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The Government has opened a consultation document regarding income tax simplification for small businesses, including the introduction of a 'cash basis' for tax calculations and simplified expenses, following announcements made by George Osborne in the Budget.
The consultation builds on an earlier Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) review published at the end of February that proposed small business with a turnover of up to £30,000 should be eligible to pay tax on cash profits rather than full accounts.
The Government is considering extending this to match the VAT registration threshold, meaning self-employed sole traders or those in a partnership with a turnover of less than £77,000 for 2012/13 will be eligible, with a possible further extension providing sales reach no more than £150,000 a year.
Small businesses and sole traders currently have the same rules for working out profits and the amount of tax owed as multinational corporations.
It is estimated that more than three million businesses in the UK with a turnover below £77,000 will benefit from the simplifications.
The Government's consultation is proposing:
- Small businesses to be taxed on a 'cash basis' rather than lengthy calculations designed for bigger businesses. This would mean that tax is only paid when cash is received and decreased administrative burdens such as the eliminating the need for stock records and understanding capital allowances.
- Simplified expenses for smaller businesses with a clear distinction between business and personal expenses. This would implement a standard rate for claiming expenses such as standard mileage rates for business use of cars, and a flat rate expense for business use of homes, and personal use of business premises.
The Government expects the cash basis to decrease receipts by approximately £420 million in 2015, although the final costing will be subject to scrutiny by the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) and will be set out in Budget 2013.
The consultation document is open for comments until 22 June and, providing no serious concerns are raised, the cash accounting basis is expected to be implemented for firms trading up to the £77,000 VAT threshold due in April 2013. | <urn:uuid:d23ba581-7f1a-471c-913c-f9d0fc38576c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parkerpartnership.com/news-item/consultation-simpler-income-tax-smes-opens | 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 | 0.958773 | 414 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Try This at Home: Balloon on a Bottle
Gases expand, or take up more space, when they are heated. As a gas becomes warmer, its molecules move further apart.
What You Need
1 plastic 2-liter bottle, empty
1 large bowl or baking pan
What To Do
Make sure you have an adult with you to supervise this experiment.
Fill the bottle with cold water and put it in the freezer for up to an hour. Do not let the water freeze.
Fill the bowl with hot tap water.
Empty the cold water out of the bottle, then pull the balloon over its mouth. Set the bottle in the bowl of hot water.
What happens when the cold air inside the bottle becomes warm?
Clean up. Use caution when handling the hot water and bowl.
Most things expand when they are heated and contract when they are cooled. This occurs with solids and liquids, but it is most noticeable with gases. The cold water cools the plastic bottle, and after the water is poured out, the cold bottle cools the air inside it. When the bottle is placed in hot water, the air inside it warms and expands. The molecules that make up the air inside the bottle move apart and take up more space. When the air takes up more room than the bottle can hold, it inflates the balloon.
Triton, the largest moon of Neptune, is one of the coldest places in the solar system– it has "cryovolcanoes" that erupt with liquid nitrogen. | <urn:uuid:75f21f93-bfce-46fa-84fb-710671d2af22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mdsci.org/science-encounters/Demo/BalloonBottle.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91972 | 317 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Landscaping with a Green Thumb: The Ornamental Garden
Gardening with your family can be fun, and it can be a great way to teach your kids about nature and the environment. If you'd like to see green plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees in your yard instead of just a broad expanse of lawn, you're on your way to an environmentally friendly landscape. Just be sure to follow "green" practices and opt for a low-maintenance garden. The low-maintenance garden benefits the environment in part because it requires much less water and fertilizer. But it also benefits you, the gardener, because there is far less weeding and dividing of plants to be done.
Plant Shrubs and Small Trees
Shrubs and trees are the major structural elements in an ornamental garden, so purchase and plant them first. Flowering trees such as weeping cherry, dogwood, and redbud provide height and visual interest. In the first year after planting, they should get regular, deep watering. But once they are established, there is little you need to do other than provide mulch at their base.
Shrubs can fill a space nicely, provide privacy, and mark your property lines. They also provide year-round interest. There is a shrub for every situation, from deep shade to full sun. There are evergreens, including flowering evergreens like rhododendron, and there are shrubs with seasonal interest-flowers in the spring, berries and yellow or red leaves in the fall.
Create a yard or garden that will attract a variety of birds and butterflies, and you'll benefit in two ways: You'll have the pleasure of watching them, and the birds will take care of many insect pests, including mosquitoes. To encourage birds to nest and raise their young, your yard will need to provide cover, water, and a varied, long-term food supply.
Deciduous trees and shrubs generally bear fruit, nuts, and seeds, and they offer leafy nesting sites in the warm months. Evergreens tend to be a good source of berries and seed-filled cones. They also offer year-round shelter and protection.
Mulch is a major time-saver in the landscape. It helps reduce water evaporation from the soil around plants, so less watering is required. It also discourages the growth of weeds. You can buy bags of shredded bark, bark chips, and chunk bark mulch at nurseries. To limit the amount of mulch you need to buy, try covering the bare earth with several sheets of newspaper, then hide the newspaper with bark mulch. The newspaper provides a good barrier, but lets water pass through and breaks down over time. You can save yourself money by using natural mulches that may already be available on your property, such as pine needles and leaves. However, you will need to shred these materials to prevent matting, and you may find them less attractive than bark mulch.
The best organic mulch of all is compost, which you can create from kitchen and yard waste. It benefits soil in many ways, and costs you little or nothing.
Organic mulches will decompose over time, adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil. That means they will require some renewing each year, early in the season. Apply the mulch when the soil is reasonably moist, and water it well to help it settle into the bed. Note that you don't need more than two or three inches of mulch, and that you should leave a couple of inches free of mulch at the base of each plant or tree.
Inert mulches such as gravel and pebbles have the advantage of never needing renewal, but they will let weeds through unless you lay down a weed-barrier fabric first. These mulches may also have the effect of heating the soil too much for some plants, especially in direct sun.
Plant Ground Covers
Noninvasive ground covers are another effective and attractive way to prevent weeds. These small plants also provide color and help to hold in moisture, many people plant them at the base of trees and shrubs. They are also excellent for planting on slopes or areas that are difficult to mow, since they require little or no tending once they are established. You can help them get established by mulching them at planting time with a good shredded bark or compost. Good choices are sweet woodruff, ajuga, lilyturf, pachysandra, and lamium.
There are also popular ground covers that will tolerate some foot traffic, called "steppables," which can be planted near pathways or among stepping stones. These plants include sedums, dwarf mondo grass, creeping jenny, and thyme.
Flowering Plants: Bulbs and Perennials
If you long for a garden filled with flowers, choose dependable bulbs such as crocuses, daffodils, Asian lilies, and allium, and hardy perennials that need very little division or deadheading.
Division is called for when a perennial has grown into a wide clump and its center begins to die. For a number of perennials, that's about every three years. Division keeps the plants vigorous and blooming, with the bonus that you end up with more plants. However, division also takes time and physical effort. Deadheading is another time-consuming task you may want to avoid. It refers to the practice of removing spent flowers from a plant to keep it from putting its energy into producing seeds—which causes flowering to decline.
Perennials such as ornamental grasses, fringed bleeding heart, echinacea, lady's mantle, peonies, hostas, daylilies, and astilbe need minimal attention and can even withstand the occasional drought. Think in terms of native plants, and you'll save yourself a ton of work and keep your water usage low.
Many people feel that their garden is incomplete without roses. Unfortunately, most roses are extremely labor-intensive, requiring pruning, deadheading, and lots of water and fertilizer to bloom properly. They also can be a magnet for pests and diseases, jeopardizing other plants that share the same bed. If you can't live without roses, try ultra-hardy rugosa roses. Rugosas are very fragrant, disease-resistant, drought-tolerant, and winter hardy. They do not like or need to be sprayed with chemicals, so they are the perfect addition to the organic garden.
When you plant, group similar species together, and try to plant multiples of three. As the blooming season progresses, you will have sequential blocks of color, rather than spotty blooming here and there in the garden.
The best thing you can do for your perennial plants is give them compost—create it yourself or buy it bagged from a nursery. Mix it into the soil well when planting; lightly mix it into the top of the soil around established plants yearly, and make a compost tea to use as a liquid fertilizer. Mulch the bare areas of garden beds well to keep the soil moist and discourage weeds.
A number of natural fertilizers will encourage more blooms, including seaweed, manure, guano, and fish extract. These types of fertilizers are usually applied to the soil in the form of "tea."
Flowering Plants: Annuals and Container Gardening
Plant a dependable perennial, and it will return bigger and better every year. But perennials only bloom for a short time each season. Many annuals bloom from spring to the first frost—and that is their main appeal. The drawback is that they must be purchased as seedlings or started from seed each year and then planted, making them fairly labor- and energy-intensive.
Rather than planting entire beds with annuals, take the low-maintenance approach. Use them in only a few prominent spots, where they can be seen frequently and up close, and will be most appreciated. For example, plant them near your front door or deck, or in a couple of window boxes. Or consider planting annuals in a few large, decorative planters. Container gardening has a number of advantages. You have full control over the soil content, and watering and fertilizing a planter is far easier than an entire bed. The container itself can be ornamental, and it raises the flowers up closer to the eye. You can move containers around as you like—clustering them in an area temporarily for an outdoor party, or moving them around the yard to perennial beds that are no longer blooming.
If you want to try container gardening, use the largest pots you can manage. The smaller the pot, the more quickly the soil dries out and needs watering. You may want to look for the new resin pots that are on the market—they're much lighter than clay pots and the soil doesn't dry out as quickly. It's best to purchase a container mix instead of using soil from your garden. The mix will be free of pests and weed seeds, and won't compact the way garden soil does. Before planting, mix some polymer crystals (available at most nurseries and home supply centers) into the potting medium. These crystals absorb several hundred times their weight in water and release the moisture as the soil dries out.
Entire books have been written about the art of container gardening, but the classic, basic planting method calls for one or more tall plants in the center, surrounded by colorful flowering plants, and a trailing plant at the edges. | <urn:uuid:aa980cb4-0810-45e8-b923-6187bf27ca71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://life.familyeducation.com/lifestyle-and-home/57062.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957603 | 1,977 | 3.125 | 3 |
An important Spanish composer and conductor, Moreno Torroba revived and further developed zarzuela, a traditional Spanish musical form. Torroba’s successes came with his zarzuelas Luisa Fernanda and La Chulapona. Torroba’s opera El Poeta was staged in many countries with Plácido Domingo in the major role. Torroba is also acclaimed for his guitar compositions.
More Classical Guitar sheet music download on EveryNote.com | <urn:uuid:1e0f812b-5504-41cc-a410-5d446eb0ab5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://everynote.com/guitar.choose/0/222/1/_.note | 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 | 0.941077 | 104 | 2.1875 | 2 |
We thought that by the year 2000, we’d have teleportation devices and flying cars. While we didn’t get anything this fancy, we still got some pretty nifty gizmos, one being the Cube Laser Virtual Keyboard. Because you really can’t get more futuristic than lasers.
This matchbook-sized rectangular device will emit a red light that simulates a keyboard onto pretty much any flat surface. With this device, you have all the form and function of a normal keyboard, but it takes up less than a third of the space. You can even use it as a mouse in mouse mode so you can use your finger instead of a bulky and/or slow mouse. It does have a rather expensive price tag on it though at $169.99. But! You are paying for convenience as it’s size works for any situation, and needs only a flat surface to function. This item is compatible with your iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android, Mac, Windows, or Windows phone. | <urn:uuid:ad44f9f2-5226-4a2b-a1cc-d358e7d8f34f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redferret.net/?p=28675 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926555 | 208 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Education Business Weekly
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Education and Pharmaceutical
Studies from Children's Hospital in the area of education and pharmaceutical described
March 31st, 2010
In this recent report, researchers in the United States conducted a study "To provide an understanding of the principles and applications of pharmacogenetics in drug therapy optimization. An online learning session accessed using the hospital intranet and a live case-based session were offered to hospital pharmacists, residents, students, and interns. Assessment."
"Knowledge was assessed with ''check your knowledge'' questions, case discussions, and a follow-up questionnaire. Pharmacists evaluated the instructor and the course using an anonymous survey tool," wrote T. Zembles and colleagues, Children's Hospital.
The researchers concluded: "This education...
Click here for more articles from Education and Pharmaceutical
Source: Education Business Weekly (2010-03-31) | <urn:uuid:228c97ea-dfb8-4a3a-9444-dadc7caaec5a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.verticalnews.com/premium_newsletters/Education-Business-Weekly-/2010-03-31/71167EBW.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924475 | 214 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Windows 7 may be easier on battery life than Ubuntu 10.04
Canonical released the latest version of the popular Ubuntu operating system next week. And while Ubuntu 10.04 may have a new look and feel, integration with the Ubuntu One cloud-based storage service, and improved boot times, it’s not without its issues.
The folks at Phoronix have done some testing and determined that Ubuntu 10.04 uses more power than Windows 7. How much more? out of the box, Ubuntu 10.04 used 56% more power than Windows 7 Professional. At least that’s what happened when running the tests on an Asus Eee PC 1201N, which is a 12.1 inch notebook with a dual core Atom 330 processor and NVIDIA IOn graphics. It’s a fairly power hungry computer by netbook standards under the best of circumstances. Throwing Ubuntu 10.04 on the notebook looks like it could seriously impact battery life.
Phoronix also tested a Lenovo thinkPad T61 15.4 inch laptop with n Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 processor, and found that while Windows 7 still used less power than Ubuntu 10.04, the difference dropped to 14%.
Have you tried Ubuntu 10.04 yet? What kind of impact has it had on your battery life?
via The Inquirer | <urn:uuid:6b903a03-dcee-4b67-9c91-688b23e5d1b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://liliputing.com/2010/05/windows-7-may-be-better-on-battery-life-than-ubuntu-10-04.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91112 | 277 | 1.664063 | 2 |
March 3, 2010 at 12:30 pm , by Tara Bench
Straight from the workbenches and ovens of Amy’s Bread bakery in New York, authors Amy Sherber and Toy Kim Dupree give us recipes and simple instructions in their book Amy’s Bread Updated and Revised (Wiley, February 2010). You can make your own artisan-style bread, in your home ovens, with the highly informative tips and techniques and beautiful pictures (a must for cookbooks in my opinion).
No doubt you’ve heard of, and probably tried the recipe for no-knead bread, a viral phenomenon. It’s quite tasty, but the no-knead bread lacks the true texture and taste of artesian, kneaded bread—the kind of bread you find in Europe or the great bakeries of New York and San Francisco.
I had the opportunity to attend a demonstration with the lovely ladies at the Chelsea Market bakery location. I learned to make their Rustic Italian Bread using their Wet Dough technique—which allows the dough to develop much of its strength and elasticity while proofing in a bowl after it is mixed.
Yes, it does require kneading (check out the video to see the dough in action!), but the trick is to not continue adding flour—the dough will be sticky and wet throughout the process—but oh, the results! Delicious!! | <urn:uuid:1178d1bb-617d-4f64-8dfe-b71c5e30d0f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lhj.com/blogs/ladieslounge/tag/no-knead/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939768 | 290 | 1.851563 | 2 |
This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.
Taran - This character is a young man who was abandoned by his parents as a small child and has lived with a good wizard, ever since.
Gurgi - This character is a wooly, bear-like animal that is intelligent and behaves not unlike a human.
Fflewddur - This character is a bard who plays a harp that's strings break when he lies, and who is also a king in his own kingdom.
Doli - This character is a dwarf from the land of Fair Folk who turns into a frog by a wizard....
This section contains 272 words|
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) | <urn:uuid:c9e2c1be-f72a-40e3-8d64-42a9b26be838> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/taran-wanderer/characters.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966327 | 204 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Hillary Clinton to meet Uganda's Yoweri Museveni
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has flown to Uganda on the latest leg of her Africa tour, condemning autocratic rule on the continent.
She is due to meet Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a key ally in the US's campaign against Islamic extremism.
Ugandan troops are in Somalia under the banner of the African Union to fight al-Shabab Islamist rebels.
Earlier, in Senegal, Mrs Clinton said Africa had too many autocratic rulers who cared little about their citizens.
She ruled out resuming US aid to Mali until the military - which staged a coup in March - handed power to a democratically elected government.
She also voiced concern that Guinea-Bissau, to the south of Senegal, which experienced a coup in April, could become completely dependent on Latin American drug traffickers.
Ms Clinton held up Senegal's democratic transition from long-serving President Abdoulaye Wade to his successor, Macky Sall, as an example to the region.
"If anyone doubts whether democracy can flourish in African soil, let them come to Senegal," she was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says Mrs Clinton's visit to Uganda will be among the most important of her 11-nation tour.
Regional security is expected to dominate her discussions with Mr Museveni, a staunch US ally who has been in power since 1986.
Ugandan troops are fighting al-Shabab, which pledges loyalty to al-Qaeda, in Somalia. US special forces, meanwhile, are helping Ugandan troops to track down Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader Joseph Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes.
From Uganda, Mrs Clinton will travel to South Sudan, becoming the most senior US official to visit the country since it became independent last year.
The tour also includes a private meeting with South Africa's anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, now 94, in his home town of Qunu.
Her last stop will be Ghana, where she will attend the 10 August state funeral for the country's late president, John Atta Mills, who died last week. | <urn:uuid:d17e5cd9-8bb1-430f-a63c-41303c1248ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19102692 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967015 | 465 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Using Wireframes to Streamline Your Development Process
Creating a wireframe is one of the first steps you should take before designing a website.
A wireframe helps you organize and simplify the elements and content within a website and is an essential tool in the development process.
A wireframe is basically a visual representation of content layout in a website design.
The wireframe acts as a prototype that shows the placement of page features, such as header, footer, content, sidebars, and navigation.
It also specifies the placement of the elements within these content areas. If you want to develop a site that accurately matches the client’s requirements and minimize project revisions, wireframing will keep you on track.
Benefits of Wireframing
Creating a wireframe gives the client, developer, and designer an opportunity to take a critical look at the structure of the website and allows them to make revisions easily early on in the process.
Wireframing brings the following key benefits:
- It gives the client an early, close-up view of the site design (or re-design).
- It can inspire the designer, resulting in a more fluid creative process.
- It gives the developer a clear picture of the elements that they will need to code.
- It makes the call to action on each page clear.
- It is easy to adapt and can show the layout of many sections of the website.
Tools for Wireframe Development
You have many tools to choose from when creating a wireframe:
- Hand sketching on paper is always a good starting point for any designer. It provides a quick and easy way to focus and organize. If you’re very precise with sketching, you could even use this as your final wireframe. (See Figure 1.)
- Flowchart or mind-mapping software, such as Visio. These software options come with pre-packaged elements that allow you to easily create flowchart representations of your wireframe.
- Web prototyping software, such as Gliffy or Balsamiq. Tools like these were created especially for the purpose of generating wireframes, and they have easy-to-use prototyping capabilities.
- Graphics software, such as Photoshop or Illustrator. The benefit of using these tools is that the wireframe can then be converted directly into a graphic mockup of the website’s design; however, the downside is that you will have to create all of the elements by hand.
- (X)HTML wireframes are almost like actual sites themselves. You can lay out the wireframe with code before applying the styles, or you can create a fully styled, high-fidelity layout that looks a lot like a final design. (See Figure 2.)
Ultimately, the developer or designer should select the tool they prefer. Personally, I use Photoshop because I like the way it organizes the process and how easily I can convert the file into a mockup.
The level of detail in a wireframe depends on several factors, including: how much direction and content the client has provided, how complex the content is, how far along in the process you are, and how much detail you’d like it to include.
Here are examples of wireframes that were created using different tools and exhibiting different levels of detail and color:
Figure 1: This simple wireframe sketch for the Coastal Capital Partners website (now renamed Broad Reach Retail Partners) was used to create graphic mockups and, eventually, the final design. By Mike Rohde.
Figure 2: Very low-fidelity HTML wireframe. Useful for demonstrating what a site will look like before the styling is added. Very helpful to visually impaired users.
Figure 5: This one is based on advanced use of a blog publishing system (WordPress). By Mattheiu Mingassson or Activeside Internet Strategies and Consulting.
Figure 7: A wireframe with color and images. Author page wireframe by Bokhandel.
Figure 8: Another wireframe with color. By Mattheiu Mingassson of Activeside Internet Strategies and Consulting.
To achieve optimum results, here are several important things to keep in mind when developing a wireframe:
- Simplicity. The key is to keep it simple enough to be clear to the client and to be flexible for the designer, but detailed enough to guide the programmer. As mentioned, you could create a high-fidelity wireframe, but doing this early in the development process could be confusing for the client, who may mistake it for a final draft.
- Work in grayscale. When creating elements for a wireframe, it’s best to work in grayscale so that you can focus on the layout without being distracted by the design. If you have been given a full-color logo, convert it to grayscale as well. To distinguish between and categorize various elements, show shapes and outlines in different shades of gray.
- Use wireframes in tandem with a sitemap. A wireframe is a visual representation of a good sitemap, not a replacement. A sitemap is a useful tool for any website and would definitely be helpful to refer to during the development process.
- Focus on the desired outcome. Have a clear understanding of how your client wants users to respond to the page before creating your wireframe. The calls to action should be very clear simply from looking at the wireframe.
- Create a full-sized wireframe if it is for a website. This will give the most accurate representation of the actual page.
- Plan the elements by securing the content in advance. In a best-case scenario, your client will have already supplied you with the elements that should appear on each page, such as the logo, ads, Flash or video players, features, navigation sections, and sidebar, header, and footer elements. If you do not have this information yet, meet with your client and get (or create) a sitemap. If you are re-designing existing elements, you can gather them from a careful review of the website. In this scenario, be sure to first confirm with your client that you will not be required to add or remove elements, because not having a clear understanding of their expectations will slow down the process.
Grayscale vs. Color
When creating a wireframe, working in grayscale helps maintain focus on the primary function of the process, which is to finalize the layout, not the design (see Figure 3). Another risk of working in color is that the client may mistake the wireframe for the final mockup.
Color can, however, prove useful when showing the location of each call to action. Because one page may contain several calls to action, prioritizing them is important. Wireframes can help determine which call to action to draw the user’s eye to first.
I recently worked on a project that had a very vibrant logo, which, in that case, was the primary call to action because it represented a newly launched magazine.
When you use color, you can more easily tell if certain elements are overpowering the primary call to action. This process still falls under the realm of wireframing, rather than mockup design, because element locations are still being determined.
Color can gradually be added to the wireframe as the project advances, which is more efficient than moving ahead with mockups before the location of elements is locked down. In doing this, graphic software can help you switch directly to a mockup when ready.
What to Avoid
Like other aspects of your development process, wireframing can have its pitfalls if not carried out properly. Here are some tips on what to avoid in order to acheive the most effective results:
- Too much happening on the page. Leave ample white space so that the design doesn’t appear too busy or cluttered.
- Emphasis on color and design. Wireframing is for deciding the layout and location of elements. Even though a wireframe can influence the design, adding graphics and color would probably only distract from its purpose.
- Too much detail. You can always add more detail later, but if you include too much in the begining, the client may confuse the wireframe for the final mockup.
If you are interested in learning more about wireframes, Wireframe Magazine is a great resource that shares samples, discusses techniques, and solves problems related to information architecture.
Creating a wireframe for your client’s website provides an effective communication tool for all parties involved.
Even building a simple wireframe will save time in the long run and ease the development process for the designer, developer, and client.
Written exclusively for WDD by Eric Shafer.
Do you use wireframes for your design? What are some of the best ways to create effective wireframes? | <urn:uuid:55b98d60-fb03-458d-b67e-feca81c83554> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/07/using-wireframes-to-streamline-your-development-process/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913036 | 1,826 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Is the Mayan prophecy being exploited for profit?
Is the Mayan prophecy being exploited for profit?Indigenous groups say they’ve been largely left out of tourism plans.
As the end of the Mayan long count calendar approaches, countries such as Mexico, Guatemala and Belize have launched tourism campaigns aimed at promoting travel to renowned Mayan cultural sites. The interpretation of the calendar has led to the belief among some that Dec 21, 2012 marks the end of civilisation.
Mexico, for example, is planning to spend millions of dollars in states that make up parts of the Mayan world and host hundreds of cultural events. But will the tourism boom benefit the Mayan people?
Indigenous Mayan claim they have not been entirely included in these plans and that their communities will benefit minimally. There are also concerns that their culture is being misrepresented.
In this episode of The Stream, we speak to Quetzil Castañeda, professor of anthropology at Indiana University, and Alejandra Garcia Quintanilla, senior researcher at the Autonomous University of Yucatan.
What do you think? Are countries’ tourism initiatives taking advantage of and misrepresenting the Maya culture? Send us your thoughts and comments on Facebook or Twitter using hashtag #AJStream.
Thursday: How will Internet crackdown and social media surveillance impact the elections in Iran? Record a video for the show. | <urn:uuid:18374b7a-c2a3-4b98-bf2b-87141a45b101> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/mayan-prophecy-being-exploited-profit-0022018 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922546 | 285 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Partial Connection Architecture for Mobile Computing
In mobile computing environments, there are many new non existing problems in the distributed system, which is consisted of stationary hosts because of host mobility, sudden disconnection by handoff in wireless networks, voluntary disconnection for efficient power consumption of a mobile host, etc. To solve the problems, the authors proposed the architecture of Partial Connection Manager (PCM) in this paper. PCM creates the limited number of mobile agents according to priority, sends them in parallel to servers, and combines the results to process the user request rapidly. In applying the proposed PCM to the mobile market agent service, the authors understand that the mobile agent technique could be suited for the mobile computing environment and the partial connection problem management. | <urn:uuid:6b066861-557d-437e-8720-f276ac3730a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techrepublic.com/whitepapers/partial-connection-architecture-for-mobile-computing/2310567 | 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 | 0.915026 | 149 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Q. What are the best and most effective ways to control flies on beef cattle? (July 6, 2012)
A. There are many different fly control products available for cattle producers to use. The key to fly control is to apply it on a timely basis and don't use the same active ingredient for more than two years in a row. The reason for this is that flies will become resistant to the active ingredient if used over and over again.
I see producers put fly tags in way to early because of convenience when there are no or few fly and then have no control later in the season. If you are using fly tags, put them in a week to 10 days before the fly season starts. I know this is a guess – but in Nebraska, we usually don't have fly problems in April. If fly problems are bad, it may mean you put a tag in the cow and calf.
Sprays and oilers are effective as well. If you use an oiler, make sure the height is so calves can also use it. Not all oilers are built the same, so check construction.
Make sure about every two years that you use a tag that has a different active ingredient. If you don't change active ingredient, flies will become resistant and this fly control method will not work.
There are sprays that you can use and are effective for two to three weeks then you will need to spray again. Some producers use this method and when they move the cows to a new pasture in their rotation, fly spray the cattle.
Also available are oilers that can be filled with a fly control ingredient. Cattle rub the oiler and dispense the fly control.
Finally, there are dust bags that contain a fly control and the cattle rub against the bag and the dust is applied to the animal. Dust bags need to be put in a place where cattle frequently visit like a watering area. Put the bags down low enough that the dust can be applied to the face and calves can use them.
Also, if there are areas that stay wet and are breeding grounds for flies, see what you can do to eliminate them.
IGR products are Insect Growth Regulators and they control flies at the site the eggs are deposited — manure. Face flies and horn flies lay their eggs in cow manure and the larvae only develop in cow manure. Therefore, some of the compounds are fed or given in bolus form that kill the larvae in the manure pat. Examples of this include the slow release bolus with diflubenzuron (Vilgilanteâ). This compound is an insect growth regulator (IGR), which is safe, and cross-resistance does not develop. Another IGR that is used in "feed through" products is methoprene. Other products are available that can kill the fly larvae when used as a "feed through". Flies do travel some distances, so you may use these products and still have flies that come from your neighboring pastures. If your neighbors use an IGR, then you potentially will have fewer flies.
For more information, please see the Controlling Flies on Pastured Cattle article.
Source: Dr. Rick Rasby, Professor of Animal Science, University of Nebraska | <urn:uuid:a526cc2d-0f7f-444c-a2c1-a27f282c2dd0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-resources/fly-control/The-most-effective-ways-to-control-flies-on-beef-cattle-193952771.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958126 | 662 | 1.945313 | 2 |
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
An understatement is a form of speech slightly different from a hyperbole. It's sometimes used to make some aspect of the truth appear slightly less notable. Sometimes people try to make other people laugh through the use of an understatement, but it doesn't always work out that way.
These might be more or less appropriate examples
Event: Spotting Lucy, the scientist in charge tells the security forces "Shoot to kill! If any of you hesitates, we're all going to end up dead."
Event: During the Kuala Lumpur to Perth leg of British Airways Flight 9 on 24 June 1982, Diclonius arms cause all four engines of the Boeing 747 aircraft to fail. Captain Eric Moody announced to the passengers "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped." but assured his passengers "There's nothing to worry about."
Maybe you'll like these examples better
Event: After King Arthur has severed the Black Knight's left arm, the Knight reacts by saying "'Tis but a scratch". When Arthur cuts off the Knight's other arm, he insists "It's just a flesh wound!". Eventually Arthur chops off the Knight's two remaining limbs, who then offers to "call it a draw".
Event: The Grim Reaper crashes the party and all the guests must come with him. "Well," says one party guest, "that's cast rather a gloom over the evening, hasn't it?"
Event: An airplane is flying in a sky full of clouds. Suddenly, the Captain announces to the passengers "Hello, this is your Captain speaking. There is absolutely no cause for alarm." and a minute later "The wings are not on fire." Following several cryptic commands from the Captain and the First Officer, the passengers jump out of the plane. After watching the passengers nearing the Earth's surface, the Captain notes "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some trouble about this."
This article is very confusing. | <urn:uuid:09cc348e-0dd1-4347-ab36-6dcb50963ebf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Understatement | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95984 | 418 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Slugs and double barreled guns don't often go together well. It's all about something called "regulation". No, not the law. Regulation is the way the barrels are joined together so that the point of impact from both barrels meets at a common place. Barrels that are properly regulated (i.e. normally high dollars) have the point of aim and point of impact of both barrels join at somewhere between 30 and 40 yds. Less properly regulated barrels might never have a common point of aim and impact. Their shot strings could actually get farther apart as you get further away from the barrel.
With shot, having a regulation problem isn't always a big deal. However, with slugs, poor regulation has a huge difference in where that slug actually goes downrange. The two barrels may shoot slugs to really different points of impact. | <urn:uuid:4e713e9d-2396-473e-b073-3cf6e01af6f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3931057&postcount=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976347 | 173 | 2 | 2 |
Written by: Andy Wilcoxson
Forensic expert, Professor Slavisa Dobricanin,
former director of the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Pristina continued
his testimony at the trial of Slobodan Milosevic on Friday.
Professor Dobricanin was the forensic scientist in-charge of autopsying the Kosovo-Albanians who died in the Kosovo village of Racak on January 15, 1999.
Teams of forensic scientists from Finland and Belarus directly participated in the autopsies together with Professor Dobricanin and his team.
