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Dozens of leaders from the Arab and Muslim world, UN representatives, representatives from NGOs, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Neturei Karta rabbi, a representative of the US Department of State, and even two Israeli Arab MKs (Members of Knesset) converged on Doha, capital of Qatar, for a two-day anti-Israel hate-fest, given the auspicious title: “The International Conference on Jerusalem” ( 26-27 February 2012).
The conundrum of an orthodox rabbi and Israeli MKs at the Doha hate-fest is a topic for another essay, as is the thoroughly anti-Israel speech of an American self-proclaimed State Department representative. For now it is illuminating to focus on the broader content and outcomes of the conference itself.
The fundamental goal of the conference, as described on its website, was to legitimize the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital of the independent, sovereign Arab state of “Palestine” within Israel’s current borders. To accomplish this goal the conference sought to legitimize, by the political and moral stature of its attendees and participants, its demand at the UN Security Council for a UN resolution to form an international commission to investigate the actions taken by Israel since 1967 to erase Jerusalem’s Islamic and Arab identity.
To that end, all but one participant was focused on delegitimizing Israel, denouncing its existence within any borders and denying thousands of years of Jewish history. The speakers talked about Jerusalem as if Jewish history did not exist or was a fraud — as if all Jewish claims in the city were just a tactic to dispossess Palestinians. The conference, then, sought to lend credibility to the latest strategy in the Arab political and propaganda war against Israel: the delegitimization of Israel’s history and the creation of a fictitious “Palestinian” history to replace it, thus eviscerating any Jewish claims to an historical and religious attachment to the Land of Israel.
There were two entities that emerged victorious from the conference. Not surprisingly, one was the Palestinian Authority — but the other was Israel.
The Palestinian victory was the “Doha Declaration on the International Conference for Defense of Jerusalem” at the conclusion of the conference. The declaration called upon the UN to create the commission described above; and upon all Muslim states to contribute to a “historic global mobilization for the expression of international solidarity with the Palestinian people in Jerusalem” and for support of their legitimate rights and to identify and confront illegal Israeli efforts to “judaize” (sic) the city; and upon “the international powers who remain silent” towards Israeli violations to assume their responsibility and compel Israel to implement all UN resolutions relevant to Jerusalem; and upon the UN and other international entities to stop Israeli illegal excavations and archaeological explorations which distort the “true history” of the site; and upon UNESCO to force Israel to stop its unilateral policies for imposing a fait accompli in Jerusalem, including the immediate cessation of all settlement activities, the removal of the “apartheid wall,” the preservation of Islamic and Christian sanctities, and to halt Judaization (sic) schemes.
In short, the Doha Declaration demands that the Muslim world compel the UN to impose upon Israel the demands that the Muslim world maintains on behalf of the Palestinians but has not itself been able to impose despite 65 years of war, terrorism, black propaganda, hate education for its youth, rejectionism, and an endless, relentless diatribe of genocide and rhetoric of annihilation by nuclear or political means. Given the Arab oil sheikhdoms’ influence at the UN, such a commission as envisioned in the Doha Declaration is likely to be forthcoming in the near future.
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The President in the year 1946 was Harry S. Truman.
He was the 33rd President of the United States.
He took office on April 12, 1945 and left office on January 20, 1953.
He was followed by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Browse other years:
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ConvertUnits.com provides a quick way to look up the United States President for any year. There are some cases where multiple presidents were in office during a year, either due to an election or sometimes because of a resignation or assassination. Find your answers quickly for homework, research, or just to satisfy your curiosity!
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The celebration of Aboriginal Awareness Week (AAW) will take place from Tuesday, May 25 to Friday May 28, 2010. In honouring the successes of current Aboriginal employees and in encouraging new Aboriginal employees to achieve even greater success in their careers, the federal Aboriginal Awareness Committee has chosen 'Celebrating Aboriginal Employee Excellence in the Public Service' as the theme for the 2010 Aboriginal Awareness Week.
Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce that for the second year LAC will host the opening ceremony. The ceremony will be held on May 25, at 11:30 in the auditorium at 395 Wellington. You are invited to attend this celebration. You will have the opportunity to see artists performing themed dance and music.
You will find the schedule of the opening ceremony and of other events that will take place in the NCR on the AAW 2010 website (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ee/awsa-eng.asp).
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Among early Buddhists Pali was considered linguistically similar to, or even a direct continuation of, the Old Magadhi language. Many Theravada sources refer to the Pali language as "Magadhan" or the "language of Magadha". This identification first appears in the commentaries, and may have been an attempt by Buddhists to associate themselves more closely with the Mauryans. The Buddha taught in Magadha, but the four most important places in his life are all outside of it. It is likely that he taught in several closely related dialects of Middle Indo-Aryan, which had a very high degree of mutual intelligibility.
There is no attested dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan with all the features of Pali. Pali has some commonalities with both the Ashokan inscriptions at Girnar in the West of India, and at Hathigumpha in the East. Similarities to the Western inscription may be misleading, because the inscription suggests that the Ashokan scribe may not have translated the material he received from Magadha into the vernacular of the people there.
According to Norman, it is likely that the viharas in North India had separate collections of material, preserved in the local dialect. In the early period it is likely that no degree of translation was necessary in communicating this material to other areas. Around the time of Ashoka there had been more linguistic divergence, and an attempt was made to assemble all the material. It is possible that a language quite close to the Pali of the canon emerged as a result of this process as a compromise of the various dialects in which the earliest material had been preserved, and this language functioned as a lingua franca among Eastern Buddhists in India from then on. Following this period, the language underwent a small degree of Sanskritisation (i.e., MIA bamhana -> brahmana, tta -> tva in some cases).
T.W. Rhys Davids in his book Buddhist India, and Wilhelm Geiger in his book Pali Literature and Language, suggested that Pali may have originated as a form of lingua franca or common language of culture among people who used differing dialects in North India, used at the time of the Buddha and employed by him. Another scholar states that at that time it was "a refined and elegant vernacular of all Aryan-speaking people." Modern scholarship has not arrived at a consensus on the issue; there are a variety of conflicting theories with supporters and detractors. After the death of the Buddha, Pali may have evolved among Buddhists out of the language of the Buddha as a new artificial language. Bhikkhu Bodhi, summarizing the current state of scholarship, states that the language is "closely related to the language (or, more likely, the various regional dialects) that the Buddha himself spoke." He goes on to write:
Scholars regard this language as a hybrid showing features of several Prakrit dialects used around the third century BCE, subjected to a partial process of Sanskritization. While the language is not identical with any the Buddha himself would have spoken, it belongs to the same broad linguistic family as those he might have used and originates from the same conceptual matrix. This language thus reflects the thought-world that the Buddha inherited from the wider Indian culture into which he was born, so that its words capture the subtle nuances of that thought-world.
Whatever the relationship of the Buddha's speech to Pali, the Canon was eventually transcribed and preserved entirely in it, while the commentarial tradition that accompanied it (according to the information provided by Buddhaghosa) was translated into Sinhalese and preserved in local languages for several generations. R.C. Childers, who held to the theory that Pali was Old Magadhi, wrote: "Had Gautama never preached, it is unlikely that Magadhese would have been distinguished from the many other vernaculars of Hindustan, except perhaps by an inherent grace and strength which make it a sort of Tuscan among the Prakrits."
However Pali was ultimately supplanted in India by Sanskrit as a literary and religious language following the formulation of Classical Sanskrit by the scholar Pāṇini. In Sri Lanka, Pali is thought to have entered into a period of decline ending around the 4th or 5th century (as Sanskrit rose in prominence, and simultaneously, as Buddhism's adherents became a smaller portion of the subcontinent), but ultimately survived. The work of Buddhaghosa was largely responsible for its reemergence as an important scholarly language in Buddhist thought. The Visuddhimagga and the other commentaries that Buddhaghosa compiled codified and condensed the Sinhalese commentarial tradition that had been preserved and expanded in Sri Lanka since the 3rd century BCE. | <urn:uuid:ef4faa03-8a31-4283-824c-8618c6f69ff6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=950&p=205711 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973944 | 1,004 | 3.640625 | 4 |
This month the Wingfield household, like millions of others across America, has received a growing number of tax documents. Among them are forms certifying that we gave $50 to this charity or $100 to that one, allowing us to reduce what we owe in taxes.
What neither we nor the IRS will receive is official documentation that our church converted X number of non-believers into Christians, or that a charity we supported decreased poverty or sexual exploitation by a quantifiable amount. Or that everyone who benefited from our donations earned less than a certain amount of income.
Yet, similar bits of data are being requested of one of the kinds of non-profits we could have supported but didn’t: Georgia’s student scholarship organizations.
These SSOs accept donations from Georgia taxpayers, who can then reduce their state income taxes by an equal amount — up to a limit for all donors of about $50 million per year, or one-quarter of 1 percent of all revenues the state expects to collect this year. They then give the money to private schools, which in turn award scholarships to students.
Many claims are made about these so-called tax-credit scholarships. The most easily dismissed is that this is the state’s money.
“The United States Supreme Court ruled, clearly, that this is not tax money,” says Rep. Earl Ehrhart, the Powder Springs Republican who sponsored the 2008 bill that authorized SSOs and these tax credits. He refers to the court’s 2011 ruling in two cases involving Arizona’s tax-credit scholarships.
Indeed, the opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy states: “When Arizona taxpayers choose to contribute to STOs [the equivalent of Georgia’s SSOs], they spend their own money, not money the state has collected from respondents or from other taxpayers.”
Given that ruling, it’s not clear Georgia has to report anything about donations to SSOs — any more than it should report how much Georgians give to churches, synagogues or mosques, groups that fight hunger and poverty, groups that promote the arts or conservation, or any others.
Still, Ehrhart has filed a bill this year, HB 140, that would, among other things, raise the annual cap to $80 million but require public reporting of some aggregated information about SSOs: the number and value of donations made by individuals and corporations, as well as the number and value of scholarships awarded.
That last bit of data could help prove what SSO advocates have long argued: that these scholarships actually save tax money, because the average award amount is less than what public schools spend per pupil.
Scholarship recipients’ family income is another matter. Ehrhart says the program “was never sold” as one meant to benefit only low-income students, though he argues they are bound to be the greatest beneficiaries.
“You don’t give [scholarships] to rich kids,” says Ehrhart, who serves as the unpaid head of an SSO called Faith First Georgia. “Why would you take your limited money and do that?”
And, getting back to the original point, means-testing would represent a level of scrutiny not applied to other charities and their donors.
Speaking of scrutiny, a newer complaint about tax-credit scholarships is that some private schools receiving money from SSOs have policies, for religious reasons, that prohibit gay students.
But as the Supreme Court recognized, these donations are private gifts, not public money. There is no conflict here with public discrimination policies any more than when Georgians make tax-deductible gifts to other religious entities with similar views.
Barring these tax credits based on some private schools’ faith-based guidelines for students could, however, set a precedent for attacking the tax-deductibility of all gifts to religious groups.
As for claims that some donors and private schools are finding ways to make sure contributions are earmarked for specific students, including the donors’ own children, Ehrhart points out that practice is illegal — and encourages anyone with knowledge of law-breaking by specific SSOs, donors or schools to contact their district attorney.
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Early 19th-Century French Empire Botanical Plates
Appraised Value: $2,500 - $3,000
IMAGE: 1 of 2
Appraisal Video: (2:41)
Books & Manuscripts, Decorative Arts, Furniture, Pottery & Porcelain, Silver
GUEST: In 1917, my mother was a child of seven, living in Saint Petersburg. They lived on Ekaterina Canal, which is about two blocks from what is now the Hermitage. And in 1917, her father went to an auction that was held immediately following the revolution, and he came home with these plates. My mother married an American, she came to the United States in 1935. And they were a wedding present to her from her mother. And she brought them with her. So, in essence, we think that these were part of the Hermitage, at some point.
APPRAISER: That appears to be where they came from. Well, let's talk a little bit about the plates themselves. They're what we call botanical plates, which are plates, obviously, depicting various types of flowers. In the early 1800s, there was an obsession with painted flowers. And you find books and papers and lots of things with this type of illustration on them. They're beautifully done. And the way we can date these is particularly by the border here-- this gilded border. And these are actually not Russian plates, but they are French plates. But there's an interesting tie-in here, because the Russians were very, very impressed with the decorative arts coming out of France throughout the 1700s and the early 1800s, as well. So it is logical that these actually went from Paris, which is where they were most likely made, to Russia. Now, they're not marked on the back, as we can see. They have no markings here. This is the only one that has a star crack on the back. So this one, actually, with the star crack is the only one that has any real condition issues. But if you look carefully at the painting, each one is different and each one is beautifully done. But as far as I know, there were no auctions at the Hermitage after the revolution. There was a lot of pilfering and a lot of chaos. But as far as I know, there was no sign that said, "Yard sale here" at the Hermitage. (laughing) They are absolutely lovely plates. This is actually a luncheon set, probably part of a larger service. It would've had platters and compotes and whatnot. But they're beautifully done. They were made sometime between 1800 and about 1820. I would put the value at auction of the whole group somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000. The ones that are undamaged are probably worth around $500 apiece. And this one, with the damage, maybe $200, $300, so... But it's a lovely group of plates. And I wish I could tell you they're absolutely from the Czar's collection, but I don't think so. But I'm really glad you brought them down, 'cause they're a lovely set of plates.
GUEST: Thanks very much.
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Other Freauf Articles:
IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT CLANK YOUR CHAINS
By Betty Freauf
February 10, 2004
On January 23, 2004 the following guest opinion was published in our local fishwrapper called the Salem Statesman Journal. It was written by Rachel Rutkowski.
The title given to her article was Teach Tolerance to Children:
Last Friday afternoon, my 1-year-old daughter and I went to pick up my other child and a friend from school. We stood in front of the school waiting for the kids to come out.
Two boys who were chasing one another happened to be running my way. When they got within arm's length, the boy in front yells, "He just called me a nigger. He just called me a nigger!" At that moment, I felt like I was standing there all alone, holding my multiracial child.
I made a prompt phone call to the school. The assistant principal assured me that the children have been learning about racism and diversity this week.
It's not the schools responsibility to sit our children down and talk to them specifically about words that are not to be used. I do believe if the boys had been yelling profanities, it would have gotten more attention from parents and students who were also outside the school.
Despite our personal beliefs and teachings we have in our own homes, we must remember the language and attitudes we teach our children are what they are using in public.
When my child is in school, I wonder if teachers' ears are alert as mine. If these boys are so quick to use that type of language in front of me (an adult African-American woman), what's being said to my child on the playground?
Out of love and concern for my children, it is my responsibility to remind parents to take the time to sit your kids down and teach them how to live in a multicultural community.
In public and in the workplace, we are sometimes forced to tolerate those who in any other situation we would choose not to be in their company.
If we can't do this, it is our choice to remove ourselves from the situation. Our children do not have this choice in school. So maybe we are all forced to teach our children to be tolerant.
Rachel is from Salem, Oregon. She is a stay-at-home mother of two children. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org
I responded in my allowable 200 word letter to the editor:
Is it possible the two little boys in Rachel Rutkoswki's 1/23 guest opinion were white and never heard the word nigger until it was taught to them in the racism and diversity class? Such a negative name has long been eliminated in the vocabulary of most parents and now only used by black rappers.
An increase in sexual transmitted diseases, illegitimate babies and future tax payers have been aborted since sex education was taught in the schools. The animal rights curriculum causes science labs to be burned.
Children are being taught cutting trees is bad so our forests burn from lack of proper management, animals die and the schools lose revenue.
A logger was called to cut down trees on property near a lawyer's home in the Salem area. This lawyer's son called the logger a killer and said he was going to have his dad sue him.
Just as outlawing guns won't stop crime neither will the perceived injustice in this rotten world be stopped by teaching about them in school. It only fuels the flames. Instead, return to old-fashioned academics so our kids will learn to read, write, spell and do basic math without a calculator.
I got the following response to my letter from the editorial page editor, Dick Hughes:
We can't run your letter. It's incorrect to say the word is only used by black rappers. Unfortunately, I hear people use it in Salem, including kids when I'm walking by schools. Your letter has a number of generalization that go beyond opinion.
Dick's e-mail is: email@example.com. Visit the paper at www.statesmanjournal.com
In retrospect I suppose I should not have used the words "now only" used by black rappers but I'd already said that the word was no longer in the vocabulary of "most" parents. Then he said I made generalizations that went beyond opinion which led me to believe no matter how hard I would have tried to become politically correct, I would not be published so I'm getting a lot more coverage on News With Views.
Had my 200 word allotment not ran out, I could have added, among other things, we've seen an increase in teenage suicides since the death education classes are being taught in the public schools.
Rachel was correct when she indicated children cannot move away from mean-spirited, name calling kids. Likewise, the children are a captive audience by educators bent on teaching the politically correct agenda to the children without informed parental consent.
I felt as though Rachel also had made generalizations that went beyond opinion and yet she was given a guest opinion whereas I am only allowed 200 words a few times a year.
Censorship is alive and well with the media moguls and they seem to be so intertwined with government policies it is hard to differentiate the "free press" from government propaganda. But is this new? Absolutely not. In the book THE REAL LINCOLN (C) 2002 it said that by September 1861 Lincoln stifled all opposition press in New York City with the help of military force. Could the biased news we get today be considered a conspiracy?
I vaguely remember writing a letter to the editor in the 80s, as I recall. It got published but then a nasty rebuttal came along. It is rare when I get such a response so I tried to run down the source through the phone book, the election's office, city directories, etc. in both the county where I live and the adjoining county. This mysterious respondent was no where to be found. I spoke to another person very familiar with staff members at the Statesman at that time. He laughed and indicated the type of response looked very similar to the writing of one of the Statesman's editorial staff members.
Now, my current letter probably upset Dick because a March 9, 2002 Statesman Journal article written by him indicated his father was a staunch American Baptist minister who raised his family with an ecumenical outlook and religious put downs were not tolerated in his house and neither were racist and other offensive remarks about people and they were taught to stand up for their beliefs.
Gee, I think that's great but what if their beliefs clash with the beliefs of another and they just happen to control the editorial page of the local paper? Would they dare publish an incognito rebuttal?
It is interesting to note that the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches (both communist fronts) were the ones who spearheaded the ecumenical movement throughout the world and their agendas line up nearly perfectly with the United Nations which promotes diversity. Robert Muller says in his book NEW GENESIS, "The world's major religions must speed up dramatically their ecumenical movement and recognize the unity of their objectives in the diversity of cults..."
Robert Muller is a one-world government, one-world religion New age occultist and active in the U.N. Of course, the ecumenical movement is the "right flank" of the united religions movement whereas the "left flank" is the environmental, New Age and Eastern religions.
A joke in the April 1998 Reader's Digest will bring a chuckle to this otherwise serious matter. It goes like this: At an Ecumenical round-table discussion, various religious leaders tried to answer the question, when does life start? "At conception," said the Catholic Priest. "No, No" said the Presbyterian minister, "It beings at birth." "It's in between" said the Baptist. "Life begins at 12 weeks when the fetus develops a functional heartbeat." "I disagree with all of you," said the Rabbi. "Life begins when your last child leaves home and takes the dog with him."
I said nothing negative about another race. I hear black rappers use that ugly term all the time. That's why I included it in my article and I'd also surmise the two little boys which Rachel mentioned were white and they didn't have the foggiest idea what the term even meant and most of all, they didn't recognize Rachel as an African-American but just another mother waiting for her child in the school yard. They heard that demeaning word in school that week so they were trying out their new word which will remain with them forever and that's why the public schools should get out of the politically correct business.
And if you wonder why today's children's vocabulary amounts to "you know...." Matthew James in his book HOMESCHOOLYING ODYSSEY (c) 1998 says our public schools, self-proclaimed guardians against censorship limit a student's vocabulary growth to 50-new words per grade level. He says at that rate, the graduating high school senior would fall short of an adult vocabulary by 10 or 20 thousand words. He goes on to say that dumbed-down readers do more damage, obviously then just limited vocabulary. They stunt the growth of the child's mind when the learning curve is nearly vertical. Therefore, should we be surprised that the majority of Americans hate to read and thanks to T.V. their attention span is short?
And what type of books do we have in our libraries and schools these days? In Salem someone tried to donate a book to our library on central banking, i.e. the Federal Reserve and the library turned it down because it was "too political." Since when is truth too political? Will the real book burners please stand up?
Recently an old black and white newsreel called "A & E In the Classroom" was on T.V. It was about the founding of the United Nations and other events such as how it intended to avoid nuclear war, etc. Dag Hammarskjold was made out to be a hero and any part showing Alger Hiss as a card-carrying communist was cut out. Dag Hammarskjold authored the book CHAMPION OF WORLD PEACE. Dag was once United Nations secretary and at the time of its construction in 1957, the U.N. Meditation Room was said by Hammarskjold to represent the unity of all world religions - just as the bible says: One World Religion with the One-world Anti-Christ soon to come on the scene supposedly bringing peace to this chaotic world.
Many of you remember the speech that caused quite a stir in the Kansas State Legislature a few years ago when Dr. Joe Wright prayed:
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equillibrium and inverted our values. We confess that: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it moral pluralism; We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism; We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle; We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation; We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice; We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable; We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem; We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition; We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will. I ask it in the name of your Son, the Living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen." Let's face it folks, it's long been revealed America is in a culture war which we cannot afford to lose and while I could not find the person that refuted the letter I wrote to the local newspaper editor years ago, the Internet so far allows us to print our opinions without censorship and let the readers decide who the real censors are. Let them decide what is fair and balanced.
© 2004 Betty Freauf - All Rights Reserved
Betty is a former Oregon Republican Party activist having served as state party secretary, county chairman, 5th congressional vice chairman and then elected chairman, and a precinct worker for many years. Betty is a researcher, freelance journalist and a regular contributor to www.NewsWithViews.com. E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.org
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Solving complex, persistent and intractable problems like health care, water supply and climate change requires creative, innovative approaches.
And where might you find those approaches?
Looking to the arts is the essence of a multimillion-dollar, three-city National Science Foundation-funded project being conducted in San Diego, Chicago and Worcester, Mass. Home base for the effort is San Diego, under the auspices of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, a nonprofit comprised of representatives of the park’s 27 organizations.
The National Science Foundation has awarded the Cultural Partnership a $2.6 million grant (over four years) — one of the largest, if not the largest, grant to a San Diego cultural organization from a federal agency in recent memory — to research arts- and science-based problem-solving, apply it to a significant civic challenge and measure the impact of arts-based learning on innovation.
The project is directed by Harvey Seifter, the author of the book “Leadership Ensemble: Lessons in Collaborative Management” and a pioneer in the field of arts-based learning (essentially applying strategies used in the arts — such as improvisation, collective decision-making and multidisciplinary thinking — to fields outside the arts).
“It changes the world if we can show this,” said Seifter, who anticipates generating data that could conclusively show arts-based learning as a driver of creativity and innovation.
“I would never say the arts are the only source, the only manifestation (of creativity and innovation) — but they are an awfully rich source.”
The project is the second phase of the Art of Science Learning Initiative, which was developed by Seifter in collaboration with the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership and others, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Americans for the Arts.
In 2011, during the initiative’s first phase, Seifter assembled a group of 400 scientists, artists, educators, researchers and business leaders in conferences at Calit2 (at UC San Diego in cooperation with the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, which is now the lead organization in the national project), the Smithsonian Institution and the Illinois Institute of Technology, “to explore the connection between arts-based learning, scientific innovation and economic competitiveness.”
The National Science Foundation grant is funding the creation of “innovation incubators” in San Diego, Chicago and Worcester, Mass. As has each of its collaborators at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and EcoTarium (the Worcester Science and Nature Center), the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership has convened a wide-ranging advisory council to identify a civic challenge that can be approached through arts-based problem-solving.
The Worchester advisory council selected transportation. Chicago is still deliberating. The San Diego advisory council has identified three potential civic challenges:
• 21st-century health care: It would look at the “intersection of mobile telecommunications with health care and biotech industries” and its potential for transforming medical research, health care delivery and health information.
• Climate change: It would address global warming and its impact on the region (wildfires, rising sea level, heat waves, drought, wildlife, etc.)
• Water: It would look at how the region can “ensure the reliable, sustainable, high-quality water supply it needs” to support a healthy society, economy and environment. | <urn:uuid:7c96875e-d82a-4795-9671-6c84f1a13be9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/22/tp-balboa-park-cultural-partnership-gets-26/?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926981 | 704 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Samsung Electronics has become a platinum sponsor of the Linux Foundation.
Platinum is the highest level of membership for the Linux Foundation and allegedly costs upwards of $500,000 (USD) per year to reach this support level. Of the hundreds of corporations supporting the Linux Foundation, the only platinum members previous today were IBM, NEC, Qualcomm Innovation Center, Oracle, Intel, and Fujitsu. Now, Samsung has joined this small group of companies to support Linux at the highest level.
Samsung becoming a platinum member of the Linux Foundation is certainly for a Linux mobile/device play. Samsung's smart-phones and tablets are among the most popular Android devices on the market across many different regions. Samsung has also become heavily involved with Intel on the development of the Linux-based Tizen
platform. Through Tizen, Samsung is looking to differentiate itself from the other Android device vendors.
Other Linux / open-source work done by Samsung past and present includes sponsoring the development of Enlightenment
, created an open-source ARM DRM driver
, and more
The press release announcing Samsung Electronics joining the Linux Foundation at the highest level can be found at LinuxFoundation.org
Another company to have joined the Linux Foundation recently was NVIDIA Corp
, which was a silver-level member, and so far that doesn't have seemed to change anything for the company that still prefers binary blobs for Linux graphics drivers. | <urn:uuid:fda1d5b7-3094-45cd-8545-c352745e881e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTExNDY | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956553 | 282 | 1.609375 | 2 |
I went out to Kuranga Native Nursery today at Mount Evelyn – about 40 km north-east of Melbourne. It is a scenic area not far from the Dandenong Ranges. Kuranga has a superb range of native plants, as well as friendly and helpful staff and a restaurant where you can have a decent glass of pinot. I am not an intelligent native plant shopper – I admit my irrationalities – I go for novel and extreme rather than sensible plants that have a reasonable chance of survival. Kuranga has induced me (the bastards!) into half a dozen attempts to try to grow Banksia coccinea. This in my view is one of the best native cut flowers in Australia – long-lasting and gorgeous coloring – see the photo above. The plants I have bought last for 6-12 months and then, almost overnight, turned up their heels. I welcome advice.
Today I bought some cycads, a compact form of the Flannel flower (a tricky wretch that likes to be kept moist but suffers from fungal problems), one of two native Australian rhododendrons (a vireya species R. lochiae) which tends to become ‘leggy’ (OK dummy, prune it) but which has great flowers – I have never seen an actual specimen of the other Australian vireya, R. notiale. Finally, I got some ferns Kuranga were selling cheap and a Davidson’s (bush-tucker plum) – my previous effort died during the Melbourne winter – I will give it more protection this winter.
I recommend Kuranga if you are in Melbourne and I am not being paid to advertise. | <urn:uuid:e3f1df8b-4965-4a11-937f-96c2d38cf222> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.harryrclarke.com/2007/03/10/gardening-with-native-australian-plants/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968895 | 349 | 1.523438 | 2 |
SketchTime – Quick Sketch & Simple Note ($0.99) by Hansol Huh is a simple but elegant and beautiful universal sketching app. If you’re looking for a way to just draw without all of the complicated art accoutrements, SketchTime may be the answer.
When you first open the app, check out the Gallery. Here you’ll find three sketches that explain everything you need to know about the app. The first panel points out all of the icons within the app and describes their functions. Your choice of writing instruments are Pen, Marker, and Eraser. Choose a pen tip: round or square. Select from eight different pen thicknesses and twenty different colors. The arrow in the bottom left corner shows/hides this icon menu. The undo/redo arrows look like what you’d expect. The second panel explains zooming, panning, and how to taper a line with finger speed. The third panel describes Marker Blend Mode. This is how you decide which colors are covered up by the marker (if any).
Tap the “+” to start drawing on the white paper, or the rectangle-with-an-arrow icon to bring up several options. If you’ve already doodled and want to start over, tap “Clear Sketch”. To bring up a grid to sketch upon, tap “Show Grid”. The third option is my favorite: “Import Photo”. Whether you want to doodle on your collection of textured paper/wallpapers or a photograph from your photo library, this is a welcome feature.
And that’s it! Just start drawing. When you’re done, tap the Gallery button to save your work within the app. Once you’re in your gallery, tap on a sketch to see it up close. From that view, you can hit the play button (triangle icon in the bottom left corner) to watch the entire sketch being drawn again, right before your eyes. I can imagine how cool it would be for a real artist to watch their sketch being recreated, and sharing that process. The “rectangle-arrow” icon here brings up the following options: Save to Photos, Email Sketch, Share on Twitter, Duplicate Sketch, or Lock Sketch. Tap the grid icon to bring up all of the items in your gallery.
This extremely elegant and beautiful universal app is easy and fun to use. The gallery of photos below is a mix of my own child-like scribbles and actual art created with this app: I think you’ll be able to tell which is which. The comic strip and the portrait of Steve Jobs were created by artist Simone Kirschning; the landscape of Hamburg is by Benjamin Rabe.
The current low introductory price won’t last forever; if you want a gorgeous app you can use on all of your iDevices, pick it up today. Let us know in the comments if you use this app; in fact you can share your art with us on Disqus by hitting the “+” button in the corner of the comment box. | <urn:uuid:eec01d71-efaf-4ef8-b957-895a542ed6b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://appadvice.com/appnn/2012/02/sketch-artists-will-love-universal-app-sketchtime | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904879 | 656 | 1.546875 | 2 |
At The Mill With Slaves
Eyeless in Gaza, at the mill with slaves
Samson Agonistes - John Milton
Schoolchildren left school, started work, worked until retirement, and then died off. Itwas a fact of life that jobs were for life. A career, once begun, was to be maintained atwhatever cost. When I left school, I imagined that the employment I secured would lastforever. That was the culture and expectation of the times and it seemed as if nothingwould ever happen to alter it.In my later school years I entertained a desire to become a merchant seaman. I had become increasingly aware of the many peoples and cultures in the world, and wished tosee them, taste the differences, and try to understand why they were so different from thatwith which I was familiar. The merchant marine was the only way I knew to achieve thatambition.When we left school, Pete West and I went along to the Employment Exchange together.A man who interviewed us cautioned us against
‘holding each others’ hands’
throughlife. Neither of us intended to so that, we just shared a common idea. Peter said hewould like to join the merchant navy also.The truth about my desire for a seafaring life was that it was just an idea. I had not thekind of drive that impels men to follow a dream until its completion. I was a drifter: a passive spectator at what life did to me. Powerless, I went with the flow, and landedwherever it threw me up.Peter and I both started work at Sykes and Tunnicliffe's Bankend Mills, Almondbury. Iworked in the weaving shed and Peter worked in the finishing department. As places goit was a good place to work, and sported some interesting characters, among which wasmy mentor, Vincent. | <urn:uuid:ab527343-92fc-43dc-b48f-f25861093354> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scribd.com/doc/45014059/At-The-Mill-With-Slaves-A-Yorkshire-Experience | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984308 | 384 | 2.125 | 2 |
Tucked up on the second floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Walker Evans and the Picture Postcard" gives those colorful rectangular tourist tools their due. Evans, known mostly for his defining photography of the Great Depression, was an avid postcard collector, and the Met fills its walls with his collection. You'll be straining your eyes looking for your favorite American destinations, rendered in idealized, colorful hues and arranged in dizzying rows.
