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MATH : The focus has been on problem solving. The students may have a few samples of their work in the Wednesday folder.
In Writing, we are learning about poetry. Poetry is a kind of writing, usually in verse. Poetry verse is set out in short lines with words put together in rhythm or rhyme or both. Poetry is about a writer sharing with the reader an experience or strong feelings. Poems are written with words chosen for their sounds and beauty as well as their meaning.
Student will listen, memorize and learn different styles of poetry, such as Haiku, limericks and Free verse. We will have a poetry circle soon where the children may share some of their poems with the class. The poetry folders will be sent home after that event.
More information will be coming home on how you can support us.
This quarter in Science we will study States of Matter.
The next few weeks we will prepare for our fieldtrip to the Skating Rink. Watch for information in your Wednesday envelopes. | <urn:uuid:51a53ad3-73f9-482a-b136-e1e3bebdb3f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://schools.webster.k12.mo.us/education/components/whatsnew/default.php?sectiondetailid=54836&viewType=detail&id=5840 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965822 | 214 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Rev. Alban Butler (171173). Volume XI: November. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr
THE LIBERIAN Calendar informs us that this pope sat five years from the death of St. Urban, in 230, the church then enjoying peace in the reign of Alexander Severus. But Maximinus, who, by contriving the assassination of the best of the Roman emperors, in May, 235, opened to himself a way to the imperial throne, began his reign by raising a bloody persecution. He was by birth a barbarian, a native of Thrace, and of a gigantic stature: for his cruelty towards all men he is surnamed Busiris, Typhon, and Phalaris, and was a monster of gluttony. St. Pontian was banished by him in the beginning of his reign into the isle of Sardinia, where he died the same year, if not by the sword, at least by the hardships of his exile and the unhealthfulness of the air. See Tillemont, t. 3. | <urn:uuid:383dc872-3212-4882-b340-b477eeb2cfde> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bartleby.com/210/11/192.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972466 | 226 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Laws and Regulations
This section of the guide covers federal laws and regulations, both the process by which they are written and the finished products, in both tangible and electronic form. There is also a short section with links to informaiton on state laws and regulations. Here are links to particular topics:
The great folks at the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C. provides this listing of General Legal Research Sites—Free and Commercial. And Law Librarian Sarah Glassmeyer has authored this handy Law Student Guide to Free Legal Research on the Internet. | <urn:uuid:a94d88d7-93eb-4987-86eb-8b413a5a206e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/doc/guides/congress/laws.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945454 | 115 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Water Resources of the United States
This software and related material (data and documentation) are made available by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to be used in the public interest and the advancement of science. You may, without any fee or cost, use, copy, modify, or distribute this software, and any derivative works thereof, and its supporting documentation, subject to the USGS software User's Rights Notice.
You may obtain other electronic or print versions of USGS reports and documentation that are not included with the software distributions.
Computer systems for which software distribution packages have been compiled are shown in parentheses following the software name; abbreviations used are defined as follows: | <urn:uuid:287e3536-8be5-4c39-a573-6a25068cdb47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://water.usgs.gov/software/lists/water_quality/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903519 | 139 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Vegan Parents and Kids
Many vegan families struggle with explaining to their children why they are vegan. When children inevitably begin to ask questions about their diet, the harder question to answer is “Why are we different”?
Parents that decide to become vegetarian/vegan do so for varied reasons. The enormous health benefits, environmental issues, protests against farm animal abuse or religion may all be a part of the reason parents make this very important and personal choice. Relating to your child your reasons for this decision may be difficult at times. Especially with younger children or those with different needs or beliefs.
Different Kids Require Different Answers
Explanations of why your family is vegetarian should vary with each child because every child is unique. Using the same ole, “eating veggies because they’re good for you” may not always work. Dr. Debbie Glasser is a clinical psychologist, mother and vegan. ”
“Because I have kids ranging in age from toddlers to teens, my explanations about why I’m a vegan vary greatly,” says Glasser. “With regard to my toddler, it’s very simple. He’s only two, so he eats what I serve him and doesn’t ask why [but] now that my daughter’s older, she’s asking more complex questions about the what’s and why’s of veganism and making her own informed decisions. I have shared with her that one of my reasons for becoming a vegetarian is because I don’t want to eat animals…and [she's] interested in learning more.”
It’s very important for parents to develop their own way of explaining to their children why their family chose to become vegans or vegetarians. Because some children are more sensitive than others, it may be wise to offer positive examples of why you’re vegan. Younger children may be okay with simple answers such as: it’s healthier for you; it’s better for the animals we love; or it tastes good.
If your child asks for more information then it is best to tell them in details your reasons for your lifestyle change. Because of her open conversations with her daughter, Glasser says, “Now the choice to be vegetarian comes from her, not me.”
Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University suggests explaining the nutritional value of both plant and animal products. “Plants have the right kind of chemicals to keep people healthy whereas animal products generally don’t,” says Campbell. Helping your child compare animal products with plant products will help your child learn the importance of knowing what’s healthiest for their bodies and what food sources provide the best forms of immune system supplements to keep them healthy and strong.
Many of your child’s questions will begin when they begin to observe other eating habits when spending time with friends outside the home or at school. If your child asks a question like, “Why don’t we eat meat or drink milk like my other friends?” answer them honestly and informatively.
“Milk is not necessary for good health” states Campbell. In fact, for many children, acne, hyperactivity, other allergic reactions, and lactose intolerance all may be problems, to say nothing of the future risk of breast cancer and heart disease. ”
You don’t have to scare your child into accepting vegetarian lifestyle. This is why it’s so important to accept their food choices as they mature. As a parent, it’s best to give them good information about being a vegan/vegetarian if they ask for it and when they are old enough to decide for themselves.
Remind them that it’s okay to be different from other people. Pressure from their friends may make them feel like they have to eat meat to be accepted by their peers. Let them know that standing up for what they believe in makes them brave but don’t force them. Sometimes as parents we have to let loose of our children’s’ hands and know that it will all be okay in the end.
Don’t Forget it’s Yummy
Most importantly, don’t forget to stress how good vegetarian food tastes. Vegetables and grains are great tasting, good for you, and you can create so many different recipes and creative dishes with these healthful ingredients. Let them know that fruits and vegetables are loaded chock full of the natural immune system supplements that children require for optimal health.
Hands on cooking is another great ways to explain the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle to kids. Select a variety of different foods and teach them about the health benefits of fresh whole green foods. Discuss animal products with them and why they may not be the wisest choices. This works great for younger kids. Let them ask any questions they might have. Once you set the tone for questions and answers time, your kids will feel free to talk to you about their questions and concerns.
In spite of your personal reasons for being a vegetarian, accept your child’s beliefs as they grow up. If they decide to become a meat eater even though you’ve taught them differently, don’t constantly remind them of the down side of eating meat. Be respectful. Chances are as in most cases, they will return to the healthful lifestyle you lovingly raised them on.
- Explore lots more healthy eating tips on VegKitchen’s Veg Kids and Teens page as well as in the Nutrition area.
Dr. Linda Kennedy MS SLP ND: Is an avid animal activist and nature lover. She owns a 10,000 square foot state of the art nutritional laboratory where she produces nutritional health supplements that are free of animal products.Print This Post | <urn:uuid:88d28480-55b4-4de1-92fd-870f5c71e315> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vegkitchen.com/kid-friendly-recipes/healthy-eating-tips/vegan-parents-and-kids/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951436 | 1,216 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Powering up for Wildlife
“Smart-from-the-start” solar-energy plan ensures fewer risks to wildlife
Building solar-energy fields on already developed land can help protect desert tortoise habitat. (Photo: © Mark A Wilson)
The desert landscape is looking even brighter now that the Interior Department has released its first roadmap for environmentally responsible solar-energy development on public lands in the West. According to the map, unfurled this fall, this means the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will direct solar-energy projects to areas that avoid or have reduced impacts to wildlife and wild lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
“The decision to direct solar projects to low-conflict areas is a much more rational approach to renewable energy development on public lands,” says Jamie Rappaport Clark, Defenders’ president. “This is better for wildlife, energy developers, utilities and investors alike because it offers a more efficient way to get environmentally friendly renewable energy on line and greater certainty for all involved.”
But she adds that the impact of the plan on the federally threatened desert tortoise is still a concern because the plan allows for some vital tortoise habitat to remain open to potential development. “The BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should have taken a more cautious approach to exclude these areas or delay solar development until more scientific information becomes available on the impact of these projects on the species,” says Clark. “Instead, they chose to merely ‘discourage’ development in these areas. This creates greater uncertainty for developers and could undermine the survival and long-term sustainability of a unique and iconic desert species.”
GET UP STAND UP
You can help wildlife by adding solar panels to your rooftop. Defenders is partnering with SolarCity to encourage the switch to solar energy and will receive a $400 donation for every Defenders member that installs a home solar system. SolarCity will install your system for free—you pay for electricity by the month, just like your utility bill but lower. Learn more and sign up for a free consultation at www.defenders.org/solarcity.
In total, 17 solar-energy zones were finalized over approximately 280,000 acres, which represents a significant reduction from earlier proposals.
Development can also occur on a case-by-case basis on an additional 19 million acres of BLM lands outside the solar development zones—although the plan technically discourages it.
Over the past two years, Defenders urged the Obama administration to adopt upfront, “smart-from-the-start” principles for planning, designing and managing renewable energy projects that avoid or minimize the impact to sensitive desert land and wildlife—like the desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, golden eagle and Mojave ground squirrel.
Since some solar projects can sprawl over 8,000 acres or more, if located in sensitive habitats their sheer size can result in significant habitat loss and fragmentation. This can make it difficult for wildlife to find food, water, shelter, mates and protection from predators. Fragmented habitat can also lead to smaller, isolated populations of wildlife, making long-term survival more difficult.
“In our efforts to switch to clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas pollution, we must ensure that development of utility-scale solar power does not preclude wildlife from migrating to lands essential for climate change adaptation,” says Erin Lieberman, Defenders’ western policy advisor for renewable energy and wildlife. “We need to encourage the development of solar, wind and geothermal energy for all the benefits they provide. But we must not do it at the expense of our nation’s rich wildlife legacy.”
Defenders will continue working with stakeholders and the Department of the Interior to ensure that large-scale solar development occurs in places of least conflict so that wildlife and natural resources, like the desert tortoise, are protected. | <urn:uuid:f7a4226e-1055-406f-a2eb-2c10aeaba121> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.defenders.org/magazine/winter-2013/powering-wildlife | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91715 | 803 | 2.796875 | 3 |
View Full Version : Earth Hour
I saw this thread on ToS and thought it would be good to post here, can't believe i didn't think of this earlier -_- If you don't know what this is, it's a day where people around the world turn off their lights for 1 hour to save energy. I've been doing this for a few years, maybe even longer (can't remember) and it really isn't hard, just a matter of initiative.
This year the Earth Hour will take place on Wednesday March 26 at 8:30pm :nsmile:
03-17-2011, 01:00 AM
I really would love to help but I don't think I can get my parents that far that they turn of the tv around 8:30 :(
beside that, it is a great idea :rotfl:
it's ok, just the room lights will be fine :nsmile:
03-17-2011, 02:16 AM
Everyday is Earth Hour for me. I keep all the lights off unless I absolutely need them. I only use what I need.
03-17-2011, 03:34 AM
It's crazy how only three years ago, i used to think these things were really stupid and pointless i have to admit... I changed now, and altough it won't really make a difference, because it will only be for one hour, then it's all going again... It's just a symbolic thing isn't it... But anyway i'll do it, i'll turn off everything electronic i have, and just chill for an hour :) is it 8.30 P.M GMT?
just 8:30 at your place. you'll be suprised at how much power can be saved and how much carbon emmisions are reduced for the year when alot of people participate
03-17-2011, 05:16 AM
Oh i see :) 8.30 pm wherever you are ^_^ Thanks. And good then, i hope it does help :) | <urn:uuid:5478bd34-c7c7-4503-80a8-4f04d7aeba09> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.avatar-forums.com/archive/index.php/t-15769.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969214 | 418 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Finding inspiration through prison's book club
Baltimore Sun - Online
When Pamela Griffith flipped open the book in her prison cell and began to read, she felt an immediate, visceral connection in an environment where personal bonds of any type are in notoriously short supply.
"It's funny. You feel a kinship in a certain way," Griffith, 53, told the other inmates participating in an unusual book club that's been running for nearly five years at the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women in Jessup. She leaned forward, and the words flew out of her:
"Because her cells did what they did and the researchers did what they did, I'm sitting here today. Henrietta Lacks saved my life. It's almost like I was meeting my second mom. I think everyone who has survived cancer and read this book would feel the same way."
For Griffith, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" was a revelation that she might never have made had it not been for Brenda P. Murray, an administrative law judge for the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.
Murray founded the book club in 2006 at the request of an inmate who told her that one of the hardest parts of being in prison was the intellectual deprivation.
In the past five years, book group members have plowed through some of the most demanding texts in the modern and classical canon. They've read Sophocles' "Antigone" and Shakespeare's "Othello." They've immersed themselves in works by William Faulkner, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Gabriel Garcia Márquez.
But, their response isn't only, or even primarily, intellectual. They also relate, at times emotionally and profoundly, to the women depicted in the pages they read.
Griffith wasn't merely learning about Henrietta Lacks, an impoverished Baltimore woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. The life Griffith was really discovering was her own.
She was raised in Dundalk; Lacks lived just a few blocks away, in Turners Station. And it was Lacks' cells — harvested from her body without her knowledge — that led to the development of cancer drugs that helped cure a desperately ill 14-year-old.
"For me," Griffith said, "this book was a tear-jerker. I know what she went through, and it was horrible. I was losing my hair. I was throwing up every day from the chemicals they gave me. I wanted to die. If I could have died, I would have."
She is in awe of the stoic fortitude that Lacks displayed. If Lacks persevered when her life was unimaginably bleak, perhaps Griffith can, as well.
"She didn't even tell anyone she was sick," Griffith said. "She just kept on taking care of her kids. For me, she is the hero of this story."
It's responses like this that motivate Murray to devote not just her time but her pocketbook to keep the book club running.
Given Murray's current job and background — she is the daughter of a high-ranking Massachusetts police officer — she might not be expected to have much sympathy for women convicted of such crimes as child abuse and first-degree homicide. (Griffith, formerly of Dundalk, was sentenced in 2009 to 15 years in prison — with 12 of those years suspended — for continuous theft of sums greater than $1,000.)
But Murray is involved in the National Association of Women Judges, and leads the group's committee on female inmates. It's worth noting that no taxpayer monies are used for the book club; Murray has kept the group going on a wing, a prayer and the occasional grant from a private foundation.
Many of the 15 college professors and lecturers she has recruited donate their services for free. And it was Murray herself who footed the $300 bill to provide copies of Rebecca Skloot's biography of Henrietta Lacks to the incarcerated women.
"There is a stereotype about women prisoners, and it's very difficult to overcome," Murray says.
"When we started, some people said that judges had no business getting involved with prisoners because the judicial branch shouldn't infringe on the executive branch. The public says, 'Why should I educate those women when I'm struggling to pay tuition for my own kids?'
"But all the studies show that inmates who get an education are less likely to go back to prison. These women are like sponges. It's a sight to behold. If you believe at all in redemption, you have to believe that some good can come out of what we're trying to do."
The book group's success has spawned other programs for the female inmates, including a writing workshop that meets once a month. Murray also helped put together a college curriculum at the institution that is thought to be one of just two degree-granting programs currently operating at women's prisons in the U.S. A member of the book group is just one course shy of earning an associate's degree from Anne Arundel Community College. | <urn:uuid:b56ca0ea-7cf4-4531-ae82-c46e2f023ccb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/publicinfo/news_stories/in_the_news/20100917a.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983777 | 1,040 | 1.71875 | 2 |
This story of the man who brought Beaujolais to the world’s tables carries distinctive flavors of French history, cuisine and terrain with accents of style and wit.
To write of the Beaujolais and of French wine is to write of all France, its people, their history, their food, their work habits, says Chelminski (The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine, 2005). Viewing winemaker/wine merchant Georges Duboeuf from that panoramic perspective, Chelminski presents a volume that’s as much food and travel guide as it is biography. The author begins by reaching back to the early 17th century when Philip the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, banned the gamay grape lest it upstage the beloved wine of his region. Peasants to the south, in Macon, nurtured the unloved gamay, which took to its soil and eventually blossomed as the source of Beaujolais, the wine that brightens November. Its peasant origins set the wine on the second shelf until Duboeuf came onto the scene in the 1950s. Duboeuf took the wines his family and others made and, bypassing dealers, sold directly to restaurants. With boosts from palate-sated journalists and the arrival of nouvelle cuisine, which the fruity Beaujolais complemented, the wine took Paris—and soon the world. (A chapter on British buyers racing to be the first home with the Beaujolais could make a very funny film.) By Chelminki’s richly detailed account, Duboeuf’s is an uncomplicated life of hard work rewarded by success. Had Chelminski, who has known Duboeuf for 30 years, considered the latter’s occasional setbacks (e.g. a failed attempt in the ’80s to expand operations to California’s Napa Valley), it would have added a note of tension to balance the narrative.
A sophisticated raconteur, Chelminski tells a story that would grace a leisurely lunch at a French countryside inn. | <urn:uuid:2cc0b321-9c58-4438-a08b-736600835f2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rudolph-chelminski/ill-drink-to-that/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963999 | 440 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Thursday, January 19, 2012
7:47 AM Terri Thompson 28 comments
Going on a walk is not only good exercise, it's also a lot of fun. In case you want to add a little variety to your neighborhood walk, here are 10 ways to make it a little more fun.
1. Go on a counting walk. Count the number of trees you see or count the parked cars. Come up with a few things you see routinely on your walks and have the kids count them.
2. Take binoculars and look at your neighborhood up close!
3. Make it a scavenger hunt. Look for something big, something tiny, something rough or something smooth like we did in our backyard scavenger hunt.
4. Play "I Spy" while you walk along. "I spy something brown and green and taller than a house." Whoever guesses first gets to come up with the next clue.
5. Go on a color hunt. Frugal Family Fun made a fun color hunt using paint chips!
6. Take your camera. Document all the things you see on your walk, then turn it into a book when you get home.
7. Bring a bag and look for nature treasures like we did when we went leaf collecting.
8. Go on a listening walk. How many different things do you hear on your walk. You can read a great description of a listening walk at Greening Sam and Avery.
9. Stop and climb a tree. You can read about the benefits of climbing trees over at Dinosaurs and Octopuses. If you don't want to climb a tree, stop and examine a leaf, smell a flower, make a snow angel or jump in a puddle. In other words, enjoy and experience!
10. Find a new-to-you place to go for a hike. Your walk doesn't have to be around the neighborhood! In case the idea of taking young children on a hike makes you nervous I have some simple tips to make it easy on everyone.
Bonus: Check out this article on finding the balance between outdoor safety and adventure from Teach Preschool. So, why not climb a hill and run back down it!
What is your favorite way to go for a walk?
Linking up to the Outdoor Play Party, The Play Academy, Link & Learn, and The TGIF Linky Party | <urn:uuid:a662cba3-8178-417f-a1ad-406cc456a59b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.creativefamilyfun.net/2012/01/10-ways-to-make-walk-more-fun.html?showComment=1338312952312 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946249 | 487 | 1.953125 | 2 |
About the Center
The Upward Bound Math Science Center is a motivational, challenging, and enriching federally funded TRiO program for high school students. It provides academic instruction through a six-week residential program, year-round support in preparing students for college admission, and opportunities for exposure to new technology and developments in the world of science.
Where is the program located?
The campus of California Lutheran University is just one hour north of Los Angeles, in the city of Thousand Oaks. The campus affords a beautiful and relaxed setting for the summer residential program, within a half hour of both the mountains and beaches. Campus facilities include a well-equipped science center, new Educational Technology Building and Social Sciences building, computer laboratories, library and new North Campus Sports Complex and Arena. Recreational facilities on campus include volleyball and tennis courts, soccer and football fields, and extensive grounds.
Thousand Oaks is one of the prime scientific research and development areas of the country. Upward Bound Math Science students will have an opportunity to interact with scientists at the leading high technology companies in the area.
Why spend your summer at CLU?
So you’re thinking of becoming a scientist, engineer, surgeon, computer analyst, marine biologist, environmental scientist, technician.... or maybe you need help in deciding.
The Upward Bound Math Science Center is here to provide the exposure to scientific and mathematical disciplines, extra academic instruction, college guidance, and hands on scientific experience to help you make your dreams a reality.
When is the program?
The six-week residential program will be from June 23 - August 2, 2013
Who is eligible to attend?
To be eligible for UBMS you must:
- be from a family of low income and/or have parents who have not graduated from a 4-year college
- currently be in 9th - 11th grade
- be a citizen/national/permanent resident of the U.S.
- have taken at least one high school course in math and science with a C grade
- want to pursue a college degree in math or science
How much does it cost?
It costs you nothing! Accommodation, meals, transportation, tuition, field trips, and other program activities are all free. | <urn:uuid:3f04b172-a1b0-4687-8ada-f8e87a445185> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.callutheran.edu/regional_center/index.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940833 | 461 | 2.125 | 2 |
Are you thinking of becoming a hotel manager? Truly, a lodge management is a reliable, significant and good paying career that you will really love.
Following introduction of variety of inns, there is a requirement for managers to run those lodges. For instance, all large inns need a not only a general manager, but also other forms of management, like executive, middle managers, department heads, administrative staff, and line level supervisors to operate efficiently.
Therefore, if looking for a good career, like hotel management you just need to pursue hospitality management studies, a business degree, or obt...
Pages related to hotel | <urn:uuid:121474eb-ffba-4012-b3a9-0e074e411ecf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tralopia.com/en/hotel_2/ | 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 | 0.948166 | 127 | 1.75 | 2 |
(PhysOrg.com) -- The new Jaguar C-X75 supercar concept model unveiled last week is primarily a plug-in electric car but with the added power and performance of micro gas turbines (jet engines) that would make it the fastest electric car on the road.
An electric motor on each wheel delivers 145 kW from a single floor-mounted lithium ion battery pack that gives the car a range of up to 110 km on electric power alone. When the battery runs down it can be recharged in six hours from a normal household mains outlet.
The Jaguar C-X75 (named for Jaguar’s 75th anniversary) has another option that other electric cars do not offer, which is a boost by two 70 kW micro gas turbines running on a choice of natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, diesel or biofuels, mixed with air. The micro gas turbines spin at 80,000 rpm and can power the electric motors directly (increasing the power) or can be used to recharge the battery (increasing the range).
The micro gas turbines are extremely small and relatively cheap to manufacture. They can run at a fixed, most efficient RPM to recharge the batteries, and provide high performance and efficiency but with low emissions and low maintenance costs. Despite being a type of jet engine, the micro gas turbines are said to be low noise and produce no vibration.
Jaguar claims the two-seater car will be able to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.4 seconds, and will have a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph) when the batteries and turbines are working together. The all-wheel drive produces a torque of 1,600 Nm (1,180 lb-ft). The gas turbines extend the maximum range to 900 km (560 miles), with carbon emissions of only 28 g/km with the turbines running.
The Jaguar C-X75, which was unveiled last week at the 2010 Paris motor show, is at the concept stage and may never be produced, but even if it is never marketed, elements of the design could find their way into future Jaguar cars.
Explore further: Hong Kong launches first electric taxis | <urn:uuid:cfa3671e-b8cb-4efa-824f-4d1b545f4960> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/news205396399.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917552 | 445 | 2.421875 | 2 |
* Coors put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish where it was read as "Suffer from diarrhea."
* When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the beautiful baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside, since most people can't read.
* An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el papa), the shirts read "I saw the potato" (la papa).
* Pepsi's "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave", in Chinese.
* The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Ke-kou-ke-la", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "ko-kou-ko-le", translating into "happiness in the mouth."
* When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "it won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." Instead, the company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant." | <urn:uuid:9faf3cff-4371-4ab1-b93f-f61e08559a8a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.successco.com/2007/10/famous-marketin.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970868 | 312 | 2.3125 | 2 |
The U.S. is currently experiencing the worst influenza epidemic in a decade. Places like Boston and New York have declared influenza emergencies. Experts tell us this is a "bad" flu season. Actually, it isn't -- and things could be a lot worse.
The dirty little secret is that the U.S. isn't even close to being prepared for a serious influenza epidemic, and we can and should be doing more right now to prepare.
After 9/11, the U.S. government got serious for a while about public-health preparedness. I was part of a group of researchers around the country who were funded to study how all levels of government (local, state and federal) should work together to prepare for all types of public-health emergencies but, especially, bioterrorism and pandemic influenza.
We made significant progress. We worked with local and state governments to develop pandemic influenza plans. We piloted tests to evaluate the preparedness of health departments to respond to emergencies 24/7. We crafted plans to help different sectors of government, like public health, emergency management and law enforcement, work together. We developed strategies for improving, managing and deploying the strategic national stockpile of vaccines and antiviral medications.
Then the recession occurred and most of this progress came to a screeching halt. Policymakers focused on fiscal austerity decided that public-health preparedness wasn't a serious enough threat to warrant continued funding. Grants to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fund research on bioterrorism and epidemics were cut. State and local health departments were left holding the bag; they could no longer pay for staff and initiatives were no longer funded. Preparation for pandemic influenza and novel infectious disease outbreaks were put on the back burner as low-probability events.
The result is that the U.S. is simply not prepared to respond to a deadly influenza pandemic. Imagine a flu season like the one we are having in which the fatality rate is much higher and no vaccine is available. What would we do? Movies like "Contagion" highlight just how grim the situation could become; such films are based in part on plausible scenarios.
We have a group of policymakers who can't even balance the federal budget. How would we expect them to perform in an emergency situation in which hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people are dying?
We should all be grateful that so far we haven't had to face another influenza pandemic like the one in 1918, when more than 50 million people worldwide died. Just because we haven't faced this scenario recently doesn't mean it can't occur. In every century in recorded history, there has been at least one major pandemic that has resulted in a significant loss of human life, and many of those pandemics have involved influenza.
It is clear that our existing infection-control efforts and vaccine campaigns are unable to significantly slow the spread of the influenza. We shouldn't wait for the movie "Contagion" to play out in real life before we decide to get serious about preparing to respond to novel infectious disease epidemics.
Influenza has always represented a serious threat to public health. We need to be ready to respond not only to a "bad" influenza season but also to a catastrophic one. That requires bipartisan support for sustained investment in local, state and federal public-health preparedness that is viewed as a priority even in tough economic times.
Otherwise we won't have to go to the movie theater to see movies like "Contagion." Instead we'll be able to watch such scenarios out our kitchen window.
DAVID J. DAUSEY, Ph.D., is a professor, researcher and epidemiologist who is an internationally known public-health scholar. He is chairman of the Public Health Department at Mercyhurst University and founding director of the Mercyhurst Institute for Public Health. | <urn:uuid:2f6dc456-2e68-401e-b9ca-85c1bec3992d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://goerie.com/article/20130118/OPINION08/301189994/Guest-Voice-of-David-Dausey%3A-US-not-prepared-for-flu-pandemic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968617 | 793 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Hewlett-Packard sure knows how to build big stuff. Today, the world’s biggest computer maker is taking the wraps off its wall-sized 132-inch touchscreen displays that can be used in high-end retail displays or battlefield control rooms. HP hopes this will take its digital sign business to the next level.
The HP VantagePoint system — 11 feet wide by 7 feet high — is driven by two computers with one graphics card and six monitors. Yet it is powerful enough to power a touchscreen that can register the simultaneous input of 32 fingers touching it at a time. A product of the Innovation Program Office in HP’s Personal Systems Group, the system costs $125,000 and extends HP’s portfolio of “immersive displays,” as a tool for showing off retail goods or visualizing enterprise data.
At that price, HP is lowering the cost of entry for businesses to use big screens for visualization. Companies can create an interactive wall to attract people into stores and help them see how clothes on the rack look on a real person. They can also entertain customers with big screen versions of games like Angry Birds.
The screens can also be used in decision support or control rooms for corporate information technology professionals who have to manage vast computing resources. HP has five such control rooms in operation, running all of its network operations. It can be used as a centralized viewing room to get a real-time picture of the state of security in a prison or a government building, or it can be used to monitor disasters at reaction centers, said Carlos Montalvo (pictured at bottom), vice president of the innovation program office at HP.
“We want to transform the way businesses interact with customers,” he said in an interview. “We’ve taken this from inception to a commercial grade product that can scale.”
While the cost of the screen seems high, it’s actually not as expensive as many other solutions in the market. HP lowers the display costs by using six 47-inch liquid crystal display monitors whose cost can fall over time — all driven by the Eyefinity technology in the Radeon cards built by Advanced Micro Devices.
HP actually innovated on cost of ownership by creating a modular aluminum frame that supports the monitors. If one of the six HP LD4730G Ultra-Micro Bezel monitors goes dark, it can be replaced in a matter of minutes with a screwdriver and a couple of technicians carrying the display. In the past, big displays had to be assembled and tested over a period of days or weeks. But HP designed VantagePoint so it can be set up within an hour or so. Making installation easy and predictable is key to selling lots of these units.
Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering Group, said that hundreds of businesses and organizations that sell premium products are likely to take HP up on the technology, despite the high sticker price. He doesn’t see much competition that can scale to provide products across a large market. Customers are likely to include product designers, fashion designers, crisis managers, and high-value retailers, he said. The innovation lies in the ability to completely integrate the displays and the back-end information technology to make them work in a dependable manner, he said.
HP can also build even bigger interactive walls, some using its older Photon Engine, with a series of ordinary $1,200 projectors, beaming images on an ultra-high resolution screen as big as 40 feet. So the company can tailor the size of the wall to fit whatever a business wants. It can run it at 4K resolution, which is the format for next-generation TVs. A demo of the larger wall — showing a control room for dealing with the tsunami in Japan — is available in a video at the very bottom of this story.
In developing the Photon Engine, HP Labs developed the big screens in a secret warehouse nicknamed Area 17.
“We found that we needed a bigger lab,” Montalvo said.
HP VantagePoint can be used in executive briefing centers, showrooms, retail, financial services, automotive, airline, consumer packaged goods and government. Customers could include Fortune 1000 companies, entertainment firms, or sports venues where larger-than-life experiences are the way to stand out from a crowd of traditional advertisements or signs.
HP will partner with companies including Diversified Media Group, Diversified Systems, F2B Services and MicroTech that can assist companies in designing custom-made digital signs. HP is also working with value-added resellers, services firms and independent software developers to create solutions for its customers. Certified ISVs are Aniden, Design Reactor and Wire Stone.
Montalvo said the idea was born in HP a few years ago and was developed through collaboration with key partners including American Airlines, DreamWorks Animation, Edelman and the San Francisco 49ers. All of these companies have versions of the interactive wall on display at their premises. Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg used the interactive wall to show off lines of clothing.
The first version of the interactive wall is in use at Edelman public relations, and since then HP has learned how to make the displays better and cheaper, said Mickie Calkins (pictured above and at top), HP co-innovation program manager in HP’s Personal Systems Group.
“This is 100 percent HP, home-grown,” she said. “The wall could be bigger, but we made it this size so it can be fully used by people of normal height.”
“The HP VantagePoint touch wall in our preview sales center creates a ‘wow’ factor,” said Al Guido, vice president at Legends Sales and Marketing, seller of premier seating at the future San Francisco 49ers stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. “It allows us to showcase our inventory and the new Santa Clara stadium in a unique visual demonstration that has undoubtedly helped our sales efforts.”
HP also worked with Total Immersion to adapt its augmented reality software for HP VantagePoint.
I’m interested in what it means for gamers. I played a version of Angry Birds on the wall and popped a bunch of color bubbles in a timed frenzy game as well. You can pick up and stretch or shrink photos and videos on the wall with your fingers. The screen is very responsive. I actually whacked it with a pair of drumsticks, and it didn’t leave a scratch. The glass can withstand a 56-mile-per-hour projectile.
The screens use an infrared-based touch technology to sense onscreen interaction. It features strong and scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass from Corning and is powered by an HP Z800 Workstation that handles video and image processing. An HP Pavilion Slimline PC controls the audio volume and color contrast.
HP can pipe content into the displays via cable and satellite feeds, as well as downloaded and streaming content from the web or DVR and DVD players. The signal is 100 percent digital and the system uses the 64-bit version of Windows 7 for applications.
Check out our videos of the HP VantagePoint wall in action. | <urn:uuid:505dc647-4cea-4430-95e0-20af4de69cbd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/16/hp-unveils-giant-11-feet-by-7-feet-touchscreens-for-retailers-and-businesses/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941211 | 1,482 | 1.664063 | 2 |
It is that little word pomp (pompis) over which many stumble or fumble, no doubt because it is an uncommon English word. Some would, I'm assure, assign it to the trash heap of "archaic," even while insisting that "Pomp and Circumstance" remain in the graduation tradition. (As an aside, isn't it curious that what no longer is acceptable in liturgy because it is out of date and doesn't speak to us, is perfectly acceptable in other contexts?) Others would argue, a little more persuasively to my mind, that "pomp" does not translate, but transliterates, pompis. Or does it? Perhaps such a "cold" Latinate word is "warmer" and communicates better than an Anglo-based equivalent (if there truly is such a thing). But I digress.
As you can tell, I am all for keeping the older translations while, at the same time, insisting that helpful explanations be provided. That is, after all, the role of catechesis--not to instruct by means of a translation, but to teach what a translated word means.
As an aid toward such in regard to the little word "pomp," I offer the following which is unhesitatingly copied from Pope Benedict XVI's Easter Vigil Homily 2010. I hope you find it as helpful as I do.
The strange word “pomp”, that is to say the devil’s glamour, referred to the splendour of the ancient cult of the gods and of the ancient theatre, in which it was considered entertaining to watch people being torn limb from limb by wild beasts. What was being renounced by this “no” was a type of culture that ensnared man in the adoration of power, in the world of greed, in lies, in cruelty. It was an act of liberation from the imposition of a form of life that was presented as pleasure and yet hastened the destruction of all that was best in man. This renunciation – albeit in less dramatic form – remains an essential part of baptism today. We remove the “old garments”, which we cannot wear in God’s presence. Or better put: we begin to remove them. This renunciation is actually a promise in which we hold out our hand to Christ, so that he may guide us and reclothe us. What these “garments” are that we take off, what the promise is that we make, becomes clear when we see in the fifth chapter of the Letter to the Galatians what Paul calls “works of the flesh” – a term that refers precisely to the old garments that we remove. Paul designates them thus: “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like” (Gal 5:19ff.). These are the garments that we remove: the garments of death. | <urn:uuid:3da06115-14cf-4380-a75c-a3be4d13883f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://conversiaddominum.blogspot.com/2010/04/pomp-of-devil.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964549 | 634 | 2.078125 | 2 |
A Little Break
Posted by Brent Cameron
We're catching a break with quiet weather conditions, now. Will it last throughout the rest of the week? no! Our weather maps clearly show a disturbance to our southeast which should impact our local weather by Thursday night or Friday. It's a tropical wave with plenty of associated moisture.
Upper atmosphere charts show a quick transition from "dry" to a very moist environment. As the moisture levels increase, we'll be in a position to receive rounds of rain with thunderstorms. Usually, when such thick moisture is over us (especially this time of the year) we get heavy downpours with the concern for localized street flooding. Stay tuned.
For the time being, drier-than-normal air is in place. Further, we're even getting a beneficial breeze off of the Atlantic Ocean. With mostly dry air around (and limited instability) rain chances will remain very low through the middle of the week. However, by Friday, our dry air wedge will be pushed out... so a steady supply of tropical moisture will enter the region.
In the tropics, we're following the "last bit of life" from Ernesto. It made its initial landfall near Chetumal (already) and has emerged over the Bay of Campeche. Over the next 24 hours, it will make a second landfall... along the central Mexico coastline, this time. Also on the tropical weather map is a vigorous tropical wave that's impacting the Caribbean islands. If the wave can hold together, the northern extent of it COULD impact the Bahamas and south Florida by Friday. Meanwhile, we'll be keeping watch on a possible disturbance forming in the central Atlantic. For now, the Hurricane Center is giving it a "medium" development chance. | <urn:uuid:4936f6ad-3d34-43b5-a696-ab39c1098578> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wsvn.com/weather/blog/posts/MI95846/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929743 | 362 | 1.78125 | 2 |
I thus concocted a plan. As soon as we escaped our wedding reception, I drove my new bride to the beach and unfurled my best kite, a large triangular beauty with a thousand feet of string. I picked a favorite local spot for flying kites, just in front of the cliffs at Torrey Pines State Reserve, near La Jolla, Calif., where I knew I could count on the steady onshore breeze to form an updraft. It all worked. Still in her wedding gown, Michelle stood ankle-deep in wet sand, acting giddy as a schoolgirl as she let the wind carry the kite skyward. Six years later we still talk about the magic of that moment.
