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Posted 2:00 PM 2/11/2013 by By Maureen Salamon
MONDAY, Feb. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Antibiotics used to fatten farm animals pose a steep threat to global health, spawning drug-resistance genes that end up in fertilizer, compost and groundwater and squash antibiotics' ability to fend off human diseases, suggests a new study from China.(More)...
Posted 12:00 PM 2/8/2013 by Robert Preidt
FRIDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Death, taxes ... and bedbugs?
Infestations of bedbugs are on the rise in the United States and elsewhere, and while people are "bedbug magnets," the tiny pests are hard to detect, an expert says.
One in five Americans has had a bedbug infestation (More)
Posted 3:00 PM 2/7/2013 by Robert Preidt
THURSDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- While daily dialysis can boost the overall health of kidney disease patients, it also can put them at higher risk for certain complications, a new study finds.
About 2 million people worldwide receive dialysis treatments. In dialysis, patients use a (More)
Posted 3:00 PM 2/6/2013 by By Maureen Salamon
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A daily swabbing with a simple antiseptic greatly decreases the number of life-threatening bloodstream infections and drug-resistant bacteria lurking among patients in acute-care hospital units, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that bathing (More)
Posted 2:00 PM 2/4/2013 by By Alan Mozes
MONDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- A new analysis did not unearth any evidence to support concerns that neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's might be infectious.
The finding stems from a review of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease risk among people who had received (More)
Posted 7:00 AM 2/2/2013 by Mary Elizabeth Dallas
SATURDAY, Feb. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Antibiotic resistance is taking a toll on the $15 billion ornamental fish industry, according to a new study.
The findings raise concerns that treatments for these fish, which are often raised and sold as pets for personal aquariums, may not be (More)
Posted 2:00 PM 2/1/2013 by Mary Elizabeth Dallas
FRIDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Non-melanoma skin cancers are more common among people who are HIV-positive, according to new research.
The study found that basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, two of the most common forms of cancer in the United States, occur more than twice as (More)
Posted 3:00 PM 1/31/2013 by Robert Preidt
THURSDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Each injection drug user with hepatitis C is likely to infect about 20 other people, and half of those transmissions occur in the first two years after the initial infection, new research shows.
The findings indicate that early diagnosis and treatment (More) | <urn:uuid:9bdea63b-8df2-4255-9ae6-a83e051e1465> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.koaa.com/category/healthday-infectious-disease/page/3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90725 | 667 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Caruso, Enrico (kərōˈsō, Ital. änrēˈkō kärōˈzō) [key], 1873–1921, Italian operatic tenor, b. Naples. The natural beauty, range, and power of his voice made him one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. He studied for three years with Guglielmo Vergine and made his operatic debut in Naples in 1894. His first major success came in London in 1902, and he achieved even greater triumph with his American debut in 1903 at the Metropolitan Opera as the duke in Rigoletto. He remained the reigning favorite at the Metropolitan until a short time before his death (from pleurisy). He sang more than 50 roles in Italian and French operas, such as La Traviata, Aida, La Bohème, Tosca, and Carmen. After his death his recordings perpetuated his fame.
See biographies by D. P. B. Caruso (new ed. 1963) and S. Jackson (1972).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Enrico Caruso from Infoplease:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Music: History, Composers, and Performers: Biographies | <urn:uuid:0b743244-bf8c-4971-8a59-82d789a8a228> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/people/caruso-enrico.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945477 | 287 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have created paint larded with aluminum-iron oxide, which block electromagnetic waves.
This is nothing new though, as RF-blocking paints have been available for a number of years now. Indeed, EM-SEC Technologies successfully tested its own RF-blocking paint back in March 2007 to shield wireless devices and other electronic equipment within a building.
But what the New Scientist is reporting is that existing technologies are becoming increasingly obsolete as companies are now using new, higher frequencies to send data. For example, the best wave absorbers commercially available today are only effective up to around 50GHz.
It’ll be cheap, according to the scientists, as they collaborating with a real paint company to make the stuff in the first place: about $14 a kilo. | <urn:uuid:ab9e3b54-992c-4a36-bb3f-32790bee95b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/01/27/antiradio-paint-deve.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955823 | 160 | 2.328125 | 2 |
February is Macular Degeneration Awareness Month
Macular degeneration is an issue that has personally affected our family. My paternal grandmother has macular degeneration and she has lost much of her sight due to this disease. My father also has some early signs, drusen, which are yellow deposits under the retina that a doctor can find using a dilated eye examination. The kind of macular degeneration that occurs with aging is abbreviated AMD, which is short for Age-Related Macular Degeneration. AMD destroys the central vision necessary for activities like reading or driving. A recent study from Prevent Blindness America and the National Eye Institute has shown that women are at twice the risk of losing their sight, compared to men. My grandmother’s AMD is severe enough that she cannot see clearly to look at pictures of my children. She can grasp vague and general details when she sees the children in person, such as their fair hair and complexion. She can no longer read, or pay her own bills. She needs assistance to shop for her groceries. So AMD affects many of the basic tasks that an older adult needs to perform in order to maintain independence. So with a strong family history, I felt it was prudent to research strategies to prevent macular degeneration. Here are my findings.
Many researchers have found a link between poor nutrition and macular degeneration. The Beaver Dam Eye Study showed an increased risk for macular degeneration in patients with the lowest levels of the antioxidant lycopene, found in certain fruits and vegetables. In the Eye Disease Case Control Study higher serum carotenoid (beta carotene) levels showed a protective effect against macular degeneration. In patients with high antioxidant blood levels, the Macular Degeneration Risk Factor Study found less of the most serious type of macular degeneration.
A study published by Dr. David Newsome in the Archives of Ophthalmology in February 1988, showed vision was less likely to deteriorate in macular degeneration patients who were treated with zinc supplementation. Zinc was studied because retinal zinc concentrations are usually high, and zinc is an important cofactor in retinal enzymes (such as retinol dehydrogenase and catalase). Another study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (9 Nov 1994) showed that consumption of foods rich in the specific carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin resulted in the most reduced risk for macular degeneration. Dark green, leafy vegetables, such as collard greens and spinach, are especially rich in these carotenoids and were specifically linked to substantially reduced risk. This study controlled for smoking and other risk factors. Smoking appears to increase macular degeneration risk.
According to the AREDS Study (Age-Related Eye Disease Study) vitamin supplements can have a protective effect against the advancement of existing macular degeneration. Patients were given one of four treatments of zinc, antioxidants alone, a combination, and a placebo. The specific daily amounts of antioxidants and zinc used were 500mg of vitamin C; 400IU of vitamin E; 15 milligrams of beta carotene, which is equivalent to 25,000 IU of vitamin A as beta carotene; 80 milligrams of zinc; and two milligrams of copper (see multivitamin below). In the AREDS study, this combination reduced the chance of developing advanced ARMD by 25% and preserve vision by 19%.
Harvard researchers have found that patients consuming 5-7 servings of green, leafy vegetables which contain high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin, have a lower chance of developing macular degeneration. They comprise the two dominant yellow pigments in the macula, the center of our vision and the site where macular degeneration occurs and filter out visible blue light which may cause photodamage. Here, and also listed above, is a high quality supplement containing a rare blend of alpha-carotene, astaxanthin, beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin delivering of a broad spectrum of carotenoids. A sufficient dosage should be taken to provide 25,000 IU of beta carotene, per the AREDS recommendation. Since oxidation and free radical damage is thought to contribute to ARMD (Age Related Macular Degeneration) supplementation clearly has it’s value.
The National Eye Foundation also encourages the use of daily multivitamins because they provide other essential nutrients not contained in the AREDS formulation. These quality multivitamin formulas are well balanced and provide the 2 mg of copper that is recommended to prevent copper deficiency anemia, a condition associated with high levels of zinc intake. The amounts of the key nutrients recommended by AREDS would be very difficult to obtain from diet alone. Remember that no amount of vitamin supplements will take the place of a healthy diet, but they can be an important tool to increase nutrient levels and provide extra insurance. Be aware that multivitamins that state they contain 100% of the minimum daily requirements: vitamin C 60mg, beta-carotene 5000 IU; vitamin E 30 IU; and zinc 15mg, are not sufficient. These doses are far below that used in AREDS. Patients with AMD may need far more than the 100% daily requirements. A multivitamin complements the AREDS formula, it does not replace it.
It is very important to recieve regular eye examinations from an eye care professional. Early detection of macular degeneration is crucial in order to preserve vision. For “dry AMD” the most common early sign is blurred vision. It becomes more difficult to see details in front of you, such as faces or words in a book. Often this blurred vision will go away in brighter light. As AMD advances there becomes a blind spot in the middle of the field of vision, which will enlarge over time. For “wet AMD” the classic early symptom is that straight lines appear crooked, caused by fluid from the leaking blood vessels behind the macula. A small blind spot may also appear resulting in loss of one’s central vision. For more information, visit the Macular Degeneration Foundation.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. | <urn:uuid:2834fa55-94ca-48b9-ab47-17ddfccd98a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jstevens.wordpress.com/tag/what-is-macular-degeneration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93858 | 1,300 | 2.671875 | 3 |
At Campbell Attorneys we understand the sensitivity surrounding the many areas of family and matrimonial law. We accordingly will approach your mandate within this framework.
We will be able to assist you in the most effective way in respect of the following areas:
- Other family related matters
- Co-habitation Agreements
- Domestic Violence
- Ante Nuptial Contracts
Matrimonial Property Regimes
There are three types of matrimonial property regimes: -
A) Marriage in community of property
B) Marriage out of community of property
C) Marriage out of community of property, with accrual.
A) MARRIAGE IN COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY
If an Ante-nuptial contract (ANC) is not signed prior to the marriage, the marriage is automatically in community of property. Any property owned or acquired prior to the marriage or acquired during the marriage ceases to be privately owned by the spouses and forms part of the Joint Estate. Each spouse has equal powers with regard to the disposal of the assets of the joint estate. Assets are equally shared and spouses are jointly and severally liable for all debts incurred by either spouse.
Advantage: each spouse enjoys financial equality. Consent of spouses are required before certain assets can be disposed off or alienated and in some cases, formal consent is required.
Written consent is essential for example when selling property, obtaining a mortgage bond, alienating or pledging investments or binding oneself as surety etc.
In addition, spouses married in community of property, require written consent of a spouse to institute or defend legal proceedings against third parties except:-
a) in respect of separate properties of either spouse,
b) for recovery of damages other than financial loss caused by a delict and
c) matters relating to his/her profession, trade or business.
If consent is unreasonably withheld, spouses have the option of approaching the High Court for relief.
On death or divorce the joint estate will be divided equally between the spouses.
Disadvantage: spouses are jointly and severally liable for expenses/debts of the other spouse. Should one spouse be declared insolvent, for example, the assets of the joint estate are attached and sold to settle the debts of the insolvent spouse.
B) MARRIAGE OUT OF COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY
Prior to the marriage, spouses will sign an Ante-nuptial Contract, whereby community of profit and loss is specifically excluded. Each spouse retains exclusive ownership of assets acquired prior to and during the marriage.
Spouses have absolute autonomy to deal with property / assets as they will. They can however jointly own assets / property should they wish to.
A fundamental advantage of this matrimonial property regime is each spouse is only liable for their own debts. Creditors, even in an insolvent estate of a spouse, cannot attach assets of the other spouse.
On death or divorce the estates of the spouses remain separate. Any assets owned by the spouses prior to marriage, stays their property at the end of the marriage. If a spouse dies, the surviving spouse does not have a claim against the deceased estate.
Couples married in terms of an ANC, without accrual, still owe each other a duty of support and are legally obliged to financially support a spouse who is unable to support himself.
This type of property regime is recommended for parties who have acquired substantially large estates/ incomes, which they wish to protect.
C) MARRIAGE OUT OF COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY, WITH ACCRUAL
In terms of the Matrimonial Property Act of 1984 the accrual system will automatically apply to any marriage, after 1984, unless the parties specifically exclude the accrual in an ANC.
The accrual system recognises that both spouses, during the lifespan of the marriage, will contribute to the joint estate, be it financially or by other means.
In addition the accrual system recognises that disadvantages could occur to one spouse, where for example, one spouse makes the decision to stay at home to care for the children/home and the other spouse continues working. Usually the spouse who remains at home has made a lesser financial contribution to the joint estate, despite having contributed in other ways to the growth of the joint estate.
The accrual system allows for both spouses to benefit from the growth of the joint estate, whether they contributed directly or indirectly to the growth of the estate.
During the marriage each party has complete control over their assets. Each party is liable for their own debts and creditors cannot attach the assets of the other spouse.
On death or divorce, any increase to the value of both estates is shared equally between the spouses. The benefit of the accrual system is that the spouse who shows a smaller accrual has a claim against the other spouse for an amount equal to half the difference between the accrual of the respective estates of the spouses.
If a spouse feels that the other spouse has entered into a transaction that might prejudice the accrual, the aggrieved spouse can apply to court for an immediate division of the accrual.
Parties can be divorced on one of two grounds
1. the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage or
2. the mental illness or continuous unconsciousness of one partner.
A marriage can irretrievably breakdown for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the parties having not lived as man and wife for a period of time, where there is abuse by one party of another (physical, sexual, verbal etc), the abuse of drugs and/or alcohol, parties no longer share any common interests, have lost all love and affection for one another and wish to be divorced.
In respect of the mental illness, the spouse seeking the divorce will be obliged to show to the court that the other spouse was admitted to or detained in a mental institution. In addition it must be shown that the person was institutionalised for at least two years and medical experts’ judge there is no chance of recovery.
Issues arising from a divorce action can include maintenance, access and care to the children, division of the joint estate etc.
Often defended divorce matters take more than a year to be finalised and in Durban, parties can wait between 18 months – 2 years for a trial date to be allocated. However if spouses act sensibly and are receptive towards negotiation, a settlement agreement can be expeditiously drafted and concluded. In such instances, the divorce is unopposed and spouses can be divorced within months of conclusion of the agreement.
In some instances, while waiting for a trial date or finalization of negotiations, spouses require maintenance and the resolution of the issue of care and access to the children.
Rule 43 Applications, in the High Court, are often utilised to bring interim relief to litigants and frequently result in settlement of the main action.
A Rule 43 Application can be instituted to obtain an order for maintenance pende lite (maintenance for spouse and/or children), interim care and access as well as to attain an order for a contribution towards legal costs.
Where spouses are unable to agree on the arrangements regarding care and access of the minor children, the Office of Family Advocate will be called upon to intervene. The Family Advocate will conduct an investigation and will compile a Report for the High Court, setting out its recommendations for care and access arrangements.
Further more a Rule 43 Application can be brought prior to summons having been issued.
PARENTAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF UNMARRIED FATHERS OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
Prior to the Children’s Act, a natural father of children born out of wedlock would not have had an automatic entitlement to parental authority and rights over the minor child. The rights of unmarried fathers were previously regulated by the Natural Fathers of Children Born out of Wedlock Act of 1997. This act has since been repealed in entirety by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.
As the law currently stands, natural fathers need longer apply to the High Court to acquire parental rights and responsibilities. Section 21 of the Children’s Act (which came into operation in July 2007), allow natural fathers to automatically acquire parental rights and responsibilities if the following requirements are met: -
1) he must be or have been living in a permanent life partnership with the child’s mother at the time the child was born or
2) if he does not meet the requirement above then
a) he must consent to being identified as the child’s father or must apply to be identified as the father or must pay
damages in terms of customary law and
b) he contributes or has tried to contribute to the child’s upbringing for a reasonable period and
c) contributes or tried to contribute towards the child’s maintenance for a reasonable period.
If the parties are in dispute regarding the satisfaction of the aforementioned requirements, the matter can be referred for mediation. In the event of mediation being unsuccessful, the parties can approach the High Court for appropriate relief.
APPLYING FOR A MAINTENANCE ORDER
Parents, whether married or not, are under an obligation and have a legal duty to support their children, until the children have reached an age of majority or is self supporting.
Application, on behalf of the minor child, is made by the parent (applicant) who has care of the minor child, to the Magistrate’s Court having jurisdiction. This is established according to the area in which the minor child resides.
The application, which can be obtained from the Maintenance Court, is accompanied by a sworn affidavit, in which the Applicant confirms that he/she requires maintenance from the other party (Respondent), either for himself/herself and/or for the minor child. The Applicant will be obliged to make a full disclosure regarding her financial status (i.e. income and investments) and to detail the monthly expenses of both the minor child and that of the Applicant.
The papers are then served on the Respondent, who is entitled to oppose the application on the basis that the needs of the child do not warrant a contribution, towards the upkeep of the child and/or the Respondent is unable to afford the contribution being claimed.
In the event of a dispute the matter is referred to a Maintenance Officer for mediation. If the matter is incapable of settlement it will be enrolled for trial and presided over by a Magistrate.
An application for maintenance is designed for persons to commence the procedure without the assistance of an attorney, especially in circumstances where finances are a concern. However it is advisable that should the matter be enrolled for trial, you engage the services of an attorney.
Once a child has reached the age of majority, has been emancipated or becomes self supporting the Respondent is no longer under a legal duty to support the child. However once the child has reached the age of majority, but is not self supporting, the child is entitled to bring an application, in their own name, for maintenance. The same procedures as above will apply.
In addition to claiming maintenance for the minor child, the Maintenance Act makes provision for the application for spousal maintenance. Spouses, who are married, divorced or persons, who have a legal duty to support one another, will be permitted to bring an application for maintenance.
Note however, in the case of divorce, the Maintenance Court has concurrent jurisdiction, with the High Court, to enforce an order for maintenance.
A word of caution, ensure that the Order for Divorce makes provision for the claim of maintenance. Once parties have been divorced, and no provision for maintenance was obtained in the order, the duty to support each other no longer exists. You may be faced with a situation of being unable to support yourself and without recourse to claim assistance from your previous spouse.
Domestic violence is described as brutal and aggressive behaviour in families and relationships, where there should normally be care between the persons concerned. Domestic violence takes place where the complainant, who is in a domestic relationship with the perpetrator, suffers harm by the perpetrator, who commits the acts of domestic violence. These acts include, but are not limited to: -
1. physical abuse;
2. sexual abuse;
3. emotional / psychological or verbal abuse – which is described as a pattern of degrading or humiliating conduct
which may consist of:-
repeated insults, ridicule, name calling and/or
threats to cause emotional pain
4. intimidation by uttering or conveying threat or causing the complainant to receive a threat which induces fear;
5. harassment (including stalking) – consisting of a pattern of conduct which induces fear of harm to the complainant,
making telephone calls, whether or not conversations ensue and/or inducing another to do so
sending, delivering or causing the delivery of letters, telegrams, packages, faxes, e-mails or objects to the complainant
6. economic abuse (including destruction or damage to property)
Note: threats or attempts to carry out any of the above acts will be considered by the court as domestic violence.
If a complainant suffers harm, in a manner, as aforementioned, he/she will be entitled to make application, on oath, to court, for the granting of a Protection Order, against the perpetrator. The court will order the perpetrator to immediately stop his/her abusive behaviour, to stay away from the people being abused and in some cases, to leave the home altogether. Should the perpetrator fail to comply with the court order, it will be considered an offence and he/she will be arrested.
To obtain the protection of the court, as aforementioned, the parties concerned, must be in a domestic relationship, which is defined as: -
- a civil or customary marriage, a former marriage or an engagement to be married;
- a cohabitation relationship, where two people are or who were living together as if they were married;
- parents who have a child together, or are expecting a child together (regardless of whether they have ever lived together)
- parent and child
- any family member related by blood, marriage or adoption, as long as there is some actual connection between them, such
as financial dependency or sharing a household (including people who would be family members if a cohabiting couple
- any two people who are or were in an intimate or romantic relationship
In the event of the complainant and the abuser not falling into any of the above categories, the complainant has the option of laying a complaint with the police and requesting the abuser be charged with an offence alternatively request the police to issue a warning to the abuser.
Once it has been established that the complainant is entitled to apply for a Protection Order, the complainant will make the necessary application. Application forms will be obtained from the Magistrate’s Court, having jurisdiction in the matter.
If the magistrate is satisfied, that prima facie, there has been domestic abuse, an Interim Protection Order will be issued. The perpetrator (now called the Respondent), will be served with the court papers and given a date on which to appear at court, to oppose the Interim Order being confirmed. Until such time as the Protection Order is confirmed or set aside, the interim order has the effect of a final order. Should the Respondent act in contempt of the order he can be arrested.
If the Respondent intends opposing the Finalization of the Interim Order, he must serve on the Applicant (the complainant) a copy of his Affidavit, setting out the reasons for his opposition and file with the court the original affidavit.
The court having due regard to the affidavits, and after interviewing the parties can decide to confirm or set aside the interim order or can set the matter down for the hearing of oral evidence (which is essentially a trial)
Although the procedure for applying for a Protection Order is designed for complainants to act without legal representation, it is advisable to seek legal advice when preparing for the interview with the magistrate and to obtain legal representation when the matter is set down for the hearing of oral evidence.
Should you have any further queries or require assistance in respect of any matrimonial issues, please feel free to contact our office, to speak to our Family Law attorneys or to arrange a consultation.
We guarantee absolute discretion and empathy when dealing with all our clients, as we fully understand the sensitivity of each matter and the often traumatic experiences that have been endured. | <urn:uuid:20100cb0-2257-4b6d-9c21-22aa8bebc7b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.campbellattorneys.co.za/pages/29285 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955398 | 3,391 | 1.828125 | 2 |
I have a problem with the half-cent sales tax proposed for the construction and maintenance of our roads. There is no question the money is needed. The question is how it is to be raised? Heretofore, we have taxed gasoline on the reasoning that those who use should pay. With people driving less because of high gasoline prices and the efficiency of new cars, hybrids and all electric vehicles, revenues are actually declining. However, a sales tax should not be the answer. Sales taxes place an unfair burden on the poor and many who never use the roads directly. It seems to me that a fairer means of paying for our roads would be to tax users based on weight and mileage.
Let’s face it, heavy vehicles put more wear and tear on our roads than a Smart car or a Prius. Therefore, would it not make sense to tax users on a weight-miles basis? We know approximately what vehicles weigh, and if we reported our annual mileage as we do to register our vehicles, it would be fairly simple to calculate a fair tax. | <urn:uuid:8d797262-1569-4eea-a408-571c13e7fad7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://swtimes.com/sections/opinion/how-you-see-it/letters-weight-mileage-tax-makes-sense-highway-funding.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976352 | 217 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Going Organic: To Protect your Health by Sam Cohen
Why Go Organic? Part 1
Thinking about going organic? Organic foods have become more popular and easier to locate than ever in the last couple of years. Home gardeners have always known the joy of fresh, pesticide free fruits and vegetables, but now even those without the time or inclination to maintain a garden can find organic produce, beef, and poultry in their local grocery stores and through other outlets. Not so long ago, you would probably have grown very frustrated if you went in search for organic apples or carrots, but as more people have become increasingly concerned with maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the demand for organic foods has risen considerably. Organic produce delivery has become quite popular for busy households.
People who are interested in being as healthy as they can possibly be want to eat foods that are not contaminated with toxic metals, pesticides and the residue from antibiotic drugs that are fed to meat animals. They have learned that there are more than 3,000 potentially dangerous toxins in the United States food supply, and that there are laws in place that prevent foods labeled organic from containing these toxins. With this knowledge, it isn't surprising that organic food has become the fastest growing sector of America's farming and agriculture economy and more people are going organic.
There are seven chemicals in particular that are used on our crops that are known to be difficult or impossible for the body to expel. Not only are we eating these pesticide laden foods, but they are fed to the meat animals that we also use for food. When we eat these animals, we get another dose of these chemicals.
Organic food must meet certain standards in order to be certified as organic:
* No growth hormones may be used.
* No chemical pesticides are to be used for three years prior to the present year's growing season.
* No human waste or sewage sludge can be used as fertilizer.
* No genetic modification of any description will be tolerated.
In simpler terms, organic food must be produced as it was back on your grandfather's farm. Grandpa knew many ways to manage to grow a bumper crop of vegetables and fruit without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides! His cattle, pigs, and chickens ate good, clean grain that wasn't laced with hormones to make them grow faster and fatter and produce more meat, milk, and eggs. They weren't confined in tiny cages and stalls for their entire short lifespan.
It takes an awful lot of time and work to produce organic foods. This is one reason why their cost is higher than the mass produced produce and meat. Generally, organic farms are less than 100 acres and are operated by a family instead of a giant corporation.
It is vital for your present and future health to consume only organically grown produce and meat products that have been raised without the addition of hormones and antibiotics. The taste and quality of these foods is so much better than that of their counterparts that you will not sacrifice anything but the risk of health problems when you make the switch to going organic! If all consumers would demand organic foods and refuse to consume unhealthful alternatives, not only would prices of organics be forced to drop, but the people of the world would be much healthier!
About the Author
Sam Cohen (also known as Sam - The Fruit Man) is the owner of Organic Fruit & Veggie Club - organic produce delivery company providing hundreds of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Rhode Island residents with fresh and healthy organic fruit and vegetables
Go from Going Organic_Health to Superfoods
Go Back to Farming Articles
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Thoroton’s History of Nottinghamshire is now accessible online.
British History Online has made the history available on its free website. First appearing in 1677, and re-published by Throsby in three volumes a century later, it has been described as the first and greatest county history of Nottinghamshire.
The first volume covers the parishes of the hundreds of Rushcliffe, Bingham and Newark, while the second covers the city of Nottingham, Sherwood Forest, and the parishes of Broxtowe hundred. The third volume details the parishes of the hundreds of Bassetlaw, and Thurgarton and Lythe. In each volume, Thoroton’s original text is followed by that of Throsby. | <urn:uuid:2e1027f0-8aa5-42af-bacc-41f8ec201010> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://growyourownfamilytree.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/nottinghamshire-history-online/?like=1&_wpnonce=07995c002f | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916505 | 150 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Wild hops keep Central City's history alive
Who planted the hops vines that cover the hillsides around Central City? And when? Could they simply be a native species, or were they introduced by the beer-loving denizens of Central City after the Gold Rush of 1859 put the town on the map?
Dostal Alley owner Buddy Schmalz shows off the hops vines around his home.
Buddy Schmalz and Dave Thomas don't know the answers for sure, but they do know that the plants make a good beer, which Schmalz has been brewing at his Dostal Alley Brewpub (and casino!) since it opened in 1997.
"Every year, I see homebrewers come up here and pick bagfuls," he says, adding that the plants aren't hard to find. "I'm surprised there aren't more."
The beer, Jacob Mack, is named for the man who founded the Mack Brewery, one of six Central City breweries that helped settle miners' neves more than a hundred years ago. And while the Mack Brewery lies in ruins outside of town, the hops flourish.
Can the same be said for Central City itself? You can read about the town and its upscale, down-the-hill neighbor, Black Hawk, in Westword's current cover story. For photos of Central City's beer history, look below. | <urn:uuid:f5be0d07-6637-45c2-9e85-4aafe46c82be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2010/10/wild_hops_keep_central_citys_h.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96411 | 280 | 2.3125 | 2 |
THE electicity grid is so vulnerable to system shutdowns that its deficiencies and weaknesses could be viewed, in some instances, as an 'accident waiting to happen'.
The factors leading to the last islandwide blackout, not related to a natural disaster, was found to be "typical of those which precipitated the three earlier system shutdowns, including the first major incident in 2006", by the Office of the Utilities Regulations (OUR) investigation committee into electricity grid shutdown last August.
"While the initiating circumstances are different in each case, the underlying sequence of system collapse from generators and transmission circuits tripping follow a familiar and parallel path," said the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) Power System Integrity Investigation report, which was completed three weeks ago. "Human error and maintenance shortcomings have played a part, as well as manifested deficiencies in the islandwide grid and generation infrastructure."
Last August, lightning strikes at a pole located on the Duhaney to Naggo Head 69kilovolt (kV) transmission line, as Tropical Storm Ernesto passed nearby the island, led to a shutdown.
But it was the lack of a protection relay, which apparently malfunctioned or was removed from the system the April before, which was "primarily blamed for precipitating the subsequent island-wide system collapse.
Similarly, in 2006, the failure of distance relays to operate at Duncans substation following a lightning strike to the Duncans to Bogue 138kV transmission line caused a system-wide shutdown.
In 2008, a fault on the Duhaney to Tredegar 38kV transmission line wasn't cleared, after a pole fell to the ground.
The 2006 system shutdown was reviewed by Gowlings Consulting Incorporated and Rusnov Associates Limited, whose recommendations were complied with, in the main.
But the OUR technical staff believes that the most recent episode showed that where a "crucial protection relay was not repaired or replaced for some four months at Duhaney substation, that the intent of this system is not being achieved".
Either way, the Duhaney substation is considered to be a "major weak link in the transmission grid integrity" because it serves as the only link between generators in the Corporate Area with the generating plants in Old Harbour and Bogue, St James.
"Any failure on either the 138kV, or in particular the 69kV, is likely to precipitate an islandwide System shutdown," said the report.
The technical team found that the protective relaying system for the Duhaney substation was urgently in need of a complete review.
Also, "the 10 substations reported as not having SCADA visibility need to be put on the system as soon as possible".
The SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system allows control engineers to remotely monitor and control the power system, and JPS has 53 substations in all.
"The current philosophy for grid restoration, based on JPS documented policy and operating instructions currently in place, appears satisfactory to adequately address system restoration procedures following a partial or complete shutdown of the system," wrote the review committee.
However, the system restoration policy appears not to include a provision for a full analysis of the shutdown to be undertaken by technically competent personnel prior to grid restoration activities, in specific instances when the reason for the System shutdown is in doubt. It is recommended that the policy be revised to include analysis by technical personnel.
The committee did find the general system protection philosophy, which governs the basis of JPS's installation of protective relays at generating stations and also at substations for busbars, transformers and transmission line protection, to be "generally adequate and meets international standards for reliable utility operation".
"Nevertheless, it is recognised that the human factor plays an important role in the effectiveness of maintenance, together with the dedication to detail and a process of rigid management follow-up on defects is an issue of considerable concern," said the report. "Indeed, recent system shutdowns have highlighted this problem and JPS needs to urgently remedy the human factor in order to prevent a repeat occurrence."
In light of the frequency of total system shutdown events in the Jamaican power system (four in since 2006), the committee also recommends that the OUR considers the establishment of an on-going Grid Reliability Committee (GRC) as an added means of addressing issues impacting the reliability and security of the power system.
The group would meet regularly to identify items which currently threaten or could threaten grid integrity and ensure expediting of agreed remedies. | <urn:uuid:2ef79b8e-a88b-483c-8e43-c493b0280a76> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Accident-waiting-to-happen_13734625 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959574 | 925 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Both Analysys Mason and Ovum have published their analyses of the proposals set out in the recent report by the House of Lords Communications Committee, Broadband for all: an alternative vision. The Independent Networks Cooperative Association (INCA) and the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) have also published statements in response to the report.
Analysys Mason focuses its comments on the report's proposals for "a robust and resilient national network linked primarily by optical connectivity, bringing open access fibre-optic hubs into or within reach of every community." Analysys Mason offers some insight into what such an approach might cost, in the absence of any costings in the report, based on their previous calculations for the Broadband Stakeholder Group in September 2008:
"If the Government were to start by building open-access hubs to serve the most rural 10% of the UK – i.e. the part that is least likely to receive superfast broadband under existing broadband plans of local authorities – and if we assume that each hub serves around 300–400 premises (roughly the same number as an existing BT cabinet), then the total cost would be of the order of GBP1 billion. This figure does not include the cost of linking the hubs to each of the premises they are designed to serve."Clearly if it would cost around £1 billion for the final 10%, extending the approach to include more of the UK would cost a lot more. The statement goes on to point out that this figure is significantly more than the amount of public funding that has been committed by Government in support of the roll-out of superfast broadband across the UK. Analysys Mason believes that little additional public or private funding is likely to be forthcoming, and that such an approach risks delaying further private investment:
"Some additional funding may be available at the European Union level, but it seems unlikely that the operators themselves would contribute to the construction of a new open-access dark fibre network, as they would risk damaging the value of their own existing networks. Furthermore, the proposals might delay the roll-out of commercially funded networks, as operators would be likely to wait to see in which areas their planned infrastructure could be duplicated."Both ISP Review and ZDnet reported on Analysys Mason's statement. Ovum similarly acknowledges the lack of costings in the report, suggesting in its statement that its proposed solution "has already been dismissed as unworkable." Its statement also claims the report fails to take account of the fact that "access to BT’s network (both copper and fiber) is already available on equivalent and non-discriminatory terms and that winners of government funding must provide open wholesale access to their networks", in its analysis of the reasons for the apparent lack of competition in the marketplace.
In fairness, the House of Lords report does acknowledge the availability of Virtual Unbundled Local Access (VULA) in the form of Openreach's Generic Ethernet Access (GEA), a wholesale product in both FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) and FTTP (fibre to the premise) versions. ISPs can buy this service from Openreach as an implementation of the VULA requirement established by Ofcom to address the impracticability of Openreach offering full physical unbundling over its fibre local access networks. The report notes that GEA fails in what it regards as a particularly important aspect preventing smaller providers from competing locally with those with national scale:
"The most important criterion which GEA fails to meet—quite fundamentally—is the first (that the standards be open and industry-led) which, by extension, means that it cannot meet the second (be universally adopted). GEA is a closed, proprietary specification."The House of Lords report suggests that a set of appropriate alternative open standards already exists:
"While it is outside the scope of this report to define precisely what an open set of standards should specify, a set of industry-defined standards does already exist which, in our view, provide a very good model. These are the Active Line Access standards (ALA) fostered by Ofcom and defined by the UK’s Network Interoperability Consultative Committee (NICC), a technical forum for the UK communications sector that develops interoperability standards for public communications networks and services in the UK. They are designed to provide a standard interface marrying the needs of Communications Providers and Infrastructure providers in the UK..."The report asserts that the ALA standards meet all of the necessary criteria except "universal adoption", going on to suggest that:
"...the universal adoption of an open set of standards like Active Line Access is absolutely crucial in enabling local access network providers without national scale to compete with large-scale national networks like that of Openreach which envelope many parts of the country, and at present apply their own exclusive, proprietary specification, inaccessible to others."In summary, "ALA seems to provide a good initial standard, and a good model for the open standardisation process which is manifestly required." Returning to Ovum's analysis, it goes on to suggest that the Government should not be criticized for "giving time for market forces to play out", even if it has done so rather inadvertently as a result of delays in Broadband Delivery UK's processes, as this demonstrates that "the private sector is still willing and able to roll out next-generation broadband services to parts of the country that were originally thought of as underserved".
Ovum's statement also criticizes the House of Lords report for failing to address properly the importance of mobile technologies to the UK's broadband future and for suggesting that TV broadcasts should in future be delivered entirely by IPTV without considering fully the impact this would have on both bandwidth requirements and investment incentives.
Ovum suggests that "policy-makers should consider the possibility of mobile operators using existing passive infrastructure for backhauling mobile" and that the infrastructure sharing obligations placed on BT should be extended to other communications providers. Finally, Ovum suggest that a disconnect between Ofcom and the Government has emerged in recent years which needs to be addressed if the UK's broadband upgrade is to get back on track, particularly in relation to the forthcoming 4G spectrum auction.
INCA's statement is supportive of the report, welcoming its highlighting of the importance of open standards and open access and the re-introduction of the concept of local community fibre hubs, something considered in the Government's strategy document Britain's Superfast Broadband Future but largely absent from subsequent policy developments. Inclusiveness is key to future success:
"Many private sector players and communities have the capability and capacity to make a significant contribution to ensuring that we build a genuinely future-proofed next generation network; a 'transformational digital infrastructure' capable of supporting new generations of digital services and the people and businesses that create them. It is important that we adopt an inclusive approach to ensure we get it right."The Country Land & Business Association statement also welcomes the House of Lords report, particularly its focus on coverage and inclusiveness above speed. However the statement takes issue with the report's assertion that fibre optic technologies are the best option:
"The CLA advocates a patchwork quilt model that uses the most appropriate technologies for a certain area, rather than using a single technology. An over-reliance on a single model is limiting the Government's chance of meeting its 2015 deadlines to provide superfast broadband of at least 24 Mbps for 90 percent of premises, and its commitment to deliver two Mbps to all rural areas."Finally, it would appear The Register is far from convinced by the report..."Do sheep really need Twitter? And must we pay for their Tweets?" | <urn:uuid:f7e1f084-ee9c-40b2-ab5b-e60c5209e772> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.broadbandpolicy.co.uk/2012/08/house-of-lords-broadband-report-analyst_17.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952396 | 1,556 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The Business of Climate Change
An Oppenheim Lecture with Professor Andrew Hoffman held February 19, 2009.
According to scientists, climate change is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our day. But for business, it represents something altogether different; it represents a market shift. In this talk, Professor Hoffman will discuss the market implications of climate change for business; why companies should be paying to the issue and what they can do about it; not as a call to corporate social responsibility, but as a concern of strategic importance to the future of the firm.
Andrew Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan; with joint appointments at the Ross School of Business and the School of Natural Resources & Environment. He is also Associate Director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. Andy has published 7 books and over 70 articles/book chapters on sustainability and business. He holds a Ph.D. from MIT, awarded jointly by the Sloan School of Management and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.
Published: Thursday, February 19, 2009 | <urn:uuid:fc390bb8-316d-4dd2-b42b-d6ceb6f72f96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.environment.ucla.edu/podcasts/article.asp?parentid=2430 | 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 | 0.957528 | 220 | 2.046875 | 2 |
We had a sign of hope today when we learned that search engine Mozilla has come out against CISPA. Now keep in mind Mozilla was one of the most outspoken critics of SOPA and PIPA and they took part in the blackout back in January, which ultimately stopped the legislation from becoming law. And now that we know where Mozilla stands, we're hoping this will continue the trend of tech companies calling for a new, less invasive, cybersecurity bill.
Mozilla's issues with CISPA mirror opposition that was voiced last week on Capitol Hill during debates over the legislation. Rep Jan Schakowsky (D Illinois) said the cybersecurity bill "still fails to adequately safeguard the privacy of Americans" and that the government needs to be able to "combat the serious threat of cyber attacks and still insure that we are protecting our computer systems and the civil liberties of Americans."
- Google, Anonymous and European MPs join forces for a Free and Open Internet — UN's upcomming Conference to change the Internet as we know it
- US government using copyright infringement to take over the Internet?
- Anonymous targets CISPA Supporters: Facebook, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, U.S. Telecom, TechAmerica
- CISPA Explained by Anonymous. Sign the Petition to STOP CISPA!
- EU suspends ACTA! - European Court of Justice to decide
- Anonymous warns the EU - ANTI-ACTA protests accross Europe!
- INTERNET FREEDOM: The Past, Present and Future of Internet Censorship
- ACTA Explained by Anonymous | Sign the Petition to STOP ACTA!
- 7000 Websites to Strike January 18th against SOPA bill in Congress | <urn:uuid:33865dcb-f764-4605-921e-8e317ed39787> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.knowledgeoftoday.org/2012/05/mozilla-anonymous-against-congress.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94648 | 343 | 2.078125 | 2 |
The 111th Congress is off to a strong start, working with President Obama to take America in a New Direction, to turn our economy around and create good jobs, with common sense reforms and targeted investments in: affordable health care, clean energy jobs, educational excellence, fiscal responsibility, and tax fairness.
RECENTLY SIGNED INTO LAW
CREDIT CARDHOLDERS' BILL OF RIGHTS, to provide tough new protections for consumers by banning unfair rate increases, abusive fees, and penalties--such as retroactive rate hikes on existing balances and double-cycle billing -- giving consumers clear information, and strengthening enforcement.
MILITARY PROCUREMENT REFORM, to crack down on Pentagon waste and cost overruns, which GAO says amount to $296 billion just for the 96 largest weapons systems, by dramatically beefing up oversight of weapons acquisition, promoting greater use of competition, and curbing conflicts of interest.
HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THEIR HOMES ACT, building on the President's housing initiative, to provide significant incentives to lenders, servicers, and homeowners to work together to modify loans and to avoid foreclosures, which cost families their homes every 13 seconds in America.