All of the forensic teams harmonized their findings. According to a report written by three members of the Finnish team, “the autopsy findings were discussed in full professional consensus.”
Professor Dobricanin’s evidence dealt with the findings reached by the forensic teams. His testimony was bolstered by numerous official documents and autopsy reports that were exhibited over the course of his evidence.
According to Professor Dobricanin, gunshot wounds killed all of the 40 corpses found in Racak. Nobody had been cut-up with knives, as some Albanian witnesses had testified during the prosecution case.
Contrary to the indictment’s assertion that the Albanians were beaten before being “executed”, the forensic teams found no evidence that any of the bodies had been beaten. The only injury aside from gunshot wounds that was found on the bodies came from animals that had gnawed on the corpses after they were dead.
Professor Dobricanin testified that the forensic teams reached the conclusion that the bullets hit the bodies from different directions.
According to the report compiled by the Finnish forensic experts, J. Rainio, K. Lalua, and A. Penttiläa, only one person was shot from a close range. Professor Dobricanin testified that all others were shot from a long range.
Diphenylamine testing revealed that 37 of the 40 bodies had gunshot residue on their hands. Diphenylamine testing, sometimes referred to as the “paraffin glove” testing, was criticized during the prosecution case.
The prosecution claims that Diphenylamine testing is inaccurate, saying that tobacco products and certain fertilizers can cause nitrate particles to be on the hands.
Diphenylamine testing is conducted by placing the hand on a special adhesive foil. Nitrate particles on the hand stick to the foil. The position of the hand on the foil surface is documented. Diphenylamine is applied to the foil and the chemical reaction causes nitrate particles to turn a bright blue color, thus making them visible.
Professor Dobricanin testified that the location of the nitrate particles, the concentration of the particles, and the distribution of the particles on their hands indicated that 37 of the 40 bodies had been firing weapons before they were killed.
If these people had just been smoking cigarettes, or handling ammonium nitrate fertilizers, then the location and distribution of the particles on their hands would have been different.
In spite of the prosecution’s contention that Diphenylamine testing is unreliable, it used in many countries around the world, including the United States.
In addition to the presence of gunshot residue on their hands, the bodies were wearing many layers of clothing. Some of the corpses were wearing as many as three and four layers of clothing. Professor Dobricanin testified that many were wearing heavy rubber boots, and military-style belts.
These people were dressed to spend prolonged periods of time outside. If they had just been minding their own business in their house, then they would not have been dressed the way they were.
Further indication that these were armed combatants and not some innocent civilians, as the prosecution claims, has to do with the location of their wounds.
When Judge Marinkovic testified she showed videotapes of the trenches and bunkers that the KLA had in the immediate vicinity of Racak. The videotape showed that the trenches had been used for combat activities, as they were littered with spent shell casings.
The videotapes showed that the police were being shot at from the hills around Racak where the trenches were located.
From their wounds, it would appear that these bodies were in a protected position, such as a trench, when they were killed. Professor Dobricanin testified that only the upper parts of the bodies had been shot. Nobody was shot in the lower part of their body.
These wounds are consistent with somebody in a trench. If you are shooting at somebody from a trench, then the only part of you that can get hit is the part of yourself that you expose when you rear-up to fire a shot, i.e. your upper body.
The Kosovo-Albanians who died in Racak on January 15, 1999 were armed combatants, not innocent civilians. They had gunpowder on their hands. Their wounds were consistent with somebody killed in a combat situation. They were dressed to spend prolonged periods of time outside.
The nature of their wounds is not consistent with people who were executed. They were shot from different angles, and from a distance. Only one was shot at a close range.
Professor Dobricanin also gave some interesting evidence regarding Helena Ranta. According to him, she is a dental expert. Her specialty is teeth. She is not a ballistics expert. Therefore, she is not qualified to give much of the evidence that she gave when she testified as a court witness in 2003.
According to Professor Dobricanin, when Ms. Ranta held her press conference in Pristina, he and other members of the forensic teams were prohibited from attending.
On February 19, 1999 Bill Clinton went on television and told the world, “We should remember what happened in the village of Racak back in January -- innocent men, women, and children taken from their homes to a gully, forced to kneel in the dirt, sprayed with gunfire -- not because of anything they had done, but because of who they were."
Bill Clinton lied. He launched the NATO attack against Yugoslavia with that notorious lie as his main justification. Racak is the one and only “war crime” that the Serbs are accused of committing in Kosovo prior to the NATO attack.
Professor Dobricanin will continue his testimony when the trial resumes next Tuesday.
# # # | <urn:uuid:b9463d6a-99c7-4f7e-9113-777699bcb661> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/smorg040805.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987245 | 1,296 | 2.125 | 2 |
The Missouri Foundation for Health has awarded Saint Louis University a $248,000 "farm to school" grant to improve school lunches and teach business skills in the Maplewood Richmond Heights district, while boosting local farmers in the process. The grant is designed to encourage children to eat locally grown fruits and vegetables and to get those fruits and vegetables to the schools.
SLU will work with the Missouri Farmers Union to select area farmers who can replace foods on Maplewood Richmond Heights' menu with locally grown produce. The goal is that, by the end of the three-year grant, 20 percent of the food the district serves will come from local farmers.
That food will be processed and prepared in a converted industrial kitchen at the Salus Center, on the SLU Medical Center campus, and then delivered to Maplewood Richmond Heights schools to be served as part of lunches at its early childhood center, elementary, middle and high schools. The Salus Center facility also will house a culinary education program where district foodservice workers and middle school students will learn how to prepare healthier foods that are high in protein or are locally grown. Students will also launch their own business, selling a product they create using locally grown produce.
Maplewood Richmond Heights students will get a say in what they eat at school. They will submit their favorite family recipes for judging, and the winners will face off at a tasting. Students will vote on which recipes they want to see on school lunch menus.
SLU dietetic interns already work with the school district to plan menus and provide nutrition education. | <urn:uuid:b974ba31-be6e-4a11-8c5f-ce66a4a8a08a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://food-management.com/news-amp-trends/grant-fosters-university-school-district-healthy-eating-partnership | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961536 | 316 | 2.0625 | 2 |
By Malcolm Moore in Rome
The Pope is considering a dramatic overhaul of the Vatican in order to force a return to traditional sacred music.
The Pope wants to widen the use of Gregorian chant and baroque sacred music
After reintroducing the Latin Tridentine Mass, the Pope wants to widen the use of Gregorian chant and baroque sacred music.
In an address to the bishops and priests of St Peter's Basilica, he said that there needed to be "continuity with tradition" in their prayers and music.
He referred pointedly to "the time of St Gregory the Great", the pope who gave his name to Gregorian chant.
Gregorian chant has been reinstituted as the primary form of singing by the new choir director of St Peter's, Father Pierre Paul.
He has also broken with the tradition set up by John Paul II of having a rotating choir, drawn from churches all over the world, to sing Mass in St Peter's.
Mgr Valentin Miserachs Grau, the director of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, which trains church musicians, said that there had been serious "deviations" in the performance of sacred music.
"How far we are from the true spirit of sacred music. How can we stand it that such a wave of inconsistent, arrogant and ridiculous profanities have so easily gained a stamp of approval in our celebrations?" he said.
He added that a pontifical office could correct the abuses, and would be "opportune". He said: "Due to general ignorance, especially in sectors of the clergy, there exists music which is devoid of sanctity, true art and universality."
Mgr Grau said that Gregorian chant was the "cardinal point" of liturgical music and that traditional music "should become again the living soul of the assembly".
The Pope favoured the idea of a watchdog for church music when he was the cardinal in charge of safeguarding Catholic doctrine.
He is known to be a strong supporter of Mgr Grau, who is also in charge of the Cappella Liberiana of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. | <urn:uuid:7a8e22c9-b582-4dd9-9048-10d14600c9cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chrisdickson.blogspot.com/2007/11/pope-to-purge-vatican-of-modern-music.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956642 | 448 | 2.046875 | 2 |
When he was a toddler, Donald didn't seem to care whether his parents came or went. Before turning 2, he'd already memorized Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd...") and could recite the catechism from memory, but never paid attention to a fully costumed Santa Claus during the winter holidays. He soon became obsessed with watching spinning objects and would have explosive temper tantrums if he was interrupted. Worried, Donald's father sent a 33-page typed letter recounting these and other unusual behaviors to a young psychiatrist named Leo Kanner at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore.
The year was 1938, and Donald would later become the first American child ever diagnosed with autism. For decades afterward, it was believed that the condition was rare. Times have certainly changed. Today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, and it's four to five times more likely to occur in boys than in girls.
The almost fivefold jump in schoolchildren diagnosed with autism between 1993 and 2003 has prompted some authorities and politicians to proclaim that we're in the midst of an "autism epidemic." Bombarded with news about autism (as I write this, Google reports that 4,470 new stories mentioned the condition in the past 24 hours), parents of babies and toddlers are understandably alarmed and confused. I've been there myself. As a pediatrician and first-time father, I followed my son Jake's growth and development with anticipation, and eagerly awaited his first smile and steps. But when he was almost 2, back in 2003, he was saying only a few words. According to a checklist known as the Denver Scale that was used at the time, he should have known more words. Naturally, my wife and I were very worried.
One reason that autism frightens mothers and fathers so deeply is because its cause is unclear. Parents also fear that a diagnosis of autism virtually guarantees a difficult life -- not only for their child, but for their entire family. But researchers are more encouraged than ever about early intervention, which can be enormously beneficial. "We can do so much to help children manage their challenges," explains Patricia Wright, Ph.D., M.P.H., national director of autism services for Easter Seals, which provides support for people with disabilities. "Wherever your child is now, he or she can make significant progress over time." | <urn:uuid:26145c5b-486a-461b-a221-95d963d48f50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parents.com/health/autism/symptoms/autism-diagnosis/?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98512 | 495 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Now that Jessica Simpson has—finally—given birth to baby girl Maxwell, she already has the gossip mill buzzing about whether she'll be able to lose the roughly 60 pounds she gained during pregnancy. Her fuller figure has been chided by celebrities and doctors alike, who said 60 pounds is way too much for an expecting mother to gain, as it could cause delivery complications or set a child up for diabetes. This isn't the first time the 31-year-old singer has had her weight under a microscope (remember the mom jeans incident?) and it won't likely be the last.
While celebrity moms make it seem like post-baby weight loss is just for vanity (a bikini-clad Heidi Klum wowed audiences at a Victoria's Secret fashion show in 2005 just eight weeks after giving birth), the reality is that it's critical for your health, too.
Shedding pregnancy pounds is "absolutely necessary," says Raul Artal, chair of St. Louis University's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health. Most women gain between 20 and 40 pounds during pregnancy, but holding onto those pounds can lead to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease down the line. "After pregnancy, women should return to normal range for body mass index [a measure of body fat based on height and weight], which is anywhere between 19 and 25."
How long that should take depends on the individual. Celebrities have been known to drop pregnancy pounds in mere weeks by turning to questionable tactics such as fad diets, "extreme breast pumping," or having fat surgically removed from one spot and transplanted to another. Experts say a more realistic time frame for regaining your figure via healthier means is a several months. However, if you put on more than the average 25 to 40 pounds, or if you were overweight or obese before pregnancy, it could take as many as nine or more. In any case, aim to lose the weight before your baby's first birthday; studies have shown that any weight you retain beyond that point is unlikely to ever come off. Your doctor can help you determine the safest schedule.
As for Simpson, she will surely have an entourage of personal chefs, trainers, and nannies to help her get back in shape. Although most moms don't have these luxuries, weight loss after pregnancy is certainly doable. Some strategies:
Don't cut calories. Most women who want to lose weight try cutting calories or going on diets—but you shouldn't skimp on food if you've just given birth, especially if you're breastfeeding. You'll need lots of nutrients to make sure you and your baby stay healthy. Rather than trimming calories, eliminate junk food from your diet to shed pounds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that new moms say goodbye to soda, candy, dessert, sweetened cereals, fried foods, fatty meats, and even cheese, whole milk, and sweetened yogurt. Instead, embrace foods without extra sugar or fat, and make sure to get at least 2 cups of fruit, 3 cups of vegetables, 8 ounces of grains, 6.5 ounces of meat or beans, and 3 cups of low-fat or non-fat milk each day. Artal suggests spreading this out over three meals and three small snacks daily.
Breastfeed instead of using formula. Breastfeeding is not only good for babies—it immunizes them against diseases and gives them the nutrients they need to grow—it might also help mothers shed post-pregnancy pounds, says Artal. He estimates that breastfeeding burns 600 calories each day, the equivalent of roughly two hours of moderate exercise, depending on your weight and the activity you choose.
Go on walks. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists emphasizes the role of exercise in post-baby weight loss. While many experts have advised against exercise until six weeks after delivery, ACOG says there's no evidence that "in the absence of medical complications, rapid resumption of activities will result in adverse effects." Depending on the type of delivery you had, you may not feel ready to run long distances or lift weights right away, so Artal suggests walking, which he says is "always a safe type of physical activity." Aim for 30 minutes of moderate or brisk walking each day. Pushing your baby in a stroller will burn extra calories. And exercise has another perk besides weight loss: It may thwart postpartum depression. | <urn:uuid:410d9660-c0fa-42d7-906a-eb65735e45d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/05/01/how-will-jessica-simpson-lose-the-baby-weight?s_cid=rss:how-will-jessica-simpson-lose-the-baby-weight | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96145 | 908 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Launched 1 August 1944 as Marine Walrus under a Maritime Commission contract. Acquired by the Navy on 30 August 1944 and converted to a hospital ship.
Commissioned on 22 May as USS Consolation (AH-15). Departed the east coast on 14 July and arrived at Wakayama, Honshu, on 11 September to join with Sanctuary (AH-16) in setting up a shore screening station and field hospital to receive the men of the Allied forces who had been prisoners of war in Japan. By 15 September she had embarked 1,062 men and three days later departed for Okinawa where her patients were debarked for transfer to the United States. Consolation then returned to Wakayama to act as station hospital for the 5th Fleet. During 13 to 24 October she was at Okinawa to treat the casualties of a vicious typhoon, then sailed to Nagoya where she served as station hospital for the 5th and 6th Fleets during the occupation of that area from 26 October to 3 November. Arriving in San Francisco on 23 November, Consolation underwent a brief overhaul then operated from 6 December 1945 to 3 February 1946 between Pearl Harbor and San Francisco transporting sailors and patients.
Consolation arrived at Norfolk on 3 March then operated in the Caribbean and had temporary duty with the Naval Transportation Service transferring dependents from the Canal Zone to New York from 25 March to 21 October. She then remained in commission though inactive at Hampton Roads with occasional trips during fleet exercises until the outbreak of the Korean war.
Korean War Service -
Departed Norfolk on 14 July and arrived at Pusan, Korea, on 16 August to care for the wounded, both military and civilian, of the Allied forces. She took part in the Inchon, Wonsan, and Hungnam operations and provided medical assistance for the military forces of Korea, aiding in the establishment of Korean hospitals and medical installations.
On 24 May she sailed for San Diego, arriving on 6 June. She was then overhauled and fitted with a helicopter landing platform on her aft deck. Departing San Diego on 13 September, Consolation arrived at Pusan on 6 October. On 18 December she began Operation "Helicopter," the first use of helicopters to evacuate casualties directly from a battlefield to a hospital ship.
She remained off Korea until the truce, except for periods at San Diego from 6 July to 8 September 1952 and from 23 June to 5 October 1953, then continued to care for the United Nations troops remaining in Korea and Korean civilians until 6 April 1954. Arriving in San Francisco 23 April, she remained through 10 August when she sailed to Tourane Bay, French Indo-China, to participate in the "Passage to Freedom" operation, the evacuation of North Vietnam nationals. Consolation remained in the Far East providing medical attention to United Nations troops in Korea until 12 March 1955 when she sailed from Yokosuka for San Francisco, arriving 30 March. She was placed out of commission in reserve at San Francisco 30 December 1955.
On 16 March Consolation was chartered to the People to People Health Foundation. Re-named Hope, she sailed later in 1960 on her first cruise to bring modern medical treatment and training to underdeveloped areas of the world.
These specifications and ship histories are adapted from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (US Naval Historical Center) and from various other sources. These summaries may not reflect the most recent information concerning the ships' status or operations. If you find an error or discrepancy, please email me at firstname.lastname@example.org or fill out our online crossing submission form. | <urn:uuid:672b114c-7191-4750-992f-8fb5ba4db842> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ww2troopships.com/ships/c/consolation/default.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971035 | 734 | 2.09375 | 2 |
As a Nurse Practitioner, mom, wife, friend, sister and neighbor, people are always asking me for health advice. I love translating complicated medical information and then helping people navigate their way toward better health and wellness. I’ll help you find the information you need to make the best decisions for your health and the health of your family.
Here’s to better health,
Nurse Barb Dehn RN MS NP
We live in a country where obesity rates are already too high. Did you know that 1/3 of are . Not just overweight, but obese. And this includes 12.5 million kids. Many of the habits that lead to obesity start in childhood. As parents there’s a lot we can do.One thing we don’t want to do is ignore this in our own homes. I want to encourage parents who are fearful of igniting an eating disorder by mentioning food to try focusing instead on helping their children be strong and healthy so that they will be able to do the things they like.
I’ve been reading a lot about soybeans and their beneficial effects on health. What I found was surprising and reassuring. There’s many good reasons to incorporate more to soy into your family’s diet. Here’s 6 surprising secrets about soy and better health.
#1 Soybean Oil is a Great Source of Omega – 3
Many people find it difficult to get the recommended amounts of heart healthy Omega -3 fatty acids from eating 2 servings of fatty fish each week. You might be surprised to learn that soybean oil is a great source of Omega- 3 and Vitamin E. Most vegetable oil you buy is 100% Soybean oil.
#2 Soybeans Lower Cholesterol
Multiple studies have shown that soy has a number Heart Healthy Benefits including reducing total Cholesterol levels. Soybeans are low in saturated fat. In addition, soy helps:
#3 Soy is Good for Prostate Health in Men
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the US and the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in men. Research has shown that soy helps promote prostate health by preventing Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH). In addition men who consume more soy have a lower likelihood of developing prostate cancer.
#4 Eating Soy Does not Lower Testosterone Levels in Men
Because women often find that increasing their soy intake helps with hot flashes and night sweats, some people are concerned about the possible effects of soy on men’s hormone levels. Soy contains isoflavones, which are considered a phytoestrogens, or plant based estrogens. Numerous studies have not found that eating soy increases circulating levels of estrogen in men or women and does not decrease testosterone levels in men.
#5 Soy Can Help Hot Flashes and Night Sweats
Though there is conflicting research on whether one type of soy protein, extract, supplement, metabolite and amounts help women with hot flashes and night sweats, there is ample evidence that increasing soy is better than placebo in reducing menopausal symptoms. A recent study reported in the Journal Menopause found that despite a high placebo response, women who ate more soy had a 21% improvement in symptoms over what the group that had the placebo.
#6 Eating Soy in Childhood May Reduce the Risk of Breast Cancer
Numerous studies have shown that girls who ate more soy in childhood and adolescence were less likely to develop breast cancer as women. It’s thought that the phytoestrogens in soy help the breast tissue in childhood develop into the types of health breast cells and tissue that are much less likely to become cancerous later on. Eating soy does not have stimulating effects on breast tissue and does NOT increase breast density.
# 7 Soy is Safe for Women with Breast Cancer
Women who’ve developed breast cancer can safely enjoy soy foods because there’s no effect on recurrence. There’s also no interference with tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. In fact the American Cancer Society states that women with breast cancer can safely consume 1-3 servings of soy foods each day. | <urn:uuid:e7358803-94b6-4fe0-853f-14ad6eced4b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nursebarb.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9467 | 845 | 2.03125 | 2 |
I am a student of accounting and I am doing an assignment on government budgeting but I cannot find any materials to help me. I hope that you can give me some information especially about the major techniques of government budgeting - especially in Malaysia.
These are the sub topics that I want to focus:
1. traditional and zero base
2. programme performance budgeting system
3. modified budgeting system
4. strengths and weaknesses of major techniques | <urn:uuid:197e5f5b-fec7-4a8d-9114-e9d4771b6149> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/anyanswers/government-budgeting | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928465 | 92 | 2.0625 | 2 |
There are so many among us with a ton of ideas for the next Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. But, ideas are practically worthless unless you have at least a prototype in place. If you think it would be a good idea to entrust someone to make your vision for the app to come true, you are definitely mistaken.
If you are a designer by profession, then you already know the importance of a prototype. Prototypes help build a minimum viable product quickly and lock the user interface down without any ambiguity. Antetype is one of the market leaders in Mac prototyping apps and after the break let us check out how to make it a valuable part of your design workflow.
Antetype is a rapid prototyping app that offers a range of layout modes that allow you to create highly flexible and dynamic layouts. The widget library included with the app provides you with a complete set of ready-to-use widgets to get you started quickly with your prototypes.
Antetype comes with a split window interface. The canvas to the right is larger and the all powerful widget library is located to the left. The layout is clean and even with so many design elements, it doesn’t overwhelm the user at first glance or while designing a prototype. You can resize and close out each of these windows as you please.
Antetype is fullscreen capable and in this mode the canvas fills up the entire screen with the widget library floating to the left of the screen.
To make things easier, Antetype comes loaded with templates for the popular design platforms – Android, iOS, Windows 7, Mac OS or a regular wireframe. Each of this template has all the design elements in the style that is signature to the platform. You are not restricted to these templates alone.
You can easily create a new template from scratch and mix and match widgets of your choice. I decided to try my hand at creating a iOS app prototype for this review.
Creating a Prototype
To start building an iPad app we need two main elements – a toolbar at the top and a menubar at the bottom. Both these elements had a couple of buttons already to make things further easier for us. In the case of the menubar, I tried to copy and paste the menubar button multiple times. I was successful at creating duplicates of the menubar buttons, but wasn’t able to space them out as I wished.
I dragged and dropped a single menubar button from the widget library and was glad to see that I was able to place it wherever I pleased. The icon and text of the buttons can be changed by double clicking on them.
From background texture to buttons, sliders and labels, I played around with almost every aspect of iPad design and I was able to put together a prototype (a rather ugly one, I agree!) within a few minutes. I loved how the buttons and labels wrapped around if the text spilled from the original size.
Every single pixel of the design can be customized from the Style Inspector. And once you chisel a widget to your tastes, you can lock the design and alter the gradients as whole. For those working on complex designs, the stacked layout mode will help overlay your elements on top of each other and lets you control their alignment to boot.
Sharing the Prototype
Sharing the prototype with team members or clients for feedback is a vital part of the design workflow and Antetype offers a few brilliant choices. In addition to letting you export the design in PNG format, the app assists you to create the web viewer version of the design for people who don’t own a Mac.
The presentation mode is perfect if you plan to showcase the design fullscreen via a screencast or a projector. All elements of the design work together in tandem like a real world app in this mode.
I am not a designer by trade. But, I do have a few ideas (worthy and otherwise) for both mobile apps and the web. It would absolutely suck for a design novice like me to give exact instructions to a professional designer. Even if I did, I’m sure I’ll land on this blog, for so many pointless suggestions! When I had the chance to review Antetype, I decided to evaluate the app based on how easy it is for a design illiterate like myself.
Based on their short video demo and the clearly explained descriptions in the homepage, I was confident that Antetype won’t be very difficult to use. And after a couple of hours not only did I get a grasp of the functionality, but also really enjoyed creating mockups just for fun. Since it takes very little time even for a newbie to start cracking, I have no doubt experienced designers would find their productivity increase exponentially with Antetype.
The one thing that I could point out as a shortcoming is the price. At $289, the app isn’t cheap but the full featured demo version should help you determine if the app is worth the price or not. | <urn:uuid:1bb0b275-0661-4192-b018-6b4afb958e9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mac.appstorm.net/reviews/graphics/create-stellar-prototypes-with-antetype/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941942 | 1,031 | 1.640625 | 2 |
This site is brought to you by Helios Kiln Glass Studio in Austin, TX.
Scrap Glass Project
Our tutorial for this scrap project first appeared as an article in the Summer 2010 issue of Glass Craftsman.
One of the great things about kilnforming is that glass scraps never end up in the trash.
Unlike stained glass, where each new project produces a lot of small bits only a mosaic artist could love, fused glass allows us to take the trimmings from one project and melt them together into new work.
But despite that promise of near zero waste, over time we all still manage to collect buckets of fusible glass scraps. Perhaps one reason we are discouraged from using all those odd shaped bits and pieces is that scrap projects rarely manage to escape the appearance of something made from leftovers – an artistic afterthought.
That’s where this project tutorial – which uses only scrap fusible glass – is different. As you can see in the photo above, this scrap project doesn’t look like leftovers at all. | <urn:uuid:a9f4b174-bcef-415a-9b5b-5af4fb22276f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fusedglass.org/learn/project_tutorials/scrap_glass_project | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944607 | 218 | 2.265625 | 2 |
The Vision and Mission of your library
The Vision of the Hiawatha Public Library
. . . to provide the members of its community with access to information, which can improve their minds, broaden their lives, and fulfill their cultural, civic, intellectual, educational, and recreational needs.
The Mission of the Hiawatha Public Library
. . . is to improve the quality of life by making the library a comfortable and welcoming place for the entire community, by providing resources and programs that stimulate the imagination, and by providing resources and programs that foster the creation of young readers. | <urn:uuid:24f52c99-d5ea-41a0-b8b9-a7c679a7966c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hiawatha.lib.ia.us/library-information/mission2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95812 | 119 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday called on Union minister of environment and forests Jayanti Natarajan to seek help of Rs. 771.52 crore for 'Punjab Biodiversity & Natural Resources Conservation Project' through a suitable international funding Agency.
this here on Thursday, a spokesperson of the CM's office said that Badal apprised Natarajan of the project, which would ensure protection, conservation and development of forests, wildlife and natural resources in a holistic manner, coupled with livelihoods generation for poverty alleviation in forest-fringe areas. He also informed that this project would be implemented throughout the state in 8 years in a phased manner.
Demanding the enhancement in the state annual plan of operations under PUNCAMPA, from Rs. 75 crore for the year 2012-13 to Rs. 100 crore for the next year, Badal said that the state government had already launched an ambitious "Greening Punjab Mission" under which it was envisaged to increase the forest and tree cover from the existing level of 7% to 15% of the geographical areain the next 8 years. He also said that the state government had planned to plant approximately 5 crore saplings annually for the next 7-8 years. He further said that a separate fund designated as "Greening Punjab Fund" had also been established for this purpose and all boards, corporations and other government agencies of the state had been authorised to contribute to this fund.
He demanded to release the balance amount of Rs. 56 crore under CAMPA project for 2012-13.
Demanding the inclusion of agro-forestry in state CAMPA and other centrally sponsored schemes like SFDA, Badal asked the Union minister to review the CAMPA and SFDA guidelines and also permit the inclusion of agro-forestry/farm forestry activities under their respective ambits for the benefit of forest deficient states like Punjab, which have a vast potential in the field of agro-forestry.
For setting up of hi-tech modern nurseries and a State Forest Research & Educational Institute, Badal further asked the ministry to provide financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 40 crore and Rs. 25 crore respectively in Punjab besides a special grant of Rs. 108 crore to eradicate the menace of weeds from the Kandi belt and Rs. 3.5 crore for establishing herbal gardens and nurseries in the state. | <urn:uuid:fba3d035-2972-435e-b1d2-b51f3aeafc3d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/Chandigarh/Badal-seeks-funds-for-conservation-projects/SP-Article1-999206.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949557 | 491 | 1.695313 | 2 |
A Woodruff key is a finely machined metal piece used to connect a rotating device to a shaft. The distinction of a Woodruff key is that it is machined to fit into a semi-circular pocket, which eliminates the necessity of cutting or milling a keyway the length of a shaft, greatly increasing the strength of the shaft. It was created by W.N. Woodruff of Connecticut in the late 1800s. In 1888, W.N. Woodruff was awarded the John Scott Medal by the Franklin Institute for the invention of what would forever be known as the “Woodruff key.”
A Woodruff key and its corresponding keyway in the crankshaft of a Yamaha XT250. | <urn:uuid:a1a9372d-6158-412b-82cb-ce2ff44496e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cyclepedia.com/category/terminology/w/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958566 | 148 | 3 | 3 |
The U.S. Supreme Court this week handed employers a major victory by clarifying that workers who claim illegal pay discrimination must file their complaints within 180 days of the alleged offense. But this ruling could, in the short run, lead to a spike in pay-bias claims.
Background: Federal rules says that when employees feel that their pay has been illegally based on their race, gender, religion or national origin, they must first file a discrimination charge with the EEOC within 180 days of the “discriminatory act.” (This 180-day filing deadline is extended to 300 days if the charge also is covered by a state or local anti-discrimination law.)
The question before the high court: Does the “discriminatory act” occur when your organization sets the person’s salary (employers’ view) or does a separate discriminatory act occur each time the employee receives a paycheck (employees’ view)? The Supreme Court today sided with the employers' view, ruling that employees must file complaints within 180 days of the direct discriminatory act.
That’s good news for employers. An opposite ruling in favor of employees would have allowed anyone to sue years—or even decades—after they suffer an alleged discriminatory pay decision. But the Supreme Court ruled that employees who think they have been discriminated against must act right away, and not wait to file their claims.
The case: Lilly Ledbetter sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber, claiming that after working at the company for 19 years, she earned $6,000 less than the lowest-paid man doing the same work. She claimed each paycheck was lower based on her starting pay and, therefore, the company discriminated every two weeks. A jury agreed and awarded her $3.8 million. But the Supreme Court rejected that argument.
Justice Samuel Alito, writing the majority opinion, said that Ledbetter should have filed her claim years earlier, within the deadlines set by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He wrote, “This short deadline reflects Congress’s strong preference for the prompt resolution of employment discrimination allegations.” (Click here to read the full case, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire.)
Bottom line: This ruling makes clear that employees must file their EEOC complaints promptly. But it also may lead to an increase in such complaints in the coming months, as word spreads that employees cannot delay.
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" This information is proudly provided by Business Management Daily.com: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/2711/big-ruling-supreme-court-limits-scope-of-pay-discrimination-lawsuits " | <urn:uuid:8cfb54a8-0d78-4e8e-921d-3dce4a51bf28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/2711/big-ruling-supreme-court-limits-scope-of-pay-discrimination-lawsuits | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956247 | 676 | 1.960938 | 2 |
RIM good for secret jobs: BlackBerry 10 cleared for Restricted data
No backdoor action here, feds reckon
BlackBerry 10 has passed the US Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) certification, meaning devices based on the platform can be used to send classified data between government agents. Despite a drop in US government uptake of its kit, this is still something unique to RIM.
Apple and Android have both made huge strides in security, but only RIM has ever managed to get a mobile platform through the FIPS 140-2 process, which is managed by National Institute of Standards and Technology and recognised by the US and Canadian governments. The classification permits the transit of documents up to "restricted" level, so RIM's devices will be turning up in some halls of power, if not all of them.