ILLUSTRATION BY DANIELS & DANIELS
Kites are wonderfully inexpensive platforms for aerial photography, something countless scientists, from archaeologists to geologists, use in their research. The view obtained from easy kite height¿say, 1,000 feet (300 meters) up¿is perfect for monitoring all kinds of environmental changes. But picture taking is not all that's possible: new lightweight data loggers and sensors of all kinds should make for an explosion of kite-based research of other types. Aspiring meteorologists could, for example, determine temperature as a function of altitude using a thermocouple and a simple pressure sensor. And lifting a hot-ball anemometer (see the November 1995 column) would reveal the speed of the wind aloft. Although I describe here only kite-borne aerial photography¿a technique called KAP by its practitioners¿I'm certainly looking for clever research projects of other kinds using kites. If you've done such work, please let me know so that I can share your inventiveness with this column's many interested readers.
What's the best kind of kite for carrying scientific equipment? That's a hard one to answer. Franklin was limited to the basic diamond-shaped flyer, but kites are now available in a wide variety of designs. For gentle zephyrs not exceeding about 10 miles (16 kilometers) per hour, the "Rokkaku" type is a good lifter. A large one covering 30 square feet sells for around $130 at your local kite store, or you can contact Into the Wind (800-541-0314). For moderate to stiff breezes (about 10 to 20 miles per hour) KAPers often prefer the "flow-form" or "parafoil" designs. There are no rigid supports in these lightweight wind catchers, which resemble puffy parachutes and fold up for easy transport. Such kites will fly well in a moderate autumn breeze and will pull like tractors in strong wind. A flow-form kite with an area of roughly 30 square feet sells for about $120. | <urn:uuid:990e8d65-6051-443c-8683-7acc2ede0d03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=using-a-kite-as-an-experi | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928876 | 582 | 2.171875 | 2 |
UM Nobel Laureate Collaborates on Study of Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone
A team of international researchers, including Nobel laureate Andrew V. Schally, Ph.D., M.D.h.c., D.Sc.h.c., distinguished professor of pathology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and distinguished medical research scientist in the Department of Veterans Affairs, has uncovered a surprising new activity of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), which could redirect future studies. Schally worked with Jozsef L. Varga, Ph.D., research associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology Oncology and researcher at the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The findings are the result of a collaboration with researchers at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, led by Felipe F. Casanueva, M.D., Ph.D., and are published in the December 15 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Growth hormone is normally released by the pituitary to help the body’s skeletal system and muscle mass develop. Its function is at its highest during adolescence when children experience a high rate of growth. In past studies, Schally, a professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology Oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, has shown that growth hormone also plays a role in fueling the growth of several cancer lines.
Because of growth hormone’s normal impact on the body and its potential to trigger the proliferation of cancer cells, scientists have long been interested in determining exactly what factors regulate its release in the body. Decades ago, researchers discovered that growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), which stimulates the secretion of growth hormone, and somatostatin, which inhibits its release, were two factors. In 2001, scientists discovered another peptide which stimulates secretion: ghrelin. That has led endocrinologists to examine how these three factors interact.
For GHRH and ghrelin, the two known stimulators of growth hormone, to exert their action normally, they must bind to a receptor, which lies in the pituitary. Scientists believed that each factor would only bind to its own corresponding receptor. Surprisingly, this international team of researchers found that GHRH acts on the ghrelin receptor in addition to its own receptor. “This finding,” says Schally, “demonstrates another element in the regulation of growth hormone that we must now pursue.”
Researchers now plan to focus on how growth hormone-releasing hormone acts on the ghrelin receptor. “We must learn how these factors interact, if we are to find a way to control them,” says Schally, who has dedicated much of his research over the last 15 years to synthesizing GHRH antagonists which bind to the GHRH receptor and block the growth hormone activity. These antagonists have also been shown to bind to GHRH receptors within cancer cells, thereby blocking the effects of local growth hormone-releasing hormone which would have otherwise fueled the tumor.
This study brings together a number of elements for future direction. Scientists have already determined that some cancer cells have receptors for GHRH and ghrelin. Schally and his laboratory have previously found that GHRH antagonists block the growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor. Knowing that GHRH acts on the ghrelin receptor, researchers will now take a closer look at whether GHRH antagonists will block ghrelin receptors within cancer cells accordingly. “This will take us another step closer to finding a therapy for cancer,” says the Nobel laureate. | <urn:uuid:b130c49e-aee5-437d-8937-9ee4478e0dbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sylvester.org/news/2009/01/um-nobel-laureate-collaborates-on-study-of-growth-hormone-releasing-hormone | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945505 | 755 | 2.40625 | 2 |
IronJungle built this Twitter robot hand and wrote a detailed explanation describing the build. Control a Robot Hand by sending a tweet to @OurCatDoor. The Robot Hand understand the following commands. If your tweet includes one these commands in the … Read more
Tag Archives: robot
Matt Denton of Micromagic Systems built this Mantis hexapod robot powered by hydraulics: After four years intensive R&D, inspiration, design and build, Micromagic Systems is proud to unveil Mantis — the biggest, all-terrain operational hexapod robot in the world. This 2.2-litre … Read more
Autonomous robot navigates using collisions: Meet the AirBurr, an autonomous flying robot specifically designed for missions in difficult, confined environments under total darkness. Airburr is inspired b the simple navigation strategy that insects use to follow – It follows a … Read more
Boris Landoni from Open Electronics documented his Robofish build: We introduce you a robot fish that is able to swim and recognize tank edges and obstacles. We’ll find out how we can easily create it with common insulating material and … Read more
WebWarrior sends a video of a eNTuino based biped robot: Junior is a Biped Robot based on eNTuino (Arduino-Compatible) platform. Robotics enthusiasts can make the best of the quality electronics platform, smartly designed mechanics and the wonderful Arduino IDE to … Read more
Clint Stevenson and his son built this animatronic robot head for his Valentine’s Day treat box for school and wrote up the build on the Casco Logix blog. He relates, “The blog post doesn’t talk about or show the body … Read more
Here’s a video demonstrating the Pinoccio Web Rover. A mobile phone accelerometer in Brazil is controlling the small robot in Nevada in real time. The Pinoccio is an Arduino compatible Wireless platform. It’s based on the ATMega128rfa1 microcontroller with an … Read more
On our Shenzhen trip we were joined by the Oomlout team. While discussing a reel-to-strip cutting robot, Aaron mentioned that he has a resistor cutting robot. It’s built from laser cut MDF and acrylic, with a bunch of servos attached … Read more
Techbitar wrote this Instructable detailing the build of his GOduino III – the breadboard-friendly Arduino-based robot controller. We previously covered the GOduino II. The GOduino III is based on the ATmega328p microcontroller and the L293D dual h-bridge. It’s built with DIP … Read more
Erdabyz finalized his Arduino-based line following robot. The design is open source and you can download the project files in the forum. He has 20 board which he’d sell for $3.5 +shipping. Via the forum.
Vinu designed and built this servo walker based on the MSP430 Launchpad. He documented his design, along with instructions on how to build one. Hi, I bought two small servo motors last month. I was thinking what I can do … Read more
Exapod designed this Arduino based hexapod robot as a final exam project. The Arduino was used for the prototype, final version will use his ORbit16 development board we wrote about previously.
Seeed Studio started selling Makeblock, a new Arduino controlled modular robotics platform. They are made of aluminum, and come in many modular shapes you can design your robot with: Makeblock is made of strong, hardened aluminum which is able to … Read more
The MSProbot is one of the projects The Longhorn Engineer featured at the Bay Area Maker Faire 2012. It’s an MSP430 Launch Pad with tank treads, a prototyping area, and sensor breakouts. Check out our interview with Parker and see … Read more
Ever get tired of fiddling with tiny surface mount components using tweezers and a magnifying glass? The OpenPnP project that aims to be your sweet relief: OpenPnP is a project to create the plans, prototype and software for a completely … Read more
We all know it’s just a matter of time before robots take over the world. Here’s a preview of some of the forms our future overlords might take. More pictures below.
tinito build a large two-wheel balancing robot: tiltOne is a two-wheel balancing robot 90cm tall and able to carry up to 50kg of payload. There are lot of small balancing robots around, but size matters, especially when speaking of balancing … Read more
Chris writes in with an easier way to control an Arduino robot from an Android phone or tablet: Hey guys, I have been putting together a little robot controller app… I tried the Andriod/Arduino stuff and the CellBots stuff etc … Read more
This robot kicking the beer can around in this video is known as DARwin-OP. This the result of an Open Platform Humanoid Project sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States and developed by RoMeLa at Virginia … Read more
Humanoido from LetsMakeRobots posted the above photo of a major project involving Parallax Propeller chips. Advanced Robot Big Brain 1-year in the making. Over 100 Parallax Propeller chips and over 100,000 enhanced chip processors. Controls 3,200 robots or I/O. SuperMicroController. … Read more | <urn:uuid:4b71bb80-d008-4851-a06b-4d3875805bc1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dangerousprototypes.com/tag/robot/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91534 | 1,157 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Merry Christmas! Are you in need of some rest and recuperation? A few minutes spent in the following poses should bring back some merriment in no time flat!
1. Sun Salutations
Unite, northern brethren, against the travails of SAD (or Seasonal Affective Disorder)! The sun has gone into hiding. Days are short. Nights are long. The world is cold, cold, cold. We feel sleepy, groggy and just not ourselves. While the holidays can be a wonderful time to reconnect, they can also be stressful—think angry travelers, financial pressures, dysfunctional get-togethers, overeating and over-imbibing. This can wreak havoc on even the most hearty of internal balances.
By all counts, ancient people had it far worse. During the winter months, dark days meant the threat of starvation, disease, wild animals and marauding hordes. December 21—the shortest day of the year—was a joyous occasion meant to honor the return of the sun god. Enjoy a few good sun salutes today. Relax the feet into the earth, synchronize body and mind, and breath while moving through the sequence. Open the joints, stretch the muscles and release toxins. Treat your own body to its own sense of rebirth.
2. Balasana (Child’s Pose)
Linger for a few minutes in child’s pose to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Allow the hips to open. Place the forehead on the floor. Remember the inherent virtue of introspection. Strength does not always come to him or her who talks the loudest or seems to accomplish the most according to our culture’s version of accomplishment. Everything needn’t be perfect. Remember “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”? The Grizwold holiday was a disaster—and we love them for it! The moral of this story? Aunt Vera can do without the second Christmas present. The damn chocolate souffle will fall. Your neighbor will get that fourth degree from Harvard and discuss it incessantly during Christmas dinner. Oh well. Remember the reason for the season. And, if it gets too bad, try balasana under the dinner table. Maybe somebody else will do the dishes.
3. Happy Baby
Babies are happy. They have their whole lives ahead of them. After this pose, you will be too. Super-charge your adrenals by grounding your lower back into the ground and pressing your feet into your hands. Rock from side to side under the Christmas tree. Be aware of falling ornaments or sharp toys. Your body will thank you for it.
4. Natarajasana (Cosmic Dancer)
Today, the world is full of salvation and promise. For some reason, this pose reminds me of Lifetime holiday movies. There is something vaguely Santa-like about their December programming. Cause always equals effect. The girl always gets the guy or the great new job. The family reconciles after many trying Christmases. Usually, this is achieved through the magical, supernatural intervention of a third party. Who would have guessed that the volunteer Santa from the community center becomes a new boyfriend? Who would imagine the next-door neighbor is Santa? Or that the lady in the subway token booth is a fairy godmother? There really is somebody or something which allows us to supercharge our souls when we really need it, to scrape away the tarnish and corrosion to reveal the shine underneath. There is always hope. Root onto the earth with one foot. (Seriously, you’re going to need it. Destroying old perspectives and old habits is hard work!) Take your time. Lengthen the spine with each inhale. Lean forward with each exhale.
Soak it all in and reset!
Ed: Brianna B. | <urn:uuid:613ef813-6f64-4d36-a3f8-1cda99704686> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/12/a-yoga-mat-in-a-pear-tree-a-christmas-practice-for-the-imperfect/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942624 | 794 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Social Platform Security Tips: Don’t be the next Jeep or Burger King
If you believe its hacked Twitter account, Jeep was sold to Cadillac today. Yesterday it was Burger King’s Twitter account that was compromised.
This rash of hacks is a wake up call for marketers, brands and social platforms alike. Security is an often overlooked aspect of social media management, which stands in contrast against the tools, practices and auditing that goes into website security.
While sensitive information may not be immediately at risk, brand perception and trust can be undermined in an instant, with the bad news pushed directly to users’ feeds.
Before we go any further there are two key points to information security you should come to grips with:
- The only guarantee is to not be a target. The means and lengths people will go to are proportional to their motivation to gain access. Conversely, there are opportunists who will take advantage of any easy situation just for bragging rights.
- Information security is a cat and mouse game, the only effective solution is vigilance.
Simply having a social media presence means your brand is now sitting on the largest and most prized targets online for Hacktivists who may not even have an agenda involving your brand, but will gladly make an example of you to get attention. It’s also no secret that the freedom of expression facilitated by social media is a thorn in the side of many governments who are actively trying to squelch dissent.
The bad news is that there is nothing you can do when attackers go after social networks directly. This is the risk we take when relying on 3rd party platforms and services. Even the mighty fall, as was demonstrated by Twitter’s recent password breach that affected 250,000 users, and one at LinkedIn that affected 6.5 million users. It will happen again, despite best efforts and vigilance. Brands and agencies have to operate on the assumption that social networks aren’t secure.
What it means for social platforms
It’s time to recognize that brands are a different type of user, or as is often the case large groups of users operating on the same page. Facebook has done a reasonably solid job of building team management into brand pages, however pages still rely on traditional Facebook accounts which lead to bad practices and expose them to the same risks. Twitter allows a single account per email address, but this shared account model makes it difficult for agencies to manage access and permissions. With the Bluefin Labs acquisition, it is only a matter of time before media and analytics agencies will be clamoring for access. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and anyone else serious about having brands on their platform need to invest time in better understanding how brands operate day to day.
It’s also time for these platforms to use their influence to shape security standards on the web. Username / password combinations are convenient but not the most secure. (When emails are substituted for usernames they are even more convenient, and even less secure.) Facebook provides two-factor authentication, but should be more forceful in promoting it when users sign-up or are added as managers to a brand page or app. Page managers should have the option to make this mandatory when trying to operate as a brand page. Twitter has no such option, which could have saved Burger King from a heap of embarrassment.
In addition, we’d like to see networks get involved in R&D efforts for new ways of authenticating users on the web. Google is researching using a key-file or physical device to make authentication not only more secure, but easier and faster. (Those of you familiar with SSH public key-based authentication will get the drift.)
Third-party management tools such as Hootsuite add an extra layer of insulation, which can help. However, we often find brands using free versions of these tools that don’t offer advanced team management features. These tools are still subject to the same access risks, and can in fact be worse if a breach does occur since an attacker will have access to all of a brand’s social channels.
What it means for marketers and brands
Put simply: tools, training, policy and practices for information security need serious consideration. Your brand website and corporate email are subject to stringent security requirements and audits and are protected by firewalls and access policies. Your social channels often come down to a single username and password. It’s time to think about access to your social channels in the same light.
We’re not going to cover a complete set of company policies and guidelines in this post. That would involve a larger discussion of IT security and enterprise systems; this is a discussion brands should have with their agencies, third parties and related IT departments to define the policies and get the tools in place that are right for their situation.
However, if the Burger King incident kept you up a bit last night, you can follow these simple steps to make some immediate improvements:
- Have a gatekeeper. Any ‘master’ accounts should be managed by a senior owner for the brand. Granting and denying access to master accounts and brand pages should run through this individual. If someone requests access, refer them to your gatekeeper, don’t provide it yourself.
- Keep it professional. Create a Facebook account just for work. Most agencies already follow this practice, but there’s room for improvement on the client side. When dealing with a 3rd party, insist they follow this rule as well.
- Only friend co-workers or vendors working on your brand pages
- Restrict all sharing and privacy settings
- Verify the account
- Enable two-factor authentication
- Don’t log in on a mobile device unless it is absolutely necessary. If you have to, sign-out immediately when you’re done.
As we mentioned earlier, the only way to be successful with information security is through vigilance. No system or tool can protect you, but backed by the right policies, procedures and attention you can make sure your brand doesn’t end up a headline for the wrong reasons. | <urn:uuid:f3f1a6ac-7bd0-4497-bf2e-c16dda19b4cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.deepfocus.net/blog/social-marketing/social-platform-security-tips-dont-be-the-next-jeep-or-burger-king | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949016 | 1,248 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Date(s) - 3 May 2012
1:10 PM - 2:00 PM
3043 ECpE Building Addition
Title: Challenges in Making Security More Accessible: Results From Two Security Projects
Speaker: Larry Koved, Senior Research Staff Member, Information Security Group, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
Abstract: Talk 1: Making Security Accessible to Programmers
Creating secure software systems remains a challenge for most developers, even for those who are conscientious about following security best practices. Software development has evolved to incorporate complex software frameworks, middleware and components developed by multiple parties. We have seen the rise of tools for testing the security of applications, including so called “black box” testing and “white box” testing. Some of these include static analysis technologies, and run-time testing to verify specific security properties, as well as conformance to “best practices” The lack of integration of these security tools creates a significant burden on most developers, many of whom lack formal training in secure software development and deployment practices. They are often less motivated to secure their software than security professionals.
To address the challenges of creating secure Java applications we created a tool that integrates a suite of security analysis tools into the Java Development Tool in the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment. SWORD4J greatly simplifies many complex and time consuming tasks required to develop secure software components. thus significantly reducing the time to perform security analysis tasks.
Talk 2: Usability Challenges in the Use of Biometric Authentication with Mobile Devices
Speaker Bio: Larry Koved is a senior Research Staff Member in the Information Security Group at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in New York. Larry was an early key contributor to the design Java security, including Java Authentication and Authorization Services (JAAS), and Java 2 Enterprise Edition security. His research has included scalable static program analysis algorithms to address security, scalability, performance and correctness issues in very large scale Java applications and systems. More recently, he chaired the OpenAjax security task force that resulted in the design and implementation of a browser-based mechanism for secure Web 2.0 mashups. Current security research interests include mobile security, fraud detection, and usable security.
Prior to his work in security, Larry worked in the areas of mobile computing, multi-user collaborative systems, Virtual Reality, distributed systems, and hypertext. His graduate work was in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Maryland, College Park. Larry is an ACM Senior Member and IEEE Senior Member. | <urn:uuid:2196a250-9f2a-462e-9e2b-5d6526157795> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ece.iastate.edu/seminars-and-events/challenges-in-making-security-more-accessible-results-from-two-security-projects/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920224 | 518 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Finger-wagging is Ruskin's modus operandi, in "Traffic" as elsewhere; his prose thrives on berating the ignorant for their presumptuous errors. Were Ruskin to aim his condescension at the defenseless, his essays would read as petty. Ruskin instead hectors the powerful, those who could positively influence culture but prefer to entrench common misunderstandings and misjudgments. At times Ruskin's targets are so lofty that he risks outsizing his argument, offending his audience, or both.
Good architecture is the work of good and believing men; therefore, you say, at least some people say, "Good architecture must essentially have been the work of the clergy, not of the laity." No — a thousand times, no; good architecture has always been the work of the commonalty, not of the clergy. "What," you say, "those glorious cathedrals — the pride of Europe — did their builders not form Gothic architecture?" No; they corrupted Gothic architecture. Gothic was formed by the thoughts, and hands, and powers of labouring citizens and warrior kings. By the monk it was used as an institution for the aid of his superstition: when that superstition became a beautiful madness, and the best hearts of Europe vainly dreamed and pined in the cloister, and vainly raged and perished in the crusade, — through that fury of perverted faith and wasted war, the Gothic rose also to its loveliest, most fantastic, and, finally, most foolish dreams; and in those dreams was lost. [pp. 282-83]
Ruskin's attempt to persuade an audience of finance wonks that Gothic architecture's loveliest achievements were also its most foolish strikes me as ludicrously quaint. It is possible, however, that those wonks had already closed their ears to Ruskin's argument, because of his inflammatory comments on the Church.
1. Was Ruskin gambling with his credibility when he referred to Christianity as superstition? Did he intend to shock, or did the Victorian businessman not care about the question of the Church's fallibility?
2. This passage, like much of "Traffic," contends that a beautiful aesthetic is not beautiful unless its social function harmoniously matches its physical characteristics. Does Ruskin run the risk of holding culture to too high a standard? If so, then he may be called a hypocrite or a bore. I prefer to think of him as a career contrarian, by which I mean he's immensely valuable. But what is the mood of this contrarian's prose? Is he pessimistic? Idealistic? Angry? Or does he calculate mood to lubricate his current argument?
Ruskin, John. The Genius of John Ruskin: Selections from His Writings. John D. Rosenberg, ed. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. 1998.
Last modified 15 March 2005 | <urn:uuid:786a8266-2847-45bc-aee6-c1d2bdbcdbb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://victorian.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/victorianweb/authors/ruskin/fretty5.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978266 | 593 | 2.171875 | 2 |
"Bonds" means any bonds, interim certificates, notes, debentures or other obligations of a company issued under this section.
"Community-based energy system" means a small-scale energy production system or device which serves a local area or portion thereof, including, but not limited to, a small scale power plant, using coal, sun, wind, organic waste or other form of energy, if the system is located sufficiently close to the community to make the dual production of heat and electricity possible. "Community-based energy system" also means a methane producing system or solar, wind or other energy source system for individual buildings or facilities.
"Company" and "electric company" mean a municipal electric company.
"Contracting municipality" means a municipality which contracts to establish an electric company under this section.
"Municipal electric company" means a public corporation created by contract between 2 or more municipalities under this section.
"Municipality" means a city, village, or town, or an electric utility, or combined utility, owned or operated by a city, village, or town.
"Person" means a natural person, a public agency, a cooperative, an unincorporated cooperative association, or a private corporation, limited liability company, association, firm, partnership, or business trust of any nature, organized and existing under the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign nation or any subdivision of any foreign nation.
"Project" means any plant, works, system, facilities, and real and personal property of any nature, together with all parts, and appurtenances, used or useful in the generation, production, transmission, distribution, purchase, sale, exchange, or interchange of electric power and energy, or any interest or right to capacity and the acquisition of fuel of any kind for these purposes including: the acquisition of fuel deposits and the acquisition or construction and operation of facilities for extracting fuel from natural deposits, for converting it for use in another form, for burning it in place, for transportation, storage and reprocessing or for any energy conservation measure which involves public education or the actual fitting and application of a device.
Any municipality, municipal corporation, political subdivision, governmental unit, or public corporation, created under the laws of this state, another state, the United States, or any foreign nation or subdivision of any foreign nation.
Any state, the United States, or any foreign nation or subdivision of any foreign nation.
Any person, board, or other body, that is declared by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign nation or any subdivision of any foreign nation to be a department, agency, or instrumentality of the state, the United States, or the foreign nation or subdivision.
(4) Creation of municipal electric companies. 66.0825(4)(a)(a)
Any combination of municipalities of this state or of this state and other states which operates facilities for the generation, transmission or distribution of electric power and energy may, by contract with each other, establish a separate governmental entity to be known as a municipal electric company to be used by the contracting municipalities to effect joint development of electric energy resources or production, distribution and transmission of electric power and energy in whole or in part for the benefit of the contracting municipalities. The municipalities party to the contract may amend the contract as provided in the contract.
Any contract entered into under this section shall be filed with the secretary of state. Upon receipt, the secretary shall record the contract and issue a certificate of incorporation stating the name of the company and the date and fact of incorporation. Upon issuance of the certificate, the existence of the company shall begin.
Any contract establishing an electric company under this section shall specify:
The name and purpose of the company and the functions or services to be provided by the company. The name may refer to the company as an agency, authority, company, corporation, group, system or other descriptive title.
The establishment and organization of a governing body of the company which shall be a board of directors in which all powers of the company are vested. The contract may provide for the creation by the board of an executive committee of the board to which the powers and duties may be delegated as the board specifies.
The number of directors, the manner of their appointment, terms of office and compensation, if any, and the procedure for filling vacancies on the board. Each contracting municipality may appoint one member to the board of directors and may remove that member at will.
The manner of selection of the officers of the company and their duties.
The voting requirements for action by the board. Unless specifically provided otherwise, a majority of directors constitutes a quorum and a majority of the quorum is necessary for any action taken by the board.
The duties of the board which shall include the obligation to comply with this section and the laws of the state and with each term, provision and covenant in the contract creating the company on its part to be kept or performed.
The manner in which additional municipalities may become parties to the contract by amendment.
Provisions for the disposition, division or distribution of any property or assets of the company on dissolution.
The term of the contract, which may be a definite period or until rescinded or terminated, and the method, if any, by which the contract may be rescinded or terminated. The contract may not be rescinded or terminated while the company has bonds outstanding, unless provision for full payment of the bonds, by escrow or otherwise, has been made pursuant to the terms of the bonds or the resolution, trust indenture or security instrument securing the bonds.
The general powers of an electric company include the power to:
Plan, develop, acquire, construct, reconstruct, operate, manage, dispose of, participate in, maintain, repair, extend or improve one or more projects within or outside the state and act as agent, or designate one or more other persons participating in a project to act as its agent, in connection with the planning, acquisition, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, extension or improvement of the project.
Produce, acquire, sell, distribute and process fuels necessary to the production of electric power and energy and implement energy conservation measures necessary to meet energy needs.
Enter into franchises, exchange, interchange, pooling, wheeling, transmission and other similar agreements with any person or public agency.
Make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers of the company.
Contract with any person or public agency within or outside the state, for the construction of any project or for the sale or transmission of electric power and energy generated by any project, or for any interest in a project or any right to capacity of a project, on the terms and for the period that its board of directors determines.
Purchase, sell, exchange, transmit or distribute electric power and energy within and outside the state in the amounts necessary and appropriate to make the most effective use of its powers and to meet its responsibilities, and to enter into agreements with any person or public agency with respect to the purchase, sale, exchange, or transmission, on the terms and for the period that its board of directors determines. A company may not sell power and energy at retail unless requested to do so by a municipal member within the service area of that municipal member.
Acquire, own, hold, use, lease as lessor or lessee, sell or otherwise dispose of, mortgage, pledge, or grant a security interest in any real or personal property, commodity or service or interest in any real or personal property, commodity or service, subject to s. 182.017 (7)
Exercise the powers of eminent domain granted to public utility corporations under ch. 32
Incur debts, liabilities or obligations including the borrowing of money and the issuance of bonds, secured or unsecured, under sub. (11) (b)
Fix, maintain and revise fees, rates, rents and charges for functions, services, facilities or commodities provided by the company.
Make, and from time to time amend and repeal, bylaws, rules and regulations not inconsistent with this section to carry into effect the powers and purposes of the company.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, invest any funds held in reserve or sinking funds, or any funds not required for immediate disbursement, including the proceeds from the sale of any bonds, in obligations, securities and other investments that the company deems proper.
Join organizations, membership in which is deemed by the board of directors to be beneficial to accomplishment of the company's purposes.
Exercise any other powers which are deemed necessary and convenient by the company to effectuate the purposes of the company.
Do and perform any acts and things authorized by this section under, through or by means of an agent or by contracts with any person.
(6m) Energy conservation duties.
A municipal electric company established by contract under this section shall consider energy conservation measures and the development of efficient, community-based energy systems.
(7) Public character.
An electric company established by contract under this section constitutes a political subdivision and body public and corporate of the state, exercising public powers, separate from the contracting municipalities. It has the duties, privileges, immunities, rights, liabilities and disabilities of a public body politic and corporate but does not have taxing power.
In this paragraph, "purchase of electric power and energy" includes any right to capacity or interest in any project.
The contracting municipalities may provide in the contract created under sub. (5)
for payment to the company of funds for commodities to be procured and services to be rendered by the company. These municipalities and other persons and public agencies may enter into purchase agreements with the company for the purchase of electric power and energy whereby the purchaser is obligated to make payments in amounts which shall be sufficient to enable the company to meet its expenses, interest and principal payments, whether at maturity or upon debt service fund redemption, for its bonds, reasonable reserves for debt service, operation and maintenance and renewals and replacements and the requirements of any rate covenant with respect to debt service coverage contained in any resolution, trust indenture or other security instrument.
Purchase agreements entered into under subd. 2.
may, in addition to the provisions authorized under subd. 2.
, contain other terms and conditions that the company and the purchasers determine, including provisions obligating the purchaser to pay for power irrespective of whether energy is produced or delivered to the purchaser or whether any project contemplated by any agreement under subd. 2.
is completed, operable or operating, and notwithstanding suspension, interruption, interference, reduction or curtailment of the output of the project.
Purchase agreements entered into under subd. 2.
may be for a term covering the life of a project or for any other term, or for an indefinite period. The contract created under sub. (5)
or a purchase agreement may provide that if one or more of the purchasers defaults in the payment of its obligations under a purchase agreement, the remaining purchasers which also have purchase agreements shall accept and pay for and are entitled proportionately to use or otherwise dispose of the power and energy to be purchased by the defaulting purchaser.
The obligations of a municipality under a purchase agreement with a company or arising out of the default by any other purchaser with respect to a purchase agreement are not debt of the municipality. To the extent provided in the purchase agreement, the obligations constitute special obligations of the municipality, payable solely from the revenues and other moneys derived by the municipality from its municipal electric utility and shall be treated as expenses of operating a municipal electric utility.
The contract may provide for payments in the form of contributions to defray the cost of any purpose set forth in the contract and as advances for any purpose in the contract subject to repayment by the company.
An electric company may sell or exchange, to any other person or public agency, excess power and energy produced or owned by it not required by any of the contracting municipalities for the consideration, period and terms and conditions that it determines.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other statute, nothing prohibits a company from undertaking any project in conjunction with or owning any project jointly with any person or public agency.
An electric company created under this section is a "public utility" for purposes of ch. 196
, except that the terms and conditions and the rates at which a company sells power and energy for resale are not subject to regulation or alteration by the public service commission.
An electric company may issue such types of bonds as it determines, subject only to any agreement with the holders of particular bonds, including bonds as to which the principal and interest are payable exclusively from all or a portion of the revenues from one or more projects, from one or more revenue producing contracts made by the company with any person or public agency, or from its revenues generally, or which may be additionally secured by a pledge of any grant, subsidy, or contribution from any public agency or other person, or a pledge of any income or revenues, funds, or moneys of the company from any source.
A company may issue bonds in principal amounts that the company deems necessary to provide sufficient funds to carry out any of its corporate purposes and powers, including the establishment or increase of reserves, interest accrued during construction of a project and for a period not exceeding one year after the completion of construction of a project, and the payment of all other costs or expenses of the company incident to and necessary or convenient to carry out its corporate purposes and powers.
Neither the members of the board of directors of a company nor any person executing the bonds is liable personally on the bonds by reason of the issuance of the bonds.
The bonds of an electric company, and the bonds shall so state on their face, are not a debt of the municipalities which are parties to the contract creating the company or of the state and neither the state nor any municipality is liable on the bonds nor are the bonds payable out of any funds or properties other than those of the company.
Bonds of an electric company shall be authorized by resolution of the board of directors and may be issued under the resolution or under a trust indenture or other security instrument in one or more series and shall bear the dates, mature at the times, bear interest at the rates, be in the denominations, be in the form of coupon bonds or registered bonds under s. 67.09
, have the rank or priority, be executed in the manner, be payable in the medium of payment, at the places, and be subject to the terms of redemption, with or without premium, that the resolution, trust indenture or other security instrument provides, and without limitation by the provisions of any other law limiting amounts, maturities or interest rates.
The bonds may be sold at public or private sale as the company provides and at the prices that the company determines.
If an officer whose signature appears on a bond or coupon ceases to be an officer before the delivery of the obligation, the signature is valid and sufficient for all purposes, as if the officer had remained in office until delivery.
The company may in connection with the issuance of its bonds:
Covenant as to the use of any or all of its property, real or personal.
Redeem the bonds, covenant for their redemption and provide the terms and conditions of the redemption.
Covenant to charge rates, fees and charges sufficient to meet operating and maintenance expenses, renewals and replacements to a project, principal and debt service on bonds, creation and maintenance of any reserves required by a bond resolution, trust indenture or other security instrument and to provide for any margins or coverages over and above debt service on the bonds deemed desirable for the marketability of the bonds.
Covenant and prescribe as to events of default and terms and conditions upon which any of its bonds become or may be declared due before maturity, as to the terms and conditions upon which the declaration and its consequences may be waived and as to the consequences of default and the remedies of bondholders.
Covenant as to the mortgage or pledge of or the grant of a security interest in any real or personal property and all or any part of the revenues from any project or any revenue producing contract made by the company with any person or public agency to secure the payment of bonds, subject to existing agreements with the holders of bonds.
Covenant as to the custody, collection, securing, investment and payment of any revenues, assets, moneys, funds or property with respect to which the company may have any rights or interest.
Covenant as to the purposes to which the proceeds from the sale of any bonds may be applied, and the pledge of the proceeds to secure the payment of the bonds.
Covenant as to limitations on the issuance of any additional bonds, the terms upon which additional bonds may be issued and secured, and the refunding of outstanding bonds.
Covenant as to the rank or priority of any bonds with respect to any lien or security.
Covenant as to the procedure by which the terms of any contract with or for the benefit of the holders of bonds may be amended or abrogated, the amount of bonds, the holders of which must consent to amendment or abrogation, and the manner in which consent may be given.
Covenant as to the custody and safekeeping of any of its properties or investments, the insurance to be carried on the properties or investments, and the use and disposition of insurance proceeds.
Covenant as to the vesting in one or more trustees, within or outside the state, of those properties, rights, powers and duties in trust that the company determines.
Covenant as to the appointing and providing for the duties and obligations of one or more paying agents or other fiduciaries within or outside the state.
Make all other covenants and do all acts necessary or convenient or desirable in order to secure its bonds, or in the absolute discretion of the company tend to make the bonds more marketable; notwithstanding that the covenants, acts or things may not be enumerated in this subsection. A company may do all things in the issuance of bonds and in the provisions for security of the bonds which are not inconsistent with the constitution of the state.
Execute all instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers granted in this subsection or in the performance of covenants or duties, which may contain covenants and provisions that any purchaser of the bonds of the company reasonably requires.
(14) Refunding bonds.
A company may issue refunding bonds for the purpose of paying any of its bonds at or prior to maturity or upon acceleration or redemption. Refunding bonds may be issued at the time prior to the maturity or redemption of the refunded bonds that the company deems to be in the public interest. The refunding bonds may be issued in sufficient amounts to pay or provide the principal of the bonds being refunded, together with any redemption premium on the bonds, any interest accrued or to accrue to the date of payment of the bonds, the expenses of issue of the refunding bonds, the expenses of redeeming the bonds being refunded, and the reserves for debt service or other capital or current expenses from the proceeds of the refunding bonds as required by the resolution, trust indenture or other security instruments. The issue of, the maturities and other details of, the security for, the rights of the holders of, and the rights, duties and obligations of the company in respect of the refunding bonds are governed by the provisions of this section relating to the issue of bonds other than refunding bonds to the extent that the provisions are applicable.
Any of the following may invest funds, including capital in their control or belonging to them, in bonds issued by a company under this section:
Public officers and agencies and political subdivisions of the state. | <urn:uuid:70df743b-5343-485b-beba-9b3e30035970> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/66/VIII/0825/6/d | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927158 | 4,064 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Coordinated Care Organizations Could Advance Public Health Priorities
September 26, 2012 -- The new coordinated care organizations provide enormous opportunities to further the state’s public health agenda, but the new organizations are more likely to be successful in counties with strong existing public health departments, the state’s top public health officer told The Lund Report.
Oregon Public Health Director Dr. Mel Kohn said that it’s too early to say if public health considerations are playing a key role in the new organizations, but he singled out Lane County as very forward thinking, in part due to the strong leadership shown by the county’s pubic health officer, Pat Luedtke.
Coordinated care organizations (CCOs) got under way in August and represent a new way of delivering healthcare by focusing on prevention and integrating physical, mental and oral health under one umbrella. Roughly 500,000 people, formerly on the Oregon Health Plan, have joined one of the 13 CCOs around the state. There are three pending applications for CCOs as well.