FIGHTING MORTGAGE AND CORPORATE FRAUD & CREATING COMMISSION ON CAUSES OF CRISIS, to provide tools for prosecuting the mortgage scams and corporate frauds that contributed to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression; and to create an outside commission to examine its causes.
SIGNED INTO LAW EARLIER THIS YEAR
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT, enacted in the first month of President Obama's term, to jumpstart our economy, create and save 3.5 million jobs, give 95% of American workers a tax cut, and begin to rebuild America's road, rail, and water infrastructure, with unprecedented accountability measures -- no earmarks, new state whistleblower protections, and an historic degree of transparency at www.recovery.gov.
HEALTH CARE FOR 11 MILLION CHILDREN, to finally provide cost-effective health coverage for 4 million more children whose parents earn too little to provide their own insurance, but too much to qualify for Medicaid, and preserve coverage for 7 million children already enrolled.
LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT, to restore the rights of women and other workers to challenge unfair pay--to help close the wage gap where women earn 78 cents for every $1 a man earns in America.
OMNIBUS PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT ACT 0F 2009, the most significant conservation bill in 15 years, to boost economic development and tourism at 160 mostly rural American sites; creating 2 million new acres of wilderness across 9 states; establishing 3 new national park units; designating 1,000 miles of wild and scenic rivers; and designating a National Monument and 3 National Conservation Areas.
EDWARD M. KENNEDY SERVE AMERICA ACT, tripling volunteerism opportunities for national service to enroll 250,000 students to retirees; creating new service corps for education, health care, energy and veterans; establishing a Summer of Service for middle and high school students; and increasing college financial awards.
STRENGTHENING OVERSIGHT OF TARP, to expand the authority of the TARP Special Inspector General, to help ensure that taxpayers' funds are effectively used to get credit flowing to businesses and families.
PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE
BUDGET BLUEPRINT, reflecting the President's plan to get the economy moving again, by cutting taxes for middle-income families by $1.5 trillion and creating jobs with targeted investments in health care, clean energy and education - while cutting the Bush deficit by nearly two-thirds by 2013. [ACTION COMPLETED]
PASSED BY HOUSE
WAR SUPPLEMENTAL BILL, to provide funds for the remainder of FY 2009 to provide our troops in harm's way with what they need, implement the President's plans for winding down the war in Iraq and changing strategy in Afghanistan, require a report on progress, and fund pandemic flu response.
FDA REGULATION OF TOBACCO, granting the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the advertising, marketing, and manufacturing of tobacco products, currently the number-one cause of preventable death in America, with 1,000 children each day becoming new, regular smokers.
MORTGAGE REFORM AND ANTI-PREDATORY LENDING ACT, to stop the predatory and irresponsible mortgage loan practices that played a major role in the current financial meltdown and to help ensure that the mortgage industry follows basic principles of sound lending and consumer protection.
PUTTING 50,000 COPS ON THE BEAT, to authorize $1.8 billion a year for COPS grants over the next five years, which will fund putting an additional 50,000 police officers on the street across the country.
GREEN SCHOOL MODERNIZATION, to provide critical investments to modernize, renovate, and repair school facilities across the country, while encouraging energy efficiency and creating nearly 140,000 new jobs.
HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT, to give law enforcement the resources they need to prevent and prosecute hate crimes against Americans because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, as well as because of their race, color, religion, or national origin.
WATER QUALITY INVESTMENT ACT, to launch clean water projects for families and communities across America, creating an estimated 680,000 jobs over the next five years.
REDUCING MILITARY FAMILIES TAX, which currently unfairly penalizes the 55,000 surviving spouses of military personnel who died as a result of their service-connected injuries.
PAY FOR PERFORMANCE ACT, to prohibit unreasonable or excessive compensation and non-performance-based bonuses for executives at companies receiving TARP funds, to stabilize our financial system. | <urn:uuid:d0b908c3-cdec-43a5-8241-980a38dd5c7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.democraticleader.gov/news/reports/progress-american-people-4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914972 | 1,221 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Acromioclavcular joint injuries
The joint between the outer end of the collar bone (clavicle) and shoulder blade (scapula) is called the acromioclavicular joint.
The joint can be injured by a fall on to the point of the shoulder that can disrupt the joint and tear the ligaments which hold the joint in place. This allows the outer end of the collar bone to become prominent beneath the skin which can be seen and felt as a step or bump.
Symptoms of Acromioclavcular joint injuries
Symptoms and signs of an acromioclavicular joint injury are pain over the cape of the shoulder and the arm feels unsupported. There is loss of shoulder movement and prominence of the outer end of the clavicle.
Treatment of Acromioclavcular joint injuries
Mild degrees of damage (subluxation) to the joint are managed simply by resting the arm in a sling for several weeks, and taking analgesia and anti-inflammatory medication. Physiotherapy may be helpful to regain shoulder movement. The pain from the injury often improves in 4-6 weeks but the prominence of the outer end of the clavicle remains but normally does not cause any problem.
When should surgery be considered for an acromioclavicular joint injury?
Surgery should be considered for more severe injuries to the joint (dislocation) in patients with physically demanding occupations. The ligament can be reconstructed soon after the injury and the clavicle held back in place using a variety of techniques which either utilise a screw passed between the clavicle and the scapula, a special “hook” plate that is secured to the upper surface of the clavicle and hooks beneath the scapula or a specially designed “tightrope” suture that holds the clavicle in place.
Late reconstruction of the ligament is also possible by utilising one of the other shoulder ligaments to take over the function of the torn ligaments or by using a synthetic graft. | <urn:uuid:109bab57-8625-4be7-a57c-f19efef87d33> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.londonorthopaedic.com/specialties/shoulder-and-elbow/acromioclavcular-joint-injuries | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92595 | 426 | 2.4375 | 2 |
The purpose of career development
Career development is unique to each individual. More and more the nature of work is such that you will have a number of career changes or transitions in your lifetime. Sometimes these transitions will be planned and sometimes they may not—due to personal circumstances, lifestyle choices, organisational change, and other factors.
Regardless of the reason for the change or transition, some common themes emerge in relation to career development:
- Employability is the key to success in this changing world of work.
- Employability and career development must be driven by the individual.
- Employability is the capacity of individuals to possess the skills, knowledge and attitudes to engage and re-engage in various forms of employment.
- Lifelong learning across the lifespan in formal and informal ways is crucial to employability and produces a flexible and adaptable workforce.
- Career choice and development is broader than just an occupation or a job, but is influenced by all facets of your life including personal lifestyle, circumstances, interests and values.
- Career resilience is a core survival skill of the future working environment. Resilience, described as ‘the capacity to adapt to a changing situation while maintaining and nurturing one’s core self’1 will clearly be enhanced if individuals position themselves as lifelong learners.
Your career, today and in the future is likely to involve:
- A range of different jobs.
- A range of interests and skills.
- Working for a number of organisations.
- Experience in more than one industry.
- Different types of work arrangements through the course of one’s life including full-time, part-time, contract, self-employed etc.
- Organisational changes which will affect your role in an organisation.
To build a career, you’ll need to:
- Take responsibility for your own direction and growth.
- Know who you are and what your goals are, in terms of way of life and job satisfaction, as well as wealth and success.
- Train yourself to master new sets of skills, so that you have more choices in a climate of change.
- Be able to view changes in work or in life circumstances, as opportunities for growth and development and not as a threat.
- Learn to see and understand the changing patterns in the working world, so that you can anticipate future trends and adjust accordingly.
1. Miller, J.V. (1996), A career counseling collage shaping the next century: Professional issues shaping career development, p402. | <urn:uuid:0ec47a37-149a-4532-93da-7197dfbcd4ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hr.unimelb.edu.au/careers/development/toolkit/introduction | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935498 | 521 | 2.390625 | 2 |
It’s for your own good.
The Exercise Nazi strikes again!
- Go to the library.
50%75% of the time, you’ll see us studying in there. You can “accidentally” (some acting may be required) run into us there while acquiring new knowledge by borrowing books, studying your own subjects, or researching your passions. But the fact that you never stop learning…
- knowledge by borrowing books, studying your own subjects, or researching your passions. But the fact that you never stop learning turns us on.
- Volunteer your body for mock physical examination(s). We are supposed to learn how to observe, auscultate, palpate, and conduct couple of tests on a human body. Of course, we would like you to be available when the topic of phlebotomy comes along too.
- Don’t ask us about medical conditions just yet. It really is for your own good. Instead of giving you one diagnosis, we will give you several that may scare you enough to go see your primary care physician. Yes, most of us are hypochondriac even if we do not admit it. And no, we can’t give you drugs.
- Invite us to potluck. Wherever there is cheap or free food, you will find us. Give us food and you shall have a special place forever in our heart.
- Invite us to exercise. After studying, it’s nice to get a chance to work out. Let’s go for a run! We can even have a wrestling match. Or you can try the gym either early in the morning or late at night. If we refuse, remind us that exercise can boosts our memory and promotes better sleep. Sold!
- If you still can’t find us, have you tried Starbucks or a nearby cafe? Don’t forget to check the dark corners.
- Do ask about our experience so far as medical students. We will tell you how it is so you can get the idea of what we do on regular basis. From here, you can probably judge how much free time we have and what our schedule is like. You will also quickly find out if we have the “half-empty” or “half-full” attitude based on our answer.
- Let us sleep. It is rather important…
- Become our cheerleader. There will be times when we become stressed out or bummed about our test scores. Our confidence may even decrease. It is definitely nice when you show up with a cheer-up package (Please use your imagination for this part).
- Ask us out on a date. We will give you hundred of reasons not to date us. You find that one reason strong enough to change our mind. But remember, “dating” definition may be different for everyone. It may not mean we want to be in a relationship with you. Be patient. We will let you know when we are ready. And when we are…that will be another story.
DEAD ON. #5 and #6 I have seen with my own eyes! And very true about #11. We’re the first to say it won’t work. But to be honest, I don’t lead a conversation with ‘oh, I’m a med student’. That’s rather awkward.
Must have red cape.
So true. -_- | <urn:uuid:cc2d70f1-92d9-4cb9-89dc-d3c636843e80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://docd88.tumblr.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937563 | 723 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Functional assessment: A positive approach to misbehavior at school
When punishment doesn't work, figuring out the reasons behind a child's unruly behavior is a more constructive approach.
By John W. Maag, Ph.D.
In the current climate of federally mandated accountability in the public schools, there is a predictable, increased emphasis on discipline practices. The 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), like the 1997 law, guides public school discipline practices related to three assumptions:
- All students, with and without disabilities, deserve to be educated in safe, well-disciplined schools, and orderly learning environments.
- School personnel should have effective techniques to prevent behavior problems and to deal positively with them if they occur.
- A balanced approach to discipline must exist in which the order and safety of schools is maintained, while also protecting the rights of students with disabilities to receive a free appropriate public education.
Functional assessment is a key aspect of the behavior intervention strategies mandated for IEPs by the 1997 and 2004 reauthorizations of IDEA. Functional assessment has been used extensively with students with developmental disabilities (such as mental retardation and autism) for more than 10 years. However, its use with students with learning disabilities (LD) has a more recent history.
According to IDEA, a student with a disability who has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) can be disciplined in the same manner as any other student for 10 consecutive school days or less if the student violates the school's code of conduct. Parents should be familiar with and review the code of conduct with their child at the beginning of the school year.
If the student is disciplined for more than 10 consecutive school days within the same school year, school or district staff must conduct a functional behavioral assessment and implement a behavior intervention plan before the end of the 10th day, or before moving the student to an interim alternative educational placement. In many cases, a student with an IEP will already have a behavior intervention plan in place as part of his IEP in order to support learning. In fact, a student's IEP must include a behavior intervention plan whenever the student's behavior impedes his own learning or the learning of others.
If there is a behavior intervention plan already in place when the student is disciplined, the IEP team must review the plan to determine whether it is 1) still appropriate, and 2) has been properly implemented.
Functional assessment as an approach to discipline
Functional assessment is sometimes called functional behavioral assessment (FBA), for example, in IDEA. But this term is redundant because functional assessment always focuses on a child's behavior. At its most basic level, functional assessment answers the question of why a child behaves a certain way, so that adults can help the child change his behavior. Functional assessment is very different from the more traditional approach often used in schools of doling out a punishment and assuming that this resolves the problem.
In contrast, the goal of functional assessment is not to simply "punish" misbehavior, but to alter the environment to promote children's appropriate behavior, and to teach them more adaptive and acceptable ways to get what they want. A basic assumption of functional assessment is that all behavior is purposeful: It is performed to obtain a desired outcome or goal. That is not to say that a child is always aware of the reasons why he behaves in certain ways. We all select and perform behaviors unconsciously — out of habit and through repetition. Nevertheless, they serve some purpose. Furthermore, although a behavior may be inappropriate, the functional assessment approach assumes that the function (or purpose) the behavior serves is always appropriate.
We can test this assumption by applying it to a common function that behavior serves: to get attention. Children of all ages misbehave to get attention from teachers, peers, and parents. There is nothing wrong with wanting attention from others. Adults certainly try to obtain attention from others through the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, or the jokes we tell. However, there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to get attention. A child who gets attention by asking peers before school to name their favorite basketball team or music group is using an appropriate way to get attention, whereas a child who is making animal noises in the classroom is engaging in inappropriate behavior.
A second basic assumption of functional assessment is that you can identify the purpose of a child's behavior if you observe and write down events that precede the behavior ("antecedents") and the events that follow the behavior ("consequences"). For example, the teacher tells Mary to stop talking to Judy (antecedent), Mary whistles (behavior), and the teacher tells her to stop whistling (consequence). It is reasonable to assume that Mary's whistling serves the function (or purpose) of getting attention. The more Mary misbehaves, the more attention she gets from her teacher. As this example illustrates, a child often prefers negative attention to no attention at all. | <urn:uuid:768e78fd-5c93-4c00-b9b4-dce87de9fcff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/behavior-discipline/904-functional-assessment-a-positive-approach-to-misbehavior-at-school.gs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955551 | 1,020 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Four years into the foreclosure crisis, banks say they've made major improvements in how they handle struggling homeowners. They've promised, for example, not to foreclose on homeowners who are being considered for mortgage modifications. But that's still happening.
Consider the cases of Laurie Pinkerton and Lisa Peterson. The two women, both Californians and Bank of America customers, had been assured by the bank that they wouldn't lose their homes before they'd been evaluated for a possible modification. Both had their homes sold last month.
Such cases are particularly senseless, because simply modifying the mortgage by reducing the monthly payment might be in the interest not only of the homeowner, but also of the investor who owns the mortgage. Both Pinkerton and Peterson said their homes were sold after foreclosure for far less than they're worth.
Regulators have done little to stop the practice, and the "problem appears to be getting worse," said Kevin Stein, associate director of the nonprofit California Reinvestment Coalition.
Last month, the coalition surveyed 55 foreclosure-avoidance counselors throughout the state. Collectively they serve thousands of borrowers every month. Almost all of the counselors, 94 percent, reported having worked with clients who'd lost their homes while under review for a modification. About half of the counselors reported this happened "often." This year's totals, which are due to be publicly released next week, are higher than those in the group's survey last year.
Regulators have acknowledged the problem but have so far stopped short of solving it, say borrower advocates. More than a year ago, ProPublica reported extensively on how the banks' inadequate systems were causing wrongful foreclosures.
This past April, the federal banking regulators released "consent orders" with 14 of the largest banks requiring various improvements in their handling of mortgages and foreclosures. Prior to the orders, the regulators had not had clear rules on how the banks should handle modification applications. Among the new requirements, banks will now be forbidden from actually selling a home before a final decision is made on a modification. Also, if a homeowner is approved for a modification, the foreclosure process is supposed to stop. The new requirements will go into effect later this summer.
While those are necessary requirements, regulators took a "huge step backward" by not explicitly forbidding banks from pursuing foreclosure at all until a final decision has been made on a mortgage modification application, said Alys Cohen of the National Consumer Law Center.
The administration's mortgage modification program, which offers incentives to encourage modifications, has that requirement. But that program is voluntary for the banks and has been hobbled by lax oversight. What's more, over two-thirds of modifications occur outside of the program.
Federal regulators have the power to require all banks to make a decision on a modification application before moving to foreclose, but they've simply chosen not to.
Allowing the banks to pursue foreclosure while the modification process plays out hurts homeowners in multiple ways. First and foremost, there's the hazard of actually losing the home to foreclosure because of bank error. The two homeowners featured in this story show that this continues to be a real danger, especially in states like California where the bank doesn't need to go to court to foreclose. It's also just confusing and unnecessarily stressful for homeowners. Finally, in a foreclosure homeowners actually get billed for bank costs, such as paying for a bank's lawyers.
Instead of outright forbidding banks from pursuing foreclosure while they're considering homeowners for a modification, regulators have asked the banks to explore whether it's a problem. The orders ask the banks to "conduct a review to determine whether processes involving past due mortgage loans or foreclosures overlap in such a way that they may impair or impede a borrower's efforts to effectively pursue a loan modification."
The primary regulator for the biggest banks is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which has been much criticized for failing to crack down on banks' foreclosure failures. Bryan Hubbard, a spokesman for the OCC, said that the orders addressed the "situations that were most confusing to the borrower" and that the issue would be revisited at a later time when regulators draft new, comprehensive standards for the industry. When asked whether regulators were deferring to the banks on the issue, he said they were not deferring, because regulators would have to approve whatever conclusion the banks came to.
Two homeowners' tales
Although Pinkerton and Peterson live about 450 miles apart, they've had strikingly similar experiences with Bank of America.
Both contacted the bank before even missing a payment to see what steps to take, because they'd taken a hit to their income. Both say Bank of America employees told them they'd have to fall at least three months behind to be considered for a modification (advice that is both inaccurate and frequently given). Reluctantly, both did so.
As a result of missing payments, both soon found themselves facing foreclosure. But at least the modification process had begun, too.
Of course, it went slowly. Like millions of other homeowners, they waited months and months for an answer on their modification applications and sent in the same documents over and over again. Despite sending in those documents, both were told at one point that they'd been denied because they hadn't sent in the required documents (another extremely common problem).
Finally, last month, both had their homes sold at a foreclosure auction, despite the assurances of Bank of America employees that that wouldn't happen until they'd received a final answer on their application for a modification.
"The next thing I know, a guy is knocking on my door saying his boss is at the courthouse buying our house," said Peterson.
What makes foreclosure particularly unnecessary in both cases is that Pinkerton and Peterson had made a point of telling the bank they had the means to bring the loan current even if they didn't get a modification. And unlike many Californians, both had the option of selling the home to pay off the mortgage because their homes are worth more than they owe on their mortgage.
"I never received any letter saying you're denied," said Pinkerton. "If that would have been the case, I would have borrowed the money and went and paid it current." Her family had offered to help, she said.
Both errors are particularly hard to undo because Bank of America can't simply give the houses back: The bank sold both homes to others. In order to get the homes back, the bank would have to essentially convince the new owner to sell the home back. In a case we reported on last year, JPMorgan Chase paid about $20,000 above the purchase price to the buyer of a property the bank had mistakenly sold.
At this point in the two stories, the homeowners' paths diverge.
After complaining to everyone she could think of, Pinkerton was contacted by a Bank of America employee who said he worked in the bank's office of the president. He told her he'd work to get the sale reversed. Regardless, Pinkerton was evicted from her home last week.
"I've spent thousands of dollars moving that I didn't have," she said.
As recently as Wednesday, the Bank of America employee told her he's still working on her case.
Bank of America spokesman Rick Simon said the bank was researching whether a mistake had been made. "To the extent it is determined that mistakes in the process contributed to the mortgage reaching foreclosure, the bank will work with Ms. Pinkerton to explore viable and appropriate considerations, which may include rescission."
Simon also noted that Pinkerton had been sent letters in March and April saying that she'd canceled her application for a modification.
Pinkerton said she'd never asked to cancel her application, and when she called Bank of America to ask about the letters, she was told to disregard them. She did once reject a modification offer, but that was because it would have significantly raised her monthly payments. She says a Bank of America employee told her to appeal the offer because it had erroneously calculated her income at twice its actual level.
Peterson has been more successful. After the foreclosure sale, she made a number of frantic calls and finally got a bank employee to admit there'd been a mistake, she says. But nothing could be done about it, she was told.
After being contacted by various employees who said they'd been assigned to help resolve the matter, but who then couldn't be reached, she eventually hired an attorney.
Earlier this month, Bank of America rescinded the sale and returned the title to Peterson.
It's unclear whether the bank paid a premium to the buyer of Peterson's property in order to get it back. Bank of America's Simon said, "We continue to work on resolution of remaining third-party issues."
In general, Simon said such mistaken foreclosures "have been relatively rare, compared to the volume of defaults and foreclosure activity in today's economy." Across the country, about 4 million mortgages are currently more than three months delinquent.
"Any problem in this regard is of tremendous concern, and we have put additional checks and practices in place to further limit the possibilities," he added.
To Peterson, the lesson from her experience is clear. "This system is broken," she said. "You can't trust what the bank tells you." | <urn:uuid:548fcee3-efd9-4d26-b608-1bdcccc4e3ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://truth-out.org/news/item/1894 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982272 | 1,892 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Peanut Butter Pinecone Bird Feeders
This is a fun project that my kids and I have been making for years. Not only is it a thoughtful holiday gift and perfect for a winter birthday, it is something the kids can put their time and effort into. I always think my kids feel especially good about giving a gift to which they have truly contributed. (Dad and the grandparents have received quite a few of these over the years!)
As an adult, I also appreciate a gift that can actually be put to good use, rather than being relegated to a shelf or drawer and forgotten about. It is always fun for the kids to see the delight on the recipient’s face, then help to pick the perfect branch to hang this clever project. The birds will thank you, too!
When giving as a gift, I place the pinecone in a plastic bag and then secure with the decorative ribbon sticking out of the top. That way, the ribbon doesn’t get mashed or coated with peanut butter and any falling birdseed will be easily contained.
- pine cones
- peanut butter
- optional: floral wire and ribbon
- To help with clean up, lay newspaper down on your work area.
- Spread peanut butter over the pinecone, getting in all the little crevices. I like to give my kids a plastic knife which makes for easy clean up, too.
- Put a cupful of birdseed in a plastic bag (I use a grocery store bag, just make sure there are no holes in it), then place the pinecone inside and gently shake to coat.
- Remove the pinecone and tie a piece of string or floral wire around the top stem of the pinecone. It is helpful to wind it around a couple of times to secure it well.
- If desired, tie with a pretty ribbon and hang from a tree!
This recipe was shared with Recipes for My Boys’ Thursday’s Treasures. | <urn:uuid:fd977278-85a3-4c8a-ab90-ca363318186c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fountainavenuekitchen.com/peanut-butter-pinecone-bird-feeders/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945823 | 402 | 1.65625 | 2 |
> You can message someone on Facebook - and presumably the only trace is the
> HTTP traffic between you and some Facebook server, and the notification
> email to the recipient from some other Facebook server.
>> Or Bebo.
I think you're wrong. See http://www.facebook.com/policy.php and
http://www.bebo.com/Privacy.jsp, both operators are deliberately vague
about when they will decide to hand over data to legal authorities,
and both explicitly make provision for it.
Also, are you seriously saying that you would expect, say, estate
agents or banks to conduct business by leaving messages on each
others' facebook accounts?
Nevertheless your basic point is valid. Anyone needing to use emails
to coordinate some kind of crime or military coup or whatever could
easily learn what a VPN is, or even SFTP emails into one anothers'
inboxes. It is technically possible to assure privacy and/or
anonymity, with or without email header logging.
A law requiring it is, therefore, either stupid or simply not intended
to target criminals.
Maintained by the ILUG website team. The aim of Linux.ie is to
support and help commercial and private users of Linux in Ireland. You can
display ILUG news in your own webpages, read backend
information to find out how. Networking services kindly provided by HEAnet, server kindly donated by
Dell. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds,
used with permission. No penguins were harmed in the production or maintenance
of this highly praised website. Looking for the
Indian Linux Users' Group? Try here. If you've read all this and aren't a lawyer: you should be! | <urn:uuid:80b4bcba-3997-4464-9568-98aa7959c0c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linux.ie/lists/pipermail/ilug/2008-January/096431.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909518 | 370 | 2.046875 | 2 |
By Janet Levaux
Saturday, September 1st, 2012 at 10:36 am in Uncategorized.
Coastal Cleanup Day event is an annual beach and inland waterway cleanup lead by the California Coastal Commission, and each year Alamedans do their part by tending to areas around our fair Island.
The effort began in 1985, and since then more than one million Californians have removed more than 18 million pounds of trash and recyclables from our state’s coast and waterways. For instance, close to 72,0-00 volunteers participated in the 2011 event, removing more than 1.3 million pounds of trash and recyclables from the state’s beaches, lakes, creeks and waterways.
This year, Encinal Yacht club will be partnering with the California Coastal Commission and the Department of Boating and Waterways to organize a local, family-friendly event.
On Saturday, September 15, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., the members of EYC are combining forces with folks from the Oakland Yacht Club and Marina Village to help organize a clean up of the Alameda-Oakland Estuary. Any and all participation will make a big difference to the local and global community. | <urn:uuid:d19f6135-4895-4848-8d7d-988f15427be1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ibabuzz.com/alamedajournal/2012/09/01/coast-cleanup-day-sept-15/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938753 | 256 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Meeting Haiti's changing health needs
More than one month after the earthquake that devastated swathes of Haiti, in excess of 300 000 people are suffering from injuries and around one million are living in temporary settlements or host families after losing their homes.
Immediately following the 12 January quake, the most pressing need was to rescue people and provide life-saving care for patients suffering from major trauma, hundreds of whom underwent amputations. It was also crucial to ensure free access to medicines and provide emergency basic and secondary care.
But today, there are new health needs. The focus is on post-operative care, rehabilitating people with disabilities and injuries, and providing basic and primary health care services, such as maternal, child and mental healthcare, controlling chronic diseases and restarting vaccination programmes. Controlling diseases and ensuring clean water is available are also critical for the hundreds of thousands of people living in temporary shelters ahead of the coming rainy and hurricane seasons. Strengthening coordination of health partners and making medicines and other supplies available are also up utmost importance to the health sector response and recovery.
To respond to these needs for the next 12 months, the humanitarian community on 18 February launched a revised Flash Appeal. WHO and partners are seeking more than US$100 million to implement projects to meet these needs. | <urn:uuid:6ecf79f7-4701-4a66-8e27-31d3aa4346ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://who.int/features/2010/haiti_changing_needs/en/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958652 | 260 | 2.34375 | 2 |
“I well remember the excitement in Kioto as the time approached for opening Osaka and Hiogo to foreigners. I was but 15 years old, and yet I fully recollect that my prejudices against foreigners were as strong as those of others of my countrymen. I never heard the Tycoon make any remark about them; although I was present when at Osaka the French Minister visited him, and received a sword with the Tokugawa badge as a gift, which he immediately transferred to his sword-belt and wore as he left the palace. I also was present when an English photographer from one of the English men-of-war, was invited to take the Tycoon’s portrait, and I had the honour of receiving a copy of the portrait, in conjunction with my adopted father. I have it still. (A reduced copy of it serves as the frontispiece to the first volume of this work.)”
Black’s memoir was widely published and reprinted (it can easily be found today), but only a few copies were issued with original albumen photographs pasted into the book as illustrations. The Graphic Arts Collection is fortunate to have recently acquired one of these rare editions.
The first volume holds fifteen photographs, only one of which is almost completely faded (a map of Japan). Black died before volume two of the memoir was completed and so, perhaps, only had a hand in selecting images for the first volume.
John Reddie Black (1826-1880), Young Japan. Yokohama and Yedo. A Narrative of the Settlement and the City from the Signing of the Treaties in 1858, to the Close of the Year 1879 (London and Yokohame: Trubner and Kelly & Co. [printed at the private printing office of the author, Yokohama], 1880-1881). Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2012- in process.
See also Terry Bennett, Photography in Japan: 1853-1912 (Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle, 2006). SAPH Oversize TR105 .B45 2006q | <urn:uuid:38fd9c3a-fc5f-46e7-9859-92ba2d9905c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.princeton.edu/graphicarts/2012/12/japan_photographed_by_john_bla.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980568 | 426 | 2.265625 | 2 |
On Easter Sunday we were invited to our daughter's home for dinner. We always look forward to her meals, as she has become an excellent cook. I offered to bring the dessert since I had a couple of new recipes I wanted to try. One was a pie and the other, a cheesecake.
The pie recipe called for a chocolate crumb crust. Rather than buy a package of chocolate cookies and make the crust, I decided to purchase a pre-made crumb crust - something I'd never done before. In this case, it seemed to make more sense to buy a crust. We didn't need any chocolate cookies to eat and using a pre-made crust would be a time-saver; especially since I was making two desserts.
When I removed the wrapper from the pie crust, I noticed some loose crumbs on the bottom of the shell. Without giving it any thought, I tilted the crust forward so the crumbs would fall out of the shell. The crumbs fell out and the shell followed; dropping on the counter and breaking into various size pieces. So much for saving time. I should have simply ignored those loose crumbs. The filling would have covered them anyway. Another lesson learned.
I picked up the pieces and put them into a bowl. After mashing the pieces into crumbs, they were returned to the foil pie tin and pressed in place. I wondered if the crust would hold together. I chose to spray the crust with no stick cooking spray and then put the crust into the oven for five minutes. After allowing it to cool, I proceeded with the recipe.
Very rich - cut small slices
PEANUT BUTTER PIE
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 carton (12 oz) Cool Whip, thawed, divided
1 chocolate crumb crust (8 in.)
2/3 cup hot fudge ice cream topping
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese till smooth. Add peanut butter and sugar; mix well. Fold in 3 cups whipped topping; spoon into crust. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat hot fudge topping for 30 seconds. Pour over peanut butter layer and spread to edges of crust. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Spread remaining whipped topping over pie. Cut into slices. Place about 2 T. hot fudge topping (warmed slightly) and 2 T. peanut butter in two separate plastic bags. Cut a small hole in the corner of each bag; pipe fudge topping and peanut butter over each slice of pie. Refrigerate.
Everyone enjoyed Sue's version of ...
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 can (11 oz.) Mexicorn, drained
1 can (15 oz.) cream style corn
1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Pour into lightly greased slow cooker (3-1/2 qt. or larger). Cover and cook on high for 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Check for doneness. Should be golden brown around the edges and set in center. Yield: serves 6 to 8.
An irresistible combination
CHEESY ONION POTATOES
6 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 med. onion, sliced
2 cups cubed American cheese
1 stick margarine, cut in slices
1/3 cup bacon bits
1/2 cup milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
Layer potatoes, onion, cheese, margarine and bacon bits in a greased 1-1/2 qt. casserole. Season with salt and pepper. Portion ingredients so you can make 3 layers. End with cheese. Pour milk over all. Cover dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until tender.
Note: I use less cheese (Velveeta)
Not just for breakfast
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup veg. oil
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts, opt.
1 cup finely chopped rhubarb
Cream brown sugar and oil. Add remaining ingredients in order listed. Blend, but do not over mix. Put batter in muffin tins. (I line muffin tins with paper baking cups).
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Combine and sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake at 350 for about 20 min.
Yield: 14-16 muffins.
Note: These freeze well.
Food for Thought: The nice thing about memories is that they don't spoil no matter how long you keep them. | <urn:uuid:b16ed93a-d02d-4694-9067-eab9ddefb4cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/534061/Making-the-best-of-it.html?nav=5007 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916414 | 1,018 | 1.546875 | 2 |
- USDA again slashes U.S. average corn yield and production, by 22.6 bushels and 2.2 billion bushels, respectively, due to excessive heat and drought in the Midwest.
- USDA also lowered estimated U.S. soybean yield and production and raised cotton production and ending stocks from last month.
- The agency reduced U.S. rice production by 1 million hundredweight from last month.
USDA has again slashed projected U.S. corn yield and production as dryness and heat in the Midwest continues, and in some places, worsens. USDA also lowered estimated U.S. soybean yield and production and raised cotton production and ending stocks from last month in its Aug. 10 Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
Corn production is forecast at 10.8 billion bushels, down 2.2 billion bushels from last monthand the lowest production since 2006.
Based on conditions as of Aug. 1, yields are expected to average 123.4 bushels per acre, down 22.6 bushels from last month. If realized, this will be the lowest average yield since 1995. Area harvested for grain is forecast at 87.4 million acres, down 2 percent from the June forecast but up 4 percent from 2011.
Corn ending stocks for 2011-12 are projected 118 million bushels higher with lower expected exports, reduced corn use for ethanol and a small increase in imports. Total U.S. corn supplies for 2012-13 are projected down 2 billion bushels and at a nine-year low.
The biggest reduction again this month is for feed and residual use, projected down 725 million bushels. USDA projects a 400-million-bushel reduction in corn used to produce ethanol. Ending stocks for 2012-13 are projected at 650 million bushels, 533 million lower and the smallest carryout since 1995-96.
The U.S. sorghum yield is forecast 16.3 bushels lower at 48.6 bushels as drought stressed sorghum from the Central Plains to the Corn Belt. Sorghum harvested area is also lowered slightly.
Soybean production is forecast at 2.69 billion bushels, down 12 percent from last year. Yields are expected to average 36.1 bushels per acre, down 5.4 bushels from last year and 4.4 bushels from last month. If realized, the average yield will be the lowest since 2003. Area for harvest is forecast at 74.6 million acres, down 1 percent from June but up 1 percent from 2011.
All cotton production is forecast at 17.7 million bales, up 13 percent from last year. Yield is expected to average 784 pounds per acre, down 6 pounds from last year. Upland cotton production is forecast at 17 million bales, up 15 percent from 2011. Pima production, forecast at 663,000 bales, is down 22 percent from last year.
USDA’s projects U.S. rice production for 2012-13 at 190 million hundredweight, down 1 million from last month’s projection, but up nearly 3 percent from the previous year. Average yield is forecast at 7,196 pounds per acre, down 39 pounds per acre from last month’s projection, but up nearly 2 percent from last year. Long-grain production is forecast at 132.1 million hundredweight, down 1 percent from last month, while combined medium- and short-grain production is forecast at 57.9 million, up less than 1 percent from a month ago. | <urn:uuid:53ed5989-9872-4ad4-aed4-4d960c8b610b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://southwestfarmpress.com/markets/us-corn-and-soybean-yields-continue-falter-under-heat | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924663 | 751 | 2.578125 | 3 |
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Website - Hidden Patterns of the Civil War: Digital Scholarship Lab, University of Richmond
"Hidden Patterns of the Civil War" collects a number of interrelated projects on the sectional crisis, slavery, and emancipation during the Civil War era, with a particular emphasis on the histories of the city of Richmond and the state of Virginia. Grouped as "texts" and "maps," these projects use digital tools and digital media to uncover and represent patterns that are not easy to find when we look at particular pieces of evidence in isolation and only become evident when we visualize a wealth of evidence in graphs, maps, and models. Revealing patterns in text and across time and space, many of these visualizations are intriguing and surprising, offering us new insights into this dramatic era of intense social, political, and military conflict. | <urn:uuid:bfd2383b-abf1-4a05-a109-e132f9b2e2dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ppo.ala.org/brainstormer/node/232 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917689 | 170 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The Bobbin Girl
Title: The Bobbin Girl
Author: Emily Arnold McCully
Helping support her struggling family by working all day in a hot, noisy cotton mill, ten-year-old Rebecca Putney fears losing her job when poor working conditions and lowered pay result in employee protests.
Lexile Level: 600
Rebecca Putney is a bobbin girl who helps support her struggling family by working all day in a hot, noisy cotton mill. Working conditions at the mill are poor, and there is talk of lowering the workers’ wages. Rebecca’s friend Judith wants to protest the pay cut—but troublemakers at the mill are dismissed. Does Rebecca have the courage to join the protest? | <urn:uuid:d45e049e-fe1f-43a7-9183-1c950faf7de6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kdl.org/categories/723/books/4089 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905511 | 147 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Earlier this month, the Republika Srpska government decided to abolish an inter-entity demarcation line in the Brcko District. This was the last condition set by the international community before it would consider withdrawal from the district.
In 2009, the PIC had already determined that Brcko District was institutionally functioning and independent to a level that no longer warranted international supervision; however, its strategic importance has remained a threat on a wider spectrum.
Earlier in December, the PIC met in Sarajevo, where it commended Republika Srpska’s move to meet the last condition for withdrawal from Brcko District, but announced it would extend the debate on withdrawal until its next session in late May 2012. Regardless of whether the international community officially withdraws from the district next year, it would continue to maintain its “Arbitral Tribunal” for Brcko to mitigate potential political obstruction.
Republika Srpska would like to see a withdrawal of international supervisors, after which it could suspend its obligatory financial support of Brcko and engineer its gradual collapse and eventual repartition. Under this scenario, the city of Brcko would be absorbed into Republika Srpska, while its southern rural areas would go to the Federation entity.
The Bosnian Serb move to accommodate the international community by helping to achieve the final condition was premeditated. Indeed, Republika Srpska officials recently have stepped up calls for the district’s dissolution, saying it is a financial burden that is too expensive to maintain.
At the same time, figures from the country’s main Bosniak parties have chosen to largely ignore the issue. Bosniaks in Brcko District have thrown most of their support not behind the Bosniak nationalist parties, but behind the moderate Social Democratic party (SDP), which won a majority of votes in Brcko in the October 2010 elections.
International envoys are of course not alluding to secession concerns, rather have mentioned practical issues behind the mandate extension, including the ongoing fight against corruption and organized crime, technical issues related to the collection of value-added tax, and jurisdiction issues concerning key utilities.
The creation of Brcko District was regulated by the 1995 Dayton peace talks, one of the most difficult points of negotiation with Bosnian Serb forces.
Both entities are afforded equal ownership over the district; however, it is under the exclusive sovereignty of the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina with its status internationally supervised
The District comprises the entire territory of the City of Brcko. 48% of the city fell under Republika Srpska, 52% under the Federation.
Brcko District is arguably the only obviously successful international project in the past 15 years, with its functional multi-ethnic government, commendable education system, good track record at facilitating refugee returns and progress towards institutional reform. It will not be allowed to fail.
There have been indications of late that it could be used as a model for northern Kosovo, dominated by Serbs – an idea debated in 2008 but rejected by both Serbia and Kosovo at the time. Now it is an increasingly viable option.
by ISA Intel. Copyright 2011, ISA Intel. All rights reserved | <urn:uuid:0e8c598d-ed6b-46f8-8d61-1f9a58d82d2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.isaintel.com/2011/12/16/brcko-%E2%80%93-the-most-tangible-obstacle-to-bosnian-serb-secession/ | 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 | 0.961632 | 669 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Circumcision bans have been proposed here in the U.S., but so far policy surrounding circumcision haven’t been mandated. In Germany however, things are now a little different. Recently, a German court in Cologne ruled that circumcision of baby boys should be considered unlawful, noting that the “fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents.” Religious leaders are outraged of course, as are parents who support circumcision along with the right to make decisions for their baby. The court however is firm in their belief that circumcision at a very young age changes a baby or child’s body significantly, “irreparably and permanently” thus is not a decision anyone but the individual themselves should be making and the court notes that forced circumcision goes against that “child’s rights to choose his religious beliefs.”
Jewish leaders in particular, are furious about the new circumcision decision. Dieter Graumann, the central council’s president called the outlawing of circumcision “outrageous and insensitive,” and the New York Times reports that Graumann says of circumcision, “In every country in the world this religious right is respected.” This case came about after a four-year-old Muslim boy in Cologne suffered heavy bleeding a few days after a doctor had performed a circumcision. The doctor was charged with grievous bodily harm, but was acquitted both because he did have parental consent and cited religious freedom to perform such an operation. Up until now, male circumcision has been allowed in Germany, although there are standing laws protecting females in Germany from genital cutting. The New York Times points out that the decision won’t be enforceable in jurisdictions other than Cologne, but in reality, legal uncertainty and possible prosecution may lead doctors to decline performing circumcisions on baby boys.
