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Luck, good and bad, in casino gambling arises fundamentally from differences between the probabilities or expected rates of bets winning, losing, or pushing and the frequencies at which these outcomes actually occur. This, because payoffs for wins are set in advance based on the probabilities while bankroll changes are determined during the course of the action by the frequencies. Good luck is characterized by frequencies higher than the theoretical probabilities; conversely for bad luck. How good or how bad depends on the magnitude of the difference.
Picture the archetype of all gambling, the flip of an unbiased coin for even money. Ignoring coups that result in coins disappearing down sewer grates or landing on their rims, bets on one face or the other would have 50 percent – one out of two – prospects of winning.
Pretend you flip twice, betting on heads both times. A literal interpretation of the 50 percent probability would get you 0.5 x 2 or one instance of heads in two tries and therefore breaking even. This, in fact, could be your frequency and monetary outcomes.
But the frequency actually obtained might also differ from the probability figure. You could hit zero percent – zero out of two, in which case you’d be two units behind and cursing your bad luck. Alternately, you could hit 100 percent – two out of two, finishing two units up and chortling over your good luck – if not your remarkable gambling skill. Were you to flip four times, your expectation based on probability would be to obtain 0.5 x 4 or two instances of heads in four tries, breaking even. The actual frequency could be from zero through four heads. The rate might accordingly be zero percent – zero out of four – 50 percent less than the theoretical value, 25 percent – one out of four – 25 percent less than the theoretical value, 50 percent – two out of four – equal to the theoretical value, 75 percent – three out of four – 25 percent greater than the theoretical value, or 100 percent – four out of four – 50 percent greater than the theoretical value. Monetarily, these outcomes would yield very bad luck with a four-unit loss, moderately bad luck with a two-unit loss, neutral luck with a break-even series, moderately good luck with a two-unit win, and very good luck with a four-unit win, respectively.
Real casino games differ from the indicated coin flip, in essence, only because the include a mechanism for the establishment to operate as a business by earning a fee on the action. The mechanism, the house advantage or edge, is implemented by means of an offset between the odds that a bet will win and the payoff when it does.
As an illustration, a double-zero roulette wheel has 38 grooves 18 red, 18 black, and two green. In most casinos, a bet on red pays even money but the probabilities are only an18 out of 38 – just under 47.4 percent – of winning and the complementary 20 out of 38 – 52.6 percent – of losing.
Make believe you bet on one spin and the ball lands in a black groove so you lose; you have bad luck because the frequency of wins you experience of wins is 0.0 percent – 47.4 percent less than the theoretical probability. Instead, assume the ball lands in a red groove so you win; you have good luck because the frequency of wins you experience is 100 percent – 52.6 percent more than the theoretical probability. Note that, because of the edge, you had to have more good luck to win than bad luck to lose – a difference of 52.6 as opposed to 47.4 percent.
You can’t predict the frequency of wins in a session. But the chances associated with various frequencies can be determined, given the theoretical probabilities. For the four-flip coin session, where the probability of winning on any coup is 50 percent, chances of the frequency being from zero to four out of four are as given in the nearby table.
Chances of experiencing a various frequencies of heads in four flips of an unbiased coin
Frequency Net Chance zero out of four $4 loss 6.25% one out of four $2 loss 25.00% two out of four break even 37.50% three out of four $2 win 25.00% four out of four $4 win 6.25%
The table shows that as the amount of luck encountered – good or bad – increases, the chance of its having done so decreases. Which helps to explain how good players decide when to quit with a profit rather than press on, or cut their losses rather than expose themselves to a downside risk they may later regret taking. Here’s how the poet, Sumner A Ingmark, described these opposing situations: | <urn:uuid:e8bd7231-8ca7-4078-948e-18ac50942538> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rgtonline.com/article/probability-frequency-and-luck-108643?CategoryName=Gaming | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951532 | 974 | 2.125 | 2 |
Archive for 12/01/2012 - 01/01/2013
Newton School gathering after the massacre.
No actor, however capable, can bring out the agony of the president, who has to suppress his internal turmoil and present a different face to the nation for the sake of the position he is holding. No director can pull off visualisation of a complex surge of emotions of a whole nation behind a tragic event like that happened in Newtown, which the President was subjected to over and above his own turmoil.
There are moments when a president has to deliver inspiring speeches to convey his vision or unify the country against adversity. Then there are occasions no one wishes to face in life, when the President is expected to address the nation, to say something, to console, assure and somehow alleviate the collective burden on the nation's psyche. The Newtown School speech in the aftermath of the massacre of twenty innocent children and six of their teachers was one such testing moment for President Obama.
Though several tragedies have occurred during his presidency where he had to deliver consoling and supporting messages to the nation, the Newtown tragedy, coming right after a very divisive election in which he won against all odds, must have been very different and difficult for the president.
It is hard to understand, why Barrack Obama is seen as the first "black" President by many Americans and even by leading media though he was born to a white Caucasian lady. Though for the rest of the world this is a non issue, it is the perception. However, this must have been the most difficult aspect for President Obama, who had to face and address a town whose population and the bereaved they came to mourn are almost entirely white.
No one can deny that such was the ferocity and divisiveness of the politics which only just ended in his re-election, which many in the nation still do not accept, at least have great difficulty to reconcile. No one can deny that the second amendment, which the President could do little about and something which his audience hold sacred had to do with the tragedy.
That, President Obama, as a very loving parent of two children couldn't hold his tears while announcing the tragedy that occurred at Newtown as a national tragedy, didn't somehow alleviate his dilemma. Where trust was at best fragile, it must have been very difficult to find the right words to express and communicate something meaningful both to the community and to the nation at large.
The Newtown tragedy has occurred in the Christmas season, when everyone has to rejoice and not bereave, has rendered the event poignant beyond imagination. Mundane call of Presidential duties in the face of the Fiscal Cliff which he has very little time to sort out before the nation fall off it and the nomination of his future secretary of state must have been adding immense pressure to his working life. Yet the President was duty bound to come to the bereaved, and address and console as the supreme commander.
President Obama did come to Newtown, and delivered the most difficult speech of his presidency with amazing grace. With measured words delivered in a way only Barack Obama, the great communicator can do he somehow spoke, conveying the consolation and support of the Nation he took to Newtown and asking for the Nation's support and resolve to enable him for meaningful and effective action.
Without referring to the Second Amendment or NRA he brought home the need for controlling the ownership and accessibility of dangerous weapons. Without admonishing, he brought home the need for better parenting and teaching and loving children. In as few words as possible he reminded Americans about family values they all need to return to.
You handled this horrific situation with such honest sympathy & grace. You have done our nation (and yourself) proud during one of our darkest moments. I am proud to call you My President.
For astute students of communication, President Osama's skills in oratory will be always be a benchmark. His speeches will be heard, watched analysed and imitated for decades and centuries to come. But for true meaning and sense of his speeches, future learners will have to delve deep in to the contextual history and events as well.
Six Hallowed Indians Who Could be Lynched by a Billion of India's Poor if They Knew Simple Economics.
"They that have done this deed are honourable: What private griefs they have, alas, I know not, That made them do it: they are wise and honourable, And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you."
Who are they? They are all honourable leaders of modern India who collectively brought down the Indian GDP growth from 9% to 5% in a couple of years, sabotaging any chance a billion of its poor had to come out of poverty and a miserable life. There are even Harvard educated among them, but the plight of the poor and down trodden was not their concern and the need for GDP growth was not their business.
The damage and the back stabbing they have collectively done to India is nothing short of the treachery and guile in the Shakespearian drama, because as highly educated they are, they can't pretend not to know the damage they have caused to the plight of a billion poor Indians who earn barely a dollar a day, in their own quest for glory.
These pretentious leaders, each one of them with a hidden agenda, pretend to uphold morality in life and politics and fight for it, in various forms, as if it is the only thing India needs. Disregarding the damage they will cause to the country's image and growth, they have latched on to every opportunity, every accusation of impropriety to obstruct the functioning of the government inside and outside the parliament, bringing total paralysis.
In a short span of two years they have managed to sabotage every attempt of the minority government of Dr Man Mohan Singh and all reform measures he has tried to bring to maintain the high growth trajectory his reforms and governance has brought for India.
On the top of this list of these self serving Indians who have appropriated morality for themselves is India's CAG, Vinod Rai, himself a Harvard educated government servant, who has dealt the first and heaviest of blows, with accusations of ludicrous amounts of loss to the government. Though the hollowness of his accusations have since been exposed by an auction and revelation by a subordinate, it too late as enormous damage has been done to investor confidence.
Arvind Kejriwal, the "Indian Romney" who claim that the direct disbursement of income benefit to the poorest people of India amounts to bribing, can claim a prominent position. Kejriwal, who shot himself to fame by training his guns on the popular Gandhian Anna Hazare to appropriate some popularity for himself has since been exposed by declaring his own political party, of all things to fight corruption, of course.
Mamta Banerjee, the main coalition partner of Dr Man Mohan Singh who has vetoed every one of his reform measures should be honoured as the Nero of modern India as she spends her time in art and writing poetry as India's GDP had been tumbling down the drain and her own state of West Bengal had been sinking more and more in to the Bay of Bengal with debt burden of over populist governance.
If the Indian parliament had been totally dysfunctional since the last election, the credit almost entirely is that of Sushma Swaraj, the leader of the opposition, in title and action. Sushma Swaraj, who would like to be a future Prime Minister of India, has almost single headedly destroyed the biggest democracy in the world by instigating and leading sheer unruly and disgusting behaviour of elected representatives in parliament.
Dr Subramanian Swamy, an ex professor at Harverd must be credited with finding a life time occupation in filing cases against the Indian Government he can never win. But this doesn't preventSwamy in filing a new case every time he finds an old sheet of news paper with some ludicrous mention of corruption.
Dr Mulrali Manohar Joshi, a leader of the BJP has long since proven his penchant to erase and rewrite history when, as the Human resources Minister, he meddled with school text books, to remove and absolve the cold blooded assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, by Hindu fundamentalists. He has now been exposed as the main instigator of fictitious losses to the government by corrupt practices, which is no surprise at all.
There are of course a bigger list of supporters and collaborators, who the mob may search out on a second wave, for reprimand.
Fortunately, the Indian masses probably have never read Shakespeare, especially Julius Creaser. The chances are they will never ever grasp the importance of GDP or the rating agencies.
Article first published as Six Hallowed Indians Who Could be Lynched by a Billion of India's Poor if They Knew Simple Economics. on Technorati. | <urn:uuid:8c1e0f9f-ee92-48e1-b624-73aec6a4c4ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lastingrose.blogspot.com/2012_12_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977566 | 1,802 | 1.921875 | 2 |
No. 3 ~ 2007
No. 3 ~ 2007
Winter Solstice: Excerpts from a letter
Maylie Scott, December 1997
. . . As I write, the winter solstice is close, the darkest time of the year, reminding us of our own cycles of life and growth and death and retraction. . . . We are invited to let the short days slow us down so we can sense the cold ground beneath the business of our lives and listen quietly and attentively.
I walked past a spread of dried leaves in the corner of an empty lot and, hearing a particular rustle, noticed a sparrow, the same dusty color as the leaves, shaking itself out. The sparrow takes care of its life form and we take care of ours for the short spans that are given. This narrowing time reminds us of our origins, the dynamic matrix we arise from and return to. When we can abide, stripped down in this un-knowing, that includes our own doubts and insecurities, and chronic limitations, we can realize that the seeds of wisdom and compassion are actually planted right here. And then we can light candles and look into our neighbor's eyes and see the light generated in our own eyes reflected in theirs and meet one another as Dharma friends. . .
photos by Denise
What appeared from the outside as a green lump on the flat landscape was in fact one of the finest architectural achievements of prehistoric Europe, Maeshowe, a chambered cairn on Orkney, a group of islands six miles off the north coast of Scotland. Bending straight over from the waist I entered the passage. I walked in this bent over position for thirty-five feet. The passage walls closed in around my shoulders and I fought off feelings of claustrophobia seeing the main chamber ahead. Rising up to my full height I felt very small in the thirteen foot high corbeled roof chamber. In all four corners were massive standing stones. Looking back down the passage way I imagined what it would be like to be here on the winter solstice watching the setting sun slowly creep up the passageway till it shown on the back wall. I stood in awe of the neolithic peoples who built not only Maeshowe, but also Newgrange in Ireland and Stonehenge in England. To the users of Maeshowe, just as it still does today, the return of the sun heralds a resurgence of light and the return of hope to the land.
This year, the Winter Solstice is on December 22, at 6:09 am Greenwich mean time or December 21, at 10:09 pm pacific time. The word solstice literally means sun standing still. On that day due to the earth's tilt on its axis the daylight hours are at a minimum in the northern hemisphere and nighttime is at a maximum marking the beginning of the astronomical winter.
Though Newgrange and Stonehenge are well known winter solstice sites, there are hundreds of other megalithic structures throughout Europe, Americas, Asia, Indonesia, the Middle East and Africa oriented to the solstices and equinoxes. Christmas was transplanted onto the winter solstice some one thousand six hundred years ago. Many solstice celebrations became our Christmas celebrations. Along the way we lost some of the deep connections of our celebrations to a fundamental, hemispheric event. Perhaps the desire to return to a more nature based celebration explains why attendance at Newgrange during the winter solstice is by lottery and Stonehenge has six hundred people hoping for a glimpse of the winter solstice sunrise.
In Arcata a popular solstice ritual is a walk at the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary. Henry David Thoreau said, "If there were Druids whose temples were the oak groves, my temple is the swamp." In many ways winter at the marsh is the best season. With no leaves on the trees bird watching gets easier and you don't even need binoculars to watch the Black-crowned Night Herons. (Binoculars are on loan from the Interpretive Center in exchange for your driver's license should you want them.) There are over two hundred of them in their winter roost in the willows around the log pond. All day long they sleep, awaken, stretch, squabble with each other and wait for nightfall. As I leave in the evening they fly past me squawking on their way to go fishing for the night in the bay. The shortest day also means the fullest night of moonlight. The full moon is on December 24 and is in the sky for fifteen hours. Decembers full moon brings with it a week of our highest tides of the year. From the Interpretive Center I can watch the salt marsh fill up with water rising above the vegetation and for a week it looks like we have a new pond. I love this extra watery season when everything is full and sometimes overflowing with water.
On winter walks I always keep an eye out for the elusive bobcat. The first time I encountered one was on a wet, windy day. I was crossing Mt. Trashmore and it came out of the trees and headed across Mt. Trashmore. As it crossed my path it stopped for a second, and we looked at each other with equal astonishment that any other creature was out on such a blustery day.
Rachel Carson said, "There's something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter." Take time to discover the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary this winter, Walk the paths and listen to the birds, the wind, and the sound of water. Watch for River Otters and the living artwork of a flock of shorebirds that fly together and in one quicksilver second, change not only direction but color.
Meditation 101: Less is More
My instructions for first-time meditators are becoming more and more minimalist. These days, it's something like, "Sit quietly and notice what's going on." It used to take longer--when I was the meditation instructor at Kannon Do sangha in Mountain View, I would spend 30-40 minutes telling newbies how to sit, how to breathe, how to bow--not to mention how to enter and leave the zendo, how to ask a question, and (talk about setting them up!) what to expect.
Part of my 'quickie' approach these days is dictated by logistics. At the jail where Pete, Michael and I take turns with the men's meditation program, we are almost always with folks who have never meditated before, and we have limited time. I want to give them a taste right now of the essence of meditation. And when I'm leading our Eureka Wednesday evening group, new folks always seem to walk in as I'm about to ring the bell, so it's a quick, "Welcome...shoes off, please...chair or cushion?...so OK, why don't you just sit and notice what's going on for the next 30 minutes...thank you."
That's it? What about eyes open? 45-degree head tilt? Cosmic mudra, thumbs just barely touching? Spine as straight as the proverbial tower of gold coins? Tongue on roof of mouth? Breath awareness? Counting? Attention on the hara? Letting thoughts through without stopping for a chat? All this is fine to experiment with once someone's made the decision to practice, but for first-timers? I like giving them a big field to play in by following my core belief about meditation, that there's no way to do it wrong...
...as opposed to just about everything else in my life! There's often this underlying editorial commentary, on the lines of, "Hey, good job, Barry...uh-oh, you really screwed up there...man, you're doing well...oh god, the day's gone and I've done nothing!" While meditation, on the other hand, comes and goes, the antidote to goal-oriented existence: I meditate because I meditate, and for the most part, I don't try to improve it or tinker with it. It is what it is.
My concern with detailed meditation instructions is that by their very nature, instructions imply there are good ways and bad ways to do it. They say, this is what you should be doing, this is right, this is wrong. Instructions set up goals, just like in 'real' life.
I wonder if this is why so many people try meditation once--and quit, feeling they've somehow failed? At Kannon Do, we estimated that out of five or six people who came the first time to the instruction session (followed by a sit) we saw just one of those folks again. For the vast majority, that one time was enough. How many times have I heard something like, "Yeah, I tried meditation once, but it didn't work for me...I just couldn't do it right...my mind wouldn't calm down..."?
If a newcomer does have questions or concerns, I encourage them to try it first and to ask the questions after. My belief is that someone sitting for the first time learns more about meditation in 30 real-time minutes than any experienced meditator can explain to them in that same amount of time.
Because meditation isn't a set of instructions: it's an adventure.
This article appeared in the Winter, 2007 Tricycle
to Nevada Falls in Yosemite, 1909
In the winter of life your fur—
what’s left of it—turns
snowy white. You can
wear any color, fly any flag.
Now, this morning,
What will you choose?
Beyond the estuary
long walk on a railroad track,
to a grove of eucalyptus,
where dozens of snowy egrets
are beating wide sunlit wings,
and with shrill cries
are building nests,
and raising young.
We stand in the shade of oaks,
beings from another
less sane country,
and watch, as we regain our balance,
and slowly find our lost selves
as part of these.
New Mexico - Edwina
Hectic strobes and streaks,
the black sky shrieks.
You drive like a banshee,
slither on one little dirt road
then another, half
blinded by rain, by dark,
and never lost.
Dharma Gates are Boundless
Compiled with commentary by Michael Quam
As I write this, it’s late afternoon and the light is already fading. A week ago we stopped trying to save daylight and dropped back to standard time. The December solstice is rapidly approaching. I grew up in Minnesota and spent most of my life in the Midwest. This time of year meant a long cold darkness coming on, with lakes freezing and snow drifting across the roads, filling the ditches. Now, I’m learning about winter here on the North Coast, rain and more rain, fierce storms coming ashore, the rivers full to overflowing. It is a wild elemental season. And it puts us in touch with the sheer physical realities of outer and inner worlds. I’m reminded of the opening statement in Anthony Doerr’s brilliant novel, About Grace:
In our practice we are opening to the reality of the present moment. Sometimes, in the midst of darkness, something will provoke a moment of clarity, of astonishing beauty. In Barry Lopez’s story “Winter Herons,” a man whose heart’s home is in the wilderness of the north country, is standing in Manhattan waiting for his lover and longing to be far away. When suddenly, he experiences a visitation:
Not all such moments need have such drama. They can come in midst of the mundane and show us how extraordinary it all is. Eamon Grennan captures this perfectly in his poem “Pause”:
The weird containing stillness of the neighborhood
Trinidad Beach Bluff, November 2007 | <urn:uuid:b16ce440-0eae-4831-8667-053929409f36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://arcatazengroup.org/voices_3_2007.php | 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 | 0.947548 | 2,502 | 1.773438 | 2 |
THE NEA BRIDGE by Phillip Alder
GIVE UP ONE TO GET THREE IN RETURN
Carl Sandburg, a poet who won three Pulitzer Prizes, said, “A politician should have three hats: one for throwing into the ring, one for talking through, and one for pulling rabbits out of if elected.”
A bridge declarer should have three hats: one for counting his losers, one for counting his winners, and one for watching his entries — our theme this week.
In today’s deal, how would a milliner play in three no-trump after West leads the spade queen?
The South hand has only 21 high-card points, but it is strong enough to open two clubs instead of two no-trump. Count two for an ace and one for a king. A typical two-no-trump opening totals seven. This hand tallies to nine. Upgrade when you have a lot of aces and kings.
North is nearly worth a slam-invitational rebid of four no-trump, but not quite. With no five-card suit or 4-4 fit, you normally need a combined 33 points for six no-trump.
South starts with seven top tricks: two spades, two hearts, two diamonds and one club. He would hope to get a third diamond trick, assuming the missing cards split 3-2. But declarer would still need another winner. It is much simpler to take three club tricks. However, South must be careful both not to block the suit and to have a dummy entry available after driving out the club king.
Declarer must take the first trick in his hand with the spade king, cash the club ace, and play another club — and keep leading that suit until West takes his king. With the spade ace still on the board, the contract is guaranteed. | <urn:uuid:c823bffb-5f36-4b5c-9836-3404319a931e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailyrepublic.com/comics/bridge-246/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974546 | 385 | 1.703125 | 2 |
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``We've never had so many women and children as in the past year, '' Franoise Ruffinen, chief delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross, giving a tour of its crowded war casualty hospital in Peshawar. ``Last night, seven women and 12 children were brought in.'' For a reporter covering the Afghan conflict, visits to this Northwest Frontier hospital provide a tragic but necessary insight into gauging the brutality and intensity of the war against the Soviets. Victims include guerrilla fighters as well as civilians, carried in for treatment by camel, horse, vehicle, and on foot from the border regions of Afghanistan and beyond.
``We were completely overrun during the summer. . . . We had to set up a secondary hospital tent just to cope,'' added Ms. Ruffinen.
This reporter has witnessed such scenes during the past six years both inside and outside Afghanistan. Still, the quiet suffering is no easier to behold: the nine-year-old girl with 70 percent of her body burned during a Soviet aerial bombardment; a mother, little boys, old men, whose limbs were blown away by mines or bombs.
For the 6 to 8 million Afghans living in areas not controlled by the Soviet occupation forces, the Red Cross clinics, although based in Pakistan, represent the only sophisticated form of treatment for war injured.
Nevertheless, cross-border relief to the interior ranging from food supplies to basic health care and education is beginning to improve. For one thing, Afghan resistance organizations, now aware that they are facing a long war, are making more concerted efforts to coordinate assistance that will enable their people to survive in the years ahead.
At the international level various voluntary agencies have been furnishing limited humanitarian assistance inside the country, mainly medical and food relief, for a number of years. Yet it is only in the past 18 months that the world, notably the United States, seems to have awakened to the need for more concerted action to counter Moscow's war of attrition against civilians. | <urn:uuid:c92228f1-e3f2-4f0e-81f3-516243790393> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.csmonitor.com/1985/1230/ogan2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967354 | 399 | 2.65625 | 3 |
GET READY TO TAKE THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE
One of the greatest things about riding in the Tour de Cure is the opportunity to train and get in shape. Whether you're a new rider getting ready to ride 10 miles for the first time or you've decided to challenge yourself and ride a century, we offer routes and training plans for every type of rider. Online you'll find special training plans designed with you in mind. We've created 12-week plans which will allow you to work up to your designated distance in a reasonable time frame. Plus we guarantee you'll have fun doing it! To view our training plans you must be registered as a rider. Once you are registered, simply login to your Tour Center and click on the Training tab for details.
Here are some basic training tips to get you started:
- When you start to train it's better to train with frequency and not necessarily distance...that is, until you've gotten some miles under your belt.
- If you have diabetes it's always good to bring testing supplies with you so you can check your blood sugar mid-ride.
- Stay hydrated! Always carry at least one, if not two, full water bottles with you when you set out for a training ride.
- Fuel your fire! Just like an engine can't run without gas, your body can't run without fuel so be sure to bring some snacks with you if you're going to be riding longer than ten miles.
- When you get done with a ride top off your tank with a snack that has a good balance of protein and carbohydrates. It will help your muscles recover faster and you'll feel less sore the next day, plus it will help restore some of the calories you burned working out.
- Learn some basic stretches and use them after every training ride. Flexibility is so important and stretching after exercise will lower your risk for injury.
Our Cyclist guide will help you on your journey to the start line of the Tour de Cure. It includes a sample training plan, as well as tips on hydration, stretching and more!
Training rides are offered in many areas of the country; contact your local Tour de Cure Staff to find a ride near you. Training rides are a great way to prepare for the ride and to meet other participants as you train together for the big day!
Registered participants will also receive local training ride information and details by email.
CHRIS CARMICHAEL & Carmichael Training Systems
Chris Carmichael, World Renowned Coach and Trainer, lends his support to the Tour de Cure and the American Diabetes Association. Chris has devoted more than 20 years to helping amateur and professional athletes achieve their performance goals, from improved health to completing your first Century, all the way up to Ironman and Tour de France victories. Now he wants to help our Tour riders and all those living with diabetes, be the best they can be.
Once you register for the Tour de Cure you will receive special training information from Chris Carmichael and CTS. Already registered? Simply login above or go to your TOUR CENTER for more.
TEAM WILD (WE INSPIRE LIFE WITH DIABETES)
Riding with diabetes in the Tour de Cure means you are a Red Rider. We are committed to giving all Red Riders additional training, so we are proud to announce our new partnership with Team Wild.
Once you register for the Tour de Cure all Red Riders will have access to special diabetes training information from the expert coaches of Team Wild, including Nicole Freedman, U.S. Olympic Cyclist, and Marcey Robinson MS, RD, CDE, BC-ADM, Sports Science Certified Diabetes Educator. Already registered? Simply login above or go to your TOUR CENTER for more. | <urn:uuid:c34a56bd-6964-43ae-991f-9c5147299767> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tour.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TC_training&JServSessionIdr004=hmls12mn11.app215a | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939512 | 771 | 1.71875 | 2 |
It's All Politics
Not Your Father's (Or Mother's) Congress
Despite what has been called a status quo election, life is far from static on Capitol Hill. The 113th Congress will bring with it generational and some historic changes, including the first all-female delegation for a state (New Hampshire), and the fewest number of military veterans in the Senate and House since World War II.
And, as The New York Times notes, "The makeup of Congress has not been this volatile in 20 years, a result of shifting political tides and redistricting. The number of House seats that changed hands in 2010 and this year — 96 and 84, respectively — is the highest since the early 1990s, a period of turnover not seen in nearly half a century."
Some incoming lawmakers have previous federal electoral experience. But others are brand new to the fray of Capitol Hill. | <urn:uuid:a3f3c0c8-a450-4aa1-bb7e-514e4701ce6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wvasfm.org/post/not-your-fathers-or-mothers-congress | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94967 | 178 | 1.953125 | 2 |
This article appeared in the June 5, 1998 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.
The May 20 declaration by Federal Judge David Hittner of a mistrial in the FBI-Department of Justice (DOJ) "sting" case against five prominent minority officials in Houston, was a major defeat for the DOJ "permanent bureaucracy." After five days of deliberation following a trial which lasted two months, the jury declared itself to be "hopelessly deadlocked," leading to Hittner's decision.
The Houston sting followed the pattern of hundreds of FBI-DOJ operations over the last 40 years, in which minority elected and government officials were illegally targetted. These cases fall under "Operation Fruehmenschen," a racist doctrine guiding FBI prosecutions of minorities, which was first publicly identified by former Rep. Mervyn Dymally (D-Calif.), in the U.S. House of Representatives in January 1988. At the time, Dymally was chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Dymally read into the Congressional Record excerpts of an affidavit from an FBI agent, who said that the FBI routinely investigated, "without probable cause . . . prominent elected and appointed black officials in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States. The basis for this policy was the assumption by the FBI that black officials were intellectually and socially incapable of governing major governmental organizations and situations." The affidavit was supported by a report by Dr. Mary Sawyer, which documented the charges of selective prosecution of African-American officials.
Yet, despite this evidence, the Congress did nothing, and the illegal FBI-DOJ targetting practices continued.
The "Fruehmenschen" doctrine was put under a microscope in hearings organized by the Schiller Institute in Tyson's Corner, Virginia on Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 1995, during which current and former officeholders from throughout the United States came to tell their stories. While the major focus was on the "Lost Trust" cases in South Carolina, which were later overturned on appeal, and the ten-year vendetta run by Hickman Ewing (who is now a top assistant to special prosecutor Kenneth Starr) against U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, Sr., of Tennessee, the pattern from state to state was unmistakable: The DOJ and FBI had been conducting a lawless reign of terror, which destroyed the careers of minority officials who were gaining seniority in state and local governments.
In addition to the evidence presented at these hearings of the continuation, and even acceleration, of Fruehmenschen prosecutions, the panelists were briefed on the DOJ-FBI vendetta against Lyndon LaRouche, which provided them with a rare look "up the ladder" of the DOJ, to discover the chain of command behind these actions. By studying the case against LaRouche, and then looking at the parallel command structure behind Fruehmenschen, and the Office of Special Investigations "Nazi-hunting" persecution of retired Cleveland auto worker John Demjanjuk, it was made clear that the source of the problem is the "permanent bureaucracy," which runs the DOJ Criminal Division.
The Mann-Chestnut Commission (named for its co-chairs, former U.S. Rep. Jim Mann (D-S.C.) and prominent civil rights attorney JL Chestnut of Selma, Alabama) made a commitment to expose the usually nameless individuals who run this permanent bureaucracy. Most prominent of these are John C. Keeney and Mark Richard, with more than 40 years and 30 years tenure, respectively, in the DOJ Criminal Division, who were central figures in the cases examined.
Toward this end, the campaign to exonerate LaRouche escalated. More than 800 state legislators and 25 former Congressmen have signed a call to President Clinton for his exoneration. Thousands of videotapes of these hearings have been circulated, and the evidence of DOJ corruption has been presented on campuses throughout the United States, and at conferences of civil rights organizations, trade unions, and municipal and state governmental organizations. An example of the fruits of these efforts was a resolution calling for investigation of the Fruehmenschen and LaRouche cases which was passed at the annual convention of the National Caucus of Black State Legislators.
Much of the success of the DOJ-FBI targetting in the past has been achieved by isolating the victims, aided by a steady deluge of media slanders against "corrupt" politicians. Add to this isolation the prohibitive cost to the targetted officials of taking on the DOJ (which spends taxpayers' dollars liberally in these stings and prosecutions), and threats directed by prosecutors against family members and friends, and it becomes clear why many innocent victims accepted plea bargains.
But this is changing, as the Houston case, and recent developments in Maryland, demonstrate (see EIR, May 15, "Baltimore Coalition Mobilizes Against `Hit Squad' in the DOJ"). While the DOJ continues to assault minority officials, some of these officials are rejecting plea agreements and taking on the DOJ. They are beginning to discover support in their communities, as a backlash against DOJ prosecutions is developing. The Gestapo tactics employed by Kenneth Starr against President Clinton, and the recent coverage of Congressional hearings exposing the IRS's brutal tactics, have added fuel to the growing hostility against prosecutorial abuse.
In Houston, despite months of press coverage favorable to the prosecution, and repeated judicial rulings against defense attorneys, the jury rejected FBI-DOJ claims that city officials engaged in a bribery conspiracy involving a vote on a city-subsidized convention center hotel. The jury was divided on all 11 counts, with some counts finding the jurors split evenly, or voting seven to five for the prosecution. (All 12 votes are needed for conviction.) On only one count did the prosecution win ten votes.
One twist on the Fruehmenschen scheme in Houston was that the targets included prominent Hispanic officials. The case was opened, according to the FBI, when the agency responded to a vague charge made by a political opponent, that then-City Councilman Ben Reyes "could be bought." The FBI created a front company of "Hispanic investors," who said they wished to make investments in Houston, beginning with the convention center hotel. They went to Reyes, and offered to set up a minority subcontracting operation, to work with local developer Wayne Duddleston, who put together one of the two bids on the project.
While rejecting any of Reyes's suggestions of non-minority councilmen who might be interested, the FBI "investors" hired former Port Commissioner and lobbyist Betti Maldonado, and then, through her and Reyes, offered contributions to Councilmen Michael Yarbrough and former Councilman John Peavy, who are African-American, and Councilman John Castillo, who is Hispanic.
From the beginning, the DOJ case had problems. Every targetted councilman had already announced support for Duddleston. Second, every transfer of funds which the prosecutors alleged had occurred, which they told jurors was a "bribe," fell within the limits of normal campaign contributions. In several cases, they could not even prove that money had been transferred!
But, the most devastating problem for the prosecution was its star witness, Julio Molineiro, who played the role of one of the investors. The defense discovered that Molineiro had a long criminal record. He had spent time in South American jails, and still had several outstanding warrants against him; he had stolen funds from the Drug Enforcement Administration when he worked as an informant for them, and had used cocaine. Eventually, the DEA dismissed him. He had also worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, but had been dismissed by that agency as well, for "entrapping" subjects of investigation. It seems Molineiro had a habit of tampering with recording devices, so that a conversation was "edited" to favor the prosecution's case. Defense attorneys in Houston effectively demonstrated that Molineiro had engaged in the same practices in some of the audiotapes presented during the trial.
In press interviews after Hittner declared a mistrial, several jurors pointed to Molineiro's lack of credibility as the main reason for their vote against the prosecution. "Julio Molineiro tainted the entire FBI investigation," one juror said. "The fact that he did have control of the tapes hurt their credibility." Another said that jurors discounted Molineiro's testimony completely. "We didn't even take it into consideration because we didn't believe a word he said on the stand," he said.
Despite the rejection of the prosecution's case, chief prosecutor Mike Attanasio--who was brought in to try the case when the local U.S. Attorney, Gaynelle Griffin Jones (who is African-American), refused to prosecute--said that he will begin a retrial immediately. Hittner will set a date in early June.
This decision led to an angry rally on May 27 at the Federal courthouse in Houston, as ministers and community activists from the African-American and Hispanic communities, and the Schiller Institute, demanded that there be no second trial. Speaker after speaker denounced the racial targetting by the FBI and DOJ, and blasted the use of the criminal Molineiro by the FBI to try to entrap local leaders. Statements from two jurors were read, condemning the prosecution for its actions.
With the entire press corps from Houston present, Juan Maldonado, the brother of defendant Betti Maldonado, summed up the consensus of the participants when he demanded that U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno intervene to prevent a second trial, and take action to prevent the DOJ from engaging in such corrupt practices ever again.
Former U.S. Rep. Mervyn Dymally (D-Calif.). His campaign to expose the FBI's "Operation Fruehmenschen" scored a victory in the Houston trial. Will the U.S. Congress now finally hold hearings on the outrageous prosecutorial abuses by the Justice Department? | <urn:uuid:877d5495-1d58-47a9-be6c-a01dec086b40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.larouchepub.com/other/1998/houston_fbi-doj_2523.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973192 | 2,048 | 1.890625 | 2 |
The ESSIE Annual Convention 2012 is a definite mark on the calendar. Following last year’s success, this is already the 2nd Annual Convention that ESSIE organises in Leuven! It allows YOU to participate in shaping the Mission ESSIE has embarked on. The 2012 Annual Convention brings together all distinctive individuals from the ESSIE society from many different education sectors.
The Convention is a unique occasion for open interaction, learning and adoption, and provides the opportunity to explore new visions of the future, which ESSIE is determined to shape with YOU. The Annual Convention 2012 will be an energetic event, providing the stage for many terrific presenters to reflect on their research and practice, as well as on their struggles. Paper can be submitted. All accepted papers will be published under ISBN in the eBook: “ESSIE Annual Convention 2012: Change in Education”.
Join us at this event and help shape the workings of education. This year, a complementary capacity is maintained, to ensure a diversity in acceptance of papers. All residential in one location, there are plenary presentations and four flanking paper presentation sessions. Participation is open to universities, colleges, institutions, professional education, vocational education, primary and secondary education, as well as public and private organisations, networks and multipliers! Please note that ESSIE Members obtain a reduction on their registration fee.
After the eLearning Programme closed down the EACEA Agency interviewed the coordinators of some of the projects that were funded by this programme. You can read here the answers given by Sofoklis Sotiriou, project coordinator of COLLAGE - Collaborative Learning Platform Using Game-like Enhancements
How did the project improve possibilities for eLearning?
The project was realized within the eLearning programme, so before Key Activity 3 ICT under Lifelong Learning programme and that time the concept of GPRS was very new and in the process of development. From this point of view, we can say that the COLLAGE Project was very well placed in timing and the use of mobile technology in education was presented as a complimentary tool for the curriculum at school through methodologies inside and outside the school. Within the project, new opportunities were created for being connected with the curriculum via mobile technology and for extending the school education in informal learning models.
Another improvement has occurred for teachers involved in the project; they had to think about how to organize on the field activities involving mobile technologies within the curriculum and educational learning aims.
In your training and professional experience, what has facilitated access to the new technologies for education? What has created a barrier? And what are the problems you have faced?
During COLLAGE Project, teachers were asked to prepare wap applications on the computer for students to see them on their mobile phones. For e.g.: A visit to the museum of Foundation Hellenic World was organized firstly through a wap application and then it was combined with a real visit. During that one, it was observed that students were capable to visualize the structure and the history of the museum, and they could reply the questions correctly. So, specific educational needs were met through use of mobile technology in learning, even if the GPRS technology was just available.
Concerning the problems encountered, it's possible to refer to the facts that the use of mobile technologies in education wasn't involved in the curriculum at schools and that the adaptation of teachers to the technology was more difficult than students.
What impact has the eLearning programme and project had on the lives of beneficiaries/target groups?
It's possible to say that now there are more applications in learning with mobile technology and many improvements in this field, so the COLLAGE Project demonstrated how successful the use of mobile technology is for educational purposes.
What were the impacts of the project for the educational or wider community in project countries and in EU policy?
