodies are under attack from a variety of cultural shifts, including highly processed foods, increased stress, fast-paced lifestyles, and pollutants. These threats are creating highly acidic environments within our bodies and killing the cells we need to survive.
The human body needs an oxygenated environment to remain healthy. The pH (potential of Hydrogen) measures the ratio of acidity or alkalinity in a solution. Balance occurs when the pH slightly favors the alkalis. Acid excess stresses the organs. Over-acidification, or acidosis, results when there is more acid than the body can neutralize and detoxify. The more acid we have, the harder the organs – like adrenals, thyroid, and liver – have to work, which stresses the systems.
Eating fast and processed foods – and eating them on the run – is a major contributor to excess acid. Diets that are heavy with red meats, caffeine, soda, snacks filled with carbohydrates and sugar, and artificial sweeteners and additives lead to acidosis.
The body is a healing machine by nature, so it fights back when high acidity occurs. To achieve balance, the blood takes alkaline minerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium – from the tissues. When those reserves are depleted, alkalizers are taken from bones and muscles. Acid surplus is then directed into tissues and organs (heart, colon, liver, and/or pancreas) for storage and the overload is pumped back into the blood – creating a vicious cycle of “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.
With high acidity, the oxygen level drops and vital cells die. Imagine fish trying to survive in an acidic pond. They can’t breathe. The same happens to the cells in the human body, which are living in a liquid environment. As more cells die, the body becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, parasites, fungus, and virus. The immune system weakens and disease results. Relatively mild symptoms of pH imbalance include:
• Skin eruptions and acne
• Colds and flu
• Joint pain and stiffness
• Nasal drip
• Hot flashes
• Dizziness and weak spells
• Weight gain or loss
• Chronic fatigue
When the pH imbalance continues or worsens, the severity of the disease increases. Osteoporosis, arthritis, heart attack, and even cancer have been shown to occur.
Solutions for better balance
Patients can avoid the distress of harboring an acidic environment by first identifying the problem and then making lifestyle adjustments to bring their biological terrain back into a healthy mode. A diet rich with leafy greens, fruits, vegetables, legumes, unprocessed foods, healthy grains (oats, quinoa, wild rice, amaranth), and natural sweeteners (stevia, raw honey) is a great start. Limit highly acidic animal proteins – particularly red meats and shellfish – and beverages such as coffee, black tea, soda, wine, and liquor. Choose fresh (not processed) juices. Snack on hazelnuts, almonds, raisins, grapes, and apples instead of cookies, candy, and crackers. Add a squirt of lemon or lime juice to beverages and vegetables for both flavor and the alkalizing effect of these citrus fruit (yes, even though they are acidic fruits, they process as alkali in the body). Use sea salt, which is richer in minerals than common table salt.
Nutritional supplements are also helpful for maintaining pH balance, but patients need to remember the key word here: “supplement”. They are not substitutes to a healthy diet, nor are all vitamins created equal. Look for a natural supplement – without dyes, allergens, and artificial preservatives – that is bio-available, meaning that the contents are readily absorbed into the body.
PH imbalance presents an ongoing threat to the health of your patients. Educate them as to the importance of making the right lifestyle choices and give them the tools to manage their pH levels. It’s easy to ignore pH levels, but the consequences can be harsh, if not deadly. | <urn:uuid:0172e8e4-2755-4e52-ac0f-22d3b2cf9deb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dreddyclinic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=47136 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922569 | 888 | 3 | 3 |
Consider this a kind of postscript to the last two posts. My personal view is that consciousness and mind are perfectly “natural” in the sense that no supernatural intervention was necessary to “insert” them into the process by which life developed. I take it that they emerged once living organisms became sufficiently complex, even though how this happened is still very incompletely understood. But at the same time, I think they are real features of the world and shouldn’t be explained away as mere epiphenomena. The temptation to treat them as such arises when theories or concepts are taken to be exhaustive descriptions of reality rather than abstractions that only capture certain aspects of it. So because consciousness, say, doesn’t lend itself to the kinds of measurement and quantification that have given theories in the physical sciences so much of their explanatory power, scientists (or more commonly philosophers and popularizers of science) sometimes dismiss it as somehow “less real.” What we need then is not an appeal to the supernatural to make room for mind, but an understanding of “nature” that is sufficiently rich to accommodate all the parts of our experience.