The news isn't hugely surprising. Security has always been core to the BlackBerry platform, rather than something to be added on later, and that's reflected at every level. BlackBerry 7, for example, deliberately overwrites deleted data on memory cards, rather than just flagging it as deleted (and thus permitting recovery) as other platforms so, but that's just one example of the pervasive nature of RIM's secure approach.
But the certification achieves two other important things too: it reminds everyone that BlackBerry is still the most secure mobile platform, and it keeps everyone talking about the new version for another week or two, the latter being particularly important as there's still a few months until the launch and RIM needs to stay in the public eye until then.
Not that all publicity is good: on Wednesday an analysts from Pacific Crest Securities said the new OS might be "dead on arrival", prompting an 8 per cent drop in RIM shares, and some damage limitation from the company.
"Two other analysts came out this week with some very, very positive reactions to the platform and some positive reactions to our prospects," RIM told The Canadian Press, sounding a little like a petulant child arguing with an accusing parent.
Here in the UK we've certified previous versions of BlackBerry, but not looked at BlackBerry 10 as yet, but with the US giving it the nod don't be surprised to see up an update along those lines ... just as soon as it looks like RIM might be at risk of being forgotten again. ® | <urn:uuid:16f83904-6ab3-44ff-b650-bc803c482dbf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/08/blackberry_10_fips/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958715 | 474 | 1.625 | 2 |
"We miss Karen terribly," said Kevin Callahan, whose girlfriend Karen Ertell was strangled and raped in her home in 2010.
"She was too pure for this cold earth," Kaiya Kapahu's mother during a domestic violence march three years ago.
"My sister was a beautiful woman who lived life to its fullest," said Janel Tupola's sister at her 2008 funeral.
They are the victims of violence, and they are but a few of many in Hawaii.
"Today is about the millions of women, the victims of domestic abuse, and sexual assault who are out there right now looking for a lifeline, looking for support," said President Barack Obama.
On Thursday, Obama reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, continuing and expanding assistance, such as a national hotline, a network of shelters, protection orders carrying across state lines, and adding services to protect immigrants and gays.
"In spite of the victories along the way, we can never be complacent because there is still a lot of suffering," said Nanci Kreidman, director for the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse in Hawaii.
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports 1.3 million women will be attacked by a partner, one in four will be domestically abused, and one in six will be raped.
"I was locked in my house for two weeks, beaten and raped multiple times throughout the day," said a girl who used the name DeeDee.
"We're one of the worst in the nation. Sex trafficking is a huge problem for Hawaii," said Kathryn Xian, executive director for the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery. | <urn:uuid:9de97f78-7882-4ed9-9ab1-6b1e92094784> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kitv.com/news/politics/Local-advocates-relieved-concerned-over-renewed-women-protection-act/-/8905242/19230882/-/eiefam/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973358 | 333 | 1.882813 | 2 |
MILLEDGEVILLE — Explore and learn about how African-American literature is developing as the Africana Studies Program at Georgia College welcomes Dr. Maryema Graham, distinguished professor at the University of Kansas.
Graham will serve as the keynote speaker for the Public Talk held at 4 p.m. Monday in the Arts and Sciences Auditorium.
For the last several years, the Africana Studies Program has worked to bring speakers to campus that focus on contemporary issues.
“Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary field, so we always expect that the lectures we sponsor will be relevant for the campus community and the Milledgeville community because they cover many different areas of study,” said Dr. Beauty Bragg, associate professor of English.
Graham’s talk titled, “Incidents in the Life of the Black Book: A Narrative for the Twenty-first Century” discusses the impact of technological developments in black literary production. She will also explain how digital technology can be used in the study of African-American literature.
“We hope that those who attend will see some of the latest developments in African-American literature as well as see the variety of approaches and topics that may be taken up in the field of Africana studies,” said Bragg.
For more information, email firstname.lastname@example.org.
Click here to subscribe to The Union-Recorder print edition. http://tinyurl.com/6qdm4oj
Click here to subscribe to The Union-Recorder e-edition and view this full article. http://unionrecorder.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx | <urn:uuid:27aad76a-ebc3-4706-b767-7c55d0d6369f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://unionrecorder.com/x657735565/Cultural-studies-program-highlights-African-American-literature | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922721 | 346 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Babies do have kneecaps – they’re just softer than yours.
In babies and children, bones have to be strong enough to support the body, but soft enough to permit continued growth. Until adulthood, when bones reach their final size and strength, they are made of a mixture of hard bone and softer cartilage. The kneecaps are no exception.
A newborn baby’s patella (kneecap) is made almost completely of cartilage. Around age 3 to 5, areas of hard bone start to form in the patella, in irregular patches. These islands of bone expand and grow together over years, gradually fusing to form a firm kneecap around age 10-12. Plenty of cartilage still remains, though, to allow the patella to continue to grow through adolescence. Sometime in late adolescence or young adulthood, the bony patches make a final expansion, replacing almost all cartilage. The result is a pair of nice, strong adult kneecaps.
This answer should not be considered medical advice...This answer should not be considered medical advice and should not take the place of a doctor’s visit. Please see the bottom of the page for more information or visit our Terms and Conditions.
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57 of 58 found this helpful | <urn:uuid:41c0cb00-b00c-4b63-853c-aaf556f94860> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://answers.webmd.com/answers/1198626/do-babies-have-kneecaps | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927561 | 272 | 3.234375 | 3 |
This paper focuses on the distortions that the Greek public debt has imposed on the Greek banking system, and suggests how these can be unwound. The low level of competitiveness of the Greek economy, which is well below the competitiveness of the developed countries, poses a great challenge for the Greek banks. At the same time it puts at risk Greece’s economy ability to service both the private and public debt, which, as an aggregate, are comparable to the indebtedness of the developed nations. An adjustment of economic activity to match the current low level of competitiveness will increase the risks faced by the financial system and make an orderly servicing of the debt of the economy very challenging. It follows that only one reasonable policy option remains: to increase the competitiveness of the economy through an aggressive reform agenda, so that it will match its level of indebtedness, and through the resulting growth shift the excessive debt of the public sector to the private sector. | <urn:uuid:38433da7-505a-4c88-87d1-64b9071db08c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://econpapers.repec.org/article/wejwldecn/461.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947322 | 187 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The community of St Nicholas of Tolentino has just got its church back after a year of building work. A multicultural Mass has been celebrated by Parish Priest Father Richard McKay and visiting priests.
It is the oldest purpose built Catholic parish church in Bristol. Serving a diverse parish, it is proud of its multicultural heritage. During the building work, parishioners have met at the parish school for worship.
Father Richard McKay said: "The spirit in St Nick's here today was a mixture of excitement, profound thankfulness and unbounded joy, and of course relief that we have at last 'come home'."
He said: "Today was the first time many of our community have seen what the renovated church is actually like. The first thing to strike everyone is that the church is now filled with light."
The congregation has been looking forward to getting its church back, newly decorated with specially commissioned African art.
St Nicholas of Tolentino has more than 50 different nationalities in its congregation. Father McKay said: "We sing in three or four different languages at Sunday mass... we really enjoy each others cultures."
An afternoon-long feast featuring dishes from around the world was enjoyed after Mass in the new parish hall facilities.
Father Richard McKay said: "The major purpose of the re-building...is our mission in the area - our reaching out to the needs of the local community." The church will be re-consecrated in February 2009. | <urn:uuid:e1bc8b9f-92ed-4485-8bd2-05a2345bac5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/bristol/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_7773000/7773117.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977136 | 296 | 1.546875 | 2 |
“Imagine the Possibilities” if every child in our community enters Kindergarten having been read to regularly by the most important teacher they will ever have – their parents.
In participating Georgia counties, each month, until age 5, a new book will be mailed directly to the registered child’s home address.
We are currently in Baldwin, Bibb, Butts, Calhoun, Camden, Carroll, Catoosa, Charlton, Chatham, Chattooga, Clarke, Colquitt, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, Dougherty, Effingham, Elbert, Fannin, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Glynn, Grady, Greene, Habersham, Hancock, Haralson, Hart, Harris, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Lincoln, Lumpkin, Madison, McDuffie, McIntosh, Meriwether, Mitchell, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Oglethorpe, Putnam, Seminole, Stephens, Taliaferro, Telfair, Thomas, Towns, Walker, Walton, Warren, Washington and White counties and we have 4 urban pilot programs functioning:
College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center in Decatur
Kennedy Head Start Center in Atlanta
Antioch AME Church in Stone Mountain
Pre-K students enrolled in Campbell, Palmetto and Evoline C. West Elementary Schools in South Fulton County
Children may receive up to a maximum of 60 books, depending on their age when they enter the program.
There is absolutely no cost (ever) to registered children!
Each child will receive one book monthly that is to be read to them by their parents or care givers, then placed in the specially designed bookends that will also be available.
These books become the child’s own to read over and over and perhaps pass down to their children.
If your child lives in a participating community and is under the age of 5, fill out and return the registration form for each qualifying child or you can register online at http://www.ferstfoundation.org/reg.htm | <urn:uuid:fe6ef350-ae21-4e9c-8756-5f1dcf77d4ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://childrenferst.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903042 | 431 | 1.539063 | 2 |
A mandate soon to be enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), may be an ineffective way to facilitate a healthier America. A recent study shows that nutritional labels have no effect on consumer food choices in fast food restaurants.
According to a recent study conducted by Duke University and the National University of Singapore, suggests that detailed labeling on fast food menu had no quantifiable effects on what they chose to eat. The study was based off information collected from Taco Time in King County, Washington.
In January 2009, King County enforced detailed nutritional labeling by all restaurant chains with at least 15 locations. According to the law, restaurants are required to provide calorie count information at the point of sale, rather than upon request. The purpose of enacting the law was to curb obesity, a health issue across the nation. However, the results of the study have deemed the law ineffective.
Researchers revealed that purchasing decisions were nearly identical at chains with nutritional information posted to purchasing decisions at locations with no nutritional information posted. Ultimately, the total amount of sales and the average number of calories per transaction were about the same.
Eric Finkelstein, Ph.D professor of health services at Duke-NUS and lead author on the study said, “Given the results of prior studies, we had expected the results to be small, but we were surprised that we could not detect even the slightest hint of changes in purchasing behavior as a result of the legislation”.
The Food and Drug Administration, under the healthcare reform law, plans to enact a similar type law affecting restaurant chains with 20 or more locations. However, results from the study suggest that labeling alone is not enough to deter consumers from fatty and unhealthy food choices. | <urn:uuid:83ec2f8f-0afc-4db4-96ed-6805fdc31dba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.internetbits.com/restaurant-labels-eating-an-unhealthy-conscious/56948/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959166 | 345 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Managers often are portrayed as incompetent nincompoops or royal jerks who should be locked in their cars and never allowed to interact with human beings again.
But that's not the whole story, and most workers know it.
They see their managers deal with the stress of their own bosses, motivating workers who don't care about their jobs and putting up with angry customers who call their mothers unflattering names.
Yeah, who wouldn't want that job?
Apparently, a lot of people. A recent OfficeTeam survey finds that 76 percent of workers say they are not interested in their manager's job.
But hold on. Being a manager can be rewarding and could be key to your garnering a better salary and more opportunities. And maybe, just maybe, you like the idea of leading people and helping them achieve their goals.
As the economy begins to improve, chances for promotions into the managerial ranks are expected to increase. So how do you best position yourself to move into leadership?
First, if your company has a leadership program, let the right people know you're interested. Talk to human resources people and your own boss to start the application process and see what steps you need to take to be considered.
But even if your company doesn't have a formal training program, that doesn't mean you should just rely on the powers that be to recognize your potential managerial greatness. You'll need to work to position yourself to be thought of as a potential boss, says Daryl Pigat, branch manager for Robert Half International.
"What I always tell people is to do the job before you have the title," Pigat says.
That means you show leadership abilities such as good communication skills, an ability to stay focused on getting things done and a desire to help others to succeed, he says.
"You want to let it be known that you're ambitious, but don't be cocky," Pigat says.
He also suggests it's a good idea to find a more senior manager to serve as a mentor or to lead a project at work.
One of the biggest mistakes of workers considering a management job: "They often think it's easier than it is," Pigat says.
Another big error: Assuming that just because you have top-notch skills in a certain area that you'll be a good manager. Having the latest technical skills won't be enough when you have colleagues fighting like children or the company tells you to lay off underperformers, he says.
"People often forget that managers have managers," he says. "But you've always got to be a steady ship even if you're getting it from above and below."
If you would like to develop skills that position you for management and ensure you won't become fodder for Dilbert cartoons, then try these exercises:
Hone communication skills • Consider Toastmaster's International or some public-speaking classes to help you project your message in a confident way.
You need to learn to learn skills such as persuasive speaking techniques and how to give talks confidently in front of groups of people.
Join associations • Rubbing elbows with other managers at industry conferences or communicating with them via Twitter or LinkedIn are good ways to cast yourself in a more managerial light.
It's also a chance to develop a relationship with more seasoned professionals.
Anita Bruzzese can be reached c/o Gannett ContentOne, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Va. 22107. | <urn:uuid:277c26ad-e2a3-47b1-bccf-7544bb87dec6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/55533105-79/says-job-skills-manager.html.csp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975261 | 706 | 1.5625 | 2 |
According to recent studies, many of us are eating more than twice the recommended amounts of sugar each day--and most don’t even realize it. That’s because most of today’s packaged foods, drinks and snacks contain added sugar, and not just a little. At the end of the day, it all adds up to sugar overload.
Moreover, this overload can easily sabotage your health. Many health experts believe that consuming too much sugar is fueling the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and many other health problems.
How Much is Too Much
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting the amount of added sugars to no more than half of your daily “discretionary calorie allowance.” (These calories consist of fats and sugars.)
So, here’s your daily sugar limits:
- Women – No more than 100 calories per day which equals 6 teaspoons or 24 grams of sugar.
- Men – No more that 150 calories per day which equals 9 teaspoons or 36 grams of sugar.
- Children – The AHA has not established a limit but the CDC recommends no more than 5-15% of total calories should come from discretionary fats and sugars depending on the child’s age and other factors.
Just one can of regular soda which contains eight teaspoons of sugar and 130 calories puts most of us at our limit. In fact, most added sugars in our diets come from sweetened drinks. Other culprits are candy, flavored dairy products like chocolate milk and ice cream and baked goods like cookies, cakes and pies. Researchers estimate that about 41% of added sugars in our diets come from drinks and the rest from foods.
A recent study found that the average teenage boy consumes about 362 calories a day from added sugar which equates to 17.5 percent of all calories. That’s a whopping 90.5 grams of sugar or over 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day!
In addition to the obvious offenders, you’ll find sugar in almost all processed foods—from breakfast cereals to spaghetti sauce. However, it can be a little difficult to determine how much sugars are added to foods as current “nutrition facts” labels only list the total amount of sugar per serving. It doesn’t separate the sugars that are naturally in some foods versus sugars that are added. Luckily, there are some tricks you can use to figure out how much of total sugars is added sugars:
- Read the ingredients list and scan for any type of sugar including: molasses, honey, corn syrup (HFCS), maltose, sucrose, fructose, glucose, dextrose, galactose, or invert sugar. As ingredients are listed in order of weight, the higher these sugars are on the list, the more sugar there is in proportion to the other ingredients.
- Look for the words “no sugar added” on the package. Some food producers are waking up to the sugar overload problem and are offering more foods without added sugar.
- Sometimes you can also compare the same whole food to its processed cousin to determine how much sugars have been added. For example, a container of old fashioned rolled oats that lists only one ingredient—oats, has less than one gram of sugar per ¼ cup (40g). That one gram represents the natural sugars in the oatmeal. Then look at the flavored, sweetened individual packets of oatmeal. Some contain as much as much as 12-16 grams of sugar. Therefore, 11-15 grams have been added. That’s about three to four teaspoons of added sugar.
Tips to Cut Sugar
- Reduce or eliminate the amount of sugar added to things you eat or drink regularly like cereal, pancakes, coffee or tea. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add by half and wean down from there.
- Buy fresh fruits or fruits canned in water or natural juice. Avoid fruit canned in syrup, especially heavy syrup.
- Instead of adding sugar to cereal or oatmeal, add fresh fruit (try bananas, cherries or strawberries) or dried fruit (raisins, cranberries or apricots).
- When baking cookies, brownies or cakes, cut the sugar called for in your recipe by one-third to one-half. Often you won’t notice the difference.
- Instead of adding sugar in recipes, use extracts such as almond, vanilla, orange or lemon.
- Enhance foods with spices instead of sugar; try ginger, allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg.
- Substitute unsweetened applesauce for sugar in recipes (use equal amounts).
American Heart Association | <urn:uuid:2a319865-cf29-4295-bef4-93cc9da8b0d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.cncahealth.com/?tag=/hidden+sugar | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919319 | 956 | 3.1875 | 3 |
The Arabs in Jerusalem can be seen wearing many different head dress styles. The keffiyeh means “kerchief” or scarf in English.
Many Palestinian men and women wear keffiyeh of cotton and wool mix, which lets them dry quickly and help keep the head warm in winter. The keffiyeh is usually folded in half, into a triangle, and the fold is worn across the forehead.
The black-and-white keffiyeh is a symbol of Palestinian heritage.
The red-and-white keffiyeh is worn throughout the Arab regions, but is most strongly associated with Jordan, where it is known as shmagh mhadab.
Here are some different examples of keffiyeh worn by Arabs in Jerusalem.
Many Christian Arab women also cover their heads. Their head coverings usually signify their religious order and are not worn as symbols of nationality. In recent years, some Palestinian Christian Arab men and youths, have begun to wear Palestinian national keffiyehs as scarves if not as head coverings.
Keffiyeh is often spelled kefiyah, kaffiyah, keffiya, kaffiya, and kufiya depending on dialect and region. | <urn:uuid:d7dabcc6-d4cb-4fba-a7aa-a61f49b3e90e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://holyexposures.com/wordpress/2008/10/10/arab-kefiyah-keffiyeh-headress-in-many-styles/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966038 | 261 | 3.078125 | 3 |
UN-HABITAT, ADB and government of Lao PDR agree on the benefits and synergy of a partnership. The dialogue with the government and ADB, has already resulted in agreement on a joint initiative on the recently approved ADB-funded Northern and Central Regions Water Supply Development Project. UN-HABITAT will be providing $0.5 million capacity building assistance to this $25 million project for water supply and sanitation improvements in secondary towns. The capacity building will cover aspects such as operation and maintenance, customer relations, household sanitation, community participation in operation and maintenance, accounting and management, the development of community action teams, and land acquisition and resettlement.
The Capacity Building Initiative will cover:
- Operation and maintenance
- Customer relations
- household sanitation
- community participation in operation and maintenance,
- accounting and management
- Development of Community action teams
- Land Management
In line with the emerging strategic framework for collaboration between ADB and UN-HABITAT, and building on the success of the joint initiative for the Northern and Central Regions Water Supply Development Project. | <urn:uuid:d17b0883-fccd-4cdd-adf6-90b9bbf11985> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=3199&catid=49&typeid=13 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918932 | 223 | 1.59375 | 2 |
End Homophobia wrist band, Dec 2010. © Felix Masi/Demotix
The Ugandan Parliament is right now preparing to debate the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which, if passed, would entrench hatred and discrimination against those who are or believed to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).
This discriminatory bill goes much further than the Ugandan Penal Code which already outlaws consensual sex between individuals of the same sex. In its current draft, life sentences may be imposed for consensual sexual conduct between people of the same sex and even more worryingly it may still even allow the use of the death penalty for the offence of “aggravated homosexuality”.
LGBT people in Uganda have been endlessly harassed, attacked and kept under close surveillance. They are already frequently evicted from their homes, have their offices broken into and get accused of ‘recruiting’ children to become gay. Bringing in legislation to further target and persecute LGBT people will only see this treatment worsen.
We urgently need you to put pressure on the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to stop the Bill from being passed. | <urn:uuid:082c2078-2a68-46a7-be59-f73b21a314d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amnesty.org/es/node/35526 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965193 | 232 | 1.773438 | 2 |
THE REAL FACTS ABOUT WELLBUTRIN/ZYBAN AKA BUPROPION
February 2, 2003
Currently, the man-made drug Wellbutrin is being marketed as a weight-loss pill. Previously, it has been prescribed for depression and to curve the craving for nicotine. Because of its broad applications and popularity as a prescription drug we made an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of action. Afterall, a drug with so many benefits must elicit amazing responses within the body.
Unfortunately, after reviewing the scientific literature we ended up where we started, nowhere. With relation to Wellbutrin as a potential weight loss pill the recent study, reported in July's Obesity Research, was paid for by the drug's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline.(1) It seems that "subjects who completed 48 weeks of use maintained mean losses of initial body weight of 7.5% and 8.6% for bupropion SR 300 and 400 mg/d." (Obes Res 2002 Jul;10(7):633-641)
Looking closer at the actions of the drug, Clinical Pharmacology gave what seems to be a warning rather than a mechanism of action. "Bupropion is a novel antidepressant whose mechanism of action must still be elucidated."(2) And Further, "The mechanism of action of the novel antidepressant bupropion remains unclear after many years of study."(3,4)
The Journal of Clinical Psychology did shed some light on the subject. "Bupropion is widely distributed to tissues and extensively metabolized by oxidation and reduction to at least six metabolites, some of which may be active. Bupropion does not inhibit monoamine oxidase, exerts no effect on serotonin uptake, and minimally alters the reuptake of norepinephrine at presynaptic sites. It does not appear to exert action leading to postsynaptic beta-adrenergic down-regulation, and it has minimal inhibitory effects on presynaptic dopamine uptake."(5)
O.K. the scientists have made it clear that they dont know how Wellbutrin works in the body. So, why are Doctors prescribing it? Well, mabye because its safe, right?
Wrong, Wellbutrin was withdrawn in 1986 because of an unacceptable incidence of seizures. It was released back to the market in 1986 for unknown reasons. We discovered that 6.1% of users suffer from withdrawals due to adverse events based on clinical studies. Additionally, all of the Wellbutrin related seizures occurred in patients who were taking what was considered to be a therapeutic dose or 450 mg/day or less. However, real life data is suggesting much higher rates of adverse reactions.
Wellbutrin is the third leading cause of drug related seizures with cocaine being number one.(6) Health Canada and GlaxoSmithKline (the same company who funded the aforementioned weight loss study) received 1127 reports of adverse reactions to Wellbutrin between May 1998 and May 28, 2001. Among these were 19 deaths and 172 reports of seizures or convulsions. Worse, the Medicines Control Agency (equivalent to FDA) of Britain has confirmed 18 deaths and received reports of 3,457 patients complaining of adverse reactions in the last year!
Despite these staggering figures, the number of children being prescribed Wellbutrin jumped 195% between 1995-1999!(7) Somebody should be tried and convicted!
Nonetheless, we still have so-called experts making erroneous claims: "This is a drug that people have taken for many years to treat depression with few problems or side effects." said Dr. Richard Atkinson, president of the American Obesity Association.
This blatant lie reminds me of the following statement made by the chairman of California Medicine, Dr. Ian Macdonald and published in U.S. News & World Report, "One could modify an old slogan: A pack a day keeps lung cancer away." He was referring to cigarettes.
Fortunately, safe alternatives to playing Russion Roulette with a pill are abundant. These alternatives of course vary with each individual. Find someone who understands history, the human body, nature and bit about chemistry and your on your way to healthy living. Centuries of recorded information guarantee it!
1. Health Policy Journal Health Affairs. July 9th, 2002. Reported by Larry Lipman.
2. Clin Pharm 1983 Nov-Dec;2(6):525-37
3. J Clin Psychiatry 1995 Sep; 56(9):395-401
4. Neuropharmacology 1983 Nov;22(11):1257-67
5. J Clin Psychiatry 1983 May;44(5 Pt 2):74-8
6. J Emerg Med 2002 Apr;22(3):235-9 J
7. JAMA, April 17, 2002 - Vol 287, No. 15
allows his clients to live naturally healthy for life with natural medicine! Learn more by visiting http://www.health-fx.net
© 2003 Shane Ellison - All Rights Reserved
Shane holds a Master's degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand industry experience with drug research, design and synthesis. He is committed to raising health awareness by exposing the shocking and sometimes-frightening truth behind FDA approved drugs, sports supplements, and natural medicine. Combined, his unique experience allows his clients to live naturally healthy for life with natural medicine! Learn more by visiting http://www.health-fx.net | <urn:uuid:232fc324-bd43-4fe1-9db5-46dfac00117a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newswithviews.com/Ellison/shane3.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943916 | 1,118 | 2.125 | 2 |
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, September 4, 1912: Same as yesterday.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
The previous day, she’d written:
Nothing doing today.
Sounds like a slow couple of days in Grandma’s life.
I wonder if Grandma’s mother was busy preserving foods for the upcoming winter months while Grandma in school. . . or did she wait until Saturday for major canning projects when she had her daughters home to help.
Maybe she made Bread and Butter Pickles.
Bread and Butter Pickles
8 cups cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 cups onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons salt
2 cups vinegar
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons turmeric
3 inches stick cinnamon
2 teaspoons celery seed
4 peppers (red and green), finely diced
Mix cucumbers, onions, and salt together in a large ceramic bowl or casserole dish. Let stand two hours; drain. In a large pan mix together vinegar, sugar, turmeric, cinnamon, celery seed, and peppers. Bring to a boil. Put in drained cucumbers and onions. Boil for 15 minutes. Jar and seal.
Makes about 3 1/2 pints. (I usually double the recipe, but it requires a very large pan.)
Note: Small thinly sliced zucchini or yellow summer squash can be substituted for the cucumbers for excellent pickled squash.
I make this recipe almost every summer and they always turn out great.
(I probably should note that this recipe isn’t from my side of the family. I got this old recipe from my mother-in-law, but it is a typical traditional Pennsylvania recipe. In any case, the pickles are really good. ) | <urn:uuid:b65654f4-557e-4949-9498-834ed011e95b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ahundredyearsago.com/2012/09/04/old-bread-and-butter-pickles-recipe/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=b69a1c208a | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938824 | 385 | 2.03125 | 2 |
South Korean Shamans Fluidly Absorb Cultural Change
A NEW BOOK FROM AN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ANTHROPOLOGIST
EXPLORES TRADITIONAL SPIRITUALITY IN A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING WORLD
As the Republic of Korea—spurred by the world's fastest-growing economy from the 1960s to the 1990s—has rapidly developed, shamans and the rituals they perform have adapted to their new hyper-modern landscape and transformed their work in the process. During this time, the South Korean countryside has almost completely disappeared, old shrines have been crowded out by urban development, clients turn to cell phones to connect to shamans, and most shamans now chant, sing, and mime their rituals in anonymous rented commercial space. While old village women once judged the competence of aspiring shamans, today's clients often do not know what to expect from a shamanic ritual. Decades ago, rituals redressed domestic conflicts or illness. Today, shamans are often hired to relieve business-related anxiety. After thirty years of fieldwork that began in a rural village and recently moved to cities, Laurel Kendall, curator and division chair of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, explores in a new book how shamans have absorbed the profound changes in their culture to remain relevant.
"The shamans manifest gods whose anger wreaks havoc but whose benevolence brings boundless fortune, an idea of volatile divine intervention that is suitable for both the 21st century's global economy and the business problems experienced by small entrepreneurs," says Kendall. "Skillful shamans deal with people's needs, fear, and anxiety about doing business in a risky environment."
Shamans are religious practitioners who engage the spirits on behalf of the community, either by journeying to other realms or by bringing them into the here and now by manifesting them in their own bodies, in the case of South Korean shamans. To Kendall, this is an inherently adaptable, creative domain of religious practice because spirits report from "out there."
"Korean shaman rituals are the opposite of Confucian ancestor veneration as practiced in many South Korean homes—the Emily Post of rituals," says Kendall. "Confucian ancestors are a mute presence. But in shaman ritual, gods, ancestors, and ghosts are anything but quiet. They act out the client family's own history and speak to the family's most immediate needs and concerns. A skilled Korean shaman, and the spirits she evokes, cause the client weep and laugh. It is a cathartic experience, a sacred theater that acts on people's lives, a religious psycho-drama."
Kendall first became interested in Korean shamans after watching a female shaman, fantastically dressed and possessed by a very angry deity, "grab the man of the house by the ear and give him a tongue lashing." She decided that she wanted to know "how the shaman got away with it." Kendall's first book, Shamans, Housewives, and Other Restless Spirits (1985), framed shamanism as it was at the time: as an integral part of village life. Interested in why people turned to shamans and how shamans helped their clients, Kendall found that women sought shamans to take care of the family's pantheon of gods and to gain blessings for the household. The ritual, or kut, helped members of a household work through their problems, deal with an illness, and less frequently relieve money worries. The kut were as surprising and varied as the individual households in which they took place.
Kendall's new book discusses the recent changes to the kut as a reflection of how South Koreans have engaged with their changing society. Many people have moved to cities and to apartment blocks with little residential space; rooms are too narrow to accommodate dancing shamans, and neighbors complain about the accompanying drum and cymbals. At the same time, urban South Koreans, like city people elsewhere, are less likely to know their neighbors than village people did, and prefer to not air their dirty linen in a public shamanic ritual. Consequently, clients, shamans, and others now pile into vans or SUVs with their costumes, equipment, and offering food—which sometimes includes an entire steamed pig—to drive to a commercial shrine for the kut.
The new lack of social and physical context in kut leads to a new set of worries among clients. Although they feel the need to engage the services of a shaman, few clients have seen shamans in action and are uncertain how to judge a shaman's competence and diagnosis. Another change brought by the fluid, developed country is that most kut are now held to address business failure, the quirkiness of the market, or anxiety about money in general. Kendall found that about two thirds of rituals currently performed address these concerns rather than more personal needs.
"In the 21st century, with a global economy, the complexity of international trade, and the need to work through middlemen, there is a huge dimension of unknown in the lives of small business people," says Kendall. "The kut gives these South Koreans an image of possible blessing to carry with them into their risky lives."
"A poetic imagery of contemporary aspirations emerges in a contemporary kut when the gods sing of Ôraising tall buildings,' promise customers who Ôpay with credit and not cash,' and evoke the sound of shop door constantly opening to admit more customers," Kendall continues. "Korean shamans (and their spirits) have much to tell us about hopes and anxieties of contemporary South Koreas. They underscore the creativity and adaptability of popular religious responses to an uncertain world."
Kendall is grateful to shamans like "Yongsu's Mother" and their clients discussed in Shamans, Nostalgias, and the IMF: South Korean Popular Religion in Motion (University of Hawaii Press; November 2009). Research trips to Korea were funded by the Jane Belo-Tannenbaum Fund of the American Museum of Natural History with supplemental support from the Korea Research Foundation and the Northeast Asia Area Council of the Association for Asian Studies.
Media Inquiries: Department of Communications, 212-769-5800 | <urn:uuid:f1c63750-cb20-4bf9-91ec-30bd670fc209> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amnh.org/our-research/science-news/2010/south-korean-shamans-fluidly-absorb-cultural-change | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964813 | 1,278 | 2.796875 | 3 |
After only one year in the dairy farming business, a Clarenville couple has received a prestigious agricultural award.