In project countries, the local and national authorities are encouraging the mobile technology in the curriculum. For e.g.: In Greece, the municipality of Athens organizes every weekend study visits for secondary schools by using the game scenarios developed within the COLLAGE Project. Another example is from Austria, the Ministry of National Education made possible the use of game scenarios of COLLAGE Project in the educational system, so that the e-learning through mobile technology becomes accessible for every pupils and teachers in Austria.
At EU level, COLLAGE Project became a starting point for another European level project on use and re-use of digital education content in re-designing exhibitions in museums. More information on Open Science Resources project can be reached on http://www.openscienceresources.eu.What was your experience of working with partners in other European countries?
The consortium of the project has been composed of the partners knowing each other as a result of previous partnerships and this fact affected implementation of the project very positively. Also all partners were very strong and well-known in education and mobile technology fields. After the successful implementation of COLLAGE Project, the partnership in other projects still continues.
How was the sustainability of the project ensured?
The platform established within the project is still used by 10 schools in Greece and also by Municipality of Athens and Ministry of Education in Austria.
The project COLLAGE has proved to achieve most of its goals, opening the door to integrate new learning strategies using mobile technologies, mainly PDAs, and cellular phones. The level of engagement of all actors has been very high, especially in those scenarios that were evolving in time. Teachers were enthusiastic in using the devise in situations n which learning takes place outside the classroom. The same can be said about students which were always very keen on “learning mobile” and using mobile technologies in the different scenarios. Considering these findings as the main reference the consortium exploits further the work performed in COLLAGE through the following activities:
- The COLLAGE approach has been already introduced in schools in Greece and in Austria through the integration of the developed scenarios in a series of national initiatives. For example in Greece schools that participate in the national programme “Environmental Activities” are using the COLLAGE platform to create new educational game-based scenarios during field trips and other relevant educational activities. In Austria COLLAGE materials are available through the “Virtual School” portal of the Austrian Ministry of Education (see http://www.virtuelleschule.at/collage/index.html.
- The COLLAGE consortium was closely cooperating with the FP6 research project UNITE (http://www.unite-ist.org/) which developed an eLearning platform that aims to bridge the gap between formal and informal learning settings, implement innovative scenarios, enhance learning experience and create a virtual Network of Schools; 14 schools from 10 European schools share their learning experiences and the platform becomes the medium through which schools work and interact with each other. The COLLAGE platform was used in the framework of the UNITE project as it was very easily integrated to the UNITE pool of tools.
- FORTHNET (developer of the COLLAGE platform) continue to upgrade the COLLAGE platform. EA and FORTHNET have introduced the COLLAGE application to the pool of applications that are used from the Rural Wings network (http://www.ruralwings-project.net), a network of 120 rural schools from all over Europe that are equipped with DVB-RCS satellite terminals and have access to broadband services. Many students of these schools are working with similar scenarios that were developed in the framework of the COLLAGE project. Additionally the Ancient Agora scenario is already implemented by the Foundation Hellenic World and the Youth and Sports Organisation of the Municipality of Athens and it has been integrated to the educational activities organised every weekend in the Ancient Agora of Athens.
What do you think was particularly successful about the project?
The success of the project was mainly the active and productive participation of teachers. They have easily become adapted to the platform and we had received numerous scenarios, which were much more than expected and very innovative.
What are the most important lessons you have learnt? What are therefore your key messages (max 3) for the future use of ICT in learning?
Even if the use of ICT has improved a lot; there is still a very long way to go for the efficient and wide use of ICT in education. If different initiatives and projects on education through ICT are systematically evaluated, it will be very beneficial for the achievement of EU policies.
Access the DOSSIER: eLearning programme 2000 - 2006: The Legacy to learn more about the eLearning programme
Going back to the past and recalling the specific atmosphere of those years, what were the challenges that you wanted to address through the eLearning programme?
The overall objective of the eLearning programme was to "support and develop further the effective use of ICT in European education and training systems", which should constitute a crucial factor of "their adaptation to the needs of the knowledge society in a lifelong learning context". Under this framework, the programme addressed essentially the contribution of ICT in lifelong learning through the promotion of digital literacy, in particular for those with poor or no access to the technologies, the promotion of virtual mobility in higher education, the support to a Europe wide school networking scheme, including the training of teachers, and the dissemination, promotion and transfer of good and innovative practices of ICT use in education and training.
As underlying dimensions we can mention the contribution of ICT to strengthen social cohesion, to enhance the European dimension in education and to support the development of innovative teaching methods.
What do you think was particularly successful about the programme?
Although the programme was in general quite successful and cost-effective, I would put a very special emphasis on eTwinning, which is still a major ongoing European initiative in the field of school networking, supporting the exchange of innovative teaching methods and contributing to students' virtual mobility and teachers' professional development.The programme also successfully enhanced the European dimension in education and promoted co-operation between stakeholders in e-learning, for example in the fields of quality and open resources.
What are the most important lessons learnt?
The design and successful implementation of eTwinning, including the effectiveness of its funding model, demonstrates the potential of ICT to support innovative learning experiences, which would not be possible otherwise. It also shows the importance of integrating ICT in a coherent pedagogical project addressing clear needs and with the allocation of appropriate content and technical resources.
What are in your view the main challenges for the future of ICT in learning?
In my opinion the main challenge now is the full integration of ICT in education and training, both as a learning aid and a subject, implying the rethinking of organisation, curricula, teacher training and school infrastructure.
A particular effort should also be put in ensuring access to all, which would contribute to create the conditions favourable to increase participation in lifelong learning.Access the DOSSIER: eLearning programme 2000 - 2006: The Legacy to learn more about the eLearning programme | <urn:uuid:cf5ba410-34de-48a8-9c57-efaa61260129> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://elearningeuropa.info/en/category/freetags/transversal-actions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960264 | 2,255 | 1.5 | 2 |
Zilant is a legendary creature, something between a dragon and a wyvern. Since 1730, it has been the official symbol of Kazan. This winged snake is a part of Tatar and Russian folklore and is mentioned in legends about the foundation of Kazan.
Nomenclature and etymology
The Tatars themselves, on the other hand, frequently refer to this creature with the Persian word Ajdaha (dragon) or Ajdaha-yılan (Dragon-snake). For Tatars, it was a repulsive creature, corresponding to Europeans and to Persian dragons. According to Idel-Ural beliefs, any snake that survives for 100 years turns into an ajdaha.
Zilant/Ajdaha should be distinguished from Aq Yılan (White Snake), which is the king of snakes. Aq Yılan or Şahmara (from Persian ts shah (king) and mar (snake, which advised and helped epic heroes (batırlar), often by giving them gifts. As regards his beneficial influence on humans, Aq Yılan is similar to the Chinese dragon.
Chuvashes and Mari, ethnic groups surrounding Kazan as well as Tatars, also have legends relating to the foundation of Kazan, but none of them refer to the Kazan dragon. After the 16th century Russians acquired this legend from Tatars. For Kazan Russians, Zilant had negative connotations, as it was represented as a Slavic dragon rather than a snake.
The popular perception of Zilant among citizens of Kazan is strongly influenced by Western culture and many modern citizens imagine Zilant to be a more classically Western wyvern or dragon as depicted in films.
Most legends related to Kazan are contradictory and Zilant is no exception. There are several variations on the Zilant legend.
According to one story, a beautiful damsel married a resident of Old Kazan. She had to get water from the Qazansu River and complained to the local khan his capital was poorly situated. She advised him to move the city to Zilantaw Hill, and the khan agreed. However, the hill was infested with numerous snakes which were "stout as a log". Their leader was a giant two-headed snake, i.e., Zilant. One head ate only grass, while the other swallowed virgins and youths. A wizard advised the khan to build a straw and wood near the hill. In spring, the snakes came out from their winter burrows and crept into the pile of straw. A knight errant was sent out to set the pile of straw on fire, burning out the snakes. They were deadly even in death, "killing people and horses with their stink". However, the gigantic two-headed snake-dragon escaped to the Qaban lakes. According to the story he still lives in the waters of the lake and, from time to time, takes vengeance on the citizens. According to other stories, the giant snake was transformed into Diü, a spirit who founded the underwater kingdom of the lake.
It is also said that Zilant did not escape to the lake but instead tried get revenge upon the knight, who by that time had ridden some 50 çaqrım away from Kazan. During the fight that followed, Zilant cut the hero into six parts. The knight, however, had managed to stab the dragon with his poisoned pike, and Zilant eventually died.
There is also a legend about Zilant's return to Zilantaw. They say that Zilant re-established himself in a big cave near the hill. The dragon would occasionally fly over the panic-stricken city and drink water from the Black Lake. At first the people of the city paid tribute to him, but later they managed to kill him with a wizard's help.
Related legends
According to one legend, when Bulgars came to found the town of Bilär, they discovered a big snake. They decided to kill it, but the snake begged for peace and pleaded with Allah to give her wings. Once she had her wings the snake flew away from Bilär.
Another great snake was said to live in a pagan tower temple at Alabuğa. Although the Bulgars adopted Islam as early as the 10th century, the snake survived until the time of Tamerlane's invasion after which it disappeared.
Ibn Fadlan, who visited Volga Bulgaria in the 10th century, referred to numerous snakes, especially in trees. Ibn Fadlan wrote about a huge fallen tree, longer than hundred ells. He saw a big snake at the trunk of the tree, almost as large as the tree itself. The Bulgars allayed his fears by assuring him that the snake was not dangerous.
The popular historian Lev Gumilyov pointed out in his Ancient Turks that the Kypchaks, one of the ancestors of modern Tatars, came from the Zheliang Valley in the Altay Mountains. In his opinion, the nearby Zheliang Mountain and Zheliang settlement were named after Zilant the White Snake. If there is any truth in Lev Gumilyov's idea, then the dragon of Kazan should be regarded as a remnant of the once popular Turkic totem.
These flying snakes were also known in Bolghar, Suar, Bilär and the other cities of Volga Bulgaria. For the most part, these snakes were benevolent. However, in the boundary fortresses of Kazan, Alabuğa and Cükätaw, legends about flying monsters flourished. One particular fortress on the Shishma River was known as Yılantaw, later russified as Yelantovo. Many scholars believe that Zilant, like other flying snakes, symbolized the evil rulers of the neighboring pagan peoples. The legendary burning of the snakes may symbolize the victory of Islam over paganism. Sceptics say that the Bulgars purposefully spread those legends in the border regions in order to dismay their neighbors.
There is also speculations that Zilant's origination was not from the White Snake, but the Falcon (Börket), an image similar to Zilant from an earlier epoch.
Zilantaw in Kazan
Zilantaw Hill (originally Tatar Yılantaw/Елантау/Жылантау, Snake Mount), associated with Zilant legends, was formerly situated on the bank of Kazanka River. Some researchers support the view that Kazan was founded here, citing ancient Tatar legends as support. Other legends place the city foundation at Iske Qazan, the Qaban settlement, an Old Tatar settlement from the 16th century. However, these legends ignore the Kazan Kremlin, which is actually the oldest part of the city.
It is probable that a small settlement, not the city of Kazan, had existed at Zilantaw in the Bulgarian epoch (12th–14th centuries). The nearest settlement, Biş Balta, has been known since Khanate's epoch. In 1560 the Zilantov Monastery of Assumption was established on the hill. In recent centuries, the hill was covered with an old Russian cemetery, attested to since the Khanate's epoch. During the excavations in the 1970s, vestiges of an original monastery were unearthed. The most ancient layer contained indications of a great fire, lending support to the legend about the burning of the snakes. In historians' opinion this great fire would have occurred during the Mongol invasion.
Zilantaw actually used to be a high and waterless island, which would make it the best place for snakes to hibernate during winter. The nearest lake was called Zmeinoye or Zmievo, that is, Snake Lake. However in 1957 Qazansu's course was changed so that the old riverbed, separated from the Kuybyshev Reservoir, was swamped. Nowadays, Zilantaw is an unpractical depressive area, surrounded by plants and depots. The old cloister was reopened here in 2005.
Zilant as a state symbol
After the conquest of Kazan in 1552, Ivan the Terrible adopted this image with the title of Kazan's khan (tsar). Zilant was also featured in a seal of False Dmitry I as well as a flag of Tsar Alexis. Early Russian images represent Zilant with one head, four chicken legs, a bird's body and a snake tail. This representation is thus a cockatrice rather than a dragon.
In 1730 a royal decree established Zilant as a coat of arms of the Kazan Governorate. It was described in the decree as a "black snake, crowned with the gold crown of Kazan, red-winged on the white field". Being the coat of Kazan, Zilant was incorporated into the Russian Imperial coat of arms. The image was added to the arms of all the towns in the governorate. Zilant also appeared on the coat of arms of Kashira, a town located to the south of Moscow, as it was an appendage town of the exiled Kazan khan Ğäbdellatíf back in the 16th century. After 1917, the governorate was abolished and along with it, all the imperial emblems that featured Zilant.
Discussion about restoring Zilant as a city symbol resumed in the 1990s. Supporters of Zilant referred to the state insignia of the Khanate of Kazan. Some Tatar nationalists, however, dismissed the use of Ajdaha-Zilant as an evil symbol of aggression, derogatory to the Tatars and their statehood. They also pointed out that Zilant might be construed as the dragon killed by Saint George as represented on the Coat of arms of Moscow. According to this popular interpretation, Saint George would then symbolize Muscovy, and the "dragon" would symbolize Kazan.
It was eventually decided that Zilant should be associated with Aq Yılan (White Snake) as a positive Turkic spirit. During the Millennium of Kazan in 2005, Zilant was reinstated as a symbol of Kazan. It is now featured in the coat of arms of Kazan and as well as in the municipal jack.
Zilant in art
Zilant could be seen at the decorative elements all over Kazan. The most prominent is a fountain The Qazan (2005), stylized as cauldron.
Coats of arms
See also
- KAI Zilant is a handball club in Kazan
- Zilantkon (or Zilantcon) is a popular annual fantasy and RPG-games festival that takes place in Kazan in first decade of November.
- Yilbegän, Yuxa and Chuvash dragon (Вěре Çěлен) are related mythological creatures.
- transliteration: qazan
- pronounced [ʌʒdɑˈhɑ], Cyrillic: Аждаһа, Iske imla: اژدها
- (Tatar) "Ajdaha/Аждаһа". Tatar Encyclopaedia. Kazan: The Republic of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. Institution of the Tatar Encyclopaedia. 2002.
- Cyrillic: Ак Елан, Iske imla: آق یلان
- pronounced [ʃʌhmʌˈrɑ]
- (Tatar) "Şahmara/Шаһмара". Tatar Encyclopaedia. Kazan: The Republic of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. Institution of the Tatar Encyclopaedia. 2002.
- Cyrillic: Шаһмара, Iske imla شاهمار
- Cyrillic: батыр [bʌˈtɯr]
- pronounced [ɕʌˈqrɯm]
- This is a modern name of the lake. That time it was known as Çerek Kül, i.e. Foul Lake, sometimes noted in Russian chronicles as Poganoye
- (Russian) Рафаэль Мустафин, "Озеро Кабан", Казань, 1989.
- pinyin; original source was Chinese: ?墚
- (Russian) Gumilevica
- pronounced [jɯlɑnˈtaʊ] or [ʒʲɯlɑnˈtaʊ]
- also Зилантова гора/Zilantova gora in Russian
- Russian: Зилантов Успенский женский монастырь
- (Russian) Zilantov Monastery Web-site
- (English) natinalflaggen.de
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zilant| | <urn:uuid:105d5498-fd97-432e-85f1-38a3ee35c99e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zilant | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963108 | 2,805 | 3.25 | 3 |
Getting to Hadrian's Wall Country
Access the western (Carlisle) end of Hadrian's Wall Path from the M6, junctions 42, 43 and 44. For the eastern (Tyneside) end use the A1 (city centre exit and follow signs for Wallsend) or the A19 then take the signs for Wallsend.
Using Public Transport
Hadrian’s Wall Path must rank as one of the easiest of National Trails to get to. It is served by two regional cities: Carlisle (in the west) and Newcastle upon Tyne (to the east), both of which have inter-city rail links and National Express coach services. Newcastle itself has its own international airport with scheduled services to many UK and overseas destinations.
Once you have arrived, moving between the two main centres along the Trail is straight forward although timing is important and you must plan ahead. Don’t assume that buses will serve every access point to the Trail because you will be disappointed. Please bear in mind that the frequency of service, and sometimes the service itself, varies according to the time of year.
Other Useful Websites
- Traveline. The national public transport information line is 0870 608 2 608 or visit www.traveline.org.uk ideal for planning your journey.
- NextBuses. For ‘live’ bus times on your mobile phones with internet access, visit www.nextbuses.mobi – gives you the ‘next bus’ time anywhere in England, Scotland and Wales.
- National Rail Enquiries. Tel: 08457 484950 or visit www.nationalrail.co.uk | <urn:uuid:ab7c3de7-ec44-4c1a-b8be-9dc2e721461a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/HadriansWall/publications.asp?PageId=271&c=Transport+Information | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911458 | 339 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Roads and development spell trouble for Florida's panthers
By Heidi Ridgley
© Melissa Farlow/National Geographic Stock
It’s 10:35 a.m. on an April day at the headquarters of Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida. A woman in a gray uniform is busy dispatching personnel to the scene of a car accident in the preserve that occurred just moments before I walk in the door. The last thing I hear before being ushered from the room: “Please god, let it turn out to be a dog and not a panther.”
Ron Clark, the preserve’s chief resource manager, drives me to the scene. It’s not far, about three miles up the road on what is known as Tamiami Trail, where the flashing lights of the county sheriff’s squad car scarcely stand out in the intense Florida sun. A uniformed group has assembled by the side of the road. Stretched out in the grass is a beautiful, full-grown Florida panther. Dead, but still warm.
As biologist Steve Schultz slides the cat into a body bag, ranger Drew Gilmour repeats what the county deputy told him before driving away: “It was an Ohio driver, eastbound to Miami. He said he saw something out of his left eye. The cat came up underneath the guardrail. There was a flash and then a boom.”
Find out what you can do to watch out for wildlife every time you get behind the wheel.
“I’m sorry you had to encounter a panther this way,” Clark says to me without taking his eyes off the body, now zipped inside orange nylon.
Only about 100 Florida panthers are left in the United States—an increase from the 30 or so left in 1967 when they became federally protected. Considered vermin and hunted to near extinction by the mid-1950s, they had become so inbred they were spiraling toward extinction until federal and state biologists decided to bring in eight female cougars from Texas in 1995 to reinvigorate the gene pool. Historically the panthers ranged across eight southeastern states, but today they are isolated in south Florida. Here, unchecked development has pushed them into an even tinier and more fragmented part of their former range, forcing them to cross dangerous highways to find food, territory and mates.
In fact, collision with vehicles is one of the leading causes of death for Florida panthers. Today’s victim was the sixth known fatality this year—five of them caused by vehicle collisions—and it’s only April 10. This death is made more poignant when Krista Sherwood, a transportation scholar working under a grant from the National Park Foundation, informs us that this accident happened a mere 700 feet from where a highway wildlife crossing has been proposed.
Tamiami Trail (an ironic name for a paved, two-lane highway with posted speeds of 60 mph to which few drivers seem to adhere) is one of two main arteries from the southwest side of the state to Miami and the Florida Keys, and it’s been spilling the blood of panthers at a nauseating rate. In this spot alone, near the Turner River Bridge, five panthers—including today’s—have been killed since 1996, with three others injured. One of them was an adult female in 2004 with two kittens. She survived—the first hit—and was rehabilitated. After her release nearly 10 months later, she headed straight back to the spot—probably looking for her kittens—and was hit again and killed. One of her kittens was never found. The other was hit at the same spot and was “skin and bones from starvation,” says Deborah Jansen, the Big Cypress wildlife biologist who retrieved him from the road.
Had the wildlife crossing been there then—and today—it’s possible none of these panthers would’ve been killed. The crossings blend into habitat, enticing the big cats and other wildlife—deer, bears, even otters—to use them. Another crucial component is fencing, which funnels animals away from dangerous crossing spots to the underpasses. State Road 29, another treacherous crossing for panthers in Collier County—one of the two fastest-growing counties in Florida—doesn’t have adequate fencing between its six wildlife crossings, and panther mortalities are too common.
Defending Florida's panthers
To help Florida’s big cat, Defenders is working to prevent loss of habitat in south Florida and to secure corridors that allow panthers to disperse into central Florida. Defenders also helped draft sections of the federal panther recovery plan and provides outreach and education to help local residents living in panther habitat become more tolerant of the cats, showing people how responsible practices, such as securing their pets and livestock in nighttime enclosures, can protect people, pets, livestock and panthers.
We commented extensively during a review of the Collier County Rural Lands Stewardship Area, a program that conserves ecologically sensitive and agricultural lands used by panthers while directing growth to more appropriate areas.
To ensure the protection of large swaths of contiguous habitat we work with wildlife agencies, private landowners and the public, and we work to reduce the potential for vehicle-panther collisions in areas, such as near Turner River in Big Cypress, by advocating for a wildlife crossing at a spot of frequent panther mortality.
One of the biggest deterrents to creating crossings is the cost. Each one sports a hefty $4-million-dollar price tag, mostly because a separate, parallel road must be built to accommodate traffic until the new crossing is finished. The good news is that thanks to a request for funding from Defenders of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Department of Transportation agreed to spend $650,000 to study the feasibility of constructing one at Turner River Bridge. The not-so-good news is that, if approved, installation would still be many years—and probably many panther deaths—away. Another problem is that some people are opposed to the building of the crossing, for reasons including recreational access, aesthetics and tribal cultural issues.
“The death of this young panther is deeply upsetting because it could have been avoided,” says Elizabeth Fleming, Defenders’ Florida representative. “She was a breeding-age female, a critically important individual in the very small population. This tragedy underscores the urgent need for immediate action to reduce the threats to panthers from vehicles in Big Cypress. We are urging Florida Department of Transportation and Collier County to slow traffic down on U.S. 41 with a lower legal speed limit, stepped up enforcement and installation of speed-calming structures, such as rumble strips, warning lights and additional signs.”
Back at the preserve’s headquarters a short time later, Gilmour is standing on the back of a flatbed truck’s tailgate with a scale. The female cat is out of the bag, paws tied for lifting, when they slip free and her body crumples and flops to the ground. It punctuates this graceful 61-pound cat’s decidedly ignoble ending. “She’s not lactating and she doesn’t look old enough to have nursed but she has at least once,” says panther tracker Roy McBride, pulling on a nipple. “The foot has some abrasions, probably road rash.” Otherwise there are no marks. Often they die of stress or blunt trauma.
Highway collisions, however deadly, still remain only a symptom of the panther’s principal predicament: loss of habitat. “Cattle ranches can be a decent environment for panthers,” says U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Larry Richardson, who is touring me around the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, which abuts the northwestern boundary of Big Cypress. And south Florida still has plenty of agricultural land. “But the problem occurs when dad dies and leaves the ranch to the kids,” he says. “They can’t afford the inheritance tax. Or they just have different ideas, and the land is parceled off for box stores, golf courses and subdivisions. To support places like that you need a fire station, a grocery store, a pharmacy. It grows like a cancer, out and out and out.”
An unprecedented land-protection program in the works could connect 2.5 million acres of public and private land in southwest Florida. Defenders of Wildlife and several other conservation organizations are negotiating with eight landowners whose lands are immediately north of the refuge and the national preserve. If achieved, it would be a noteworthy accomplishment and could provide protected territory for additional cats.
But that is still not enough to recover the species completely, say biologists. “We can maintain panthers in south Florida for a long time because of all the public lands,” says Mark Lotz, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission panther biologist who is bouncing alongside us on a swamp buggy this breezeless spring day. “We have the techniques and know-how to support 100 panthers here, but there’s not another piece like this in the rest of the state so it’s almost like managing a zoo population.”
Ultimately, he says, recovery as defined by the federal plan—two additional, sustainable, breeding populations of at least 240 panthers each—will not happen without a shift in public attitudes and a push from the federal government.
Biologists think a section along the panhandle to the north could support panthers. But no wild lands connect it to south Florida, making it nearly impossible for venturesome males to reach it alive. There are also large tracts of land in Arkansas, perhaps Georgia and maybe Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, but without any connecting wildlife corridors to get there, panthers would have to be reintroduced—as was done for wolves relocated from Canada into the northern Rocky Mountains in the mid 1990s. The decision to do this for the panther has never been made,” says Richardson. “And the push would have to come from the very top, perhaps from the Interior Secretary, and with extensive public input.”
That’s because, as with wolves in the Rockies, people are resistant to having predators in their backyard—even though, just like wolves in the Rockies, there has never been a documented panther attack on people in Florida. “Prior to the 1900s, there were some accounts in newspaper clippings,” says Richardson. “But it’s all hearsay: ‘Farmer Brown’s cousin says his next door neighbor was chased by a panther.’”
“People don’t understand the concept that it’s them moving into panther habitat, not the other way around,” adds Lotz. “Yes, we need to recognize there is a danger, but in reality people kill more people—and no one freaks out when a person buys a house next door.” Global warming may add another dire element to the panther’s future survival. “Sea level rise may not affect the refuge but if the coastal zone is flooded and everyone moves their condos next to I-75, that’s the end of panther habitat,” says Richardson.
We spend much of the day looking for panther tracks and scrapes—piles of soil, leaves or pine needles with urine or feces on top that the cats scrape together with their hind paws. We find one that’s a few days old and hasn’t been “refreshed” recently. But the tracks we see nearby look new. Lotz pulls out the radio-tracking device and listens for cat number 113. This is her territory and she has puzzled him lately by uncharacteristically hanging around the same place. “Anytime a cat restricts its movements, it makes us go, ‘Oh!’” he says. “I don’t think she’s denning, but she keeps returning to the same area.”
Richardson told me at the onset of our ride that it’d be a near-miracle to spot one today. “Panthers are the epitome of stealth,” he says. “When you see one it’s an accident. They’ve got to be incoherent for a moment in time and you have to be unbelievably coherent.” While Lotz stays behind, Richardson suggests we head off for a quick glimpse of Ave Maria, a brand-new Catholic university just north of the refuge. The town that accompanies it, complete with cathedral and a hodgepodge of businesses, sucked up 4,995 acres of farmland smack dab in the middle of panther territory. A two-lane highway will soon become four lanes to accommodate the influx of people. The formerly flat land has been made into hills so residents can cross a “quaint” bridge. Understandably, the community is the poster child for those who believe once panther habitat is lost, it’s lost forever.
Later that day, the phone rings. It’s Lotz: “I have good news and bad news,” he says. “The good news is I figured out what 113 is up to. The bad news is you weren’t there to see it.” Turns out the cat was in estrus. “She walked right next to our buggy tracks from this morning,” he says. “Right past me through the pines, yowling away, calling for a mate. I’ve never seen that before. She didn’t even notice me.”
Apparently, against all odds, there are rare moments when you can find a big, stealthy cat rendered incoherent. With any luck, these tenacious tawny cats will surpass the even greater odds stacked against their future. “After all,” says Richardson, “in setting aside lands to save them, we’re saving ourselves as well. I can’t lose hope in Florida panthers or I will lose hope about too many other things.”
While reporting on this story, Senior Editor Heidi Ridgley had hoped to see a big cat roaming in the wild, but with no luck she went back to the city and the little domestic tabby cat that sleeps on her bed. | <urn:uuid:7342348c-1246-43d6-9c8e-4ddb02f17902> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.defenders.org/magazine/fall-2009/heartbreak-highway | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959226 | 3,021 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Young undocumented immigrants offered a two year deferral from deportation under President Barack Obama will be allowed to remain in the country if Mitt Romney is elected president, the GOP nominee said in an interview published Tuesday.
Previously, Romney had not specified how he would handle the estimated 1.7 million people who could qualify for the new rules, which went into effect in August.
"The people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid," Romney said in the interview. "I'm not going to take something that they've purchased. Before those visas have expired, we will have the full immigration-reform plan that I've proposed."
The president's decision allows people younger than 30 who came to the United States before the age of 16, pose no criminal or security threat, and were successful students or served in the military to apply for a two-year deferral from deportation.
When the decision to allow the immigration rule changes was announced in June, Romney did not immediately say whether he would repeal the measure or allow qualifying young immigrants to stay in the country.
In an interview with CBS on June 17, Romney would say only that his administration would seek longer-term solutions to the problem of illegal immigration, and that Obama's new directive was a temporary fix.
"He was president for the last three-and-a-half years and did nothing on immigration," Romney said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "Two years he had a Democrat House and Senate, did nothing of a permanent or long-term basis. What I would do, is I'd make sure that by coming into office I would work with Congress to put in place a long-term solution for the children of those that have come here illegally."
Romney said the timing of the shift, coming less than five months ahead of November's general election, pointed to political motives on the part of the president.
"I think the timing is pretty clear, if he really wanted to make a solution that dealt with these kids or with illegal immigration in America, then this is something he would have taken up in his first three-and-a-half years, not in his last few months," Romney said.
As recently as last month, Romney was maintaining his stance on a permanent immigration solution, without saying clearly how he'd proceed with the new rules change. | <urn:uuid:4783b96b-e07e-46c2-b7a3-6683f930433b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wtae.com/news/politics/Romney-would-allow-young-immigrants-granted-waivers-to-stay/-/9680976/16815808/-/wius6oz/-/index.html | 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 | 0.9895 | 496 | 1.625 | 2 |
50 Facts About Customer Experience is an article by James Digby. As the title suggests, it lists fifty findings Digby collected from reports by many different sources such as consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain), research firms (Gartner, Forrester) and even the White House Office of Consumer Affairs. We find that even though the article was written nearly three years ago, the facts that it lays out lead to insights that are arguably universal and still valid today.
After reading all fifty facts, it is almost impossible to miss the common trends that emerge. None of these trends should come as a surprise to anyone, but nonetheless it is powerful to see facts from different sources point to the same outcome.
The most powerful message of the facts is the importance of customer retention. Companies are always chasing after new customers, but often times neglect existing customers while doing so. It is critical to establish the correct balance between “hunting” new customers and “farming” existing ones. Here are some facts that underline the importance of “farming”:
- It costs 6 – 7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one. (Bain & Company)
- The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 – 70%. The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%. (Marketing Metrics)
- A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%. (Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murphy)
- Research shows that a 10% increase in customer retention levels result in a 30% increase in the value of the company. (Bain & Company)
- Customer profitability tends to increase over the life of a retained customer. (Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murphy)
It is clear that customer retention is important for profitability, both from a cost and a revenue perspective. If we can see that by simply looking at a few facts, then surely the managers of companies who deal with customers every day also realize its importance:
- 85% of business leaders agree that traditional differentiators alone are no longer a sustainable business strategy. (Shaw & Ivens)
- 73% of marketing managers of various large companies credit “repeat purchase behavior” as integral to the definition of successful customer engagement. (Forbes Magazine)
- 71% of business leaders believe that customer experience is the next corporate battleground. (Shaw & Ivens)
It seems that most managers hold customer experience and retention in very high regard. They are talking the talk, but are they walking the walk?
- A survey asking which is the most important marketing objectives, shows that 29.9% think that it should be customer acquisition, and 26.6% think that it is customer retention. However 62.2% admit that they concentrate on customer acquisition, with only 20.6% focusing on customer acquisition. (eMarketer)
- 55% of current marketing spend is on new customer acquisition, 33% on brand awareness and only 12% on customer retention. (McKinsey)
- 92% of all customer interactions happen via the phone. (Gartner)
- 85% of consumers are dissatisfied with their phone experience. (Gartner)
- 68% of customers leave because they were upset with the treatment they received whilst speaking to customer services. (US Chamber of Commerce)
It appears that customer retention is not getting the attention it deserves, because not only does marketing consider existing customers to be less important than new ones, but the customers are also getting bad customer service, especially from call centers!
We will not go into the details of why that is the case here. It is no secret that in most organizations the sales function is considered to be the “superstar”, while customer service function is more like the “ugly child to be kept in the back room.” Why that is the case and at what point companies decided that selling is more important than serving is not important. What is important here is that most customers are simply not happy, and most companies do not find out about it until it is too late:
- 72% of all customers believe it takes too long to reach a live agent. (Harris)
- 50% of the people survey said that agents failed to answer their questions. (Harris)
- 44% said the information they received was not accurate. (Harris)
- For every customer complaint, there are 26 other unhappy customers who have remained silent. (Lee Resource)
- 96% of unhappy customers don’t complain, however 91% of those will simply leave and never come back. (1st Financial Training Services)
To summarize, Digby’s facts give us the following:
- Customer retention is extremely important for profitability.
- Executives are aware of this fact, but most are not doing what is necessary.
- To increase retention, both marketing spend towards existing customers and service quality need to be improved.
- A customer retention strategy targeting the right cost/benefit ratio for the company must be adopted by all parts of the organization.
Let us conclude with a quote from poet Maya Angelou, and remember: Customers are people, too!
People will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did.
But people will never forget how you made them feel. | <urn:uuid:a824e14b-8439-421a-ae8e-6615b4e6f686> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allianceoptima.wordpress.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962935 | 1,121 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The announcement that the federal government would sell 200 million shares of General Motors back to GM for $5.5 billion and then dispose of its remaining 300 million shares by early 2014 makes a vast taxpayer loss close to a certainty. If the remaining shares sell for the same $27.50 as the initial block of 200 million shares – and GM’s many headaches make a big stock surge unlikely – the hit would be $12.5 billion.
Was this worth it? If you believe the 1-million-jobs-were-saved claim, you may say yes. But that claim is based on the very dubious idea that GM would have disappeared without federal intervention. The decision by first President George W. Bush in 2008 and then President Barack Obama in 2009 to have the federal government invest in the automaker allowed GM to avoid the sort of normal bankruptcy process that would have helped it leverage a lower wage structure from the United Auto Workers, one that would have put GM on a par with most of its competitors.
Who agrees that the union made out very well from the taxpayer bailout? Stephen Rattner, the executive Obama chose to oversee the GM deal. “We should have asked the UAW to do a bit more. We did not ask any UAW member to take a cut in their pay,” he said.
Here’s one more twist on the outcome of the Troubled Asset Relief Program: Taxpayers made billions after the federal government was paid back with interest by the most reviled recipients of relief – big banks and the American Insurance Group. But not with General Motors, whose fundamentals were bad far before the housing bubble collapsed in 2007. | <urn:uuid:f6df0b43-1f42-44bf-9ad3-bf8902893d37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://conservatives4palin.com/2012/12/sd-union-tribune-gm-bailout-protected-union-wages-not-jobs.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967544 | 338 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Brand Color Management
Creating Brand Identity
“Branding is the process by which companies distinguish their products from the competition. By developing a distinctive name, packaging and design, a brand is created. By developing an individual identity, branding permits consumers to develop associations with the brand and eases the purchase decision.” (Principles and Practice of Marketing – David Jobber)
In the ever-changing world market, the importance of creating brand identity has become even more critical to business success. Many factors influence branding decisions and successful branding certainly relies on distinctive color selection.
Impacting Brand Identity through Color
It has been said that “A great brand taps into emotions. Emotions drive most, if not all, of our decisions. A brand reaches out with a powerful connecting experience. It’s an emotional connecting point that transcends the product.” Scott Bedbury
Color evokes emotion and stimulates the senses to respond. Color can boost energy, evoke anger, or even calm in times of stress. A well-branded product strongly considers the psychological consequences of color. .
Color even determines the length of time a consumer will take note of your product in advertisements. A colored image may hold the attention for two seconds longer or more than black and white ones. Ads in color are read up to 42% more often than the same ads in black and white. Source: White, Jan V., Color for Impact, Strathmoor Press, April, 1997.
Color increases brand recognition by up to 80 %. Source: University of Loyola, Maryland
Research revealed that 92.6 percent put more weight on visual factors when purchasing products. When asked to approximate the importance of color when buying products, 84.7 percent of the total respondents believe that color accounts for more than half among the various factors important for choosing products. Seoul International Color Expo 2004
Risking Brand Identity
A lack of efficient and consistent color development and communication often makes it difficult for companies to produce products, product packaging and advertising material with the precise brand or logo colors. This can lead to the incorrect perceptions about the brand or a failure of brand recognition which negatively impacts sale.
Achieving Brand Identity
Insure color consistency and efficient, precise color communication by using Certified Color Standards
Color Solutions International provides the ability to insure color consistency. Whether your manufactured is done in Hong Kong, in the US or Mexico, CSI Color Standards provide accurate color communication. To achieve best possible results the used standard should be on the same substrate and the same coloration as the end results. Therefore CSI offers Certified Color Standards on customer defined substrates.
Coordinated colors across substrates to ensure the right brand colors on products, packaging and marketing materials.
Certified Color Standards are available for textile, paper, wood, metal, plastic and packaging materials. We develop matching standards available across substrates so that you can display color consistency throughout all categories of your brand. This will ensure that your Brand is always presented in the right way and it will guard your Brand Identity. | <urn:uuid:e223d4e3-92e6-4273-b59f-f41c63fed33f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.colorsolutionsinternational.com/Brand-Color-Management.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909299 | 620 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Learning Your Skin Cancer Alphabet
Do you know what A, B, C, D, and E mean when it comes to melanoma moles?
Although melanoma represents a very small part of all skin cancer — only 5 percent — it makes up a significant part of all skin cancer deaths. Melanoma is more common in whites than in African-Americans or Hispanics, but it can affect all skin colors and shades. And melanoma can develop in both young and old, though people in their 80s are at the highest age-related risk for this skin disease.
What all these numbers mean is that you should check your skin regularly for abnormal moles — and to do this, you should learn the melanoma alphabet.