New York City of course plays a part, with eye-popping retro glances of the Flatiron Building, Columbus Circle, Chelsea Piers and many other famous city locales.
But the joy of this show is in finding places far off the beaten path, mindnumbing rows and rows of postcards from identical locations you've never heard of. The exhibit is accompanied by a few of Evans' own prints that seem to take cues from his particular passion.
The show runs until May 25, 2009 in the Howard Gilman Gallery on the second floor of the Met. More info on their website.
ABOVE Wish you were here: a photomechical view of Manhattan from the 1910s | <urn:uuid:ebbe046e-8e00-432f-afb8-c66a3e2dabe0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theboweryboys.blogspot.com/2009/02/special-delivery-postcards-at-met.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956734 | 235 | 1.851563 | 2 |
|We love stuff. Clothes. Shoes. Make-up. Jewelry. Books. Pictures. Movies. Cds. Letters. Recipes. Magazines. STUFF! Our consumer-driven society is constantly enticing us to want more, and before we know it-it's just too much!|
We collect things for someday-recipes we plan to bake, craft projects we want to create, or gifts we hope to give. Unfortunately, what begins as an innocent collection of odds and ends soon grows into heaping mounds of clutter and chaos. Before we realize it, clutter seeps in and sucks our time away, our peace of mind, and our freedom. And if we're not careful, our possessions end up owning us. Clutter mentally and physically sucks the life out of us and traps us in a life we were never meant to have...but there is hope.
In Too Much Stuff, author Kathryn Porter challenges us to dig into the clutter of our homes and attack the attitudes and behaviors that allow this chaos to immobilize us. While giving practical steps on how to de-clutter our homes, she shows us how to de-clutter our hearts by realizing that God loves us through the messes we make and has a plan for us that doesn't involve being confined to clutter. | <urn:uuid:c8eec0a0-f43c-494b-9029-c862804c3713> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/bhol/itempage.jsp?itemId=9780834128316&catalogId=BHOL&catSecCd=HOTOF&subCatSecCd=NA&subSubCatSecCd=NA | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942252 | 267 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Scrappy String Quilting Tutorial
First I want to say that I in no way am taking credit for inventing this technique. Last weekend I bought some bags of scraps from my friends at Sharman's Sewing Center and with that purchase I received a copy of this pattern/technique. What I am presenting here is a demonstration of that technique. I don't want anyone to think I'm doing anything shady here.
Then you begin with your foundation muslin. It doesn't have to be muslin, but I'd hate to waste pretty fabric on this part because you won't see it in the end. These are cut in 7" squares and set on point.
Then you take your first strip and place it RIGHT side UP on the center line of your muslin.
Next you select the second strip and place it face down on the first strip which is face up. (I really should get a new ironing board cover--those blue stripes are making me dizzy!)
Then you sew a 1/4 inch seam down the right sides of these two strips sewing them to the foundation muslin.
And press it open.
You repeat the same process with the third strip lining up on the right side of the second strip.
Again, sewing a 1/4 inch seam down the right side.
Continue to repeat this process.
You repeat the same process with the third strip lining up on the right side of the second strip. Until you get all the way out to the corner. Then you flip the square and repeat this process until you get to the other corner and have the entire foundation piece covered.
It should look something like this.
The you flip the entire piece over and this is what it should look like from the back. | <urn:uuid:7aa8be7a-40e3-4538-8e37-034bd8270529> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sillychickdesigns.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940124 | 362 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Monsignor Michael J. Doyle to Deliver Commencement Address
Thursday, May 6, 2010
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Monsignor Michael J. Doyle, Ph.D., Camden’s “Poet of Poverty,” will deliver the 83rd commencement address at Chestnut Hill College on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 2 p.m. at an outdoor ceremony on the College's campus.
The College will award 293 bachelor degrees and 215 graduate degrees as well as 7 doctoral degrees in clinical psychology during the ceremony. Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees will be awarded to Monsignor Michael J. Doyle, Ph.D., a tireless champion for the poor, and Sister Patricia Kelly, SSJ, a member of the Chestnut Hill College board of directors for over 20 years. Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees will be awarded to Leona and Nelson Shanks, accomplished artists and co- founders of Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia. Monsignor Michael J. Doyle
was born in 1934 in County Longford, Ireland. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1959, at which point he came to Camden, N.J. — and he never left. For more than 50 years, he has devoted his life to addressing and alleviating the neglect of the people of Camden, working to provide them the human dignity and living conditions they deserve.
Monsignor Doyle was a priest and schoolteacher before becoming assistant pastor of St. Joseph’s Pro-Cathedral. In 1971, he was arrested for protesting the Vietnam War, for which he was acquitted. In 1974, he became pastor of his own parish, Sacred Heart.
In the decades that followed, Monsignor Doyle led a project to restore the Sacred Heart church building, an extension of his belief that “liturgy leads to justice;” founded Heart of Camden housing, which renovates abandoned houses and helps low-income families become homeowners; established a free medical clinic; helped to create Camden Churches Organized for People, a community organizing project; promoted a ministry of the arts, helping to build a community theater; and led the development of an urban farm in Camden.
A collection of Monsignor Doyle’s letters and prose, “It’s a Terrible Day…Thanks Be to God” was published in 2003. Five years later, the thousands of heartfelt letters he sent over the years to friends, parishioners, and supporters became the basis of the film “The Poet of Poverty.” The film offers a record of his parish and city, month after month, year after year, bearing witness to the consequences of poverty. Leona Claire Shanks
co-founded the Studio Incamminati with her husband, Nelson Shanks. In addition to her administrative role as vice president of the studio, Leona participates in the studio’s Professional Program, teaches, and serves as an affiliated artist. Studio Incamminati teaches students to attend fearlessly to detail, by its dedication to bringing back the skill of seeing and the skill of craftsmanship in the long tradition of American realism in art.
Twice a finalist in the Art Renewal Center’s International Salon in Still Life and, in 2002, the winner of the Edmund Stewardson Award for Sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Leona Claire Shanks’ own art includes probing portraits and hauntingly beautiful still life paintings. Her images both delight the eye and engage the spirit. In her most recent work, The Time Bomb Project, she captures the fragility of the earth’s ecosystems in a stunning image of the world wrapped in a trash bag and discarded along with two empty soda cans.
Leona trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, the Arts Students League, New York, and the Frudakis Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia. In 1985, she began a four-year apprenticeship with Nelson Shanks, a proponent of progressive realism. In 1989, they married and became partners in art education. Her work has been exhibited at the Art Union of Philadelphia, the Chauncey Center in Princeton, N.J., The Cosmopolitan Club of Philadelphia, Studio Incamminati’s Annual Exhibition and the Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, Pa. Nelson Shanks
is regarded as the foremost realist painter in America today. Most widely known as a portrait painter, especially of high-profile sitters such as European royalty, American presidents, and the Pope, his subjects include the human figure, landscape, and still life. His devotion to the fine arts also includes his commitment to educating young artists.
A lifelong resident of the greater Delaware Valley, Shanks spent most of his childhood in Chester County and has resided in Bucks County, Pa. since 1968. He executed his first oil painting at the age of five and went on to study at several notable art schools, including The Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Design.
Responding to a growing need for serious art instruction, he began a series of successful workshops for students in the late 1990s. With his wife, Leona Claire Shanks, he founded Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia to teach the skills and techniques fundamental to realism in the traditional European ambience of the academia
and the atelier
as well as the essential skills needed to achieve and sustain a career as a professional painter.
In 2006, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell presented to Nelson Shanks the Governor’s Distinguished Arts Award, recognizing a Pennsylvania artist of international fame whose contributions enrich the Commonwealth. In 2009, he received the Portrait Society of America’s Gold Medal Award. Sister Patricia Kelly, SSJ
is an alumna of the College and was a member of the College’s board of directors for 20 years (1989-2009), serving as the chair of the board for nine of those years. These years coincided with her 20 years of service as vice president and president of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.
In the 10 years she served as vice president and College board member, Sister Patricia, an English major who holds a master’s degree in religious studies and a certificate in pastoral counseling, worked with finances, investments, corporations, properties, and attorneys on behalf of both the Congregation and the College. She embraced the complexity of these challenges with grace and, in the words of several board members, was always “well prepared and knowledgeable about issues” as well as “welcoming (and)…inclusive of all.”
During her years of service as president of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and chair of the board, both the Congregation and Chestnut Hill College faced multiple challenges and changes. Carol Jean Vale, SSJ, president of the College, describes those times as “nothing short of transformational for Chestnut Hill College.” The construction of Martino Hall, the decision to become a coeducational institution, and the decision to purchase the SugarLoaf property provide just a few examples; the memories and imaginations of many present today can fill in others. Each challenge came with its own set of contradictory ideas
, and Sister Patricia’s leadership throughout modeled how to entertain
these ideas and draw from all sides of an issue to find the real wisdom.
Board members comment that she always “included all sides of an issue,” was “prepared to deal with anything that was put on the table,” and “set a standard for excellence and achievement while keeping us focused on the Mission of the College and the Mission of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.” Sister Carol describes Sister Patricia’s service as that of “a genuine partner in mission,” whose “egoless commitment to the common good” has been “pure gift” to the College. | <urn:uuid:c00dbf2d-4ebb-4b36-81be-cb3626f21894> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chc.edu/83rd_Commencement/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965014 | 1,637 | 1.609375 | 2 |
If there was one thing that people across the country could agree on right now, it would be the ridiculously high cost of today’s college education. Most parents assume that student loans are a fact of life, and most students assume that student loan debt is a necessary and even positive thing. If you want to get a good job, it’s commonly thought that going to a good college (chosen in part by U.S. News and World Report rankings) and getting a good name on your diploma simply costs money and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Enter Zac Bissonnette. Twenty-one, college student, and an art history major. So what knowledge does he have that the rest of us--and many other experts--do not? Well, as the subtitle of Debt-Free U
suggests, Zac paid for his college education, “without loans, scholarships, or mooching off [his] parents.” And you can, too. Because, as it turns out, Zac might know what he’s talking about. He is a writer and editor with AOL Money & Finance
, has written for the Boston Globe
, appeared on CNN, and has the financial savvy and banking portfolio of someone several times his age. | <urn:uuid:2290e21e-594f-405b-868d-ff6f7d33c443> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.librarypoint.org/taxonomy/term/3696 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975692 | 263 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Trauma Insurance Guides
When you are considering the different types of personal insurance for the first time, those that will be protecting your financial life, you may not be 100% sure what is available by way of products or options.
As a result of this, we have tried to put together a number of informative articles to help you learn about trauma insurance, also known as trauma cover and how it can protect your financial future. In these articles we cover a number of options and informative points to get you thinking about trauma insurance, options to have or not to have, what factors affects your premiums and how these in turn can affect your levels of cover and benefits.
Comparing trauma insurance quotes
These trauma insurance articles discuss things like critical illness insurance and trauma insurance definitions, however they do not cover everything, although this may not possible as you may need assistance in understanding how trauma cover works. Another reason is that some people have unique occupations or medical conditions that must be taken into consideration before an appropriate trauma insurance policy is found. So if you require any assistance in finding trauma insurance definitions or the most suitable trauma insurance policy please contact xLife financial advisers on 1300 135 205 for free Trauma Insurance Quotes.
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Here is our latest list of informative trauma insurance articles. We will be updating these as they become available!
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save up to 20% on your first year's trauma protection premium. | <urn:uuid:ca10f594-0eb2-476c-bafa-4235ec523c90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.xlife.com.au/trauma-insurance/ti-guides/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912011 | 303 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Philip, it's hard to keep people in for the long haul when the industry is telling them that the sailing they do and the gear they do it on is old-fashioned and slow and should be thrown away, and replaced by something that won't normally work as well when they head down to the beach. I'm sure that now the sport has moved to widestyle boards that plane early, we'll agree that the '80s and '90s gear people were levered into after the sport's boomtime was NOT well suited to the conditions most of us sail in. Don't blame the gear that created the boomtime for the collapse that may have been caused by the gear people bought AFTER the boomtime (sinkers for lake sailors, DSBs they couldn't gybe, etc).
On the average day in most places in the world, the really old stuff is often better performing than the new stuff.
I don't know what's happening in skiing but I'm not sure the MTB analogy is right. The modern MTB seems to be at least as tough as the originals; modern boards aren't. The modern MTB goes better on the average day than the originals; modern boards work better only when there's a fair amount of steady wind (unless you want to drag a big sail around, and even then you still need a fair whack of wind to be faster around all angles on the typical waterway). Modern MTBs are easier to own and use than the originals; I'm not sure that a modern board is easier to own and use for most of a typical day on a Bavarian or Parisian lake, Queen Mary reservoir or outside of Des Moines or Sydney and I'm positive it's often slower.
The development of modern windsurfers seems to be a bit more like the development of specialist downhill MTBs; great for certain specialised conditions, but not for normal use on t the average day for the average rider in the average area. It's great stuff, but perhaps also a recipe to create a fringe sport.
Also note that neither dinghy sailing or surfing, the two sports that created our own, have developed dramatically in technology in terms of what the average user owns. If anything, surfing has moved to longer, cheaper pop out boards. Yet neither surfing or dinghy sailing has suffered a drop like windsurfing. And if you blame old gear for the fall off in the numbers who windsurf, then how do you explain the fact that the sport is still pretty small?
I'm not having a go at the gear per se, but more the fact that arguably it is aimed at a narrower spectrum of sailors, areas and conditions. Other sports have widened the available choices (MTBing itself was a widened choice of bike riding, surfing has gone from about one style of board to many, dinghy sailing has opened itself up at each end of the spectrum, etc)
Windsurfing alone of these sports has concentrated on one aspect (planing ie medium/strong wind) performance and windsurfing alone has shrunk dramatically in recent decades...... | <urn:uuid:be94d514-4414-4f59-801d-f895ee0660b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.star-board.com/forum/showpost.php?p=19467&postcount=24 | 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 | 0.974368 | 632 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Connecting "Soul and Role" Critical, Parker Palmer Says in Mendenhall Lecture
February 14, 2002
February 14, 2002, Greencastle, Ind. [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "Unexamined Life" 1311KB] [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "Unexamined Life" 515KB] "It's not only that the unexamined life is not worth living; the unexamined life is an incredible danger to everyone around you," said writer and educational activist Parker J. Palmer as he presented the spring Mendenhall Lecture at DePauw University this afternoon. In his speech, "Spirituality in a Secular Society," delivered in Meharry Hall of historic East College, Dr. Palmer talked of "reconnecting soul and role," and suggested those connections were never made by executives of Enron Corporation.
"Those are very, very smart people that we're watching testify in front of Congress, educated at some of the best schools in our country. And yet, (they're) people who don't have the foggiest notion about their own inner dynamic-- about the difference between a legitimate business decision and an inner drive called greed, ego or lust for power-- partly because their schools, I think, failed them in that," Palmer said.
Palmer, the author of a number of books including Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation, says its important to understand the connection between the inner and outer life; that one can't be successful living a "divided life," keeping ideas apart from feelings. [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "The Socratic Approach" 414KB] [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "The Socratic Approach" 525KB] "DePauw and all liberal arts colleges have part of their tap root at least in the words of Socrates, who said, 'the unexamined life is not worth living,'" he told his Greencastle audience.
Dr. Palmer says the intellectual, emotional and spiritual elements of humans are "intertwined," and must all be served, but often are not. He remembered learning of the Holocaust while a college student, which he was taught by [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "The Holocaust" 1955KB] [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "The Holocaust" 1020KB] "objective historians who were willing to deal with the intellectual side of the equation -- the facts and the figures. But by dealing with only the facts and figures, they taught me about these horrors with such remove, such antiseptic, such arms-length, that I came out of those studies somehow imagining, and this is a hard thing to say, that all of that had happened on another planet to another species. Nobody ever said 'different planet, different species,' but the data were presented at such distance from my subjective life that I had no way of connecting with the fact that this wasn't about another planet and another species, this was me, my place, my people, my time. And I don't think I'm the only one who suffered that deformation," Palmer said.
The human dilemma of a "divided life"-- working for a corporation that demands loyalty, a demand that can conflict with the need to speak truth-- is an issue Parker Palmer addresses nationwide in workshops on education, community, leadership, spirituality, and social change. He is a senior associate of the American Association of Higher Education, and senior adviser to the Fetzer Institute and designer of their teacher formation program. Dr. Palmer says he learned about having a strong inner life by studying oppressed people throughout the course of history. [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "The Power" 1090KB] "They had no money, they had no political clout, they had no access, they had no leverage, they did not have vast armies at their command... How in heaven's name do people who have all external forms of power stripped away from them create world-changing revolutions? Well they do it by reaching for an equally great power: the power of the human heart, of identity and integrity, of moral vision and moral suasion."
Palmer told the students, faculty, staff and members of the Methodist Church gathered for the Mendenhall Lecture that [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "Better Choices" 515KB] "In the doing of higher education and certainly in life of religious communities, we need to be putting on the table all of these inner landscape questions... for the sake of lifting them up to a level of reflectiveness and self-awareness. Where people can make better choices than we sometimes do, and be challenged in some of the choices we have made. That, I think, is what good education is all about."
Parker Palmer engaged in discussions with two groups on campus following his speech. Before leaving Meharry Hall, he offered, [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "Common Cause" 468KB] "What enormous opportunities we have in the work we do to know our own inner lives enough to respect and appreciate the inner lives of other people, and to liberate them on behalf of good work for the common cause."Back | <urn:uuid:a85541fe-b107-4465-a9a7-fbf8f680072e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/11910/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976104 | 1,044 | 2.15625 | 2 |
After producing the first questionnaires and analyzing the project scope, it was decided that the interviews would only include North American Conservators (conservators working in US). After presenting the project at the George Eastman House in December 2008, the project description had evolved to the following:
Current Status of Treatment Practices in Photograph Conservation
Statement of Purpose
This research will create a basic reference resource (interviews-based) that describes and addresses the current status of treatment within the profession, its philosophies, history; and the criteria and methodologies used for its evaluation. The objective of this resource is to gather and make accessible the knowledge and experience of a group of key individuals in the field, answering fundamental questions that relate to our work.
Treatment is one of the activities that characterize and differentiate a photograph conservator from other closely related specialists. The possibilities for treating photographic materials depend on a series of complex case-based variables (not only considering the materiality of the object but its present and future context and use) and international accepted standards of practice. Therefore it is important to understand, document and communicate the way in which treatment is approached, conducted and evaluated, both within institutions and in private practice. As it is important to explain the factors that have influenced in the history and development of treatment practices and try to identify the future challenges for the field in the subject.
The general history of the field of photograph conservation has been synthesized in some articles and orally compiled by a series of interviews conducted by Pau Maynés in 2001. However, the emphasis of these previous researches was not treatment practices, its status or history.
Interviews with conservators will be conducted and video recorded, to describe the following:
-Definition of treatment
-Criteria/Need for treatment
-Type and Aim of treatment
-Treatments performed and frequencies
-Degree/Extent of intervention
-Evaluation of treatment
-Transformation of treatment practices
-History of treatment practices
-Training and education
The interviews will be video-recorded, and a complete transcript and abstract produced.
To increase the accessibility of the resource, the creation of a web-based application containing sections of the videos and transcripts will be assessed.
A set of interviews and transcripts will be delivered to the principal schools of Photograph Conservation.
List of interviewees: Conservators working in US, practicing conservators or current head of conservation departments or research/educational institutions. | <urn:uuid:2b0c29d8-917b-4dda-aa9d-c3b05ab10de0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://photograph-conservation.blogspot.com/2009/02/description-of-project-after.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920191 | 498 | 2.25 | 2 |
As adverb, just means:
- very recently;
- barely; by little;
There are then cases where just can replaced with simply without to change meaning to the sentence.
As examples of usage of just the NOAD reports the following sentences:
That's just what I need.
You're a human being, just like everyone else.
Conditions were just as bad.
I've just seen the local paper.
I got here just after nine.
They were just interested in making money.
There also phrases where you need to use just, as in just about, just as well, just in case, just a minute; replace just with simply, and you get a phrase without sense.
The results obtained from Google don't mean that, as just appears more frequently than simply, just is more preferred. As the words are not synonyms, comparing them is like to compare the number of sentences containing house with the number of sentences containing moon.
With Google, then (as reported by other comments), you don't obtain results for English only, and you can obtain also results for phrases that are not grammatically correct. | <urn:uuid:09d6e1dc-a576-4311-b778-355af61cb565> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/4861/just-versus-simply/12730 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981406 | 236 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Color Bridge is the 20th MATLAB Online Programming Contest.
This contest is based on the color flooding problem as popularized in the online game Flood-It, although as usual our version is somewhat different. In this version, you don't need to paint the whole space a single color. Instead, your job is to make a single-color "bridge" between two points in the matrix.
Specifically, you need to create a four-connected single-color region that reaches from the upper left (1,1) element of a given m-by-n matrix to the target element located somewhere else in the matrix. By "four-connected" we mean that only blocks that are adjacent horizontally or vertically (north, south, east, and west) are considered connected.
Every time you change the color of the top left element A(1,1), it grows the region of connected color (the "bridge"). The sequence below shows a series of color changes that eventually grows the bridge to include the bottom right element A(4,4). The colors shifted through this sequence:
colors = solver(A, targetIndex)The second argument, targetIndex, is an absolute index into the matrix. You can find the target row and column easily with the IND2SUB command like so.
[targetRow, targetColumn] = ind2sub(size(A),targetIndex)The cost of the solution, which you want to minimize, is the sum of all the elements in the final matrix plus the sum of all the elements in the solution vector. In code,
score = sum(Afinal(:)) + sum(colors)Suppose, as shown above, you start with this matrix.
A = [ 1 5 4 2 2 1 4 3 3 5 3 6 5 5 5 6 ]and the target element is (4,4). Your goal is to "paint" a bridge from A(1,1) to A(4,4) as cheaply as possible, which is to say, the lowest possible score as defined above. In the introductory example, we used the solution vector [5 4 3 6]. This is the Afinal matrix.
The final cost is given by
cost = sum(Afinal(:)) + sum(colors) = 76 + 18 = 94But we can easily imagine a different solution sequence. Here is the bridge resulting from the sequence [5 1 5 6].
cost = sum(Afinal(:)) + sum(colors) = 75 + 17 = 92Since a lower cost is better, we've improved our overall score by 2.
penaltyValue = max(Aoriginal(:)); Afinal = Aoriginal; Afinal(Aoriginal ~= 0) = penaltyValue;Thus returning the empty set is a legitimate answer. In the example given above,
Afinal = [ 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 ]and so
cost = sum(Afinal(:)) + sum(colors) = 96 + 0 = 96
If the color list returned by solver is longer than the number of elements in the matrix, it will be truncated like so.
if numel(colors) > numel(A) colors = colors(1:numel(A)); end
Cyclomatic complexity, also known as McCabe complexity, is a measure of the number of independent paths through a program's source code. Typically, as this number gets higher, it becomes more difficult to understand what's happening in a program. This makes it harder to test, modify, and refactor.
Since a file can contain multiple functions, the complexity for any given file is defined as the MAXIMUM complexity of any functions contained in it. A good practice is to keep the complexity for each function below 10, so for this contest your overall score will increase according to the complexity in excess of 10. So there is no complexity penalty for submissions in which all functions have a complexity of 10 or less.
You can measure the cyclomatic (or McCabe) complexity of any function in MATLAB using the "cyc" switch for mlint. Try this, for example:
>> mlint -cyc magic.m
We have also included a getComplexity.m function with the contest distribution to make it easier to find the complexity for your entry.
This is a rough measure of how long your code is, but it will not penalize you for comments and variable name length.
t = mtree('your code'); length(t.nodesize)
Your entry will time out and be disqualified if it takes more than 180 seconds (three minutes).
The code is limited in size by the database architecture. The column in our MySQL database that stores the M-code is of type text, which is limited of 65535 characters. Submissions longer than this limit will fail.
Once an entry has been submitted, it cannot be changed. However, any entry can be viewed, edited, and resubmitted as a new entry. You are free to view and copy any entry in the queue. If your modification of an existing entry improves its score, then you are the "author" for the purpose of determining the winners of this contest. We encourage you to examine and optimize existing entries.
We also encourage you to discuss your solutions and strategies with others. You can do this by posting to the thread that we've started from our newsreader.
The allowable functions are those contained in the basic MATLAB package available in $MATLAB/toolbox/matlab, where $MATLAB is the root MATLAB directory. Functions from other toolboxes will not be available. Entries will be tested against the latest version of MATLAB.The following are prohibited:
Entries that compromise the contest machinery are no longer allowed. We've all learned some interesting MATLAB tricks in the past by contestants figuring out how to pass information from one entry to the next, or finding clever ways to execute disallowed functions, but it's too hard for the few of us running the contest to keep ahead of the group intelligence. In short, out of consideration for everyone participating in the contest, we ask that you not abuse the system.
Extraction of puzzles in the test suite by manipulating the score, runtime, or error conditions is also forbidden. In the small scale, this has been an element of many past contests, but in the Blockbuster Contest, Alan Chalker turned this into a science. Tuning the entry to the contest test suite via tweak bombing or other techniques is still allowed, but we ask that you not overwhelm the queue.
Contests are divided into segments where some or all of the scores and code may be hidden for some users. Here are the segments for this contest: | <urn:uuid:29db7053-d3b6-4180-bb6b-007f55a21b5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mathworks.co.uk/matlabcentral/contest/contests/27/rules | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921978 | 1,403 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Titanic’s trio consisted of three stringed instruments, making it a “string trio” with:
First violin, bandmaster (of the trio) – Jock Hume
Second violin – Georges Krins
Cello – Roger Bricoux
So far in the piano quintet we have identified and placed four out of the five musicians:
Violin, bandmaster (of the quintet) – Wallace Hartley
Cello – Wes Woodward
Double bass – Fred Clarke
Piano – Theo Brailey
The only musician left to place in the quintet is Percy Taylor.
What are the possible reasons so little is known about Taylor? Although he was the only bandsman who was married, he was estranged from his wife, Clara. It appears as though she made no effort whatsoever to help the public to learn more about him after his tragic death, though she was perfectly willing to accept funds raised for the survivors of Titanic’s deceased musicians.
According to Steve Turner, in his book The Band That Played On, “There were no obituaries or personal appreciations in Britain’s newspapers for him when he died, and although his name is included on all band memorials, he was never individually honored. This may simply be because he was from London rather than a small, close-knit community….”
So, although he has been credited as playing piano and cello there is an outside possibility that he played neither.
As a musician, I searched the information on Titanic’s quintet for sparse evidence on Taylor’s position. With the other bandsmen in place, the only missing part is a stringed instrument that would fill the alto voice.
Violin, bandleader – Wallace Hartley
[alto stringed instrument] – Percy Taylor
Cello – Wes Woodward
Double bass – Fred Clarke
Piano – Theo Brailey
(It should be explained here that the reason the musicians are listed in this order is because it is the custom in musical circles to list musicians by the instrument they play, in the order their instrument would appear in a music score.)
|Trout Quintet score with instruments notated in standard order:|
Violin, Viola, Cello, Double-bass, and piano.
There is no concrete evidence of any instrument for Taylor. There is only an “aura” of evidence. Liken this to news that a new planet has been discovered far, far away, but scientists can’t actually see the planet, they can only see a gravitational pull that suggests the planet is there. Such is the case with Taylor's instrument.
If Taylor had played second violin, Hartley would have been called not just bandleader and violin, but first violin. Hartley was never called that in primary sources, as Jock Hume was. Two passengers had identified only one violin in the group. First Class passenger Helen Churchill Candee had said, “…others said the violin was weak.” Second Class passenger Juliette Laroche had said, “…there is a concert next to me: a violin.…” In the aura of evidence, eyewitness references help us determine that there was only one violin, played by Hartley, and therefore Taylor did not play violin in the quintet, but something else.
Although Taylor was credited with playing cello, it would be highly unusual for a quintet to have an instrumentation consisting of two cellos. Laroche’s one reference to two cellos in the quintet came from an incomplete listing of only four out of five musicians, and it is likely that the cello and double bass, both large stringed instruments, were erroneously listed as two cellos. Moreover, a wall separated her from a view of the band. The more accurate picture came from Second Class passenger Kate Buss, who wrote many accounts of the cello and “Cello Man,” all in the singular. In the aura of evidence, one cello means Taylor played something else.
It has never been questioned that the quintet had only one double bass and one piano, so it is certain that Taylor played neither. Although the band has at times been depicted with wind instruments (in the 1958 movie A Night To Remember, for example), no primary sources have ever suggested anything other than stringed instruments and the piano.
|Titanic's band depicted in A Night to Remember,|
with stringed and wind instruments.
If Taylor didn’t play violin (soprano), cello (tenor), double bass (bass) or piano, what did he play? Logic points to the only missing standard instrument that could have balanced the ensemble with the alto voice: the viola. Percy Taylor, the musician we know so little about, has now become our suspect violist.
But to make a claim like this I would need to offer a shred of proof. An aura of evidence would not likely be enough to persuade anybody.
The proof may come from a familiar passage. Let me repeat a quote that has been posted on Titanic Piano several times, from Titanic’s music agents C. W. & F. N. Black, the musical directors who had hired Titanic’s bandsmen.
Charles Black had been asked what he thought the bands had done during the sinking, and he answered, “Probably they all massed together under their leader, Mr. Wallace Hartley, as the ship sank. Five of the eight, Mr. Hartley, P. C. Taylor, J. W. Woodward, F. Clark and W. T. Brailey were Englishmen.”
In several posts including this one, the significance of the listed order of the bandsmen has been brought to light. Now reread this, within the present discussion, paying attention to the order Black listed the musicians, printed vertically. Do you see what I see?
