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|The Manhattan Institutes|
Center for Rethinking Development
Ideas that shape the citys planning, housing, and development
|A Monthly Newsletter by Julia Vitullo-Martin, MI Senior Fellow|
Many Londoners believe their town will give New York a run for its money as the world’s foremost city. For nearly a year, the London papers have carried regular news articles and opinion columns on what they regard as London’s increasingly competitive position, while the major New York papers have been virtually silent.
At the same time, London has some of the same problems as New York. London is an even more expensive place to do businessits office costs being the highest anywhere. Like New York's population, London’s is increasing; yet the market is not building enough housing to accommodate these new residents, except for the wealthy among them.
London's infrastructure, like New York's, is under stress. Yet London, to its credit, has built new rail lines (such as the light rail out to Canary Wharf in the Docklands) and new attractions, like the Millennium Bridge and the Eye. What is more, the Olympics that the city wrested from New York will help London build more public transportation, roads, and sewer lines into currently underdeveloped areas.
New York does have one generally unnoted advantage. It may be a safer city. Violent crime in London is serious, and seems to be worsening, particularly on the Underground, where violent crime rose 14% last year, according to the British Transport Police. London maintains its crime data in a less sophisticated and comprehensible way than New York, making comparisons difficult.
Nonetheless, London's papers seem confident that the future lies with their town, not ours. "New York's days of glory will never return," the Financial Times announced this month. Its columnist John Gapper wrote scornfully, "New York is not the world's financial capital any more than the U.S. baseball championship deserves the title of World Series."
New York's senior senator, Chuck Schumer, and mayor, Michael Bloomberg, have gone so far as to publish a semi-official proclamation of worry. "To save New York, learn from London," their Nov. 1, 2006, diagnosis in the Wall Street Journal, was forebodingly titled. Their take: Unless New York improves its "corporate climate," it risks losing its pre-eminence in the global financial services sector. In truth, they're really talking more about the national corporate climateincluding excessive regulation, a declining dollar, and restrictive immigrationthan the local one. Indeed, a report from the bipartisan Committee on Capital Markets Regulation backed them up on Nov. 30, warning that Wall Street was "losing its leading competitive position" compared to London and Hong Kong. In the first nine months of 2006, said the report, 11 U.S. companies opted to list on the London Stock Exchange, raising some $800 million, instead of going public in New York.
New York still has higher financial services employment than any other city, Bloomberg and Schumer argue, because of its "unparalleled quality of life and cultural diversity," plus its "dynamic labor market." Of course, London has all this as wellplus a far more international orientation, in large part because of its membership in the European Union.
SHOULD NEW YORKERS BE WORRIED?
Yes, the Financial Times is correct to note that more money is now managed in London than in the four top American financial centers combined, including New York. Columnist Gapper notes that London's current success largely derives from the expansion in London of New York's investment banks over the last twenty years, amounting to a "financial Marshall Plan" that brought American capital and expertise to the rest of the world. The U.S. may have been inept at exporting democracy, he says, but it has done a fine job of exporting capitalism. Because of expanding foreign investment opportunities, spurred more recently by the weak dollar, American money has been moving abroad.
Maybe, because for once New York's political leadership is alert to the threat, putting it in a far different category than, say, the unanticipated and nearly disastrous fiscal crisis of 1975. Sen. Schumer and Mayor Bloomberg note that while the Brits only have one regulatory body overseeing financial markets, the U.S. has tenmany of which compete to be "the toughest cop on the street." Like a recent rash of commentators, they urge the federal government to relax the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform law and restrict shareholder lawsuits.
But there's something else that goes far beyond issues regarding either city's financial-services dominance. London has become a public-policy innovator, tackling problems, discussing solutions, and actually implementing reforms in what may be a more open-minded and flexible way than New York hasat least in the past.
LEARNING FROM LONDON?
But it's not just in development that London is doing so well. Its gift for innovation can be seen in its approach to an issue that confronts almost every large, complex city: street homelessness. London recognized early that rough sleeping is destructive not only for those who do itbut for the neighborhoods that endure it. As a result, London today has about 1,500 street people (what Londoners call "rough sleepers") or less than half of New York's, even though at 7,465,100 people, London is only a little smaller.
American advocates, including New York homeless services commissioner Robert Hess, attribute London's success to the adoption of the right strategy, which was funded nationally and generously. Specifically, London shifted funding from expensive, vast emergency shelters to small, local "safe havens" that have fewer than 150 beds. "London has reduced the number of people sleeping on the streets by two-thirds over the last five years, so they're a little ahead of us," says Commissioner Hess, adding that New York will have also reduced street homelessness by two-thirds by the time Mayor Bloomberg leaves office. "They offered a new kind of sheltering model that lends itself to a great level of success for people who, but for that safe haven, would be living on the streets." (New York will be opening its first safe haven with the Bowery Residents Committee on Dec. 7.) Or, as White House homeless czar Philip Mangano argues, "With these big seemingly intractable social problems, you have to be able to produce visible results. Prime Minister Blair understood this. London first got success with the rough sleepersthe group deemed to be most unchangeableand now they're having success with homeless families."
Similarly, as in New York, many London neighborhoods were choking on traffic in the 1990s. After taking some intermediate steps, like increasing licensing fees, London introduced full-fledged congestion pricing in 2003, eventually charging cars $16 each to enter the pricing zone. According to 2005 data from Transport for London, traffic congestion has since decreased about 28% while bus ridership into London increased 38% the first year and 12% the second year. Whether these early results actually held up over the last yearand every cab driver in London seems to say they haven'twon't be known until TFL produces its 2006 annual report.
Nonetheless, in its heroic effort to tame its traffic, London did something important that New York might not be willing to do were it to implement a similar scheme. It used the new revenues to pay for doubling the available buses, thereby providing a generous carrot to offset the stick.
Or take the pressing issue of power: Most of central London's energy is supplied by an electricity substation beneath Leicester Square, which would be just to the left of the Ticket Booth were it above ground. This is not only efficient in energy terms, but in planning terms as well. The substation, which cannot be seen, takes up no precious site of its own. New York neighborhood opposition to substations has prevented Con Edison from being similarly efficient, with the exception of its substation at 7 World Trade Centerin a commercial neighborhood.
London is now systematically and boldly using the 2012 Olympics to finance and build an infrastructure of roads, rails, bridges, housing, stadia, and other needed facilities in a formerly derelict section of East London. When the Olympics are over it will have a new mixed-use neighborhood to supply residences and offices to its booming population. In short, London doesn't just ponder new ideas, it implements them, even when they cost money.
Mayor Bloomberg knows what he has to dowork with Washington on the regulatory environment, deal with destructive ongoing problems like traffic congestion, continue to rezone dilapidated manufacturing areas, and rebuild the city's infrastructure to welcome the million people who hope to live and work here. No one should count New York out.
|If you would like to unsubscribe, please reply to us and type "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.| | <urn:uuid:be9a7a31-0226-4ba3-b45e-1c7983883f1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.manhattan-institute.org/email/crd_newsletter11-06.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955583 | 1,823 | 1.632813 | 2 |
A good friend of mine recently got in contact to ask my professional opinion on something for a book he was writing; it always amazes me that anyone asks my professional opinion on anything…especially people who have known me for many years but as he’s a great friend, I thought I’d try to help.
He asked me how much a petabyte of storage would cost today and when I thought it would affordable for an individual? Both parts of the question are interesting in their own way.
How would a petabyte of storage cost? Why, it very much depends; it’s not as much as it cost last year but not as a cheap as some people would think. Firstly, it depends on what you might want to do with it; capacity, throughput and I/O performance are just part of the equation.
Of course then you’ve got the cost of actually running it; 400-500 spindles of spinning stuff takes a reasonable amount of power, cooling and facilities. Even if you can pack it densely, it is still likely to fall through the average floor.
There are some very good deals to be had mind you but you are still looking at several hundred thousand pounds, especially if you look at a four year cost.
And when will the average individual be able to afford a petabyte of storage? Well without some significant changes in storage technology; we are some time away from this being feasible. Even with 10 Terabyte disks, we are talking over a hundred disks.
But will we ever need a petabyte of personal storage? That’s extremely hard to say; I wonder if we will we see the amount of personal storage peak in the next decade?
And as for on-premises personal storage?
That should start to go into decline, for me it is already beginning to do so; I carry less storage around than I used to…I’ve replaced my 120Gb iPod with a 32 Gb phone but if I’m out with my camera, I’ve probably got 32Gb+ of cards with me. Yet with connected cameras coming and 4G (once we get reasonable tariffs), this will probably start to fall off.
I also expect to see the use of spinning rust go into decline as PVRs are replaced with streaming devices; it seems madness to me that a decent proportion of the world’s storage is storing redundant copies of the same content. How many copies of EastEnders does the world need to be stored on a locally spinning drive?
So I am not sure that we will get to a petabyte of personal storage any time soon but we already have access to many petabytes of storage via the Interwebs.
Personally, I didn’t buy any spinning rust last year and although I expect to buy some this year; this will mostly be refreshing what I’ve got.
Professionally, looks like over a petabyte per month is going to be pretty much run-rate.
That is a trend I expect to see continue; the difference between commercial and personal consumption is going to grow. There will be scary amounts of data around about you and generated by you; you just won’t know it or access it. | <urn:uuid:f2ab5ab9-6b63-41eb-9ca6-6f622bee3375> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.storagebod.com/wordpress/?p=1258 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96982 | 669 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Fact Sheet: President Bush Is Addressing Climate Change
President Bush is dedicated to climate change policies that grow
economies, aid development, and improve the environment. The President promotes technological innovation to achieve the combined goals
of addressing climate change, reducing harmful air pollution and improving energy security in the U.S and throughout the
We have an ambitious and realistic goal: In February 2002, President
Bush committed to cut our nation's greenhouse gas intensity -- how much
we emit per unit of economic activity -- by 18 percent through 2012.
We are making real and accelerated progress: The President's goal
amounts to an annual 1.95-percent cut in emissions intensity. In 2003
alone, U.S. intensity declined by 2.3 percent. Preliminary figures for
2004 suggest even greater reductions in emissions intensity during a
period of robust economic growth.
We are pursuing a balanced approach to overcome poverty with policies
that protect the environment while promoting development and economic
The President knows that overcoming extreme poverty goes
hand-in-hand with improving the environment. Stagnant economies are one
of the greatest environmental threats in our world, because people who
lack food, shelter, and sanitation cannot be expected to preserve the
environment at the expense of their own survival - and poor societies
cannot afford to invest in cleaner, more efficient technologies.
The long-term answer to environmental challenges is the rapid,
sustained economic progress of poor nations. And the best way to help
nations develop, while limiting pollution and improving public health,
is to promote technologies for generating energy that are clean,
affordable, and secure.
Some have suggested that the best solution to environmental
challenges and climate change is to oppose development and put the world
on an energy diet. But at this moment, about two billion people have no
access to any form of modern energy - and blocking that access would
condemn them to permanent poverty, disease, high infant mortality,
polluted water, and polluted air.
The President said that we are taking a better approach. We
know that the surface of the Earth is warmer, and that an increase in
greenhouse gases caused by humans is contributing to the problem.
Though there have been past disagreements about the best way to address
this issue, we are acting to help developing countries adopt new energy
We are taking action: The President has launched a broad portfolio of
domestic and international initiatives to develop and deploy new
technologies through a broad range of programs, including:
Short Term - NOW
Midterm - 2010-2020
Hybrid or Clean Diesel Vehicles
Hybrid/Clean Diesel Vehicles
Clean Coal Efficiency
Clean Coal Gasification
Energy Efficiency Standards
Zero Energy Homes and Bulidings
Renewable Fuel Standard
Nuclear Plant Relicensing
Enhanced Oil Recovery
Methane to Markets*
Federal Facility Management Plan
Fuel Economy Standards
Wind, Solar Tax Incentives
*Denotes International Partnership
We are providing record funding for climate change programs: The Bush
Administration will have spent over $20 billion by the end of 2005, more
than any other nation. $5.5 billion is proposed for climate change
activities in 2006. The President has also proposed $3.6 billion in tax
incentives over 5 years to spur use of clean, renewable, and
energy-efficient technologies. These Federal programs are only part of
the effort, as they are also leveraging billions of dollars in private
We are guided by the following principles at the G8 and beyond:
We have shared goals, and our areas of agreement are numerous.
Climate change is a serious long-term issue, requiring sustained
action over many generations by both developed and developing countries.
Developing innovative technologies that are cleaner and more efficient
is the key to addressing our climate challenge.
The greatest progress will be assured by a cooperative effort that
combines our strategies with the best strategies of other nations to
improve economic and energy security, reduce harmful air pollution, and
reduce greenhouse gases.
The President firmly believes that economic growth is essential
to success. Only economic growth provides the resources for investment
in the next generation of cleaner, more efficient technologies.
We oppose any policy that would achieve reductions by putting
Americans out of work, or by simply shifting emissions from one state to
another, or from the U.S. to another country. Like us, developing
countries are unlikely to join in approaches that foreclose their own
economic growth and development.
The President's approach draws upon the best scientific research,
harnesses the power of markets, fosters the creativity of entrepreneurs,
and works with the developing world to meet shared aspirations for our
people, our economy, and our environment. | <urn:uuid:e70c3dc7-8a54-4cc2-bc9c-dc26d4acb543> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/06/print/20050630-16.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910311 | 989 | 3.03125 | 3 |
There seems not one effective ragwort eradication solution. Each one of the technique known has faults. A common method is slashing or cutting yet this is the most unsuccessful method. New plants can thrive out of existing roots and this makes cutting the worst weed eradication method ever for ragwort.
A good way to eliminate ragwort is always to chop off the big roots and the crown. You cannot do it by using your hands for pulling. Also, enormous plants come with large roots which are often well secured to the soil so tugging them may leave a few of the root fragments under the surface. Moreover, if ever you draw the roots, some of the hidden seeds will be exposed to sunlight. Exposure to air and sunlight promotes sprouting of seeds.
Manual removing of flowers works well solely for controlling the spread of seeds. The seeds should be placed into garbage bags and eventually thrown away. Tiny growths of ragwort are easy to remove by using simple tools such as shovels.
Mowing is often not effective simply because ragwort may grow a couple weeks later. What is worse is usually the weeds start to have more crowns and tend to be more tough. This is why mowing or slashing must be supported by herbicide spraying.
One more ragwort control technique is cultivation, but its reliability is only limited in autumn and spring, although cultivation during summer is also done. Nonetheless, cultivation lessens the number of pernicious weeds and prevents growth of new plants. What you have to make sure is step-by-step implementation of cultivation which may include things like introduction of crops that compete against the weeds for nutrients and water. For example, planting of oats enhances pasture and imposes competition with the invasive plants.
However, among the disadvantages of cultivation is greater propensity of soil erosion. Moreover, it doesn’t ensure thorough elimination of ragwort. New plants may appear right after cultivation and they may be eliminated by spot-spraying.
There is absolutely no other successful methods to curb increase of ragwort than continuous elimination. The area should be inspected occasionally to look for new growths. Herbicidal use should be done with extreme caution since most weed killers destroy other plants. Consult a specialist regarding registered chemical products which fight particularly against ragwort. Using the incorrect chemical substances can destroy the atmosphere.
A different way to curb the growth of these types of invasive weeds is through setting up of fences around the affected area. The plants could be kept to fill the place with low chances of invading neighboring premises. As the plants increase in a restricted space, they start competing against each other for water and nutrients.
Elimination of ragwort is just one of the weed control steps applied by property owners and farmers. Some other measures are giant hogweed along with Himalayan balsam control. | <urn:uuid:2ea09b01-3fc6-40d8-8443-585edeee8345> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gardeninglunatic.com/2011/07/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956621 | 579 | 2.671875 | 3 |
02 May 2012 00:01:00.000
Great Britain’s Olympic canoe slalom team is hoping to reap the rewards this summer of pioneering new research into kayak design by a University of Nottingham PhD student and former canoe champion.
For the past four years, doctoral researcher in the Faculty of Engineering, Stuart Morris, has been working on a ground-breaking project to develop a scientific methodology for the ultimate kayak design to maximise athletes’ performance in the sport.
Stuart is the Olympic Boat Designer for the GB canoe slalom team and a former Gold Medal winner in the European Freestyle Cup Championships. With the difference between gold and silver medals in competitions a matter of split seconds, his research could be vital to the current GB team’s success in the forthcoming 2012 London Olympics.
Click here for full story
Taming the white water
A successful slalom kayak has to be a finely balanced compromise of design attributes to maximise forward speed, manoeuvrability and stability allowing the athlete to maintain control of the boat in a race. To date, slalom kayaks have evolved slowly through trial and error with the best design features being carried forward from one to the next. But this process has no set methodology for the comparative testing of different kayaks and for assessing their effect on performance.
Stuart Morris is being supported by UK Sport Research & Innovation team and The British Canoe Union, with help from Dr Alex Stedmon and Professor Nick Warrior in the University’s Department of Mechanical, Materials & Manufacturing. Stuart said:
“The main aim of this research is to develop robust design and testing protocols for kayak design. There are complex relationships between the athlete, kayak and white water environment which all contribute to the resulting performance in competition. The athlete is constantly processing sensory inputs from both the kayak and the environment. He or she reacts to these messages and executes the necessary actions to negotiate the fastest route down a course.
“Our formalising of the design process aims to provide the GB Slalom Team with tailor-made equipment which will help them produce their best performances on race day. It will be fascinating to see how they fare in the London Olympics this summer and their medal tally could be an interesting measurement of this original research.”
Experimental canoe design
For his PhD, Stuart designed an experimental protocol to be tested by two differently weighted GB team athletes using four identical carbon fibre slalom kayaks. Each kayak was individually modified at two levels giving eight different kayak forms to compare and analyse against a control. A digital laser scanner was used to record and compare the modifications and their individual effect on how the kayak performs in the water.
The modified kayaks were tested over three different tasks in two different environments at the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont near Nottingham. The tasks were a flat water sprint, a Figure 8 turning task to test manoeuvrability and a white water task over ten gates on a competition course. Comments from the testers helped to inform the observational analysis of the experiments and, interestingly, the athletes’ subjective feedback and perception generally matched the objective scientific results.
These results revealed several criteria which have helped inform the new blueprint for the ultimate kayak design. The specific changes involved are obviously subject to secrecy in this competitive sport but concern the curvature of the hull, kayak width, seat position and volume of the kayak.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Nick Warrior said: “We are very proud of this original research which we believe will help athletes achieve real performance gains and carry on pushing the boundaries of human achievement in this exciting sport. The research method used and the results recorded have given us significantly greater knowledge of the relationship between kayak form and performance. It will allow athletes and designers to build more advanced kayaks much more efficiently and quickly, boosting their performance in the field and medal-winning potential.”
Thanks to his work, Stuart has been invited to attend an evening reception on Wednesday 2 May at The Houses of Parliament for the launch, during Universities Week 2012, of a major new report, University Research, Sport Development and the Olympics. This includes his research as a case study.
The report by British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), Research Councils UK, and Universities UK, details some of the world-class university research and sport development programmes which help underpin the success of Team GB, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the UK sports industry. For more about Universities Week 2012, visit www.universitiesweek.org.uk | <urn:uuid:9edf8407-017a-4ac8-95ee-44a663b8bb15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2012/april/olympic-kayak-designers-quest-for-gold.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948142 | 940 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Congressional Democrats seem to want the the Big Three automakers, as a condition of getting government loans, to drop their legal opposition to efforts by California and 15 other states to enforce tougher tailpipe-emissions standards than those set by the federal government – something for which state officials as well as health, environmental and public interest groups have been fighting hard.
But the White House opposes this, and given House Democrats’ track record so far on caving to President Bush’s demands on this auto-industry bailout, it’ll be interesting to see whether this proposal survives.
What track record, you ask? Just check today’s Washington Post report:
Democrats bent to the will of the president on several key demands, most notably in agreeing that the emergency funding would be drawn from an existing loan program aimed at promoting fuel-efficient technologies.
Democrats had hoped to take the money from the Treasury’s $700 billion financial rescue program, but the White House objected. A breakthrough came Friday, when Pelosi dropped her opposition to tapping the loan program established by Congress this fall to help the automakers retool factories to produce more-fuel-efficient vehicles.
The Democratic proposal makes no provisions to replenish the loan fund, as Pelosi had hoped. But aides predicted that she would have little trouble adding the cash to a massive economic stimulus package President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to sign soon after he takes office in January.
Democrats flirted with the idea of naming a seven-member board to oversee the auto bailout but decided instead to have the president name an individual, as Bush had suggested. Frank said that the car czar is likely to be a government official who could get to work quickly, rather than an outsider, and that Obama could replace Bush’s appointee once he takes office.
So it seems the Democrats are hoping the Obama Administration will put this deal right after the fact, but given the Bush Administration’s ability to take a ball and run with it — often in the wrong direction — with little or no time left on the clock, that seems risky.
Sure, compromise is part of any government activity, but I see the Democrats giving a lot while the White House largely gets what it wants. If the deal does help California and the other states with the emissions litigation, that would seem like something in return; otherwise, what’s everyone getting for this $15 billion we’re about to shell out?
As San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris put it in a letter sent today to Congressional leaders (and distributed to the press by her campaign for state Attorney General in 2010), “(t)he automakers aren’t the only ones needing a bailout — the people breathing our air need a bailout from pollution.” | <urn:uuid:d0c1513b-0dd7-44d2-b42a-f83e9b6be0a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/12/09/who%E2%80%99s-the-lame-duck-here/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954956 | 567 | 1.554688 | 2 |
If boiling water and preparing tea don’t count, then you can say pasta is my first ever kitchen experiment. In fact it was the only other dish (apart from stuffed baked potatoes) that I’d prepare on my own almost everyday as an evening snack when I was in college. Yes, you heard it right – an evening snack that served as a one of kind occasion for brother-sister bonding when we’d indulge in the sheer richness and flavour of pastas.
Cooking Pasta is like cooking sadam (rice) – a seemingly simple culinary task that can become quite difficult to master given the long list of criteria for that perfect bite of pasta.
I’ve had my share of “Al Dente” mishaps on a couple of occasions. The first one was when the time I tried Fusilli – I undercooked these interesting worms and tossed them in sauce in my over enthusiasm. Thankfully a few minutes in the microwave fixed the pasta. The second one was the first time I cooked fresh lasagna sheets. It was difficult to distinguish the vegetables. There wasn’t much to salvage this time.
Pasta that is cooked “Al dente”, literally meaning “to the tooth”, is soft but holds shape, chewy but not brittle and well separated but starchy enough for the sauce to stick. Over the several times that I’ve cooked pasta, I’ve acquired the practice enough to confidently prepare “Al Dente” pasta even in the middle of the night.
- Take water in a large bring the water to boil. About 4-5 times the amount of pasta is a good measure of how much water one needs. I use 1 litre for 250 gms of spaghetti and some more if its penne or fussili.
- Add Salt to the water. About 2 tsp for 250 gms is the amount of salt I use. Not all of the salt will show on the pasta.
- Add the pasta to the pot. Drop the pasta in slowly. Lower the heat to medium once pasta has been added. Keep the heat between medium to high. Water needs to be at a heat that keeps it just about agitated to keep the pasta separate, but does not necessarily need to be bubbling.
- For the first two minutes stir the Pasta a few times. You can decrease the frequency of stirring after this. In general if you’ve used enough water and if you’re keeping the water at the right temperature, the pasta is not likely to stick to the pot very easily.
- Take a piece of pasta and slice and check if it has a white core a couple of minutes before the pasta is fully cooked. For dried pasta one should generally check at the 4th minute for thin spaghetti, the 5th or 6th minute for Penne and about the 8th or 9th minute for Fusilli.
- Cook for a minute more and check if the white core has disappeared. Taste the pasta. If it sticks to the back of your teeth, you can safely cook for an additional minute. Alternatively you can remove the pasta at this stage if this is your preferred chewiness level or if you’re going to toss this in a really hot sauce. For most Olive Oil based sauces, its preferable to have the pasta cooked till it doesn’t stick to your teeth.
- Drain the water immediately by pouring into a colander. Shake colander to drain water. Retain some of the water for non tomato based sauces. Reserve some of the water if the recipe calls for it. Toss pasta in sauce.
- Many people add oil to the water while cooking pasta. I used to do this on a chef’s recommendation but discontinued after sometime. Oil makes the pasta slippery and I found the amount of sauce that sticks especially to spaghetti can be unsatisfactory.
- Many people wash pasta after its been cooked to keep the pasta separate. If you have your sauce ready before the pasta is cooked, which you should, its pointless to wash the pasta. Washing pasta again reduces the amount of sauce that gets transferred onto the pasta and hinders the overall flavour. For sauces like Pesto, retaining some of the water in the pasta without shaking it all off through the colander should help you toss the pasta in without the pasta looking sticky. Adding olive oil or a teaspoon of butter while adding the pasta to sauce also works. In short, keep your sauce ready, don’t make your pasta go cold.
Other Recipe Marathoners: | <urn:uuid:11029e22-2d7d-4140-9938-300da15ef22c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theyumblog.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/how-to-cook-pasta-al-dente-recipe-marathon-day-9/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946113 | 944 | 1.921875 | 2 |
A reform revolution
9 September 1997
The introduction of a Scottish Parliament will keep lawyers busy, says Mike Dailly.
Those lawyers who think that devolution will have little or no impact on their daily routine should consider this: 129 politicians are gathered together and left alone in a large room in Edinburgh; they are told they can initiate, amend or repeal any laws in Scotland - excluding a few areas reserved to Westminster. What will happen?
For the first time in almost 300 years, law reform in Scotland looks set to crunch out of first gear and move into overdrive. Of course, law reform has always been an occupational hazard on both sides of the border. Every minute spent trying to keep on top of legal changes is a minute less on casework. And lawyers do not get paid to absorb legal developments as they are assumed to know everything about the law.
Until now, the pace of Scots law reform has been set by the heavy demands placed on the Westminster Parliamentary timetable. But the prospect of a Scottish Parliament, devoted to Scots law, means that parliamentary time will be in abundance. Has anyone ever heard of a politician who is devoted to the status quo?
Scottish solicitors need not be pessimistic about this. For many years now, numerous interest groups, including the Scottish Consumer Council and the Scottish Legal Action Group, have called for a full and substantial review of the civil justice system. While civil justice in England and Wales has benefited from the Woolf report and an extensive review of legal aid as initiated by the former Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay, there has been little activity north of the border.
Housing and social welfare law in England and Wales has prospered. The professional advice sector has taken on an enhanced role with the advent of legal aid franchising. This in turn has benefited the legal aid consumer and the legal professional as a whole, with a fuller complementary service being provided to the public.
North of the border there has been little or no substantive change to the status quo. This has not been due to a lack of demand or political will; it has more to do with the fact there is only so much parliamentary time available to the Scottish issues. Accordingly, priorities have to be set, and for much of the last few years a priority has been criminal justice and criminal legal aid - resulting in the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997.
A Scottish Parliament represents a vehicle for the radical analysis of the entire Scottish legal system. Included within that analysis must be consideration of alternative forms of dispute resolution. At the moment, Scottish civil legal aid is dominated by matrimonial disputes. Yet the sheriff court has become an expensive forum for the resolution of disputes. Is it necessarily the appropriate forum for all civil cases? The role of arbitration, mediation and conciliation might have a critical role to play within a new civil justice system.
Should accessing justice always mean having to go to court? Should legal aid always mean having to see a solicitor? If the courts system is out of the price range of many ordinary citizens then a new Scottish Parliament would be in an ideal position to look at alternative solutions.
For example, the small claims system in Scotland was originally designed to be citizen friendly. However, it has become a judicial forum for professional debt collection. Businesses and companies employ solicitors to raise or defend small claims actions, while the lay person is not entitled to legal aid. There is no equality of arms. A Scottish Parliament could oversee the creation of a system that meets the needs of the ordinary citizen.
A new Scottish Parliament will be much more than a talking shop. Unlike the Scotland Act 1978 which specifically defined the powers of the Parliament, the current White Paper provides for a much more powerful legislature. The Scottish Parliament will be able to legislate in any area of law subject to the UK-reserved areas of defence, foreign policy, employment and social security law. What could this mean?
In short, it is entirely likely that a Scottish Parliament will, in the years to come, radically alter Scotland's legal landscape. While Scotland and England share many common areas of statutory law - such as taxation or company law - it seems likely that the distinctive system of public and private law in Scotland will flourish under a Scottish Parliament.
It is highly probable that a Scottish legislative chamber would ensure that many areas of Scots law and procedure diverged from English law, as and when particular Scottish solutions were applied to particular Scottish problems. Cultural distinctions north of the border could also lead to a divergence in political policies. For example, there would be nothing to stop a Scottish Parliament amending the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 so as to do away with the right to buy.
The only certainty that devolution brings is that lawyers will be kept busy in Scotland - albeit in unbillable time in coping with a rush of law reform.
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Smith & Smith PR | <urn:uuid:098adb9d-9f7c-4d75-928e-6c4f487aca0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thelawyer.com/a-reform-revolution/81858.article | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963068 | 1,000 | 1.523438 | 2 |
ethos, pathos, logosPosted: January 24, 2009
Some thoughts and links that emerged from our initial discussions of Birkerts. I thought we made a great start in dealing with his ideas and his text deliberately–beginning to hear him for those ideas but also beginning to notice how the writing works, where it is compelling and where it is less so. I used the terms in class: ethos, pathos, logos. These are Greek words for three things that are at issue and in play in making a presentation (originally oratory, now to included writing) rhetorically powerful: the credibility represented or established by the speaker (ethos); the sympathy or empathy generated by the writer/rhetorician (pathos); the logic and sense and order of the argument (logos). On Friday, we began to see that if we take Birkerts to be hypocritical at points, it may be a problem with his logos: he argues one side and neglects or generalizes for the other. It may also be a pathos problem: he insults us or diminishes us (“non-reading horde’), not a good way to generate sympathy. At the same time, in the example I pointed to where he reflects back on his parents’ rural upbringing and distinguishes such reflection from shallow nostalgia, I would argue that the passage is compelling in its pathos: I can empathize with his understanding of slow time and can begin to share his concern for the speed of the electronic world.
We also began to consider ways that his hypocrisy is an issue of how he very narrowly defines reading (only books, nothing else outside of a book) and also narrowly defines technology as digital/electronic. The logos problem here is part historical: books are technology, a technology (print, movable type, mass reproduction of print) that revolutionizes writing and how we read. And before that, writing was a technology that revolutionized thought and communiation. And now, the digital/electronic reproduction of ideas is also revolutionizing how we think, read, communicate. We want to get a better grasp of the historical context for this: not generalize what book or print or reading or writing or digital means or implies. Begin to get a more complicated understanding–since all of these things are in fact complicated: complications and combinations of historical, social, technical, human ideas and things. Another word/concept we will being to use and better grasp by the end of the course: medium; all of these different things share a key characteristic–they are mediations, are media. In other words, all are extensions or machines for ideas, for thinking, for communicating. And when we work on our own writing, and work on revising that writing, a better understanding of the medium and the ways we can mediate (and remediate) the thinking and communicating is what we are after. In ancient Greece, rhetoric means an orator’s (later, writer’s) ability to manipulate the dials and levers of the machine, including those marked: ethos, pathos, logos.
By the way, I did find that Birkerts posts a blog sometimes for Encyclopedia Britannica. You might find it interesting–the ideas are familiar to what we are reading. In the post I have linked, reference is made to a recent article that asks “Is Google Making Us Stoopid?” I have a link for that article and some thoughts on it here–and would note that the author of that article begins to provide, even in brief, more of the historical context for books as technology (rather than simply books vs technology) that we are looking for.
A note on the Glog. I am using them, in part, in place of a quiz on the reading: so one things I am looking for (though not the only thing) is how well you are engaging the reading. In that sense, you might think of the glog as a self-made quiz, where you demonstrate your reading. But in addition to this, the glog is also an extension of the journal writing and discussion that will work its way into your writing projects: notes and ideas you have from the reading. Having rich quotations and your paraphrase of several chapters and your interpretation of key sections and a sense of the questions you have–all this could work its way into a future writing project. With that in mind, it pays off to be specific and thorough now; at the end of the term, should you decide to bring Birkerts back for your final project, you won’t be left with a blank slate. | <urn:uuid:4092fdb2-9c6a-4172-a05b-38dab1b3d4fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://comppost.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/ethos-pathos-logos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956561 | 952 | 2.0625 | 2 |
The amount of time parents spend talking about numbers has a much bigger impact on how young children learn mathematics than was previously known, researchers at the University of Chicago have found.
For example, children whose parents talked more about numbers were much more likely to understand the cardinal number principle which states that the size of a set of objects is determined by the last number reached when counting the set.
"By the time children enter preschool, there are marked individual differences in their mathematical knowledge, as shown by their performance on standardized tests," said University of Chicago psychologist Susan Levine, the leader of the study. Other studies have shown that the level of mathematics knowledge entering school predicts future success.
"These findings suggest that encouraging parents to talk about numbers with their children, and providing them with effective ways to do so, may positively impact children's school achievement," said Levine, the Stella M. Rowley Professor in Psychology Professor in Psychology.
The results of the study were published in the article, "What Counts in the Development of Young Children's Number Knowledge?" in the current issue of Developmental Psychology. Joining lead author Levine in the study were four other scholars.
Although other researchers have examined early mathematics learning, the University of Chicago team is the first to record parent-child interactions in the home and analyze the connections between parents' number talk and subsequent performance.
Parents often point to objects and say there are three blocks on the floor, for instance. Children can repeat a string of numbers from an early age, but saying "one, two, three" is not the same as actually knowing that the words relate to set size, which is an abstraction.
Frequent use of number words is important, even if the child doesn't seem to pick up on the meanings of the number words right away, Levine said. Children who hear more number words in everyday conversation have a clear advantage in understanding how the count words refer to set size. To perform the study, team members made five home visits and videotaped interactions between 44 youngsters and their parents. The taping sessions lasted for 90 minutes and were made at four-month intervals, when the youngsters were between the ages of 14 to 30 months.
The variation in number words was startling for researchers as they reviewed tapes of the 44 youngsters interacting with their parents in everyday activities. Some parents produced as few as four number words during the entire period they were studied, while others produced as many as 257.
"This amount of variation would amount to a range of approximately 28 to 1,799 number-related words in a week," said Levine.
Those differences were shown to have a big impact at the end of the study, when the children were asked to connect the words for numbers with sets of squares presented on sheets of paper. For example, those children who heard a lot of number talk were more likely to respond correctly when shown a set of five squares and four squares and asked to "point to five."
Explore further: Mathematicians analyze social divisions using cell phone data | <urn:uuid:8cebb738-f471-49c4-88cc-718977354e24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/news/2010-11-parents-math-early-children-video.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980481 | 610 | 3.75 | 4 |
Athletics and Herbal Supplements
Do current products enhance athletes’ health and performance?