More specifically, I don’t think Christians have any theological stake in viewing mind or consciousness as somehow separate from nature. Even though most mainstream churches have made peace with evolution to some extent, there is still a tendency to make an exception for human minds. For instance, some theologians still insist that each human soul is directly created by God at the moment of conception. This not only seems to wreak havoc with the unity of the human person, but it undermines the observed continuity between humans and other animals. I think it’s preferable (and arguably more biblical) to see human beings as unitary organisms with both physical and mental aspects. Moreover, it seems more credible to think of God as creating a universe that already contains within it the seeds of consciousness and mind rather than as having to add them after the fact. | <urn:uuid:5c6b5b71-b426-4a5a-817a-255ff13c2675> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkingreed.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/for-what-its-worth/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=58edc31406 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969823 | 406 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Top . Learning 3D . Finding a Job . Demo Reels . The
THE BIG IDEA
The most important thing to remember in planning a career in 3D graphics
or computer animation is that it's what you bring to the computer,
not how well you fly the software, that will matter most to your work.
Most of the best 3D artists have some other visual arts background (such
as illustration, painting, sculpture, live action filmmaking, or 2D or
stop-motion animation) in addition to 3D experience. People with strong
traditional visual arts skills generally produce the best graphics and
animation, and get the best jobs, with the most creative control over their
|To see what it'll take, check out some 3D job descriptions on-line.
VFXpro.com is one of the best sources for
up-to-date 3D job listings.
Or go straight to the site of a 3D company, such as
Pacific Data Images
and check out the qualifications they are looking for in their recruiting section.
By saying "how well you fly the software" is not the most
important issue, I don't mean to trivialize it, either! It takes hundreds
of hours working in 3D before most artists can control the software well
enough to even let their own style show through, instead of the "computer
look" that so often takes over.
If you are learning about computer graphics for the first time, learn
2D tools first, such as Adobe Photoshop and After Effects, before doing
3D. This is not just a good foundation, but Photoshop is also a program
you're going to continue using during 3D projects.
Start with as many short, simple projects as you can, so that you can
go through the whole process of planning, modelling, texturing, lighting,
animating, rendering, and editing your work several times on short projects,
and learn to use a variety of software functions along the way.
I learned 3D by using my own Amiga to run some simple 3D programs at
home. Even at a top school that teaches 3D, much of what you learn will
be self-taught, as a result of spending time creating your work on the
If you're setting up a home-based system to learn 3D, don't go spending
huge piles of money. A package like Hash or Lightwave should be fine for
most people, and will teach you the skills you will use in any other system.
The Motion Picture Screen Cartoonist's Union Local 839 has a list of animation schools.
Pixar's Recruiting Page has another list of schools for aspiring character animators.
I got my MFA in Film at the Art Center College of Design, located in Pasadena,
CA. Art Center has a rare combination of one of the best Silicon Graphics
facilities in any school, and knowledgable, professional instructors. It's
one of the best places in the world to learn Alias. Most of the students
taking Computer Graphics courses are majoring in something other than computer
graphics: you apply to a department (such as fine art, photo, industrial
design, film, illustration, or others) and then do some of your work on
the computers. It seems as though almost as many Illustration and Design
majors from Art Center can now be found working in the entertainment industry
as Film majors. The work is hard, the school is expensive, and it is difficult
to get in. Most of the students in the main undergraduate program have
had some college before attending. Being within commuting distance of Hollywood
was an enourmous advantage for me in making connections while I was in
school, and getting a job immediately upon graduating.
I highly recommend that you request a catalog:
Art Center College of Design, 1700 Lida St., Pasadena, CA 91103.
This spring term, I am teaching a couse at The California Institute of
the Arts (Cal Arts). Cal Arts is another well-regarded Southern California
art school. Different departments and majors are available: Cal Arts does
not have design departments like Art Center, but has departments of Music,
Character Animation and Experimental Animation. While Art Center may have
more advanced computer classes, and a better regarded Illustration department,
Cal Art's focus on character animation is far ahead of Art Center's more
limited animation courses. Cal Arts was partially funded by Walt Disney
and focuses on animation, with and without using computers. Cal Arts is
in Valencia, California, further out of town than Art Center.