Lead Image by Flickr User miss pupik | <urn:uuid:f0fe452a-3a2c-4255-a989-c120af804750> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inhabitots.com/german-court-outlaws-circumcision-for-baby-boys/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964602 | 387 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Though recent movement has tracked currency fluctuations, geopolitical tensions remained a key driver for the price of Gold this week. Lately, Gold prices in the short-term have become more sensitive to moves in the euro/dollar exchange rate. According to one precious metals analyst, “Significant macroeconomic and geopolitical risk and the appalling fiscal state of most major industrial nations means that Gold will almost certainly eke out further gains in all currencies in the coming months.” In a recent letter to investors, noted billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson said, “By the time inflation becomes evident, Gold will probably have moved, which implies that now is the time to build a position in Gold.”
According to the World Gold Council’s annual report, the demand for Gold reached an all-time high in 2011, largely due to increased buying in China, India and Europe. Marcus Grubb, managing director for investment at the World Gold Council, said, “It is likely that China will emerge as the largest gold market in the world for the first time in 2012. What is certain is that the long-term fundamentals for gold remain strong, with a diverse and growing demand base, coupled with constrained supply side activity.” Another significant Gold-buying event covered in the report was the fact that in 2011, Gold purchases by central banks far exceeded purchases in 2010. In 2010, central banks bought 77 metric tons of the yellow metal. In 2011, they bought 440 metric tons, an increase of 471%.
All this week, true to form, as the chances of a Greek bailout improved, the dollar went down while pushing the value of the euro up. Greek lawmakers voted 199-74 at the beginning of the week to pass the austerity measures demanded by eurozone finance ministers. The city of Athens experienced violent protests and rioting in response to the austerity vote. Despite the passage of the measures, the mood in the eurozone was mostly negative, as many pointed to the fact that such measures had been previously agreed to, but were never implemented. The Financial Times reported that some European nations were considering only giving conditional approval for a bailout until they could be convinced that the latest austerity measures will be implemented fully.
Finance ministers in the eurozone canceled a meeting that had been originally scheduled for Wednesday in which they were to make a decision on Greece’s bailout. Instead, they held a conference call to discuss whether Greece’s leaders had made sufficient commitments with those measures. Greece’s finance minister accused critics of his country’s efforts of “playing with fire” and promised that all outstanding issues on the measures would be addressed. Despite all the skepticism, leaders from Germany, Italy, and Greece expressed optimism that an agreement would be reached soon. However, tensions are rising in the region because the leaders have once again pushed this problem to a crucial moment. A meeting is planned for this coming Monday, during which officials most likely will discuss the bailout. This will precede a summit on March 1st and 2nd, which could turn into a showdown on whether to provide the Greek bailout or wait until after April elections in Greece to proceed.
President Obama submitted his budget proposal to Congress on Monday of this week. The budget, which contains a number of spending measures, is not considered to have any chance of passing due to strong Republican opposition. Most analysts view the budget proposal as a political statement as Obama draws a populist line between himself and his political opponents. One aspect of the budget that took many investors by surprise was that it calls for a substantial tax increase (to a maximum of nearly 40 percent) on dividend earnings for households that make above $250,000. It also calls for an increase in the tax rate for long-term capital gains for wealthier Americans.
Republicans and Democrats hammered out a deal this week to extend the current payroll tax cut that is due to expire at the end of February. Although leaders from both parties indicated they would support the deal, many see the agreement as a victory for Democrats, since Republicans did not demand that the tax cut extension be offset by a corresponding reduction in spending as they have during negotiations in the past. A number of Republicans in Congress are unhappy that the agreement will add $100 billion to this country’s national debt.
The housing industry received some good news this week as the National Association of Home Builders’ monthly sentiment index for single-family home builders rose 4 points, the fifth straight month of gains. Jobless claims here in the U.S. fell to near a four-year low last week. The core producer price index, a measurement of producer prices outside of food and energy, had its largest increase in the last six months. Although some see this as inflationary, others see inflation as unlikely because of the weak labor market. On Friday, the U.S. consumer price index was released, and there was concern that higher energy costs may hamper the economic recovery.
Moody’s Investor Services downgraded the sovereign debt ratings of six countries this week, including Spain, Italy, and Portugal, while also downgrading the outlook for Austria, France, and the United Kingdom. Moody’s stated it was worried about Europe’s ability to undertake the reforms needed to address the crisis and the amount of funds available to fight it. It also said the region’s weak economy could undermine austerity drives by governments to fix their finances. Later in the week, Moody’s announced that 131 financial institutions worldwide (114 of which are in Europe) could soon receive a credit rating cut as a result of both the sovereign debt crisis plaguing the eurozone and a reflection of deteriorating creditworthiness of European governments.
In Syria this week, government forces continued to attack rebels and civilians in an effort to stop the current uprising. The city of Homs has been bombarded by artillery and rocket fire for almost two weeks, and reports were that the Syrian government had initiated attacks in other cities throughout the country that left many dead. The revolution in Syria has pressed on for 11 months, and residents of that country believe that their country is headed for an all-out war. The U.N. estimates that several thousand civilians have been killed.
Weekly Spot Prices
The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, the official Gold bullion coin of Canada, has become one of the most popular Gold coins sought after by investors and collectors worldwide. Since first being minted by the Royal Canadian Mint in 1979, the design of the Gold Maple Leaf has many variations that include Proof releases, various privy marks, holographic enhancements, and commemorative variations. However, the basic features of the Gold coin have remained the same since its inception. The obverse of the coin depicts the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II, and the reverse of the coin showcases the signature maple leaf so closely associated with Canadian nationalism and reflective of Canadian pride.
These beautiful Gold coins are minted in .9999-fine Gold, with some issues minted at .99999 fine, which makes the Gold Maple Leaf one of the purest regular-issue Gold coins in the world. Additionally, each Gold Maple Leaf contains only Gold from mines in Canada!
The Gold Maple Leaf is offered in a variety of sizes to suit every investor’s or collector’s needs. This Gold coin is available in 1/20 oz, 1/10 oz, ¼ oz, ½ oz and 1 oz sizes, with face values ranging from $1 CAN to $50 CAN, respectively. Since the Gold Maple Leafs come in fractional sizes, and all Canadian Maple Leaf coins are approved for individual retirement accounts, this is an easy way to diversify your portfolio with a Precious Metals IRA.
If you are looking to purchase the stunning Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins, shop APMEX’s wide selection of Canadian Gold Maple Leafs. APMEX makes it easy to buy Gold by offering competitive Gold prices on all Gold products. | <urn:uuid:8af9f2a1-6f25-45a8-b45f-6d3b0593b12c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.apmex.com/2012/02/17/weekly-market-recap-february-17-2012/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=a21ac6eb7c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970921 | 1,617 | 1.78125 | 2 |
HEAVEN LETTER #1385 In Memoriam to Sandy Hessler
THE MOMENT of what you call death is always peaceful. There
is no struggle. There is surrender to what has always been, and that
is Eternity. Life, as experienced in the world, has most often been
struggle against the truth of life. You think earth life is supposed
to last forever, even though you give lip service that it is not.
But the truth is that life itself is forever. There is only Being.
There is no death. There is no after life really because life continues
and never ends. Body falls away. Spirit stays with Me, and it stays
with you. In death, it is only the physical that has changed. But
how attached you are to the physical. Sooner or later you will loose
the hold your fingers have on it.
The physical obviously has no life of its own. You consider the body
the moving force. But you also know that cannot be. The spirit does
not follow the body. The body is not a free agent. It accompanies
you. You do not accompany it.
The body is a leash that follows you around. It ties you to earth,
and yet you are untethered.
You feel great loss in your heart at the body death of a loved one
near or far. In the shadow of death you have a clue as to the connectedness
of all souls. Loss is a trick of the mind, beloveds.
Your friend has stepped over another threshold. This threshold is
vaster than any you are aware of on earth. But friendship has not
ended. Your friend is with you now. She is more with you now because
no longer does she have the distraction of physical life. No longer
is she pulled in any direction but in the direction of closeness to
love. Closer to love, she brings all within her soul’s breath
closer to love.
Your friend’s passage through the halls of earthly death is
symbolic. There is no passage. Nothing has changed. There is nowhere
to go and nowhere to leave. The only difference is in your thought.
You were captivated by the existence of a physical being and all the
senses. The senses are physical. You miss the physical sight and sound.
You miss the imagined space the body filled. You miss the earthly
responses. All the while, the connection is intact, and your sense
of Oneness now has the opportunity to become more refined.
party was held on earth, and now one of the guests deigns to go home
and you are still at the party. Part of you would like to go home
as well. Yet you grieve that your friend left the party. Because your
friend left the party doesn’t mean she is gone. She is merely out
of your sight right now. She stays in your thoughts but your thoughts
are misinformed. Your thoughts tell you to be sad when you could be
joyous that your friend has taken a cab home, and one that you will
also take by and by.
You want to join your friend at the same time as you are afraid to
leave the party.
Friendship is in the heart not the mind. Do not let your mind tell
you that a life is over and a friendship gone. The very fact that
your heart yearns for your friend tells you that she is still here.
This spirit that you cannot see but yet feel in your heart –
that is the truth of your friend. It was ever so.
The physical was just a lot of scenery. Make-up. But underneath the
make-up, behind the scenes is where life takes place. Whether the
curtain is up or the curtain is down, what is changed? Merely a curtain,
an illusory curtain. The curtain could be see-through net or thick
velvet – it’s still illusion.
There is no separation. There is no apartness. There is no loss. Why
must your heart ache so? Let heartache go. You have your friend. She
has gone nowhere. She is here with you now.
LETTER #1420 Mourning
YOU HAVE HALF HOLD on and you half let go when it
comes to loved ones who pass into another dimension and seemingly
leave you behind. You want to get over your heartache, but you want
to remember your loved ones and all that was in your heart for them.
You do not want to forget your love for them, and theirs for you.
And so you remember. And as memories wear off, you mourn the loss
of your memories too.
Sooner or later your departed loved ones are reduced to an occasional
memory here or there, perhaps only a paragraph or two, or a sentence
or two, or a word, perhaps their name. You would like to restore them
to life, and you would like to hold them fast to you in your memory.
You would conjure them up if you could.
They have gone on with their lives, and so must you. They have not
forgotten you. Their love for you radiates and radiates. They encompass
you in their love. They would dry your tears. They would have you
laugh instead of weep. They would like to get your attention with
They do not forget you. Nor do they mourn. From
their wider perspective, they see very well. They know there is nothing
to mourn. They are well-aware that only the physical has changed,
and they know that the physical is only physical. They know that the
physical is a manifestation of something. It is a manifestation of
love, but manifestation is only manifestation. Of course, the manifestation
of love matters to you more than can be described. And yet, your loved
one was only a manifestation of love. The physical passes. Love remains.
Nothing can cut into love. It’s just that the love is not wrapped
up any longer. It is not beribboned, but it is love evermore.
What are the tears that you weep for? Of course, they are removing
what does not belong. Mourning does not belong to you. Mourning is
not a testament of your love. It is only a testament of sorrow. It
does not do honor to the loved ones enjoined in a higher realm. Would
you really mourn the end of their temporary life on Earth when you
knew how guided in the light they are now?
You have a tendency to think that somehow their life on Earth was
not finished, that it should have been more, that more blessings should
have been theirs. But you were their blessing. Do you understand?
All your love they carry with them. They have not departed love, yours
nor theirs. Bless them to the theater they star in now.
Love is greater than all the oceans of tears you have made. The oceans
of your tears are but a single drop compared to the one ocean of love.
may ask why there is death? And you may reproach Me for the existence
of death. Death of the body is a fact of life. It has not been kept
a secret from you. You may ask Me why bodies die. I ask you, Why must
you mourn? And why do you fear?
I understand that you miss your loved ones. I also want you to understand
that you have missed the point.
Your love is greater than tears. Far greater. Enough memorials of
tears. Make memorials of joy.
Death of the body is not such a huge thing as you have made it. But
love, that is a different story. You may think I commit murder. I
commit life. Once and for all, accept that there is no end to it.
Death reminds you that you are not your body. Rejoice. You are not
Gloria Wendroff, 2005 | <urn:uuid:341a7a6d-06d7-46ad-b3d9-b79f9a9b1252> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.planetlightworker.com/articles/gloriawendroff/article5.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971032 | 1,690 | 1.5 | 2 |
Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter
There are several ways to measure the speed of the fastest spacecraft and each definition gives credit to a different craft. We will look at four categories in this article: fastest escape speed from Earth’s atmosphere, fastest speed on a solar escape, fastest based on plain old-fashioned km/h, and fastest reentry speed.
The New Horizons space probe is the fastest spacecraft based on its velocity as it escaped the Earth’s atmosphere and gravity. The probe hit 57,600 km/h as it pulled away from its terrestrial tethers.
Next, the spacecraft with the highest rate of speed while on a solar escape trajectory(leaving our solar system) is Voyager 1 at 62,100 km/h. Currently, there are four space probes on trajectories to leave our solar system and expand our knowledge of what is beyond.
Based on pure speed per kilometer are the Helios solar probes. Helios 2 was the fastest during its closest solar approach, but both vehicles exceeded 250,000 km/h.
The fastest spacecraft while reentering Earth’s atmosphere was the Stardust probe. The comet sampling probe hit a comfortable 46,660 km/h while returning samples of comet material and interstellar dust.
Just for fun, the Galileo space probe holds the record for the fastest entry of the atmosphere of another planet. Galileo hit 173,770 km/h on its way to impacting the surface of Jupiter.
As you can see, the fastest spacecraft is based on a clear set of parameters. Hopefully, these answers meet your needs. Feel free to search out database if you have additional parameters you want to use.
We have written many articles about the fastest spacecraft for Universe Today. Here’s an article about the location of the New Horizons spacecraft, and here’s an article about New Horizons’ mission to Pluto.
We’ve also recorded an entire episode of Astronomy Cast all about Dwarf Planets. Listen here, Episode 194: Dwarf Planets. | <urn:uuid:cdd0fc6e-8ecd-4d25-a40e-e62fced36a3d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.universetoday.com/84307/fastest-spacecraft/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90887 | 428 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Baby Born With Eight Legs
Pakistani doctors are doing all they can to keep a baby boy alive who was born with a parasitic twin attached to his abdomen, resulting in 8 legs.
According to The Sun, parasitic twins form when twin embryos fail to fully separate in the womb. This is incredibly rare and occurs in about one in 100,000 births.
There was another case like this in India in 2005. A young girl named Lakshmi was born with 8 limbs. After surgery she is living a happy life. I hope the same happens for this sweet little boy. This is another reminder to count your blessings. | <urn:uuid:1dc74395-bf0b-4e31-a3eb-cc3a6f3b25d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://banana1015.com/baby-born-with-eight-legs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981099 | 125 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Configuration: Outlook Express
NOTE: I haven't been getting around to updating these "configuration" articles nearly as often as I should. Mail programs and webmail interfaces are constantly coming out with new versions, often radically different from earlier ones, and regrettably, often less compliant with traditional standards and practices of mail formatting with each revision. If this article is out of step with the current version, my apologies; I'll try to update it one of these days.
Outlook Express (a.k.a. "Outhouse Excess") is a completely different program from Outlook, with a completely different set of problems in getting it to produce standards-compliant and well-formatted e-mail. While Outlook, a part of the MS Office suite, is predominantly used in business environments, Outlook Express, which came free with earlier versions of Windows, is widely used by home users.
Configuring Outlook Express
To change the configuration settings in Outlook Express, bring up the Options item in the Tools menu. This has a number of different tabs. Here is the Send tab:
The "Include Message In Reply" checkbox determines whether to quote back the message you're replying to; see below for more on Outlook Express quoting style, as well as my articles on quoting.
At the bottom of this configuration page, you select whether to use HTML or plain text for mail and for news (newsgroups). You should choose plain text unless you absolutely, positively need the features of HTML and know that all your recipients whom you might ever send to want your messages that way. Unlike Mozilla, Outlook Express will send all messages in HTML form if this option is selected, even if a particular message makes absolutely no use of any feature (boldfacing, italics, etc.) that requires it, so you'll be inflicting lots of unnecessary code on everybody. (See my discussion of the pros and cons of HTML e-mail.) For newsgroups, it's particularly important to choose plain text; in most groups you'll be strongly criticized if you post in HTML.
The "Reply to messages using the format they were sent" box, if checked, will cause replies to HTML-format messages to go in HTML form even if you've selected plain text messages below; uncheck it if you want to send purely plain text, no matter what. Although there may seem to be some logic to "replying in kind" to whatever format you're sent, there are plenty of cases, such as when you're replying to a message on a mailing list, where you shouldn't want to inflict HTML on all the recipients just because you're responding to somebody else who did.
There are several buttons on this page to bring up additional options. This one is for International Send Settings:
The "default encoding" specifies what character encoding is used for your messages (see my page about character sets). Western European (ISO-8859-1) works well for many languages, but you might need to pick something else if you use a language requiring other characters.
The option to "use English headers" should always be checked no matter what language you speak; this refers to the "Re:" prefix for subject lines (which is actually from Latin, not English), which Microsoft has misguidedly "translated" into other languages, breaking other programs that recognize "Re:" to determine whether a message is a reply. (See my discussion in the article on subject headers.)
The Plain Text Settings box determines some formatting for plain text messages. (I hope you chose to use plain text instead of HTML!) You can choose MIME or UUEncode encoding; this determines how attachments are coded. UUEncode is really archaic now, so MIME is the better choice. However, within the MIME section, you should pick "None" for the encoding choice. If you do this, you'll technically be breaking the standard if you use any characters outside the 7-bit US-ASCII range (e.g., if you include an accented letter), but choosing "Quoted Printable" (which would encode such characters and bring the message into compliance with the standards) unfortunately causes Outlook Express to violate another standard: that of line length. The "Automatically wrap text" item gets grayed out if "Quoted Printable" is used, and hard linebreaks are inserted only at the end of paragraphs, causing all sorts of display problems for other mail programs and Web-based mailing list archives. I used to think that this line-length problem happened in the plain-text versions of Outlook Express messages sent in HTML form, and went away when you picked plain text instead (yet another reason to prefer plain text over HTML), but it turns out that it's actually the "quoted printable" setting (which is by default on for HTML messages but off for plain text messages) that causes the problem.
The other encoding choice, "Base 64", is definitely to be avoided; it would cause your plain text messages to be encoded in a format intended for binary files, which looks like complete garbage to anybody whose mail reader doesn't support this encoding. Furthermore, some people spam-filter any messages whose main body (as opposed to attachments) is Base 64 encoded, since few legitimate messages are sent that way but some spam is.
I believe the default wrapping length is 76; that's a bit on the high side (you're supposed to make lines short enough that they can be quoted a few times, with prefixed characters, and still be under 80 characters), so I reduced it to 70.
The last item governs how quoted material is marked in replies. The greater-than sign (>) is the standard and traditional quote marker, so you should use it.
There's a similar box for the format of HTML messages (which won't matter if you did the sensible thing and configured the program to use plain text only, even on replies!). The encoding format here applies (confusingly) to the plain text portion of the message (sent as a multi-part MIME message with both text and HTML versions), not the HTML portion. The HTML portion is always quoted-printable-encoded. For the above-mentioned reasons regarding line length standards, you should choose no encoding.
The "Send pictures with messages" option determines whether, when you include images from the Web, they're directly attached to your message or referenced via remote Web addresses. I discuss this distinction some more on my page about HTML e-mail.
We turn now to the Compose tab:
These options only affect your outbound mail format if you're using HTML mail (the font used in composing doesn't matter in plain text messages because no font tags can be sent there anyway). I include it here mostly to warn you not to enable the "stationery" feature, even if you think it's "neat", because that would make all your messages bloated by including a background graphic as an attachment to each one of them.
The Signatures tab lets you set up signature blocks.
Outlook Express doesn't automatically add the standard signature separator (two dashes and a space), so you need to include it by hand if you want to use it. Unfortunately, the program then strips all trailing spaces on lines when it sends the message, preventing you from using a correct signature separator even if you want to. (Supposedly this has been fixed in more recent versions.)
Another concern for signature-block users who prefer the traditional bottom posting style over the top posting that Microsoft likes to encourage, is that the signature block is always placed above quoted material on replies, not at the very bottom of the message. In this case, it's actually a good thing that a proper signature separator isn't used, or else all the quoted material would be considered part of the signature by a mail reader that understands signature separators. The option "Don't add signatures to Replies and Forwards" might be a good one for bottom-posters to select, to avoid the awkwardly-placed signature; or else you can cut and paste it every time.
A third-party program, OE-QuoteFix, is available as a free download, and fixes many of the quoting-format problems; if you keep this program running, it will automatically reformat messages whenever you press the "Reply" button. The signature block will be moved to the proper place at the bottom of the message, line-wrapping problems in quoted portions are fixed, and the empty space to type your response is moved to its proper spot below the quotes instead of above them. (But be sure to trim the quoted material appropriately; don't just quote back the whole mess!) OE-QuoteFix also makes some improvements when reading messages, coloring in replies based on how many greater-than signs precede each line, making it easy to see which lines are part of which level of quoting. It's a useful program if you insist on using Outlook Express at all.
Next: Here's a mail program that actually cares about standards compliance and well-formatted e-mail... Give Pegasus a test flight!
This page was first created 17 Jul 2003, and was last modified 10 Oct 2010. | <urn:uuid:36b21e75-e304-4171-882c-6299a75da30f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mailformat.dan.info/config/oex.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922058 | 1,887 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Conidial fungi where the conidia are formed within a cavity lined by fungal or host tissue. The fruiting stuructres may be spherical with an apical openig (pynidia) or saucer shaped (acervuli). The production of conidia within a fruiting body distinguishes this group from the hyphomycetes which have "naked" conidia. Pycnidia may be confused with ascocarps so its important to make the distinction between an acsospore and a conidium.
Description for two species are provided: | <urn:uuid:e4602cfe-3851-4a10-a2e9-abfec008e3d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mycology.adelaide.edu.au/Fungal_Descriptions/Coelomycetes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901052 | 118 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Mrs Beeton's bread and butter pudding
Mrs Beeton's version of the famous bread and butter pudding. Not to be confused with bread pudding, which is quite different.If you want a much richer, tangy version, we have one here.
- 9 Thin Slices Of Bread and Butter
- 900ml (1½ pints) Milk
- 110g (4oz) Currants
- 4 Eggs
- Sugar, to taste
- Vanilla essence, Grated lemon peel or Nutmeg, to flavour
- Pre-heat the oven to 180° C (350° F - gas 4) - (Moderate)
- Cut nine slices of bread thinly and butter them.
- Place into a pie dish with currants between each layer and on the top.
- Sweeten and flavour the milk, either by infusing with a little lemon peel, or by adding a few drops of vanilla essence.
- Whisk the eggs and stir into the milk.
- Strain this over the bread and butter.
- Bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour, or rather longer.
- This pudding may be very much enriched by adding cream, candied peel, or more eggs.
- It should not be turned out, but served in the pie dish and is better for being made about 2 hours before it is baked. | <urn:uuid:53cc53d8-9285-4474-a879-85c2c4b86528> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Mrs_Beeton's_bread_and_butter_pudding | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931947 | 279 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Perfusion processes in mammalian cell cultivations are currently experiencing a renaissance, and are making their way
into modern single-use bioreactor systems. In this article, the authors review the common challenges and main applications
for perfusion processes. The authors present experimental evidence for reaching extreme cell densities of 150 ×106 cells/mL
in an easy to use, high-performance, single- use bioreactor that provides an efficient way to generate cell mass for cell
banking or seed trains, as well as production of considerable amounts of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), even from cell lines
with mediocre expression levels.
During the past decade, the pharmaceutical industry has increasingly switched focus from small molecule-based drugs to recombinant
therapeutic proteins, mAbs, vaccines and more recently, cell therapy products to find novel treatments for unmet medical needs.
Considerable effort has been dedicated to improving the efficiency of cell lines, vectors, culture media and the production
process itself. Today, a number of platform approaches to high-titer expression, especially of mAbs, have been reported (1,
2). These platforms consist of a host cell line, vectors, media, and feeds that are crucial to reach titers of >2–5 g/L in
a 14 day fed-batch process.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AUTHORS
MAIN DRIVERS FOR USING PERFUSION CULTURE
Recently, there has been renewed interest in perfusion processes. In perfusion culture, fresh medium is continuously fed to
the culture while the cells are retained in the bioreactor, and metabolic waste products are removed. Depending on the chosen
cell retention device, the large molecular product can either be retained in the bioreactor (concentrated fed-batch) or removed
from the culture (perfusion). The latter production mode is typically used when the recombinant protein is prone to degradation,
toxic, or inhibitory to the cells. In perfusion processes, cell densities are typically 5– to 10–fold higher than in batch
or fed-batch processes. Process optimization of perfusion processes is intended to maintain cell-specific productivity by
optimizing the composition of the perfused medium and/or applying a certain cell bleed stream to control cell density and
growth rate. It is then possible to achieve 5 to 10 times higher total amount of product compared with batch and fed-batch
(3). An economic comparison of the different process modes has recently been published (4). Due to significantly increased
productivity, a number of companies have identified concentrated fed-batch and perfusion as tools to reduce production scale
and ultimately make commercial production amenable to single use bioreactors. This growing interest in continuous perfusion
is further fueled by the increased number of recombinant therapeutic proteins in the development pipeline.
Several cell-retention devices have been developed during the past 20 years. Today, there are a handful of systems that have
proven suitable for suspension cell culture at process scale: continuous centrifugation, inclined settlers, hydrocyclones,
and alternating tangential filtration (3, 4).
In addition to improved yields in protein production, high cell-density culture also offers advantages for seed production
by reducing the bioreactor scale and number of steps necessary to generate the seed for the final production bioreactor. A
10–fold increase in cell density reduces the required inoculum volume by the same factor. To increase flexibility and reduce
the time from thawing a cell bank vial to inoculation of the production bioreactor, studies have been performed examining
the use of large volume, cryopreserved cultures in cryobags, where the concentrated seed culture has been produced using a
perfusion process in order to replace shake flask technology (5, 6). This approach not only reduces the number of bioreactors
and steps involved, but also the necessary footprint for seed bioreactors, and investment in equipment.
CHALLENGES WITH CONVENTIONAL CELL-RETENTION SYSTEMS
Perfusion often requires expensive investment in cell-retention equipment, certain infrastructure, and personnel with specialised
skills. Therefore, it has not been widely adopted for the production of proteins that are used for research purposes, such
as target proteins or therapeutic lead proteins used in early preclinical research. At the same time, early protein supply
is often characterised by low expression rates of the cell lines used and the need to produce many different proteins in a
given period of time to fuel the development pipeline. We have therefore developed a novel, easy to use, benchtop perfusion
bioreactor that is based on rocking motion agitation (BIOSTAT CultiBag RM 20 perfusion, Sartorius Stedim Biotech). In this
study, we present data on the high cell-density culture of a mAb-producing Per.C6 model cell line. | <urn:uuid:bc7ac811-4dac-41a0-8c34-c85e1c6f77dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biopharminternational.com/biopharm/Disposables/Increasing-Efficiency-in-Protein-and-Cell-Producti/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/718080 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917018 | 1,029 | 2.640625 | 3 |
By Sergei V. Bulgakov
The eighth day after Pascha as the ending of the celebration of Bright Week was a special celebration since ancient times, as if it replaced the very same Day of Pascha and was called Antipascha, and means “instead of Pascha”.
From this day the cycle of Sundays and weeks of the entire year begins. On this day the commemoration of the resurrection of Christ is updated for the first time. This Sunday of the Antipascha was called the New Sunday, i.e. the first day of renewal or simply renewal .
The more proper name is the real day, the eighth day after Pascha, that on this eighth day the Lord Himself willed the renewal of the joy of His resurrection with a new appearance to the Holy Apostles .
St. Gregory the Theologian says in his Homily on this Sunday:
“With the ancient and good purpose, it is to honor the day of renewal as established law, or better to say, to honor the new benefactions with the day of renewal. But was not the day of renewal also the first Resurrection Day, followed by the blessed and radiant night? Why you give this name to the present day? That was the day of salvation, but this day is the commemoration of salvation. That day differentiates the burial and the resurrection in itself, but this day is purely of the new birth. It is the first day among those following it and eighth among those coming before it.”
Commemorating this day of “renewal” the Holy Church inspires in us the necessity for our beneficial spiritual renewal.
“The real renewal”, the same Holy Father teaches, “we now celebrate, is the going from death to life. And so we put off ourselves the old man and renewed ourselves; that we too might walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). … The old has passed away, behold, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). … Let us bridle all lusts from which death was born, let us become accustomed to the feeling of obedience, let us begin to hate any evil food from prohibited fruit and let us remember the former only and henceforth first be wary of the same. Christian be made new from the old and in this way celebrate the renewal of the soul. … Change yourself with a good change, and in this case do not think highly of yourself, but say with David: ‘This is a change being wrought by the right hand of the Most High’ (Ps. 76:11), from whom is everything successful in people. God the Word wants that you not stand in the place alone, but that you ever move, moving smoothly, be completely newly created and if you sin turn yourself away from the sin, and if you are successful, you will have strained the powers even more.”
1 According to the explanation of the Synaxarion there was an ancient custom to periodically do a solemn commemoration for some major events. So that time in the annual cycle does not pass by this very day on which the known event occurred, it annually did a commemoration in order that the memory of the great events was not forgotten. On this basis the Hebrews celebrated the Passover in Gilgal for the first time, renewing their memory of the passage through the Red Sea. On this same basis they celebrated the foundation, and with special solemnity, the renewal of the witness of the Tabernacle. According to this they commemorated the reign of David and other events of which there is no need to list. But so that the incomparably greatest of all events in the life of every one and exceeding every idea is the resurrection of the Lord that we not only commemorate annually, but also continually through every week. So the first renewal of this event in memory of the real Resurrection Day, which it would be possible to call the first renewal of this event by its own meaning both the eighth and the first: the eighth because it is the eighth from Pascha, as the first because it is the beginning of other Sunday commemorations. And this day can still be named the eighth because it will be placed in the image of that eternal day in the future age, which will also be the first and undoubtedly one not divided by night (Vladimirskiia Eparchialniia Vedomosti [Vladimir Diocesan News] 1898, 7).
2 So that the renewal of the appearance of the resurrected Savior was especially for the sake of the Holy Apostle Thomas, who at this appearance also saw the salvatory wounds of the body of the Resurrected One, that from here and of our other more common usage of the name of Antipascha or by the Sunday of St. Thomas, or Thomian. In the ancient church Antipascha Sunday had yet another more special name of “White Sunday”, which even now remains in the Roman Catholic Church. It is called so because the newly baptized, who received the sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation on the eve of Holy Pascha and wore the paschal white vestments for seven days in the image of the infancy and renewal in Christ, on Thomas Sunday, as the last day established for the commemoration after the reception of Baptism, the chrism was washed off from the body and they solemnly wore those clothes in which they were vested after the holy font in the temple.
Our simple people called Thomas Sunday the Sunday of the “wire”, or of the “wires”, obviously, because these celebratory days come to an end and is led by the Bright Sunday of the Resurrection of Christ. Thomas Sunday is also called “Krasnoiu gorkoiu [with bitter beauty]” from the ancient Pagan games, which were played in mountainous places in Spring, before other places were free from snow and were covered by the first beautiful grass, which in the majority concluded in marriages (see details in Rukovodstvo dlia Seljskikh Pastirej [Manual for Village Pastors] 1892, 15; Tserkovnyi Vestnik [Church Messenger] 1896, 8). | <urn:uuid:f0826daa-bbd3-4b07-9cee-8141b164869b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prescottorthodox.org/2012/04/renewal-sunday/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968583 | 1,286 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Reputation and Infractions FAQs
I always see people saying "+rep". What is this?
What's "red rep"?
Reputation is that nifty row of tiny blocks which you see underneath your post count in each post you make. In a nutshell, rep is one of the ways other members give feedback to your post. Your rep bars can either be gray, green, or red.
For a more detailed discussion about rep, click here
Red rep is negative reputation. Red rep deducts points from the total positive (green) rep count of the recipient. Forum members can't give negative rep to another member (Duke+ used to be able to red-rep, but this privilege has since been taken away.What is a "warning" or "infraction"?
Only Admins, Representatives, Super Moderators, Moderators, and Historical Posters can give them now. Mods and Super Mods can't remove negative rep. Only Representatives and Admins can do that.
For more information, refer to the link included in the above question about "+rep".
An infraction (red) is a disciplinary action taken against you if you ever break a rule or misbehave [badly] in the forums.How does someone get suspended/banned?
A warning (yellow) is issued first to you if you're not a habitual rule-breaker or if it's not a very serious offense. A repeated offense may earn you an infraction.
Each infraction has an equivalent point depending on the degree of your offense. They can either be just one point, four, or even 100. Infraction points (excluding 100-point ones) expire after a period of time.
Who can give/lift infractions, suspensions, and bans?
Destructive behavior on the forums usually result in suspensions/bans. Infractions usually precede a suspension/ban. For instance, a four-point infraction suspends you for a day
, and a 100-point infraction bans
a user from the forums.
are temporary bans that can range from a day to a week, depending on the severity of the deed.
are permanent. Basically, it's the end of your forum account. Or as davemata
Originally Posted by davemata
Does an infraction decrease my positive rep count?
Admins, Representatives, SuperMods, and Mods can give you warnings/infractions. They can also remove/lift this if there had been a mistake or the reason for it is justifiable. This rarely happens though.
Do note that publicly discussing the disciplinary actions taken against you or another forum member is a no-no and may subject you to another infraction.
If you want to contest the infraction given you or if you have an issue with a certain moderator
, feel free to report him/her to Dawnseeker
No, unless a rep/admin manually deducts rep points from you alongside the given infraction.
Screenshots, Posting Images, and Avatars & Signatures FAQs
How do I take a screenshot?
How do I include an image in my post?
Follow AbstractAngel's very detailed instructions here
I want those cool avatars and sigs! Where do I get one?
AbstractAngel's guide and the posts that follow all give details on how to do it.
Upload your screenshot/image to any image hosting sites such as PhotoBucket or ImageShack.
When you have the [direct] URL of the image, do the following:
Originally Posted by Quantum Leap
I already have my own sig and avatar. How do I use them?
Just visit the Graphics, Signatures, and Avatars section
and ask for one in the Signature & Avatar Factory and/or one of the numerous shops (if you can't make your own threads yet), or start a new thread with a [REQUEST] prefix. Just ask politely, be patient, and your request will be granted.
You can follow SweetP's step-by-step instructions in this thread: Guide to uploading your Avatar and Signature
. If you're still having trouble uploading it, just post a question in that same thread; some frequent visitors of that section are always there to answer them.
Forum Leader FAQs
What are moderators and those other fancy-colored names?
Where do I apply to become a moderator?
Moderators are members who are given extra permissions to help keep the forum orderly. They are volunteers
and therefore do not get any monetary compensation from the company or anybody else. Their foremost duty is to keep the forums relatively spam-free and safe to make sure that all members will have a good forum experience. They can also answer questions and give advise on Evony-related matters.
They are hardworking individuals and are pretty cool once you get to know them. The least you could do is thank them for their efforts. (:
To get the list of current moderators and forum leaders, click here
To know the difference between mods, senior mods, reps, and admins, click here
What about those Historic Posters? Are they like mods too?
Previously, moderators were picked by the Evony staff based on their performance in the forums. They get an invitation via PM to join the team if they get chosen.
However, this has changed and regular forum members can now apply for the position by sending a PM to Dawnseeker here
Used to be called Forum Guides, Historic Posters are simply those who have contributed a lot to the community, are very knowledgeable, know their way around the forums, and who go out of their way to help other forum members. However, they do not have extra powers like those of a mod or someone higher.
For corrections/suggestions, PM me.
|| QL || | <urn:uuid:f9cf6e79-0a4f-4ca2-8e5d-3aa247ca1a5c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bbs.evony.com/showthread.php?165372-The-Forums-FAQs-and-Guide-to-Getting-Started&s=6cf7717aa7151f832feee36bb343bb84&p=1535189 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947957 | 1,202 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Archive for the ‘Cloud computing’ Category
Scientists are trained to recognize that correlation is not causation, that no conclusions should be drawn simply on the basis of correlation between X and Y (it could just be a coincidence). Instead, you must understand the underlying mechanisms that connect the two. Once you have a model, you can connect the data sets with confidence. Data without a model is just noise.
But faced with massive data, this approach to science — hypothesize, model, test — is becoming obsolete. Consider physics: Newtonian models were crude approximations of the truth (wrong at the atomic level, but still useful). A hundred years ago, statistically based quantum mechanics offered a better picture — but quantum mechanics is yet another model, and as such it, too, is flawed, no doubt a caricature of a more complex underlying reality. The reason physics has drifted into theoretical speculation about n-dimensional grand unified models over the past few decades (the “beautiful story” phase of a discipline starved of data) is that we don’t know how to run the experiments that would falsify the hypotheses — the energies are too high, the accelerators too expensive, and so on.
It’s familiar Microsoft Office collaboration and productivity tools delivered through the cloud. Everyone can work together easily with anywhere access to email, web conferencing, documents, and calendars. It includes business-class security and is backed by Microsoft. Whether you are a small business or multinational enterprise, Office 365 offers plans designed to fit your organization’s unique needs. Learn more today.
You can say all kinds of nice things about Google’s Chromebook laptop concept. You can say it’s ahead of its time. Or that it’s thinking way, way outside the box. Or that, as failures go, at least this one swung for the fences.
Google Cloud Connect is a plug-in for Microsoft Office® 2003, 2007, and 2010 that lets you share and edit Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents simultaneously with other people in your organization. You get the collaboration benefits of Google Docs, while still using Microsoft Office.
A greater number of people, worldwide are using SaaS then ever before, mobile products, tablets – especially the iPad – is growing at a feverish pace, people are using online storage, beyond just placing photos and media, and open source is continuing expansion. Each one of these features could be implemented into systems in six months or less. Each one is available today on the Internet for free and these types of products are gaining mass in the global market. Your end users make up that mass, and a statement I hear often is that people aren’t staying in the systems to fully benefit from it. These features can change that.
“Cloud computing is a new way of delivering computing resources, not a new technology.” The Australian Government Cloud Computing Strategic Direction Paper describes the whole of government policy position on cloud computing. The strategy states that: agencies can choose cloud-based services if demonstrating value for money, fitness for purpose and are adequately secure; provides guidance for agencies on what cloud computing is; and some of the issues and benefits of cloud computing that agencies need to be aware of.
The paper recognises that the public cloud is still evolving, particularly in areas such as security and privacy. These issues need to be adequately resolved before critical government services can be transitioned to the cloud. As a result, the paper outlines three streams of work:
• Stream One – provides agencies with guidance and documentation.
• Stream Two – encourages agencies to adopt public cloud services for public facing “unclassified” government services and to undertake proof of concept studies to fully understand the risks of the cloud environment.
• Stream Three – encourages a strategic approach to cloud. This work is dependent upon greater clarity around projects commissioned under the Data Centre Strategy.
As the Web experience evolves, smartphones may soon live up to their name, and every business’s mobile strategy will grow in importance.
An arcane-sounding change with potentially significant implications for consumers and businesses is under way on the Web: the shift to a new generation of HTML, the programming standard that underpins the Internet. Senior executives, regardless of industry, should take note; like the exponential growth of device-specific applications, this evolution of HTML will further boost the power of mobile devices, accelerating changes in the way people consume content and the potential use of smartphones and tablets as both a marketing platform and a productivity tool.
Today, cloud-sharing and storage startup Dropbox announced that it’s rocketed to 25 million registered users globally, a massive 525% increase since January 2010, when the San Francisco-based company recorded 4 million users. Even more impressive? Users on the site are saving more than 200 million files per day on the free service, which allows consumers to share files online from anywhere with an Internet connection–computers, tablets, smartphones, and so on. | <urn:uuid:508986a4-34c4-4442-b8b0-b5a3a3cf7344> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://learningwithtechs.wordpress.com/category/cloud-computing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931558 | 1,020 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Matt Nolan Cymbals
We've seen lots of British drum makers recently, but individual cymbal makers are much rarer.
From his Bath workshop, percussionist and electronic engineer Matt Nolan individually hand-crafts cymbals, gongs and what he describes as "metal percussion sound sculptures, cup chimes, cocktail kit cymbals and weird creations".
"Just as the cymbals look different they sound different, though not so much they can't be used in all manner of musical settings."