P. C. Taylor,
J. W. Woodward,
F. Clark and
W. T. Brailey
Remember what was said earlier in this post about musicians being listed in order according to their instrument?
It seems as though there is nothing random about the listed order of the bandsmen. The fact that Black listed the other four musicians in the correct order according to their instrument makes it believable that Taylor, too, is in order. Where does this place Taylor within the group? The instrument that is notated below the violin and above the cello in a music score is often the viola.
After Titanic sank, Charles Black would have been one of the only living men to know all the bandsmen’s names and instruments. His brother, Frederick, would have been the only other. In their office somewhere they had a document on which they had written the names of the quintet’s bandsmen, and the names were written in formal concert order.
From Charles Black, director of Titanic’s music, comes the major clue needed to complete the instrumentation of the quintet. Beyond suggesting Taylor's part as violist, Black’s list also confirms the rest of the bandsmen and their instruments:
Hartley’s name appeared first, for his instrument, violin, would appear at the top of a quintet score, would be listed first in a concert program, and, apparently, first in a music agent’s list of bandsmen. This protocol (formality) continued with the rest of the band: Taylor in the spot of the next instrument, which suggests the viola, Woodward in the cello’s position, Clarke, the double bass position, and Brailey, the piano. It is the printed order of names that is significant, that aligns the bandsmen’s names with the instruments they played.
And where did Charles Black list Taylor’s name in the five? If the aura of evidence discounts a second violin or second cello, then Taylor fits neatly into the place of the viola. That makes a standard, balanced ensemble. Violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano.
Percy Cornelius Taylor
Just as an aside, is it ironic or not that Titanic’s one musician who was incorrectly listed for a century was the violist? Often violists are overlooked, play the plinky notes no one pays attention to, provide the harmony to other instruments. Titanic’s violist was probably never asked to play a solo, or ever had the chance to flirt with the ladies. In Juliette Laroche’s list of instruments, the only one not mentioned, either specifically or by implication, was the viola. Yet, there was a viola there.
Perhaps it is time for the violists of the world to stand up and recognize one of their own. An obituary, or a statue, or a plaque somewhere in London. Perhaps it is finally time for someone to organize a proper tribute to Titanic’s violist, Percy Taylor.
Titanic's quintet: How many cellos?
Titanic's quintet: Who was the quintet's cellist?
Titanic's quintet: Who was the pianist?
New York Times April 21, 1912
No one tells the violist’s fate like Lemony Snicket in “The Composer is Dead,” which is narrated to music by composer Nathaniel Stookey. You will find the passage on the viola at 3:20. | <urn:uuid:984f88f9-3223-4b8e-b7e8-d9a586d6e888> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://titanicpiano.blogspot.com/2012/07/titanics-quintet-which-instrument-did.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972089 | 1,972 | 1.953125 | 2 |
It is absolutely pouring with rain here in Canberra. We have had about 18mm in the past hour and for a summer’s day, it’s cold! But I don’t mind, today I downloaded Seth Godin’s Stop Stealing Dreams, and over a couple of glasses of red wine this evening I am going to devour every word of his 30,000 manifesto.
and from what I have scanned his argument about traditional schooling being based on obedience and control captures what what we have been struggling with for the past 2 decades (at least), especially now we are living in a digitally driven, socially networked world… the ways we live and work are constantly changing, however many schools have not even shifted beyond first gear in terms of technology provision and networked access to online information and services. Not to mention a school curriculum based on critical and creative inquiry, collaborative learning, transliteracy, digital citizenship, personal learning environments, mobile learning, 3D virtual worlds as authentic learning environments, just to name a few.
Sections of Godin’s manifesto can easily be used to support professional learning activities. I can’t wait to see some of Seth’s ideas being discussed in tweet streams of edu hashtags such as #edchat and #tlchat in the near future!
I’d be interested to hear from others how Seth’s manifesto is being used to support professional learning in their school, district or PLN. | <urn:uuid:4a80a8bd-3bc7-4243-a9f5-0ee08ca6718d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://studentslearn.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/seth-godins-stop-stealing-dreams-manifesto/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961565 | 306 | 1.523438 | 2 |
I have heard it said that people are no longer interested in speeds and feeds. What they don't understand is that this is what drives technology. Faster, more memory, etc. is the critical component that makes new applications, such as voice recognition in embedded systems, possible. The speed and density that comes with smaller feature sizes makes this kind of thing possible.
With the increase in available, low power storage using flash memory applications that use lots of memory, such as speach and image processing become possible. In this, we are basically mimicking the human brain.
Good observation naperlou. It use to be that people who bought electronic products knew the details - speed, size, etc. Now it has advanced enought that they don't even know what have those values mean anymore...just long as it works.
Government regulations, coupled with growing consumer sensitivity about data and identity theft, require that data storage organizations demonstrate proper protection and due diligence in protecting sensitive information stored inside datacenter enclosures.
When a crane doesn't have a monitoring system, crane owners schedule service every six months and simply scrap the parts they replace, even if a part has had little use and doesn't need replacing. This can cost thousands.
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is | <urn:uuid:26eca58f-b17a-496e-9eeb-b59105ea616e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1365&piddl_msgorder=thrd&itc=dn_analysis_element&doc_id=251697&image_number=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953301 | 383 | 2.109375 | 2 |
WASHINGTON - America's public health system, especially its frontline emergency rooms, is not ready for an outbreak of SARS or a similar infectious disease, a new government report and top trauma doctors say.
"Most hospitals lack adequate equipment, isolation facilities and staff to treat a large increase in the number of patients for an infectious diseases such as SARS," the U.S. General Accounting Office reported in testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday.
Emergency room doctors, meeting in Washington, told Knight Ridder Newspapers such an outbreak could collapse the fragile U.S. emergency room network.
"I liken the SARS problem right now to a 2-acre fire in a tinder-dry forest," said Dr. Arthur Kellerman, an Emory University School of Medicine professor and Atlanta emergency room doctor. "We don't have the capacity in any city in my mind to handle a real outbreak of the disease."
But federal health officials, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Julie Gerberding, said Wednesday the nation's hospitals could handle a sudden surge of patients. Moreover, billions of dollars are being poured into the public health system to fix the problems, she said.
"For about 30 years the public health infrastructure in this country was devastated by budget cuts," said Jerry Hauer, the assistant secretary for emergency preparedness at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "We've just started to rebuild that."
Severe acute respiratory syndrome is a flulike, sometimes fatal lung infection. SARS generally begins with a fever greater than 100.4 degrees. Other symptoms might include headache, discomfort and body aches. After two to seven days, SARS patients might develop a dry cough and have trouble breathing.WHO sends experts to Chinese province
BEIJING - World Health Organization experts are being sent to a crowded province in China where SARS is spreading quickly.
The WHO said it will deploy an investigative team today to Hebei, where the number of infections doubled to 98 in the past week.
At least 497 people around the world have died from SARS, with 11 deaths in Hong Kong, five in China and two in Taiwan reported Wednesday.
Also in China:
In northeastern Liaoning province, authorities revoked the licenses of two doctors, one for refusing to see patients with fevers and the other for refusing to attend meetings on SARS prevention. A doctor lost her job in the southwestern province of Sichuan when she refused to work with suspected SARS patients.
Premier Wen Jiabao warned that the rural health care system was ill-equipped to cope with the disease and called for better monitoring and education. "Problems with prevention work in farm villages cannot be permitted to be ignored," he said in the People's Daily newspaper.
In Beijing, four people have been charged with "causing public panic" by spreading SARS rumors on the Internet and through mobile phone messages, the official Xinhua News Agency said.Taiwan traces most of its cases to one patient
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Most of Taiwan's SARS cases can be traced to one hospitalized man whose lung ailment was misdiagnosed for five days, the head of Taiwan's Center for Disease Control said Wednesday.
That patient, a laundry worker, caused the explosive growth in Taiwan's cases that began on April 21 and forced the closing of Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital and three other hospitals, said Dr. Tzay-Jinn Chen, the center's director general.
Chen said he would fine the hospital about $10,000 for misdiagnosing the patient's disease for five days and for failing to report its error for two days longer. | <urn:uuid:50f43ec0-33c7-488e-b25b-19a45de8040c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sptimes.com/2003/05/08/news_pf/Worldandnation/Report__US_ERs_not_re.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954429 | 756 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Whenever it seems that a new rapid transit line opens, especially on which runs on rails; there's a bit of a backlash (and sometimes a big one) from riders whose prior service was curtailed as a result of the new transit line, and who view the new line as inferior in some respect. A particularly common case of this occurs when an express bus (whether a service explicitly signed as express, or one which acts substantially like one) gets replaced with rapid transit--in many cases, the rapid transit line is less "rapid" end-to-end than the express bus it replaced. While rapid transit service is generally considered more desirable--for those who utilized the express, having it replaced with rapid transit can be a cheese-moving experience. Thus, there is often much public agitation to not upgrade--hence the paradox.
In Portland, we saw it when the original MAX line opened in 1986, and numerous Banfield express routes were discontinued (legend has it that one well-known TriMet critic got his start due to this reason). We saw it again in 1998 when Westside MAX opened--no less august a personality than Tom Hughes, the former mayor of Hillsboro and current candidate for Metro president, has complained that his wife was forced to switch from transit to driving when the MAX line opened and the former Washington County express bus service was canceled. We didn't see it as much with the Yellow Line (the bus that replaced, the 5/Interstate, isn't an express bus; though Hayden Island commuters were inconvenienced); but we'll be sure to see it if and when the CRC gets built (in whatever form) and MAX gets extended into the Couv. We didn't see it much with the Green Line; but we're hearing it already with the LO Streetcar and riders of the 35, and I'm sure we'll hear it lots with Milwaukie MAX and riders of the 32 and 33.
Conflict of interests
As mentioned in the lead, most transit planners consider a rapid transit line in a given corridor more valuable than an express service. (Assuming, of course, that demand is there--white elephant projects that don't attract riders are an exception to this principle). Rapid transit can potentially serve more people, as it has stops all along the line. (And given the the service is faster than local, the stops are more valuable and attract more riders than a signpost on the corner). True rapid transit (running predominantly or completely in its own right of way) is generally more reliable than mixed traffic busses or streetcars. (Of course, when service on a rapid transit line is disrupted, often the disruption is more severe than what happens to busses caught in traffic; busses can often route around problem). However, none of this stops express bus riders from voicing discontent--for many riders, the only stops which matter are where they get on and where they get off.
The paradox is a common phenomenon. As transit needs of a community grow, adding express services to complement local service is a common first step. Express services serve a specific need well--quickly connecting suburban commuters to job centers during peak hours over distances where local service would take too long. They generally are found in important transit corridors--the sort of corridors which eventually get converted to rapid transit. And while a limited-stop rapid transit line provides overall superior service to the community--making transit a more viable choice for many along the corridor in question--for end-to-end commuters it often results in a longer trip.
Rapid transit has other disadvantages over express service for these customers, as well. True express lines, such as C-Tran's express busses to Portland, often use vehicles in coach configurations, where seats are maximized and standing room minimized or eliminated. Express services often have a demographic mix that suburban commuters find preferable (i.e., other suburban commuters); many users of express lines find the wider demographic mix present on more comprehensive services to be disconcerting. (Whether for good reason or for bad). The lack of stopping and starting and opening and closing of doors can make for a more comfortable ride.
Two halves don't always make a whole
Even replacing a local line with a rapid transit line can raise hackles; particular if the rapid line is shorter than the local it replaces. Such is the case for the two primary bus routes connecting Portland with Oregon City, a third-ring Portland suburb located 13 miles (22km) south, upstream on the Willamette River. The 33/McLoughlin plies the eastern shore of the river mostly along OR99E, serving the communities of Milwaukie, Oak Grove, and Gladstone before reaching Oregon City. The 35/Macadam travles on the opposite shore along OR43, through Lake Oswego, Marylhurst. (Two other bus routes, the 32/Oatfield and the 34/River Road, also serve the area; neither does the volume of the 33 and 35). The 35 continues past downtown Portland into North Portland; that segment of the route is not considered in this article.
36/South Shore, presently end at the transit centers and require transfers to the 33 and 35 respectively).
In the case of Milwaukie MAX, the new transit service will undoubtedly be faster than the bus. The planned line has wide stop spacing (.7 miles, or 1.1km between stops on average). On the LO side of the river, the Streetcar actually will be slower than the bus presently is, although by not much (Metro estimates that increased traffic on OR43 will vastly slow down any bus service on the highway). Planners are predicting significant increases in usage on both sides of the river, due to the new lines better attracting riders from neighborhoods along the way--predicting up to 6000 riders/day on the Streetcar, and up to 27,000 riders per day on Milwaukie MAX. Some of those will be users of existing bus services, but the existing busses do not account for those estimates; they include significant numbers of new riders as well.
So is it worth it?
So is this a good idea? Experience has shown, over and over, that replacing express service with well-designed rapid transit does produce overall increases in ridership. Some of this is simply the value of rapid transit; some of this may be due to conversion to rail, especially for communities where it is viewed as a more prestigious service. (I don't care much about the bus/rail debate, but there is evidence, albeit disputed, that a rail preference exists--I will not attempt to justify it). Of course, a key word is well-designed; replacing local bus service with poorly designed rapid transit is not likely to have the same benefit.
Turning again to the #33 and #35, a stronger case can be made IMHO for the Milwaukie MAX project. Cost is a major issue, but the line appears to be designed to supply a high quality of service--and many of the infrastructure enhancements (particularly the Caruthers bridge downtown) are valuable for many other reasons. In addition, prospects for extending the line to Oregon City are good. The Lake Oswego line is harder to defend for several reasons--it essentially turns into local-stop service closer to downtown, and the predicted number of additional ridership is fairly low; and the geography on the west side of the river makes further extension of the line south very unlikely. OTOH, the cost for this project is far lower, given that the right-of-way is already owned by the government, and the design standards of the project are far lower. Some things could be done to mitigate this, but would require significant operational and possibly cultural changes within TriMet.
What about bus rapid transit?
One proposal which is often made, when rail-based rapid transit projects are considered: What about building bus rapid transit instead? The term "BRT" is often a weasel-word, and can refer to anything from minor infrastructure improvements and a new coat of paint, to fully-segregated busways with special-purpose rolling stock with performance that rivals (and in some ways, exceeds) rail. Assume for the purposes of this discussion that similar amounts of money are available for BRT as for rail.
In many cases, BRT may be an excellent alternative. If existing routes simply shift to a busway rather than terminating at a transit center, the need to transfer can be eliminated; and the cumulative effect of numerous bus lines converging on a busway trunk can lead to excellent levels of service on the trunk line. Busways also have the advantage that it's far easier to implement express service than it is on rail; busways simply need pullouts at stops whereas combined express/local service on a rail line often requires additional tracks. On the other hand, "open" busway systems, where local busses use the busway for part of their route, may not be as efficient as dedicated (closed) systems with special equipment optimized for rapid transit. (Hybrid systems are of course possible.) And if environmental issues are a concern, electric-powered rail is "cleaner" than combustion-powered busses. (Trolleybusses and other electric busses are an option, but these often require their own infrastructure--infrastructure which Portland lacks. Power systems used to drive rail are not compatible with trolleybusses, which need more complicated and less-reliable dual-wire catenary systems).
BRT would have been an excellent choice for the Milwaukie MAX line, as the Willamette River "funnels" many bus lines into the McLoughlin corridor. It also would probably be an excellent choice for Barbur Boulevard, for similar reasons (geography funnels numerous lines into the Barbur corridor from Burlingame to downtown). On the other hand, BRT was probably not a viable option for Lake Oswego, given the existence of an available rail right-of-way, and limitations on the ability to widen OR43 to accomodate dedicated bus infrastructure.
The Limits Of Empathy
21 minutes ago | <urn:uuid:b51af354-c78d-40e0-aed0-2a7fbaa341a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://deadhorsetimes.blogspot.com/2010/07/express-vs-rapid-transit-paradox.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960233 | 2,096 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2000 December 18
Explanation: The search for extraterrestrial life came back into our own Solar System last week with the announcement that there may be liquid oceans under the surface of Jupiter's moon Ganymede. Ganymede now joins Callisto and Europa as moons of Jupiter that may harbor seas of liquid water under layers of surface ice. The ocean hypothesis surfaced as an explanation for Ganymede's unusually strong magnetic field. Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, also has the largest measured magnetic field of any moon. Some exobiologists hypothesize that life may be able to emerge in such an ocean, much as it did in the oceans of ancient Earth. Above, a frame from a computer simulation shows what it would look like to fly over the surface of Ganymede, as extrapolated from photographs of the grooved moon taken by the robot spacecraft Galileo currently orbiting Jupiter.
Authors & editors:
Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA/GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U. | <urn:uuid:6c5aef3f-ba31-40f7-9ca6-2d63cf387150> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap001218.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910392 | 264 | 3.546875 | 4 |
A security industry collaborative strike has taken down the second Hlux or Kelihos botnet that was almost three times as big as the first one taken down in September 2011.
Starting 19 March, the strike team launched a sinkholing operation that disabled the botnet, by taking out the servers running the attacks..
Within just five days of starting the takedown procedure, Kaspersky Lab neutralised more than 109,000 infected hosts, compared with just 40,000 infected hosts in the first Hlux/Kelihos botnet.
In January 2012 Kaspersky Lab experts released new research that revealed that despite the original botnet being neutralised and under control, a second Hlux/Kelihos botnet was operating in the wild.
Although the second botnet was new, the malware had been built using the same coding as the original Hlux/Kelihos botnet. This malware showed the second botnet had a few new updates, including infection methods and Bitcoin features for mining and wallet-theft.
Like the first version, the second botnet used its network of infected computers to send spam, steal personal data, and perform distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on specific targets.
Both Hlux/Kelihos botnets were peer-to-peer (P2P) type botnets. This means every member of the network can act as a server and/or client, as opposed to traditional botnets that rely on a single Command & Control (C&C) server.
To neutralise the flexible P2P botnet, the group of security experts created a global network of distributed machines that were installed into the botnet’s infrastructure. The sinkhole-network quickly increased its “popularity” in the network, which allowed more infected computers to be brought under Kaspersky Lab’s control, while preventing the malicious bot-operators from accessing them.
As more infected machines were neutralised, the P2P architecture caused the botnet’s infrastructure to “sink” as its strength weakened with each computer it lost control of.
With the majority of botnets connected to the sinkhole, Kaspersky Lab’s experts can conduct data mining to track the number of infections and their geographical locations. To date, they have counted 109,000 infected IP addresses. The majority of infected IP addresses were located in Poland.
In September 2011, Kaspersky Lab worked with Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, SurfNet and Kyrus Tech to disable the original Hlux/Kelihos botnet. At that time Kaspersky Lab executed a sinkhole operation, which disabled the botnet and its backup infrastructure from the C&C. | <urn:uuid:cdf03787-1d5e-47c8-8df1-93b11c082158> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240147571/Collaborative-strike-takes-down-second-Hlux-Kelihos-botnet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957568 | 567 | 2.359375 | 2 |
About this trip idea
Western Indiana is a treasure trove of Hoosier history. Take a trip through years gone by with a tour of Western Indiana Festivals that connect you to the people, battles, music and transportation of the past.
Travel through time
Each June, a proud group of Native Americans converges outside Rockville at the Miami Indians All Nation Gathering to share the history of the Miami culture. Native drumming, singing, dancing, storytelling and flutists provide a beautiful sample of the sounds that once filled Indiana's plains regularly. Walk through the Miami Living Village to experience the life of an early Native American, or admire Miami crafts and taste their delicious foods, including buffalo burgers.
Next, visit the Civil War era at Rockville's Billie Creek Village Civil War Days in mid-June. Battles come to life before your eyes as reenactors from across the United States play out the most famous scenes of the war during this two-day event. Cannons roar, horses charge and swords flash in the heat of the battle. During the retreat, look at displays demonstrating Civil War medical care for wounded soldiers and the rigors of civilian life. Explore time period goods at the Billie Creek General Store or take part in the village dance, ladies tea or checkers tournament.
At the end of June, prepare for your toes to start a'tappin' at the Indiana Fiddlers Gathering in Battle Ground. For three days, old-time bluegrass, jazz, swing jazz and string band music pours across the Tippecanoe Battlefield as incredible fiddlers from across Indiana and the U.S. reminisce on the popular music of days gone by. Bring a tent or RV and camp out under the stars so you don't miss a single concert. Engage your inner musician at free workshops or show off your talent during the open stage time slots.
Experience the 1850s canal era during Delphi's Canal Days . This July event commemorates the 1843 opening of the 468-mile Wabash and Erie Canal, a little-known piece of Indiana history. Start in the Interpretive Center to learn about the history of the canal era and see artifacts from the 1850s - then hop in the canal boat and glide down the waterway that once served as a major transportation hub for commerce and travel. Explore a nineteenth century town in the Pioneer Village where you can tour a log school house, cabins, smokehouse, blacksmith shop and more.
Trade along the Wabash River was a significant factor in the establishment of West Lafayette. Now, the city celebrates the river's history and conservation for its future during Wabash Riverfest in July. Get active by running in the 5k race or rowing your heart out during the canoe races. Enjoy all-day music plus food, amusement rides, pony rides for the kids, a zoo and more on the banks of one of Indiana's greatest natural resources. Educational exhibits teach you how to preserve the river for years to come.
The old country
Many residents of Clinton trace their ancestry to Italy - let them guide you on a tour of the old country during Little Italy Festival at the end of summer. Indulge in authentic Italian fare, sip the country's wine, dance in the traditional style or sway to the tunes of Italian singers. Feel like a true Italian as you participate in the grape stomp or spaghetti eating contest. Other special events include the crowning of the Grape Queen and a parade that features an authentic Venetian gondola. Before saying "arrivederci," complete the weekend with a wagon ride, a trip to the flea market and the exciting fireworks show.
Like this trip idea? Then you might also like South Central Indiana Summer Festivals. | <urn:uuid:d09953eb-ea76-49c0-a22e-b3ab82f543bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.in.gov/visitindiana/tripplanner/trip-idea.aspx?id=9842®ions=0,&categories=1,&gitem=9847 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929355 | 770 | 2.203125 | 2 |
|Sunday, Apr 1, 2012 - 8:00 PM
"Barbara Walters and Geoffrey Canada"
Former slaves make one of their first acts of freedom choosing a last name. For immigrants coming to a new country, a new name often helps to fit into a new environment. When Henry Louis Gates Jr. begins the search for their family origins, media legend Barbara Walters does not know her father's real last name and educational superstar Geoffrey Canada does not know the name of his grandfather. Gates fills in the missing identities. Part 3 of 10 G | <urn:uuid:9fdf8e54-13d4-4469-a3a2-c24d06fb6d04> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.idahoptv.org/schedules/listingDetails.cfm?TZ=MT&thisChannel=KAID&VersionID=240843&ThisDate=4-1-2012&thisTime=20:00:00 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929669 | 110 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Bone fracture repair - series
Fractures of the bones are classified in a number of ways. A simple fracture involves a single fracture line through a bone. A comminuted fracture is one in which the bone has been fractured into two or more fragments. An open fracture is one in which the fractured bone penetrates the skin.
The three main treatment options for bone fractures are:
- Open reduction, and internal fixation- this involves a surgery to repair the fracture-frequently, metal rods, screws or plates are used to repair the bone, and remain in place, under the skin, after the surgery. This procedure is recommended for complicated fractures not able to be realigned (reduced) by casting, or in cases in which the long-term use of a cast is undesirable.
- Open reduction, and external fixation- this involves a surgery to repair the fracture, and placement of a external fixation device on the limb with the fracture. This device is an external frame which supports the bone and hold it in the correct position while it is healing. This technique is generally applied to complex fractures that cannot be repaired using open reduction, and internal fixation.
While the patient is pain-free (general or local anesthesia), an incision is made over the fractured bone. The bone is placed in proper position and screws, pins, or plates are attached to or in the bone temporarily or permanently. Any disrupted blood vessels are tied off or burned (cauterized). If examination of the fracture shows that a quantity of bone has been lost as a result of the fracture, especially if there is a gap between the broken bone ends, the surgeon may decide that a bone graft is essential to avoid delayed healing.
If bone grafting is not necessary, the fracture can be repaired by the following methods:
a) one or more screws inserted across the break to hold it.
b) a steel plate held by screws drilled into the bone.
c) a long fluted metal pin with holes in it, is driven down the shaft of the bone from one end, with screws then passed through the bone and through a hole in the pin.
In some cases, after this stabilization, the microsurgical repair of blood vessels and nerves is necessary. The skin incision is then closed in the usual fashion.
The advantage of internal fixation is that it often allows early mobility and faster healing. Unless the internal fixation causes problems, it is not necessary or desirable to remove it. The long-term prognosis is excellent. The length of the hospital stay depends on factors such as the condition of the bone, the presence of infection, the state of the blood and nerve supply, and presence of other injuries. Children's bones heal rapidly, usually in 6 weeks time.
|Review Date: 4/13/2013|
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director and Director of Didactic Curriculum, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington. Also reviewed by A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc., Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Bethanne Black, Stephanie Slon, and Nissi Wang.
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997-
A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. | <urn:uuid:0afbabad-23e2-4a1e-a93f-f86ab055afa8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.summitmedicalcenter.org/body.cfm?id=186&action=detail&AEArticleID=100077&AEProductID=Adam2004_1&AEProjectTypeIDURL=APT_3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919707 | 764 | 3.234375 | 3 |
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The 2010 Census has finished its data collection phase. Its next newsworthy milestone is the release of state-level population counts to Congress (December 31, 2010). This will tell us the winners and losers in the apportionment of power in Congress. Some analysts have already made predictions of the winners and losers based on the Census Bureau's most recent population estimates.
The predictions using an apportionment calculator and July 1, 2009 estimates seem reasonable:
3 seats (Texas)
1 seat (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, Washington)
2 seats (Ohio)
1 seat (Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania)
But, how well did the Census Bureau's population estimates work in predicting the 2000 apportionment results?
While most of the above projections will hold, one should recall that there were unexpected discrepancies in the projections based on the July 1, 1999 postcensal estimates and the final apportionment results based on the 2000 Census. And the deviations were not really foreseeable, e.g., they did not just involve the states who were projected to barely retain or lose a seat. Montana was the only state really on the brink in a published projection based on 1999 data; it ended up not getting the seat. Michigan ended up losing a seat and yet had a seemingly safe margin of approximately 200,000. Likewise, North Carolina was supposed to be well out of the running needing almost 150,000 more in population and in 447th place and yet ended up with the 435th seat.
Below is a quick summary of projections made on the basis of July 1, 1999 data and the actual apportionment results for 2000. Links to the data for all states is provided below.
2 seats (Arizona, Texas)
1 seat (California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Montana, Nevada)
2 seats (New York, Pennsylvania)
1 seat (Connecticut, Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Wisconsin)
2 seats (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Texas)
1 seat (California, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina)
2 seats (New York, Pennsylvania)
1 seat (Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Wisconsin)
Went from 0 to +1 or +1 to +2
North Carolina, Florida, Georgia
Went from +1 to 0 or 0 to -1
Montana, Indiana, Michigan
One obvious weakness in using the 2009 or 1999 Population Estimates to project apportionment for 2010 or 2000 is that states vary in their population growth. The 2009 Population Estimates are leaving out the last 9 months of growth (July 1, 2009 – April 1, 2010). Is this how a seemingly safe state loses a seat (Michigan) or how a state vaults over many other states to gain a seat (North Carolina)? Or was there something more fundamental that led to the surprises in 2000?
While projecting the July 1 estimates forward to April 1, 2010 might improve our apportionment projections - particularly for the states on the bubble, one can still be left with surprises if the underlying estimates have any problems with them. It might help to review how these numbers are generated. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates program uses demographic methods to calculate state-based estimates of the US population. The weakest part of the equation is its migration estimates. The United States does not have a population registry that allows the federal government to keep track of interstate moves and international moves, so the Census Bureau has to make its best approximation of population movement based on proxies. It should be noted that the proxies have changed over the past decade with the advent of the American Community Survey. This source did not exist in the 1990s. The methodology for the postcensal estimates were very much the same back in 1999; it just used different proxies.
There has been a dramatic slowdown in both international and internal migration with the economic downturn and housing collapse. [Frey, 2010; Silver, 2009]. This could have a positive benefit to states that have been donor states (e.g., the Northeast and Midwest) and a negative affect on the Sunbelt or the West. Likewise, according to a study from Pew Hispanic, the undocumented population coming to the US has declined in the past year - mostly related to the collapse of the economy and the construction industry in particular. This has hit selected states - Florida, Virginia, and Nevada the most. Will this help Ohio, which is projected to lose 2 seats?
Related to the collapse in the housing market is an increase in foreclosures. Census residence rules are quite clear on how families (or individuals) living temporarily with others should be enumerated. However, most respondents filling out the census are not familiar with these rules, skipped the instructions, or did not answer the screening question (Question 2) on the census form, which might have prompted a follow-up by the Census Bureau. So, states with high foreclosure rates (Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and Michigan) could be adversely affected if doubled-up households were left out of the count. An indication of how serious an issue this might be is recent results from the Current Population Survey (CPS). The most recent poverty release (September 2010) showed that there has been an 11.6 percent increase in the number of doubled up families. The CPS is a survey that uses professional interviewers. It is more likely that the CPS will pick up doubled-up families than the self-enumerated census will.
The Hispanic population is roughly 15 percent of the U.S. population. The Hispanic population is a more difficult population to estimate using demographic methods than other groups partly because of the undocumented population. See [Passel] for a description of issues. This throws a wrench into all apportionment projections because a shift in the population of one state can have an impact on another state. And, there is reason to think that the Census Population Estimates could be off a bit for Hispanics.
Is the Hispanic population larger than the Census Estimates? Just a tiny bit larger (100,000) or substantially larger (1,000,000)?
The political posturing of whether or not to include non-citizens in the 2010 Census in the fall of 2009 and the new Arizona immigration law [SB 1070] might have an affect on the participation rate of Hispanics. This could hurt states with high proportion Hispanic - particularly a state like Arizona, which was at the center of the latter controversy. On the other hand, a Pew Hispanic study found that foreign born Hispanics were more positive and knowledgeable than their native born counterparts about the 2010 Census. So maybe, the distribution of states' by their nativity profile is critical to the final count of Hispanics. For instance, the Hispanic population is Texas is more native than foreign whereas the reverse is true for Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
What will the final count of Hispanics look like in the 2010 Census? There were many reasons for Hispanics to avoid the census. In the end, the effects could cancel each other out and have no net impact on the apportionment.