Kohn wouldn’t say which public health departments could stand to improve, and wouldn’t comment on where he thinks it might be tougher for public health to be incorporated into these CCOs.
“I have not done a map around the state,” Kohn said, adding that he’ll likely have a better sense of where public health priorities are represented by the CCOs – and where they aren’t -- in the next few months, noting that the new organizations are preoccupied now with getting themselves up and running.
But, his office recently completed some strategic planning and set six priorities. They are, in no particular order, he said:
Tobacco prevention. This is still the leading preventable cause of death and disability. “We’ve just got to invest in it and make it a priority,” he said, adding that the CCOs “have a role to play” especially in the clinical setting.
Obesity. Being overweight has become a significant problem for Oregonians and is the leading driver of many diseases.
Heart disease and stroke. These remain leading killers and are heavily intertwined with tobacco and obesity.
Suicide. Oregon has “more suicide deaths than we have motor vehicle crash deaths,” he said – and the rates are slowly increasing.
Family violence. Kohn said there’s a lot of research showing that exposure to violence, especially in early childhood, is a major driver of many other problems.
Community resilience after emergencies. This is a relative new priority for public health professionals and stems from the 9-11 attacks.
Kohn said the CCOs already established have shown a “great deal of interest” in these priorities, but stressed that local support for any initiative is key, as much of change occurs “outside of the doctor’s office.”
He cited the recent success for the campaign to get fluoride into Portland’s water as an example of how community efforts can push through policy changes, and believes fluoridation “will have a very positive implication for the areas served by the CCO in these water systems.”
Kohn doesn’t have a specific timetable as to when he’d actually judge whether the CCOs have been successful on the public health front, but said the new organizations need a year or two under their belt before he could make any definitive comments. And, it will take at least a decade before the transformation process moves toward improving health of the population.
Nevertheless, Kohn believes the CCO model is absolutely the way to go.
“This is a community government process that has health as its outcome – better health as well as better care and lower costs.”
(This is the first in a series of articles on how the coordinated care organizations are expected to focus on public health issues. We welcome ideas, as well from our readers at The Lund Report). | <urn:uuid:eaaa728b-655c-4b4c-ab3a-0b04e979bfea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thelundreport.org/resource/coordinated_care_organizations_could_advance_public_health_priorities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967211 | 829 | 1.726563 | 2 |
I always love great quotes, especially entrepreneur ones because they tend to click and inspire you. There’s always never a real failure mentality which is a great pick me! Enjoy!
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work – Thomas Edison, inventor and scientist
The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary – Vidal Sassoon, entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t – A student in Warren G. Tracy’s class, entrepreneur (Thanks Daniel!)
The best reason to start an organization is to make meaning – to create a product or service to make the world a better place – Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur, investor, author
Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory – Mahatma Gandhi, political and spiritual leader
Content Curator Matt Massaro
Writer, blogger, entrepreneur, & networker with a passion for social media. Social Media training available. Let's network online or grab coffee if you are local and see how we can help each other. @mattmassaro or http://northsandiego.org | <urn:uuid:a1b1ada8-3c1e-43a5-9c9c-1ecce5e7dc3d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.internetbillboards.net/2012/10/top-20-entrepreneurial-quotes-cheap-revolution/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901886 | 278 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Students tested for TB on Queensland University of Technology campus after classmate diagnosed
- From: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
- July 01, 2012
MORE than 500 students from one of Queensland's top universities are being tested for tuberculosis amid fears of an outbreak on campus.
The students from the Queensland University of Technology are being tested by the health department after a classmate was diagnosed with the disease.
Last week students at the university's Gardens Point campus were sent a letter asking them to undergo a chest X-ray and a Mantoux injection test to screen for the disease.
Queensland Health Communicable Diseases Branch senior director Dr Christine Selvey said 515 close contacts of the infected student were tested for the disease, but the risk of transmission was "extremely low".
She said only one student had been diagnosed with TB and the testing was standard procedure.
"It's important to note that there is no TB outbreak at QUT, and no risk to public health," Dr Selvey said.
QUT university registrar Shard Lorenzo said the university had supplied Queensland Health with the contact details of several staff and students enrolled in the affected student's subjects.
"The university understands that the risk to students, even following contact with the case, is minimal," she said.
Urban development student Nathan Awyzio, 18, said he found out about the testing via Facebook before receiving the official letter from the university late last week.
"The letter just stated I'd potentially come into contact with someone with TB and I should be tested," he said.
"I'd actually never heard of it until mum explained to me what it was."
He said that, although the letter had made him "uneasy", he was not worried as the chance of contracting TB was low.
In a similar event in 2008 160 staff and students at the same university campus underwent TB testing after an Australian student tested positive for the disease.
Cases of TB have been rising steadily across the country over the past five years. Experts say increased international travel has led to a resurgence of the disease.
So far this year there have been 497 confirmed TB cases in Australia, 85 of which were in Queensland.
Dr Selvey said Australia had one of the lowest rates of TB in the world, and Queensland's diagnosis rate was lower than the national average. | <urn:uuid:4d764397-96a1-496d-bafe-41789d65f714> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/students-tested-for-tb-on-campus/story-e6frfkp9-1226413231605 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980661 | 476 | 1.796875 | 2 |
ABC: Radio National | Science podcast series
September 15, 2009
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation | Radio National
A wide range of scientific issues, breaking news, debates, events, personalities, and discoveries are explored daily.
All in the Mind | All In The Mind is Radio National’s weekly foray into the mental universe, the mind, brain and behavior — everything from addiction to artificial intelligence.
Digital Living | Anne Delaney on ABC Riverina talks gadgets with her regular panel: Charles Sturt University academics Peter Adams, Phil Roy and Dr Barney Dalgarno.
Great Moments in Science | The universe is a strange and wonderful place and, in his Great Moments, Dr. Karl has scaled the highest peaks as well as turned over the pebbles to see what’s underneath.
Innovations | A showcase of Australian design, discoveries, invention, engineering and research skills from Radio Australia.
Ockham’s Razor | William of Ockham was an English monk, philosopher, theologian, who provided the scientific method with its key principle 700 years ago. “What can be done with fewer assumptions is done in vain with more,” he said. That is, in explaining any phenomenon, we should use no more explanatory concepts than are absolutely necessary. Simplicity should never be despised. Thoughtful people have their say, without interruption, on important science-related topics.
StarStuff | Hosted by Stuart Gary, StarStuff takes us on a weekly journey across the universe to see the death of stars and the birth of new worlds. StarStuff’s tour of the cosmos examines those ultimate questions: where do we come from? Are we alone? From Einstein’s relativity theory to quantum mechanics, StarStuff reports on the latest news and discoveries in science, with a special focus on astronomy, space sciences and cosmology.
The Science Show | Radio National’s science flagship: your essential source of what’s making news in the complex world of scientific research, scandal and discovery. The Science Show with Robyn Williams is one of the longest running programs on Australian radio. | <urn:uuid:1ddb9b1b-e2ab-4563-acf3-f378a08e63e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-science-show | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900639 | 440 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Bright, clear, 80-degree days. This is what you get with a desert December, and it’s what youngsters and their families can explore Dec. 1 at ASU Art Museum.
The venue’s “Winter in the Desert”-themed First Saturday for Families opens the architecturally stunning museum to the elementary school set, in a friendly, no-cost effort to make fine art more accessible to kids and their caretakers.
You’ll find stations for making winter crafts, reptile crafts and a desert map.
The Arizona Animal Welfare League will also be there with a few live animals for children to meet and learn about.
Stop afterward for a nearby afternoon snack, and you can catch “At Home in the Desert,” three inter-related performances that involve young people in artmaking about their desert home, before you head home.
A collaboration among the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, the Socially Engaged Practice Initiative, the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Phoenix, the Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley, Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, Mesa Boys and Girls Club and South Mountain High School, it takes place at 4:30 p.m. at the Bruce and Diane Halle Skyspace Garden — a short drive from the museum at the corner of Terrace Drive and Rural Road.
Museum activities and the garden performances are free.
DETAILS >> 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1. ASU Art Museum, on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and Tenth Street in Tempe. Free. (480) 965-2787 or ASUArtMuseum.asu.edu
Contact writer: (480) 898-6818 or firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:ea206e55-c700-44ed-8a70-206fc6772c83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/events/article_79f825fc-3a70-11e2-87c7-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=story | 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 | 0.913984 | 378 | 1.617188 | 2 |
On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh pulled a yellow Ryder Rental truck into a parking area outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City then casually walked away. A few minutes later, the truck’s deadly 4,000-pound cargo blasted the government building with enough force to shatter one third of the seven-story structure to bits. Glass, concrete, and steel rained down. Indiscriminately mixed in the smoldering rubble were adults and children, alive and dead. Gone in one cataclysmic blast were 168 lives. More than 500 others were wounded. Homegrown terrorism had hit.
The explosive McVeigh used was simple ammonium nitrate (AN), packed in 20 plastic barrels and ignited by a slow-burning fuse. AN is commonly used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer, but when mixed with hate and fuel oil, it becomes lethal. The same type of home-brewed fertilizer explosive was used in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center by Middle Eastern terrorists.
Preventing another Oklahoma City-like blast is exactly what University of Kentucky scientist Darrell Taulbee aims to do through an ongoing research project to create a fertilizer that, if used by terrorists, won’t have nearly the explosive impact of AN. And the idea for this project, says Taulbee, who has worked at the Center for Applied Energy Research since 1980, was set into motion by the 1995 bombing.
“The night of Oklahoma City, I was coming back from a coal ash meeting in Memphis, watching the coverage of this horrible event on TV in the Atlanta airport,” recalls Taulbee, in his deep, mellifluous baritone. “We’d been talking a lot at this meeting about using coal combustion byproducts to alter or remove various materials, so I started thinking about this in connection with defusing the potential explosive power of ammonium nitrate.”
But wait. If ammonium nitrate (AN) can be an unwitting participate in a bomb blast, why not just ban its use?
Taulbee, who grew up on a farm 20 miles north of Jackson in Eastern Kentucky, explains that there are two possible alternates to AN, both of which have been used with mixed results. Anhydrous ammonia, a compound formed by combining hydrogen and nitrogen, requires more costly equipment to apply and generates toxic fumes. In addition—and this is no small consideration in Kentucky—the compound, unlike AN, is often used in meth labs.
Another alternative to AN is urea, a white crystalline solid produced when anhydrous ammonia chemically reacts with carbon dioxide, is cost competitive with AN but, like anhydrous ammonia, it is susceptible to costly volatile loss of its nitrogen and its application must be carefully timed during the growing season. Urea can also be used in the manufacture of explosives though not quite as easily as AN. “Ammonium nitrate is the number one choice of farmers overall,” Taulbee says. “Our central question from the beginning was, can we keep ammonium nitrate from exploding?”
Taulbee’s research, initially funded by the Department of Homeland Security, involves blowing up canisters of ammonium nitrate. His field work is focused on carefully tracking the stages of an explosion.
He explains. “When most people think of an explosion, they think it’s instantaneous, that it happens all at once, but that’s not really true. Explosions happen in stages, or thresholds, one millisecond to the next. Our goal, technically speaking, is to drop the energy level so that the explosion won’t self-propagate—it will lose its potency. Basically, we want to decrease the energy flux in this chain so that the explosion will extinguish.”
Taulbee thought that what might stop this chain reaction is the application of an energy-absorbing and diluting fire-impeding coating to the ammonium nitrate. So he set to work.
Taulbee started with the simplest possible solution, using Kentucky’s plentiful supply of byproducts from power plants and other coal-burning utilities, which includes fly ash and a lime-based residue produced during the removal of sulfur gases. The coating technique he used is called drum pelletization. Ammonium nitrate particles are put in a five-gallon, steel drum on a roller mill. Cold fly ash is sprayed with a small amount of water, and the drum is rolled rapidly for about five minutes. This gives AN a uniform coating.
To see if this process would lessen the impact of an explosion, Taulbee took this idea to the field or, to put it another way, he took his research back home. “I still have the family farm in Breathitt County, and I also lease about 2,000 acres nearby, which includes an old abandoned log yard. That’s where we did most of our tests.”
Working with Tom Thurman, a retired FBI licensed explosions expert and current instructor in Eastern Kentucky University’s College of Law Enforcement, Taulbee added fuel oil to 10-pound charges of AN that had been coated with different concentrations of ash and placed each charge into steel canisters for confinement. Thurman then detonated the cylinders with plastic explosives. A high-speed camera recorded the results, and Taulbee was then able to chart the relative effectiveness of the various densities of coating by charting the expansion of the resulting explosion cloud for 10 milliseconds after detonation.
“We wanted to see two things: the difference between the coated samples and the uncoated, and the relative impact of the coating thickness.” Even at a 15 percent coating, the explosion was halted. Predictably, the thicker the coating, the shorter the distance the explosion traveled.
To determine the impact of each blast, Taulbee also noted the relative damage to the cylinder and its square support stand, called a witness plate, which is welded onto the bottom of each cylinder. In his lab in the basement of CAER, he lifts one of these detonated cylinders.
“You can see that the witness plate has been deformed and that the top of the cylinder has been ripped apart pretty well. However, after this one was detonated, some of the AN material spilled out onto the ground, which is exactly what we wanted to see. This means that after detonation, the energy level fell to the point that it could no longer self-sustain. The explosion died.” Taulbee adds that if a McVeigh copycat were to use this coated AN, the explosion would be much less deadly and damaging.
A major challenge in this work is to determine what concentrations of the fly ash coatings are necessary to reduce the power of the explosion while still allowing the AN to be useful as a field fertilizer. After the Oklahoma City bombing, scientists at the National Research Council (NRC) worked to make AN non-explosive not by coating it, but by diluting the ammonium nitrate with various additives, Taulbee believes. (Their tests were not made public, so he’s uncertain exactly how they were conducted.) The NRC concluded that a concentration of around 20 percent was necessary to make AN nondetonable.
“What we found was that a 15 percent coating is effective in stopping the explosion. This is good news,” Taulbee says jubilantly, “because the lower the coating percentage, the less expensive this will be to manufacture. And in our pilot field tests, we’ve determined that the nitrogen release rate of the coated particles indicates that coated AN appears to be suitable for its intended use as a fertilizer.” He imagines that if such a coating is accepted by farmers, it would simply be an additional step in the established AN manufacturing process.
Taulbee happily reports that this project has attracted national attention. The National Institute for Hometown Security recently awarded continuation funding for the project. “We’ve actually been identified as their top project,” he says. “It’s been showcased in Washington a couple of times, and they’ve fast-tracked our continued work on this.” Thurman and Paul Rydlund, president of El Dorado Chemical, one of two remaining AN manufacturers in the country, make up the research team for the initial project.
In the next few months, Taulbee will work with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, scientists at the New Mexico Institute of Technology, and the FBI at Quantico, Marine Corps headquarters outside of Washington D.C., to get independent confirmation of his detonation results. Closer to home, he’ll also partner with Greg Schwab and John Grove in the UK Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, who will conduct plant growth studies, leaching tests, and soil migration studies to get a more extensive evaluation of the impact of coated AN on agricultural use and the environment.
“If Taulbee can eliminate much of the ‘McVeigh factor’ in ammonium nitrate, he’ll go a long way in helping contain the threat of these homegrown fertilizer bombs,” says Mike Matthews, one of Taulbee’s main contacts in the Office of Homeland Security.
Making Protective Mesh Stronger
Darrell Taulbee isn’t the only University of Kentucky researcher working with high-impact explosives. Braden Lusk has been developing a mining research program at UK focused on the use of explosives, and he admits that this research interest began a long time ago—when he was 10 years old.
“As a kid growing up in Hutchinson, Kansas, I liked to blow up my toys,” he says, chuckling at the memory. “I would horde all kinds of fireworks, but I didn’t use them on the 4th of July. I had ‘greater uses’ for them, I guess. My parents had a lot of trouble understanding this hobby,” adds Lusk, an assistant professor of mining engineering.
He describes his current research focus as a two-sided coin. “We’re looking both at how to make explosives more effective and also how to design materials to lessen the effects of a blast,” says Lusk, a robust and effusive man who came to UK from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 2005. His main project during the last year has been the study of an aluminum mesh product for blast mitigation. This product development work is being funded for $433,000 by the U.S. Navy through a company called Innovative Productivity Inc., in Louisville.
Lusk explains that this aluminum mesh could be attached to the windows of buildings near blasting sites, ship holds or as protective layers on mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks, referred to as MRAPs. Large numbers of MRAPs have been shipped to Iraq. “And it’s possible that soldiers in the field could use this mesh for protection,” Lusk adds.
And in his work there is a direct tie to the mining industry. Lusk talks about the Sego Mine disaster in January 2006 in Tallmansville, West Virginia, where an explosion trapped 13 miners beneath the surface, leaving only one survivor: “At the heart of that disaster was a seal failure that followed a methane explosion. The seals that failed at Sago had been tested and approved for a methane blast that was much less powerful than the blast that caused them to fail,” Lusk explains. “Even before this tragedy happened, there was a big push for the development of more blast-resistant mine seals, and I’ve thought about this material I’m working on and others like it as a good solution to protect mine seals.”
With the help of Kyle Perry, who has a degree in civil engineering (and also happens to be Lusk’s brother-in-law), Lusk has been testing the mesh product in the field—an underground quarry in Georgetown, Kentucky. For “donating this space” to his work, he says he’s indebted to Frank Hamilton, who owns the property, and his son Richard, both UK alums.
Perry and Lusk set up different thicknesses of mesh around an explosive charge with sensors directly behind the mesh, stand back a safe distance, and then detonate the charge. A sensor, with no mesh in front of it, collects a reference pressure measurement from each blast to see how much the pressure is reduced with various layers of mesh.
“We’re doing some numerical simulations using Autodyn,” Lusk explains, “a software program that models blast events in conjunction with physical testing to validate the mitigating strengths of this mesh.” So far the researchers have shot over 150 tests, using a total of around 75 pounds of desensitized RDX, an explosive related to nitroglycerine and used by the military.
In corollary testing, Lusk is simulating blasts using a shock tube, a 120-foot-long reinforced steel tube with a 3/8” steel plate at the end and sensor mounts at different spots along the tube. Using less than a pound of explosives, he can send a shock wave down the tube and collect data that tell him the pressure time history of the wave.
“Field testing involves thousands of pounds of expensive explosives. Using this simulation testing is a lot less expensive and allows us to compare results between arena testing and tube testing.”
After he crunches the data from the tests he’s done, Lusk hopes to draw up some guidelines for the use of this mesh, depending on the size and location of the blast.
Darrell Taulbee shows the damage to a canister base plate after uncoated ammonium nitrate was detonated.
Uncoated ammonium nitrate (AN) 10 milliseconds after detonation.
Ammonium nitrate (AN) with a 20 percent coating 10 milliseconds after detonation. Darrell Taulbee found that even a 15 percent coating of fly ash halts the explosion.
Braden Lusk is studying the properties of aluminum mesh to lessen the impact of an explosion, work funded by the U.S. Navy. | <urn:uuid:9011b46c-e198-482f-9ee5-3b81920f6ae2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.research.uky.edu/odyssey/features/terrorism.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959246 | 2,983 | 3.046875 | 3 |
1. make a sketch of the situation (see attachment)
2. A solid with a mass of 25 kg develops a vetrical force of
3. Cable and pole have to develop an uplifting force of the same value. In my sketch this uplifting force is labeled
4. The angle between pole and cable is
5. The cable is pulling upward.
6. The pole is pushing to the right.
7. The angle between the cable and the uplifting force is 30°.
8. You are dealing with a right triangle which angles you know and the length of one leg.
9. The force with which the cable is pulling can be calculeted by:
10. The force with which the pole is pushing to the right can be calculated by: | <urn:uuid:d2e20a94-79ee-467d-a5b8-f1aae5bf650a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mathhelpforum.com/trigonometry/16525-can-someone-help-me.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936397 | 162 | 3.765625 | 4 |
On-line version ISSN 2176-9451
Dental Press J. Orthod. vol.17 no.4 Maringá July/Aug. 2012
"An Orthossaurus in social networks"
Is it worth looking without seeing?
Johann W. von Goethe
I bought my first computer in the early '90s, when I was a resident of the Orthodontics department at Centrinho, USP. However, although I consider myself at the vanguard, my reception to the WWW network took a little longer. It was partly Bill Gates' fault. He made me believe that this tool would not bring any personal or professional benefits. What a mistake ...
In the compass of Gates, I must confess that for a long time I was blind to the social networks. Prejudice, indeed: Guilty as charged, justified by the lack of time. Until one day an undergraduate student got me to know Orkut. After the first contact, I inferred that I should not fray my precious time line with that trinket, and I settled more-and-more to the principle of Gates. It would be my funeral if it were not this parenthesis I do now: here comes "Facebook" to remove myself from the bed of death. It was when I buried the epidermis of an Orthossaurus odonthorrex which lived in me right in the century of the communication revolution.
This time it was a graduate student. I staged disdain, again; an unfocused look, blurry vision typical of a dinosaur. The prejudice was implicit, something just unacceptable to an educator. After the initial repulsion, I asked him to introduce me to this "face". At the beginning of the presentation it seemed an improved version of Orkut, but after much polishing - by curiosity - I ended up starting a journey full of news.
As anyone who uses social networks, I rediscovered friends who I for long didn't meet, people who I would never have had the opportunity to be in contact if it was not the creation of this powerful communication tool. I also recognized several renowned orthodontists, hooked by the social network. Professionals for whom I have effusive admiration. If all these people are in it, why would not I, this Mesozoic descendant? Then I broke the shackles of prejudice and my concealment of cyberspace. I left the park.
A little more snooping, I found a tool that could help me with my role as an educator, researcher, editor and clinician. There were the groups, space in which people are added with affinity to a particular theme. A kind of ghetto. In the dive, I realized the gap and created two of them. I already felt, by then, that my reptile skin had been tattooed in the past.
To the first group I gave the nickname of Brazilian Orthodontics, which came to a thousand members in one month, thanks to many friends. Now over 1,500 professionals. This group provides notifications with diverse interests within the specialty, such as disclosures of research and events, discussion of clinical cases and sometimes some personal struggles I have the arduous task of mediating.
I confess, however, that the favorite son is the second group, called pompously Brazilian Dental Research. It is close to 2,000 members and still full of deeply respected researchers, publishers, teachers and students from all states in this (in) finite Brazil. Research publications, editorials, information and interesting discussions of scientific methodology - including Biostatistics - public contests for professors and scientific events are constantly being released by the group. It was by the network, thanks to Prof. Saul Paiva - UFMG, by who I became aware, for example, of the meeting of the Brazilian Association of Scientific Editors, held in July of this year. One of the best events I attended in the last decade. Is there something more useful?
If today I remember that Jurassic time lived in the transition of my dinosaur dentition, it was to over myself from the prejudice, only in the metaphorical sense, thus, I apologize for those who do not participate in social networks; also for understanding that we live in the era of communication and we cannot, ever, renounce, for images and documents are spread in seconds. Much more is to come. Knowledge is power, and communication generates dissemination of knowledge; so, these events, interwoven, reduce inequalities and increase sociability in the anthropological sense. On the other hand, with so much access to information, we still cannot distance ourselves from the real meaning of reptile prejudice because it is stuck to a stereotype.
I would not like to advocate that every orthodontist should participate in the social network, or to abandon the pachydermal fossilization - never, ever. I'm just reporting this learning as a way of advising those who have not had the courage or sufficient stimulus for searching information on this attractive tool. Those who already know, I invite you to participate in the so interesting created groups and visit the information posted. You will notice that the time spent initially will be returned with interest, just click without having to roar. To paraphrase John Munsell: If content is king, communication is the queen; so, save the Queen.
Enjoy the reading!
Editor in Chief, firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:eb26a176-7479-428a-ad24-3aa28f4aa38e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2176-94512012000400001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964964 | 1,111 | 1.757813 | 2 |
- White Paint
- Pen Tip to Mark Tools and Components in the Lab
- Paint Brush for Broad Stroke Applications
- 0.5 fl oz
These white paint markers come with two applicators. One applicator, a roller ball pen tip, is an accurate tool for marking your tools and components in the lab. The smooth, controlled tip can be used at various angles providing confidence when marking tools and components. The second applicator is a fine tipped brush. The brush allows for broad strokes for marking a large area. The reinforced shaft is durable and narrow allowing the paint to flow down the shaft to the brush with minimal dripping during application. A full-width agitator thoroughly mixes paint for consistent applications. The paint dries quickly in about 30 minutes and dries completely in 24 hours. | <urn:uuid:11085d4c-979c-4f6b-ba1a-ddeb593da1f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thorlabs.de/NewGroupPage9.cfm?objectgroup_id=3363 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908542 | 162 | 1.703125 | 2 |
"A new study shows that startups do better when they’re launched in the place where their founders were born or have lived for a long time. Makes sense, but the reasons why are surprisingly complex and modern."
Mines the findings of Professor Olav Sorenson that startups are likely to do better in their hometown - more profitable and stable because of social connections.
Notes that the exception is if you happen to have a venture capitalist in your backpocket, in which case, pack up and move where they tell you to go.
Interested? Click the article text or image above to follow the link.
Share this mini with your friends using the icons below. | <urn:uuid:8e6d362b-b5ac-446f-bf57-544361c648b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zipminis.com/4/post/2012/08/startup-at-home-dont-move-to-silicon-valley-yet.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962087 | 137 | 1.953125 | 2 |
May Newburger, a former supervisor and councilwoman, and a state assemblywoman, died at 92 on Thursday. According to Newsday, she died in her Great Neck home from complications from cancer.
The first female town supervisor on Long Island, Newburger was considered a role model in public service who counseled many prominent political leaders. They admired her for her dedication and her friendship.
“May Newburger was one of the all time greats,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York. “She changed the way legislators represented Long Island, making the fight for her North Hempstead community a full time job.”
“As one of the first women in the assembly, she was a trailblazer,” he added. “In addition to all that, was a fine and caring person who gave me both invaluable political and personal advice as a young legislator. I will miss her."
“It’s a very sad time,” said , D-Great Neck. “She was an extraordinary woman and certainly a mentor. She lived a full life, into her 90s.”
“She is going to be missed,” Kaiman added, noting her 10 years as town supervisor, and other roles in government, including working for a time in Tom Suozzi’s administration when he served as Nassau County executive. “She was so much of a part of this town.”
Many paid tribute to her dedication.
“I'm deeply saddened to learn about the passing of May Newburger," Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-Roslyn Heights, said. "She was an icon in local politics and a great mentor, colleague and friend. May was a trailblazer and a true public servant who dedicated her life to helping her community and her constituents."
Referring to her work as town supervisor and in the state assembly, Ackerman said, "She worked tirelessly on scores of issues that helped improve the lives of countless individuals."
He added, "She was a champion of environmental protection, women's rights and many other initiatives. Her leadership on these issues will never be forgotten, and while she will be deeply missed, her legacy will live on for many years to come.
Both Ackerman and Schumber visited Newburger earlier in August "just before the unveiling of the proposed , she was in great spirits and still showed the tenacity for which she was known," Ackerman said. "It was an honor to work with May and I was proud to call her my friend. She was an outstanding person."
Many political leaders mentored by Newburger remember her as a woman of inspiration.
"Long Island lost an amazing woman and public servant, May Newburger,” said Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel, D-Great Neck. “May always did the right thing for the right reason. May's political courage inspired me – when I take a tough vote she is never far. She was brilliant and articulate, yet remarkably modest – always sharing her success with those around her. I love her and will miss her friendship and wise counsel. My prayers go out to her son, Peter, as well as everyone who knew and admired her."
“In addition to working for the town during May's tenure as a councilwoman and supervisor, I had the privilege of serving on the town board with May Newburger in her final term as supervisor,” said Leg. Wayne Wink, D-Roslyn. “May was an extraordinary woman, a tireless and passionate advocate for causes and people largely overlooked in our society. She blazed a trail for several generations of public officials who have served with her and mentored so many of us along the way. My family and I will miss May terribly, and we will miss her charm, her warmth and her intellect.”
"May exemplified two virtues in politics: courage and integrity," said Jay Nassau County Democratic Committee Chair Jay Jacobs. "Integrity led her to the right decisions. Courage gave her the strength to make them. And she always did."
Those in the public eye noted too that her career touched those from both sides of the aisle.
“May was an icon in government here in Nassau County and certainly within the Town of North Hempstead,” said , R-Mineola. “She was also a trailblazer for women everywhere. Her dedication on several important issues such as the environment and women's rights left an indelible mark on many of our communities. She will be missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to her son Peter and her countless friends."
Newburger ran for state assembly in 1978, and served there until 1986, according to Newsday, which also reported that she served as a North Hempstead councilwoman in 1992, and town supervisor from 1994-2003.
Newburger is survived by her son Peter. Her husband Jack passed away in 1978,
The Town of North Hempstead is organizing a memorial service for late September, Kaiman said. | <urn:uuid:3b30a2dd-6556-4bb0-b22b-287ab1907caf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://portwashington.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/may-newburger-former-north-hempstead-town-supervisor-af4857895b | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986169 | 1,052 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Learn how to prevent children from getting hurt during gamesBy Margot Gilman
Kids who don't use or wear protective equipment are obviously more at risk for sports injuries (a huge problem, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, with 3.5 million children sidelined due to injury each year). But failure to wear the right body armor isn't the only thing that could send your little athlete to the hospital. Keep clicking to discover seven other things that raise the odds of your child getting hurt playing sports. Photo by Thinkstock
1. Your child is a one-sport wonder.
With younger and younger kids becoming involved in team sports-soccer teams for three-year-olds and travel teams for seven-year-olds aren't uncommon-more who show early promise are being encouraged to perfect their skills by playing that single sport year round. But according to an ongoing study at Loyola University's Health System, kids who train more than 75% of the time in one sport have double the rate of injury, including serious stuff like spinal stress fractures, compared to those who don't specialize. Why? "The repetitive movements cause stress to the growing body," says Neeru Jayanthi, MD, the medical director of primary care sports medicine at Loyola and senior author of the study, adding that the risk is particularly high in younger kids. He recommends parents introduce their children to a variety of sports at a young age, but delay specialization until late adolescence.
2. Your child gets too little sleep.
You already know that kids who don't get enough ZZZs don't perform well in school. But according to a new study currently under review at the Journal of Pediatrics, adolescents who get eight hours or more of shuteye each night are 68% less likely to get injured than athletes who rest less. "Lack of sleep has been shown to affect motor function, mood and cognitive function, all of which could influence a young athlete's performance," says study author Matthew D. Milewski, MD. For safety's sake, see that your sporty kids sleep eight hours or more a night, he says.
Related: Check out these bad habits that are actually good for you.
3. Your child's team, or their opponents, don't always play by the rules.
Whether it's an accidental elbow to the ribs in basketball or a pitcher intentionally aiming a ball at a batter, the more often game rules are broken, the greater the risk of injury. Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital's Center for Injury Research and Policy recently analyzed data from the National High School Sport-Related Injury Surveillance Study and found that about 6% of injuries in nine sports are related to activity that's not supposed to occur. The rate's even higher in girls' basketball and girls' and boys' soccer. As a parent, insist of your children's coaches that the rules be enforced, and that the kids are educated about the dangers of foul play.
4. Your child's school doesn't have a certified athletic trainer.
Nearly 50% of high school athletic departments employ someone to provide medical assistance to players at practices and games and advise on the proper use of safety equipment and weather and field conditions. And they're finding that trainers don't just treat injuries; they also prevent them. According to a study presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference last year, overall injury rates were 1.7 times higher among soccer players and 1.2 times higher among basketball players in schools without athletic trainers. "If there's no budget for a trainer, find a physician or trainer to volunteer to cover a few events at school," suggests study author Cynthia R. LaBella, MD.
Related: Discover foods that keep you feeling fuller longer.
5. Your child doesn't play enough sports just for fun.
Another problem that stems from early sports specialization is the lack of time it leaves for unorganized free play, such as pick-up games. Researchers at Loyola Health University System found that young athletes who focus on a single organized sport suffer more injuries than those who engage in free play and multiple organized sports, even when the total number of hours spent playing sports was the same. If you worry that anything less than an all-out effort will deny your kid the sports success he deserves, Dr. Jayanthi points out that another study he's working on is finding that successful college athletes didn't quit all other sports until late adolescence.
6. Your child consumes sports and energy drinks.
Tooth decay isn't a sports injury the way a sprained ankle is, but for young athletes hoping a drink can improve performance and energy levels, it can be an unfortunate side effect. A recent study in the journal General Dentistry found that these beverages' high acidity levels cause irreversible damage to teeth, eroding enamel and making them prone to decay. And that damage can be evident after only five days of exposure. Many people assume sports drinks are "better" than soda or fruit juice. In fact, 62% of U.S. teens drink at least one sports drink a day, according to a Journal of the American Dietetic Association study. If you can't convince your kid to give up these drinks entirely, Jennifer Bone, DDS, a spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry, recommends telling your child to rinse his mouth with water or chew sugar-free gum after drinking. "Both tactics increase saliva flow, which naturally helps to return the acidity levels in the mouth to normal," she says.
Related: Learn 10 things you should never say to your kids.
7. Your daughter doesn't get enough vitamin D.
You probably encourage your children to drink milk for strong bones. But researchers at Children's Hospital Boston wanted to see whether that advice is well-founded. A study of girls aged 9 to 15 who participate in at least one hour a day of high-impact activity found that calcium and dairy intake in general wasn't associated with lower rates of stress fractures, common sports injuries, but vitamin D levels were. The mean intake of vitamin D among the girls with the fewest injuries was 663 IUs a day, compared to 107 IUs in the group with the most, says study author Kendrin Sonneville, ScD, RD. "Parents should make sure their daughters get adequate amounts of D (some experts recommend 800 to 1,000 IUs), especially if they play sports," says Dr. Sonneville. There are only a few foods that are good sources-salmon, fortified dairy products and cereals-so vitamin D supplements are often recommended.
50 Surprising Foods Under 100 Calories
20 Super Sandwiches
9 Ways to Initiate Sex | <urn:uuid:fc1f8fdc-7a70-4858-91fa-a3a79e45de75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/signs-kids-risk-sports-injuries-162900681.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96778 | 1,367 | 2.9375 | 3 |
I began this year's spring seminar by holding up a quarter. I noted that the quarter has two faces, one we call heads the other we call tails. I the asked the students to consider where one face ends and the other begins. I asked them to imagine what happens at the interface of the change in identity where heads becomes tails and tails becomes heads.
This little intro segued into the theme of the seminar which dealt with the unification of mind and body. Unifying mind and body is a core goal of Aikido study and practice. From a unified mind/body Ki is generated and correct feeling is realized. So what happens at the mind/body interface? What facilitates the unification process? How is it that the hidden and manifest realms of self are able to come together so completely that the sum is greater than the individual parts?
Understanding the nature of the ideas posed by these three questions requires a third component of the unification process... spirit. It's only by examining the role played by the divine realm of self in the unification of mind and body that I can begin to glean the answers. Spirit is kind of the ugly step child of the unification triad. I think this is more due to the word "spirit" itself than the underlying role it plays in the process of unification. For some the word evokes religious overtones, others see it as leading to the adoption of "New Age" ideas as the foundation of the practice of Aikido. Still others see the word spirit connected to the notion of the supernatural. I subscribe to none of these views and see spirit as a necessary ingredient for the bringing together the disparate natures of mind and body.
Imagine a beaker that contains two liquids, one blue the other yellow. Now suppose the blue liquid has a lower relative density than the yellow liquid. If the beaker is left undisturbed the liquids will, over time, separate, the blue rising to the top, the yellow settling to the bottom. Let's say that there's another substance that I can introduce into the beaker that will change the nature of the blue and yellow liquids at the boundary of their separation in such a way as to cause them to unify and transform into a substance that possesses characteristics of all three but is wholly none of them. Increasing the amount the catalyst intensifies the interaction. The strength of the interaction can be inferred by measuring the overall thickness of the resulting green boundary layer.
Spirit, like the catalyst in the above thought experiment is the facilitator of the unification of mind and body. Spirit allows the transformation of mind and body into mind/body which possesses characteristics all three but is wholly none of them. When my spirit is strong mind/body is easy to manifest, Ki flows effortlessly and correct feeling is easily achieved. The emergence of mind/body is considerably more difficult when my spirit is weak. It is the nature of the process such that the strengthening of correct feeling also enhances my spirit which further strengthens the mind/body connection so that the resulting interaction of spirit and mind/body is seen to be symbiotic.