Matt is inspired by "the organic shapes of the natural world, harder geometric shapes" and he's also interested in the art and symbolism of ancient civilisations. Today though we have some relatively conventional (well, they're round) cymbals.
Matt says he crafts his cymbals using "ancient forging techniques employing simple tools, hammers, anvils and fire. Technically, my process has its roots in blacksmithing and goldsmithing". There's no pressing or machine hammering involved.
All this is somewhat different from most other cymbal companies. Matt, for example, hand-hammers his domed cups, whereas the big companies press them using special machinery.
He does, however, use modern materials - B5, B7, B8 and B15 bronze - and in this he is more in the European tradition of Paiste and Meinl.
Matt says he treats his cymbals like works of art, and the result is that the cymbals we have for review are unlike any other. Each example looks different, but they have in common a smooth satin-brown surface which is broken up by sparse bands of gold lathing, the pattern of which varies on each cymbal.
Except, that is, for the ride which has a decorative purple-gold-blue patterned band around the edge of the bell, and what I can only describe as gold squiggles on the underside.
The 17" crash has a Saturn ring of a greenish tinge. The colours reminded me of Meinl's Byzance cymbals which also have greens and purples, though Byzances are B20 alloy. Each cymbal has a different degree of sparse hammerings, again all done by hand, and there are no fine concentric lathing grooves like on most cymbals.
Just as the cymbals look different, they sound different, though not so much that they cannot be used in all manner of conventional musical settings.
Of the three crashes sent for review, our favourite was the 17" Thin Dark crash. Not only is it made from a slightly unusual B7 bronze, it's the thinnest and the difference this makes to the timbre is surprisingly marked.
It's fast yet supple and deep with a short sustain, a dark and mysteriously explosive 'bish'. By contrast the heavier 16" and 18" are both designated Medium Dark and made from imported German B8 bronze.
They're a little more familiar-sounding, of medium pitch and sustain, not quite so sparkling as, say, Paiste's 2002 series B8s. We put this down to the absence of the usual tight lathing found on most conventional cymbals.
But side-by-side with 16" and 18" B8 2002s they are just as powerful. They differ in being darker of timbre and more Zildjian in their roundness of tone.
The 22" hand-hammered Medium ride is also B8 bronze. Paiste was the pioneer in B8 as a professional quality cymbal alloy back in the 1950s and 1960s. And as it happens, Matt's ride reminded us immediately of a
1960s 20" Paiste ride. It also shares its slightly orangey hue. There's an alluring, wiry zing in the tone that we've not heard anywhere else.
The stick tip response is super clear and lively but not hard; there's a clean 'tick' quality with a spongy give underneath and a controlled spread with a seriously deep tone.
The large-ish 6" bell has a fresh, penetrating tone, but again is warm rather than brash.
The set is completed by a pair of 14" B8 hi-hats, which comprise a medium-weight top over a heavy bottom. The heavy bottom ensures that when you open up and shoulder the cymbals for a loud 'shoop' there is plenty of bite and volume. But when closed or playing jazz-style, open-closed 10-to-10, the top cymbal's softish, low pitch is inevitably short on attack.
This will appeal to those who want something controllable and not too abrasive, but will be found wanting by most aggressive rock or metal-style players. For everything else - jazz, indie, folk, funk - where a complex warm tone is appreciated, and you want to be able to control dynamics and occasionally play softly, this pair is certainly worth checking out.
We really enjoyed these cymbals. It's always refreshing to encounter instruments that are genuinely different from the pack. And individual British cymbalmakers are rare.
The hi-hats may be too restrained for some, while the 16" and 18" crashes are closest to more mainstream cymbals on the market. For us, the 22" ride and the 17" crash in particular were special. They are expensive, but we're talking rare instruments, which are also beautiful-looking.
Unique looks. Nice tone.
Hopefully this is just the start for an exciting new name in cymbals.
All MusicRadar's reviews are by independent product specialists, who are not aligned to any gear manufacturer or retailer. Our experts also write for renowned magazines such as Guitarist, Total Guitar, Computer Music, Future Music and Rhythm. All are part of Future PLC, the biggest publisher of music making magazines in the world. | <urn:uuid:576e1f78-4abb-419c-aa76-5280478020af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.musicradar.com/gear/drums/cymbals/matt-nolan-cymbals-391887 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956808 | 1,238 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Does learning about the people, places and events of the past fascinate you?
History majors at Northwestern will gain a breadth of knowledge from ancient history to modern culture. Students will be on the leading edge of research and problem-solving skills.
Hear history students discuss a Christ-centered worldview and engaging in the world.
Egyptologist Dr. Charles Aling interviewed about unrest in Egypt
The unrest in Egypt raises many concerns about what will happen to the country’s antiquities, some of which have been damaged and stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the world's largest collection of Egyptian treasures.
Professor of History Charles Aling, Ph.D. spoke with Faith Radio’s Neil Stavem about Egypt’s current events and biblical history. Listen to the 8-minute interview.
Did you know?
History is the number one undergraduate major of corporate CEOs. And Northwestern graduates are prepared for the corporate workforce or for graduate and professional studies.
“In studying history, we examine the human condition and how people react to different things at different times. And being able to understand it on a large scale is helpful when dealing with things on a smaller scale. I’m planning on going to law school and I’ll research a lot of cases. Many of the same tools I’ll need for that, I’ve learned in my history classes. It’s definitely going to be crucial for my law school pursuits.”
Peter – Hamilton, North Dakota
What classes will I take?
What can I do with this major?
What are grads doing?
NWC history alumni have worked for the Secret Service, gone on to law school at Harvard University, University of Minnesota, William Mitchell College of Law and more. Others teach history and social studies, pursue a Ph.D. in history or work in business, law enforcement, archaeology, or intelligence services. Others pursue work in state government and public policy. | <urn:uuid:67f1ee4a-5a75-49d4-a581-c2b2ee23a59f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jlreynolds2@nwc.edu/web/undergrad/history | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93095 | 408 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Twitter in Education
Twitter may be a great way to keep up with what’s happening, but it’s not so good at keeping track of what's happened. That’s because Twitter itself offers no way to keep an archive of your tweets. It’s true that you can search your own postings (from your Twitter page). But those searches are limited to the last 3,200 tweets you have made.
Home » Education Written by Mason 3 January 2012 23 Comments One of the best ways to stay up-to-date on the latest in education (other than a free subscription to the SimpleK12 blog ) is to follow hashtags on Twitter. Before we get into which hashtags to watch, let's look at what they are. Hashtags (#) are basically keywords for a tweet.
PLN Development Resources Developing a great Professional/Personal Learning Network is a great way to grow 24/7. My PLN energizes me to explore more, learn more, and think more. We are starting our district PLN development by using the following three tools:
This guide is specifically for teachers who are interested in finding out more about Twitter and even jumping in to the Twittersphere themselves. It is made up of a series of videos from teachers who use Twitter all the time, so it was 'crowd sourced.' Meaning people in the crowd each added a little until there was a whole. Pretty cool stuff really. You can hit the About page to find out who is responsible for all of this... :-)
TweetDeck Column-based Twitter applications like Tweetdeck can make following hashtags easy. (Image by Tojosan ) As I’ve mentioned before, hashtags are a powerful tool that allows Twitter users to track what many people (especially people whom you aren’t already following) are reporting or thinking about a particular topic or event. Here’s the catch: Hashtags aren’t an officially supported Twitter service. They’re merely a convention that Twitter users have adopted on their own, within the 140-character text-only constraints of tweeting.
One of the most complex features of Twitter for new users to understand is the hashtag , a topic with a hash symbol ("#") at the start to identify it. | <urn:uuid:a8223645-e482-49e3-b414-0e85a142a7f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pearltrees.com/wickstim/twitter-education/id4888586 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938929 | 469 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Q&A: Healthy Eating, Self Esteem, & Body Image
My son is 8 and slightly overweight. I am wondering what’s the best way to address it. I have even caught him sneaking food. He is a carb lover (like me) and could eat the equivalent of 3 servings of cereal and a bagel for breakfast. How do I help him to make healthy choices without having it backfire and make the problem worse (like sneaking food)? He has become sensitive about his weight, and I believe he has had kids comment about it at school. I would appreciate any advice or insight you have on this issue.
Answer by Joe Newman (Behavior Consultant)
The first step to changing the way your child eats is to create a home where the healthy foods are convenient, prepared, and abundant while the unhealthy foods are inconvenient, difficult to prepare, and scarce. Imagine a kitchen where there are several healthy choices prepared and ready to eat. But if you want cookies then you have to bake them. If your home has an abundance of unhealthy, convenient snacks around, any efforts you’re making to get your children to eat healthy will be an uphill battle.
Have healthy snacks and foods ready-to-eat and easily available (think cut fruit, veggies and a healthy dip, sliced chicken breast and ketchup, or protein bars). You could offer to make him a healthy snack but…require he make his own unhealthy one. Quite often we eat unhealthy snacks because they’re easy to open up and much on. Think about having a refrigerator/pantry that has lots of healthy options on hand. (Lately, I’ve had 0% fat Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries and a little honey on hand for my daughter who’s home from college. It’s like creamy ice cream.) Initially, your child might not want these things but have them around and eliminate the unhealthy stuff and eventually he’ll try them.
The second step to getting your children to eat healthy foods is to set up firm boundaries and structured choices without any judgment about their decisions.
Let your children know that 95% of the time you’ll be preparing only healthy meals. If they want the more unhealthy choices they’ll need to prepare them themselves. Offer them some choices of the healthy foods you’re willing to prepare.
You can make a rule that before he has a snack of his choice he first must finish a healthy snack of your choice. You could give him a choice of a piece of fruit, veggies, a sandwich, nonfat yogurt or whatever. By the time he finishes the healthy snack he won’t be able to eat so much of the unhealthy one. Additionally, he’ll be developing a taste for healthier food.
Ask him to help choose from healthy choices. Give him multiple choices from healthy foods you choose.
Offer your children structured choices in order to avoid power struggles: “If you want _______ then you need to have ________ first. If you want to have_______ first/only that’s fine but that would be with your money.” Or, “You can choose any one of these five (cereals, protein bars, etc.). You can choose one or I’ll chose.”
Eating is often driven by emotion, not hunger. The forces that drive overeating and binge eating are often emotional, not logical. Start by focusing on quality rather than quantity foods. You help your child develop a healthy relationship with food when you praise them when they eat food that’s good for them. The first step is to help them find healthy foods they like and encourage them to eat these without worrying about quantity. In the beginning stages of changing food habits they will still be overeating to feel good so just try to encourage them to eat healthy/healthier foods when they do.
Keep discussions, and setting of boundaries and limits, about food as neutral as possible. Example, “It’s fine if you want a sweet treat in the afternoon but from now on you need to eat a healthy snack before any unhealthy snack. If you don’t want a healthy snack that’s okay but if you don’t have a healthy snack first you can’t have the sweet/unhealthy snack.” Or, “I realize you want me to buy those cookies but I’ve decided to limit the number of unhealthy sweets we have in the house. If it’s really important that you have them you’re welcome to use your allowance to get them for yourself.”
Try not to convince, berate, or lecture about food. Discussions that bring up shame or guilt about food can lead to binge eating and eating in secret.
Have a conversation about his feelings/concerns about food and his weight/appearance. This conversation should be primarily you asking your child questions that help him to decide whether his current choices are getting him the resultshe wants. Let him tell you his concerns, goals, and struggles about eating. And then ask him to give you input about which healthy foods you buy. You choose what’s healthy and he chooses which of those foods he likes.
Avoid the emotional backfire of shame and guilt that accompanies sneaking food. If you catch him sneaking food, set a consequence in a neutral manner. Example, “Since you decided to go against my rule of having a healthy snack before a sweet one, it just means you had your dessert early tonight. Maybe you needed to have it now, and that’s fine, it just means you can’t have it later.” Or, “If you sneak food and don’t stick to the rules then the next time I go shopping I won’t get that item.”
Joe Newman is a behavior consultant who trains parents, behavior specialists, teachers and administrators in the methods he’s developed. During the last twenty years he’s been a teacher for 2nd through 12th grade classes, designed curriculum, and founded a national mentoring program. His book Raising Lions was published in September 2010 and is available at Amazon.com.
Answer by Julie Gamberg and Holly Kretschmar (Parents & Educators)
We’re happy that you’re engaged in your son’s health and self image and recognize his weight as a potentially sensitive issue. Though you asked specifically about your son’s weight, you’ll see below that we’ve taken the opportunity to step back and address the challenge of health more broadly, which we hope will be helpful for whatever stage your son is in.
The good news is that being ‘slightly overweight’, particularly for an 8 year old, is not a health risk in and of itself, and carbohydrates are not inherently problematic (more on that below). Sneaking food, however, and feeling sensitive about weight, are issues that could worsen over time and negatively affect other areas of your son’s life. We have some thoughts about how to help your son build a positive relationship with food (and strengthen his self image) as well as some dietary and fitness suggestions to make sure your whole family is on track. But before we make tactical suggestions, let’s remember that people come in all shapes and sizes, and connecting with your son about feeling ‘chubby’ (if that’s what he feels) is an opportunity to encourage him to embrace his uniqueness and appreciate the diversity of people around him.
Pre-tweens are hard at work forming their identities, exercising their opinions, and forging their first attempts at big decisions on their own. They’re impressionable, and as a parent, it’s important to be careful about the language you use because you can have a profound impact on your son’s self image. Though his body is changing rapidly and may look very different in a few years, labels such as “fat” or “overweight” can stay with him for his whole life, contributing to low self esteem. So, when you talk with your son, avoid talking about weight or dieting and instead focus on nutrition and movement.
Carbohydrates have been vilified by popular diets, but in fact carbohydrates are necessary sources of energy that help process other nutrients. However, some carbs are more nutritious than others. Complex carbohydrates, such as legumes (a protein/carb combination), whole grains, and vegetables, are efficient forms of energy, and fuel growing bodies with necessary calories. Your son does need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy, but as long as he consumes some protein, fruit, and vegetables during a week’s period, he’ll likely get the basic nutrition he needs. (Consult your pediatrician if you’re concerned that he’s not getting necessary nutrients.) Many kids go through stages where they eat one thing, such as only white food or only hot dogs for weeks at a time, and it’s theorized that these urges come from genuine physical needs (for carbs, protein, or perhaps micro-nutrients). We don’t know the particular circumstances of your son’s carb-o-philia, but he could be eating carbohydrates for the emotional comfort that starchy foods provide; he may be ‘carb sensitive’ and eating simple starches may trigger a craving for more; he may be “rebelling” to real or perceived restrictions or judgment about his eating; or he may simply be hungry. In general, an eight-year-old is still making food choices by listening to his body, which is an instinct that should be nurtured. (Many adults are so burdened by social norms and their own negative associations with food that they lose the ability to respond to their body’s cues.) As a parent, you may need to accept your son’s love of carbs in the short term in order to help him establish good habits for the long term.
If your son is sneaking food, his behavior may indicate that he’s starting to eat for reasons beyond physical hunger, or perhaps he’s fearful of your reaction to foods he’s eating. Sneaking food is a warning sign that a child’s sense of self-respect is at risk. To nurture trust between you and support your son’s developing sense of honesty and integrity, think through this problem carefully: Why is he sneaking food? Is his diet overly restricted? Are there foods in the house that he’s not allowed to have (and are therefore overly tempting)? Does he see someone else in the house use food as a reward for behavior? We recommend removing ‘off-limits’ foods from the house, avoiding using food as a reward, and steering clear of too many ‘food rules’ so that your son can learn to exercise his own judgment. Eight-year-olds are learning to make decisions for themselves, still reliant on their parents but also eager to stretch their wings. Too many rules about what and when kids can eat can make off-limits foods more desirable, and they can send a message to kids that their parents don’t trust them, preventing them from learning how to make good decisions. Sometimes when food rules are relaxed kids revel in the sudden freedom and go overboard on junk. But this phase is usually short, and you can use it as an opportunity to ask your son how he feels and if he notices that his energy is less than when he eats nutritious food.
If your son is getting teased at school, he may not be engaging in physical activities with his peers. If so, you could help your son find activities he enjoys and can master. Some athletic programs are set up in such a way that kids who run slower or are less athletic may feel embarrassed, cost their team points, or feel like ‘losers’. Check out the athletic programs he’s involved in. Programs such as the successful Playworks (http://www.playworks.org/) help kids learn to love moving regardless of their athletic ability. If your son doesn’t like his current athletic program, we encourage you to to try and change it, and if that doesn’t work, experiment with different types of movement until you find one that’s a fit for him. From swimming to rollerskating to martial arts, you can help your son find an activity he enjoys.
Protecting your son from shame, guilt and other emotions that foster a negative relationship with food (and his body) requires taking the long view. As your eight-year-old grows taller he may grow leaner and lose the baby fat that he’s carrying now, or he may grow chubbier. What’s important is to model a healthy body image and a positive relationship with food, and create a relaxed but informative food environment at home. If your son sees you eating nutrient-dense foods and hears you talking about the feel-good and body-building benefits of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, he’ll adopt your healthy habits in the long run. Most importantly, help teach your son to be proud of who is he is. As many readers of this site know first hand, it can be challenging to be someone who isn’t accepted as normal in the mainstream, but it’s deeply rewarding to stand up and be yourself, whatever your shape, size, or identity. If your son is going to be a chubby teen and young adult, support him in becoming the most self-confident, grounded, chubby person he can be. At some point, you may need to explain to him that many people are afraid of difference, and that some people behave unkindly out of fear that they won’t fit in. But if he can brave the popularity storm, he will find himself richer for it and he may just turn out to be popular as well.
Below are some tactical ideas for creating a healthy food environment in any family’s home, regardless of their shape or size:
● Stock your house with healthy food and snacks. Many parents find that their kids are most receptive to cut vegetables, for example, when they’re available as a pre-dinner appetizer. Cut them in cute shapes, if you have the time (or teach your son to cut them), and present them attractively (smiley faces, animals, etc.) as a bonus. Serve them with dips (hummus, yogurt-red pepper, pesto, applesauce, etc.) and ask your son to find his favorite veggie-dip combos.
● Model healthy eating, so healthy food behavior seems normal.
● Talk to your son about energy-giving (nutritious) foods and energy-sapping (junk) foods. Encourage him to notice the difference in how he feels when he eats different foods. Most kids are fascinated by the fact that food ‘works’ inside their bodies – that beans build muscles and yogurt makes their bones strong, for example – and that some foods supply more lasting energy than others.
● Model and talk about moderation. Show your son that if he’s eaten the ‘good stuff’ first, less nutritious foods are fine in small amounts. And, even moderation in moderation is fine; a second helping of pie on Thanksgiving just might be a human right, and occasional, unabashed enjoyment of food for deliciousness’ sake can be a natural part of a sustainable diet.
● Involve your son in every part of the food process if possible – growing, buying, prepping, clean-up – so that he learns to value good quality food. Grow some herbs or, even better, vegetables. Take him shopping and let him choose his favorite vegetable, for example.
● Visit your local farmers’ market, regularly if possible, and get to know the farmers who provide your food. Some farms host family volunteer days, another way to connect your son to the source of his food.
● Engage him in cooking. Cooking with kids helps them appreciate food, and builds their skills so that someday, they can make their own meals instead of relying on fast food. Many kids get excited about specific implements, such as the peeler, the grater, the steamer, or the salad spinner.
● Make gradual changes. No kid wants to see her beloved sugar cereal and white flour bagel replaced suddenly with a quinoa flake porridge and sprouted whole grain bagel. You may want to introduce complex carbs or protein at breakfast, but make the changes slowly (mixing a healthy cereal with a less healthy one, for example). Avoid pushing specific foods, which can increase resistance; don’t treat the changes as a punishment, and back off a bit if you meet a lot of resistance.
For all of us, health is a lifelong challenge, and often, awareness is the secret to physical health. Knowledge about nutrition, fostering a love of movement, and having a positive body image are the foundation of sustainable health. Try some new things, take it slowly, and let us know how it goes.
Holly Kretschmar and Julie Gamberg are two parents, writers, and educators who live in Los Angeles and are writing a book about parenting tools.
[Photo Credit: Flickr member Alysssla] | <urn:uuid:309ec3a0-1350-4188-9762-aab807cec157> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thenextfamily.com/2011/04/how-can-you-help-your-child-learn-healthy-eating-habits/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967063 | 3,614 | 2.5 | 2 |
Everyday Faith: Quiet Piety Permeates Hutterite Thought, Deed
Aksamit, Nichole. "Everyday Faith: Quiet Piety Permeates Hutterite Thought, Deed." Forum, 15 November 1999, sec. A1 & A12.
The modest women of Spring Prairie Colony
share a quiet moment in the early morning sun on a trailer behind
a tractor headed for a cucumber field northwest of Hawley, Minnesota.
Quiet piety permeates Hutterite thought, deed
By Nichole Aksamit, The Forum, Staff Writer
Published in The Forum, Fargo, North Dakota, November 15, 1999,
page A1, A12
Spring Prairie Colony, Minn.
A bell in the courtyard chimes the time for the noon meal.
At once, the men and women of this Hutterite colony northwest of
Hawley walk briskly toward the central dining hall, heads bowed
The kerchiefed women enter a door on the north, the men a door
on the south and, like two flocks of birds, they fall into formation.
The women seat themselves at long tables on one side of the room,
in order by age and marital status. The men hang their hats on the
wall and seat themselves in order on the other side.
At once, as in response to some silent signal, 284 metal chair
legs grate against linoleum as 71 bodies slide their chairs toward
the tables and wait in silence for the leader to say grace.
They fold their hands at their chests and bow their heads in supplication
as a deep voice from the male side of the room intones the opening
prayer in German.
After the "Amen," the men and women begin dishing up
the roast pork, homemade potato chips, coleslaw, boiled carrots
and onions, creamy egg soup, tomatoes and whole milk that has been
set before them.
They eat quickly, silently and in near-perfect unison.
Two teen-age girls move swiftly from table to table, collecting
the uneaten food from the serving dishes at the women's tables and
redistributing it to the men's. And the kitchen manager brings out
a piece of chocolate cake for each person, a special treat for the
ladies who butchered 1,400 chickens this morning.
Exactly 12 minutes after the opening grace, the same deep voice
recites the closing prayer:
"Danke, Gott, fur diese Speise. Bitte geben uns mehr - unser
geistliche Speise. In den Namen Jesus Christus, Amen."
(Thank you, God, for this food. Please give us more - our spiritual
food. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.)
At once, 71 bodies push their chairs from the table.
Like so many aspects of everyday life at Spring Prairie Colony,
even mealtime has a religious undercurrent.
"What is in our society a routine function, such as the gathering
of a family around the supper table, becomes to the Hutterians an
expression of worship," writes the late Moorhead State University
sociologist and archivist Victor Peters, in "All Things Common,"
a sociological study of the Hutterite way of life.
"The taking of nourishment to them is more than just that;
it is a religious service, a tribute to the glory of the Provider
And, if asked why they do something a certain way, Hutterites at
Spring Prairie will usually quote the Bible or say simply, "God
Even the Hutterites' modest clothing style has its roots in religion:
the biblical imperative that women cover their hair and believers
have "all things common." They believe their uniform dress
code identifies them as Christians, sets them apart from the world
and reduces the coveting of material things.
From birth, Hutterites are taught to value piety and humility.
Daily prayers are among the first words a child learns to speak.
The colonists at Spring Prairie typically pray at least 13 times
a day - once in the morning, once at night, before and after three
meals and two snacks, and during church services held Sunday morning
and each evening before supper.
Prayer, they feel, is part and parcel of a life guided by God and
"If you're going to be a Christian," says John Waldner
Sr., the colony's elder minister. "You can't be a half-Christian.
You must read and live by the whole Testament. You must strive to
be like Christ in thought, word, and deed."
The daily services at Spring Prairie are a serious affair. At about
5:45 p.m. each day, the same bell that calls the congregation to
dinner reminds them it's time to go home and prepare for church.
The men and women wash their hands and faces, put on their black
jackets and aprons and wait in the dark of their houses for the
colony elders to begin the somber procession to the meeting hall.
As at mealtime, it is considered rude to arrive early or late and
the congregation assembles quickly, parting at the main aisle of
the church. Again, everyone has his or her place by gender, age
and marital status.
Men sit on the left with their hats in their laps. Women sit on
the right with their hands folded. The youngest Hutterites sit toward
the front, the oldest at the back - with the exception of the elected
elders who sit at the front and face the congregation.
Children under age 5 remain at home with their baby-sitters.
The church at Spring Prairie is on the main level of the same building
that houses the adult and children's dining halls, the kitchen,
the bakery and the laundry. It is a low-ceilinged, wood-paneled
rectangle of a room with linoleum floors, uncushioned wooden pews
and three windows at the front.
It is notably unadorned. The only thing on the walls is a wooden
clock. The plain windows wear ghostly white curtains. There are
no crucifixes, no candles, no sound system, no piano or organ, no
There is no altar, but rather a simple table behind which the two
ministers kneel for prayers or stand to read the hymn verses and
the sermons, some of which date to the 1500s.
The services, conducted entirely in high German, begin with a formal
prayer asking God's help and guidance in thought, word a and deed,
and about 10 minutes of song.
During an evening service in August, the younger minister, George
Waldner, stands and reads several verses of the day's hymn, "Wer
Ohren hat zu horen" (Those Who Have Ears to Hear") - from
a small songbook.
The seated congregation sings the hymn unaccompanied, line by line,
recalling the plaintive melodies from memory. With strong, reedy
voices they sing eight verses about the importance of Demut (humility)
when tempted by the apparent splendor of Pracht (fancy, unnecessary,
John, the elder minister, then reads the sermon, word for word,
from a black-bound book. A breeze billows the curtains behind him
and the congregation sits with slightly bowed heads, their eyes
averted from the minister as if to better hear and understand his
One of many passed down from the 16th century, the sermon talks
of Christ's example. It centers on biblical accounts of his behavior
on Earth: turning water to wine at the wedding of Canaa, throwing
merchants out of the temple, healing a sick man, and forgiving his
The sermon argues that man must live by Christ's example - strive
for the spiritual, abandon the material, help his neighbors and
love his enemies - in order to attain heavenly reward.
The congregation then kneels for about 10 minutes on the hard linoleum
floor while George says the closing prayers.
After the benediction, the men file out, oldest to youngest, then
the women, oldest to youngest.
They go home to remove their black jackets, discuss the sermon,
hold their children and wait for the supper bell.
Prayer and preaching are an integral part of life for Hutterites,
who attend church every day and twice on Sunday. The Spring
Prairie colonists hurry to evening church services.
Reprinted with permission of The Forum | <urn:uuid:884765f2-d971-4c79-9da4-59f3cf7925ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/articles/newspapers/news/hutterite15a.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92521 | 1,815 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Kenyan communities receive 6 greenhouses
Feb 25, 2011
Six greenhouses were given to three communities in Kenya by the Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF), in an effort to address food security concerns, according to AllAfrica.com.
The greenhouses were worth about 1.5 million Kenyan shillings, or about $18,200.
"At a time when Kenya is grappling with food shortage, we hope that our commitment will go a long way in supporting the three communities to grow food in Kenya," Tom Were, KCDF Programmes Director, told the news source.
The recipient communities are the Albinism Society of Kenya, Pambazuka Self Help Group in Kisumu and Kajiado Children's Home in Kajiado.
The gift of the greenhouses also came with seeds, storage tanks, drip irrigation systems and information on greenhouse farming as well as other modern practices to promote food security.
Kenya has a population of more than 40 million, with a median age of 18.8 years, an infant mortality rate of 53.49 deaths per 1,1000 births and an average life expectancy of 58.82 years, according to the CIA World Factbook.
This is compared to the United States, which has a population of more than 310 million, a median age of 36.8 years, an infant mortality of 6.14 per 1,000, and life expectancy of 78.24 years. | <urn:uuid:4b47fc40-4ae8-45df-be58-b40883b7526d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.animalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/ths/article/Kenyan-communities-receive-6-greenhouses611 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951479 | 295 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Question: If you are going the posted speed limit, is it necessary to pull over if five or more vehicles are behind you?
Answer: The short answer is "no." If you are going the posted speed limit, you don't have to pull over. With that said, we've all experienced motor homes that don't go the speed limit because they are sightseeing. They certainly have to pull over.
But let's look at this another way. Does driving along the highway at the posted speed limit with someone who is tailgating you cause serious problems? Yes.
We have all heard of road rage. Then there are the impatient drivers who will pass on double yellow lines, or pass on curves or pass multiple cars at a time. So I ask you to please pull over when you have multiple cars behind you or when you have impatient tailgaters following you. I don't advocate speeding, but let's not cause potentially bigger problems (multiple and potentially fatal vehicle accidents, fights, shootings) because you don't want to pull over and let someone by.
The troopers on the road are actively enforcing the five-car rule, following too closely and speeding.
If you have questions that you would like to ask a trooper, please send them to: Alaska State Troopers, 4060 Heath St., Homer, AK 99603. Or you can e-mail them to Chad_Goeden@dps.state.ak.us. The Alaska State Troopers remind you to always wear your seat belt. It's the law.
Peninsula Clarion ©2013. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:24394c23-339e-446a-8be9-6a380b34ed0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/031201/peo_0312010009.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964643 | 326 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Simply stated, the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are the two joints that connect your jaw to your skull. More specifically, they are the joints that slide and rotate in front of each ear, and consist of the mandible (the lower jaw) and the temporal bone (the side and base of the skull). According to the American Dental Association (ADA), the TMJs are among the most complex joints in the body. These joints, along with several muscles, allow the mandible to move up and down, side to side, and forward and back. When the mandible and the joints are properly aligned, smooth muscle actions, such as chewing, talking, yawning, and swallowing, can take place. When these structures (muscles, ligaments, jaw bone, mandible, TMJ) are not aligned, nor synchronized in movement, several problems may occur.
Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are disorders of the jaw muscles, temporomandibular joints, and/or the nerves associated with chronic facial pain. Any problem that prevents the complex system of muscles, bones, and joints from working together in harmony may result in temporomandibular disorder.
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), classifies the categories of TMD by the following criteria:
A person can have one or more of these conditions at the same time.
Most oral health professionals will agree that the primary cause of this disorder is excessive strain on the muscle group that controls chewing, swallowing, and speech. This strain may be a result of bruxism (incessant clenching of the teeth), or from physical or mental stress. These factors may be the cause, in most cases, or may aggravate an existing condition of TMD.
The following are the most common symptoms of TMD. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
The symptoms of TMD may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Consult a dentist or your physician for a diagnosis.
Specific treatment for TMD will be determined by your physician or dentist based on:
Treatment may include:
Click here to view the
Online Resources of Oral Health | <urn:uuid:2b885eac-20c0-451c-b3d2-3d5c2871f169> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nyhq.org/diw/Content.asp?PageID=DIW000899 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937012 | 463 | 3.609375 | 4 |
The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door…
When I heard Alone was chosen as the theme, a set of bizarre ideas immediately appeared in my mind. I really wanted to explore about the feeling of being alone, about the psychological effect of it. Also, I had read The Knock recently so I wanted to explore more about that subject.
The tools I used included:
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Lightroom
- Adobe Flash
- Flashdevelop / ActionScript 3
- as3sfxr »
- Aviary »
- A standard Digital Camera
- Some burned papers
- A friend (lol)
The art is rather simple, I took some photos of my house and I asked a friend to model for me. We did some shots of him walking, but because I lack equipment (tripod, marks, etc) the result looks a little bad. I did my best to correct the photos in Photoshop. The room is a part of my house, that isn’t even a room, but I couldn’t take a picture of a real room because the camera angle was too short. I applied Exposure and Posterize to all the images.
The programming was done entirely in ActionScript 3, using some features of my own library, but the vast majority was to be made from scratch. I used Flashdevelop because I’m really fast with it… Just press Ctrl+Shift+1 and it’s like magic!
I think I’ll work more time on this game. I’ll add more puzzles, make an easy mode, add language support, and maybe more rooms to explore, or explore more about the story. For example, what happened upstairs?
This was my second time on Ludum Dare, and I think it was a really good experience. I don’t think there’s something that went wrong, maybe next time I’ll add more features to my framework, like effects, sound support and embedding support; but at the end I managed to do what I intended to do. | <urn:uuid:68186736-b252-4c41-8597-9a71b5e23431> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2011/12/21/the-knock-port-mortem/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967572 | 435 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The word quesadilla translates to “cheesy little thing”—but not all recipes require heavy amounts of the gooey, melted stuff. In this version, black beans are mashed and combined with corn kernels, tomato salsa, herbs and a little cheddar then grilled, not fried, to crispy perfection.
Tagged: clean eating
Memorial Day is less than a week away—get your grill ready for the big get-together with a test run of a recipe that’s perfect for your vegetarian guests. Thick-sliced eggplant is tossed with a mixture of sweet honey, olive oil and coconut flakes then grilled until tender. Serve it as a side with other BBQ favorites, or make it the main dish for a healthier holiday meal.
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzos, are hearty legumes that stand up to heat better than many other beans. Enjoy their perfect texture (and the seven grams of protein one half-cup supplies!) in this slightly spicy, tomato-based soup. Sprinkle with crushed blue corn tortilla chips as a gluten-free alternative to croutons!
Russets versus reds: what’s the difference? Starchier and thicker skinned, russet potatoes work well in baked, mashed or fried dishes. New reds, on the other hand, have less starch and paper-thin skin—making them perfect for boiling, steaming or grilling. Try this easy-to-make red potato salad for your next picnic or party. Spuds are boiled and quartered, then tossed with good-for-you Greek yogurt, crunchy celery and fresh herbs.
Need more omega-3s? Salmon is a tasty way to get them, especially when it’s tossed with tender pasta shells, sweet green peas and a zesty balsamic-Dijon dressing! Use sustainably-caught, Alaskan canned salmon for rich flavor and easy prep. Once the pasta is cooked, just combine what’s left on the ingredients list, chill and serve.
Have just one sweet potato left in your pantry? This recipe is an easy way to put it to good use! Cube and sauté your lonely spud with some celery and onion, then simmer in vegetable broth before blending smooth. Almost as easy as opening a can—and you get to spoon up fresh flavor and whole food nutrition with every bite!
Serve rice chips with a side of mango salsa for a festive and flavorful Mexican fiesta starter! Fresh fruit is cubed and tossed with flax oil and lime, then spiced just slightly with a sprinkling of chili powder and crushed red pepper. This cool-hot combination pairs perfectly with grilled meat or fish, or use it to top tacos, nachos or any of your favorite south-of-the-border dishes.
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Love Shopping? Hop to it. | <urn:uuid:7378a641-671e-4679-b91c-3236ad0f8418> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.vitacost.com/tags/clean-eating/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905243 | 608 | 1.554688 | 2 |
A HUGE fire sweeping through the Grampians crossed the Henty Highway last night with firefighters from as far as New Zealand battling to slow it down.
Their task will be even tougher tomorrow with severe conditions and north-easterly winds of up to 50 kilometres an hour forecast.
Communities at Glenisla, Woohlpooer and Mooralla were on edge as smoke covered their properties with the fire approaching. “Everything that can be done has been done and we are just watching and waiting, hoping it won’t cross the highway,” a resident of the historic Glenisla homestead told The Standard.
The front has burnt more than 15,000 hectares of national park and private farmland since late last week.
Incident controller Russell Manning said flames were travelling faster than crews on earthmoving equipment could clear breaks.
“It’s just jumped Harrop Track on the west side of the Victoria Range,” he said at 5pm.
“We are building a fall-back line with five dozers pushing against it with strong south-east winds. The front is about three kilometres from the Henty Highway and expected to cross this evening.”
Police crews were in place to close the highway between Horsham and Cavendish with further roadblocks at Cherrypool and Mooralla. They will remain until the danger has eased.
West of the highway, crews were set to carve containment lines through open redgum forest and heathland.
Mr Manning predicted nearby communities would continue to experience smoky conditions for many days to come.
“There is warm weather and no rain forecast for a week,” he said.
“We have more than 300 firefighters in action with reinforcements from New Zealand and NSW arriving today. The other key fire at Cassidys Gap near Dunkeld is under control.”
There were 24 other blazes in the Grampians and Wimmera districts, along with Edenhope and Irrewillipe districts. | <urn:uuid:fbe69925-c700-408a-99de-d0ffc704c981> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.standard.net.au/story/1315987/strong-winds-give-grampians-blaze-fresh-impetus/?cs=72 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97271 | 417 | 1.570313 | 2 |
|New International Version (© 2011)|
The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
King James Bible
And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
American Standard Version
And Jehovah discomfited them before Israel, and he slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
Young's Literal Translation
and Jehovah doth crush them before Israel, and it smiteth them -- a great smiting -- at Gibeon, and pursueth them the way of the ascent of Beth-Horon, and smiteth them unto Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
Joshua 10:10 Additional TranslationsClarke's Commentary on the Bible
Slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon - Multitudes of them fell in the onset; after which they fled, and the Israelites pursued them by the way of Beth-horon. There were two cities of this name, the upper and lower, both in the tribe of Ephraim, and built by Sherah, the daughter of Ephraim, 1 Chronicles 7:24. The situation of these two cities is not exactly known.
To Azekah, and unto Makkedah - These two cities were in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:35-41.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Joshua 11:8 And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them to great Zidon, and to Misrephothmaim...
Judges 4:15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak...
1 Samuel 7:10-12 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel...
2 Chronicles 14:12 So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.
Psalm 18:14 Yes, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightning, and discomfited them.
Psalm 44:3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but your right hand, and your arm...
Psalm 78:55 He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line...
Isaiah 28:21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work...
Joshua 16:3,5 And goes down westward to the coast of Japhleti, to the coast of Bethhoron the nether, and to Gezer...
Joshua 21:22 And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.
1 Samuel 13:18 And another company turned the way to Bethhoron...
Joshua 10:11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron...
Joshua 15:35 Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah,
Jeremiah 34:7 When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish...
Joshua 10:28 And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them...
Joshua 12:16 The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;
Joshua 15:41 And Gederoth, Bethdagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages:
Joshua 10:10 Parallel CommentariesAscent Azekah Aze'kah Beth Bethhoron Beth-Horon Beth-Hor'on Chased Confounded Confused Confusion Cut Death Defeated Discomfited Driving Horon Israel Killed Makkedah Makke'dah Numbers Panic Pursued Road Slaughter Slew Smote Struck Threw Victory WayAscent Azekah Aze'kah Beth Bethhoron Beth-Horon Beth-Hor'on Chased Confounded Confused Confusion Cut Death Defeated Discomfited Driving Horon Israel Killed Makkedah Makke'dah Numbers Panic Pursued Road Slaughter Slew Smote Struck Threw Victory WayTHE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.
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Deuteronomy 7:23 But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.
Joshua 10:9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.
Judges 4:15 At Barak's advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.
1 Samuel 7:10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.
1 Samuel 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah.
2 Samuel 22:15 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
1 Kings 9:17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, | <urn:uuid:a494dcd6-180b-451b-baf9-640cfbaa8a26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://biblehub.com/niv/joshua/10-10.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941907 | 1,345 | 1.882813 | 2 |
5 April 1999. Fred Van Leeuwen and his colleagues reported last year that some neurons in Alzheimer's patients
contain mutant RNA coding for APP and ubiquitin, despite the fact that
the DNA from which the RNA had been transcribed was not mutated. By what
process could "clean" DNA produce "dirty" RNA?
One candidate is a phenomenon called transcriptional bypass, wherein
damage to the template DNA goes uncorrected and becomes responsible for
coding an erroneous base into the RNA. This can happen if, for example,
the DNA base cytosine is deaminated, producing the aberrant base uracil.
Rather than correcting this error, the transcriptional machinery treats
uracil as the proper, and structurally similar, base thymine. Adenine,
rather than the appropriate base, guanine, is then transcribed into the
RNA, introducing an error that is propagated into protein production.
Transcriptional bypass has been demonstrated in vitro, where it can
efficiently generate mutant proteins, but Viwanathan and colleagues have
just published the first demonstration of this process in vivo (Science
2 Apr 1999). Working in mutant E. coli cells that are unable
to correct DNA mutations containing uracil, they were able to transfect
uracil into the cell DNA and show that the cells would transcribe the
gene (for the fluorescing protein luciferase) and produce an altered
protein. In their discussion, the authors point specifically to the work
of Van Leeuwen and colleagues, suggesting that transcriptional bypass
could account for the mutant RNA coding for APP in Alzheimer's patients.-Hakon Heimer.