Finally, there may be some lingering affects of disasters: Hurricane Katrina residents moving back to Louisiana (or not) and Haitians coming to the US on the heels of the January 2010 earthquake. In the current projections, if Louisiana's population ends up being ~70,000 larger than the Census estimates, it will not lose its 7th Congressional seat. That is a fairly substantial population for a state of 4,000,000, but within reason considering the population loss Louisiana experienced from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Haitian refugees have been settling in two very populous states (New York and Florida). Their numbers are unlikely to have an impact on apportionment for these states. In the end, the more interesting numbers will be the final counts and demographic characteristics for the population in Orleans parish (New Orleans).
Expect the unexpected. There should be some discrepancy in the projections based on the July 2009 Population Estimates data.2
1 Postcensal population estimates are calculated for the years following a census and before the next census is taken. These are based on demographic components of change (births, deaths, and migration). Here is a link to the source for the July 1, 1999 postcensal estimates.
2 The estimates by Kimball Brace at Election Data Services do more than just use the July 1, 2009 estimates. They have many variations - mostly based on previous patterns of growth for states. Likewise, Frey has several scenarios based on the abrupt drop in population movements (e.g., migration) in the latter part of this decade. His mid-decade projection was also heavily influenced by migration patterns.
Brace, Kimball. 1999. Congressional District Reapportionment Program. Election Data Services.
Benson, Clarke. 2009. Mid-Recession Migration in 2010: Apportionment in 2010. Polidata.
Census Bureau. 2010a. Residence Rules and Residence Situations for the 2010 Census. Census Bureau Web site: http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2010/resid_rules/resid_rules.html.
Census Bureau. 2010b. 2010 Census Questionnaire (sample). Census Bureau website: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/pdf/2010_Questionnaire_Info.pdf.
Frey, William. 2010. A Demographic Lull at Census Time.The Brookings Institution.
Frey, William. 2009. A Rollercoaster Decade for Migration. The Brookings Institution.
Frey, William. 2005. The Electoral College Moves to the Sunbelt. The Brookings Institution.
Johnson, David. 2010. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage Online News Conference. Census Bureau.
Lopez, Mark and Paul Taylor. 2010. Latinos and the 2010 Census: The Foreign Born are More Positive.
Passel, Jeffrey. 2007. Unauthorized Migrants in the United States: Estimates, Methods, and Characteristics. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers.
Passel, Jeffrey and D'Vera Cohn. 2010. U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade. Pew Hispanic Center.
Ramirez, Andres. 2009. The New Contituents: How Latino Population Grown Will Shape Congressional Apportionment after the 2010 Census. American's Voice Education Fund.
Silver, Nate. 2009. Red States Gaining Ground, But Migration Slowing Down. FiveThirtyEight.com. | <urn:uuid:4a37cb00-1e9d-4e0d-b633-402f67d53008> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/census/Features/apportionment/apportion_estimates.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924689 | 2,197 | 2.453125 | 2 |
For scuba divers, correct weighting depends on your personal buoyancy needs and is influenced by a number of factors — from the composition of your body to the thickness of your wetsuit. You can get a rough estimate of how much weight you need by using our buoyancy calculator.
Buying your first scuba diving mask? Ideally, you'd be able to try various models on while in the water. If that's not practical or possible, follow our dry-fit tips for finding the mask that's perfect for your face.
For the avid diver, it's an endless debate on the top dive destinations, but what's not in debate is that Bimini consistently ends up on that list. Now, enjoy the best diving Bimini has to offer with the dive professionals of the Bimini Big Game Club Resort & Marina Dive Center.
• The major downside to beach diving is all that sand will sneak into your wetsuit and attack your reg if you give it half a chance. To avoid that, gear up at your car, then grab mask and fins and make a beeline for the water. | <urn:uuid:db84d1a0-3e18-45ce-9f00-873655ce0388> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sportdiver.com/tags/scuba-diving-lessons | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940824 | 229 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Earlier versions of this article, including in Thursday's editions of The Post, incorrectly identified a lunch of "bowhead whale" as "bullhead whale". This version has been corrected.
Despite questions over ANCs, many pay out millions in dividends, scholarships, charitable donations
Wednesday, September 29, 2010; 9:27 PM
Alaska native corporations have long struggled to fulfill their mandate to improve life for native shareholders, who are among the poorest people in the United States. Until the ANC federal contracting boom began a decade ago, many of the struggling firms could not even pay dividends, let alone offset the deprivation that characterized the lives of the state's indigenous people.
Now, dozens of Alaska native corporations, benefiting from extraordinary rules that allow them to receive contracts of any size from the federal government without competition, collectively channel millions each back into the communities each year.
The program has been plagued by a lack of government oversight, allowing established businesses to use the native corporations in some cases as fronts to get business without competition, an examination by The Washington Post found. Millions have gone to nonnative executives and companies.
But even as questions about the program mounted over the years, a number of ANCs increased payments to shareholders and other benefits.
The 12 main regional Alaska native corporations paid $171 million in dividends to about 100,000 shareholders in 2008, according to a recent report by the ANCSA (Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) Regional Association. A congressional study of 19 corporations last year estimated that about 44 percent of their revenue came from federal contracting.
Some also have created jobs at federal contracting operations for their shareholders. Sealaska chief executive Chris McNeil said that his corporation's commitment to that goal means that 21 percent of employees of Sealaska subsidiaries in the SBA 8(a) program are Alaska natives. Some are executives.
"It's a motivation for us to see if we could be sure our people would have the opportunities for these kinds of professional positions," he said.
The benefits vary substantially among the corporations. Many offer scholarships and cultural initiatives via foundations and other nonprofit organizations. In 2008, they paid out $35 million in scholarships and charitable donations, according to the ANCSA report.
The NANA Regional Corp., which has 12,000 shareholders from several tribes, two years ago created an economic development committee that offers $55,000 grants for villages. The corporation spends $200,000 each year on Camp Sivunniigvik, where every summer native elders teach children traditional "subsistence lifestyle" skills such as hunting and gathering. The corporation has spent hundreds of thousands more in recent years on boys and girls clubs, sports tournaments and tribal governments.
Chugach Alaska Corp., which has about 2,200 Eskimo, Aleut and other native shareholders, runs shareholder development programs to draw young people into jobs in Alaska. It also runs a summer "spirit camp" for young people. Recently, Chugach joined Chenega Corp. and Tatitlek Corp. in financing the rebuilding of the historic St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Cordova.
The Eyak Corp., a village ANC owned by about 428 native shareholders, has used tens of thousands of dollars in revenue from federal contracting to pay for 126 higher education scholarships, including 23 this year. Officials there said in a news release that they have spent $29 million on dividends and other benefits over the years.
Doyon Limited, the largest land owner in Alaska with more than 12 million acres in the heart of the state, has 18,000 shareholders. Its foundation awards education scholarships of up to $7,000 to ambitious students. Last year, the foundation provided almost $600,000 in scholarships to 406 recipients. The corporation also has a "potlatch fund" that helps shareholders facing funeral expenses, and it supports a state nonprofit agency that provides social events for thousands of elders. | <urn:uuid:2c58b278-4222-4c7b-8215-1c6b241aa474> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/29/AR2010092907614.html?wprss=rss_politics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956927 | 790 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Equations of higher degree Problem Solver
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Learn more about your algebra problem in one of the following sections in Interactive Mathematics:
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- Quadratic Equations
- Exponents & Radicals
- Exponential & Logarithmic Functions
- Polynomial Equations of Higher Degree
- Systems of Equations
- Matrices and Determinants
- Series and the Binomial Theorem | <urn:uuid:421a1a44-a3c2-4d51-b588-ae1e95515697> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.intmath.com/help/problem-solver.php?title=equations-of-higher-degree&fid=18&refTitle=3.%20Factors%20and%20Roots%20of%20Polynomial%20Equations | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904601 | 310 | 2.5 | 2 |
Italian street artist Moneyless apprehends nature with his mathematically calculated optical illusions. Working with street art, outdoor installations and drawings, moneyless views geometry as the primary building block of all matter. His artworks are harmonious and often symmetrical, guiding the eye with angles and repeating lines that border on psychedelia. He began his career as an artist with traditional graffiti and transitioned to his current geometric style when he made the decision to eliminate the symbolic value of letters from his work. Aside from working on traditional 2D surfaces, Moneyless also creates installations that appear as prisms floating in space, using rope tied to trees, walls and whatever else is handy. Take a look at some of his latest works below, images courtesy of Moneyless.
Collaboration with Gaia | <urn:uuid:e6b17f6d-873f-4816-b43f-43b52f600dab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hifructose.com/2013/03/06/the-structured-street-art-of-moneyless/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972824 | 156 | 1.710938 | 2 |
There are many books that cover the clay extraction in Purbeck. Only part of the book may deal with the clay, but this page is to list in no particular order those books that the reader may find of use in their studies.
A book dedicated to the memory of Joyce Meates Grandparents. It tells the story of the clay working at Goathorn/Newton. If you are interested in the clay extraction of Purbeck, then this book is a "must read". It is a "self published" book of a limited run. The Mining Museum has a mention.
The book is available from Joyce Meates tel no 01929 439245. It is also in New and Secondhand Books in Station Road, Swanage, Swanage Museum, Studland Stores, and Durlston Castle
"Narrow Gauge Branch Lines -
Dorset & Somerset Narrow Gauge" By Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith and
Published by Middleton Press
"Stephen Lewin and the Poole Foundry" -
By Russell Wear and Eric Lees and Published by Industrial Railway Society and
Industrial Locomotive Society in 1978 ISBN 0 901096 35 0
"Bound to the Soil" by
Barbara Kerr (A Social History of Dorset 1750-1918) published by John Baker in
"The Railways of Purbeck" by R.W.Kidner and
published by The Oakwood Press in 1973
Industrial Railways of the South West by Michael Messenger
and published by Twelveheads Press in 2005
"Purbeck - The ingrained Island" by Paul Hyland published by Dovecote Press in 1978 ISBN 0 946 159 65 3
Agatha's Husband by Mrs. Craik (Author of "John Halifax
Gentleman" and a friend of the Pike Brothers) published by Macmillan and
Co. in 1852
"Branch Line to Swanage
to1992" Middleton Press
"Purbeck Revealed" by Iiay Cooper and published by James Pembroke ISBN 0 9548176-0-5
This is an excellent read and captures the spirit of Purbeck. However research has shown up a few errors in the book regarding the Ball Clay industry.
In the chapter "The Heath: East of the Wareham Road" you mention the school at Goathorn and state "When an extension to Corfe opened in 1905 the school was doomed and before long, the train carried kids to school there"
Working from the Corfe School Logbooks, the school train did not commence until 27th June 1934. On the 5th January 1937 the "Goathorn Children" were transferred to Studland School.
Further on in the same chapter "The Industrial Revolution caused a dramatic surge in demand" According to Josiah Wedgwood report to a Privy Council in 1785 his business, built on the use of ball clay, was one of the driving forces for the revolution in Transportation, so it is rather the other way round that the use of ball clay caused a dramatic surge in the Industrial Revolution. In Staffordshire the famous potter Josiah Wedgwood saw an opportunity to bring bulky cargoes of clay to his factory doors, and to transport his fragile finished goods to market in Manchester, Birmingham or further afield by water, minimising breakages. Within just a few years of the Bridgewater's opening, an embryonic national canal network came into being, with the construction of canals such as the Oxford Canal and the Trent & Mersey Canal. The new canal system was both cause and effect of the rapid industrialisation of the British Midlands and north. The period between the 1770s and the 1830s is often referred to as the "Golden Age" of British canals.
In the chapter "The Western Heath to Luckford Lake" mentions "A Devon man , William Pike, started one, opening trial Pits near Furzebrook in 1760" I have traced the Pike Family tree back and the Pike who signed a contract with Wedgwood in 1791 was William Pike who was born in 1762. William Pike was resident in the Square in Corfe Castle in the 1790 Census, but went on to live at Bucknowle House. His father was Joseph Pike who was a clay merchant in Chudleigh, Devon. William Pike's sons were William Joseph and John William Pike and they both lived in Wareham. William Joseph was "the railway Pike".
Further on in the same Paragraph, "A London Potter, Benjamin Fayle, launched the second, Fayle and Company, digging pits at Norden in 1795" Several mistakes here - Benjamin Fayle was a London Merchant, born in Ireland in 1751 (his great Grandfather was William Edmundson who founded the society of friends in Ireland in 1654). No way was he a Potter. There were already other clay firms in Purbeck such as the Browns who first dug Blue Pool, and Hatherly who Lord Rivers supported and made the Pikes carry Hatherly's clay on their railway. So Benjamin Fayle was not the second. In fact it was Barker Chifney (A London and Liverpool Merchant) that dug the pits at Norden in 1795 with Benjamin Fayle taking over from a Bankrupted Barker Chifney in 1803.
Two Paragraphs on and "In 1866 Pikes took the initiative, constructing an 81cm line from Furzebrook to Ridge Quay" Pikes constructed their line around 1840 and in 1866 introduced Steam Engines.
And a little further on - "Fayle expanded eastwards, exploiting deposits at Newton, and building a new line in 1868, served by a steam locomotive, Tiny." The line was opened in 1854 by Rev Richard Fayle, Charlotte Fayle, and Benjamin Guy Babington (directors of B.Fayle and Co. - Benjamin Fayle having died in 1831) To celebrate they gave the staff 170 roast beef dinners. The Locomotive "Corfe" was built by Lewin's in Poole some time between 1868 and 1874. It was nicknamed "Tiny" because of it's size. | <urn:uuid:91c85fa1-9198-401a-a253-afada1175fa8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pmmmg.org/Books.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957624 | 1,275 | 2.078125 | 2 |
A fall in the price of petrol and diesel, plus a drop in air fares were by far the largest contributors to the fall in inflation. There were comparatively modest downward contributions from most other sectors, notably from price movements for restaurants & hotels, recreation & culture goods and services and housing costs (including energy costs).
The only notable upward contribution came from the food and non-alcoholic drinks sector, where overall price increases for most foodstuffs (notably vegetables where there have been numerous recoveries of prices following sales and reports of cold weather in the UK impacting on crop production) were partially counterbalanced from price falls for non-alcoholic drinks.
Taking a longer term view, the three main contributors to the 12-month inflation rate in the last five years have been food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing costs (including gas and electricity charges) and transport costs (including motor fuels). Combined, these three sectors have, on average, accounted for over half of the of the 12-month inflation rate each month. | <urn:uuid:ccdd0f4c-980b-482d-9cbc-04717cdb7930> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/inflation-cpi | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961089 | 207 | 2.265625 | 2 |
U.S. Route 522
|Auxiliary route of US 22|
|Length:||308 mi (496 km)|
|Existed:||1943 – present|
|South end:||US 60 in Powhatan, VA|
I-64 in Goochland County, VA
|North end:||US 11 / US 15 in Selinsgrove, PA|
U.S. Route 522 (US 522) is a 308-mile (496 km) spur route of U.S. Route 22 in the eastern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 60 in Powhatan, Virginia. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 15 in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. US 522 passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. US 522 is a part of the National Highway System from SR 37 near Winchester, Virginia north to Interstate 70 (I-70) in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania and from the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) north to Selinsgrove.
In Virginia, US 522 runs 159.65 miles (256.93 km) from its southern terminus at US 60 in Powhatan north to the West Virginia state line near Cross Junction. In the Piedmont of central Virginia, US 522 is a minor highway connecting several county seats, including Powhatan, Goochland, and Culpeper. North of Culpeper, the U.S. highway increases in importance, crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains, connecting Culpeper with Sperryville and Front Royal. US 522 is mostly a four-lane divided highway north of Front Royal, where it passes through the Shenandoah Valley and the city of Winchester on its way to the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.
In West Virginia, US 522 runs 19.0 miles (30.6 km) from the Virginia state line near Ridge north to the Maryland state line at the Potomac River in Hancock just south of Hancock, Maryland. US 522 passes through Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The portion of the U.S. highway in West Virginia serves to connect Winchester with Hancock via Berkeley Springs, the county seat of Morgan County.
In Maryland, US 522 runs 2.35 miles (3.78 km) from the West Virginia state line at the Potomac River north to the Pennsylvania state line within Hancock in western Washington County. The federal highway crosses Maryland at its narrowest north–south point, meeting Maryland Route 144 (MD 144), Interstate 70 (I-70), US 40, and I-68 before entering Pennsylvania concurrent with I-70.
In Pennsylvania, US 522 runs 127.5 miles (205.2 km) from the Maryland state line near Warfordsburg north to its northern terminus at US 11 and US 15 in Selinsgrove. US 522 passes through the Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachian Mountains of central Pennsylvania, connecting Hancock, Maryland on the Potomac River with McConnellsburg, Mount Union, Lewistown, Middleburg, and Selinsgrove on the Susquehanna River.
US 522 was created in 1926 and signed from Lewistown to Selinsgrove in Pennsylvania. A year later, US 522 was extended south to Hancock, Maryland along its current alignment. The portion from U.S. Route 40 in Hancock to U.S. Route 22 in Mount Union, Pennsylvania was previously U.S. Route 622 from 1925 to 1927. The designation, shown on the 1925 U.S. Highway System plan, may not have been signed.
|Browse numbered routes|
|← US 511||VA||I-564 →|
|← WV 501||list||WV 527 →|
|← MD 521||MD||MD 524 →|
|← PA 519||PA||PA 523 →| | <urn:uuid:39fd6d13-6608-43b0-a854-6c1889607a67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_522 | 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 | 0.900219 | 849 | 1.90625 | 2 |
"Regarding why we didn't use another cruise ship, we checked on this and all of our ships are in service right now, meaning that there aren't enough cabins available to accommodate more than 3,100 guests who are currently on the Triumph. Additionally, a ship-to-ship transfer at sea would be considered too risky," he said.
2. Strong currents pushed the ship north, prompting the company to change where the Carnival Triumph would dock.
After deciding the ship had to be towed, the cruise company chose as its destination the closest port, which was then Progreso, Mexico.
But soon after the decision was made, and before tugboats could take control, strong currents nudged the ship some 90 miles north, putting it nearly as close to Mobile, Ala., as to Progreso.
"Given the strength of the currents, it is preferable to head north to Mobile, rather than attempt to tow against them," the company said on its Facebook page.
The U.S. port had another advantage.
It provided easier re-entry for passengers and crew, particularly for the roughly 900 guests on board traveling without passports, Carnival said.
3. The sheer size of the task is staggering.
The Carnival Triumph is a beast of a ship. It is 14 stories, nearly 900 feet long and is carrying more than 4,000 people.
Moving it anywhere takes a tremendous amount of time, energy and calculation. | <urn:uuid:5b4fb5ad-ebf6-40c4-914b-bce2d8c556e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wapt.com/news/money/travel/Why-has-the-cruise-ship-rescue-taken-5-days/-/9156654/18556726/-/item/1/-/qmppqi/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976142 | 295 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Her attorney, Robert Shapiro, said Huxtable died Monday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan after an illness.
Huxtable began working at The New York Times in 1963 and was a groundbreaker in bringing architecture criticism to an American newspaper. In her time there, she also was the first winner of the Pulitzer Prize for criticism, in 1970.
Huxtable, a native New Yorker, later went to work for The Wall Street Journal and had pieces published as recently as last month.
She looked at buildings and architecture for more than the actual physical design but also for the meaning and importance of the structures in their environment.
In the Dec. 3 piece for The Journal, she took on—and found lacking—efforts to renovate the main New York Public Library building.
"This is a plan devised out of a profound ignorance of or willful disregard for not only the library's original concept and design, but also the folly of altering its meaning and mission and compromising its historical and architectural integrity," she wrote. "You don't 'update' a masterpiece. 'Modernization' may be the most dangerously misused word in the English language."
It wasn't only in the journalism world that she was recognized. In 1981, she was awarded
Huxtable's husband died in 1989, and she has no survivors. | <urn:uuid:b7e75b1f-e892-4035-b15c-eff30cbb3ec3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eveningsun.com/nationworldnews/ci_22328838/architecture-critic-ada-louise-huxtable-dies-at-91 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982994 | 275 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), developed by David Wechsler, is an intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16 inclusive that can be completed without reading or writing. The WISC generates an IQ score.
The WISC was originally developed as a downward extension of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale in 1949. A revised edition (WISC-R) in 1974 as the WISC-R, and the third edition, the WISC-III in 1991. The current version, the WISC-IV, was produced in 2003. Each successive version has renormed the test to compensate for the Flynn effect, refined questions to make them less biased against minorities and females, and updated materials to make them more useful in the administration of the test.
The test comprises ten core subtests and five supplemental ones. The supplemental subtests are used to accommodate children in certain rare cases, or to make up for spoiled results which may occur from interruptions or other circumstances. Testers are allowed no more than two substitutions in any FSIQ test, or no more than one per index. These subtests then generate a Full Scale score (FSIQ,) and four composite scores known as indices: Verbal Comprehension (VCI,) Perceptual Reasoning (PRI,) Processing Speed (PSI) and Working Memory (WMI.)
The WISC is one of a family of Weschler intelligence scales. Subjects over 16 are tested with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), and children ages three to seven years, three months are tested with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI).
Each of the ten core subtests is given equal weighting towards full-scale IQ. There are three subtests for both VCI and PRI, thus they are given 30% weighting each; in addition, PSI and WMI are given weighting for their two subtests each.
The VCI's subtests are as follows:
- Vocabulary - straightforward questions over the meaning of words
- Similarities - asking how two concepts are alike
- Comprehension - questions about social situations or common concepts
- Information (supplemental) - general knowledge questions
- Word Reasoning (supplemental) - children are presented with one to three riddle-style clues and asked to determine what the tester is describing.
The PRI's subtests are as follows:
- Block Design - children put together red-and-white blocks in a pattern according to a displayed model. This is timed, and some of the more difficult puzzles award bonuses for speed.
- Picture Concepts - children are shown rows of pictures, and are asked to find a common bond with one picture in each row.
- Matrix Reasoning - children are shown an array of pictures with one missing square, and select the picture that fits the array from five options.
- Picture Completion (supplemental) - children are shown artwork of common objects with a missing part, and asked to identify the missing part by pointing and/or naming.
The WMI's subtests are as follows:
- Digit Span - children are orally given sequences of numbers and asked to repeat them, either as heard or in reverse order.
- Letter-Number Sequencing - children are orally given sequences of letters and numbers together, and asked to repeat them in both numerical order and alphabetical order.
- Arithmetic (supplemental) - orally administered arithmetic questions. Timed.
The PSI's subtests are as follows:
- Coding - children under 8 mark rows of shapes with different lines according to a code, children over 8 transcribe a digit-symbol code. Time-limited with bonuses for speed.
- Symbol Search - children are given rows of symbols and target symbols, and asked to mark whether or not the target symbols appear in each row.
- Cancellation (supplemental) - students are to mark lines through objects that do not belong in a page of randomly-arranged objects and one of orthogonally-arranged objects.
The WISC is used not only as an intelligence test, but as a clinical tool. Many practitioners use it to diagnose attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities, for example. This is usually done through a process called pattern analysis, in which the various subtests' scores are compared to one another (ipsative scoring) and clusters of unusually low scores in relation to the others are searched for. David Wechsler himself suggested this in 1958 (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2005).
However, the research does not show this to be a very effective way to diagnosis ADHD or learning disabilities (Watkins, Kush, & Glutting, 1997). The vast majority of ADHD children do not display certain subscores substantially below others, and many children who display such patterns do not have ADHD. Other patterns for children with learning disabilities show a similar lack of usefulness of the WISC as a diagnostic tool (Ward, Ward, Hatt, Young, & Moller, 1995).
When diagnosing children, best practice suggests that a multi-test battery should be used as learning problems, attention, and emotional difficulties can have similar symptoms, co-occur, or influence each other. For example, children with learning difficulties can become emotionally distraught and thus have concentration difficulties, begin to exhibit behavior problems, or both. Children with ADD or ADHD may show learning difficulties because of their attentional problems or also have learning disorder or mental retardation (or have nothing else). In short, while diagnosis of any childhood or adult difficulty should never be made based on IQ alone (or interview, physician examination, parent report, other test etc. for that matter) the cognitive ability test can help rule out, in conjunction with other tests and sources of information, other explanations for problems, uncover co-morbid problems, and be a rich source of information when properly analyzed and care is taken to avoid relying simply on the single summary IQ score (Sattler, ?year).
The empirical consensus is that the WISC is best used as a tool to evaluate intelligence and not to diagnose ADHD or learning disabled children. However, many clinicians use it to compare a child's cognitive development to his or her actual school or social performance. Using this discrepancy and other sources of data, the WISC can contribute information concerning a child's psychological well-being.
WISC has been translated or adapted to many languages, and norms have been established for a number of countries, including Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Norwegian, Swedish, French (France and Canada), German (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), English (United States, Canada, United Kingdom), Welsh, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese (Hong Kong), Greek, Slovenian and Italian. Separate norms are established with each translation. (Norway uses the Swedish norms).
- Kaplan, R.M. & Saccuzzo, D.P. (2005). Psychological Testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
- Ward, S.B., Ward, T. J., Hatt, C.V., Young, D.L, & Mollner, N.R. (1995). The incidence and utility of the ACID, ACIDS, and SCAD profiles in a referred population. Psychology in the Schools, 32(4), 267-276.
- Watkins, M.W., Kush, J., & Glutting, J.J. (1997). Discriminant and predictive validity of the WISC-III ACID profile among children with learning disabilities. Psychology in the Schools, 34(4), 309-319.
- Leiter International Performance Scale
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
- Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI)
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).| | <urn:uuid:86455a19-15e9-4e5b-9051-28f16cb63a29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/WISC-R | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911947 | 1,678 | 3.625 | 4 |
2001 - Meningococcal disease in Ethiopia- Update 3
14 June 2001
Disease Outbreak Reported
WHO has received reports of a total of 6266 cases including 311 deaths (case-fatality rate of 5.0%) as of 31 May 2001 in ten out of the eleven regions in the country. Since the previous report, more accurate figures have become available with the review of the database of reported cases and deaths. Three regions, Amhara, Oromiya and Southern Nations Nationalities Region, still report newly affected districts. The current trend of the epidemic remains uncertain.
In collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, work in controlling the epidemic has been carried out by partners in the country, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and Médecins sans Frontières, France, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland. | <urn:uuid:3e2259c3-ff5d-4333-8807-7ec8ea1f1847> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.who.int/csr/don/2001_06_14/en/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936598 | 183 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Nine years ago today President Bush visited Ground Zero in New York City. One lasting image is of the President, standing on a pile of rubble with his hand on the shoulder of a firefighter named Bob Beckwith, talking to the rescue workers with a bullhorn.
Over the weekend I realized I know most of the people who were with the President at that moment.
Eric Draper was the President’s chief White House photographer for all eight years. He led an incredible team of photographers who captured key moments in the Presidency. Eric is a phenomenal photographer, a good man, and I am proud to have worked with him.
I’d like to share Eric’s photo and comments from Eric and others who were on the scene when it was taken.
(Updated with an addition by Karl Rove)
You can click on the photo for a higher resolution version.
From left to right:
- (partial white shirt) unnamed NYPD;
- (black helmet, in back) unnamed rescue worker;
- (white helmet on head and in hands) Assistant NYFD Chief ?
- (light blue helmet) Al Concordia, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Presidential Protection Division, US Secret Service;
- President Bush;
- retired firefighter Bob Beckwith;
- (blue coat) Carl Truscott, Special Agent in Charge, Presidential Protection Division, US Secret Service; and
- Governor George Pataki.
(I would greatly appreciate help in identifying those whose names I don’t know.)
I describe Administration officials below with the job titles they had at the time.
Eric Draper, White House Photographer:
I remember standing at the site which still smoldered from the terrorist attack three days earlier. President Bush had just finished touring Ground Zero and embracing and talking with hundreds of firefighters. As the White House Photographer, I focused on capturing the strong emotion there. I had to press my way through the crowd to stay with the President, who was being guided to a spot to speak. I was close enough to the President to touch his legs if I tried, so I had to use my widest camera lens. When he said, “I can hear you,” I knew it was going to be a powerful, historic moment. I watched my President lead the country through its shock and grief.
Eric reports that the photo was taken with a Nikon N90 camera, 17-35 zoom lens on Fujichrome 400 film. Shutter speed 500/2.8.
(My plug for Eric: Eric now runs his own photography business and I highly recommend him.)
Joe Hagin, Deputy Chief of Staff:
Most don’t realize it but he is actually standing on a crushed fire engine – the highest part of what was a huge fire pumper, reduced to about four or five feet high. The firefighter standing with him was actually a retired member of the department who grabbed his old helmet and headed to Ground Zero when he saw what had happened on TV.
Bob Beckwith, the firefighter standing with the President (in a Time magazine story five years ago):
I got home and I told my wife, ‘I’m going down,’ ” he said, referring to the smoldering remains of the Twin Towers.
At first, his family dissuaded him from going to Ground Zero, but after Beckwith discovered that one of his colleague’s sons was one of the hundreds of firefighters missing, he put on his old uniform, strapped on his helmet and went to join the rescue efforts.
Beckwith had to finagle his way into Ground Zero when he approached the heavily guarded perimeter.
“I said, ‘Come on, guys. You know I got to get in there.’ I showed them my identification card from the fire department and so a couple of guys let me through,” Beckwith said.
Once inside the perimeter, Beckwith got a firsthand look at the charred remains of the World Trade Center and immediately began working to find survivors.
“And the president came and he is shaking hands with all the ironworkers and all the cops and all the firemen that were down there … and I figure he’s going over to the microphones, but he makes a quick right, and he puts his arm up and I said, ‘Oh my God!’ “
After helping the president onto the truck, Beckwith begins to crawl down, but Bush stops him.
“He says, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘Uh, I was told to get down.’ He said, ‘No, no, you stay right here.’ “
“Do you remember the TIME magazine where the president is holding up the flag? He wanted me to have that flag. I still have it,” Beckwith told CNN.