Jeff and Connie Peddle, owners of Riverbend Dairy in Lethbridge, were named winners of the Daphne Taylor Milk Quality Award of Excellence on Saturday, Nov. 17, during the Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador AGM in Corner Brook.
According to the Department of Natural Resources website, The Daphne Taylor Milk Quality Award of Excellence is based on equipment maintenance, milk cleanliness, appearance and health of the cow herd, barns and general landscaping. All dairy producers are eligible, as they collect points for specific criteria over the full year.
The award is named in honour of the late Daphne Taylor, a dairy producer from the West coast of the province, who was avid volunteer in the agriculture industry. She passed away in 1996.
The couple says they are still in shock. When Keith Deering, assistant deputy minister in the forestry and agrifoods agency called their names during his speech, it was unexpected.
“We were just there like, ‘that’s us!’” Connie told The Packet. “We were caught off guard. We weren’t expecting to win anything like that the first year.”
For Jeff, farming has always been in his blood.
“My grandfather started the vegetable farm, and then my parents had the vegetable farm. I worked with them for 20 years,” explained Jeff. “Now we have greenhouses, Bayview Gardens. We started that 18 years ago, and began dairy farming last year.”
It proved to be a great transition.
“I just like animals,” said Jeff, adding, “I used to raise beef cows.”
Dairy farming involves year-round monthly production, and a lot of hard work. The Peddle’s farm milks about 40 cows per day. They have about 67 animals, which includes milk cows, dry cows and replacements that will enter the herd in the future. Their farm can produce up to 1,200-litres of milk per day.
The couple attributes the recognition to the dedication of their staff.
“For us, that award was a team effort,” said Connie. “It’s no one thing or one person, it’s definitely a team effort and it involves different aspects of the farm.”
Having the right technology plays a role as well. Although farming still requires a lifestyle of labour and love, computerized equipment makes achieving quality and safety standards in the industry far simpler than it was years ago. For instance, automated sanitation and monitoring devices are now the norm in milk production facilities.
“You just press a few buttons and that’s all,” explained Jeff. “We’ll go over in the morning about quarter-to-six, and usually when I get out of the truck, you can hear the system coming on to begin sanitizing.
“Then we have a time temperature recorder over on the wall, which is industry standard. That checks your wash water temperature, the length of wash, and any abnormalities in your system.”
The Peddles are not exactly sure what factors led to them being selected for the first place prize, but they are happy to have the support and encouragement of other farmers in the region.
“I gotta say, the other producers in the industry, they’re all there for you and you can call them up when you have a problem, and you can ask them, ‘well what would you do with this?’ and get a point of view from this one and that one. And so it’s great that way — there is a lot of support there.”
Two other local farms also shared success at the AGM.
Jeff and Olive Greening of Sunrise Dairy in Musgravetown, and Cliff and Pam Pelley of Harcourt Farm tied for second place. These farms are both past winners as well.
Between 1997 and 2010, Harcourt Farms took home the first place award four times, the second place award four times, and the third place award once. Sunrise Dairy placed second in the award twice in the same period as well.
The third place award at this year’s AGM went to Headline Holsteins in Deer Lake. | <urn:uuid:8452b098-e87b-4009-b846-063b3149c836> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thetelegram.com/Business/2012-12-03/article-3132151/Local-milk-producers-win-prestigious-award/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968069 | 923 | 1.570313 | 2 |
(NaturalNews) An estimated one in seven hospital patients suffer an adverse reaction to a drug they are prescribed there, with many of those reactions caused by drug combination effects, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital Trust, and published in the journal PLoS One
The researchers observed more than 3,000 patients at 12 hospital wards for a period of six months. They found that taking a larger number of drugs placed patients at a much higher risk of dangerous side effects, and that adverse reactions were most common among the elderly.
"A significant predictor of adverse drug reactions in hospitals is the number of medications a patient is taking; each additional drug treatment increases the risk of experiencing an adverse drug reaction," said researcher Munir Pirmohamed. "This is one of the reasons why elderly people experience a higher incidence of reactions than young people, as they have more health conditions and generally take more medications."
In more than 80 percent of cases, the drug that caused the adverse reaction was first given to the patient inside the hospital. The most common culprits were anticoagulants (blood thinners), analgesics (painkillers) and diuretics.
Patients who had adverse reactions ended up spending an average of six hours longer in the hospital than those who did not. Reactions ranged from the relatively mild, such as constipation, to more severe effects such as confusion, drug-resistant infection, kidney damage or internal bleeding. Over the course of the study, 14 patients died in part due to adverse drug
reactions, and one was killed directly by such a reaction.
"There is no easy solution, but we can and have to do better as it is putting a burden on the National Health Service," Pirmohamed said. "Hospitals should look to improve their monitoring of patients and doctors should also consider in what situations patients are given drugs
, how long they are put on them and consider if it is always necessary. It is vital that doctors and patients understand the need to regularly review prescriptions and personally tailor treatment to clinical need."
Sources for this story include: www.telegraph.co.uk;
Have comments on this article? Post them here:
people have commented on this article. | <urn:uuid:9af800a3-33de-4543-93fb-7997cfd14d85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.naturalnews.com/026026_drug_patients_drugs.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970094 | 471 | 2.703125 | 3 |
The foetus is fully formed at the end of the sixth month. The womb then enters the incubation period. All the baby's bodily organs and systems develop fully during that time, and the womb accelerates this growth by providing nourishment for the foetus. This period continues until the baby emerges from the mother's womb.
The birth canal is normally very narrow and it is difficult for the foetus to pass through it. During birth, however, a number of physiological changes take place in the mother's body. These changes allow the foetus to move easily through the birth canal. Some of these changes include: the expansion of the joints in the pelvic bones in order to widen the birth canal, the relaxation of the muscles to further widen the canal and the lubrication of the canal with amniotic fluid.92 These pre-birth changes are described in one scientific source in these terms:
As birth approaches, the amniotic fluid embarks on those activities that will be necessary to facilitate that birth. This fluid comprises sacs, which will enlarge the mouth of the womb, thus allowing the womb to assume the dimensions to allow the baby to pass. These sacs also prevent the foetus from being crushed in the womb during birth. Furthermore, when the sacs burst and release their fluid at the commencement of birth, the path to be taken by the foetus is both lubricated and sterilised. In this way, birth takes place easier and in a manner naturally free of germs.93
This series of occurrences is openly indicated in the verse of the Qur'an, "Then He eases the way for him." (Qur'an, 80:20) However, it has been possible today to determine these physiological changes-which Allah informed us of 1,400 years ago-only with the use of a number of technological devices. | <urn:uuid:816f52b3-a5ea-4ae5-aebe-201fc182b612> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.harunyahya.com/en/works/27392/Pregnancy_and_birth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94784 | 377 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Troy Davis received a stay of execution on Tuesday less than two hours before he was due to be put to death by lethal injection in Georgia. Troy Davis has been on death row for 17 years for a murder he maintains he did not commit.
The US Supreme Court issued the stay to allow it to meet on Monday to consider whether to hear Troy Davis’s appeal from a March 2008 ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court. The Georgia court had ruled 4-3 against ordering a new trial or a court hearing to present the post-conviction evidence.
In an opinion dissenting from this decision, the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court, joined by two other Justices, wrote that “In this case, nearly every witness who identified Davis as the shooter at trial has now disclaimed his or her ability to do so reliably. Three persons have stated that Sylvester Coles confessed to being the shooter.
"Two witnesses have stated that Sylvester Coles, contrary to his trial testimony, possessed a handgun immediately after the murder. Another witness has provided a description of the crimes that might indicate that Sylvester Coles was the shooter.”
The Chief Justice wrote that “the collective effect of all of Davis’s new testimony, if it were to be found credible by the trial court in a hearing, would show the probability that a new jury would find reasonable doubt of Davis’s guilt or a least sufficient residual doubt to decline to impose the death penalty.”
Troy Davis was convicted in 1991 of the murder of 27-year-old Officer Mark Allen MacPhail who was shot and killed in the car park of a Burger King restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, in the early hours of 19 August 1989. Davis was also convicted of assaulting Larry Young, a homeless man, who was accosted immediately before Officer MacPhail was shot.
At the trial, Troy Davis admitted that he had been at the scene of the shooting, but claimed that he had neither assaulted Larry Young nor shot Officer MacPhail. There was no physical evidence against Troy Davis and the weapon used in the crime was never found.
The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony. In affidavits signed over the years since the trial, a majority of the state’s witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony. In addition, there is post-trial testimony implicating another man as the gunman.
The stay of execution will stay in force while the US Supreme Court considers whether to take the case. If it decides not to, the stay “shall terminate automatically” and the State of Georgia could set a new execution date. If the Court agrees to hear the appeal, the stay will remain in force until the Court issues its final ruling on Davis’s petition.
Many tens of thousands of people in the USA and around the world have appealed for clemency for Troy Davis. Among them were former President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pope Benedict XVI; the European Union, the European Parliament, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe; former FBI Director William Sessions, and former and current members of US Congress Bob Barr, Carol Moseley Braun and John Lewis. In this last week, as the execution approached, media attention on the case has remained high.
International standards prohibit the execution of anyone whose guilt is in doubt. Amnesty International opposes Troy Davis’s execution unconditionally, regardless of questions of guilt or innocence, as it does all use of the death penalty. | <urn:uuid:f9067b6a-9520-4e6e-89e6-eef848620cae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/stay-execution-troy-davis-20080924 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979135 | 719 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Many people think rabbits and hares are the same....wrong! Although they belong to the same scientific family, hares have longer, stronger legs and bigger ears. Rabbits are born without any fur (brrrr!), while hares are born, well...hairy, and with full vision. Rabbits, on the other hand, don't usually open their eyes for their first seven to ten days. Their homes are different, too. Wild rabbits burrow, hopping around in underground towns called warrens, while hares live alone in simple, shallow holes.
Scientific name: Oryctolagus cuniculus
Size: There are more than 60 different types of domestic rabbits. The small breeds are two to six pounds; medium breeds are six to nine pounds; large breeds are nine to 11 pounds; and giant breeds weigh more than 11 pounds....that's a lot of rabbit!
Lifespan: Seven to ten years.
Colors/varieties: The most popular breed in the United States is the Dutch rabbit, who weighs about four pounds and usually has a white face with black, blue or brown on his back and head—this is called a saddle. The largest breed is the Flemish Giant. This big boy weighs more than 13 pounds.
There's a lot of variety among rabbits. You can have a bunny with a long, thin nose and short, stubby ears, like a Mini-Rex or Netherland dwarf. Then there are rabbits with long, droopy ears and flat noses, like a German lop. Some are super furry and soft, like the Cashmere breed, while others, such as the Rex or Tan, are sleek and fuzzy.
Your bunny should be spayed, if she's a female, or neutered, if he's a male.
Hay there, got any food? Hay is the best food to give your rabbit. Start a baby rabbit out on alfalfa hay and work up to grass hay. Your pet will also like special rabbit pellets, available from a pet supply store. Give small rabbits 1/4 cup of pellets a day; larger rabbits get 1/2 cup. Pellets are a good source of nutrients and energy, but don't overfeed or you'll have a fat bunny!
Rabbits are total vegetarians, and yours will need two to four cups of fresh veggies every day. Feed green veggies such as dandelion leaves, spinach, parsley, broccoli and collard greens. You can also try root vegetables, such as carrots (just like Bugs likes!), turnips, parsnips and celery. Add in a little bit of fruit, such as apple or tomato. Just make sure everything is chopped up nice and small.
Home, Sweet Home
Your rabbit should live indoors. His hutch should be at least four feet wide, two feet deep and two feet tall for small and medium bunny breeds—and larger if your rabbit is a big guy! Wire-bottom cages are common, but they sometimes can really hurt a bunny's feet. If you already have a hutch with a wire bottom, cover the bottom with a piece of wood or thick cardboard. Put down plenty of straw and wood shavings so your pet can make a nest.
Your rabbit loves to eat! He may spend a lot of the day munching away on food, but be sure to only feed him twice daily—once in the morning and once at night. He'll also need to drink a lot of water, so make sure his water bottle is always full.
We're not gonna call anyone a slob, but rabbits can be very messy. They love to burrow, chew, nibble and poop and just have a blast, so you'll need to clean your pet's cage once or twice a week. First, put your rabbit in a safe room or other cage. Next, sweep out the cage and scrub the hutch floor with warm, soapy water and disinfectant. When it's dry, add new hay, straw and wood chips.
Fun and Games
Who're you calling a scaredy cat? Your new rabbit might be a bit timid at first. Talk to him so he'll get to know your voice. After a couple of days, handfeed him some pellets. Make sure he's not disturbed by loud noises.
To pick up your rabbit, place one hand on his neck and scoop up his bottom. Hold him secure near your chest. He'll probably start to love this special time with you, but if he ever squirms, put him down.
Every day is play day for your rabbit! Let yours out to explore and get himself used to your world. You'll have to supervise, of course, and please be sure to bunny-proof the room first. That means putting any loose electrical wires or anything else he could (but shouldn't!) chew out of sight. Your pet may even follow you around to see what you're doing. He should have about two to three hours of exercise outside his cage every day.
Run, rabbit, run! You can let your rabbit play in your backyard when the weather is nice, but ONLY if you supervise and if you have a fence. Make sure that neighborhood animals can't get near your bunny.
Fluff-n-stuff: Your bunny will enjoy a good brushing, especially if he's really hairy, like an Angora or Cashmere rabbit. Brush from the back of the head down to his tail. Use slow, even strokes. Don't be surprised if you notice him licking himself clean like a cat!
Why can't we be friends? Other companion animals might want to get to know your bunny, and you can introduce them—just do it carefully. Be ready to pick up your rabbit the moment he looks scared or uncomfortable. Other rabbits will make better roommates for him, but make sure they are brothers or sisters. Don't keep male and female rabbits together—they often fight, or they could have babies.
What's a rabbit to do? Chew, chew, chew! A rabbit's front teeth never stop growing, so he'll need something to gnaw on...all the time! Don't let your bunny chomp on your parent's new sofa or on the exotic plants in the garden. Instead, give him his own special chew toys, such as an old phone book, a log that hasn't been painted or sprayed with chemicals, or a fallen branch from an apple or cherry tree. | <urn:uuid:397768d4-3196-4579-957c-17a854b0a080> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aspca.org/aspcakids/pet-care/rabbit-care.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967132 | 1,335 | 2.9375 | 3 |
(Travel scams, brilliantly…)
NEW DELHI: Our city recently made it to a top ten list of global cities, but not for reasons we should be proud of. Travel scams, brilliantly complex and unarguably rampant, have given New Delhi a spot in the world's top cities travellers love to hate.
Hate may seem like a strong word, and the city's reputation an exaggeration, but tourists' experiences here confirm New Delhi's number eight position on the CNNGo list isn't unwarranted. Whether it's the ingenious "poop scam", detailed train station scams, or the routine fleecing, every tourist has a story to share. Cheating here, it seems, is so ubiquitous that tourists believe it's in our DNA. "Everybody here cheats. Your government cheats you, and you con us," says Bryan, from Liverpool, England.
Marthy Locht, who's here from Belgium with her partner of nine years, says they were tricked many times at the train station — rickshawpullers dropped them at the wrong place four times, and people at the station told them the official office had moved. "You start mistrusting everybody, because you never know who is trying to rip you off," says Locht.
Vijay Thakur, immediate past president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, says the nexus of touts is most prevalent at airports and train stations. "It starts at the airport luggage belt, and from there on tourists encounter touts ready to con them at every stage. They cook up all sorts of stories to get their cut," he says.
Blogs and travel forums online are rife with horror stories from trips to the city, and warnings and tips for people who decide to go on the adventure. Entries that go as far back as the nineties show nothing has changed — tricksters continue to use tried-and-tested methods to dupe unsuspecting tourists.
"I've been to about 50 Indian cities, but Delhi is the most consistent in its attempt to cheat tourists," says James Hendicott, a freelance music and travel writer from the UK. He, however, argues that the problem may not necessarily be with the city, but the fact it's the entry point for every tourist. "There are more opportunities to swindle inexperienced tourists," he says.
Hendicott, who has learnt a lot about the city in his seven visits here, has written about his experiences extensively online, but nothing can prepare a first-time visitor. "We heard about the beauty, colourful saris and vibrant culture, but also about the cows in the middle of the road, bad smells, and food that won't let us leave the toilet," says Suzanne Liewald, a gardener from Germany. Though she was on her guard, within a day she got a fake Rs 500 note from a money exchange, and was swindled by a rickshawpuller.
Bryan exclaims the rickshaw drivers make him not want to return. But he's been here 15 times, so clearly something in the city compels him to make repeated trips. "Even with the chaos and corruption, the city just works," he says. "It's absolutely crazy!" laughs Miroslav Dvorsky, a student from the Czech Republic, "just look around you!"
'Delhi belly' notwithstanding, tourists here cannot get enough of the street food either - golden jalebis, fresh pakodas, crisp samosas. Another favourite is aaloo gobhi. "I've been here five times and have never fallen sick," says Dvorsky, as he gorges on a plate of aloo chaat and chutney. Many have also learnt to take the trickery and overcharging in their stride. "Everybody tries to sell you something at high prices, but we accept it. It's just a chance for them to make money they need," says German tourist Waltrand Munkler. | <urn:uuid:bebf40a5-cc1a-4897-9e3c-023b79574395> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-10/delhi/33736495_1_travel-scams-tourists-train-station | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973855 | 822 | 1.5 | 2 |
December 11, 2012 3:54 pm
Want your name to pursue in the form of a fossil, sloth, weed, shell or newt long after you’ve departed this Earth? Simply get elected president, and you’ll have a fair chance of some newly discovered creature inheriting your moniker. This week, Yale and Harvard scientists announced the latest in a line of presidential animals: Obamadon gracilis, a small, insect-eating lizard from the badlands of northeastern Montana that disappeared some 65 million years ago.
The researchers discovered the species while reexamining some old fossil collections. A small creature with a slender jaw seemed fit for the presidency, they thought, though they waited until after the election to make their announcement. “I was seriously thinking, if the election had gone the other way, I would have yanked it,” one of the scientists told Boston.com. “It might have seemed like we were mocking it, naming a lizard that goes extinct after that, seemed kind of cruel.”
Obama is not the first president to be bestowed with such an honor. There’s Agathidium bushi, George W. Bush’s namesake beetle, and Cervus canadensis roosevelti, Theodore Roosevelt’s own majestic elk. Thomas Jefferson got Chesapecten jeffersonius, a an extinct mollusk with a pretty shell, as well as Jeffersonia, aka the rheumatism root and Megalonyx jeffersonii, a prehistoric giant sloth whose name translates into “great claw.” The list goes on. Indeed, the Obamadon is not even president Obama’s first play at this species-naming game. In 2009, researchers announced the discovery of Caloplaca obamae, a type of often sterile lichen that cows like to graze on, and, more recently, a different group of ecologist and biologist introduced the Etheostoma obama, a small spangled darter.
More from Smithsonian.com:
Sign up for our free email newsletter and receive the best stories from Smithsonian.com each week. | <urn:uuid:f05323e9-5b64-4419-a33b-5b9385ea6517> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2012/12/how-to-get-an-ancient-lizard-named-after-you-get-elected-president/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938345 | 453 | 2.671875 | 3 |
previous post about color palettes I showed examples of a basic or limited palette. I thought I would continue this topic by demonstrating how to create a wide range of colors using a palette of just a few colors. This can help us gain a better understanding of mixing color and how the pigments work together.
Today, I will use a limited color palette I teach my students to show that most colors can be mixed from just four paints.
The Color Palette
Here is the color palette. It is based of of the primary colors and white.
We can start creating some colors by mixing a green, violet, and orange. Below you will find examples mixing the paints to get a desired color. The specific properties of the final result will depend on how much of each paint we combine.
To get different versions of brown I can vary the amounts of Aliziran Crimson, Cadmium Yellow, and Ultramarine Blue I add to the mix.
Since we are using a palette with a limited range in paint choices the colors we use to make black will be the same colors we use to make brown. Like creating the different browns making black depends on how much of each color we add.
Browns will have more Aliziran Crimson and Cadmium Yellow than Ultramarine Blue. Black will have a higher ratio of blue as compared to the red and yellow.
Just like the grays we can create a tint by adding white to the color we created.
Mixing Muted Colors
One way of muting a color is to add the complement to it. Since this palette is based off of the primary colors if we mix two paints together, the third color will be the complement.
Add Aliziran Crimson to mute
We can see that with this palette we can mix a wide variety of colors. One advantage mixing these colors from the four paint choices is that these colors will remain harmonious to each other.
When practicing this be aware of how much paint you are adding to the mix each time. After enough practice your ability to gauge how much paint is need for the color you want will improve. | <urn:uuid:4d4c8a50-d15d-4977-8dce-dc78a9c9c35c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.paintdrawpaint.com/2011/05/painting-basics-limited-palette.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928089 | 438 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Excerpt from “Valley 101: A Slightly Skewed Guide to Living in Arizona,” a collection of Clay Thompson’s columns for The Arizona Republic. (Originally published June 6, 1999.)
Q: Everybody refers to this area as the Valley. What exactly is the Valley the valley of?
A: This is a deeply troubling question because it actually required some work to nail down the answer.
The easy part first: This is the Valley of the Sun.
Of course it isn’t really the Valley of the Sun. The ancient Hohokam Indians did not say to their relatives, “Hey, you should come down to the Valley of the Sun for the winter.”
Valley of the Sun was a name cooked up in the 1930s to boost tourism. As these sorts of things go, it’s not bad — short, snappy, descriptive.
It’s definitely an improvement over “the Denver of the Southwest,” which is how the boosters touted Phoenix in the 1890s.
And they could hardly call it “the Valley of Brutal Heat,” or the “Valley of the Big Gulp” or the “Valley of Really Expensive Golf Resorts.”
So Valley of the Sun works.
But because you cannot live in an advertising slogan, we don’t live in the Valley of the Sun. We live in the Salt River Valley.
This is where actual work came in.
What constitutes the Salt River Valley? Where does it begin and where does it end? And if this is the Salt River Valley, why does it look, for the most part, like the Salt River Flats?
The guy in the cubicle across the aisle says the valley of the Salt River begins at the Salt’s confluence with the Verde River, a few miles below Saguaro Lake, and ends with the Salt’s confluence with the Gila
River, which is near Avondale.
However, because we can’t base news stories on the opinions of the guy in the cubicle across the aisle, learned advice was sought.
Anthony Brazel, professor of geography at Arizona State University, maintains the valley of the Salt River is the watershed drained by said river — about 6,300 square miles. That’s a lot of valley.
You know that old saying: There’s never a fluvial geomorphologist around when you need one. Well, it’s not true. We found one right away — Will Graf, regents professor of geology at ASU. Fluvial geomorphology, in a nutshell, is the geology of rivers.
Technically, Graf said, Brazel is correct: The valley of the Salt River is that area drained by the Salt.
Then he said a lot of other stuff we didn’t understand before offering up this definition: The valley of the Salt could be considered that area in which fluvial materials — rocks or gravel or sand or whatever
deposited by the river over the centuries — cover the bedrock.
That area, Graf said, is roughly bounded by South Mountain, the north Scottsdale-Cave Creek area, Granite Reef Dam east of the Salt River Reservation, and the tiny town of Arlington, which is about 50
miles west of downtown Phoenix.
And it’s a broad, flat valley because, over the eons, the river wandered all over the place, depositing fluvial material willy-nilly.
Dig down anywhere in that area and you will be digging Salt River fluvial stuff for time immemorial. In some areas, it runs as deep at 15,000 feet, which is a lot of fluvial material.
So, there you have it, we live in the Valley of Salt River Fluvial Deposits, which isn’t as catchy as Valley of the Sun but still beats the Denver of the Southwest. | <urn:uuid:f5e8e3f2-4cd5-4edf-ac2a-73cab9e6c750> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://arizonaoddities.com/2011/06/how-the-phoenix-area-nabbed-the-valley-of-the-sun-nickname/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938349 | 845 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would anyone want to dance with their cat?
Well firstly I think its become a way for cat owners to enter into a more interesting and meaningful relationship with their cats. Once they've danced with their cat you often find they'll speak of feeling that their cat is now a far more significant part of their world and some say they've entered into a kind of spiritual partnership with it. Secondly, cat dancers claim that dancing with their cats makes them feel great. Ok, so whenever we do something in unison with another being we raise our levels of awareness and feel stimulated, but there seems to be something quite profound that happens to these people. They appear to be affected both physically and emotionally. They talk of feeling alive for the first time and claim they become more out going, assertive and generous.
How do people actually dance with their cats?
Well they don't dance with them in the normally accepted way. That is, they don't jig up and down with them for minutes at a time. I know that some of the photographs in the book can give that impression, but 'dancing' is really the best term we have available to describe an interaction between a human and a cat or between two cats where they move synchronistically with one another, often for only a brief period of time. It seems to result from a build up of energy between them. Biologists say that the cat is simply releasing energy while cat dancers claim that it's a very powerful form of interaction. I guess the jury is still out on this one.
What if my cat won't dance with me?
Well you have to accept that some cats, like some humans, just don't dance. But a lot of the time cats won't dance because people expect almost instantaneous results. They think they can stroke their cat a bit, then put on the music and puss cat will be boogieing with them in no time. It's not that easy. You have to put hours of time in to the pre-dance energy alignment exercises, like mirroring, remote stroking, mutual purring and so on, before most cats will dain to join you in the dance and then it's often for only a brief moment. The other problem people have is not being able to relax and let go of their doubts. Cats are extremely sensitive to our moods and people who are even slightly skeptical can easily put the cat off.
Tell us about these pre-dance exercises.
Well the most effective ones are the mirroring exercises where you attempt to mirror or copy your cat's movements in order to align your energy patterns. It's a very old technique that goes back to the middle ages when a 'copie cat' was a person (usually an older woman), who could perform magic cures by copying a cat's movements and so tap into its energy. The term 'copy cat' became a derogatory expression when the Church outlawed all forms of communing with cats and had practitioners of these arts put to death at the stake.
So you copy your cat's movements just like we unconsciously copy another's movements or expressions when we're forming a relationship with them. When your cat sits, you sit. When it rolls over, you roll over, and when it washes, you wash same rhythm, same posture, same everything except that you don't actually have to lick yourself. Some people find some of the washing positions almost impossible, but its amazing what you can achieve with practice. Just remember how hard it was to get into some of those yoga positions when you first started.
But how does this copying or mirroring of the cat actually get it to dance with you?
Basically mirroring is very much like body language. When you adopt the same position as someone else your communication with them on all levels improves. This is not simply because you just feel more comfortable about each other when you're both sitting in the same way. It's because the energy patterns that flow around you, your auras in fact, are making the same shape, and that shape or energy structure, sets up a unique resonance. When two structures resonate at the same frequency, the energy levels are in harmony and, as with harmony in music, it makes us feel good. It's the same with a cat, except that our energy, human energy, resonates at a different level from the feline, so that when we bring it into very close contact by mimicking the cat, we create an initial discordance, a kind of intense friction which the laws of physics dictate can only be resolved by producing a much higher body of energy that is now compatible with both systems. It's this new energy that excites us and our cats to leap about or 'dance'. And it's when we're dancing and synchronistic movements occur, that the energy level gets even higher. That's why dancing with cats can result in such intense vibrational states and lead us to experience a deep sense of peace and empowerment.
So you always have to do the pre-dance energy aligning exercises?
Well you may be lucky enough to own one of those rare cats that invites you to the dance by making a series of intricate leaps and flurries around you. One of those cats that's able to immediately bring it's vibrations into tension with yours and so instantly build the required energy. But for most of us it will be necessary to put in plenty of time doing the pre-dance exercises
Why have people suddenly begun to dance with their cats?
I think it's largely come about come about as the result of recent publicity, people who've always danced with their cats in one way or another and felt a bit weird about it, suddenly discover that others do it too, so they feel free to open up and talk about it and say how great it is and that encourages others to try it.
So is cat dancing a new phenomenon?
Well, as far as we know it's relatively new to this century, but it appears to have been more common in the Middle Ages. It's clearly referred to in the nursery rhyme, Hey Diddle Diddle in fact that's what that whole rhyme is about. Also there is little doubt that it was the women of those days who swished their brooms in front of cats in order to excite them to dance, so they could join them and attain higher states and perform cures, that led to the absurd notion of witches riding aloft on broomsticks with their cats.
It seems fairly clear that the Church had a good idea of the sort of vitalizing energy that cat dancers claimed for their practice and felt that it threatened their preserve in the area of miracles. I think that's the main reason why women who practiced it were labelled as evil witches and burned at the stake along with their cats.
How do I know if my cat will dance with me?
Well the question you should really ask is not, "Will my cat dance with me?" but rather, "Will I dance with my cat?" In short, you won't know until you try.
How do I get started?
Well you really have to start with the exercises. Some people I know though, have begun by dancing around with their cat in their arms. Holding it closely and swaying slowly back and forth to some inspirational music is a great way to get you both in the mood and, if you know what you're doing, it can be used as an energy aligning method.
So should we put on music when we dance with our cats?
Cat's react rather idiosyncratically to music. While some seem to be oblivious to it, others can react very negatively and then there are those that very clearly get off on it. Of those that do respond to music, many seem to have musical preferences and will clearly show they enjoy one piece of music over another by sitting and purring or sometimes moving their tails or heads along with the beat or the rhythm. Its a good idea to play different types of music for your cat and look for signs of irritation or enjoyment. You need to remember that music you may want to dance to, could be a complete turn-off for your cat.
Is there any music that a majority of cats will respond to?
There is already one album of music composed by Biomusicologist David Parsons which is about to be released and is specifically designed for cats to dance to. Parsons worked with Tibetan cat charmers in the Himalayas and discovered just what sounds and rhythms were most likely to stimulate cats to dance. He took these sounds, found an analog for them on his synthesizer, then combined, multiplied and re-synthesized them with real cat cries and purring, and even subtle licking noises to create a complexity of feline sounds and rhythms that both cats and humans will respond to. It's a very new sound and the few cat dancers who've tried it feel that it works really well. My only criticism is that the record company have rather gone over the top in some of the claims they make for it. Parsons is well known internationally for his synthesizer compositions and you can listen to samples of some of his other compositions at Amazon.
So do you need to use music to dance with your cat?
Your cat will certainly dance with you without music but I think one of the most important things about playing music when you're dancing with your cat is the effect it has on you. I'm sure it helps us become more involved in the dance and that helps get our energy levels up so that our cats are more likely to join us in the dance.
Does catnip help cats to dance?
Some people claim that drugs like catnip or valerian really get their cat going, while others claim they have the opposite effect. Detractors say the cat may indulge in some initial high energy activity but it tends to be short lived and it will very quickly end up flopping about and going to sleep. I think it depends on the cat, and provided you have no ethical objection to your cat taking performance enhancing drugs, I definitely think they're worth a try.
Are some breeds better dancers than others?
So far no one breed has emerged as having more ability than another at dancing. It is true though, that older cats are not so keen on dancing and in general the more social a cat is the more likely it is to enjoy the dance interaction.