Herbal supplements have increased in popularity and sales, and among athletes are taken for their purported performance enhancement. Preclinical factors (such as species or plant part used, or harvesting and manufacturing method) and clinical factors introduce mounting variation that make it difficult to test supplements’ efficacy. David Senchina uses two of the most popular herbs, echinacea and ginseng, as cases in point, summarizing the most recent literature on the effects of these supplements in athletic contexts.
Go to Article | <urn:uuid:0d88b7a8-b0d0-49f2-838b-fccdf3bac103> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/athletics-and-herbal-supplements | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920521 | 123 | 1.875 | 2 |
What I am about to say is not a political statement. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I look at the results of the 2012 election through the prism of business and sales practices. To me, there are stark lessons that can be learned by sales people and small business owners.
Let’s start by taking a look at what happened.
On November 6th Americans cast their votes for who they wanted as President and Vice-President of the United States. All of the information available at the time showed that 49% of the population was going to vote for the Democrat and 49% of the population was going to vote for the Republican. That left only 2% up for grabs. That 2% was the Independents and it became a target market.
When we decide to prospect we should start with understanding the value of our product or service. What is it about our offering that is of value to our clients? Why do people buy what we have to sell? What problem does it solve? It is this understanding that helps us identify appropriate target markets. “Appropriate target markets” is the key here. You can’t sell something to someone who doesn’t see value in it.
At the same time, if you don’t deliver your message effectively, even the “appropriate target market” won’t hear it. So, you can see that there is a lot to selling effectively.
When we look at the 2012 election we see the following: The Democrats understood the target market better than the Republicans. They developed a message that the Independents heard and understood. The Independents ‘bought’ the value the Democrats were ‘selling.’ And so, the Democrats won. Get it?
It’s not a political statement. I’m not talking about whether one side has more value than the other. I’m talking about how they each went about the process of prospecting to that target market and what the results were. It may be that the 2% wasn’t a viable target market for the Republicans.
If we assume that they understood their value and messaged it, well then the results indicate the target market didn’t need what they had to sell; the Independents, therefore, were not an “appropriate target market” for the Republicans.
If we assume that the Republicans were thinking first about winning over the target market and not about their value, then we can conclude that they proceeded with a message that wasn’t based in value as the target market would see it. They decided that they were going to share their message and convince people that it was valuable.
They weren’t, in this case, thinking about solving the problem of the target market. They were thinking that their message was compelling and people would hear it. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.
So, what can you do with this information? Learn the lesson and create a sales strategy that works:
1. Understand Your Value
Know why it is that people need what you have to sell. Don’t get caught up in what you want them to know. Think about things from their viewpoint – what they want to know. What do they need to solve their problem? Do you have that thing?
2. Identify Appropriate Target Markets
You can’t sell to people who don’t need or want what you have to sell. And you will waste your time if you decide to pursue the wrong markets. Once you understand your value, identify the target markets that will see it.
3. Message To The Market Directly
Make sure your message is pointed to a specific target market. In order to be heard, you should pick one target at a time to prospect to. Your message should speak directly to them so they hear it.
When you realize that the only people/companies that will buy what you have to sell are those who need it, you’ll spend your time prospecting to them. And once you identify who they are, help them solve a problem. Then, and only then, will they want to do business with you.
Learn the lessons from the 2012 election. Don’t sell to inappropriate target markets. Do message effectively to appropriate target markets.
Election Photo via Shutterstock | <urn:uuid:5f26a18a-fd0c-4b71-b4e9-0f4abd368089> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/11/sales-lessons-2012-election.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97105 | 901 | 1.6875 | 2 |
cup of confusion: Is coffee healthy or not?
New studies suggest
java helps protect against major diseases
||By Karen Collins, R.D.
Special to msnbc.com
Considering all the past concern about possible health risks from drinking
coffee, newer reports of coffee's
possible protective effects may leave many people confused.
Overall, recent studies suggest that coffee (regular and decaffeinated)
may offer a variety of health benefits against
diseases such as cancer and diabetes. However, coffee may not deserve
a place in the same category with other
healthful foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Laboratory studies suggest that the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant compounds
in coffee could help reduce risk
of cancer. Coffee also has a tendency to speed the passage of waste
through the digestive tract. Potentially,
this may lessen the time that cancer-causing compounds spend in contact
with the intestinal tract, which could
reduce the risk of colon cancer. Population studies, however, tend
to split between coffee intake having no
effect on or reducing risk of breast and colon cancer.
The case for coffee's ability to protect against diabetes is strengthened
by several recent studies. In the
Iowa Women's Health Study, more than 28,000 women were followed for
11 years. The women who
drank four or more cups of coffee daily were about 20 percent less
likely to develop diabetes.
That became a 30 to 40 percent drop among those who drank decaf coffee.
A study in Finland linked consumption of three to six cups of coffee
per day with a 25 percent lower risk
of diabetes. In both studies, benefits were seen after adjusting for
other diabetes risks, such as weight, diet,
and activity level. Several studies now link moderate coffee consumption
with lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Researchers are working to understand the potential advantage of decaf
versus regular coffee and how
weight control is involved.
Potential increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease has
been one of the long-standing concerns
about coffee. Recent studies confirm that caffeine can raise blood
pressure, but this effect is observed with
soft drinks, not coffee. Laboratory studies suggest that perhaps coffee's
healthful compounds can counterbalance
the blood-pressure raising effects of caffeine.
In the Iowa Women's Health Study noted above, four to five cups of coffee
a day were linked with a 19
percent lower risk of heart-related death. Other studies have found
no effect of coffee consumption on heart
disease risk. But people should follow their doctor's advice.
Before you drink a whole pot ...
Coffee does warrant some cautions, however. Both regular and decaf
coffee relax the muscle that keeps
stomach acids from rising into the throat, so those with heartburn
or reflux disease (GERD) are encouraged
to avoid or strictly limit coffee. People with trouble sleeping should
limit or avoid caffeinated coffee.
Studies now suggest it is unnecessary for pregnant women to completely
avoid caffeinated coffee. Until the
impact of caffeine is more clearly understood, however, many experts
suggest that pregnant women limit their
daily caffeine from coffee, soft drinks and other sources to about
300 mg, the equivalent of three cups of regular
It's exciting that something as simple as drinking coffee might help
lower our risk of cancer, diabetes and heart
disease. However, while brewed coffee (not freeze dried) is a concentrated
source of antioxidants, it can't be a
substitute for berries, legumes, nuts, and other fruits and vegetables
that provide antioxidants along with a
wide range of vitamins, protective compounds and dietary fiber.
Nutrition Notes is provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research
in Washington, D.C.
© 2008 MSNBC Interactive | <urn:uuid:d7832c9f-b72d-4988-920d-08c62ab265d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nevadacoffee.com/healthy_coffee/news/news.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944937 | 803 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Filmgroup was a production and distribution company founded by filmmakers Roger Corman and Gene Corman in 1959. Corman used it to make and distribute his own movies, as opposed to ones he was making for American International Pictures. The company ultimately folded but lessons from running it helped Corman make a success later of New World Pictures. Filmgroup also produced early feature work of Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, Charles B. Griffith, Curtis Harrington, Jack Hill, Monte Hellman, Robert Towne and Jack Nicholson.
Corman established his own company, Palo Alto Productions, in 1954, which was responsible for his first two movies. Filmgroup came out of a desire for Corman to move into distribution.
The first films they distributed consisted of the double bill, High School Big Shot and T-Bird Gang, movies which Corman had executive produced and helped financed. Corman would also buy films made by independent distributors, in addition to several films from the Soviet Union, which he would re-dub and have additional scenes shot and added to.
Corman never bothered to copyright the movies so most of them are in the public domain.
- High School Big Shot (1959) - directed by Joel Rapp
- T-Bird Gang (1959)
- Beast from Haunted Cave (1959) - written by Charles B. Griffith, produced by Gene Corman, directed by Monte Hellman
- The Wasp Woman (1959) - directed by Roger Corman
- Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961) - written by Charles B. Griffith directed by Roger Corman
- Atlas (1960) - written by Charles B. Griffith directed by Roger Corman
- Battle of Blood Island (1960) - directed by Joel Rapp. First film adaption of a book by Philip Roth.
- Date Bait (1960)
- High School Caesar (1960) - starring John Ashley
- Ski Troop Attack (1960) - written by Charles B. Griffith directed by Roger Corman
- The Girl in Lovers Lane (1960)
- Last Woman on Earth (1960) - written by Robert Towne, directed by Roger Corman
- The Wild Ride (1960) - starring Jack Nicholson
- The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) - written by Charles B. Griffith directed by Roger Corman
- Magic Voyage of Sinbad (1961) - acquired from the Soviet company Mosfilm
- The Intruder (1962) - produced by Gene Corman, directed by Roger Corman
- Devil's Partner (1958) - a pick up, released in 1962
- Mermaids of Tiburon (1962) - acquired from Pacific Productions
- Pirate of the Black Hawk (1961)
- Battle Beyond the Sun (1962) - US sequences directed by Francis Ford Coppola
- Dementia 13 (1963) - directed by Francis Ford Coppola
- Night Tide (1963) - directed by Curtis Harrington
- The Terror (1963) - directed by Roger Corman
- Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965) - US sequences directed by Curtis Harrington
- Queen of Blood (1966) - directed by Curtis Harrington
- Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968) - US sequences directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Unmade Films
The following films were among those which Corman announced would be produced by Filmgroup but which were never made:
- Cop Killer and Sob Sisters Don't Cry based on original scripts by Malden Harms
- Wedding Night from script by Robert Roark
- I Flew a Spy Plane Over Russia based on a script by Robert Towne
- Murder at the Convention a political mystery satire from a script by Arthur Sandys starring Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze
- Pan and the Satyrs
- The Story of Robert E. Lee by Robert Adams
- Fun and Profit by Joel Rapp and Sam Locke
- The Wild Surfers by John Lamb
- Fred Olen Ray, The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors, McFarland & Company, 1991, p 23-62
- Mark McGee, Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures, McFarland, 1996 p209
- Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 13-14
- FILMLAND EVENTS: ROCKY MARCIANO TO MAKE FILM DEBUT Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 13 Feb 1960: A7.
- Philip Scheuer, 'Compassion Ideal to Guide Stevens: Producer Tells Preparations on 'Greatest Story Ever Told' ', Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 22 Apr 1960: A9.
- FILMLAND EVENTS: RAYMOND BURR CAST IN 'DESIRE IN DUST' Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 02 June 1960: A13.
- Philip Scheuer, 'Hollywood Steals Political Thunder: Davis Jr.'s Solo Show Due; 'Raisin's' Chicago Authentic', Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 13 July 1960: A9.
- 'FILMLAND EVENTS: GENEVIEVE PAGE SET FOR ROLE IN 'EL CID, Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 16 Dec 1960: A12.
- Philip Scheuer, 'MGM to Assemble Comic 'Big Parade': Levine's 'Say It Isn't So'; Cinerama Claims Patent', Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 30 Aug 1963: D13. | <urn:uuid:2f145d28-9e35-4f19-93c1-c9189e0c9a41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmgroup | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926183 | 1,208 | 1.625 | 2 |
VISIT | From 10 residential colleges, to a recital hall perched on a hill, our campus is as diverse as its students and faculty.
UC Santa Cruz is located in Central California on 2,001 acres overlooking the Monterey Bay. It is easily reached by major highways, with airports nearby.
Once on campus, you'll want to take a tour to experience all that UC Santa Cruz has to offer and get your bearings before beginning your own explorations.
McHenry Library, 10 unique colleges, Science Hill, the East Field, Quarry Plaza and Quarry Theater, Farm and Garden, Theater Arts center, and that's just a start.
The campus is best experienced on foot. Shuttles provide convenient transportation across campus and between the colleges and academic centers.
Until you get to campus, you can take a virtual tour and explore the many attractions of the UC Santa Cruz campus from the comfort of your easy chair.
UC Santa Cruz is a public university like no other in California, combining the intimacy of a small, liberal arts college with the depth and rigor of a major research university.
Looking for a specific division, undergraduate major, or graduate program?
UCSC residential learning colleges provide students with academic support, activities, and events that enhance the intellectual and social life of the campus. | <urn:uuid:874658cc-647c-4115-bce2-c01d26360abe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ucsc.edu/visit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9433 | 267 | 1.585938 | 2 |
a komunikačních technologií VUT v Brně
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering was reestablished in 1959, and in 1993 was renamed to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science to reflect the enormous growth of computers and their applications. The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science was transformed into the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication (FEEC) and the Faculty of Information Technology (FIT) was established to 1st January 2002.
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication provides education in Electronics and Communication, Cybernetics, Control and Measurement Techniques, Microelectronics and Technology, Power Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Teleinformatics.
There are 12 departments at the Faculty, with about 190 teachers, 360 Ph.D. students and more than 4,000 students in Bachelor´s and Master´s study programmes. The quality of teaching is guaranteed by accreditation procedures, one at the national level by the Czech Ministry of Education, another by the European Association for Education FEANI.
There is a growing participation of students and staff in international and especially European research projects funded by the EU (Copernicus, Esprit, Socrates-Erasmus and others). The Faculty maintains contacts with many foreign universities and research institutions. | <urn:uuid:eea64b4e-1fab-4158-bd2e-31a72f5dcc91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.feec.vutbr.cz/fakulta/home.php.en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91455 | 259 | 1.796875 | 2 |
By Dianne Saxe, Ontario Environmental Lawyer
Here is a link to Renew Canada's 2011 research report, Wind Controversy in Ontario. The report was intended to be a neutral evaluation of the evidence cited by pro and anti-wind groups. According to the Executive Summary:
The report examined several of the most commonly referenced issues surrounding generating energy from wind including: economic viability, reliability, environmental footprint, and potential health concerns.
Like every form of energy, wind power is not perfect. There are both positive and negative attributes to producing energy from wind. However, the current debate in Ontario has framed wind energy as either a blessing or a curse. Some of the resources used by both sides have been taken out of context. In other cases, the research was poorly conducted or has been sponsored by advocacy groups, which has led to accusations of bias in the research.
Even so, the considerable volume of independent research that exists demonstrates that the arguments made in favor of wind are considerably more supported than those against it. This report demonstrates that the arguments made against wind, specifically the potential impact on the environment, human health, and the economics of wind power, are not supported by the available resources.
However, as in the case with most issues, the findings are not black and white. For instance, projects located in internationally recognized Important Bird Areas, as defined by Bird Life International, can have the potential to negatively impact the local environment. While wind power can be of net benefit to the environment and the public, regulators must pay more attention to project locations.
Reprinted with permission from the Environmental Law and Litigation Blog.
Read Dianne's earlier blog on wind power, Worried About Wind?
The Environmental Law and Litigation Blog has been selected as a 2011 LexisNexis Top 50 Blog for Environmental Law & Climate Change winner.
Learn more from the new LexisNexis publication, Texas Wind Law. Read an excerpt, Wind Farm Fundamentals, or purchase Texas Wind Law at The Store.
For more information about LexisNexis products and solutions connect with us through our corporate site. | <urn:uuid:e61ff681-96fd-4e95-a102-0276f336f77e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lexisnexis.com/community/environmental-climatechangelaw/blogs/alternativeenergy/archive/2012/04/10/environmental-law-electricity-alternative-energy-wind-controversy-research-report.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956561 | 431 | 2.703125 | 3 |
WHAT: Actor Mario Pirovano, the premier interpreter of Nobel Prize-winner Dario Fo's plays, will conduct a workshop on the art of storytelling and perform the play, Francis, The Holy Jester at the University of Rochester. This is the first time that this play will be presented to an American audience.
TIME, DATE, PLACE: The workshop will take place from noon. until 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct.10, in the Drama House on the Eastman Quadrangle of the University of Rochester's River Campus. Pirovano will conduct the first two hours of the workshop in English, and the third hour in Italian. The workshop is for both experienced and amateur thespians. The play will be performed in the sanctuary of the Interfaith Chapel at 7:30 p.m. on the same day. Both events are located on the River Campus, and are free and open to the public.
WHO: Mario Pirovano is an Italian actor and translator. He has been a long-time collaborator with Dario Fo, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997. Pirovano's visit is part of this year's programming for The Humanities Project, a UR interdepartmental endeavor to designed to support work from Rochester faculty in all areas of humanistic inquiry.
According to the Nobel Prize awarding committee, Dario Fo "emulates the jesters in the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden." Pirovano will perform Fo's play, Francis, the Holy Jester, an unconventional and provocative portrait of Francis of Assisi.
Pirovano will be available for a book-signing after the play. For additional information or to register for the workshop, email Donatella Stocchi-Perucchio at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:a527af97-0548-4c97-837a-45d2d099fb42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rochester.edu/news/printable.php?id=4572 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916942 | 396 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Diane Tuft documents the beauty and fragility of our ever-changing environment by making photographs of the natural world as seen through light that is outside of our visible spectrum. By exploring both the infrared and ultraviolet light spectrum, she is able to record what the naked eye cannot see.
The sensitivity of infrared film allows her to capture the radiation and reflection of infrared light in the landscape. Printing these black and white photographs in Platinum creates images that are both otherworldly and thought provoking.
All photos via Marlborough Gallery. | <urn:uuid:fef4512d-9947-4333-be1d-f1950396fccb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thebeautifulcollector.com/tag/diane-tuft/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92252 | 106 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Updated 09/13/2012 04:32 PM
Sharon Springs Central School students say bye to textbooks and hello to iPads
Backpacks are feeling much lighter for students in one Schoharie County school district. As YNN's Maria Valvanis explains, iPads are students’ new educational tool.
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SHARON SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Teacher Barbara Handy said, "It's brought a whole new life to the school. It's allowed students to do things they never thought possible before."
It's a whole new way of learning. Seventh through 12th grade students at the Sharon Springs Central School are trading in their textbooks for an iPad.
"It's been pretty good because you can do it all on one thing instead of a multitude of papers," said student Brenna Wilday.
Handy said, "In one of my classes, I send them a work sheet, they take it off the iPad, do it, send it back to me, I correct it, send the changes to them and it's all done electronically."
It's all part of a $215,000 pilot program, funded by BOCES state aid and a grant from Senator James Seward's office. Students are expected to use their iPads for class work, as well as homework, something many of them didn't have the opportunity to do before.
"We estimate that less than 50 percent of our students have internet access at their homes. We hope it's successful here this year so it can happen elsewhere next year," said Superintendent Patterson Green.
And in order for it to be successful, students must comply with school rules. Security programs have been put in place, blocking social media sites and inappropriate music.
Teacher Tom Yorke said, "It's monitored not only by me, but also a tech department within the program itself, to make sure kids are focusing on positive habits."
But once students walk outside school doors, with parental permission, they will have access to restricted social media sites.
"This light speed filter that we're using has those controls, with parental sign-off, having students be able to access Facebook, Twitter, outside of school hours and on the weekends," said Green.
And perhaps the most beneficial part of the entire program…
"There's not many excuses you can say for not getting your homework in." | <urn:uuid:91b01f22-53cb-43f5-b719-4d7d62ffe222> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/top_stories/599905/sharon-springs-central-school-students-say-bye-to-textbooks-and-hello-to-ipads/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961634 | 512 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Segm program for segmentation of MR images of the brain.
Segm is a set of image analysis tools developed at and used by the Brain Behavior Laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania. It consists of a set of programs (BrainMask, Kmean_3Dseg, and AdpKmean_3Dseg_Ebeta) originally developed by Michelle Yan for use with specific MR imaging protocols used at the Brain Behavior Lab.
They are intended for the quantitative analysis of MRI volume images of the human brain, and particularly for automatic segmentation into tissue types. While these programs have shown themselves very effective for the particular MR imaging protocols they were designed for, they have not proven adaptable to other imaging protocols. Thus, while they continue to be heavily used at BBL for image analysis, they are not recommended for new applications. We do not anticipate making any further changes to segm, except perhaps to fix crippling bugs or to support data interchange with newer and more portable programs.
BBLimage is BBL's newer toolkit for MR image and may be of interest to users of segm; it is, in any case, often preferable to segm for new applications.
Image files are always read and written in big-endian order, regardless of the native architecture; this was done because most or all of the image files at BBL have been generated and stored on the Sparc workstation, and it seemed easier to have programs on all other
platforms read and write this format than to be constantly converting data files.
Segm has been sucessfully compiled and run under Red Hat Linux 6.2 for Intel and Solaris 2.7 for Sparc. (The current version requires the gcc compiler, mostly because we haven't had the time to figure out exactly how to compile shared library under Sun's cc compiler.) We will be interested to hear about other successes or failures, and very interested to receive fixes that will yield success on other machines and operating systems.
If you are installing both BBLimage and segm, you should install segm first, then BBLimage; there are a few installed files that are shared between these two packages, and BBLimage is most likely to have the most recent version.
The following steps will usually suffice:
1. Unpack the tar file and cd into the source tree.
2. Run "./configure" to guess the right parameters for your machine.
By default, `make install' will install the package's files in `/usr/local/bin', `/usr/local/man', and `/usr/local/lib'. You can specify an installation prefix other than `/usr/local' by giving `configure' the option `--prefix=PATH'. For example, use
to install the programs in /home/hughett/bin, the man pages in /home/hughett/man, and the shared library in /home/hughett/lib/
3. Run "make" to compile and link everything.
4. If you're a programmer, run "make tags" to create the TAGS file for emacs; if you're a vi partisan, make the obvious change to the Makefile first.
5. As root, run "make install" to install all the executable binaries and man pages, typically in /usr/local/bin and /usr/local/man. (The macro PREFIX in the Makefile controls where the files are installed; you might want to look at this to insure that configure has guessed correctly.)
6. You may also need to modify the search paths for binaries and man pages (usually PATH and MANPATH).
7. The shared library libsegm.so is installed in $PREFIX/lib; you may need to add this directory to the search path (usually LD_LIBRARY_PATH) for shared libraries. | <urn:uuid:798b9576-607c-4d0d-adf8-7503e696a731> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Science-and-Engineering/Medical-Science-Apps-/Segm-10592.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912182 | 806 | 1.617188 | 2 |
GENEVA — The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) reports tens of thousands of displaced people in the embattled Syrian city of Homs are living in unheated communal shelters. The agency recently completed a two-day assessment mission to Homs and found the humanitarian needs in the city to be overwhelming.
The UNHCR says it is difficult to go to Homs, a northern city that has been one of the centers of the Syrian uprising.
The agency says half of the hospitals in Homs are not functional and 60 percent of the doctors have left along with other medical personnel.
Agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming says there are severe shortages of basic supplies ranging from medicine to blankets, winter clothes and children's shoes.
Fleming says about one quarter of a million displaced people in and around Homs are living in squalid conditions.
"We visited, when we were there, some of the shelters just to see firsthand what conditions were like," Fleming said. "For example, in the communal buildings, there was one where 70 families were living, 400 people. And another one with over 400 families, if you can imagine that. That is 2,300 people crammed into probably an abandoned public building. This is definitely the largest such shelter."
Fleming says the winter cold has arrived and this is adding to the misery of the displaced population. She says the agency has provided plastic sheeting to people who are using it to cover open doorways and windows in shelters which are unheated.
Fleming adds that delivery of aid is being hampered by the violence.
"We were at least able to get in nine trucks," Fleming noted. "And you see the kinds of assistance that we were delivering - quilts and sleeping mats, and winter blankets and mattresses and even sanitary napkins. And we are scheduled to deliver more in the coming days. So hopefully we have a better idea of what the needs are in this city that has been going through a tremendous shelling since the beginning of the conflict."
Meanwhile in Jordan, the agency says Syrian refugees report they are targeted while fleeing to the border. It says Jordanian hospitals are receiving injured refugees on a daily basis.
Fleming says the refugees flee under the cover of darkness, so it is difficult for them to know who is targeting them. | <urn:uuid:1f51db80-ffe9-4e77-9ea4-1bbd1891ec3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voanews.com/content/un-finds-dire-humanitarian-needs-in-homs-syria/1556224.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979466 | 461 | 2.03125 | 2 |
FidoCadJ is a very easy-to-use editor, with a library of electrical symbols and footprints (through hole and SMD). Drawings can be exported in several graphic formats (PDF, EPS, PGF for LaTeX, SVG, PNG, and JPEG). Although very simple and not relying on any netlist concept, FidoCadJ can be considered a basic electronic design automation program. FidoCadJ uses a file format containing only UTF-8 text, which is very compact and suited for copying and pasting with newsgroups and forum messages. This determined its success, as it is quite versatile for simple mechanical drawings as well as for electronics. | <urn:uuid:1972a2c2-4747-4e50-b1fd-752c1549e551> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freecode.com/tags/schematics?page=1&with=&without=93 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93918 | 138 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The negative impact of corruption on development is no longer questioned. Evidence from across the globe confirms that corruption impacts the poor disproportionately.
Corruption hinders economic development, reduces social services, and diverts investments in infrastructure and social services. Moreover, it fosters an antidemocratic environment characterized by uncertainty, unpredictability and declining moral values and disrespect for constitutional institutions and authority. The fight against corruption has been declared a high priority by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
The message is clear – nobody would be spared. However, corruption remains widespread in the country and there have been many instances of political and bureaucratic corruption, public funds embezzlement, fraudulent procurement practices, judicial corruption and corruption in industry. Government has recently ratified the UN convention on corruption on 12th May, 2011.
CII believes that it must play its part towards minimizing corruption and to that effect, has recently set up a Task Force on Integrity & Transparency in Governance under the Chairmanship of Mr. Adi Godrej, President-Designate, CII. The Task force is working on several areas – more importantly, it has developed a Code of Business Ethics which is recommended to members to follow on a voluntary basis. | <urn:uuid:c0d31e0c-741b-4429-b853-f1a8859f399f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indiacsr.in/en/?p=1833 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948615 | 244 | 2.8125 | 3 |
If you own an orchid from the oncidium alliance (Miltonias, Brassias, Oncidiums, etc.) and the leaves are wrinkled (also called acordion pleating) you have a humidity problem. The air around the plant is not humid enough, or there is not enough water getting to the plant, either from underwatering or a root problem. Rotted roots cause the same symptoms as an underwatered plant as the roots are not carrying water to the plant.
While the plant may recover, the leaves will be permanently pleated.
Image by: Carol Tognacci
Pleated leaves on an oncid.
Entered by Michigoose
GardenWeb Home Page | Forums | Forum | <urn:uuid:16986790-6bae-4da4-8cf4-3cdaa548ee70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/orchids/2003012503002462.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920462 | 153 | 2.34375 | 2 |
By GlobeTrotter | November 30, 2011
Do you want to go for a vacation to a place that has been less explored? Well, if you do wish to do so, then you should pack your bags for Maui. Maui is the second largest island in Hawaii and you can be rest assured that the virgin beauty of this place will take your breath away! Maui is all about unexploited scenic beauty and God’s creation at its best. The blue waters, the sun kissed beaches and the soothing air of Maui will appeal to your sense and sensibilities and you would want to go back there as many times as you can. There are a plethora of things that you can do in Maui, but one thing that you absolutely cannot miss is whale watching.
From mid December to mid May, Maui plays home to humpback whales that come to the island to breed. These whales swim a distance of 3,500 miles, down from the waters of Alaska and come to Maui for the birth of their calves. These beautiful whales make a wonderful sight and the thrill that you will get from watching these beautiful creatures will be one of your best vacation memories ever. So, do you want to know how you can go about watching whales in Maui? Read on.
One of the best ways of whale watching in Maui is to take one of the many whale watching cruises from the Maalaea Harbor of Maui. On these cruises you can watch the whales play in the blue waters from the time of sunrise to the setting of the sun. All you have to do is find out about each of these cruises, when they leave the seaport and how much they charge. Though the law states that the boats have to stop at least 100 yards away from the whales they however actually swim towards the boats. So, if you want, you can actually touch and caress the humpback whales.
If you want to watch the whales up close, you can get in touch with the Institute of Maui, Island Marine. If the institute is sending out a research team, then seek permission to join their team. You will be glad to know that getting permission is not that difficult. And once you are a part of the research team, you can watch the whales do what they do best to your heart’s content. If you want to especially watch the baby whales then you can go to the Maalaea Bay which is in the Maalaea Harbor. However, this place is a specified calving area and you have to stop your boat 300 yards away from the whales.
If you are in Maui with your friends and want to go whale watching on your own and not on a cruise, you can paddle a kayak and see the whales playing around from a distance. However, if you are not too keen of going into the water but want to watch the whales you can drive a car along the Pali Highway. This highway has great overlooking areas and you can watch whales from there. You can also watch the humpback whales from the nearby hillsides. | <urn:uuid:4ff4948a-043d-4a03-beb6-d62041d8e94a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trotterbud.com/watch-whales-play-around/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968175 | 631 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The Ministry of Science Technology, Energy and Mining (MSTEM) is mulling a change in how gas stations are licensed.
Out of a meeting between sector interests and Minister Phillip Paulwell on Monday, MSTEM said in a statement that the current licensing system may be contributing to the low margins that service station operators are now experiencing.
"On the issue concerning the inadequate profit margins being realised by the retailers, it was agreed that the number of service stations and their proximity to each other is contributing to the low margins," the ministry said.
"Currently, the service stations are licensed by the Resident Magistrate courts and not by the ministry. The minister updated the meeting of the progress towards a one-stop-shop for licensing and registration of sector participants will help to resolve this problem."
Monday's meeting - which included representatives from the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association, and the National Workers Union, which represents tanker drivers and petroleum haulage contractors - centred on discussions about averting a shutdown of the petroleum sector.
MSTEM said going forward, the bi-monthly Petroleum Advisory Council would resume, starting in October. | <urn:uuid:0ba08ef0-7516-4e71-bd11-56ebf4c0a517> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120906/business/business1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949109 | 229 | 1.867188 | 2 |
The latest primate problem has occurred in South Carolina, where a zoo gorilla scaled a wall, threatened a few people, and beat the hell out of a kid who works at a pizza joint on the grounds. The kid's injuries are minor.
Despite the scary image, it's hard to get hurt by a gorilla. Most documented injuries—and there aren't many—happen when a zoo specimen escapes, panicks, and bites or hits people. There are probably some injuries in the wild, where hunters attack the big primates for the bushmeat trade. If so, these go unreported, because it's illegal to hunt gorillas; they're endangered.
Gorillas eat plants, insects, and an occasional bird egg. They don't eat meat and take no predatory interest in people.
Update: Gorilla Victim Sues
Related Post: Hercules the Gorilla Dies
Gorilla photos by Wayne Allison: | <urn:uuid:83695c89-ff45-46f9-9af4-62c00e4b9d56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://deadlykingdom.blogspot.com/2009/06/carolina-gorilla-attack.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92465 | 190 | 2.46875 | 2 |
DOE Releases Commercial Lighting Solutions Web Tool for Commercial Buildings
May 05, 2009
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today introduced Commercial Lighting Solutions, its latest innovation designed to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings. The interactive Web tool is designed to help commercial building owners improve lighting efficiency by at least 30% over ASHRAE 90.1-2004. Commercial Lighting Solutions was introduced at LIGHTFAIR International, the world's largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference.
Developed by DOE in partnership with lighting designers, architects, and commercial end-users, the tool provides energy savings projections based on user input and selections. The solutions are designed to meet or exceed energy savings levels needed to qualify for tax incentives established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Commercial users and designers can also use the Web tool to document performance against energy goals which can support end-user applications for incentives and rebates from utilities and state or regional energy efficiency programs.
Commercial buildings in the U.S. consume an estimated 18% of total U.S. energy use and contribute nearly 4% of global carbon dioxide emissions. In 2006, lighting constituted about 25% of the commercial sector's energy use, making it the largest single component of building energy use, and accounted for 42% of a commercial building's cooling load.
Commercial Lighting Solutions is the first commercial technology solution to be launched as part of the DOE's Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative (CBI). The first application of Commercial Lighting Solutions has been developed and analyzed for five types of retail stores (big box, small box, grocery, specialty market, and pharmacy). Solutions for office and institutional buildings are already underway.
CBI aims to achieve marketable net-zero energy commercial buildings by 2025. CBI collaborates with the private sector, national laboratories, other federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations to advance energy efficient commercial building technologies.
Web sites for more information: | <urn:uuid:a4c9ba41-9efb-44c0-a48c-eb9d9092a6fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=168 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92439 | 397 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverages to children
Report of a WHO forum and technical meeting Oslo, Norway, 2-5 May 2006
This is the report of a forum and technical meeting on marketing food and non-alcoholic beverages to children, convened by WHO and held in Oslo, Norway, in May 2006.
The forum reviewed the current state of knowledge regarding the influence of marketing, including advertising of foods and non-alcoholic beverages on children's dietary choices; discussed the implications of this influence on children's nutritional status; and reviewed national experiences and actions taken by various stakeholders to address the issue. Forum participants included representatives of: health and consumer groups, food and advertising industry trade associations, ministries of health, United Nations (UN) agencies, European Commission and academics. A technical meeting was held after the forum. It was attended by academics and representatives of ministries of health, UN agencies and the European Commission. During the technical meeting working groups reviewed and discussed the current state of knowledge on: the influences of marketing on dietary choices; management and limitation of the negative influences of marketing and advertising of foods and non-alcoholic beverages on children's dietary choices; and possible roles for stakeholders. | <urn:uuid:849776c3-2436-4480-b259-957e57c42e1e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/marketing_forum_2006/en/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954181 | 242 | 1.953125 | 2 |
Texas Rural Health Association is a nonprofit organization whose primary
goal is to improve the health of rural Texans. The TRHA is composed
of individuals and organizations dedicated to providing leadership
on rural health care issues through advocacy, communication, and education.
The Association was founded in 1984 to:
Promote rural health as a distinct concern in Texas.
Serve as a strong and unifying voice for concerned citizens,
community leaders, public officials, and health care providers
and organizations working to improve rural health in Texas.
Advocate for rural health and promote an enhanced status and
improved health system for rural Texans.
Provide a forum for exchange and distribution of information
and ideas related to improvement of rural health.
Encourage the development of appropriate health resources to
all rural areas of Texas.
Texas Rural Health Association
P.O. Box 203878
Austin , TX 78720
FAX: (512) 873-0046 firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:21ec8423-56b3-4eb6-8263-11d6378e3afc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trha.org/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914997 | 204 | 1.742188 | 2 |
SummerTech Computer Camp Launches Special Just for Girls Program
Public Preview: July 25th at 1:45-3:30!
Preview a new camp program that focuses on the learning and social interests of girls, ages 10-17! SummerTech, a co-ed summer computer camp program will launch a Computer Camp Program for Girls! A pilot program for kids ages 10-17 who have a special interest in computers and/or would like to develop their computer skills, will be held at the SummerTech camp location at SUNY Purchase in Purchase, NY on July 25th.
This Program for Girls will allow girls to have their own class time but will be co-ed for all other activities!
The SummerTech program for girls will feature:
- Computer Programming featuring beginner, intermediate and advanced C++ and Java classes
- Web Page Design
- Sports and Recreation
- A wide range of electives including Comedy Improv, App Building, and Creative Writing just to name a few
- 4-1 Camper to Staff ratios
- A unique team-teaching model that allows for fast paced learning
SummerTech is the leading co-ed day/residential summer camp specializing in computer training. The program aims to develop cutting-edge computer skills, while building self-esteem and new friendships. It currently offers a co-ed curriculum featuring a range of sports, social and educational activities for boys and girls ages 10-17.