Logan Walters, personal aide to the President:
Driving to the event there was a real emotional tension, we all knew we were going to a place of epic tragedy in our Nation’s history but the reason for our visit was to provide strength and support to those who were there, and the Americans who would be watching on television. Not a lot of conversation, and because the event had little planning there was little to discuss on the way. We knew there would be unscripted moments that would be seen around the world. The wreckage on the site was terrible, there were several places where smoke was still rising from the ruins of the towers. Beams, wires, concrete and other skeletal remains were visible among the ash. Although many families and friends were still hopeful of finding loved ones, it was apparent upon seeing what was left of the towers that it would take no less than God’s hand to pull a survivor from what was left there. It was a heartbreaking sight. None of us at the White House had slept much since the attack, but we had showered and grabbed a meal or two and some rest. It seemed like no one at Ground Zero had stopped working since they were allowed into the site, and by talking to the people in charge we learned that was generally true. People were literally working to total exhaustion, multiple days without any real rest or food, and were still pushing themselves. No one wanted to give up. We talked to numerous emergency responders as the President walked the site. Most looked exhausted, had ash on their clothes and faces, and were emotionally drained. As the President talked to them, expressing gratitude, consoling some, and encouraging all, you could feel the strength and energy rising. He stepped up on the ruins of the fire engine, was handed the bullhorn, and began to speak. From the other side of Ground Zero, where a large number of the emergency responders had gathered, someone yelled “We can’t hear you!” The President’s response was from his heart, totally unscripted, and everyone felt he power of his words. The site literally erupted with cheers, it was incredible and energized and lifted those working at Ground Zero and those of us traveling with the President. In the end, all of us, I think the President included, left with a renewed energy and strength. Those men and women inspired all of us to work hard and do all that we could to support the President as he worked to protect our Nation. What we came to provide to them, they actually gave to us.
Karen Hughes, Counselor to the President:
I traveled to New York with President Bush on September 14, and will never forget the raw emotions, the incredible sadness, yet, in the end, the enduring inspiration of that day. Although I had seen the images on television, nothing could have prepared me for the moment when our motorcade turned the corner and we saw the still smoldering pile of twisted steel at Ground Zero — it was so horrifying that my hands instinctively covered my face. The rescue workers had been working non-stop for three days. They were exhausted, angry, full of emotion — and they wanted to hear from their President. We had not planned for him to speak, as earlier that day he had delivered a moving address at a national prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington. But we realized that the rescue workers at Ground Zero needed to hear from their President, and our terrific advance staffer, Nina Bishop, went to find a bullhorn. She had the President climb up on a ruined fire truck so people could see him and he kept fire fighter Bob Beckwith up with him — the crowd was shouting they couldn’t hear him — and when he turned and said, “I hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked down these buildings are going to hear from all of us soon,” it summed up the determination of our nation. The President’s remarks were a response to the rescue workers — totally unscripted, perfect for the situation, and standing there, I knew immediately this was an historic moment. I turned to my friend, Joe Allbaugh, the director of FEMA who had been Governor Bush’s chief of staff in Texas, and said, “That’s the person we know, and that’s going to be in his presidential library someday.” It was a day of incredible emotion and sadness — there was literally a hole in the heart of Manhattan — yet in the end, it became a day of inspiration as our motorcade left the city and thousands of New Yorkers lined the streets shouting “Thank you” to the volunteers and “God Bless America!”
Greg Jenkins, advance team:
I was shepherding the pool that day, having arrived with a small team from DC the night before, and was standing next to Draper when he took the photo. Nina Bishop — another advance person — was the one who is responsible for the bullhorn. As the President was shaking hands with first responders it became increasingly clear that he had to say something. Thinking fast, Nina found a bullhorn and when the President stood atop the rubble she simply handed it up to him and he did the rest. Completely unplanned. Totally authentic moment. But the untold story is how the video came to be.
When people recall the television imagery of the President making those remarks atop the rubble, what they don’t know is how that happened. Twice.
The press pool consisted of some print reporters, some still photographers, and one television crew (correspondent, producer and cameraman). Since we were in the middle of Ground Zero, the television camera wasn’t connected to an uplink truck, therefore it was not live. What we didn’t know was that another network some blocks away had a camera on top of a building pointed at Ground Zero. From their vantage point, and as far as they could zoom in, all they could make out was a small cluster of people at Ground Zero (that was us). The producer in our press pool was on his cell phone giving live color commentary to all the networks who were in the pool. The networks also had access to the live shot from the other network from the building some blocks away. When the producer said that the President was about to make some remarks, he held up his phone to get the President’s voice. The networks put the voice of the President broadcast from a cell phone over the live video from the other network, and voila!
The closeup video that we recall of the President’s remarks atop the rubble was actually broadcast later in the day when the pool cameraman was able to feed his closeup video.
Karl Rove, Senior Advisor to the President, from his book Courage and Consequence (reprinted with permission):
We tumbled out of the vehicles into an ocean of noise. The president’s arrival set the crowd off. Standing on rescue equipment and piles of debris, these huge and powerful ironworkers, steelworkers, and rescue personnel were screaming “U.S.A! U.S.A!” The president made his way around a horseshoe of chanting workers to shake hands and thank them. …
Bush was hearing and seeing the rescue workers up close. They were not shy about sharing their feelings. These men were working on adrenaline and passion and, after three days and increasingly less frequent good news about survivors, they were nearly spent. Pataki was right; the presidential visit was energizing for many of the people we met. …
I watched this from a short distance off. Behind me a few yards to the east were about twenty religious leaders, led by Cardinal Edward Egan. They too had joined in the chanting, many waving small American flags. Most were weeping. I could not glance at them for more than an instant: I felt I too would succumb if I looked too closely or too long at them.
There was a tug on my sleeve. It was Nina Bishop, a White House advance woman working the event. She pointed to the chanting workers and said, “They want to hear from their president.” No one had prepared remarks, but she was exactly right. …
… I asked her if there was a microphone available. She shook her head no. Could she get a bullhorn? She scurried of to grab one from some of the workers milling around. I looked for a place the president could speak from. The SUVs in the motorcade had wide running boards, but if he stood one one, he would still not be seen by all the people who had clambered up on piles of rubble and vehicles all around us.
Right next to me was a giant wrecked fire truck. The pumper had been smashed by falling debris. Its crumpled door read 76 ENGINE COMPANY. Its tires had blown out, and its body was crushed, but three men were standing on top o fit and the entire crowd could see the president if he joined them. I looked up at the workers, and as I did one jumped off the truck. I got the attention of the remaining two and asked them if it was safe. The younger of the two replied it was, while the older man, wearing a fireman’s hat from New York Fire Department Company 154, nodded in agreement. I was unconvinced, so I asked them to jump up and down. They looked quizzically at the strange guy in a suit and tie, and I repeated my request. They hesitatedly jumped up and down; the truck looked steady enough for Bush to clamber up. I told the two men, “Stay there — someone might need your help to get up.” Before going to look for Andy, I reached for a piece of paving block that had jiggled when the rescue workers jumped up and down. A policeman grabbed my wrist and stopped me, saying there might be a body part underneath. I felt sick.
I found Andy Card and shared Nina’s suggestion; he immediate agreed that it was a good idea and asked where the president could speak. I pointed at the battered fire truck. Andy made a beeline to the president. Nina had commandeered a bullhorn from a man who worked for Con Ed and met me at the fire truck with it. The bullhorn’s batteries weren’t that good, but it was all we had. Nina gave it to Logan Walters. As she turned away, I grabbed a small American flag sticking out of Nina’s courier bag and handed it up to the thin, older rescue worker who was now the last man standing on the truck. His companion had disappeared off the back of the pumper and out of history.
The president took the bullhorn and reached his hand up to the rescue worker, a retired sixty-nine-year-old New York firefighter named Bob Beckwith. Beckwith looked down into the scrum below him, saw the outstretched hand, grasped, and pulled. In an instant, Bush was sharing the top of the truck with Beckwith, who suddenly realized he’d helped up the president of the United States. Beckwith tried to crawl down but the president asked, “Where are you going?” Bob said he was getting down. Bush said, “No, no, you stay right here.”
The cheers and chanting subsided and the president started to speak into the bullhorn. With the National Cathedral prayer service still fresh on his mind, Bush began by saying, “I want you all to know that America today is on bended knee in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn. This nation stands with the good people of New York City and New Jersey and Connecticut as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens.” Someone yelled, “Go get ‘em, George!” Someone else yelled, “George, we can’t hear you!” and others echoed this complaint. Bush paused and then responded in a voice now fully magnified by the bullhorn, “I can hear you.” The crowd went nuts–and he knew what to do from there. “The rest of the world hears you,” he went on, “and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” The crowd broke into defiant, even bitter, chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” Bush handed the bullhorn off and he climbed down.
In an iconic moment, George W. Bush was very much alone with an enormous responsibility. The nation wanted reassurance; it wanted to know it had a leader who understood the mission America now faced. No speechwriters, no aides, no advisors were involved in Bush’s response. It was an authentic moment that connected with the public in a strong, deep way. Without assistance and in an instant, George W. Bush gave voice to America’s desires.
Seeing President Bush hop up on that busted truck and stand shoulder to shoulder with a weary firefighter is a sight forever etched in my mind, and for many it remains one of the most inspiring scenes from the terrible events of 9/11. Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley’s assessment of Bush’s visit to Ground Zero was prophetic: “We can’t judge him as President Bush anymore, but we’re soon to be judging him as commander in chief.”
I’d love to add to this post the recollections of any first responders on the scene when the President spoke, or any of those in the press pool mentioned by Greg.
Thanks once again to President George W. Bush for his leadership during this time of national tragedy and crisis.
And thank you to all those who worked so tirelessly at Ground Zero nine years ago. | <urn:uuid:6038d823-da63-465d-9c0c-eab85a8b77ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://keithhennessey.com/2010/09/14/bullhorn/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986787 | 3,897 | 1.5625 | 2 |
I apologize in advance to those of you who fear birds...
Meet the Black-Eared Kite - a medium-sized bird of prey that soars above the island of Japan searching for fish, or small animals...or food that stupid Americans feed it. They are such aggressive scavengers that many Americans have found it amusing to have these "seahawks" swoop down and snatch the food that they toss into the air. So apparently there was a memo or "tweet" (couldn't help myself) sent to all seahawks - come to Yokosuka!!
Amused Americans Offer Free Food for all!
And so they hang out, waiting.
Our first seahawk experience was here at our home - I had a small bag of old bread and thought Charlotte might enjoy feeding the tiny little birds hopping around our bushes.
Aww... cute little birds. See how they hop out from that bush to get the crumbs? Adorable.
Then we see a shadow.
Then we see a shadow.
A large bird has perched on top of the roof of the building next to ours. Weird.
Probably just some grumpy crow or something.
Then another shadow, circling above us.
Suddenly 5 or 6 large birds of prey have gathered above our town home and are circling over the crumbs Charlotte has spread on the ground.
Quick - grab the kid, sit inside, and watch in shock as these giant birds swoop down to the ground for a few crumbs of bread.
Wow. What a sight.
Note to self - don't eat food outside.
Should have made a bigger note.
Fast forward about 6 months.
We had gone to the Officer's club for lunch. We do that quite frequently when we are on base at lunch time - it's actually one of the cheapest places to eat. They always have these yummy rolls. Charlotte loves them.
She drops hers on the floor and asks for another. "Sure" we say, but how about we take it to-go, since we need to get going. Charlotte takes the roll into her tiny little hand and out the door we go.
Daddy and Charlotte walk ahead of me - one of Charlotte's hands holds Daddy's hand, the other holds the roll.
Suddenly a shadow.
Before I even can speak - the shadow swoops down - his wings brush Ryan's cap
and he DIVES AT CHARLOTTE
- successfully snatching the roll from her hand - and flies away.
This was a bird with a 3-4 ft. wingspan.
We all stand there stunned and Charlotte bursts into tears.
I almost burst into tears.
Charlotte escapes with only a tiny scratch on her hand - the bird has good aim, and apparently NO fear of humans.
Lesson learned again- don't eat food outside, don't eat food outside, don't eat food outside. | <urn:uuid:63a4f44e-4f35-4784-9d24-f2e93d2f8104> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sewhomegrown.com/2012/10/hitchcocks-birds-live-in-japan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962249 | 602 | 1.625 | 2 |
Lisa Cohen appears in the following:
Friday, May 25, 2012
An arrest has been made in the 1979 disappearance of six-year-old Etan Patz, who went missing on his way to school 33 years ago today. The arrest may bring the cold case that first got America talking about missing children to a close. Lisa Cohen, journalist and author of “After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive,” discusses the case's development.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Ailsa Chang, WNYC reporter, and Lisa Cohen, journalist and author of the book, After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive, discuss the latest in the renewed efforts to find out what happened to Etan Patz, who disappeared 33 years ago. | <urn:uuid:6108d850-a282-4cf9-9f2d-52fdd29cc337> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wnyc.org/people/lisa-cohen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957139 | 165 | 1.539063 | 2 |
5|25: Celebrating Five Years of Autism Science Day 4: Convergence on PTEN Signaling Pathway
In honor of the anniversary of Autism Speaks’ founding on Feb 25, for the next 25 days we will be sharing stories about the many significant scientific advances that have occurred during our first five years together. Our fourth item, Convergence on PTEN Signaling Pathway, is from Autism Speaks’ Top 10 Autism Research Events of 2007.
Model systems for studying the complex and fundamentally human challenge of autism will be vitally important to solving autism because they allow researchers to study the underlying biology in a manner that is not possible in humans. Finding an animal model system with similar behavioral tendencies as humans allows researchers to study which biochemical pathways break down in autism and, most importantly, how they can be treated. In 2007, researchers added an important new model system to their arsenal, the “PTEN conditional knockout” mouse.
PTEN is a gene that encodes for a protein involved in several critical signaling pathways inside cells, including metabolism, growth and survival. To carry out its cellular duties, PTEN interacts with several other important proteins in a biochemical signaling cascade. Other proteins in this signaling pathway have previously been tied to developmental disorders such as Tuberous Sclerosis and Neurofibromatosis. In 2005, researchers found that within a small subset of individuals with autism and macrocephaly (large heads) 17% had mutations in the PTEN gene. This raised the possibility that disrupting PTEN activity, and the signaling pathways within which it functions, may result in some forms of autism. This year researchers succeeded in using complex genetic manipulations to shutdown the mouse version of the gene (PTEN) in the brain of young mice. Surprisingly, not only did these animals grow larger brains, the mice also displayed abnormal social behaviors and seizures, both of which can be features of autism.
These results provided important data supporting the emerging relevance of cellular signaling pathways to autistic behaviors, and are now focusing some researchers on specific molecules that could potentially become targets for cell-based therapeutics.
Update since this story was first run: Having discovered that disrupting the PTEN signaling pathway leads to autism-associated signs, in 2009 the researchers went on to further show that manipulation of the PTEN signaling pathway can serve as a successful treatment strategy. Making use of these same mice, they found that treatment with a pharmacological inhibitor of the PTEN pathway improved the autism-like pathology of the animals, including unusual social behaviors and seizures. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the newest data strengthen the case for focusing on this signaling pathway as a viable target for novel autism therapeutics. | <urn:uuid:d19e887d-9f6f-4d75-8aa0-b6f2f6932f46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.autismspeaks.org/2010/02/04/525-4-pten/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=671450efa2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937476 | 545 | 3.046875 | 3 |
EYEBEAM PRESS RELEASE:
No word from the American artist 24 hours after being taken into Chinese custody.
Powderly was in Beijing to unveil a project made with pro-Tibet activist group.
New York City, August 19, 2008, 7:30PM EST- Artist and Eyebeam alum James Powderly was detained by Chinese authorities in Beijing early Wednesday, according to a message received by Students for a Free Tibet around 5PM Beijing Standard Time, said an SFT spokesperson. The message, sent through the social networking site Twitter, read “held since 3AM”, said friend and SFT board member Nathan Dorjee. Powderly has not been heard from since-more than 24 hours later-and his whereabouts remain unknown, he said.
“Freedom of speech has always been central to James’ practice, and we support this commitment. Most importantly, we hope for his quick release,” said Eyebeam Executive Director Amanda McDonald Crowley. Powderly was a fellow in Eyebeam’s R&D OpenLab in 2005-2006, and a senior fellow in the OpenLab from 2006-2007.
Powderly is also co-founder of the Grafitti Research Lab, a project developed during his fellowship at Eyebeam. He was in Beijing collaborating with the activists to project messages onto the facades of prominent Beijing buildings using a laser beam and stencils. The artist was detained before the planned launch of the project-dubbed the “Green Chinese Lantern”-in which a beam of light would be used to display graphics and text on structures up to two stories high, said Dorjee. It is unclear how Chinese authorities learned of the plan.
Also today, five activists with Students for a Free Tibet were detained after displaying a banner that spelled out “Free Tibet” in LED Throwies, the open source technology pioneered by the Grafitti Research Lab and popularized online and worldwide. This brings the number of SFT protestors detained in Beijing to 42. In the majority of these cases, the individuals were heard from and deported within 6-12 hours of their arrest, said Dorjee.
Upon learning of the detention, fellow artist, collaborator, and current Eyebeam senior fellow Steve Lambert said, “He’s an amazing, entertaining, brilliant, and committed person. Not all of us have the courage to travel to China to make such a statement at a key time like this. He’s a great friend and obviously, like so many others, I’m concerned about his well-being. I hope he’s allowed to return home as soon as possible.”
The L.A.S.E.R. Stencil technology is a modification of the GRL’s L.A.S.E.R. Tag, which was featured in the 2007 Eyebeam exhibition Open City. This portable, updated version is the size of a flashlight, requires one person to operate, and is intended for use with homemade micro-stencils.
Students for a Free Tibet, a group with more than 700 chapters worldwide, has been staging protests in Beijing over the course of the past two weeks. According to Dorjee, who is also the group’s technical advisor, GRL technology was an ideal fit for the spectacle of the Olympics, and called the GRL the “go-to group for open source urban expression”.
For the latest information and images, please visit the website of Students for a Free Tibet. Additional images for download: | <urn:uuid:b994e843-f0b3-4dfa-a183-6ce60f6b0a81> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://antiadvertisingagency.com/grls-james-powderly-detained-in-beijing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96324 | 736 | 1.5 | 2 |
How It Is
Unfortunately, in most places I've had experience with salary is not so much based on an individual's skill level, but on company policy, local competition and stinginess. Rules are set, the company in question will have a bunch of people who don't know squat about development come up with a pay grade chart. They'll throw a couple levels (i.e. Developer I - Developer III) of programmer somewhere on to the chart, typically higher than your average clerical worker but usually lower than someone who's position requires domain knowledge, even if these are the people you'll be working most closely with.
There will be criteria to fit you into one of those categories, however, it has less to do with skills and more to do with how much experience you have. In other words, the old guy sitting in the corner who refuses to learn jQuery because that's not how he did it when he wrote the original version of the web application will be paid more than someone who is current in technology, because he has more technical knowledge than you, you know because he has more experience.
Ultimately what decides how much you get paid is whether or not you pass the interview and how well you negotiate your salary. That said, negotiation will only yield a handful of percentage points at best. If you pass the interview you'll simply be slotted into the pay grade system based on how many years of experience you have in the industry. If you're lucky they'll give you vacation time based on this as well.
How It Should Be
Ultimately, the problem I have with companies is not that they setup a pay grade. The problem is they set up a pay grade that rewards just getting by and not getting fired. It doesn't really reward learning new information and this how a companies IT division stagnates and you get Bob sitting over in the corner who is totally and completely useless being paid more than any other programmer.
At some point during an interview process your skills relevant to the company would be assessed. If done correctly, it would be not only your ability to get through an interview that is judged but your ability to solve some real world development problems given recently faced by the company. Based on the speed and accuracy with which you're able to solve a problem should reflect where you lie on the pay scale. Any test given should allow you to demonstrate the following:
- Ability to solve simple to complex programming problems
- Ability to write clear and consistent code
- Ability to understand existing code
- Creativity expressed in solving the problems
- Ability to communicate the solution to others
A college degree is important only so far as it will increase your ability to get a job with no experience. When determining salary, experience and negotiation rules all.
In many situations, unfortunately, the rule is experience. Everything else is an exception to the pay scale. Your skill set only affects your salary in the way that affects who will give you a job. Most salaries, not just for programmers, work this way. It doesn't matter if you go to company with XYZ skills, they'll still only pay you X dollars, which might actually be 1.05 * Y that they offered another guy, but most salary ranges are set in stone and usually your years of experiences tells you which range you'll be in. | <urn:uuid:ec1bd820-adf9-4ae0-adc3-63d31758a903> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/99749/what-criteria-should-be-used-to-determine-a-programmers-salary/99821 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974634 | 671 | 1.625 | 2 |
The Happy Priest - God is With Us: The Gift of the Holy Eucharist
The Eucharist is the most visible miracle known to the human person
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world" (John 6: 51).
Once again, let us review something that is so fundamental: at every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we participate in a marvelous miracle, the miracle called Transubstantiation. Transubstantiation means "change of substance," or "change of reality." When the priest repeats the words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper, the bread is no longer bread, and the wine is no longer wine. Instead, the entire substance of the bread and the entire substance of the wine have been changed into the substance of The Body and Blood of Christ.
Transubstantiation occurs only by the power of God, and in a way that we cannot empirically detect. We know that transubstantiation takes place through the certainty of faith. Jesus, the Son of God; Jesus the Messiah; Jesus the Lord and Savior of the universe said: "This is my body;" "This is my blood."
Faith is a vision superior to reason, but it does not contradict reason, precisely because faith relies upon the authority of God who does not deceive, nor can be deceived. Jesus is the truth and thus is incapable of lying.
When we consider the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, we are faced with a dilemma. As C.S. Lewis put it so clearly, either Jesus is a liar, a lunatic, or he is who he says that he is: the one true God.
"The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven', and they said, 'Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" (John 6: 41-42).
The crowd could not grasp and accept Jesus' teaching on the Eucharist because of their lack of faith. They could not see Jesus for who he really is.
In our modern times it is commonly understood that among Catholics there is an alarming loss of faith in the Real Presence.
This massive loss of faith is expressed in the loss of reverence in our parishes. Sloppy dress, loud talking in church, cell phones going off, lack of Sunday attendance at Mass, and few people going to Confession, are all signs of a terrible loss of faith in something so fundamental to Catholicism.
What is the cause of this disturbing apostasy?
Every Sunday during the Profession of Faith, we affirm our belief in eternal life. "We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."
Do we really believe this?
How many times do we ever hear convincing homilies about the eschatological teachings of the Catholic Church?
Rather than being an affirmation of the realities of eternity, many funeral homilies tend to be a humanistic celebration of the person who has died.
In our modern day culture we are continually bombarded by secularism and we need to be continually reminded of the most basic fundamentals of our Catholic Faith
"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life" (John 6: 47).
God and eternity are not things that are distant from us. When we truly believe, we already participate in eternity.
"Life shared with God, eternal life within temporal life, is possible because of God living with us: Christ is God being here with us. In him God has time for us; he is God's time for us and thus at the same time the opening of time into eternity. God is no longer the distant and indeterminate God to whom no bridge will reach; he is the God at hand: the Body of the Son is the bridge for our souls" (Joseph Ratzinger, God is Near Us, 144).
Close to the tabernacle a candle burns brightly as a permanent reminder that God is with us. God is truly present and he reveals himself to all those who believe.
What is it that keeps us from really believing in eternal life?
If our sight is set on the things of this world alone, we will eventually no longer seek the world to come. The loss of seeking eternity is rooted in our loss of faith in God.
The only way that we can truly believe in the Real Presence is if we truly believe: believe that God is alive and ...
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- Reflections on the Dignity and Vocation of Women: Who or What? | <urn:uuid:e7a33d2e-026e-47b2-b0c9-3b38ca8fdb9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catholic.org/hf/faith/story.php?id=47230 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944784 | 1,256 | 2.109375 | 2 |
The Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) is a collaborative effort to restore forest ecosystems on portions of four National Forests - Coconino, Kaibab, Apache-Sitgreaves, and Tonto - along the Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona.
Ponderosa pine forest stretches almost continuously from the south rim of the Grand Canyon, across the Mogollon Rim, to the White mountains in eastern Arizona.
Unfortunately, these forests have been degraded by unsustainable historical land uses and fire exclusion. The result is overgrown forests with thin, unhealthy trees and the threat of unnaturally severe wildfire.
The vision of 4FRI is restored forest ecosystems that support natural fire regimes, functioning populations of native plants and animals, and forests that pose little threat of destructive wildfire to thriving forest communities, as well as support sustainable forest industries that strengthen local economies while conserving natural resources and aesthetic values. | <urn:uuid:83ba0a51-780c-4ae1-b81e-d1228fda962a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://4fri.org/description.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909306 | 183 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Investigate the numbers that come up on a die as you roll it in the
direction of north, south, east and west, without going over the
path it's already made.
If I use 12 green tiles to represent my lawn, how many different
ways could I arrange them? How many border tiles would I need each
Can you go from A to Z right through the alphabet in the hexagonal | <urn:uuid:c60aa297-c282-4651-8d28-6805501e1268> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nrich.maths.org/2908/index | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961812 | 84 | 2.921875 | 3 |
A long time ago I wrote a tiny perl script that told you the time in various places. It was a somewhat unusual take on the usual approach to the timezone problem in that it displays offsets from where you are, not offsets from UTC (which, unless you’re in the UK in the winter time, are really kinda useless). A number of people liked using it, which was nice. It was called “slashtime” since
/time is a shortcut on my company’s website to get to an HTML version of it.
For a while, though, I’d wanted to make a version that would be graphical; in addition to being more compact, I wanted it to be live and to help me with arranging meetings. So I did!
Here’s a screenshot of Slashtime running.
The new Slashtime inherited the original’s premise of showing offsets, of course, and adds some other nicities. When the sun is up is irrelevant in this day and age; but business hours aren’t (white background), as is knowing when it’s not a good time to call someone (the dark shading).
Knowing where you are is important too; that’s the blue line. There are a number of heuristics to try and figure that out, but if your Linux box’s
/etc/localtime is a symlink to a file in
/usr/share/zoneinfo like it’s supposed to be, you’re golden; it degrades gracefully from there, looking at what
/etc/timezone says, then the
TZ environment variable, etc, and doing all this in a hopefully OS aware way (there’s code in there that made it work Solaris, for example).
Oh, and yes, 01:30 is the fold point, quite deliberately. Hackers don’t go to bed at midnight. Perish the thought. So if the person you’re looking for is in the dark portion but at the bottom of the display, there’s every chance they’re still up
The list of places shown is specified in from a simple text file at
~/.tzlist (a default list will come up if you don’t have one). Instructions of how to set this file up properly to your own preferences is shipped with the program in the
PLACES file. As you can see, I have quite a number of places in my
.tzlist file, but there’s nothing wrong with just having two or three if those are the only places you want to know about.
The discussion in the
PLACES example makes a point that might night be obvious at first glance: you control the names of the places shown. So if you live in Marseilles, and are tired of every other gizmo out there showing the time in “Paris”, you just go right ahead and put “Marseille” in your
.tzlist file as:
"Europe/Paris" "Marseille" "France"
There’s also a meeting planner. Right-click the list and select “Meeting…” from the context menu:
and you can set the program to display a specific time and date somewhere in the world. More typically, you ned to hunt for a good time to have a phone meeting with someone; just move the sliders back and forth until you find a nice alignment for you and the other people on the call.
This example shows me working out that assuming I’m in Sydney that week, if I want to call my Mum to wish her a Happy Christmas, so long as I call just before I go to bed on 25 December it won’t be too early there (the red border is a warning that you’re not seeing current time displayed).
The GUI version of Slashtime has actually been around a long while; It’s written in Java and served as an early test bed for the java-gnome bindings of GTK and GNOME. Thanks to recent work by Serkan Kaba, however, the program is now properly internationalized. Not that there’s much to translate, but it’s important to at least set the foundation. Serkan did Turkish; I’ve done French Canadian (ahem, that’ll just go to show how rusty my Quebecois is). I must admit that I’m still pretty new to internationalization and localization, so I’m sure there’s room for improvement here.
0.5.9 was released this week with that branch merged. It’s packaged on Gentoo Linux as
app-misc/slashtime. Building it yourself shouldn’t be hard; Thanks to people like Carl Worth and Rob Taylor it works out of the box on a number of other distros. You’ll need java-gnome
>= 4.0.9. Just follow the instructions in the
README file; once you’ve
make installed it to the right place it’ll be in your system menus and whatnot. I personally also have a keybinding set up so I can easily run it on demand, but:
will certainly do the trick
If you want to hack on Slashtime, just use Bazaar to grab the sources. The
'mainline' branch is at
bzr://research.operationaldynamics.com/bzr/slashtime/mainline/ and you can find me in
#java-gnome if you want to chat about it.
Incidentally, no, this isn’t a GNOME clock applet replacement — although I’m very pleased that Bryan Clark picked up on some of the UI ideas when I showed Slashtime to him last year in Boston; sharing ideas and learning from each other is what Software Freedom is all about — but it is a fantastically useful program to have around when you’re dealing with people around the world, as so many of us do. Enjoy! | <urn:uuid:9234188b-b7ec-4e55-8891-5527b71766b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.operationaldynamics.com/andrew/category/software/slashtime | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936948 | 1,280 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Friends and Family DBT is a 10 week psycho-education/support group for families that meets once a week on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 pm-7:00 pm. It is specifically designed to meet the needs of family members (spouses, partners, adult children, parents, siblings and friends) who have a relative or loved one who has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or symptoms of the disorder. The group educates family members about Borderline Personality Disorder and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), teaches coping skills based on DBT, identifies ways to improve family communication, and helps family members to reinforce behaviors their loved one is learning in DBT. The group teaches mindfulness, validation, radical acceptance and effective family communication. It provides a safe place to teach and practice new coping skills and have open discussions about concerns and issues.
An intake assessment will be completed with each individual interested in receiving DBT services.
Most types of insurance are accepted, as is private pay. Please contact your insurance company to determine your level of coverage.
The Friends and Family DBT Group meets weekly on Tuesdays from 5:30-7pm and is for friends and family members ages 18 and up. If you are interested in attending this group contact Jennifer Barnett, L.M.F.T. at 651-644-4100 ex 35. | <urn:uuid:3b8a1af2-ed76-4061-a44e-6d134d2178fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.minnesotacenterforpsychology.com/our-services/dialectical-behavior-therapy-dbt/friends-and-family-dbt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950507 | 280 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Pennsylvania has enacted a new law that is the first in the nation to focus on preventing sudden cardiac arrest and death in student athletes.
"I'm thrilled," said Donna Milesky, 58, of New Freedom, about the new legislation.
When her son Michael was 15 years old, he was playing basketball with his brother and went into sudden cardiac arrest on the basketball court.
His brother Jason ran to the police station for help and ambulance crews responded, performing CPR and using an automated external defibrillator to save Michael's life.
She thinks the new legislation will be very beneficial.
"Effective screening is
very important, and increasing awareness of the symptoms so that coaches know what they're looking for is so important," said Milesky.
The bill's prime sponsor, state Rep. Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery County, said it's especially important because of the message often conveyed to youths in sporting events -- "to play through the pain and fatigue.
"But many people don't realize that advice can be fatal," said the lawmaker. "We learned this with concussions, and it's even more vital with children's hearts."