Are there other explanations for why cats dance?
Yes, there's a feeling among some animal behaviourists that energy fields are not actually involved in the cat dancing phenomenon at all. They believe that cats may 'dance' as a result of being confused by a sudden intrusion in to their territory by people they're familiar with. They think that the cat's fright/flight reaction to the intrusion becomes momentarily mixed up with the delight reaction of seeing its owner(s) and this results in a series of confused hyperactive movements which are neither one thing or the other. They think this may also explain why cats sometimes 'dance' when we do. ie., because they're confused by our exuberant, often sudden dance movements, which they fail, in the initial moments, to 'read' as either aggressive or beign. This confused fright/delight reaction can also occur, they say, when the cat's owner enters the room at the same time as a stranger.
How did Heather Busch manage to get such amazing photographs?
The photographs are the result of three years work. Her first shots were taken in peoples' living rooms, but with so much background distraction it was difficult to see what the cats were doing. Then she tried getting the cats and dancers to a studio, but being on unfamiliar territory meant the cats just didn't want to dance at all. In the end she had to set up large portable backdrops in cat owner's homes and give the cats a few weeks to get used to them before they would dance without inhibition.
What do you think is the future of cat dancing?
I think we've only just scratched the surface. Interspecies communication generally is moving forward in leaps and bounds and I'm sure as more and more people begin to dance with their cats, we're going to see some really dramatic advances in this area.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - A bill requiring a photo I.D. to vote passed in a House Committee Wednesday. The bill's sponsor said this measure would ensure security in Arkansas elections, but those who oppose say it could stifle turnout.
"We continue to hear the same things about the verbal assaults on this, and I always say if their attacking you verbally in your intent, then you must be right on the facts," said Senator Bryan King, the bill's sponsor.
While King said the bill will mend a vulnerable system, Representative John Walker said the measure could hinder turnout, specifically deterring minorities and the elderly.
"It has a racial impact, and it's designed in effect to favor those who are already more favored than others. Therefore... [it's] keeping entrenched in power those who have the greatest amount of resources," explained Walker.
Those without a photo I.D. will be able to get one for free from the secretary of state's office or the county clerk's office, according to the bill. The American Civil Liberties Union said if the bill becomes law a lawsuit will soon follow.
"This does nothing to but add additional red tape burdens between the voter and the ballot box," said Holly Dickson, ACLU Legal Director.
King said other states with similar laws showed no sign of drop off in voter turnout.
"I don't see it. Other states haven't seen that kind of decrease. We've had situations where an elderly person, the same day they want to go to the polls and vote, they can certainly go to the clerk's office," said King.
According to King, the machines needed to make photo I.D.s will cost the state $300,000. He said if it passes, the Secretary of State's Office will be able to educate the public through their regular process, and it will not require more funding. | <urn:uuid:f6a6ba95-486d-4f60-ba77-184d9c4faede> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thv11.com/(X(1)A(SlTUQo8OzQEkAAAAMDE0MDdiN2UtNDBlMC00ZjQwLTkxMWEtMmYwNDRiNDRkMWE2jqBWVN2S1ECjhPUK4T-4xLsbIiI1))/news/govt_politics/252535/125/Arkansas-House-panel-advances-voter-ID-bill | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969146 | 391 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Product at Work: Blackmagic Design Atem 1 M/E
Dec 21, 2011 11:46 AM
Increasingly switchers play a role in pro AV. Our industry needs small, affordable options for non-standard applications; our users are not broadcasters in the traditional sense. In 2009, a 37-year-old broadcast company, Echolab, debuted the ingenious Atem switcher—and then closed in mid-2010 before they could realize its full potential. Coincidentally, Echolab’s retired co-founder Ted Whittaker (who also co-founded Broadcast Pix) died a few months later, and the Atem found a new home at Blackmagic Design.
The Atem 1 M/E production switcher is a broadcast-quality SDI switcher with HD and SD switching capabilities, as well as effects and graphics. At $2,500, it comes in a 2RU size and includes eight total inputs (four SDI and four HDMI) and SDI, HDMI, and analog outputs including down-converted SDI output and USB 3.0.
We’re going to look at two very different applications of the switcher. In one application, the Atem plays a research role in helping scientists analyze and present data at sea; in the other, the Atem is the centerpiece of an affordable production truck for regional users.
Switcher at Sea
Late last summer, the 274ft. research vessel Thomas G. Thompson, left Seattle on the Visions ’11 expedition, a co-venture with the National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) and the University of Washington’s School of Oceanography. The expedition was to continue the ongoing installation of OOI’s high-power/high-bandwidth-cabled ocean observatory. This networked infrastructure of science-driven sensor systems measures the physical, chemical, geological, and biological variables in the ocean and seafloor and collects data as well as video from cameras on the floor of the Pacific.
So why a switcher? Beyond capturing, routing, and streaming live footage from 400 kilometers offshore and back to the university and online, the video infrastructure is instrumental in annotating and recording the scientific video—which was the primary deliverable from the cruise. This video had to be sent between various devices in a sophisticated chain that included embedding positional data in the HD 708 closed-captioning space. And the system, organized by video project manager Ed McNichol, would need to be flexible enough to adapt to the unpredictable needs of the research team. McNichol chose an Atem 1 M/E production switcher, and sister products Micro Videohub, and OpenGear Converters.
The Atem also enabled a full-featured production system for communication efforts that were seen by a land-based audience over a high bitrate satellite connection. These ongoing productions included live webcasts, recorded highlights, standups, and full-screen motion graphics.
The satellite connection was also used to teach classes from sea—including remote classes for students at the University of Charleston, South Carolina. Recorded segments came off a Mac Mini as QuickTime movies and fed into the Atem switcher, eliminating the need for external signal conversion.
The one feature of the Atem switcher that McNichol used most frequently was the included plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. “During many of our live shows, the chief scientist would interact on camera with a crew member who happened to be nearby. I did not have prepared lower thirds for everybody. But I was able to quickly jump over to Photoshop, enter the text, and send the graphic directly to a frame buffer in the switcher,” McNichol says.
Due to the large number of sources, McNichol was able to extend the capability of the Atem switcher by combining it with the Videohub. “All of the HD-SDI inputs were fed from the Micro Videohub, so I could feed any of my available sources into the switcher instantly,” he says. “I did opt for a hardware control panel for the Videohub, which uses a standard network connection. That proved to be a good decision.”
To make signal flow simpler, McNichol embedded analog audio content into an HD-SDI signal at the earliest possible point via Blackmagic Design’s OpenGear Converters.
Switcher on the Road
The content is football in Farmington, Ill., or a Pop Warner game in Eureka, or a corporate event in Peoria. ScheffTech Productions, one of Illinois’ busiest live production and remote television providers, caters to everyone including colleges and high schools, local governments, and businesses.
ScheffTech has to be mobile, flexible, and work with a myriad of infrastructures at the different venues, and with different crews around the state. These various requirements—including the need for affordable HD—inspired ScheffTech’s smaller sized TV production truck, which provides quality broadcasts at a cost that made sense for the local market.
At the core of ScheffTech’s live production infrastructure are the Atem 1 M/E production switcher, and Blackmagic Design’s SmartView Duo, Micro Videohub, and numerous Mini Converters and OpenGear Converters. With the fall school sports seasons in full swing, ScheffTech has used the Atem production switcher family for more than a two dozen live productions since August.
Typical live productions for ScheffTech use five Sony HXRNX5U cameras, shooting in 720p. ScheffTech fills the Atem 1 M/E production switcher’s other inputs with various audio tools to capture announcers, and in-game audio and Adobe Photoshop for character generation.
“Flexibility and reliability are key components to what I needed,” Brian Scheff says. “I have some productions where the venues are prewired with analog cables and some with fiber. Combining the Atem switcher with Blackmagic Mini Converters allows us to adapt to any venue.”
The Atem 1 M/E production switcher’s graphics and keying features also play an important role with ScheffTech’s many live sports productions, supporting replays, player and game stats, and wipes and effects on top of the basic switching capabilities.
Atem 1 M/E production switchers come with four upstream keyers, each with chroma, shaped and linear keying, two downstream keyers, stinger effects, graphic wipes, and media players for stills and clips for a full range of broadcast-quality effects. When combined with the built-in DVE for transitions or key positioning, ScheffTech has full control of their effects, including size and rotation control; high-quality push, squeeze, and move animations; customizable 3D borders; and filtering.
The Atem 1 M/E production switcher also comes with a built-in, cost-saving single multiview to allow 10 channels of video to be displayed on a single SDI or HDMI TV or monitor. Views are fully routable, and ScheffTech can use any external monitor as its viewing source. Also ScheffTech is able to manage the views to fit each event by being able to change the basic multiview layout, customize labels, and set safe area markers on preview displays and use the multiview’s tally feature to separate on-air and preview sources.
ScheffTech’s production truck includes Blackmagic’s Micro Videohub router, Smart Control routing control panel, SmartView Duo dual-screen rackmounted LCD monitor, and multiple Mini Converters and OpenGear Converters.
The Micro Videohub and Smart Control handle the routing of all signals in and out of the truck. Mini Converters and Open Gear Converters are used to change between HD SDI media and HDMI signals that can be used with the rest of ScheffTech’s technology, as well as for converting analog signals for monitoring.
For replays, ScheffTech relies on the combination of the Micro Videohub, Smart Control, and SmartView Duo. With the SmartView Duo directly controlled by the Smart Control attached to the truck’s Micro Videohub, the replay operator is able to view different camera angles, make directing decisions and set up replays at the push of a button.
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By Jason McLure
(Reuters) - When Whitney Calk sought a personalized license plate from a Tennessee state agency to tout her vegetarian ideals, she was annoyed when she was told no. Turns out the letters ILVTOFU can be construed to mean more than enjoying bean curd.
"When I see T-O-F-U, I see tofu," says Calk, who requested the so-called vanity plate from the Tennessee Department of Revenue last September.
"I can't control the way anyone else interprets that," said Calk, 26, an animal rights activist from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The dilemma faced by Tennessee authorities last year is not unusual, as officials at motor vehicle agencies nationwide consider hundreds of thousands of personalized plate requests each year. There are an estimated 9 million personalized license plates in the United States.
The vast majority of the requests are not objectionable, but thousands provide insight not only into the boundaries of free speech but the amount of human ingenuity expended to display seven and eight character insults, sexual references and descriptions of bodily functions to other motorists.
The battle to keep highways free of offensive phrases means state officials must track everything from Internet slang to foreign languages to commands like 3MTA3, which reveals its meaning when read backwards in a rear view mirror.
Virginia may be the capital of vanity plate mischief. Personalized plates in the state cost just $10 more than regular license plates—compared with $40 in Texas and $94 in Illinois. One million of the Virginia's 7.8 million vehicles have them.
In 2009 alone, the state denied more than 700 plate requests including IHAV2P and IAMHIGH along with 100 requests beginning with the letter ‘F' and myriad proposals involving the number ‘69,' according to state documents.
Questionable formulations are so common that a 20-person committee of motor vehicle staffers meets for an hour each month to review suspicious applications. State guidelines ban deceptive plates such as FBI or confusing configurations like O0O0O and NOTAG as well as excretory, sexual, racial or drug references.
"It's the only time you get to talk like that at DMV, that's for sure," said Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Melanie Stokes, who sits on the review panel. Less offensive and more playful ideas, including EWOBAMA, IPUNCHU and DMYANKI, have all been reviewed and rejected at the meetings.
SOMETIMES IT'S UPSIDE-DOWN
Some slip through. Pictures have been posted on the internet of the Virginia-issued 370H55V — which has to be read upside-down to get the full message.
In Maryland, a software program checks requests against 4,331 banned license plate formulations, a list that includes WILDPIG, TOILET and GAY. State prisoners who make the plates also help out by identifying drug, gang or sexual references that slip by the computer and the civil servants, said Philip Dacey, a spokesman for the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration.
"A lot of these are gray areas," said Dacey. "TOILET is on the list and if people want to challenge it they can have a hearing."
That's what one motorist did after Maryland revoked his MIERDA vanity plate following a complaint. Though the Spanish term would seem to embody the state's ban on "scatological" references, an administrator is currently considering the man's appeal that the license plate should be interpreted as a non-vulgar reference to a form of fertilizer.
More recently Maryland attempted to revoke a plate reading WTF, an abbreviation for a three-word phrase beginning "what the ..." that is widely used in Internet chat. The agency reversed course after an investigation revealed that the plate predated the Internet, and was a reference to the motorist's waterfront home.
In Florida, the state's motor vehicle agency takes a permissive stance towards celebrations of clothing optional bathing. O2B NUDE, BARE ALL and BE NAKED have all been deemed acceptable by the director of the agency, who nonetheless spiked 4NICK8, CAT BUTT and COW PADY, according to records released by the state.
Other states are less permissive. Utah, which faced a lawsuit in the 1990s for issuing plates with the term "Redskins" because it offended Native Americans, has recently denied ‘IH8TBYU,' ‘MNKYBUM,' and ‘MYSHRAZ' for being derogatory, vulgar, and an alcohol reference to a popular wine.
Massachusetts' vanity application form now instructs motorists that the letters "I" "O" "Q" and "U" can only be used "as part of a word that is clearly defined and correctly spelled." California requires applicants to explain the meaning of any request.
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and David Storey) | <urn:uuid:103e617e-5f1b-4388-b6d5-4d76817dda82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mobile.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSBRE8540WX20120605 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944258 | 1,015 | 1.5 | 2 |
One important strategy for holding down roadway maintenance cost is to properly control weed and vegetation growth along a highway.
Safety is a high priority at WSDOT. Vegetation, if left alone can grow out of control, blocking visibility (signs, traffic, wildlife) which could endanger motorists. Weeds must be controlled to avoid impacts on agriculture and native ecosystems. Pride of ownership and the beauty of Washington State are also important reasons why we try and manage roadside vegetation.
Traditionally we have used herbicides as one of the primary tools for roadside vegetation management. But the latest WSDOT Grey Notebook (December 2006) shows that we continue to reduce the amount of herbicides used, while still accomplishing our roadside maintenance goals.
In 2002, we used approximately 120,000 pounds of herbicide statewide maintaining vegetation. In 2006, that number dropped to just more than 40,000 pounds of herbicide statewide.
The majority of this reduction is the result of our effort in eastern Washington to minimize the area of vegetation-free ground along the edge of the highway pavement.
Last year, we adopted restrictions above and beyond federal and state legal mandates for herbicide usage. In addition, WSDOT is continuing to refine its policy and practices for vegetation management through an ongoing research project by the University of Washington. The study includes field trials on alternate vegetation control methods. | <urn:uuid:2904d4e8-569f-4b39-b102-0de1d24c3970> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/growing-better-roadway.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925386 | 277 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Blue Garuda wrote:However, the purpose is to shift the mind and become the Yidam in the Yidam's world. The mind enters that reality totally so all phenomena are also real.
If the mind finally enters the mandala and remains there, it becomes that of an enlightened Buddha.
This is not the function of a HYT mandala visualization. Without understanding the principle of the basis of purification, the result of purification, and the purifier, one has not understood the purpose of the creation stage on any level at all. And no one has 16 arms and four legs, for example, not one single human being alive, past or present. This is the reason, for example, that when doing completion stage practices, one generally uses the sahaja or natural form of the deity i.e. with one face and two arms and legs.
Secondly, as Nangwa pointed out, the principle of the completion stage, partially, is to break clinging to the mentally generated pure appearances of the creation stage. The generated mandala is only mind, meant to cut attachment to the world of the impure vision. It does not go beyond mind in any sense. In order to go beyond mind one needs the experience of the completion stage. When one is able to unify the two stages within one's pratice, this is called the state of mahāmudra, in tantric terms.
What does Dzogchen offer that is greater?
It is said that if an butcher is given the explanation of Dzogchen they will achieve buddhahood more rapidly that a learned pandita who has never received any explanations of Dzogchen. So when explainging and teaching Dzogchen to an uneducated butcher, do we resort to complicated Buddhist words and topics? Do we belabor them with skandhas, dhātus and āyatanas? No. We just explain their state to them in terms any one can easily grasp -- the five elements and body, speech and mind. These eight things are readily understood by anyone.
There is no need to spend years learning the forensics of dead medieval tenet systems that no one beleives anymore merly to refute these topics with Madhyamaka reasonings that everyone disagrees on. How pyrrhic this exercise is. Enjoyable, a past time, but ultimately a dead end.
Other people have brought up the issue of Dzogchen as a triumphalist position. But that is missing the point. What I brought up was the fact that much of what is studied in the "lower" vehicles can be passed over when learning Dzogchen.
People seem upset because Dzogchen does position itself both within and outside of the the nine vehicles. I did not invent this. One can read this very same thing in Norbu Rinpoche Crystal and the Way of Light:
"...there is a danger that some readers may make the false assumption that it implies a hierarchy of teachings with Dzogchen at the top. In fact, the whole layout could have been reversed with Dzogchen at the bottom; or the chart could be read from the bottom up which is the sequence in which the gradual paths are presented and practiced, each stage having to be completed before the next can be approached. Dzogchgen differs from gradual paths because the master introduces the disciple directly to the Great Perfection, which is the heart of all paths. But the reason so many paths exist is that there is a teaching suited to the capacity of every indivuidual. So, for example, for someone to whom sutra teaching is best suited, that teaching can be said be the "highest", because that teaching will work best for that individual. Any use of the words "high" and "highest" in relation to the Dzogchen teachings, should be read with this important proviso in mind." pg. 53
"Gradual paths insist that a practitioner must work from here upwards. Dzogchen, on the other hand, doesn't adopt a hierachical approach; it poceeds right away on the basis of of the master giving the student a Direct Introduction to the primordial state to enable the student to recognize that state for him or herself, and then remain in it.
Dzogchen is beyond limits, and the practices of any of the other levels can be used a secondary practices by a Dzogchen practitioner. But the principle practice of Dzogchen is to enter directly into a non-dual contemplation, and to remain in it, continuuing to deepen it until one reaches total realization." pg. 175
My concern here in this thread is not defending Dzogchen as the highest. My interest in the OP's question has to do with certain features I have observed in reading original Dzogchen texts, and seeing that they consistently confirm and reinforce many things my teacher has said in the 36 years he has been teaching Dzogchen around the world.
I don't have a partcular agenda in sharing these thoughts with people. I am a pretty open book and people have seen the evolution (or degeneration) of my thinking on various topics based on my study and practice. We have all been having a long conversation with each other for many years now. Sometimes my thoughts make people happy and sometimes they do not. | <urn:uuid:796ca17e-ba8f-4c91-856d-211780e1ddbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?p=106244 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960314 | 1,109 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Americans by the tens of thousands are making it clear to Congress that any health care legislation being considered should exclude abortion as a mandatory health benefit.
In just one week, over 65,000 Americans have joined with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) by signing a national petition demanding that safeguards be enacted to ensure that abortion is not mandated or subsidized in legislation “as important and future-shaping as healthcare reform.”
Meanwhile, the Susan B. Anthony List reported Tuesday that over 100,000 letters from pro-life activists nationwide were sent to Congress urging the exclusion of abortion from any national health care reform effort.
“The opposition to defining abortion services as a mandatory health benefit is clear,” commented ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow in a statement Tuesday. “It’s time that Congress gets the message: When it comes to mandatory health benefits, Americans don’t want their tax dollars – or forced private insurance plans – used to fund abortion.”
Currently, two health reform bills are moving in Congress – the Kennedy bill and the House Democratic leadership bill – that contain multiple provisions that would result in federally mandated insurance coverage of on-demand abortion, large federal subsidies for abortion, mandated creation of many new abortion clinics, and nullification of at least some state limitations on abortion.
According to pro-life groups, the provisions – if enacted – would represent the greatest expansion of abortion since the Supreme Court handed down its Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing the procedure in 1973.
“Obviously, we all know what is taxed, what is subsidized, what tax money is used for will expand,” explained Tom Minnery, Focus on the Family’s vice president of Government and Public Policy, last week during a special teleconference that drew more than 36,000 people.
“If abortions are subsidized, we’ll get many thousands more abortions. Many thousands of unborn children will die if abortion is covered in these regulations,” he added.
The legislation has especially drawn criticism given past comments by President Obama stating that he wanted to make abortions “rare," and acknowledgments as recent as last week of America's “tradition ... of not financing abortions as part of government-funded health care.”
“Americans are urging members of Congress to preserve the real common ground, our long-standing tradition of limiting taxpayer funds for abortion. This is exactly the type of policy the president has sought to achieve, one that stands the test of time, has popular support and appeals to members on both sides of the aisle,” said Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Yet both the House and Senate versions of health care reform legislation seek to undo this commonsense policy.”
Currently, both the House and the Senate are rushing to meet their self-imposed deadline of getting bills through both chambers before leaving Washington for their annual August recess.
Presuming legislation makes it through both chambers, they would still have to be melded together by House and Senate negotiators – a process that plenty of bills never survive – and then passed again in final form by both the House and the Senate. Only then can the president sign it.
Obama has said he wants a bill on his desk in October and has praised House and Senate efforts to expand health care coverage to millions of Americans.
The president has also said the public should become less focused on whether abortion would be covered under federal healthcare.
In an interview with CBS Evening news anchor Katie Couric last Tuesday, Obama said what’s important “at this stage, is not trying to micromanage what benefits are covered ... because I think we're still trying to get a framework.”
“[M]y main focus is making sure that people have the options of high quality care at the lowest possible price, “ he stated, before saying it is not appropriate to get "distracted by the abortion debate at this station.”
Obama's top domestic priority is revamping the nation's health care system. | <urn:uuid:285828e7-5fa1-44fa-ba34-ccb534b91903> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.christianpost.com/news/tens-of-thousands-lobby-to-cut-out-abortion-from-heatlh-care-bills-39969/print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968416 | 842 | 1.671875 | 2 |
On Monday, September 17, Solas Nua, a DC-based Irish arts organization, will be hitting the pavement and distributing free books to commuters at some of the District’s busiest Metro stops.
On the annual Book Day, the nonprofit group will hand out 10,000 books by Irish authors from 6 am until 6 pm (or until the books run out). The tradition of offering free books by Irish authors is part of Solas Nua’s mission to give voice to contemporary Irish artists and writers.
Solas Nua is partnering with the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, GemmaMedia, the Adult Literacy Resource Center at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, and D.C. Library Renaissance for this year’s event.
If you are interested in helping with Book Day, Solas Nua is in need of volunteers to prepare the books (on Saturday, September 15) and then distribute the books on Monday at the various locations. For more information on how to become involved, visit the website. | <urn:uuid:3917fde6-d58b-492c-b714-04af1dc85398> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.borderstan.com/tag/solas-nua/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922529 | 216 | 1.625 | 2 |
Hamilton's "Loose Constructionist" View of the Government's Constitutional Powers
Alexander Hamilton to George Washington, 23 February 1791, labeled "Opinion as to the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States" (in response to Jefferson's letter to Washington arguing that the proposed national bank is unconstitutional)
Now it appears to the Secretary of the Treasury that this general
principle is inherent in the very definition of government, and essential
to every step of the progress to be made by that of the United States, namely: That every
power vested in a government is in its nature sovereign, and includes, by force
of the term, a right to employ all the means requisite and fairly
applicable to the ends of such power, and which are not precluded by restrictions
and exceptions specified in the Constitution, or not immoral, or not contrary to the essential
ends of political society.
The circumstance that the powers of sovereignty are in this country divided between the National and State governments, does not afford the distinction required. It does not follow from this, that each of the portion of powers delegated to the one or the other, is not sovereign with regard to its proper objects. It will only follow from it, that each has sovereign power as to certain things, and not as to other things. To deny that the government of the United States has sovereign power, as to its declared purposes and trusts, because its power does not extend to all cases . . . . would furnish the singular spectacle of a political society without sovereignty, or of a people governed without government.
[Hamilton accepts] the republican maxim, that all government is a delegation of power [by the people]. . . . [but admits that, in his view] implied powers [those not mentioned in the Constitution] are to be considered as delegated equally with the express ones [those specifically granted in the Constitution].
. . . it is objected, that none but necessary and proper means are to employed [the language of the catchall clause at the end of Article 1, Sect. 8, of the Constitution]; and the Secretary of State [Jefferson] maintains, that no means are to be considered as necessary but those without which the grant of power would be nugatory [non-existent or unusable]. . . .
It is essential to the being of the national government, that so erroneous a conception of the meaning of the word necessary should be exploded.
It is certain, that neither the grammatical nor popular sense of the term requires that construction. According to both, necessary often means no more than needful, requisite, incidental, useful, or conducive to. It is a common mode of expression to say, that it is necessary for a government or a person to do this or that thing, when nothing more is intended or understood, than that the interests of the government or person require, or will be promoted by, the doing of this or that thing.
. . . To understand the word as the Secretary of State does, would be to depart from its obvious and popular sense, and to give it a restrictive operation, an idea never before entertained. It would be to give it the same force as if the word absolutely or indispensably had been prefixed to it.
Such a construction would beget endless uncertainty and embarrassment. . . . | <urn:uuid:cc23ab47-d0fd-4d33-afe8-7f72c8e660e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pasleybrothers.com/mocourses/texts/Hamilton_on_Constitutionality.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961008 | 683 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Pilots strike and How to Cut the Confusion with Airfare Pricing
Air India officials confirm that the airline has fired 10 pilots and ordered the rest to return to work by Tuesday evening. The state-owned carrier—which operates 50 international flights and 400 domestic flights daily— was obliging passengers by placing them on other flights.
Air India’s pilots were in talks with the airline about better pay and job promotions—some pilots claim they have not been paid in six months— when the negotiations stalled leading the 150 pilots to call in sick.
The current strike could be dangerous for Air India international operations, especially with India’s peak holiday season right around the corner.
The Indian government recently agreed to a $6 billion bailout for the troubled national carrier with the emergency funding made available to the airline over the next eight years.
Under pressure ever since a poorly executed 2007 merger which left the company with debt costs and an inflated staff, Air India has been losing about a billion dollars a year.
How to cut the confusion with airfare pricing
When you're shopping for an airline ticket often you may see an advertisement for tickets starting at a certain fare, but you can't seem to find a ticket at that low price. This is because current airline regulations allow carriers to change the fares on a flight up to once an hour.
This can cause confusion when trying to book flights and get the best deal since consumers do not know when they should buy. The short answer is that it all depends. According to CheapAir CEO Jeff Klee as reported by Reuters, “On average, the cheapest fare for a flight will be sold about six weeks before departure, according to a study by the Airlines Reporting Commission, which processes transactions for the travel industry. "If you know far in advance you're going to take a trip, check the fares every week, or more often. Wait for the prices to drop. At that point, it's important that you pounce on it when you see a good deal."
You will typically find lower fares on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays than on the other days of the week. If you have flexibility in your travel plans and use resources like travel agents, discount airfare websites, and the U.S. Department of Transportation Consumer Airfare Report, you should be able to find a good deal.
White House and FBI Confirm Al-Qaida Airline Plot Was No Threat To Public
Recent reports of a thwarted al-Qaida attempt to target a plane bound for the United States of America have understandably concerned travelers. U.S. officials claim the terrorism plot was foiled before it posed any threat to the public.
Reports say that the plan was designed by al-Qaida's arm in Yemen, a group referred to as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. Intelligence agencies report that the would-be suicide bomber was armed with device comparable to the one worn in the attempted Northwest Flight 253 Christmas Day bombing a few years back.
The FBI reportedly has the explosive device at their lab in Quantico, Virginia for examination. They say although the bomb is similar to that used in the attempted underwear bombing, this device has an improved detonation system and no metal parts, enabling it to evade detection in the airport. | <urn:uuid:8e6b72ab-7f3f-46f5-837c-819f31e9b358> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.airlinebagfees.com/blog/pilots-strike-and-how-to-cut-the-confusion-with-airfare-pricing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962358 | 664 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The Breakdown: Our latest SXSW 2011 Q&A comes from Jon Voss (@LookBackMaps) founder of LookBackMaps, a project that uses photographs, maps, and augmented reality to engage users with history and historical photography. Jon spoke with Scatter/Gather about his upcoming panel, “Innovating & Developing with Libraries, Archives & Museums.” The panel will focus on emerging opportunities for developers to leverage historical collections and data in creating public-facing experiences.
S/G: What can we expect from your panel?
Jon: You’ll get a quick update on the innovative collaborations in the world of libraries, archives, and museums, and see how these institutions are reaching out to 21st-century audiences in exciting new ways.
S/G: Why is it important to make historical data and archives accessible to the public?
Jon: Historical data and imagery are a critical part of our shared culture—[they’re] part of the fabric that ties us to a place and to other people around us. For most libraries, archives, and museums, sharing these assets is a key part of their mission. They do a lot of other things too of course, but as one archivist summarized to me, “[W]e preserve history to share it.” What’s exciting is how these institutions are finding new ways to meet expectations of tech-savvy populations and a younger demographic that has a very different way of interacting with media than previous generations.
S/G: How can organizations present their data so as not to overwhelm users with an avalanche of information?
Jon: One way is to make this information machine-readable on the web, and I think libraries, archives, and museums will take a leadership role in the development and adoption of Linked Data technologies in the next few years. By sharing data in both human and machine-readable formats, a person or a program can query for information based on a subject, a keyword, or a location across multiple data sources. So instead of “checking in” to your neighborhood bar with your favorite place-based social network, you might just as easily check in to the saloon that was there in the early 1900′s, and see a picture of the long-gone patrons that shared drinks at that very location.
S/G: Can you think of a particularly innovative example of historical information being presented in an especially accessible, entertaining, and/or educational way? Why, in your opinion, is it successful?
Jon: Not to toot my own horn, but the LookBackMaps website and iPhone app [have] really captivated people’s imaginations in the last year or so with the simple way we’ve mashed up historical photos with current day views. With our site and app you can find a historical photo on a map and see what was there in the past. In the case of the app, you can overlay the old photo on your camera view and literally see the past come to life before you. It’s a new way to explore history, but its success is rooted in the fact that it brings history to people where they are, and that is in location-based apps. People want to know more about a place than where their friends are, or where the best coffee is. People want to know what was here before us.
S/G: What are you looking forward to seeing at SXSW?
Jon: The greatest thing about SXSW is the convergence of so many disparate ideas in one place. I’m hoping to catch some sessions on applications of the Semantic Web, the future of location-based apps, and different ways technology, media, and culture can advance the common good.
Explore the rest of the SXSW 2011 Q&A Series. | <urn:uuid:0ab37867-be2e-4fa9-a9e4-597ade759bb7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scattergather.razorfish.com/948/2011/03/04/sxsw-2011-qa-jon-voss/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946732 | 787 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Under workers' compensation laws, employees who become disabled by a work-related injury or illness receive, at the employer's expense, medical care and cash benefits to replace lost wages. However, receiving workers' compensation benefits does not disqualify you from getting benefits from other pension and disability insurance programs. Some of these benefits are guaranteed under state law, and many are also guaranteed under federal laws, such as the Federal Civil Rights Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act. An example of a benefit from the federal government would be Social Security disability insurance. If you become disabled, you should apply for disability benefits immediately at your local Social Security office. Your company's policy manual or a union labor agreement may provide you with other rights and benefits. To assist you in analyzing these benefits, consult with an attorney experienced in workers' compensation and related areas of the law. | <urn:uuid:f530461c-453d-46ae-a02d-6bcfc492e3ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxkansas.com/guides/legal/workerscomp/story/Other-rights/h2rZf-cuf0SxoL_8r5p-ig.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968676 | 171 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Exploring Majors and Careers
Whether you entered UMass Lowell declaring a major or came in expecting to explore your options, you’re in good company if you change your major at some point. There are lots of study options and career paths, so we strongly urge you to do some exploring with the help of a career counselor.