Know the A, B, C, D, and Es of Melanoma
"This helpful mnemonic for both patients and physicians can be used as a guideline for the detection of melanoma on the skin," says Bruce A. Brod, MD, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Here’s how it breaks down:
- A stands for asymmetry. It "indicates that we might be suspicious when a spot on the skin has an uneven appearance," says Dr. Brod. "A normal mole should be uniform, with one half resembling the other half."
- B stands for border. This means that "a spot on the skin with an uneven, jagged border should raise more suspicion," says Brod.
- C stands for color. This "reminds us that lesions with varying shades of brown, black, blue, red, or white are more suspect for being a melanoma," says Brod. "A sobering reminder is that some melanomas can be flesh-colored or faint pink in color. These are referred to as amelanotic melanoma. Not all melanomas are strikingly dark in color."
- D stands for diameter, "and is used to remind us that spots on the skin larger than a pencil eraser should be viewed more suspiciously," Brod says. He calls this one his "personal least favorite" because, he notes, "while this may be true, melanomas can be quite small on the skin when they initially develop."
- E stands for evolution, or change and "is a newcomer to the mnemonic," says Brod. "This is particularly useful in middle-aged to elderly patients as their normal cadre of moles or nevi [another word for moles, birthmarks, and skin spots] typically remains static in appearance. It is important to look for both new and changing moles."
"I also like the 'ugly duckling sign' as a useful indicator for melanoma," Brod adds. When melanoma is present on the skin, it can be distinctly different in appearance from the other lesions on the skin."
Get Familiar With Your Freckles.
To look for these warning signs of melanoma, it's important to carefully inspect your skin every month for skin cancer moles. Get to know every mole, freckle, and blemish on your body. Examine your entire body in front of a full-length mirror and use another small mirror to better see the back of your body.
And don't skip any spots. Check everywhere — and don't forget your ears, scalp, back, the soles of your hands and feet, and even your nails. The better you know your skin, the more likely you are to spot a changing mole early on, when askin cancer is easier to treat.
Everyone should check their skin regularly for cancerous moles, but this is especially important for those at a high risk. "People need to know their skin and examine their loved one's skin, too," says. Most people find their own cancerous moles, and earlier when they examine their skin regularly," says Catherine Poole, president and co-founder of the Melanoma International Foundation.
"Risk factors for skin cancer include a sun-sensitive skin type that may freckle and burn easily (redheads tend to have this skin), a history of spending too much time in the sun or at tanning salons, lots of common moles or dysplastic (atypical) moles, a personal or family history of the common kind of skin cancers (basal cell and squamous cell), a personal or family history of skin cancer," Poole says.
So, remember to examine your skin regularly and use the melanoma alphabet as your guide. And if you find any suspicious moles, talk with your doctor and get them checked out. | <urn:uuid:de698be6-ad96-4192-b2ed-da1d33ed2592> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.everydayhealth.com/skin-cancer/skin-cancer-alphabet.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946608 | 961 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Jack Ariola Erenberg (KARE 11)
STILLWATER, Minn. (KARE 11) - The Lily Lake beach and boat ramp remained closed Wednesday, after a nine-year-old Forest Lake boy died of a suspected rare amoeba infection just days after swimming there.
Jack Ariola Erenberg first started showing flu-like symptoms and severe headaches Friday night while his family was vacationing on the North Shore. After two trips to the emergency room in Grand Marais, the boy was airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth.
"He was your typical boy, full of energy and full of life," Jack's grandfather Bob Watters told KARE Wednesday. "But he went down hill very, very fast after he became ill."
By the time Watters reached Duluth in the predawn hours Sunday the boy was in a coma, unable to speak or breath on his own. He was being treated for symptoms of meningitis and encephalitis, swelling of the brain.
"There was a hospital in Michigan treating a child with the same symptoms, and the doctors in Michigan suggested running a test and looking for this Amoeba," Watters explained.
"Once they did that the doctor came in, and the first thing he asked was, 'Has Jack been swimming somewhere in the South?' In the southern states? And we said, 'No. Just locally'."
The actual ailment is known as Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis, or PAM, which is caused by a water-borne amoeba known to researchers as Naegleria Fowleri.
The amoeba enter a swimmer's head through the nose, then migrate to the brain where they begin to divide. The brain counter attacks the invasion, but in vain, and then becomes inflamed and swells.
That type of amoeba are present in the sediment of virtually all bodies of fresh water, but thrive especially well in warmer, more stagnant waters.
"The doctor in Duluth said with the heat we've had this summer and the high water temperatures, it was like the perfect storm," Watters said.
"He said, you know, we don't check for this. He said, because we don't see it."
Such infections are extremely rare, but have been fatal in every documented case except for one. And virtually all of the known confirmed cases in the United States have occurred in the South.
Jack's father, Jim Ariola of Wyoming, Minn., told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that his 9-year-old son swam in Lily Lake in Stillwater early to mid last week. Health officials say that's where the child likely contracted the severe brain infection.
Watters remembers his grandson as bustling with creativity.
"He always wanted power tools for birthdays and Christmas," Watters recalled. "He was always building projects, always wanted scraps of wood so he could make things."
Watters says he takes comfort in the fact that Jack was an organ donor, and all of the boy's organs -- with the exceptions of his brain and his eyes -- were deemed safe to donate to others.
Minnesota's only officially confirmed case was in 2010. That child, 7-year-old Annie Bahneman of Stillwater, also swam in Lily Lake before contracting the condition. Her death, at the time, was the farthest north case in the U.S. by 500 miles.
An 11-year-old Hailee LaMeyer died in 2008 days after swimming in a small lake in Linwood Township. She suffered the same sudden onset, beginning with headaches and confusion before succumbing to brain swelling.
Pathologists at the Minnesota Dept. of Health say that her symptoms, in retrospect, were totally consistent with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. But they are unable to confirm it without a brain autopsy, which was not ordered in Hailee's case.
Because of the unusually warm water temperatures this summer, the state health department issued an advisory to swimmers last month, urging them to avoid warm, stagnant waters.
Those who choose to enter such bodies of water are urged not to put their faces under water. As an added precaution, experts suggest children hold their nose or wear nose plugs in those types of water conditions.
A memorial fund has been set up for 9-year-old Jack Erenberg. Those interested in contributing can send donations to:
Jack Erenberg Fund
Central Bank of Forest Lake
1650 South Lake St.
Forest Lake MN 55025
(Copyright 2012 KARE. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) | <urn:uuid:74901861-a28b-4bcf-a3e2-1c92191e9c82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/332092/28/Jack-Ariola-Erenberg-likely-died-of-rare-amoeba-infection | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97685 | 979 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The Meatless Monday project, conceived by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2003, challenges participants to eliminate meat from their diet one day a week in order to improve personal and environmental health. Last year, Eleni Vlachos brought Meatless Mondays to Durham, and it's grown in popularity since. More than 700 Durham residents have taken the Meatless Mondays pledge and 11 restaurants have partnered with the program, adding a vegan dish to their menus. We spoke with Vlachos, who herself is a vegan, to get her take on the present and future of Meatless Monday.
What's been the response from the community? From restaurants?
The response has been outstanding on both fronts. Most restaurants and chefs have been excited to create a dishes for their menus that are both creative and animal-free. With over 700 pledges, we feel confident that our initiative is reaching the community and hope to reach even more people in 2012.
Choosing to try meatless meals on Mondays is perfect because it is a small step that most people can take without noticing a big change. It can be hard to make a huge change right away – so we hope that this first step can lead to many other steps of exploring the adventures of veg cuisine and to thinking about this exploration as an addition, not a subtraction problem. That is, a whole new world of culinary possibilities open up for you when you try meals not based on a meat product.
Eating meatless on Mondays is a great way to start your week and it sends a positive and delicious tone for the rest of the week. It also shows people that eating meatless isn't all that difficult and it can be fun -- especially with more and more participating restaurants.
What kind of impact does a vegetarian diet have on the environment?
Not only is it delicious, it makes a huge impact on the environment. According to a the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent - 18 percent - than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation. Another article lays it out this way: If you go vegan just one day a week for a year, it’s like NOT driving 1,160 miles. Pretty amazing.
Another aspect is that every individual eats roughly 80-100 animals per year. Abstaining for a day or more makes a huge impact. In fact, a new report just came out that American meat consumption is actually down by 12.2% since 2007! That's surprising, considering the size of the meat and dairy industries. So there is hope, and we are empowered to make every meal a choice.
What are some of your favorite places to go for vegetarian/vegan food?
We love all of the participating area restaurants! I especially love that we have so many different types of food from different ethnicities. We even have good old American favorites like waffles and vegan hot dogs. In Durham in particular, we’re fans of Beyu when we want a nice sit-down If we’re feeling like a quick breakfast, we can try Dame’s vegan waffle – though we’re trying to get them to add the delicious Delight Soy chicken (vegan) available at Whole Foods. Broad Street has a nice vegan pizza, and we’re super excited about Mad Hatter joining us as well! Check out our list for all the highlights.
We of course love the food work of the Fiction Kitchen as well, who were hosting monthly vegan brunches to the tune of 100+ people attending and waiting in line. They’re now working on opening up a veg restaurant in Raleigh. Still waiting for that Durham entrepreneur to fill the gap and be the first vegan restaurant in the area. Seattle has over 20 – we can support at least one!
Check out the video to see a Meatless Monday recipe for flavorful Moo Shu Vegetables, as seen on ABC's The Chew! And click HERE for Eleni's very own vegan seitan recipe! | <urn:uuid:99e7ca67-e0da-4db6-8bd9-8414a9249a00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.durhammag.com/blogs/durham-magazine-blog/making-mondays-meatless/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948573 | 832 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Generative Grammar-based Computation
A promising approach for set comprehension and set processing is to utilize generative grammars. Generative grammars essentially denote the set of 'sentences' they will generate, and a set of sentences can carry complex information about the world and one's designs for it.
With grammar-based computation, the primary operations would be composition and refinement of grammars. Working with the 'sentences' directly is marginalized except to the extent that literals describe relatively trivial grammars. This breaks from traditional application of grammars, which is to analyze a sentence for 'matches' and to provide rewrite rules that generate a new sentence. This traditional application mirrors common functional programming (pattern matching and production rules), and is often 'lossy' in the sense that one cannot regenerate the original sentence from the matching rules. Grammar-based computation doesn't involve 'rewriting'; there is no explicit 'generated sentence'.
Instead, grammar-based computation is very close to logic-programming. A grammar can be understood as a sort of predicate that will classify the sentences it generates. For example, a grammar named 'Sum' might generate sentences of the form (A B C) where A, B, C represent integers and A+B=C. One might refine this into a new grammar Add4 that generates sentences of the form (B C) where 4+B=C. Simple constraint programming is also feasible - i.e. all (B C) sentences where C < 100 - and then one can 'generate' solutions to the constraint problem.
At the edges of the system, one could ask for sample sentences. Within a grammar, 'queries' would need to be simple without hindering composition of grammars. Perhaps G1\G2 is a composition that generates G1 if G1 is not empty, otherwise generates as G2. (Another useful query might be whether G1 produces a unique sentence... perhaps some sort of 'at least one, at most one' approach.)
The challenge I've been facing is making this practical. By practical I mean supporting properties such as:
Some of these features feed one another. For example, if grammars denote sets of sentences, then supporting 'sets' within a sentence effectively means having 'grammars' within sentences. And supporting grammars within sentences, along with expressive patterns to adapt those grammars, might be sufficient to describe continuous fields.
Anyhow, I'm curious as to state-of-the-art and prior-art that I haven't discovered yet, and for any opinions/ideas.
A quick summary of what I have discovered: Attribute grammars and derivatives are simply too darn complex - they attempt to combine functional composition of attributes with grammatical productions, and the result is painful to write, difficult to read, and functions are generally irreversible (analytic rather than generative)... and they certainly weren't designed for reasoning across grammar compositions. Alessandro Warth's OMETA and Parsing Expression Grammars are designed for composition, but are also analytic grammars. The Language Machine seemed related, but really is all about stream-rewriting.
I'm still reading John Shutt's 93 thesis on RAGs, which seem related to what I'm seeking, but I've yet to fully grok them; I'll admit to being put-off by the emphasis on achieving "Turing-power" as though it were a virtue rather than an often unnecessary evil. I just now located an older LtU discussion referencing a paper on 2-level grammars and semantics which seems related. Matt Estes wrote Properties of Infinite Languages and Grammars, which I'll need to read.
I also picked up Grammar Systems: A Grammatical Approach to Distribution and Cooperation and Grammatical Models of Multi-Agent Systems, though I'm really hoping to find something to which I can apply a distributed security model (object capabilities, preferably) and these books describe systems that involve 'trustful' collaboration.
Active forum topics
New forum topics | <urn:uuid:61b4baf7-5bb9-4bcc-b6a3-c0d6811f6db3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/node/4012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940262 | 844 | 2.859375 | 3 |
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s longtime political rivals came together to vote ‘Yes’ in a referendum to accept a new constitution Saturday, but the rare consensus does not guarantee an end to political violence and intimidation ahead of crucial elections later this year, the prime minister’s party said.
Constitutional reform was a key demand of regional leaders mediating in the southern African nation’s decade-long political and economic crisis. Reform was also a requirement for fresh elections to end a shaky and acrimonious coalition they brokered after the last violent and disputed national polls in 2008.
The new constitution allows for more democratic reforms that would curb long entrenched presidential powers and punish perpetrators of human rights violations.
However, Tendai Biti, the third ranking official in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party, said Saturday that political intimidation continued into the vote.
Biti said the arrest of a senior provincial official for the Movement for Democratic Change party by President Robert Mugabe’s loyalist police on Saturday, casts doubt on the prospect of free and fair elections slated for around July.
Sampson Magunise, the party official in eastern Zimbabwe, was seized by four armed police before referendum polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) across the country. No reasons for his arrest were given.
“This is illegal and unacceptable but it is typical of the environment we are living in,” Biti said.
Magunise’s arrest followed attacks on four party’s supporters putting up referendum posters in the northern town of Kariba and scuffles between rival youth groups in Harare and the second city of Bulawayo on Friday.
Past elections have been marred by violence and alleged vote rigging blamed mostly on Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party.
Both President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai said they voted ‘Yes’ Saturday after all main party leaders called for the 170-page draft constitution to be adopted.
“We will celebrate a ‘Yes’ vote but we cannot accept intimidation of any of our members and then declare an election to be credible,” Biti said.
Biti said regional polling observers will likely report Saturday’s vote as acceptable compared to “low standards of behavior” expected of Zimbabweans seen at previous polls.
“We can’t accept mediocrity when it comes to elections that wouldn’t be tolerated in other countries” during polling, he said.
Mugabe said he voted ‘Yes’ to the home-grown constitution to show how Zimbabwe mapped out its own future without outside interference.
“It gives us the right to determine together which way to govern ourselves,” he said.
Mugabe, 89, who led the nation to independence from Britain in 1980, has repeatedly accused Western governments of supporting efforts to oust him.
Mugabe, who voted at a school in western Harare with his wife Grace and his daughter Bona, 22, said he wanted peace in all polling.
“Those who want to fight are allowed to if they are boxers or wrestlers, but to go about beating people in the streets, that’s not allowed,” he said.
Tsvangirai, 61, was thronged by supporters while voting at a junior high school south of Harare, said a ‘Yes’ vote marked a new turning point “and one of the most important historical steps” for the southern African nation after years of political and economic turmoil. He said it paved the way for a new chapter of the rule of law.
His supporters who have been killed in political violence over the past decade “will rest in peace because this is the most important stage we have been fighting for,” Tsvangirai said. “I hope everyone will exercise their vote as a preliminary step to free and fair elections.”
Officials said polling was busy in populous districts, and small knots of voters turned out early in remote areas and less populated or wealthier suburbs.
The voting day was announced exactly a month ago, and critics say voters were not given enough time to study the constitutional proposals in detail. About 9,400 voting stations were set up and 12 million ballot papers have been printed. Results are expected within five days.
Abigail Punungwe, a young mother with a baby on her back in a line at one voting station in Harare, said she hadn’t read the 170-page draft constitution “but everyone is saying we must vote for it.”
Elections monitors say printed copies were woefully inadequate in the two main local languages. Many rural Zimbabweans don’t speak or read English. Monitors also pointed to only 200 braille copies being produced for the country’s 40,000 blind people.
Cumbersome voters’ lists were not used. The nation has 6.6 million registered voters, but on Saturday all Zimbabweans over the age of 18 carrying a valid citizens’ identification document were able to vote during more than 12 hours of polling. Polling stations using indelible finger ink on the hands of those who have already voted will stay open later into the evening if voters are still in line at the closing time.
Voting lines over 200 meters (300 yards) long in Harare had tapered off by Saturday afternoon.
Munganyi Nyarai, a polling officer in the western Harare township of Mbare, said more young people voted early at her post than in usual elections.
The draft constitution reduces presidential powers to pass authoritarian decrees and paves the way for a National Peace and Reconciliation Commission on past violence and human rights violations.
It also strengthens the bill of rights to protect all Zimbabweans from “torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment” that would be enforced by a new Constitutional Court with powers above the main existing highest court of appeal, the Supreme Court.
In urging supporters to vote ‘Yes,’ Mugabe’s party says the draft recognizes as irreversible the seizure of thousands of white-owned commercial farms which have since 2000 been handed over to blacks. Black empowerment programs and the taking of control of foreign-owned mines and businesses by locals would also be irreversible.
Mugabe’s party says the draft honors black guerrilla fighters who ended colonial rule after a seven-year bush war with white-led troops of the former colony of Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known before independence in 1980.
Small groups who have campaigned for a ‘No’ vote say the referendum is a compromise that doesn’t meet the aspirations for change of ordinary Zimbabweans.
“The constitution has been taken over by politicians and doesn’t reflect the true wishes of the people. It is a betrayal of generations to come,” said voter Philimon Jambaya, 23.
Associated Press reporter Gillian Gotora in Harare, Zimbabwe contributed to this report.
Official Wire and AP
Click To Contact Through Email | <urn:uuid:f06f95bb-33a4-49ea-a77d-2627e44741b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.officialwire.com/news/political-rivals-vote-for-zimbabwe-referendum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963915 | 1,490 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Low carbohydrate diets, also termed low carb diets, are nutritional dietary regimens that restrict the amount of ingested simple and complex carbohydrate in order to allow weight loss. Foods such as pasta, bread, cookies, and cake are kept to a minimum while increasing the amount of foods composed of protein and fat. Meat, chicken, seafood, eggs, seeds, and nuts are the predominant foods in a low carb diet.
Low carb diets are intended to cause a state of ketosis, which causes the body to switch from using glucose and glucogen to ketones as its primary energy source. Ketosis results in fat mobilization and breakdown because ketones become generated from fatty acids stored in fat cells. Dr. Robert Atkins is famous for having advocated a low carb diet, and the induction phase of the Atkins diet is intended to cause a state of ketosis.
Low carb diets have been criticized for possibly being detrimental to cardiovascular health due to the high fat content, which was theorized to raise cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In fact, more recent research suggests that carbohydrates may be more toxic to the cardiovascular system. We have previously discussed the toxic nature of sugar, and have also discussed the recent finding that diets high in fat and protein and low in carbohydrates allow weight that is lost to remain off and also allows an additional 300 calories to be burned during the day.
Researchers, led by Dr. William Yancy from Duke University Medical Center, have added to the evidence that low carb diets allow for weight loss and have beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors. The results of their research were published online in the journal Obesity Reviews. The researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis involving 17 clinical investigations that included 1,141 obese patients. The researchers found that low carb diets causes significant weight loss, and were associated with improvement of body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, plasma triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin, plasma insulin, and plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as increase in HDL cholesterol levels.
The authors wrote, “In conclusion, 23 reports, corresponding to 17 clinical investigations, were identified as meeting the pre-specified criteria. Meta-analysis showed [low carb diet] to be clearly associated with significant decreases in body weight, BMI, abdominal circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, plasma triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, glycated haemoglobin, plasma insulin and plasma CRP, as well as with an increase in HDL-C. LDL-C and creatinine did not change significantly, whereas limited data were conflicted regarding plasma uric acid”.
The authors also wrote, “The long-term effects of [low carb diet], as well as the effects of [low carb diet] on clinical endpoints such as the incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke and total mortality, are essentially unknown and should be the object of future research”.
This study is important because it combines multiple previous studies into a meta-analysis and thus has more data to strengthen its conclusions. Low carb diets are clearly beneficial not only for losing weight, but also for improving cardiovascular risk. Obesity is becoming an increasingly bigger problem in the world and low carb diets should be recommended for weight loss for most people. There are some people that would not tolerate a low carb diet such as diabetics, so these types of diets would not be appropriate for everyone. The benefits of a low carb diet continue to be well documented by ongoing research.
F. L. Santos et al. “Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials of the effects of low carbohydrate diets on cardiovascular risk factors” published online first August 20, 2012 Obesity Reviews doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.01021.x | <urn:uuid:6de21832-3a8b-4f5e-a29c-2ec120f01954> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drsamgirgis.com/2012/08/31/low-carb-diets-cause-weight-loss-and-have-heart-health-benefits/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948832 | 784 | 3.1875 | 3 |
It wasn't supposed to end like this. Nearly four years ago, Kathie Lockwitch brought home a German shepherd puppy. Baron would become the disabled woman's best friend and helper, a literal crutch to bolster her. Lockwitch figured he would be her service dog until he got too old to hold her steady. On Saturday evening, Lockwitch sat on the ground in front of her house on Flamingo Lane, crying and petting the 120-pound dog's face as he struggled to nuzzle up to her.
"He tried twice to get up onto my lap," Lockwitch, 50, recalled this week.
The driver of the pickup truck who had barrelled into Baron moments earlier stopped briefly, then screeched away, she said.
The man is known to speed down the neighborhood's narrow streets, Lockwitch said as she sat in her family room. Baron's empty harness rested on a nearby coffee table.
Lockwitch wants the driver found.
"Next time," she said, "is it going to be a child?"
• • •
A speeding car and terrible crash in Pennsylvania in 1978 is largely to blame for the health problems that prompted Lockwitch to train a service dog more than three decades later.
A Thunderbird crossed the center line and slammed into Lockwitch and another girl as they walked along the roadside. Lockwitch's friend was killed.
Lockwitch spent the next three years learning how to walk again. Later, she developed spinal cysts.
The former firefighter and emergency medical technician has been officially disabled since 1994, the same year she was diagnosed with lupus. She has no feeling in her right leg, wears a brace and cannot walk without a cane. She suffers from an irregular heartbeat and tires easily.
Lockwitch worked as a dog trainer during her early 20s. As her health deteriorated, it dawned on her and her husband, Greg, that a dog could do more than keep her company.
"We've always known there was probably going to be a time when I needed assistance," she said.
In early 2009, Lockwitch went to a friend's house to pick out a puppy. The mother of the litter picked one up in her mouth and dropped it in Lockwitch's lap.
"It was like she was saying, 'Here's your dog,' " Lockwitch said.
Baron's intelligence and temperament made him well suited to a dual role as pet and service partner.
He calmly tolerated playful swats and nips from the family cat and allowed Lockwitch's 2-year-old grandson, Caleb, to sit on his back.
He learned hand signals to sit and stay and was trained to act as a support to help Lockwitch get up if she fell. He could sense when she overexerted herself, she said, and would nudge until she sat down. Once, when Lockwitch passed out, Baron howled until Greg woke up.
Lockwitch registered him with the county in 2010. He tag said "SD No. 102."
• • •
Greg, Caleb and Lockwitch's 20-year-old daughter, Whitney, were playing fetch with Baron a little before 7 p.m. Saturday when the small, older-model pickup came zooming south on Flamingo. Kathie could see the street and yard from her oversized easy chair in the family room.
According to the Lockwitches, this is what happened next:
A neighbor yelled at the driver — a thin man in his mid to late 20s — to slow down. The man did slow for a moment, apparently to see who was yelling, then gunned the engine again.
About the same time, Whitney threw a Frisbee that bounced off Baron's nose. He chased the rolling disc into the road, just beyond the edge of the driveway, as the truck approached.
The impact threw the dog at least 40 feet.
"I'll never forget the sound of that truck hitting him," Kathie said.
The man stopped, leaned out the window and yelled that the family shouldn't be playing in their front yard. You shouldn't be speeding, Whitney shouted back. The man said he wasn't, then punched the gas again. He was gone before anyone could jot down a tag number.
The family called the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, and a deputy arrived a short time later.
There is little the Sheriff's Office can do unless someone provides a lead, said Lt. Matt Lillibridge. The driver could be given a criminal traffic citation for leaving the scene of a crash resulting in property damage.
"We're at standstill until we get a break," Lillibridge said.
He noted, gently, that owners are responsible for restraining their dogs.
The Lockwitches say they understand that. But they also want the man to be held accountable for driving recklessly in their neighborhood and then speeding away after he hit a dog.
"It's not going to bring Baron back, but it could save somebody else," Kathie said.
She said she's not sure how to replace Baron. She no longer has the ability to train a dog herself, so the couple would have to spend thousands of dollars they don't have on a professional trainer.
In the meantime, Baron has been buried under lush grass on Greg's parents' farm near Bushnell. Kathie picked out a black marble marker with Baron's picture on it.
When she told her story to the man taking the order, he refunded her money.
Reach Tony Marrero at email@example.com or (352) 848-1431. Follow him on Twitter @TMarreroTimes. | <urn:uuid:823c2fbc-d349-4f10-9df6-71c3fb2f1af1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/hernando-county-woman-mourns-service-dog-killed-by-driver/1260686 | 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 | 0.981993 | 1,177 | 1.625 | 2 |
Cain said "Let us go out into the field", as attested by LXX:
[Septuagint Genesis] 4:8
And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go out into the plain; and it came to pass that when they were in the plain Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
I assume that "plain" is "sadeh", by the repetition of "sadeh" later. I prefer to translate "sadeh" as "field" rather than "plain". The Samaritan Pentateuch has in 4:8
"We'll go to the field"
And considering the identity of the remainder of the chapter to the Masoretic version, this is certainly the elided text.
I should point out that one can see just by grammar that there is omitted text--- "amar" cannot appear, just by Hebrew grammar, without spoken dialog next to it, just as "I said" is ungrammatical in English.
Highly likely that Masoretic is corrupted
It is very likely that Masoretic is corrupted, because grammar errors in J are rare, and the ones that do occur are arguably intentional. But the probability is 1 part in 20 not 1 part in 10,000, so one cannot claim certainty. The problem is that it is possible that the original did not have the text, and it was supplied later because of the grammatical awkwardness. The only argument against this is that the LXX and Semaritan agree.
I can't see a motivation for deleting the text intentionally--- especially not leaving a gaping hole like that, but it is not possible to be certain in this case, only to put a greater likelihood.
Unfortunately, certain religious traditions give a bias to the hypothesis that Masoretic is never corrupted, which means that one must be careful to counterbalance this with a certain amount of resistence, in insisting that it is still likely that it is in fact the Masoretic version which is corrupted. | <urn:uuid:9f153e5e-934f-4e85-bdf7-90dae8ea2464> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/1495/what-does-cain-say-to-abel-in-genesis-48/1517 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975352 | 416 | 1.773438 | 2 |
December 06, 2011
Mandatory gear: Skateboard; dog (large breed ); leash; canine harness; helmet; padding recommend (elbow, knee)
The gist: Kick and glide on your skateboard or longboard while occasionally grabbing a “boost” from a canine companion.
Find empty parking lot; suit up human (helmet, padding) and dog (harness, leash). Initiate motion by kicking off on board; whistle or command dog to run! Hold on tight — many large breeds will bound and run, and low-resistance skateboard wheels offer an easy pull. Work on voice commands for starting and stopping as well as quick exits off skateboard if you’re aimed at a curb. Kooky as it sounds, “dog-boarding” can be a safe thrill, and many dogs will love the chance to run “full speed ahead” with their human in tow!
- PHOTO CONTEST!
Do you bike urban singletrack trails? Maybe you build two-story snow forts? Submit a photo and a caption of yourself being a "Weekday Warrior" to win Köppen gear! We'll highlight the best submissions on this page. (Submission form is below on left; upload as many photos as you see fit, and we'll contact you if your image wins!)
- Learn about how to be
a Weekday Warrior
Ad Hoc "Alleycat" Bike Race
Mimic the routine of a professional bike messenger.
Skateboarding with Dog
Kick and glide on your skateboard.
Capture the Flag, Ghost in the Graveyard, and Kick the Can.
Open Water Swimming
Triathletes do it. You can too! Ditch pool laps for a lake swim.
Trails? Pff. Who needs trails when you can walk in the woods!
Bike to Work
Leave the car behind. Freedom and exercise on your commute.
Get your flashlight ready. Hiking in the dark is a whole new world. | <urn:uuid:2b521aa5-fe05-4806-af46-daba7751c3b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gearjunkie.com/weekday-warrior-skateboarding-with-dog | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911504 | 422 | 1.570313 | 2 |
The Daily Caller recounts that as a student at Columbia, Eric Holder took part in “a five-day occupation of an abandoned Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) headquarters,” which Holder and his fellow radicals demanded be redesignated the “Malcolm X Lounge.” Columbia, consistent with its usual practices at the time, went along with the radicals’ demands.
The Black Student Organization’s web site said that “in 1970, a group of armed black students [the SAAS] seized the abandoned ROTC office.” The “armed” part might have been wishful thinking, but Holder’s radicalism is not in doubt. On another occasion, he participated in the occupation of a dean’s office.
Mostly, of course, I wanted to post this photo of Holder as a student at Columbia:
But there is a serious point to be made as well. Holder has talked publicly about his radical activities at Columbia; as far as one can tell from the quotes in the Daily Caller article, he has done so with pride. Which raises the same question that many have asked about Barack Obama: did Holder ever abandon his radicalism? If so, when and why? Many people hold goofy or extreme political opinions when they are young, but most grow out of them. Has Holder? Or was the boy–the radical who took over campus buildings and offices–the father to the man–the Attorney General who suppressed the voter intimidation prosecution of the New Black Panthers? Given the importance of Holder’s role as Attorney General, the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, isn’t that a question that someone should ask? | <urn:uuid:2418b01c-938e-4ecc-a4bd-82fb48c124fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/10/eric-holder-student-radical.php?tsize=large | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976805 | 350 | 1.820313 | 2 |
As temperatures fall, people look for ways to keep warm.
Many will bring out their space heaters or use their fireplaces.
But as it gets colder, the risk of fires increase because some homeowners either don't take some precautions or make mistakes putting themselves at risk.
Officials from the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department have been going to different community meetings to discuss the steps they should take, such as inspecting cords and keeping space heaters a safe distance from materials prone to catching fire.
On Tuesday, AFRD's Todd Edwards, Fifth Battalion chief, spoke to members of Neighborhood Planning Unit-O to give them guidelines on what to do to reduce their fire risk.
The Fifth Battalion includes Fire Station 18 in Kirkwood, Fire Station 10 in Grant Park and Fire Station 13 in East Atlanta. | <urn:uuid:32bac8d0-03b7-44d4-a541-785f4061170f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://southcobb.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/fire-risk-increases-in-winter-ecd9799f | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951895 | 162 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Mobile Payments: Siri Hears Your Words And Pays Your Rent In Seconds
Siri is an amazing step forward in computing technology.
So is Seconds.
Seconds enables customers direct interact and transaction with merchants through the mobile web. When a consumer attaches their payment credentials to their Seconds account, they have effectively transformed their phone into a transactional device. With Seconds, people can send quick messages and easily make transactions with merchants using the service. Even more cool, because Seconds is driven through text messaging, if a person is holding an iPhone 4S they can use Siri to complete the mobile transactions with Seconds by simply saying the keyword.
Here’s how it works when you imagine a scenario such as paying rent, which is something we are set to pilot test in Seconds this month. When rent is due, all you have to do is:
You say: Send a message to landlord “Pay Rent”
Siri says: OK, here’s your message to your landlord: “Pay rent.” Are you ready to send it?
You say: Yes
Siri says: message sent
Two seconds later you receive a text “Your account has been charged $1,200 for your rent. That’s it! Your rent is paid & you can get on with your life.
How did Siri know who to send the message to and how much you should pay your landlord for rent?
Seconds allows merchants to program their account and customize keywords with specific dollar amounts which act as triggers to charge a Seconds user’s mobile payment account. So in this scenario, the landlord was able to simply plug in the amount of money “Pay Rent” would translate with and then told their tenants to just text their number and pay in Seconds next month. This specific tenant was able to tell Siri to pay his rent for him. And because had labeled his Landlord in his phone contacts, Siri was able to do the job quickly and easily.
Seconds and Siri are a perfect match, and we see a future where payments are so seamless we won’t even have to take out our phones (let alone our wallets). In the future, your phone numbers + a pin will be all the payment credentials you will need.
The interesting thing about Seconds is not just the transactional component – which is definitely cool – but the communications aspect as well. Seconds sits directly at the convergence of communications and transactions, and enables each at certain times and both when appropriate. It’s truly a 21st century communications and commerce platform fit for almost any merchant – large or small, corporate or independent.
It’s my belief there will be many different players in the payments space, but merchants and consumers will not tolerate a plethora of options and varying requirements based upon specific merchants. It will be far too confusing and there will need to be some market convergence as time goes on. Consumers will most likely choose the option which is 1) quickest to use, 2) most widely accepted, 3) is not affected by a specific device they are holding, and 4) the easiest to understand.
We like where we sit within the ecosystem and look forward to a great future ahead. It’s only the beginning. If you are not familiar with Seconds, here is a quick video of someone paying for a “wrap” by simply texting the words. Note: this is not a demo, it’s the real Seconds experience happening every day and will soon be in your hands as well! | <urn:uuid:ef15656a-5c75-480b-b8e2-12ce47a47a43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://soentrepreneurial.com/2012/03/10/mobile-payments-siri-hears-your-words-and-pays-your-rent-in-seconds/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949534 | 723 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Benefits of a South Dakota Trust
South Dakota is preferred jurisdiction for trusts for many reasons, some of which include:
- South Dakota has no limit on the life of its trusts;
- There is no South Dakota state income tax for the trusts or the individuals who are the trusts’ beneficiaries;
- South Dakota offers substantial protection from creditors of beneficiaries;
- South Dakota, as a part of the United States, governs only U.S. trusts, not foreign trusts, which can experience numerous difficulties with the U.S. testing authorities and other U.S. and foreign entities. | <urn:uuid:5d1a8de0-e846-4532-bed3-4a0f78e091cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northpointtrust.com/benefits/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957888 | 122 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Apple Inc. is attempting to boost its digital-music arsenal by bringing social networking to iTunes and by redesigning three iPods. The results are mixed.
The iPods are a big improvement from the older models with new, smart features, including some borrowed from the iPhone. The Ping social network, however, is a bit socially awkward, especially for people who are used to Facebook.
I’ve been using Ping and the revamped iPod Touch, Shuffle, and Nano for the past week. The most notable iPod changes are the addition of a front-facing camera to the Touch, which enables FaceTime video chats with other new Touches or iPhone 4s, and the Nano’s redesigned, multi-touch screen.
I was less enthusiastic about Ping, Apple’s first attempt at social networking, because it didn’t do well enough with the socializing aspect. An Apple (AAPL) spokesman says it will be making improvements to Ping, including some that will be available by the end of this week. The social-networking experience also could become richer as more people and artists join. (Only 54 artists were on Ping when this column published.)
Ping is a social network that shows you what music your friends like and what your favorite artists are doing. You also can share your own music preferences. When you create a Ping profile, you can choose 10 songs that represent your musical tastes, or the network will generate this list based on music you purchased from the iTunes Store. Ping uses the Twitter model of followers rather than friends, which means you can be followed by someone and opt not to also follow that person, and vice versa. Ping runs in iTunes on Windows and Macs and can also be accessed on iPod Touches and iPhones running Apple’s new mobile operating system, iOS 4.1.
There are five page views for Ping: Recent Activity (the home page); My Profile; My Reviews (of songs and albums); People (which shows your followers, people you follow or follow requests) and Featured (Apple’s spotlight on people and music).
A stream of updates from people or artists you follow takes up much of the home page. While Facebook suggests friends you might know based on whether you have friends in common, a section in Ping suggests people you might want to follow according to if they have similar musical tastes—even if they’re strangers. This feature wasn’t yet turned on when I tested Ping, but will work within a week.
Ping also suggests artists you might like. These suggestions aren’t based on your full iTunes library; rather, they’re based on songs you bought in iTunes and your activities in Ping, including artists you follow and music you “like,” similar to Facebook’s feature.
You can comment on or like anything posted on Ping by someone you follow. I enjoyed checking photos and videos posted on Ping by some of my favorite artists, including a video of U2′s Bono talking about a concert in Istanbul and a behind-the-scenes photo Shakira posted from her tour.
As a new social-network player, Apple needs to make Ping easier to use for people accustomed to the user-friendly features of Facebook. One of Ping’s biggest downsides is that it doesn’t import lists of friends from other established social networks, so you must build up a new network of people using email invitations that ask friends to join Ping.
According to an Apple spokesman, Facebook disallowed Ping from interacting with its network, which could have potentially allowed Ping users to see if their Facebook friends were on Apple’s social network. A spokeswoman for Facebook says the company is working with Apple to resolve this issue.
You may also search the network for friends and music artists to follow by typing their names into a search box.
Ping’s other socially awkward characteristics include its inability to notify you when other people comment on or like something you’ve posted or commented on.
Apple says these will appear in the Recent Activity page within a week—but not as easy-to-see notifications at the top of the page.
Ping can’t organize people you follow into groups, like “Dierks Bentley Concert Pals,” and won’t let you send anyone in Ping a message—either privately nor by posting on their wall.
The network also only uses first names of people, leaving me wondering if the John who bought “Walk Like An Egyptian” was my ex-boyfriend or a co-worker—especially since the latter uses an abstract image for his profile photo rather than a photo of himself.