Gov. Tom Corbett signed the bill on May 30; the law goes into effect on July 1.
What would happen: The law requires coaches, parents and students to learn about the symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest. If they're shown by a player, the law requires the student be removed from the game.
Student athletes cannot return to the game until an evaluation has been completed and they've been cleared by a medical professional.
Every year, 2,000 students die of sudden cardiac arrest, and it is the number one killer of student athletes, Vereb said.
Sudden cardiac arrest prevention requires a combined effort of acknowledging, indentifying and responding to the problem, said Vereb. He hopes other states will look at Pennsylvania as a model state and enact similar legislation.
He was contacted by Darren and Phyllis Sudman after they lost their infant son Simon to a hereditary heart condition and began working to have legislation set in place to prevent similar heart-related deaths.
The Sudmans reached out to Vereb because they knew a student athlete had recently died from sudden cardiac arrest at Norristown High School, which is right in Vereb's backyard.
Vereb wanted his legislation to focus on awareness.
"When there is a concussion on the field, there is always that impact, and the impacts turn your stomach," said Vereb. "But sudden cardiac arrest is a silent killer, and there is no greater silence than when an athlete loses consciousness on the playing field."
Dr. Ronald Savarese,
The symptoms of impending sudden cardiac arrest that athletes, parents and coaches can look out for include chest discomfort, a racing heart, a family history of heart murmurs or other genetic heart diseases, and most commonly fainting and loss of consciousness, said Savarese.
"It can affect anybody from a college athlete to a first-grader playing on the playground," Savarese said. "The disease can happen in anybody."
Sudden cardiac arrest deaths are the result of a fast and chaotic heart rhythm, Savarese explained.
"Any time you can educate an athlete about the signs and symptoms, it goes a long way in preventing some of the incidences," Savarese said.
-- Reach Chelsea Shank at cshan firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:36dbd7d3-b7e6-45fd-a81e-04c8228e5309> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yorkdispatch.com/food/ci_20933092/new-rules-designed-prevent-sudden-cardiac-arrest-young | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969185 | 717 | 1.992188 | 2 |
learning among the lumbee
"Resepect and encourage the individual"
by Keri Towery
Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Fall 2003.
Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of History
Native Americans have very different views about learning and teaching than other population groups in the United States. Their children learn to respect individuals and to encourage the talents of each individual. They learn that they have individual purposes within their communities—their family, clan, tribe, and nation.
Native Americans agree that formal education is necessary because if provides skills that are needed to get jobs. But most Native Americans also agree that today’s non-Indian schools take the Indian identity away from their children, and that they separate Native American children from their Indian communities and cultures.
Traditional Native American learning
Many Native Americans believe that modern American schools do not give individuals a sense of purpose in the world: Children are separated by age. They are not respected as unique individuals. They are told what to learn and when to learn it. They are more inclined to believe in one great body of knowledge and skills that everyone should learn.
On the other hand, traditional Native American education presents knowledge as part of a unified whole: It allows children to take control over their own learning and, in fact, makes them responsible for that learning. It allows them to believe that no one person knows everything, and that the knowledge of each person contributes to knowledge of the entire community. Children are taught through informal learning—through example, storytelling, and observation.
In traditional Native American learning, community elders and grandparents are responsible for raising and educating children. They work to discover the gifts and talents of each child and then encourage each child to use those gifts and talents. The Lumbee of Robeson County have traditionally emphasized a strong grandparent-grandchild relationship in order to educate and to assist their young in becoming productive citizens.
Traditional learning and the North Carolina Lumbee
The Lumbee have been farmers in and around Robeson County for over two hundred years. They have their own distinct culture, language, and tradition. Traditionally, most Lumbee children have been raised on family farms by their extended families.
Among the Lumbee, grandparents play a key part in a child's overall development. Grandparents are often responsible for taking care of children while their parents are at work and are therefore able to spend a lot of time with them. This traditional relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren is very important to the tribal society of the Lumbee because it allows elderly members to feel needed, while children are treated with love and acceptance.
The grandparents usually allow children to start making their own decisions when they are between five and ten years old. Lumbee children are also allowed to make their own mistakes. The grandparents do this so that children will learn to take responsibility for their actions early in life.
Today's system of modern American education directly opposes these traditional ways. Lumbee parents prefer for their children to be raised and educated in a close-knit family where they are loved and treated as individuals.
Throughout the last two decades, an awareness of the traditional grandparent-grandchild relationship among the Lumbee has once again become increasingly popular. The Lumbee want to restore that relationship to their society because it allows their children to learn by traditional and informal ways—observing, imitating, and practicing. Those ways allow the children to use the advice of their elders to learn their place in their community; to know the importance of spirituality, service, culture, tradition, and history; and to be adventurous, explorative, and investigative, as well as to accept responsibility for their actions.
1 January 2003 | Towery, Keri | <urn:uuid:a3f076bb-3d5a-4dfe-9891-fdce09c91398> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ncpedia.org/education/lumbee | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967674 | 759 | 3.8125 | 4 |
The FDA is pretty darn good at sounding the alarm over foods that one shouldn’t eat, or maybe not in excess. They’re just as good at recanting that advice after a year or so, more research and maybe some hand deep in their back pocket, but do they ever go the opposite direction? Can a food item be so stuffed with good ingredients, a high health quotient and incredible good taste that it’s possibly too good for you? Would the mighty FDA ever come at us like a pack of angry Chihuahuas for bypassing the french fry in favor of whole grains and fruit?
Eh, I think not. But this muffin might come a wee bit close to inducing a good health coma, if that is indeed possible.
Muffins are one of my favorite snack items to make. There is so much that can be done to your basic muffin that I could spend from now until next November making a different variety each week and likely never run out of options. They tend to have a split personality though; as much as everyone wants to believe that eating a muffin is healthier, most of them sold in stores or coffee shops aren’t any better for you than eating a cookie or a croissant. And they’re HUGE, usually. Much too huge, and come on….who eats only half of those monsters? Uh, huh. That’s what I thought.
These basic whole grain muffins are one of my favorite recipes to play with, and they’re loaded with healthy ingredients. With their good hearty texture, they’re wonderful for any eating need from morning coffee to a late night indulgence and they adapt to any kind of extra I can dream up to mix into the batter. I’ve made them with zucchini, chopped pears and pecans, banana, blueberries and here in this version with apples. They freeze beautifully too, as any good muffin should.
Whole Grain Muffins
1 ½ c. buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 T. butter, melted
¼ c. oil
¼ c. real maple syrup
1-1/2 c. All-Bran cereal
½ c. packaged 7-Grain cereal (like Bob’s Red Mill; 5-Grain or 10-Grain is fine too)
3 T. whole rolled oats
1-1/2 c. AP flour (can sub Whole wheat flour for half, if desired)
2 T. ground flaxseed
¼ c. brown sugar
1 t. EACH baking powder and baking soda
¼ t. salt.
Heat oven to 375°. Line muffin tins with paper liners, or spray with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, butter, oil and maple syrup. Stir in All Bran cereal, oats and the 7-Grain cereal. Let stand for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend in the wet ingredients and fold together until just combined. Scoop into muffins tins to 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until tops spring back when touched. Cool on wire rack for about 10-15 minutes, then remove muffins from pan to cool completely.
Added ingredients- 1 c. blueberries, frozen (do not thaw) or fresh; 1 c. chopped pear like a D’Anjou or Bosc; 1-2 mashed ripe bananas, 1/2 c. of any nut you prefer; 1 c. shredded zucchini; 1 medium apple, cored and chopped or shredded (or about a half cup of chunky applesauce), 1/2 c. coconut (delicious with banana and pecans) The possibilities are endless for what you put in these!!
And yes! Pumpkin, sweet potato or even squash is an option too, but check out this recipe for a delicious muffin idea with those ingredients. | <urn:uuid:6c3dbe22-9d44-4a39-b0fd-2e11c2be7479> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kateinthekitchen.com/2009/11/08/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92892 | 853 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Heliatek has claimed another new world records for organic solar cells: the company has had its organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells measured at 10.7 % cell efficiency on 1.1 cm2. Measurements also confirm superior low light and high temperature performances of OPV compared to traditional solar technologies. The key to Heliatek’s success is the family of small organic molecules – oligomers – developed and synthesized at its own lab in Ulm, Germany.
Tests were commissioned from SGS, an accredited and independent testing facility. SGS’ tests included efficiency measurements under standard testing conditions (STC) of the solar industry as well as performance measurements at low light and high temperatures of up to 80 °C. The test results not only set a new world record for OPV with 10.7 % cell efficiency, but the additional measurements highlight the superior performance of Heliatek’s OPV cells under real life conditions.
The measurement results for low light established that the efficiency not only remains constant, but even increases gradually. At an irradiation of 100 W/m² the efficiency is 15 % higher compared to the standard efficiency measured at 1,000 W/m². Additionally, the measurements at high temperatures confirmed that the efficiency remains constant. This behavior is unique for OPV technology in contrast to traditional solar technology which efficiency drops 15 % to 20 % at elevated temperatures.
These technology advantages translate into a higher harvesting factor under real life conditions. First outdoor tests have shown that the harvesting factor of Heliatek’s organic solar cells is 15 % to 25 % higher than crystalline and thin film solar.
Heliatek is currently working on its first roll-to-roll manufacturing line installed in Dresden, Germany, to go in production in the third quarter of 2012. It has also kicked off a third financing round to raise €60 million from current and new investors for a new roll-to-roll 75 MWp production line. | <urn:uuid:04582811-51e6-478e-a257-83d6dc1927ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2012/05/world-record-efficiency-set-organic-tandem-solar-cell?qt-video_of_the_day=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941067 | 405 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Photo from Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Creator: Trovillion, Ned, Source: WV-9374-Centennial, Publisher: U.S. Fish and Wildife Service, Contributor: NATIONAL CONSERVATION TRAINING CENTER-PUBLICATIONS AND TRAINING MATERIALS.
Words by Jams
Audio by Aaron Lennox, Periodical Cicadas (Magicicada Septendecim)
Some claimed they had seen her in the bayou, an Ophelia of the swamps. Floating on her back, her dark hair radiating in tendrils around her, white dress translucent in the water. The glimpse of form beneath her gown was enough to drive men mad; many had jumped overboard to go after her. They met ragged alligator teeth or the sharp poison of moccasins before reaching her arms.
Others did not see her, but they describe a sweet, lone voice in the darkness. And there are some who swear it was her hands that first made water lilies grow there.
Photo + 100 Words + Audio = Fiction Mingle
- Bayou Maiden | <urn:uuid:b221b865-2597-4c13-b6bf-33fcb17936a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fictionmingle.livejournal.com/9995.html?mode=reply | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933541 | 234 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Kids who are interested in helping make San Antonio a fitter city can apply to the Mayor’s Fitness Council Student Ambassador Program.
Student ambassadors work at their school to promote healthful lifestyles in their community. Students must implement a strategy to encourage physical activity or better nutrition.
The program is open to students in 5th through 12th grades during the 2012-2013 academic year who attend school in Bexar County. Applications are due by May 11. | <urn:uuid:b0a689ff-bd69-4384-b9f4-5779b701ec8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.mysanantonio.com/getfit/2012/04/mayors-fitness-council-seeks-student-ambassadors/?gta=commentlistpos | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971111 | 93 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Famous Ancient Figures
Philosophers and Hundred Schools of Thought
The Hundred Schools of Thought is a general abbreviation of various academic and ideological genres and their representative figures. Philosophers refer to Confucius and Mencius, and Xun Zi of Confucian School, Lao Zi of Taoism, and Han Feizi of School of Law. The Hundred Schools mean different schools of thoughts and ideas. After West Han Dynasty, Philosophers after Spring and Autumn can be summarized as disciples of Confucian School, Taoism, School of Yin-yang, School of Law, School of Ming, Mohism, School of Zong and Heng, Shool of Za, School of Nong (agriculture), as well as School of Xiaoshuo (novel). Except School of Xiaoshuo, the others are generally known as Ten Genres and Nine Schools. The most important include Confucian School, Taoism, School of Yin-yang, School of Law, School of Ming, and Mohism.
Fourteen Saints in Ancient China
Du Kang, Master of Wine
Du Kang was born in Baishui and was the pride of the local people. The wine brewed by Du Kang was an epitome of the pure and honest character of local people and the ancient civilization of Baishui. During Ming and Qing dynasties, and the Republic of China, Baishui was a famous place of wine, boasting thousands of wine-making pots and lanes. The aromatic Du Kang Wine well reflected the character of people in Baishui and Huangtu Plateau.
Other Historical Figures in Chinese History
Lao Zi, styled Li, whose family name and literary name are respectively Li and Boyang, was born in Kuxian County of Qin State(today's Luyi County). He lived from 571 BC to 471 BC and once served as Counselor of Document Collection in Zhou Dynasty. Lao Zi was very smart and industrious when he was young. He spent his late years in Cheng State, his hometown, and later went to Qin State to deliver speech and spread knowledge. He passed by in Fufeng, a place in Qin. Only one of Lao Zi's great works was left to the late generations, and that is Lao Zi's Dao De Jing, also called Lao Zi. The works is poetry of philosophy written with rhyme. | <urn:uuid:d1ce3bc9-c6c2-4842-8214-78afec3c08c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chinatravel.com/facts/famous-ancient-figures.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980461 | 491 | 3.375 | 3 |
MIT team finds that the ratio of component atoms is vital to performance.
MIT's School of Engineering has received a $330,000 grant from the GE Fund's "Faculty For the Future" program to encourage minority and women students to become college professors.
The funds will be applied over a three-year period with the broad objective of increasing the proportion of women and underrepresented minorities appointed to the faculties of institutions of higher learning in the United States.
"Approximately half the funds are targeted for support of Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) projects involving women and underrepresented minority students," explained Professor John Vander Sande, associate dean of the School of Engineering and the person responsible for the program at MIT. "Another third is reserved for graduate fellowships."
He noted that the balance will be reserved for loans to students-which may be forgiven if they take a faculty position-and junior faculty "coupons," funds which graduating women and minority PhD candidates can redeem when they take a faculty position in engineering at any US institution and use for laboratory or research equipment.
The GE Fund-known as the General Electric Foundation until GE combined its charitable organizations into one fund on August 1-has supported a similar program at MIT over the three years ending last June.
"We are delighted at the renewal of the GE foundation support," said Joel Moses, dean of the School of Engineering, "because it supports and complements Institute-wide efforts to encourage women and underrepresented minorities to undertake and complete undergraduate and graduate education at MIT, and also to increase their numbers on the MIT faculty."
Over the past 10 years, the General Electric Foundation supplied more than $3 million to MIT in the form of scholarship and fellowship support, matching gifts, and gifts in support of various labs and projects including $1 million for Project Athena.
A version of this article appeared in the August 31, 1994 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 39, Number 3). | <urn:uuid:1de53a41-37ad-46ca-8b18-2aa7692f11e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1994/ge-0831.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953993 | 396 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Lecture: Professor Bruce C. Forbes
Professor Bruce C. Forbes from the Arctic Centre in Finland visited the Long Term Ecology Lab on Tuesday, 8th February and gave a talk entitled 'Land use, climate change and resilience in Nenets social-ecological systems, Arctic Russia'. The talk took place Tuesday, 8th of February, in the Zoology Department, and had an excellent turnout.
Professor Forbes has done remarkable real inter-disciplinary work in this region, bridging natural and social sciences with a team formed by biologists, geographers and anthropologists. Links to two of his most recent papers can be found here:
Forbes et al., 2009, PNAS, 'High resilience in the Yamal-Nenets social-ecological system, West Siberian Arctic, Russia'
Forbes et al, 2010, Glob.Chang.Biol., 'Russian Arctic warming and 'greening' are closely tracked by tundra shrub willows' | <urn:uuid:9cb848d8-ff8a-40b0-aa65-38d687c196ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oxlel.zoo.ox.ac.uk/lecture-professor-bruce-c-forbes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937169 | 200 | 2.09375 | 2 |
The Essential Piece Of The Wellness Puzzle
March 8, 2011 by Dr. Mark Wiley
There are many elements that are required to achieve optimal health. We all know that ample sleep, exercise, water, stress reduction and diet are the basic components. Within each of those categories are found sub-categories and specific recommendations.
Within the realm of diet, weight loss alone is not the answer. One must eat the correct food to support health and avoid the carcinogenic, fattening and processed food to prevent illness. Fiber is a food that holds a special place among diet and wellness.
Fiber is interesting because although it is a food and we eat it, we don’t digest it. In other words, it doesn’t enter into our bloodstream and instead just passes through our digestive tract until it is excreted. Yet, fiber is special in that it both promotes wellness while also reducing the risk of chronic disease.
Dietary fiber is an essential piece of the wellness puzzle. It provides bulk, suppresses appetite, binds with cholesterol, lowers blood sugar and speeds removal of toxic wastes from the bowels, thereby reducing the risk of constipation, high blood sugar, hemorrhoids, diabetes, cholesterol, heart disease and some cancers.
Found in many natural and whole sources like fruits, grains, legumes and vegetables, dietary fiber is found in two types: soluble and insoluble. When taken together, mixed fiber intake is essential to good health and must not be passed over for processed simple carbohydrates that are so utterly bad for you. Let’s now take a look at the fiber types, their function and where to find them.
Soluble Fiber forms into a gel-like substance when combined with fluid. If you have ever stirred some Metamucil into a glass and left it alone for a minute you saw what this looks like. What’s good about this gel is that it creates bulk which not only binds fatty acids but also stabilizes blood sugar, slowing down the time it takes food to empty from the stomach and its sugars to break down. This is good news for diabetics, hypoglycemics and anyone looking to lose weight naturally. As such, soluble fiber reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes while lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Insoluble fiber does not form into a gel but passes through your digestive tract largely intact. It works to provide bulk to move toxic waste through your intestines, thereby aiding in digestion, promoting regular bowel movements and preventing constipation. Its bulk controls and balances pH (acid/alkaline balance) in the intestines, which helps reduce the risk of colon cancer. Insoluble fiber also helps bind cholesterol in the digestive tract, thus lowering cholesterol and the risk of heart disease, diabetes and colon and rectal cancers.
Where To Get Dietary Fiber
Now that we know how vital it is to eat more dietary fiber, we need to know the best places to get it. No, breakfast cereals and fiber bars are not the best place. When thinking of diet in terms of health promotion and disease prevention, going to the whole source is always best.
Sources of soluble dietary fiber include oatmeal and oat bran, nuts, flax seed, psyllium husk, barley, dried beans and peas, carrots, berries and grapes. It is also found in pectin in the skins of fruits like oranges, apples and pears.
Sources of insoluble dietary fiber include dark green leafy vegetables, green beans, whole grains (and their products), wheat and corn bran, celery, carrots, seeds, nuts and brown rice.
Clinical Trials Prove Fiber’s Essential Value
According to the results of a clinical trial, “People who eat more dietary fiber have a lower body weight than people who eat less fiber. Potential mechanisms include greater feelings of satiety, reductions in food intake, changes in blood glucose, insulin, or gut hormones.”
According to a university study, “For every 10 grams of fiber consumed, the risk of heart attack or other coronary heart disease (CHD) decreased by 14%. The risk of dying from CHD dropped 27%. But they also found… that the relationship between fiber consumption and healthy hearts is strongest for fruit (a 30% drop in deaths for each 10 grams of fruit fiber) and grains (a 25% drop in deaths), but indiscernible for vegetables.”
Most Americans eat a diet low in complex carbohydrates, and thus low in fiber. It’s no wonder we are among the least healthy countries despite spending more than any other country on health care. We keep chasing for cures to things that make us ill instead of changing our lifestyle and dietary choices to prevent them; pain, illness and disease from taking hold in the first place
Consuming 20 to 35 grams of mixed dietary fiber daily is recommended for optimal health. Currently, it is estimated the average American only consumes 15 grams per day. Couple this with eight to 10 glasses of water each day to keep the fiber moving along and hydrating the body, and good health is on its well.
–Dr. Mark Wiley | <urn:uuid:e1fe6801-247c-468d-b0ae-71312f749826> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://personalliberty.com/2011/03/08/the-essential-piece-of-the-wellness-puzzle/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=3b93935130 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935655 | 1,063 | 2.625 | 3 |
Contributed by Valerie Lyons, M.D. and Robert Kelly, Ph.D.
Published on line in July 1996
A 45 year old woman developed proteinuria and a skin rash during her sixth pregnancy in 1986. Positive serologies included a speckled anti-nuclear antibody, anti-sjögrens syndrome-a (ro) and a low titer rheumatoid factor. She has been negative for anti-double stranded DNA, anti-smith, anti-sjögrens syndrome-b (la) and anti-rheumatoid nuclear protein throughout the six year course of her disease. Her lupus was complicated by a capillary leak syndrome, resulting in edema. She frequently had vasculitic rashes which usually responded to short doses of prednisone. However, in the spring of 1993, she developed severe proteinuria 9.4 grams/24 hour, refractory to prednisone therapy. Her renal function did not change and remained stable with a creatinine of 1.4-1.5 mg%, creatinine clearance 105 ml/min. Her plasma complement C3 and C4 levels, which had been persistently low, increased rapidly during the spring and summer (C3=1.09 g/l and C4=0.42 g/l), and became supernormal by september ( C3=4.35 g/l and C4=0.93 g/l). Due to the severity and refractory nature of her proteinuria, she was admitted to the university of pittsburgh medical center in the fall of 1993 for elective renal biopsy. Percutaneous biopsy of the kidney revealed membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, type I, and focal interstitial nephritis by light microscopy. On electron microscopy, a representative glomerulus revealed marked hypercellular loops with obliterated lumina. Peripheral capillary walls and mesangium contained subendothelial dense deposits which by immunofluorescence stained with IgM, IgG, lamda and kappa chains. In December 1993, she was started on cytoxan pulse therapy. A bone marrow biopsy in the spring of 1994 showed evidence of Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia. | <urn:uuid:cd1e236e-6635-4a1e-ba9a-a31b4fc3c2ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://path.upmc.edu/cases/case69.html | 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 | 0.942201 | 476 | 1.632813 | 2 |
This modular course is designed to extend the student’s understanding of the effects and limitations of ICT and to understand the new opportunities it can create. The course is suitable for students who wish to follow a career path in the ICT profession. Some aspects of practical applications of software and hardware are included. The course will be of interest to those who enjoy working on project management and developing their practical skills. In general, students studying this course will have an interest in problem solving. The units covered are: Year 1 - Practical Problem solving in the Digital World, Living in the Digital World. Year 2 - The use of ICT in then Digital World, Practical Issues Involved in the Use of ICT in the Digital World (coursework unit).
A subject that links particularly well with this course is Business Studies. Prior study is not required, but students who have passed this subject at level 2 have an advantage. To be successful on this course, students should feel relatively confident in their ability to use a suite of software.
Students who are successful at AS level may wish to complete an additional year to achieve the A level qualification. This will provide a good basis for studying the IT related subjects at a higher level. As part of a wider programme the course provides an excellent basis for progression to a wide range of university courses.The study of IT will support a career in a wide range of areas. Studying ICT alongside Business Studies would be a strong combination for any career in business. | <urn:uuid:de517e7a-526a-4411-a225-a9c777f46980> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kecnuneaton.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=108&Itemid=261 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940757 | 303 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Sometimes one of our tutors does something remarkable, and we’re happy to get right behind them.
Trixi Field is a multi-talented voice, piano, musicianship and language tutor who has a profile on The Tutor Pages here. She gives lessons and workshops in and around Hemel Hempstead.
She’s just been on the local Cambridgeshire radio station 209Radio explaining her unique approach which help adults get into singing. Here’s a part of what she had to say:
Now I run something called ‘Song Meditation’ … To begin with, I get them in a place where they start to appreciate rather than hate their voices because, very often, people begin by hating their own voice … The world is full of all sorts of different pitches of voices, and they all have their own beauty.
The other thing I would say is, we all have a lot more range than we think we have – you know, people often think ‘I’m a soprano’ or ‘I’m a tenor’ or something – I have never met anyone, not one person has so far passed through my door, who hasn’t had at the very least two ranges and half of another one. We have a lot more range, it’s just that we don’t exercise it – in much the same way that, if you never touch your toes, you never know that you can touch your toes …
When people apply to come on workshops, one of the most cited reasons that they think they can’t sing is that somebody early in their life told them to shut up in the choir, told them just to move their lips, and then they’ve gone through their whole life not daring. And then in the workshop, what I try to do is make it a safe place, where it’s ok to get it wrong but do it. They actually find that, hey, they’re not so bad and that they’ve been singing in harmony… The minute they’re given permission to get it wrong in order to find out what getting it right is, I would say very very few have not been able to do it …
You can hear the complete interview with Trixi on John Levine’s Happy and Healthy Hour here. The interview with Trixi is about 24 minutes into the programme.
As well as all her other activities, Trixi’s also recently just published a book Your Song Your Joy which has already been getting excellent reviews. Click on the book cover below to see it for yourself on Amazon:
If you know of any tutor with a remarkable story to tell, just let us know, and we’ll help spread the word. | <urn:uuid:c06aec17-43a9-41a0-bb2c-e2192a8827e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thetutorblog.com/tag/singing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969616 | 576 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The Conflict Management Program focuses on mechanisms for handling international conflict, both between and within states, and developing cooperation. The program presents various theoretical approaches to understanding conflict and its causes, tools to manage conflicts, and the exploration of the formation and use of international organizations and regimes to mitigate conflict.
SAIS graduates are in great demand by employers in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Economics knowledge, analytical abilities, regional expertise, diplomatic skills, language proficiency and the capacity to apply theory to real-world problems give our students a distinct professional advantage.
“In spite of the end of the Cold War, conflict has not disappeared from international relations but continues to present itself in many parts of the world. The Conflict Management Program seeks to understand the causes of conflict internationally and within states and then consider the tools available to prevent conflicts from escalating to violence; to manage ongoing disputes and crises; to resolve the underlying causes of conflicts or at least transform them into nonviolent processes; and to assist in the construction of durable peace in the aftermath of conflict. Our program, I believe, is unique in its consideration and analysis of the range of conflicts in their various stages of evolution and in its attempt to develop a broad set of tools to manage the many diverse conflicts that threaten the security of both states and individuals around the world.”P. Terrence Hopmann, --Conflict Management
Twelve to 15 students selected through an essay application process participate in a research trip to a designated conflict or post-conflict region during the winter intersession. During the trip, students interview local government officials and representatives of the international community, NGOs, academia and the media in order to assess the role of the international community and prospects for progress in the region. Upon return, students prepare an extensive report of their analysis and conclusions.
Conflict Management Internships
An internship is highly recommended for Conflict Management students. A number of Washington, D.C., agencies offer internships each year in the field of conflict management. Consult the program office for information.
The program occasionally organizes an international conference on a topic related to conflict management. A series of lectures outside of courses and other various activities are held throughout the year. | <urn:uuid:b0ad14d1-d40b-4f5d-8046-44a3d77fbc67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sais-jhu.edu/graduate-studies/areas-of-study/global-themes/international-relations/conflict-management | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936195 | 442 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Szabo told The Journal of
Commerce much of the construction work related to the administration's
high-speed rail initiative will, in fact, be to add new regular Amtrak
passenger operations or speed them up in corridors owned and actively used by
The Recovery Act provides $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, and President Obama has asked for an additional $1 billion a year in the federal budget to keep spurring passenger use of trains between cities. The FRA's Aug. 24 deadline is for states to submit their "Track 1" passenger rail projects they could complete most quickly.
While the high-speed rail funding pool will jump-start a few projects to build very fast passenger trains - in the range of 200 mph -- with their own dedicated rights of way, Szabo said that "in 90 percent of the cases or more, the host railroad will be the freight."
That means "it is reasonable to assume that in many cases there is going to be the need for capacity enhancements" by the freight railroads, he said. "To the extent it can be shown that it's a necessary component of the project that is then an eligible expense for the high-speed rail grant funding."
Rail industry officials say increasing speeds on a freight line or getting it ready for initial Amtrak service can mean installing new types of track, upgrading signals and building more siding tracks to allow slower freight trains to move off a single-track main line so faster passenger trains can pass.
In some areas where passenger speeds could go much higher than now, for them to operate in a freight right of way could require double-tracking the rail line to make sure there is enough capacity at all times.
Making sure people use
trains for intercity service will require not only faster train speeds but
reliable on-time performance, and regulators are preparing to enforce the
standards even if it means penalizing freight railroads when they slow the
"If the freights are going
to be held to a higher standard," Szabo said, "frankly, they are going to need
Szabo said after states submit their Aug. 24 applications, his agency will review them and send them to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood about mid-September, so the first round of high-speed rail grants should come "early this fall."
He said for freight lines to adjust to those new demands on train moves within their corridors "it's only fair, it's only reasonable that that will result in additional demands for capacity improvements, and so that has to be a part of this negotiation." | <urn:uuid:c1373058-b21d-45db-b878-cd48b4664fa3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rtands.com/index.php/news/fra-chief-passenger-grants-to-benefit-freight.html?channel= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960704 | 529 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Benefits Of Oatmeal Bath
Benefits of Oatmeal Bath
Oatmeal has a wide array of well-known benefits. Amazingly, oatmeal is not only good for skin health, but also make for a hearty breakfast. Although you can find oatmeal bath powders online, making your own recipe is easier.
1. Reduces the symptoms of eczema
Eczema is an undesirable disease that cause itching and inflammation of the skin. It is somehow similar to allergic dermatitis, but you there are slight differences between these two conditions. An oatmeal bath is beneficial to both skin diseases, and can help reduce inflammation.
2. Softens the skin
Oatmeal bath is great for the skin, since it has moisturizing properties. This not only helps to protect the skin, but also moisturize it. By using oatmeal bath regularly, your skin will become more elastic and softer.
3. Reduces inflammation
Oatmeal bath is commonly used to reduce inflammation associated with certain disease such as chickenpox, shingles, eczema, insect bites and sunburn. It also helps alleviate skin irritations cause by poison ivy.
4. Anti-aging benefits
You can also use oatmeal bath to eradicate unsightly facial features that become evident during the aging process, including skin blemishes, whiteheads and blackheads.
5. Eradicates acne
Since oatmeal is perfect for dry or inflamed skin, it is also great for acne and skin blemishes. Oatmeal bath not only help reduce scarring, but is also effective in fighting common skin diseases such as eczema.
6. Good for dry skin
Oatmeal bath is great for dry skin, since it has lubricating properties. In addition, it helps to reduce the toxicity of bile acids responsible for certain types of cancer.
7. Reduces itching
Oatmeal bath is recommended for itchy skin, and help to alleviate inflammation caused by chicken pox, sunburn, diaper rush, sumac and insect bites.