We can help in several ways:
- Discuss your concerns and ideas about majors with a career counselor. We can help you explore and evaluate majors and their respective career paths. Call 978-934-2355 for an appointment.
- Choosing a major and a career path works best when you understand your own interests and skills, and what’s most important to you. By taking a vocational assessment, such as Focus, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or SkillScan (all available in the Career & Co-op Center), you can clarify aspects of yourself that may affect your satisfaction with a major and career. Once you complete an assessment, you and a career counselor will discuss how you can use the results in determining your next steps. Call for an appointment.
- Knowing how your major can "translate" into a career is key. Check out these helpful sites to learn about career paths related to majors you’re considering:
- Obtaining an internship or engaging in another experiential education program is a great way to learn more about yourself and the world of work. Call the Career & Co-op Center to schedule an appointment with a career counselor to discuss internship possibilities and strategies.
- Talk to a career counselor about conducting an informational interview with someone in your professional area of interest to gain insight into his or her job, organization, industry, and career path. | <urn:uuid:f9972c6d-eda5-44cc-8663-d269c9a908cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uml.edu/student-services/Career-Services/For-Students/Exploring-Majors-and-Careers.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948988 | 356 | 1.820313 | 2 |
It is a good idea to monitor your level of stress and do what you can to minimize it during the day. We might meditate, go for a long walk, soak in the tub, or take a nap, but we do not always have the luxury of taking a long break.
Here are a few ways to relax that take little time or allow you to continue what you are doing. They may not all work for you, but it’s likely at least one of them will.
1. Blow Hole Breath
This is helpful when your mind is full of worrisome thoughts. Although it’s best to sit and relax you can do this standing up or while on the move.
- Imagine the top of your head has a blow hole, as does a whale.
- Take a deep breath in.
- To breath out, push your breath through the blow hole at the crown of your head.
- Imagine all the thoughts in your mind getting blown out of your mind with your breath.
Repeat until your mind is empty. Then, enjoy the emptiness. Notice your body relaxing. After using this tip a few times, you may be able to clear you mind with one whale of a breath.
Hum a zippy tune. When humming, feel how your neck and torso vibrate. This is an excellent way to get your body buzzing toward lightness of being.
You can hum whatever you like, but lively tunes with a steady beat seem to be the most helpful. Try humming songs from your childhood. It wakes up the childlike part of you. For example, if you are a baby boomer, hum the Micky Mouse Club song; seriously.
3. Go Slo-mo
We often move faster and faster when under stress, until we finally collapse. Even if you have a lot to do, try moving slowly. Talk slower, type slower, walk slower, and take some slow breaths. A fast pace is the stressor for some of us, and purposely moving at half speed will bring relief.
If you find that moving slowly increases your stress, this tip is not for you.
4. Grounded In the Moment
Stop whatever you are doing and look at the detail of your surroundings. See everything without thinking about what you see. Turn off your cortex and let your head be a video camera. Take a few slow, deep breaths as you observe.
If you are at work, look at the details of your desk, or the entire room. If you are on a train, plane, or even in a meeting, observe the people around you. Do it for 30 seconds to a minute, and then stop or continue.
5. Rag Doll
This is only for those of you exercise regularly and have no back pain. If you’re not sure about this, don’t do it, or consult with your doc.
- Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, knees barely bent.
- Arch your back and bend forward at the waist; or bend forward by rolling your back.
- Let your torso, arms, neck, and head hang like a rag doll.
- Let your thoughts and tension be absorbed into the ground or floor.
- Hang for at least a minute, if you can.
- Slowly, roll your back up to stand, or slowly, arch your back and stand up.
If you have good tips for quick stress relief, please share. | <urn:uuid:1f4788d8-a039-451c-b1d1-2db5969a6ebe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.livingwithanxiety.com/lifestyle/anxiety/5-tips-for-quick-stress-relief | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940793 | 707 | 2.109375 | 2 |
“Historic” was the word of the day today as the World Evangelical Alliance, World Council of Churches and Vatican launched a landmark document on the ethics of mission.
The bestselling author of What’s so Amazing about Grace? has just started his nine-date tour around the U.K., entitled Seasons of the Soul.
Bestselling author Rob Bell stopped in London for his book tour and responded to the firestorm of debate his book has cause. “Some of the things people say and the way that they act, this can’t be the way of Jesus. There’s got to be a little higher standard of civil discourse."
In his new theological work, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, Pope Benedict XVI addresses the difficult passage in Matthew’s gospel which speaks of the crowd shouting: “Let his blood be on us and on our children.”
The U.K. High Court suggested Monday that traditional Christian beliefs on sexuality are "inimical" to children.1 comments
Christians in Iraq are under enormous pressure and the loss of life is an ongoing reality. Yet the very faith they are shedding their blood for is also the faith that continues to give them hope.
The World Council of Churches is hoping that its next General Assembly in Busan, South Korea, will be a little different from its meetings in the past.
The Archbishop of York is among the Christians in the United Kingdom speaking out against the Government’s plans to allow same-sex couples to have their civil partnership ceremonies in churches, synagogues and other places of worship
The Church of England’s General Synod has approved the drafting of additional forms of baptism liturgy to help engage the unchurched in the ceremony. The Church has the task now of drawing up additional forms of baptism liturgy in “accessible” language
The rescue of 33 miners from a collapsed mine in Chile was a miracle that even atheists could not deny, said one of the rescued miners to hundreds of Christians on Sunday.
Hundreds of Christians in the U.K. took part in a day of prayer for believers in Egypt on Saturday as protests against President Hosni Mubarak reached crisis point.
The historic declaration draws together the reflections of some 4,000 evangelicals from 198 countries who met in Cape Town, South Africa, last October for the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.
The winter days are typically cold and dark but while most people can return to a nice warm home at the end of the day, for those living on the streets the freezing temperatures can be deadly.
Despite the distractions of the festive season and cutbacks on the horizon, the Barnabas Fund is asking Christians to remember the plight of their brothers and sisters in Iraq in prayer and practical ways.Tags Persecution
For Imad Dabour, persecution is part and parcel of being a Christian in predominantly Muslim North Africa. It is a region that has had next to no church for eight centuries.Tags Persecution | <urn:uuid:387f3a0b-f02b-4fcc-ac88-31e3dcf367bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.christianpost.com/author/maria-mackay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945481 | 619 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Zimbabwe urged to embrace electronic payments
- Published on 03 August 2012
Zimbabwe needs to embrace electronic payments so as to limit the use of cash in the economy, says the country’s central bank governor Gideon Gono.
The country’s hyperinflation in the 2000s resulted in the Zimbabwean dollar becoming almost worthless. Even buying a loaf of bread with the currency in the country has required wads of cash.
The country, though, has largely adopted the use of US dollars and South African Rands in the last two years to make paying for goods and services in cash easier.
However, Gono says greater adoption of electronic payments in the country could further make buying easier in the economically embattled African nation.
“All the key sectors of the economy are encouraged to embrace electronic payment mechanisms so as to limit the use of cash which is inefficient, risky and costly to the country," Gono said.
He said the central bank will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders to promote the use of other forms of payment.
“While we acknowledge the efforts made so far in the adoption of card payment streams, mobile and internet banking by the financial sector players and relevant stakeholders, there is still scope to increase the momentum," Gono said. | <urn:uuid:60c1e083-0b35-40a8-a98c-639bbc51d896> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itwebafrica.com/computing/177-zimbabwe/229757-zimbabwe-urged-to-embrace-electronic-payments | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956968 | 258 | 1.914063 | 2 |
This is kinda sad… a whole language dies along with the last survivor of a tribe from the Andaman Islands.
Her name was Boa Sr, and was the last remaining member of the Bo tribe, and was the last speaker of an ancient tongue – the Bo language has been around for over 65,000 years! It’s amazing to think – with her, a whole language is wiped out. Sadly, her final years were mostly spent feeling isolated, since she had nobody else to talk to in her native language. The only other indigenous tribe in that region are the Sentilinese, who are aggressive to all outsiders, and famously fired arrows at an Indian helicopters sent in to relieve the victims of the tsunami on 12/26/04.
There are many endangered languages in the world, though it is hard to say exactly how many. It’s difficult to work out precisely how many languages are spoken throughout the world today – Unesco have an interactive map where you can see just how many known languages are deemed ‘critically endangered’ – it’s a lot higher than you’d think. | <urn:uuid:50284176-46d9-4eb3-8ed1-112a808de0e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.languagetrainers.com/blog/2010/02/10/death-of-a-language/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980572 | 231 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Many computational problems need arithmetic operations in polynomial finite rings over Z/nZ, where n is an integer . This library provides efficient operations for applications such as integer factorization and primality testing.
The Content Management System which supports modularlized application, template-based skinnable interface, versatile member permission, multilingual publication
a Buddhist doctrine that enlightenment can be attained through direct intuitive insight
street name for lysergic acid diethylamide
(see Ch'an Buddhism)
Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism that places great importance on moment-by-moment awareness and 'seeing deeply into the nature of things' by direct experience.An introduction to Zen Buddhism By Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (page 31)
Zen is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Blake's 7. The voice of Zen was provided by Peter Tuddenham.
Zen is the ninth album released by DJ Krush. | <urn:uuid:ef66caa3-3c86-4b65-a1e1-b5a41581448e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.metaglossary.com/terms/zen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903644 | 195 | 1.789063 | 2 |
when the elephant's-ear in the park
shrivelled in frost,
and the leaves on the paths
ran like rats,
your lamp-light fell
on shining pillows,
of sea-shades and sky-shades,
like umbrellas in Java.
* * * * *
Who is Stevens visiting here for 'tea?' Escaping the ominous portents of the onset of winter, he finds a safe haven of penultimate intimacy where the charm and comfort of 'lamp-light' effortlessly falls on 'shining pillows' whose very shining promises - what? dreams, sexual pleasures or simply the colors and terrain of the imagination - 'sea-shades and sky-shades,/like umbrellas in Java.' The fact that we are interested in 'pillows' implies that this haven is for the head, so the imagination is favored as a referent, and the others are simply associate experiences that may enrich or even merely echo the pre-eminent Imagination for Stevens.
The word-music is present here too. 'Umbrellas' has a wonderfully feminine sound to it, recollective of floral forms, such an 'umbels,' as well as being resonant with 'umbra' (shade, that poetically important phenomenon for stevens), both joined together here with the ever-feminine 'ella.' The word 'Java' too, exotic in its connotations, is, simply as a sound, both beautiful and satisfying for English-speakers. We wish we had something more proprietary for this sound to mean, and so we've appropriated it for our 'java script,' and we use it to refer to our pedestrian and daily coffee, which also promises us oh-so-much more. 'Java' sounds like 'Jazz,' another intriguing word full of the promise of secrets and revelations, but the final syllable, 'va' carries us away to new horizons.
i've indulged a life-long amateur interest in sounds - obviously or at least not surprisingly i write poetry too - and I hypothesize that the sound 'ja' or anything with the 'j' sound relates to the jaw and to eating. 'Va' as a sanskrit syllable is always related to movement, travelling, and is the root of our english words 'vehicle, vacate, vacation, vacant, etc.' 'Umbrellas in Java' is so soft as a sound-phrase, so full of movement, with its connotations of soft yet powerful southerly trade-winds, yet it's all about an inner movement, a movement towards the Imagination and an intimacy to be found within ourselves. | <urn:uuid:bfb73dba-63dd-4361-88b1-f2c71edc7775> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://knitandcontemplation.typepad.com/dao_wallace_stevens/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940474 | 557 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Excerpt: For a growing number of shoppers this holiday season, the difference between offline and online will be no line at all.
With an avalanche of new smartphone apps just in time for Black Friday, these handheld shopping tools are redefining the art of consumption, blurring the distinction between the in-store experience and the virtual world of information now available in the palm of your hand. Advances in location-based technology, bar-code scanning, price-comparison apps and social-networking tools have turned the mobile device into a sweaty-palmed third channel of commerce, empowering consumers while challenging retailers to rethink the way they do business.
"The future of online is offline," said Cyriac Roeding, co-founder and CEO of Shopkick, a popular shopping app. "These apps are encouraging people to interact in brand new ways with products and with the store itself, fundamentally changing the shopping experience."
Referenced in the article, with accompanying breathless quotes. (Click for perspective.)
The future of online is offline," said Cyriac Roeding, co-founder and CEO of Shopkick, a popular shopping app. "These apps are encouraging people to interact in brand new ways with products and with the store itself, fundamentally changing the shopping experience."
"We think mobile purchasing has arrived and it's evolving quickly," Rathi said. "People who walk into your store now are no longer comparing you to the next brick-and-mortar site but to everything else offline and on. Shoppers are shopping and comparing prices on a global level."
"We call it a virtual end-cap," said CEO Mark DiPaola of CheckPoints, referring to the shelves at the end of an aisle. His app earns you rewards simply for scanning bar codes on certain items. "Even though the product may be way in the back, we feature it in your phone and make it feel like it's right up front when you walk in to the store. At the same time, we're making money by driving tens of thousands of users to these products, breeding new customers for the manufacturer."
Anne Zybowski, an analyst at Kantar Retail, says that a few years ago "retailers spent a ton of time trying to make their online stores look and act like their physical stores. Now they've sort of reversed course, and the challenge is how to take that online shopping experience that's so personalized, socially connected and heavily layered with data, and essentially bring it into a physical environment." | <urn:uuid:7af7d232-bbd4-4a39-8e7f-84d01336bd71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://paulsnewsline.blogspot.jp/2010/11/smartphones-as-third-channel-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952617 | 515 | 1.5 | 2 |
November 26, 2012 The wildly popular mosh pits for the school-age set have become a common source of injuries that send kids to the hospital. Doctors call for safer designs for inflatable bouncers and better guidelines for their use.
November 21, 2012 Ultrasound often catches fetuses opening their mouths, but whether they're really yawning or not has been up for debate. Now, with some fancy ultrasound techniques, scientists have show that babies do indeed yawn in the womb.
November 19, 2012 Girls say they are using steroids, too, although they're using the illegal drugs less often than boys, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota and Columbia University. And the researchers found that many teens using steroids or muscle-enhancing supplements are overweight or obese.
November 9, 2012 An experimental vaccine for malaria reduces infants' risk of the disease by about a third. That's less than researchers had hoped for, given the vaccine's effectiveness in toddlers, but doctors say it's enough to prevent many high fevers, seizures and deaths in a lot of African children.
November 6, 2012 Whether you pick up some fast food or eat at a full service restaurant, eating out means eating more calories and drinking more sugary soda. For kids and teens, that has a lot of implications, especially as the country faces an obesity crisis.
November 5, 2012 A web of embargoes meant the full story on a 2009 mumps outbreak couldn't be revealed until now. Now we can tell you about the effect of an extra dose of vaccine worked and whether doctors recommend that others get a third mumps shot.
November 4, 2012 Responding to a published profile of girls ages 12 and 10 who run long distances, commentator Barbara J. King considers the costs and benefits to children of intense participation in athletics. In an age when childhood obesity is a serious issue, can we help our kids find a right balance?
October 22, 2012 It's important for kids to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, America's pediatricians say, but there are fewer pesticides and a potentially lower risk of exposure to drug-resistant bacteria in organic produce, if you can afford it.
October 22, 2012 The flips, pyramids, and tosses that make modern-day cheerleading so eye-popping make it far more risky than the splits-on-the-sidelines version that parent remember.
October 19, 2012 A German regional court effectively banned circumcision this summer after ruling that the ancient practice amounts to assault. That fueled accusations of religious intolerance in a country still haunted by its Nazi past. Now lawmakers are pushing through a bill to make circumcision legal.
October 18, 2012 Kids exposed to laundry detergent pods appeared more likely to have vomiting, drowsiness or lethargy than those who were exposed to other forms of laundry detergent. An analysis of reports of poisoning by detergent pods finds they represent "an emerging public health hazard."
October 16, 2012 During the early 20th century, polio killed thousands of American children each summer and paralyzed many more. Now, as the world fights to eradicate the virus globally, we look back at the development of the polio vaccine and its successful deployment around the world.
October 16, 2012 New research presented at the Society for Neuroscience meeting suggests that teens are not necessarily wired to be impulsive. Researchers are also learning more about why it's important to treat problems like depression in teens early.
October 12, 2012 Kids with autism who did a yoga routine at school every morning for 17 minutes behaved better, researchers at New York University found. | <urn:uuid:2ad7a340-2049-4439-abac-70361d1720bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=126567378&date=10-08-2012&n=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950123 | 728 | 2.28125 | 2 |
New Delhi, April 17: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) move Tuesday to cut key rates for the first time in three years by a sharp 50 basis points will provide the much needed respite to consumers as top banks said interest rates would go down, but not too soon.
“Of course, the rate cuts will be passed on,” said Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman, State Bank of India.
“Let me admit, after the last CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) cut of 75 basis point also the transmission has not happened fully because that came in the month of March. So, we were just slightly watchful of the liquidity situation,” he said, adding that SBI might do a comprehensive cut but not across the board but in particular segments.
“Largely in our case it would be for SMEs but it is for our asset liability committee which will be meeting today (Tuesday) evening and soon thereafter to take a call,” he said.
Chanda Kochhar, managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Bank, said the reduction in the interest rates would be across deposits as well as lending rates.
“Clearly it will have to be across both, deposits and lending rates and in fact the deposit rate decrease is absolutely required because otherwise the costs of funds for the banks would not go down.”
HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri said both deposits and lending rates will come down “but it would probably take a while because after all the banks will only bring it down when you ask a question on the base rate, the base rate depends on the function of cost.
The RBI decision would result in interest rates falling on housing, automobile and commercial loans.
Currently, the base rates of these banks range from 10 to 12 percent while they offer loans such as home loan at an interest rate between 10.75 percent and 14 percent and auto loans between 12 and 15 percent. | <urn:uuid:ecfdbea2-ee1f-4688-bce7-fdcedde5e62a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indiatalkies.com/2012/04/interest-rates-immediately-top-banks.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967701 | 410 | 1.59375 | 2 |
An Introduction to SEM
Danny Meadows Klue, Co-founder and CEO of IAB Europe
Danny Meadows Klue holds a major role in the development and growth of digital marketing and advertising. In this case study he talks about Search Engine Optimisation, Pay Per Click and Search Engine Marketing. He looks at the merits of natural search versus pay per click and explains why they are complementary and not alternatives. Danny's enthusiasm for Search is clear as he predicts dramatic growth rates across all media and identifies markets that are ripe for expansion.
As an advocate of web analytics, Danny says it's important to get it right. By using traditional direct marketing disciplines analytics can deliver precise customer data that will drive forward digital marketing. He says that most businesses now recognise that Search needs to be part of a marketing strategy not only to gain short term sales uplift but to acquire new and loyal customers. 'Search is the natural glue that links customer needs to data on the web.'
This second interview provides analysis of where we are, what we can use and where Search Engine Marketing is going.
This is a key VIP Briefing from Weboptimiser. Weboptimiser VIP Briefings seek to introduce thought leaders on internet advertising - including search - and all related subjects that are likely to change our future and fortunes. | <urn:uuid:3ee619d4-3e26-4a70-9281-c17b40e1a761> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.semcasestudies.com/introduction.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928346 | 261 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Downy wanted to challenge Canada to show support for the Boys & Girls Club of Canada by showing a simple display of affection: a hug. In return, Downy was prepared to donate $1 for each hug, both in real life and within Facebook. On September 3rd, Downy asked Canadians to converge on the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto and attempt to break the Guinness World Record for most hugs given in 8 hours. Setting the record would unlock the donations that had built up in the process, both at the CNE and on Facebook.
The solution on Facebook took the form of a lightweight wall to wall post sharing engagement. Users could send an individual friend a Bear Hug, or they could send up to five friends a Group Hug, both of which would appear on their friends' walls. Users could then share the experience with their circles on Facebook, via a newsfeed post, an on Twitter as a tweet with a tracked link. At the event, Hug Ambassadors doled out hugs and drove consumers to Facebook to 'donate' more love to their friends, while Downy street teams also pushed fans to the Facebook experience throughout September.
During the National Hug Challenge Cloud9 ran from September 2nd to December 1st, resulting in over 800 hugs posted to friends Facebook walls, 10,000 visits, and an average of nearly 5 hugs sent to friends over the duration of the program. The Downy page on Facebook grew by 257,000 during the duration of the Cloud9 custom social gifting experience. | <urn:uuid:6c6e2ec9-669d-4322-9eab-f6f0d844e3f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stuzo.com/project-page/downy-hug-sender/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962032 | 310 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Reporting on the climate change debate is not for sissies. For example, one line in an article I wrote back in November discussing the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment triggered a furor among climate change bloggers. I reported a bet by MIT climatologist Richard Lindzen that in 20 years global average temperatures would be lower than they are now. This "bet" circulated as blogfodder in climatological circles. *
Subsequently, James Annan, who works with the Data Assimilation group at the Frontier Research Center for Global Change, noted the "bet" and emailed Lindzen about setting up an actual bet. Annan and Lindzen engaged in an exchange but were unable to settle on a mutually acceptable bet. Annan summarizes their exchange on his blog, claiming that Lindzen would take only 50 to 1 odds on global temperatures in 20 years being lower than they are now.
Obviously, I feel responsible for getting this whole thing started. I contacted Lindzen, who insisted that I had misquoted him. Given the rancor that sometimes accompanies the debate over climate change I try to be very careful about what I report. I've looked again at the notes of my phone interview with Lindzen and they say what I reported in my November column. At this point, I can only conclude that when I was taking down my notes during our conversation, I somehow misheard or misunderstood Lindzen. My mistake.
So, for the record, what does Lindzen actually believe? This is how Lindzen responded to Annan: "The quote [at Reason Online] was out of context. I think the odds are about 50-50. I said that if anyone were willing to give warming much higher odds than that, I would be tempted to take the bet." Lindzen and Annan subsequently haggled a bit over what would be a fair bet. From Lindzen's point of view, any such bet would be between people like Annan, who are convinced by climate model projections that average global temperatures should be increasing about 0.3C per decade, and people who think it's even odds that temperatures will be lower than they are now in 20 years.
Setting aside the bet that global temperatures will be lower in 20 years, Lindzen offered Annan an alternative bet. If the temperature change were less than 0.2C, he would win. If the temperature change were between 0.2C and 0.4C the bet would be off. And if the temperature change were 0.4 or greater, Annan would win. He would take 2 to 1 odds. After all, Lindzen is on record as saying that global average temperatures could rise by 1 degree Celsius over the next century. In contrast, climate model projections predict a warming of 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius by 2100, though a new study in January suggested global warming could be "Twice as Bad as Previously Thought," with an upper projection of average global temperatures reaching 11 degrees Celsius.
Annan then countered with a bet pegged to some agreed upon average temperature in 20 years with payouts based on how many hundredths of a degree Celsius the loser was from the agreed upon temperature. Lindzen responded by skeptically asking how one would accurately measure hundredths of a degree Celsius on a global level. Their negotiations apparently ended there and, at least on the part of Annan, the blogging began.
Still, betting on the outcome of scientific controversies is a good idea. James Annan explicitly cited the famous bet between Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon about the future prices of natural resources, saying that he believed that "such wagers have an important role to play in clarifying the issues involved in prediction and uncertainty." Ehrlich, convinced that non-renewable resources were becoming increasingly scarce, bet that the prices of his handpicked basket of five metals would increase over the next ten years. Ten years later Ehrlich sent Simon a check for $576.07. In other words, instead of rising as predicted by Ehrlich, the prices of the five metals selected by Ehrlich had fallen by more than half.
Organizing such bets is similar to the concept of idea futures markets. Instead of trading weather futures, one might be able to trade climate futures. In the meantime, the Long Bets Foundation is taking bets on a variety of future predictions. At the Long Bets Web site, people propose bets with real money held in escrow to be paid out to a selected charity when the bet is won. Mark Bahner, an environmental engineer and evident climate catastrophe skeptic, is betting that novelist Michael Crichton's projection of future global temperatures are more accurate than those of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Bahner's bet is open only to members of the IPCC. If Annan works on IPCC reports, he might want to take Bahner's action.
However, with all due respect to Annan and Bahner, it would be far more interesting and valuable to the climate debate if major figures in the climate change debate would negotiate a bet about the future of global temperature trends. James Hansen or Stephen Schneider could represent those worried about dangerous global warming, and John Christy or Patrick Michaels could pony up for the skeptics. It's time to put up or shut up.
* This article has been corrected. An erroneous reference to William M Connolley has been removed. (Return to the corrected portion.) | <urn:uuid:cbd16ae0-6da3-4a44-a9b8-ef1dabe55d0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.com/archives/2005/06/08/betting-on-climate-change | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967105 | 1,109 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Lion populations have fallen by 68% in just 50 years – from 100,000 to 35,000 today. What can be done to protect them?
In 2002, I spent 10 days in Kenya. I’ll never forget lying in a tent on the Maasai Mara trying to sleep against the awful, blood-curdling roar of lions hunting on the moonlit plains. I would wake every hour, swearing a beast was at my door. Seven years later, a trip to Botswana ended without seeing (or hearing) a single lion, and while the safari was magnificent, something powerful and fearsome was notably absent. It made me wonder: what would Africa be without lions?
It’s not a rhetorical question. The king of the beasts is on his deathbed. The great cats are vanishing across Africa. In fact, a study last year in Biodiversity Conservation estimated that lion populations have fallen by 68% in just 50 years: from 100,000 in 1960 to 35,000 today. Another report by the NGO LionAid, however, estimated even fewer: 15,000.
While even 15,000 may sound like a lot when compared to other threatened species, lion populations are spread over more than 20 countries, spanning a geographic area larger than south America. Today they survive in small, fragmented pockets. Looking at a map of historic versus current lion ranges is like viewing a continent submerged by rising seas: only scattered islands remain. The situation is most dire in Western and Central Africa where LionAid warns as few as 645 lions survive.
The story of the lion’s decline is similar to that of many big predators. Ever-expanding human populations have gobbled up lion habitat for agriculture, livestock, and cities, while numbers lion prey – from antelope to zebra – have fallen dramatically. And like many top predators, lions face an unceasing conflict with humans: they are killed as pests, for trophies, and even for sham medicine. In order to conserve the lion, we must first stop so many dying at human hands.
Lion-human conflict is as old as our origins on the African savannah. Lions do not shy away from killing livestock when they can, and they attack people with some regularity. Both trends may be worsened by prey decline. For millennia, pastoralists have fought back and speared the lions.
But now some have turned to poisoning lions en-masse. In East Africa, a dangerous pesticide known as Furadan (banned in the EU, Canada, and US) is sprinkled over lion-killed livestock. When the pride returns to feed, they perish agonizingly. Unlike spears, the neurotoxin kills scavengers too. It’s so deadly that in 2009 a 3-year-old boy died after ingesting Furadan, possibly mistaking the candy-blue pesticide for a treat
Another threat: taxidermy and trophy hunters who argue that by shelling out a lot of cash to shoot animals, they aid conservation efforts. This may be a legitimate argument for some species, but not for lions. Big-cat experts Dereck and Beverly Joubert with National Geographic told me that lion hunting often ends in a long trail of murder , as dramatic as any royal coup.
Hunters almost always target mature males—because of their manes—but by doing so, they unwittingly trigger a wholesale massacre. When a top male dies, a pride becomes vulnerable to challengers. If new males take over their first act is to kill any resisting females and all cubs. The Jouberts say that shooting one male can result in the deaths of over 24 lions.
Finally, there’s a new concern: the lion bone trade. Tigers have been killed for traditional Chinese medicine for millennia, some of whose practitioners consider their bones an aphrodisiac. But with wild tigers dwindling and demand rising, traders are turning to lions. Many of the lions involved are raised, much like tiger-farming, solely to be killed for their bones. In this case, trophy-hunters get to shoot a lion and the parts are shipped to China to make someone feel potent, even though there’s no medical evidence this works. But if the trade widens, conservationists fear that eventually wild lions will also face the gun.
Conservation must start with halting targeted killings. Lion hunting should be banned or at least better regulated. Working with local communities to mitigate lion conflict, compensate for livestock killed, and better protect both livestock and people should be a priority. Finally, the lion bone trade must be stopped before it gets out of control, like rhino horn and ivory.
This is not to say the lion is going extinct anytime soon. But I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple decades our king fell victim to the same fate as the tiger today: down to just a few thousand in protected areas, struggling even there to survive against the rising tide of humanity. We still have time to decide for lions: would we be satisfied with a token population, representing what once was, or do we want African ecosystems that are still ruled by kings? Where antelope bound in fear and zebra watch the horizon, where prides tussle with hyenas under a dark sky, and the king lounges in the morning light, belly full?
I say, long live the king. | <urn:uuid:f124cae3-3673-4e20-9aa5-84073e63fa28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://greatcatsoftheworld.wordpress.com/tag/trophy-hunting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951451 | 1,101 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Due by midnight on Monday February 18th
Become intimately familiar with the GameBase and AgentBase classes and use them to write a game and a bot that can be run by our web-app. Gain experience with Object Oriented Programming in Ruby. This assignment has nothing to do with Rails.
As you know, we shall be working on an existing Rails web application in a couple of weeks. Project4 is intended to give you some idea of what our Rails web-app is actually used for. The web-app provides a general purpose engine for turn-based games (board games are the classic example) and bots (A.I.) that play those games against each other. So where do these games and bots come from? You have to write them in Ruby! Just to be clear, the games and the bots have absolutely nothing to do with Rails. The games and bots are Ruby programs that you upload to the web-app through your browser under a web-app user acount. Then you can ask the web-app to make specific bots play a death-match against each other for some particular game - it's like Gladiator but with A.I. Obviously the games and bots must all be written in a particular way so that the web-app knows how to run them, and that's what you're going to learn in this project, we just won't be using the web-app *yet*. Games and bots can be run locally like any other Ruby program which is far more convenient for their development and testing cycle, and that's how you'll run them for Project4. Think of your laptop as your training camp and the web-app as the Colloseum where you will one day bask in the glory of your victory while the corpse of your classmate's program lies beneath your sandal :)
Study the base classes
We provide an object oriented programming contract in the form of base classes from which all games and bots MUST inherit.
The contract's objectives are as follows:
- Inform game authors how to write a game that can be:
- Run by our web-app.
- Played by bots that also follow the contract.
- Inform bot authors how to write a bot that can play one or more game(s) in our web-app
- Be general enough to allow:
- Game authors to write whatever game they want.
- Bot authors to achieve whatever behavior/strategy they want.