The Apple spokesman said this first-name system was implemented to make Ping more personal.
As for the redesigned iPods, the Touch is remarkably thin, measuring just 0.28 inch deep. It costs $229 for an 8-gigabyte model; $299 for a 32-gigabyte; and $399 for the 64-gigabyte. This Touch now has the same sharp Retina Display screen as the iPhone 4, as well as two built-in cameras. FaceTime calls using the front-facing camera must be placed over Wi-Fi, using a dedicated FaceTime email address, since the Touch doesn’t have a phone number associated with it.
I brought my iPod Touch with me to the U.S. Open tennis tournament last weekend and used it to capture beautiful HD video footage of matches. I was impressed by the high quality audio captured in each video, enabled by a new omnidirectional microphone on the back of the iPod Touch that also captures sounds in front of the device. I accessed Ping from my iPod Touch, accepting Follow Requests and reading new posts from people and artists I follow.
The iPod Nano, which costs $149 for an 8-gigabyte model and $179 for a 16-gigabyte model, offers the most surprising redesign of the three new devices. This fifth-generation Nano is nearly half the size and weight of its predecessor. To achieve this, its hard buttons were exchanged for a smaller, square build and a multi-touch screen, which displays four icons at a time—like Artists, Genius Mixes, FM Radio and Photos.
To see other screens with more icons, swipe a finger from right to left, like on the iPhone. These icons can be rearranged, just as on the iPhone, by tapping and holding an icon until it jiggles, then moving the icon to wherever you want it.
I touched the Nano’s screen with two fingers and turned them, rotating the screen in all four directions, which comes in handy if you use the player’s built-in clip to attach it a sleeve or belt and want to look at its screen from an odd angle.
When a song plays, its album cover fills the Nano screen and looks a little like a colorful postage stamp clipped to you.
I especially liked flicking through photos on the Nano, double tapping to zoom in on images and moving the images around with one finger. The iPod Nano comes in seven colors and its battery lasts for 24 hours of music playback.
Apple’s $49 iPod Shuffle, which comes in five colors, holds 2 gigabytes and costs $10 less than its predecessor. It has hard buttons and a square shape again (the last model nixed both in favor of a smaller design). This Shuffle still offers VoiceOver announcements of song information and still has its signature clip, making it popular for running or working out.
Edited by Walter S. Mossberg. Write to Katherine Boehret at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:284f3474-07b8-4763-8327-c4c61a0f9b0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allthingsd.com/20100907/apple-ipod-lineup-2010-and-ping-review/?refcat=thedigitalsolution | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956226 | 1,583 | 1.609375 | 2 |
False. This is a misrepresentation of Marx' views based on an anachronistic view. In Marx' time opium was a pain-killer, Marx meant that religion reliefs pain of the capitalist system, he was not anti-religious.
Originally Posted by Valery Staricov
Incidentally, abortion was banned, and the rest of these social problems is just nonsense, you can not prove a causality.
[QUOTE=Valery Staricov;1061075780•Fifth forecast of Marx: prohibition of the bourgeois culture and ideology which, as if, justify the exploitation of man to man.
Results: It is the building of an ideological machine by deception for its own people, it is the establishing of censorship, it is low level and low quality of domestic culture. Talented artists were forced to emigrate, were expelled abroad, have been in prison, were brought to suicide, but mediocre artists edited their works huge circulations, which was difficult to sell. Thus, the disappearance of competition among Soviet artists had led to total
degradation of quality for their artistic works.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Valery Staricov;1061075780•Sixth forecast of Marx: It is dictatorship of the proletariat with subsequent death of State.
Results: It is the arbitrariness of the authorities and State terror against its own people. It is deliberate initiating of civil fratricidal war. It is prohibition of the opposition parties and the capital punishment of their members. Voting was open from 1918 to 1936. Elections become a farce gradually. Instead death of State it became by tyrannical and then oligarchic. Bodies of State terror have become State security organs, which change your title periodically ‐ VChK, GPU, MGB, and then the KGB. They can act contrary to law. Such functions have carried out “oprichniks” when tsar Ivan Grozny (“terrible”) was. Malyita Skuratov was personal hangman under Ivan Grozny. Start Bolshevik’s terror was one from causes of the civil war. Deputies of Constituent Assembly F. F. Kokoshkin and A. I. Shingarev were killed among the first, and nothing remembers even about such formality, as deputy immunity.[/QUOTE]
Dictatorship of the proletariat is not actually a dictatorship. Russia was only a DOTP in 1917, from then onwards this was abolished.
IF you look at Marx' description of the DOTP we see this was non-existent in the USSR.
Marx said that in a dictatorship of the proletariat, workers would have the right to recall and give mandates to public officials to guarantee a sort of grassroots democracy. Did was never implemented (only in 1917, but the Bolsheviks destroyed it in 191. He said public officials would receive an average wage, which was non-existent in the USSR.
He said money would be abolished, which was not introduced.
[QUOTE=Valery Staricov;1061075780• Seventh forecast of Marx: building a classless society.
Results: Classless society (communism) have left distant utopia, realty results were the destruction of many representatives of nobility, priests, rich peasants, Cossacks, the bourgeoisie and merchants, confiscation of property and State’s robbery under the Lenin’s slogan “It need to rob property which was robed!”. This robbery was accompanied by physical destruction and imprisonment by the representatives of these estates. This policy has resulted to destruction of private entrepreneurship, the disappearance of economic stimuluses to labour, to equality in poverty, economic ruin, because the organizers of a large production were destroyed or expelled from the country. The economic policy of military communism had replaced the market to direct distribution of products and clothing. But before it can distribute, first it need take away these products from peasants under threat of execution, but such an withdrawal has received a just resistance of peasants and it was one from causes of the civil war. This war continued until such time as Lenin replaced by food’s confiscation (“Prodrazvyorstka”) to food’s tax.
“Prodrazvyorstka” is state’s robbing of peasants without any norms and restrictions. Unlike “Prodrazvyorstka” , the size of the food’s tax was known in advance and was less than the size of “Prodrazvyorstka”. Lenin replaced the policy of military communism to policy NEP (New Economic Policy), that is he abolished the prohibition on petty trading, he entered the convertible currency – the Golden Russian chervonets, Lenin has allowed again that
enterprising man can become an employer (“nepman”). Stalin destroy HEP and repressed “nepmans”. As a result of all these cataclysms a new ruling layer (party “nomenclature”) appears.
Conclusion: As long there will be a division of public labour, such long society will be built at the social conflict and social control, until the classless society will remain a unrealizable utopia.
220.127.116.11. The conclusions from the Communist experiment:
Simplifying social structure is impossible. Religion, private property, market, state, laws, money, the separation of powers, democracy, a multi‐party system, the constitution, art competition, scientific discussion, the prison system, the army, law enforcement authorities, social control and social conflict are a great social inventions, which will die never and cannot be abolished without damage for society, and without just resistance of the population to this efforts of utopianists. Self‐ isolation of utopian State will leads to economic collapse inevitably.[/QUOTE]
All baseless declarative assumptions witout appreciating the vast complexity of this issue.
“Whoever lays his hand on me to govern me is a usurper and a tyrant, and I declare him my enemy.” | <urn:uuid:f22b494e-39ca-4b58-ac01-d603da007e8c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.politicalforum.com/political-science/240985-utopia-power-forecasts-results-communist-experiment.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958784 | 1,262 | 2.03125 | 2 |
What Are Honors Seminars?
Honors classes are intensive seminars focusing upon a problem or theme which is investigated and deconstructed from multiple perspectives. These courses utilize fundamental and provocative theories and experiments to help you come up with your own perspective on topics. Often, professors and the program supplement classroom education with out-of-class activities, such as trips or speakers. Honors students are held more personally responsible for their learning in these seminars.
Honors courses are divided into five categories: honors Ithaca seminars, honors special topics seminars, honors intermediate seminars, and honors senior seminars.
- Honors Ithaca seminars, worth four credits, are offered in the fall semester for first-year students, who are divided into sections. The sections meet together during a fourth hour for open discussion on a topic which varies from week to week.
- Honors special topics seminars carry between one and three credits and may be scheduled in blocks or over a whole semester. Some of these seminars may be set up around the visits of major scholars to campus, such as the Distinguished Speaker in the Humanities or the C.P. Snow Speaker, or they may focus on experiential or service learning. These seminars typically do not have general education designations.
- Honors intermediate seminars, worth three credits, are the backbone of the honors academic experience. These seminars are all inter- or multi-disciplinary, rely heavily on reading and discussion of primary sources, and aim at the provision of a highly enhanced experience in the liberal arts.
- Honors senior seminar, worth three credits, is taken during the seventh or eighth semester, and is a capstone course based on a relatively universal theme or issue.
Honors Ithaca seminars and honors intermediate seminars help to satisfy the general education requirements of the School of Humanities and Sciences as well as distribution requirements used in the professional schools.
Honors Courses for Non-Honors Students
Students not in the Ithaca College Honors Program may take honors seminars, provided that an opening in the section exists and permission is given by the instructor. Interested students should contact the honors program director. | <urn:uuid:c253e410-d383-4d7b-b68a-3dc13a8e4a80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ithaca.edu/hs/honors/program/seminars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946959 | 437 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Substance abuse greatly boosts the chances of violent behavior in healthy subjects, too, suggesting that drug use may be a much better predictor of violence than mental illness. What is more, proper treatment of mental illness can effectively eliminate the small risk of violent behavior posed by a grave disorder. In the MacArthur study, Steadman’s team found no difference in the prevalence of violence between the severely mentally ill who were on their medications and mentally healthy people, whereas unmedicated patients lashed out at significantly higher rates. Of course, sick individuals who stop taking their medications could represent more difficult cases. Nevertheless, these results suggest that improving adherence to treatment may lessen the chances that severely ill people will behave violently.
Victims, Not Perpetrators
The stereotype of the crazed individual killing multiple strangers in public simply does not hold up to scrutiny. Although some noteworthy tragedies fit this description, these instances are quite rare. In fact, given how few mentally ill people become violent, a person with a severe psychological disorder is more likely to be a victim than a perpetrator of violence.
Mentally ill people are victims in their own right. A severe psychiatric condition is a terrible burden, even without being treated with suspicion by the community. A widespread belief that the afflicted are violent contributes to the stigma of mental illness and as such may interfere with their seeking and obtaining appropriate assistance. Debunking this misconception will likely lead to progress in helping troubled individuals and, by making treatment more broadly accessible, greatly reduce the threat that a small number of these individuals may pose to society. | <urn:uuid:01b5f07b-1088-45e9-b9a9-3ecda5deed21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=deranged-and-dangerous&page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955273 | 315 | 3.0625 | 3 |
The more that time passes, the more we tend to forget the stark terror and horrible outcome of the terrorists attacks which killed so many, while at the same time awakened the nation to the worldwide terrorist threat.
The passing of time, however, doesn’t dim the memory of just how bad this attack was, how weak we felt in its aftermath and the extent to which we have gone after terrorists and international terrorism in the decade since.
We are a different nation today just as it is a different world today.
We have stemmed the terrorist tide – at least in as much as we have been able to make the nation secure from another September 11 style attack.
We again on this anniversary remember those from our communities who died as a result of the attacks. We remember them as Americans and as innocents and we take this anniversary as an opportunity to renew the pledge of never again.
Never again can we allow such a thing to happen.
Never again can we allow those determined to kill us to feel they are free to do so.
Remember the lessons of September 11, 2001.
Remember the dead. Praise the dead. Protect the living. | <urn:uuid:25aeac1b-2f8a-42c8-a470-a22f107c327c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://beaconhilltimes.com/2012/09/11/remembering-september-11-2001/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964686 | 236 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Here’s a design that would make all your environmentally conscious friends jealous. The AERO E harnesses the power of the wind to generate electricity, much like its larger wind turbine cousins you see out in the hills or the ones they’re experimenting with far out at sea.
The small wind turbine channels and captures the energy and wirelessly transfers it to a separate charging pad. The pad charges your device through induction and the sleek design shows no wires. The product looks very cool and anyone who wants to wow people with their “greenness” would be remiss not to have it.
The device would come with an app that lets you connect to the wind turbine and will tell you upcoming wind patterns and charge times. But like most concept designs, we may not be seeing this product in the mass market anytime soon.
[via Yanko Design] | <urn:uuid:386d4289-b48d-46d4-ae5d-73de01e61671> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.slashgear.com/harness-the-power-of-wind-with-the-aero-e-cellphone-charger-03137718/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958512 | 178 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Will my kids be taken away from me?
Get info on how to help children.
A website for children, created by Women's Aid.
Take a tour around a refuge.
"At least 750,000 children a year witness domestic violence. Nearly three quarters of children on the 'at risk' register live in households where domestic violence occurs" (Dept. of Health, 2002)
In 40 - 70% of cases where women are being abused, the children are also being directly abused themselves (Stark and Flitcraft,1996; Bowker et al., 1998.)
How are children affected by domestic violence ?
The majority of children witness the violence that is occurring, and in 90% of cases they are in the same or next room (Hughes, 1992). Children can 'witness' domestic violence in many different ways. For example, they may get caught in the middle of an incident in an effort to make the violence stop. They may be in the room next door and hear the abuse or see their mother's physical injuries following an incident of violence. They may be forced to stay in one room or may not be allowed to play. They may be forced to witness sexual abuse or they may be forced to take part in verbally abusing the victim. All children witnessing domestic violence are being emotionally abused.
Are the effects the same for every child?
Children can experience both short and long term cognitive, behavioural and emotional effects as a result of witnessing domestic abuse. Each child will respond differently to trauma and some may be resilient and not exhibit any negative effects.
Children's responses to the trauma of witnessing DV may vary according to a multitude of factors including, but not limited to, age, race, sex and stage of development. It is equally important to remember that these responses may also be caused by something other than witnessing domestic violence, and therefore a thorough assessment of a child's situation is vital.
Children are individuals and may respond to witnessing abuse in different ways. These are some of the effects described in a briefing by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2004):
- They may become anxious or depressed
- They may have difficulty sleeping
- They have nightmares or flashbacks
- They can be easily startled
- They may complain of physical symptoms such as tummy aches
- They may start to wet their bed
- They may have temper tantrums
- They may behave as though they are much younger than they are
- They may have problems with school
- They may become aggressive or they may internalise their distress and withdraw from other people
- They may have a lowered sense of self-worth
- Older children may begin to play truant or start to use alcohol or drugs
- They may begin to self-harm by taking overdoses or cutting themselves
- They may have an eating disorder
Children may also feel angry, guilty, insecure, alone, frightened, powerless or confused. They may have ambivalent feelings towards both the abuser and the non-abusing parent.
What's the legal definition of a child "at risk" in relation to domestic violence?
Children living in households where domestic violence is happening are now identified as "at risk" under the Adoption and Children Act 2002. From 31 January 2005, Section 120 of this act extended the legal definition of harming children to include harm suffered by seeing or hearing ill treatment of others. This would include witnessing domestic abuse
From 31 January 2005, Section 120 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 came into force, which extends the legal definition of harming children to include harm suffered by seeing or hearing ill treatment of others, especially in the home. See a complete overview of protection from domestic violence under civil law.
Do children grow up to be abusers and/or victims?
The 'cycle of violence' otherwise known as the 'intergenerational theory' is often referred to when considering the effects of domestic violence on children; however research findings are inconsistent, and there is no automatic cause and effect relationship.
We believe that this theory is disempowering and ineffective when working with children. A boy who has witnessed domestic violence does not have to grow up to be an abuser and a girl does not have to become a victim of domestic violence later in life. Educational programmes focusing on healthy relationships, and challenging gender inequality, sexual stereotyping, and domestic violence, should be integrated with work on anti-bullying and conflict resolution as a mandatory part of the PHSE curriculum in all schools. These would act as important preventive measures.
Abuse through child contact
Unfortunately, even after separating from their abusers, many mothers find it extremely difficult to protect their children from ongoing abuse as a result of their requirement to comply with contact orders made by the family courts. Women's Aid supports a child's right to safe contact, but recognises that contact with an abusing parent may not always be in a child's best interest. | <urn:uuid:910e87e5-f594-4c0e-9225-5ced1848a1e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic_violence_topic.asp?section=0001000100220002§ionTitle=Children | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968074 | 999 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Overview The canyon carved by Big Cottonwood Creek has produced some spectacular formations in the soft rock of the area. The creek is dry most of the time, so the bed is used for the Bison Trail, which runs about 3 miles from the parking area in Toadstool Geologic Park, through the upper reaches of the creek bed all the way to the Hudson-Meng area. Well past the midpoint of the trail, it crosses the divide between the White River and Cheyenne River watersheds, and drops into the upper reaches of Whitehead Creek. This is not very noticeable since it is so near the uppermost reaches of either stream bed and the terrain has evolved from deeper canyon to simple badlands. At the end of the trail, hikers have the option to scramble up the sides and hike a short distance over to the Hudson-Meng Bonebed, choose a jaunt over to Roundtop Peak, skirting Cedar Canyon, or head back to the trailhead.
Because of the badlands-type of terrain in this area, it remained relatively unscathed from the major forest fires that took out so many trees on nearby Roundtop Peak, Wright Peak, and Pine Butte.
Getting There To get to the trailhead at Toadstool Geologic Park, you can travel north from Crawford, Nebraska on Highway 71 just over 4 miles to Toadstool Road, then follow the road for about 14 mile to the park entrance road. Toadstool Road is all rough gravel road, and is difficult to travel on in rainy weather. Couple that with poor trail conditions when it is wet, and hiking the canyon in wet weather is not advisable.
When you arrive at the parking area of Toadstool Park, you will find an old sod house, some parking spots, and some camping spots. There are also two vault toilets there. Trail maps are posted, and some handout maps are often available.
Red TapeThere should be no red tape, so long as you just pay your user fee, which is small. Removing fossils from the park is illegal, so keep that in mind while hiking. All campground regulations are posted. Trails are off-limits overnight.
Camping There is no water at the Toadstool Park Campground, due to a shallow, mineral-laden aquifer. So, if you prefer a campground with more conveniences, here are some links to more camping resources in the region:
Crawford Nebraska Chamber of Commerce
Fort Robinson Information
Fort Robinson State Park
Chadron Nebraska Chamber of Commerce
Chadron State Park
Resource LinksToadstool Park Information
SafetyThere are some hazards for hiking the canyon, but none so serious that caution and planning should not circumvent. Hiking the canyon in warm weather can rapidly dehydrate a hiker, so pack plenty of water. Rattlesnakes are occasionally seen, especially in early morning and in evening hours. If you get off in brushy or grassy areas, bear in mind the abundance of ticks in the area, from March through August. Crossing the tracks into Toadstool Park, requires one to be aware of the frequent trains passing through the area, often every 7 minutes. And, as previously mentioned, rain messes with the roads and trails. If you go out on the trail anyway, be prepared for slippery footing, and in some short stretches, sand and mud with the consistency of quicksand. | <urn:uuid:476005be-fe6a-44bc-83e8-73b224cddd2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.summitpost.org/big-cottonwood-creek-canyon/471420 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941023 | 702 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Climategate: Mad Sunday
I mean "Mad" in a good way. This was the day when so many wheels came off Al Gore's AGW gravy train and flew off in so many different directions, it was all but impossible to keep track of them.
The most important is a claim that global warming could cut rain-fed north African crop production by up to 50% by 2020, a remarkably short time for such a dramatic change. The claim has been quoted in speeches by Rajendra Pachauri, the IPCC chairman, and by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general.
This weekend Professor Chris Field, the new lead author of the IPCC’s climate impacts team, told The Sunday Times that he could find nothing in the report to support the claim. The revelation follows the IPCC’s retraction of a claim that the Himalayan glaciers might all melt by 2035.
The African claims could be even more embarrassing for the IPCC because they appear not only in its report on climate change impacts but, unlike the glaciers claim, are also repeated in its Synthesis Report.
The Sunday Express splashed on a fantastic story which many of you have urging me to write up for days, about the BBC pension fund's massive exposure to carbon trading interests. (Sorry for not having done so; wish I had now but I've been a bit ill/distracted/busy having a go at Geoffrey Lean) Anyway, here's the gist:
The corporation is under investigation after being inundated with complaints that its editorial coverage of climate change is biased in favour of those who say it is a man-made phenomenon. The £8 billion pension fund is likely to come under close scrutiny over its commitment to promote a low-carbon economy while struggling to reverse an estimated £2 billion deficit.
Truly, though we've been more spoiled this weekend than guests at the Ambassador's Ferrero Rocher reception.The excellent Philip Stott offers a fine summary.
And if you have time, do spare a moment to enjoy the slowly-removes-glasses, draws-despairing-hand-across-forehead rage of the Observer's science editor Robin McKie.
Why is it that the phrase Der Krieg Ist Verloren comes to mind?
Radio Free Delingpole: Zombies, liberals and fundamentalists
May 23rd, 2013 8:33
Climate change caused the Oklahoma tornado? Crikey, these people are getting desperate!
May 22nd, 2013 15:46
Bees, pesticides, more green lies
May 20th, 2013 9:00
BBC treats Right-wing lunatic like normal human being shock
May 19th, 2013 12:45
Nadine Dorries wants to be the first joint Ukip/Conservative candidate: good idea
May 15th, 2013 17:07 | <urn:uuid:1949da2c-cc7f-4906-a92f-53e40cfaea47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100025341/climategate-mad-sunday/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936827 | 584 | 1.539063 | 2 |
PSR senior scientist educates on coal in Michigan
PSR board member Alan Lockwood, MD FAAN, will be speaking
across Michigan on the dangers to health posed by coal-fired power plants. His tour will include a Grand Rounds
presentation at a hospital in Lansing; a meeting with student anti-coal
activists at Michigan State University; a reception with PSR members in Ann
Arbor, and face-to-face meetings with three newspaper editorial boards. Dr. Lockwood is the lead author of PSR's
report, Coal’s Assault on Human Health.
Read more »
Tar Sands Pipeline Protest at the White House
executive director, Peter Wilk, MD, will address an estimated 10,000 people outside
the White House on Sunday as we urge President Obama: Don't build the
Keystone XL Pipeline. The proposed
pipeline would carry tar sands oil across 1,500 miles of American heartland, extending
the threat of oil spills and increasing world reliance on fossil fuels, thus greatly
increasing the threat of irreversible climate change.
Learn more »
We had a great time at APHA!
Board leaders, members, and professional staff had a wonderful time at
this year’s American Public Health Association (APHA) conference in DC.
We collected over 400 names of potential new members at our booth in the exhibit hall. We participated in a wide variety of sessions on our key public policy issues. And, we were thrilled to have two of our own recognized for their exceptional work. Dr. Jack Geiger was awarded for his ground breaking work, his vision, and his life-long commitment to physician activism. Dr. Howard Hu received the prestigious APHA Award for Excellence.
Health hazards of fragrances
the aisle of your local drug store, and you’ll find dozens of fragranced
products – soaps, shampoos, perfumes, lipsticks, cleaning products, air
fresheners, candles, even toys – all designed to make you like them. The
complex, proprietary mix of chemicals that make up those fragrances can do more
than just appeal to your senses, however. They
can also affect your health, like other synthetic, industrial chemicals.
Learn more about fragrances and your health in the latest Environmental Health Policy
An Occasion to Honor H. Jack Geiger, M.D.
A packed room at the annual meeting of the American Public
Health Association listened to dozens of tributes, words of gratitude and
heartfelt admiration for Dr. Jack Geiger, a founding member of PSR who has
dedicated his life to combating poverty and racism, protecting human rights,
and preventing war. Beloved as a teacher and mentor, Dr. Geiger has
inspired generations of physicians to have the courage to right the world’s
wrongs. PSR thanks Dr. Geiger for his vision in helping found our
organization and for his belief that we can all work for a safer, more peaceful
and just world.
Wisconsin Medical Students Screen Tar Sands Documentary
University of Wisconsin Student PSR hosted a screening of Downstream, a compelling account of physician Dr. John O'Connor's efforts to
sound the alarm about the health and environmental damage suffered by a small
community near the Canadian tar sands. The short film illustrates the risks and benefits of patient
advocacy as a health provider. Wisconsin medical students Joel Charles and
Jasmine Wiley organized the event.
Watch the 33-minute video here »
California Medical Association Calls for Safety Assessments for Nuclear Reactors
A new resolution passed by the California Medical Association calls on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to implement the safety recommendations of the Fukushima Task Force, and also calls for an assessment of seismic risk for new nuclear reactors before licensing. PSR Board member Dr. Robert Gould co-authored the resolution. With PSR support, the CMA also passed several resolutions
calling for health protective regulation of food marketing to children,
agricultural practices, nanoparticles and for the banning of triclosan from consumer and health care products.
Read the resolutions »
To President Obama: Time to ban nuclear weapons testing now!
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is an essential treaty on
our path to nuclear abolition. An international consensus against nuclear
weapons testing will aid global disarmament efforts by restricting one of the
most dangerous practices used for modernizing or developing a nuclear
program. Our hope is that the CTBT will help build on the recent surge of
international attention given to the continued risk posed by these weapons.
President Obama has expressed his support for the CTBT, however, we must push
him and Congress to ensure that this treaty is successfully ratified. Sign our CTBT petition today!
Read more »
PSR Past Presidents build case for cuts in nukes in key states
Dr. Ira Helfand and Dr. Jeff Patterson, past PSR Presidents,
travelled to Kansas City and Los Angeles respectively to build support for
nuclear weapons abolition in the face of the upcoming budget debate in
Congress. Both speakers addressed activists, concerned citizens, and students
as part of speaker tours that are occurring across the country this Fall. PSR's
medical voice on the case for nuclear disarmament is essential as we press for implementation of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
Read more »
San Clemente Calls for Greater Restrictions on San Onofre Reactor
PSR’s Dr. William Perkins was among the experts testifying
before the San Clemente City Council earlier this month raising concerns about
the public health risks associated with the San Onofre nuclear reactor. Dr. Perkins' presentation
focused on the health effects of radiation exposure in the event of a nuclear
accident. The City Council later voted 5-0 to call on the federal government to
develop a plan for dealing with spent fuel, improved evacuation plans, and
other measures to protect the public.
Honoring Jack Geiger, M.D. at APHA
Join PSR as we attend a special session celebrating Jack
Geiger’s lifelong work as a
physician–activist combating poverty and racism, protecting human
rights, and preventing war. A founding member of PSR, Dr. Geiger
co-authored in 1961 the series of articles on “The Medical Consequences of
Thermonuclear War” in the New England Journal of Medicine. Sun.,
Oct. 30, 2:30 to 4:30 PM at the Washington Convention Center, Room 101,
Read Dr. Geiger’s comments on the occasion of PSR’s 50th Anniversary.
Northern California Welcomes Dr. Vic Sidel
As part of his Northern California speaking tour, Dr. Vic Sidel, Distinguished University Professor
of Social Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of
Medicine, spoke to medical students and faculty at the University of
California-Davis and University of California-San Francisco about the health
effects of war, his work for nuclear disarmament, and the 50-year history of PSR. At the UC-Davis event,
Dr. Claire Pomeroy, dean of the medical school, introduced Dr. Sidel and lauded
him for inspiring generations of students to work for peace and justice.
Read more »
Dr. Ira Helfand speaks to Kansas City residents on urgent need for nuclear abolition
Dr. Ira Helfand, past PSR President, was in Kansas City to address the upcoming nuclear weapons budget debate
and the opposition to the Kansas City Nuclear Weapons Plant. Dr. Helfand debated a proponent of the Kansas City Plant on Sunday,
October 9th. He also addressed students and a
religious congregation as part of the Nuclear Disarmament speaking tour.
Learn more »
Environmental Justice and Toxic Chemical Exposures
living surrounded by chrome plating facilities, lead smelters, and plastics-
and pesticide-manufacturing facilities," writes Martha Dina Arguello, Executive
Director of LA-PSR. "On some days the fetid stench from the local rendering
plant is so pervasive that long-term residents no longer notice it. That is the area where my
family lives." Read how she and other environmental justice leaders address
socioeconomic disparities in toxic chemical exposures in the latest Environmental
Health Policy Institute.
Read more »
A rare moment of opportunity to cut nukes!
Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) is circulating a “Dear Colleague Letter” to
other Representatives asking Congress to make $200 billion in cuts to the
nuclear weapons budget over 10 years. These cuts would achieve much-needed reductions
in our current bloated nuclear arsenal. By taking this action, our nation would
also send a positive message to the international community and thus advance
future disarmament agreements. Please take a
moment to contact your Representative now, asking them to sign on to Rep.
Learn more »
PSR: Delay of Clean Air Regulations Creates Public Health Risks
Executive Director Peter Wilk, MD urged lawmakers to
protect the health of all Americans by preserving regulations that reduce
mercury and other pollutants in the air. Speaking
at a September 21 press conference with the Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee, Dr. Wilk related the impacts of
air pollution on the cardiovascular system,
lungs and brain, and called on the Senate to reject regressive proposals
such as the TRAIN Act and other legislation which
would severely undermine public health protections.
Read Dr. Wilk's testimony »
Collaborating for a Stronger PSR
Eighteen chapter leaders gathered in Chicago last September for a dynamic two days of networking, strategizing and learning. Joined by national staff and meeting under the banner “Collaborating for a Stronger PSR,” the leaders focused on improving their recruitment of health professionals, building membership and tapping the talents of others in the network. The group welcomed several new faces, including two executive directors.
Runaway TRAIN: Congress launches another attack on clean air
A new bill under consideration by Congress would
severely weaken the Clean Air Act. The
so-called "TRAIN Act" would not only delay action on cleaning the air; it could
also block permanently two vital Clean Air rules – one on mercury and air
toxics, the other on airborne pollutants that cross state lines. If enacted into law, the Act is expected to
result in an estimated 34,000 premature deaths every year. Those deaths would be avoided if the rules
were implemented as proposed.
Read more »
The Dark Side of Nuclear Power
Many feel that we need
nuclear power to get away from fossil fuels and others think that there
is a better way. September 14, 2011 Eric Epstein, Chairman of Three Mile Alert presented "Dark Side of Nuclear Power" answered questions at our Chapter
meeting at the Polyclinic Cafeteria.
Faze out Dirty Coal and Use Clean Technology
Coal and oil companies continue to pound us in the media stating that fossil fuels must be increasingly used and give very little support to the clean alternative sources. They ignore the true costs to our environment and health. In June, Dr. Jim Jones penned a letter to the editor discussing the hazards and expenses of their use.
Read more » | <urn:uuid:70929654-c7ac-4021-b5ef-a1998369241b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.psr.org/news-events/homepage-story-archive.html?page=8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922488 | 2,366 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The actual abstract is in the conference schedule, so this is a more informal description of my paper/ research.
I am not a technologist! Feels a little like I should make that clear - what I AM is extremely interested and excited in the possibilities technology make possible in learning and teaching. This paper explores a case study based on my own ICT learning and teaching module, part of a second year module on a BA Education Studies programme. We have changed the module in the last 18 months to try and give creative opportunity for students to develop their own uses of technology, it's potential and it's affordances.
The students are NOT expected to have any technology expertise, but are asked to come to the project with an open mind, be willing to research what technology can do to enhance learning experiences, and to use an blended online and class based collaboration to make their projects come to life.
Why University of the Forest? We started the project with a partnership with a charity that is based in a forest based residential educational facility in Lancashire, England. This proved an exciting venue to hold our first few sessions to explore how we could use technology to enhance what could happen in a clearly 'non-tech' environment. The students used this basis to think what they could do, and the research followed the decisions they made, and the ways in which their ideas and visions were shaped, promoted (and thwarted!) by technology and their uses of it.
It is hoped that this presentation will offer an appraisal of how those charged with taking forward the agenda of change (the students generally hope to work as teachers/ educationalists) experience the uses of technology when designing, creating and delivering learning opportunities.
13th–14th June 2012 | <urn:uuid:a8c1b684-0051-4224-9c22-0eb9d1b8f2ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lanyrd.com/2012/solstice2012/schedule/?coverage=liveblogs&day=jun-14 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969689 | 351 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Rising to the Top
TechnoServe helps Nicaraguan dairy farmers to capitalize on a growing export market.
Hundreds of thousands of poor rural residents depend on the Nicaraguan dairy industry for their livelihoods. But low-quality milk and limited marketing and management skills prevent many of the businesses in this sector from gaining access to good markets. The San Francisco de Asís dairy farmer cooperative wanted to overcome these challenges in order to capitalize on growing export opportunities. So in 2003 it turned to TechnoServe.
With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, TechnoServe helped redesign the cooperative's milk processing plant, introducing production and hygiene best practices to enable it to produce export-quality cheeses. TechnoServe business advisors also trained cooperative members in modern accounting, management and marketing practices, such as branding and connecting with new buyers. Within two years, their sales grew by 30 percent, and they became one of the most competitive dairy producers in Nicaragua.
"TechnoServe is helping us become the best," says Antonio Granjo, a cooperative founding member.
In 2006, TechnoServe also helped the cooperative build institutional capacity, improving its administrative processes and upgrading its accounting systems. Thanks to that, its higher-quality products, and an export strategy developed by TechnoServe, San Francisco de Asís is now exporting half of its cheese and has become the principal Nicaraguan dairy exporter to the United States. Its sales of cheese to the U.S. have grown from $75,000 to $1.4 million per year.
TechnoServe has now stepped back, and the dairy farmers are showing that they can compete in the export market on their own.
"I have financial stability and have gone from being a small producer without a future to a prosperous dairy farmer," Granjo says.
This has benefited not only the 400 farmers who supply the cooperative with milk, but also the wider community. "We have provided scholarships for students and improved health centers," says Denis Rivera, the cooperative general manager. The cooperative also arranged for the installation of additional power lines and roads in the area. "We look after our community," Rivera says. | <urn:uuid:09662198-7123-4916-b972-4558cfbbf9a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.technoserve.org/our-work/stories/rising-to-the-top | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96615 | 439 | 1.578125 | 2 |
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by Jim Patterson | Posted on Friday, Aug. 26, 2011 — 4:46 PM
Patrick Fischer, who helped build the Department of Computer Science at Vanderbilt University, died Aug. 26 in hospice care in Montgomery County, Md. He was 75.
An expert in informational systems for education institutions, computational complexity and interactive database systems, Fischer taught 18 years at Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering beginning in 1980 and served as chair of the computer science department for 15 of those years.
“Patrick was a leader in the computer science community for his work on database theory,” said Larry Dowdy, professor of computer science and computer engineering. “At Vanderbilt, he played a key role in the computer science program during its infancy. He worked passionately to build a first-rate program, one balanced between excellence in research and excellence in the classroom.”
Fischer deftly adjusted teaching methods in the department to dramatic industry and educational innovations during his tenure.
“Traditional classroom methods don’t work as well anymore,” he told the Vanderbilt Register in 1995. “Students are used to multimedia, so blackboard lectures have become boring.”
Fischer was periodically in the news as one of the early targets of terrorist Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber. On May 5, 1982, a package exploded in the hands of Fischer’s secretary. She was hospitalized for three weeks with powder burns and cuts to her chest, arms and hands.
Fischer was at a conference in Puerto Rico the day of the incident. He was interviewed by many news outlets over the years about the Unabomber, including The New York Times and CBS News.
Fischer said he had never met Kaczynski, but it’s possible they had crossed paths during their college years.
“The thing is: Yes, we know a lot of the same people,” Fischer told the Dallas Morning News in 1996. “But I don’t think I know him directly. I didn’t recognize the face, either the shaven face or the bearded face. I don’t recognize the name at all.”
Although Kaczynski was captured and jailed in 1996, he was never convicted of the Vanderbilt explosion because of a five-year statute of limitations for prosecuting a bombing in which no one was killed.
Born in St Louis, Fischer grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich., and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1957. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He held faculty positions at Harvard, Cornell, Waterloo and Pennsylvania State University before his arrival at Vanderbilt. He was named professor of computer science, emeritus, effective December 1997.
With his wife, Charlotte Froese Fischer, professor of computer science, emerita, at Vanderbilt, he established the Patrick and Charlotte Fischer Computer Science Scholarship in the School of Engineering. The funds support undergraduate study in computer science at Vanderbilt.
In addition to his wife, survivors include their daughter, Carolyn Fischer, and a son by a previous marriage, Carl Perry Fischer.
Funeral arrangements were pending. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the following organizations:
Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
There are lots of ways to keep up with Vanderbilt. Choose your preferred method: | <urn:uuid:0788f15d-3bbd-4a3e-a9ea-b2fc18f036ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2011/08/patrick-fischer-former-engineering-chair-dies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969899 | 696 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Quaint and bizarre English Pub Names and the tales behind them:
Lord Moon of the Mall, Queens Head & Artichoke, Pig & Whistle, Olde Trip to Jerusalem and Mad Bishop & Bear – When travelling around England, one of the things that will certainly grab your attention is the unusual names of its pubs – some are quaint, some are amusing and others are just plain bizarre!
Having a pint or two at the local watering hole is a very English way of life and there are literally thousands of pubs in England, yet the majority of them have names that are quite original. Pub names like these must have some intriguing stories to tell as not even the most creative copywriter could come up with such unique names.
About The Widow’s Son
On Devon Road in Bow, which is in the East End of London, there is a Victorian pub called The Widow’s Son. This sad name has an equally sad story behind it. The Widow’s Son was built in 1848 on the site that was formerly occupied by a poor widow’s cottage. The widow had an only son who was a sailor. She baked some hot cross buns for him on Good Friday, expecting that he would return at or soon after Easter. According to folklore, it was believed that buns baked on Good Friday would not deteriorate and the widow obviously followed this belief. When her son failed to return, she hung the buns from the net of the ceiling of her cottage, and year after year she repeated the action, and continued to do so until her death.