(See an accompanying editorial by Bridges in the April 2 issue of
Science for discussion of these findings. Read also the Online
Journal Club discussion with Van Leeuwen and colleagues.)
Reference:Viswanathan A, You HJ, Doetsch PW. Phenotypic change caused by transcriptional bypass of uracil in nondividing cells. Science 1999 Apr 2;284(5411):159-62. Abstract
Bridges BA. Dirty transcripts from clean DNA. Science 1999 Apr 2;284(5411):62-3. Abstract | <urn:uuid:5cb6cc42-4bfe-4df8-8479-5a2c6fc637f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alzforum.org/new/detail.asp?id=115 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90184 | 468 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Participation in semester or year programs in Israel
is directly linked to stronger Jewish affiliation and leadership – regardless of the Jewish background growing up, a study commissioned by Masa Israel Journey finds. Masa Israel, a joint project of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israeli government which serves an umbrella for 180 semester and year programs in Israel, commissioned the study to measure the efficacy of long term Israel programs for future Jewish involvement and affiliation. The study was conducted by Professor Steven M. Cohen, Director of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive at NYU Wagner
and Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College, and Dr. Ezra Kopelowitz, principal of Research Success.
The study found that the longer the time participants spent in Israel and the more repeated the experiences, the greater the level of Jewish identification. The study surveyed over 13,000 Israel program participants, more than 11,000 of whom were Americans, and most of whom had been on short term experience or Masa Israel program from 2005 to 2010. It compared three groups who had been on short term programs: 1) those who been on Birthright
but not returned to Israel; 2) those who returned to Israel for another short term program; and 3) those who had been on Birthright and then went on a Masa program. The study also examined two other groups who had been on long term programs only — 4) those non-Orthodox young adults who had been on Masa Israel programs without going on Birthright, and 5) those who were raised Orthodox and had been on Masa. These two groups reported far stronger Jewish background and childhood Jewish education than did the three Birthright groups.
The study found that with each subsequent Israel experience, the level of Jewish engagement rose significantly. For example, for the married respondents, among those who did Birthright and had not returned subsequently to Israel, 50% married a Jewish spouse; among those who did Birthright and returned to Israel subsequently for a short term, 70% married Jews; among those who did Birthright followed by Masa, as many as 91% were in-married. In other words, short term program graduates who never returned to Israel reported intermarriage rates close to the national Jewish average for people their age. In contrast, those who went on to participate in a Masa program were far more likely to marry Jewish, doing so in more than nine out of ten instances.
This pattern repeated itself for numerous other measures of Jewish engagement. These included Jewish organizational affiliation, taking leadership in Jewish life, interest in working professionally in the Jewish community, attachment to Israel, and, for a small but significant minority – making aliyah. In other words, the study found that, on these measures of Jewish engagement, Birthright coupled with Masa can, in effect, provide a viable alternative route to very high levels of Jewish engagement for young adults with only moderate or limited Jewish background.
When asked if they had given thought to pursuing a Jewish professional career, 45% of those who did Birthright followed by Masa said yes, nearly identical to the 46% of Orthodox Masa graduates who said the same. Among those who had been only on Birthright, 12% indicated giving a Jewish career consideration; the number doubled among Birthright graduates who returned for a short term to 26%; and almost doubled again, to 45%, for Birthright graduates who did Masa. These patterns are similar to the evidence found in the recent Avi Chai study of Jewish leaders which cites a long term Israel program as one of the most widespread experiences shared by young American Jewish leaders
, along with day schools and Jewish camp participation.
Relating to Israel attachment, the Birthright/Masa cohort scored similarly to the Masa Orthodox cohort, as they did on other measures. When asked if they had recently gone to a lecture or class related to Israel, 72% of those who participated in Birthright/Masa said they had, similar to the 80% of Orthodox Masa graduates who also had. (When it came to reading Israeli newspapers the Birthright/Masa cohort actually outscored the Orthodox Masa group by 61% to 43%).
Significantly, 18% of Birthright/Masa graduates are currently now living in Israel, a slightly higher figure than the 17% of Orthodox Masa graduates now living in Israel.
“Over the years, a body of evidence has established the value of the short-term trip to Israel. This study is one of a small number that points to the significant added value of the long-term trip,” said Professor Cohen, who co-authored the study. “If ten days in Israel is very good for Jewish engagement—and it is—then ten months in Israel is even better. This finding points to the strong policy interest in promoting return travel to Israel among Birthright alumni, and the even stronger interest in advancing long term return travel, such as that sponsored by Masa Israel Journey.”
Last week, the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors approved the operational part of its strategic plan which calls for the organization to focus its work around two main areas of activity—the first, a spiral of Israel experience for young adults. These would start with short term programs, like Birthright, through longer term programs like Masa, and include developing intermediate-length programs like summer school in Israel, with the overarching aim of strengthening Jewish identity and increasing attachment to Israel among today’s youth.
“The data from this study show that we are on the right track with our strategic plan,” said Dr. Misha Galperin, president and CEO of Jewish Agency International Development. “We are convinced—and the data from this reports affirm—that a continuum of Israel experiences for young adults correlates directly to them feeling, thinking and doing more things Jewish and Israel with each step they take along the Israel experience spiral.” | <urn:uuid:cfd5db25-e3b1-4f46-b4e8-517c9fabf78b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.masaisrael.org/news/study-longer-experiences-israel-linked-sharply-increased-jewish-engagement-leadership-and-marry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967461 | 1,202 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Step by step guide including advice and pitfalls of being or hiring a ghostwriter.
The article looks at ways to become a published writer and the difficulties involved.
A bookaholic is a person who loves reading but the habit becomes an obsession.
It was a dark, cloudy end of winter Sunday yesterday so I decided to watch a movie. The Life of Pi was available on my cable channel and I am so glad I watched it. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. I read the book about a year ago and loved it. The film is true to the nov...
Referring to a photograph of me as a boy, my youngest son asked, “What was it like to live in a black and white world?” Gazing into the blue eyes of his seven-year-old face, I replied, “It’s not so bad now, is it, Son?” He smiled and climbed into my lap, “Will you tell m...
Article about Enjoying the Best Love Stories Novels
This books takes place in British Columbia along the west coast. Directly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, thousands of Japanese were uprooted and moved inland 150 miles up in the mountains .... their boats and homes confiscated. This is a story about life in the camps and...
For people who often read romantic novels, they sometimes unconsciously imitate the behavior of the existing characters in the novel.
The puppy whined and Mary was both relieved and distressed. It was alive but bloody and crying. She rushed into the kitchen and returned presently with a bucket of warm water and clean towels from the bathroom.
Realizing a childhood dream of becoming a writer and then years later win the Sunday Times Literary Prize.
Editing a novel using the best internet tools and thinking
'Affinity' by Sarah Waters is a great page turner. I recommend all story lovers to read this book.
I read this book very recently. It is a thrilling story that will keep you reading, not wanting to stop. This book is a brilliant page turner!
A brilliant story by Steven King. Weird, interesting and a great story to read. Find out more here.....
JH Chase is no more, but he was one of the first writers to make a mark as a writer of thrillers, books with action, love and murder
Manohar Malgonkar died last year. He was a great writer in the genre of action novels and has more than 100 published works9 Fiction and Non Fiction)
what to do and what it takes to become a fictional writer
How to write and think and prepare yourself to produce a best selling book
A tale about two neighbors, one that struggles and one that is wealthy
~8 year old Lonnie writes a letter to Santa~maybe you can get together with God or somethin’~l’il girl smiles~a glass blue eye in her hand~empty socket in the doll’s face~“Hey, it’s been a tough year but I’m gonna get that bicycle for my boy.”~
~morning duties~doggy-doo pickup~scoop ‘em up~hose ‘em down~while performing mundane tasks I attempt to become mindless~something I’m much better at the older I get~there are rewards in the zero atmosphere between my ears~such as~
~spirits awander~anchors aweigh~flyin’ in the big ships~sandwiched ‘tween oceans & clouds~it is a wonder we find each other~can’t remember why we left~glad to step in steps~made in younger days~we got home~we got family~gotta hold on~
Benjamin Disraeli is my favorite English hero. His life has so many connections to my struggles. But mostly I write about the how, when, where, and what of his life. Disraeli's theology and approach to life is akin to mine. To me, he is like the Shakespeare of the 1800's. He has inspi...
Its a novel set in the wild west, a golden age in America after the end of the civil War
Are you a writer? Do you want to improve your skills, so that you increase your readership and increase your page views? Then you might want to take heed to advice from successful fiction writer, Stephen King, who has sold more than 350 million copies of his books. | <urn:uuid:77e77107-214d-4f87-9851-17ee9878db92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wikinut.com/tag/Novels/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970008 | 933 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Read it all and decide for yourself if this is acceptable.
“When did you stop beating your wife” is one of those questions where there is no right answer, a question steeped in traps in which no one can escape innocent. Just by answering you will automatically be branded a wife-beater and many hours of apologies and explanations will have to be put forth. We tolerate the beating of no one, especially one we claim to love and cherish. Yet there is one culture, one belief system which not only sanctions the beating of the wife but literally demands physical punishment from the husband against the wife. It is Islam.
Here are a few excerpts from an interview, which aired on Al-Nas TV (
) on February 4, 2010: Egypt
Interviewer: "Wife beating is a serious accusation [leveled against Islam]. Let us examine this matter bit by bit."
Sa'd Arafat: "Allah honored wives by instating the punishment of beatings."
Interviewer: "Honored them with beatings? How is this possible?!"
Sa'd Arafat: "The prophet Muhammad said: 'Don't beat her in the face, and do not make her ugly.' See how she is honored. If the husband beats his wife, he must not beat her in the face. Even when he beats her, he must not curse her. He beats her in order to discipline her. In addition, there must not be more than ten beatings, and he must not break her bones, injure her, break her teeth, or poke her in the eye. There is a beating etiquette. If he beats to discipline her, he must not raise his hand high. He must beat her from chest level. All these things honor the woman. She is in need of discipline. How should the husband discipline her? Through admonishment. If she is not repentant, he should beat her, but there are rules to the beating. It is forbidden to beat her in the face or make her ugly. When you beat her, you must not curse her. Islam forbids this."
Interviewer: "With what should be beat her? With his bare hand? With a rod?"
Sa'd Arafat: "If he beats her, the beatings should not be hard, so that they do not leave a mark. He can beat her with a short rod. (…)the honoring of the wife in Islam is also evident in the fact that the punishment of beating is permissible in one case only: when she refuses to sleep with him."
Interviewer: "When she refuses to sleep with him?"
Sa'd Arafat: "Yes, because where else could the husband go? He wants her, but she refuses. He should begin with admonishment and threats..."
When a non-Muslim says the Qur’an sanctions wife-beating they are called Islamophobe, racist (what race is Islam again?), bigot, anti-Muslim, hate-monger and other schoolyard names. When a top Egyptian cleric says the Qur’an sanctions wife-beating(sura4,verse34), and explains that this must be done if the wife refuses sex he is called a scholar. Whether or not Muslims practice this inhumane act is irrelevant, it has been upheld as the right behavior for Muslims by the seat of Sunni power, thus having the same influence as a papal edict.
Muhammad beat his wives if they refused sex, Muslim requirements today demand the same treatment. Islam has been practicing institutionalized abuse since 622AD. It must stop if Islam expects to be the “religion of peace” so ardently claimed. | <urn:uuid:bdb8ae65-19a8-4416-a695-1146ed9eb853> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://islamtodayoregon.blogspot.com/2010/10/beating-her-softly-with-his-love.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966993 | 755 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Been to the pasture to see what the cows and their calves are up to. This cow and her calf came in close to see what I was up to. She’s been keeping her calf very clean.
This is what we call a white-faced cow. She’s part Hereford, which are red cows with white faces.
This calf has some unusual white markings on it’s face. If they have any white on their face, their entire face will be white, not spotty, like this one.
The calves are socializing with each other more now. They like to play, and run together.
This cow is babysitting a group of calves. The mamas go off to graze, leaving behind one cow to watch over all their calves.
There was a nice sky with puffy clouds this particular evening.
This cow and calf provided a nice silhouette against an evening sky. | <urn:uuid:a3a1f820-64f9-45dc-829c-1faa03c20949> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://windowontheprairie.com/2010/04/17/in-the-pasture/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974448 | 191 | 1.859375 | 2 |
This past summer, the Exploradome at the Saint Louis Science Center was taken over by the science of the small. All summer long, visitors to Amazing Nano Worlds! were immersed in the world of atoms and molecules enlarged 100 million times their actual size. Children, families and adult audiences were all given an opportunity to plunge into hands-on programming, live demonstrations by real nanoscientists and museum-wide activities that put “nano” at center stage.
Amazing Nano Worlds! started as a combination of the It’s a Nano World and Too Small to See exhibits, both developed by the Sciencenter of Ithaca, NY. This dynamic duo formed an 8,000 sq. ft. exhibition that the Saint Louis Science Center merged with its own collection of nano programming and exhibits for an experience like no other. This included hands-on activities and live stage demos like the Science Center’s very own “What the Heck is Nanotech?” – an introduction to the concepts of nanotechnology. Younger visitors could participate in a scavenger hunt for nano content appearing throughout the museum, and older audiences became engaged through the infusion of nano topics in the Science Center’s adult programming. Events such as the Science Center’s First Fridays became a “Festival of Nano Products,” giving guests the latest info about the newest nano technologies on the market. Special programming was themed by topics from Cooking on the Nanoscale to Nano Art. Adult programming coupled with activities for all-ages allowed the Science Center to reach a very diverse audience during the short summer display.
As part of this summer exhibition, the Saint Louis Science Center also continued to showcase their own nano exhibit area in their Cyber Gallery. This area includes nano artwork, video, interactive multimedia, and exhibit pieces like their own Nano Attraction. Nano Attraction was developed with assistance from the NISE Network’s mini-grant program, and focuses on the “bumpy, sticky, and shaky” properties of nanoparticles to teach audiences about the basics of nanoscience. They also utilized ongoing partnerships with local industry sponsors and researcher centers such as Husky Corporation, Karpel Solutions, University of Illinois Nano-CEMMS Center and Washington University to illustrate for audiences just how concepts presented in the exhibition apply to real work currently being done in the field. Through guest lectures, presentations and even links and video offered on their website, audiences had a portal to very current technologies coming right out of their own backyard, making their experience at the Science Center all the more tangible. (See some of this video for yourself! )
Amazing Nano Worlds! provided a great introduction to nanotechnology for families and audiences of all ages. Though the Saint Louis Science Center has already built a strong nano program, as well as an audience base that has come to expect such cutting-edge technologies to be explored on their floor. As the Saint Louis Science Center closed Amazing Nano Worlds! they began to prepare for the opening of NISE Net’s Nano mini-exhibition ! The timing seemed perfect for the Science Center to host Nano, and their previous work demonstrated a need and support in their community. By including Nano as a permanent fixture on their floor, the Science Center will be able to sustain as well as build upon the audiences and collaborations developed by this past summer’s programming.
Thank you to all our friends at the Saint Louis Science Center for your persistent efforts to make nano an important part of their outreach, as well as their continual support of the NISE Network! If you want to learn more about the Science Center's nano work, contact Paul Freiling. | <urn:uuid:27fa76a2-939c-4a71-a4cf-79855309eab2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nisenet.org/print/11125 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960087 | 748 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Olympic Opening Ceremony Celebrates ‘One World, One Dream’
By Tim Hipps
National Guard Bureau
BEIJING, Aug. 12, 2008 The elaborate opening ceremony of the 29th Olympiad here Aug. 8 featured a display of China’s long and distinguished history and culture intertwined with the “One World, One Dream” theme of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
“Beijing, you are host to the present and the gateway to the future,” International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge proclaimed before a sellout crowd of 91,000 at National Stadium. “Thank you.”
An audience of 400,000,000 was expected to watch the spectacle on television.
“Friends have come from afar, how happy we are,” is a well-known saying of Confucius, a famous Chinese educator and thinker whose thoughts deeply influenced later generations.
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were among more than 80 world dignitaries in attendance, along with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bush became the first U.S. president to attend an Olympic Games outside of the United States while in office. His father, former President George H.W. Bush, also made history by occupying the chair of “Chef de Mission of the U.S. Olympic Team,” marking the first time the U.S. Olympic Committee has had an honorary chief of mission.
The four-hour extravaganza featured 110 minutes of music, beginning with the “fou,” the most ancient of Chinese percussion instruments, usually made of clay or bronze. Manned by 2,008 performers, the fou-produced sound of rolling spring thunder greeted friends from all over the world.
The music was specially created by 18 composers for a production that displayed 15,153 sets of costumes in 47 styles. Some of the performers rehearsed for 13 months in preparation for one of China’s most magical nights.
Six hundred people were involved in the installation, direction, and safety supervision for a display of 11,456 fireworks set off from 287 points atop the stadium and 8,428 more from 27 positions in the central area. Another 1,462 glowing and sparkling fireworks illuminated the upper rim of the stadium.
Gunpowder was invented in China during the Song Dynasty, 960 to 1276. People used the ingredients for gunpowder as medicines for illnesses in ancient times; the name “gunpowder” means “burning medicines.” The invention of gunpowder is one of China’s outstanding achievements in the history of human civilization that changed the course of world history.
A painting scroll revealed the origin and development of China’s history and culture. Paper is another of the four great inventions of ancient China. As one child sang “A Hymn to My Country,” 56 children clustered around the national flag of the People’s Republic of China to represent the country’s 56 ethnic groups. Immediately following, the famous Chinese painting “A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains” was visible on the stadium floor while the ancient stringed instrument, “guqin,” provided the “Sounds of Utmost Antiquity.”
Cliff painting, earth pottery and bronze vessels were displayed to reflect artistic developments of the Shang Dynasty -- 1600 B.C. to 1046 B.C. -- and the Zhou Dynasty, 1046 B.C. to 221 BC.
The Great Wall was illustrated by smooth lines, both concise and vivid, with peach blossoms, romantic and enjoyable, that event officials said illustrated the sweet wishes of peace-loving Chinese people.
The “Silk Road” was an important vehicle for economic and cultural exchange between China and Western countries. More than 2,000 years ago, trade caravans set out from China with expensive silk, crossed the Hexi Corridor, and entered the European continent.
More than 600 years ago, Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty led seven shipping fleets with 27,000 people aboard a long voyage from Quanzhou that arrived in Western Asia and Eastern Africa, thus creating the well-known “Maritime Silk Road.” On opening night, a performer held an ancient compass, another of the four great inventions of ancient China.
In a later segment, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and 5-year-old Li Muzi welcomed a brand-new age. Lang is the first Chinese pianist to have long-term cooperation with first-class orchestras in Berlin and Vienna. He has played recitals in many of the most famous music halls in the world. During that performance, the kite was introduced as another Chinese invention.
An exhibition of Taiji manifested the integration of traditions and the future by illustrating the unity of man and nature. Taijiquan is the most representative shadow boxing among Chinese martial arts, characterized by the “combination of the dynamic and static and the interdependence of hardness and softness.”
The Eight Diagrams of Taiji symbolize eight natural phenomena -- heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain and swamp -- that represent the changes of all things on Earth. A total of 2,008 Taiji performers formed a circle that illustrated grandness and consummation in the traditional Chinese concept.
As the program progressed, the smiling faces of children from around the world demonstrated the theme of “One World, One Dream.” A gigantic, 16-ton globe arose from the floor, adorned with 58 actors running on nine rings covered with an Olympic torch pattern. The runners seemingly were free from gravity and full of magic, fantasy and bravery.
The march of nations featured Olympic athletes from 205 countries, led into the stadium by Greece, in accordance with tradition. The host team from China concluded the march of nations.
As members of Team USA entered, they clearly received the loudest ovation of the evening -- until Houston Rockets basketball star Yao Ming led the Chinese contingent into the stadium.
The throng representing 596 U.S. athletes occupied more than 100 meters of the running track. As U.S. flag bearer Lopez Lomong was rounding the turn, members of Team USA were still filing into the arena from the opposite end of the stadium.
After eight Chinese Olympians carried the Olympic flag into the stadium, the banner was raised and the Olympic Anthem was played. Athletes' and officials' oaths were read, symbolic doves were released, and the Olympic torch relay concluded a 33-day journey abroad that covered 97,000 kilometers across five continents and 21 countries.
Chinese Olympic gymnast Li Ning ran 500 meters in about three minutes around the wall of the open-air stadium’s inner roof in what was possibly the most fascinating sight of the night. Supported by a cable, Ning at times appeared to be running on air before lighting the cauldron.
“Many would say that the Olympic Games are of great significance and have profound meanings,” opening ceremony artistic director Zhang Yimou said. “But I once heard someone say: ‘They are all our guests. We should make them happy.’
(Tim Hipps works at the U.S. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command Public Affairs Office.) | <urn:uuid:623efc08-4068-42f3-9a9a-f59c5fc155e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50776 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950938 | 1,530 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Setting the tech world on fire, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that its sources have confirmed that Apple will be making a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone. The current specs are that the phone, unofficially dubbed an iPhone nano, will be half the size of the iPhone 4 and half the price for carriers and will be sold starting this summer.
Among the phone's purported details: it may
sell for less than $200 without a contract, will feature an "edge to
edge" display like rival Android phones, and will will maximize the
revamped MobileMe to store music and streaming media. Rumors are that
Apple is considering giving away MobileMe access for free or charging a
$99 fee. The cloud storage has both fans and critics, with fans saying
it's worth the hassle of storing everything in the Cloud to slash the
price, and critics calling it a mistake to have virtually no local storage.
the shiny details, however, the smaller, cheaper iPhone could put the
smartphone industry on edge. Although hardcore Apple fans have been
willing to swallow the iPhone's high prices, it doesn't own the market:
cheaper Android phones are leaving Apple in the dust, and an cheaper
iPhone can help Apple go beyond its 3.4% market share in the field.
Entering the smaller, cheaper market could also put pressure on the Nokia-Microsoft partnership. Criticism of the alliance has been pretty thick, but the duo was seen by many as offering some advantages. With Apple now breathing down their necks, ZDNet's Sam Diaz says they have little time to shine, because while they could make an excellent product, it won't matter if "Apple does it first. Or better." | <urn:uuid:c8d1417f-e9e1-4440-a356-2233ae2ad9a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/02/a-smaller-cheaper-iphone-is-coming/17773/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944005 | 355 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Hong Kong Has Pink Dolphins
I've posted about pink hippos and odd dolphin behavior before here at Animal Oddities, but I've never posted about pink dolphins. Check out the news report below on the rare Chinese white dolphin, which is less white and more pink. These dolphins are a popular attraction in the waters off Hong Kong, where conservationists raise awareness about these strangely-colored marine mammals' plight.
This video explains dolphins' fascinating ability to dive to great depths and quickly rise to the surface without suffering the bends like a human diver would. It's not by swimming like you'd think. This odd adaptation is a great advantage for dolphins.
If you want to get more involved protecting this amazingly odd species, check out the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society's website or symbolically adopt a bottlenosed dolphin through the National Wildlife Federation.
Photo of dolphin from Wikimedia Commons. | <urn:uuid:2bd7a241-5c41-4529-97dc-5a11e4f35dfb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_oddities/2011/06/hong-kong-has-pink-dolphins.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908759 | 178 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Stephanie Greenman Stone (415) 379-5121
The California Academy of Sciences Presents
ANTS: Hidden Worlds Revealed
New Exhibit Opens at 875 Howard Street May 1, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (April 27, 2004) - May 1, 2004, the California Academy
of Sciences will open its new facility at 875 Howard Street, and audiences
everywhere are ANTicipating the arrival of the fANTastic new natural history
exhibit that will be featured at the downtown facility - ANTS: Hidden
Worlds Revealed. Curated by Academy entomologist Brian Fisher, this
exciting exhibit will showcase six colonies of live ants, each of which
will display distinctive nest building and food collecting behaviors.
Four of the species represented - Harvester ants, Carpenter ants, Honeypot
ants, and invasive Argentine ants - are commonly found in California.
The other two species, however, come from further afield. Leaf Cutter
ants, which cultivate gardens of fungus in order to ensure a steady food
supply, make their home in the tropical rainforests of South America,
while meat eating Army ants migrate through parts of Africa and the Americas
in search of prey.
Each of the six live ant colonies will offer visitors the chance to look
inside the chambers and tunnels of the ants' nests and watch them forage
for food. The most dramatic views will be of the Army ants, which have
never before been displayed in a large-scale exhibit. These amazing ants
build nests out of their own bodies by interlocking their tarsal claws
to form intricate, tunnel-filled cylinders that are over three feet wide.
The interior corridors and chambers of these living nests can be opened
or closed according to climatic need, and the temperature can be controlled
to within a single degree Fahrenheit. Army ants also display unique foraging
behaviors - they hunt by forming a fan-shaped swarm and devouring every
animal in their path. In the ANTS exhibit, the Academy's Army ants will
march across a bed of sand three times a day to prey on live crickets.
The feeding show will feature live narration from an Academy biologist
and up-close footage from two video cameras within the enclosure.
The ANTS exhibit will also teach visitors about the highly complex social
structures of the various ant colonies. At the Harvester ant display,
visitors will be able to discern the detailed division of labor within
the colony: some worker ants husk, clean and crack seeds, while others
chew kernels into a soft pulp called "ant bread." Still others
store sun-dried seeds in large nest chambers or apply a chemical germicide
to prevent seeds from sprouting. The Honeypot ants display yet another
specialized behavior - some individuals are designated as living refrigerators
that are responsible for storing excess food in their stomachs. These
"honey pots" hang from the ceilings of cool nest cavities, holding
fast by their claws until their precious stores are required. As the desert's
food supply dwindles seasonally, nest mates will stroke the antennae of
a storage ant, causing it to regurgitate some of the "honey"
into the supplicant's mouth.
In addition to the live ant colonies, ANTS will also feature cutting edge
research by Academy scientists, including Dr. Brian Fisher's work in Madagascar.
In the past few years, Fisher has discovered over 600 new species of ants
in Madagascar, including the Madagascar Dracula Ant - a find that will
help scientists to understand the evolution of ants from wasps. Named
because of their grisly feeding habits, during which they cut holes into
their own larvae to extract colorless insect blood, Dracula Ants have
wasp-like abdomens and stinging behaviors.
The exhibit will also feature Academy research that is occurring closer
to home, including the Bay Area Ant Survey, which will give visitors the
opportunity to contribute to an ongoing Academy research project. Almost
nothing is currently known about the species diversity or distribution
of ants in the San Francisco area, so the Academy is embarking on an effort
to create a detailed ant map for ten Bay Area counties. Visitors who wish
to participate can pick up an ant collecting kit from the Academy's Naturalist
Center (located on the second floor of the Howard Street facility). After
collecting specimens and returning them to the Academy along with geographic
data, each participant's results will be added to the project map and
Web site, which will be available online at www.antweb.org.
The California Academy of Sciences,
including Steinhart Aquarium and the Natural History Museum, is open to
the public at 875 Howard Street. Admission to the Academy at 875 Howard
Street is: $7 for adults, $4.50 for youth ages 12 to 17, Seniors ages
65+ and students with valid ID, $2 for children ages four to 11 and children
ages three and younger will be admitted free of charge. Hours are 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. everyday. www.calacademy.org (415) 750-7145.
The California Academy of Sciences,
the fourth largest natural history museum in the United States, is home
to Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium and the Natural History Museum.
The Academy is beginning an extensive rebuilding project in Golden Gate
Park. Pritzker prize-winning architect Renzo Piano is designing the new
Academy, which is expected to open in 2008.
# # # # | <urn:uuid:a844fed8-f3b4-460f-94b0-9f5681dec354> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.calacademy.org/newsroom/releases/2004/ANTSOpen.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914084 | 1,178 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Reading Robert Hummel-Hudson’s blog post Finding Her Own Voice has me thinking about the difference between “voice” and “communicate”. (I wonder how many people have ever sat down to really consider the difference between these two terms that might appear synonymous upon first ponder.)
Text-to-speech devices enable individuals to communicate, but are our voices fully heard? How can we reflect panic, softness or passion with these devices?
In my pondering, I recalled a moment at last summer’s ISAAC conference (the international conference on augmentative and assistive communication). One afternoon I attended a Town Hall, which had a somewhat futuristic sounding vibe because only people using AAC were allowed to speak. The talkies needed permission to speak.
At one point, I needed to swallow a giggle after an abrupt “No” came from a robotic sounding voice from somewhere in the dimly lit auditorium, in response to what the moderator had said from the stage. A few moments later came a response from a somewhat similar sounding voice elsewhere in the room. The slow paced conversation continued between the similar sounding robotic voices.
With spoken voices, the individual speaking can be identified and much information can be garnered from the sound of the voice: the speaker’s rough age, usually the gender and ethnicity, as well as the speaker’s emotional state and such.
However, with these synthesized voices, most of this information cannot be determined from the sound alone. These voices sound so alike.
This is one reason why, a few years ago, I was immediately drawn to NeoSpeech’s Kate, who I use in my presentations and videos. Kate’s voice is different, distinct; dare I say, even sexy. It was love at first sound byte!
Yet, Kate does have her limitations. When I am creating a presentation, part of the process is what I call “kate-izing”: tweaking her pronunciation to be as correct as possible, e.g., is “read” to be spoken as “reed”’ or “red”? Oftentimes the tweaks are fairly straightforward, but there are hilarious moments while I, with a significant speech impairment, attempt to correct the pronunciation of a synthesized voice. It feels like high tech speech therapy!
The tweaking of her pronunciation is relatively easy; the conveying of emotion is what I have yet to make her communicate. The excitement. The passion. The rant.
I acknowledge that this is one of my challenges as I move forward with my motivational speaking. I will need to rely even more heavily on the right choice of words rather than on tone and inflection to fully communicate the message I am aiming to get across. Yes, I can also use my body language and facial expressions, but, with my cerebral palsy, that is not always under my full control either. It will be a learning process with much experimenting to find an effective way to use my voice fully.
An interesting ponderment, isn’t it?
To keep up with my adventures, musings and insights, be sure to subscribe to DoItMyselfBlog.com.If you enjoyed this post, consider buying me a cafe mocha. Thanks kindly. | <urn:uuid:ab84277b-6616-456c-934d-cb88e47d0fbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/?s=ipad | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957641 | 683 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Soukilal Naik waded into the water, tossed a coconut in front of him and pressed his palms together. Once, twice, he submerged himself in the river, his arms outstretched, his mouth forming the words of a prayer.
It was around 4am and in the darkness the water was freezing. But everywhere around the farmer from the Indian state of Orissa, people were doing the same plunging and praying, splashing and smiling. Up to 30 million people joined Naik in immersing themselves in the River Ganges and washing away their sins.
The Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, held every three years at one of four towns, is said to be the largest gathering of humanity.
Over the course of 55 days, more than 110 million people are expected to attend the festival, held to mark an incident in Hindu mythology when deities battled demons and won the right for nectar that granted them immortality.
Hindus believe that if they bathe on the most auspicious day, which fell on Monday, a lifetime of sin or indeed the sins accumulated over the course of many lives can be washed away. And of all the locations for the festival, this spot in Allahabad, where the sacred Ganges and almost-equally sacred Yamuna rivers merge with the mystical Saraswati, is said to have no equal.
This shot at redemption explains why so many people from across the breadth of India are willing to embark on an often exhausting journey, sleep by the roadside until their chance to bathe, and then return home again the very same day. Many of those who visit, perhaps most, are from India's small towns and villages.
Naik's journey had taken him 20 jolting hours. The previous day, a group from the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir explained that their journey by bus had taken three days. From this group, a father, his wife and their young daughter bathed together, grinning throughout.
"The whole family has come. It is a part of Hindu life," said the young man, Gorav Chandran.
And yet the mela carries with it real dangers. Yesterday, officials in Allahabad were facing criticism over arrangements made for travellers after a stampede at the railway station left 36 dead and many injured. In 2003, around 45 people were crushed to death when the festival was held in Nasik.
There are other less perilous risks associated with the festival. Several Bollywood films have been devoted to the problem of people getting lost amid the crowds. Centres are established to try and reunite people and all day loudspeakers crackle with details of children and adults who have shown up lost. Some larger groups of people tied themselves to one another with pieces of string or else the end of a sari.
Siddeshwar Prasad had been doubly unfortunate. He arrived from Bihar as part of a group of eight. On Saturday two friends had become separated and on Sunday morning, after their visit to the Ganges, he had lost another three. He was now sitting in the shade under a tree. "Even if we don't find them we are going to return today," he said.
If the central purpose of the festival is religious, then the mela is also part country fair and part massive bazaar. Hawkers selling everything from clothes to religious icons line the sides of the dusty roads that spread over 1820ha, while the evenings pound with the sound of chanting.
Among the various Hindu holy men lured by the festival, it is the naked, ash-smeared Naga sadhus who earn the most attention from both genuine devotees and curious gawkers.
One of them, Shri Panchdas Naam, from Mathura, declined to be interviewed unless the Independent agreed to compensate him for lost time. Much friendlier was Someshwar Giri, a guru from Himachal Pradesh, who toured the festival with his right hand held aloft, some of his fingers apparently fused together. One of his followers claimed the holy man had borne his hand in this position for the last five years. Asked how Giri managed to sleep, the devotee said: "He has not slept for the last five years."
One guru confronted one of the great ironies of the festival, indeed one of the ironies of Hindu India, namely that while the Ganges and Yamuna are utterly revered they are among the world's most heavily polluted rivers.
With a line of a followers queuing to prostrate themselves at his feet, Swami Avimukteshwaranand broke off from juggling calls he was receiving on three phones to demand the authorities take action to protect a river into which is dumped 3400 million litres of sewage every day.
Yet few appeared to spend too much time worrying that the river might not be all that clean. Many believe the water can clean itself.
Naik, who hoped bathing in the Ganges would help him ensure he could get enough labourers to harvest his rice crop, did not pause as he made his way through the crowds to the rivers edge.
"I feel great," he said, a few minutes later, as he clambered from the marigold-strewn water. "I hope this will bring prosperity and good health."
Cleaning in dirty water
An estimated 30 million Hindus took a dip at the Sangam - the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati Rivers - as part of the 55-day Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival. The auspicious bathing days of the Kumbh Mela are decided by the alignment of stars.
According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over nectar that would give them immortality. As one of the gods fled with a pitcher of the nectar across the skies, it spilled on four Indian towns: Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.
The Kumbh Mela is held four times every
12 years in those towns. Hindus believe if they bathe at the Ganges on the festival's most auspicious day, they can rid themselves of their sins. | <urn:uuid:8dd2f79d-d60f-43e2-93d2-371d792fa193> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news/print.cfm?objectid=10865057 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979476 | 1,284 | 2.328125 | 2 |
A flaw in Microsoft Corp.'s implementation of the SMB protocol, as outlined in MS05-027
, could soon be used to conduct an impending mass malicious code attack targeting Windows, it has been suggested. Evidence for this seems to come from what has been called an "ominous increase in sniffing activity on TCP Port 445" which has been discovered by Symantec Corp.'s DeepSight Network. Exploits may have already been created for MS05-027, and could be on their way very soon in the form of a mass malware attack
John Pescatore, VP of security research at Gartner Inc., said the reports of increased sniffing on Port 445 are a "serious concern for enterprise security managers" because such activity usually means a mass attack is imminent.
"Such attacks typically follow a highly predictable timeline," Pescatore said, warning that attackers have in the past reverse-engineered patches to create exploit code or widespread circulation.
You should seriously consider applying the update for MS05-027 (available here
) and should also consider taking action to block TCP Port 445 by use of a firewall. Additionally, you should seek to apply all relevant security updates to your Windows system by use of the Windows update site, and you should install and keep up to date good anti-virus software. Be warned, this one might turn out to be nasty! | <urn:uuid:04c6663e-554f-4306-9f2a-740e97fe907b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techspot.com/news/17911-mass-malicious-code-attack-targeting-windows-smb-flaw.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954265 | 285 | 2 | 2 |
Published Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:23 am Dateline
After months of emotional debate and protests, a central Ohio county will no longer be euthanizing stray dogs with carbon-monoxide gas.
Fairfield County commissioners voted Tuesday to switch to lethal injection, which is seen as more humane. The shelter said it had been using gas because it was cheaper.
The change puts Fairfield County among the majority of Ohio's 88 counties. Animal-welfare organizations and the Ohio County Dog Wardens Association say fewer than a dozen shelters still use gas.
The emotional issue culminated in protesters holding signs in front of the county courthouse this past week calling for the change.
The Lancaster Eagle-Gazette (http://ohne.ws/PclrJR ) reports that the county southeast of Columbus euthanized 578 dogs in 2011. | <urn:uuid:8aae5e44-d9a9-4c0a-ad04-c13f8ff3e83e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://woub.org/2012/08/15/fairfield-bans-gassing-dogs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931857 | 174 | 1.820313 | 2 |
getting my hands dirty with C++ and ZScript and managed to write a C++ DLL which I can load in a ZScript with FileExecute.... which then continues to host a .NET CLR with a loaded C# dll, which then launches a Python script (we use the same C# dll from Max).
C# talks to Python via ZMQ (thanks to Rob Galanakis for mentioning ZMQ). For the RPC calls JSON-RPC is used.
So far I can launch a Python script from ZBrush, cpp, Python, 3ds Max, Photoshop Extendscript and then call remote procedures either from Python or from the host app. Still working on ZBrush now - so far it's just one-directional communication, until I figure out if I can use the Sleep command for polling.
The idea is to have a universal communication library for RPC calls to a Python script which is launched by a host app. E.g. we can then put all the business logic of statistics, QA or file management scripts into python. Or we can just extend the app itself using Python.
Anyway, there's little to show as it's just a bunch of DLLs and scripts with text output, but if someone is crazy enough to attempt something similar... just ask | <urn:uuid:d75b9f2e-e0f1-4a31-b47b-972c17c83d38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68788&page=46 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913702 | 269 | 1.515625 | 2 |
View Full Version : Painting Weights - why is it bad to subtract?
09-22-2005, 07:23 PM
I've read through the main sticky on this subject but I'm afraid I'm just not tech-savvy enough to understand most of what was being discussed on it and I'm such a Maya beginner, I could use help with a few questions.
Firstly, how do you select certain vertices to paint weight on as opposed to joints?
Secondly, why is it a bad thing to subtract weight rather than always adding?
Thing is, I'm doing a tutorial that doesn't go into this too much - it just says "paint here, paint there" and I'm getting results I don't understand. I guess I'm thinking about the paint weights tool as if it works like the brushes and erasers in Photoshop do and I'm gathering that's totally wrong because when I choose one joint and try to "erase" the influence from areas I don't want by using a brush with a value of zero, then click on another joint and paint that and then go back to my original joint, there'll be all sorts of new influence (as evidenced by the gray to white coloration) there again even though I thought I got rid of it.
What's happening here? Is it that there's a constant amount of weight that can't truly be altered, but can only be moved around? I'm pretty baffled and I hope someone can shed some light on this for me.
Thanks as always for your help.
09-22-2005, 07:56 PM
hi. Please think about that - each vertex has many joints assigned and sum of all weights is 1. If you paint to decrease weight of some joint, than weight might be also 1 at all, but if you decrease weight - some of weight would be avtomatically add to what joint? How maya knows what joint do you prefer? I don't know this, and I use "hold" to show maya to where I prefer put my weight that I decrease from any joint.
If you are russian - go to my site www.mayascripts.cgtalk.ru (http://www.mayascripts.cgtalk.ru), there is many scripts for skining.
09-22-2005, 10:36 PM
hehe...thanks but I'm not Russian. :)
I'm not sure I even understand what you're saying here. Is that a question or an answer to what I was asking? Are you saying that each joint has a value of 1 max, and that all the verts near it are assigned varying percentages of that "1" value?
09-23-2005, 12:00 AM
If you subtract weights, how will it know what to give that weight to? Maya's set up so that every vertex HAS to be assigned to a joint (or split its weighting between several joints). It is impossible to have a vertex with a total skin weight less than 1. Because of that, you can't just subtract and put the skin weight to zero. Maya's system doesn't allow for that -- and neither does any other, so far as I know. Would be very weird to be moving joints and have some stray vertices not moving at all.