In response to camper/parent requests, a new program is being developed that specifically caters to girls. It will offer the same fully-packed camp curriculum, which includes the very best of coding, animation and Web curriculum. However, SummerTech's new camp for girls will be designed to empower girls to become high-tech learners, gain confidence as they excel, and discover the fun world of computers alongside new friends.
According to the founder of SummerTech Steven Fink: “Over the years, SummerTech has had the privilege of working with some very skilled, talented girls who have gone on to excel in this field.”
“The world of computers is a wide open one with new and exciting opportunities continuously emerging for girls. Our new program for girls at SummerTech is designed to pave the way and prepare our female campers to seek out these great opportunities and interests,” he added.
For more information and to reserve your spot, please visit the SummerTech website at www.summertech.net/girls. | <urn:uuid:533ab1bf-e0f8-4db8-b544-89cff432d904> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://harrison.patch.com/groups/announcements/p/an--computer-camp-launches-special-just-for-girls-program | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953008 | 508 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Communities across Maryland have been reeling in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Some residents said they feared dropping their children off at school while others demanded action from legislators.
Hyattsville Elementary School's new principal, Julia Burton, addressed her students Monday before Prince George's County schools observed a minute of silence to honor the victims of Friday's school shooting in Newtown, CT.
"Take care of yourself. Take care of each other. And take care of the place," she told students.
In Wheaton, parents reacted to the tragic news and talked about school safety in Montgomery County.
Frances Frost, a contributor to the Local Voices section on Wheaton Patch, wrote in an email: "As a mom of 4, I can't imagine a greater loss for a parent such as a senseless act like this that snatches away innocent lives."
"As for our elementary schools, I feel like my children are relatively safe, although the portables do make me a little nervous," Frost continued. "But I realize that no one can be 100% safe all the time and I pray that every day my children come home safely."
In Anne Arundel County, parents throughout the county dreaded Monday morning.
“I started to tear up and was wailing by the time I got home,” posted reader Wendy Worth Cronin.
Another local reader, Kelly Proctor, wrote, “I drove by the school later and got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes at the sight of the police car at the elementary school.”
Police and schools around the state have also be re-evaluating the safety of students.
On Monday, Howard County school officials reported they would hold staff meetings to review emergency plans at each school, discuss visitor policies and guidelines for reporting suspicious activity, according to a statement from the county.
Prince George's County police and the Montgomery County Police Department increased police presence in schools, though police have no indication of a threat to any schools. In Montgomery County, police may remain at schools all week.
Prince George's officials also sent school safety reminders to teachers Monday in light of the heroic efforts of Sandy Hook teachers.
Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Police Chief Jim Johnson Monday called for tougher gun laws, but a representative of the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore said it is too early to discuss stricter gun laws.
TELL US: Maryland already had one school shooting incident earlier this year in Perry Hall. What should legislators and school officials do to prevent another shooting from occurring in the state? | <urn:uuid:07fdfec6-d7fc-4085-bd03-829a27533646> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://catonsville.patch.com/articles/maryland-reacts-to-sandy-hook-school-shooting | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96307 | 525 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Statistics indicate that nearly half of all businesses fail within the first four years of operation. While some falter due to mismanagement of finances, competition drives out the rest.
A long-range plan can help you avoid these pitfalls and position your business for the long haul. Also known as the strategic plan, the long-range plan helps you establish new goals and objectives or revise existing ones. It’s a good idea to involve as many key people as possible in your goal setting.
“Long-range planning is extremely important because goals are benchmarks,” says Edward Tobiasson, executive director of the Newark Minority Business Development Center. “Some entrepreneurs have difficulty setting goals because they ask, `How can I predict what’s going to happen tomorrow?”‘ he says. “But when you are sizing up your potential market and what you hope to achieve, you have to quantify your goals.”
To put together your long-range plan, you must first assess the present state of your business. Are you operating in the black or red? Determine what impact external factors (such as shifts in industry trends and inflation) will have on your bottom line.
You can project the future growth of your business by researching financial and historical data about your industry. The Internet, local chambers of commerce and other business associations, and business publications from your local library are great sources of information about your field.
After gathering your information, prepare a written analysis of your findings. A good way to clarify and unify your goals is to solicit input from key employees in various functions (marketing and sales representatives, customer service, human resources, advertising, etc.) during brainstorming sessions.
If you don’t have a pool of workers from which to draw ideas, consult with trusted colleagues in your field.
To get the most out of these sessions, hold the meeting in a distraction-free environment, perhaps off-site at a hotel or resort. Prepare an agenda for the meeting, appoint a facilitator to oversee the discussions and have an employee record the minutes. Matters that can be discussed and agreed upon in these sessions include the strengths and weaknesses of your company and how each will impact such things as revenues, keeping pace with the competition, productivity and customer service.
A crucial part of a long-range plan involves your mission as an operation. Although mentioned in the Executive Summary (see “Putting Your Business Into Perspective,” Enterprise, October 1997), you should restate in detail the purpose of your organization in the long-range plan. Your plan should also include a detailed description of your goals or key results areas. Most companies have eight to 15 areas where they seek to achieve success and growth.
List them individually, and indicate the strategic objectives for each. For example, if your primary goal is to increase revenues, you should list this as No. 1. Below, indicate how you plan to achieve this goal (i.e., expand sales to existing customers, open new branches market new products, etc.). All your goals should be measurable and quantifiable (e.g., to increase revenues by an average | <urn:uuid:0dd70ac7-3e6f-47ab-b11f-f41bd9105e7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blackenterprise.com/mag/in-it-for-the-long-haul/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943709 | 643 | 1.953125 | 2 |
Incidents may be reported to
Vice President of Student Affairs
Director of Human Resources
Gender Discrimination and Harassment
Title IX of the Education Amendment and Concord University Policy prohibits discrimination in services or benefits offered by the University based upon gender.
Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination and therefore prohibited under Title IX. Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
The following are examples of types of conduct that may constitute sexual harassment:
- Inappropriate touching, patting, or pinching
- Physical assault or coerced sexual activity
- Demands or subtle pressure for sexual favors
- Obscene phone calls, texts, email, or gestures
Any person (student, faculty, staff, or guest) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based upon gender may discuss their concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with the VP of Student Affairs.
It is the policy of Concord University to provide equal employment and educational opportunity on the basis of merit without discrimination because of age, race, ethnicity, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, veterans’ status, or disability. | <urn:uuid:08a32bcf-f512-4d66-8985-58a73d5b37f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.concord.edu/administration/social-justice-diversity-and-equal-opportunity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904374 | 245 | 2.4375 | 2 |
RHEL-6 vs. CentOS-5.5 (was: Static assignment of, SCSI device names?)
On Wednesday, February 02, 2011 02:06:15 am Chuck Munro wrote:
> The real key is to carefully label each SATA cable and its associated
> drive. Then the little mapping script can be used to identify the
> faulty drive which mdadm reports by its device name. It just occurred
> to me that whenever mdadm sends an email report, it can also run a
> script which groks out the path info and puts it in the email message.
> Problem solved :-)
Ok, perhaps I'm dense, but, if this is not a hot-swap bay you're talking about, wouldn't it be easier to have the drive's serial number (or other identifier found on the label) pulled into the e-mail, and compare with the label physically found on the drive, since you're going to have to open the case anyway? Using something like:
hdparm -I $DEVICE | grep Serial.Number
works here (the regexp Serial.Number matches the string "Serial Number" without requiring the double quotes....). Use whatever $DEVICE you need to use, as long as it's on a controller compatible with hdparm usage.
I have seen cases with a different Linux distribution where the actual module load order was nondeterministic (modules loaded in parallel); while upstream and the CentOS rebuild try to make things more deterministic, wouldn't it be safer to get a really unique, externally visible identifier from the drive? If the drive has failed to the degree that it won't respond to the query, then query all the good drives in the array for their serial numbers, and use a process of elimination. This, IMO, is more robust than relying on the drive detect order to remain deterministic.
If in a hotswap or coldswap bay, do some data access to the array, and see which LED's don't blink; that should correspond to the failed drive. If the bay has secondary LED's, you might be able to blink those, too.
CentOS mailing list | <urn:uuid:d4032f37-c269-463d-9fef-67534e78306c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linux-archive.org/centos/484303-rhel-6-vs-centos-5-5-static-assignment-scsi-device-names.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926994 | 451 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Museum Presents: "Kente ? Cloth of Asante Royalty"
(Posted September 7, 2000)
For centuries the Asante of central-west Africa have created special textiles to identify royal status and ritual associations within society. Among these textiles, kente (literally, "basket") cloth is the most widely known and recognized. On Sept. 15, the Juniata College Museum of Art will offer visitors a firsthand look at the "basket" textiles in the exhibit, "Kente: Cloth of Asante Royalty."
At 6 p.m., Sept. 15, Harriet Schiffer, a specialist on African textiles, will give a public lecture in Good Hall 402 followed by an exhibit opening reception from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the museum, Carnegie Hall. The exhibit will remain on display until Nov. 4.
Kente cloth is made from several long, narrow lengths of independently woven strips of fabric, which are sewn together to form a large, rectangular cloth. Typically, each strip is 4 to 5 inches wide and 120 inches long. Approximately 20 to 24 strips are used to form a finished garment that measures 96 by 120 inches. These large garments are worn by men, wrapped around the waist and draped over the left shoulder and upper arm, while women wear a multi-piece garment, made from smaller pieces of cloth to form a bodice, skirt, and headwrap.
Each strip pattern has its own name and meaning. More than three hundred patterns have been identified and documented. Some patterns honor specific people, rulers, queen mothers, artists, families, historic events, or themes such as wealth, peace, and well being. Examples of pattern names include, "no man governs alone," "one thousand shields," and "skill is exhausted."
Traditionally, the weaving and sewing were performed exclusively by male artists. Asante kings controlled kente cloth production, which was centered at Bonwire, a village near Kumasi, Ghana.
Kente cloth has become widely popular outside of Ghana, particularly in the United States, where the textiles and patterns continue to play an important role in social identity.
The works in Juniata?s exhibition are on loan from Harriet B. Schiffer, Ph.D.
LFS for Wonoo Ventures.
The museum is located in historic Carnegie Hall (1907) at 17th and Moore streets in Huntingdon. Reach the museum by phone at (814) 641-3505. Museum hours are M-F, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sat., noon to 4 p.m. For more information, visit the Juniata College Web site at http://www.juniata.edu/
Contact John Wall at email@example.com or (814) 641-3132 for more information. | <urn:uuid:9a089b5c-05ae-4e40-88e3-0995daeb04af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.juniata.edu/services/news/index.html?action=SHOWARTICLE&id=264 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949964 | 594 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Jeffrey Parker, Reed College
- Course content
- Class format
- Office hours
- Additional instructional resources
- Exams and other assignments
- Texts and other readings
- Preparing for class
This course is a comprehensive introduction to economics, including both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Although it is Reed's introductory course, it is taught at a level that is considered "intermediate" at most other colleges and universities.
In the microeconomics section of the course, which is about the first two thirds, we will study economic decision-making from the viewpoint of the individual economic actor. Considerable time will be devoted to analyzing how individuals choose what goods and services to buy, how firms choose what goods and services to produce, and how those decisions interact in markets to determine prices and quantities of production.
Macroeconomics, which is the final third of the course, studies the behavior of the economy at an aggregate level, including such issues as economic growth, business cycles, unemployment, and inflation.
Econ 201 is designed to introduce you to a variety of issues and applications in economics. There is not enough time during a semester to pursue many of these issues in detail. This syllabus provides indications of the advanced economics classes that follow up on the various sections of the course.
This class meets for three hours per week as a lecture/conference that will examine the main ideas of economics. In addition to the regular, required class hours, there will be activity sessions most weeks on Thursday evenings. These sessions, which are strongly recommended but not required, will include supplementary activities such as experiments and other student-participation activities.
Lecture/conference sessions will often incorporate a "case of the day," which is an application or case study that pertains to the day's topic. In addition to highlighting the textbook's development of theoretical tools, the class discussion will often emphasize applying those tools to the case. Obviously, students must be well prepared in advance of class in order to understand the case-related discussion.
There are no prerequisites for this course. However, students will be assumed to be familiar with basic mathematical techniques of algebra and graphs. A mathematics diagnostic test will be distributed the first day of class. Students who find these questions easy should have no difficulty with the math in the class. Those who struggle with some or all of the questions are strongly encouraged to seek help from the Quantitative Skills Center, located at the Dorothy Johansen House. If necessary, we will arrange special group tutorials for Econ 201 students on mathematical topics that are problematic for many students.
The instructor will hold office hours in Vollum 229 at the following times:
- Mondays, 3-4pm
- Tuesdays, 10-11am
- Fridays, 1-2pm
Students for whom these hours are inconvenient may make appointments at other times by contacting the instructor by phone at extension 7308 or by email at email@example.com.
The primary objective of this course is for you to learn basic economic concepts and theories. While classroom and office contact with the instructor are the most obvious means to advance this objective, most students will find it helpful to use the additional instructional resources that Reed and the Economics Department provides. The student lab assistant for this course is Skye Aaron. She will assist with lab experiments and other activities. In addition, there are several advanced economics majors who will serve as tutorial assistants for this course. Individual tutoring can be arranged through the Student Services office. Group help/discussion sessions will be held regularly when assignments are due and exams are upcoming. Most tutoring sessions will be held on Monday and Tuesday evenings and will be staffed by two or three tutors. If you encounter difficulties with quantitative aspects of the course, the Quantitative Skills Center may be the best source of help.
There will be two mid-term exams and a comprehensive final exam. Regular weekly assignments will also be required many week of the semester. For detailed information about assignments, see the Course Calendar or the List of Assignments and Cases. Some weekly assignments will be done individually, some will be done collaboratively by assigned teams of two students; some will be done in larger assigned groups. There will also be regular short written questions on case studies nearly every day that no other assignment is due. Most of these are intended to be very brief.
Because of the collaborative nature of much of the work, late work will be severely penalized. If one student is delayed in completing a week's assignment, that impacts the student's partner in the following week. Work more than one day late will receive no credit unless due to documented illness or emergency.
Grades will be based on all evidence available to the instructor about each student's understanding of economics. This information may come from exams, assignments, class and activity participation, and individual conversations. Because there is a lot of collaborative work during this course, students will be asked to evaluate the performance of their partners at the end of major projects and at the end of the course.
There are two principal texts for this course as well as several supporting books. Robert Pindyck and Daniel Rubinfeld's Microeconomics, 6th ed. will be the main reading for the microeconomics section of the course. N. Gregory Mankiw's Principles of Macroeconomics, 5th ed. will be the core reading on macroeconomics. Both of these will be available for purchase at the Reed Bookstore. You will be expected to have access to these texts. Although there will be a few copies on reserve in the library, it is strongly recommended that you buy at least the microeconomics text.
The Pindyck and Rubinfeld text is at the "intermediate" level. This means that the typical reader for whom it is written has already taken introductory courses in economics. Because of this, the authors omit some introductory material that you need. To plug this gap, there are "background" readings on the reading list from introductory texts by Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Samuelson/William Nordhaus. These books are available on reserve in the Reed Library. (Note: there are several newer editions of both of these texts, but the older editions of which the library has multiple copies will work just fine.) If you have trouble with the material in the main Pindyck/Rubinfeld text, you should read the corresponding chapters in one or more of the background references. If it is still unclear, ask a question in class or during office hours.
Required readings will be on reserve in the Reed Library and/or available by link from the reading list. At times the demand for reserve materials is likely to exceed the supply; plan to do your reading substantially ahead of time so you don't get caught without the book at the last minute. The case of the day reading will usually be available on the web page, but it may involve a short reading from printed material that is on reserve.
Readings that are listed as "other readings of interest" may or may not be on reserve. Most are available in the stacks of the Reed Library.
At most colleges and universities, the material covered in Econ 201 would be taught over a full year, after another introductory course. That means that you will, in one semester, be at a point that most economics students take three semesters to reach! Clearly, this course is very fast paced. | <urn:uuid:c75c81c3-6a45-4bed-bf6d-34632e53be49> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://academic.reed.edu/economics/parker/f10/201/info.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947746 | 1,514 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Is this Christmas holiday going to be a Google or Microsoft one for Santa? And what's NORAD got to do with it anyway?
I don't know about you, but I find it kind of odd the way NORAD tracks Santa every year. In case you don't know, NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command and it usually spends its time looking for dangerous incursions into air space and possibly setting off a nuclear retaliation if an incoming ICMB is indentified. Now think for a moment, these are the guys tracking Santa...
Whatever the purpose of keeping a strategic eye on Santa, in past few years it has been Google supplying the mapping. But this year it is Bing Maps, i.e. Microsoft, that is doing the plotting. It is said to be a mutual agreement and not anything that was wrong with Google's efforts. Whatever the reason, Microsoft won the contract and it is the official Santa tracker this year.
However, Google isn't about to be left out - I thought this was a mutual agreement? Google is also going to be tracking Santa and we can only hope that NORAD/Microsoft and Google can manage to agree on where Santa is, otherwise some techno-savvy children might just discover the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle early.
Google says, without hint of being left out:
"While we’ve been tracking Santa since 2004 with Google Earth, this year a team of dedicated Google Maps engineers built a new route algorithm to chart Santa’s journey around the world on Christmas Eve. On his sleigh, arguably the fastest airborne vehicle in the world, Santa whips from city to city delivering presents to millions of homes. You’ll be able to follow him on Google Maps and Google Earth, and get his stats starting at 2:00 a.m. PST Christmas Eve at google.com/santatracker."
The NORAD/Microsoft effort starts at 2 a.m. Eastern Time so they don't quite fit together.
Both teams are doing quite a lot for Santa. NORAD and Microsoft have apps ready to download for Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Android and iOS. So it isn't just a Microsoft party.
However, if you want to follow NORAD/Microsoft Santa on the web using in the best possible 3D, you will need to use either Firefox or Chrome because Microsoft's IE is so primitive that it only does Santa in 2D. This is something of an embarrassment, but if Microsofties all over the world discover that there is something that has to be put right with IE, and very soon, then perhaps the effort will not have been wasted.
The Google tracking team have made an Android app and a Chrome plugin for you to use, and for the full 3D experience use Google Earth.
Let us hope it all goes smoothly and the usual 25 million people plus get to follow Santa using either Google or Microsoft mapping.
We have to give thanks that NORAD didn't team up with Apple Maps.... | <urn:uuid:731f2779-d2af-4365-9abf-e831f16236d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.i-programmer.info/news/85/5233.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944093 | 616 | 1.867188 | 2 |
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Over the past few years, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADASs) have become a key element in the research and development of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) and particularly of intelligent vehicles. Many of these systems require accurate global localization information, which has been traditionally performed by the Global Positioning System (GPS), despite its well-known failings, particularly in urban environments. Different solutions have been attempted to bridge the gaps of GPS positioning errors, but they usually require additional expensive sensors. Vision-based algorithms have proved to be capable of tracking the position of a vehicle over long distances using only a sequence of images as input and with no prior knowledge of the environment. This paper describes a full solution to the estimation of the global position of a vehicle in a digital road map by means of visual information alone. Our solution is based on a stereo platform used to estimate the motion trajectory of the ego vehicle and a map-matching algorithm, which will correct the cumulative errors of the vision-based motion information and estimate the global position of the vehicle in a digital road map. We demonstrate our system in large-scale urban experiments reaching high accuracy in the estimation of the global position and allowing for longer GPS blackouts due to both the high accuracy of our visual odometry estimation and the correction of the cumulative error of the map-matching algorithm. Typically, challenging situations in urban environments such as nonstatic objects or illumination exceeding the dynamic range of the cameras are shown and discussed.
Intelligent Transportation Systems, IEEE Transactions on (Volume:13 , Issue: 4 )
Date of Publication: Dec. 2012 | <urn:uuid:770310fc-b69b-468b-b5f5-51f0023d56e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?reload=true&tp=&arnumber=6192327&contentType=Journals+%26+Magazines&sortType%3Dasc_p_Sequence%26filter%3DAND(p_IS_Number%3A6357363) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907152 | 328 | 2.59375 | 3 |
can you quote, please?
Posted by Caroline on December 23, 1997 at 12:11:31:
In response to Clarification, written by Marie Bernadette on December 23, 1997 at 01:20:23
I have two books that deal with this (and other related) subjects. They are The Family, Marriage and Sex in England 1500-1800 by Lawrence Stone and The Reshaping of Everyday Life by Jack Larkin. The first does extend into the 1800's eventhough its subtitle suggests otherwise.
Do either of these books shed any light on Leslie's original question, namely , whether there was a change in attitudes to morality during Jane Austen's lifetime? And if there was, does it correspond to a change in fashions?
Posting followups to old messages is disabled; instead go to the main index and post a new message which mentions this one. | <urn:uuid:0cbb7709-9dc8-4b64-ada4-d8ee44b40f2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pemberley.com/pemb/adaptations/regency/archive/messages/2029.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958206 | 183 | 2.1875 | 2 |
This past year the Archives & Museum started a new book series centered on towns in the 1901-1915 era. Today I thought we take a peek in on the little hamlet of Ringgold.
October 31, 1912
C. Charles Young is improving his property by erecting a hog pen.
Miss Mabel Wiles is spending some time with her sister, Mrs. Raymond Spessard, Vine street, Hagerstown.
One case of scarlet fever is reported in town. Leonard Barkdoll is the victim. Dr. Koons is the attending physician.
John Hoover, a retired farmer, is in a critical condition.
While engaged in hauling wheat to Midvale Wednesday Samuel Ridenour’s four horse team scared at some object by the roadside, near Amos Shockey’s. The front horses reeled to the left, crowding the saddle horse and Mr. Ridenour against the wagon, after the tongue had been broken and the fore part of the gear pulled from under the load. Fortunately Mr. Ridenour’s son caught the horses before any damage was done to them. His wagon was left a broken wreck in the middle of the road.
The stork left a baby boy with the family of Albert Aughenbaugh.
Edgar Reynolds, son of Charles O. Reynolds, underwent an operation Wednesday by Dr. Kelly, of Hagerstown, for an affection of his nose.
November 7, 1912
Margurette Martin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Denton Martin, is suffering from an abscess of the hip. Some time ago she fell and bruised her hip. Since then an abscess has developed, which renders her unable to walk. At present she is confined to her bed and will remain there a few days when she will try to walk again. This case seems a puzzle to the doctors who do not agree upon what is the cause of the lameness. If she walks when she gets up well and good, but if she walks lame, she will have to be placed in a plaster paris cast and remain there for seven weeks.
This makes the second case within the same family in two years.
At this season two years ago, her oldest brother was sent to a Baltimore hospital where his hip was opened an abscess was found. He remained for some time at the institution and finally was sent home a well boy. Her friends hope little Margurette will improve and escape the hospital.
November 14, 1912
Ordination services of the newly elected officers of the Disciple congregation, Elder Joseph Newcomer and Deacon Roy Newcomer, were conducted Thursday evening at the Union church, by their pastor, Rev. C.A. Frick, Rev. Mr. King, of Beaver Creek and the Rev. Mr. Townsend, of Hagerstown.
Quite a number of citizens of our town, being afraid of hog cholera attacking their hogs, butchered. Ira Stouffer killed two Thursday which tipped the beam at 302 and 332 pounds respectively.
Scarlet fever, which made its appearance some time ago, seems to be on a standstill, no new cases having been reported within the past few days.
Miss Mary Creager is somewhat indisposed from a heavy cold.
Ezra Newcomer is making preparations to set a field in peach trees.
Miss Mabel Wiles has returned home from Hagerstown, where she had been spending some time with her sister, Mrs. Raymond Spessard.
November 21, 1912
The primary department of the public school has been closed the last few days on account of the illness of the teacher.
Preparations are being made to sell the property of John Addlesberger at the west end of town.
H.C. Cunningham is making preparations to go to farming in the spring. He has sold his property some time ago and will move to Leitersburg.
Roy H. Detrow has sold his property opposite the store, to a party who will erect a dwelling house some time this winter.
Ezra Newcomer is putting a new metal roof on his house. The porches are all being renovated.
John S. Newcomer has covered his wagon shed and buggy shed with a new metal roof.
Christian Endeavor is being held each Sunday evening at the Union church.
The scarlet fever patients are all reported improved and the quarantine will be lifted in a few days. No new cases have been reported within the last two weeks.
“Once Upon Our Times” by the Rev. Lee E. Daywalt is a compilation of local newspaper articles from 100 years ago. It appears weekly in The Record Herald. Daywalt is pastor of New Baltimore Church of God and administrator of Preserving Our Heritage Archives and Museum, 11191 South Mountain, 11191 South Mountain Road, South Mountain. The museum is open from 8 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and at other times by appointment. For information, call 762-2367 or visit:
By Rev. Lee Daywalt
Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA
By Rev. Lee Daywalt
Posted Oct. 31, 2012 @ 1:00 pm
» EVENTS CALENDAR
Connect with Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA | <urn:uuid:e23923c1-07d6-4203-a670-84a09a4270d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.therecordherald.com/article/20121031/NEWS/121039979/1008/OPINION | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967058 | 1,111 | 2.40625 | 2 |
by Rachel Naomi Remen
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon Editorial Review
In My Grandfather's Blessings, Rachel Naomi Remen, a cancer physician and master storyteller, uses her luminous stories to remind us of the power of our kindness and the joy of being alive.
Dr. Remen's grandfather, an orthodox rabbi and scholar of the Kabbalah, saw life as a web of connection and knew that everyone belonged to him, and that he belonged to everyone. He taught her that blessing one another is what fills our emptiness, heals our loneliness, and connects us more deeply to life.
Life has given us many more blessings than we have allowed ourselves to receive. My Grandfather's Blessings is about how we can recognize and receive our blessings and bless the life in others. Serving others heals us. Through our service we will discover our own wholeness—and the way to restore hidden wholeness in the world.
Other books you might like: | <urn:uuid:8ec51d1e-7a15-4613-8fca-b5b8a4ae936d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookcrossing.com/title/1149089 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943089 | 206 | 1.617188 | 2 |
One of Ocean View Farms most important long-term commitments is to continually increase its' awareness and participation within our neighboring community.
This effort is best exemplified through a cooperative effort with the City of Los Angeles to reclaim and reuse city-collected stable waste in conjunction with a vigorous internal composting program. Today, OVF's composting program entails mixing reclaimed stable waste with green organic waste produced in the garden. In 2003, almost 180 tons of shredded soft green waste, 900 cubic yards of woody material and 80 tons of stable waste were combined to produce a virtually unlimited supply of compost for the more than 350 members tending to our 500 garden plots. In addition, almost 300 additional tons of stable waste was processed without green material to produce "gourmet compost." The Ocean View Farms composting program has saved the garden approximately $12,000 per year in disposal fees for each of the last fifteen years.
Furthermore, OVF has helped the City of Los Angeles save over $11,000 annually in transportation and disposal fees by reclaiming the collected stable waste. | <urn:uuid:98db80d0-a01e-42f3-90ca-e977dbef16b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oceanviewfarms.net/comserv.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939841 | 217 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Spud Goes Apple-Picking Story Detail
Spud is asked by Farmer Pickles to collect six apples for an apple pie. Spud picks the apples but is confused when one goes missing from his basket, secretly taken by some rabbits. He tries picking another apple, but again one goes missing from the basket when he turns his back.
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'The Commander-in-Chief seems to have gone AWOL'
COMMENTARY | April 28, 2007
Retired Gen. William Odom, who ran the National Security Agency under President Reagan, was an unusual choice to deliver the weekly Democratic radio adddress on April 28. But Odom was also one of the earliest advocates of an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Odom has been a frequent contributor to NiemanWatchdog.org. Click here for his biography and contributions. The following is the transcript of his address.
By William E. Odom
Good morning, this is Lieutenant General William E. Odom, U.S. Army, retired.
I am not now nor have I ever been a Democrat or a Republican. Thus, I do not speak for the Democratic Party. I speak for myself, as a non-partisan retired military officer who is a former Director of the National Security Agency. I do so because Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, asked me.
In principle, I do not favor Congressional involvement in the execution of U.S. foreign and military policy. I have seen its perverse effects in many cases. The conflict in Iraq is different. Over the past couple of years, the President has let it proceed on automatic pilot, making no corrections in the face of accumulating evidence that his strategy is failing and cannot be rescued.
Thus, he lets the United States fly further and further into trouble, squandering its influence, money, and blood, facilitating the gains of our enemies. The Congress is the only mechanism we have to fill this vacuum in command judgment.
To put this in a simple army metaphor, the Commander-in-Chief seems to have gone AWOL, that is 'absent without leave.' He neither acts nor talks as though he is in charge. Rather, he engages in tit-for-tat games.
Some in Congress on both sides of the aisle have responded with their own tits-for-tats. These kinds of games, however, are no longer helpful, much less amusing. They merely reflect the absence of effective leadership in a crisis. And we are in a crisis.
Most Americans suspect that something is fundamentally wrong with the President's management of the conflict in Iraq. And they are right.
The challenge we face today is not how to win in Iraq; it is how to recover from a strategic mistake: invading Iraq in the first place. The war could never have served American interests.
But it has served Iran's interest by revenging Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran in the 1980s and enhancing Iran's influence within Iraq. It has also served al Qaeda's interests, providing a much better training ground than did Afghanistan, allowing it to build its ranks far above the levels and competence that otherwise would have been possible.
We cannot 'win' a war that serves our enemies interests and not our own. Thus continuing to pursue the illusion of victory in Iraq makes no sense. We can now see that it never did.
A wise commander in this situation normally revises his objectives and changes his strategy, not just marginally, but radically. Nothing less today will limit the death and destruction that the invasion of Iraq has unleashed.
No effective new strategy can be devised for the United States until it begins withdrawing its forces from Iraq. Only that step will break the paralysis that now confronts us. Withdrawal is the pre-condition for winning support from countries in Europe that have stood aside and other major powers including India, China, Japan, Russia.
It will also shock and change attitudes in Iran, Syria, and other countries on Iraq's borders, making them far more likely to take seriously new U.S. approaches, not just to Iraq, but to restoring regional stability and heading off the spreading chaos that our war has caused.
The bill that Congress approved this week, with bipartisan support, setting schedules for withdrawal, provides the President an opportunity to begin this kind of strategic shift, one that defines regional stability as the measure of victory, not some impossible outcome.
I hope the President seizes this moment for a basic change in course and signs the bill the Congress has sent him. I will respect him greatly for such a rare act of courage, and so too, I suspect, will most Americans.
This is retired General Odom. Thank you for listening.
- Former Loral Electronics Sytems, Senior Engineer (now p/o Lockheed-Martin)
06/03/2007, 03:34 PM
My son is a Lance Corporal with the USMC, deployed in Ramadi. You have no idea of my state of mind now, unless one is a parent to understand.
Specially since we are in contact frequently via PC technologies.
Having his life risked on those convoys just to give Iran the biggest present in several thousand years, gives me the creeps.
It looks like the Marines in Anbar are dealing with the Sunni insurgents against Al Qaeda, which by the way, were not in Iraq until GWB and Co decided to invade a nation that did not attack us.
Now you see US taking sides eith the Sunnis, because the Sunnis do not want to be either a puppet of Iran, or the US for that matter.
Looks like Iraq may end end up with a strongman after all, stronger than the fighting factions.
Looks like the US needs another Saddam that can be better controlled. Otherwise, Iran will be the major power in the region with nukes and the willingness and insanity to use them. They will get the nukes anyway, Iraq or no Iraq.
Sounds like the way world wars begin, with an economically and militarily weakened USA. The prospects are not good for the foreseeable future.
If the US wants to regain military power to the max, it will have to introduce a draft and do major changes in its skewed economy.
Otherwise China, India, Russia will have to take the slack and become bigger economic, military powers to offset the vacumm left by the decline of the USA. They will anyway.
I am not a military strategist, but I wonder in what dreamworld this group of rogue, neo cons live. Talk touch and act stupid.
The GWB administration is so pathetic in this way of acting that one can predict what they will do when confronted by any peril....talk tough and act stupid and help our enemies. | <urn:uuid:cfa075f5-895b-4464-8b13-0c63d093f5d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=176 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961465 | 1,313 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Squashes, pumpkins and gourds belong to the same family as cucumbers, melons, marrows and courgettes. There is an amazing variety of sizes, shapes and colours, and although most are edible, some are used for decoration only. All squashes and pumpkins have a tough outer rind, an inner cavity filled with hard seeds and sweet, rich, well-coloured flesh with a dense, nutty and earthy flavour.
The following are varieties of squash:
Butternut squash – the most common and popular of autumn squashes, the butternut squash is a pale creamy beige and comes in an oblong shape with a rounded bottom. Like its name suggests, the flesh has a buttery flavour that is enhanced by brown sugar or cinnamon.
Spaghetti squash – this curious oval squash has a golden-yellow skin and bright yellow flesh. When cooked, the tender flesh separates into spaghetti-like strands. Use as a gluten-free replacement in pasta recipes; the cooked strands are also excellent eaten cold tossed in vinagrette.
Turban, or Buttercup squash – a beautiful specimen that resembles a fat teardrop. Deep-green in colour with flashes of orange, the intense orange flesh is rich and nutty and mellows upon roasting.
Onion squash – bright orange and onion-shaped with soft flesh that is best used in soups or risottos, these squash only keep for a few weeks.
Acorn squash – this small squash has deep ridges that can make peeling difficult. To get to the peppery, nutty golden-yellow flesh, cut the squash in half then bake with plenty of herbs and spices.
Kabocha – this Japanese variety of squash resembles the Turban squash but is more petite. It has a dark-green skin with lighter green or white stripes. The bright-orange flesh is fluffier than other varieties, with a texture and taste almost like cooked chestnuts. Kabocha is popular eaten as tempura, or braised.
Look for good-quality squashes and pumpkins at farmers’ markets, some supermarkets and Asian and Caribbean greengrocers. Always choose those with smooth, unblemished flesh that feel firm and heavy for their size. Brilliant orange pumpkins can grow to an enormous size, but you can find smaller ‘pie or sugar’ pumpkins or pumpkins sold by the piece. If buying these, make sure the flesh is firm and close-textured, not stringy. Many autumn and winter squashes, despite their name, are now available year-round, but are at their best during the colder months. Pumpkins are in season from autumn to winter.
Whole, undamaged, firm squashes will keep for several months in a cool, dry, airy place or for 2-3 weeks at room temperature. Check them regularly to make sure there is no damage around the stalk or to the skin. Pumpkins generally do not store as well as squashes. Once cut, squashes and pumpkin should be wrapped in cling film, stored in the fridge and used within a week. Freeze cooked or pureed squash in plastic bags or firm containers for 6-8 months.