Bun Day and a Naval Tradition
When the pub was built where the widow’s cottage once stood, it was named “The Widow’s Son” due to the popularity and fame of the story locally. Some locals also refer to it as The Bun House. Not only was the pub named in commemoration of the widow and her son, but it has also started a little piece of naval tradition in recent times. Every Good Friday a Royal Navy sailor would present a new bun to the pub for inclusion in the net. The custom developed over the last few years, with sailors visiting on the Bun Day to pay their respects. Of course, whilst they were there, they had a drink, or two, to the memory of the lost mariner and this was accompanied by a sing-a-song or two. These days a sailor’s hat is also presented to the pub in addition to the bun.
As with most fork-lore and ancient customs, there is little to prove the veracity of the story and a glance at the net of ancient and blackened buns hanging from the pub ceiling gives the lie to the Good Friday bun-baking belief. Nevertheless the tradition has been embraced by the locals and the navy as it symbolizes for all the dangers of the sea and the bond between sailors and those whom they leave behind.
If you’re in London or planning a trip to London, call in at The Widow’s Son and check out the hot cross buns.Please share your thoughts on this by posting a comment below. | <urn:uuid:2d7b9591-2a23-4006-8e51-652edc066cae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travelsignposts.com/England/sightseeing/english-traditional-pubs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979166 | 646 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Its a norm for business owners to painstakingly work to generate traffic to keep visitors coming back. Producing a copy in the web is crucial since you want your viewers to understand what youre trying to convey. Since you dont have the luxury of time to do this, you must use short but powerful sentences.
One of the most celebrated minimalist writers is Ernest Hemmingway. He was so dense on writing flowery adjective and gets straight to the point. The finest demonstration of his intellect is when he was challenged to write an entire story and he wrote it in just 6 words. He wrote: For sale baby shoes never used. And one of his tips to write effectively is to write in short sentences. To help you more, here are some tips to guide you in doing your copy.
Longer sentences will bore readers so maintain directness through short paragraphs. The average length of your short sentence must not exceed 23 25 words. The average reduction of sentences on English prose during Elizabethan times to 19th century is to 2/3. This trend still continues although in a slower phase.
Always remember that readers easily get tired on what theyre reading; short sentences are sufficient on themselves. Avoid being stuffy so that sentences will be easier to read. Most letters can be lessened and can still express the same thing. Since fuzzy words hinder clarity and make your copy difficult to understand and read, trim unessential terms on your writing. It will be good to spend a minute to organize complex details and minimize lengthy sentences.
Manage sentence length by looking into the number of lines on each sentence. A line of an average handwriting or typewritten line consists of 10 12 words on the average. Maintain varied sentence lengths but be wary of those which run more than 2 lines. Short sentences between longer ones can break up your copy and can present a chatty style of writing. This will also help you vary your copys pace and can hold the readers interest.
To have short sentences, use shorter words. This is the rule that is oftentimes being violated. Writers use 3 words when only 1 can explain it. Writers cannot avoid the use of 4-syllable words. Saxon words are shorter and can be a replacement to multi-syllable Latin words. Instead of using use and change, utilize and modify has commonly been used. Complicating a sentence is more of a habit which is too hard to overcome since people are unconsciously doing it.
You can also try numbered points or tick bullets. Tick bullets are more eye-catching than bullet points and can present only the most important terms on the sentences. This can thus appear only as checklist. Numbered points are also effective and serve as an introduction.
Use simple tense and avoid complicated syntax. Phrases which use future tense will let the readers read slower and tend to feel clunky. Pretend youre writing as an English learner and avoid using continuous past tense and sophisticated grammar structures.
Make sure that your copy is simple yet understandable and this will be done by using shorter sentences. Your aim must be to keep control of your readers so that they will not switch off you. Always aim to produce a copy that conveys your message clearly to entice the readers. Use powerful short sentences and watch the success of your site from now on. | <urn:uuid:6822c019-64ea-4089-bc20-2120fd148c7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marketinginfohere.com/2012/06/01/?lang=mt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961383 | 673 | 2.65625 | 3 |
It is important to get regular check-ups in all ages but especially as we approach our thirties. Our bodies are changing more than ever i believe in our thirties. Last week, we spoke about the importance of bone health. This week we will look at getting regular checkups to monitor blood pressure, cholesterol and other vital signs to maintain a healthy body and life.
If we are able to deal with problems like diabetes, high cholesterol, cancers, or high blood pressure early then treatment is most effective and less damaging to the body. We need to encourage each other to get regular annual check-ups for everything. From the external to the internal parts of our bodies.
I believe that a regular annual check up saved my life. If i had not gone in for my annual check-up, i wouldn't have found out that i had a lump in my thyroid that were cancerous. Going in for a check up was an early preventative measure for me. They were able to remove the cancer and now i am living my life, without a thyroid, but i am healthy and alive!
Ladies, we never really what is going on in our bodies hence why we need to get our regular check-ups!
Confess ladies, when was the last time you went in a for a medical check-up?
If not recently, please schedule one TODAY! | <urn:uuid:af763360-e5d2-48de-94b1-df33fb17a263> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://confessionsof30something.blogspot.com/2011_07_15_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974724 | 281 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Sep 3 2012
Paralympic swimming champion Ellie Simmonds is back in the water today as she tries to win her second gold of the London 2012 Paralympics.
Simmonds, 17, who has dwarfism, starts her campaign for the SM6 200m individual medley at the aquatics centre facing strong opposition.
Simmonds, at two-time gold medal winner from the Beijing Games at the age of 13, is in a heat with ParalympicsGB team mates including Natalie Jones, 27, the bronze medallist in the event from Beijing 2008 and Liz Johnson, 26.
Johnson, who took the oath on behalf of all athletes at the Paralympic opening ceremony, is one of Britain's most successful Paralympic swimmers. She won gold in the SB6 100m breaststroke at the Beijing Paralympics.
Her appearance comes as the nation embraces the Games, which are expected to welcome their one millionth visitor on Tuesday
Record TV audiences have prompted Channel 4 to clear its day-time schedule to boost coverage.
Nearly three million people tuned in on Saturday night to see 17-year-old darling of the pool Ellie Simmonds smash the world record to win gold in a sensational 400m freestyle race.
Around 10,000 extra tickets are being bought every day as soon as they go on sale, as Paralympic venues experience unprecedented numbers of visitors.
"The whole of the UK has taken the Games to its heart," a Locog spokesman said. "As soon as tickets have been released, they have been snapped up."
Britain's Paralympians are well ahead of schedule in the targeted medal tally of 103 - having almost reached the half-way point after just four days. | <urn:uuid:44e47a49-b48e-4e2d-bc90-2eb615cb38af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.harrowobserver.co.uk/west-london-sport/world-uk-sport/2012/09/03/simmonds-goes-for-second-gold-116451-31753821/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97225 | 354 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The first part of Joan Didion's The White Album begins with a very personal note on the nature of stories. As the author states that she will explore a time when she "began to doubt the premises of all the stories I ever told myself," the reader prepares for a painstaking confession of personal anecdotes and how they drove her to this state of turmoil. Instead she gives us a surprising mélange that seems at times brilliant, and at others, downright pointless. She effectively uses quotations, short and long, as almost primary sources in order to put the reader next to her as she experiences these events. She reveals one of her many grocery lists and then goes on to analyze it:
It should be clear that this was a list made by someone who prized control, yearned after momentum, someone determined to play her role as if she had the script, heard her cues, knew the narrative.
One the most exciting passages in the story is a sample of a psychiatric report on the author herself:
The content of patient's responses is highly unconventional and frequently bizarre, filled with sexual and anatomical preoccupations, and basic reality contact is obviously and seriously impaired at times… It is as though she feels deeply that all human effort is foredoomed a failure… In her view she lives in a world of people moved by strange, conflicted, poorly comprehended, and, above all, devious motivations which commit them inevitably to conflict and failure…
After some digestion, the report appears to be a refreshing addition to Didion's literary palette. However, it also leaves the reader wondering what to make of it when juxtaposed with the author's personal ramblings and sections on rock bands and civil rights leaders in which she seems almost entirely absent. In displaying the report, is Didion attempting to add an objective side to an otherwise subjective narrative? How does the description of near-insanity in the report affect the reader's interpretation of Didion's own clear and seemingly sane writing?
This book must be read in sections and the separate messages become clear only when viewed individually. After a disturbing and engaging composition like "The White Album," I found myself craving more excursions into the author's mind, and stories like "James Pike, American" and "Holy Water" seemed entirely pointless and unappealing. In these less outwardly personal accounts, the reporter in Didion triumphs and she seems to inadvertently create a triangle of alienation between author, reader, and text. The use of quotations in these stories is distancing rather than inviting and seems employed to mask the author's own feelings on the topic of discussion. Is this brand of non-fiction inherently distancing, or is it simply Didion's style that forces us to read between the text to find her more deep-seeded opinions? Is it opinions we crave, or simply a good story?
Didion, Joan. The White Album. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1990.
Last modified 1 February 2005 | <urn:uuid:1a76219a-58f0-4716-9e8e-7b3b2a87e700> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.victorianweb.org/courses/nonfiction/didion/nasaw1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966735 | 611 | 1.59375 | 2 |
DUBLIN (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's bond-buying scheme shows the bank's determination to preserve the euro but will not by itself restore debt spreads to pre-crisis levels, the head of Ireland's central bank said on Thursday.
ECB President Mario Draghi said in September the bank was ready to buy unlimited amounts of bonds focused on maturities of one to three years of countries that requested a European bailout and met strict conditions.
The plan has yet to be triggered and Spain, seen as most likely to make first use of the measure, last month asked for assurances that intervention under the program would bring its debt yields down.
"The ECB has made clear its determination to do what is necessary to preserve the euro. The OMT (Outright Monetary Transactions scheme) provides the necessary tools to deliver on that commitment," Patrick Honohan, Ireland's representative on the ECB board, said.
"Still, it is not to be expected that the OMT will by itself restore the tight uniformity of spreads that prevailed for the first decade of the euro," he added in the text of speech to be delivered in Basel, Switzerland.
Honohan's comments echo remarks by fellow ECB policymaker Benoit Coeure, who said in December that the aim of the scheme was not to eliminate the premium over German Bunds that euro zone governments pay to borrow on the market.
Spain, which said on Tuesday its gross bond issuance target for 2013 was 121.3 billion euros - up 7.6 percent on last year - has seen the yields on its 10-year government debt fall to 5.09 percent since Draghi announced the new initiative.
That is still higher than bailed-out Ireland whose comparable debt trades at 4.43 percent, a level Honohan said that was a poor return for the sizable budget adjustments Dublin has made since its "relatively extreme" financial crisis began.
Ireland, which is looking to raise around 2 billion euros in its first debt sale of 2013 on Tuesday, has made spending cuts and tax hikes equivalent to 18 percent of annual output since 2008.
"Irish sovereign spreads may no longer be bloated by redenomination risk, but at 300 basis points at the long end, they do seem to reflect a credit risk premium that is poor reward, so far, for what has been a sizable fiscal adjustment effort," he said.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by John Stonestreet)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp | <urn:uuid:fca94918-3625-474e-bfd8-2a8b005d2801> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50395241/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966634 | 530 | 1.507813 | 2 |
|United Methodist beliefs and practices are based firmly on the revealed word of God, the Holy Bible. We practice what is called the "Wesleyan Quadrilateral" as we form our Christianity on the Scriptures interpreted by tradition, reason and experience. |
|Here at Krum UMC, we preach and teach the Holy Scriptures boldly and with humility. We affirm the historic doctrines of the church, including the following, as stated in The Book of Discipline, 2008: |
- With Christians of other communions we confess belief in the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This confession embraces the biblical witness to God's activity in creation, encompasses God's gracious self-involvement in the dramas of history, and anticipates the consummation of God's reign.
- The created order is designed for the well-being of all creatures and as the place of human dwelling in covenant with God. As sinful creatures, however, we have broken that covenant, become estranged from God, wounded ourselves and one another, and wreaked havoc throughout the natural order. We stand in need of redemption.
- We hold in common with all Christians a faith in the mystery of salvation in and through Jesus Christ. At the heart of the gospel of salvation is God's incarnation in Jesus of Nazareth. Scripture witnesses to the redeeming love of God in Jesus' life and teachings, his atoning death, his resurrection, his sovereign presence in history, his triumph over the powers of evil and death, and his promised return. Because God truly loves us in spite of our willful sin, God judges us, summons us to repentance, pardons us, receives us by that grace given to us in Jesus Christ, and gives us hope of life eternal/
- We share the Christian belief that God's redemptive love is realized in human life by the activity of the Holy Spirit, both in personal experience and in the community of believers. This community is the church, which the Spirit has brought into existence for the healing of the nations.
- Through faith in Jesus Christ we are forgiven, reconciled to God, and transformed as people of the new covenant.
- “Life in the Spirit” involves diligent use of the means of grace such as praying, fasting, attending upon the sacraments, and inward searching in solitude. It also encompasses the communal life of the church in worship, mission, evangelism, service, and social witness.
- We understand ourselves to be part of Christ's universal church when by adoration, proclamation, and service we become conformed to Christ. We are initiated and incorporated into this community of faith by Baptism, receiving the promise of the Spirit that re-creates and transforms us. Through the regular celebration of Holy Communion, we participate in the risen presence of Jesus Christ and are thereby nourished for faithful discipleship.
- We pray and work for the coming of God's realm and reign to the world and rejoice in the promise of everlasting life that overcomes death and the forces of evil.
- With other Christians we recognize that the reign of God is both a present and future reality. The church is called to be that place where the first signs of the reign of God are identified and acknowledged in the world. Wherever persons are being made new creatures in Christ, wherever the insights and resources of the gospel are brought to bear on the life of the world, God's reign is already effective in its healing and renewing power.
- We also look to the end time in which God's work will be fulfilled. This prospect gives us hope in our present actions as individuals and as the Church. This expectation saves us from resignation and motivates our continuing witness and service.
- We share with many Christian communions a recognition of the authority of Scripture in matters of faith, the confession that our justification as sinners is by grace through faith, and the sober realization that the church is in need of continual reformation and renewal.
- We affirm the general ministry of all baptized Christians who share responsibility for building up the church and reaching out in mission and service to the world.
- With other Christians, we declare the essential oneness of the church in Christ Jesus. This rich heritage of shared Christian belief finds expression in our hymnody and liturgies. Our unity is affirmed in the historic creeds as we confess one holy, catholic, and apostolic church. It is also experienced in joint ventures of ministry and in various forms of ecumenical cooperation.
- Nourished by common roots of this shared Christian heritage, the branches of Christ's church have developed diverse traditions that enlarge our store of shared understandings. Our avowed ecumenical commitment as United Methodists is to gather our own doctrinal emphases into the larger Christian unity, there to be made more meaningful in a richer whole.
- If we are to offer our best gifts to the common Christian treasury, we must make a deliberate effort as a church to strive for critical self-understanding. It is as Christians involved in ecumenical partnership that we embrace and examine our distinctive heritage.
- We share the Christian belief that God's redemptive love is realized in human life by the activity of the Holy Spirit, both in personal experience and in the community of believers. This community is the church, which the Spirit has brought into existence for the healing of the nations. If we are to offer our best gifts to the common Christian treasury, we must make a deliberate effort as a church to strive for critical self-understanding. It is as Christians involved in ecumenical partnership that we embrace and examine our distinctive heritage.
Here are some of the ways FIRST UNITED METHODIST of KRUM embraces the community:
- During the 1980’s, members of Krum United Methodist Church decided that part of their mission is to reach outside church walls to relieve suffering, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, visit the sick and participate in wider community life. At that point, they instituted a monthly offering that takes place on Communion Sundays (the first Sunday of each month). An extra offering is taken that day, brought as people come forth to receive the Sacrament. Each month, that special offering is sent to a different place. This offering is given above and beyond normal general fund and building fund offerings. At this point, at least $50,000 has gone out from this church to multiple recipients.
- Children's Day Out is a mission extension of First United Methodist Church Krum. It exists as a service for parents who believe a preschool is beneficial to their children, and for children who typically grow to love their teachers and have fun. Our program is designed to meet many of the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the children of the community. It stimulates creativity and individuality, promotes Christian values, and provides a preschool environment that prepares children for the next level of education.
- "Modern Day Disciples" the First UMC Krum Youth Group! We are on a mission to touch lives of local youth by showing them what a Church family can do for them! We laugh, learn and most importantly have FUN doing it!
- Midweek Miracle is our extensive and holistic program for children from age 5 through high school. This program teaches more than just Bible, as important as it is. It also teaches children how to play together with a cooperative spirit, how to serve at the dinner table and practice table manners, and how to both read music and learn to lead in worship.
- We support AA Ministry (weekly at 6:00 p.m.) and the Scouting Ministry for all age groups.
- We have an organic garden, with a rapidly expanded gardening ministry. We seek to teach sustainability and also how to eat in a way that nourishing both body and soul.
- First UMC Krum's music program inspires and leads. A successful church choir inspires the congregation by setting a worshipful mood and serving as leaders throughout the worship service. Church singers are not there to entertain, but to blend in and enhance the overall context of worship. When we particularly appreciate a musical offering, it is to be savored joyfully, prayerfully and thankfully that we have such a gift of praise offered on our behalf. Everyone who enjoys praising in song are welcomed and encouraged to do so as part of the choral branch of the church’s family tree. Please contact Mark Withers, 940-482-3482, if you are interested. | <urn:uuid:85da1f68-5c07-4476-be27-fa0bdf4051f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thekrumchurch.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27:what-we-believe&catid=25:visitor&Itemid=55 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960247 | 1,733 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Using the dollar-value a mutual fund manager adds as the measure of skill, we find that not only does skill exist (the average mutual fund manager adds about $2 million per year), but this skill is persistent, as far out as 10 years. We further document that investors recognize this skill and reward it by investing more capital with skilled managers. Higher skilled managers are paid more and there is a strong positive correlation between current managerial compensation and future performance.
Downloads: (external link) http://www.nber.org/papers/w18184.pdf (application/pdf)
Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html. Free access is also available to older working papers.
Related works: This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title. | <urn:uuid:797c922c-0622-421e-b387-1063a8f75e15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/nbrnberwo/18184.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925914 | 215 | 2 | 2 |
Aloe VeraAloe Vera (that means “True Aloe” in Latin), native to northern Africa is one of the oldest known medicinal plants. Aloe Vera is a semi-tropical plant (a perennial characterized by long spear-like leaves), and has a long and illustrious history dating back to pre-biblical times. It has been mentioned throughout recorded history and given a high ranking as an all purpose herbal plant and medical related notes. Aloe Vera also known as Potted Physician, Wand of Heaven, Wonder Plant, Heaven’s Blessing, and Plant of Life.
Aloe Vera Video
Aloe Vera Articles
Over period of time we have written many articles where some of them have been published on known Internet sites. But most of them are not available anywhere but here. Take your time to read our articles because they are educational. All realated to Aloe Vera Plant, Aloe Vera Products, How to grow aloe vera, how to consume aloe vera and how to live your life better than without it.
- What Is Aloe Vera (Aleo Vera 101)
- Nine Things Everyone Should Know About Aloe
- Aloe Vera and Vitamins Found in Miracle Plant
- Have Allergies? Get Aloe Vera Plant!
- Loosing Weight With Aleo Vera
- Plant That Does it All
- Treating Burns Naturally With Aloe Vera
Other Uses of Aloe VeraAloe vera has been used externally and internally. Externally to treat various skin conditions such as cuts and burns. Aloe vera's beneficial properties may be attributed to mucopolysaccharides present in the inner gel of the leaf, especially acetylated mannans. There are not many side effects but there are some totally minor, however, consulitng a doctor while consuming Aloe Vera and it's products is highly recommended.
Vitamin BI2, essential for our wellness, exists naturally in aloe vera. It is currently one of the only known plants in the world that contains BI2 vitamin. Aloe Vera Plant is named the “first-aid” plant. It has moisturizing and emollient properties and is used in cosmetic creams, sun-lotions, shaving creams and face packs for obvious reasons.
The topical use of the aloe gel is essentially harmless for most of us, with the rare exception of people who may have some allergic reaction to the aloe. While the aloe is safe to use for minor burns, it must be remembered that medical attention is necessary and vital if the burn begins to blisters significantly or is severe in appearance. Caution is required as the use of the aloe gel can actually impede or complicate the healing of the wound in some types of severe burns and wounds; medical attention is required for such cases.
ALOE VERA Facts and clearificationAloe vera, the plant can be divided into two basic products:
Aloe vera gel is the leaf pulp (jelly-like substance), extracted from the parenchymal tissue that makes up the inner portion of the aloe leaf. The Aloe Gel is made out of carbohydrate polymers, such as glucomannans or pectic acid, plus various other organic and inorganic compounds.
On the other hand, Aloe latex, known as "Aloe Vera Juice," is a bitter exudate from the pericyclic tubules just underneath the outer skin of the Aloe Vera Leaf. For pharmaceutical use as a Latex source, the juice is often dried to produce "aloe" granules that are dark brown from exposure to air. Very often terms "gel" and "juice" are not right defined by producers and confused by many.
Benefits to consume Aloe Vera Products
- Helps With Weight Management
- Elastin & Collagen Repair
- Healthy for your mouth and gums
- Aloe Vera products enhance fibroblast functionalities
- Support joints and muscle mobility | <urn:uuid:9196f407-8c11-4e84-98ef-0e49744f33d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.flpdistributor.ca/aloe-vera.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943375 | 829 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Home > Dog Articles > Life with a dog
Life With A Dog
6 Moving Tips To Keep Your Dog Happy (Part 2)
If you're just moving across town or across the entire nation, it is important to make sure that your dog's well-being and his safety are part of your moving plans. Read a few tips to assist you in helping to ease your dog's anxiety during the move.
Consider Buying a Pet Insurance For Your Dog
It's better to take preventive action when it comes to caring for your dog. Consider having a pet insurance for peace of mind and to provide the best health care possible for your dog.
How To Keep Your Dog Safe
Some of the most common pet injuries and accidents that can occur in your home, learn what they are and what you need to do to keep your dog safe.
Use A Dog Fence To Keep Your Dog From Wandering Off
Your puppy loves to roam free and explore his surrounding. So you need to make sure that he will not wander off and get hurt by other animal or a moving vehicle. Here are few tips to help you choose the appropriate security measure.
Safety Issues: Kids and Dogs
The bond between a pet and a child can be very strong. However, there are some safety considerations that need to be made before merging kids and dogs. Learn what these are.
What To Do With Your Dog During The Work Day
Many pet owners work long days away from home and worry about the dogs they leave at home. Here are some suggestion to make it easier on your dog. | <urn:uuid:137dacbe-19a4-4254-8aa9-4655a769d331> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wagstreet.com/7-life_with_a_dog-info.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961042 | 320 | 1.671875 | 2 |
This page summarizes the extensive documentation available on Joseph Ebsworth and his wife Mary Emma Fairbrother and their extended family.
Details of how this couple appear to be a part of our family history can be found on the Cooper page.
The following people are described on this page:
Robert "Bob" Fairbrother (1767-1841) [father of Mary Emma Fairbrother] was a popular pantomine artist (also dancer and acrobat) appearing regularly at London's Sandler's Wells and Drury Lane Theatres. His meeting with his future wife Mary Bailey is documented in a book entitled Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi, by Charles Dickens.
Bob Fairbrother was also popular in North America, an obituary appearing in a New York paper on 13 March 1841. He also appears to have been a favorite of the Prince of Wales (later King George IV). Later in life he was a stage and theatre manager.
The following are excerpts from the London Times of some of his performances (click picture for full article):
|15 Jan 1789
||5 Oct 1789|
|25 Oct 1790
||12 Feb 1795|
The following are excerpts from the Daily Universal Register of some of his performances (click picture for full article):
|18 Sep 1786
||29 Aug 1787|
|10 Sep 1787
||12 Sep 1787|
As a side note, he was also a school friend of Dorothea Bland and maintained their friendship throughout their lives. He refused to publish their correspondence and all her letters were destroyed on his death. Dorothea Bland, stage name Jordan; better known as Mrs Jordan, was the mistress of King William IV, with whom they had at least 10 children. There is a recent biography on Mrs Jordan by Claire Tomalin entitled "Mrs Jordan's Profession". Curiously Dora Jordan lived in Hull for some of her life and some of her observations of the place are interesting.
As was the fashion in those days Robert and Mary Fairbrother had a large family (4 girls and 3 boys). The following summarizes the careers of some of their children.
Mary Emma Fairbrother (1794-1881) was a dramatist, pantomimist and fencing master. She was fluent in french (taught by her mother) and transcribed several books and plays. She married Joseph Ebsworth in 1817 and had 10 children (only 3 survived her). In 1826 she moved with her family (and 2 of her sisters) to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Amelia and Sophia Fairbrother were twins born in 1804. Amelia, better known as Anne, married an actor Charles Hill and moved to North America in 1840. They eventually settled in Canada (Montreal / Toronto). She was an accomplished dancer and in the off-season started a number of dancing schools. Mary Jane Warner has published a biography of Anne Fairbrother Hill.
Anne (Fairbrother) Hill.
Robert Fairbrother (sometimes referred to as John) was a theatre publisher / printer. His daughter Sarah Louisa Fairbrother married the Duke of Cambridge (it was referred to as a morganatic marriage in that she did not gain any royal titles or associations; she was known as Mrs FitzGeorge. Three sons resulted from this marriage. She is buried, alongside her husband, at Kensal Green cemetry, London.
Other children of Robert and Mary Emma Fairbrother also had stage careers.
Joseph Ebsworth married Mary Emma Fairbrother in 1817. He was initially trained as a watch maker but left this trade to join the operatic company at Covent Garden. he moved with his family to Edinburgh around 1826 were he became a music (specifically singing) teacher. He also authored a number of popular drama and transcribed plays, dramas and songs. He owned an operated a book shop specializing in dramas and music of the day. He was also a linguist, particularly in "dead" languages such as Hebrew, Sanscript etc. See also Joseph Ebsworth's obituary from "The Scotsman".
Joseph and Mary Emma Ebsworth had 10 children, 5 in London and 5 in Edinburgh. Only 3 survived their parents.
Joseph Woodfall Ebsworth (1824-1908) was initially a painter and later became the vicar of Molash in Kent. Seemingly in his spare time he published 22 volumes of old english ballards and songs, being the first of such an archive; the volumes are still discussed today.
water colour painting (of Edinburgh) by J. W. Ebsworth.
There is possibly also a T. Woodfall Ebsworth who appears in "The Scotsman" giving lectures on literary subjects (see T. Woodfall Ebsworth poem). The Woodfall name is interesting as there is a Woodfall family from London who were newpaper owners (and one is quite famous for starting what we now know as political reporting).
Emilie Marguerite Ebsworth (1818-?) married a popular comedian Sam Cowell (1819-1864). He was popular both sides of the atlantic. Emilie kept a diary of one of their visits to New York which has been subsequently published.
Lastly, and by no means least, is our George Henry Ebsworth (1838-1909) Importer and Exporter of fish (and good for him!). I feel some sympathy for him, he grew up in an obviously talented family but had different skills, his wife passed away in her forties and his children (at least 2) were seemingly looked after by another family (can't find them in any 1880 ish census) whilst he lodged alone with other families. His mother left for London (to stay with her daughter Emilie) shortly before her passing. George was a senior partner of Ebsworth & Hoeppner, Leith. He declared bankruptcy in 1877 and became a Commision Agent.
The following is a series of snippits from the book "Mrs Jordan's Profession" by Claire Tomalin related to Hull (note that as far as I can tell this is Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire - I realise that it's a bit of bit of a stretch of the imagination from the place we know).
In Hull we find Dora installed at Mrs Dunn's in Myton-gate; rooms over a shop.
The sailors of the Hull whaling fleet would fill the gallary, if not always to the benefit of the rest of the audiance below, as food, drink and worse showered down from above.
Hull was a prosperous and cheerful city, richer than Manchester or Liverpool, and one of their most important and reliable of bases. Its money came from the whaling industry, which gave employment to the men and huge profits to the ship owners. They spent lavishly on their pleasures, hunting, horse racing, gambling and entertaining; it was 'as gay a place as could be found out of London. The theatre, balls, great suppers and card parties were the delight of the principal families of the town'. Her manager called it 'the Dublin of England' for the liveliness of its society, and the whole company looked forward to its season there.
Shortly before his death Joe Grimaldi ("England's greatest clown") wrote an autobiography; it was given to a writer to clean up and reduce. Unfortunately the writer, probably pushed for time and having to complete the re-write after Joe Grimaldi's death, was not sucessful and the work was passed onto a young reporter / novelist named Charles Dickens. This biography was published in 1838 (now out of print). Richard Findlater re-published it with extensive annotation in 1968.
The following snippits related to Bob Fairbrother are taken from this later book.
One on occasion, when by unforeseen circumstances Joe was detained at Sadler's Wells beyond the usual time, he and Mr Fairbrother (the father of the well known theatrical printer) Note 1 who, like himself was employed at both theatres, and had agreed to accompany him that evening, started hand-in-hand from Sadler's Wells and ran to the stage door at Drury Lane in 8 minutes.
In 1794 ... he lodged in Great Wild Street with his mother, their landlord had died, and the widow's daughter, from accompanying Mrs Grimaldi to Sadler's Wells had formed an acquaintance with, and married, Mr Robert Fairbrother, of that establishment and Drury Lane, upon which Mrs Bailey, the widow, took Mr Fairbrother into partnership as a furrier, in which pusuit, by industry and perseverence, he became eminently successful.
Note 1: [Findlater] Robert Fairbrother, progenitor of a large theatrical family, became a confidential secretary-servant of Sheridan at Dury Lane. In later life he worked for the theatre in Tottenham Street, was briefly prompter at the Surrey; and retired in 1826. He could not have had much time to be a furrier; and was possibly rather young for marriage in 1794. [Coates] This last comment is a little strange as Robert Fairbrother was born in 1767; so he would be 27 when married (and 59 when he retired) which seems to make sense. He died in 1841. Also, in other texts he is himself described as a pantomimist and, to some degree, acted as an early tutor to Joe Grimaldi.
This page belongs to andy coates who can be contacted @ hotmail as "andycoates99".
Filename: ebsworth.html, last modified: 18 May 2005.
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:7542f27c-35c5-4b51-8362-673c72fc6eab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~andycoates/ebsworth.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985585 | 2,034 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Although it is of less academic interest, and therefore not included in our chapter, the geographical relationship between zombies and other undead is of clear practical value. After all, one should never bring a wooden stake to a zombie fight. While some independent researchers have studied the zombie versus vampire relationship, their findings seem of limited value, cinematically or otherwise. So we instead offer our nervous readers these helpful observations based on the maps below...
The Undead in the U.S. of A.
Zombies and Vampires in Europe
Be sure to check out the previous iterations of our Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse series in Parts I, | <urn:uuid:55b224fe-d42e-4a63-a89d-2309003e3670> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.floatingsheep.org/2011_07_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939302 | 127 | 2.171875 | 2 |
It didn’t take long for the world to learn of Instant Ocean. In 1966, The Aquarium of Niagara Falls commissioned Aquarium Systems to build and operate the first major public aquarium exclusively using synthetic sea salt for marine animal exhibits. Ten years later, The Mystic Marinelife Aquarium in Mystic, Conn., followed suit. Institutional researchers were also quick to realize the benefits of Instant Ocean, which helped to revolutionize the study of marine biology and marine ecology at colleges and universities across the world. Through it all, Aquarium Systems continued to refine both the ingredients and the manufacturing process of Instant Ocean, making sure that the product contained every necessary major and minor trace element — in every single batch. | <urn:uuid:a049c39d-2c33-4f81-b0ce-a13befa57268> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.petmountain.com/category/62/202/0/instant-ocean.html?Order=11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9154 | 142 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Today I received an email from a pastor asking for my thoughts on why the ongoing debate over Calvinism and Arminianism is practically important. Is it "much ado about nothing," that will inevitably lead to a split among Baptists the way that it split the General and Particular Baptists in the past? Besides the fact that these two systems of thought are actually different worldviews I offered the following observations.
The debate/dialogue over Calvinism and Arminianism is important for several reasons. These two views represent the two most cogent (I would argue, the only two) perspectives on the Bible's teaching about the nature of salvation and how the Gospel works. Baptists have cared very passionately about these things throughout our history. They should care about them today.
It is not quite accurate to say that Calvinism and Arminianism split early Baptists. The Arminian Baptists emerged first in the early 17th century. A few years later the Calvinistic Baptists emerged. Though they both came out of English Separatism they did not actually split into these two different groups. The Arminian (General) Baptists drifted into Socinianism and universalism in the 18th century. Many of the Calvinistic (Particular) Baptists tended toward hyper-Calvinism in the 18th century.
The development of the modern mission movement occurred among the Particular Baptists in the late 18th century. [EDIT:] Andrew [not Richard!] Fuller helped establish the theological foundations for such work and William Carey put that theology into practice by leaving England for India where he gave his life preaching Christ so that God might be glorified in the salvation of "the heathen."
Southern Baptists were rocked in the cradle of this kind of evangelical Calvinism--the very same theology that was held by Charles Haddon Spurgeon and Adnoiram Judson, the first Baptist missionary from America.
Understanding the issues involved in these two theological perspectives will help Baptists study their Bibles more carefully and appreciate their heritage more deeply. Though Baptists worship the sepulchers of no man we do recognize that if what our forefathers believed was true then, it is true now, because God has not changed, the Bible has not changed and truth has not changed.
Far better to be discussing the doctrine of salvation--even debating it--than arguing over whether or not we should be ordaining homosexuals to the Gospel ministry. Such discussions will spur the sincere believer to look again at what the Bible teaches concerning the salvation that we have in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is a great thing.
Two resources that I recommend for a quick take on these things are From the Protestant Reformation to the Southern Baptist Convention and also the Mission 150 Founders Journal. | <urn:uuid:3386a641-6f39-4934-8505-72601bc9cb2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.founders.org/2006/11/debating-calvinism-is-it-important.html?showComment=1163016120000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962659 | 567 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Outside Counsel Inside Counsel Partnering:
Through Technology to the Virtual Law Firm
A stunning 62 % of corporate legal departments considered firing one or more law firms in 2001 . The leading reason, by a significant margin, was "lack of responsiveness." Add Enron, pressures to cut legal costs on the part of clients, increased rates and demand for billable hours on the part of law firms, and increasing movement of lawyers and law firm mergers to this mix and you end get a very volatile situation.
Both law firms and corporate legal departments desire stable relationships where work can be done at a high level, responsively and in a way where law firms can be profitable while a corporate legal department can control costs.
There have been a number of significant efforts at "partnering" between corporate legal departments and their core law firms to create these types of stable relationships. The classic example is the famous "DuPont Legal Model" developed by DuPont and its outside law firms beginning in 1992 . The DuPont Legal Model grew out DuPont’s attempt to reduce the number of law firms it used (then over 300 ) to manageable number (currently 35 ) and, in the process, take advantage of a variety of techniques to improve the delivery of legal services.
The core elements of the DuPont Legal Model are ( 1 ) a business focus on DuPont’s legal issues, ( 2 ) an ongoing work process reengineering, ( 3 ) a commitment to cutting-edge technology, and ( 4 ) a shared culture of efficiency and cost control. (See http://www.dupontlegalmodel.com/files/onlinelibrary_detail.aspibid= 14 ). All lawyers who have corporate clients would be well advised to meditate upon these four elements.
Among other things, the DuPont Legal Model has resulted in the creation of the DuPont Primary Law Firm Network, an early form of a "virtual law firm," a collaborative team of law firms and service providers who are willing to and do work together. DuPont believes that the next step beyond simple "partnering" is the collaborative work team and that turning partnering relationships into collaborative work teams offer great value.
Consider this description of a "virtual law firm" (http://www.dupontlegalmodel.com/files/onlinelibrary_detail.aspibid= 14 ).:
The virtual law firm connects lawyers electronically and culturally. Through the use of applied technology, such as extranets, integrated case management software, computerized databases, electronic invoicing software, document imaging, cell phones, personal digital assistants, and trial presentation software, team members in different geographical locations can perform legal work efficiently and cost-effectively in a shared environment. But this technology still depends on the human element and on the willingness of committed participants to implement and use it constructively in furtherance of an articulated vision and clear goals. In a virtual law firm, participants must share a common culture.
This description raises many issues and is an excellent basis for your discussion of this topic.
I also want to emphasize this comment from DuPont’s white paper (http://www.dupontlegalmodel.com/files/onlinelibrary_detail.aspibid= 14 ): "Without the benefit of sophisticated technology, neither the concept of the virtual law firm nor the DuPont Legal Model could exist."
This article will focus on the technology side of moving to partnering then to collaboration and to virtual law firms and perhaps beyond. There are also very difficult issues raised by taking these steps, competitively, economically, culturally and otherwise that also deserve very serious deliberation. I want to sketch out some key questions for you, some areas worth exploring more and some practical tips for getting started or moving forward.
1 . Ask Your Clients. A recent survey indicated that over 90 % of corporate general counsel would respond to surveys from their law firms. A tiny fraction of law firms use client surveys. Are there clients with whom you can extend existing relationships by means of technology or current technology cooperation into greater partnerships? Are they aware of initiatives like the DuPont Legal Model? Might they be considering such initiatives without including you in the discussion?