(Original blog post may be found here | <urn:uuid:d2de2c0e-36c2-4525-8568-40d34adbc545> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=308798&postcount=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949007 | 633 | 2 | 2 |
Commissioner Mozelle W. Thompson testified today on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission before a House Subcommittee on deregulation and competition in the electric power industry. Thompson spoke to the need for strong merger enforcement in the industry so that restructuring does not result in the abuse of private market power. "The Commission stands ready to use its authority and expertise to ensure that consumers receive the substantial benefits that energy deregulation will bring to the market," Thompson said.
In his appearance before the House Committee on Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy and Power, Thompson outlined the agency's experience with applying antitrust principles across many different industries. The testimony points out that competition provides consumers with the lowest prices, best products, and most innovation possible. As a century of regulation gives way to competition "the benefits of regulation may be greatly affected by the ability of the energy market to move to an open and competitive stance," the Commissioner said. It noted however, that "these benefits will not be achieved without appropriate action to alleviate market power impacts."
Thompson spoke to the regulatory background in the electric power industry and pointed out the transition problem that policy makers face because the industry, comprised of local monopolies, is not the level playing field of a newly developing market. Antitrust laws will help in the transition to competition, Thompson said, "by making sure that mergers do not aggravate market power problems or protect incumbents from new competition." In addition, unfair acts and practices such as "predation, raising rivals' costs, and discriminatory access to essential facilities" can be prevented by the antitrust laws, he stated.
The Commission's testimony points out that economic theory and experience shows that the transition from regulated monopolies to competition is not an automatic process - "doing it right requires actively promoting competition and guarding against practices that stifle competition."
Thompson testified to the Commission's opinion that the antitrust laws will have to be applied flexibly to handle these issues. "The impact of ... regulation on the industry structure, incentives, and expectations requires that the antitrust agencies be especially sensitive in applying antitrust rules while market forces regain primacy," the testimony states. Thompson noted, however, that "special care" does not means a "hands off" approach. "The goal is to see regulation replaced with competition, not with collusion or dominant firm behavior," he said.
The testimony notes that the staff of the Commission has commented to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and to a number of states on the importance of market power considerations while introducing competition in the electric power industry at the retail level.
The Commission also will hold a public workshop on September 13 and 14 to further examine market power and consumer protection issues in the electric power industry.
The Commission vote to authorize the testimony was 4-0.
Copies of the testimony, as well as Commission staff statements on deregulation and competition in the electric power industry, are available from the FTC's web site at: http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-FTC-HELP (202-382-4357); TDD for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.
(FTC File No. 950101) | <urn:uuid:d1f081dd-16c4-432d-ac92-c3c1a82d0f2c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/05/electrictes.shtm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944877 | 689 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Paulo Coelho dreams of being a writer
text: Yelena Jetpyspayeva , exclusively for Gazeta.kz
On 14 April journalists met a popular Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho in the National press club.
When my colleague told me about the arrival of my favourite writer, whose books I was buying in long queues of Moscow bookstores, and then lent it to nearly all my fellow students afterwards I didn't believe it. What should he do here? I realised that it was true, when I saw a flow of journalists streaming in the press club doors. The hall was overfilled. Everybody was excited by an opportunity to meet the world famous writer. Watches showed 11:10, when whispers became heard that the Writer had arrived and the press conference started.
"I believe that it is the same religion that seeks the same divine light. I am a Christian, but I respect other people, who follow other paths towards the same divine light. People of good will believe that it is possible. But I see today that the political situation is manipulated. And I see that they use religions to strike blows. I learned from my Christian and Moslem friends that when we are together, we are united in the face of God."
About the idea of Nazarbayev to build a palace of world religions in Astana
"I don't know this proposition very well, but I think that it is a brilliant idea if it is realised. Saying this I would like to express the following idea - God lives not only in temples, it is everywhere. And that's why during my visit to Kazakhstan I would like to dedicate more than one day to staying in the steppes, because I believe that God lives also there."
"I would like you to understand me precisely about what I consider to be courage. Courage is not a lack of fear. Fearing something is absolutely natural. There were moments in my life when I was scared. I think that the problem starts when the fear paralyses you. You want to make a step, but you start saying to yourself: "No, if I don't do this something may happen…" And then you keep repeating what you have been doing before day by day. Fears change inside of you. Courage is a capability to supersede your fears."
On the appearance of talents and independence
"There were difficult moments related with dictatorial regime in my life. Three times I was arrested and once tortured. But I don't want to say that all good things come from being repressed. During crises the art is a way to resist. But it can't be a justification to any repressions. Freedom is one of the most important gifts that we have. What means being a good writer? What is independence? Independence is a very abstract notion. One should adhere to something. I have dedicated myself to my work, my dreams, things in which I believe. I am not a slave to my ideas, but I have some independence that I must bear. The main attribute of human independence is a right to choose what you should adhere to."
"I don't divide people into categories. I believe that each man on this Earth is different from another one. However I've got problems in talking to people, who don't want to make their dreams come true. I also have some scars in my soul. I have my minutes of sadness. But I always try to supersede it and to achieve what I dream about. I'm not saying that I don't like people, who don't realise their dreams, I just said that such people will never become my friends."
On filming the "Alchemist"
"When the "Alchemist" (it is my first successful book) was published in America, Warner Brothers bought the screening rights. And, honestly, I did not know how to behave in that situation, because a film was a natural continuation of the book for me. Then I realised that a reader sees this film in his head. And since then I never sold screening rights for my books to anybody. Unfortunately, screening rights for the "Alchemist" have already been sold by then. I offered a million dollars to get them back. Simply to keep the book, not to re-sell it. The negotiations have been held for 10 years and I don't agree with all scenarios. Now the scenario is an affair of Lawrence Fishborn. So one day you will probably see the "Alchemist" in cinema. But until I see something really moving I won't sell screening rights for my books."
On journalist work
"I worked as a journalist for many years. It helped me to regard things objectively and see what I want to write. I can't judge the work of journalists today, because for this I need to be in their milieu. It is very easy to speak about something in which you aren't involved. But journalists bear a big responsibility in representing current events in the world about which they write."
"My dream is to be a writer. When I write books I give away my soul and for me this is a part of "being human" - to share something. Each new book is a new challenge. My dream is not to become paralysed, to continue writing new books. Sometimes I wish not to wish this or that, but it is very important to handle it because life goes on. Therefore now I look at this beautiful mountain panorama and I write my new book. It makes me alive."
On copyright and control over translations
"How can I say what is the quality of Russian translation of my books? I don't know Russian! There are languages in which I can't even read my name. My books have been translated in 56 languages and published in 155 countries. Sometimes I understand that this is my book because I see my photo on it. It is sad. But I hope that people working on translations, do them with enthusiasm and I count on their honesty."
On power of the book
"I don't believe that a book can change something. I think that a book can provoke a deeply hidden reaction in a person. I am a reader myself. And when I read a book, it doesn't change my life, but it gives me a sensation that I am alone. When you realise it you receive big power. The reader is my companion. I can't teach people, I just provoke certain reactions deeply hidden inside. Who I am to teach somebody? I'm a pilgrim. I'm a man that learns. Now in Kazakhstan, I am going to go to steppes, because I feel that it's important for my knowledge. But I'm not learning, because I'm being taught. I'm learning because I'm open for everything new. That's life - it consists of such moments when we share something: me - with the readers, they do the same with me."
"I'm a free traveller. Sooner or later I would come to Kazakhstan. But when I met people from Kazakhstan, I thought: this is a sign and my wish should be realised. What is a country? The landscape, the city..? A country is people living there in the first place. I am not here for visiting museums or something. I am here to meet people. But a wish to see the steppe, a wish to meet people brought me here. I asked my friend Kaisar to take me around the city. We walked and it wasn't a certain route. We were in cafes, shops. And he asked me: "Don't you think that it is surreal - to come to a country and walk around supermarkets?" To which I responded that my way of getting to know a country, its culture, people. There are problems in communication related with the language, but it's no big deal, because the main communication was taking place through glances, understanding. And what I felt is that you are proud of what you are and that you honour your culture."
On favourite writers
"Henry Miller, Jorge Louis Borges, William Blake. These are writers whose books I'll keep re-reading. It is a pity that I could not find any book by Kazakhstani writers translated into English. I would have like to meet Kazakh writers, but it proved to be impossible. The task of such writers as me is to build bridges between various cultures."
"Yes, I am very rich. And I am proud that I have earned them with honest labour. When I told my mother that I was going to become a writer, she was horrified, she thought I wouldn't make a penny. But once I did reach success. What I do with my money? For instance, since I have come to Kazakhstan I haven't spent a penny, because I am a guest here. So it happens in other countries, in which I'm coming. I am always a guest. But I have always been rich. I used to travel around the world with a couple of dollars in the pocket. It happened when I was a hippy. For me being rich - means spending money for things that bring pleasure. I was rich when I had two hundred dollars in my pocket and I am rich now. Besides, in Brazil I have my own charity fund, which apart from other things takes care of 450 children from poor families, helps drug addicts, aged people and so on."
"When I was 10, we lived in Brazil, drank Coke, my father had an American car, my Mum - French perfume, and I dreamt of seeing Disneyland. So the globalisation existed even then, 50 years ago. But we have to be very careful so that the globalisation does not harm our cultural heritage. We can speak a lot about the globalisation, for me it is important that the process of exchange by national cultures keeps going. That people don't lose their ethnic spirit."
While Paulo was speaking, everybody was very attentive. But the situation was tense. Sometimes Paulo joked. When a cell phone rang in the hall, he said: "Yes! Hello!". And to a question from a journalist: "What you think about relations between a man and a woman. If marriages are made in Heaven, how can we speak about freedom in the marriage?" - he humbly answered: "I am not a consultant for marriages". After that he thanked everybody and then for a long time he was giving autographs, making photos and talking to people.
Paulo Coelho took a decision to come to Kazakhstan independently, when he heard a lot about the country. His visit will last more than one week. He plans to visit Astana, go to steppes and speak to people.
Also in the "In Depth"
09.01.2013 2012 marked by multiple events in Kazakhstan | <urn:uuid:9cdf0926-0b65-4c38-a028-a94fdbafc1f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://engarticles.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=43733 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9811 | 2,200 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Nitrogen fixation is the transformation of inorganic, molecular nitrogen into ammonia, which is then incorporated into organic molecules. The presence of nitrogen in a usable form is perhaps the major rate limiting factor in the growth of plants, at least as far as substances are concerned (heat and light are also obvious factors). This is somewhat ironic: molecular nitrogen makes up over seventy percent of the atmosphere, and yet is unusable, while carbon dioxide, which makes up about 3 parts in 10,000, is easily converted by plans into usable carbon via photosynthesis.
The reason atmospheric nitrogen is unable for easy use is because it consists of two nitrogen atoms that share three covalent bonds with each other. Sharing these three bonds means that they are very close together, and thus need much energy to be broken apart. (As a side note, carbon molecules with triple bonds, such as acetylene, are highly reactive and burn with great energy. The difference lies in some formulations of quantum physics and electron orbitals that are out of the scope of this writeup.)
And yet living things need nitrogen, and lots of it, primarily to form amino acids and therefore proteins. So there are a number of ways that this happens. First, lightning splits some atmospheric nitrogen into atomic nitrogen, some of which quickly combines with atmospheric oxygen (either molecular or atomic), and then falls to the ground. Incoming cosmic rays also lead to the same reaction, and although this might currently be inconsequential, it may have been a much more important source of fixed nitrogen early in the earth's history.
Much fixed nitrogen is also made industrially, using a reaction that is, to use a technical chemical term, hardcore. To turn reluctant atmospheric nitrogen into usable nitrogen, molecular nitrogen and molecular hydrogen are mixed together at several hundred atmospheres and several hundred degrees Celsius, with a metallic catalyst. This process is very important, and provides the world with fertilizer that probably keeps it from starving. But as could be believed, it is also not something that can be done without a lot of energy and technology.
So far, we have looked at fixing nitrogen with lightning, cosmic rays and intense technology. All of these things are fairly intense, difficult processes, and would not be able to fix enough nitrogen to keep a biosphere running by themselves. Especially considering that there was a biosphere for a long time before there was industrial nitrogen fixing. The majority of nitrogen fixing is done by very small bacteria, most of which live in the root nodules of a small number of plants, mostly of the legume family. The bacteria do this using a special group of proteins, that manage to separate enough electrons out, and then pass them on to another protein, which has a co-factor utilizing iron, sulfur and a single molybdenum atom. The cofactor holds the molecular nitrogen in place, and then bombards the metal atoms with so much electrons that they are able to pull the molecular nitrogen apart. The full description of what happens is more complicated, of course. The reaction takes so much energy, and produces so many toxic products, that it would probably be lethal inside of the cells of a higher plant, but the bacteria are able to produce the nitrogen without too many ill effects.
What is most incredible to me is the fact that small bacteria, using nothing but an organic protein with some iron and a molybdenum atom, are able to do something that otherwise requires the immense energy of lightning flashes or heavy industrial processes. It also says something about the mutual elegance and inelegance of life on earth. While almost all of the earth's plants are busy breaking apart and using the vanishingly tiny amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the just as vital task of breaking the gigantic amount of atmospheric nitrogen is left to a small amount of bacteria living inside of the roots of several plants. And the bacteria does that through a Rube Goldberg protein that utilizes a complicated core of metal atoms. "Molybdenum" may not be high on most people's list of necessities for life, and yet it is. (Almost) every nitrogen atom in your body was once next to a molybdenum atom inside a bacteria inside a pea plant). There is much better technical explanations for the process of nitrogen fixation, but I hope this writeup has given some feeling for the complication and oddity of the matter. | <urn:uuid:1dfc7327-d33c-4d62-9379-f76589b7e3a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://everything2.com/title/nitrogen+fixation?author_id=977360 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954252 | 889 | 3.859375 | 4 |
On Aug 31, 2004, at 11:11 AM, Denis Vlasenko wrote:
It looks like acx100 approaches state when we can consider it's
into mainline kernel.
Some background information: acx100 and acx111 hardware is a bit like
Atheros and possibly prism54 "softmac": it handles mostly low-level
rx/tx stuff, leaving 802.11 stack implementation up to OS
(which is good. To have largish potentially buggy binary-only firmware
to cope with is a nightmare).
I think what acx100 devel is working on can be best described as
"yet another 802.11 stack implementation". This is not ok.
I think we definitely need generic 802.11 stack, with individual
providing only needed callbacks, just like it is done for wired eth
I think 'senior' network guys are in position to decide upon which
of currently available 802.11 stacks we should continue to work.
(Atheros has one, said to be derived from BSD, is there any others?)
To correct this oft-repeated misinformation: "Atheros has one" is
wrong. There is a freely available device-independent 802.11 protocol
stack that is dual BSD/GPL licensed. The only relationship between
this code and Atheros is that the madwifi project uses it to support
Atheros hardware under Linux. Atheros holds no copyrights on any of
the net80211 code.
As to it being derived from BSD, that is correct but misleading. The
1st generation of this code was done for netbsd but the current code is
very different and has been developed almost exclusively in Linux for
over a year (though I'm now trying to find time to backport to
The net80211 code is actively used in netbsd to support 6+ drivers and
a similar number in freebsd. There is a fairly complete implementation
of the 802.11 protocols (fragmentation isn't there but will be soon)
including 11g, WPA/11i, WME and WSM (coming soon). WPA/802.11i
supplicant support using wpa_supplicant has been available for a while
and a hostapd-based authenticator will hit CVS shortly. The management
API for Linux is based on wireless extensions (WE is insufficient so
like everyone else you'll find lots of private ioctls).
I've suggested this code as a good starting point for a "generic 802.11
stack" but received only misinformed responses. Folks who are unaware
of the work should take a look at it. | <urn:uuid:6f81c056-d055-42e3-b58a-db6df9377d11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oss.sgi.com/projects/netdev/archive/2004-09/msg01601.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933245 | 567 | 1.664063 | 2 |
This section explores a variety of sources dating from the campaign to abolish the transatlantic slave trade and beyond. The historical sources that document this campaign are wide and varying and include iconic items such as the minutes from the very first meeting of the Committee to Abolish the Slave Trade in May 1787 but also political cartoons and newspaper extracts, election handbills and pamphlets, eye witness accounts and other sources from both sides of the debate surrounding slavery.
It is important to remember that much of the information and many of the images in these sources are subject to bias. Some of the sources are anti-slavery while others are in favour of it. It might be that some sources depict a sanitised, idyllic view of slavery while others reveal horrifying and degrading scenes to make a particular point. | <urn:uuid:69e2cde9-1f27-429d-8d5c-fc99ac2d04ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/campaignforabolition/sources/sourceintro.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969479 | 163 | 3.6875 | 4 |
The most comprehensive and up-to-date review of vitamins, minerals, herbal remedies and other nutritional supplementsA bewildering range of vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements is now widely available to us all, but information about their health benefits cannot be given on the packaging as it would constitute a health claim.
In this jargon-free guide leading expert on sensible supplementation, Dr Sarah Brewer, sets out all you need to know about the main supplements, and suggests which to take for specific health problems. It includes:
A-Z guide to 150 supplements for a brighter and healthier life.
Clearly explains the benefits, possible side effects and contraindications.
Thoroughly sets out the research evidence to back their efficacy.
Recommends supplements for common problems such as IBS, chronic fatigue, recurrent candida and arthritis.
Packed with clear and concise answers, this essential guide explains the use of supplements to maintain or improve your daily health. | <urn:uuid:c30d6957-40e6-4748-b332-0fa2afd38c4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.constablerobinson.com/?section=books&book=the_essential_guide_to_vitamins_minerals_and_herbal_supplements_9780716022169_paperback | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911376 | 192 | 1.632813 | 2 |
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark Udall mailed letters to two federal agencies this week urging swifter action to modernize the nation's fleet of fire-fighting air tankers.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Udall, D-Colo., expressed concern about delays in acquiring “next generation” large air tankers from private contractors to help fight wildfires.
The current fleet of air tankers is more than 50 years old, and half of the fleet will face mandatory retirement within a decade, according to U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Jennifer Jones in a telephone interview Tuesday.
“The delays have real-life implications for Colorado and the West,” said Udall spokesman Mike Saccone in a telephone interview Tuesday.
In 2012, six civilians died in wildfires in Colorado, according to Udall's letter. Nearly 400,000 acres burned and 648 structures were lost in the state because of wildfires, the letter said, including in the High Park and Waldo Canyon fires.
In 2000, the U.S. Forest Service had 43 large air tankers available to fight wildfires, Jones said. Today, only nine are under guaranteed, exclusive-use contracts, with 16 more under on-call contracts.
The role of the large air tankers is to drop fire retardant that decreases the intensity and rate of spread, so firefighters on the ground can construct containment lines, she said.
“Aircraft alone don't put out wildfires,” she said. “We have the best-equipped fire-fighting force in the world.”
In June, President Barack Obama approved a law that would expedite the process to award contracts for air tankers. Udall was one of the legislation's co-sponsors.
Nine companies submitted proposals to bring seven “next generation” air tankers into service in 2012 and 2013, and the U.S. Forest Service selected four companies in June with the intention of awarding them contracts, according to Jones.
But hang-ups caused the contract process to be started over.
The resubmitted proposals were due Nov. 1, and the U.S. Forest Service is still reviewing them, Jones said. There is no timeline for when contracts will be awarded.
It's too soon to tell what the 2013 wildfire season will be like, according to Ed Delgado, a meteorologist and the national program manager for predictive services at the National Interagency Fire Center.
Regardless, firefighters hope to get an estimate of the air tankers they will have at their disposal this year, said Doug McBee, executive director of the Colorado State Fire Chiefs.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., supports Udall's letters, according to Bennet spokesman Adam Bozzi, and is also working to prioritize the modernization of the country's air-tanker fleet.
Stefanie Dazio is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern with The Durango Herald. You can reach her at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:43abd520-78ff-4295-8a48-537e81703cdb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://durangoherald.com/article/20130130/NEWS01/130139968/0/20120419/Senator-presses-for-air-tanker-upgrade | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942448 | 643 | 1.75 | 2 |
MAIN LINE OF RAILROAD FROM DENVER TO COLORADO SPRINGS.
The next station on the railroad is Edgerton (see sheet 2, p. 84), which is the point of departure for those who wish to visit Monument Park, 2 miles to the west, near the foot of the mountains. This park is also noted for the fantastic forms assumed by the rocks as they are cut away by the elements. A few of the columns in which iron oxide has cemented certain layers, forming a cap that protects the layers below from rapid decay, are shown in Plate XVII, A and B.
In its course down Monument Valley the railroad is built on the Dawson arkose, but the lower part of that formation is composed of sandstone that decays easily, and the rocks do not form buttes or mesas. Near Pikeview the arkose is cut through, and the Laramie, or underlying formation, is exposed. Its outcrop is not conspicuous in the valley, but it forms a line of white sandstone cliffs that may be seen for a long distance to the east (left). This formation is the same as that which carries coal northwest of Denver, and were overlying formations removed it would be possible to walk on this sandstone continuously from Pikeview to Denver. It also carries coal beds in the Monument Creek valley, and the principal business at Pikeview is mining coal. The coal is mined by a shaft about 250 feet deep, but a short distance to the south it comes to the surface. It is of low rank and slacks or falls to pieces quickly when exposed to the atmosphere. As it comes from the mine it carries a large percentage of water, which makes its heating power low, but despite its inferior rank it competes as a domestic fuel with coals which are of a higher rank but which have to be shipped a much greater distance. Pikeview was so named on account of the magnificent view that may be had here of Pikes Peak, about 10 miles distant (Pl. XVIII). On a clear day the smoke of ascending trains can be clearly distinguished, and even part of the "Cogwheel Road" to the summit can be seen.
The position of the coal-bearing rocks beneath the surface, as well as the relation of the rocks of the plains to those of the mountain on the west, is illustrated in figure 9, which shows that in the uplift of the mountains the rocks have broken and those of the mountains have moved up with relation to those of the plains.
Below Pikeview the valley is cut in soft shale (the Pierre) and for that reason it is broad and shallow, and the mountains rise majestically a short distance to the west. Colorado Springs is at the point where Monument Creek joins Fountain Creek, or Fontaine qui Bouille (bubbling fountain), as it was first named by the French explorers, and the railroad runs directly down the valley to that city. Colorado Springs is the most noted health resort in Colorado and, indeed, in the entire Rocky Mountain region. It was organized by Gen. William J. Palmer as a model city on July 31, 1871, the same year that the first railroadthe Denver & Rio Grande, then a narrow-gage linewas built into the valley. It has far outgrown the ideas of its founder, however, and has become the great tourist center of the mountain region as well as an attractive residence city, a railroad point of considerable importance, and the site of Colorado College.
The name Colorado Springs is somewhat of a misnomer, for there are no large springs in the city, but it is closely connected by steam railway and by trolley with Manitou, which has springs of different kinds that have a world-wide reputation. Despite its clean, wide streets and its wealth of green lawns and shrubs and trees Colorado Springs offers little of special interest to the tourist, but it is a stopping place from which other and more interesting localities may be visited and a gateway to the attractive features of the mountains. It is built on the edge of the plains, which sweep away eastward farther than the eye can see. Few travelers who visit Colorado Springs think of the plains as worthy of their attention or as as having any beauty that is at all comparable with the beauty of the mountains, but Helen Hunt Jackson, who is buried here in Evergreen Cemetery, saw beauty in all the landscapes, and she likens the plains about Colorado Springs to the wide expanse of the sea, ever changing, yet always the same.
The continuation of the description of the country along the main line of the railroad will be found on page 53.
Last Updated: 16-Feb-2007 | <urn:uuid:77dc28fe-12d5-49cb-8fb2-222358f98356> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/geology/publications/bul/707/sec1a.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975399 | 963 | 2.90625 | 3 |
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Revoke blasphemy laws in the UK. The fact that blasphemy is still a criminal offence in Britain shows the extent of the lack of religious freedom within this country. Why should someone be punished for speaking against something they have no belief in?"This makes sense for all secularists, atheists and theists alike, as well as any non-Anglican theists whose own religion is not so protected.
Here's a description of the law:
"Blasphemy (and blasphemous libel) is a common law offence with an unlimited penalty. The content of the current law is obscure and, from the evidence that the Committee has received, is widely misunderstood.
The courts held, more generally, that it was "no longer true that 'Christianity is part of the law of the land'". The law of blasphemy was thus restricted to protecting the tenets and beliefs of the Church of England, other religions being protected only to the extent that their beliefs overlapped with those of the Church of England.
As to what precisely constitutes a blasphemy, the matter is obscure...From the decided cases it would seem that blasphemy is committed "by anyone who makes public words, pictures or conduct whereby the doctrines, beliefs, institutions, or sacred objects and rituals of the Church of England by law established are denied or scurrilously vilified or there is objectively contumelious, violent or ribald conduct or abuse directed towards the sacred subject in question, likely to shock and outrage the feelings of the general body of Church of England believers in the community". As the Law Commission's view indicates, quite what this means when it comes to applying the law to any given set of facts is difficult to say." | <urn:uuid:c3aedb0f-69c1-463a-a34f-d466f5158cfc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pyjamasinbananas.blogspot.com/2007/11/revoke-uk-blasphemy-laws.html?showComment=1195249080000 | 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 | 0.964009 | 353 | 1.84375 | 2 |
I am not sure where these numbers come from and the answer depends on how you encode the genome data and if you define all the redundancy (unnecessary, repetitive data) as "information".
First of all, the humane genome contains somewhere around 3.1 (men) to 3.2 (women) billion base pairs. Since the X chromosome is three times longer than the Y chromosome, women have a higher total genome length than men.
Source: "Human Genome Assembly Information" from the "Genome Reference Consortium"
A base pair is made of two of the four nucleobases adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine, but only the four combinations AT, TA, CG and GC are possible as the A and T nucleobases won't bond with the C and G nucleobases and vice versa. These four combinations can be encoded with two bits, so that 6.2-6.4 gigabits or about 750 megabytes are required to store an exact copy of the genome.
Now, even if you need 750 megabytes to store the "raw data" from a human genome, at least a computer scientist will have a hard time defining all of this as "information". E.g. if you record 74 Minutes of complete silence on a CD, the disc contains roughly 750 megabytes of "data" as well, but actually no "information". Large parts of the human genome are repetitive, only a very small part actually differ between different individuals and from the difference, several base pair sequences only occur in a few well-defined varieties.
There is actually some research in the field "how to store a human genome as compact as possible", since genome databases most likely are going to expand rapidly and scientists need efficient ways to share data. Some tools are available for this purpose, e.g. DNAzip, which using a ~5 gigabyte dictionary (permanent data) can compress a human genome down to roughly 4 megabytes.
Source: "Human genomes as email attachments" | <urn:uuid:8b0e2eaa-d207-480f-802f-342ebccb1d6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/10954/does-the-dna-of-one-sperm-contain-37-5-mb-of-information | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921675 | 415 | 3 | 3 |
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) statement;For us non-functional programmers, loops are one of the ubiquitous building blocks of our source code.
Loops come in many forms, but a typical one looks like:
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
For us non-functional programmers, loops are one of the ubiquitous building blocks of our source code.Given that, it's no surprise that compiler optimizers spend considerable effort trying to generate better code for loops. Compiler benchmarks tend to be loops, and the mettle of compiler technology is how good a job it does with loops. The various loop optimizations are well known, and come with their own terminology:
- strength reduction
- loop fusion
- loop rotation
- loop unrolling
- loop invariants
- lots more
(How all these work would be a long digression, instead I'll point the curious at the wikipedia article on loops.)
Fortran compilers are particularly known for how well they generate code for loops.
But if one steps back a bit, there's a common thread among those loop optimizations that seems peculiar. That is, considerable effort is expended attempting to reverse engineer out of the source code what the loop is. It's not enough to notice that a for-loop is of the form:
for (declaration; expression; expression)
which ironically gets us exactly nowhere. The declarations, expressions, and statements could contain any valid code. To do any useful loop optimizations, instead we need to tease out the loop index variable, the initial value, the ending value, the stride of the increment, and figure out what the loop body statement is doing. By now, you should be seeing where this is going. Consider the loop:
for (int i = 0; i < dimension; i++)
array[i] = 5;
Humans, with our amazing perceptual and pattern-matching capabilities, instantly recognize this as setting the contents of array to 5. All a compiler initially sees, though, is a jumble of declarations, comparisons, assignments, and increments. People write books about algorithms that proceed from such a jumble to recognizing that Aha!! moment about what the loop is really doing. Once it knows this, the compiler can then set about generating the optimal code sequence to set the array's contents to 5. (The optimal way is hardly straightforward in modern CPU hardware, and often is not expressible in the source language.)
Now the peculiar thought intrudes. Isn't the compiler's job to enable the programmer to express an algorithm in a high level manner, and then generate the necessary low level implementation of it? We don't write assembler anymore, the compiler does that for us. Right? Right?
The language could in fact define high-level constructs that express implied loops. That way the programmer gets to write short and expressive code, and the compiler would be happy too! It's as if a quicksort could not be expressed in the language, so the programmer writes a bubblesort instead, and relies on the compiler to figure out that it's a bubblesort and then replace it with a quicksort.
Our programming languages need better loop constructs.
We can start by dumping the bookkeeping code. The foreach, which has appeared in several modern languages, does that nicely. (We'll be showing code in the D programming language for illustrative purposes.) The array setting code now looks like:
foreach (ref v; array)
v = 5;
Look, ma, no loop index variable! No begin, end, nor stride. It's all handled by the compiler; the compiler already knows about them, it no longer has to reverse engineer it. (Of course, other benefits accrue. By having the compiler handle such details, there is no longer any possibility of the programmer making a mistake specifying them. And the construct suggests that it can work with any collection, not just arrays.)
It's still only half the job. There's that annoying variable v which is a placeholder for the contents of the array for that iteration. There's analyzing the loop body statement to figure out what is happening in the loop. We need another semantic leap to get past that. Try this on for size:
array = 5;
Aherm, what happened to the loop? It got replaced by the operator, which in D parlance means "the contents of". Now the compiler, by simply parsing the source code, knows that the contents of array should be set to 5. It's free to implement it by generating a loop, using CPU vector set instructions, or even by calling memset(), whichever the compiler dude thought would work best. The source code programmer does not and should not care.
Can this work for other kinds of loops? You betcha!
for (int i = 0; i < dimension; i++)
a[i] = c * b[i] + d;
a = c * b + d;
By adding a simple construct, we've replaced a big chunk of compiler optimization technology. This is not a total solution, but sure as heck marks a step forward for all of us. Anytime one needs an optimization technology that needs to reverse engineer a loop, there's an opportunity for more progress in language design.
A remarkable demonstration of how raising the abstraction level can obviate the need for many loop reverse engineering techniques can be seen with the Blitz++ library.
Many compiler loop optimizations depend on reverse engineering the programmer's intent out of the low level mechanics of the loop source code. By adding some higher level constructs to the source language, we can simplify life for both the programmer and the compiler implementor.
- "Software Vectorization Handbook, The: Applying Intel Multimedia Extensions for Maximum Performance" by Aart J.C. Bik
- Goals of the Blitz++ library"
Thanks to Andrei Alexandrescu, Bartosz Milewski, David Held, Eric Niebler and Jason House for their comments and suggestions on this article. | <urn:uuid:5930ae2d-62d9-478e-abf9-d81c806a59c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drdobbs.com/loop-optimizations/229300270 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910333 | 1,253 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Regional News of Monday, 26 November 2012
The Southern Sector Youth and Women’s Empowerment Network (SOSYWEN) has called on government to increase attention on the enforcement of laws that eliminate all forms of abuse against women in the country.
It has thus urged that the Judiciary and the police be adequately resourced to enable them carry out their mandate of preventing the “flagrant” disregard of the rights of women and girls.
In a statement to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women that is observed on November 25 worldwide, Zenabu Sakiba, Coordinator of SOSYWEN, said the relevant laws that protect the vulnerable in society have not been adequately upheld, giving impetus to more acts of abuse because perpetrators of crimes against women are not held accountable for their crimes.
She said it was of utmost importance that all legislations protecting women and are vigorously enforced to eliminate all forms of discrimination and cultural practices that dehumanizes women and girls.
SOSYWEN, a non-governmental organization, has for the past eight years campaigned for youth and women empowerment.
It has been recently focusing its efforts on the rights of women and girls accused, abused and banished from their societies for witchcraft.
Ms Sakiba used the occasion to call for a stakeholder approach to find a lasting solution to age old cultural practices, particularly the “witches’ camp” that infringed on the rights of women and society at large.
She appealed to Parliament to lead that charge against the abolition of social practices that discriminated against women and children, urging it (legislature) to take firm action on legal reforms on violence against women and to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of such laws. | <urn:uuid:5b7f8a80-7c9e-40d5-8d17-a30588affdfb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=257541 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962515 | 355 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Varicella or the Chicken Pox Vaccine
The chickenpox vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine. It is a weekend form of organism that can grow and produce immunity in the body without causing illness. The chickenpox vaccine is a shot, given in the fatty tissue.
Recommended age of administration:
• One year
• Booster dose at 10 years
Individuals with following conditions should not receive chickenpox vaccine:
• Individuals with weak immune systems and those with life-threatening allergies to gelatin or the antibiotic neomycin should not receive this vaccine.
• Allergic people who had reaction to a prior dose of this vaccine should not receive a second dose.
• Pregnant women and women attempting to become pregnant should not receive this vaccine, as the possible effects on fetal development are unknown. | <urn:uuid:ef41dc67-9de2-445f-8875-27ea0e4cba17> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yohyoh.com/health/check/vaccination/varicella-or-the-chicken-pox-vaccine/5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927613 | 164 | 3.40625 | 3 |
- At Home
Calling all astronomy lovers!
There's a rare annular solar eclipse taking place Sunday evening - the first one visible from the United States since 1994.
Late in the day, the moon will slide across the sun, blocking the light and creating a blazing halo known as a "Ring of Fire."
How to Watch?
It will be visible in the western United States in a 150 mile wide strip that runs from Oregon to Texas, as well as in eastern Asia. If you can't see the eclipse from your area, you can log online to sites like the Slooh Space Camera, which plans to broadcast the event live.
Solar Eclipse Safety
But if you're watching in person, be careful! Scientists are very clear in their warnings not to look directly at the eclipse without proper protection as it can cause permanent eye damage or blindness.
"I cannot overstate this, there are people who just don't pay heed to this, or who get bad information. They can really go blind and I just want to help them avoid that," Sacramento City College Astronomy Professor Liam McDaid told News 10.
To keep your eyes safe, wear specially made protective glasses (they can be bought online). NASA recommends using welder's glasses with a number 14 filter to view the eclipse or other filters made specifically for solar observation. And remember, sunglasses do not provide appropriate protection, even if you wear multiple pairs.
Make Your Own Eclipse Viewer
If you don't want to buy special glasses, you can view the eclipse safely by using binoculars and telescopes to project an image of it on the ground. Just point the binoculars or telescopes at the sun -- without looking through the lenses -- and aim the other end onto a piece of paper or cardboard.
Another way to watch is by making a pinhole projector with a long box, a piece of aluminum foil, a pin, and a sheet of white paper. You can find step by step instructions here.
Did your family watch the eclipse? Check out some photos below! | <urn:uuid:d94ec7f6-409d-4d44-b319-675b64fb1009> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.modernmom.com/hottopic/2012/may/19/sunday-s-solar-eclipse-photos | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927283 | 419 | 3.125 | 3 |
For a school age child, having a coat this time of year is almost just as important as having books. That's why the annual WTOK-Wesley House, "Coats for Kids" campaign is so important. Although response has been relatively good this year, campaign officials say more coats are needed.
"We don't know if people think they will need their coats more and are keeping them, but we're having more requests than we have coats," said Nell Grissom.
In fact, Wesley House director Nell Grissom says the demand for children's coats is so great this year that almost as soon as her office gets a child's coat, it's gone!
Although a rack full a coats may seem like a lot, for an agency that helps clothe hundreds of people of all sizes, campaign officials say what they have collected thus far is not enough.
Local educators we talked to say they know all too well about the problem.
"I've seen children come on the coldest days and I'd say, 'Where's your coat?' and they'd hesitate," said fourth grade teacher Sharon Bowman.
"The problem is that a lot of parents don't have the money to buy the coats and the children grow so fast that they need a new one each season," said elementary school counselor Diane Wall.