The main disadvantage of oatmeal bath as a form of skin care treatment is that you have to use it regularly to reap its full benefits.Benefits Of Oatmeal Bath | <urn:uuid:82f30b3c-3875-41de-8673-412f516034bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-oatmeal-bath/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952386 | 455 | 2.328125 | 2 |
An estate tax is a tax levied for the honor of dying. There were only 17 states that levied this tax. This January there will only be 16.
Effective Jan. 1, 2013, the Ohio Estate Tax is no longer. This tax was one of several reasons why Ohioans would exit the state and establish residency in a non-tax state. Gov. Kasich vowed to repeal this tax if elected and he has followed through with his promise. This tax was 7 percent of all of a deceased individual’s assets over $338,333. This was the lowest exemption amount in the nation.
It is anticipated that the repeal will entice those couples to return to Ohio. These same couples also moved to a state that has no income tax so it will be interesting to see if the repeal will be enough to have them return.
The reason for the delay in its starting date was to give villages, townships and cities time to correct future budgets reflecting the eliminations of the funds. These entities received eighty percent (80%) of the estate tax revenue. Actually, I am not sure how the municipalities and especially the townships will replace this revenue but there has been very little complaining and it appears that the repeal will stand.
A major reason for estate planning surrounded the prevention of paying Ohio Estate tax. With the repeal, our planning goals will shift and we will be at liberty to take more aggressive action to avoid federal tax and nursing home expense.
Any one that has what is known as an A-B revocable trust will need to have their trusts reviewed. We will be able to change the language and allow more assets to go direct to children. We will be able to protect large estates from end of life costs and know that assets, farms and businesses can be passed on to grandchildren or beyond.
With the use of a partial QTIP election, we can provide for the surviving spouse while guarantying that the family property is passed on down to future generations. The use of a disclaimer trust will allow the surviving spouse to make the correct decision at the death of the first spouse. We will no longer have to play a numbers game to avoid the Ohio Estate Tax.
This does not mean that only a trust will save money. We can use “Transfer on death”, or “joint and survivorship” titling to transfer property down to kids or grandkids. This also avoids probate and is not as complicated as a revocable trust. Historically any amount transferred to a non-spouse at death over the $338,333.00 would be subject to tax. This limitation will be gone.
The repeal of the Ohio Estate Tax will open many doors to simplify planning and allow individuals to plan and protect their assets for several generations by the use of generation skipping techniques. Taking advantage of a direct transfer to the next generation upon the death of the first spouse can protect assets from the cost of a nursing home. Once we get closer to the first of the year, it should be mandatory to review your existing documents and adjust to the new freedom from tax. | <urn:uuid:41843674-302b-4194-9f3f-5e45ac1065f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebeacon.net/columns/legal-lines/item/767-the-demise-of-the-estate-tax | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962785 | 629 | 1.90625 | 2 |
“We saw a few problems early with some cool temperatures and a few insect problems, but over the past few days the crop has really improved,” said Clay County Extension Staff Chairman Andy Vangilder. “Cotton is doing well. It is squaring early. And if everything plays out right I think we’re getting ready for not only an early cotton harvest, but possibly record yields.
“But, we’ll need it,” Vangilder said, because cotton prices have dropped. And if things continue like they are, the industry may see prices in the 60 cent range by harvest. Compare that with around a dollar last year, and it is easy to see the need for big yields, he said.
Vangilder said he and Blake McClelland, Extension cotton verification coordinator for Northeast Arkansas, looked at some fields in Clay County on Wednesday morning, and McClelland was in Craighead County later with Craighead County Extension Staff Chairman Branon Thiesse checking a field southwest of Dixie.
They were finding the same thing — that squaring was going on from nodes 4 through 6, and there was very little insect pressure at this time. McClellan said squaring at nodes 5 and 6 are normal, 4 is a little unusual.
“Back when I was at Helena, we were shooting for 7,” Thiesse said.
They were also using a sweep net to check for insects and found a few.
“There are lots of beneficials,” McClelland said. They saw a lot of spiders, which eat other insects including the ones that can cause damage to cotton.
Cotton may be a little early this year because producers didn’t have to spray at early squaring, pinhead or match-head size, for boll weevils.
“Since the boll weevil eradication program we have been finding more spiders and other beneficial insects,” McClelland said. Those take care of a lot of the damaging insect problems, as they not only eat insects, but their eggs and larvae as well, the agents said.
Growers used to have to spray at early squaring to kill boll weevils, and the spraying also killed beneficials. And because the beneficial insects were gone, they would have to spray again.
Vangilder said the heavy fruit set appearing on the cotton will also help limit plant height, which sometimes is done using chemical plant growth regulators.
“There’s no better growth regulator than a good boll load,” Vangilder said. The load allows the cotton plant to divert more energy to fruiting rather than rank growth that serves no useful purpose.
“If we keep having the kind of weather we are having and get plenty of rain, we stand to have a bumper cotton crop,” Vangilder said. “The temperatures in the 90s daytime and 70s at night are ideal for cotton. We all hear that cotton is a hot weather plant, but it likes 90s and 70s better.”
He explained that the 90s provide the heat units necessary to produce the crop and the 70s at night allow the plant to rest, which is critical for higher yields. Too hot in the day and too hot at night stresses the plants and harms yield, he said.
“Last year we had a good crop here,” Vangilder said. It wasn’t an awesome crop but it could be a lot better this year, if prices go back up.
With prices in the high 60s, 69.8 cents on the New York exchange, a high yield will be necessary to help make up the difference between last year’s prices that ranged around a dollar, officials said.
“We’d like to have both the yields and prices,” Vangilder said. “We need it.” | <urn:uuid:56361485-1305-4770-b2f9-a1c7de37b139> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.couriernews.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Record+cotton+yield+possible+in+northeast+Arkansas%20&id=18908791 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970186 | 832 | 1.765625 | 2 |
US jobless claims grew for the fifth time in six weeks and consumer prices fell in May, opening the door wider for the Us Federal Reserve to help an economy that shows signs of weakening.
Though the increase was small, it undermined hopes a recent slowdown would be temporary.
"There is very little sign of life," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Hugh Johnson Advisors in Albany, New York. "The economy as measured by employment conditions has slowed and there doesn't appear to be any change when you look at the claims numbers."
New claims rose by 6,000 last week, the Labour Department said on Thursday, and have been trending higher since February, which may have marked a turning point for the US economy.
The slackening US recovery and a worsening debt crisis in Europe have increased expectations of a further easing of monetary policy by the Fed, although economists are divided on whether the central bank will act when it holds its next policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. | <urn:uuid:3d1c3df3-75b1-49e3-93b3-cb0e6a140825> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/business-news/unemployment-claims-on-rise-in-us-28760840.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974828 | 198 | 1.570313 | 2 |
|Home / Headlines / Coronado Crosses the Jordan|
Coronado Crosses the Jordan
"The twin polarities of Israel and Palestine, the US and Iraq. The first is the acknowledged master of modern occupation theory and practice, a slow grind to the death. The second is a clumsy and deadly attempt to emulate the teacher on a much larger human and geographic scale."
The occupier: ‘We will keep your land indefinitely under our control. Until you stop fighting us, we will take more and more of your land and resources. We will dig ourselves in deeper and deeper, until you stop fighting us. We will direct your government, rape your economy and attack your resistance with overwhelming force. We will teach you to stop fighting us. When you stop fighting us, then we’ll talk.’
The resister: ‘You may take some of our land but you cannot take us. We were here before you came and we will be here long after we have driven you out. Brutal foreigners have no place in our affairs. We will not rest until we have the power to determine our own national destiny.’
The twin polarities of Israel and Palestine, the US and Iraq. The first is the acknowledged master of modern occupation theory and practice, a slow grind to the death. The second is a clumsy and deadly attempt to emulate the teacher on a much larger human and geographic scale. Both proceed from a blatantly illegal claim of international eminent domain; we know better than you and we deserve to seize control of your land, for your own good.
This used to be called colonialism. A century ago, European Zionists began the last of the white race’s 19th century colonial campaigns; the conquest and colonization of Palestine by Zionism, posing as "the Jewish people". Billed as a national liberation movement to save the Jews from repression and pogroms in Europe, political Zionism was a racist response to racist oppression. Jews are superior, it said, and ought to live apart from non-Jews, whose lives are not equal to the lives of Jews, whom God commands to live in Palestine, etc. Thus the die was cast.
Although Israel is commonly thought to be a response to the Holocaust, the planning, funding, and momentum for the creation of the Jewish State were underway by the end of World War I. That the Zionist campaign is still raging today is a testament to the fanaticism intrinsic to the colonial mindset. Colonialism has always been energized by racism, and this case is no exception. From the outset, Zionists denied (‘A land without people for a people without land!’) and demonized (‘cockroaches’, ‘vermin’ etc.) the indigenous Palestinians in the classic manner, with precious little of the missionary attitude.
But Americans in Iraq aspire to do more. Israel drops one-ton bombs on apartment buildings full of sleeping children. The US blows up an entire neighborhood in one night. The Israelis build their walls and settlements and grab more land every week, bent on achieving Greater Israel, i.e. the disappearance of the Palestinians. The US won't rest until it controls the planet’s last reservoirs of dwindling petroleum. All the while protecting its mate Israel against the world.
The centuries of ignorant and brutal acts of genocide committed by European colonizers are supposed to be behind us, but aside from the stakes, the gadgets, and the rhetoric, much remains the same. In Iraq, the blundering US ignorance of local culture rivals the writings of Capt. John Smith. Although Israel now trains US troops in the modern arts of urban slaughter, their general tactics are reminiscent of the conquistadors: Go in guns blazing and slaughter thousands. Then torture, rob, pacify and economically enslave the natives. Destroy or damage their holy sites, defame their religion, and allow the destruction of their historical artifacts. Assign new leadership beholden to the Crown and drain the colony of its natural resources. Move on and repeat.
Colonialism was supposed to have matured into imperialism. But as it did, its fundamentally racist assumptions and urges solidified into internal and external regimes of control. In the US, the possession of absurd amounts of military power encouraged an equally absurd national mythology of domestic security through endless war. Such myths enable the public to understand the need to fund a planetary military machine to protect and advance corporate-finance interests. The ‘savages’ must be subdued, and the old racist and xenophobic seeds of colonialism grow again in our fallow and arrogant minds.
For several decades the American public has been fed a steady diet of narrow and vicious Arab stereotypes, conveniently preparing us for our government’s current crusade to Democratize the Middle East. The marriage of the United States and Israel (back when Henry Kissinger was Justice of the Peace) accelerated this propaganda tilt. Now the ruthless 9/11 attacks and an equally ruthless (and pre-existing) bipartisan war-lust have excused its transformation into official policy. Here’s how they say it when they think they’re being polite: "Islamic ideology is the enemy."
The mass psychosis required to support this scenario is generated by what America swallows every day from its imposter government and its embedded doses of "news", "analysis", and "background". Take your pills, citizens, and pay no attention to the abyss ahead.
by courtesy & © 2004 James Brooks
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MMN Recommended Reading
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Make a commitment to donate and/or place all of your book and other product orders from Amazon.com and thers through MMN Shopping web-site by clicking here. The percentage we get from these sales pays for maintaining and expanding MMN. | <urn:uuid:bbfef9d8-3c46-463a-8ba2-e35c763f5919> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usa.mediamonitors.net/Headlines/Coronado-Crosses-the-Jordan | 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 | 0.935401 | 1,210 | 2.109375 | 2 |
3 turtles were going to have a picnic, so mike packed 3 sandwiches and 3 bottles of beer.
When Mike, Larry and Mark leave it takes them ten days to get to the picnic site, because it is ten miles away.
When they finally get there they get out their bottles of beer and realise they forgot the bottle opener. They ask Larry to go get it, but he says they will have eaten the sandwiches, before he gets back. But after a lot of reassurring him they wouldn't eat the sandwiches. Larry said O.k.
20 days pass and Larry isn't back, and the turtles are starving, but a promise is a promise, so they don't, eat the sandwiches.
25 days pass and the turtles are starving, so they get their sandwiches and just before they put it in their mouth. Larry jumps out from behind a rock and said, I knew it, I'm not f***ing goin.
submitted: 1+ years ago
viewed: 3,005 times
categories: animals, nature | <urn:uuid:374f9d6e-7e0a-42be-90eb-a25227b905dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.funny.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Funny.woa/wa/funny?fn=CB7EX&Funny_Jokes=3_turtles_and_a_sandwiche | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979944 | 216 | 1.890625 | 2 |
A classical example of how inclusivity in urban spaces fostered between vendors and the Municipality have allowed for improved structural development within this market, enabling more optimal working conditions for the traditional healers and herb sellers who trade within this vicinity. This visually captivating market is unique to Durban and highlights the differences between Western and Africa medicine. Have the opportunity to grind herbs and potentially find a cure for any ailment….and YES a little love potion to find the right partner?
The Herb market provides trading space for approximately 700 vendors, but in addition there are thousands who supply this market.
Originally the market traders were located along David Webster Street, but in 1998 were relocated after shelters were specifically built for this trade. The Herb Market gets locked every night allowing the traders to safely leave their produce in the market. Part of the construction to make this new market location a success, was to build a foot bridge linking the Herb market with the Music Bridge Market. The steel bridge is a noteworthy architectural design and was selected as “a building of the century” by a national Sunday newspaper in its review of South African buildings at the time of the millennium. The market functions much like a western pharmacy. Customers approach the herb sellers and traditional healers with their complaints and the healers supply them with medicine accordingly. Aside from the Herb vendors there are many who support the Market, for example, herb grinders. These men are temporarily employed for hours at a time to grind the herbs into a fine powder that can be consumed by customers. The grinding of the herbs is a very physically demanding job. The herb grinders always remain within eye-sight of the trader themselves to ensure that no one tampers with the medicine. | <urn:uuid:e86a3ee0-dda7-4908-9891-8b362bfa312a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marketsofwarwick.co.za/herb-market | 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 | 0.966786 | 346 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Olivia and the Fairy Princesses
Reading Level: Ages 2 - 6
Olivia has a crisis. She doesn't know what she should be since all the girls, and some of the boys, always choose to be pink princesses, and she is NOT the pink princess type. Besides, if EVERYONE is a princess, then princesses aren't special. | <urn:uuid:39a5c637-eebe-4e5a-b913-e916d28210e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hplibrary.org/print/kids/reviews/olivia?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951048 | 76 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The varying and complex methods used to extract and process minerals are among the most demanding services in the pump industry. Beneficiation, (i.e, grinding and classifying, separating, concentrating) present the most abrasive of all pump applications. Pumping chemicals reagents for in situ, dump and heap leaching requires high pressures and high flow rates combined with maximum chemical resistance. The refining operations of smelting and electrowinning utilize pumping systems for a variety of applications from powerhouse to acid recovery and electrolyte transfer. Special purpose pumps for dewatering and slurry pipeline provide special challenges.
Selecting the most suitable metallic and non-metallic materials and specifying the most effective pump types and models are crucial for the installation of a reliable, cost-effective pump system.
The comprehensive range of product and broad industry experience of its engineers have made Flowserve a leading force in mining and mineral processing. | <urn:uuid:b22ec4f5-1605-4c8e-91b7-8ecf98fca6f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.flowserve.com/en_UK/Products/Pumps/Industries/Mining | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906964 | 185 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Drexel University Anthropologist Available to Discuss the End of the Mayan Calendar, December 21
December 19, 2012
As the date that some claim marks the apocalypse predicted by the Mayan calendar approaches on Friday, December 21, 2012, Drexel University’s Dr. Judith Storniolo, a teaching professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, is available to comment on what the end of the Mayan calendar actually means for us.
Storniolo can explain how – while we live in a culture that has a linear perception of time – the ancient Maya measured time cyclically based upon the repetitive movements and positions of the heavenly bodies and circadian rhythms of nature. One of the Mayan’s calendric counting of days ends on December 21, 2012, which many have interpreted as the end of the world.
According to Storniolo, several Mayan hieroglyphic inscriptions mention dates far beyond December 21. These references not only show that the calendar is fluid and continuing, but that our sense of time leads to confusion and misunderstanding of the Mayan calendar.
Storniolo is a historical and comparative linguist and anthropologist. She has done field work among the Maya in Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala since 1985. She has been a Chimicles Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, a Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks of Harvard, and the Senior Researcher for the Maya Hieroglyphic Database Project.
Her research interests include continuity and change in traditional cultures; Mesoamerican languages and culture; applied anthropology and public policy; language attrition and death; imperialism and contact phenomena; myth; Mayan hieroglyphics, culture and conflict; oral traditions and narratives; ideology and ritual; Mesoamerican ethnohistory; and Pre-Columbian literature. | <urn:uuid:2a5d6849-57e5-4c8e-9844-85b4e11eb371> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drexel.edu/now/news-media/expert-advisories/2012/December/Mayan%20Apocalypse/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920537 | 372 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Words of wisdom to new dentists: select a business model that fits
In his Thursday morning continuing education course, Debt and the New Dentist, he said, "If you can picture it, you will find yourself, unconsciously, taking steps to make it happen. Thinking about the 'buts' will lead to what you think is the universe conspiring against you. But when you visualize, and things fall into place, just remember, it wasn't the universe aligning. You made it happen."
Dr. DeWood discussed business management strategies, from vision to mission to planning, during the program at the Hawaii Convention Center.
He also explained the differences between vision, hallucination and fantasy. "If it's an hallucination, no one else ever sees it."
As a dental student nearing graduation, Dr. DeWood said he worried about three things: getting out of dental school, passing the board and getting a job.
"I thought debt was the enemy and getting out of debt was the first thing I should do," he said. "But getting out of debt early cost me $3.8 million. I encourage you to think of debt as a business tool."
He encouraged participants to select a business model that fits their needs, but not to be afraid to adjust as their needs and goals change.
"Think about ideas you can take back to your practice. Visualize them and share them with your staff so they can help you make them happen."
Dr. DeWood, president of The Seattle Institute and vice president for clinical education of the Spear Institute in Scottsdale, Ariz., will present two Friday courses, TMD, TMJ and Cranio-mandibular Evaluation (with Dr. Henry Gremillion) and It's Better with a Plan: Grow Your Practice with the Revenue Goal Planner. He and Dr. Gremillion will also present Bite-splint and Occlusal Therapy in the General Practice on Saturday. | <urn:uuid:ee77cf25-8406-4022-b615-c508ed0bf799> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ada.org/news/632.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965229 | 400 | 1.882813 | 2 |
At most of our Erasmus partner universities, teaching is in the native language. However, there are also some exchanges where classes are offered in English.
At most of our partner universities, courses are taught in the native language. You will usually be expected to follow lectures, write essays, and take exams in the language of instruction.
There are some exceptions. For English Literature exchanges, teaching is always in English. Courses in some subjects may also be available in English at some partner universities in Scandinavia, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic (and Ireland, of course).
If you are thinking about going on an Erasmus exchange where your subject is not taught in English, you should have at least one of the following:
In the absence of at least one of the above requirements, participants will normally be required to take a language test at IALS and to achieve at least Level B1 (on the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework) before taking up their exchange place.
Students who do not achieve this level will be recommended against taking up their place.
Taking a language as an outside subject in your first and/or second years at Edinburgh is recommended as a means of ensuring that you are equipped, linguistically, for a year abroad.
If your host university has a language course, definitely, definitely go on it!
Modern Languages student
It's always a good idea to get in as much language practice as possible before going on exchange. Your host university may offer subsidised or even free language courses, which are also a good way to meet people and settle in before the start of your exchange.
The following links also offer other ways of improving your language skills.
Erasmus students who do not study their host language as part of their Edinburgh degree may claim reimbursement of up to €500 (or equivalent) language tuition fees.
To claim reimbursement, please return all original receipts plus proof of attendance to the International Office.
This article was published on Apr 2, 2013 | <urn:uuid:bc35e521-0e90-43c8-8aab-7ddb7b7269f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/international-office/exchanges/erasmus/language-requirements | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961072 | 409 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Here's an article about a nice idea for getting solar into home use: seller financing. A company like Solar City buys the photovoltaic panels, designs the system, and installs it. The homeowner pays a monthly fee to the company that's a little like a mortgage.
But then you think about it for a minute and realize that these homeowners will spend fifteen years buying technology that, given the current rate of research, is likely to be obsolete fourteen years before they stop paying for it.
Solar needs a better procurement strategy than this. It needs to be one that can make markets for leading-edge technology and then also finance the installation of the next wave, and the next, and help the customer with upgrades.
From the Los Angeles Times
Firms seek to make solar power more affordable
Companies launch programs to cut the initial outlay for homeowners to as little as 10% of the total installation cost.
By Elizabeth Douglass
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 3, 2008
Turning the sun's rays into energy is an expensive endeavor, so solar companies are cooking up financial products that lower the upfront costs for homeowners and businesses.
Foster City, Calif.-based SolarCity is the latest to jump in, launching a lease program Wednesday that would slash the initial outlay for residential customers to as little as 10% of the total installation cost.
"One of the most common reasons that people are unable to go solar is because of the high upfront cost," said Chief Operating Officer Peter Rive, who founded SolarCity with his brother, Lyndon, the company's chief executive. "We're hoping that it revolutionizes the way people purchase electricity."
Rive said an average four-bedroom home would need a 4-kilowatt solar-electric system, which could cost about $25,000 for equipment and installation. That investment pays off financially, but it's a long wait.
"The payback time is long enough that you're effectively going to invest the money into your house and not expect to get it out for a while," said V. John White, executive director of the Sacramento-based Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies. Leasing arrangements like the one offered by SolarCity, he added, "allow people to add solar without as much money upfront, which makes it less of a rich man's game."
Under SolarCity's plan, the customer's only ongoing cost is the monthly lease payment. The homeowner gets the use of the solar power generated by the rooftop system and gets the bill credits when there is excess power that can be fed back into the power grid.
Companies such as Sun Run, SunPower Corp. and SunEdison take another route. They pay the equipment and installation costs, then sell the power at variable prices to the customer through a power purchase agreement.
SolarCity doesn't make the photovoltaic panels, but it specializes in designing and installing systems tailored to each site's needs. The panels are typically installed on rooftops, but they also can be set up on the ground.
Under the lease program, offered in California and soon in Arizona and Oregon, SolarCity would design and install a homeowner's solar-electric system, keeping ownership of the equipment and paying for maintenance and replacement parts.
SolarCity, with backing from Morgan Stanley, offers homeowners several lease options. A homeowner installing a 4-kilowatt solar system could opt for a low initial payment of $2,125, plus monthly payments of $200 for 15 years, the company said.
Homeowners focused on keeping monthly payments low could choose to pay $4,600 upfront, then pay $175 a month for 15 years. A seven-year lease would cost $6,650 down, then $215 a month. Customers who move can either transfer the lease or buy it out.
The switch generally pays off for homeowners who use enough electricity to push them into more expensive rate tiers, yielding monthly electric bills above $200, according to SolarCity. That benchmark could get easier to hit in the coming years, because all of the state's largest utilities have instituted or are pushing for large rate hikes. | <urn:uuid:4da5e391-ad34-4cf1-85d3-f4d3163d01ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://centernanosociety.blogspot.com/2008/04/solar-mismatch.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957324 | 845 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Marvel Comics came through when a New Hampshire mom put out the call for help
With end-of-session bickering in full swing, the State House isn't the most obvious place to find one of those heart-swelling, cue-the-music stories. But there it was in Sen. Lou D'Allesandro's email.
D'Allesandro's 4-year-old grandson, Anthony Smith of Salem, was refusing to wear his "blue ear" hearing aid because, well, superheroes don't wear them. In desperation, and with little hope, D'Allesandro's daughter emailed Marvel Comics wondering if they had any superheroes with hearing problems.
"I am likely to get stuck in your spam filter," Christina D'Allesandro wrote. "But you never know. Have a great day."
Apparently, they don't call them superheroes for nothing.
First, the folks at Marvel's headquarters in New York City dug up a 1984 Marvel cover showing Hawkeye of the Avengers wearing a hearing aid. Hawkeye needed it after taking one of his own arrows to the ear while saving someone.
Bill Rosemann, an editor at Marvel, emailed the image to Christina with a note.
"Print that out and show it to Anthony and tell him that superheroes definitely wear blue ears," Rosemann wrote. "And he can become an honorary Avenger by wearing this."
Then another email arrived from Marvel, this one with Anthony as his own superhero, Blue Ear, drawn by Nelson Ribeiro of Marvel.
"Thanks to my listening device, I hear someone in trouble," Blue Ear says.
Then in comic book letters, it says, "When DANGER makes a sound, the Blue Ear answers the call."
No surprise, that went over big - with everyone.
D'Allesandro, a Manchester Democrat, excitedly shared the images with colleagues and others at the State House. "It's a feel good story, and we could use one or two of those here right now," he said last week.
And Anthony, who has mosaic trisomy 22, a genetic disorder that's left him with no left ear and hearing loss in his right year, has resumed wearing his "blue ear." He shared the images with his friends at Hear in New Hampshire, his school in Hooksett for children with hearing loss. The kids immediately requested Superhero Day, costumes and all. Anthony wouldn't let the images out of his hands.
"It's just so captivated Anthony and his little buddies," Christina said. The only downside is that Anthony and his friends want their hearing devices to look like Blue Ear's.
Rosemann of Marvel said the office gets a fair amount of email, a lot of it from parents eager to show their kids as their favorite superhero characters. And personal requests aren't uncommon. "This one just touched a bunch of us," Rosemann said.
It's easy to see why. Anthony must have heart surgery this summer and will live with hearing loss all his life. But the fix, for now, was easy. A single superhero would do.
Rosemann asked his colleagues what they knew about superheroes with hearing loss, and someone remembered Hawkeye. It's not as unlikely as it may seem. A lot of the Marvel superheroes have a weakness or disability - on purpose.
When Marvel's founders began creating their superheroes, they wanted to get away from the perfect heroes of the past. Batman, for example is a millionaire by day and a crime-fighting superhero by night.
Daredevil is a superhero and blind. Thor's human alter-ego had a lame leg and used a cane. Iron Man's human self has a weak heart.
"Our message is that no matter what your challenges are, you can overcome them and do something good," Rossman said. "This shows you the powers of superheroes. People think that's silly, but they have true power."
Last week another image arrived. That one, by Manny Mederos, showed Hawkeye and Blue Ear together, a mighty team. It's a creation just for Anthony, not the big screen, but that hasn't mattered.
When Anthony starts to waver on wearing his blue ear, which is uncomfortable because it must be strapped around his head, Mom reminds him of his alter-ego.
"I tell him he has to hear people calling for help," Christina said. "He gets the whole connection. He's loving it."
(Annmarie Timmins can be reached at 369-3323 or email@example.com or on Twitter @annmarietimmins.) | <urn:uuid:fbc0072c-66a1-4ded-9cf0-2d65a861ded2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/330760/real-life-heroes?CSAuthResp=1337649758%3Ad594olkn6ksq22lt4jn9ssmjb3%3ACSUserId%7CCSGroupId%3Aapproved%3AF23353DB9BB1C6F8C54E623EEA6DF6B0&CSUserId=94&CSGroupId=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977407 | 952 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Here, I have something for you two. Read and understand. After that, try discovering yourself.
The differences between lucky and unlucky people or you can read it as the differences between positive and negative people:
1) Lucky people are always good at seeing opportunities and make the most of it. Unlucky people arenít even aware of those and even if they are, they are too scared to move forward.
2) Lucky people tend to trust their intuition; unlucky people tend to analyze things from every single situation and by the time they do make a decision, itís too late.
3) Lucky people expect the future to be positive and that becomes a self fulfilling prophecy; unlucky people tend to see the future as a complete disaster.
4) Lucky people are very resilient so when bad things happen, they tend to bounce back very quickly; unlucky people are dragged down by the smallest life events.
Therefore, you can make your own luck once you change the way you think or see. Itís been experimented a number of times to come to that conclusion. Of course, some things are out of this realm as we canít control everything. | <urn:uuid:7277115b-5046-4314-acc9-cb9ba6d68806> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tennis4you.com/forum/index.php?topic=16986.msg521958 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96677 | 236 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Here we go again: another expert recommending that people stop using a popular piece of software because it has too many vulnerabilities. In this case, I'm talking about F-Secure's recommendation to abandon Adobe's Acrobat Reader in favor of other PDF rendering programs, like Fox-It or any of the free alternatives available.
You'll often read similar recommendations to dump Microsoft's Internet Explorer (I work full-time for Microsoft) and use any other browser instead. To completely protect yourself, they'll advise moving off of Microsoft Windows all together.
[ Are Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari more secure than Internet Explorer? See the Test Center guide to browser security. Learn how to secure your systems with Roger Grimes' Security Central newsletter from InfoWorld. ]
The idea is that protection can be gained by moving to a more secure product or that it's just inherently safer to use a less popular product because it is less likely to be attacked. Now, the former argument I can buy. If one product has weaker security than another product, who can blame you for switching? Of course, that argument is more complex than it first appears.
What is a more secure product? Do you measure that with known bug counts, severity of bugs, time to patch, or how often it is publicly exploited? And is the product you are moving to actually more secure or just attacked less often because it is not as popular? This leads to the other argument: When it comes to software, there's safety in fewer numbers of users. The idea is that when everyone is using the same application or operating system (OS), a computer monoculture is created that leads to more exploits.
On the face of it, it's a compelling argument, one that's hard to reason against. If we all use the same software, then attackers can write one piece of code to exploit us all simultaneously. It seems to make sense that moving away from a monoculture (an argument first popularized in a paper by Dan Greer and others in 2003) would reduce overall security risk. | <urn:uuid:4c1e3199-68f9-4639-8add-9b711a84349f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoworld.com/d/security-central/dont-fall-monoculture-myth-882 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951783 | 418 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Looks fine Steve. The diagrams make it clear how the scale of C looks on a fretboard, a piano and in tab and treble clef notation.
It reminded me of a song from way back that helps you to know what the notes sound like, too.
When I was in school we learned the "tonic sol-fa" - you know, the doh ray me fa so la tee doh. This is how the major scale sounds.
The song I remember is "Doh a deer, a female deer, ray, a drop of golden sun..." etc from, I think, The Sound of Music film.
So if anyone knows the "sol fa" above, or knows that song, just remember that the notes of the major scale are those same notes you hear as doh ray me... etc.
Thanks for this lesson.