2 . Listen to Your Clients. I have heard many stories of companies all but begging their law firms to cooperate on technology. Note that the number one reason law firms get fired is lack of responsiveness. If you survey clients, you must follow up. Find out where they want to go, what their priorities are and what they want to accomplish with their legal services. Of course, you will want to get a clear idea of where you fit into that picture. A very important lesson from the DuPont Legal Model is that clients are not necessarily adversarial with their law firms. Cost cutting may not be the primary concern and companies are willing to explore creative fee arrangements that may be more lucrative for law firms while maintaining a more stable relationship. Don’t assume; ask.
3 . Learn The Playing Field. You cannot move very far toward implementing client-driven technologies if you do not know what technologies and capabilities your firm has or can obtain. It is rare to find a firm that is using or is even aware of all the capabilities of its software and systems, let alone to find lawyers and firms who have a good understanding of all the new developments in legal technology. In addition, it is vital to understand what software and technologies your clients use for their own work and how they would prefer to interact with you. You might use surveys, meetings with the client or meetings between IS people to compare notes on what software and systems are used.
4 . Find Ways to Cut Costs and Improve Profits. How much good will it do you to have your client telling peers and colleagues that his or her lawyer actually came to him or her with a way to cut legal costs? Likely areas of potential include identification of lower level work that can be commoditized or value billed, improved communications, hosting databases or eliminating the need for duplicate systems. Consider the issue of electronic billing. Corporate clients are bemused by law firms’ reluctance to move to electronic billing. They see electronic billing as a way to streamline procedures and cut their own costs while at the same time improving the cash flow of their law firms by speeding up the payment cycle. Isn’t this win-win? It is certainly worth taking the time to consider fully.
5 . Get You IS Departments to Talk. Exchanging ideas and creating good relationships between your high-level IS people and the comparable client IS people will ultimately be a key to any successful efforts in this area. Do they know each other now? Do they meet with each other? Can you facilitate that in constructive ways? This effort will help resolve existing problems, result in shared knowledge and set the stage for more extensive efforts.
6 . The Extranet Family. A key concept in collaboration has been the use of private, shared web sites commonly known as extranets. Extranets can take many forms – information portals, access to files and communication, case monitoring, document libraries and virtual deal rooms. It is important to realize that clients do not need the same features or even a full-blown extranet. A virtual deal room that simply gives access to documents in a case or transaction may be a perfect introduction to the use of technology for both a firm and a client. The time and cost savings of not Fedexing documents can be a measurable means of showing return on investment. Another idea gaining some momentum is the "project portal," an extranet dedicated to the work and resources in connection with a particular project.
7 . Apply the 80 / 20 Rule. The 80 / 20 rule definitely applies in this area. The idea is that, as a general matter, 20 % of your efforts will get you 80 % of your results. You want to identify and act on that 20 %. Which ideas make the most sense in your current context? From your point of view, which initiatives will best address the common reasons law firms are fired (improving communications to avoid "lack of responsiveness" issues) and hired (how can you show your expertise and understanding of the client’s business?)? Do these initiatives cut costs or enable creative billing approaches? Do these approaches connect the client to you and make it harder for the client to leave? Are these approaches useful to other clients? Finally, are they responsive to your client’s own list of priorities?
8 . Make a Plan. Obviously, these kinds of initiatives cannot be done on a "back of the envelope" basis. Written plans are appropriate. In this case, educating your client is a form of marketing. Implementing the systems may an element of firm survival with a client in addition to solid marketing. The more you show your knowledge of the options, your familiarity with what others have done and the benefits for your client in the form of a well-conceived plan, the better shape you will be in. Part of any plan should be a method of measuring results.
9 . Make it Reusable – Think Different. Some of the initiatives you take can be reused. Some aspects might even be licensed as moneymakers for your firm or even sold as products, either by your firm or jointly with a client. Be alert to intellectual property issues and opportunities, as well as reusable methods to implement similar projects for other clients. Databases of knowledge and expertise may also serve you well in the event of departures from your firm.
10 . Make it Sticky. Stickiness is a term that is sometimes used in connection with web sites. It refers to a site’s ability to keep a visitor on the site for a significant time and to visit multiple pages. By using technology to address key concerns for clients and to make it easy for them to work with you, you can also create a "stickiness" in working with your firms and your systems. As a result, you increase the costs and effort for a firm that wishes to take a client form you.
Conclusion. The DuPont Legal Model began in 1992 . More than 10 years later, DuPont and its primary law firms are still working out the model for a virtual law firm. It is not realistic for you to expect that you can jump immediately into a virtual law firm model. For one thing, the cultural and economic issues alone are too complex. But you can definitely take advantage of opportunities to collaborate with clients to put down the technological underpinnings that can lead to such a model and, in the interim, provide significant benefits for both law firms and clients, including, in some cases, allowing your firm to survive and do work for its biggest clients. If you do not address these issues, your clients may dictate the answers for you, and, lately, that may mean that they think about firing you.
Ten Practical Tips for Partnering with Technology Initiatives.
1 . Educate yourself. My web page at http://www.denniskennedy.com/clientdriventech.htm is a good starting point. But it takes a lot of work to get up to speed on technology alternatives. Hiring appropriate expertise may be desirable in many cases.
2 . Thoroughly understand the DuPont Legal Model. Your clients may approach you about the DuPont Legal Model before you approach them. They are reading about it and hearing about it in seminars. A great resource is http://www.dupontlegalmodel.com.
3 . Send a survey. Statistics indicate that the vast majority of clients are willing to respond.
4 . Listen to what your clients are already saying to you about technology. Lack of responsiveness is the major reason law firms get fired.
5 . Give your clients new ideas to think about. Clients cannot know everything that is available. Give them some great suggestions. Clients appreciate creative solutions. Be the first to mention the ideas.
6 . Get the right people involved. Are you the right person for this initiative? Who is? What role will your IS department play in the initial phases? I suggest that a high-level IS person be involved at the earliest opportunity.
7 . Facilitate relationships between your IS people and the client’s IS people. Here is a simple test. Ask the head of your IS department how many of the heads of clients’ IS departments are in his or her contacts list. I bet it is too small a number. Are there ways you can get IS people to get together on a regular basis. Presentations by your IS group to client IS groups may make sense.
8 . Find creative ways to control costs. Clients like law firms that are creative. They are also under pressure to control legal costs. Technology may allow you to show you are good at both. Controlling client costs is different from cutting your fees and profits.
9 . Use technology initiatives in a way to increase the costs for a competitor to steal your client away.
10 . Lead, follow (closely) or get out of the way. | <urn:uuid:657be837-7a75-4bee-be39-e0338443c0f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://denniskennedy.com/resources/products/free-samples/outsideinsidepartnering/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951948 | 2,673 | 1.773438 | 2 |
- For a member of a council, please see councilor.
Qualified psychiatrists served aboard starships during the 23rd century. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "Dagger of the Mind") Occasionally, the role of chief medical officer and counselor were combined in the 23rd century, with medical officers also having expertise in space psychology; an example of this is Doctor Leonard McCoy. (TOS: "Court Martial")
By the mid-24th century, starship and starbase crews included a counselor, who was responsible for the mental well-being of the crew and civilian staff. The position was considered vital enough that it warranted inclusion in the senior staff of the Federation flagship; in that instance at least, the ship's counselor also had a diplomatic role, advising the captain in First Contact and other situations.
As with the chief medical officer, the ship's counselor has the power to relieve other officers and crewmembers of duty if he or she feels that their patient is suffering from a condition that may hinder their ability to perform their duties effectively.
At the captain's discretion, the ship's counselor may be allowed to wear something other than their normal Starfleet uniform. This was the case with Deanna Troi, the ship's counselor on the USS Enterprise-D, who preferred to wear colorful, casual clothing while on duty. Troi elected to wear a standard uniform permanently after being told to do so by Captain Edward Jellico. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part I")
Some Starfleet officers, such as Captain Lisa Cusak and Chief Miles O'Brien, disliked the concept of a designated ship's counselor, preferring to seek advice about their problems from friends. (DS9: "The Sound of Her Voice")
Deanna Troi trained in psychology before joining Starfleet. She served as counselor aboard the USS Enterprise-D and the USS Enterprise-E before transferring to the USS Titan with her husband, William T. Riker. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint"; Star Trek Nemesis)
Deep Space 9 had several counselors during its time in operation, including Telnorri and Ezri Dax, who was previously an assistant counselor on the USS Destiny. (DS9: "Hard Time", "Shadows and Symbols")
The USS Voyager was not originally assigned a counselor, as its mission was intended only to last a few weeks. (VOY: "Phage", "The Cloud") Later, Neelix appointed himself morale officer, a position of his own invention, to take on the responsibilities of a counselor. (VOY: "Phage") | <urn:uuid:3fdede12-08b5-4ad3-ae38-5fbc2aa51025> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Counselor?oldid=1377186 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976183 | 536 | 2.265625 | 2 |
by Anton Shilov
03/16/2011 | 05:43 AM
Nvidia Corp. announced this week its new version of stereo-3D (S3D) glasses kit designed for its proprietary 3D Vision technology and supporting devices. The new glasses became 25% more affordable, but improved battery life. The company hopes that this will help to drive popularity of stereo-3D in general and 3D Vision in particular.
The new Nvidia 3D Vision kit, which includes a pair of stereo-3D glasses (with IR receiver) and an IR emitter now costs $149, which is down $50 from its original price. The S3D glasses provide 50% longer battery life from a single charge, 60 hours compared with 40 hours before. In addition, Nvidia also lowered the price of extra wireless glasses to $119, which allows to share stereo-3D content with others.
In order to take advantage of Nvidia 3D Vision, which allows to build a stereo-3D-supporting gaming or multimedia system, one should not only acquire Nvidia-proprietary S3D glasses, but also a display or an HDTV certified for usage with Nvidia 3D Vision hardware and of course an appropriate high-performance GeForce graphics card. At present there is a significant number of full-HD displays and HDTVs supporting the 3D Vision technology.
Nvidia hopes that lower priced S3D glasses with longer battery life as well as generally widened 3D Vision eco-system will help this technology to become a major standard for gamers. While hardcore enthusiast gamers are likely to adopt 3D Vision technology, the mainstream PC gamers are more likely to prefer a single S3D standard for both ATI Radeon and Nvidia GeForce platforms. | <urn:uuid:9e8d6ac0-994e-4e8f-a682-d8bcb7e8ee8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/graphics/print/20110316054354_Nvidia_Lowers_Pricing_of_Stereo_3D_Glasses.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931082 | 356 | 1.804688 | 2 |
APPARENTLY, the only way to get around Washington D.C. is on a Segway. For those people who are cooler than me and don’t know what one is, it’s a motorised upright scooter and a craze that never really took off in blighty.
But in the American capital they’re everywhere and despite making you look a bit silly when you ride them, they are actually the ideal method to get around the numerous historical sights Washington has to offer.
The main reason for my dalliance with this odd form of transportation was to see the city which was home to Abraham Lincoln, one of the most loved presidents America has ever produced and which inspired the James McAvoy drama The Conspirator.
Focusing on the last days of the bloody civil war, which claimed about 800,000 lives, The Conspirator’s director Robert Redford tells an emotionally charged tale about the assassination of Lincoln and the subsequent controversial trial of Mary Surratt, the mother of one of the assassins who was charged as a co-conspirator.
To bring this fascinating slice of history to life, I went on a whistle-stop tour of the city where the 16th President of the United States lost his life, aged just 56.
The good thing about riding a Segway in America was that everyone was friendly and smiley as I glided past, although you can bet you’d encounter a different sort of welcome in Britain.
My evening Segway experience took in the main attractions along the National Mall including the Washington Memorial and the Second World War Memorial. Seeing the White House at dusk made it an altogether different experience.
The Lincoln Memorial was particularly spectacular at night and it was a moving moment reading the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address carved alongside.
Dinner was at Acadiana, a contemporary Louisiana fish house, where I devoured some oh-so-American fried green tomatoes and cornmeal crusted catfish.
The following morning I took to my feet for a tour conducted by the very knowledgeable Christopher Rehling of DC By Foot.
He brought alive the events of the spring evening on April 15, 1865, when famous stage actor and Confederate sympathiser John Wilkes Booth killed President Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.
Starting appropriately at the White House, where Lincoln lived for some of his presidency, Christopher told how Mary Surratt’s son John had welcomed Booth and his co-conspirators in to his mother’s boarding house in the weeks leading up to the assassination and how she was implicated in the plot.
Using photographs and anecdotes to set the scene, Christopher built up the drama by showing me where Seward’s house once stood – where 21-year-old Lewis Powell tried and failed to knife him to death.
We also took in the National Theatre where Lincoln’s son Tad was watching a play and heard that his father had been shot and Kirkwood House Hotel where George Atzerodt got cold feet and didn’t kill Johnson.
We finished at Ford’s Theatre at 511 Tenth Street, where Christopher described in graphic detail how Booth waited until the biggest laugh of the comedy play Our American Cousin to sneak in to the Presidential booth and shoot Lincoln in the back of the head. He then jumped on to the stage dramatically yelling: "Sic semper tyrannis!", the Virginia state motto, which means: "Thus always to tyrants", before legging it through the stage door and riding away on his horse.
A brief walk through the Peterson house across the street from Ford’s, where Lincoln was carried and took his last breath, was where his story ended but Surratt’s continued. Next it was on to Chinatown to see her boarding house which has been turned in to a restaurant called Wok 'n' Roll and finally, Fort Lesley McNair on 4th Street, where she was hanged.
On my last morning I had breakfast at the famous Willard Hotel where Lincoln lived for a few weeks before his inauguration and then went to President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers’ home, where he and his wife Mary would escape the heat of the city during the summer months.
My journey ended at the Arlington National Cemetery, where another iconic president JFK is buried and which is home to the graves of soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War.
I’d eaten enough good grub on my trip to feed a small army but no visit to Washington would be complete without lunch at one of Barrack Obama’s favourite eateries – Ben’s Chili Bowl - where you can tuck in to local delicacies like Bill Cosby’s Original Chili Half-Smoke sausages or Ben’s Chili Burger and check out pictures of famous faces who have visited since it opened in 1958. So after a bowl of chilli and some chilli cheese fries (as delicious and unhealthy as they sound), it was off to the airport with a full belly and good memories of this historic, welcoming city.
And let’s just say I had to open the seatbelt a little wider than usual.
The Conspirator is out now on DVD and Blu-ray. | <urn:uuid:9288fe28-e43e-4497-bb66-a741c87837aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/travel/3915130/Washington-on-two-wheels.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974492 | 1,095 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Steve Lacy: Stamps
Steve Lacy (soprano sax)
Raps (Adelphi 5004)
Composed by Steve Lacy.
Recorded: New York, January 29, 1977
Rating: 89/100 (learn more)
According to John Swenson’s liner notes, Raps “documents Lacy’s first real acceptance here in the U.S. since his 1965 exile … (to) Italy, and later Paris.” The expatriate Lacy was in New York for a week of performances at drummer Rashied Ali’s Downtown loft performance space, Ali’s Alley. Lacy & Co. went into the studio to record the album at week’s end. For this quartet date, Lacy was joined by two members of his Paris-based sextet—saxophonist Steve Potts and drummer Oliver Johnson—and bassist Ron Miller, who had (according to Swenson) worked with him occasionally in Europe.
“Stamps” is the album’s lead track. The minor-key tune is characteristic of Lacy’s compositional style: motives of varying length repeated several times by the horns—sometimes in unison, sometimes harmonized; each set of repetitions constitutes a section, and the sections are arranged together to create a clearly defined form. It’s a simple yet very effective manner of composition—a distillation of techniques drawn not only from jazz (Monk, in particular) but also classical music. Following the theme statement, the saxophones improvise in tandem, exchanging terse bits of information, weaving an ornate sonic latticework over the free-time tumult generated by the rhythm section. Rawer than Lacy’s later work but nevertheless well-organized, “Stamps” in retrospect seems a harbinger of the refinement the saxophonist’s work was to undergo in the ‘80s.
Reviewer: Chris Kelsey | <urn:uuid:aa37fa98-c8fc-4a05-b8ce-612c11ffce2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jazz.com/music/2008/12/23/steve-lacy-stamps | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948526 | 418 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Thinking About a New Appliance?
The Commonwealth of Virginia recently implemented a rebate program to encourage residents to replace their old, inefficient appliances with new, efficient ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances. You could save anywhere from $35 to $300 on your next appliance! Eligible products include:
- Refrigerators - $60
- Clothes washers - $75
- Gas storage water heaters - $35
- Gas tankless water heaters - $225
- Heat pump - $300
- Gas furnaces - $250
The program will run until its funding of $7,454,000 is depleted. For all of the rebate details visit the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals. As with any rebate, be sure to read all the details carefully to ensure that you will qualify for it. If you don't live in Virginia, visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency and click on your state of residence. | <urn:uuid:0599ca42-d966-4536-893b-393d4a8ad72f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.piedmontcu.org/content/thinking-about-new-appliance | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919283 | 198 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Jul 11, 2008
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Companies from Israel and the United States have teamedto develop a laser-guided rocket.
Mar 31, 2006
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Israel and the United States have advanced cooperationin the development of a defensive shield against short-range rockets and missiles.
Mar 17, 2006
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has been developing a solid-fuelballistic missile that could be fired from a submarine.
Feb 15, 2006
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The U.S. military has advanced in a project to developa precision-guided mortar munition. | <urn:uuid:af7294fc-ea4c-4058-9ae9-b473d8e51c92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.menewsline.com/articles-with-Alliant.aspx?pc=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9072 | 129 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Yesterday, taking their anti-regulatory zeal to absurd new heights, House Republicans claimed that a proposed rule from the Interior Department that would “designate the Burmese python and eight other snake species as ‘injurious’” — therefore “make it illegal to import them or transport them across state lines” — is a threat to job creation. They even brought a snake breeder to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who said that the rule could “devastate a small but thriving sector of the economy.”
This is simply the latest salvo from the GOP against regulation, as it seeks to undo everything from labor protections to environmental safeguards (with several Republicans calling for the complete dismantling of the Environmental Protection Agency). Republicans have also been fighting the implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, on the grounds that tighter regulation of the banking sector will kill jobs.
At the same time, Republicans are mounting growing opposition to the Obama administration jobs plan, which includes a payroll tax cut for workers, infrastructure funding, school modernization and aid to states to prevent more public sector layoffs. Here is a table outlining the GOP and Democratic priorities given the current debate in Washington:
Obviously, reality is a bit more complicated than this. But as ThinkProgress’ Ian Millhiser has explained, the GOP has put forth a plan that would “permanently shut down the federal government’s ability to regulate.” For all intents and purposes, their job creation plan can be summed up as this: lower taxes on the wealthy and corporations coupled with letting corporations do what they please.
Meanwhile, economists have found that the administration’s job creation plan will boost GDP growth and create millions of jobs next year. A poll from National Journal shows that Americans prefer Obama’s job creation ideas to the GOP’s. | <urn:uuid:bf9461f4-6558-49ea-b3cb-309ca54db61d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/09/15/319719/in-battle-over-job-creation-ideas-gop-offers-deregulation-of-pythons/?mobile=nc | 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 | 0.952606 | 385 | 1.648438 | 2 |
The HyLOG project
HyLOG - Hydrogen powered Logistic System
The ambitious aim of this project was to successfully implement an emission-free and efficient logistics operation within a real industrial environment - in this case at the Fronius Sattledt site in Upper Austria.
Double the energy density, yet zero emissions
Five logistics trains are currently in use at Sattledt to transport materials to more than 600 workplaces in two-hourly cycles.
As part of the HyLOG project, one of the transport vehicles was converted to run on hydrogen produced from solar power. The conventional lead/acid batteries in the vehicle were replaced by the Fronius Energy Cell with a replaceable hydrogen cartridge as the fuel tank. So several hours of battery charging have been replaced by just the few minutes needed to replace a spent cartridge.
The most impressive outcome from this innovative solution is double the energy density of conventional lead/acid batteries, but also double the vehicle range!
A totally regenerative energy supply and storage system
The hydrogen used for the HyLOG vehicle is produced by Fronius in-house via an electrolysis process powered by a 615 kWp PV system on the roof of the building. The hydrogen is then stored and made available for refueling via an in-house filling station infrastructure. The fuel cell drive integrated into the vehicle is used to convert the hydrogen into energy to operate the vehicle. This project was honored with the World Energy Globe Award 2007.
The Fronius Energy Cell as a zero-CO2 logistics solution
(1) A 615 kWp PV system erected on-site provides the solar energy.
(2) The inverter converts the solar energy into AC power.
(3) The Electrolyser converts AC power into hydrogen.
(4) Using a standard hydrogen filling pump the hydrogen gets condensed.
(5) The cartridge is completely filled in just a couple of minutes.
(6) The extremely efficient Fronius Energy Cell then converts the hydrogen into electrical energy in the vehicle (7).
This concept represents the successful implementation of a closed energy loop - completely emission-free and, in particular, without generating any CO2.
photo + legend (EN) | <urn:uuid:2f153497-6084-4060-9971-9f2fd80faffa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fronius.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-9B1C656A-81A61091/fronius_international/hs.xsl/83_18125_ENG_HTML.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929551 | 451 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Ellen Pao, the woman who recently filed a sexual harassment suit against her former Silicon Valley employer Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, is fighting right now to see that her case gets taken to trial, something that Kleiner Perkins would really rather not have happen. That's because, according to civil rights legal eagle Lisa Bloom, arbitration is a far easier, cheaper, and quieter process than going to court, and arbitrators tend to be more sympathetic to employers than juries.
Business Insider explains that, during a Monday hearing, a San Francisco Superior Court judge denied Kleiner Perkins' request that Pao's case be moved to arbitration. On Tuesday Judge Harold Kahn further denied the motion without prejudice, which will allow Kleiner Perkins to refile the arbitration motion on other grounds. The venture capital firm has (so far unsuccessfully) been arguing that Pao tacitly agreed to an arbitration clause in documents she signed making her a partner at Kleiner Perkins.
Most employers, explains Bloom, who says she's "litigated dozens of employment cases over the years," craftily sneak in such arbitration provisions in that mind-numbingly tall stack of initial paperwork that all new employees love so much. Once such provisions are signed, it becomes more difficult for an aggrieved former employee like Pao to have her triumphant day in court, complete with a righteous attorney who yells and gesticulates just like Al Pacino in And Justice For All. Arbitration, writes Bloom, almost always gives employers an edge in discrimination cases, making it that much harder for employees to exact a totally satisfying measure of justice:
Unfortunately for employees, once they sign those arbitration forms, they generally lose major legal rights, such as the right to a trial by jury and the right to their day in open court. Juries are more likely to be employees who sympathize with discrimination claims. Arbitrators are more likely to be professionals who sympathize with employers. And arbitration is generally a private affair, so embarrassing information that comes out during the case is easier kept quiet there.
So far, all signs point to "grab your popcorn and watch a good discrimination trial." Bloom, however, thinks we can all be fairly certain that Kleiner Perkins will do pretty much whatever it can to keep Pao's case from going to court, which makes this arbitration clause struggle crucial for the outcome of the suit. | <urn:uuid:774a1ff1-5547-4e05-afcb-199d7b25dc1d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jezebel.com/5925011/vc-firm-would-prefer-to-sweep-details-of-sex-harassment-suit-under-the-arbitration-rug | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954219 | 481 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Here's a view of the garden taken early this evening:
In the left front corner, behind the fence, is the zucchini. Working toward the right you see parsley, then broccoli and red onions. In the back left corner is the cabbage. Pea pods are straight ahead being picked by my daughter with tomatoes to the right of that. (My kids eat more pea pods raw, right off the vines, then they do cooked). In the middle bed is the post with the hummingbird feeder I wrote about last time. Pole beans have just popped out of the ground and will soon be winding their way up the pole. Around the pole beans are peppers, eggplant, and marigolds. Outside the fence is lined with various flowers- marigolds to deter pests, cleome and cosmos to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and on the north side (behind the pea pods), sunflowers to attract birds in late summer. In the far back left of the photo, against the building, is our cold frame. We grew arugula and rosemary until mid-December last year, but I need to learn more about maintaining produce all winter long.
I'm thrilled with the results so far, but I want pause to tell you that we have been working on this garden for about 5 years. Our first year was a disaster- the seeds were washed away in heavy rain and rabbits ate all the plants we put in during one night. We gave up that year- we had a young son and it was too much to redo everything. The next year we got smart- built inexpensive raised beds and put a cheap fence around the whole thing. We had more success. Then we put in a real fence with a gate and added more compost to the beds. Terrific success. Then last year... virtually nothing was productive except the basil. It was a bad year.
My message... start small and add to your successes. If you planted a small garden, or in some pots, and had success this year, build on it. If things didn't go quite so well, as with our first year, take a step back and plan for how you'll improve next year. Take baby steps. You know the old saying: Rome wasn't built in a day! It's easy to get caught up in trying to do everything all at once. Cut yourself some slack and celebrate each step you take toward growing your own produce.
Here are some close-ups of the produce: | <urn:uuid:d8ea8a96-fa5b-4cdd-97d4-0b2b5dee0d69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://michellecusolito.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976183 | 510 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Architects: Apurva Amin Architects
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Structural Consultant: Saurachana Strucon
Landscape Consultant: Apurva Amin Architects
Civil Contractor: Tricon, Tejas Shah
Photographs: Courtesy of Apurva Amin Architects
Nirma VidyaVihar, an initiative of the Nirma Education & Research Foundation (NERF), to explore value-based education through offering an enabling environment for the young minds, to discover and achieve their potential, is situated in Ahmedabad and comprises of pre-primary, primary and middle school sections. The school is equipped with spacious and well-ventilated academic classes, activity rooms, laboratories, curricular and extra-curricular activity spaces. The design follows a very austere geometry, respecting its dignity as an institution, which is carefully inter-woven with bold and playful elements that gives the school its vivacious character. The experience of the school is a carefully crafted journey with spaces free flowing into each other yet directional. The geometry is an amalgamation of straight rectangular functional spaces along with elliptical and free flowing transitions and curvilinear service areas. The designing and planning of the school is an attempt to redefine the experience of the school by eliminating the monotony of a usual school with long corridors and uninteresting vistas.
‘A mélange of free flowing art, effortlessly combining with the crisp lines of architecture’ is what portrays this school. The murals and art installations of the school like ‘the mosaic mural wall’, ‘the scrap arc’, ‘the puzzle façade’ and ‘the inverted tree’ are incorporated with a thought of creating a spark in the young minds. Starting from the drop-off, a series of sequential surprises unfolds, the suave increase in levels, with various colorful steps, draws us to the lively entrance foyer which then opens out to a visual treat of the lawn through the ‘scrap arc’. The separation of paths from the entrance foyer happen in a interesting and dramatic way, a formal and clear entry to the administration, a quaint stair-case towards the basement and a bold elliptical foyer, with a stair-case giving its own share of dynamism, takes one to the triple heighted assembly hall. The orientation of the vibrant ‘puzzle façade’, towards the east, welcomes the unsullied morning sun-light, through the cut-outs, creating dancing shadows, breaking down the formal idea of the space, giving a directional vista to the assembly hall and also inviting a bright texture that passes on their vitality to the students.
Open spaces seamlessly merge with the functional areas of the school. The mundane approach of linear corridors, running along the class-rooms, becomes lively because of the elliptical stair-case and suspended bridges and these bridges create a visual connectivity with all the major parts of the school like the assembly hall, the class-rooms, thus increasing the sense of interaction among the students. The class-rooms over-look the puzzle façade and the triple height assembly hall creating visual playful vistas. The small court-yards provided out-side the class-rooms serve as spaces of interaction and spill-over activities. | <urn:uuid:b1de2cb6-2f3f-412c-8631-9422e71dc74e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.archdaily.com/345048/nirma-vidyavihar-apurva-amin-architects/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915465 | 678 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Shares of A123 Systems (Nasdaq: AONE ) , a maker of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, soared over 50% on Tuesday, only to make a partial retreat from those gains later in the week. The stock surged after the company announced a "breakthrough" in battery technology that will enhance the performance of its cells in extreme temperatures. But is this truly a "Hurrah" moment for the struggling company or a desperate attempt to restore its damaged image?
A123 Systems hit the public market in 2009 when it debuted on the Nasdaq at $13.50 a share in what was the largest stock offering of that year. Today, shares trade around $1.30. But wishful investors are still hoping to find growth in this depressed name, despite its many setbacks. True, the battery maker has a handful of notable partners in the auto industry, including General Motors (NYSE: GM ) , BMW, and electric carmaker Fisker. However, these contracts didn't come easily for A123. In fact, GM turned down the company's battery technology for its Chevy Volt vehicle in 2010 and only recently cut a deal with the battery maker for GM's new Spark electric car. But what about the companies that are starting to gain traction in the electric vehicle space -- names like Ford (NYSE: F ) and Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA ) ?
Automotive giant Ford brushed off bids from A123 Systems, instead awarding its battery contracts to Korean-based LG Chem. Many foreign battery-producers have a competitive advantage due to economies of scale, which means they can offer cells to major automakers at more affordable prices. This means A123 needs to ramp up production if it hopes to gain an edge in the industry. Unfortunately, I don't see this happening anytime soon.
A stalled start
Tesla also gave A123 the cold shoulder when it paired with Panasonic for next-generation cell technology. In retrospect, this was a smart decision for Tesla. That's because A123 went on to pen a deal with Tesla's largest competitor, Fisker, which ultimately ended in a $55 million recall of faulty lithium-ion batteries made for the automotive maker's Karma plug-in car.
More concerning is the fact that A123's defective batteries were produced at a time when the company had plenty of resources, including substantial capital from its stock offering a year earlier and $249 million in federal stimulus grants. If the company can't keep its head above water under those circumstances, how can investors expect it to thrive now?
Tesla, which also took loans from the U.S. Department of Energy, is showing the green tech sector how it's done. The all-electric sports car-maker will become the first start-up to complete requirements of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program when it begins repaying the loans later this year -- a milestone A123 can only dream of one day achieving.
A123 has yet to post a profit since going public more than three years ago and carries more than $162 million in debt on its balance sheet. To be clear, I'd love to see A123 and others like it succeed. A happy ending for the company could only improve the adoption rate of electric vehicles. Regrettably, I don't think that's in the stars for A123.
Game-changer? Who, you?
The company's new Nanophosphate EXT cells promise superior performance in extreme high and low temperatures versus competing batteries. This sounds promising. But how reliable is the news, considering that not even two weeks ago A123 alerted shareholders of a possible bankruptcy at the company?
Bloomberg quoted Wunderlich Securities analyst Theodore O'Neill on the subject as saying, "New battery technologies are a dime a dozen, do nothing to solve the company's current problems and can take years to develop and get into production." And even an industry insider like Tesla CEO Elon Musk doesn't have a lot of faith in so-called "advancements" in battery technology.
At the company's shareholder meeting earlier this month, Musk said: "There are few industries with more BS than the battery industry. It's quite remarkable." Given these insights, I'm not convinced that A123 has stumbled upon the technology of cheaper electric cars, nor do I believe the company is headed for a turnaround on the news. Instead of investing on false hope, I invite you to discover three stocks that are disruptive to manufacturing in this free report from The Motley Fool. Click here to get your free copy of the report titled: "The Future is Made in America." | <urn:uuid:af437f48-2e28-461c-818f-acbdfcf9cbc4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/06/14/a-buy-or-bye-bye-for-a123-systems.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96017 | 937 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Clark said fire fighters responding to the first alarm immediately called for assistance and the fire quickly went to four alarms. As of 6:30 a.m., he said, the building is still engulfed in fire but the fire has been contained to one building. Clark said adjacent buildings have been evacuated as a precaution.
The building dates from the 1920s and bears the words 'Hecht's Reliable Stores' on its cornice. It most recently housed a grocery store.
Clark said no injuries have been reported, but the back of the building has partially collapsed. He said fire personnel are still investigating the cause of the fire. Broadway is closed to traffic between Fleet Street and Eastern Avenue due to the fire fighting activity, he added.
Written by The Baltimore Sun | <urn:uuid:15379513-e9cf-45bd-be50-5ddd1e8e2648> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.firefightingnews.com/article-us.cfm?articleID=104556 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982017 | 154 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Acupuncture is the insertion of tiny, fine needles into the skin. At Metis Acupuncture Clinics, we offer a style of acupuncture known as distal or far-distance needling. We do not place needles into the affected areas but rather place needles into the arms, hands, legs, feet, scalp, and/or ears. By placing needles distally, we are not only able to stimulate the body’s natural pain killers or endorphins, but we are also able to retain the treatments longer since the endorphins must travel a further distance to get to the affected area. Since we place needles distally, no disrobing is required at our clinics.
Number of Treatments
Acupuncture is a therapy in which we are training the body to adjust itself. Just like physical therapy, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy, multiple treatments are needed for the body to heal itself. The specific number of treatments depends on the nature and severity of your condition. Once we are able to determine your rate of response, we will custom design a treatment plan, which we call AcuTherapy™, for your specific condition. Usually, patients are able to see results right away and the number of treatments ranges from 5 to 15 for your chief complaint.
Traditional acupuncture uses eight principles of complementary opposites to create harmony in the body. These include yin/yang, internal/external, excess/deficiency, hot/cold.
We offer distal acupuncture which allows a patient to be seen without undressing. Distal acupuncture utilizes the concentration of qi in the hands and feet, and that applying acupuncture needles to these areas is effective for the entire body. | <urn:uuid:c1cefa39-7091-4888-b548-efb650c5c371> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.metisclinics.com/acupuncture/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929721 | 342 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Birthplace: Lancaster, New York
She became a suffragist while attending Syracuse University, where she earned an AB degree in 1914. After World War I, Thompson went to Europe to become a freelance writer, winning an exclusive interview with Empress Zita of Austria. The New York Evening Post named Thompson head of its Berlin bureau. In 1928 she married novelist Sinclair Lewis (the second of her three marriages). After her reporting on the Nazis angered Hitler, Thompson became the first American correspondent to be expelled from Germany in 1934. Two years later she began writing a newspaper column, “On the Record,” for the New York Herald Tribune, which was later syndicated. Thompson developed such a large following that Time magazine called her the second most popular woman in America, after Eleanor Roosevelt. The column ended in 1958, but she continued to write a monthly piece for the Ladies' Home Journal. Her books included New Russia, (1928), I Saw Hitler! (1932), Anarchy or Organization, (1938), Let the Record Speak, (1939), and The Courage to be Happy, (1957).Died: 1961
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
More on Dorothy Thompson from Infoplease: | <urn:uuid:fa05a27c-956a-4cf7-82a2-ff5cfe4df107> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0880201.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950022 | 257 | 2.6875 | 3 |
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Package Size: 26.3 x 10.3 x 8.7 inches
The 3B Scientific A58/2 human spine model is used for anatomical study, and is flexibly mounted with movable femur heads for effective demonstration. The model includes the following structures for detailed examination: full male pelvis, occipital plate, prolapsed L3 and L4 discs, spinal nerve exits, and cervical vertebral artery. The A58/2 measures 32.7 inches/83.0cm (H). (H is the vertical distance from the lowest to highest point.) Display stand sold separately. Anatomical models are typically used as educational aids in medical and scientific classrooms and office settings.
Science education products incorporate applied math and science principles into classroom and homeschool-based projects. Teachers in pre-K, elementary, and secondary classrooms use science education kits and products alongside science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum to demonstrate STEM concepts and real-world applications through hands-on activities. Science education projects include a broad range of activities, such as practical experiments in engineering, aeronautics, robotics, energy, chemistry, physics, biology, and geology.
3B Scientific manufactures anatomical models, simulators, charts, and other training materials for use in scientific, medical, and patient education. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, 3B Scientific meets ISO 9001: 2008 standards.
How can we improve our Product Description?
There are no customer reviews yet.Be the first to review this item | <urn:uuid:81c5ac10-ce27-4d42-8227-ed7eae40d4ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amazonsupply.com/3b-scientific-classic-flexible-height/dp/B005DTKVCK | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905418 | 368 | 1.695313 | 2 |
How To Diet For Low Cholesterol
Learning how to diet for low cholesterol can seem difficult at first. A low cholesterol diet plan must limit foods that are high in cholesterol, decrease the foods that will help lower your bad cholesterol, and include foods that can up the good cholesterol. Here are some tips in helping to create a diet for low cholesterol.
- Reduce saturated fat intake. One of the first things to do when you're trying to diet for low cholesterol is to limit your intake of saturated fats. Replace red meats with fish, egg whites for whole eggs, reduced fat milk for whole milk and substitute low-fat cheeses for the regular kind.
- Start eating “Good Fats”.The next way to start a diet in low cholesterol is to start eating “good” fats. Monounsaturated fats are the “good ones”. These types of fats help in lowering bad cholesterol, while not lowering the good cholesterol. The strategy for this is to use canola or olive instead of butter, lard or vegetable oil. When having a salad, remove the fattening salad dressings, but add a few olives and/or avocados into the bowl. Nuts, in moderation, are also a top choice for heart healthy fats. Read your labels, process food can be loaded with bad fat in disguised. Ingredients like coconut oil, palm oil are no-no’s for la diet for low cholesterol.
- Increase fiber. Another important step in lowering cholesterol is to increase your fiber intake. Start your day with a bowl of oatmeal. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables are good sources of fiber, not to mention great nutrients. Soluble fiber becomes a scavenger, eating up cholesterol in your digest tract. Good sources of soluble fiber are oat bran, flax seed, barley, dried beans and peas, and psyllium husks.