- Bot authors from being able to cheat.
Study the files
agentbase.rb. Consider how writing games and bots as classes that inherit from GameBase and AgentBase respectively achieve the stated objectives of our programming contract. How well do you think these base classes achieve the objectives? Can you think of any improvements? Write your answers in English (include code snippets only for clarity), in a file
contract.txt. If you're feeling brave you may also look at
stateholders.rb which provides data structures that game authors can use to expose game state to bots while preventing unwanted modifications to that state. DO NOT MODIFY THESE FILES since the programming contract only works if we all use precisely the same base classes.
So that you can see example classes that inherit from the base classes, here is an example game, a simplified single-hand version of blackjack, and an example of a very stupid bot.
To see the
FirstPlayer classes in action, download their files to your machine and put them in the same directory along with the three base class files above. At a command prompt run
and then study
blackjack.rb to figure out how the output was produced. Note that to really understand you need to look in
GameBase as well.
Write a class
RandomPlayer that inherits from
AgentBase. You should put your code in a file called
randomplayer.rb. This bot should be able to play ANY game that follows our contract by simply making a move at random. You only need about 10 lines of code and two methods at the most.
Write a class
Connect4 that inherits from class
GameBase. Put your code in a file called
connect4.rb. The purpose of your class is to implement the game of Connect Four. The preceding link tells you all about it. If you have never played it, there is an applet you can play online here.
- To help you get started some skeleton code is provided for you: connect4_skeleton.rb. You should fill in all the empty methods. You may of course add your own helper methods but these should be made private. My
Connect4solution is under 100 lines long.
- Notice in
GameBase#initializethat the first line is
@state = Vector.new. This is an adequate container for a linear representation of the board state and for this assignment you are required to use it as is. So you need to play with
Vectorobjects in irb to get a feel for them. Start by trying the following in irb:
load 'stateholders.rb' v = GameBase::Vector.new v.class v.public_methods.sort # looks like an array doesn't it v << 1 v.length v << true v.length v v = false v += 1 v # seems to act like an array too, until... v << "boom" # strings are mutable in Ruby and so they are banned from Vector v << ["I am a real Array"] # same goes for Arrays and Hashes
Your code will be graded on style and correctness and should be as elegant as possible. Marks will be deducted for needlessly long code. I will test your
connect4.rb by running it as a stand alone program from the command prompt and I would appreciate a nicely formatted display of the final board state similar to the one I showed in class. Here is an example of appropriate pogram output.
DO NOT SUBMIT THE BASE CLASSES | <urn:uuid:87606dca-a03e-4958-9b1f-e5fd3302242e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/julian/index.php?page=Connect4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929472 | 1,225 | 2.625 | 3 |
Links: Secondary Navigation
Physical Facilities Safety Awards
Learn, practice, promote.
Safety Award Criteria
Our goal is to recognize an Individual or group for their efforts in keeping a safe working environment. Qualified Nominee(s) should practice safety techniques designed to reduce or eliminate on-the-job injuries and strive for an overall safe and hazard free Purdue University.
CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION OF QUALIFIED NOMINEES:
- An individual who stands out and leads by example by practicing good safety techniques.
- An individual who practices good leadership and communication with other employees.
- An individual who keeps his/her work environment neat, clean and safe.
- An individual who produces positive and motivating ideas geared toward providing a safer working environment.
- An individual who goes above and beyond to help.
- As a group, they all have a safe working history and lead by example.
- As a group, they develop and share ideas geared toward providing a safer working environment.
- As a whole, they each practice the individual guidelines for safe working practices. | <urn:uuid:c000ece4-de15-4a3b-abd9-d9843e9924e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.purdue.edu/safety/award.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904512 | 227 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In railroading, the cabin, building, or tower which contains the levers of a signaling-plant or the handles, buttons, etc, of an electric switch-system; a signal-tower (which see). See signaling.
“To walk, even to stand, was impossible; I crawled along the railroad track, collapsing, resting, going on again, whipping my will power to the task of keeping my brain clear, until after a nightmare that seemed to last through centuries I lay across the door of the switch-tower in which the light was burning.”
“He did not hear a raging of telephone-bells in the switch-tower, nor the man, as he leaned out and called to. 007's engineer: "Got any steam?”
“There's the city limits, that switch-tower on the Belt Line.”
‘switch-tower’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
Looking for tweets for switch-tower. | <urn:uuid:3b90e941-ee39-4832-8445-7ea2512c963e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wordnik.com/words/switch-tower | 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 | 0.939218 | 218 | 1.960938 | 2 |
San Francisco Mayor Issues Roadmap to a Greener City
SAN FRANCISCO, California, January 17, 2008 (ENS) – San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Tuesday released SForward, the roadmap to achieve his environmental goal of a 20 percent decrease in emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide below 1990 levels by 2010.
The plan also aims to achieve carbon neutrality for city government by 2020.
SForward incorporates the environmental goals, programs and strategies of all key city departments, including the Public Utilities Commission, Municipal Transportation Authority, Department of Public Works, and the Recreation and Parks Department.
“San Francisco’s environmental future is already unfolding,” said Mayor Newsom. “When fully realized, the San Francisco of the future will be a place where words like ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ are meaningless, because it will simply be understood that any action includes best practices for the environment.”
SForward identifies six policy areas that will be developed – renewable and efficient energy, clean transportation, green buildings, urban forest, zero waste, and environmental justice.
The plan also highlights programs that are working now – such as San Francisco’s successful recycling efforts and recent biodiesel conversion efforts of food waste, as well as new ideas such as solar incentives and a local carbon offset program.
The plan looks toward changing municipal policies, such as the General Plan, as well as individual departmental strategic plans and seeks ways that the city can incorporate climate action in all initiatives.
The city’s strategies to develop new local climate change policy to address climate change include:
* Creating a San Francisco Carbon Fund for local green activities designed to mitigate or offset greenhouse gas emissions.
* Developing framework for a carbon tax, which may serve as an alternative to payroll taxes for San Francisco businesses.
* Incorporating climate protection criteria into the City’s General Plan and into departmental plans, activities and performance measures.
* Working with Peak Oil Task Force to maximize synergies between climate action and the development of the City’s approach to Peak Oil.
The plan includes encouragement for the installation of more solar power. The city will provide subsidies and loans to homeowners and businesses that install solar panels.
By 2010, San Francisco would
cut greenhouse gases by 20
percent below 1990 levels
under the new SForward plan.
(Photo courtesy FreeFoto.com)
To get San Franciscans out of their cars, the mayor proposes building key transportation projects including the Transbay Terminal and the Central Subway. He plans to expanding “SF Go,” a transportation management system to improve public transit.
The mayor says he will ensure that the required planning on the San Francisco Bike Plan is completed and greatly expand the City’s bicycle network.
The SForward plan includes bicycle-sharing options in new bus shelter programs.
Car-sharing will be encouraged and the mayor plans to designate 500 parking spaces for car-share vehicles.
To coincide with the launch of SForward, Mayor Newsom submitted legislation that will prohibit use of the outdated, environmentally costly T-12 lightbulb, and encourage transition to the T-8 bulb.
The T-8 lighting tubes are up to 40 percent more energy efficient, and have improved color, less heat, and less noise than the older fluorescent lamps.
The value of replacing the T-12 tubes is calculated that if all the remaining older fluorescent lights in the city were replaced with this new T-8 lighting technology, it would save enough energy to power 7,200 local residences or eliminate 16,500 tons of carbon dioxide.
To assist with these new requirements, funding is available to help with the conversion to more energy efficient light bulbs.
The SF Energy Watch Program has nearly $4 million to offer to local businesses to help with energy efficiency conversions. It provides incentive programs, training, education, and technical assistance for small businesses and residential customers.
The SForward plan is based on the work of the San Francisco Commission on the Environment, an advisory body which sets policy for the Department of the Environment and advises the mayor and Board of Supervisors on environmental matters. | <urn:uuid:bfcde532-7fe4-4eae-832c-a95d4e3807e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sundancechannel.com/blog/2008/01/san-francisco-mayor-issues-roadmap-to-a-greener-city/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925586 | 852 | 2.375 | 2 |
Health-insurance co-op set to start in 2013
A new, nonprofit health insurance co-op is slated to start working in Colorado in 2013. Customers are expected to be able to buy the new insurance from the co-op in 2013; their health-insurance plans will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.
The co-op – sponsored by the Denver-based nonprofit Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Foundation – recently received a loan for $69 million to operate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Why is this new health-insurance co-op starting now?
Every person must have health insurance by 2014, under the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by Congress in 2010. The new federal law also calls for every state to put together at least one nonprofit, co-op health-insurance provider.
Lindy Wallace, who formerly worked with the Boulder County Public Health program, is a volunteer at the new co-op, which is based in Denver.
“We’re very optimistic about this. It is consumer-owned and consumer-driven, so it’s not a company that makes piles of money,” Wallace said.
The co-op must become self-sufficient by paying back the loan within 15 years, Wallace said.
Program organizers hope to have 14,000 customers in 2013, Wallace said. An estimated 500,000 people in Colorado are uninsured.
The Rocky Mountain Farmers Union has 22 chapters across the state. Officers of the Adams/St. Vrain chapter live in Boulder, Lafayette and Longmont.
Potential customers will be able to ask questions at community gatherings hosted by those chapters in the future, Wallace said.
Boulder Community Hospital has earned accreditation from a national breast center program recognizing the quality of services it offers to breast cancer patients. While the Boulder Valley’s three other hospitals also offer breast cancer treatment, Boulder Community Hospital is the only accredited facility located north of Denver, according to a press statement.
More information about BCH breast services is available at www.bch.org/breastcancer.
Was that a sneeze?
Next – what your mother told you about remembering to cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough is magnified a hundred times when you’re an athlete in the Olympic Village.
So said Neal Henderson, sports science director at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, who coached Boulder cyclist Taylor Phinney and other local athletes at the London Olympic Games that just wrapped up on Sunday, Aug. 12.
Athletes at the Olympics carry alcohol-based hand cleaner 24/7, wiping down railings and other commonly touched items as often as they can, Henderson said.
“The radar on a high-performance athlete goes up. When they hear someone sneeze, they get out the hand cleaner,” Henderson said.
Gift cards for wellness
You can get merchant gift cards for participating in wellness assessments and coaching if you participate in a program offered by insurance provider United Healthcare of Colorado Inc. based in Denver.
Louisville customer intelligence company Market Force Information Inc. employees recently became involved with one of United Healthcare’s wellness programs.
About three-fourths of the company’s employees participated in the plan, or 27 out of 35 employees. They received gift cards for completing health assessments, for calling in to a telephone wellness coaching line and for going online to take advantage of other health coaching activities, according to United Healthcare statistics.
Of the employees who participated, 94 percent whose weight fell in the “at-risk” category said they planned to lose weight.
Of the smokers at the company, 100 percent said they planned to change their behavior and quit smoking. Maybe more surprising – workers in the 18- to 24-year-old category were the most likely to have total cholesterol levels that put them at risk.
And just 9.5 percent of the company’s employees were at risk for developing diabetes, while nearly 26 percent of working adults in the United States are now believed to be at risk.
United Healthcare covers about 600,000 workers across Colorado. It is one of the companies of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH).
Beth Potter can be reached at 303-630-1944 or via email at firstname.lastname@example.org.
More breaking news...
App offers fertility guidance based on vital stats
The folks at Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette are available to help. And if they find something wrong, they have the expertise to fix it.
Exempla recently opened a
Health reform prescribes doctors’ disclosures
A free version of the fertility charting application from
Starting in August, doctors will be required to | <urn:uuid:db3a9dc9-bb2f-415d-95ac-1df91ba4b8f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bcbr.com/article/20120817/EDITION0805/120819939 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955813 | 988 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Ok, I'll tell you right now, I'm not an expert on dental lasers, but I have seen where the technology is. My father is a physicist, so I should be able to tackle lasers. The dental lasers currently available are quite useful at soft tissue surgery, that is things like gingival contouring. They can be used to treat apthous ulcers and to remove minor lesions like fibromas. Other dental lasers can be used to do some hard tissue surgery (teeth). That is, they can do much of what the dental handpiece (drill) does now. However, they do not totally replace the handpiece and they cannot be used, right now anyways, to prepare crowns, or remove alloy fillings. They do not totally replace dental handpieces.
How they work is to heat up any water in the area that's zapped till basically it explodes in a little puff. It can be quite precise. Of course, with children you have to consider patient movement and other things. Here is one company that makes these: Biolase. I think as the cost comes down and the technology improves, you will see these basically replace the dental "drill". The units are expensive. Right now the cost of one of these is up to 50 times the cost of a regular dental handpiece.
To return to the home page for more info click here: Pediatric Dentistry | <urn:uuid:85cc958a-a714-455f-9f53-ae3f66544676> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cyberdentist.blogspot.com/2006/08/dental-lasers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947671 | 288 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Bluntnose - Similar to fathead minnow commonly used for bait, the bluntnose minnow is a common minnow in most of Alabama.
Bullhead - With a broad, flat back in covered with small scales like all Pimephales, the lateral line of the bullhead minnow is bent dorsally near its anterior end, which distinguishes this species from the bluntnose minnow.
Chub - Several different types of minnows are given the common name of "chub."
Cypress - Similar in appearance and distribution to the Mississippi silvery minnow, the cypress minnow has a more angular profile, is more compressed, and prefers quieter waters.
Dace - Dace is a common name for several minnow types with small scales.
Fathead - The fathead minnow is the most popular bait minnow in the country, and it is commonly called a tuffie.
Goldfish and Carps - All goldfish and carp are exotic to Alabama.
Longjaw - Until 2006, the sand-loving longjaw minnow in Alabama was considered a silverjaw minnow.
Mississippi Silvery - The Mississippi silvery minnow is common in sluggish streams throughout the Mississippi and Mobile basins.
Pugnose - The pugnose minnow is best known for its small head and small, almost vertical mouth.
Riffle - The riffle minnow is a bottom dwelling minnow that is endemic to (only found in) the Mobile basin.
Shiners - Reflective minnows that have the common name shiner.
Stargazing - More slender and fusiform than the riffle and suckermouth minnow, the stargazing minnow is found in the Tennessee, Green and Cumberland river drainages.
Stonerollers - The largescale stoneroller and the bluefin stoneroller live in Alabama.
Suckermouth - A single suckermouth minnow specimen collected at night in Cedar Creek, Tennessee River basin, in 1993 may represent the first record of this species from Alabama in nearly 30 years. | <urn:uuid:8263d37b-38fd-4f47-8a54-23947627a375> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://Lakepoint.Marina@dcnr.alabama.gov/fishing/freshwater/fish/other/minnow/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913943 | 445 | 2.84375 | 3 |
|Campus-wide workshop will focus on feedback|
Are Holen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway/community faculty member, UND department of Family and Community Medicine, will discuss feedback at two workships Nov. 12 and 16.
Holen has served as the chairperson of the department of Neuroscience and Vice Dean of Education of the Faculty of Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. He has been central in his university's development of problem-based learning, peer feedback systems and in the establishment of behavioral medicine. He is a highly esteemed lecturer and teacher.
Holen will discuss how a major key to the creation of a productive and positive learning environment is to deliver constructive, specific and timely feedback. Feedback requires a complex set of skills. Without feedback our capacity to grow and influence others is diminished. There are many barriers to giving feedback (time, skills, and fear of consequences to name a few). A major barrier is that people often find it very difficult to give honest feedback. This is due to a range of reasons, including cultural norms, power differences and fear of conflict. Features of this workshop will cover the need to develop essential peer feedback skills for the process to be constructive in any classroom or learning environment, and particularly in a problem-based small group.
You may attend the workshop at one of the following times and places:
1. Thursday, Nov. 12, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (lunch provided)
Haugen Lecture Hall, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences
2. Monday, Nov. 16, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
United Lecture Hall, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Intended audience: Any UND faculty member or student interested in the topic of giving and receiving feedback is encouraged to attend.
To pre-register: Contact Faye Aker, Office of Medical Education, at 777-3800 or firstname.lastname@example.org .
-- Linda Olson, Special Projects Director, Office Of Medical Education, UNDSMHS, email@example.com, 777-3953 | <urn:uuid:c0ad931f-a6d9-4a54-8918-993366701b6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.und.edu/our/uletterArchive/print_article.php?uletterID=7332 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932055 | 466 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Trigger Warning for discussions of sexual violence against youth in juvenile detention.
The Department of Justice has just released its Report on Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Correctional Facilities (pdf). While presenting an excellent opportunity to meaningfully engage with the widespread problem of sexual abuse in juvenile detention, as Just Detention notes in its response to the report, the DoJ instead decides to largely minimize the extent of the epidemic. Just Detention writes:
The Department of Justice has squandered an opportunity to address the rampant sexual abuse of detained youth, choosing instead to minimize this crisis. In the executive summary of its new “Report on Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Correctional Facilities,” the Department’s Review Panel on Prison Rape claims that a recent study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) “indicated that violent sexual assault in juvenile facilities was relatively rare and facility staff, for the most part, did not victimize juvenile offenders.”
“In fact,” said Lovisa Stannow, Executive Director of Just Detention International, “the BJS estimated that almost one in eight kids behind bars had been sexually victimized during a 12-month period, the vast majority of them — 80 percent — by staff whose job it is to keep them safe. Many endured repeated abuse, often more than ten times, and frequently by multiple perpetrators. I simply don’t understand how that is ‘rare.’”
Indeed, on page 1 of the report, the DoJ astoundingly makes the claim that violent sexual assaults are rare while immediately following it with the same statistics cited above:
In a society that values the dignity of each individual, any incident of sexual victimization of a youth in custody is unacceptable. From this perspective, the Panel reviewed the BJS Juvenile Report and noted that violent sexual assault in juvenile facilities is relatively rare and that facility staff members, for the most part, do not victimize juvenile offenders. The Panel commends juvenile justice administrators who have, as a whole, worked hard toward eliminating sexual victimization in their facilities.
The BJS Juvenile Report found that of the estimated 26,551 adjudicated youth held in state facilities or large non-state facilities in 2008-09, about 12.1% (3,220) reported experiencing sexual violence. About 2.6% of these reported incidents involved other youths, whereas about 10.3% involved facility staff members. For the reported youth-on-youth incidents, 2.0% involved nonconsensual acts; for the reported staff-on-youth incidents, 4.3% involved force and 6.4% did not involve force. Facilities that housed only female youth offenders had the highest rates of youth-on-youth victimization (11.0%), whereas facilities that housed only male youth offenders had the highest rates of staff sexual misconduct (11.3%).
After acknowledging that 12.1% of youth report sexual assault while in juvenile detention, the report then goes on to cite even more detailed numbers, including the increased rate of sexual violence at large facilities, the fact that increased time spent in a facility correlates to increased likelihood of being sexually assaulted, the higher rate of sexual violence by staff against black youth, and the higher rate of sexual violence against queer youth in general.
So, again. How does this correspond to a conclusion that violent sexual assault in juvenile detention facilities is “relatively rare”?
The explanation is simple, if incredibly chilling. It seems that the DoJ is picking and choosing which sexual assaults they are deeming “violent” — and deciding that if an assault did not include physical force, it doesn’t fit the bill. As Just Detention says:
Testimony from the report makes clear that many youth corrections administrators consider staff sexual abuse of detained youth to be largely consensual, or the result of youth manipulation. The Department of Justice perpetuates that view by insisting that most staff sexual abuse of juveniles is not “violent.”
“These are teenagers and children we’re talking about,” said Stannow, “and corrections staff have immense power over their lives. They can influence when juvenile detainees are released; they can put them in solitary confinement; they can house vulnerable youth with inmates who are known to be violent or sexual predators; they can even deny these kids basic hygiene items. The very notion of any sort of consensual sexual relationship between juveniles and adults in such circumstances is grotesque.”
I’ll go one step further to say that labeling any sexual assault that does not involve physical force as non-violent is grotesque. It’s straight up rape apologism. Categorizing sexual assaults as “violent” and “non-violent” majorly aggravates me, because the very process is founded on a false premise that sexual assault can be non-violent. It can’t. It’s called assault for a reason. Any act of imposing your body sexually on another human being without their 100% full, meaningful consent is violence. Period. Whether it involves beating that person into submission, frightening them into compliance, or simply ignoring them when they say “no.” All of it is violent. Every single last bit.
One can’t help but wonder if the decision to label so many of the offenses “non-violent” isn’t largely based, in addition to standard rape culture myths on which assaults do and don’t matter, on who the primary perpetrators are — an answer that may surprise you:
For youth reporting staff-on-youth incidents of sexual victimization, 95% reported that the perpetrator involved a female staff member. In regard to incidents of staff sexual misconduct, 92.0% involved male youth and female staff members; 1.7% involved male youth and male staff members; 2.5% involved male youth and both male and female staff members; 3.0% involved female youth and male staff members; 0.0% involved female youth and female staff members; and 0.8% involved female youth and both male and female staff members.
I have to say that I was initially pretty shocked, though I probably shouldn’t have been — when women are perpetrators of sexual violence, a vast majority of their victims are male minors. While still sincerely surprised that there were not more reports of sexual violence by male staff members against female juveniles (or male juveniles, for that matter), as the numbers are given as a percentage, this may be more reflective of how severe the problem of sexual violence against young men in detention is, rather than evidence of a lack of problem regarding sexual violence against young women.
But looking at these numbers, a large part of this problem has a very obvious and relatively simple solution. With regards to sexual assault perpetrated by staff against youth, 95% of assaults were committed by a single perpetrator against an other sex youth. There certainly are problems inherent in any gender segregation system of detention — namely, the lack of adequate protocol regarding trans* people, and the atrocious treatment and violence that usually results. But the youth are already segregated under the current system. And when 92% of staff assaults were by female guards against male youth, 3% were by male guards against female youth, and an additional 4.2% involved both male and female guards, the elimination of cross-gender supervision seems to be the clear and arguably necessary step. While I’m willing to admit that I might be missing an important contrary argument, I currently see extremely little reason why this action hasn’t yet been taken.
It would not solve the problem of youth-on-youth assaults. It would not solve the small minority of cases where both victim and perpetrator are of the same gender. It would not address the larger, more fundamental issue of rape culture and why assaults in the current climate are being committed. But when a whopping 10% of youths are reporting sexual violence being committed against them by staff, it’s time to go into emergency mode and do some triage. If there seems to be a step that can be undertaken to immediately and significantly reduce the number of assaults, that needs to be the one that is first taken. And then we can and should get to work on the parts of the crisis that are left.
Just Detention does note that “the Panel called for more research into the dynamics of cross-gender supervision, effective training regimens, and the development of best practices.” But I’m far from convinced that such non-committal, rhetoric-driven responses are good enough.
Finally, I think that a discussion of sexual violence in juvenile detention facilities is also the perfect time to ask ourselves why we’re locking up juveniles anyway. I think it’s clear that I generally support rehabilitation/re-entry programs over incarceration any day, but if there’s anyone who stands a strong chance at rehabilitation, and to whom we owe assistance, it’s minors. If minors are committing crimes, even including violent ones, that’s on us as a society for doing something very wrong. It’s about time we accepted that responsibility and gave youth whatever it is we seriously screwed up the first time around, rather than turning them into prisoners and sexually assaulting them. | <urn:uuid:36e1cb9f-163c-4586-9b61-b8463a36750f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thecurvature.com/2010/10/29/justice-department-repot-on-sexual-assault-in-juvenile-detention-minimizes-violence/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965057 | 1,912 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Plans to save the environment will only savage the global economy.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- In speech after rousing speech at the United Nations summit on global warming last week, politicians emphasized the need to protect the world's most vulnerable, who will be hit hardest by climate change. The rhetoric did little to disguise an awful truth: If we continue on our current path, we are likely to harm the world's poorest much more than we help them.
Urged on by environmental activists, many politicians are vowing to make carbon cuts designed to keep expected temperature rises under 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Yet it is nearly impossible for these promises to be fulfilled.
Japan's commitment in June to cut greenhouse gas levels 8 percent from its 1990 levels by 2020 was scoffed at for being far too little. Yet for Japan -- which has led the world in improving energy efficiency -- to have any hope of reaching its target, it needs to build nine new nuclear power plants, construct more than 1 million new wind turbines, install solar panels on nearly 3 million homes, double the percentage of new homes that meet rigorous insulation standards and increase sales of "green" vehicles from 4 percent to 50 percent of its auto purchases.
Japan's new prime minister was roundly lauded this month for promising a much stronger reduction, 25 percent, even though there is no obvious way to deliver on his promise. Expecting Japan, or any other nation, to achieve such far-fetched cuts is simply delusional.
Imagine for a moment that the fantasists win the day and that at the climate conference in Copenhagen in December every nation commits to reductions even larger than Japan's, designed to keep temperature increases under 2 degrees Celsius. The result would be a global price tag of $46 trillion in 2100, to avoid expected climate damage costing just $1.1 trillion, according to climate economist Richard Tol, a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change whose cost findings were commissioned by the Copenhagen Consensus Center and are to be published by Cambridge University Press next year.
Yet the real tragedy is that, by exaggerating the threat of global warming, we have awoken the beast of protectionism. There are always forces in society that demand that politicians create more barriers to trade because they cannot compete on an even, fair playing field. Global warming has given them a much stronger voice.
Already, politicians are responding -- and using the fear of global warming to create "green fences" against free trade. The U.S. House has passed the Waxman-Markey climate change bill with clear provisions to impose new trade tariffs on countries that don't agree to emission reductions.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly called for a Europe-wide tax on imports from nations whose global warming efforts do not measure up to Europe's. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently backed the idea.
There is a real and growing prospect of an all-out trade war being waged in the name of climate change.
This is a massive mistake. Economic models show that the global benefits of even slightly freer trade are in the order of $50 trillion -- 50 times more than we could achieve, in the best of circumstances, with carbon cuts. If trade becomes less free, poor nations -- the very countries that will experience the worst of climate damage -- would suffer most.
Today, coal accounts for almost half of the planet's electricity supply, including half the power consumed in the United States. It keeps hospitals and core infrastructure running, provides warmth and light in winter, and makes lifesaving air conditioning available in summer. In China and India, where coal accounts for more than 80 percent of power generation, it has helped to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
There is no doubt that coal is causing environmental damage that we need to stop. But a clumsy, radical halt to our coal use -- which is what promises of drastic carbon cuts actually require -- would mean depriving billions of people of a path to prosperity.
Bjørn Lomborg is director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center. He wrote this article for the Washington Post. | <urn:uuid:a61dff04-f076-4c5f-8b1a-fddc47e19caf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.startribune.com/opinion/62737172.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94594 | 832 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Welcome aboard - now stand straight and stop smiling!
As with any military service, before you can do anything or go anywhere, you are going to have to go through eight weeks of thrills and challenges that we like to call basic training.
Basic training is tough. You'll be challenged every day, both mentally and physically. You'll be pushed and tested. You'll work harder than you ever thought possible. But when you graduate, you'll graduate with the knowledge that you've accomplished something that both you and your family can be proud of. You'll be a member of the United States Coast Guard.
After graduation, you'll understand the true meaning of teamwork, the importance of attention to detail, hard work, and a positive attitude.
In other words, you'll be ready - ready for duty.
Basic training varies in length and intensity depending on your experience.
For instance, if you have a high school diploma and enter as a reserve enlisted recruit, basic training is held at Cape May, NJ and is eight-weeks long. The goal of this basic training is to acclimate you to an environment of rules, regulations and accountability.
If you have prior service or professional experience, you might attend the program referred to as the Coast Guard’s Direct Entry Petty Officer Training Course (DEPOT.) This course is 3 weeks in duration at Cape May, NJ. Students arrive Sunday evening and graduate on a Friday. Training will consist of instruction and practical experience in military courtesies, drills and ceremonies, military justice, code of conduct, leadership and supervision, seamanship, uniforms, ranks and rates, career development, first aid and survival, fitness, wellness and quality of life, Coast Guard history, traditions, and values, safety, damage control, small arms, Coast Guard assets and missions, administration and personal finance, watch standing, security and communications. Click here to learn more about this program.
For those with or about to obtain a college degree, Reserve Officer Basic Training is a 17-week course located in New London, CT. If you have the appropriate prior military or professional experience, there is the more condensed two-week Selected Reserve Officer (SELRES) training also at New London. SELRES provides a rapid indoctrination into the Coast Guard.
In the first year, basic training or DEPOT satisfies the two-week annual training commitment for both reserve enlisted and officer recruits. Once an individual has completed Coast Guard basic training, they do not have to do so again.
Physical Requirements: In order to graduate, there are physical challenges you'll have to meet.
|Men will be expected to perform:||Women will be expected to perform:|
Please note, you will be tested on your ability to enter a swimming pool from a 1.5 meter platform and safely swim 100 meters in five minutes without touching the side or the bottom of the pool and without any goggles. You'll then have to tread water for five minutes without a life jacket. If you fail to complete this test, you'll be required to get up earlier and attend an additional swim class in the morning before your regular classes.
This is a mandatory requirement for you to graduate from basic training. You should come prepared. The more abilities you have, the more comfortable you'll be. The training staff at Cape May will help you, but time is short.
By the end of training, you and your fellow Reservists will be a well-oiled company which functions on teamwork and discipline. You and your family will be proud of how much you've accomplished in such a short time.
- RESERVE ENLISTED RATINGS DESCRIPTIONS
- PAY AND BENEFITS
- BASIC TRAINING
- HOW TO JOIN
- RESERVE OPPORTUNITIES IN YOUR STATE
- RESERVE PROGRAMS
- RESERVE ENLISTED FAQS | <urn:uuid:706cc2a8-b78c-410d-9083-6446efa718f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gocoastguard.com/find-your-career/reserve-opportunities/reserve-opportunities/basic-training | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953232 | 800 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Three seniors from Center Place Restoration School in Independence, recently traveled to Tagum City in the Philippines for a mission trip. They led activities, played games and organized classes for the local children, teenagers and young adults. This was the first time any of the girls had traveled to the Philippines and several things came as a surprise to them.
However, all three said they enjoyed the experience so much that they would definitely return to the country.
“I want to get back there as soon as I can,” said Jenna Clark. “I feel like it is something I need to do in my life.”
Here are five things to know about the Philippines:
We’re not in Missouri anymore (food).
The Filipino cuisine has actually been influenced by a variety of cultures including Arab, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Latin. Rice is the national grain, so it is prevalent in most dishes.
Clark said it was important to her to eat some of the local cuisine, versus going to the McDonald’s near the hotel. She said, however, there was an interesting item on the American fast food chain’s menu.
“They have fried chicken and spaghetti (called McSpaghetti in the Philippines), together, in one meal,” she said. “I think they called it Chicken McDo. It was interesting.”
The girls also saw an abundance of banana and coconut trees. Madelyn Cain said they even had the opportunity to grab a machete, and chop their own coconut in half, drinking the coconut milk from inside.
However, perhaps one of the more memorable moments was at one of the missions. The local children were singing to their American guests when black bananas started to be passed around. Clark said the bananas had been baked, which removed most of the flavor. Following the bananas, a bowl of gray paste was offered to the girls. Unlike her friends, Clark took a big scoop of the paste with her banana.