Last edited by Stonebridge (2009-07-18 09:16:30) | <urn:uuid:baeb20c1-38bf-4dc8-a318-89d0a3f1bd8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chordie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=76313 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938352 | 195 | 2.21875 | 2 |
The University of Michigan Injury Center was formed in 2010—a union of two former research centers: CIPY (Center for Injury Prevention among Youth) and the IRC (Injury Research Center). Recognizing that the two groups shared a similar mission, Directors Jean Shope (CIPY) and Rebecca Cunningham(IRC) combined the two entities to form the new Injury Center.
In 2012, the Center was honored to be designated as an Injury Control Research Center by the Centers of Disease Control. As one of only 11 centers nationwide, the University of Michigan Injury Center will provide robust education, outreach, policy training, and evidence-based research findings to prevent and treat injury. The Center brings together expert faculty from many different disciplines under a single umbrella to amass knowledge and to provide a means to address the nation’s and region’s diverse injury prevention needs. | <urn:uuid:644eb729-0908-4b3e-91e8-a7152ea262b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.med.umich.edu/injurycenter/story.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946318 | 176 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Building: Studio Gang Architects edited by Jeanne Gang and Zoë Ryan
Yale University Press, 2012
Hardcover, 184 pages
Building: Inside Studio Gang Architects is a solo exhibition devoted to the work of Studio Gang Architects on display at the Art Institute of Chicago until February 24, 2013. The exhibition, and the accompanying book, are separated into five "Building" categories: Nature, Density, Community, Performance, Ideas. These headings split the 13 projects in the exhibition (12 are featured in the catalog) into four sections that roughly correspond with typology without being subject to the limitations of such—the fifth section, Ideas, serves to present how Jeanne Gang and her office works.
Process is found in all of the projects, as archival materials and text serve to explain projects like the Nature Boardwalk at the Lincoln Park Zoo (Nature), Aqua Tower (Density), City Hyde Park (Community), and the Writers' Theatre (Performance). A timeline sequence for each project rings the walls of the galleries and structures the exhibition. But, like the rope-ring concoctions hanging in the middle of the gallery, the book is a bit looser in terms of format. What is missing in the translation from exhibition to book is the emphasis on the sources of inspiration, sometimes obscure, for the various projects; in the exhibition they are lovingly displayed in Joseph Cornell-esque plexiglass boxes (appropriate, given the Art Institute's huge collection of his lightboxes), but in the book they have a less noteworthy presence among the other project illustrations.
The emphasis on process is an extension of Gang's great monograph Reveal, released in 2011. While hardly a sequel, the catalog to Building has a lot of new projects, illustrating the stupendous output of an architect who has since garnered a MacArthur Fellowship and expanded her projects beyond her hometown of Chicago (a building next to the High Line is but one of these new projects that is included in the exhibition). The project presentations in Building are not as rich as Reveal, but the supplementary information that makes up the Ideas chapter is especially valuable, delving into how they build models, what they read, and even how they designed and fabricated the exhibition installation. Sarah Whiting's interview with Jeanne Gang is particularly enlightening, and it ends on a note that should be shared by many: looking forward to Gang's explorations of form and technology in future projects. | <urn:uuid:cd9eacc6-0431-4b2e-8c85-7ce246845ca1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archidose.org/wp/2012/12/10/building-inside-studio-gang-architects/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953531 | 491 | 1.523438 | 2 |
A ruptured disk is quire painful to bear, and the medical community has not yet come up with a definite solution for it—much less a standardized name for it.
Ruptured discs are the same as: slipped discs, herniated discs, or bulging discs. What they all refer to is that a portion or a vertebra along the spinal column has somehow been lodged out of its usual place. Since there are nerves located all along the spinal column, the condition is painful.
A ruptured disc can even cause shooting pains to radiate down the leg. It can make sitting or standing difficult, and even sleeping can become very uncomfortable. If a few discs are ruptured in an injury, the pain can be unbearable. Many times the only option for a patient suffering from severe pain because of a ruptured disc is cortisone injections, physical therapy, or a combination thereof.
The most common reason is due to trauma, such as a fall, or because of muscle imbalance. Actually, a fall itself can be the result of muscle imbalance. After years of misuse, bad posture and inactivity, the paraspinal muscle group in our back s that are responsible for holding up our upper bodies and supporting all our movements get out of whack.
This means that we are no longer able to balance ourselves as well as we used to, or ambulate as well as we used to. This is why falls occur among the elderly population so frequently. This is also why invasive surgical procedures are not a great option for treating a ruptured disc. Many elderly people cannot recover well from an operation. In addition, taking pressure off the nerve that is causing the pain and stabilizing the joint is not treating the cause of the condition, only the symptoms. The root cause is muscle imbalance. Pain can recur in a different form—or in the form of another ruptured disc—if adequate action is not taken to repair muscle imbalance.
This makes it even more important to try holistic remedies and alternative treatments for a ruptured disc. Regular back exercises, though counterintuitive, can fix deficiencies in the back muscle group supporting your body’s movement, strengthen weak muscles and bring equilibrium back to your stride.
At LosetheBackPain, we offer various treatments for the muscle imbalance that causes ruptured discs in the form of diagnostic information, advice, exercise regimens and homeopathic products such as natural anti-inflammatory creams and capsules, and mattresses for back pain.
If you are suffering from a ruptured disc but are elderly or otherwise unable to do exercise because of weak joints, we have a couple solutions for you. You can try Aquatic Therapy or Inversion Therapy, depending on your condition.
Aquatic therapy will enable you to build strength to address muscle imbalance without any jerking movements impacting on your joints. This is perfect option for the elderly or for people with decreased mobility due to illness and weight.
Inversion therapy is not for people with high blood pressure, but if this does not apply to you, looking into this effective way of releasing the compression on your spine will be time well spent. Inversion therapy stretches out the spine completely, relieves built up pressure on it caused by sitting all the time, and restores blood flow between the spinal joints.
If you currently suffer from the pain of a ruptured disc, contact LosetheBackPain today. | <urn:uuid:c667be52-85b0-45f3-a238-4cb6a2c4da1f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.losethebackpain.com/herniated-disc/ruptured-disk.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954809 | 690 | 2.640625 | 3 |
As we have seen by now, my two favorite systems are event variables and pictures. They're also probably the two worst systems in VX. There's a fix for the former, so I'm going to explain the latter. I use the busts from my resource album for this, and you're welcome to do the same (just don't go claiming credit). Pick a nice one, because this process is ugly.
This is how you display a picture, then have it move to the center of the screen:
display picture 1
position: upper left (I don't know who screwed this up, either the maker or the translator, but they're reversed in the ones I've used)
y = 0 (unlike in jumping (also terrible/confusing), where a positive
Y value makes them jump down
, they got this right. Y is the verticle value
x = -600 ( X is the horizontal value, and this puts it waaaaay off to the left, far out of the field of vision, so that it's off-screen. Putting off to the right is 700-ish, and the Y co-ordinates vary with image height)
move picture: 1 (if you have more than one picture, you can move them, too. 1 is actually the top layer, 2 the second, etc )
position: upper left (again, I kid you not, they got them backwards)
Y = 0
X = 150 (no joke. 150 is the co-ordinates for the middle/center
of the screen. Not 0,0, because that would make sense)
Then put a text box. Yay captions!
...then "erase picture 1" . Unless you want to use my concept art viewer event
. Yay image scrolling!
And that's how you coherently display pictures using events.
This post has been edited by Alt_Jack: May 16 2011, 05:01 PM | <urn:uuid:abd1f112-0a2b-4ff4-ad66-95fb1fd392b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rpgrevolution.com/forums/index.php?s=525c4e22b96d154620bf00af1e948441&showtopic=50276&st=0&p=506913 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95044 | 406 | 1.585938 | 2 |
We have covered plenty of audio/video tools in the past, from mp3 joiner to freeware video converters. If you are an avid user of such tools, you will have a nice, albeit a little lengthy, collection in your start menu. Well here is one tool that can make that list a little shorter.
It is an all in one media player solution and lets you play audio & video files, cut them according to your needs or transcode them to other formats. In addition you get a photo cutter, resizer and much more. In short, it’s as complete a media package as you’re likely to get. It is called Media Cope (Windows only).
The tag line doesn’t overstate Media Cope’s capabilities, when it says: “It is all you need“. Media Cope combines the best open source software in the business to give you a killer application. It has mplayer for playing media files and uses ffmpeg for all the transcoding heavy lifting.
Let us take a deeper look on what Media Cope offers.
An All in One Audio/Video Media Player
Media Cope supports all the major media file formats. It lets you play file formats mp3, avi, divx, mov, mkv, flac, rmvb, flv, vob, wma and mp4 to mention a few. In addition it also offers other mplayer functionality like speed change, ratio change, audio delay , framestep and screenshots etc.
An Audio/Video Cutter
Hop over to the next tab and you can now trim audio & video files to your liking. All the formats listed above and many more are supported. Open the file, you can use the slider to go the exact location you want to start the video clip from, click “Select Start” and the starting point will be set to the current slider position. You can choose the end point in similar fashion. Now choose the output file format and you are ready to save the trimmed file as an audio/video clip.
An Audio/Video Converter
The next two tabs let you transcode your media files into a format of your choice. Queuing, output quality and transcoding to and from all major formats are supported. I missed default presets or the ability to create and save your presets. Such an option is extremely useful if you transcode files for playback on an iPod or any other device.
Media Cope lets you do common photo tasks like resizing and converting to different dimensions and formats. The photo tools do a fairly good job and are great for batch processing. That said, I would stick with image editors for such needs mainly because of the interface and greater control and visual feedback they offer.
Media Cope also lets view your photos as a slide show. You can specify a background music and basic slide show configuration options. There is no option to export your slide show as a video file which makes it seem as misfit as a mere photo-browser amongst other tools.
You can also use Media Cope when browsing the Internet. Media Cope offers text to speech functionality in Internet Explorer and Firefox web browsers. You have to explicitly enable Internet tools from Media Cope’s settings.
Media Cope offers a number of tools to meet all your media needs. There are some glitches and the user interface could use some touch up. Even then the media player, cutter and transcoders are straightforward and easy to use. MPlayer and FFMPEG form a deadly combo and it would be interesting to see Media Cope develop further and iron out some of the shortcomings.
What do you think of the Media Cope all in one media player? Do you know of any other application that packs so much functionality?
More articles about: | <urn:uuid:6e9a5309-6cc1-4c41-94c8-0e812e47f8f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/media-cope-an-all-in-one-media-player-cutter-converter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907954 | 786 | 1.578125 | 2 |
I was reading a story in a Korean newspaper which claimed that 76% of people in Korea do not believe their country is a fair one since some have greater opportunities than other people. If one listen to Tea Party shouters there is an underlying sense of an unbalanced society in which poor people, liberals, and the media enjoy greater power than down trodden common folk like the upper middle class which dominates the organization. The New York Times published a breakdown as to who receives what if the Bush tax cut is continued. It turns out that 1% of Americans will average receiving about $7 million while about 20% get about $300 as their piece of the pie. According to the Tea Party America will collapse because the 1% will not get $7 million but only $6 million. I simply do not know how they will be able to survive in a world which took away at least a million dollars from them. The fundamental question is why so many people are upset at “taking away” a million dollars from someone who is receiving $7 million.
Republicans in Congress refuse to extend unemployment pay for those struggling to survive on grounds the country lacks money and we can not increase the debt. But, they see nothing wrong with increasing the national debt by about $1 Trillion if we continue the Bush tax cuts. WE live in strange times in which people shed tears over the plight of the wealthy and don’t give a damn for those who are close to the bottom. | <urn:uuid:dda3eeeb-f3d7-4950-b804-0b65c8579c81> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theimpudentobserver.com/world-news/is-there-fairness-in-america/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968866 | 299 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Clifford Brown III was born in Hayward, California, the grandson of legendary jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown & classical pianist La Rue Brown Watson. In addition to his grandparents, his family tree includes a parent and several cousins that have been recognized nationally and internationally for their contributions to music in general, and to jazz specifically. This lineage gave Clifford the unusual experience of being raised around some of the greatest musicians the world has ever known. Clifford began playing trumpet at the age of 3, and by the time he was in elementary school, he was winning awards at major jazz competitions against much older musicians. After a highly decorated high school music career, Clifford was unsure he wanted to pursue the life of a working musician. After all, he had seen so many great musicians struggle to make a living. So he concentrated on learning the I.T. field. However his passion for music never lessened, and after a couple of years, Clifford found that he terribly missed music and performing, so he rededicated his life to the arts. Clifford has played with some of the biggest names in jazz including Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, and Albert Tootie Heath. He has played on stage at major venues including Jazz At Lincoln Center in New York, Yoshi’s Jazz House in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Stanford Jazz Festival in Northern California. As to his concern about seeing so many great jazz musicians struggle to make a living, Clifford supplements his playing by being a working Audio Engineer (certified in both music production & post production) for recording studios and radio stations, as well as hosting his own jazz radio program entitled “What I Like!” He is also passionately involved in the Musicians Health Care Fund, helping raise money for musicians who are without health insurance. Clifford Brown III currently leads The Brewing Company and is an “in-demand” sideman. | <urn:uuid:e7baeb71-7c26-4227-8b7c-3d51d85f0ac2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thebrewingco.net/?page_id=80 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98682 | 383 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Moisture and humidity
Because the floor of your basement is below grade and the lowest surface within your house, it requires special considerations before flooring can be installed. If your basement has ever been susceptible to water infiltration and flooding, those problems must be remedied before flooring is installed. Sealing your basement from water and moisture infiltration can cost from several hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars or more.
Humidity and condensation are other concerns. Because moist, humid air is heavy, it tends to sink to the lowest part of your house—your basement. There, warm, humid air can come in contact with relatively cool surfaces, such as a concrete slab floor, and condense. Keeping condensation in check during warm, humid months helps ensure that flooring remains stable and free from mold and mildew growth.
Most likely, your existing heating and cooling system is equipped with a dehumidifier that maintains relative humidity (RH) levels between 30% and 60%, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and building codes recommend for a healthy indoor environment. A portable, plug-in unit for single-room use costs about $200 and includes a monitor to regulate the RH level.
Level floor surfaces
It’s also critical to inspect your existing concrete basement floor and make adjustments for any noticeable slopes or flaws that might damage the new floor finish or affect its aesthetic appeal.
Patch or fill minor cracks and flaws with an elastomeric sealant made especially for concrete. A 10-ounce tube runs from about $4 to $10 at home improvement centers.
Use a 3-foot or longer bubble level to see if any sections of the floor slope more than a half-inch in 8 feet. Fill in low spots with a self-leveling compound, available at home improvement centers for about $30 for a 50-pound bag. For about $60 to $80 per day, rent a concrete sander to reduce high spots.
Tile backerboard, made from cement or fiber-reinforced gypsum, can be used as a subfloor over your basement slab to create a smooth, level surface. Backerboard can be glued down or held in place with concrete nails. Backerboard costs about $11 for a 4x5-foot sheet. Allowing for waste, expect to pay about $500 for enough backerboard to cover the floor of a 600 sq. ft. basement.
Once you have satisfied all potential moisture-related issues and created a smooth, level surface, you’ll have many flooring choices for your basement retreat.
According to the NAHB Research Center’s annual survey of builder practices, more than 28% of basement floors in newly built homes are finished with carpeting. “Most of our clients want carpet in the basement,” says Sherrille Sabo, operations manager for COS Construction in Edwardsville, Ohio, a construction company that remodels about a half-dozen basements per year into finished living spaces. “It’s warmer and adds a level of soundproofing.”
Low-pile carpets such as Berber or other looped varieties show less wear than cut-looped or shag-like carpeting and are less expensive; all or partial nylon blends also are more durable and less costly than all-natural options.
Wall-to-wall carpeting is among the least expensive and easiest to install options for basement flooring. A mid-range nylon Berber carpet costs about $1 to $3 per sq. ft. With glued-down perimeter tack strips and a standard pad, plus professional labor, the cost to buy and install a new carpet is about $1,200 to $2,400 for a 600 sq. ft. basement.
If you’ve addressed any moisture issues in the basement but are still concerned about dampness or the chances that liquid spills or pet accidents may occur, consider a pad that is made to block moisture from either seeping up into the carpet or seeping down through the pad to the concrete floor. Moisture-resistant pads are about 70% more expensive than standard pads. They may reduce cleanup chores, but they will not solve chronic moisture problems.
Also, consider carpet tiles. Nylon pile 20-inch squares come in a variety of colors and styles and cost $2 to $4 per sq. ft. Most are made with integral pads and self-adhesive backings for easy, do-it-yourself installation.
Resilient vinyl flooring is durable, moisture-proof, and maintenance-free. Sheet vinyl comes in 12-foot-wide rolls that virtually eliminate seams. Self-sticking vinyl tiles are ideal for do-it-yourself installations.
There are an enormous variety of colors and styles from which to choose. In general, thicker vinyl translates to higher quality and cost. Thicker vinyl can feature a textured surface, and some types have the appearance of real stone and wood.
Vinyl installs easily over a concrete slab, but it’s critical to make sure the surface is smooth, as imperfections are sure to show through and possibly damage the flooring. A thicker (and more expensive) grade of vinyl flooring may help hide slight bumps in the concrete.
Sheet vinyl and vinyl tile can cost $1 to $5 per sq. ft. Figure another $1 to $2 per sq. ft. for professional installation, depending on the complexity of the basement configuration.
Ceramic tile installs readily over a concrete slab and the many styles and colors available make it a good designer’s choice. Properly installed and maintained ceramic tiles should last as long as your house.
In some below-grade applications, condensation may occur on the surface of ceramic tiles, making them slippery. If ceramic tile is your primary choice for your basement but condensation is a concern, consider glazed ceramic floor tiles with an anti-slip finish. Look for tiles that meet slip-resistance standards specified by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Costs for ceramic tile varies widely, depending on size, shape, and pattern. A standard domestic 12x12-inch ceramic tile might cost 80 cents per tile at home improvement center, while a highly decorative tile from Mexico or a porcelain stone tile from Italy can cost $10 per tile or far more. Professional installation adds $5 to $10 per sq. ft.
Until the advent of engineered hardwood flooring, few builders or remodelers would recommend or risk installing a hardwood floor over a below-grade concrete surface. Because solid wood changes dimensions with fluctuations in temperature and humidity, the chances of warping and cracking were too great. In addition, there were few reliable options for installing wood flooring without traditional nails or screws.
Engineered wood floors, however, provide a more stable substrate for the planks while delivering the look and feel of a solid wood floor. They feature a thin veneer layer of solid wood that is laminated to plywood backing. Plywood is more dimensionally stable than solid wood, allowing the planks to withstand temperature and moisture fluctuations without warping.
Engineered hardwood planks are installed one of two ways. Some varieties are designed to be glued to the basement floor using an industrial adhesive. Others are “floated” over a layer of thin foam sheeting; the planks are held in place by a system of interlocking ends and edges.
Engineered wood planks are priced from $2 to $20 per sq. ft. Their factory-finished veneer is virtually maintenance-free. Installation is about $4 to $5 per sq. ft., regardless of whether the planks are glued down or floated.
Laminate flooring has similar construction to engineered wood flooring, but the top veneer is a layer of tough film covered with plastic resins. Laminate flooring mimics the look of wood, stone, and ceramic tile. The core layers of laminate flooring are dimensionally stable; some varieties are treated to resist moisture and make good choices for basement applications.
Laminate flooring planks and tiles “snap” together and float over the concrete floor on a foam pad. The flooring sells for $3 to $5 per sq. ft. at home improvement centers; installation adds $4 to $5 per sq. ft.
One of the simplest and least expensive options for finishing a basement concrete slab is to paint or stain the slab. A one-gallon can of either coating option is about $30 and covers about 80-100 sq. ft. If you elect to use paint, consider an acrylic formula with slip-resistant surface finish.
Assuming the basement concrete slab is unsealed and still porous, a colored stain will likely penetrate fairly well and hold its color for several years before reapplication. A concrete paint probably will show wear in a high-traffic areas, and will require a reapplication every 3-5 years.
An epoxy coating system, which combines a solvent-based adhesive coating with decorative (and slip-resistant) color chips, is far tougher than a concrete paint or stain. It costs about 3 times as much as a gallon of paint or stain but covers four times the area and leaves a tough, industrial-looking finish.
Another option is to cover the concrete slab with an additional, thin layer of concrete that has been pigmented with color. A thin-coat can also be stamped with a pattern to resemble brick, flagstone, and even wood planks. Because the color is throughout the coating, it will never wear away. Expect to pay $2 to $3 per sq. ft. for a thin-coat installation. | <urn:uuid:fbaa93b7-68ca-4867-b4a6-04888bce71ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/basements/smart-options-basement-flooring/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931036 | 2,004 | 1.976563 | 2 |
DNA reveals polar bear's ancient origins
The polar bear is much older than previously thought, according to new genetic evidence.
DNA studies suggest the Arctic predator split from its ancestor, the brown bear, about 600,000 years ago.
Previous estimates put the polar bear at about 150,000 years old, suggesting the mammal adapted very rapidly to Arctic life.
Conservationists say the new study, published in Science, has implications for bear conservation.
Polar bears are listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act.
Conservationists say their survival is at risk, mainly due to the loss of the Arctic sea ice on which they spend much of their lives.
Dr Frank Hailer of the German Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt, who led the international study, said the genetic information shed new light on conservation issues.
"It fundamentally changes our understanding of polar bears and their conservation today," he told BBC News.
"They have survived previous warm phases but they carry scars from these times - they must have been close to extinction at times."Nuclear DNA
The researchers looked at DNA from modern bears to study the history of the species, analysing genetic information from the cell nucleus of more than 40 brown, black and polar bears.
The polar bear
- Polar bears spend most of their lives on the frozen Arctic sea ice
- About 20,000-25,000 remain in the wild
- According to the conservation group, WWF, their survival is in jeopardy
- Climate change, which leads to the loss of Arctic sea ice, is the leading threat to polar bears, says WWF
- Other threats include conflicts with humans, oil development and shipping
Past work has relied mainly on mitochondrial DNA, the fragments of genetic material contained within tiny cell components called mitochondria.
The latest findings suggest the polar bear evolved in the mid Pleistocene, about 600,000 years ago. This scenario paints a new picture of the bear's evolutionary history.
The mammal would have had more time to colonise and adapt to life in the high Arctic, and lived through various cycles of warming and cooling.
The polar bear's lack of genetic diversity suggests that changes in the environment, such as warm phases, led to dramatic falls in numbers at times.
The researchers say polar bears face many other threats to their survival today, including habitat destruction, hunting and the effects of environmental pollutants.
Writing in Science, they explain: "Although polar bears have persisted through previous warm phases, multiple human-mediated stressors (eg habitat conversion, persecution, and accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain) could magnify the impact of current climate change, posing a novel and likely profound threat to polar bear survival."
Commenting on the research, Dr Steven Amstrup, chief scientist of Polar Bears International, said he suspected the age of the polar bear was not entirely settled yet.
Even if they did split from their ancestor 600,000 years ago, they would have lived through only two periods noticeably warmer than today, he said, and spent most of their existence in cooler times.
He added: "It's continuing evidence that polar bears are adapted to a cold environment and they haven't experienced anything of the warming that we are likely to experience in the next 100 years." | <urn:uuid:cf71222d-7db6-46aa-b635-41f57dfba8ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17762196 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957335 | 669 | 3.75 | 4 |
SAN FRANCISCO -- Construction workers at the future site of the Transbay Transit Center in downtown San Francisco on Monday unearthed a Columbian mammoth tooth and part of a jaw from about 11,000 years ago buried about 110 feet below ground.
A spokesman for the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, which is leading the project, called the tooth and partial jaw an "unlikely, extraordinary find."
The tooth was intact and well preserved, spokesman Adam Alberti said. The project's on-call paleontologist is assisting with the tooth and jaw excavation and will help move the ancient artifacts to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, where they will eventually be on display.
The jawbone is more deteriorated than the nearly 2-foot long tooth that still has enamel ridges preserved on the side and top of the tooth, he said.
Alberti said previous finds at the construction site have included human relics, mostly from the Gold Rush era in the mid-19th century when settlers were living in the area.
The tooth and jaw come from a much earlier time in Bay Area history when now-extinct species like the Columbian mammoth roamed the area. The closely related woolly mammoth had a furry coat and lived further north.
During the icy Pleistocene Epoch about 1.8 million to 11,000 years ago, the San Francisco area was a grassy valley where, along with mammoths, saber-tooth cats, giant sloths, mastodons, elk, tapirs and bison lived.
The ancient bones were found at the eastern end of the site between Minna and Natoma streets at First Street, which is under construction for the $4 billion transportation project. The first phase of the center is expected to be completed by 2017. | <urn:uuid:a704e2d0-13a9-4e8b-95ca-f159f3e84b53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marinij.com/ci_21529194/san-francisco-transbay-transit-center-construction-crews-find | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957033 | 367 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Try the ABC Vegie Guide iPhone app - just out
Vegie Guide includes great wisdom from the popular ABC Gardening Australia team.
Getting an app to this point is a team effort, combining the skills of content authors, artists, user experience designers and a touch of engineering (my bit).
The app looks at your location and the time of year and recommends the best plants to plant. Once planted you can record progress in the form of notes and photos. As well as a plant encyclopaedia there are useful fact sheets to read.
I hope you'll try the app (it's free) and tell your friends about it. Please let us know what you think. | <urn:uuid:1dff6d57-1519-4894-8788-7aacc8d76fed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.marxy.org/2013/02/try-abc-vegie-guide-iphone-app-just-out.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93506 | 147 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Stool eating, also known as coprophagy, is actually quite normal behavior for a puppy. And though you may find it utterly gross, the behavior does have an underlying cause. Moreover, if the cause is not addressed appropriately and in a timely manner, it does have a good chance of becoming a recurring habit.
To begin, do not be immediately alarmed when you see your puppy doing it. Reacting in a way that is alarming to the puppy can do more harm than good, and may even lead to other behavioral problems.
Stool eating typically begins when a puppy is still in the litter. At this stage, it is natural for the mother to eat the stool of her puppies. She does this both to keep the “den” clean and to protect the puppies from predators that might be drawn by the scent. (It doesn’t matter that there are no predators in your home, this is primitive evolutionary behavior -- other animals do the same thing with their young.) The mother does this from the time the puppies are born until they are weaned, and since puppies are in the process of learning how to be dogs, they are naturally going to follow her lead and do what she does.
Of course, the mother stops eating her puppies’ feces around the time that they have begun eating solid food or have weaned from her milk, but the puppy may still continue the behavior until he becomes more mature. It is learned behavior along with natural puppy curiosity that leads them to smell, taste and even eat their own or other dogs’ stool.
To begin discouraging this behavior before the puppy is ready to go to its new home, it is the breeder’s responsibility to always clean up after the puppies -- before they have a chance to eat it. However, this may not have been the practice used for your puppy.
Other Reasons for Stool Eating
As previously stated, it is not uncommon to find your puppy eat its own or other dogs’ stool. However, dogs who are receiving a well-balanced and nutrient-rich diet should grow out of this behavior naturally by the time they are one year of age. If your puppy continues this behavior past his first year, you will need to consult a veterinarian or behaviorist in order to identify the problem.
Here are several of the reasons that are typically associated with coprophagy:
Your puppy may not be digesting his food properly. This may be because the food is low in digestible nutrients and is coming out basically the same way it went in, or because the puppy has a problem with his digestive system. To the puppy, his stool tastes pretty much like the food he just ate. For the former, switching to a higher quality food can solve this. For the latter (if switching foods has not helped), you will have to have the puppy checked by a veterinarian.
Boredom is another cause for stool eating. If a puppy is left alone for a long time, he may find relief from boredom by playing with his own stool. This also occurs more often during cold weather, because they are fascinated by their frozen stool.
Stress will often drive puppies -- and dogs -- to eat their own stool. This may be stress from being brought into a new home, or from any of a number of reasons. It is because of this that you should not induce further stress in the puppy by punishing him for eating his stool.
Parasites and worms can leach nutrients from the puppy’s system, causing him to be hungrier than normal. He will respond to his hunger by eating whatever is available. On the same note, your puppy may simply not be getting enough to eat during the day. Puppies are growing and need to be fed at least three times a day. If you have any questions regarding how much you should feed your puppy, talk to your veterinarian, or to the breeder bought the puppy from.
If you have already responded several times to this behavior by getting upset, your puppy may continue to do it just for the reaction. Even though the reaction is a negative one, all the puppy knows is that he is getting extra attention from you. Conversely, your puppy may eat his stool to avoid negative attention. If you have been responding angrily to “accidents,” his response may be to effectively “hide” the evidence by eating it.
Finally, some puppies -- and dogs -- will eat their own stool just because they like to do it. There is not always a satisfying explanation for the behavior, and the best you can do is to try to prevent your dog from doing it by distracting him and getting the stool picked up as quickly as possible.
Techniques for Treating Coprophagy
Always feed your puppy a good quality puppy food so that you can be sure that he is getting all of the protein, minerals, vitamins and other nutrients he needs for normal growth. Observe your puppy for signs that he may be suffering from poor digestion, such as watery stool or stool with large particles of undigested food. If you see any of these signs, consult your veterinarian. This can become a serious issue if not resolved.
Be diligent in cleaning up after your puppy eliminates. Do not give him the chance to play with or eat his stool. Try placing the puppy on a leash when you take him outside to relieve himself, and do not allow him to inspect his stool after he has defecated. Distract him from the stool by calling him to you, and when he responds appropriately, reward him with a training treat and verbal encouragement and then take him inside, away from the stool, before you go back to pick it up.
Some experts have found that adding meat tenderizer or digestive enzymes to the puppy’s food makes a big difference, since these additives cause the stool to have a particularly unappealing smell that will discourage him from eating it. If you cannot immediately clean up the stool, or if there are some old stool piles in your yard, you can spray it with hot pepper sauce or mouth wash. However, it is still more effective to just clean up after the puppy each time he eliminates.
Always keep your puppy on a leash whenever you take him out for a walk. This will prevent him from smelling and eating the stool of the other dogs that are left lying around in the streets. Note that some parasites and illnesses can be transmitted through stool, so you don’t want your puppy to come into contact with stool under any circumstances (of course, this is not always possible). If the puppy begins to sniff at a stool pile, gently pull on his leash and lead him in another direction. Use immediate distraction techniques as soon as he begins to show curiosity for his or other dog’s stool, and reward him with verbal praise and a training treat when he responds appropriately.
If he is consistently discouraged and appropriately reprimanded each time he plays with or eats his stool, he will learn to let go of this habit in a short period of time. Soon enough, you will be able to allow your dog to walk around freely and not have to worry about him eating stool when you are not looking. | <urn:uuid:0667c302-7bd8-477b-9f46-e15631a2f47a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.petmd.com/print/11038?page=show | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98097 | 1,466 | 2.875 | 3 |