Squashes and pumpkins are amongst the most versatile of vegetables, and work well baked, roasted, stuffed, puréed or fried. Larger specimens can double as bowls for soups made with the scooped out flesh. Pair squashes and pumpkins with bright flavours such as tomatoes, basil, ginger, chilli and garlic. Squash tends to be firmer than watery pumpkin, so use the latter for making pies and jam.
Removing the tough skin of squashes and pumpkins is laborious but necessary work if you are using them in stir-fries, soups or stews. However, you can bake or roast large segments of pumpkins or squashes with the skin still on; it can be removed more easily after cooking.
Article by Clarissa Hyman | <urn:uuid:0e7c75c0-b81a-4f6e-bfb6-1a9d0d53ef95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/squash | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939355 | 830 | 2.875 | 3 |
By Gregory Ciotti.
Everybody is all abuzz about “creating buzz” these days.
We as marketers operate in an industry obsessed with content that is “buzzwothy”, “viral”, and all other sorts of names that aim to describe a single scenario: getting people to talk about your business. Let me tell you the tale of a truly buzzworthy endeavor by an internet business: back in 1999, Mark Hughes convinced the town of Halfway, Oregon to rename itself Half.com to generate publicity for the growing e-commerce start-up. Needless to say, Mr. Hughes was a guy that really knew how to create buzz, and in 2005, he wrote down his techniques in the wonderful book known as Buzzmarketing. In it, he outlines the six buttons you need to push to get people talking… every single time. With enough exposure and a form of content that pushes these buttons, people will be guaranteed to spread the word. Much of Mark’s book overlaps with the recent research from Wharton Business School on “What Makes Online Content Go Viral” (specifically with the types of emotions triggered), so today I’d like to break down how YOU can use the 6 buttons of buzzmarketing to create content that gets people talking.Let’s begin!
The very first of Mark’s “buttons of buzz” is the taboo.
Taboo content is defined as something that is “labeled by a society as improper, unacceptable, prohibited, or profane.” A lot of people jump right to conclusion that taboo content must be scandals, sex, and bathroom humor, but that’s because the context is out of focus: instead of creating content that’s taboo to society, YOU need to create content that is taboo for your industry and community.
Take a stance on something that will make people in your industry do a double-take, and then back it up with evidence! Many bloggers say they hate pop-ups and just “know” their audience hates them too, so when Dan Zarella showed the data on why pop-ups still work, he was engaging in the creation of taboo content specifically for his industry (online marketing).
Things that are unusual are those that just don’t seem to fit in. The kind of stuff that we simply have to look at, not even because we want to, but because the call is just too strong for us to ignore. As you know, content doesn’t always have to mean blog posts, and when it comes to getting attention in spammy areas like forex trading, creativity is king: one supreme example is MahiFX’s You vs. John Paulson. That page allows you to create your own content, an infographic style breakdown of how quickly billionaire investor John Paulson earns your entire yearly salary (ouch!). It’s 100% strange: it outright insults your current earnings, it requires your input for the content to even be there, and it even mixes in a bit of the taboo! (Comparing salaries).
…and yet, it’s hard to look away! It’s been mentioned and shared a ton of times, and here I am now sharing it with you again, showcasing the power of creating unusual content that gets mentioned and linked to.
In the Wharton study mentioned above, one of the “emotions of high arousal” was that of anger, and here is where it comes into play: in the form of truly outrageous content that gets us fired up and tripping over ourselves to leave feedback. The study cites articles like What Red Ink? Wall Street Paid Hefty Bonuses, and it comes as no surprise that news articles make for a great source of outrageous content. One that is closer to marketer’s hearts is the recent piece on Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25, a piece of “flame-bait” that did it’s job so well, it hooked a bunch of so-called marketers into leaving long-winded comments on why the author was wrong… and even resulted in a ton of them sharing the piece in outrage! Marketing folks should have known better, but they didn’t, and I’m not here to rag on them for it, I’m here to point out just how well outrageous content works. The outrageous differs from the taboo in that it’s not pulling moral strings, it’s all about creating a debate over opinions and dividing people among that debate. When division occurs, people literally fall over themselves to have their voice heard and to affirm their opinion… our brains just can’t help it!
Funny content is often the most viral (see: YouTube videos), but it is harder to incorporate into your typical small business content strategy. While comedians can get away with being hilarious + outrageous all the time, utilizing humor for business related content has to be done a certain way, or it will seem unprofessional or not genuine. One example I always love to showcase is Grasshopper’s “$!@# Entrepreneur’s Say” video, because it takes an industry relevant spin on a popular viral trend on YouTube:
“Dude, let’s go viral right now!”
Taking a jab at the tech entrepreneur community (their customer base), Grasshopper was able to generate 70k+ views and a broad, fun brand impression in front of the right audience.
This is likely the most difficult content to define, and yet it is often the most memorable and effective to create. Without making people angry, without being profane, remarkable content still manages to outshine the competition and live up to the source of its name: being worthy of remark.
As an example, let’s look at the fitness market. While weight loss stories are inspiring, they are a dime a dozen in a place as large as the web, and won’t get the kind of traction that allows them to “go viral”. However, the project Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit did. That’s because the founder put a spin on the tried-and-true fitness journey: being a fitness model already, he let himself get fat, only to lose the weight again in 6 months, to prove that it could be done. That’s thinking outside of the box! Other (more tame) forms of remarkable content come when brands take time to make something truly awesome in a crowded space, just like SEOmoz did with its Beginner’s Guide to SEO, a multi-page work that looks as beautifully as it reads. Now ranking on the homepage for simply “SEO”, I would say their remarkable project has made a huge splash!
This is my favorite sort of content, as it’s the type I practice most often on my blog.
Secret content reveals knowledge that only the “initiated” know about. The post you are reading now is secretive in its own way: it reveals information from a book and a Wharton research paper that not everyone has read. Other forms of secret content come to us in the form of this infographic on KISSmetrics, which looks to answer the question, “How do colors affect purchases?”, while citing research that gives the answer. Since we were just talking about the fitness niche, did you know that most diets fail because our brains are susceptible to “abandoning ship” as soon as their diet starts to falter? When you learn about that research you become initiated, free to share the “secret” with others. Secret content is more than just regular information like “How to set up a Facebook page”, it’s the kind of stuff that comes out of left field and totally blows the lid off of a topic people care about. You can only create secret content by reading good books and by breaking new information in your industry. A tough task to accomplish, but one with a ton of viral potential.
What did you think about these “buzzworthy” forms of content? Which ones can you apply to your content marketing efforts? | <urn:uuid:71870b5b-d6f6-4c51-91bc-fc398e399e26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.endeavor.org/blog/6-ways-to-create-buzzworthy-content/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952787 | 1,709 | 1.625 | 2 |
About the Traveling Exhibitions
Revelations of a Remarkable Jewish History: Traveling Exhibitions that Recreate MetroWest's and New Jersey's Greatest Memories of the 20th Century
The Archives of the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest contains historic documents, memorabilia, photographs and artifacts. To give life to the past, and to make certain it is neither lost nor forgotten, the Jewish Historical Society has opened the doors of its archives to bring history to the people. The traveling exhibitions are available to appear at local synagogues, religious schools, public libraries and museums, colleges and universities, other historical societies and governmental facilities.
The subject matter of the exhibitions reflect a culture and identity of people and institutions from all walks of life, including: Albert Einstein's MetroWest ties; Newark's Beth Israel Hospital, where the first successful operation to implant a nuclear powered pacemaker earned world-wide attention; Morris-Sussex Jewish history before and after World War II; letters from Holocaust victims to local residents; Yiddish theater; and the struggles and triumphs of the founding families of Kings, ShopRite and Pathmark Supermarkets.
Hosting an Exhibition
New Jersey institutions will be given first consideration in hosting the traveling exhibitions produced by the JHSMW. For more information about hosting exhibits please contact Linda Forgosh at (973) 929-2994 or send an email to firstname.lastname@example.org.
Contributing to an Exhibition
The JHSMW welcomes contributions of materials to their exhibitions! All materials received will be scanned for use in the exhibition, and will be considered to be loaned to the JHSMW for the purpose of exhibition unless specifically donated to the Archives. To contribute to the exhibition please contact curator Linda Forgosh at the JHSMW, 901 Route 10 East, Whippany , NJ 07981 , (973) 929-2994 or send an email to email@example.com.
The society is looking for any items that tell the story of the synagogues of Metrowest, including photographs, artifacts, wedding and bar mitzvah albums, wedding gowns, invitations, sisterhood tablecloths, architectural plans, and human interest stories about rabbis and cantors.
PLEASE NOTE: If you would like your exhibition contribution to be added to the archives you will need to donate the original item.
Preserving History By Telling our Story -
Feature A Jewish Historical Society Traveling Exhibition
"To give life to the past and to make certain that it is neither lost nor forgotten, the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest has opened the doors of its archives to bring history to the people through a series of traveling exhibitions that recreate MetroWest's and New Jersey's greatest memories of the twentieth century." (Robert Max, JHSMW past-president)
Weequahic Memoirs: Celebrating Newark's Legendary Neighborhood features 44 panels containing hundreds of photographs that tell the story of Weequahic from the 1930s through the 1960s. There are showcases of artifacts and memorabillia, a Great Map of Weequahic, a vintage clothing gallery, and a video documentary that transports the viewer back to this legendary neighborhood made famous by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Phillip Roth. It's great MetroWest history!
This is the story of Elving's Metropolitan Yiddish Theater, located at the corner of Charlton and Montgomery Streets, in Newark's Prince Street neighborhood from 1921 to 1944. Bernard Elving was the owner,operator, and principal star of the productions. Its cast included Yiddish greats Molly Picon, Moishe Oysher, Aaron Lebedeff, Jennie Goldstein, and Hollywood star Paul Muni.
Who's Minding The Store?: From Mom and Pop Merchants to Supermarket entrepreneurs. This is the story of the founding of New Jersey's premier supermarkets Kings, ShopRite, and Pathmark. A portion of the exhibit is devoted to mom and pop merchants who started family businesses in Essex, Morris, and Sussex Counties, New Jersey, as early as 1886. The exhibit is accompanied by a fully-stocked grocery store with items from the 1930s and 1940s in original packaging. The store is courtesy of MetroWest resident Jerry Rudy.
The history of the Jews of Morris and Sussex Counties dates back to the Civil War. The earliest Jewish residents settled in Morris County towns of Morristown, Dover, Pine Brook, and Mount Freedom, and in the Sussex County towns of Franklin and Newton. The exhibit features towns and synagogues, hotel resorts, and lake communities that were home to Jewish settlers before and after World War II.
Were you, a relative, or friend "born at the Beth?" Did you hold on to your Beth birth certificate? Did you eat lunch on the steps of the hospital or use the hospital lobby as a cut through to get home? Did you have older relatives that were born at the Beth when it was located at the intersection of High and Kinney Streets in Newark? Then this exhibit and its heartwarming stories surrounding the founding, funding, and oversight of Newark's Jewish hospital would be of interest.
Daughters of Israel is the first Jewish home for the aged in New Jersey. The home was located in Newark on Stirling Street starting in 1906, moved to High Street and purchased the vacant hospital building that was formerly Newark Beth Israel Hospital, and relocated to West Orange in 1962 where its buildings have undergone numerous additions and renovations. This exhibit celebrates Daughters of Israel's one hundredth anniversary.
Jewish Family Service of MetroWest is the oldest Jewish social service agency in New Jersey. This organization was started in 1861. The founders were young men, primarily German Jews, who felt it was their obligation to take care of Jewish orphans and needy Jews who needed the basics of food, housing, and a decent job.
JHSMW exhibitions are available for loan. They come with free standing walls,a professional installer and docent lead tours.
Sponsoring organizations are responsible for moving costs and obligated to host a special event to promote the exhibition to their members. To discuss any costs contact curator Linda Forgosh (973)929-2994 or send an email. | <urn:uuid:92ff5947-6863-4705-9ed7-62e7cc8a0a23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jhsmw.org/index.php?id=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945877 | 1,288 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Study Tips for Students
- Manage your time by following a daily routine that includes time for homework, chores, and recreational activities.
- Find a location that is free from distractions to do your homework each night.
- Eat a meal or light snack before doing your homework.
- Use a calendar or assignment planner to record due dates for homework, tests, practices, and other events.
- Keep track of long term assignments such as projects and research papers by breaking them down into steps.
- When you know you have an upcoming test, start studying in several days in advance instead of cramming the night before the test...you will remember the information better.
- "To Do" lists are often helpful for staying organized.
- Ask for help if you don't understand or have questions about your homework; you can ask a friend, parent, teacher, or a homework help line.
- Do the most challenging assignments first, when you are less fatigued.
- Take short breaks during your study time.
If you are interested in a study skills group, contact Jamie Schlafke by phone: 320-274-8226 X 2700 or by e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:66ced2cf-dde3-4921-bd26-e4dc85551d2b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.annandale.k12.mn.us/ittrium/visit/A1x13cfx1x82y1x2300x1x7fy1x2beex1x68y1x2c40x1x68y1x2dffx1x68y1x2e03x1x68 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936369 | 259 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Top Internists in Capitol Heights, MD
An internist is a physician who focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of conditions that affect the adult population - both acute and chronic.
These doctors are often who adults see as their primary physicians because they treat a broad range of illnesses that do not require surgical or specialist interventions. They also work to help a patient maintain optimal health in order to prevent the onset of disease.
In addition to treating the common cold and flu, internists also treat chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
The area of Capitol Heights, MD has a population of approximately 38,621 people. There is 1 internist near Capitol Heights, which gives it a ratio of 1 internist per 38,621 residents or a ratio of 1 internist per 13,895 households. There are 13,895 households in Capitol Heights. | <urn:uuid:7efe80e0-747c-4a48-a9c3-4026e1d539f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vitals.com/specialists/internists/maryland/capitol-heights | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962114 | 174 | 1.554688 | 2 |
I picked up two of these pretty linen pieces at the thrift store a couple of months ago. I'm not really sure if they're actually placemats but they're about the right size. There's no way I'm eating on pretty hand embroidered linen though. I'd be bleaching till the cows come home. So....pillows they will become!
cotton for backing
cotton for pillow liner
batting or stuffing (I used old pillows)
1) After pressing all of your fabrics, fold your pillow backing with wrong sides together. Fold your placemat in half and align it with the selvedge of your fabric but in about 2 3/4".
2) Cut your fabric around the outside of your placemat, ensuring a hem of at least 5/8".
3) Fold over the straight edge approximately 5/8" and press. If you weren't able to use a selvedge edge, finish the edge with a narrow hem.
|You can sew this down if you want, but it's not necessary.|
5) Place your fabric on top of your placemat. Fold and press along the edge to create a hem.
6) Pin your fabric to your placemat, one side only. VERY IMPORTANT: place wrong sides together. We will not be turning anything so make sure your wrong sides are together.
7) Sew as close as you dare to the edge.
8) Repeat, placing the second side of your backing down, overlapping the straight edges.
9) And there you have it! Two wonderfully flat but pretty pillows!
KIDDING. Now we have to fill them with something. You could go out and buy pillow forms, but the odds of you finding something the same size as your placemats are pretty low. Besides, pillow forms are a bit on the pricey side considering no one every even sees them.
First up is something to hold your pillow inside of the case.
10) I found some very inexpensive brushed cotton in a neutral colour in the bargain bin. Just trace along the outside of your linen pillow case with a generous hem.
11) Cut and sew together. This does not have to be pretty. Absolutely no one will see this, so I just serged my edges together.
Next, I dug into my closet FULL of pillows. Yes, I have a closet of pillows. I was having major neck and shoulder problems and tried pillow after pillow, each one fluffier or more sturdy than the next. Eventually I figured out that the only thing that works is one of those stupid molded foam wave pillows. Not pretty, but at least I can sleep now. Anyhow....
10) Open up your pillow. I was very surprised that the first one I opened up was nothing but a quilt batt inside.
The second one had little foam chips.
12) Fill your pillow form and serge closed. Place your pillow form inside your pretty linen pillow case.
|Wish I had an embroidery machine to monogram the centers~|
|Just random pillows I had, that don't go with anything.|
It's a work in progress, but it's getting there.
Big thanks to my special helper, Katya.
"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task." ~William James
Do you have any projects you're putting off for no good reason? What do you do to avoid procrastination. Share your ideas below...I need as much as help as I can get~
Have a crafty week everyone! | <urn:uuid:aca7e1d0-e430-46e6-8254-d80e63ae175d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://etcetorize.blogspot.com/2012/05/linen-placemat-pillows.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951205 | 755 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Second Life is a world of its own. It's a virtual universe that allows participants to operate cyber versions of themselves. A lot of colleges use Second Life for myriad purposes, from online classes to research projects.
It was a pretty big deal, then, when Woodbury University, a small school in Burbank, Calif., got booted off Second Life for the second time in four years on Tuesday, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. Woodbury was kicked out the first time in 2007. Linden Labs, which owns and oversees Second Life, didn't give a specific reason for the ban, but the Chronicle story suggests that it had to do with accusations of vandalism and Woodbury's ongoing dispute with another group on Second Life.
"Linden Lab has decided to no longer support Woodbury University in Second Life," said an E-mail notice from Linden Labs sent to Edward Clift, the dean of media, culture and design at Woodbury. "We are making this decision based on historical and recent events that constitute a breach of the Second Life community standards and terms of service. We ask that you please respect the decision and do not take part in the Second Life platform in the future."
Woodbury was originally kicked out of the virtual world for ignoring Linden Labs' warnings to control digital characters affiliated with the school's virtual region. Those characters were involved in some "disruptive and hostile behavior."
Either way, Woodbury is disappointed by the decision. Clift says Woodbury doesn't support vandalism or any other kind of misbehavior, but he did acknowledge that Woodbury's "virtual campus" didn't comply with what Linden Labs preferred for college campuses on Second Life. Clift tells the Chronicle that Woodbury wants a more open facility for students and faculty than the traditional setup, which often featured online lecture halls.
"Woodbury is sick of this," Clift tells the Chronicle. "Our brand is being maligned, and our 125-year mission is being trampled on."
Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of America's Best Colleges. | <urn:uuid:1b916da9-41c3-4957-9c5c-29dedc3433a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/paper-trail/2010/04/22/california-college-loses-second-life-for-a-second-time | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965607 | 424 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Posted 26 June 2009 - 07:03 PM
DH asked me to ask here, if there are any tricks on getting the onion-ball to increase its size ? Would "hilling" them help as it does with potatoes ?? Any other useful tips ?
( I really do get a kick out of DH asking me to post a question for him. He's not one to visit "Chat Forums" but let him need a tractor or mower part... and he'll be on the computer for a while ! lol.)
Thank You again for Your hepl. Mea.
Posted 26 June 2009 - 08:13 PM
They need nitrogen early on, but less as plants mature. Supply their high potassium needs by digging in greensand the fall before. use compost and sprinkle with some wood ashes to supply minerals. Keep well watered until bulbing time.
You don't hill up onions. In fact, you need to plant them rather shallow so they are not hindered when they start to swell.
Each "leaf" is a layer in the bulb. The more leaves you have, the more layers and the bigger the bulb.
Plant them no more than six weeks before your average last frost date, but protect from freezing, or they may send up a flower stalk prematurely.This would prevent bulbing.
Also, be sure you are planting onions suitable to your location. You would need long day onions, based on your location. In my Virginia location, I plant Intermediate-day onions. In the south, they need short-day onions. This is all based on the number of hours of sunlight you get in your area. Onions respond to daylight hours. It affects how soon they begin to bulb.
Posted 26 June 2009 - 08:31 PM
Thank You for the information. I have never heard about the length of day affecting the bulbing process. Now i'll have to go back thru the seed cataloges and read if they put that information in. Not that it will do much good... other than the multiplier onion.. i cannot remember what the name of the onions were. ( must be aging faster in the summer heat. me, not the onions..lol.) M.
Posted 03 December 2009 - 09:52 AM
~ Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit in me. Psalm 51:10 ~
~ALL IT TAKES FOR EVIL TO PREVAIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING.~
Posted 27 December 2009 - 06:54 PM
In order to help the onions store better you must let them cure properly before storing. As onion tops start to dry up and fall over in fall, go down the row and bend over the ones that aren't doing it naturally. I used to not want to do this, thinking that they would grow more but by that time of year the day length is getting shorter and they are done growing. Once they start to dry up you can pull them up and let them lay on top of the ground for a few days to finish drying. If the weather is wet then I bring them in the garage to dry, I built a 4'x8' frame and tacked chicken wire onto it and then set it on some saw bucks and spread the onions out on it with a fan blowing to help them dry.
When you cut the tops off the point where you cut should be dry and shriveled. Any that are still thick and moist should not be stored ( they wil start to sprout very quickly) I use those for chopping up and dehydrating or freezing. Store them in a cool and dark, but dry spot away from fruits that could pick up a flavor from the onions. Make sure that they have some air circulation around them, like in a mesh sack or in boxes in single layers. If you pile them up you will be apt to miss one if it goes bad. Every time I go to the cellar to get onions I give them a quick looking over to make sure to use up any that may be spoiling or spouting.
Well, sorry for being so long winded, hope it helps.
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[linux-dvb] How to measure API "goodness"?
awalls at radix.net
Fri Sep 12 04:32:37 CEST 2008
On Wed, 2008-09-10 at 13:40 +1000, Glenn McGrath wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 10:42 AM, Andy Walls <awalls at radix.net> wrote:
> > This leads into something I've been thinking about the past few days
> > that's probably worth discussion out loud:
> > What are the attributes to measure for comparing APIs or API proposals?
> > How can each attribute be measure objectively (if possible)?
> > What are the units for each measurement attribute?
> > What weight should be given to each attribute?
> > Given the back and forth on the list, I thought some discussion on how
> > one might perform a technical evaluation of an API may be productive.
> > The list conversations on certain point aspects of API proposals, would
> > benefit from rough concensus on how API "goodness" should be measured in
> > the first place, instead of arguing over perceptions/measurements that
> > may not be that important to a "good" API.
> > Regards,
> > Andy
> Well said,
> but can the goodness of an API even be measured ?
IMO, sure. Objective, consistent, and (reasonably) repeatable
assessment may be tricky.
Is it worth the work? Maybe not. I depends on the payoff.
> The more i learn about programming the more i think software
> blueprints (to avoid saying design) are created rather than designed,
> and that deep down this is a discussion of science vs art.
I suspect that had this API project started by going through a thorough
High Level Requirements capture
High Level Design
High Level Design Review
Detailed Requirements capture
Detailed Design Review
then all these list discussions would have been moot and there would
only be the one, well reviewed API, *especially* with the proper parties
participating in the design reviews.
Although it may still have been 2 years to get something... ;)
On art vs. engineering:
Software development can be undertaken as a rigorous engineering
discipline, but doing so can take all the enjoyment out of it for the
Treating software development as an undisciplined art yields results and
schedules that are difficult to reliably predict, manage, and control;
so managing the project costs and software quality becomes a real
> For example, to many the 5 measurable attributes you specify come
> under the subjective value of beauty,
Actually I'd imagine the attributes would end up being assessed/scored
subjectively by individuals. With enough people, with a minimum level
of experience, performing an assessment, averaging the subjective scores
for one attribute and computing a variance would come close to a good
objective assessment of an API against any particular attribute.
I'd also contend that beauty is a natural consequence of scoring high on
a majority of the attributes and not the other way around. But I agree
with you that there is a correlation.
> people will quickly decide if
> they personally like an API or not, and that is likely to determine
> how useful it is.
I'll agree. There are subsets of people in any assessment with their
own agendas or interests. In this case, I can hypothesize groups with
differing motivations that may wish to add weight to certain other
attributes for calling an API good:
1. users: usually want the API to support their particular hardware as
soon as possible with minimal effort on their part
2. kernel devs: may want an API that is easy to adopt and maintain,
especially on the "inward facing" side. Also want to enhance the linux
kernel functionality in the long run.
3. people with some financial interest in supporting customers or
employers: may want their customer's or employer's hardware and user
apps supported as soon as possible.
4. application writers: may often prefer an API with minimal complexity
to use that also doesn't force them to rework a lot of existing code.
The hypothesized groups above have desires to satisfy differing short to
mid terms goals. An API ideally should be selected to guarantee gains
in the long term. IMO
> If you do find any references on measuring an API (or a design) i
> would love to read them.
I haven't had time to look yet. Crazy week at work. I doubt I'll find
anything anyway. :P
More information about the linux-dvb | <urn:uuid:e767c799-a408-422d-9541-7b6d4fc6b00a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linuxtv.org/pipermail/linux-dvb/2008-September/028727.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936001 | 986 | 1.5 | 2 |
Massachusetts program Administrators offer Advanced Buildings™ seminars. These 4-hour sessions target design and engineering staff as well as building owners and/or property managers who serve as decision makers during the design/construction phase of a building. The workshops encourage sustainable building design in new facilities so customers can reap energy efficiency benefits long after buildings are completed.
Advanced Buildings is a suite of technical resources, trainings and information to improve the way buildings are designed, built and used. Using whole building patterns, design process tools, and education, it provides designers with the resources to incorporate integrated design strategies on their next project to reduce energy usage and improve indoor environmental quality. Advanced Buildings is compatible with both LEED™ and ENERGY STAR®. The program focuses on non-residential buildings ranging in size from 20,000 to 100,000 ft2. Building types include office, educational, retail, grocery, medical clinics, commercial and industrial storage and other building types by specific systems.
Attendance at one of these sessions is $199/person, and participants can earn 4.0 AIA Learning Units (HSW) or 0.35 CSU.
For information or to register for an Advanced Building Seminar, contact:
New construction of office, retail and elementary/high school facilities from 20,000 to 100,000 feet. The design and construction must comply with section 2 of Core Performance requirement of the Advanced Buildings guidelines. Other facility types may be considered on a custom basis. | <urn:uuid:4cec3967-e80e-4153-af08-be349707b32c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.masssave.com/professionals/training-and-certifications/advanced-buildings-seminars | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931704 | 302 | 1.671875 | 2 |
California-based artist Andrew Meyers’ screw portraits take several steps to execute. First, he places pages from a phone book on top of a plywood panel base. Then, he sketches his subject’s face and pre-drills 7,000 to 10,000 holes by hand. Once the screws are in at the correct depth, he paints over each head individually to create the finished product, which looks more like a portrait than a sculpture. “The real challenge comes when the sculpture is done and I have to get rid of the flat drawing,” he has said. “It’s hard because of the screws — you can’t get a brush behind them. I did figure out a way to do it, but I’m keeping it a secret.” Click through to get a better look at his labor-intensive works, which have sold for as much as $35,000 a pop. | <urn:uuid:3d1baaa0-9325-4296-bed4-499dc332ed65> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://flavorwire.com/155054/andrew-meyers-crazy-screw-portraits | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982818 | 194 | 1.515625 | 2 |
WebMD Medical News
Laura J. Martin, MD
Aug. 25, 2011 -- If you think hospitals aren’t as good at treating strokes on weekends as they are on weekdays, reconsider. A new study shows that the so-called “weekend effect” doesn’t apply everywhere.
And besides, the stakes are way too high to ever delay seeking care.
No matter what day of the week it is, “if you think you or someone you love is having a stroke, call 911,” says Roger Bonomo, MD, director of stroke care at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital. “Don’t wait until Monday.”
Warning signs of stroke include:
The weekend effect suggests that people who are admitted to a hospital on weekends with a stroke don’t fare as well as those hospitalized on weekdays. The reasons for this effect vary, but may be because of reduced hospital staff on weekends.
Stroke patients who were admitted to hospitals in New Jersey over the weekend were 5% more likely to die within 90 days than people who were hospitalized during the normal work week unless they were treated at comprehensive stroke centers. The study appears in Stroke.
There are likely several reasons that there was no weekend effect seen at comprehensive stroke centers, James S. McKinney III, MD, tells WebMD in an email. He's an assistant professor of neurology at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J.
“Services [at comprehensive stroke centers], such as physical therapy, [imaging] availability, or acute stroke teams, work around the clock to ensure that all patients are treated the same regardless of the time or day of admission,” McKinney says.
“This is another important study adding to the evidence that treatment at stroke centers can improve outcomes for stroke,” Ralph Sacco, MD, tells WebMD. He's chair of neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and immediate past president of the American Heart Association. These centers and the doctors who work at them have the “soup-to-nuts ability to handle all kinds of complicated strokes," Sacco says.
Most Americans live within one hour of a stroke center. So access to specialized stroke centers is improving, he says.
SOURCES:McKinney, J. Stroke, 2011.Ralph Sacco, MD, chair of neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Florida.James S. McKinney III, MD, assistant professor, department of neurology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J.Roger Bonomo, MD, director of stroke care, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York.American Heart Association.American Stroke Association.
The Health News section does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information. | <urn:uuid:9d8d2a0e-fb4d-444f-a055-96c31c1e5928> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.9wsyr.com/webmd/stroke/story/No-Weekend-Effect-at-Specialized-Stroke-Centers/sL_LAXafok-S33c4hE0Lcg.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953722 | 620 | 2.3125 | 2 |
The objective of LuftIllumen© is to provide a modular lighting system to be used for the temporary (rental) market. The unique characteristic of this project is that each module would consist of a floating lighting element whereas each module would have different apertures to control lighting for each unique situation. Putting them together would form a floating cloud of light, with areas of dense to little light according to the needs of the particular space.
The original mock-up plan of each singular module consisted of a lightweight shell/skin/envelope that has specific apertures, on extruded surfaces from a basic icosahedron form, that permits a certain light density to be emitted. Inside the shell a large balloon would be fitted with battery powered LEDs and filled up with helium, making the singular module float in the air. All the modules could then be grouped together by magnetic connection points fitted in the shell surface. After taking in the comments at the final review, we are tended to go with the use of independent connection pieces to reduce the weight of the basic modular element.
The elements were created through Autodesk Maya. The icosahedron form is standard in the program. Each triangular side was then equally extruded out of the original form. A triangular opening was created in each extrusion that functions as a light diaphragm. This first object was duplicated and altered to have bigger apertures.
In Adobe Photoshop we created a square black and white image to form the basis of the exemplary assembly. This was in turn used with a blend shape to shift between the smallest and largest aperture objects.
Originally the size of the apertures were controlled by the height of each module in the overall assembly. This first digital assembly was derived from the black and white Adobe Photoshop picture that we drew, whereas the white regions were the lowest elements. The different heights were then broken in five specific heights with their respective aperture at that point.
Each separate element was then imported into Pepakura Designer, where it was automatically unfolded as a cutout sheet. This file was then cleaned up in Autodesk Autocad and prepared for lasercutting. After the lasercut sheets were finished, we just had to fold them to their form and glue it together.
The first fabrication we tested, were two icosahedron forms that each could be cut out of a single Museum Board sheet and folded together. This size was a good study model but proved to be too small to integrate the balloon and LEDs.
The second fabrication we had lasercut was a larger element out of five Pulp Boards. This material might still be too heavy for the ratio Helium to carry the element versus the dead weight of the element itself.
We are still looking for better lightweight materials to test such as Aluminum and plastics such as Polyethylene.
Testing another technique such as injection molding with plastics, could result in the redundancy of the (internal) balloon, and rather use the void within the element to directly be filled up with helium.
Link to final powerpoint: *Final Powerpoint Presentation*
Derek | Frederik | <urn:uuid:46c85929-0e4e-4f78-a1be-1c91dc3ea0e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ming3d.com/DAAP/ARCH719sp11/?p=508 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960932 | 640 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Is spring really going to come soon? Not in the Plains states: the region hunkered down on Monday as, what the National Weather Service called “a crippling, historic blizzard" hit Texas, Oklahoma and threatened parts of Kansas and Missouri. The Texas Panhandle was receiving 2 to 3 inches of snow each hour and roads are impassable after all the snowplows were pulled out. Oklahoma has been getting the brunt as well, with 16 inches of snow expected in the whiteout. The storm is also expected to affect the Southeast, with tornadoes feared in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and the Florida panhandle. Last week, a massive storm slammed the region, dumping 18 inches of snow in parts of Kansas and 13 inches in northern Missouri.
PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL?! Orlin Wagner/AP | <urn:uuid:f2ebeed8-2683-41f7-b792-06a401eed9b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2013/02/25/blizzard-eyes-plains-states.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949654 | 171 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The landscape in the central Andes Mountains, near the border between Chile and Argentina, is dominated by volcanoes and associated landforms. Layers of older sedimentary rocks are visible to the upper middle, and many volcanic cones show grooves where water has eroded the rock to form gullies. Such erosion has occurred since the host volcano was built up, indicating that most volcanoes in this view have been inactive for centuries or millennia.
A few volcanoes exhibit much less erosion, and even show tongues of dark, recent lava flows (upper left). Two of these volcanoes, Cerro el Cóndor and Peinado, have likely erupted within the past 12,000 years.
Also visible is the world’s highest active volcano, Nevado Ojos del Salado, with a summit 6,887 meters (22,600 feet) above sea level. The most recent confirmed eruption has been dated to the year 700 (+/- 300 years), but minor eruptive activity may have occurred as recently as 1993.
Stratovolcanoes such as Cerro el Cóndor, Peinado, and Nevado Ojos del Salado are formed partly by the buildup of lava flows and partly by the buildup of explosively vented material dropping back down onto the surface. One material associated with these eruptions is welded tuff, formed by molten and fragmented rock that accumulates on the ground and later solidifies. A large tuff sheet is visible at the top left. Formed very rapidly, these sheets have been termed “instant landscapes.” The Andean volcanic system has been so active that the origin of many tuffs cannot be pinpointed because the source vents have been overprinted by subsequent volcanic events.
The landscape also shows that the erosive work of rivers and glaciers in the region is slower than the upward building processes of the volcanoes. The bright blue lake -- nearly 7 km (4.3 miles) long -- near the center of the image is Laguna Verde. This and other less obvious lakes indicate that water from snowmelt or direct precipitation is unable to reach the sea, being impounded in the depressions between the volcanic edifices. | <urn:uuid:bb7c8c99-19cb-4231-b767-cac04cca0e3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=45618 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9639 | 454 | 4.28125 | 4 |
An overview of Muslim Astronomers
Summarised extracts from a full article, see resources below, where end notes, references and bibliography are given.
by: Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation. Info@fstc.co.uk
The work of the Muslim astronomers who lived between 9th and 12th centuries was both innovative and accurate. Its influence was felt for generations to come. Many of the most basic concepts of modern astronomy were either developed directly by them, or came about through their influence on later astronomers.
This concise biographical overview presents the work of eight of them.
Muslim scholars who worked on the subject of astronomy receive a good treatment in The Dictionary of Scientific Biography.(endnote 38)
There are also, of course, Suter, Brockelmann, Sezgin and Sarton for more details on each of such astronomers. Amongst these astronomers was Al-Battani (d. 929) who wrote The Sabian tables (al-Zij al-Sabi), a very influential work for centuries after him.(endnote 39)
Al-Battani's work also includes timing of the new moons, calculation of the length of the solar and sideral year, the prediction of eclipses and the phenomenon of parallax.'(endnote 40)
Al-Battani also popularised if not discovered the first notions of trigonometrical ratios used today,(endnote 41) and made serious emendations to Ptolemy.(endnote 42)
Al-Sufi (903-986) made several observations on the obliquity of the ecliptic and the motion of the sun (or the length of the solar year.)(endnote 43) He also made observations and descriptions of the stars, setting out his results constellation by constellation, discussing the stars positions, their magnitudes and their colour, and for each constellation providing two drawings from the outside of a celestial globe, and from the inside.(endnote 44) Al-Sufi also wrote on the astrolabe and its thousand or so uses.