Our "Coats for Kids" campaign will continue throughout the winter. To donate you can drop off a new or used coat at Wesley House or at WTOK. Our address is
815 23rd Avenue
"This is very important now because the cold weather is here and getting worse. If you can, please help us," said Grissom. | <urn:uuid:3e23c160-d47a-4ff1-b06a-93246fc10056> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wtok.com/news/headlines/184836.html?site=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985872 | 345 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Fr. Charles Irvin, Diocese of Lansing at 402-A E. Madison Street, DeWitt, MI 48820 US - Benedict XVI's 2008 Midnight Mass Homily
Benedict XVI's 2008 Midnight Mass Homily
Thursday, December 25, 2008
"You Can No Longer Fear Me, You Can Only Love Me"
Here below, the fulltext English translation of Benedict XVI's homily from Midnight Mass in St Peter's:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,Via Vatican Radio.
“Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down upon the heavens and the earth?” This is what Israel sings in one of the Psalms (113 , 5ff.), praising God’s grandeur as well as his loving closeness to humanity. God dwells on high, yet he stoops down to us… God is infinitely great, and far, far above us. This is our first experience of him. The distance seems infinite. The Creator of the universe, the one who guides all things, is very far from us: or so he seems at the beginning. But then comes the surprising realization: The One who has no equal, who “is seated on high”, looks down upon us. He stoops down. He sees us, and he sees me. God’s looking down is much more than simply seeing from above. God’s looking is active. The fact that he sees me, that he looks at me, transforms me and the world around me. The Psalm tells us this in the following verse: “He raises the poor from the dust…” In looking down, he raises me up, he takes me gently by the hand and helps me – me! – to rise from depths towards the heights. “God stoops down”. This is a prophetic word. That night in Bethlehem, it took on a completely new meaning. God’s stooping down became real in a way previously inconceivable. He stoops down – he himself comes down as a child to the lowly stable, the symbol of all humanity’s neediness and forsakenness. God truly comes down. He becomes a child and puts himself in the state of complete dependence typical of a newborn child. The Creator who holds all things in his hands, on whom we all depend, makes himself small and in need of human love. God is in the stable. In the Old Testament the Temple was considered almost as God’s footstool; the sacred ark was the place in which he was mysteriously present in the midst of men and women. Above the temple, hidden, stood the cloud of God’s glory. Now it stands above the stable. God is in the cloud of the poverty of a homeless child: an impenetrable cloud, and yet – a cloud of glory! How, indeed, could his love for humanity, his solicitude for us, have appeared greater and more pure? The cloud of hiddenness, the cloud of the poverty of a child totally in need of love, is at the same time the cloud of glory. For nothing can be more sublime, nothing greater than the love which thus stoops down, descends, becomes dependent. The glory of the true God becomes visible when the eyes of our hearts are opened before the stable of Bethlehem.
Saint Luke’s account of the Christmas story, which we have just heard in the Gospel, tells us that God first raised the veil of his hiddenness to people of very lowly status, people who were looked down upon by society at large – to shepherds looking after their flocks in the fields around Bethlehem. Luke tells us that they were “keeping watch”. This phrase reminds us of a central theme of Jesus’s message, which insistently bids us to keep watch, even to the Agony in the Garden – the command to stay awake, to recognize the Lord’s coming, and to be prepared. Here too the expression seems to imply more than simply being physically awake during the night hour. The shepherds were truly “watchful” people, with a lively sense of God and of his closeness. They were waiting for God, and were not resigned to his apparent remoteness from their everyday lives. To a watchful heart, the news of great joy can be proclaimed: for you this night the Saviour is born. Only a watchful heart is able to believe the message. Only a watchful heart can instil the courage to set out to find God in the form of a baby in a stable. Let us ask the Lord to help us, too, to become a “watchful” people.
Saint Luke tells us, moreover, that the shepherds themselves were “surrounded” by the glory of God, by the cloud of light. They found themselves caught up in the glory that shone around them. Enveloped by the holy cloud, they heard the angels’ song of praise: “Glory to God in the highest heavens and peace on earth to people of his good will”. And who are these people of his good will if not the poor, the watchful, the expectant, those who hope in God’s goodness and seek him, looking to him from afar?
The Fathers of the Church offer a remarkable commentary on the song that the angels sang to greet the Redeemer. Until that moment – the Fathers say – the angels had known God in the grandeur of the universe, in the reason and the beauty of the cosmos that come from him and are a reflection of him. They had heard, so to speak, creation’s silent song of praise and had transformed it into celestial music. But now something new had happened, something that astounded them. The One of whom the universe speaks, the God who sustains all things and bears them in his hands – he himself had entered into human history, he had become someone who acts and suffers within history. From the joyful amazement that this unimaginable event called forth, from God’s new and further way of making himself known – say the Fathers – a new song was born, one verse of which the Christmas Gospel has preserved for us: “Glory to God in the highest heavens and peace to his people on earth”. We might say that, following the structure of Hebrew poetry, the two halves of this double verse say essentially the same thing, but from a different perspective. God’s glory is in the highest heavens, but his high state is now found in the stable – what was lowly has now become sublime. God’s glory is on the earth, it is the glory of humility and love. And even more: the glory of God is peace. Wherever he is, there is peace. He is present wherever human beings do not attempt, apart from him, and even violently, to turn earth into heaven. He is with those of watchful hearts; with the humble and those who meet him at the level of his own “height”, the height of humility and love. To these people he gives his peace, so that through them, peace can enter this world.
The medieval theologian William of Saint Thierry once said that God – from the time of Adam – saw that his grandeur provoked resistance in man, that we felt limited in our own being and threatened in our freedom. Therefore God chose a new way. He became a child. He made himself dependent and weak, in need of our love. Now – this God who has become a child says to us – you can no longer fear me, you can only love me.
With these thoughts, we draw near this night to the child of Bethlehem – to the God who for our sake chose to become a child. In every child we see something of the Child of Bethlehem. Every child asks for our love. This night, then, let us think especially of those children who are denied the love of their parents. Let us think of those street children who do not have the blessing of a family home, of those children who are brutally exploited as soldiers and made instruments of violence, instead of messengers of reconciliation and peace. Let us think of those children who are victims of the industry of pornography and every other appalling form of abuse, and thus are traumatized in the depths of their soul. The Child of Bethlehem summons us once again to do everything in our power to put an end to the suffering of these children; to do everything possible to make the light of Bethlehem touch the heart of every man and woman. Only through the conversion of hearts, only through a change in the depths of our hearts can the cause of all this evil be overcome, only thus can the power of the evil one be defeated. Only if people change will the world change; and in order to change, people need the light that comes from God, the light which so unexpectedly entered into our night.
And speaking of the Child of Bethlehem, let us think also of the place named Bethlehem, of the land in which Jesus lived, and which he loved so deeply. And let us pray that peace will be established there, that hatred and violence will cease. Let us pray for mutual understanding, that hearts will be opened, so that borders can be opened. Let us pray that peace will descend there, the peace of which the angels sang that night.
In Psalm 96 , Israel, and the Church, praises God’s grandeur manifested in creation. All creatures are called to join in this song of praise, and so the Psalm also contains the invitation: “Let all the trees of the wood sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes” (v. 12ff.). The Church reads this Psalm as a prophecy and also as a task. The coming of God to Bethlehem took place in silence. Only the shepherds keeping watch were, for a moment, surrounded by the light-filled radiance of his presence and could listen to something of that new song, born of the wonder and joy of the angels at God’s coming. This silent coming of God’s glory continues throughout the centuries. Wherever there is faith, wherever his word is proclaimed and heard, there God gathers people together and gives himself to them in his Body; he makes them his Body. God “comes”. And in this way our hearts are awakened. The new song of the angels becomes the song of all those who, throughout the centuries, sing ever anew of God’s coming as a child – and rejoice deep in their hearts. And the trees of the wood go out to him and exult. The tree in Saint Peter’s Square speaks of him, it wants to reflect his splendour and to say: Yes, he has come, and the trees of the wood acclaim him. The trees in the cities and in our homes should be something more than a festive custom: they point to the One who is the reason for our joy – the God who for our sake became a child. In the end, this song of praise, at the deepest level, speaks of him who is the very tree of new-found life. Through faith in him we receive life. In the Sacrament of the Eucharist he gives himself to us – he gives us a life that reaches into eternity. At this hour we join in creation’s song of praise, and our praise is at the same time a prayer: Yes, Lord, help us to see something of the splendour of your glory. And grant peace on earth. Make us men and women of your peace. Amen. | <urn:uuid:5ed16758-acaa-4b37-ba20-5f359fb313bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://home.catholicweb.com/FrCharlesIrvin/index.cfm/NewsItem?ID=252851 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976088 | 2,409 | 1.765625 | 2 |
This is a continuation of the my 7 great movie series that I thought I will do in a week. It really takes much longer. But as least the movies are good. And I think that's what really matters!
Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander is saga of a rich family the Ekdahls. I am particular impressed by the confrontation scene between Alexander and the Bishop. The Bishop, whom Alexander never have much affection with, becomes his step father when he marries his widowed mother. Alexander has mischievously made up a rumor about the Bishop mistreating his former wife. His maid informed the Bishop, which leads to the inquisition scene. Being a man of honor the Bishop clearly consider this a serious defamation. Alexander flat out deny he has made such accusation. The denial has took the Bishop by surprise. How dare would Alexander lie in front of everyone? So the Bishop escalates the pressure, making Alexander swear with his hand on the bible and explain that any further lying will be considered perjury, a very serious crime. In every step Alexander just dig himself deeper into a hole. This leads to his final breakdown and the severe punishment.
The power of this scene is that we can follow each character's mind and see how end step lead to this explosive end. The Bishop is no ordinarily villain. In fact he is completely right. It maybe somewhat harsh to apply his institutional power on a kid. But we also see how Alexander's willfulness provoke him. The Bishop told him he consider himself wise and fair, why does Alexander hate him? Again he is right, it is fair to say he is wise and fair even if he is also cold and dull. It is a thought provoking exercise to try to make sense of the conflict. How someone seemingly making every right step will come out so wrong. | <urn:uuid:eb692389-3816-4bf3-a26c-928463d22d8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tungwaiyip.info/blog/2012/03 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984643 | 370 | 1.585938 | 2 |
During a recent murder mystery weekend, four games were played.
In one game Mrs Red used the spanner, but not in the library.
In another game the rope was used in the study, but not by Major Yellow.
During one game the gun was used in the conservatory, whilst in another game Dr Purple was not to be found in the library.
Major Yellow was never in the conservatory and Miss Beige never used the rope.
The lead piping may or may not have been used in the kitchen.
Can you determine who used what and where? | <urn:uuid:2a506a23-15d2-41b1-9fe3-0b36ffbaec37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brainbashers.com/showpuzzles.asp?puzzle=ZNAF&showanswer=Y | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979789 | 118 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Bahamas Area Map - Sea Crest Hotel and Marina
The most populous islands in the Bahamas -- New Providence Island, Paradise Island and Grand Bahama Island -- are also the most common tourist destinations. Nassau, Bahamas' capital city and home to 80 percent of the nation's population, sprawls out along New Providence Island's eastern side.
New Providence Island
Bay Street in Nassau runs parallel to New Providence Island's northern shore and contains the area's main shopping district. To the east is the gritty Old Town, which contains many Bahamian government buildings, including the pink Parliament Square buildings.
New Providence also offers a variety of popular outdoor activities, including snorkeling, swimming and hiking. Frommer's recommends Cable Beach for its large sunbathing area, great surf, as well as its jet-skiing opportunities.
Just north of New Providence is Paradise Island, a small but major resort destination. Accessible from Nassau by two bridges, the island is home to some of the Bahamas' most celebrated -- and expensive -- beaches. To some, the grandest sight on the island is the world-famous Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and Water Park. Many of the sights and beaches on the island are limited to Atlantis guests, but some beaches are publicly accessible on foot. Frommer's recommends Paradise's Cabbage Beach, which occupies more than two miles of shoreline. To get away from the crowds, try the sands on the beach's northwest end.
Grand Bahama Island
The Grand Bahama Island is the closest to the United States and, according to Lonely Planet, is "usually overlooked, occasionally knocked down and ultimately misunderstood." Writers say that Freeport, the island's main city, barely survived a pair of destructive hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, but has since experienced resurgence. The city is now home to numerous newly renovated hotels and restaurants. Grand Bahama is also one of the best for eco-travelers. Its treasure is Lucayan National Park on the northern side of the island, the only place in the country that features all six Bahamian ecosystems, according to the island's website.
Grand Bahama Island also features more than 60 miles of beaches for swimming and water sports. Xanadu Beach is most convenient to Freeport's resorts, but you should consider the less-crowded Gold Rock Beach and Taino Beach.
To avoid the crowds that inevitably plague most of the beaches on New Providence and Grand Bahama, consider staying on the Out Islands, the smaller and sometimes cheaper islands scattered throughout the archipelago. These include Acklins Island, the Abaco Islands, Bimini Island, Cat Island, Eleuthera and Harbour Island and Exumas Island.
Acklins Island is a relatively undeveloped island that is home to several Lucayan Indian sites, especially along Pompey Bay Beach. Fishing, kayaking and snorkeling are especially popular in Acklins because of the island's shallow waters. The Plana Cays reserve and the Castle Island Lighthouse are also popular attractions.
The Abaco Islands
The Abaco Islands consists of several islands and cays (very small islands) that are great for exploring and snorkeling. Andros Island is the Bahamas' largest island but it's also the least developed. Like other Out Islands, writers recommend Andros Island for eco-travelers. Along its shores lies the Big Yard, the world's third-largest barrier reef, filled with various marine wildlife.
Along with Andros and the Berry Islands, Bimini Island lies along the northwestern edge of the Bahamas. Bimini Island was a popular hideout for rum-runners during prohibition, and the great American author, Ernest Hemingway, spent several years writing on the island. Because of its reputation as the big-game fishing capital of the world, Bimini is often crowded with anglers and boaters. However, other watersports abound here, including yachting and scuba diving. Experts say that those interested in history should head to the northern part of the island, where several rock formations strewn off the coast are said to be remnants of the lost continent of Atlantis.
Cat Island is about 130 miles southeast of Nassau and Paradise Island and, like most Out Islands, is a popular locale for snorkeling and swimming. The island is relatively unpopulated and home to several small, rustic villages.
Eleuthera Island & Harbour Island
Eleuthera Island was the Bahamas' first permanent settlement, and its Queen's Highway -- which runs north to south -- weaves throughout the entire island and makes navigation easy. Eleuthera's satellite island, Harbour Island, is home to Dunmore Town, which contains an abundance of New England-style architecture. Both Eleuthera and Harbour Island contain many upscale hotels and resorts. Travel Channel rates Harbour Island's Pink Sands Beach as one of the best, with three miles of pink sand and calm, shallow waters.
Exumas has an abundance of hotels and resorts that writers say are both exclusive and very, very expensive. The island is also home to the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, with public and private cays (very small islands) that you can explore by tour boat.
The crime rate is high on many Bahamian islands, but particularly the lively New Providence, Paradise and Grand Bahama islands. The U.S. State Department says the U.S. Embassy has several filed reports of sexual assaults "in diverse areas such as in casinos, outside hotels, or on cruise ships. In several incidents the victim had reportedly been drugged." In addition, travel sites warn of pickpockets on the casino floors along the Paradise Beach and Cable Beach strips.
Most criminal activity occurs outside of the tourist areas, however. You should especially avoid the "over-the-hill" section of Nassau (just south of the downtown area). It's also better to leave your valuables secured in the room safe, and to keep your rental car locked at all times.
The best way to get around the Bahamas is by Jitney minibuses. They are the most common form of transport from the country's many airports, including Nassau's Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS), Grand Bahama International Airport (FPO) and Exuma International Airport (GGT) on Great Exuma Island. You can also travel to other Bahamian Islands from NAS Airport using the inter-island air service, Bahamasair or via the pricey water taxis. Once you're on your chosen island, the aforementioned jitneys and taxis will get you to where you need to go.Getting To & Around Bahamas»
See all Top Things to Do in Bahamas»
See the Best Hotels in Bahamas» | <urn:uuid:9901bc7e-5545-4ffa-abde-6b985a95ed5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://travel.usnews.com/Bahamas/Area_Map/Hotel_Sea_Crest_Hotel_and_Marina_29145/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942452 | 1,387 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Weather: Snow And Wind To Continue To Batter Britain
There will be little let-up in Britain's spell of bad weather, with warnings in place for some parts of the country.
The Met Office has issued warnings of the possibility of snow for most of the country.
But the South is set for a brief reprieve - the only two areas without warnings of snow are the East of England and London and the South East. From the Midlands further north, there is the risk of snow and heavy showers, with high winds adding to the chance of blizzards.
Conditions could worsen into Thursday with weather warnings moving back down to the south coast.
The Environment Agency has flood warnings in place in the North East, North West and Wales, with alerts also in place in the Midlands, South East and South West.
On Monday high winds and heavy rain battered England and Wales. The south of England and South Wales bore the brunt, with up to 40mm of rain falling in some areas in 12 hours.
One man had a lucky escape when a tree smashed into his bedroom while he was asleep in Winchester, Hampshire. Former ambassador Richard Wilkinson, 65, suffered only an ear injury despite the beech tree crushing his bedroom.
The Met Office said will be a "cold and windy day for most", with showers continuing, particularly across western parts. "Some showers will be heavy and thundery, with a risk of sleet or hail, and further snow over higher ground."
Bad weather could return to the South on Thursday, with forecasters predicting potentially severe gales and outbreaks of rain.
There were concerns of an even stronger storm forecast for later this week, but that is now expected to be weaker and hit France and Germany, the Press Association's weather arm Meteogroup said on Tuesday. Chris Burton said: "It's not unusual to get a westerly flow from the Atlantic causing stormy weather over the UK during autumn and early winter. For the last few years it's been different, with colder weather, so it seems worse than usual, but it's not." | <urn:uuid:3f070c67-b6ee-4fda-91e6-6fc2f9187f11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/14/weather-snow-rain-wind-severe-weather-warning-met-office_n_1147585.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960774 | 428 | 2.15625 | 2 |
View Full Version : automating autocad to excel?
25th Aug 2005, 07:50 pm
first off, let me just say i love this forum.
i can usually figure out about 95% of what i need to do, and everyone here is always ready to help me with the other 5%, which is great!
i'm running autocad 2002, and need only a little help.
i've created a VBA that takes data from a sheet in a workbook in Excel and places that data into a test report at the corresponding locations.
and from this forum i found a lisp code that sends all text from an autocad drawing to a txt file that i then open in excel. this is the sheet from which i get my data in the above paragraph.
is there any way to skip the middle step of me opening the txt file in excel, and then selecting it to be delimited by "spaces" and the "%". it would be great if there was either a script file i could run or a lisp that would save this data from autocad to excel. anybody got anything?
25th Aug 2005, 11:48 pm
Do you want LISP or VBA?
26th Aug 2005, 01:26 pm
i don't really have a preferance.
it would be nice if it were in VBA because i feel like it might be easier to have my page formatted in the manner i stated in my original post.
however autolisp would also be nice if i could have the data formatted a particular way, because it would be sent to a specific file and hopefully open it. i don't know. i'm a novice when it comes to communicating between autocad and excel, really.
28th Aug 2005, 02:05 pm
Are these "schedules" in CAD that you want reproduced in Excel?
For example, is the text arranged in columns and rows in CAD, OR
do you just want to populate a spreadsheet with all the text in a drawing, one piece of text per row in column A.
The reason I ask is, I have many routines for getting text out of CAD and into Excel. One asks you for two points to do a crossing window then a letter for the column to insert it into. Then they are sorted from highest Y value to lowest. Makes it very easy to reproduce CAD only schedules in Excel.
If you could, please give me an example of what you are trying to do and I can get you code to modify to achieve your goals.
30th Aug 2005, 01:19 pm
If there is a way you can suggest to shorten this process by using more VBA, LISP, or Script files that would be greatly appreciated.
currently my process consists of the following steps:
1. I open an autocad specification that I want to create a quality control test document for. I use the following .lsp code by typing TXTEX in the command prompt for autocad and it selects all the text in the drawing and saves it to a .txt file called dtext.txt
(defun c:txtex (/ et)
(setq fl (open "dtext.txt" "w")
(setq el (entget et)
tp (cdr (assoc 0 el))
(if (or (= tp "TEXT") (= tp "MTEXT"))
(write-line (cdr (assoc 1 el)) fl)
(setq et (entnext et))
2. Next, I open a new session of EXCEL. Then I go to FILE-OPEN-dtext.txt
3. Then Excel Opens the Text import wizard.
4. I select that the text needs to be Delimited and select NEXT.
5. I select the delimiters to be the SPACE and OTHER and in the input box for other I enter "%". I leave the box checked that states "Treat consectutive delimiters as one". I then select NEXT.
6. Then I have to select all of the columns individiual one by one and change the "Column Data Format" to "Text". I then select OK.
7. I then copy and past this into a page called "dtext" into a Workbook in Excel that contains a Macro that searches for text in the "dtext" excel page and places this found data in specific cells on a second page to create a Test report.
Wow, that's a bunch of stuff. I've done it so much, it doesn't seem like that much. What I think is possible to do is to automate steps 2,3,4,5,6 and 7 somehow, but I can't figure out how. I don't even think it would be that hard, but i've hit a brick wall here.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
30th Aug 2005, 05:25 pm
This will place all text in it's own row in column A. You will have to tinker with it to get it into the correct locations to run your other macro.
All of this code goes into a Module in Excel (to get to the VBA editor press Alt+F11). You will have to go to Tools, References and add a reference to your version of AutoCAD.
See what you can do with this and ask any questions you may have.
Public Sub GetText()
Dim objSelSet As AcadSelectionSet
Dim objEnt As AcadText
Dim intType(1) As Integer
Dim varData(1) As Variant
Dim intRow As Integer
Dim varAtts As Variant
Dim MyVar As Range
Dim DB As Workbook
Dim CP As Worksheet
Set DB = Application.ActiveWorkbook
Set CP = DB.ActiveSheet
On Error GoTo Err_Handler
Set objAcad = Nothing
Set objSelSet = vbdPowerSet("gettext")
intType(0) = 0
varData(0) = "TEXT,MTEXT"
objSelSet.Select acSelectionSetAll, _
intRow = 1
For Each objEnt In objSelSet
CP.cells(intRow,1).Value = objEnt.TextString
intRow = intRow + 1
ThisDrawing1.ActiveSpace = acPaperSpace
MsgBox Err.Number & " " & Err.Description
30th Aug 2005, 10:00 pm
thanks, but that's not quite what i was looking for.
i did, however, figure it out using VBA.
again, i appreciate your effort. now my issue is exploding dimensions using a lisp, because every lisp i write to explode dimensions does not work, which is funny because it seems like a very easy lisp to write.
31st Aug 2005, 08:12 am
see my answer in your other post
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Kevin Cokely, NBC 5 News
Doctors say patients often overmedicate themselves without even knowing it while taking several products that contain the same medication.
If you're spending the day sick in bed, be careful what you take to fight the flu.
Many times, people take too much of a good thing and overmedicate themselves without even knowing it.
"They're running a temperature, so they're already taking acetaminophen -- or they're taking aspirin -- but most people take acetaminophen, said Donna Barksy, a pharmacist at Texas Star Pharmacy in Plano. "The acetaminophen is a great product, except it's in everything, and when they start doubling up on this, it can do some really damage to your liver."
Minnie Wilson said she doubled up on antihistamine without knowing it.
"It's basically by accident," she said. "You're trying to get well, and so you're drinking the liquid that had antihistamine in it, and you're taking the pills that had antihistamine in it, and you're taking something to dry you up, too, and it's just kind of like an overdose of the medication."
The Texas Poison Center Network is hearing from many more people who accidentally double up on over-the-counter medications, especially acetaminophen and antihistamine.
"The tendency for a lot of folks is to think if sometimes a little bit of medication helps, more is better, and that can sometime be dangerous," said Dr. Kapio Sharma with the Poison Control Center at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Last month alone, the statewide network received 338 of such calls, the most since December 2007.
"Of course, in the last two months, we've seen a big increase in the number of flu cases, along with a big increase in a number of other viral syndromes, so part of the reason is that people simply feel worse in the last two months," Sharma said.
Some combinations can be lethal. Symptoms include dry mouth and blurry vision, feeling your heart race and being out of breath.
"I've gotten too dry and wake up in the morning and you sneeze and, of course, may have a nosebleed or things like that," Wilson said.
Pharmacists and doctors say people should always read the labels and do not mix and match products, especially multisymptom pain relievers. | <urn:uuid:ae5efac2-7050-4c1d-ae7c-e57c3962bfca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Doctors-Warn-Against-Overmedicating-Flu-Colds-187988431.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964209 | 500 | 2.390625 | 2 |
(CNN) -- 4,316,233.
That's how many babies were born in the United States in 2007, the highest number ever.
But after that, the number dropped. Last year, just over 4 million boys and girls were born in the 50 states.
The likely reason? The economy, of course.
A decline in fertility rates that began in 2008 is closely linked to financial woes that started at the same time, said a new Pew Research Center report issued Wednesday. Changes in personal income, per capita GDP, unemployment rates and claims, and state-level foreclosure rates all had an effect.
In 2007, there were 69.7 babies per 1,000 women of childbearing age. Provisional data for 2010 showed that number had dropped to 64.7.
The actual number of births from 2008 to 2009 rose only in one state, North Dakota, which also posted one of the nation's lowest unemployment rates at 3.1%.
"This does not conclusively prove that the economic changes led to fertility changes," the Pew report said. "However, the timing is consistent with the time it might take people to act upon fertility decisions."
Historically, there's evidence to back up the Pew analysis.
Demographer Carl Haub said baby busts have occurred in other bleak economic eras of U.S. history. During the Great Depression, the fertility rate fell to 76.15. During the oil shock decade of the 1970s, it plunged to 64.99.
In that sense, what's happening now is normal.
"It's almost certainly due to a lack of confidence in the economy," said Haub of the private Washington-based Population Reference Bureau.
Having children, he said, is expensive. You have to feed them, clothe them and send them to day care. And that's hard when you're without a paycheck or booted from your house.
The same kinds of trends affect European nations as well. Fertility rates plunged, for instance, in Eastern Europe when the breakup of the Soviet Union destroyed the local economy. And they are down now, amid the current crisis, Haub said.
"Unemployment is rising and the airwaves flood our living rooms and cars with one bit of scary news after another," Haub wrote in a 2009 report predicting birth rate declines in the current recession. "Bad news travels fast and furiously these days, much more so than in the 1970s and 1930s."
But that's not to say that Americans don't want children anymore, Haub said. They are simply waiting for more prosperous times.
The Pew report said Hispanics, whose employment levels and household wealth were hit hard by the recession, experienced the largest fertility declines of any racial or ethnic group. From 2008 to 2009, birth rates dropped by 5.9% among Hispanic women. For African-American women, rates dropped 2.4%, and they dropped 1.6% among white women.
In 2009, the Hispanic birth rate of 93.3 births per 1000 women was the lowest since 1999. That came after a year when unemployment among Hispanics increased 2.0%.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanics have also been the biggest losers in terms of wealth in the recession -- Hispanic households have lost 66% of their median wealth from 2005 to 2009.
Haub said the drop in American birth rates is not significant enough to be alarming -- there's not going to be a shortage of people anytime soon. But the decline could have a significant impact on markets that cater to children and families and also affect the need for teachers or other providers of children's services.
And things don't appear to be changing anytime soon.
"We're probably in for a somewhat longer term depression of the birth rate," Haub said. "The economy has definitely put a damper on it." | <urn:uuid:305fd1c6-7d73-44a5-b4d0-efa03238a405> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/12/us/economy-birth-decline/?hpt=he_c2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973568 | 783 | 2.296875 | 2 |
How your baby's growing:
Wordlike sounds are now spilling out of your baby, and he's able to use some of them meaningfully. As his brain continues to develop, so does his ability to reason and speak.
Encourage your baby's interest in language and his understanding of two-way communication by being an avid listener and responding to his sounds. To polish his memory skills, play games like patty-cake and peekaboo.
• Learn more fascinating facts about your 11-month-old's development
Your life: Discipline disagreements
Just when you and your partner have established common ground on your baby's sleeping habits and how many toys is too many comes a new, potentially contentious co-parenting issue: discipline, the big D.
Remember that you and your partner bring different styles and experiences to parenting. This is a good thing, and it's important to respect and appreciate each other's views. Having strong opinions means your partner cares about how your baby is taught to behave and wants to contribute to that process. His ideas merit as much consideration as yours.
If you really disagree on a particular method or rule
, it's best to talk about it out in the open rather than criticizing or undermining one another (or just silently seething). Be specific about your concerns and avoid being judgmental about your partner's ideas. Convey that you know it's important to come to a consensus: For discipline to be effective, it needs to be consistent.
It may help to do a little research together into the discipline subjects you differ on, consulting an expert or books about the pros and cons of particular approaches and techniques.
What I love most about parenthood
You may find that there are more effective strategies that you weren't aware of.
3 questions about: Toilet trainingShould I be thinking about toilet training?
The short answer: Not yet. Unless you began infant potty training
with your baby between birth and 4 months, it's probably best to wait until your child is between 18 and 24 months old. Many experts, including physicians at the American Academy of Pediatrics, say that's when most children are developmentally ready for toilet training
.Why was early toilet training once more common in the United States?
Before 1950, most children in the United States were toilet trained by 18 months. And today, most African, Asian, and European babies are trained well before their second birthday. So why are American babies and their parents so attached to their diapers? Many think it's due to the changing views of prominent experts and pediatricians — who now advocate a gentler, more "child-centered" approach to potty training — as well as the invention of disposable diapers.How will I be able to tell whether my baby is ready for toilet training?
There are two components to readiness
— the physical and the emotional. Your child needs to be both physically aware of his bowel and bladder urges and emotionally ready in order for potty training to be a success. Signs that your child is physically ready include fairly regular and predictable bowel movements, along with his ability to wait at least two hours to urinate, to completely empty his bladder when he urinates, to help you pull his pants up and down, and to get on and off the toilet or potty chair. Other signs of readiness are an ability to understand toilet-related words and to follow simple instructions. In terms of emotional readiness, your child should show signs that he's aware that he's going in his diaper — he might squat in a corner or even tell you with words or gestures that he's gone. He might become upset when he soils his diaper. Given those "prerequisites," few 11-month-olds are considered developmentally ready to learn this important skill.
Hot topics this weekTelevision and your child
• Do you think it's okay for babies to watch TV?
• Does your baby watch the shows you watch?
• TV guidelines for toddlersSee all
our information on encouraging your baby's developmentDaddy dearest
• Tips on hiking with your baby
• Surprises you may face as a new dad
• Give advice to other dads — or get a few tips yourselfSee all
our resources for dads of babiesWhen to call the doctor
• Do you know when to call the doctor? Take our quiz
• Poll: Have you disagreed with your baby's doctor?See all
our resources on doctor visits | <urn:uuid:79b18bbe-820a-4fac-9367-a1ff9ff859d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-11-month-old-week-1_1147.bc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972992 | 905 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Alright, enough videos–tomorrow marks the start of the 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition season with their annual Kickoff telecast. FIRST hasn’t released details on how to watch online, but with local Kickoff events all over the place there might just be one near you. It’ll also be up on YouTube shortly after the telecast, if last year is any indication.
When people find out I build robots, the first question is “Do they fight each other?”
The second, almost always, is “Can you make me one that’ll get me a beer?”
This senior design project from the University of Central Florida uses an IR emitter (in the guy’s hand) and a mix of IR receivers and ultrasonic sensors to navigate the area around. Reportedly, there’s also a water gun as protection against people blocking the path. While undemonstrated in the video, you can spot the washer fluid reservoir they’re using for it.
Boston Dynamics (of BigDog fame) has the legs-in-the-real-world thing down. For reference, if you ran 28.3 miles per hour you would complete 100 meters in about 7.90 seconds. Usain Bolt’s world-record 100-meter run, admittedly from a standstill, is 9.58 seconds. | <urn:uuid:427076e2-5612-4180-b542-77697100f2fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://omgrobots.net/?category=control-systems | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941392 | 285 | 1.882813 | 2 |
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The Donauinsel (Danube Island) is a long, narrow island, in central Vienna, Austria, between the Danube river and the parallel excavated channel Neue Donau ("New Danube"). The island is 21.1 km (13.1 mi) in length, but is only 70–210 metres (230–690 ft) broad. The New Danube waterway is practically an elongated (swimming) lake, technically a diluvian bed.
To most visitors, the island is known as a recreational area with bars, restaurants and nightclubs. It has sports opportunities from rollerblading, cycling and swimming to canoeing. There is one beach that, in its beginning, felt so exotic that it was soon nicknamed the "Copa Cagrana" as a humoristic allusion to Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana: Kagran is the part of the 22nd District of Vienna next to that beach. In the southern and northern parts of the island, there are extensive (and free) nude beaches.
The Donauinselfest is an internationally well-known annual open air festival, and Europe's biggest event of this kind, expected to soon hit the 3-million-visitors mark. It takes place at the end of June (Friday through Sunday). Madonna gave her first concert in Vienna there in front of an impressive crowd of 57,000.
The main purpose of the island however is to be part of Vienna's highly sophisticated flood protection system. As the mighty river Danube crosses the city (before major extensions: passed nearby), this has constantly been a concern for hundreds of years. The first notable measures were taken between 1870 and 1875. A central bed, 280 m, was dug out, and an inundation area of 450 m was created at the river's left bank.
In 1970, a new plan was conceived and soon executed: digging an additional channel to replace the former inundation area, and using the spoil to build up the remaining strip of land between the straightened bed from the 19th century flood defence schemes and the newly created one. The new channel is called the Neue Donau (New Danube). After the completion of the works it was envisaged that the resulting island should eventually be used for recreation. The flood control system is designed to protect from flash floods bringing river flows of up to 14,000 m3 per second. This has only happened once in Vienna's history in 1501; the heavy 2002 flood brought flows of 10,000 m3 per second. It includes the Danube Canal's historic Nußdorf watergate, locks at either end of New Danube, a groundwater level control system integrated into the right bank flood levee (which creates appropriate conditions for the large park area Prater, once part of a wide alluvial forest zone), and the new Freudenau river plant's sluice.
The works were started in March 1972 and finished in 1988. The river plant was added from 1992 to 1998.
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©2011 Samuel David Sinclair - ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION | <urn:uuid:eff0a5f1-c789-4b19-a3c9-a4445fc4c583> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gigapan.com/gigapans/69239 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952067 | 729 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Hacking Incident Makes Government Websites Inaccessible
In the first week of February 2008, hackers banged into several Websites of the Northern Ireland government, as reported by BBC News on February 12, 2008.
The sites hacked include that of the Planning Service, which publishes information on planning policies being implemented in 26 council regions of Northern Ireland and The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. These sites remained inaccessible for several days while investigation of the attack continued.
Officials at the Department of Environment (DoE) said that hackers compromised the server that enabled them to access the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) Website files. The hack, in addition, allowed the scammers to get hold of the File Transfer Protocol or FTP username and password by employing a keylogger.
Arlene Foster, the Minister for Environment, said that the hacking incident caused much worry. The hacker appears to have brought down the systems of Stormont's Information Technology Shared Services Center, which the Department of Regional Development and DoE use along with many others, as reported by BBC News on February 12, 2008.
Foster also said that she came to know about the breach only on the night of February 11, 2008.
Besides, the DoE officials said that during the weekend of February 2-3, 2008, hackers attempted to attack Web server that the IT Shared Service Center of the Northern Ireland Civil Services owned and operated to host various government Websites.
It is, however, believed that no information has been damaged or lost as a result of the incident, which was the latest among many at national and local levels, disturbing government hold of information. Also, the Website for the Planning Service has been restored.
Related article: Hacking Attacks Are Increasing to Haunt Banks
» SPAMfighter News - 21-02-2008 | <urn:uuid:d23ff344-b769-4374-b9ae-09d6aee4c344> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.spamfighter.com/News-9870-Hacking-Incident-Makes-Government-Websites-Inaccessible.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958374 | 368 | 1.804688 | 2 |
If one believes that the Akhenaten was the son of Tiy, and Tutankhamun was the son of Ankhenaten then surely it is possible for Tiy to have died quite young. If we say that she had Akhenaten in her teens, it is possible for Tutankhamun to have been born while she was in her late thirties, making it not impossible for her to be the elder lady. Sekhmet, do you think that the elder lady is actually Queen Nefertiti? I just want to know what your arguments FOR it being Nefertiti are apart from just the age of the mummy.
It is rather hard to consider your example Si-Amun. i was considering the acceptence that Meketaten, Akhenaten's second daughter dies supposedly in childbirth prior to Queen Tiy's death. Again making Tiy more elderly than the mean average age of Elder Lady. It is generally accepted that Akhenaten was one of Tiy's later children, so her age may have been in the late teens when he was born. Or even early twenty's.