- Start n lifestyle change. A diet for low cholesterol with the addition to moderate exercise can help lower your bad cholesterol. A 45 minute walk ,5 times a week, makes a noticeable improvement. If you smoke, quitting lowers levels of "good" cholesterol, along with sparing you other health issues. | <urn:uuid:2b845bac-f7d3-4261-9fd1-a0ac0497f604> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-diet-low-cholesterol.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905981 | 451 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Jan 29 2013
|more articles from|
Georgetown Hosts President of Macedonia on 'Balkans and the Gulf'
"It is always a deep honor and unique opportunity to host a world leader at SFS-Q. But in President Ivanov's visit we have the added privilege of also welcoming him as a thinker, a researcher, and a renowned visiting scholar in his own right." said Dean Gerd Nonneman.
Long before becoming Macedonia's fourth elected president on 12 May 2009, Dr.Ivanov was actively involved in civil society and youth organizations as a university student. His interest in understanding the complexities of multi-ethnic societies culminated in a doctoral thesis entitled "Democracy and Divided Societies:the Case of Macedonia."
Rejecting entrenched definitions of the geopolitical term "Balkanization" as an "oversimplified and shallow interpretation", Dr. Ivanov instead pressed the need for self-reflection in redefining conceptual frameworks about both the Balkans and the Gulf. "With only one book, Orientalism, Edward Said changed the perception about the Orient, about the East." he said.
In more recent history, Dr. Ivanov cites modern examples of Macedonia's policy of coexistence and cooperation through an examination of the Macedonian Constitution, as well as through the peace-building contributions of the "Forum of the Dialogue among Civilizations" initiative launched in 2003 under the leadership of Macedonia and with the cooperation of UNESCO.
In the journey through a rich historical and cultural mosaic, Dr. Ivanov identified both the Balkans and the Gulf as "crossroads of civilizations ... paved by empires, commerce, culture and religion." But instead of presenting a fractured picture of competing interests, these nexus of history are "places where civilizations don't clash, but communicate, interact, and merge, producing fertile ground for dialogue."
© Press Release 2013
© Copyright Zawya. All Rights Reserved.
- UPDATE 1-Boston poised to begin condom giveaway in high schools
- Boston poised to begin condom giveaway in high schools
- Beetles, housefly larvae open new frontier in animal feed sector
- N.Korean leader Kim used luxury yacht to tour coast -website
- NASA wants backyard astronomers to help track asteroids
- There's More | <urn:uuid:11ced23f-28b1-400e-9195-93507bfb8f79> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zawya.com/story/Georgetown_Hosts_President_of_Macedonia_on_Balkans_and_the_Gulf-ZAWYA20130129123541/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929627 | 464 | 1.859375 | 2 |
While the patient is pain-free (general or local anesthesia), an incision is made over the fractured bone. The bone is placed in proper position and screws, pins, or plates are attached to or in the bone temporarily or permanently. Any disrupted blood vessels are tied off or burned (cauterized). If examination of the fracture shows that a quantity of bone has been lost as a result of the fracture, especially if there is a gap between the broken bone ends, the surgeon may decide that a bone graft is essential to avoid delayed healing.
If bone grafting is not necessary, the fracture can be repaired by the following methods:
a) one or more screws inserted across the break to hold it.
b) a steel plate held by screws drilled into the bone.
c) a long fluted metal pin with holes in it, is driven down the shaft of the bone from one end, with screws then passed through the bone and through a hole in the pin.
In some cases, after this stabilization, the microsurgical repair of blood vessels and nerves is necessary. The skin incision is then closed in the usual fashion.
Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
Related MedlinePlus Page
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2013, A.D.A.M., Inc. Duplication for commercial use must be authorized in writing by ADAM Health Solutions. | <urn:uuid:0ebc44ea-67ac-408e-bb4b-56968bef851f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/presentations/100077_3.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926445 | 397 | 2.203125 | 2 |
How Consumers Use Social Networks to Connect with Food Retailers: Consumers’ Expectations of Connecting With a Food Business via Social Networking
Posted: June 4, 2012
We asked respondents to tell us what they expected from a food producer or retailer if they joined the business’s social network. Table 1 shows responses ranked from most to least desired. As you can see, about two-thirds of our respondents expected notices of price promotions such as coupons and sales. A majority of respondents also expected recipes and preparation instructions while just over 40% expected news about nutritional information and special events.
Table 1. Percent of respondents who desired specific information from a food producer or retailer via social media.
|Notice of price promotions
|Notice of special events
|Nutritional information and
|Responses to questions
|Links to industry sites
|Links to related businesses
Statistical differences were found in how people with different income levels respond to price promotions. Table 2 shows that some groups find these more appealing, but no clear trend can be identified. On the other hand, Table 3 shows there is a clear positive trend in the relationship between education level and interest in notices of events. This may be an indication that those with higher levels of education are more interested in connecting with your food business by attending special events.
Table 2. Percent of respondents by income level who desire price promotion notifications.
|$24,000 or less
|$24,000 to $49,999
| $50,000 to $74,999
| $75,000 to $99,999
|$100,000 o $149,999
| $150,000 or greater
Table 3. Percent of respondents by education level who want to receive notices of events.
|High school graduate or less
|M.S. degree or later
These results allow us to draw a few conclusions. First, many people join a network to learn about the food. This is indicated by the relatively high average expectations for items such as recipes, preparation suggestions, nutritional information, and serving suggestions. Second, the top responses participants selected as to why they join a business’s social network was to learn about coupons, sales, and other price promotions. Finally, there were some subtle differences across demographic groups. For example, those with higher education levels were more interested in learning about events. Knowing your customer base will help you connect with your target market in the most appropriate way.
In the next article, we will present data that discusses how people are finding food retailers’ social networks online. To view the entire YouTube series, please visit http://bit.ly/wWIXto.
- Extension Program Leader
- Associate Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management
- Extension Associate | <urn:uuid:feaaa09b-0ec9-4ed2-93e0-5103ad36ba52> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://extension.psu.edu/plants/tree-fruit/news/2012/how-consumers-use-social-networks-to-connect-with-food-retailers-consumers2019-expectations-of-connecting-with-a-food-business-via-social-networking | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917282 | 568 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Health by Design
Health by Design, an initiative of the Alliance for Health Promotion, is a coalition working at the intersection of the built environment and public health. Our mission is to create an environment that promotes physical activity and protects the environment through education, advocacy and action.
Members and partners include non-profit organizations, government entities, academia, private industries, businesses, and environmental groups. Health by Design is comprised of community planners; designers; architects; builders; and transportation, public and environmental health, recreation and safety personnel.
The priority goals of Health by Design are to:
Increase neighborhood, city and regional connectivity
Increase walking, biking and other public transit options
Encourage land use decision making that promotes public health
Reduce dependency on automobiles
Please visit our website for additional information and to get involved! | <urn:uuid:aa362fbd-5ac9-43fb-b05b-65f40bf870e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allianceforhealth.org/blog/?page_id=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944758 | 165 | 2.0625 | 2 |
For seven years I have been carefully archiving, copying and storing info mat ion. For seven years I have never been without two versions of everything. Never, until last Sunday, when after suffering a hard drive failure in my laptop, I was forced to invest all of my faith in technology in the compact external hard drive I had purchased only one month prior.
Waiting to receive the new part from an online store I discovered on www.ebay.com, I sat confident that all would go well, that the new hardware would arrive and that I would simply copy and paste my old information onto it from the external hard drive.
Of course, as fate would have it, I was wrong. The brownout destroyed the mechanics of my external hard drive producing an unpleasant odor of burning circuit boards in the process. I have since then been informed that for anywhere between $800 and $1800, my external hard drive might be dismantled in a static free dust free room, perhaps enabling the recovery of my seven years worth of information, teaching resources, scholarly and creative writing, photography, and pirated music files.
Fortunately, I am writing an online dissertation, several copies of which remained safely backed up on a server somewhere in Texas, spared from extinction by multiplicity. Everything else is presently being held hostage by those parasites of human desperation also known as data recovery specialists.
Consider yet again both Plato's Phaedrus and Derrida's Dissemination and the way both texts interrogate the relationship between writing and memory: writing weakens memory because it was invented as a replacement for memory, a prosthesis--an external hard drive, but what happens when a medium weakens the writing that has weakened memory....is the creation of machine readable data comparable to preserving our thoughts in smoke, light, disappearing ink? Has the complexity of the medium and its subsequent vanishing capability brought the written word back to the verbal?
Needless to say, the loss got me thinking. I've been such a supporter of computer technology for so long and yet in spite of my devotion, I was not spared from "The Great Nothing" of the digital age. Because, let's face it, that is the risk we take when we entrust our thoughts, memories, correspondences, music, and images to the 0's and 1's: it's always a choice between something and nothing--and sometimes we wind up with the latter.
So let's just say, the book started looking a lot better after all of this--its "solid state," its materiality, its portability, its independence on gadgets of any kind: when the electricity goes out, you can still read a book. You can read them in space or at the bottom of the ocean. You can drop them off of cliffs, leave them in an attic for 100 years, spill your coffee on them, take them to the toilet, in planes, underground --and they are always readable, readable without the help of machines: no cerebral prosthesis necessary.
Deleuze and Guattari have in A Thousand Plateaus already redefined the book as an assemblage, a machine capable of linking things together. They made the book as concept function as an operation of juxtaposition, an extension of the "and." This project embraces that notion, questions the
Dwelling vs Prosthesis
(Heidegger vs. McLuhan--computer displays being projected into dwellings, increasing in size so as to be dwelled in instead of prosthetized.) | <urn:uuid:1a6ef319-8fa3-4417-bf1b-ed5d6921edf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thelemming.com/lemming/dissertation-web/home/prostheses.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959763 | 714 | 1.632813 | 2 |
With Earth Day this Friday, people everywhere are making pledges to support the planet and show appreciation for the environment. Whether it's planting trees, recycling, or just walking instead of driving, plan to do a something eco-friendly on April 22 - you'll join the countless celebrities who continue to raise awareness about persevering our planet. Here are some celebrity couples who are not only committed to each other, but to Mother Nature as well:
1. Bar Rafaeli and Leonardo DiCaprio: DiCaprio is one of the most outspoken celebrities to discuss environmental issues, and girlfriend Rafaeli is no different. In 2008, the Titanic star purchased a condominium in Riverhouse, an eco-friendly building in New York City. He also drives a hybrid, flies commercially to reduce his carbon footprint, inspires other celebrities to go green, founded the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to support many eco-friendly causes, and created a documentary about the global environmental crisis called The 11th Hour. Meanwhile, Rafaeli is an activist in promoting alternative energy sources.
2. Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom: The Victoria's Secret model has an organic skin care line called Kora, was named Earth Hour's global ambassador for 2011 and modeled nude for Rolling Stone's Green Issue to raise environmental awareness. Bloom, Kerr's husband, built an eco-friendly house in London and was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2009.
3. Jessica Alba and Cash Warren: In 2008, this couple bought an eco-friendly house in Los Angeles to raise their daughter, Honor Marie in. The couple also lives green. In an interview with InStyle, Alba said, "I would like to see a cleaner earth for my child."
4. Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen: They might keep their relationship private, but when it comes to causes like Aeropostale's Teens for Jeans, Bilson and Christensen enjoy discussing its recycling campaign. In addition to encouraging people to donate their jeans, Bilson uses reusable shopping bags, drives a hybrid Toyota Prius and wears cloths made from organic cotton. Christensen owns an organic farm in Canada.
5. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: These two have been praised for all the charity work they participate in and the organization they founded in 2006, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which assists with worldwide humanitarian crises. The couple is also dedicated to creating eco-friendly communities. Shortly after Pitt received permission to run his project, Make It Right NOLA, which focuses on building affordable green houses in New Orleans, he volunteered to be a designer of an environmental luxury hotel in Dubai.
These are just a few of the dozen celebrities who are committed to creating a healthier planet. Follow in their footsteps and make a difference this Earth Day. | <urn:uuid:5a1277ad-9ff7-4c95-a6c5-43ebed0d3cd3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shine.yahoo.com/green/celebrity-couples-saving-the-earth-2476456.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953205 | 563 | 1.539063 | 2 |
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A strong, long 7.6-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter in Guerrero state shook central southern Mexico and swayed buildings in Mexico City Tuesday. It was followed by a 4.8-magnitude aftershock, according to Mexico's national seismological agency.
Plaster fell from ceilings and windows broke in the city center, but President Felipe Calderon said there were no immediate reports of major damage.
Frightened workers and residents poured into the streets of the capital just minutes after noon local time (18:02 GMT).
Telephone service was down in the city and throughout the area where the quake was felt.
"I have problems with pressure, I felt I was going to faint," said Rosa Maria Lopez Velazquez, 62, outside a mall in Mexico City.
The quake was felt strongly in southern Oaxaca state next to the epicenter in Guerrero.
"It was very strong, but we didn't see anything fall," said Irma Ortiz, who runs a guesthouse in Oaxaca. She said their telephones are down, and that the quake shook them side-to-side.
The U.S. Geological Survey set the intensity of the first quake at 7.6 and said the epicenter was 11 miles underground. Mexico's National Seismological Survey said the trembler had an epicenter southwest of Ometepec in Guerrero state.
Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard's Twitter account said the water system and other "strategic services" were not experiencing problems.
Groups of women hugged and cried at Mexico City's Angel of Independence monument, where hundreds of people evacuated from office buildings said they never had felt such a strong earthquake. Others typed ferociously on their Blackberries.
Samantha Rodriguez, a 37-year old environmental consultant, was evacuated from the 11th floor on the Angel Tower office building.
"I thought it was going to pass rapidly but the walls began to thunder and we decided to get out," she said.
Mexico City's airport was closed for a short time but there was no damage to runways and operations were returning to normal. | <urn:uuid:d902af29-458f-45f4-a1ae-503fd6f2c469> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.the-review.com/ap%20international/2012/03/20/strong-long-7-6-quake-shakes-mexico-city-1332270650 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983756 | 447 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The International Cat Association, more commonly known as TICA, is the world's largest genetic cat registry. Originally a North American organization, it now has a worldwide presence. The organization has an extensive genetic registry for purebred and household pet cats and is one of the world's largest sanctioning bodies for cat shows.
TICA's mission is:
To encourage its members to be caring, responsible owners and breeders of cats who work together to promote the preservation of pedigreed cats and the health and welfare of all domestic cats.
To have the most accurate and comprehensive certified pedigree registry in the world.
To provide sanctioned cat shows which promote both pedigreed and non-pedigreed cats in a professional manner and which are both enjoyable and educational for exhibitors, judges, and the general public.
To encourage its members to take an active role in the community to foster responsible spay/neuter awareness through public education, to become active in voluntary service at local animal shelters or outreach programs for schools and/or senior or disabled citizens, and to become involved in citizen advisory groups to foster responsible legislation regarding the health and welfare of cats.
To promote friendly relations between breeders in this country and other countries around the world.
To disseminate information to breeders, owners, exhibitors, and the general public concerning breeding, exhibition, improvement of breeds, the care and welfare of all cats and to provide materials and information regarding feline issues of regional or national importance.
To set up a foundation to encourage research on feline health issues and to provide readily available lists of resource materials on health issues to its members.
The International Cat Association (TICA) Executive Office | <urn:uuid:2c719495-112e-4d71-8313-aad8f00d3879> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bionity.com/en/encyclopedia/The_International_Cat_Association.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941648 | 342 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Many things we normally throw away can be recycled (used again), including paper, glass, metals, plastics, and BIODEGRADABLE waste such as vegetable peelings and cut grass. Recycling saves natural resources, such as trees and crude oil. It can also save energy as it often takes less energy to make a product from recycled materials than it does to make the product from new materials. For example, 93 per cent more energy is needed to extract aluminium from ore than to recycle it.
Most rubbish is dumped in big pits called landfill sites. The pits are lined with clay to prevent poisons leaking into the surrounding soil and polluting water supplies. Pipes are inserted into the pit to collect and remove poisonous methane gas. Unless we recycle more, we will run out of places to put landfill sites.
Scrap steel is flattened or shredded, then melted in a furnace. The molten steel is poured into moulds to make slabs of steel called billets. Once solidified, the billets are reheated and rolled into thin sheets.
Steel sheets are used to make a range of products, such as food cans and car parts. Steel is 100 per cent recyclable. This means that recycled steel is exactly the same as the steel in the original material.
Before recycling, paper is sorted into different grades. It is then mashed with water and chemicals to form a pulp. The pulp is cleaned (to remove staples, glue, or ink) and sprayed onto flat screens. When dry, the paper is used to make new products, such as newspapers.
Plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), used in fizzy drinks bottles, can be recycled. This is because they are a kind of plastic called a thermoplastic. When heated, the plastic melts and can be moulded into a new shape. Only thermoplastics are recyclable. Thermosetting plastics burn rather than melt when heated.
Materials from living things are usually biodegradable. They break down into simpler substances, often with the help of micro-organisms. Leaves biodegrade into compost and carbon dioxide, both of which recycle in our environment. Most plastics are not biodegradable. They are so different from natural materials that micro-organisms cannot digest them.
Making compost is a good way of recycling biodegradable materials that you would otherwise throw away. Vegetable peelings, sawdust, and grass cuttings can all be layered in a large container. Over a few months, micro-organisms will break down the biodegradable waste into compost. This rich, dark material can be scattered over the soil to provide plants with extra nutrients. | <urn:uuid:c6b74aea-c70b-464b-90be-837deb6f8aa1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://life.familyeducation.com/dk/science/encyclopedia/recycling.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948471 | 549 | 4 | 4 |
The Justice Initiative for Drug Endangered Families (JI-DEF) launched a new web site today located at www.jidef.org.
This highly aggressive initiative recognizes that all systems play an overlapping role in supporting children and families while keeping the community safe. JI-DEF is a collaboration between government and nonprofit entities working together to support prevention, early intervention, substance recovery and offender accountability.
The new web site highlights the program components and details the roles of the program partners including The Kempe Center Judicial ASPIRE Program, law enforcement advocates, probation and court systems, and TASC. Over a three-year period, JI-DEF identified 400 drug endangered children who experienced significant trauma as a result of parental substance abuse, but were never previously identified or qualified for services.
Through prevention, substance abuse services, and cooperative case management models, JI-DEF retained over 70 percent of all project participants. Additionally, the initiative significantly decreased criminal recidivism, incarceration rates and out-of-home placement among children. | <urn:uuid:c0deaa20-e77f-4871-b408-15f712ac2706> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kempefoundation.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/justice-initiative-for-drug-endangered-families-ji-def-launches-new-web-site/ | 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 | 0.936447 | 209 | 2.125 | 2 |
This picture was taken from an exceedingly rare CDV from the late 1850's. It features an art print of a photograph of Queen Victoria, and her husband, Prince Albert.
Queen Victoria died on 22nd January 1901 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and was buried in The Mausoleum, Frogmore, Windsor, on 4th February 1901 following a State Funeral in St. George's Chapel on 2nd February 1901.
After the funeral her coffin lay-in-state in The Albert Memorial Chapel for two days and was then taken to The Mausoleum by The Royal Horse Artillery. Her son, Edward, had been proclaimed King Edward VII.
The Funeral Cortège pauses for a moment just past The Guildhall on its way to Park Street, the Long Walk, and up through the castle grounds to St George's Chapel. 2nd February 1901. As described in the letter below, the Royal Horse Artillery had been unable to draw the gun carriage and so sailors from the Royal Navy has taken over the task within moments.
After the funeral service, officers of
The Grenadier Guards guarded the body of the late Queen Victoria during the Lying in State in The Albert Memorial Chapel, 2nd - 4th February, 1901.
Two days after the funeral, on 4th February 1901, Queen Victoria was taken to Frogmore Mausoleum to rest beside her husband Prince Albert. In this picture the cortège is on its way from The Albert Memorial Chapel through the Upper Ward of Windsor Castle, drawn by the Royal Horse Artillery.
Detail from the photograph above of Queen Victoria's Funeral Cortège. King Edward VII is clearly seen in the centre immediately behind the coffin, with the German Kaiser to his right.
The cortège passes along the Long Walk on its way to Frogmore
Queen Victoria's Funeral
The Gun Carriage Episode
The following letter was published by The Times of 28th January 1936. It relates to the origins of ratings from The Royal Navy hauling on foot the monarch's coffin to the Funeral Service. There has been some uncertainty as to what precisely happened, but this eye-witness letter, from Cecil B. Levita, Officer Commanding, seems to describe events accurately and definitively as the cortege was leaving Windsor Central Station.
To The Editor of The Times
In your issue of January 25 you refer to the historic gun-carriage to be used tomorrow. It is stated:
At Queen Victoria's funeral there was an unfortunate contretemps in connection with the horses which were to have been used to draw the coffin up the hill at Windsor, and the blue-jackets [naval ratings] manned the drag ropes in the emergency.
It would, perhaps, be more accurate to say that the contretemps was in connection with the so termed gun-carriage than "with the horses" or their handling by the Royal Horse Artillery.
February 2, 1901, was a bitterly cold day with some snow, and the gun-carriage, under the charge of S Battery, R.H.A., [Royal Horse Artillery] and under the independent command of Lieutenant M. L. Goldie, had been kept waiting at Windsor Station, together with naval and military detachments, etc., for a considerable period. I had posted N/R.H.A. which battery I commanded, in the Long Walk ready to fire a salute of 81 guns, commencing when the cortege left Windsor Station for St. George's Chapel, at about 3 p.m. I placed Lieutenant P. W. Game (now Chief Commissioner of Metropolitan Police) in command, and proceeded to the station to ensure that signalling arrangements were perfect. When the Royal coffin, weighing about 9cwt., had been placed on the carriage, drums began muffled rolls, which reverberated under the station roof, and the cortege started. Actually, when the horses took the weight, the eyelet hole on the splinter bar, to which the off-wheel trace was hooked, broke. The point of the trace struck the wheeler with some violence inside the hock, and naturally the horse plunged. A very short time would have been required to improvise an attachment to the gun-carriage. However, when the wheelers were unhooked the naval detachment promptly and gallantly seized drag ropes and started off with the load. The "gun-carriage" had been specially provided from Woolwich and was fitted with rubber tyres and other gadgets. This was due to Queen Victoria's instructions after seeing a veritable gun-carriage in use at the Duke of Albany's funeral, as also was the prohibition of the use of black horses. On February 4, in compliance with the command of King Edward, I conveyed the royal coffin, on another carriage, from Windsor to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore by means of the same detachment of men and horses. I may add that a few days later King Edward told me that no blame for the contretemps attached to the Royal Horse Artillery by reason of the faulty material that had been supplied to them.
I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
Cecil B. Levita
January 27th 1936
With acknowledgements to The Times. This letter was sent by Major Cecil Bingham Levita M.V.O.
Martin Reed has sent us the following:
Troop Serjeant Major John Roughan Yeoman of the Guard 9th Lancers was on duty at Queen Victoria's Lying-in-State and also Edward VII's Lying-in-State and George V's Coronation.
ROUGHAN, John. Troop Serjeant Major. 9th Lancers.
Born at Ennis, County Clare in 1844. By occupation a clerk, he enlisted 16 March. 1863. He was made Corporal 16 November, 1863 and was promoted Serjeant on 1 February, 1871 and to Troop Serjeant 11 November 1874. He re-enlisted to complete 21 years service on 16 November, 1874. Roughan sailed for India 9 January, 1875 returning home in 1877 where that year he married Elizabeth May Duffy at Isleworth on 6 October. He was sent back to India and arrived there on 16 December, 1878, then was posted to Afghanistan on 13 March, 1879 where he served in the war of 1878-80. Roughan took part in the march to Kandahar and so earned the Afghan Medal 1878-80 (clasps Kabul, Kandahar) and the Kabul to Kandahar Star.
Troop Serjeant Major John Roughan Yeoman of the Guard 9th Lancers
He arrived back in England 5 May, 1882 having earned the LS & GC Medal on 14 December, 1881, and was discharged in March, 1884. He obtained a position with the Royal Parks Department and rose to Inspector, serving for 24 years. On 17 December, 1893 Roughan was sworn in as a Yeoman in Ordinary of Her Majesty's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard, vice Colour Serjeant Everett, Coldstream Guards, later becoming Serjeant Major of the Guard.
On 12 December, 1932, he died at Ashford, Staines, Middlesex, aged 87 years, leaving a widow, and three sons, all three of whom had served in WW 1. According to at least one obituary, amongst his most prized possessions was a signed photograph of Lord Roberts bearing the inscription: 'in remembrance of Afghanistan'. He was equally proud of another photograph of King Edward VII, this having been signed by King George V and presented to him in recognition of his work during the late Monarch's lying in State.
His medals were auctioned at Spink in November, 1998 and were on display at the Orders and Medals Research Society Convention in 2000: Afghan Medal (Kabul, Kandahar), Kabul to Kandahar Star, Jubilee 1897 (bronze privately engraved J. Roughan. Yeoman of H.M.R.B. Guard), Coronation Medals 1902 (bronze) and 1911, LS & GC and Imperial Service Medal (Edward VII) with photographs. The lot was offered again in the March sale. 2002, by Dix, Noonan & Webb, and realised £1,750, (267)
The Royal Windsor Web Site will report all events such as these and provide a permanent record together with references to the background of such events wherever possible. Any information or additional material about Windsor is always welcomed and acknowledged. Copies of photographs or texts can be emailed to the Editor, The Royal Windsor Web Site | <urn:uuid:bc042c62-e4f6-4b79-a385-41c7185580ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/windsorhistory/royalfunerals/qvicfuneral01.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972358 | 1,795 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The Story of Stone
The Remarkable Story of India's Stone Carving Traditions
India's 6,000-year-old stone carving tradition has left the world a wondrous wealth of sacred art and architecture. Here one master builder, V. Ganapati Sthapati speaks of his mystical craft.
Granite's remarkable qualities make it unsurpassed media for building structures, creating artistic forms and communicating with fellow human beings across the millennia. It's abundant--about 30% of the volume of continents. It's durable--capable of withstanding erosive forces better than almost any other rock. No wonder India's craftsmen chose it for their holy sanctuaries.
Granite is among the oldest of rocks. India's repositories are 2.5 billion years old, and samples have survived 3.8 billion years, very near the beginning of Earth's birth. All granite is recycled, born-again stone, most of it reformed many times throughout geologic history. This happens when feldspar, quartz and other minerals mingle when melted above 850.C, as they continuously do in some volcanos, in places where continents collide and in the planetary furnaces 60 kilometers below the surface.
It is in stone that many of the great achievements of the human spirit have been enshrined--from the Great Wall of China to Cambodia's Angkor Wat, from Egypt's hieroglyphic language tablets to Michaelangelo's David. The most long-lived heritage of stonework comes from India, where the masters still live and carve. One, the eminent Shri Vaidyanathan Ganapati Sthapati, traces his lineage to the 6th century Chola dynasty. In the following presentation he gives voice to a 6,000-year-old tradition.
THE SOUL OF STONE
According to the shilpaic tradition, nothing in this universe is inanimate. Stone contains the All-Pervasive Energy. It is a living entity. It is one of the manifestations of the Primal Energy, Shakti. Shilpis call this shakti Paravastu, literally the :"ultimate luminous substance." Thus, rock or stone is held as divine in Hindu tradition.
Stone, when touched, is felt to be cold. This is due to its moisture content. When two pieces of stone are brought into collision, fire is produced. Hence stone contains fire. Stone is earth in consolidation of particles of earth. Stone contains pockets filled with air. Stone, added to this, has the quality of space in that it echoes sound. Thus, stone is a composite of the five elemental substances--water, fire, earth, air and space. Stone is the final product of the ultimate Energy.
Also, there is one special quality attributed to celestial space as well as earthly space. This is Absolute Sound. We have stones with audible resonance, demonstrated by the famous "musical pillars" found in some temples. The Shivalinga, which signifies Cosmic Space, is always made of a resonant stone. Apart from this, stone has many unique qualities. It is said to live longer than any other material on earth. Hence the tradition of producing temple buildings and temple Deities has taken deep roots in the tradition of stone.
There are three basic types of stones. One produces a metallic sound like that of a bell, another variety gives a slender, long note and a third has no sound at all. They are respectively called "male," "female" and neuter." Shastras prescribe male stones for male images, female stones for female Deities and neuter stones for temples stones and homes. Stones containing marks of gold are held even more sacred than resonant pieces.
A yogic intimacy develops between a stone carver and his stone. That is why the Shastras say that the shilpi should always be joyous and of good spirit. According to tradition, a grief-stricken shilpi produces a sad form. The worship of such a form produces bad effects on the worshiper.
The trainees are also expected to study religious concepts of the Koyil Samayam. "temple religion." according to vastu tradition, the temple itself is a form of God, as well as the home of God. These two concepts are still preserved in the Hindu religion, though the former concept is not well known to the philosophers. On the consecration day, the sacred water contained in a gold pot is taken out and poured over the vimana building. Only thereafter does the consecration of the Deity in the imagic form, kept inside the sanctum, take place. A well known saying captures the spirit quite simply, "Look upon the temple as the form of God and offer worship." The sthapati and the shilpis are supposed to internalize these spiritual concepts so that the sculptor becomes the sculpture, the architect becomes the architecture, just as the poet becomes his poem.
For Hinduism to flower, flourish and continue to exist in India, two branches of culture science have been responsible and powerful since a very remote past. One is called vastu shilpa, the art and architecture tradition, and other other is the Agamic religious tradition with all the codes of liturgy and temple ritual. The Agamas do deal with art and architecture, but not as extensively as do vastu texts. In fact, a common source for the Agamic tradition has been the ancient Vastu shilpi texts. Even Jains and Buddhists use them. The manasara Vastu Shastras, by Maharishi Manasara of the shilpi clan, contains extensive details of iconometrical and iconographical material of the Hindu pantheon consulted by shilpis of North and South India.
For millennia, shilpis (sculptors) and sthapatis (sculptor-architect-builders) worked in tightly-organized guilds. Training was hereditary, from father to son, and started formally at the age 12. Students were given practical training, not in a separate college, but right in the workshop, where large projects were being executed under an aged and experienced sthapati. At night and in the early pre-dawn hours, they receive theoretical instructions in the Vastu Shastras (ancient architecture manuals) and allied science. They were taught measuration, geometry history and drawing. They were expected to know music, dance and yoga. Town and village planning and house construction were taught. They learned to regard houses and villages as spiritual entities, living organisms. A complete training extended for not less than 10 years. Thereafter, the father or teacher would take these boys from place to places, where the guild had secured prestigious projects.
The shilpi who matured into a sthapati was expected to be a master of proportions. The vastu concepts are brought out into visual lines and forms by a unique marking technique applied on the stone during the carving process. The carvers carve on the stone following the lines and forms marked out on the stone by the more competent sculptors. Superficially, this may seem mechanical, but it requires great skill and years of experience. One who works on architectural stones is called a takshaka, and one who works on a sculptural pieces is technically called a shilpi.
SHILPI GODDESS AND RITUALS
India's shilpis have for millennia been holders of the knowledge of the vastu tradition and worshippers of Shakti. This is the Vastumatam, vastu "religion." This is also called Mayamatam, name after its originator, Mayan. The shilpis accordingly worship Goddesses kali, Kamakshi, Ankalaparameshvari, Akilandeshvari, Bhuvaneshvari and Brahma Chamundi. Science, shakti and bhakti are integrated in the life of the shilpi.
On Vijayadashami day, shilpis worship the five-headed Vishvakarma and also their personal tools. The Shastra texts that they hold sacred are also worshiped. At day break on Vijayadashami day, the shilpis, amidst joy and merriment, start carving work on fresh pieces of stone preceded by the shilpi guru. The shilpis' children are initiated into the craft on this day.
From rock to sculpture, there are rituals pujas that the sthapati performs. He has to do puja to Vishvakarma and Vastu Purusha while initiating stone quarrying for each new work. There is another puja where the shilpis assemble to give the initial stroke at an auspicious moment with a golden hammer and chisel, followed by their assistants. Sometimes a guru or the sponsor gives the initial stroke, though this is rare.
Another puja of great importance is the "chiselling of the eye" or netron meelanam. This means opening the eye of the God, in idol form, preceding installation. This is attended to by the project's chief sthapati. No one else may even watch. The reason is that while carving the shilpi causes irritation to the eyes. Such irritated eyes should not gaze on others. The sthapati, being mother of the form given birth to, is exempted from the effects of the irritated vision.
Fortunately, modern technology has not laid its hand on the vastu tradition. The ancient tools remain. They are handy, flexible and very cheap. During my career, I actually tried to introduce mechanical devices-but in vain. For work of this delicate, aesthetic nature, machines are useless. The traditional tools are time-tested and honored. All tools for stone carving are locally made and of a special character.
CARVING A FUTURE
Unfortunately, our vastu shilpa tradition has mostly come to be looked upon as totally mechanical, and the shilpis of this honored tradition as mere workmen. There remains little insight into or knowledge of the stoneworkers' extraordinary and abundant contributions to the culture and civilization of Bharat.
One key factor adding to this marginalization is that all available texts on vastu and shilpa are in sanskrit and highly technical. They do not speak of the intuitive, feeling base of artistic creations. No real text exists in any of regional languages. No illustrations are found as in the classical and contemporary art and architecture of the West.
The stoneworker's craft is not widely known for another reason: the shilpi experience has remained within the shilpi guilds. They only spoke with the patron kings. What they were doing and how, nobody knew or inquired about. The history of the rishis who gave birth to the tradition has remained shrouded,. Fortunately, this absolutely spiritual tradition is being re-recognized of late by many scholars and researches, and the tradition is coming back to life. It is gaining ground. The incrustations are being scraped off and the naked beauty of this sacred and scientific tradition exposed.
SHILPI, TAL, SHAKTI AND STONE MERGE
Tala is rhythm. Through talam, the shilpi creates and his own feelings take form. He feels transformed into the gross forms that he has created. Seeing himself in the forms, he experiences inestimable joy. He looks upon them as atmajans, his own sons and daughters in flesh and blood. The shilpi is jivatman, the microcosm. The macrocosm is the Paramatman. As they resonate with each other, in the same way two veenas set to same pitch resonate, they lose their individual identities. This is advaitic experience. This is atma samyoga, the soul's experience of oneness. This is pure love and the ultimate goal of life. This is what the vastu shilpa tradition has been doing ever since it appeared on the cultural scene of the Indian subcontinent. | <urn:uuid:1ae5c5ed-fe0c-49c1-94de-16c78e222609> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.himalayanacademy.com/monastery/iraivan/bangalore/stone-story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959076 | 2,497 | 2.90625 | 3 |
|This kiddo was laughing her guts out. This is not a look of shock, nor a yawn, this is a pure belly laugh.|
Recently a friend from the US asked about our Boxing Day. It made me think how far our culture has come from what Boxing Day was originally intended for. On December 26th commonwealth countries have Boxing Day marked on their calendars. Way back in the day, Alms Boxes (boxes for the poor) were placed on church doorsteps for people to put money in. It was a day that was marked as giving to the poor. Now it's turned into a similar day to the American Black Friday (or what I know of it.) People wake up at crazy hours, some at 3AM, to drive to the city to stand in line to wait for stores to open and get smokin deals on all sorts of things. We've never done anything like this, probably not just because of the insane amounts of people, but we were all laying around in our pajamas eating turkey buns.
Really I don't think we need a day marked on those little square boxes to remind us to think of those less fortunate than us. I believe it should be something imprinted on our hearts all year long, and something that is just a natural extension of who we are. Nothing to be shown off or consciously thought of, but it should be as customary as getting your breakfast in the morning.
This year was a beautiful day as a Chinook had blown in right before Christmas and to accompany our white landscape there were impressive warm temperatures. A pink Carhartt coat, yellow snowpants from when I was a kid, and a poor old Oiler's toque (the only one we could find) was tossed on and sleigh rides around the yard ensued. Who needs mittens? Kitty socks on the hands work just fine. A lucky little girl, who promptly could call the horse after she said Momma, got to go for a lil ride and sat up their like a big girl, clicking her tongue and laughing. What a day it was!
What did you all do the day after Christmas? Was it time to put the tree away and clean the house? Were you still at gatherings? I'd love to know.
*UPDATE* Another Canadian blogging friend made a wise comment about Boxing Day being the day post Christmas when servants got the day off. I looked it up and that is another part of Boxing Day--according to the article I read, people would send home with the servants, boxes of gifts, bonuses or food to go with them to visit their families. Again according to this article, it stated about Alms Boxes left on Church doorsteps. Who really knows...? | <urn:uuid:904f9959-75ed-49a8-b301-cdcc18486d16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://littleprairiebaby.blogspot.com/2010/12/boxing-day.html?showComment=1294182755189 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982764 | 559 | 1.695313 | 2 |
A recent post over at MAKE set forth the call to companies: If you're going to kill a product or product line, make it open source! That way the ever-resourceful hacker and modder communities can really sink their teeth into a product that wouldn't be generating any profit for the company anyway. We've got a list of six ahead-of-their-time, awesome gadgets that were killed too soon--gadgets that could be capable of some amazing stuff if opened to the right people.
When a product is made open source, the entire documentation, the source code, and schematics are made available to the public for use and modification. Essentially, anyone who wants to will not only have the legal right, but all the tools necessary to change their gadget in any way they want. Lots of software is already open source, and some hardware as well, like the Arduino microprocessor, 3-D printers like the Maker Bot and RepRap, and a few consumer gadgets like the Chumby. Making a product open source allows enthusiasts to really get their hands dirty, to use a product in ways its makers never intended, and to extend the life of the gadget beyond its untimely demise.
Of course, there are some legitimate reasons a company would be resistant to make a deceased product open source. Software and hardware doesn't exist in a vacuum; even if a product line is cancelled, there may be intellectual property that the company wants to keep and re-use. It takes effort and money to scan through a product's documentation to make sure there's nothing in there that'd cause trouble down the road if made entirely available, and many companies just don't want to bother. The Microsoft Zune, for example, might be essentially cancelled, but it inspired the very-much-alive Windows Phone 7 platform, and Microsoft would rightfully be hesitant to publish too much information about a current platform. Still, this is a wish list, so we might as well wish, right?