Al-Biruni (973-1050) claimed that the earth rotated around its own axis.(endnote 45) He calculated the earth circumference, and fixed scientifically the direction of Makkah (Mecca) from any point of the globe. Al-Biruni wrote in total 150 works, including 35 treatises on pure astronomy, of which only six have survived.(endnote 46)
Ibn Yunus (d 1009) made observations for nearly thirty years (977-1003) using amongst others a large astrolabe of nearly 1.4 m in diameter, determining more than 10,000 entries of the sun's position throughout the years.(endnote 47)
Al-Farghani was one of Caliph Al-Mamun's astronomers. He wrote on the astrolabe, explaining the mathematical theory behind the instrument and correcting faulty geometrical constructions of the central disc, that were current then.(endnote 48) His most famous book Kitab fi Harakat Al-Samawiyah wa Jaamai Ilm al-Nujum on cosmography contains thirty chapters including a description of the inhabited part of the earth, its size, the distances of the heavenly bodies from the earth and their sizes, as well as other phenomena.(endnote 49)
Al-Zarqali (Arzachel) (1029-1087) prepared the Toledan Tables and was also a renowned instrument maker who constructed a more sophisticated astrolabe: a safiha, accompanied by a treatise.(endnote 50)
Jabir Ibn Aflah (d. 1145) was the first to design a portable celestial sphere to measure and explain the movements of celestial objects. Jabir is specially noted for his work on spherical trigonometry. Al-Bitruji's work 'Kitab-al-Hay'ah' was translated by the Sicilian based Michael Scot, and bore considerable influence thereafter.
On how the works of various Muslim astronomers have been used, or relied upon by scholars who followed them has received attention by many of the sources already cited. There remains many matters of contention as can be expected. Indeed, if it is easy for many scholars to find the Greek origin in many Islamic works, however flimsy the evidence, the other way round, that is recognising the Muslim origin of any breakthrough of significance amongst the likes of Copernicus, Galileo, etc, is denied even when the evidence is beyond the glaring.
No better instance than Copernicus' theories based on those of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and Ibn Shatir. Pedersen, for instance, noting the resemblance, still finds no line of transmission.(endnote 51)
This line of transmission North bluntly states it, holding that Greek and Latin materials that made use of al-Tusi's device were circulating in Italy at about the time Copernicus studied there.(endnote 52) And North does not hesitate to add that Copernicus made repeated uses of al-Tusi's and his followers' devices.(endnote 53)
On this issue see also works by Gingerich,(endnote 54) and above all the masterly delivery by George Saliba, which explains all about this matter at http://www.columbia.edu/~gas1/project/visions/case1/sci.1.html
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Speaking as someone who went to a lutheran seminary, let's attack these questions one at a time, shall we?
Is this "Law" of ("Law and Gospel") referring to the Old Testament law?
The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord says in Section V "Law and Gospel"...
Anything that preaches concerning our sins and God's wrath, let it be
done how or when it will, that is all a preaching of the Law. Again,
the Gospel is such a preaching as shows and gives nothing else than
grace and forgiveness in Christ, although it is true and right that
the apostles and preachers of the Gospel (as Christ Himself also did)
confirm the preaching of the Law, and begin it with those who do not
yet acknowledge their sins nor are terrified at [by the sense of]
God's wrath; as He says, John 16:8: 13] "The Holy Ghost will reprove
the world of sin because they believe not on Me." Yea, what more
forcible, more terrible declaration and preaching of God's wrath
against sin is there than just the suffering and death of Christ, His
Son? But as long as all this preaches God's wrath and terrifies men,
it is not yet the preaching of the Gospel nor Christ's own preaching,
but that of Moses and the Law against the impenitent. For the Gospel
and Christ were never ordained and given for the purpose of
terrifying and condemning, but of comforting and cheering those who
are terrified and timid.
For Luther, the "Law" was anything that stung the conscience of its own sins against GOD and neighbor, while "Gospel" or "Grace" was anything that communicated the love and forgiveness of GOD.
If so, do Lutherans believe that these Old Testament laws should be enforced as equally as the rules set forth in the New Testament?
Lutherans believe that not all Old Testament laws should be enforced equally, but that there is a timeless truth behind each of the laws that can be applied to today's context. For further information on this please see...
The Epitome of the Formula of Concord section VI entitled "The Third Use of the Law"...
VI. The Third Use of the Law.
1] Since the Law was given to men for three reasons: first, that
thereby outward discipline might be maintained against wild,
disobedient men [and that wild and intractable men might be
restrained, as though by certain bars]; secondly, that men thereby
may be led to the knowledge of their sins; thirdly, that after they
are regenerate and [much of] the flesh notwithstanding cleaves to
them, they might on this account have a fixed rule according to which
they are to regulate and direct their whole life, a dissension has
occurred between some few theologians concerning the third use of the
Law, namely, whether it is to be urged or not upon regenerate
So, for Lutherans the Law has three purposes, 1) restrain evil 2) show humanity its evil and 3) as a guidebook for how Christians ought to live in grace.
I hope this helps! | <urn:uuid:eda925c1-daba-4202-9376-a0eb3ee1f99b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/4196/what-is-the-lutheran-doctrine-of-law-and-gospel?answertab=votes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954581 | 669 | 2.359375 | 2 |
January 7, 2011 by USA Post
News 12, (AP) – Teachers at Central Falls High School signed an agreement to return to their jobs last year after the entire staff was fired in a radical, last attempt to raise student achievement. But if the directors thought teachers would be grateful for a second chance, they were wrong.
Many teachers are not showing up for work, often shouting sick. Several abruptly quit during the first weeks of the school year. Administrators had to scramble to find qualified replacements and identified hundreds of student grades for absences of teachers.
The progress of school boards across the city – and the Obama administration – had hoped seems increasingly, and alarmingly elusive.
The problems come despite a labor contract that union leaders and administrators in this heavily immigrant city poor trumpeted as a breakthrough in Central Falls High, a wrestling school of nearly 840 students, where only 7 percent of the 11th-graders were competent in mathematics in 2009.
“I expected when everyone came to school there would not be a shared priority to ensure that everything was a success,” said state Education Commissioner Deborah Gist. “At this stage, we are concerned whether or not people will be able to let go of the past and work together to move forward.”
Exactly what causes all the problems is unclear, but both sides acknowledge persistent dissatisfaction with the firings and changes that followed.
Richard Kinslow, an English teacher who was not sick, crying, said a new management team that was established was inexperienced and did not provide support for teachers or take action against rampant discipline problems, including what he said was physical and verbal abuse to staff by students.
“We do not have a sense of clarity in our leadership. We do not have a clear idea of their mission or vision. Communication was, again, terrible,” said Kinslow. “If I’m going to be thrown into the bus by my supposed leaders every day, where is my hope? Where is my team? Why should I work?”
But he said he was hopeful that a team of mediators to come to school might encourage cooperation.
Central High Falls became Exhibit A in a national debate on education reform at the school board last February has authorized the firing of all teachers. The school has been identified as one of the worst condition, and after discussions with the union broke down, the superintendent used a new option created by the Obama administration, allowing the firing of teachers challenged schools stage.
President Barack Obama seemed to endorse the shooting; saying drastic measures may be justified when schools show no sign of improvement.
The White House declined comment this week.
After months of negotiations, the teachers have been rehired after agreeing to work another day in school, subject to more rigorous assessments and provide more academic support. At the time, Gist said that the changes would result in “dramatic realization.”
That did not happen.
More than a dozen teachers – and sometimes over 20 – about 90 staff persons were absent during an average day this fall, including six long-term leave, “said Central Falls School Superintendent Frances Gallo. Fifteen teachers have left since August, including six who quit after the return, if the directors said they had one vacancy to be filled.
“It’s extremely frustrating, but more than that, I think it is extremely unprofessional,” said Gallo. “Teaching is to get a black eye, and why? Because teachers are not all equal to their vocation. ”
The directors held more than 450 classes in the first quarter after having decided on the participation of teachers was too unequal to measure student performance.
A clutch of students disrupted classes last month, and the president of the American Federation of Teachers held a news conference to support teachers.
Some students said they were tired of negative attention, arguing that teachers are the scapegoats for problems beyond their control. But some also said there are teachers and administrators who are not equipped to deal with disciplinary and academic problems.
“If we do not work, they redirect us. They come to us out of the classroom. How do we learn to take a shot every day?” Frankie asked Dehoyos, 14, a freshman. But he added, “We should all be ashamed -. Not only teachers, students’
Some parents are angry – some of them teachers, some administrators at both sides.
“Teachers have used their sick days. Almost every day they are absent, so that students do not receive much education, “said Jose Ortiz, as his daughter, Kyara, a student Central Falls, translated from Spanish. “Students do not pay attention in class because teachers do not help them.”
Gallo said teachers’ absences have affected the positive developments in Central Falls, including new school on Saturday, a new math program – and the fact that nearly 20 teachers have not missed a day of work.
Very Hispanic Central Falls is the smallest city in the poorest and Rhode Island with a population of nearly 19,000. A quarter of families live in poverty and 65 percent speak a language other than English at home. The city is under the control of a receiver appointed by the state, which says its problems are so severe that Central Falls should consider merging with neighboring Pawtucket.
“It was not easy to be fired for failure to test results in English and math when they already know that children are not at that level when we give them tests,” said JoAnn Boss a Spanish teacher who was on long-term sick leave for this fall.
Gist said that the school could improve if it continues to monitor its reform plan, which sets targets to increase the academic competence, increasing the graduation rate and improving student discipline.
But she and other officials have acknowledged that other drastic measures such as school closure or the replacement of teachers may be considered if things do not improve quickly.
“There are good reasons to hope he can get better,” said Robert Flanders, president of the state Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education. “Because it can not be worse.”
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Please feel free to send if you have any questions regarding this post , you can contact on
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are that of the authors and not necessarily that of U.S.S.POST. | <urn:uuid:5121576f-2688-47a7-af2f-c14a80f4bb2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usspost.com/news-12-2-25367/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974733 | 1,330 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Chicago history is more than just a fire. But sooner or later, there's bound to be a story of the Great Conflagration of 1871. The house at 2121 North Hudson Avenue is at the center of this tale.
The Chicago Fire started on the Near South Side. Pushed on by strong southwest winds, it burned through downtown, jumped the river, and continued moving north. Nothing in its path seemed safe.
By the second evening the fire had passed Center Street (Armitage). Here the buildings were fewer and farther apart. On Hudson Avenue, the only house was a little wooden cottage belonging to a policeman named Richard Bellinger.
As the fire approached, Bellinger was determined to save his home. He tore up the wooden sidewalk, then collected all the water he could, in whatever bucket or bottle or cup was handy. Then he waited--but not for long.
Sparks from the fire started to hit the house, and Bellinger quickily doused them. The fire kept coming, Bellinger kept pouring water. He ran around the four sides of the little cottage, he climbed on the roof, he dropped back to the ground. Wherever the flames lit, Bellinger was there to put them out.
He grew tired. He lost track of time. But he was winning. The fire around him was almost gone. And then--he ran out of water!
Was all his hard toil for nothing? All he needed was a bucket or two more! Oh, cruel twist of fate!
But wait! Bellinger remembered the barrel of apple cider in the cellar. He told his wife to draw some of the cider into buckets. And with this bit of liquid, the valiant policeman was able to extinguish the remaining flames, and save his home.
The Triumph of Policeman Bellinger became a part of Chicago folklore. It was even reprinted in school textbooks. On October 8, the anniversary of the fire, teachers would march their classes to the cottage on Hudson Avenue, and tell the story of how it had been saved by cider. Besides the Water Tower, this little frame house was the only building that had survived the disaster.
Then one day in 1915, a little old white-haired lady appeared at the door of 2121 North Hudson Avenue. It was Mrs. Bellinger, come back to visit the old homestead. She was invited in and looked around. Then she began to reminisce about the events of forty-four years before.
Yes, she said, her late husband had worked mightily to save the house. After the fire, they had sheltered 21 people in the tiny cottage. However, that cider business had been invented by some reporter with an over-active imagination.
"We did have a barrel of cider in the basement," Mrs. Bellinger declared. "But we didn't use it because we were able to get enough water from the dugout across the street."
That destroyed one myth. And more recently, historians have determined that at a couple of other wooden cottages on Cleveland Avenue also came through the fire. So the Bellinger house is not even unique as a survivor.
But it still makes a damn good story. | <urn:uuid:aac906c8-0f5f-4500-9d30-9dccad61eb6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wbez.org/blog/john-r-schmidt/2011-07-19/cider-house-story-89141 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985917 | 656 | 2.40625 | 2 |
- ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani
nuclear scientists, in collaboration with former Pakistani intelligence
officers, were assisting Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization in developing
a "dirty" nuclear weapons capability, U.S. and Pakistani intelligence
agencies concluded, United Press International learned Thursday.
- Speaking not for attribution, intelligence officers in
Washington and Islamabad are convinced documents uncovered in Kabul and
the interrogation of nuclear scientists, who were frequent visitors to
Taliban-ruled Afghanistan ostensibly involved in humanitarian work, are
conclusive evidence al-Qaeda was trying to put together a "nuclear
device in the 'dirty-bomb' category."
- One Pakistani general who has seen the evidence described
the device as a "dirty nuclear weapon," i.e., radioactive materials
wrapped around conventional explosives. He also believes bin Laden obtained
such materials on Russia's nuclear black market.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria
is aware of 175 cases of trafficking in nuclear materials since 1993, including
18 that involved highly enriched uranium and plutonium pellets the size
of a U.S. silver dollar.
- 18 Million Chances
- There are 18 million potential delivery vehicles to covertly
introduce a nuclear device in the United States. That's the number of cargo
containers that arrive in the United States annually. Only 3 percent of
them are inspected by U.S. Customs, and bills of lading do not have to
be produced until they arrive at their final destination.
- Radioactivity is invisible, as was the case with the
Chernobyl disaster in 1985, but not undetectable. There is no way of knowing
the future impact on people exposed, although prolonged radiation exposure
can cause genetic alterations resulting in birth defects, health problems
and even death. Because most of the long-term effects of radiation are
unknown, "dirty" nuclear devices are more weapons of mass disruption
than mass destruction.
- An unidentified former chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence agency is believed to be the man who coordinated bin Laden's
nuclear ambitions. One local intelligence source speculated a dirty bomb
could have been smuggled out before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New
York and the Pentagon. It would have been transported in a truck all the
way to Karachi, in southern Pakistan and then shipped in a cargo container.
- That could be the weapon Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad
Omar was referring to when he said after the U.S. bombing started Oct.
7 that America would soon have to face extinction. Allowing for hyperbole,
he may have known what bin Laden was planning next.
- Another ex-ISI chief, retired Gen. Hameed Gul, predicted
to UPI after Sept. 11 that one day there would be a single Islamic state
stretching from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and it would have nuclear weapons
and control the oil resources of the Persian Gulf.
- The general is an ISI legend and still popular among
the agency's leaders, who were his junior officers in the late 1980s. Gul
is vehemently anti-American and a Muslim fundamentalist. He acts as "strategic
adviser" to Pakistan's extremist religious parties and spent two weeks
in Afghanistan immediately before Sept. 11.
- It's Not Over
- Gul slowly is emerging as the spokesman for the combined
opposition of Islamist fundamentalists. In Thursday's Urdu-language newspapers,
he is quoted as saying: "No one can tell us how to run our nuclear
facilities and nuclear programs. This is being done in the interest of
Pakistan, not the United States. The Taliban will always remain in Afghanistan,
and Pakistan will always support them."
- He presumably was referring to Taliban intentions to
launch a guerrilla campaign once it had lost Kandahar, its last outpost.
- Gul's only daughter runs VARAN, the public transportation
bus company that enjoys a monopoly in Islamabad and its twin military garrison
city of Rawalpindi. Gul himself lives in "Pindi" in an army housing
development for retired generals.
- Officially, the Pakistani government has accepted the
explanation of three nuclear scientists about their "innocuous"
relationship to Taliban. Privately, however, some Pakistani officials,
working closely with U.S. colleagues, told UPI their activities "cannot
be described as innocuous by any stretch of the imagination."
- CIA Director George Tenet, on a brief visit to Islamabad
last weekend, conferred with President Pervez Musharraf on what was described
as the need for "more and better intelligence" from ISI.
- The CIA has reportedly submitted a list of six more nuclear
scientists it wants to probe on suspicion of having links with al-Qaeda.
Two of the six - Dr. Suleiman Asad and Dr. Muhammad Ali Muktar - have been
working in Kahora Research Laboratories. They are in Myanmar (Burma) doing
undisclosed research with Burmese scientists.
- Dr. Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmud, the former director of
the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, and Chief Engineer Dr. Chaudry Abdul
Majeed have been questioned by a joint FBI-ISI team.
- Apparently anxious to avoid further U.S. probes into
Pakistan's ultra-secret nuclear weapons program, these two scientists have
been advised by the government to remain in Myanmar until further notice.
- The CIA, according to PAEC sources, wishes to conduct
a separate interrogation based on documents seized in Kabul. Mahmud is
a close associate of Gul. They were colleagues when Gul ran ISI.
- Mahmud is one of three scientists who befriended Taliban
leaders. He is an expert in enriched uranium and plutonium. He has lectured
all over Pakistan and praised the Taliban as "the wave of the future
- Mahmud and two of his colleagues were detained in late
October as a result of U.S. questions about Pakistani "relief"
organizations active in Taliban-run Afghanistan, including an agricultural
project near Kandahar.
- Spreading Plutonium to Other Muslims
- They admitted to meeting with al-Qaeda associates of
bin Laden and were officially cleared of passing on nuclear secrets. Mahmud
says publicly that plutonium production is not a state secret and advocates
increasing plutonium output to help other Islamic nations build nuclear
- After the start of the U.S. bombing campaign Oct. 7,
Musharraf ordered an immediate redeployment of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal
to six new secret locations, including separate storage facilities for
uranium and plutonium cores and their detonation mechanisms. Army
colleagues now say privately Musharraf was fearful of assassination by
extremists who were already accusing him of betraying Islam and selling
out to the United States. There also were rumors of a coup by hard-line
- The officer corps is 20 percent fundamentalist, according
to a post Sept. 11 confidential survey by military intelligence, which
operates separately from ISI.
- Pakistan's nuclear scientists are known as "profoundly
fundamentalist" and anti-American. They are particularly resentful
of America's economic and military sanctions against Pakistan as punishment
for their country's nuclear weapons program.
- Their guru is Abdul Qadir Khan, the scientist who devised
Pakistan's first nuclear weapon. Pakistan now has an estimated 20 such
weapons in its arsenal.
- ISI is still widely distrusted by western intelligence
agencies and by all levels of Pakistani society, from people in the street
to top political leaders. An ISI general who is regional director in one
of the tribal areas told an important tribal leader known to this reporter:
"After Afghanistan, Pakistan is next on America's list of countries
to be conquered, and after Pakistan, Iran will be next. All that war talk
about Iraq being next is just a smokescreen."
- The tribal leader said "such silly statements are
typical of the Islamist state of paranoia." Gul has been touring federally
administered tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan with much the
same message about Washington's plans for conquest in the region.
- ISI is undergoing a traumatic shock in the wake of the
Taliban's defeat, according to knowledgeable secular political party leaders.
- "They have lost thousands of operatives in Afghanistan,"
said one key politician who did not wish to be named. ISI also facilitated
the transfer to Afghanistan in the past two months of thousands of young
religious school students who had been proselytized by their clerical teachers
to volunteer to fight with Taliban.
- Musharraf had a dangerous precedent in mind. Six years
ago, a group of Pakistani army officers was arrested for plotting to kill
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Abdul Waheed. He had fired the ISI chief for secretly
assisting Muslim rebels in several countries.
- Copyright 2001 by United Press International.
- All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:29741a51-c93f-4a0d-a7ff-7cb7cb6c0788> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rense.com/general17/pakis.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952037 | 1,882 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Screenshot from Pentagon Channel video report on Alaska National Guard C-130J training mission to Mongolia (http://www.dvidshub.net/video/284878/alaska-guard-travels-mongolia#.UVORwlvGSp2)
Mongolia is in discussions to buy American-made military transport airplanes, and is getting U.S. help in learning how to operate the aircraft. That ambitious purchase appears to signal that Mongolia has mining money to spend, and it's using some of it to upgrade its armed forces.
Mongolia is looking at buying three C-130J transport airplanes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The planes would likely be used to transport the country's armed forces on its increasingly ambitious international peacekeeping missions. From a press release by the Alaska National Guard, whose airmen recently traveled to Mongolia to conduct training on C-130 maintenance:
In a country as vast and open as Alaska, the Mongolian Air and Air Defense Force is tasked with transporting Mongolian Armed Forces, but with only Soviet-era helicopters that include the MI-24B, MI-8T and MI-171E, they lack the capacity to transport large numbers of personnel, making it impossible to meet all their mission requirements.
“This is a great professional exchange for us,” said 1st Lt. Bayasgalan Baljinnyam, platoon commander, Unit 337 Nalaikh Air Base, Mongolian Air and Air Defense Force. “Our national Air Force needs a C-130 because we need to participate in every mission and right now we have to call on civilian aircraft to transport our troops. We need to have our own C-130 so we can manage ourselves and transport our own troops to other countries.”
Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Turkey have agreed to create a "joint armed forces of Turkic-language countries," the four countries decided at a "constitutive conference of the Association of Eurasian Law Enforcement Organs with Military Status" on January 23 in Baku.
Few details were offered about what exactly this new force would entail. Given that the officials at the conference were from law enforcement agencies (Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry, Turkey's Gendarmerie, Kyrgyzstan's "internal police"), the phrase "joint armed forces" seems a bit grandiose, but that's what they're calling it. What will be the function of this unit? Will Kyrgyz police operate in Turkey, or vice versa? And is Mongolian really a Turkic language?
The one concrete thing that seems to have been decided is that the symbol of the new unit will be a horse. Still, it's an intriguing development: most of the energy around Turkic unity in the 1990s has dissipated, and now talk of inter-Turkic unity is relegated mostly to the cultural sphere. So a Turkic armed unit of any sort would break some ground. And if the Tatars join, then we'll really have some news...
UPDATE: Both Turkey and Kyrgyzstan are denying that this actually happened. The dreams of the pan-Turkicists dashed again...
When Genghis Khan’s army emerged from the Mongolian steppe back in the 13th century, one of the keys to his success was an equine postal system that enabled messages to travel across his vast and growing empire in a matter of days. He oversaw the establishment of a network of horse stations that allowed riders to exchange their exhausted steeds for fresh mounts and keep on moving.
Now, following in the hoof steps of the Khan’s hordes comes a modern-day take on the 13th-century's information superhighway – the Mongol Derby. Billed as the world's longest horse race, this grueling 1,000-kilometer marathon will retrace ancient routes across the rolling steppe with 25 horse stations set up at 40-kilometer intervals.
This year, the race, which has been held annually since 2009, gets underway on August 10. Competitors aim to complete the course on semi-wild mounts in an exhausting seven to ten days. The event aims to raise money for economic development charity work in Mongolia. It’s the brainchild of The Adventurists, the group that is also behind the annual Mongol Rally, a race from London to Ulaanbaatar in a vehicle with an engine size of one liter or less.
For the riders in this extreme equine test, the keyword is “adventure.” There's no route as such: It's up to participants to make their way between the horse stations as quickly as they can. At the stations each must pick up fresh horses. Accommodation is basic: Competitors either share a ger, a round felt tent, with a nomadic family or sleep under the stars in the wilderness.
Sartay’s is a peace-loving village. But when marauding Mongolian Dzungars brutally slay most of the inhabitants, including his parents, the Kazakh youth has no choice but to raise an army of teenagers to fight back, courageously attacking the Mongolians and rallying other youths to the cause.
Across Kazakhstan, an epic historical movie with an unabashedly patriotic tale is playing to packed theaters.
Directed by Akhan Satayev for the state-run Kazakhfilm studio, “Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe” opens with the Dzungars’ vicious attack and the making of our hero. Myn Bala in Kazakh means 1,000 children – Sartay (played by Asylkhan Tolepov) actually raises an army of 100, but he tells them before the final battle scene that together they are worth 1,000 warriors.
Director Satayev is better known for making movies with subtle plot twists that tackle modern-day problems such as organized crime, but audiences don’t seem to mind the black-and-white approach to history in his latest film. At a recent showing in Almaty, viewers applauded at the end. As Tengri News reported, Myn Bala is proving a blockbuster, taking a million dollars at the box office in the first weekend after its release on May 3, a Kazakh record.
The film’s success is notable since it was shot in Kazakh (with a bit of Mongolian). Films in Kazakh often struggle in a country where only about two-thirds of people speak the language, but the movie (called “Zhauzhurek Myn Bala” in Kazakh, or “The Brave Thousand Children”) is showing in the original language with Russian subtitles in many theaters.
Mongolia is using its newly exploited mineral wealth to reform its social services. While the government should be applauded for looking to the future, it is a challenge ensuring the changes don’t come at the expense of the majority of people in this vast and rural country. Mongolia’s unique population structure creates especially difficult conditions for schools, which are frequently over-crowded in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, but must accommodate sparse and highly dispersed populations elsewhere.
Mongolia’s approach to education reform appears to be quite similar to efforts in Kazakhstan, another natural resource-rich Central Asian state. Both countries are working with prestigious Cambridge University to develop a small network of elite schools that will serve the most academically successful students in the capital city and regional centers. The goal seems to be to develop schools to match their elite counterparts in developed countries quickly—a sort of superficial European renovation for the education system. Both countries also envision the good teaching practices that Cambridge consultants help develop and implement to trickle down to the rest of the education system.
Mongolia's defense minister has said the country is planning to send 850 peacekeepers to South Sudan, according to Xinhua:
"Sending soldiers to South Sudan, which is a newly independent country with civil war, is a matter of honor," the minister said...
In the past, Mongolian peacekeepers had served in conflict zones such as Iraq, Sierra Leone, Chad, Sudan, Kosova and Afghanistan, according to the defense minister.
"The responsibilities of Mongolian soldiers are also increasing. Previously, our soldiers were guarding military bases. Now they are guarding airports," he said.
Earlier this year, Mongolia had announced that it was going to send 850 peacekeepers to Cote d'Ivoire, but then nothing more was heard about that, and the defense minister at the time alluded to some bureaucratic holdups. So it seems reasonable to assume that that mission is now off the table and that the soldiers are going to South Sudan instead. I've tried to contact some sources in Ulaanbaatar for some clarification and more information, but thus far no luck. Will update as I get more information.
UPDATE: I heard back from a Mongolian defense official, who said this:
Yes, we couldn’t send troops to Cote d'Ivoire due to some bureaucratic procedure at UNDPKO. This time we could overcome this procedure, and UNDPKO has confirmed its approval sending our battalion /850 soldiers/ to South Sudan.
Moreover, we are nearly doubling our troop contribution to Afghanistan. Our troop number there will reach 350 instead 190 starting from this November.
The Indian Army stunt motorcycle team performs in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Mongolia and India are currently performing joint military exercises, as each country is concerned about a rising China, reports Defense News:
Indian and Mongolian troops will hold joint exercises in Mongolia Sept. 15-29, said an Indian Defence Ministry official. Last year, Mongolian troops held joint exercises on Indian soil....
"New Delhi wants to have better ties with the Chinese neighbor with an on eye on containing China," said Mahindra Singh, retired Indian Army major general.
A report in The Diplomat gives a little more context, noting that both sides hope that they can improve trade relations by boosting military cooperation:
An estimated 40 Indian troops will take part in the military exercises, which will focus on counterinsurgency training. Last month, Indian troops took part in the sixth annual Khaan Quest, a week-long Mongolian-hosted joint-training exercise aimed at enhancing cooperation between regional militaries...
The rapid amelioration of Indo-Mongolian security ties was formalized when both countries signed a bilateral defence cooperation agreement during [ Indian President Pratibha] Patil’s visit in July. The pact isn’t overly comprehensive though, as Mongolia remains cautious about getting too cosy with India on defence issues. India, however, seems keen to enhance defence ties rapidly. The rationale behind this is simple—New Delhi believes that it will be more competitive in Mongolia’s lucrative mining and trade sectors if it diversifies its engagement, morphing from investor to strategic partner.
Members of the Mongolian state honor guard stand at attention while being addressed by the Mongolian President Ts. Eldegdorj during the opening ceremony of Exercise Khaan Quest 2011 at Five Hills Training Area, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, July 31.
Mongolia has kicked off its annual international peacekeeping exercise, Khaan Quest, with about 900 soldiers from 11 countries taking part. In addition to Mongolians, the exercises will include the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, India, Germany, Indonesia, Cambodia and Singapore. The exercises began Sunday, will last until August 12 and focus on peacekeeping operations.
The exercise is organized since 2003 by U.S. Pacific Command and is one of the more visible elements of Mongolia's "third neighbor" policy, by which Mongolia tries to strengthen relations with countries beyond its two immediate neighbors, Russia and China, which Ulaanbaatar fears will hold too much leverage over their small country. (For example, a recent trade dispute with Russia has resulted in fuel shortages in Mongolia, and some Mongolians see it as retaliation for shutting Russia out of a big mining deal.)
But Russia probably isn't feeling too left out of the exercises: Mongolia's defense minister, Luvsanvandan Bold, has said that the country plans to buy four or five new MiG-29 fighter jets as well as a ground training flight simulator from Russia. This will be Mongolia's first fielding of MiG-29s; the country's air force now flies a small number of MiG-21s. This follows the pattern that the U.S. has established in other post-Soviet countries, most notably Kazakhstan: understanding that the military ties with Russia are too great to supplant entirely, the U.S. will instead focus on training and equipping small, niche forces to take part in U.N. peacekeeping and U.S.-led military operations like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kazakhstan's Afghanistan deployment may have been abandoned, but its (almost) neighbor Mongolia is increasing its troop contribution. Within the next couple of months, the country will be adding about 120 soldiers to its contingent in Badakhshan province, in Afghanistan's far northeast (bordering Tajikistan) where the German military leads operations. According to AFP (in German), the new Mongolian troops will amount to one company of infantry, snipers and medics and will patrol (but not participate in "offensive operations") in addition to its current mission of guarding the German camp.
NATO public relations has a video report on the Mongolian deployment in Afghanistan, though they use some different numbers -- AFP says there are now 74 Mongolian soldiers in Afghanistan, while this report says it's 200 (though NATO's own numbers support the AFP figure):
Be sure not to miss the display of "traditional combat skills" at the end of that video.
Mongolia is proposing to send 1,500 peacekeepers to Cote d'Ivoire, in what would be by far its largest troop contribution to an international mission (and, if we want to be cute about it, the largest troop deployment abroad since the days of the Mongol Empire).
The United Nations made the request of Mongolia last month, but bureaucratic wrangling appears to be holding up the deployment, according to the country's defense minister Luvsanvandan Bold:
The Government has approved the request but some high state officials’ bureaucratic attitude is stalling any further action, to the dismay of the Ministry of Defense. We can send a large contingent of 1,500 soldiers to help in peace keeping there but officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade are sitting on the issue. The UN request came more than a month ago, but no reply has been sent.
An earlier report suggested that Mongolia was asked to send 850 troops, and it's not clear what accounts for the increase.
This blog often neglects poor Mongolia, but the country is doing interesting things with its military, and is a useful comparison to other post-Soviet states, in particular Central Asian ones, which have similar cultures and histories. But Mongolia has been much more active than any of those countries in contributing to UN missions. Over 2,300 Mongolian peacekeepers have served in Sierra Leone alone, with contributions in several other UN missions, as well as in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. | <urn:uuid:7e760c04-60db-44cb-aaef-adc1bec5c7c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/3033 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956731 | 3,166 | 1.734375 | 2 |
I can remember only once in my life when my father got mad at me. Maybe this is why I’ve never forgotten it. My mother, it seemed to me, was often angry or displeased about my behavior, but not Pop.
I’ve often thought of the incident, and puzzled over it. Why was he so mad? I was so surprised when he lost his temper that it startled me. I think I actually jumped. Pop—my champion, the one who seemed to understand my peculiar ways—was mad at me.
So what was it all about? Pop was a writer and an avid reader, and when my sister Bertie and I were kids, he liked to read to us at night when we went to bed. On this particular occasion, he was reading a book called “The Back of the North Wind,” written in by George MacDonald 1871. It was a very thick book, as I recall, with somewhat gloomy illustrations. It tells the story of a sweet little boy named Diamond who has numerous adventures riding on the back of the north wind. The north wind represents pain and death, supposedly leading to something good according to God’s will. The country of the north wind is without pain and death, and she brings Diamond there, but it’s only a shadow of the real country, which he can’t see until he dies, which he does at the end of the book.
Although Pop seemed fascinated by this tale, I found it boring and depressing. When he was only a chapter or two into it, I took the book one day and sneaked a peek at the ending, because I wanted to see what happened to Diamond right away instead of having to endure listening to Pop read a chapter every night.
Then I made the mistake of telling Pop what I had done. He was furious. He said, “You NEVER, EVER skip to the end of a book to find out what happened! EVER!” The veins in his forehead were popping and he slammed the book shut. After that he didn’t read it to us any more.
I wonder to this day what made him so mad. Was it really because I’d spoiled the story by skipping to the end? Or did it have something to do with his own somewhat insecure feelings about being a writer himself? Was he afraid that his own work was so boring (as my mother used to tell him it was) that people would want to skip to the end? Or had he just had a bad day? I guess I’ll never know. But one thing is for sure—I never skipped to the end of a book again to find out what happened. | <urn:uuid:e5e68a68-6706-4dc8-ab65-4dfc7a6791bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://finallygettingdowntobrasstacks.wordpress.com/tag/book/ | 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 | 0.991797 | 556 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The evolution of the Cuban cigar
Cuban cigars, long a sign of luxury, are increasing their sales even as the global economy struggles. At a convention in Cuba, cigar-makers show how they are adapting to the times.
Havana's sprawling Palacio de Convenciones normally plays host to Communist Party congresses. This week it has been converted into an exclusive emporium.
The walls are draped in huge adverts for Cuba's most luxurious export: hand-rolled Habanos cigars. Milling around the gleaming display stands below are hundreds of visitors to the island's annual international cigar festival.
This year's event commemorates 520 years since Christopher Columbus first discovered tobacco here and introduced it to Europe.
Western Europe is still the key market for the cigars Cuba later learned to fashion from its leaves. But the economic crisis there and the spread of anti-smoking laws are creating changes.International appeal
Distributor Habanos opened the festival by announcing a 9% increase in sales in 2011.
The firm says emerging markets like China are now making up for others in decline.