Yes, again i do believe Elder Lady is Nefertiti like i have written Dr. Susan James articles convinced me. For full arguments for it Si-Amun please see the articles already given in previous posts.
However here is a few other as well from a previous posts.
The Tiye identification of Elder Lady has never been totally accepted as you imply. Almost from the start there have been real objections to it.
So, let us ask the experts. Akhenaten, King of Egypt by Cyril Aldred pgs 104, 105. "The Elder Lady B, number 61070, recently has been identified as Queen Tiye, but this conclusion has since been challenged."(this identification was established by the skull measurements, and hair by the Alexandria-Michigan venture.) Continuing with Dr. Aldred's statements. "Recently, however objections against these findings of the Alexandria-Michigan team have been raised by Dr. Renate Germer on serveral grounds, including what she regards as defective methodology. THe age of the mummy number 61070 at death is against its identification as Queen Tiye. The blood group of the mummy shows that while in theory it could be a daughter of Yuya and Tuyu this is not very probable. Further, the process of identifying family relationships on the basis of skull measurements is considered too uncertian for any proper conclusion to emerge. Lastly the hair analysis provides no proof that the mummy is Tiye. Until further investigations have confirmed its identity beyond conjecture the verdict, in the words of the Scots Law, will have to remain not proven."
The Alexandria-Michigan team work took place back in the early 70's. While the science used has improved greatly since then, The Elder Lady mummy number 61070 has not been retested.
Let us ask another expert. Dr. Susan E. James, from the above referred to article from KMT A Modern Joural of Ancient Egypt Volume 12, Number 2, Summer 2001. Titled "Who is Mummy Elder Lady?" pages 42-50. From pg. 44, "Therefore in any reading of known events Tiye would have been over 40 years old at her death.... James Harris and Edward Wente made the determination from several physical delimiters (including toothwear, and loss, epiphyiseal union, pubic symphycis, etc) that the overall age at death for Elder Lady is between 25 and 35 years with 29.2 years as the average. This does not conform to the historically determined age range of Queen Tiye."
From pgs 46-47 "Two points of reference on the facial features of Mummy 61070 the chin and the philtrum offer additional clues to her identity. Elder Lady's jaw line is distinctively square and broad across the mandible essentially the same configuration consistently depicted in the scuplted heads of Neferitit. Tiye's chin in 3D sculpted images on the other hand is rounded and distinctly more pointed than Nefertiti. The second significant reference point on the faces is the philtrum, that small grooved or depression which runs from the nose to the bow of the upper lip. In the Elder Lady the philtrum is quite pronounced as it is on the various sculpted heads of Nefertiti. Tiye's philtrum, contrarily is so faint that it is barely noticable. Visually all the busts of Nefertiti which originated in the workshop of the sculptor Djehutymes at Akhetaten compare very favorably with the configuration of the face of the Elder Lady including facial feathures, skull shape,and hyperelongated neck. The bone structure apparent in the painted limestone bust of the queen in Berlin and that of the Elder Lady appear all but identical- any discrepancies being due to the differences between sculpted stone and desiccated flesh on bone. The full mouth, square jaw, narrow nose, wide set eyes, grooved philtrum, high cheekbones broad forehead, and the lenght of the neck match each other point for point." | <urn:uuid:92088556-b846-49b7-8d15-fd635e80d659> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kingtutone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8336 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965044 | 1,065 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Hurricane Sandy Barrels Northward, May Hit New Jersey
Hurricane Sandy pounded toward land with “life-threatening” wind and waves, grounding almost 6,000 flights, forcing a halt to New York City area transit and prompting evacuations.
The system, which killed as many as 65 people in the Caribbean on its path north, may be powerful enough to cause $18 billion in damage when it barrels into New Jersey tomorrow and might knock out power to millions for a week or more, according to forecasters and risk experts.
“We want to emphasize that the time for preparing and talking is about over now,” said Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Whether Sandy hits as a hurricane or just a large storm, “it is going to produce very high, potentially life-threatening, storm surge. It may require additional evacuations today.”
The threat of that water coming onto shore prompted New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to call for the evacuation of low- lying areas including Battery Park City, Coney Island, City Island and the Rockaways, affecting about 375,000 people. It’s only the second evacuation in the city’s history, after the precaution taken for last year’s Irene. Residents of parts of the New Jersey shore were also ordered to leave home.
Sandy’s punch may be felt from Virginia to Massachusetts, said Rick Knabb, the National Hurricane Center’s director. High wind warnings and watches for gusts as strong as 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour stretch from Maine to North Carolina and as far west as Ohio, according to the National Weather Service. Flood watches and warnings cover most of the Northeast and mid- Atlantic coasts.
“I hope people realize how bad this can be,” said Tom Kines, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. Even if Sandy loses its hurricane status, “people have to realize that the damage is going to be just as bad whether it is a hurricane or not. If it isn’t a hurricane, they shouldn’t put their guard down.”
Sandy’s maximum sustained winds remained unchanged at 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, the hurricane center said today in an advisory at 1 p.m. New York time. It was centered about 270 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and about 575 miles south of New York, moving northeast at 14 mph.
Hurricane-strength winds of at least 74 mph extend 175 from Sandy’s core and tropical storm force reach 520 miles, according to the hurricane center. The storm is the second-largest since 1988, tied with Hurricane Lili in 1996, according to Angela Fritz at Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The largest was Hurricane Olga in 2001.
Sandy is expected to hook into the U.S. East Coast in southern New Jersey early Oct. 30, sending a 6- to 10-foot (1.8- to 3-meter) storm surge into the coast as far north as New York City and spreading wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour throughout the Northeast as well, Kines said.
In all, 50 million to 60 million people may be affected by the storm, Louis Uccellini, director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, said yesterday.
“Since Sandy will be hitting during the workweek, there will be much greater secondary effects due to business interruption, power outages,” Watson said in an e-mail interview.
CoreLogic Inc., which tracks real-estate information, said about 284,000 homes in seven states from Virginia to Massachusetts valued at almost $88 billion are at risk for storm surge damage.
At least 5,894 flights have been canceled through Oct. 30 as airlines reposition planes and crews, according to FlightAware, a Houston-based tracking company. Amtrak canceled most of its service in the Northeast starting at 7 p.m.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to stop running New York City subways, buses and trains at 7 p.m. The transit system is the largest in the U.S., serving 8.5 million riders daily. Port Authority Trans-Hudson trains will close at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 29.
New York City’s schools will be closed tomorrow, Bloomberg said. The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. New York electric utility Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) will shut off underground power lines and transformers threatened by flooding, said Allen Drury, a company spokesman.
The system crossed Jamaica Oct. 24 and Cuba on Oct. 25, then tracked north across the central Bahamas. Most of the deaths in the Caribbean were in Haiti, still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake, the Associated Press reported.
Sandy is taking its unusual track into the East Coast because a number of weather systems have come together in just the right way, Uccellini said last week.
Hurricanes don’t really move on their own and depend on other systems to pull or push them on their paths, Kines said.
To Sandy’s east, a phenomenon called the North Atlantic Oscillation is acting like a closed door, barring the storm from moving in that direction. To the west, a cold front and another storm are creating a pattern that will pull Sandy toward them as it evolves into the superstorm some in the Weather Service have dubbed “Frankenstorm.”
National Guard troops were put on alert in New York and other East Coast states to assist with the storm impact.
“Because of the large size of the system and the slow motion, it’s going to be a long-lasting event, two to three days of impacts for a lot of people,” said James Franklin, branch chief at the hurricane center in Miami. “The kinds of things we are looking at ultimately would be wind damage, widespread power outages, heavy rainfall, inland flooding, and again, somebody is going to get a significant surge event out of this.”
Uccellini said Sandy’s winds will be felt as far from the coast as Ohio and Michigan, and the system could be comparable to 1991’s so-called perfect storm. That nor’easter eventually formed Hurricane Grace, and was chronicled in the best-selling book, “The Perfect Storm,” by Sebastian Junger.
“I think was really is standing out for me is it is a huge footprint,” said Mark Hoekzema, chief meteorologist at Earth Networks in Germantown, Maryland. “What is impressive is that I have not seen a storm that will create the durations, frequency and intensity of wind over this amount of time.”
The storm is expected to have near-hurricane-force winds as it approaches the mid-Atlantic coast tomorrow night, the Miami- based center said.
Sandy may dump as much as 12 inches of rain on parts of the Northeast, the agency said. The damage will be spread across a wider area than that left by a typical hurricane, according to Franklin.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ordered that the state’s barrier islands and casinos in Atlantic City be evacuated by 4 p.m. today. The governor asked residents to pay heed to the warnings and “be prepared for the worst here.”
Wal-Mart is “seeing a lot of panic buying in the Northeast,” Dianna Gee, a spokeswoman for the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company, said by telephone. “The number one item people are coming for, and we are trying to restock as quickly as possible, is water.”
Franklin said the storm surge, in which ocean water is pushed ashore, will hit a larger area than Irene. The storm also will be striking two days after the full moon, when tides are at their highest.
The hurricane center said water may rise as much as 8 feet above ground with the storm surge from Ocean City, Maryland, to the Connecticut/Rhode Island line and in Long Island Sound and Raritan Bay.
The lunar high tides, along with ocean driven waves, may add about two feet to those estimates.
In a worst-case scenario, New York City may have a 10-foot surge, Kines said.
The hurricane center predicts as much as 3 feet of snow may fall in West Virginia and as much as 2 feet in the mountains of Virginia to Kentucky. As much as 12 to 18 inches may fall in the Appalachians in North Carolina and Tennessee.
The hurricane center’s five-day outlook shows the system turning north over Pennsylvania at tropical-storm strength before weakening as it crosses into New York State, over Lake Ontario and into Canada.
Power may be out as long as 10 days in some areas, according to a statement from the Edison Electric Institute, an industry trade group in Washington.
The hurricane center’s web page no longer shows coastal storm watches and warnings on its tracking maps. Knabb said the agency decided to rely on regular weather watches and warnings, as opposed to hurricane advisories, to avoid confusion after the storm transitions into a more typical nor’easter.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:9d37f255-6bab-4a21-9304-0ef336bc911e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-28/hurricane-sandy-barrels-northward-may-hit-new-jersey.html | 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 | 0.952634 | 1,989 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Roger's posts coming from his background as a biologist have me thinking about biology/chemistry analogies and metaphors in economic discourse often.
We often hear the morons use the term "dilution" in regards to the so-called "money supply" as leading to some sort of "inflation" somehow via a process that they can never explain without resorting to teleological statements and use of false metaphors.
In biological systems, dilution is related to osmosis in the proper functioning of these systems.
In a classic example of osmosis, plants use osmosis to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. The solution in the roots of the plants is hypertonic, drawing in water from the surrounding hypotonic soil. Roots are designed as selectively permeable membranes, admitting not only water, but some useful solutes, such as minerals the plant needs for survival. Osmosis also plays a critical role in plant and animal cells, with fluids flowing in and out of the cell wall to bring in nutrients and carry out waste.In analysis of a complex system like a biological system, no true scientist would ever speak solely about the concept of "dilution" as being operative by itself without knowing the context and also the specific environment of the cell structures (think economic "sectors") and membrane interfaces that the solution being diluted is in contact with.
So when you hear the morons simply talk about "dilution" as somehow always being "bad" somehow, ask them to explain how magically the "diluted solution" then interacts with adjacent environment to lead to some sort of negative development while refraining from use of teleological statements and metaphor.
They will not be able to do it. | <urn:uuid:a4f333e4-bb81-4c4a-81df-349aa08b7c7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.jp/2012/12/dilution-and-osmosis.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952145 | 353 | 2.25 | 2 |
The workaround ffectively disables peer factory in the iepeers.dll binary in affected versions of Internet Explorer.
The workaround, available here, comes on the heels of the public release of exploit code into the freely available Metasploit pen-testing framework.
Microsoft confirmed the availability of exploit code for the issue and again urged users to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8, which is not vulnerable to this issue.
The company urged IE users to test the Fix-It workaround thoroughly before deploying as certain functionality that depends on the peer factory class, such as printing from Internet Explorer and the use of web folders, may be affected.
Microsoft also confirmed it is considering an out-of-band emergency patch to correct the underlying flaw.
We have seen speculation that Microsoft might release an update for this issue out-of-band. I can tell you that we are working hard to produce an update which is now in testing. This is a critical and time intensive step of the process as the update must be tested against all affected versions of Internet Explorer on all supported versions of Windows. Additionally, each supported language version needs to be tested as well as testing against thousands of third party applications. We never rule out the possibility of an out-of-band update. When the update is ready for broad distribution, we will make that decision based on customer needs.
Malicious hackers are already exploiting the vulnerability to launch targeted attacks. The earliest attacks include the use of a backdoor that allows complete access to a vulnerable machine.
The backdoor allows an attacker to perform various functions on the compromised system, including uploading & downloading files, executing files, and terminating running processes.
- The cadence of Microsoft security patches
- Advanced Persistent Threats: Should your panties be in a bunch, and how do you un-bunch them?
- New Microsoft IE zero-day flaw under attack | <urn:uuid:d5d86e2b-c95a-4952-8402-60a90bc2c7b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/microsoft-offers-fix-it-workaround-for-ie-zero-day/5726 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926119 | 382 | 1.5 | 2 |
Not sure what your point is? It is what it is, color is a subjectively derived term.
It's subjective for humans, imperical for cameras.
"White balance" does not always easily get us the pictures that we remember, nor the pictures that we want. We are in it for the photography, are we not?
Absolutely in it for the photography, and for me, the videography. I understand fully that the technically correct white balance might not be the desired result, but lets walk before we run here, the OP asked about understanding white balance.
Once you get to a certain level of competence with anything you can start to play about, break the rules with confidence and get an intended effect, but the rules, the science are where you start.
I prefer to get my composition, focus etc right. Rather worry about things that can be fixed later.... later.
I prefer to get it all right in camera. I'm coming from a video perspective I suppose, where I have 25 frames every second for up to 12 mins to fix. Easier to get it as right as possible in camera.
And I've found this approach helps my photography. In video I will spend time filtering different CT sources, running manual WB, recording a test strip with colour and gamma charts, I wouldn't expect most folk to do this with their stills, and I certainly don't.
The OP asked about white balance, answers like 'it's subjective' don't really tell them anything. Get the fundamentals in place and then start playing. I use Apple Color, I have Magic Bullet and Looks plug ins for FCP, Premiere and After-Effects, so I fully acknowledge the benefits of grading,and the impact this can have on the footage for the viewer, and so it follows for stills, but my starting point is always getting it neutral in camera, then I can do anything I like with it.
The grading might be subjective, but the science of colour temperature is anything but. Understanding that different light sources look different to an objective piece of apparatus like a camera is the first step to achieving the results you want, be these graded within in inch of their lives or otherwise. | <urn:uuid:97901ce9-c6d8-4ea7-86bc-e50ece3d4c8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=10431.msg220720 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948853 | 449 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Four tips for making your camera's batteries last
- — 20 April, 2010 00:25
Like a desert mirage, revolutionary new battery technologies always seem to be just beyond the horizon. New materials, nanotubes, and fuel cells all offer the promise of dramatically longer runtime and shorter (or nonexistent) recharges. But until that elusive day comes, we're going to have to contend with our existing battery technology. Recently, I offered some tips for dealing with your memory card, so this week I thought we should turn our attention to batteries. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your batteries.
1. Check Your Batteries Before Hitting the Road
Batteries lose their charge continuously. That means you shouldn't charge up a battery, put it in your camera, and set it in the closet for 3 months. When you eventually reach for your camera, you might find that the battery is already dead, or nearly so--and you haven't taken a single picture.
If you've already had this happen to you, don't worry--it's the way that batteries work. All batteries slowly lose their energy when they're sitting idle, but how slowly depends upon the kind of battery. Alkaline batteries are extremely stable--they'll only lose 1 or 2 percent of their total capacity over an entire year. And that's a good thing, because they need to work well after sitting on a store shelf for a long time.
Rechargeable batteries, however, are far more volatile. Typical NiMH batteries, for example, can lose about 1 percent per day--so a fully charged battery will be depleted after 3 or 4 months just by sitting idle in your camera. Keep that in mind when you grab your camera bag before your next trip.
2. Store Batteries in the Fridge
You might have heard that batteries stay "fresh" longer when stored in the refrigerator or freezer. That's not a myth: It's absolutely true, but there are some caveats.
Freezing your battery works because the chemical reactions that generate electricity are temperature dependent. When you put a battery in cold storage, you impede the process, so the battery loses its charge more slowly. But remember how I said that alkaline batteries lose their capacity very slowly? That means there's essentially no advantage to putting store-bought batteries in the freezer. The best you can hope to recover is some fraction of a percent of its overall charge over the course of a year. The freezer space is better dedicated to frozen custard. (I recommend a batch from Shake Shack in New York.)
There's a lot of value in freezing rechargeable batteries, though. According to Greenbatteries.com, rechargeable batteries stored in a freezer will retain over 90 percent of their charge for a full month.
3. Warm Your Batteries for Better Performance
Shooting outdoors in the winter? Your battery might give up fairly quickly, leaving you with a camera-shaped paperweight. That happens for the same reason that freezing batteries make them keep their charge longer--the cold impedes the electricity-generating chemical reaction. Batteries discharge better when they're warm. So if your battery does quickly die due to the cold, remove it from the camera and warm it up using your hands inside your jacket. If you can raise the battery's temperature, it'll spring back to life and help you take a few more pictures.
4. Use Your Camera to Shoot Pictures--and That's All
Here's some advice that seems obvious, but still manages to regularly elude folks--even me. Everything you do with your camera uses battery power, so if you have only one battery and have no ability to charge up, don't use all the extra features on your camera. Specifically, don't use your camera to review photos, delete images from the memory card, or record audio annotations about each photo. Stick to the basics: Taking pictures.
Similarly, it's worth pointing out that long exposures--like you'd take to capture light trails in night photos and blurry waterfalls--use significantly more power than faster, ordinary snapshots. If you are trying to take special effects shots like those, know that you won't be able to capture as many photos as usual, and it is a good idea to carry a spare battery. | <urn:uuid:ed489525-bcca-4e91-83be-0f53d02e15a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/343627/four_tips_making_your_camera_batteries_last/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953405 | 885 | 2.03125 | 2 |
- n. Non-standard form of m3
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A broad measure of the money supply, comprising M2 plus deposits at nonbanks such as savings and loan associations.
- n. a measure of the money supply; M2 plus deposits at institutions that are not banks (such as savings and loan associations)
- Due to typographic limitations. (Wiktionary)
“The World Health Organization estimates that, globally, 1.1 billion people lack access to clean water supplies, and that 2.4 billion lack access to basic sanitation. 1,000 m3 is the per capita annual amount of water deemed necessary to satisfy basic human needs.”
“Table 4.1 | Water resources stresses of selected river basins in South Asia 1,329 m3, which is lowest among the three selected basins (Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1).”
“Eleven of the measurements (5. 5%) revealed levels of particulates of more than 25. 0μg/m3, which is the limit recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for external air quality.”
“You can return the favor by debating middle (and even first) names for m3 this weekend.”
“El 13-8-08, la concentración del bioxido de azufre (SO2) llegó a su record histórico: 27,000mg/m3; máximo permitido 13 mg/m3 (CDC 2005).”
“I have a mission m3, and i am very satisfied with it. not as expensive as those higher brand name bows either. but like Big O said, it all comes down to personal preference.”
“Almost no one knows how many sq ft are in an acre or how many acres are in a sq mile, but it is pretty easy to figure out how many m3 are in a km3, or m3 in a dm3. fostert Says:”
“From the very start, Ethiopia's Gibe III mega-dam (height of 240m, a 151 km reservoir, and a storage capacity of 11.75 billion m3), was marked by the sort of clumsy corruption and irregularities that could only be realised in the worst B Grade movies - think rotten actors, and terrible scripts, catering to unbelievable plots.”
“With only lightweight military grade foam, m3 tape, and a set of extremely sharp kitchen knives given to him by Jamie Oliver used for carving, Jay Jay has made fantasy into a functioning reality.”
“At 400 m3 that should be enough water for a whole year based on some facts about water usage that came from some data provided by the city of Bremerton, Washington.”
‘m3’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
Looking for tweets for m3. | <urn:uuid:2da33421-0895-450a-a543-9db2e5898959> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wordnik.com/words/m3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916612 | 617 | 3.078125 | 3 |
NASA scientists have mapped how green the Earth is. Their map shows how much vegetation covers the planet's surface, and how much has disappeared in recent years due to wildfires, logging and crop failures.
The map also gives the first global glimpse of how much carbon these environmental disturbances release into the atmosphere. By comparing this figure with the carbon released from the fossil fuels we burn, scientists will be able to fine-tune their estimates of how human activity is driving global warming.
Vast areas of the Earth, particularly in the tropics and tundra, are too inaccessible to be mapped from the ground. So to create their map, a team from American universities led by Chris Potter of NASA Ames Research Center, reviewed vast amounts of data gathered since 1982 by satellites used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. From records of radiation reflected from the Earth's surface, the ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content. | <urn:uuid:14bab27e-3413-44bc-8d18-3d7af6b6b852> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17924040.600-space-map-plots-vanishing-forests.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939093 | 204 | 4.25 | 4 |
Sometimes they help at risk students see the possibility of a successful future:
On Wednesday, Sasai, along with 11 other Pacific students, went to August School in east Stockton to start mentorships with soon-to-be high schoolers as part of his HopeStreet Backpack Outreach, a program Sasai founded in 2011.
The middle school students received backpacks for starters. But the most valuable gift is perhaps the mentors themselves.
They’ll be responsible for giving the August students advice throughout their upcoming high school careers about peer pressure, homework and even how to ask a girl to prom.
“Don’t ask a girl to prom over text,” Sasai said, and giggles followed. “It makes it awkward.”
Sasai offered the younger students Pacific campus tours when they’re ready and provided his contact information. “I want you guys to ask me anything,” he said.
The ongoing contact is a much appreciated resource at August, which has a largely disadvantaged student population, said Principal Lori Risso. All of the children receive free or reduced-price lunches.
“A lot of the kids think they can’t afford to go to college,” Risso said. The Pacific volunteers, she said, can relate to the kids and encourage them to seek scholarships and other financial aid.
“It makes the vision of going to high school and college possible.”
Kyle who excels in the classroom as a political science major and a member of the Pacific Legal Scholars program, has proven that academic excellence can go together seemlessly with community leadership.
Sasai . . . founded the program his first year of college. Since then, he has gathered volunteers to fill backpacks, write the kids letters and train for the continuing interaction.
Pacific mentors are each assigned about five students to befriend and help guide.
With the students they reached this year, they have connected with 500 middle school students since 2011.
Nobel Prize winner and political scientist Elinor Ostrom has died. Dr. Ostrom is primarily known for her work on collective action problems and how societies solve them (see her book Governing the Commons), for which she won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics. She took issue with the idea that governments are always necessary to reach socially optimal outcomes (although they are necessary in some cases), and instead believed that communities can and do solve these kinds problems on their own.
Here’s an interview Dr. Ostrom did with NPR’s Planet Money team after winning the Nobel, where she explains her pioneering work on the tragedy–or, as she calls it, the problem–of the commons. Be sure to listen for the deer.
- Interview With Nobel Prize Winner Elinor Ostrom On Climate Change (chimalaya.org)
- Ostrom Does What Economists Should Do (cafehayek.com)
- Ironic Nobel Prize Award in Economics: Ostrom & Williamson (ritholtz.com)
- A Well-Deserved Nobel (due-diligence.typepad.com)
In 2008, in partnership with the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, a group of faculty from a variety of programs at Pacific designed and executed a voter education campaign. The education campaign had three primary goals: (1) to reduce voter induced error in elections (e.g., improperly marking a ballot), (2) to reduce polling-place induced error in elections (e.g., improperly enforcing regulations), and (3) increasing voter awareness and positive perceptions of voting by mail.
At this year’s Midwest Political Science Association meeting, Prof. Dari Sylvester and I presented an analysis of the campaign’s effects relative to this last goal. The main question was, did knowledge about and positive perceptions of voting by mail increase as a result of the education campaign?
To assess these impacts, we relied on three waves (in May, July, and November) of random telephone surveys of registered voters conducted as part of the broader project. The surveys asked respondents four questions of interest:
- Who can vote by mail?
- How does one sign up for permanent vote by mail?
- Are there any advantages to voting by mail? Respondents were prompted to provide up to three advantages.
- Are there any disadvantages to voting by mail? Again, respondents were prompted to provide up to three responses.
Using these questions we constructed four variables:
- Who: The respondent correctly identified who could vote by mail (everyone)
- How: The respondent correctly identified how to sign up for permanent vote by mail (a variety of ways)
- Convenience: The respondent identified convenience as an advantage to voting by mail
- Net advantages: The number of advantages identified by the respondent minus the number of disadvantages
The table below presents the change in each of these variables over the three survey waves.
There are a couple of important points that come out of this table. First, people already know a lot about voting by mail. Generally, we expect between 10 to 30 percent of respondents to answer recall questions like these correctly. Here, roughly two-thirds of respondents were able to answer these questions correctly and thought of voting by mail as convenient–even before the education campaign began. As such, there wasn’t a whole lot of educating to do about vote by mail.
Second, while we can identify some statistically significant increases in voter knowledge and perceptions over the course of the education campaign, the effects are relatively small. In part, this is because of the relatively high starting values for each variable. At the same time, though, it is also because relatively few people reported exposure to the campaign in the surveys (and many of those that did report exposure likely weren’t exposed to it). Given the limited reach of the campaign, there was very little educating that could be done–even if people didn’t already know a lot. | <urn:uuid:0bf2dfbb-624c-4869-aa95-8eb6751b7145> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pacificpoliticalscience.wordpress.com/category/political-science/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961449 | 1,239 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Georgia ‘O Keeffe
Representing the flower
‘Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small. we haven’t time – and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time. if i could paint the flower exactly as i see it no one would see what i see because i would paint it small like the flower is small.
So I said to myself – I’ll paint what I see – what the flower is to me but I’ll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it – I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.
…Well, I made you take time to look at what i saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your own associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if i think and see what you think and see of the flower – and i don’t.’
Georgia O’ Keeffe
One of the most famous twentieth century woman artists in the world.
‘O Keeffe was born in Wisconsin, but lived a good part of her life in her beloved New Mexico, where she painted many of her paintings.
Besides in her home state Wisconsin, she studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the New York art student’s league. Georgia married Alfred Stieglitz, a distinguished photographer, who discovered and promoted her work.
She started with abstractionism in 1915, and made numerous works of flower close-ups, landscapes and skulls. Her paintings are characterized by asymmetrical compositions, flat colors and spare forms.
Georgia O’ Keeffe produced approximately 2,000 2D art works during the 80 years she was active as an artist. She also worked in clay later in life, when her eyesight worsened. When she died, she held 400 oils, charcoals, pastels, pencils, and watercolors, plus 700 sketches in her personal collection.
locally celebrated, her works are featured in the Georgia ‘O keeffe museum in downtown Santa Fe, new Mexico.
‘o keeffe’s art is also featured in other great museums around the world, including the NY MOMA, SF MOMA, Guggenheim, Tate, Prada, etc. special exhibitions of her work are frequently organized, as can be seen in our news section.
‘ .. explores and showcases the significance of Georgia O’Keeffe’s collection of her own work and comprises 75 seminal works reproduced in full color and dating from around 1910 down through the 1960s. unique, impressive, O’Keeffe’s O’Keeffe’s is an essential volume for students of American art history in general, and the life and work of Georgia O’Keeffe in particular. ‘ Midwest book review, Oregon, WI
.. ‘Lynes looks at O’Keeffe’s possible motivations for keeping these particular works for herself, including specific strategies learned from husband and mentor Alfred Stieglitz to market her art and maintain her financial security. for example, O’Keeffe might have kept a number of her charcoal abstractions out of the public eye, as they were not as marketable and distracted from her image as a painter of imagery of the southwestern united states. she also seems to have held back pieces that she felt were important examples of her work, including the "evening star" watercolors…’ Sandra Rothenberg, Framingham, MA.
Elegant color images of her work are interwoven with biographical details and photos of her life, all encaptuled by ‘o keeffe’s portrait by Ansell Adams in the book. ‘this stunning book is the first in-depth exploration of Georgia o`keeffe`s unique contribution to still-life painting. it features beautiful full-page reproductions of some sixty of her paintings, related photographs, essays that discuss the sometimes surprising formative influences on o`keeffe`s approach to objects, and an illustrated chronology of her life.’ border regional library association note to its southwest book award
‘…. the companion catalog to the O’Keeffe exhibition at the Phillips gallery in Washington, dc. ….. what impressed me most about the exhibition (and the book) is how intelligently it was put together. it examines O’Keeffe’s development as an artist by tracking both her philosophy and her influences, and some rarely shown works were chosen to represent this in the exhibition (and are reproduced in the book). of all the books on O’Keeffe that I’ve read, and of all the exhibitions I’ve seen of her work, this one by far does the best job of explaining both the artist and her work.’ robin black, Washington dc
The above books are the all-time favorites, while this book below is one of the latest books on O’Keeffe:
My Faraway One: Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz: Volume One, 1915-1933 (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library) | <urn:uuid:4d4c1dc6-290c-48d9-9040-86108b738f35> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eartfair.com/blog/georgia-o-keeffe/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963216 | 1,103 | 2.0625 | 2 |
- U.S. Congress threatens to not make good on U.S. debt
- S&P downgrades U.S. debt
- Market actors respond by panicking and buying more U.S. debt
These three phrases speak volumes about our current political and economic environment, not to mention the role and relevance of institutions like legislatures, central banks, and credit rating agencies in shaping market outcomes.
Disturbing? Yes. Inconsistent? Not in the least. | <urn:uuid:5bdfed45-d948-4bc5-ae88-409ba2708577> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ipejournal.blogspot.com/2011/08/lets-review.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925673 | 99 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Can you believe it's already almost the Fourth of July? It feels like summer is just getting started! Before you take off for a weekend of sun, fun, fireworks, and barbecue, check out what happened in June on Energy Savers.
New or Notable on Energy Savers
- You can light your home using the same amount of light for less money. Check out the lighting choices to save you money.
- Now that summer is in full swing, you may be struggling to stay cool without spending a bundle on your energy costs. Be sure to check out Stay Cool, Save Money for some ideas.
On the Blog, In Case You Missed It…This Month
- Going for the Gold (Computer), Again
- America's Home Energy Education Challenge
- Driving Home to a Clean Energy Future
- Fighting with South-Facing Windows
- Solar Oven, Take One: FAIL
- Energy Efficiency and Fitness—A Complementary Pair
- Saving Energy and Money at Home while on Vacation
- Finding & Sharing Information about Energy Efficiency
Weekly Questions—Did You Share Your Answer?
- How Do You Ensure You Buy an Energy Efficient Computer?
- What Efficiency Information Do You Look for When You Buy a Vehicle?
- How Do You Use Daylighting While Reducing Excess Heat from Windows?
- How Will You Save Energy Over the Fourth of July Weekend?
From the Archives:
- Save Money and Stay Cool with an Efficient, Well-Maintained Air Conditioner
- Summertime Energy Savings
- Save Energy, Cut Costs, and Bring a Different Kind of Value to Work
- Hot Time in the City? Keep Cool in Your Home
Many of you had ideas for our question "How Do You Use Daylighting While Reducing Excess Heat from Windows?". Here are just a few of the great responses:
- Robert commented, "South facing windows are a blessing in the northern hemisphere ! We should all be so fortunate. Entire books have been written on the topic. But without really knowing your climate location I would suggest that OVERHANGS for south facing windows are the simplest solution. In the summer when the sun is typically high in the sky the glass is protected yet diffused light can enter the room. There is less energy in diffused light, and therefore less summer solar heat gain. Then in the Winter when the sun is lower in the sky and when the solar gains are desirable, (depending on the dimensions of the overhang) the solar gain as direct sunlight can enter the windows. Enjoy your sunshine in the winter and keep cool in the summer."
- Greg said, "A professional grade window tint helps, or installing an awning on the outside. Black out drapery, but you lose the light. For a retrofit, always looks for at energy labeling sticker, the lower the number the better."
- Jim N. commented, "I just installed sun-blocking screens. They cut down the light slightly but block 80% of the heat. If the windows get full sun, the little bit of light you lose won't matter."
Have a very happy and safe Fourth of July weekend! | <urn:uuid:b0d5a3e0-3813-41f6-b89e-d867b1489a26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/month-energy-savers-june-2011 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906845 | 655 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
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OCR for page 115
Engineering Materials for the Biological Interface Karen J. L. Burg Clemson University Ali Khademhosseini Harvard Medical School Early biomaterial scientists quickly determined the importance in purpose ful design of the interface of biomedical devices in eliciting a desired cel- lular response, including good tissue integration. Indeed, even with respect to b iomedical design, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts; that is, the characteristics of a complex tissue are defined by both the individual components and the relationship between them. The biological interface, such as that of the connection of tendon or cartilage to bone, includes cell-cell and cell-tissue components, and modeling of this inter- face with cells and biomaterials can enhance understanding of both normal and repair tissue processes. The functionality of a biological interface may be judged by the response of biomaterials to cells or cells to biomaterials. Bulk tissue repair approaches (i.e., repairs of single tissue types) are relatively simple compared with repairs across interfaces, where one must often consider very diverse tissue properties (e.g., tissue mechanics) and the corresponding interfacial interactions. In attempts to simulate these interactions, researchers have focused on the design of materials, control of cells, and design of bioreactors in which to grow and assess these systems. This session focuses on the whole and the parts and the methods with which to integrate the two. The speakers, representing academia and industry, review the technical concepts of interfacial engineering as well as the practical concepts and limitations in the translation of ideas to commercial application. Helen Lu (Columbia University) describes engineering tissue-to-tissue interfaces for the formation of complex tissues, David Schaffer (University of California, Berkeley) covers identification and modulation of biophysical signals that control stem cell function and fate, and Matthew Gevaert (Kiyatec) talks about cultivating 3D tissue systems to better mimic relevant events. 115
OCR for page 116 | <urn:uuid:79dbc73a-d82e-4084-9b32-e930dd102ba2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=18185&page=115 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922071 | 523 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Drivers in most of Newfoundland and Labrador caught a break Thursday as fuel costs took a dip of almost four cents per litre.
The Public Utilities Board instructed retailers to lower the maximum price on all grades of gasoline by as much as 3.8 cents per litre. The drop may be a little less in some areas because of rounding for taxes.
The change means that a litre of self-serve unleaded gas on the Avalon Peninsula can now sell for no more than $1.367 a litre, although some retailers charge considerably less.
The change is the lowest prices have been in more than a month, and is the second consecutive cut in prices.
Truckers and others who buy diesel saw their prices drop by as much as 4.2 cents per litre.
The changes do not affect remote areas in Labrador where prices are frozen during the winter months.
Meanwhile, most consumers who use fuel to heat their homes are paying less following the latest weekly price setting from the PUB.
Furnace oil dropped by 3.66 cents per litre, while stove oil is down by 3.35 cents per litre. The cost of propane, though, edged up by 0.3 cents per litre.
The chart below shows how average gas prices in Newfoundland and Labrador have changed over the last 12 months, compared to both changes in the national average for gas prices and the global price of oil. | <urn:uuid:e9ece32c-ac16-4da6-b441-d3271f8110df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbc.ca/m/rich/canada/newfoundland/story/2013/03/07/nl-gasoline-prices-pub-down-307.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963844 | 294 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The standard definition of ‘vestigial’ is an organ that once was useful in an animal’s evolutionary past, but that now is useless or very close to useless. The list of vestigial organs in humans has shrunk from 180 in 1890 to 0 in 1999. Evidently to salvage this once-critical support for evolution, a new revisionistic definition of a vestigial structure is now sometimes used. This definition involves the idea that a vestigial organ is any part of an organism that has diminished in size during its evolution because the function it served decreased in importance or became totally unnecessary. This definition is problematic because it is vague and would allow almost every structure in humans to be labelled as vestigial.
The question, ‘Do any vestigial organs exist in humans?’ (or any other life form for that matter), first requires a definition of ‘vestigial’. The most common definition of a vestigial organ throughout the last century was similar to the following: ‘Living creatures, including man, are virtual museums of structures that have no useful function but which represent the remains of organs that once had some use (emphasis mine).’1The authoritative reference The Evolution of Life2 defines a vestigial organ as one ‘which has lost its function in the course of evolution, and is usually much reduced in size’.