“It was fish paste,” she said with a smile on her face.” All of the villagers were looking at me to see my reaction.”
Because of terrorist activity, the southern island of Mindanao, which is where Tagum City is located, is under a travel warning through the U.S. Department of State. In fact, so few visitors come to the area that the Center Place group felt like “celebrities” because so many people were staring and taking photos.
“I think our parents were afraid because we were going to an area with a travel warning,” said Cain. “But I really think they were more nervous than we were. Everything lined up for us to go. I don’t believe that would have happened if God thought we would have been put in harm’s way.”
One of the first things that stood out to Cain when she vested the Philippines was the friendliness of the natives. “Everyone showed us such wonderful hospitality and respect while we were there,” she said. “Going over there, we didn’t know anybody. But after three days, it felt like we had life-long friends. We were all sad to leave.”
College is cheap, by American standards.
Unlike in the United States where going to college can cost thousands of dollars a year, some colleges in the Philippines cost less than $1,000 a year. Even tuition at the more expensive schools is less than $2,000 a year. But Cain said while this is cheap in U.S. standards, it is still cost prohibitive to those living in the Philippines, where going to college, she said, is all they think about.
“If they can go to college, then they have a better chance at supporting their family,” Cain said. “But many are still too poor to go to college. The poverty there is nothing like we have ever seen here.”
It’s not the Ritz.
The Center Place group stayed at the second best hotel in Tagum City, which cost roughly 1,600 pesos a night or less than $50 in U.S. dollars. Every night, the group invited some of the local girls to spend the night with them. And each morning, they found the group huddled together because they were cold.
“They were not used to the air-conditioning unit in the windows,” Cain said. “It didn’t even work that well. It was still 70 to 80 degrees in the hotel room, but they still thought it was cold.” | <urn:uuid:2fce923f-45ce-46c8-a4f4-5fd5ae168493> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.examiner.net/news/x1942562704/5-Things-to-Know-About-CPRS-mission-trip?photo=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989052 | 965 | 1.726563 | 2 |
- Worldstart's Tech Tips Newsletter - http://www.worldstart.com -
How to Use Gmail Advanced Search
Posted By Kevin On March 1, 2011 @ 11:51 AM In E-Mail Help | Comments Disabled
Finding older emails in your Gmail inbox can be a tedious process, to which you may have to devote a good deal of time, if you want to find an email which was sent a year ago. The good old way to find earlier messages is to click the All Mail icon which loads all the conversations (both sent and received) according to its date and time.
The above method is fine for recent messages that were sent only a few days ago. You can simply check the date in the far right hand side and read the subject line of all the earlier emails and open the one you want. However, this procedure is really time consuming, when you are searching for a message that was sent one year back or more. You can’t afford to read each and every subject line and hit the Earlier link at the bottom of the page over and over again, until you are able to pinpoint that specific message and move it to your inbox.
Advanced Gmail Search Operators
This is where Gmail search operators come really handy. They allow you to search older emails that are saved somewhere in your “Gmail’s Archive”.
Gmail search operators are nothing but a set of query words or symbols that perform special actions in Gmail search. All you have to do is remember the query syntax and supply the arguments with the query, as described in this article.
How To Use Gmail Search operators To Find older messages
To use a Gmail search operator, enter the corresponding syntax and its argument in the Gmail search box and hit the Enter key.
In the above example, to: is the search operator and Soumen is the argument. The “to:” operator searches your entire Gmail inbox for the emails which you have sent to your friend (Soumen, in this case).
Advanced Gmail Search operators
The following are the most common Gmail search operators one should learn:
This operator searches for keywords and phrases that are present in the subject line of the message. Say you are searching for an email with the subject line “Photos of Vegas Trip”.
Just enter subject: photos of vegas trip in Gmail search box and hit the Enter key.
An example is shown below:
The subject operator need not be exact, which means you can add only a few words that may be present in the subject line of the already archived message.
This operator searches for all messages that were received from a particular person. So if you want to find all the messages that were received from David, just type From:David in the Gmail search box and hit the Enter key.
An example is shown below:
The above operator also works with email addresses, which is useful when you do not remember the exact name of a client or employee. Simply type the email address after From: and Gmail will search all the older messages that were received from that particular email address.
This operator works exactly the same as the “From:” operator, the only difference is that the operator searches for messages which you had sent to a particular email address. So if you are searching for older emails that you had sent to John, type To:John in the search box and hit the Enter key.
If you do not remember the name of the person, you can include his email address, and the operator works just as well.
Find Emails that contain Attachments
If you want to filter older messages that contain documents, spreadsheets, presentations, photos or any other files as attachments; simply type has:attachment in Gmail search box and hit Enter.
This operator will search your Gmail inbox for all the messages that have attachments, an example is shown below:
Search for Archived Messages In “Labels”
You must be familiar with Gmail labels, right? Labels let you create folders within your email inbox so that you can organize messages per your requirements.
But over time, you may have noticed that some labels get filled with an overwhelming number of messages. To search for earlier messages in a particular Gmail label, you can combine earlier operators with the following syntax:
Label: label name operator.
An example search may be- Label: clients from:John
The above search will find all the earlier emails that have been received from John and labeled as “Clients”. You can combine the label operator with keywords, phrases, attachments, subject lines as discussed earlier.
Some examples are shown below:
- Label: photos subject: Vegas trip – Search for messages that have been labeled as “Photos” and whose subject line contain the words “Vegas trip”
- Label: jobs has:attachment – Search for messages that have been labeled as “Jobs” and have attachments.
Search for Messages In Inbox, Trash or Spam
Gmail provides three different operators to search for messages in the inbox, trash and spam folder. These are the commands you have to use:
In:inbox operator: Searches for messages that are present in your inbox only with the used operator.
An example search may be In:inbox subject: University – this query searches for all messages that are present in your inbox and have the word “university” as the subject line.
- In:spam operator: Searches for messages that are present in the spam folder with the used operator.
Example: In:spam from:firstname.lastname@example.org. This query searches your spam folder and filters the search results to show messages only those were received from email@example.com.
In:Trash operator: This query searches your Gmail trash folder with the used operator.
Example: In:Trash has:attachment. This query will filter all messages from your Gmail Trash folder that have files attached to it. This is immensely useful when you accidentally delete an email containing a document and want to quickly recover it to Gmail inbox.
As it turns out, Gmail search operators are really handy, if you know how to combine them and find the exact conversation you are looking for. There is a learning curve, but it’s actually worth it.
Article printed from Worldstart's Tech Tips Newsletter: http://www.worldstart.com
URL to article: http://www.worldstart.com/how-to-use-gmail-advanced-search/ | <urn:uuid:32fe7cb5-8d22-4932-80b6-4204964ea9d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldstart.com/how-to-use-gmail-advanced-search/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92459 | 1,353 | 1.9375 | 2 |
People borrow against their home's equity for myriad reasons. The two most common are to pay for home improvements and to consolidate debt. Other uses for equity money are: to pay tuition, medical expenses, living expenses during unemployment, and big-ticket purchases.
There's one thing to watch out for when using equity debt to pay for medical care, unemployment or big-ticket items. You are unilaterally disarming yourself in the battle against creditors should you eventually have to declare bankruptcy. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can walk away from unsecured debt, such as credit card balances. But if your house secures those debts, you are stuck with paying them. If you can't make the payments, you can lose the house to foreclosure, and you won't see a dime of the sale proceeds until all the creditors are paid. It might be better to tap other sources of money: savings, your 401(k) or individual retirement account, or stocks and bonds.
Bankrate wants to hear from you and encourages thoughtful and constructive comments. We ask that you stay focused on the story topic, respect other people's opinions, and avoid profanity, offensive statements, illegal contents and advertisement posts. Comments are not reviewed before they are posted. Bankrate reserves the right (but is not obligated) to edit or delete your comments. Please avoid posting private or confidential information, and also keep in mind that anything you post may be disclosed, published, transmitted or reused.
A little research could save you BIG on interest. | <urn:uuid:a9b448af-7951-4668-88b6-6ad1b264f895> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bankrate.com/finance/home-equity/why-people-borrow-against-their-equity.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952468 | 307 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Older people with high waist-hip ratios (WHRs) have a higher mortality risk than those with a high body mass index, or BMI, a new study reveals.
Whereas justifiable attention is given to the increasing problem of obesity in the general population, far less is known about the relationship between obesity and mortality in older people, or how mortality risk should be estimated. The excess health risks associated with having a high BMI are known to decline with age, yet expert bodies such as the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organisation have continued to use in older people the same BMI criteria as for other age groups.
Today's study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was carried out by a team based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. It sought to investigate the association of BMI, waist circumference (WC) and WHR with mortality and cause-specific mortality. The researchers studied 14,833 patients aged over 75 from 53 family practices in the UK; the subjects underwent a health assessment that included taking body measurements and a follow-up (with a median of 5.9 years) for mortality.
The findings confirmed that the current guidelines for BMI-based risk categories overestimate the risks of excess weight in people aged over 75 and are inappropriate for older men and women. This concurs with a previous study that found BMIs of 25-27 not to be a risk factor for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in those aged 65 and over1. Most consistently, the data highlighted the risk of having a low BMI, with people in the lowest quintile (less than 23 in men and less than 22.3 in women) demonstrating the highest risk of death for total mortality and for major causes of death. Very underweight men (those with a BMI of under 18.5) were found to be particularly at risk.
'An explanation for the lack of a positive association with BMI and mortality at older ages is that, in older persons, BMI is a poor measure of body fat', say the authors. 'The measurement of weight does not differentiate between fat and fat-free mass, and fat-free mass (especially muscle) is progressively lost with increasing age
Waist circumference (WC) has been proposed as an alternate or additional measure of obesity. The study found no association with waist circumference and mortality. The authors continue: 'A limitation of WC alone as a measure is that it takes no account of body composition, whereas WHR is a measure of body shape and to some extent of lower trunk adiposity [abdominal fat]. Although it is possible theoretically for high WHR to coexist with thinness, our data show that those with high WHR had higher-than-average waist and average hip circumferences. We conclude that the association observed for WHR and mortality is probably explained by abdominal adiposity'.
The authors recommend that the current BMI-based health risk categories to define the burden of disease related to adult overweight and obesity be reviewed, as they are not appropriate for those over 75. They suggest that WHR should instead be used in this age group because of its positive relation with risk of death, and that attention should also be paid to the problem of underweight in old age.
To interview the authors, please contact the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Press Office on 020 7927 2073.
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:b9aa41d0-a2af-4640-af2e-a501192e00f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2006-08/lsoh-wrs080706.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957152 | 715 | 2.65625 | 3 |
“Often, introverts describe how they interact with the outside world as a performance, and acting is work. Similar to professional actors, introverts may appear enthusiastic, lively and entertaining. However, many describe the experience as being ‘on stage’ – for an introvert to spend a significant amount of their day using non-preferred characteristics requires a great deal of energy.”
Wow. I couldn’t have said it better myself, and I am, in fact, one of those introverts.
A little while back, our own Eva Rykrsmith wrote a great piece on how introverts can be more effective at work. Here are some recent thoughts from Sherrie on how introverts can manage the stress of a role that requires extroverted behaviors.
- Don’t assume extraverts know how best to communicate with you – teach them. For example, explain why you need time to process before responding to a question.
- Leverage your natural talent for depth by identifying the goal as far in advance as possible, so you’re prepared ahead of time when pressed in a meeting for input.
- Acknowledge the additional energy required to interact with others for long periods of time and allow yourself to tap into your energy reserve.
- Pay attention to the activities that require more of your energy such as insufficient time to work alone, brainstorming meetings and noisy environments.
- Depleting too much energy will lead to a stressful reaction, so look for early warning signs, such as withdrawal.
- If a stressful situation is unresolved, your unconscious functions will take over. We typically act out of character under extreme stress, and for introverts, this reaction may show up as an outburst or other outward expression – opposite to your normal calm and reserved demeanor.
- Restore your energy level by finding time alone to reflect and direct your focus on thoughts, ideas and internal feelings. Schedule regular breaks throughout the day to recharge your batteries.
Here’s something I thought was interesting too. A few years ago, I was asked to take the Myers-Briggs assessment while I was working as a vice president at a PR agency. I was unsure about how to answer some of the questions, because while my natural inclination was to choose the introverted answers, my perception was colored by my current extroverted role. When the results came back, I was still classified as an introvert, but just barely.
Has this happened to you? Have you actually become more introverted or extroverted as a result of working in a certain type of job? | <urn:uuid:a6135987-0ca0-4f9f-8bcb-717ebc9938d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2012/04/24/being-spider-man-how-introverts-can-excel-at-extroverted-roles/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964059 | 532 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Martinsburg, West Virginia
|Martinsburg, West Virginia|
|— City —|
|City of Martinsburg|
|• Mayor||George Karos|
|• City||6.67 sq mi (17.28 km2)|
|• Land||6.65 sq mi (17.22 km2)|
|• Water||0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)|
|Elevation||453 ft (138 m)|
|• Estimate (2011)||17,487|
|• Density||2,590.5/sq mi (1,000.2/km2)|
|Time zone||EST (UTC-5)|
|• Summer (DST)||EDT (UTC-4)|
|GNIS feature ID||1542824|
Martinsburg is a city in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia, USA. Its population was 17,227 at the 2010 census making it the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle and the eighth largest municipality in the state. Martinsburg is the county seat of Berkeley County and one of the core cities in the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Aspen Hall is a Georgian mansion, the oldest part of which was built in 1745 by Edward Beeson, Sr. making it the oldest house in the city. Aspen Hall and the people who lived there played important roles in the agricultural, religious, transportation, and political heritage of the region. Significant events related to the British, French, and Indian War; the Revolution, and the Civil War took place on the property. Three original buildings are still standing including the rare blockhouse of Mendenhall's Fort.
The first post office in what is now West Virginia was established at Martinsburg in 1792.
The Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad reached Martinsburg in 1842. The B&O Roundhouse and Station Complex was first constructed in 1849.
According to William Still, "The Father of the Underground Railroad," a freedom-seeking slave made an interesting escape from Martinsburg on the Underground Railroad, Christmas night, 1856. Robert Brown, alias Thomas Jones, fled by riding a horse while it swam across the freezing Potomac River. After riding forty miles, he walked in cold wet clothes for two days, to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He received assistance there, and then went by train to Philadelphia, and the office of William Still with the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Brown's wife and four children had been sold, and all he had was a likeness of his wife, and locks of hair from each of them.
In 1854, ten-year-old Isabelle "Belle" Boyd, later a famous spy for the Confederacy, moved to Martinsburg with her family, where her father Benjamin opened and operated a general merchandise store. After the Civil War began, Benjamin joined Second Virginia Infantry, which was part of the Stonewall Brigade. As a result, his wife Mary was in charge of the Boyd home when Union forces under General Robert Patterson took Martinsburg. When a group of Patterson's men tried to raise a Union flag over the Boyd home, Mary refused. One of the soldiers, Frederick Martin, threatened Mary, and Belle promptly shot him. Although acquitted of wrongdoing in the matter, she soon became involved in espionage, sending information to Confederate generals Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and J.E.B. "Jeb" Stuart. Often she was helped by Eliza Corsey, a Boyd family slave whom Belle had taught to read and write. In 1863, Belle was arrested in Martinsburg by the Union Army and imprisoned. The Greek Revival home that Benjamin Boyd had built in 1853, and which he had sold in 1855, was purchased in 1992 by the Berkeley County Historical Society. The historical society renovated the building and now operates it as the Berkeley County Museum, also known as the Belle Boyd House.
The city of Martinsburg was incorporated by an act of the West Virginia Legislature on March 30, 1868.
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began July 14, 1877 in Martinsburg and spread nationwide.
Telephone service first began in Martinsburg in 1883.
In 1889, electricity began to be furnished to Martinsburg as part of a franchise granted to the United Edison Manufacturing Company of New York.
The Interwoven mills began operations in Martinsburg in 1891 and grew to be the largest manufacturer of men's hosiery in the world.
Construction of the "Apollo Civic Theatre" was completed in 1913.
Over one thousand (1,039) men from Berkeley County participated in World War I. Of these, forty-one were killed and twenty-one were wounded in battle. A monument to those who fell in battle was erected in 1925.
During World War II, the Newton D. Baker Hospital in Martinsburg treated thousands of soldiers wounded in the war. In 1946 this military hospital became a part of the Veterans Administration (VA). The VA Medical Center in Martinsburg is still in service providing care to United States veterans.
Beginning in the late 1940s and through the 1950s, many of the mills and factories operating in Martinsburg shut down and went out of business, dealing a major blow to the local economy.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $29,495, and the median income for a family was $36,954. Males had a median income of $29,697 versus $22,212 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,314. About 14.7% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.8% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 17,227 people, 7,293 households, and 4,106 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,590.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,000.2 /km2). There were 8,408 housing units at an average density of 1,264.4 per square mile (488.2 /km2). The racial makeup of the city was 77.5% White, 14.9% African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.3% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.2% of the population.
There were 7,293 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.7% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.00.
The median age in the city was 37 years. 23.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.3% were from 25 to 44; 26.3% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.
Location and topography
Martinsburg is located at As per MapQuest, Martinsburg is approximately 92 miles (148 km) driving distance northwest of Washington, D.C.. U.S. Route 11 runs through the center of town, and Interstate 81 passes along the northern side of the town.(39.459207, −77.967814).
Martinsburg lies in the transition from a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) to a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with four distinct seasons. Winters are cool to cold with a January daily mean temperature of 30.9 °F (−0.6 °C) and an average seasonal snowfall of 26.6 inches (68 cm), while summers are hot and humid with a July daily mean temperature of 74.7 °F (23.7 °C) and 27 days of 90 °F (32 °C)+ readings annually. Precipitation is moderate, with winter being the driest period and May thru July the wettest. Extreme temperatures range from −18 °F (−28 °C) on January 21, 1994 up to 112 °F (44 °C) on July 11, 1936.
|Climate data for Martinsburg, West Virginia|
|Record high °F (°C)||80
|Average high °F (°C)||39.5
|Average low °F (°C)||22.3
|Record low °F (°C)||−18
|Precipitation inches (mm)||2.44
|Snowfall inches (cm)||9.3
|Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)||9.4||8.9||10.6||10.5||12.6||11.0||10.1||8.7||8.8||8.5||9.3||9.1||117.6|
|Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)||3.7||2.2||1.7||.2||0||0||0||0||0||0||.5||2.1||10.4|
|Source: NOAA (normals 1981−2010, extremes 1926−present)|
The city also has numerous federal government employers including the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Coast Guard Operations Systems Center, U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Veteran Administration Center.
The Martinsburg IRS Facility is one of the two Enterprise Computing Centers of the Internal Revenue Service (the other is in Memphis, Tennessee). The Martinsburg facility processes most of the country's electronically filed tax documents from businesses, and about one-third of electronically-filed tax returns.
Martinsburg had its own automobile company from 1912 to 1922, called Norwalk. The cars that were assembled there are the longest-made known cars to be built in the state of West Virginia.
- West Virginia University Hospitals - East (an affiliate of West Virginia University Hospitals, formerly City Hospital)
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Martinsburg has one Shopping Mall
- Martinsburg Mall: 551,351 square feet (51,222.2 m2) with approximately 50 stores and anchored by Walmart, JCPenney, and The Bon-Ton. Opened in 1991. Location: Foxcroft Avenue, Interstate 81 Exit 12 & 13.
Other retail centers/areas in Martinsburg include:
- The Commons Shopping Center: 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) anchored by Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Staples, Books A Million, Bed Bath and Beyond, Michaels, Petsmart, and Five Below. Opened in 2009. Location: Retail Commons Parkway, Interstate 81 Exit 12.
- Old Courthouse Square: 201,350 square feet (18,706 m2) anchored by Food Lion, Schewels, and Auto Zone. Opened in 1987. Location: Edwin Miller Blvd.
- Apple Harvest Drive: K-Mart, Food Lion, Lowes, and Advance Auto.
- North Queen Street: Weis Markets, Tractor Supply, Big Lots, and Aarons.
- Other shopping areas in the city are the Berkeley Plaza on Williamsport Pike and Martinsburg Plaza on Winchester Ave.
Middle Schools
- North Middle School
- South Middle School
- Spring Mills Middle School
- Hedgesville Middle School
- Musselman Middle School
High Schools
- Martinsburg High School
- Musselman High School
- Hedgesville High School
- Spring Mills High School (Summer of 2013)
Colleges and universities
- Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, Martinsburg
- James Rumsey Technical Institute, Martinsburg
- University of Charleston-Martinsburg
- Valley College of Technology, Martinsburg Campus
Major highways
- Interstate 81
- U.S. Route 11
- West Virginia Route 9
- West Virginia Route 45
- West Virginia Route 51
- West Virginia Route 901
Mass transportation
Amtrak provides service to Martinsburg. The city's passenger rail station is located downtown at 229 East Martin Street. MARC, Maryland's commuter rail system, operates trains on weekdays on its Brunswick Line which terminates in Martinsburg. Service is provided to Union Station in Washington, D.C.
Eastern Panhandle Transit Authority, known more popularly as "Pan Tran," operates bus routes in Martinsburg, surrounding Berkeley County, and neighboring Jefferson County, West Virginia.
Eastern WV Regional Airport, south of the city, handles general aviation. The closest airport with commercial air service is Hagerstown Regional Airport, that is about 25 miles (40 km) driving distance north. The closest international airport is Washington Dulles International Airport, which is about 60 miles (97 km) driving distance east.
- Martinsburg has one daily community newspaper, The Journal.
- Martinsburg has a bi-monthly magazine, Around the Panhandle magazine. www.aroundthepanhandle.com
- The city is home to WRNR/740 AM, WEPM/1340 AM, WICL/95.9 FM, WLTF/97.5 FM, and WVEP/88.9 FM radio stations. The following box details all of the radio stations in the Eastern Panhandle market.
- Martinsburg is home to W44AA Channel 44 (WV Educational Broadcasting) and (WWPX 60 (ION), all part of the Hagerstown sub-market that is further grouped under the Nielsen-designated Washington, D.C.-Hagerstown, Md. market, the ninth largest market in the nation. The box below lists television stations available in the region.
Martinsburg, WV was the setting of the X-Files episode "Small Potatoes" (Season 4, episode 20). However, the filming did not take place in the vicinity.
Notable natives and residents
- Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War
- Belle Boyd, Confederate spy in the American Civil War
- Scott Bullett, Former outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs
- Vicky Bullett, Olympic gold medalist in women's basketball
- Harry Flood Byrd, Sr., United States Senator and Governor of Virginia
- Robert Lee Castleman, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter
- Charles James Faulkner, United States Representative from Virginia
- Karl Hess, former D.C. insider turned Libertarian and appropriate technology activist, relocated to the Martinsburg area in the 1970s.
- Shannon Larkin, drummer for the hard rock band Godsmack
- Walter Dean Myers, author
- Bruce Van Wyk, notable entrepreneur, married to health activist Mikki Van Wyk
- John Quincy Adams Nadenbousch, colonel in Confederate States Army
- Kevin Pittsnogle, Former West Virginia Basketball player
- Ronald Radosh, ex-New Left, ex-libertarian, now neoconservative author
- Absalom Willis Robertson, United States Senator from Virginia
- David Hunter Strother (aka Porte Crayon), artist
- Hack Wilson, Hall of Fame baseball player
- Fulton Walker, former football player for the Miami Dolphins
- Zachary Stubbs A.K.A Zacarias, Indie Hip Hop Artist
- Darrell W. Sanders, Professional Bluegrass musician; formerly played banjo, guitar, and dobro for Bill Harrell & the Virginians and Charlie Moore & the Dixie Partners. Current member of Stoney Creek Bluegrass Band.
- Mary Elizabeth Price, (1877–1965), impressionist painter
- Bob Keller (American Professional Wrestler) Listed in Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 Wrestlers 4 times, Former Host for American Pro Wrestlings Power Hour Agent and Manager for many former WCW and WWE Superstars...Most Noted for teaming with Hagerstown Native Shane Heimburger(Shadows) to form the Team of The Mega Rockers
- Joseph Howard Hodges, (1911-1985), Fifth Bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Wheeling
- Marvin Gesford JR. AKA. Robbie ruffin Pro wrestler and former NWA Mid America tag team champion.
- "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
- "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
- "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
- "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- Table 4: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places in West Virginia, Listed Alphabetically: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008, U.S. Census Bureau. 2009-07-01. Retrieved 2009-07-01]
- "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- "NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
- The Norwalk: Martinsburg's Motor Car
- Local Television Market Universe Estimates, Nielsen, 27 September 2008. Retrieved 02 November 2008.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Martinsburg, West Virginia|
- Chamber of Commerce of Martinsburg and Berkeley County
- Martinsburg High School
- Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library
- WEPM Radio station, established 1946
- Martinsburg Community Website
- Eastern Panhandle Transit Authority "Pan Tran"
- Martinsburg, Virginia, During the Civil War in Encyclopedia Virginia | <urn:uuid:502d22c8-3752-4e1e-9398-6fd3175763f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinsburg,_West_Virginia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904176 | 3,919 | 2.609375 | 3 |
One sure thing all humans have in common would be that we love to talk, we all have our own opinion and freedom of speech gives us the right to raise our voices, it gives you the opportunity to stand up for what you believe in. That however does no mean that we don’t have the obligation to make sure that we know what we are talking about when we post comments on News24.
I see these comments as the voice of a nation, even though it is only a small percentage; it is still an opinion from the public.
I have learned plenty from other people’s comments and this tells me that my comments are read by people that might learn from my own.
What I see regularly is racist remarks from DA supporters? This upsets me every time I read one, because the DA does not promote racism, the Democratic Alliance (DA) is fighting for a nation united, equal as one. (No more hate talk and that means that racism has no place in our future)
This makes me wonder how many people take the time to read up about the DA and look at their vision for this country. Many people don’t vote for the DA because they don’t want to vote for a “white person”, many people do because it is a white person. While in actual fact that is not what it is about at all?
The ANC currently use the fact that Hellen Zille is white to gain votes, scaring their voters by saying things like “She is going to bring back apartheid” We all know that this is not true or even possible and that it is a lame attempt at winning elections. I therefore simply do not understand that DA supporters do the same. What do I mean by “doing the same”
By promoting racism this is exactly what you are saying to ANC supporters and are therefore promoting the ANC and not the DA.
If every one of us can let go of the past and work together towards a bright future as a nation united, equal. If we can make the decision not to promote or acknowledge racist remarks and hearts, we will be one nation, a nation that achieved the unimaginable miracle that we all desire.
It starts with YOU, it leis in your heart, it is a decision that YOU need to make.
A six letter word has this country on it’s knees, are you going to extend your hand to help it up or are you going to push it down a little further?
If you are racist, regardless of your race or who you vote for, you do not have the right to complain about problems this country face every day, if you still linger on what went on in SA 400 years ago or think that apartheid, that ended 18 years ago still make you superior, YOU are the problem.
I urge all DA supporters to please share the DA’s vision with other people and that you yourself take this vision to heart. We have an obligation to those who do not have a voice, those uneducated and mislead by a government’s selfish hatred that will never give their people a future that we as DA supporters wish them all to have.
The only cure for hate is love, lets not repeat our past mistakes that brought us here, let us rather build a better future for all. We all have the human right to a bright future, those who don’t respect that, have no respect for themselves.
YOU can make a difference, by changing your heart and that starts with YOUR mindset.
It is not about skin colour any longer it is about human integrity.
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received. | <urn:uuid:0ad0ea3c-090c-4857-9a37-8c89ae0214c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/DA-vs-Racism-20130129 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970497 | 805 | 1.601563 | 2 |
1120 SW Fifth Ave, Suite 800, Portland, OR 97204
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has developed a draft five-year implementation strategy for active transportation projects east of 82nd Avenue. Over the year from November, 2010 to November, 2011, we gathered information from the East Portland community and analyzed project data to develop recommendations about which projects to build first to improve conditions for walking, biking, and taking transit.
In the fall of 2011, we asked the community to comment on the draft strategy and we incorporated your ideas. On Wednesday, April 18, City Council adopted the strategy!
PBOT staff conducted a status update one year since City Council adopted the strategy. Here is a summary of the findings:
Implementation Matrix - 1-Year Status Report - This table contains a detailed status report on accomplishments and budgeted investments in projects and programs identified in EPIM. It is a supplement to Table 18 - Implementation Matrix from the EPIM Report.
What is Active Transportation?
Active transportation is daily travel powered by human energy. Walking, biking and taking transit (which often involves walking) are all means of active transportation. Encouraging active travel means creating seamless networks of accessible trails, sidewalks and bikeways. Promoting active transportation can:
Background on East Portland in Motion: The implementation strategy builds on several adopted plans and existing programs and funding sources, including:
We developed recommendations for priorities for implementation for the coming five years by integrating community input with geospatial analysis to determine where the greatest benefit for the greatest number of residents can be achieved with the funding available. We gathered community input through a variety of techniques and participation in events at numerous venues throughout the project area.
At the same time, in order to avoid losing a year of investment, PBOT continued moving forward with projects that were already underway, like the SE Bush neighborhood greenway, the 80s neighborhood greenway, the NE 102nd Avenue Streetscape project, and the 122nd Complete and Green Main Street project. We also began project development on additional near-term projects for sidewalk infill and neighborhood greenways, working with neighborhoods and interest groups.
Seeking broad input from a diverse community
Transportation worked with community leaders like the East Portland Action Plan bicycle subcommittee (EPAPbike) and the East Portland Land Use & Transportation Committee (EPLUTC) to identify community priorities, while also reaching out to residents, businesses and other interested persons in the community. In the fall of 2010, graduate students from Portland State University partnering on the project conducted thirty individual and seven group interviews. We heard about daily transportation needs and attitudes from:
Some major themes emerged from the interviews:
For More Information
For more information on the East Portland in Motion project, or to be added to the interest list to receive updates, contact April Bertelsen, email@example.com, 503-823-6177.
Notice of Non-Discrimination to the Public:
The Portland Bureau of Transportation fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. Contact the Title VI Coordinator at Room 1204, 1120 SW 5th Ave, Portland, OR 97204, or by telephone, (503) 823-2559, City TDD (503) 823-6868. To help ensure equal access to programs, services and activities of the City of Portland, the City will provide auxilliary aids and services to persons with disabilities; please call 503-823-5185 or TDD 503-823-6868.
This table contains a detailed status report on accomplishments and budgeted investments in projects and programs identified in EPIM. It is a supplement to Table 18 - Implementation Matrix from the EPIM Report.
This eight-page PDF summarizes the work and contains the implementation matrix and map.
This 10 Mb 141-page PDF represents the final report on the East Portland in Motion 5-year Implementation Strategy for Active Transportation.
On April 18, 2012, City Council adopted the East Portland in Motion Five-Year Implementation Strategy for Active Transportation. Download the final report here.
This tri-fold flyer explains what the project is and how to be involved. | <urn:uuid:1f0171f9-4606-4999-820e-0386c5073ecf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/54306 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908828 | 867 | 2.03125 | 2 |