"When you talk about luxury products, that upturn is driven now by China. It's booming," says Habanos Development Vice-President Javier Terres.
Sales to China, including Hong Kong and Macau, rose by 39% last year, even as sales to Habanos' biggest buyer, Spain, plunged 20%.
"The Chinese are quite heavy smokers and much more interested in luxury products. The best-seller there is the Cohiba, our most expensive cigar," Javier Terres explains.
End Quote Yohanny Alonso Tobacco farmer
If you care for tobacco lovingly, it will always bring you results”
So among the international crowds touring Cuba's tobacco fields and its factories this week are Chinese traders, cigar-tourists and aficionados. There is also a busload of Russians.
"There's no smoking ban in Russia. You can still smoke in bars, clubs and restaurants there," points out Riad Bou Karam, who runs the Casa de Habanos outlet in Moscow, where he says sales are strong.
Unlike the initial post-Soviet years when expensive but vulgar was the vogue, Russians say they are now seeking out quality first and foremost.
For that, Cuban cigars have long been hailed as the best you can get.'Black market thing'
The island supplies 80% of the world's premium cigar market, excluding the US, which bans Cuban imports as part of a trade embargo originally intended to topple this communist regime.
No wonder the festival organisers were so pleased to welcome American actor Jim Belushi as their celebrity guest. A cigar fan, he says Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced him to a Montecristo No 2 while they were between shots on the set of Red Heat.
"Lots of Americans are getting access [to Cuban cigars], don't kid yourself. You can find them!" he told the BBC, lighting up as he spoke.
"But the people making the money should be Cuba and the US.
"Now it's a black market thing."
It is a couple of hours' drive west of Havana to the plantations of Pinar del Rio, the heart of Cuba's tobacco industry.
Potholed roads are flanked by fields full of the tall green plant; all around are towering barns built out of palm-tree planks and full of pungent tobacco leaves strung together and hung up high to dry.
The country's tobacco farmers are better-off than many on this island, earning several thousand dollars for the annual harvest of such a valuable crop. By contrast most Cubans still work for the state, earning under $20 a month.
"We live quite well. I can't complain," says farmer Yohanny Alonso, who works his land alongside his parents and wife. "If you care for tobacco lovingly, it will always bring you results."Cigar competition
From the farms, the dried tobacco leaves are taken for processing at state-owned factories in Havana.
There, lines of workers at wooden desks hand-roll the ultimate bourgeois status symbol beneath larger-than-life portraits of their country's revolutionary icons.
A cigar-roller, or torcedor, can take nine months to master their craft with the meticulous attention to detail demanded of them. Staff are paid extra, according to quality.
This week, the amateurs have been able to have a go, taking rolling lessons from the experts.
The festival is also the platform for Cuba to introduce new lines.
This year there is another, shorter, cigar: designed to cope with anti-smoking laws, it burns for just 20 minutes. It is more manageable in countries where anti-tobacco laws mean leaving restaurants and bars for a smoke.
Also on display are the latest attempts to combat the trade in fake cigars, including high-tech labels with tracker numbers and invisible holograms.
"A side-effect of the strict regulations has been an increase in illicit trade," explains Roberto Funari, marketing director of Imperial Tobacco, which owns 50% of Habanos.
He says the economic crisis also appears to have given the counterfeit market a boost, pushing it as high as 20% in some countries.
Above all though, this event is a gathering of passionate enthusiasts; men and women revelling in hundreds of varieties of fat cigars and waxing lyrical about their quality even as they puff.
The festival ends with the glitziest night on Cuba's social calendar: a gala dinner where tickets cost over $500 each, and guests bid hundreds of thousands more at an auction of humidors.
The profits from the cigar sales are donated to Cuba's health service. | <urn:uuid:bfe71d43-8391-4df9-b372-e6899132a4d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17229044 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952311 | 1,177 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Headlines (News Releases)
Faculty of Science
Biologist named Laurier’s University Research Professor for 2011-12
Communications, Public Affairs & Marketing
May 24/11| For Immediate Release
Dr. Paul Maxim, Associate VP, Research
Kevin Crowley, Director, Communications & Public Affairs
WATERLOO – Biologist Lucy Lee has been named Laurier’s University Research Professor for 2011-2012.
The award allows the recipient to devote more time to research and less to teaching for a year, and also provides funds to assist the recipient with research expenses.
Lee, a professor at Laurier since 1997, teaches cell biology, developmental biology, and comparative histology, among other subjects.
She is an active researcher, internationally recognized for her expertise in the field of reducing, refining or replacing animals used in environmental risk assessment, primarily through producing fish cell lines. Toxicology tests, for example, could be performed with fish cells produced in a lab as a supplement, or pre-screening tests to reduce/refine fish raised to be lab specimens.
Lee is often invited to speak at conferences around the world and her knowledge is sought out by other researchers and international organizations.
Private companies are also interested in her work (oil sands producers are funding some of her research to establish cell lines of fish indigenous to the Athabasca basin), and so are the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the United States Army, whose Center for Environmental Health Research wants to develop testing devices based on a marriage of fish cell culture assays and microchip technology (“fish and chips”) that could be used to test water in the field, in real time.
While producing fish cell lines is now relatively commonplace, nobody has yet been able to produce cell lines for crustaceans like lobsters, crabs and shrimp.
Canada is a significant exporter of lobster (about $1 billion annually), but the industry is threatened by overfishing. The answer may be in farming lobster, just as Atlantic salmon and tilapia are farmed, but very little is known about lobster at the cellular level that could provide answers to some unique characteristics – what makes them grow seemingly indefinitely? How can they live for over 100 years? What makes them cannibalistic? How can they re-grow claws?
Lee will devote a portion of her research time to producing a lobster cell line.
“My students and I have previously tried to develop crustacean cell lines, and I believe we are close to tracking why it is difficult, but not impossible.” | <urn:uuid:e553aa95-e7a8-4468-85db-a915197e464d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wlu.ca/news_detail.php?grp_id=1&nws_id=7893&filter_type=release | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9525 | 531 | 2.171875 | 2 |
- change ups
Health Care Hill
GRAND RAPIDS — Its landscape dominated by Spectrum Health's Butterworth Campus, the stretch of Michigan Street leading from downtown began taking on an even clearer identity in 2001 as a center for health care.
Construction of two new buildings — Spectrum's $86 million Heart Center and Grand Valley State University's $57.1 million Center for Health Professions — began last year, furthering the evolution of what's becoming known as Health Care Hill and marking the concentration of an economic dynamo for the region.
The emergence of Health Care Hill and its anticipated spin-off developments in the surrounding neighborhood, as well as the resulting creation of new jobs, holds great benefits not just for the local health care industry but all of Grand Rapids.
So says Lody Zwarensteyn, president of the health care planning agency Alliance for Health. "The impacts are obvious and significant," Zwarensteyn said.
"Given the interplay of services, employment, research, education and their attendant needs, the effects on the neighborhood are and will continue to be significant.
"Already the commercial area is seeing the conversion of other buildings to medical and support services uses," he said.
"The concentration of health care resources in the downtown area provides a very significant resource for area residents, and it also concentrates an economic dynamo."
The five-story, 215,000-square-foot GVSU Center for Health Professions, located at Michigan Street and Lafayette Avenue, will sit within the shadows of the Spectrum Health-Butterworth Campus, the Van Andel Institute and the Cook Institute on Michigan Street.
GVSU plans to relocate its life sciences and health courses from its Allendale campus to the Center for Health Professions.
The rationale for the decision to place the courses closer to the area's largest hospitals and research institutes is that the location offers more opportunities and exposure for students and faculty to do research and gain practical experience.
When it opens in 2003, the center will house GVSU's Kirkhof School of Nursing, the School of Health Professions, and other nursing and life science programs.
"It is sort of a fulfillment of a special mission for health care in our town," Richard DeVos, chairman of the GVSU Foundation, said during a May 23 ceremonial groundbreaking for the center.
"What an amazing combination of things that are going to happen up here … when we begin to think of the integration of services that we have," DeVos said.
"We're not building a new medical center, we're building a new industry for West Michigan, as one of the major employers and empowering forces in our economy is taking place up here."
Spectrum began adding to the emerging landscape on the Hill when it started work in November on the Heart Center on the southwest corner of Michigan Street and Barclay Avenue.
The Heart Center, according to Spectrum CEO Rich Breo, will provide the region "a level of care that is found only in the top hospitals in the country."
Weeks before the Heart Center's groundbreaking, Spectrum rolled out a 15-year facilities plan that includes a $13 million expansion of the emergency, laboratory, radiology and radiation oncology departments at the Butterworth Campus, a $35 million outpatient cancer center in downtown Grand Rapids and an eventual replacement for DeVos Children's Hospital.
The long-term plan follows Spectrum's intent to eventually consolidate inpatient medical services at the downtown Butterworth Campus.
The thinking in doing so is to generate further cost savings in the wake of the 1997 Blodgett-Butterworth merger that created the health system.
Another component of the same plan is to extend outpatient services outward through the development of new ambulatory and outpatient facilities not only in Kent County, but also in Muskegon and Ottawa counties. | <urn:uuid:d60d4617-8210-4657-832a-ba7691afa4d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grbj.com/articles/59641 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946588 | 784 | 1.664063 | 2 |
February 23rd, 2009 by Kristi Stephens
For the last couple of weeks we have been working through some aspects of David’s great sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. In part one, we looked at the idea that David’s failure to do what he was supposed to be doing set him up for failure. In part two, we looked at the subtlety of sin and the safeguards we need to put into our lives and hearts to help keep us from falling. In part three, our discussion centered on the human tendency to blame-shift and sidestep responsibility for our sin, constantly looking for a way to cover our tracks. Finally, we looked at Nathan’s confrontation of David and the difference between David’s heart of humility and Saul’s lack of repentence. Today I want to spend some time in Psalm 51.
(If you open your Bible to Psalm 51, you’ll notice that a note is included in a smaller font before the Psalm begins, documenting that this Psalm was written when Nathan confronted David about Bathsheba.) Please read Psalm 51 on your own and then I just have a few things for us to ponder.
Spiros Zodhiates summarizes this Psalm in the footnotes of The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible (my personal favorite!) this way:
“This is one of the greatest passages in the entire Bible concerning confession and forgiveness… David’s repentance included:
1. a godly sorrow for his sin
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me. (vs. 2-3)
2. verbal confession
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge. (vs. 4)
3. a turning away from sin
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (vs. 6-7)
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (vs. 9-10)
5. restoration to God’s favor
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me. (vs. 11)
6. rejoicing in salvation
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (vs. 12)
7. a willingness to testify to others about the grace of God.”
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise. (vs. 13,15)
Remember back to Saul’s sin of wrongly offering the sacrifice before Samuel arrived? Saul appeared to think that God would accept the sacrifice, even though it was offered in sin. When Samuel confronts him, Saul gives excuses about Samuel being late and the army scattering. Notice what David says at the end of this Psalm:
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise. (vs. 16-17)
David understands: it’s not about the physical sacrifice. It’s about the heart.
So, what does this have to do with us? Most of us probably aren’t dealing with sin as “bad” as adultery and murder. What about those daily sins that creep up on us? God doesn’t want your outward show – He wants true repentance, a broken heart, a true desire for restoration, a true turning away from our sin.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have been struggling to get myself and the kids on a consistent daily schedule. Between that post, today’s look at repentance, part one of this series, and another study I’ve been doing in my quiet time, God has pointed out a very obvious need for confession in my own life. I might not be as “bad” as David in this instance, but I am not in line with the heart of God.
I know that I have spent far too much time lately on frivolous things on the computer, which means that I have been neglecting my children and husband. I have been failing to invest the time I should in teaching my children and even just playing with them and being available to them. The giant ironing pile still looms, the playdough and paints sit untouched in the basement, and right now there is a huge bolt of fabric calling my name that I need to sew into curtains for our room. These aren’t earth shattering things, but they are things that I have been given the privilege and responsibility to do for my family. My kids notice when I am engrossed with something other than them. My husband notices when I don’t delight in caring for him as much as doing something meaningless. My heart has been divided, and I’m not doing what I need to do! Lesson learned from David: I have been tolerating compromise, and if I continue I’m setting myself up for failure.
I don’t know what your area of struggle is right now. Guaranteed, we all have one! I pray that you will join me in praying Psalm 51 along with David, and committing to give the Lord our hearts and not just an outward show. He wants it all. He is worthy of it all.
Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name. | <urn:uuid:820a06aa-bd97-4c84-a408-e0dc3b2f25d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.krististephens.com/2009/02/a-broken-and-contrite-heart.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954445 | 1,282 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Reference: SIGGRAPH 1993 Education Slide Set, by Stephen Spencer
Several variations on the basic progressive radiosity algorithm have been developed, in an effort to find the optimal method for producing the most pleasing results with minimum cost. Each variant calculates the form factors from a point on one surface to all other surfaces.
The "gathering" variant collects light energy from all other surfaces in the environment, attenuated by the calculated form factors, and updates the "base" surface. In this variant, as well as the "shooting" variant, the "base" surface is arbitrarily chosen.
The "shooting" variant distributes light energy from the "base" surface to all other surfaces in the environment, attenuated by the calculated form factors.
The "shooting and sorting" variant first calculates the surface with the greatest amount of unshot light energy, then uses this surface as the "base" surface in the "shooting" variant.
In addition to these, an initial "ambient" term can be approximated for the environment and adjusted at each iteration, gradually replaced by the true ambient contribution to the rendered image.
The "shooting and sorting" method is the most desirable, as it finds the surface with the greatest potential contribution to the intensity solution and updates all other surfaces in the environment with its energy.
This slide shows four variations on the basic progressive radiosity algorithm, each halted after one hundred iterations. The upper left image is the "gathering" variant, the upper right image the "shooting" variant, the lower left image the "shooting and sorting" variant, and the lower right image is the "shooting and sorting and ambient" progressive radiosity variant.
The "shooting" variants show their superiority over the "gathering" variant here, as more of the scene is illuminated by them earlier. The "shooting and sorting" variant's concentration on those surfaces which contribute most to the overall solution is also shown.
Several important variations on the basic diffuse radiosity solution have been developed. The first is designed to relax the restriction on the diffuse-only nature of the basic radiosity solution, by breaking the intensity solution into two steps: first, a pass with a traditional radiosity algorithm to calculate the diffuse intensity of the surfaces, followed by a pass with a ray tracing algorithm, which collects the diffuse intensity information from the surfaces and adds to it specular information. This second pass is viewpoint- dependent: specular highlights on a surface are dependent on the location of both the light and the viewer relative to the surface.
Another variation on the basic diffuse radiosity solution adds the contribution of light passing through a participating medium, such as smoke, fog, or water vapor in the air.
In this algorithm, light energy is sent through a three-dimensional volume representing a participating medium, which both attenuates the light energy and, potentially, adds to the intensity solution through illumination of the participating medium.
The largest single advantage of the radiosity method for computer image generation is the highly realistic quality of the resulting images. No other method accurately calculates the diffuse interreflection of light energy in an environment. Soft shadows and color bleeding are natural by-products of this method, just as hard shadows and mirror-like reflections are natural by-products of a typical ray-tracing algorithm.
In addition to being visually pleasing, the method can be quite accurate in its treatment of energy transport between surfaces.
The viewpoint independence of the basic radiosity algorithm provides the opportunity for interactive "walkthroughs" of environments, as one intensity solution for an environment will serve as the base for any particular view of the environment.
The costs associated with the radiosity method are substantial. The "full matrix" radiosity method requires a large amount of storage and long computation times for form factor calculation and matrix solution. The "progressive" method must also calculate a large number of form factors, many more than once.
Accuracy in the resulting intensity solution requires preprocessing the environment, subdividing large surfaces into a set of smaller surfaces, and more surfaces means more storage and computation.
More recently, several new algorithms have been developed which help to alleviate the restrictions of the basic radiosity solution.
Ray tracing algorithms can be modified to handle the intricacies of accurate light transport between surfaces without explicit form factor calculation.
"Intelligent" pre-processing of environments can subdivide the surfaces of an environment based on the geometry of the environment and on the probable location of light-shadow boundaries, creating an optimal subdivision.
As noted previously, the inherent diffuse nature of the basic radiosity algorithm has been relaxed with the development of multiple pass algorithms which incorporate both the diffuse and specular components of light.
Current research efforts include more accurate modeling of the characteristics of lights and surfaces, through BRDFs (bidirectional reflectance distribution functions), concentration on minimizing the cost of form factor calculation, and increasing the accuracy of form factor calculation.
This image suggests one treatment of a consolation room in a hospital or physician's office. It is part of a research experiment comparing the effect of different lighting on the overall appearance and perception of an environment.
OverView Part 4
Last changed April 01, 1998, G. Scott Owen, email@example.com
Main Radiosity Page
HyperGraph Home page. | <urn:uuid:cc02dd32-7967-4ff3-8d4b-bdd5db885f53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/radiosity/overview_3.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918849 | 1,091 | 3.15625 | 3 |
WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund cut its global-growth forecasts and now projects a second year of contraction in the euro region as progress in battling Europe's debt crisis fails to produce an economic recovery.
The world economy will expand 3.5 percent this year, less than the 3.6 percent forecast in October, the Washington-based IMF said Wednesday. It expects the 17-country euro area to shrink 0.2 percent in 2013, instead of growing 0.2 percent, as forecast in October, as Spain leads the contraction and Germany slows.
"Is Europe on the mend? I think the answer is yes and no," IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said. "Something has to happen to start growth."
While measures last year to stem the debt turmoil helped boost financial markets and decrease sovereign bond yields, European officials still face a recession and unemployment at a record 11.8 percent. The IMF warned that the region still poses a "large" risk to the rest of the world if efforts underway to strengthen its economies and work on a banking union slip. | <urn:uuid:365a617c-ce88-4cba-bcce-77a690c214f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_22436984/international-monetary-fund-forecasts-second-year-contraction?source=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944818 | 215 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Thursday, May 22, 2008
She talked about students wanting to be "entertained", but maybe a better word would be "engaged".
"For some reason they want to teach us stuff that any fool can look up in a book."
Educating the Net Generation-
Majority of secondary classes-15 seconds or fewer are devoted to group discussion. 85% of instruction is Teacher centered.
Trend-with high stakes testing, instruction is becoming more teacher centered, not less.
New Blooms taxonomy-Creating has replaced Evaluation at the top.
Wiki's and Blogs allow students to create and to publish.
She shared information about the wiki she created for her classes. She saw wikis as a tool for virtually everything she does on the Web.
One of the projects had the students creating a video with Animoto. Here is a video that Jen Buckley from South View created using this tool.
She then talked about cartoon generators, the most popular being Toondoo and Comiqs.
With the increased interest in Graphic Novels, these tools provide kids with the opportunity to create their own. Toondoo has a feature that allows you to upload your own photos to add to the cartoon. They have added some protection features as well so that you can keep images private or share only with friends.
Web Based Presentations
Splashcast is a Web based presentation tool that allows you to embed your presentations on the Web.
Spresent-has some nice features, but is unavailable until June. There are image and annimation features that leave Ppt in the dust! Included is a scrolling credit of all images used from the Web.
Gliffy.com blogged about before, here, can allow you to create concept maps and floorplans. World Language teachers can have kids label floorplans in Gliffy in the language they are teaching. One issue is that Gliffy connects to Yahoo for image searches, unfortunately, they don't include the URL for the image.
Gcast-allows you to create your podcast on your phone.
Read, Write, Think-Online desktop publishing- can create trading cards on famous people
Wolfe's presentation was enthusiastic and engaging, and told me that we were on the right track with our Web 2.0 initiatives.
She ended by putting in a plug for the K-12 Online Conference.
Resource Wiki for the presentation
She started by defining digital storytelling as one that incorporates media and visual images.
Content, storyline, soundtrack, narration, editing, plot, ...
Most important: Visual Literacy
She used some of the writings of Dr. Anne Bamford
Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework-Part III discusses this.
Visual Literacy Toolbox has some good info.
- Light and Shaddow
- Balance-Symetrical and Asymetrical
- Context-Who created it?, In what context is it seen?
- Intended Audience
- Space-Rule of Thirds
Copyright- Use Creative Commons guidelines for images and video. In order to use an image from say, "Flickr", there are 3 types of licensing- Copyright, Creative Commons-which allows for varied levels of sharing capability, and Public Domain. Using the Advanced Search in Flickr, you can check a box to only show images that can be used and altered.
Everything created in Second Life is the property of Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life. MNSCU Island is MNSCU's presence in SL.
MPK20 Sun's Virtual Workspace
Sun is using this for collaborative, business interaction which allows people to interact in a business environment. This mimics the real world more than Second Life does, but you can also include live video interaction combining the real with the virtual.
Currently, Wonderland is a bit rough. In fact, Sun still uses Second Life for their virtual conferences. Wonderland is free, open source and Java based.
Julie Sykes, a Spanish instructor at the U of M and Liz Wendlund, developed Croquet, which allows you to pull in open source content for 3-D simulation. The simulations are task based, meaning they are monitored and assessed as you move through the simulation.
The next step is to have students complete the simulation to determine course placement in the Spanish language program.
What was interesting in this session, was that with my laptop, I was able to create this blog, and fact-check the presenter. He stated that Second Life was for people 8-85, when in fact it's 18-85. He also said that a Dr. Nora Paul had developed Croquet, when in fact it was Dr. Sykes.
Had I not had access, all of the people in the session would have been misinformed.
One of the participants also mentioned Active Worlds as a site that may be more appropriate for education.
He discussed the cultural revolution occuring, that is more than the technology.
He has spent a great deal of time in New Guinea to study people in one of the last isolated cultures in the world. The worst form of culture shock is the loss of self and inability to define yourself. Identities in the New Guinea culture used to be defined by their relationships. It shaped their identity. In the last 8 years they have developed a language, and they have torn down their houses, which used to face the doors toward people they related to. Now they have a census and have reorganized their homes and have defined names.
"We shape our tools and thearafter our tools shape us."-Marshall McLuhan
The video he created was in response to his work in New Guinea and how it relates to our society.
The most significant problem in higher ed is the problem of significance (He thinks it applies to K-12 as well):
How many do not actually like school?
How many do not like learning?
Media are not just tools. Media are not just communication. Media mediates relationships.
The chalk board: no photos, videos, animations, network
-forces the teacher to move, interact, limits class size to those who can see the board.
Powerpoint: easy, mindless, fast, linear
-helps presenter remember notes-while doing harm to the presentation.
Encourages students to:
-memorize key points
-let prof decide what is key
Power corrupts...PowerPoint corrupts absolutely!- Edward Tufte
Teaching has not changed with the tools we now have...Learning has changed.
Students learn what they do!
If students learn what they do...what are they learning in your classroom?
If these walls could talk:
- To learn is to aquire information
- Information is scarce and hard to find
- trust authority for good information-
- authorized information is behond discussion.
- Obey the authority
- Follow along
Something in the air...
70 billion gigabytes of information will be produced...This year.
112.8 billion blogs today. Youtube produced more content in the last 6 months than the 3 major networks produced in the last 60 years. All new and original!
Then he refuted all of the "If these walls could talk" information so it looks more like this:
If these walls could talk:
- To learn is to discuss and create information
We need to create platforms for leveraging information.A class of 12 people contains 66 relationships, this gets messy, thus as educators we step out and have a 1 to1 relationship with the student.
Students today are all about the network. We need to harness the value in education, and build a new platform for participation.
He suggested looking at "Project Look-Sharp's 12 basic principles of Media literacy" as a tool to assess quality.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
This morning, he created an account and started following me. Later he "tweeted", "I'm a huge fan of del.icio.us. I may become a bigger fan of Diigo."
Having no clue what Diigo was, I went to check it out. Here is what I found:
It's like Del.icio.us on Steroids! As we look at teaching kids about research and reading online, here is a tool that can pull it together, with the added bonus of collaboration with others researching the same thing!
Here's the thing...
If I hadn't talked to Troy about Twitter, I may have found Diigo somewhere else, but perhaps not. Sometimes Twitter is a time sucking machine sorting through people sharing information about their golf game and other matters. But quite often, a nugget like Diigo comes along that makes it worth following people. It's my own Personal Learning Network that allows me to learn from experts around the globe and share ideas.
I love the 21st century, and I love my Personal Learning Network!
I encourage you to give it at try!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Using Scratch, students can learn:
- Coordinate Graphing
- Problem Solving
- Logical/Sequential process
- Artistic/Creative Development
- Game Design: Roles, Rules, Success
- Visual Design, not language intensive-Great for Special Ed or ELL students!
- Following directions
- Cause and Effect
The programming utilizes blocks similar to the Lego Mindstorms software used in Lego League.
Here's a simple example that I made by modifying a "Scratch Card". Scratch Cards are a great place to start learning how to use the program. They contain simple code scripts that you can duplicate in Scratch to get your "sprite" or character to change in different ways.
Once you've created your animation in Scratch, you upload the file to your free Scratch account, and then you can share them with your friends as I have below.
To use the animation below, click on the bat. Then drag your mouse away and watch the bat try to get the cursor!
Contact me if you're interested in learning more.
Learn more about this project | <urn:uuid:e2dcbcee-8890-447b-b80d-3a9a5fdeec7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edinatech.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943282 | 2,084 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Seminars -- Ideas and Tools
If you are looking for a simple seminar or session to offer your group, here are suggestions.
Many resources, free tips and techniques on positive aging can be found throughout our website, www.healthyaging.net.
The Healthy Aging® Discussion Guide offers ideas on how to set up seminars on physical, social, mental, and financial wellness. Recommendations for local speakers as well as a video (or DVD) and a pack of 20 Healthy Aging® brochures. Click here for more information on the discussion guide: HEALTHY AGING DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for other resources that are available: Resources
Here are some additional suggestions:
BULLETIN BOARD IDEA
You might consider doing a bulletin board. Title of board: What’s YOUR SECRET for Healthy Aging®? Have members of your group write up their “secrets” or “tips” for Healthy Aging on 3 x 5 cards, sign their name and age (if they would!) and pin to the board. You can give a prize for the best ones, like our book, Healthy Aging®…Inspirational Letters from Americans.Healthy Aging...Inspirational Letters from Americans It’s a coffee-table size book containing over 240 essays from real people around the country, sharing their perspectives on positive aging. It would make a great part of your display.
You might also consider getting the Healthy Aging® brochures. The brochure folds out into a sort of poster and you can hang that up too. Or you can get packs of 20 and hand out.
Just some thoughts! We would love to receive the essays or tips that your group writes up so we can post on our website to share with others! Share your tips with us by clicking here! | <urn:uuid:8310a05f-236a-4569-b007-a6ab1fb59b61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://healthyaging.net/seminars.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925797 | 376 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Treasures of the past
Thanks to Indiana Jones, one of cinema's most revered movie characters, archaeology has long been associated with adventure.
Images of Harrison Ford playing out every boy's dream have no doubt planted the seeds of an archaeology career for thousands of people around the world since the best-selling 1981 film, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
And while the reality of an archaeologist's life is far removed from this cinematic classic, the profession still offers one of the last "great adventure" careers, according to University of Adelaide Classics lecturer Dr Margaret O'Hea.
Dr O'Hea is also quick to point out that men do not have a stronghold on the profession.
"Women have a very strong tradition in archaeology - particularly in the Near East," she said.
As one of the world's most respected Late Antiquity glass specialists, Dr O'Hea has recently returned from a dig in Turkey where she joined a team of British archaeologists analysing material from the Roman Empire.
She was called in to examine glass excavated from the ruins of a Byzantine church to identify its age and thereby shed some light on when Islam ended Roman rule in Turkey.
Identification is usually possible through dating coins and pottery found at sites but, in this case, neither was useful.
"There are very few coins in the Islamic period and also very few pieces of pottery found in churches, so the glass - found in the windows and lamps - is the most useful dating tool in some cases," she said.
"It is quite easy to date churches if you are a glass person because when you build the church that's when you put the lamps in. If any have been replaced during the church's lifetime they stand out like a sore thumb so you can also date their replacements."
Dr O'Hea was on her second season at the Alahan and Kilise Tepe sites in Turkey with a team from the University of Cambridge and University of Newcastle, cataloguing glass as a part of a three-year, multi-million-dollar excavation project.
She is one of only a handful of archaeological glass experts from the around the world - the majority located in Israel - and while she is based thousands of kilometres from most excavation sites, Dr O'Hea is living proof that it is possible to have a career in archaeology while based in Australia.
"It does require a lot of travel, patience and flexibility, however, so that is the advice I give to students interested in pursuing a career in this field."
Dr O'Hea said Australians punch well above their weight when it comes to their archaeological contribution and knowledge.
"Since the 1930s, Australians have established a very strong reputation for archaeological expertise in Cyprus and the Near East, and continue to work on a number of high-profile projects.
"There is also a grand tradition of female archaeologists, the most notable being the late Dame Kathleen Kenyon, a British archaeologist best known for her excavations in Jericho in the 1950s."
Dr O'Hea is confident the University will see a resurgence in Classics once the new national school curriculum is rolled out across Australia.
This year, secondary schools in South Australia introduced a compulsory Ancient Studies subject for all Year 7 students. From 2012, Year 11 and 12 students will have the option of studying Ancient History.
"Once this filters through the pipeline, we can expect to see students enrolling in Classics at university who at least have a basic knowledge of Greek and Roman history."
Apart from working in the field on digs, potential careers include curatorial work in a museum, working in heritage studies, cultural resource management, academia and even tourism.
"It's a fascinating life and a career which offers some amazing experiences," Dr O'Hea said.
For more information about studying Classics, go to: ua.edu.au/hss/classics
Story by Candy Gibson | <urn:uuid:c9b2113e-b847-45df-ad68-e1e9ac727023> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adelaide.edu.au/adelaidean/issues/48101/news48221.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965659 | 805 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Call to Order and Roll Call
Joint Committee on Education was held onMonday, July 12, 2010, at<MeetTime> 10:00 AM, in Room 131 of the Capitol Annex. Senator Alice Forgy Kerr, Co-Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Members:Senator Alice Forgy Kerr, Co-Chair; Representative Leslie Combs, Co-Chair; Senators R.J. Palmer II, Elizabeth Tori, Johnny Ray Turner, and Ken Winters; Representatives C. B. Embry Jr., Tim Firkins, Jim Glenn, Reginald Meeks, Jody Richards, Tom Riner, Carl Rollins II, Charles Siler, and Addia Wuchner.
Guests: Becky Gilpatrick and Jennifer Toth, Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority.
LRC Staff: Ken Warlick and Lisa Moore.
Overview of the School for Osteopathic Education
Dr. William T. Betz, Senior Associate Dean for Osteopathic Education, Pikeville
College School of Osteopathic Medicine, reported that osteopathic medicine was founded by A.T. Still, M.D., in the late 1800’s. Dr. Still founded the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1892. He said osteopathic medicine is a total health care system emphasizing the body’s innate ability to regulate and repair itself through prevention and wellness.
Dr. Betz said there are over 67,000 Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.s) in
the United States. The D.O.’s comprise approximately seven percent of total United States physicians and 18 percent of family physicians. He said nearly 20 percent of all United States medical students are enrolled in colleges of osteopathic medicine.
Dr. Betz reported that osteopathic physicians are fully licensed for the complete
practice of medicine and surgery in all 50 states and many foreign countries. He said D.O.’s practice in all medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties, placing an emphasis on primary care. Dr. Betz noted that 41 percent of D.O.’s are in family medicine, 10 percent are in internal medicine, 5 percent are in pediatrics, and 35 percent are in non-primary care.
Dr. Betz said the osteopathic medical curriculum parallels the allopathic (M.D.)
curriculum including all basic science and clinical disciplines. In addition, osteopathic students receive training in Osteopathic Principals and Practices (OPP) including Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT), integrated throughout their medical education. The education is four years in length. The first two years is didactic emphasis, and the last two years includes clinical training in hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices. He noted graduates are conferred the degree of “Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine” (D.O.). All graduates then complete residency (specialty) training for a minimum of three years. The United States currently has 29 accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine.
Dr. Betz said the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine (PCSOM) had
its first class of 60 students enrolled in August 1997 and graduated in May of 2001. Its current class size is 75; total enrollment is 303 students in four classes. He said PCSOM’s mission is to provide men and women with an osteopathic medical education that emphasizes primary care, encourages research, promotes lifelong scholarly activity, and produces graduates who are committed to serving the health care needs of communities in Eastern Kentucky and other Appalachian regions. The number of applicants has risen steadily over the past ten years. PCSOM has one of the highest ratios of applicants per available seat of any school of osteopathic medicine.
Dr. Betz said the Kentucky Osteopathic Medical Scholarship was created by the
Kentucky legislature with coal severance funds. The fund provides financial assistance to Kentucky students attending an accredited school of osteopathic medicine in the Commonwealth. The scholarship fund also requires a primary care service commitment in Kentucky for every year the scholarship is awarded. Since the scholarship’s inception in 1998, nearly $13 million has been awarded to 461 osteopathic medical students.
Dr. Betz reported that over 600 students have graduated since May 10, 2001, with
the degree of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.). Over three-fourths of PCSOM graduates have entered primary care specialties, including family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics and ob/gyn. He noted 44 percent of graduates are practicing in federally designated medically underserved areas.
Dr. Betz said the PCSOM has been ranked in the top 20 of all United States
medical schools in rural medicine. PCSOM currently ranks fifth in the percentage of graduates entering primary care residencies (69 percent). Dr. Betz noted that the Pikeville College Board of Trustees has announced plans to construct a new building to house the medical school, which will expand classroom, laboratory and office space. Upon completion in May 2012, the new building will accommodate an increase from 75 to 125 students per class.
In response to a question from Senator Kerr, Dr. Betz said students are taught
standard osteopathic manipulative treatments. Osteopathic manipulative medicine is utilized as a modality that is combined with other modalities to treat the whole patient. It is used typically in place of regular treatments such as pills, muscle relaxants, and injections. He said specific techniques include: muscle energy; strain and counter strainer; cranial sacral and high velocity low amplitude.
In response to questions by Representative Riner, Dr. Betz said there are many
nationwide programs currently conducting research on the benefit of manipulative medicine in increasing or improving the body’s ability to defend itself. He said D.O.’s receive one full semester dedicated in the second year of school to learning about nutrition. He said the population in the United States needs to be properly taught about smart food choices and nutrition. If not, the population will continue to become sicker, more obese, and demand more resources for healthcare. He emphasized this downward spiral needs to be changed dramatically.
In response to questions from Senator Kerr, Dr. Betz said physical activity and
exercise is important in treating diabetes. He said more doctors should look at the bigger picture when dealing with the healthcare needs of the citizens. He also said the students of PCSOM are active in the P-12 schools and educate the students on nutrition and hygiene. He said the program could be more involved with the students in the P-12 system.
In response to questions from Representative Glenn, Dr. Betz said Pikeville
College tries to get students involved at a young age to get interested in healthcare and medicine. Representative Glenn stressed that children need to be educated early in the school years to realize their careers and prepare for them. Dr. Betz said Pikeville College has also just started another program that allows high school graduates to be accepted immediately into medical school if certain requirements are met. He also said Pikeville College does not have a PH.D program in nursing, but he believes there is a shortage of healthcare practitioners throughout the Commonwealth.