The standard anatomy authorities usually define a vestigial organ as referring to a once-useful organ that now is useless or very close to useless. Dorland’s Dictionary defines the term vestigial as ‘a vestige, trace or relic’, and defines the term as ‘the remnant of a structure which functioned in a previous stage of a species [evolution]’.3 Churchill’s Dictionary defines vestigial as an organ that has ‘no obvious function’, and notes that the word vestigial derives from the Latin vestigium, ‘meaning footprint, imprint, track, trace’.4 A standard dictionary of biology defines the word vestigial as follows:
‘An organ that is functionless and generally reduced in size but bears some resemblance to the corresponding fully functioning organs found in related organisms. Examples include the wings of flightless birds, the limb girdles of snakes, the appendix and the ear muscles of humans, and the scale leaves of parasitic flowering plants. The presence of vestigial organs is thought to indicate that the ancestors of the organism possessed fully functioning organs … .’5
Asimov1 provides two examples of a vestigial organ: (1) the tiny bones posterior to the sacrum called the coccyx (which Asimov claims were ‘once meant for a tail’); and (2) the small muscles around the ears (which Asimov claims are ‘unworkable muscles once meant to move the ears’). As we will see, these conclusions are not based on empirical evidence but instead on evolutionary assumptions.
The above definitions of vestigial organs all focus on organs that once had an important function in an animal’s evolutionary past, but have virtually no function in the animal today. The following example is typical of how the vestigial organ argument was used in textbooks in the past as a ‘proof’ of evolution:
‘Useless Organs Prove Evolution. Science has piled up still further evidence for its case. It has found a number of useless organs among many animals. They have no apparent function and must therefore be a vestige of a once useful part of the body. A long time back these vestigial organs must have been important; now they are just reminders of our common ancestry. One example is the vermiform appendix which not only is utterly useless in human beings but which often causes great distress [emphasis in original].’6
This definition still is commonly used. One of the most popular modern life science textbook writers defined ‘vestigial’ as follows:
‘Evolution is not a perfect process. As environmental changes select against certain structures, others are retained, sometimes persisting even if they are not used. A structure that seems to have no function in one species, yet is homologous to a functional organ in another species, is termed vestigial. Darwin compared vestigial organs to silent letters in a word—they are not pronounced, but they offer clues to the word’s origin.’7
In the past, evolutionists claimed that there were approximately 180 vestigial organs in humans, including the appendix, the tonsils, the pineal gland and the thymus. Now we know that:
The appendix is part of the immune system, strategically located at the entrance of the almost sterile ileum from the colon with its normally high bacterial content.
The tonsils have a similar function in the entrance to the pharynx.8
The pineal gland secretes malatonin which is a hormone that regulates the circadian rhythm and has other functions.
The thymus is part of the immune system, related to T-cells. HIV attacks T-cells, rendering them ineffective and for this reason is always eventually fatal.
The number of organs that once were believed to be functional in the evolutionary past of humans but are non-functional today has been steadily reduced as the fields of anatomy and physiology have progressed. Few examples of vestigial organs in humans are now offered, and the ones that are have been shown by more recent research to be completely functional (and in many cases critically so, see Bergman and Howe).9
The idea of vestigial organs in humans also is discussed in popular books on science and medicine, whose authors frequently admit that the common examples no longer are considered as valid. One popular book on the human body which discussed vestigial organs stated that next to circumcision
‘… tonsillectomy is the most frequently performed piece of surgery. Doctors once thought tonsils were simply useless evolutionary leftovers and took them out thinking that it could do no harm. Today there is considerable evidence that there are more troubles in the upper respiratory tract after tonsil removal than before, and doctors generally agree that simple enlargement of tonsils is hardly an indication for surgery [emphasis in original].’10
The claim by creationists that there are no vestigial organs in humans usually refers to the most common definition that has been employed for the past century, not the problematic, newer definition now being used by evolutionists in an attempt to salvage the idea—i.e. organs that have ‘reduced function’ compared to their putative use in some vague, undefined past. According to the revisionists’ definition, a vestigial structure is:
‘Any part of an organism that has diminished in size during its evolution because the function it served decreased in importance or became totally unnecessary. Examples are the human appendix and the wings of the ostrich.’11
Another source defines a vestigial structure as ‘any organ that during the course of evolution has become reduced in function and usually in size’.12 This revisionistic definition of ‘reduced in size and function’ is unwarranted for several reasons. For example, how much reduction is required before the label ‘vestigial’ becomes appropriate? Is 30% a large enough reduction, or will a 1% reduction suffice? In addition, there are so many examples of ‘reduced size’ (and sometimes function) that the label ‘vestigial’ becomes meaningless.
For example, an analysis of the skull morphology of our supposed evolutionary ancestors would lead to the conclusion that our jaw is vestigial, as compared to that of our alleged ancestors, since it is alleged by evolutionists to be comparatively smaller in humans today (and also has a reduced function, at least relative to its strength and ability to masticate food). In fact, as a result of our smaller jaw, some of our teeth (e.g. wisdom teeth) are claimed to be vestigial.13
This definition of vestigial also would necessitate the conclusion that because the external nasal orifices (the nostrils) are smaller in modern humans (compared to hypothetical ape-like ancestors), they, too, should be labelled as vestigial. Many people have problems breathing partly because their nostril passages are too small, as is obvious from the widespread use of nose bridge expander units and nasal sprays. This also is illustrated by the frequency of rhinoplasty surgery, especially surgery to repair a deviated septum. No evolutionists have claimed that our jaws or nostrils are vestigial, yet according to the revisionists’ definition they clearly would be vestigial structures.
Furthermore, since the human jaw, eyes, eyebrows, brow ridges, front limbs, nose, ears, eyes and even mouth could be labelled vestigial, the term obviously becomes meaningless when defined in this fashion. The textbook illustrations of our alleged ancestors consistently show them with thick skulls and large protruding brow ridges that serve to protect their eyes. Our skull and brow ridges therefore would be vestigial. Why natural selection would cause these structures to diminish in size in modern humans is never discussed (especially since selection would appear to do the opposite).
Evolutionists even use the lack of brow ridges in humans as an example of poor design. For example, Colby concluded that the ‘human skull is too thin to provide adequate protection to the gigantic brain and the absence of brow ridges leaves the eyes poorly protected’.14
Furthermore, on the average, muscle mass, organ function and strength have decreased in modern humans, no doubt through lack of use due to living in modern society. By the revisionists’ definition, aging alone produces vestigial organs in virtually every human.
If the definition of a vestigial organ is one that is less developed in a modern animal (compared to an ancestor) due to loss mutations, adaptation, etc., all organs in modern humans that were more developed in our alleged ancestors would be vestigial. This means that if macroevolution were true, and if humans evolved from lower animals, one could argue that virtually every structure in modern humans is vestigial because vestigial organs are defined as those that are somewhat less useful today then they were in the past. A rare exception would be the human brain—and even the brain could be claimed to be vestigial in size if we accepted Neandertals as our ancestors.15 Neandertals, on the average, had a brain larger than modern humans—about 1,500 cc compared to 1,300 cc for people today.
Probably the best example of this definition of vestigial structures is the ability of some bacteria to digest the most common organic compound on earth, cellulose. Cellulose is the chief component of plants (grass, leaves, wood and tree bark are primarily cellulose; see Black16). The only reason that many animals (including cows, horses, sheep and termites) can use grass and wood for food is because they have a symbiotic relationship with certain bacteria that are able to digest cellulose.
Yet evolutionists postulate that higher organisms lost the ability to digest cellulose. Thus, most modern animals have a vestigial cellulose metabolism system. If humans possessed this ability, starvation and most malnutrition would be a thing of the past. Starvation and malnutrition have been major problems throughout history, and even today an estimated 60 percent of the world’s population is malnourished. Evolution, it would seem, should select for the ability to metabolize cellulose, and certainly would select against those life-forms that lost this ability.
The revisionists’ definition of vestigial also requires that the evolutionary history of an animal is known, when, in fact, the history of most, if not all, life often is admittedly largely speculation. Furthermore, the judgment of vestigial is based on evaluations of modern examples of apes, rabbits, other animals and humans. These judgments cannot be based on our actual evolutionary ancestors for several reasons. Although many fossil bone fragments have been found, no well-preserved mammals (or mammal organs) that are estimated to be 1,000,000, or even 50,000, years old exist. Consequently usually only modern examples can be used for comparison. Note Asimov’s example:
‘In certain plant-eating animals, the caecum is a large storage place where food may remain to be broken down by bacteria so that the animal itself may more easily digest and absorb it. The appendix in man and the apes (it occurs in almost no other animal) is what remains of that large caecum. It indicates that the fairly near ancestors of man and the apes were plant-eaters. The appendix is thus the useless remainder of a once useful organ; it is a vestige, from the Latin ‘vestigium’ (footprint). Just as a footprint is a sign that a man once passed that way, so a vestige is a sign that a useful organ once passed that way.’17
The example often given to support this conclusion, the modern human appendix, is judged vestigial when compared to an animal that has a larger appendix (such as the modern rabbit). What should be compared, though, is not modern humans and modern rabbits but modern humans and our actual ancestors—something that can only be estimated by examining extant fossil remains of our putative ancestors (most of which are badly distorted bone fragments). Much can be learned about an animal from bone fragments, but little can be ascertained about organs, organ tissues, cell structures and most other key biological aspects of life because no examples exist in the fossil record. The only criterion for making judgments about organ evolution is an examination of modern animals (like the rabbit). The vestigial organ argument becomes a classic case of circular reasoning when it infers reduced organ size because of accepted phylogenies and then uses this alleged reduction to prove the phylogenies.
Yet another revisionist’s definition suggests that any ‘organ or structure that lacks function related to the animal’s survival’ should be labelled as vestigial. Actually, all organisms have large numbers of structures that fit this definition. To creationists, this fact argues for a designer, because such structures cannot be explained by natural selection for the simple reason that they confer no known survival advantage. Examples are everywhere, and in humans include the ability to create music, song and dance. Even in the plant world there are many examples of structures that cannot be explained by natural selection. Some modern flowering plants (such as dandelions) are self-pollinating and consequently have no need for flowers. According to the ‘lacking function for survival’ definition, they would be vestigial.
Creationists use these and similar examples to argue that much of God’s creation was designed for human enjoyment and for God’s own enjoyment, as He declared it ‘good’ several times before man was created. A field of dandelions is a thing of beauty that is famous the world over (and thus a favourite of photographers everywhere). Evolutionists never have explained how and why so many structures could exist in humans (like the complex structures that enable music, song and dance) that confirm no survival advantage yet delight millions. Only creation can explain this observation. The clear conclusion is that the concept of evolutionary vestigial organs is useless, or largely speculative, and certainly is not good science.
I wish to thank Dr Wayne Frair, Dr Bert Thompson, John Woodmorappe, MA, and Prof. Rena Trautman for their critical review of an earlier draft of this paper.
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Answers magazine is the Bible-affirming, creation-based magazine from Answers in Genesis. In it you will find fascinating content and stunning photographs that present creation and worldview articles along with relevant cultural topics. Each quarterly issue includes a detachable chart, a pullout children’s magazine, a unique animal highlight, excellent layman and semi-technical articles, plus bonus content. Why wait? Subscribe today and get a FREE DVD download! | <urn:uuid:c5ba3921-795a-43e8-b386-273b6588a772> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/tj/v14/n2/vestigial | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95016 | 3,482 | 3.671875 | 4 |
WASHINGTON — Infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that began in hospitals and other health care settings have declined 28 percent in recent years, according to Business Week.
Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that rates of "invasive" MRSA infections that had their onset in hospitals or other health care facilities declined an average nine percent annually from 2005 through 2008.
According to the study, which was published in the August 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, invasive MRSA infections that were associated with health care settings but began outside, in the community, also declined.
"While we don''t know for sure what caused these rates to go down, we''re hopeful and encouraged that the aggressive infection control programs that many hospitals have instituted are having an impact," said lead author Dr. Alexander J. Kallen, medical officer in the division of Health Care Quality Promotion at the CDC.
Click here to read the complete article. | <urn:uuid:367f91f3-8b32-4201-9d1b-d517dc99404d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cmmonline.com/articles/cdc-says-hospital-acquired-mrsa-infections-on-the-decline-3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975706 | 214 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Water-based adhesives, similar to all roofing products, are
subject to certain limitations. In the case of water-based
adhesives, the limitation is minimum application temperatures. The
article fails to mention the significant benefits of these
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the roof), they are easier, much faster to install and much less
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Our water-based membrane adhesive was introduced in 1979. Since
that time, it has been used successfully on hundreds of millions of
square feet of PVC roof system installations throughout the U.S.
and world. Many of our oldest installations, which have been in
place for decades, still are in service and were installed using
Log in or register for FREE access to this article and other Professional Roofing online content. | <urn:uuid:da797d3d-bf7c-437d-8000-5327aaa34525> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.professionalroofing.net/article.aspx?id=2027 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9524 | 187 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Laissez-Faire Books has been publishing and distributing books on liberty, with a focus on economics and finance, since 1972. The theme is freedom and its role in building a prosperous civilization, and the belief that state intervention is universally dangerous and damaging to human liberty. Our selection of titles reflects our interest in allowing liberty, property, and peace to be the mother of order and the good life.
LFB is the innovator behind the dazzling and creative Laissez Faire Club, a subscription service for eBooks, reports, forum discussions, and a full-service “gated digital city” on the web.
Laissez-Faire Books was founded on March 4, 1972, with the hope of providing a portal for the distribution of pro-liberty books to encourage the growth of what was then the nascent libertarian movement. LFB played an indispensable role for all people interested in these ideas: scholars, business people, investors, or just people interested in the fate of civilization.
John Muller was the originator of the idea. Muller found the location for the Laissez Faire Bookstore and Art Gallery in a tiny shop on Mercer Street in Greenwich Village, New York City, late in 1971. Together with Sharon Presley, a graduate student in psychology at CUNY Graduate Center, Muller mailed their first flyer to about a thousand people, names they had scraped together from their contacts around the country. During the mid-seventies, the Bookstore became a center for libertarian discussion in New York.
The official opening was March 4, 1972 with many local libertarian writers and thinkers in attendance, including Murray Rothbard, Roy A. Childs, Jr., and Jerome Tuccille. In Radicals for Capitalism, a history of the libertarian movement, Brian Doherty writes “The store became an important social center for the movement in America’s largest city, a place for any traveling libertarian to stop for company and succor…” In the first several years, many events were sponsored by LFB, including films with libertarian themes, talks by luminaries such as anti-establishment psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin and TV journalist Edith Efron as well as social gatherings. Events included not only book signings (for example, Rothbard and Tuccille) but entertainment with a libertarian angle.
Its location in Greenwich Village attracted non-libertarians as well. They may not have purchased books but Bob Dylan, Jerry Rubin, Alger Hiss and Bella Abzug passed through its doors. Hiss remarked to a friend, “It’s a clean anarchist bookstore.” Muller and Presley, who strove to make the bookstore attractive as well as useful, were amused by this ironic comment. Dylan asked if the store carried haiku poetry. Presley, pointing out that it was a libertarian and anarchist bookstore, directed him to a copy of the IWW Songbook.
From 1972 to 1977, Presley edited the Laissez Faire Review, a combination book catalog and book review magazine. The books reviewed ran the gamut of libertarian and anti-authority thought from laissez-faire economics (e.g., Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises) and political philosophy (e.g., For a New Liberty by Rothbard, Our Enemy the State by Albert Jay Nock, Concerning Women by Suzanne La Follette) through anarchist philosophy, including books by Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman and Peter Kropotkin as well as native born American anarchists Lysander Spooner and Karl Hess; from libertarian science fiction.
Employees at LFB who went on to create careers for themselves included Roy A. Childs, Jr. Presley went on to get her Ph.D. in social psychology from the City University of New York, and taught at California State University, East Bay until her retirement in 2009. Muller returned to life as a civil engineer and sold the bookstore to Andrea Millen Rich in 1982. She served as president of Laissez Faire Books and its parent organization, the Center for Independent Thought, for 23 years, from 1982 until her retirement in January 2005. LFB’s president from 2005 to 2007 was Kathleen Nelson.Roy A. Childs, Jr., was the long-time editorial director of LFB, until his death in 1992. Author and historian Jim Powell served as LFB editor from 1992 to 2004. David M. Brown served as editor from 2004 to 2006. Ben Richman served as LFB editor from 2006 to 2007.
On March 17, 2011 Agora Financial, LLC, a major publisher of books and newsletters on economics and investments, announced that it had acquired Laissez Faire Books from the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL). It is now a subsidiary in the family of Agora Financial. In November 2011, Agora named Jeffrey Tucker (builder of the website Mises.org and general editor of its publications) as the publisher and executive editor. The new website went live January 1, 2012.
The site is more than a book store; like the original store, it is a gathering place for a community of interested readers. The Laissez Faire Club brings this dream into digital reality. This is a tradition of principled radicalism enlivened by cutting-edge technology. Please join in the conversation!
If you have questions about your order, you can call us at 877-453-1177 or write us.
If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your purchase at Laissez-Faire Books, you may return it for another item or a refund on your credit card within 30 days. If the goods are damaged, we made a mistake, or you sense that you were otherwise misled about the product, we will cover the shipping costs. Write us with any questions. Your goods can be returned to:
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If you have editorial submissions or suggestions, contact our publisher, Jeffrey Tucker. | <urn:uuid:9094eceb-620a-4c64-812f-8a635f3c8d09> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lfb.org/about-us/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953185 | 1,307 | 1.960938 | 2 |
John Key - Living in a fool's paradise?
Living in a fool's paradise?
John Key recently claimed that the high dollar is a good thing, saying “For a lot of New Zealand consumers, their life’s actually a lot better because of the strong dollar.” This claim looks at only one part of the complex story of exchange rates which is harming our manufacturers and exporters, says the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA).
NZMEA Chief Executive John Walley says, “Recent research shows that import prices have relatively little impact on overall consumer prices. In any event, to consume much at all, you need a job, which will become more scarce as exporters close or move under the current pressure.”
“Although the high dollar does make imports cheaper, it is seriously hurting manufacturers and exporters, margins and competitiveness. This puts jobs at risk, and reduces the likelihood of reinvestment to improve productivity and employment.”
“Manufacturing is a relatively high wage sector, with higher median weekly incomes than the average for our economy. Wage rates tend to reflect labour productivity, margins and investment. Supporting investment in the manufacturing sector is the only way to sustain and improve real wages and living standards.”
“We cannot expect labour productivity to improve if policy settings starve margins and investment, slowing innovation and skill accumulation of our work force.”
“Our economy needs to operate in such a way that we can expect to build a strong export sector that will provide jobs and wealth in the long term, as a opposed to the short term overvalued exchange rate fools paradise.”
“Although a lower dollar may cause the price of imports to rise, there would be little identifiable impact overall on consumer price, as most New Zealand dollars spent relate to things that have costs in New Zealand dollars. We all visit the supermarket more often than the TV shop."
“Research conducted by the Reserve Bank of Australia showed that a 10 per cent appreciation in the exchange rate translated to only a 1 per cent decrease in consumer prices over around three years.” | <urn:uuid:e21367e1-d8e0-47dd-b2c3-99b23cae8fd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1302/S00910/john-key-living-in-a-fools-paradise.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946832 | 439 | 1.664063 | 2 |
November 12, 2009
Lake Hartwell PCB Settlement public meeting scheduled Nov. 17 in Anderson County
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, S.C. Department of Natural Resources, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service want your feedback about how to spend the remaining Lake Hartwell PCB settlement funds from the Schlumberger Technology Corporation.
A public meeting will be held Nov. 17 from 6-9 p.m. at the Anderson Civic Center. The public meeting on Nov. 17 will include a brief introduction to the Draft South Carolina Recreational Fishing Compensation Plan at 6:15 p.m. and at 7:15 p.m. Following the presentations the public can visit informational booths on each of the projects listed in the plan to get additional information or to ask project specific questions. Residents are also asked to provide input by taking an online survey, available through Dec. 6, 2009. Videos and a detailed report about the different settlement project options can be found online.
The remaining settlement funds must be spent on projects that compensate the public for losses of recreational fishing services that occurred as a result of the contamination. Funds must be used to create opportunities for the public to harvest fish that are not subject to fish consumption advisories, enhance the recreational fishery of Lake Hartwell, 12-Mile Creek and the surrounding area and implement projects designed to improve the habitat and natural resources.
The potential Lake Hartwell projects include:
- Fish Habitat Enhancement
This includes the use of larger wood debris such as stumps to create fish habitat. Installation of gravel to provide spawning substrate for a variety of species and aquatic vegetation installed to provide and enhance cover in nursery areas. The $2.8 million plan would take fully 10 years to implement.
- Hartwell Fishing Access and Shoreline Improvements
Six to eight recreation areas are under consideration for improvements which would include fishing piers, restrooms and improved parking areas. The plan would cost $1.1 million.
- Tailrace Fishing Pier
Additional funds would be utilized to enhance the facility. The pier, currently under construction, will provide 500 feet of shoreline access along the Hartwell Tailrace. The project will also provide access to areas of the Tailrace off-limits since the 9-11 terror attacks. The current request to support the project is $300,000.
- Green Pond Event Center
Anderson County has proposed to construct a large fishing events facility. If funded the current design would include approximately 150 car/trailer spaces, 50 car only spaces, tournament weigh-in area, courtesy dock and restroom. The facility would be designed for large fishing events on the South Carolina side of Lake Hartwell. The plan calls for $1.5 million for design and construction.
- Off-site Recreational Fishing
This project would provide access and enhancements up to nine impoundments in the Lake Hartwell area. These improvements would include fishing piers, fish stocking and pond fertilization. The project would operate approximately 20 years at $2.3 million.
- Unfunded Projects
Easley Central Dam removal – The Lake Hartwell Natural Resource Trustees have not yet received a proposal from any entity willing to remove this dam.
Water Education and Environmental Center – The $7 million Center would tell the story of water and the fishery. While the Trustees feel this is a worthwhile concept it does not appear to fit within the scope of the settlement and does not qualify for use of the recreational fishery injury funds. As the project moves forward there may be amenities associated with the Center that could provide some appropriate compensation for the recreational fishing injury.
Public input and survey results will be used to help guide the allocation of funds to the recreational fishery projects.
South Carolina's natural resources are essential for economic development and contribute nearly $30 billion and 230,000 jobs to the state's economy. Find out why Life's Better Outdoors. | <urn:uuid:cfc2a35c-ce0f-4964-a583-27aaab021e66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dnr.sc.gov/news/yr2009/nov16/nov16_hartwell.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932051 | 808 | 1.625 | 2 |
Created in 2001, the Office on Homelessness was established as a central point of contact within state government on homelessness. The Office coordinates the services of the various state agencies and programs to serve individuals or families who are homeless, or are facing homelessness. Office staff work in conjunction with the 17-member Council on Homelessness to develop state policy. It also manages targeted state grants to support the implementation of local homeless service continuum of care plans.
The Office is responsible for coordinating resources and programs across all levels of government, and with private providers that serve the homeless. It also manages targeted state grants to support the implementation of local homeless service continuum of care plans.
Data on the homeless conditions in Florida, using information provided by the network of local homeless coalitions, is contained in the annual report of the statewide Council on Homelessness.
The Council on Homelessness conducted a two-day strategic planning session in November 2010. The product of that event was an issue paper on the crisis in homelessness facing Florida. The Council’s “Call to Action” and “Strategic Action Proposals” are posted on the Council's home page. | <urn:uuid:556e0133-82aa-4e81-af47-23647d026a11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/homelessness | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949425 | 233 | 1.875 | 2 |
The white spots are probably powdery mildew, which is typical in humid climates. The plants need good air circulation and a full day of direct sun to be healthy. Yellow leaves indicate stress due to drought or too much water. Allow the top inch of the soil to become dry before you water again. The powdery mildew won't kill your plant, but it does stress it a bit. If you have several plants, make sure there is a foot or two of open space around them for the air to circulate--that may mean that you'll have to remove a plant or two to help the others. | <urn:uuid:d281a283-1179-4e9c-af89-9e309f5fe962> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bhg.com/app/advice/print.jsp?questionId=6187121quest&catref=S2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974604 | 123 | 2.234375 | 2 |
State and Federal Policymakers Explore Work Sharing, an Alternative to Layoffs
Jun 11, 2010
By Neil Ridley
Colorado this week became the 19th state to adopt work sharing - an unemployment insurance program that provides an alternative to layoffs by allowing employers to cut employees' hours instead of slashing the number of employees on their payrolls.
Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. signed the Colorado Work Share program into law on June 9. Citing the need to grow the state's economy, support businesses, and create quality jobs, Ritter at a state-wide conference said, "As tough as the economy is, we must maintain our commitment to collaborate and bring people together around economic development, workforce development and education."
Work sharing, also called short-time compensation, is a win for all: Businesses retain skilled workers, employees retain their jobs, and communities minimize the number of layoffs during tough times. For example, businesses can reduce all employees' hours by 20 percent instead of laying off a portion of the workforce. Workers then receive partial UI benefits to help compensate for lost work hours. Although they work fewer hours, employees retain benefits such as health insurance. Communities, in turn, can avoid the harsh economic impact of widespread layoffs. | <urn:uuid:9a74d4ae-c400-4651-ba60-019a659dcd83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=employment_strategies&id=0009 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955011 | 249 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Digital Word of Mouth
Chrysanthos Dellarocas (email@example.com), “The Digitization of Word-of-Mouth: Promise and Challenges of Online Feedback Mechanisms,” MIT Sloan School of Management Working Paper Number 4296-03. Click here.
Word-of-mouth comments on products and services have long been recognized as powerful commercial weapons. But even the most wounding of barbs has tended to have limited, isolated impact. The Internet has changed this. Online, customer commentary — whether it’s a disgruntled mumble or an enthusiastic approval — is amplified and can sometimes be communicated globally. This is what Chrysanthos Dellarocas, an associate professor of management at MIT Sloan School of Management, describes as the “digitization of word-of-mouth.” Professor Dellarocas suggests that digitized word-of-mouth, managed through sophisticated software, has implications for businesses (online and offline) in such areas as brand building and customer acquisition; product development and quality control; and supply chain quality assurance.
Digitized word-of-mouth can be controlled and interpreted using online feedback mechanisms, also called reputation systems. These are often used on Web sites where products are rated, such as Epinions.com, Moviefone.com, and Citysearch.com. In his research, Professor Dellarocas examines eBay’s feedback mechanism. What is most notable about eBay’s approach, and its success with 49.7 million registered users, is that it relies on the old-fashioned notion of trust. Feedback is used to keep people more honest, and hence make the community more secure. Interestingly, 99.1 percent of the comments buyers make about one another are positive.
Digitized word-of-mouth is more impersonal than traditional word-of-mouth spread among friends and acquaintances, and it can be manipulated in various ways that distort the truth by those intent on doing so. Online communities also require a certain volume of participation before they can begin having any real impact on the reputation of a product or service. The subtleties of how feedback mechanisms are constructed are also little understood. For example, should feedback be voluntary? Is a one-to-five scale of preferences (used by Amazon.com) more useful than a rating of positive, neutral, or negative (used by eBay)? How can organizations assess whether a feedback mechanism is performing optimally? Although we all know that digitized word-of-mouth mechanisms can be constructed, further research is required to understand their potential and limitations.
The Art of the Apology
Peter Kim (firstname.lastname@example.org), Donald Ferrin (dlferrin@Buffalo.edu), Cecily Cooper (email@example.com), and Kurt Dirks (firstname.lastname@example.org), “Removing the Shadow of Suspicion: The Effects of Apology Versus Denial for Repairing Competence- Versus Integrity-Based Trust Violations.” Click here.
An important distinction can be made between violations of trust that involve matters of competence and those that involve integrity. This distinction, four American business-school researchers argue, may hold the key to understanding how trust can best be rebuilt.
Building on previous studies, Peter Kim, assistant professor at the Marshall School, University of Southern California; Donald Ferrin, assistant professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo; Cecily Cooper, assistant professor at the Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University; and Kurt Dirks, associate professor of organizational behavior at the Olin School of Business, Washington University, St. Louis, say there are inherent differences in the way people assess competence and integrity.
For example, a single successful performance carries a lot of weight as an indicator of competence, but a single unsuccessful performance will often be discounted. In contrast, a single honest act is not enough to prove a person’s integrity, but a single dishonest act is regarded as a reliable indicator of low integrity. So, as the authors put it, “hitting a home run once makes us home run hitters in the eyes of others even if we strike out afterward. In contrast, embezzling from a company once makes us an embezzler even if we do not engage in additional thefts.”
In a series of experiments, the researchers explored the effects of two different strategies for rebuilding trust after an alleged violation: an apology and a denial. In one experiment, 200 students were asked to assume the role of a manager at an accounting firm in charge of hiring and managing a senior-level tax accountant. They were shown a videotaped job interview with actors playing the roles of a female job applicant and a recruiter. During the interview, the recruiter raised the concern that in her previous job the applicant had filed a client’s tax return incorrectly.
The students were split into four groups and each group was shown a different version of the interview. Most of the footage was the same for each group, but how the violation was portrayed and what the applicant’s response was varied. The offense was presented as a matter of either competence or integrity — i.e., the job candidate didn’t understand the tax rules, or deliberately filed a false claim — and the candidate responded with either a denial or an apology. In all cases, the allegations were based on hearsay, so the recruiter did not provide proof of guilt or innocence. The students then rated the applicant’s trustworthiness.
The results show that trust is repaired more successfully when mistrusted parties apologize for violations caused by incompetence but deny culpability for violations resulting from lapses in integrity. The researchers conducted another experiment in which the accused party’s guilt or innocence became clear. The second experiment showed that it is better for the accused to apologize for violations when evidence of guilt will emerge at a later date, but not to waver in denial when subsequent evidence of innocence will redeem them.
The findings could have important implications for the way business leaders and politicians manage their images when they get into trouble. Selecting the right response has a pragmatic as well as a moral dimension. But, as the authors warn, these findings could also “be employed just as easily by those who do not deserve to be trusted as by those who do.”
The Disappearing COO
Raghuram G. Rajan (email@example.com) and Julie Wulf (firstname.lastname@example.org), “The Flattening Firm: Evidence from Panel Data on the Changing Nature of Corporate Hierarchies,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Number W9633. Click here.
This paper by Raghuram G. Rajan, the Joseph L. Gidwitz Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago, and Julie Wulf, an assistant professor of management at the Wharton School of Business, provides yet more evidence that corporate hierarchies are shrinking. However, the authors’ research also makes a striking observation that is supported by other recent studies: The most significant casualty of flattening organizations appears to be chief operating officers (COOs). In the group of companies the researchers studied, the number of COOs had shrunk by 20 percent.
The team’s research covered 300 publicly traded American companies between 1986 and 1999. Large, well established, and profitable, the sample firms (on average) employed 47,500 workers, were 85 years old, and recorded a return on sales of 19 percent.
The first finding is that an increasing number of managers now report to CEOs. The average number of direct reports to CEOs rose from 4.4 in 1986 to 7.2 in 1999. This suggests that direct interaction between the CEO and managers, and CEOs’ influence over decision makers below them, is increasing.
The second finding is that the number of positions between the CEO and the lowest-ranking managers with profit-center responsibility fell by more than 25 percent during the same period. Simultaneously, the number of division heads tripled.
The authors point to General Electric Company’s division of GE Capital into four business units as evidence of the move toward flatter hierarchies with decentralized decision making. This restructuring effectively removed the chairman’s role at GE Capital. It also meant that more people — four business unit heads — reported to GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt.
In flatter organizations, promotion to the most senior executive levels brings significant pay increases and more emphasis on long-term incentives. However, the passing of greater responsibility down to those in the lower echelons doesn’t necessarily bring them greater rewards. Indeed, this research shows that for lower-status jobs, salary and bonuses are smaller than in traditional heavily layered organizations.
Particularly interesting is the fact that the COO role seems to be disappearing. This adds to mounting evidence from other research that the role of the COO is of questionable usefulness. This study suggests that divisional managers tend to step into the hierarchical gap when the COO role is eliminated.
Professors Rajan and Wulf also find that CEOs whose predecessors eliminated the role of COO survive longer.
Overall, the research of Professors Rajan and Wulf reinforces two commonly cited organizational trends. First, more intense competition is pushing employees to act more quickly, innovatively, and independently (and ideally, they should be rewarded commensurately). Second, the key source of power is shifting from one’s position to one’s competencies.
The Strategy Delta
Arnoldo C. Hax (email@example.com) and Dean L. Wilde II (firstname.lastname@example.org), “The Delta Model — Toward a Unified Framework of Strategy,” MIT Sloan School of Management Working Paper Number 4261-02. Click here.
What is the fundamental unit of strategy? Michael Porter’s hugely influential work seeks to make sense of strategy within the bounds of particular industries, whether the Swiss watch industry or the Dutch flower industry. Another approach is propounded by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad. This theoretical school sees the company as the basic strategic unit. A company’s strategy is regarded as a function of its resources — human and otherwise. Over the last decade, a great deal of intellectual energy has been expended on refining these two world views, merging them, or coming up with coherent alternatives.
Entering this theoretical fray are Arnoldo C. Hax, the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and Dean L. Wilde II, chairman and founder of strategy consultants Dean & Company. The “Delta Model” developed by Professor Hax and Mr. Wilde puts forward three strategic options that can lead to what they call customer bonding. These are best product, total customer solutions, and system lock-in.
The best-product strategy is built on having a low-cost or differentiated product. However, this option is limited because it does not build substantial customer bonding. The business-to-business total customer solutions strategy is based on reducing customer costs and increasing customer profits. Companies compete on the basis of customer economics. Finally, system lock-in embraces others in the supply chain — customers, suppliers, and “complementors.” Complementors are firms that produce products or services that enhance a company’s own product and service portfolio. Proprietary computer standards is one example of how a complementor can execute system lock-in. More than 100,000 applications are designed to work with Microsoft’s Windows operating system, whereas only one-quarter of that number of applications exist for Apple’s Macintosh system, according to the authors.
The Hax and Wilde team add some compelling financial performance data to the discussion about customer-centered strategy. Their research looked at more than 100 major companies whose strategic positions clearly fitted one of the three categories — system lock-in, best product, or total customer solution. Those that competed on the basis of system lock-in were substantially more successful in terms of market value added (MVA) and market-to-book value. For example, companies with a system lock-in had a mean MVA of 57.15, compared with 14.26 for companies competing on the basis of having a best product and 22.38 for those competing on the basis of a total customer solution.
The authors argue that three “adaptive processes” — operational effectiveness, customer targeting, and innovation — are the primary means by which the three different strategic options can be pursued and executed. (For an extended examination of these issues, see Professor Hax and Mr. Wilde’s book, The Delta Project: Discovering New Sources of Profitability in a Network Economy (Palgrave, 2001).
Glamour by Association
Christina Schlecht (email@example.com), “Celebrities’ Impact on Branding,” Working Paper, January 2003. Click here.
Companies believe celebrity sells — and spend billions each year for the attention that star athletes, singers, actors, and other famous people bring to their products. In 2000, for example, sportswear manufacturer Reebok International Inc. signed a five-year, $40 million contract with tennis phenomenon Venus Williams. Compared with bland endorser types, such as professional experts or satisfied customers, A-list stars achieve a high degree of consumer attention and recall. Still, the price is high. So how can companies make sure that the glitz, glamour, and excitement celebrities engender stimulate revenues too?
That is the issue examined by Christina Schlecht, a visiting scholar at Columbia Business School’s Center for Global Brand Leadership, a consortium of international business schools and companies that promotes research on branding issues. “To ensure positive results,” Ms. Schlecht argues, “it is critical for advertisers to have a clear understanding of the ‘black box’ of celebrity endorsement.” Drawing on existing literature, she examines four theories about positively influencing consumers’ brand attitudes. She calls them: source credibility and attractiveness; the match-up hypothesis; the meaning transfer model; and the principles of multiple brand and celebrity endorsement.
Source attractiveness refers to the endorser’s physical appearance, personality, likeability, and similarity to the target consumer. For obvious reasons, advertisers have traditionally preferred physically attractive messengers. Sometimes the most appropriate messenger may be a celebrity with a demographic profile or social status that matches that of target consumers.
The match-up hypothesis examines the fit between celebrity endorsers and brand to understand why some endorsements succeed and others fail. For example, actress Elizabeth Hurley’s endorsement of Estée Lauder was regarded as a success, but Bruce Willis’s endorsement of Seagram’s was deemed a failure. Simply being popular, Ms. Schlecht says, is not enough. An effective celebrity pitchperson should also appear qualified to talk about the product. Elizabeth Hurley was seen as a credible user of cosmetics. Ironically, Bruce Willis’s hard-living image may have reduced his credibility as a responsible spokesperson for alcohol. Interestingly, too, Michael Jordan proved effective as a spokesperson for Nike but not for WorldCom, suggesting that he was a good choice to pitch sportswear, but had less credibility with regard to communications.