Because of that, if you subtract, Maya would have to figure out which joints to reassign the subtracted weighting to. To maintain a highly specified, personalized weighting, it is much better to tell the program what you want, as opposed to what you don't want.
09-23-2005, 03:35 AM
ah, I see. I think a little glimmer of understanding is starting to happen. :)
The fact that every vertex in the model has to be assigned to a joint might explain why the rest of her body moves when I bend her arm. Are you saying that if the arm's the only thing that has bones, that her whole body is being forced to relate to those joints since there are no others?
How do you select specific vertices though, to paint? I apologize if that's a terribly stupid question, but the tutorial said to paint a specific set of verts a certain way. Am I supposed to select those, or is that unnecessary? Maybe the author just means "paint over the mesh in this area"?
I guess I got confused by reading stuff other people had posted about component mode. When I tried to go to vertex mode, it seemed to turn off the paint weights tool and vice versa.
09-25-2005, 12:34 PM
well i think( dont shoot me if im wrong) but if my memory serves me right you cnt just paint specific verts. I think he would have ment paint in that specific area. if yo wish to edit the weights of specific verts . you can use the compenent editor where yo u can actually see these 0 - 1 weights.
Sometimes its more of a matter of doing it here to get the result your after. I found tools like skinny to be a huge help when doing skinning as it has a couple of neat features like letting you put everything on hold, and rotate the joint your ainting without leaving paint weights mode.
Also would be fair to mention the whole 0-1 business is required for the final weights - but can be disabled while you work. turn off "weight normalisation" will stop maya assigning new weights from joints automaticly. This can be useful if you are tweaking the weighting balance between two joints via the compenent editor.. making edits like..
0.5 0.2 0.3 (1 total) >> to >> 0.4 0.25 0.35 (1 total)
09-25-2005, 05:21 PM
So therefore, subtracting is fine if you can control exactly where the weight is going. So if you hold weights on all the joints except the one you want the weight to go to, it'll work. And, unlike adding, there's no danger of trying to pull weight from held joints.
09-25-2005, 09:16 PM
And, unlike adding, there's no danger of trying to pull weight from held joints.
OH yeah that too.. that can sux..
what the whole business needs is a capped non normilisin' system.. so one can freely paint weights, but never paint over 1..
one could then just perhaps move the skeleton and deal with it like the method of wrap deforming..
i reckon :p
09-25-2005, 09:16 PM
This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.
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A war rationale is gradually imposing itself onto international relations: massive, unilateral re-arming of the United States; attack of Afghanistan without proving the case for self-defence; attack of Iraq under false pretence before plundering its resources; open threats against Syria and Iran; declaration of a remodelling of frontiers in the “Great Middle-East”; development of the hatred media and the “clash of civilisations” ideology. Only the principles of international mediation and (...)
The sovereignty of the peoples, a precondition to the establishment of democracy, is today being challenged by certain members of the United Nations’ Security Council, in spite of the International Rights drafted by the Hague Conferences and stated by the UN San Francisco Charter. Some peoples have been deprived of their freedom to choose their political system, of their cultural identity, of their natural resources’, and of the fruit of their labour. State-supported transnational armed (...)
The conference proceedings, for November 17th and 18th, 2005 (Last updated on Wednesday, November 9th).
The conference will take place at the Brussels International Press Center, at Residence Palace.
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A military coalition has launched itself into an unbridled exploitation of the world’s resources and energy reserves. Fuelled by neo-conservatives, it has increased its attacks, practicing all forms of interference, from forcing changes in regimes to colonial-style expansionism. This coalition continually violates the principles of international law as they were established by the conference of the Hague and laid out in the San Francisco Charter. This group masks its ambitions by (...) | <urn:uuid:994c0c52-08d8-4e8a-a8a5-83e13f4a4846> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.axisforpeace.net/rubrique18.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938991 | 425 | 1.859375 | 2 |
The Internet and World Wide Web (Web) afford libraries new possibilities to disseminate information. For instance, many libraries are already offering on-line public access catalogs, public ftp sites, or repositories of Internet resources. In the near future, digital documents will belong to the document collection of a library as well. Since these trends are changing the definition of what a conventional library is, the terms "virtual library" and "digital library" have come into use.
In this paper, we only use the term "digital library". In accordance with Gladney, Fox et al. 1994, we view a digital library as extending the holdings of a conventional library into digital documents and Internet resources. An Internet resource is a link to other digital documents which are stored elsewhere on the Internet. Thus, only the link is under control of the library, not the document to which the link points. Additionally, a digital library provides digital catalogs, containing meta-data about the holdings (i.e., digital documents, Internet resources, and physical documents like books, journals, etc.). Finally, a digital library must accomplish, as far as possible, all necessary services of conventional libraries and must also exploit the advantages of the technology used. According to Nuernberg, Furuta et al. 1995, a "digital library system" consists of several components. To set up and to use a digital library requires a client and server computing system and tools supporting interaction among people and between people and client or server software.
Normally, digital libraries are based on the Web server technology. This enables patrons to access the library using a Web client like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer. These days, a lot of different Web servers are available (e.g., httpd from NCSA, or the different servers provided by Netscape). In several projects these servers have proven useful for building digital libraries. Beyond this, a second generation Internet information system exists, namely Hyper-G or HyperWave (we will be using the term "Hyper-G" throughout this paper). Since Hyper-G has already become widely adopted, our research group at Dortmund University decided to use Hyper-G to set up a digital library system called DogitaLS1. DogitaLS1 is an acronym for "The Dortmund Digital Library System of LS1" (LS1 is the name of our lab at the Computer Science Department of the Dortmund University). LIBERATION is another European project in which Hyper-G is being used to set up a digital library. The main idea of this project is to distribute already existing electronic information to libraries (e.g., via CD, local or wide area networks). Since this project has just begun, first results are not yet available.
In this paper, we report about our experiences with using Hyper-G as an underlying server technology for our digital library system. To do this, the remainder of the paper is structured as follows:
Section 2 gives a brief overview of Hyper-G. Then, section 3 describes
the structure of DogitaLS1. It also shows how we exploit the concepts
of Hyper-G for organizing the holding of DogitaLS1. In section
4, we report about our experiences with using Hyper-G. This includes
a list of requirements for future Internet information systems
that aim at being used for digital library systems. Finally, we
give a brief conclusion in section 5.
Remark to the references used:
References to documents available on the Internet are made explicit by links pointing to them. All links have been proven to be defined in September 1996. Once the paper is published, any changes of URLs used in this paper will not further be updated by the authors. Thus, undefined links might be possible at some time in the future.
Hyper-G is a second generation Internet information system that is being developed under the leadership of Herrmann Maurer and Frank Kappe at the Institute for Information Processing and Computer Supported New Media (IICM) at Graz University (Austria). Hyper-G comprises server and client software. The server software is available for the several different operating systems including SUN Sparc and IBM AIX. The client software runs under Microsoft Windows (Amadeus) and under Unix (Harmony). Hyper-G complies with the WWW; widely accepted Web clients, like Netscape Navigator, can be used to browse a Hyper-G server. Hyper-G clients can be used to browse a WWW server like NSCA's httpd.
The key features of Hyper-G include
More information about Hyper-G can be found in the book "HyperWave - The Next Generation Web Solution", recently launched by the development team of Hyper-G/HyperWave.
The aim of our research is to examine Hyper-G for defining organizational structures for digital libraries. To do this, we set up a digital research library for our lab providing a heterogeneous document collection, i.e., a collection containing:
In addition, we place a special emphasis on services for different type of users (e.g., librarians and patrons) as well as communication services. A more detailed description of the communication services is omitted here. We recommend our technical report "A first Step Toward Communication in Virtual Libraries" for those who are interested in this area.
We installed six collections at the top level of DogitaLS1. The collections "Catalogs", "Digital Documents", and "Internet Resources" serve for storing meta-data about physical documents, digital documents including their meta-data, and Internet resources, respectively. The collections "Services" and "Workspaces" are needed for general services and communication services. Finally, an on-line help is provided in the collection "On-line Help" (c.f. figure 3.1). In the next sections, we describe how we took advantage of Hyper-G concepts for the integration of documents belonging to the different collections.
Remark: All screen shots are taken from Harmony.
The collection "Catalogs"
The collection "Catalogs" includes an alphabetic catalog in which meta-data about all books, journals, etc. of our research library are stored. A question was how to model the corresponding Hyper-G documents so that we can take advantage of the integrated search engine of Hyper-G. One possible solution could have been to use attributes that can contain meta-information about a Hyper-G document. However, except for the keyword attribute, all the pre-defined attributes relate to a Hyper-G document and not to books or journals about which a Hyper-G document contains information. For example, assume the user tochterm creates a Hyper-G document providing meta-information about a book written by Aho and Ullman. Then, the attribute Author of the Hyper-G document contains the name tochterm and, thus, it cannot be used to store the names of the two authors Aho and Ullman. We therefore decided to put important information (authors, title and publication year) about books, journals, etc. into the title of the corresponding Hyper-G document (c.f. figure 3.2). Some other useful information, like umbrella words, is stored in the keyword attribute. (Note, the Hyper-G document itself contains much more meta-information about the cataloged book or journal.) As a result, a title search can be used to search for books by author's name, title or publication year. In addition, a keyword search can be used for searching by means of umbrella words.
The collection "Digital Documents"
Digital documents (e.g., research reports and other publications written by members of our lab) are stored in this collection. To ease browsing through the document collection, we set up a small systematic catalog covering the different areas in which members of our lab do research. We had three requirements to meet when we started thinking about modeling digital documents in Hyper-G:
To capture this intention, the use of digital objects as introduced by Kahn and Wilensky seemed appropriate to us. In their notion, a digital object can be regarded as a content-independent package. The principal components are a unique identifier for the digital object (its handle), and data. The data in the digital object package is, itself, a container for streams of bits that may take multiple forms (e.g., Postscript or HTML).
In DogitaLS1, we modeled digital objects by means of collections. Note, that we have now two different notions of collections: 1. we use them to define the overall structure of DogitaLS1, that is as containers for documents; 2. we use them to model digital objects. This might be irritating from a conceptual perspective. On the other hand, there was no other way in Hyper-G to represent digital objects. Figure 3.3 sketches three digital objects belonging to "Information Systems" in the classification scheme for Digital Documents.
When the collection is being created, Hyper-G assigns a server-wide unique handle to it. Each digital document is embedded in a collection that also contains meta-data about the document and different formats for the document (normally HTML and Postscript). The meta-data is stored as a collection head. In Hyper-G, a collection head is a special document which is always displayed, when a user (e.g., librarian or patron) accesses a collection. In this way, whenever a digital object is accessed, the user gets information about the data stored in this digital object. The following figure shows a digital object represented as collection in Hyper-G. The document "Abstract: Kommunikation in virtuellen Bibliotheken" contains an abstract and meta-data about the document. The actual document is available in two different formats, HTML and Postscript.
The collection "Internet Resources"
In this collection, links to interesting resources available on the Internet are collected. Each link is represented as a Hyper-G document. As a consequence, meta-information about each link can be stored in the keyword attribute of Hyper-G documents. Due to this, a keyword search for links is possible in DogitaLS1.
Links to resources in other Hyper-G servers are displayed in the same manner as if the resource were stored in DogitaLS1. This is a big advantage for setting up distributed digital libraries based on Hyper-G. The reason is that in distributed digital libraries, users need not know where documents are stored - whether locally or on remote servers. Among others, the following figure displays a link to the "Journal of Universal Computer Science" which is stored on a server in Graz (Austria). However, the user interface displays this link in the same way as a collection stored on the server of DogitaLS1.
The collections "Services" and "Workspaces"
The current version of DogitaLS1 provides several services (written in PERL) adapted to the needs of librarians and patrons. All these services are stored in the collection "Services". The Common Gateway Interface mechanism is used to provide interaction among users and between users and DogitaLS1.
In the collection "Workspaces", librarians and patrons have their own workspace where they can store private documents, private links, etc. Besides private documents, logical copies of all the services needed by a given librarian or patron are stored at this place. To do this, we exploit the copy document function of Hyper-G. The advantage of this approach is that all the services are available at a central place in DogitaLS1. This is a big relief when new librarians or patrons are to be added to or to be removed from the system. For adding a new user, we only have to create a new workspace and add copies of the services needed by the new user. For removing a user, we can just delete his collection without worrying about the documents and services stored therein.
First, this section describes our experiences with Hyper-G. We
also give a list of items that are not covered by Hyper-G but
would have been useful for our digital library system.
4.1 Valuation of concepts currently available in Hyper-G
In general, both the server and client software run without severe problems. We are also grateful to the development team in Graz which normally helped us immediately when we had technical problems. Finally, a newsgroup (comp.infosystems.hyperg) may be used for asking other Hyper-G users questions. Thus, a lot of technical support exists for Hyper-G. Besides these more general comments, we evaluate concepts provided by Hyper-G with a special respect to digital libraries.
Collections in Hyper-G are very useful to define the structure for the holding of a digital library. Since collections in collections are allowed, it is also possible to set up more complex structures for organizing the document collection.
Normally, more than one attempt is required for defining the organizational structure of a digital library. Unfortunately, new requirements arise usually after documents have already been stored in the library. In addition, at that time, links between documents have already been established. Since re-organizing the document collection in a digital library means moving documents from one collection to another, links are most probably affected. By contrast to "traditional" servers where a link denotes a path to a file on the server machine, in Hyper-G, links are objects separated from documents. The advantage of this is that in Hyper-G documents can be changed between collections without worrying about dangling links. This was a useful feature for prototyping several different collection hierarchies in DogitaLS1.
Different parts of a collection can be made accessible to different types of users using access rights. An advantage of the concept of user accounts in Hyper-G is that they do not depend on user accounts on the server or on any other machine. Therefore, it is not necessary that patrons must have an account on another machine. A further advantage is that even links can be protected by access rights. This means that link filtering is possible.
Hyper-G provides a lot of external tools (e.g., hginstext, hginscoll, and hggetdata for inserting text documents in the server, for inserting collections in the server and for retrieving documents from the server, respectively). We could exploit these tools in different CGI-programs (e.g., for inserting already existing on-line-data of our research library in DogitaLS1).
Aspects of distributed digital libraries
In the near future, the holdings of digital libraries will not only be based on one server but will be distributed among several servers. In three ways, Hyper-G already covers aspects for distributed digital libraries:
4.2 Requirements for future systems
This section lists items that we are missing in the current version of Hyper-G. To us, these items seem to be helpful for future Internet information systems that intend to be used for digital library systems.
On the basis of Hyper-G, we set up a digital library system. This system consists of the server and client software as well as different tools that we developed (however, we omitted the description of tools in this paper). The document collection of DogitaLS1 mainly consists of documents that are needed in the day-to-day work of members of our lab. Even though this document collection is rather small, Hyper-G has proven stable for huge amounts of documents as well. For example, the Graz University runs a Hyper-G server to store meta-data about its documents. In October 1995, this server contained more than 300,000 documents.
As we see it, Hyper-G offers several features that are not presently available in other Internet information systems. In this paper, we showed how most of these features can be exploited to serve needs of digital libraries. Since we are convinced of the capabilities of Hyper-G, we will be using it in a joint project with the library of the Dortmund University. The aim of this project is to build an electronic archive for master-level and doctoral theses.
The first author is grateful to the Max Kade Foundation, New York USA, for funding his post-doc at the Center for the Study of Digital Libraries of the Texas A&M University. | <urn:uuid:6ebab28c-250c-48ac-8b58-a0191a6cc86a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october96/texas/10tochtermann.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913142 | 3,338 | 3.21875 | 3 |
It seems like every week I am reading an article about another school district struggling to keep up with the expenses of educating children with autism and how instead of adding resources, they keep getting taken away!
In South Carolina, $1.4 million were taken away from the already struggling programs. This means that children might not get the needed treatment that they need, such as ABA. More than $700,000 is being dedicated to serving the children with autism, which will cover ABA for only 30 students. It seems to me that solutions must be found which can spread the limited amounts of money further, how can schools serve more children with the same amount of money while still providing the quality treatment that is needed?
It is time for researchers to start thinking about solutions for schools, there is a large amount of data supporting ABA and some other approaches as well. However, I would like to see studies looking at how to develop ABA treatments further so as to be able to serve more children, perhaps in small group instruction, or utilizing technology, or simplifying procedures for less expensive staff to implement, or other creative solutions to deal with this critical issue in our education system.
In addition, I would like to see more funding and grants for school programs and more education for school staff to more effectively educate children with autism spectrum disorders. This could be done easily through online learning programs or local conferences for educators. In addition, more funding and research is needed for how to effectively and efficiently educate school staff so that they are empowered and motivated.
The other important thing that is needed for school systems is training and accountability for student outcome. Researchers should consider designing assessments that are feasible and easy for schools to implement, and standards should be set for what exactly schools are expected to measure and report. While some school districts require teachers to use standardized measures of assessment, these measures are often not appropriate or informative for measuring the progress of children with autism spectrum disorders. If measurements are required, they should be scientifically validated for the autism population. In addition, managable and efficient tools need to be developed and available to teachers to make data collection accurate and consistent.
Some states are taking measures to address these important issues, such as California and the Blue Ribbon Commission. I recently served on the task force for education for this group, and was pleased to see that I am not alone in these concerns and that there are initiatives out there that are working toward solutions. I will post updates on this Commission as they are available. Please post other initiatives or solutions that you think are helpful! | <urn:uuid:e75ecf73-a1b5-47d2-a68c-d6799d8dd7f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drchris.teachtown.com/tag/funding | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978627 | 516 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Are there any Orthodox elementary/secondary schools in the U.S., and do they use classical education/curriculum, like many Catholic schools seem to be doing
DENVER — Like too many other Catholic schools, Our Lady of Lourdes experienced declining enrollment throughout the past decade. By 2008, enrollment at the pre-K-8 school had fallen to just 100 — too low to remain open if the trend continued.
Suddenly, the picture has changed and mere survival no longer reigns supreme, thanks to a recent switch to a classical education curriculum.
Principal Rosemary Anderson credits classical education — known to some as “liberal arts prep” — with upward enrollment and the school’s new enthusiasm.
Like other schools that adopt this mode of instruction, Our Lady of Lourdes’ new curriculum is based on the trivium, a method of learning that focuses on the teaching of grammar, logic and rhetoric. On its website, the Denver school notes that students educated according to this method scored an average of 100 points higher on their SATs in 2011.
“The classical method of education not only provides academic rigor, it also instructs and prepares the students to become independent thinkers … and equips students to be leaders in the community with their ability to communicate logically with their peers and colleagues,” the school website states. | <urn:uuid:c73cd016-5c4b-47a4-ac7e-bd7639f94458> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php?topic=47767.msg828694 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964377 | 277 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Certain laws concerning sacrifices. Sabbath breaking is punished with death. The law of fringes on their garments.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Speak to the children of Israel and thou shalt say to them: When you shall be come into the land of your habitation, which I will give you,
And shall make an offering to the Lord, for a holocaust, or a victim, paying your vows, or voluntarily offering gifts, or in your solemnities burning a sweet savour unto the Lord, of oxen or of sheep:
Whosoever immolateth the victim, shall offer a sacrifice of fine flour, the tenth part of an ephi, tempered with the fourth part of a hin of oil:
And he shall give the same measure of wine to pour out in libations for the holocaust or for the victim. For every lamb,
And for every ram there shall be a sacrifice of hour of two tenths, which shall be tempered with the third part of a hin of oil:
And he shall offer the third part of the same measure of wine for the libation, for a sweet savour to the Lord.
But when thou offerest a holocaust or sacrifice of oxen, to fulfill thy vow or for victims of peace offerings,
Thou shalt give for every ox three tenths of flour tempered with half a hin of oil,
And wine for libations of the same measure, for an offering of most sweet savour to the Lord.
Thus shalt thou do:
For every ox and ram and lamb and kid.
Both they that are born in the land, and the strangers,
Shall offer sacrifices after the same rite.
There shall be all one law and judgment both for you and for them who are strangers in the land.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them:
When you are come into the land which I will give you,
And shall eat of the bread of that country, you shall separate firstfruits to the Lord,
Of the things you eat. As you separate firstfruits of your barnfloors:
So also shall you give firstfruits of your dough to the Lord.
And if through ignorance you omit any of these things, which the Lord hath spoken to Moses,
And by him hath commanded you, from the day that he began to command and thenceforward,
And the multitude have forgotten to do it: they shall offer a calf out of the herd, a holocaust for a most sweet savour to the Lord, and the sacrifice and libations thereof, as the ceremonies require, and a buck goat for sin:
And the priest shall pray for all the multitude of the children of Israel: and it shall be forgiven them, because they sinned ignorantly, offering notwithstanding a burnt offering to the Lord for themselves and for their sin and their ignorance:
And it shall be forgiven all the people of the children of Israel: and the strangers that sojourn among them: because it is the fault of all the people through ignorance.
But if one soul shall sin ignorantly, he shall offer a she goat of a year old for his sin.
And the priest shall pray for him, because he sinned ignorantly before the Lord: and he shall obtain his pardon, and it shall be forgiven him.
The same law shall be for all that sin by ignorance, whether they be natives or strangers.
But the soul that committeth any thing through pride, whether he be born in the land or a stranger (because he hath been rebellious against the Lord) shall be cut off from among his people:
For he hath contemned the word the Lord, and made void his precept: therefore shall he be destroyed, and shall bear his iniquity.
And it came to pass, when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and had found a man gathering sticks on the sabbath day,
That they brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole multitude.
And they put him into prison, not knowing what they should do with him.
And the Lord said to Moses: Let that man die, let all the multitude stone him without the camp.
And when they had brought him out, they stoned him, and he died as the Lord had commanded.
The Lord also said to Moses:
Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt tell them I to make to themselves fringes in the corners of their garments, putting in them ribands of blue:
That when they shall see them, they may remember all the commandments of the Lord, and not follow their own thoughts and eyes going astray after divers things,
But rather being mindful of the precepts of the Lord, may do them and be holy to their God.
Fringes: The Pharisees enlarged these fringes through hypocrisy, Matt. 23. 5, to appear more zealous than other men for the law of God.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. | <urn:uuid:1b6fe3f7-8a0e-4664-b93c-7318d4fd311d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drbo.org/x/d?b=drb&bk=4&ch=15&l=31 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945099 | 1,063 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Thermal Management of Visible LEDs
LEDs fulfill a growing number of applications. Visible LEDs have a high luminous efficacy as compared to incandescent and fluorescent bulbs – and while incandescent and fluorescent bulbs have already reached near-maximum luminous efficacy – the efficacy of visible LEDs is forecasted to increase in the future.
Due to advances in chip and packaging technologies, new visible LEDs have power dissipations ranging from 500 milliwatts to as much as 10 watts in a single package. With improving luminous efficacy, these high-power LED components will replace other lighting technologies in most applications.
When using high-power visible LEDs in applications, many design aspects must be considered. These include luminous flux, dominant wavelength or color temperature, mean time between failure (MTTF) and flux degradation.
Junction temperature directly alters the performance and reliability of LEDs in the following ways:
Reduced output power: At constant operating current, the luminous efficacy decreases by about 5% for every 10° C rise in junction temperature.
Reduced forward voltage: At constant operating current, forward voltage decreases by about 20 mV for every 10° C rise in junction temperature.
Shifted dominant wavelength: Dominant wavelengths shift by about 2 nm for every 10° C change in junction temperature.
Shifted Color temperature: White LEDs are more sensitive to changes in junction temperature because the color temperature changes significantly. LEDs emit white light by combining standard blue emission with a phosphor overcoat that absorbs the blue flux and re-emits a wide range of wavelengths throughout the visible range. Re-emission efficiency is highly dependent on the wavelength of the blue flux.
Reduced mean time to failure (MTTF) and accelerated degradation: Catastrophic failure and LED degradation are mechanical and chemical processes which occur at rates described by the Arrhenius model. Their rates are inversely proportional to the exponent of the inverse of junction temperature.
The impact of junction temperature cannot be overstated. Successful thermal management is paramount to successful design.
Junction temperature depends on three factors: power dissipation, thermal resistances of the substrate and assembly and ambient conditions. Power dissipation determines how much heat is generated, while thermal resistances and ambient conditions dictate how efficiently heat is removed. All of the light and heat produced by an LED is generated at the P-N junction.
To maintain a low junction temperature, all methods of removing heat from LEDs should be considered. The three means of heat transference are conduction, convection and radiation.
Thermal conduction is the transmission of heat across matter. Thermal conductivity between materials is proportional to the temperature gradient and the cross-sectional area of the conductive path. Nearly all heat produced by LEDs is conducted through the back side of the chip. For an interface with area A and thickness l, the rate of heat conduction has the following proportion:
Qoc µ A · ?T / l (1)
Convection is the transfer of heat by currents in a liquid or gas. Convection rate is proportional to surface area and the temperature gradient between the surface and the fluid. For a surface with area AS and temperature TS, convection has the following proportion:
Qµ µ AS · [TS - TA] (2)
Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation from an object’s surface due to the object’s temperature. Radiation is proportional to the object’s absolute temperature raised to the fourth power and its surface area. For a surface with area AS and temperature TS, convection has the following proportion:
Qµ µ AS · [TS - TA] 4 (3)
Passive Thermal Management
Passive thermal management systems have no moving parts or consumption of additional energy. They rely primarily on conduction and radiation to remove heat from the junction. The typical method is to attach LEDs to a thermally conductive substrate, such as a metal-core IMS substrate or ceramic substrate, and then attach the substrate to a heat sink. Novel technologies such as Optek's OptoTherm heat spreader substrate make it possible to attach the LEDs directly to the heatsink.
Active Thermal Management
Active thermal management systems involve convection by incorporating fans, heat pipes and liquid cooling. These technologies enable significantly better thermal management and should be considered for ultra-hot applications. In most cases, they are more complex and require better design to avoid decreasing the reliability of the system. These trade-offs are manageable if extreme thermal management is required.
The assembly’s thermal characteristics are expressed by the following equations:
?TJ-A = Q · R?J-A (7)
?TJ-A = Q · [R?J-C + R?C-A] ( 8)
?TJ-A = Q · [R?J-C + R?C-S + R?TIM + R?H-A] (9)
?TJ-A and Q must be measured and R?J-C is provided by the LED vendor. R?C-A is the combined thermal resistance of the rest of the assembly. Equation 9 can be used to calculate ?TJ-A if sufficient data is supplied by the substrate, thermal interface material, and heatsink vendors; however, it is recommended to calculate R?C-A by rearranging Equation 8 to:
R?C-A = [?TJ-A] / Q - R?J-C (10)
The multiple-component assembly’s thermal characteristics are described by equations that are similar to those for single-component assemblies:
?TJ-An = Qn · R?J-An (11)
?TJ-An = Qn · R?J-Cn + QTotal · R?C-A (12)
?TJ-An = Qn · R?J-Cn + QTotal · [R?C-S + R?TIM + R?H-A] (13)
R?C-A = [?TJ-An] / Qn - R?J-Cn (14)
For single-component assemblies, the equation for R?C-A (equation 10) is derived from equation 8. Note that equation 14 was not derived from equation 12 in a similar manner. TC is the same for all components on the multiple-component assembly, and R?C-A can be derived based on one component’s ?TJ-A, Q, and R?J-C.
For the same component and power dissipation, ?T¬J-C will be the same whether the LED is alone or is part of an array. In an array, however, the heat input of all LEDs must be transferred through the substrate, TIM, and heatsink. ?TC-A and ?TJ-A increase considerably over single-component assemblies.
Recommendations for reducing junction temperature without compromising luminous flux:
• Use components with better luminous efficacy to reduce IF and Q
• Increase the number of components at the same total power dissipation to reduce R?J-C
• Change to better packaged components to reduce R?J-C
• Use metal core substrates to minimize R?C-S
• Increase the heatsink’s surface area to reduce R?H-A
• Add a fan, heat pipe or liquid cooling to reduce R?H-A | <urn:uuid:f5164a60-4134-474b-a587-828a105c7c2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ecnmag.com/print/articles/2010/09/thermal-management-visible-leds | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902512 | 1,550 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Editor’s note: Doug Hennes, vice president for university and government relations, contributed this guest column to The Scroll.
I.A. O’Shaughnessy always has fascinated me.
I never met the man. I was a St. Thomas freshman when he died, at age 88, in 1973. I still remember the long line of black limousines that lined Summit Avenue one November day as they arrived on campus for a memorial service. A couple of weeks later, I eagerly read an Aquin four-page special section that paid tribute to him and “a saga of hard work, generosity and humor.” I found it all so fascinating at the time, this seemingly larger-than-life man.
Three years ago, I helped the university commemorate the centennial of O’Shaughnessy’s graduation by writing a magazine profile, co-producing a video and planning a symposium. As I spent several days digging through the archives on campus and at the Minnesota Historical Society, I marveled over O’Shaughnessy’s accomplishments as an oil “wildcatter” and his generosity as a philanthropist, and I kept saying to myself, “Fascinating. Just fascinating.”
On Wednesday it was time again to revisit the O’Shaughnessy legend as we removed the time capsule from O’Shaughnessy Hall, the first St. Thomas building that he paid for out of his own pocket. The building was his way of saying thanks – for the education that he had received, that his sons were receiving and that he expected his grandsons would one day receive. O’Shaughnessy believed it was important to give back to one’s community and, in this case, college.
“The bond of loyalty between any alumnus and his alma mater depends primarily on whether the school did for him in his youth what it promised to do,” O’Shaughnessy told the audience at the 1959 dedication ceremony for O’Shaughnessy Hall, another building that he donated. “If in his mature years, he finds by experience and competition that his early instruction was sound and his youthful formation was complete, his appreciation for the school in which he was trained, and shaped, and made aware, will grow with the passing years.”
That comment – that definition of “the bond of loyalty” – always has stuck with me as I have tried to articulate my own feelings about our common alma mater. Two other comments also bear repetition on this day – the first from James Shannon, president of St. Thomas from 1956 to 1966, and the other from Father Theodore Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987.
Wrote Shannon in a Minneapolis Tribune commentary after O’Shaughnessy’s death: “ ‘Unique’ is a strong word. It should be used with the greatest restraint. Having said that, I say that Ignatius Aloysius O’Shaughnessy was a unique human person. He was brilliant, tough, relaxed, determined, incisive, devout, witty, generous and a thoroughly lovely man.”
And said Hesburgh in his homily at O’Shaughnessy’s funeral: “All of us can be very proud that he was a dear part of our lives. While we will all miss him greatly – those twinkling eyes, that spontaneous smile, that great heart – both our lives and our institutions have been enriched by his presence and his great spirit, and we will long be reminded that he passed this way on his path to heaven and eternal life.”
Fascinating, isn’t it? | <urn:uuid:9a4f5cb7-929f-40a8-aab3-e939ddf44274> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stthomas.edu/news/2010/02/24/fascinated-by-that-great-heart/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979939 | 787 | 1.523438 | 2 |
MARINA DEL REY (CBSLA.com) —A Marina Del Rey rowing program helps inner-city teenage girls launch their college careers.
Liz Greenberger founded the non-profit “Row LA” in September 2009. It’s the only athletic and academic program working with urban high school girls.
“(I thought) we should really tap into the public high school girls in the city of LA and give them the opportunity to use this water as a way to get into college,” Greenberger said.
The girls have a tutoring session on Mondays and rowing lessons every other day after school.
“I have more discipline and I’ve met more people, and it’s just really changed everything,” said rower Ellie Mark.
“I’ve seen improvement in my grades since before and after rowing,” said Michelle Castanaza.
For girl’s who row, there are more than 2,000 scholarships available to colleges across the country.
Culver High School student Teresita Lozano, 16, says in just three years, the team has already started making an impression.
“Our past season, Long Beach didn’t think we were that capable or that competitive until one of our races. We got second place and we got into the finals. And they were really shocked,” she said. | <urn:uuid:42c13986-70a0-4c8d-ad18-7f28316214dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/08/07/la-rowing-program-helps-inner-city-teens-get-into-college/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967851 | 297 | 1.820313 | 2 |
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Alternative Therapy Treatments
Getting More Sleep May Help New Moms Lose Weight
Posted: July 27, 2009
A new study is showing the importance of sleep in association with weight loss for women that are still trying to lose baby weight.
New moms who can't zip up their pre-pregnancy jeans might not be catching enough zzzs. Getting a good night's sleep, in fact, may be just as important as diet and exercise for shedding baby weight.
One study of new mothers found that those who slept five or fewer hours a day six months after giving birth were three times as likely to hold onto those extra pounds as were women who got seven or more hours of sleep. Short sleep duration "stood out as an independent risk factor" for weight retention, said Erica P. Gunderson, a research scientist and epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA, who worked on the study.
For many women, postpartum weight retention is a serious issue because it can lead to long-term weight gain. Some studies show that up to 20% of women retain at least 11 pounds at six to 18 months after giving birth, Finnish researchers reported. Lifestyle factors that lead to postpartum weight retention—including a woman's diet, physical activity and sleep patterns—have not been well studied, researchers report. But as every bleary-eyed new mother knows, slumber is frequently disrupted or cut short in the first year after a baby's birth.
"Sleep deprivation can cause changes in the levels of hormones involved in appetite regulation," explained Dr. Sirimon Reutrakul, a clinical associate in medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center. "Keep in mind, though, that there are multiple factors involved in causing postpartum women to sleep less. These include just having a newborn, having other small children at home, possible postpartum depression, illness of the newborns, if any, work, etcetera." | <urn:uuid:c43a0644-5e69-437f-9321-cb7b0a476f4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.skininc.com/treatments/wellness/alternativetherapies/51785842.html?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96021 | 426 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Although research indicates that most students experience only minimal gains as a result of test prep classes, even small improvements in scores are worth some effort. Fortunately, this effort doesn’t necessarily mean going out and purchasing the most expensive package from the most prestigious company in town. There are other options, many of which can be explored during the summer months.
Consider these ideas and see where they might fit into time at the shore:
Sign-up for the ACT/SAT Question of the Day: Since we know you’re on the computer, why not take advantage of these free services and register. You can “passively” prep by simply answering the question that sweetly pops up on your screen every day. Check your answer and compare how you did versus the thousands of other high school students taking the quiz like vitamins every morning.
Work the Free Online Prep: Keeping in mind that the SAT and ACT are really paper-and-pencil tests, you can benefit from working with online test prep programs. Number2.com, INeedaPencil.com, and 4Tests.com offer sample tests and loads of test-taking tips (as do the College Board and the ACT).
Get SAT and ACT Booklets: Remember those little paperback booklets your guidance counselor tried to hand you every time you walked in the office? I’ve got a secret: they each contain a full-length sample test complete with answer grids. Some of us collect them so as to accumulate free full-length tests to use as practice exams. Stop by your local high school and get a booklet or two (if they still have them). And then, get up early one Saturday morning, assign a designated timer from among household members, and take a complete test. The truly dedicated will actually score the thing and go over results.
Use Official Study Guides: As much as I hate promoting these products, the Official SAT Study Guide and The Real ACT Prep Guide are the only ones to use. They contain official practice tests (saves the trouble of collecting old booklets) and lots of advice. Again, because college entrance exams involve sitting at a desk and working with a No. 2 pencil, don’t buy the computer software. Instead, take several published practice tests over the summer (see above).
Go High-tech: The good news is that you can work on test prep without looking too nerdy by downloading a few simple “apps” for your mobile PDA. The flashcard vocabulary builders, especially those that allow you to enter new words like gFlash-Pro, are really effective. The device may set you back, but the software tends to be very inexpensive.
Read: If you don’t do anything else to prepare for the SAT or the ACT, make time to read over the summer. I don’t mean Teen Cosmo or Sports Illustrated. Try to get reading lists from key classes like AP history, literature, or language. Even if you’re not taking AP’s, find out what you’ll be required to read next year. You can ask friends who’ve completed the classes or maybe even contact the school. Regardless, reading ahead really helps. But if great works of literature don’t work for the beach, try magazines. Look for scientific journals or read popular culture articles in The New Yorker. Remember that magazines as well as books are available at your local library.
Write: I don’t care what you write, but write. And write in complete sentences. Paragraphs are good too. Just don’t limit your written communications to texting or IM-speak. These habits are actually harmful insofar as you risk losing your “ear” for correct grammar and syntax. Start a blog, write grandma, bother your Congressperson, or begin drafting college essays—it really doesn’t matter. If you’re reading good books, enroll in an online literary group like the Big Read or Shelfari. Not only can you share ideas but your writing will improve, especially if you succumb to peer pressure and clean-up sentences or check spelling.
Find a Buddy: Lots of your friends are going through test prep anxiety. Gather a few together and form a support group to take practice tests or otherwise kvetch about college admissions. The wise high school student learns the value of study groups early. They work as long as you don’t spend the entire time socializing.
So the good news is that there are ways to prepare for standardized tests and have fun. It may take a little self-discipline, but whatever. | <urn:uuid:90159ec2-de10-4120-8e71-46d9d228ce37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://collegeexplorations.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940395 | 954 | 1.859375 | 2 |
The Obama administration's use of drones to kill suspected terrorists in foreign countries may be President Obama's biggest legacy in the fight against terrorism.
One privilege — or burden — of the Oval Office is that each inhabitant gets to decide how dirty to get his hands in wartime. President Truman made the ultimate decision to use the atomic bomb, while President Kennedy chose not to use a nuclear weapon in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
With a single policy directive last week, President Obama took control of an issue of special importance to Hispanics this election year. Obama announced illegal immigrants younger than 30 who are brought to the U.S. as children and who meet other standards will not be subject to deportation.
The adoption of Title IX has spurred growth in women's collegiate sports, including soccer. But a women's pro league has struggled, cutting its season short this year. Here, Notre Dame celebrates winning the NCAA College Cup in 2010.
Saturday is the 40th anniversary of Title IX, which, although almost nobody anticipated it then, resulted in women's gaining the right to participate in sports commensurate with their numbers attending college.
Title IX not only had a huge effect on women's participation in sports, but also, culturally, it influenced the way both men and women view the idea of women and athletics. It's mattered greatly in our American society.
A House panel will meet Wednesday to consider a report holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over subpoenaed documents related to the controversial Operation Fast and Furious, a botched gun-trafficking operation.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, met with Holder on Tuesday in an effort to resolve difference over his panel's subpoena for the documents. | <urn:uuid:1108bc67-9d1e-40ca-a418-9944fed8d145> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.krvs.org/npr-news?page=3480 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957236 | 357 | 2.109375 | 2 |
‘That Was The Week That Was’ was a satirical television programme from the BBC back in the early sixties. The last seven days would have provided the show with plenty of ammunition and, for strategists, provided lots of examples to highlight how things can (and should) be done better. I’ve picked the top three, not for satire but to highlight how seeing others getting things wrong should provide as good an opportunity for learning as for mockery.
RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT
Any infrastructure investment is welcome in the UK right now so how does the announcement of a £9.4bn package of investment for the railways qualify as a bad plan from which we can learn?
In reality it’s less about a bad strategy and more about an absent one. Back in January when the Government announced the HS2 high-speed link between London and Birmingham I made the same point; until there is a national transport strategy then any investment in the railways (or other forms of transport) is based on current understanding and guesswork not on informed, future need.
For example, with HS2 there is the idea of a ‘spur’ linking Heathrow and with the new investment there is the idea of new and improved electrified links to Heathrow from Wales and the West Country. It sounds great until you consider that until a decision is made as to where London’s much needed new airport capacity will be built new links to Heathrow might end up being investment in links to the wrong place.
Lesson: Ensure you look at your strategic planning from a globally integrated perspective to ensure it joins up. Planning (what should be) allied elements separately and independently does not guarantee your planning delivers the necessary outcomes.
THE UK, THE IMF & THE EUROZONE
Last week the IMF suggested that the UK Government should consider slowing the pace of austerity and boost spending to rescue the economy. The Government intends to continue with austerity. In the same week, the IMF also slashed the UK’s growth forecast.
Time and again during the Eurozone crisis we have seen Europe’s ‘leaders’ too focused on an unguaranteed future while ignoring the present, pressing need. Meanwhile the UK government has addressed that present need while not planning a route to the future.