For more info:
FINDING A JOB
Focus on finding a specific match between yourself and a company. Companies
have specific positions to fill, to do a specific job. It doesn't matter
if you are the world's best modeller, if you are applying to a company
that only needs someone to write renderman shaders, they won't take you
if you can't do that job. This might seem like common sense, but a lot
of students, and hobbiests trying to turn professional, seem to send off
their tapes blindly to companies they have heard of, without any thought
about the job descriptions and requirements of the company. Landfills full
of VHS tapes, and thousands of hours of company time scanning through reels,
are wasted because of this.
There are a lot of different positions. Some require a certain amount
of production experience, others are entry level. Some require that you
know a specific software package (especially true at smaller companies,
where they can't afford to hire someone who isn't going to be able to get
work done). Others will train you in their software after you are hired,
and hire based on artistic qualifications as a character animator, texture
map painter, etc.
Some positions are very specialized, especially at larger studios and
for feature film work. One person or department might spend years just
building 3D models, which would then be textured, lit, animated, and rendered
in different departments. Most of the companies that are big enough that
everyone has heard of them, also have labor broken down into an "assembly-line"
style production process, where one artist would only be working on a small
part of what goes into a final frame of the film.
Others jobs are more general, especially at smaller companies and game
developers, where one artist might be given his own shot to animate from
scratch, or her own environment to design and render. Knowing a range of
skills, from modelling to compositing, would be a big plus at these companies.
See the animation job openings (CG & non-CG) in "Career Connections" hosted by Animation World Network.
The organization Women
In Animation has a useful web site with profiles of people's careers.
Visit some company web sites:
Blue Sky | VIFX
Sony Pictures Imageworks
Pacific Data Images
Rhythm & Hues
For lots more up-to-date links, see www.vfxhq.com.
Some positions require that employees sign a long-term contract, binding
them to work for the company for a specified number of years. Some (most)
positions can have very long hours, so getting paid by the hour or getting
extra for overtime can have advantages.
Think about what's important to you, and what you are ready for. I am
now working on a freelance basis, but started out on a full-time salary
until I had a number of connections and a strong demo reel.
YOUR DEMO REEL AND RESUME
Your demo reel's purpose is to show that you can do the job. If you
are applying for a character animation job, don't send tapes of spaceships
and flying logos. Be very clear on a written page about what you yourself
did, especially if any of the work on your tape is collaborative.
Transferring drawings, designs, sculpture or other non-CG art onto the
tape can be appropriate if it is relevant to the job, and shows some of
your best work.
Put your best stuff first, and keep it short, with only your best work.
My demo tape is now about 2 minutes long.
Don't bother with color printing or fancy sleeves. Put your name and
contact info on the tape label, in case it is separated from your resume.
RECOMENDED READING: Professional opinions on demo reels, from 3D Ark.
FAQ: Demo Reels
Be clear and straightforward on your resume. Don't pad or exagerate what
you've been doing. If you want to show how important some experience was
to you, use bullets to say what you did (ie. after listing your job or
internship, say -administered this -created that -improved this -studied
this, etc.) to describe what you have accomplished. Don't put down anything
that might make your interviewer think you were being dishonest, even after
you have discussed that specific item in detail.
THE JOB MARKET
There is a global shortage of character animators, and of skilled artists
who can apply their skills on a computer. At the same time, there are also
a lot of people trying to break into the industry. With recent closings
of some studios, entry level jobs are not as plentiful as they once were.
A few years ago, simply knowing how to run a high-end 3D package was almost
a guarantee of finding a job. In a more mature industry, other factors
such as artistic talent, and production experience, are more important.
You will hear stories about the terrific amounts of money that some
CG animators make. Some of us are making a good living from this, but remember
that your earning potential will be much higher once you have more production
experience than when you're just starting out.
The best (and possibly the only) way to predict how good you'll be,
and gauge your personal chances of sucess, before you fully master 3D,
is to look at the artistic skills you are bringing with you. Now, and for
years to come, there will be creative and rewarding careers in this industry
for many artists who pursue them.
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