The third concept — the meaning transfer model — tries to explain how celebrity glitz is transferred to the brand and rubs off on the consumer. For example: Tiger Woods is a great golfer. He wears Nike sportswear, so that is a great golf brand. I wear Nike, so I’m a great golfer, too.
Celebrities provide additional richness to the image transfer process because they have deeper and more complex associations for consumers. Madonna, for example, is more than just a pretty face. She is seen as a “tough, intense, and thoroughly modern woman.” She also carries a strong connection with the lower middle class.
Finally, Ms. Schlecht considers the effectiveness of multiple-brand and multiple-celebrity endorsements. Multiple-brand endorsement involves the same celebrity promoting several different brands. For instance, Tiger Woods has endorsed the American Express, Rolex, and Nike brands. Multiple-celebrity endorsement involves more than one celebrity promoting the same brand. L’Oréal matches different product lines to such celebrities as Andie McDowell and Vanessa Williams.
Ms. Schlecht concludes that celebrity endorsements can justify the price tag. But the decisions involved are complex, and marketing managers still need better analytical tools to help them select the right endorser. Until then, brand managers should remember that all that glitters is not necessarily gold.
Des Dearlove (firstname.lastname@example.org) is a business writer based in the U.K. He is the author of several management books and a contributing editor to strategy+business and The (London) Times. He is coeditor of the Financial Times Handbook of Management (Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2001).
Stuart Crainer (email@example.com) is a U.K.-based business journalist and a contributing editor to strategy+business. He is the author of numerous management books, including The Management Century: A Critical Review of 20th Century Thought and Practice (strategy+business/Jossey-Bass, 2000). | <urn:uuid:093c04a9-bbca-4db4-b3f0-2b8a9c54d2c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.strategy-business.com/article/03315?gko=529a5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943209 | 3,644 | 2.421875 | 2 |
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KS3 - Work and wages - 4 lessons
8 Resources available for download in this module
An introduction to work and wages for students at key stage 3.
In these 4 lesson plans, we look at the history of children in employment. Students study the reasons children worked and their working conditions. These are compared to the modern day.
These resources are also useful for careers education - more careers lessons are available here.
Below are the lessons in this topic. Click ‘View these lessons’ to download resources
A introduction for young people to they type of work they can do at school age
The law relating to the employment of young people.
The minimum wage and how it effects young workers.
The World of Work Teaching Resources
Some students will already take part in some kind of paid work. In these lessons they look at the type of work that has been carried out by children throughout history and also study the financial issues of the minimum wage etc.
Lesson 1 – What Was Work Like In The Past?
In these activities, pupils discuss the subject of child labour, using evidence about working conditions in the past.
Lesson 2 – What Kind of Work Can Children Do Now?
Students review and present information in relation to the Children and Young Persons Act 1993. This is a group activity with a class presentation to summarise.
Lesson 3 – What Kind of Work Can Children Do Now ? – Part 2
Using the information they have learnt so far, they must now apply their knowledge in a creative exercise.
Lesson 4 – Work and Wages
In the final session, students take part in an activity to understand the different levels of minimum wage and other financial issues relating to work including highest paid jobs and benefits.
These work and wages lessons can be used to support learning outcomes for Preparation for Working Life - Economic and Financial Aspects of Life from AQA. These lessons are also suitable for use with Personal and Social Development Qualification - Managing Own Money from ASDAN; Key Skills and Workplace Core Skills - Managing your Own Money from City & Guilds; Skills Towards Enabling Progression "Step Up" - Personal Budgeting, Economic Well-Being and Financial Capability - Budgeting and Money Management, Developing Skills for Employment - Financial Literacy and Money Management, Work Related Aspects of Citizenship from NOCN; Employability Skills - Financial Capability from OCR. | <urn:uuid:59e9ae69-8fdd-4954-afed-9e4eb2445144> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.teaching-resources-uk.com/lessons/WRL/KS3-Work-and-wages-lesson-plans-worksheets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910713 | 539 | 4.0625 | 4 |
15. OFFERINGS FOR THE DECEASED KING, UTTERANCES 338-349.
551 a. To say: Hunger, come not to N.,
551b. go away to Nun, be off (begging) to the ȝgbi-flood.
551c. N. is sated;
551d. N. hungers not by reason of that bread of Horus which he has eaten,
551e. which his head-maid made for him, with which he is satisfied, (and)
whereby he wins back his (normal) condition.
552a. N. thirsts not by reason of Shu; N. hungers not by reason of Tefnut.
552b. Ḥpi, Dwȝ-mw.t.f, Ḳbḥ-śn.w.f,
552c. they will expel this hunger, which is in the body of N.,
552d. and this thirst which is on the lips of N.
553a. To say: The hunger of N. is from the hand of Shu; the thirst of N. is
from the hand of Tefnut.
553b. N. lives on the morning bread, which comes at its (appointed) time.
553c. N. lives on that on which Shu lives;
553d. N. eats, that which Tefnut eats.
554a. N. comes to thee, Nḫḫ;
554b. mayest thou fall back before N., as the east wind falls back before
(behind?) the west wind;
554c. mayest thou come behind N., as the north wind comes behind the south
554d. To say: Deposit (an offering?).
555a. To say: The face of Horus is opened by ȝkr; the face of ȝkr is
opened by Horus.
555b. Abundance has extended her arm to N.;
555c. The arms of N. have embraced fowling.
555d. All which the marsh produces belongs to her son, Ḥȝb.
555e. N. has eaten with him to-day.
556a. To say: It is N., O Isis; it is N., O ȝśb.t; it is N., O Nephthys.
556b. Come, see thy son.
556c. He has passed through the nome of Athribis, after he has passed
through the (region of the) wrr.t-crown.
557a. The handbag of N. is of twn-plant;
557c. N. comes; he brings what is desired and what is given.
557b. the basket of N. is of nn.t-plant.
558a. To say: Bdš.t comes; the
558b. Those with (ready) hands stand to give an offering to N.
559a. To say: Greetings to thee, O Great Flood (ȝgb-wr),
559b. cup-bearer of the gods, leader of men,
559c. mayest thou make men and gods favourable to N., that they may give an
offering to him.
560a. To say: O Wr-kȝ.f,
560b. cup-bearer of Horus, chief of the dining-pavillion of Rē, chef of
560c. give generously to N.; N. eats as much as thou givest.
561a. To say: Kas are in Buto; kas
were in Buto as of old.
561b. Kas will be in Buto; the ka
of N. is in Buto,
561c. red as a flame, living as Khepri.
561d. Be cheerful, be cheerful. A meal (fit) for butchers.
562a. It is now thou givest, my lady, love to N., veneration to N.;
562b. it is now thou givest, my lady, veneration to N., liking to N.,
562c. in the body of all gods.
563a. To say: The mouth of N. is in incense; the lips of N. are in myrrh.
563b. Descend, O N., from the field of thy ka to the Marsh of Offerings.
563c. of N. is from the nr.t; the
meal of N. is like (that of) the divine boat.
564a. The life of N. will be more than that of Rnp.t; the food of N. will be more than (that of) Ḥpi (the inundation).
564b. O ka of N., bring (food)
that N. may eat with thee.
565a. To say: Greeting to thee, O Great Flood,
565b. cup-bearer of the gods, leader of men,
565c. mayest thou make the gods favourable to N., that they may . refresh
565d. that they may love N., that they may render N. well.
566a. To say: O Wr-kȝ.f.
566b. cup-bearer of Horus, chief of the dining-pavillion of Rē, chef of
566c. give generously to N.; N. eats as much as thou givest, a generous
portion of his meat. | <urn:uuid:8a4097c1-2ac7-47e8-ac90-af56cf30ec86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thothweb.com/sections-printpage-415.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924627 | 1,195 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Someone has turned a crucial dolphin birthing area off the U.S. Gulf Coast into a killing zone and the race is on to find the culprit or culprits before the marine mammals begin giving birth and the newborn dolphins are put at risk.
"There is a sense of urgency. It is important that we find the person or persons who is perpetrating this heinous act," said Moby Solangi, lead biologist of The Institute of Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Mississippi.
"It looks like somebody is deranged. It's really senseless. It's repugnant. It's illegal. I don't understand what sort of person would do such a cruel act," Solangi told CNN during an aerial tour of the sites where many of the dolphin carcasses were found.
At least seven carcasses have turned up along a 120-mile stretch of the Gulf Coast, from Louisiana in the west to Florida in the east. Some have gunshot wounds, others have been mutilated, including one with its jaw cut off.
Solangi, who performed necropsies of all the slaughtered dolphins, said the cruelty of what he's seen is the equivalent of having your pet dog's neck sliced.
"This is gruesome really," Solangi said. "It's not only killing them, it's also mutilating them. And the parts that are taken are disposed of; not next to the animal, they are taken. And they are not worth anything."
The first dolphin was found January 8 with a bullet wound on Deer Island, near Biloxi, Mississippi. In June, a bottlenose dolphin was found in Perdido Bay, Florida, near the Florida-Alabama state line, with a screwdriver stuck in its head. In September, one was found on Elmers Island, Louisiana, with a gunshot wound. On October 10, a dolphin was found on the beach in Dauphin Island, Alabama with its fluke cut off.
The list gets worse from there.
On November 6, a dolphin was found in near Ocean Springs, Mississippi, dead from numerous cuts. Three days later two more were discovered; another one with bullet wounds near Ocean Springs, and one on Ship Island, a remote barrier island off Biloxi, Mississippi, that was found with its jaw cut off. Authorities are still trying to determine if a dead dolphin found November 2, in Bayou Julia, Louisiana, is linked to the other killings.
To stop the slaughter before the dolphins' birthing season, which begins soon, federal authorities say they need the public's help. | <urn:uuid:4f4377b5-57f3-466b-8c72-9906d4d5b6f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ketv.com/news/national/Race-on-to-find-Gulf-Coast-dolphin-killers/-/9674576/17579684/-/item/0/-/8dvt4k/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982677 | 532 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Geni Wren Yearling heifers need to be on a good plane of nutrition to meet their growth needs. “Because mature cows will maintain body weight on moderate-quality forage, some ranchers forget that growing yearling heifers will not gain the weight they need to reach puberty on the same quality of forage,” says Bob Larson, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, Dipl. ACVPM, Kansas State University.
“Depending on the timing of the breeding season relative to forage quality and quantity, it is unlikely that heifers that grew slowly during the winter months will be able to gain enough weight on lush growing forage to reach puberty in time for the start of the breeding season.”
Larson explains that the onset of puberty is primarily influenced by age and weight, so heifers need to be gaining sufficient weight to attain puberty before the start of the breeding season.
In much of the U.S., forage availability in the winter is limited to standing dormant forage or baled forage. Only high-quality forage provides the nutrient density necessary to meet the gain requirements to reach the weights associated with the onset of puberty.
“If forage quality at this time of year is moderate to poor, yearling heifers are not likely to achieve the weight gain needed to reach puberty prior to the onset of breeding without supplementation,” Larson says. “Supplementing yearling heifers is required to meet weight gain goals in most forage situations.”
Read more about creating reproductive momentum in the herd in the upcoming January 2013 Bovine Veterinarian. | <urn:uuid:305e4edc-f738-4914-a18b-c9af5e29626f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bovinevetonline.com/practice-tips/Create-momentum-in-yearling-heifers-176946901.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928522 | 343 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Cleaners: green buying guide 1/11
A growing number of less-toxic commercial cleaning products are now available in stores and online. However, because manufacturers are not required to list all of their ingredients, unless they are active disinfectants or known to be potentially hazardous, it can be a challenge to find the least-toxic formulations.
Your best defense is to carefully read and understand the label warnings on cleaning products, which can be challenging. All household cleaners that contain known hazardous chemicals must carry a warning label that spells out potential risks, along with precautionary steps and first-aid instructions.
In general, the more serious the safety warning on a product, the more likely that it poses risks to your health and the environment. Products labeled "Poison" or "Danger" are more toxic than those labeled "Warning" or "Caution."
"Danger" refers to products that are corrosive, extremely flammable, highly toxic, or poisonous. Commercial toilet-bowl, oven, and drain cleaners often bear this label.
"Caution" or "Warning" are catchall terms for many other hazards, so scan for specifics, such as "Vapor harmful," "Causes burns," or "May be fatal or cause blindness if swallowed."
"Irritants" refer to substances that cause injury or inflammation on contact.
"Corrosives" refer to chemicals that destroy tissue.
"Sensitizers" are ingredients that can cause allergic reactions and chronic adverse health effects that become evident only after continuing exposures.
"Chronic Health Hazards" may include effects ranging from sterility and birth defects to cancer.
Don’t assume that environmental and health claims are true. In many cases, manufacturers can make claims that are neither independently verified nor regulated. A proposed FTC green marketing guide, if approved, will require companies to disclose evidence to back up their claims. Among the most common claims found on cleaning products are the following:
To learn more about other common environmental and health claims found on household cleaning products, visit our Eco-labels section.
- Non-toxic. This implies that the product will cause no harm to the consumer or environment. However, there is currently no standard definition for the term "non-toxic", and unless otherwise specified, there is no organization independently verifying the claim.
- Natural. Though widely found on commercial cleaning products, the term "natural" doesn’t necessarily mean much. There’s no standard definition for this claim in industry, so manufacturers can use it as they please. What’s more, just because something is "natural" doesn’t mean it’s less toxic, or non-irritating. Even cleaners that are safe enough to eat, like lemon juice, can be irritating to the eyes or skin.
- Environmentally friendly. While this label implies that the product or packaging has some kind of environmental benefit or that it causes no harm to the environment, there is currently no standard definition for term "Environmentally friendly". Unless otherwise specified, there is also no organization independently verifying this claim.
- Biodegradable. This term is somewhat meaningful, but it can be misleading. "Biodegradable", which implies that a product or its packaging will break down in nature in a reasonably short period of time, has been only loosely defined by the federal government.
Be sure to check the ingredient list. Since manufacturers are not required to list all the ingredients in their cleaning products, unless they are active disinfectants or known to be potentially hazardous, it can be difficult to know exactly what you’re buying. And bear in mind that unlike food package labels, when a cleaning product’s ingredients are listed, the order doesn’t necessarily represent relative amounts. Companies that claim to disclose their full list of ingredients include Ecover, Trader Joe’s and Seventh Generation.
Avoid harmful ingredients whenever possible. Certain chemicals found in cleaning products can pose health and/or environmental risks. To minimize these risks and to choose the best cleaners for your household, avoid the ingredients listed below. ( Note: this is not an exhaustive list and additional ingredients may be added as they come to light.)
If you’re concerned about specific ingredients in a product, call the company. The manufacturer’s name and address must be listed on all cleaning products so that consumers can contact them with questions, comments, or problems. While manufacturers are not required to disclose all of their ingredients, unless they’re active disinfectants or known to be potentially hazardous, you can try to request a material safety data sheet (MSDS), which contains information on the more-toxic ingredients or formulations used.
- Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). When they’re released into the environment, these chemicals can break down into toxic substances that can act as hormone disrupters, potentially threatening the reproductive capacity of fish, birds, and mammals. Found in many cleaning products, especially detergents, stain removers, citrus cleaners, and disinfectants.
- Antibacterials. Some antibacterial ingredients may cause skin and eye irritation, and certain types, such as triclosan, now found widely in the environment, may cause environmental harm by contributing to the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Some studies have also suggested that triclosan could form dioxin, a carcinogen, in the presence of sunlight, and chloroform, a probable human carcinogen, in the presence of chlorinated water. What’s more, there’s a growing consensus that antibacterial household cleaners won’t keep you any safer from infectious illnesses than regular types. These findings may stem in part from the fact that most infections are caused by viruses, not bacteria. In fact, experts say, it’s not the type of cleaner that matters in combating germs, but the frequency and thoroughness of cleaning; plain soap and hot water are generally enough to do the job. Found in a variety of household cleaners; many products that carry the “antibacterial” label are actually disinfectants (see disinfectants below).
- Ammonia. Poisonous when swallowed, extremely irritating to respiratory passages when inhaled; can burn skin on contact. (Note: Never mix ammonia-containing products with chlorine bleach. That produces a poisonous gas.) Found in floor, bathroom, tile, and glass cleaners.
- Butyl cellosolve (also known as butyl glycol, ethylene glycol, monobutyl). Poisonous when swallowed and a lung tissue irritant. Found in glass cleaners and all-purpose cleaners.
- Chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite). Extremely irritating to the lungs and eyes. (Note: Never mix chlorine bleach products with ammonia. That produces a poisonous gas.) Sold by itself and found in a variety of household cleaners.
- d-limonene. Can irritate the skin. Found in air fresheners.
- Diethanolamine (DEA) & triethanolamine (TEA). These ingredients can produce carcinogenic compounds, which can penetrate the skin when combined with nitrosomes, an often-undisclosed preservative or contaminant. Some products are labeled "DEA-free" or "TEA-free", which are considered to be somewhat meaningful labels by CU. Found in sudsing products, including detergents and cleaners.
- Disinfectants. This is a catchall term for a variety of active ingredients, including chlorine bleach, alcohol, quaternary compounds, and pine oil and ethyl alcohol. They are regulated by the EPA as pesticides and all have some health effects. Most can also cause problems in waterways by killing helpful bacteria. Found in a variety of household cleaners; many products that carry the “antibacterial” label are also disinfectants.
- Fragrances. May cause water eyes and respiratory tract irriation. Some products are labeled "fragrance free", which CU does not consider to be a meaningful label. Found in a variety of cleaners and air fresheners.
- Hydrochloric acid. Can severely burn skin, irritate eyes and respiratory tract. Found in toilet bowl cleaners.
- Naptha. Can cause headaches, nausea, and central-nervous-system symptoms with overexposure. Found in furniture and floor polish and glass cleaners.
- Petroleum-based ingredients. Many ingredients are derived from petroleum, including some of those above such as APEs and naptha, and they’re commonly found in many cleaning products as surfactants. Other toxic ingredients derived from petroleum, including formaldehyde, can also be present at trace levels in cleaning products. Found in a variety of household cleaners.
- Phosphates. Can reach waterways and contribute to the overgrowth of algae and aquatic weeds, which can kill off fish populations and other aquatic life. Some products are labeled "phosphate-free", which is considered to be a somewhat meaningful label by CU. Found in automatic dishwasher detergents and some laundry detergents.
- Sodium hydroxide (lye). Corrosive and extremely irritating to eyes, nose, and throat and can burn those tissues on contact. Found in drain, metal, and oven cleaners.
- Sulfuric acid. Can severely damage eyes, lungs, and skin. Found in drain cleaners.
Manufacturers may also post MSDS reports on their Web sites. You can search for safety information on brand-specific products and their ingredients by visiting the National Library of Medicine’s Household Products Database. The guide includes the potential health effects of more than 2,000 ingredients contained in 6,000 common household products.
Play it safe. Whether you’re using commercial or homemade cleaners, it’s important to follow safety precautions. Avoid splashing household cleaners on your skin or in your face and check labels to see if respiratory masks, rubber gloves, goggles, or other protective measures are recommended.
People with heart or lung disease and pregnant women should try to avoid products that contain chemical solvents. And since contact lenses can absorb vapors and hold them against the eye, causing irritation or eye damage, anyone who normally wears contacts should remove them and put on eyeglasses before handling such products. If you find that the cleaners you’re using irritate your nose, eyes and/or lungs, follow your instincts and stop using them. Finally, be sure to clearly label containers of homemade cleaners, and keep all cleaners out of reach of children and pets.
- Homemade cleaners often cost less. Mixing your own cleaners at home will almost always save you money, since you won’t be paying for the advertising, marketing, and other costs that go into a commercial cleaning product’s price.
- Using fewer cleaners can save money. Whether you buy or make them yourself, try to find one or two cleaners that can effectively clean a variety of surfaces. You’ll not only be able to save money and space, you’ll also cut down on packaging waste.
- Buying larger sizes tends to be cheaper in the long run. Larger sizes are usually, but not always, less expensive, ounce for ounce. Choosing large sizes can also mean buying less often, helping to reduce packaging waste.
- An ounce of prevention... If you can prevent stains from setting in by taking care of them right away, you’ll reduce the need for tough specialty cleaners, which are often relatively expensive, more toxic, and harmful to surfaces. Or better yet, try to prevent stains from happening in the first place.
- To avoid using oven cleaners, put a layer of aluminum foil in the bottom of the oven and replace it periodically.
- To avoid drain cleaners, put fitted screens over drains and pour kitchen grease into empty containers that can be disposed of in the trash.
- To avoid air fresheners, open windows to air out the house occasionally.
- To avoid bathroom mildew removers, wipe down the shower curtain and walls after showering.
- To avoid carpet cleaners, take off shoes at the door.
Can one cleaner do it all? 1/11
Homemade cleaners: best recipes 1/11
New FTC rule would put an end to eco-friendly claims 10/10
Proposed revisions: FTC Green Guides 10/10 | <urn:uuid:09c5814a-0bad-4546-8d8a-7e56112cd556> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.greenerchoices.org/products.cfm?product=greencleaning&page=RightChoices | 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 | 0.926831 | 2,563 | 2.71875 | 3 |
U.S. Homeownership Falls to Lowest Since 1998 on Tight Lending
The U.S. homeownership rate fell to the lowest level since 1998 in the second quarter as stricter lending standards blocked purchases and foreclosures forced people out of their residences.
The ownership rate through June was 65.9 percent, the lowest since the same rate 13 years ago, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report today. The vacancy rate, the share of properties empty and for sale, was 2.5 percent, compared with 2.6 percent in the first quarter.
The strictest mortgage standards in more than a decade are disqualifying potential buyers while owners are being evicted from homes after falling behind on loan payments, said Wayne Yamano, director of research at John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, California. Home purchases fell in June to a 4.77 million annual pace, the National Association of Realtors said July 20. If housing demand remains at that level, 2011 would have the fewest sales since 1997.
“Tight underwriting standards and the lack of a down payment are keeping a big chunk of buyers out of the market and other people are being displaced by foreclosures,” Yamano said in an interview before the report. The ownership rate may tumble to about 62 percent by 2015, he said.
Conflicting data on sales and prices show the housing market that sparked the global recession continues to struggle. The number of contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes rose 2.4 percent in June, the Chicago-based Realtors’ group reported yesterday. Together with an 8.2 percent gain in the prior month, the index has almost erased an 11 percent plunge in April.
Also in June, sales of new U.S. homes reached a three-month low of 312,000 at an annual pace, the Commerce Department said July 26. Prices in 20 cities dropped 4.5 percent in the year ended May, the most since November 2009, according to a report issued the same day by S&P/Case-Shiller.
The homeownership rate declined from 66.4 percent in the first quarter. It reached a record high of 69.2 percent in the second and fourth quarters of 2004, a time when President George W. Bush promoted an “ownership society” to rally support for expanding mortgage financing to more Americans.
There were 18.7 million vacant homes in the second quarter, including foreclosures, residences for sale and vacation homes, compared with 18.9 million a year earlier, according to today’s Census Bureau report from Washington.
About 2 million of those empty homes were for sale, almost matching the number a year ago, according to the report. That may mean half of the 3.8 million homes for sale in June were vacant, though the Realtors’ group that reports inventory doesn’t track properties sold without a broker. When banks get rid of repossessed homes, they sometimes don’t use real estate agents.
-- Editors: Christine Maurus, Andrew Blackman
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at email@example.com.
Bloomberg moderates all comments. Comments that are abusive or off-topic will not be posted to the site. Excessively long comments may be moderated as well. Bloomberg cannot facilitate requests to remove comments or explain individual moderation decisions. | <urn:uuid:15f1e5a8-b885-4d1b-8ce6-70e44ebbba41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-29/u-s-homeownership-rate-falls-to-lowest-in-13-years-on-stricter-lending.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957693 | 711 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The delegates to the Democratic and Republican parties' national conventions officially choose the nominees for the presidency.
So anyone who wants to run for the presidency representing either party has to try to win the support of as many as possible - and the key is to do well in the state primaries and caucuses held between January and June.
A big vote in favour of candidate X, in a given state, usually mandates a certain proportion of that state's delegates to vote for candidate X at the convention.
Do all states have the same number of delegates?
No. There is a huge variation. The most populous states - California, Texas and New York - have many times more delegates than the smallest states.
Do both parties have the same number of delegates?
No. The Democratic Party convention will have almost twice as many delegates as the Republican Party convention in 2008.
But in both cases a candidate only needs a simple majority (50% +1) of delegate votes to win the nomination - that's currently 2,118 in the case of the Democrats, and 1,191 in the case of the Republicans.
The goal of all candidates is to win the support of as many delegates as possible, as early as possible in the primary season.
Even before a candidate secures the winning number of delegates, he or she may notch up an effectively unassailable lead.
Do all delegates have to vote at the convention as directed by the result of the primaries and caucuses?
No. Both parties have a certain number of elected delegates (also known as pledged delegates), whose vote is determined by the result of the primary or caucus in their state, but they also have a certain number of unelected/unpledged delegates (known as super-delegates in the Democratic Party).
These delegates are free to choose which candidate to support. Many of them hold elected office, but they do not owe their place at the convention to a primary election or caucus.
How crucial are the unelected delegates?
In both parties they form a minority within the ranks of delegates at the convention - about 20% in the Democratic case, and between 5% and 20% of Republican delegates (the Republicans do not provide an official breakdown, and different experts give different figures).
They are mostly high-ranking party officials, members of Congress and state governors.
In most years, candidates do not have to worry too much about wooing unelected delegates. But if the race gets very close - as it is in 2008 on the Democratic side - they cannot be ignored.
Is the number of pledged delegates a candidate wins in a primary or caucus always proportionate to the number of votes he or she receives?
No, not always. The rules vary from state to state and from party to party.
In some states the Republicans operate a winner-takes-all system, where the candidate who wins most support state-wide gets all the delegates.
In others, the winner-takes-all principle operates at the level of congressional districts: the candidate who does best in a district wins all the delegates available in that district.
The Republicans also use a proportional system in some states.
The Democrats always use some form of proportional system, but even then a candidate's share of the vote in a state and his or her share of the delegates can turn out to be quite different.
For example, when delegates are awarded on the basis of results in individual congressional districts, the rules do not guarantee strict proportionality.
Under party rules, it's possible for one candidate to beat the other soundly in a district with an even number of delegates, but for the delegates to be split between them equally nonetheless.
Meanwhile, in a district with an odd number of delegates, even a narrow win gives the winner an extra delegate.
Is it always clear who has won a primary?
It can be confusing when one candidate wins the most votes and another wins the most delegates.
In 2008, Hillary Clinton won more votes than Barack Obama in Nevada's and Texas's Democratic contests - but he won more delegates, according to AP's projections.
Are delegates awarded immediately after the primary or caucus?
After a primary, which takes the form of a state-wide ballot, delegates are usually awarded quickly.
Caucuses are a different matter. The candidates and the media focus only on the first stage of the caucus, when voters at precinct level choose delegates to send to the county caucuses.
But the caucus process often goes through several stages, ending only weeks later, at a state convention where delegates are chosen to send to the national party convention.
This does not stop experts projecting the final allocation of delegates from the results of the precinct caucuses, though they often come up with very different results.
When do unelected/unpledged delegates declare their support for a candidate?
They can do this any time they like. They can also change their mind before the convention.
How tightly bound are elected delegates to a given candidate?
It varies from state to state. In some cases they are not really bound at all.
In others they may be bound to support a given candidate in the first ballot held at the convention, and then be free to make their own choice.
Or they may be bound to support the candidate through two or three, rounds of voting, or even all the way to the final vote of the convention.
If no candidate accumulates a winning number of delegates before the convention, then what?
A convention that begins without a clear winner is referred to as a brokered, or contested convention.
If no winner emerges from the early ballots, the rivals may have to negotiate.
If candidate X offers candidate Y the Vice-Presidency, say, candidate Y's supporters may then help candidate X defeat candidate Z.
Could the numbers of delegates at the convention change?
The number of Democratic super-delegates changes regularly, as politicians leave office, or die, and are replaced by others.
The party also disqualified delegates from Florida and Michigan, when the states broke party rules by holding their primaries too early.
However, in June 2008, the Florida and Michigan delegates were re-instated - though only with half-votes. Finally, on the eve of the convention, the decision was taken to allow them full votes after all. | <urn:uuid:b48a2a50-10af-4d52-90ec-04098f0d7b30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7224970.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967527 | 1,290 | 3.203125 | 3 |
"The 100 Year Starship Mission will transform 20th century Star Trek science fiction into 21st century fact!"
Star Trek's Lt. Uhura
"Houston, we have a problem: The Hyatt Regency is overflowing with geeks*!"
I have been to a lot of conferences, but I have never been to any meeting that is quite like the 100 Year Starship Symposium. 100yss is taking place even as we speak (from Sept. 9-13, 2012) in Houston, Texas. Just a stone's throw from Mission Control.
Interestingly, it turns out that a surprising number of breakthrough scientific achievements got their start as nothing more than storybook fantasies. Take Jules Verne, for example. That guy was a wacky-idea factory. In the 19th century, Jules Verne dreamed up one preposterous fantasy after another, such as: fully electronic submarines, a manned-moon mission that Americans launched from--of all places--southern Florida (Verne was a whisker off in predicting that the launch would take place outside of Tampa rather than Cape Canaveral), talking newspapers, spacecraft that are powered by solar sails, video conferencing, etc. Truly, Verne had an inspired imagination and although the future never unfolded exactly as he predicted, in lots of cases Verne's 19th century fantasies became verisimilar 20th and 21st century realities. How could one man be so amazingly prescient?
As it happens, Jules Verne is not the only science fiction author who has had an influence on the future. Others, including Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clark, Gene Roddenberry, and George Lucas have had striking and unanticipated influences on the evolution of social reality. For example, in the 2000 census, literally hundreds of thousands of people on multiple continents (the USA, UK, New Zealand, and Australia) reported that their religion of choice was "Jedi." Also, Martin Cooper has admitted that he was inspired to invent cell phone technology after watching Captain Kirk use his (fictional!) wireless communicator on Star Trek .
All this is meant to say is that tomorrow's realities are often woven out of the gossamer of today's delightful dreams. Thus, 100yss may seem a bit wacky to outsiders, but it's deadly serious business to its Star-Trek-dreaming participants. If we have any hope of protecting the earth from imminent destruction by Klingons, Vogons, The Empire or a bazillion other extra terrestrial beasties, then we've got to start dreaming about phasers, photons and force fields today.
Open all hailing frequencies, Lt. Uhura!
*Under no circumstances should this term be interpreted as a denigration of 100yss attendees. Far from it. I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for geeks. What's more, if attending and presenting at 100yss defines one as a geek, then I must admit that I am a geek through and through. I am delivering a paper tomorrow morning that goes by the title, "The Future is a Fantasy." (In case you might be interested, I will post an update tomorrow to let you know how it goes.)
Three cheers for geek pride! It takes one to know one--and I ought to know.
Tim McGettigan is a geeky professor of sociology at CSU-Pueblo.
Special thanks to Wikimedia Commons for the fantastic photo: | <urn:uuid:695d496c-7c16-48b0-9fc5-6528945ceef2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opednews.com/populum/page.php/Get-Your-Geek-On-The-100-by-Timothy-McGettigan-120914-928.html?f=Get-Your-Geek-On-The-100-by-Timothy-McGettigan-120914-928.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940545 | 709 | 2.1875 | 2 |
By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
Pregnant women should not eat canned tuna because a small percentage contains levels of methyl mercury as high as fish the Food and Drug Administration recommends pregnant women never eat, a Consumer Reports article warns Tuesday.
Most cans of light tuna contain on average 0.12 parts per million of mercury, while white or albacore tuna has on average about 0.35 parts per million. But 6% of light-tuna cans tested exceeded the average for white or albacore, some as high as 0.85 parts per million.
"FDA says pregnant women should never eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish," says Consumer Reports' Jean Halloran. King mackerel averages 0.73 parts per million mercury, lower than some tuna, the FDA says.
"So if you were so unfortunate as to get one of these occasional high-mercury cans of tuna fish, you could get a mercury level comparable to a fish that FDA says you should never eat" if you're pregnant.
As fish get older and larger, they build up methyl mercury in their bodies. Light tuna comes from smaller, younger tuna, and white or albacore tuna comes from older, larger fish.
The FDA says that "high levels of mercury in the bloodstream of unborn babies and young children may harm the developing nervous system." It advises that women who might become pregnant and children can eat up to 12 ounces or two meals a week of canned tuna and that one of those may be white or albacore tuna.
The FDA says that although some canned tuna may contain higher mercury levels, some are lower, and scientists took averages into account in the recommendations.
"I haven't seen science that a single serving of a higher level would be of concern," says David Acheson, chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
"Mercury is very much a chronic-exposure concern. You build up the levels in the blood, and that seems to be the problem."
Men and those women not likely to get pregnant shouldn't forgo the cardiovascular protection that eating fish can provide, says Richard Forshee of the University of Maryland's Center for Food, Nutrition and Agriculture Policy. | <urn:uuid:dda30dcc-86be-49e4-a7d2-1b89ce58879a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-06-05-tuna_x.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950272 | 467 | 2.390625 | 2 |
(Ames) -- Iowa land values have once again risen over last year and according to Mike Duffy, Agricultural Economist with Iowa State University, in many cases, new records were established. Duffy noted northwest Iowa saw the largest increase in land values.
Duffy says there are a number of factors that are helping drive the land values higher including good investment opportunities, the need for additional land for manure application for livestock and poultry producers, but he says the most mentioned driving factor are higher commodity prices.
There are some people, including Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, who believe farmers are entering an era much like the 70's when grain and land prices were high, only to see the bubble burst, causing a recession era which occurred in the 1980's. Duffy says although there are some farmers that may be over-extended with their financing, he doesn't see it being a wide spread problem, at least not just yet.
Iowa Soybean Association Applauds Governor's Action On Reducing Nutrient Runoff
Ankeny, Iowa (AP) - Environmentalists say it doesn't go far enough, but the Iowa Soybean Association is praising Gov. Terry Branstad's strategy to keep harmful nutrients from reaching Iowa
waterways and the Gulf of Mexico.
Association leaders who met in Ankeny this week reaffirmed their support for the plan, which was released last month. ISA President Mark Jackson says the plan is based on science, recognizes the
diversity of the state's landscape and is "much more effective than a costly, one-size-fits-all effort to improve water quality."
The plan calls on wastewater treatment plants to make upgrades to reduce their discharges into waterways. But it asks farmers to take voluntary steps to reduce the runoff caused by fertilizers and
manure on farm fields.
Critics say they doubt a voluntary approach will have much impact.
Iowa Pork Congress Scheduled
(Clive, Iowa) -- The Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) will hold the 2013 Iowa Pork Congress January 23 and 24 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
The nation's largest winter swine tradeshow and conference will be held in Hy-Vee Hall at the Iowa Events Center. Pork Congress hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. January 23 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on January 24. The Iowa Pork Foundation's annual Kickoff Reception and Auction will be held at Hy-Vee Hall on January 22 and the IPPA Youth Swine Judging Contest will be held in the Pioneer Livestock Pavilion at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on January 24.
"Pork Congress encompasses every aspect of the pork industry and I encourage anyone involved in pork production to make plans to attend," said IPPA President Bill Tentinger of Le Mars, Iowa. "The tradeshow, seminars, social functions, youth activities and networking opportunities always attract thousands of people from around the Midwest and we're hoping for another great turnout this year."
Nearly 300 companies will exhibit in spacious Hy-Vee Hall and several will be introducing new products. IPPA will welcome attendees to the Pork Information Plaza where guests can visit with producer leaders and representatives from the National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council and other affiliated organizations.
A wide range of seminars will be held at no additional charge. Topics include animal health, sow housing, pit foaming and swine reproduction. Attendees can get updates on regulations and nuisance cases, public policy and an industry economic outlook. Dr. David Kohl from Virginia Tech University will address transition management in the keynote presentation. Producers can obtain or renew their PQA Plus and TQA certifications, and a certification session for confinement site manure applicators is being offered. | <urn:uuid:3bf610fc-b9c9-4de2-9f02-45ed8c846c82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.klem1410.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3622:iowa-land-values-on-the-riseagain&catid=67:local-ag-news&Itemid=193 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945083 | 769 | 1.625 | 2 |