Lesson: If you face a crisis, deal with it but don’t forget the need to also plan for the future. No one ever achieved the future they desire by ignoring it.
Lesson: If you face a crisis, deal with it. Don’t ignore it while planning solely for the future, if you ignore the crisis of today, tomorrow might become irrelevant.
THE OLYMPIC SECURITY ROW
The most surprising thing to me about the whole Olympics security issue is that anyone has been surprised by it happening.
LOCOG has escaped relatively unscathed and yet should be asked why it took five years from being awarded the Olympics for them to award the security contract for the Games. Given the July 7th London bombings took place the day after London won the bid, they can hardly claim security was a low priority.
Lesson: If you have a seven year window in which to get things done, don’t be surprised that if you do nothing for five of those years you make them more difficult to achieve.
G4S has taken the brunt of the flak and rightly so. They accepted a contract and in doing so must have considered its delivery achievable. And when the number of staff required trebled they happily agreed they could still deliver.
A bemused Nick Buckles, G4S Chief Executive, told the press that he had no reason to doubt his company would deliver as it had robust processes and plans in place. Except, patently, it didn’t. What G4S had in place was a plan not a good plan, a strategy but not the right strategy.
Lesson: Having a strategy in place offers no guarantee of success if that strategy is not adequate.
Lesson: A strategy should be a ‘living document’. Don’t write it and wait for it to deliver, constantly monitor it, check it and challenge it. Times and circumstances change, ensure your strategy does so too or, don’t be surprised if it falls short.
Time and time again I hear executives and managers of failed, failing and underperforming organisations recite a similar line to Nick Buckles; words to the effect of “but we had a strategy.”
Final lesson: Strategy is not the same thing as GOOD Strategy.
© Jim Cowan, Cowan Global Limited, July 2012 | <urn:uuid:cca50ad0-03f1-45a8-83ce-a1f084fa8943> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cowanglobal.com/tag/locog/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960135 | 968 | 1.875 | 2 |
Though the six main tribes represented in this
website are the largest in Thailand, there are many other smaller
minority groups, mostly of Mon-Khmer linguistic stock, scattered
throughout the country. Below is information about a few of these
Kui, Kuoy, or Suay
Kui were originally located in the northern region of the city of
Kampongtohm, in Cambodia. The Kui were once a free nation. In the year
523 B.C. they sent ambassadors to trade and sell in Ayuttaya
(Thailand). The Kui once helped the Cambodian king to squash a
rebellion. In nice form, Cambodia later rewarded them sacrifices by
using its military might to conquer the Kui and seize the Kui's land as
their own, making it a part of Cambodia. The Kui prefer to migrate
perpetually in search of better land to farm. The Kui migrated north to
the city of Attabeu Saenpang Jampasak and Sarawan in southern Laos.
They then crossed the Mekong river into Essan (Northeastern Thailand)
at the Sapeu islet in the Amphur of Kong Jiem.
Following the move to Essan, the descendants of those first Kui
migrants began spreading out and establishing their own households.
This wave of Kui migrants occurred between 1702-1783 A.D., towards the
end of the Ayuttaya period. The Thais refer to the Kui as "Khamane Pa
Dong," whereas they refer to themselves as "Kui," "Koy," or "Kuoy,"
which means "person." At present the Kui can be found in the provinces
of Buriram, Ubon Ratchathani, Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Mahasarakham,
Surin, Sri Saket, and Suphanburi.
The Kui's religious tradition is an interesting mix of Buddhism and
spirit worship. In a traditional Kui village there is both a
wat (Buddhist Temple) and a spirit shrine present. Genies,
monsters, and ghosts (of the mountains, of the forest, of the pathways,
etc.), are among the many different types of spirits worshipped. Each
village, it is believed, has its own spirit. The Kui believe that pain
and sickness arise from the actions of the spirits and so they take
extra special care to do whatever is necessary to appease the spirits.
Traditionally, an elder woman serves as the spirit doctor, taking care
of these patients. There is a special type of dance known as maw,
which must be performed as an act of supplication to impress and
appease the spirits. Before the maw dance can be
done, however, the participants must perform a special ceremony in
reverence to their teachers.
The Kui have a long tradition of raising elephants, passed on from
generation to generation. The elephants which the Kui raise come from
deep in the forest. They use a sort of round-up method known as "pone
chaang" to capture the elephants. There is an elephant "doctor" who
uses a lasso ("cheuak bpa gaam") made from water buffalo leather. The
lasso is considered a very sacred object, enchanted and possessed by
the spirits of the Kui's ancestors. To catch the elephant using the
lasso, the elephant trainer simply slips the enchanted object around
the elephant's foot and then quickly ties the other end to a tree. Once
the elephant has been tied down it is ready to begin its training,
preparing it for work.
Traditional Kui dress, for an older woman, consists of a patterned
skirt and an open-collared shirt. Silver-beaded jewerly is worn around
the neck. Beautiful scented flowers tucked behind the ears is quite the
fad. Traditionally, the Kui weave their own fabric. One type of fabric,
known as "jik-ga-noi," looks and feels similar to a squirrel's tail and
is of one universal color. As for the Kui men, they generally only
dress up for important ceremonies. Their dress consists of a sarong,
folded into a pleat in front. Weaving is done in a seated position,
legs stretched out straight in front, pulling the loom back and forth
over the lap. The base color for women's fabrics is brown, with a clear
border and red thread interwoven. At the bottom edge is a black border
with white, yellow and red stripes running down it. Ja ga-wee
fabric is similar to the Khmer anlusim, with a
vertical pattern. This type of fabric would be worn by women at special
Indicative of the confusion surrounding many tribal names, the Khamu
and ethnic Lao of northern Laos refer to the Lahu of that area as "Kui"
or "Gui", though they are clearly part of the Lahu tribe descendant
from Tibet, not part of the Kui ethnicity from Cambodia.
About 1,300 years ago, before the Mon brought
civilization to the Ping river-basin, the ancestors of the Lua had
already established their homeland. The Lua, or "La-wee-ah," as they
refer to themselves, are part of the Austronesian family. It is
uncertain where the Lua originated from, but it is generally believed
that they emigrated from the southern regions of Thailand or from
Similarities in language, body structure, and
dress have led to the belief that about 2,000 years ago the Lua were
part of the same ethnic group as the Wa located
in the northern region of Myanmar (Burma) and Southern Yunnan (China).
The Lua migrated into Thailand and settled in
Chiang Mai. Approximately 900 years ago Mon from Lopburi--whom
established the kingdom of Lamphun and Lampang (Thailand)--attacked the
Lua, forcing them to retreat into the mountains. The Lua became a
hill-dwelling people from that point on.
Later, in the 13th century AD. the Thai migrated
into this region and defeated the ruling Mon and established friendly
relations with the Lua. The Lua believe their ancestors once resided in
Chiang Mai and built Wat Jedi Luang before the
Thais emigrated to this region. The Lua had their own royal lineage of | <urn:uuid:8c6d4b5e-ac35-4e31-862e-2effc0cd615f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hilltribe.org/othertribes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944982 | 1,380 | 2.78125 | 3 |
C.S. LEWIS’S THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE IS A SILLY FAIRY TALE
Republished October 17, 2006 (first published January 16, 2006) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, firstname.lastname@example.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
C.S. Lewis’s fantasy, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, made its appearance as a feature Hollywood movie on December 9, 2005, and took in $187 million worldwide in the first ten days.
There is much hubbub about the movie in evangelical circles. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of Southern Baptist Seminary, is typical in his claim that Lewis’s fiction “stands as a powerful story with clear allusions to the person and work of Christ, to the reality of human sin, to humanity’s desperate need for redemption and to God’s ultimate victory in Christ” (“Aslan Is on the Move,” Baptist Press, Dec. 10).
I could not disagree more strongly. Though I have not seen the movie, I have read the book, and it is nothing more than a silly fairy tale.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, one of seven stories called The Chronicles of Narnia, is about four children who enter a magical country called Narnia through a closet. It is perpetually winter in Narnia, because the land is under the spell of a witch. A prophecy predicted that two boys and two girls would come to the land and become the rightful kings and queens. The great lion Aslan, supposedly a Christ figure, dies and rises from the dead to make the defeat of the witch and the fulfillment of the prophecy possible.
What about the alleged Christian aspects of this story? At best, any biblical doctrine that is presented in Lewis’s Narnia is vague and distorted and overlaid with heathen mythology. The defenders of Lewis’s fiction argue that the Bible uses parables to present truth, but Lewis’s fiction is filled with unscriptural things that one will never find in a biblical parable.
Christ’s parables did not contain a mixture of truth and paganism, but Lewis’s stories unblushingly intertwine a few vague biblical themes with pagan mythology: nymphs, fauns (part man and part goat), dwarfs, centaurs (part man and part horse), Dryads (tree-women), and Naiads (well-women). All of these creatures are depicted as serving Aslan. Lewis presents the deeply heretical idea of good magic. He calls Aslan’s power “Deep Magic” and Aslan’s father’s power as “Emperor’s Magic.” He introduces the vile pagan god Bacchus and his orgies as a desirable thing that was part of Narnia’s past before the White Witch worked her spell. He presents the myth of “Father Christmas” as if it were innocent and wholesome. He teaches that Adam’s first wife was not Eve but rather a woman named Lilith and that she was a witch.
As for the heart of the story, which is the death and resurrection of the lion Aslan, at best it is a corrupt depiction of Christ’s salvation. Aslan dies and sheds his blood not to satisfy God’s law but to satisfy the “Deep Power” and the White Witch.
This confusion is a reflection of Lewis’s heretical stand on the atonement. He said, “The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has SOMEHOW put us right with God and given us a fresh start. Theories as to how it did this are another matter. ... Any theories we build up as to how Christ’s death did all of this are, in my view, quite secondary...” (Mere Christianity, HarperSanFrancisco edition, 2001, pp. 54, 55, 56). This is heresy. God has revealed exactly what Christ did and what the atonement means. It is not a matter of theorizing or believing one “formula” over against another. The Bible says our salvation is a matter of a propitiation, a ransom, whereby our sins were washed away by Christ’s bloody death, which was offered as a payment to satisfy God’s holy Law.
Through Christ’s blood we have eternal redemption. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:12).
This is not a theory or a formula. It is the Word of God, and if one does not like it or believe it, he cannot be saved.
In Mere Christianity, Lewis claims that “the Christ-life” is spread to men through baptism, belief, and the Lord’s Supper. This is a false gospel of faith plus works. He says, “There are three things that spread the Christ-life to us: baptism, belief, and that mysterious action which different Christians call by different names--Holy Communion, the Mass, the Lord’s Supper. ... I am not saying anything about which of these things is the most essential. My Methodist friend would like me to say more about belief and less (in proportion) about the other two. But I am not going into that” (Mere Christianity, p. 61). (Note that he includes the Catholic Mass in his list of the various names by which holy communion are known, failing to acknowledge to his readers that the Mass is an entirely different thing than the simple Lord’s Supper of the New Testament.)
It is not a Methodist we should listen to but the Bible itself, and the Bible says that salvation is by the grace of Christ alone through faith in Christ alone without works, that works are important but they follow after salvation and are the product of salvation rather than the means of it. The difference between saying that salvation is by faith without works and that works follow and saying that salvation is by faith with works or faith plus works is the difference between a true gospel and a false one, the difference between heaven and hell. “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3-4). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8-10). “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Rom. 11:6).
I have read several of C.S. Lewis’s books and several biographies about him, and I have never seen a clear teaching on the new birth or a clear biblical testimony that he was born again. This should be cause for the deepest concern.
As for Aslan’s resurrection, Lewis calls it “more magic.”
Friends, I would urge you in the strongest way to beware of C.S. Lewis and of the deluded evangelical world that glorifies him.
[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, a listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Our goal in this particular aspect of our ministry is not devotional but is TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR. This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the list. If somehow you have subscribed unintentionally, following are the instructions for removal. To SUBSCRIBE to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service or UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE ADDRESSES go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. We take up a quarterly offering to fund this ministry, and those who use the materials are expected to participate (Galatians 6:6). Some of these articles are from O Timothy magazine, which is in its 22nd year of publication. Way of Life publishes many helpful books. The catalog is located at the web site: http://www.wayoflife.org/catalog/catalog.htm Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061. 866-295-4143, email@example.com). We do not solicit funds from those who do not agree with our preaching and who are not helped by these publications, but for those who are, OFFERINGS can be made at http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/offering.html PAYPAL offerings can be made to https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=dcloud%40wayoflife.org ] | <urn:uuid:f2c62127-71ee-47f4-86cf-1497ddc5e9c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wayoflife.org/database/lionwitchandwardrobe.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953192 | 2,019 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Highlights of our History
On February 27, 1996, Lancaster EMS (also known as 'LEMSA') was incorporated as a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) emergency medical services association. This was the result of a consolidation between the Advanced Life Support (ALS) of St. Joseph Hospital (now Lancaster Regional Medical Center), which originally launched into operation in 1972, and those of Community Hospital of Lancaster, who's pre-hospital ALS service originated in 1977.
At 0700 hours on April 28th, 1996, the new entity became operational. This new service was responsible for providing 9-1-1 ALS service to eighteen municipalities across Lancaster County. To do this, Lancaster EMS operated ALS units at five separate sites. Additionally, Lancaster EMS leased EMS personnel to multiple independent EMS agencies to assist with staffing needs.
One of the agencies leasing personnel from Lancaster EMS was the East Lampeter Ambulance Association. This ambulance company, which had been serving its area since August of 1948, merged into Lancaster EMS in November of 1997, the first BLS agency to do so. As a result, Lancaster EMS's role was now expanded to encompass all aspects of EMS response in the area previously served by the East Lampeter Ambulance Association. This move led to a period of rapid growth and development for our organization.
One of the areas in which Lancaster EMS soon experienced the greatest growth was that of non-emergency transport. Initially, launched in May of 1997, this service built slowly at first but began a dramatic upswing in the spring of 1998. As a result, our first non emergency vehicle was added in August 1998. Simultaneously, service hours were increased for both BLS and ALS units in response to the increased demand.
The next great milestone was then reached on January 24th, 1999. On this date, the prehospital services of Lancaster General Hospital, an ALS EMS service dating back to 1973, merged into Lancaster EMS. This was finalized by LGH becoming a member organization of Lancaster EMS on March 26, 1999, and marked the first major cooperative effort between three competing Lancaster City hospitals.
On October 9, 1999, a fifth organization became part of Lancaster EMS-the West End Ambulance Association (WEAA). WEAA began serving Millersville Borough, Manor Township, and portions of Lancaster City with excellence since 1973.
Then on October 1, 2001, the Strasburg Community Ambulance Association, incorporated in 1948, merged into Lancaster EMS. At the time of the merger, Lancaster EMS transitioned the Strasburg operation to a 24/7 ALS service. Prior to this merger, Strasburg Community Ambulance Association operated as a BLS service.
The most recent merger occurred on August 1, 2012, when the Providence Township Ambulance Service joined their BLS operations into Lancaster EMS. This merger resulted in a care upgrade to 24/7 Advanced Life Support services based in New Providence, PA.
Lancaster EMS is one the largest, most unique nonprofit EMS organizations in the State, serving all or portions of 13 municipalities in Lancaster County. | <urn:uuid:120ce734-0366-4fa4-8914-674f4f3e8e4f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lemsa.com/history.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966179 | 624 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Australian Bureau of Statistics
4430.0 - Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2003
Previous ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/09/2004
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Disability, Ageing and Carers: Final Survey Results from ABS
One in five people (20%) in Australia had a disability in 2003, unchanged from five years ago (after age standardising), according to final results released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The disability rate steadily increased with age from 4% of 0-4 years olds to 41% of 65-69 years old to 92% of people 90 years and older.
Just over half (51%) of people aged 60 years and over had a disability. Most of these people (59%) did not need any assistance to manage health conditions or cope with everyday activities. For those who did, the most commonly reported needs were help with property maintenance, health care and transport.
There were 2.6 million carers who provided some assistance to others who need help because of disability or age. Just over half (54%) of all carers were women. Women were also more likely to be primary carers (71%), that is people who provided the majority of informal help to a person with a disability.
The proportion of people who needed help with self care, mobility and/or communication activities (i.e. profound or severe core-activity limitation) was 6.3% which was much the same as in 1998 (after age standardising).
The rate of profound or severe disability increased with age from 3% of 0-4 year olds to 10% of 65-69 year olds to 74% of people 90 years and over.
Other key findings from the 2003 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers include:
Further details are in Disability, Ageing and Carers: Summary of Findings, Australia, 2003
(cat. no. 4430.0).
These documents will be presented in a new window.
This page last updated 17 June 2011 | <urn:uuid:b42f23cd-2cbd-4cc6-a05b-6c7ae4a1f047> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyReleaseDate/AF939577E4F38C47CA2577FA0011C410?OpenDocument | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964679 | 441 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Text: Luke 7:11-17
Date: June 6, 2010
Author: Catherine Thiel Lee
I have a friend who makes icons. Well…she doesn’t really make icons, but kind of. I’m not talking about the symbols on your computer that show a little picture of your file. I mean religious icons, pictures of Jesus or Mary or a scene from Scripture which are used in worship. Particularly in Orthodox churches, icons are used for contemplation. The figures often have large, exaggerated eyes, and include various types of symbolic images.
My friend is an artist and a printmaker. The two prints [on the walls] are hers, blown up so the quality is a bit off. They don’t come from our passages from today, but they were a kind of inspiration for this sermon and they offer two different pictures of Christ which may (or may not) help to stretch our ideas of who he is. And if you get tired of listening to me—or of just listening in general—perhaps you can look at them and hopefully still go home edified.
Icons point to God. They are meant to engage us in ways that lead us into the worship of God. At their best, when we interact with them at our best, by the grace of God—they direct our gaze toward understandings of faith that we wouldn’t see simply by hearing. They have the ability, goes the Orthodox and sacramental tradition, to come at our spirit and consciousness from behind, below, inside out and round about. My hunch is that there might be something to it, even if it is all hard to grasp, and, undeniably, easy to abuse.
Tonight I want to talk about the story in Luke 7. Now if any of you remember, last time I preached it was on the story of a widow being raised from the dead in Acts. And when I pulled up the lectionary readings for this week, what did I find? In 1 Kings and in Luke: more dead people! More raising! More widows!
Maybe that’s what got me thinking of icons—it gave me a different way in. I wondered if I, if we, could read this story as an icon of Jesus? I wonder if this idea of a still-frame, a visualized capture of a moment could be a way to read stories—especially familiar ones—so that they are free with the guidance of God’s Spirit to point us to something good and true about God.
It was this arresting detail that grabbed me the first time I read this story, and it had stayed with me as I’ve studied it. The point of Jesus’ miracle stated clearly in these simple words: Jesus gave him, [the dead man, gave him] back to his mother” (Luke 7: 15).
This is a story in which Jesus displays a profound public act of power—he brings the dead back to life. For the first time. In front of not one, but two crowds, the crowd following Jesus and the crowd with the widow. At the town gate, the most public of spaces in an ancient city. Luke shows Jesus healing someone who is gravely ill in the preceding story and now he raises the dead. He is one upping himself in the power and authority of his actions. All through these early episodes of Jesus’ ministry Luke’s keynote is power. He presents Jesus as “the Spirit-empowered conqueror of evil,” resisting the devil, casting out demons, defying sickness and even death (see Talbert, Reading Luke-Acts in its Mediterranean Milieu). John the Baptist’s disciples come and ask Jesus, “John wants to know—are you really the one?” Jesus’ answer is a long list of what he has been up to: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor hear good news (7:22). Acts of miraculous power which provide evidence of Jesus’ status as God’s agent of salvation (see Roth, The Blind, the Lame, and the Poor).
So Jesus is powerful. But it is not only, or even mainly in my view, about power. It is also about compassion and the way that God’s salvation comes.
All of Jesus’ healings, and much of his teaching so far, have been in response to people coming to him. Flocking to him. Begging him for mercy, for help, for healing. And he responds. But this story is different. Jesus goes to her.
To her? Wait, doesn’t he raise a dead man, you ask? Well, yes. But Luke focuses on his mother. The structure of the text describes the dead man at length, but all in terms of his mother. The phrases tumble out shifting the focus onto her, the only son of his mother…a widow…surrounded by a large crowd (7: 12).
A widow who has lost her only son has also, likely, lost her only means of support. As we talked about a few weeks ago, widows in Jesus’ time occupied a precarious position in a patriarchal society. She’s not necessarily destitute (she is surrounded by a crowd and may well have a supportive community, a fact often overlooked in assumptions about “poor widows”). But she is vulnerable. She is part of a funeral procession. She is going to bury her son. And she is weeping.
The scene is set such that the two crowds, the mother’s and Jesus’, cross paths at the town gate. In the midst of all those people, Jesus sees her. He “has compassion on her.” He says to her, “don’t cry.” He finds her, moves towards her, speaks to her. She is the focus of his attention.
This word for Jesus’ compassion, splagxveuo, has to do with innards and organs. Not just hearts, but lungs and livers and kidneys and stomachs—our guts. It is compassion and mercy that rises from the depths of our beings. “Compassion” sounds so sterile. This isn’t a moral or sentimental response we muster because we know we are supposed to. This is mercy and love welling up from inside, like vomit, like weeping.
And in this compassion, Jesus acts. He touches the bier, the pallbearers stop, and Jesus commands the young man to “Get up!” The dead man sits up and says something. And here we reach my iconic line: “Jesus gave him back to his mother.”
I have known a number of people, of women, who have lost their children. But the one I think of most when I read this story is my friend Rita. She lost her six month old to SIDS—he and my son Ian were same age. I haven’t lost a child, though maybe some of you have? I don’t know what that’s like and can’t fathom—don’t want to fathom—the depths of that pain. But I know that I love my children. A good portion of my days they drive me completely crazy. But there moments (and this is no discredit to the rest of you, I imagine God feels this way about each of us) when I recognize them as the absolute pinnacles of God’s creation. Many of you love my children too, but I have to tell you, as a mother I know things about them that you don’t know. The way that Joe holds a cup these days when he is thirsty and a little distracted, with a slight tilt but a surprisingly firm grasp—there’s something in the carefree extension of his arm that shows me how he’s growing. The lines around Ian’s eyes (they are like his father’s) and the slight protrusion of his front teeth when he smiles, the difference when the corners of his mouth turn down between a frown and concentration. I think about Rita, how she never got to see Jim’s grasp of a cup and the ways it changes, or guess at the intricacies of his two year old emotions. I know she sees shadows of them in her other sons, in my sons, probably especially in Ian. I know she would do anything to get him back. She’s an honest woman. When well-meaning people have tried to console her with the words, “at least he is with God now,” she shoots back, “Well, he seemed pretty happy with us.” She just wants her son back.
That’s what Jesus gave this widow. In the rawness of her loss, before she had time to begin to come to terms with the death of her child in a healthy way, before she learned to live with, or even to mask, her pain, Jesus gave her son back to her.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (6:21).
Jesus spoke those words to his disciples in the Beatitudes just one chapter earlier. They must have wondered what he meant. Now they have an idea.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (6:21).
And the crowds don’t miss the significance of this whole event. They are filled with fear. I suppose if a corpse in a funeral procession got up and started talking I would be afraid too. They are filled with awe. They herald Jesus as a “great prophet” (Luke 7:16). Earlier in the gospel he compared himself to Elijah and now he is acting like him; this miracle virtually mirrors Elijah’s raising of another widow’s son (1 Kings 17: 17-24). They claim that “God has come to visit his people” (Luke 7:16). That word “visit” indicates the visitation of God’s historical intervention (Luke 1:68, 78; Acts 15:14). You know, Creation, Exodus, the “big events” in Israel’s story. As one scholar wrote, “God’s compassionate and gracious visitation of his people is seen in the manifestation of his miraculous power” (Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke, 660)
And certainly in his power. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to give you a sentimental picture of Jesus here. Luke all through his gospel seeks to answer the question, “who is Jesus?” And his answer most often identifies him as the one who fulfills God’s divine plan for redemption. Jesus is God’s hoped for fulfillment. His powerful displays of ordering and control over sickness and death are powerful signs of nothing less than God’s long awaited salvation.
But the story doesn’t point only, or even primarily, to an exercise of power. The story centers on Jesus’ compassion and the restoration of a grieving widow’s dead son. That is the part that is iconic to me, the part that, and this sounds cheesy, but it’s true: that takes me deeper into the heart of God and tells me how he saves. Jesus’ eternal, human, divine eyes as he sees a woman who is crying. It’s the picture that Luke paints for us, the print Scripture seeks to stamp on us. And it too must be the evidence that the crowds recognize as the visitation of God.
The Psalms were ancient Israel’s prayers. Most, if not all, of the people in those crowds were Jews who knew the Psalms. Psalm 146 tells of the Lord who “upholds the cause of the oppressed…gives food to the hungry…sets prisoners free…gives sight to the blind…watches over the foreigner, and sustains the fatherless and the widow” (vv. 7-9). It is a Psalm naming the reality of who God is.
Even, maybe especially, when it doesn’t seem that way. Psalm 146 also declares God to be the “Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them” (v. 6). The sea in Scripture is often a metaphor for chaos and disorder. It is symbol of all that is in turmoil and out of control. The sea was dangerous, unknown: this is before we crossed oceans, proved the world was round, and plumbed the deep waters with our fancy scientific gear. The sea was mysterious and terrifying. Yet God made it too.
Psalm 146 is also a prayer of hope, because when we look around us, we see lots of oppression and hunger and blindness that have yet to be relieved. The sea rages. Yet we keep praying the Psalm as a statement of hope toward the reality of fulfillment. Israel had been praying this prayer for centuries, waiting. Waiting for God to fulfill his promises.
The lectionary gives us two gifts this week to carry into our lives. In one hand, Psalm 146 is a prayer of hope for what God is in the midst of doing and of what he will do. Upholding the oppressed, feeding the hungry, sustaining the widow. Walter Bruggemann calls it the “hymn of true help” (Psalms and the Life of Faith, 128). In the other hand we have a story of fulfillment, the story of a widow on whom Jesus unleashes his compassion, for whom he brings the world to rights again.
We need both. We need this back and forth exchange of prayers of hope and stories of fulfillment. We can’t rest only on one or the other, lest we lose our grounding and place all our hope in some celestial, disembodied by-and-by in the future, or become muddled and weighed down by the seeming infrequency and overall inefficiency of the moments of fulfillment. The sea may rage around us, but we hold steady in our hands our prayers of hope, our stories of fulfillment.
What are places in our lives where we need that prayer for hope, where we see pain and turmoil, where we long to see peace, where it doesn’t look like God is in control or cares?
And what are the places where we see evidence of God’s fulfillment, where we see the kingdom of God here on earth, working itself out (if slowly and quietly)?
I’m not sure where I end up in this story. I started out grieving with the widow, thinking of my friend Rita, overwhelmed by the compassion this Lord of mine shows to another mother. And I moved to crowds filled with fear and awe and mouths overflowing with praise at the tangible hope right before them, God fulfilling his promises. “God has come to visit us!”
But in the end, I end up back in the middle of the story—one of those pallbearers. After he tells the widow not to cry, Jesus walks up to the bier on which the dead man is lying and, as Luke so blithely puts is, “the pallbearers stood still” (7: 14). They stopped. I mean, what would you do? Some guy walks up into the middle of a funeral procession and grabs the casket. Were they appalled and shocked? Touching the bier of a dead man would render a Jewish man like Jesus unclean. Were they confused? Afraid he was crazy? Or did they see the compassion in his eyes? Did anyone recognize him? He had a reputation at this point you know. Did they guess or dare to hope what he might do next?
Many days it feels like I am a pallbearer. Holding the coffin of Creation, as I long to dive down to the bottom of the sea and press my hands against that pipe bleeding oil into the Gulf, to hold it back, to make it stop. Holding the coffin of nations, as I long to press my hands over the muzzles of guns and bleeding wounds and shield the eyes and ears of children (and adults) from the terrors of war. Holding the coffins of my own children? as I long to shield their eyes and ears from the terror and injustice and wrongness of the world in which I raise them.
But then I remember Psalm 146:
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save…Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea (pause) and everything in them—he remains faithful forever (Psalm 146:1-3, 6).
We may be holding the coffin of Creation, but Jesus is its creator. We may be holding the coffin of nations, but Jesus is their king. We may even hold the coffins of our children, figuratively and literally, but Jesus loves them, and us, too, loves them deeply, compassionately, gut-wrenchingly. He made the sea too—and remains faithful. Forever.
Maybe the job of a pallbearer is to do just what those in the story did—to stop. Stop—and hope—and see what this crazy, suspicious, wildly powerful and compassionate Jesus will do next. | <urn:uuid:d8001bcd-7808-4065-b257-a623171f68bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mennonit.es/chmf/2010/06/pallbearers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966905 | 3,685 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Unglued From the Tube
As the screens keep multiplying, content roams free
Dramatic changes in media overthrew the old models, and consumers took control: Nomadic media takes the evolution one giant step farther.
He's broken free. Smart phones. Wireless connections. Thumb drives that hold a small library of information on a keychain. Internet cafés. With the adoption of smarter and smarter tools, consumers have leveraged their own liberation. The modern consumer is ever more mobile, untethered to media schedules, to heavy PCs, to offices, even to traveling itself. They are not physically tied to any one place: not the office, not the classroom, not the television. Consumers take pieces of increasingly fragmenting media and run with them - wherever they feel like it. They can work and play at will, whether they are world travelers or dedicated suburbanites.
To keep up, media itself had to adapt to this untethering, or risk irrelevance. The next step in media's evolution was to free itself from the definition of offline or online, from the limited roles of push and pull, and become something smarter and more flexible. Well-traveled and adaptable.
Media has become nomadic.
Video screens appear everywhere: elevators, cabs, gas station pumps. Brands send messages out along every path in a consumer's day, using creativity and smarter targeting to make connections with consumers. Video games, iTunes, screens at the grocery store, viral videos, street campaigns - even a simple jog in a park can strengthen a consumer's relationship with Nike if he's doing so as a member of a Nike running club, one of the ever-proliferating elements of the Just Do It campaign.
As in any significant evolution, the complications that come from media's change to a nomadic state can both improve marketing and create new challenges for it. If media can be anywhere a consumer can be, increased competition and targeting will drive up the quality of successful messaging, which is good for the consumer and good for marketers. It also creates many more opportunities for consumers to have personal interactions with a brand, and to define that brand on their own terms.
But that ubiquity has a downside: When media can travel into every corner of a consumer's life, it risks becoming invisible, or worse, entirely unwanted. The evolution continues.
God Save the Queen
Andrew Susman is CEO of Studio One Networks, a company that may have seen this shift coming. Since the late '90s, it's been syndicating content - sponsored by heavyweights like Honda, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble - that travels to meet interested consumers wherever they are. He believes that the success of this distribution model lies in the quality of the content.
"Every program that we produce has nationally known authorities attached to it," such as the American Academy of Pediatrics for the program Your Baby Today, Susman says. "The same piece of content is being served and distributed as a fixed position and updated daily, 24/7, across 243 separate distribution partners, including CBS, FOX, NBC and ABC sites."
Your Baby Today is also distributed to Babies R Us, parenting Web sites, "in radio and also in television via closed-circuit in 1,400 pediatric wards, reaching 65 percent of registered births. So it's online, in audio and on video," Susman says. "We have no commitment to any one channel. We're only about the content, and delivering quality content to high-value audiences."
"We've always had this notion, rightly so, that content is king. Yes, you go get distribution, but the stuff you put out there has got to have relevance," says Michael Bloxham, director of insight and research at Ball State University's Center for Media Design. "If content is king, then context is queen. You've actually got to say, what kind of content is best suited for the environment in which it is consumed? How is that content repurposed for this particular screen, which is viewed at a particular distance, at a particular time, in a particular mode?"
The broadcast model of branding - the traditional push - distilled a brand into its simplest form, while reaching the most consumers possible and offending the fewest, says David Weinberger, a fellow at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society and the co-author of the Web marketing book, The Cluetrain Manifesto.
It also required that marketers retain control over their brand, in any media format. A consumer's relationship with the brand was prescribed. The dramatic changes in media in the past few years overthrew that model, and consumers took control of their own interactions with media. Nomadic media takes the evolution one giant step farther.
Nomadic media puts a brand's message out there, traveling many different pathways, and dressed in many different costumes, all specifically tailored to certain groups of interested consumers. Crossing paths with the consumer now actually starts a relationship in which the consumer plays an active part. The consumer is not coming to the brand at the brand's beckoning. The brand is not forcing its company on the consumer (at least, not always, though elevator TVs come to mind). The brand's identity in the eyes of the consumer depends on a consumer's interaction with it.
The evolution of the consumer and of media has led to a nomadic lifestyle for each, and a more dependent relationship on each other. Nomadic media is out of the hands of the marketer, and is shaking hands with the consumer. And the result of these interactions has been, in the best cases, far more vibrant relationships with brands, and consumers who are true ambassadors for them.
An interesting place to watch this trend develop is the 2008 presidential campaign. A campaigning presidential candidate is by definition nomadic: traveling the country, available at all hours, making personal connections, delivering a message crafted for the audience of the moment - all while staying on brand.
But it wasn't until recently that candidates began making good use of the fact that media can behave the same way. It started in the 2004 race, says Harvard's David Weinberger, who was also a technology adviser to the Howard Dean campaign and for John Edwards during his recent bid.
"The Dean campaign figured out that they would benefit if they could enable supporters to connect with each other and talk about what supporters wanted," subverting the highly simplified broadcast model, Weinberger says. "The Obama campaign has been spectacular at doing that. ... It's far more interesting, and I think more liberating, to see videos springing up from all sorts of people, and not using the Web simply as a way to maintain control over their message."
In fact, they can't use the Web as a way to control their message, because consumers use the Web to undo brand messages - and to discuss them among friends.
Fred Stutzman is a Ph.D. student and a teaching and research fellow at the School of Information and Library Science at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the co-founder and developer of claimid.com, a tool to manage online identities. He studies social networks and has been following the candidates' campaigns there.
"What I've seen is lots and lots of people picking up their brand, their message, and sort of marketing it to one another," for example, by sending an invite to a rally or by joining a group, Stutzman says. It's a conversation that in 2008 extends far beyond an sms.
"The Web is no longer this abstract place where you interact with anonymous people and there aren't real-world ties," Stutzman says. "When one person is signaling or marketing something to their friends, they're effectively marketing it to their real-world friends, and that's something that you couldn't do on the Web five years ago because people didn't have online identities."
That small change in media unanchored social networks from the Web and linked them to real-world relationships, creating communities of influencers who are everywhere.
There are drawbacks to media's new nomadic lifestyle.
"I have rarely been in a cab with a video screen where I or my fellow passenger didn't switch it off as soon as we got in; moving video in a moving taxi makes just about everyone carsick," says Drew Neisser, CEO of Renegade, an interactive marketing agency in New York City that operates under the philosophy, "Marketing as service."
Indeed, with nomadic media free to roam throughout a consumer's day, it can occasionally seem intrusive, like a chatty stranger of dubious value as a travel partner. The importance of content and context becomes even more obvious when one of them is off.
"LocaModa's digital billboard for CNN in Times Square, on the other hand, actually provides people with entertainment that engages them," Neisser says. "A scramble of letters, each with a point value, is posted on the billboard, along with a countdown clock. People in Times Square or on the Web site are invited to SMS words made up of the letters. The service? Entertainment, engagement, and two seconds
Montreal-based Pixman Nomadic Media - whose vice president of sales and marketing, Reneault Poliquin, did not object to Media's redefining of the term - likes to think of its wearable screens as performing a kind of service too. The screen creates something interesting for consumers to interact with, and it collects information from them to create what Poliquin calls "a consenting database" for marketers.
"You are trying to, of course, seduce the consumer, and the consumer has a choice of coming to us or not," Poliquin says.
The success of nomadic media lies in continued experimentation and adventuring. Web properties are reaching offline, establishing themselves as part of this shift. The tech blog Boing Boing, originally a print publication that's long since defunct, now sends a nomadic version of itself out to consumers in the form of Boing Boing TV, which can be found online, of course, but is also available as part of Virgin America's in-flight entertainment (right next to The Simpsons, points out Boing Boing TV contributor and tech journalist Xeni Jardin). Sponsors include BMW, IBM and Verizon.
"Individual brands, individual advertisers, are starting to think of campaigns as something that really are driven by that desire to permeate every possible zone of experience that somebody might have in the course of a day," Jardin says. "Online video is increasingly seen as a valid part of that spread."
Jardin and her Boing Boing TV cohorts recently began producing a show called "S.P.A.M. Theater," video dramatizations of real spam e-mails, word for word. While those pieces of media were almost certainly not meant to roam beyond an inbox, "S.P.A.M. Theater" is an extreme example of consumers creating their own definition of a brand message simply by interacting with it.
End of the Road
These nomads should not roam aimlessly. Each piece of media needs a mission. Otherwise, it's lost.
"If you looked at this issue any time over about the last 20 years, people would be referring to the notion of the saturation point, and they would probably be saying that, well, saturation can't be far away," Bloxham says. "But it seems that media itself is relentless in the pursuit of opportunities for more and greater exposures, and that we have almost an inexhaustible capacity to manage exposure.
"We may continue to be exposed to media on a ever greater scale, but that doesn't actually mean we absorb it."That will remain the challenge for creators of nomadic media: to make the interaction worthwhile, and to invite real relationships with consumers, while exploring even more ways to be noticed when paths cross. | <urn:uuid:c2a22fdc-919b-48fe-b20d-1394d8d17052> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/83049/unglued-from-the-tube.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961889 | 2,453 | 1.773438 | 2 |
What wild incarnations will food take over the next half century? We asked a number of experts, from food scientists to industry trend watchers, what their great-grandchildren might be eating in the year 2050.
Anthony Pometto: NASA Food Director
In this era of bioterrorism there will be a trend toward long-shelf-life products and natural antimicrobial extracts from plants.
Dinner in 2050 might include: a glass of red wine—it has a long shelf life, can be stored at room temperature and is good for you—and lasagna that’s been irradiated for safety purposes and packed into a heatable pouch. I’ll place the pouch into the microwave, hit a button, open it up, and it will taste like Mom’s. And there’ll be a salad that has been treated with some antimicrobial, antibacterial dip that gives it a long shelf life. For dessert, you might have rum-raisin bread with plum extract. Plum extract will save the world: it’s a fat substitute, it’s full of antioxidants and it’s antimicrobial because of its phenolic compounds.
—Anthony Pometto, Director, NASA Food Technology Commercial Space Center, Iowa State University
Irena Chalmers: Cookbook Author
Artisanal breads and cheeses are here to stay, but all fish in the year 2050 will come from farms. Commercial fishing will become illegal until stocks of overexploited species recover.
We will be able to go to a restaurant at any time of day and ask for an organic, low-cholesterol egg. Fries will become “health” foods made from new varieties of nutrient-dense potatoes that are sizzled in good-for-you oils. Fruits and vegetables will last longer and contain more nutrients. The chewable, brightly colored stems will contain vaccines and pharmaceuticals.
Food will be cooked using light instead of gas or electricity. Home-cooking will become a hobby like knitting or skiing. The most coveted invitation will be for a home-cooked meal.
—Irena Chalmers, author of The Great Food Almanac and Irena Chalmers’ All-Time Favorites
Brian Wansink: Food- Marketing Scholar
The meal of the future will be much lower in calories, but flavor enhancers will make the experience more satiating and thus more satisfying. Those higher-energy-density foods that we have not successfully reduced in calories will use fat blockers, which will enable us to eat a gooey, frosted cinnamon roll without it being absorbed. My guess would be that technology will prevent these foods from being broken down into molecules that are small enough to be absorbed.
—Brian Wansink, Ph.D., Director, Cornell University’s Food & Brand Lab, which focuses on the psychology behind what people eat.
Karen Caplan: Frieda’s Specialty Produce
In the year 2050, after each person has a DNA test upon birth and their “high risk” attributes have been identified, they will have a “menu” for life created. More of us will live past 100. We will choose between eating real foods (like 10 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables a day), fish (mostly cultivated) and food specifically bred to be high in our needed nutrients, and the choice of drinking a liquid-only diet (containing those same nutrients, calories and flavors) or supplements that will fulfill our dietary and health needs. Much of our food will be genetically modified or bred for specific attributes (mostly nutritional), and the “specialty foods” will be those that are not modified!