Anyway, we liked MAKE's list so much that we decided to add our own nominations--gadgets old and new which were canned, but which had lots of potential and could have turned into really interesting hobbyist projects if given the open source treatment. We'd love to hear from you guys, too: Any suggestions? Which gadgets do you think could have been hacker favorites?
Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more. | <urn:uuid:91a24f99-3623-4eba-bf2b-6897bf607117> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2011-05/six-gadgets-would-thrive-if-open-sourced | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963617 | 537 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Modern Physics and Ancient Faith
by Stephen M. Barr.
University of Notre Dame Press. 312 pp. $30.
Books about the relation between science and religion abound. Some, usually penned by scientistic atheists of one stripe or another, insist that the two fields are mutually antagonistic and thus that readers must choose between a life of reasonable sobriety and one of blindly irrational faith. Other books, more often than not written by religious believers, emphasize continuities between the pursuit of theological and scientific truth. Although many are not without merit, they all too often skirt the difficult questions that confront anyone who wishes to harmonize biblical religion with the findings of what appears to be the thoroughgoing materialism of modern physics.
Stephen Barr, a particle physicist at the Bartol Research Institute at the University of Delaware and a frequent contributor to these pages, has written a book that takes the efforts of the latter camp to a much higher level. Indeed, Modern Physics and Ancient Faith ranks among the most scientifically, theologically, and philosophically rigorous studies of the relation between science and theology to appear in recent years. That it is also written in a clear and highly accessible style makes it even more worthy of widespread notice, discussion, and debate.
Barr begins his book by pointing out that the methods and discoveries of modern physics can and must be separated from the philosophical doctrine of materialism, which so often serves as a dogmatic and, as Barr goes on to show with great power and effectiveness, unsubstantiated faith among physicists. According to Barr, it was never obvious that physics implied or presupposed a materialistic view of the universe, but the existence of such a connection has been rendered downright implausible by a series of developments in twentieth-century physics. In a series of lucid chapters, Barr addresses the question of whether the universe had a beginning, looks at the issue of whether the universe exhibits any evidence of design or purpose, and examines what contemporary physics (and mathematics) has to say about the nature of human beings—specifically on the question of whether our behavior is determined by physical laws and whether we have an immaterial nature. At each point, Barr shows that “recent discoveries have begun to confound the materialist’s expectations and confirm those of the believer in God.”
Understanding Barr’s main contention is key to judging the cogency of his arguments. If the reader approaches Barr’s book in the hopes that it will provide a scientifically defensible proof of the central claims of biblical religion—such as, at a minimum, that God exists—he will be disappointed. As Barr repeats at several points throughout the book, he seeks merely to demonstrate that numerous discoveries in science confirm the expectations of the believer more than they do those of the materialist. For instance, Barr prefaces his discussion of so-called anthropic coincidences—that is, the fact that many of the laws that govern the universe seem to be fine-tuned for life to exist and thrive—by noting that this evidence has not “succeeded in ending the old debate between religion and materialism.” Nonetheless, he also notes that it has “dramatically changed the terms of the debate. It is no longer a question of whether one can find any evidence in nature that we were built in. Such evidence abounds. It is now a question of whether that evidence should be taken at face value, whether it really means what it seems to mean.” Throughout the book, Barr seeks above all to counter one of the main arguments materialists have offered for their position—namely, that science confirms a materialist worldview rather than a religious one.
Many of Barr’s analyses are incisive and exceptionally well-argued. He also displays a sophisticated understanding of Christian theology, especially in the Roman Catholic tradition, often citing such historically important theologians/philosophers as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas in support of his arguments. In his chapter on cosmology, for example, Barr is careful to point out that the claim that God created the universe simply means that the universe depends for its existence on God’s free will; as Aquinas pointed out, this could be the case even if the universe always existed. Nonetheless, Barr argues that because big bang cosmology—including recent variants such as inflationary cosmology—hypothesizes a beginning, it fits better with the expectations of traditional theism than with atheism, which has historically posited an eternal universe. Although we cannot be sure that future cosmological discoveries will not overturn this conclusion, Barr claims that “the trend is clear: everything we have ever studied has proven to have a beginning.”
Barr is at his best in confronting the arguments—and, just as often, the rhetoric—of materialism. As he points out, since theists believe that the world was created by a supremely intelligent being, we would expect it to be at least partially intelligible by human reason, which traditional Christian theology has held to be a uniquely human gift of God. Such intelligibility is a puzzle for materialists, however. As Albert Einstein famously remarked, “The most unintelligible thing about the universe is that it is intelligible at all.”
Barr also correctly points out the circularity of some of the most common arguments in favor of materialism. Materialists, for instance, claim that to deny that everything in the natural world can be reduced to physics or mathematics is nothing more than “mystery-mongering” and thus a rejection of rational explanation. As Barr notes, however, this assumes, without rational justification, that all rational explanation must be rendered in terms of equations and quantities, an assumption that theists reject.
Then there is Barr’s powerful argument against materialism as such: “If ideas are just patterns of nerve impulses, then how can one say that any idea (including the idea of materialism itself) is superior to any other? One pattern of nerve impulses cannot be truer or less true than another pattern, any more than a toothache can be truer or less true than another toothache.” In other words, human judgment and evaluation, which are necessary to determine truth and error (including the truth or error of materialism), presuppose a world of moral meaning that transcends the merely material. The very effort to demonstrate the truth of materialism thus refutes materialism.
If the book’s greatest strength lies in its analysis of materialism and its discussion of the findings of modern science, its greatest weakness or limitation can be found in some of its detailed philosophical arguments. Take, for example, Barr’s discussion of the order that seems to prevail in the universe. Barr claims that modern physics has discovered a universe with an extremely high degree of order and “harmony.” Indeed, the trend is for physics to seek ever greater order to explain ever more detailed aspects of natural phenomena. So far, so good. However, Barr then raises the question of whether the very existence of this orderliness can be explained in scientific terms; in particular, he examines whether chance or natural selection can explain it. In the end, he concludes that they cannot, and, in turn, that this failure points to the need for a transcendent ground to explain the order.
Yet surely the argument requires significantly greater development than this. Why couldn’t an atheist, for example, simply contend that the order of nature is a brute fact? One possible answer, which Barr acknowledges in passing, is that the very contingency of the laws of nature cries out for scientific explanation, even though such an explanation would by definition have to transcend the natural, contingent world to appeal to God, understood as a (indeed, the only) necessary being. The problem with this argument, however, is that it simply reduces to the old “cosmological” argument for the existence of God, according to which the universe, unlike God, is contingent and hence in need of an external explanation for its existence. In and of itself, the existence of an orderly universe does not provide an independent argument for God’s existence.
To develop this argument adequately, one would need to focus on the beauty and elegance of the laws of nature, which even a hardened atheist such as Nobel prize–winning physicist Stephen Weinberg both acknowledges and emphasizes in his book Dreams of a Final Theory (1994). Given that God is the greatest possible being—and hence a being with a perfect aesthetic sense—we would expect the universe to exemplify beauty and elegance at the fundamental level, but we would not expect this under atheism. Although Barr gestures toward this sort of argument, he never really develops it.
Another area where Barr’s argument could use some elaboration is in his discussion of the implications of quantum mechanics. Here Barr enters some of the deepest and most treacherous waters in the book. Following a classic line of argument presented by several well-known and respected physicists, Barr argues that as presently formulated, quantum theory implies that the mind of the scientist who studies the material world at the quantum level must be assumed to transcend that world. This view is based on the claim that quantum mechanics only describes a hypothetical reality and hence requires an observer—the scientist—to create the determinate reality of fact that the scientist uncovers when performing an experiment. In some sense, then, at the quantum level of nature the scientist imposes or determines the very orderliness he seeks to discover. But this understanding of the scientist’s activity generates a paradox, for if the mind of the scientist is entirely a physical object in the natural world, then it would be as dependent on the determining activity of an observer as any other natural object. The conditions for an infinite regress of objects and observers thus seems to have been established. In order to resolve this paradox, some physicists have posited that the mind of the physicist must somehow exist (at least partially) outside of the world the scientist seeks to understand.
The problem with this view is that it suffers from its own implausibilities. Since macroscopic objects are composed of the microscopic objects described by quantum mechanics, it seems to follow that quantum indefiniteness should be reflected in macroscopic objects such as refrigerators, cars, and mountains. But surely it is untrue that such objects are dependent on observers for their determinacy in the way that quantum particles are. (Does anyone believe that his refrigerator’s location in space-time depends on him entering the kitchen?) Moreover, even if we disregard this problem, we’re still left with the question of exactly how observers of quantum reality make that reality determinate; from what Barr tells us, we might conclude that they do so by some mysterious power. It is just these sorts of objections that have led most physicists and philosophers to advocate alternative interpretations (each of which, it must be admitted, has its own distinct difficulties).
Still, these relatively minor shortcomings aside, Barr has written an accessible, insightful, and fair overview of how the discoveries of physics and mathematics during the last century could be thought to confirm the expectations of the religious believer—as well as a careful analysis and critique of materialism. For those looking for an overview that will help them to think at a deep level about these issues, I cannot think of anything better than Modern Physics and Ancient Faith.
Robin Collins is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Messiah College. He has done extensive research on the relation between physics and religion and is currently completing a book tentatively titled The Well-Tempered Universe: God, Fine-Tuning, and the Laws of Nature. | <urn:uuid:80558c67-5303-414e-9a08-46ca4383da80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.firstthings.com/print/article/2007/01/modern-physics-and-ancient-faith-1?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=500&width=700 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955256 | 2,382 | 2.640625 | 3 |
During the early 1980s, Judy Chicago worked on the "Birth Project," a series of images she designed for execution by a network of skilled needleworkers spread across the U.S. These needleworkers were volunteers who had either stayed in contact with Judy Chicago following their work on images to give expression to an important aspect of female experience too rarely depicted in fine art while linking these individual birth experiences to ancient, archetypal, female-centered myths of creation. The designs for several images in the series, most notably executed in a variety of needlework mediums over a several year period. The work depicted here is "Earth Birth "(1983), a sprayed acrylic on fabric painting by Judy Chicago with quilting by Jacquelyn Moore. "Earth Birth" is also available as a 1985 serigraph by the artist and as one of five serigraphs in a suite called Eve Images from the "Birth Project." | <urn:uuid:62ace18b-7946-48b6-9a29-e0e85b2e9314> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/feminist_art_base/gallery/judy_chicago.php?i=1559 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976211 | 183 | 2.015625 | 2 |
With nations meeting in Doha to discuss a global plan to tackle climate change, the terrible floods hitting the UK are a stark warning about the need for urgent action to cut emissions (Labour accuses ministers of flood defence cuts, 27 November). Scientists predict the UK will experience severe flooding more frequently as climate change takes hold. The floods have severely disrupted people's lives and will cost the economy millions of pounds – highlighting the foolishness of the chancellor's insistence in only talking about the costs of tackling climate change. The UK government must stop dragging its feet on decarbonising our economy and show global leadership.
Campaigns director, Friends of the Earth
• Would all potential flood victims and actual victims (800 homes hit as rain and high winds cause havoc across the west and north, 26 November) feel more secure if some of the £100bn to be spent on upgrading Trident was instead used to massively upgrade flood defences? Sometimes simple solutions seem so obvious. | <urn:uuid:56aa520f-7619-4a71-9923-c311e504585f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/27/flood-warning-government-climate-change | 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 | 0.921206 | 190 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Arboretum Testing “Next Level” Of Woodland Restoration
Demonstration Site Features Canopy-Thinning, Invasive Plant Removals, Tree Plantings And More
LISLE, IL (January 12, 2008) – The Morton Arboretum has begun testing a new approach to woodland restoration, having now set up an important 60-acre demonstration project that will “take woodland restoration to the next level,” according to Kurt Dreisilker, Arboretum Manager of Natural Resources.
“If we’re to preserve our natural areas for future generations, we need to make sure they are healthy and feature a diverse array of species. We believe this project will yield a blueprint, so to speak, on how to achieve that,” Dreisilker said, adding the findings will be useful for those managing oak woodlands anywhere in the Midwest.
Healthy woodlands are important for sustaining good air and water quality in the region, and for sustaining a variety of trees, other plants, and wildlife, particularly native trees and plants.
Workers planted almost 500 trees and approximately 600 shrubs in a section of the Arboretum’s East Woods area. The project’s goal is to improve the woodlands’ biodiversity and composition, that is, to create a healthy and sustainable mixture of trees, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers, and sedges. This, in turn, will allow increased numbers of trees, other plants, and animals to inhabit the natural areas and flourish.
Early settlers of the East Woods logged the area, and for many years, the region was used to produce crops.
Restoration work began in October of 2007 with some preparations, and later, Arboretum crews were clearing overstocked native trees. The cut trees were used as benches, or chipped and recycled as mulch for Arboretum trails or garden beds.
“We’re experimenting with a new approach to thin the canopy, to allow enough sunlight through, enabling saplings to grow,” Dreisilker explained.
Crews have removed invasive plants–many small enough to be pulled by hand, many others needing chainsaws, and the removals are continuing.
Workers also removed old drain tiles that farmers used to convert wetlands to farmland. The removals have already begun to restore the natural movement of water through the site, and water has begun to pool in low-lying basins. Native species are growing from the seedbank within the wetlands.
In the spring and fall 2008, the Arboretum planted native species strategically to create a sustainable environment – trees such as white oak, red oak, bur oak; and shrubs such as American hazelnut, buttonbush, viburnums, elderberry and dogwood.
“This allows us to take a bigger step in restoring our natural areas – excelling restoration beyond introducing fire and controlling invasives. This is a massive replanting of native trees and shrubs,” Dreisilker says.
His team will closely monitor the project, looking for natural canopy regeneration in general, and among oaks in particular. The team will also see if the species being planted will flourish.
The Arboretum Education Program has begun presenting a series of classes, and is using the restoration efforts for field study and stewardship training.
"We have the opportunity to display, introduce, and study advances in woodland management," says Megan Dunning, Manager of Natural History Education. "Here at the Arboretum we have a unique opportunity to explore new methods to enhance and restore woodland health, and then share those strategies with neighboring communities."
The Morton Arboretum gratefully acknowledges Grand Victoria Foundation and DuPage Community Foundation for their generous support of the woodland conservation program and woodland stewardship training program respectively.
The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized 1,700-acre outdoor museum with collections of 4,117 kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world. The Arboretum's beautiful natural landscapes, gardens, research and education programs, and year-round family activities support its mission – the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world. Conveniently located at I-88 and Rte. 53 in Lisle, Illinois, the Arboretum is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time or sunset, whichever is earlier. The Children's Garden is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., March through October, and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., November through February. Visit www.mortonarb.org, click About, and then Press Room, or call to learn more. | <urn:uuid:9b328224-4903-4533-8fd1-5145ad5f47df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mortonarb.org/press-room/press-releases/2009-press-releases/204-testing-next-level-of-woodland-restoration.html | 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 | 0.933758 | 1,010 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Group 12 - Fuji Waterproof Camera
We were given a reverse engineering project whereby we had to disassemble a product and understand and work out how the product functions. For our little project we were given the task to dismantle a disposable waterproof camera. Here’s an overview of what we undertook.
Disassembling the camera was relatively simple and it required minimal tools. Most of the tools used were very basic ones such as screwdrivers and knives as the product was mostly assembled using snap on fits or glued together in some instances. After disassembly we proceeded to catalogue and document each part of our camera. During this process we looked at how each part was made, it’s functions and how the camera came together with the integration of all these small parts.
The reassembly process of the camera was also straightforward with some hiccups along the way. As the camera is designed for single use only, some of the parts broke during disassembly and we think that this was done to prevent the consumer to reuse the camera with another roll of film. We also came up with a few minor suggestions on how to improve the product further. For one we could put a little box in the viewfinder to show the user which parts of the picture will be cropped out which would make composing and taking a picture much easier. Another improvement is to make the shutter release lever arm a little more stiffer to prevent accidental shots being taken when the camera is not in used. Overall we had a pretty successful project, we had met our goals that we were given at the initial stages of the project.
The Fuji Waterproof Disposable Camera is a product designed to be user friendly, simple and easy to use under harsh conditions. The camera works just like any other conventional film camera whereby light enters thru the main lens and the image taken gets exposed on a film. The only difference between a normal camera and the disposable camera is that the latter has no power source and all of the parts work mechanically. The other distinct difference is that it also has waterproofing capabilities up to a specfied depth. The disposable camera is design for a single use with the film providing 27 exposures per use. The design of the whole system makes the camera robust and tough for outdoor activities.
- Chung, Jun Young (After Disassembly, Wiki Page)
- Deyo, Raymond (Wiki Page Master & Group Leader)
- Gomez, Adrian (Wiki Page Master)
- Heath, Vatsana (Disassembly,CAD Work)
- Lewczyk, Tomasz (Assembly)
The Fuji Waterproof disposable Camera, is waterproof which allows the user to take pictures under water. Just like any other film camera, when the shutter is open, light enters the lens and it is exposed to the film where the image is recorded. Electrical energy is charged and than released as a light form in order to operate the flash. Mechanical energy opens the shutter for a set period of time.
When a picture is taken, it gives a "click" sound and the shutter quickly opens and re –shuts back to its original position. After each snapshot, it is required to advance the film in order to take another photo. The process is than repeated untill the spindle reaches the end of the film.
It is predicted that it consists of at least 30 parts other then the cases. Also, the materials are made out of metal for springs, plastic for the majority of the components, glass for the lenses and possibly rubber for interior seals. So to summarise there are 30 components, consisting of 4 different materials.
After Disassembly and Table for Parts
The table belows lists the Bill of Materials for the disposable camera:
|Part #||Part Name||# Req'd||Mat'l||Reason of Material Used||Manufacturing Process||Design Function||Image|
|1||Paper Case||1||Paper||Fairly cheap, easy to produce, More durable and stronger than plastic||Printing and Folding||Rectangular shaped boxes can easily be "stacked" on top of each other to form rows and columns. This makes it convenient for storage and transportation of the product.|
|2||Plastic Packing||1||Plastic||Very cheap and easily produced into mass quantities||-||Outer protective "shell" which protects the product before it is purchased.|
|3||Waterproof Strap||1||Plastic||Light and Waterproof||Plastic Shaping||Enables the user to hold the product in a convenient manner.|
|4||Front Waterproof Cover||1||Plastic||Light, Waterpoof||Injection Molding||Middle is partially trasparent to allow the user to see a few of the major components & for aesthetics.|
|5||Back Waterproof Cover||1||Plastic||Light, Waterprrof||Injection Molding||transparent to view the details|
|6||Waterproof Seal||1||Rubber||Best material since it has low production price yet provides more than enough force to tighten things together.||Injection Molding||Keep a tight seal and integral in waterproofing|
|7||Shutter Release Arm||1||Plastic||Cheap and easy to produce since plastic is very easy to be used in Injection Molding||Injection Molding||Ease of use with a single finger|
|8||Film Spindle||1||ABS Plastic||Cheap and easy to produce||Injection Molding||Spokes are there to advance the film|
|9||Shutter Release Clip||1||Plastic||Cheap and easy to produce||Injection Molding||-|
|10||Shutter Release Seal||1||Rubber||Seals and insulates well after tightened||Injection Molding||-|
|11||Shutter Release Spring||1||Steel||Gives strong enough force to function as a spring when shaped.||Steel Shaping||Provides a counter force when needed to release the shutter|
|12||Outer Film Spindle||1||Plastic||Easy to mold to produce massive amount of same part||Injection Molding||Acts as another clip in holding the camera shells together|
|13||Outer Film Spindle Seal||1||Rubber||Seals very well after tightened||Injection Molding||-|
|14||Front Chasis||1||Plastic||maintains its own shape well, fair weight and durability||Injection Molding||Gives the camera the shape and major components sit on the chasis|
|15||Camera Lens||1||Plastic||One of the best material to make transparent parts, less easy to be broken compared to glass, light weight.||Injection Molding||Transparent and curved so that it refracts light|
|16||Front Viewfinder||1||Plastic||One of the best material to make transparent parts, durable & light weight.||Injection Molding||-|
|17||Back Viewfinder||1||Plastic||One of the best material to make transparent parts, durable & light weight.||Injection Molding||-|
|18||Magnifier||1||Plastic||One of the best material to make transparent parts, less easy to be broken compared to glass, light weight.||Injection Molding||Maginfies the object to make picture composition easier|
|19||Frame Counter||1||Plastic||Provides good grip with high enough friction force when spun with fingers. (Not slippery)||Injection Molding||Gives user feedback as tohow many exposures left|
|20||Top Film Advance Lock||1||Plastic||Stretches fair amount in order to open and shut. Also creates good "clicking" noise when shut||Injection Molding||Slightly intricate design to keep a few internal parts together|
|21||Film Advance Lock Spring||1||Steel||Has strong spring constant when shaped into springs which will provide large force to maintain lock||Steel Shaping||Designed to keep the film from going forward without a picture being taken first|
|22||Bottom Film Advance Lock||1||Plastic||Stretches fair amount in order to open and shut. Also creates good "clicking" noise when shut||Injection Molding||Intircate design to keep a strong hold on internal components|
|23||Film Advance Gear Trigger||1||Plastic||Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce||Injection Molding||It must fit into Film Advance gear|
|24||Film Advance Gear||1||Plastic||Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce||Injection Molding||Has teeth so that it creates good friction so that is easy for the users to turn the dial|
|25||Lens Mount||1||Plastic||Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce||Injection Molding||Once lens is mounted, it protects the lens|
|26||Shutter Cover Spring||1||Steel||Functions as a spring very well after shaped into it||Steel Shaping||Must be responsive towards user inputs to release and close the shutter|
|27||Shutter Cover||1||Plastic||Waterproof.||Injection Molding||Controls exposure of the lens to light|
|28||Back Inner Shell||1||Plastic||has good durability and easy for users to notify that it's closed by giving off good "click" sound||Injection Molding||Must keep every component and Film in their position.|
|29||Inner Film Spindle||1||Plastic||Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce||Injection Molding||Has teeth so that it makes sure it spins along with film|
|30||Film||1||Various Materials||-||Various Process||Rolled into a cylinder so that maximum surface area is kept while consuming least volume|
|31||Inner Film Spindle||1||Plastic||Easy to be molded, easy and cheap to mass produce||Injection Molding||Has teeth so that it makes sure it spins along with film|
|32||Tools used for Disassembly||1||Misc||-||-||-|
1.Front Inner Shell was put on the table with hand (very easy)
2.Film, with Inner Film Spindle, was put in the Front Inner Shell with hand (very easy)
3.Film Advance Lock Spring was attached between Top Film Advance Lock with hand and Bottom Film Advance Lock. (easy)
4.Film Advance Gear Trigger was put together with Film Advance Gear with hand (easy) Shutter Cover Spring was assembled with Shutter Cover and was placed in the shell with hand (easy)
5.Lens mount was attached to shell by using flat head screw driver (easy)
6.Magnifier was attached to shell by using flat head screw driver (easy)
7.Shutter Housing was attached to shell by using flat head screw driver (easy)
8.Front View Finder, Camera lens, Back View Finder, Frame Counter were put in the shell by hand (easy)
9.Back Inner Shell was used to close the shell by using flat head screw driver and was sealed (hard)
10.Outer Film Spindle was put back on the inner shell by using Pliers and hand. (hard)
11.Outer Film Spindle Seal was put on Outer Film Spindle by using flat head screw driver (easy)
12.Shutter Release Arm, Shutter Release Clip, Shutter Release Seal and Shutter Release Spring were assembled together by using hand and the assembly was put together with inner shell (easy)
13.Front Chassis was put on the shell by using flat head screw driver (medium)
14.Water proof seal was placed inside the front and back waterproof cover (hard)
15.Front and Back Water proof cover was put back to the assembly by using flat head screw driver (medium)
16.Water Proof strap was put on with hand (easy)
The camera was convenient and easy to use with a few changes which could have enhanced the product.
1. The Front Waterproof cover has a rubber attachment grip on the right hand side of the camera. The purpose for this, is to avoid slippage. Common practice while taking snapshots, is to hold the camera with two hands and not one. It would be a reasonable improvement to have rubber grips on both sides of this part.
2. The Viewfinder allows the user to see what snapshot is going to take place before the Shutter Release Arm is executed. Unfortunately, the physical photo when developed, is not consistent with what the viewfinder was showing the user before the picture was taken.(according to Amazon.com's Product Evaluation) Inscribing the virtual photo to the viewfinder would give the user more feedback before taking the snapshot.
3. The Shutter Release Arm controls the shutter to open, which allows the film to be exposed in the form of a picture. Unfortunately, this part is very long and can easily be executed unintentionally by the person taking pictures. The geometry of the Shutter Release Arm could be modified to elimiate this error. Changing the length and the curvature allowing the part to be closer to the camera is ideal.
CAD drawings and Assembly animation clips are uploaded below as separate files. | <urn:uuid:0c6ac0d7-7768-48fc-9cdd-7cd1c608da5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gicl.cs.drexel.edu/wiki-data/index.php?title=Group_12_-_Fuji_Waterproof_Camera&oldid=5362 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920968 | 2,778 | 2.546875 | 3 |
This project has been widely discussed, very interesting concept not doubt about it, but with a lot of controversy involved. The Cloud, Seoul, 2011. MVRDV is the lead architect.
A 260 meter tall tower and a 300 meter tall tower are connected in the center by a pixelated cloud indulging in the adjacent functionality and prettiness that this wise project has to offer, amenities and outside spaces with extraordinary views are essential part of it. The towers with a total surface of 128,000m2 are expected to be completed in 2015.
Usually a high-rise adds little to the immediate surrounding city life, but MVRDV were able to surpass this quote by integrating public program to the cloud, this typology adds more social way to the city. Inside the cloud, besides the residential function, amenities are in place, a sky lounge - a large connecting atrium, a wellness center, conference center, fitness studio, various pools, restaurants and cafes. On top of the cloud are a series of public and private outside spaces, patios, decks, gardens and pools.
About the controversy:
MVRDV regrets deeply any connotations The Cloud projects evokes regarding 9/11.
The Cloud was designed based on parameters such as sunlight, outside spaces, living quality for inhabitants and the city. It is one of many projects in which MVRDV experiments with a raised city level to reinvent the often solitary typology of the skyscraper. It was not our intention to create an image resembling the attacks nor did we see the resemblance during the design process. We sincerely apologize to anyone whose feelings we have hurt, it was not our intention.
The design inspiration of The Cloud is visualized in the first image, a cloud covering the center of the Sky scraper. | <urn:uuid:a609e9b9-38ea-49f9-8fe2-1630f2e319d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://architecturelinked.com/profiles/blog/show?id=4741207%3ABlogPost%3A148179&commentId=4741207%3AComment%3A148188&xg_source=activity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953742 | 365 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The Lord has a plan for each of us; he calls each one of us by name. Our task is to learn how to listen, to perceive his call, to be courageous and faithful in following him and, when all is said and done, to be found trustworthy servants who have used well the gifts given us. - Pope Benedict XVI
In Baptism God calls us into the Christian life. People respond to this call in many different ways. Some people follow this calling through religious life.
Perhaps you have experienced a sense of longing for something more; a desire to commit your life completely to Christ; do you want to be of service to others in and through the Church; a suggestion or invitation from another. God's call to each of us is as personal and individual as we are, but it is always a call to love, to freedom, to fullness of life.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love therefore I have called you." Jeremiah31
I think I may have a vocation to religious life but I don't know what to do?"
If you are considering religious life for your life, why not consider the following:
- Pray to God for guidance.
- Find out about different Religious Orders: their charism, their work and their spirit.
- Reflect on your own gifts and abilities and how they might guide your choice of religious community.
- Talk to someone, a friend who knows you well; a religious sister, priest or brother that you know, or take time to get guidance from a spiritual director.
- Contact the Vocation Directors of the communities that appeal to you. They are trained to help you in your discernment process.
- Remember discerment can take some time, so there is no need to be anxious, you are simply trying to find out where God might be calling you.
- Contact Vocations Ireland at Bloomfield Avenue (off Morehampton Rd.) Donnybrook,
Dublin 4. Tel: 01/6689954
Here are contact details for:
- Religious Sisters
- Contemplative Sisters
- Missionary Sisters
- Religious Men: Orders with priests & brothers and Orders with brothers.
- Male contemplatives
- Missionary Priests | <urn:uuid:a4f784df-9c00-4160-81bb-5fd617807acf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.limerickdiocese.org/religious-life.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96181 | 459 | 1.539063 | 2 |
After six years of work a new formula has been developed, with the help of NASA, that has been proven to protect and extend life.
NASA and the Johnson Space Centre worked together to form the AmeriSciences AS10 nutritional formula, which has been linked to prolonging life when exposed to environmental stressors, including radiation.
AmeriSciences AS10 is a powerful antioxidant and anti-ageing liquid beverage, comprising a unique formualtion of only 100 per cent fruit and vegetable-derived ingredients.
It's also part of a wider range of nutritional supplements including AS10 Life multivitamins; derived from the same joint research with NASA and JSC.
Findings from a separate study focusing on the cellular Health benefits, using VISIA facial technology have shown a visibile reduction in age spots, UV damage, redness and wrinkles about just two months.
The formula has an unparalleled 95 per cent dissolution rate, meaning the body can maximise the goodness available.
The product line provide a 'saftey net' of vitamins and minerals essential for maintaining optimum Health and one of the Government's recommended five-a-day portions of fruit and vegetables.
It comes in wine-bottle shaped container and is designed for anyone feeling run-down with hectic lifestyles or susceptible to nutritional deficiencies.
In regards to the hectic lifestyle - I think we could all do with some of this magical formula.
Available from the Harley Medical Group. | <urn:uuid:883a0e5a-88b4-4f6c-8096-af04074f8701> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/health/Health+product-2278.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922555 | 302 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Timeline: Chronology of the TASS Studio
This chronology outlines the historical and artistic context of the TASS poster studio from 1941 to 1946.
Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union. On this, the first day of the war, the Organizing Committee of the Union of Soviet Artists (SKh SSSR) convenes in its exhibition hall on Kuznetskii Most. It decides to open a poster studio modeled on the ROSTA Window studio.
Artists Mikhail Cheremnykh, Vladimir Denisovskii, and Pavel Sokolov-Skalia visit Aleksandr Gerasimov, head of SKh SSSR, to gain approval for this project.
Gerasimov receives official support and approval from Kliment Voroshilov, the peoples’ commissar of defense of the Soviet Union. Iakov Khavinson, executive director of the TASS News Agency, is told to incorporate the studio into his organization. The workshop is given the official title “Editorial Office – Studio for the production of ‘TASS Window’ military defense posters.”
There are already ninety-two staff members at the newly created TASS Window studio, including stencil cutters, font painters, and gluers.
The TASS studio initiates production with TASS 1, The Fascist Took the Route through Prut, by Cheremnykh, with text by the Litbrigade, a collection of Soviet authors. It is the first stenciled TASS poster. On the same day, the first TASS painting is issued – TASS 2, Remember!, by Sergei Kostin, with text by the Litbrigade.
Reports of the posters reach the United States. Erskine Caldwell first writes about the TASS posters in the New York–based daily PM, exclaiming that “striking posters have appeared almost overnight.”
Late June–early July
Photographer Margaret Bourke-White visits the TASS studio and photographs the artists at work. This studio visit is part of a trip made with her husband, Caldwell, to the Soviet Union between March 20 and September 23.
TASS 68, A Major Historical and Politically Significant Agreement, is produced to honor the British-Soviet alliance. This poster is reproduced later this year in Great Britain as a lithographic print with English text.
July 17–October 27
Ralph Ingersoll, American writer and editor of PM, visits the Soviet Union.
TASS 159, Dangerously Ill, is published. It is the first poster reflecting American participation in the war effort.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, receives its first shipment of TASS posters, accompanied by two bas-relief posters by Dmitrii Moor, from the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (VOKS).
German forces launch Operation Typhoon, an offensive designed to capture Moscow before winter. Government employees begin an evacuation to Kuibyshev (Samara), a large Russian city nearly 600 miles southeast of Moscow, which will serve as a provisional capital of the Soviet Union until summer 1943.
PM publishes an image of a TASS poster for the first time: TASS 240, Eloquent Text, by Moa, with text by Vasilii Lebedev-Kumach.
SKh SSSR issues a mandatory order for the relocation of thirty-five Moscow-based personnel to Kuibyshev, including many of the artists and writers associated with TASS.
The TASS News Agency administration orders the Moscow studio to be abandoned, with operations moved to Kuibyshev.
Sokolov-Skalia, who did not leave Moscow for Kuibyshev, reopens the Moscow TASS editorial office. Aleksei Mashistov is appointed literary editor, and Iosif Feoklistov becomes production manager.
The American artist and activist Rockwell Kent receives a shipment of TASS posters. Customs forms indicate that there were three packages of posters in the delivery, one of which contained five posters.
1942Having abandoned window-paintings, the TASS studio begins experimenting with new media. Film director Iurii Znamenskii and engineer Aleksei Markov successfully design a new type of machine for TASS light bulletins called an autoscope. This machine consists of an automatic projector and a daylight screen. The autoscope will be successfully tested in March during the TASS exhibition at the State Historical Museum in Moscow.
The evacuation to Kuibyshev ends, and the official TASS office is relocated to Moscow.
A major TASS editorial meeting with Khavinson takes place. Its purpose is to determine ways to streamline the artistic, administrative, and production techniques of the TASS studio in order to create increased quantities of more effective posters.
In response to criticism of the posters’ literary quality, the presidium of the Writers’ Union recalls popular poets Samuil Marshak and Dem’ian Bednyi from the East, where they had been evacuated, to work at the TASS studio.
The TASS studio formally establishes a light department, which is intended to issue twenty-five light bulletins a month. These are written and designed by the TASS editorial staff.
The State Historical Museum in Moscow mounts an exhibition of TASS posters.
Nikolai Radlov, a prolific TASS artist, writes to Kent, “We are happy that a second front is becoming something real and that we artists in Russia, as well as our colleagues in the United States and Great Britain are contributing our share to the great cause of the struggle of the freedom loving people against Nazi tyranny.”
VOKS ships the first installment of TASS posters to the Art Institute of Chicago.
Nikolai Sadchikov, the head of Glavlit, appoints I. Fedorov to serve as the official state censor for the TASS editorial office.
1943November 4, 1943–January 2, 1944
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, holds an exhibition entitled The Soviet Artist in War, in which twenty-five TASS posters are included.
1944Poet Osip Brik responds to criticism of TASS posters’ aesthetic quality in the essay “Painting Went out into the Streets.” Brik argues that TASS posters’ strength lies in “the profound agitational persuasiveness of the text and the image.”
Wages at the TASS Studio are cut by fifteen percent in order to compensate for overspending. The TASS News Agency blames the studio’s huge workforce, while the editorial office blames the agency for approving increasingly complicated designs.
The third anniversary of the TASS studio is commemorated with TASS 1000, Our One Thousandth Blow.
1945The TASS light department is closed.
Georgii Aleksandrov, head of the Central Committee’s Department of Agitation and Propaganda, signals a change in political direction in an article in Pravda. TASS poster themes become less brutal and hateful, especially in relation to the German people.
Nazi Germany capitulates.
The Declaration Regarding the Defeat of Germany and the Assumption of Supreme Authority by Allied Powers is signed in Berlin.
The fourth anniversary of the TASS studio is commemorated with TASS 1255, Four Years of TASS Windows, by Cheremnykh, with text by his wife, Nina.
The TASS editorial board is officially dissolved. Posters produced after this date (TASS 1445 through 1485) are published by Iskusstvo.
The last TASS poster – TASS 1485, He Who Wants the Industry of the Country to Become Even More Powerful and Sophisticated – is published. | <urn:uuid:25aba839-6499-48a2-ac94-101995a020ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/TASS/resource/1811 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937556 | 1,627 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Posted: Dec 27, 2012 6:33 AM by AP/CS
YOUNGSVILLE, La. (AP) - Youngsville is considering new regulations to guide commercial and residential development in a once-tiny municipality that has seen its population grow by more than 400 percent over the past two decades.
Youngsville Mayor Wilson Viator tells The Advocate the city has no zoning laws, and there are only a handful of regulations on new developments.
What's under consideration by the city is not zoning, he said, but rather what's called a "land-use" plan.
Conventional zoning laws designate certain areas of a city for certain types of developments - industrial, residential, commercial.
Viator said the land-use plan would not specify what should be built where, but the plan would impose requirements for buffers and green space when a new development conflicts with what's already been built. | <urn:uuid:80809996-6574-4c5a-b775-2e4c7703737d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.katc.com/news/growth-spurs-youngsville-to-eye-new-rules/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949825 | 184 | 2.109375 | 2 |
About the Artist
Gustave Adolphe Mossa (French, 1883-1971) was a French painter. His father, Alexis Mossa (1844-1926), was himself a painter from Nice who produced many posters for the Carnival of Nice.
Also known as Gustav Adolf Mossa, his early work was influenced by the Symbolist movement and Art Nouveau. Also, in the tradition of his father, he produced print works for the Carnival of Nice, and after the death of his father in 1926, Mossa took his place as curator of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice.
Today Mossa is known mostly as a print maker for the Carnival of Nice, while his symbolist paintings, watercolor landscapes and primitive art have only been re-discovered since his death. [DES-01/11] | <urn:uuid:ad4237f0-02f8-49b5-a851-9a555bfe370e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.porkopolis.org/art-museum/artist-index/gustave-adolphe-mossa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988228 | 175 | 2.515625 | 3 |