Representative Combs commented that Pikeville College does have an associate’s
program in nursing and there has been a serious consideration to implement a bachelor’s program in nursing in the near future. She explained her background with Pikeville College and the history of the implementation of the medical school. She described real life success stories of patients with osteopathic doctors and said the University of Kentucky is looking at treating their athletes in this manner because it is a quicker healing process.
In response to questions from Representative Richards, Dr. Betz said that he does
not have the exact numbers of how Kentucky fares to surrounding states. He stressed the goal of the program at Pikeville College is to increase the number of doctors in the Appalachia area. The program also strongly encourages medical students to specialize in primary care. Dr. Betz said reimbursement issues can lead the doctors to leave primary care and enter into specialty areas. He said the system needs to support primary care doctors.
In response to a question from Representative Firkins, Dr. Betz said all the spots in
the classroom could be filled with students outside of Kentucky, but that is not the goal. He said 55 to 60 percent of the students in the program are Kentucky residents. Total applications for the program are up ten percent from last year, and he would like to see a ten percent growth in applicants from Kentucky as well. He believes that students trained from rural Kentucky are more likely to stay in rural Kentucky to practice medicine.
In response to a question from Senator Kerr, Dr. Betz said admission into the
medical college includes a 3.5 grade point average, an average score of 25 on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), and an interview with each individual candidate. He believes it is important to analyze the whole person instead of just admitting someone based on a certain test score. He also said there is a 35 to 1 ratio of students wanting into the program per available seat. This is the reason the PCSOM is expanding the program from 75 to 125 students and building a new facility. The program is not currently teaching acupuncture to students, but believes it can be a source and a capacity for healing.
Postsecondary Education Financial Overview
Mr. Robert King, President, Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), reported that Kentucky’s postsecondary and adult education system is comprised of 8 four-year public postsecondary institutions; 16 community and technical colleges; 20 independent colleges and universities; 120 adult education providers, 255,000 college and university students, and has more than 30,000 faculty and staff. He noted the state budget increased 33 percent during the period of 2000-2010, while spending on Medicaid, Corrections, and P-12 education increased significantly more than funding for postsecondary institutions. There have been 11,000 new students added into postsecondary education and no new state funding. Some believe the price of higher education has increased more than any other sector of the economy, including healthcare. Specific graphs can be found in the meeting materials located in the Legislative Research Commission (LRC) library.
President King said the CPE approved tuition increases for fiscal year 2010-2011. Tuition was increased at the community colleges four percent, five percent at the comprehensive colleges, and six percent for the two research campuses. He noted the projected new revenue in fiscal year 2011 is estimated at $43 million. This is predicated on no enrollment growth and common increases for in-state and out-of-state graduate and undergraduate students. He said even with the tuition increases, the campuses will absorb almost $53 in reductions for fiscal year 2011. The campuses are making these reductions through their internal budgetary decisions.
President King said the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES), the College Access Program (CAP), and the Kentucky Tuition Grant (KTG), have remained at fairly consistent levels, with KEES being the largest category of funding. He said the average tuition cost per student, including fees and books, is $7,335.
President King said the CPE general fund appropriation was $49.9 million for 2009-2010. He said 49 percent, or $24.2 million is allocated for the Kentucky Adult Education program. Pass-through funds comprise 39 percent, or $19.4 million, and $6.2 million, 12 percent, is allocated for staff support for statutory duties. He said CPE’s effective budget cut is 5.3 percent in fiscal year 2011 and 6.3 percent in fiscal year 2012. CPE’s general fund is about 20 percent lower than in fiscal year 2008, and the CPE staff has been reduced by 19 positions, or a 19 percent cut since fiscal year 2008. President King said CPE is assessing the impact of another 1.5 percent cut in fiscal year 2011 and other efficiency measures. CPE received $4.6 million in fiscal year 2011 and $1.8 million in fiscal year 2012 for Senate Bill 1 implementation.
President King discussed House Bill 1 that was passed by the General Assembly in 1997 and how Kentucky is doing after a decade of reform. He said undergraduate enrollments; graduate enrollments; bachelor’s degrees; six-year graduation rates; associate degrees; graduate degrees; minority degrees; and research and development expenditures have all increased during the ten-year period. Specific percentage increases for each category can be located in the meeting materials in the LRC library.
President King said funding challenges will include enrollment growth with no state support. He said innovative thinking will be required to secure additional sources of revenue other than tuition increases to maintain reform momentum. He discussed deferred maintenance and capital renewal versus new capital projects. CPE’s goal is to produce a better educated workforce, stimulating economic development through research, while containing costs.
In response to a question from Senator Kerr, President King discussed South
Korea’s emphasis on higher education. He said other countries are faring much better than the United States with its populations attaining baccalaureate degrees. He said Mark Tucker, from the National Center on Education and the Economy, traveled around the world studying the most effective K-12 school systems and tried to understand what they were doing that was different from the United States. In his report, “Tough Choices or Tough Times”, he lists some recommendations of what the United States can do better in terms of delivery of its education system to get better results at a price that is affordable and reasonable. President King said students showing up for college who do not need remediation, are persisting to graduation at significantly higher rates, around 70 percent. He said the importance of getting K-12 fixed is critical to the success of higher education. He also stressed it is important for higher education to adequately prepare and support teachers throughout their careers. President King said he would send a copy of the “Tough Times or Times Choices” report to Senator Kerr.
In response to a question from Representative Rollins, President King said
financial aid is not included in the CPE’s calculation of state share of cost of postsecondary education. He said Kentucky is a national leader in distributing lottery funds into financial aid. Representative Rollins mentioned the possibility of giving lower subsidies to higher income students. He also asked for CPE to provide a state share of cost calculation that included state funding for financial aid. President King said he would get the information to Representative Rollins.
In response to a question from Representative Combs, President King discussed
private versus public tuition rates. He agreed with Representative Combs that innovative ideas are needed to help people and universities to stretch their dollars.
In response to questions from Representative Richards, President King discussed
the other countries and the progress they have made in enrolling students into higher education. He even mentioned that some smaller countries, such as Finland, pay their students stipends to attend college. President King said 50 percent of Kentucky’s colleges and university budgets are state supported. He noted private giving is improving, but cautioned that state support could continue to decrease as campuses start raising more private money through philanthropy.
Representative Wuchner discussed studying abroad and how students in other
countries enter college prepared and do not require remediation. She is hopeful the United States can become as efficient as other countries in the future.
Senator Kerr expressed disappointment to President King that the university
presidents were not in attendance at the meeting. President King said he would relay her message to them.
With no further business before the committee, the meeting adjourned at 12:20 | <urn:uuid:c7e30d72-45d3-4e80-9c5f-9272fd68940e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lrc.ky.gov/minutes/educat/post_edu/100712OK.HTM | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964186 | 3,231 | 1.640625 | 2 |
A new medication that those of us who have type 2 diabetes take only once a week can bring our A1C levels way down. It can also help us to lose weight, something that almost everyone who has type 2 diabetes needs to do.
But predicting who will lose weight isn’t easy. Only one thing stood out in the clinical trials.
The new medication is Bydureon, which we have been able to get in our pharmacies for only the past four months. But Amylin Pharmaceuticals, which developed Bydureon, presented a study at the American Diabetes Association’s annual convention earlier this month that shows both glycemic and weight loss control data for people taking Bydureon for the past four years. Those were the people taking the drug in the clinical trials leading up to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval at the beginning of this year, as I wrote here in “Bydureon Approved Today.”
Bydureon is the latest in a new class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists. Its generic name is exenatide, and it has the same active ingredient as Byetta, which we have been able to get since June 2005 and requires twice-daily shots.
I used Byetta from February 2006 to December 2007, reducing my A1C level from 6.2 to 5.3 and my weight from 312 pounds to 168. That kick-started my diabetes control, making me so happy that I bought 100 shares of Amylin stock. I also wrote a book about Byetta called Losing Weight with Your Diabetes Medication: How Byetta and Other Drugs Can Help You Lose More Weight than You Ever Thought Possible.
The study that Amylin researchers presented at the American Diabetes Association convention, “Exenatide Once Weekly Resulted in Sustained Improvement in Glycemic Control With Weight Loss through 4 Years,” showed that the 176 people who used Bydureon for four years typically had a clinically significant improvement in their A1C of 1.7 percentage points. That means, for example, going from an A1C level of 7.7 to 6.0.
They also lost an average of 5.5 pounds, the study says. While only drugs of this class lead to even that much weight loss, 5.5 pounds isn’t an impressive figure. It’s also close to the average weight loss that people taking Byetta had in its clinical trials.
So how is it that people can lose a lot more weight than that on Byetta or Bydureon? To get the answer to that question I interviewed David Maggs, M.D., Amylin’s Vice President of Medical Development.
One-fourth of the people in the clinicial trials lost “a very significant amount of weight,” he told me. One-half of them lost a significant amount. And one-fourth didn’t lose any weight at all.
I asked Dr. Maggs if they were able to figure out what was different about the people who lost weight and those who didn’t.
The only factor that stood out, he replied, was that people who were already taking metformin did better at losing weight than those who were taking any other drug.
I wondered if the metformin advantage was because people who were taking metformin were different or because metformin itself is different. Then, I remembered that metformin is indeed different.
I asked Dr. Maggs if the difference was that metformin is weight neutral. Yes, he replied. Unlike other drugs — like insulin, the sulfonylureas, Avandia, and Actos — metformin is generally weight neutral. And some studies, Dr. Maggs said, showed that it causes a few pounds of weight loss, while the other drugs “encourage weight gain.”
This still doesn’t explain why people in the clinical trials lost only a few pounds. The answer is, Dr. Maggs told me, that they had to tell people in the clinical trials not to change anything else that there were doing, something that is the standard operating procedure for clinical trials. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know whether it was the drug or something else that was helping.
But once the FDA approves a drug, we can and do make changes. When our doctors encourage us to make lifestyle changes — and they can be as simple as eating less — that is a good way to predict that we will lose a lot more. That was certainly my experience.
So the weight loss effects of Bydureon are hard to predict. But “the glucose effects are much more predictable,” Dr. Maggs told me.
Those glucose effects — helping us to bring our A1C levels way down — were why the FDA approved Bydureon. Amylin doesn’t offer Bydureon as a weight-loss drug. The weight loss effects are a nice bonus — for some lucky people.
This is a mirror of one of my articles that Health Central published. You can navigate to that site to find my most recent articles. | <urn:uuid:8d0e212f-4c54-4cab-996b-f0d4ea15fd03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mendosa.com/blog/?p=1303 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975027 | 1,082 | 1.796875 | 2 |
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7 Jul 2011:
International Verification Issues should now be resolved
What is e164?
In a nutshell: E164.org is a public enum directory of telephone numbers that can be reached over the Internet by anyone anywhere!
The system works by publishing a DNS zone, 'e164.org', that can be used by various Internet applications. The idea is to be able to map your phone number to an Email address, website, VoIP addresses, etc. Find out more.
We also have a Frequently Asked Questions page.
If you control large blocks of numbers, or would like us to handle your e164.arpa delegation, please contact us to discuss your requirements and options.
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To protect your privacy and prevent your link from being snooped we secure our SSL certificates from CAcert.org. You may get a warning from your browser about being untrusted, the simple fix is to load CAcert's root certificate into your web browser. | <urn:uuid:23b0d7be-577c-428e-be0f-942a6fc29b32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.e164.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90578 | 259 | 1.796875 | 2 |
When Brittany Schenk of University Heights decided to go to college, her mother, Judy, joined her in one of her classes. While most college kids wouldn't want Mom tagging along, Brittany was thrilled.
After all, Brittany was just a sophomore — in high school. At 15, she took advantage of the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option program at the eastern campus of Cuyahoga Community College.
The state-administered PSEO program is just one of many ways that community colleges in Northeast Ohio open their doors to the under-18 set, making it possible for parents and kids to be on campus together.
PSEO allows high-achieving high-school students to take college courses with tuition and books paid for by the state of Ohio. Colleges set their own grade-point average and testing requirements, usually most stringent for high-school freshmen and sophomores.
Although PSEO is also offered at area four-year colleges — including Cleveland State University and Case Western Reserve University — it is most popular at the area's three community colleges: Cuyahoga Community College, Lorain County Community College and Lakeland Community College.
One reason for that popularity at community colleges is that a student can theoretically graduate from high school with an associate's degree and enter college as a junior. That's exactly what Brittany plans to do.
"That's not only good for her, but if you think about saving for college, you can actually reduce the cost by 50 percent," Judy Schenk is quick to point out.
She admits, however, that it takes a great deal of planning to make sure that Brittany not only gets the classes for the associate's degree, but also doesn't neglect what she needs to do to graduate from high school. Brittany has been home-schooled since the fourth grade, but as a high-school sophomore she began distance-learning through the Ohio Distance & Electronic Learning Academy, based in Akron, which monitors her progress.
In addition, Judy has worked with colleges to make sure that Brittany's Tri-C classes will transfer and count toward her bachelor's degree. While some colleges require students to retake basic courses, Judy learned that most won't "pick apart" an intact associate's degree the way they might with a student who had just taken random classes.
Britanny took two classes in her first semester at Tri-C. Two other home-schooled friends signed up for English with her and her mom joined her for ceramics — but Judy decided to just audit the class.
"I didn't want grades to be any kind of an issue since Brittany was just starting," she explains. "I just wanted to be with Brittany and have fun."
Last spring, Brittany navigated three courses on her own. This year, she'll take four during the fall semester. She says that her age hasn't ever made a difference in how she was treated by teachers or other students, though she admits that the coursework can be tough.
"Academically, it was challenging," Brittany says. "I had to go from having no homework — getting my work done during the day — to all of a sudden going to classes during the day and then having papers due the next week. There were always tons of papers to be written. I enjoyed the challenges, but there were times I was ready to throw everything out and just stop."
That workload is one reason that starting college early isn't for every high-school student, says Susan Schillings, director of admissions and records for Tri-C's western campus in Parma. Last spring, Tri-C had 867 high-school students enrolled in its PSEO program, of which 462 attended the western campus.
"Your child will be initiating an academic record," Schillings says. "Do you really want them to start it with a failing grade that stays on the transcript forever? It's an opportunity, but if the child isn't ready it also is high risk academically and for the future."
Besides a poor mark on their permanent transcript, Schillings says pushing a child into college has the potential to foster negative feelings about higher education.
But creating a positive outlook on college is the goal behind many of the creative programs for kids going on at Northeast Ohio community colleges.
This fall, Lorain County Community College launched the area's first-ever "Early College High School" for 60 students in the Elyria public schools. Lorain schools will offer the program next year.
The program is designed for first-generation college students who will attend all four years of high school on the campus of Lorain County Community College, says Cindy Kushner, LCCC's marketing team leader for high-school programming. Coursework will intermingle traditional high-school classes with special seminars to learn more about college.
Kushner says the goal is "to have students ready to take college courses, even on a full-time basis, their last two years of high school."
Another LCCC program, Teacher Education Exploration, in partnership with Lorain County Joint Vocational Services, allows high-school students interested in teaching careers to take classes one day a week on campus and to get actual teaching experience in area public schools.
The College Tech Prep program combines students' interest in technology with high academic requirements, making the technology training a launching pad to a full college program. Lakeland Community College in Kirtland offers a similar program, which involves two years of high school and two years for an associate's degree, after which students can finish a bachelor's in an additional two years.
Besides specialized programs for high schoolers, kids as young as 18 months can take noncredit classes at community colleges.
"I see it as a steppingstone to education as a lifelong process," says Michele Henes, lead coordinator of children's programming for Lorain County Community College. "We are opening their minds to college and that they can be successful there."
Henes runs Lorain's College For Kids program, which features a variety of programming throughout the year for children and teens. Classes include everything from academics, such as reading and math, to Spanish and sign language. In the summer, kids can attend a camp on campus.
Lakeland has a similar College For Kids program, as well as special summer classes and camps. Nan Mayer, LCC supervisor for recreation and youth programs, says she starts getting calls in January for Lakeland's summer camps.
Tony Marinelli teaches Lakeland's "Small Fry Science" in the summer for children in first through sixth grades and "Taking Off Into Science" for teens. He says that access to more advanced facilities is what makes a college campus the perfect place for kids to learn.
"I think the neat thing about a college campus is that their resources are usually much better than what you find in public schools. So when you can take a kid who's impressionable and you can get them inside a physics lab, it really entices them and gets them excited about science," says Marinelli, who also teaches eighth-grade earth science at Willoughby Middle School.
At camp, Marinelli even covers topics found on the Ohio proficiency test. But without homework and textbooks, the kids usually just think they're having fun at a great camp.
Tri-C's summer camps are geared toward middle- and high-school students with specific interests. For example, the college offers a special jazz camp and an archaeology camp.
But perhaps one of the easiest ways to take advantage of the great resources at our local community college is to attend classes yourself. All three community colleges have preschools on campus to make it easier for adult students. Lakeland and Lorain also have child-care centers for students' children. At Lakeland, for example, students taking at least one class can leave a child from the ages of 2 1/2 to 10 for $1.25 per hour. At Lorain, both credit and noncredit students can leave children from ages 3 to 12 for $2 an hour. | <urn:uuid:42936781-3f8f-46e9-9983-b3d55f5ee2a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clevelandmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?nm=Arts+%26+Entertainemnt&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=1578600D80804596A222593669321019&tier=4&id=6769B1967C074489AE560E8FD6BA8321 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977924 | 1,668 | 1.734375 | 2 |
When somebody says “cake”, we typically imagine a round baked sweet, most often decorated with fancy flowers and ribbons, layered together from different kinds of goodies. However, the first cakes, recorded in Ancient Rome and Greece, were way different: the Romans would simply enhance basic bread dough with butter, eggs and honey, and the more creative Greeks would …
Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluision traveled the world exploring how the eating habits differ from country to country and presented their results in a photo album, called Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. The wife and husband’s team visited 24 different countries and 30 families to photograph them at home, at the market, and surrounded by their weekly food supplies.
Every one who’s ever tried feeding a baby knows how important it is to make the food look nice and funny – especially if it’s broccoli or porridge… This is because the looks of your food constitutes a great part of the overall pleasure of eating. But if you manage to turn your noodles into Chewbacca, or can make a plate of Angry bird sandwiches, hardly anyone could say no to that!
From the 1st of March Malaysian artist Hong Yi started playing with her food – each day she creates a beautiful piece of art in her plate made entirely out of food. The artist that also goes by the name “Red” is going to create 31 pieces by month’s end. You can follow her project on Instagram.
WiseGEEK conducted a very visual and informative study and presented a photo series, which compares what 200 calories actually look like in different foods. You’d think that even with the bikini season coming up, a handful of gummy bears couldn’t hurt much, right..? Well, turns out, just 51 gram of those gives you the same amount of calories as nearly 600 grams of broccoli or 3 whole eggs would…
German art director Sarah Illenberger has a great eye for spotting various objects or even word puns in something as ordinary as fruits and vegetables. In her “Strange Fruits” project a slice of watermelon starts raining seeds, pomegranate turns into an actual grenade, and chilli peppers become the flame of a lighter.
If your hobbies range from food to art to science, they might seem incompatible at first – not to Caren Alpert, though, who combined all of those and presented some stunning microscopic food photographs. The series, called Terra Cibus, were created with an electron microscope, which helps to reveal the side of our food we don’t normally get to see.
For the cover of the August issue of Clase Premier magazine, Mexican studio Golpeavisa had to make a portrait of René Redzepi, the world’s best chef. Usually, these cover illustrations are digital drawings, but this time Golpeavisa decided to push their luck a little bit further, and do the illustration photographically. The idea was to shoot a bunch of cuisine and kitchen related elements positioned in such a way that it would look like a silhouette of Redzepi’s face.
Pumpkin carving is so yesterday! With stores full of various fruits and vegetables, there is no excuse not to use them for carving. Russian artist Dimitri Tsykalov uses apples, eggplants, watermelons and even cabbages to create his creepy skull carvings. Interestingly, the artist lets some of the pieces rot then incorporates them into photos together with the fresher pieces.
If you follow our Facebook page, you may have noticed that we’ve been sharing a lot of new works of Brock Davis lately. Seeing his great interest in food, I’ve decided that his creative food art is worth a separate entry. Brock Davis is a Minneapolis-based artist and creative director with a knack for creating ground-breaking work. Brock has worked in advertising for the past 17 years. When he isn’t busy making ads he’s busy making other things, like one piece of art every day for a year in his “Make Something Cool Every Day” project.
Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, but it can be stressful and expensive. Getting presents is easy, however buying them is another story. Luckily, there are two popular types of presents: a) something we can drink and b) something that can help us drink. This simple formula has helped me so many times that I thought it might be useful to you too. That’s why we have handpicked these 24 unique gift ideas for wine lovers.
Minimiam (meaning “Mini Yum”) is a creative union of husband and wife who create fascinating worlds of food with their little people doing their little chores here. Akiko Ida is Japanese and Pierre Javelle is French. They met studying photography at the Paris “Arts Decoratifs” art school. | <urn:uuid:9e64a359-ab79-4acb-a9a3-2a0bd1788c69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.boredpanda.com/category/food-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966468 | 1,026 | 1.921875 | 2 |
OSLO, Norway (AP) -- A Norwegian who dressed as a police officer to gun down summer campers killed at least 80 people at an island retreat, horrified police said early Saturday. It took investigators several hours to begin the realize the full scope of Friday's massacre, which followed an explosion in nearby Oslo that killed seven and that police say was set off by the same suspect.
The mass shootings are among the worst in history. With the blast outside the prime minister's office, they formed the deadliest day of terror in Western Europe since the 2004 Madrid train bombings killed 191.
Police initially said about 10 were killed at the forested camp on the island of Utoya, but some survivors said they thought the toll was much higher. Police director Oystein Maeland told reporters early Saturday they had discovered many more victims.
"It's taken time to search the area. What we know now is that we can say that there are at least 80 killed at Utoya," Maeland said. "It goes without saying that this gives dimensions to this incident that are exceptional."
Maeland said the death toll could rise even more. He said others were severely injured, but police didn't know how many were hurt.
A suspect in the shootings and the Oslo explosion was arrested. Though police did not release his name, Norwegian national broadcaster NRK identified him as 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik and said police searched his Oslo apartment overnight. NRK and other Norwegian media posted pictures of the blond, blue-eyed Norwegian.
A police official said the suspect appears to have acted alone in both attacks, and that "it seems like that this is not linked to any international terrorist organizations at all." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because that information had not been officially released by Norway's police.
"It seems it's not Islamic-terror related," the official said. "This seems like a madman's work."
The official said the attack "is probably more Norway's Oklahoma City than it is Norway's World Trade Center." Domestic terrorists carried out the 1995 attack on a federal building in Oklahoma City, while foreign terrorists were responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The official added, however, "it's still just hours since the incident happened. And the investigation is going on with all available resources."
The motive was unknown, but both attacks were in areas connected to the ruling Labor Party government. The youth camp, about 20 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of Oslo, is organized by the party's youth wing, and the prime minister had been scheduled to speak there Saturday.
A 15-year-old camper named Elise said she heard gunshots, but then saw a police officer and thought she was safe. Then he started shooting people right before her eyes.
"I saw many dead people," said Elise, whose father, Vidar Myhre, didn't want her to disclose her last name. "He first shot people on the island. Afterward he started shooting people in the water."
Elise said she hid behind the same rock that the killer was standing on. "I could hear his breathing from the top of the rock," she said.
She said it was impossible to say how many minutes passed while she was waiting for him to stop.
At a hotel in the village of Sundvollen, where survivors of the shooting were taken, 21-year-old Dana Berzingi wore pants stained with blood. He said the fake police officer ordered people to come closer, then pulled weapons and ammunition from a bag and started shooting.
Several victims "had pretended as if they were dead to survive," Berzingi said. But after shooting the victims with one gun, the gunman shot them again in the head with a shotgun, he said.
"I lost several friends," said Berzingi, who used the cell phone of one of those friends to call police.
The blast in Oslo, Norway's capital and the city where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, left a square covered in twisted metal, shattered glass and documents expelled from surrounding buildings. Most of the windows in the 20-floor high-rise where Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his administration work were shattered. Other buildings damaged house government offices and the headquarters of some of Norway's leading newspapers.
The dust-fogged scene after the blast reminded one visitor from New York of Sept. 11.
Ian Dutton, who was in a nearby hotel, said people "just covered in rubble" were walking through "a fog of debris."
"It wasn't any sort of a panic," he said, "It was really just people in disbelief and shock, especially in a such as safe and open country as Norway. You don't even think something like that is possible."
Police said the Oslo explosion was caused by "one or more" bombs.
The police official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Oslo bombing occurred at 3:26 p.m. local time (1:26 p.m. GMT), and the camp shootings began one to two hours later. The official said the gunman used both automatic weapons and handguns, and that there was at least one unexploded device | <urn:uuid:add178e3-786c-46a8-b5f5-2e063bc92dd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/Bomb-blast%2C-shooting-at-youth-camp-horrify-Norway | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989086 | 1,066 | 1.640625 | 2 |
In our last blog post, we told you that in order to play the piano in a way that makes you look cool, you need to learn popular piano songs that everyone knows. Well, following extensive market research and controlled laboratory testing*, our team has discovered that the true formula for musical coolness is not running with the grain, but running against it. There’s only one thing cooler than playing songs that everyone knows: Playing songs that no one knows!
I mean, sure, everyone and their mother is familiar with Disney classics… But how many people can play Slavko Avsenik’s world famous polka hits? Or Matumba Setwhale’s “Tunga Na Ba”? Now that’s cultured and unique!
Want to wow the crowds with your eclectic repertoire? Want to master some wildly obscure songs that give testament to your worldly tastes? Want to stand out among the sea lemmings doling out the same over-played pieces time and time again?
Well then sit back, open a Google search bar (you’re gonna need it…) and get ready to experience: our Top 10 Songs Almost No One Knows.
10. Lionel Bart - "Who Will Buy"
… this song on iTunes?
'Who's Lionel Bart', you might ask? Good question—I don't know! Apparently he's a British composer, known most famously for his works in the musical Oliver!. And that is where this practically unknown song from this practically unknown artist comes from!
In the early part of the 20th century, the founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, propounded the concept of a "collective unconscious," which is a structure of the psyche which autonomously organizes experiences with an inherent universal synchronicity.
Now, I have no idea what that means… But I'm pretty sure it has to do with songs getting stuck in your head.
You know those songs and tunes that, regardless of age, nationality, location, language, or musical persuasion, everyone knows? From the skyscrapers of New York to the rice paddies of Mayoyao, it's those ditties and melodies that you start to hum and every bum (or peasant) around will know exactly what it is. So when you're trying to learn piano chords, why waste time on obscure, little-known pieces when you can bust out some tunes that get everyone in the room nodding their head in recognition?
Because after all, piano music is an act of creation—creation of coolness. For you. In the eyes of others.
And for that, let us tap into the vast reservoir of the collective unconscious and (re)discover: the Top Ten Songs that Everybody Knows.
10. Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On
Never let go!
James Cameron's 1997 box office hit left us not only with a timeless movie classic, but also with a song to hauntingly carry through the years. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who isn't familiar with this cultural colossus of a soundtrack. Near, far, wherever you are… chances are you know this song. | <urn:uuid:53513414-b8a8-48b0-b731-dc04ad9fe94a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.onlinepianist.com/blog/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941991 | 651 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The state legislature’s Joint Insurance Committee met Wednesday to discuss the Affordable Care Act and two crucial, yet voluntary, measures: setting up state health insurance exchanges and expanding Medicaid.
At that meeting a representative from the Public Affairs Research Council said Louisiana doesn’t have enough information to make a truly informed decision on implementing the healthcare reform law.
PAR’s Principle Health Advisor Don Gregory recently authored a study about the research done so far on the implications of expanding Medicaid in Louisiana. He says other states have worked to figure out not just the costs, but also the benefits of insuring the uninsured.
Almost $83 million in cuts to healthcare programs and services went into effect Friday to shore up a mid-year deficit in the state budget. These are separate from a previous round of cuts made in July.
The latest round of reductions includes cuts to services for at-risk children and low-income moms, as well as a one percent drop in the rate paid to hospitals and physicians for non-primary Medicaid services. | <urn:uuid:b32a9274-b0a0-498d-9724-b41656ac0f96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wrkf.org/term/medicaid?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950306 | 208 | 1.546875 | 2 |
- Social Media
- Active Citizenship
- Good Giving
- Corporate Responsibility
- Be Fearless
As the world's attention increasingly focuses on the difficult situation in Pakistan in the wake of devastating floods that have affected more than 17 million people in the country, you may be looking for ways to help. We wanted to share a few online and mobile resources, and invite you to share your own suggestions in the comments.
As it has done for previous disasters, Global Giving has created a centralized page listing projects directly involved in flood relief, and Network for Good has also developed a list of organizations who are providing funding and other critical aid to Pakistan, with links to donate directly to those organizations' efforts. The Jolkona Foundation has also dedicated a special project page that allows you to donate directly to families affected by the floods. This New York Times article is also a great resource that points to various organizations involved in flood relief. And for grantmakers, the Council on Foundations has set up a disaster grantmaking resource page with background and links on various corporate, NGO and philanthropic efforts to help.
If you prefer to help via mobile, you can contribute to the State Department's Pakistan Relief Fund by texting "FLOOD" to 27722, or via text to one of the numerous organizations that mobile giving platform MGive has partnered with - the full list of organizations and text codes are available in this press release.
If you're looking to keep up-to-date via Twitter, follow #helppakistan for updates on relief efforts and other tips on how you can help. | <urn:uuid:1af23bf7-7ab9-40c1-9222-a80ee9d40615> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://casefoundation.org/blog/pakistan-flood-relief-ways-you-can-help | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950016 | 320 | 1.710938 | 2 |
by Arum and Roksa
(University of Chicago Press 2011)
Bless your hearts, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, for calling on institutions of higher education to prioritize undergraduate learning. With "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses," sociologists Arum and Roksa argue that undergraduate students seem to learn very little in college and that, in fact, they (Arum and Roksa) can show just how much those undergraduates are learning by bringing their own quantitative data set Determinants of College Learning (DCL) - which surveys over 2,300 full-time students at 24 four-year institutions on questions of family background, high school grades and college experiences - together with scores from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), a standardized test that analyzes "core outcomes espoused by all of higher education": critical thinking, problem solving and writing.
Democracy depends upon education that prepares its members for full participation, Arum and Roksa rightly contend. It depends on education to help members develop the critical reasoning and communication on which democratic participation is founded. What's needed then, they say, are "objective measures" of students' learning in relation to their social backgrounds and education experiences. Such measures, Arum and Roksa continue, will hold institutions accountable and will fight the enemy they have named "limited learning," or more precisely, the "absence of growth in CLA performance" (122).
Arum and Roksa claim to "illuminate the multiple actors contributing to the current state of limited learning on college campuses" (120): students themselves, faculty members, administrators and cultural messages of "college for all" in which the only measure of that access is the college credential that seems to say less and less about college learning. Yet, Arum and Roksa remain unclear as to how those actors are positioned within multiple, intersecting systems of power. They remain unclear as to how schools and formal education itself are positioned within those multiple, intersecting systems of power.
Basil Bernstein (1977) and Paul Willis (1977) have discussed in different ways how education is a major force in structuring student experiences - and how the structure and culture of schools influences how students understand their own identities. Clearly passing over the arguments of Willis and Bernstein, Arum and Roksa call for "as much attention on monitoring and ensuring that undergraduate learning occurs as elementary and secondary school systems are currently being asked to undertake" (55). But the students who arrive on college campuses have more than likely spent up to 12 years in those elementary and secondary classrooms that are being so thoroughly monitored. These undergraduate students' learning experiences and their ideas about learning cannot not have been shaped by these monitoring practices. But any role this might play in Arum's and Roksa's notion of limited learning is never discussed.
Arum and Roksa assume instead that learning is something that can be calculated. And that those calculations exist objectively and without connection to a political context. They assume that skills can be "mastered" completely for participation in "today's complex and competitive world" (31), rather than continuously engaged through the sort of "restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry" that Paulo Freire (1968: 72) envisions. They assume that critical thinking is something that can be "banked" in students by assigning certain numbers of pages of reading and writing and by encouraging students that the most effective means of study is to study alone rather than in dialogue (115-6). Critical thinking as Arum and Roksa present it, is not then about engaging with the world and with others, but rather seems to focus more on efficiently "receiving, filing and storing" of information.
The data that Arum and Roksa provide on CLA scores tabulated by race and ethnicity reveal that the test on which Arum and Roksa base much of their argument is clearly not so neutral. How is it that whiteness can correspond to superior problem solving unless there is something about the way the test conceives of and measures "problem-solving"?
Collegiate Learning Assessment: Mean Scores
(Four-Year College/University Students) 2006
Without acknowledging the political location of their own work and of the sorts of practices called for in it, Arum and Roksa present an idea of higher education stripped of imagination and possibility - stripped of the idea that possible futures do not have to look exactly like what is on display today. I whole-heartedly celebrate Arum's and Roksa's desire to make higher education "meaningful and consequential for students" (55), but "Academically Adrift" is not about engaging students - it rather seems to be about them as containers for holding fixed ideas and as technicians for discrete tasks that some external and allegedly objective entity has decided are definitive measures of critical thought and problem solving.
More meaningful questions about undergraduate learning would likely not ask how to measure critical thinking or how to create an index of academic rigor. More meaningful questions would likely come from a different starting point: questions that look to students' classroom experiences, to their broader social experiences and to the structural contexts and the intersecting systems of power in which those experiences are situated. The classroom can be oppressive or it can be emancipatory. It can be privatized, individualized, compartmentalized - or it can be a place where students question each other and question what they are learning to try to situate it in relation to their world. When the latter is fore grounded, the classroom can be a space of democracy: one where students may come to realize that democratic possibilities don't have to look like the kinds of democracy currently on display. | <urn:uuid:407d65b6-5a98-4861-9618-b5151953ff5a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/362-book-review-academically-adrift | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965093 | 1,172 | 2.09375 | 2 |
The Renewed Cold War, episode 9 in itshistorypodcasts.com’s Cold War series is here..
The episode looks at how relations between the super-powers fell to levels not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Following growing tensions in the late 1970s, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. This led to a large increase in US defense spending from US President Carter. But this wasn’t enough for many in the US, and a much more aggressive US-government led by Ronald Reagan came in to power. The consequences were a world where fear once again dominated people’s thinking.
Related reading is available here.
Enjoy the podcast! | <urn:uuid:394405ae-10c1-447b-aff7-e758bd8e949a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blubrry.com/itshistorypodcasts/1617175/cold-war-series-episode-9-renewed-cold-war/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962135 | 135 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Warning to U.S. plants: Consider Korean unrest
|Lindsay Chappell is the Mid-South bureau chief for Automotive News.|
Autoworkers in South Korea have been striking on and off this summer for various reasons, and there were threats of an industry shutdown there.