There will still be a few hundred million “old timers” who will choose to randomly eat old-fashioned foods like those we eat today.
—Karen Caplan, President, Frieda’s, Inc., a specialty-produce company | <urn:uuid:e8c2da1e-ecb4-4697-ab11-0fa1e2110634> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eatingwell.com/print/9664?page=show | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928921 | 823 | 2.484375 | 2 |
By andrea kirsh
June 7, 2011 · 6 Comments
At the largest annual meeting of the American Institute for the Conservatiom of Historic and Artistic Works in 20 years, 1100 conservators met in Philadelphia during the first week in June to discuss ethical principles and critical thinking in conservation. Traveling from as far as Japan, they included staff of major museums (the National Gallery of Art, British Museum), conservators in private practice, and many students in training. They compared standards historically, across different types of artifact and from one country to another. The meeting included conservation scientists, who analyze materials of artworks and historical artifacts, and conservators specializing in paintings, archives, books, maps, video art, historical computer hardware, artifacts of contemporary performance art, ethnographic work that retains ceremonial use, architecture, fountains, historical toys and even boats.
At the opening session, philosopher James Janowski received a lively response to his discussion of what to do about the Bamiyan Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban. All of the fragments were recovered and are being cataloged, but an attempt to reconstruct them from the remains would be a long and extremely costly project, and of questionable value. The Buddhas had both religious and historical value; Janowski suggested that their religious value might be restored, but their historical value was irreparably lost. As a model for the decision he suggested Dresden’s Frauenkirche; largely destroyed by Allied bombing during WWII, the remains stood as a ruin for 40 years before the church was restored. He believed the rebuilding successfully revived the church’s iconic, religious importance to Dresden, but was concerned that over time the repairs would become indistinguishable from what remained of the original, distorting the historical record.
In considering Janowski’s example, it may be worth considering that the Japanese have different standards of originality for historic buildings. Since their temples were built of wood, which rots, every piece of the original construction has been replaced, perhaps several times during the history of an old temple. The Japanese accord originality to continuity of function rather than materials. Another possible route for the Bamyian Buddahs is the one taken in Berlin with the Gedächtniskirche, also bombed during WWII. It remains as an eternal ruin. Having lost its religious value, it stands as a sobering memorial of the war.
Deborah Bede, a textile conservator, raised the question of the status of previous repairs to an object; were they part of the historical evidence that should be retained during treatment? These might be repairs done by amateurs as well as those by previous conservators. The context usually directs the decision. Works owned by art museums are valued for their beauty, so unsightly or intrusive earlier repairs would probably be removed (although the Harvard University Art Museums own a self portrait of Van Gogh which the artist had given to his friend Gauguin; the crude repair of a tear was retained when the museum determined that it had been made by Gauguin). A history museum might be more likely to retain repairs, especially if they were performed as part of the artifact’s original use. As example, she showed a pair of farmer’s work pants (above), repaired by his wife to extend their wear. Given the nature of the garment, significant for its history of use rather than aesthetic function or rarity, the home-made patches would surely be retained. In another session Jane Klinger, conservator at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, raised the problems posed by her museum’s collection, where objects had layers of meaning. As artifacts of trauma, their damage might suggest the romantic interpretation of the objects themselves as victims.
Several sessions addressed conservation questions around digitization of archival and library collections. Works scanned for digitization must be in condition to tolerate a certain amount of handling. Books and bound archives may have folded leaves or be bound through text, so scanning necessitates unbinding; this means loss of the original stitching, although the books themselves will receive less handling once digital copies are available. Staff at the Wilson Library of the University of North Carolina also described the challenge of scale – specifically, the 2 million manuscripts in the Southern Historical Collection that the library is currently digitizing, which has forced a reconsideration of how much treatment each document would receive.
One of the basic tenets of modern conservation is retention of all the remains of the original artifact, and there will always be debates as to how much loss compensation (e.g. filling-in missing areas or replacing missing or damaged parts) is acceptable before an artifact becomes a recreation; this would be unacceptable within modern museum standards, although private collectors may have other desires for treating their badly-damaged objects. I wonder, however, whether the strict retention of the non-working remains of, say, a 19th century music box, doesn’t risk turning it into a relic – important, perhaps, because it was made by the greatest of craftsmen, but no longer able to produce the music that was its raison d’etre. Relics (but not reliquaries) are specifically outside the categories of objects that art museums collect. And what can the non-working carapace of a music box mean to museum visitors?
Tags: aic, american institute for conservation of historic and artistic works, bamyian buddhas, conserrvation, deborah bede, digitization, frauenkirche, gedächniskirche, james janowski, jane klinger, loss compensation, southern historical collection, u. s. holocaust memorial museum, wilson library southern historical collection, wilson library university of north carolina | <urn:uuid:b09fed67-5239-4bda-b39a-e10913faac63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theartblog.org/2011/06/ethical-principles-and-critical-thinking-in-conservation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96695 | 1,178 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Some newspapers have paid some well-deserved attention to the multi-million dollar bonuses recently handed to the executives of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) after they lost $24 billion of Canadian workers’ pension savings with their investments last year.
What has received less attention are the low long-term rates of return that the CPPIB has earned in the ten years since it was first established: an annualized rate of only 4.3% since 1999.
Before the CPP Investment Board was created, Canada Pension Plan savings were invested entirely in government bonds. Canadians were told that we could make higher returns on these savings if they were invested in the stock market and in private investments instead. The labour union I work for, CUPE, was one of the few organizations that opposed this move.
So what has this meant over the long-run — and how would have those investments fared if they had left them in boring old government bonds for the past ten years?
The recently published annual report of the CPPIB shows that they have had very good rates of return in some years: 17.6% in 2004 and 15.5% in 2006. It also boasts that it has earned $23.8 billion in investment income over ten years, even after last year’s losses. But don’t expect them to tell us what we could have earned if these savings had been left in long-term government of Canada bonds over these years.
Out of interest, I calculated what these returns would have been if the initial investment had been left in government bonds and if these funds and all the further net transfers to the CPPIB had been reinvested in long-term government of Canada bonds at their yield for each year since 1999.
These calculations show that leaving these investments in long-term bonds would have earned about $36.5 billion over the past decade: $13 billion more (and 50% higher) than the CPP Investment Board earned.
(This may seem like a surprising result, given that the average long-term bond yield over the past ten years was 5%, only 0.7% higher than the CPPIB’s annualized rate of return. But it is explained by the fact that bond rates were higher than the CPPIB’s return in early years and the CPPIB also lost a lot when its asset base was larger.)
Many will no doubt argue that this past year was an anomaly and that returns will be much stronger in future years. However, interestingly, these poorer results aren’t just because of this past year’s disastrous returns. In five out of ten years the yield on long-term government bonds out-performed the CPP Investment Board’s investments and in each of those five years the size of the fund would have been larger.
Last year it cost $189 million to operate the CPP Investment Board. There would be an average of about $1,000 more in the fund for each of the 13 million contributors to the CPP if the CPP Investment Board had never been established.
Don’t get me wrong: I believe that the CPP is much preferable to private pensions plans and it also costs a lot less to operate. I just think public pensions should be invested directly in public debt and thereby used to fund public investments. It appears we’d all be better off if things had been kept that way.
Slow and steady wins the race: five times out of ten, and big time in the end.
That’s my investment advice, worth $13 billion over ten years, and it doesn’t cost a dime.
- Stapleton on Harper’s Proposed OAS/GIS Changes (February 19th, 2012)
- Social Insurance Benefits Increase! (December 31st, 2011)
- Income Inequality and Pensions (September 26th, 2006)
- Demographic apocolypse 2020? (July 17th, 2006)
- Conservatives look to undermine Canada Pension Plan (June 23rd, 2006) | <urn:uuid:b236290f-6bed-40ae-8b20-8244b040ce6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2009/05/29/the-tortoise-and-the-hare/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979714 | 842 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Raviv helped rewrite finance at Kellogg, dedicating nearly
25 years to this effort as a world-class scholar, teacher
and administrator. He's won a few fans along the way
Artur Raviv's office is dominated by a large desk set
in the middle of the room, facing the door in what seems a
forthright and vigilant manner. Then there's the chalkboard
filled with detailed mathematic symbols. What looks like indecipherable
scrawls to the layperson are, in fact, a formal algebraic
representation of Raviv's thinking on optimal corporate board
"It keeps me busy,"
he says, smiling.
Raviv himself seems perpetually congenial—self-effacing
even—the latter quality at odds with the obviously remarkable
achievements he's accomplished during his nearly 25-year tenure
at the Kellogg School.
© Nathan Mandell
Alan E. Peterson Distinguished Professor of Finance
wall in his office is lined with Outstanding Professor of
the Year awards bestowed upon him for his teaching excellence.
Esteemed by members of both the Kellogg Executive
Education and MBA
programs, the Alan E. Peterson Distinguished Professor
of Finance has built a reputation for being a classroom leader
as well as an innovative scholar.
also played an instrumental role in creating the modern Kellogg
School Finance Department,
serving as its chair from 1985 to 1988.
PhD graduate of the Kellogg School Managerial
Economics and Decisions Science Department, Raviv was
researching and teaching in Carnegie Mellon's Economics Department
before returning to Kellogg in 1981. His task? To transform
the Kellogg finance curriculum from a traditional, middling
effort to the rigorous, research-based discipline it is today.
Emeritus Donald P. Jacobs was responsible for recruiting
Raviv. "Art is an extraordinary person with remarkable intellectual
attributes and institution-building skills," says Jacobs.
"From the beginning, he took a strong role in bringing a research
focus to the department. I'm forever thrilled he's here."
Jacobs is hardly
alone in his respect for Raviv.
is one of the ultimate multidimensional players in the department.
His coming to Kellogg, along with [longtime research colleague]
Milt Harris, really led to the change in the department,"
Korajczyk, senior associate dean: curriculum and teaching.
"They helped set the tone and got people to think about the
Kellogg Finance Department as a good place to be, and then
they developed these faculty members."
was one of those young professors, joining the Kellogg School
in 1982 as part of the new finance team. Today he is the Harry
G. Guthmann Distinguished Professor of Finance.
member of the Finance Department was Stuart Greenbaum, now
dean of the Olin School of Business.
"Art Raviv brought
a level of teaching and research prowess to Kellogg's finance
group that elevated the standard of performance for all,"
remembers Greenbaum, who assumed his deanship in 1995 after
a career that included 20 years at the Kellogg School. "He
is neither obtrusive nor pushy. His own behavior serves to
establish the model of academic professionalism that others
naturally aspire to."
Harris, who remained
at Kellogg until 1987, is now a finance professor and associate
dean at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
He continues working with Raviv, and the two regularly enjoy
"Art has been
my closest collaborator and best friend for 30 years," says
Harris, noting that the duo has written 17 research papers
and two surveys together, employing a strategy that has proven
very successful for them.
"We work together
on every aspect of a project from identifying the issues,
to constructing a model, to drawing out the implications,
to writing each draft," explains Harris. "From the beginning,
we have always tried to Žswing for the fences.' We have never
been satisfied to write papers that are extensions of other
work, but have instead tried to open new areas of research."
As a result, Harris
says he and Raviv were among the first contributors to agency
theory, the theory of contracts, corporate governance, security
design, capital budgeting systems, and behavioral asset pricing.
Raviv's work has been published in a variety of journals,
including Journal of Finance (of which he is a former
associate editor), the Journal of Financial Economics,
and the American Economic Review.
an important place in Raviv's life, but so does teaching,
as is evidenced by the effusive praise of present and former
"Prof. Raviv is
clearly one of the most outstanding professors I have had
ever," says Sam Hocking (EMP-57), managing director in the
global corporate investment bank of Banc of America Securities.
"His passion for the subject, his leadership in the classroom,
is second to none. He takes what could be a complex subject
and teaches it in a way that is understandable."
Elizabeth T. Crane
(EMP-51) shares Hocking's admiration for Raviv. Director of
planning and analysis for the Cancer Treatment Centers of
America, Crane says, "Sitting in Prof. Raviv's classroom,
one can only feel a sense of awe at his brilliance and ability
to synthesize his lifelong expertise into concrete concepts
that are highly applicable to one's work."
Cisek Jones, director of Kellogg's Executive
MBA Program, is not surprised by these rave reviews. "Art
Raviv is the heart and soul of what our program is all about,"
says Jones. "He is the embodiment of excellence. He actively
listens and honestly cares about every one of his students." | <urn:uuid:e6d828d0-bcf6-4bdc-b545-51791a311a43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/kwo/sum04/indepth/catalyst.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954125 | 1,237 | 1.53125 | 2 |
It's Almost Turkey Time! Enjoy America's Favorite Meal without Getting Stuffed
Turkey and all the trimmings...the Thanksgiving meal is arguably America's favorite feast and a time to relish many traditional dishes.
But no one wants to push back from the table feeling unpleasantly full. So, before you gobble up everything in sight, try these tips to enjoy the meal without getting stuffed.
Start the day the right way. Don't attempt to "bank" calories by fasting until the big meal. This tactic could backfire if you get so hungry that you end up eating even more than usual later in the day. Instead, eat lighter meals at your regular times and work in a walk or workout, too.
Carve calories but keep great taste. Some traditional dishes should never be tampered with, but you can lighten up many recipes without sacrificing flavor. For example, reduced-fat sour cream and cream cheese are fine substitutes for regular versions. Also, try fat-free evaporated milk in your pumpkin pie filling and fat-free half & half in your coffee.
Nix pre-meal munchies. Steer clear of cheese and crackers, nuts, chips, pretzels and other nibbles or you could rack up several hundred calories before the main event. Besides, you can enjoy these foods any time of year. If you must munch, go for raw veggies without the dip.
Slice portions. The Thanksgiving meal can feature a dozen different foods—many more than a typical dinner. Rather than loading your plate with full portions, start with half the usual amount. You can always get seconds in the (unlikely) event that you're still hungry.
Focus on favorites. If you really don't like candied sweet potatoes, cranberry gelatin mold or mincemeat pie, skip them. Instead, stick with special foods you truly love, such as your favorite turkey stuffing or a unique dessert.
Lighten up on the rich stuff. Put gravy on the side rather than blanketing your food. Forgo buttering your roll, or use a small amount. Ask for just a tiny dollop of whipped cream on your slender slice of pie.
Savor the flavor, family and friends. Slow down and really taste each bite. If you eat more slowly, you might be satisfied with less food. Make the company of family and friends the main focus of the meal.
Remember, there's always tomorrow (and the next day). It's tempting to eat too much of foods you only get once a year, but there are usually plenty of leftovers to enjoy for days to come. | <urn:uuid:85c5c285-fa65-4a76-b9e5-4af6ae670134> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.safeway.com/ShopStores/HLA-200845.page | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948366 | 539 | 1.585938 | 2 |
1992-93 Annual Report
In the last year, Emily Teeter's individual research has been primarily directed to a study of the figurines excavated by the Oriental Institute at Medinet Habu a half century ago. She delivered a paper on the material at the annual meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt held in Baltimore. In the last year, she has participated in a number of other panels and lecture series including the Art Institute of Chicago's seminar on Egypt and the Mediterranean, delivering a lecture on "Egypt and the Mediterranean in the Ramesside Age." She gave talks on Egyptian religion to the Archaeological Institute of America (Seattle chapter), the Denver Museum of Natural History, and she served as a keynote speaker for the Middle East Center of the University of Washington's "Egypt Mosaic" program. She delivered a talk to the Society of Primitive Arts in Chicago on the question of whether folk art existed in ancient Egypt and she also participated in a panel discussion for the same group toward defining the terms primitive/ethnic/tribal art and their application to artifacts. She also participated in the Elementary Structures of Everyday Life workshop at the Oriental Institute, speaking about New Kingdom masonry techniques.
She contributed book reviews to the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, KMT, and the Classical Review and she wrote the entry on "Maat" for the forthcoming volume, The Archaeology of Ancient Egypt: An Encyclopedia. Her article, "Female Musicians in Ancient Egypt," appeared this year in Rediscovering the Muses, published by Northeastern University Press. Articles on objects in the Oriental Institute Museum collection appeared in Amarna Letters and KMT and she served as a consultant for a popular volume on Nubia.
Miss Teeter taught members courses this year dealing with Egyptian architecture and Hieroglyphs by Mail. She led one tour to Egypt and another to Eastern Turkey. She was elected to membership in the Society of Woman Geographers, New York. | <urn:uuid:b1c8959c-6b1c-4b8f-badf-416cae456ca4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/ar/92-93/is_teeter.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945486 | 396 | 2.078125 | 2 |
On This Date in History: When I was a young stock broker, I had the opportunity to show a limited partnership to my clients. At the presentation by the principals of the partnership, it was explained that the real estate deal involved several hotels including the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. I annoyed the partners by persistently pressing them on whether or not the partnership had earthquake insurance for the St. Francis, given that it was one of the revenue producing hotels in the deal and San Francisco is prone to earthquakes. After much pressure from yours truly, they finally fessed up and said that they had none but that there was no worry because the hotel had survived the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. My boss was not too happy with me. Of course, a few years later, all payments to investors in the limited partnership were suspended following damage done to the St. Francis hotel following the 1989 ‘World Series” earthquake in San Francisco. Most people agree that California quakes are the result of shifting of the San Andreas fault of some of it’s tributaries. But, the real cause of the Great San Francisco earthquake in 1906 may well have been Edmund Franz Creffield, AKA, Joshua II the nudist prophet!
It was Creffield who called himself Joshua II and led the Bride of Christ Church in early Twentieth Century Corvallis, Oregon. He would preach to largely female congregations in someone’s home. He would shutter the windows and then declare “Vile Clothes Be Gone!” Off came the dresses, the corsets…everything. Then the group would roll around on the floor together. (This really happened!) Joshua was looking for the “second mother of Christ.” Now, it seems that someone took a photo at the height of one of these meetings with Joshua and the ladies in their birthday suits. Needless to say, when the husbands of the female participants found out about this chicanery, the gentlemen were none too pleased. Joshua got tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail. Joshua also got tossed in the slammer for adultery and/or seduction. He ultimately was released and, undeterred, he then gathered another group of women….including a 17 year old girl named Esther Mitchell. This time though, April 17 1906, he put a curse on Corvallis and Portland and Seattle and San Francisco. Not sure what the other cities did to deserve such retribution but they somehow made the list.
The next day…San Francisco was hit with a devastating earthquake. Kinda helps explain the term “holy roller.” In fear, 50 other women rushed to join Joshua.
About this time, Joshua had revealed that he was “told” that 17-year-old Esther Mitchell was to be the chosen ”second mother of Christ.” In the meantime, Joshua covered all of this bases and remarried his ex-wife, Maude, and went to Seattle. As fate would have it, Esther Mitchell had a brother who tracked the group to Seattle where he shot the supposed prophet in the head behind the left ear. George Mitchell was acquitted of a murder charge. His sister, the “second mother of Christ”, then proceeded to shoot her brother in the head behind the left ear. Esther explained the killing of her brother by saying, “He had to die. He did a terrible thing killing a prophet.” It was learned that Maude had also planned the killing but she didn’t want to go to trial so she killed herself by taking strychnine. Esther was found guilty by reason of insanity and was sent to an insane asylum. After just 3 years, she was paroled from the Washington State Asylum but died just a few weeks later.
Now, Amadeo Peter Giannini isn’t a household name, but maybe he owes a debt of gratitude to the Nudist Prophet. Or, perhaps Giannini should be remembered and perhaps the company that he founded needs to go back to his philosophy. You see, he didn’t see money as the worlds greatest resource. Instead, he saw people as the greatest commodity on the globe. While it was not his objective, his humble attitude resulted in his founding one of the nation’s most powerful financial institutions.
He worked in San Francisco for his stepfather in a produce market and by the age of 19, he became a full partner. He invested his money wisely in real estate and at the tender age of 31, he was wealthy enough to retire. But, his version of wealth was different than others as he was able to earn $250 a month from his investments, which was fine by him. Philosphically, he said, “I don’t want to be rich. No man actually owns a fortune; it owns him.” I guess he must have gotten bored though because his retirement lasted all but a year.
In 1902 a small bank in the Italian section of the Golden Gate City made him its director. He was interested in banking but he detested the practices, which he felt ignored the common man. So, two years later, he started his own bank and called it the Bank of Italy…even though he was in San Francisco. His investors were small shareholders but the practices that he used would alter banking practices in America…until perhaps the late 20th and early 21st centuries. One thing he did that is still common today was that Giannini solicited business. This was unheard of in 1904. Through advertising and he own personal persuasion he convinced people it was safer to have their funds in his bank than hidden in a shoe box or under their mattress. He put the money back into the community by giving small loans to local individuals with only their wages as collateral. He then thought that banks could better distribute capital so he pioneered branch banking. Then, disaster struck.
On this date in 1906, the city of San Francisco was almost destroyed the aforementtioned massive earthquake and a following fire that burned for several days. You may find photos with this link to the SF museum. The firestorm only was halted when sections of the city were dynamited to form a fire break. The earthquake was estimated to be 7.8 on the richter scale. Death toll estimates vary but it is generally assumed about 3000 lost their lives. Giannini acted quickly and removed all of the money from his bank and put it in a secret hiding place. The very next day, his bank was the only financial institution in the city to be open for business. He set up shop on a wooden plank and began dispensing loans. By 1907 with rebuilding going crazy, a wave of untempered financial speculation took hold and many banks were left in ruins. (sound familiar?)
But, Giannini had speculated that a crash was coming and he had spent his time hoarding gold. He stacked the gold in teller windows so everyone could see it. Customers saw the glittering substance and it gave them confidence that their money was safe with him. By the time he really retired in 1934, his bank was the world’s largest commercial bank with about $5 billion in assets. Yet, the humble Giannini never sold out. He didn’t give himself or a golden parachute. His bank was to serve the public not its officers. When Amadeo Peter Giannini died in 1949, his estate was estimated to be the same as it had in 1904 when he started his own bank.
The bank he started, the Bank of Italy became part of Transamerica in the 1920′s. In 1934, the bank was merged with another financial institution and the new bank was called the Bank of America.
Weather Bottom Line: We will be in a similar pattern as last week with plenty of sunshine for the next several days with temperatures rising each day as the week progresses. Cool nights next couple of nights but we will moderate and afternoon highs up toward 80 or so by week’s end. Next weekend, there could be some excitement. | <urn:uuid:4fb43e81-296e-4b87-be7e-82fb52329dd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://symonsez.wordpress.com/tag/1906-san-francisco-earthquake-photos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988885 | 1,659 | 1.6875 | 2 |
This is the old United Nations University website. Visit the new site at http://unu.edu
Contents - Next
ARTICLE I Purposes and structure
1. The United Nations University shall be an international community of scholars, engaged in research, postgraduate training and dissemination of knowledge in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. In achieving its stated objectives, it shall function under the joint sponsorship of the United Nations and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization thereinafter referred to as UNESCO), through a central programming and co-ordinating body and a network of research and postgraduate training centres and programmes located in the developed and developing countries.
2. The University shall devote its work to research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations and its agencies, with due attention to the social sciences and the humanities as well as natural sciences, pure and applied.
3. The research programmes of the institutions of the University shall include, among other subjects, coexistence between peoples having different cultures, languages and social systems; peaceful relations between States and the maintenance of peace and security; human rights; economic and social change and development; the environment and the proper use of resources; basic scientific research and the application of the results of science and technology in the interests of development; and universal human values related to the improvement of the quality of life,
4. The University shall disseminate the knowledge gained in its activities to the United Nations and its agencies, to scholars and to the public, in order to increase dynamic interaction in the world-wide community of learning and research.
5. The University and ail those who work in it shall act in accordance with the spirit of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitution of UNESCO and with the fundamental principles of contemporary international law.
6. The University shall have as a central objective of its research and training centres and programmes the continuing growth of vigorous academic and scientific communities everywhere and particularly in the developing countries, devoted to their vital needs in the fields of learning and research within the framework of the aims assigned to those centres and programmes in the present Charter. It shall endeavour to alleviate the intellectual isolation of persons in such communities in the developing countries which might otherwise become a reason for their moving to developed countries.
7. In its post-graduate training the University shall assist scholars, especially young scholars, to participate in research in order to increase their capability to contribute to the extension, application and diffusion of knowledge. The University may also undertake the training of persons who will serve in international or national technical assistance programmes, particularly in regard to an interdisciplinary approach to the problems with which they will be called upon to deal.
ARTICLE II Academic freedom and autonomy
1. The University shall enjoy autonomy within the framework of the United Nations. It shall also enjoy the academic freedom required for the achievement of its objectives, with particular reference to the choice of subjects and methods of research and training, the selection of persons and institutions to share in its tasks, and freedom of expression. The University shall decide freely on the use of the financial resources allocated for the execution of its functions....
We are pleased to share these Proceedings of the first joint workshop of the World Hunger Programme (WHP) and the Programme on the Use and Management of Natural Resources (NRP) of the United Nations University (UNU). The conference was financed by the United Nations University with the supplementary assistance of Unesco and UNEP, and was hosted jointly by the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) and the Central American Research Institute for Industry (ICAITI).
The United Nations University was founded in 1975 and its World Hunger Programme was established in the same year. Its priorities include the post-harvest conservation of food, and food and nutrition policies and programmes that will reduce human hunger. The UNU Programme on the Use and Management of Natural Resources started in 1976. One of the priority areas of this programme is the development of appropriate methodologies for the production of biomass from organic residues, especially in rural areas. Hence, these two UNU components were well suited to a joint effort to encourage research and development of the bioconversion of organic residues for animal and human feeding and the testing of the safety and nutritional value of the end-products of such processing.
To explore the feasibility of a joint UNU WHP-NRP project, a small meeting was convened in Athens (4-5 March 1978). On the recommendation of this group the UN University established, in April 1978, a Task Force on Bioconversion of Organic Residues for Rural Development. This task force was composed of specialists in the fields of nutrition, the testing of non-conventional feed products, bioconversion and biomass production at the farm level, and socio-economic developments in rural communities, as well as experts from FAO, Unesco, and the International Cell Research Organization (ICRO) in their private capacities.
At its first meeting, in June 1978 at the Institute for Animal Nutrition Research (ILOB) in Wageningen, Netherlands, the task force formulated the plan and an outline for this conference on the State of the Art of Bioconversion of Organic Residues for Rural Communities, which was held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, 13 - 15 November 1978. The goal of the conference was an inventory of recent developments in selected fields of biomass production through bioconversion of organic residues specifically aimed at improving the socio-economic, nutritional, and health conditions of low-income communities in rural areas.
The enormous potential of the smallest among living organisms - yeasts, bacteria, fungi, and algae - to upgrade organic wastes into valuable feed and fodder through simple fermentation processes has become increasingly recognized. This awareness is timely, for more efficient utilization of the world's resources and their recycling have become essential.
The fact that huge quantities of organic residues are discarded and pollute the environment, while in fact they form an enormous potential for feed and food production, is being realized more and more. For instance, the amount of cellulosic wastes, in the form of rice straw, in Southeast Asia amounts to 300 million tons a year.
Also, the quantity of residues from the production of fruit, cassava, rubber, coffee, sugar, and sisal, to mention a few of the world's major commodities, is staggering. In addition, animal and human wastes are excellent starting material for bioconversion, and are found in large quantities wherever human and animal populations are concentrated. Upgrading of these residues through microbiological processes can make an important contribution to self-sufficiency in rural regions and to human welfare in general.
Nutritional and toxicological evaluation of the various forms of biomass derived by microbiological conversion of organic residues and wastes is, in most cases, non-existent. Consequently, the task force, following the trend set by the Protein-Calorie Advisory Group of the UN system, is paying great attention to this aspect of bioconversion processes.
Fermentation is a simple, low-cost process, which, in its various forms, has been practiced traditionally for food processing at farm and village levels in many regions of the world over hundreds of years. Bioconversion of organic wastes into valuable fodder is, in principle, no different from food fermentation processes and can be carried out efficiently in rural areas where organic wastes are abundantly available and often pose environmental and health hazards.
The workshop proposed that the product of microorganisms plus substrate resulting from the micro-biological processing of organic residues be referred to as "microbial biomass product," or MBP. The papers presented in this publication draw attention to the high potential of MBP, and it is hoped that they will stimulate research and feasibility studies for application at the village level.
Dr. Cyril A. Shacklady, of ILOB, served as the technical editor of these Proceedings, which were prepared for publication by Miss Jane Dittrich. Dr. Anton Burgers, Senior Programme Officer, represented the Programme on the Use and Management of Natural Resources at the conference.
Nevin S. Scrimshaw
World Hunger Programme
Programme on the Use and Management of Natural Resources
Contents - Next | <urn:uuid:dc94399a-0825-491c-8def-3a55f07661ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80434e/80434E01.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939856 | 1,679 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Oregon Department of Transportation
N-B Hatch Company
Historic Columbia River Highway Advisory Committee
This important historic site was brought into public ownership, documented through advanced technology, and restored as a hiking and bicycling transportation facility. Before the project began, the highway was in private ownership and the Mosier Twin tunnels were filled with rock. The tunnels and roadways were restored using the lost art of stone masonry along with advanced state-of-the-art construction practices. This impressive project provides recreational opportunities along with breathtaking views of the Columbia River Gorge from a historical point of view. By restoring and reusing this facility, a National Register property is preserved and showcased for public enjoyment. | <urn:uuid:77fad588-0e9b-4943-889c-940ce75c8ac4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/environmental_excellence_awards/eea_1997/exa97or.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963615 | 137 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Joshua - Boling, Robert G.; Wright, G. Ernest; Boling, Gail; Boling, Ruth; Boling-Risser, Martha - Yale University Press
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- Series Information
- The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries
THE OLD TESTAMENT
A New Translation with Notes and Commentary Robert G. Boling; Introduction by G. Ernest Wright
Joshua began as a collaboration between G. Ernest Wright, the distinguished biblical scholar and archaeologist, and his student, Robert G. Boling. After Wright’s death, Professor Boling, who also did the translation and commentary for Judges, finished the task alone.
Boling’s extensive treatment includes not only an entire new translation of Joshua and a complete commentary on the text, but also comprehensive notes, numerous bibliographies, four pages of illustrations, and eleven maps especially commissioned for this volume.
In addition to exhaustive research and excellent scholarship, there is also Dr. Wright’s 135-page introduction, completed just before his death, which provides not only an informed foreword to the text of Joshua but also a summary of his previous writings on Israel’s formative years.
Robert G. Boling is a minister of the United Presbyterian Church and a professor at McCormick Theological Seminary. He belongs to the American Schools of Oriental Research, the American Academy of Religion, and the Society of Biblical Literature, and is editor of the journal Biblical Research.
OTHER TITLES BY THIS AUTHOR
G. Ernest Wright, whose major works include Biblical Archaeology and The Westminster Historical Atlas, died in 1974.
OTHER TITLES IN THIS SERIES | <urn:uuid:87be5b4e-92c7-4d85-90c1-68c9d0fddce4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300139440 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915576 | 341 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Wen met Argentine President Cristina Fernandez in Buenos Aires on Monday as part of a South American tour that included visits to Brazil and Uruguay and will end in Chile this week.
In a videoconference with regional leaders, Wen said China should carry out feasibility studies on the possibility of a trade deal.
"We share ample common interests and we have great potential," Wen said next to Fernandez in the videoconference that included Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Uruguayan President Jose Mujica.
China is Mercosur's second-biggest trade partner, and Rousseff said strengthening ties could become a "strategy to keep the crisis contagion from reaching our markets and provoking unwanted consequences in employment and income that would hurt economic growth."
Argentina is a major exporter of soybeans to China, and Fernandez said increasing links between China and Mercosur is "a historic opportunity to add value to our raw materials and create jobs."
The free-trade deal could be discussed during Mercosur's meeting in Mendoza, Argentina this week. Paraguay is also part of the bloc but does not have diplomatic relations with China because it recognizes Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.
In the first visit of a Chinese premier to Argentina in almost three decades, Wen also signed accords in nuclear energy and for the export of Argentine horses and livestock, as well as fruits, honey, wine and other food products.
Argentina and China had announced in 2010 that Chinese banks would invest $10 billion to restore a massive cargo rail system that once linked Argentina's farming belt. The project, which would help get grains faster and cheaper to port, has been at a stalemate since then. The two leaders said the project is still on track but provided no details.
Most farm products in Argentina are transported by trucks, and farmers have long called for renovation of the dilapidated train system that was once one of the world's best. The deal would be welcomed by Argentina, which is bracing for a nationwide truckers strike Wednesday that could cause food and fuel shortages.
The leaders also signed a separate letter of intent for a loan by the China Development Bank to the Argentine Foreign Investment and Trade Bank. Before the signing of the agreements, Wen visited the Argentine Congress and met with Vice President Amado Boudou and Julian Dominguez, a senator and former agriculture minister. Argentina ships about 80 percent of its soybeans to China, with total trade between the two countries reaching $14.8 billion last year. | <urn:uuid:d839f1c5-c372-448d-9cad-3d07750f0fde> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yorkdispatch.com/nation/ci_20935890/china-interested-free-trade-deal-mercosur | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967865 | 517 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Even if it is an urban myth, it deserves retelling. A bereaved family requested Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody for their loved one's funeral service. A CD was duly played, but the organist allowed it to run on to the next track: Another One Bites the Dust. This is up there with another, perhaps mythical, occasion when an organist misinterpreted a couple's request for "the theme tune from Robin Hood" and, instead of playing Bryan Adams's (Everything I Do) I Do It for You from the Kevin Costner film, launched into this bracing lyric from another era: "Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen."
Choice of funeral music dates us just as surely as clothes or what children's programmes you remember with affection. One of the UK's current favourites, according to a recent survey, is Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. The well-balanced funeral or memorial service will, of course, provide an opportunity for both celebration and seriousness: there is a place for Monty Python and Monteverdi. And the best composers of funeral music can turn on a sixpence. Purcell's apparently simple Funeral Sentences masterfully moves from melancholy to hope in just a couple of chord changes.
At its simplest level, this shift is between two modes: the major and the minor. The former is uplifting and extrovert; the latter contemplative and introvert. While many examples can be found to contradict these stereotypes, not least from non-western musical traditions, this association still seems so basic one is tempted to assume it is the result of some "deep grammar" of music with which we are born. But in reality, these emotional responses to musical modes are relatively modern, dating back to the 15th century - to November 27 1474, to be precise.
At the end of a distinguished career as a musician, church politician and administrator, Guillaume Dufay lay on his deathbed in France's Cambrai Cathedral, in which he had served as man and boy. Much of his substantial estate was to pass to the cathedral, including money for a mass to be sung on the anniversary of his death, with the stipulation that the choristers be provided with a hearty meal afterwards. The hope was that they might, even fleetingly, spare a thought for the departed Dufay "who was once one of them".
But the most unusual clause in Dufay's will was the provision of money for a group of musicians to sing Dufay's own composition Ave Regina Coelorum over his body as he lay dying. The great man had composed this piece almost 10 years earlier, but presumably had this purpose in mind even then - for he customised the text to include a clause referring specifically to himself: "Miserere supplicanti Dufay sitque in conspectu tuo mors eius speciosa." Or: "Pity your supplicant Dufay and may his death be lovely in your sight."
Dufay's dramatic vision of his own passing is mirrored by his music's rhetorical gestures and an explicit plea for pity that is distinctly humanist. In many other respects, Ave Regina Coelorum seems a disarmingly carefree work to modern ears - but, at the exact moment where his own name appears, Dufay makes a striking change from major to minor - and so the musical rhetoric of mourning was born.
Sadly for Dufay, his wish to have the motet performed over his dying body was not fulfilled. Another canon at Cambrai died just before him on the same day, so Dufay's final hours were spent alone as arrangements for his colleague's funeral were busily made. Ave Regina Coelorum was not performed until Dufay's funeral.
Only three decades later, Josquin des Prez wrote perhaps the finest musical lament of the Renaissance, and the first truly "modern" piece of funeral music. His Nymphes de Bois laments the passing, in 1497, of the venerable French court composer Jean Ockeghem. Here, emotional rhetoric and musical artifice combine perfectly in a way that today's listeners can easily appreciate and understand.
In my experience of programming medieval and Renaissance music with my group the Clerks, when we arrive at Josquin's Lament there is an almost audible sigh of recognition from the audience, even from those who have never heard it. It sounds familiar and modern. Josquin is speaking a language we understand, and the rhetoric of mourning has emerged from the strange and the ritualised into the more personalised, extrovert and humanistic Renaissance. While it is still a long time before we reach Monty Python, this is the language that Palestrina spoke, which Purcell and Bach learned assiduously, and which still - aside from the stuff of urban myth - fills our cathedrals and chapels today.
· Edward Wickham is director of the Clerks. Their In Memoria tour begins at Crossness Engines Pumping Station, Abbey Wood, London SE2, on Saturday. Box office: 01954 210810 | <urn:uuid:e45647b2-a371-4e05-a538-a95fdbbab39e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/may/28/classicalmusicandopera.arts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967922 | 1,065 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Last week nearly 500 religious communities around the country screened the movie Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, a film that raises such questions as: how did torture become an accepted practice at Abu Ghraib and what governmental policies allowed it to happen? Here on the Island, it was shown at the Hebrew Center on Oct. 24 in a jointly sponsored, interfaith program by local religious communities. Why screen a film about the torture of political prisoners perpetrated three years ago, in prisons halfway around the globe, and for which several of the perpetrators have already been tried? Because torture is still happening. Prisoners in American custody today are being tortured, and with even less accountability required by their tormentors than when the acts at Abu Ghraib were committed.
And this torture is made legitimate by the American government. How is it possible that the United States of America, which at one time was the advocate of human rights for all, everywhere on this planet, is now not only perpetrating torture but making it legitimate as well?
Here is a capsulated review of our government’s actions since Abu Ghraib. The passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 allows our government to forego the globally agreed upon rules of the Geneva Conventions. It allows for the retroactive application of more narrow criminal sanctions than those in place before 2001, thus allowing crimes committed between September 2001 and September 2006 to go unpunished. It disallows the hearing of detainees’ claims of Geneva Conventions violations in our federal courts. Perhaps most grievously, it allows the President to identify detainees as enemy combatants, thereby denying them their right to habeas corpus or the right to challenge the legality of their detention in an impartial court. In the summer of 2007, the President issued an executive order reaffirming the CIA’s right to use undefined alternative interrogation techniques.
Indeed, secret memos leaked to the press two weeks ago revealed that the CIA continues to operate secret prisons where “tough interrogation methods,” quoting President Bush, are authorized for use. The administration continues to deny that waterboarding, which is simulated drowning, is torture, and it is clear that the CIA uses a variety of techniques, which, when applied together, can drive a prisoner insane. Causing severe psychological or physical pain for the purpose of information extraction is considered, by international law to which the United States is a signatory, to be torture. Yet when asked last week whether he thought waterboarding was torture, Michael Mukasey, nominee for attorney general, said he wasn’t sure what waterboarding was.
How is it that those at the highest levels of our government are able to issue executive orders that authorize “tough interrogation methods”? And why should we care? We should care because we are human beings and because torture is one of the most universally accepted moral “nevers,” as abhorrent as slavery and racism, that human beings do to each other. It’s really that simple.
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), which spearheaded last week’s showing of Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, is made up of over 130 religious organizations including representatives from the Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox Christian, Evangelical Christian, Quaker, Unitarian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities. Religious groups care about torture because torture violates the humanity of victims, perpetrators, and policy makers. What is common among these groups is the belief in our common humanity. For many of us, the belief that we were all created in God’s image, even those whom we identify as enemies, has made us speak out and join together to end torture. Torture contradicts our deepest religious beliefs and it violates our nation’s most cherished values. Nearly 20,000 Americans have signed NRCAT’s statement of conscience, which concludes with the following statement: “Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. Let America abolish torture now — without exception.”
Rabbi Brian Walt is the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, an education an advocacy organization of rabbis, located in West Tisbury. | <urn:uuid:322b391d-8b0c-42ba-80a1-100c301f668e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mailto:ads@mvgazette.com/news/2007/11/02/human-rights-caring-matters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956097 | 855 | 2.453125 | 2 |