Hyundai, in particular, could have suffered for it, but the company has reached a tentative settlement with the union, according to reports overnight from Seoul.
Labor unrest in Korea is a different animal than U.S. managers are used to. And from the relatively calm viewpoint of the U.S. auto industry, things can look nastier than they really are. But, interesting to note, the root cause of the Korean workers' current unhappiness is a practice that American automakers are rushing headlong to adopt at their U.S. auto plants.
The Korean workers rebelled against night work. They're tired of working late hours. They want their work days shortened to avoid the social disruptions of late-night factory life.
Meanwhile, automakers across the U.S. industry are changing their plants over to three-shift worker models. American manufacturers, with the 2009 market crash still vivid in their memories, want to maximize their existing plants to turn out more vehicles to keep up with a growing retail market without investing in new factory lines.
Auto plants are adding shifts from Detroit to Mississippi. With the best and most sensible of intentions, they want to run their factories as close as possible to round-the-clock, with maintenance engineering crews using short periods at night to keep the tooling humming nicely.
Whether it is South Korea or South Carolina, workers are usually grateful to have a good paying auto plant job. But the graveyard shift has always been a challenge, for workers and employers. GM's Saturn subsidiary had its hands full for years trying to make one work smoothly there in the 1990s -- and that was a work environment predicated on keeping workers content. If they don't like late hours in Korea, we can be sure workers won't particularly like it any better in Michigan or Ohio or Kentucky.
Three-crew work models are going to be demanding systems. How automakers manage the new routine could be the management challenge of this decade.
You can reach Lindsay Chappell at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:1162c5b4-b1ba-40f4-bd8b-ff21d1b69426> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.autonews.com/article/20120828/BLOG06/120829904 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962576 | 478 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Article appeared in the Norman Transcript Wednesday May 11, 1966 page 11 (used with permission)
by Jo H. Hoskinson
C. E. Garee, nationally known horticulturist from Noble, tonight will be awarded the Presidential Citation given by the president of the National Council of State Garden Clubs, Inc., for "his work in hybridizing and propagating many species of plants in Oklahoma."
Garee will receive the citation at the awards banquet at the council's national convention in New Orleans. Because of his advanced age, Garee will not attend the banquet. His daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Bullard, who has been associated with her father in the Noble Nursery the last 20 years, is in New Orleans to accept the award, Mrs. Paul G. Updegraff, member of the national board of the council, said before going to the convention.
Mrs. Fred Mauntel, Washington, Mo., national council president, will present the award, and also a Horticultural Foundation Award to Minnie Colquitt of Texas for the bearded iris named in her honor by Hans Sass of Omaha.
Garee, who was born Sept. 23, 1873, near Eureka, Greenwood County, Kan., was honored by the Norman Lions Club on April 18, 1961, in a special "This is Your Life" program. It outlined Garee's many contributions to Oklahoma horticulture, civic and cultural life, as well as his devotion to the Lions Club.
Garee attended grade school and high school in Center County, Mo. At 13 he passed an examination for prospective teacher's certificate. After attending Eldorado Normal and Business College at Eldorado Springs, Mo., and State Teachers College in Warrensburg, Mo., he taught in Cedar county and nearby counties until 1894. He was considered "sharp" in mathematics.
Bridge building in Kansas and northern Oklahoma occupied him from 1894 to 1896. He came to Noble in 1895 to build a suspension bridge across the South Canadian River. His parents and sister then moved with him to Noble bringing household furnishings in covered wagons. Garee returned to Missouri and married Eva Dunaway in 1897. She died several years ago.
After a short career as a bridge builder, in 1899 he began his nursery in Noble by planting peach seed, making grape cuttings and apple grafts. In the early years, until about 1920, the nursery stock consisted chiefly of peach trees, apple trees, berry and grape vines and other fruit stock in carload lots.
The flowering shrubs and few ornamentals then were chiefly given to purchasers of big lots of fruit stock. Now the picture is exactly reversed, he said recently.
Always a first and foremost propagator and grower, Garee has developed or introduced to the trade many new varieties or little used native plants among them the Gareeii Arizona Cypress, Gareeii Spreading Juniper, Decidious Holly, Red Yucca, Caddo Maple, Western Live Oak, Hardy Deodora, Pinchot Juniper, Ashei Juniper, Greenwood Cypress, Noble Apricot, Compacta scopulorum and budded chestnuts.
His experimentation with collecting seed and native plants gave him further excuse for frequent fishing trips to the various parts of the state. Some of his most valuable plants have resulted from such trips. He has never patented any of his new plants, but has made a habit of sharing his "finds" of plants and methods of propagation with all his fellow nurserymen. In his 75th year, Garee made two trips each week for several months to teach a class of GI's in Oklahoma City who were in the "on the job training" program.
As member of the Oklahoma Nurserymen's Association since about 1900, Garee has served as president several different terms. He has been president of the South Western Nurserymen's Association and district director of the American Association of Nurserymen for six years.
During the years when he was starting the nursery and getting it developed into a "going" business, he engaged in stock raising and farming. He was at one time one of the largest growers of registered Duroc Jersey hogs in Oklahoma. Because of his interest in these hogs, he was instrumental in establishing the State Fair of Oklahoma, being one of the original stockholders of the fair association. He exhibited the Grand Champion Boar the first year of the fair.
In later years he was one of the first promoters of Future Farmers of America which was organized in the Noble High School very early in the Vocational Agriculture programs of the state.
He also was for many years a member of the Cleveland County Fair Board, a member of the Council of Defense, the Victory Bond Sale Committee and the Red Cross Board for Cleveland County during World War I.
"One good thing that came out of the World War I," Garee once said, "was the fact that I could have cornbread every day, because wheat flour, being scarse, was rationed."
During World War II, the town of Noble had a series of 35 or 40 community parties honoring the servicemen of the area who had returned from combat. Garee was chairman for this project for several years.
Religious activities were another interest in the horticulturist. When the Methodist church in Noble was rebuilt in 1930, money was scarse. He organized a crew of men who donated their labor and put the roof on the church in one day.
Not only has Garee been the recipient of the Garden Council's award and the Lions Club honors, he received the 1950 Oklahoma State Nurserymen's first award to the outstanding nurseryman of the state in 1950. This was a silver bowl. He also was chosen as honorary member of the Oklahoma Horticulture Club at Oklahoma State University.
Garee has contributed time and support to many garden club programs in Norman, and as long ago as 1929 he purchased an advertisement in the organization program meeting the State Convention of Oklahoma Garden Clubs which was held in Norman in McFarlin Methodist Church.
In the Lions Club recognition of Garee, tribute was paid to him as horticulturist and distinguished member by Robert H. Rucker, University Landscape architect.
Dr. George L. Cross, president of the University, in presenting Garee to the group said, "I have known this splendid man for 30 years. "He is one of the kindest, most able, most literate and most patient of men."
Rucker in his talk told Garee: "You have made a vast contribution to the State of Oklahoma and the Southwest in turning our urban and rural areas into tree studded verdant expanses of beauty by showing the way in the use of indigenous plant materials.
"It is evident that professional and amateur horticulturists will always reap the benefits of your work"
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Census Records | Vital Records | Family Trees & Communities | Immigration Records | Military Records Directories & Member Lists | Family & Local Histories | Newspapers & Periodicals | Court, Land & Probate | Finding Aids | <urn:uuid:e1809849-4d9f-4e05-9eaa-4eb1b6396a12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kayz/garee/addons/gardenaward.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977919 | 1,511 | 1.625 | 2 |
Sustainability Fair Shares Ewa School’s Knowledge With Public
Sustainability is no stranger to Ewa Makai Middle School, which earned the Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for its green building designs last year.
“Ewa Makai’s Gold LEED designation sets a new standard for green school design in Hawaii,” said Sandra Goya, communications director for the state Department of Education.
According to Goya, the school, which opened in January 2011, earned enough points to move up from Silver to Gold certification based on U.S. Green Building Council guidelines.
And the school wants to share the concept of sustainability with the rest of the community from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday on the school’s Ocean Pointe campus through a free sustainability fair for the Green Apple Day of Service, a worldwide movement in which communities work to make schools healthier and more sustainable.
The fair will feature information booths on a range of subjects, including energy and water efficiency, renewable energy, organic gardening and waste management. The sustainability fair also will discuss the benefits of going green and sustainable techniques such as composting and recycling.
The middle school itself is a prime example of sustainable building features. It uses natural daylight from solar tubes, as well as light shelves and skylights that allow natural light to flow into the classroom.
The school also has a stormwater retention system that collects rain runoff for use in landscape irrigation.
All of these changes have resulted in a reduction of electricity use and lower operational costs.
The functional aspects aren’t the only advancements the school has made. The students also are learning about the benefits of sustainable living.
Ask any student who attends Ewa Makai about Recycle Thursday, and they’ll tell you how each classroom rotates the campus recycling duties by collecting and sorting the recyclables into blue bins.
The students also have a School Gardening Club that meets each Wednesday to care for the on-site garden. Last year, the children were able to donate seedlings to the community.
Vermicom posting bins are used to fertilize the garden, and an aquaponics system also was installed.
For more information, call 687-9479. | <urn:uuid:d465ee1e-393c-43e4-9f16-e62aae108808> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.midweek.com/sustainability-fair-shares-ewa-schools-knowledge-with-public/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952889 | 472 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Star Date Online has a nice article and image about the Leonids, so named because they appear to originate in the zodiac constellation of Leo. The constellation rises in the early morning sky and dominates the eastern sky. As the Sun does not break the darkness of the morning sky until 5:30 AM, the best darkness will be from 4:00 until 5:30 at which an observer in dark skies can see dozens of meteors per hour. Another good online resources is Astronomy.com with a good article on the Leonid shower.
Image from Astronomy.com. | <urn:uuid:b5758c5c-cff3-4dc6-9ee8-7ce2750d642a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://urbanastronomer.blogspot.com/2010/11/leonid-meteor-shower-2010.html?showComment=1289937506988 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900545 | 117 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Exeter UFO Sighting: An Unsolved Mystery, 46 Years Later
In the predawn hours of Sept. 3, 1965, Norman Muscarello was hitchhiking home, when a brightly lit 90-foot-wide object silently approached him from the sky, leaving him terrified.
At about the same time, a woman called the local police station in Exeter, N.H., to report that a large, silent craft with flashing lights had followed her car for over 10 miles before vanishing in the night.
Thus began a series of UFO sightings that evening that would forever change the New England town of 7,000 people.
After Muscarello told his story to local police, he and Officer Eugene Bertrand drove out to the area where the UFO had been spotted. Within minutes, both Muscarello and Bertrand watched as a huge object rose up behind the trees, giving off a reddish glow.
During the night, several witnesses -- including another police officer -- reported seeing the mysterious object, and a subsequent Air Force response to the sightings indicated it was "unable to identify the object."
Nearly half a century later, nobody has been able to explain that strange evening.
The events sparked widespread media attention -- including a two-part article in "Look" magazine -- and became the subject of the John G. Fuller book "Incident at Exeter."
"Not only is this a fine example of a close encounter of the first kind, but it is a showcase illustration of [the Air Force's UFO Project] Blue Book negligence, put-down of witnesses, attempts to explain away the testimony of responsible witnesses with a parade of 'official' explanations, and of capitulation on the part of the Pentagon which, months later, had to admit that the case should have been carried as 'unidentified,'" wrote astronomer J. Allen Hynek in his 1977 book, "The Hynek UFO Report."
The late astronomer served as scientific consultant to Project Blue Book, the official Air Force study of UFOs conducted between 1952 and 1969.
To commemorate the Sept. 3 UFO incident, the town of Exeter held a festival over Labor Day weekend, featuring a UFO building contest, alien pet costumes, a children's ET costume contest and several key speakers, including UFO historian Richard Dolan, author and lecturer Kathleen Marden and former nuclear physicist Stanton T. Friedman.
PHOTOS: (Story Continues Below)
Friedman recalls the significance of the original 1965 Exeter UFO incident.
"There were police officers involved as well as independent witnesses," he told The Huffington Post. "It was a well-documented case and one where there was no reason for anybody to think that this was anything other than a very legitimate event."
Friedman, ever the pro-alien reality advocate, told the large festival crowd that it's not impossible that the technology needed to travel the vast distances between star systems exists and is already being used -- an idea which UFO skeptics have long debunked.
"This is a very special time," Friedman said. "Our society has opened Pandora's Box. We figured out nuclear fusion. And nuclear fusion -- which you can use for H-bombs -- also can be used for propulsion. So we have to be concerned [about] anybody else in the 'neighborhood.'"
"I worked on nuclear fusion propulsion systems which would allow you to kick particles out the back end -- having 10 million times as much energy per particle as they can get in a dumb old chemical rocket. Therefore, anybody in the neighborhood would be certainly concerned about these idiots who killed 50 million people in World War II."
Whether or not extraterrestrials may consider Earthlings using nuclear fusion propulsion systems as any kind of threat, the fact remains that of the huge numbers of UFO sightings that occur around the world, approximately 5 percent are still not fully identified. | <urn:uuid:9105e4bb-f02a-4215-9568-4a529f9ffdad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/08/exeter-new-hampshire-ufo-sighting_n_951064.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968057 | 791 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Big, round numbers are hard to ignore. That's why we pay attention when the odometer clicks over to 100,000 miles, and why the world threw a party at the dawn of 2000 instead of the technical start of the millennium in 2001.
It's no different on Wall Street. When the Dow Jones industrial average briefly crossed 13,000 this week, a milestone it hadn't reached since before the financial crisis, people took notice.
Some observers said it was a sign of a stronger U.S. economy. Casual investors wondered whether it was time to get back into stocks after fleeing to bonds or just stuffing their money under the mattress in the terrifying economic meltdown.
But a word of caution: 13,000 is just a number.
It gives politicians something to talk about. It gives regular people something to measure against. It can stir up excitement, but it doesn't change the elements of the economy, like the number of people out of work or the number of empty houses.
The Dow also isn't the best measure of the stock market. It follows 30 companies -- important ones, household names, but only 30. And it's weighted so just a handful of the most expensive stocks carry the most weight.
If Apple, whose stock has skyrocketed this year from $405 to $522, had been added to the Dow on Jan. 1, it would already be above 14,000, according to estimates this week from ConvergEx Execution Solutions.
And the Dow is certainly not the best measure of the economy. It can rise even when jobs are falling or the economy is shrinking.
"Psychologically it matters," says Dan McMahon, director of equity trading at Raymond James, who was underwhelmed by the Dow's short foray above 13,000 this week. "Technically and fundamentally, not so much."
It's the same mind game when people turn 40. They're only a day older, but it feels more significant. Retailers understand this trick, too. That's why they slap $99 on a price tag instead of $100. That one dollar feels like a lot.
For the Dow, "whether it's 12,999 or 13,000 is just arithmetic," says Mark Lehmann, president of JMP Securities in San Francisco.
Keep in mind also that the market is a fickle barometer. Some institutional investors, such as hedge funds or private-equity firms whose employees follow the market for a living, will consider the 13,000 mark a signal to get out, not in.
And 13,000 may not last. The fire-sale discounts for stocks appear to have come and gone. The companies that make up the Dow are trading at about 13.9 times their past year's earnings per share, a popular measure of how expensive stocks are.
Just last month, that figure was 13.2. At the Dow's low during the Great Recession, it was 8.2. So the Dow is approaching the average of about 16 over the past two decades, according to Birinyi Associates, a stock market research firm.
And though this sounds obvious, it can be hard to remember in the headline rush of 13,000: You want to buy stocks when prices are low. The stock market is perhaps the only place where shoppers rush in when prices go up.
"Human beings are pattern-seeking animals," said Brian Gendreau, market strategist at Cetera Financial Group. "We find patterns even when there are none."
The Dow has climbed back slowly since its 2009 low of 6,547.05, and its other milestones have also generated a frenzy of attention. But as motivations for investment, their record has been mixed:
-- On Oct. 14, 2009, about 10 years after the first time the Dow hit 10,000, the average hit the mark again. Traders passed around baseball caps labeled "Dow 10,000 2.0" on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Mutual funds didn't think the milestone was a good time to invest: They pulled $216 million out of U.S. stocks that day, according to TrimTabs Investment Research. A week later, the Dow was down about a half-percent. Three weeks after that, though, it was up 2.7 percent from its Oct. 14 close.
-- On April 12, 2010, the Dow crossed 11,000. This time, the Dow climbed in the following week, up 0.8 percent. Three weeks after that, it was down 2 percent.
-- On Feb. 1, 2011, the Dow crossed 12,000. A week later, it was up 1.6 percent. Three weeks after that, it was virtually flat.
Experts say investors should keep in mind that the surest way to profit in the stock market is to invest for the long term. Buying for just a week or a month at a time is a risky bet.
Beyond talk of milestones, there's also the question of whether the Dow is even an accurate measure of the economy. Besides being made up of just 30 companies, it's weighted so that the few with the highest stock prices carry the most heft.
So a small percentage change in the stock of IBM, which is trading around $198, sways the index much more than a large change in the stock of Bank of America, which is trading around $8.
Last year, the Dow rose 5.5 percent. But strip out IBM and McDonald's, the two stocks with the highest prices last year, and it rose just 1.8 percent, according to calculations by Birinyi.
Plenty of analysts say the Standard & Poor's 500, given its much broader list of companies, is a better measure of the market. While the Dow is about 8 percent away from its all-time high of 14,164.53, the S&P 500 is still 15 percent away.
It did close Friday at 1,365.74, a 3 1/2-year high and about 200 points from its all-time high in October 2007.
"The Dow has only 30 members," says John Manley, chief equity strategist for the Wells Fargo funds group. "Sometimes their individual stories bury the message that the economy is trying to send us."
So in a way, it will be a bigger deal if the S&P breaks 1,400. But nobody makes baseball caps for that. | <urn:uuid:659b489a-e93c-48d6-8daf-a0f412763dc5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.the-daily-record.com/ap%20financial/2012/02/24/dow-13-000-is-a-big-number-but-it-s-just-a-number | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966631 | 1,322 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Viola cornuta (horned pansy)
A popular bedding plant with a light fragrance, horned pansy is native to the Pyrenees.
About this species
Viola cornuta is one of a group of species known as pansies (Viola section Melanium). Pansies differ from violets in that pansy flowers have four petals pointing upwards and only one directed downwards. The common name pansy is derived from the French pensée (meaning thought). Viola cornuta flowers have a characteristic long, thin, upward pointing nectar spur (which is from where the term 'horned' comes).
Geography & Distribution
Horned pansy is native to Spain and France, where it occurs in the high Pyrenees. It is widely planted and naturalised from garden escapes elsewhere (although naturalised plants can be hybrids).
Side view of Viola cornuta flower showing long, slender, upward-pointing nectar spur (Image: Sven Landrein)
Viola cornuta is a spreading, evergreen perennial (living for several years) growing up to 30 cm tall. The leaves, often present in a basal rosette, are narrowly to broadly egg-shaped. The stipules (leaf-like appendages on the stem where a leaf attaches) are large, free and deeply divided. The flowers are produced one to a stem and bloom from June to August. They are pollinated while they are open (unlike many other Viola species, which are self-fertilised without the flowers opening). There are five green sepals. The lightly fragrant flowers are violet in colour, up to 4 cm in diameter and have a long, slender spur. The flowers have five stamens (male parts), each with a triangular projection at the tip. The fruit is an explosive capsule opening by three valves. Seeds often have an oil body and are dispersed by ants.
Kew’s Olympic floral spectacular
From April to September 2012 a floral spectacular will be in bloom in front of the Orangery at Kew Gardens to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games. This enormous representation of the Olympic rings can even be admired by air passengers flying over the Gardens.
Cultivars of Viola cornuta make up the majority of the spring bedding for this 50 m display, which includes Viola ‘Light Blue’, Viola ‘Clear Yellow’, Viola ‘Black Delight’, Viola ‘Red Blotch’ and apple mint (Mentha suaveolens).
The five interlacing rings, designed in 1913 by founder of the modern Olympic Games Baron Pierre de Coubertin, represent the coming together of five continents to embrace the Olympic values: striving for excellence, demonstrating respect and celebrating friendship.
Horned pansy is widely cultivated as an ornamental. More than 25 cultivars (cultivated varieties of the species Viola cornuta) and hybrids (crosses between species) are available, which exhibit a range of characteristics, with flower colours in shades from white through to yellow and violet. Many cultivars have been created in part from crosses with V. × wittrockiana.
Millennium Seed Bank: Seed storage
The seed storage behaviour of Viola cornuta is orthodox (meaning the seeds will survive the drying and freezing process), although there are no collections currently stored in Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank based at Wakehurst in West Sussex.
This species at Kew
Pressed and dried specimens of Viola cornuta are held in Kew’s Herbarium, where they are available to researchers from around the world, by appointment. The details of herbarium specimens of many other species of Viola, including some images, can be seen online in the Herbarium Catalogue.
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Delonix decaryi, a tree with a cigar-shaped trunk, is found in the dry spiny forest of Madagascar, and sometimes planted as a living fence.
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Plants & Fungi blogs from Kew
25 Jan 2013
He may be a Seed Morphologist but Wolfgang Stuppy of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank discovers there is more to the snake gourd than just some strange fruit and eccentric seeds. | <urn:uuid:3a2d8396-7c9f-488c-bf47-0638af4c954f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Viola-cornuta.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910834 | 919 | 2.9375 | 3 |
- Digital Resources
Emergency Communication Systems
Pattern number within this pattern set:121
Public Sphere Project (CPSR)
Natural or manmade disasters reveal the fragile nature of our social infrastructures, including our most advanced technologies, and require us to draw upon our own essential resourcefulness. Given the destruction or significant compromising of basic civic infrastructureselectrical power, water and sewage, natural gas, roadways and communications systemsindividual and local capacities as well as external supports at every level must be prepared and effectively implemented to ensure personal and collective survival and wellbeing.
Disasters require the attention of every level of society, from individuals, families, and neighborhoods to city, state, and national agencies as well as international organizations. The content and flow of information is critical at every stage, from policy development to preparation, search and rescue, recovery and the reconstruction of vital infrastructures. Therefore, to some extent, everyone may be called upon to participate in various the aspects of this pattern, not only in the area of immediate impact but in the formal development of policies, procedures and systems as well as informal, voluntary emergency responses that help to extend the safety net for those directly affected.
In the space of one year, 2005, the world witnessed three major natural disasters: the Southeast Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in the Southeast United States, and the Pakistani earthquake, and all were reminders as to how quickly even the most basic and essential structures can literally be swept away in a matter for moments. A spotlight was also cast on pre-existing environmental conditions, policy decisions, inadequate preparation, and either dysfunctional or non-existing communication systems that either led to or intensified the extent of damage and loss of life. This pattern encompasses three different periods that focus upon emergency situations: (1) the pre-existing conditions and preparations prior to the occurrence of any disaster, (2) the actual disaster and immediate response, and (3) the longer term recovery and reconstruction of physical and social infrastructures. While all levels of society are involved, the particular focus of this pattern is on the initiative and actions of civil society. In the period prior to any disaster, the focus is on advocacy for effective policies, including the remediation of social and environmental conditions that might prevent or at least moderate the damage of a disaster and the establishment of evacuation, response preparations, and the storage of food and medical supplies as well as the setting up of emergency communications networks and facilities. For example, Seattle Disaster Aid & Response Teams (SDART) calls for neighborhoods to be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least three days by organizing teams that draw upon local resources and skills. The program trains neighborhood teams and sponsors functional drills to rehearse roles and responsibilities.. In terms of advocating for improved communications systems and facilities, the World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies has compiled a special dossier on the role of regulators and policymakers in ensuring that adequate emergency communications are available. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, the delivery of food, shelter and medical care can be hours, days, even weeks away. Tasks that must be handled by the stricken residents, as outlined and assigned to teams under the SDART model, include damage assessment, first aid, safety & security, light search & rescue, and providing sheltering & special needs. Communications responsibilities include monitoring emergency radio broadcasts, keeping neighbors informed of relevant information, relaying information about damage via amateur radio operators, satellite radio, cell phones, signs, or whatever means are available. In the longer period of reconstruction following a disaster, when additional external resources can be brought into play, it is vitally important to ensure close coordination. The very young and very old, as well as the poor face the greatest risk, in the short and long-term aftermath of catastrophe, often related to the worsening of already existing conditions of poor health and nutrition and inadequate housing. UNICEF studies of groups hit by warfare and famine show it is critical to provide the correct mix and balance of relief services and providing not only food but public health assistance to prevent massive outbreaks of infectious diseases. Civil society is capable of organizing large-scale efforts in the wake of disasters as demonstrated by the Katrina PeopleFinder Project and the Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog SEA-EAT blog associated with the East Asian tsunami. Other projects to assist in the reestablishment of communications systems include the Center for Neighborhood Technologys (CNT) Wireless Community Network project and supportive efforts by the Champaigne-Urbana Community Wireless Networks for both developed and developing nations. One of the most common approaches for alleviating at least part of the challenge of communications around emergency situations is the idea of open, non-proprietary protocols, the "secret ingredient" behind the Internet's phenomenal success. The Common Alerting Protocol is one such data interchange protocol and the Partnership for Public Warming (2006) is working on a wide variety of efforts to resolve national standards, protocols and priorities. Even areas far distant from the disaster must also be prepared to handle a mass displacement of populations, possibly for extended periods of time.
Therefore, individuals, public agencies, environmental advocates, and international relief organizations needs to continually reassess their level of preparedness and coordination in response to humanitarian emergencies. This means thinking and planning for the short-, medium- and long-term as well as continuing to address persistent issues of poverty and debilitating economic conditions. Information and communication technologies can play important roles in this area — but in order for the technologies to be useful, the people in areas where emergencies do or might occur and people outside of those areas must both assume leadership for genuine progress to be made.
Verbiage for pattern card:
Disasters require the attention of every level of society, including individuals, families, and neighborhoods as well as city, state, national, and international agencies and organizations. The content of Emergency Communication Systems and the dynamic and flexible flow of information through them are critical at every stage, including policy development, preparation, search and rescue, recovery, and reconstruction of vital infrastructures.
Project EPIC, which launched in September 2009, is supported by a $2.8M grant from the US National Science Foundation. It is a multi-disciplinary, multi-university, multi-lingual research effort to support the information needs by members of the public during times of mass emergency. In this age of social media, we bring our behavioral and technical knowledge of "computer mediated communication" to the world of crisis studies and emergency response. As researchers, we are committed to careful study of socio-technical transformation and building human-centered computation. In addition to empirical observational study that requires new ways of studying massive "widescale" coordination across the internet, we conduct "action research" and employ "participatory design" oriented approaches. We aim to look beyond today's state of the art and anticipate future socio-technical change.
From their website:
"Ushahidi, which means "testimony" in Swahili, is a website that was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Ushahidi's roots are in the collaboration of Kenyan citizen journalists during a time of crisis. The website was used to map incidents of violence & peace efforts throughout the country based on reports submitted via the web & mobile phone. This initial deployment of Ushahidi had 45,000 users in Kenya, & was the catalyst for us realizing there was a need for a platform based on it, which could be use by others around the world. ...
Since then we have grown from an ad hoc group of volunteers to a focused organization. The team is comprised of individuals with a wide span of experience ranging from human rights work to software development. We have also built a strong team of volunteer developers in primarily in Africa, but also Europe & the U.S." | <urn:uuid:8f7af883-f295-4453-8576-73f698595428> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.publicsphereproject.org/node/320 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941997 | 1,600 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Inject the most secret, largely misunderstood but highly efficient ingredient into your company. Daring recipe to follow, only for the brave.
"My football team won!" "We did that!" "That's my house!"
Ownership (in human terms) does not require a deed or contract, it applies to your ideas or the task you helped finish. Even tangible stuff can be "owned" without a deed; the car you lease is still "your" car even if the registration papers says otherwise.
The opposite is true as well, you might well hold the deed to the thing or property but if you have no say then legal ownership has only a marginal effect. If I have to ask for permission to change a picture on the wall, if I was decreed by somebody to mow the lawn on Saturday at 10 am, if the arrival and departure of guests was set in a calendar by somebody else - would I feel that the house was "mine"? No amount of deeds and keys would help, it would not be "mine".
"That's my work!" "I did that!" "I Made it!"
Accomplishment, the pride in sealing the ownership to work well done.
So why bother with ownership and pride?
Because we're all involved in communal undertakings - groups of all kinds including commercial undertakings.
If the participants (see employees and partners) are strongly driven in a coherent way, preferably getting much joy from the drive, well then the chances of success would be much higher!
Ownership is the strongest driver of them all, love and hunger aside (albeit pretty futile to try using those).
Ah, but we have bonus and stock-options to drive our fine leaders you say?
Study this light hearted decision tree for bonus and pay challenged bank executives receiving state support, as suggested by Business Week in their Feb 23 issue.
Despite the humorous poke it's still logical or what?
Pure monetary incentives are almost useless, strong perhaps, but inevitably short term interests clashes with long term and morality and principles are easily compromised.
Look no further than the current crisis and how the "incentives and bonuses" have wreaked havoc.
Option schemes, share ownership for employees - all nice and dandy as a principle, but totally off the mark if the purpose is to create a feeling of ownership. Unless the shareholders get a direct say as well you could just as well disburse with cash, same diff.
Does a small shareholder in a large corporation feel the ownership? Would you feel the ownership if some little clique of managers has taken charge of the whole thing, informing you occasionally through Wall Street Journal or an annual report while jetting around on your penny?
True ownership on the other hand has meaning, balances short and long term purposes and yields true pleasure. It binds, it drives, it makes sense, in short it's basically human - but only ownership that transcends the legal meaning of the word.
I can only think of a few examples that have included some of the right meaning of ownership: One would be Berkshire Hathaway. The leader shows in all he does that he's merely the leader of the pack but that you're all in it together. His letter to shareholders, his hours of Q&A at the annual shareholder's meeting, his openness towards fellow shareholders - it's all there and I bet you if you ask a long term shareholder he might very well utter "our company" when he talks about it on his flight back from Omaha.
Still it's hard to include thousands and thousands in a two way discussion and for decisions. Especially when letters and physical meetings were the only means, still Mr Buffet managed to get it more right than others.
The Open Source movement is another story, differing from Berkshire Hathaway in only two aspects - one being they have no commercial interests directly in the product thus no need for equity shares, secondly they use the modern networking technologies in contrast to letters and annual get-togethers.
In other words the strongest possible incentive for working hard and smart while offering great pleasure and true meaning is open to be used by commercial enterprises. The technology that could make it possible is available, but it will only work if those with power dare. And therein lies the issue for the current owners and management; dare to open up, dare to be transparent, dare to include, dare to be one of us - dare to include the owner community in decisions!
And those that one day will dare will win big. Unleash and use one of the strongest motivators there is for commercial purposes and I think you will drive past your competition. No pun intended. | <urn:uuid:9de7df20-8db7-48fe-be99-3c40cb2049e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thingamy.typepad.com/sigs_blog/2009/02/ownership-the-secret-ingredient.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968958 | 948 | 1.59375 | 2 |
There are many beautiful and delicate things in the world. but among the most beautiful and delicate are the 19th century Japanese Crepe Paper books produced by Tikejiro Hasegawa. They hardly weigh a thing, which likely helped ship and carry them to the United States back in 1885 when they were first being made. While they are in fact extraordinary Japanese traditional woodcuts prints, each page done by hand, they were produced largely for the western market as souvenirs, but more. Seldom has such attention been paid to mere exports, and I suspect not only the extremely high artistic standards of the artist, but the desire to share same with the rest of the world was just as important as profit.
Takejiro Hasegawa was born in 1853 and lived until 1938, thus just missing the Second World War. The books were printed in quite small editions, some 400 copies, so are quite scarce and highly prized today. He first intended the books to help educate Japanese children in the speaking of English, but as they caught on with travelers he had found his true market. Despite being (almost) strong enough to withstand children's play, the "Chirimen bon" crepe paper he printed on was light as a feather.
These selected images are from but a few in the 66 page book "Japanese Jingles" from 1891 which I proudly own. The books were in fact printed on crepe...a light as air paper fabric...hand sewn and bound. Mine is 5" x 6" in size and nearly an inch thick. The entire book is reproduced HERE.
Japanese Jingles: Being a Few Little Verses... by Mae St. john Bramhall, Published T. Hasegawa 1891 Collection Jim Linderman
With this post, I am taking a break to finish up another Dull Tool Dim Bulb Press book. More details will emerge soon...keep following! | <urn:uuid:8142de70-1fc5-4886-8663-85efd0c92c94> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dulltooldimbulb.blogspot.com/2010/05/takejiro-hasegawa-and-crepe-paper-fairy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982912 | 390 | 2.359375 | 2 |
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government said on Wednesday it had approved new measures to beef up online security and protect critical infrastructure from increasing cyber assaults.
Attacks on computer security have risen significantly in recent years, the government said, citing data from the information technology organization Assinform indicating that 40 percent of attacks take at least four days to resolve.
In 90 percent of cases, attacks succeeded because cyber security systems had not been set up properly.
Mario Monti's cabinet said the decree signed on Wednesday established a structure for national cyber security, including a permanent support unit and a separate arm to manage emergencies.
(Reporting By Catherine Hornby; Editing by Kevin Liffey) | <urn:uuid:6b57db7e-adf4-4920-8cdd-d699567b7160> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wdez.com/news/articles/2013/jan/23/italian-government-approves-cyber-security-measures/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942695 | 140 | 2.125 | 2 |
hether sprayed at the crowd by a champion at Le Mans or tumbling down a pyramid of glasses, champagne is a universally acknowledged symbol of decadence and festivity. Certainly one of the characters who has contributed to this long-standing reputation is Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquot who, after the death of her husband Francois in 1805, took over the champagne company
founded by his father Philipe Clicquot-Muiron in 1772. To this day the marque bears her name (Veuve, meaning “widow” in French). The rakish tradition of sabrage (the ceremonial opening of a champagne bottle with a military sabre) was, in part, prompted by this indomitable woman—Napoleon’s soldiers would slice the collars off their bottles using their swords to impress the young widow when leaving her vineyard. Fast forward to the latest development from Veuve: the brand's current cellar master, Dominique Demarville, has opened the company’s hallowed caves to allow the most indulgent of customers to appreciate the Cave Privée collection—five rare vintages from the 70s and 80s. Notable bottles include the 1975 Rosé (the fruity notes are the result of that year’s hot spring and cool summer), and the Rosé of 1989 (a year of wet weather), which, with its explosion of wild strawberries on the palette, bears an exceptional similarity to the legendary vintages of 1945 and 1959—two of the brand's most coveted champagnes. Freshly released to the market this month, the bottles will be available in strictly limited, numbered editions from premium wine dealers worldwide. | <urn:uuid:543fc3fd-905a-494a-9042-d1ae0383b23a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nowness.com/day/2010/7/1/769?calendarmonth=5%2F1%2F2011 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931306 | 350 | 1.773438 | 2 |